Facebook & Ugly Sweaters

Today I created a facebook page for my blog.  That makes me official I suppose.  Now if I can just figure out how to integrate the two, then I will be golden.  Feel free to like me :)

Now, onto the ugly sweaters.  Blogging for Books is having an ugly Christmas sweater contest.  Here is what they say...

Christmas is a time for traditions, food, merriment, family, and...horrific seasonal sweaters. It's the only time of year where you can sport apparel with a Rudolph nose that blinks red lights without being teased (too much).  Enter the 2nd Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest and you could win a $500 Visa Gift Card...just in time for Christmas shopping!

Spread some Christmas cheer! Share your picture to win!

There are two ways to enter:

1. Enter the contest on Facebook
2. Enter the contest on WaterBrook's Website

 Good luck everyone!  I am going to go scrounging around in my closet and see if I can come up with something.  And don't forget to check out the ugly Christmas sweaters from 2010!

More Busy Bag Fun: Felt Fishing Game

Well, I am taking part in another busy bag swap!  My assigned job was a no sew felt fishing game and I needed to make 30 of them.

 

 The yellow fish - each fish has a washer glued near the mouth.

I added a little personality.

The red fish.

 The rods: a pencil with a magnet on one end.

 Finished bag: 3 fish and one rod.  

I left the blue fish plain.  I hope all the kids enjoy them and we cannot wait to get our box in the mail!

Fun with Winnie the Pooh and Oral-B

Check out my awesome party pack that I received from MommyParties Sponsored by Oral-B.  

This morning we had our Winnie the Pooh party and had so much fun!  Our party was specifically geared towards children 4 months - 4 years but we had a few extra siblings and it was awesome!  We gathered around to watch the Winnie the Pooh movie and had some fun snacks: Pooh's Popcorn, Eeyore's Cheerios, Piglet's Parfaits and Rabbit's Grahams.  Right before the movie we played a fun flash card game about healthy foods and having good oral hygiene.

A and B were in charge of our concession stand.  They had so much fun setting it up and running it.  Great job girls!

The sign for Pooh's popcorn.

Piglet's Parfaits: vanilla yogurt and strawberries

A nice cold treat

Eeyore's Cheerios (because he is always so cheerful)

Rabbit's Grahams (crackers that is)

Originally it said carrots which would have been perfect but we didn't have any carrots to share.

Can you tell that the girls want to be artists when they grow up?

 

 Snacks ready to go

 Concession is open!!  I love that they wore their aprons too.

 

Playing the flash card game.  The kiddos were so smart, they knew all the answers!

 

Movie time fun.

 Yeah, Pooh.

And the "littles" of the group had fun going everywhere.  In the room with the movie, in with the Mommies - wherever their feet or knees took them.

 Yummy graham cracker.

 A little help from Mommy.

 A true explorer!

 My honey "E" slept through almost the entire party.  Did I mention that she sleeps 7-9 hours a night consistently?  Not bad for a 7 week old!

 Smile

 And don't forget the awesome "goodie" bags.  They all have a toothbrush, toothpaste, lavender wash and great coupons.  Thanks MommyParties and Oral-B!

 And of course, C showing off using his new toothbrush.

 And D too!

Thank You Tina

Happy Thanksgiving!  David pretty much single-handedly cooked our whole meal - he is amazing indeed!  And I have decided that there is no other way to go than cornbread stuffing, maybe I am a southern belle but that's what I think.

 And in case you are wondering, this is Tina.  We name our turkey every year!

Tiny Prints Photo Contest

Tiny Prints is having a photo contest in the following categories: cutest baby, cutest kid, cutest family, cutest couple and cutest pet.  I entered E in the cutest baby category and our whole family in the well, family category!  Unfortunately, a bit of David's face is covered up by the card graphic, whoops!  If you want to vote for us, please click on the above links, they have some fun pictures over there :)

Roller Skating Fun

Isn't D cute?

Today we went roller skating as a family with our homeschool group.  We had so much fun!  It was C and D's first time in skates and they did great.  Check out the video below!  You will only see C on the ground but he actually did quite well standing too.  And amazingly, I made it out on the rink as well.

Book Review: The Encounter

The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn is a quick read.  I finished this book in nearly one sitting.  It is the story of Jonathan Rush, a rich and famous entrepreneur, who returns to his hometown to find out the truth behind his roots.  Jonathan was abandoned by his mother when he was only 4 years old.  He was a troubled child and ended up succeeding in life, mainly due to the love poured on him by his adoptive parents.  But when his life begins to spiral out of control, Jonathan finds himself searching for answers concerning his birth mother.  I enjoyed reading this book.  This story is full of hope and healing.  It shows us the pitfalls of judgments and how much empathy, understanding and forgiveness can change a heart.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program for this review.

Our Thankful Turkey Jars

I saw this craft idea over at I Can Teach My Child and loved it.  So, here is our version of the turkey treat jar.

 

My kids had fun with scissors today

More cutting

D enjoying her candy right before she fell asleep.

 Another sleeper

B's finished jar

 A doesn't like my camera flash, can you tell?

 Handsome boy and his turkey!

Puddle Stompin'

For the last hour or so this is what the kids and I have been up to!  Puddle stompin' around our neighborhood.  Today I am so grateful for rain and puddles.

Leaving the house in our gear

The first puddle :)

 Fun in the rain

 Beautiful girls

InchBug Orbit Labels: Review & Giveaway

 *** Giveaway Now Closed ***

Congratulations to midwestmomma3!

Have you heard of Inchbug?  They make a huge variety of labels for parents including Orbit labels, adhesive labels, photo labels, bag tags and more.  The Orbit labels are a non-adhesive, reusable method of labeling containers.  I was blessed to receive a 4 pack of custom orbit labels.  I chose the kiwi green color and the personalization of The Cummins Family.  They had eight great colors to choose from but I went with my favorite color and I thought that by going with our last name I will end up using the labels for multiple purposes and multiple children.

Here are my labels.

Up close

The Orbit Labels fit on a variety of different size bottles and cups. They were designed to fit snug around a traditional 4 oz baby bottle and stretch to accommodate larger sport bottles (up to ~ 30 oz).  They work not only on drink containers but also common toiletry items.    These labels can withstand the rigors of repeated dishwashing, microwaving, boiling, sterilizing all while maintaining a clear personalization of a container.

They work great on D's disposable cups also!

C and his Toy Story water bottle

A closer look

On my water bottle

Now, onto the giveaway.  One person will receive a package of their own customized orbit labels!

Mandatory Entry:  Follow InchBug on facebook, pretty simple!  Please be sure and leave your email so I can contact you if you win (and if your facebook name is different, let me know).

Extra Entries, leave a separate comment for each extra entry.

1.  Follow me on google friend and let me know that you do (2 entries)
2.  Tell me what you would use the labels for or what color you might pick (1 entry)
3.  Rank any of my book reviews and let me know that you did (1 entry per book)

Giveaway will end on December 3rd at Midnight. Winner will be selected using a random number generator and will have 48 hours to respond. If there is no response, I will randomly select another winner.  Open to US residents only.

My Shutterfly House Party

Did you know that Christmas is only six weeks away?  How exciting!  Today, I gathered with some friends to hang out together, laugh, and discuss our Christmas cards.  Thanks friends for a great time.

 

The "goody" table

 The computer displaying the Shutterfly homepage - you can browse through their Christmas card options

The kids loved the balloons!

 

D might just be marketing material.

 Smile

 Even E had a smile for the occassion.

I put up a white sheet for a backdrop and took a few pictures of some lovely ladies.

 Nice pose friend!

 Beautiful smile!

 Beautiful.

 Fabulous 20 week pose!

 And that's a wrap :)