Rants & Musings
This is a place that allows me to share my thoughts on a variety of topics, not necessarily related to my family, or the challenges we face. These are my thoughts, my feelings, my expressions.
Why I Hate the Winter Months
Okay, let me make this clear, it isn’t like I hate winter altogether. I can handle winter for a little while. There are many excellent and wonderful things about winter. I do love winter right after it has snowed a few inches and the sun comes out, making the snow look like glitter. That is a magnificent sight. I love to watch my kids playing in the snow, making snowmen. I love making hot chocolate for my kids and sitting in front of the fireplace. If I thought long and hard, I could come up with a few more great things about winter.
But, here is the thing. Winter is seriously the longest season ever. It just drags on and on and on. January through March seems like it takes a year to finish. Sometimes, in March, we can have nice days, and then Mother Nature decides to make it snow again, almost like she is teasing us. We get just a little taste of spring, and then, just like that, it is snowing and cold again.
Two Major Reasons I Hate the Winter Months
The first reason is that I am constantly cold. It seems like no matter what I do, I can never get warm. I mean I am cold year round. I am that crazy lady in the middle of summer who must wear her coat to the grocery store because the air conditioning is too cold for me. I get made fun of quite a bit about how cold I am. At least in the summer, when I am cold, I can sit in the sun to warm up. In the winter, though, I can do very few things to get warm. I am very grateful for my rice bag. I can throw that in the microwave and get warm in a few minutes. I can’t exactly carry it around all day, though, so I can only use that when I have time to sit down, which isn’t very often. Therefore, I am freezing from about November until April, which is no fun.
The second reason is that I always get the winter blues. I always get a little down in the winter. I usually don’t feel like doing much of anything. I don’t like to go out and do things; I typically like to stay home. Staying home, though, always makes me feel even worse. I try to get out, but it is tough to do. I also have a more challenging time in the winter doing things with my children. This always makes me feel guilty, and like I am such a bad mom. Anyone out there who feels the same way, please remember that you are not a bad mom and are doing the best you can. I always have to remind myself of this!
I try to do things to help with the winter blues. I always open my blinds. The natural light makes it not so dark and dreary. As hard as it is, I try to get out of the house. Even if it is just running a small errand. We do family movie nights, and that helps as well. The winter blues never entirely go away by doing these things, but it seems to help. I start to feel better once the weather starts warming up and the sun comes out more.
I would love to hear from anyone who hates the winter and deals with the winter blues. I would love to hear what you do to help you get through these dreadful months.
The Greatest Gift Ever For Hot Cocoa!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclaimers for more information.In the winter, my family absolutely loves to drink hot cocoa. We will drink a cup of hot cocoa almost every day once the weather turns cold. The kids will have a cup when they get home from school, or we will have a cup to warm us up before bed. As you can imagine, making hot cocoa for everyone takes time and effort.
This year, we discovered the greatest gift ever to make hot cocoa, so we just had to get it. What is it, you might ask? Well, we discovered that a Keuring Coffee Maker can make hot cocoa!
Our family doesn’t drink coffee, but when we saw that we could do hot cocoa with the coffee maker, we just had to get one! We purchased the Keurig K-Express Essentials Coffee Maker, but you can buy any coffee maker that uses K-Cup pods. Here are a few good options:
- Keurig K-Express Coffee Maker (via Amazon.com)
- Keurig K-Slim Single Serve Coffee Maker (via Amazon.com)
Making hot cocoa with a Keurig Coffee Maker is so simple that even my 9-year-old can use it without problems. When the kids want hot cocoa, all they have to do now is go and grab a K-Cup pod, put it in the coffee maker, and push a button. Hot cocoa in less than a minute! That’s all, that’s it, it is so easy.
The other great thing is you can get K-Cup pods in almost any hot cocoa flavor you can imagine. We bought several bundles with flavors like mint, caramel, marshmallow, strawberry blonde ice cream, Junior Mint, Charleston Chew, and many more. Trying all the different flavors has been so much fun for the whole family.
Here are our family’s favorite hot cocoa K-Cup pods:
- Van Der Laan Chocolate Hot Cocoa Pods (Crème De Menthe) (via Amazon.com)
- Two Rivers Hot Cocoa Sampler Pack (via Amazon.com)
My husband’s favorite flavor was, by far, the Crème De Menthe hot cocoa. It is so good! Throughout the family, there were a few flavors that we didn’t like! We didn’t enjoy any marshmallow-flavored hot cocoa or the Tootsie Roll hot cocoa (the worst flavor)! But we’ve had fun trying them all!
The Keurig coffee maker (as a hot cocoa maker) was a trendy Christmas gift with my extended family this past year. It seems like everyone purchased one, and we all agree that this is the greatest gift for hot cocoa lovers! Especially if you drink hot cocoa like my family! I would highly recommend it.
6 Essential Things You Need as a Soccer Mom
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclaimers for more information.My daughters love to play soccer, and both of my daughters play competitively. This means we have soccer at least four to five nights a week all year long. Competitive soccer also means they end up traveling to away games, and we have games during the fall, winter, spring, and summer. Along the way, and over the many years I’ve been a soccer mom, these are the six essential things you need as a soccer mom.
1. High-Quality Folding Chair
I prefer to sit in a chair rather than on the ground. It is much more comfortable for me to sit in a chair. Chairs these days have come a long way. You can get a rocker chair or a chair with shade cover. There are so many options. My only suggestion is to ensure you get one that lasts more than one season.
We’ve gone through many chairs over many seasons, but this GCI Rocker Chair (via Amazon.com) has been popular with many parents!
2. Sports Umbrella (Sport-Brella!)
My sports umbrella has been a lifesaver. It is simple to take up and put down. It is the perfect umbrella for any weather. There have been so many soccer games where it has been raining. A sports umbrella is the ideal size for you to sit in your chair under it and stay dry. It is also great for those games that are played in the sun. It provides excellent shade for the games where the sun is beating down on you.
We’ve had many umbrellas, but we like the Sport-Brella (via Amazon.com) most! It can easily be screwed and staked into the ground and has flaps that fold down around you to keep you shaded and dry!
3. Insulated Stadium Blanket
Sometimes, the weather is too cold to sit and watch a soccer game. I always like to have a blanket on hand to wrap around me. If you have kids with you at the game, having a blanket for them is always a good idea. I do like the insulated blankets that fold up small. They fit in the car much better if you need more than one.
We take two to three blankets to every game, but we always have an insulated blanket similar to this waterproof and windproof stadium blanket (via Amazon.com) that works great!
4. Insulated Water Bottle
Your soccer player isn’t the only one that needs a water bottle. Having a water bottle is a good idea if the weather is warm. I don’t know what it is, but the kids who aren’t playing are always thirsty at a soccer game. I always try to have water for everyone in my family at the soccer game with me. Even if you don’t drink it, having water on hand is always a good idea.
Our kids get a new water bottle every year, and they take it and decorate it with stickers and other fun things that let them differentiate it from their teammates. It’s awesome. Our latest water bottles have been the Owala FreeSip Insulated Water Bottle (via Amazon.com). Our kids love them!
5. Cooling Towel
This year, our new item is a cooling towel. Sometimes, our soccer games, especially our local tournament games, are played in the hottest month of the year, July. It can get up above a hundred degrees during a match. So we have discovered these cooling towels. All you have to do is wet it with cold water, wring it out, and wrap it around your neck. It can help cool your athletes down when on the bench or when they have a break from playing. I also like to use it for the kids and me sitting on the sidelines.
We like these cooling towels (via Amazon.com); they come in a four-pack!
6. Activity Bag (Great For Younger Kids!)
If you have little ones with you at the soccer game, it can be hard for them to sit and watch that game. I always like to have a backpack I can grab as we leave the house. I like to put activities in it for them to do. I like coloring books, colored pencils, stickers, and activity books. Anything that can keep them entertained. If you have a little activity bag, it is easier for you to watch the game as a parent.
I hope all these items can help you have a more enjoyable soccer game. If I have missed anything you feel is essential, please give me your suggestions. I would love to hear from you! I’m always looking for ways to make game days better!
Halloween Children’s Books That I Love To Read
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via these links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclaimers for more information.I advocate for teaching kids to read and helping them develop a love for it. I think it is essential for children to read. In my household, one way to excite my children to read is with holiday books, especially Halloween children’s books. Here is a list of my favorite Halloween children’s books that I love to read to my children or that they now love to read to me! We pull these out at the beginning of every Halloween season and read them repeatedly!
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything (via Amazon.com)
by Linda WilliamsThis book is entertaining for little kids because they can do actions while you read the book!
Synopsis: Once upon a time, there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything! But one autumn night, while walking in the woods, the little old lady heard… clomp, clomp, shake, shake, clap, clap.
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat! (via Amazon.com)
By Lucille ColandroWho doesn’t love the There Was an Old Lady books? I love this book because, like all the other books, the ending is surprising!
Synopsis: The Old Lady is back, and this time, she’s swallowing a bat, an owl, a cat, a ghost, a goblin…and more! This Halloween-themed twist on the classic rhyme will delight and entertain all brave readers who dare to read it!
Dem Bones (via Amazon.com)
by Bob BarnerThis book is educational. You read about the different bones in the body. The fun thing is that if you know the song, it is fun to sing this book to your kids!
Synopsis: Sing with a colorful skeleton band in this exuberant rendition of a traditional, most-loved African-American spiritual passed down by word of mouth for generations.
Frank was a Monster who wanted to Dance (via Amazon.com)
by Keith GravesThis book is funny! My kids think it is just hilarious!
Synopsis: Frank was a monster who wanted to dance. So he put on his hat and shoes made in France, opened a jar, and put ants in his pants!
Bedtime at the SWAMP (via Amazon.com)
by Kristyn CrowThis book has a part the kids love chanting with you as you read! There is also a fun new friend at the end!
Synopsis: It’s bedtime at the swamp—except somebody’s not ready. Somebody’s still splashing in the water and the mud.
Shivery Shades of HALLOWEEN (via Amazon.com)
by Mary McKenna SiddalsThis book has a lot of fun rhyming words as you read about Halloween’s different colors!
Synopsis: What color is Halloween? It’s as green as an “eerie glow, evil grin, vile brew, clammy skin,” and as white as “cobwebs clinging, a misty trail, a skull, a spook, a face gone pale . . .”
Miss Fiona’s Stupendous Pumpkin Pies (via Amazon.com)
by Mark Kimball MoultonI always love to read books with witches. This witch is 400 years old and makes pies for all the kids in the neighborhood. There is a surprise at the end about how she serves it!
Synopsis: At Halloween, all the neighborhood children look forward to eating the delicious pumpkin pies made by Fiona, an old woman who reminds them of a witch.
The Skeleton in the Closet (via Amazon.com)
by Alice SchertleThis book is my favorite Halloween book of all time. We have two copies! I have read it to my kids so many times that I have memorized it. The kids repeatedly ask me to read this book; they love it so much! The Skeleton in the Closet is an adorable book.
Synopsis: Bam! Bam! Bam! A skeleton’s knocking at the door. Creak… creak… creak… Now he’s going up the steps — but this skeleton isn’t looking for what you’d expect. Snickers and shivers await readers in this wickedly funny rhyming story that will surely tickle funny bones.
Every year, I find new Halloween books that I love. For now, this is my list of favorite Halloween books to read with my children. I hope you and your family enjoy these books as much as we have over the years! Until next time, happy reading!
How I Love to Lose Track of Time Doing Puzzles
Do you have that one thing you love to do, and when you do that one thing, you lose track of time? I do! The one activity I can lose track of time doing is putting puzzles together.
I love to put puzzles together. It is very relaxing for me. Sometimes, when I am putting a puzzle together, hours will go by without realizing it. It’s gotten to the point that when I start putting a puzzle together, I must be very careful because I lose track of time easily.
I will put together all kinds of puzzles. There are so many puzzles that it is sometimes hard to choose from. Around the holidays, it is fun to put together a holiday puzzle. The kids sit with me and help me when I pull out a puzzle. I love to do any activity if I can get my kids to participate in it with me!
Puzzles are also great for those long weekends when the kids are out of school. We like to set one up in the living room and work on it all weekend. Sometimes, we will do a large puzzle, such as a 1000-piece one, or a couple of smaller ones for my youngest child.
Last Christmas, we bought a wooden puzzle. The pieces are cut out of wood instead of the cardboard pieces. The kids liked this one because they had little pieces in the shape of little animals or flowers. The wood puzzles usually come in exotic animals, like elephants or tigers.
You might think that puzzles can get expensive, and you are right. We like to get our small puzzles from the dollar store. We also pass around our puzzles to other family members, and they, in turn, share their puzzles with us. That makes it less expensive when we can share puzzles with others. Occasionally, we will splurge and buy a nice puzzle, such as the wood puzzle. I am okay with spending a little money on puzzles because they are more educational and creative than other things my kids spend time doing.
Even though this activity makes me lose track of time and makes me put off doing my household responsibilities, I still do it. Cleaning can always wait. Plus, to me, when my kids help with the puzzle, that is more important than cleaning!
Do you have a favorite puzzle you like to put together? Is there an activity you like to do that makes you lose track of time? Please share. I would love to hear about it.
