Today I discuss my recent fitness club fiasco on the LA Moms Blog.
http://www.lamomsblog.com/2010/03/stay-at-home-moms-unite.html
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
All in a Day's Work: Top 100 Baby Purees, an SV Moms Book Club post
Last week, my friend Heather came over with her almost three year old boy and eight month old baby girl. She came over earlier than she had originally planned because I had called her at 11 begging her to come by 11:50 so she could watch the kids while I went to pick up my three year old H from preschool. Another friend C had dropped off her two daughters with me earlier that morning so she could go to the dentist for an emergency root canal. Heather came, and, as I drove as quickly as I (legally) could to get H from school, the thought, "it takes a village..." crossed my mind. I picked up H and then it was back home where the mom/child ratio was now 2/6 (so yes, while I went to get H, Heather was watching 5 kids by herself).
I had no time or energy to be creative, with the kids demanding lunch, so I went to my go-to kid friendly meal of chicken nuggets (all white meat and
whole grain breading, so hopefully not bad for them) and ABC tater tots (at least they're educational!). Five out of six were set. But in the rush to help me out, Heather had forgotten to bring her baby's jar of organic baby food. I tried to remember whether I had any of R's old baby food still in the pantry. We were thinking maybe one of us would have to rush out and get a jar or Baby V would have to get extra breast milk to get her through the day. Then it hit me--I had received Annabel Karmel's book, Top 100 Baby Purees, just a few days before as part of the Silicon Valley Moms Group book club. We could MAKE our own baby food!
I took the book off the shelf and turned to the first page. Carrots. Perfect! I had that in the fridge. Sad to say I had never steamed carrots for my own sons (I hadn't
even owned a steamer basket back then), but it was either this or little Baby V would go hungry. When the carrots were done, I put them in the blender with a little rice and tofu (Baby V is Korean, after all). The first attempt came out lumpy and Heather suggested I follow the recipe's direction to add water to the puree. I think that's why my past attempts to make baby food for my sons failed miserably. I never added water! As Baby V ate the puree, I kept thinking how funny it was that I've been conditioned to think babies eat food out of a jar. I remembered taking six jars of baby food with me on a two-week trip to Korea when H was a year old. I think he ate half of one and we threw the rest out. I thought it was even funnier that I was so proud of myself for making the baby food. Really, it was the crowning achievement of the morning, two women taking care of six kids AND making baby food.
C came by shortly afterwards to pick up her daughters and then we were down to a more manageable number of kids, four. The afternoon was filled with screaming as we attempted to take our first dips in the pool this
year (still too cold!) and mad frantic cleaning for the Bunco game that was to be held at my house that night. Some people think that stay-at-home moms have long stretches of time when they do nothing but eat bonbons. Anyone who has spent even one day taking care of a child and home knows that is impossible. There is always something going on, and many times something unexpected happens to add onto your already full day. This particular typically crazy day was made brighter by the sight of Baby V eating my first carrot puree. Thank you Annabel Karmel!
This post was written in honor of this month's Silicon Valley Mom's Group Book Club selections: Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Baby Purees and Top 100 Finger Foods. I was sent these books from the publisher for review purposes.
I had no time or energy to be creative, with the kids demanding lunch, so I went to my go-to kid friendly meal of chicken nuggets (all white meat and
whole grain breading, so hopefully not bad for them) and ABC tater tots (at least they're educational!). Five out of six were set. But in the rush to help me out, Heather had forgotten to bring her baby's jar of organic baby food. I tried to remember whether I had any of R's old baby food still in the pantry. We were thinking maybe one of us would have to rush out and get a jar or Baby V would have to get extra breast milk to get her through the day. Then it hit me--I had received Annabel Karmel's book, Top 100 Baby Purees, just a few days before as part of the Silicon Valley Moms Group book club. We could MAKE our own baby food!I took the book off the shelf and turned to the first page. Carrots. Perfect! I had that in the fridge. Sad to say I had never steamed carrots for my own sons (I hadn't
even owned a steamer basket back then), but it was either this or little Baby V would go hungry. When the carrots were done, I put them in the blender with a little rice and tofu (Baby V is Korean, after all). The first attempt came out lumpy and Heather suggested I follow the recipe's direction to add water to the puree. I think that's why my past attempts to make baby food for my sons failed miserably. I never added water! As Baby V ate the puree, I kept thinking how funny it was that I've been conditioned to think babies eat food out of a jar. I remembered taking six jars of baby food with me on a two-week trip to Korea when H was a year old. I think he ate half of one and we threw the rest out. I thought it was even funnier that I was so proud of myself for making the baby food. Really, it was the crowning achievement of the morning, two women taking care of six kids AND making baby food.C came by shortly afterwards to pick up her daughters and then we were down to a more manageable number of kids, four. The afternoon was filled with screaming as we attempted to take our first dips in the pool this
year (still too cold!) and mad frantic cleaning for the Bunco game that was to be held at my house that night. Some people think that stay-at-home moms have long stretches of time when they do nothing but eat bonbons. Anyone who has spent even one day taking care of a child and home knows that is impossible. There is always something going on, and many times something unexpected happens to add onto your already full day. This particular typically crazy day was made brighter by the sight of Baby V eating my first carrot puree. Thank you Annabel Karmel!This post was written in honor of this month's Silicon Valley Mom's Group Book Club selections: Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Baby Purees and Top 100 Finger Foods. I was sent these books from the publisher for review purposes.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel DVD Giveaway-DEADLINE EXTENDED
WINNERS generated by RANDOM.ORG: 18, 9, 12, 20, and 13. You will be receiving emails from me and have 72 hours to respond with your mailing addresses. Thanks!
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When H was just over 2 and R was a newborn, I took them to a mom's morning movie event. This was a miserable experience with H running out of the theatre at least six times. It was a lesson that H was not ready to watch a movie in the theatre. The second theatre attempt was last summer when the three of us went to a free screening as part of Regal's summer kids movie program. This ended in H running amok and then lying down in the front of the theatre for the entire second half of the movie. We were there with a group, which is the only reason I didn't go home. Once again, I learned H was not ready for a movie theatre experience. Fast forward to February 1, 2010. H was invited to a movie playdate with his friend G and G's mom. I was a bit apprehensive but I wanted to give H the chance to prove he could do it. We went to the theatre, bought one ticket to Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, and I handed H off to G's mom. I was on pins and needles during the entire playdate, waiting for the call from G's mom reporting H was nuts and needed to be picked up. The phone never rang! H successfully watched a movie at the theatre! Thank you G and G's mom! So I count The Squeakquel as H's first movie.
I was so excited when the generous people at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment contacted me with the opportunity to share H's first movie experience with five Random Mommy readers. Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel will come out on DVD and Blu-ray on March 30. I will do a full review when it comes out since I didn't get to see it with H, but here is a synopsis of the movie.
Product Description
Chipmunk singing sensations Alvin, Simon and Theodore are back for an encore in this hilarious “squeakquel” packed with more action and more nutty fun for the whole family! When a concert mishap lands Dave in the hospital, the Chipmunks take a break from superstardom and enroll in school to fit in with kids their age. But they soon face some stiff competition when they meet the Chipettes — a beautiful, talented trio of chipmunks discovered by Ian, the boys’ evil ex-manager!
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When H was just over 2 and R was a newborn, I took them to a mom's morning movie event. This was a miserable experience with H running out of the theatre at least six times. It was a lesson that H was not ready to watch a movie in the theatre. The second theatre attempt was last summer when the three of us went to a free screening as part of Regal's summer kids movie program. This ended in H running amok and then lying down in the front of the theatre for the entire second half of the movie. We were there with a group, which is the only reason I didn't go home. Once again, I learned H was not ready for a movie theatre experience. Fast forward to February 1, 2010. H was invited to a movie playdate with his friend G and G's mom. I was a bit apprehensive but I wanted to give H the chance to prove he could do it. We went to the theatre, bought one ticket to Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, and I handed H off to G's mom. I was on pins and needles during the entire playdate, waiting for the call from G's mom reporting H was nuts and needed to be picked up. The phone never rang! H successfully watched a movie at the theatre! Thank you G and G's mom! So I count The Squeakquel as H's first movie.I was so excited when the generous people at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment contacted me with the opportunity to share H's first movie experience with five Random Mommy readers. Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel will come out on DVD and Blu-ray on March 30. I will do a full review when it comes out since I didn't get to see it with H, but here is a synopsis of the movie.
Product Description
Chipmunk singing sensations Alvin, Simon and Theodore are back for an encore in this hilarious “squeakquel” packed with more action and more nutty fun for the whole family! When a concert mishap lands Dave in the hospital, the Chipmunks take a break from superstardom and enroll in school to fit in with kids their age. But they soon face some stiff competition when they meet the Chipettes — a beautiful, talented trio of chipmunks discovered by Ian, the boys’ evil ex-manager!
From director Betty Thomas (Dr. Dolittle), the heartwarming film stars Golden GlobeTM nominee* Jason Lee (“My Name Is Earl”), Emmy AwardTM winner** David Cross (“Arrested Development”) and Zachary Levi (“Chuck”), and features vocal talent from franchise veterans Justin Long (He’s Just Not That Into You), Matthew Gray Gubler (500 Days of Summer) and actor-pop heartthrob Jesse McCartney (Alvin and the Chipmunks). Newcomers Christina Applegate (“Samantha Who”), Anna Faris (The House Bunny) and Amy Poehler (“Saturday Night Live”) lend their voices to the musically talented Chipettes as Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor, respectively.
The Squeak-Along bonus content includes new sing-alongs such as Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” teaches audiences how to dance like the Chipmunks with the “Shake Your Groove Thing” dance instructional video, games and more nutty fun for the whole family!
HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:Contest period runs from Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 9:00 PM (Pacific) until Friday, March 26, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the title of your or your child's first movie in a theatre, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, make sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address. If you don't leave a comment that includes a movie title and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. One entry per person. 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 five winners. Winners will be contacted by e-mail. Winners have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winners do not respond within 72 hours, the tickets will go to the next place winner(s) as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for their sponsorship and generosity.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Water Water Everywhere and...no, that's WAT-AAH!
My boys do not like to drink plain water, unless I deliberately make them very thirsty and give them no alternative. Cruel, I know, but sometimes that's what a mama's got to do. So when I heard about a new functional water that was designed by kids and moms to be appealing to kids, I knew I had to give it a try. New York-based (another reason for me to give this company some love) Let There Be Water, LLC, sent me some samples of WAT-AAH! in advance of their West Coast launch. I was happy to pass along the information to my friends and contacts at schools in the LA area because I feel that there is a real need for more water choices in schools. I learned from the company's press release that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, 15% of children and teens are overweight (almost 9 million), and another 19% are considered at risk for becoming overweight-triple the statistic rates documented in the 1980s. A study by Harvard School of Public Health and Children's Hospital of Boston on the impact of sugar-enhanced drinks revealed that a young person has 1.6x more likelihood to become obese for EACH additional can or glass of sugar-sweetened drinks consumed above the daily average. I can only imagine what it's done to the average number of cavities in children.When I was in high school, after cross country practice I would get a sugary drink from the vending machine. I didn't make the connection at the time but that's probably why I crashed so severely by the time I got home. No one really told us to drink water; t
hat sugary drinks would deplete our energy right when we needed it the most, when we got home and tried to do our homework. I definitely think if there had been a product like WAT-AAH! back then--that equated water to cool--there would have been more of a chance that I pick that over the kiwi strawberry can of sugar.I tried the different kinds of WAT-AAH! and it has a very clean taste. I love the fact that three of the waters have added calcium and electrolytes and other minerals that our bodies need. I know I don't get enough calcium and drinking water with calcium is definitely more appealing to me than taking those big white calcium pills. Try it out for yourself. The West Coast launch is on April 1 and the product will be available at Whole Foods and other natural food stores. For more information, you can go to the WAT-AAH! website, follow on Twitter, become a Facebook Fan, and check out their latest website, Blame it on the SUG-AAH!
I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples that facilitated my review.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Real Furniture
Last week Stewart and I purchased our first piece of real furniture since we've been married. Other than our couch, it's the most expensive piece of furniture we own and it's not even that expensive (considering how much furniture can cost). When we moved into the house, it was always our intention to buy a dining room table. The one we had in New York we gave away to H's manny. We were going to take our time to find the perfect table because the previous owner of the house had left a very basic wooden table that fit the four of us. After H suffered a concussion and R got a bloody lip from falling from the Ikea chairs we had bought to go with the table, we knew time was up and we had to get a real table and chairs ASAP.
So we went to Linders and got the heaviest table we could find that had the parameters I wanted. I'm happy to say we did get the bench I wanted. I can't explain exactly why but I prefer benches and stools to chairs. I never use the back of a chair and I think sitting on a bench or stool forces you to have good posture. Not long ago I was given the chance to review counter stools from CSNStores, this one in particular. I would have loved to have it for our kitchen island, but had to turn it down because there was no way I could see H and R surviving that in the house. The bench is longer and heavier so I don't think they will be able to tip it over. Luckily, CSNStores graciously allowed me to pick another product from their myriad of web stores (basically they sell everything you could have in your house other than food and sundries) and you will see a review of that product in the near future.
As you can see from my photo, I haven't yet figured out how to take the plastic off the chairs. I tried on one and now there are bits of plastic sticking out all over the bottom of the seat. I'm hoping one of the ladies coming over tomorrow night for Bunco will know how to do it. I also have a vinyl tablecloth over the table because the first thing R did when it arrived was take a big crayon and make a mark on it. Good thing we got the five-year service plan. I NEVER buy service plans but they said if it got a scratch or the stitching fell apart on the seat or anything, they would come and repair or replace it. Usually the store profits hugely on this kind of plan because it goes unused, but believe me, with two toddler boys, I think I will be the winner. I plan to take off the vinyl tablecloth off tomorrow night. My friends can use the cloth one that's underneath.
I received no compensation for this post. I will receive an item to review for CSNStores in the future, which I will fully declare in order to be compliant with new FCC regulations.
So we went to Linders and got the heaviest table we could find that had the parameters I wanted. I'm happy to say we did get the bench I wanted. I can't explain exactly why but I prefer benches and stools to chairs. I never use the back of a chair and I think sitting on a bench or stool forces you to have good posture. Not long ago I was given the chance to review counter stools from CSNStores, this one in particular. I would have loved to have it for our kitchen island, but had to turn it down because there was no way I could see H and R surviving that in the house. The bench is longer and heavier so I don't think they will be able to tip it over. Luckily, CSNStores graciously allowed me to pick another product from their myriad of web stores (basically they sell everything you could have in your house other than food and sundries) and you will see a review of that product in the near future.
As you can see from my photo, I haven't yet figured out how to take the plastic off the chairs. I tried on one and now there are bits of plastic sticking out all over the bottom of the seat. I'm hoping one of the ladies coming over tomorrow night for Bunco will know how to do it. I also have a vinyl tablecloth over the table because the first thing R did when it arrived was take a big crayon and make a mark on it. Good thing we got the five-year service plan. I NEVER buy service plans but they said if it got a scratch or the stitching fell apart on the seat or anything, they would come and repair or replace it. Usually the store profits hugely on this kind of plan because it goes unused, but believe me, with two toddler boys, I think I will be the winner. I plan to take off the vinyl tablecloth off tomorrow night. My friends can use the cloth one that's underneath.I received no compensation for this post. I will receive an item to review for CSNStores in the future, which I will fully declare in order to be compliant with new FCC regulations.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
LA Moms Blog-Human Trafficking
Today I'm on the LA Moms Blog with a post on human trafficking.
http://www.lamomsblog.com/2010/03/human-trafficking.html#more
http://www.lamomsblog.com/2010/03/human-trafficking.html#more
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Dunkin Donuts-When Will You Come to SOCAL?
I actually looked up the franchise requirements. You need $200K in liquid assets and $1 million total net worth in order to apply. Who's in? And no, I don't get any compensation for putting Dunkin Donuts widgets on my blog, but I'm thinking maybe if they see enough of these in California, they might open one here. Here's to hoping!
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