Self Portrait Sunday - September 11, 2010

Oh, my poor little meme has never quite caught on. So sad. Funny, people just don't like taking pictures of themselves but when we are old and gray and have a lot of people pictures of obscure things what then. I much prefer to think I am going to live into my Golden Years and will cherish all photos of me looking younger and full of life's promises.

On the anniversary of 9/11, it was a hot day. We were at the soccer field all morning and than spent a quiet afternoon home. 

Just said good-bye to my nursing/rock my babies to sleep glider. The kids are getting bigger, the chair is collecting dust downstairs and really it was time to let it go. A friend sat in it this week to put her baby to sleep and feel in love with it. Asked if she wanted it with a tear in my eye and she said, yes. So glad it is going to a home with a baby who will also be nursed and rocked like my little ones.

Her family came by to pick it up and left off a gift for me. The perfect gift actually. When she was here for the HEXBUG NANO Party, she wanted tea. I didn't have a kettle. She picked up an electric kettle. I am so excited to use it, I may actually host a get together just to use it this week.

HexBugs Nano Rule - Toy Review

Wow, where do I start?!

Thanks to Mom Select I hosted a HexBugs Nano Party with 10 of my kids friends and their moms yesterday. It was so much fun.

Wondering what a Hexbug Nanos is?

They are really cool!

We received:
30 HEXBUG Nano Test Tubes
A HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set
A HEXBUG Nano Bridge Battle Habitat Set

A party host seriously couldn't ask for more. We set a basic track up for the kids and left the rest up to them.

As someone who has set up quite a few Mom Select party kits, this was easy. The tracks connect and disconnect really easily. The pieces can configure into anything your kids can come up with. 

Most of the moms who were at this party where here for another party this year so it was fun to hear them compare the toys and discuss the reasons they liked Nano.  

What We Can Tell You:

• The moms appreciated the size of the bugs and the size of the habitat. It is not so big that you cannot keep it up most of the time.
• The wheels don't get stuck in your hair. 
• Unlike some other playsets that we have reviewed these tracks stay very connected. There was never a time when I had to reconnect anything because of "child play".We loved the "door" that are built into the hexagon pieces.
• The bugs crack kids up.
• We put stickers on them so that everyone could tell there bug from another bug.
•  Each kid walked out with 2 bugs and a bit of the playset. I think some will be added to this holiday season if not before. 

BTW, each Nano Hexbug comes with their own computer code where you can register your bug, play games and learn about Science.

Rock N'Roll Fridays - The Monkeys

1. WORDS
Words that never were true. Spoken to help nobody but you. Words with lies inside, But small enough to hide 'Til your playin' was through. Ah!

What was the last white lie you told ? No honey, I don't know where that toy went! Maybe it is in your toy box.

2. VALLERI
There's a girl I know who makes me feel so good. And I wouldn't live without her, even if I could. They call her Valleri. I love my Valleri.

What is your favorite “girl” name?   There are so many beautiful names. My favorite is my daughter's name but her middle name is great too. Since I call her Goddess on my blog to protect the innocent, I will tell you that your middle name is a favorite, Angelique! She is my little angel!

3. TAKE A GIANT STEP
Remember the feeling as a child When you woke up and morning smiled It's time you felt like you did then. There's just no percentage in remembering the past It's time you learned to live again at last.

What is your favorite morning ritual? Coffee and saying, "good morning " to each family member. They all have their own little nicknames in the morning. Handsome = "Good morning, Sweetie" or "boo boo"and Goddess = "Good morning, my baby".

4. STAR COLLECTOR She's a star collector (collector of stars) She only seems to please young celebrities. She's a star collector (collector of stars) How can I love her, when I just don't respect her?

Have you ever dreamed of a one night stand with a famous actor or musician? It would be easier to ask how many nights I haven't dreamt of this fantasy!

5. SOMETIME IN THE MORNING Sometime in the morning A simple thought may occur to you, And you hold her, And tell her all the things you never told her.

Are you a morning person or a night person when it comes to intimacy? Night! But a roll in the hay in the morning is OK too.

6. SHADES OF GRAY But today there is no day or night Today there is no dark or light. Today there is no black or white, Only shades of gray.

Who gave you advice that got you into trouble when you were a kid? No one. I wasn't one for taking advice and I was a good kid.

7. PLEASANT VALLEY SUNDAY Another Pleasant Valley Sunday Charcoal burning everywhere Rows of houses that are all the same And no one seems to care

What is your favorite Sunday activity? Hanging out with my family. I like just being in their presence.

8. MARY MARY Mary, Mary, tell me truly What did I do to make you leave me. Whatever it was I didn't mean to, You know I never would try and hurt ya.Mary, Mary, where you goin' to?

Why did your last relationship end?  Because he was toxic and a shit head.

9. LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE Take the last train to Clarksville, And I'll meet you at the station. You can be be there by four thirty, 'Cause I made your reservation.

What was the most desperate action you took to get together with a lover? His family owned a two family house. The bottom apartment was empty. I climbed through a window in the empty apartment but had to pass through his sister's apartment to get to the stairs of his attic apartment. I crept up the stairs and through her hall and kitchen while her family was watching TV in the living room. It was craziness and they could have had me arrested if they caught me passing through their house. They had never met me and I would have been an stranger in their house. For some reason it was important for me to get to him.

10. I’M A BELIEVER Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer Not a trace of doubt in my mind. I'm in love, I'm a believer! I couldn't leave her if I tried.

Have you ever fallen in love at first site, or within a very short period of time? It is easy to say it but it isn't really love! Real love takes time. We can be in lust, in like but not in Love.

11. THEME FROM THE MONKEES We're just tryin' to be friendly, Come and watch us sing and play, We're the young generation, And we've got something to say.

What was your most irritating trait when you were a radical teenager? First, I was never a radical teenager. My family would agree. I was more radical as a young 24 year old and my most irritating trait would have been carrying around a coffin pocketbook or wearing goth type clothing.

12. CUDDLY TOY You’re not the kind of girl to tell your mother The kind of company you keep I never told you not to love no other You must of dreamed it in your sleep

What did you tell your mother (or father) that you regret telling her? Nothing! As I said, I was a good girl.

13. A LITTLE BIT ME A LITTLE BIT YOU I don't want to find That I'm a little bit wrong And you're a little bit right I said girl You know that it's true It's a little bit me And it's a little bit you... too

What is the last project you worked on with another person? I worked on the deck with my husband many years ago.

Color Carnival - #56

Color Carnival this week is a hard pick. When I see all the color that everyone else has, everything I have pales in comparison.

I headed to the zoo with my kids right before school started. Every year I take them and at the end we head to the souvenir store there. This year, Goddess choose some colorful stones for her "special box" to remember the zoo by. I think the blue table and the stone bag are much more colorful than the stones. How about you?

Memory Rewind - Mommy and Me - Circa 1967

Here is your chance to use some of those older photos you have on your computer that you may have forgotten about. Post a photo and write a story about it.

Without a scanner, this picture is really going to suck but I am going to post it anyway for prosperity.

Here I am at 1 sitting on my Mommy's lap. I may look big but trust me I was only 1. My mom was only 4'9 which means at 4'11", I would be taller than her.

I wish I knew who the woman sitting to the side was, I don't there are no other pictures to even give me a hint. My mommy looks as dressed up as I am for my first. She was 26 years old and seems so very young even with the thick black glasses on. My dad is taking the picture, and you would think that he would have tried to get me to smile, oh well. At least my mommy is looking at me with love and a smile.

My sister Gabrielle was already born the month before (we are 11 months apart) which means Mommy was still recouping from giving birth and getting used to two babies. It is amazing that she is smiling.

This picture is very special to me because well as most of my long time readers know, I lost mommy when I was 11 years old to Cancer (here is my tribute post). I don't have many pictures of her which is one of the reasons I came up with Self Portrait Sunday and why I take so many pictures of the kids and I. You never know when your time is, create memories for your children that will last THEIR lifetime.

On an up note, today is my Hex Bug party and I have 10 kids coming to the house with their mommies. Look for the review and giveaway of a Hex Bug set soon.

Join me and bring back a memory.

ABC Wednesday - H

H = Handmade - I have a shop on Etsy called Street Angel. Here are my latest creations.

H = Hair tie and Horse - Goddess likes to decorate and we find things decorated all over the house. Often times it makes you smile like this time. Sometimes, you just roll your eyes, like when you find a hanger draped on your just pressed shirt or an animal on a pretend leash hanging from a dining room chair.

H = Holding - Here is Handsome holding his very first puppy. Well not "his" but the first puppy he ever held. Oh, you get it!

H = Hermit Crab

Wicked Girls (A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials by Stephanie Hemphill)

What I Can Tell You: At first, I thought I will never be able to get into this book. It is written in verse and each girl gets her own "diary" so to speak as we hear each of their views.  It took me no time to move quickly through the book and decide that my next Netflix movie will be The Crucible. However, after a while, I wanted to just read a story.

Stephanie Hemphill's writing is very poetic and I believe this book would make for a wonderful classroom assignment and discussion about the history and times but but as a Young Adult book, I think younger girls will lose interest.

The book is powerful and the mountain of lies that pile up as the girls move forward in the trial is gripping and makes me long to attend a witch trial. The whole bewitching thing and the times, are very interesting to me.

Tuesday Takes - Ghost Girl

Freda's Tuesday Takes is doing Creative Editing. Here is my submission.

Teach and I have been playing with the camera on a tripod lately. He brought me the camera for Christmas and I still haven't mastered some of the features. Teach sat down with the book the other day and played with some buttons showing me what he learned.

Goddess and I were alone on the deck afterward and I asked her to pose/move for me and the camera. Here is the illusion we were going for. Ghost Girl!

Can you tell she is saying "booooo" as she runs toward me?

The Happiness Project - What Makes You Happy?

Right before school started, I headed out to bowl with my friends, Lauri and Clary and their babies.

It was fun to be competitive with a friend. I haven't bowled in 20 years so I didn't do so well. This is not Wii my friends. Those balls have some weight, and you have to fight the perfect finger fit. BTW...I came in last behind my baby girl. Not too embarrassing.

Handsome trying to coax the ball to go the way he wants.

My beautiful baby in my favorite dress beat me with 50 points. Waahhhhh...Yeah I suck that bad.

The Boy Who Changed The World by Andy Andrews

What I Can Tell You:

This is the perfect message for just about anybody. Everything you do, big or small has a trickle effect. The smallest gesture can alter someone else's world.

I love the pictures and the way Andy Andrews used real people to get his message across. Showing real results hits the ball out of the park.

The book is written for 4-8 year olds, however after reading it to my 5 year old, I can tell you that I had to be very animated to get her interested in the story. I think it is more for 7-10 year olds.

I really appreciated the Readers Guide which asks some great questions. They were fun to build on to see what my daughter will say.  "Only God knows why we are here because he put us here" was her answer to Do you think we were put on this earth for a reason?

When I asked her what her dreams were for herself she said, 'I just wish I had my own pet store."

I can't wait to see what she says to these questions in 4 years. 

Ruby Tuesday - Back To School

We had plenty of red showing on the first day of school! Check out the sign that greeted my kids in the living room in the morning!

Handsome's shirt and lunch box were both sporting their fair share of the ruby color.

Here is Handsome and Goddess waiting their turn when we headed out to bowl with friends.

Mellow Yellow Monday & Blue Monday - Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss takes up a shelf in Goddess' new classroom. It was the perfect theme for my Mellow Yellow/Blue Monday combination post.

Reduce The Risk of Colds and Allergy Symptoms with Waterpik

Thanks to Mom Select I was given the opportunity to review two new products from SinuSense.

What I Can Tell You: They both do the same thing, it is simply a matter of choice. I used a Neti pot for the first time last year during a cold. I had seen Dr. Oz do it on the Oprah show and knew that it would take some getting used to.

The box recommends doing it in the shower which made more sense since the last time I did it standing at the sink, it dripped down my face and into my ear.

So, standing in the shower, with my squeeze bottle and Neti Pot which were filled prior to the shower with luke warm water, I picked up the Squeeze Bottle first. Tiling my head, I squeezed it into my nose. Umm..OK, too hard. It shot into my nasal passage along with a lot of air. After some sneezes I tried again. Make sure you have it tipped so the water is toward the tip and your head is tilted. It really isn't rocket science and if I were thinking about the review probably wouldn't have had any problem if I were using it for the first time.

Next, I grabbed the Neti Pot. I got this, the little One-Touch FlowControl Valve is easy and controls a lot of the water spill.

It seems like they both will do exactly what you need, it is simply a matter of preference. Personally, I think I like the squeeze bottle better. I felt like the process was quicker but maybe that means I rushed it. Who knows.

The box states you should not use if you have an ear infection, blocked ears, or if your nasal passage is completely blocked.

This is also safe for 4 years old and up, however as much as my kids thought it was fun to watch. No one wanted to try it.

Just as hand-washing is an important everyday routine, Ear Nose and Throat specialists (ENT) recommend a sinus wash for every day. In fact, 4 out of 5 ENTs have provided sinus wash samples to clients and 1 in 4 personally use it.  So why not grab a SinuSense for each member of your family this year. Who knows, maybe this will be the year no one catches a single cold.