Wordless Wednesday

It just doesn't get any cuter than this!!

Guest Blogging at the Zoo

I have some exciting news! Do you remember recently when I shared with you my thoughts after The Houston Area Mommies hit the zoo? Well it just so happens that that exciting adventure is being chronicled today as a GUEST BLOGGER over at The Houston Zoo blog ! You must scoot on over there and have a look! Leave the zoo a special comment telling them how wonderful the zoo is and how fabulous this Pink Haired Momma feels upon learning she was privileged to be a guest blogger there!

Forever silenced

Earlier today I was sitting quietly, waiting, and scanning through my cell phone address book. We all do this from time to time, to pass away the minutes while waiting and to keep our minds from drifting in the silence of a cold waiting room. Today's scan was different from any other I have ever performed. Today I am scanned across a contact of a dear friend, who's name and number will forever be silent, never to beam across my line again. A name and a number of my friend, a wonderful woman, who is no longer here on earth. This notion caught me off guard, surprisingly. I thought I had come to terms with this situation surrounding my friend, but this scan ignited some feelings inside me that I thought were tamed.

Two weeks ago my phone rang and this particular name and number came up. I was in a sticky situation involving a diaper and was unable to answer. A quick mental note was taken to return a call to this precious friend of mine; but I failed at my mental note taking skills. 48 hours later my phone rang yet again; this time the number displayed but no name. Upon answering I discovered my precious friends husband on the other end, crying. He revealed to me through a wall of pain , that my precious friend was no longer with us. My dear friend had spread her wings and left this life for a different future, silenced from us here on earth.

I went numb. My mind immediately went to the phone call I had so easily passed off. Why didn't I take that call? Why didn't I allow a moment, even with poopie hands to answer and just hear my friends voice, to just let her hear my voice and say "Darling I am covered in shit, let me call you back." Why didn't I?

I could go on and on and on with the Why's, and I have, but the truth of the matter is my friend has passed on to another stage. Her name and number in my cell phone address are silenced, never to actively wake-up my phone again. I am greatly saddened by the loss of my friend. I miss her terribly. And today seeing her name there in print on my phone just made it all clear that she is gone. Forever silenced but always in my heart.

I love you S.S. May you forever rest in peace, in silence and in love. In your honor I will make certain I am always there for anyone who needs me, even if it is just for a quick laugh!

Wordless Wednesday

Whatcha got over there mom?

Uh-oh! Busted!

Baby DIVA and Baby K-Dude!!

Weekend re-cap

What can I say? We had an amazing weekend here in the Pink Haired Momma household. Friday was definitely Good Friday for us. We had an amazing play date with the Houston Area Mommies as well as a fun promotional story on the news about HAM , see the video HERE . H4L and I had a great afternoon just snuggling our little Baby DIVA.

Saturday we headed off to my SIL's for a crawfish boil/ Easter celebration/ Big Happy Birthday party to my 7 year old niece Jazmyn! We had a wonderful day basking in the sun, chatting with family and enjoying the warm sunshine.

And then Easter Sunday arrived and H4L and I were able to see Baby DIVA explore her first real basket left by Mr. Easter Bunny. She was too cute. She came right out of her room and went straight to her Easter basket. There she explored and found herself a new tea set and brand new Yo Gabba Gabba dolls. She was in heaven. She spent most of the morning playing with her new tea set. We then loaded up and headed to my parents house for some more Easter Festivities and BLUE BONNET pics!

If you are not from Texas, you may not understand, but here in Texas, it is a right of passage to have your picture taken in the blue bonnets every spring from birth on. Tradition. Beauty. The perfect way to bring in the Spring! Last year Baby DIVA took a few pics,wearing my baby dress nonetheless, but was not impressed. This year, still not impressed. But mom and dad gushed all over the whole event.

I hope you and yours had a fabulous Easter weekend as well!

And the winner is...

A Big congratulations to DEBBIE aka ms-texas for winning the H-E-B $20 giftcard. Way to go!

Thank you for your participation in this giveaway. Please contact me within 48 hours with your contact information.

I was on the news!

That's right! Pink Haired Momma and Baby DIVA made a news appearance today promoting the absolutely fabulous Houston Area Mommies. You have heard me ramble on and on about how much I enjoy this group and what an awesome support system we provide each other. From the weekly playdates to the moms night out events and also the amazing friendships, H.A.M provides me with the sanity I need to be a fabulous mom. Now is your chance to see us in action. Have a watch of our Good Friday Playdate at Discovery Green , and then come on over to the site and join us!

Pink Haired Momma promotes HAM on the news

Video

And if you are not from the Houston Area, no worries, our parent mommy group, The Mommies Network has chapters all over the country, look for one near you now.

Houston Area Mommies hit the Zoo

This past weekend on a gorgeous Sunday morning, H4L, Baby DIVA and myself loaded up into the Fammobile, and headed off for a fun filled day at the Houston Zoo with many of the fabulous Houston Area Mommies and their splendid kiddos.

We arrived at a few minutes before 10 am to find the parking lot beginning to fill up rather quickly. Lucky for us we snagged a great spot and began to "unpack" the car for our day long journey. Now at this point I made a GIANT mommy mistake. My Pink Haired silly self did not check the zoo website in reference to coolers being brought into the facility. If I had taken that extra moment to verify the information, the yummy ham and cheese quiche, spinach salad and drinks would have joined us on this unpacking adventure and would have been consumed for lunch at the zoo, instead of dinner at home! Oops. Note to anyone heading to the Houston Zoo , YOU CAN BRING YOUR COOLER INSIDE THE FACILITY.

The Reflecting Pool just inside the zoo entrance. Amazing!

Moving on past the one and only mistake I made. We made our way to the Zoo entrance and with no trouble found our fellow Houston Area Mommies , went right through the ticket purchase process and VOILA, we were in. First up, several moms rented the available wagon/strollers the zoo offers. We all know even the toughest tots will need a lift at some point during a long outdoor day! We, the Houston Area Mommies , loaded up and headed off, first of course posing for a group photo!

We were in luck on this particular day because Shanti, one of the Asian Elephants at the Houston Zoo was having her BABY SHOWER. Yep, that right! We were fortunate enough to be "invited" to such an important event. We even had the honor of seeing Shanti's baby kick her. I cant not even begin to imagine what that must feel like. AHHHHH! The "baby shower" was awesome. Lots of fun activities for the kids like a giant card for Shanti for everyone to sign, a table for gifts, and several craft stations. The kids loved it!

WE signed the card for Shanti!

Goofing off with Daddy!

The rest of the time we roamed around looking at all the various animals, soaking in the spring sun and air and chatting with all the other Houston Area Mommies members and kids. Goofing off and enjoying our fabulous day at the zoo. Although we were unable to ride the train around Hermann Park, where the Zoo is located, or take a ride in a paddle boat in the lake by the zoo due to the snoozed Baby DIVA, we have made plans to return this spring and do just such.

I really love that not only do you get to see fabulous animals at the zoo, but every exhibit offers an interactive learning exercise too!

The Zoo is a marvelous place for a family outing. Its is rather inexpensive to enter, you can bring your own food, there is tons of walking and looking which is fabulously stimulating for kids and adults alike. And there is even a kids area, again we did not spend much time at as Baby DIVA was snoozed in her stroller. Fresh air does it every time!

Would you like more information about how to join the Houston Area Mommies? Follow the link and sign up, Tell them Pink Haired Momma sent you. We would love for you to come join us and experience all the fun and support moms and kids need!

Scissor hand-mom

Right after the birth of Baby DIVA, I went to cutting on my nails. I was so afraid I was going to hurt this precious angel. I was terrified that my nice long nails would snag on her perfect skin and I just knew the horror I would feel if I caused any harm to this wonderful creature. So I chopped and I chopped. I think back now and remember just how sore my fingers were because I chopped WAY too much. Beginner mom idiot move. You live and you learn, right?

Fast forward to present day. My nails are back. Baby DIVA has been toddling about for some time and her perfect skin has received quite a few bumps and bruises of her own making. But I still felt a touch of that horror this week when I snagged a nail and before I could file it down I cut my child's face by accident.

I felt like the most demonic Pink Haired Scissor hand mom on the face of planet. Many screams from precious Baby DIVA erupted, that were quickly hushed by my hugs and kisses. And now right in time for Easter pictures, I, the greatest mom on earth, have left my mark on my daughter that I have feared since day one; and now the memories will be preserved in pictures forever! Fabulous!



Have you had a similar happening? Please share with me so I don't feel like such an Ass!!

The Spud

This is my idea of an April fools joke. I would serve this up with dinner and see how long it took my peeps to realize it was chocolate! Sandee's Chocolates are fantastic and are derived from potatoes! Have a look at The SPUD for more information! Happy April Fools Day!

Unleash the Pink #8

Welcome back!

It has been 2 weeks since the last edition of Unleash The Pink. I hope you are still keeping up with your Sexy fun loving self and allowing her to poke out every now and again! We have been working on these exercises for just over 8 weeks now; I suspect you may have noticed a tad bit more confidence in yourself? Although you may not be strutting around with your enitre head of hair pink at this point, I do believe you would be willing to clip a pink strip in and walk shamelessly around the grocery store, right?

source

This week I PINKY DARE you to focus your energy this week on building your confidence in how you treat other people. For the next seven days, anytime you find yourself feeling negative, bad, ugly, mad or the like, take a moment to look around you. Find the nearest person and really look at them. Find something positive and wonderful about them and compliment them on it. If that mean and horrible teacher is always in a bad mood and never cracks a smile, but always is dressed lovely, tell her. Even the worst of people, the nastiest attitudes and ugliest hearts have some positive qualities about them. when you can see these positive pieces hidden beneath a harsh surface of another person, you yourself will find you are more likely to see the bright side and therefore feel more happiness resulting in a boost of confidence. Now go ahead, I PINKY DARE you to try it for 7 days.

Wordless Wednesday

I have not eaten BEEF in nearly 10 years, until this last weekend...



The nasty cheap drive thru ultimate cheeseburger!

HEAVEN!!

Porcelain Throne and the Laptop

Imagine for a moment the bathroom in your home. You envision the lovely porcelain basin there for your sitting pleasure. Your stack of important reading material close by, for those longer than expected moments. If you are a mom, it is quite possible you will see this image as a fabulous place of calm and quiet. I know for a fact that I am not the only mom out there that will shamelessly fib to her husband and kids about needing some time in the john, only because this grants her 10 minutes of silent alone time, and therefore the fib doesn't count. Ahhhh! Quiet. You reach for that new fashion magazine, er! parenting magazine, because again we are moms and we just can not stop, EVER. So instead we read the fashion or trash mag followed by our parenting mag, right?

Recently, I found myself following suit and doing the fib to H4L, "I need some time alone on the pot", only to discover I had with me a new "reading" material. Some how I managed to sneak myself into alone time, locked behind the door, propped up on the porcelain throne of peace and quiet, and there I was TYPING away. That is right my friends. Some how my cute little pink laptop has made its presence known in the bathroom. I have stooped this low. I have become that mom that fibs to the family for alone time and then is on the internet while active in the fib! Facebook, email, web surfing, I might have even made a purchase or two in there. My oh my what a treat I have found. My good friend "john" has shown me the way to quiet surf time!

Now what is really awesome, is you my readers will now always wonder, "Did she write this blog post while sitting on the pot?" HA!

Monday: A new week a new recipe

A friend of mine shared this incredibly sneaky brownie treat. She found it in the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. And I tell you I was intrigued and quickly whipped this up to see if in fact I could sneak veggies in with dessert! And YES I can! It is divine! My whole family loved it and this will be a regular in our household.

Spinach and Carrot Brownies

Non stick cooking spray
3 oz. semi or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup carrot puree (about 2 carrots)
1/2 cup spinach puree (a couple handfuls)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T margarine spread
2 tsp. vanilla
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

This really does end up as a yummy chocolate treat!

* Preheat oven to 350 - Coat an 8x8 baking pan w/cooking spray
* Melt the chocolate in a double broiler or over a very low flame
* In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine, & vanilla. Whisk until smooth & creamy, 1 to 2 min.
* Whisk in the egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt w/a wooden spoon
* Pour the batter into the pan and bake 30-40 min. Cool completely before cutting.

Memorial City Castle

Now that Baby DIVA is at a playdate friendly age, we have been out and about exploring our fine city and looking for fabulous things to do. And of course, my frugal self is keeping the frugal theme rolling in these adventures, always scouting out free or cheap fun for moms, dads and tots. This last week we had our first adventure over to a well known HOT SPOT playdate place. The soft CASTLE play area of Memorial City Mall.

I can definitely see why this is a hoppin' play date place. The castle is amazing. Gorgeous and caught my eye. I can only imagine what it must look like through the eyes of a toddler!

We teamed up with Love to Shop Mom and her little Miss Diva, and headed off to find the CASTLE. It was a breeze to find. The mall maps were plentiful and the mall was very stroller friendly. Quickly us moms and our tots caught site of the fabulous castle and it was ON. Baby DIVA shrieked with excitement as we parked the stroller, removed our shoes and were allowed access into the soft play area by a security guard behind a gated and locked entry, Which I found lovely, in a weird sort of way.

At first Baby DIVA had to do the usual toddler move, of "oh mom I am so shy, let me hide behind your legs". But she very quickly was invited in by all the bright colors and mystical decor that the soft castle had to offer. After a quick introduction and demonstration by me, showing her that it was safe, Baby DIVA became the Castle's Queen. She was totting about, climbing stairs, crawling through secret passages, sliding down drawbridges and swimming in the castle river, which is a blue pit of sorts that the tots adore.

We spent a good couple of hours at this lovely play area. Baby DIVA had a ball. I was impressed that there was not a huge crowd, we were there from about 10am until noonish. The weather outside was disgusting, so the small crowd made me very happy. The facility was very clean and the kids had a blast. I would highly recommend this play area to all local moms who are looking for an indoor fun and unique place to go! And the best part: IT IS FREE!!!!