Troy’s parents, who are doing missionary work for our church in Belize, came through in a big way, helping us plan our family vacation.

The agenda for day 1? Visiting Xunantunich, ancient Mayan ruins about an hour and a half north of Belize City. Learning vacation? Check!

Travel Tip: For long car rides, take extra toilet paper, bug spray, activity bags for the kids, and as always, don’t forget your camera. The colorful countryside is something you won’t want to forget.

Also, to make this activity part of the learning vacation, research ahead of time and share information about the culture and area you are visiting, which is rich in history. Consider hiring a tour guide while you are there to explain the significance of all the sites.

Transportation to Xunantunich

While there are tourist companies that organize tours and bus people to the ruins, including cruise lines, we drove as a family. The drive north took us from dry Belize City into lush Cayo, where we enjoyed a delicious Mexican lunch. To get to Xunantunich, which is only 15 minutes outside of Cayo, you have to cross a river on a ferry manually operated by a local who turns a crank that pulls you via a cable from one side to the next. Mr. Dadventurous himself gives the crank a try below.

Travel Tip: Have back-up plans. If the river is too high, the ferry will not run and you’ll be out of luck!

Floral and Animal Attractions at the Ruins

You must pay a nominal fee to enter Xunantunich. This helps with maintenance of the ruins and grounds.

The area is beautiful and green. Many varieties of trees and flowers abound.

In addition, howler monkeys swing high in the tree tops. Though they are not often visible to the public, their sound is heard by all. They are small, but have a loud roaring (and a little bit scary) voice, which sounds very similar to a tiger’s.

Travel tip: Although it’s groomed and well maintained, the ruins are in the jungle. Make sure and put on ample bug spray.

Xunantunich Mayan Ruins

The ruins themselves are breathtaking, literally. They are a beautiful sight. And, after climbing the equivalent of 13 stories to reach the top, you may be a bit winded.

Travel Tip: If you at all suffer from a fear of heights, you may want to climb the first set of steps, take in the view, snap some pics, and call it good. Or, hang at the bottom, check out sites like this below, and snap a pic of your party when they reach the top.

The Castillo

Here is view 1 of the largest ruins in Xunantunich called “El Castillo,” which is the halfway mark (taken after climbing the first set of steps).

The craftsmanship is amazing. Check out this detail.

An Educational and Adventurous Activity for Kids

Our two boys loved both the educational and adventure aspects of visiting the ancient Mayan ruins. They learned a lot about the history of Belize and the Mayan Indians. And, they were able to get out all their energy, running around, climbing up stairs and walls, and swinging from tree branches. Score!

How do you build education into your family vacations? What activities do you like to do that are both educational and fun when you travel as a family?

Sure enough, everyone raved about them and many have since asked for the recipe.

The best part about these cookies is how simple they are to make. Check out the recipe below taken from the Betty Crocker website (which is worth checking out if you’ve never visited it!).

Cookie Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
• 6 to 8 drops green food color
• 1 egg
• 1 cup creme de menthe baking chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and take out an ungreased baking sheet.
2. Stir together the cookie mix, butter, extract, food color, and egg in a large bowl until soft dough forms.
3. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks into the egg mixture.
4. Use a small cookie scoop or teaspoon and drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 3 minutes on the baking sheet.
6. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

What easy-to-bake cookies do you love to make and share with friends?

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.

Transportation to San Pedro

To get to San Pedro, you must fly to Belize City and either take the water taxi or a puddle jumper air plane. The water taxi was a short hour and 15-minute ride and half the cost, so we opted for that route.

Travel Tip: The water taxi makes one quick stop at Caye Caulker before arriving at Ambergris Caye. Remember to stay on the boat at this stop.

Ambergris Caye Accommodations

We found Trip Advisor to be the most helpful resource for locating a hotel on the island. Depending on what you are looking for, the island has accommodations that can meet every family’s vacation needs. We stayed at Banyan Bay at the south end of the island.

Although it was a little ritzy for my taste, we loved our ocean view, that the hotel had a good restaurant on site with breakfast included, and that it was a one-stop shop, sporting golf cart and bike rentals, a full service spa, and a concierge who could arrange ocean adventures for you.

Travel Tip: If you want wi-fi, air conditioning, and TV in your hotel room, be sure to check ahead and ensure the hotel has those amenities as not all do. Also note that most swimming pools are not heated.

 San Pedro Restaurants

San Pedro is known for its lobster. Lonely Planet books have never failed us in recommending the best restaurants when we travel. Located right on the sea, the Blue Water Grill lived up to the Lonely Planet’s recommendation and the Sea Grill was a perfect selection.

Getting Around the Island

Getting around town is fun. The island is only 5 miles wide and 25 miles long, so you don’t see too many cars.

Most people rent or own bicycles…

…or golf carts.

Travel Tip: I highly recommend renting a golf cart. It is a fun way to see the entire island and get around town. If you are staying for a week, I suggest the weekly rental. Otherwise, most places rent by the hour.

Grocery Stores

Eating out for every meal, especially in the peak travel season, can be pricey. Fortunately, Ambergris Caye sports a nice grocery store with lots of familiar US brands. I’m not sure what I’d use a cake mix for while on vacay, but it was nice knowing we could grab snacks and bug spray at a moment’s notice if we needed to.

Travel Tip: Most places in Belize accept credit cards, US dollars, and Belizean dollars.

Scuba Diving and Other Activities and Attractions

Belize is all about sea activities. With the reef a half a mile off the coast of San Pedro, most visitors explore via scuba diving, SNUBA-ing, snorkeling, or in a glass bottom boat. Companies like Ramon’s Village, organize trips to places like the Blue Hole and Sting Ray Ally for water enthusiasts.

Travel Tip: If you are looking for nice beaches and body surfing, head to Hawaii or other Caribbean beaches, like Magen’s Bay on St. Thomas. While San Pedro is surrounded by beaches, they are grassy with smooth water (no waves), and not ideal for playing in, especially for kids. The real water adventures are near or at the reef and beyond, further out or deeper down.

The Most Important Part of the Trip

Planning and taking a family vacation requires lots of work and can be stressful. My main advice is to plan well in advance and then let the Caribbean breeze get to you and unplug and relax while you’re on the island. Make time for moments with your kids and your spouse. Life at home can wait!

What are your favorite winter destination locations? Where do you most like to go on family vacation to unplug and unwind?

I married at 27 and immediately, the questions came: “When are you going to begin having all of those 11 kids?” “How soon will you start a family?”

For the first time since my doctor started discussing pregnancy with me nearly 10 years earlier, I got scared. Between that time and the time I became Mrs. Pattee, my platelets decreased (due to my medication) to a much more than below average rate. I researched the birth defects and diseases my medicine was known to cause. I had too much information—information that caused me to feel that making it out of pregnancy as a healthy mom and with a healthy child was anything but certain and definitely something I couldn’t control.

So, I went through many years of denial, putting off the decision to have children until my 30th birthday at which time I realized that nothing in life is certain and some things are worth the risk. Having children, to me, was one of those things worth risking.

It’s funny, because once I made the decision, I didn’t look back. My anxiety melted away. I moved forward doing everything I could to be healthy and focused on learning about the baby growing inside of me.

Ultimately, nothing I was nervous about prior to getting pregnant materialized. My baby boy arrived healthy and with a full head of red hair, screaming and ready to take on the world. I had other complications though—pre-eclampsia, a near stroke at birth, and the inability to produce milk and nurse my baby. But all these things, however scary or frustrating in the moment, had solutions.

When I think of the potential complications I didn’t experience and the minor ones that I did, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for medical advances that made a happy and healthy mother and son and an ecstatic new father our reality.

Today, I’m not much different than I was as a child. I still like to feel certainty and a degree of control in my life. But, my definition of control has shifted and instead of thinking of things in terms of what I can control, I think of things in terms of what I can influence and what I have to be grateful for in life.

As someone who has lived with epilepsy for nearly 30 years, I know that I can influence my health tremendously by doing a few things—getting enough sleep, taking my meds daily, and decreasing my stress. While I was pregnant, I could additionally influence the outcome of a healthy baby by taking the recommended vitamins, most specifically folic acid.

Focusing on those areas of influence, rather than on what I could or could not control, were keys to a successful pregnancy.

I recognize things could have turned out differently. Sometimes, regardless of taking every precaution, the path can change. But focusing on things within our sphere of influence is the best chance we have at having healthy outcomes.

What did you do to stay healthy in your pregnancies? What can you do now to maintain good health?

My husband, @troypattee, has pretty much put me on a grocery shopping moritorium. I haven’t been to Costco alone in years. I am a sucker for “great deals.” And, I have lots of dishes and oversized bottles of Olive Oil to prove it. Can you relate?

But, one thing that has helped us get organized when it comes to groceries is Cozi.com and their online grocery shopping list and accompanying mobile app. All I have to do is make my list online and it syncs real time with the mobile app. Whenever Troy happens to be at the store (click here to see why he wears the shopping pants in our family), he can immediately see what we need and what to buy.

This was a recent find that I’m super thrilled about, because of what it has done for our family organization in the area of grocery shopping.

Apps, Websites, and Online Tools to Organize Your Family

Because of how helpful Cozi has been, I got to thinking of other online resources that have helped organize our family’s lives. Here are some I recommend:

• Google: I know! It sounds simple, but google’s calendar has changed our lives. I have three color-coded calendars: one for personal/family, one for my Mom It Forward work, and one for the evo Conference I co-organize. I especially love the calendar sharing feature, which allows you to share each calendar with different people. I have my husband copied on all three so he knows my plans for the week. The great thing about Google is that it interfaces with other calendaring systems, like Cozi.com.
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• AboutOne.com: This is a great site, allowing you to store all important family data like health, education, and even car maintenance records.
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• 1password.com: Have you ever forgotten your password? Try this site. It stores them all for you and you only to remember one for all of your accounts. Is that awesome or what? Love this!
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• My Job Chart: This is a fabulous online chore chart with built in incentives. It is great at helping organize your family’s chores and is fun for kids.
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• Apps for Moms: If you want a one-stop shop to find great apps for moms sorted by category, like this one from AllRecipes.com called Dinner Spinner, check out Apps for Moms, which directs you to a variety of apps for every need.
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• Pinterest: I’m convinced that the whole world has started cooking more and doing more crafts since the invention of Pinterest. As a busy mom, I love this visual bookmarking site because it allows me to store recipes, parenting tips, craft ideas, and more by category. So, when I need a quick dessert to take to a Christmas party or a gift for my kids’ teachers, all I have to do is go to my page and check out my pins and voila! Instant information.

What apps, websites, and online tools help keep your family organized?

But why wait until next Christmas to try them? Confetti Squares, not to be mistaken with the sweet treat variety, are a delicious, colorful appetizer sure to start off your New Year’s Eve party this week (or really any party) with a healthy bang.

How To Make Confetti Square Crescent Roll Appetizers

Feel free to get crazy with the ingredients. Add as much variety as you’d like in flavor and color.

Ingredients

• 2 pkg. crescent rolls (the kind you buy in the a package in the refrigerated section at the grocery store like these from Pillsbury.)
• 2 8 ounce pkg. cream cheese
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2-3 carrots (shredded)
• 3 celery stalks (diced)
• 1/2 yellow pepper (diced)
• 1 bunch radishes (shredded)
• 5-6 green onions (chopped)

Directions

1. Pat crescent dough onto a cookie sheet (jelly roll pan) and bake according to directions. Let cool completely.
2. Beat softened cream cheese and mayonnaise and spread mixture evenly on baked crescent dough (will be flat).
3. Sprinkle veggies evenly on top of the mixture.
4. Cut into small pieces before cooling.
5. Place in refrigerator and chill 3-4 hours before serving.

What is your favorite appetizer to serve during a New Year’s Even celebration?

For my mom, sewing is just part of who she is. My grandmother taught her to sew when she was little and my mom kept it up, making everything from our clothes when we were little to our curtains, table clothes, and all of my sister’s prom dresses.

She started getting paid for her talent a few years ago when she started sewing for the local theater. And not just sewing, but figuring out exactly how to make the come to life on the stage complete with era-appropriate attire.

During a practice for one of her latest plays, The Civil War, we sat together watching the cast learn their parts while she explained to me the challenges with each piece.

“The lead is 7 months pregnant, she shared, “so her dress would have to be longer in front than in back. And the girl next to her had a boob job and was really skinny.” According to my mom, this was more problematic for a seamstress than you’d think. The list went on and on. I sat there amazed at both her excitement and knowledge of costuming.

The older I get, the more I see themes in my mom’s behavior, many centered in her personality and the things she is passionate about, including her talents. Those themes thread through our family and are a legacy she is weaving for us. And I am sure, it is these very things that we will miss most and remember with smiles about her when she’s gone (which, I hope, will be a very long time from now).

What talents does or did your mom possess? How did those talents benefit your family? And what traits or skills did they help you develop?

Talk about foreign aid feels overhwhelming.

I’m a busy mom just trying to raise happy and healthy kids. Somtimes, I can barely extend my focus beyond the walls of my own home, let alone across an ocean.

And “mom” only covers one of my roles.

The longer list of the roles I play with their accompanying demands on my time sometimes makes me want to turn from that face on the cover of National Geographic. You know? The little girl with a perfect head barely covered in hair. A tummy distended. With those big, dark, beautiful eyes, beckoning you to not move past the newsstand or the page online.

I’ll be honest. Sometimes, I look away. Sometimes, I run away. Sometimes, I put away the compassion I feel for that child and her mother in the recesses of my mind and I hug my own children, volunteer in their classrooms, donate to local charities, and don’t beat myself up over it. And sometimes, it’s OK!

Why Now Is the Time to Care About Families in Africa

But now is not one of those sometimes. You know, those times when you feel OK patting yourself on the back for doing all you can, even though you’re doing nothing to help the world’s poorest and most desperate. Why? Because 30,000 people have just died from the famine in Africa with an estimated 750,000 more at risk of death in the next 6 months.

I would like to say that I can’t relate with the mother in Africa who, while she wants to focus on her children’s future, can only focus on this moment, wondering: “Will my child have anything to eat? Can I get him the medical care he needs? Will my family be safe to see tomorrow?”

But, the truth is that though our realities are different, our concerns are based in the same desire to raise happy and healthy children who have opportunities for growth and who will be able to be contributing members of their societies. So I ask myself the question: “If I were in dire straights—really dire straights—wouldn’t I want an outreached hand? Someone to help me get back on my own two feet and step out of the struggles I face?”

And that’s where I want to continue this candid conversation if you don’t mind.

Your Volunteer Efforts Can Help Stop the Famine in the Horn of Africa

If you are like me, you don’t feel that your involvement is helping or that focusing any amount of your busy schedule on families in Africa would be futile.

But that’s where we both would be wrong! The drop we contribute to the bucket of foreign relief is saving and improving lives.

Let’s talk pregnancy for a second. This post-partum ward in western Africa I visited, made possible in part by the CDC, helps women move their deliveries from their homes to the hospital. The mosquito nets provided there and given to them to take home, prevents against Malaria. And this is just one outreach that is making a huge difference in both increasing the infant mortality rate as well as human lives.

How are these programs made possible? By one click of a button to sign an online petition, one letter or call to your congressman, one partnership from organizations like the CDC and USAID often in partnership with non-government organizations and corporations. And, it all starts with people like us—moms who took a moment to make time in their busy schedules or carved a small amount out of their budget to take action.

Isn’t it exciting to consider that your individual effort alone is exactly what the Horn of Africa needs right now? That whatever small or large step you take yields a huge return when we look at the sum of all of those individual parts. One click to sign a petition to not cut foreign aid multiplied by 100,000 other clicks can make a big difference to our government leaders. And the story goes on.

In addition, just like we can’t undervalue our own individual contribution, we can’t underestimate how one life changed can impact generations of people. For example, it only takes $40 to educate a child for a year in Somalia. Think of the potential ripple effect of that child being educated—the opportunities she’ll have, the education she can then pass down to her children, the lives her grandchildren will lead, and the change for their country they can impact.

I met with and heard from government officials in Washington D.C. over the past couple of months. While lobbying, I heard questions ranging from: “Why should government invest in foreign relief?” And I heard: “What more can we do to help?”

I walked away, pondering on the fact that less than 1 percent of the nation’s budget goes to help developing nations. And while that amount seems far from enough, I felt great knowing that I not only listened to both sides of the foreign aid argument (for and against), but I also voiced my opinion to not cut foreign aid—one small thing I could do to help.

Ways Busy Moms Can Help Fight Famine Within the Walls of Their Own Homes

So, if you’re a mom—or a mom at heart—and you want to help, stop your busy life for a second (I promise it’ll wait) and do something to reach out your hand to mothers in Africa. This digital age we live in makes it easy to lift others up without leaving our own homes. Here’s how:

• Check out the awesome new FWD campaign by USAID. They offer lots of options for getting involved. Click on the FWD site to learn more.
• Become a member of ONE.org. This will help you add drops to the foreign relief bucket without spending a cent.
• Write a letter to your members of congress, encouraging the not to make budget cuts to foreign aid.
• Consider future generations. When you see the starving child on the cover of a magazine or featured in an article you’re reading online, look at the child and consider the future generations of people that will be impacted by helping her in any way, small or large, that you can.

What can busy moms do to make a difference for women and families who are struggling in Africa and other developing nations? What are you doing to make a difference?

Don’t All Good Moms Shop at Joann’s?

If you’re at all like me, you’re very appreciative of all things DIY, including cooking and baking, as well as pinning these fabulous pictures on your Pinterest boards.

And even a step further, you have started to think that you, too, can be one of those moms. You know, the kind whose kids must have a better Christmas because of all the fun kids crafts and family cooking activities they do right from the comfort of their own home. The kind whose neighbors look forward every year to receiving their handmade neighbor gifts. I’m guessing these moms’ houses are spic and span and their kids don’t fight either. Who wouldn’t want to be that kind of mom?

So, in an effort to be a “good mom,” I went to Joann’s. I figured all good moms must shop at Joann’s since the parking lot is always full, I hear everyone talk about it, and well, honestly, because I didn’t shop there!

I hit the craft store of all craft stores on a good day, which the good moms all knew about, because they were all there. Had they known me, they would have detected the imposter in their midst, but they didn’t, so I walked around acting like I knew what I was doing. Fake it til you make it, right?

Wilton Candy Melts for Chocolate Snowflake Pops

First off, I bought a year’s supply of candy melts and lots of chocolate molds. I remember my mom, who is the good mom type, always having candy melts and molds, so I figured that would be a safe place to start. The good news is that a huge sale was happening and I got lots of craft and cooking goods for a fraction of their original cost (all lost on me, because I never buy it).

I went home and made chocolate snowflake suckers for a church activity. I got lots of compliments and someone even asked for the recipe. Even though I placed them on a plate and didn’t have them sticking into some sort of foam core Christmas tree with DIY dodads all over it, I figured I was well on my way to being a good mom.

Gingerbread House Kit

Next up? Gingerbread house kit. I’m sure lots of good moms make their own gingerbread houses, but I took the risk on buying the kit, figuring a pre-fab gingerbread house had to be better than no gingerbread house, right? I also figured it was one more Wilton product to add to the list. And don’t all good moms stock their pantries and craft rooms with Wilton?

Well, I may have had all the other good moms fooled, but when I got home, my 10 year-old son said, “Hey! Mom! Is Wilton your client? Are they doing a #gno Twitter party with you or something? Because why else would you go out and buy all of this stuff? Do we need to tweet about them or something?”

Wow! The wisdom of kids.

So, we broke out the pre-fab gingerbread house. Just one tip for anyone reading this who is a mom like me (the type to ruin a gingerbread house, even one that comes from a kit)… check all the gingerbread pieces before putting them together. The roof looks amazingly similar to walls. And wow does that icing turn into cement like stuff quickly! Not a lot of time to repair mistakes!

Advent Calendars

And finally, the advent calendar. Now, I realize it is already almost Christmas. But seriously… don’t good moms embrace the “better late than never” philosophy? I’m going to play by that rule until someone tells me otherwise, because I bought the mid-sized Fiskar’s hole punch and the Wilton tiny tins to make the advent calendar I saw on this good mom’s blog, I can’t for the life of me figure out how to do the printing and design work to get the little advent activities into the bottoms of the tins. The most non-craftsy of all steps to the project and I can’t figure it out. Oh! Well! We’ll have a Valentine’s advent calendar instead. We’re already ahead of the game craft wise! Aren’t all good moms?

The Real Definition of a Good Mom

Nutshell? When I jumped down to earth from heaven, I somehow missed the good mom manual and ended up in a don’t-you-dare-DIY body. I appreciate all the creativity. I will pin the pictures and longingly look at them on my boards. And I’ll keep trying projects from Joann’s and Wilton so my kids can have a little fun during the holidays. But, I’m hoping they’ll also forgive me for flat reindeer cookies, pre-fab gingerbread houses, and Valentine’s Day advent calendars. After all, who really are the good moms? Those who are spending time with their kids, regardless of how crafty they are.

What craft and cooking projects do you do with your kids? If you aren’t the crafty type, what other activities do you do for fun as a family?

Last night, my kids and I were in an edible arts and crafts mode. We got out our supplies and tripled the recipe, leaving us with enough left over to share with three families in our neighborhood as holiday gifts.

How to Make Crafts for Christmas Gifts

Here’s what you need and how to make chocolate gifts.

Supplies

• Christmas cookie cutters in a variety of shapes (We used snowflakes, stars, and a gingerbread family.)
• Wilton candy melts (We used three varieties: white, milk, and peppermint white chocolate.)
• Wilton disposable decorating bags (We needed three, one each for the different kinds of chocolate.)
• Cookie sheet
• Wooden spoon
• Scissors
• Wax paper or Crisco (We preferred to grease the cookie sheet, but you may also place a piece of wax paper on top instead.)
• Paper towels
• Cellophane wrap (We used clear.)
• Ribbon

Instructions

Step 1: In preparation, place a sheet of wax paper on or grease a cookie sheet. Place cookie cutters on top of the wax paper or greased cookie sheet. Then, fill a disposable decorating bag about 3/4ths of the way full of chocolate candies (one variety per bag). Microwave for 30 seconds and remove to pat the bag with a wooden spoon. Microwave for 15 seconds. Repeat until chocolate is melted. Once the chocolate is melted, cut the tip of the disposable bag.

Step 2: Squeeze the chocolate around the edges of the cookie cutter first and then proceed to the center, filling the entire cookie cutter with chocolate. When all cookie cutters have chocolate in them, tap the pan on the counter to smooth out the chocolate. Add another layer of chocolate for effect: milk or dark and white chocolate and milk or dark and peppermint white chocolate are especially fun. Also, consider adding sprinkles or crushed peppermint candies to the top.

Step 3: Place cookie sheet in the refrigerator to cool. Once cooled, determine whether you’d like to give the gifts with or without the cookie cutter.

If you are including the cookie cutter with the gift, you are ready to wrap in cellophane and tie with a ribbon.

If you are not including the cookie cutter with the gift, remove the chocolate from each cookie cutter and place in the cellophane, wrap, and tie with a ribbon. And voila! You have the perfect neighbor gifts.

What are your favorite edible holiday craft activities to do with your kids?