Sorry to say...

I'm sorry I have been MIA this week. I have had some issues come up in my personal and family life that require my full attention and devotion and I am going to have to take a leave of absence from blogging for the time being.  I hope to be able to blog about this journey I am on, in the future.  Thank you all for reading, leaving comments, and following me as post about nothing more exciting than my life as a mom to my three little smarties.  I appreciate each and every one of you!!!  I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

God Bless-

Sarah

What we've been up to...

Saying we have been busy this month would be an understatement.  I thought I would share what we have been up to in the Smart household through the eyes of my camera...

Archer got his 1st haircut ever.  I was tired of people asking me if he was a boy or a girl, so as much as I didn't want to cut off his cute curls, I did.  He went from looking like a baby to looking like a little boy in just a few minutes.  He wasn't too sure about sitting in that big chair all by himself but as soon as I handed him my car keys, he was good to go and did surprisingly great while the lady cut his hair.

Palmer's hair was getting out of control and is so hard to fix because of how fine it is.  It won't stay up in a pony tail or braid very well and when I leave it down, it just goes crazy.  She was very excited about getting her hair chopped off and it has been much easier to manage and fix.

I had no intention of Harper getting a haircut but after Archer and Palmer got theirs cut, she begged me to take her too.  So off we went.  I asked the lady to cut a little off...well she cut a LOT off but Harper was super happy with it and I liked it a lot better than I thought I would.  Her hair is VERY thick and this new cut has made it much easier to manage.  She also lost a front too about the same time as she got her haircut.  The  other front tooth is barely hanging on so I'm sure I'll have some toothless picture to post soon!

Graham Parks and Rec department put on a wonderful opportunity for the kids in the area.  For two weeks, they had a synthetic ice skating rink at the brand new Children's Museum and each night there would be a fun event.  We went on the two nights that you could skate with characters.  The girls got to skate for the very first time in their lives and meet Belle and Snow White (there was also Batman & Spiderman for the boys).  They had a blast doing it and Daddy, Archer and I had a fun time watching!

We finally had a night that we got to go pick out a tree and decorate it.  We get  a real tree every year as part of our family Christmas traditions and let the kids decorate it with all the ornaments we have.  It might not be a beautiful themed tree but I love having ornaments on there that mean something to us and watching the kids decorate is priceless.  Archer was pretty excited about his first chance to take part in this family tradition.

We got to attend our first family Christmas get together of the season at my aunt's house.  The girls were excited to get to play with their cousin.  A good time was had by both the kids and adults!

We have also been pretty busy creating, decorating, baking and crafting.  The girls love doing all these things and the fun activities help me keep them busy on the days Daddy is traveling.

What have you been up to this month?
 
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Friday Favorite

I was checking out one of the blogs I like to follow and came across the cutest little cards to use with our Elf on the Shelf (Lucy Claire).  There are little notes that your elf can bring back from the North Pole...like praises, warnings, and reminders from Santa Clause.  And there are also little "trick" cards.  They really help me to be creative with our elf.  I usually rack my brain, right before I go to bed, for something cute I can do with Lucy Claire.  And I have to say, my sleepy brain has not been able to come up with many cute ideas. Here are a few things I have done since getting the cards...

The little card next to her says, "Gone Fishing"

Christmas Movie Night with Lucy Claire

Apparently Lucy Claire loves band-aids! The girls thought this was hilarious!

The cards also come with some ideas incase you forget to move your elf...like I have done a couple times.  If you would like to get your own set of printable elf notes, tricks, or both (like I got) head on over to Print Your Party on Etsy.  

Elf Tricks Set:  $9-This contains 40 note cards...24 unique tricks and activities and 3 mini hunts (4 cards each) that lead your child on 3 searches to find missing household items. This kit includes directions and/or explanations for each "trick."

Elf Notes Set:  $9-This contains 40 note cards of both praise and warning that Elf brings back from Santa Claus.  This set includes personalization for 2 children.  Additional names can be done at $5 per set.

Elf Kit: $15- This contains both the Elf Tricks and Elf Notes (80 cards in all).

Where do you get your Elf on the Shelf ideas?  Have any really good ones you want to share?

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Thursday's Tip of the Day...

Linking up with Apple of Mama's Eye

Several years ago, a friend gave us a tin full of homemade cookies.  I was excited and as soon as we got it, I opened it up and saw small pieces of bread in there amongst the cookies.  I guess she saw the perplexed look on my face and proceeded to explain.  She told one of the best little tidbits of info and I wanted to share seeing as it's the holidays and holidays are full of baked yummy goodness!  

If you add small pieces of bread all around your cookies, it will keep them soft.  The cookies take in the moisture from the bread and the bread pieces will turn hard while your cookies stay soft.  We just baked a bunch of sugar cookies to take to a family get together to let the kids decorate as an activity to keep them busy.  The only time we had to make them was several days before the party, so I threw in a torn up slice of bread and those cookies kept their softness!  

One time, I was getting ready to throw out the last few cookies someone had given us because we had them for a while and the last ones had gotten pretty hard.  Then I thought I'd try the bread trick, just to see if it might work. Well, it did!  

Maybe you already knew this trick and it's old news to you, but every time I give someone some homemade cookies and then explain why there are pieces of bread in there, they always say, "Really?! I have never heard of that before!" So I thought I'd share and hope you enjoy giving and receiving all those yummy cookies this holiday season!

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Tag You're It!

Welcome to Tag! You’re it ~ Christmas Style!

 

 (To get the button go here)

My goal is to get this to hop around all the different blogs and have everyone learn something about the blogs and people they follow ~ Christmas Style! So … pick five bloggers that you want to know more about their Christmas traditions. Tag the bloggers you picked and have them write up a post with answers to the 5 questions that you want to know about.

1. What makes Christmas such a special holiday for you and your family?

 It's that magic time of year when we have Christmas music playing constantly, do fun crafts and activities with the kids, wrap presents together, shop together and partake in family traditions.  I guess what it all adds up to is spending time with my own family as well as getting to spend time with family we don't see as often as we like to. 

2. Were you told the truth about Santa Claus by your parents or did you find out another way? And..do you plan on lying to your kids (if you have them or plan on having them)?

 I found out in elementary school. I kinda had a feeling (I was 9 or 10) but when my teacher reminded us not to say anything to younger kids about there not being a Santa, my suspicions were confirmed and I was devestated. I don't consider it lying to my kids. I think believing in Santa makes Christmas more magical...heck I wish I still believed in him.  We also make sure our kids know that Santa isn't the reason we celebrate Christmas but that this is a holiday for Jesus. 

3. Real tree or Fake tree?
 Real!  It just doesn't feel like Christmas without a family trip to the tree lot to pick out a tree together.  We always did this when we were growing up and we have continued the tradition with our kids.  When they are all grown and out of the house, we might change to a fake tree but right now  we are going to stick with real.

4. Do you open presents on Christmas morning, Christmas Eve or both?

We used to spend Christmas Eve at my in-laws and open presents from them, aunts and uncles, and cousins.  We don't live 10 minutes down the road from them anymore so it will be different this Christmas Eve. We will let the kids open 1 gift from us (their Christmas pjs so they can wear them) and let them get the little thing they got for each other. But the rest is opened on Christmas morning.

5. What is your favorite Christmas movie to watch? Favorite Christmas song to sing or listen to? ( I know…technically two questions)

 Favorite animated movie is The Polar Express. Favorite classic is The Christmas Story.

I don't know if I have a favorite song...its the one time of year I don't mind listening to the same songs over and over by every artist out there.

For the inaugural Tag! You’re It Christmas Style ~ I am tagging the following five bloggers:

Lynsey-the Moores

Wendy-Our Little Life

Jennifer-Kumquats and such

Laura-Mouse in the Kitchen 

Chrissy-Parlo and Logi

Make sure you link back to Raising Reagan so we can all check out which blogs have participated and all say Hello! Make sure you do an initial post with the questions answered and then TAG your next five bloggers!

Organizing the pantry

I like things to be nice, clean and organzied then I had three kids and the nice and clean pretty much went out the window.  I still manage to stay somewhat organzied otherwise I'd go nuts.  So the other day when I realized how cluttered my pantry had become, I knew something had to be done!

This was driving me crazy. I had no idea how many bags of pretzels we had or that I had a whole bag of flour that had been pushed to the back of a shelf.  I purchased some clear plastic containers (small ones for $1.97 and medium size ones for $2.97 at Wal-Mart) and went work sorting what we needed and throwing out old stuff. About 30-40 minutes later, I was much happier. 

Since taking this picture, I did add another container on the middle shelf and labeled a few more things.

Putting most things in a clear container really helps in several ways. First, I can see exactly what I have and what I am running low on.  Second, it's so easy when the kids ask for a snack to just grab the snack container or when I need a baking item, I just grab that container.  No more wondering where in the heck I put that food coloring or crossing my fingers and hoping I still have some peanut butter in there somewhere.  I also suggest labeling each container so anyone else can know where to look for something (and also where to put something back). I have to say, it's been about two weeks since I have done this and everything has stayed exactly where it goes, which is something to get excited about when you have a 4 & 6 year old and a husband who are constantly raiding the pantry!

What do you do to help your pantry stay organized?

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Liebster Award

Thank you to Parlo and Logi for nominating me for the Liebster Award!

~"Liebster" is a German word meaning sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, or welcome. 
~The Liebster Award is granted to new, up and coming bloggers with great potential and fewer than 200 followers.
~According to the rules of the Liebster Award, I am to answer 11 questions posed at the nominating website, choose 11 people to whom I will pass on this honor, and then make up 11 more questions which the new recipients must then in turn answer.

11 questions:
1. Where is your favorite place to eat? 
 My mom's or mother-in-law's house...I love me a good home cooked meal.

2. Why did you start blogging? 
I love sharing ideas with other mommies and wanted to let people know about getting their family, their homes and their lives healthier with Shaklee. 

3. Who is your biggest inspiration? 
Biggest Momspiration is my mom and Biggest blogger/mom/business leader inspiration is Jaima at Ringaroundtherosies.net

4. What’s your favorite song? 
Too many favorites! 

5. What was your first ever screenname? 
I can't remember....maybe appsoccer7??

6. What’s your favorite alcoholic beverage? 
Light beer 

7. If you were stranded on a desert island would you rather have electricity and your gadgets, or the actor/singer of your dreams? 
electricity and my gadgets 

8. What do you do for a living?
I am a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom. I help people make their lives healthier with Shaklee.

9. If you could change your name, what would you choose? 
When I was little I thought about this a lot because there were always a ton of other Sarahs in my classes and soccer teams and  I decided I like my name...I want all the other Sarahs to change theirs :)

10. Dinner or dessert? 
Dessert! 

11. What high end/luxury item would you buy if money wasn’t an issue? 
My dream house

11 Random things about me:
1. I played soccer from the time I was 6 until I got pregnant with my third child.
2. I enjoy organizing.
3. I am the oldest of four children.
4. I think it would be fun to pack the family up in an RV and travel the county for a while.
5. I am such a southern girl...love sweet tea, grits, fried chicken, saying "Bless your heart" and "Yall."
6. My favorite number is 7 (my soccer number).
7. I am right handed but left footed.
8. I am not a winter person and would love for it to be 70 degrees all year long.
9. I just became a coffee drinker...now I'm addicted.
10. I really want to learn to sew!
11. I said I would never be one of those moms who has a theme for their kids names...yet all three of my kids have an -er name and all of their middle names begin with an e.

11 questions for the nominees:
1. Do you like to cook/bake?
2. What is your favorite holiday?
3. Magazines or books?
4. What is your middle name (not maiden name)?
5. Do you have kids? 
6. Do you live in the same state you were born in?
7. What is the best vacation you ever took? (or want to take if you haven't had a favorite yet?)
8.  What is your favorite dessert? 
9.  Do you have a celebrity crush?
10. Do you have a favorite sport, if so what is it?
11. Mac or PC?

11 Blogs I nominated:
1.  The Moore Family
 
2.  Apple of Mama's Eye

3. Kumquats and Such

4. Patching Hearts
 
5. Secrets to Style
 
6. Holliebearies
 
7. Life as a Seed
 
8. The B Family Blog
 
9. Ramsay Grace

10. Mice in the Kitchen
 
11. keeping plus in a minus world

Here are the rules should you choose to except the award:
1. Thank your nominator and link back to the nominator’s blog in your post.
2. Answer the 11 questions posted by the nominator.
3. List 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Create 11 questions for your nominees.
5. Nominate 11 other fabulous up and coming blogs with less than 200 followers for the Liebster Blog Award.