Family Musings

On a typical night, dinner is a pretty casual affair. I make something. We eat it. The mess gets cleaned up (eventually). And it is typically over in about fifteen to twenty minutes. About as long as it takes me prep and make dinner most nights. Sometimes, I like to make dinner time more special by making fancy food. You know, things that require sauteing and deglazing and stuff. But I don't always have time for all that. Other times, it is easier to make a simple meal, and dress it up. That is what I did for a recent dinner. In this case, I took a simple meal of soup, salad, and warm bread and treated it like a restaurant meal. When the family came home I immediately welcomed them to the "Sabin Restaurant" and led them to their seats. I used a cheery, over the top greeter voice to set the tone. I also let the girls use my Fiestaware and cups without lids (BIG deal in my house!). I busted out my Crate & Barrel cloth napkins and my favorite Pandora jazz channel was...

When I was a little girl, my family experienced the unpleasantness of divorce. As is normal in these situations, every one hurt and mourned for what was lost. Of course,  I can't speak for anyone's experience but my own. And I know that it hurt. It was hard to be separated from one parent or the other on opposite weekends. But I always remember something my mom did to make it a little easier. She gave me a bear. It was a small stuffed bear with rainbow fur. And she told me that the rainbow was a promise that things would get better. My mom has always been a good gift giver. She's thoughtful and likes to think about how the recipient will use the gift. I try to be like her in this way. This month, DaySpring (in)spired Deals helped me give a special gift to my husband. They sent me this set of Mr. & Mrs. mugs. What makes these thoughtful is that the inside rim is printed with "I found the one my heart loves. Song of Solomon 3:4"  We have a lot of...

A while back, Esurance posted 5 " mom-inspired driving tips ," and while they are good, I thought they needed a little re-touching to make them more real world. So, here are my 5 driving tips sure to   get you a ticket    cause an accident    result in injuries  entertain you. 1 - Only wear your seat belt if it is comfortable and convenient for you. After all, it might choke you in a car accident. And if it doesn't, it could still leave you with a diagonal bruise across your chest. That's way better than having your head crash into the front windshield. 2 - Hurry up.  Nobody likes being behind the slow poke. So, instead of responsibly driving the speed limit, hang out in the left lane and zoom past everyone. Then, no one can complain about your driving. While you are at it, add a few zigs and zags to your driving pattern. That will make sure everyone notices you as you blow past them. Maybe they'll feel bad and stop to offer you...

Want to know one of the awesome things about finding a great product at an amazing price? It's that you can stock up on it and not have to buy it for 2 or 3 years. Want to know one of the worst things about having that stock pile for so long? It's that you don't pay attention to the fact that all of the companies who make said product had reformulated it and none of the new products work as well as what you had. And that folks, is what happened to me last spring. I used up my 3+ year old stock pile of dishwasher detergent and was left with nothing that actually got my dishes clean. Talk about frustrating... I was washing my dishes before I put them in my dishwasher and they still weren't coming clean. So, once I figured out it wasn't my machine and that it had something to do with the phosphorous being removed from all of the detergents, I set out on a quest. A quest to find something that would clean my dishes the first time, without a lot of pre-washing. ...

I've had a lot of fun hosting parties with Mommy Parties. My most recent sponsored party experience featured Oral B Stages toothbrushes and toothpaste. We started with some yummy snacks and fun gift bags. Each guest received a toothbrush, full-size toothpaste, coupons, and a full-size Disney Baby Naturals body wash/shampoo. I also threw in some fun kid-friendly flossers that my own daughters like to use. My favorite snack (other than the Jello Jigglers!) was the "tooth brushes" I made out of pretzel rods dipped in chocolate, then rolled in chopped peanuts. After we played a game with some toothy flash cards, the children enjoyed watching the new Winnie The Pooh movie. I'll be perfectly honest though, they only really enjoyed the movie for about 5 minutes... then their attention spans couldn't handle that many kids trying to sit still in the living room. Instead, the moms talked about helping our children keep healthy teeth and which products...

As much as I try, I always end up needing last minute gifts for extended family or acquaintances. One of the easiest things I know to get is a Hickory Farms basket. We've received one as a gift each of the last few years and it always makes my husband happy. He likes it if I take the summer sausages and use them to make homemade lunchables. Of course, this usually only happens in January after we've received our annual gift of cheese and cured meat. That's how we roll with holiday traditions around here. If you need to ship a Hickory Farms basket, they are offering free shipping for orders over $35 or their $3 3 day shipping deal which guarantees that your gift will arrive within 3 days. Plus, if you buy the Party Planner gift box, they will donate $5 towards Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry Campaign, a national nonprofit that is working to end childhood hunger in America. Additionally, Hickory Farms honors our servicemen and women by offering free shipping on sele...

I love accessories. They can make any outfit go from just plain to something that looks like you actually care about how you present yourself. Something as simple as a single scarf can show that you put some thought into what you put on that morning. Recently, I was contacted by Versona Accessories to shop at the grand opening of their newest store in Lakeland, FL. Armed with a complementary $25 VIP gift card, I set off with both my girls to see what I could find. Initially, just from browsing around the Versona website , I did not have high hopes of getting too much out of my $25. They do not sell their items online, which means there were no prices. And my mom always taught me that if you have to ask how much something costs, you probably can't afford it. Plus, everything looks very nice so I knew it was going to be out of my price range. I. Was. Wrong. Versona Accessories is an amazing store to shop for just the right accessory. When I walked into the store the first se...

I've never met a kid that didn't like building with blocks. And apart from stepping on those tiny plastic ones in the middle of the night, I've never met a mom who didn't like having the blocks in her home. Mega Bloks allow children to be creative and just use their imagination. Sometimes though, if they need a kick start, it's nice to have a set of blocks with a theme, like the large Tubtown Farm themed Mega Bloks set we were able to play with at our MommyParties Mega Bloks play date. We love most any excuse to have our friends come over to play. But we like it even better when someone gives us the party favors and games to play. Mary was very excited about being able to give all of her friends their very own bag of Mega Bloks. Each of our guests was able to leave with one of these bags so they could take the Mega Bloks fun home with them. One of our guests was even lucky enough to win a large tub of their own. Before I got all type-A on the kids, we let t...

I know people love a good giveaway and this week I'm giving away a copy of 50 Things To Make & Do , from Usborne Books (see below for details on how to enter). I am in love with almost every book in their catalog and have already ordered several of them as Christmas and birthday presents. I love them so much, I bought one with my own money to giveaway to one of you. You'll have to scroll down to the bottom of this post to find out how to enter. Also, I've received several books to review over the past year and it occurred to me that many of them would make excellent Christmas gift ideas. Browse this list and let me know which ones you think might work for someone in your life? Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and Their New Skates : This is a sweet throwback book based on the original Flicka, Ricka, Dicka series from more than 30 years ago. The updated edition includes paper dolls so your children can recreate the story from memory. I think this would be a great gift for ...

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...

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...

This summer I am hosting a weekly Mom's Night In (MNI) for some of my friends who have preschoolers at home and need a night out to relax while their hubbies tend to the littles at home (and hopefully in bed!). For our most recent MNI, we had a slight luau theme to the party and had some fun playing games from Python-Printables.com. I received a complimentary code to download their luau party games pack and you can be sure I downloaded every single game that came with it! We didn't use all of the games because they weren't all appropriate for our gathering type, but the ones we did play were fun. Our favorite was a fill in the blank game that had more than 30 different sentences to finish. It really helped us get to know one another better and see the ahem, wackier side of some of the ladies. ( As an aside, can anyone tell Brandy a real word that rhymes with coconut?!)  We also played a fun moo-luau mad lib which tickled the heart of this former English teacher. On...

Memorial Day Weekend 2011 My husband is addicted to sun screen. He always wants to know where it is or how soon he can get it. If we have an outing planned that will involve more sunlight than you get walking from the car into the mall, then he wants sun screen. I complain about it a lot because it is another layer of things to do before we can leave the house and get onto the fun. Really though, I am glad he is doing what he can to avoid a future with skin cancer. Especially because he is pretty adamant about the girls getting sunscreen too. And now it is an almost normal part of our routine before we leave for outdoor play dates. In an effort to ease our schedule, I've tried several different kinds of sunblock. The worst was some baby sunscreen towelette that was supposed to be just open and wipe. Actually, it was gross and greasy and had way too much lotion on it to be easy to use. Generally though, I've just pushed through the fits from the girls and made them wear ...

Mary loves her sippy cups. She also happens to love other kids sippy cups too! I'm always trying to watch her at play dates to make sure she isn't drinking after other kids and spreading her cute little germs all around. Enter Applied Labels - dishwasher safe labels that last and last and last. I stuck our labels on every sippy cup in our house a few weeks ago and they haven't gone any where even though each cup has been washed almost daily. We go through a lot of cups in our house every day. I designed our labels to be super simple so both girls, mommy, and daddy could use them. I just put our last name and a star picture on them. This helps the nursery workers at church and MOPS too. No more markers rubbing off or masking tape being peeled off when the edges start to curl. We used to have some stretchy, bumpy name labels, but they were very specific to each child. Also, they were too thick to let us stack the cups unless we took them off before putting the cups a...

Choosing a car seat is a big deal - they are expensive, everyone has an opinion, you don't know how fast or slow your child will grow, and you have to make sure you buy one that fits your car. More than anything though, we want our kids to be safe when they are in our cars. That is the main reason we put so much effort into choosing the best car seat we can afford. I know that I spent a lot of time researching car seats online before I ever set foot in a store to buy one. I read reviews, posted messages on forums, and checked out consumer magazines. In other words, I took it as seriously as any other parent. We've had really good luck with the seats I choose. The girls both started out in a bucket seat (a Graco Quatro Tour ) before moving into a rear-facing convertible seat (the Evenflow Triumph Advance ). And now they are both forward facing in convertible seats.  Several weeks ago I received a Recaro ProSPORT car seat (in Hanna) to review. I knew it was coming and was rea...

I first heard of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day more than a year ago. I thought it sounded great, but making homemade bread was sooooo.... NOT on my radar. Now though, I've spent most of this year making a couple loafs of homemade Amish white bread a week and feel like I am ready to venture into more interesting textures and flavors of bread. After 3 hours of rising in a 2 gallon bucket After a reminder about this book from Tracey (yes the same awesome friend who started an Amazon Wish List for Joplin, MO moms ), I decided to buy Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. And I don't regret it. I knew I was going to like the bread I made when following the procedures in this book. I even went ahead and doubled the Master Recipe because I knew I couldn't fail. That's how easy the authors made the process. The basic premise is to make up a master batch of dough and then pull chunks of it off to make individual loafs through out the week. The dough can last for up to 1...

My 3 (nearly 4) year old knows that some day, Jesus is going to knock on her heart's door. And to hear her tell us that she is looking forward to that day makes my heart happy. And maybe it makes my eyes a little wet too. She already has a love for God that impresses me and I can't wait to see what happens when He really takes hold of her life. I'm sure I'll need some help letting go, but she'll be in good hands. Almost daily, my husband and I make efforts pour the love of God into her and her sister, in ways they can recognize and in more subtle ways that they may never notice. Bruce prays Numbers 6:24-26 over them each night. I try to teach Charlotte and Mary  Bible verses that will build their character . Ultimately, we are trying to teach them that they are loved not only by us, but by God too. Some of these efforts come out in the books we read to our girls. Some of these efforts are seen in the television shows we let them watch, or not  watch. And more r...

I finally knew the Bag Holder had secured a permanent place in my kitchen when I went to cook dinner last night. Without even thinking about it, I reached for the Bag Holder to prepare a chicken and rice recipe I've made before using regular bowls. It wasn't until I added the last ingredient that I even realized that I had changed the way I cook, bake, and store food. Thank you Kara for sharing this simple yet innovative kitchen tool with me. It's a true multi-tasker that would make even Alton Brown proud! And before I sign off with this series of reviews, I thought I'd share a few of the ways I've used it that haven't been documented on the blog yet. I used the Bag Holder to put up about 70 pounds of tomatoes. I was able to buy them for about $3 so I couldn't pass them up, but I had to figure out a quick way to store these gems! Ready to be flash boiled to make skin removal easier. After their ice water bath and skin removal. They felt so ...

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® . All opinions are 100% mine. Social Spark sent me a coupon for a single slice of pizza. I thought it was a bit odd since I'm used to seeing whole pizzas sold at my grocery store. But, when I went to the store the next day, I found out that Freschetta now sells pizza by the slice! So, I used my coupon, bought a slice, and had it for lunch. And you know what, it fulfilled my desire for pizza. The crust was chewy. and the pizza was cheesy (because I picked the Six Cheese Medley flavor). Overall, it was a satisfying lunch once I added an orange and a tall glass of cold water. FRESCHETTA® By the Slice  comes in 4 different flavors: Six Cheese Medley BBQ Recipe Chicken Vegetable Medley Chicken, Spinach, & Mushroom This product is too expensive to serve for an entire family. And not big enough to throw in the oven for those nights when my husband is "bachin' it." But, the serving size is bi...