My new bloggin' rules

I have been really thinking about my Pink Haired Momma blog and what direction I would like to see this blog go in. I am a mommy blogger along with all the other thousands of mommy bloggers. I did not set out to make money or to receive incentive items to write about when this blog began. I simply wanted to share with whoever wanted to listen my thoughts on my life as it unfolded. I briefly got caught up in the hustle and bustle of blogging and thought about taking it to another level and allowing it to become a career. Very quickly I found that this is not for me.

I do not like crowds, and I quickly found that the mommy blogger for profit area was just full of crowded women pushing each other around trying to get to the front of the line. That ain't for me. Seriously it can get quite catty. I fully expect to see Desperate Housewives of America: the Bloggin Momma's series to erupt on the tube soon.

I do not like censoring what I have to say in order to keep sponsors comfortable with allowing me to review their products. I do not like having to set deadlines on my life, just so I can get a blog post out about this or that. The race to be the best mommy with the best blog and the coolest blog posts ruins the heart of a blog, and I am not willing to do that to Pink Haired Momma. That is not who I am.

Pink Haired Momma chronicles the thoughts I have and the fun adventures I encounter in my every day life as a wife, mother, woman, and Pink Haired fluffy chick. I don't have a rhyme or reason to what the posts my bring. I simply will write what I am feeling, seeing, doing, thinking. When you visit Pink Haired Momma you will likely find an assortment of information that calls out to the side of motherhood everyone understands. LIFE. Some days it is good, some days it is bad. Some times LIFE allows you to spend a good amount of time in the kitchen testing out new recipes, and during these times I share my recipes with you; but then sometimes LIFE only allows you to shove that 3 day old burrito from taco bell down your throat as you run out the door and later realizing in your haste you forgot underwear. Some days might find you having time to write an elaborate tale about a trip to the cool park down the street and the local bar your hubbs sings at or the awesome library reading last Tuesday; while other days the laptop not only doesn't get opened but you have no idea where it is. Hmmm? Did it get stuck in the fridge? with the key no less?

But that is the joy of motherhood, the joy of LIFE, the joy of living. I want Pink Haired Momma to share with the world the ins and outs of motherhood, from my eyes and heart. The boring, the funny, the passionate, the anguish, the laughter and the tears. I want Pink Haired Momma to provide an outlet for anyone to laugh, to learn and to enjoy. I will still be providing reviews and giveaways and I am very open to sponsors and their contributions to this effort; however I will also be providing an honest review about products and services and places that I encounter in my world just because I do. I want everyone to know and understand that I am an honest person and thus so are my blog posts and my reviews. That's just me. And that is my promise to my readers. To provide my honest opinion. I will never write up a review about anything unless I have personally used it or been to it.

Pink Haired Momma is my thoughts. My special place to share my honest opinions. My link to my wonderful cyber friends. My passions. My words. But most important Pink Haired Momma is simply ME. If you do not like it or if you find me offensive the honey I am just click away from being off your screen, move on!

Pampers Gifts to Grow

Do you use Pampers? Did you know about this Pampers Gifts to Grow program they have going? Well is sure didn't until about 6 weeks ago. Where the heck have I been???

Inside pampers products, like diapers packages and wipe boxes, (UGH I can not even imagine how many of these I have non chalantly tossed in the trash), there is a little 15 digit number that you can collect and then enter into the Pampers to Grow website. After you accumulate several of these fabulous little digits, you will find your points are racing up in number. You then scoot on over to the Gift to Grow rewards store and POOF you get free stuff.

Seriously?!? You know how I love free stuff and cheap deals, so when I learned of this (late in the game I know, BAD MOMMA) I simply had to give it a try. 6 weeks later and I am hooked. Don't think you wont see me stalking the trash cans down the street hunting for unsuspecting parents who did not cash in their own Pampers 15 digit codes! Okay so maybe not really, but it is something I already must buy so why not spend a few minutes and get some free goodies out of it!

Don't live in the dark like me! Go check it out! Pampers Gifts to Grow

Time out for Mom

Time out for Theta Mom Thursday is upon us! Hallelujah! If you are familiar with what is going on then you better share your time out moment pronto!! If you are not familiar with what is going on then i suggest you hurry your little tush on over to theta moms and get in on the madness. The madness of moms having 1 hour of alone time a month! Oh my gosh! *Gasp* Moms need down time too!

This month, despite Baby DIVA having Fevers , Hand, Foot and Mouth and a cranky attitude, I was able to slip out and have a Moms Night Out with my fabulous friends from HAM . We attended an Adults only session of pottery making at Ceramics by Tess, and it was a divine night out! Full of fun, laughter and NO KIDS!!!

I also have put into practice taking 20- 30 minutes to myself 4 days a week. This time is usually found while Baby DIVA naps, however it is still "alone" time. I utilize this time to improve my physical and mental body. I participate in yoga, belly dancing, stretching, and/or reading my my current book for a full 1/2 hour. The reality that my body is not a perfectly limber piece of elastic that can bend and mold and twist exactly like it could when I was 20 is not my favorite part of the day. Attempting a yoga pose and finding a post baby boob or belly roll in the way that inhibits full movement is always good for a heavy laugh though, and helps me stay motivated.

This "time out" is not only a gift to myself but a gift to Baby DIVA. By forcing myself to implement and exercise regimen for the mind and body, I am setting the stage for Baby DIVA to experience, learn and develop her own standards and goals in the fitness of the mind and body from early on. I am contributing to her well being by aiming to make my person healthier, and that my friends is the greatest motivation ever.

So that is it! My Theta Mom time outs for the month of April. Simple. Fun. Energizing. Wonderful. I couldn't ask for anything more than time with friends and family!

Memories of France: Hell Hole High

7 years ago, I participated in a summer study abroad program in Lyon, France. This happened during my fabulous college days at the University of Saint Thomas. I was the ripe age of 24, thought I knew EVERYTHING, of course, because well I did. This trip was a huge undertaking for me, my family, and all those around me. You see I was only 2 years out from being hospital bound from my illness, I still was receiving IV treatments on a regular basis, and every day was a chance I took, a risk of possibly not making a full 24 hours without a relapse. But I knew EVERYTHING, and knew I would be just fine, despite the mini heart attacks I gave my parents and doctors while planning this adventure to leave off on my own and go live in France for the summer. I was DONE letting that stupid disease run my life, and so I jumped in the drivers seat and took off.

The whole group being Welcomed by the Lyon officials

Traveling abroad was a wonderful and enlightening experience for me. I learned so much about other cultures and more importantly about myself. I met some wonderful people, whom otherwise may have not entered my life, had I not taken the chance and jumped on that jet plane to France. I buddied up with a fabulous woman while in France who I will call B. We did not know each other before taking this trip to France, but quickly developed a life long friendship that not only carried us through the trenches of Europe, scared to death about having to spend a night in the park, or getting kicked out of a pub by a seniors group, or getting dumped off at a train station even the Little engine that could would be scared of, but rather a friendship that can outlast marriages, births of children, life accomplishments and Fat Tush's! Yep that is friendship my friends!

Those bushes behind me were briefly going to be my "blanket" for the night, you would think I might not have such a smile on my face right?

Recently I was looking through some memorabilia in hopes of possibly starting that scrapbook from my travels through Europe and France, might i remind you that this was 7 years ago and these goodies are still "waiting" to be scrapped! Ooops. I came across several of the emails that I sent home from France during my stay. The school that we stayed at was a Lycee, and I will define in short form that this means high school age children, students, attending classes here where we early and mid 20's age college folks were staying. French versus American. The tension was fabulous!

Classic pose everyone has if they visit Paris

While looking through memories recently, I cam across this email I sent home to all my friends and family during my stay abroad. I pissed all over myself while reading it. I remembered exactly how I felt when it was going down and then when I took the mtime to share it with my family and friends. I had a sort of go with the flow vibe rocking while living in France. Nothing I planned turned out to be how I thought it would be, or how it would go down. So I stopped planning anything and just went with life as it came at me. This took me on so many adventures in Europe that I might not otherwise have never encountered. Some of it lovely some of it awful, but all of it amazing and an experience I would never change! Enjoy this funny first hand tale of one of my weekends in France, summer of 2003, completely unedited and here in the exact manner my friends and family received!

"so as you know i stayed in Lyon this weekend. well most of the students left, in fact they are still not back today Tuesday because of the strike. trains are not running. 3 of the girls jumped on the back of a train and rode on the outside so they could get back to class. we had no idea where the other students were until today because we are not allowed to use phones or computers over the weekend...which brings me to my story. we were told it was no problem to stay here at the dorms over the weekends. well apparently that was another big fat lie. we went off on a fantastic shopping spree on Saturday like most women would enjoy. after walking up the gigantic hill which i have now learned is a mountain and the wrestling with the automatic gate which is not automatic we finally enter the courtyard of our hell hole high school. all we could think of was the wonderful hard mattress at the top of the 8 flights of stairs and the wonderful no air conditioning. upon arrival we learned that the school decided they wanted to lock all the doors in the building and let us sleep in the stairwell. now you know that went over real well with 3 women who had just returned from a day of shopping and mountain climbing {with our packages of course} boy we were pissed so we did the following"

1. went to the phone booth and promptly called the states looking for the phone number to this hell hole facility because of course the phone numbers were up the 8 flights of stairs lounging in our no air conditioned rooms behind locked doors. that failed

2. went to the bar we frequent and said we need help, tried to speak french that was funny. lady tried to help us by calling information and getting phone numbers of the school, unfortunately we don't know the last names of anyone here. not only that but the school was deserted, who were we going to call we don't even know if phones exist on campus because we are forbidden to use them. stupid Americans cant use anything those fat asses who are always in line first at meals and eat like pigs. oh sorry when there is actually meals and that's a whole other story. again this attempt failed

3. we called an American student we met at a restaurant and left a frantic message on her answering machine telling her we were not freaks but we wanted to invade her home use her free toilet and sleep at her place. we then encountered the problem of not being able to give her a return phone number because us stupid Americans cant have access to the phone or computer. this attempt failed as well

4. ate a block o cheese ( Ah let me please insert here that this was a daily ritual for me while in France)

5. found a nun this attempt worked

the 350 16 year olds have returned today. you see they were not here yesterday and we were grateful. what we did not know was that yesterday was a holiday. the school remained closed no food for us fat Americans. also town was closed. we are still not sure what holiday we just encountered.the hours are bizarre here. you can only eat from 12p to 1p for lunch the stores and restaurants close from 2 to 6, you can only order something to drink until 715pm when the gate opens and dinner starts and runs to 8pm. this is not at the school this is in town. hours never stay the same either. people here just decided when they want to do something at any given point screw everyone else.

so i hope you enjoyed hearing about my weekend! having a blast in France wish you were here! you could join in the journey up the mountain!!!! hahhahahahahahaha"

Snot, Fevers and a trip to the ER

Sick Baby and H4L

Baby DIVA has not been feeling well at all. We initially had that Hand, Foot and Mouth crap that knocked us down for a few days, resulting is us missing a fun filled weekend of parties, playdates and more, oh my!. Then she felt better for like 5 minutes only to be shut down with a fever last Wednesday, low grade but a fever no less. Low fever evolved into a 102 fever and some nasty green boogs joined in on the party. These boogers made Baby DIVA miss another fabulous party and the send off party to her cousin who is in the National Guard. BOO!!

These Green boogs are quite persistent, despite their eviction notice, and have been so mean to my darling Baby DIVA. The weekend was rough with fevers never getting below 102 despite Tylenol, Motrin, baths, fluids, everything under the sun that everyone on FB, my moms group, my 12th cousin 17 times removed by marriage to my 55th second cousin suggested. Sunday night fevers were tinkering on the 104 area. Pediatrician was disturbed. Spent Sunday night giving my child a need for therapy in the future: Poking a probe in her butt every few hours to steal her temperature, while she was trying to sleep.

Toe poke to check CBC

Monday morning first thing wee whipped on into the peds office. Dr. K was not in so we saw one of her colleagues. A lovely lady who makes the cool little bird sound when peering into the black holes of Baby DIVA's ears. ( I recall this from my childhood, and so I find it pleasing that some dr's still do this). Ears clear. Throat Clear. Tummy Clear. Lungs clear. CBC clear. Snot present. Fever present. Dr says we have a virus. Give her fluids. Give her Tylenol. Give her Motrin. Give her baths and keep her well hydrated. Call back if new symptoms come up or if her temp reaches 105. And off we are sent, to isolation of Pink Haired Momma house.

Waiting at the peds

Now if you recall we are working on two weeks now of isolation in Pink Haired Momma land. HF&M, and now a second something. Baby DIVA is about ready to go insane with all this momma time. Or is it Pink Haired Momma is going to go insane? Oh who cares!!

Back to Monday...4:30pm rolls around and Baby DIVA is especially hot, cranky and miserable. Tylenol and Motrin are not doing anything to ease the pain. A probe up the butt reveal 105!! Bags are packed and we are off the the ER.

We arrive at the ER, it is packed as anticipated. I am armed with juice, snacks, toys both for Baby DIVA and H4L. Baby DIVA is on fire. Triage is a joke. The nurses made us feel like the most incompetent parents or rather humans on the face of the planet. Anything we told them we had done, they said was wrong. Anything we said our peds told us to do they said was wrong. They gave her a double dose of Tylenol (which I don't really like) and told us to go park it in the waiting room for an hour, they would re take her temp then and decide if there was anything they could do for us, oh and the wait after that would be about 6 hours. By the way temp at this point is 105.

The double dose did seem to help. Baby DIVA became alert and started to want to play some. Well the green boogs and i guess the excitement of having a break from intense fever caused her to barf all over the waiting room floor. H4L went to tell the nurse. 1 so they would know a 17 month old with a 105 fever is barfing and 2 so we could get some help in cleaning up bodily fluids off the waiting room floor. Over 30 minutes later H4L is still standing over the barf, waiting patiently for cleanup. 4 people were notified. I took baby DIVA back in for her temp check and it was 99.9. Nurse said there was nothing more they could do for us. I had a few choice words and loaded my family up to go home, leaving the barf to fend for itself.

Double dose may have worked but as soon as 4 hours past Baby DIVA's fever is right back up. Today she is getting some slight relief in between Motrin doses. She gets about 2 hours of temps low enough that she can smile and play the nits sleep and high fevers again. Not hitting 105 today either, thank goodness.

I have no idea what is going on with Baby DIVA. I am so frustrated that everyone keeps telling me it is a virus and we have to ride it out. That is fine for a couple of days but we have had fever of 102 or higher for 7 days!! That's way too long if you ask me! And going to the ER is just a crock! UGH!

Please keep my Baby DIVA in your thoughts! This fever needs to obey its eviction order!!

Harris County Park

With Baby DIVA feeling better and Kdude at a ripe age of wide eyes and wonderment, we headed out on an adventure to the park...

And both kids fell sound asleep on the 10 minute drive. So I opted not to hit our favorite park and instead drive around while the little ones napped, in hunt of new and exciting places to explore. We rolled around Katy, two little snores sweetly coming from the backseat, me enjoying the lovely GIANT Dr. Pepper I picked up at Sonic, to kill the time. After 20 or so minutes of aimlessly driving I happened on something wonderful. A NEW PARK! I had no idea a park even existed in this neck of the woods.

Right at Katyland and Franz I came across Harris County Park. Fabulous. A clean, well groomed, safe equipment park that has not only big kid playground equipment, but a special set up for toddlers too! WOOHOO!! I ever so quickly steered the fammoible into the parking lot, woke up the kids and yelped "Let's go play!"

Toddler Area

We walked right to the FABULOUS toddler area of the park, not of course without taking notice of the big kid section, the wonderfully paved walking track and the covered picnic area. How did I get so lucky finding such a great park by accident. Baby DIVA immediately found the stairs to the slide and took off. Kdude and I watched from a very close distance!

Toddler Rock wall and Baby DIVA checking it out

We did have one little accident. Umm. Dare Devil Baby DIVA found it quite humorous to give me a brief heart attack as she attempted to walk down the slide. A flip flop and roll later and she was screaming on the ground. I suppose this sort of behavior happens quite a bit amongst the toddler circuit, because luckily this park is prepared. Soft smushy pads have been placed at the bottom of all the slides and other prone to fall down locations around the park. Possibly to keep dirt in place, possibly to help minimize injury. Who knows. But it was a life saver for us this day!

Dare Devil Baby DIVA (p.s. this is not when she fell)

Toddler smushy fall pad

After our little mishap we strolled over to the swings and took a lovely little ride. This was followed by exploration of the big kid area. Baby DIVA found the slide is the big kid area awesome; I must admit I did too! Seriously! Check it out!

Cool Slide

The park was not crowded at all. About 5-7 moms and their kids were boppin around. Some I chatted with, some I raced around with tackling out kids. The park provides plenty of space for playing in groups as well as playing alone. And the park equipment, especially the toddler area, lends itself nicely to a great safety set up and ease of parents to assist in play time with the little ones. It was a wonderful surprise to stumble upon this great park. I advise any one in the area to stop by and have some clean, free fun!

Wordless Wednesday

Okay mom lets get this Party started!

I can do it all by myself!

I got this!

Oh! I need a DRINK!

Break Time!

The SPROUT changed our lives

Do you find that your child's hair looks like this?

Do you find that you have a kiddo with runaway hairs?

Well I do, FOR SURE. I have been a totally bad parent and covered my kids hair in RAVE hairspray and it still did not control the fly aways. Baby DIVA's hair always made her look like a ragamuffin. I called in reinforcements, my mother. She helped me find a product that would be safe to put on Baby DIVA's head but would also be strong enough to control the wild hairs.

The product, Original Sprout Gel, arrived at my door all wrapped up from amazon.com. I immediately gathered Baby DIVA, her hair thingy's, a comb and the gel and went to work. I was incredibly happy with the texture of the gel. It did not leave a residue on my hands, or on the tresses of my daughter. However it did seem to have a significantly strong hold. I was able to gather all those fine runaway strands and pull them together to form not only 1 pebbles pony on top of her head, but on the very next day, using the gel of course, PIG TAILS commenced in the house of Pink!

Sporting the Pebbles look!

Pig Tail'n it with Cousin Jaz!

Original Sprout Gel is fabulous. The company offers and entire Children's line of products that are organic, control wild hair, and safe for EVERYONE. The products are soy free, gluten free, 100% vegan, not tested on animals, have no disgusting over kill smells, leave no residue on the hair or scalp and get the job done. It really is a great product. I was quite hesitant to put anything in Baby DIVA's hair, well besides that horrid RAVE hairspray that I was using. Upon finding this I am SOLD, I am even checking into the adult line of products for my own Pink Haired self!

**I am not affiliated with the Original Sprout company. They did not provide me with products, monetary compensation or the like for this review of products. I paid for the product out of my own pocket after during careful research and decided this was a good product to try. Apparently my research paid off**

Infecting the Public

As you know Baby DIVA is at the tail end of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. A very contagious yet not too severe illness that children are prone to catching. It can be quite painful, but does pass within a week to 10 days usually leaving without any residual damage. I personally would rather that Baby DIVA not have to experience this childhood illness at all. I wish I could wipe it away with a swift pass of a boogie wipe and we could be on our way. But, I also am aware that kids are kids and love to play with one another and at such a young age do not understand the ramifications of eating each other’s boogers, but they WILL be taught.

I am unsure as to where exactly we may have been exposed to the germs that brought about this illness. And honestly, the Who’s the What’s and the Where’s are irrelevant to me. What is relevant is the fact that more and more parents are taking their children out into the public population, to day care, to play dates, for strolls in the park, to all places in the community, while they are festering and brewing and actively ill. More and More parents are turning a blind eye to the coughing, sneezing, warm to the touch child of theirs and are self diagnosing their kids as having “allergies”. Pediatricians are not being visited as frequently and simple childhood illnesses are turning into small epidemics within many social circles.

Source

Why are parents doing this? The reasons are numerous. Many parents cannot afford to miss a day of work, just because their child is sick. (in my mind a sick child IS justification to not only miss work, but to hold the sick child in your arms for as long as needed, but that is just me.) These parents not only cannot afford to miss work, they cannot afford the cost of the doctor visit, the medicine that may be needed or the cost to get to other clinic itself. Horrifying if you ask me and I could go on and on and on about this matter alone, but that is not the point I am intending today.

Many parents are unaware that their sniffling, sneezing hot to the touch child is actually sick because they are so consumed by their own lives that that little thing that tags along with them daily is merely another piece of their outfit. Or these parents simply have labeled this sneeze and cough as another allergy and send the child on about their way. Either way parents are turning a blind eye to the situation.

The reason that parents willingly bring their children out into the mass population that just infuriates me to no return is the parents that just do not give a crap. The parents understand their child is sick. The parents have taken their child to the doctor and yet they still go on about their day. These parents have errands to run. Parties to attend. Gossip to be had. None of which they feel can be missed just because a child is sick and contagious and could possibly infect anyone he or she comes in to contact with. And so it goes that this parent takes their kid on to the birthday party and infects all the children at the event, including those who just happen to be in the same facility that day. Those poor unsuspecting parents of the newly infected children will wake up in a few days with a sick child and not know where they illness sprang from. And then the cycle starts all over again.

source

I have personally seen and experienced this type of parental behavior in regards to a sick child. These people choosing to attend an event with a child whom they knew was ill and super contagious, but they did not want to change their plans, or find a sitter for the ill child. This type of behavior is probably the reason behind Baby DIVA’s breakout of Hand, foot, Mouth disease. Some parent who willingly took their child out and POOF passed on the illness to everyone they came in to contact with, which this time included us. This angers me to a degree that is surpasses any words. I despise this kind of behavior. I will go out of my way to keep Baby DIVA home whenever she is ill, mainly so she has a safe environment for her own body to heal in, but also to prevent the spread of illness to ANYONE else. I feel as a parent that is my job, not only to my own daughter, but to other children. But I guess that is just me.

Please share with me your thoughts. I am interested in hearing all points of view on this issue. I would like some input from moms, dads, grandma’s whoever, about their personal thoughts in regards to this issue.

Polka Dot Baby DIVA

A view of the nasty "Polka Dots" covering Baby DIVA's Feet, hands, and mouth.

I told you this last Friday that Baby DIVA was in lock down due to the yucky creepy bug known as Herpangina. Well that was in the early part of the day Friday. By 6pm, Baby DIVA broke out in this hideous rash all over her feet, then up her legs some, followed by her hands and then all around her mouth. This is happened in about a 10 minute time period.

I immediately jumped on the phone and packed my bag. I just knew the pediatrician was going to want us to whisk baby DIVA to the CDC and all hell would break loose. Then reality grabbed a hold of me and I calmly talked to the nurse and it was determined that my Baby DIVA has Hand-Foot-Mouth disease . UGH!

Hand-Foot-Mouth disease . Nice. Couldn't just be a sniffle or a ear ache, nope she has to have something weird, although common amongst the day care crowd, funky nonetheless. We began to tease Baby DIVA calling her the Polka Dot DIVA. Her mood was fabulous. Smiles and giggles with the occasional whine and cranky buttness, but overall I am really proud that she kept happy spirits.

H4L and I made sure Polka Dot DIVA was incredibly comfortable and then I went to work; Searching the net for everything I could find about this illness. Using Facebook to interrogate my friends and family about anything they may know, hitting my moms group like a crazed lady requesting reinforcements STAT. All this lunatic mom behavior paid off. Very quickly I had a list, survival guide rather, to Foot hand and Mouth, and I was off to the store to stock up:

Tylenol
Gentian Violet
Oragel
Pedialtye

Just to name a few goodies on my list. Armed with my arsenal of attack I returned home to find Polka Dot DIVA snoozed, for the night. WHEW!

The weekend went on without a hitch. We had bouts of cranky butt, happy smiles, giggles, moments of fire butt, because as we learned this illness also brings on the runny poo's, LOVELY! But overall Polka Dot DIVA is doing fabulous. She has basked in the constant 24 hour attention from mom and dad. Found herself at the center of the world and is so not wanting to give up her new found fame. We kept to ourselves and cancelled all of our weekend plans, dates, play sessions, parties, you name it. Although we are a loving and GIVING family, we just couldn't share this with the world. Selfish maybe! LOL

Pottery Time: Moms night out

Something wonderful happened!

I, Pink Haired Momma, left the house ALONE, left H4L in charge of Baby DIVA, whilst I went out with my gals from the HoustonAreaMommies! Oh the joy! Oh the silence...well silent except for my radio jammin' in the car on my way to meet the ladies for Moms Night out. Each month HAM offers at least one event in which the kids stay home and the moms get to go out in play. I have found it can be quite difficult to get myself out of the house, so having the support of fellow hammies demanding I take a much needed break and join them is a life saver.

This month we moms hit Ceramics By Tess . It was so much fun. I have never been to an event like this, so not only did I get a night out but I was introduced to a totally new skill: Pottery Painting! So what is this Ceramics By Tess, well besides this moms secret hideaway for a few hours? Have a look at the following taken from Ceramics by Tess's website:

Ceramics by Tess is a full service ceramic shop. We have a selection of thousands of unique ceramic pieces that we make in which you can create your own masterpiece. Personal instruction, for the beginner or experienced, is always free. At our place, there is no fee for time, no fees for returning to finish an item, and no limit on color choices. Paints, glazes, supplies, greenware, specialty classes and kiln firing services are also available.

On Thursday nights from 7pm until 11pm Ceramics By Tess opens it doors to ADULTS only. NO KIDS! FREEDOM! They offer a variety of snacks and non alcoholic beverages for purchase, but also encourage you to BYOB. Wine, paint and pottery...this could get ugly! So we moms marched right on in to our little kingdom of freedom and us HAM's kept it clean, this time, and sipped lightly as we chatted with one another while painting our respective pieces of pottery.

I was in awe of the choices Ceramics By Tess has for the individual, like myself, to choose from when deciding just what type of pottery to work with. Statues, plates, wine caddy's, ornaments. The choices are endless; and that doesn't even include the vast array of colors, painting techniques, stencils and more that can then alter the basic design of any piece of pottery you choose. Its a hands on persons mecca of creation!

I opted for a simple bank. A sweet little Tiara that I could embellish with my own love and personality and then give to my darling Baby DIVA to save her nickels for college in. I initially wanted to paint this lovely bank a pink color and detail it in black, but I am not too gifted. I ultimately went and got a fatter brush and covered the entire thing in black paint and then touched the tiny details with pink. But no one really has to know that right? I will just pretend that was my initial plan all along. Don't tell anyone, okay?

Once completed I signed my name and date to the bottom of my piece and went to the desk and paid for my art. Less than $20 for a night out with the gals, a cool little gift for my Baby DIVA and some uninterrupted peace and quiet! You can not beat that. 7 days later you can return to Ceramics By Tess and pick up your fabulous Black Tiara or rather whatever piece you have made, glistening with hints of pink after it has been cooked to its pristine shine. All in all a fabulous night out for me!


**I have been unable to go and pick up my fabulous piece due to Baby DIVA's foot, hand and mouth outbreak! Sorry no picture to accompany this post**

Update

Okay so Baby DIVA does not have Herpangina.

Instead we have developed hand, foot, mouth disease.

No fun!

Will post more later!

Lock down! We have Herpangina!

Baby DIVA is prone to fevers. Throughout her lengthy 16 almost 17 months of life she was spiked many fevers, in the middle of the night always, which resulted in this Pink Haired Momma parked at the peds office first thing the next morning. Only to discover there was nothing wrong with Baby DIVA, her temp had returned to normal and she made mom out to be a huge worry wort first time mom idiot, time and again.

So this Wednesday night, oh about 245am Baby DIVA screeched and the house awoke abruptly. A touch of her head revealed fever. The thermometer only proved my suspicion. A dose of Tylenol and playtime in the living room resulted in a slightly later than normal morning wake up Thursday morning. I assumed the fever would disappear as usual and we would continue on our lives.

No such luck. Mr. Fever hung out on and off throughout the day. Whines came and went. Friday morning brought us more fevers, so off we went to see the pediatrician. Of course Baby DIVA was full of life, smiles, and giggles, no signs what-so-ever of being sick while we were at the peds office, except for a red throat, a bit of ear pressure and some sores in her mouth.

Hmmm. Weirdness to me. The pedi Dr. poked and prodded a bit. Laughed with Baby DIVA asked a few probing questions of me and then decided to run a couple of tests, strep test, as she said among others. A quick Q-tip to the throat, one pissed off Baby DIVA and 10 minutes later Dr comes back in to share with us the fate of Baby DIVA's red throat.

Dr.: "Strep is negative, but it appears to be her vagina"
ME: "Excuse me Her Vagina what"?????? We stuck a Q tip in her mouth, atop her body, not below!!!
Dr.: "No sorry hun, HERPANGINA"
ME: "What the heck is that?"

The lovely pediatrician passed me a handout she had printed out explaining this ailment my daughter so graciously contained.

"Herpangina is a viral infection of the back of the mouth. The main symptoms include sore throat and pain swallowing, fever for 2-7 days, small ulcers surrounded by a red ring on the roof of the mouth and near the tonsils. And is very contagious."

Lovely.
Poor Baby DIVA. Fevers. Soreness. Blisters. My poor poor baby!
So we are on lockdown. All playdates, events and parties to be cancelled for the next few days. Baby DIVA must suffer though her virus with doses of mommy and daddy love, Tylenol and lots of center of the world attention. I am betting she doesn't mind too much!

Disney on Ice Let's Celebrate

This past Wednesday night, Baby DIVA, my SIL, my Niece and myself loaded up into the fammobile and headed toward Reliant Stadium for a fun filled evening courtesy of the Houston Area Mommies . I was given the privilege of attending the fabulous Disney on Ice through a contest hosted on HAM . WOWSERS! I was stoked to have the opportunity to attend this event; but I was even more excited to share this fabulous festivity with my niece who just happen to have a big 7th birthday this week.

My Niece and Baby DIVA before the show


Me and Baby DIVA

We arrived in splendid fashion only moments before the show was to begin, something I do suggest to all parents toting a 16 month old to a big event like this. Although fun and exciting, they are 16 month olds and therefore any minimizing of "downtime" is highly recommended. Back to our arrival, we waltzed into Reliant Stadium with great ease, found our proper seats, and were delighted as the lights began to dim and the show began to come alive.

Opening festivities

Star sighting

The theme of this particualr fabulous event is "Lets Celebrate". A synopsis from the Disney website describes it best:

"It's one colossal party on ice, with all your favorite Disney friends! Join Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse as they celebrate a Very Merry Unbirthday Party with Alice and the Mad Hatter; a Royal Valentine's Day Ball with the Disney Princesses, including Cinderella, Ariel and Tiana; a Hawaiian luau with Lilo & Stitch; a winter wonderland with Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Disney/Pixar's Toy Story; a Halloween haunt with the Disney Villains and more in a magical medley of holidays, celebrations and festivals from around the globe."

The show was amazing. It is very interactive and stimulating for kids of all ages. As I looked around I saw almost every child in the facility staring with pure enjoyment, suspense and excitement down at the ice stage waiting with intense emotions waiting for the next Disney character to appear before their very eyes. I found that the high energy and vivid use of recognizable visual stimuli, for all ages, was a wonderful entertaining technique mastered by Disney. I was awe struck by the OH's and AH's not only from the children I might add, as each new character from the Disney collection made their presence known to the crowd. The creativity used to transition from scene to scene and to master the delivery of new characters really captivated my attention as a Disney lover and a critic. It was performed flawlessly.

Disney brought in EVERYONE!

Baby DIVA, being only 16 months old, and not too familiar with television shows and movies found the popcorn container to be the most delightful intriguing event of the night. She also rather enjoyed the full length mirror in the sizable bathroom facility.

My 7 year old niece shared with me her thoughts on the performance as we left Reliant Stadium , "That was the bestest ever". Her words summed up the entire performance and the entire evening. The satisfaction and enjoyment that oozed from my nieces character as we walked away from the stadium and talked was definitely awesome. Worth all the time in the world and every penny, if you ask me. I also found Reliant Stadium to fantastically accommodating to the family circuit, the Disney on Ice performance was spectacular and provided a wealth of entertainment for all ages, and the smile and happiness on my daughters (for the popcorn container) and nieces faces were priceless. I highly recommend this family adventure to anyone with children. Tickets range in price from $16 to $90, lending affordability to almost any budget. Parking is a mere $8 and can be cheaper with proper planning. Have dinner at home before heading to the show and this fun event can definitely be a cheap and exciting outing for just about every family around.


**I am not affiliated with Disney in any way. I was not compensated monetarily or by any other means for this review. All opinions are of my own thoughts and experiences at the event.

Garden update

The best little Gardner!

There is something growing in my yard! Seriously! Lots of somethings actually! I am very pleased to announce that so far, nothing has croaked. We even have a few strawberries almost ready for the pickin'! I DID IT! I growed real food! Okay so maybe it is not food yet, BUT it is on the way!

**Must let you know that I wrote this blog post and went outside to snap a picture of my almost ripe strawberries, only to find a DANG BIRD snagged it before me! AHHHHHH!!!**

Purple Potato


My Favorite pot!