A Trick or Treating Question

In Nevada, the kids are trick-or-treating tonight because October 31 is Nevada Day and it has it's own set of festivities... Anyways I am thinking about going to the grocery store and getting a bunch of fruit. Here is the question I need you to answer: Do you think my house will get egged if I hand out fruit and Halloween tracts as oppossed to candy? Seriously, kids like fruit - it is sweet and healthy, and the tract is part of my Halloween giving every year. So what do you think - fruit or candy?

Thankful Thursday

I have so many things to be thankful for, but there are times that I lose sight of the reasons I should be thankful and focus instead on things that are bringing me down. Today I am going to take the time to stay focused on the tings for which I am thankful.

Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise:

Be thankful unto Him and bless His name.

Psalm 100:4 KJV

~Top 5 Reasons I am Thankful Today~

1. I am thankful that I have come to know the Lord, and to know His love for me. It makes me thankful that I am worth so much to Him!

2. I am very thankful for my family. I couldn't ask for a better husband or father for my children! Emily and Natalie are precious blessings that can always make me smile - I love them all even when they make me want to cry! No matter what, I will always be thankful for my family!

3. I am thankful that I know that whatever comes my way, I can get through AND I wont have to get through it alone!

4. I am thankful that we are able to make due with one pay check so that I can stay at home with our children. Even though it is not always easy, it is worth it!

5. I am thankful for some of the smaller things in life too - COFFEE and sunshine!

Every Thursday I am going to make a Thankful Thursday Post, if you would like to join me, click on the button to go to Grace Alone and get the button. If you have a Thankful Thursday post, please leave me a link so that I can come check it out! Thanks

Wordless Wednesday -

This is a trip down memory lane!

***Emily***

~Weight when first born~

~At about a year old~

***Natalie***

~Weight when first born~

~At about a year old~

***When Emily first met Natalie***

Smilie Face Snack brings smiles to my house!!

This afternoon, I decided that rather than just making the girls snacks, I would have Emily help me make them. It was a blast! Emily loves to hang out in the kitchen and help with everything - cooking, cutting, cleaning, washing dishes, and more... I am not comfortable with having my 2 year old (almost 3!) use knives, I'm just not. But sinse becoming a Pampered Chef consultant, I learned about a pretty nifty little gadget - my safe cutter, it has a round point and jagged blade (sharp enough to cut apples, cheese, etc. but wont cut hands!!)
So today Emily cut the apple with her safe cutter - and beamed with pride!!
So the snack that we made was smiley face "sandwiches"
Take a piece of bread and spread some peanut butter on it. Use raisins to make eyes and a nose on the bread, then cut an apple into wedges and use the wedges to make smiles!
This was a cute little snack that is healthy, fast, easy, and cheap - but most importantly it was FUN!!!

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I am disappointed in Wells Fargo

We opened child savings accounts for each of our girls at Wells Fargo. There was virtually no interest rate, but it was a great concept of teaching children how to save. Whenever a child would deposit $3 into one of these accounts, they got these little "Wells Fargo Bucks" they looked like a smaller version of play money with the horse drawn coach that is Wells Fargo's logo. Then the kids would save these bucks to buy the toy that they wanted from the bank. There was a little catalog and everything - great program!

They totally changed it. They don't give the kids the savings bucks anymore, they are supposed to save their receipts from the deposits and bring them in to see what they may have earned - no way to keep track, and in my opinion, less of a realistic savings experience.

Emily has been taught the concept of saving since long before she understood it, and she loved the idea of the moneys that she got for saving, and now that program is no more. I am very disappointed in Wells Fargo - seriously, printing those savings bucks couldn't have been that big of an expense for them in comparison to some they have. And to think, I even switched to paperless statements to save them some money (and the environment)...

Our Special Day

I have been missing my husband lately. My mom just bought a house and my husband has been WONDERFUL enough to help her get moved. Again today, he helped her. So I made a decision - today we would not miss him, the girls and I would have a special day. And a special day we had!
Emily, Natalie, and I went to Verizon to drop my phone off to be "flashed" (a.k.a. software update) but they said it was going to take about 15 minutes, and I KNOW that there is no keeping my kids in a cell phone store for 15 minutes and have them be good. It just so happens that across the parking lot from Verizon is Quiznos -one of my favorites!! So, for the first time in a while, the girls and I went and had lunch together. It was wonderful.
Then we decided to go to Borders. Emily l-o-v-e-s Borders, there is something about grabbing a teddy bear and picking a bunch of books to sit and read that really makes her happy! We spent a lovely hour in Borders and came home with some pretty good stuff:

* Dora book with binoculars that double as a picture finder
* Little Pony 3-pack of books
* Little Dino's Egg
* A Princess 4-pack (manners, neatness, and 2 other concepts)
It was really cool, all these books were on sale! We paid less that $25 for all of them, and the Dora book retailed for $27, plus Borders gave me a $5 off my next visit coupon for signing up for their rewards card.
**FYI - During October, Boarders is giving triple, yep TRIPLE, points. So rather than getting a $5 reward when you spend $150, you get it for spending $50 - but only in October. So you might want to think about getting a few Christmas gifts early this year!!**

So my girls and I had a special day, and it was nice. We hardly remembered that we missed Zack, but now we have him back for a few days!

I hope that you all are having a good weekend!

Randy Kazandy Where Are Your Glasses? **Childrens book review**

As soon as we opened the package with our book in it, my daughter wanted to read it. The first thing that caught our attention was the cover - great artwork, vibrant colors, and it says that it is "child safe, lead free" so that is a bonus!


Randy Kazandy, Where Are Your Glasses? is a great book! It is written in rhymes, that are fun and easy for kids to follow. This is the story of a little boy, Randy Kazandy, who can't see very well, always misses the ball, bumps into things, and so on, until he goes to see Doctor Bee, the eye doctor. As it turns out, Randy needs glasses, but he does not want to wear them, he tries everything to get rid of his glasses. In the end, Randy decides that he likes to wear his glasses.

This is a great story, especially for a child who has impared vision and needs to wear glasses. It shows kids that glasses can be fun! As if the story wasn't enough Randy Kazandy actually has his own website, where kids can email him and ask questions. On the website, you can learn more about the Rhonda Fischer, learn about the history of glasses, play fun games, and more! Speaking of fun games, there is at least one pair of glasses 'hidden' in each page of the book - we have had lotts of fun searching for them!

I definately reccomend this book for all kids, especially those who might have to get glasses. It is fun to read and doesn't get old, you can come up with a different lesson from the book each time you read it.

Randy's motto is inspirational to children and adults alike: I love being me!

You can buy this book on The Randy Kazandy website for $19.95 + shipping or on Amazon.

Rhonda Fischer, the author of Randy Kazandy Where Are Your Glasses?, sent us a copy of her book for my family to review.

Disney Store's Dressed Rehersal

Yesterday, the Disney Store had a "dressed rehearsal" (costume party) for all the little princesses, buzz lightyears, nemos, and more. It was fun! We are not going to go trick-or-treating on Halloween, so this was my girls' time to play in their costumes.

Emily is Princess Belle from Beauty and The Beast. Isn't she adorable? The whole time we were in the mall she picked her dress up in front of her and held it out "like the princesses do."

Natalie was dressed up as a mermaid, no it was not Ariel from The Little Mermaid, but she was adorable. Her mermaid costume actually came from Bambini Bliss.

We had a great time, and Emily loved going to "her princess party!"

What are your Halloween plans? Who's dressing up as who?

Swine Flu Vaccine

Sometime this week, my childrens' doctor's office is supposed to get the swine flu vaccine in, and their doctor strongly recommends that both of my children, hubby, and myself get the vaccine. I trust their doctor (or they would have a different one) but I was not quite sold on the swine flu vac.
With all of the controversy and government hype, I have heard many people saying that they are not going to get the N1H1 Vac nor will they have their children receive it. Personally, I prefer to do a little research and learn facts and then make an informed decision. I kind of feel like a hypocrite because we all got the flu shot this year, so why not the swine flu shot too? I was put at ease with any questions that I had answered wonderfully by the doctor.
So, my family will be getting vaccinated against N1H1 sometime this week or next. What are your feelings toward the swine flue vaccination, will you or your family be getting it?

Broken...or just feels broken?

Friday, I was playing with Emily and she was hiding in the kitchen. So I was sneaking up on her and jumped out - only to catch my foot completely wrong on her nebulizer (that should not have been on the floor anyway!) I cried, it hurt so bad. It hurt even worse when Emily insisted on kissing it better - which, really I love her for!

 

I know that I have kinda wide feet on any given day, but I feel like I have 3 toes and 2 sausages - and I don't like sausage. It really hurts, and I think that this is the worse possibly broken bones I have ever had, because I still have to be on my feet a lot with two little girls.

What is/was your worst injury?