The King's Christmas List by Eldon Johnson

I recently joined BookSneeze by Thomas Nelson and will be reviewing their books from time to time.  The first book I chose to review is The King's Christmas List by Eldon Johnson.


Emma and her dog Shu-Shu are going to visit the king, bearing gifts.  Along the way they meet people in need and end up giving away the King's gifts.  When they finally arrive, the King is thrilled and a discussion ensues about giving to others.  At the back of the book is a website thekingsadventure.com where you can go and find opportunities to give things to people in need (water, chickens for food and farming, etc).


I love the concept of this book and plan to explore it more with Lucy and Julia as we approach Christmas.  The website still says "coming soon", so we haven't been able to visit yet.  The book reminded me somewhat of a Dora episode with a moral at the end.  Not a bad thing, but I think some of the elements of the story could have been further developed.  At the end of the book the people Emma helped turn out to be angels, which might confuse my girls.  I think this book will lead to some great discussions in our family and look forward to reading it more as the holiday season approaches.

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  

Moboleez Breastfeeding Hat - Giveaway!

Esther is at the stage where she kicks and fights a nursing cover.  Its kind of like trying to put a blanket over a monkey.  Arms, boobs, and milk go flying everywhere.  Often its more discreet to just nurse her without a cover.  I've recently discovered MoBoleez breastfeeding hats though and have been enjoying mine.

Instead of a nursing cover, the baby wears the hat while nursing.  I found the hat to be plenty big enough and it covers Esther and I well.  If she sits up or turns her head at all I am uncovered, but I just quickly pull my shirt down.  I really like not being under a big nursing tent and enjoy the privacy it adds while nursing.

MoBoleez Breastfeeding Hats come in all sorts of fun colors.  Esther and I got to review the Tropical Tiles hat.  This one is reversible to a plain brown side.  The hat (not the brim) is stretchy, so it stays on Esther's head nicely and doesn't slip off.  Its a bit too floppy for her to really wear it as a hat though, it kept falling down in her face.  I just keep it in the diaper bag and slip it on her when its time to nurse.  I do still love my nursing cover for the early days, but this is a fun alternative.

Would you like to win one?  MoBoleez is giving one winner a hat of your choice!  They just ask that the winner post a little review on their Facebook page saying what you think of the hat/ design/ idea/ etc.

To enter the giveaway check out the MoBoleez site and let me know which hat you would choose.  If you are a confirmed email subscriber of my blog (or become one), leave an extra comment for a second entry.  Be sure to include an email address or have it enabled in your profile.  I'll close the giveaway on October 1 at midnight.  Good luck!

Giveaway now closed.  Random.org picked comment #1 :)

New Mom Gumbo

This is one of the easiest recipes I've ever made.  I got this from Becky, a sweet mom of five who goes to our church.  She is always cooking meals for people and loves taking gifts from the church to new moms in our congregation.  She sent me this recipe the other day, and I tried it out last weekend when we were all sick.  I'm definitely adding it to my recipe book.

Place in crock-pot:
3 chicken breasts, cut in 1/2 (can be frozen or thawed)
small onion, chopped
1 tsp salt, pepper, and garlic powder
1 cup dry beans (northern or pinto) - rinse and pick out any bad beans first
4 cups water

Cook on high 3 hours.

Check beans to see if they are tender.  Use a wooden spoon and chop the chicken into pieces.  The beans should look like they are swimming in water, you may need to add more water at this point.  Cook for a couple more hours.

3 hours before you want to eat, add:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups broth
2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh)
corn
paprika, chili powder, salt - season to your liking

The rice will split when it is tender and ready to eat.  We enjoyed it with shredded cheese and cornbread.  Feel free to play with the recipe and change it to your family's liking.  I love that you just put everything in the crock-pot without having to cook the beans, chicken, or rice first.  Perfect for a busy new mom to make, or better yet, for someone to make and deliver to her!  Thanks, Becky!

Find more healthy recipes here: Heavenly Homemakers Recipe Parade

Sweet Pea Heirloom Tomatoes

I'm not exactly a good gardener.  My main problem is that I don't water the plants.  Sweet Pea Tomatoes don't seem to mind though.  They've done great all summer long.

We found these last year at the farmer's market and loved them so much we bought a plant again this year.

The tomatoes are literally the size of a pea and grow in bunches.  It seems like any time we went outside there were tiny ripe tomatoes ready to be eaten.  Lucy loves to go pick and eat whatever ripe ones she can find.  They are sweet and taste delicious on a salad (although they rarely make it inside for that).

If you can find one, I highly recommend getting a Sweet Pea Tomato plant.  ...in the spring.  I know, its totally the wrong season to be telling you about my tomato plant.  I told you I wasn't a gardener.