Ariel was listening to a Disney compilation of songs on YouTube tonight and the lyrics of this song caught me as being appropriate for celebrating Earth Day. 
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It’s that time of the year—gotta get your Easter eggs decorated!! Ariel and I found so many great ideas and wanted to share them with you!
So without further ado, here are our 101 favorite egg decorating ideas (it did seem like a bazillion when looking through all of them! There are so many creative and artistic folks out there!!) Later, I’ll tell you which ones we tried and found success with!
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(NOTE: None of these pictures are my intellectual property; they belong to their respective bloggers. If you’d like to visit the original source, please click on the appropriate photo and go to that site to pin that image. The only artwork on this post that belongs to The Tween & Me and should be pinned from this site is the collage image at the top of the post.)
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Growing up in the south, there’s always a discussion on how to pronounce the word “pecan.” Is it “PEE-can” or is it “pa-CAHN”? I guess it really doesn’t matter as long as you can enjoy it in various ways…. and we do!!
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(NOTE: None of these pictures are my intellectual property; they belong to their respective bloggers. If you’d like to visit the original source, please click on the appropriate photo and go to that site to pin that image. The only artwork on this post that belongs to The Tween & Me and should be pinned from this site is the collage image at the top of the post.)
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How do you pronounce “pecan”… and do you have any great recipes to share?
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Ariel swears her favorite sandwich is a grilled cheese…. and she LOVES the way I make mine!
Let’s celebrate National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day!!
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(NOTE: None of these pictures are my intellectual property; they belong to their respective bloggers. If you’d like to visit the original source, please click on the appropriate photo and go to that site to pin that image. The only artwork on this post that belongs to The Tween & Me and should be pinned from this site is the collage image at the top of the post.)
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I know I usually don’t get all “this is how *I* parent” on you, but I’ve found a new way to connect with Ariel and wanted to share it with you.
Turns out she is as much of a “quote collector” as I am. As many people are, just judging by the popularity of memes like Thoughtful Thursday and the oodles of Pinterest boards dedicated to quotes.
Ariel still doesn’t have any social media accounts, since I’m that mom and am sticking to their rules, so she doesn’t get to pin things on Pinterest or like things on Facebook.
My new connection: I’m emailing cool quotes/pics to her.
See, back when she was in 2nd grade, her teacher encouraged the students to email in their spelling words in fun fonts and colors. Computer literacy + spelling = WIN! So Ariel had an email address from back then. I hooked up her iPod with that email address and BOOM! I can send her email and she can text that way too.
So what kinds of things do I send her? Funny pet snaps, inspiring quotes, thoughtful ponderings….anything that I find that is appropriate or timely. I keep a folder on my desktop and whenever I find something Ariel-worthy, I copy it into that file. Then every so often, I send an email (or several) to her. One night she complained that I hadn’t sent her anything in a while, so I bombarded her with coolness.
Here are a few that I’ve sent her (I wish I had the original source for these so I could give credit. If you are the creator of any of these, please let me know and I’ll be super happy to recognize your contribution!):
And then probably my favorite one was found on Grammarly’s Facebook page. And I liked — and totally believed in the quote earlier — but then Ariel told me how it had influenced her.
Turns out, she had standardized writing testing shortly after I sent this to her. She had fallen in love with the quote and memorized and quoted it in her written commentary on the test! LOVE that!!
It’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s a great connection for us. Give it a try! It might work for you and your tween too!
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Today is National Caramel Day!! How will you enjoy caramel today? My paternal grandmother made a delicious caramel icing for her layer cakes and forever made me a caramel fan! I’m frantically searching for the recipe and will share it when I find it, but enjoy these yummy ways to celebrate while you’re waiting!
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(NOTE: None of these pictures are my intellectual property; they belong to their respective bloggers. If you’d like to visit the original source, please click on the appropriate photo and go to that site to pin that image. The only artwork on this post that belongs to The Tween & Me and should be pinned from this site is the collage image at the top of the post.)
This beautiful cake from Confections from the Cody Kitchen looks a lot like my Mama’s—lots of thin layers with that scrumptious icing in-between…. but the recipe isn’t the same as hers. It does look delicious, though! May have to try this caramel cake thing soon!!
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Your influence as an adult is far greater than you might imagine.
This video struck a chord with me. I hope it strikes one with you too. Our children deserve to see us at our very best…. because they will emulate us — for better or for worse. I’m not trying to put anyone on a guilt trip because I certainly have my own bad days. Just trying to remind myself and all of you how our actions speak far louder than our words.
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Today marks six years since we were rescued by our sweet Beagle mix, Lola! I couldn’t imagine a better “puppy-sister” for Ariel. She’s been a great addition to our family and I encourage you to check out your local animal rescue or shelter if you’re looking for a lifelong friend.
Check out this fun video from the SPCA of Wake County. The tune is “Take a Chance on Me” from ABBA. And, yes, these loving animals do need you to take a chance on them!! Please do!!
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We are constantly reading around here. Ariel is more of a book reader these days than I am, simply because she has more free time than I do. She usually has at least two or three novels going at once and has no problem keeping the storylines straight. Me, I have to read one at a time and my biggest problem is that time comes to a screeching halt when I am in the midst of a good read. Laundry? No time for that. Dinner? Order take-out. Sleep? Who needs it? 
So it was quite the shock tonight when I asked Ariel what she was reading these days. (They just finished Number the Stars in school and I had ordered Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl for her (gotta love Scholastic!) because I thought it would tie in well. Unfortunately, she got a little too much exposure to the Holocaust and now doesn’t have the desire to read more about it. And that’s fine, because it is a very strong topic for most of us.) She replied, with a start, “Nothing!” And immediately went to her bookshelf to find a new book.
She found Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. I had also ordered it from Scholastic. It earned 4 out of 5 stars from Amazon reviewers, so I have high expectations of it. I’ll let you know what she thinks!
And lest you think less of me, I *did* just download the Audible version of The Book Thief and plan on listening to it while on my treadmill this week. I gotta get back with that and am hoping the bribe of a good book will be just the kickstart I need!
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I love spring and one of my favorite signs of spring is the joyful site of tulips!!
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(NOTE: None of these pictures are my intellectual property; they belong to their respective bloggers. If you’d like to visit the original source, please click on the appropriate photo and go to that site to pin that image. The only artwork on this post that belongs to The Tween & Me and should be pinned from this site is the collage image at the top of the post.)
We have lots more spring things pinned on our Pinterest boards here!
Come follow us through all the seasons!!
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