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It Hasn’t Always Been Easy…My Fitness Confession

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I have to admit that I am doing a few things that I don’t feel entirely comfortable with today. I am sharing with you a very vulnerable place in my heart, I am exposing a time in my life that I wasn’t the most proud of, I am sharing one picture (of many) of a person that I don’t really recognize, and I am telling you that I am trying to be different…knowing that saying it out loud is the hardest part.

In my college years, after numerous indecisions about what I wanted to do with my life, I settled on a career path in Food & Nutrition. While learning about the formula for calories, flunking my cooking class twice, and taking courses on exercise and physiology, I became a blimped out version of my former self. I ate out almost every single day, stopped exercising, partied hard, and lived a sedentary life. My hair suddenly became greasy, my face was shiny all of the time, I had chronic stomach problems, exercise-induced asthma, chronic back pain, high cholesterol, and I need to nap because I was constantly tired. Freshman 15 would have been mild compared to the Freshman 35 that I put on. It was such a gradual process that I don’t think I even realized what was happening.  So gradual, in fact, that I found it strange when I overheard a guy friend say that I had a pretty face and would be cute if I could just lose some weight. I was that girl now.

I bring this up because I know that sometimes it can be hard to relate to someone if you don’t see the struggle, the work, and the decisions that are made daily to accomplish their current body, and the daily commitment that is made after you have reached your personal goals for fitness or weight loss.

In my thirties, I am in better shape than I ever was in my teen or college years. My skin is great, I no longer take any medications, I have no chronic health conditions, I am at a healthy weight for my body, and I am proud to show my kids that physical fitness is an essential part of my day.  When a ten minute workout would have winded me before, I can now run on my treadmill miles at a time. Each day that I put in my exercise time, I remind myself that I am running and exercising against a family history of diabetes, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, low bone density, stomach problems, and am running towards quality time with the people I love.

How is fitness and frugality related? Well, frankly, it is simple… the more fit you are, the less you pay in medication and doctor visits. Fitness doesn’t require a big investment at all, but it is an investment that will pay off for years and years down the road.

Believe in 30 Day Goals- I still believe firmly that you can accomplish anything with small thirty day goals. I started with a 30 day goal to complete a Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred workout. Now I have a thirty day goal to run a 5K in great time on the treadmill. Someday, it would be wonderful to be able to run a mini-marathon or be able to keep pace with my runner husband.  Think of a fitness goal that you would like to accomplish and work thirty days towards making that dream into a reality.

Eat Healthier During the Day- No matter how hard I was exercising, I was still eating whatever I wanted and not seeing the results that I was looking for.  As a mom it can be difficult to not give in and just eat whatever the kids are eating. My days were filled with macaroni, chicken nuggets, crackers, chips, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Unfortunately, that was not filling me up and I would feel hungry throughout the day.

Each week, I now chop up salad, fresh veggies, and fruit at the beginning of the week. I roast and dice chicken breasts as I chop the veggies so I have all of the perfect fixings for a satisfying salad bar at home.

Start with small switches- oatmeal or a protein-packed protein shake for breakfast, a handful of almonds instead of heavy carbs for snack, a colorful salad instead of a sandwich for lunch, and whole grains instead of the white stuff could all be small changes that make a big difference in how you feel.

Be frugal, but make wise fitness investments- Thanks to the wonderful consignment shops in our area, I was able to score most of my workout gear and paired it with inexpensive tank tops and sports bras from Walmart. I was proud of my frugal workout gear, but my back was hurting after my workouts.

I started to realize that I had not made one important investment… a new pair of tennis shoes. While new tennis shoes were a big investment for me, they are an investment that has really paid off and allowed me to workout longer and not feel achy after my workouts.

Don’t be afraid to make an investment if it will improve your fitness experience and help your endurance levels with working out. My tennis shoes are just one example of something that had held me back from feeling my best, and something that has made a huge difference in my motivation to keep moving.

Switch up your routines- If you are hitting a plateau in your fitness routine, then it might be time to switch things up a bit. For many years I have been working out at home. I found a lot of variation in my routine compliments of the library and the DVD’s that they offered.  Recently, I got a new writing gig that could pay for a monthly gym membership. My kids were finally at an age where I could do this and so I joined a gym. The results in these last two months have been phenomenal and the variation and equipment is much wider than what I had available to me at home.

Think about what you are spending your money on and see if it could be allocated to something healthier. Do you have a movie club membership or premium cable plan? What if you put that money towards a gym membership instead?  With my cable plan and my movie membership, I felt forced to sit in front of the boob tube. After canceling the movie membership, I have felt less dedicated to television time and more dedicated to the things that matter most to me.

Having a workout buddy has also pushed me out of my comfort zone for trying new classes and we help each other stay on schedule.  I was proud that for Cinco de Mayo, I went to a 2 ½ hour Zumba class and danced my little heart out instead of sitting on the sofa this year. These small changes are making a big difference in my confidence and how I feel.

Turn off Distracters- The hardest part of working out for me are all of the distracters that can pull me away from my goals. I make deals with myself where I am not allowed to login to Twitter, Facebook, or my email until my workout is complete.  What distracts you from reaching your goals? Some distracters (our children, for example) are more difficult to reduce, but many are silly things that could be pushed aside until your workout is done.

(my beautiful inspiration)

Get inspired- What inspires you? Is it a picture of your former self on your fridge, is it having an awesome workout buddy that you can check-in with, is it reading the victory stories of weight-loss from other bloggers? Is it being able to keep up with your crazy children?

Whatever it is, get inspired and try starting a new workout routine today.

Fitness Sites to Inspire:

Grooveshark.com- Groove Shark is my new favorite site to create great workout mixes that help me stay motivated when I am on the treadmill. Put on workout anthems that can force you to go that extra mile and create mixes that help keep you pumped!

LogYourRun.com- At LogYourRun you can keep track of your running and other exercise progress and sign up for one of our free training programs to help you improve your performance or train for your upcoming marathon. LogYourRun will help keep track of how many miles you have on your shoes and you can trace your routes on a map to figure out how many miles your favorite route is and share with your friends.

SparkPeople.com- Looking for a community-driven site to help keep you motivated. With SparkPeople, you can create personalized diet and fitness plans, track your calories, track you your workouts, and connect with others like through the support teams available.

Mamavation- Looking for some added mamavation, then the Mamavation site might be a hot spot for you to visit. They have a great team of writers who share inspiring stories and up-to-date health/exercise information that can help you reach your goals.

How do you reach your fitness goals? What sites, people, or workout routines are motivating you right now?

New Article: Great Board Game Recommendations

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Our family loves to play board games and we love sharing great game ideas with our friends. We hope you like our new piece on Great Board Game Recommendations for some added fun to that board game collection. There is nothing like a great set of board games to keep you busy on those rainy days. Make sure to check your local thrift shops for some fun board game bargains!

Feel free to leave a comment and share your own recommendation for anything that might not have made our list!

Shifting Your Focus to Thankfulness

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“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.”  ~Meister Eckhart

I have discovered a very annoying habit about myself. When I get nervous, I repeatedly say thank you. Not once, not twice, but usually around fifteen times.  When I was in labor, I had the nurses in giggles because each time they would ask me something, I would say thank you… even in the deepest pain and anguish of labor.When I got in a car accident, I said thank you to the lady who hit me. Not because I was thankful, but because my nerves get the best of me. I was once told this is a self-esteem issue and that I have a desire to be liked. That is probably true and I suppose I could act in far worse ways than expressing repeated thankfulness.

In reality though, living in thankfulness in a world of immediate gratification, speed of light technology, and the busy hum of our lives can be a practice that is often overlooked.  Each day as my kids get older, I find myself looking at the clock in the morning and glancing at in the evening, never realizing that so much time has passed or that I have not acted thankfully once the whole day.

Everyone has a different way of showing their thankfulness for what they possess and own. I know many who keep a gratitude journal where they take a moment to jot down a few things in life that make them happy. I attempted this, but found myself repeating myself over and over again. It is hard to say thank you without saying thank you for your spouse, your children, your home, your God, and for what you already have. I’d shut my little gratitude journal and say, “Well, that’s four.”  No, the writing process quickly bored me, but I still wanted to find an outlet that would remind me of all of the little things in life that make my world go round.

I needed a more creative outlet for my gratitude and a daily reminder of what I posses. Sometimes it is the big things- a new job that pays the bills, a new furnace when our furnace was going out, a financial goal that is met for our family. Other things are smaller, but are still absolutely special- movie nights with my family, freshly folded laundry, or just a great cup of coffee.

I decided to start a Things That Make Me Happy virtual photo album and began to add those super special moments and the perfectly ordinary that I find extraordinary in life. Behind the lens of my camera, I try to capture to me what makes me thankful each and every day.  Almost every single day, I try to find one thing that makes me happy and to take a picture of it.

I then loaded all of these beautiful things that make me happy into a digital frame that we had. It had been gathering dust in our office,  not loaded with pictures since my daughter was a tiny baby.  I put all of these pictures into the digital frame and put them in my front room where I do all of my best thinking.

As I see the images flashing before my eyes, I silently give thanks over and over again.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

If people find it strange that I have random photographs of waffles and library bags mixed throughout our family pictures, no one has ever been brave enough to inquire aloud. I am sure they chalk it up to the weird artsy mother who hangs pictures of shoes on walls and mistreats her home.

As Jacqueline Winspear has said though, “Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal.  It’s a way to live.” I want to live thankfully, to be aware of every blessings (great AND small), and the more aware I become the more thankful I am. The more thankful I am, the more blessed I feel.  It is a richness that money can’t buy.

Try a little thankfulness today:

Find a New Way to Say Thank You- If you have a digital frame gathering dust, start loading it with pictures that make you happy to remind you of what you have to be thankful for. Other ideas could be updating your screen saver on your computer with images of thankfulness, starting a free Flickr album, keeping a small family journal on an online site like Cozi,  or printing out a photo album at a place like Shutterfly so you can glance through it with your morning coffee.

Give a Little of Yourself to Say Thanks- The best way to show that you are thankful to those around you is to let them know that you care. It could be bringing them a meal when someone is ill or needs caring for, it could be just sending them a card to thank them for something they have done, it could be as simple as sitting down and spending time with them. Put one person on your thankful list each week and do something that will make them feel special. Rinse. Repeat.

Compliment Someone Today- Want to make someone feel immediately special and at home in your presence? Give them a compliment. This past week, I got an hour to volunteer in my son’s class. Each child that came through, I tried to make them feel like the most special person in the world. I told them how smart they were, how amazing their ideas were, and would compliment them on something they were wearing or doing. The faces…beaming. The warm fuzzy I got from the experience… priceless. You may think that was just a child’s response, but if someone compliments me, I beam like it is the Fourth of July. You never outgrow the beauty of a compliment and telling someone they are special and that you are thankful for them is something that will last long after you have said it.

Thank Your Children- When was the last time you thanked your child? Praise is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our kids and I want to give it to them freely. I don’t always succeed, sometimes I really hate my nagging self or how easily I can lose focus on offering praise. The best way to raise a grateful child is to be grateful. I want to do this so much better and I want my kids to remember that I thanked and praised them often.

What are some ways you are practicing thankfulness? What is one thing you have done to show your thankfulness that you are really proud of?

Because I Am Glad to Give & I Want You To Give Too!

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When someone once asked me one word to describe myself, the word that came to mind was, “giver.” I love to give to others and thrive in any environment where I can share a piece of myself with someone else. There is nothing I love more than the giving of food, the giving of my time to make someone’s day easier, even being the giver of advice that might make a mom’s day run a little smoother. I am a giver because it comes naturally to me and that is why I am thrilled to share about a campaign that you can give back frugally and thoughtfully to families who are faced with a disease called pediatric cancer.

Did you know that the number one death disease of children living in the United States is pediatric cancer? Why is it the number one killer? Truthfully, it kills children daily because the funds are just not there to develop the research to find a cure for this disease.

I was asked to help spread the word about a campaign called, “Glad to Give,” that is sponsored by the GLAD company.  They believe that they can raise the funds for this research one cookie at a time. Yes, you heard that right! This campaign’s roots are firmly planted in that beautiful thing we love… bake sales!

As parents with busy schedules, I know that volunteering and baking might not be the top two things on your priority list. What if you knew that those two things could make a difference in a child’s life though? Glad to Give is offering up some fantastic ideas for how you can participate and how you can be a part of their partnership with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

Here are some easy and frugal things you can do to participate:

Buy GLAD® Products and Contribute to Pediatric Cancer Research: This spring, every time you purchase a  GLAD product (to help host a bake sale or for other use), the Glad Products Company will make a $1 donation to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, up to $200,000! Just enter the UPC code here!

Enter the GLAD Recipe for Giving Contest: GLAD recognizes the time spent prepping, kneading and decorating bake sale treats is quality family time that instills a spirit of service in children. To help celebrate families in action, GLAD® is conducting the GLAD® Recipe for Giving Contest. Consumers can share their “recipe” – that is, tip or advice – on how their family gives back through food related activities. Four consumer winners will each win $1,000 toward a family activity of their choice and a chance to compete alongside a celebrity in the holiday GLAD® Recipe for Giving Celebrity Challenge. Come November, the two lucky consumers on the winning celebrity team raising the most money will each receive a “voluntourism” trip for four to St. Lucia.

Host a Bake Sale: I know that this might take a little work on your part, but imagine the lives that you could touch through the donations raised. GLAD will take you through the process in four easy steps that will have your raising funds in no time!

I am committed to this campaign and committed to spreading the word about how you can help. I want to kick off the GLAD to give campaign by donating $400 to jump start the cause and I need your participation!

I am going to be hosting a virtual bake sale on May 14th. I am asking you to participate here on the site and share your best bake sale recipes!  From those entries, I will randomly select a winner who will receive a box full of baking goodies (valued at $50, prepared by me!) just for sharing one of your bake sale recipes and sharing about your participation in Glad to Give! Doesn’t that sound lovely?

I hope that you will consider participating and sharing a favorite baking recipe in honor of this campaign. It would mean the world to me, but it would mean a world more to the families of these children! Start gathering those recipes and think of the ways that you could help with my virtual bake sale. I can’t do it without you!

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In honor of all things bake sale, here is a quick cookie recipe that can be made out of pantry ingredients and one ingredient that makes the whole thing go a little quicker… the ever amazing cake mix!

Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Pour the cake mix into a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add peanut butter, oil, eggs, and water. Mix until well blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly using a fork dipped in water. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cookies set on cookie sheet for 2 to 3 minutes before carefully removing from the cookie sheet to cool on wire racks. Amy’s Notes: Be sure to keep the cooking time to the ten to twelve minutes and don’t let the lighter color fool you. I had some burnt cookies in my first batch because I left them in the oven too long. Let them cool as instructed and then place them on a pretty plate for serving. Then you need to complete the most difficult step of all…Try to graciously accept the compliments without giving away your cooking secrets (which I never can do myself!).

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Disclaimer: I was paid for this campaign and invested every dollar back into it to spread the word about pediatric cancer. It is far better to give than to receive. I hope you will consider doing the same!

What is one way you donate your time or talents to charity? How do you make this a family priority?

An Orlando Treasure: GatorLand

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Ethan and I had a fantastic time in Orlando and I am looking forward to sharing about some of the attractions that we visited and ways you can save on enjoying many things in Orlando while you are there. We truly enjoyed our visit to Orlando and the experiences and memories we created together were just priceless.

To start this series, I wanted to share with you my absolute favorite place that we visited and some ideas for ways that you can save on your ticket to this attraction and many others that you might be visiting. You might be surprised to hear that it wasn’t Disney that holds a special place in my heart. In fact, it wasn’t anything that I thought would be that exciting, but I was quickly proven wrong by an amazing little theme park called, “GatorLand.”

GatorLand definitely is not a new attraction to Orlando residents, but we had never heard of it before and my little guy was so excited to see a few Florida gators for himself. GatorLand might sound  like a quaint touristy spot to visit, but it is, in fact, a 110-acre theme park and a nature conservatory for the city of Orlando.

When I say theme park though,  it isn’t the kind of theme park that you might think of when heading to Orlando. They have no big relationships with corporate companies, real animals (not mechanical ones) are located there, real people are guiding you and sharing about the animals, and kids are gobbling up every minute of these beautiful animals and their stories.

Upon entering, we were introduced to the four very rare white alligators that are currently residing in the White Alligator Swamp. These are not Albino alligators, but a very rare breed that actually have blue eyes and the white pigmentation to their skin. It is thought that there are only a dozen of their kind in the world, and four of them have happily made their home there. Technically, they are named leucistic (loo-SIS-tic), which is basically a genetic defect which produces their white pigment and the bright blue eyes that make them so unique.

While there were many alligators there, there were perhaps a few hundred more birds that are located on the property. They had everything from herons, to wood storks, to vultures that were happily residing near the alligators that were lazily swimming in the water. Our tour guide informed us that the birds love to make their nests and be near the alligators because the alligators protect them (and their eggs) from other predators. The alligators have no interest in bothering the birds and the birds know that they can make a home there.

The spot is a hot one for photographers and people come from all over the world to photograph the birds there. Photographers can buy a  pass and come in the early morning hours to sneak a peek at the birds. It was quite unbelievable all of the varieties of birds that were on the property. It would be a great place to bring a trusty bird guide and discover birds with your children!

Kids can get a closer look at the alligators in their “Gator Wrestlin’ ” arena. No worries, there was no wrestling other than the wrestling required to get the animal out of the water and give kids the opportunity to learn more about these fascinating creatures. They offer survival tips on what to do if you are ever in the path of a gator and share facts about what makes alligators so unique. Stunts, like the ones pictured above, showcase the strength of the alligator’s jaw.

For an additional $5, they offer the chance to pose with a real alligator, in the arena, which my son was very eager to do. The extra five dollars goes towards the care and food for the animals. This was all done under the watchful care of their trainers.

If your children love the creepy crawlers, then they won’t want to miss the Up Close Encounters Show. You never know what kind of animal you might be introduced to next as they unveil a variety of different snakes and spiders from behind the crated boxes. Volunteers are brought up from the audience for the great unveiling which the kids will definitely get a kick out of… especially if their mom is the one that gets selected!

There is so much more to do that we didn’t even get a chance to see while we visited. They offer a train ride around the property, a water park that the kids can play in to keep cool, and you can even sit down and have lunch or a latte there.

The price of admission is as follows:

Adult- $22.99 (if purchased online, $19.99)

Child- $14.99 (if purchased online, $11.99)

To save a little more on your visit to GatorLand, head over to print out a free 2010 Orlando Magicard which provides year-round savings at more than 75 area establishments including attractions, accommodations, restaurants, dinner theaters, ground transportation, golf courses, and cultural arts.

The Orlando Magicard is free and can be downloaded at VisitOrlando.com/deals, requested for mail delivery by calling 1-800-551-0181, or picked up at The Official Visitors Center in Orlando. The 2010 version of the card provides expanded offers including theme park deals and other significant savings options such as free nights plus additional free amenities at area accommodations; buy one ticket, get one free offers at attractions; or straight discounts up to 50% off.

If you use the Orlando Magicard at GatorLand, you can score a free train ride for each paid admission.

As a parting gift, on our way out each child got to hold a baby alligator.  The kids were so excited and were all amazed at just how tiny these alligators start out.

I was so taken into the moment that I even took the opportunity to hold the baby alligator myself. If you know me at all, you know that this is so not like me. I will say that my son couldn’t have been more proud of his mommy and I am so proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone a little!

We would like to thank GatorLand for giving us the opportunity to explore and learn more about what they offer and to experience a place in Orlando that we would have never known about. It is a hidden gem that I highly recommend if you are ever in the Orlando area.

Disclaimer: We were invited by the Orland/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau for an all-expenses paid trip to experience Orlando and share with our readers about our experience. All-expenses paid means that our travel, hotel stay, visits to area attractions, and food were covered by the company. We will receive no other additional compensation for the project and are asked for our honest opinions without any further obligation. To find out more about how things work here at MomAdvice, please feel free to visit our official Disclaimer page!

Do you have any hidden gems that you have found in your state or in another that you highly recommend visiting for a family vacation? Please feel free to share cool things about your own town or links to past entries on great places to travel!

Our Fantastic Holiday Staycation

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I can’t thank you enough for giving me a week to regroup and unwind with my family this past week. I think this is the first time that I have ever taken this long off of my blog, but it was so needed and has given me some time to think about new posts and ideas for our site. I will admit that at first I felt a little bit of withdrawal, but as the days went by it was so relaxing to not have to think about anything but my two beautiful children!

Best of all, while I was relaxing, hubby was frantically working on migrating our giant blog from Blogger to WordPress. We had nearly 2,000 entries with a billion photos to move and it turned out to be quite the process. I am hoping it will be easier for me to do some customizing, better navigation, and a lot less “power outages.”



We did a holiday staycation this year and filled it with lots of fun stuff for the kids to do! Our Advent Calendar was packed with activities until the big day and one of our favorite nights was getting out to see all of the beautiful holiday lights in our new pajamas. As a special treat, we took the kids to Steak & Shake to get a kid’s shake while they enjoyed the holiday lights.

This was an exciting year because Emily really got into all of it and it was so fun for us to all be of an age where holiday lights are so cool!




Another favorite activity we did was to take the kids sledding. Last year they asked for sleds from Santa, but they had yet to have actually been used. I asked my friends on Facebook to share with me their favorite places in town to sled and we drove to three different locations before finding our perfect hill.

The kids (and I!) had never been sledding before so it was quite exciting for all of us. I screamed like a little girl all the way down, dragging my boots to try and stop myself while my husband stood at the top of the hill grinning down at me. I could see him doing this as I would slide backwards, terrified I would run into the telephone pole. We later found the equivalent of an entire haystack stuck in my boot zippers from dragging my feet , but it truly was the most fun I have had in ages… Oh, and the children loved it too!

I suggested hot cocoa and pancakes for a snack afterward, but the children were in the mood for chilly shakes and french fries. Luckily, kids eat free at Steak & Shake on the weekends, so we found ourselves over there for the second time in a week. Luckily, with the free kid’s meals, we were able to come out of there for $20. We came home to deliciously big bubble baths and holiday movies.



Another thing that I had been wanting to do with the kids was to take them bowling. We met up with our best friends and headed over to the bowling alley to play two games and split a pizza for dinner.

One of us would not remove our dress-up clothes after watching a riveting Barbie Nutcracker movie that she got for Christmas. It was not worth the tears to try and get her out of it and, in the end, made for some really cute pictures of the bowling ballerina princess.


Best of all, there was time. Time to knit, time to read, time to bake… time to do all of the things I really wanted to do. No time to clean or organize though. Our house remained a disaster because I was on vacation too. It was bliss!

There were gifts too…lots of them! Some of them have been stowed away to be savored when the first round of gifts get boring. A tote downstairs houses half of my kid’s old toys to be saved for a snowy day when the days are long. I will report to you all of our favorite gifts after we have given them a really good try. I only like to report on the items that have longevity so it may be a month or so before I share our real favorites.

That being said, this “Awesome Mom,” travel mug was lovingly chosen by my son at his Christmas store at school. I have never seen him so proud as he was the moment we opened his special gifts. A set of tools was chosen for daddy, a glittery bouncy ball was chosen for his sister, and this sweet mug was chosen for his mommy who loves her coffee.

The best gift for me as a mom though was coming down on Christmas morning after Ethan let us sleep in until his sister woke up. Laying on the floor were two thank you notes for Santa to thank him for his gifts. “Did you love what Santa left you?” He smiled up and me and told me, “I didn’t open them. I just wanted to thank Santa for stopping by.”

This month, I celebrate with you our SIXTH year of existence as a site. January 1st was our anniversary and I am so proud. Even after this fantastic break, I still could not wait to come back to all of you! It makes me know that I am in the perfect profession for me and I am so happy to share another year with you!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Use What You Have: Handmade Advent Calendar

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In the years past, we have always had a Christmas Jar of activities. Each day we would randomly draw from a set number of activities and enjoy a holiday activity together as a family. This year, our life with our two children has become increasingly busy and scheduled. We have two school schedules, extracurricular activities, homework, holiday programs, holiday family events, and so much more going on. Our life of leisure seems to have taken a detour and I have had to be more thoughtful in our approach towards carving time out for what we would hope to accomplish this year.

I wanted to create our own countdown to Christmas in a creative way, but I didn’t want to spend any money on it. I decided to use what I had to create our homemade Advent filled with fun activities and wanted to share with you what we created!

Homemade Advent Calendar

Supplies needed:

A large circle punch (in scrapbook supplies at craft store) or a jar or glass for tracing
Tape
Scrapbook or festive holiday gift wrap
Ribbon
Marker
2 Muffin Tins
A picture frame stand or a place to prop your finished tins

I began this project by punching out 48 circles. On half of these write the numbers 1-24 and on the other half you can write fun activities to do with your children in anticipation of the big day.


Stick your holiday activity folded up inside of each muffin tin and then attach the numbered circles to each individual muffin tin. Secure with tape on both sides to hold your activities in securely.


Break out your trusty calendar and jot down the activities for each day to remind yourself what you need to plan for and what supplies will need to be purchased to accomplish the activities.

Add a little festive ribbon to the top of your muffin tin. Display the muffin tin by using a picture frame stand or finding a sturdy wall to prop it up with. Have your child draw an activity each morning to complete as a family.

Our Activity List

1. Decorate the Christmas tree.
2. Big bubble baths with holiday music playing.
3. Going to the library to pick out holiday books.
4. Special popcorn and hot cocoa snack (possible visit for the tree lighting ceremony in town).
5. Going to a Christmas Concert.
6. Decorating gingerbread houses.
7. Make Christmas cards for our special friends.
8. Watch a holiday movie.
9. Color a holiday coloring page.
10. Bake Christmas cookies.
11. Go see holiday lights.
12. Go see Santa and a trolley ride through downtown.
13. Write a letter to Santa.
14. Pop popcorn & play a board game together.
15. Host an ornament decorating party.
16. Color a holiday picture.
17. Holiday party to attend.
18. Go to the dollar theater and see a movie.
19. Go see the Christmas lights.
20. Deliver holiday treats to our friends & the firefighters in town.
21. Big bubble bath with holiday music.
22. Open one gift early.
23. Watch a holiday movie.
24. Celebrate our family Christmas.

Total cost for this project was zero and very little money will be spent to do these activities together. The memories I hope to create with my children though, I hope those will be priceless!

Do you do an Advent calendar or have a special way your family celebrates the countdown to Christmas? I would love to hear your ideas!

All Knitted Up: The Republic Hat & Cupcake Hat

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Double pointed needles have terrified me ever since I started knitting. About a year ago, I recorded a couple of episodes of Knitty Gritty that went through the in’s and out’s of double pointed needles. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched those same episodes over and over again.

For some, these are easy to learn. For me, this took a good few weeks of work to finally get the hang of it. I think I was intimidated more than anything. Knitting with three needles is so awkward to me, much like my first days of learning to knit were. For most hats though, they are a necessary evil and one that I was willing to tackle to move on to some fresh new projects.

I wanted to share with you a few of my latest hat creations that I am so proud of. I learned many new techniques through these hat projects and I can’t wait to share them with you!


Pattern: Cupcake Hat (@ Chili Con Yarne)

Needle Size: US 6 Needles

Yarn: Bernat Lemon Berry & Bernat Dark Pink Cotton Tots Yarn (clearance section of Hobby Lobby for $2.81 a ball!)

Notes: This hat took two tries before I figured out the sizing that I needed. There is such a thing as checking gauge, but I had already went two needle sizes down on the pattern so I figured I was safe. It turned out, I was wrong. The first one turned out to be a hat more appropriate for a 7 year old rather than a 4 year old. Lucky for me, my best friend has a daughter who is just that age so I am going to give her the first one.

To make the sizing perfect for my daughter (who must have a very small head or I knit extremely loose), I switched my needle sizing to size 6 (the original pattern called for size 8 needles) needles and decreased the cast on stitches to 72. That turned out to be the perfect size with this yarn and for my sweet little girl’s head.

I learned so much from this pattern. The thing I was extremely proud to have learned was how to make bobbles. I found a fantastic You Tube tutorial and used that to create this hat. I had also never made a pom pom before and that was super fun and easy! Below are the tutorials that I used to create this hat!

We love it so much that now I want to make another one in purple for her. A girl has to have great choices for her winter wardrobe and I absolutely love this cute hat!

Pattern:The Republic Hat (available in the right side bar as a free download in PDF from Nik’s Knits)

Needle Size: US 8 Needles

Yarn: I Love This Cotton! yarn in Vintage Teal & the bronze flower button was found at Hobby Lobby.

Notes: Again, I did not check my gauge (are you seeing a pattern here?) and figured out that I need to go down two needle sizes for every hat pattern I make. It seems the Clark family has small heads or I am a really loose knitter. Thanks to the adjustable button closure though, I just pulled it in tighter to adjust to my head sizing. In my opinion, thanks to this cute adjustable brim, this is an absolutely perfect hat for a beginner because you can tuck it in if you need to.

I loved this pattern so much that I decided to make a second one in winter white in the same I Love This Cotton! yarn (available for $2.99 a skein) at Hobby Lobby.

Here is my second hat made with the size 8 needles (instead of the size 10 above) and I cannot stop wearing it. Every single time I wear it someone asks me where I bought it. For my friends that know me, they ask if I will make them one. I have two more to create before Christmas for a couple of special people in our family. I love this hat to death and can’t say it enough that it is the perfect hat pattern to start with because it is super easy to NOT get those stitches twisted with the garter stitch brim.

3 Things That Helped Me With Making Hats

1. Bamboo 16″ Circular Needles- These are an off-brand of bamboo needles, but had a wider cord than the kind that you buy in the store. This helped me so my stitches didn’t get twisted. Circular needles are expensive in the store ($8.50 per needle set). These were $24.98 for all of the sizes 0-15! What a steal! I applied my Swagbucks towa
rds Amazon gift cards to score these for free.

2. Bamboo 9″ Double Pointed Needles- Again, these are an off-brand needle and they were extremely rough so they held my stitches really well. As a beginner on these, these rough double pointed needles were key for me to get the hang of it without dropping stitches. It was a lot cheaper to buy these as a set and I did apply my Swagbucks towards the Amazon gift cards so I didn’t have to dip in my pocket to pay for them.

3. A Better Ring Marker- I was using the kind that you just slipped over the needles and was finding that I was losing my starting stitch marker for knitting in the round. My mother-in-law gave me the kind that slip onto the yarn and I put that at the beginning of my round. It was key to not losing my place and helped me stay on track with my pattern!

Below are a few tutorials that I used that helped me with these patterns! I hope they will help you as much as they have helped me this last month!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OavaQ3Eeulc]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsbPr0Tn1ZA]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoQ_HHeJM44]

Happy Halloween!

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Happy Halloween from our family to yours! May it be fun, safe, and not too spooky!

With Great Sadness

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Today we are mourning the loss of my wonderful grandfather. He passed away last night very unexpectedly and our hearts are so heavy right now. Those of you on Facebook and Twitter who have left messages- I have received and read every single one! Thank you so much for thinking of us during this time and for your kind words.

My grandfather was a great man who loved the Lord with his whole heart. I know that he is in heaven and I am thankful he will not have to suffer anymore.

Please keep our family on your prayer list and thank you for being such wonderful friends to me!