CrAzY Working Mom: December 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from our family to yours.

We're celebrating by getting schnauckered on "swine" as Tyler calls it. ;)

Ssssssshhh...don't tell the kids that they have HI-C in their wine glass.

When I woke up on Tuesday morning as I was making my coffee, I glanced out of the kitchen window. Much to my amazement, the sky was all aglow in colors of purple and pink. The sun was rising and I was lucky enough to be able to capture it to share with you. Although this photo (and the many others I snapped) did NOT do justice to this beautiful sky, I hope you can enjoy it for a minute as I did. The colors in the sky were so astonishing. They actually looked like the end of an electronic cigarette. It was such an inspirational moment for me. The sky is ever changing and so mesmerizing. Since today is the first day of the year, I am reflecting on the last year and realizing how lucky I am. Of course there are lots of things I want to change, resolutions if you will. I will work on them this year and hopefully succeed. Here's to wishing you and yours a very prosperous and healthy new year. Happy New Year to you all. May this year bring us another year of beautiful skies and new friends to play along.

For information on Looking at the Sky on Friday, including graphics click here.

To find out why Looking at the Sky on Friday was created, click here and here.

New Year Resolutions and Traditions

We all make them, and we usually break them. This year, of course I want to lose some weight. There are lots of other things I will resolve to do...I'm sure the list will start out quite long, but by this time next year I will realize that I have not succeeded in any of them and will resolve to do them all over again. It is an endless cycle. Jay Leno put things into perspective when he said, "Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average… which means, you have met your New Year's resolution." With that being said, I'm going to have another Christmas Cookie! :)

Black eyed Peas, do you eat them on New Year's Day? It has always been a tradition since as far back as I can remember traditions for a big pot of black eyed peas cooking on the stove all day on New Years Day. Everyone, whether or not you liked them had to have a bite. For years I never knew why we always had peas on new years. We just did. As I grew older and my curiosity peaked, I did some looking into it and realized that those black eyed peas actually caused us to have good luck in the new year! You haven't been lucky, you say...well, put you on a big ole pot of black eyed peas to change that. Don't forget to add some bacon or a big slab of ham. Cornbread, fried potatoes, and sweet tea are optional, but extremely recommended! So good that the entire Oklahoma criminal defense system would most likely agree. Happy new year, my friends.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

How 'bout a laugh?

Translation for Women's English:
No = Yes
Yes = No
Maybe = No
We Need = I Want
I'm Sorry = You'll be sorry
We Need to Talk = You're in trouble
Sure, Go Ahead = You'd better not
Do What You Want = You'll pay for this later
I am NOT Upset = Of course I'm upset, you Moron!
You're Very Attentive tonight = Is sex all you ever think about?

Translation for Men's English:
I'm hungry = I'm hungry
I'm sleepy = I'm sleepy
Nice dress = Nice cleavage
I love you = Let's have sex NOW!
I'm bored = Do you want to have sex?
May I have this Dance = Do you want to have sex?
Can I call you sometime = Do you want to have sex?
Do you want to go to a movie = Do you want to have sex?
Can I take you out to dinner = Do you want to have sex?
Those shoes don't go with that outfit = I'm gay!

I love you honey. Don't forget to pick up milk on the way home...oh, and the filter number for the fridge is 4396710.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

My 104th

Wednesday Previously Speechless ~ More WW

Happy Birthday, Becca!

Just wanted to take a minute to wish my bestest friend in the whole wide world a very happy 32nd birthday. I ♥ you, Becca. I hope you enjoy your day and have a lovely afternoon/evening! thank you for being the best friend a girl could ask for. Won't you join me in wishing her the bestest birthday ever?! Happy Birthday, Rebecca Ann Schwoch! Here's to health, wealth, and warmth...I know it's cold up there in Baltimore! Sending you electric blanket wishes and hot chocolate dreams! :)

Christmas: The Aftermath

Did everyone have a great Christmas?! I'm sure you're family is just like mine...still removing twist ties and cardboard from mounds of toys while sporting your snuggi! We've had record rain here in Arkansas. 80+ inches this year have given us record totals. It's been a bit much. On Christmas Eve, it rained all day and had rained most of the day previous and all night. Unfortunately this left much of the state water logged and even flooded. We have celebrated Christmas Eve at my mom's house every since I can remember us all having families of our own. This year, the weather postponed our celebration. Brien, the kids, and I spent Christmas Eve at home watching movies. We traditionally open one gift on Christmas Eve. This is always the new PJs. This year they got a snuggi so I let them open the snuggi also. After gifts were opened, milk and cookies were left for Santa and reindeer food was sprinkled on the lawn as well as some carrots with Santa's milk and cookies. Yep, we cover all bases here at the CWM household! We tracked Santa via Norad and once he reached the US, the kiddos were easily convinced that they should retreat to their beds so that he didn't have to pass us over. We also used one of those call center services and listened to a pre-recorded message from Santa and his elves. Tyler was convinced that he saw "a white beard and a red nose" out his window when I gave him his night-night lovies.

On Christmas morning, we actually slept in until 7! That must have been some kind of record for us. Needless to say when the kids entered the living room, their eyes light up brighter than the Christmas tree (which I realized was not turned on when I looked back through the photos)! We all had a lovely time opening gifts. My in-laws had spent the night with us, as they have done the past few years which works out great, because my mother-in-law takes photos for me, so I get to enjoy the gift opening as well as appear in the photos (although I'm not too sure about that second part!). Below are a few of the highlights of Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. You can click the photo to make it larger.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Conversations with Tyler

The kids each had several toys strewn about in the living room. I asked them to pick up their toys. Shelby complied but Tyler still had several things lying around. One was a John Deere Tractor toy. This conversation ensued:

CrAzY Working Mom: Tyler, for the one hundredth time, would you PLEASE pick up that tractor, barn, and those guns?

Tyler: Mom, that is NOT my tractor!!!

CrAzY Working Mom: Well, who does it belong to, then?!

Tyler: It's not mine 'cause I sold that darn thing for $40 yesterday to some guy. So, he needs to pick it up, not me!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday - Christmas Edition

When what to my wondering eyes did appear?!

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

See ya next year!!!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of my friends and family who visit me here at CrAzY Working Mom a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year. May your holidays be filled with family, love, and the spirit of the holiday season. May you remember why we celebrate Christmas. Thank you all for your love and support that you have shown for my family and I throughout the entire year. I look forward to a wonderful new year filled with friends, old and new and many new wonderful milestones and memories with my family...and you there to share them with along the way! Peace and love to you and yours! Now, time to go make some cookies in preparation of Santa. The poor guy is gonna have to wear his rain gear when he comes to visit us this year.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Emily's Christmas Loves

It's no secret that I love to receive Christmas Cards. We've gotten lots of great Christmas cards this year from family photo cards, to glittery glamorous snowmen, lazy doggies, and a wonderful RR track bridge photo card from a very special blogger. Apparently, my little Emily Grace, now 15 months old, has followed suit in the likings of her Mom and she is amazed by all of the beautiful cards we've received with one card standing out...a glittered covered snow man card.

Emily has also taken a liking to re-decorating the Christmas tree and turning the lights off and on. You can see the "bald" spots around the tree where Emily has moved the ornaments around. She will move things around and then stand in admiration as she proudly looks over her work! She has also figured out that those things under the tree are actually TOYS wrapped up. Why in the world would Mom want to wrap these up and put them under this big tree is beyond her grasp. She took to passing out gifts yesterday. The other two thought this was a great idea. Since Emily was passing out, they couldn't get in trouble for it, so they surely encouraged her! Good thing is that there are only a few days left until they get to open them up! We're all so ready and excited!

Monday, December 21, 2009

CrAzY Working Mom - Top 20 Blog to help Working Moms!!

CrAzY Working Mom has been named in the Top 20 blogs to help working moms by Court Reporter School. You can read the entire article here. We're in some good company in this list. Thanks to the folks over at Court Reporter School for putting us in the same category with these great blogs!

Congrats to the other Top 20 listings as well, including a couple of my favorites: 5 Minutes For Mom and Work It Mom.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

My Four Minutes of Fame on Good Morning Arkansas

They say that you are your own worst critic, right? Well, every time I watch this segment I find more and more things that I wish I'd done differently, from my make up to my hair, trying to hide a little bit of my country "twang", and I could go on and on. I have no other way to get this segment here other than using a Christmas present that we got for my daughter, a digital recorder to record my television screen and then upload it to my lap top. The quality is not that great because it's a cheap recorder. Maybe I can get a copy from the Good Morning Arkansas producers. But, I know that many of you who live out of the state have requested to be able to see the segment and some who did not get a chance to see it live. Here it is, my television debut on KARK, Channel 7 - Arkansas' ABC Affiliate on Good Morning Arkansas:

FYI: The contest is now closed. Winners were announced yesterday if you missed it! Thanks to all who participated.

Let it Snow...

I've been watching the national news seeing all of my friends up north getting pounded with snow. Here in the south, it's just downright cold. Last week on the weather they said we might get some rain/sleet or snow for Christmas. But we know how that is, right??? We will get some rain, it will be very cold, then it will start to sleet and then there may be some snow mixed in. By the time it is all said and done we might have an inch of snow on top of four inches of ice. Trees will snap under the weight falling into power lines knocking thousands out of power. It will take a day or two for the ice to melt and the aftermath will be lots of downed trees and many cars stuck in ditches. What is it about snow and ice that makes people think that they need to get out and drive?

I'm sending lots of chicken soup thoughts to my snowed in friends in the North as I sit here cuddled up under my snuggi (it's a blanket with arms) sipping coffee with French Vanilla creamer.

Five more days 'till Christmas, ya'll!!!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Congratulations Stocking Stuffer Contest Winners

Thank you to all of the generous comments, phone calls, and e-mails of support I received for my television appearance on our local ABC affilliate, Good Morning Arkansas last Friday. It was an amazing experience, and I am so happy that blogging got me the opportunity. I am still trying to figure out a way to get the show from my DVR to those of you who aren't local or those who are and didn't get a chance to see it.

I featured 5 items on the show as stocking stuffers (although a couple were rather large for stockings). These five items were sent to me to use on the show. I decided that it is always more fun to give than receive so I ran a week long contest to give away the items featured. Readers left comments, tweeted, shouted out on Facebook, and even blogged about this awesome opportunity. Since the Phone Headset Buddy is such a specific item and no one requested it I have decided that if you would like to have the phone headset buddy, leave me a comment with your e-mail and I will gladly ship it to you. (The first person to request it will receive it.) Thank you all for participating and now for the winners...(insert drum-roll here).

The Place Tiles - Phyllis, who had this to say: "You looked like a pro on tv. I liked the name things".

The Roasted Garlic Express - Becca, who had this to say: "Entry 2 - I follow you on Twitter/FB"

The Tao Digital Picture Frame - Holly, who had this to say: "Congrats Tisha- you look great - get ur stocking stuffers now, here's some great ideas..."

The Allergy Free Passport - Shannon, who had this to say: "I would like the Allergy Guide for my mom."

Special thanks to my 7 year old daughter, Shelby who chose numbers at random to select the winners. :)

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday - McLinky

For information on Looking at the Sky on Friday, including graphics click here.

To find out why Looking at the Sky on Friday was created, click here and here.

*Today is the last day to enter to win stocking stuffers. Click HERE (low entries)!!!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Step Over the Kid if You Will...

My little Emily Grace is sure growing up fast. She was 15 months on the 2nd of December. It seems like the past year has just flown by. She went from rolling over to walking in the blink of an eye. She has developed quite a fascinating personality as well. She loves to give kisses. She is smitten with her big sister and big brother, sometimes. But, mostly he aggravates her and she loves to hit him. She is also a climber. For instance we have gifts under the Christmas tree and larger boxes around the outter edge. Yesterday she stood on a stack of gifts to reach parts of the tree that she have been untouched by her little hands. She had such a glow on her little face that it was priceless. I didn't have time to grab my camera because I was afraid that she would fall into the tree and we'd have a major disaster on our hands. I have a feeling that once she can reach the door handle I'll have to invest into one of those fancy-schmancy wireless security systems to keep her in the house!

I captured this photo last night as I made dinner. I guess since she's away from me all day when we get home in the afternoons she doesn't understand why I can't just sit around holding her. As I help Shelby with homework, she is usually either in my lap or crying to be there. When I prepare dinner, she's either holding on to my leg or doing just what you see in the picture...making a comfy bed at my feet! She loves her blankets and seems to have an infatuation with her coat as well. I love this baby girl. I cannot imagine our family ever being complete without her.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

1st Grade Performance

Last week we were treated with the stylings of Shelby and the rest of the 1st graders at her school in their Christmas program. We had a wonderful time and the kids all did a wonderful job. They all looked so nice. The girls and boys were all gussied up in their red and green with big ole smiles on their faces as they did 'The Blitzen Boogie', 'Nice Nice Christmas' and more. I think I might've even saw a couple of tuxedos! They played bells and air guitars. Where else can you get this kind of quality entertainment?! Move over, Trans Siberian Orchestra!

We also took the kids to see Santa last week. I was perplexed because I was wondering how you get a picture taken with three kids and Santa. He only has two legs! We improvised and put Shelby in the middle, although in hind sight we realized that we should have put Tyler there. Shelby was a bit too tall and had to squat down in order to keep from blocking Santa's face. Tyler was very nervous as he explained to Santa how good he'd been. Santa explained to them how many days remained until he visits so they need to be on their best behavior. Tyler asked for a Bumblebee Transformer and Shelby asked for a Bunny rabbit, one stuffed animal and one real one. Emily just cried. She was very scared, but she warmed up to Santa after a minute or two. We had several different shots to choose from, but this one was my favorite (pardon the quality, I hadn't scanned it. I've only got a shot on my phone):I loved the exchange between Emily and Santa. It was priceless! You can tell how nervous Tyler was as he was wringing his hands in his shirt tail. Shelby was just uncomfortable and ready to stand up. *LOL*

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Stuff Your Stockings With Disney

Available today from Disney on DVD & Blue-Ray: G-Force and Wizards of Waverly Place - The Movie.

My 7 year old daughter is a HUGE fan of Disney's hit television show about a family of wizards in training. Wizards of Waverly Place is one of Shelby's favorite. She is a big fan of Selena Gomez whose wish that her parents had never met comes true in this larger than life tale. When the movie premiered on Disney, we DVR'ed it and have watched it several times since then. When she saw a commercial announcing it's release to DVD she was so excited because now she'll be able to watch this movie on her DVD player in the van! Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie Extended Edition features exclusive footage, behind-the-scenes bonus and awesome extras that take you deeper into the mysterious world of wizardry! If you have a Disney fan in your house like I do, Santa (wink wink) is sure to know that this one needs to fill the stocking!

We saw G-Force in Disney Digital 3-D at the Imax. It was an amazing film. Actually, the whole family enjoyed it. A top-secret, highly trained trio of guinea pig super spies are assigned to stop the evil appliance mogul Leonard Saber's plot to take over the world. Darwin, Blaster, and Juarez take you into the action like you've never been taken before. I haven't laughed out loud watching a movie in a long time, but this one did the trick. "Poop in his hand, Poop in his hand"...the entire family said that for weeks after watching the film. This DVD is equipped with G-Farce Bloopers, Deleted Scenes, 3 music videos and much much more. It hits shelves today and I can promise you that it will not stay there long. This one was a hit at the box office and is sure to be the same on DVD.

For more information on these Disney DVDs, you can click the box art to take you to Disney's website.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Status Report - Are You Finished Shopping?

I am happy to report that I am finished...Christmas shopping that is. Brien and I completed the last bit of our shopping over the weekend. We've been to Toys R Us, the mall, and many other places, but managed to avoid Best Buy which was all right by me. I am waiting on a couple of things to come in via mail. I will be at ease once we are able to have them safely wrapped under the tree. Christmas cards have been mailed. I have one package that needs to be shipped to Texas. I will send it out this week to ensure that my little sister gets her Christmas on time. I am so relieved to know that it's all complete as we are usually scrambling a few days before to finish up.

So, how about you? Are you finished with your Christmas shopping? Have you mailed your Christmas cards? Eggnog or no Eggnog?! ;)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Theft of Bloggery!!!!!!

I received an e-mail today from another blogger alerting me that another website is publishing my feed without my knowledge! This website has NO permission to do so and the kicker is that they are running advertisements so they are making money from MY words!! This has been happening since June. 176 posts total before today. This is NOT COOL. I’ve contacted the site and left comments, but I also contacted the company who does the advertisements on the site to let them know. I am not the only "working mom" on this website, there are others. Kaleigh gave me the idea to contact the ad site. Hopefully this will help. Any advice on what else we can do?!?

So, if you were wanting to steal my words, pictures, memes, and thoughts...DON'T!!! My advice to you would bew to find a job or learn how to write yourself. You do NOT have permission to be publishing my feeds. This feed originates at http://www.crazyworkingmom.com. If you are reading this content on another site, it has been illegally copied. Please contact me if you are viewing this content from an unauthorized website.
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Update:

My feeds have been removed from the site. Unfortunately there are still 4 other "working mom" victims. If any of you read this, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I think that this site needs to be removed! It's deception at it's finest and should not be allowed!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday

Thanks to everyone who is playing along! I hope you all have had a fantastic week!!! It's been super busy for me. I will be making my television debut on Arkansas News Channel 7 on Friday morning, so I have been preparing for that this week. I will try to find a picture later on for this post, but for now I will leave you with McLinky. Please don't forget to sign in (and leave a comment).

For information on Looking at the Sky on Friday, including graphics click here.

To find out why Looking at the Sky on Friday was created, click here and here.

Stocking Stuffers For Christmas

There are 15 days until Christmas! I know that some of you just read that and cringed a bit. Others (let's all hate on them now!!!) are finished with their shopping and are sitting back in their recliner sipping on some eggnog waiting anxiously for the wrap to be removed from their perfect gifts under their beautifully decorated tree. I'm sure that there are more of the cringers than the eggnog sippers, right now. You are the ones that will benefit from this post. If you've already done your shopping, you might want to take not of the following items for next year's list, because I'm sure you'll start as soon as the used paper is cleared from the floor, right?

I have the opportunity to bring you information on some wonderful gift ideas for those hard to shop for folks on your Christmas list!! The greatest thing about this list is that you could WIN one for yourself! Yes, you heard me right. You can snag one of these unbelievably awesome gifts for yourself.

I will be on the local ABC affiliate KATV, Channel 7 Friday morning, December 11 showcasing the following items on Arkansas Today. This will be my television debut, so I hope that those of you who are able to watch the program will do so and leave me some feed back in the comment section. For those of you who live out of the area, I will do the best I can to get a link here for you to see the segment. EVERYONE is able to enter the contest. Well, those of you in the US (sorry to all of my intercontinental friends but I am responsible for shipping).

Roasted Garlic Express - Roasted Garlic Express is a miniature roasting device that makes preparing garlic and other small vegetables quicker and easier than ever. Taking only a third of the time to roast garlic and other vegetables than a conventional oven and having a non-stick coating, the Roasted Garlic Express is quick and easy for the home. Attractive, kitschy garlic-shaped design makes it a nice visual addition to a kitchen and a nice kitchen conversation piece. Small and lightweight, it is very portable as well. This item retails for $34.95 and is available at roastedgarlicexpress.com.

PlaceTiles - PlaceTiles are stylish erasable ceramic accent labels, perfect as table place cards for guests or as a descriptive accessory for each dish being served. No more cheap paper or plastic tags, PlaceTiles are a nice, personalized finishing touch for a dinner party, reception or any gathering, giving the VIP treatment to guests and highlighting each dish. Comes in a variety of styles such as Medallion, Fleur-di-Lis, Vine, Shell and more. This item retails at $35 for a set of 6 and is available at placetile.com.

Tao Digital Picture Keychain - Tao Digital Picture Keychain is a miniature digital picture frame shaped like a keychain that can store and display digital images. By plugging into a computer or cell phone, you can download the images onto the keychain, and choose which one to display. Over 50 images can be stored on the Keychain at once, allowing for images of family, friends, and everything in between. Designed to be taken anywhere and used frequently, the Tao Digital Picture Keychain has a long-lasting rechargeable battery and durable build. This item retails for $14.99 and is available in a variety of colors. For more information, visit taoelectronics.com

Phone Headset Buddy - The Phone Headset Buddy is a device that allows a standard phone headset (w/ 2.5mm plug) to be plugged into a PC (w/ 3.5mm plug outlet), allowing use of a phone headset on a PC. No more needing to buy 2 separate headsets, one for phone, one for PC. Simply plug your headset into the Headset Buddy and then the Headset Buddy into the PC. This is a small item, but life changing for someone who is on the phone for a living! This item retails for $9.95 and is available at theheadsetbuddy.com.

Allergy Free Passport - 1 in 3 people suffer from at least one food sensitivity or allergy. Allergy Free Passport is a how-to guide that instructs people with food sensitivities or allergies how to eat what they want, where they want and when they want, whether in their own localities or traveling abroad. It is a visa to the world of eating out for people who normally have to worry constantly about having a bad reaction to a meal, giving them a full range of info about cuisines, ingredients, preparations, what questions to ask and how to ask and helping them communicate their food requirements, order allergy-free menu items and enjoy allergy-free meals anywhere in the world. This item retails for $24.95 and is available at allergyfreepassport.com

Winning Is Easy - Contest Information:

To win any item, all you have to do is leave a comment below with your contact information. You must have a valid e-mail address. A winner will be chosen for each product at random. I usually use the old fashioned method of letting my kids draw names out of a hat. It's easy and fun for all!

You can earn extra entries by doing any (or all) of the following:
Please be sure that if you do have extra entries, put them each in a separate comment (this is very important).

- Follow my blog via Google, Facebook, or Twitter (if you already do, leave it in a comment - it counts) and leave your user name in a comment.

- Become a fan of CrAzY Working Mom on Facebook.

- Blog about this contest on your blog. Be sure to leave the link in your comment.

- Tweet this: Enter to win adult stocking stuffers: http://www.crazyworkingmom.com/2009/12/stocking-stuffers-for-christmas.html. Come back and leave a link to your tweet.

- Add my badge to your sidebar or add my link to your blogroll.

- Send an e-mail to five or more of your friends and cc: me at tishblack (at) gmail.com

This contest will end on Friday, December 18, 2009 at midnight CST. One winner will be chosen randomly. Please make sure that your profile links to a valid e-mail address if you do not leave one in the comment. If you are chosen as the winner, you must respond within 48 hours or you forfeit your prize and an alternate winner will be chosen. I will try to get the items shipped out on Monday, December 21 but I cannot guarantee delivery by Christmas.

The Contest Is Closed. Winners to be announced soon!

Disclosure: I was not paid to appear on TV or review these products. The statements made in this post reflect my personal opinions and not necessarily that of the sponsoring company. No other form of compensation has been received by myself nor any other member of my family. I did receive free products so I could show them on the program. I was given the option to keep all of the products, however, I am choosing to give them away to my wonderful readers. Shipping them out is my responsibility. That's how much I love ya!

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Christmas Traditions, A Living Nativity, and My Television Debut

I am lucky to live in this town. Searcy, Arkansas is the home of the Living Nativity. For those of you who live in Arkansas, if you haven't been to this then I would strongly recommend loading up the family and heading our way. The Living Nativity is sponsored by Searcy's First Assembly of God and it is absolutely free to visit. Although you may have to wait in line a while it is worth every minute. You are taken back in time to Bethlehem as you drive through the city in your vehicle. The streets are alive and bustling as you hear conversations between vendors and their customers. There are also, as expected in any live nativity, animals including goats, donkeys, horses, and yes, my friends even camels!!! This is an unforgettable experience for the entire family. Although you may have to wait a while out front, your children can be entertained by the two large screens on the front of the building. You can tune your radio into the frequency and have sound in your vehicle! As you prepare to enter the Nativity, hot chocolate is offered up and you're given a CD that explains the story and the scenery as you drive through. For more information, including photos, AND video you can click this link.

Searcy also has several spots for beautiful Christmas lights, including the Holiday of Lights.

The kids had a fun time running in the park and hiding under the Christmas trees made of lights.

Overall, a fun time was had by all. Memories were made and we had a nice, family outing. We plan to visit Santa tonight providing the wind doesn't blow us away between now and then! It will be little Emily's first time to see him. We didn't make it last year. Since she was so tiny, we didn't do lots of things we normally do, so hopefully she won't be too scared to get at least one good photo.

Tomorrow Shelby has a Christmas program at her school. I am looking forward to seeing the 1st grade performance. I'm sure I'll have lots of photos to share with you in the coming days.

Friday I will be making my television debut! That's right, folks. CrAzY Working Mom will be on local ABC station, (channel 7) showing off some awesome Stocking Stuffers for adults. Look for the post tomorrow. I will introduce the products for my readers to get a preview as well as an awesome give-away!

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Roller Skating Birthday Fun

Last Sunday was Shelby's 7th birthday. We celebrated by renting the local roller skating arena for our family and friends. The kids AND adults had a fun time lacing up their skates and gliding around the rink. We did this last year as well and it was great fun for all. This year, I chose not to skate. It's too much to try to skate and keep the birthday party rolling, with the drink and pizza distribution followed by cake and ice cream and then the opening of gifts. This all had to be accomplished in a 2 hour time slot, so things have to move swiftly in order for everyone to get to roller skate as well. Of course I have lots of pictures on Facebook, but I'll also share a few of them here for you: (clicking the photo will bring it up in a new window so you can see a large version of each photo).

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate Shelby's special day with her. Thanks to my wonderful Mother-In-Law who made the most awesome cake to date! Thank you, Shelby for being my beautiful first born!!! I hope that your birthday was memorable.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Looking at the Sky on Friday

For information on Looking at the Sky on Friday, including graphics click here.

To find out why Looking at the Sky on Friday was created, click here and here.

What's wrong with this picture?

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Night at the Museum - Battle at the Smithsonian

Night at the Museum is one of my four year old son Tyler's favorite movies. We have seen it dozens of times. He loves Jed, the cowboy and "Rexie" the T-Rex. The basic premises of the movie is that once the sun sets, all of the museum exhibits come to life from the special powers of The Tablet of Akmenrah.

When we saw the first trailer to Night at the Museum - Battle of the Smithsonian, Tyler was excited and asked to go see it on the big screen. We did and he was not disappointed. In my opinion, the first one was better, but that is usually the case, in my experience.

In this sequel, the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History are being transported to the archives at the Smithsonian in Washington DC with the exception of two staples, Teddy Roosevelt and T-Rex. This meant that their on-screen time was limited, which was a big disappointment to me. In the transport, the mischievous capuchin monkey named Dexter swipes the tablet of Akmenrah on his way out meaning that all of the exhibits in the Smithsonian come to life. This is where the evil Pharaoh Kahmunrah is being exhibited. This is the brother of Akmenrah. He wants the tablet to himself to raise an army from the underworld so that he can rule the world.

It is up to Larry to find his friends in the archives at the Smithsonian and get the tablet from Kahmunrah in order to save not only his friends in the museum, but also the world! Several new characters are introduced in this movie, including Amelia Earhart, played by Amy Adams who also enchanted us in Enchanted, Ivan The Terrible, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Al Capone.

This movie will surely fly off the shelves for Christmas. Buying a copy of this movie will give you a chance to enter the Golden Ticket Activation Instant Win Sweepstakes. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has partnered with Delta Vacations and the Smithsonian Museum to offer the “Golden Ticket” Activation Instant Win Sweepstakes. Both the Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Blu-ray Discs and DVDs will feature a sticker on the packaging promoting the chance to instantly win the ultimate Smithsonian Experience, which includes travel and accommodations to Washington DC and a once-in-a-lifetime, behind-the-scenes, all-access private tour of the Smithsonian Museum for a family of four. This would surely make someone on your shopping list VERY happy!

Rules - They Were Made to be Broken, Right???

Yesterday I had lunch with my 1st grade daughter. I used to have lunch with her a lot since I volunteer at the school on Tuesday mornings helping out the teacher with various things such as making copies, stapling books, etc. Usually when I bring lunch for her, I will also bring lunch for my niece who is also in 1st grade. I always have permission from my sister to bring her lunch as we usually plan it a day or two in advance so she doesn't bring lunch on that day or plan to eat the lunchroom food.

We received a memo from the principal addressing some issues that they were having with parents coming to the school and eating with their children. New rules were implemented and yesterday was the first day I had been since the induction of said rules. You are not allowed to bring food for any child other than your own child. They must sit with their class, not at the back tables which are used for children who are misbehaving, if need be. You must sit with them and their class. This is to prevent "hurt feelings".

After having lunch with my daughter yesterday and following the new guidelines, I have many issues with the new policy. First of all, I brought Sonic for she and I to eat. I had a drink carrier, a sack, and a box. I had to try to keep all of these items contained in a tiny spot because there were children all around us. Secondly, the little boy beside me did not sit still. He elbowed me, fell on me twice as he could not sit down and be still, and multiple times, leaned against me. The girl across from me was obviously not feeling well as she coughed several times, right into the air with no effort in covering mouth.

My thoughts on the matter are, if children are getting their feelings hurt because I am pulling my daughter to a separate table to have lunch with her, how do they feel when they see me having lunch with her sitting right across from them?! If they are getting their feelings hurt when they see me bringing lunch to my niece, how do they feel when they see us at McDonald's and they are not invited to sit with us?! Kids have to learn at some point that they might not get invited to a birthday party when all of their friends do, they might not get to play with friends at recess because on that day the friends don't want to play with them. As parents, it is our job to teach our children these things.

Not every parent can go have lunch with their child. I don't recall my parents ever having lunch with me. In fact, my parents rarely ever visited the school. I turned out fine. My feelings were probably hurt multiple times every day in school. That is life. Children are going to be hurt and upset. We have to teach them how to deal with this hurt and anger so that they can become civilized members of society. I don't know how many other parents have issues with this new rule, but I saw four different parents with their children at the back tables and one even had two children that were not hers eating with them. Either they didn't get the memo or just chose to not follow the rules.

If we have to follow these guidelines, it would most likely deter me from eating lunch with my daughter, as it was not an enjoyable experience for me. I am thinking that I should speak with the principle and let him know my concerns on the matter...or just not follow the rules next time I go to school. But, then what is that teaching my daughter? It's an odd situation to be in, really. I have never been one to "make waves", so to speak. I try to follow the rules. What would YOU do in this situation? I look forward to reading your comments.

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