120 Mile Challenge

My friend, Cat, has had quite the past year and has been blogging about her impressive weight loss. To keep working towards her goals and to motivate others to exercise, she has come up with a fun 120 Mile Challenge for the summer. It sounds like a lot at first, but it is very doable for any fitness level and I think that it will be fun to track how much we can run or walk. She is also gathering sponsors for some fun prizes. Anyway, if you'd like to join me go on over to her blog and join the Challenge!

More fun Christmas Websites

Here are a couple more fun Christmas websites that my kids got a huge kick out of!

Chin Carolers  (12 days of Christmas was my favorite!)

and Reindeer Orchestra

Merry Christmas!

Free KFC

Hi Girls! Even though I haven't eaten at KFC in years, I thought this was pretty fun. They're offering free KFC dinners if you print a coupon today (you can only print it on May 5th). I guess this is courtesy of the Oprah show and you can use it until 5/19/09. You can also print two, so I guess maybe a free date night? Have fun!

http://www.unthinkfc.com/

Play Dough!

Today my daughter and I wanted to try something different. We've been stuck inside for pretty much the last 6 months, and needless to say, we're going crazy! I thought it would be fun to make some play dough. I've never done it before, so I went online to find a good recipe (Brielle still loves to put things in her mouth) that would be safe to eat.

I found this great recipe, and it is supposed to be one that keeps the dough nice and soft.

I made it today and Brielle and I had a blast! She loved to squish the play dough between her fingers and say "Ewww!"

I found the recipe on Lovely Design (she's got some really fun ideas!) and it turned out great! I made the yellow one first, and I think that one turned out the best. My one caution is this: put the flour in a little bit at a time! With the yellow one I did just that because I didn't know how much I needed. But with the red one (the second one I did) I got cocky and thought I knew what I was doing. Well, that one turned out hard and grainy. So my third one, the blue one, I did the flour slowly and it turned out great again! I used a wire wisk at first while putting the flour in so that it didn't stay all clumpy. Then used a spoon when it was too thick.

Here's the recipe (it's also on the link above):

2 c water
1 c salt
food coloring
4 tsp cream of tartar
4 TBSP oil
2 c flour
(I didn't have enough salt to do even one batch, so I quartered the batch and got 3 colors! And it's the perfect amount for Brielle's little hands!)

- Combine water, salt, cream of tartar and food coloring (.5 tsp for pastel color and 1.5 tbsp for vivid color) in a large saucepan.

- Cook on low heat and stir. As the mixture heats up, stir in the oil and then the flour slowly.

- Keep Stirring the mixture until it starts looking dry and pulling away from the pan. Remove from heat and pinch a piece between two fingers. If it is not sticky, it is done. Otherwise, continue stirring over low heat.

- Place the dough on counter and knead until smooth. Children will enjoy kneading the warm dough when it cools enough for them, too!

- When finished playing, store playclay in an airtight container or plastic bag to re-use again and again. Do not refrigerate.

* For children who cannot tolerate gluten or food colouring, you may subsitute rice flour for flour and use natural beet (red), spinach (green) or carrot (orange) juice for colour.

Enjoy!!

4 Nuts in a Nutshell

One of my friends has recently started a blog because she loves to write and has a great way of finding the humor in life. She loves new readers and is hoping to update it regularly, so I thought that I'd let you check out her funny look at motherhood.

Free Printable To-Do Lists

These are cute and .pdf formatted so you can print them off at your leisure.

Here.

Enjoy

Get Some Rockin' Moves

If you guys need to get some pretty amazing moves for a great party you're attending this weekend, check out the "worst music video ever" for some ideas. You'll laugh, I promise.

Holiday Comic Relief

So, probably a ton of you guys know about this blog, but I thought that I would share for those of you who don't and who need a little laugh at this busy time of year. This blog is written by an anonymous (and hilarious) person who pretends to be TAMN - a girl who embodies almost all stereotypes of Utah Mormons. It's just funny because some of it is so true and it's in a very good natured way. I find myself laughing at her antics (and how some of it relates to me - yikes) all the time, so I thought you'd enjoy it too. Check it out at http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/ and if it's your first time she has an intro about herself in the upper right hand corner. Merry Christmas!

Twilight Quiz

In honor of Cassi and all the other huge Twilight fans out there my cousin sent me this quiz and I thought it was really fun in preparation for the movie coming out soon. So, who are you?


Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Disney Princess

So, I know that there are lots of quizzes out there, but I thought that this one was kind of fun. Here's my results and I'd be interested to see what everyone else is in the princess world. Now, if only I actually looked as beautiful as my princess...

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

The Mommies (from sea to shining sea)

I thought it would be fun to see how many different states we represent. Mommy Diaries started off primarily in Minnesota and it is so great to see how it has grown!

Parenting Magazine

This was too fun, I had to share! And what better place to share a Parenting article than the Mommy Blog??



Does anyone read Parenting Magazine? Well if you do, or you happen to pass one at the store or dr. office flip to page 70!!! My daughter, Mayli got to be in the June issue of Parenting. It's a piece on development and they put her picture and a few quotes from me in the magazine. It's so fun to see our names in a national magazine!!
The article is also online if you click here: PARENTING

My Breakfast Contribution

This may sound a little unorthodox, but trust me, it's delish!

4 eggs
3 lbs of butter
1/2 jar of Cheez Whiz
4 TBSP Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

Mix all ingredients together, then bake at 450 degrees for 16 minutes.
Serve hot with salad dressing on top and apple cider to drink...it's family tradition.

Oh, did I mention this recipe is only to be made on April 1st? hee hee...

Parade of Elves

My sister found this site and I thought it was so cute! My kids were cracking up when they saw their faces on ours, so I thought it would be fun to do some for the Mommy blog!
Can you find your little elf??

Little elves 1: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1202565667

Little elves 2: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1203030778

Little elves 3: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1203346448

Enjoy! :)

You know you're a stay at home mom if...

-On the days where you don't have anywhere to go you tend to stay in your pajamas until at least 2:00

-Substances like pee, poop, spit up, throw up, snot, and spit no longer seem so terribly disgusting because you're usually covered in one of them.

-You can carry a diaper bag, a purse, a handful of mail, a couple bags of groceries, and at least 2 kids from the car to the house.

-You and your friends are used to having choppy conversations that are constantly being interrupted mid sentence to help a child, catch a child, or yell to a child.

-You have the morning cartoon schedule memorized... and so does your child

-You know how to cut a peanut butter sandwich into triangles, rectangles, or hexagons!!!

-Only you can translate what your 18-24 month old is saying

-You've become an expert at peeling the skin off of apples, peaches, pears, and grapes!

-Baby drool is pretty much the same thing as water right?

-You get to see firsthand all your child's milestones (first smile, step, words, days of school, etc...) and you're the first person they run to when they are hurt or upset.

Being a stay at home mom is definitely a full time job, but it's the most rewarding one out there.