Working Mommy Journal

January 23, 2015

Let’s Get Crafty with DIY Valentine’s Day Centre Pieces! #Ad

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias

Craft time is one of the best ways to fit in quality family time. A time to be silly and to experiment with new ideas and let the kids just be themselves. The holiday’s are a perfect time to get in some extra crafts and Valentine’s Day is no exception in our home. Each year we try to design a new craft – something different and unique for our family.

Since dinner time is important in our family (nothing beats that kind of bonding time!) and we have just recently started eating out in the dining room with our wedding dishes we thought a craft for our table would fit our family the best. Our table, while looking pretty with all the good dishes on it, was just looking plain:

Boring right?

So we thought, what better way to spice up our table than with Valentine’s Day themed centre pieces! We envisioned candles, candy, vases and with this in mind we headed out to Walmart to find some key pieces for our centre piece.

While I was checking out vases and supplies, our youngest son had the time of his life in the children’s crafting aisle – he would have fully stocked our cart if he was allowed to!

For our Valentine’s Day centre piece craft we purchased (and you will need to purchase to replicate!):

two medium-sized candles and one large candle
two small square vases
fabric in a colour of your choosing
cinnamon hearts
glue gun and sticks
white rectangular candle holder (we actually used a white appetizer tray for our craft!)
heart stickers
Valentine’s Day themed ribbon
clear wrapping paper

Start first with the small glass vases (since this was our kid’s favourite part!). Choose which stickers you want to apply on to the glass and apply the stickers directly onto the glass. Fill your glasses with the cinnamon hearts. Wrap them up with the clear wrapping paper and tie off in a bow with the ribbon.

Cut the fabric into rectangular pieces. The length should be enough so that the fabric will stretch around the candle once and just slightly overlap.

Using the glue gun, glue the under side of the left side of the fabric onto the top part of the right side of the fabric. Make sure that you are pulling the fabric tightly to ensure that it does not slip off the candle. Word of advice – don’t apply the glue from the glue gun directly onto the candle (yes, I can admit it – I made this mistake and completely blame the lack of coffee and pure exhaustion). Also be careful with those fingers! I managed to apply the glue directly onto my fingers – ouch!

Now comes the best part – arrangement!

Place the three candles onto the white candle holder (or in our case the app tray). Place hearts around the candles.

Voila! A beautifully Valentine’s Day themed decorated centre piece. The best part is that it can be changed and updated when the season changes.

Because the children in our life play such an important role in our life and it is important to us to let them know we love them, we decided to use the vases as a place setting. We put each vase on the children’s plate and it was a wonderful companion to our centre piece and the kids loved their extra surprise.

How do you update your home decor to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Do you have a special craft that you like to make each year?

January 21, 2015

New from Quilts of Love | A Stitch in Crime Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Don’t miss the newest Quilts of Love book, A Stitch in Crime by Cathy Elliott. Thea’s first quilt show begins to fall apart at the seams. Will she be able to piece the mystery together and save the town’s investment in the quilt show before another attack happens . . . with far worse results.

Enter to win a Kindle HDX!

One winner will receive:

A Kindle HDX
A Stitch in Crime by Cathy Elliott
Masterpiece Marriage by Gina Welborn
Swept Away by Laura V. Hilton and Cindy Loven

Enter today by clicking the button below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 8th. Winner will be announced on the Quilts of Love blog February 9th.

NOT ON FACEBOOK? ENTER HERE.

Enter today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

Coming next week will be my review of, A Stitch in Crime!

January 19, 2015

Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie the Pooh #giveaway

As a child, I grew up with the stories of Winnie the Pooh and his friendly gang. We had the collection of stuffed animals and the bedtime stories to go along with it. My love of Winnie the Pooh only grew stronger when I had my own children. I wanted them to love Winnie the Pooh just as much as I do!

It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I realized that the story I love so much was actually based on a true story! This true story comes to life in the new book, Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie the Pooh set to release on January 20th, 2015.

Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie the Pooh tells the story of Harry Coleburn, a veterinarian and a solder in training for World War I. On his way to training he finds a baby bear for sale at the train station and he knew within his heart that he had to care for the bear. Harry names the bear Winnie, short for his company’s home town of Winnipeg and brings Winnie with him to the training camp in England. She quickly becomes attached to Harry and follows him everywhere and soon becomes the regiment’s much-loved mascot. All too soon, Harry has to ship off to the battlegrounds in France and must find a loving home for Winnie. He chooses the London Zoo. While Winnie is there a very special little boy named Christopher Robin comes along and plays with Winnie.

This story is an incredibly heart warming tale that is the perfect story to share with your children. A tale of love, compassion and friendship that is timeless. The illustrations are wonderful and beautifully created to showcase the friendship and love that forms.

The book also includes original photographs of Harry, Winnie and Christopher Robin! This was a perfect idea to really connect the story to it’s past. Our kids loved looking at the photographs.

If you can’t wait and want to purchase a copy of the book you can do so now on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

The Giveaway!

Canadian residents, 18 years of age and older can enter to win their own copy using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 16, 2015

The Amish Blacksmith #review

A new novel from bestselling authors, Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner, The Amish Blacksmith is Book Two in The Men of Lancaster County Series.

About the Amish Blacksmith

Apprenticed blacksmith, Jake Miller, is skeptical of Priscilla Kinsinger’s ability to soothe troubled horses, especially when he has his own ideas on how to settle them. Six years earlier, Priscilla’s mother died in an awful accident in their home and Priscilla’s grief over losing her mother was so intense that she was sent to live with relatives in Indiana. She has only just returned to Lancaster County. Her homecoming shouldn’t matter to Jake who is interested in courting lighthearted, Amanda Shetler. But Jake’s boss who is also Priscilla’s uncle asks him to help reconnect Priscilla with community life and he has no choice but to do just that. He finds himself slowly drawn to the beautiful but emotionally wounded Priscilla.

Jake is determined to prove to her that it is not her fault that her mother died but what he discovers will challenge everything they both believe about the depth of love and the breadth of forgiveness.

My Thoughts

The Amish Blacksmith is a wonderfully written story about loss and finding hope again. Priscilla has lost so much in her life with the loss of her Mother. She feels so much guilt over this loss which makes no sense to her family. She has lost all interest in everything that she once loved especially horses. She used to have such a deep connection with horses but her guilt has overwhelmed her and she can not allow herself to feel happiness.

Jake knew her as a young child and at first feels obligated to integrate Priscilla back into their community. He begins to realize that there is so much more behind her pain and wants to help her find peace and forgiveness. They begin to forge a friendship and Priscilla finally opens up to Jake and this was quite the twist in the story for me! I was not expecting the reason that was revealed about her guilt. It was then up to Jake and Priscilla to learn how to apply their beliefs and religion in order to forgive themselves for the past in order to move into the future.

I loved this book and have re-read it again because it was so good.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 13, 2015

The Metabolism Solution Review & Giveaway

A sluggish metabolism can hinder weight loss and fitness goals. After years of research Lisa Lynn has developed an approach to eating and exercising to help maximize your metabolism in order to reach your weight loss goals.

About The Metabolism Solution

You might be thinking – not another weight loss plan! But here is the main difference between The Metabolism Solution and other weight loss solutions: Lisa Lynn focuses on the body and what we are consuming to help with weight loss. Lisa has studied and examined how to increase our own body’s natural metabolism to speed up our weight loss and fitness goals. Lisa also teaches us how to work out (yup there is a science behind exercise!) and how to use this to help you reach your goals. Lisa also includes some delicious recipes at the end of her book to help guide you in meal planning and eventually developing your own recipes. The Metabolism Solution is the perfect road map to transform your whole life.

About Lisa Lynn

Lisa Lynn is a celebrity fitness and nutrition expert who has dedicated three decades of her career to personal training, metabolic weight loss and performance nutrition. Coupled with her experience in fitness and nutrition she has earned four certificates from the International Sports and Sciences Association’s Professional Division.

Her research in metabolic boosting and performance nutrition has resulted in the development of her Leaner Lifestyle DVD series that help promote healthy fat loss by boosting stubborn metabolisms.

My Thoughts

I have been dedicating the last several months to healthier eating and (trying) to stick with my workouts. I have not always been faithful (hang head in shame!) and at times I have felt just like giving up. Mostly because I can not get my food and exercise to work for me. I am having a hard time revving up my metabolism and ensuring that I am reaching maximum results or any results to be very honest. This book was delivered at a perfect time for me.

Lisa devotes several of the chapters examining and explaining the how to and why’s of diet and exercise. Even with my own educational background I found I definitely needed this refresher to help open my eyes. While some of the advice will be hard to follow – cutting out the amount of red meat, fruits and adding in all the extra vegetables (which will definitely explain the weight loss achieved) a lot of it is good healthy advice that we should be incorporating into our daily lives.

Lisa also includes a fantastic set of recipes at the back of the book divided up into categories with some pretty fantastic and delicious sounding names. Each recipe was easy to follow with minimal steps to take to prepare the recipe. Which makes sense as the healthiest meals for us are the simplest ones with minimal ingredients. I found that it may be hard to stick to the increased vegetables with minimal fruits (she suggest one a day) as I love my fruits.

I really like the way Lisa writes. You feel like you are having a conversation with her and she has been there. Any excuses you may have she already knows and has the answer for you. She gets straight to the point and explains the theories she presents in an easy manner.

Overall, The Metabolism Solution, is a very helpful tool to aid in weight loss and if you can stick to Lisa’s suggestion you will be on your way to weight loss in no time! If you are like me and have a harder time you can adapt her concept to better suit your goals and have the benefits of eating healthy and losing weight (just slower than others may).

Rating: 4/5

Giveaway Time!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy of the Metabolism Solution in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.