General Mills Cereals, Rocks in My New Year As A Food Option!

We are a cereal household so I was so happy to be selected to participate in a My Blog Spark Campaign for

My husband eats Wheaties cereal every morning. We need to buy stock in it because I buy at least a box a week.

I learned from General Mills website that not only is cereal lower in calories and fat than most other breakfast choices, cereal is also:

• rich in nutrients
• a leading source of whole grain
  in children's diets

Merry Christmas To All My Readers

Dear Readers,

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May all your wishes come true this holiday season. Whether you are waiting for someone to come home, heading out to spend time with loved ones, enjoying your first Christmas with a new baby, in a new home, or with your new pet, however you intend to spend the day; I hope it is the very best holiday ever.

If you are alone, my thoughts are with you too! Christmas can be a time of joy for so many, but also a very lonely time for others, believe me, I have had my own horrific Christmas. Everyone, everywhere is special and important. May those who suffer this holiday season, find peace and comfort.


Merry Christmas, Kwanza, Ramadon, Hanukkah, Krismas, Omisoka, and Fesivus to each and every one of you.

My Baby Girl's First "Boy" Friend

Now, I am in no way suggesting that she has a boyfriend at 4. Thankfully she has no idea what that even means. I am simply stating that she has a friend who happens to be a boy. The reason I am writing this down is because this morning she was creating yet another work of art (she loves drawing and giving little presents). So, I assumed it was another picture for Daddy or me. I was wrong. This picture she informed me when she was done, was for "Mitchell". Mitchell and Goddess have been friends since school started. She has always talked about Mitchell. In fact the first time she sat in the naughty chair was because she was having so much fun with Mitchell that she started throwing toys around with him.  Ummmm hummmmmm....be still my mommy heart.

She rolled the picture up which happened to be a drawing of her and "Mitchell standing on a mountain". Then she got a sandwich baggie, put the picture in there with some tinsel that had fallen off the tree. Awww..her first little present.

She carried it to school and I just had to watch what would happen. I mean, this experience could sit with her the rest of her life (give me a break, I'm a helicopter mom and what? It could. Don't judge me). It was her first gift to a boy and I wanted to see it unfold. She walked through the little circle of boys who were sitting on the floor, held out her gift and said simply, "here". Then she stood patiently while he tried to open the baggie (he is only 4). He said, "thanks" and finally tore it open.

I looked at her face to see what she was thinking about the tearing but she seemed ok. I walked over to tell her good-bye. She didn't look up at me, she simply said "bye mom". Leaving, I had a glimpse of where I will stand when she finally does have a "boyfriend."

When I went to pick her up, Mitchell's dad was there. While we were waiting I told him about the gift. We did a few "Awwww's" together and waited for them to come out. I overheard Mitchell telling his father that "Goddess had made that for him." The dad asked if he said thank you and he said yes.

As we were leaving the school, Goddess turned to me beaming and said, "Mommy, Mitchell kissed the picture I gave him."

So, there it is, in all its innocent glory. The first "boy" that happens to be a "friend" gift. Hopefully, this will be the last for a very long time.

ABC Wednesday "V"

The letter is "V"

The picture is Violence

Ok, well it was not really too violent but he threw a snowball at me and it got all over my very expensive Canon 50D lens dammit.

Sharing Starts Early - Goddess and Daddy

Ok, so it isn't too far back but back in August 6, 2006 my baby girl was almost 1.5 years old. Yes, I know she looks about the size of a 9 month old but I rest assure you, the pixie was older.

In this shot she is eating cheese doodles which is something I would have never let my first born do at such a young age. This was a different kid. She was sharing the bag with her daddy. One for you, one for me kind of thing. I thought it was so cute and had to grab the shot.

It's All About The Hat

This weeks Ruby Tuesday comes in the form of my son's beloved Mario Kart Hat. He loves this hat.

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The Simple Woman's Daybook

December 14th

FOR TODAY... Maria's Daybook

Outside my window... cold, snow, icy, gray but expected to be high 40's today.

I am thinking... Hours this week have to be used wisely as the kids last day before the New Year is Friday.

I am thankful for... being done with my shopping, good friends, and my health.

I am wearing... Grey jeans, white long sleeve shirt and a gray accent shirt.

I am remembering... Watching New Moon with my girlfriend yesterday and how badly I want to see it again. We had the theater to ourselves until 5 minutes before it started when 6 other people showed up. Although we drove through an ice storm to get there, it was our first time "out" without kids in the 4 years that we know each other. We knew if we didn't see it now, we would be waiting for the DVD. You can barely see me standing on the steps surrounded by empty seating.

I am going... to spend some hours wrapping today.

I am currently reading... The Happiness Project. Check for my review soon.

I am hoping...to be done with all Christmas errands this week.

On my mind... getting my 25 Days of Christmas finished



Noticing that...Everyone seems a bit occupied these days. No one is slowing down to enjoy and really see life.

Pondering these words..."you are the best Mommy in the whole world." Isn't this what every mom wants to hear?


From the kitchen... some holiday baking will be underway this week.

Around the house... presents hidden in too many places, hope I remember them all.

One of my favorite things~missing my kids when I don't see them for an hour.

From my picture journal...

The view from my deck the other night

Blue Monday - Star Spangled Dressed in White

Mellow Yellow Monday Decoration

Nostalgia

Shutterday has a theme every Saturday.  This week: Nostalgia - Show us pictures of when life was as good as it was ever going to get, or something that reminds you of that. Remind US.

For me, Nostalgia could be so many things in my life but the one that changed me and made me what I am today is this one. This is the first photo ever taken of me as a mother. Can't see me? It doesn't really matter. This is my son's very first photo if you leave out the hospital photographers. At the time I called him "my prince". 


I never felt complete until my children were born. This is the beginning of life for me. Everything before this moment, paled in comparison. This is LOVE.

 

We Love The Snow

Beside loving to play in the snow, my kids love eating it. You think I never feed them them way the eat it.

Self Portrait Sunday - Dec 13, 2009

The rules are simple. Just post a picture of yourself linking back here. Hope to see your beautiful faces.

This weeks picture was taken over 2 weeks ago and I have been meaning to move it from Blackberry to computer.

I was waiting for Handsome to come out of school. There is no snow on the mountains or trees which seems so long ago now.

This was taken last this past Wednesday. Big diff right?

Fluffy Camera Critter

I haven't seen a lot of critters lately other than the two legged kind. So, here is a different picture of a dog I have used before.

Goddess Invokes Her Inner Cher

My baby girl loves singing, but look at the mouth, the hair, the hand, is this not Cher?


Yesterday when I picked Goddess up at school she informed me that she didn't get a sticker today because "I didn't do the right thing!"

When I pushed she said, that after snack, she was supposed to either color, do a light bright or play with clay. She and her buddy decided to run around.

"I really, really wanted to do the right thing Mommy, but my brain wouldn't let me."

Two of A Million Holiday Portraits

Tassimo I Love You!

Two days ago I received A Tassimo (insert Angels singing here). Is it possible to be in love with an appliance?

When they told me they were sending me a Tassimo to try out along with some of their coffee samples, I was floored. Are you kidding me? I am going to get to try a Tassimo? When it arrived I wasn't there to answer the door. I made a pot of coffee while my husband took his "power nap" on the couch waiting for him to wake up. As I headed downstairs to grab some paper towel I saw the box in the hallway. It was like Christmas morning staring at the black box with the gold "Tassimo" on the side.

What, huh? Tassimo came and I made a pot of coffee?

I shut the pot of coffee off, pushed it over and opened the the Tassimo box. Really, what is it about new appliances that make people happy?

The set up was easy, I read the directions, plugging it in, pouring water in the back, running it in clean mode, inserting the filter (we all know filtered water is important for a really good cup o' Joe). Picked the coffee I wanted to try and let me tell you that was the hardest part. Tassimo was kind enough to send many samples; Starbucks, Starbucks Cappuccino, Chai Tea Latte, Gevalia, and Hot Chocolate.

I picked the Starbucks Cappuccino. First you take the milk disc, shake it up, insert, press the button, wait for the orange button, take out disc, insert espresso disc, press button, wait for orange button, remove and behold the beauty of a true cappuccino with the visual, taste and exquisite taste that allows Starbucks to charge over $4.00 for a medium coffee.  But at home you get it in half the time, 1 minute to a wonderful cup of coffee in your own home. Yummy!

Then my husband woke and he tried the same, while I had my first of many since then Chai Tea Lattes. In my personal opinion the Chai Tea is the reason to BUY the machine but that is just me.

Why give all your money to the coffee houses when you can get a perfect cup of coffee in the comfort of your own home?

If you have a hot drink lover in your home, this is the perfect gift. Whether it is coffee, tea, lattes, cappuccinos, or hot chocolate this is the gift that will NOT sit in the box in the closet.

For my videos of using Tassimo go here and here and watch me again make a fool of myself.

Wish you could smell this fresh coffee brewing.


If you have any questions about this review, please feel free to contact me directly at ree026 (@) optonline.net.

Thank you Tassimo for sending me a the machine and all the samples. I am a very happy women.

A Thousand Memories Thursday - The Goddess

I have been having major computer problems lately. Please bare with me as I struggle with the desire to take a sledge hammer to my beloved laptop. What used to take me 10 minutes now takes me approximately 2 hours. No lie. It takes everything I have everything I have to keep my cool.

I am typing this up on my husband's laptop because he isn't home yet so doesn't need it. How silly to struggle all day and have this sitting closed and off. Why not use it?

Since I haven't uploaded anything new, I am posting another shot of my photo shoot with Goddess.

My little actress cracks me up. She is a natural model. I love all the faces and movements.

Kendra Is In Labor

I have it from a reliable source that Kendra Wilkinson is in labor.  Cuutteee!

Kendra was my favorite Girl Next Door! I was upset when she left but then she got her own show "Kendra".

Kendra has come a long way from Playmate to Mommy! You have to love someone who makes no excuses and lives their lives the way they want to.

When Us Magazine asked Kendra some pregnancy questions here is what she had to say:

Do you feel prettier pregnant? Kendra: I have never felt this beautiful! The one thing I love about being pregnant is my skin, I used to have the worst acne. My whole life it's been horrible -- on the Girls Next Door, it was disgusting. This is the best skin that I have ever had in my life!

What's the best thing about being pregnant?
Kendra: The greatest thing is probably just feeling like a queen. Everybody does everything for me. And Hank is always just giving me unconditional love -- that different type of love that I've never felt before.

If you were to give Kendra some advice on parenting, what would you tell her?

POM Is Wonderful - And A Chinese Apple!

POM Wonderful sent me over a case of POM juice in order to write this review.

Ever since I was a child I knew there was something special about this juice. Every year my parents gave my sisters and I a "Chinese Apple" once a year.

Now years later POM Wonderful is doing what I couldn't do as a child; they get all that delicious, juice out of the fruit without the pink fingers.

I downed the first bottle of juice in record time, it was of course, delicious as I had remembered. The second bottle I decided to savor and research.

1st Finding: It is delicious.
2nd Finding: It has mega health benefits

Whatever your taste buds like, you will find something at the POM Wonderful recipe link that makes your mouth water. 

I think the 3rd bottle will be my experiment bottle. There are so many drinks I want to try.
Like this one called the POM Truffle. I hear truffle and my interest is peaked.

ABC Wednesday - U

U = Under

The kids were hanging out underneath a indoor basketball game. They hung out there more than played with it.

U = UP

Wordless Wednesday - All It Takes

These two things = princess. Isn't it really all it takes?

Blue Monday - Waaayy Back

My Blue Monday this week is a picture of my first painting. Notice the date? 1993. I had taken a painting class on a Tuesday night. It was my first class and I was so excited. I told my boyfriend ("shithead" who put me in therapy)I was leaving   for class and headed out.

I lived with my boyfriend and in the same town as my best buddy (my now husband). Class was only 8-10 minutes away from my house and walked in so excited to be doing something I always wanted to do. When I left class, I was so proud of my painting. Never feeling especially creative and very low on self confidence, it still looked good to me and my self esteem at the moment was soaring.

Driving home I kept thinking how I couldn't wait to show "shithead" or well what the hell, his name was Michael. Why not, I don't owe him the benefit of an alias. I got out of the car with my painting, opened the door and walked to the bedroom. Mike was still awake but was trying to go to sleep because he worked a crazy 11:30-5:00 a.m. thing. Knowing that he was exhausted I said, "Mike!?" He said, "hey honey, how was class?" I told him it was great. "Look what I made." He said, "honey I am sure it is great just put it in the kitchen and I will look at it when I get up later."

Still holding it, I held it higher, still smiling and right in front of eyes, :"Mike just open your eyes and look, let me know what you think."

"Babe, you know I have to wake in a few hours, I will look at it later ok?" Then he gave me an air kiss and I walked deflated, into the living room.

Dejected I sulked for a few minutes, called my buddy who wanted to know how it went, I told him it was fun. He said, "come over for a while, we can hang out side". So I headed out to my buddy's house. Mike was sleeping so I didn't even mention that I was leaving.

I pulled in front of now husband's house, and he was already outside. He walked over to my car and I got out. He was like, "Dude, let me see it!" I took the picture out of the trunk.

He took it from me and "holding it up examining it from every angle said, "You did this? I can't believe it. This looks amazing. Wow, dude you did an awesome job. I am so proud of you."

I felt my crushed self esteem getting bright again.

Years later, when we were talking about possibly moving our friendship into something more, something he had always wanted but never told me until I finally said something; he told me more about that first night of painting.

"You know when you had that painting class? The very first one you took?"

I said, "yes".

"Well, I watched you that night. I stood outside the window and watched you paint that picture."

I was floored and teary. What a sweet thing to do and then never telling me. No fan fare. Just something he wanted to do because he loved me. Just one of the many reasons I married HIM and finally smarted up enough to know that my special "dude" buddy was the one I should stop looking past.

Mellow Yellow Monday Princess

Goddess, the actress was at it again this weekend. She played dress up with her princess dresses and I couldn't help myself. I had to grab one for Mellow Yellow Monday.

Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold Audio

I read Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold when it first came out in 2004 and it has sat with me ever since.  The book was so different from anything else I had read that Alice immediately became an author I mentioned when friends were looking for new books to read. After reading Lovely Bones I ran out and purchased another of her books, Lucky which was her memoir.  She is an amazing author and her memoir was candid and inspiring.

Back to Lovely Bones; this book centers around Susie Salmon who at 14 is murdured and watches her family and murdered from "in between". In her heaven she is torn between getting vegence and helping her family to heal. 

The story, narrarated by Susie is outstandingly written. Sebold has a knack for making ordinary daily occurances very profound as Susie's family struggles their way back to each other. 

There were moments in the book that were very emotional but not in a graphic in your face way considering the way Susie was taken from her family. It is a connection between the author and the reader that make this such a deep story.  Thankfully, the amazing writing takes you away from the fact that a young girl was brutalized and taken from her family. The hardest parts are hearing Susie watch certain rites of passage happen for her friends and sister, that she would never be able to experience.  

This is a story that will sit with you and hearing it on audio made it that more penetrating for me. 

Self Portrait Sunday - Dec 5, 2009

The rules are simple. Just post a picture of yourself linking back here. Hope to see your beautiful faces.

So blurry, I know it, Blackberry photo..I was out last night for a half hour with Lauri. We went to see Sheress who was holding a Scentsy party in town. It was quick but I felt like such a big girl out at night with a girlfriend, giggling, acting silly and grabbing coffee.

Here is me and my babies sitting on the couch today. I love both their faces in this picture. It was taken with my Blackberry so the quality sucks but they look sweet.

Color Carnival - My Little Pony

My kids toys are the best subjects for Color Carnival. This little pony came with us to the park and I just had to snatch a photo of her.

Photo Hog-A Thousand Word Thursday

My photo hog grabs more than her share of photos. This was a total accident but it cracks me up every time.

Green Works Gets You Clean Naturally

Last month I ran out of my son's all natural laundry detergent at the worst time of the year. I washed his clothes (two loads), in the detergent I use for the rest of the family and  noticed a difference right away. His exzema, was full blown for the first time in a year. He had welts all over and a rash that went from his neck to his ankles. I rush ordered his normal detergent, a special one, that is priced right but unattainable in the stores. 

I received Green Works, the day after I rush ordered his detergent and decided to try it  on his clothes knowing that his detergent, was still 2 days away. We would know right away if Green Works was really what they claim; a natural, plant based, dye and fragrance free laundry detergent.   

So, wonder how it did? 

It passed the test! Handsome, still recovering from wearing clothing washed in my families detergent didn't suffer at all. There were no welts, no sleepless nights from too much itching and no need for Benedryl the next morning.

His detergent came 2 days later as expected about a week ago and is still unopened. Green Works, which I can purchase at any store, will now be my go to detergent for my allergy invested baby boy.

Wordless Wednesday - Because She Just Can't Be Normal

Here is my lunatic posing for a blog review for KNEX. She just can't be normal sometimes. This of course was not used for the review but I knew it would eventually be used. How could I not?

Ruby Tuesday - Little Red Spoon and Some Red Things

I've got nothing!
Seriously where is all the red?
So, if you don't mind, check out the little red spoon in my son's 6 1/2 birthday party. And the red on his Mario PJ's aaaaannnndddd...the red on the crayon box in the background.

Head over to Mary's Work of the Poet, the home of Ruby Tuesday to see some real red photos.