The Season of Advent - Day 2

While most people know or have heard of advent calendars and Advent for December, not everyone knows that the true Season of Advent starts 4 Sundays before Christmas. That means that  this year November 28th was the beginning of Advent.
We want to teach our children about Jesus and God at an early age. One way to begin to teach children about the true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the Advent season and explain take the time to explain it to them each day.
It can be hard to teach young children about something and know that they are really understanding it. I had seen a great post on Advent calendars and making your own over at Keeper of the Home, and it made me start thinking about Advent season in our house and how we can celebrate it. I wanted to make our calendar this year with LJ, but that isn't going to happen as we have had to much going on. Then while I was out with my mom on Saturday I saw the cutest thing at Walmart. It is a set of wall/window clings that are the Manger Scene.

There are a ton of stars with this so there are more than enough images for the entire Advent season. I like that the images are kid oriented so my son loves it.
We didn't get to start putting this up yesterday like I had hoped, so I did two images today. I got my son together with me and we cleaned the wall to make sure the clings would stick. Then I picked what would be the best images to start with: the manger and the words.

First, i put up the manger as this would be the center of the rest of the season. LJ wasn't too interested in it at first, but then he saw that mommy had put something on our wall, and that made him want to see what I was doing. I explained to him that we were starting our advent season and that this is when we celebrate Baby Jesus being born.

Once the manger was up I told LJ we were going to put up one more picture and I read what the words said. After peeling it off of the backing, I had him help me put it on the wall. He really liked helping me put something on the wall and making sure it was stuck on.

I think this is a really cute manger scene. One thing I like it that it can come off and be repositioned on the wall. I don't know if it will last more than one year, but at the price I paid, it wouldn't entirely matter and maybe next year we will finally be able to make our own family Advent Calendar that we can use year after year.
I look forward to seeing what picture LJ will want to put up tomorrow. I am going to let him pick the picture each day and then before we leave our house on Christmas Eve we will put up the last cling which I will of course make sure is the Baby Jesus asleep in the hay. :)

How do you celebrate the Advent season with your family? Do you have a calendar you use each year or some other tradition you have in prepare yourselves for Christmas? I would love to hear from you!

Until next time... Happy Advent!

Ring in the New Year Event!

I have found a great new blog (well, new to me). Her name is Bargain Mom. Starting December 1st, she is host her biggest event to date. Well, that might be all well and good, but why blast it to the world? Well, I will tell you why. She is having a giveaway a week for the month of December and there will be a grand prize winner for the event that will be drawn on January 1st.

What is the grand prize? Well, how about a $500 DeluxeCard Visa gift card plus over $1,500 in prizes from her sponsors!
How awesome is that!?! She hasn't listed all of her sponsors yet, but they will be up soon. I can't wait to see what all is in store for us, but it is sounding like this is going to be one great way to Ring in the New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! I know that this can be the beginning of a very busy Holiday Season. This year we will have a nice busy but fun Thanksgiving having two different meals with family. First we will eat with Hubby's family, and then we will head over to my parent's house for some dessert and such. Of course as it turns out, the two meals are going to be starting about an hour or so after each other. That is why the dessert is at the second place and not another full meal. :) I was hoping there would be even a few hours between the two meals, but that is how things go.
I hope everyone has a great day and a good weekend! Let us all remember all that we have to be thankful for! I know there is so much for me to be thankful for this year, but that is another post. For now, I must go and begin this great long weekend with family.

Until next time... happy eating!

30 Week Update

Well, Wednesday will mark 30 weeks for me. I can't believe I only have ten weeks left before we meet Baby C. Monday afternoon I had my doctor's appointment.

I was really anxious for this one because it was my first one since getting my 28 week blood work done which included the glucose tolerance test. With LJ I was told that I passed, but I was pretty close to the cut off. I really did not want to have to take the 3 hour test or be told I had gestational diabetes. Luckily, my doctor said all my test results came back completely within normal ranges. I was so happy to hear that. He didn't even act like they were close to cut off numbers either. Big thumbs up!

Everything else also checked out with Baby C today. My weight went up a good number since my last visit. I think I am at about 14 pounds gained so far. After the start I had, I think this is pretty decent. I mean I did only gain 24 with LJ, too, so I wasn't expecting big numbers anyway. The nurse didn't tell me my blood pressure but said that it was good. Baby C's heart-rate was in the 140s when the doctor listened to it on the doppler. I knew she was sleeping as she hadn't moved around much before then. Actually, she hasn't moved too much all day. I think her most active times of day are the night times when I want to sleep and such, of course.

So, things are going well so far. I am already at the point where I want to meet her and get this over with. She really like to stretch out and make me uncomfortable.
The other day I realized that we really had not taken any pregnancy pictures this time around where as we had tried taking pictures every two weeks or so with LJ. So, this past Sunday I had Hubby take a preggy pic so we can have at least a few pictures of this pregnancy. So, without further adieu,

taken at 29 weeks and 4 days

There are a lot of great things that will be going on in the next couple months and so here's hoping we can all keep up and enjoy the holidays and I can keep you all up to date as to what is going on. :)

Until next time... Happy Living!

First handmade baby blanket

Baby C now has her very first handmade baby blanket ready and waiting for her arrival. Yesterday after church the family went over to Hubby's grandmother's house for some visit time. We go most weeks really.
Yesterday as I was sitting at the counter after eating some lunch, Hubby's Nan came out with the cutest little blanket. She crocheted it just for Baby C. I just had to share it with you because it is so cute!

The blanket in all its glory

A close up of one of the bears with its pink bow

This is the third blanket like this that she has made but the first one that she could put pink on instead of blue. :) The blanket is the perfect size for draping over the baby's car seat during the chilly February weather that we have here. I just love it.
I think this may have even renewed my desire to make sure I get the knit cap done that I am knitting for Baby C to wear home from the hospital.

Until next time... Happy Living!

Stuff your stockings in one stop

A great blog to follow is the Bragging Mommy. Right now the Bragging Mommy is having the Brag Worthy Christmas event going on. Currently she is hosting a Brag Worthy Stocking Stuffers giveaway.The winner will get enough things to stuff the stockings of all those you need to get stocking stuffers for. Mom, Dad, baby, brother, sister, everyone. There are some really great prizes to be had in this prize pack. Whoever does win this giveaway is in for an easy shopping year. :)

If the above giveaway link does not work, you can copy and paste this one in to your browser:
http://www.thebraggingmommy.com/2010/11/19/brag-worthy-christmas-brag-worthy-stocking-stuffers-stocking-stuffers-prize-pack-giveaway/comment-page-3/#comment-77084

Until next time... Happy Shopping!

I'm on Facebook!

I have gone ahead and made up a Facebook fan page for Lynifer's Blog! I am also setting it up with my networked blogs profile so that these posts should be automatically added to my fan page so you will always know when I have a new post up, if you don't alreayd get my feed, emails, or likewise. :) I hope that you will head over and like my page and then we can continue to make this blog grow into something awesome!

If you cannot click on the link above, you can copy and paste the address below:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lynifers-Blog/165379306829846?installed=1&fb_page_id=165379306829846

Take time to Share your Christmas Traditions - Recipes

This weeks theme is "Recipes". How yummy! Also, who doesn't have a recipe that they make every year? I know my mother has one that she has been making for over 20 years and now it is to the point that if she shows up to our big Christmas Eve with my Dad's family without her fudge, she can't come in. Yes, fudge. Noone said these recipes would be healthy. Heck, most holiday recipes are exactly the opposite. This is the time of year that everyone lets loose a bit and we all gain weight because of it. I am starting to get my own recipes of note, but I think for now, I am going to share my mom's awesome recipe, that I have now begun to make as well. This fudge is super simple and oh so yummy!

The ingredients:
two sticks of butter (you can mix one stick of butter and one margarine if you prefer, but you need some good old butter in there), cut into pieces (for ease of melting)
two bags of chocolate chips
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
a can of evaporated milk (not condensed)
4 cups of sugar
Tin pans or plastic containers for storage and packaging (well greased)

Directions:

Put butter, chips, and vanilla in large mixing bowl. You want to make sure the bowl is large enough for all ingredients plus room for vigorous stirring. Set aside.
Pour sugar into large sauce pan and add the can of milk. Heat over medium to medium/high until it comes to a boil. Boil 8 minutes, stirring constantly. You may need to adjust your heat from time to time to keep from boiling over, but you need to maintain a good boil as well.
When 8 minutes is up, pour mixture over the chips mixture in the bowl. Stir vigorously until chips and better are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour into containers and allow to cool. We tend to use the 4 or 5 inch decorative tin pans that you can buy at the store. The smaller tins allow you to cool it and then give it as a gift without having to cut it into smaller pieces first. Allow the fudge to cool overnight or until firm. Do not put lids on the containers until the fudge has cooled. This recipe can make about 4or 5 containers of fudge that is about an inch thick.
I will post a follow up to this post with pictures once we make our fudge for this Christmas. It should be just in time for Christmas, as we are planning our Fudge Night for the weekend of the 19th of December. Yes, we do a Fudge Night as we make at least three batches each year.
You may want to keep your eyes open this week as I just may post some more great family recipes throughout the week. ;)

Until next time...Happy Cooking!

3 more cloth mommas - FTT

During the month of November, BethAnne over at Happily Domestic is sharing interviews with other cloth mommas during her Fluff Talk Thursdays. This week I am one of them! To learn more about my journey in cloth as well as more info on two other great moms head on over and check it out. The other moms this week are Tara from small town mom and Chari from Take time to smell the Rose. I hope you all head on over and check out the stories of these other great mommas.

Until next time... Happy Blogging!

New Meme to follow

Instead of all of the Gift Guide events and everything that is going on this time of year, Chari over at Take time to smell the Rose, is starting a new meme for the Holiday Season. Each week Chari will focus on one area of Holiday tradtions that each of us have. I love this idea so that each of us can think of all of the great family traditions that we hold with our families and then we can share them with fellow blogging moms and dads.
Let's remember what the focus of this season really should be. This meme can help with that. It can help us to slow down a little and think back to what we love about the season.
I know that I plan on participating in as many weeks of this meme as I can and I hope that you will too. Too busy? Each week the meme will stay open until the following Friday. You get a week to do this. Don't have a blog? Leave a comment at the end of her post for the rest of us to share.

Until next time... Happy Reminiscing!

Will you take my survey?

To all my wonderful readers. I am trying to get a better sense of who my readers are. If you could please find some time to take the little survey that you can find at the bottom of my blog, it would be greatly appreciated.
I want this blog to be an ever evolving and growing blog, and to do that, I want to know more about who you are. Then I can use that information to make this blog even better! Thanks ladies and gents!

Until next time... Happy Living!

To have an Event or not to have an Event....

So, like so many other mommy bloggers out there right now, I am expecting another baby. I was thinking of having a new baby event, but there are just some catches.
One - I have no idea what I am doing to host an event. I know I can contact the companies or stores to see if they would be willing to sponsor a review and giveaway and such, but I want to make sure that I don't come across as just looking for free handouts, you know?
Two - Is the new baby event being over done right now? Am I coming in to this event thing a little late? I know there have been a ton of expectant moms who have been hosting events lately, and I don't want to overdo a good thing.
How long does it normally take to set up an event like this? I wasn't thinking of going to extremes and having like a million reviews and giveaways, just a few of some great products. I would also love to feature some etsy shops if there are any that would like to join in on the fun.

Do you have a product that you would like me to review and or host a giveaway in my up coming event?
If you do, contact me at whocg23 at gmail.com

If you would like to offer help in setting up an event or would like to be a part of the event, please feel free to contact me. :)

Until next time... Happy Blogging!

Free Songs

I don't know who else has kids that are in love with VeggieTales, but if you do, you are not alone. My son loves to watch VeggieTales and loves the songs.
Today amazon.com is having a great special for all of us with such kids. If you go to amazon's website, you can download the entire mp3 album of "The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree." They had this same deal a week or two ago and I had downloaded the album then. I was kicking myself that I didn't share it with all of you, so now I am getting a second chance.Even if your kids don't watch or listen to VeggieTales all that much, it is a great album to listen to. They always have some really silly songs, but also songs that are great lessons for the kids to hear and hopefully learn.

In case the above link does not work, you can copy and paste the following:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Incredible-Singing-Christmas-Tree/dp/B001232ODA/ref=xs_gb_bd_BsBCAshIL6Dx?pf_rd_p=441937801&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1DGKPANMPE66H27W9YTP

Until next time... Happy Veggie Singing!

Mini Series in Fluff Talk Thursdays

BethAnne over at Happily Domestic has come up with a great idea for a little mini series in her Meme, Fluff Talk Thursdays. For the whole month of November she will be interviewing and then featuring other cloth moms. Each week she is featuring three new moms. Most of the moms are fellow bloggers and all use cloth.
This is a great way to build up our community of cloth mommas on the interwebs. I will be featured this coming week and I do believe BethAnne still has slots available. So, if you are interested in chatting a bit about your journey in the world of cloth diapers, drop on over to Happily Domestic and drop BethAnne a line. I know she, as well as I, always love to get comment love and things like that. :)
If interested, I will be posting a link to this weeks Fluff Talk Thursday when it is posted.
Until next time.... Happy Diapering, Mommas!

expanding to Facebook

I really want to expand my blogging presence to facebook, but I am not sure how to go about doing it. I already have a fan page for my business Lynifer. Would suggest that I just do a fan page for the blog or do you find it easier or better to just make a second account where you have friends instead of fans? I don't know if that makes any sense. I notice that a lot of the companies and such use fan pages where I "Like" them in order to follow them. I am thinking that this might be a better way to do things, but I am not sure. I want to start seperating my personal accounts from the more business oriented ones and I want to make sure I do it in a way that will last.
What are your suggestions? I already have my twitter account, though I may be changing my name on there to go more with the blog and business.
Oh and I am doing this in preparation for this blog growing more with reviews and giveaways as well as being all about cloth and the business of Lynifer.
Until next time... Happy Facebooking!

Converting to cloth?

Hi all. I need your help. I have a friend of mine who is due in march with twins. As we all know, diapers for any child really can rack up in cost, let alone using disposable diapers for two kiddos at the same time. I know I want to try to convert her over to the cloth side, but I need your help. I have used cloth for one, but how have mommas done who used cloth for twins or just having two kids in cloth at the same time?
I know she is going to have a ton of questions for me, if she is at all interested. What was the wash load like? Is it that much harder than sposies? I know for me, using cloth is really not that bad, but I don't know what it would be like for twins.
What has been your experience using cloth diapers for more than one baby at a time? What advice could you offer up to this momma of twins to be?
I need your help!
Until next time...Happy Diapering!