Posts Tagged: "mother"

Conversations With My Mother | Keepsake Journal

Queen Darlene - May 4, 2018 - Birthday, Mother's Day

Conversations with My Mother is a keepsake journal for collecting a lifetime of your mother’s stories.

Interview your mother with engaging questions that will encourage her to provide facts about specific aspects of her life and relate rich details about her experiences.

This beautiful journal has places to record dates, write about your mother’s unique life, and attach photos and keepsakes.

You’ll learn so many things you never even knew about your mother.

Not Your Average Journal

Conversations with My Mother prompts all kinds of questions, some I would never have thought to ask.

Summer Break Quality Time With Each Child

Princess Diana - October 4, 2017 - Experiences, Kids

My friend, Carol, told me about a wonderful summer tradition she started in her family that I want to share with you.

Each summer, she spends 5 days with each of her children, just the two of them.

She explained her children act differently when she is alone with them. For this reason, she loves to give them quality one-on-one time during their summer break from school.

She has done this for years with each of her children, and they always look forward to creating new memories together.

For each of the 5 days, she follows the same order of events every year.

Quality Time Over 5 Days

Funny Books for Parents With a Sense of Humor

Princess Diana - August 29, 2017 - $20 or Less, Baby Shower, Father's Day, Mother's Day

I’m a parent with a twisted sense of humor, and I’m not the only one.

I think it’s actually healthy because I’m able to laugh at things that normally would drive someone crazy!

A sense of humor (twisted or not) will get you through the highlights and pitfalls of parenthood. For example, I have a child in diapers so every day is full of shits and giggles. Literally.

My friend Beth and I bond over our twisted sense of humor. I’m so excited she’s pregnant with her first baby!

When it came time to pick out her baby shower gifts, I knew what book I just had to give her!

Hilarious Books for Parents

It’s called Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortés.

Sleep deprivation was one of the hardest things I dealt with as a new mom. When your baby just won’t go to bed, you do start to think, “For the love of God, go the f**k to sleep!”

Cozy Fleece Photo Blanket

Princess Diana - August 15, 2017 - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Family, Father's Day, Get Well, Going Away, Graduation, Housewarming, Kids, Mother's Day, Retirement, Teacher Gifts, Valentine's Day, Wedding

Years ago, my sister, Julia, and her family moved to the East coast away from her parents and siblings.

It’s tough living far apart from family, but especially hard when someone has young children. Finding child care is harder, and holidays can be a bit more lonely.

My sister though experienced tremendous luck! She found an older woman in her neighborhood who ran a small in-home day care. “Miss Pat” has cared for my sister’s three daughters for 14 years now, and they have a very special bond with her.

She loves those girls like her own granddaughters, and they love her like a grandmother.

“Miss Pat” and her husband “Mister Pete” have become family.

Custom Photo Blanket

For Miss Pat’s birthday this year, my sister gave her a custom fleece photo blanket with a beautiful collage of her three daughters and Miss Pat.

The photos printed really well and show how much the girls have grown up since Miss Pat has known them. So many cherished memories gathered all in one place!

Miss Pat can literally wrap the girls around her any time, day or night! Continue Reading

KinderPerfect | Cards Against Humanity for Parents

Princess Diana - January 3, 2017 - Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day, Teacher Gifts

Parenting is tough sometimes but it’s also hilarious, especially if you throw in some sarcasm and political incorrectness. KinderPerfect is a card game for adults who enjoy laugh-out-loud humor about the challenges of raising kids.

The game is simple. Each round, one player lays down a red question card and every other player lays down their funniest white answer card.

The person with the funniest answer card wins and gets to keep the red question card. The person who collects the most red cards wins the game!

KinderPerfect Card Game Examples:

Question Card: Before kids, I never thought about _____.
Potential Answer Card: A freezer full of breast milk

Question Card: All I want for Christmas is a day without _____.
Potential Answer Cards: Toddler erections

Question Card: _____ is why I am a failure as a parent.
Potential Answer Cards: Giving him the middle finger behind his back

Totally hilarious, right?!

The card game is similar to Apples to Apples (kid and family friendly) and Cards Against Humanity (sexual and raunchy). KinderPerfect‘s humor is in between so you can play it with adult friends and family and not worry if someone’s going to get offended.

Jewelry With Special Meaning

Princess Diana - November 5, 2016 - Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, Father's Day, Graduation, Kids, Mother's Day, Retirement, Valentine's Day, Wedding

It’s that feeling you get every time you touch the pendant around your neck or glance down at a bracelet, and you’re reminded of its special meaning.

A piece of jewelry with special meaning tells a sentimental story of who gave it to you and why.

It’s not just a fashion accessory. It symbolizes a relationship, a feeling, an event or a memory.

For my mother’s birthday, I wanted to surprise her with a new piece of jewelry since it’s not something she often buys for herself. I decided to browse on the Rustic Cuff website since it’s an Oklahoma company.

I came across this beautiful gold and silver cuff. The center is a gold hexagon with a smaller, silver hexagon inside it. Immediately, this thought popped into my head.

The six sides of the gold hexagon represent her six children. She is the silver hexagon in the middle because she is our center that holds us together. The other special meaning is her influence on us and the people we’ve become. We became a hexagon because she is a hexagon.

It’s what I will tell my mother when I give her the bracelet. Every time she wears it, I hope she thinks of her six children and how much we love her. Continue Reading

Pay It Forward Baby Shower

Princess Diana - May 31, 2016 - Baby Shower

With your first baby, you feel like you need every baby gear that exists. You’ll register for anything that could make your life and baby’s life easier. Baby wipe warmer. Check!

As you prepare for your second baby’s arrival, you may realize you don’t need many baby items, especially if you’re having your second boy or second girl. You may not even need diapers if you cloth diapered your first child.

You may opt for a baby sprinkle, a smaller version of a baby shower, or decide you don’t need even that.

But what if a friend, family or co-worker insists on throwing you a baby shower to celebrate your second (or third or fourth) baby’s arrival and you’re not in need of baby items?

The answer is a Pay It Forward Baby Shower.

This type of baby shower honors you and your baby but the gifts people bring benefit an expectant mother in need.

The baby gifts could be donated to a low-income mom, a single mom, a teen mom, or a local non-profit organization dedicated to providing babies with life’s basic necessities.

Invite Mom to Afternoon Tea

Princess Diana - May 3, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Food & Drinks, Mother's Day

More than anything, mothers love to spend quality time with their children.

So when thinking of gifts for her birthday, Mother’s Day or Christmas, a memorable bonding experience for the two of you to do together will always make her happy.

Consider inviting your mother for an Afternoon Tea Experience at a nice hotel, tea room or tea restaurant.

Can you hear it? The sound of a dainty china cup clicking against its saucer.

Can you feel it? The mood of stylish elegance and luxury.

Treat your mother to a lovely and charming afternoon tea with tea trays and service. (At some places, they even have tea butlers!) You and your mother can enjoy sipping tea from delicate teacups while sitting in a room filled with beautiful ambience.

Together, share in meaningful conversation while dining on delicious scones, freshly made sandwiches, and petite pastries!

Add Your Own Message to Hand Stamped Silverware

Princess Diana - April 19, 2016 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, Father's Day, Going Away, Graduation, Host, Housewarming, Kids, Mother's Day, Retirement, Teacher Gifts, Valentine's Day, Wedding

It’s fun to have our own special silverware to use for eating cereal, ice cream or dessert.

The mundane task of grabbing silverware out of the drawer gets a little bit more exciting as you search for your special spoon or fork.

Last Mother’s Day gift, I gave my mother and mother in-law custom hand stamped silverware with the message: A mother’s love is beyond measure.

Every time they use the spoon to eat with or to stir their cup of tea of coffee, I hope they’ll think of me and know how grateful I am for their love and kindness.

You can make your message sentimental like mine or pick something funny like Cereal Killer for a breakfast spoon.

For a wedding or anniversary present, you can give the gift of His and Her spoons with corresponding messages like: I love you and I love you more or Good morning handsome and Good morning beautiful.

Pregnancy Survival Kit for the Expecting Momma

Princess Diana - March 17, 2016 - Baby Shower

I’m three weeks away from my due date with my second baby. Looking down at my basketball-sized belly and swollen feet, I feel like each and every woman deserves a medal for surviving pregnancy.

A pregnant woman’s body goes through a million changes leading up to baby’s arrival so provide her with lots of support and TLC. If you know a momma-to-be, you can give her a Pregnancy Survival Kit containing some or all of these essential items at the beginning of her pregnancy.

Belly Cream.

The dreaded stretch marks. Prevention is key so she’ll want to start using anti-stretch mark creams starting in the first trimester on her belly, breasts, and butt. This specific cream did wonders for me during both of my pregnancies. I put it on after every shower.

Pregnancy Books.

There are several good ones out there but my go-to pregnancy book is What to Expect When You’re Expecting. It doles out tons of practical advice in bite-sized chunks of information using a Q&A format. There’s a reason why it’s a New York Times bestseller and one of USA Today‘s 25 most influential books of the past 25 years.

Prenatal Vitamins.

They’re vital for fetal and maternal health, and it’s something she’ll have to take every day.