~♥Out With The Old...In With The New♥~

Glitter Graphics

A New Year's Prayer

by Kay Hoffman

Another year is dawning

With the chance to start anew.

May I be kinder, wiser, Lord,

In all I say and do.

Not so caught up in selfish gain

That I would fail to see

The things in life that mean the most

Cost not a fancy fee.

The warm, kind word that I can give,

The outstretched hand to help,

The prayers I pray for those in need--

More precious these than wealth.

I know not what may lie ahead

Of laughter or of tears;

I only need to know each day

That You are walking near.

I'm thankful for this brand new year

As now I humbly pray, 
 

My hand secure in Yours, dear Lord,

Each step along the way.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

All the best to you and yours
in 2010!

♥ Kim

Playing in the Snow

It snowed down here from Christmas Eve until the 27th and then it rested until soemtime late last night and it has been snowing off and on today. What does this mean?  It means a chance to play in the snow. The other day the kids went outside as it was slightly warmer than it has been and made small snowmen and some forts. Today, they are currently making a fort that the plan to turn into an

~♥Friendship Tea♥~

I made this Friendship Tea mix to give as gifts.  It was pretty inexpensive.  I put the mix into pint jars, used paper doilies to cover the lids, put a rubber band to hold it in place, and used ribbon to cover the rubber band.  I made tags that I printed on cardstock.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Here's the recipe:

• 2 cups instant dry tea mix
• 2 cups orange tang
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 cup lemonade mix
• 2 tsps cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup cinnamon heart candies

Mix together in a large bowl and ladle into glass jars.

For the tags: Stir 2 heaping teaspoons into a mug of steaming hot water.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thanks for stopping by!  I always appreciate your visits and your sweet comments :)

♥ Kim

Secret Sibling Santa Shopping

We decided to add a new tradition to our family this year, we would have the kids draw names and do a sort of Secret Santa thing, which has now been dubbed as the "Secret Sibling Santa." For those that have never heard of Secret Santa here is the basic idea. Toss everyone's name in a hat and draw, if they draw their own name they toss it back in and draw again. Now the secret part is not telling

FedEx Blog Tour

MomCentral asked me to get the word out about FedEx and while I don't use them that often I do get packages from them all the time. I have noticed most of my packages from PR companies are from FedEx, which tells me they trust them and that says a lot.  See, when I do giveaways most of them go to the winner through the actual company, it is rare that I have to do it but when I do yes I use FedEx.

Opening Gifts and Family Traditions

As many of you know the kids have already began opening up their presents, it is a family tradition in this house to begin on December 21st with the turn of the season. This year wasn't different like I thought it would be due to the economy, instead we planned around it and made sure we saved for it and of course ya'll know I had the hubby hit up Black Friday sales and I bought things on Amazon

ShredSled Review

We were sent the Shred Sled to review through LPR, the kids and I couldn't wait to not only see what this looks like but also to try to ride it. First, in my own opinions it is two things, one being a skateboard and the other a sled. Now we haven't got to try the "sled" part since we haven't had enough snow but trust me the kids on this block are anxiously waiting for it to try it out. These

~♥Christmas Cookies♥~

We got a lot of this...

so I did some of this!

If you l♥ve chocolate and peppermint, this cookie gives you the best of both!  These cookies are called "Peppermint Frosted Chocolate Yummies"...I found the recipe in the December 2008 issue of Country Home magazine (I really miss that magazine).  They were created by Amy Struck, of Michigammo, MI.

~♥~♥~♥~

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate, melted & cooled

(I used choco bake instead - saves on the melting and cooling)

1 cup all-purpose flour

granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

2-3 T milk

red food coloring

crushed peppermint candies

1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

2 tsp. shortening

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat ½ cup butter for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in egg and melted unsweetened chocolate. Beat in flour until combined.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Grease the bottom of a glass and coat with granulated sugar; flatten cookies with sugar-coated glass. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 minutes or until set. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely.

In a medium mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat ¼ cup butter for 30 seconds. Beat in powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and enough milk to make a spreading consistency. If desired, tint pink with food coloring. Spread frosting over each cookie leaving a ¼ inch border around the edge. Sprinkle with candies, if desired.

In a small saucepan heat and stir semisweet pieces and shortening over low heat until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over tops of cookies. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Thanks for stopping by!

♥ Kim

V.Smile Cyber Pocket Winner

The winner of the V.Smile Cyber Pocket Learning System was picked through the Random.org generator, which makes picking a winner so much easier. I was very impressed with the outcome of the entries and I've picked up on a lot of new games for my kids. I hope you have too. Now just because everyone can't be a winner I wanted to inform you of a great deal Vtech currently has on their games.... but

Secret Santa Alive in Kansas City

Just the other day I was voicing my disappointment in no "Secret Santa" sightings in Kansas City. Why should this make me sad? When we first moved to Missouri it was both fun, exciting, scary, etc. But when I opened the paper out here for the first time there were stories about this wonderful man that no one knew that was giving away cash. He'd just walk up to people and hand them money, this is

The Ultimate Meatball Blog Tour!

I recently told the husband that I wanted to cook more and actually eat at home. We are the type of family that eats out all the time, which of course means spending hundreds of $$$ a week, this all adds up and I'd rather save. So when MomCentral asked me if I'd like to take part in the "Ultimate Meatball Blog Tour" I said I'd love to do it. Course I picked doing it after Thanksgiving as I think

Monty T-Rex Review

I've always seen those tiny little dinosaurs that roar, also known as Dino Roars, and the little birds that peck inside the toy area of Wal-mart but I've never actually bought one. I was asked to review the "Playskool Kota and Pals Monty T-Rex" and I was happy to say yes. This is definitely a toy that is sure to be seen under many Christmas Trees this year, he makes the perfect gift for those

~*My New Apron*~

Found this sweet apron at Marshall's a couple of weeks ago...it's the same apron that Aunt Ruthie from Sugarpie Farmhouse has.  I was so fortunate to get it for $6.99!

♥ Kim

The VCR is Cool!

Earlier today the hubby and I went out shopping for a few more Christmas Gifts and while we were I decided to stop at some Dollar General stores looking for the Mr.Potato head (spuds) as I had heard they are $2.50 and there is a coupon to make them .50. I didn't use my coupon this time but still got it. We also stopped off at the thrift stores beside both stores we went to and decided to buy a

Midwest Dairy Winner

The winnerof the Midwest Dairy Giveaway is......#11.MoGrill:MMMM Pumpkin Pancakes sound great. Thanks for the chance.mogrill@comcast.netCongrats!! Expect an email very soon.

Mixing Up Days

Don't you hate waking up and finding out you thought the day was Friday and it was really Thursday? That's what happened to me this morning, well for most of the day that is. It just always makes the rest of the day and next go by so much slower.One good piece of news, hubby found out he'd be getting a tad bit more money. Course he told me that he still had to buy Christmas Gifts for the wee ones

V.Smile Cyber Pocket Review & Giveaway

Vtech wrote me and asked if I'd like to try out the V.Smile Cyber Pocket, I of course said yes I have four kids that love these types of games. First, have you or your kids I guess I should ask ever played the VMotion? If yes and you actually have some of the games for it they'll fit with the Vtech - V.Smile Cyber Pocket, which basically kills two birds with one stone. No longer will you have to

Snow Day!!

Last night I watched and waited at 1 am to see if it would snow. Believe it or not I didn't wait to actually see if it would I had to do my homework which took until midnight as only one person could help me and then it took forever, by the time it was done I couldn't sleep so we chatted abnout the upcoming holidays. Oh we will begin opening presents on Winter Solstice, but only one a night and

One Gets Better, Another Gets Sick

I swear my house has been plagued with that horrible virus and won't leave until every one of us get sick. So far it hit me, which I kind of still have, thankfully only in the lungs now no more fever or sweats. The hubby got it but only 24 hours, BabyGirl had it for 2 weeks, Little A got it for 2 weeks and now BalletGirl has it. She's upset at the moment as I won't be allowing her to go to school

Build-A-Bear Winner!!

The Winner of the Build A Bear (Frosty The Snowman) is........Maxfate: She would love The Mrs.Clause Velvet Bear.Congratulations, your little girl is going to love this bear. My son continues to take the hat on and off just to hear the magical noise. :)

Jiffy Lube Winner

The Jiffy Lube Winner is....I live in Ohio and all I have to say is that it is more than likely your car will skid on ice. One time my car spinned around in a circle when I was trying to get out of a parking lot!I am so thankful that I did not hit anything or anybody.honeybeez80@yahoo.com

Homemom3's Giveaways

Ends December 5, so hurry with those entries:Babylune's IKEA soft Toy giveaway - IKEA Soft Stuffed animal (BARNSLIG KROKODIL and the GOSIG BULLDOG) There will be 2 winners, one will get the dog and the other gets the crocodile.Homemom3's Build a Bear Giveaway - you can win a Frosty the Snowman. He's cute too.Homemom3's Jiffy Lube gift card giveawayDairy Giveaway - Dairy Makes Sense apron, a

Midwest Dairy Giveaway

I love the Midwest Diary Council, they are always giving something nice away here on Homemom3. This week they are giving away a nice little package, which I'll discuss further down. I'm sure you've heard how important it is to have dairy in your diet, but Dairy Makes Sense makes adding it to the family food a little bit more fun.Rebecca Murphy lives at Schwinn Farms in Kansas and is here to talk

When Expecting a Call, Expect Everything Else will Interrupt

What happens when you are expecting a call? Oh, just about anything you could imagine. Earlier today I knew a call was coming in from Daphne Brogden of www.CoolMom.com, but somehow not only did the time slip away from me but everyone decided to email, knock or be as loud as humanly possibly while I was on the phone.First, I didn't answer the phone as I didn't recognize the number. I quickly typed

What is Up with Zhu Zhu Pets?

I have yet to hear my girls shout they want Zhu Zhu pets, but I keep seeing them everywhere. I went to Wal-mart a few days before Black Friday and saw an entire rack empty and on it said, "Zhu Zhu pet toys: One per customer" and asked the hubby who had no clue what they were. Later I found out these were a HOT item with little girls and even tween girls.SoccerBoy informed me that girls in middle

Tips to Get Kids to Sleep on time During Holiday Season

Twittermoms is having another contest, I love these contests they help us think of blog topics. Today's is: What are your five tips & tricks for getting your kids to bed on time and getting them to stay in bed?For those that don't know Twittermoms is a great social site that has a ton of moms chitchatting and helping one another in a forum like setting. Stop on by and visit. For those that want

Wordless Wednesday: Money

This is the one thing everyone seems out of right after the holiday rush is over. Do you agree? Happy WW!IMG: Sxc.hu

Littlest Pet Shop Adoption Center Review

First, I want to say I have a 6-year-old girl that is absolutely in love with all things Littlest Pet shop so this will forever be on the list....at least for a few more years. But I also want to state that I have fast discovered that her 2-year-old brother loves these little things as well, especially the little buildings/homes.We were sent the "Littlest Pet Shop Pet Adoption Center Playset,"