ABC Wednesday - U = Under

What goes up, must eventually come down and you just might get stuck under it.

Area 51 An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen

What I Can Tell You:

My husband and I have had a mutual love of all things associated with Area 51. Most of our downtime TV watching focuses around documentaries mentioning Area 51.  When the book arrived and I saw the size, I though, my goodness, how will I ever finish this book? It is after all 544 pages and weighs 1.9 lbs. Fear not my friends. The book is wonderfully written and beyond interesting and if read for entertainment and interest you will enjoy. If you are looking to fill in any "black holes" in the mystery surround Area 51, you will undoubtedly be disappointed. While reading some sections out loud my husband would chime in with "that has been dissolved"  or "that is inaccurate".  

The point is this, we may never really know what is factual and what is legend but Annie does a good job of storytelling. I was interested and while it often felt embellished or contrived, the book, if you are interested in Area 51 was entertaining. 

Spring Cleaning Sargento Style

It must be a food kind of day!

Last week I received this box in the mail from Sargento.

Fortunately it had been a cool night because the UPS dude left it by my door after 5ish and we never heard him knock. The bears and raccoons could have had a field day but thankfully nothing happened to the box and we are still enjoying the contents which are A-Maz-ing!

What was inside? Well, three boxes of Sargento Cheese. We got Mild Chedder, Colby Jack and Light String Cheese, 18 sticks in each box. Now, that's a lot of cheese right?

This is a good thing because we are a bunch of mice here. We love our cheese, especially the two boys of the house. My son and husband snack on them like crazy and for this mom, I couldn't be happier. Snacks are a big part of the day. If you wrote down everything you eat, on some days, you would be surprised. Kids love snacks and they love it even more when they can get it themselves or not have mommy over their shoulder telling them, "just one" as in the case of my daughter who asks for fruit snacks or candy every hours.

Sargento is a name I grew up with and have used for most of my 28+ years on my own and now for my family. Their idea for summer about Fridge Packs should have been done ages ago. Toss out those unhealthy snacks that are giving you nothing but a quick fix without the benefit of nutrition and turn them in for something that is so much better for you like cheese.

My son takes these in his lunch box every day. My husband sits down at night and instead of chips has been grabbing two cheese sticks while watching TV.

I LOVE These Cookies

I have been a fan of Fig Newtons since I was a little girl. My grandparents grew figs and we used to to eat them when we visited them. When home, we ate Fig Newtons. They were great for dipping in milk. I loved the softness of it and the way your teeth broke through the outside to get to the soft fruit in the middle.

So when the opportunity to try these new Newton's Fruit Thins which I saw popping up on the store shelves presented itself, I was in. Just the week prior I almost grabbed a box but put it back (there is no extra money to buy things, I might not love. Budgeting is everything these days.) Would I love them, would I not appreciate the obviously crispy cookie. Thinner means I wouldn't give me the softness that I love about the Fig Newtons!

 I received a box bag of Blueberry Brown Sugar Fruit Newton Thins and opened it right away.

 Don't they look delish? They are!

They are made with real fruit. You can actually tell that these are real blueberries in the cookie and there are a lot of them. There are 8 grams of whole grain per serving, only 140 calories and come in 4 flavors, fig and honey, chocolate and raspberry, cranberry citrus oat and the ones I tried blueberry brown sugar. Today I picked up the fig and honey and when Goddess comes home we will taste test them together although, I may just have to open the pack without her and take a nibble.

ABC Wednesday - Talent

This week we are looking at the letter T and the first word that came to my mind was "talent". I must use that 10 times a day. My daughter (just 6 years old) loves creating things using forms of mixed media. She doesn't know that's what she is doing but it is.

Sometimes she saves things like toilet paper rolls, little bottles, charms, leafs, flower petals, walnut shells and uses them in your drawings.

Here are some from this week.

Notice the tree's angry faces, the little girl screaming and the witch hiding behind the bush. 

In this one, she used the word mom but made it into a vampire picture (You may think it is because I have too much Twilight around but it's not. She has no idea what Twilight it. This is all from Scooby Doo). When pressed she said the red circles are from the blood that dripped from their teeth.

When I asked if the person was running away (it was right after the Boo picture), she said, Umm..no Mommy..he is ice skating.

One of my favorites

Handsome and Goddess Help The Community Thanks To Pampers Pay Forward Initiative

On May 9th I told you about a little celebration going on at Pampers for their 50th Anniversary.

The Little Miracle Mission is Pampers way of helping mom and dads through little acts of kindness and encourages you to pay it forward too.

Last months campaign was for Moms in time for Mother's Day, this month they are celebrating Dads.

The mission is to help give dads the time he and his baby deserve to bond. As it's so critical to his baby's development. Just by running some of his errands, covering his late meeting at work or helping him out with some chores at home can make room for some precious quality time with his little miracle. Pick one or one of your own and tell us how it goes.

For committing to help, you can enter The Little Miracles sweepstakes for a chance to win free diapers and wipes for a year.

Visit the Pampers Miracle Missions Facebook tab and pledge your support!

Pampers' Pledge:

If we get 4,000 commitments to complete the mission, Pampers will throw special Father’s Day cook-outs for dads and babies across the country designed to give dads and their babies valuable bonding time. It'll be a day to remember.

For my Pay It Forward last month, I gifted the Cub Scouts and Gaelic Club with the $50.00 AMEX Gift Card for the Village Garden and Butterfly Trails. They needed more plants for our Village Garden. Imagine our Village actually has a garden growing where we are hoping to grow and work together, creating an educational plus bounding experience for our village! So cool and a wonderful way for all the families in my community to benefit from one little mission.

 

The work was done during our Cub Scout registration and while new scouts were signing up. The Cub Scouts were digging and planting and the newbies got to learn about seeds, growth and our area. I am very proud of this little endeavor the town has taken on. Hopefully it gets bigger every year with more and more people working together.

The Available Parent Radical Optimism for Raising Teens and Tweens + A Tip From Dr. John Duffy

What I Can Tell You:

While I didn't always agree with Dr. Duffy, as I am 50% "helicopter parent". Two years ago I was 100% but I am dealing with kids 6 and 8 years old. I am getting better at giving them space as they get older and prove themselves. I also micro-manage at this time, mostly conversations, helping them use good manners however I don't believe I will do this as they get older. In my mind, how will they know how to be effective listeners, use good manners and good judgment, if they are not being told how to?

If I remove myself out of the veil of mommy to elementary aged kids, I think this is the perfect book to aid parents of tweens and teens. I love how Dr. Duffy looks at and sees things! These kids are not lying. They are saying exactly what they need from their parents and thankfully there is a book out there telling us how to interpret what they need and how we can adjust ourselves to be the best parent for our kids and especially our future relationship with them.

I know exactly who needs this book and I am so happy to be able to tell her about it. 

Daddy's 72nd!

Today is my Dad's 72 birthday. We called him to wish him a happy birthday and the kids sang happy birthday which made him laugh and cry at the same time. My dad is not perfect but he did the best HE could and I love him to pieces. There are so many amazing dads out there and I happen to be married to one of them.

I love the idea of a day of celebrating Dads. There are so many wonderful father's out there and they DO need to be celebrated. Who doesn't love a Dad who really embodies everything we wish for in a father for our children.

Someone fun, happy, eager to teach yet sensitive and patient.

Someone who can play soccer yet enjoy a cup of pretend tea with a table full of bears.

Someone strong and loving.

Someone we can look up to and know will protect and take care of us no matter what.

While I love all the momprenuers I know out there, I know there are a ton of amazing dads and I want to honor them with a Maria's Space Giveaway hosted by little old me.

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Tuesday Takes - My Kids Love Summer Weather

We spent 80% of the weekend on the deck. It was hot but we had the radio, the laptops and water guns, "jumpy thing", sand table and bikes for the kids.

I seriously don't want them to return to school. Loved having my whole family home for three days.

Ruby Tuesday - A Child's Love

Ruby Tuesday

This is the container that housed my Mother's Day plant from Goddess. It was made in school and it took cute to be thrown away. She loves to draw and this shelf with my Willow Tree Collection is the perfect place for it to sit. Our hair is always made the same way which reminds me of a 1970s logo or something.

My Kids Are True Animal Lovers And Adore The Endangerbles

If your kids are like mine, they are growing up to love and appreciate all living things. The Endangerbles are the perfect addition to this lesson.

Handsome loves listening to music when he goes to sleep. It is something he has been doing since before he took his first breath (I was a headphone on the belly mom). This past week he has replaced his Baby Einstein with The Endangerbles CD. We all sing it now as Mom and Dad dance out of his room after saying goodnight.

Blind In One Eye by David R. Ford

What I Can Tell You:
Imagine growing up as an only child with loving adoptive parents knowing you have a brother out there with your birth family but then finding out that you don't just have a brother, you have 5 other siblings too! David calls them "the keepers" and "the throwaways". His birth parents put him up for adoption along with three girls before him then went on to have more babies that they kept.

It's a complicated story, one that David tells with a candid approach encased in realism and humor. It reads like an letter between friends. I felt like David is a wonderful person who is sharing his very complicated story because he wants to advocate for open adoption. He spent 40 years of his life searching for a family he knew was out there and then to hear that his eldest sister had been looking for him for years and had a semi relationship with the birth mother who comes off as a scared woman of the 40's. As a mother, reading the story of these "throwaways" and wondering how a mother could continue to have babies and give them up could if written by a different person, may have made me angry. However, David has such a way of telling the story, that I don't feel anger toward his birth mother. I feel pity, sadness and shame. If it were a different time maybe things would have been different. I am so happy that David has a family that he is getting to know and love.

Enjoyable, good read even if you have never experienced adoption. David is truly a wonderful story teller and I love his relationship with his wife. Kudos to him for putting this all down on paper for other adoptees to have a reference on how removing the veil of secrecy with adoptions can heal, soothe, and foster relationships that wouldn't have had a chance to flourish without knowledge and communication.


Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from FordWords Publishing for my honest opinion.

If They Are Going To Eat Candy Anyway.......

I am one of those moms, you know the one. It takes us 4+ months to eat what they get for Halloween and Easter with some disappearing into the trash almost daily. I allow a piece a day. There is no reason for all that stuff to be eaten until you are sick. My sister and I talk about this all the time, when we were kids, there was never a Sweet Police demanding we make the pick a good one because it would be your only for the day. We were allowed to eat until we were sick which is why I think we now eat until we are sick. Hopefully, by allowing our children to partake but with limits, we are setting them up to live a life of enjoying sweets without going overboard.  When my kids are allowed candy outside of the Halloween stuff, the selection is mostly things without teeth sticking taffy type things. I believe chocolate to be the best candy but my kids love to experiment. Last week they got the opportunity to experiment for a candy review and my kids were beyond thrilled.

Kids: "This came in the mail and we GET to eat it for you?"
Me: "Yup, go ahead. try each one!"
Kids: "WHAT? REALLY? OK!"

Surf Sweets Natural and Organic Candy was a big hit with the kids and me. We know kids and adults alike, love candy and now you can eat all those wonderfully, fruity gummies, jellies and sours without all the sugar.

My personal favorite was the gummy bears and worms while my kids loved the jelly beans and my niece the sour worms.

You can totally taste the difference. They are made only with ingredients found in nature.