My hubby and I both LOVE pecan pie at Thanksgiving and well, throughout the year, given the opportunity. I decided to try and see if my hubby would like a pie with no butter or corn syrup. I had the first piece and it was just as sweet, just as satisfying, but the ooey gooey …
All Aboard! "The Polar Express" comes to life this holiday season as the Texas State Railroad rolls out of the station bound for the "North Pole!" Come early and climb aboard with your family to cozy-up and enjoy our festively-decorated vintage train cars. Dancing chefs deliver hot chocolate and a cookie to each guest to savor …
Fall is upon us here in Texas, which means hot one day and cold and rainy the next! We are sure to have a couple of cold weeks during winter at least, so now is the perfect time to protect your wooden deck, patio, fence, furniture, or other wooden structure with Thompson's WaterSeal. Thompson's WaterSeal …
Recently there was a Graco Safety party in DFW to announce the awesome new Graco SnugRide Click Connect 40 carseat to a few bloggers. I was unable to attend the local #GracoSafety party like I had planned, but thanks to my sweet mother-in-law and blogger friend, Staci, from 7 on a Shoestring, we received this …
Happy Halloween from Superman and the brave Knight!
Traveling with kids is always a bit difficult. My kids have always slept better in their own beds, which has made some nights away from home dreadful. Neither of my boys ever really liked the Pack 'n Play after they got past the baby stage. We take along Captain Fussybuckets' couch, but it's not ideal …
I am so lucky that both of my boys love fruit. Vegetables is another story, but at least they love their fruit. I have a hard time keeping up with their appetite for fruit and finding new, exciting ways for them to eat it! And with the Captain going to preschool two days a week …
A few years ago, the hubby (a youth minister) and I were at a new church. We were eating a meal and talking to different members of the church. Then, an upcoming ladies' retreat became the topic of discussion. One of the ladies asked me if I was going to go and I said "probably …
I have decided that cranberries are my absolute favorite fruit. I just love them, whether it's jellied cranberries at Thanksgiving, dried cranberries in a salad, or cranberries in desserts. They're sweet and tangy and just delicious and add the perfect flavor to just about anything. Plus, they are good for you! There are so many …
Last summer, I wrote a post called "10 Reasons Why I Love Nick Jr." Since then, Nick Jr. has made some awful changes and I just want to vent about them for a minute. On my list, #10 was "There are songs and fun games instead of annoying toy and food commercials that leave …
Today is October 1st. I LOVE October. It is THE perfect month in Texas, in my opinion. I love the Fall colors, the smells, the tastes, and more. I'm not so fond of Halloween, but it is what it is and I'll take October anyway. Halloween isn't BAD, don't get me wrong, it's just not …
My boys surprise me on a daily basis. I always get a chuckle out of the things that they do because really....who would've ever thought that... 1. hand vacs could be so entertaining for a three year old? 2. or that it would be my responsibility to carry all of their stuff in what …
I first learned about Cookie's Kids on another blog a few months ago. I was impressed with the cute stuff that I had never seen in stores here before. After logging on to the Cookie's Kids website, I learned that it was established in New York City in 1972 and now has seven stores in …
I remember sleepwalking a few times as a child. One time I remember walking out of my bedroom with my small plastic trash can in one hand, and my blanket in another. My oldest brother was sitting at the computer and he asked what I was doing, which I think woke me up. In my …
I've always loved the idea of Family Game Night, but was waiting for the boys to be old enough to actually be able to play a game. We play "Family Game Night" on the Wii, but the Captain's attention span isn't that long (as it should be!) and of course, Baby D is just happy …
We bought Captain Fussybuckets his first bike at a garage sale last Fall. It came with training wheels, but no helmet. We knew the importance of wearing a helmet when cycling, even if the training wheels were still on. It's important to get into that habit, for sure. So, Grandma bought the Captain a helmet …
"For those of us who lived through these events, the only marker we’ll ever need is the tick of a clock at the 46th minute of the eighth hour of the 11th day." ~President George W. Bush
I taught kindergarten for three years before having kids and becoming a stay-at-home mom, then a houseparent at a children's home, then a stay-at-home mom again. School was always filled with mixed emotions. The first day of school was exciting, scary, exhausting and inspiring all at the same time. The end of the year was …
Parenting Hack for Mealtime: The Awesome Way to Get Inquisitive Kids to Eat I'm so glad that my husband is the father of my children. He plays with our boys like he is a boy himself. He teaches them good things and is a great Christian role model for them. But the purpose of this …
My husband and I first heard of Mark Gungor while working at the children's home. One of the ministers there shared the "Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage" DVD with us and I, personally, was very encouraged and excited about the DVD. I had a lot of "aha!" moments, where things Mark said clicked …
Back when I first moved into an apartment with roommates in college, I was all about the cute little plastic containers with lids that fit all nicely together and cost more than I wanted to pay for them, but I did anyway.......all for food storage. I don't know why we, as women, (some women, not …
We had a little family movie night making "tuna turtles" with "A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures" this weekend!
Did you know that today, August 15th, is the official National Relaxation Day? There you go, that's all the excuse you need to kick back and relax! What do you do when you need to relax? Maybe get a massage? Go shopping? Lie down in bed and go to sleep? Or possibly leave the kids …
I know, it's the hottest month of the year and you're wondering why on earth I'd be making a hot soup, let alone posting about it. Well, I have been craving Tomato Bisque ever since we had some a few months ago at Medieval Times. So today, I decided to make some! I found a …
It's times like these that I wish I was efficient and liked to schedule posts far in advance. If you're a frequent visitor, you might have noticed that I haven't been posting much lately. Some really awesome bloggers have posts scheduled so when life gets in the way of blogging, they don't have to worry …
When I was little, I spent a lot of time playing with my favorite toy, the Fisher Price doll house. I loved that thing. There's just something about those little figurines with round heads and the ability to put them in the little chairs, lay them on the little beds, and even push them around …
If you didn't know by now, three of the original four Wiggles will be retiring at the end of this year. That's why I was SO thrilled to be able to take the boys to one of the last Wiggles concerts in Texas yesterday, as a part of their Celebration Tour. Captain Fussybuckets and Baby …
I remember watching both the Summer and Winter Olympics as a kid. I'd get so excited and quickly learn lots about sports I didn't even know existed. And it wasn't until this morning when I turned on the news channel and they were talking about the Olympics that I thought "oh! This is great for …
This is a ridiculous blog post, but I have to get the word out. Please, PLEASE stop the crumbs. Crumbs are horrible and my sons, obviously, don't show any signs of stopping the crumbs any time soon. Neither does my dear husband, who is THE worst crumb leaver I know. I love him dearly and …
Something strange has happened, but apparently, it's fairly common. Baby D, who just turned 19 months old yesterday, is acting like a full fledged two year old. Just in the past two weeks or so, he's started becoming far more defiant than ever, saying "NEH!" for 'no' and even hitting and pushing us. This phenomena …
Do you ever have leftover lasagna noodles that you don't know what to do with? I have been making a big lasagna and then a small lasagna for the freezer, and I still have leftover noodles. So, I came up with this recipe that the hubby loves! This meatless meal can also be frozen, just …
My name is Gena, pronounced "GEE-nuh." You know, like Geena Davis, only without the other "e." It's funny because some very sweet people that have known me since birth still call me "Jenna." I guess it's confusing because the typical spelling is "Gina," even though if you're going to phonetically spell it....well....you know my spelling …
This post was brought to you by Magic Bumpers. All opinions are mine. contains affiliate links. While I have only ever co-slept an entire night while traveling or when the boys were sick, our kids have spent a lot of time in our bed. With the Captain, we used a metal fold down bed rail …
All opinions are mine. contains affiliate links. While I have only ever co-slept an entire night while traveling or when the boys were sick, our kids have spent a lot of time in our bed. With the Captain, we used a metal fold down bed rail on our bed when he was really tiny, for …
The day is almost over and it was just a normal day for us. Daddy was working all day and the Full Moon had it's effects on the boys for sure so we opted to go to church and come home and watch fireworks on TV! Definitely the best choice for us! 🙂 I hope …
I had no idea that VTech, one of our favorite brands, made a video baby monitor until I found them online one day. We really have had good luck with VTech products. It's amazing that they make such a vast array of high quality products! We were able to review the VTech Safe & Sound Full Color …
Did you know that three of the four original Wiggles are retiring? Yes, after this final world tour, Jeff, Murray, and Greg will be retiring and three new Wiggles will be joining Anthony as the new generation of The Wiggles! The 2012 Summer Tour called "The Wiggles! Celebration Tour!" will be the last time you …
June is almost over! How did that happen? Well, get ready for July and Independence Day on July 4th with these awesome ideas from Pinterest! Check out these awesome, all natural, Patriotic Ice Pops from Naturally Educational! And how about this adorable Flag Wreath from Oodlekadoodle Primitives! I was looking for something FUN for the …
