So I am a stay at home mom and I am really busy most days. Well I have these huge vaulted ceilings and walls that you really cannot paint yourself..it would take scaffolding to get everywhere and I don’t like heights! So I have been staring at the walls that are mostly white and really think they need some color! The boys playroom (dining room) has normal height walls…and the kitchen as two walls that are regular height so Im thinking about a color for there. What are good trendy colors for the kitchen??? I dunno whats in these days! I dont want loud or obnoxious! Things that make you go hmmmm.

As my boys are getting a little older, it is never too early to start teaching them about giving and receiving, and most importantly about thanking people for their kindness in remembering them.
Growing up my Mom always made a point of making sure I sent “thank you cards” out to people for gifts I had received at my parties, graduation etc. First off it says a lot to the person who gave the gift and that they weren’t just at the event so your child could get a gift and secondly it says you are teaching your child manners! I believe some form of acknowledgment is important…for me if I get a verbal “thank you” that is enough but for others a “thank you” in the mail is important.

If your child is old enough to write, get him or her involved by letting them write their own words of thanks and help with spelling. You can let them add their own personal touch by drawing pictures and such..let them have fun with it!

If your child is too young to write you can let him put hand prints in a card and you can write a small message. This is about teaching them these things early, so later, it is something they are willing to do and associate it with something fun. I think that makes a big difference!

Another good idea is, you can take a picture of your child enjoying their new toy or thing they received
and include it with the thank you card. Not only do people have a thank you card but a photo and happy reminder of the wonderful gift they gave that made your child smile.

At Cards Direct they have lots of thank you cards to choose from and you can even personalize them and have your address printed on the envelope. There are so many options!

I ran across a list of things to have on hand for busy toddlers taken from the family education site and thought I would share. I am always looking for things to do with my boys. It always nice to have a variety of supplies on hand ad at the ready, especially on rainy days when you are stuck indoors! Also varying their activities helps with all aspects of their development!

Top 10 Materials to Have on Hand for Toddler Activities

1. Crayons: Remove the labels from crayons when possible. For the younger child, fatter crayons work best. (Crayola makes a great triangular crayon!)
2. Construction paper: Construction paper is very versatile. Be sure to keep a wide variety of colors on hand.
3. Poster board: Use poster board when you need a stronger, more durable paper.
4. White craft glue: You can also use rubber cement or school paste for most projects. Choose what works best for you and your child.
5. Old magazines: Old magazines are a wonderful source for collage and activity pictures. Nature and home-living magazines are the best for this.
6. Scissors: In addition to adult scissors for you, purchase a pair of safety scissors for your child. If you wish, you can also find beginners’ guiding scissors and fancy-edged scissors at school supply stores.
7. Felt-tip markers: Markers are useful for adding small details to projects. Washable markers are available.
8. Food coloring: This is handy for coloring homemade dough and various other craft materials. Please note: It does stain.
9. Recycled household materials: You can reuse materials such as egg cartons, yarn scraps, toilet paper tubes, and boxes for many activities.
10. Tempera paint: Tempera paint is an easy paint for your child to work with. It has a nice smooth texture and comes in many colors.

Father’s Day is right around the corner and I have been racking my brain as to what to get my husband. He is always telling me that I am difficult to buy for but I think he is! LOL.

So I decided that it was time to upgrade his watch since the back keep popping off. Even in this department, he is hard to buy for, as he likes watches with both a digital and analog time on it. These types of watches are hard to come by and I have scoured the malls and resigned myself to shopping online.

I wound up finding a really nice Seiko watch at a place called Blue Dial. I wound up picking the Seiko SNJ023P1 Men’s Retro Analog Digital Alarm Chronograph. It is nice enough that he can wear it to work and everyday and also he can wear it for dressier occasions.

So I made spaghetti the other night and the boys loved it, but I didn’t exactly love the mess! They are both busy trying to master the use of their forks. Sometimes they do really well and other times the fork winds up on the floor and their hands are what works best. I had spaghetti noodles everywhere and although it was fun eating for them, mommy wasn’t having fun cleaning it up. So I think next time I will try a heartier noodle…like macaroni or rigatoni or something. The noodles taste the same but I think it will be easier for them to get their fork into.

As a busy mother of twins, I don’t have a whole lot of time to get the extra stuff done. Since having the boys, I vowed to make sure that I keep up with their pictures. For their six week photos i took them into a photo studio to have them done and that was probably the last time I stepped foot into one. I have since been an avid amateur photographer and take all their photos myself!

I started out printing these pictures off on my computer but that was too time consuming so I started to investigate a good company to do the printing for me at a reasonable price! I could not get over how much the photo studios want for an 8×10 photo..almost $30.00! I’m thinking this is ridiculous when I can get an entire order of prints for that! I ran across Vista Print which offers a whole range of printing services. You can design business cards, print announcements or greeting cards, or even magnets I always like unique things. How cute would it be to put photo magnets of your kids in your Christmas cards
So head on over to Vista Print and check it out!

Ok, since having the boys things in the yard have become a bit of a jungle. I have a vegetable garden that usually grows vegetables but I was running behind this year and never got around to it! So I have been growing a nice crop of weeds. I went searching on the internet for an organic solution for weed control since I didn’t want to use chemicals in a place where we grow food to eat! And I ran across a thing that said you can use newspaper! Newspaper wetted down about 1/4 inch thick then put some weed barrier/black tarp over them and your garden will be weed free next year! I tried just black tarp and suddenly my black tarp is rising LOL. The weeds are doing just fine under it ROFL! I plan on doing this in my flower bed as I am tired of trying to yank the weeds the size of trees out. Leave any other tips if you wish!

The world today is such a crazy place. I was just recently talking to a girlfriend of mine who was having some trouble with her credit card company on a series of charges that had been made to her account! I have heard so many horror stories about people who have had their identities stolen and that is is extremely difficult to reverse it after it happens! You will spend your days trying to defend who you are and feel like you are the criminal in doing so!

So I did some looking around and ran across lifelock, this company is pretty cool! It protects you way beyond the normal credit card company. For instance it can get rid of all the credit card offers coming in your mail..a prime target for identity theft! Anyone can reach in your mailbox and sign up for your credit card!

Ok for all you coupon clipping moms out there…I am in need of a really good coupon organizer that isn’t too huge or bulky but is well designed. I have a current organizer but I hate how the thing works. When you open it you have to turn the thing upside down and unwrap the flap at the same time and I seem to lose coupons on the floor of the grocery store! I’d love to hear some input as to what the best organizer is…so please leave a comment and let me know!

This Contest is Now Closed!!  Thanks you for participating and making this a Fabulous first Giveaway!

Did you just get the urge to splurge? I know sometimes as a busy Mom, there are days when I just need a little “retail therapy.” Shopping is a way to escape to that sublime world of any kind of stuff that just wants to be bought

As my first giveaway ever on this blog I thought I would celebrate by sending a lucky winner shopping. I will be giving away a $25 Kohls giftcard. This card can be used in the stores and online, just in case you don’t have one nearby!

Heres the scoop!

This contest is open to U.S. residents only.

Leave me a comment with your name and contact email and a little blurb about why you might like to win this card or something fun if you wish!

For additional entries you can post about my contest on your blog and provide me a link to the post’s URL or you can grab my badge code and put it on your site! Just Let me know!

It’s just that simple!

The contest will run from June 5th to June 13th, and the winner will be notified via email, and then I can get the winners address..yadda yadda!

So here’s to you and your shopping dreams! Good Luck!!!!!