Family Musings

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to Tara of Pip Designs , my fabulous blog designer, for my photo update. The picture was taken by Karissa of K Barber Photography, a Lakeland family photographer . Also, the Twitter button link has been fixed and I'll try to make it a 2012 resolution to add some new recipes to my new 'Recipes' tab. Maybe I'll share the Giada De Laurentiis recipe that I tried this week. It was awesome! What is your favorite Family Musings recipe ?

If you aren't pumpkined out (I'm not!), then you'll want to take that last 1/2 cup of pureed pumpkin out of your fridge and make these! Then smother them with real maple syrup. And eat them for breakfast, lunch, brinner, dessert... whenever you want. These are so, so good! I have to actually stop my girls when we eat these otherwise they'd get sick from eating as many as they liked. Pumpkin Pie Pancakes 2 cups Bisquick 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 - 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin 2 T sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla 1-2 dashes pumpkin pie spice Combine all ingredients just until blended. Add more milk if your batter is too thick (I always do). Let rest for a minute while your griddle or pan heats up. As a nod to my husband's love of all things bacon, sometimes I'll grease my pan with leftover bacon fat, but usually I just use a touch of real butter. Leave your pancake along until the sides start to dry out just a tad, then flip.  Re...

I have so many things to be thankful for and have spent the last few weeks listing them on the Family Musings Facebook page. And as I've been known to do in the past, I want to record those status updates here so they will have a better chance of surviving the years. (1) I'm thankful for my amazing friends who support me in many ways. (2) MOPS at Kathleen Baptist Church (3) My beautiful family ! ‎(4) The food in my pantry and refrigerator. Our family has plenty of nutritious choices and will not go hungry. ‎(5) I was thankful for beautiful Fall weather for our family's mini vacation .  (6) I was thankful for a husband who let me take a vacation with the family, instead of asking me to do everything I normally do [dishes, laundry, cooking, cleaning] somewhere else. (7) Today I am thankful for the reminder of how much I love  Zumba Fitness and the opportunity to host a House Party this month. ‎(8) Today I am thankful that my girls love books. We ...

Today I am guest posting at n0elle.com on how to make the most of a blog hop. Check it out and leave a comment to let me know what you think. 5 Tips to Make the Most of Blog Hopping | n0elle.com | Communication and Business Thoughts for Creative Entrepreneurs

This giveaway is now closed. The winner has been announced here . I recently started juicing but find that some days or mornings I just don't have time to get it all done. In those instances, my girls either drink milk or pre-made fruit juice. I was recently sent a sample of V8 V-Fusion Concord Grape Raspberry 8 ounce cans (along with a lunch kit) and was surprised to find that all of us enjoyed the taste. I packed it in Bruce's lunch and split one between the girls and each of them asked for it again and again. I'd like to let you all in on the juicy goodness and here is what you can win: A green lunch tote (which I really like, but let Bruce use) Reusable Velcro bag, the perfect item for keeping and snacks fresh Branded cards for moms to include notes for their children (or husband) to read at lunch Branded grocery list notepads A coupon for one free V8 V-Fusion, V8 V-Fusion Light or V8 V-Fusion + Tea beverage (46 ounce or 8 ounce 6 pack) A pack of NEW Goldfish...

Due to my love of Pinterest , I find all sorts of great things to do with my girls. Of course, I also find all sorts of things for myself as well. Imagine my delight when I found something on Pinterest that worked for them and for me all at the same time. It's called Cloud Dough . And my girls and I both loved it. I altered the inspiration recipe a little and this is how I made it: Cloud Dough 4 cups flour 1/2 cup olive oil a few drops of orange extract I combined it all together in a ziploc bag until it was thoroughly mashed up. It was a nice bit of stress relief for the few minutes it took me to combine. The extract is optional and you could use other scents. So, how does this help out all the ladies in my house?   Well, the girls like the texture of it and seeing how it can hold lots of different shapes. We got to see what the inside of our fists look like, make impressions of our hands, and even pretended to build a miniature Great Wall of C...

I love a hand written card. Who doesn't? If you were to browse the blogosphere, you'd find lots of posts eschewing the lost art of a hand written letter. We all know other people like getting mail because we like getting mail. It's like I tell Charlotte, my 4 year old, "You have to send mail to get mail." But sending mail isn't always penciled into our schedule. Unless it bills. We know to send those every month. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the machine which opens our mail won't appreciate any hand written notes on our payment slips. Besides, what would I say, "Wish this was cheaper!"? I find it is easier to send mail if I keep beautiful cards and stationary at hand. In fact, I keep a basket on top of a bookshelf filled with a variety of card and paper styles. I have something that matches just about every personality surrounding me. Recently, (in)spired Deals sent me a card set to review and I am in love. It is called God's...

As I followed my family to the van this morning for church, I glanced over into the grass and found a completely   intact snake skin. Knowing how much my husband and girls like to inspect things, I called them back and convinced Bruce to lay the skin by our door so we could look at it later. Then, once we got home from church, the girls immediately asked for the snake skin. It was really neat to look closely at the skin and think about the snake. And while I couldn't get a clear picture, we could even see where the snakes eyes and jaw had been, that's how cool the shed skin was. Our initial inspection and noticing the neat features of the snake, such as the diamond pattern on its back and the curved lines on the belly. Pointing out the distinct features of the snake's face. Finally, we had to figure out how long the snake is. This particular snake was probably close to 3 1/2 feet long, which makes it even more remarkable that the skin came off so cleanly. ...

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Reebok Settlement for SocialSpark . All opinions are 100% mine. If you purchased Reebok toning shoes or toning apparel between December 5, 2008 and October 12, 2011, you may be an eligible member of a class action law suit against Reebok. The suit alleges that Reebok violated certain state laws when advertising and marketing these toning items. As is typical in these types of cases, Reebok denies all wrong doing and the court did not say which side was right or which side was wrong. Here is a link to the  Reebok settlement   and the EasyTone Settlement  where you can get more information about participating. Eligible shoes include Easy Tone, RunTone, JumpTone, SlimTome, EasyTone Flip, TrainTone, and Simplytone. Eligible apparel includes Easytone Capri, EasyTone Shorts, EastTone Sleeveless Shirt, EastTone Pants, EasyTone Long Bra Top, and Easy Tone Short Sleeve Top. The settlement allows for...

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of DollarGeneral for SocialSpark . All opinions are 100% mine. I've never met anyone who didn't think our veterans shouldn't be valued. We are blessed to live in a time when most people understand the sacrifice that the men and women in the Armed Forces make. I think it is also nice to honor the sacrifices the families of service men and women make as well. It can be extreme sometimes with deployments unexpectedly lasting more than a year or dealing with the long term effects of going to war. Dollar General has asked me to share with you how they are supporting veterans, active military, and their families this weekend.  Dollar General's Veteran's Day discount  includes 10% off in store on Saturday, November 11th. It also includes a 10% discount online when you use coupon code VETERANSDAY. The code is good Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Another neat thing Dollar General has...

I've posted before here and on Facebook about how messy my house can get. And how quickly it seems to happen. The amount of clutter in my house really does affect our quality of life. Not in a Hoarders sort of way, but in ways that are less obvious to those around me. It keeps me from inviting people over for impromptu conversations and play dates. It keeps me from homeschooling because there is no clear space to do it. It keeps me from relaxing in my own space. It keeps me from staying home more because I feel stiffled by my surroundings. It costs my family money because I spend more to leave the house, rebuy things I already have, or don't use my coupons because they don't stay organized. I could blame it on our small space . But I have friends with even smaller homes which are always neat and clean when I stop in for random visits. I could blame it on the kid's toys all being kept in the Living room . But that doesn't address all of the clutter that ...

Going on a frugal vacation with a toddler and baby in tow is not my idea of fun. You're basically asking the mom to do everything she does at home, but with fewer resources. It never really turns out to be much of a vacation for aforementioned mom. I know, I've been her before. However, I wasn't her last weekend! My husband surprised us and took our family away for 2 nights at the Disney All-Star Sports resort. He also purchased the Quick Service Dining Plan for our family so that I didn't have to prepare a single meal. It really was a vacation for this mom! I walked away from last weekend feeling wonderfully rested, something I'm not accustomed to after a family vacation. In fact, everything went so smoothly I can't find a single thing to complain about. Nothing went wrong. It's as if we were meant to have this fun, relaxing weekend together as a family. No distractions in the form of wi-fi hot spots or accommodating 4 other adults preferences for what ...

A few weeks ago our family partook of an annual tradition - family pictures. And just like last year, my friend with the extraordinary eye, Karissa Barber, a Lakeland family photographer , took them for us. Our location was Circle B Bar Reserve, just before sunset, and I don't think our pictures could have turned out any more beautiful! I'm only sharing a handful here so that I can surprise the grandparents at Christmas time. You can see several more at the K. Barber Photography blog  (that's a direct link to her post about us). Have you taken family photos recently? How did it go?