30 Weeks: The "I Love Maternity Clothes" Edition

Yeah. I just said "I love maternity clothes." Clothes that actually fit over my (growing) belly and don't make me look like a hick with a beer gut. Amiright?

And, what's even cooler? I have some cutesy ones, too. (Clothes, not hicks with beer guts.) Woo! *high fives self*

I'm particularly proud of these belly shots because I get to show off some really awesome and cute jewelry pieces (and Christmas gifts) I received from hubs. Yay!

I am definitely feeling massively pregnant, and yet, I still have ten weeks to go! Holy crap! I'm still overdoing things, I'm sure, but I have eleventy-billion kids, I'm Italian, I simply don't know how to slow down! You know?

These next ten weeks are going to be challenging, though. Balance has been a tough thing to accomplish (hence the new "balance" bracelet" on my wrist) so we'll see how the start to 2012 and the end of this pregnancy goes.

Baby bump progression thus far:

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Charitable Giving with Champions for Kids SIMPLE Service Projects

They didn't ask too many questions when I gave them the task to "look for Disney stuff." The only questions each of my children would ask me was, "Is this okay?" when they'd show me what they found. They commanded the job with such authority, navigating aisle after aisle searching for Disney stocking stuffers.

"Do you think this is nice, mommy?" My son asked me.

"Oh yes, baby, I think that'll do just fine."

They didn't seem to mind at all that they weren't getting any of these items for themselves. In fact, they never asked, but it was apparent they knew. Except my almost five-year-old who wanted the Rapunzel stocking we had picked out. "Why are we buying all this Rapunzel stuff, mommy? Is it for me? For my birfday?"

"No, sweetheart. It's for another little girl. A girl who didn't get much for Christmas."

She didn't say much after that. None of the kids did. They now realized the importance of what we were doing and got to work 1000% harder than they did before. Unfortunately, there was lots to find that couldn't be fit into the stockings we were purchasing, so it was hard to say no when their hearts wanted to so badly. We were all wishing it was more than a stocking stuffer celebration.

All our goods on the conveyor at check-out. My goodness, I hope it all fits!

Once we got home, my middle schoolers got to work. They efficiently removed tags and prices and configured the stockings so that all the goodies we purchased would fit properly, shaking the stockings to ensure they could squeeze it all in.

Once they were all finished, they wanted to get back in the car to give their stockings away RIGHT.THEN.AND.THERE. It did my heart proud to see them want to give so badly.

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In an earlier post, I told you all about the ways our family were already giving back this holiday season. I was excited to participate this month with Champions for Kids, and I believe we'll be continuing on doing their SIMPLE Service Projects with them monthly.

To remind you, Champions for Kids is trying to mobilize millions of people to help children from within their own community, all over the nation. More than 17-million children in the United States are at risk for hunger. One in five children is poor, with half living in extreme poverty each day, leaving millions of children who do not have the basic resources they need such as eye and dental care; school supplies, warm clothes, and food.

Champions for Kids offers several different programs to get people involved. I've joined them by participating in their SIMPLE Service Projects; a monthly program filled with fun ideas and ways to engage millions of people to improve the health of children in schools across America. This month's SIMPLE mission was a Disney Stocking Stuffer Celebration.

If you're interested in learning more, you can follow Champions for Kids on Twitter or "like' them on Facebook to keep track of all they're up to. If you want to see what others have done for this month's Disney campaign, use the hashtag #DisneyCFK on Twitter to check it out.


What ways have you given back to your community before?

This post has been compensated as part of a sponsored charitable opportunity for Collective Bias.

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What To Do With That Holiday Money?

Every year my children are given money and gift cards from grandparents, whether for birthday, holidays, tooth-fairy, report cards, etc. I've discussed how we save our children's money in envelopes at home, to include all gift cards they're given. This year, though, since opening my children's Kidworth accounts, we can now add their kid contributions towards their new savings goals they didn't have before their account creation. Woohoo!

I have to admit this to you: saving my kids' money was awesome enough on it's own. I was proud to see them save. But saving now, with specific goals in mind, makes my heart want to dance. Seriously. This is such an important lesson for children to learn, especially in this day and age, not to mention economy.

With some of the money she's earned from the neighbor for house-sitting/dog-walking, plus Christmas money she's received, we were able to add some funds towards my teenager's car fund.

In the dashboard, it shows how much she's saved and received towards this goal so far.

I asked my children if they wanted me to share their profiles with friends and family, enlisting help from others to help get them to their goals faster, and they said yes! I created an e-card using Kidworth's system, inviting others to view our family's profile page with our kids' individual profiles.

Adding recipients was a snap! So easy!

Once the card is sent, you can share it via social media and other ways, too.

When you click on profile on the e-card, and then visit my son's profile, you can see what he's saving for, and you can see how easy it is to help contribute towards his goal.

How cool is this website?! Even if your children are too young to have specific goals in mind, what if you wanted to start a college fund for them now? You can do that with Kidworth! I think it's pretty genius to get them involved and to have them be more proactive with utilizing goals and saving money.

What do you think? Do you want to help your children start saving towards a goal? What goal are you saving for already, or will you create some new ones?

I'm a Kidworth Ambassador and this post is sponsored by Kidworth

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Christmas and Toys and Presents, OH MY (Does It Have To End?)

I just spent the last hour being schooled in the way of Beyblades. I learned how to use their ripcords, how to know which Beyblade goes with which launcher, and how to "win."

They are basically tops that spin really fast. Decorated with stickers and some light up and have different "effects," I can't begin to tell you how much it made my son's day to play his new toys with him, and show me "his moves" while we bonded over his "battle station." We opened up every last one he received from us for Christmas, and there, smack in the middle of his bedroom, we ripped it up, Beyblade-style, and laughed. A freakin' lot.

Earlier today, I played tea party with my daughter's new Princess Tea Set that she served on her new Svan table and chair set. It meant a great deal to me to give her a quality table and chair set this year (thank you, Scandinavian Child*), she's now at "that age" where dress-up tea parties, coloring, and play food are all on her daily menu. Now she can do it kid-size instead of at our dining room table.

I also watched the kids on their new bikes we bought for them, riding on the street, as the littler ones rode their new scooters, watching the wheels light up in the dark. We bought the older ones "trickster" bikes this year, with a ramp, along with skate boards and a "grinding" rail (whatever grinding means).

We also spent a fortune (cough, seventy-dollars-OMG, cough) to replace the dead battery in the Power Wheels mustang we own, giving it new life. Baby Dude was livin' it up, learning how to drive it and control it.

I love this time of year, this exhausting day-after where everything is cool, you'll NEVER hear the words "I'm bored" because suddenly there's so much to do. And play. And build. And create.

And where Buzz Light Year pajamas demand a bouncing happy reception:

..and new Power Ranger swords required an immediate opening and test drive:

.. and preteens suddenly realize that mom knows what they like, style-wise, and got them exactly what they wanted. Three new fedoras for dude, and two new newsie hats for dudette:

... and a cool, new leather coat for the teenager. (Hoping this will now give her a reason to actually wear a coat, since before they weren't "cool.")

My back may hurt like hell, my hands with blisters and paper cuts from opening cardboard boxes a-plenty, and I may feel like I've been side-swiped in a car accident with the post-Christmas hangover, but my heart soars spending this time with my kids, having my husband home, and just being a family.

Does it have to end next week? Can't it last forever?

*scichild.com sent me the table and chair set. 
Anything else mentioned was purchased myself.

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Wrapapalooza Hilarity

(Alternately titled: Why We Need Our Own Reality Show)

Hubs and I have suddenly grown a brain decided this year will be *the year* we're not up until 3am wrapping e-v-e-r-y-p-r-e-s-e-n-t for our children. We decided to begin wrapping this afternoon, while the older kids were upstairs playing Risk and the younger two were watching Christmas programs on NOGGIN.

Why do we stay up late wrapping presents, you ask? Simple - we're getting old and forgetful. And we LOVE choreographing the present opening based on recollection. For example - if there are two related gifts (i.e. each of the older kids got Heely's), we like to have them all open it together, at the same time. It's just the added magic to Christmas that hubs and I bring *tiger wink*

But since we're starting earlier this year, we decided to do a "symbol" system. The kids will have to look for matching symbols to open together, so this way we won't rely upon our tired memory, AND we get to get sleep! SCORE! *high five*

Except, there we were, in the middle of finishing up a combo/related present set for the boys, when I ask:

Me: "Where are we at with this one, star-six?"

Hubs: "Yes. Or, as we like to say in Spanish, cuatro y uno."

Me: "Wait. Cuatro y uno?"

Hubs: "Yeah. Cuatro y uno. Uh, which is, you know, one less than seis."

Me: (Hilariously laughing.)

Hubs: "It's a game. Kind-of like Soduko. SHUT UP!"

Me: (Still hilariously laughing.)

Hubs: "DAMMIT, I'm not talking to you anymore."

Me: (Dies on floor hysterically.)

This? This goes on for hours upon hours while we wrap, too. (And? If we can dig out from under wrapping paper, there might be more hilarious conversations posted later. Stay tuned.)

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29 Weeks Pregnant - The Struggling, Not-Doing-So-Well Edition

When I had my daughter back in '07, I ended up with a whopping case of PPD. I recall being particularly stressed out and emotional during her pregnancy, too. It seems that's happening during this pregnancy as well.

I may seem uppity and cheerful and chipper and happy, and I sure do try to put on a 'brave face' most of the time, because that's just me and 'how I roll' - I suck it up and power through. Most times? It works. It also usually isn't always a bad day. But when the bad days do indeed hit? Wow.

Despite how round and voluptuous I am, I become FLATTENED, like the pavement. 

Perhaps it's the holiday stresses. Or it could be the end-of-pregnancy blues you begin to feel. It could very well be that it's really hitting me hard that this is the last time I'll be pregnant. Or maybe, it's really all of it all rolled into one, and slathered with a healthy helping of pregnancy hormones.

Nonetheless, this final week of Christmas prep has been particularly nightmarish, and my favorite holiday of the year I'm suddenly dreading. And that so, totally, isn't like me at all.

My new favorite pajamas by Moody Mamas.

Today is one of those 'brave face' days. It's the day before Christmas Eve, and there are final preparations to accomplish, and a gift for hubs I've been chasing all over town with no success in finding it thus far. (First ever time in history he's done before I am!)

I'm going to get dressed, step outside in this frigid weather (hello, Texas? What the heck!? 40's, really?), and do my best to get 'er done today, despite my melancholy mood. It is Christmas, after all, and there are six children and a beautiful husband who need me.

Baby bump progression thus far:

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Easy Homemade Beef Stroganoff Recipe

When we were coming up with what to eat this week, we wanted to eat something a little different, something easy but tasty. Beef Stroganoff was one of those recipes you grew up with as a kid, and immediately both my husband and I knew we had a winner on our hands.

I adapted Paula Deen's Beef Stroganoff recipe and changed it, making it my own, particularly since I don't use canned cream of mushroom soup, and also, because our family is large and more steak and beef broth were needed to make this "properly."

My little helper

The best part about this recipe is, you can have little helpers "help" you cut up the mushrooms, since they are so soft and pliable to begin with. My daughter used a not-sharp "kid's" knife to slice the mushrooms into my Tupperware Quick Chef Pro slicer.

Easy Homemade Beef Stroganoff Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds cubed round steak, cut into thin strips
• Mrs Dash table blend, garlic powder, onion powder
• All-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, minced (we used less)
• 1 (28-ounce) box Swanson All-Natural beef broth (will be used in soup below)
• Creamed soup (see below for recipe)
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• Cooked egg noodles (we used two packages)

Creamed Soup Recipe

• 3 heaping tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1 cup beef broth (from box above)
• 1 cup of milk
• seasoning to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Slice your onions and mushrooms (with a little help, if desired). 
2. On a covered skillet or large frying pan (with a cover), add the olive oil and butter, and brown the steak whole on both sides for a couple minutes each. (This seals in the juices and makes the beef cook tenderly.)
3. Remove from skillet, slice steak into strips and season with seasonings, and then toss the steak in a bowl with flour until completely coated.
4. While slicing the steak into strips, add the onion slices and mushrooms to the pan drippings and saute until onion is tender.
5. For the Cream Soup: In a small sauce pan by melting the butter. Once butter is melted, add the flour, and whisk until blended well and small beads form. Add broth and milk, whisk again, letting simmer until it thickens up. Add seasoning to taste.
6. Sprinkle the onion and mushrooms with a tablespoon of flour, then placed the floured steak back into the pan with the prepared cream soup and 1 cup of beef broth. Season again.
7. Stir then cover, cooking over low heat for about 30 minutes.
8. Every ten minutes or so, add more beef broth, mixing into the thickened gravy mixture, thinning it out a little, and add a dash more seasoning. Should use the remaining broth in the box by the end of the simmering time, to make it more gravy-like.
9. Once 15 minutes has passed since steak mixture began simmering, begin preparing egg noodles. 
10. Once stroganoff is finished, stir in the sour cream right before you serve, and blend well. Serve over drained and cooked egg noodles.

It made me happy that there were *actual* mushrooms and onions in this dish, and they were cut so small and sauteed so well, the kids had no idea, and ate it all. Yay for hidden veggies!

Look at all that seasoned stroganoff gravy goodness - yum!

My kids lost their minds over this dish. My son wants this for his birthday meal next week. My oldest actually said that this trumps my lasagna, which has not only been her favorite since she was little, has been on her "birthday menu" for years and years. TRUMPS MY LASAGNA! Dude! For this Italian born and raised momma, that's huge!

I'm guessing they really, really, REALLY liked it.

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