Birthday Pizza Cake

Chewie turns 12 on Monday. Tomorrow is his party. He is having a pizza party. So we decided to make a pizza cake.

We started with a chocolate chip cookie base. I made it on a pizza screen. I covered it with foil and sprayed it with Pam. I had a few problems with the baking. I forgot to leave room for expansion. Fortunately we have a self cleaning oven!

I did all of the prep work. Chewie did the decorating.

Ingredients:
* Crust (chocolate chip cookie)
* Sauce (red frosting)
* Cheese (shredded white chocolate)
* Pepperoni (red fruit roll ups cut in circles)
* Olives (Oreo Minis-- 1/2 cookie)
* Bell peppers (sliced green sour gummies)
* Onions (sliced yellow sour gummies)
* Sausage (candied peanuts)

Chewie did all the work. I think it turned out great.
Spreading icing

Icing base

Add the cheese and pepperoni

Adding Olives

Adding sausage

Almost done

All done

The proud chief

A is for Admission Review

A Is For Admission; The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges by Michele A. Hernández, EdD, on your blog. Your first instinct might be: sorry, but my child’s only achild! That may be true, but applying for college will come sooner than you think, and it’s never too early to start thinking about their future.

The admissions process of top colleges has been cloaked in mystery and myth. Now Michele Hernandez, a former admissions officer at Dartmouth, finally breaks the ancient code of silence to reveal the inner secrets of how the world's most highly selective schools really make their decisions. This newly updated and revised guide contains all of the latest “inside information”.

Michele A. Hernandez is a native of New York City, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1989. She earned a master's degree in English and comparative literature from Columbia University. For the last four years, she has been assistant director of admissions at Dartmouth College.

Hatchette Books is a Sponsor of my 40th Birthday Bash

The Adoption Decision: Special Sale

A very dear friend of mine, Laura Christianson, who I had the pleasure of getting to know on-line as well as meet in real life beneath the Seattle Space Needle, sent me a note about an upcoming special she is offering. I wanted to share it with you. Laura is the most knowledgable person I know on the subject of adoption. As an adoptive mom (twice) she speaks from experience. In fact, it was conversations with Laura that helped my John and I become comfortable with the idea of having a continuing relationship with Chewie's birthmom. Laura is a published author of 3 books and countless articles.

To celebrate my wedding anniversary this Friday, I'm having a 1-day book bash on August 21. I did this last year, and it was wildly popular, so I thought, "Why not do it again?"

Here's how it works:

1. Buy The Adoption Decision: 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting on Amazon.com

2. Send me your Amazon proof-of-purchase, dated August 21, 2009, and your mailing address.

3. I'll mail you an autographed copy of The Adoption Network: Your Guide to Starting a Support System, absolutely free!

This is a $10 value, plus I pay the shipping on The Adoption Network.

Is there a catch?

Nope.
Hundreds of people who have received free books from me during my periodic specials will attest to the fact that I'll send your free book promptly, and I won't hassle you with a bunch of unsolicited emails.

Both my books have a 5-star rating from Amazon reviewers.

Tell everybody about this special, 1-day offer, so they can stock up on free books:

Tell your adoption agency, social worker, or attorney.
Tell others you know who are considering adopting.
Tell your clergyperson...these books give any church that's considering starting an
adoption ministry a jump-start.
Tell people who are looking for a gift to buy you.
Where to send your Amazon proof-of-purchase for The Adoption Decision:

E-mail it to me (or send it as an attachment) with "1-Day Sale" in the Subject line: laurachristianson@hotmail.com.

OR

Send it via snail mail to Laura Christianson, PO Box 1254, Snohomish, WA 98291-1254. I'll honor any Amazon proof-of-purchase for The Adoption Decision dated 8-21-09, as long as I receive it by 8-31-09.

Hope you enjoy your new books and please, write and tell me what you think of them.

Happy Birthday to my Firecracker Princess

No, I didn't forget to post, but it has been a full and fun day! My princess, Crunchy, is 6 today. My firecracker. My Yankee Doodle Princess. What a joy she is! She loves to hug and kiss. She wears her heart on her sleeve. Her favorite things to do are dance and sing. I love it when I hear her burst out in song....like the other day in Wal-Mart when she started singing "The Motions" by Matthew West.

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions

Here she is singing a song from VBS.

if your kid eats this book.....Review and Giveaway

Have you ever had a child fall from a great height? Do you know the number to poison control? Have you had to decide if an insect bite was serious? Have you ever wished you had an emergency room physician on speed dial? Now you can. Sort of! Lara Zibner, MD is a former assistant professor of pediatric emergency medicine, and she shares her wisdom and experience in her new book: (gotta love the title!) if your kids eats this book, everything will still be okay: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency.

Ironically, the day after I received my review copy in the mail, my daughter came in from the back yard screaming that something poked her. At first I saw a red scratch, so I just gave her a hug and sent her away. But she still protested. So I looked closer. In just minutes, she started developing welts. As Daddy checked her out, I grabbed the book. (Where I learned that "whatever creature gets your kid, realize that most children will do just fine and have nothing other than a red, swollen, itchy bite for a while. Ninety-nine percent of the time it honestly doesn't matter what it was that bit your kid." There is a 911! alert box that describes things to watch for: swelling of the lips or tongue, difficulty breathing, becoming unconscious; or other signs of significant allergic reaction. Then it's time to call for help.

My only complaint about the book: Where was it for the first 11 years of my life as a mom?!!?

Dr. Zibner's basic rules are:

• A crying child has an airway and is conscious.
• When "everything hurts", probably nothing is really broken.
• Babies and toddlers don't fake pain.
• Never trust a toddler. (Who knows what they ate/stuck up their nose/fed the baby?)
• Always trust your gut.

From the publisher:

As an Emergency Room pediatrician, Dr. Lara Zibners has seen it all. She's cared for a portion of the 25 million children in the U.S. who are taken to the ER each year-and she knows that more than 50% of these visits may be unnecessary. IF YOUR KID EATS THIS BOOK, EVERYTHING WILL STILL BE OKAY shows parents when they may need to take action, and when they might be able to just go back to bed and call their doctor in the morning. With sections such as "In the Diaper" and "His Noggin and the Nervous System," Dr. Zibners covers every part of the body and offers sound advice (for example, did you know that oil is the best remedy for dissolving superglue between body parts?), all while maintaining a lively and often hilarious tone. To the question, "What if she chokes on her vomit?" Zibners answers, "A healthy child will not choke on her own vomit, unless she is drunk or high on Grandma's sleeping pills."

Finally, no more frantic late-night searches through the "why to buy," "how to diaper," or "what to feed him" sections found in other childcare books to find out if little Franny needs to go to the ER. This book focuses on the truly important questions, like how to keep her from electrocuting herself in the first place. Not every child has a pediatrician with specialized emergency room experience living in her home. But this book just might be the next best thing.

Lara Zibners, MD, is a former Assistant Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Currently, she divides her professional time between New York and London.

Want to win a copy (5 winners!)?

To enter, post a comment telling about a time you had to decide if you needed to go run to the ER. (If you don't have a story to share, post something besides just "enter me".)

Bonus entries (leave a separate comment for each):

* Add my button to your blog

* Follow me on twitter

* Twitter about this giveaway

* Follow my blog

* Subscribe to my blog

Contest ends Monday July 15th.

Please make sure your profile is public or include your e-mail address in your comment. If I can't easily find my winner, I'll have to pick another one.

Limited to US and Canada (no PO Boxes please).

Smart Mamas Green Guide Review and Giveaway

Smart Mama's Green Guide by Jennifer Taggart of The Smart Mama blog gives parents and easy to read guide to reduce our children's toxic chemical exposure. The book is nicely laid out with areas of the home clustered together: kitchen; food; nursery; playroom and bathroom. She also covers topics of the risks of chemical exposure; lead issues; cleaning products and pesticides. Each chapter has subtopics in bold so it is easy to skim and find the areas of concern. There are also "smart mama tips" and easy to read charts sprinkled in. The book ends with an index, so this can easily be used as a reference book. Want to know about copper pipes? Check out page 57. Vitamins? Page 77. ADHD and lead exposure? Page 53.

This book brought up a lot of issues I had not considered. I am not usually one to be too concerned with toxic chemical exposure, but I definitely see that that needs to change. This is a great tool to help me start making small changes to protect my kids. "Simple steps" are liberally spread throughout the book to give us a starting off point.

Parents often feel overwhelmed and defenseless against a never-ending recall list of toys and baby products. Deciphering unpronounceable chemicals they encounter every day can be daunting if not impossible. With environmental exposures being closely linked to 70 percent of birth defects, new parents faced with the overwhelming responsibility for their babies' health frequently turn to organic products. But they quickly find they don't have the time to practice a completely green or natural lifestyle.

THE SMART MAMA'S GREEN GUIDE delivers the information busy parents want and the tools to make informed, individual choices without the demand to go all-out green. Packed with practical tips on eliminating or reducing the hidden dangers of toxic chemicals that lurk everywhere, this book will empower readers to control what comes into their homes and make informed decisions instead of relying on government regulation of harmful chemicals.

Want to win a copy (5 winners!)?

To enter, post a comment with a concern, question or tip about toxic chemical exposure.

Bonus entries (leave a separate comment for each):

* Add my button to your blog

* Follow me on twitter

* Twitter about this giveaway

* Follow my blog

* Subscribe to my blog

Contest ends Monday July 15th.

Please make sure your profile is public or include your e-mail address in your comment. If I can't easily find my winner, I'll have to pick another one.

Limited to US and Canada (no PO Boxes please).

Happy Father's Day

After so many years waiting to be a Daddy, John is such an incredible Daddy. He is patient and kind. He uses lots of great voices when reads stories. He loves to watch movies with the kids--whether it's a princess movie, a cartoon, or an action adventure. I often come home and find the TV on cartoons--with no kids in sight. He is never afraid to answer their tough questions. He loves to cuddle and hug. The kids know they can come to Daddy for a backrub or a kiss anytime.

Last night the kids made cards for Daddy and Papaw. We started with markers but Munchie asked for glitter. Let's just say Mom was shiny when we finished!

Along Came You Review

Along Came You, the delightful debut children's book written by Karona Drummond and dramatically illustrated by Estelle Corke, tells of the transformation moms make from before kids to after kids. Along Came You was released by Zonderkids in April 2009.

Along Came You is a hardback picture book that contrasts the full and exciting life before kids with the full and exciting life after kids. Both lives are good, but different.

I absolutely love this book! I think my favorite line is

Before you,

    my world was quiet.

After you, 

   There is joyful noise.

The picture looks like my princess, Crunchy.  She usually has some sort of costume or jewelry on, and she loves to sing.

Karona captures some wonderful examples of the life changes that come with motherhood.  I like that she doesn't make either picture out to be negative.   Life before kids was great.  Life after kids is great.  The after is more colorful.  She even says "I am still me".

One final word....when I write my children's book/s, I want Estelle Corke to illustrate them. She did such an awesome job of capturing the fun details (such as the swinging necklaces in the dance scene!)

Proud to be an American

Crunchy (almost 6) and Munchy (4) are proud to be Americans. (And Mom is quite proud of them!)

I am proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me
And I'll gladly stand up
Next to you
And defend her still today
'Cause there ain't no doubt
I love this land
God bless the USA

Night at the Museum

Last night the two little ones took me to see Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian. It was great! I have seen parts of the first movie, but not the entire movie. I visited the Smithsonian inhigh school and I have always wanted to return. It was fun seeing the kids' reactions to the works of art and historical figures. Crunchy's favorite was "A-million" Earhart. Munchy likes The Thinker. "Boom! Bang! Firepower!"

Thomas birthday cake

I layered 4 round cakes (9; 8; 8; 9 inches each). Then I cut an arc out of the front side.

Covered with a crumb coat.

Red brick building and gray base complete.

Everything is iced.  Blue roof, red building, gray base, and green doors.

All done!  Final touch was a piped track and a set of bath toy trains.

Crunchy's birthday is next week. His party is tomorrow. He is into all things Thomas the Tank Engine. After checking out hundreds of pictures of Thomas themed cakes, I decided to try the round house. Crunchy calls it Tidmuth Shed. I started with 2 8 inch and 2 9 inch pans

(Sort of) WW: How could anybody say no?

I took the kids to Walgreens and Albertsons (this is Albertsons) to sell candy bars. Crunchy is singing, "Do you want to buy a candy bar?!?" Munchie is joining in for parts. (We sold 2 boxes of 50! 100 bars in about 2 hours)

BooJee Beads: A Mother's Promise--Review

Recently, I received a beautiful beaded lanyard to review. The one I received was made with white and silver beads. (There are several other colors available here.) The lanyard is long (mine came down almost to my waist.) I don't wear a name badge for work, but I do wear a name tag at church. I wore it today. And it looked beautiful! (I'll post a picture later.)But the story behind the necklaces is even more beautiful! From Kimberly Martinez (one of the founders):

My children love to pepper me with “what if” questions about the future.
My answer to them: “No one knows what the future holds but the one thing I can promise is that you will always have my love, a roof over your head and food to eat.”

On a business trip to South Africa with Lisa, my partner and co-founder, we met mothers who could not keep that same promise to their families. For the first time, we considered what it would be like if we could not give our children a safe place to live or healthy food to eat. We considered what it would be like if we couldn’t make or keep “A Mother’s Promise.”

Compelled by a force bigger than ourselves, we set out to empower women in disadvantaged economies around the world so that they can provide life necessities to their children.

Our current project is in Guatemala where our fair trade wages allow local bead artisans to pay for shoes, school tution and nutritious food for their children. In addition to the feeling that comes from knowing we are providing better lives for these women and their families, we are also able to offer you unique, hand-crafted works of art that you will love and will feel good about purchasing.

Thank you for helping us keep “A Mother’s Promise.”
—Kimberly Martinez

A Mother's Promise is just one product in the beautiful line offered by BooJee Beads. There are an assortment of lanyards (including some appropriate for men!) ; retractable badge reels ; badge clips; FunKey covers; and eyeglasses covers.

Guardian Angel Bracelet Review

Have you ever turned around and realized that your child is not there? Even if it's just a couple of minutes before you are reunited, the anguish is intense. One mom lost her son at the beach. For an agonizing and frantic 20 minutes, she searched for him. Thankfully, they were soon reunited. After questioning what went wrong and what could have been done differently, she came up with the Guardian Angel Bracelet IDs. These wristbands are durable and waterproof. They are like the bands you would wear at an amusement park, and they require someone to cut them off. Each band is brightly colored and fun.

Read my full review here: Guardian Angel Bracelet

Mommy Grace: Review and Giveaway

I have found my kindred spirit (to borrow from Anne of Green Gables). Her name is Dr. Sheila Shuller Coleman. Sheila (I hope she doesn't mind if I use first names, as I feel like I know her well!) wrote the book Mommy Grace: Erasing Your Mommy Guilt

What the publisher says:

MOMMY GRACE

By Sheila Schuller Coleman

Universally, mothers tend to feel they are not good enough at parenting and fear they are harming their children by not being perfect. In Mommy Grace: Erasing Mommy Guilt, Sheila Schuller Coleman offers overwhelmed moms short but emotive stories of authentic motherhood from her own and others' experiences-foibles and all-and offers comfort by showing how God makes up for human weakness with His own strength.

Because Sheila shares lessons learned the hard way by real moms rather than giving difficult instructions for better mothering, readers will leave the book feeling encouraged rather than lectured.

For every mom who feels she's not quite up to the colossal job of parenting, MOMMY GRACE is full of hope and compassion.

The facts:
Mommy Grace is a 160 page book broken into about 30 chapters. If you do the math, you see that each chapter is short. The chapters start with a 2-5 page story about a situation in which a Mom (usually Sheila) has good reason to feel guilty. Chapters include: forgetting a child at home alone; sick babies; gum-encrusted toddlers; and really listening to kids. Following the story and lesson learned is summary statement such as:

Responsibility is response-ability
And leaving the results to God!

Next is a Scripture passage, and the chapter ends with a prayer. The prayer is written out like a (non-rhyming)poem.

My reaction:
From my introduction, you probably guessed that I enjoyed the book. You are right! When I first received the book to review, I hesitated because I wasn't sure when I'd have time to read it. But I was delighted to find the short chapters that were easy to read when the kids gave me a few minutes of peace. Many books about Moms are written by stay at home moms. I have nothing against SAHMs. (My husband is a stay at home at Daddy.) But often advice given a SAHM just doesn't work for a working mom. So, Sheila got my attention when I learned she was not only a working mom, but an educator like me. And, she's not a mom of only 1 child, but 4. (One more than me!)

But, none of this is why I felt a kinship with Sheila. No. It was her stories. Some of them felt like she's been reading my mail (or at least my blog!) Stories like: being too absorbed my project to pay attention to the kids; learning to release my child into God's hands (where she was all along); and the need to (repeated) say, "I'm sorry" to my kids.

I think the statement that hit home was in the chapter, "Love Covers a Multitude of Sins". She said, "Not a nurturing woman, even in the best of circumstances..." She goes on to talk about a particularly bad night when her husband had been sick for a long time, and the kids were stepping on her last nerve. What followed was a total Mommy snap. (I've had my share of those!) Long before we had kids (even before infertility) we decided that John would be the one to stay home--because he was more of the nurturer. This always bothered me. Here I was the teacher, but not a "nurturer". But when Sheila admitted this, I felt great relief. I'm not alone.

During the introduction, Sheila talks about the Mommy guilt of being an educator and wondering what credibility she would have as an "expert" when he kids were less than perfect. I faced this with my daughter. My title is "Developmental Specialist II" working in the birth to three population. But I had a 4 year old daughter who was not potty trained.

Mommy Grace has helped me realize that as long as I do my best, God will take care of the results. And some days my best, is far from perfect. But I am going to continue loving my kids, and I pray that Mommy Guilt will drive me to the foot of the cross where I will find Mommy Grace.

Want a copy?
Pre-order now:

or win one of five (5!) copies of Mommy Grace

To enter: Leave a comment. No specific requirement, but please don't just say, "Pick me".

For extra entries (leave an extra comment):

* Share a Mommy Guilt moment (and lesson learned)
* Add my button to your blog
* Follow me on twitter
* Twitter about this giveaway
* Follow my blog
* Subscribe to my blog

Contest ends Friday, March 27th.
Limited to US or Canada addresses. (No PO Boxes)

Last times

We all know children grow up so fast. It seems like one minute they’re crying for your attention and the next they’re teenagers wanting to take the car out for the night. Author Karen Kingsbury knows this feeling all too well. Karen is the mother of six children and it is those children that prompted her to write Let Me Hold You Longer.

Okay...kleenex alert! My contact over at Tyndale House sent me a link to this video. In in, Karen explains the reason she wrote her new book Let Me Hold You Longer And then she reads the text. Wow!



Now, can you share a "last time" with one of your kids?

My older two kids had a hard time giving up their "meme" (aka pacifier). But with Munchy, he just asked for it less and less. One day, I realized he hadn't asked for one (or found one and put it in his mouth) in 2 weeks. I didn't realize it was his last time.

Mac Rak Craft Kit

Thanks to Faith Approved I had the opportunity to try out "His Kids Crafts" from The Mac Rak. These kits are all-inclusive.

Everything you need to create quality family time and memories with your kids, in one bag!

Glue, scissors, play dough, sequins, googly eyes....if the craft calls for it, you will find it in the kit. The kits are hand-assembled by a mom. (And, I would guess, with some help from her children!)

I sat down with my daughter, Crunchy, this afternoon to try out the kit. Our kit was the April Bible Craft: a fun foam cross magnet with hearts spelling "God" and "Love" . Out kit included: clear instructions (with a picture of the completed project); 3 cross in different sizes; 7 letter hearts (the O is shared); a small glue bottle, and a strip of magnet.

I read each of the directions to Crunchy, and she was able to do the project by herself. (She probably could have done it with just the picture, but I wanted to see how easy there were to follow. They were well written.) I really liked the final two instructions. The first was to get a Bible and read John 3:16. (Instead, Crunchy quoted it for me a couple of times. Thanks AWANAs!) The last instruction was to discuss why God loves us so much and why Jesus chose to live, die and be resurrected for us. It was an easy way to bring the activity from just a craft to a teaching time.

The kit was well put together, and included encouraging notes on the packaging. My daughter enjoyed the time we spent together, and it was great to have a finished project in a very short time. Individual kits start at $3.75. Ours was $4.25. There is an option for a monthly subscription for $4.00 a month.  In addition to the Bible crafts, there are featured crafts and surprise crafts.

My model Crunchy introducing the kit.

The kit comes with everything you need.

Gluing on the letters

Quoting John 3:16

All done!

TSMSS: Somewhere in the World

My daughter, Crunchy, is only 5. But she is in love. With MC. They met last year when they rode the same bus to preschool. She almost got kicked off the bus because she insisted on giving MC a hug before she got off the bus. And another time, she threw a fit (and a kick) because they wouldn't let her sit next to MC. She even told me they "practiced dated". But, after preschool, they went separate ways. Until last week. Just in time for Valentine's Day, she announced MC was back and in her class. The first picture is one Crunchy drew. She said it is her and MC after they won a dance competition. (Do you see the trophies?) The next one is Crunchy and MC. We ran into his family at Wal-Mart tonight. And then this song went through my head.

The only video I could find was a man singing and playing piano. The song is Wayne Watson's Somewhere in the World.

Somewhere in the world today
A little girl will go out ot play
All dressed up in mama's clothes
At least the way that I suppose it goes
Somewhere in the world tonight
Before she reaches to turn out the light
She'll be prayin' from a tender heart
A simple prayer that's a work of art

And I don't even know her name
But I'm prayin' for her just the same
That the Lord will write His name upon her heart
Cause somewhere in the course of this life
A little boy will need a godly wife
So hold on to Jesus, baby, whereever you are

Somewhere in the world out there
That little girl's learnin' how to care
She's pickin' up her mamas charms
Or maybe, swigin' around in her daddy's arms
Somewhere in the world to be
Through the future's not real clear to me
Theirs could be a tender love
Grounded in eternal love above

Check out the other TSMSS posts.

Mom2Be pampering (Giveaway!)

I was a fortunate mom, after years of infertility, I had pretty easy pregnancies. But I still would have loved to have been pampered during that time. If only I had lived in the Chicago area.... I could have visited Stork Snapshots  Not only do they provide 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds, they offer a maternity spa. There are massage services with names like: lighten up, free your mind, free loader, the yummy tummy, maternity massage, 4th trimester healing hour, and the smoothie. There are also facial services, such as: mommy on the move, beautiful beginnings, bare essentials, get your glow on, and great expectations. They also offer a variety of items in the StorkStore for baby (blankets, music, clothing, and my favorite bling pacifiers!) and parents (diaper bags, jewelry, L & D gowns, and shirts).



The owner and momtrepreneur, Pat Chiamas-Ebeling wants to give away a Teddy Heart Beat Bear  (or a $10 gift certificate toward any item in the Stork Store!) 



And you don't even have to live in the Chicago area. In fact, you don't even have to be in the United States. Stork Snapshots will ship it anywhere!

To enter (by Saturday, March 7th):

Just leave a comment. Try to use a little bit of effort. tell me something about you.

For extra entries (leave an extra comment):
Tell me something you'd love to have (or give) from the Stork Store
If you make a purchase from the Stork Store, come back and take another entry
Add my button to your blog
Follow me on twitter
Twitter about this giveaway
Follow my blog
Subscribe to my blog

Wordless Wednesday

Instead of saying no when Crunchy asked me to put on the Easter bunny ears, I said Yes. And I took a picture. Crunchy immediately said, "Send it!"