• Pampers Gifts to Grow – 10 Free Points

     

    Receive 10 free points from Pampers with the a new Gifts to Grow code!

    This code is different from the previous codes I have given.

    Use Code:  GTGREWARDS4MOMS

    The code doesn’t have an expiration date listed  but typically they expire within a few days!

    You can save up the rewards to purchase gifts!

    For more information about the Pampers Gift to Grow Program and how you can start earning Pampers “Gifts to Grow” Rewards for your family go to Pampers Gifts to Grow!

  • Love It – Purple Heart Necklace

    My Purple Heart Necklace, beautiful reminder of the blessings in my life! Thanks Handsome!

    My husband has known for years the impact the Little Purple Flower had on my life.  We were dating at the time the incident occurred and he was delighted to see God use such a beautiful reminder to encourage me.  Since that time Jake has on numerous occasions surprised me with a gift that had a purple flower or something similar on it as a reminder of how much He loves me.  The gift is also a visual reminder that God daily gives me the many blessings I have in my life.

    On Valentine’s Day my husband and I celebrated together at Winter Jam 2011.  When I got up to go to the restroom before the concert started I came back to a small package on my chair.  He gave me a beautiful purple heart necklace (totally surprised me) as a way to remind me of His love and the many blessings in our lives as a couple.  I had no idea that he was even saving his money to get me such a sweet surprise.

    He had been looking for the perfect necklace for awhile until he found the purple heart which he thought it would be a perfect fit for me.  For those of you who know me personally I am not a glamour and glittery type of person.  I grew up with three brothers on a farm and was more of a tomboy than a princess. I can count on one hand the pieces of jewelry I wear regularly.  Every single piece I wear daily Jake picked out on his own for me (most of them were surprises too).  I wear my watch, engagement & wedding rings, and my heart necklace he gave me for our 7th anniversary every day.  The only other time I wear different or more jewelry is for a special event or Date Night when I an extra necklace, ring, or bracelet.  So needless to say I was shocked to receive a necklace on Valentine’s Day and my heart about burst with love for him when I realized it was a purple heart meant to remind me of the little purple flowers in my life.

    I am surrounded by many blessings in my life.  Some days I have to look harder to find those blessings but they exist no matter how big or small.  I am thankful for a God who extends love and grace to me every day.  A husband whom I adore and kids that bring so much joy and laughter into my life.  The best part is they all love me despite my imperfections and crazy days.  Thank you babe for reminding me of the MANY blessing in my life.  I am thankful for the amazing gifts God has given me!

    “Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly in my household that I love!  There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun.  I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list.  It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!

  • Book: “Never Sniff A Gift Fish” by Patrick McManus

    I was thinking about the books I have read over the past few years and decided to chose one that is a little more “unique” from some of my other recommendations but nevertheless I have really enjoyed reading Patrick McManus books.  Never Sniff A Gift Fish by Patrick McManus is one that we have at our house.  The author has a way of making you laugh sometimes until your sides hurt.  He is funny and his short stories are great to read.  We have had his books in our magazine racks for years and I cannot count the number of times people have borrowed or taken the books for a short period of time to read them.  I am looking forward to reading them to the girls soon too.  A lot of his stories have to do with outdoor adventures, kid mischief, and fun.  Each chapter is another short story.  Some are more hilarious then others but there have been times I have had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard.  Life is short so why not have fun.  If you haven’t read one of his books you really should, you’ll enjoy some extra chuckles reading the adventures in his books.   As the warmer season comes upon us it makes me think of camping and reading his books around a camp fire, great memories!   Patrick McManus actually has several books if you prefer one of the other ones instead:

  • Academy Sports & Outdoors: Clearance Sale – 88¢ (Over 700 Items)

    Academy Sports & Outdoors is having an online clearance sale!

    Over 700 items are priced at $0.88 each plus clearance on over 2000 other items.  If you are looking to get a birthday gift or stock up on outdoor clothes or items this is a great time to do it.  Click on their “Clearance” tab and sort by price “low to high” to see all the clearance items.  The shipping rates are a little high but if you are ordering a handful of items at $0.88 each it will offset the delivery charges.
    Limited supplies so stock up while you can!

  • Twice as Fun: A Visit From The Tooth Fairy

    My little Karlie is growing up!

    Karlie recently lost her first baby tooth which was an exciting day for the whole family.  It marked a new stage in her life which means my baby is growing up!  Although our girls know the “tooth fairy” really doesn’t exist it is fun to celebrate a new milestone in the lives of our kids.

    Brina was excited for Karlie too and shared in the celebrations but is now ready for her baby teeth to start falling out as well.  That is one hard part about having two at the same age, they are excited for each other but are ready for their turn too.  Each of us is made uniquely so we let Brina know she will have a chance to celebrate too when her big teeth come through.  I told her teeth will come in when it is perfect for her.  Those who know me realize that I have been dreading this stage of Motherhood because I just don’t like wiggly teeth.  I have to say it is amazing how much you can actually handle once you are going through it with your child.

    Here are some pictures from Karlie’s First Tooth Fairy Celebration:

     

    Karlie's Dollar from the "Tooth Fairy" for losing her first tooth!

    We put $1 Dollar in a butterfly Ziploc bag for Karlie losing her first tooth!  She was super excited to see cash under her pillow the next morning.  Karlie was up before the sun came up because she was so excited about losing her first tooth!

    A Special Note from the Tooth Fairy

    The front side of her present had a note from the Tooth Fairy that said – “Congratulations Karlie on getting your 1st big girl tooth!  Love, Tooth Fairy”   She thought it was super silly especially the “eyes” on the word tooth!

    A Note from the Tooth Fairy to Karlie!

    On the back side of her gift there was another note from the Tooth Fairy – “Karlie, Congratulations on losing your 1st baby tooth!  You are growing up to be a beautiful girl! Love, The Tooth Fairy”  Karlie thought it was great getting two special notes from the Tooth Fairy!

     

    Karlie's Tooth Fairy goodies - $1 Dollar and 1 Book!

    Karlie was super excited to find her treasure under her pillow the next morning.  I picked out shiny “star” wrapping paper for Karlie because she enjoys rockets, planets, and science.  She even kept the paper for several days after opening the gift!

     

    Karlie showing off her new book from the "Tooth Fairy"!

    Karlie was super excited to get a new book!  Both girls love horses so they had fun reading this book together several times over the last few days.

     

    Karlie's baby tooth in a little treasure chest!

    The dentist gave the Karlie a cute little yellow treasure chest to put her baby tooth in.  She was super excited about the mini treasure chest!

    It was a lot of fun celebrating the loss of Karlie’s first baby tooth.  Karlie knows that there is no such thing as “The Tooth Fairy” even though we call it the Tooth Fairy.  She was thrilled to get something special either way even if Mom and Dad are the Tooth Fairy.  As parents we feel like it is okay to celebrate the monumental moments with your kids, however, we chose let them know if something that we celebrate such as the “Tooth Fairy” is really imaginary.  We don’t want our kids growing up thinking we lied to them about something that isn’t even real.  Every family has to make a decision about what is best for their family.

    Please share with us your ideas on what you do to celebrate your children losing their teeth and what the “Tooth Fairy” brings for special goodies!

    Twice as Fun is a series on raising Twins and all the joy that comes with it.  We have been richly blessed to have twin daughters in our lives and want to share with you our thoughts, challenges, wisdom and love for raising multiples.  Our girls have different interests and hobbies but they both know how to add excitement to our lives and make us chuckle.

  • Recipe: Friendship Bread

    A friend, Jan Thornton, gave me my first Friendship Bread at my bridal shower and it was delicious.  I have always wondered about the starter for that recipe then a couple years ago Jake’s cousin Mandy gave me another starter recipe.  Here’s the starter recipes as well as the steps you need to follow to make the Friendship Bread:

    • 1 (.25 ounce) package Active Dry Yeast
    • 1/4 cup warm Water (approximately 110 degrees)
    • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
    • 1 cup granulated white Sugar
    • 1 cup Milk

    Dissolve yeast in water and let stand for 10 minutes. In a non-metal bowl combine flour and sugar. Mix thoroughly. Slowly stir in the milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover the bowl loosely and let stand until batter is bubbly.  Do not refrigerate batter.

    1. Consider this Day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature or store in a ziplock bag.
    2. Day 2 – Squeeze Bag
    3. Day 3 – Squeeze Bag
    4. Day 4 – Squeeze Bag
    5. Day 5 – Squeeze Bag
    6. Day 6 – Add 1 cup of Sugar,  1 cup of Flour, and 1 cup of Milk and Mix in a Non-Metal Bowl
    7. Day 7 – Squeeze Bag
    8. Day 8 – Squeeze Bag
    9. Day 9 – Squeeze Bag
    10. Day 10 – Add 1 cup of Sugar,  1 cup of Flour, and 1 cup of Milk and Mix in a Non-Metal Bowl

    Scoop out 4 (1 cup) portions for of the starter mixture and put each cup in a separate ziplock bag.  Give 3 of the bags to friend and keep one for your family.  With the left over starter mixture add the following ingredients:

    • 1 cup Oil
    • 1/2 cup Milk
    • 3 Eggs
    • 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

    Mix together thoroughly then add the remaining ingredients to the mixture:

    • 2 cups Flour
    • 1 cup Sugar
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
    • 1 large box of Vanilla Instant Pudding
    • Optional Items to Add – 1 cup nuts, Chocolate Chips, Coconut, Raisins and more!

    Mix the dough thoroughly then divide into two greased loaf pans.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

    Once you have made the starter (the 1 cup you kept for your family) you can consider it Day 1 and proceed to Day 2 the next day.  One of the problems I encountered the last time I did this recipe is that before long you have more Friendship Bread then you can give away.  If you are getting too much and want a break from doing Friendship Bread for a couple weeks you can freeze the starter batch measured out into 1 cups for later use.  The frozen starter bread will take at least 3 hours at room temperature to thaw before using.  This gives you the ability to always have it to restart but also an opportunity take a break for a little bit too!  Just remember to pull it out and start the process since it takes several days if you are planning on using it on a specific day!  You’ve hear the saying that “Good things come to those who wait…..”  this friendship bread is so delicious it is always worth the wait!

    Photo by Binder of Daemons

  • Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

    Celebrate love and cherish the memories on this special day!

    Wishing you a sweet day full of fun with the ones you love!

    Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!

    Photo by Ellie

  • Be My Valentine: Scrapbook Highlights

    Do you like to scrapbook?  You don’t need to be current with your scrapbooking to do this Valentine’s Day gift (I am way behind on my scrapbooking too).  Show your spouse and family you love them on Valentine’s Day by doing a Scrapbook highlighting the big events over the past year.  You can do scrapbook at home with your materials or one online at Snapfish or any other great photo place.  Think back over this past year and pick one or two big events for each month or two. Here is some ideas of what to include to get you started, even if you do the Holidays you’ll have plenty of special memories.

    • January – Happy New Year
    • February – Happy Valentine’s Day
    • March – Springing into Spring
    • April – Easter
    • May – Mother’s Day
    • June – Father’s Day
    • July – Independence Day
    • August – Back to School
    • September – First Day of Fall
    • October – Halloween
    • November – Thanksgiving
    • December – Christmas
    • Birthdays
    • Fresh Start
    • Weddings
    • Anniversaries
    • Special Trips
    • Vacations
    • And so much more!!!

    Create you book of highlights with the scrapbook material you have or do it online.  It will be a fun gift as you reflect back on the memories you made together!

    Photo by shimelle