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Real Solutions for Real Parents by Autumn Rose Reo

This Week: Tunnels, Trains and Other Holiday Things

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To-Do Thursdays:

The countdown is on as we approach less than 20 days until Christmas, so our schedule is full with Santa visits, Christmas cards and tree lightings.

If you’re looking for twinkling lights and holiday fun, check out these fun things to do:

     Garland Christmas on the Square, Dec. 6.
     
     Light up the Holidays with: Prairie Lights in Grand Prairie

     7 Tips for the Perfect Experience at ICE! at the Gaylord Texan

And there’s still other fun to be had this holiday with these events:

     Make Holiday a Home Run with Arlington’s Christkindl Market, Nov. 29 – Dec. 15

     Free Holiday Fun Has Already Begun at Galleria Dallas, now until Dec. 22

     All Aboard for Holiday Train Fun in Tarrant County


The Gift Dad Will Be Flying For

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Whoa! Wednesdays:

Buying a gift for my hubby (next to my mother) is one of the hardest things to check off my list each year. While I always plan to get him his obligatory sweaters, PJs, etc. I still try to give him something he really wants and can be surprised about. However, that’s a lot easier said than done; but this year’s Christmas came a little early…when he got the chance to Learn to Fly. 

Yep, I let him take his life into his own hands and go fly a plane. 
And he loved every minute of it. 



The experience we had at U.S. Sport Aircraft in Addison, was incredible nice, knowledgeable and helped the whole family to get comfortable with the thought of my husband flying an airplane. While the plane is just made for two people, we were able to climb in and take a picture before Dad went to the skies. 

After only about 20-30 minutes of instruction, he was in the air and flying over Dallas (with a little assistance, of course.) He said it was amazing and I know he hadn’t ever done anything like this before. He was able to direct the plane, look over the cities and waterways and just enjoy the adrenaline of being in the air. Mission accomplished! 



He has always wanted to get his pilot’s license so he could fly and I thought it was something that would take years and a lot of money to accomplish. However, I learned that wasn’t the case at all. It was just as simple of going on to Let’sGoFlying.com, pick a flight school location close to home and connect. Literally by the end of the week, he was in the air for his introductory flight. 


And with only 20 days left before Christmas, it is possible to give the gift of flying with some special holiday promotions like $169 Introductory Flight, Young American Eagles Program (for aspiring pilots ages 13-17) or even Flight School-in-a-Box. 


For him to become a private pilot (just for the fun of it), there are certainly qualifications, hours of instruction and flight time, but actually it’s something you can do in your free time or some people even take off a week or two of work and do it in one week. I know he is already purchasing some books so he can begin his required “homework.” 

While I’m sure my next purchase won’t be a plane, I’m sure there’s a pair of Ray-Bans and a flight suit with the tag “Iceman” in his future. 

DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

Point, Click and Pics with PostalPix

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Tech Tuesdays:

As of today I’ve have around 1200 photos on my IPhone. While I have several apps to sync up my photos and send lots of photos to my email with regularity, my Photostream serves as my brag book, work portfolio and a little bit of (my) history. If you look through my first 10 photos, they include my wedding and the birth of my first son. However, for some reason, they’ve never made the real photo album or a picture on the wall. 

Thankfully, PostalPix is now making it possible to actually get those “someday” shots actually printed and sitting on your wall (especially if my trusty IPhone goes awry.) This free iPhone app enables you to order those photos as high-quality prints and have them delivered directly to your home. This works really well with your square Instagram prints since it has an option for square photos and is a great way to cherish these real photos in the home or at the office. 


It’s sad that I actually take better Instagram photos than normal photos, but now you can actually show them off in a frame rather than just your Facebook friends or blog followers! And with the holidays around the corner, rather than having professional shots taken for Grandma’s frames, you can just use those perfect “in the moment” shots for the best holiday gifts she has ever received. Best of all, you don’t even have to mail it to your email account first OR send them to your drugstore for pickup, but just to the mailbox. (Hence, the name PostalPix!)


Sharing How the Holidays REALLY Happen with A Bit of Applause for Mrs. Claus

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Sharing Sundays – Books and info worth sharing


I love reading books at the holidays and with this year’s incredibly long holiday season, trying to keep the little ones at bay when Christmas is all around them is much easier if you can read a book daily to maintain the Christmas spirit.  

One of my favorite new finds to helping explain how Christmas happens is A Bit of Applause for Mrs. Claus.  Patterned after ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, this book tells the story that hasn’t been told before; how Mrs. Claus helps to make Christmas happen. 

Looking back on history, Mrs. Claus is often a part of the holiday tradition, but you never hear what Mrs. Claus does as the most important person at Christmas #2 (sounds like a lot of stories to me…) However, this story, written by a family team of women, shares the backstory of when Santa falls ill how Mrs. Claus gets everything ready from reading children’s letters, wrapping the gifts and even preparing the reindeer for flight to make Christmas possible. 

Honestly, in our house this story is exactly how Christmas happens. Thankfully these ladies find a much more fun way to tell it. 
A Bit of Applause for Mrs. Claus
By Jeannie Schick-Jacobowitz & Muffin Drake-Policastro
Illustrated by Wendy Wallin Malinow
Sourcebooks Jannerwocky
Ages 4-8
DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)


Make it, Gift it, Drink it: Cranberry-Orange Vodka {Recipe}

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Food Fridays:


For several years our office tradition was we had a $10 limit and all the items had to be homemade. So I spent several years making things like truffles, pasta and alcoholic beverages like Gluhwein and Cranberry-Orange Infused Vodka. So today I’m sharing the recipe for one of the gifts I’ve actually been told was pretty good and makes great cosmos!



Cranberry–Orange Infused Vodka
1 cup cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 piece fresh orange peel
3 cups vodka

Directions
In a saucepan, heat cranberries, sugar, and water until the sugar dissolves, the liquid begins to turn a light-pink color, and the cranberries just begin to pop. Pour it into a large glass jar; stir in peel and vodka. Cover, and let stand at room temperature at least 3 days or up to one month. Strain before serving.

To give, I used pretty leftover tequila bottles, soaked off the labels and then attached a pretty tag like this one from Martha Stewart.

7 Tips for the Perfect Experience at ICE! at the Gaylord Texan

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Disclaimer
 
Recently, my official family event reviewer (my son) and I took a much needed mother-son adventure to travel to the Christmas Capital of the World, Grapevine, Texas for the opening of ICE! at the Gaylord Texan. (Oh, the things we do for prosperity!) Since it was our first experience, we thought we’d give you some tips on how you can have your best first experience at ICE! based on our lessons learned. 
 
 
TIP #1:
Bring Your Hats and Mittens with You to ICE! 
 
During Christmastime, there’s nothing like driving through Main Street in Grapevine to put you in the Christmas mood with all the decorated store fronts up and down the street. (And the North Pole Express is an absolute must, but that’s another day trip!) 
 
TIP #2:
Make Time to Enjoy Yourself. 
We gave ourselves the afternoon to enjoy the whole experience to the Gaylord, so we took our time driving, talking about the holidays, the exhibit and everything else holiday at the Gaylord Texan. We spent around 3-4 hours for our excursion. 
 
Pulling up to the entrance to the Gaylord Texan you can see that they are all about the Christmas details…even before you past the gates. My son was already so excited at this point I wasn’t sure he was going to be able to contain himself. 
 
TIP #3:
Parking may be an issue if you are bringing lots of little ones or the stroller. 
If you follow the signs to “ICE Parking” you will be sent to the other side of the hotel to park. There is some Convention Center parking, but it’s hard to score. My suggestion, which is what I didn’t do, VALET if you can. It will cut your walking time in half. However, remember, your parking cost (a $17 value) is included with your ticket to ICE! 
 
Here we are with the “big blue jackets” and ready to enter the freezing temperatures of ICE! (FYI, the tent that houses the 2 million pounds of ice is kept at around 12-25 degrees, so get ready for the chill.)
TIP #4:
You can take photos at ICE!
However, your camera may react different to the temperatures so take that into consideration. But take into consideration, there are several people going through the exhibit as well and sometime trying to get that perfect picture can back up traffic. Note: if you don’t want to deal with photos, you can have your photos taken and purchased at the end of the exhibit. 
 
The first room you get to includes this great welcome from the sponsors. 
Each year the theme changes at ICE, so check the website for this year’s theme!
Can you believe these colors are made just using highly concentrated
FOOD COLORING!?!
In the center of ICE!, you’ll find an amazing ice slide just for the little ones. This was perfectly timed and so much fun for a photo moment! 
 
While the exhibit has some fun and colorful scenes for the kids, I simply loved this Nativity scene. It was absolutely beautiful and certainly made you remember the reason for the season. 
 
 

Once you’ve ended the ICE! part of the fun, you can take off your jacket and enjoy a perfect moment for hot chocolate and a sweet snack. We opted for two gingerbread cake balls and cocoa, but these Madagascar-themed chocolate rice crispy treats were a hot item. Just think of it like that mandatory food stop you make at Six Flags. Don’t think about the cost; just pay for it and take a little moment to appreciate your family and the holidays.
While the exhibit was fun, the SNOW Tubing was the ultimate experience for us. And best of all, we could do it together with family tubes (how else do you think I got this shot!) While this is a separate ticket than ICE! you cannot NOT do this. It’s just too mean to do that and too much fun. And best of all, you get to do it like 10 times with your ticket so it’s worth it.

TIP #6:
You’ll need some muscle.


While there is help to put you on the slide, you are in charge of carrying your tube to the top of the slide. The double tube was rather heavy and cumbersome to carry, so it’s not for the faint of heart. When we switch to just having my son ride with a small tube, he could hold it, but it was a chore. Basically, there’s not much to say here except be prepared and you might have to do some hauling. 

A trip to the Gaylord’s Gingerbread House/Candy Store was a great way to end our adventure. We grabbed some fun holiday candy for the rest of our family and then ventured on our way home. ICE! was a great way to kick off the holidays!

TIP #7:
Enjoy Yourself. It’s Christmas! 

Of course there’s a whole lot more to do at the Gaylord Texan during the holidays, so make sure you look at all the other fun activities like Gingerbread House Making and more!

ICE! at the Gaylord Texan
Gaylord Texan Hotel 
1501 Gaylord Trail, Grapevine, Texas 76051
817-778-2000
Website

Get Dolled Up: Four Dolls Your Girl Must Have for the Holidays

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Wow Mom Wednesdays:

An Oldie (with a Twist): Cabbage Patch Kids BABIES


I can remember it like it was yesterday. Lillian Felicia was the name of my first Cabbage Patch Kid. She had brown hair and eyes just like me and I was the proudest little 6-year-old girl in the world when I opened her up that Christmas. Now I get to share the same experience with my baby girl. The Cabbage Patch Kids line has expanded its adoptions to include Cabbage Patch Kids Babies. With six different fashion styles in a large variety of hair and eye colors, silky hair and removable fashions, little mommies will love caring for their newly adopted Babies. Maintaining high standards of quality, each Cabbage Patch Baby comes in his or her own pajamas or onesie outfit, matching blanket and special CPK cabbage leaf, bottle and pacifier.  Also includes a birth certificate with one-of-a-kind-name, birth date and adoption papers (which online purchase on CPK allows you to change your baby’s name.)

Additionally, now until Dec. 31, each baby comes with a FREE Shutterfly 8×8 hardcover Photo Book (a $29.99 value) with the purchase of any specially-marked Cabbage Patch Kids product.  You can also enter the Cabbage Patch Kids® One-of-a-Kind Kid Photo contest by uploading a favorite photo of their child with or without their Cabbage Patch Kid at http://www.cabbagepatchkids.com/Shutterfly.  One lucky child will be featured on a future Cabbage Patch Kids doll package plus many other prizes will be awarded including Cabbage Patch Kids and Shutterfly gift cards.

Cabbage Patch Kids Babies
Ages 2-5
Starting at $24.99 at CabbagePatchKids.com, ToysRUsand Target
A Newbie: Positively Perfect Dolls



While Cabbage Patch Kids were made with several options to look like your child, there aren’t many other options available for multicultural children – until now. Designed by mom and former professor Dr. Lisa Williams, Positively Perfect Dolls are a new line of dolls created to give girls of African-American, Hispanic and Asian ethnicities a doll that that encourages dreams, promotes intelligence, challenges perceptions, and open their hearts to all types of beauty.

Each doll is made with specific details in both her look and story. For example:
Marvelous Maria is the athlete of the group, and she can jump high and run fast. She plays soccer and basketball, and beats most boys in school sports. She eats healthy food and encourages her best friends Dayna and Brianna to do the same.
  •          14″ long doll has amber skin tone
  •          Gorgeous brown eyes
  •          Soft, cuddly body that is ideal for hugging
  •          Comes clothed in a pretty pink and blue trimmed dress with silvery earrings
  •          Hair can be styled, washed, air-dried and styled again and again 

Positively Perfect Dolls
Ages 3 and up
Starting at $12 at Walmartand soon to ToysRUs, Target, Kmart, Sears, Overstock, HSN
The Big One: American Girl’s Caroline


The doll of all dolls, American Girl has written the book on dolls, accessories and experiential marketing. While I thought I was able to hold off before stepping into the world of American Girl, my daughter received her first Bitty Baby doll as a gift for her first birthday, so I’m already in deep as I’m already waiting for our first matching outfits for her and her doll. And let’s not even talk about our first trip to the American Girl Bistro for lunch with the girls…

Celebrating the potential of girls ages 3 to 12, American Girl encourages girls to dream, to grow, to aspire, to create, and to imagine through a wide range of engaging and insightful books, age-appropriate and educational products, and unforgettable experiences. And those experiences are what dreams are made of with salon visits, photos and even spend the night packages just for our doll at the Westin Galleria and that’s just for starters.

While there are other dolls for sale, this year’s doll, Caroline, is a must-buy for Holiday 2012 with Caroline.  She opens up a whole world of imaginative play and comes with authentic styles from 1812 with a soft pink empire-waist dress with a woven floral sash and ruffle trim, details common in her era, lacy pantalettes and ribbed-knit stockings to keep her proper and even cute little pink shoes to match. Each doll ncludes the Meet Caroline paperback book, the first story of this brave, adventurous girl.

American Girl Caroline
Ages 8 and up
The Little (and lovely) One: Once Upon a TreeHouse Dolls


While American Girl dolls have endless opportunities for accessories from head to toe, Once Upon a TreeHouse goes back to the basics with Waldorf doll style, heirloom quality pieces utilizing century-old woodworking techniques from Germany’s oldest doll maker. Each doll is handmade with a special story and unique look so that no one doll is the same.

Once Upon a TreeHouse creates handmade toys and interactive ideas for parents and grandparents in efforts to provide enriching experiences with their children and grandchildren. Developed by a mom/sister team, Once Upon a TreeHouse was born to fill the gap between inferior plastic and antiquated dolls and dollhouse toys they felt were typically found in the market today. Offering a range of eco-friendly, high-end custom dollhouse products, the company uses natural materials like wood, cotton and wool, safe paints and stains, and for the dolls’ clothes only Velcro closures are used, so no buttons or tying is required. And for every doll Once Upon a TreeHouse sells, they give a doll to a child in need.

Once Upon a TreeHouse
Ages 3 and up
Starting at $22 available at OnceUponaTreeHouse.com
DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)




Stuff his Stocking with this Man Must-Have: The iGrill for IPhone and IPad

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Tech Tuesdays:
As Texas residents there is a requirement that you own a grill. It’s like an extension of your kitchen and like many things also in Texas – the bigger the better. Thankfully, temperatures here allow you to cook outside ‘round the year except when Mother Nature throws you a loop about half-way through the grilling process.

I know from my own experience that there have been many times I’ve had the “perfect meal” ready to go…I just needed to cook the steaks. Unfortunately, you either have to stay and babysit the steaks OR put them on the grill, walk-away just for a second and then SOMETHING always makes you forget and you end up having some really well-done steaks. It’s like I just need a little steak cook for about 20 minutes to watch the meat and then tell me when they’re done…

And then there was iGrill. Your IPhone/IPad already does everything else. It’s already your phone, computer, assistant, baby camera/monitor (yes, I have that app), and everything else…well now you can add cook to its long-list of reasons you’ll never be able to go to another smart device. Created by iDevices, the iGrill is a wireless cooking thermometer that you plug into your meat and it alerts you on your device when the meat gets to the right temperature. Almost seems like cheating, right?

Whether you’re grilling, smoking or indoor cooking, the iGrill wants to be your new cooking assistant. Using two included probes, the iGrill device measures the temperature and using the free app on your IPhone, alerts you when you should come and check out your meat. Bottom line: You can stay inside, watch TV and then come out and take the meat out when it’s done. The app even provides you links to recipes from Jennie-O as well as a guide to making the perfect steak and even deboning a fish.

While I would say this baby is perfect for a man gift this Christmas, I can only imagine how my first turkey would have actually turned out if my IPhone would had woke me up from my accidental slumber rather than to wake up two hours later with a huge, burned bird. I think the iGrill might be the way to save many meals in the future…it’s wireless cooking at your fingertips.

iGrill
Starting at $79
Available at iGrill.com, Brookstone, and Apple
DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

Show ’em What You Got with a Hot Mama Apron

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Me Mondays:

After several days of cooking, cleaning, repeat, I’m reminded of some of the not-so-fabulous parts of being a mom at the holidays. While thankfully the pros definitely outweigh the cons, I’ll admit, moms make a lot of the holiday magic happen. From decorating the house, wrapping the gifts, creating the holiday meal and my personal favorite, cleaning the house. (tsk, tsk.) 

And that, as well as having several little dirty hands and faces around my house, is the reason I now love aprons. They solve so many issues and let’s face it, they can dress up your yoga pant ensemble in a whole new way. No longer does your look say, “mom that can’t fit in her jeans,” but says “mom that’s trying to create delicious meals and a clean house” (you notice I used “trying,” right?) I strive for the later one everyday. 

Over the last few years I’ve collected a few aprons, some that will never been used like the signed ones I cherish from Ted Allen and Paula Deen. Then there are the ones that are so cute, I reserve them for only AFTER I’ve made the mess to look cute when other people enter the room (or that moment when Food Network comes to my house to start filming my first cooking show.) Other aprons I have are so ugly, they should never see the light of day, so while I don’t mind getting them dirty and greasy, I just should let them go. Really. 



Then I was introduced to the flirty and functional aprons from Hot Mama Aprons. (How apropos for me in so many ways, tee-hee!) These locally made aprons created by Dallas mom, Jennifer Carr, were the product of a mom suffering from the same predicament; she was trying to find something that was cute to wear, but she didn’t mind wiping her hands on…so she actually sewed the hand towel right into the apron. (Why didn’t I think of that, right?) 


Kinda amazing, I think. And apparently, Paula Deen, the gals at Southern Living and many others thought the same thing, so her designs received lots of press. And when Paula and Southern Living says “two thumbs up”, you know that you must have done something good. 

And just like a good Southern woman should have, Hot Mama Aprons even have a holiday design, so you can look your very best even when you might be doing some dirty work. At least you’ll look good. And with a long holiday season in store, you might just have to buy two (especially since it’s free shipping for a limited time!)


Now go be the hostess with the mostess (or at least look like it.) 

Stuff the Stocking with I See Me Personalized Books

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Sharing Saturdays:
Just as important as the gifts under the tree are the gifts in the stocking. Working to find the right things that are fun and perfectly priced, this is traditionally where a small trinkets like Matchbox cars, Thomas accessories and holiday candy and of course, dog bones for Birddie, the family dog. Now with a little girl in the mix, I’ve got to expand my ideas of what goes into the cute stockings on the mantle, while also being “even” so the older one doesn’t think the younger one is getting anything cooler than he has.
Enter one of my favorite stocking stuffer finds this year: customized books. I See Me! personalized children’s books are a great way to spark a child’s imagination this holiday season. With every book, the child’s name and other personal details are inserted into stories that can help teach learning lessons like how to be a big sister/brother, the importance of a name, and most appropriately for now: the story of Christmas and Hannukah. Each of the books selected for both children included a great story, beautiful illustrations and will also make them feel special since every page including something specific just for them.

While I opted for color activity book options for both children, you can also choose for beautiful hardbound/board book editions for a little longer shelf time. And with a starting price of $9.99, these personalized books are affordable, memorable and educational all at the same time – making them an idea stocking stuffer. If my recommendation is enough, see what the Today Show, People and DailyCandy had to say about I See Me! Books.
I See Me!
Personalized Books
$9.95 – $39.95


DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)


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