Category Archives: Family & Friends

Moving Fun

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Our daughter and son-in-law are in the process of buying a house, which means they have lots to do in the way of packing and then unpacking when they are in their new home. Well, it’s not new, but it’s new to them. Fortunately, they don’t have far to move, just across town. So they will be needing moving boxes, able bodied people to help them move, and perhaps box cutters for after they move. We hope to be able to go for a visit soon and help pack dishes and whatever else they need done which I’m sure will definitely include holding Baby J. 🙂

“Random Act of Kindness”

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Our daughter had the neatest experience this week. She met with a friend of hers who was in town and is also a new mother. The two mothers and their babies had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. They asked a man and his daughter who were sitting nearby if they would take pictures of them with their babies. The man gladly took a picture for them, and as he was setting the camera down on the table, he picked up their bill and paid it. He was a perfect stranger, but yet he must have been touched by these two new mothers and their babies. What a kind man!

Thank-You Notes

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One thing my mother taught me and I taught our daughter is to always write a thank-you note within a couple of weeks after receiving a gift. It seems to be the trend now-a-days to not write thank-you notes. However, I think it’s always best to communicate appreciation with a nice note especially for a graduation, wedding or baby gift. It doesn’t have to be long, just sincere. And maybe the two week time period could be extended, but I think a month at the longest. If a person has given the effort to give someone a gift then they deserve a thank-you note. Especially when gifts are mailed, the giver of the gift likes to know their gift was received.  (I must admit that the older I get, every once in a while I forget.)  Some things never go out of style…they are timeless. And I think thank you notes are one of those things!

Gift Ideas for Families

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Eve has some great gift ideas for families. One thing that she mentions is the Wii. We got one when they first came out, and it is a great game system for the whole family. Young children, kids of all ages, teenagers, parents, and even grandparents can all enjoy this system. There is a wide assortment of games to meet everyone’s interest. In case you don’t know about the Wii, you can hook it up to your TV and everyone can see what’s going on at all times. And the really neat thing is that it brings everybody together in a fun way.

Family Recipes

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Pat, a friend of ours from way back when my husband and I were newlyweds, has some family recipes on her site that are delicious. I know… I’ve eaten some of these dishes at her house several times over 25 years ago, and they are delicious!

  • Irish Potato Cake
  • Refrigerator Rolls
  • Buroux (filled sandwiches)
  • Homemade Pizza
  • Potato Bread for Bread Machine
  • Buttermilk Cornbread
  • Roast Turkey
  • Cornbread Dressing
  • Crock Pot Beans
  • Swedish Cherry Cobbler
  • Ripe Tomato Relish
  • Homemade Granola Cereal

Use Play Yard to Protect Christmas Tree & Gifts from Baby or Toddler

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A play yard is great to put around your raised Christmas tree to keep little hands from taking off the ornaments or unwrapping the presents, or to keep little people from knocking over the tree, or maybe even keep them from climbing it. When our son was a toddler, our play yard was a perfect solution to keep him from playing with all the ornaments on the tree and the gifts under the tree. It’s been so long that I don’t remember him trying to climb the tree, but he was a climber and given the opportunity, he probably would have tried to climb the Christmas tree. We did have to put the tree up a little higher to get the tree completely out of his reach, though, so we put an end table inside the play yard and then put the Christmas tree up on top of the end table. Hard as he might try, he just couldn’t reach the tree! 🙂

Thanksgiving…a Very Special Time

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Our Thanksgiving holidays were full of blessings! It’s always wonderful to be with family, but this year was extra special for us because we had Baby J, who is at that cute 3 1/2 month old age where he’s noticing people and smiling at them. Two special times for me were when I fed him his bottle and he fell asleep in my arms. I loved every minute of it! I thought about our own children, when they were babies, how they’ve grown, and the blessings they are in our lives, too.

Seat Belt Purses

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Our daughter has the neatest seat belt purses that our son-in-law gave her. I remember the first time she told me she had a seat belt purse, I imagined a purse with the buckle and everything. When I actually saw the purse, I was amazed at how nice it was. Her most recent purse is a smaller version of her first one and much easier to handle now that she has Baby J. Both purses are a classic black color, look sharp when she’s dressed up or when she’s wearing jeans, are strong and sturdy ,and are made to last a long time. She also has the matching wallet and keeps her purse very organized, and I imagine in a couple of years she will have little toy cars and trucks in her purse as well.

I Did It! I Went to “Black Friday” Sales for the First Time!

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Well, I actually went to the super early Black Friday sales with our daughter and her friend, who has never been shopping early on Black Friday either. “C” was the only experienced one of the three of us. I got up at 3:30 a.m. (that is crazy!) and got ready. “C” and her friend went to Kohl’s first for the 4 a.m. opening so her friend could get a Kitchenaid Mixer on sale for $129 (regularly $250) plus a $40 Kohl’s gift card which made the mixer end up costing $89. That was definitely worth getting up for during the wee hours of the morning. Then they came and got me.

We got to Circuit City and the line was really long. It was fun talking in line, though, and the wait went by fast. Once the store opened at 5 a.m., we had a plan. “C” went to one side of the store, and her friend and I looked on the other side for the SanDisk SD Cards and Flash Drives for $7.99. We got our items, got in line, and then “C” joined us. We were fast and efficient.

After that, we headed for Super-Target which opened at 6 a.m. We stood in line there for 30 minutes, and it was colder there due to wind chill. I found a new ThermaCare heating pad in my coat pocket, so I opened it up so we could use it to warm our hands. We laughed about how it was like our little campfire and we were huddled around it to keep our hands warm. (and yes, we did all have on gloves) We got into Target and, again, were fast and efficient in finding everything. I was so excited, though, because I found one thing that wasn’t even on sale. It’s something I’ve been looking for and finally found: Pat the Bunny book for Baby J.( Our daughter, “C”, had that very same book when she was a baby, her brother used it when he was a baby, and I wanted our grandson to have it.)

After Target, we went to Old Navy where “C” found the cutest little long-sleeved onsie for Baby J that says, “Baby’s First Christmas” on it plus a darling little hat for him. Both were items that she has been wanting but couldn’t find where they live.

We ended our shopping excursion driving through Chick-Fil-A’s drive-through to get Breakfast Chicken Mini’s and their special where you buy a $20 Chick-Fil-A gift card and receive their $5 calendar/with coupons for free.

So…would I do this again? Yes, but only if my daughter came and picked me up! LOL (I would not go by myself!) We had a very positive experience and did not encounter any rude people. Everyone waited their turn. We got a lot of great bargains, but the best part was just the simple fun of being together…”together on a mission” as my daughter would say. 🙂

Free Birthday Dinners at Restaurants!

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Our family likes to go to restaurants on birthdays where the birthday person receives a free birthday dinner. We have been on several occasions, and it’s like getting a birthday gift. Here are two restaurants we like that give free dinners to the birthday person.  Click on the name of the restaurant to find out more.

Thanksgiving Decorations for the Whole Family to Make Together

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It’s fun to work together as a family on a project. When our son was in kindergarten, he had a homework assignment: the whole family had to decorate this white cardboard, cut-out turkey shape that was about ten inches tall. So all of us, even teenage sister and dad helped to decorate the turkey, coloring it with markers, gluing on ribbon, odds and ends of stuff out of my sewing box, colored cereal, and small pieces of old jewelry. We had so much fun! Years and years later, we still have that turkey and he’s always a part of our Thanksgiving decorations. And the funny thing is that the cereal is still on there. LOL

My friend, Wanda, over at apples-zeros.com used to be an art teacher, and you can tell because she is so creative. Here’s a neat idea she has for making a homemade centerpiece that everyone in the family can help make. This would be something that you could save and use from year to year by storing it in a box in the attic. Just click here .

When I used to teach first grade, we would make a great big turkey mural out in the hallway every year. It made the bland wall come alive. I would have the kids trace around their hands on different colors of construction paper (red, orange, purple, yellow, brown, and some green). I had a turkey head that I used every year and would just make a new body for it every year with all of the hand cut-outs. This idea could make a neat door decoration at home, too.

Time Together Golfing

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We have some friends who often end up on a golf course when they go on vacation. They went to Hawaii before and, of course, they ended up on a golf course. They said it was beautiful because they could see the ocean. They both have sets of golf clubs and probably golf shoes . Golfing is something they enjoy doing together even though she’s not an avid golfer like her husband. And that’s one thing that is important for couples to do, to find something that they enjoy doing together.