mommypalooza™ ~ a daily dose of mommy mayhem.

Five Things: Halloween Treats for You!

Yesterday I received a Preview Pak from one of the mom-blogger-companies I work with quite often and WOW, was I impressed and excited!  It was almost like my own little Christmas!  Well, until my kids got a hold of my goodies.

 

Anyway, here are Five Things I totally dig about the cool preview pak:

• HP and Walgreen's have teamed up together to offer busy moms (like me and you) fast, easy, and quality photo printing possiblities.  My pak included four gift cards for ten FREE prints each!  For your chance to win one, leave me a comment with your favorite scrapbooking, storage, or photography tip!
• MobiStories is the new hip way to keep your kid in love with reading!  Offering virtual books for kids, they offer a fun and unique product that will help keep kids engaged in storytime and learning.   Want to see what I am talking about for FREE?  Visit their website and select your books from their extensive library using promotion code BSM147A.  Enjoy your free books!
• Kajeet is a revolutionary cell phone service for kids.  Their service is ideal for parents wanting to offer their kids access to a cell phone but without the hassles of traditional cell phone plans.  They offer you a way to manage your kids' calls, phone options, and even a cool GPS phone locator!  I'll be sharing more information on their service and even a bonus offer soon so stay tuned!
• I received a wonderful music cd from Lango, a company that gives kids the opportunity to engage in a second language and learn in a fun atmosphere. They offer classes to children ages 18 months to 9 years, as well as summer immersion camps.
• Many of our kids have grown to know and love Build-a-Bear Workshop.  For your chance to win a cute stuffed friend of your own (or for your kiddo!) AND a $10 BearBuck$ gift card, check out their website and then come back here and leave a comment with what you'd buy with your $10 gift card!

For extra contest entries, feature these giveaways on your blog or website and leave the link here - no limit! Deadline to enter these giveaways is Monday November 10, 2008.  Good luck!  ♥

 

Proud mommy.

My little N has once again, made me a proud mom today.  D and I met with his Pre-K for our parent/teacher conference and we were all three smiling from ear-to-ear while we visited about N's progress as a Pre-K'er.

WARNING:  This is where I will rightfully brag.

Some of the things Mrs. Y said about N include that he is undoubtedly the leader in the class and "the sought after one...everyone is drawn to him".  (This could either be really good or really scary!)  She also identified him as her "strong one" in the class and as one who is friends with everyone. 

N is beyond where most Kindergarteners need to be at this point since he is reading and advanced with being able to count as high as he can.  The teacher noted, "he's such a well-rounded kid.  I keep looking for holes but he's got everything down - the fine motor, large motor, reading, math, writing, social, emotional...".   We've come up with some ideas to help keep his focus on learning new things both inside and outside the classroom and I am thankful that his teacher recognizes how important this is and is willing to put forth an effort to challenging him.  Thankfully, there is a little girl in his class who is also very bright and is reading, so there may be some opportunity for she and N to work together on some things.  Mrs. Y also shared with us that N is the one she often calls upon to help when they are learning about something new and the class is having a tough time understanding.   She feels it's comforting to his fellow classmates if they see that someone just like them knows the answers.

The most heartwarming and pleasing part of the meeting for me was when his teacher was explaining to us how humble and compassionate N is to others.  Apparently, there is often a fuss over which kids want to sit by him, but it doesn't really phase him.  He is always the one who is nonchalontly replying, "sure, you can sit by me", but then not taking himself too seriously.  There was also a time when the class received a new student about two weeks into the school year and was having a tough time feeling like part of the group.  Mrs. Y asked N to be in charge of helping that person find a group to play in, etc. and he jumped on it without needing any direction from the teacher on what to do. 

That totally warmed my heart!

D and I walked away very proud parents, although I did keep telling D I wasn't really surprised by what the teacher shared with us.  But it certainly did feel good to have my thoughts and assessment of him confirmed.  N got a very fun reward (inspired by his dad) for his outstanding-ness!

You can't teach your kids manners if you, yourself don't have them.

Last night we went out for our usual Tuesday night dinner at Godfather's Pizza.  Apparently, word of their Tuesday night kids eat free promo has gotten out.  There was a soccer party going on in the party room and a kids' birthday party in another part of the dining room.  Not to mention, their usual crowd of a few families out for dinner.

The staff was obviously unprepared for feeding such a large crowd.  D waited in a long line just to pay, while the kids and I sat at a booth and were able to get drinks.  I settled them into their seats and went off to get pizza for them and myself.  Oh, and of course a salad for W.

As dinner went on, people would make their way up to the buffet line and stand there, waiting for pizzas to come out of the oven.  Like I said, the staff was a little behind.  The kids had eaten quite a few pieces of pizza and were soon ready for the yummilicious dessert pizza.  I looked over and noticed of course, that there wasn't any.  A few other kids in the restaurant had made their way over to the buffet area by this time and were all lined up chanting, "we want dee-ssert pizza, we want dee-sert pizza" and I could tell the man behind the counter was feeling the pressure. 

Luckily, a few moments later he proudly set down a freshly prepared dessert pizza and the chanting ceased.  I immediately made my way over to the back of the line behind the small kids who had already been standing there for some time.  I had planned to get dessert pizza for D, N, W, and myself so that I wouldn't have to go back up.  So, I get in line and then see the guy behind the counter put out a second dessert pizza.  Score!  By this time, a few people had gotten in line behind me and were anxiously awaiting their slice of the bubbly hot dessert.

And then a woman from the dining area made her way (accompanied by her elementary age daughter) over to the beginning of the line, near the newly placed dessert pizzas.  Yes, she had in fact gotten right in front of those darling little children who had been chanting for the pizza, and began to reach over them to grab a few servings of it.  She quickly told her daughter, "hurry, go get a plate, go get a plate", when I looked at her and said while motioning to the back of the line, "line's back here, lady." 

She pretended not to hear.

Again, I said (and this time, a little louder), "LINE'S BACK HERE, LADY!"  She then replied, "uh-er, no, well, we've already been through the line once" (as IF that made a flippin' difference!) and I then replied to her, "yeah, so have I but this is for my kids, so get in line". 

She quickly put the spatula down and rolled her eyes and got in back.  Good thing, too because by the time I got up to the front of the line, there were only a few pieces of dessert pizza left.  Not saying anything to her would've meant my kids having to wait for their dessert pizza, and I was not having that happen.  By the time she got up to the front of the line, the dessert pizza was out and she and her daughter had to wait a few more minutes for another one to be brought out.

While she was standing there I heard her say something to another woman in line. Something to the effect of, "I would've said something but I don't know...she could've had a gun in her purse".  I glared at her. She stared back at me.  I continued to stare back at her.  She looked away first.  Yeah, that's what I thought, lady.  Don't get into a mad-dogging competition with me.  I'll win it every time.

I told D what I wanted to say to her after hearing that comment she made was, "don't be silly, I don't have a gun in my purse.  It's in my glovebox."  Just kidding.  Just because I'm from Texas, doesn't mean I carry a gun.

But still, don't mess with me or my kids' dinner.  ♥

 

Golf outing.

N is out on a golf outing with D today and I'm excited to hear how it went.  This is the first time since W's been born that N's gotten a chance to go sans his little brother.  He and W went a few months ago with D and halfway through the outing he asked if he could go one day with just daddy and him.

With no school for the rest of the week, D and I decided today was a perfect day to do it.  Of course I doubt D will take any photos out on the course, so I'll have to just picture its perfectness in my mind.  W and I have enjoyed some time together too.  After our Kindermusik class, we headed for the library and picked up some great reads like this one, this one, and this one.  Oh, and this spooky DVD in celebration of Halloween.

The rest of the week will be a pretty chilled-out one with N out of school, so I'm looking forward to some fun activities with he and W both.  Tonight it's homemade cheeseburgers, seasoned crinkle-cut fries and corn on the cob for dinner.   I can hardly wait.  ♥

 

What a weekend!

Blogging has taken a bit of a backseat for the past few days, and I must say, I did indeed miss it!  Check out all the fun we've been having here in the T household!

W got to meet his second favorite local mama .... Funky Mama, that is!  I think N would've been in this pic too if he could have peeled himself away from playing with the construction vehicles at PBK.  Both the kids (and, I, of course) had a rockin' good time enjoying some very cool tunes!  If you haven't yet picked up any of Krista's fab music for your holiday traveling or even just for some fantastical stocking stuffers (no, it's not too early to start thinking about those either), hop on over to Funky Mama's site and pick up a couple!

The kids and I cannot stop singing Take Me for a Taco and N loves the beat of Onomotopoeia, both from her Grandma's House cd.  And, I can guarantee if you're a mom, you will think Krista wrote Multi-Taskin' Mama from the Moo Juice cd, with you in mind!  Love it!

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On Saturday it was off to the church Halloween party where the kids enjoyed decorating cookies, making crafts, and running around with their ghost and goblin friends.

  

And on Sunday, we all joined him for his end of season soccer pizza party at CiCi's pizza.  N was super proud to add yet another soccer trophy to his growing collection, and of course enjoyed seeing his friends.  He's set to start raquetball next week with a few of them so I am looking forward to seeing how that goes.

Glad to be back on the blog wagon.  Can you believe it's Halloween already this week? ♥

 

The flu {mist} didn't fly.

I'm gonna feel like a teenager saying this, but......OMG!!  Today we had a 3:30 appointment to get the boys their flu mist for this pesky upcoming winter season. Ugh.  Suffice it to say that this appointment did not go anywhere near as good as I thought it would go.

I was sure that by opting for the flu mist instead of the shot, I was guaranteeing cooperation from the kids.  WRONG!  We arrived at the pediatrician's office and made our way up to the second floor.  N was literally pulling the other way as I grabbed his hand to make our way into the office door.  All the while he was shouting out, "No! No!! No, I don't wanna go in there!"  I just kept wondering what the heck he was so worried about.  It's not like we haven't been explaining the flu mist to him for literally weeks now.  He's known that it could be much worse - we could've opted for the shot.

So we finally made it into the office door where I quickly signed us in and the nurse asked us to make our way into the first door on our right.  We went right in and I sat the kids up on the exam table.  Things seemed to be fine by this point, though N was still insistent that he didn't think he needed the flu mist.  I kindly explained to him this would prevent him from getting very sick for the cold season and would ultimately help avoid having to come back here.

The nurse came in shortly thereafter and had me initial on some paperwork.  In her hand she carried a small tray with two little tubes and two Dum-Dums lollipops.  Completely harmless.

First, it was W's turn.  She asked him to do a practice sniff and he did.  Then she stuck the little tube up his right nostril and he sort of flinched a bit but no tears or yelling. Then the nurse proceeded to do the left nostril and he did that just fine too.  Afterwards his eyes were a little watery but he managed to still remember the important things.  He quickly pointed to the tray, looked at the nurse and asked, "now I get pop?"

Then it was on to N.  As the nurse made her way over to him, he began crouching into the corner and covering his nose and mouth.  You would have thought she was carrying a dagger and lunging toward him!  It became apparent that he was not going to do this without putting up a fight.  I was completely dumbfounded!  After all, it was only a tiny mist, not a shot!  I couldn't believe his reaction, especially since he'd just seen W do it in just a few seconds.

The nurse suggested we lie him down and she could get to him that way.  He of course fought me the entire time I am struggling to pin him down.  He's screaming and kicking and at one point, grabbed the mist thingy out of the nurse's hand and flung it clear across the room and it hit the exam room door.  I was so embarrased and apologized to the nurse but I'm sure she wasn't surprised.  I just remember I kept saying to N to just stop and calm down and that it wasn't a big deal!  I was finally able to hold him down for about two seconds with N's left side of his face leaning on the exam table.  The nurse then quickly shot the mist up his left nostril and it was over.

He continued to cry and yell out, "I never wanna come back to this place!", which was quite comical.  The nurse insisted that he got enough of the vaccine in his nostril but I have doubts about that.  I am sure that he'll end up getting sick now and I'll have to try hard not to be upset the entire time because he could've just avoided illness by cooperating.  Sheesh, kid!

Here's to cold and flu season. ♥

 

Funny response.

Tonight while at group violin lesson, Ms. Jean, N's violin instructor, was helping the kids prep for their upcoming solo recitals.  She started out by walking them through how they would walk up and stand up front to get ready to peform.  Then she showed them how she would walk up with them to help them with whatever piece they were doing.  This would of course be followed by applause for them by the audience and a bow.  But before getting to this part, she asked "who knows what happens after you're done performing?  What happens right after?"

N raised his hand, seeming eager to answer.  She called on him and his reply was, "you get refreshments!"  Ha!  Good one, kid!  We of course all busted out in laughter and N turned around to look at me and was smiling shyly.  I mentioned to him that yes, that was in fact true, but not exactly the answer Ms. Jean was looking for.  At any rate, we all had a great laugh.

Yes, first the bow, then the applause, THEN the refreshments!  I'm glad he won't be too caught up in the performance part and will just be thinking of cookies and juice boxes the whole time!  ♥

 

Create your own stories.

I am so psyched about a new class I just registered for over on Jessica's site. 

  Stories In Hand will not only be a cool inside look at Jessica's tips and techniques for preserving everyday life stories, but will also feature a fun and do-able project!  Oh, and did I mention it is completely FREE??!!!

Registration is going on now through November 8th so hop on over to JessicaSprague.com and register yourself NOW!

Here's an excerpt from the class page:

In class, we will learn:

>> Techniques for capturing memories from our own lives and from others

>> A cool system for capturing the stories happening in your life right now, AND for listing the stories you have yet to tell

>> Printable goodies that will make your “capture” system work, AND keep it cute! (you know we gotta keep it cute - there’s nothing in life that’s not better with a great design)

>> “Next steps” video tutorials for turning your stories into pages

>> Technologies you can use to help you gather your stories together with photos, video, your blog, or any other media you have that gives a peek into your life

>> And we will make a REALLY CUTE project! (You’ll find out the supply list when you register). You are not required to have Photoshop to complete the project.

I hope you'll consider registering and leave a comment if you'll be in the class with me!! ♥

 

Pumpkin carving.

Today was the day we decided to finally get carving the mini pumpkin patch that was growing on the kitchen counter.

D is a master carver and the kids enjoyed helping gut the pumpkins, paint, and even cut some.  It's times like today that make me realize how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family.  I'm also a little saddened just because I know the kids are growing up and soon they won't care much for staying at home carving pumpkins with their mom and dad, but at least by then I'll have plenty of photos to argue that point! ♥

 

Five Things: Things I'm Digging.

• My new wedges from Target.  I've been wearing them everywhere, seriously!  I even got brave and put on a pair of trouser socks with them the other day and voila! - they're great with socks, too!
• Facebook.  I can't get enough!  Enough said.
• My flannel sheets.  D and I have two sets for our bed and we've used both sets within the past two weeks.  My plan is to get the kids a set of their own this weekend. 
• Break 'n bake cookies.  I posted about this last week and since then we have bought even more cookies.  This past week we busted out the Nestle brand that have Halloween colored chocolate chips in them.  Mmmmmm!
• This new cleanser I've been trying.  One of the company's reps recently sent me some samples of this line and I have to say I am thinking of signing up as a rep myself just to buy at a great discount!  This cleanser is freakin' awesome! ♥