Thanksgiving Tradition

I come from a large family that Loves tradition and I hope to pass that on to my boys. The Holidays bring so much joy, especially when you have special family traditions to look forward to. Every year we try our best to make it to both families houses for dinner, the more kids we have the more difficult it seems to get, but we've got a good record so far.

Every year on Thanksgiving we put everyone's names in a bowl and draw names for our Christmas Secret Santa gift exchange. The secret fun to this family tradition: When all the kids go into the other room and switch names so they buy a gift for who they want to and get to choose who picks their gift. Terrible I know, but kids will be kids, shhhh don't tell Mom.

Crafts and creativity have always been a very important part of the holidays. A tradition my sister and I started when we were younger was making a Thanksgiving pinata. Any excuse to get a bunch of candy.... So we would make our own pinata from balloons covered in paper and glue and do our best to make it resemble a turkey. I looked forward to that turkey so much more than the one in the oven :) This is a great tradition if you have a lot of kids in your family. The making of the bird is fun and the breaking .... well, who doesn't love a pinata?

Another craft tradition would be the hand print turkeys and the potato turkeys, you can't celebrate Thanksgiving without them :)

And then there's Football. I am not a sports person, I don't follow any of them at all. But you better believe the game is on and if you even THINK about changing the channel.... watch out!

Thanksgiving is also that time of year when you get all your favorite dishes. Everyone brings that dish they are famous for .... or a new one if they're new to the adult potluck tradition. Grandma's green marshmallow salad, Mom's cheesy potatoes (OMG!)! I remember one of my first years joining this tradition my Mom gave me the easy task of bringing the green bean casserole. Easy right? Everyone knows the traditional green bean casserole, how hard could it be? Well just be sure you use FRIED onions and not DRIED onions in your casserole, lol. Big difference..... I shall never live it down. Now Mike and I are famous for something much more tasty, Chocolate covered cheesecake bites. Homemade (or store bought when we're busy) cheesecake made into little bites, dipped in yummy chocolate and dipped in crushed graham crackers or my favorite, Heath toffee bits. Take that green bean casserole.

I hope to pass all of these traditions to my boys and come up with some new ones along the way!

What is your favorite Holiday tradition?

Special thank you to Twittermoms and Target for this fun blogging opportunity!

Click here to find a Target store near you! <-- PS: I Love Target!

The Color Of Autism

November is a month where many people try to give more thanks, although I hope we all give thanks every day. The Color Of Autism is a non-profit organization that I think many families are thankful for. Visit thecolorofautism.org today and take a look around, help if you can.

The Color of Autism Foundation is a non-profit organization trying to raise awareness. They are committed to raising public awareness about autism spectrum disorders and devoted to empowering families and lessening their isolation. They are dedicated to ensuring that all people with autism receive appropriate, effective services to maximize their growth potential and to enhance the general public's awareness of autism.

Did You know?

· Autism Spectrum disorders affect children of all races.

· African-American children frequently are confronted with late diagnosis or misdiagnosis.

· Many misdiagnosed and undiagnosed autistic children end up in the criminal justice system each year.

· There are very few clinical studies on autistic African American Children.

· Many of the beneficial therapies aren’t covered by insurance.

· Did you know that many parents of autistic children are unemployed or under employed due to a lack of childcare for their special needs child. And while many day care centers make claims of inclusion; most are not.

The Color Of Autism contacted me and graciously offered to place my banner on their site and I'd like to give something back. I will donate 10% of all email orders that mention The Color Of Autism. Orders MUST be sent to pdxbabysigns@gmail.com and not made directly through my website, this is the only way I am able to track it and give the appropriate donation.

Baby Signs Products are a great gift for parents of babies, toddlers and/or children with special needs. We have had great success using the Baby Signs Program with Autistic children in communities all over the World.

So visit my website take a look at the some of the wonderful products and send your order to Elizabeth at pdxbabysigns.com. I will send you an invoice using ProPay and you can pay via credit card, you do not need a ProPay account.

Potty Training And Holiday Madness

Thinking about starting potty training during the holidays?

While it might not be the best idea, you can find distractions and events all year round so although a busy time of year it may be the only time you are home from work for a few days to give the attention you need to.

Some tips for you:

*Set a timer for every 45 minutes. Everyone is a little scatterbrained during the holidays so a timer will help you and your child remember it's time to try and sit on the potty.

*You may want to use pull ups or bring lots of extra clothes if you go to a family member's home for dinner, but still try sitting on the potty!

*Treats are everywhere during the holidays so get creative with rewards.

In the middle of potty training?

It can be easy to give up and say "Oh we'll try again after the holidays," but that can confuse your child and make reaching the goal of being fully potty trained much more difficult in the long run.

Some Tips For You:

*Keep it up!

*Set a timer.

*Remember that you aren't the only one who has a lot on their mind with the upcoming holiday madness, your child may forget to go on the potty more often because they are distracted and excited. Stay calm and keep things positive!

Holiday potty training regression?

Nooooooo! Yeah, I know this one. They were doing great and all of a sudden your home is filled with guests and you're back to scrubbing carpets.

Some Tips For You:

*Stay calm. There is a lot going on and kids are very easily distracted.

*Make a new reward chart. If you've stopped rewards, start them back up again.

*Pay little to no attention to accidents. Sometimes kids are just trying to get some of your attention during this busy time. Be sure to give lots of praise for daily activities and do not give extra attention (good or bad) for unwanted behavior or you will only see more of it.

Have a friend or family member thinking about potty training their child? The Baby Signs Potty Training Kit is a great gift for parent and child! Tons of helpful information for parents of children signing or talking ages 1-4. And a book, DVD, whistle and stickers for the little one!

Click the banner below to learn more!

Have A Safe And Happy Halloween!

Be safe this Halloween…


With the DiaperDoodles™



Bring along a flashLIGHT ...



Walk, don’t run…


so you won’t get HURT.



Have MOMMY or DADDY…


check your candy first.



A signing baby is a safer baby when they can tell you what’s wrong!

As the holidays are approaching there are many more things for your baby to see and do. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could share what is on their minds with you this season? To learn more signs or about the Baby Signs® program, just visit www.BabySigns.com
Or contact:
Elizabeth Sprague
Independent Certified Instructor
PDXBabySigns@gmail.com

Meatless Monday: Quinoa Casserole

I've been told by friends and family that I need to blog about my healthy recipes. I lack the time to create and keep up another blog so I'll just add some excitement to this one :)

The French's Cook-Off contest proved to be the perfect way to get my first recipe post started. Thank you to Twittermoms for giving me a heads up on this contest!

I entered a recipe I came up with about a week ago. I had some ingredients I needed to use up in the fridge and the result was loved by all!

I discovered quinoa a few months back and it has since pretty much replaced the use of rice in my kitchen. This whole grain is very high in protein and fiber and is just as easy to flavor and cook as rice.

Quinoa Casserole:

2 cups uncooked quinoa (bulk sections of many stores)
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup French's fried onions
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x13" pan.

Cook the quinoa according to package directions (be sure to soak and rinse thoroughly). I cook mine in the rice cooker the same way and amount of time I would cook rice.

In a large bowl mix all ingredients except cheese and fried onions. Place in your greased pan and top with shredded cheese and fried onions.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

This is very tasty as it is, but also very versatile. You can try using different veggies, adding chicken or using rice instead of the quinoa.

No pictures this time, but I'll be sure to perfect my recipe blogging soon :)

I'd be thrilled if you'd take a moment to vote for my recipe! You can vote here

Do you have a great recipe you'd like to share? Go enter the FRENCH'S Cook-Off 2009!

Creativity For Kids: Review And Giveaway!

I was first introduced to Creativity For Kids at a Baby Loves Disco event here in Portland. The boys each got to make a sock puppet to bring home and they Loved them! I think what surprised me the most was how long they lasted. The boys played with them, wore them as socks, slept with them and of course fought over them (they are brothers after all). Their sock puppets made it through everything, I was impressed :)

If you visit Creativity For Kids you can see all the fun craft kits they have for kids. A great idea for a Birthday party activity, holiday project, make some homemade gifts (because they are the best!) birthday present or just for fun!


Creativity For Kids sent me a free Monster Truck Custom Shop Kit to review and one to give to one of my readers!

The kit came with four trucks to decorate, stickers, paint and some decorating ideas. It was perfect; one for each of the boys and I even got to decorate one... somehow I ended up with the pink minivan, hmmm... I wonder why? It is all jacked up on some gigantic tires though, I'm the coolest soccer mom ever!

The kit is meant for ages 5 and up, Michael and Joshua are only 3 and almost 2 so it did require a bit more involvement on my part, but they were having a blast.

These weren't the cheap monster trucks you find at a dollar store or in a kids meal that fall apart as soon as you look at them. These are quality made toys that will last!

The hardest part of this kit was waiting for the paint to dry. Instead of the "Are we there yet" on a road trip I heard "Are they dry yet?" for a couple of hours.

My overall opinion of Creativity For Kids? Brilliant! I Love the selection of activities and while I like to consider myself crafty and able to make a project out of things we already have, being a busy Mom of three I really appreciate the ease of having everything you need in one box. I will definitely be visiting Creativity For Kids when it's time for Birthday parties at my house!



Creativity For Kids is giving one of my readers a Monster Truck Kit of their own!
**Congratulations Jennifer!

Jennifer Said: Follow on twitter @eclairemom

You will have 48 hours to respond to my email or another name will be drawn.

To Enter:

You MUST visit Creativity For Kids website, come back and leave a comment with your favorite kit.

Additional entries: Leave a separate comment for EACH entry in order for them to be valid! Leave your email/ contact info in each entry in order for it to count (blog okay if your email is easily accessible in your profile).

1. Follow my blog - current followers count
2. Subscribe to my blog - current subscribers count
3. Follow me on Twitter @ElizabethSigns - Current followers count, leave your user name.
4. Tweet this giveaway - 1 entry per tweet, as many tweets as you'd like per day, leave a link to your tweet in your comment.
5. Share this giveaway on any other social network you belong to or Stumble, Digg, etc. , 1 entry per post, as many posts as you'd like, leave a link/username to your post in your comment.
6. Go give someone a hug and tell me who it was in your comment :) You can never give too many hugs, but please be honest and don't just start listing names!
7. Leave a comment on another post on my blog.
8. Tell me what the featured craft of the month is on Creativity For Kids.

Contest Over.

"Nobody Will Understand My Child's Needs Like I Do"

I know I'm a biased opinion here, but I feel that it is so important for Childcare Centers to incorporate signing into their daily routines. I was lucky enough to find a wonderful career that allows me to stay at home with my boys and love what I do to bring in an extra income. But when debating child care years ago my biggest fear was "nobody will understand my child's needs like I do." I know his noises, cries, schedule, looks and our most important form of communication; I know his signs! It seemed ridiculous to me to send my baby into someone else's care knowing he could communicate perfectly what he wanted or needed, but they'd have no idea what he was talking (or signing) about. I was shocked at the lack of sign language used in daycares and preschools. Do they not realize the benefits? Well let me share; and I encourage you to share them with your child's daycare center.


Childcare Centers; enjoy these benefits and more by implementing Baby Sign Language into your daily routine.

* Reduce frustration
* Increase parent involvement
* Decrease biting and other aggressive behaviors
* Help teachers be more observant and responsive
* Build trust and affection between babies and their caregivers


These are not the only ways your center will benefit from adding the Baby Signs Program to your classrooms. Become a Certified Baby Signs Center and you will enjoy a competitive advantage over other centers in your area and receive the following valuable services:

* listing on the Baby Signs website (www.babysigns.com) as a Certified Center;
* inclusion on a support network of child care providers offering the Baby Signs Program,
* a variety of marketing aids to let the public know you offer this valuable program,
* certificates documenting training participation for each staff member, and
* access to a quarterly newsletter geared specifically to child care providers.


Becoming a Certified Baby Signs Center is Easy!
Baby Signs, Inc. offers two high-quality, professional training options specifically designed to teach Child Development Center staff everything they need to know to start signing right away. No matter which option you choose, you are guaranteed to receive an informative and enjoyable training with games, songs, and activities liberally sprinkled throughout to keep teachers engaged and excited as they learn.

Option 1: Instructor-Led Training
Our Baby Signs Independent Certified Instructors can provide training tailored to meet the needs of your center. Locate an instructor in your area!


Option 2: Facilitator-Led Training
No Baby Signs Instructor near-by? Simply choose your own, in-house training Facilitator to lead your staff through the Baby Signs Center Certification Program, a DVD-based, single-session training presented by Baby Signs Co-Founder, Dr. Linda Acredolo and ECE Specialist, Bonita Broughton. Learn more about the Center Certification Program!

Email PDXBabySigns@gmail.com to discuss our Center Training options and decide which would best meet the needs of your facility.