2. Chocolate in any form will do just fine.
3. A new car - a hybrid would be nice.
5. My own coffee shop with full staff.
7. New bedroom furniture.
10. A new grill - and I mean a manly grill, dammit!
12. A beach anywhere would be awesome!
I have seen Mamma Mia three times on stage, and I am sooo excited for the movie to come out this summer starring Meryl Streep. It is going to rock! I am thrilled to tell you about the Mamma Mia contest that is being sponsored by Pond’s!
How many times have you stood in front of a mirror or on a karaoke stage or in your car for that matter and belted out Dancing Queen or Mamma Mia? Well, now is your chance to use those talents to win a lavish trip to London!
Women ages 40 and older are invited to form a singing trio and perform their own take on Mamma Mia or Dancing Queen! Then submit a video of your trio’s performance via the Pond’s Web site! The Pond’s Web site also has complete music and lyrics for both classic songs that you can download to rehearse.
It’s like American Idol for adults who just love the music from Mamma Mia! If you have two friends who you think will help you make a great trio, and a digital camcorder, you’re ready to go!
The winners of the contest will win a luxurious trip to London to live the life of three dynamos at the world premiere of Mamma Mia! Visit the Pond’s Web site for more information!
Don’t delay! The deadline for submissions is April 30th, so grab your friends, pull out your camcorder and start belting out those tunes. Maybe you will soon be on your way to London! Good luck!!
For about a month now, we have been sitting Georgia on the potty three times a day to go the bathroom. Occasionally she pees. But most of the time she just likes to sing songs. . . Scratch that. She likes me to sing songs. Particularly my original rendition of “Georgia’s going pee-pee in the Dora potty.”
I’ve tried letting her run around without pants on, but twice now she has peed down her leg and began stomping around like she’s playing in a rain puddle.
The other day, I tried another trick that the potty training book said to try. The book said to give your child a choice each morning as to whether they wanted to wear a diaper or regular underpants. I thought I would give it a shot. Maybe if I put regular panties on her, she would want to keep them clean, right? Well, that’s what the damn book said!
I pulled out a pull-up and a pair of panties and asked, “Georgia, do you want to wear a diaper or big girl panties today?”
She happily yelled, “BIG GIRL PANTIES!”
Eli glanced up at us from his cereal bowl and said, “I really don’t think that’s a good idea, mama. I think you should go with the diaper.”
Yeah, no kidding!
After breakfast, I sat Georgia on the potty, and she did absolutely nothing. I then put her panties on her and then her pants. The book said to put her on the potty every hour, but I decided to try every half hour.
About 25 minutes later, when I went to pick her up, she was soaked. I don’t know when she peed, but it never phased her one bit because I was watching her the whole time, and never noticed a difference in her reaction – certainly not the surprised reaction the book was talking about when the child realizes they don’t have a diaper on.
You know, I’d like to get my hands on whoever wrote that f*cking potty book, because they obviously never had children.
I don’t know about you, but I seem to remember vividly the times when there were cases of lice running rampant throughout our grade school. If one child had it, it wasn’t long before those little buggers jumped from head to head to head. And if you got lice, you were screwed because in third grade the only thing that brought down your social standing more than lice was a bad case of coodies.
Although there’s still no cure for coodies, lice can be taken care of quickly and easily with Lice M.D. The kind folks at Mom Central sent me a free sample of Lice M.D., and although we’re not currently experiencing a lice problem, I am pleased to have this on hand since my son starts kindergarten in the fall.
Lord only knows what they used to spread on our heads in the 70’s, but now Lice M.D. provides an effective remedy that is pesticide-free and eliminates lice in three easy steps without pulling your child’s hair out. With Lice M.D., you can take control of your lice problem before it takes control of you and your household.
Lice M.D. is clinically tested by pediatricians and proven to be effective at eliminating lice, eggs and nits. Plus, Lice M.D. uses a synthetic lubricant which makes it easy to comb through hair – almost like a conditioner!
You can apply Lice M.D. in three simple steps to eliminate your lice problem. First, apply it to dry hair, then wait 10 minutes. Next, section and comb the hair (with Lice M.D. still in it) to remove lice, eggs and nits. Third, shampoo hair regularly with shampoo and warm water. It’s as simple as that!!
Visit the Lice M.D. Web site to learn more about this wonderful product and watch their product video. Trust me, if you have kids in grade school, this is something you should definitely keep on hand as a staple. The Lice M.D. Web site offers more product info as well as testimonials, additional resources, and printable coupons for Lice M.D.!
I should know by now not to correct the grammar of a 5-year-old. Why? Because I had a conversation with Eli yesterday that went something like this.
Eli: Do you want to try those new waffle pancakes?
Me: Yes, I think they would be good.
Eli: Me and Georgia don’t want to try them.
Me: Georgia and I don’t want to try them.
Eli: *blink blink* But you just said you did.
Me: I do. I’m telling you that the proper way is not to say ‘Me and Georgia’ but rather ‘Georgia and I don’t want to try them.’
Eli: *getting really frustrated at this point* So, do you want to try them or not?!
Me: Yes!
Eli: Then why do you keep saying you don’t?!
Me: Never mind!
Eli walks off in a huff. Eric sits there laughing at me. And I am not amused.
On Friday, I took Eli to Kindergarten Round-Up. In our school district, Kindergarten Round-Up consists of taking the children into the library to do “fun activities” (i.e. making them write letters and use scissors just to see if they can), and taking the parents into the gym to see how long they can sit on hard folding chairs before their butts fall asleep. (About 20 minutes – yet they talked 1 ½ hours, complete with three Powerpoint presentations!!)
Overall, I think it went well. Except, why is it that when I walk into the elementary school, memories of my youth come rushing back to me? My maiden name began with a Y, so I was always the last one in line. Now, my last name is in the first part of the alphabet. When we went in, it was such a thrill for me to go to the line that said A-J. Eric thought it was weird how oddly exhilarated I was.
After I went to the gym, I immediately found my next door neighbor so I had someone to talk to. (This may come as a shock to you, but I don’t do well at sitting quietly.) Here are the highlights that I feel the need to share:
* The principal is freakishly tall – we’re talking in the 7-foot range. I’m wondering if they hired him based on his height because you really don’t need much more when you’re that intimidating.
* We met the three kindergarten teachers. Why is it that there’s always one teacher who looks like she’s about 100 years old and a total bad-ass? I know she is totally the one Eli is going to get.
* They make the children sign paperwork. Things sure have changed. I even raised my hand and asked, but yes, my 5-year-old son actually has to scribble some semblance of a signature on the agreement not to bring weapons to school. That is bizarre to me.
* They start teaching typing, excuse me, keyboarding, in kindergarten!!! Before they leave grade school, there is apparently a proficiency exam on typing so many words per minute. Dude! I didn’t take typing until 9th grade!!!!!!!
* I discovered when we took a tour of the school that my child isn’t that intimidated by the 7-foot principal as demonstrated when Eli and his best friend Parker tried to see how fast they could run up and down the wheel chair ramps.
* They still hire the butchest lesbians they can find to teach P.E. It’s nice to know that some things never change.
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After reading this post, if you feel this issue is something you struggle with, be one of the first to answer a survey and earn an Amazon gift card!
Heavy periods are a problem that many women struggle with. Out of 1300 women surveyed by Mom Central, here are key issues that were discovered:
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Heavy periods can be caused by many reasons including polyps, fibroids, pre-cancerous or cancerous changes in the uterine lining, adenomyosis, or a thyroid imbalance, to name a few. There are several tests that can be performed to determine what exactly is causing your heavy periods, but the important thing to know is that you don’t have to live with this any longer!
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This week’s Manic Monday word (number?) is 1,000. When I heard the theme this week, something immediately came to mind, and it falls in the category of “Ways In Which I Channel My Mother.”
It’s not that I misbehaved badly as a child, but I can often remember my mom saying, “Neila Jo! If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you 1,000 times. Do NOT leave your shoes in the middle of the floor.” Or “Do NOT talk on the phone for more than 20 minutes.” Or “Do NOT hang your bra on the bathroom door knob.”
Whatever it was, the first part was always the same – she had always told me 1,000 times. What does this lead to? Well, let me tell you . . .
“Eli! If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you 1,000 times. I do NOT allow name-calling!” or “Do NOT hit your sister.” Or “Do NOT pull the cat’s tail.” But again, that first part is always the same.
So, here’s the thing. Eli is only five, but already I find him repeating me. Except he has his own take on it – complete with loud sigh, sarcastic tone and eye roll. It goes something like this:
Me: “Eli, do you know what you want for breakfast?”
Eli: *Loud over-exaggerated sigh* “How many times do I have to tell you? 1,000?!” *insert eye roll* “I haven’t decided yet!”
It’s a cycle, I tell you. A vicious cycle!
Dude! April Fool’s needs to end before my son gives me a heart attack. He has spent the last week either hiding my stuff or jumping out at me from behind furniture yelling “APRIL FOOL’S!!”
I keep telling him that April Fool’s Day is just that – ONE DAY! And it’s over. He’s not getting it. I can only handle someone jumping out at me so many times.
In other news, Eli’s parent-teacher conference was today. You never know exactly what you’re going to hear, but it was all good . . . well, mostly good. I learned that Eli needs to work on his listening (gee, there’s a big shocker), and that he needs to work on kicking a ball because that’s not really one of his strengths.
I tried really hard not to laugh. I told his teacher that after two summers of soccer and Eli lying down on the field, I was way ahead of her on knowing that kicking a ball wasn’t really his strong suit.
Luckily, Eli has the vocabulary and creativity to make up for it – as proven by his drawing of an underground television complete with large buttons and instructions on how to operate it. He enjoyed telling me about his "latest contraption." How does he even know what contraption means? I have one interesting kid!
Okay, I’m getting my mommy lies messed up. I really need to make a list of all the things my mom told me when I was a kid, but unfortunately I don’t remember all of her little quips until presented with the situation and then they come flying out of my mouth.
For example, if I catch Eli eating brown sugar, I automatically say, “That will give you worms.” before I can even stop myself.
Today, Eli was complaining that the tip of his tongue hurt. Without hesitation I said, “That means you told a lie.” Why the hell do I do this? Because of my mom!!
Eli gasped and clutched his mouth. “NO, I DIDN’T!”
I said, “Well, your Nanny always told me that if I had a sore on my tongue it was because I told a lie.”
So Eli ran to the bathroom to look at his tongue. Sure enough, there was a tiny sore on the end of it.
He came back in and said, “Well, I do have a sore on my tongue, but I haven’t been lying.” Then he lifted up his pant legs and said, “See? My knees aren’t black.”
That one took me a second. Then I smiled and said, “No, honey. Your knees turn black if you drink too much coffee. You get a sore on your tongue if you tell a lie.”
He just said, “Oh.”
I seriously need to stop this.
Today was the day we decided to hit potty training hardcore. By 'we', I mean 'me'. Eric was at work, Georgia wasn’t all that excited, and Eli didn’t care about anything but the new sticker machine he got for Easter.
I decided that I would try taking off Georgia's diaper for two hours each morning, taking her to the potty after each hour. After a few days of success, my book says you’re supposed to leave the diaper off longer until eventually, she’s out of diapers all day.
So, this morning, I took off her diaper when she got up and sat her on the potty. We sang songs and read books, but nothing. We had previously bought some Dora underpants, but I made the executive decision to let her run around naked from the waist down because I really didn’t want to clean pee and poop out of the new undies quite yet.
I told her we would try to go potty again in an hour. I watched her carefully after that to make sure there wasn’t pee running down her leg. Then, I started cleaning the kitchen (bad idea) and noticed she had gone in the office. This was about 10 minutes before our designated potty time. When I went to get her, she came running out with poop stuck to her leg.
Damn! She had gone in the office to go poop. And it looked like she huddled over the furnace vent to do it because there was poop all over the vent cover. Not. Cool. I really don’t want it to smell like poop in the office every time the heat comes on.
I took her to the potty and explained how we make pee and poop in the potty and plunked her down. After a couple of minutes, she got up, yelled, “I ALL DONE!” and ran off. I looked in the toilet and was shocked. SUCCESS!! She had peed. I made such a big deal. I danced around. I gave her a sticker. I gave a few WOO HOO’s! I was hoping that it might actually be that easy.
After another hour, I took her to the potty again, but nothing. Since it had been two hours, I put her pull-ups back on. It wasn’t long before she went into my bedroom and shut the door. She came back out a couple of minutes later and smelled like poop. Damn. I tried the potty again, but this time nothing. I said, “Don’t you have to go potty?” She smiled and said, “But not yet!”
That’s how she answers everything. “But not yet!” no matter what the question.
Anyway, I put the diaper back on her. We’ll try again tomorrow. I only hope if she poops without her diaper, she doesn’t squat over the vent again to do it.
I went to a jewelry party tonight. I’m sure most of you are quite familiar with these things. You go to a home party with tables full of over-priced jewelry, and then you feel pressured to buy something so that your friend, the hostess, can get something for free.
It was a Silpada party, and that sh*t is expensive! Plus, only four people attended, so the pressure was really on to buy jewelry. Now, I’ve pimped Discovery Toys and Passion Parties, so I know how this sales crap works. But jeez! I’m sorry, but I would much rather spend $150 on a vibrator than on a bracelet. Maybe it’s just me, but for that much money, I want a little more enjoyment.
Eric was not thrilled I was attending this little soiree, and even attempted to take my wallet out of my purse before I left the house. Subtle. Since I’ve spent about 10 times my budget in the last two weeks on a new microwave and refrigerator, I didn’t have a lot of available funds for costume jewelry. And apparently, Silpada doesn’t have a clearance rack. . . Yes, I asked.
I finally walked away with a pair of $30 earrings that I really think I could have bought for $8 at Target, but whatever. My friend Andrea bought $24 toe ring. Dude. Seriously. Next time, I think I’ll stay home with my vibrator.
Out of all the free stuff I have received while blogging, this may be the best thing yet! The folks at Mom Central and Kellogg Company sent me a box of the new Town House Flipsides Pretzel Crackers. These unique crackers have just been introduced to the retail market, so you may have seen these at your local grocery store already. Flipsides are a cracker on one side and a pretzel on the other side. Oh yeah, baby! What’s better than having two of your favorite snacks in one bite?!
When I received these, I thought, “Oh, these will be a great snack for the kids.” I was right on that point – the kids really liked them. Then Eric and I tasted them. Oh. My. God. YUM! We received the cheddar-flavored Flipsides, and they are so good! I went out and bought some of my favorite beer cheese dip, which was AWESOME with these crackers. We received our box of Flipsides on Saturday, and Eric and I snarfed them down so fast, they were gone the next day. I’m not proud of myself, but hey, it’s better than snarfing down a bag of peanut M&M’s, right?
The only complaint I had about the FlipSides is that they broke easily, and there were a lot of broken crackers in the box. That’s not a big deal to me because they taste great, and we were eating them right out of the box. However, if you’re putting them on a serving plate at parties, it’s nicer to display whole crackers rather than cracker pieces, which is what the last third of the box consisted of. Again, not a big deal to me, but it’s something I thought I should point out.
I hope you all will check out these delicious pretzel crackers. The crackers are great for a light snack, kids’ lunches or to serve with your favorite dip or cheese spread. I already have them on my grocery list for when I go to the store. I think I’ll be buying more than one box so they last me a little bit longer.
For more information about the new Town House Flipsides Pretzel Crackers, visit the Kellogg’s Web site, and look for the new Flipsides at a grocery store near you today!!
Now before anyone sends me hate mail, let me just say that I love many of these children’s shows. However after watching them repetitively as my children do, I sometimes want to stab myself in the eyes with a ballpoint pen.
1. SpongeBob Squarepants – Dude, it’s really not funny. I seriously don’t get it.
2. Fairly Oddparents – Okay, this one is actually my favorite of them all. But after watching the Fairly Oddbaby movie about 500 times, it’s no longer funny. Even the voice of Ben Stein can’t help. 
never see your phone now! Heh! Heh! Heh!” Yeah. That’s not cool. We are on a roll here at my house. We just bought a new refrigerator! We bought our old refrigerator with our wedding money when we got married, so it’s coming up on 14 years old. The shelves on the door regularly fall out, and the ice maker produces hollow ice cubes which get stuck in the ice maker daily and I have to dig them out.
We had been discussing a new refrigerator for months, but we really looked them over recently since we were in the store buying a new microwave. This weekend, Home Depot was having a sale, so we decided to go for it. We chose a really nice side-by-side stainless steel fridge with the water and ice cubes in the door. It’s crazy how excited I am about that. I have never had a refrigerator with the water/ice thing in the door!
Now, buying it was the easy part. When we were measuring the “hole” in our kitchen where the refrigerator goes, it got a little more tricky. I never realized how much bigger the new refrigerators are compared with the old ones. Our old refrigerator is about 65 inches tall. The new one is 70 inches tall. We had to remove the cabinet above the refrigerator so we could get a new one to fit in there.
Next up is the width. The current “hole” is 36 ½ inches wide. The new refrigerator is 36 inches wide. That’s the part that scares me. I was afraid this was cutting it too close, but the lady at Home Depot said, “Oh, you’ll be fiiiiine!”
Uh-huh. The fridge is supposed to be delivered on Wednesday, so we’ll see. Either I’ll be happy as a clam with my brand new refrigerator, or I’ll have a stainless steel monstrosity in the middle of my kitchen because it won’t fit anywhere else. Cross your fingers for me.
So, my microwave exploded today. Dude! First, it was the furnace, then the kitchen faucet (did I blog about that one?), and now the microwave. At least if things come in threes, I should be done, right?
There I was at lunch, microwaving some Easy Mac for Georgia for lunch when all of a sudden, the microwave buzzed LOUDLY, and the light on the inside got extremely bright, and it started smoking.
Not a good thing.
Luckily, the Easy Mac was close enough to done that Georgia could eat it, but I still had yet to heat up my lunch, which were White Castle hamburgers. I had accepted fairly quickly that our microwave was going bye-bye (I think we’ve had it for at least 10 years), but dammit, I wanted my sliders!
I decided to chance it. I mean, they only had to heat up for 60 seconds. So, I put them in the microwave and turned it on. There was still smoke and the buzzing was getting louder, and this time the inside light got very bright and started flickering. Georgia was fascinated, but I made her stand behind me in case the thing blew up.
I know this wasn’t one of my brightest ideas, but I was really hungry, and I was standing right there ready for action in case I saw flames. I turned the microwave off after about 45 seconds because I was too scared to continue, and unplugged it. My sliders were warm and had a funny taste (probably radiation poisoning), but I ate them anyway.
I called Eric at work and told him that our microwave exploded (okay maybe I’m being melodramatic, but there was a lot of smoke). So, when he got home last night, we headed to Lowe’s to buy a new microwave. The kids couldn’t sit in the cart because we had to put the microwave in it, so that was fun. They climbed all over the riding lawn mowers, cabinets and fake toilets until finally I took them to wait in the car.
Eric checked out with the new microwave. I desperately wanted an over-the-range microwave, but we have cabinets above our stove so that’s not happening. But we did get a very cool microwave that has a child lock on it. Woo hoo! Even though I hate to spend money, it’s always fun to get new stuff. Hopefully this one will last awhile before I manage to set it on fire.
It seems like every other commercial on TV is for Chuck E. Cheese’s. Some of you may not notice this, but if you have a kid who is always begging to go, you notice it big time.
Since I have enough of loud, screaming children at home, I really don’t need to go someplace where there are hundreds of loud, energetic children in a concentrated area. Eli has been begging to go to Chuck E. Cheese’s for as long as I can remember, and up until now, I was pretty good at distracting him. That is until Eric hit me with a low blow.
When I was little, there was Showbiz Pizza. Anyone remember Showbiz? I would get to go with friends, but my parents absolutely refused to take me to Showbiz. Eric said, “Are you going to deny your son Chuck E. Cheese’s like your parents denied you Showbiz?” Well, mother f*ck! How can I argue with that?
Sunday was the big day, and we loaded up the kids and headed to Chuck E. Cheese’s. Dude! I don’t get how all of those bells and flashing lights don’t send children into flailing seizures the second they walk in the door.
After some greasy pizza, we took the kids out to play. We found that Eli loves to plunk tokens in machines even if he has absolutely no idea what they do. Georgia loves to ride the Big Red Clifford (whose claim to fame is that he vibrates slightly) over and over and over again.
Eric and I discovered we still rock at ski ball. The only problem is that it’s really hard to keep an eye on Georgia when I’m playing ski ball. First, she jumped in between a kid and his video game and took over playing. Oops. When I caught her and told her to come help mommy at ski ball, she thought the object of the game was to attempt to walk up the shoot and put the ball in the holes. It’s not like I can very well chase her up the shoot.
Eli was a little bit better at ski ball. We just have to teach him to throw underhanded. He chucks that ball overhanded like he’s pitching at the World Series. At one point, he threw it into the next lane and surprised the woman playing. I’m just happy he didn’t take off anyone’s head.
By the time we left, two hours later, Eli had collected 135 tickets to trade in for a prize. We found that 135 tickets were enough to get almost nothing. We had enough for two Airheads candies. Luckily, Eli loves Airheads, so he was pleased.
The second we left, Eli started asking when we were coming back again. Oh, sweet lord, I don’t think I can do that very often. That place wears me out – complete sensory overload. We decided we can do it maybe once a quarter. I just have to listen to Eli ask about Chuck E. Cheese’s every day for the next few months.
Personally, I get tired of giving my children gifts only to have them ripped open in two seconds. Isn’t the whole savoring of anticipation thing supposed to be the best part? Anyway, I wanted to do something that was more special, and I have something new for everyone to try out.
The kind folks at Mom Central hooked me up with Giftventure. Giftventure is a way to make gift giving more special, and make it last longer so the gift-giving process lasts longer.
Giftventure is a personalized treasure hunt for your child! At Giftventure.com, you choose the Giftventure package you are most interested in. We chose The Treasure Map Adventure. First, you hide a gift around your house, such as in the back of your closet or your nightstand – someplace your child won’t find it until the right time. Then, you enter a few personal details into the Giftventure.com site.
Giftventure prints out and mails to your child a series of personalized letters and puzzles that, when solved, lead to the location you typed into the Web site. Your child receives the personalized letters from a fictional character – we chose Percy the Pirate – and each letter and puzzle is personalized with the details you entered. Over the course of the week, your child will receive three letters and has to piece together the clues. The final letter will direct your child to the secret hiding place of the gift.
Eli absolutely loved this. He’s only 5, so I had to help him with reading the clues, but he thought it was the coolest thing ever, and he filled out the treasure map all by himself. When he finally found his gift (Toy Story 2 DVD), I don’t think he was as excited by that as he was with the whole Treasure Hunt adventure. He keeps asking when Pirate Percy is going to send him another letter.
Giftventure is perfect for Easter, Christmas, birthdays, or any holiday or occasion you want. We did our little treasure hunt just for fun, and it was a special treat for the kids, who had a great time figuring out the clues!
Now, here is the special! For Easter, Giftventure is offering 10% off the list price (19.95) to all my blog readers – that’s you!! All you have to do is visit their Web site and enter promo code momcentral when placing your order. If you sign up by March 14, you will also get reduced shipping!
Visit Giftventure today to learn more about the different packages they have to choose from for kids of all ages!
Yippee skippy, it’s Friday! I’m wondering if my week could get any weirder. My freelance business is really picking up, so I have been busy. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to write SEO content while trying to entertain two children at the same time.
Georgia has spent the days spinning around in circles as fast as she can. She stops every once in awhile and screams “WHOA!” and then starts again. Then she stops again and screams, “STOP MAKING MUSIC!” Dude, sometimes I wonder exactly what beat she is bopping to. I’m not quite sure I get it, but she really seems to be enjoying herself.
Eli comes up to me and just says things out of the blue like, “Mama! Do you want to see the blood in my eyes?” and then makes a weird face.
Not to be outdone, Georgia decided to celebrate today with explosive diarrhea. Okay, she desperately needs to learn to use the potty. After three blowouts today, and lots of cornstarch and diaper rash cream, the poor girl was screaming in pain from her flaming bottom. Tomorrow, I may just let her run around without pants. Luckily, I just got a new bottle of carpet stain remover. So I think I’m ready.
Is there anything better than when your one of your favorite treats becomes a health food? I don’t think there is!! Kellogg's just introduced its new Whole Grain Pop-Tarts! And the kind folks at Mom Central and Kellogg Company sent two boxes for my kids and me to try. Oh yeah, baby!
We received a box of the Whole Grain Strawberry Pop-Tarts and a box of the Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts. When I was little, I couldn’t seem to get enough sugar and I just used to lick the icing off the tops of Pop-Tarts before eating them. Eventually I stopped eating Pop-Tarts because as I got older, I thought they were too sweet.
Well, the Whole Grain Pop-Tarts are perfect. They aren’t covered with the sugary icing, they just they just have icing drizzled over the top, so it’s not as overpowering. The inside of the Pop Tart has a nice strong flavor, which I think tastes way better than the generic equivalents.
You can tell the Pop-Tart is whole grain because it looks whole grain, but that part doesn’t taste any different to me than the regular Pop-Tart. If anything, I thought it was a softer consistency and not as “hard” as a regular Pop-Tart.
Now, here is the best part – my kids LOVED them!! Woo hoo!! They are huge fans of Pop-Tarts. They never want them toasted, and just eat them cold. As soon as they saw me putting these in the pantry, they screamed “I WANT ONE! I WANT ONE!” Eli prefers the Brown Sugar Cinnamon, and Georgia is a girl after my own heart – she loves the Strawberry. It’s very satisfying to watch my kids happily eating something they think is a treat and knowing they are getting fiber and 16 grams of whole grains. I almost feel like I’m tricking them. Muwahahahaha!
I will definitely keep buying the Whole Grain Pop-Tarts. They get a big thumbs up from me because they are so tasty and not as sweet. Plus anytime I can get my kids to eat anything that’s remotely good for them, I am all over it!
Check out Kellogg’s Web site for more information on the Whole Grain Pop-Tarts, and look for them at a store near you!
I didn’t have time this week to sit down and compile a list of 13 anything, but I had a lot of ideas about TT’s that I could write. So here is a list of 13 Thursday Thirteens that I didn’t write today, but that may be coming at some point in the future when I have slightly more energy.
1. 13 reasons I want to run away from home (Did I mention that it was a bad day?)
2. 13 reasons why I’m completely exhausted
3. 13 places where Georgia has thrown a tantrum
4. 13 things the kids picked up at the grocery store when I wasn’t looking
5. 13 books I wish I had time to read
6. 13 songs I put on Eli’s new mix CD
7. 13 things I said that made Eli scowl at me
8. 13 toys Eli has taken for show and tell
9. 13 expletives I uttered when I found out I had to pay $500 for Georgia’s preschool enrollment
10. 13 reasons I need Supernanny to come to my house
11. 13 things I say to my kids that make me sound like my mother
12. 13 things I’m doing when I want to be sleeping
13. 13 things the kids are doing when I want them to be sleeping
As a mom, I have been extremely concerned since my children were born on how household chemicals are affecting them. Children can get extremely sick from the cleaners you use around the house even if you are very careful.
I can spray my countertops down with 409 and wipe them off well, and two seconds later my kids are climbing up on the counter looking for a snack. I desperately wanted to find a cleaners that were not harmful and non-toxic. I tried a few different ones, but the problem I always ran into was that the “green” cleaners I tried weren’t effective. Until now!
Clorox just introduced a new line of products called Green Works. Green Works is a full line of natural cleaning products, and includes everything from glass cleaner and all-purpose cleaner to toilet bowl cleaners. Green Works cleaners are made from plant-based ingredients, so they are natural cleaners, and they smell wonderful!!
Mom Central together with Clorox sent us bottles of the glass cleaner and the all-purpose cleaner to try out. The glass cleaner has a nice clean citrusy smell, and the all-purpose cleaner smells like lime! This is a nice change from having to open the windows in my bathroom every time I clean because the toxic fumes are about to make me pass out!
But the big question is – How well does Green Works work?
It works wonderfully! I am not kidding. I LOVE these products, and I’m not just saying that because they sent me samples for free. First, I tried the all-purpose cleaner on the kitchen counter. It got off marker! And something red and sticky that I never figured out what it was. And the coffee stain on my stove. Then, I used it to clean up cat spit-up from the hardwood floor. That’s right, if a cleaner says all-purpose, it better mean all-purpose! It worked great on the floor. Next, my husband used it to clean the inside of his car. It worked great for that, too!
Next up was the glass cleaner. I am picky about glass cleaners because many of them are streaky. I took this bottle and went around the house. I cleaned the bathroom mirrors, the TV screens, the computer screens, the doors on the entertainment center, the doors on the fireplace, the top of the coffee table and the front door. Then I got tired. But guess what? No streaks. And no rubbing and rubbing and rubbing. I was amazed at how well it worked. Dare I say, the Green Works glass cleaner worked better than Windex! And the citrusy smells of the cleaners are awesome!
Like I said, I am constantly worried about the chemicals my children are exposed to. Green Works helps to take a load off my mind, and does a great job at cleaning my house! Visit Green Works’ official Web site to read more about this new line of natural cleaners, and look for them at a store near you. You will love Green Works because it is environmentally friendly, kid safe and effective.
Go green, people!!
Okay, I think I’m psychic. No really. I’m not crazy. Okay, maybe I am, but not because of that.
I know you all know what I’m talking about. Have you ever had those moments when something pops into your head, like a song, and then two seconds later, it’s playing on the radio? That kind of things happen to me all the time, but it seems to be increasing lately.
Every time I have a song stuck in my head, it never fails that within about two hours, Eric starts humming it. We have sat down and tried to do it on purpose. I’ll think of a song and make him try to guess it or vice versa, but it never works when we do try that.
On Saturday, I turned on Noggin for Eli, and every time a show would come on, it would pop into my head what it was going to be about. For example, when Eli said that Oswald was going to be on, I started thinking of the Oswald episode where he caught fireflies, and sure enough, that was the episode that came on. After that happened three times, it started to freak me out. But the second I start consciously paying attention and trying to guess, I couldn't do it.
Then, yesterday I started thinking about this woman named Kathy that I worked with about 12 years ago. I didn’t work with her closely, and I wouldn’t say we were really friends. I hadn’t thought about this woman in years, but for some reason, she just popped into my head yesterday and I wondered what she was doing these days.
This morning, I had a doctor’s appointment. When I walked out of the doctor’s office to leave, there was Kathy sitting in the waiting room. I almost fell over. Now you have to admit, that’s a little creepy. I went up and started talking to her and did the whole “Remember me? We worked together at Daniels Publishing?” She said, “Oh, of course” even though it was quite obvious she didn’t know who in the hell I was.
But here is my question. How do you harness the power? I mean tap into your psychic potential. Seriously. And again, I’m not crazy. But I was thinking that if I could really figure out how to do this, I could use my powers for something good. If you read my blog yesterday, you know that winning Powerball is high on my list. Or maybe I could get one of those booths at the Renaissance Festival and charge $40 for a 15 minute psychic reading. Dude! I could make some bank!
