Wordless Wednesday

What is wordless wednesday?

Food Should Taste Good - Chip Review

We received some of the new chip varieties from Food Should Taste Good. I would describe these as “gourmet” potato chips. Sounds funny, but that’s what they remind me of. They have lots of great flavors (and some really unique – Chocolate or Cinnamon flavored chips anyone?)

According to the company, their chips are made with high-quality all-natural ingredients. They are gluten free, cholesterol free, and have no trans fats. They are also lower in sodium and are a good source of fiber. A chip that is relatively good for you. I like this! And the best part is that they taste good too.

For this review, we got together with all our kids and had a chip tasting party.

We tried the new flavors – Multigrain, Cinnamon, Potato & Chive, Lime, and Yellow Corn.

If you are trying to decide which new flavor to try, here’s what we thought:

Multigrain – These remind me of what you would get if you crossed a cracker with a chip. They have a great texture and a sesame flavor. Everyone liked these, especially Jennette’s oldest daughter. This was the bag that she kept coming back to.  I tried them with hummus dip and it was pretty good!

Cinnamon - These were interesting. Not a big hit with the adults, but the kids loved them. We tried one of the dipping suggestions on the bag (applesauce) and two of the kids loved it. These are the kind that my son wants more of. When I went to re-taste them before writing this review, my son had eaten them all, leaving only a few crumbs in the bag. (Yes, I was re-tasting. Hey, you have to be thorough right? Ok, I’ll make any excuse I can to eat chips!)

Potato & Chive - This flavor wasn’t anyone’s favorite. The taste reminded us of breakfast potatoes. We tried them with a little sour cream for dip and that was good, but they still weren’t our favorite.

Lime- These were tasty - a nice light texture with a nice light lime taste. These were the favorite of Jennette’s youngest daughter and my husband.

Yellow Corn - These were the overall favorite for kids and adults alike. A light crispy texture, lightly salted. These reminded me of the chips at a good Mexican restaurant. I even put a few in the oven to warm them, very yummy!  Good warm, good cold, and great with bean dip!

There are also lots of other flavors that we haven’t tried yet. (I’m thinking I’ll be trying Chocolate or Olive next.)

One of the cool things about Food Should Taste Good Chips is on the back of each bag, they have some dip suggestions that would go nicely with that flavor of chips. Very cool! There are also some neat recipes for dips on the Food Should Taste Good website.

The chips are available at tons of stores (click here a store finder in your area)
I love that Food Should Taste Good Chips are healthier than many other chips, they are not greasy, and that they taste good.  If you have tried these chips, we'd love to hear your opinion. Please leave us a comment. Enjoy!







Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

Sight Word Path Game- Dice Variation

Here is another variation on the Sight Word Path game.
In the original sight word path game, you have your child lay the sight words flashcards out in a path, choose their favorite car/animal/little doll etc. and as the toy walks down the path, it “reads” each word.

Lisa at Tip Top Designs says that she and her daughter Carmen have added a twist to this game. In their twist, you use a pair of dice. You roll the dice and your child moves his or her car along the path. Whatever word the marker lands on, if your child reads it correctly, you remove the word from the path.

I love this  variation because by using a pair of dice, it allows you to also work on math skills since they have to add the two numbers together and count in order to know how many spaces to move.  For younger children, you could always say the math problem aloud.  I imagine this one can be done as a path or, depending on the number of flashcards, you could arrange the cards in a circle or square.

Thanks to Lisa at Tip Top Designs for this variation. Please leave a comment to let us know how this variation works for you and your child.






Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

Wordless Wednesday

Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

Mark-My-Time Digital Bookmark Review

I recently purchased mark-my-time bookmarks, and I love them! The Mark-My-Time Bookmark is a flexible plastic bookmark and has a timer at the top.  I got one for each of my kids.

My kids have to do at least 20 minutes of reading per night for homework, and these bookmarks are perfect for that. It’s also great because the bookmark/timer always stays in the book they are currently reading. No lost timers when it is time to sit down and read.

Another really cool thing about the timers is that they have two different ways that they can be set. There is a count down setting where you put in the amount of time that you want to read, and it will beep when you are done. And they have a count up feature where you start the timer and press stop it when you are done and it will tell you the total time read. Very cool! And you can pause the timer for snack or potty breaks. The two different settings make it great for everyone because kids who love to read can use the count up feature to know how long they have read, and reluctant readers can use the countdown feature so they can meet their minimum times.

I think the best part is that the kids are now timing themselves. There is no more “Am-I-done-yet? How-much-longer?” type questions from my reluctant reader. You are done when the timer beeps. And I don’t have to keep watching the time for my child who loves to read to know the amount of time to write down on the reading log from school. I just look number on the timer when she is finished.

Reading is a really important skill for kids to develop; it is necessary to do well in most of the other subjects. And like anything, the way to improve is by practicing. I love that my kids now have an easy way of timing their practice. And I love that it’s stress-free for me!








Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

7 Keys to Comprehension: How to Help Your Kids Read It and Get It!

Authors: Susan Zimmermann and Chryse Hutchins

Since I've been doing some posts on sight word games, I thought it seemed like a good time to do a book review on a book that deals with kids learning to read.

If you have kids or are a teacher, 7 Keys to Comprehension is a great book to help with understanding the reading process. Reading is a very important skill for children to develop because reading skills are used in learning all of their other subjects. My daughter’s teacher recommended this book to all of the parents.

I’ve always loved to read, so to me many of these tips seemed like they were something you would just automatically do, but even if you do them you don't necessarily understand what you are doing well enough to teach it. And many kids, often the ones who don’t enjoy reading, don’t naturally do these things.

This is a great book that helps you understand what happens when a child is learning to read, and it gives tips and advice on what you can do to help your child understand what they are reading and develop a love of reading. They have looked at what good readers do when they read and found that they are skills that all children can learn.
Being able to “sound it out” is only one part of what goes on to be able to read effectively. Even kids who can read aloud flawlessly sometimes don’t understand what they are reading. And if kids aren’t understanding or aren’t able to picture what they are reading, they aren’t going to enjoy it.

This book has tips for different ages in each chapter for teachers, parents, and working together. I found many of the teacher tips also applied at home so be sure not to skip those sections even if you aren’t a teacher.  From what I can see this book is most helpful for kids from preschool through elementary school, but there does seem to be tips and ideas that apply to all ages.

It also has some tips that you can teach your kids to help them know when they aren’t fully understanding what they are reading. And then some “fix up” tips to help them get back on track.

I try to read with my kids every night, and I’ve been using many of the tips in this book as we read. For example, many kids don’t make predictions about what is going to happen. If you don’t make predictions you aren’t as involved in the story. So as we read, the book suggests that you stop and ask “what do you think is going to happen next?” and then you read to find out.  It seems to be getting my son much more involved in the stories.

This book has been great in helping me understand what is going on as my kids are learning and improving their reading abilities.






Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

Gift Tags, Product Tags Any Kind of Tags Tutorial

Before sewing and a few years before my youngest I loved to scrapbook. Nothing serious just a few here and there. I have had a scrapbook stash for years put away until this afternoon. I got it out and found some really cute scrap booking paper and and decided on making a few things. I made some really cute and unique tags.(Or at least I like them)!

Fishing for Goldfish Snack

Fishing for Goldfish

I’m not sure where I first saw this one, but my kids have loved it for years.
You put pretzels (the straight kind), goldfish crackers, and a bit of peanut butter on a plate.

The kids eat the snack by “fishing.” They dip the end of a pretzel in the peanut butter and then catch a goldfish by sticking the peanut butter end to it.  It makes for a quick, fun, and fairly healthy snack that they will love.

TIPS
• Those with peanut allergies can substitute cream cheese to get the fish to stick to the "pole."
• Warning- never give a young child a gob of peanut butter as it is a choking hazard.

Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

{Christmas Kid's Craft - Reindeer Food and Holder} + (printable)

This  is a fun Christmas Craft of  reindeer "food" to sprinkle on the lawn for Santa's reindeer to eat, and a cute little reindeer holder to hold the bag of food until Christmas Eve.  Here's instructions for both projects:

Reindeer Holder to Hang onto the Reindeer Food 'til Christmas Eve

This reindeer holds your bag of reindeer food until Christmas Eve.

Supplies

• 1 piece of construction paper (brown or tan or funky reindeer color of your choice)
• Smart and Trendy Printable for eyes, antlers, etc
• Crayons or markers, scissors, glue, tape

Steps

1. Fold the construction paper lengthwise, and cut down the center.
2. Fold in the corners at one end

3. Make a fold about an inch down from that

4. Print the Smart and Trendy Moms Reindeer Food Printable (click here for the printable)
5. Color and cut out the pieces on the printable.
6. Glue the pieces onto the reindeer (antlers are glued behind so they stick up over the back)
7. Tape the bag of reindeer food into his mouth so the reindeer can hold it until Christmas Eve when it's time to spinkle the reindeer food on the lawn.

Reindeer Food

You leave cookies out for Santa every year. Why not make some “reindeer food” to sprinkle on the lawn for Dasher, Dancer, and the rest of the team?

Here is the recipe:

• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons of cake decorating sugar ( It’s coarser than regular sugar. You can also use glitter – it looks pretty, but it’s not as environmentally friendly)
• a paper heart for love (a heart printable is included in the reindeer holder directions)

Add the ingredients to a plastic sandwich bag and shake to mix.
Then on Christmas Eve, you head outside before bed and sprinkle it on the lawn for Santa’s reindeer to eat.

Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

Wordless Wednesday

Sight Word Path - Game for Kids to Study Sight Words

This is a twist on the standard flashcard method and worked well for my son to get those first 100 words.  (What are Sight Words?)

Instead of just flipping through the flashcards over and over, he takes the words that he knows and lays them out to make a path down the hall. We go through the couple of new words that we are adding a few times (the regular flashcard way) until he starts to “get” them. Then, we mix them in with the others in the path.

He chooses his favorite toy (usually a car or a little plastic animal) and the toy drives/walks/hops down the path and reads each word as it lands on the card.

We make a big deal over how long the path is getting and, wow, if he keeps practicing it will go all the way down the hall. He loves this. He practices so much longer and with a much better attitude than if it were just flipping through the flashcards the normal way.

The toy also “reads” the words as it picks up the cards when we are finished. (Extra practice and clean up all in one!)







Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

Cook's Ham $30 Gift Certificate Giveaway and ReviewCLOSED

If you are fearing the ghost of holiday meals past, then this contest is for you! Our family loves ham, we love to eat ham around the holidays or any given day. Cook's Hams are the very best and are most often what we buy. The flavors are great and of so juicy! With so many choices available you can visit http://www.cooksham.com/recipes/ for great recipe ideas!
Here is one that I love and would recommend.

{Hand and Feet Reindeer} – Kids Christmas Craft Project

This is a simple and fun Christmas craft project that requires very little supplies.  The reindeer are made from construction paper using your child's, or your own :-) , hand and foot prints.

The kids love doing this as a family project where we each make one. They love hanging mom and dad reindeer and the kid reindeer on the wall. It’s fun to see the personality that each of us give the reindeer. Some years the kids have made hats and scarves or earrings or used the “googly” eyes from the craft store.

Boise in December, No snow yet..... ODD??

Creation Box

Make a “Creation Box”  You fill a large box with left over containers, cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, beans, yarn and any other interesting recycled stuff. Then, when it’s time to create, you give the kids glue, tape,scissors (if age appropriate), crayons and markers and encourage them to use their imaginations. This idea comes from my son’s classroom.  They have a box like this and the kids absolutely love it!  They even use it as a reward for earning good behavior points.

Some kids might need a little encouragement at first, but once they get creating, they usually really enjoy it. And the ideas never seem to stop flowing! It’s great because it encourages creativity and lets them re-use things -- oatmeal jars become “rockets,” boxes and tubes get put together with beans inside to become musical instruments, paper towel rolls become binoculars.

The Creation Box makes a great occasional or rainy-day activity or even a reward.

Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

What is Wordless Wednesday?

When I first saw Wordless Wednesday, I had no idea what it was so I did a little investigating.

Ever hear the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words?” That’s the idea behind wordless Wednesday.

On Wordless Wednesday, a blogger’s only post for the day is a photo - no words or caption - just a photo that tells the story itself. ( This is by the strictest definition, although sometimes it's hard to follow.  We're bloggers - we write - thats what we do! )

There is even a blog dedicated to “Wordless Wednesday” that lists sites that are participating (http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/).

Oh, and don’t worry this post was written on a Tuesday.

Pig Pancakes

I'm always looking for ways to make food fun for the kids.  I saw this idea on the Betty Crocker website and had to try it.

You make one large pancake and two smaller pancakes.  The large pancake is the head.  One of the smaller pancakes becomes the nose. You cut the other small one in

Zuvo Water Purator Review

Concerned about the safety of your tap water? Tired of spending tons of money on bottled water, while feeling guilty about the effect of all those plastic bottles have on the environment? I know I am!
Zuvo has sent me one of their Zuvo water purators Model ZPS130 Brushed aluminum metal finish to review. I drink a lot of water, up to two gallons per day. I have been really excited about trying a product that reduces potentially unhealthy contaminants in my family's drinking water without compromising great taste.

"What are Your 5 Favorite Holiday Activities to do with Your Kids?"

My family and I love the holidays, So many great and fun things you can do with your kids. My kids are getting older so my holiday activities change a bit from year to year.

My top 5 things I do with my kids for the holidays

1. We love to string popcorn for tree decorations, We never get tired of doing this.The little ones will enjoy this on this year!

2. We love to come up with new and fun things to decorate our snowmen with, kind of a game on who can come up with the most unique item.

3. Making holiday cookies was my favorite as a kid, and now is my favorite with my kids.

4. We really enjoy making paper snowflakes, all sizes and colors. We decorate the house and windows with them.

5. Decorating pinecones is a must for my kids and I, we like using glitter, paint and anything we can find, we put these on the tree!

I would love to here what you guys do with your family during the holidays.
This is part of the Dora Christmas Carol Contest
Stop by TwitterMoms to find out more.
And remember to watch Dora’s Christmas Carol premiere on Nickelodeon on 12/6 @ 8PM EST!

Fun and Trendy Gift Wrapping Tutorial and Project

I love everything about the holidays, and I am one that loves to wrap presents. I am by no means an expert but as the head gift wrapper in my house I have learned a few cool things that I would love to share with you guys!

Blue Ridge Gypsy Studio Review

If you are anything like me you care about your skin and what you put on it. I find myself looking at ingredients more and more as I am getting older. I love to find products that use natural ingredients. Blue Ridge Gypsy Studios products contain just that.

Joey Town Play Mat Review and Giveaway CLOSED

Parents just in time for the holidays, a affordable Joey Town Play Mat. Joey town offers this great play mat at the great price of only 19.95. Not only is it inexpensive but offers hours of fun for kids of any age!

Initially Yours Giveaway and review 11/30CLOSED

I want to tell you about Initially Yours, they are the source for all of your personalization needs. They specialize in affordable and unique monogrammed gifts for everyone and every occasion.
Initially Yours was created by a mother and daughter team, they have everything from totes, apparel, drinkware, gifts and so much more.

What are Sight Words?

Sight words are words that your child needs to quickly recognize in order to read fluently. The “fry words” are a list of the most common sight words ranked in order of frequency.  (There is also the Dolch list of 220 words, but our elementary school uses the Fry list.)

Most "fry" lists I’ve seen have a total of 600 words. The first 100 words on his list are the most common words and make up about ½ of everything that we read. So if kids learn to read these common words on sight, it makes reading so much easier for them.

My kids get bored with doing flashcards over and over, but repetition is what helps kids be able to recognize the words instantly. I found that I needed a way to keep the kids interested while learning. I will be posting some of the sight word games that have worked for my kids. Hopefully one or more of these will work your kids.

Sight Word Game Ideas
Sight Word Path
Sight Word Path - Dice Variation
Sight Word  Go Fish

More coming soon . . .










Smart and Trendy Moms finds products, ideas, projects, recipies, and other information that we have personally found helpful or interesting.  As always, it is up to you to determine what is appropriate for you, your children, and your situation.  See our Disclaimer

Giveaway and Review: Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion 11/30

I love finding new products and sharing them with you guys. Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion has been tested on my over sensitive super dry skin...And I love it.

Sweet Harvey Set of 10 Note cards/Envelopes in Poppy

We have yet another great giveaway, this time from Brandi at Sweet Harvey,
Sweet Harvey Letterpress LLC is a small design studio specializing in original illustration, letterpress printing & custom design. Combining modern illustration & design with vintage printing techniques to create a truly unique product for you.

Little Diva Tutus Snowflake Princess Fairy Review and Giveaway 11/30

I have a great review and giveaway for you just in time for the holidays, The Snowflake Princess Fairy Set from Little Diva Tutus. This set is new to their collection and comes with white or blue triple layer snowflake tutu, butterfly wand, headband with flower, and wings.

My Baby Bowtique Holiday Blooming Hat Giveaway

We have another great giveaway, this one is from Carol at My Baby Bowtique.This shop carries everything for your little princess. From hats to clips and bows, she has great handmade items at great prices.

The Ultimate Cloth Review

I have always been a cleaner, thats just me. I have a regular cleaning schedule for my house. And oh boy everyone knows when that day is by mommies cleaning apron with pockets jammed full of paper towels and cleaners ready to go....

UPrinting 50 Custom Thank you cards/envelope Giveaway 11/14

I am so excited about joining the blog sponsoring program at 
UPrinting. I had won a giveaway from them for business cards and I could not be happier with the customer service to the services they offer.

Mane Theory Le Angelique Heated Eyelash Curler Review

I would love to introduce you to my newest accessory, The Le Angelique Heated Eye Lash Curler. I had never heard of these before, Thanks to Mane Theory I was able to try one! I was given The Le Angelique Heated Eye Lash Curler in White.

Creative Fly Designz Review

Creative Fly Designz is a great little shop that has handmade one of a kind crochet necklaces, lariats and accessories. The cute little creature to our right is a Aromigurumi.

Itz Fitz Review and Giveaway ends11/04

If you are into Personalized Handpainted Keepsakes then Jen at Itz Fitz is your gal, She makes the sweetest little keepsakes for decorating rooms,doors. Her little piggy banks are adorable and the handpainted personalized tiles she has would make a great gift or decoration.

The Spell It Out Wooden Letter Displays rock at Itz Fitz. She was so sweet and made me a custom one to match my sons room and name. It arrived really quick and is custom and personalized.

Sensual Scents Giveaway and ReviewCLOSED

Forget Me Not Mineral Makeup Giveaway and Review CLOSED

SportySweetie GIVEAWAY tutu outfit inspired by your favorite sports team (Ends 10-20-09)CLOSED

The Laugh and Learn Smart Bounce & Spin Pony ™ Review

My son Sky has received The Laugh and Learn Smart Bounce & Spin Pony ™ From Fisher Price, His eyes lit up when I took it out of the box. The pony went together quickly with just a few screws.
Before I knew it he was bouncing and spinning up a storm, we had been using it as a stand alone but when we hooked it up to the T.V , my son was
so fascinated by it.He is not yet at level two but will be soon. The thing I loved best is the ease of bringing from room to room.I have even put it my car and brought it along for family weekends and it has proven to be a great toy that my son loves to play with.

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn™ Fun With Friends™ Musical Table Review and Reader Discount....

The Laugh & Learn™ Fun With Friends™ Musical Table makes learning fun. Each corner has a different interactive center complete with light and sounds that will keep your baby busy. Your baby will love the entertainment of learning letters, numbers, counting, colors, shapes,animals, opposites and more.