We have a Winner!

This morning Jacob went 2 hours late to school and Ben & I were 1 hour late.

Since we had a few extra minutes, I figured it was a good time to choose a name for

Holler for Your Health

Sherry Venters!

send me your address & I'll get the book right out to you!

(you can do it in a fb message if you want)

Terri's Tip # 3

This week I asked Terri for some lunch suggestions. I am especially searching for lunch box ideas. We have been very intentional about Jacob not buying school lunch this year. This was on my mind even before I saw the preview for Oprah today.

This week we will start with finding a healthy bread for sandwiches.

First task to find a brand of bread that starts with whole wheat or any other whole grainas the very first ingredient. Next, it must NOT contain high fructose corn syrup. Lastly, it must NOT contain potassium bromate, TBHQ, or any word that ends in paraben.
Out of a whole aisle of bread, I only found 2 brands that met these criteria. You can always start at the organic/health food section first. If that is not an option, start with the healthiest looking bread in the aisle.

Good luck and next week I will tell you what you can do with this bread!

Keep your kids healthy!

Terri

oh and I'll have the drawing for Terri's book tomorrow. The boys are already in bed so they can't really "draw" a name from the pile.

Bag Giveaway!

I just happened upon a great giveaway! JM's sister loves SCOUT bags and has several. I however do not but would love one! She loves there versatility and how easy they are to clean. Give 'em a gander!

Warm Fuzzies!

Thank you Sarah for the warm fuzzies! When we got home from school Jacob yelled out, "Mommy there's a package!" Then he said "and it's for you!" Honestly, I didn't need him to tell me that...I had a hunch as to who it was for! I've already hung up the "LET IT SNOW" banner in hopes it may help it arrive by morning so we can have a "snow day"! I simply can't wait to get into that magazine. I've never heard of it before and I LOVE magazines! (it will however wait until my trashy show is over tonight ;) ) The big HONKIN clothes pins are going to be fun to decorate and use with organizing my play area. The boys enjoyed the sweet treats w/ their after school snack. Please tell me which ETSY the adorable mini calendar came from. Go ahead...put a "plug" for her in my comments or something. That is precious! and I LOVE new recipes! I'll be putting them to use soon. Jacob has already requested one of them!

Well I'm off to finding spoons to put under pillows and assisting in inside/out jammer wearing! C'mon snowflakes!!

Creative Spaces

I too have been on the hunt for ideas to make my small space and closet look nicer and be accessible to creating whenever. I want to have all my tools, papers, ribbons, buttons etc. out, organized, & more available.

While this space is absoulutely amazing, we don't have an entire room for such a thing.

But I do have a wall & a closet . . . a rather nice size closet!

So I do love this one.

there may even be enough room on my table to do something similar to this

especially since a friend of mine just gave me a box of these

leftover from a reception of some sort.

Looks like I've got some sorting to do in the playroom to make it a play/craft room.

Afterall, Mommies have to play too!

i LOVE mail!

Sending and Receiving it!

Have you seen her blog and tried her yummy treat?

I made a Valentine Batch w/ M&M's & Sprinkles.

I packaged it up quickly for some care packages.

It is so yummy & rich!

Then I had fun creating recipe cards for a few friends but different packages.

The college students don't need recipes yet!

Finally I had a helper to get these packages to the van and



to the most polite, & patient Postmasters ever!

I'm not kidding!

They are always so nice to the boys and helpful to me.

And there's NEVER a line.

They have taken the boys back behind the counter to look at all the bins and sorters,

answered their tons of questions,

given me boxes, & helped with our Community Helpers Unit at Preschool.

Terri's Tip #2

This week I didn't really ask Terri a question for her to answer but instead she gave us a challenge. Here is what she has for us:

"Ok, we are going to have a scavenger hunt. Everyone will get out a bottle of ketchup and search for the following ingredient "high fructose corn syrup". Despite the new commercials that are telling kids not to listen to their parents and that high fructose corn syrup is now safe, it is not! So, here is what we are going to do about it.Go to the ketchup section and search for a bottle that does not have it in the ingredients. Hint: You may have to look in the organic/natural section. Good luck! And let us know how difficult it was - leave us some feedback here."

There you have it.

Great News ~ "Holler for Your Health" was selected as a finalist in the National Best Books 2008 Awards and reached a top 100 list on AMAZON.COM! You can have your own copy here with my book give away! So leave us some comments or questions you may have for Terri on this post or this one!! We'll have the drawing in time for Terri's Third Tip next week.

Today

Today I have:

~ enjoyed a stay home jammer day

~ watched the boys play with legos!!

~ made yummy homemade chicken noodle soup

but I left something out not sure what but it

tasted a little bland the grilled cheese was a hit

~ done laundry

~ decorated recipe cards & created

~ watched J create with what he calls "Mommy's crafting supplies"

~ picked up love notes that J made & dropped for us to find

~ chatted with a best friend (i love phone calls!)

~ made a delicious popcorn snack for some sweet college girls

~ worked on a few carepackages for the same college girls as well as a swap

~ done lesson plans for February

~ reffereed our boys

~ done dishes

~ been thankful for leaders

~ wished for snow that is not in the forecast for us so we can have another day

~ read books to the boys

~ snacked on some dark chocolate covered pomegranates

~ been on facebook but only for a few minutes ;)

~ thought about giving smelly roxy a bath

lil seminoles vs lil turps

Today was the "lil seminoles" first game of the season. Starting in December the boys (all three of them) started bball practice. Today Poppy, Granny, and I went to go cheer them on.

Funniest comment of the day:
Me: "hey jacob, are you ok?"
Jacob: "yea! but in case you haven't noticed, we haven't scored any goals."
it probably doesn't sound funny but his body language and voice just made me giggle.

skamfam collections

some are intentional

others are an evironmental, healthy, & tasty way to drink water
not to mention how cute they are

& some are just plain ole unexplainable
and not part of a collection are these cuties
it's amazing how much ben has come around w/ little roxy!

it has been brought to my attention that I forgot a very special collection

Jacob has been collecting tops for over a year now

and has filled more than 1/3 of a garbage can.

How could I forget such a collection?!

Blog Suggestion

Every now & then there's a blog of someone that I don't know that I just keep reading & reading. I love this blog I've been visiting lately. I thought I would pass it along to you so you could see for yourself. I love reading about her little loves and her Big love for God too! She seems to have such a sweet heart.

and more Thankful Thursday later today! I've gotta get back on that! Toodles

Terri's Tip #1

My question was "what is one change you would encourage every mother to make in her home?"

Terri's response was "phase out canned foods"! The lining of the cans contain bisphenol A (BPA) which is linked to hyperactivity, cancer, heart disease as well as other health issues.

She encouraged me to start gradually. For example, start by simply stearing clear of soups, pastas, & liquid baby formula, which were the 3 canned foods that contained the highest levels of the toxin. If canned foods are too hard to eliminate, use only canned goods that you can rinse, like corn or peas. This is where the skamfam is. We still used canned beans but rinse them. We are however trying to make all of our soups. I've found a few recipes for yummy chicken noodle soup and we love Rachel Ray's recipe for Pasta e Fagioli.

Until next week when i ask Terri for another tip or change we as mommies can make feel free to think of some questions that you may have and comment away. Also . . . i just happen to have an extra copy of Terri's book Holler 4 Your Health so if you would like to read further leave me a comment. I'll let 1 of the boys choose a name from a glass jar & send this copy your way.

Terri's Tips

Like many of you, I struggle with the idea of "new year's resolution". It just seems to big & overwelming. In fact only 8% of new year's resolutions "stick" throughout the year. There are a few areas that over the past few months, we (jm & myself) are making strides to improve for ourselves & our families.

One area is in our health. Aside from the fact that we would like to be healthy eaters & exercise more, we also live in a chemical & toxic world. I am learning more & more each day on how to make our home a healthier place for our family. (my goal is to start in our home so as not to be too overwelmed!)

So I have asked a friend of ours to help, coach, & encourage us w/ simple & practical changes that we can do in our home that would create BIG health benefits w/ minimal energy, time & cost. terri came over today so i could ask her tons of questions. I'll be sharing her tips & suggestions for you to use too.

my first & biggest question was:
What is 1 change you would encourage every mother to make in their home?
tomorrow i will share her tips and host my very first give away!

things to do

does this look like the coolest thing?! i want to make one w/ the boys. it looks like a fun family weekend project! hmmm . . . now to convince my jm!

instead of laundry

i've been playing around on this site thanks to my friend.

i'd rather be...

. . . in our jammers

. . . building legos


. . . watching movies

. . . creating

. . . cuddling

. . . even cleaning

than having the boys go back to school.

oh well!

let's make it a great day and wonderful week and happy new year!

back to school

what's this mix of stuff?

a WINTER SURVIVAL KIT

for the boys' teachers

just a little way to welcome the teachers back to school

by including a few items to fight off germs and a few to soothe any they do get