Wordless Wednesday

Well it is sort or wordless...Singing counts for wordless right?



I just wanted to share my Stepmoms quartet with you. She is the one on the far right! They are awesome and sang at my Dad's 60th Birthday last week. Enjoy!!

Playroom plans...

Its about that time. We need a safe place to "contain" Baby DIVA. A place without any threatening edges; a place without any inviting climbing apparatus that teases the monkey legs that have grown from my little tiny tot. A place I can place my child and successfully go to the restroom without having a minor anxiety attack wondering if she will still be alive upon my return 30 seconds later. YES, bad things can happen in 30 seconds with a toddler, I promise!

So H4L and I gave up our office/craft room. We re arranged everything. Moved all the "edges" and "climbers" out and are in the process of converting the space into a DIVA friendly stomping ground.

Here is the before:

Here is the after:

Right now it is a work in progress. We have a blank slate to work with. Some toys decorate the beige floor and add color to the white walls, but it needs something incredibly fabulous. I am out on the prowl in search of creative juices to inspire me to turn this simple room into an inviting creative space for my Baby DIVA to learn and grow. I know I would like to have some shelves high up on the wall to store coloring and painting supplies, shelves decorated so to meet the DIVA's expectations. I would like to use chalkboard paint in some capacity. I would like to see a dress up area go in for Baby DIVA to model her beautiful self in. I am in phase one design mode and I am on the prowl for ideas. So please, please share some with me!! Oh yes and please bear in mind this is a DIY budget friendly endeavor, of course!

Here are a couple of goodies I discovered while stalking the net recently:

punkinpaints kid friendly chalkboard paints

Exquisite-design nice designs, inspiring

Alphabet Wall Love this DIY project

SAHM's Work Dammit!!!!

I have just about had it with everyone out there in the world thinking that because I am a stay at home momma that I do not work. I keep finding my friends and family and acquaintances are under the illusion that when they call me I will always be free to chat. Or if they need something from me, I should be able to hop right up and service whatever need they have because as a SAHM I must just be sitting on the couch fully dressed, ready to jump, after placing the bon bon in mouth, and fulfill whatever wish they have placed up on me!



This is just a simple reminder to those who need to be reminded. Moms have the busiest job on the planet. It is a 24 hour, 7 day a week, 365 day a year gig. It never stops. There is never any downtime. Shits ALONE have to be scheduled days in advance and sometimes require a quick call to the sitter down the street. A simple load of laundry becomes an all day affair as you must tote baskets full of stinky clothes no less, over the heads of toddlers without accidentally smashing them or tripping and falling and breaking your ankle, which only adds an ER run to your daily to do list; Then get the laundry soap safely into the washer without tiny hands helping guide the container or pushing you out of the way thus resulting in you spilling the soap on the floor, which in that case you then also floor clean up aisle laundry room floor to your to do list. After you finally manage to get the laundry started, washed and dried, you then must masterfully fold the clean clothes with the help of a toddler. This ultimately results in refolding the laundry two or three times before you successful sneak it away from tiny tot hands, folded neatly, and are able to place it in its proper location. BUT, if you are incredibly lucky, you just might, maybe, perhaps once a month or so, get to spend your tots nap time performing this wonderfully relaxing task all by yourself. Goodness nothing like doing laundry to really relax a girl.



So do not ever think dropping in a mom and expecting her to be able to drop everything and take care of YOUR needs before her child's is EVER going to happen. Consider she too has a schedule and you are just going to have to wait your freaking turn.



Have a super fabulous day!

Too busy to get dressed?

Why not try Spray on clothes!

WHAT?

Designer Manuel Torres has come up with this seemingly brilliant idea. Spray on clothes, a type of fiber textile that is liquid as applied to the skin but quickly solidifies and becomes a fabric around the body. At first glance I thought this was a bit crazy. But I began to see that the coupling of science and fashion could be an inviting combination, especially in parenthood. Lets look at the Pro's and cons:

Pro's
1. Clothes will always fit your perfectly. No more changing room mirror battles while trying to tote around a tiny tot or shopping cart.
2. The material could also be utilized as a type of bandage, always something useful to have tucked away in the diaper bag.

3. Spit ups by tiny tots on your new shirt? Gotta change from mommy day wear to date night sex kitten in a jiffer? No prob! Just head to the bathroom and spray on a new look! Ta-Da! Sexy Date night in a can!


Con's

1. Spray on clothes WILL reveal the greatest muffin top ever to be exposed. Not something us moms would like to show, let alone admit we have.
2. It is quite cold when applied to the skin, meaning those "sensitive" areas may not be too happy with the application.


Have a look at this video for a preview...

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

What do you think?

Candy and diapers?

I understand marketing. I even find some marketing to be quite lovely. I do not mind being persuaded to buy this or that by an ad here or there, because I know I am smart enough to not fall for an illusion, I am smart enough to take in the advertising for what it is worth and still use my own mind to make a conscious decision if the product is right for me or not. I enjoy seeing the artistic side of advertising, whether it be the actual art, the writing and all the other skills that go into influencing the mass population. What I do not like one bit is tacky, malicious marketing behavior. Trickery used in trying to make a sale. Acts that are aimed at ultimately causing harm, no matter how slight the harm may be, really leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Enter me, a mom, in a local grocery store. I am a woman who tries to provide her family with the best products out there that nourish the body and mind. I do this by using coupons in order to "nourish" our bank account. I also try and "nourish" public spaces by maintaining a well behaved child through proper discipline techniques and a smattering of love and affection of course. It infuriates me to know end when I happen across a marketing technique in a store that is just preposterous.

This week I slid my buggy down the aisle at Kroger, the aisle mind you that contained the Baby products. You know. Butt Paste, smashed up food, diapers. The necessities. Baby DIVA was casually directing me from her perch in the buggy too. I was horrified to discover that the opposite side of the Baby Product aisle housed nothing other than ALL the candy the store had to offer.

What moron in the marketing or store design team would do this? Sure it might boost candy sales, but the trade off is a significant loss. A screaming child being pushed around in the buggy by a flustered parent because said parent has to navigate an entire grocery store aisle while screeching "no" to a begging child for a piece of candy, can almost certainly result in a pissed off customer, who will not return to your store. Not to mention all the other customers who are then forced to listen to annoying cries of a strangers kid who is whining for candy all because some idiot decided it would be a great sale boosting plan to put candy on an aisle that parents most certainly will have to take kids down. And let us not even touch on the fact that America has an obesity problem and so lets go ahead and start shoving candy influences down their throats from infancy. Way to go team! My "nourishing" nature of my family and those around me were instantly shot to crap.

Smooth move guys!

Katy Perry update

I just found this to be amusing...

It now seems that all those parents who so quickly and eagerly began to bash Katy Perry earlier this week (must be that coffee break was over and they began watch and think using their own minds) in her Sesame Street bit with Elmo, have now begun to reconsider. It seems many moms are now saying, well at second look it is no so bad, perhaps it IS just a costume.

Newsy.com has provided THIS clip about the reactions to the mommy squeals. What do you think now? Has your views changed?

Hello there Fall!

Yesterday, to celebrate the beginning of Fall, at least in theory anyway cause we do not really get fall here in Texas, Baby DIVA and I constructed a little fall project. We built a tree! And while building our fall tree our noses were tickled with the sumptuous aroma of Hot apple cinnamon, courtesy of a great Glad candle. The air outside was still quite warm here, however we didn't break 90 degrees. Holy Toledo!

Baby DIVA and I took a bowl of dollar store leaves, some butcher paper and Elmer's glue and began our masterpiece

I first drew a giant tree on the paper for Baby DIVA. Then I painted the whole area with the glue. Finally Baby DIVA slipped her hands into the bowl of leaves and started placing them all over the tree...and her...and the living room floor. Eventually we completed the project by placing 3 giant red apples, one for mom, dad and Baby DIVA, at the foot of the tree. She seemed to really enjoy this festive activity and got a kick out of having fall come right into the living room with the leaves. We even had a mini leaf pile that we "jumped" in on the couch. I guess you could say that is a Katy, Texas fall for you! Ha!

Happy Fall to all!

Katy Perry and Self Image

All over the mom circuit today, I have been hearing complaints and trash talking about the Katy Perry Sesame Street video clip that hit YouTube. I just read an article stating that her clip, to air this season on Sesame Street has now been pulled after moms united and raised hell saying her clothing was too racy and would give their tots the wrong self image. So I went on over to YouTube and had myself a little watch, just to see what all the fuss was about.

GIVE ME A BREAK PEOPLE!

I am a mom of a daughter. I watched the video and whoop do freaking do. She is dressed up as a pixie princess type chick singing with Elmo. How about this for thought...all those moms that spent so much time today YouTube watching and complaining about how their child's self image is going to be put in jeopardy; how about these women take that same amount of time to learn how to promote positive self images of their children when faced with media influences that steer towards a potential negative self image influence. And instead of watching the video over and over, spend that time with their daughters. Teach them not to be followers. Teach them to be able to decipher what trash is from treasure and to treat themselves with respect. Give them the foundation to be able to recognize and make GOOD positive informed choices for themselves in regards to the negative influences that will in fact be thrust at them on a daily basis.

The world is not a sugar free candy coated playground with no sharp edges. Although we do not need to thrust negative self image material in our children's faces, we do need to expose them to it while we can help them learn from it. We must not shelter our children as this will only result in horrific outcomes. We need to teach our children from early on to have self respect. And something as minor as Katy Perry wearing a pixie fairy outfit on Sesame Street singing a catching tune with Elmo seems like a good enough spot to start.

Haven't seen it? Watch it and let me know what you think?

Surprises and Awkward moments

Lets talk about families for a second. It is no secret that I am the product of a divorced family. My parentals split up many many years ago and both subsequently remarried. These re marriages brought me new siblings. Over the years I have been estranged from my dad and the siblings he brings to the table. Baby DIVA, however, in all her glory, has brought a close to the estrangement and in her nearly two years she is providing a a bridge to reach our lost family.

I find it awkward at times, but not in a bad way. I feel a great deal of affection for my siblings, but I don't really know who they are. We have spent so many years apart and although I love them very much much I do not really know how to bond with them, talk to them, and it causes some weird and awkward moments. But I have really enjoyed the times I have spent with them and I sure hope that over time we can heal wounds and merge into one anothers life.

In the mean time I will continue to have the fabulous opportunities to share with you the great moments in time we experience. Like this fabulous little story. So Last night was my Dads 60th Surprise Birthday Party. My siblings are there, we smile and say Hello. We know a bit about each other from Facebook and emails, but that is about it. I know one of my brothers has a girlfriend whom i met last Christmas and that I like her really well. So I go up and ask him how she is doing. Well, he responded with "I don't know". In an instant I felt like an ass, like I must have not know they split up or something. BAD Sister. Then he followed it up with "You have to ask Nick". NICE I asked the wrong brother. Nothing says you need to work on your relationships like not knowing which brother is which!

My dad may have turned 60 and had a great surprise party. But I walked away with the winner sporting the Worst Sister in the World award! Go me!

Happy Birthday Granpa Rou! I know you!

Wordless Wednesday

There are just those H4L's that...

Can not follow instructions!

I am Hair Dumb!

Some might think that since I waltz around town sporting hot pink hair, that I am a divine hair do queen. Those who know me well will tell you that its a great day if I can actually figure out how to get my hair into a ponytail. SERIOUSLY!! I am hair dumb. I remember freaking out while pregnant with Baby DIVA because of this simple ignorance. I panicked wondering how in the world am I, the ponytail failure girl, going to ever manage to teach my DAUGHTER how to fix her own hair?!

Luckily Baby DIVA's hair is coming in at a snails pace and leaving me some time to learn and grasp this crazy skill so that I might, of course, continue to be supermom in the eyes of my daughter. I'm really glad that her hair is coming in slow because I recently failed an attempt of bumpits placement. ARG!!

Well I was due for a snipping of my pink strands recently. H4L and I headed off to our local hair joint to get some grooming done. There is a lovely gal in there named Synda, who has snipped away at my pink locks on multiple occasions. At first it was just coincidence that this wonderful Queen of the scissors was graced with my pink hair, and over time it has grown into destiny. She now is stuck with me, poor soul. Super cool fact about Synda; she never mentions my "OOPS" mistakes that I make while dying my hair on my own at home. Gotta love her!!

Synda is fabulous. She completely understands that despite my loud nature and appearance of Pinkness on top of my head, I am actually quite clueless as what to do with my mop. She is able to get in there and work her scissor magic, transforming my limp hair into a masterpiece that I can wash and run with. This last go round, Synda busted out some cool tools and clipped away at my ends. She really worked my strands over and now I don't even have to toggle with a pony. I just wash, dry and go...and my hair looks great! Great for me now, but not helping in the way of learning new skills to teach Baby DIVA. Oh-well I will get her a box of ponytail holders! HA!

Those of you who are local can also have the privilege of having Synda work magic on your hair. Over off Mason Road here in Katy, in the parking lot with the Black Eyed Pea (you can grab a calorie free lunch after she transforms your locks, LOL), there is a Supercuts. I call it Synda's Supercuts. Run inside and ask for Synda. She will bust out her scissors and work her magic, and for a superb price too! Let her know that Pink Haired Momma sent you, I bet she will give you a giant smile!

And not only is she a magician with my hair, but she poses for fun pics and lets me write about here on my blog too!

It takes a Village to Vacation

And we are OFF!!!!

I took it upon myself to embark on a vacation that my family and I could totally enjoy and yet not break the bank. A vacation is something that is needed every now and again, even in this terrible economy, in this hard to find an extra penny while raising kids on the one income lifestyle that many of us live in. YES!, a vacation that can still be a fabulous vacation with frugality in mind but FUN at the heart. H4L, Baby DIVA and I spent 5 fantastic days on vacation and spent less than $300 total including gas for our mom ride, and we drove this entire vacation! How did we do it? Easy. Lots of planning and research and patience!

First of all, to have a frugal vacation, you MUST scout out your location. And by this I do not just mean where you plan to stay, but rather the whole location, the city, the amenities, the sights, the sounds and the costs. What shall you do while you are there? What does it cost? When should you go? Is there an off season? Can you still have a blast in the off season? Are there any awesome FREE events happening for the dates you will be around? Do you have any memberships, such as museums, that provide discounts or free admittance in other cities? You know those kinds of questions.

We are lucky enough to have a timeshare in our family. This year we were privileged to be able to use the timeshare week, therefore resulting in a no expense to us directly location to stay. But this does not always happen, therefore proper research, coupons ,deals and the like must always be scouted and applied so you can get a great deal on your vacation "housing", so to speak. Once our location was set, I went to work scoping the Internet for local happenings.

We ended up at the totally fabulous Villages Resort up on Lake Palestine in East Texas. We stayed in the Lodge! It was awesome. We had two bedrooms each with a full bath. A living room and dining room. A full kitchen stocked with every utensil one might need to cook, bake, and serve. We brought all our own food and a quick trip to the grocery upon arrival provided us with the proper milk and juice that cleared Baby DIVA's expectations. We also had a wonderful spacious porch that overlooked the woods, providing a wonderful sanctuary for morning caffeine fixes and evening gulps of wine.

Food from home, helps keep the bank in check!

Mornings on the balcony...

Our building in the LODGE!

Our living space and Baby DIVA's "Sled"!

Baby DIVA's "trampoline"!

As soon as we arrived and Baby DIVA placed her toys in their vacation home, and zoned right in on the bedroom and found her new "trampoline"; which she promptly gave a test. The huge bed became one of her favorite places to play on vacation along side the sled that doubled as a coffee table. Baby DIVA enjoyed "sledding" the living area and jumping in the bedroom. Who knew?!? A cool thing about vacation is she didn't get in trouble. Nope! We let her go right ahead and squeal with enjoyment. I even hopped up and joined her in a bounce or two, I steered clear of living room sledding! Isn't that what vacation is all about? Cutting loose and loving life?

Besides the incredible bedroom bounce pad, The Villages provided us with a multitude of fabulous activities to keep anyone entertained. AND they didn't cost a penny! FRUGAL and FUN!! We found ourselves out on the "golf course" teaching Baby DIVA how to get a hole in one.

Golfing!

One of the many, many, many, playgrounds on the resort property!

Sliding!

We found ourselves submerged in 1 1/2 feet of water in the fantastic pool area as Baby DIVA instructed us on how to properly dunk our heads under water and then freak out only to erupt in laughter over and over and over and over.

My fabulous H4L!

A unique pool with an entire side just for tots!

We ventured inside the Activity Post and quickly ducked away from the Karaoke (This chick breaks glass with her vocals, trust me), and hit the arcade. Once the Karaoke was dissolved we slithered back in to check out all the various board games we could check out and the nifty toy grab machines we could blow money on attempting to win prizes for Baby DIVA.

The Activity Post: where it all goes down!

And that is not all. We also spent many evenings strolling the grounds along the manicured paths and lawns just enjoying our family time.

Strolling...

The grounds are gorgeous!

The Villages Resort also houses an indoor 19,000 square foot water park. Originally this fabulous treat was the reason behind our location choice. However upon arrival, and after watching Baby DIVA try not to drown in the pool we opted out and decided to wait until next year to attempt a water park. But that didn't stop us from checking out its features and taking solid notes on what to expect during our future visits. The Water park features:

A Lazy river with whirlpool for tubers
4 water slides - 2 double tube slides, 2 body slides in bright colors

A fanciful Forest Ranger children's playscape with water activities and life-size resin figures
A gentle wave pool

As you can see, we had a marvelous time of vacation. And it was within a frugal budget and allowed us rest, relaxation and tons of fun without breaking the bank. The Villages provided us with so much entertainment that we never had to leave the resort. We had plenty of food, plenty of fun, and didn't spend a dime at the resort. You really can not beat that! The Villages really are family oriented and house so many family friendly, child oriented activities, that you almost forget you are an adult, and a parent! I can not wait to go back!

Vacation: The Tourist Crap

You know it has to happen. Family vacations always involve some stupid pictures in front of silly signs and such right? Well now that I am all growed up and a super mature parent, I get to CHOOSE and FORCE someone to take these glorious pictures to look back on and have memories drift through our minds.

Well on our recent vacation, H4L and I became those annoying parents and forced, suckered, tricked and tortured Baby DIVA into taking those unforgettable memory pictures that she will love to look at in about 30 years. And here is what she had to say about it:

Our vacation took us on a nice long car ride (and believe it or not...no parent squabbles), in the mom ride of course, that drove us right into many a tourist traps. And we soaked up the opportunity to snap some photos of our Baby DIVA as she ventured across the great state of Texas.

Tourist Crap stop one, we hit the Sam Houston State Statue , in Huntsville, Texas. Surprisingly in all my years of driving past old Sam, I have never stopped at this great tourist locale, so I enjoyed the moment. Baby DIVA did not. She pretty much refused to be photographed with a smile. Nonetheless we snapped the pics like all annoying parents do and moved on.

H4L and I found the small park area and grounds to be super clean and inviting. A lovely amphitheater was also discovered amongst the fabulous vegetation that helped block out the blistering Texas Sun. The amphitheater featured a exact in size replica of the face of Sam Houston that is displayed on the enormous statue.

Check out that Shnoze! How would you like to wake up to that sucker every day? EEEK!

A few interesting finds here:

1. The brick that lay in honor of H4L and I.

2. The Highlight to our visit was the utterly fabulous find I encountered in the Bathroom. The Diaper Deck! Complete with instructions on "How to" no less!! Truly something spectacular and enlightening!

After the Diaper Deck scare, we loaded back in the mom ride and took off down the road. As we were driving along We passed this really weird thing being hauled by an 18 wheeler. Me, being the now so savvy mobile picture taker, I snapped a picture and uploaded to Facebook. In a matter of moments my weird find labeled " weird things you see while driving", was quickly defined by my fellow facebookers as pieces of a windmill. And sure enough we saw GIANT blades pass by not long after. Thank goodness for Facebook! :)

And so the adventure continued on and on and on until someone had to go to the bathroom. And luckily at that exact moment a Beaver popped up on the horizon. BUC-EES Beaver that is! Not sure if this fabulous Beaver ventures across state lines, but here in TEXAS Buc-ee is kind of a big deal. This mecca of a pit stop has it all. Every kind of jerky you can imagine, candied pickled jalapeno cream cheese dip, toys, clothes, gifts, Gas, grills you can buy and tote behind your car, and the cleanest snazziest toilets I have found in a long time. Each private toilet room provides its user with enough toilet paper for Armageddon, a nifty seat cleaning regimen and germophobe cleaner. Total awesomeness man!

And yes I am that crazy Pink Haired woman taking pictures in the john at the truck stop. Get over it!

Oh we are not done yet folks! Did I mention our quick trip over to Paris? Seriously! We visited Paris, well Paris, Texas and we saw the Eiffel Tower adorned with a Red Cowboy hat. Ain't we fancy in Texas! We have Famous Beavers and Towers wearing hats. We are just rocking here in this great state!