Sure, a vacation with kids is no “vacation” but it’s still so nice to get-away! We were able to escape for a long weekend to Rocking Horse Ranch Resort with several friends and their kids, and it was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Our experience far exceeded my expectations, which were set kinda high given the type of person that I am! We stayed inside the Main Lodge in a newly-remodeled impeccably clean room complete with 2 queen beds and bunk beds. Everything we needed was within steps from our room, which makes the getaway much less stressful when toting little ones all around.

Most of our time was spent here:

Miss Mac and Buckaroo have always been water babies, and what I liked most was that the pool area was small enough where you could comfortably sit back and watch your child play {with the most delicious strawberry margaritas in hand} without having to get too wet yourself, yet you didn’t feel out of place jumping in for a swim with the kids. There was just enough water slides and wading areas to keep the kids entertained indoors. And, did I mention it was clean!?

The all-inclusive resort allows you to take advantage of loads of outdoor activities like skiing, tubing, and horseback riding through the wintry trails. Not knowing if our kids would enjoy these sorts of outdoor winter activities, it was worth our while to at least try them since they were already included in the price. We were able to make a run, or two, down the bunny slope, and we even enjoyed some night-time tubing under the stars. Here is a picture of my family at the top of the slopes getting ready to tube for the first time:

Traveling with children who have severe food allergies is not easy, but the chef at Rocking Horse Ranch made it less intimidating. I came prepared with meals for my kids, but he graciously came out before each meal and offered to make special foods for the kids. These little touches and attention to detail are important to me as a mom of food-allergic kids. I love watching my kids enjoy eating, which is exactly what they did at every meal this weekend. We also really enjoyed the family-style environment that the meals were served in. Having gone away with several families, we were always able to reconnect at mealtimes and enjoy conversation with one another.

Aside from the above mentioned, you have full access to nightly entertainment, an on-site arcade, Wii Game room, playgrounds, pony rides, “Fun Barn” with inflatables and play areas, and even a spa {massage rates were reasonable, too!}.

Our experience at Rocking Horse Ranch was filled with friendly staff, round-the-clock activities for the kids {and the adults!}, delicious meals, and loads of fun. I highly recommend that you look into visiting Rocking Horse Ranch to make some memories of your own.

Oh, and by the way, I really wasn’t lying about those strawberry margaritas!

I’ve teamed up with 5 other women blogger’s in the hopes of breaking out of the staple of stale supper’s. We want to challenge the same old standard’s that we have created for ourselves! We will be pulling out our cookbooks, dusting off our creativity and getting busy in the kitchen.

We will give you recipes, idea’s and inspiration all while blogging about the trials and tribulations of learning new techniques for getting dinner on the table.

Each week we will host a MckLinky blog hop for you to share your recipe posts too! We are looking for some recipes to feature in February…if you have any delicious recipes that you think we should see — Link Up Below!!

I hope that you will join me on my yummy journey!

Many moms are eager to jump into the coveted position of Class Mom. At Back to School Night, I witnessed one literally leap out of her seat to hand the teacher a piece of paper to use as the sign-up sheet. Her name was pre-written in the first spot.

It’s not that I don’t want to be Buckaroo’s class mom; of course I do! I mean, who wouldn’t want to form a relationship with their child’s teacher & get the first invite to class parties? But, in my case, Buckaroo’s 504 Plan stipulates that I need to be the class mom to coordinate all food that will enter the room for parties, so whether or not I wanted the job, it was mine. It was really important to DaddyMac & I that Buckaroo not suffer socially due to his food allergies, and in Kindergarten particularly, class parties are a huge part of their socialization.

But, I am sad to admit that I suck as a class mom.

I never do things half-a$$, that’s just not who I am. I plan pretty cool birthday parties, and I put loads of thought into the simplist gifts. So, why is it so hard for me to step up to the plate with the whole class mom thing?

I think that on some level, I fear that the other moms will view me as that mom–you know, the one who over-does-it to win over the affection of the teacher. The one who is always around. The one who has to control every aspect of the party. That one. I’m not gonna lie, my OCD tendencies put me as a prime candidate to become that mom, and I consciously work at not becoming her. But now I fear that they all think I am the suckiest class mom ever, & that label blows more. {Note to self: stop caring about what other people think.}

In early December, one of the moms left me a message asking if I planned to hold a collection to buy the teacher a nice gift from the class. I called her and said that I planned to do that at the end of the year, but that if she wanted to coordinate it for the holidays, I would appreciate it {see, I’m getting better at delegating. or accepting help I should say.} But then a week before Christmas, I realized no letter went home so I called her.

Me: Hi. It’s the CEO. I remember that you said you’d send a letter home asking for money for the teachers holiday gift. Have you had the chance to send that out?

Her: No.

Me: Okay. Well, there’s just a week left, do you want me to get that done for you? {Note to self: Screw delegating. if you want something done, do it yourself.}

Her: That would be great!

When I told DaddyMac the story, he told me that sending home a note asking for money a week before Christmas would make me look like an a$$ because the other parents would not know this other mom never did her part. I told him that I didn’t care and that I just wanted her to have a nice gift.

The note went home on a Thursday. I got money from 3 kids on Friday. And then it snowed the week of Christmas and the kids never went back to school. I waited to see if money would trickle in those first few days back from the break, but only one more envelope came home to me. So there I was, the morning of the rescheduled class party, buying a $25 Macys Gift Card (possibly the most unthoughtful gift card I could find) for a really fantastic well-deserving teacher.

Then, after feeling guilty for not planning a craft for the kids to make at Halloween, I vowed to have a fun one planned for the holidays. I feverishly drank 15+ bottles of coffeemate creamer since Halloween in order to make these Snowmen with the kids:

Even they sucked too {the vision was much better in my mind, honestly.}

So, there ‘ya have it. If there is any hope for me as a Class Mom, it’ll be because of you, my readers! Please help a fellow Mom out and share some of your best Class Mom/Class Party ideas with me!!

I can’t pass through the check-out at the grocery store without grabbing a magazine. My heart pitter-pats to read about the random happenings of those who constantly keep us guessing (you know, the ones who whine that they have no privacy.) I am so drawn to guessing whose cellulite is exposed on the front page, so curious as to who is cheating on whom, and eager see what, in fact, my favorite celebs look like without makeup. I don’t normally go for magazines that provide anything beneficial, such as those boasting new recipes or ways to get killer abs. It’s the trash that I go for. In the blink of an eye, I’ll spend $5 just to get my fix.

This week, though, the latest issue of Cosmopolitan is what caught my attention–a magazine I haven’t read since my early 20′s. I did a double take when reading the lower left headline on the cover & knew instantly that I needed to buy it.

Yup.

“Your Hoo-Ha Handbook: Get a Healthy, Sexy Vagina.”

I wasn’t aware there was anything “sexy” about a vagina. Nor that there could possibly be ways to increase it’s “sexiness.” Truth be told, I didn’t purchase it to learn how to beautify my vajayjay. I bought it because I could not resist seeing if it was a real article that someone was actually paid to write.

The three-page spread shared “15 bits of info to boost your V-Zone comfort level” from everything to an anatomy lesson to, ahem, decoding it’s odor. I’ll do the honors and share some of my favorites with you.

Did you know…your vadge (as they so eloquently refer to it) will not “revirginize” if you’ve gone through a dry spell. My goodness, thanks for clearing that up.

Did you know…things can’t get lost up there ’cause it’s not “a black hole.” Phew!

And Did you know…you can actually pay for a “designer vagina!” On the high end of the scale, you can blow $7,000 for vaginal rejuvenation. This type of procedure is aimed for tightening your vadge. Can’t afford that much? $1,500 will buy you “The G-Shot,” a collagen boost down there that’ll last you three to six months. Decisions, decisions, decisions…

In an attempt to get my money’s worth, I skimmed the rest of the mag in hopes of reading something worth my time. I did, in fact, find a few articles to my liking:

~ “Crave That? Eat This” – an article that gave some great suggestions just in time for my monthly cycle cravings

~ A hilarious column written by my all-time favorite female comedian Chelsea Handler

~ and a “Make Your Own Nude!” cut out spread featuring the heads of some of Hollywood’s hottests (like Robert Pattison, thank you very much!) & a nearly nude body to glue them on.

Despite my utter amusement with that last one, nothing would ever convince me to blow $5 on Cosmo again.

Mellisa & I are SO. VERY. EXCITED. to announce the winners of our Stuff Your Stocking with Giveaways Blog Party! It took a while, but we tallied everything up and had exactly 1800 entries!

Before I announce our GRAND PRIZE WINNER, I want to thank each and every one of you for making this blog party a success for our sponsors. As a special thank you for participating, we are offering 2 runner-up prizes! Each will receive this beautiful set of 4 hand-painted Wine Glasses from Loconuts. Each glass is scripted with the saying “Live, Laugh, Love” and we hope you use them to ring in the new year. Loconuts wine glasses have their own individual charm and detail because each has been painted free hand and signed on the bottom. For this reason, each glass is one of a kind.

Now, onto the big prize…({[BIG VIRTUAL DRUM ROLL PLEASE]})

RANDOM NUMBERS:

B from LIFE IN THE BAT CAVE who said…

I follow you on google

befferannie at aol dot com

Last, but certainly not least, our 2 runner-ups–who will each get a beautiful set of 4 hand-painted wine glasses to stuff in their stockings are…………………….

RANDOM NUMBERS -

CONGRATS to our big winners, and thank you for playing along! I promise to do something like this again in the Spring ’cause it was so much fun!!!

You have until Friday night to enter to win my current Stuff Your Stocking Giveaway, the Personalized Note Pad from Fun & Sassy Designs, & Mellissa’s JAVA BLINGZ Giveaway, but in the meantime, grab our Stuff Your Stocking with Giveaways button, link up below and join in the writing prompt for today! Your linked post will earn you bonus entries to win the GRAND PRIZE–one stocking stuffed with ALL 12 (+!!) Giveaways valued close to $200!!

Mellisa & I want to know….

Who Stuffs YOUR Stocking? and What one thing would you love to get stuffed in it this year??

Like I said in my original Stuff Your Stocking post, I am the one who always stuffs the stockings, mine included. I love my hubby dearly, but the one thing he just isn’t good at is buying gifts. In his defense, I want for nothing. Really. Well, I’m lying, I want a lot of things (who doesn’t!?) but I really don’t need anything because I have plenty. Even though he takes very good care of me the other 364 days a year, I am just still such a baby at Christmas.

Stockings were always a big deal for us growing up. My mom stuffs the best ones, and luckily for me, “Santa” still leaves one for me at her house every year! Sure, she throws things in there like my favorite Dove chocolates, or silly holiday socks, but she always makes sure that real gifts are in there, too. Last year, she stuffed a Vera Bradley All-in-One Wristlet in my stocking. The year my sister wanted her first cell phone, my parents had us open all of our presents and do our stockings last, and at the very bottom of her stocking was the cell phone!! Do you see what I mean??!!

Now, what would I like her to stuff in my stocking this year? I’d love an Etsy.com gift certificate, if they had such a thing! Since they don’t, here are some Etsy finds that I have my eyes on…

Felt Headband from PrettyinPosies

or this charming Personalized Birthstone Necklace from ArtofSilver

Now it’s your turn. Link up below, and earn those extra entries for our Grand Prize Drawing!!

{{[[-*^ VIRTUAL DRUM ROLL PLEASE^*-]]}}

My Friend Mellisa @ Getting All My Ducks in a Row and I are teaming up this Holiday Season to bring you a “Stuff Your Stocking with Giveaways Blog Party!!”

Now, in my house, I am usually (and by usually I mean always) the one who stuffs the stockings–my own included! And while the other 3 people in my family have awesome stocking’s filled with cool gadgets, games, toys and candy, mine always seems to be left ’til the last minute, stuffed with an odd assortment of gifts–like the magazine that just came in the mail that I was gonna read anyway!

Mine may very well be that way again this year (unless DaddyMac reads this post for some reason and gets a clue) but yours doesn’t have to be!! Mellisa and I have teamed up to collect 12 fantastic gifts that we think would make great stocking stuffers for the YOU–the CEO of your house! Here are just a few sneak-peeks at what we’ll have to offer:

Personalized Note Pads from Fun and Sassy DesignsYour very own Classic Kleen Kanteen

Or how about some BLING for your Java??or this super cute Baked Goods inspired Bath & Body set from Philosophy!!

Every Saturday from now through December 19th, Mellisa and I will be hosting a weekly giveaway for an awesome stocking stuffer. Between her blog and mine, you will have a chance to win a total of 12 great gifts!

What’s even more exciting is that ONE of you will have the BEST stocking ever…because one of you will be our Grand Prize Winner!! Every time you comment through entries, you will be in the running to win the Grand Prize!! So, the more you participate, the more chances you have to win–are you ready for this–ALL 12 Stuff Your Stocking Blog Party Gifts totaling over $150, plus this adorable stocking to put them in:

Of course–Bonus Entries will be given for all sorts of things like subscribing to our blogs, posting about this Giveaway Party, and participating in our weekly Holiday-themed writing prompts. Every Tuesday, Mellisa and I will post a prompt that you can write about…and anyone who links up their blog will receive an additional chance at winning.

Are you getting excited??!! WE ARE!!

Now……Would YOU like 5 early entries???!!! Then go ahead and grab our “Stuff Your Stocking Blog Party” button from below and post it on YOUR site & let your readers know how they can participate, too!! Leave a comment below letting us know where to find it on your site!!

copy/paste code below
to post on your
blog:
<a href="www.lifeasaceo.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i35.tinypic.com/20ky91d.jpg" border="0" /></a>

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a special announcement regarding our Stuff Your Stocking Blog Party!!!!