What's a pecksy?

This morning my girls and I were curled up in bed coming up with words.  It's something we do sometimes. We make up a word then create a meaning to it.  It's great fun for a 3 & 5 yr old.
So this morning we can up with the work "Pecksy" Not quite sure where it came from, but it did.After about 30 mins we finally came up with a meaning... Pecksy - noun  A fried woodpecker sandwich smothered with mayo and topped with pepper jack cheese, onions and pickles.
Origin : The Stevens' household 2010
Please note, no woodpeckers were actually hurt :) What would your definition for Pecksy be? Or do you have a fun word you made up?

Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

Simple Sangria Recipe

I felt inspired by my friends this week to post this since we all got together for a drink. This is a very easy recipe that you can build on and make your own.

Ingredients
1 bottle of light- or medium-bodied red wine
2 cups lemonade
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) brandy, optional
1 navel orange, thinly sliced
1/2 pint large, plump blackberries, strawberries or other berries
1 cup club soda
Directions
1.Combine wine, lemonade, sugar, and brandy (if using) in a large pitcher and stir to dissolve sugar. Add fruit and pour in club soda. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more before serving to allow fruit to macerate and sweeten sangria. Serve in tall glasses filled with ice.


Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

Tips for Cleaning your Dishwasher

How often do you clean your dishwasher? I mean really clean it? I'm sure you don't think much about it since you are putting all of those detergents in there, you probably assume it's going to be clean right?  Once we take our dishwasher completely apart and deep clean everything. I've found everything from tiny little fish bones to goo in the pipe - ewww.I don't suggest this unless you really know what you're doing (like my husband- certainly not me) becauseit will void your warranty but here are some other tips for cleaning it.

It really is very important to rinse of all of the dishes before you put them in there. Even the dishwashers that are powerful - like mine. I've pulled the tubes out, I've seen how gunked up it can get, even with the super washers.

Every few days I take an old toothbrush and scrub around the edges of the dishwasher, the grim and scum from the detergents can build up and effect the seal.

Pull out the bottom rack of the dishwasher and give it a good wipe down. That's where I also found some of the fish bones.

By placing a dishwasher-safe cup filled with plain white vinegar on the top rack of the dishwasher and using the hottest water available, run the dishwasher through a cycle - except for the cup of vinegar, the dishwasher needs to be empty.
The vinegar will help to wash away the loose, greasy grime, sanitizes, and helps remove the stinky odors.

You can also use baking soda to make it fresh and bright.Just sprinkle a cupful around the bottom of the tub and run it through a short but complete cycle using the hottest water. Baking soda is also helpful in removing stains.



Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

Those Who Choose

{This was an essay I wrote about two years ago for my personal blog. I’m happy to report that those who chose then are still close to us now.}

In the past few years, I have learned so many lessons. . .literally hard-learned ones! And don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for them, even if I didn’t know at the time I would be.

One of the hardest lessons has been learning about those who choose. It is sweet, and it is painful.

When my dad first got sick, back when he was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma, we had all sorts of friends and family rally around us. There were meals delivered, cards sent, offers of help. And we were grateful and appreciative. And then. . .life went on. My dad came home from the hospital, and all of our lives fell into what became the normal pattern.

Fast forward five years: my dad started needing hospitalization more and more frequently, until finally, in May, he went into the hospital and never came home. It was a long six weeks of trips to and from the hospital, followed by the blur of grief. When my mother was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia two months later, it seemed more than we could bear.

Apparently, it WAS more than some people could bear. We realized as the months went on that we heard from fewer and fewer people.

But that is not who I want to talk about. I want to talk about those who choose. Because those who chose to hang on with us, those who chose to call each week, those who listened when we cried or whined. . .those are the people whom I will always treasure as my nearest and dearest. Turns out blood isn’t thicker than water, but love is stronger than obligation.

Those who choose could have stopped calling or writing after my mom died. They could have decided that since we moved south, or since it was really my parents with whom they were friends, or since we really didn’t “need” them anymore, they could back away.

But they didn’t. They called. They wrote. They listened. They advised. They visited! And most of all, they loved. They chose to love, even when it was painful or less than convenient.

I want to be one who chooses. Don’t you?



Tawdra Kandle is stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of four children who range in age from 9 years to 21 years. She and her husband of over 22 years live in central Florida, where he is in seminary. Tawdra spends most of her precious free time writing and reading, and she loves to travel. She is also a resident writer for Taking Time for Mommy. View more of her Articles HERE. You can also follow Tawdra on twitter and her blog, Publishing Quest

CSN Store $80 Gift Card Giveaway!

I'm getting ready to redecorate my daughters' play room and I found this adorable Vanity.

 I found it from CSN Stores  and I'm excited to announce that they are allowing me to give away an $80 gift card (one time use) that is good at any of their many stores.  Have you heard of them before? They offer EVERYTHING from baby & kids items, furniture, hand bags, even school items if you're a Homeschooling mama like me and want to set up your own classroom. Their patio furniture is gorgeous too.  I really want to get my girls this revolving book case. to match the Vanity too. They love butterflies!

They also have cookware, lighting, and a site for modern furniture and decor.
So you have PLENTY to choose from if you are the winner!
There may be shipping charges or, in the case of Canadian addresses, international fees for certain products. It is important for you to check that while picking out your product.Mandatory Entry - Tell me what you'd get if you won the $80 gift card?

+1 Entry - Follow Taking Time for Mommy on Twitter
Tweet about it (1 entry per tweet per day.)
+1 Extra Entry - Follow Taking Time for Mommy on FaceBook
+1 Entry - Follow my other blog Mommy Reads too Much Publicly on Google Friend Connect
+1 Follow Taking Time for Mommy on GFC
+2 Entries - Comment on any non-giveaway post on either Taking Time for Mommy or Mommy Reads Too Much (You can this this as much as you want)
+5 Entries - Signing up for our weekly Newsletter (form to the right)
+5 subscribe to our feed (right)
+3 Entries -Fan our writer Tawdra Kandle on Associated Content and comment on one of her articles
+1 Follow Tawdra on Twitter
+3 Follow Tawdra's Blog Publishing Quest
+10 Blog about it and leave me the link to check it out
+5 Add the Contest in a link on the side of your blog, remember to leave me a link

Giveaway will end July 31st at 11:59pm. The winners will be chosen by random.org and emailed. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway open to U.S and Canada 18+

**Freebie Alert** Copy of Sesame Street Magazine

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Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

Alex Friends 4-ever Bracelet Review

The Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Kit from Alex Toys allows kids to show the world that they are so important to each other that they share and wear their imaginative bracelet masterpieces everywhere they go! A super-stocked craft kit for best friends, the Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Kit includes 4 color-coded foam looms, which allow kids to make 2 distinct bracelet styles in 8 funky patterns; 22 colors of floss; funky beads for adding special accents; and a beading needle, making it easy for kids to create unique friendship bracelets in no time.    Plus, this fabulous Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Kit is the friendship kit that features a convenient, take-me-anywhere storage suitcase with handle for on-the-go fun that friends will love. The newest and trendiest way to make bracelets, the Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Kit from Alex Toys is the ultimate jewelry kit for kids that have already decided that they are "BFF's!" Instructions included.
Features
* Bracelet kit in a great suitcase that includes 4 color-coded looms, 22 colors of floss, beads, and beading needle
* Make 2 bracelet styles in 8 patterns
* Instructions included
My thoughts - I love when my girls have toys that I can play with them too. I had a set like this when I was little but I didn't have the cool looms, beads, or friendship wheels. Okay, I  guess I only had the floss and a clipboard so this set was so much more fun. We made some really neat bracelets and my niece (10) wants one now for Christmas too. As much fun as we had with this set, it was easy to forget that they are educational toys too. They sharpened their fine motor skills, improving their problem solving abilities, concentrating on numbers and patterns, logic and sequencing, encouraging their artistic side, and encouraging communication and teamwork.    This homeschooling mama gives it a definite thumbs up!
Buy this Product HERE   Disclosure - Growingtreetoys.com provided me with the free product for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.



Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

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Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

Specially formulated Glass Cook Top Cleaner

We were actually looking at new stoves today. I REALLY want a cook top stove. Mine is old and decrepit, everything falls into the burners. With a cook top, I wouldn't have to worry about that. I remembered several years ago when I house sat I tried cleaning one and I made it all streaky. Now there is a product called Weiman Glass Cook Top® Cleaner and it's specially formulated to clean, shine and protect glass/ceramic smooth top ranges.

As a busy mom I'm all about making my life easier and I think you like it too, that's why I want to tell you about Weiman Glass Cook Top® Cleaner. Weiman’s unique, protective formula helps keep food from sticking to the surface. You can even use Weiman Cook Top Scrubbing Pads together with Weiman Glass cook top cleaner
to remove stains without any hard scrubbing/ Sounds good to me!

To maintain a cook top's beauty over time, the surfaces must be cleaned regularly and properly. That's where Weiman Glass Cook Top® Cleaner comes in, you can even bring older ranges back to life.

Buy it HERE

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Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

Bright Beginnings for your little one

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.
When my oldest daughter had to go on formula she didn't adjust very well, she was very gassy and very irritable. I had to switch it a couple of times but finally found Parent's Choice Organic Milk Based Formula. I liked it because it was organic and had the benefits of the lipids DHA and ARA, nutrients naturally found in breast milk essential for babies' mental and visual development.

When my second daughter had to go on formula, which is the only one I gave her and she never had a problem. I also loved the price compared to other formulas that were of the same quality - but this was even better because it was Organic and the others were not. Because it's Organic it means there are no Potentially Harmful Pesticides, added Growth Hormones, or Antibiotics. They were my precious babies and they needed the best start they could possibly get and since I had breast feeding problems with each of them after awhile, the Bright Beginnings was the best choice.
I'm loving their brand new look. The can is nice and bright!
Bright Beginnings available at diapers.com   Diapers.com also has coupons available for first time customers.

Random acts of Kindness

Yesterday we were at the store and dh needed to get an over the counter medicine and someone was kind enough to leave a coupon for $4 off. May not seem like a lot but it was very helpful and got me thinking about the little things we do to show kindness, no matter how insignificant.

When I'm in a store and have extra coupons I always give them away. I try to help people in wheel chairs you can't reach and I always offer a smile. A lot of times I don't get the smiles back but it doesn't discourage me. I am a true believer in what goes around comes around.

I know a lot of people believe a good deed never goes unpunished but I think that's just an excuse to be selfish. Little things can make a difference in someone's day and when they pay if forward to someone else and they in turn do it for yet another, the world can be a better place.

No, I'm not some crazy hippy. I just see this world going in a bad direction but I know there are still enough good people out there who do care. Sometimes we get wrapped up in the day, in our kids, and in our selves. We need to step out and practice random acts of kindness :)




Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

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Win a H.O.T.T. Hawaiian Vacation Package
Enter for your chance to win a Hot on the Trail Hawaiian adventure. Package includes two roundtrip tickets, three nights accommodation and a fresh, locally foraged H.O.T.T. dinner for two.  All entrants will receive a free Veria vanilla-flavored organic lip balm. Offer expires on July 14, 2010. The entire site looks great, Check it out HERE



Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

This past weekend, we observed the 234th birthday of our nation. . .the 234th anniversary of the day that our forefathers put their names to the Declaration of Independence, a radical and exciting document that put forth some pretty out-there ideas for the 18th century.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Up until then, the idea that all men were created equal was just crazy-talk. Sure, there were some philosophers who were writing about these principles, but to actually put forth a document that would not only generate talk but birth a nation was a breathtaking proposition. Because by all men, they didn’t just mean the educated, the land owners, the wealthy, the nobility. All men reached out to include the lowly workers, the servants, those who could never have any hope of bettering themselves in society as it stood.

And rights! Who ever said anything about human rights? Up until not too long before that time, the biggest right a man could hope to have was to live his life with as little interference as possible from the king or government. And now these crazy men in Philadelphia talked about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

The men who wrote these words and the men who put their names to this document were essentially signing their own death warrants, for what they said and agreed to amounted to high treason. We think of the portraits that hang in museums of the Continental Congress formally gathered to sign the Declaration. But we don’t know the half of it.

So enough of the history lesson already? Maybe not. What we have forgotten about the early days of our nation are the essentials, the courage, the dangers and privations faced. Men who marched with Washington had no shoes more often than they had shoes. The trail was literally marked by the blood of their feet as they marched. They weren’t paid often by a Congress who was paranoid about the strength of the army, even as they expected those same men to defeat the well-trained, well-appointed and well-armed British and Hessians.

Why did they do it? They were fighting for an ideal, for a principle. They fought for their homeland.

As you celebrated Independence Day with barbecues, parades and fireworks, perhaps you took a little time to read those words again, the ones that made us who we are, not the 13 British colonies in North America, but the United States of America, a free and sovereign nation. I hope you read them to your kids, too, and tell them what it means. Tell them about the courage of men and women, “who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life.”



Tawdra Kandle is stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of four children who range in age from 9 years to 21 years. She and her husband of over 22 years live in central Florida, where he is in seminary. Tawdra spends most of her precious free time writing and reading, and she loves to travel. She is also a resident writer for Taking Time for Mommy. View more of her Articles HERE. You can also follow Tawdra on twitter and her blog, Publishing Quest

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Mommy Meltdowns - Aren't we entitled?

As a mother,are we entitled to have meltdowns? Aren't we the ones who are suppose to keep it together as our 3yr old is screaming No she doesn't want to do this or that, and when our 5yr old is having one of those days where EVERYTHING is making her cry?  When the laundry is a never ending pile and darn it, you just mopped the floor they spilled grape juice on and tracked all over!! Yes, I think we are entitled, at least within reason. My first meltdown happened when my now 5yr old was 6 months old. While she was down for a nap she took her pants off along with her diaper. Did I mention she had pooh poohed?  Her being the true artist she is, used it as her paint and the wall, crib, and herself were the canvas. Now let's not forget her nose, ears, and hair. Yep, I lost it. I cried and cried and cried some more when I finally got every nook and cranny clean. Oh my gosh, it was horrid! My 2nd daughter also did it when she was the same age but hers was worse. We started duck taping the diapers when she napped so she couldn't pull them off.
Now that they are older, when I feel a melt down coming on I make them go outside to play.I also make sure I have plenty of time to myself. I have them 24/7 - ALL OF THE TIME! While I love them it's really good for my sanity to keep them busy. I don't let them get bored and I let myself escape with reading. I also make sure I'm connected to other adults. I'm in a local play group and it's just as much for the moms as it is for the kids.
How do you handle your meltdowns?


Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

**FREEBIE ALERT** Free Potty Training Charts

I found these adorable potty training charts for you to print. There are a lot of choose from.
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Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

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Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

I FINALLY saw Eclipse!

A few years a go my BFF, who is a high school teacher, told me about the Twilight Saga. Why in the world would I want to read a teenage book about vampires? She insisted I had to read it. If you have not read it yet, I am insisting. I have converted many moms into Twilight lovers.

I would have loved to go see Eclipse (the 3rd movie/ book in the series) on opening night but with my mommy responsibilities, it just was not going to happen. Did I mention Eclipse was my favorite book? I love Jacob, he's so funny. I always root for the underdog, I just can't help it. I do believe Edward and Bella are great together but I just felt so bad for Jacob. Anyway, my husband took me to see it Saturday at the IMAX theater. IT WAS SOOOOO good. My husband even like it a lot. He can't wait to see the next one either.

We were laughing so hard and the fight scenes rocked. LOVE Billy, Bella's dad. He's such a scene stealer. Kristen Stewart looked so beautiful as Bella and Edward and Jacob looked pretty good too. The wolves were amazing and I was even okay with the new Victoria. A couple of little things bothered me.... I really wanted to shave Jacob's mustache stubble, maybe it was just the Imax but it really distracted me. Also, whoever did Jane's (Dakota Fanning) makeup should have been fired. I understand she was to look creepy but it just looked horrible. Other than that, I LOVED it!! I wish Twilight would have had this kind of budget, this was by far my favorite Twilight Saga movie! On another note, my husband asked my 5 yr old if she was Team Edward or Team Jacob and she's like 'huh?' She told him she was Team Daddy. Made him so happy.



Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.