Foster Family Fabulous Feast-Backward Night

My friend, Kim has been having silly suppers at her house for awhile, and I decided to join in on the bandwagon, since most good ideas come from someone else anyway. Why do you all think Pinterest is booming? Seriously though, it's that I have been convicted to be more intentional in my parenting and creating special family times for us. This age and stage does go by so fast, and I want to make sure we truly treasure together time as a family.

In February we had backwards night. The kids were all too eager to put their clothes on backwards, and even some clothes ended up inside out. Charlotte drew the line at putting her hair backwards, like I did! They even wanted to talk backward and Foster child 2 decided to walk backward into the dining room, trying to get Foster Child 3 to do the same, but unfortunately his 20 month old self wasn't capable of doing that!


This was the perfect night to cash in on the free Papa John's I won, since pizza would be a perfect eat-backwards food, but we went a little more backwards than that and ate pie for dessert first. (Also a very good backwards food!) Not only did we eat our meal backwards, but we also flipped our chairs around and we ate our food out of cups and drank our drinks off of plates!


The kids were VERY confused as I put their pie in the cups, then wondering how they would drink from their cups. When I poured the water onto their plates and gave Foster Dad a straw to demonstrate, Foster Child 1 was convinced this was a good idea. Foster Child 2-not so much! He threw a major fit because that was way to backwards for him! He also didn't eat the pie, and was just so focused on eating Papa John's pizza, from the plate!




And Foster Child 3 had one thought on his mind and it was "Peeeee-za! Peeeee-za!" After he was done with his pizza he made it very clear that he wanted water to drink and also from his plate, saying "Water, water!" while pounding his plate!





We ended our meal with prayer. (However, Foster Dad did start praying before dessert and I had to say, "No, not yet!" I'm sure God understood!)

Backward night was not over with dinner, however! I told the kids we were going to play a game, and they were all excited saying "We're gonna play a board game backward!" I told them that was a good idea, but I had a different game in mind. We were going to play Seek and Hide (Sardines!) The kids were all for it, although it took a couple of rounds to understand the concept. As soon as Foster Child 1 found me, she yelled, "Mommy's in here!" And playing with Foster Child 2 is hilarious because he knows he's supposed to be quiet but always whispers loudly!

It was a great night and I'm sure we'll do this one again, but with some variations. I read one idea about having a hot dog split, and putting the bun in the middle, which I know my kids would get a kick out of. We'll also play Unmusical Chairs.

Next up though, is Dr. Seuss's birthday (on Friday), so we will have, what else? Green eggs and ham for dinner, with apples (For Ten Apples Up on Top). We'll conclude the night watching Horton Hears a Who while eating fish cupcakes, for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and will make Cat in the Hat hats once Foster Child 1 comes home from school! Pictures of course will follow!

Valentine's Day

Since we have a new computer, I'm hoping blogging will be so much easier! It has to be, since I uploaded pictures from our camera in SECONDS! (However, today I discovered other things on the computer aren't so easy-like we don't have Word, Excel or Powerpoint anymore. Ugh, off to the Apple Store I'll go Monday!)

* As a side note, it was NOT easy to upload pictures to blogger, which is why it has taken days to put this post up. One quick 45 minute One on One session at the Apple Store helped me to figure out how to export my photos from iphoto onto the blog, and now it IS easy!*

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday! I love what it celebrates and I love showing my husband and the Foster kids how much I love them. This year's celebration include heart shaped pizza and strawberries

and a treasure hunt, which I found on Serving Pink Lemonade.

The clues were: Do you believe in magic wishes?
Head to the place that cleans your dishes.

Now I know that you're no fool,
This is where your drinks keep cool.


Maybe you have super powers
The next clue will be where Dad takes his showers.

Are you having fun with all these clues?
Look in a place that we keep shoes.

Now it's almost time to rest your head.
Look right inside the smallest bed.


In each spot there were either Hershey kisses, or Valentine Snickers (free from Walgreens!). At the end, there were some valentine books that I had gotten from Target after Valentine's Day last year on clearance.

We ended the family portion of our Valentine's celebration eating strawberry ice cream sandwiches, with chocolate cookies as the "bread." The cookies were soft and moist because I used a cake mix to make them. Needless to say, they were a big hit!

Too good not to share!

Foster child #2: Mom, I know how to spell YMCA.
Me (stifling lots of giggles): Really?!? How do you spell it?
And then he proceeded to spell YMCA incorrectly (although I don't remember exactly what he said)

ChiIL Mama: Give Away-McKenna Doll! American Girl Doll of Th...

She's done it again! Last year ChiIL Mama gave away Kanani, the American Girl doll of the year (and someone I know won it!). So, this time around enter to win the 2012 American Girl doll of the year, McKenna!

ChiIL Mama: Give Away-McKenna Doll! American Girl Doll of Th...: ChiIL Mama's beyond excited to be giving away a McKenna American Girl Doll of the Year collector doll/book set ($105 value)!    Enter he...

ChiIL Mama: Disney on Ice Dare to Dream-Win 4 Free Tickets Or ...

I know! I know! I haven't blogged in a long while and when I have blogged, it is for samples, book reviews, and now, a contest! Hopefully I'll get to blogging personal, family happenings again soon, but figured a chance to win Disney on Ice tickets would put a smile on your faces! :)
ChiIL Mama: Disney on Ice Dare to Dream-Win 4 Free Tickets Or ...: Enter early and often for your shot at 4 free Disney on Ice Tickets or a $40 Hair Cuttery Gift Card.   Here at ChiIL Mama, all our readers a...

Book Review - Pattern of Wounds

Pattern of Wounds is a murder mystery novel featuring Roland March as the cantankerous, focused, tough guy homicide detective. Pattern of Wounds was written by J. Mark Bertrand. The novel follows March as he tries to solve a murder of a young woman, figure out if the crime is one of a serial killer, deal with his own past, and face an unraveling conviction.
I thought the novel moved slowly through the first half. Perhaps I am too used to crimes being solved in the 1 hour time frame on Law and Order: SVU! Halfway through though, my attention was grabbed and I couldn't put the book down. This was the first book in the Roland March series that I read, and although it is not necessary to read the first book in the series, it is probably helpful to. At some points I did feel a little lost because I didn't know the complete back story for the other story lines that were included in Pattern of Wounds. And speaking of other story lines, I felt there were too many in the book! And looking back, those were the parts in the novel that I seemed to drag through. Those parts were probably super important for those who have read the first Roland March book in the series and wanted closure. However, I would have been content just reading the parts relating to the main crime-the murder of the woman, with perhaps one side story thrown in.
If given the opportunity, I would pick up the first book in the Roland March series. If the series continues I would probably pick up those books as well.
**I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

Book Review-One Call Away

The first thing someone may be thinking is "Who is Brenda Warner and why would I want to read her autobiography?" Well, her biggest claim to fame is being Kurt Warner's wife.

Still, you may be saying, "Who's Kurt Warner?" or perhaps, "That name sounds familiar. I think he was on Dancing With the Stars once." He was, and Kurt Warner is a former football player who led his teams to the Super Bowl three times. OK, now that we got that squared away, you may still be asking, Why would I want to pick up Brenda Warner's autobiography, especially if I don't know who she is, or like football, the sport her husband is affiliated with?

The simple answer is because you will love her story. You will feel like you have gained a friend after reading her book. You will be inspired. You will laugh and you will cry. You do not need to be a football fan to enjoy this strong woman's story.

It is very unfortunate the many tragedies that Brenda Warner has faced in her life, however, those tragedies make for a good read, and I thus couldn't put One Call Away down. It's been awhile since I have finished an autobiography in three days; actually it's been awhile since I have finished ANY book in three days! I just couldn't put it down, and spent those three days reading it staying up until 1 a.m. every night!

Although Brenda's life has been marked by some horrific moments, her deep faith allows her to trust God and His plan for her life. She is a strong woman for all that she has been through, however, the only reason she is, is because she serves a stronger God! I will say that I disagree with some of the choices that Brenda has made in her life (premarital sex and breast enhancement surgery), however, I do appreciate how completely honest she was.

If you have read Mary Beth Chapman's book, Choosing to See, I found that the writing styles are similar, and so are the messages, however, two very different stories, so it is worth it to pick One Call Away up.

**I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**