Friday Fill-In #149

1. Plans and schedules help me remember what to do.

2. I'm happy when things some what orderly.

3. The last thing I drank was juice.

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is my family.

5. I like ham and pineapple on my pizza.

6. Dear November, Thanks for being the month I was born and got married.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a rehearsal dinner, tomorrow my plans include going to my niece Maria’s wedding and Sunday, I want to travel back home to South Carolina from Mississippi!

Friday Fill-In #149.

Mommyhood Tip- Be a Whole Women So Your Children Know What One Looks Like

A comment was made on the video series by Linda Anderson we are listening to in my mentor mom’s group that has really stuck with me. The comment was if you want your son(s) to look for a whole woman as a wife you need to be that an example of a whole woman for him. He will need to know what one looks like. What does that look like? I think it means I take care of myself spiritually, physically (exercise, regular doctor’s visits, eating well), emotionally, and all other aspects of life.

I know that it is hard to make time to do the things I mentioned above. There are always things to do for your children, husband, house, yard, church etc... I don’t always do a good job of taking care of me. I am trying to be better at it. The Linda Anderson quote maybe the motivation that I need.

Sit Down! Sit Down! Little Bear was Given Time Out by JDaniel

Monday night when we went to play in JDaniel’s room, he picked up one of his stuffed animals named Little Bear. He brought Little Bear over to his rocking horse, stood him up on the seat and said, “Sit Down! Sit Down!” I asked JDaniel if Little Bear needed a time out. “Yeeesss!” I was told. Little bear was carried over to JDaniel’s crib and stuffed between the slats. After a minute or two, JDaniel pulled Little Bear out of the crib and repeated the process. Little Bear was held standing up on the horse, told to sit down, and was given time out. He tried to repeat the events for a third time. I asked JDaniel if maybe we could show Little Bear the right way to sit on the horse. “O.K.”, I was told. Can you guess what we have been working on lately?

The ironic thing is that the next morning while I was on the phone JDaniel pulled over a chair so it would be right in front of me, climbed onto it, and stood up. I told him to sit down. He refused. He was removed from the chair and taken to a different room of the house after being warned a time out was on its way. Little Bear may have learned his lesson, but JDaniel seems to be still working on it.

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Mommyhood Tip- Counting Up to Thankgiving Chain

Earlier in the week I posted some Thanksgiving countdown activities. We have started a counting up to Thanksgiving activity at our house instead. Each morning my husband and I come up with something we are thankful for. I add a link for something Daniel is thankful for too. So far we are thankful for each other, my husband’s job, the special messages I got for my birthday, friends, warm beds, that our smoke alarm has stopped beeping (The battery was low and it started beeping at 4 a.m. this morning), books, and cheese. The books, friends, and cheese links are JDaniel’s. I just picked some of his favorite things. JDaniel is really into it. After I wrote cheese down for him and no more beeping for me, he looked at my husband and said, “Dad.” (He knew it was Dad’s turn.) I love that we are doing this as a family. I think he does too.

Do you know what time it is?

On Saturday after breakfast I asked JDaniel if he wanted to go see if Daddy was awake. He nodded his head yes and charged the fifteen feet to our bedroom. I don’t let JDaniel go near Daddy until after eight o’clock on Saturdays. It was now a little after eight. JDaniel pushed open the door and rushed into see if Daddy was awake. He looked at Daddy. Daddy moaned, “Good Morning JDaniel.” JDaniel pointed to the clock on the bedside table. It was like he was trying to say, “Do you know what time it is?”

Exquisite Desserts: Pumpkin Maple Scones Giveaway

Scones! Glorious Scones! What more could you ask for! A scone is one of the most elegant breads I can imagine. It is a really gift to be able to make them well. I took an English Tea cooking class and tried to make scones. Mine came out heavy and very dense. There were a lot like rocks. A great scone like the kind I’ve had at the Shelburne Hotel in Dublin or the Ritz Carlton in Washington,D.C. were wonderful and tasted great with clotted cream and preserves. Exquisite Desserts offers an equally wonderful pumpkin maple scone. Before I tell you how you can win some let me tell you a little about the scones.

She writes the warm flavorful taste of this Pumpkin Maple Scone reminds you of the wonderful smells and textures of seasons change. Enjoy this palatable scone with your morning coffee as we see the warm summer mornings become crisp autumn air. This Pumpkin Maple Scone offers a delightful combination of pumpkin, maple and spice to get your morning started off right.

This giveaway begins November 3 and ends November 17th at 11:59 p.m.

What do you need to do to get the pumpkin maple scones?

-Tell me something else Exquisite Desserts carries. (1 entry)

For extra entries do any or all of the following leaving a separate comment for each entry.

* Blog about this giveaway, and then come back and leave me the link to your blog entry. (1 entry)

*Write about this giveaway with a link back to it on Facebook or another social network site. (1 entry)

*Leave a comment on any of my blog entries that are not a giveaway. Come back and tell me what entry you left your comment under. (1 entry)

*Enter another giveaway that I am hosting. (1 entry for each giveaway your enter)

*Follow my blog. Leave me a comment saying that you now follow or that you already do. (1 entry)

* Twitter about this giveaway with a link back, you must also be following me on Twitter. Copy and paste: PumpkinMapleScones@JDaniel4smom.(1 entry per day)

* Subscribe to my blog. Leave me a comment saying that you have subscribed or that you already do. (1 entry)

*Favorite me in Technorati! (3 entries)

*Vote for me on Love This Site . (3 entries)

*Buy anything from the Exquisite Desserts and come back and leave a comment saying you did. (10 entries)

That is 11 ways to win. The winner will be chosen by using the random number generator at http://www.random.org/. )

Clue 22: Hooray!

Taking Lessons from Books: A Birthday for Bear

For a number of years I was an unbirth person. Why? Well, I just didn’t like the attention. I didn’t like it that my dad would forget it was my birthday. I just liked to get the past the day. I enjoyed the cards and gifts my mom and sisters sent. I loved the surprise birthday parties I had at thirty and thirty five. I am soooo thankful my friends and family loved celebrating my birthday. Now that I am over forty I enjoy my birthdays. I can’t really tell you what made the difference. Somewhere along the line I just made a shift. I am glad my friends didn’t wait for me to make the shift.

This week’s book is called A Birthday for Bear by Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton. Bear isn’t really into birthdays either. Thankfully he has a friend that enjoyed celebrating his birthday.

Do you have someone who doesn’t seem to like birthdays? What can you plan to do that will let them know that you remembered their big day? Is there a senior saint or college student you know that lives faraway that would love someone to stop by with a birthday cupcake or balloon?

Mommyhood Tip- Birthday Traditions

Start traditions based around birthdays. There are lots of ways to do them. Here are some I found online:

Decorate Before Waking- Decorate the living room with balloons, confetti and banners in the living room the morning of their birthday.

Birthday Frame- I like this idea one mom posted on frames.Every year on her son's birthday she makes a picture frame using the wrapping paper his gifts came in. She buys a 5x7 wood picture frame from a craft store and makes a collage using the pieces of the wrapping paper on the mat frame that comes inside the frame. When the frame is finished she puts in a photograph of her son from his birthday party. She hangs the picture on the wall and has a memory of each birthday.

Special Plate- It is fun to have a "special" plate (or a birthday crown) for the birthday person to use at meals, that is used only for birthdays. You can make a plate or buy a fun one at the store.

Letters to Remember- Write a special letter to your child each birthday. Keep them in a special place.

Birth Day Stories- The birthday child gets to stay up a little later after the other children have gone to bed and Mommy and Daddy tell him/her about the day they were born, and how their parents felt when that special child joined their family.

Birthday Growth Picture- Take a picture of the birthday child standing back to back with Daddy (or Mommy) and compare growth from year to year.

What birthday traditions do you have? Please leave comment below telling me about your birthday traditions.

Muffin Tin Monday- Outer Space

Oatmeal with Cheerios and Kix for the eyes of the alien. Oatmeal and manderain oranges for the mouth of the alien.

JDaniel Says The Funniest Things #1

I asked JDaniel what he had in this mouth. I thought he had picked something up off the floor that he shouldn’t have and put it in his mouth. As only a nineteen month can he looked at me and said, "Teeth."

Help a SAHM Do Market Research and Get a Chance to Win a Barnes and Noble Card

My friend Heather sent me a message asking if I would post this. I am all for SAHM businesses. Please take a minute to answer the question in the survey. If you answer the survey, you can have an extra entry in any of my giveaways. Just let me know you answered the survey on your entry.

Fellow Mommies with Daughters(Working and SAHM)!Please take a few minutes to answer my friends' survey. They have started their own consulting company (100% women owned!) and are doing market research for a client who wants to enter the children’s apparel industry, specifically in young girl’s clothing.Click here to take survey.

Thankfulness Calendar Idea from 24/7

Step 1 - Decide how many days you would like to count down with activities- The entire month of November.- 12 Days of Thankfulness ( start 12 days until Thanksgiving with day 12 being Thanksgiving).- Choose the number of days that what works for your family.

Step 2 - Create a Countdown to Thanksgiving

1. Write daily Thankful activities on slips of papers that you then roll into scrolls and place into a decorated jar.

2. Make A Tree or Turkey out of poster board. Then cut out leaves or feathers and write on each one a Thankful activity allowing your children to choose one each day to do.

3. Number envelopes and fill with slips of paper that you have written daily activities on allowing your children to open one envelop each day.

4. Make a paper chain out of strips of construction paper. Write a thankful activity on each slip of paper. Allow your kids to tear one off each day as they count down.

Step 3 - Choose Thankful activities for you and your family to do each day of your Thanksgiving countdown.

This is just part of an article by 24/7. I thought it was an awesome idea. For more detail please visit her posting at http://247moms.blogspot.com/2009/10/thanksgiving-countdown-with-family.html.