Trick-or-treating, an extra hour of sleep and no book

With a weekend filled with walking miles on end, through gusty winds and cold temps, I'm glad I get to end it with an extra hour of sleep. It actually started last night, when we went trick-or-treating in our town against the recommendation of staying home because of the flu risk from the news-and my mom. We took precautions and pretty much everyone giving out candy just put it in Emily's bag and I rang the doorbells, followed by hand sanitizer. We had to battle a horrible wind that about knocked us off or feet and Emily's tiara took flight off her head several times.
Unfortunately, Emily doesn't share the traditional need to stay out the whole three hours and hit as many houses as possible like the rest of us do. She must take after her dad, who we do not let go with anymore after he's proved more than once that he is done after the first block.



Little Zach went with, but apparently the people handing out candy didn't feel that he should have any. Can you believe it? Maybe they haven't seen him put away a chocolate frosted double decker cupcake? This boy can eat and he likes his candy. Oh well. I guess they saved my daughter a huge dental bill-maybe she should send them a thank-you card. Some people.

Tonight we are going to our neighboring town and Zach and Jessica are going with a fellow mom friend and her little one. Maybe these people will see the importance of equal rights to all trick-or-treaters. That, or Zach can just kick them in the shin.


Ok, now. Maybe you've been wondering where the heck my book is, but are too polite to ask. You guys are just so nice like that. That's what I love about you. Well, it's been pushed back. I know, I'm mad too. October is like prime book-touring-will-sell-the-best month, but, it's all going to be ok. Just go grab your PW cookbook and maybe Dooce's new book and get that reading out of the way and hopefully, mine will be here by Christmas. I'm not promising, because I might jinx it and we wouldn't want that. I mean, what else would go with the Snuggies I'm giving everyone for Christmas??

The Twilight shirts continue

I am a Twilight fan and I am anxiously awaiting for New Moon to come out. That was my favorite book of the series and I am definitely now a Team Jacob. lol. I don't know if you remember my episode with my Twilight shirt and how the cashier kind of laughed at me being a mom wearing a Twilight shirt? I've gotten over that and I just had to get a New Moon shirt because you know, Jacob is so, so, so hot. Yes, I went there.

Ironically, my husband bought the Twilight shirt and asked when we were getting the Jacob shirt. I'm like, TODAY. NOW. LET'S GO. This man obviously doesn't feel threatened by these gorgeous, beautiful and perfect men. That, or he knows there's no chance that I'm running away with any of them any time soon.

So, we go to the mall and start looking at all the choices of shirts. I was in heaven. I was going around saying, I want this one. No, this one. No, this one-maybe this is where Emily gets her indecisiveness over clothing from.

When I finally get down to two shirt choices, he finally tells me to just get both. I can't argue about that, but I was still wondering about the size. I was pretty comfortable about going with a medium since they ran a bit small, but he kept saying that maybe I should get a large. Now, all I can think is, a husband should never tell his wife that she should get a size larger. He really started making me self-conscious and a bit mad.

Finally, I'm like, ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT? He quietly says, I'm worried about it fitting over your chest. I'm like, Oh. Ok.

I guess he won't be sleeping in the garage tonight.

My little monkey

We took photos of Zach today and didn't have much luck at first.

First, he just frowned.

Then he wouldn't look at me.

And then after many, many tries, he finally smiled.

Maybe I should've offered him a banana.

Food blog heaven

Ok, do you remember the idea I had for a blog that involved food even though I can't bake?

I'm now ready to reveal my secret. I have started a blog called,

Moody Food Reviews

So far, it's been a hit with food bloggers and people bakers that sell food products. I going to do food product reviews (mainly from Foodzie.com and Etsy) and reviews of food blogs that I love, and recommend food related products. I'm going to list recipes that I recommend and maybe, someday, I'll try to cook something myself-someday.

I hope to do giveaways and other fun stuff too. I've been having a blast going through all the food blogs and I hope that you will enjoy it to and try to visit it too. You never know what might be on it.

So, please go over and visit and leave a comment if you want and let me know what you think!

Growing some manly muscles

Last year, when we decided that Emily was too big for her toddler bed, we purchased a regular bed for her. I wanted to do it right this time and just get her a full size instead of buying a twin and then her wanting a bigger bed when she was older. Sorry Jordon, I can hear you grumbling as you toss and turn in your twin size bed. That, and since I spend alot of time having to lay next to her because she is too afraid to fall asleep by herself most of the time, I don't fall flat on my face trying to squeeze in a tiny bed.

The one thing I was afraid of though, was her falling out of it and hurting herself. I decided that we could just leave it on the floor until she was a bit bigger and if she did fall, it wouldn't be so far from the ground. She liked it and I could sleep at night, so it has all worked out for us. Now that she is going to turn five next month, I decided that it was time to get the bed frame-that and my mom's constant "pushing" me to get one every time she comes over.

So, I ordered one for her bed and it finally came in (a word to the wise; if you choose Walmart's site-to-store option, please don't tell your four year old until it comes in, because it takes weeks to get there and you'll be pulling out your hair in the mean time from hearing, Is it here yet? ).

Anyway, with my husband's second job keeping him busy, I didn't have him to help. I had to go pick it up, leave it in the car over night because he was too tired to take it out, take it out by myself the next day because I didn't want to wait another week, put it together after a half an hour of swearing and two broken nails, and then drag the heavy box spring and mattress onto it. I'll tell ya one thing, I certainly did NOT marry my husband to do man stuff.

Amazon Princess

After many trips to many stores, Emily finally decided on Cinderella for a costume for Halloween this year. If you ask me, all princess costumes are alike and since she was Sleeping Beauty last year, I asked her why she was going to be a princess again this year. She gave me the evil look that she is so famous for and said that no, she wasn't being a princess, but a DIFFERENT princess and Cinderella was WAY different and Don't you know anything?

I was just happy that it looked warm since we were having incredibly cold weather and I was worried that she would pick some fairy princess costume and we'd have to throw her winter jacket over it, which would cause the biggest fit known to mankind.

We got the costume home and took it out and Emily tried it on. We then found out that though it said it was a size 4, it was huge! I mean come on people, I know kids are bigger these days but this was ridiculous. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to use it because there is no way, no how, that I'm going through costume shopping again. I am thankful that it is only once a year because otherwise I think I'd have to change religions and become a Jehovah Witness.

I tried talking her into wearing her old Mickey Mouse costume that I found one year at a garage sale that was so cute, but she would not even talk about it. That year, she had so many compliments on it and we kept getting stopped on the street by other parents telling us how adorable the costume was. She was having a blast until about a hour into trick-or-treating, when we all realized that everyone thought she was a boy. She was really mad at me for that but I honestly never thought about Mickey being a boy.

I'm still holding onto it though, to go with all the other let's-embarrass-you-in-front-of-your-boyfriend keepsakes. That's just a mom's right, you know.

Come claim your shirt, dude.

With a busy weekend, I didn't realize that the Primo contest ended. I really hoped for more entries, but with my lack of commenting lately to work on my book, I didn't get very many entries.
Today, I have picked a winner though. The winner is....
Ann from A Latte in the morning
So, I will contact you and let you know-please get back to me asap with your contact info and I will forward it to Primo Activewear!
Congrats!

Like being let go in a candy store.

How our yearly Halloween costume shopping goes:

Emily: "I want to be a mermaid!"

Me: "Ok."

Emily: "No, a pink princess!"

Me: "Ok."

Emily: "No, a wedding bride!"

Me: "Ok."

Emily: "No, a cheerleader!"

Me:"Ok."

Emily: "No, a blue princess!"

Me: "Ok."

Emily: "No, a witch!"

Me: "Ok."

Emily: "No, a -"

Me: "Wait!"

Emily: "What?"

Me: "I think your dad wants to take you costume shopping."

Never Drive While InTEXTicated!

I have always been concerned about my daughter texting behind the wheel. She says that she doesn't, but would any kid tell you that they were? It would be like telling a parent that they drank and drive-most wouldn't tell. It's scary to think that the driver on the other side of the road coming your way, may be looking down at their cell phone instead of watching the road.
Driving is a task on it's own and when you add another distraction from you concentrating on your driving, it makes for a deadly consequence.

When I found Mom Sends the Msg , I had to join the fight to stop texting drivers. Mom Sends the Msg is a public service campaign initiated by TheMotherhood.com aimed at reducing distracted driving.
They are a group of awesome moms who care about the safety of their children and yours. Let's all take the pledge to reduce distraction during driving! You can visit their site and sign the pledge to help spread the word on the dangers of driving distracted and maybe we can help enforce that the dangers of distracted driving be included in driver's education classes.

I never realized how bad it was out there and how many people think that they can handle texting, going on the Internet, or other dangerous distractions while being responsible of controlling a 2 ton piece of machinery.
Now would a great time to get involved because they are even having a contest right now!
You can create a PSA - a videotaped public service announcement - to send the msg to drive safely and not be distracted behind the wheel.
Winners will receive:

First Place - $1,000
Second Place - $500
Third Place - $250
Fourth Place - $250

The deadline for entries is October 23rd, 2009.

So, please join us in the fight to keep fingers on the wheel and not on the phone!

Feeling the urge to have another baby

After I finish typing this post, I'm going to call my husband up and tell him to go read the title of it, so he will fall over dead from a heart attack. I'm just kidding, Honey!

Actually, the "baby" I'm referring to is another business adventure. I know. I know. You are thinking, does this woman have ADD? I am still busy working on my other stuff and having fun, but when ideas hit me, I have to go with them.

This weekend, while I worked on my book, I had the urge to surf through my favorite bloggers to see what they've been up to. (this is why I used to write with a pen and paper instead of directly typing onto the computer-too tempting!) I caught up on my PW and while going WAY back on her posts, I noticed that she went to a foodie blogger conference. A FOOD BLOG CONFERENCE? I would of loved to of gone. I love food blogs-as you know-and I live vicariously through them. If I could do a food blog, I would be in hog heaven. Why not start one, you ask? BECAUSE I CANNOT COOK OR BAKE. My posts would be full of burnt food, lopsided cakes and if I told you the dish was a blackened chicken- it wouldn't be what you were thinking.

Anyway, I started looking at her pictures of the event and slobbered over the chocolate cakes that they gave out and the goodies here and goodies there. I spent hours clicking over to the foodie bloggers links and melted over their wonderful photos and spent the day not writing, but wishing I were them.

Then, it hit me. I can be like them, but without having to cook or bake. I got this idea and I think it would be fun-if it works. So, I'm in the process of starting this idea. Yes. I'm starting another adventure. Please come to my funeral when I drop dead from exhaustion.

Growing up- just quit it, already!

Yesterday, my oldest announced to me that she just bought an SUV. She went on her own, used her own money, and put the title and insurance in her own name. Yes, this is a big step for her but even a bigger step for me.

You see, everything that she has had has always been through us. Her present car that she still has is under our name and we make the payments and cover the insurance. We've had to use our name and age and experience to help her for many things and though I always complain that she needs to step out on her own, I still like having a bit of control of her. Her knowing that we could take the car back has always been a nice leverage to have to make her do the right thing or be responsible.

So, when she told me she was able to go make a major purchase on her own with no help from us, I was proud of her but at the same time, it sadden me to see her take another step towards adulthood and independence.

How does a parent deal with the tug-of-war of wanting their child to be independent but at the same time still their little girl?

I guess I can still have hope that some day, she'll want to buy a house and need to come to me for a down payment-Hmm, maybe that could give me the leverage of telling her that she can't let any dirt bag boyfriends move in. Oh the possibilities...

Christmas in October-Fisher Price is awesome!

I just couldn't wait until Saturday to share with you two awesome products!

I always feel like it is Christmas whenever we get to review something. I love seeing the UPS guy stop at our door and bring some goodies up to our door.

Today, Fisher Price wanted us to review two really cool products.

Go Baby Go!™ Stride-to-Ride® Lion ($39)
Laugh & Learn™ Learning Farm ($79)

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to take a photo with Zach-will post some later!

Zach just loves these toys. At 12 months old, he loves to use everything to help him walk. The Stride to Ride Lion helps him accomplish this task. He pushes it all over the house. You can also ride on it too and he likes to have his mom push him on it and cries when we have to go some where and he can't take it with him. It plays music when you press it's nose, however it's also pretty easy to turn that feature off for quieter play.

Now on to the Laugh and Learn Play Farm.

What a neat toy for little kids! Going along with learning to walk, Zach is standing up all the time. This learning toy is huge, so he can stand up and play with it or sit down. It has lots of sounds and buttons and kids love to crawl through things, so this has been a hit. He crawls through the barn doors over and over.

Fisher Price is offering a great deal to all my readers! By registering here you’ll have an opportunity to download and print an in-store coupon that entitles you to $20 off a $100 purchase of Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn™ and/or Go Baby Go!™ Infant Toys.

Is that awesome or what?

So, head on over to Fisher Price and get a head start on your Christmas shopping!

I want to be the "Other Mother"

I really feel depressed today. We rented Coraline over the weekend and I thought it was a great movie. The only thing is, when we were watching it, my son speaks up and says, "You are just like her mom." Not the "Other Mother" who starts out being wonderfully nice and spends time with her and listens to her, etc., etc.

No. I'm the one who is too busy with work and tells her that she's bugging her and to go find something to do and don't bother Mommy.

What do you say to that? Yes, I'm trying to get my book ready and now it's almost to the deadline of the next issue of the magazine, but am I really that bad? Of course I'm all like, I am not! But, I can deny it all I want. Kids will tell you how it is and if that's how he feels, then it doesn't matter what you think. This has made me stop and reorganize my schedule around the kids. I mean, isn't that why we want to work at home anyway?

So, I learned a valuable lesson through a Tim Burton movie-how crazy is that?
Now, to make me feel better, I have sorted through my comments to find those awards that I haven't posted yet. Can I do that? Yes. I can. My mom said so.
The first one is from
Buckaroomama
She was so kind to give me this award. Thank-you and I will pick those 7 great blogs to give it to also.

The second is from

EcoMeg

She thinks I have one lovely blog. Thank you to you too. I needed that.

So, next time you are thinking about giving another blogger an award, do it. They just may need the pick me up because they may be feeling like they are Coraline's mean mother too!

Go team, go...

Our latest addition to the Steelers family wardrobe.

My husband called me up the other day so excited that he got an awesome deal at the store. He was so unbelievably happy, I was thinking maybe he found a new 57 inch widescreen TV dirt cheap, or maybe a new diamond ring that they were practically giving away, or maybe that new dishwasher I wanted was on super, super sale-my mind was dancing with anticipation of what jewel he found.

He then announces that he found a Steelers jersey for little Zach for twenty dollars.

How this man makes it through our front door at night without getting bopped on the head with a frying pan is beyond me.

A cool shirt and a cool contest

While surfing the net , I came across a website who's creator, Tanya Primo-Jones, ironically, found it's beginnings while surfing in Folly Beach, SC with her three sons. As she watched them compete to see who would be #1st, she had an epiphany... life is a competition. Tanya says, "EVERYTHING is a competition. We are either competing against others to succeed or competing against ourselves to be our personal best. I believe, in either case, this competitive spirit paves the way to our greatest successes."

So, Primo Activewear was born. This is a company that designs inspirational tshirts and other products.

I was lucky to be able to review one of their shirts-the Persevere-Believe-Win t-shirt.

I just love the look and feel of this shirt. My oldest daughter has already asked to borrow it, so that's a true compliment. lol.

Does this make you want to get one of their totally awesome shirts? Well, they are offering 25% off ONLY to my wonderful readers! Just use the code: 6feetunder

Would you like to win one? Ok, you twisted my arm...

Win It: Primo Activewear is giving one lucky reader their very own Primo Activewear shirt of their choice (up to $22.00) and a wristband too!

For your first required entry, leave a comment below telling me your favorite shirt. (Yes, you must visit their website first, silly)

Want extra entries?

-(2 entries)follow @primolady on twitter

-(2 entries)become a Primo Activewear fan on facebook

- (3 entries)submit a photo or short story about "finding their Primo" to tanya@primoactivewear.com to be posted on the Primo website or blog.

**NOTE: Leave one comment for every entry. You must have a visible email address in your Blogger Profile, otherwise it needs to be listed on every entry!!**

Giveaway Rules:

1. Giveaway is open to US residents only unless otherwise stated.

2. You must answer the question in the giveaway accordingly. Please don't just say "I want to win" or "Pick me."

3. Winner will be chosen randomly and notified via email.

4. Winner will be asked to respond with full contact information within 48 hours of being notified. Failure to do so will result in another winner being picked.

Contest will end Oct 17th.