A Mom’s Blog

I’m so excited that school is out for Christmas break. November and December are my busy times at work and it seems like I have been ignoring the kids for week. Now work is slowing down for me and the kids are home for weeks.

Next week we will have time before Christmas to do so many fun things. We can visit the Gingerbread house displays at Conner Prairie, finish up our Christmas cookies, and watch the rest of the Christmas movies that we haven’t had a chance to watch yet. With the house decorated and cleaned, the Christmas ham ordered, and cards already sent out, we can actually have some fun!!

I spend so much of the year working and the kids are always busy with school and dance and their friends. I hope that the next two weeks will be a chance for us to relax and enjoy some time together. My girls are 5 and 8, and I know that the days of believing in Santa will be coming to and end soon. I want to make the most of the “magic” time while we still can. I’m sure that by January 6, I will be ecstatic that they are going back to school. But for now, I’m going to enjoy them.

We recently had a chance to start using some Mario Badescu skin care products and love them! We wrote up a review of Mario Badescu products for moms, but some of you have been inquiring specifically about Mario Badescu reviews for pregnancy. Because we’re not pregnant, we can’t help much there. But we did talk to them about it and it turns out that there is a specific Mario Badescu pregnancy page on their website with information specific to all of you expecting moms. So check it out and see what you think! If you love the products half as much as we do, you will be hooked.

Every year when November rolls around, we start talking about what we are thankful for. But why don’t we give thanks all year round? Is it because life just goes by too quickly? I wish that I made more time in my life to think about all of the reasons that I have to be thankful–because I have many.

I have a wonderful family that supports me in my crazy 24-hour-a-day-7-day-a-week affiliate marketing job. I have a job that provides for my family while giving me the flexiblity to be extremely involved in my children’s lives. I live in a safe place that is perfect for raising those children.

I could sit and make a list pretty much every day of the year and that list would be a mile long. But for some reason, I don’t stop to think about what would be on that list until November. If I made New Year’s Resolutions, my resolution would be to make every month as thankful as November. But since I don’t make resolutions anymore, I’m just going to try my hardest to remember every day that November is not the only month to show thanks.

These days I am trying to save money in any way that I can. What better way than by using coupons on items that I am buying anyway? I love getting magazines and newsletters from name-brand companies because they are always packed with recipe ideas and coupons. Every now and again, you even get free product samples.

Here’s a simple signup for the Kraft Dinner Made Easy newsletter. They have a good privacy policy, so you don’t have to worry about giving our your home address. And if you don’t like it, you can unsubscribe. But if you do any kind of cooking at all, I think you are going to love it!

My kids are into a new game on the Wii–Mario Party 8. I initially bought it as a game for the whole family, but I actually haven’t been able to play it much because we only have two controller and the girls seems to be playing it every time we have the Wii on.

What I like about Mario Party 8 is that both girls can play and have a good time. My five-year-old daughter usually doesn’t like video games. There is something about this one that she really enjoys. I think that the mini-games make it easier for her to remember the rules and the controller functions.

Another thing that I like about the game is that the girls can play on a team together. This way, I don’t have to hear them pouting or gloating when one or the other wins. They can work together and usually win together. It’s nice to see them working as a team!

If you are looking for a family game for the Wii that everyone can play together regardless of age or skill level, I would definitely check out Mario Marty 8. Maybe I’ll try to play it myself after the kids go to bed tonight.