I’m not quite sick — yet!  I feel that little tickle in my nose!  Today was a snow day up here so I rested and watched tv with the kids.  No energy to really do anything cute or crafty with them.  I’m feeling really bad about that.

I also haven’t had time to promote the Thumbuddy contest a few posts below.  Exhaustion is not a pretty thing I tell you. 

If you’re in the winning mood, check out Lisa Roe’s amazing giveaway for the BIBLE ILLUMINATED:The Book: New Testament   It is the most amazing book, loving it… there are 5 copies to giveaway so get to entering!

Anywho, nighty night for now.

xoxo

Delphine

Have you seen all the studies lately about hanging out with fit people? supposedly it means you are more likely to be fit yourself!?  I really believe that and I think the same holds true to the things you research and keep in your head.

With that in mind I was surfing around the web and came across that well known phrase, you are what you eat.  Scary to think about that but so true.  How come it’s so hard to keep all the choices healthy and nutritious?  I have a lot of weight to lose and in addition to that I want to provide my kids with the absolute best food we can afford.

Easier said than done, that’s for sure.  Shopping comes in two scenarios for me… The first case is the kids are home with my dear husband and I’m flying through the store trying to get home to them.  The second scenario is having 1, 2 or 3 kids with me.  I’ve got one eye on any potential predator, the other eye on my purse, coupon binder and product labels. 

Choices start in the supermarket, making it the front line of healthy eating. Stop and Shop has created healthy ideas to make the choices apparent to that one eye you’ve alotted to the task.  There are 3000+ products at Stop & Shop that have the healthy ideas symbol so I’m sure most of your recipes can get a healthy option.

The concept is so simple, get your kids to look for the symbols and make sure they know that the symbol will keep their bodies healthy and working wonderfully!

The healthy ideas symbol is based on the FDA and USDA guidelines.  They’ve taken care that every healthy ideas choice has taken into account:

• calories
• fat
• cholesterol
• sodium
• at least 10% of one nutrient.  Calcium, Vitamin C, etc…

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the symbol next time your in the store.  Visit the healthy ideas program site for great recipes and information.  Also, please visit Mom Central for more great info on all things that concern Moms like you.

Barrack Obama is President!  I have to say I was in shock!  I was a swing voter until a few days before election day but I did vote for him at the last minute because I couldn’t live with myself had he lost.  I didn’t talk much about it with the kids, sure they saw him on t.v. and heard him speak but I never endorsed him fully to the kids.   

I’ve had a couple of conversations over the years with boy2001 about race.  He gets shy when we talk about it, especially since he’s started school.  I suspect kids at school have said things to him…  nothing particularly mean spirited or foul but he’s understood he’s different somehow.  Daddy is black and I’m Frazilian (French – Brazilian native).

I’ve taught him not to react, many times people say things off the cuff without thinking OR they are looking to upset you.  Either way, let it roll off your back, there’s little to gain in an argument.

Speaking of school… he was there on inauguration day, January 20, 2009.  He and his classmates were led to lunch early and watched the inauguration on television as they ate.  From what boy2001 described I don’t think he saw the oath and there was little discussion.  We’ve been reading the posts at  Share My Inauguration and watched the actual oath on Youtube. 

I asked him, “does he look like anyone you know?”

He smiled, “me!?”

I said, “that’s exactly who I was thinking of! Someone who looks like you is President!” At this point I go into a loooongish monologue about how much Obama has accomplished.  Coming from a regular family to the height of the executive branch.  His journey is a great testimonial on how education can change your life.  We talked a bit about what we’re doing to help him and his sisters get to college.  We talked about all the different colleges, campus life, careers, degrees. 

Along the way, I feel dread.  How can my child really understand all that Obama’s win means.  I say that thankfully! he hasn’t felt the sting much.  He picks it up on t.v. shows and maybe at school but in the grand scheme he doesn’t really understand racism and oppression.  It doesn’t really make sense to hate / love someone for their skin color or culture so how do you explain it to a kid?

The important thing is that he’s witnessed something that I as a child considered impossible… a black man is President of the United States.  I hope in time he’ll truly understand all that means to his future and the future of this country. 

Check out the Share My Inauguration for pics and views, they also have videos on Youtube and the pics.

Follow the once-in-a-lifetime journey of 24 Chicago inner-city 5th and 6th graders as they witness the inauguration of Barack Obama!

Thanks to Mom Central for the tip on this site!

Thoughts on Journal Buddies by Jill Schoenberg

What I like about you?!  The most important job as a parent is to give your child a feeling of self worth.  Kids need to know they’re worth the trouble and that parents don’t expect everything to go right all of the time. 

Kids pick up on that when you spend time with them.  Engaging in activities together is a sure fire way to bond and get an insight into each others life.

Journaling is a great way to chronicle events, share thoughts and reflect on life BUT… it’s often easier said then done.  When I was a little girl, I often started journals left and right.  Writing the first thing that came to mind.  My inspiration was Laura Ingalls Wilder’s remembrance books, remember that?  I was convinced someone, someday would base a television show on them… I wrote feverishly for a few days and then would toss the journal in the corner until the next attempt. 

Looking at all those blank pages got overwhelming, I would run out of things to write.  Focusing on the day’s events I didn’t take the chance to weave in other activities.  For me, journaling was all about putting the pen to the paper so I didn’t incorporate any other type of expression.

Journal Buddies brings home the point that to be successful, most kids will need to bring in other forms of expression… poetry, sketches, drawings, stickers, stamps, printing out things from the web, etc…  and guess what!?  there’s nothing wrong with that.

There’s no reason to limit kids’ expression and effort.  Collages from newspaper clipping are wonderful living history moments.  But the best part about Journal Buddies is the encouragement Jill Schoenberg gives to buddy up!  Kids can buddy up with a parent, sibling, teacher or anyone else willing to answer and participate. 

Primarily targeted to kids 8 – 12 years old, there are Journal Buddies for Girls and Boys.  You can start any day of the week.  There are 30 numbered entries in the journal, each day there’ll be a short Q & A then there are two blank pages and one lined page.  The book also comes with an embellishment kit to decorate those pages.  It’s a lot of fun, filled with positive affirmations which will build your kid’s self esteem.

I almost forgot to mention that the book came personally signed by the author herself… very nice touch!  There’s something concrete about writing things down, makes it more important I think.  If it’s written it can’t be taken away, seems permanent.  What a great gift for Valentine’s Day or any other occassion for the little one in your life.  Let me know your thoughts on Journal Buddies.  Happy writing!

The journal buddies books are fun, interactive journals intended to help adults (parents, teachers, mentors…) build and strengthen a child’s self-esteem.

 Thanks to the FRN on the chance to review this journal.

This is it! This is your chance to WIN all of the fab prizes pictured! This is a powerful series that explores how special each one of us is.  Did you know:

There are nearly 7 billion people on earth today!  You are the only one who has ever had your thumbprint.

You are truly a miracle.

Prize Pack:

• Words of Love on CD (female voice) God’s Blessings Spoken over Soothing Music
• You ARE Thumbuddy CD with 16 songs, great for kids, car trips and beyond.  Fun songs kids love!
• Set of 4 Thumbuddy board books will keep your young one (or yourself!) feeling very special and loved. 

THE Rules:

• Visit the sponsor, Thumb People (creators of Thumbuddy) and tell me something about their products or website, minimum 10 words, good or bad
• One regular comment entry per day, on this post
• Three comment entries for a stumble/digg/tweet, etc… please make seperate comment for each entry, ex: Stumble 1, Stumble 2, Stumble 3
• Three comment entries for a blog post, linking to www.thumbpeople.com and/or www.pajamamom.com
• US addresses only, I will be shipping the prize to the winner, there will be one winner
• winner will be announced on www.PajamaMom.com and emailed, PLEASE triple check your email! winner MUST respond with full name, US address, phone number within 4 days of announcement or the prize will be forfeited!
• Winner will be chosen at random
• ENDS Wednesday February 4, 2009 @ 11:59 p.m. est

Want to keep on winning? Look for more at the Bloggy Giveways!

My favorite television program of all time is Little House on the Prairie.  I still daydream that I’m a lost Ingalls girl but as I get older, some of the real elements of the story bother me.

It seems easier to forget those elements in Michael Landon’s production but since I know every second of dialogue by heart I like to mix in a bit of Disney’s 2005 version.  I’ve waited patiently for what 20 or so years for new Little House material – I deserve this indulgence!! and for the life of me I don’t understand WHY they haven’t remade this show for weekly television.

The demand is out there!  Recently The Hallmark Channel has taken away one of the hours dedicated to Little House and the fury has been unleashed on the message boards.  They’ve replaced one of four Little House hours with I Love Lucy (my number two television show of all time).  Now Little House will run 10 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. instead of until 5 p.m.

I don’t know what Hallmark Channel is thinking, they already tried this with that cruddy show, Cheers and it didn’t work.  I guess they figured they’d bring out the big guns (Lucy) to try and eradicate their most popular show, Little House!

Amidst this turmoil I am trying to explain to inquisitive children all the political ramifications of the Ingalls’ family journey.  The Landon version was much more respectful of the Indians.  Even if another character put the natives down, an Ingalls or Walnut Grovian was around to put them back in their place.

The Disney one had the same element but many of Laura’s word’s and some subtle things were picked up by my kids.  It’s said a couple of times that Charles is the best hunter and trapper, we get the point that he’s the expert.  Laura mentions that the natives stink because they are wearing skunk pelts.  Boy2001 asked me, did they wear skunk pelts to keep animals away?  I didn’t know so I searched google and came up with a blog post from Newspaper Rock which confirmed what I was thinking about the skunk pelt comment.  It was a put down, however subtle to our generation.  I totally buy the explanation that it was a put down that the natives didn’t know how to remove the stinky parts.

So now I know, I’m stuck… do I mention the real truth about what this says about the character I love so much or do I just keep silent and let them find out later on… but then what will they think of me? I almost positive I will tell them so they don’t think these views are alright with me and at the same time I can still love the show without all this guilt.

A new year, a clean slate. It’s time to right the wrongs and not repeat mistakes we’ve made. As we closed the books on 2008 I secretly hoped that 2009 would be as fruitful and a little more organized.  One thing jumped to mind… how are we going to get it all done and keep everyone on the same page?!

2009 will be our first year of having two children in full-time school and of course still have one at home.  While I’m working very part time, blog, cook, clean and launder. And not to forget hug huddles and kiss fests which take up the bulk of our together time.

I’m already dreading next holiday season, shopping, recitals, parties… but then I think, I really shouldn’t.  I just need to prepare and keep things organized and keep my other half in the loop. The question again is how to keep everything in place and on schedule.

<cue>Mom Central.  An invitation to try Cozi at the perfect time.  Cozi’s a free service that holds all your schedules in one place and correlates them.  I’ve played around with it a little and I’m loving it.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a smart phone – yet! So these are all of my observations from using online.

• each person gets their own unique color dot so you can see at a glance who’s event you’re viewing
• choose to view one person’s schedule or the day’s events
• input an event once with an option of it updating every week
• you can make grocery lists, view them on your iPhone or call in to get a text message reminder
• import photos that will make a photo collage automatically and scrapbook right in cozi

In the short time I’ve been using Cozi, it has cut down on a lot of the stress and confusion between my husband and myself.  Many times I forget early release days and extracurricular activities… not so anymore.  When my husband has questions he can look things the same why I can.  NO excuse to ask me what’s going on that day. Missed lessons are costly to your child for the missed instruction and for your pocket book because you’re not getting what you’re paying for. And YES, I even did the unthinkable, I missed a major event, girl2004′s Valentine’s Dance which really broke my heart.  Not broken hearted enough not to return the dress but you know, it was still traumatic.

Eventually we will get Cozi mobile which will be even better, having all that information at my fingertips, organized without clutter!  Speaking of clutter, can you imagine how much clutter Cozi will eliminate? I’m thinking at least a gabillion papers with that one sentence I need.

And now a word from Cozi:

“In addition to the ways that moms can get their shopping lists and calendars already on any mobile phone via text message and using our toll free number, Cozi now has a mobile version especially for the iPhone and Windows Mobile phones.  Families can now sign-in and access their Cozi account using their mobile web browsers.   They can add and edit shopping lists and view and edit their family calendar using the mobile version of Cozi right from their iPhone.  This is a new feature! You can learn more about it here:    http://www.cozi.com/Promo-Cozi-Mobile.htm “

Remember Cozi is totally FREE!  so for all you freebie lovers get your schedule on!

If you’re like me, you like to change up the routine for the kiddos every so often.  I recently had a chance to do just that with Nature’s Baby Organics and am I happy about it.

Using products that are all-natural and organic is a great way to start the New Year.  The scents are fresh and invigorating – I’m loving that they are not synthetic. 

The Nature’s Baby Conditioner & Detangler is the best I’ve ever tried.  I LOVE this for girl2004′s hair which is the most unmanageable hair ever. 

Her hair is very dull and gets matted up every night, except when I use this.  My method is to wash her hair, comb through as best as I can, apply a very liberal helping of this leave-in conditioner and finish combing through. 

Her hair takes a long time to dry but it’s not stiff, still very soft and guess what? lasts for a solid three days without losing the spring in her curls and without getting matted overnight! this is such a winner I cannot even tell you.  When I wash it next there’s still a difference which makes the job progressively easier. 

All the products I’ve tried are really good, so good in fact that they’re being carried in Target.  The second thing I HIGHLY recommend is the Nature’s Baby Ah-Choo! Chest Rub.  I am a big fan of chest rubs in the winter, at the first sign of sickness kids go in a warm shower or bath, get a rub down, comfy pajamas and a chest rub. I’ve been using Vick’s Vapo Rub for decades but I am a total convert to Ah-Choo! It feels safer and better for my kids and it spreads like room temperature butter (am I in baking mode or what?!).  Make sure you stock up, the containers are 2 oz!

Keep these facts in mind about the entire Nature’s Baby Organics line:

• NO Parabens
• NO Phthalates
• NO Propylene Glycol
• NO DEA
• NO Synthetic Fragrances
• NO Sulfates (SLS)

Be sure to check out Nature’s Baby Organics, they have fabulous products, it’s worth getting things that will keep your family looking good in a safe way.

Look up a store online

We had a very quiet, non-eventful Three King’s Day last week.  Boy2001  had to go to school but we were blessed with a snow day the next day!!

We watched Dora the Explorer: Dora Celebrates Three Kings Day a few hundred times on the DVR to appease girl2006 and all was right with the world.  I was listening but didn’t get to sit down and watch it but the kids LOVED it so I can recommend it heartily to and Dora fans.

I didn’t bake the traditional cake with something hidden inside for Three Kings Day.  The person who gets the something special is super happy and gets special priviledges all day.  This is something that will fall into the maybe next year category.

In other news, I think I’m pretty much crafted out at this point. We spent all day Sunday making soap balls and sculptures.  I need to get pics on here, they were so cute, I wish I’d taken video but there’s that line where you don’t want to break the moment and point a camera in a kid’s face… sigh.

I got stuck with the hardest job, grating the soap, my hands still hurt.  Since the kids loved it I’m sure I’ll be at it again real soon.  While you’re waiting, check out our Gingerbread Village 2008.  We made it on Christmas Day which is going to be a tradition, it took 6 hours.  It was sooo much fun. Next year we’ll each get our own trays so that everyone gets an equal chance to decorate.  What a great way to use up all the leftover Halloween candy I don’t want the kids to eat!! I’ll have to get the video on youtube to put it here.

sorry for the delay in posting.  I’ve been a real debbie downer lately and didn’t want that to infuse itself into the blog! It was a fun holiday season but I really crashed hard this week!

Stay tuned, I’ve got Country Bobs and Thumbuddy stuff to give away!!