Awesome Gift Ideas for Mother's Day

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I know all you mamma's out there would love a day of relaxation, reading your favorite book in a clean house after a good meal (not cooked by you). But this isn't the reality for most of us moms. There are no days off! Especially Mother's Day.

My husband is very capable of taking care of our family and making sure all the kids are fed, dressed and clean - and he does a good job, but he just isn't Mom.

"Mom" isn't just a name it is a badge of honor you earned over the years of caring for your dearest little treasures. Kissing boo-boo's, wiping snotty noses, hugging a hurting child or one who just needs a little TLC and whipping up a meal to feed your clan are all duties a mom willing and joyfully accepts.

Daily.

Momming isn't easy. Don't kid yourself, as your littles get less little the momming doesn't get easier, it gets harder, especially when teen hormones kick in. But you love them anyway because you are MOM.

So this Mother's Day let's spoil her rotten! Let's celebrate Mom! Shower her with gifts, do the dishes, make her a meal and give her a relaxing day. Or maybe just maybe let her use the bathroom for once in private - that ought to make her day. It sure would make mine!

Kidding!!

kind of?

I found some great Mother's Day gifts you might want to consider for your mom this year. If you see something you like click on the image and you will be directed to the website you can purchase it from. Super simple!

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Feed Mom's Chocolate Obsession 

Oh, and don't forget mom's love for all things coffee & chocolate! No mom could survive without one of these (or both).

I'm a dark chocolate kind of mom. Apparently the love of chocolate is a genetic trait that can be passed down from one generation to the next. How do I know this you ask? Well each one of my four kids, especially my oldest daughter, LOVES chocolate and would do practically anything to get it.

Click HERE

I'm serious folks - it has become a real problem around here. At least for me it is a problem because they are eating my chocolate!

I have to hide chocolate in my house. I don't mean just tuck it in the corner of a cabinet, that is child's play here and no longer a viable hiding place since they all caught onto this trick long ago. I've had to get really creative and stash bars in all sorts of weird places like the laundry room cupboards, slipped next to books on our bookshelf, under cans of canned goods in the pantry and even in my sock drawer.

Chocolate is a serious obsession around here! Chocolate Trading Co. has a great assortment of chocolate gift boxes and other great chocolate products your mom would love.

Coffee Lovin' Mama!

Blue Bottle Coffee Co.

Coffee is another great gift for mom. A gourmet bag of the finest beans and a cute coffee mug make a good Mother's Day gift for your special mommy. You could even get a plain white coffee mug and let the kids decorate the mug with drawings using special Sharpie Markers. After they are done decorating you just pop the mug into the oven for a bit and the ink becomes permanent.

Popsugar.com has a great tutorial showing how to make your own custom decorated ceramic mug with Sharpie Markers!

Click here for Project Details

I found this cool coffee starter box gift set for mom. Inside this box is everything Mom needs to get started on delicious homemade coffee. Throw in a fresh bouquet of flowers, and there’s no better way to start off a lazy Sunday morning. Find this set at Blue Bottle Coffee.

click HERE Gift Set

No matter how you celebrate Mother's Day I'm sure it will be wonderful! Happy Mother's Day mama - kick your feet up and ignore those dust bunnies collecting under the couch, I guarantee they will be there waiting for you tomorrow.

The Power of Chocolate...A Love Story

Once upon a time a little girl was given a beautiful chocolate bunny in her Easter basket. It was covered in shiny gold foil with painted eyes, whiskers and other whimsical details. It was a treasure of all treasures! 

The little girl, wanting to savor her treat made a plan as to how she would go about consuming the chocolate bunny. A nibble to the ears one day, then the feet the next and onto the tail were part of her well thought out plan. 

Carefully she unwrapped the foil from the ears revealing the smooth shaped chocolate. Sinking her teeth into the top she nibbled away until they were all gone. 

Wrapping the foil over the exposed chocolate bunny head, she placed the uneaten portion into the refrigerator saving it for her after school treat. Off to school she bounded wiping chocolate from the corners of her mouth.

Little did the girl know that this chocolate bunny would cause her mother such irresistible temptation. While left alone at home with only a baby to care for, the mother, smelling the faint chocolate aroma wafting through the kitchen after her daughter's early morning treat, was in a state of utter despair! Her resolve, quickly waning, left her completely as she pulled open the refrigerator door, unwrapped the chocolate bunny and took her first satisfying nibble of the cold, smooth, sweet chocolate. It was decadent. 

Resolving to nibble no more, the mother re-wrapped the chocolate bunny placed it back in the refrigerator and set about caring for the baby. 

However, the temptation to take another small bite returned and she found herself once again enjoying another bite of the chocolate bunny. This routine continued throughout the day until the time came for the little girl to come home from school.  

Leaping off the steps of the bus the little girl skipped happily to her house, opened the door and headed straight to the kitchen where she opened the refrigerator door to get her chocolate bunny. Looking around the shelves for her shiny foil covered bunny the little girl could not find what she was searching for. Tucked away in the back, behind the milk was a small lump of foil covering a chunk of chocolate that appeared to be the feet of what was once a bunny. Snatching up the lump of foil and chocolate the girl raced to find her mother and ask what had happened. 

The mother looked sadly at her daughter and confessed that she had in fact eaten the chocolate bunny. Her sad countenance and repentant heart moved the little girl to forgive her mother and offer the remaining lump of feet to her to eat. The little girl crawled up into her mother's lap and the two of them shared the last of the chocolate bunny together. 

The End.

The events of this story are based upon a real life event. 

The names of the characters have been changed to protect those involved, mainly the mother!

Moral of the story - Forgiveness is powerful but HIDE YOUR CHOCOLATE!

10 Delicious Desserts to Serve on Easter

Looking for an Easter themed dessert to serve after your Easter dinner? Here are 10 delicious dessert ideas you can serve at your next Easter dinner. 

A few years ago my husband and I decided to try something different for one holiday - to celebrate with friends instead of a family party. Since Easter was the next holiday that was coming up on the calendar it only made sense to try this idea out on Easter. So we invited a few families over for a late afternoon dinner and dessert - it was a BLAST! Not to say it isn't fun to celebrate with family - cause it is - but it is just different with friends. 

All of the families who came to our house for Easter all agreed that taking one holiday to celebrate with friends was really fun.

So now our annual Easter celebration is a friends party! Our kids love it because their friends come over for the whole afternoon, we have a good dinner and then later on we indulge in some YUMMY dessert. I always ask everyone to bring a side dish and a dessert to share. I love seeing what everyone comes up with for dessert - my favorite part! I also make a dessert to share (I don't think you can have too many desserts, right?!)

Since I was doing some "research" (a.k.a - drooling over yummy pictures of desserts) I thought I'd share what I found with you to help inspire your sweet tooth.

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Please see my disclosure here.

10 Delicious Easter Dessert Ideas

1 - M&M Blondie Brownies

via Inside Bru Crew Life

Who doesn't love a blondie? If you just add pastel colored m&m's it would really give this treat a spring/Easter look. 

I've frozen these before then thawed them out when I needed them - they tasted great. 

2 - Confetti Sprinkles Sugar Cookie Bars 

via Two Sisters Crafting

Bars are a wonderful dessert since you can slice them any size you need! These confetti sprinkle sugar cookie bars combine are topped with frosting which can be tinted to any color you want to make your Easter dessert look amazing (and taste great too!).

3 - Pineapple Cake

via The Gingham Apron

Here is a light and fluffy dessert to remind you of spring. The sweetness of the pineapple and the light yellow color of the cake just scream SPRING DESSERT! 

I think I could eat a whole pan of this cake by myself - yikes!

4 - Easter Peep Fruit Kabobs

via Amees Savory Dish

Maybe you are trying to keep the sugar under control this Easter - why not make fruit kabobs with a twist - or a peep bunny!

Make sure the fruit is dry after you rinse it so that the peep doesn't get mushy. 

Wouldn't they look cute on your table this Easter - might even get the kids to eat a little healthy dessert too!

5 - NO BAKE Strawberry & Cream Pie

via The Recipe Critic

Need a quick but amazing dessert - here is your winner! 

One tip though - after adding the cold water/ice cubes to the jello let it sit for a bit to set up before adding the cool whip otherwise it will not set up. 

Also, if you prefer a different fruit, say raspberries you can substitute them for the strawberries. 

6 - Carrot Cake Trifle

via A Step In The Journey

This recipe combines so much yummyness (is that even a word?) into one bowl! 

Oh, and it is a super simple recipe easy to whip up before a party or make ahead and put in the fridge - that is a winner in my book.

7 - Super Easy Lime Bars

via: Rock Recipes

This recipe has two of my favorite things - easy and lime! Spring flavors with a light custard texture make this a wonderful Easter dessert. 

I hope you are as inspired to bake something like this as I am. If you love this recipe you can buy cookbooks by Rock Recipes here on Amazon.

8 - NO BAKE Mint Chocolate Lasagna

via: inspiring cooks

I confess, I am a choc-aholic! 

Mint Oreo crumb crust + cook whip + cream cheese + chocolate pudding = satisfying chocolate dessert. 

This one can also be made ahead so you don't have to do all your cooking/baking all in one day. I guarantee this dessert wouldn't last long around my house. 

If you don't like mint you can always use regular Oreo cookies, leave out the mint extract and green food coloring.

9 - Easter Egg Fruit Pizza

via: Persnickety Plates

If you don't have a favorite sugar cookie recipe you can always use a sugar cookie mix - no shame there! Just roll the dough out and trim it into the shape of an egg (oval shape), bake it and then decorate it with a cream cheese frosting or regular frosting of your choice. 

Or you could use these cute Easter egg shaped cookie cutters to make individual cookies and then let the kids have fun decorating them with the fruit of their choice.

10 - Angel Lush with Pineapple

via: Dole Sunshine

I have made this recipe many times and it is always a BIG hit! It is simple and so pretty - you can decorate it with any fruit that is in season but my favorite are blueberries and strawberries. 

It just looks like Spring on a platter doesn't it? 

I hope you are as inspired by these recipes as I am! The tough part is choosing one (or two) to make for our friend's Easter dinner party. 

What are your favorite desserts to serve after Easter dinner? 

Valentine's Day - Take it or Leave it?

I'm kind of a "luke warm" Valentine enthusiast. I love doing special projects with my kids for the holiday but when it comes to the full blown - dinner, cards, gifts, and on and on, well I'm just not that into it.

Unless there is chocolate involved! My dad has spoiled my two younger sisters and I since we were little girls. Every year, even when we lived far away, a heart shaped box of Russell Stovers chocolates showed up at our door or was hand delivered. Yum!

Before the flavor of each piece was posted on the lid of the heart shaped box or a little paper insert diagram of the flavors it was eat at your own risk. Heaven forbid you bit into one of the flavors that were AWFUL! As a kid we used to poke our fingers through the bottom of each piece to find out what kind of candy we were going to eat. Then began the fun game of "trade your yucky chocolate for someone else's". My middle sister loved the coconut and my baby sister liked the caramels. Me, I loved the nougat, caramel and the chewy pink one. 

So friends, Happy Valentine's Day, I guess. Enjoy some chocolate!