The Polar Express is coming to Mt. Hood Railroad, will you be on it?

 

All Aboard! The Polar Express comes to life this holiday season as the Mount Hood 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 while music from the Polar Express movie plays en route to the North Pole. Make sure to have your tickets handy, because your conductor will be by shortly to punch each child's ticket. Before arriving at the North Pole, the iconic book, The Polar Express is read as your Chef turns the pages to share the beautiful illustrations in the original book. With the station far away, The Polar Express magically arrives at the outskirts of Santa's North Pole village, where Santa Claus himself and his elves joyously welcome the train! As you stay comfortably settled and warm in your seat, Santa and his helper elf board the train! During the return trip, Santa will greet each child with his signature holiday spirit and the first gift of Christmas: a bell cut from his sleigh. It is said that only children and those who still believe can actually hear the bell ring. Join in the singing as your Chef or Conductor lead Christmas caroling on the 30-minute return trip. For those wanting the magic to last or to do a little Christmas shopping, visit our gift shop in the station for special Polar Express gifts and merchandise. Oh, one last thing, children are encouraged to wear their PJ's; adults who still believe have been known to wear them, too! So, are you coming? All Aboard!

All Aboard the Polar Express is coming to the Mount Hood Railroad, visithttp://www.mthoodrr.com/ or call 1-800-872-4661 to climb aboard.

Farm to Fork is so amazing

Another reason I love living in a rural farm community.

I dried 6 trays of sweet local corn

Ground it in the blender (I don't have a grain mill, someday Lord willing)

Homemade polenta

Polenta Caprease with fresh garden tomatoes and fresh garden basil

What's the trick to preparing for the holidays?

60 days until Christmas, 28 days until Thanksgiving, and only 8 days until my oldest turns 10 so I'm starting to feel the push.
That being said I thought I would share with you my top 10 tricks to preparing for the holiday season!
Recently I shared some wonderful Mom invented goodies with some of my Mom friends thanks to #MompactLNO.  I created goody bags to put some of the various things in for the Moms which brings me to tip.
#1, have your children help with some of the decorating!
I picked up a package of foam leaf stickers and colored paper bags. My oldest stuck 3 stickers on each bag and then helped me fill them.











#2 Take time to be grateful for even the little things in your life.  My group of Moms created Gratitude jars using stickers, ribbon, scraps of paper, and empty recycled canning jars.
Share with your family and friends as a way to be grateful this season. Ask each family member even the younger ones to share what they are thankful for, write it on a slip of paper and date it.

#3 Keep lots of warm drinks handy as there is nothing better to calm the stress then a cup of warm. Remember as we prepare for the holiday season, a stressed out Mom doesn't make for a fun holiday. If you need to cut back on some of the decorating or bake a little less then do it. I know I am planning on baking for gifts this year as well as crafting, but I am also cutting back on the decorating and trying to simplify things a little.

#4 Buffet style is awesome! Keep is simple, if you are having guests over consider a buffet style rather than a formal sit down event. Yes sitting down for a meal is good (we do it almost every night at home) but being with people and having conversation is good too. I have found over the years some of my favorite parties have been buffet style (also easier to clean up at least for me.




#5 Keep a basket on the counter in the bathroom filled with products that will help visiting Moms and little ones. We have grown out of the baby stage but I have friends and family with little ones.  Here are some of the wonderful Mompact Products to fill a basket with:
  

Boogie Wipes, Diaper Buds, and TidyTots potty chair liners

#6 Stay Consistent  I know during the holidays sometimes we want to relax the rules a bit, not a good idea. Stay consistent with rules and consequences, add some extra snuggle time and extra incentives to following the rules, but don't relax the rules recovering on the back side of the holidays will be too hard. Penalty Pal is a great way to simplify timeouts with a single spot on the wall, a floor , perhaps even the kitchen cabinet or pantry door.

#7 Drink extra water, I know that sounds silly, but with the change in the weather and the rush rush of the holidays remember to drink your 8+ glasses a day.

#8. Cuddle with your kids more. We live in a very materialistic society and sometimes I think we forget about the simple things like snuggling. Read a book, share the day's events, ask them what they think of things.
#9. Menu plan and freezer meals are a huge way to save time and stress. It can also be a money saver if you can pick up larger quantities of things to have on hand.
#10 Share your thoughts and ideas with friends and family. Coming together and sharing some of the responsibilities for the holidays can make it easier. Potluck is a wonderful option for large family dinners (even buffet style). Maybe change it up a little and only buy gifts for the children to save money. Think outside the box, what will help make someone else's life a little less stressful.

Join us tonight (10/25) for a twitter party where we can share tips and tricks for the holiday season.
You can also enter to win a prize pack filled with treats to make you life a little easier.

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Mrs. Dash® recipes and ideas found in their Newsletter

I receive the Mrs. Dash newsletter packed full of recipe ideas. If you are thinking low sodium means flavorless, you need to check out the newsletter.
Mrs. Dash® | Newsletter


If you are looking to sample Mrs. Dash, check out their Facebook page and like to access the free sample.

Natural Toothpaste? sure why not!

I usually buy Crest toothpaste for my husband , but this last batch was weak and  wasn't really working for me. Knowing that baking soda can be used (I've purchased toothpaste with baking soda before), I decided to research making my own. I couldn't find a formal recipe just people mentioning they had done it or someone in their family had. I decided to go ahead and put something together. 

I used coconut oil as my liquid, baking soda as a polish, and peppermint essential oil for flavor and scent. 
I mixed it together in a 4 oz Kerr canning jar with a popsicle stick. I adjusted as I went along to get a good consistency so I can't really share a recipe, but am guesstimating 1 Tbsp Coconut oil, 2-3 Tbsp Baking Soda and 8-10 drops of essential oil blended well.
I have been using it for just over a week and it doesn't take a lot, so far I really like it. Next time I may add more peppermint oil. 
I am rinsing with an antiseptic mouth wash (I might try creating my own mouth wash later on.)
My husband thinks I'm a little crazy, but I was using things we already had so we didn't have to try something new only to find out we didn't like it. He hasn't tried the homemade stuff yet, but is considering it.
I am enjoying trying new creations and thankfully my husband is seeing the benefits in our budget and how everyone feels.

Healthy options at IHOP plus #breakfastlove

I must be a bad mother because my boys don't remember every going to an IHOP. Well, I will let them slide since the last night either went they were both pretty young.  Thankfully I remedied that by taking them to IHOP for a healthy breakfast on our way to a recent homeschool field trip.

IHOP now has a healthy options menu for adults and for kids with options including whole wheat pancakes, turkey bacon, and egg substitute. 

I had to try the blueberry whole wheat crepes if nothing else. For being whole wheat, I really didn't notice that much different. I did notice the filling was over the top sweet, but had kind of expected that. While they were nice, it would have been nicer to have some extra protein with it, such as eggs to balance out the meal. 

The boys ordered of the kids menu.

Cameron is not a breakfast eater, so was happy to find a grilled cheese and fruit available.  Having fruit available as a side is an awesome way to promote healthy eating.

Nathan loves pancakes so he ordered a full on breakfast with scrambled eggs, but also wanted fruit. We ordered a side of fruit and ended up with a HUGE bowl of fruit we all ended up sharing.

Having hot sauce on eggs has become a new favorite thing for Nathan so our waiter brought him the selection. 

So IHOP has all these wonderful new Simple & Fit options featured through out their menu, not just the wonderful whole wheat blueberry crepes. IHOP joined forces with Quaker Brand oatmeal to create amazing flavors of Oatmeal including Super Fruit Oatmeal, oh my goodness, it looked heavenly, I'll be trying that next time for sure.

Now if your mouth is watering for some amazing Simple & Fit options under 1,00 calories many under 700 calories, do I have a surprise for you, an IHOP $50.00 giftcard for one of my readers.

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Scripture Sunday 9/30/12

This week I am blessed by the weekly lesson, especially this verse:

Isaiah 45:22

22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:
for I am God, and there is none else.