Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. I hope you all have time to rest and soak in all the great moments with your families and friends. We are all blessed like crazy, aren’t we?! Below is a little video to encourage Moms not to forget what Thanksgiving is all about. And to those of you that aren’t moms, let’s try not to forget about all the work that Mom does on a festive day, such as Thanksgiving. Happy Turkey Day!
So for Halloween this year, we have been struggling with what to dress up as. I know, it’s about the kids, right?! But my husband and I realized that the kids are only so unopinionated about what to dress up as for so long. We thought we’d take this opportunity to do something fun as a whole family or at least something that needs 3 parts. We have 3 kids. With my husband and I included there’s 5 total. Below you will find our final 3 choices. We need your vote to help us choose which costumes to do this year. You can vote towards the bottom of the page. 2 of the 3 costumes include just the kids dressing up. I’m more than okay with this. 
But then again, who doesn’t want to dress up as a piece of bread?! Let us know if you have suggestions too and Happy Voting!
Most parents have so many demands on their time that they can’t be the kind of parent they desire to be. I had a conversation yesterday with a friend where we both came to the conclusion that no parent ever says to themselves,
“I am doing this parenting deal SO right! I have all my ducks in a row, everything figured out and I’m rockin’ it.”
Um, No. And if you do find the parent that is saying that, kindly turn them around and kick them and tell them “I don’t think so!”
Instead, we often find the Parent who is wrestling with several issues regarding their children and searching for ways to do it right. Parents want help. Parents want to know what is working for other parents. And what I’ve come to learn is that we need to remember that our influence has more to do with our relationships with our children than it does with our skills as parents.
I’m currently in Atlanta, GA for The Orange Conference this week. Yes, that’s right, 5 days away from my children and minivan.(Can you see my smile from wherever you are?!) It’s quite an identity crisis at times over the course of 5 days, but here’s why I love this week and step away from being a parent each year for this event. My prayer is that I gain some new focus on the lens of parenting my kids. I pray I gain new perspective on how to effectively influence my kids and their relationship with their Heavenly Father, through my relationship with them and their relationships with others.
First, What is Orange? It’s what you get when you combine two primary colors—RED(the love of the family) and YELLOW(the light of the church).
Red, if you paint only with red, you will get what only red can do. If you paint only with yellow, you will get what only yellow can do. But when you paint with red and yellow, you’ll get new possibilities, fresh solutions, vibrant outcomes.
The color orange symbolizes what it means to parent beyond your capacity. It’s a strategy. Not a quick solution. It’s realizing that combining the influence of two is better than one. Orange understands that by tapping into a wider community, you have the potential to make a greater impact in the lives of children and the next generation.
You can watch the Live Stream of the opening Main Session of the Orange conference HERE tonite, April 27, at 7:30pm(EDT)
I promise You’ll enjoy it and might even learn a thing or two. Have you heard of Orange before?
Are you staying home during this years 2011 Blissdom conference? Well, this is your chance to have some of the networking fun too. This could be equally as much fun and you can participate right from your couch! That’s right ladies, no make up required. No fancy new clothes. Heck, you don’t even have to shower. This is the “official” No-Go Blissdom blog hop post. Here is what you need to do to participate:
1. Answer the questions below on your blog and then link up that post in the linky that will be at the bottom of this post.(The Link goes live at midnight EDT tonite and will be live through Saturday)
2. Follow me on Twitter! (Momwithaminivan)
3. Get excited about all the opportunity that will await you in this Blog Hop and what great friends you’ll make and what great Blogs you’ll newly discover even though you’re not attending Blissdom in person. This is your chance to spread the word about YOU and your blog so Link Up and let others know why they should check you out.
Here are the questions I want you to answer: (You can keep it simple!)
1. When did you start blogging and Why?
2. What is one thing you are going to do this week that is WAY cooler than going to Blissdom?
3. Share a post that you think says a lot about you or is your favorite. (share the link in YOUR post so we all can see)
Once you post your answers to the above questions on your own blog (as a post!), please come back and link up that post. Then start hopping around and meeting some new bloggers! Remember, this is your chance to let others see what you are all about too! Also, be sure to let those whose blogs you visit and comment on that you found them at the #NoGoBlissdom Blog Hop!
If you are Linking Up, tweet about it using the hashtag #NoGoBlissdom please! It can only help YOU and the rest of us! : ) Happy Blog Hopping!
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Happy 2011! I know, I know. It’s like almost the end of January and I haven’t posted in over a month. Bad Me! But I’m a huge fan of all the ideas that came flooding my way while on a break. You should try it sometime.
So one of my new year’s resolutions is to try a day of Freezer Cooking at least 3 times this year. Some of you just rolled your eyes. Others of you can’t believe that I’ve never done one. Whatever side you are on, I need your help! For those of you that may not be familiar with what a Freezer Cooking Day is, it’s simply a day of cooking and preparing several meals and/or ingredients and freezing them for future use to feed your family. I hear its a great budget saver and its easy to go to the freezer and put together a great meal when you may be in a pinch. Because we all know that 5pm comes faster on some days and sometimes plans change and we get home later than expected. Plus, With home cooked meals you are also guaranteed to know what ingredients are going into your kids bodies.
Family meals are important in our house and its a great time to sit down with each other and talk about our days and other events. I know some of you are thinking, I barely get to sit down at meal time. I have toddlers! Well, I’m in the same boat and I hear ya! But having everything ready and prepared can make it simpler for you and I promise, when your kids are older, they will thank you for the hard working, home cooking mama that you are. I like to think of it as a legacy I’m passing on. I hope my kids will learn to have family meal times when they have their own families some day.
Our goal, is to eat 6 home cooked dinners a week. One night is for eating out. Dinner doesn’t always have to be gourmet. This can be a simple meal. Breakfast for dinner is awesome people! We won’t always achieve this goal every week, but so far it’s working for us. We don’t have the same meals every week. We like to change it up. A weekly meal plan has been awesome. (I use to make fun of the people that did this, but it actually works!) Just a little bit of planning and wah-la! Dinner is served.
So back to needing your help. I’m looking for some of the best meals/recipes to freeze. If you have a post about this topic or some recipes that are freezer friendly then link up and I’m sure many will enjoy and I know I will appreciate it much! Tell me what works for you. Tips and advice will go a long way! Happy Cooking!
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