So, I asked my kids “What makes your mom awesome?”

Many times, I think what makes me an awesome mom might be:

• Making money for the family
• Making sure they have the latest clothes/ toys
• Taking them to activities (ie. Dance Class, Summer Camps, etc.)
• Keeping a clean, organized house (#fail)

These things are all very good.  But mostly, they’re superficial.

Asking my children what makes them feel loved is so important, because it brings me back to the most important things.  The essence of being a mom.  And I think my kids were hungry when we made this, because most of the answers involve food!

What do you kids say makes you AWESOME?

One of my favorite print companies, Tiny Prints has some beautiful, funny, inspiring, and classic Mother’s Day Cards! I think a photo card is an awesome Mother’s Day Gift, and will be a treasured keepsake!

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Tiny Prints provides simple, modern and unique stationery from Father’s Day Cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards, business cards, and even custom wedding invitations or photo birth announcements. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch! They offer perfect party invitations for every occasion and memorable personalized photo-gifts like notebooks, photo books and calendars to commemorate the event.

Disclosure: I was compensated by Tiny Prints, through Global Influence for my time to create this post and feature their Mother’s Day products.  I am receiving a Gift Certificate with which I am buying a photo book with all our Disney Social Media Moms photos!  Yippee!

I am re-posting this from last year, but I think it is very timely for Easter! If you still need some Easter ideas, check out this post with some great Easter books and ideas!

OK, Folks! After years of perfecting the hard-boiling of eggs, I am officially going to share THE way to do it, avoiding cracked eggs, sticky shells, and green yolks!

1. Start with fresh eggs, but actually, the slightly older ones will have a softer shell

2. Put the eggs in a saucepan FIRST! (trust me!) Then, fill the pan with water, to just cover the eggs. Add a dash of white vinegar to help soften the shell for peeling.

3. Place the pan on the stove, and turn the burner on Med-High, gradually heating the water to boiling.

4. Reduce the heat to Low, and simmer slightly for about 10 minutes. Any longer will result in green yolks.

5. Meanwhile fill a large bowl with ice water. When the eggs are done cooking, remove them from the pan with tongs and place them gently in the ice water bowl. Leave them there for only about 2 minutes, then place them on towels. (This is the MOST important step)

6. To crack the eggs, gently tap them on the counter in several areas all around the egg. Continue by rolling the egg on the counter to crack every part of the shell. It should then be easy to find the pocket of air at the top of the egg, and pull the shell off.

If you follow these directions exactly, you will be on the road to boiled-egg bliss! Now, there are always exceptions, but this is by far the most successful method I’ve found!

Let me know in the comments: What is your favorite way to eat eggs?

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REAL LIFE BLOG IS ON FACEBOOK NOW!  Click the big F!

Each year, around this time, I start seeing the bunny- and egg- themed trinkets in the stores, along with the pastel candy wrappers.  Why, oh, why does candy have to be a major focus of each and every major holiday?!  I know it’s just to derail my efforts at staying in shape!

Anyway, with all the allure of Easter Baskets and a mysterious, life-sized bunny who breaks into our houses at night, it’s hard to keep the focus on the real message of Easter: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ! There are so many fun things we can do to keep Christ’s death and resurrection in the forefront of our families and teach the important messages of redemption!  While at Christmas, many kids see Jesus as merely a baby, Easter brings home His full purpose for coming to earth.

One thing that we do is to make Resurrection Buns! (Click here to get the recipe).  You put “Jesus” (aka Marshmellow) inside the “tomb” (aka. Biscuit dough) and after they cook, the tomb is empty!  These are fun to make for Easter Morning, but you can really do it any time in the lead up to the holiday.

Children’s books and stories are also a great way to keep the focus on Jesus. Even if they are overwhelmed with bunny ears and chocolate at the stores, read a book before bed and they will think about it as they drift off to sleep!

What do you do in your family to focus on Jesus at Easter? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

About a year ago, I broadcasted my live MomTV Show on this very topic!  I made the Resurrection Buns live, and featured a Tommy Nelson Author interview.

This episode wwas sponsored by Tommy Nelson Publishing, who shared some awesome children’s resources for the season!  If you’ve never heard of Tommy Nelson, here is a little bit about them:

First and foremost,Tommy Nelson is a children’s company that creates, markets and distributes books, Bibles, home video and audio products, music and other related ancillary products such as plush toys, games and action figures aimed at children ages 0-14. This is our specialty. We love what we do for we have full confidence that God has uniquely designed each child’s life. Our role is to assist the connection and stimulation of these promising minds and hearts. Read more…

Tommy Nelson has wonderful Kids’ Books for Easter Here are some of the books I love (click the images to see more info about each book):

Disclosure: I received these books from Tommy Nelson to review,and love them all! Originally posted March 2010

See my other Wordless Wednesday posts here, and share more Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom

*Keep reading to see how to get an extra $25, FREE! *

My philosophy of parenting resembles my philosophy for life.

• Be realistic and honest
• Educate yourself; know the risks and rewards of behavior
• Take responsibility for your actions
• Always love and honor God and others

So, in talking about money with my kids, I want to use these same guidelines.  From the time they were very young, I’ve been talking to them about money management on their level.  We had the three “banks” for Save, Tithe, and Spend; I made them out of tissue boxes.   (Yes, I’m too cheap, er… frugal, to buy the actual $40 kit for that!) Whenever they wanted to buy something, I’d talk them through their decision, weighing the pros and cons, and whether the item meant enough to them to spend money on.  And I still do that.

There comes a time when you have to teach kids about the realities of modern money management.

• It is ever so important NOT to spend more than you have. Even while dealing with “cards,” they must make sure they save first, then buy.
• At some point, they will need a card. I usually discourage the use of credit cards, although we have one for emergencies.  Working with a debit card means you can make purchases online, and you don’t have to carry cash.  Some people will say we should totally discourage using debit cards, but I’d rather teach my children now, with my guidance, rather than wait for them to move out and decide to experiment on their own.
• Knowing teens’ organizational habits, we need to work to have a concrete record of expenditures, and not rely on them keeping receipts. Heck, *I* have trouble keeping receipts, thank goodness for my detailed bank statements, and carbon copy checks!

So that’s where PASS from American Express® comes in.

Pass is not a Credit Card, and different than most debit cards. PASS^SM Card is a Prepaid, Re-loadable Card thatcan be used anywhere American Express is accepted. And it really does give the parent complete access and control over the money in the account.

My oldest daughter is already very responsible, so I thought it would be a good time to let her try out the PASS Card to make her first purchase… Shoes, of course! Around this time, we usually get the kids each a pair of shoes for the summer (We also happened to be going to Disney World), so instead of buying the shoes ourselves, we loaded some money onto a PASS Card, and let her buy them! Here is our experience, in video:

A few things to think about if you try PASS From American Express:

• Most Prepaid Re-loadable Cards do have fees and this one is no exception,  The monthly fee for the PASS Card is waived until October 2011, so you can try it out free.  After that, the fee is $3.95 per month, for access to the planning/analytics tools.  There is also a $1.50 fee for use at the ATM.
• I usually  shy away from cards with fees, but you have to decide for yourself if $47.40 per year is worth the extra control, and tools you have available with PASS.
• I would have to strictly forbid the use of the PASS Card to get cash from an ATM.  My purpose for the card would be so they wouldn’t have to use cash, and that also takes away my ability to track purchases.  With this, as with all privileges, there would have to be ground rules and consequences. Plus, I wouldn’t want to pay the ATM Fee.
• Along with the card, I can still employ the “envelop system,” with a ledger sheet for each budget category.  We could set up times to go through the purchases and make sure they stay within a predetermined budget. I think this is good practice whether you use a card or cash.

Get an extra $25 when you load your PASS Card

• Go to www.AmericanExpress.com/PASS, register for a card (FREE until October 2011).
• Use the code SS25 to get an extra $25 automatically loaded onto your PASS Card!
• You can cancel at any time, if you decide the card is not for you.
• The code expires April 15, 2011 so HURRY

Disclosure: I was compensated through She Speaks for my time testing out the PASS Card.  All opinions are my own, and completely honest.

Autism affects 1 in 110 children, 1 in 70 boys.*  Chances are that your children know at least one friend with autism, and you know another parent with an autistic child.

While we were at Disney World last week, we shared a lunch table with a lovely mom and daughter, since the place was pretty crowded. The little girl was about 6.  She was very talkative, and friendly, and it soon became evident to me that she was autistic.  I have several friends with children on the Autism spectrum, so I’ve tried to learn the behaviors they might have and how to respond.  I also want to be a help to my friends, and be able to try to understand what they are going through, although I never can, fully.  The sweet little girl repeated phrases over and over, and continually asked where their daddy was.  (He was getting the food).   When her mom asked her if she wanted mayonnaise with her fries, she warned several times, “Do NOT get mayonnaise in your eye!”  Her mom told us she was remembering the day before, when she in fact did get mayonnaise in her eye!

I began to see my children looking at me to see how I responded to the little girl and her mother. They knew there was something unique about the girl, and I knew it was important that my daughters see me treating her with care and respect.  So I guided the conversation and asked my daughters, as well as our new little friend, questions to facilitate them communicating with each other.

After lunch, my kids asked about her, and we talked about how all people are different.  The girl’s mom had shared during our conversation that she did in fact have autism, so I shared a little about what it is.  I tried to convey to my kids that children with autism think differently than we do, but that’s what makes them special and precious.  They are just as smart, sometimes even more so, but communicate differently, and that’s OK.  I think it is so important not to avoid these “elephant in the room” issues and to teach our kids how to relate to friends who may be a little different from them.

Would you like to meet some of my friends with autistic children? Here are some great links to check out, and awesome moms!

• In “Letting Go of Perfect,” Nanette talks about her feelings when her child was first diagnosed.
• Sunday Stilwell ( a friend of a friend) gives “10 Things Autism Has Taught Me About Life”.  It’s a great read, especially if you’re wondering how to understand autism a little better.

If you haven’t seen the new show on Disney Jr (formerly Playhouse Disney), Jake and the Neverland Pirates… well, where have you been?

We had the chance at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration to attend a private party on the Hollywood Studios inside the Lights, Motors, Action! stunt show stage… with special guests from Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  It was headlined by the Pirate Musical Comedy duo from the show, Sharkey and Bones, whom I have previously admitted, creep me out a bit. But let me tell you, they are much different in person!   They were really funny, energetic, engaging, and the music was catchy.  They led the kids in pirate jargon and active dances, totally not creepy. I don’t know what it is about the videos, but seeing them in person made me a fan.

Here are some photos from the party, and I’ll be posting videos soon!! You might catch some other bloggers in there, such as Amanda and Cindy.

And click here to see my review of the show’s premier.

PS. I promise this blog will not be exclusively Disney posts, but it’s definitely in the forefront of our minds, coming off the Disney trip, and I’m creating a “Real Life Disney” category to share our experiences, tips, and fun from Disney World!

Disclosure: As a part of my paid registration for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I am receiving complimentary items, special discounts and other benefits, such as food and entertainment, so that we can experience and share the magic of Walt Disney World

Here are the photos from our first day at Disney World in Orlando.  We’re so thankful to be here with the Disney Social Media Moms Conference, where I’m learning about social media, and having a blast with my family!

Disclosure: As a part of the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I am receiving complimentary items, special discounts and other benefits, such as food and entertainment, so that we can experience and share the magic of Walt Disney World