What Do You Want? I Don't Know...

I, recently, celebrated a birthday. But, a few weeks before the day arrived, my hubby always starts asking, “What do you want for your birthday?” “Your birthday is only a few weeks away, what do you want?” Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my hubby and he always does well when the day arrives…but, it got me thinking…I get a little annoyed with this question.

I get annoyed, because my mind always draws a blank when this question is asked. I don’t care if it’s my birthday, Christmas, whatever holiday…if you put me on the spot, I can’t think of anything- but, if you ask me AFTER a holiday, I will probably think of 42 things…it never fails. Ask me what to get someone else, ideas are flowing…ask about ideas for myself…and picture “deer in the headlights”. Can’t think of anything.

Am I the only one that has this problem?

I never know what I want. Wait, I take that back….clothes, shoes, handbags, accessories…those are ALWAYS top on my list. But, a lot of times, I can think of things throughout the year UNTIL it comes time for people to start asking me and then I seem to lose every idea I had…

Again, am I the only one who has this problem?

Hang in there…I do have a point to this blog. Mother’s Day is soon approaching and, my guess is, this question will come up. So, I’m asking all the housewives and moms out there…what do YOU want for Mother’s Day? Are there any things/services/products that are on your wish list?

Please share and help me out with my own wish list!
(As well as – I may share on my Mother’s Day Gift Ideas blog on www.stylishstepmom.com too!)

Stay Stylish –

Mrs. Stylish Stepmom

Craft Ideas from the Heart from Mrs. Hart

Happy HEART month! I love the month of February. It's just another one of those months that I get to get my creative juices flowing and get my craft on. I confess, I'm not always one for coming up with my own "original" ideas, but I like to see an idea and then tweak it until I put my own special touch on it. Here are a few things I am doing this month.

I am playing "Secret Cupid" every night at my nest. What, you ask? Yes, I got the idea from the blog How Does She.  So long Santa I miss you & Charley, our Elf on a Shelf terribly, but we are doing 14 days of Secret Cupid at our Nest to learn that Valentine's Day is not about the gifts but about acts of love! It is really fun, and my kids and husband love the little "love" notes they are finding each morning addressed to them telling them the different things Secret Cupid I have done for them. Of course they know it is me. Here are the love notes that I made. Feel free to print out yourself and use for the remaining days until Valentine's Day- right click the picture and hit save as! Just fill in the blank with an act of kindness. My husband's favorite so far is "I took my medicine and kissed you goodnight because I love YOU!"

The next thing I am going to show you is the craft that I will be doing with my son's fifth grade class for their Valentine's Party. Fifth Graders, need I say more? Okay, I will. Last week my 11 year old needed 50 cents. Lets just say my status on Facebook that morning was this, "Candy Grams?!? Wish that 50 cents going to school today was for his Mommy, but I have a feeling it's not." There was even a "like" note involved- glad I intercepted it. When it came time to buy the Candy Gram, he backed out. Come to find out, the girl was pressuring him to buy her one. Obviously, she is more mature to handle a relationship than him right now. So, the craft we will be making for Valentine's Day in the fifth grade class is going to redirect the students from the  love of boyfriend/girlfriend and to more of a Teacher's Appreciation type gift from the heart of the students. This idea originally came from Pinterest. I made the full size version for my son's teacher at the beginning of the year, but decided to scale it back a bit.

Supplies: Empty 16.9 oz water bottle, goodies, a few pens, ribbon, tape,  box knife, ribbon, label & raffia!

You will cut a horse shoe shaped slit in the middle of the water bottle and pull back like the picture above, then you stuff the bottle with the goodies. The you wrap the label around the slit. The fun thing about this is that the recipient of this gift will wonder how to get the goods out of  the bottle, they will never guess to remove the label.

The finished product! The verse around the label says:
Green is for the inspiration you give me each day. Blue is for your patience in showing me the way. Orange is for your warmth and caring style. Yellow is for the way you always make me smile. Red is for my life that you have touched this year. You place knowledge in my hands, that melt into my heart and live forever! You're a "Magnificent" & "Marvelous" Teacher! Thank you for being my M&M! - we are putting M&M's in the bottles at school!

Here is the label that I made. Just right click on your mouse and hit save as if you wish to use.

This final project, I actually used for my daughters birthday January 31st, but will use again for Valentine's Day. Just wait until you see these lollipops. Now this might be something you have to wait until next year to do and if you are lucky you might still be able to find some mini candy canes around at some of the stores. The best time to buy is of course after Christmas! They are so fun to make and so delish, and once again I found the idea on...you guessed it Pinterest!

See what I mean about tweaking ideas and making them my own? It's so much fun. None of these are elaborate gifts at all, just simple little acts that say, Happy Valentine's Day, Your Special, Thank You, or I Love You without spending a fortune. Do you put together any similar gifts or acts of kindness? If so, tell me about them.

♥Mrs. Hart♥

A Gift to Cherish

My Grandma Emma has been on my mind a lot lately. I lost her in February 2007, right after my daughter was born.  I received a phone call from my daddy in the middle of the night. Daddy couldn't talk. I knew immediately my grandma, who had been sick for a while, was gone.  Grandma Emma had several loves that she passed on to me: singing, sewing and cooking. No, I am not going to break into song singing her favorite, Swing Low Sweet Chariot for you. Nor will I break into a quilting session for you, but I am going to share with you the last gift I remember her giving me. It was a gift that I am sure every REAL HOUSEWIFE OF OKLAHOMA has or at least after this post, will have.... a set of cast iron skillets.

I cook with my 12 inch skillet quite often. My favorite dish being a pan of cornbread. I just love how it browns the corners perfectly. I'm not a big "fryer" around my house so neither pan gets used daily. Sadly, my six inch skillet never gets touched. Since I have been thinking about Grandma Emma so much I am getting my pans out and getting them "seasoned" and trying to look for healthier recipes that don't involve frying that can actually be made in skillets, wish me luck. Now you see the smaller pan, it is in sad shape. See the rust? A little steel wool and canola oil should do the trick.  I ran across an Oklahoma blog today called Dishin and Dishes where Katie specifically tells you how to season your cast iron skillets!

I also own a cast iron griddle- somehow inherited this from my first marriage- I love this thing for grilled cheese and it keeps my stove top clean in between uses! I am sure Grandma Emma would be green with envy over this stovetop decoration, that's way too heavy to move anywhere else. It also has grooves on the other side, I think to make burgers. Haven't tried that though!

One thing about it, cooking in the 21st Century, certainly has changed since my grandma was alive. There wasn't a meal she didn't cook in her cast iron skillet: biscuits, gravy, fried potatoes, fried chicken, okra, squash, eggs, and cornbread to name a few. Oh, the sweet memories of those Sunday dinners, singing, sewing and cooking. Thank you Grandma Emma- I will cherish these gifts forever!

♥Mrs. Hart♥