When we visit my parents in Mission, Texas each year (near South Padre) there is always plenty of memory making fun happening.

We get to go to the beach…

We swim in their retirement community pool and hot tub under the palm trees…

We go to the zoo…

We hang out and get to explore parts of Texas we haven’t seen before…

We get to cook, play board games, do art projects, ride the golf cart and more and more and more. There is plenty of fun when we go to Grandma and Grandpa’s.

But no matter what, if you ask the kids what they remember the most about visiting Grandma and Grandpa this past Spring Break, they will all tell you “Pepper Pancakes!”

“Pepper Pancakes?” you ask. Yes… pepper pancakes made our top memories of Spring Break 2012 and any time I make pancakes now I get a little shout from the galley “Make sure you put pepper in them!”

To make a long story short, my mom was making pancakes for dinner and Jacob was helping her. She is a grab and dump kind of cook (an excellent cook, I might add) and doesn’t do a whole lot of measuring. As she was grabbing and dumping she reached for what she thought was the salt and instead grabbed the pepper. Before even realizing it she dumped quite a bit of black pepper into the pancake batter. This, naturally, got a HUGE amount of laughter from the kids. She then decided to mask the pepper by adding a little bit of cinnamon. Needless to say, we ate the pancakes and they were actually not that bad. The best part of it was all the laughing that happened all night long and anytime Grandma went into the kitchen. She will be forever have a reputation for her infamous pepper pancakes!

What is one of your favorite food memories…where food or a recipe didn’t turn out quite as expected, but the memories tied to it are far greater than the food ever could have been?

Disclosure: I am honored to be a 2012 paid brand ambassador for Hallmark Life is a Special Occasion. All opinions expressed are my own. For special discounts, product offerings and news about Hallmark, feel free to sign up for their newsletter.

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I don’t have a best friend. I’ve always been one of those girls to have a lot of good friends but as an adult, not a best girl friend. You know, that one friend you can call up and she’ll drop everything and be there in minutes with chocolate ice cream and wine? Or the first friend you call when something happens to a family member, no matter what the time? I crave that friend who understands and will happily participate in an over night slumber party watching Dirty Dancing, Footloose, Say Anything, St Elmo’s Fire and The Breakfast Club? I have no one to call to come indulge my girlhood fantasies of a Gayle / Oprah type friendship.

I love and adore the friends I have. They are some of the best women in the world and I am so lucky to have them for whatever I can get them for. But a best friend is different, right?

I’m thankful my oldest two kids have found “that friend”. Kelly and Kylee have been friends since they were six months old and that friendship has blossomed through the years. Kylee is Kelly’s “I’ve got your back” girl, and Kelly is the same. Kylee lives 6 houses down from us and I bet most outsiders wouldn’t know that Kylee and Kelly don’t belong in the same house. They are rarely seen apart.

Jacob and Daniel are very much the same way. Daniel is our across the street neighbor and was the one I mentioned in my Project 365 post yesterday. They’ve been friends for almost 7 years now and are such a good match. It’s been fascinating to me to see how a boy best friend relationship works. It’s kind of a cool thing… a mutual understanding and respect that I don’t think a lot of girls have with each other. Either way, I am so glad they have each other.

When I was growing up, my mom used to say all the time to me how proud she was because of the friends I chose. I never knew what she meant by that until I had kids. Friends are important, but best friends… who you chose to spend most of your time with… influence you in a way no one else really can. Being associated with the wrong friend can bring you down. Being surrounded by great people can lift you up. I’m thankful my kids have found their bff match because I know from experience how difficult that is to do. A friend is special, but a best friend? A best friend is a rare and wonderful gift.

I’m going to caveat this with… my husband is my best friend and I am so thankful to have him in my life. He’s my lifeline and who I would call first (or nudge) if something happened in the middle of the night. If I was really nice to him, he may even indulge me in a chick flick movie marathon someday. The friendship I’m referring to in this post is a girlfriend bff. Just wanted to make sure I was clear!

Now, tell me about your best friend, will you? How did you meet? How long have you been friends? How have you nurtured your friendship thorough the years? I want to hear all about it!

Disclosure: I am honored to be a 2012 paid brand ambassador for Hallmark Life is a Special Occasion. All opinions expressed are my own. For special discounts, product offerings and news about Hallmark, feel free to sign up for their newsletter.

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I’ve always known and hoped that I would be a mom. When I was in Kindergarten, we had a “Star of the Week” program where the star would be interviewed. One of the questions in the interview was “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My immediate answer, firmly stated without any hesitation? “A Mommy.”

What I didn’t know when I was in kindergarten was how hard being a mom can be. My mom made it look so easy. It wasn’t until friends of mine started having kids and then I had kids of my own that I began to understand that being a mom is not all singing, arts and crafts, park playing and sprinkler splashing. From the moment a new baby comes into your life, your role on earth changes and you soon discover that you can’t do it well on your own. It truly does take a village.

Luckily, I have a pretty awesome village… full of great friends and family who truly care about the well being of my kids. Well, and the well being of me too. Some of the best advice from my village has been…

My friend Amy, a week before Jacob was due, told me to skip the pretty PJ’s in the hospital and to opt for either just the standard gown or pajamas you don’t care about getting ruined. “You’re just going to be a big, fat, fluidy mess.”

My friend Ami, when I came to her crying because all the parenting magazines were telling me I was doing everything wrong. “Kris… you have great instincts, but on this one, I don’t get it. If you don’t like what the Parenting magazines are telling you to do, then stop reading the Parenting magazines!” I haven’t picked up one since.

Ami also told me that the first 8 weeks of parenting are a blurry, hormonal hell… something no one dared tell me before. You know what? Especially with the first one, she was right.

My sister, when I called after a rough transition from a money making, working professional to a one income family. “There were times when I dug through the couch cushions to gather up loose change to get milk at the store for the kids. Yes, taking a hit in the bank account is hard, but God tends to provide. What you are doing is worthwhile… the most important job you’ll ever have. No salary, even 10 times the amount you were making, could make up for the work you are doing as a mom.”

My own mom, whenever I call frustrated by parenting… “Kristen… go take a Midol and call me tomorrow. Everything will be fine.”

My friend Sandy, when I mentioned that Nick and I rarely have date nights… “For your kids, you need to invest in your marriage in the exact same way you would your 401K. It’s non-negotiable. Take money from your paycheck and put in a monthly date night fund. Keeping your marriage romantic and alive is the best thing you can do for your kids.”

My friend, Kristen… also a mother of 4… “Now is when you need to put your super woman cape away and start asking for help. People want to help… stop trying to be the hero and let your friends and those who love you help you when you need it!”

My closest friends on the block, when they see me outside, dragging a screaming toddler through the streets to take the others to school… suddenly that morning a Starbucks shows up on my porch or that evening a bottle of wine appears with 2 wine glasses and a listening ear.

I have a wonderful village… and it is because of them that my kids are turning out to be the special, young people they are. The advice of my friends and family, the offers to lend a hand, the straight forward truths they aren’t afraid to share… all of that is something I appreciate more than words could ever express.

Take a moment, like I did, and share an unexpected card with your friends to say thank you. They may not even remember what they’ve said to impact the way you parent, but letting them know you remember will mean the world. Oh… and drop by with wine or coffee. After all, it’s important to keep your village nice and fueled.

Disclosure: I am honored to be a 2012 paid brand ambassador for Hallmark Life is a Special Occasion. All opinions expressed are my own. For special discounts, product offerings and news about Hallmark, feel free to sign up for their newsletter.

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What no one seems to tell you is that whether you have 1 or 10 kids, God sends you a different one each time. You get the experience of starting over, learning the ropes again with each new little being. If it were only so easy to read a manual and have parenting down pat… you know how to raise one? You know how to raise them all. I’ve learned, that’s totally not the case!

Four kids and Leah has been my only one to…

Smear blood red vampire Halloween makeup on the couch…

Have an obsession with lotions, shampoos and sunscreen… and therefore continues to waste bottles of each and all, all the time…

Dump hot honey wax (for eyebrows) onto the carpet…

Eat over half of container of butter all in the matter of a few minutes while I was on the phone…

Give herself her own haircut…

Color on walls, have insane fits in the car every time we go someplace, etc. The list goes on and on and on and on.

Her siblings have nicknamed her “The Disaster” which is about as fitting of a name as you can get for her.

She is also the absolute only one who can do all these things, turn around with a twinkle in her eye and a grin and instantly melt our hearts, causing us to smile at her rotten behavior. She’s spunky, smart and full of life… and too darn cute for her own good.

I tell myself that someday this behavior of hers is going to suit her well. She’s headed into an all boy preschool class next year. Most mom’s might be worried about this but I have a feeling those boys won’t know what hit them when Leah walks into the room! She will hold her own, now and forever.

And all I can hope is that someday she’ll be blessed with a little disaster all her own… so she can be the one trying not to crack a smile when her daughter is too cute for her own good.

Disclosure: I am honored to be a 2012 paid brand ambassador for Hallmark Life is a Special Occasion. All opinions expressed are my own. For special discounts, product offerings and news about Hallmark, feel free to sign up for their newsletter.

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We had a very full life growing up…lots of vacations, friends, family events…but the banana sticker freckles is one of my clearest and fondest memories. Something brought on by an everyday object / moment is still cemented in my mind, today.

When you have three daughters, like I do, you get a pretty neat opportunity to see creative genius at work…every.single.day. Not a day goes by that I don’t have some little person coming to me and asking if I want to see their newest play, gymnastics routine, rock concert, modeling session, etc. Sometimes, when I’m extra lucky, I even get a big ticket to a “very special show”.

I never really quite figured out the plot of today’s show… something about Leah being a big, mean bear…lots of screaming, panic and then giggling…then as always, ending in a big song and dance production.

And, as I do with all of the “big, special shows”, I wonder… “Is this going to be a banana sticker moment for them?”

Remember…it doesn’t always have to be the biggest, most grandiose moments in life that become special occasions. Life, the every day, in between, simple banana sticker moments… those are often what memories and special occasions are made from.

What is a “banana sticker” moment from your life? What everyday moment is cemented in your memory as a special occasion? I’d love to hear it in the comments section!

I’m honored to be partnering with Hallmark in 2012 as part of their “Life Is a Special Occasion” campaign. As always, all opinions are my own.

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