Today I’m challenged & reminded to use the medium of Mobile to extend my Mothering influence. Sometimes I forget, as an on the go mom, to use my mobile device as a tool to reach out & communicate with my tween/teen on a level that’s personal & directed.

Text messaging that encourages, build’s-up and affirms the love I have, for them, makes a huge difference in their lives. Fun pictures, posted on social platforms, is another way to connect.

We all know mobile devices are not the ultimate way of connection; nothing can replace the face-to-face time we share with our children. However, our devices can become tools which extend the face-to-face time; dropping affirming messages while shopping, at work, travel, at school, etc.

I’m reminded to intentionally extend my mothering efforts beyond the walls of home and into my children’s sphere of influence, and most importantly, into their hearts!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup real butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup rolled oats, quick cooking, not instant
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sift and set aside: flour, soda, salt and baking powder. Blend together shortening and sugars. Add eggs to sugar mixture, beating until light and fluffy. Add flour mixture; mix well. Add oats, vanilla and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. (Dough will be crumbly, so I use teaspoon-size drops and place on baking sheet.) Makes about 9 dozen.

Teaspoon drops; going in the oven.

Cooling racks before dipping.

TWO-blocks of Candy Coating Chocolate. Place in the microwave at 10-20sec increments for melting.

ONE-teaspoon of heavy whipping cream for easy chocolate dipping.

Would love to hear how your cookies turn out! Enjoy!

My top FOUR are:
1. Water Source
2. Smock (or one of daddy’s old shirts will do)
3. Paint Separator
4. News Paper to make clean-up easy!

Beautiful Gift for that special someone…

Clean-up is quick & easy…

Do you have any Sticky Situation stories & solutions? Currently Wet Ones is offering an opportunity to share all of your Sticky Situation we’ve found ourselves in and tips on how to deal with them on their Facebook (FB) page.

Simply log on to their FB page, share your story & tips; you’ll have the opportunity of winning an IPad Mini or Six Flags tickets!

I’ve entered here: https://www.facebook.com/momcentral/app_248884015238315

I think it’s really cool for mom’s to have this opportunity to win a prize for their knowledge gained through raising children. Hope you enter today! Good Luck!

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Wet Ones. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.”

1. Drape the fabric over cabinet doors.

2. Use thread and wrap the center point for button insertion.

3. Cover button(s) with any fabric; in this example it’s burlap. NOTE: If you don’t want to sew the button(s) on, use a short/thick stick pin for mounting.

4. Secure fabric, on the inside of door, by wrapping thread around to hold.

5. Attach cards with Christmas colored paper clips or close pins.

Here’s a closer look! -Enjoy!

If your looking for ideas to dress-up the table for the holidays, consider this simple table-runner. It takes very little fabric and can be made in an hour or less. Follow these simple steps:

1. Cut fabric to desired table length. My dimensions were: 5ft x 2ft.
2. Construct a 1/4″ rolled-helm on the length edges, therefore, roll & iron 1/4″..roll & iron again 1/4″..then top stitch.
3. Cut 4 1/2″ wide x 4′ long burlap.
4. Fold & iron to create the fringe & box pleat.
5. Attached chevron fabric & burlap to create finished runner.

Your done!

Below is a closer look at the finished runner.

If you decide tackle this project, feel free to leave any questions or concerns you may have. Would love to help in anyway! ~ Happy sewing!

Perfection is a guilt-inflected/ burdensome reality, particularly for moms, that often drives stress & unhappiness to the most simplest of occasions. It’s hard enough to manage home & family dynamics and to throw the pressure of perfection in the mix, often sends things in a whirl-wind. In my world, perfection has been one of the biggest internal stress advocates I’ve faced.

This year, I’m making a goal to let it go! I’m embracing the idea of family, fun, tradition, and just warmth throughout my home. Our families do not need our perfection; just love, time, & dedication to healthy family growth. Often Perfection has friends that tag along; they are called: stress, guilt, & a since of ‘not good enough’. Let’s face it; it takes a lot of work to be without flaw. As a matter of fact, I’ve never meet anyone that has lived up to this standard.

This year, I’m taking a different mental approach. Instead of striving for a ‘perfect’ house, for the holidays, I’m planning to have enough energy to join in the fun! Here are some of my ideas to help with distribution of work-load and planning:

1. Task Delegation - From the house cleaning to the cooking; use your resources to get tasks done. This will also create memories and get’s everyone excited & involved. For tweens & teens, it’s a training/ bonding moment for you and your children.
2. Mental Stress Prevention – Begin the planning early!
3. Allow guest to bring items – Keep the tradition going; reduce work-load…consider distributing family recipes for others to make & bring.
4. Family preparation day – All hangs on deck for house cleaning.
5. Neighborhood cooking – Consider cooking with a neighbor to share in the cooking tasking. It’s fun, saves money & gets cooking done faster!

Avoiding Perfection this holiday and embarrassing these tips that free up time, energy & money will make a difference in our holiday flow. How about you?

Delicious Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Ingredients
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7×3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

I thought it would be fun to do a little tally based on my personal daily To-Do’s. Here’s an estimated projection of Daily Time savings:
* reading, on rotation, with younger siblings…(20min)
* kitchen helper…(15min)
* bathroom helper (10-15min per bathroom)…(20min)
* cooking schedule, on rotation, breakfast – lunch & dinner…(1hrs)
* nightly lunch prep…(10min)
* pet care (5 min per animal)…(10min)
* laundry helpers…(30min)
* house-hold chores & maintenance…(30min)

My estimated daily time savings would be huge, 3hrs & 15min per day; that’s big in my world particularly if it creates family bonds, unity & a feeling of accomplishment! As well as UN-seen parental rewards, such as, future college training, responsibility, and positive re-enforcement of self-esteem.

Wizehouse, version 3.0, is coming soon! The ability to have system generated chores, which can be delegated to anyone in your contact circle, is beneficial and makes a large impact! Also, through the system, the ability to provide tangible reward for positive re-enforcement, is handy! A traceable system that will bring ease to home & family life, by design. Stay tuned for product release information!