Today Ragu posted the question… Do you think kids are better behaved when holiday guests are visiting?

My answer: No!

At least not with my extended family.  My kids are great at restaurants.  I’d say we’ve eaten out a lot in their lives, especially with traveling and visiting family in another state.  They grew up going out in public and learned to act right at a young age.  My tolerance isn’t very high, I’ll admit.  I’ve never had complaints when they visit others in their homes either.  We often have guests over to grill out during the summer and sometimes have our friends from church over for dinner.  My children are pretty well behaved then too.  Usually just excited to see our friends.

But… get our large family together and it’s like we’re at a zoo.  My nephews are pretty hyper and if my sister reads this post she’ll know it’s true, nothing bad, just facts.  All the kids get excited to be somewhere new and around their family that they bounce off the walls.  Maybe it’s because we are family and not strangers that the kids feel more comfortable.  Either way, during the holidays when our family gets together it’s loud and crazy.  Adults included.  Except me, of course…

Do your children make good dinnertime guests?  When your family gets together for the holidays is it total chaos?

The holidays have always been important to me.  I love Christmas and the magic that comes with it.  It’s the largest holiday of the year where all the family comes together to spend quality time in celebration.  To me it’s the most important holiday.  Every holiday we have together as a family I consider a blessing.

When I was growing up Christmas was filled with excitement of my childhood wishes.  After I had kids it became about seeing the excitement in my children’s eyes when they witnessed Christmas magic.

In 2007 the way I viewed things changed.  I think I started to cherish it more.  Gabby went in for her Hemispherectomy the first week of November 2007 and unfortunately we stayed in the hospital through all the major holidays and well into the new year.  Spending Christmas in a children’s hospital was not ideal for anyone.  Saying money was tight that year is an understatement.  Gabby was unexpectedly kept in the hospital for four months, meaning I was in the hospital for four months.  Not much work can be done when you are taking care of your child whose life was still in question.

There were times I wondered if we were going to have a Christmas.  Silly, isn’t it?  Christmas isn’t about the gift giving.  It’s about embracing life, family and truly being appreciative for what you have at that very moment, no matter how tough it is.  2007 is the year I witnessed a miracle.  Christmas time is when Gabby was able to move to the rehabilitation floor and learned to walk on her own again.  December of 2007 is the month we knew Gabby was going to live.

Spending Christmas in the hospital wasn’t so bad.  The girls were given the chance to take part in some fun holiday activities.  Gabby was healthy enough to take out of her room in a wheelchair or wagon to see the hospital Christmas tree and we were able to decorate her hospital room.  They even allowed her big sister, T, to spend Christmas Eve with us in the hospital so Santa could drop off their presents that night.

Those are the memories that are priceless.  Those memories are still fresh in my mind and capturing them to share with Gabby is worth everything to me.

YesVideo helps you preserve your memories by transferring your old home movies to DVD and digitizing your photos for you to share on a slideshow.  I love that you have the option of simply transferring your old media then editing online before ordering a DVD.  I have so many VHS tapes from when my oldest was little and several 8mm tapes from when I was younger that I wouldn’t know where to start ordering DVDs.  Being able to transfer the media first, then edit and arrange before ordering my DVDs is perfect.

YesVideo also offer the option to share your home movies with friends and relatives out of state through MemorySafe online storage.  This year I plan to capture as many home movies during the holidays on my HD video camera to transfer to BluRay.  While we are spending time together with my parents over the holidays we are going to gather all our old media to send in as a family and order copies of DVDs together.  My mom is excited about this.

Right now YesVideo is offering 15% off your entire order.  Use code: TRANSFER15 during checkout on their website to qualify.  YesVideo features various giveaways on their Facebook Page regularly so I suggest liking them to keep up to date.  You can follow YesVideo on Twitter where they also share photography tips and other specials.

What is your favorite holiday memory?  Do you have VHS tapes collecting dust on your shelves?  How often do you watch home movies with your children?

Full Disclosure: I was compensated for my time sharing the information about YesVideo with you.  The story and opinions are 100% mine.

~Cherish today, for you never know what tomorrow brings.

Last night kicked off ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas programming.  Our family loves Christmas movies.  I mean LOVES them.  As in we’ve already watched about six Christmas movies and it’s only December 2nd.  We also love having a fire in the fireplace, the Christmas tree lite up and drinking hot cocoa with marshmallows.  I can’t get enough of the Christmas season.  That’s one thing great about ABC Family, you know every single night there will be a movie to watch counting down the days until Christmas.

You can view the full schedule of movies on ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas website to see which of your favorites you don’t want to miss.  Also if you want to show some holiday spirit on Facebook you can deck out your profile photo by using the app on ABC Family’s Facebook Page.  A fun option of adding a Christmas frame around your photo.  I love it!

So tell me - which is your favorite Christmas movie to watch each year?  What’s your family’s favorite treat during movie night?  Popcorn, candy canes, hot cocoa?

It’s that time of year again where families are out trying to capture the best moments in a photo to use on their holiday cards.  My family always uses the pumpkin patch as our photography playground.  The kids love climbing around on the hay stacks and playing with pumpkins so usually I can capture some great candid moments, however it’s still a challenge to get all three kids to stop, stay still and smile at the same time.

This year it was windy and sunny which caused lots of squinting and blown hair.  Also a test on my patience to try and capture just a few holiday card worthy photos.

Family photo outtakes {Yo, Gabby, over here. After convincing her to take the sucker out of her mouth}

Finally Settled{the best we could captured together}

I took a lot of photos of the kids playing and enjoying quality family time together.  Some of the best shots were while they weren’t looking.  That’s when I was able to capture their true smiles and emotions.  We spent only two hours at the pumpkin patch but it felt like all day.  Trying to get kids to stop and smile is exhausting.

This year for our Christmas cards I plan to create a collage of photos to share.  At least one photo of each child by themselves with a couple of family shots.

Every time I found a child sitting down or was able to get their attention for a brief moment I would beg them for a photo.  Luckily my parents went with me to the pumpkin patch so my mom was able to capture a few photos for me of me with the kids.

Darn Wind

Getting Annoyed {this was towards the end of our trip, Gabby had enough}

Moments That Make It All Worthwhile

Shutterfly has kicked off an initiative to inspire families everywhere to capture those favorite family moments for their holiday greeting cards. Shutterfly’s Family Photo Days program consists of fun ideas and ways to capture the best photos, various meetups in different cities hosted by mom groups to gather together and take photos for one another, house parties where the host invites everyone over to take photos or share tips on capturing fun family photos and even some contests and promotional ways to encourage families to take their photos now in preparation for holiday card ordering.  You can find out more information about the Shutterfly Family Photo Days initiative online.

Full Disclosure: I was given a code to order complimentary holiday greeting cards from Shutterfly in appreciation for posting about their Family Photo Days initiative.

Saturday we headed out on a road trip to San Antonio to visit Sea World for their Howl-O-Scream event. We were so excited to see the haunted attractions!

Along the road trip we drove the back way avoiding all the recent construction on the highways and massive traffic. The route we took was much more scenic which was nice. We drove through several small towns.

We arrived to San Antonio around 4:00 PM and checked into our hotel. We headed over to Sea World by 5. That gave us a full six hours of fun before they closed.

The girly screams started right at 6 and could be heard through the whole park. It was entertaining.

We had such a great time! The shows were magnificent and the haunted attractions were awesome. I usually don’t get scared in haunted houses but I have to admit this time I actually did get startled in several places. I was beyond impressed at the whole setup. The park was very eery at night.

We drove home from San Antonio on Sunday, picked up the little kids and then decided to decorate our home for Halloween. We had gotten the Halloween decorations out last week and were waiting for a free afternoon. Sunday was perfect since we were in the Halloween spirit.

The kids and I love it.

Do you decorate for Halloween?

The month of October is one of my favorite months. I love Fall for the weather changes and the beautifully colored leaves. My family also loves Halloween, visiting as many pumpkin patches as possible and of course haunted houses.

Tonight we went to Screams for our fourth year. We love it. I literally get excited heading to the haunted theme park for the amount of laughter I know I’ll experience watching T squeal in fear.

T got chased out of the last haunted house by a man carrying a chainsaw. I wish I could have captured that on video!

Do you or anyone in your family go through haunted houses? Do you enjoy the entertainment of it or get scared?

My family loves Asian food.  Fried rice is one of our weaknesses and ordering take-out is considered a treat.  I decided to try the new Sun-Bird seasonings and attempt to make our own Asian food right at home.  The back of the packet lists the ingredients you need and the very simple step by step instructions.  Five easy steps that did not take that long at all and resulted in one of our new favorite meals.

1. Add flour to ziplock bag, then add the chicken chunks and seal.  Shake bag to coat chicken evenly.
2. Combine packet seasoning, sugar, soy sauce and water; blend and set aside. {ingredient measurements listed on packet}
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat until hot.  Add flour coated chicken and cook until evenly browned.
4. Stir sauce mixture and add to skillet with chicken.
5. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until desired consistency.

While this dish was cooking I was preparing the fried rice, using another packet of Sun-Bird seasoning specific for the dish.  Both recipes involved few and simple steps that it was not difficult to cook them simultaneously on the stove.  I was beyond impressed with how they turned out.  I invited my sister, niece and nephew over to join my family for lunch and everyone loved it.  The General Tso’s Chicken was slightly spicy and two of the kids mentioned it.  The adults couldn’t get enough.  Everyone ate the fried rice and I made two batches that didn’t last past the meal.  So much for left overs.

I am not a great cook.  I’m also not a food photographer as you can tell.  I can say this meal turned out delicious and was very easy to make.  Since serving this dish we have already made the Sun-Bird fried rice a second time and the family has requested the General Tso’s Chicken be made this week.

You can find more of the Sun-Bird seasoning recipes on their Facebook page.  They also have a sweepstakes live right now that you can enter.  Like their page to learn about new products and recipes.

Full Disclosure: I am a Guenther Blogger Advocate and therefore product and compensation is provided for time spent sharing this with you. All opinions are 100% mine.

Our Red Belly Toad named Cornelius Jude, CJ for short.

Our African Sideneck Turtle named Crush after Disney’s Finding Nemo

Season six of Supernatural focuses on the brother’s relationship as they battle Heaven and Hell. The two brothers spend endless amounts of time traveling together, encountering demons and a trench coat wearing angel.

If given the choice, who would you choose in this battle?

That’s a tough question.  The Winchester brothers are together day and night.  They fully depend on one another and trust each other with their lives. Sam and Dean drive across states when on the hunt.

I’m a single mom so for the past 14 years my oldest has been my sidekick.  T and I do just about everything together.  We are alike in many ways yet we respect our differences.  If I was on a daily adventure traveling cross country I would want to take her with me.  We laugh together, have cried together and truly have a good time together.  I know T and I could agree on music in the car, which isn’t always the case with some people.  We also enjoy the same activities, movies and I know I’d do anything to protect her.

If YOU were given the choice, who would you choose in this battle?  A family member or a good friend?

Full Disclosure: I have been hired by Warner Bros. WBWord division to promote Supernatural Season 6 on DVD. All opinions are 100% mine.

In Season 6 of Supernatural Dean surprises his brother, Sam, early in the season with a sudden paternal side that emerges when the two brothers investigate a case of missing babies.  Given the scenario that sometimes our loved ones can shock us with a certain skill or quality we didn’t expect from them considering their personality, I’m going to share a blog post today answering the following question:

What’s the most surprising skill a loved one has surprised you with? Did it end up making sense given their personality?

My oldest daughter, T, has massive stage freight.  She has trouble speaking in front of class and gets embarrassed when being put in spotlight at all.  She’ll either turn instantly bright red or as white as a ghost.  She also gets sick to her stomach.  I’ll never forget the time we met Miranda Cosgrove backstage after a concert and were given the chance to interview her.  T couldn’t even ask a question and stuttered when trying to compliment her.  The whole way home she was still shaking.  We can laugh about it together and she is even okay with the fact I tease her sometimes about how she freezes up but the truth is I feel sorry for her nervousness.  It’s no fun at all.

Given T’s personality it comes as no surprise that I was shocked at how well she did at Color Guard in Junior Cadet Corps.  She loves JCC and being part of a team.  Color Guard means a lot to her and she has no problem getting up on stage.  She has even went to more than one competition.  She also carried the flag and marched in front of her whole school last year.  I was impressed.

I guess it just goes to show if you truly love something you can overcome your fears.  I’m a proud momma!

Full Disclosure: I have been hired by Warner Bros. WBWord division to promote Supernatural Season 6 on DVD. All opinions are 100% mine.