Love is in the air

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Of course, it never was in college....when everyone else in the dorm was going on special dates with their boyfriends and getting 5 dozen roses delivered to their room....I didn't like it as much. But now that I have kids (and a husband), it has become more meaningful.

As our little family grew, I realized that Valentine's Day isn't just about giant chocolate lips and dozens of roses and grand romantic gestures....it is a day to stop and be thankful for all of the special people in your life. We should be thankful EVERY DAY actually, but this day is specifically devoted to that task. And it's a fun break in the middle of the winter monotony!

Now that our kids are a little older, my husband and I decided to start a Valentine tradition. Every year, the girls and I plan a special menu and go shopping for the food. Then they help me prepare the dinner and decorate the table, while Daddy and Littlest E go out and shop for us. They don't buy alot--just little meaningful trinkets really--but it is very special and the kids LOVE doing it!

On the menu this year is:

~crab cakes~
~grilled chicken~
~garlic mashed potatoes~
~garden salad~
~roasted asparagus~
~mini tiramisu cakes~

Of course, I will post pictures of the fancy event later on this week. ;-)
(Oh, and here is part of our decorations.....my friend shared this link with me! So fun!)

Do you have any Valentine's Day traditions?

Circle Time: Love o' my Life Edition

We are getting ready for Valentine's Day here at ToddlerWorld. Daddy and I decided to establish a tradition, starting this year. He and Littlest E will go out every year and shop for their "girls", while the girls and I will plan a fabulous menu here at home. It was very fun, watching my guys go off to the mall together today. :-) We are hoping that Littlest E will grow up, learning to show his love and appreciation for the women in his life and the girls will learn to care for the man/men in their lives.

Enjoy your Valentine's Day with someone you love.....and enjoy looking at the things we discovered this week here in Toddler World!

1. I love Valentine's Day, and usually do more craft-y things with the kids......but I did not plan far enough ahead this year. When I DO plan, I often head here to get my Valentine inspiration. So many fun ideas!

2. This man and his wife always steal my ideas for posts......maybe if I was as ingenious and motivated as he and his wife are, I would have as big a blog as they do. ;-)

3. I have been contemplating this website recently. Have any of you tried it, and what did you think?

4. Wish I had seen this a little earlier in the week.....I needed a cute Valentine-y thing on my front door. (It is looking a little plain.) Next year......

~Happy Valentine's Day to all!~

Happy Treating (no tricking!) :-)

I hope you enjoy your day, with all of your little ~costumed cuties~! :-)

At our house, we will have a polar bear, a dancing princess, and a frog prince visiting for the evening.

If you want to show off your kids' costumes to more than the houses that are handing out treats, check out this site for some places you can go and get free Halloween meals.
Sounds like a treat to me......!

Bargain Meal of the Week: Resurrection Edition

I thought about giving you recipes for your Easter dinner. You know, all the fancy fixings for quiche and twice-baked potatoes and some fabulous cream pie or something......

But I decided to leave that up to you. Have fun! :-)

Instead--I am hooking you up with recipes for Easter breakfast and for the day after (as you try to get rid of all of the ham you have left over.)


Meal #1: Egg & Sausage Bake and Fresh Strawberries

King Sooper Eggs--$0.99/dozen (use 1/2 dozen)
Jimmy Dean Sausage--$4.49 for 2 (use 2/3 of a roll)
Kroger shredded cheese--2/$3.00 (use 1 1/2 cups)
Colorado Proud milk--FREE! with cereal purchase (use 3 cups)
Bisquick--not on sale this week (only need 1 1/2 cups though)

Strawberries--$1.98/lb.

Est. Cost: $5.98


Meal #2: Ham & Broccoli Chowder and Rolls

Farmland Boneless Ham--$0.99/lb. (use 2 cups cooked ham)
Fresh Broccoli--$0.99/lb. (use 1 lb.)
Kroger Shredded Cheese--2/$3 (use 1 cup)
Onions--$0.69/lb. (use 1/4 lb.)
Carnation Evaporated Milk--$1.69

Kroger Brown n' Serve Rolls--$0.99

Est. Cost: $5.60

Happy Easter to all of you!

It is my favorite day of the year......Jesus Christ conquered death and sin--for ME and YOU!
I hope you have accepted the eternal life He graciously offers because of His perfect sacrifice on the cross.

Oh, for the love....

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. And the stores are crammed with all sorts of Valentine items to waste money on. Resist, resist.......

I love Valentine's Day.......my husband does not. :-) I am not sure why I like it so much---I usually shun most commercial holidays. But I like showing my appreciation and love for those closest to me. And I love having a reason to make fun little kid crafts. (See previous post for an explanation--of sorts--of my childlike behavior).

Here are my top five favorite Valentine crafts in categories.......now to narrow them down! Maybe you all can help. Let me know which ones you think are the cutest (or look the easiest!)

Easy and Charming Valentines

1) Good valentines for boys-- these and these

2) Perfect for any classmates--this one or this one

3) Fun teacher gifts here and here

4) Cute girly valentines.....here and here

5) Grandparent gifts....these and these

I will let you know which ones I choose, complete with pictures. I can hardly wait! :-)

(Plus, I will post pictures and plans from my Valentine party in a few weeks.....)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

Here at Toddler World, things have gotten busy (as it has for everyone.....). I decided rather than add one more "to-do" to my list, I am going to take a little break from blogging while we are traveling.

I pray all of you will have a blessed Christmas, with family and friends. The joy of Christ's birth has been so real to me this year....the excitement felt by all those who experienced it first-hand.
As the Bible says,

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"

Merry Christmas from Toddler World!

Teaching the ~TRUE~ meaning in a (sometimes) meaningless world

As we head into December and all of our preparations for Christmas, I always take a deep breath before "taking the plunge". As much as I love Christmas time, I also dread it. Between all of the gift giving, decorating, partying, card writing, program practicing, wrapping, traveling, baking, listening, and shopping.......I always end up feeling drained and unprepared to focus on Christmas Day.

To focus on Christ's coming to earth, being born as a human and yet still God,
and to dwell on the miraculous events surrounding His birth.

And I wonder if my children can focus on that either, amidst all of noise and clamor of our Christmas "preparations".

Don't get me wrong--I think all of the preparations are wonderful, and help exemplify the true spirit of Christmas to my family and friends. But am I taking time amidst all of the chaos (for lack of a better term) to remind my children of the quiet event that happened 2000+years ago, the TRUE REASON why we even celebrate Christmas?

As I was thinking about all of this over the weekend, I decided to do some investigating. Here are a list of resources I found, to help those parents who desire to instill the true knowledge of Christ's birth in their childrens' hearts and minds. If you have others that you use, please leave a comment and let me know what they are.

***Some activities to help focus your heart on the meaning of Christmas: here and here
(I also like the idea from "Being Frugal" about buying 24 Christmas books--scroll down to pg.8.....I buy my kids a new Christmas story book about Jesus' birth every year.)

***Some advent calendars that I really like: this one and this one and this one and this one.
(We personally use this one.....it is simple and easy to use with small children.)

***Some great resources for guiding your thoughts towards Christ's birth: here, here, here, and here.
(You should also check out my friend Gretchen's blog--she has some good thoughts for this season.

And as you prepare for this Christmas 2008, I pray that the real reason why we celebrate will be alive in your mind, and that you will daily be affected by it. Jesus came for me and you.......

Nothin' says Thanksgiving like cranberries!

Yes, yes.....I forgot to post a recipe for Saturday again. This blog is free entertainment, so you can't expect too much, ok?!

I haven't finished my chapter in my Bible study for the week, thus nothing for Mommy Monday so I will post my Saturday recipe instead. How is that for covering all of my bases? Or rather covering up my procrastinations....... :-)

I adore cranberries.....this time of year gets me so excited, as I wander through the grocery store and spot sales left and right on cranberry sauce and fresh cranberries and various other cranberry items.

As I was searching for a muffin recipe the other day, I came across one that called for dried apricots. I did not have any apricots at the time, so I substituted...what else but...... .....CRANBERRIES! They were wonderful! I have tried the recipe several more times, and it is one of the best muffin recipes I have ever found. Why? Because I have had to substitute ingredients on several occasions but the muffins have still turned out perfect. (And that doesn't usually happen for me......let me tell you!)

So, enjoy these muffins on Thanksgiving morning--they will satisfy your family until
the big meal!

Dried Fruit-Oatmeal Muffins

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped dried fruit
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup boiling water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
2 t. grated orange peel, optional

1) In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In another bowl, combine the oats, dried fruit, butter and boiling water; stir until butter is melted. Cool for 5 minutes.

2) Stir in eggs, milk, and orange peel if desired. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen.

WHAT was that again???

Little "Donkey Kong" is learning new words almost daily.

"Circle", "cycle" (motorcycle), "puppy", "sit" (and he points to the place where he wants you to sit :-)......

I love this age--it is so fun to see what they understand and communicate! Well, it is USUALLY fun.....

On Halloween, he learned his newest word:

"MINE!!!!"

(Fabulous......thanks, pointless*sugar-saturated*greed-encouraging holiday!)

Hate is such a strong word

I was going to say that I HATE Halloween. It is such a commercialized and meaningless holiday. All of the candy and creepy decorations and endless parties......

But I realized that I ought to practice what I preach. I always tell my kids not to use the word "hate".....it is such a strong verb. "Despise" would probably be more accurate.

But then, I do have to be honest--there are a few things that I like about Halloween.......

These FIVE, for instance:

1) "Freaky Fun Day" deals at Old Navy (all of this for $7.50!)



2) Pumpkin sugar cookies (thanks, Jeani! :-)



3, 4, and 5) My cute little trick-or-treaters.....the sparkly black kitty, the little ladybug, and our sweet cowboy.

Happy Independence Day!!