This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. We do not share your information. All views expressed are our own. Thanks for your support! So guys, PH has finally admitted that he has a gluten problem. He and gluten are not friends. While I am proud of him for coming to this conclusion, it means that when I ran out of flour a couple weeks ago I didn't buy more. To be perfectly honest I completely forgot about it, and so I didn't buy any gluten free flour either. (You know I love Bob's Red Mill)! However, we had a family holiday party to go to and I was supposed to make a dessert to bring. My mom suggested I make Florida fudge, which I did. However, I decided I also wanted to try my hand at creating a recipe that vegan Maddy and my vegan Aunt Ada could also enjoy. I had a few jars of cashew butter from Thanksgiving when I had planned to make a different vegan dessert that I just never got to due to time constraints. I had some graham cracker crumbs, sugar... as I looked around my kitchen I thought, I bet I could come up with a vegan cookie bar that would be delicious! So, I set to work and the results are in, the cookie bars are yummy! I was happy to hear this because the party was the week after I had gall bladder removal surgery and so I still wants allowed to taste or try anything I made. It's been rough, but hey, my wedding ring fits again! Yay! These bars are gooey and rich, my mom said a small portion would go a long way. However, they were a little difficult to cut. Which is why I've suggested pressing the toppings into the filling before baking so you don't get pretzels and chocolate chips rolling around like I did.
Madalynn and Ada gave their stamp of vegan approval so, my vegan friends. Make this and take it to your holiday parties and convert everyone to your vegan ways! It made a ton! I am going to have to make more since Alicia is coming into town this week, and hey, this time I can eat them too!! Oh, and don't worry about PH. I'm going to make him a gluten free holiday delight, stay tuned!
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Today my friends, my post is about feeding your brain! As part of the gift giving formula my mom talked about here, I am sharing with you some great books to give as gifts for the "Something to Read" category.
Getting your kids books is sooo important! The sooner you start reading to a child the better. It will impact their verbal skills and help ignite their imagination. If you help instill a love of reading in your child when they are young, then as they grow they can get lost in the world of a book and learn about new people and cultures. Books expand horizons! So, lets break these ideas down by age group! Something to Read: Ages 0-3 For newborns you can really read them anything, but once your kid becomes a little wiggle worm, board books are so great to save books from torn pages. It can't always be avoided however, because not all great books come in board book form. Just be aware and be careful of where those tiny hands flail! (Also, my daughter got a paper cut on her toe one time while we were reading, so watch out for those wiggly little toes as well! I never even thought it could be possible, but she slid her foot across the book at the perfect angle!)
We have some Baby Einstein books in our house and our little girl loves them! They're so interactive and fun, and can grow with her as she gets older! Amazon has a whole page dedicated to this brand, so you can find all kinds of great board books for your little ones!
I have to give a shout out to this book because my daughter absolutely loves it! Lift the flap books are a big hit around our house because she can lift it herself. She looks forward to it on every page. Underneath each flap is a new farm animal and its a great way to teach her animals sounds associated with each animal! This book is how she learned how to say "dog" and "hello!"
This is another favorite with our little one. It is a great book that teaches that we all have different talents, and also, it's never okay to make fun of or judge someone. It's a fun read, and is in rhyme form, which is a great thing to learn at a young age!
Something to read: Ages 3-6 This is a fun age where kids really start getting interactive with their books and try to read them on their own!
My daughter just got one of these e readers from my aunt as a Christmas gift. As a 1 year old she just likes to push the buttons and pretend the reader is a phone and I just read the books to her. It would be a fun gift for a slightly older child to have to learn to follow along as someone reads aloud!
I love the Little Critter books! I think the way they are written is so funny, they're enjoyable for parent and adult!
I have heard mixed reviews about the Pinkalicious television show. I love the books however! Emily has three of them and they are cute. Not only do they teach stories about being true to who you are, its a great way to learn your colors! I highly recommend the books! You can decide how you feel about the show.
I am also a huge fan of the Berenstain Bears books! I grew up with these books and love them. They teach great lessons. They're especially valuable for children with siblings!
Max's journey to where the Wild Things are obviously had to make an appearance for me! This is my absolute favorite children's book of all time! I love reading it to my daughter! Her nursery is Where the Wild Things Are themed. She has a little Max doll (complete with crown) and her newborn photos includes a Where the Wild Things Are theme!
Something to Read: Ages 6-12 I know this is a pretty large age range in terms of level of reading skill, but I wanted to give a broad range of options for you to consider when getting your children a book because maybe you feel like they could read something a bit more difficult but are unsure where to start.
I first heard about Harry Potter in the 7th grade. Alicia had gotten the first two or three books through the scholastic book fair, she was in second grade. She read them and loved them at 7, and I read them and loved them at 13. Harry Potter is a book for all ages. The earlier ones especially are quick reads and a great start to chapter books.
Okay I love Junie B Jones. She is such a funny girl and the stories are always so fun! When I worked in a 4th grade class we went to see a play based on these stories and the kids absolutely loved it! So did I! I highly recommend these books!
When I turned 8 years old, I got a copy of Ramona Quimby Age 8 for my birthday. I loved it, and soon wanted to read all of the Ramona Quimby books! She is like the original Junie B Jones to me! I even made my mom check out some television episodes from the library for us to watch as kids. Everything that happens is from Ramona's perspective, and that is really the best thing about these books. Children can understand exactly how Ramona feels!
Something to read: Teens and Young Adult For the teens and young adults in your life there are so many wonderful books out there to get them into amazing stories! Harry Potter is still an excellent option at this age, as well as these ideas:
The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings. I first read it in junior high and it is such a sweeping epic story that teaches so many valuable lessons about choosing good, being a loyal friend, and everyone can do hard things. But it isn't so basic. It is a deep read and a fascinating world! Someone people pass the Hobbit off as boring, but I really like the Hobbit, and if you read it first, it helps set the scene for the story to follow in the next three books. These books are classics and should definitely be read by everyone.
Full disclosure, I haven't read this book yet. My mom has though and told me it is so good! I intend to steal it and read it. You however, can buy it through this link and gift it to your teenage child! (Or yourself, I don't judge!)
Any book that focuses on a true story from the Holocaust is a must for me (Hello Diary of Anne Frank and The Hiding Place). This is a true story of a young girl named Dita Karus who was in charge of a set of books that some Jews snuck past the guards at Auschwitz. Be prepared to cry guys.
Well those are my something to read suggestions for you. I hope I've given you a good place to start. I'd say go buy a gift for the reader in your life, but maybe buy one to help someone become a reader as well! Also, don't forget, we've been talking about the#LightTheWorld campaign. Have you seen any of these giving machines near you? There is one here in Gilbert, Arizona, and little lady and I are going to go on Friday to see what we can give! This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are our own. 3 Winks Design does not share your personal information. Thank you for your support. ![]() Hey Guys! Lindsey here! I had plans to share something else with you today, but I've been experimenting and it isn't quite right yet so that will have to wait for another day... in the mean time. I've been reflecting a lot this year on how I want to celebrate the holidays in our home now that we have a little one. Christmas is a magical time of year with Santa and gift giving, but I want to focus on what we really need to be celebrating this Christmas, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. As you may or may not know, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does a Light the World campaign every year to help people give and serve this time of year to help us all feel the light of Christ in our lives and focus better on the true reason for the season. This year the Church has divided it by weeks, and this week we are encouraged to especially focus on lighting our community through service. There are a lot of big ways to serve, but one of my favorite ways at Christmas time is to make treats and take plates of goodies to people to tell them Merry Christmas and let them know you're thinking of them! Well, right here on the blog we have already shared posts on some great holiday Christmas recipes! At this link you can read about 16 Cookie Recipes to Share this Christmas! At this one we turned some of our favorite recipes into new holiday favorites just be tweaking them a little. Whatever you do to celebrate Christmas, I hope you'll take a little time to bring some light into the world. I know Jesus Christ is the Light, and if we try to be like Him a little more each day, we'll feel that Christmas Spirit all year long. This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no extra cost to you. All views expressed are our own. Hey guys! It's Lindsey here with this weeks Friday Faves! I'm here with a topic I think a lot of us think about, and often want a little extra guidance on. Whether we're a stay at home mom looking for some ways to boost the family income, or single and want more fun money, or we just want to pay off that bill! A little side income can go a long way! So I asked around on Facebook a few weeks ago for ways people use to make some extra cash, and I'm listing their best answers here! Are you ready? Babysitting Side hustle number one is babysitting! I'm sure we all have a friend or family member in need of someone to watch their little one, or little ones while they are at work, or at some other engagement where babies or kids would not be appropriate. I am blessed that I don't have to put my little angel in day care. My mom watches her while I am at work. Not everyone has that luxury, but if you can offer your home as a safe environment for someone's kid to spend the day while they're at work then why not make a little extra cash off of it? Babysitting is great because you can decide how many hours a week you are willing to do it, so it is totally flexible with your schedule. Bonus points if the kids are the same age as yours! It's like a play date every day! Substitute Teaching My mom has talked about this one before. She did a lot of substitute teaching while she was raising us kids. Check the requirements for your state, but most require at least a bachelor's degree and a background check (you'll have to get fingerprinted.) My mom even got to the point where she would only take jobs from one school. She was able to build relationships with the teachers, staff, and students there. Then it wasn't a gamble what she was going to get every time she walked into a class. However you decide to do it, you can determine how many days a week you want to sub and make a pretty decent income off of it! Online Surveys This is another popular one, but it might take more time to build up some decent cash. Online surveys have been around for a while now. If you search in your Google Play Store or Apple Store you can even find apps to download that will bring you different surveys to do. Some of the options shared were Google Opinion Surveys, Mechanical Turk (Which is an Aamzon site for data entry and opinion surveys), AmeriSpeaks surveys, and go branded surveys. Surveys are great because, unlike babysitting or substitute teaching, you can do it for just a few minutes at a time throughout your day. Baby is napping? Take 15 minutes and do a few surveys before you hit that pile of laundry! Waiting at the dentist? Get a survey done before you get your teeth cleaned! Transcription Services Transcription is something that has been around for quite a while. There is medical and legal transcription. There are some places that require you to undergo some training and others that don't. This is another great work from home option that you can do during naptime, or for a few hours once the kids are in bed or early in the morning before they get up! Online Content Creation This one has a world of possibilities. You can create your own blog where you market your own product or service. You can sell things on Etsy or any other online store. You can also be a content creator for other websites. You can do the dirty work of searching websites like Indeed.com for job postings for content creators, or you can sign up with a company like writers.work and let them do all of that work for you. So if you like to write and create this is a great option for you. Additional bonus, with blogging you can also be partnered with affiliate who will give you a bump every time one of your readers purchases a product or service from them! That is getting income while you sleep! Teaching a Skill This is one I have used many times throughout my life. I have played the piano since I was a young girl and I have taken on piano students at different times throughout my life to earn some extra money! Another person on Facebook talked about the sewing classes she teaches (she has a great classroom now where her students can come learn on individual machines!) Whatever your skill is, you can share it with others and make a little extra money for yourself! Like babysitting and substitute teaching you can set your own schedule. You can also set your own price. Bonus, you can do it at your house, so you don't have to rush to make it to work on time! Teaching English Online This is becoming an ever popular field, and it is the one I am the most excited about sharing with you! There are a lot of programs out there that let you teach ESL, but I happen to work with one of them, which was listed as Forbes #1 work from home job company, VIPKID!! I have officially been teaching with VIPKID for 41 days, and I am about to receive my first paycheck from it! It has been a huge blessing for me and my family. I made this video to tell you all about it! I hope that video, 1) answered all of your questions and 2) got you excited about teaching with VIPKID! Here is our referral link to sign up: https://pr.vipkid.com.cn
Please email us if you have any questions! I want to help you get signed up! So that is our list. This is going to be a working list and we'll add more to it as we hear about more useful tips! So, what are you waiting for? Get that hustle going!! |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
July 2024
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