About Me
My name is Tami and I live in central Illinois with my husband, Larry and three children, Caleb (6), Camden (4) and Emma Grace (2). I hope you'll enjoy reading about my life as a wife/mother and about our family's adventures.
Oatmeal Muffins
- 1 cup oats
- 1 1/4 cups boiling water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
In a bowl, combine oats and boiling water. Set aside for 20 minutes. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Stir in the eggs, vanila and oatmeal. Stir in the flour, soda, cinnamon and salt. Fill the muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
Tags: 
recipes, 
oatmeal muffins
The Adventure Begins… School Supplies
Our oldest is getting ready to begin his long school career. It just seems like yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital and now he is getting ready to enter preschool this fall. So, in anticipation of this, we headed to Target to get school supplies and a new backpack. He was so excited about the backpack, that he wore it the rest of the day, pretending to go off to school. We even had to put some “school supplies” in the backpack to make it more realistic. Our son has quite the vivid imagination.
And so it begins…
Tags: 
school supplies, 
backpack, 
preschool
We’re There Activity Book
Here is a series of travel book that looks excellent and has gotten great reviews. We’re There activity books by Elizabeth Skinner Grumbach. They are filled with scavenger hunts and puzzles of the city you are exploring. They also have photographs and eye-catching graphics to keep your children busy at the cities major attractions. There are currently four titles available:
These will definitely be books that we purchase when we take a vacation to these cities.
travelEmpowering Kids Responsibility Chart
I just got a responsibility chart for our 3 year old from Empowering Kids and it seems like it will really help us develop some structuree with him. It is a magnetic weekly chart that comes with 160 magnetic job tiles, including blank tiles. There are tiles for younger children, older children and tiles for good behavior.
This is going to be great for our son. He loves to do things by himself and is so proud of himself when he does it correctly.
Tags: 
Empowering Kids, 
responsibility chart
Children’s Daily Devotions
We have recently started doing daily devotions with Caleb, our 3 year old. They have become part of his bedtime routine. We read a book and then do a devotion. He will ask at night to read his “ocean”. The book we have been using is God and Me: 365 Daily Devotions. Each devotion has a short message, prayer and a scripture reading. Each page is very colorful and has pictures of children in everyday situations. Doing his devotions at night is something that he really looks forward to. This will be a book that we will use for many years with each of our children.
Tags: 
children, 
children’s devotions, 
family
My Favorite Children’s Cookbooks
I love cookbooks. I have quite an extensive selection of them. Since becoming a stay at home mom, I cook a lot more, so I use them quite a bit. Also, my 3 year old loves to help me in the kitchen, so I like to have recipes that are kid friendly. Here are some of my favorite cookbooks for children:
- First Meals – Annabel Karmel (I like all of her cookbooks)
- Cooking For Kids
- Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Boys & Girls
- Williams-Sonoma The Kid’s Cookbook
- The Little House Cookbook
- The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook
- Disney’s Family Cookbook
- Family Fun Fast Family Dinners
- Family Fun Super Snacks
- The Pampered Chef Let’s Eat
- The Lucky Cookbook for Boys and Girls (this was my first cookbook as a little girl)
I love to pick up new cookbooks whenever I find one that appears interesting. Does anyone have a favorite cookbook for their children?
cookbooksGive the Gift of Life
Today, I went to a local blood drive to give blood. This isn’t one of my favorite things to do, but I know that is very important. It is especially important in the summer months, as donations go down, since people are on vacations and don’t tend to give then. Here are some statistics courtesy of the Red Cross:
- every 2 seconds, someone in the United States needs blood
- 25% of blood products are used to treat cancer patients
- a single shock-trauma victim can use 100 units of blood components in just a few hours
- approximately 4 million patients receive a blood transfusion each year
- each blood donation has the power to help save as many as three lives
- you can donate blood every 56 days
- 97% of the population will receive a blood transfusion by the age of 75
- The four main blood types are: A, B, AB and O, positive or negative
- one pint of blood can be separated into three components: red cells, platelets and plasma
- blood is perishable; red blood cells must be used within 42 days and platelets must be used within 5 days
- the average adult body contains approximately 10-12 pints of blood
If you are interested in giving blood, check this out to find a local blood drive.
Tags: 
American Red Cross, 
blood drive
Frog Pod Bath Toy
I am always on the lookout for great ways to organize. I have been looking at this Boon Frog Pod. It is a bath toy that scoops the toys our of the tub, drains them and also has storage for bath products in a built in shelf. It also attaches virtually to any bathtub wall.
Has anyone tried this?
Tags: 
Frog Pod, 
bath toy organization, 
bath toys
Potty Training Tip
We have been potty training our 3 year old son since the beginning of February. He is doing great at peeing in the potty. He still is not consistent on going to the bathroom on his own, so we have to make sure to encourage him to go at regular intervals. The intervals are longer now and we have not had a real accident in quite some time. We are even able to go out in public without being nervous of an accident.
The issue now is getting him to poop on the potty and not in his underpants. We have tried several things to encourage him, but he very rarely does it. We just started a new technique yesterday with great success. We put 5 M&M’s on the counter in the morning. Everytime he does an undesireable behavior (pooping in his underpants), an M&M is taken away. At the end of the day he gets to eat the M&M’s that are left. Yesterday, he had 4 left, he only lost 1. He also had 3 successes on the potty. This is the best he has done at this yet. I can only hope the trend continues.
Tags: 
potty training
So Easy BBQ-Glazed Chicken
- 1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing, divided
- 4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
- 1/4 cup Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
- 2 tbsp. orange marmalade
Preheat grill to medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of the dressing over chicken in a shallow dish or resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate 10 min. or up to 24 hours to marinade. Mix remaining 1/4 cup dressing, barbecue sauce and marmalade; set aside. Place chicken on grill; cover. Grill 12 to 15 min. or until cooked through, turning occasionally and brushing with sauce mixture during last few minutes of cooking. Let stand, covered with foil, for a few minutes before serving.
Recipe via Kraft Foods
so easy bbq glazed chickenMiscellaneous
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