Random Walk Down Mommy Street

Happy February: Think Fair Trade this Valentine's Day

2012-02-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

It's already February 2012. Isn't this the year the big meteor hits Earth and the only way we can survive is to somehow get on those submarines they are building in China? I can't believe it's already February. That means Valentine's Day is only 13 days away, although there has been Valentine's Day merchandise in some stores since the day after Christmas! Which brings me to the point of this post. Unlike on Halloween, when most of the chocolate is bought for children who probably wouldn't really understand the need for fair trade, the heavy spending on Valentine's Day is by adults for adults. So this Valentine's Day, I urge you to think about the source of your flowers, candy and coffee.

In West Africa there are many coffee and cacao plantations that operate through slave labor. Many of these slaves are children who have been kidnapped from the forests around their villages or lured with the promise of rewards. Some have been promised jobs or adventure. But what really happens is that they are put to work on these plantations to grow the products that go into your candy bar or morning coffee. So if you want to tell your special person you really love her/him, please choose fair trade. If it can't be fair trade, then at least buy coffee from East Africa or South America and Belgian chocolate (guaranteed slave free). It doesn't necessarily cost more, you just need to look at the label. For flowers, instead of cut flowers that may be coming from a flower plantation that does not pay fair wages, consider a potted plant sourced locally.

If you can buy Fair Trade, my friends at Fair Trade USA just published their Fair Trade Valentine's Day Gift Guide. This one has a lot of unique products for men and women (as well as a tip on how women can get their significant other to buy Fair Trade Certified roses this year...). A few of my favorites are the "Helping Haiti" rose bouquet from One World Flowers (shipped directly from the far in Ecuador), the recipe for chocolate mousse cake, and Weaver's Astral Blend coffee that supports breast cancer research.

Many people don't realize that human slavery still exists in our world. This Valentine's Day, please consider sending a message with your pocketbook that this is not acceptable. As a special thank you for your consideration, the first five people to comment on this post will receive an Alter Eco Dark Chocolate Quinoa bar from Fair Trade USA.

I did not receive any compensation for this post. I have been involved with the organization Just One for some time now and ending human slavery is an issue about which I care deeply. Thank you.

More on Quiet: GIVEAWAY

2012-01-25T22:12:00.000-08:00

I once went to final rounds of an interview process where I was interviewed by 12 people. The law firm was filled with nice, outgoing people who were mostly bubbly and very friendly. That is not me when I meet people for the first time. When I first meet people, they usually think I am either really quiet or reserved, basically the Asian model minority stereotype. It's only when I get to know you that I become very loud and have the kind of interaction with you that embodies the extrovert ideal. At the lunch interview with three attorneys, they were shouting and teasing each other about their personal lives and I was thinking, "what is going on here? This is so unprofessional." I guess I couldn't hide the fact that I thought they were too out there for me so, bottom line, I didn't get the job. The feedback was that they wanted someone who was more of a "go-getter."

When I read Susan Cain's Quiet I felt like so many bells were being rung in my head, one after the other ding ding ding, with regards to that entire interview process. Just because a person doesn't vomit platitudes about how awesome the firm/job/interviewer is doesn't mean that person can't be one of the best people to ever work with you. If they aren't saying much and you are talking a lot, it might not be because they have nothing to say but because they are actively listening to and THINKING about what you are saying. It could also be because they are introverts who hate small talk. The book was really liberating for me because now I feel like I don't have to pretend to be someone that I'm not or get upset if someone rejects me based on their perception that the extrovert ideal is the formula for success.

That isn't to say that I'm all introvert. I would say that according to the book, I'm pretty much split down the middle. Extroverts have vivid dreams--mine are so real that I think they actually happened and I get deja vu all the time. Extroverts have a lot of friends and get energy from large gatherings--I get disappointed if I don't have some sort of party every weekend. Extroverts are motivated by negative reinforcement, like "you can do better, don't quit now or you're a loser." Once during a three mile run, I [figuratively] punched Stewart in the face (according to him) when I told him to shut up because he was saying, "good job, you can do it." That's just not how I'm motivated. My sister told me that I was going to fail the California bar exam because I was no longer young and I had not studied for a long time. Now that was something that was going to make me do every single bar review assignment and spend every second I could doing more multi-state review problems!

I learned so much about myself and those around me from reading Quiet that I am going to put my money where my mouth is by hosting my own giveaway of this book. It just came out this past Tuesday so it's finally available for purchase. I will have it shipped directly from Amazon to the winner.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 10:00 PM (Pacific) until Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on whether you are an extrovert or introvert, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url (once per day)

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. Good luck!

Join From Left to Write on January 26 at 1 PM EST as we chat live with Susan Cain to discuss Quiet: The Power of Introverts. As a member of From Left to Write, I received a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2012-01-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

Last week I was at my friend's house and her kids and I were discussing birthdays. I said, Baby E's birthday is on the holiday that has fireworks. She said, "Oh, Chinese New Year!" Um, no, Baby E was born on the Fourth of July. So that spurred me to this post. Today is not Chinese New Year, it's Lunar New Year! Lunar New Year is celebrated in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, Taiwan and many other places in addition to China. Of course, here in the U.S., the celebrations in those countries are no match for the iconic dragon dancing through the streets of your nearest Chinatown, the red envelopes filled with money and the aforementioned fireworks [yes, invented in China].

In Korea (where I was born!) the lunar new year celebration usually involves everyone going back to their hometowns. That would be Masan in southeast Korea for me. Because people have to travel, the holiday lasts for three days. The table is set for observance of the ancestral ritual, tteokguk (rice cake soup) is eaten, and children bow to their elders as a form of filial piety. The last activity is called sebae. The boys usually do sebae to their grandparents on New Year's Day of the Gregorian calendar. They bow and say the words saehae bok mani badeuseyo (Hangul: 새해 복 많이 받으세요). Then the grandparents give them some advice on how to live in the new year. This year H bowed and said it. He received his advice and pocket money. After much prompting R finally did it but instead of saying the Korean words he said, "saehae ocho nueve." Obviously the semester of Korean school did nothing for him. R got it that he should speak a different language and I guess "saehae" to him sounded like "siete" so he went with what should follow that.

The Lunar New Year is one occasion during which Koreans still wear their hanboks. I haven't worn mine since H's first birthday. This is R in his hanbok from a couple years ago. I haven't gotten either of them new ones this year because there really isn't much occasion to wear it. Either this or next summer we hope to go to Korea and then I'll get them new ones there. The latest styles are really so different from the traditional ones and are really beautiful. Baby E is very lucky--my mom already bought Baby E's first birthday hanbok when she was in Korea last month.

If you haven't yet made your new year's resolutions, you have another chance. So go get some tteok or noodles or oranges and celebrate today. Happy Lunar New Year!

Happy New Year and From Left to Write Book Club: Quiet

2012-01-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

There is that commercial that starts with the tagline, "A body at rest tends to stay at rest." I feel like that is the story of every human action. It is difficult for us to get over the hurdle of taking the first step. I vowed to start blogging away when I got our new iMac but the mental hurdle of figuring out how to use Blogger just kept me from actually doing it. Even as I write this, I don't know how to do so many of the things that I had painstakingly learned on the PC. All the shortcuts, ctlr-this and that, those are all gone. My many years of computer-based employment required me to learn those shortcuts in order to save my wrists from carpel tunnel, but now I have to learn new mac ones. The mind is lazy and doesn't want to do new things, yet something inside me can't accept this and thus I create situations in which I have to grow myself. So Happy New Year my Random Mommy friends, albeit 17 days into it!

I don't know what inside me compels me to challenge [torment] myself, but it was the same thing that prompted me to sign up for this month's From Left to Write book club selection. I don't usually read non-fiction books that aren't work-related in some way, but I felt like my mind needed something other than the young adult science fiction that I've been devouring lately. The title of the book contains many ideas itself--Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. It suggests that introverts like quiet, introverts are [actually] powerful and that extroverts are blabbermouths. I think it could offend a lot of people who are extreme extroverts because it makes it seem like they are somehow oppressing the introverts. Of course, it's probably better interpreted as a good idea on the part of the publisher to get the book noticed.

I was thinking about the ideas of introvert and extrovert a lot in the context of the blogger world. It can't possibly be that all bloggers are extroverts. But when we go to conventions and events, it seems like everyone is or that they are at least pretending to be because that is how you make connections and get noticed by sponsors. I just want to put this out there that just because a blogger may not be in your face and talking it up with you a mile a minute doesn't mean that s/he isn't going to be an effective part of the message that you are trying to spread. That blogger could be an introvert that doesn't necessarily like to talk to people, but is taking in all the information and thinking deeply on how to make your brand a success. Her/his online persona may be totally different, s/he may be one of those bloggers that is able to write really well and appeal to thousands of people across the country who are also introverts like her/him and prefer to connect that way. S/he may not have a hundred thousand Twitter followers but she may have five hundred who really follow her advice and take action as a result of her blog posts. She may not even have a big online presence at all but be president of her local moms club that has 300 active members and a word from her can get them to tell five of their friends who will tell five of their friends and so on.

I'm not talking about myself, according to the book I'm an ambivert. I have been to enough blogging events, though, to notice that not every blogger is bubbly and wanting to meet everyone in the room. It would be interesting to see if some of these events can be changed so that the dynamic shifts from "fiesta" to "tete-a-tete" with real conversations so that everyone can be heard. To me that is why From Left to Write is such a great book club; everyone can get their views across because everyone is on an equal footing, introverts and extroverts (our internal conversations are always interesting!). The world needs all kinds of people in order to function. So please PR reps and fellow bloggers, the logical approach would be to treat everyone with respect and consideration. Let's aim for both in 2012!

Are you an introvert or extrovert? Author Susan Cain explores how introverts can be powerful in a world where being an extrovert is highly valued. Join From Left to Write on January 19 as we discuss Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain. We'll also be chatting live with Susan Cain at 1PM Eastern on January 26. As a member of From Left to Write, I received a copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

I just previewed this post and for some reason the text is highlighted white. Yay, another thing for me figure out!

Public Service Announcement: Beware PC Security Virus 2012

2011-12-27T10:37:00.000-08:00

I have not been blogging or emailing or doing anything much computer related because the past few weeks we have been dealing with a computer virus. Why are there evil programmers out there who make viruses? I can understand if they are attacking businesses or really wealthy people but they have nothing to gain by infecting my computer!

If you get a popup window that says anything like "Microsoft Security Center 2012" or "XP Internet Security 2012" do NOT click anywhere on it. Just do a ctlr-W to close that window. I was completely FOOLED and thought it was the Microsoft anti-virus software that came with the PC. It said it had detected a bug and recommended a full scan to get rid of trojan horses and spyware. I was distracted with Baby E in one hand and the phone on my shoulder and clicked. The virus infected everything. I couldn't even open word or folders. Stewart was able to get rid of the virus after much ordeal. And I'm writing this blog entry from the past because he had to use time machine to put the settings on the computer pre-virus.

The virus was the final straw that made me run to my iPad and order an iMac. So the next blog entry you see will be from our iMac that hopefully comes today. A friend of mine who also switched from PC to iMac said once you use an iMac, you can never go back to PC. I hope this is true and that I will be completely wowed. (Of course, that would support the paranoid theory that the virus was propagated by Apple engineers who used an algorithm based on the fact that I have multiple Apple products to figure out I would order the iMac if attacked with this virus.)

The nerd in me says--Farewell to Arms blogging on PC. Hello Brave New World of iMac.

Three Year Old Field Trip: Christmas at Ardenwood Farm

2011-12-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

H never had a single trip during his three years of preschool. I love him dearly, but I think the preschools he attended understood that part of the reason I put him in school was so I could have a break from him and his frenetic activity. But for some reason, the preschool R attends believes that I put him in school solely for his enrichment, which includes field trips. It never even occurred to me that a preschool would go on field trips so I hadn't asked before enrolling him. I found out the first day of school that he had a field trip the next week (I enrolled him mid-year). Of course, once he started it was easier to keep him in the program as opposed to switching to another school. So far we've done pottery at Color Me Mine, played at the water park, picked pumpkins for Halloween, and this past Monday we went to Christmas on the Farm at Ardenwood Historical Farm.

Anyone who lives in East Bay and wants to visit a working farm should consider a trip to Ardenwood in Fremont. The Regional Historic Landmark opened to the public on July 28, 1985, and includes a farm, a large forest and a mansion now called the Patterson House which was first constructed in 1857 by the farm's original owner, George Washington Patterson. The field trip with R's class involved a litany of activities and a strict schedule that Teacher Grace had us follow. First we toured Patterson House all dressed up for the holidays. They told us before we went in that all the things were old and we shouldn't touch them. I was thinking, maybe ten 3 year olds shouldn't be going in then. I underestimated the power of Teacher Grace. The children were very respectful of the artifacts, even in the toy room. Maybe the scary doll wasn't so inviting to touch! They were allowed, though, to touch and eat the cookies that the volunteer had baked in the wood-burning oven.

Next was a craft in the old granery followed by a visit with Jiggs the horse. Two minutes with Jiggs, then off to the train ride through the monarch butterfly forest. I think the guide was saying that there were 10,000 butterflies there but I couldn't be sure because of course, that's when Baby E decides she needs to eat lunch. The guide on the train ride cut up some eucalyptus for us to smell. It must have had something to do with the butterflies but again, not quite sure. The field trip ended with a visit with Father Christmas. R wouldn't follow my pleas to please look at the camera so there aren't any that I can use for our Christmas card. So I'll share them here. As you can see, Baby E did a much better job!

The park hosts many events, a Celtic festival, an Independence Day celebration, the Washington Township Railroad Fair on Labor Day, a Renaissance Faire in September, The Harvest Festival in October, a Zydeco concert, and many Halloween celebrations, complete with a haunted railroad. It's definitely a place to check out with kids if you are looking for something to do one weekend. Although, chances are, your kids will probably come here on a field trip sometime during their elementary school years.

I think what R likes the best about field trips is telling H about them afterwards. H always gets upset because he wasn't able to do it, even if it's something he's done before. We had a pretty good time even though R couldn't spend as much time as he wanted visiting with the animals because we had to rush back to pick up H from school. I'm seriously thinking of switching R's school next semester, not just because of all the field trips. Right now he only goes two days and I think I need him to go all day every day. Well, at least three half days. Field trips can wait till kindergarten!

Safeway Shop Along Giveaway Winner and Additional Q&A

2011-12-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO #35 AS DETERMINED BY RANDOM.ORG. PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS. Thanks to everyone who participated!
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We had some questions at the event that the Safeway folks recently answered for us and I thought I'd share the helpful information with my readers:

Q: Regarding the benefits of low-grade fevers, what is the threshold? At what temperature should you take action and call the pediatrician or go to the ER?
A: According to Mayo Clinic,a fever is usually a sign that something out of the ordinary is going on in your body. For an adult, a fever may be uncomfortable, but fever usually isn't dangerous unless it reaches 103 F (39.4 C) or higher. For very young children and infants, a slightly elevated temperature may indicate a serious infection. But the degree of fever doesn't necessarily indicate the seriousness of the underlying condition. A minor illness may cause a high fever, and a more serious illness may cause a low fever. Usually a fever goes away within a few days. A number of over-the-counter medications lower a fever, but sometimes it's better left untreated. Fever seems to play a key role in helping your body fight off a number of infections.

Anun explained fever is greater cause for concern in infants and in children than in adults. Call your baby's doctor if your baby has a fever of 101 F (38.3 C)or higher.

Q:How long can a virus live outside the body? For example, if I have the flu and sneeze into my hands, if I don’t wash them, how long can the virus live?
A: According to James M. Steckelberg, M.D., Mayo Clinic Internist, it varies, depending partly on where the germ-laden droplets fall. Experiments with specific cold and flu germs have shown potential survival times ranging from a few minutes to 48 hours or more. How long such germs remain capable of infecting you in day-to-day life is harder to say.

Researchers have repeatedly found that cold and flu germs generally remain active longer on stainless steel, plastic and similar hard surfaces than on fabric and other soft surfaces. On any surface, though, flu viruses seem to live longer than cold viruses do. Other factors, such as the amount of virus deposited on a surface and the temperature and humidity of the environment, also have effects on how long cold and flu germs stay active outside the body.

The best way to avoid becoming infected with a cold or flu is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water or with an alcohol-based sanitizer. Also, try to notice and stop yourself when you're about to rub your eyes or bite your nails. And — most important — get a seasonal flu vaccine every year and the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine when it's available. Some people will always be careless about spreading their germs, but you don't have to catch them.

Q:Is there a link between chamomile tea and liver health (positive or negative)?Can you have a liver-involved allergic reaction to chamomile?
A: The only valid relationship between chamomile tea (or chamomile in other forms) and the liver is that chamomile might decrease how quickly the liver breaks down some medications. Combining chamomile with some medications that are broken down by the liver can increase the effects and side effects of these medications. Chamomile is sometimes mixed with other herbs and taken for liver disease, but according to the NIH, there's insufficient evidence to rate its effectiveness for liver disease or any disease or condition, for that matter. Most often, people use chamomile for sleeplessness, anxiety and GI conditions like upset stomach, gas and diarrhea. It can also be used topically for skin conditions and mouth ulcers related to cancer treatment.

Studies have not shown a liver-involved allergic reaction to chamomile. Allergic reactions associated with chamomile are typically limited to people with ragweed-type allergies, since chamomile is in the same plant family. Those reactions are more related to skin reactions, shortness of breath, throat swelling, etc. - nothing liver related.

Research of this question as well as other information can be found on the websites for the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Library of Medicine and ConsumerLab.com (which reviews and tests effectiveness of supplements).

Safeway Winter Health Shop-Along-$50 GC GIVEAWAY

2011-11-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

After our successful blogger lunch in Palo Alto, Baby E and I were emboldened to broaden our horizons and travel north up to El Cerito last week. We were invited to the Safeway Winter Health Shop Along at the recently opened "lifestyle" Safeway near the El Cerito Norte Bart station. The eco-conscious team at Safeway had planned the event there so bloggers could come by Bart. It turned out that we had all driven, which ended up being a good thing because we each got two grocery bags full of healthy food to take with us--more on that later.

The event was a walk through Safeway so we could discuss some of the ways that we could keep ourselves and our families healthy this winter season. Officially winter starts on December 22 this year, but any mom can tell you that it really starts when you have to take out the warm jackets and hats and when the cold and flu season starts. This week is the first week that we've needed to wear winter coats so it was perfect timing for the Safeway event.

We started off at the pharmacy where Dr. Risa Vatanka, Safeway pharmacist, spoke to us about the importance of getting an annual flu shot. One thing I hadn't known before is that there are healthy carriers of flu virus. Just like people who are naturally immune to other diseases, there are people who can carry flu in their bodies and not get sick. Since they feel fine, they don't take precautions to not spread it around to other people. They go around shaking hands and touching doorknobs, not realizing they are potentially making other people sick. So that is why it is so important that healthy people who don't get sick from flu also get the flu shot. That way if they ever get the flu virus, the antibodies in their immune system from the flu shot will kill the virus and they can't spread it.

Two other things I learned about the flu shot that I hadn't known before: 1) it takes 2 weeks for your body to build up the immunity after the shot, and 2) for children who have not had the shot before, they need to have two shots, a month apart, for full effect to take hold. My health care provider had failed to mention this, so it looks like I need to be taking in R for a second shot asap!

Next we moved to the soap and tissue aisle. What I learned here was interesting--there is no need for antibacterial soap. Dr. Risa said it best, "who cares if the bacteria on your hand are alive or dead when you wash them down the drain?" I'm definitely not paying extra for antibacterial soap in the future. She did agree that antibacterial hand sanitizers were useful for when you can't get to a sink.

Three things are really important when you are getting well from cold or flu: hydration, rest, and nutrition. Kerry Neville, registered dietitian and Safeway nutritionist, talked about ways to stay hydrated and get proper nutrition. Not only are decaf teas and coffees great for staying hydrated, they also contain antioxidants we all need to stay healthy. Also a great source of both hydration and nutrition are soups. There is something in chicken soup that shortens the length of a cold. I put this to the test immediately when I got home by making chicken noodle soup with the vegetables and chicken broth from the Safeway shopping bags. R had shown signs of the sniffles that morning and both he and H love chicken noodle soup. We had soup once or twice a day for the past four days and it was amazing. Usually R's colds can go for up to two weeks but by the end of the third day on soup, he was 90% recovered. Try it!

Back to the tour and Dr. Risa at the pharmacy. She spoke about the dangers of brand extension and overdosing children with over the counter medications. For example, if the doctor says to get some Triaminic and Tylenol, many parents don't realize that there are some versions of Triaminic that already contain acetaminophen (the drug in Tylenol). Too much acetaminophen can cause liver damage (and too much ibuprofen can cause stomach ulcers) so making sure you and your kids get the proper dosage of these drugs is very important.

Some of the bloggers were getting flu shots after the shop along tour. The pharmacy had a very nice enclosed waiting area. I had noticed that the two Safeways closest to my house had pharmacies that were undergoing renovation and I was pleased to see what they would look like. Instead of feeling a bit unsettled by getting a shot in plain view of shoppers in aisle five, now people could have the privacy of a clinic setting behind pharmacy doors. Right now there is a promotion at Safeway that if get your flu shot there, you will get a coupon for 10% off groceries. If I had an insurance plan that would have allowed me to get my shot at Safeway, I would definitely have taken this deal!

As you can tell I learned a lot from this event, and could write a post even twice the length of this one but I think the best way would be if you go to your local Safeway and pick up a few of their helpful health and wellness materials available at the pharmacy. One lucky Random Mommy reader will have the chance to pick up healthy foods and drinks courtesy of Safeway with a $50 gift card (good at any of the Safeway family of stores including VONS and Dominicks)!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 1:30 PM (Pacific) until Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on your favorite cold remedy, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url (once per day)
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. Good luck and have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive a Safeway giftcard and product samples to facilitate my review.

Baby E's First Blogger Event: Tiny Prints 2011 Holiday Party

2011-11-15T23:01:00.000-08:00

When I received the invite from Tiny Prints to their Holiday 2011 Blogger Party, I was hesitant to accept because I didn't know whether I should or could take Baby E. She behaved fabulously at BlogHer (a blogger conference not a singular event), but would she be equally well-behaved as a more awake four month old? I decided I didn't want to use her as an excuse not to do something so bravely RSVP-ed "Yes"! I know, something crazy like projectile vomiting or a diaper explosion could have happened. She could have cried nonstop or been disruptive in another way. But I trusted her past performance to be indicative of future results and I'm glad I did because she was the perfect lunch partner.

Baby E slept through most of the event so I was able to listen to and see the Tiny Prints marketing team present the 2011 Holiday Cards. There were some beautiful cards that really captured people's characters rather than the typical family pose. I really liked the ornament cards and the ones that incorporate design on top of the photo. The ornament card called Red Lantern (above) was designed by Bridget Moynahan for the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation. Finally, a holiday card for charity that looks great! This is only one of the Celebrity Cards available through Tiny Prints this season. There are also many designs that overlay the design on top of the photo (right). I think cards like these say to the recipient, "we really thought about how we wanted to share our family with you this year."

The team at Tiny Prints also shared a really great idea for displaying holiday cards that they made from some thick posterboard. I am going to copy it as a craft that my boys and I can do during the Thanksgiving Break (no school all week!). I'll be using the scissors and then I'll have them color and bedazzle the tree! Then we'll tape the tree to the wall instead of the cards. This is such a perfect idea for displaying Tiny Prints cards because many of them have images on both sides that you want to be able to ooh and ah over throughout the holiday season.

Ed Han, the CEO of Tiny Prints, was at the event and spoke to us about the new Tiny Prints photo books. I didn't know this, but Shutterfly acquired Tiny Prints and its sister company Wedding Paper Divas earlier this year. (The M&A lawyer nerd in me was thinking, "what a synergistic transaction!") So it only makes sense that photo books are now available on both these sites. I used Tiny Prints and Wedding Paper Divas earlier this year to order invites for a baby shower and my sister's bridal shower, respectively. I was really impressed by the ease of the design process, quick turnaround and the high quality products I received. I expect that the photo book process would be similar and can't wait to make the one provided us by the company in our gift bags.

Ed talked about how he made one as a time capsule with his kids and that they would make one every ten years to document their lives. I LOVE that idea! I think that will be the project the boys and I will do during Winter Break. Baby E woke up after Ed's talk and he came over to say hello to her. Her first CEO photo opp! She took it all in stride. All in all, the Tiny Prints Holiday 2011 Blogger Event was a really great time for me to connect with other bloggers and with a company of which I have been a long-time fan. Thank you Tiny Prints for a delicious lunch and a fun event!

I was not compensated for this review. I did receive a gift bag at the event and will receive product samples as a result.

Holiday Vacation Days Approching: Explore Winter! Review

2011-11-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been thinking of home schooling because everyday H complains about being bored at school. I vowed I would never do it (I'm not a very patient teacher), but if I don't help him be the best that he can be, then why am a SAHM at all? Last year when H had school break I was happy to let him play because his preschool was really academically focused so he needed the break. This year, I am determined to teach him something during those off days so his brain development won't stagnate even more. If it goes well I will think about home schooling more seriously. If it doesn't? Well, then I might have to go back to work full time so I can pay for him to go to private school!

Luckily just as I've been having all these thoughts, I was given the opportunity to review one of the books from Nomad Press. Nomad Press is an educational publisher located in Vermont, dedicated to sparking the interest of young readers in the fascinating world around them. Nomad Press books promote independent and interactive learning with fun, hands-on projects that help kids explore the history and science behind a wide range of topics. H and I looked through their catalog of books and he chose Explore Winter! as one he'd like to try. It was absolutely the perfect one for us to try during the upcoming Thanksgiving and Winter breaks.

Explore Winter! starts off with a discussion on winter and why the seasons change. Each of the chapters explores a different aspect of winter. H can read, but this book is a little advanced for him so it worked best if I read it to him. Older elementary school children could definitely read this on their own and do the activities with minimal parental interaction (of course you can interact more if you want!). I decided the boys would like to start with the hibernation chapter because they love to play in boxes. We talked about which animals hibernate and discovered many new facts. Did you know that some amphibians freeze solid under leaves on the forest floor? Or that the word for reptile hibernation is brumate and they do this by letting their bodies grow cold which means their hearts beat only once every few minutes? Fascinating stuff!

The boys had great fun with the activity. Contrary to what most people believe bears don't hibernate in big caves. They hibernate in spaces that are just barely big enough for them to fit inside so it acts as insulation. So the boys and I found a box for them that they could barely fit. Then they each wanted a box and flashlights and played hibernation on and off all day. The boxes were destroyed by the end of the day! I'm looking forward to teaching the other chapters and doing the activities during the upcoming no school days. I know they will LOVE the chapter that involves making ice cream. This is such a great book I've decided to give it and other Nomad Press titles as Christmas gifts. Wish me luck in my teaching endeavor!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received a product sample to facilitate my review.

What do I get my FIL for his birthday: Wikets Search Feature

2011-11-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have run out of ideas on what to get my father-in-law for his birthday. Past birthdays and Father's Days we've gotten him belts, shirts, nature DVDs, golf balls, and even a large screen LCD TV for his 60th. I don't want to get him something we've already gotten him so I am getting a bit desperate since his birthday dinner is on Friday. (He doesn't read my blog so writing about it here won't ruin the surprise.) If only he were on Wikets, then I could figure out what he likes (that I could afford). I actually don't like the Amazon wishlist because when someone buys me something off the wishlist, it means they didn't have time to think about what I would want on their own. With Wikets, you can see what your friend likes and get him/her something similar. You can look at their recs and even search by category either from their profile page or through explore.

Beyond the gift idea, maybe you really trust your friend's opinions on something or know that you guys have similar tastes. I have to admit, seeing that Barney Greengrass was one of the alpha testers of Wikets made a huge impact on my decision to sign on to the project. BARNEY GREENGRASS! Anyone who loves deli food in NYC knows who I'm talking about. Barney Greengrass is THE place to get bagels and lox on Saturday mornings on the UWS. Just seeing his name made images of my NYC life flash before my eyes. And I could now see what he likes through Wikets! He's actually a descendant of the Barney Greengrass that is the restaurant's namesake (the deli is over 100 years old), but he still has connections to the NYC restaurant scene that would make any foodie green with envy. So of course I trust his restaurant recs. Meaning, the next time I'm in NYC I will be trying one of these restaurants that I found through this Wikets search!

But that still doesn't help me with my current dilemma. I only have three shopping days before the dinner. What can I get my FIL that is not hackneyed and overdone? I thought I had the best idea ever when I saw a book on Amazon entitled Best American Poetry 2011. MY FIL is a published poet in Korea and I know he also reads poetry in English. But then I read the reviews, which were not so good. I don't want to give him something that he would just put aside as not being up to par. Making him something with the grandkids photos on it has already been done and there are only three days left anyway! If you have a suggestion on what I can give a golf-loving poet, please share. Better yet, rec it on Wikets and I can buy it and get us both points!

My link to Steve Jobs: Connecting the Dots to Wikets

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

After Steve Jobs passed away, like so many other people I listened to his famous Stanford commencement address. Something he said resonated with me, "Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

Ever since I started blogging I've wondered on more than one occasion why exactly I was blogging. At first it was to record my life and times as a SAHM but then it seemed to take on a life of its own. When I started, one of my good mommy friends who was also a blogger told me that the LA Moms Blog was looking for writers at the time. Once I joined the SV Moms syndicate (now a part of Technorati), I was invited to all sorts of blogger events. The boys and I had great fun at these events; I met a lot of fabulous women and learned about the blogging world. But my motivation in blogging? It wasn't to become the next Dooce or STLMommy or Momfluential. I had no ambition to crush the world of mommy blogging. It was an education, but to what end? And then this past August, a couple of days after BlogHer, it all sort of came together.

One of my best friends told me her husband was launching an iPhone app and he needed someone to work with him to reach out to women bloggers. I told him that I wasn't an expert by a long shot, that I only knew just enough to call myself a blogger without embarrassment. I heard his pitch and the app seemed interesting. Even though this man had driven me to the hospital when I was in labor with R, that alone would not have been enough to convince me if I didn't see value in the project. After all, I didn't spend all those years valuing companies for corporate M&A transactions for nothing. I took the plunge and signed on as a consultant to Wikets. It was only after I read the words from Steve Jobs' speech that I realized that the dots had connected. Since then (which in tech time seems like ages ago), I've been working on this project that launched last night at midnight. Of course, the connection to Steve Jobs is also made complete by the fact I'm working on an iOS app.

Wikets is the first social mobile commerce application designed to enable anyone with a mobile device to share their best recommendations for products and places with people they trust. For launch it has been designed for the iPhone (iPad users can also download it but will be using the iPhone interface), but it will become available to other platforms down the line. It's like Twitter in that there is a feed that shows a certain number of characters per rec. But unlike Twitter, that rec can expand out to a mini review that captures more of what someone has to say about a certain product or place. Also unlike Twitter, Wikets is designed to be about your social community; you follow only the people whose recs you trust.

What made it compelling for me was that I would have my friends available to me at all times via their recs. How many of us have wondered what a friend would recommend for something at the very last minute? Like you land in Austin or you're at Best Buy and you want your friend Corey to tell you where to eat or what computer to buy and the timing doesn't make sense for you to call/text/email/FB Corey. Well, if you and Corey are both on Wikets, you can just look up Corey's recs! A couple of weeks ago, I had to buy a present for Stewart's niece who was turning 7. It was near midnight, when I do all my shopping online, and I thought, I wish I could ask Nellie, my friend with the 7 year old daughter, what she would recommend. Of course, she lives on the East Coast so it was 3 AM her time and there was no way for me to ask her since I had to buy the present at that moment in order for it to get to Stewart's niece on time. If I could have found her recs on Wikets, that would have been perfect!

What makes this app so great for busy moms is that you can store all your favorite things in one place. Unlike some of the other apps that have recently launched, it's not about rating the most delicious dishes on the planet or finding the most beautiful things on the internet and getting someone to notice that you found something extraordinary. Wikets is a way for us to share our favorite kid-friendly places, doctors, toys, books, music, snacks, and anything else with each other to make our lives easier and better. For the product recs, it even comes with the ability to buy those exact things through our phones to save us time. So if someone finds a great deal on diapers on Amazon and recs it, you can buy through the app and get it right then instead of going to your desktop or going to Amazon through your phone's web browser.

And, wait for it, the best part of the app is that you get something out of it every time you use it! Making a rec and re-recing/wishlisting someone's rec come with points. One point for each action. Then if someone buys through your rec, you and that person get the amount of points for the sale price that the product. 2500 points = $25 gift card! So when you are playing the mom waiting game those times when your baby falls asleep in the car, you're outside the school to pick up the kids, or you're standing on the sidelines at soccer practice, you can make recs and get points that will ultimately get you something that you can use to buy something for yourself. I like it because it's something that's easy and fun that I can do in as many minutes as I have. I get to read my friends' recs and re-rec or wishlist if I'm not up for making recs myself, but if I have a little more time then I can make recs that are related to what I'm doing or not. I made this rec at the Grove last weekend because I saw the restaurant and remembered the great breakfast I had there, even though I wasn't eating there that day.

So if you are open to trying a great new app on your iPhone or iPad, use the promotional code "randommommy" for 200 bonus points when you sign up for Wikets. It's free and it's available at the app store right now. I will be blogging the rest of this week about more features of Wikets so come back to learn how to maximize the app and your points!

I was not compensated for this post. I am a consultant to Wikets as their blogger outreach manager but the opinions in my blog are my own.

From Left to Write: Lost Edens

2011-10-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

In Lost Edens, author Jamie Patterson struggles to save her marriage which may or may not be already over. Keeping her attempts a secret from her family, she attempts to mold herself into the wife her husband wants her to be. As a member of From Left to Write book club, I received a copy of this book for review. You can read other members posts inspired by Lost Edens by Jamie Patterson on book club day, October 27 at From Left to Write.

After reading this book, I was really happy that Jamie was able to leave her husband and get a divorce. I don't think that sentence is a spoiler because she wouldn't have been able to write this true story if she were still with the abuser. After reading it, I wanted to find her husband and get revenge for her. Visions of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill were the first thoughts to pop up. But as the saying goes, the best revenge is living well, which Jamie seems to be doing. I am really happy for her.

Reading the book made me think of a close friend who needs help. She is an adult who has withstood years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her father. Her father has called her stupid, dumb, all sorts of hurtful names. He's screamed at her for being overweight and once ripped a cookie out of her hand because she didn't stop eating it fast enough. During her childhood years he threw things at her, but now his abuse is mostly verbal and manipulation through guilt trips. I want to tell my friend to quit her father. A man who does that to a child is NOT a father, he's a sperm donor. Of course, it's not my place to tell her to do that, so all I can do is support her until she can come to the realization that she needs to be free of him.

A battered spouse without children can leave her spouse and break off all ties. But what does a battered child do--especially if the abuser also abuses the other parent and the other parent is unable to leave? My friend wants to maintain her relationship with her mother. If she doesn't answer the abuser's phone calls and doesn't comply with his wishes, he blames the mother and takes it out on her. So she feels like she's stuck. She also thinks that her father has a mental illness stemming from a long-diagnosed hormone disorder, which he won't seek treatment for because he doesn't he doesn't have medical insurance. So what can she do? When she tells me what is happening to her, I get so angry and want to call the police. But what would I tell them? That an old man is badgering his grown daughter? If she were under the age of majority, there would be help out there for her. But since she's an adult, the state no longer has the ability or desire to intervene.

A lot of what is going on is cultural. My friend is Asian. The Confucian society of her background places filial piety as one of the first virtues of their culture. The father-son relationship is one of the five human relationships that define all of life. To be a good son or daughter is a value that is instilled from the very beginning of life. There is a joke(?) that goes something like, if your mother and your wife are drowning, who would you save? The answer is obviously your mother because you can always get a new wife. People think that they lose stature if their neighbors think that their children are not treating them right. If a parent commits suicide, it is because the children did not do their duty. My friend is carrying the weight of all this cultural expectation on her shoulders as well as her love for her father in her heart. My friend, if you are reading this, know that I feel so sorry for what you are enduring. I hope things change for you soon. You are a good daughter. You are the BEST daughter.

Technology as Friend: HTC Rhyme Review

2011-10-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

Stewart will tell you that technology is not my best friend. I once tried to get the wireless router at my in-laws house to work so I could watch a bar exam review lecture and managed to bring down the entire system. I had a smartphone for work but didn't use the data feature for a year and a half because I was scared that I would break it. Even something as simple as scanning a check to deposit it online has been something I've been avoiding for some time. But as my mid-life crisis age approached, I've decided that I need to be more adventurous and find my inner tech geek. I downloaded skype and talked to Stewart while he was working in France. I signed up and started reading Mashable. Then when HTC contacted me to review the new HTC Rhyme (available only through Verizon), I signed up to do it because I did not want to simply be comfortable with my old people phone!

The first thing that made me like the phone was that it came in PURPLE. I have long been a lover of all things purple and having a purple phone, even for a little while, to match my purple purse and my purple pea coat was fabulous! When I turned on the phone, one of the first things I noticed was that the screen is bright and vivid. The 3.7” size is more than adequate to allow you to watch video or a quick clip on Youtube without feeling a pressing need for more space. The slick user interface known as “HTC Sense” is an added layer of software that actually enhances the user experience. It allows for quick access to your camera, contacts, friend updates, and any multimedia you might have, and more importantly, doesn’t appear to bog down the operating system or performance in any way. The 1 gigahertz processor readily handles all the tasks that I’ve asked of the phone, including streaming video, without much of a hitch. This phone doesn’t have access to 4G, but 3G seems to handle all the data requirements I’ve asked of the phone.

I’m pretty impressed by the quality of the camera (5 MP 28mm f/2.2 camera with auto focus and power LED flash). Outdoor shots look beautiful with vibrant colors. Indoor shots tend to require more light, but in the right settings, can do the job. The HTC Rhyme takes much better indoor photos than my old people phone. There is an added LED flash in the back of the phone which does provide some additional light when needed. H had fun with the HD 720p video recording feature. The phone comes with 4 GB onboard memory, 768 MB RAM, and 8 GB microSD pre-installed so you can take a lot of photos and video before you have to download to your computer. (The photo on the left was taken with the HTC Rhyme.)

The primary operating system, Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 feels more polished that previous versions of Android. Among my favorite apps that come with the phone is the Google Maps Navigation, which I’ve found to be the most accurate and easy to use GPS systems. That reason alone is almost compelling enough for me to select Android over iOS, which doesn’t not come with a native GPS system. Sure you can download one on iOS, but I recently had a melt down when Stewart told me to use it and I couldn't figure out how.

I like the fact that the phone comes with great accessories. When you open the box, you’ll see the Tangle–Free Headphones, a multifunctional Docking Station, and the Charm Call Indicator. When your headphones are in the bottom of your purse, they have the tendency to get so tangled up you just decide to forego untangling them and put the speaker on low. The HTC Rhyme’s Tangle–Free Headphones remain untangled, despite the jostling you put them through so the person working out next to you won't get annoyed. It also comes with a multifunctional Docking Station, which is a charger, an alarm clock, and external speakers for your Rhyme phone. For some reason, the alarm clocks in hotels hate me and I can't figure them out. With the docking station, I wouldn't have to anymore! And what mom hasn't missed a call or text because you can't hear the call or notifications over the chaos of a playground playdate? The Charm Call Indicator dangles discreetly from your bag or purse. The Charm illuminates whenever you get a call or text, so nothing or no one goes unnoticed.

I have to return the phone next week so that ends my purple matchy-matchy ensembles. I'm glad I had a chance to be one of the hip next generation phone people! Thanks HTC for expanding my tech horizons.

I was not compensated for this review. I was provided the HTC Rhyme to test for a two week review period.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Freschetta Proud to Support Pink GIVEAWAY

2011-10-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

If weren't aware of the meaning of all the pink ribbons in the supermarket, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, other than skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), an estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States this year. An estimated 40,170 women are expected to die from the disease in 2009 alone. Today, there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.

As a member of the Freschetta Fresh Connection Community, I'm happy to share information about how Freschetta is doing its part to support breast cancer research. From September 25th-October 31st when you purchase specially marked-packages of Freschetta pizzas and Artisan Pizza Crusts you will be helping the company reach its goal of a $50,000 donation to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Specially marked packages are printed with codes that you can enter at the Proud to Support Pink website. For each code entry, $1 will be donated to this center to support breast cancer research. The site also has a place for people to share their breast cancer journey or the journey of a friend or loved one. 50 pink iPod Shuffles will be given away each week in October as part of a giveaway on the site with an additional 50 pink iPod Shuffles being donated each week to four cancer centers for use by breast cancer patients during treatments.

To encourage Random Mommy readers to check out the Proud to Support Pink website, Freschetta is offering a fun giveaway of a coupon to try any Freschetta pizza and two pairs of Freschetta Proud to Support Pink earphones--one pair for you and one pair for you to share with an IRL pal or family member as a reminder of proactive health. I will also pick two additional winners to receive the earphones I received from Freschetta!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Thursday, October 6th, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Friday, October 14th, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on your favorite type of pizza, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url (once per day)
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like Freschetta Pizza on Facebook
5) Follow Freschetta Pizza on Twitter

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winners. The winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winners do not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did review product samples to facilitate my review.

Baking is Back: Pillsbury Cookie and Brownie Mix Review

2011-09-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

The boys and I used to bake a lot. From scratch. They love to measure out the teaspoons of baking powder and vanilla and mix up the batter. We especially love to make cookies. This all, of course, was pre-Baby E. Dragging out all the baking ingredients, the time it would take and the mess are just too much for me to handle right now. So I was especially happy when my friends at Pillsbury contacted me about their new baking products. Would I like to try them out? Yes, yes, yes!

We received three products from the new line: cookie mixes in Holiday Funfetti and Perfectly Pumpkin flavors and a family size brownie mix in dark chocolate. I didn't specify which flavors we wanted so it was as if Pillsbury read our minds as to what would be a good fit for us. R LOVES sprinkles, one of the few flavors that H would tolerate in sweets is pumpkin, and Stewart will only eat dark chocolate. We were so excited we decided to try the pumpkin cookie and brownie mixes out as soon as we received them!

H&R had a great time mixing everything up. Since the mixes don't require many more additional ingredients, just butter/oil and egg, it didn't create much of a mess. I really liked the fact that the cookie mix asks for butter. I don't like the way that refrigerated cookie dough cookies taste because they don't use butter to make the dough. The box gives the consumer the choice of whether they will use butter or some alternative. You could go super healthy and even use something like Benecol! The boys tasted the cookies as soon as they were out of the oven and cooled down enough to touch. When H likes something, he says, "MMMM..." When he doesn't, he immediately makes a gagging sound and runs to the trash to spit it out. No gagging sounds here.

The brownie box says "13x9 Family Size," and it really did fill the entire 13x9 pan. Usually when I buy brownie mixes they only fill a 9x9 pan and then I feel like I have to buy two because Stewart can eat an entire 9x9 pan by himself in one sitting. The box actually delivered on its promise. I later checked out the baking aisle at the supermarket and no other brownie mix makes this claim. And the taste? They were delicious. They didn't have the overpowering, cloying taste we've found with other mixes so this is definitely one I will buy again. I had to stop the boys from eating them because we wanted to share them with our church community group the next day. The boys were really proud that they had made the treats. Both brownies and cookies were a huge hit and every last one was eaten!

From September 21 through November 30, 2011, fans of Pillsbury baking mixes, frostings and flours can visit the Pillsbury website to enter the Pillsbury People Celebrate More Photo Contest. Fans are asked to submit a photo capturing an everyday family celebration, plus a brief description (200 words or less) describing the moment and how the family experience made them feel. Ten finalist photos and captions will be chosen and posted on the site for a nationwide online vote to help decide the winner beginning in January 2012. The winner will also be invited to the ultimate hometown celebration for the Pillsbury Doughboy’s birthday this spring in Celebration, Florida. The Random Mommy family will be entering!

If you are looking for an easy way to bake, with or without kids, cookies and brownies that have a more authentic from-scratch taste, the Random Mommy family suggests you try out Pillsbury baking products. Next time you're at the supermarket, look out for the new flavors:

Mocha Fudge and Dark Chocolate Pillsbury Brownie Mixes
Pillsbury Cookie Mixes in Chocolate Chip,Chocolate Funfetti and Sugar Cookie
Sugar-Free Moist Supreme® Cake Mix in Classic Yellow and Devil’s Food
Sugar-Free Brownie Mix in Chocolate Fudge and Milk Chocolate
Pillsbury Sugar Free Creamy Supreme®Frosting in Chocolate Fudge and Vanilla

Thank you Pillsbury for a fun-filled afternoon of baking!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples to facilitate my review.

From Left to Write: Cleopatra

2011-09-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

In Cleopatra: A Life, Stacy Schiff digs into the history books to share with us who the true Cleopatra was. As a member of From Left to Write book club, I received a copy of this book for review. You can read other members posts inspired by Cleopatra: A Life on book club day, September 27 at From Left to Write. I need to emphasize this post is not a review of how well the book was written, but simply thoughts springing from what I learned from the book.

I didn't really know much about Cleopatra before I read this book. I had this vague notion that she died tragically but I had no idea at what age or why. I think like most people my age or older, if someone mentions Cleopatra, I immediately think of Elizabeth Taylor (need to watch that movie!). I learned from the book that Cleopatra was 39 years old when she died, having ruled Egypt for 22 years. During her life, she committed all sorts of atrocities to stay in power, but she also enjoyed peace and prosperity in her realm for the most part, unlike any previous Pharaoh. She is one of the earliest examples of a working mother who reached the pinnacle of success in her profession. But how her life ended makes me really angry.

Instead of facing utter humiliation by walking down the streets of Rome in shackles as a prisoner of war, she chose to kill herself. Sorry, but to me that erases all the incredible things she did during her rule and makes all the things she had done utterly meaningless. At this stage in my life I need inspiration from history and today on how to be a good mom, whether that be a good working mom or a good stay-at-home mom. Killing yourself and leaving four children behind, three of them under the age of majority, is not being a good mom. Even a bad mom is better than a dead mom. H&R have both told me that I'm a bad mom on many occasions but when I offer to let them exchange me for someone else, they don't take me up on it (most of the time).

Being a mom of three young children, I am constantly reminded of how fragile they are and how much love they need. Because I chose to bring them into the world, I have a sense of responsibility that I need to take care of them. Yes, it's true, as a leader Cleopatra suffered the ultimate defeat of losing the sovereignty of her nation to another. But she still had her responsibility to her children. If she had stayed alive, who knows, perhaps she would have found a way to save her son Caesarion, instead of his life being cut short at the hands of Octavian. Because of her selfish act, her three younger children became orphans and were raised by her lover's wife. I can't help but feel sorry for those kids--if they ever wondered why they weren't enough to keep their mom from killing herself.

Yes, I'm judging this woman harshly and she may have acted within reason in the world she inhabited. But when I look at my newborn daughter and I feel the love just surging out of my heart, I just can't understand how any parent could commit suicide and leave their baby. Yes, sometimes it's difficult and some people truly can't cope with life, but there is help out there. If you're a parent and you need to get healthy mentally or financially or overcome substance abuse before you can be a parent, there are resources that can help you and your child. Even if the best decision for your child is that you give your child up for adoption, don't end your life and leave that child with a lifetime of unanswerable questions.

When you have a child, you lose the right to do whatever you want all the time. No more late nights at the club, drinking with your buddies till dawn. If you have school age children, you can't just take vacation whenever you want (unless you home school, of course). You can't spend your (or your spouse's) entire paycheck on designer clothes and handbags and meals at celebrity chef restaurants. And you can't kill yourself! That's just my opinion and, I'm sure, not the takeaway that Ms. Schiff intended with this biography. I plan to reread this book in ten years when I'm at a different life stage. Hopefully by then I will be a good mom.

Homework Needed: ClickN Kids Review

2011-09-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

H has been in public school kindergarten for two weeks now and I'm conflicted. If you've read my latest post on Technorati, you know that I have reservations about whether to move our family to another school district. The first week, H's homework assignment was to write his name. He's been writing his name for three years! The second week, his homework was the letter A. One of the pages had him draw lines from the top of the page to the bottom of the page. I could see that he was not going to learn anything anytime soon. I had asked the teacher what was required to move him up to first grade. She said that he would have to be evaluated by everyone in the school, including the district psychiatrist. I knew that meant it was not going to happen.

Last night was back to school night at H's school. I was hoping that I would learn in the presentation that things would pick up quickly and he might start to be challenged soon. Unfortunately I didn't hear anything that disabused my notion that H would not be learning anything this year, at least academically. It's my fault really--I put him in a pre-school that teaches one level ahead so he's already gone through the entire kindergarten curriculum. I put that to the test by having him read the list of 50 sight words I brought home from the presentation last night. He nailed every single one. So what to do? It's either put him back into his *expensive* private school or teach him outside of school.

Thankfully, I recently signed up to do a review of the ClickN Kids online learning products. There are three of them on the market right now: ClickN READ Phonics, ClickN Spell, and Looney Tunes ClickN READ Phonics. H has been going through the lessons for a couple weeks now and it's definitely helped him keep up his skills and learn new things. In addition to learning the underlying reading and spelling content, the programs are helping him master computer manual dexterity and learn where letters are on the keyboard.

ClickN READ Phonics teaches the entire kindergarten to 3rd grade phonics curriculum taught at US public schools through 100 interactive cartoon animated online phonics lessons. Any child can learn English, and learn to read correctly, in a phonics game-like environment that is great fun and easy to use. The phonics program is designed for children as young as 4 years old learning to read English for the first time, older children struggling to learn to read, learning disabled children and even adults learning English as a second language.

All phonics lessons begin in the Letter Sound Chamber. The onscreen teacher, "ClickN KID", gently guides your child through interactive phonics sound exercises as they learn to read. Children learn all of the letter sounds and their corresponding letter shapes required for reading mastery as well as spelling and keyboarding skills. Each phonics lesson introduces a new sound which is then practiced along with five previously introduced sounds. Next, your child is automatically taken to the Listening Cube which systematically incorporates the letters taught in the first Letter Sound Chamber into beginning, middle and ending sounds in words. Those same sounds are then incorporated into a word blending exercise which teaches your child how to decode the individual sounds in a word and learn to read the sound of the word.

The Reading Room now incorporates the letter sounds and word blends, learned in the first two reading skills environments, into new words and progressively builds your child's ability to read complete English sentences and short stories with ease. Following the Reading Room, your child enters the Speed Chamber where all letter sounds and words taught in the lessons are reviewed and practiced. Your child must make as many correct responses as possible within a user set number of instruction minutes. This environment builds the automatic decoding skill mastery needed to learn to read. H really likes the Speed Chamber because it's a contest against himself.

Looney Tunes Phonics takes the ClickN Read Phonics program and links it to the zany antics of Bugs Bunny, Daffy, Taz, Tweety, and more to enhance children's engagement and motivation to read. The Looney Tunes gang entertains your child and kids will delight in meeting the new character Professor Wizbot, the on-screen instructor in Looney Tunes Phonics, who teaches one click at a time®. The program lesson control settings allow the teacher or parent to precisely match each child's individual needs for motivational content and positive feedback:

Full length: Maximum motivation. Features entire curriculum and all entertainment content
Medium length: Medium motivation. Features entire curriculum and reduced amount of entertainment content
Shortest length: Minimum motivation. Features entire curriculum with extra entertainment content removed

"Entertainment content" refers to the additional animation that occurs between educational modules that is designed to entertain and also reward users throughout the lessons. No matter the setting, the curriculum portions are identical and no educational pieces have been changed. H preferred the shortest length of entertainment content. He actually is a bit afraid of the Tazmanian Devil (maybe it reminds him too much of R?) and is more comfortable with the original ClickN Read Phonics program. I could see, though, how the Looney Tunes platform would be helpful to motivate kids who aren't as interested as H is in the outer space and space travel features of the original ClickN Read Phonics.

Click N Spell uses the same outer space platform as the original ClickN Read Phonics. It is a spelling program for PreK through 5th grade that teaches the 800 most commonly used words in the English language. It is based on the educational research on the use of Copy, Cover, Compare spelling instructional practice proven effective. H really enjoys these lessons and is very proud of himself when he gets a 100% on the quiz at the end of each lesson.

All three programs come with the industry's best progress reports. All mouse and keyboard entries are saved and can be viewed any time from any online computer. The cumulative results report combines all Individual Reports into one easy to understand summary report customized for each user. Parents can see scores as a percentage and compare them to other users and also easily identify the exact areas in which your child may need help and then see the specific lessons to repeat if necessary. Individual lesson reports are shown at the end of every lesson showing exactly how each child performed on that lesson. Reports for all lessons (even repeated lessons) are auto-saved and can be viewed online any time.

ClickN Kids programs are among the World's Most Advanced Learn To Read Phonics And Spelling Software Programs. Guaranteed to teach children to learn to read and spell or your money back! Visit ClickN KIDS web site for more information and free trial lessons for each of the three programs. I'm so glad H has these programs to help keep his mind engaged during this school year.

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples to facilitate my review.

My latest on Technorati

2011-09-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

Check out my back to school angst on Technorati's Women's Channel.

Huggies Little Movers Slip On Diapers Review and GIVEAWAY

2011-09-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

CONGRATS TO #7 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG! PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!
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We went to Baby E's two month check up yesterday and I was pretty stunned when the nurse said she weighed 15 lbs 12 ounces. I knew that she was big but I didn't think she would weigh that much. Although I should have known since my sister looked at her photo and immediately thought the word "giant." It was all the confirmation Stewart needed to push us past the size 2s and onto the size 3 diapers. So it was perfect timing, I thought, when I was contacted by Huggies to review their recently released new Little Movers Slip-On diaper. Huggies Little Movers Slip-On diaper is the first and only disposable diaper that slides on just like underwear, providing a simple and easy-to-use solution to baby’s kicks, twists and contortions during changing time. The new Slip-On diapers have stretchy sides for quick changes; a close, comfy fit and trusted leakage protection moms know and expect from Huggies diapers; and tear-away sides for quick and clean diaper changes.

The drawback to having a giant baby is that she needs size 3 diapers when she still doesn't move much. So the effort in diaper changing with the Little Movers Slip-On diaper wasn't altogether different from using a regular diaper. The diaper did fit very nicely, though, and I learned that Baby E definitely needs size 3s! The good thing about having a lot of friends with babies is that I knew an 8 month old who is on the verge of walking, meaning she's very squirmy and doesn't like to stay still for diaper changes. I drove over with the diapers to her house and handed them off to her very appreciative parents. They were able to change the baby's pee diapers while she was standing, which she preferred over having to lie down to get changed.

If you have a little one or know someone who does that might want to try out the Huggies Little Movers Slip-On diapers, here is an opportunity to try them out for free. My generous friends at Huggies will provide one Random Mommy reader with a Huggies Little Movers Slip-On Diaper Prize Package of diapers and a $25 gift card to use at any of the following stores that carry the new diapers: Jewel-Osco®, Albertsons®,Cub®, Farm Fresh®, SHOP ‘n SAVE®, Shoppers®,Hornbacher’s ®, Lucky® and Shaw’s®.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on whether you wore disposable or cloth diapers as a child, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. Good luck and have a great week!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive a product sample to facilitate my review.

H's First Day of Kindergarten!

2011-09-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was H's first day of kindergarten. There were no tears or nervousness on H's part. I think I must have had some because I had a hard time falling asleep. Why? Because of all the stuff that I don't know about the system. People think I'm paranoid and tell me that there is no secret parent society in which you learn the secrets of how to ensure success for your child in public school. Most of the time I believe them but then there are some times when things happen or I hear things that confirm my suspicions. Yesterday was one of those times.

We arrived at the school with plenty of time before H's class started at 11:40 for the afternoon kindergarten. At first I was quite dismayed to find a sign on the gate stating that parents would not be allowed to walk their children to the classroom but had to leave them at the gate. This seemed really odd to me--I was expected to leave my child in the hands of a teacher that I had never met to go into an environment that I had never seen? Luckily an administrator came by when the bell rang and said the parents could go in since it was the first day. Then it became clear why only few other parents were grumbling about the sign in the first place. Apparently there had been a meet and greet with the teacher on Tuesday. This wasn't in the school newsletter that had arrived in the mail the previous Friday or in the stack of papers they had given us at enrollment in January. So yes, there must be some secret parent society to which I have yet to receive an invitation.

The teachers (H is in a work-share class where two teachers share the job) said a few words and then it was time to leave. I said good-bye to H but he was unfazed. He's been in preschool since 2 years 3 months so his attitude was that this wasn't the first day of school for him. I left without thinking much of it since I had to feed R lunch, then go to the library and supermarket and make it back by 3:00 PM. My attempt to pick H up on time was foiled, however, when R refused to leave the house after we dropped off the groceries. Why doesn't anyone tell you that the second one may be affected by the first one going to big kids school? I finally convinced him we had to go. We were the last to pick H up and I had forgotten again to bring the bag of "voluntary" supplies that every parent had been asked to bring on the first day.

That night I asked H if he had liked my note in his lunch box. He said, "I didn't know it was a note so I threw it away." Sometimes I try to do the things that a good stay-at-home mom does, like putting loving notes in lunch boxes. Most of the time these efforts go completely unnoticed. I told him that made me a little sad because it had said "I love you. I'm so proud of you." First he said he would read the note if I put it in his lunch box tomorrow. But this morning he said, "don't give me a note. The other kids don't have notes so I don't want a note." Ah, the power of peer pressure (well not actually pressure since they didn't tell him to throw the note away) and the need to conform to be like everyone else. I knew it would start on the first day but I had hoped that it would have been in the form of them shaming him NOT to come to our bed in the middle of the night EVERY night.

Today I had to let him go on his own at the gate and was surprised when I started to tear up. That kid walked away with his over-sized backpack and bag of supplies and didn't even look back once. I'm happy for him that he's made such an easy adjustment to this new stage of his life, but a part of me wished that he had needed a last hug or at least glanced backward. Of course, I told myself to keep it together since I didn't want to freak R out. Plus, none of the other mommies were crying. The need to conform doesn't leave you once you've outgrown the schoolyard.

I'm hoping that the secret parent society will issue me an invite soon. There must be something I'm missing because the newsletter stated that changes in class assignments would not be considered until enrollment had become firm after the first few weeks. This suggests to me that kids do get switched around. But how do the parents know to which class to switch their child and how do they know the differentiating characteristics of each teacher? And how do they know that they have to use certain phrases like, "my child needs more math enrichment" which really means "my child needs to be in Ms. Kim's class"? Next week is the PTO Back To School BBQ--where I will track down the secret society president. The joys of public school.

BlogHer 2011 Swag Report/Giveaway-Everyone Wins!

2011-08-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

There were a lot of fantastic things at the BlogHer 2011 expo. Here is my take on what some of the best things were for me and my kids:

Chuck and Friends: Friends for the Long Haul iPhone/iPad app. This app by the Ruckus Media Group is an original story of more than 70 pages that contains narrative-driven matching, touch and reveal and spelling activities that progress the adventure and teach letter recognition, picture/word association and basic problem solving. Users can read the story, have it read to them, or even record their own voice for a personalized reading experience. H&R really enjoyed this app after watching the Chuck and Friends Big Air Dare DVD that came in the official BlogHer swag bag. H is a stage 1 reader so he was having fun reading the story himself! If you don't want to wait till the end of this giveaway, you can get the Chuck and Friends app during the Ruckus Media Group's special back-to-school promotion with pricing of $0.99 per app on its entire digital library of 15 apps for iPhone, iPad and iTouch from Friday, August 26 through the Labor Day weekend, ending Tuesday, September 7, 2011.

Dr. Scholl's Custom Fit Orthotic Inserts. I had seen these machines in CVS and Walmart, but I was always skeptical. How could I get orthotics for such a low price after being tested by a machine when my sister had to go to a podiatrist who billed the insurance company hundreds for her orthotics? Even after I tried out the machine and received a free pair to review, I wasn't convinced. Then I tried them out. The case for the orthotics says "Immediate and All-Day Comfort" and it was true! I put the inserts into my sneakers and I noticed a difference right away. And after a week of walking around in them, I can say, the Dr. Scholl's inserts were the best thing I got for the outside of my body at the convention. Right now you can get a $7.50 rebate on any purchase of Custom Fit Orthotic Inserts on the Dr. Scholl's website.

Nimble Balance Bar. This was the best thing for the inside of my body. The bar is naturally sweetened with truvia so women who are borderline diabetic can finally enjoy energy bars! This 120 calorie bar is packed with daily nutrients like Protein, Fiber, Iron and Calcium, plus Lutein and Beta Carotene for your skin and has balanced 40-30-30 nutrition. I was ecstatic to find out that the two nimble flavors are peanut butter and orange swirl so I can keep them in my minivan without worrying about them melting! Visit Nimble Bar on Twitter Thursday morning (8/25) to find out how to enter to win top model perks at Modellounge New York next week in preparation for Fashion Week.

Mother's Touch Digital Forehead Thermometer. This device works by slipping it over your finger, pressing the button, and waiting for it to beep. Then you gently caress your child's forehead. In just 6-8 seconds, the patented technology of the thermometer measures the rate of heat flow from the body and calculates a clinically accurate result. No more poking an ear or sticking a thermometer where you do want to! It also includes a last reading memory, fever alert, and room temperature display and is F or C switchable.

Personalized Journal from Paper Coterie. I had the journal personalized with my new baby girl's name so I can use it as a baby journal for her. Until Wednesday, August 31, Paper Coterie is celebrating “Begin Anywhere” month. The premise is simple: It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do, it’s never too late to start documenting the beauty of everyday life. The challenge comes in knowing how and where to start. Any Random Mommy reader who visits Paper Coterie can use the promo code BEGINANYWHERE to receive a $40 credit. There you can create a personalized photo book, calendar, or other creative products. There is no purchase necessary, and shipping is not included. It's a good thing I received a journal for Baby E from Paper Coterie at BlogHer, otherwise she might not ever had a baby book!

So I thought what better thing to do than to share some swag with my Random Mommy family. Everyone who enters will win one of the following: Chuck and Friends app (5 available), Mother's Touch Digital Forehead Thermometer (2 available), 1 Free Product + Free Shipping from Paper Coterie, or a coupon for a free Dole product (Fruit Bowl, Frozen Fruit, Canned or Jar Fruit, or Fruit Smoothie Shaker). Other prizes may become available throughout the contest period. (Of course everyone is a winner as soon as you read this and claim your $40 credit from Paper Coterie.)

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 11:01 PM (Pacific) until Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). All you have to do is follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar (it counts if you are already a friend) and then leave a comment stating which of the prizes you would like to win. I reserve the right to add prizes and extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner order. Everyone will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail with their prize preference order. This contest is open for US Residents Only as I am mailing these prizes out myself. Thank you to the generous sponsors!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive product samples to facilitate my review.

BlogHer 2011 Day 3 Recap

2011-08-22T22:49:00.000-07:00

I started off the last official day of BlogHer with an early morning visit to the Expo. I was excited to see the Brawny Man and took a photo with him! You can see my hair is still sleek from the efforts of the Robert Cromeans Salon. While I was at the expo, the boys spent some quality time at the Hot Wheels sponsor suite. They were really excited about playing with the tracks on the wall. After breakfast they met up with some LA friends at the pool. The Marriott has a great pool area. I wish I could have gone in the water but my body still hadn't healed to the point where swimming was an option. I think this will be an entire summer with not a single dip in the pool or ocean. But I digress...

Also during the morning Baby E and I checked out the MomSelect Swag Suite. We got some great toys including a cute Build-A-Bear smallfrys curly bunny. But before we could get through the entire suite, Baby E let me know in a not small voice that she was hungry. Then she needed to be changed and, after changing her, I found to my horror that I had no more diapers in the diaper bag. Meaning we needed to bail on the swag suite and get back to the hotel room pronto because Baby E has a tendency to need changing for #2 three times in succession. And more often than not, especially if I'm wearing her in a baby carrier, this results in an explosion and the need to be changed from head to toe. So we made it back to the room and I had to pick up R on our way out. Apparently the water was too cold and he was done with swimming. This meant I had to kiss any opportunity of attending an afternoon session goodbye. I knew I could take Baby E with me because she was so good and slept a lot, but R was a different story. I didn't want to disturb a panel or presentation that a speaker had been working on for months. So it was back to the expo. Where R proceeded to enjoy chocolate from Lindt, chocolate ice cream miniatures from Dove, and mango pineapple smoothie from McDonalds. After that sugar bath I made sure to stop by and get some Arm&Hammer toothpaste!

R was so wiped out from swimming and walking around the expo that he went back to the hotel to take a nap. Stewart didn't want H to wake him up so I took H with me to the ShopAtHome's Save and Splurge Suite at the Hard Rock Hotel. The Suite was on the top floor of the hotel and had a great view of the pool. It was a truly fabulous room filled with very friendly and kind PR folks. I say kind because they entertained H while I had to feed Baby E, held Baby E to give me a break, and then let me change her on top of the bed in the suite. Carole Baker and her team really impressed me! You'll be hearing more about Shop At Home in a separate post.

Then we went back to the MomSelect Suite since I hadn't been able to finish going through it that morning. The only sponsors left were the team from Hexbug. H had so much fun playing with the enormous set they had on the table. He also loved the spiders and making them move in tandem. I was a little freaked out by the new larva that are coming out, they move a little too much like real bugs! H wasn't fazed by them. The ladies from Hexbug recognized a fanatic when they saw one and gave H the Hexbug Nano Hive, a product that isn't even on the market yet. He LOVED it and has been playing with it ever since we got back from BlogHer. It's nice because you can fold it up and take it with you to a friend's house to combine sets and extend the play time. H is a lucky lucky boy! I'm going to wait until Halloween to give him the Hexbug Nano Glows in the Dark Starter Set I received from the Big Toy Company's Sweet Suite. I know he will flip out when he sees it. Thank you so much Hexbug team!

That night I went to the parties. My goal was to stay up so I could make it to CheeseburgHer. I enjoyed some great music and food at the Social Fiesta, snagged a free bottle of Monogamy at Aiming Low (although I left before they cut the cool "breakfast" cake), and grabbed two cheeseburgers from CheeseburgHer before collapsing onto my bed. At that moment I knew that what everyone had said was true--I was CRAZY for coming to BlogHer less than five weeks after giving birth!

BlogHer Recap Day 2

2011-08-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

BlogHer officially started on Friday August 5th, but almost everyone I know who attended got there for pre-conference parties that started on Thursday or even as early as Wednesday. I had a lot of fun on Friday catching up with friends who had been part of the LA Moms Blog (which has been acquired by Technorati Media). I finally have my girl, so I was eager to show her off. She had her first photo taken with Elmo, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby. R had been scared when he took his first photo with Elmo a couple years ago. In fact he was still traumatized and ran out of the room where the Playskool mock session with the Sesame Street friends was held. The event was moderated by Caryn Bailey of RockinMama.net, a fellow former LA Moms blogger. More than a few of my former mom blogger friends, including Liz Peterson, were there to witness the chubbiness that is Baby E.

Baby E and I left Sesame Street and headed down to the Gaslamp District, where the FamilyFINDS Afternoon Soiree was taking place at the Airr Supper Club. The room where the event took place was painted entirely red, which explains why I couldn't stop eating the delicious hors d'oeuvres. I couldn't partake in the signature cocktail since I'm still breastfeeding but they made a virgin version just for me. It was certainly interesting to find out that most deal sites give 6% commission to affiliates whereas FamilyFINDS shares 50/50. At some point during the day I had a chance to attend some conference events and swing by the expo. The boys were having a great time swimming and enjoying the hotel.

Then Baby E and I went back to the room where we had a little time to unwind before I made my way to the YOU-phoria, the launch party for Itemize.com, the new personal shopping agent that finds deals and sales from thousands of sites and matches them with the preferences of individual users. The event sponsored by the One2One Network was held at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art: The Farrell Gallery. The walls of the room were covered with moving art. I wish I had had my flip camera because the effect was really beautiful. Later I was happy to find a brush from Sarah Potempa in the event gift bag since I had forgotten to pack one. I won a mini flat iron at the event so maybe I will attempt to recreate the look from the Robert Cromeans Salon!

At this point I was so exhausted and went back to the hotel to sleep. But Baby E wouldn't cooperate. She still has her days and nights a bit confused so it took a long time to get her to go down. She's a trooper though, going to her first convention at five weeks. But then again, this little girl sat for the California Bar Exam and passed. Her good nature is the only reason I was able to attend BlogHer at all. Thanks Baby E!

BlogHer Trip Day 1

2011-08-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

My BlogHer 2011 plan had been contingent on Baby E following my birth schedule for her. She would be born mid-June so Stewart could take a week vacation the first week of August even if he did take off a few days around her birth. But unfortunately, like all daughters do, she had her own idea of when she would appear and wasn't born until the beginning of July. And of course, Stewart had to have the bad luck of contracting pink eye at the hospital so he ended up taking a week off so he wouldn't go into work with bloody watery eyes. Nice. So there was no way he would be taking off another week at the beginning of August for our trip to San Diego. Which left me with a huge dilemma, do I go to BlogHer or try to sell the ticket? I held off making the decision until the end of July when it was clear that Baby E was a good baby. She slept for long stretches during the day and rarely cried. The boys had been promised a trip involving a hotel stay since before Baby E was born so that was another factor in the decision.

We decided to go for it. Stewart would take off two days. This meant we could spend Wednesday night with Baby E's namesake who flew in from the East Coast for the weekend. We slept a few hours that night and then started driving at 5:00 AM. No fuss from the boys, we were finally on our way to the hotel! The drive went a lot smoother than anticipated and what I had feared would be a 12 hour journey ended up taking only 9 1/2 hours. If you factor in potty and feeding stops with two toddlers and a baby, that is actually pretty amazing. As long as Stewart was going over 60 mph, Baby E was content to sleep. We made it with time to spare for the first event on my excel spreadsheet: The Big Toy Book Sweet Suite Event. It was at the Hard Rock Hotel across the street from the Marriott, the official BlogHer hotel. (To digress, it was very interesting, everyone staying at the Hard Rock dressed as if they were rock stars. Women wearing sparkly cocktail dresses and super high heels with blown out hair and huge sunglasses. And there I was with Baby E strapped to my chest, diaper bag in one hand and R's hand in the other.)

The Sweet Suite Event was sponsored by The Big Toy Book and KidzVuz. I had fun making bracelets with H and R's names and meeting up with other mom bloggers from Silicon Valley and from Los Angeles. Somehow I completely missed the Pinkberry but had enough chocolate covered strawberries to make up for it. Baby E and I also had a great time looking at all the new toys coming out for fall and the holiday season. I especially loved the life-like dolls from Adora Doll Friends. I've been searching for a while for an Asian doll to get for Baby E and it has been really difficult. I asked them whether they had one and they showed me their catalog which had a Korean doll! I was so excited! I hope I win the Adora Doll Friends $500.00 ADORA-ble Dolly Giveaway which runs on their blog till the end of August. The baby dolls actually look and feel like actual babies. I could tell they weigh as much as a newborn since I had Baby E with me!

Next I headed over to the Glamour Suite sponsored by Dermalogica, Stila, Paul Mitchell, CND and Beautisol at the Robert Cromeans Salon. I had my hair done by one of the salon's great stylists and a facial treatment by Dermalogica. I even got a photo with Robert Cromeans, the global artistic director of Paul Mitchell! I was so happy they did my hair with a flat-iron because they told me that it would last a few days meaning I would have a frizz free head for most of BlogHer! I had wanted to get a shellac manicure from CND (lasts 14 days without chipping!) but didn't have time as I could feel the pressure in my chest signalling my need to get back to the hotel to feed Baby E. Maybe next year? Anyway, I was happy to get back to the hotel room and get some sleep to prepare for the first official day of BlogHer.

Wordless Wednesday: BlogHer Recaps to Come

2011-08-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

Random Mommy and Kids Dance Party: Dance Pocoyo Dance DVD Review

2011-08-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

H&R are still getting their daily fix of TV time. I think I was unrealistic in how quickly we would be able to resume our normal routine after Baby E arrived. Going out once a day is a big accomplishment. I had no idea how long it would take my body to bounce back, since it still hasn't! So when I was given the opportunity to review Dance Pocoyo Dance! DVD I pounced on it, since it would get the boys moving, albeit inside the house. Dance Pocoyo Dance! is based on the Pocoyo animated television series and encourages kids to get up and dance, jump and have fun for hours. The music provides high-energy participation, and Pocoyo and his animal friends, Elly the elephant, Pato the duck, and Loula the dog, add to the excitement.

The boys LOVED the DVD, so much so that they broke their trampoline while jumping on it while watching the DVD. So it's definitely a great DVD to have for rainy days or any day when you can't make it outside (especially this summer with the crazy weather across the country!) and have antsy kids that need to move. The multi-award-winning animated television series Pocoyo is now featured in a new half-hour timeslot during the weekends on Nick Jr., on Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00 pm ET/10 am PT, complementing the current weekday broadcasts at 4:25 pm ET/1:25 pm PT. Pocoyo also airs on Univision’s Planeta U on Saturday mornings at 8:30 am; and on select PBS stations nationwide (check local listings). Also, you can find lots of FREE Pocoyo content available on the Pocoyo YouTube channel and plenty of fun and games in Pocoyo World. For a limited time, beginning August 1 through August 31, parents can receive Dance Pocoyo Dance! with the purchase of 10 Langers Juices (plus $1.99 shipping and handling), while supplies last. Let's dance!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received a product sample to facilitate my review.

From Left to Write: Costume Trunk

2011-07-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

In The Costume Trunk, Courtney and her friends discover the magical world of Paddywhack Lane where all they need is their imagination to have fun. As a member of From Left to Write book club, I received a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own. You can read other members' posts inspired by The Costume Trunk by Bob Fuller on book club day, July 28 at From Left to Write.

After I read The Costume Trunk, I began to think about pretend play and how it differs in my children's lives from my own childhood. Growing up in those early days after my family immigrated to the US we didn't have a lot of toys. So when we engaged in pretend play, my sisters and I had to use whatever we had. Sometimes we would take library books, open them up, and stand them end to end and pretend they were our princess castles. Many nights at bedtime we would play "window" with our pillows where one person lived across the street from the other. One person would be the outgoing neighbor who would say hello while the other person would be shy and shut the window quickly after hearing the greeting. We played this countless times over a two year period, although now I can't figure out why it was so fun at the time.

Now that I'm a mom with far greater financial resources than my parents had while I was a child (it also didn't hurt that Stewart worked for a toy company for the first two years of R's life), I want to be able to give my children the toys with which they can unleash their imaginations. But these boys will not cooperate. They have two different doctor's sets. They have capes for superheroes ranging from Superman to Super Why. They have a stick horse that always reminds me of the scene from The Godfather because of the disembodied head. But the only times these toys get played with are when other children come to play. Why? Because whenever my boys "pretend," they are superheroes (no capes required) that are killing space aliens. We have no guns other than water guns in our house so they just go around shooting things with their fingers. How did this happen? They've never watched a single episode of Ben 10 or Super Hero Squad or any program that isn't on PBS or Nick Jr., yet they know Iron Man, Hulk, Transformers, and other heroes that I don't even know.

So for me, I think the answer to the question, "nature v. nurture?" is definitely nature. For some reason they'd rather shoot aliens with their fingers than put on a stethoscope and examine stuffed animal patients. Sometimes they will play with their stuffed animals when we do puppet show, but it is always the same, one animal is falling and another has to "rescue" it. So I think they must have been born with the savior complex and our plan to send them to a service academy for college is right on track. Perhaps having a great-grandfather who served in WWII, a grandfather who served in Vietnam, and a West Point graduate father who served in Kosovo and Iraq is a legacy that is part and parcel of their genetic makeup.

Now with a new baby daughter I have a way of seeing if this superhero nature is innate to all the Random Mommy children. Even before she was born Baby E already had a play tea party set and an American Girl doll. Hopefully she won't leave me in the dust while she goes and shoots the aliens with her brothers.

World of Pink and Hello Kitty CD Clock Radio from Sparkle Bee Review

2011-07-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

When I found out I was having a girl, I was so excited because I was finally going to be able to do all the mother-daughter things for which I would envy my friends with daughters whenever I heard about them. The mother-daughter teas, watching princess movies, shopping at the mall just to shop, and getting excited about cute pink things. I had let R indulge his pink fascination because I thought he was my only outlet. So R has a pink bedding set, pink drinking cups and sand buckets, pink bouncy balls and numerous other pink toys. Little did I know that there is a Korean custom that if you want to have a daughter, you give your son lots of girl toys and dress him in girl clothes. I have to admit, I did the latter once, when R threw a fit about not having a pink shirt. I took one of the size 2T shirts that Baby E had received as a hand-me-down (before she was born) and let R wear it. I had almost gotten him pink shoes but refrained after a quick facebook poll put the kibosh on it. Anyway, my mom said so much pink is why I finally was able to have a daughter!

So now that Baby E has made her appearance in the world and pink is everywhere, I'm at a loss as to what to do about R. Do I continue to let him have everything in pink or transition him to a different favorite color so he won't be ridiculed by his peers as he gets older? Well, I'll have to see what happens over the next year as Baby E gets older. When she starts reaching for all the pink products, will R fight for them or pick something else? For now, I'm happy to let R have them. He was so excited when he saw the Hello Kitty CD clock radio that I received to review from Sparkle Bee.

If you love Hello Kitty like I do then you should definitely check out Sparkle Bee from Marino Andriani on Facebook and Twitter. The company has great giveaways every week of their hottest Hello Kitty products and even does surveys to get direct input from consumers on what styles should go into production. I really like the fact that Marino Andriani, the President of Sparkle Bee, takes a personal interest in every product and responds to comments personally. He makes sure that consumers know the person behind Sparkle Bee.

These are the features of the Hello Kitty CD clock radio we reviewed:
* Top Loading CD Player
* CD-R/RW Compatible
* Skip/Search Forward and Back
* Repeat and Random Play
* Programmable Memory
* AM/FM Stereo Radio
* FM Stereo Indicator
* Multi-function 0.6" Red LED Display with Dimmer
* Wake to CD, Radio or Alarm
* Power, Repeat, Program and Random Indicators
* Sleep Function
* Snooze Function
* Power: Unit - AC 120V 60Hz
* Battery Back-up (1 x 9V/not included)

So far R has figured out how to play CDs without breaking the machine so it definitely passes the kid-friendly test. The buttons are large enough and spaced out widely enough for kids can memorize what they are for if they, like R, aren't readers yet. Someone told me that kids wake up early until they need to get up in time for school so we're looking forward to testing out that theory once H has to go to kindergarten in September. If it turns out to be true, Hello Kitty will definitely be waking up the boys! As for me, I found out on the Sparkle Bee website that there is a Hello Kitty bluetooth device. I think Stewart will be getting me yet another push present. Here's to more pink and more Hello Kitty!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive a product sample to facilitate my review.

Baby is Here!

2011-07-11T14:09:00.000-07:00

I was hoping for a June baby but Princess E decided she wanted to enter the world on a day befitting her excellency, with fireworks and everything. My Fourth of July baby girl will always be assured of a party on her birthday, somewhere in the U.S.A.!

Still can't write much because of ongoing back spasms; it's actually hurting me to write this much but wanted to let Random Mommy readers know we are all alive, if not well. Stewart picked up pink eye at the Kaiser hospital and looks like the reincarnation of Dracula. H's tooth saga writes another chapter with yet another infection. Princess E has been on the bili blanket for four days and narrowly escaped hospitalization. But we're alive and together and looking forward to being pain free soon!

More to come...

Summer's Here (Well Almost)

2011-06-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

Maybe Baby Girl C wants to be an official summer baby. The weather in San Jose finally feels like summer (80s!) but the official first day of summer is tomorrow. I thought she was going to be here already because I've been having some pretty serious Braxton Hicks contractions since Friday. But I suspect it was just her way of telling me from the womb that I can't tell her what to do and this is just the start of a long and painful relationship. Neither of the boys made me go through this exercise. When I went into labor I went from 1 to 10 cms in a matter of hours. I don't know where I am today, but I was at 2 cm at the OB's office on Friday and am still waiting. Maybe yelling at my large belly and getting H&R to yell "Come out NOW!" as well wasn't the nicest way to convince her to make her debut. So instead of being in a haze taking care of a newborn, I'm taking care of my first two babies! It's strange because they're on summer break so I have to think of things for them to do.

I wanted to sign them up for camps but found it impossible because of the uncertainty of when the baby would arrive. Since the average cost of a camp breaks down to $35/day, I couldn't risk them losing multiple days if I went into labor and there wasn't anyone available to take them. So we'll be at the library a lot (the one we weren't kicked out of) and make frequent trips to the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose. It's really a great children's museum. I like that it's multiple floors and there is actually space for kids to move around. Some other museums we've been to have felt so cramped that I can't believe they charge the same as the CDM. We enjoyed our first visit several months ago enough to sign up for an annual membership and so far they haven't gotten tired of it. We went to the recent members party for the new dinosaur exhibit, Mammoth Discovery. The boys both had a great time playing with bones and discovering dinosaur facts. I only wish there were more dinosaurs, but then again, it's not a natural history museum. We'll need to go back soon to explore the other new exhibit soon, Animal Secrets.

Today, I had to think of something for them to do other than watch Wiggles. So we came up with our own version of Angry Birds. H&R love to play that game on iPad and on Stewart's android phone. (They love that game so much they insisted on getting Stewart an Angry Birds shirt for Father's Day. We actually had to go to the store twice to get the exact shirt they wanted for him.) For our version, we found all the pigs in the house, including two actual Angry Birds pigs they had gotten at Build-a-Bear, and set them up as the targets. Who knew they had so many different toy pigs! It was also surprising that they have ZERO birds. Well maybe not surprising given my intense fear and dislike of birds, but I thought they would have at least one. Instead they had to use balls as "birds." I think they liked our low-tech version just as much. At least I know R did since he could actually "kill" some of the pigs, which he's not skilled enough to do on the actual video game! Now I've got to stop writing so I can get back to setting up the game for them.

PARTYTIME! H's Birthday & POCOYO Let's Party Review and GIVEAWAY

2011-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO #6 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG. THANKS EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING! THIS WILL PROBABLY BE MY LAST GIVEAWAY UNTIL THE BABY IS BORN. HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT BEGINNING OF SUMMER!
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It's June so time for H's annual birthday party bonanza. Just like last year, I was very tempted to skip a party altogether and just take him to Disneyland or Legoland and say that was for his "birthday," but just like last year, I caved when he started talking about his birthday and what he wanted for his party. I didn't want him to feel like we didn't do enough for his birthday especially since his baby sister is due around the same time. R, on the other hand, still doesn't care too much and didn't really have a party, we just took an enormous Thomas cake to his Sunday School class. Of course, that meant H had to look through the cake catalog and pick out his cake that he would have for his birthday six weeks later. And at his age, he doesn't forget. Unfortunately H never got to see his cake in one piece because they made me cut it up outside before bringing it into the classroom. I guess that's why the other parents had all brought cupcakes.

I was going to do just cake, but then H brought up the issue of goody bags. And so it ended up being much more work than I had anticipated, with multiple trips beforehand and trips to three different stores on the day of his school party. One of those trips was to the health food store to pick up a vegan cookie for a classmate who is allergic to eggs. The teacher mentioned twice how it would be nice if he could be included so I made the special trip AND THEN HE DIDN'T SHOW UP! Oh well! What matters is that H had a great time and was very proud and happy so it was worth it. He also loved his Spiderman cake (props to Safeway!) and had two servings!

We had to have his school party early because this next week is the last day of preschool. Then on his actual birthday is the dreaded CEC party. Every time we go to Chuck E Cheese, I end up holding R most of the time because he is afraid of Chuck E. It doesn't help that you can see the stage with the animatronic characters from every angle of the "restaurant" or that Chuck E comes out every 30 minutes and walks around. So R will probably spend the party crying into my shoulder or going home early with Auntie L. But that's what H wants, so he's getting it. After all, age five is the last birthday that H can have a CEC party since he will be in kindergarten next year and there is no amount of money that will get me into a CEC other than on a weekday morning.

To celebrate H's birthday, one Random Mommy reader will win a copy of the latest Pocoyo DVD, appropriately titled Pocoyo: Let's Party! H&R LOVE to watch Pocoyo and this DVD was no exception. Pocoyo is a curious little boy with a big personality. He explores the world around him by creating great adventures with his friends Pato, Elly, Loula and Sleepy Bird. On Pocoyo: Let's Party!, Pocoyo and his friends celebrate a birthday party, a welcome home party, a tea party and other adorable adventures. I am a huge fan of Pocoyo because it teaches lessons while being entertaining. There isn't a lot of the background graphics or heavy dialogue (most of the dialogue is done by the narrator) that can be overwhelming for young viewers, which is why I think it is equally appealing for both R and H. R's favorite episode on this 90 minute DVD is Pato Underwater (which he thinks is called Pocoyo Underwear) and H's favorite is Farewell Friends.

The 7-minute episodes are straightforward enough that H&R are able to watch it in Spanish and follow along. This is actually how they were introduced to Pocoyo, by watching on Univision. It's now also on Nick Jr. and PBS as well as having a huge presence on Youtube. Currently licensed for airing in over 150 territories worldwide, POCOYO has earned a host of international accolades including the prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for Best Animated Preschool Series, three Pucinella Prizes at Italy’s Cartoons on the Bay Festival and Best TV Series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France. For more fun Pocoyo content, you can find fun Pocoyo party activity pages for FREE online, including party coasters, party invitations and party hats! In addition, the Pocoyize application, which allows users to create their own POCOYO-style avatar, complete with personalized hair style, skin and eye color and clothes, has proven to be a huge hit both online and via iPhone® with approximately 11 million people Pocoyized to date.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Monday, June 6, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Monday, June 13, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on your favorite reason to party, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url (http://tinyurl.com/3ucf486)
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like Pocoyo on Facebook
5) Follow Pocoyo on Twitter

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US and Canadian Residents only. Good luck and have a great week!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive a product sample to facilitate my review.

Book Review: Here, Home, Hope by Kaira Rouda

2011-05-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

I've lost my blogivation. I think it's part of the pregnancy, in that I've lost my motivation not only to blog but even to move. I get annoyed every time I have to eat or go to the bathroom. So when I started reading Here, Home, Hope by author Kaira Rouda, the fictional story of one woman's courageous journey through midlife crisis and personal reinvention, it felt like I was reading my life journal, where I am now and where I hope to go. Here, Home, Hope is an account of Kelly Mills Johnson, who becomes restless in her thirty-ninth year. An appetite for more forces her to take stock of her ordinary middle-American existence and her neighbors’ seemingly perfect lives. Her marriage to a successful attorney has settled into a comfortable routine, and being the mother of two adorable sons has been rewarding but exhausting. Meanwhile, Kelly’s own passions lie wasted. She eyes with envy the lives of her two best friends, Kathryn and Charlotte, both beautiful, successful businesswomen who seem to have it all. Kelly takes charge of her life, devising a midlife makeover plan.

I love stories like this because it feels all too real for me. I want to do something so I don't regret later the way I am living my life now. I took the California bar exam because I wanted to have options, since even doing pro bono work at an immigration clinic or doing tax work for indigents requires a license. Of course, I have no idea what is going to happen in the next six months. People tell me I will LOVE having a girl. Will that really be enough for me not to look outside of being a mom and using all those years of higher education and work experience I built up before being a mom?

If you're like me and want some encouragement, this book is like a cheerleader spurring you on to make a change. Kaira Rouda is a mother of four who has somehow managed to balance that with being a writer, marketing executive and president of Real Living, a real estate franchiser. She also shares her inspiration and insight on Twitter and Facebook.

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received an advance reader PDF copy of the book from One2One Network to facilitate my review.

Tiger Mom FAIL, CBX PASS, Juno Company Review and GIVEAWAY

2011-05-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my boys and I went to an all day Korean School art, writing, and games competition. It was very clear from the moment that we arrived that I was going to learn in so many ways that I failed to reach the Tiger Mom gold standard. First of all, most of the students who were participating in the art competition brought full art sets with them, including paints, watercolors and oils, not the lunchboxes of half broken crayons that H&R had brought. They also brought the short Korean tables so they would have flat surfaces on which to draw and paint. I brought my JJ Cole Essentials Blanket, the staple of any urban mommy's registry list, but apparently not good enough for a Tiger Mom's art competition. My shortcomings also included not signing them up for art lessons, which most of the other kids seemed to have had.

It should come to no surprise that the boys did not win any of the awards for the art competition. H was so upset about this that he tried to steal an award from another kid. Oh a mother's shame. See, Koreans don't do what American society seems to be doing for its children these days, saying "everyone is a winner" and not keeping score at kids' athletic events. There is a winner and there is definitely a loser at a Korean School competition. I should have realized when they took the kids and sequestered them inside a box marked off by "caution tape" (so parents couldn't help their kids), that this was going to end badly for H. I don't care how exhausted I am going to be this summer with a newborn, I'm going to drink enough caffeine to drive these boys to art lessons so next year they won't cry about not getting a $1 ladybug magnifying glass from Michaels!

So while I learned I was a complete failure as a Tiger Mom, I did get some good news Friday night that I had passed the California Bar Exam. The pass rate for February 2010's exam was 37.6% for all takers and 49.7% for first timers so I feel like I can pat myself on the back for passing this exam to compensate for my utter failure described above. I think I did get an edge since I applied for exam relief to bring a cup into the exam (the bar examiners don't allow any food or beverages inside the exam room) so I could spit into it because of excess salivation issues caused by my pregnancy. I know I could have used being pregnant to rationalize a negative result, but I am so relieved that I don't have to do it. Whatever the result, I had vowed not to take the exam again. I would have taken a fail to mean that God wanted me to move back to New York (where I am licensed to practice law, notwithstanding my SAHM status). So the immediate future looks to be California for job prospects once Random Baby #3 is well-settled in the outside world.

My boys suffered a lot (well, I think they suffered they probably had many field days) while I studied for the bar exam. A lot of their time was spent on electronics while I got in a few more multistate multiple choice questions. Their favorite activities included The Juno Company apps on iPad. And now in the last few weeks of my pregnancy, they are getting some more time to spend on apps since I am frequently so exhausted I can't get up. The latest fun app they've been enjoying is The Juno Company eBook App The Day The Music Stopped.

The full length musical eBook features all the great Juno characters, original orchestral music, mini games, unique touch screen interaction and a compelling story! H&R are really into playing games now and I could see that it was a huge bonus that there were games right in the middle of a book I was reading to them. The app has both a "read myself" and "read to me" version. I actually prefer to read it to them since the "read to me" version seems a little slow for H, but I could definitely see the advantages of that version for those times when I can't move and for long car rides (the app can occupy my boys for 30 minutes plus). Through the generosity of The Juno Company, THREE Random Mommy readers will be able to experience The Day The Music Stopped for themselves.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Monday, May 16, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on your favorite musical instrument, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address. While you are waiting for the results of the giveaway, you can get a free download of Juno's Musical ABC's Audiobook.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like The Juno Company on Facebook
5) Follow The Juno Company on Twitter

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winners. The winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winners do not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US and Canadian Residents only. Good luck and have a great week!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive product samples to facilitate my review.

National Train Day and Dinosaur Train GIVEAWAY

2011-05-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO NUMBER 7 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG. PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING AND PLEASE ENTER MY NEXT GIVEAWAY!

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R is all about trains these days. It's strange because H was equally interested in trains and cars, but with R it's all about anything that rides the rails. One of the shows that he enjoys is Dinosaur Train on PBS Kids. To celebrate National Train Day on May 7th, Dinosaur Train debuted an all new episode on May 6th on PBS Kids, featuring two animated segments with live-action sequences featuring a paleontologist who brings to life the show's natural science and national history curriculum for preschoolers. In "Junior Conductor Jamboree," Buddy and his family ride the Dinosaur Train from one end of the line to the other and visit all three time periods--from the Cretaceous, through the Jurassic, to the Triassic. In "Troonday Train Day," the Pteranodon family rides to Troodon Town to celebrate Troodon Train Day, where the main event is a concert by King Cryolophosaurus, giving his first performance in years!

In addition to the television series, there is also a “Dinosaur Train” interactive website. H&R love to play the games on the website. I'm amazed whenever I watch R, a kid who just turned three, click through the games with full comprehension of what he is doing. It just goes to show how fast a human brain can grasp technology. H&R love to join Buddy, Tiny and all their friends as they discover natural history and the science of paleontology through fun games and activities. H was so excited he took a brontosaurus to school on Friday as his show and share item! During the month of May, the website is celebrating trains with a special themed homepage and new fun printable activities. Kids can also play the online game “All Aboard!” to become a Jr. Conductor on the Dinosaur Train!

To celebrate America's love of trains, my friends at Dinosaur Train will give one Random Mommy reader their own Dinosaur Train Collectible Train Car-Buddy. This collectible train car pack includes plastic Buddy figure and decorated train car to match! We receive one to review and of course H&R fought over it the minute they saw the package. It arrived around R's birthday so they finally agreed that it belonged to R, and peace reigned for five minutes. They don't have the other cars in the set, but it was still fun for R to pretend that he was taking Buddy on an adventure on the Dinosaur Train. I will also send the winner my review copy of the new episode to go along with the Train Car!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Monday, May 9, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on your favorite dinosaur, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like The Jim Henson Company on Facebook
5) Follow Henson Parents on Twitter

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive product samples to facilitate my review.

Non Sequitur Friday

2011-05-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

I'm happy that it's finally May. I can now say that my daughter will be born next month! Hurray! I have about 7 weeks to go but once week 37 hits, I will be doing everything possible to get her out. Each pregnancy has been harder than the previous as my body adapts and attempts to reject the alien invasion. So yes, bring on the pineapple juice, the spicy food, the exercise, and all the tried and true remedies to pop the baby out of the oven. H thinks that my belly will pop and then the doctor will tape it back together. He doesn't want to see that so he doesn't want to come to the hospital. Because I am so uncomfortable, tired and irritable that I want this baby out but at the same time I have NO idea how I will cope with three little kids. It will definitely be better once H goes to kindergarten in the fall but till then, I anticipate a lot of pain. How can a sleep deprived woman take care of three kids when her husband is traveling to Asia for work for weeks at a time? We will see. I may throw in the towel and end up going to my parents' house in Chicago for the summer.

Stewart's work is having a company picnic today. Except that you can only go to the picnic if you made a donation to the company's Japan relief fund. Something about that just doesn't sit right with me but I can't pinpoint exactly what. Maybe it's the coerced aspect of the giving or the fact that the company would not allow employees who truly cannot afford to give anything (like maybe Stewart's co-worker with five kids who has lost $200K in equity in his house) to come to the picnic. His new company is very strange indeed, they don't give paternity leave but told him he would have to take disability and get 50% pay if he took any time off when the baby is born. So no, I don't anticipate him hanging out with me at the hospital.

I'm trying to get in as much as I can for the boys before their sister arrives. I know once the baby is here it will be difficult for us to travel. So recently even with my horrendous varicose veins and back pain, we made a trip to the Oakland Zoo. The Oakland Zoo is amazingly good. I say this because the last zoo to which I can compare it is amazingly bad. There was also a severe bee problem at the LA Zoo the last time we went and I ended up getting multiple stings. It was so bad there was a sign once you entered that said, "no refunds will be given because of bees." Seriously, if you know there is a problem, put a notice on your website so people can make an informed decision before driving all the way out there! There is also a joke about the LA Zoo the punchline of which is something like all the animals are out of town. I remember the hippo exhibit at the LA Zoo, there was one sad hippo in a very small enclosure. I felt sorry for that hippo. The Oakland Zoo had many more animals actually in sight, although the lions were hiding since it was midday and they were taking their naps. Some other good things about the Oakland Zoo:

Parking at both the top and bottom of the zoo; the top of the zoo has rides outside the entrance so if you don't want your kids to see them you can park at the bottom, which conveniently leads right into the children's play area
Membership is affordable; my friend had gotten a special where she and her kids got membership for @$60 for a year
No obnoxious merchandising; I don't think I even noticed a souvenir stand and the boys certainly didn't
Accessible petting zoo; open for most of the hours the zoo is open

So those are my Random Mommy thoughts this Friday. I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day weekend. I will be attending an all day Korean School art and writing competition tomorrow so you can imagine how much fun I will be having. Tiger moms, unite!

Happy Monday

2011-04-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Radio silence last week due to ongoing severe cold at the Random Mommy house. It was H's spring break and we were supposed to go the San Jose Children's Museum, the Oakland Zoo, Chuck E Cheese (reward for going to sleep on his own for two weeks), and a magic show. Zero for zero. He even missed the egg hunt at school the Friday before spring break. All of us were so out of it that we could barely move around the house. H&R both ended back in my bed since they claimed they needed special treatment since they were sick. I was too exhausted to argue. We watched so much TV that the capacitor to our fancy big screen LCD TV blew out. So finally Saturday before Easter we attempted the last event on our calendar for the week, the Campbell egg hunt. Here is H contemplating his strategy to gather the most eggs and R warming up on the sidelines.

However minutes before the egg hunt was supposed to start, R had a sickness meltdown and demanded Stewart take him back to the car. H waited till after the egg hunt and then disappeared by himself back to the car. That is what happens when the rule of the hunt is that parents aren't allowed on the field. The announcer kept saying this over and over again. So I listened to him. I shouldn't have done that because of course I couldn't find H afterwards and he decided on his own that he should go back to the car since he was done. Since Stewart took the camera with him when he went back to the car with R, I have no photos of the actual egg hunt, which was pandemonium. Some kids didn't get any and some kids got a full basket. We won't be going back there ever again.

So yesterday I finally broke down after a week of not being able to breathe and bought some Sudafed. Not Sudafed PE but the kind you have to buy from the pharmacist. That made me feel like I was doing something illicit. It provided some relief but after I took it I started having dental pain, which grew increasingly worse until 2 AM when I got up and googled home remedies for toothaches (baking soda anyone?). I called the doctor this morning and the antibiotics should be ready in an hour for pickup. I never knew that dental pain was a sign of sinus infection. Hopefully I will get some relief soon! So that's what's been going on at our house. Hope your Easter week was lot better than ours!

Spring Cleaning: JAWS Review and GIVEAWAY

2011-04-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS #2 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG! PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED! ANOTHER FUN GIVEAWAY COMING SOON. HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
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As much as I try to use only all natural products, sometimes those grapefruit extract based cleaners just aren't enough to get something really clean. This spring cleaning season, I had the good fortune of being able to try out JAWS-the Just Add Water System. JAWS is the refillable, reusable way to clean. Even if the ingredients aren't all natural, they are non-toxic and the product is green in that the packaging is a cartridge and so there are fewer plastic bottles being circulated and distributed (fewer trucks, less petroleum involved in manufacture and transport, etc).

Just fill the reusable spray bottle with H2O, pop in a super-concentrated cleaning cartridge and you’ve got eco-friendly cleaning power wherever you need it. It’s an innovative, easy-to-use, non-toxic* and effective system that reduces plastic in landfills, conserves resources and saves you cash. In fact, when you finish your Just Add Water™ starter kit and buy cartridge refills, you can make 2 full bottles of cleaner for less than $2.00 each. JAWS cleaners use 70% less packaging material, leave 59% less packaging waste, require 59% less energy to transport, reduce water pollutants by 85%, and greenhouse gas emissions by 60%. The company's founding principle makes complete sense, "Stop Shipping Water…It’s the Right Thing to Do."

So I sent Stewart and the boys away for the afternoon and attacked the house from top to bottom. Actually I only managed to clean the top floor--who knew that it would take four hours to clean 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The JAWS bottles were easy to put together and worked well to clean everything from the scum in the shower stall to the grimy fingerprints on the windows. You can see for yourself how easy it is to use. Knowing that I won't have to buy new bottles when I run out makes me feel better about the fact that the ingredients aren't completely natural. Thanks to the generosity of JAWS International,Ltd., one Random Mommy reader will get the chance to try the system (all 4 varieties of cleaners) on his/her own messes.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 6:01 PM (Pacific) until Wednesday April 20, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a tip on how to "green" one's lifestyle, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like JAWS on Facebook
5) Follow JAWS on Twitter

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples to facilitate my review.

Real Men Don't Buy Girls

2011-04-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile know that human trafficking is a topic about which I feel strongly. I belong to Just One, an organization that strives to eliminate human trafficking, whether it is for the sex trade or labor slavery. A lot of these modern day slaves are children. If you think that this is something that just can't possibly exist in the U.S., here are the current trafficking statistics (source: DNA Foundation):

The average age of entry into forced prostitution in the U.S. is thirteen
Ninety percent of youth trafficked for sexual purposes in the U.S. are citizens of our own country
Hundreds of thousands of American girls and boys are currently enslaved in the U.S.
An estimated one million children are forced to work in the global sex industry every year
The global sex slavery market generates a $39 billion profit annually
Selling young girls is more profitable than trafficking drugs or weapons

This week, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher’s DNA Foundation is launching an interactive online video campaign called “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls” to raise awareness about the issue of child sex slavery. The goal of the campaign is to educate people about child sex slavery in the United States and to create a cultural shift around the buying and selling of humans. The message of the campaign is that “Real Men” don’t buy girls. Instead, “Real Men” do respect, love, care for, and protect girls. The short videos feature supporters Justin Timberlake, Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Jason Mraz, Ashton Kutcher, Drake, Adrian Peterson, Isaiah Mustafa…and YOU! Check out all the interactive, celebrity videos here.

To create a video by inserting your own photo with a celebrity supporter, go to the DNA Foundation Facebook page and click on the “Real Men” application tab. The application allows you to insert your own photo into the celebrity video – in order to create your very own “Real Men” video. After the video is created, you can share it with your friends by posting on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The goal is for as many people as possible to watch the videos, create a personalized video, and spread the word about child sex slavery. All videos can be viewed at www.demiandashton.org/realmen. It was really easy and took me only a couple of minutes to do.

A second component to the campaign is the “DNA T-shirt Challenge.” DNA has partnered with Threadless, a community-based design company, and retailer Steven Alan to create t-shirts around the concept of freedom. More than 200 artists submitted designs and 60,000 votes were cast to determine the winners. The two tees selected (one of which is "Freed" by Alex Solis, pictured left) will be sold at Threadless.com and Stevenalan.com, as well as in all Steven Alan stores, with a percentage of proceeds going to DNA.

Ashton Kutcher said it best, “Child sex slavery is a difficult issue to think about, which makes it all the more important that we do. Real Men do not ever buy children for sex. Period.” Added Demi Moore: "People don't realize child sex slavery is a serious problem in the United States. Young girls are victimized in the commercial sex industry every day. No 13-year-old girl chooses to be exploited for sex. Real Men love, care, and protect girls. Real Men don’t buy girls.”

More information and links to other sources on modern day slavery can be found on the DNA Foundation website and the website for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, which operates the Human Trafficking hotline: 1-888-3737-888.

Please check out the DNA Facebook page and the DNA Twitter feed and spread the word: Real Men Don't Buy Girls.

From Left to Write: Love and Marriage

2011-04-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

Today’s post is part of the From Left to Write online book club. The idea of this book club is not to write a book review but to write a post in which the blogger connects that month’s book to an experience from his/her own life. The current book is 29 by Adena Halpern.

Reading about Ellie, the main character of 29, and her struggle to figure out whether she had missed out on true love made me think about Korean and Korean-American views on marriage. My parents had an arranged marriage and it was clear to us daughters growing up that it was definitely not one that was arranged very well. They were married a couple weeks after the matchmaker proposed the match. This wasn't as strange as it sounds, most of the marriages of my parents' generation in Korea were done by arranged marriage and some people married without even seeing their future spouse. Even today, in "modern" Korean society, the custom of using a matchmaker to introduce potential matches is as normal as using a headhunter to find a job. The matchmakers have books filled with photos and resumes. The matchmaker makes sure to investigate the parents and even the parents' parents to make sure that there are no scandals or anything dishonorable in the family background.

One older cousin of mine who had found what she thought was a suitable "love match" discovered to her enormous disappointment and despair that her mother would not approve the marriage because the family was from Seoul. Since my cousin is from Pusan (a mere hour flight southeast but worlds away in terms of subculture and dialect), my aunt would not approve because it meant that her daughter would live in a different city. I couldn't believe it, but my cousin accepted my aunt's decision. It seems that the idea of marrying someone against your parents' wishes is something that is just not done even today. I see this theme over and over again in the Korean dramas to which I'm addicted on Hulu. Every drama seems to hinge on the parents' disapproval of their children's choice of a spouse. In one drama the couple get legally married but only have a wedding (when the bride is 8 months pregnant) after his parents finally give their approval. In another, the aunt tells the mother to let the kids the married just don't register it legally so that they can continue to connive to break them up in the meanwhile.

You would think that growing up in the U.S. would have meant that my sisters and I would have been able to break free from this expectation of making the "proper" marriage. We almost didn't. The person I almost married was someone who had come to the U.S. during junior high, which meant he was more culturally Korean than American. His parents certainly had very different expectations of their future daughter-in-law than the reality that was me. His mother told me that one of the most important things I should have as a goal for my child was for him (of course the first child would be a boy) to be the best dressed kid in his kindergarten class. She completely disapproved of my going to law school because lawyers dealt with people who broke the law and so had to associate with criminals. My ex assured her that I would become a professor so I wouldn't have to deal with those kinds of people. Needless to say, I wised up and realized that the practical reasons for which I had agreed to enter into the marriage were not enough for the Korean-American part of me. So I gave back the ring in the turquoise box. A short time later, Stewart and I got back in touch (he had been my first boyfriend at college) and got married the next year.

My sister C also also almost fell victim to my parents' endless commentary on who would make a suitable match. She had fallen in love with someone in her early 20s but had broken up with him many times in part because of my parents' opposition--K was NOT Korean and was NOT in her decade. But oh what a different tune they sang almost immediately after her 30th birthday. My mother started to ask me if C ever spoke to K. I took this to mean that she was not opposed to it if they were talking. Then this past January C announced to my parents that K would be visiting them. He showed up in Chicago to "ask" my parents for her hand. They knew the jig was up, this time C and K would get married no matter what they said. So last month, I drove with the boys in the minivan down to Los Angeles to help C prepare for her wedding. (No, she's not pregnant, they just didn't see any point for a long engagement after a decade of on and off dating.) My parents made one more effort to put the kibbosh on the wedding by arguing that the radiation from the Japanese ongoing nuclear disaster would be especially dangerous since the wedding was on a boat. I didn't even bother to relay this message to my sister. The wedding went off without a hitch (other than H making some gibberish noises during the ceremony, comic relief?) and now C and K can start their happily ever after together.

Thank God I listened to my friend Caryn when she said that there was passion and love out there for me and that I didn't have to get married just because I had found a Korean man that didn't smoke or drink to excess or beat me. Instead I found my way back to my true love Stewart, my one and only, the love of my life. And he's Korean! I'm glad I don't have to wonder like Ellie did in 29 whether her marriage had been worth it. She (and Adena Halpern) says it best at the end of the book, "May you get everything you want in your life. If you should get it all, however, and you still don't like the outcome, don't take it as failure. Take it as something to learn from and move on."

I received a free copy of 29 as part of the book club.

Technorati Post: Apology to my Daughter

2011-04-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

A few friends are saying that I'm becoming increasingly neurotic about having a girl. But better safe than sorry right? You can read about my latest worries for my daughter here.

San Jose Bakesale for Japan

2011-04-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: The event was one of the most uplifting days I've had in a long time. People from every different background you could imagine came together to provide baked goods and purchase them to raise funds to help those in need in Japan. Here are the results from Paige: The grand total for the bakesale was $8985.43!!!! Add that to the $4K the ukulele jam brought in, and the $2,384.17 Roy's brought in (tips from baristas and 10% of sales) and we have a grand total of $15,369.60 we raised for relief organizations on the ground in Japan!

Yuki Hashimoto, who put together a cool video of our event also wanted to make people aware of a charity concert for Japan, that he's helping plan. And Case-Rust Photography and Moms who Click who covered the event and put together a fabulous flickr album!

R was happy to walk away with a maple cupcake (he only ate the frosting), but H was denied any sweetness due to the continuing saga with his teeth. These photos were taken near the end of the event so they don't show the crowds that we experienced earlier that day. The event even inspired me to continue the effort with a bake sale at my church, Pathway/New Vision in Milpitas. If you are in the San Jose area and would like to participate in a bake sale on April 23rd, proceeds going to Samaritan's Purse Japan Relief, please contact me!

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Every time I read a story about the situation in Japan, I feel so terrible and helpless. I want to do something to help all the people who are displaced and without the comforts on home. A group of fellow mom bloggers in the San Jose area felt the same way and decided to do something about it. Led by Paige of Canning with Kids, the Bakesale for Japan is happening this Saturday April 2nd in Japantown, San Jose. If you are local to San Jose or know someone who is, please come out and support us! I will be baking cookies all day Friday and helping to man the tables on Saturday morning. Even if you don't eat baked goods, come and fold paper cranes at the bakesale, which can be sent into Students Rebuild and turned into a $2/crane donation. Here is the 411 from Paige about the Bakesale:
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San Jose Bakesale for Japan! Last year we raised $23,000 at our Bakesale for Haiti and we think we can do way better this time! In fact, we're going national. With your help, we can break our bakesale record!

Date/Time: Saturday, 4/2 from 10:00am - 2:00 pm

Location: Roy's Station 197 Jackson Street in San Jose

All of the money raised will be donated to Peace Winds Japan. 100% of funds donated to them go directly to ground relief efforts in Japan. They are an incredible organization with a 15-year history in Japan, and we spoke with them at length before deciding to contribute the money we raise to them.

On April 2nd, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Ukulele Jams and Ukulele Source will be holding a Kanikapila at the Roy's Station to benefit Japanese Red Cross Tsunami and Earthquake Victims. Smiley and Janet Kai of Ukulele Source will be donating a Ukulele for the raffle. Baristas will be donating all of their tips for the day, and Roy's Station will be donating 10% of their sales.

Sponsors to date.

Looney Tunes Prize Pack GIVEAWAY

2011-04-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS #4 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG! PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS WITH YOUR MAILING ADDRESS. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED AND PLEASE ENTER ANOTHER GIVEAWAY COMING LATER THIS WEEK! HAPPY MONDAY!
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What's up Doc! I remember watching a lot of Looney Tunes cartoons as a kid. I'm so excited that Looney Tunes has launched an all new and improved Looney Tunes Facebook page so that I can stay connected with your favorite classic 1933 American animated cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Tweety, Taz, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, and the rest! One of H's first drawings was of the Road Runner so I know he will enjoy watching these classic cartoons with me. If you can't find them on TV, you can turn to the special Looney Tunes YouTube channel launched earlier this year which showcases some of the best moments from these animated classics. Of course you can follow along with all the Looney Tunes on Twitter! The Facebook page has a lot of interactive content with Looney Tunes trivia, games, and fun facts, and up-to-date Looney Tunes news.

To celebrate the new Looney Tunes Facebook page, the folks at Looney Tunes will give one Random Mommy reader a fun prize pack (wrapped in a tweety shopping bag) including the following:

Ring
Makeup compact
Flash Drive
Havaianas flip flops
T-shirt
Looney Tunes DVD – Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl (Looney Tunes Super Stars)

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Monday, April 4, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Sunday April 10, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on your favorite Looney Tunes character, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like Looney Tunes on Facebook
5) Follow Looney Tunes on Twitter

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I was given an opportunity to share the information and run a giveaway for my readers and took it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day: Dinosaur Train DVD GIVEAWAY

2011-03-16T21:11:00.001-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS #14 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG! PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS. THANKS EVERYONE AND PLEASE ENTER MY GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK!
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Everyone rightly associates St. Patrick's Day with the color GREEN. After all, if you've ever been to Ireland in the spring/summer, you would never forget the lushness of the countrysides or the breathtaking vegetation of Killarney National Park. When Stewart and I visited the park, it was a strange moment while my eyes adjusted to the scenic vista--I felt like I was moving even though I was standing completely still. The boys and I had a great time this past weekend at a St. Patrick's Day party and they know that St. Patrick's Day is about green, green, and more green! So I thought what more appropriate day could there be to talk about March being National Nutrition Month than a day that celebrates GREEN in light of this year's theme "Eat right with Color."

March is National Nutrition Month®, a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the American Dietetic Association. The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. This year's National Nutrition Month theme, “Eat right with Color,” encourages everyone to remember to include a colorful variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and dairy on their plates every day. To help parents, the American Dietetic Association provides many online resources. They even have a downloadable PDF list of 25 healthy snacks for kids, including these five great ideas:

Peel a banana and dip it in yogurt. Roll in crushed cereal and freeze.
Spread celery sticks with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese. Top with raisins. Enjoy your “ants on a log.”
Stuff a whole-grain pita pocket with ricotta cheese and Granny Smith apple slices. Add a dash of cinnamon.
Mix together ready-to-eat cereal, dried fruit and nuts in a sandwich bag for an on-the-go snack.
Smear a scoop of frozen yogurt on two graham crackers and add sliced banana to make a yummy sandwich.

PBS's Dinosaur Train has also designed an activity to help children learn about the campaign. Buddy can help you and your child prepare a vegetarian (herbivore) picnic. The Have A Brachiosaurus Picnic activity helps young children to learn what foods fit into an herbivore's diet (fruits and vegetables); reminds children about the importance of hand washing before eating; and also creates an opportunity to discuss why all animals need to eliminate waste from their bodies (a.k.a. “poop”). The downloadable PDF file provides the ingredients to prepare Brachiosaurus Picnic, with fun food items on the menu, including:

Brachiosaurus Super Salad: The kids will have fun tearing up green leafy veggies into bite-size pieces and mixing ranch dressing with green coloring to make a tasty topping.
Sauropod Sandwich: With a plastic knife, cut pieces of whole wheat bread in the shape of a favorite dinosaur and spread with cheese spread or peanut butter.
Herbivore Herb and Spinach Spread: Mix frozen spinach, dried onion soup mix, sour cream, celery sticks and crackers
Green Juice – fill a child’s plastic cup with apple juice and add green food color to make a green beverage fit for an herbivore. (The boys and I are taking this idea to the next level and making "shamrock" shakes with ice cream, mint extract, green food coloring and soy milk!)

To celebrate Dinosaur Train's support of the American Dietetic Association's campaign, one Random Mommy reader will get the chance to go on a virtual trip around the world on the Dinosaur Train through the new DINOSAUR TRAIN: PTERANODON FAMILY WORLD TOUR ADVENTURE DVD, released on March 15. Buddy and his adoptive family of Pteranodons embark on a roaring, exploring world tour adventure to discover a variety of dinosaurs inhabiting the globe as they journey to Asia, Europe and Africa. From the world-renowned Jim Henson Company, PBS KIDS and Paramount Home Entertainment, the DVD includes eight exciting edu-tainment adventures, interactive games, coloring pages, a dinosaur reference guide and parent information. Boasting incredible CGI animation and an average monthly viewership of 11.9 million, the “Dinosaur Train” is a Parents’ Choice recommended PBS KIDS TV series and is one of the top ten shows for kids 2 to 5.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on how you celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like The Jim Henson Company on Facebook
5) Follow Henson Parents on Twitter

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I was given an opportunity to share the information and run a giveaway for my readers and took it!

March Movie Madness: Hoodwinked and The Reef Blu-Ray Review

2011-03-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

The Random Mommy tradition is to ignore the basketball games and watch movies in March. The boys and I have watched a few so far and we'll review some of them this month, with a great giveaway coming later this week!

Hoodwinked

Hoodwinked was released on Blu-ray/DVD Combo last month and we watched the movie coincidentally right after H&R heard Little Red Riding Hood during story time at Korean school. I think it helped that they were a bit familiar with the story beforehand because the movie is not the classic fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Right when the Woodsman jumps into the room to save Red from the Wolf the story takes a very different turn. The police cordon off Grandma's cottage and an amphibious investigator named Nicky Flippers (voiced by David Ogden Stiers) begins interrogating the suspects: A Little Red in bell-bottoms (Anne Hathaway), a Wolf turned investigative journalist (Patrick Warburton), an extreme sport enthusiast Granny (Glenn Close), and a "Woodsman" (Jim Belushi), each of whom have very different reasons for ending up in that cottage living room.

There were some moments that were too scary for R (big bad Wolf and craaaaaaazy Bunny) but H watched without any issues, although all of the popular culture references, of which there are many, were over his head. This is definitely an animated film that adults will get and children can enjoy. I especially loved "The Schnitzel Song" but I don't think kids will really get why it's so hilarious. If you're looking for a film that will engage you and entertain your kids, definitely check out Hoodwinked.

The Reef

The Reef (released last week on Blu-ray/DVD Combo) is the story of Pi, a young fish who suffers a great loss and moves from Boston to what I think is the Great Barrier Reef where he falls in love with a beautiful fish named Cordelia and angers the resident shark bully, Troy. The Reef was the first Hollywood feature-length, all computer generated film ever made in Korea (Be the Reds!), winning the Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence. The voice talent includes Freddie Prinze Jr. as Pi, Evan Rachel Wood as Cordelia, Fran Drescher as Pearl, Donal Logue as Troy, and Rob Schneider as a variety of sea creatures including Nerissa. The movie follows Pi as he trains with the wise old turtle Nerissa in order to defeat Troy. Unfortunately R was so scared that he fell asleep during the opening scene (could be pretty traumatic for little ones) and there were some other shark and shipwreck scenes that were scary for H as well. But H still wanted to see it all the way through so I think the story is compelling enough to keep a child's interest. If your children enjoyed the other under the sea animated films, The Reef would be a good fit for them.

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive product samples to facilitate my review.

DVD Review: VeggieTales 'Twas The Night Before Easter

2011-03-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

I've loved VeggieTales for a long long time, as proven by the many titles I have of it on VHS tape and the soundtracks I have on cassette! I first came across it when I was teaching second graders one summer while I was in college. If you've never watched or heard the song "The Bunny" from Rack, Shack & Benny with your kids, you are missing out on one of the greatest teaching tools ever for the story based on the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, in which three friends stand up to King Nebuchadnezzar, refusing to worship a false idol. Over the years I've watched VeggieTales become less biblically-based and more focused on generally good character traits to instill in children. I think there is definitely a place for both versions of VeggieTales and am grateful that there is such a wide spectrum of past and present titles for my kids to watch. I love the songs and recently added to our children's music collection with Bob & Larry's Toddler Songs and VeggieTales Worship Songs.

The latest release VeggieTales®: ‘Twas The Night Before Easter, from Big Idea Entertainment, is a parody in which Marlee Meade discovers the importance of helping other people while exploring the real meaning of Easter. ‘Twas The Night Before Easter features a new silly song “The Hooperena”, a backstage pass with Larry the Cucumber on the “VeggieTales Live!” tour, and a brand new character Cassie Cassava – played by Melinda Doolittle an American Idol top finalist. You can find more VeggieTales resources on Big Idea Entertainment's recently launched interactive website. The website has games, videos, activities, eCards, stories, and a daily message from the bible. You can make sure you have the latest VeggieTales info by following them on Facebook.

I'm glad I had a chance to watch this DVD with the boys as the Lenten season is starting. It gives them a context as to what Easter is about, since I know they are years away from being able to watch or appreciate the Passion story. “If you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile,” then this is a DVD that you will surely appreciate. We'll meet you in the produce aisle!

No compensation was received for this post. I received a copy of the DVD for review purposes.

Stars on Ice Review

2011-03-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Stewart and the boys had a great time at Stars on Ice. I was at the tail end of bar review so they took my mom for her first live skating show in 20 years. This is what they had to say:
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I’ve always enjoyed watching figure skating on TV. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics were of particular interest because of the tremendous success of Yuna Kim, a wonderful skater who first caught my eye in the 2009 World Championships. One of the things that always stuck out in my mind was how the TV commentators repeatedly gushed over her speed and power. And while I could certainly appreciate Yuna’s grace, I guess I never really was able to fully appreciate their comments about speed and power since it all kind of looked the same to me, no matter who the skater.

But when I was able to lay eyes on a live professional skating event for the first time, it truly was an eye opening experience. The spins were so much faster. The effort put forth in each jump was made so much more evident. And the pure joy and elation on each skater’s face were just abundantly clear for all to see. The Smucker's Stars on Ice was a revelation in how intense figure skating really is. It was mesmerizing.

But of course, while I could certainly understand such things as an adult, the true test of the event’s worthiness came in the form of my son H. Would such powerful moves on ice be as interesting to a four year old boy who can hardly sit still without an electronic gadget in his hands? The answer, much to my surprise, was a resounding “yes”. Far be it from the formal, classical music laden spectacles we see during the Olympics, the Stars on Ice show truly is just that – a crowd pleasing show filled with interesting props, pop music, and exciting back flips perfectly executed by an “A-list” group of skaters, all of whom are either Olympic or World medalists.

Watching the event made for a great fun-filled evening – one soon not forgotten. H is now clamoring to hit the ice rink. I hope my back side is ready for the beating it’s about to take from all the falls that are sure to come my way.

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Smucker's Stars on Ice is still touring the country and you have a few more days (until March 13) to enter the contest to be Evan Lysacek's VIP guest at a Stars on Ice event in the NYC area, which also includes dinner with Evan and a 3 day/2 night trip for two to NYC including airfare and hotel. Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive complimentary tickets for review purposes.

What The Boys Did While I Studied for the CBX

2011-03-02T00:04:00.000-08:00

As a SAHM I definitely did not have the financial means to hire someone to play with the kids while I studied for the California bar exam. So the boys watched a LOT of TV and played an extraordinary amount of games across all platforms. Netflix, Hulu Plus, iPad, PBS Kids, Nick Jr, Wii, Leapster, board games, books, paints, and puzzles were out in full force all day long while I tried to study and keep them occupied at the same time. I tried to keep things educational so that they wouldn't emerge from the process without having grown in some way.

One iPad app that I was very pleasantly surprised with is the new Juno's Piano app. I wasn't surprised because of the quality of the app--like everything from The Juno Company, it's a wonderful way to engage children to learn to play and appreciate classical music. Juno's Piano - Learn Songs, Play with Parents, and Free Play is an interactive and educational music app that allows kids to play music on a piano keyboard. There are three main options for gameplay. Learn a Song teaches kids to play three different songs on the piano, a few notes at a time, with a large amount of positive verbal feedback. Play Together allows parents and kids to interact with the app together. Free Play allows kids to play what they like on the piano, which on this screen is ten white keys and six black keys. Juno stands above the keyboard encouraging kids to keep going. An HD version is also available for the iPad.

My boys loved the previous Juno app, CD, and DVDs they've experienced, especially the Juno Baby Sing Along Edition. What I was surprised with is that the boys liked Juno's Piano enough to ask for it specifically a week after they first played it. It was very intuitive. I didn't have to explain to them how to play and they figured it out after a couple minutes. With everything else that was competing for their attention, they liked the piano teaching app enough to remember it and ask for it. So it goes to show, toddler boys can appreciate something other than racing video games and superhero paraphernalia.

Now that the exam study period is over (and no matter the results in May, I will never do this again), I'm weaning them off screen time. Yesterday we went to a farm, the recycling center (one of their favorite activities), the library and then to a park (all of this on our own and not part of any organized group). We're all exhausted, but I had promised them we would make up the fun times after I took the test. In the next few months before Baby #3 is born we're going to get in as much of California as we can. And when we need to be still and rest our bodies, Juno's Piano is definitely something I won't object to them enjoying. Today brings THREE Dr. Seuss birthday celebrations with preschool somewhere in the middle. Onward ho!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive a complimentary download of the app for review purposes.

My First Technorati Post!

2011-03-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

If you've been following any of the Silicon Valley Moms Blogs (I was a part of the LA Moms Blog), you know SV Moms was recently bought out by Technorati. Now that the bar exam is over, I've managed to get my first post up! Please check it out and leave me your comments. Thanks!

http://technorati.com/women/article/pregnant-mama-with-low-blood-sugar/

LOCAL GIVEAWAY: Smucker's Stars On Ice Friday Feb 18 at HP Pavilion

2011-02-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to #2 WINNER chosen by Random.org. Please get back to me within 24 hours with your mailing address. Thanks to everyone who participated!

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H&R love to watch skating, especially the jumps. They don't actually like to do it yet because they still fall down a lot when they try, but they appreciate how cool it looks when professionals do it. So we're all really excited to be going to watch the Smucker’s Stars on Ice 25th Anniversary Tour at the HP Pavillion next Friday night, February 18th at 7:30. The show, headlined by 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Evan Lysacek and Olympic Silver Medalist Sasha Cohen, promises to bring fans of all ages the ultimate live figure skating experience with a gathering of legends past, present, and future.

I'm so thrilled to be hosting my first giveaway of 2011 for a family 4-pack of tickets so a local Random Mommy reader can bring her family to the show next Friday! Even if you don't win, you can get a discount code for $10 off per ticket (minimum purchase of 4 tickets) from the Smuckers website by entering UPCs from your favorite Smuckers products. For those Random Mommy readers who aren't local to San Jose and can't enter this giveaway (I'm talking about you, my friend who was the star of her synchronized skating team), you can also win some great prizes from Smuckers skating promotions currently on their website:

Skating Party with Evan Lysacek and Sasha Cohen
Now through February 18, 2011, consumers can visit http://www.smuckers.com/ to enter for a chance to win a two-hour private skating party hosted by Evan Lysacek and Sasha Cohen. The grand prize winner will receive a skating party for up to 25 guests at an ice skating rink near the winner’s hometown, including one hour of skating and a one-hour autograph and photo session with the two stars.

Be Evan’s Guest
Additionally, from now through March 13, 2011, consumers can complete the online entry form at http://www.smuckers.com/ for a chance to be Evan Lysacek’s VIP guest at the Smucker’s Stars on Ice performance at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. on April 2, 2011. In addition to travel, accommodations and VIP tickets to the performance, the grand prize winner and a guest will also have dinner with the Olympic gold medalist and receive a backstage tour.

HOW TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite figure skater, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest (http://tinyurl.com/4th8wb3) and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 24 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for readers local to San Jose who can make the performance at the HP Pavilion on Friday February 18. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at Smucker's Stars on Ice for their generosity! Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received complimentary tickets to facilitate a future review.

DVD Review: THE GARFIELD SHOW All You Need is Love (And Pasta)

2011-01-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

If you're a regular Random Mommy reader you know that H is somewhat of a picky eater. He eats macaroni and cheese at least once a day and very seldom wants to try anything new. It was very interesting that after watching the recently released Vivendi Entertainment DVD The Garfield Show: All You Need is Love (And Pasta) that he was willing to try, you guessed it, LASAGNA. It was amazing because usually when he tastes meat in something he will immediately spit it out. But I think because H was so familiar with lasagna from watching Garfield eat it and love it, it made him more predisposed to giving it a fair shot. I've made lasagna three times in the past month and H has eaten it up every time. As to what H thinks of Garfield, you can see his reaction from his body language here:

I think this would be a great idea as a gift to a child for Valentine's Day rather than the inundation of sugar and empty calories that typically accompanies this day. H recently had to undergo several dental surgeries for 14 cavities (and of course oral sedation isn't covered by insurance) so he knows that candy and chocolate are off limits to him. So this Valentine's Day, he'll be watching The Garfield Show: All You Need is Love (And Pasta) to celebrate the day. The DVD is appropriate since it features six love-themed misadventures of Garfield, Odie, his owner Jon, and other characters from Garfield's neighborhood. Whether he's fostering orphan birds, enduring Jon's quest for the perfect family portrait or putting up a good front for Liz's parents, Garfield really does love his friends, maybe even more than lasagna. Just a warning though, after watching this DVD, you and/or your child may have a craving for Italian food that you just can't ignore!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive a copy of the DVD for review purposes.

Yes I'm Alive

2011-01-21T20:03:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting because I'm currently studying for a big exam at the end of next month. I'm supposed to study for eight hours a day, which is difficult to do when your kids are 2 and 4 and they are not in school full time. Recently I started taking R to a drop-off daycare run by the city. He's been wanting to go to school for a long time so I told him he could go if he could go to the bathroom by himself. Who knew that was a better motivator than M&Ms and Thomas toys! He loves being a big boy and going to school and I get to study for the two hours he's there. So any time I spend apart from taking care of them or studying, I feel guilty so hence no blogging. I disabled Facebook, I listen to lectures while washing dishes or folding laundry, and I've given up on cooking and cleaning.

H&R have been watching a lot of TV and playing a lot of video games. Little do they know that I am going to take our big screen TV over to my in-laws after the exam for an indefinite period. When your child cries and refuses to sleep because he wants to watch TV and even talks in his sleep about watching and wants to go home from the park in order to play video games, you know there is a serious problem. But we all have to do what we have to do to survive, right? I frequently think I'm the worst mom in the world but hopefully I will pass the exam and then get a job that will enable them to get what they want--going to school all day long.

Yes, there is also another reason why I haven't been blogging, but that's a post for another day. Hope your 2011 has started off well! Now back to studying.

Happy New Year's Eve!

2010-12-31T09:10:00.000-08:00

Looking back over this year, I would have to say that my proudest moment was crossing the finish line at the San Jose Half-Marathon. Not because I had run the thirteen miles in any spectacular fashion, but because I was officially part of Team Cure CMD's successful efforts to raise funds for research, final total $175,000+. If you've read my past blog posts about the race (here and here), you know that my friend's daughter Sophie is suffering from Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy, a diagnosis that only 500-1000 people have in North America. That means not enough people are suffering from the disease to attract the attention or research dollars of the big drug companies or big government, so parents and doctors have to do a lot on their own to raise awareness and funds. If there is one thing that my little blog has done this year, I hope that it has spread awareness about this rare condition. If you know someone who knows someone that might be able to help either through research grants or ability, I hope you will share this information with them. Also, if you know someone whose child has the same symptoms that Sophie had and doctors can't figure out what is wrong with the child, then you might want to share this with them as well. Sophie went over two years going from doctor to doctor without a diagnosis before her mom finally figured out she might have Ullrich CMD. While the diagnosis was devastating, at least they knew what they were fighting and what they needed to do to prolong her life. Recently NBC Bay Area did a feature on Sophie. Please check it out so the news station will continue to do pieces like this that focus on what people are doing as a community to come together and help one of their own.

I am so thankful to God that he has blessed me with two healthy boys, a supportive husband, a roof over my head and all other necessities of life. I am also thankful that he gave me the opportunity this year to look beyond myself and my family and be a part of something that could profoundly impact another person's life. I pray that there will be a cure found for Sophie and all the other children soon. Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve and a wonderful and prosperous New Year! Thanks for being part of my Random Mommy family. Peace.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

This is the first year that H&R are aware of Santa. It was great, I loved using the phrases, "Santa sees you," "Be good or you won't get anything from Santa," and "Don't you want Santa to bring you Mario Cart Wii?" I don't know why any parent would not use these motivators for good behavior. I am definitely going to keep it up as long as I can! H's big "gift" was Santa stopping by our old house in SoCal to pick up the Wii game system and the games that I had *forgotten* to pack when we moved. Maybe this can become an annual tradition, where the Wii mysterious disappears in September and Santa has to bring it back for Christmas. R was most happy with his Thomas cards, the pack of Uno cards Stewart picked up at the Mattel store when he still had his 50% discount. Nice. They also enjoyed their new Hexbug battle set that they got from Lily gomo. All in all a very happy Christmas morning. Thank you Aunt Sarah and Auntie Ann for sending presents from afar. Of course, they've completely forgotten about the reason for the day, that it's Jesus' birthday and the Savior of the World came to us today. Hopefully they can remember that as they get older. Merry Christmas everyone and very Happy New Year!

And for all my lawyer friends out there, check out this version of the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas on Professor Caron's blog. Enjoy!

GIVEAWAY & Review: Baby Einstein Wild Animal Safari Discovery Kit

2010-12-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

NEW WINNER! #1 DID NOT RESPOND SO THE NEW WINNER AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG IS #11. PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS! THANKS!
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CONGRATULATIONS TO ENTRY #1 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG. PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!
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My boys watch TV. When I was a first-time mom, I was really idealistic and decided that H would not watch much TV before he turned two, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This was easy for me since I went back to work and the job of occupying baby went to H's very capable Columbian manny. I think every working mom of a boy who can find a male nanny should definitely do it because males are just programmed differently. My husband can play cars and trains with the boys for longer than five minutes at a time. I just have zero interest. I mean, how many times can Thomas, James and Percy go around the same track and still be fun? So when I became a stay-at-home mom after the birth of my second son R, I quickly realized that TV was my friend. After playdates, the park, racing cars, and reading books, Mama needs a break!!!!!

Of course, the TV guilt can be greatly relieved if you find educational programs like Disney's Baby Einstein series. A few weeks ago Baby Einstein launched its Baby Einstein Discovery Kits, an innovative new interactive experience to help parents introduce babies to the beautiful music, nature and animals for which the company’s products are known. Each of the first six Discovery Kits features a DVD, a music CD and a picture book or Discovery Cards, each element complementing the others. The new kits give parents another way to interact with their babies by extending the moving picture and music experience of the DVDs to other areas of a baby’s day through the CDs and book or cards which feature the same music and images experienced in the DVD. They were created to grow with babies and are organized in a way that offers three distinct levels of discovery: Experience (Level 1), Explore (Level 2) and Expression (Level 3).

The boys, Stewart and I had the opportunity to review one of the Discovery Kits of Level 2: Explore. The Wild Animal Safari Discovery Kit includes a DVD, Discovery Cards, Music CD and Parents’ Guide. Parents can take their little explorer on an exotic musical expedition to meet wild animals from across the globe. Together, they’ll journey to the jungle, savanna, desert and forest on a wild, wonderful voyage of discovery with Wild Animal Safari. The boys had a great time identifying the scenes on the TV with the cards. R especially loved matching the card to what he saw on the screen. H has been learning about different habitats in school and he was very pleased with himself when he matched each animal with its habitat. I can definitely see myself using this Kit with any other baby that may join our family. When TV is interactive, fun and educational, it can enhance both the life of the baby and the caregiver.

Three additional Discovery Kits will be available in early 2011. The Baby Einstein Discovery Kits have a U.S. suggested retail price of $19.99 and a suggested retail price in Canada of $24.99 CAD. One Random Mommy reader will have the chance to share the Level 2 Wild Animal Safari Discovery Kit with his/her child through the generosity of my friends at Baby Einstein.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Monday, December 6, 2010 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite children's character (from TV or otherwise), and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like Baby Einstein on Facebook

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at Baby Einstein for their generosity! Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples to facilitate my review.

Ross Dress for Less Review and $50 GC GIVEAWAY

2010-11-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

CONGRATULATIONS #13 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG. PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS. Thanks to everyone who participated and I hope you will enter my current giveaway!

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Shopping online can be maddening sometimes. Yesterday I found the perfect gift for my mother-in-law but I missed the window to get $20 off $75 purchase by a few minutes. The promotion ended at midnight central time. Since the only time I have to shop online is after the boys go to sleep, that means I rarely make those deadlines. So I bailed on the gift in the hopes that the retailer will offer the deal again. I clicked on Cyber Monday deals for another retailer and that site had already reset to Tuesday. It's unfair that those who live in CST or EST get more time to shop than those of us on the West Coast (and yes, we have less to complain about than our friends in Hawaii). They get up at the same time so all things being equal they get better access to online deals. That is why I like to shop in actual stores. You don't have to worry about getting beat out by someone half-way across the country. I especially like to shop in stores where you know you're getting the most for your money. Ross Dress for Less is definitely one of those stores.

It's really quite ironic because even when I was one of those Easterners that had access to fabulous deals, whenever Stewart and I would come to the Bay Area to visit his parents for the holidays, I would always find my way to Ross. Shopping at Ross was one of the perks of visiting my in-laws. I still have the set of three springform cake pans that I got on one of those shopping trips. Yesterday, the boys and I had great fun going to Ross to pick up some holiday decorations. H wanted to hang stockings by the fireplace so that was first on the agenda. When I walked into the store, I was very impressed by the organization and the cleanliness of the store considering it was the holiday shopping season. All of the holiday decorations were in one area in the back of the store. We quickly found the stockings, which ranged from $5.99 to $8.99. The boys picked out the ones they liked. We looked at the other holiday gifts and decorations. They especially liked a certain pink starfish ornament, but I didn't think it would survive R's rough treatment this season (he's already broken three blown glass ornaments). There were also a ton of licensed toys of characters that H&R recognize from their television viewing on PBS and cable. Ross has a policy of not showing or discussing brand names so I can't reveal them here, but they are definitely on every kid's holiday wish list. Ross also had a great selection of children's books that I will keep in mind for the future.

For me, the quality of the merchandise together with the competitiveness of the prices for the decorations and seasonal gifts make Ross a better place for gifts than big box and department stores. If you're looking for stocking stuffers or office/hostess gifts, Ross has a variety of great gifts for $5, $10 and $20, including candles, gourmet food baskets, festive holiday serving dishes and more. The only drawback to my shopping experience was the long wait I had to check out. Granted it was a Monday morning, but there were only two cashiers open with 8-10 people waiting in each line. The amazing thing was that nobody left. I've seen people in other stores leave when wait times build up, but the value of the items they were purchasing must have convinced shoppers to stick with their purchases. Since inventory changes constantly, shoppers at Ross know that once they pass on a great deal, it will be snapped by another customer before their next visit to the store. Yesterday I went to different Ross location (find the closest one to you here) after I dropped H at school and found that store's inventory to be slightly different from the first store. So if you find something great, don't lose out! Random Mommy readers in the San Jose area will be happy to find out that there is a new location in downtown San Jose, in addition to the 46 other Ross stores in the Bay Area. Thanks to the generosity of my friends at Ross Dress for Less, one Random Mommy reader will have the opportunity to find some fantastic deals for him/herself with a $50 gift card. You can also enter to win a $500 gift card from Ross through their Facebook contest.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 5:01 PM (Pacific) until Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite holiday decoration, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest (http://tinyurl.com/33w8zsn) and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like Ross Dress for Less on Facebook

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at Ross Dress for Less for their generosity! Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received a gift card to facilitate my review.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T11:58:00.000-08:00

From the Random Mommy family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be filled with family, fun, and fiasco-free turkey. Gobble gobble!

RANDOM MOMMY HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2010

2010-11-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

It's finally here, the week that signals the beginning of the holiday season in our family. Growing up, we always put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving. It was a many hour process to drag the artificial tree out from the crawl space and then locate, untangle and put up all the lights, ornaments and garland. I'm not sure when it started in the U.S., but during high school sisters and I (and sometimes my father) started a new tradition of Black Friday shopping. I don't think the deals are as good as they were in those early days (I remember getting lots of things free with rebate), but we still go every year when we are together. Not so much for the deals but because we enjoy the ritual of the line waiting, the frenzy of the crowds, and the exhilaration of getting a gift for someone that you wouldn't normally have been able to afford.

This year, while I was thinking about my holiday gift guide, I realized that I didn't want to buy anything this year or advocate anyone else buying anything that didn't have the purpose of bettering the world or reducing clutter. This past year, through blogging and my own initiative I've been exposed to many different "green" products. Some of them are complete gimmicks (a "green" cellphone, really?) but others really have the ability to better our lives and the world. As for reducing clutter, after moving from LA to San Jose, I realized how much junk we had that we absolutely did not need. I've made it a point to get rid of goody bag plastic toys that really add no value to life (in fact they make life more difficult when kids leave them lying around and you wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and end up stepping on a small plastic arrow!). So without further ado, these are the items I've picked for my 2010 Holiday Gift Guide:

For Adults:

1) Fair Trade Coffee-It would probably come as a surprise to many people, but a lot of coffee plantations in West Africa and other parts of the world employ slave labor. Not just slave labor, but child slave labor. That's why it's so important to buy fair trade coffee (or at least try to get coffee sourced from South America or East Africa). My favorite is Green Mountain Fair Trade Spring Revival Blend (list price $8.49/10 oz bag). Unfortunately it's not available this time of year, so a good substitute is whole bean fair trade coffee (a few different varieties) at Fresh & Easy (locations in Southern California, AZ and NV), currently selling for $5.88/12 oz bag. This is an amazing price, less than what you would pay for "regular" beans at any supermarket! If you don't live near a Fresh & Easy, you can also find fair trade beans in the $7-10 range at your nearest Cost Plus World Market. Cost Plus World Market also has a free Explorer Club that gets you 10% off your first purchase and a free bag of coffee after every sixth bag of coffee you purchase. There are frequently deals that will make your coffee cost even less! Not only will buying fair trade coffee make you feel better about how you spend your money, it also tastes better. Giving this as a gift to someone will not only enrich their coffee drinking experience, but it's something that will better the lives of the farmers who grow it.

2) Simple Human Compost Pail-I had heard, read and seen on TV a lot about composting in the past few years but I had always thought it was a really difficult process that I didn't have time or the space to do. Part of that misconception was that I didn't really get to see it in action. After we recently moved to San Jose, I was able to observe how my mother-in-law composted all the food scraps off her table. After seeing how easy it was, I decided to give it a try when I was contacted by Simple Human to review its compost pail. I bought some biodegradable liners (optional) and started composting. Because of the Simple Human Compost Pail's integrated odorsorb™ charcoal filter, the food waste didn't smell because the filter absorbed the food odors. This was a big bonus because after we moved to San Jose, we had our own curbside garbage pick-up for the first time in our adult lives. Every other apartment and home we lived in had a garbage chute or a central garbage container so never had to worry about food waste smells in the garage. Composting definitely cuts down on that phenomenon! I also liked the large bamboo handle that makes it easy to carry out to the compost heap (which in my case is at my mother-in-law's house so having a pail with a sturdy handle that prevents spillage is absolutely essential). There's a wire ring that keeps bags neatly hidden, or you can use the compost without a bag and simply rinse out the wire ring. Lid hook allows you to hand the lid anywhere along the rim of the pail. The Simple Human Compost Pail retails for $59.99 online, but you can make that price better at Bed, Bath and Beyond locations in CT, NJ, NY, and PA by using one of the BBB 20% coupons that come in the mail. And if you register for the simplehuman email list now, you'll qualify to play their Black Friday/Cyber Monday game. Play the game and you'll receive a special gift with any purchase-up to a $200 value. Everyone is guaranteed to be a winner!

3) Green cleaning supplies-A few years ago, my friend's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had no family history and none of the other risk factors. One of the thoughts she had was that all the artificial chemicals her body came across may have contributed to the cancer. I thought about this and it made sense. Since then, I've made the change to all natural cleaning supplies. Out of the following two dish soaps, which once would you feel better about if your child decided to drink it?

Ingredient list for a leading dishwashing liquid: Water, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Pareth-23, C12-14-16 Dimethyl Amine Oxide, SD Alcohol 40-B, Undeceth-9, PPG-26, Sodium Chloride, Cyclohexanediamine, Polyacetate, Fragrance, FD&C Yellow #5, D&C Red No. 33
Ingredient list for Sun & Earth Ultra Dishwashing Liquid: Natural surfactants (made from coconut and vegetable oil), orange oil, aloe, preservative, water.

I think every parent would pick the second one. And I can tell you first hand, after H drank it, that it has no harmful effects! More on H's experiments below. So this Holiday Season, why not make a Green Clean gift basket for a friend, with a detailed explanation, otherwise she/he will think you are telling them to clean their home better. I did this for a friend's birthday (she recently had a scare with breast cancer), and she could tell it was because I was really concerned about her and her family's health. These products aren't much more expensive (and in most cases aren't any more expensive) than the leading non-green cleaning products, but people just think of them that way. If each of us helps another family get a little bit healthier by choosing these products, I think that really says a lot about how we care for each other as a community. It also prevents these chemicals from going down the drain and ending up in groundwater, making their ways into the cells of the plants and animals that we eat.

4) Sound of Music 45th Anniversary Blu-Ray/DVD-I'm not saying that the only things that we should buy are green or fair trade. I also think that things that cut down clutter are definitely things worth the investment. Because of this new Sound of Music Blu-ray release, I can get rid of my four previous versions of the film on DVD and VHS. Before you say, "how can it be better than all the anniversary editions that came before?" Well, the Blu-ray edition has incorporated technology that wasn't previously available so the picture quality is better than the last DVD release. Something along the lines of--you can see the blades of grass on the mountain where Maria sings the opener. Truly amazing!

Some of the bonus features of the Blu-ray include: All-New Interactive “Backlot Tour” with In-Depth Featurettes on the Songs, the Stage Show & Movie, the Film and Sound Restoration and the Real-Life von Trapp Family, Music Machine Sing Along, and Audio Commentaries with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and Director Robert Wise. If you know someone who is as much of a Sound of Music fan as I am, this would definitely make the perfect gift! The list price is $34.99, but it can be found online for as low as $19.99. You can also get a deluxe anniversary collection which includes, among other things, a hardcover book and handpainted music box for $59.99 directly from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

5) Earthbound Cook-This is my favorite cook book of the year. I've already given one as a birthday present to a friend because I love this book so much. I like it because the green tips the author Myra Goodman recommends are accessible. She recognizes that not everyone has the ability to go organic all the way and she gives tips on how you can do the most you can, like which fish you should buy farm-raised and which to buy wild-caught. I also think it's neat every time I go to Costco and buy some Earthbound Farms salad that I can make something from her book with that exact lettuce mix! This is definitely a gift that has the potential to change the recipient's life for the better forever. It has recipes from a wide array of ethnicities. I was happy to find that I had all the ingredients to make the tofu soup recipe. That rarely happens with cook books. Usually I'm missing one or more the ingredients and I lose momentum and never actually make it. This time, soup was on! I can't wait to try the stuffed cabbage recipe. For Thanksgiving, I'll be trying the squash and sweet potato recipe in place the candied yams we usually serve. Wish me luck!

For Babies and Kids:

1) Aden + Anais swaddling blanket-This is a blanket that a child can use from birth to when they leave for college and need to leave their blankie behind. I LOVE the softness and breathability of the muslin. For a summer baby, it's perfect because she can be swaddled but not suffer prickly heat. For a winter baby, it's definitely a necessity when you live in NYC apartments with no heat control and the inside temperature approaches 80 degrees or when your grandmother insists on bundling the baby in multiple layers. My boys got theirs when they were 2 and 4 and they loved them from first sight. They loved the designs and fought over who would get the car one. They use it in the car as a lap blanket and at home to pretend to be Jedi knights. The blanket is available at various price points. The four-pack my boys have is on the aden + anais website for $45. Considering most swaddling blankets are in the $10-$20 price range for one, I think this is a compelling value. But if you want just one, you can get a single blanket at 77Kids.com (American Eagle Outfitter's new kids line) for $15.

2) Sesame Street: Love the Earth-As part of my efforts to teach H&R about being responsible while we are on this planet, I've been showing them various DVDs that promote that message. They've probably watched over ten different DVDs with different children's characters advocating "green" behavior. I've decided this one is the best one out of the bunch because this is the one that actually propelled H to action. He told me to turn off the lights while I was washing dishes so I had to wash them in the dark. He told Stewart to stop leaving the lights on everywhere because we had to save electricity. When we got down to the last quarter of the bag of Cheerios, he said, "Now can we recycle the box?" But I was not prepared for his grand experiment, which was turning off the refrigerator because it is the appliance that uses the largest amount of electricity in the home. I wasn't watching every minute of the DVD so I don't know if it was Elmo or Papa Bear who told him to do it, but he turned off the refrigerator by turning the knob inside the fridge part to zero-off position. He did this at night before he went to sleep, and I didn't find out about it till the next morning when I went to put some frozen waffles into the toaster that were no longer frozen but limp. So, if you want to give a gift to a child that really gets across the message that the Earth is a precious resource and we need to conserve energy, this DVD would be a good fit for that purpose. The DVD list price is $14.98 but it is available now on Amazon.com for $11.99. Just make sure to tell the child not to turn off the refrigerator.

3) Episencial skin care products-H has had skin issues since he was a baby. He could not get a bath every day when he was an infant because that would dry out his skin too much. I tried every baby wash and lotion out there before I finally found the perfect product for his skin. Episencial is the first and only professional-quality, all natural skincare system created specifically for the unique developing skin type of babies and kids. Free from the bad stuff like parabens, phthalates and fragrances, Episencial products are loaded with all-natural ingredients and healthy organics. Plus, these gentle, newborn safe formulas feature an exclusive skin immune complex to boost the skin’s immune functions and help the body ward off illnesses. My boys really love the bottles too. They feature Eric Carle drawings that they recognize from his books! The packaging is made of recycled and sustainable materials, and manufactured using solar power so Episencial products are good for your babies, kids and the planet! I'm definitely putting together a gift basket of these products to give at the next baby shower. The products range from $8.99 (washes) to $14.99 (sunscreen), but you can get them for less if you buy multiples through online stores like drugstore.com or diapers.com. I was lucky to get them for 50% off when they were recently on HauteLook.

4) Hot Potatoes: Best of the Wiggles-Any DVD that can take the place of twelve others is definitely a "green" product in my book. H has been a Wiggles fanatic since he was 15 months old and I had him watch Wiggles marathons while I was unable to get out of bed due to morning sickness with R. He would watch for a long stretch, come back to my room to make sure I was still there and still alive, and then run back to the TV. So the Wiggles have a special place in the history of our family. Many of the DVDs have been watched so many times that they no longer work. When a kid handles DVDs, they are bound to get scratched. I tried to put them away on the highest shelves of the bookcase but this no longer worked when they figured out how to drag chairs from the dining room to get the DVDs down. I was really excited when this DVD came out this summer because it meant I could throw away all those scratched up DVDs and replace them with this one. With 35 songs and 40 minutes of bonus content, you can cook your entire Thanksgiving dinner without the kids coming out their TV trance. This is not a everyday DVD, unless you turn it off a third or half of the way in or so, but the fact it can keep a child's attention for the entire length of the DVD is definitely something worth having in your arsenal, especially should you be experiencing serious morning sickness. A friend of mine said she met another mom who doesn't let her child watch TV and thought, "You and I cannot be friends." I completely agree. TV has definitely saved my life on more than one occasion and the Wiggles have been a part of that, thanks to Jeff, Greg, Murray and Anthony (and Sam). The list price of this DVD is $14.98 but it is available for less online at various retailers.

5) HEXBUG-the only bug I will allow inside the house. I've trained my kids to be scared of bugs. I just don't want them to be picking them up and bringing them home because as I learned in my research on ants during our ant infestation problem, an ant you pick up from South America and drop into your home knows instinctively how to get back to the local ant colony and bring those ants back into your house. So no, I don't want them playing with any bugs of any kind. Of course they are boys so I feel bad that I'm depriving them of something boys love to do. I'm so glad that I was given the chance to review the HEXBUG Nano Starter Set because now that guilt is gone. I'm including this toy in my gift guide even though it has the potential of bringing in even more plastic into the house because I've discovered it doesn't require the elaborate sets that are available for purchase. I'm sure your kids have Legos or blocks of some kind. You can make your own HEXBUG habitat with those and just buy the bugs themselves. Anything that can integrate toys that are already present in the house is a great toy in my book. The boys love to make their own houses for their bug, which takes time in itself and then they love watching the bug crawl around in the habitat. Just so you know my kids aren't watching TV all day and night. You can find HEXBUG at Target, Toys R Us and Radio Shack and online on their website or on Amazon. The HEXBUG Nano by itself is available for approx. $8 and the sets go up from there.

6) Stocking Stuffers-some small items that are green/useful/socially responsible and can be used as hostess gifts, stocking stuffers or additions to care packages:

Qwik Shower Gym Class Wipes-portable single use disposable washcloths that can be used by teens to clean up after gym class or sports practice, moms to wipe up dirty sand feet and hands after the playground, and anyone else needing something to do a quick cleanup when a shower isn't readily available. I plan to stuff a few into my annual Christmas cookie exchange care package to a soldier in Afghanistan. They're available for as low as 49 cents each when ordered in bulk.
Fair Trade Chocolate Bars-similar to the coffee plantations, many cocoa farms in West Africa also employ child slave labor. The only way to guarantee you don't support that kind of chocolate production is to buy fair trade chocolate. All Belgian chocolate is sourced from slave-free sources. Don't think that fair trade necessarily has to be expensive. Trader Joe's Belgian Chocolate bars in milk, dark, and 72% dark are sold in three packs for $1.49. I've bought these as party favors and they are delicious!
Plants-instead of flowers for the hostess, how about a plant that will keep on giving? A basil plant or small rosemary bush will cost less than a bouquet and will last a lot longer.
Gift certificates in small denominations-something like the Target gift coins can be put into stockings with the directions that some should be donated to the charity of the child's choice. There is so much that can be taught to our children during the holiday season, even by making a single deposit into the Salvation Army bucket.

Hopefully you found this helpful and perhaps you will be able to find some of these items at great prices this Black Friday, Cyber Monday and throughout the Holiday shopping season. I'm really happy because my sister is coming up from Los Angeles to spend Thanksgiving (and go Black Friday shopping) with me. I will definitely be more thoughtful this year, getting only gifts that can be consumed or used up or will help in making the recipient's life healthier. Happy Thanksgiving!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive some product samples to facilitate my reviews.

Why Don't Koreans Use Their Dishwashers?

2010-11-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

Today’s post is part of the From Left to Write online book club. The idea of this book club is not to write a book review but to write a post in which the blogger connects that month’s book to an experience from his/her own life. The current book is The Earthbound Cook by Myra Goodman, co-founder of Earthbound Farms.

I don't know anyone born in Korea but now living in the U.S. that actually uses their dishwasher on a regular basis. Instead, they use them to store dishes. In some cases, they don't use them for any purpose and just leave them empty. Of course they don't want them to break down so they'll run them (with nothing inside) once a month. My non-Asian friends seem to think this is odd. This post is my exploration into the reasons why this phenomenon exists. (A friend says Vietnamese people in the States don't use their dishwashers either, but I'm not qualified to guess the reasons so if you know, please share.)

I think there are two main reasons why Koreans in Korea don't have dishwashers:

1. Space. Korea is a small country roughly the size of Portugal with a population of approx. 50 million people. 10 million or so live in the Seoul metropolitan area, with approx. 92% of the entire country's population living in urban areas (facts from Wikipedia). That means apartments are small and so are kitchens. There is just not enough cabinet space to store the number of dishes that would be required to allow the use of a dishwasher. Most people still do full Korean meals three times a day. If you look at the photo on the left, you can see that this requires many many dishes. A family would not have multiple sets of these dishes to use. I point this out because I learned from The Earthbound Cook that a full dishwasher takes less energy and water than hand washing dishes. But Koreans would not be able to wait for the dishwasher to be full. Even my Korean friend who lives in Manhattan Beach, CA doesn't have the space for the number of dishes this would require. She does the full Korean meal for her in-laws every meal, every day and she washes dishes after every meal. If she didn't, she wouldn't have all the clean dishes she needs for the next meal.

In addition to the lack of space to store extra dishes in a Korean kitchen, there is also lack of space to put a dishwasher. If faced with having a dishwasher or a clothes washer, I think it's a no brainer as to why one would pick a clothes washer. (I bring this up because I noticed my cousin and my grandmother in two different Korean cities each had clothes washers installed in or next to their kitchens but no dishwasher.)

2. Cost. Like I said above, a full dishwasher takes less energy and water than hand washing dishes. A non-Korean friend (married with two kids) told me that it takes her a day or two to fill up her dishwasher. In the case of Koreans doing full Korean meals, the necessity of having to use the same dishes for the next meal probably means that the dishwasher, if it is used, would run when it is not full thus negating the energy and water cost savings. Koreans, being cheap about these kinds of things, would definitely balk at having to pay for the extra cost. It seems like everyone in Korea has the current season Louis Vuitton purse or Burberry jacket, but no one wants to spend a dime more than they have to for things that people cannot see.

So anyone who is a first or second generation immigrant to the U.S. has no context as to how to incorporate the dishwasher into their existence. Growing up, my mother NEVER used the dishwasher. After I moved into my first apartment after graduation, I wasn't home enough to use enough dishes to use the dishwasher. In every place I lived, the dishwasher was always for storage. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I used the dishwasher in the seven apartments I lived in on the East Coast. Even after I had H, I didn't use the dishwasher since his manny washed all his dishes and bottles.

Then we moved to California. Being a stay-at-home mom meant that I had to wash a lot more dishes. Having two kids instead of just one also seemed to multiply the number of dishes and cups exponentially because for some reason, if one kid wanted a snack or drink, the other kid had to have it too even if you knew they didn't really need or want it. I would really have liked to use the dishwasher BUT...ants, ants, and more ants. I had no choice but to wash the dishes after every meal, even after we finally capitulated and got the exterminator to spray his noxious chemicals. I was paranoid that an unwashed dish would start the nightmare all over again.

Which brings me to Northern California and The Earthbound Cook. After reading that section on dishwashers, I decided to give it a try and actually used our dishwasher three days in a row. I had a one day relapse and then got back into the rhythm of putting dishes away. Once you start doing it, it becomes a habit!!! Hurray!!!! I've successfully overcome my Korean cultural indoctrination and am using my dishwasher to wash dishes instead of storage. It's amazing how a few sentences can make a change in a person's everyday life. Thank you Myra Goodman and the From Left to Write Book Club! Now I better go and start the dishwasher.

I received a free copy of The Earthbound Cook as part of the book club.

From Left to Write Book Club Meeting to Norah Jones CD Review

2010-11-14T20:57:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday was the first pot luck dinner of the From Left to Write Book Club. Those of us in the Bay Area got together at co-founder Linsey's house and brought dishes from Myra Goodman's new book, The Earthbound Cook, one of this month's book club selections. I really enjoy the book because it interweaves "green" tips for living with recipes and also gives shortcuts in case you can't source the fresh ingredients she recommends. I like that non-judgmental aspect--no finger pointed saying, "naughty, naughty, must always use organic."

It was the first time leaving the boys with a babysitter since moving to San Jose. I was a bit apprehensive (the one and only babysitter we had in LA had been completely overwhelmed by them and basically we paid her to watch them watch TV), but absolutely needed to go to the meeting. Before Wednesday's event, I could count on one hand the number of in person meaningful adult conversations I've had since moving. I was the first one there and one of the latter ones to leave. It was a wonderful night of meeting new women,eating delicious food, and just getting out of the mom mode for a few hours. You can see for yourself why the meal beat eating the boys' leftover pasta, and the photos I took don't even do justice to all the fabulous dishes that the other ladies brought. I made the gruyere frittata, which was so easy and so delicious.

That afternoon while I was prepping the frittata, the doorbell rang. I opened the door and found on my doorstep Norah Jones' new album, ...Featuring Norah Jones that I had signed up to review for the One2One Network in advance of its release this Tuesday, November 16. I was so excited! It was perfect timing, I would listen to the CD on the way back and forth from the book club meeting. I NEVER get to listen to my own music in the car so it felt that all the stars were aligning for that evening. The frittata was cooked, the babysitter came on time, and I had a new Norah Jones CD to listen to on the way to a night with great writers and foodies.

The album turned out to be exactly right for the drive to the book club meeting because of rush hour traffic. Since I was driving alone, I didn't have H in the back repeatedly saying, "Don't be Mad, Don't be Sad," which he breaks into whenever we get into a traffic situation on the freeway. Featuring is a star-studded collection of Norah Jones’ musical collaborations from the past decade. Her smooth melodious voice helped keep any road rage down to a simmer, even when people cut me off or the traffic came to an abrupt stop on 880 South. The 18 songs on the album include duets with such legends as Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton, and with 21st Century icons from OutKast to the Foo Fighters. The tracks on Featuring span Norah's entire career, from one of her earliest recording sessions (a version of Roxy Music's “More Than This” with guitarist Charlie Hunter in 2001) to her most recent performance she cut with Belle and Sebastian, which will also appear on their new album. This album really has something for everyone, from blues to jazz to hip-hop. My favorite was her duet with Willie Nelson, "Baby It's Cold Outside." It reminded me of the old musicals I love and filled me with the warm and fuzzy feeling reminiscent of those classic movies.

The music was still great, but I found Norah's soothing voice was not so perfect on the way home when I was struggling to stay awake after having eaten three plates of food and two bowls of soup. I'm looking forward to playing the CD again on my next outing without the boys. I have high hopes that that will be in the near future since Stewart came home to find the boys and the babysitter still playing, not watching TV!

The complete track list of Featuring:
1. Love Me – The Little Willies
2. Virginia Moon – The Foo Fighters featuring Norah Jones
3. Turn Them – Sean Bones featuring Norah Jones
4. Baby It’s Cold Outside – Willie Nelson featuring Norah Jones
5. Bull Rider – Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson
6. Ruler Of My Heart – Dirty Dozen Brass Band featuring Norah Jones
7. The Best Part – El Madmo
8. Take Off Your Cool – OutKast featuring Norah Jones
9. Life Is Better – Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones
10. Soon The New Day – Talib Kweli featuring Norah Jones
11. Little Lou, Prophet Jack, Ugly John – Belle & Sebastian featuring Norah Jones
12. Here We Go Again – Ray Charles featuring Norah Jones
13. Loretta – Norah Jones featuring Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
14. Dear John – Ryan Adams featuring Norah Jones
15. Creepin’ In – Norah Jones featuring Dolly Parton
16. Court & Spark – Herbie Hancock featuring Norah Jones
17. More Than This – Charlie Hunter featuring Norah Jones
18. Blue Bayou – Norah Jones featuring M. Ward

And for one last random soundbite--how cool is it that Norah Jones releases her albums on vinyl!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples to facilitate my reviews.

Halloween 2010 Recap

2010-11-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

Halloween started a bit later for us this year. Because of the move and the half-marathon, we missed the local mom's club party on the first weekend of October. We went to a Haunted House two weeks ago, but I didn't realize that I needed to take photos so I don't have any documentary evidence of H as superman. Our camera recently broke but I hadn't replaced it because I was planning to wait for Black Friday deals. As random strangers took photos of their kids and H at the Haunted House, I realized, "um, no, that was not going to work." I ordered a digital camera from Amazon.com that night.

Last Wednesday, I didn't know what to expect because H's school just told us that there would be a Halloween parade and party at the school that afternoon. I thought it would just be the kids parading past us in their costumes, but I should have known it would be more than that since H's school is one of those over-achiever preschools focused on academics, complete with its own art and music programs. (They learn about one new artist and composer a month, this past month they painted their own versions of the Mona Lisa.) Since we moved after the school year started, H ended up there because it was the only school with a good playground that had a spot open. We visited five preschools the day after we moved and the ones that didn't have a playground, I just kept on driving!

H and the other pre-K students performed seven songs for us as part of the Halloween parade. I was foiled in my attempt to get a good photo of H&R together by R refusing to wake up from his nap during the performances. He had no problem waking up when it was time to have cookies and ice cream at the party, though. I'm so glad H was able to celebrate Halloween at school. His previous preschool must be owned by Jehovah's Witnesses because they did not allow any celebrations at school. H's current school even had a carnival on Friday night, complete with its own Haunted House. I didn't take R through the Haunted House after having learned from his nonstop crying during the previous experience, even though it was the "Good Fairy" version of the tour. H went through three times, once by himself!

Friday night I was able to get a good photo of them together. Saturday they both decided to be Army guys, but R again slept through the event we went to that day so I don't have any proof that he was wearing a costume. By Sunday, R decided he had had enough of the cowboy costume and ripped it off. Instead, I made him wear a Superman t-shirt over his clothes at the church Harvest Festival. I did so fearing the wrath of my sister who is always watching my actions like a hawk to make sure I don't treat No. 2 Son like a second-class citizen. Sorry Sis, R is the one who refused to cooperate!

As for me, I am DONE! I will NEVER go to another Mall/Shopping Center/Store Halloween Event as long as I live! We tried to trick or treat indoors at Valley Fair in Santa Clara because of the weather. It was absolute chaos, so much so we will never go back to that shopping center on the weekend. There is a 1 1/2 mile line on the freeway just to get off that exit every weekend, which I have never seen anywhere else for a shopping center other than on Black Friday. After the Valley Fair fiasco, H&R went trick or treating with Grandma, which they really enjoyed. Stewart never went trick or treating with his mom, but it's interesting to see what Grandma will do for her grandsons. All in all, a very fun Halloween for the boys and one set of tired-out parents. I think the past two years fulfill my quota of Halloween events for a lifetime. Next year, I will try very hard to be out of the country.

On an unrelated note, you may have noticed the new Give Health water donation widget on my sidebar. Very easy to donate, just enter your email address and they will send you an email to confirm your donation. They don't sell or use your email address for anything else. Just another way I'm trying to do my part to make this world a little better every day. Thank You and Good Night!

The Hills Are Alive: The Sound of Music 45th Anniversary

2010-10-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

On the anniversary of my birth I thought I would write about the anniversary of something older than me and that also happens to be one of my favorite things. I first fell in love with The Sound of Music after my family immigrated to the US. I loved it so much that I bought the VHS tape with the spending money my grandfather gave me for Christmas one year, which was the first purchase I ever made with "my" money. I was so in love with Maria and the music of the film that I even sang "The Sound of Music" at my church's annual talent show.

My love affair with the film continued through the years. I took a year of German in college (painful 8:00 AM class) so I could pick Liesl as my German name. I begged my friend Gleester to name her daughter Liesl (it makes sense for her since her husband is German!), but she politely refused. I've been to the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont to go cross-country skiing and to eat an authentic Austrian meal. I reread Charmain Carr's memoir of The Sound of Music, Forever Liesl, every time I need something uplifting to feed my soul. When I come to the part where she recounts woman in Wales watched the movie 307 times in the first nine months of its release, I can understand why. The film makes you believe that there is good in this world, even in times of great evil.

I've tried to pass on my love for the film to the boys. H learned to sing with the song "Do-Re-Mi." The Sound of Music was the first non-animated movie that H sat through from start to finish. I wanted so much to go to the special Sing-A-Long Event showings of the film this month, but was unable to make it because of the boys. H would have been fine, but our last attempt to watch a movie in the theater resulted in R's intermittent crying for an hour and we finally bailed. With our recent move to San Jose, I haven't been able to build a list of reliable babysitters yet. I hope they will have a similar event for the 50th Anniversary. Perhaps by then, I'll have a girl in a white dress with a blue satin sash to take with me. Or I can borrow Gleester's daughter!

I've bought every special edition anniversary VHS, DVD, and CD as they've been released. Unfortunately we don't have a blu-ray machine, otherwise I would be buying the Sound Of Music 45th Anniversary Edition coming out for the first time on blu-ray next Tuesday, November 2 from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Instead I will be enjoying the 45th Anniversary Celebration in other ways:

Oprah Cast Reunion
For the first time in 45 years, the entire cast of The Sound of Music will gather for a once-in-a-lifetime reunion on the “Oprah” show stage tomorrow Friday, October 29, 2010. The show will also include a performance from the singing group The von Trapp Children, which features members of the real von Trapp family.

VH1 Holiday Gala
On Monday, November 8th, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation will honor, a living legend, JULIE ANDREWS along with previously announced Grammy® Award Winners John Legend, John Mayer and The ASCAP Foundation. The program for the evening will celebrate music as universal language that shapes our life stories and include a special tribute to the 45th Anniversary of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music.

Anniversary CD To mark the 45th Anniversary of the most popular movie musical of all time, Legacy Recordings, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are proud to announce the release THE SOUND OF MUSIC: 45th ANNIVERSARY EDITION. The CD will include the soundtrack from the much-loved film, plus a vibrant new recording of the film’s signature tune, “My Favorite Things,” sung by Lea Michele from the popular FOX-TV series GLEE. (Two of my favorites on one CD, bonus!)

I did not receive any compensation for this post. I'm sharing this information because of how much I LOVE this movie. I recently met a teenage girl who had never watched it. I was incredulous! Her first comment was, "oh, she's Mary Poppins." I hope by sharing this information, I will never meet another person who hasn't watched The Sound of Music. The Hills Are Alive!!!!

Cats, Dogs, and GARFIELD DVD Review

2010-10-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, my parents never let us have a pet. First of all they had to worry about making enough money to feed us and second, my mom had been bitten by a dog as a child so was deathly afraid of them. When my parents finally advanced themselves financially enough, my mother found out she was allergic to animal fur when she tried to buy a mink coat. She actually did buy it, but then had to return it when her neck broke out in hives and she had trouble breathing. My father is a Buddhist and unable to kill any living creature. My mom has to kill all the spiders and bugs that come into the house. There is no way that my father would be able to handle having to euthanize a sick old dog or cat, so to avoid the situation he can never have a pet. So for all these various reasons, I grew up without a great love for dogs or cats or birds or any creature that could be a pet.

When I went to college, I trained myself to like dogs. One of my best friends had an illegal dog in her dorm room and there was no way I could go over there if I didn't like dogs. After college, the few encounters I had with cats (a roommate's cats came to live with us for a few weeks and I cat-sat for a friend during law school) left me with the distinct impression that cats are not friendly and want only to scratch my eyes out. And of course it didn't help that, in the first house we bought, there was a corner of the hardwood floor that was completely disintegrated because it had been the previous owner's cats' favorite place to relieve themselves. For some reason, dogs seemed friendlier. H&R have always had a great affinity for dogs. H would go up to the biggest dogs in Manhattan and put his hand in their mouth. The only stuffed animal he ever picked out in a toy store to buy was a Gund puppy. R's nickname is R-Dog, so we've conditioned him to love dogs.

Where am I going with this? We've just moved into a townhouse complex in the San Jose area. Our next door neighbor has five adult CATS, one of which recently had a litter of kittens. (Yes, she's older than me and unmarried. I can only imagine how many cats are actually living inside her home.) She also feeds a stray cat that comes by every day. I did not have a good feeling about this. I thought for sure H&R would say things like, "I'm scared of cats. I don't like cats. I only like dogs." I thought they would run away from the cats. But no, they LIKE the cats. They always look for them and want to see them sitting on the eaves of the roof next door. They want to pet the cats and feed the cats. I think they would even play with the cats if the cats ever allowed H&R to catch them. Instead of saying, "woof, woof," now R says, "meow, meow." I can only think of one reason why they are suddenly displaying such affection towards cats: GARFIELD!

When we moved to San Jose, we were in corporate housing for a month. The apartment was furnished and came with cable. The only kids show that they could watch after dinner was back to back episodes of Garfield on the Cartoon Network. At first they were scared of it--after all they had never had any positive experiences with cats. Then they tolerated it. Then they started to like it. I think the show helped them incorporate cats into their everyday consciousness. So when the boys and I were given the opportunity to review the new Garfield DVD, I had to say yes.

Jim Davis’ classic cartoon cat is back in action (or is it inaction?) in “The Garfield Show: Odie Oh!”, which pounced on DVD October 5 from Vivendi Entertainment. Named one of the best new kids’ shows by People magazine and voted favorite comic strip by Nickelodeon magazine readers, “The Garfield Show” offers a fresh and funny look at Garfield’s day-to-day life, blending the modern look of CG animation and the familiar humor of Garfield, Odie the dog and Jon Arbuckle. Currently airing on the Cartoon Network, the vivid series follows the lasagna-loving, Monday-hating fat cat as he gets in and out of sticky situations, learning important lessons along the way.

“The Garfield Show: Odie Oh!” DVD contains six episodes. Parents might want to preview the episodes before showing it to children who are sensitive viewers because a couple of the episodes could be a bit scary for the littlest viewers (R kept saying he was scared but at the same time he wouldn't stop watching). In "Pup in the Pound," Garfield finds trouble after accidentally getting Odie sent to the pound and learns what friendship. "Odie in Love" is an endearing episode in which Odie falls in love with a very unusual object. "From the Oven" and "Neighbor Nathan" are perfect for some Halloween-scary, innocent fun. "Up a Tree" teaches some good lessons about the dangers of negative stereotyping, and "Flying Dog" shows the importance of having dreams. H's favorite was "From the Oven" because he loves baking cakes! For me, one of the great aspects of the show is that it is not a closed universe. New characters can appear in each episode, which makes it seem more like real life.

I'm glad Garfield was able to change my boys' attitudes towards cats. Without that change I think living here would be pretty difficult because cats are everywhere. They even come into our garage and stare at us if our door is open. The Cat Lady Next Door already offered us a kitten, which I politely declined citing my mom's allergies. I really hope she finds homes for them instead of keeping them herself. For now, I'll stick to watching a pretend cat that I can turn on and off and not have to worry about feeding. MEOW!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received a product sample for review purposes. Cat photo obtained from Flickr, taken by Luis Miguel Bugallo Sanchez from Santiago de Compostela, Galicia.