My Christmas Wish List

My never gonna happen wish list

I REALLY want a carpet shampooer.  I know, lame right?  But this year since my husband is unemployed I will just have to dream! But you know what? That is ok.  I am blessed with a wonderful husband who loves me very, very much and always reminds me of that fact, three wonderful, thriving, healthy and smart children and a God who is in control of everything.  Who could ask for anything more?

Photo Op.

Jesus Banks

If you have been reading our blog for awhile you may be aware of our Christmas tradition involving the girls Jesus Banks (if not you can read this post).  Yesterday we sat down to ask the girls what they wanted to spend their Jesus money on.  At their young ages we do give them about three choices, but aside from that we do not influence them in any way.  They both chose to do Operation Christmas Child.  If you are not familiar with them, you can watch this video.  The girls decided they would do two children (so two shoe boxes).  They chose to do one boy and one girl, both in the ages 2-4 category.  So I took the Genius out shopping.  To me, this is the best part.  They take their Jesus bank into the store(s) that we go to.  So, we load up the cart with items she selected.   Again, we try to not offer too much input.  She was so smart with her choices.  She chose plain white socks, an 8 pack, so that each child could have 4 pairs.  She picked some marbles, toy cars, hair clips and many other items.  She lugged her stuff up to the counter and the total was rung up.  I painstakingly counted out all her pennies and dimes and other money.  She was $1.83 short.  Not a big deal, so I pulled out our card to pay for the rest.  An elderly gentleman in line behind us stopped me, pulled out his wallet and paid the $1.83 she owed.  Wow.  Talk about two examples of the true meaning of Christmas and the holidays.  Two little girls reaching out to children on the other side of world and one elderly man showing an unexpected kindness to a little girl.  Absolutely a memory she will never forget.

Family Fun Jar

Funny, because the Family Fun Jar actually does not involve a jar at all, but rather a little Ziplock container.  We have a Family Fun Jar though and it is something we have been doing for about a year now.  It is a reward jar.  What we do is have the girls sit down and come up with a list of rewards they would like to win.  Amazingly, they choose mostly things that are free!  Lately they have chosen: bake cookies together, take a hike together, have a tea party, wrestle with daddy and a few others.  We write their choices on pieces of paper and put them into the jar.  When we "catch" the girls doing something good (above and beyond the norm.) we let them choose a slip of paper.  The cool thing is, we usually do not tell them while they are doing it.  My husband surprises them at some random time of the time.  He will call them and ask one of them to stand at attention, then he makes a "formal" presentation of the jar and states why they get to pick a reward.  It is really fun!  Recently the Hippie was doing her nightly chore and when she was done, she asked for an extra chore AND completed it very well! She picked a "wrestle with Daddy" slip of paper.  Last night the Genius got to choose because she cleared her sisters dinner dishes and was just extra helpful around the house.  Her reward was a family hike.  Last night my husband took them on a night "hike" through our neighborhood, complete with flashlights (ooh, aahhh).  They had a blast!  If you don't have a Family Fun Jar you might want to think of starting one.  It is a really fun tradition!

Oh, and when we choose a reward we throw the slip of paper away so that we can add new ones when the jar is empty.

Strawberry Shortcake

Our girls like us to record episodes of Strawberry Shortcake for them to watch.  It is a pretty cute show and usually has a fairly clear cut moral to it.  We watch it several times a week.  My husband and I often joke about how "berry much we like it" etc.  They use the word berry on the show ALL the time.  The other night when the Genius was at the hospital, I was watching an episode with the Hippie.  Strawberry Shortcake said something like, "I was so berry upset".  The Hippie looked over at me and said, "Mommy! I get it!  It's like a joke! Instead of saying 'very' they say 'berry' "!  Wow.  I was kinda speechless.  Glad she is in on the joke now =)

Hevea Product Review

I am very excited to be doing a review for Hevea!  I am also excited because this is my first review.

About Hevea: Hevea was started by a mom.  Her name is Terese.  She wanted a pacifier that was up to her personal standards.  Terese believes in sustainability and she supports this belief in numerous ways.  Hevea uses 100% recycled paper for packaging, uses Soy ink which uses less energy and is a renewable resource and their pacifiers and teethers are made of 100% natural rubber.  For more information you can visit Terese and the Hevea website by clicking here.  You can also connect with them on facebook by visiting their facebook page.

My Experience:  I received a Hevea 100% natural rubber pacifier for review.  They have several styles to choose from.  I received the Car Orthodontic Pacifier.

The first thing I noticed was the minimal packaging.  As a committed recycler this really made my day, plus it was very easy to open.  The next thing that caught my eye was the fact that the packaging was made out of 100% recyclable papers (another bonus).  After opening the packaging, recycling the paper, I was immediately impressed with the feel of the pacifier.  It was smooth and all one piece.  You also have the option to buy this cute little pacifier bag as well.

* * * * - I give it a 4 out of 5 star rating.  I liked everything about it, but I think that with a price tag of $9.95 that it is not affordable to everyone.  Overall I was very impressed with the Hevea pacifier and the company as a whole. 

The product in this review was provided to me free of cost for the purpose of conducting this review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are not influenced by monetary or other means of compensation.

Veteran's Day

Today is a day easy to overlook for some people.  But we must never forget the people who have fought for our country.  My husband served with the Marines and then after we were married he also served in the Army.  He served during Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom.  I am so proud of him and the legacy he is leaving our children.  It is really neat to see the girls developing pride in this too.  The Genius during her musical got to sing some patriotic songs and she was smiling at her Daddy the whole time.  When the vets in the audience had to stand up, she proudly pointed out her Daddy.  Last night before bed she made sure to lay out a red, white and blue outfit for Veteran's day.  She said it is extra special because "daddy is a two-time vet, the Marines and Army."  So, thank you Cliff for your service and loving your country and family enough to serve.  Thank you to my Grandpa, my uncles, my husband's step-father and all of our friends and family who have served.  And a thank you as well to the family members of those serving, because you are sacrificing too.