Walk Down Memory Lane - I Missed You Brother! (July 2008) #memories

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.  ~Marc Brown

This pictures is so cute to me. My son was on his first away play date. His friend lives down the street and we decided to meet them as they headed back to our house. My daughter’s arm is outstretched because she was running ahead of me to hug her brother. He is running to me and actually bypast her which just broke my heart because she was calling his name and running to him.

An Unconventional Diet Process That May Reshape How You Eat

The 411:

I must start with my very first opinion of this book. It took me three read throughs to understand the concept and not see it as a pompus attempt to redo dieting. 

Here is what I shared on my personal Facebook wall: Reviewing the most boring diet book of my life. It is something about mastering your psyche and ritualizing how u eat and plan your meals. Imagining yourself taking the food into your body, using it and dispelling. Eventually like dreaming when u sleep your body will diet on a sub conscience level. Kill me now! Things like preliminal, self mastery, obtained, ritualized and bindling don't sound like a diet. Not loving it, complete bullshit written by some self important, egotistical doctor and I am only one chapter in.

After my second and then third read through, I have a better understanding and more concrete idea of what the writer is conveying. 

Maybe it was because when I open a diet book I want it to tell me what to eat, when to eat, possibly give me some example plans and recipes. If you are like that, this may not be for you.

If you have read all those diet books and want something else, The Creative Process Diet may be the one for you.

Who knew that by creating a preconceived eating plan, you will truly limit your intake. You are holding yourself accountable and this can only be a positive thing to your health and your waistline.

The book itself is designed in a very basic way. It's literally black and white although I still didn't find it easy to digest because for me it bordered on the philosophical side and I am so not into that but when it came down to the actual plan, it was really easy although I found the log book a little confusing at first with the OBT/DOC Obtained and Ritualized sections but I think I figured most of it out.

I like how I can keep track of my water intake because this is something I always make a conscience effort to do. I do love my water!

What I learned:

• I do like writing down what I will eat the day before (who knew)
• I definitely drink enough water
• I love Tuna and have no problem eating it as often as possible
• Just because I don't agree with something at first, I may just learn something if I don't close the book.
• The diet has to work for you so make it your own.
• I DO know how to eat but chose to not make the right choices
• I am not as spiritual in my dieting as I am in my life. 
• I remembered why I called myself the Amateur Reviewer rather quickly.

Fun Family Friendly App by Crayola Has My Family Creating Our Own Music Tracks #FunApp

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Very recently my kids got into a computer game where they are DJs in a room full of their friends. They never spoke about being a DJ prior but love the idea of playing music for the friends and talk about playing the DJ with the radio in the car every morning so when I told them there was this cool app from Crayola where they could actually lay down their own tracks complete with sound effects they were excited to check it out.

 The Crayola DJ app was pretty easy to learn and starts with a tutorial so you can quickly grasp all that you can do with the app.

You can also take the arrows on each track and move them to make them bigger or smaller depending on the sound you are going for.

Don't like what you hear or want to make a change simply hit any of the icons on the turntable and it removes the sound.

Goddess loved adding the melody and sound effects while Handsome got a kick out of scratching. It was pretty neat to hear what they came up with. I must admit even I kinda got into a little.

Walk Down Memory Lane - Rocking on the Porch Swing (2006) #memories

My husband got this swing for me when I was pregnant. I spent so many days of my maternity swinging away and waiting for the baby to come. After he came I sat many hours with him outside, talking with him and just trying to form a bond that would never be broken. The swing is in need of repair but I will never forget the many hours that I sat swinging with my kids or just pushing them while they sat.

Make Your Feet Smile With Inspyr

The 411 by Maria and Handsome (my 12 year old):

I love clothes that speak to us. Working in a Middle School whenever I see a student with something written on their shirt, shorts, socks, shoes, coat, I want to know what it says. It reveals something about their personality and how they are feeling about themselves. Positivity is always the message I hope to see. I want to know they are confident, soulful, loved, loving, positive and what they are into. It helps me know how to deal with them and sometimes gives us something to talk about. Many conversations begin because of something written on someone's T-Shirt. Heck, I met my husband because of a bumper sticker but that is another story for another time. 

Inspyr socks have a word or sometimes a few that speak to me. I love all the chosen phrases and want to grab some more in the future because not only are they nice looking socks and have great messages, they are quality socks! My son loves them! I love them. 

Some of the messages we received said (one word on each sock):

Dream/It
Vision/Heart
Never/Quit
Will/Power

Handsome loves these socks and says that his feet don't sweat during gym. This is a great thing in my eyes. Easier laundry days; wink wink.

What impressed us most was how cheery and fun they are. The color combinations are interesting and unique. They scream sporty, fun, jump, happy, and life! You will smile putting these socks on. 

They even create custom socks for your team so check them out and wear your inspiration on your feet!

Bath Time Is More Fun With @SoapSox

SoapSox are soft, cuddly and colorful characters that make bath time kids’ favorite past time.

I remember when bath time was stressful. My kids now love taking showers but many parents have a nightly struggle to get their little ones in the bath. This is why creator Ray Phillips came up with the idea.  He was a Program Director at a residential treatment facility with children who have experienced trauma.  He saw firsthand the struggle many children have with bath time.  One child in particular would not part with his favorite stuffed animal to get in the bath so Ray modified the stuffed animal to hold soap.  The child finally agreed to take a bath.  

While my 10 year old is much older then the children this was created for, she is no less thrilled to share the bath with this adorable creature. 

 

When she is done with him she simply lets him sit on the hot and cold knobs to dry out. He does have a band to which he can hang him with but I don't have a hook yet. I will be getting one that is at her level so she can hang him up nightly. 

 

Scorch is not their only creature. They have a ton of them and now she really wants:

Splash, Emma and Ava. The hardest part was that she wanted to sleep with him the first night but he wasn't dry yet.

 

She loves that the soap fits in his mouth. I love that I didn't hear the soap fall a million and one times while she was taking a bath.  You can even use liquid soap!

 

Listen To Your Music When And Where You Want #bluetooth #headphones

This weekend my son lost all his computer and XBox Games for something that happened Friday. He, like the rest of in this family NEEDS music to stabilize. His dad and I are huge music lovers and my kids are exactly the same. We use it to play and relax. He really needed to relax. Being grounded is hard enough but for a kid on the spectrum it is even harder. He doesn't understand why things are happening all he knows is his life is changing and he has no control which makes him crazy. To calm him down I opened up the box containing our new bluetooth headphones. 

These Direct Beat System or dBS headphones were hooked up to my cell phone in less then 5 seconds and he was able to relax, calm himself down and escape for a little while this weekend with his favorite music.

There is even a microphone so you can use them to take calls or even play games online.

Pros:

• They are really light
• They look great
• You can hook up to your bluetooth device in under 10 seconds
• Holds a charge for 10 hours
• Can be used with a non bluetooth device with a quick connection (wire included)
• Takes 3 hours to fully charge
• Fits comfortably
• Has a microphone so can be used to take calls

Girl It Up Safely! #poppydrops

Our girls are growing up and some would love to change things up with hair color or tats. My 10 now 10 year old has been applying tats and jewels to her face since the age of 4. Recently she asked me to color her hair because she loves looking at the colors of the girls in school. She  was thrilled last week when I allowed her to color her hair tips with Kool-Aid. She has wanted it for so long.

I never want her to grow up too soon and try hard to make sure that she does things age appropriately because Mother Knows Best. This is why THIS mom is so excited about Poppy Drops!

If you’ve got a little princess at home, then there’s a chance that she’s tried to use your perfume, asked to paint her nails just like mommy or even inquired about your tattoo!

We received some cool Poppy Drops to review! These are Veggie Dye Pierce-Free Tattoo Earrings. 

Goddess quickly opened up the Let's Party Collection and asked me to put one on her cheek. She loved it! We put a star on her ear and one on mine. These are so much fun that every girl in Middle School asked us about them. These temporary tats are perfect for adding a little pizazz to make a girl feel special.

We also received Poppy Drops Nail Art!

Do not look at those bitten up nails please. BUT how cute are the hearts!?
The last thing in our Poppy Drops Box was their Lip Luster! I loved this and quickly confiscated this for myself. It is very minty and makes my lips feel amazing!

Power Up Rocks! Great Gift Idea For Yourself Or Someone Else Who Likes Cool Stuff!

Now that my kids are older they don't ask for toys they ask for subscriptions. I remember doing this at the age of 13 to 15 but I guess kids these days are way more mature then I was.

Power Up Box is a new company that only opened this year who specialize in nerd gifts, gamer gifts, geek gifts and fun gifts.

They offer two different type of plans:

The Premium Box (4-6 items plus a T-Shirt)
And The Deluxe Box (6-9 items plus a T-Shirt)

If you have never received a subscription box picture that Christmas morning feel or birthday feel every month. You never know what you will be receiving on any month but you know that it will definitely contain some fun, geeky, gamer, pop culture merchandise.

Handsome loved opening his box. We gathered around to see what was in it and were just as excited as he was.

This is the premium box for May that we received.

I Just Reviewed The BEST Veggie/Fruit Peeler For $9.97 #deal

It looks like my grandfather's old razor but what you are looking at is a really amazing Firstchefpro Julienne Vegetable Peeler.

As someone who with two kids I am constantly peeling something. They want their apples peeled, their carrots, loads of mashed potatoes, and the occasional lemon or orange zest in our cookies. My peeler a thin little average peeler and I have gotten pretty good at peeling but nothing prepared me for how awesome this peeler is.

The first thing I peeled was my son's apple. He will NOT eat with peel on it. The pivot blade on this makes it easy to use and I like the size of the handle. It didn't cramp my hand at all. Usually I have to stop and shake off a cramp in my hand when peeling.

After peeling it I wanted to see how the Julienne Peeler worked. So I started working on the apple. I loved the little slivers of apple and so did my son. We have been grating apple on everything. He asks for "apple strings" now. I love the "apple strings" with a little caramel drizzle or cinnamon. The pieces are small enough so you can create all kinds of dishes using the Julienne part BUT if you want to just peel this works too!

It looks dangerous so for me the only thing that would have given this guy 5 stars would be if it came with a protective cover for the blade. It can be hung by the other end but putting this in a drawer without a cover makes me nervous.

The price is incredible. Anyone who loves to bake or cook will love this item.

My Mother's Day Orchid

This Mother's Day I received an Orchid or Orchidaceae from my husband. It is a beautiful flower. OK, so there was no card but it was a really nice gesture. Here it is in front of a picture I painted back in the 90s.

It is a lovely flower and I pray I can keep it alive. It takes only 3 ice cubes a week. I've never watered a plant by adding ice but sounds easy enough.

There are many types of Orchids and after a little research I see that I have a Phalaenopsis. I found the research interesting because it says never to water the Phalaenopsis with ice cold water yet the instructions that came with this says to just use ice. Hmmmmm...

I just ordered this orchid food. Let's see how it goes



 Does anyone have heard of using ice for orchids?

My Amazing Breakfast #yummy #breakfastisthemostimportantmeal

Yesterday my car went into the shop for an inspection. It failed according to the shop but they I believe are looking for a paycheck as the things they mentioned it failing for have nothing to do with emissions. UGH....it will be going to another shop.

ANYWAY...after dropping it off my girlfriend and I headed to the local walking track where we managed 3.5 miles before heading to a local bistro for an amazing, delicious breakfast.

It is all about presentation and this looks as good as it taste.

My girlfriend got a strawberry, banana, Nutella waffle

I had the Strawberry, Peach French Toast made with amaretto. It was yummy!

Walk Down Memory Lane - It's The Reading Train (July 2004) #memories

Down at the station early in the morning, See the little Puffer Bellies all in a row. See

 the engine driver pull the little handle, Chug, chug, toot, toot, Off they go.

This was a big blow up train that my sister got him for his 1st birthday. It was a ball pit too.  I wish I had kept if longer than I did. We got rid of it probably around the time that my son would have really gotten much joy out of it. It took up a lot of dining room area. Just before my daughter was born I took it down to make room for the pack and play and bassinet. I really wish I had held onto it and put it up the next year. Handsome spent so much time crawling through the train or just sitting and looking through his picture books.

VeryDirtyCarpets Spot & Stain Remover Really Works

VeryDirtyCarpets Spot and Stain Remover is a review product.

Over the years I have used many stain removers in my 1972 house. The carpets which I would love to take up are a constant upkeep. But until I can afford flooring I will use stain remover on my carpets.

The first stain I hit with VeryDirtyCarpets was and old oil stain from about 5 years ago. I grabbed the olive oil from the pantry but the cap wasn't on and when it fell over it spilled enough oil to fry a turkey. I did the best I could on the carpet but it never looked clean.

The directions state I should saturate the carpet, agitate not scrub with a brush and lift with a white cloth.  Do you see the huge difference? I haven't seen the carpet look like this in quite some time.

Here is the rag I  used to lift the stain. Pretty gross!

The next place I hit was Goddess' bedroom. I adore that girl! I really do but she is one stain making queen.

Pretty nice! AND the stain didn't return two, three, four days later like in the past. Usually when I use a remover the stain returns after the carpet dries! UGH

This is also Goddess' room!

As you can see...that stain is almost out. One more time and it should be completely gone.

My Handsome Turned 12

It is crazy how fast time goes. It is a blink and your baby is 12. Not a teenager but wasn't he a baby yesterday? It sure feels that way.

Here is how it went down on my Facebook today:

12 years ago today I was receiving my very first Mother's Day Gift.My Handsome  was born via emergency cesarean after my water broke in the wee hours of the morning on Mother's Day 2003. He was a scheduled C due to being breech but rushed into the world a day early on his own accord and he has been marching to his own beat ever since.

Due to the drugs I received for my surgery I didn't meet my huge 9.11 lb baby until he was already 5 1/2 hours old and those missed 5 1/2 hours still bother me but the moment he was delivered to my bed and I looked into those big brown eyes I have tried to make up for it. 

Today he will enjoy a day of mom's undivided attention because honestly he deserves it. This kid amazes me everyday. He continues to make massive strides in life.

He loves to laugh. He loves family and group hugs. He loves animals and music. He never has to be micromanaged and follows a very tight schedule he has created for himself. He is a huge help around the house and since he was tall enough to do so I have never had to bag a grocery or put my own groceries away, drag garbage or even open my own car door in the morning. He always opens mine before he opens his own.

Baby boy,  I am so happy to be your mommy. You work so hard to understand the world you live in. I couldn't be more proud of you than I am right now. You make me laugh, always want to hug and are not ashamed to hug me in front of all your peers at lunch or at recess when you see me for the first time. I hope that never changes but if it does I know you will still want a hug maybe just not in front of your friends.

My kids never miss school so this year I took each of them out of school on their birthday. It was a nice change. Yes, I missed a day of work but I created a memory.

Handsome and I dropped of Goddess who shockingly gave me no problems this morning. That's a surprise.

I asked him where he wanted to go for breakfast giving him about 5 options and he settled for a little local place because he likes the sausage patty.

Next we headed to the eye doctor for his exam where we placed an order for new glasses. This time transitions. He is so excited.

After the eye doctor it was onto Game Stop where we picked up a previously owned Wii. Ours went about two months ago and with over 80 games he is not about to let it go yet.  He also picked up four previously owned games.

We came home and hooked it all up. He played for about two hours and then we headed out to pick up Goddess.

After they played on Wii for about an hour I asked where they wanted to go to dinner. Something small and he decided on McDonalds.

My Handsome doesn't love cake so we decided to head to Dairy Queen for the first time of the season. It is not my favorite ice cream but the kids were excited. It wasn't my birthday so I will do whatever the birthday boy wants to do.

We sat in the back of my truck (more on that some other time). They were surprised because two weeks ago when I got the truck I had told them there would be no eating or drinking in the truck. I was at the ready and the only person I worried would make a mess was Goddess. UGH...that girl knows how to leave a mess in her wake.

I got myself a cherry dipped as well. I have been having that since I am a little girl. Love it and love that my Goddess loves it too.

Even though we celebrated over the weekend with his dad, I couldn't let the day just be like any other. He works so hard to be a good boy and deserved a special day.