November 2014 Sharing Time - Week 3

Welcome to November's Sharing Time Linky!

First, our week in review:

This week I shared a recipe for Play Dough Cookies (and yes, you can bake them, and eat them! :).

Yesterday was our 11th Wedding Anniversary!

..and thank you SO MUCH to everyone who voted for my blog in the MiB Canadian Blog Awards!
My blog made it to the top 10 Finalists in both categories that it was nominated in!
(more about that here)

Now, on to the link party- I can't wait to see what you share! :)

Please join the Raising Memories Sharing Time & add a link to your latest and greatest blog posts
about activities to do with your children or fun projects that you have done!

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If you're participating, please share the button on your blog & "hop over" to at least one other blog post that's been linked up- let's support each other!

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11 Years! (& Blog News)

Today is "one of those days". I don't know exactly what it is about today, but I woke up and as soon as I left my bedroom it seemed that things weren't going right. One little thing after another (the bathroom door was locked when I wanted to get in, I made the girls' lunches and then remembered that I had already made them last night, so I had an extra lunch for each girl in the fridge and today is Friday so that doesn't even help me.. bagged lunches on Saturday I guess?... the girls didn't get ready or listen to my instructions as quickly as I wanted, my hands were particularly sore this morning, the dishwasher still wasn't finished being cleared after asking someone to do it yesterday... those sorts of things. All very little things, but for some reason, I seemed to be more sensitive to them and by the time the girls were on the school bus, I was ready to cry! Do you have days like this?

Well, things are getting better now and it will surely be a nice day in the end. Today is a special day after all, because it's our 11th Wedding Anniversary! I can't believe that day was over a decade ago!

In other good news, the finalists for the MiB Canadian Blog Awards were announced last night and I was so excited to see that this blog has made it into the top 10 finalists in BOTH of the categories it was up for! I didn't know what my chances were, so I was thrilled when I scrolled down the list of great blogs to find mine included! I wanted to say thank you to everyone who voted for Raising Memories! The final decision for the winners will be made by a jury, so it's out of our hands now :) I'm just thrilled to have made it this far, but I'm excited to see what happens in the end. There are a lot of great blogs that made it to the finals and it's fun to check them out and discover the ones that I didn't know about! If you want to check them out, just click on the buttons below to see the other blogs that made it to the finals in each of those categories.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
(and for those of you in the U.S., I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday!)

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Christmas Play Dough Cookies

These Twisted Candy Cane Cookies are just a twist on the Rainbow Play Dough Cookies recipe we used for St. Patrick's Day! (that post has been one of my most popular posts on this blog!)  I've been wanting to do a Christmas version of them for a while so this year, we made them again with just red and green dough and made them very Christmas-y!

I shared a bake-ahead Christmas cookie recipe last week (check it out here) and today I'm back with another one.

I took pictures while making these Candy Cane Cookies so I could share a step-by-step recipe with you!

Twisted Candy Cane Cookies

Ingredients

November 2014 Sharing Time - Week 3

Welcome to November's Sharing Time Linky!
First, our week in review:

This week Talia shared her second Book Review for a Children's book called Sam's Christmas Wish.

I posted about our Cold Weather Eczema issues & what we're trying for that this year.

On Thursday I started to share some Christmas baking with a recipe for Candy Cane Junior Mint Thumbprint Cookies

..and if you haven't had a chance yet, you can vote for my blog (because it's up for an award!)

Just click on the banner below (you can vote once in each of the 2 categories)
Then click on the blue button that says "VOTE FOR ME +1" and you're done!

Now, on to the link party- I can't wait to see what you share! :)

Please join the Raising Memories Sharing Time & add a link to your latest and greatest blog posts
about activities to do with your children or fun projects that you have done!

 ---------------------------------------

If you're participating, please share the button on your blog & "hop over" to at least one other blog post that's been linked up- let's support each other!

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Christmas Baking - Junior Mint Thumbprint Cookies

Today I want to share a Junior Mint Thumbprint Cookie recipe that we have been loving!

Junior Mint Thumbprint Cookies

You'll Need:

3/4 cup room temperature butter
1/2 cup sugar (1/4 cup for recipe, 1/4 cup for dipping)
1 egg, separated
1 tsp Vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup crushed candy canes
40 Junior Mint Candies (or 2 1.84 ounce boxes)

Instructions:

Mix together butter and sugar. add the egg yolk and vanilla. Then add the flour a little at a time. Mix in candy canes just enough to get them spread evenly throughout the dough.

Next, put the remaining sugar in a bowl- I used a shallow soup plate.  Beat the egg white to make it frothy (just with a fork, for about 30 seconds).  Make balls of dough and dip them in the egg white and roll them in the sugar.

Bake on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Make finger or thumb prints in the cookies, then bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

As soon as they come out of the oven, press a Junior mint into the thumbprint of each cookies.  You can then put the cookie sheet back in the oven for about a minute then take it back out and let the cookies cook for a couple of minutes before putting them on a cooling rack.

Junior Mint Cookies

If you try these Junior Mint Cookies, I hope you love them as much as we do! :)

Note: I found this recipe in Savoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites by Sara Wells & Kate Jones from Our Best Bites.  Their cookbook includes a ton of great recipes that we love- I totally recommend it!

More Great Christmas Cookie Recipes:

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Sam's Christmas Wish

It's time for another book review, and this one is a children's Christmas book! :)  The book is called Sam's Christmas Wish and it's written by George D. Durrant and published by Shadow Mountain.  

This is a hardcover book (29 pages) with beautiful illustrations.  I'm sharing a couple of page spreads so you can get a glimpse of the interior.  The illustrator is Dan Burr.

Eczema Prevention in the Winter Months

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias

If you've struggled with Winter Eczema then you know how nice it is to find a product that works for you!  

Winter Eczema

My poor family has a rough time with their skin during the winter months! I get super dry, itchy legs. Ken's hands get dry, red, rough, and sometimes crack and bleed. The girls' hands are a lot like Ken's and even Katrina's face can get pink and rough from playing out in the cold. Fortunately, it's still early so nobody's skin is TOO bad yet.  However, it has already started snowing quite a bit here, so I know the Eczema is all about to hit!

Below is a photo of our backyard as I type this, and of Katrina's poor cheeks last year during Winter:

Where to Buy Polysporin Eczema Essentials

We have tried several different products and almost none of them have helped, so we were happy to try out one of Polysporin®'s Eczema Essentials products!  When Talia & I were on a trip to Walmart, we stopped in their Pharmacy area to look for them to try and have them on hand when the the winter Eczema hits!  First we tried near the Polysporin ointment (it wasn't there), then we tried near the other creams and skin products and we found it there.  We bought the POLYSPORIN® ECZEMA ESSENTIALS Daily Moisturizing cream.

Ken's hands had already started to get a bit rough when we went out to buy the cream, as you can see in this photo (I've circled his problem areas).  This is where his skin can get very red and crack and bleed if he isn't really careful.

Polysporin Eczema Essentials Daily Moisturizing Cream

He's been using the moisturizing cream on his hands, I've been using it on my legs, and the girls use it on their hands (and Katrina's cheeks).  We've been using it for a week and I haven't seen anyone's symptoms get worse, so I'm feeling good about the product so far!  I'm excited because it seems to be keeping my legs good too (whenever they start to itch, I just use the lotion, and it seems to be keeping it at bay)!  Normally, during the dry winter months, my legs get so itchy I can't resist scratching (and then they hurt because I scratch too much and it's a vicious cycle!) 

I'm glad we were able to start trying this product early and I'm hoping it will prevent everyone's skin from getting worse this year!  If you haven't tried it yet for your Eczema in the winter, it's worth a try to see if it's "the one" for you!

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