Mama Knows Best » Ethan & Addison

sometimes she worries me.

Jessica — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:32:05 +0000

Sometimes my phone takes awesome pictures, other times not so much. This is one of those times. Regardless, you have a brief idea of what my daughter has been up to the past couple of days since we received her costume in the mail. She’s in love with the costume, as am I, but to the extremes. Addie expects me to let her wear it to school and why I’m all about promoting individuality– I just cannot do it.

To help distract her from the idea, I’ve been allowing her to browse Toys’R'Us catalogs and help me create her Birthday/Christmas list. Oh yes. Bribery is totally how we roll in this family. Plus, I have some awesome toys r us coupons to get used up before they expire… so what better way than to bribe my daughter, no?

Something tells me that we have a repeat of history. Does anyone else remember E & his boots?

living up to the family name

Jessica — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:23:08 +0000

One of the many things I kind of chuckle about when it comes to my children is how much they are like our entire family. My nieces and nephews bare several resemblances, but could not be further from replicas of the majority of our family. E & A are so willing to try new things, both are chatty Cathy’s and love all things related to food. And I am not talking junk food necessarily because both of ‘em are vegetable first kind of kids, meats second and everything after.

However, there is one particular “food” that they love and could consume in mass quantities if this mama would allow them. Both of my babes absolutely love donuts. They are not prejudice against any flavor of donut either… in fact, they are very much as in love with a maple glazed donut as they are a full on chocolate donut. Sadly, they are not given the opportunity to indulge themselves in donuts because though donuts are a more delicious breakfast choice, they are not always the most healthy. Something about them being fried in oil, drenched in sweetness and everything delicious that may/may not make ‘em bad for you.

Except that we e now have a way to make a healthier donut. Oh yes. You definitely read that correctly. You see, I can whip up six cake-style donuts in as little as four minutes with our BabyCakes Donut Maker, customize them with my favorite toppings and enjoy every last morsel without feeling remorse for eating something deep fried. The kids and I are absolutely in love with our donut maker, as are any of the guests at our house on Sunday mornings.

Some of my favorite features of our Babycake’s Donut Maker are:

How incredibly easy this little appliance is to clean. It has a non-stick coating which makes it that much easier to clean.
You can make six donuts in approximately four minutes.
Accessories needed to make donuts are included– no rushing to the store to pick up items you thought were included, but totally thought were included.
No frying of donuts, making them a little more healthy for you and your family.
Manual includes tips and recipes, as does the Babycake’s website.
The power & ready lights, convenient cord wrap, and latching handle.
The convenient wire cooling rack because I don’t know about you, but mine are always full from homemade bread, muffins, cookies.. you name it.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Babycakes and received a product sample and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

and i was feeling camera happy.

Jessica — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:21:15 +0000

Several of our local stores sell cameras and yet no one has any Canon camera batteries in stock? Seriously. How does this stuff happen? Do they call around to one another, announcing that hey, Jessica is feeling camera happy so let’s magically run out of batteries? So after I sort out all of my finances today and get some other odds ‘n ends done, I will be heading a little further away to purchase a new battery (called ahead). I will then start taking pictures of the progress being made at the house (!!!) and of my two favorite little monsters, though one of them is pretty sick right now and will likely shoo away the camera. But here’s to hoping. This mama needs new pictures of her babies!

and they call me evil.

Jessica — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:15:02 +0000

Knowing that the ex-hubby had very little money for the holiday season, I could not help but feel sorry for him. I purchased a few gifts for him to give to our children from him. It broke my heart to think that Ethan & Addie would go to their father’s on Christmas afternoon and have nothing to open. Maybe it’s because I am a sucker for the holiday’s, but mostly because I love to see Ethan & Addie happy.

I purchased the coolest little RC cars for Ethan. He and our neighbor boy are going to have an absolute ball playing with them this summer. They love all things mobile and how perfect are these? The boys are going to have fun running them all over the place. And Addison is getting a couple of Barbies, now that she is into all things girly.

goodbye tsunami. hello sunshine?

Jessica — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:42:20 +0000

October and November have been less than pleasant months for the children and myself. We have had so much ups and downs, twists and turns and disappointments. But I think things are beginning to take a turn upwards for us. My new job is great (so far), classes are going well (though I am a little behind) and we are all healthy. Lucas will be home somewhere around December 17th (making life a little less stressful) and my truck should come back from the shop by Wednesday at the latest. Money is a little tight this month, but things should definitely start looking up within the week.

I am more than hopeful that things will get better. You can only hit rock bottom so many times before life gives you a break. Right now, I am getting that break and I am going to run with it. I have come too far and worked too hard to give up. It is only Monday, but already I feel like it is going to be a good week. And what a week for things to start looking up! Thanksgiving is just around the corner– the day of giving thanks for all that l have been blessed with (which is a lot).