Free Holiday Music!

Now through 1/4/2013, head over here and download 7 Holiday songs on iTunes FREE, courtesy of People Magazine!

Halloween Mama...

It's almost here... October 31st!  And, I need to get everything in order soon- One of my 3 gouls has picked her costume theme but we don't yet agree on how to put it all together.  The other two are showing no signs of selecting an outfit, and I won't be spending $15-$50 at a big box or specialty store to get them dressed up.
So, I'll share my ideas and I hope you will share yours- cause, I need Halloween Help.

THE COSTuME:
(which we already established are too expensive)
I love parenting magazine, did you know they have different editions for parents of different ages?  Here are 35 homemade costume ideas they shared. Look how easy and cute this idea for a bath-tub duck is...  and, from the article you can also link to some great toddler ideas.

 If you are like me, then you are starting to accumulate quite a lot more pins than you will ever use, but if you love it, you might find some of these board offer great ideas:  

1. Connie has lots if great ideas.

2. Slurpee twins

3. Rag Dolls

and, ofcourse, check out 

4. my pinboard "Halloween & Dress-Up"

The CANDY!

There is a dentist in Utah who will buy your kids candy.  When I heard about this I told my sis that I would make my kiddies trick-or-treat all night!  Well, I found a website where you can search for a dentist who is paying in your hood!  Look here.  P.S. - Dentists, you can also go to this site to register your practice to buy back the loot.  I just tested it and found 30 dentists within 20 miles of my house who will pay.

Can't sell it?  How about donating it to the troops?  I just checked with Operation Gratitude, some more folks I just love, and found out they are working with the before mentioned dentists to get that candy spread around the world.  Read here.

What do you have?

SHARE YOUR HALLOWEEN IDEAS by leaving a comment and posting a link to this blog on your facebook page.

Angels on the Playground

Yeah!! School break is ending and most parents are thrilled to take the "I'm bored" complaints and send them to the bus stop with a backpack and kiss.  As a working mom I haven't listened to any statements of boredom, but I am looking forward to my angels having obligations and responsibilities again so they won't have time to complain about mine. (I suppose kids who have to get up early and go to daycare feel they are cheated out of the lazy mornings and sleeping late.)

I have had a lot of luck this weekend getting ready for school.  Thanks to Target for all the clearance items we just ordered online!  I got two pair of shoes, 3 shirts, and a skirt for less than $50.  And Walmart let me turn a frown upside down for $10 with the purchase of a fairy backpack because there is a boy who made fun of the Dora backpack.

I also opened my copy of "Parenting, the school years"  with lots of ideas for getting back to school.  One of my favorite was making morning easier (Sept. 2012 Manic-Morning Makeovers) by implementing a solution to the trouble of choosing breakfast or paying a small fortune for school breakfast which usually consisted of 3 servings of processed grains.  Writer Janene Macarella suggests a set menu such as Monday= waffles, Tuesday = cold cereal, Wednesday = bagels, Thursday = Oatmeal, Friday = yogurt and fruit.  Sounds genius to me!  We can make breakfast to be eaten at school (because the time between car pool drop off and starting school is long).  And, I regain control over the quality and content of the meals.  So today I am making homemade granola!  I am trying the first of two recipies I have on hand, and it sounds like it will be super easy.  I got this recipe from  a coworker who swears by its flavor and simplicity.

4 Cups Oats (Old Fashioned are best)
1 Cup Almonds (whole, chopped, slivered, etc)
1 Cup Coconut
1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/4 Cup Sesame Seeds
1/4 Cup Flax Seeds
2/3 Cup Maple Syrup
2/3 Cup Canola Oil

I have been assured this is a "whatever's-in-the-cupboard" recipe.  Use what you have, make adaptations...

Combine dry ingredients. Combine syrup and oil together in a separate bowl and pour over dry ingredients. Blend well until everything's moistened.  Spread mixture on two baking sheets. Sprinkle brown sugar on top to taste. Bake in 325º oven for 25 minutes, until light golden brown.
Scrape and turn/move granola on baking sheet; keep scooping and mixing until it doesn't stick anymore…don't let it sit or it'll stick like glue. If it does
stick, put it back in oven to re-warm and scrape when you take it out. Let cool completely before storing in container.

If you try this recipe please write a comment and let me know how it turned out.  I have not finished my batch, so I don't have any results for you yet!

I would love to hear how you are making the transition to School Days again.

More ideas about parenting and living can be found on my pinboards soon.  

Watch for RaisingWildAngels at Pintrest.

The birth of "Raising Wild Angels"

I have been working for months to find a blog idea that would give me an outlet for all the things that are important in my life.  I have a spot to blog about my breast cancer (here) but I want to keep that blog dedicated to coping with cancer.  I like to cook, or I used to like to cook, but I can't do a Food Blog like my friend, Real Mom Kitchen, I love travel, I dream about great decorating themes, I used to craft, ... and the list goes on, but none of these topics where things I could blog about with long term imagination and excitement.
Finally, PoP! the light bulb came on- write about me, my life, and the things I know about in the only way that ties it all together, as me.
So here's ME! I am a woman who likes to see the world, appreciates other's talents and I have a few moments of my own genius, but it in end it all boils down to what I do to raise my kids, my wild angels, the best way I know how.

Why "Wild Angels"? What could be a better description of the wonder and struggle that motherhood brings?  The term comes from the song "Wild Angels" by Martina McBride.  From the time my oldest could sing we would belt that tune out as we drove.  The song is really about a different type of wild angel, but for me the chorus always reminds me "it must'a been Wild Angels watching over me".  My kids are the angels who give me the drive to keep fighting the good fight.  If I didn't love them so much I wouldn't work so hard to be my best and give them the best I can.
I thank Heavenly Father for the blessing of raising my angels, I count on His power to make me enough to succeed, and I am grateful for each day I have on earth with these wonderful babies who are both wild and angelic.