Weavers Wobble (But We Don't Fall Down)

Happy Birthday to Me

2013-01-11T21:48:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to me...happy birthday dear Alex...happy birthday to meeeee! Okay, got that out of my system, for now. My day was pretty borning but this evening my family took me out to one of my favorite restaurants, Fujihana, for dinner. I love watching them cook and the food is fabulous. I was super excited tonight because we got one of the guys that is entertaining as well. I never get to go there because Jason doesn't like spending money on so little food. Which is totally crazy because this has always been one of the places that I could take food home because I was too full to eat it all and I used to be able to eat a LOT.
On the topic of eating a lot, I gained a lot of weight (about 15-20lbs) between July and November of 2012 and really wanted to lose it. So I've been on an exercise/weight loss program since November 21, 2012. That's almost 3 months...possibly the longest I've ever stuck with something that I had a choice in deciding whether to keep going on end it. The good: I've worked out for 20-60 minutes 4-7 days/week since 11/21. Usually 6 days and usually longer than 30 minutes. My workouts vary- Hip Hop Abs, the elliptical machine, swimming, running the treadmill, walking, some Pinterest finds. When the intensity is low I will do more than one activity, making sure to do something hard that day too.
When I first started I quickly learned that I wouldn't lose any weight if I didn't start fixing my eating habits too. So I stopped eating seconds and thirds at every meal, stopped eating crackers and soda and did some small alterations as well like only snacking on chips or cookies at parties. I've significantly decreased my intake of pasta. My meals are minimally processed. I won't do low-fat foods or artifical sweeteners- bad stuff right there. I'm eating well, working out...so I should be losing weight, right?
I have been taking weekly pictures, weighing and measuring myself almost daily. Without a doubt I'm gaining muscle. But I'm still the same weight, haven't lost many inches and the worst part...I'm still in the exact same size clothing! Ugh.

The rest of my birthday celebration will be simlarly laid back and I plan (hope) to get my way for the rest of the weekend.
So today, to say, "screw you" to my sucky progress I skipped the workout AND had dessert. And I can't win, because now I'd really like to exercise. But I really want to go to bed also.

Moody

2012-12-31T11:40:00.000-05:00

I thought working out was supposed to help with depression, outlook, overall mood but that doesn't feel like the case for me. I'm around 7 weeks into working out (the most workout I've ever done in my life) and I feel kind of miserable. I do it almost every day now and feel pretty lousy when I miss a day. My body itself is starting to feel good; my leg and butt muscles are in a constant state of burn, sort of like you feel after you've been working out for about 5 minutes. It's actually a good feeling! I'm not always as tired as I used to be. I'm losing an inch here, gaining half an inch there...no weight loss but that stuff isn't really getting me down too much.
But I never want to leave the house anymore. I was happy to get out for Christmas, but otherwise I don't want to go anywhere or do anything. It's all I can do to get a shower by 3pm every day. When asked what I wanted to do for New Year's Eve I mumbled, "I don't know". I like celebrating and getting out of the house! So what's wrong with me?
Lately I've been thinking about the fact that I'm almost 31 and I've never been further south than Florida, further north than New York, Further west than Illinois. I want to go somewhere spectacular. But I can hardly leave my house, so I don't know how that would work. I'd probably talk myself out of it anyway. I think about how I never got to finish college. Not that I even know what I want to be when I grow up. But that clock that stopped and told me to enjoy 30 (I was seriously super excited to turn 30) seems to be tick, tick, ticking away, faster than ever. Not that I'm dreading 31, I guess I'm just more aware of aging? I don't feel old, so that's not what's dragging me down.

I just don't want to feel like this anymore. Needed to vent. Haven't talked about this to anyone so I had to get it out somewhere. This seems as good a place as any.
What do you do when you feel like crap and the things that should help aren't?

Review of the Oral-B Professional Precision 5000 Toothbrush #OralBSponsored

2012-12-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

I am approximately 3 weeks into trying the Oral-B® Professional™ Precision 5000. Prior to that my brushing regime was pretty basic but never something I looked forward to. I was using a regular manual toothbrush. In the past I had also used the cheapest battery-powered toothbrushes. I was always hesitant to spend the money on those though, because most died before I should have gotten rid of them, and there was little to no improvement over a manual brush. I brush 2-3 times per day, floss when I remember to buy it, I prefer Colgate Total gel toothpaste to any other, I sometimes rise with perxoide and every so often I brush with baking soda. But with my terribly crooked teeth (I'm talking cover-my-mouth-when-I-smile crooked) it was a pain, figuratively and literally to mess with my mouth for those 3-5 minutes morning, noon and night. I was very excited to try this Oral-B electric toothbrush but had mixed feeling about having to think about my teeth every time I brushed. Maybe I'm dramatic.

My old toothbrush never cleaned my teeth really well. My crooked teeth caused a lot of issues, like not being able to get to certain areas as well as others. My teeth would be smooth for the most part, but there were spots that I would have to go back over, making my teeth bleed from the force and awkward maneuvering. Those same spots would feel dirty frequently throughout the day, driving me insane! My biggest hope for the Oral-B electric toothbrush is these issues no longer persisting. Short of getting braces (which will probably never happen until money begins growing on trees) this is my next best option.

When the Oral-B Professional Precision 5000 package arrived I sorted through everything, figuring out what things were and reading the booklet that came with the toothbrush and accessories. I won't lie and say everything was simple to set up. Most of it was, but I had a heck of a time figuring out how to open the back of the wireless Smart Guide so I could put the batteries in it. I was so sure I would break it. Once I figured that out, everything else was smooth sailing.

Fancy traveling case, holder for brush heads, charger, Smart Guide and more.

Let's begin with the Smart Guide. The Smart Guide is your wireless helper when using your new toothbrush and comes with two rechargeable batteries. You could use regular AA batteries too. There is a 2 minute timer that begins the moment you push the power button on your toothbrush. You are supposed to brush each quadrant of your mouth for 30 seconds and the Smart Guide will pause and beep when you've finished each section. There is also a visual guide to show which section you've completed. You don't have to follow it to a T; it will just remind you how much time you have. The smiley face will be complete when you are done. I tend to go beyond the 2 minute timer (the brush turns off when you hit the power button again, not after 2 minutes) because I like to brush my tongue and the roof of my mouth without taking up my tooth time.

The obvious: It has a carrying case, the brush case holds up to 4 brushes, the dock plugs into a wall outlet, the toothbrush is rechargeable and charges when you place it on the dock. Everyone in your family can use the same toothbrush and you can just buy each person a different head.

Other facts: A red light blinks if you are brushing too hard- you are supposed to let the oscillating, rotating and pulsating do its work. There are 5 settings: daily clean, deep clean, sensitive, whitening and massage.

Some facts and opinions from me: At first I hardly noticed a difference in the feeling of my teeth after I brushed with the Oral-B Professional Precision 5000. But after 2 or 3 days my teeth started feeling noticeably cleaner (a smoothness I can feel with my tongue) even in the hard-to-reach spots that always caused me trouble with my manual toothbrushes. It lasts longer too. I still wake up with brushing the first thing on my to-do list but during the day my teeth feel cleaner longer. My teeth almost never bleed anymore. They were bleeding sometimes when I used my manual, and frequently when I flossed. That seems like a big deal. I still haven't gotten to the point where I can use all of the 5 settings- there are 2 that I don't even bother trying yet. Maybe someday soon I'll be able to tolerate them but right now those two settings kind of hurt and feel the way I think a drill would feel on your teeth. I like that you don't have to do funky maneuvers to reach the back of your mouth. The brush does it all for you. Is it worth more than $150 more than a manual toothbrush? I'm not so certain...that is a LOT of money. But this kind of electric toothbrush is definitely worth an investment over a manual or cheap, battery-operated toothbrush.

Other Pros:
-It's rechargeable and the charge lasts a long time. In 3 weeks I've only recharged it twice. I'm the only one in my house using the tooth brush so if more of us were then the charge would obviously be more frequent.
-It will be easy to swap tooth brushes if more family members decide they want to share with me. And it came with colored bands that you can use to identify which toothbrush belongs to which family member.
-The cord to the charger base is a decent length. I honestly don't know how long it is. But we have two outlets in our bathroom and only one is reasonable to use and sometimes things don't reach from that outlet to our bathroom counter and it's really frustrating. This doesn't even come close to being too short.
-One brush and the purchase of extra heads can accomodate a whole family.

Cons:
-A little pricey at a suggested retail price of $159.99
-My inability to use all 5 settings. But I think it's just my sensitive teeth and that it's only a matter or time before I can try them again.

And now I have some great news! Until December 31, 2012 you can receive a $20 mail-in-rebate when you buy this and other select toothbrushes from http://www.oralb.com. Visit the website for details.
After you're done browsing their selection of fabulous brushes join the conversation on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/oralb or on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/oralb and use the hashtag #PowerUp

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Modern Mom on behalf of Oral-B and received a product sample to facilitate my review.

Torani Syrups Review: A Sponsored Post for SheSpeaks & Torani

2012-12-15T22:11:00.003-05:00

I was recently sent two 750ml bottles of Torani syrups, a recipe booklet to suggest ways to enjoy the syrups and coupons for $1 off Torani syrups to share, from Torani and SheSpeaks. This is a sponsored post but all of the opinions are my own.

I love coffee but I'm not a coffee connoisseur; my 2 coffee drinks per morning need to be sweet, light and creamy and only have a hint of coffee flavor with a nice kick of caffeine to get me through the day. I usually achieve this by brewing the coffee then dumping a bunch of creamer into my cup. But I'm not into weird ingredients (seriously...look at the list on some flavored creamers) and I knew that was exactly what I was getting myself into with most flavored creamers. The natural versions made me happy for a while but there was just something off about the taste. I sometimes just go with regular cream and sugar but then I crave the flavors I love so much and my local grocery store doesn't carry the cream I use so I often end up with regular creamers anyway. I knew there had to be something better out there, but where the heck was it? I don't buy Starbucks anymore because I can't stomach their prices but I love the way their coffee drinks taste. So sweet, but with no funky aftertaste. So...wonderful.

Then I get this opportunity to try Torani and I'm like, "There's something else- something I can buy in stores- to maybe make my coffee taste like the heaven I've been searching for every morning? I'm SO in!" I waited patiently for my Torani to arrive and when it did I had already had my two cups for the day. So I did what any sane person who shouldn't have more caffeine would do and I started making another cup. And I found it! I found the coffee I've been searching for. In MY house. Awesome!

So, I received the Torani regular Peppermint and regular Salted Caramel syrups. My heart kind of sank when I saw the Salted Caramel and lifted a little when I saw the Peppermint. One of my favorite coffee drinks involves peppermint and mocha. About a month ago I tried a salted caramel creamer and it was one of the most disgusting things I ever drank. And I was so sure I'd love it because I love caramel, but it was reason enough for me to be afraid of this bottle.
I decided to suck it up and try the salted caramel in case I really hated it so that I could maybe trick some people into coming over to drink the rest of it so I wouldn't have to throw it away. That is how damaged I was by the last time I tried that flavor. I read the directions: 1oz (2 Tbsp) to a cup of coffee. Going for some equally simple I added a shot of milk, took a deep breath and drank. And it was really, really good! You can imagine how shocked I was to like this...a lot, after hating the other version so much.
In the following days I alternated between the Salted Caramel and the Peppermint for my 2 cups. While I do love peppermint flavor I prefer it to include chocolate, so most days I added half the recommended syrup with a shot of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup to my coffee and I've been oh-so happy making my coffee every morning since. I didn't try any other recipes; I was enjoying my delicious coffee too much to "waste" it on anything else! I would be curious to see what these would taste like in other foods and drinks. It seems like you could add these to anything sweet. Maybe I'll add a little to some vanilla ice cream or cake mix. I've seen some good ideas in the recipe book they provided and from other bloggers that have tried Torani syrups. I can't wait to try more flavors!

My Peppermint Mocha daily indulgence.

What I like best is the lack of freaky ingredients: Pure cane sugar, water, natural flavors, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness), citric acid [and] caramel color in the Salted Caramel syrup. It may not be perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than what you might see if you look at what's readily available in the grocery store.
Another plus: Made in the US. That's tough to find!

There are more than 60 regular flavors and more than 30 sugar-free (Splenda) flavors of syrup. Some look fabulous and some look a little strange (chicken and waffles...what?). But it's just amazing the selection they have, and amazing that I never knew about these before.

What I don't like:

I seem to have some trouble locating these in the grocery store.

The price seems scary at first. About $8 for a 750ml bottle. That's about the size of one of the bigger bottles of creamer, so when I thought about that I was a little bothered. But after almost finishing two bottles I know now- there is no comparison between the two products. For one: I use significantly less of the Torani than I do the creamer because a little goes a long way, and I can use less milk or cream because of the saturated flavors in the syrup. It's worth it.

Rather than dreading making a cup of coffee everyday (yes, I needed it but I dreaded it) I woke up excited every morning.

What's your favorite way to drink coffee? Do you have a favorite creamer or syrup? Which flavor of Torani syrup would you most like to try?

Summer Fun: A Trip to Lake Tobias in Halifax, PA

2012-08-31T13:46:00.000-04:00

We tried to stay busy this summer (sometimes a success) and in August we made a trip with my daughter's girl scout troop to Lake Tobias in Halifax, PA. Lake Tobias is a family-owned large wildlife park in central Pennsylvania. They offer safari tours, reptile shows, petting zoo, a gift shop and more. Some really great features of Lake Tobias are their practically free-range animals, unbanded gators and their prices. It really upsets me to see large animals in tiny cages, treated poorly and neglected. I am so happy and comfortable spending my money at this park.
It's really exciting to see familiar animals like lions, bears (the lions and bears are quite lazy at Lake Tobias and probably the least entertaining of all the animals) and zebras (you can feed these guys!). There are some very unfamiliar creatures as well, like the capybara, which looks like large otters and the watusi that look like cows with massive, heavy horns. There are many different species of monkeys, birds and more that kids and adults will love to watch.

This guy appeared to be copying the visitors. There's seating behind him and he was trying to sit just like they were. The visitors had the decency to use the restrooms to relieve themselves though!

A Capybara. Very big. There was a warning to NOT feed them. They are bitey.

Also bitey, but no warnings against feeding them. There were warnings not to put your head or hands too close though, because they are known to stick their heads out and take a taste. Their bite is more like a goose bite (that's really all I have to compare it with). It hurts less than a child with sharp teeth.

Friendly zebras were also jumpy. They ran away a lot but always returned for the crackers.

Friendly piggies.

Zach, daddy and Henry watching some animals.

On the safari tour you can feed the mammals (most of them look like different types of deer and cattle...although by writing that I'm probably making dozens of biologists rip out their hair in frustration!) and flightless birds. The guide will share lots of interesting information about habitats and behaviors of these animals. I get the most excited seeing the elk because they are just so massive. My kids were probably most enamoured with the baby mammals and their favorites were any animals that came to eat from their hands. A tip: late afternoon trips during the hot months seem to be a little less entertaining because the animals are too hot and tired to be hanging out in the sun. Also, during mating season we were told that sometimes the male elk may charge the buses, feeling that they are a threat to their females. How neat (or scary), depending on how you feel about large, angry animals!

I think these were the Watusi.

Full and lazy meant no visiting with us.

Almost close enough to touch but they were hot and tired.

Not an elk, but at least these guys were still hungry and gentle.

Buffalo? He wasn't getting away without a pet from Amara.

In the petting zoo area you can find camels, llamas, goats, guinea pigs and other cool animals. Not all of the animals are available for petting but the ones that are are very friendly. Be careful though, because some like to eat clothing and hair!

Friendly animals in the petting zoo.

Feisty camels weren't interested in us, only each other.

Jonas loved the petting zoo the most.

Henry wasn't sure what to think!

Jo probably hit up every single pettable animal there.

The reptile and exotic animal room is full of snakes, lizards, tortoises, alligators, sloths and more. My kids were able to touch a snake and a gator! Some of these animals were rescued from neglected homes. They have shows at intervals during park hours where educators will teach about certain animals. We learned about the alligators (I hope I really mean gators and not crocs!) and sloths during the show we attended.

The tortoises are old and friendly.

This gator bit someone earlier but as long as you keep your hands away from his face you'll be fine!

The reptile show.

BIG snake!

They also have a small playground and picnic tables for lunch and resting so day trips are made easy. You can pack lunch or purchase from the concession stand.

Well worth the day trip!

Rates:
$6 for ages 3 and up.
$5 for the safari tour for ages 3 and up.
Group rates are available.

Lake Tobias is located at:
Lake Tobias Wildlife Park • 760 Tobias Road, Halifax Pa 17032

The Weaver's go Gutzy with a Gutzy Gear Party

2012-08-29T22:24:00.001-04:00

I was given the opportunity to review Guzty Gear products by MomSelect. They provided me with enough product and activity sheets to host a super fun party.
Gutzy Gear is a way for your to affordably and easily express your creativity, with their strap covers and huge assortment of patches that are attached with velcro for simple removal and trading opportunities. The strap covers can be used on backpacks, seat belts, instruments, bicycles and scooters and on so much more. There are dozens of patch styles for boys and girls, and you can use one or a dozen and change them whenever the urge strikes. Their website, http://www.gutzygear.com is loaded with fun activities for kids of all ages, like creating your own Gutzy, sending Gutzy e-cards and virtual Gutzies.

I invited all of our friends over for games, snacks and Gutzy Gear fun right after the first day of school. They all arrived wearing their backpacks and as you can see, they are quite under-decorated and blah.


Look at those sad, sad faces, all because they have terribly boring backpacks.

Let's take two; not all of those faces look sad enough.

Now if only I had Photoshop...

Our party-goers ranged in age from a 4 year old preschooler to a 12 year old 7th grader. Not everyone arrived to the party sure that they wanted to participate, but everyone was curious to see what it was all about.
We started off the party with Gutzy Bingo. Some of the kids used Lego pieces for markers...we had to get creative! Everyone had a lot of fun with Bingo but our time was short so we only played one round.


Playing GUTZY (BINGO) and snacking.

Why yes, I do take a lot of pictures :)

Lego markers for BINGO!

Why have one winner when you can have 10? We kept playing until we had enough!

We had a few late arrivals and no surprise...they were sad with the state of their backpacks too.

They're miserable, I tell ya!

Next we had an awesome contest: the kids created their own Gutzy designs. Even a parent participated and created a personalized Gutzy! Get ready for it...you get to see ALL of the entries (except for one because all he drew was a circle then left to play video games so I eliminated him. Love you, Jo Jo!).

I think this is some cartoon character. This was one of our top 3 entries, by 7 year old Amara

A top 3 entry by 7 year old Makaley. Hearts galore!

Butterflies and tie-dye hearts are definitely a MUST!

Gutzy flower patch.

I have no idea what this is. A cute bat, maybe? Do it, Gutzy!

We have a few entries here: a sun/moon, row of hearts and a baseball. I hope all of these will be made! With a little more color ;)

A personalized Gutzy. This would be awesome!

I think it's a baseball and bat. And a circle.

Cute!

Geometric Gutzy "logo" patch.

Not sure how the little hearts will fit but tiny heart patches would be really neat.

This was another top 3 entry by 9 year old Brayden. A really great jet! I bet these would be popular.


Silly face- love it!

Okay, which one would you have voted for?

After everyone was done and the winners were announced we moved on to the main event: Gutzy Gear backpack-decorating time!
I was too excited to take "before" pictures of the products, so you'll just have to trust that the boxes and packages are easy to open (none of that crazy packaging that makes you wonder if a bomb won't get your toys out of the box). Each Gutzy Gear strap pack of 2 comes with 1 Gutzy Gear face patch already attached to help you get started. The kids dove into the project of arranging their Gutzy patches on their straps. A few kids needed help getting the straps wrapped around their backpack straps but otherwise it was noise and fun and simple.

It's MINE!

Helping out friends and trying to trade.

Love the paw print patch!

Deciding where to put a patch.

Someone is VERY happy with her results!!

He decided to put all of his on one side.

More assembling. I warned you about the pictures, right?

My opinion: I really like these! I was so sure that the straps would look silly on most of the backpacks, particularly the ones that weren't black but they all looked great. I think there should be more strap cover colors (and I'm not a huge fan of the yellow liner on the strap covers). The style options are huge and fabulous but I'd love to see sparkly and shiny for girls. The best feature of this product is that you don't have to do ANYTHING to your backpacks. It's completely risk-free! If your child decides she doesn't like the flower or he doesn't want fries this week they can change it (or trade it) in a snap. The velcro is also very strong. There is no chance that these will fall off, but they are still easy to change. Trading already happened at the party but the kids are very excited to get into it more. All of the kids were very excited to start the Gutzy Gear trend.
Another mom's opinion: the straps should balance out and come with 2 patches.
The kids' opinions: They were so very excited to wear them to school. One was relieved that it was way more fun than she expected. The older girls thought that maybe the patches would be a little too child-like but they were pleased with the selection. One was adamant that he not get more than the face on his straps. He is 4 and that's how I'll explain his refusal.

After we were done our party all of the kids got together to let us know how happy they were with their backpacks after the Gutzy Gear took over.

These are some seriously happy children!

P.S. Grapevine rumors are that Toys R Us has them on sale, at least locally.

And now...who wants to WIN!

Where Do You Go Gutzy? Get creative and show the world how you go Gutzy. By participating you have the chance to win more than 100 gift cards from Toys R Us, worth a total of more than $500!! To enter just go to http://www.facebook.com/gutzygear and tell/show them how you Go Gutzy by Sept. 7, 2012.

Um...Why the Power Rangers?

2012-06-28T13:34:00.000-04:00

I was browsing my blogger stats and was totally astounded to learn that the majority of traffic to my blog is because of the Power Rangers. When I say the majority I mean like a huge number of visitors end on this one post. Approximately half of all of my page views over the life of my blog were of my Power Ranger post but this month it was more like 90%.

In 2011 I wrote about them one time. It was some blog project. I figured it was a good fit because I grew up loving them, the kids like them and I was all sorts of excited to find out that they were still around and still a show that could be a great influence on my growing children. Sure, they are fighting imaginary monsters but they are super cool (yes they are!) and they teach great lessons to young kids.

Anyway, according to my Blogger stats (which aren't the same as other stats, but they're reasonably close) in the last month Weavers Wobble was viewed almost 3600 times. Normally I don't get nearly that many views in one month; my normal number of blog views per month is under 1000. Over 3200 of the views were of my one Power Rangers post!

But why is my Power Rangers post so popular, especially compared to everything else I write? I know my writing is kind of boring and I'm not complaining, just really, really curious. Does anyone have insight about this?

It's Amazing: I Made Up My Mind and Bought Some Measuring Cups!

2012-06-26T13:14:00.000-04:00

I was having trouble deciding which measuring cups I should buy a few weeks ago. No one helped but amazingly, I figured it out on my own. If you know me you would know how big of a deal this is. I can't decide on anything. I usually end up letting other people decide things for me. So it's with great pride that I announce that I've purchased the West Elm Fish Measuring Cups and I love them!! It took many days and lots of thought before choosing them.
They don't match a thing in my kitchen (nothing in my house matches though, that's the downside to hand-me-down furniture and decor. But on second glance they do sort of match my Pfaltzgraff Ocean Breeze set that's no longer a set. It's no longer a set because half of it's broken but I'm not too too sad because I got a killer deal when I bought mine. My cups were a little smaller but I got 21 pieces- 4 dinner plates, 4 salad plates, 4 bowls, 4 cups, 4 tiny plates (saucers?) and a giant serving plate for...$12. And yes, you read that correctly! Twelve dollars. How? Maybe because we lived near the plant and they had tons of extras? I found them at a festival at my local fairgrounds that had nothing to do with dinnerware. In the 11 years that my hubby and I have lived together it's one of the biggest non-electronic purchase we ever made. Sad, huh? Like I said, most of what we own has been given to us by someone else. Not that I'm complaining but it's great to say "I bought that and it's something I love".

Are you still with me? Sorry for the digression...it happens a lot.

Anyway, I'm super happy about my mommy's day purchase and use them often. I'm really afraid that I'll shatter them in a moment of distraction but so far so good. And they are just so darn pretty. If you ever wonder if you should buy the functional or the functional and pretty and the price comparison is fairly level I say with gusto, "go with pretty!!!". I love looking at the bright and colorful fishies hanging out in my kitchen.

Measuring Madness or...For the Love of God Please Help Me Pick One

2012-05-18T21:00:00.000-04:00

I never thought measuring cups and spoons would drive me crazy, but it's true. I have been obsessing for weeks over "the ones". I am kind of bored with functional but ugly cheap plastic cups that don't hold up well in the dishwasher. And in my house if it's not dishwasher safe it's gone. So I've been pinning my favorites when I come across them. I've been searching the web to find new and better measuring cups. I decided that monotone is not for me. That and no cheap plastic are my rules. So I've narrowed it down and need some help deciding. Because I don't think my hubby will be too happy with 3-5 sets of measuring cups.

So here are the runners up:

West Elm's Fish Measuring Cups

Anthropologie's Milk Bottle Measuring Cups

Pros:

Price is a very reasonable $15 with FREE shipping!

Adorable matching butter dish (which I need to buy anyway)

LOVE the colors, probably my favorite colors out of all of them.

Cons:

When stored they don't look as nice as some of the others

There used to be a matching set of spoons but they are no longer available...not really a con but a :(

Pros:
-Looks great when stacked
-Simple, blends well with any decor (which we don't happen to have to worry about anyway since I can't decide on a wall color for my kitchen and cabinet, countertop and floor redos that are needed aren't in our budget)
-Grea display piece
-Inside is colorful

Cons:
-White gets dirty
-A little pricey at $24 (plus shipping?)

Anthropologie's Cucina Measuring Cups

Pros:

-Great colors

-Okay price- $19.95 (+shipping)

-Matching (expensive) measuring spoons (but they're just as cute)

Cons:

-Not as cool sitting on the counter as others

-Complaints about measuing accuracy

Urban Outfitters' Turtle Measuring Cups

Pros:

-Countertop status= PERFECT!! The stand is awesome and adorable. Flip the cups and they are the shell.

-I like the colors

Cons:

-A little pricey at $24 (+ shipping)

-Not dishwasher safe...but I'll mostly be using them for dry ingredients

Urban Outfitters' Sheep Measuring Cups

Pros:

-Perfect on counters

-Adorable and neutral

Cons:

-Price- $24 + shipping

-Not dishwasher safe

-White gets dirty

Pier 1's Ceramic Turtle Measuring Cups

Pros:

-Love the colors and design

-Perfect on the counters

-Okay price- $20

-No shipping fee (they don't ship) and they say they're in stock at my local store

Cons:

-I can't think of any

Two's Company (on Amazon) Birds & Trees Measuring Cups

Pros:

-Perfect on the counter when stacked

-Rearrange them!

-Neutral white

Cons:

-By far the most expensive at $30

-White gets dirty

-Lacks a 1/3 cup (1, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4)

There are many more worthy of honorable mentions but that would take all day and I'm already indecisive. They are all so cute! I want one of each, but I know it isn't practical. It's pretty easy to narrow it down to a few. For instance, I don't want to pay $30 for one so I can eliminate the birds and trees. Although I love the Cucina cups, I wasn't gushing over them like I did some of the others. The sheep get more cons than pros. But I still have 4 left to choose from. Decisions, decisions!

Which ones would you buy?

P.S. This post is full of links sending you to purchase pages. None of them are affiliate/sponsored links. I actually don't want you to buy any in case you pick mine and then the're sold out of them. I'd be so mad at you. Unless they turn out to be crappy and break. Then I'd feel sorry for you and secretly pat myself on the back for not jumping the gun.

I'm Weird, Okay?

2012-05-09T06:03:00.000-04:00

I hide my weirdness like some people hide the fact that they collect bugs. But 30 changed my confidence. I'm only going to hide my weirdness sometimes. Like in public. But I'll only sometimes care about what the internet world thinks of me. By the time I'm a crazy, mean old 80-something I might be totally free of caring. You'll see what my kids do.

And it will be awesome (if you're me).

Important Questions

2012-05-07T06:30:00.000-04:00

The most important (and nagging) question today is:
Where the heck is my library card?
Why do I need it, you ask? I'll be happy to tell you. I got a Kindle for Christmas. And I'm too cheap to buy books. I love borrowing them from the library through my Kindle. It's like a present that keeps giving. Beautiful. But you need your card number to borrow it and I had it saved on auto complete but then Jason did stuff to our computer and now that's gone. Damn computer geeks making my computer better but my life suckier.

My next question: Did anyone notice that I changed my blog design? It was a substantial change but I kept the same colors. Now a really super awesome change would be if someone took pictures of my family and turned all of us into our own Weeble and made some of us leaning one way, some the other. Of course I would be centered perfectly because I'm awesome and I'm the steady crutchy Weeble. Who's up for the task of designing this sweetness at the great price of free?

I Had This Awesome Idea

2012-05-06T09:09:00.001-04:00

I was all set to write about something. I was even sitting at the computer when I got my bright idea. Usually when I have a decent topic to write about I'm in the shower or the car and you can't write in the shower and my purse is always lacking this important tool. Then by the time I can get to one I forget what I wanted to write. But I guess it's not the fault of the water or the car or the purse...it's me. I know this now because I was at the computer and had a great idea and went to the compose page and promptly forgot everything. Shoot.

At the same time that I was forgetting what I wanted to write, I was complaining in my head about a pair of headphones sitting on my desk. I was trying to watch a video and saw that the volume on the speaker was turned up pretty high, but I couldn't hear anything. Then I noticed those headphones. I don't even know how to describe them. They look funny and they are really hard to put on your ears. It always takes me a few minutes to figure them out and I forgot to pause the video and it ended up being one of those that moves on to the next news topic and then I was annoyed at the weird-looking headphones.

Since I know me and I would want to know what they look like I thought I'd share my search for weird-looking headphones.

Doesn't that book beg to be read?

My results didn't turn up a pair of weird-looking headphones. Just a book called Dei Dreamer and 3 pairs of regular-looking headphones. Shake my head, Amazon. You need to adjust your algorithms. Weird-looking headphones and regular headphones are NOT the same thing! Then I did a search for headphones that go over your ears (seriously lacking in the part of my brain that uses descriptions this morning) and BINGO! EARHOOK Headphones!!

I included the link in case you need a pair of confusing headphones. They actually work well once you figure out how to put them on your ears.

So now you know.

The Night Time is the Right Time (for Weirdness)

2012-05-01T19:05:00.000-04:00

This week my night life has been more active and interesting than my day life. And I'm not talking about clubs and bars, dancing and drinking. I'm talking about bed. And not in a dirty way.
I have a cat that prefers to drink out of cups of water. He especially prefers the glass of water I keep by my bed. I especially like to push him off the bed when he rudely wakes me up in the middle of the night with his face in the glass of water that I really wanted to drink. I try to keep him out of my room but he finds his way in. This has happened ever since I went on vacation over Christmas break. He must have thought I was leaving him forever and decided to become an incredibly attached kitty. The other night was one of those nights. I woke up to his butt in my face and his face in my water. His water bowl was full. He's so rude. Then I couldn't go back to sleep because I was really thirsty but too tired to walk downstairs to get more water. Plus I left my shoes in the hallway that night and I can't put my bare feet directly on the floor unless I want the monsters under the bed to get me.

When I did finally go back to sleep I had a dream about zombies. I didn't know it until the end, but it was the sequel to a previous dream about zombies. In this one I was on a main road in my town that leads to one of the highways. I was walking and suddenly I saw zombies. I had a conversation with my friend Mel about it and she asked what kind of zombies they were. I didn't know there were different kinds and I was going to say they were probably Asian zombies, because they all had dark hair and eyes but I didn't think any of my other facebook friends would get my humor and instead I told her, "[they were] fast and mean and limpy. Their faces were gray-ish and their eyes were black. They all had black hair too. Maybe it was just a black and white dream.". I thought that sounded more appropriate. Anyway, the fast, mean and limpy zombies were very violent, like zombies usually are. They were clueless if you pretended you were a zombie (wish I had known that from the start, some people might have lived) and they didn't eat each other. After surviving my way down the highway I found a building and hid with some other people. Then I ended up hiding in an elevator with Joseph Gordon Levitt. After we separated I made my way to the west coast and when the goverment found out how to kill them (this is when I relized this was part 2 and that the stupid government already knew how to kill them but forgot) I was reunited with Adam Brody and another guy and girl from the first part, whom I didn't recognize. We were in some firehall-style building and people were making food for the survivors. We chatted about how we made it and then my alarm clock started beeping.
That was my most entertaining dream in a while.

Last night I was peacefully sleeping and suddenly Jason woke up with a start and said, "whoa!". I wake easily when a person talks or yells- I'm always ready for an emergency or something I guess. I was far away on the opposite end of the bed from him, totally out of reach of him. I asked him what was wrong. He said, "holy crap," then asked me if I just pushed him in the face, kind of hard. Obviously I hadn't because I was too far away. I was so sleepy and out of it so I just told him that it definitely wasn't me and that it was probably a ghost*. He seemed to accept this explanation with a, "hmph.". Then I proceeded to tell him that if a ghost pushed him hard in the face that it probably had a good reason and that he should get up to see if there's something it wanted to tell him. He actually got up then. I don't think the ghost really had anything to say to him, except maybe "go pee". I then had dreams about a creepy ghost waking me up.
I don't know if it's important or not, so I'll say it just in case. I believe in paranormal. But I'm a skeptical believer and tend to not believe unless I see it myself or the person telling me tells a good story and they are trustworthy (and not on drugs). I have seen things that absolutely could not have been explained before. In the house where I currently live (8 years) there has only been one time something happened with my son, who was 2. It could have been a dream so I discount the event as such. If this was indeed a ghost it may have just been travelling through and couldn't resist him/herself a practical joke.

*I'm so creative and persuasive when I'm sleeping. I should be a sleep writer.

This is What Happens When I'm Gone for a While

2012-05-01T09:31:00.001-04:00

My life has been so boring that I haven't really bothered writing about it. Sometimes my kids will say something I want to remember but it's few and far between so I just end up boring my Facebook friends with the info instead of writing about it in detail here. Now I can give a big boring update all at once. Ready?

So, since I've been here last we've celebrated two birthdays: my baby Henry turned 2 on March 30 and my daughter Amara turned 7 on April 19th. Henry got everything he wanted- babies, a football, basketball, baseball mitt and a bunch of other sports crap. He is obsessed with sports. He never put his cake in the oven for "you and me". Instead he did it for "baketball hoop!".  It's cuter than the 2 year old singing Adele. I should record it. He also wanted more motorcycles, Legos and Zoobles and got them. Then promptly lost almost all of it. Amara didn't want a whole lot- she asked for an Ipod. When I told her that little kids in our house don't get $200 presents she apologized for asking for something so expensive then asked for a camera, mp3 player, some dolls so she would have toys to play with when her friends came over, Zoobles, Xia Xia Pets, Lego Friends and a pull up bar for her doorway (yes, I'm serious). After some discussion she decided she wanted to upgrade to a second-hand Nintendo DSi (she had the Lite) with games and accessories and I surprised her with a nice tea set and a Xia Xia home (junk). Her brothers got her a Xia Xia shell, an itty-bitty stuffed bunny and a Lego Friend set. Her friends and family ended up getting her everything else on the list (except the pull up bar), so she was a very happy birthday girl. She also received money and decided she wants to save it, so now I'm searching for a bank that offers youth banking. The credit unions have some awesome accounts but I don't know if they can become a member if their parents aren't. I might look into it if I don't get distracted by something new.

I was a Cityville (on Facebook) addict for a while. Recently I've almost stopped playing, going from a few times per day to barely once a week and only for a few minutes each time. Go me!
I'm still a Pinterest addict.  I love my Kindle like I love water. I enjoy both necessities and rarely leave the house without them.
I guess I scratched my eye a few weeks ago after taking an hour nap in my contacts. I have glasses but I can't see out of them very well. I have another pair that I can see better with, but they don't stay on my face. Every time I think my eye feels better I put my contact back in, only to have my eye explode in pain again after a few hours. Then I look and my eye is incredibly bloodshot and I'm back to square one. It hurts. I don't have insurance and it looks like a visit to the eye doctor will be necessary...this is going to cost me. Suck.
There's absolutely nothing else to say about me. I'm just not that interesting.
Oh wait, it seems that everyone in the world has become an advocate of me getting married. I guess that's interesting. It sure was interesting one day when a handful of people, unbeknownst to one another were planning, discussing or commenting on our upcoming (unknown) marriage. The discussions are still trickling in every few days too. Jason and I have been together for 11 years and our kids think we are married. My daughter was horrified when she asked for the ring, dress and photos and I had nothing to produce. I maybe should have told her then that it's because there was never a production date but it was just easier not to have that potentially long conversation.   So I picked out a ring (that I'll never get because you can only order it online and that's too big a committment to make online) and decided on Jason's metal then made dinner and promptly got distracted by other stuff that doesn't cost as much money or time.

My 4 year old has been cracking me up a lot recently. Just the other day Jonas was with us at Cracker Barrel and we had just been served our meal. Jason and I always get breakfast and the little boys got some kid food. He saw my grits and freaked out. He said he didn't want any of his food; he just wanted "that".  Being the nice mommy that I am, I took Jason's grits and gave them to Jonas. He polished them off in seconds and...said, "May I please have some more porridge?" . I laughed so loud that the entire restaurant was probably giving me dirty looks. We live in Pennsylvania. It's not okay to laugh in public. But seriously, what kid asks for porridge? Where did he hear it? I'm still laughing. Then the following day he was browsing through my kitchen (I'm pretty sure that if he doesn't become a police officer he will be a chef. He could really go the extra mile and be both), grabbed something and ran to me. He said, "see mommy, you still have a spatula!" (I had thought I broke them all) then went on to say, "Now, can you make me some flapjacks?". This wouldn't be a weird word except that I have never, in my entire life said the word "flapjack" unless I was talking about the word. No clue where he got that one either. Oh, and Jo is FINALLY potty trained. FIIIINALLLLY!

Henry, who was practically trained by about 20 months completely quit trying. Those two are constantly on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Zachary, my 10 year old, has made it his life goal to ruin his little sister's life on the pretense that it's she who is ruining his life. It's super annoying and I'm totally out of parenting ideas so I often just ignore them. They fight so often and it's practically impossible to split them up because there aren't enough neighbors to ship them off to.
And I'm ruining his life because I nag him too much. That's me saying it, and not him. I know I do it but what else are you supposed to do when a kid won't take a shower, clean his room, leave his sister alone, pick up his toys when he's done with them unless you are on them about it at least 15 minutes out of every hour? I seriously need to know!
On a good note, he is doing great in school. He doesn't try as hard as he should but he gets by with good grades. Next year might kick his skinny butt if he tries to pull off his first year at middle school like he has been these past few but I know he can do it if he tries. He's been taking piano for the last few years and he's been slacking on that also. As far as I know he's doing well, but I think he'd do better if we had a piano in our house. I'm working on that but I have a lot going against me.

Did I talk too much? I'll talk about the nighttime stuff in another post.

Almost Time

2012-03-26T13:09:00.000-04:00

For this boy

to celebrate 2 years of life.

It seems like yesterday he was this tiny little thing:

I just can't believe it's almost been 2 years! On Friday, March 30, 2012 we will be putting two candles on his cake. He will sing along with us instead of being a tiny, confused bystander. He will blow out his own candles and clap along with us when they're out. He asked for Lego Batman this year, and a basketball, football, helmet, hockey stick and puck...he really likes sports. Of course I and eager family members are happy to oblige this simple wish list. I even got him a sister to his "baby ittle broder".

He still cries for me when I leave, usually needs my help to climb into his seat at the table and needs a stool to wash his hands. But he's growing up so fast and is hardly my baby anymore. Last year I could look back and see him grow month by month. Now it's measured more in 3-6 month increments and soon it will be yearly progress. Henry has come such a long way from his wobbly, mumbling 1 year old self. Now he says, "please" and "thank you", speaks in complete sentences and loves to sing songs to and with us (he even makes up his own songs). When I tell him I love him he usually says, "I wuv you too, Mama". He reads books and tries to tell me the color of his toys (he's usually wrong). This little boy who still needs at least 1 nap per day and can't pour his own drink (well...he can but it usually ends up on the floor) can shoots basketballs with amazing accuracy, climbs rocks like a pro and has an uncanny ability to remember names.

Friday will be bittersweet and the cake will be chocolatey.

Bzz: Dr. Oetker Pizza Ristorante Review

2012-03-03T10:56:00.000-05:00

Recently, Bzz Agent gave me the opportunity to try Dr. Oetker Ristorante Pizza. This was the first time hearing of the brand so I was curious to see if the pizza would be available at my local grocery store, which is notorious for not carrying a lot of variety. To my surprise when I checked there were 4 of the 6 varieties. Apparently Dr. Oetker is the most popular frozen pizza in Italy and they produce more than just pizza, including baking mixes.

Dr. Oetker Pizza is thin crust, gourmet-style pizza that is available in the following varieties: Pizza Spinaci (Spinach), Pizza Mozzarella, Pizza Funghi (mushroom), Pizza Vegetale (tomatoes, peppers, onions and chilies), Pizza Quattro Formaggi (four cheese: mozzarella, Edam, Emmental and blue cheese) and Pizza Speciale (Pepperoni and Ham). Each pizza contains 3 servings and costs about $6. You can get complete ingredient lists and nutritional information for all of the pizzas by clicking the above external link. You can also find stores near you that sell their pizza.

Using the coupons provided by BzzAgent I purchased the Pizza Vegetale for the adults and the Pizza Speciale for the kids. I really, really wanted to try the vegetable and mozzarella pizzas but I knew my kids would hate me forever if one of the pizzas didn't have pepperoni.


I got a picture of the Pizza Vegetale box before throwing it away. I don't have any photos of the Pizza Speciale.

You might notice that my pizza is on foil. That is not how these pizzas are supposed to be cooked- they should be placed directly on the oven rack, but I HATE doing that, so I didn't.

The directions were as simple as any other frozen pizza and it only took about 10 minutes to cook in the oven.


Ta-da! Looks pretty close to what's on the box.

It is what it promises- a thin crust, crispy pizza. The veggies were really good and they were large pieces, not tiny chunks of barely-recognizable vegetables. On the Pizza Speciale, the pepperonis were the same as any and the ham pieces were large. I don't like ham on pizza but I ate one for the sake of reviewing and it was good. Again, it was much better than the pizzas that use tiny chunks of meat.

A few years ago I gave up on all but the Giant brand frozen pizzas because they were too much money and not good. Giant's was the only one I actually liked and it cost less than Domino's or Little Caesars (until recently, anyway). Dr. Oetker Pizzas were good, but kind of expensive. On their website it says the suggested retail price is $4.99-6.99. $4.99 I would pay for one for myself if I felt like eating something a little better than big-name pizza place would provide but I would make the trip to Little Caesars for the kids, for a much larger pizza for the same price. Unfortunately the stores where I live charge a higher price of about $6 for Dr. Oetker pizza. More than likely I would wait for a coupon or skip them and buy a cheaper pizza and fresh veggies to put on top while cooking it. It doesn't make much sense to me to spend $5 or $6 for a pizza that I have to go to the store to get then cook too, when I can get one hot and ready for the same price. Either way I have to drive! But if delivery or driving to a cheap, local pizza shop isn't an option and your typical frozen pizza is getting boring I suggest trying one of these gourmet pizzas.

Maybe if I Paid Attention

2012-01-12T18:57:00.000-05:00

I am forever forgetting important things at the grocery store. If I'm making spaghetti I forget sauce. Today it was tacos- I forgot the taco seasoning packets. Oops! I could have gone to the store to get them but I'd probably get distracted by something sparkly and forget again. Plus I'd have to pack up all 4 kids and drag them along for a couple stupid seasoning packets...that I need if we were planning to have dinner tonight. Ugh.
Cue Google. I would have Swagbucked or Binged but then I'd have to log in and I'm not even willing to buy food to feed my family so that was out of the question.
I Googled "make your own taco seasoning". I was SO happy to get tons of results but then was quickly overwhelmed and just chose the first result that didn't look spammy. I ended up on About.com on a page called Taco Season Mix. Great! Can't go wrong, right? Usually that statement ends in death and food poisoning and bitterness but I actually got a pretty tasty recipe that was super easy to make.

Here's the deal:

1/4 cup instant minced onion
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. crushed dried red pepper flakes
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 Tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. instant minced garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin

I play by my own rules so I changed it a little. I didn't have marjoram and my garlic is powdered. I didn't put in as much onion and I totally omitted the cornstarch on a hunch. It was REALLLLLY good! Really good. And the kids didn't even notice that it was different from their regular tacos which is a huge plus because they notice everything. Even better was that I did notice the difference and really liked it. When I make it again (if I don't forget to buy more chili powder) I will use a lot less salt. That was too much salt. After finishing my dinner I looked back over the instructions (which I hadn't noticed before because I was too busy ignoring them) I saw that the recipe was meant to last more than one night.

Instructions:

"Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend thoroughly with wire whisk. Spoon mixture into a tightly closed container and label as "Taco Seasoning Mix". Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 6 months. Makes 6 packages (about 2 Tbsp. each) of mix. 2 Tbsp. equals 1.25-oz. pkg. purchased taco seasoning mix."

That was supposed to make 6 packages, huh...okaaay. I used it all. On 1lb. of ground beef. Perhaps that is why it was too salty, but I would have used the same amount of the other ingredients on 1lb again because it was just right.

I probably shouldn't even be allowed in the kitchen.

Dear HP: I Dislike the Test Page

2011-12-01T11:24:00.000-05:00

I should just write these letters to the companies that I'm angry with but it always makes me feel a little better once I write them to myself (and anyone who actually visits my blog).
Anyway...
Dear HP,
I'd like to thank you for using all of my blue and black ink by printing out a test page every time I turn the printer off, forget to have paper readily available or one of my kids opens the door to the cartridge holder area. It's really great to spend a fortune on ink only to have it all used up by test pages. Then I go to print something I really wanted only to have it not work, even though I've only printed a handful of positively useful coupons/pictures/whatevers and an even smaller handful of completely useless something or other that the kids or I wanted to print. For instance, today I wanted to print an awesome Target coupon and instead I got a splotchy printout that Target probably won't accept. I'll try anyway but not knowing if it will work or not is really annoying. This is a seriously awesome coupon- $10 gift card with purchase of $50 or more. And I'm not sure if it will work because your a test page-happy printer that steals all of my ink. Maybe if the coupon works I should use it to buy a different brand, one that doesn't steal ink.

Horrified by the Toddler

2011-11-14T14:23:00.000-05:00

I guess with Jonas almost being 4 he is more kid than toddler but that's not the point. The point is how horrible I felt yesterday after he said something mean.
The kids and I were chilling in the alley behind our house yesterday- it's the hangout for the neighborhood, which isn't saying much since there are like 7 kids in the neighborhood and 4 of them are mine.
Anyway, they were playing and I was reading Eclipse (don't judge). Jonas was about 10 feet away, riding his tricycle when one of the neighbors (a nice young adult that the kids usually adore) walked by. He was a totally innocent bystander, just walking to the grocery store or his car when he passed Jo. I heard Jonas say something and it sounded mean. Instead of waiting and talking to him after like a smart parent of a horrible 3 year old I made the mistake: "What did you say, Jonas?"
Neighbor said, "I think he said 'get away from me'."
Then evil little Jonas said, "NO! I said, 'Yoooou arrrre Uuuuuugly."  He wanted to make sure we heard him clearly this time.

I swear my freakin' heart stopped. I started fumbling for the right words to say, wondering if there were any right words to respond to something so awful. What do you say when your kid is a big stinkin' meanie? I started apologizing and saying stupid things. I was telling Jo how mean that was and he had to apologize. The neighbor was all, "It's okay" but how can I believe that when I'm so horrified.
I told Jason what happened and was all freaked out wondering if the neighbor thought Jonas said it because we had said it. Having your child do something so awful to someone else just screams BAD PARENTS. I don't know if it's worse because I've never said that about anyone in front of the kids. I guess maybe I've been watching tv and said, "oh that person is ugly" or something like that but I've never looked someone in the eye and said it, nor have I talked badly about anyone's lack of attraction behind their backs (except famous people). I'm so very self-conscious about the way I look so I'm not all about to hop aboard the let's-make-fun-of-the-way-other-people-look train. I typically ascribe the term ugly to behavior rather than appearance. This bothers me.
I tend to worry too much what other people think about me and in a case like this I'm going way over board, at least Jason says so. I'm still totally freaked out by the whole ordeal and I just want to avoid any future that involves the neighbor walking by me when I'm anywhere near my child. I just hope he doesn't feel too bad. I know I would.

Buffalo Chicken Dip- So Yum...But...

2011-11-05T09:28:00.000-04:00

Did you know that when you search for Buffalo Chicken Dip on the net that the majority of your top search results will give you recipes using canned chicken. Ewww. Not only is that not nearly as good as fresh chicken but it's much healthier to use fresh. No canned nastiness, no extra salt or other additives. That's a win for fresh. My guess is that maybe some big companies that produce canned chicken paid extra for top spots in the search engines, or they partnered with companies that they could benefit from so that they'd end up in the top when you search for specifics, like dips. Sure it might be easier, by like, a few minutes. But I just throw everything in the crock pot and it's ready to go later that day. Which is exactly what I plan to do for tonight when I host my Premier Designs jewelry party!
Now...who's coming to MY party??!

Oh and by the way, here's a recipe for some Buffalo Chicken Dip using fresh chicken:
Buffalo Chicken Dip. Sure, you could substitute regular for canned using any recipe you come across, or I could support the people who make it better by sharing one of their links instead :)

Trick-or-Treat or Snowball Fights for Halloween?

2011-10-28T15:15:00.000-04:00

Well it looks like the possibility of snow for South Central PA is becoming more of a reality as a storm heads our way! It's supposed to be here by Saturday morning. It isn't the first time snow has visited us in October but I honestly can't remember the last time it happened. My kids are excited for sure! We have a lot of Halloween and Autumn activities planned for this weekend, including a hay ride on Saturday and trick-or-treating on Halloween and I really hope the snowstorm doesn't ruin our activities. I'm not worrying too much just yet- plenty of storms that were "certain" to hit us missed us entirely. Something to do with the valley we live in making weather somewhat unpredictable, I think.

I like to visit http://wgal.com/ for weather-related news because they have radar, which I'm completely addicted to watching. I live in the approximate center of the teeny tiny picture below but you can see the giant mass of snow headed my way. I'm not rushing out to buy my milk, eggs and bread just yet but it looks like this one might get us.

Happy...Snoween?!!!

Dear Baby Doll Makers

2011-10-19T14:35:00.001-04:00

A letter to the makers/creators of toys:

My boys want dolls. But my boys want BOY dolls. They want boy Crib Life dolls and on that note they also want boy Zoobles (although I still think they are way overpriced). They want boy Squinkies (THANK YOU Squinkies, you're on the right track!!).

At least my 3 year old boy wants boy versions. I don't think my 18 month old cares just yet and seems happy playing with pink stuff, though we did pick up a baby dressed in blue just for him. But all I hear ALL DAY LONG is, "Mommy, mommy, mommy I want a boy Crib Life" and, "Mommy, mommy, mommy I want a boy Zooble!".

So here's a hint: some boys want boy versions of girl toys. Think about it please. And while you're at it, think about a pink nerf gun. My daughter would totally appreciate it.

Money or Mama

2011-10-17T16:17:00.000-04:00

I was chatting with the kids today and Amara asked for a trampoline after I announced a win (2nd this week- yeah!!). I told her that trampolines cost a lot more than my prize and that they were too much money, not to mention too big for our yard. She asked why one of her friends has one. I had to explain that some people need or choose to work and that some people need or choose to stay home and that we were the latter family. I told her that if I worked that we could probably afford a trampoline and asked her if she'd rather have more money or more mommy.

Suddenly my house erupted in a cacophony of kids protesting. From one end of the house I heard from Zachary, "more mommy! I want you to be home!!". From the dining room (our common room) Amara was telling me that daddy would never get her to school on time and telling me how much she wants me to be home. Jonas was saying, "stay home mommy, I love you." and Henry said, "uv you mama. Kiss."

Melt.

We don't have a lot of money but I'm thinking that we made the right decisions (sort of by choice and sort of by necessity) for our family. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Common Sense, Common Courtesy

2011-10-06T13:31:00.002-04:00

I'm a very passive person. I let people walk all over me, allow people to talk down to me and rarely stand up for myself. So my outlet for complaint is my head, my blog, friends or Jason. Today, it's my blog because my head hurts from the smoke, my phone is dead and J's at work. He'd tell me to suck it up and say something anyway.

If I were working in someone's home I would never consider doing anything that wasn't approved by them- I wouldn't help myself to the kitchen without asking, I wouldn't go into their bedroom without being invited and I certainly never, ever would smoke in someone's house. If I walked into an obviously smoke-free home I wouldn't even dream of asking to smoke in their house (not that I smoke, but if I did) and I would NEVER throw cigarette butts anywhere but the trash while outside and away from open doors.

So why, I wonder, would anyone ever come into MY house and do the above without asking? WHY????? Why would you bring your disgusting cigarettes into my house and then proceed to smoke them without an invite from me, the freaking homeowner. Yeah, sure it's in the basement where no one but the grownups go to do laundry but it travels, guys. I'm sitting in the dining room trying not to puke. I'm much too passive a person to say anything, just the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach. About as sick as the cigarette smoke makes me feel.

I just feel so...so...disrespected. And headachy. I'm glad I have somewhere to go tonight- I can air out the house. And maybe this weekend I'll buy some NO SMOKING signs for the house. I can deal with passive-agressive.

When I Grow Up...

2011-10-04T16:43:00.000-04:00

I like to imagine what my kids will be like as adults. What they'll do for a living, whether they will have 1 kid, 5 kids or none, will they stay close to home or move far away...that kind of stuff. Of course I enjoy them as they are now and don't want it to fly by, I just like to wonder.
I see Zachary as an engineer on a construction site, helping to create awesome buildings, playing video games and spending time with his wife and 2 kids in his free time. He will take them out for ice cream often. I picture Amara as a working mom with 1 child and a stay-at-home husband. She is an entomologist, teaching at a local college or nature center and creates art in her free time. She may have a few too many pets. Jonas will be a police officer- a good guy who makes sure that the streets are safe for kids and families. Maybe he'll have kids, maybe not. I can't tell yet. He'll love playing sports. Henry...well he is going to drive fast cars and motorcycles and play lots of basketball. He's still a baby and that's what he loves, haha!

My dreams for Jonas were crushed when we were driving home from school today.
Me: Jonas, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Jonas: Hmmmm....nothing.
Me: Nothing? You have to be something when you grow up, like a firefighter or a teacher.
Jonas: I...waaaant to be....a.... TREE!
Me: A tree? Like those? (I point to a line of trees)
Henry: Mama, Jonas ook! Teeee!
Jonas: Yes!! A tree like that.
Me: You know, if you grow up to be a tree you will have to learn to not walk or talk. Trees can't move and they can't say anything.
Jonas: Trees don't talk? They don't walk or talk? Maybe not. Maybe I won't be a tree.
Me: That's probably a good idea. So what else would you like to be?
Jonas: Mommy, are you going the speed limit? You didn't stop at the stop sign. (Hence the police officer career assigned to him)Henry: Mama, mama! Ook ook. Baketball!! Cycle, vroom vroom! (He doesn't miss a basketball net or court, or the motorcycles)

Me: Jonas, I didn't need to stop at that sign, it was for the other way. And yes, I am going the speed limit.
Jonas: Okay. You have one more chance.