Our Little Visitor

little visitor

In addition to a husband and wife, parents, children, and siblings, there is now a grandfather, step grandmother, foster parents, an exceptionally young uncle, an aunt, a grandchild, and a niece in our house.  All these new roles were delivered in one adorable little 16 month old bundle last week.

After just two days this little miss has identified me as the mother “type” in the house and cries when I leave and shows jealousy when she sees me cuddling my son and daughter.  I am surprise at how quickly this happened and I am absolutely amazed at what an easy baby she is!  She will eat anything and everything.  She ate (neatly I might add) a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today and then swiped half of my daughters.  She loves her milk but will also drink water.  She loves bananas and oranges.  She’s had eggs and broccoli too.  So far there hasn’t been anything she hasn’t liked!  She sleeps great, wakes in a good mood, and never complains or cries!  I had no idea babies could be this easy!  My daughter is proving to be an excellent mother’s helper.  My son is a bit baffled by her baby antics but I am certain this experience will prove to be character building for him.

There is really no way to not get attached to this happy little baby but truthfully It will feel really good to hand her to back to her mama in a couple months because it will mean that my step daughter is doing well and that will be great.  Until then we are planning to have lots of fun with our little visitor!

Inspiration for the Bunny

Egg Shaped Gifts for Easter

nest

We woke up this morning to many inches of the white stuff outside but I am going to power on anyway with spring posts and my egg series!  Today is a round up of egg shaped gift ideas.  I am going to skip the obvious and edible ones and share some fun toys for both kids and grown-ups.  Are you an Amazon prime member?  Buy them with my affiliate links and I get a little money and you get them fast!

So let’s get on with it and do some egg shaped shopping!   Continue reading

Oz Movie Review

oz movie review

We ended my birthday week with two fun activities.  A visit to the bookstore where I had fun checking out some new picture books and my kids got to spend some birthday money.  And last night we went to see Oz the Great and Powerful!

We’ve been looking forward to it for weeks!  For a long time The Wizard of Oz was my son’s favorite movie even though he has to walk out of the room during the scary parts.  And even though neither of my kids seem to have the attention span for the book yet.

We all enjoyed it but to be completely honest it was touch and go for me at times.  Continue reading

Travel Log

instagram travel log

We are SO happy to finally be home after almost two weeks in Florida!  We had such a great adventure driving down the east coast, visiting Disney for the first time, spending time with relatives, and attending my sister’s wedding is Southern Florida.  It was so jam packed we hardly made it to the beach!

I am planning several posts inspired by our Florida trip including…   Continue reading

7 Things I ♥ This Week

heart puzzle

  1. The serrated edges of my daughter’s 3 brand new teeth
  2. Harvest Moon, the latest song my husband is learning to play
  3. My daughter’s latest interest in jumping rope
  4. The stack of story starters my daughter made with lined paper on the photocopier that simply say “Once upon a time…”
  5. My son’s new interest in sculpture and his air dry clay creations he calls “sculptions” that he think are going to make him rich
  6. Really getting to look at my daughters face and eyes on Sunday morning when she forgot her glasses
  7. Our library tote full of great picture books hand picked by our awesome librarian (included: Jonathan & Martha, I’m Bored, An Awesome Book of Thanks, Life in the Ocean, and Twelve Kinds of Ice)

and a bonus…   Continue reading

Bam!boo

I like wood.  But do you know what I like every more than wood?  Bamboo!

It has so many uses just like hardwood except since it’s a grass it grows back when you cut it down.  It also grows super fast!  So how about including gifts made of bamboo this holiday!  It has all the same warm tactile qualities of wood but is also renewable.  You can get a bamboo plant.  I have somehow manage to keep one alive since September.  Do you like handmade gifts?  How about decorating and stringing some bamboo beads.  Do you know they even make fabric out of bamboo?

Or choose from the follow Amazon finds and a zillion other cool things made of bamboo you can find online!   Continue reading

Hurry-cane

The wind might be in a big hurry outside but we have slowed things down quite a bit inside with lots of storm watching, home cooked meals, and cozy time!

Amazingly we still have power after a full day of that!  For me, hurricanes are mostly exciting and sometimes a little scary.  When I was outside taking this video I heard a loud crack and saw a large limb break off a neighbor’s tree.  All these tree are still standing but probably won’t have any leaves left by this time tomorrow!

Music credits: “Come As You Are” from Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York…

Are you being affected by Hurricane Sandy? Please share!

Family Cave Adventure

Cave Adventure in New Hampshire

My daughter wanted to explore a cave for her birthday.  This is what precipitated our recent long weekend in New Hampshire because as you can probably guess based on your childhood attempts to build them in the sand, there are no caves on Cape Cod.  We went to the Polar Caves Park in the White Mountains.  They are glacial caves formed about 50 thousand years ago during the ice age and do not have stalagmites like limestone caves.  The Polar Caves Park is a well kept park with nice facilities, well maintained climbing bridges and walkways, and lots of extras including walking trails, pheasants and deer to feed, and a sluice for mining fossils and gems.  You will get your exercise here!  The caves are located  along a steep upward climb.  My son who is 4 1/2 needed hand holding as some areas are steep and a little slippery but he and I really enjoyed exploring the caves while the other 50% of my family’s biggest discovery was that caves make them feel claustrophobic.  ”And that was supposed to be my birthday present!” my daughter said.  If you are planning a visit I highly recommend going in the fall.  The foliage is so beautiful and we practically had the place to ourselves!

Learn more about the Polar Caves Park in Rumney, NH at there website here.

Been on or planning a great family adventure?  Please share!

Frozen Meatballs Save the Day!

Easy Dinner Ideas and GIVEAWAY!

Update: A winner has been announced for this giveaway.  Congratulations to Diane from Dollops of Diane!  Thanks to everyone who participated and added great easy dinner ideas in the comments section!

Gather ’round ladies!  Are you a busy mom?  Are you often at a loss as it nears six o’clock?  Does your family love the classics?  Do you delight in seeing all mouths quietly chewing instead of complaining?

Well I am going to let you in on a little secret!  For me, frozen meatballs occasionally save the day!  That is why I am very excited to share a GIVEAWAY from Farm Rich with you today (for U.S. residents)!  They offer regular, Italian, and turkey meatballs.  Not a meatball family?  They also offer many popular frozen appetizers!  Check out their offerings here.

Not sure if your grocery store sells Farm Rich products?  Enter your zip code under the product finder tab to see!

The winner will receive 2 coupons each good for one free Farm Rich product.  This prize has an approximate value of $14.00!

I almost always have Italian style meatballs in my freezer and use them to make meatball subs or to compliment a spaghetti dinner.  And I always include a colorful salad and whole wheat rolls to keep it healthy.  Another little trick of mine is to cook them a little longer and hotter to cook off much of the fat content and we all like how they get crispy on the outside.  Farm Rich also offers Turkey meatballs.  Try these with pasta or how about on a bulky roll with gravy and cranberry sauce.  Yum!

Click on the meatballs to go to the product page for recipe ideas from Farm Rich.

Last day to enter is October 11th and a winner will be chosen at random and announced October 12th.  I will also email the winner for an address to send the coupons!

Enter with Rafflecopter…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!  What are your “save the day” dinner secrets?  Please share!

Disclosure:  Farm Fresh provided me with 2 product coupons however opinions expressed are my own. 

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This post is linked up at Frankly My DearOh So Savvy Mom, Going Crazy! Wanna Go?, Momma is Sweeping, Your Golden Ticket Blog, At Home, Take 2, and Frugality is Free.