Girls . . . play nice!

Every Tuesday and Thursday, the girls and I have been meeting with a playgroup. Our group consists of two girls Maddy's age and one little boy Baby Lulu's age. We do things like go to the park and have a picnic, gather at each other's house and just let the kids play and do crafts, head to the indoor bouncing center and let them jump til their heart's content . . . you know, fun two year old stuff.

So anyway, yesterday, we headed to one of the other children's house to play and do our "turkey" project. We (or shall I say I - the control freak) have decided that each Thursday, we'll do a kiddy craft. So, I printed out templates, etc and headed out the door with girls, armed to make turkeys in honor of Thanksgiving.

We arrived at our friend's home, unloaded my um-teen number of bags (seriously, with two in diapers it's like packing for a week long trip just to run to the store!), and greeted our friends at the door. Maddy ran inside and immediately hugged her friends. They headed back to the play room and began to choose the toy that each would play with. Now, let's inventory here . . . one grocery cart, one baby doll stroller, three 2 year old girls. Problem! And I bet you can guess what happened next . . .

"Mine!"
"Momma, so and so is not sharing!"

And then we see girls, yanking at other girl's toys and then all of three of them start crying.

I can't say I'm surprised. My mother-in-law warned me of this. She did a brief observation of 2 year olds back when she was in nursing school. She said she found that 2 year old children like to play independently. I believed what she had told me, but for some reason, I thought that we could MAKE them play together.

So, getting back to the 2 year old drama queens, we gave them all a good talking to and sent them on their separate ways. And you know what? They each played in a little corner all by their lonesome. And each was happy to do so. And the house was a much more peaceful play to be!

So, here are a few pictures to document our crafting fun! Our little turkeys making turkeys!

And the finished product . . .


The turkey is made from a plastic plate and construction paper. If you'll notice, the feathers are made by tracing the child's hand. Cute, huh!!

We explained Thanksgiving and that we should thank Jesus for everything that we have. Then we talked about turkeys . . . what sound do turkeys make? Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!

All in all, I think the playdate and craft time went very well. So, I leave you with this . . . what happens when you leave two, two year old girls alone for more than 30 seconds?

This . . .

Wordless Wednesday

Busted!

For more Wordless Wednesday, go here!

Your chance to get a FREE Phillips Senseo!

If you've read my post here, then you'll understand this post. If not, click on the link and then come back here, ok?

Alright . . . are you back now . . .

Are you there?????

Hello?

Oh, there you are! Ok, now let's get down to business. The nice people over at Phillips are giving my readers a chance to get a free Phillips Senseo. Yes, you heard me . . . FREE! So, all you need to do is go here, answer a few questions and they'll let you know if you qualify! It's rrreeeeaaaallll simple! So, go! You know you want one! Just go . . . you can thank me later!

What in the world do pods have to do with coffee making?

About two weeks ago, I received a Phillips Senseo coffee maker for FREE! Yes, that's right, I said for FREE! You can imagine my excitement when the mailman rang my door bell and there it was waiting for me. So, Maddy and I immediately brought it inside and ripped the box open. And then, disappointment struck. What? It only makes a cup at a time? I hate those machines. They're too much work! I just want a whole pot of coffee sitting there, steaming, waiting for me to refill. So, I promptly set it aside and thought "Re-gift!"

Fast forward two days later . . . I took a second look at the coffee maker and thought, These nice people at Phillips sent me this coffee maker for FREE in good faith, hoping that I would try it, love it and tell others about it. And I haven't even bothered to pull it out of it's box. Shame on me! So, I began to think some advantages to using this coffee maker in hopes of prodding myself along and cranking up the machine:

1) Hubby is gone 1/2 of the month. Instead of making a big pot of coffee when he's gone, I could make one cup at a time and save myself the trouble of using the big machine.

2) Since it is only making the coffee one cup at a time, every cup is hot and fresh.

3) Oh yes, the pod thingys. They come in different flavors and such, so each morning I could technically have a different flavor.

4) It has a sleek, attractive, modern design. I wouldn't mind this machine sitting out on my counter.

So, I plugged the machine in and decided to give it a whirl. I did a quick little clean of the machine and then it was raring to go. I lifted up the front lever, inserted one pod, closed the top, filled the water compartment and pushed the button. In about 90 seconds, I had a fresh cup of coffee, sitting there waiting on me. Cool! And the coffee? IT.WAS.DELICIOUS. How easy was that!

So, then I remembered that I had French Vanilla and Cappuccino pods and decided to experiment. I did half an 8oz cup with the french vanilla coffee pod and then in the same cup, swap pods and used the cappuccino. And right then and there, I had a French Vanilla cappuccino --- SOLD! I immediately fell in love with this machine. The whole process took less than 2 minutes. That's right ladies -- no running to Starbucks -- no dragging out the Espresso/Cappuccino maker, grinding the beans, frothing the milk -- no ma'm. It was so simple. And so GOOD! I added a little Reddi wip
on top and voila --- heaven on earth in my cup!

"Senseo advertises it's system as a way to personalize your coffee. The coffee pod system lets you savor a single serving of coffee at the touch of a button, just the way you like it, whenever you like it!"

With the great coffee, ease of use and sleek design, the Senseo is sure to be a hit.

Now, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Target is selling this machine for $65 (or atleast my local Target is). However, Senseo was so generous as to send me a few $20 gift certificates to be used on the purchase of a machine. So, if you're interested, please let me know and I'll get one to you (first ask, first get basis! Supplies are limited so ACT NOW!). Of course, Senseo's website sells the machines and pods, but they have the machine listed at $69.99 -- and then you have to pay shipping and handling. I priced the pods at Target and they were selling 2 bags for $7. Each bag contains between 10-18 pods, depending on the flavor and variety. I was able to use each pods for 3 to 4 cups of coffee (though they recommend you use a fresh pod for each cup of coffee -- why waste a good pod, I say!)

Well, I hope that I have shared some helpful information! Feel free to comment with questions and I'll try to answer them.

*As with any products I write about on this blog, I am not being paid to endorse those products. This product was provided to me free of charge from Phillips and I agreed to tell others about my experience -- good or bad.

Happy Belated Halloween!

Well, we had a great time Trick or Treating with the neighborhood children. Here are a few pictures of my unhappy Ladybug and my happy Minnie Mouse . . .

Daddy, Minnie and Ladybug

For these next shot, I used the "Night Scene" setting on my digital camera --- well, as you can see . . . it didn't work out so well! I guess it blurred any bit of light that was interferring with the picture?!?!? *Note to self . . . must take a photography class or something!


Mommy and the cutest Minnie Mouse EVER!


Cutest Minnie Mouse EVER and the unhappy Ladybug!


Notice the red eye, people! That's not from my poor photography skills -- it's the side effects of the gynormous amount of candy she had consumed that night! Seriously!!!

And the Winner is . . .

Wow! My site meter has been going crazy this week! I had 108 comments or entries, shall I say, for the beautiful picture frame.

So, without further adue . . .

the winner is . . .

Katy-Anne at Aussie Mama 4 Jesus.

Congratulations Katy-Anne and thanks to all who entered!

I'll resume my regular bloggy programming shortly :-)

Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway!

***PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR A LINK TO YOUR BLOG SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU. I'M RECEIVING A LOT OF ENTRIES WITHOUT EITHER! THANKS!****

Well, it's finally here . . . the Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway. For those of you who are not bloggers, it's a blogging carnival. It's kind of like, we all set up our booth and then sign up at the info center so that they can direct people our way. Our info center and the place where you can find links to all participating blogs is here.

My giveaway . . . Well, I'm giving away this beautiful Home Trends Heirloom 5x7 picture frame. It's a beautiful shade ivory with a little antique/worn detail. I have two of the 8x10 frames in this style hanging in my bedroom. It adds such elegance.




So, if you want to throw your name in the hat, just leave me a comment saying anything you'd like! Contest ends on Friday, November 2nd at midnight. I will draw a winner with a random number generator on Saturday, November 3rd. ANYONE can enter - you don't have to have a blog. Please make sure that you do log in, though, with an email address or leave me one so that I can contact you if you win!

Good luck and thanks for stopping by, y'all!