I may not be the "ornament lady" but my kids think I'm super cool! #gluenglitter #elmersholiday

I was given a challenge.  I was up for the challenge.  And dang nabbit I was going to succeed at the challenge.

Remember the ornaments I was talking about?  The ornaments that all the children in my life can decorate their first tree with when they move out on their own?  Well, 'twas a week before Christmas and I was feeling the pressure.

So I went to to Walmart and checked out the Elmer's Memory Keeping aisle and after much back and forth between plain Christmas tree bulbs that I could jazz up, and foam creations I could make three dimensional I came up with something that make my youngest say, "Mom, that is super cool!"  So, it has to be.  Right?

I found that the Elmer's and X-ACTO section at Walmart has some mighty fine tools to use to make my holiday ornaments "super cool." I also discovered that X-ACTO has come a long way since I was in high school and was given a plain silver weapon to cut out and place format when we laid out the school newspaper.

I perused items I don't need this time, but ones that I definitely will have in the future including these templates.

And this Spot Stamper!  Wow!  Santa are you listening!  If I am to finish scrapbooking the eight trillion gazillion photos I have this would certainly help!

In the end, these were the items I decided on to make my 3-D Snowflake ornament. No, you don't need special glasses to watch, but here is a list of what you will need. 

 Supplies Needed:

• Elmer's CraftBond™ Foam Mounting Tape
• Elmer's CraftBond Sparkle Glue in Basic Shimmer
•  Elmer's CraftBond Sparkle Glue in Shimmer
• X-ACTO Designers Series #1 Craft Knife
• X-ACTO Designers Series Precision Tip Scissors
• Elmer's Paint Marker in Silver
• 35 Count Foam Snowflakes
• Thin ribbon for hanging

 My pack of 35 foam snowflakes contained white and light blue snowflakes.  I had to experiment to see which configuration looked best.  In the end I went with whatever struck me.

 I used the X-ACTO Designers Series #1 Craft Knife to make a notch in the two snowflakes for adding the ribbon hanger when I am done decorating.

The ornaments I give have to be personalized and dated.  It's a must.  I used the Elmer's Sparkle Glue to do just that.  I did find that my letters should have used less Sparkle Glue.  Keep your designs thin as it states on the package.  I had to let mine dry overnight.

 I had SO much fun adding dots and squiggles.  My eight-year-old thought it was so cool and wanted to join in.  It was her bed time but I will definitely let her help with the other 15 or so I have to make this week.

I bought ribbon in white and dark blue and cut the strips about 8 inches long to hang the ornaments.

After an overnight drying period I used the Elmer's CraftBond™ Foam Mounting Tape to adhere the two snowflakes together.  This is where the 3-D look came into play.  The two flakes were not flat against each other.  Then I tied each with a ribbon to hang it by.  Voila!

 This was a very simple project, but the kids love it.  Added bonus it was very inexpensive.  If you can't find your "ornament lady" then getting creative and DIYing it is the next best thing.

You can follow Elmer's on Facebook and Twitter and X-ACTO on Facebook for more awesome Do-It-Yourself ideas.

This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #ElmersHoliday #gluenglitter #collectivebias #CBias.  All opinions are my own.

It was a great idea at the time

Twelve years ago I had a brilliant idea.  It was my last one.

Twelve years ago I decided that I would start a tradition of providing my nieces, nephews, children of friends, and eventually my own children, with yearly Christmas ornaments.  For some, this yearly sentimental act was in lieu of a gift.  No more dolls, books, or stuff their Mom's didn't want, just a nice ornament signed and dated by yours truly.

That was 1999.  I had one niece.  My close friends had three daughters among them.  I could swing the whole endeavor for less than 20 bucks.  That was 1999.

It is now 2011.  I have three nieces, four nephews, and my closest, dearest friends now have 18 kids between them.  I have developed friendships with new families too and could easily add in about eight more kids.  That would total 33 ornaments.  And once there was four.

Back in the day I had a great "Ornament Lady", which is what I really called her.  I could find her at a variety of craft shows in Jackson or Ann Arbor. 

She is responsible for this...

 

And this and this...

And then she fell off the Earth.  Leaving me and my ornaments...hanging... with no idea where to turn to continue the tradition.

I tried to continue the craft show tradition for a bit, but everything that met my "standards" which were based on the "Ornament Lady" cost an arm and a leg, and my siblings and friends kept reproducing.

One year I found these lovely gems...

Not cheap and I had to pay to have them shipped because when I gave the crafter my list of names she passed out on the floor.

Another year I got these for girls, and heaven only knows what everyone else got...

 

And as the numbers grew, and my money shrank- not in size, just in volume, I tried my luck at boxed ornaments that I could personalize myself.  Thanks to Target and my love of Snowmen/SnowSantas I had a couple of more great years...

and my favorite...

 

So now here we are in 2011 and Christmas is 15 days away and I have yet to find this year's ornament that I need a gazillion of.  OK, not a gazillion, but even if I only bought for my girls, nieces and nephews I would need 9.  But of course I will buy more than that.  I will probably even buy them for my dogs.  And yes, the ornament has to "speak" to me, and when I see it I will just know that it's the one.  I will drive my husband crazy with my process, but I will be proud of the outcome.  When I deliver them to their recipients some of whom have 12 from me already they will love what I choose.  And for awhile it will seem like a great idea all over again.  Until next December anyway.

How I Spent My Summer (Vacation)

I did some pretty fun stuff this summer.  Because I did so much, and because my Fall is always complete chaos I am just now finding the time to write about it all. 

Back in May I attended my first ever blogging conference- Gleek Retreat which is right here in Michigan.  It was held in Holland and I got to connect with some new bloggy friends and reconnect with some old ones and a great friend from my highschool (and younger) days.

I felt like I learned a great deal and I hope to attend next year too!

From April until September I freelanced at an ad agency and my blogging got skimpy but I still had a chance to participate in the Shout Out to Eat Out promotion with Chili's! Hubby and I got to try out the Chili's Triple Dipper appetizer and then I got to share one with you!  What a yummy date night that was!

Date nights are great but I also had fun celebrating Father's Day at Wendy's with Cory and the girls (plus one) with free Frostys.  Another great opportunity for a blogger.  A blogger who will never have other opportunities if she doesn't blog more often ;)

Cory and Jayden enjoy a Frosty and French Fries.  The perfect combination of sweet and salty.

 

It was the perfect treat after a hot day in and out of the pool.  Jayden, Ryann and Ryann's friend Lauren (in the middle) completely agree!

So, as you can see I've had some fun.  As of early September the freelance job at the ad agency came to an end.  I still bill an hour here and there, and am slowly picking up more "jobs" in addition to the unpaid work I do for soccer, girl scouts, church, school, etc.  But hey, I'm happy.  And that's all that really matters.  Right?

Raising Girls with Discovery Girls **giveaway**

I have two daughters.  That's really no secret here.  They are almost 11 and 7.5 and every day is a challenge to make sure they grow up happy, healthy, wise, respectful, with a realistic view of the world without hiding from them until they are grown or totally freaking them out.  It's.  A challenge.

That's one of the reasons I have come to love Discovery Girls magazine.  I feel that like content is realistic, enjoyable, and appropriate for them to sit and read.  I also think that the magazine and their new Fab Girls Guides help put girls at ease about things they might not feel like talking about all day long.

 My youngest daughter is on the tween horizon.  She peruses the magazine but not with the intensity that my 10.9999 year-old does.  My oldest is in middle school.  I feel we have a great relationship, but I know sometimes it's easier to read about why your friends are catty and rude than it is to rehash the day with your Mom.  That's where these materials really have value for me.

Both girls loved the 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition and read it together on a long car ride up north.  Even sisters are allowed to enjoy quizzes and reading about other girls' embarrassing moments together, and that made Mom very happy.

I have an opportunity to share these great items with you and I am excited to do so!  Today's giveaway includes:

• 1 complimentary year subscription to the magazine (a $20 value!)
• 1 set of our Fab Girls book set ($40)
• 1 10-Year Anniversary Collector's Edition, which will encompass 10 years of the best content from our magazine! ($10)!

To enter you must "like" My Life of What Ifs on Facebook.  Then leave me a comment below stating that you do in fact, "like" me and who you would share these lovely prizes with.  Daughter?  Granddaughter?  Sister?  Niece?

You can earn another entry by "liking" Discovery Girls magazine on Facebook too, and leaving a separate comment telling me you did so.  Make sure any and all entries contain your email or a way to contact you.

So, like away.  Leave a comment or two and good luck raising your daughters, no matter how old they are or how many you have.  Luck is always needed, and appreciated.

Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media, all thoughts are my own. Contest ends Friday, September 16 at 11:59 pm ET.  Winner will be chosen at random through Random.org.

Potatoes? No, Tomatoes. Learning to love them.

I love tomatoes.  Enough said.  Blog post over.

One of the favorite joys in my life is walking to my garden in the summer, picking a tomato, slicing it up and eating the whole thing.  My lips and cheeks are puckering just thinking about the taste.

Four people live here and we are a house divided.  My husband is not a fan of the tomato and that is putting it nicely.  My youngest daughter has not yet discovered the joy of a tomato, in fact she actually says it's "potatoes" that she doesn't like.  But if I put a tomato anywhere near her she cringes.  But my oldest daughter has discovered that she likes tomatoes, she- is on my team.

I love to cook with tomatoes.  Sauce, diced, stewed, whole, and canned tomatoes are a great way to add juice and flavor to many things including one of our favorite recipes.  This recipe doesn't have an official name.  It's just a crock pot meal that a friend posted on a message board years ago.

You will need:

• One pound stewing beef
• 1 can tomato sauce (we use Hunt's)
• 1 small bag of frozen peas
• 2T Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 onion chopped
• salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste.
• Add a can of stewed tomatoes for more sustenance, and more health benefits.

Place all ingredients in crock pot, stir, cover and cook on high for three hours or on low for 10.  Serve over linguine, other pasta, or mashed potatoes.  Top with Parmesan.

This recipe makes me happy because our garden hasn't even been planted yet this year, heck it snowed last week, and making this crock pot tomato stew is one way I can expose my family to the benefits of tomatoes in the off season.  I recently read the article Tomato Consumption and Health: Emerging Benefits and was very interested in a few of the basic tomato facts, such as:  

• Tomatoes are the most consumed non-starchy vegetable.
• Tomatoes are the most significant source of dietary lycopene.  Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that gets more powerful after cooking.  Which, this time of year, most of the tomatoes I use are cooked!
• Tomatoes are one of the top contributors of potassium to the American diet.
• Tomatoes are good for your heart. (It’s easy to remember because they’re red.)  They are low in calories, but rich in fiber.
• Emerging research underscores the relationship between consuming tomatoes and tomato products with reduced risk of certain cancers, heart disease, ultraviolet light-induced damage, osteoporosis and other conditions.

A favorite of mine is Hunt's tomato products. All of Hunt's products are grown in California, 100% Natural, and they come in a lot of varieties including No Salt Added.  Only Hunt's uses the natural FlashSteam process to lock in the natural tomato goodness of every tomato in their diced, whole and stewed varieties.  And each Hunt's tomato goes from vine to can in just hours so home cooks can enjoy the summer-fresh taste of tomatoes all year round.

If you think I'm just tomato happy then check out the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and see how tomatoes and other healthy foods can benefit your life.  These guidelines recommend one or more servings of tomatoes a day, as part of the new red-orange vegetable sub-group.  Now if someone could just convince my husband that they really taste great too!

I received a stipend from Hunt's and The Motherhood in exchange for this blog post.  All opinions, ideas and statements are mine and mine alone.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza and hormonal tweens

I have an enormous sweet tooth.  Seriously, I need help. I also have a hormonal 10-year-old daughter.  Seriously, I need help with that too.  I will also say right off the bat that I am not condoning or fixing my daughters mood swings with sweet, sinful desserts.  But I do make them to make me feel better after putting up with her.  And her seven-year-old sister who can be equally as bitc... ummm, moody.  I have food issues, and I am trying to make sure my daughters do not.  But anywho, let's talk about the dessert pizza goodness I made today.  #Familymeals do not need to be followed by dessert, but is sure as hell helps.

I found the recipe for Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza on the Pillsbury website. I have seen it in magazines other times and had always wanted to make it.  Today it was necessary.

All you need is:

1 roll of chocolate chip cookie dough
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter ( I used Peter Pan)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 cup whipped topping (I used Reddi Whip)
hot fudge topping
chopped nuts

With those sinful ingredients you do the following:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Press cookie dough evenly in bottom of pizzsa pan to form crust.
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.
• Spread peanut butter mixture over top. Drizzle with fudge topping. Sprinkle with peanuts. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until serving time. Cut into wedges or squares. Spray a dollop of Reddi-Whip on top (OK that's my own signature move)

Then you eat this ooey, gooey goodness and try not to gag.  It's that good.  I also strongly suggest small portions.  Even those with the healthiest of blood sugar levels may have issues after ingesting this dessert.  Check out my whrrl below for pictures of the delectable dessert pizza.

More check-ins at Walmart Supercenter #1754

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This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias, all opinions are mine and mine alone.

I have finally made it

I am officially an adult.  In fact I have never felt more like an adult that I do when I look at this picture.

I've always kind of felt like I was pretending at this adult stuff.  Get married, buy a house, have a kid, accumulate debt, yada, yada, yada.

As my children have grown I've still felt at times like they belong to someone else.  No one in their right mind would allow me to have kids, would they?

What if they did?  What if 10-and-a-half years ago today I gave birth to this bald, cone-headed, eight-pound, five-ounce little being?  And she was deceptively sweet, until the crying began.  Then when it stopped after several weeks we liked her again.

What if she has a heart of gold and eyes of bright blue?  What if she is caring, and silly, and moody too?  What if she has my allergies, bad eyes, and crooked teeth?  What if she has her dad's hands and feet?  What if two weeks ago we put braces on her teeth and the feelings began?  The feelings of- I am an adult and I am responsible for this young person's teeth.  This young person who is four inches shorter than me and wears a size seven shoe?  What if after years of struggling in school she has finally found her groove and gets awesome grades and reads like a crazy girl?  What if today she left for Fifth Grade Camp? Ten-and-a-half years to the day she came into the world, she dropped her gear, said goodbye, and ran off to her friends without looking back.  Four days of no mom, and no dad, except for when we visit of course.  What if she's having the time of her life?  I hope she is.

iPhone 4, Smurfs & Castaway Bay

Almost two weeks ago at my request, the Fed Ex man dropped off an iPhone 4.  My iPhone 4.

You see, the stars aligned for me.  I needed a better phone, my LG 2 was a bit of an embarrassment, and as a blogger with an ever growing presence in the world of social media I needed something with an app or two, or 40.

At first I was not happy with Verizon for not letting me upgrade earlier.  In my many years of cell phone ownership and experience I have always been allowed to trade up a month or two in advance, but for some reason Verizon wasn't budging.  So I would visit the various Droid models at the store and dream.  Droid 2 or Droid X?  Bedazzled case or one with a profound quote showing my intellectual side?  And then I heard THE news.  The iPhone 4 was coming to Verizon.

It was scheduled to arrive on 2/10.  Existing customers could order online 2/3.  My contract expired on 1/29.  The Stars.  Aligned.

The iPhone 4 was a better choice for me because of my music collection.  I know there are bigger iTunes collections out there but my 6,000 plus tracks were already iPhone compatible.  Plus I wanted Instagram.  And Stickybits.  And apparently Smurfs.  OK, Jayden wanted Smurfs.  It was the first game we downloaded.  She has quite the little village of blue creatures growing, and they happen to be something I adored when I was around her age.

This morning my youngest wakes up all sleepy eyed after a crazy 24-hour period of indoor water slides at Castaway Bay and a birthday party and the first things she says to me is "Mama, did you check on my Smurfs?"  I got an iPhone so she could have Smurfs.

This past Friday I was invited to represent Detroit Mommies at Cedar Point's Castaway Bay Mommy Blogger Event.  I got to take Hubs and the girls and we had a quick, little getaway.  I will be posting all about our trip on Detroit Mommies later this week.  But it was great fun.  Friday night they hosted us Moms at the spa area and while we weren't given facials and pedicures as a group we were able to check out the facilities and they were quite nice.  It's nice to know that when we head back to Cedar Point that the Castaway Bay Spa is available for me to get my feet rubbed after walking around the park.  The park that my girls want to go to SO bad.  The park that I visited faithfully in my youth but now in my old age most of the rides make me feel ill.

But I have given birth to a couple of coaster freaks, who like Smurfs.  Who can also build them villages on my iPhone.  My iPhone.

What if I have other things going on?

While blogging is a passion for me, and also something I hope to do for a long time to come, it doesn't always mean I actually have time to sit down and write a post.

I'm kind of all over the place with "jobs".  Some days I cover events and write stories for the Jackson Citizen Patriot.  Recently I started doing the same thing for the Hartland edition of Patch, an online news and information platform and soon I will write for the Brighton Patch as well.

I have my own Rights & Licensing business.  Lately I've helped clear music for an industrial video for a major automotive manufacturer and a track for a smaller company's TV spot.

I also do special projects for a company called Collective Bias where I am paid to shop for specific products and brands.  I have also been asked to promote products at public events and to invite people to my home for a sampling of the same types of things, and I still do occasional posts for Detroit Mommies.
Oh and I recently became an Independent Consultant with Thirty-One gifts.

In addition to all that, I can usually be found about once a week at each of my girls' schools volunteering.  I co-lead two Girl Scout troops and my husband and I run the concession stand during soccer season.

Once in a while I try to sleep, eat, and watch Bones.  So, if my posting has been spotty, I think you may understand why :)

Last weekend I had an opportunity to have Ryann invite some friends over for a little spa party courtesy of MommyParties and Ottilie and Lulu.

Ottilie and Lulu sells a few items specially formulated for the personal care of tweens and their emerging hormones.  The girls washed their faces, learned about moisturizer, got awesome goodies to take home and I think, have a genuinely good time.  I love that I get to do things like this with my girls.  They are growing up so fast, and I hope they realize that even though Mama is "all-over-the-place" doing work, that the work I do is for them.  And me too of course.  Because I love all the different things I get to do, and I love the time I spend with my family while doing it.
I think my husband likes it too, as you can see in the left sidebar. I did a Frank's Red Hot shop yesterday and made meatballs.  Totally broke his heart ;)

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Disclosure:  I was supplied an abundance of Ottilie & Lulu products for free to give away at our party.  However all opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

Snow Day?

Come on Mom.  Let's go play!  There's snow.  Come on!!!!!

Good Morning Mama.  There's snow outside.  There's no school.  Whatta we gonna do today?  Mom?  Are you awake?

Hi Mom.  Can I call my friends?  Can I go to my friends?  Can I go outside?  What's for breakfast?  Where are all my jeans? Mom?

At least if they go to school I can nap!  Geesh!  LOL!!!

Soccer and vampires and conferences! Oh My!

It's amazing how fast time flies.  One minute you're on a roll blogging, working, taking care of your family and the next minute you realize you haven't posted on your blog in 9 days!

I remember a car ride I had many years ago with my step-mom and cousin.  "Wait until you get older," my Step-Mom told me, "time goes even faster."  I think I had been complaining about how fast summer was going by or something like that.  She was right.

The days between now and whatever event I am looking forward to will be a blur, it's best not to wish them away.

Things have been exciting lately.  The fall soccer season is over and there are no more Saturday early wake-up calls to open the concession stand and watch games. 

The girls were both vampiresses for Halloween, and they were super scary and pleased with their costumes.

Then last week we had our parent-teacher conferences and both of our daughters are doing awesome in school!  Just awesome!!!  I am so proud, and relieved.  Those of you that know us know that our 5th grader Ryann has had some struggles in school and this year has been a real turning point for her.  I couldn't be more pleased.

So, needless to say, the last two weeks were a blur, and now things are slowing down.  Slowing down enough where I can ignore the dirty dishes in my kitchen and spend a few hours working on stuff at Starbucks.  Drinking an iced chai.  Life is good.  Oh my.