I Need a Cookie (It's a Giveaway!)

Last night, about 30 minutes after my girls were supposed to be sound asleep, my hubby went into their room to make sure they were tucked in. Taken aback by the pungent smell, he immediately threw on the light and there was Oldest, covered in CHERRY RED nail polish. She somehow managed to sneak a bottle of my polish into her room and was trying to give herself a mani-pedi in the dark. Can we say D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R? After 30 minutes of scrubbing her with nail polish remover, hosing her down in the bathtub and making futile efforts to wash her sheets, everyone was finally in bed (albeit some in shades of pink). Sigh.

But, when I’m not wanting to pull my hair out because of the latest catastrophic mess that my 3-year-old has managed to get herself into, I love coming up with fun projects for us to do together. We especially love to cook and bake. So when I was contacted by the creators of Chit Chat Brands, I was excited to learn about their Chit Chat and Chew line of baking kits. Each baking kit comes with your choice of ingredients to make delicious cookies or brownies AND a set of Chit Chat Cue Cards that are filled with fun and educational questions and activities that allow you and your loved ones to bond over fun conversation.

As exasperating as the nail polish whole fiasco was, I’ve got to imagine, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, so it got me thinking – what are your worst toddler mischief anecdotes? The best (or worst?) one wins a Chit Chat and Chew Assorted Variety Cookie and Activity Kit shipped directly to them! The kit contains enough ingredients to make 1 dozen chocolate chip, 1 dozen raisin, and 1 dozen peanut butter cookies along with the Chit Chat Cue Cards to start the conversation while the cookies are in the oven.The contest ends at midnight on Sunday EST, so make sure to leave your (brief) story in the comments before then!But wait! There’s more. If you’d like to purchase a Chit Chat and Chew kit, DC Metro Moms Blog readers are being offered an exclusive discount shipping code for ordering via this link. Sweet.

Oh and, if you happen to know of a way to remove nail polish from bed sheets, please let me know. I’d be forever in your debt.

You can read about other toddler debacles and more, at DC Metro Moms Blog, where this contest is cross-posted.

Fergie's Guide to Style: Items 2 & 3

I promised to keep you updated on the new additions to my closet, so here goes...

I stumbled upon a sale at J. Crew and was able to get a nice blazer for less than 1/3 of its original price! And just in time for the fall weather.

Also, I used my DSW birthday gift certificate and found my snazzy sneaks on the clearance rack. They are so comfy too.

Oh, and speaking of cute finds - I won a contest over at Mrs. Schmitty's contest blog and she sent me a personalized set of notecards. They are so adorable! I would post a pic of them here but they have all of our names on them. You can even customize them to look like members of your family and she offers so many different accessories that you're bound to find something that suits your personalities. Her stationary company is called Doodle-Kids and I highly recommend that you click on over there and check out her work. I know I'll be back around holiday time! She's offering her blog readers 15% off their orders (visit It's A Schmitty Life for the code) so you can't lose!

This is Why I'm Hot: Love IT! Thursdays

This week's topic is on the best thing next to sliced bread, ON Demand from Comcast. Although On Demand is great for a variety of reasons, I'll focus my attention on how it will help you get your sexy back.

But first, some background. After three kids, and gaining an average of over 50lbs each on my 5'1" frame, I am determined to improve my physique and tone up. Afterall, I'm only 30 and 30 is the new 20. So I better look hot. In the past I have dabbled in yoga, Pilate's, strength training, etc. but nothing has really kept me motivated long enough to see some major results. Or maybe life just got too busy and I couldn't make it to the gym at a reasonable time. Sometimes I just got bored of what I was doing. Like when Daughter was born I started doing Windsor Pilate's. It went well for about six weeks and I did start to see some improvements. Eventually, I got bored with that and before I knew it, I was doing it about once a week and then never.

Going to the gym never works well for me either. I never manage to get there during the day and once I'm home for the evening, I usually do not like to go back out unless absolutely necessary and I'm not to the point where going to the gym is necessary. I should be but I'm not there yet . I admire those moms that get in a two hour work out while the kids are at school and still manage to have dinner on the table when everyone's hungry. That's awesome.



I suppose I could get up at 5:30, go to the gym, and return in time to help Hubby with rounding up Oldest for school. But let's keep it real, that won't happen. And yes, there is a small fitness center in our subdivision but again, this involves me leaving the house and I'm not into that after a certain time. I do take advantage of it maybe 2-3 times a month, but that's not enough. The fitness center is small and all I can really do is cardio and some of the machines, but that's boring.



Well, about six weeks ago I started doing the exercise shows On Demand. And let me tell you, I LOVE IT!!! It's like having your own personal trainer come to your home whenever you are ready to work out. And if this means you have your three kids join "the session," then so be it. Or if your workout outfit are your pjs, that's fine too.



Let me briefly stop to brief you about On Demand. And forgive me if I sound like a commercial. But On Demand is this feature on cable, kind of like Tivo I guess, where you can watch shows, movies, and a variety of different programming on just about anything, and it's "on demand." Meaning, when you want it. Push of a button and the menu pops up and there you have it. Anything from how to discipline your child to how to play the piano. Most people are aware of being able to watch movies or the repeats of some of the major network or cable shows on Demand but it offers so much more. FOR FREE. Let me repeat, Free! Gratis! Nick Jr., Noggin, and PBS Kids, are all On Demand. So when your little Dora is demanding to watch Dora (no pun intended) you have several Dora shows to choose from without having to break the bank at BlockBuster of Target to buy or rent Dora movies.



Since my focus is about fitness shows available, let me get back to that. The reason why I love the fitness shows On Demand so much is because again, I can work out when I want to, get a great workout, and vary my workouts with endless possibilities. Yoga, dancing, weight training, cardio, you name it, they got it. They even have kid friendly programs like Kids Yoga. (The kids love it.) I especially like that I can do mix and match workouts so that I can focus on whatever it is I want to focus on. For example, I can do Ten minute Bun and Thighs, follow that with Tank Top Arms (six minutes), then 13 minutes of Booty Beat and finally, a 16 minutes OneMileJog. Yes, a one mile jog incorporating all kinds of fun stuff. Then maybe the next day I'll do 35 minutes of Bellydancing for Beginners or maybe I only have time for a 15 minute Pilate's routine. Then the next day I'll do Cardio Kick Butt (this one is awesome, it incorporates Karate moves and cardio for the best bun and thigh workout you'll ever have). You get my point.




So, I have finally found a workout regime that works with me and my schedule. Better yet, I actually enjoy it and have fun (Booty Beat is lots of fun). The last time I was this into working out was in college and that was sometime in the 90s. Pathetic, I know, but better late than never. At some point, I will have a fabulous body. Okay, maybe not fabulous, but at least nicely shaped.



So try it out! You may find yourself really having time to get a quick ab workout in or better yet, combine your "classes" for a full hour of cardio, strengthening and toning.



Again, forgive me if I sound like a commercial but rest assured, I'm not getting paid for this.




I give Comcast On Demand:




5 gavels: "Love it! Can't live without it!"

I Need A Ride

There really is never a dull moment, is there?

On Saturday I turned in my beloved car because it was the end of my lease term. And, after much research and deliberation, we decided on a new vehicle. In the past when we've purchased a car, we've just shown up, given the dealer our specs, negotiated a price and make our way through the financing process and, voila! we're on our way home in our shiny new ride. Not too complicated at all. But this time?

No such luck.

Who knew that the car we want is so popular that they are selling like hotcakes. Most people I mention it to haven't even heard of it so I have no idea who's buying them. But all of the dealerships we've been to tell us that they "can't keep 'em on the lot." We test drove the car a few weeks ago so we knew exactly which model, color, options, etc. we wanted. Apparently, because of the exterior/interior color combo we chose, it would have to be a special order directly from the manufacturer. And they are all backed up with orders, so the wait time (as of Saturday) was about 4 - 6 weeks. Yikes.

We visited three dealerships in all and because they are all working from the same inventory, no one really has a leg up on the other. We did get a realistic estimate from the last dealership we went to that told us it would be more like 8 weeks (as of Monday) for the factory order, especially now because of the auto worker strike. Bananas. So we decided to reevaluate our choices. I wasn't married to the idea of a particular interior color so we bent on that and that opened up our options. A little. The salesman was able to find one, about 200 miles away, that had all of our options, though an entirely different color. Okay, fine. But once he called to request the car, he was told that someone had put a deposit on it so that it wouldn't be sold before the purchaser went through the buying process. Geez! Onto Plan B. Our salesguy found us another vehicle, about 50 miles away - with more options than we wanted and therefore a higher price - that was scheduled to be sold last night. He said that if it hadn't sold by 9:30am this morning, we could have it. So cross your fingers for us. Taking all forms of public transportation to work with a bad head cold is getting old.

It's so crazy. I mean, it's not like we're buying a limited edition Bentley for crying out loud.

I bet they have a few of those in stock.

Retail Therapy

The past few weeks have been busy. We were out of town two weekends in a row. Then one three day weekend Hubby was gone all day and evening, three days in a row, filming a movie (more details on that later...). So it was me and the three kids all day and night, and all night and day for three days. FUN! I can deal with two kids all day any day. But it's just that third one that puts things over the top. Anyone feel me out there? I feel like my head is spinning after just 2 hours.



Anyhow, I digress. My point is, that there's nothing like taking a few hours for yourself after weeks of feeling exhausted.Some people find comfort in food, others find comfort in shopping. I have the bad habit of needing to "reward" myself with a "little treat" whenever life has me needing a vacation from myself. Even window shopping makes me feel better. The good thing is that I'm typically not a big spender. And I get much more satisfaction over a good sale. Especially the sale where the good stuff is on sale, not the items no one wants to buy, sale or not.

So yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised with an unexpected afternoon to myself that involved shopping. I don't work on Thursdays but usually my Thursdays are consumed with typical errands like doctor appointments, folding and putting away the endless pile of laundry that never goes away (did I ever mention I do one load a day- madness!!!). Something or the other always seems to consume most of my Thursday. And if I'm not busy, I pick up the kids early. Well the only thing I had scheduled yesterday was my annual eye exam that I cancelled several times and have been putting off since July. I had no choice but to go this week because I was all out of contacts and LensCrafters refused to sell me anymore until I had my eye exam. Since I refuse to wear my glasses in public unless medically necessary, I had to go.

So here I was, finally at the doctor thinking about all the things I could be doing instead of sitting in the waiting room reading about Brittney's binge drinking and partying that apparently attributed to the "comeback debut" debacle, and I was just completely annoyed at how being almost blind was so inconvenient. Finally, the doctor sees me and he convinces me to allow him to dilate my eyes for some special "screening." For any of you that have had that done, it's no fun at all. You can't read or see anything up close and your eyes are very sensitive to light. Well, the LensCrafters I go to is in the midst of some awesome shopping. Ten minutes after the eye drops were in, I could hardly walk straight since my eyes couldn't focus right. There was no way I was going to drive home under those conditions so I managed, as hard as it was, to make my way to some of my favorite stores. Bless my heart, it was hard. Despite not being able to read or see very well, I was very able to see the big red "SALE" signs all over the place and even managed to get a general idea of how much the item I was looking at cost. I'm sure I looked absolutley insane holding a price tag to my nose with my dark sunglasses on in a store.

I can only imagine what people thought. Who cares because all I have to say is, 70% off summer clothes. I live in Florida- it's summer almost year round here folks. What an adventure I had. Just to give you a taste of my good fortune, I bought four really cute outfits for $32. AND included in that price, a nice pair of summer sandals that I've been meaning to buy for Oldest. Even better, I finally used two gift cards that I received last CHRISTMAS that I never had a chance to use.

Fortunately, my vision and balance started to come back right around the time I had used up just enough money were I wouldn't have to hear Hubby complain about "over spending." I grabbed a quick lunch, made my way back to the car, and headed for my round of school picks ups. Twenty minutes later, I had one baby screaming his lungs off in the car because I didn't have his daily after school snack that he gets right after day care, then I had Daughter ripping apart the note Oldest's teacher stapled to his book back with all the important information on today's field trip (yes, I had to put the shreds together when I got home) and I had to answer Oldest's twenty questions on who was coming to his birthday party this weekend and what did I buy for the goody bags. I knew there was something else I was supposed to do!

Love It! Thursdays - Preempted...

I know, I know, it's Thursday. But since there is so much going on today, and with us generally, LIT is on hold...

In the meantime, head on over to DC Metro Moms Blog to read my most recent post about the latest hot issue in mommyland. It's also Testosterone Day at DCMMB so take a minute to check that out too.

J-Day

Today thousands of people all over the country are rallying in support of the Jena 6 students in Jena, Louisiana.

If you weren't able to make it to Jena but still would like to participate, here's how you can:

• Wear BLACK today to protest injustice, wherever you are;


• Visit this website to sign the circulating petitions, register to vote and donate to the efforts online;
  
• Attend a local rally in your city;
  
• Stay informed. Visit CNN for live coverage of the Jena Rally. Watch Judgment in Jena tonight on CNN at 8pm ET.

M.I.A.

Things have been absolutely crazy recently. I got a promotion and started a new position in a new office about three weeks ago and I feel like I've been going stir crazy. My Office is short-staffed and I'm learning the ropes, so it's more overwhelming than usual. Then DD changed day care centers - and along with that comes some adjustment in terms of patterns and routines. I'll be back on the scene soon - I promise. I miss reading the blog and blogging. It's such a release!!!!!!

So, Fergie....please keep blogging. And everyone else, please come on back tomorrow for LIT!

Justice Fergie's Guide to Style

So has anybody been watching Tim Gunn's new show? I've only seen one episode but so far, so good. Basically it's like What Not To Wear but instead of Stacy and Clinton, Tim Gunnn and Veronica Webb are helping to makeover the poor, mis-matched soul. What I did love about the show is that Tim helps each guest find items from his Ten Essential Items Every Woman Needs:

• Basic black dress
• Trench coat
• Classic dress pants
• Classic white shirt
• Skirt
• Blazer
• Day dress
• Cashmere sweater
• Jeans
• A comfortable alternative to a sweatsuit

So. Since the seasons are changing, I figure this is the perfect time to reassess my wardrobe. In fact, I just did a major closet purge over the past month and gave away about 10 bags of clothes and shoes. Stuff that was old, too small, too big, dated, you name it, I got rid of it in the name of sanity. I've decided to take heed of the old adage "better to have a few quality pieces than a closet full of junk that was on sale." Ok, so I'm paraphrasing but you get the point. In any case, I am going to outfit my closet (pun intended) with each of these 10 essential items and LUCKY YOU are going to witness my closet makover every step of the way.

Before I forget, I am also adding to the list the following footwear essentials:


• Black Heels
• Stylish Flats
• Cute Boots
• Snazzy Sneaks

Tim didn't actually put these on his list, but I figure he would want me to have each of these. Right?

Now let it be known that I am on a budget and so, while I plan to go for quality rather than sale price, I may have to forgo the designer make and go with the department store version instead. There's no shame in my game.

First item up is the Jeans.

On Saturday hubby and I were invited to a "Sexy In Denim" birthday party that required us to wear, well, sexy demin. Considering all I had were a couple of pairs of denim capris and one pair of denim cargo pants, I seized the opportunity to find a hot pair of jeans that actually flattered my figure and that cost a bit more than what i would usually pay some jeans (i.e. $40). I set out in search of the perfect pair of PZI Jeans which are supposedly THE BEST jeans for curvy girls. But alas, I had no luck after searching high and lo at a Macy's that said they carried the line. Well, they apparently did up until last Thursday, as it turns out. Not to be deterred, I pressed on and, after trying on assorted Sevens, Joe's, and bunch of others, found a rockin' pair of Dereon jeans. Just the right fit. Soft fabric. Just the right amount of stretch. A trendy dark gray-blue color and no gaudy bling-y emblems on the back pockets. Perfecto. I think these are them.




And guess what? Hubby and I tied for Best Dressed Couple of the evening. Oh yes. It seems that I am slowly bringing sexy back.

1 item down; 13 to go. Stay tuned.

Quick, Before I Change My Mind

So I really couldn't care less about football. Seriously. I mean, it was fun in college because I attended a D1 school and my hubby played for the team, but when it comes to the NFL...eh. But, hubby (like most men with a pulse) loves the game. I'll totally watch him play on the weekends in his intramural league, but asking me to watch Monday (or Sunday or Saturday or Thursday) night football is like asking me to clean chicken for 3 hours. I'd rather be giving birth without an epidural.

And since football season is just starting, and we've already had a handful of mini-arguments about the "tv selections" and scheduling "weekend activities," I figure that maybe it would be nice if I tried to take an interest in the game. Even the party we went to on Saturday night consisted in large part of people screaming back and forth about who they thought was the best receiver - Terrell Owens or Randy Moss. (The only factoid I had to contribute was the T.O. has a line of children's books - which I am proud to say nobody else knew about, heh heh) But I'm thinking, wouldn't it be great if we actually could enjoy this interest of hubby's together? I see those women who are all into the game and know players and stats and win records, and plan game parties and blah di blah di blah. And while I don't need to get to the level of wearing teal and orange sweatsuits, it would be cool if I could actually sit through a chunk of a game without wanting to pull out my hair.

So, anybody have any tips? I figure the first step is to make myself knowledgeable in the area. Any football for dummies-type websites I can start with? I'm already all over this book.

My hubby thanks you.

Bullies In Our Backyards

Ok y'all, so I had to post something about this story. Something.

By now you’ve all heard about the incident that occurred at the University of Maryland a week ago. Apparently some students thought it would be funny (and/or intimidating) to hang a noose from a tree outside of the University’s Cultural Center. This hate crime no doubt stemmed from the tragic state of affairs currently playing out in Jena, Louisiana. And it’s really too outrageous and draining for me to summarize the Jena mess in this post, so if you haven’t already heard about it (which would be a shame in and of itself), please click here to find out more. Oh and while you're at it, don’t forget to read about the fliers that were distributed in Manassas,VA a couple of weeks ago... Are you nauseous yet?

Aside from my general disbelief that hate crimes are still being perpetrated in this day and age, I find that it even scarier for me, as a mother of two small children, to know that one day my kids are going to sent out into the world without me or my husband around to shield them from all of this madness. I mean, in the case of the Jena students – all they were doing was sticking up for themselves. Isn’t that what we teach our kids? To be confident and proud of who you are and to stand up for what you know is right? What if that was my child who decided that she wanted to sit where she wanted to sit at school without regard to her skin color, and with the permission of her teachers, and before she knew it, she was threatened, assaulted and eventually thrown in jail? I can’t even fathom it.

If you think about it, it’s really just a heightened form of bullying. My eldest daughter just started nursery school last week so thankfully we haven’t encountered the bullying issue just yet, but I’m sure some of you parents out there have. In fact, I know that the decision to homeschool for some parents comes, in part, from the fear of bullies at school. And bullying has become an epidemic in our country – just do a quick search on Google and you’ll find a jillion news stories, web sites and initiatives, like this one, on how to deal with it. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I do know that the problem won’t solve itself. There has to be a collective effort on the part of parents to educate their children on how to treat others; on the part of teachers to spot and discourage bullies in the classroom or on the playground; on the part of the school administration to develop zero-tolerance policies for bullying; and on the part of the justice system to do the same. And this effort needs to be applied across the board – from preschool to university to the workplace and beyond.

I’m just not sure what my part is as a parent raising young children – should I be teaching them to stand up for themselves…but not too much, for fear of retaliation? Should I teach them to just look the other way when they see someone else being bullied to avoid making trouble? What I am sure of is that we can't let this be the state of the world that we’re living in. We just can’t.

Because nobody likes a bully.

This entry is cross-posted on the DC Metro Moms Blog.

LOVE IT! Thursdays

This week's LIT theme is: Children's Television Shows.

My kids aren't big television watchers. Which is good. However, they do "say" that they like Barney, SpongeBob (can we say NOT toddler-appropriate?) and they pretend to like Dora. But I notice that after about 4 minutes, I'm the only one left in the room reprimanding Swiper.

There are 3 shows that I really do like though.

(1) The Goodnight Show on PBS Sprout.

I think the concept of this show is great. Nina and Star host a 3-hour long show that is aimed at preparing kids to go to bed. Various shows are aired, including The Berenstain Bears and Pigglywinks, and in between Nina and Star do crafts, sign language, storytime, learn colors and visit kids celebrating a birthday. Oh and of course there is the ever-popular Birthday Show. What I find adorable is that every night around 8:30pm, Star gets ready for bed and they do a segment on teeth brushing and face washing and pajamas and then he puts on his nightcap and goes to sleep. Nina carries on the show for those "Sproutlets" still awake and watching TV. My kids watch this nightly from about 7:30pm to 8pm. I have to say that it calms them down and puts them in "sleep" mode.

I give The Goodnight Show:

5 gavels: "Loved it! Can't live without it!"

(2) Higglytown Heroes on Playhouse Disney

I love this show. We watch this on Saturdays. Each episode highlights a different member of the community and their special skill and/or contribution to society. I like that the characters are diverse and that they value everyone from the pizza delivery guy to the librarian to the animal shelter worker. One of my favorite episodes was when they featured a sign-language interpreter for one of the characters who was deaf. It was very well-done. Another episode that stuck with me was when they were at the beach and Twinkle (who is African-American) was sad because she couldn't go in the water for fear of getting her hair wet and ruining the style. I thought that part was very honest and realistic and a good way to raise awareness among children (and adults) about cultural differences.

I give The Higglytown Heroes:

4 gavels: "Liked it. I would definitely recommend it."

*Special Mention:
Yo Gabba Gabba on Nick Jr.

Ok, so this show is brand spankin' new and has the kiddie airwaves a buzz. I saw one episode and think it's very cute and fun. It's hosted by furry monsters and a man who looks like a rapper circa 1985 named DJ Lance, and all of the lessons are set to music, usualy hip-hop. (Sounds crazy, I know) Each show has a celebrity guest ranging in genre from Elijah Wood to Biz Markie. The first episode encouraged kids to eat veggies and brush their teeth. All the songs and colors were catchy and my daughters actually watched the entire thing quietly which is worth its weight in gold. Can't wait for more.

Ok! You know the drill. For the LIT rules, click here. What shows do you like/dislike for your kids to watch?

Remember to link back to this post and sign the Mister Linky.

Speaking of Thinking She's Grown...

This morning she insisted on taking a mug of "coffee" (i.e. water) in the car with her on the way to school.

J. Jones - it reminded me of when your Oldest used to drink his "coffee" and "read" the paper in the mornings when he was 3...

Scene & Heard 2

Scene:
In the kitchen after dinner. I open the fridge and a sippy cup of milk falls out and splatters onto the floor.

Me: Doggone it!

Hubby: Did the the lid come loose or did it crack?

Me: It cracked.

Chatterbox: Don't say that Mommy-Daddy! Bad word!

Hubby: What's bad? Crack?

Chatterbox: Yes Daddy!

Hubby: Well, you're right about that - crack IS bad...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scene:
In the car on the way to school. Chatterbox opens her lunchbox to inspect the contents.

Chatterbox: STACEEEY! It's TOO MUCH! Laughs heartily.

Me: [Laughing] Did I give you too much food?

Chatterbox: Yes!

Me: [Looking at the crackers, ham, cheese, strawberries, apple sauce, fruit snacks, juice.]

It's because I love you and I don't want you to be hungry. I guess I did go a bit overboard!

It was so cute I almost cried. Naturally.

That's What Friends Are For

The only thing worse than having a stomach virus is taking care of a toddler with a stomach virus.

You do not want to hear the details. Trust me.

Instead I will post a couple of my favorite freeze-ahead recipes for my friend Jenibeans who is having her fifth baby in less than 6 weeks! Really, she deserves more than a measly recipe or two - more like a YACHT or some such lavish gift. But, in the interest of making life a smidge easier for her family when the baby arrives, here goes...

Fergie's Famous Taco Casserole

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey (or beef, but turkey is leaner)
1 can black beans
1 can corn kernels
1 can diced tomatoes (I like the Italian ones)
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1 packet taco seasoning (I like McCormick's)
A few tortilla chips

yellow rice (I like Goya's)

Instructions:
Brown the meat. Drain if necessary. Stir in taco seasoning. Add beans, corn and tomatoes (you can also add any other veggie that your family likes) and combine. Transfer to casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Bake at 4oo degrees for 20 minutes (or until top is golden and cheese is melted). Serve with yellow rice.

*Freeze-Ahead Tip: I would prepare the casserole up until the veggies and freeze it. Whenever you're ready to eat it, let it defrost, add the cheese and tortilla chips and bake.

AllRecipe.com's Chicken Florentine Casserole
My family just loved this dish. And I imagine it would freeze well.

McCormick's Chili
Just follow the directions on the packet. Add a side of rice or even just some Tostitos and it's a wrap. This is one of my old faithfuls. Freezes beautifully.

Finally, I found this post from a while back when I made a week's worth of freeze-ahead meals. If you like the sound of any of the dishes, just let me know and I'll email you the recipes.

And now back to our regularly scheduled vomiting programming.

Wasn't that lovely? A post discussing both stomach viruses and dinner recipes. CLASSY.

Welcome to My World

So Much for Anonymity...

This past Tuesday marked the launch of the DC Metro Moms Blog! It's a group blog, made up of about 2 dozen or so moms writing about their lives as parents in the D.C. Metropolitan Area. The blog is a spin-off of the ridiculously popular Silicon Valley Moms Blog that you've almost certainly seen, heard or read about on or in some trendy website or magazine.

Ok, are you sitting down?

Guess who is one of the DC Metro Moms bloggers? Yep, yours truly. It's such an exciting opportunity. We'll be a first point of contact for press and media on topics that are important to us mommy bloggers. In fact, since the blog's launch only four days ago, there have already been several media mentions of the blog or its contributors in major mainstream press like ABC News and the Washington Post. So check us out. It really is an impressive group.

You can read my very first post here. It's an expansion on my previous post about this week. Oh yeah...and you'll get to find out my real name.

'Cuz I know that you're just dying to know.

Can I Get a TGIF?

What a week!

It started off on Sunday with Chatterbox having a stomach virus which resulted in all types of bodily fluids spewing from both ends of the poor dear. YUM. By Monday she had recovered and we had a lovely Labor Day excitedly anticipating her FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Here she is in all of her nursery school uniform glory. Ain't she a doll? I took the day off so that I could spend some extra time dropping her off and picking her up. She loved school and never even shed a tear.

Wednesday I had a doctor's appointment in the morning so we were able to take our time getting out of the house. After that I stopped by mothers' group meeting (hey, I was already going in to work late anyway) and came in to work after lunch.

Yesterday the nanny was 15 minutes late getting to our house to watch Giggles, and so we were 15 minutes late too. Our morning routine needs to work like clockwork otherwise, I'll never make it all the way to work on time after driving 10 minutes in the opposite direction to take Chatterbox to school. I got to work about 30 minutes late. Not too bad. Nobody noticed.

Today, everybody overslept. I jumped out of bed at 6:58 am and frantically woke up hubby who normally has to be on the road by 7:00am. And Chatterbox and I are supposed to on the road by 7:15am. Things were not looking good. Of course the nanny came early. By 7:45am we were all ready to go but Giggles was feeling very cranky and so I picked her up to make her feel better.

And then she threw up. Twice.

It was only a matter of time I suppose. I cleaned her up, told the nanny I would come right back home and took Chatterbox to school. Where I was thrown for a loop because FRIDAY! IS PIZZA DAY AT SCHOOL! Didn't you get the note? Um, no. [Aren't I off to a great start of the school year?] So I scraped up $2.50 from various crevices of my purse and was on my way home. I called the pediatrician to schedule a "sick child" appointment. The earliest was 11:20am. Since I had been at work a grand total of 1.5 days this week, it was time to call in backup. Hubby agreed to take Giggles to the doctor and I could go in to work.

By the time I stopped off at home, returned Chatterbox's Non-Friday Lunch to the fridge, checked in on Giggles (who was sleeping) and got back on the road, it was 9:00am. Factor in the end of rush hour traffic, and I made it to the office by 10:00am. Which got me thinking.

WHAT. IS. THE. POINT?

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LOVE IT! Thursdays:

The theme for this week's LIT is:
Favorite skincare products for my children.

There's nothing sweeter than the feel of a young child's skin, is there? So soft and smooth and they just smell so yummy. That's why I love using great skin care products on my girls. Here are a couple of my favorites:

First up is Kiehl's Nurturing Cream for Face and Body. This stuff is fantastic, I tell you. It smells wonderful and is rich and creamy, but not at all greasy and is all natural. I bought this while expecting my first daughter (you know - the "excited new mom" shopping spree?) at a Kiehl's store while on a weekend trip in Philadephia. And I loved it. I used everyday after her bath and actually looked forward to putting on her lotion. I will say that it was a tad on the pricey side (about $18 for the tube) but, to me, it was worth every penny. The tube actually lasted quite a long time. It's definitely a favorite. And Kiehl's has a whole line of baby products that would make fabulous gifts.

I give the Kiehl's Nurturing Cream for Face and Body:

5 gavels: "Loved it! Can't live without it!" (Okay, I could probably live without it)

Next up is J. Blossom Natural Body Lotion in Strawberry Banana Smoothie. A friend of mine, Jazzmoh, sent me a link to this website because she thought Chatterbox would like the products. And she was right! It was also nice to find a line of products with a cute little African-American girl on the bottle, which is rare. What I love about the J. Blossom line is that it's all about helping every girl feel good on the inside and out. They even put an affirmation right on the bottle: "Short or tall, thick or thin, I love the skin that I am in!" How great is that? Anyway, the products are all natural and feel and smell great. We also had the Strawberry Banana Smoothie Bubblebath and Chatterbox and Giggles loved it so much that it was finished within a week or so. The J. Blossom products are very reasonable - the lotion was $12 for a generously-sized bottle. Oh, I almost forgot that we got a lip balm too. What was I thinking? Lip balm and a toddler? That lasted like 2 days. Anyway, I liked the products so much that I emailed the company and it turns out that it is owned by a fellow Mocha Mom! Small world. These would make fun gifts too. Just keep in mind that they are designed for little "girly-girls" so the smells are very fruity.

I give the J. Blossom Natural Bath & Body Products for Girls:

5 gavels: "Loved it! Can't live without it!"

And finally, on to old reliable: Johnson's Bedtime Lotion. Love this stuff. It's light and smells nice. And it's supposed to have ingredients like lavender and chamomile to help baby sleep better. We use this daily, along with the bubblebath too. And best of all, I think it's only about $5 at your local drugstore. Can't beat that with a stick.

I give the Johnson's Bedtime Lotion:

4 gavels: "Liked it. I would definitely recommend it."

I guess this really is LOVE IT! Thursday because I love all three of these lotions.

Oh, I just thought of one more. I have to give Aquaphor an honorable mention because it's gotten me through many a pinch when one of my girls had a scratch or a rash or a bug bite or anything at all.

Now it's your turn! Tell us what skincare products you like to use for your child(ren). Don't forget to link back here and sign the Mr. Linky. Click here for guidelines.

See you next Thursday!

Funny

Oldest just keeps me laughing with his comments.

Here is what he said today, and it's not even lunch time yet.

Me: "Did Daddy give you your allowance last week?" (We always forget.)

Oldest: "No, and you guys always forget. If you keep forgetting, I'm going to have to quit this job."

You can't argue with that I suppose. He does work hard for his $2.00.