Keeping Thanksgiving Simple and Fun with a FREE Printable!

Thanksgiving is just over a week away! 
With what is sure to be a busy season, 
I have to share this fun, FREE printable from one of my favorite blogs, Life as Mom. 

 
I love the holidays, and sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and lose all the fun. With this great booklet you will find...

• Kid-friendly recipes to add to your holiday menu
• Directions to two fun, edible crafts
• Printable place cards for the kids to decorate
• Printable menu cards for your dinner table
• Printable activity sheets for kids to complete when they get antsy
• A template and directions for a felt busy bag activity for toddlers
• A list of family friendly movies and games to add to your weekend fun

So visit her site today 
and take a moment to remember what you are thankful for!

Pink or Blue? Test the Old Wives Tales!

Well, with only 10 days until we have our ultrasound I thought I'd try out a few of the old wives tales and gender prediction tests that we've heard about.
I did some with my last pregnancy and all but one were right!

The Chinese lunar chart has only been right 50% of the time with my other pregnancies, so I guess this will be our tie breaker to change the odds. There are many of these calendars out there, but basically it bases it on the age of the mother and month of conception.

The Chinese lunar calendar says...GIRL!

I took an Old Wives Tale quiz at pregnancy.about.com
1. Carrying high or low? = low
2. Craving salty or sweet? = sweet
3. Heart rate is above or below 140 bpm? = above
4. Color of urine dull or bright? = sorry for TMI, but dull
5. Pillow face North or South? = technically it faces west, but it is on the North side of the bed
6. Month of conception even or odd? = odd
7. Feet colder than before? = no
8. Hair on legs grow faster? = no
9. Eat the heel of loaf of bread? = yes
10. Increased breast development? = yes!
The results they gave me were...

You answered 4 items out of 10 Yes.

Your score is 40%. Congratulations! According to the Old Wives it's a GIRL!

The pencil test fascinates me, I don't know why/how this works. You take a needle and thread and put the end of the needle into the eraser of a sharpened pencil. You then lay your hand down on a table, palm side up, and hold the string with the needle and pencil attached with the other had (or have someone else hold it). You hold it just above the wrist and it will begin to circle. It will then either go side to side or up and down (elbow to hand) and circle again between each child.

It is said that it will predict all of your children, so in my case it circled then went up and down three times and side to side twice! So pencil test predicts...GIRL!

Took another quiz on justmommies.com and says...83 % chance of having a GIRL!

I also did a muscle test at my chiropractor's office and the results were...you guessed it, GIRL! 

So far it's looking pretty pink!

Okay, so I know there are more of these fun little tests out there! Leave me a comment and I will give them a try. 
We've got 10 days to test them out! 

My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

I love to scrapbook! I have half of a closet full of some really fun supplies that I never get the chance to use. It never seems like a good time to pull it all out and spread it all over the dining room table (which is really my only available workspace) when I'm only going to have a short time before the kids come in and I have to pack it all back up. I have been wanting to try digital scrapbooking for a while, but didn't really know where to start. That's why I was thrilled when My Memories sent me their My Memories Suite Version 2.0 digital scrapbooking software! It was so easy to download right from their site and in minutes I was dragging and dropping pictures and completing my first page. It literally took maybe 10 minutes! There are many templates, background and embellishments to choose from.
I had some cute pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch, so here is what I put together...

I am so excited to finally get so many fun, family memories put onto pages now. This is something that I can do whenever I have a few free minutes and if I get interrupted I just click "save" and come back later with no clean-up or worries that someone will touch my supplies!

They offer more than page templates and after a few more minutes of playing around with backgrounds, embellishments, and text, I came up with this...

There are many fun templates and options available with the software suite, and the possibilities are endless with all of the kits and add-ons you can purchase from the My Memories site! A few of my favorites are the Family and Friends pages, the Ladybug Word Art, and the adorable Owls!
You're going to want to check out their page for free kits and their blog for fun challenges with great prizes!

Now for the really fun part!!! My Memories not only wanted to share this great software with me, they have also offered a software package ($39.97 value) to one lucky reader! Entry details below.

To Purchase My Memories Suite

My Memories Suite Version 2.0 digital scrapbooking software is a fun and creative way to keep and share memories, whether you have a Mac or PC. The software's design tools will help you to build entire albums effortlessly using one of the many installed templates, or designing your very own pages from scratch.

My Memories is also offering a Share the Memories code that provides a
$10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software 
and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store
Just enter STMMMS99453 in the promo code box when you make your purchase!

To Win My Memories Suite Version 2.0 Digital Scrapbooking Software

Mandatory Entry
1. Visit My Memories and comment below with your favorite digital paper pack or layout. Please include your email address so we can contact the winner.

Optional Entries - Leave one comment per entry with email address
2. Follow Makes Mama Smile via Google Friend Connect
3. Follow My Memories blog via Google Friend Connect
4. Follow Makes Mama Smile via Facebook
5. Follow MyMemories via Facebook
6. Post about this giveaway on your Facebook status (share link in comment, one entry per day)
7. Follow Makes Mama Smile and MyMemories on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (one entry per day, please put link in your comment)

Giveaway ends November 17th at Midnight (MST) and a winner will be announced on Friday November 18th!

Monday's Meal

I love Mondays! I bet you don't hear that very often. Well, at our house Monday means I don't have to leave the house except to pick the kids up from school. No sports, volunteering, appointments...I get to be home! So, on Monday's I am able to put a little more effort into mealtime. This week I found a good deal on pork, but forgot to get panko, so I browsed online for a sweet and sour pork batter recipe.
This is what I came up with:

  Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1/3 cup warm water, as needed

  Directions for sweet and sour pork:

Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes. Marinate in the soy sauce and cornstarch for 20 minutes.
Heat the oil for deep--frying to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the batter, combine the flour and cornstarch. Stir in the egg white and vegetable oil. Add as much of the warm water as is needed to form a thick batter that is neither too dry or too moist. (The batter should not be runny, but should drop off the back of a spoon).

Dip the marinated pork cubes in the batter. Deep-fry in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry the pork until it is golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

It turned out great and the boys kept asking for more! I think the soy sauce marinade really helped the flavor. I did not attempt to make my own sauce since we had some in the fridge. I made rice and steamed some stir fry vegetables as well. Not the healthiest thing on our weekly menu, but we have to indulge every now and then!
The full recipe can be found HERE.

Tonight's menu...roasted chicken! What's cooking in your kitchen?!

Love this bassinet...Giveaway at Mom Spotted!

As I was visiting some of my favorite blogs I stopped by Mom Spotted and found this awesome giveaway for a Cuddle ‘n Care 2 in 1 Bassinet and Incline Sleeper from Kolcraft.

There are so many features I love about this bassinet and think it would be perfect for Baby Cinco! We had a Kolcraft bassinet in the past and the sound, vibrate, and rocking features are great. What I love about this new one is the incline feature to help alleviate colic and congestion.
Visit Mom Spotted for information on how to enter!

New Beginnings

Hello Mama Smile fans...I've missed you! Life has been busy around our house, and it doesn't look like things are going to slow down anytime soon. In August we received some surprising news...

It looks like I will be needing to change my blog description to "mama of FIVE!" The shock is still wearing off, but I am so blessed!
I am so excited to be blogging again and have lots of fun things to share with you!!! I think the comeback party should begin with a giveaway, don't you?! Check back later this week for more details!