Not Snow exciting any more...

I think the excitement and magic that filled the air here in South Texas when it snowed 2 weeks before Christmas was impossible to ignore.

When you went outside people were laughing and having snowball fights. You couldn't help but smile.

Well now it's February, and 2 days after we had highs in the 80's on Feb. 23rd it snowed, again, for the 3RD TIME in 2 months.

Now we're just cold and miserable, and the snow is a little "old hat". I feel a lot more sympathy for you Northerners now....I couldn't stand to have that stuff on the ground for 6 months out of the year.




It's currently 61, and I hope things only get warmer from here. I'm so over the snow.

Rainbow Brite is back! {Plus a Giveaway!}

 *******This Giveaway is now closed*******

And the winner is....

 #1 Virginia Congrats!

I'll be emailing you shortly!

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Did you hear? Rainbow Brite is back! You can now share your favorite wholesome childhood doll with your own children!

Rainbow Brite dolls as well as other toys and accessories are now available nationwide at Toys R Us and Target stores.

To celebrate the re-release of this awesome toy I'm giving away a Rainbow Brite CD-Rom full of fun activities like songs, games, printable coloring pages and more!

All you have to do to enter is a leave a comment on this post with your favorite Rainbow Brite memory by Midnight CST March 12th.

One comment per person please. Open to the U.S. and Canada. Please be sure you include your email address in your comment so I have a way to contact you if you are the winner. Winner will be chosen using random.org. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours of being contacted a new winner will be drawn.

Good luck! 




Disclosure: I was given the opportunity to do this giveaway through my membership with a product review site. I was not paid to do this giveaway. They provided the Cd-Rom free of charge for the purpose of this giveaway. I did not keep any products at the close of this campaign, I gave them all away. These are my own honest opinions.

It is sad to say goodbye

It is sad to say goodbye.

Without you interwebz, I will be alone all over again. I have to say thank you though, because you have kept me sane a good long while…and that really means a lot.

When I was at my lowest and experiencing terrible depression with my pregnancy, you were there. You helped me find friends, know that I was not alone in my plight, and eventually helped me dig myself out of it.

You helped me find my voice as a writer…a voice that I have shared with people daily; a voice that, over time, changed others lives.

You moved me to tears when I learned that friends had lost children, had relatives who were ill, and that nations had crumbled. Then you moved me to want to do more, give more- and I did.

You were there when I celebrated becoming a mother, when I struggled with the difficulties of parenting, and when I mourned my own personal infertility.

You have given me the strongest friendships I have ever known.

You have helped me to put food on the table without ever leaving my house (or leaving my sons side).

You have helped me be a better person, one click at a time.

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This is my entry into Mabel's Labels BlogHer '10 Contest. 

The prize is an all expense paid trip to BlogHer '10 and all you have to do is write 300 words or less on what you would say to the blogosphere if the internet went down tomorrow and never came back.

You Capture - Shapes

A circle and a square. 

Rectangle and square.

I took these this past weekend at the Mom 2.0 Summit

which was held in my awesome hometown - Houston!

For more You Capture visit Beth's blog!

Hot Wheels Custom Motors Starter Set Review & Giveaway!

 ****This Giveaway Is Now Closed****

And the winner is...

 

Cindi S World!

Congrats!

I'll be contacting you shortly.

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Hot Wheels was one of the fabulous sponsors at the Mom 2.0 Summit. They were so sweet and gave each attendee one of these fabulous Custom Motors Starter Sets to take home.

 

I was really impressed with this particular toy (I mean c'mon, I'm mom to a boy) because it seems to offer a lot of bang for your buck. The set retails for around $20 and after seeing all the different ways to customize the car with the set, the price seemed spot on.

I also like the custom concept, because I think most kids would not tire of this toy easily.

I was not able to see Jackson in action with this toy since it is for kids Ages 4+. But here are the pro's and con's from my perspective.

This set is great for anyone with a child 4 or older who loves cars, building things, and manipulative play.

This set might not be a good fit for your family if you do not like toys with small parts. Each set comes with many small pieces and I recommend getting a storage box if you intend to purchase one.

***Want to win a Hot Wheels Custom Motors Starter Set?***

Just leave a comment on this post by Midnight CST March 5th (mandatory)

Extra Entries (leave a comment(s) for EACH ONE):

Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect (1 entry)

Follow my blog on Facebook (1 entry)

Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry)

Subscribe via Email (2 entries)

Post about this Giveaway on your blog and link back (2 entries)

Be sure your email address is in your comment or profile so I have a way of contacting you if you win. This giveaway is open to the U.S. only. I am also giving away one of these sets on Facebook. If the same winner is drawn for both giveaways, a new winner will be re-drawn out of fairness to all entrants. Winner will be selected randomly using Random.org.

Good Luck!

Disclosure: I was given the opportunity to review and giveaway this product after meeting the Hot Wheels representatives. Hot Wheels provided this set for my giveaway free of charge. I was not paid for this review. These are my own honest opinions. At the close of this review I will keep nothing. I am giving away both sets Hot Wheels provided me, one here and one on facebook.
The link to Amazon.com is a referral link and I will make a small commission from any purchases made through that link. 
I was compensated for inserting the link in this post which leads to a third party site.

This giveaway is a:

WW- Mad {Wo}Men

Thursday night at Mom 2.0 Summit was the Mad Men party. Everyone was excitedly buzzing about the party on twitter in advance...and talking about their awesome outfits.

I realized at that point I was in trouble since
A: I had never seen a single episode of the show in my life
and
B: the conference was now only 4 days away.

But, I googled around and some tweepy friends of mine emailed me photos, and I got a feel for how I should dress.

The day I was driving down to the conference I stopped at a couple stores in search of something fun to wear.

Who knew I would find the perfect fifties/sixties-ish dress at Target! And on clearance!

Oh Target, you never cease to amaze me (and make me so happy!).

So here are the photos.

 

There was really low light in the bar, and clearly my camera was on the wrong setting, but I'm over it.

I'm also over the fact that I didn't think to have someone take a full body shot.

On this particular evening, I also got one photo that I'm quite proud of.

That's me and Heather. You know, Dooce?

Yes, I had my very own Peter Frampton moment with her...but she was super sweet about it.

She even asked "is it ok if I touch you?" when we were posing for the photo (as if I would have said no!). She was very refreshing and of course hilarious. I'm glad I got to meet her.

For more WW visit Angie's Blog by clicking below.

 Disclosure: I love Target (like seriously, they are the BEST) and that's why I chose to include their name in this post. I have no affiliation with them, but would gladly work for them any day. I paid for the dress myself. These are my honest opinions. I was not paid to write this post.

Awkward would be an understatement

We've been trying to get pregnant with baby #2 for quite some time now, to no avail.
That's weird for me because before all Dave did was look at me and I got pregnant with Jackson.

I informed my OB when we started trying again and she expected it would take 3 months tops, given my stellar fertility record.

Well, it's been a lot longer than any of us expected.
 In December she decided to take some blood, "just to rule some things out".

It was then we found out I am not ovulating at all.

So, now I'm in the throes of the Infertility world, which I know nothing of.
After much poking and prodding by my OB, she referred to an infertility specialist.

The day of the appointment my babysitter canceled on me at the last minute so I just took Jackson along. The cold stares from the women in the waiting room made me regret that choice.

I acknowledge that I know nothing of Primary Infertility. And I cannot say that I understand or know how that feels.

But I do know what it is to deeply want and desire a child with all that you are, only to see no lines on the stick month after month. I was shocked at the way those women treated me.

My heart was hurting then...and honestly I thought about just going home and never coming back.
But I held my footing..focused on the sweetness of Jackson and how much he will love his future brother or sister.

I'm glad I was able to hold out, because after looking at my charts, the doctor told me he was optimistic about our situation. He told me to have patience.

"Easier said than done" I thought. I'm not known for my patience, ask anyone that knows me.

He went on to say that Secondary Infertility was the most prevalent type (which I did not know) and that there were many options available to us.

And that brings us up to right now.

There are many appointments, blood draws, and exams ahead of me but I'm trying to stay focused on the end result.

I hope you stick with me on this journey...I need all the encouragement I can get these days.

Mom 2.0: Defining A Movement

This video was made by Katherine Center (of Houston, Yay!) for the Mom 2.0 Photo Exhibit done by the Shutter Sisters. I cry every. single. time. I watch it.

It's addictive like potato chips, you can't watch it just once.

What's even more fabulous is that Katherine was present throughout the conference as well.
She is just as beautiful a person as her work conveys.

At the exhibit on Friday night, we had the opportunity to be painted on, as she had done with some of the women in the video.

That was cool.

Mine said dreamer and she painted a little heart next to it.

The organic feel of Friday evening was exhilarating.
So much so that I went back to the hotel and took the longest bubble bath ever to unwind.

More tomorrow.

It's all a blur

Wow. The Mom 2.0 conference just blew by!

It was fabulous though.

Honestly.

I'm resting today and cuddling my sweet boy, but tommorow I'll be back to tell you all about it.

K?

So much information, so little time

So, I'm totally at Mom 2.0 Summit. I am learning SO much.

I have met so many amazing, sweet, gracious women.

I got a photo with Dooce. I'm still up even though it's 12:40.

We still have one more day of sessions tomorrow.

More on the entire conference when I get home.

New Look

Don't you just LOVE the new digs I have here? I do!

A super HUGE thanks to Beth at 2 Bird Designs (also of I Should Be Folding Laundry)for doing it for me. She was the sweetest thing and so easy to work with. If you are thinking of getting a new blog design for yourself, you should totally hit her up.

Beth, I love you, seriously this is awesome!

Be sure to update your blogs with the new button code when you get a chance. :-)

Also, I've decided I will no longer center space everything here. Even though I love that myself, I know not everyone does. So in an effort to try and be a big girl blogger, I making that change for you lovely readers.

Mom 2 Summit starts tomorrow and I'm only halfway packed. ACK!

I'm outta here!

WW- Oh look, Mommy's taking pictures (again)

This is a photo of Jackson playing "Lazy Ball" with Grandma.

Basically he lays down and she throws the ball to him.

"What, you're taking photos?"

"Well then, let me just turn up the cute a little bit."

Such a ham.

Happy WW! For more head over to Angie's Place by clicking below.

 

 P.S. Mom 2 Summit starts tomorrow and I'm SO excited! :-)

I'm in love with my doctor

And no, this isn't about to turn into some scene from "Waitress".

Just in case you weren't around last week let me catch you up. 

On Thursday I had an impromptu girls day with my friend Maegan. We went to the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco because I had never been there before (a shame considering that I love it so much I want to be buried with a case of it). 

We had a blast! 

I then had to drive home in some incredibly freakish weather and almost lost it.

These are the photos.

Yes, they had me pegged when they came up with this one.

 

A blast from the past!

(sorry, I couldn't resist)

Ad from the 80's

Loved this Ad from the 30's!

I would totally hang this in my living room.

Oh look, it's me and my boyfriend! Shhh!
Don't tell Dave.

 

Of course, the best part is that the tour ends at the Old Fashioned Soda Fountain.

I had a delicious float with 2 Texas faves, Dr. Pepper and Blue Bell!

YUM.

Can't you just taste the magic from here?

 

Disclosure: The Dr. Pepper Museum is located at 300 South 5th Street in Waco, Texas. I highly recommend you stop by on weekday if you are in town. We did and the museum was quiet and we had plenty of time to slowly walk through each exhibit. You can also visit them online at www.drpeppermuseum.com. I wrote this post because I love Dr. Pepper so much and because the museum was awesome. I spent my own money to visit the museum and these are my honest opinions about my visit and their soda.

Texas Snowmaggedon & Emergency Preparedness Part 2

If you haven't already, you can read Part 1 HERE.

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Getting out of Waco in the snow wasn't so terrible. I was mostly on freeways so even though the snow was falling pretty hard, the roadways weren't terribly covered in it (I assume because the level of traffic was consistent enough to melt it). 

But then as I headed in the direction of home, I got back on that little 2 lane country road...and it was now dark.

And still snowing so hard. 

There was a least a good foot of snow covering the road, but I seemed to be able to drive okay, so long as I stayed in the tire tracks of the car ahead of me. 

The drive on the this stretch of road should have normally taken an hour and 30 minutes. It took me four and a half hours. I drove anywhere from 25 to 40 MPH the entire way. 

I only panicked twice....because the car started sliding when I crossed a bridge once...but I maintained control of the wheel and just took my foot off the gas.

The second time was when the snow was falling so hard that I literally could not see 5 feet in front of my car, my windshield started to fog up, and the tire tracks on the road had started to disappear because the snow was coming down so fast. 

I crept along at an adventurous 15 miles an hour, afraid that I would hit something or drive off the road.

Then, an 18 Wheeler approached....and I realized I was driving more in the middle of the road than on my side (the stripes were not visible AT ALL).

I totally freaked, tried to move over, and the snow was making such scary noises as I drove over it.

The 18 Wheeler roared past, threw A TON of snow onto to my car, and then I died.

And tried not to wet myself (It was in this moment that I realized I had not used the bathroom for almost 5 hours).

I started off again and hoped and prayed that the sign for I-45S would come soon. 

"I just need need to get to the Interstate" I kept saying it to myself over and over.

Finally, like a beacon, I saw the sign for the exit, and was so relieved. 

I carefully turned off the country road, as to avoid sliding, and made my way onto the feeder.

I got about 50 feet before I realized that no one had driven on this stretch of road since the snow began.

I WAS STUCK. (Southerners don't have snow tires or salt!)

At this moment, hot tears rolled down my cheeks and I started sobbing.

This was scary.

By this time, there was more than 9 inches of snow on the ground and it was still falling fast.

The feeder road I was on happened to be freakishly positioned in between 2 hills, which meant that the people on the Interstate could not see my car... and neither could the people driving past on the tiny country road.

SH!T (I know I never curse here folks, but this was serious).

At this moment, I called 911. Which was probably lame.

But, I had no food in the car, my bladder was about to burst...and I was in the middle of nowhere.

AND IT WAS SNOWING.

I was certain I would freeze to death.

I made the call. I sobbed to the lady on the phone, who made me repeat my location at least 4 times.

She said it would be at least an hour. They had received calls from over 100 other stranded motorists in the last 20 minutes. Then she hung up.

It was at this point that I wondered if my 1/4 tank of gas would last for an hour as I waited to be rescued.

I also realized that I still really needed to pee...and tried to figure how I was going to handle that problem as well.

After getting past my own pride...I decided that I would just have to squat and pee outside my car in the snow. I simply could not hold it any longer. 

At this moment I was actually glad I was in the middle of nowhere.

I got out of the car and immediately my feet squished down into the snow. 

Note to self: Chuck Taylor's are in NO WAY snow proof.

I proceeded to do my business, hiding behind the drivers side door, with my poor behind freezing all the while.

Note to self: Be sure to blog about this...THIS is a good one.

Then I got back in the car with what little self esteem I had left, took off my soaked shoes and socks, and turned the heat up.

Now that my bladder wasn't on the verge of exploding I could think a little more clearly.

It had been 4 minutes since I called 911, and I was thinking the hour of wait time would feel like forever.

Could I maybe get the car unstuck myself?

And then it hit me! 

A couple months back my car had been stuck in some mud after I had pulled off the road to assist some people who had been in a car accident. That day I had tried to gun the engine and get my car out, but it only dug me deeper into the mud. Since I had been a good Samaritan, a tow truck driver pulled me out for free. He also told me that if I ever got stuck in the future to first try and back up a bit....then pull forward in a different direction.

Well, I collected my nerves and tried out his advice. 

The first time it didn't work...the car only moved a bit.

But my second try was successful...and I was SO relieved!

I was able to make it down the feeder to a gas station, fill up my tank, and then I finally got onto I-45.

The rest of the drive home was uneventful for me. I counted at least 60 cars that had spun off the side of the road or into the median because they were driving too fast. 

I'm so grateful that I was able to get home safe. And that I had the sense to drive carefully on the roads and even get my car unstuck.

The Moral of The Story: Stay calm in bad situations and just "go" outside if you really have to. It's no big deal...honestly. ;-)

THE END.

(photos of the Dr. Pepper Museum tomorrow.)

Texas Snowmaggedon & Emergency Preparedness Part 1

Late Wednesday evening I was online and talking to one of my former college roommates. I especially love talking to Maegan, because no matter how long it's been since we've last chatted, we seem to have no problem picking up where we last left off.

Within minutes, we are laughing so hard our sides ache.

Well, after about an hour of IM'ing, and her announcing that she didn't have work on Thursday...we decided to have a spontaneous girls day!

I was so excited because it has been nothing but cold, nasty and rainy here for weeks...and I've spent most of that time trying to entertain the J pants who still doesn't understand why we can't go to playground even though it's sleeting outside.

Jackson and I have had a blast doing artwork and making little valentines, but I have to tell you that 2 weeks inside had me wearing a little thin (I'm not perfect folks).

Dave agreed that I should have sometime away, so he kept the J pants and I hopped in the car that same night and drove the 129 miles to Waco, Texas. The drive there was a breeze!

It was after 11 pm by the time I got on the road...and since the majority of my trip took place on a dark 2 lane country road (remember this for later) I just put my brights on and drove without a single incident. Sure, it was still cloudy and raining a bit, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. And, I even got there about 35 minutes sooner than expected because I was literally the only one on the road it seemed.

Thursday was so fun! When I arrived at Maegan's house it was a little after 1 am, but we had so much talking and catching up to do. We sat there in her bedroom and talked and laughed, and then laughed some more. We talked until 7am...at which point we decided we would sleep til noon, and then get up for our big plans for the day.

We got up, showered...and headed out into some nasty sleet and rain. It was 38 degrees. We didn't care. We had big plans. We were going to grab lunch and then head to The Dr. Pepper Museum!

If you know me AT ALL, you know that Dr. Pepper is like my boyfriend on the side.

Seriously, I love it more than I can say (and I almost died the first day we were at WDW and when I ordered one the waitress told me they didn't have it).

I had never been to the DP museum, and so I felt like it was just magical that I could finally visit the birth place of the best soda ever (or "the elixir of life" as Dave and I like to call it).

So we went, we had DP floats and it was amazing (full post with photos soon!).

And then, when we left the museum, we realized it was even colder. Down to like 34 degrees. By the time we got back to Maegan's house it was 32 and sleeting hard.

I went inside and collected my belongings. I told her that I wanted to get as much time on the road in the daylight as I could...just in case there were icy patches.

In the 20 minutes or so that I was packing up and saying my good-byes...Texas' own personal SNOWMAGEDDON had begun. When I went outside to my car the flurries were coming down hard and fast and 1 inch of snow already covered some parts of the state.

We made this video.

And then I got in the car and headed home. 

The drive would take me nearly 6 hours.

It involved 2 panic attacks, 1 complete breakdown, and 6 inches of snow.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

WW - Mommy's in the other room. Do you know where the toilet paper is?

I was putting laundry away in his room for about 2 minutes or so when I realized Jackson was just way too quiet.

I came around the corner to find this.

Such a little stinker he is...and obviously proud of it too!

Love that smile!

For more WW visit Angie's Blog!

 

P.S. Clearly, the business of being half-naked is a really appealing to Jackson right now. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see Mondays post.

P.S.S. No, that is not a nasty soap scum stain on the side of my bathtub....your eyes are just making the photo seem that way. ;-)

Lip Clear Lysine+ Review and Giveaway!

The last week in January was a rough one for our family. We all shared a nasty Upper Respiratory Infection and had coughs, fever, and chills.

It was no fun. 

One pesky side effect of the URI for me was a gross cold sore on my lower lip.

It hurt and looked awful!

So when the opportunity came up for me to review some Lip Clear Lysine+, 

I thought why not? This nasty sore or my lip isn't getting any less annoying.

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Here's a little information about Lip Clear Lysine+:

Lip Clean Lysine+ is an all natural ointment made with natural ingredients that relieves the tingling, burning, itching, and pain associated with cold sores. Ingredients include: zinc oxide, L - lysine, vitamins A, D, and E in a natural base of olvie oil, yellow beeswax, goldenseal extract (hydrastis canadensis), propolis extract, calendula officinalis extract, echinacea angustifolia extract, cajeput oil, tea tree oil, gum benoin tincture, and honey. All ingredients are food grade, making the product safe to swallow.

Sold in Sustainable Packaging made from 100% recycled paperboard that contains 55% to 65% post-consumer waste.

Lip Clear Lysine+ is available at drug stores, supermarkets, and health food stores nationwide with a suggested retail price of $6.99 for a 7-gram tube. Also available online. 

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I used Lip Clear Lysine+ on my cold sore and it did seem to soothe it a bit. I thought the ointment was a bit greasy, but I was willing to let that slide since my sore did not hurt as much.

I like this product because it is all natural and because it has recycled packing which I think is very cool! It made my sore feel a little better, and although my sore did not get any smaller it did look a little less gross the day after I first applied Lip Clear Lysine+.

I did not like how small the little tube was because it was hard to find in my purse. The ointment also smells a little funny to me. 

This product did make my sore feel a bit better after I used it...so I would say that if you are into all natural products and you're looking for a cold sore remedy you should check out Lip Cleat Lysine+.

Want to WIN a tube of Lip Clear Lysine+ for yourself?

Just leave a comment on this post by Midnight CST Feb. 16th.

Want (1) extra entry? 

Tweet about this giveaway and leave me a comment telling me you did.

Open to the U.S. only. One winner will be drawn randomly via Random.org and announced shortly thereafter. Please include your email address in your comment so I have a way to contact you if you are the winner. If the winner does not respond within 24 hours of being notified, a new winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!

 

Disclosure: I was given the opportunity to review this product through my membership with a product review site. Quantum Health provided me with 1 free tube of Lip Clear Lysine+ for the purpose of this review. I was not paid to write this review. These are my own, honest opinions.

Mural, mural on the wall

Clearly my brain is just not what is used to be. As I was looking over some older blog posts of mine yesterday, I realized that although I mentioned to you guys that I was close to finishing Jackson's Mural in his room...I never came back and posted the photos!

That was in October.....this is February. Wow.

My brain must be totally shot.

So, without any further ado, here are the photos of Jackson's completed room.

Jackson was excited to help me show you his cool new room.
He's really into taking his clothes off right now, which explains why he's half dressed.

The other posts on his room makeover are here and here.

Are you working on any projects in your home this week?

I'd love to hear about them and see photos!