Learn, Create and Share with Leapfrog

I recently had the privelege of being selected as one of a few mom bloggers to host an in-home Learn, Create and Share party with Leapfrog. Ever since my firstborn was a baby we have had a house full of Leapfrog educational toys. Some of my favorites of the past were the Phonics Bus and the Farm Animal Fridge Magnets, awesome for toddlers. Since I enjoyed even the baby toys so much, we continued to seek out Leapfrog toys as the kids grew. A couple years ago we got Nathan a Leapster handheld game and last year we ended up buying a Leapster2 handheld for Alex since they both loved them so much and we had so many of the games. We also got the Tag Reader and Tag Junior Reader systems with several books for each of the kids.

The party I hosted was so much fun and such a good chance for my friends and I to try out the newest LeapFrog products, namely the LeapPad Explorer and the Tag Reader with the Interactive World Map. The LeapPad is AMAZING, let me tell you. Between the gaggle of kids at the party there was a constant desire to get their turn playing with it. The most fun thing they discovered was the ability to make their own movies with the built in video camera. That thing is the coolest! I also totally loved the World Map with the Tag Reader because I'm a serious geography buff.

LeapFrog provided me with recipes for various fun froggy foods, like these adorable cupcakes.

They also sent me some cool educational activity pages for the kids to do when they weren't playing with the products. 

I have a million more great photos. But here is my video contest entry that kind of tells the story too! 

Note: I keep trying to post the video but my PC is flipping out on me. I'll try adding it here tomorrow! 

So I do want to say that I highly recommend the LeapPad as a great gift this holiday season. 

Disclosure: I was provided with a whole bunch of cool products by LeapFrog to facilitate this party and review, but all opinions and content are mine. 

Long Holiday Weekends and How We Do Advent

Christmas Card 2011-0137, a photo by Mainline Mom on Flickr.

My Relaxing Thanksgiving

This past weekend was one of the most enjoyable, relaxing Thanksgiving weekends I've ever had. Stress? What's that? Not a drop to be found anywhere. God is good and I am grateful.

Wednesday I finished up my Thanksgiving meal prep with a Nathan early in the morning before the store got to be madness. Then I worked, trying to tie up loose ends on projects before the long holiday. After the kids went to bed we had a little budget meeting to plan for our Christmas gift giving.

Thanksgiving morning I got up before dawn to head over to our YMCA and volunteer at the local Turkey Dash. I wish I were able to run the 5k, but I'm glad I was able to share information about our upcoming Run 4 the Children in March with the 4000 or so runners that day. Those runners are the perfect target audience for our four mile race benefiting our 1:17 adoption ministry, and it was encouraging hearing so many respond so positively to my solicitation.

Then I headed home and cooked up a storm. I like to do a very traditional and simple Thanksgiving feast, wish turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, green beans, salad, cranberry sauce and rolls. It really isn't hard to do at all. I use the turkey sized oven bags which make the bird cook faster, more evenly and keep it nice and moist with no basting necessary. This year we used Mike's awesome wireless digital meat thermometer which told us exactly when the bird was done. It was the best turkey I've ever cooked...incredibly moist and flavorful.

Mike drove over and picked up my grandparents and his cousin Vicki joined us too. We also had our friends' pug, Romeo, which made for much added entertainment. My kind, serving husband did most of the clean-up, which is a huge job when you're handwashing all that china, sterling silver and crystal, not to mention a million pots and pans. Then he drove my grandparents home while I put the kiddos to bed.

A Small Dose of Black Friday

As soon as he was back I headed over to my local Target and camped out in line for their midnight opening. I met some very nice people and happened to be in line next to some neighbors I hadn't spoken to in a couple years. Everything was totally calm and pleasant except for the chain smokers in front of us that triggered a massive allergy attack in me, but no worries I had a big box of tissues in my car. The weather was perfect for me though several of the folks around me thought it was super cold. It wasn't. It was like 55.

I got the Xbox on sale I wanted and the very last free Wipeout game in the store. They only had about four....they were totally unprepared for that deal. So I saved about $200 on our family Christmas gift...I would have been just sitting at home watching TV otherwise. Also managed to get a spare set of 550 thread count king sized sheets, which we really did need since our only spare set ripped last month, for only $35.

The rest of the weekend was spent at home decorating for Christmas. The kids are finally old enough to be a HUGE help, especially with the trees (there are four of them). The inside of the house was done on Saturday and the outside lights went up after church on Sunday and everything looks so beautiful and festive.

Advent Conspiracy

And church...church was amazing. I think Advent is my favorite time of the year. The anticipation of Christ's coming to earth fills us with such hope. The story of Christmas, the real story of Jesus becoming man to bring hope to a dying world, belongs to US, the church. We need to own it and share it well, clearly. This is the third year we as a whole church have joined the Advent Conspiracy, a movement to do Christmas differently, less commercially, and to put an emphasis on giving to those who REALLY need help. Two years ago we raised over $60,000 for clean water wells in third world country...we're still drilling those wells. Last year we raised $90,000 to help little girls in India escape the dark world of sex trafficking. This year we are giving to orphans, abused street kids in Brazil with a likely lifespan of only 3-5 years once they hit the streets. We are hoping to fund the rescue and education of 100 kids with the money that we WOULD have spent on Christmas for ourselves and our families.

Tonight my life group is putting together 80 gift bags for women that work in massage parlors, which are really brothels, here in our very own city. Most of these women have been trafficked from other countries and don't even speak English. Houston is the number one city in the U.S. for the sex trafficking industry. These women need love and they need hope, the hope of Jesus.

This is how we do Christmas. I would rather take my kids to volunteer somewhere than buy them a bunch of toys that will get ignored after a few days and take up space. I'd rather make cookies with them than spend time shopping. I want them to know getting toys from Santa doesn't bring lasting joy, but showing their lonely great-grandparents patience and love is a worthwhile endeavor. Santa is fun but Jesus knocks it out of the park.

Wordless Wednesday: Thankful for My Internet

After multiple visits from the Comcast service tech and one trip on my own to the local Comcast store, not to mention lots of time bugging the @ComcastBill and @ComcastWill on twitter, I finally have fully functional internet once again! So I shall resume posting once again. Sorry 'bout that!

Last weekend Nathan got to bring home Zippy the Zebra, his class pet. We had to bring Zippy on some adventures, take photos, get them developed, paste them into the class journal and write about them. Once again I confirmed that scrapbooking is NOT for me.

But it made for some cute photos :)

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

Fashion Friday: Versatile Wardrobe Pieces

This week for Fashion Friday I want to share with you my latest shopping find. Last week I finally had the chance to head to my local Macy's store to spend the giftcard I got as compensation for writing this post on Macy's StyleLab concert series awhile back. That store is not right around the corner for me and I can't shop with either one or both of my children in tow anymore. Not if I actually intend to make it a serious mission to find a particular piece of clothing to fit a fashion need.

The item I had my mind set on was some kind of tunic to wear over my inky blue jeggings (shown here in my post about how curvy girls can wear jeggings too!) in order to dress them up a bit. What I was really going for was something like this beaded, colorful top I had stumbled upon long ago by INC International Concepts, a Macy's brand. I had browsed through the INC department enough to know I loved their style and my chances of finding a dressy tunic were high.

Instead I ended up with an actual dress by INC, just as colorful but minus the beading. Now the beauty of this dress is that I can wear a bunch of different ways. I can wear it bare legged with high heels as shown on the model in this photo. It is knee length and three quarter sleeves so it can work by itself in warmer weather.

But I can also wear it with opaque tights (like these Missoni blue ones I got!) and boots for cooler weather. Because of all the black in it, it also looks great with either a black cardigan or a black cropped jacket over it. Best of all, I can still wear it exactly as I intended to when I sought to find something to go over my jeggings. This dress is short enough and cut just right that it looks fabulous over my jeggings with flats or boots. 

So my advice is to try not to limit yourself when shopping for a particular piece of clothing and get creative when imagining all the different ways something can be worn! 

What's your favorite wardrobe item due to it's versatility? 

Fantastic New Music Tells The Story

How did you first learn the story of God's plan to rescue and restore humanity to Himself?

Like many children, my mom put me in Sunday School from the time I could walk. She wanted me to learn about the Jesus she knew and trusted. One of my favorite activities was listening to Burl Ives recorded on cassettes with read-along books telling the stories of Creation and Jonah and Jericho, etc. I remember listening to kids records (yes, on vinyl) of music made by Bill and Gloria Gaither over and over. I would sing "I Am A Promise" at the top of my lungs. Then there were the Kids Praise albums with Psalty the singing songbook. For realz, yo...I loved that stuff. Music played a huge role in my childhood and my introduction to faith and the stories of the Bible. Music continued to be a major influence throughout my life as I grew in faith and fell more and more in love with Jesus.

And now, in turn, I use music as one of the tools to teach my own kids the stories of the Bible, because I want them to know the power of trusting faith in God early in life like I did.

That's why I am so excited to share with you an incredible new CD full of original music telling the individual stories of the Bible as well as the over-arching Story of Jesus and the redemption of mankind.

THE STORY is an unparalleled project from the best-known artists in Christian music. The songs on THE STORY take timeless biblical stories and provide a completely new context into how God's story of love and redemption intersects with our story of brokenness and failures resulting in a new story of hope and rescue. The CD contains 18 all-new songs written by multiple Dove Award-Winners Nichole Nordeman & Bernie Herms, produced by Brown Bannister & Bernie Herms, and a stellar line-up of artists across all major labels. (Music Inspired By) THE STORY is based on a collaboration with authors Randy Frazee (The Heart Of The Story) & Max Lucado (God's Story Your Story) as well as Zondervan's bible The Story.

Check out a bit more in this video:



I know and love all the artists on this album and the music is exceptionally well written. There are songs sung by Amy Grant, Mac Powell, Chris Tomlin, Mandisa, Todd Smith, Mark Hall, Natalie Grant, Francesca Battistelli, and Steven Curtis Chapman....just to name a few! Each song gives a unique perspective on a beloved story in scripture from creation to the revelation and I'm learning as I listen and enjoy it. I can totally give this album my full endorsement.

Buy it! You can get THE STORY at Christian bookstores and online via iTunes or Amazon. DEAL: right now it's only $11.46 on Amazon! It would make a fantastic Christmas gift for friends and family.

Disclosure: I was provided with a sample of THE STORY by EMI Music along with compensation to facilitate this post but my opinions are my own and completely honest. I would never ever recommend bad music to you, my readers!

May No Act of Ours Bring Shame

I guess a lot of people don't know what Penn State Pride is all about. I got it during my first on campus visit during my junior year of high school, and it's part of the reason I chose Penn State over the Ivy League. I graduated from a small private high school that was tight-knit and felt like a family. I went on to a massively huge university that years later still feels in many ways like family. I know not all Penn Staters feel this way, but Mike and I do.

It's very hard for me to adequately express my thoughts and emotions regarding the situation at Penn State right now. It feels deeply personal, even though I know it really isn't. While I want to keep the focus on the victims of these crimes, I do feel betrayed by a man I thought the world of. (Sandusky, NOT Paterno.) As a mother of little boys I am horrified that the world we live in can be so evil and I feel instantly over protective. And after today I'm so. very. angry. at the lack of leadership from the University administration, including President Spanier and the Board. I haven't like Spanier from day 1, I was there when he came to Penn State amid much pomp and circumstance.

I still love my alma mater. And I love Joseph Vincent Paterno more than I probably should. Dare I say almost like a grandfather. I am reserving judgement on his role till I hear more, because despite what people think, there is a lot more to the story than anyone knows yet. I've read the full report and more, I know the details, and I have many many questions.

What enrages me is the rush to judgement and the way the media and it seems Graham Spanier is throwing JoePa under the bus. What was probably his last home football game ANYWAY, long before this news, is now under a huge cloud. I cannot stand the witch hunt. I feel for the players who against all odds are at the top of the Big 10. They don't deserve this. I don't think Joe deserves this, he deserves to be given his chance to tell his story. He's earned it.

One thing I've learned, again, is how devastatingly harmful my own pride is. I was vocally proud of the flawless integrity of Joe Paterno and our football program. No NCAA violations ever and the best graduation rate in the country inflated that pride. I became a pretty major trash talker, the first to slam every other football program with even a hint of corruption.

God hates pride, all pride. It says so all over scripture. There is no such thing as well deserved pride, despite what I had convinced myself of. So now I am humbled. Humiliated and embarrassed. I still love my school but I'm not proud to be associated with them right now.

Lesson learned, I hope. Now I just pray for those kids, for Sandusky, for Paterno and McQuery and everyone involved. And I pray that tomorrow someone from Penn State steps up and shows some leadership.

Oh yeah, and on this Day 8, I'm grateful for the education I got at Penn State.

Changing The World One Cup At A Time

For the seventh day in November's 30 Days of Gratitude, I would like to express my mega thankfulness for lattes and Kosmos Coffee.

I cherish my morning coffee. I drink it black, strong and full flavored, and it has this way of completely changing my attitude for the day. I can go from being crabby or foggy to feeling like an energetic genius with half a cup of my usual Dunkin Donuts hazelnut java. But a few years ago I learned to love vanilla lattes. Starbucks introduced me to the "skinny" vanilla latte, which in my mind is actually super health food since it has few calories but is packed with calcium and protein.

Then last year my beloved church home opened Kosmos Coffee, a non-profit coffee shop in the vein of Starbucks but with even better coffee and a ton of good will. Each month the profits from Kosmos go to a different local or global charity. For example Kosmos money has gone to Living Water to build water wells in the third world. It has also gone to KCM which houses our local food pantry and does much to help the disadvantaged struggling families in our own town.

Also they have fabulous skinny vanilla lattes. I like to hang out there because it's usually pretty quiet but with just the right blend of people coming and going or having planning meetings or Bible studies. I love the mix of music that plays through the overhead speakers. Also there's free wifi, so when I am sick of working from my home office I can just bring my laptop there and work for an hour or a whole day. Like I did today.

So yep...today I'm thankful for Kosmos Coffee. If you're local and you've not tried it...you really must.

Orphan Sunday

Today the church in the United States celebrated Orphan Sunday. We celebrate because we know that our God has a heart for orphans and tells us repeatedly throughout His word to care for them. He is a Father to the fatherless. Did you know there are 163 million children in the world whose parents are dead or who have abandoned them? This includes hundreds of thousands of kids in the US foster system waiting to be adopted, as well as millions more living in orphanages or on the streets overseas.

This morning I'm thankful that the church in America is waking up to this problem and stepping up to do something about it. I'm grateful for the many many families who have decided to bring these children into their homes as their own and for the many churches who have begun specific ministries to help orphans and foster kids.

Asher, our first adopted child of 1:17

I thank the Lord for putting us in a church that is missionally minded and is actively working to fight poverty, seek justice and advocate for the fatherless. I'm grateful to the Cordes family for taking the lead and starting 1:17 to help families adopt, and for the eight families in our church that are have decided to foster or adopt. I'm so thankful for the newest addition to our group, baby Hudson who was born just a couple weeks ago and welcomed into the Balin family. And I'm grateful for the children we are praying for daily from China, Korea, Ethiopia and the US who we long to bring into their forever families.

I'm also thankful that my awesome husband was willing to join 1:17 from the beginning and host the group in our home and for how much he and I have learned and grown together because of it.

That's a WHOLE LOT to be grateful for today.

New Every Morning

So today was one of those really awful days that you just want to be over. I know I am supposed to be thankful even for days like today, but right now I am hugely grateful for the truth of Lamentations 3:22-23:

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

 I especially love to take photos with my iPhone in the early morning around here. It's a great way to start my day. We have tons of amazing sunrises, and lately we've had a few of those gorgeous misty mornings.

Thank goodness that tomorrow will bring a new day, with family and worship and no obligations. New mercies. 

Friday Thankfulness

2011 YP Reception-0698, a photo by Mainline Mom on Flickr.

I almost didn't get this post up today because my internet has not been working very well, but I am determined not to let a day slip by in November without posting and without expressing gratitude. I'm a little bummed that this is another Friday without a Fashion Friday post, but that would have required much faster internet than I have right now.

So how about this...the dress I'm wearing in this photo is new from Ann Taylor LOFT. It's a kneelength faux wrap dress with a crossover top that I have pinned at the V to keep slightly more modest. What you can't see here is my stupid walking boot for my broken foot that I wore and the sparkly flip flop on the other foot.

These lovely people are all the newest employees of my company (except the gal on the end, she's married to one of the guys). The three in the middle were all hired very recently. All of them are tremendously talented and super great to work with. This was taken at the Young Professionals reception I hosted in Los Angeles, which is why a couple of us have drinks in our hands. It's also probably 10:30 at night.

So the point is this: I'm very very grateful for my job, my company and the people I work with. It's almost staggering for me to see how much we've grown since it was just Wayne, Dick and I working from our homes in 2004. If you look way back to the beginning of this blog there are brief mentions about starting our company, but I couldn't say much because of a pending lawsuit. It was hard, let me tell you. There were days I definitely didn't think we'd make it. I prayed furiously and very specifically and I saw very direct answers to prayer with regard to certain projects and investments. So right now I'm hugely thankful for the position we are in during this crazy bad economy.

You could say I'm extremely lucky. But you'd be wrong. Luck has nothing to do with it. I don't even believe talent or hard work have a lot to do with it, though we are a talented bunch who have worked our asses off. I see sustaining divine providence in our business for the past seven plus years. And for that I'm grateful.

Thankful Photography Thursday

Columbus Sharks-0852, a photo by Mainline Mom on Flickr.

Today I'm thankful for light. Specifically the kind of golden sunlight found a few minutes before the sun sets. The kind that creates amazing hairline rim light seen in this photograph.

I also love photography. I love my camera (a Nikon D90) and this lens in particular, a 50 mm, and the way I can intentionally create that sunflare you see here. Sunflare is a fun and romantic feature.

I love four year old boys too. Watching them play soccer is great fun. Except when it's 100 degrees. Oh, and except when it's bitter cold with 20 mph wind blowing on my ears and making them HURT like they did at soccer practice tonight.

Here's a short clip of Alex's team scrimmaging against a team of 5 year old girls. So cute!

Rocking Out in the Chevy Traverse!

Remember last year when I got the super fun opportunity to drive a beautiful Diamond Edition Chevy Malibu around for a few weeks? If you've been reading here awhile I'm sure you haven't forgotten, since I made about a million videos and posts about that adventure. I even got to be on TV and the radio a bunch...it was fun.

Well it happened again and the good folks at the Houston Area Chevy Dealers gave me another car for an extended test drive, this time a 2012 Diamond Edition Chevy Traverse. This crossover SUV seats eight people and it a great family vehicle. I made a couple of videos about what I liked in the Traverse and had a little fun with my kiddos while doing it. I really do love the color.

So here's where you, my local Houston readers, can jump in on a great deal. Right now through November 26th you can go to any local Houston Chevy dealer and test drive either the Traverse OR the Malibu and you will be handed a $40 Spafinder gift certificate! These are good at lots of different spas all over the area so you can get a massage, get your mani/pedi on or get your insanely curly hair blown out (oh that's just me? Well that's my plan.). Easy peasy.



ALSO if you follow me on twitter or belong to the Water Water Everywhere community on Facebook you know I entered a contest wishing Chevrolet a happy 100th birthday. My video is one of ten finalists and today is the last day you can vote for my video to win the contest. The grand prize is $1000 in Expedia travel money which I have lots of ideas for how to use including heading to a blog conference like Type A Parent or possibly even helping an adoptive family offset their huge travel costs. We'll see if I win, but I like my chances because I have awesome friends who have been voting for me all week.

So on Day 2 of 30 Days of Gratitude, I can very honestly say I'm grateful for my community, my peeps, my loyal readers and supporters like YOU who make all this cool stuff possible!

Disclosure: The Chevy Traverse campaign is being sponsored by the Houston Area Chevy Dealers. They let me test drive the Traverse and provided me with other compensation but did not tell me what to say about what a great car it is...that's all me. 

30 Days of Gratitude

Pumpkins 2011-0765, a photo by Mainline Mom on Flickr.

It's November! I do love this month, especially since I moved to Texas. It is quite lovely here in November, not cold and gray and wet like it was up north. I love that November brings the heart of the college football season, especially since my team, Penn State, is 8-1 and leading the Big 10.

I love that it brings my birthday and most of all, Thanksgiving. As I mentioned in a previous post I have discovered that gratitude is completely and totally linked to joy. So I've decided that I am going to attempt to post every single day here on something I am grateful for. It may be a small thing or a big thing, or even many things! We'll see if I can keep it up.

So today I'm grateful for autumn. I love me some pumpkins! I love how much my kids love pumpkins. We don't have colorful fallen leaves to play around in so pumpkins are pretty much it for reminders of harvest season.

This past weekend I carved one great big pumpkin into a sort of Angry Bird. People loved it last night as they came to my door trick-or-treating. I just love the COLOR of pumpkins. I have quite a few tops and sweaters that color, but I recently decided I would like a handbag and a scarf in pumpkin orange as well. So I'm on the lookout for those.

Speaking of shopping, I also love November because it brings...BLACK FRIDAY! Yes I do like staking out the sale and the store map and standing in line outside Target at 3am. Then standing in line at the register for what seems like forever. I try not to play into the commercialization of Christmas too much but for me shopping is all about the hunt and Black Friday is like opening day of buck season. I get it all out of my system on that morning and I'm pretty much done with shopping in stores or malls until after Christmas.

So bring it on, November! I am grateful for this month.