Zen-Mother

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So how did I spend my 31st birthday today? Well, I didn’t shower until about 5:00 PM…cause I am uber glamorous like that. My hubby slept all day and got up to go to work at 4:00 PM and didn’t even recall that is was my birthday or at least he didn’t say anything if he did.

My parents, my brother, my 3 kids and I went out to dinner at a sports bar. My 2 year old was extremely unhappy with the food I ordered him (he wanted a nasty hot dog) and decided to have a meltdown. It was the worst he has ever had and very unlike him. So I got to spend the dinner hour in the car with him while everyone else ate.

Then my mom and I went to Elder Beerman sans kiddies and she treated me to a shopping spree. I shopped the bargain bins and got a t-shirt, 2 pairs of jeweled flip-flops, and 4 dresses for my daughter.

Then I came home and had some cake my mom made for me, watched a DVD, wrote this post, and now I am going to read a book and drink a beer. Maybe when I turn 32 next year I will be on a beach in Fiji or Tahiti drinking a Pina Colada…here is to hoping.

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Does this back-to-school time of year start to make YOU want some cool mommy supplies…maybe some pretty magnets, folders, notebooks, a cutesy mouse pad, and calendar. I know I have to stay out of the office/school supply sections of stores because it DOES draw me in and make me want to buy.

If you are anything like me in that regard and/or shop at Wal-Mart I may have some bad news for you. To help women and teens get organized in style, Carolina Pad and Paper and Jacqueline Savage McFee have just launched two incredibly beautiful new lines of paper and organizational products at Wal-Mart, designed just for women and teens. They are called Simply Chic and Eye Candy and they are both equally! Definately a great way to glam your home office!

They were lovely enough to send me some samples and I have been ooh and aahing for some time now. Even their sticky notes and flags look straight out of Vouge magazine! I especially their magnets…mods squares, pink and green with polka dots, black and white modern designs….lovely. The paper flags are more of the same. I also love the designer pens…which are now my “special pens”.  Also got a cool journal, a couple smazzy looking folders/paper organizers…perfect for homeschool stuff, a small calendar that can fit in my purse, a groovy flowered mouse pad, and a box of notes for a desk…I gifted them to someone and she was elated. All in all this is a very smart and elegant collection. I am too old for the cutesy stuff they usually have at Wal-Mart for tween girls. Simple Chic and Eye Candy are just perfect. Here is a sneak peak…or head over to Wal-Mart and see for yourself.

Check out their web site too!

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There is an issue that affects many women I am sure, especially women who have given birth several times, but they don’t like to talk about it. It is one of those hush, hush things…bladder control problems. Well guess what, one in four of us Moms suffers from light bladder leakage (as many of us can attest as we jump on trampolines or laugh, cough or sneeze too hard), yet we rarely talk about it. Why are we so embarassed? Leaking urine, having to urinate frequently and experiencing other symptoms of urinary incontinence aren’t trivial consequences of childbirth or a natural parts of aging either. You can do something about it if you seek medical help. The Mayo Clinic suggests seeing a Urogynecologist. This is an obstetrician-gynecologist with additional training in problems that affect a woman’s pelvic floor — the network of muscles, ligaments, connective tissue and nerves that help support and control the bladder and other pelvic organs. Anyone can start researching and see what they can do.

To help open a dialogue about pelvic health and reverse the stigma often associated with bladder and pelvic issues, Poise has joined with the Women’s Health Foundation (WHF) to increase awareness of pelvic health and wellness. At a recent benefit to raise awareness they presented the first-ever Passion Award to Linda Michael of Portage, Indiana because her story of personal triumph over pelvic pain and bladder control issues - and her willingness to tell about it. Click here for Linda’s Story. It is awesome that they are trying to bring awareness to this issue.

Head over to Poise to learn more enter two different sweepstakes and sign up for valuable coupon offers.

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Meme with one word answers…play along with me?

1. Where is your cell phone?  Purse
2. Your significant other? Hottie
3. Your hair? short
4. Your mother? CONTROLLING
5. Your father? softie
6. Your favorite thing? travel
7. Your dream last night? forgot
8. Your favorite drink? Bellini
9. Your dream/goal? Adventure
10. The room you’re in?  bedroom
11. Your church? NO!
12. Your fear? unhappiness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Traveling
14. Where were you last night? movies
15. What you’re not? glamorous
16. Muffins? Nah
17. One of your wish list items? Camera lens
18. Where you grew up? Phoenix
19. The last thing you did? Read
20. What are you wearing? Shorts & T
21. Your TV? Flat
22. Your pets? Dogs
23. Your computer? New
24. Your life? unfulfilling
25. Your mood? ready to change
26. Missing someone? yes…BF
27. Your car?  8 years old
28. Something you’re not wearing? bra
29. Favorite store? Amazon.com
30. Your summer? Good
31. Like(love) someone? kids, husband
32. Your favorite color? green
33. Last time you laughed? Last night
34. Last time you cried? Yesterday
35. Who will repost this? ????????????????????????

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If you have ever planned a wedding you probably bought tons of bridal magazines…I know I did. Most of them are full of honeymoon ads and one ad that always hooked me from the get go was Beaches Resorts. I soooo wanted to go to Beaches for my honeymoon. But since we weren’t paying for it we had little input on that aspect of the wedding. We ended up having a great time in Vegas, staying at the Bellagio, and sipping 44 ounce margaritas!

I never forgot Beaches though and I have thinking of them often lately as they also have family packages that look amazing. If you are not familiar, Beaches are all inclusive resorts. So when you book a vacation with them food, fun, activities, etc. are all included in the price. So parents can scuba dive and eat a gourmet restaurant while their kids see the Live Elmo show and eat grilled cheese in the room with one of the Beaches certified nannies. Fun for the whole family but it does allow for mom and dad to get some alone time in…which I love because unfortunately for hubby I am not big on going on vacation without the kids. I don’t like experiencing wonderful new things without them. My parents always took me and my brothers and I have always taken mine. So any resort that is for the WHOLE family is tops in my book!

They also have some amazing destinations… Turks & Caicos, Negril, Jamaica, & Boscobel. Boscobel even has a killer waterpark. AND right now Beaches is having a WonderFall Promotion. GET 1 free night when you stay 5 or 6 nights. GET 2 free nights when you stay 7 nights (or longer).Valid in any category at one of the resorts above. Combine it with up to 45% off for incredible savings. A GREAT deal on a great family vacation. Oh Beaches how I love thee….

Who doesn’t want dazzling white-sand beaches, translucent turquoise water and a vast array of exciting amenities. Me, me, me!! Take me away Beaches!

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Mom Central recently sent me some bottles of CranEnergy juice drinks to try. I am not usually an energy drink person but I do like juice and I am generally fond of energy too so I thought I would give them a whirl. They taste pretty good. My favorite was the cranberry/raspberry combo juice. The juices are enhanced with natural energizers like green tea extract and B vitamins. It also has Vitamin C to help boost immunity. I did get a nice energy kick.

My daughter really liked them too. She kept snaking the bottle when I wasn’t looking. The only negative is that they are sweetened with Splenda, of which I am not a fan. I would love to see them make a Stevia sweetened version….that would rock. I guess the idea is that they have only 35 calories per serving so they are much lower in calories than soda or other energy drinks. I don’t drink either of those though so it is not a selling point but overall they taste good and Splenda is better than Aspartame. So if you have a soda or Gatorade addicted person in your life these might be a better alternative for them.

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My recent post on an episode of Supernanny, the comments that ensued, and some comments on other blogs talking about this episode have got the wheels turning…

I have heard several times recently that the Supernanny, Jo Frost, is not qualified to give parenting advice because she doesn’t have children. I disagree with this….a lot. And here is why…I was a nanny (home daycare) for some 5 years before I started my first secular job and NOTHING trained me better for parenthood than that. Did I feel that because I was not the actual mom that I wasn’t qualified to offer advice to the moms and dads I worked for? Heck no! I offered ooodles of advice and was asked for it constantly. Why? Because parents saw that what I was doing worked and that many times what they were doing was not working.

It was not because I had superior knowledge it was because I had better skills. I was “honing” my parenting skills for 10 plus hours a day with multiple children from different families. These were not my kids so under no circumstances was I going to resort to physical punishments or yelling. I couldn’t let someone else’s child they trusted me with CIO (cry-it-out). I had to get creative to get the desired outcome. I had to be uber patient. Nannies have to deal with the same issues that parents do but without as many options. AND not only that…nannies have someone (the parents) potentially breathing down their neck, watching every move they make. Let me tell you…it gives you some motivation to develop some mad skills. And by golly I loved those kids and they loved me. I had parents visiting me and writing to me for years after I quit because they felt as though I was part of the family.

I don’t think being a nanny turned me into the perfect parent…far from it. But I think those years as a nanny were actually an intensive parenting training course. So that is why I think a Nanny might be in the perfect position to offer parenting advice…despite their childless status. And I think being a nanny is valuable experience for young women.

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I think by now everyone has heard of the popular Baby Einstein series of DVDs for young children. Some swear that it helps to “smarten” of their babies and some groups say they do the opposite.

Well, I had a chance to review one recently and I have to say that I kind of like them. I am big on movies and DVDs in general because they can be reviewed first by parents and kids like to  watch the same stuff over and over I find. These particular videos are supposed to help babies develop playful movement and motor skills.

I thought they would be cartoons like you see on the covers but I was very surprised to see lots of real babies and children in the video. They were crawling, dancing, jumping, clapping, and playing. My youngest was extremely interested in what they were doing and had a big smile plastered on his face the whole time. I could tell he was trying to figure out how he could do the stuff they were doing.

The soundtrack was also really good with classics from Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, and Mozart so even I enjoyed it. It was a really cute video and I think young would benefit from watching…just not too much. After we watched I took my son to the indoor play park and we worked on some of those motor skills.

You can be the Baby Einstein Dvds at Amazon!

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My resolution to support my local community is working out well. Two times this month my son (7 years) and I have visited a local, historic theatre and playhouse. Two weeks ago we saw “Enchanted” a wonderful movie. It is a classic Disney fairytale that collides with modern-day New York City in a story about a fairytale princess who is sent to our world by an evil queen. Soon after her arrival, Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer. It was so cute you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I would highly recommend it!

Today I took him to a stage performance of The Emperor’s New Clothes. We had a great time yet again and spending some one on one time with my oldest is awesome too. Next week we are planning to see The Sound of Music and several weeks from now we are looking forward to seeing Rumpelstiltskin.

And I am REALLY looking forward to seeing some Operas in the spring with hubby.

In Phoenix we had so many opportunities to do things like this but we never did. I am happy to see that changing.

The picture below is from the marvelous Palace Theatre. It is gorgeous inside and less than 5 minutes from my house.

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I love the fact that there is a picture of the earth on one side and a yin-yang (balance) on the other. How fitting! 

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

As seen on on Brit Blaise’s Blog

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