Product Reviews... Because I love You!

AquaFresh iso-active Toothpaste

This toothpaste rocks your mouth out!  Seriously.  It leaves your teeth feeling clean and your breath fresh as ever!  I highly recommend it! 

Bloomen Nutrition Prenatal Vitamin Chews
Last Summer, while pregnant, I could barely choke down the yucky prenatal vitamins.  Let's face it, they don't exactly taste like gum drops and lolly pops.  It got to the point that they made me nauseous.  I searched high and low for fun flavored prenatals... why can't they taste like Flintstone's???  I came across these from Bloomen Nutrition.  They're chewable prenatals flavored with citrus and ginger blossoms.  Not bad to take at all.  Prego, or planning to be... give these a shot! 

Frizz-Ease Moisture Barrier Firm-Hold Hair Spray
Hands-down, the best hair spray I've used in a very long time.  It does exactly what it says it does, "Creates an instant style-supporting barrier; helps seal out humidity & combats frizz, rain or shine."  LOVE IT! 

"Happy birthday toooo Daa'aad!"

The first words out of Calvin's mouth this morning were, "Happy birthday toooo Daaad!" 

Today was Chris's 28th birthday. It started with presents and blueberry pancakes. Followed by a mid-afternoon nap, playing with the leaf blower, and dinner where the cowboys eat (Lonestar). Although he also had to work a little (including fixing my car), I hope he still enjoyed ever minute of his special day.

Calvin making Chris's red velvet birthday cake. 
We added orange and blue gels to the icing and sprinkles on top to make the cake extra special.  :-) 

Chris, words cannot express how happy you make me each day.  So today, as we celebrated your birthday, I felt like I was the one getting the biggest gift of all... you. 

Monopoly

I'm slightly obsessed w/ McDonald's Monopoly.  I'd love your help!  I'm sure we could work out a deal.  ;-)  Here's what I need. 

Boardwalk for $1,000,000

Ventor Avenue for $25,000

Kentucky Avenue for $10,000

Tennessee Avenue for $5000

Virginia Avenue for $2000

Vermont Avenue for $1000

Shortline RR for $500

Wordless Wednesday

Ramblings

• This is Chris's birthday week!!! Thursday is his birthday. I can't wait to give him all of his gifts!
• Shopping was successful today with Dawn. 
• I got what I went for and not much else. 
• Last weekend Chris and I were in Champaign to do some shopping. 
• We didn't buy one thing. 
• I am still in shock! 
• Calvin has a bowling field trip on Thursday.  Needless to say, he's ecstatic. 
• I am getting around to uploading a month's worth of pix at dropshots. 
• I would have had a ton of great shots w/ Gma in them... but she doesn't look at the camera.  We gotta work on that.  ;-) 
• Last weekend I had the pleasure of shooting the senior pix of 2 beautiful girls. 
• Their pix turned out amazing. 
• Yesterday was rough.  I was in a funk and cried a lot. 
• Some days are just harder than others. 
• I still miss my Dad so much.  And losing Pickle&Chips seemed so hard yesterday. 
• This weekend we're heading to Chicago! 
• Looking forward to some time w/ Bill & Elizabeth. 
• I'm still waiting for the arrival of our niece... Can't wait! 
• Calvin wants to know why all of the "stupid drivers" are always out when we are. 

Guns and Racism... My kid?

I had an interesting encounter with a woman this weekend.  I'm going to start out by saying that at this point I'm pms-ing and probably overreacting, but I'm angry.  And was so angry last night that I had to bite my tongue to keep from lashing out at her. 

You guys know all about Calvin.  He's my 4 year old hunter of all things that move.  From rhino's in Africa to deer to birds - he wants to shoot 'em.  Let me give you a little background.  I previously was against him having guns.  But, after trying to fight it for so long and watching him use anything imaginable like clothes hangers as guns, we caved in last Christmas.  We have a strict 'no shooting people' policy.  He knows the rule and for the most part, he sticks to it. 

Back to my story.  We were at someone's house for a party.  I packed a few toys including a toy pistol for Calvin.  I was upset to find out another mother took Calvin's gun away because her son wanted to play with it.  She overheard Calvin tell me about it so she explained that she's anti-guns (they are very liberal) and didn't want her son playing with it.  My point is:  Does that make it right to punish my son?!?  If she had a problem with her son playing with the guns, she should have handled it with her son - not mine.  I don't feel like we're close enough for her to take something away from Calvin. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, she did it AGAIN!  Seriously... I was pissed to say the least. 

It gets worse. 
 
Somehow poop stories always get brought up.  I told Calvin's funny poop story about how he says, "I pooped my brains out" and how he used to say, "I pooped out Baby Brother!"  And then about the time he said, "I pooped out Obama" followed by, "I flushed him down the toilet." 

She had the audacity to tell me not to say that because it's racist.  She went on and on.  I could practically feel the steam escaping through my ears.  Did she just call my son a racist?!?  Did she really just call my son racist?!?  I about came unglued.  I wanted to slap her silly for being so ignorant.  Ignorance truly is the best word I can think of to use in this situation.  I don't believe that just because we are white that we have to watch every single thing we say in fear of another race taking it the wrong way.  If it is innocent and we didn't mean it to be racist then it's not.  Period. 

You never mess with Mama Hen... I get defensive the second anyone says anything bad about Calvin.  This crossed the line.  He's 4.  He knows nothing of racism.  He once described a boy in his class as 'brown' because that was a good adgective.  He would never say anything hurtful about anyone. 

If you know me... you know I always have something to say.  To explain how incredibly angry I was last night... I said little to nothing at all.  I will probably completely avoid this person in the future because of her inconsiderate actions towards my son. 

If he enjoys pretending to hunt with toy guns and once pooped out an Obama, should he be crucified or is that good old fashion imagination? 

Shout out for beautiful bows!

Recently, I was shopping for hair bows to give Wendy at her baby shower for Blueberry.  I had no idea bows were sooo expensive!  Seriously, $7.99 for 1 bow?!? 

I called my friend Becky for help.  We made tons of bows in one morning - yes I got to help a little.  They turned out great!  Best part was that she was very inexpensive! 

If you live in the Effy area and would like her contact info, leave a comment or email me. 

The Scary Dream

I woke-up at 0620 in a panic and a puddle of sweat.  I had a bad dream. 

There were bad guys that shot lots of people with machine guns.  We ran away.  There was a familiar house, that I'm sure I've dreamt about before with a secret set of rooms with a secret and magical hiding place.  However, when I got to that room this time, for the life of me I couldn't figure out the magical hiding place.  I hid in a cabinet but was caught. 

They let me, Mom, and Calvin live.  Mom went along with their evil plan to make us eventually kill a nice elderly couple down the road that sold apples.  I had a plan to eventually turn them into the cops. 

One of the bad guys looked familiar, but I don't know where I know him from.  The other bad guy was my cousin, Jason A.  I couldn't turn to Jason for help because it was obvious he was loyal to the head bad guy. 

When I confronted the head bad guy about letting me go home temporarily to keep up the image of a normal life so nobody got suspicious he was very calm and agreeing.  It was creepy.  I knew then that I wouldn't leave alive. 

Then, Mom's huband (Clay), my uncle Kevin, and a few others arrived.  The mean guys were welcoming and gave them beer.  But, I knew they'd be dead all too soon.  I wanted to tell them to run away, but I feared the bad guys would kill Calvin if I opened my mouth. 

I woke-up. 

Thank goodness.  But, I was still freaked out.  I even called Chris to tell him about my scary dream.  Soon, Calvin was awake and safely in bed with me and the world was right again. 

Are you a dream interpreter?  If so, what does my dream mean? 

M.K.W.A.: The Story Of My Birth

This week, Mama Kat's prompts are about mom's and birth stories.  I always find humor in mine.  Enjoy.   

February 6, 1982 my parents, Doug & Karla, went to a wedding... just so happens that it was Bridget's parents' wedding.  To answer your question, yes this is the same Bridget that performs miracles with my hair. 

Back to my story.  Mom was seriously prego - like ready to pop.  Dad must have known I'd be arriving very soon and decided to party really hard at the wedding reception.  To say the least, Dad got drunk. 

They got home.  Dad passed out.  And Mom's water broke.  Good timing, right?  ;-) 

She couldn't get Dad to wake-up completely.  So, she called my Grandma Betty (Dad's mom).  Grandma rushed over, driving through the blizzard... did I mention there was a blizzard?  Anyway, she haulled Mom and Dad back to her house to give Dad some time to sober up before going to the hospital. 

Finally, when the time came... and Dad was a little more sober... they went to the Hospital.  Dad always wanted to name me Josephine after my Grandpa Joe.  Mom wanted to name me Dahnika.  Since Dad wasn't in the best shape at the hospital, Mom had the opportunity to name me whatever she wanted.  She decided to compromise and name me Christina.  Everyone was happy. 

That is my birth story.  What's yours?  Visit Mama Kat to get your prompt. 

Introducing Self Reliant 101

Let me introduce you to a new blog on the block:  

 Self Reliant 101. 

The author, Student, provides funny, entertaining, and educational posts about getting back to the basics and doing things the old fashioned way. 

Need a recipe for a wood-nurishing dusting spray that can double as a salad dressing?  She's your gal!  Stop by Self Reliant 101 to welcome Student to the neighborhood.  :-)

Odds -N- Ends

• Been through Montrose lately?  What's up w/ the Chuck Wagon?  I've heard the "fair-like" food is good.  However, I drive by roughly 6-8 times a week (route to school) and rarely see anyone there.  Do people really stop by? 
• And their kiosk that sells things like rebel flags, do people buy that stuff? 
• Clearly there is a market I'm unaware of. 
• Are you a gift giver?  You either are or you aren't - and usually there's nothing wrong with not going all out.  Some people are great gift givers that put time and thought into every gift... that's me.  I take pride in my gifts.  The best part is seeing the smile on the recipient's face when they open it. 
• My question to you is this:  Do you give as much to non-givers as you give to fellow givers? 
• I'd never thought about this til recently when others couldn't cough up under $10 to go in on a special gift with me.  They didn't really get the full gist and it honestly upset me a bit.  I would probably not put them in the gift giver category. 
• It got me wondering if I'd give them special gifts like this in the future or if I'd give lame-o gift cards or nothing at all. 
• BTW, the person I got the gift for is also a gift giver and very generous.  And I know this person would do the same for us. 
• Have you started shopping for Christmas, yet? 
• I haven't.  And I won't until the day after Thanksgiving.  It's my tradition.  To me, it's not Christmas shopping w/o bumper carts, a headache, and a daquiri at Red Lobster mid-day.  :-) 
• My sister, Tiffany is a Junior at THS.  Sunday was Ring Day!  I wonder if hers was as memorable as mine.  Good times with good friends! 
• Calvin and I watched The Wizard of Oz Sunday night.  He now says, "Follow the yellow brick road" all of the time.  It's getting annoying. 
• Next week is Super Studly Husband's Birthday Week!  I started shopping today!  He's gonna have a good birthday. 
• Dina is dying.  (my computer)
• She turns herself off whenever she pleases... yesterday 5 times! 
• She strategically plans to turn off when I'm in the middle of a project or work.  I hate to admit that her war tactics are helping her advance to winning the war against my sanity. 
• However, ultimately I will conquer when I replace her sassy ass with a new computer!  HA! 

$1 Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese Day - TODAY!!!

The newly rebuilt McDonald's on Keller Drive in Effingham is having killer deals this month! Thanks to Dawn, I'm now in the know and sharing the good news with you! ENJOY!

*** All day, Everyday through October 25th: $1 Large Sweet Tea, $2 any small specialty coffee, $1.19 double cheese, $2 milk shake, 25 cent small coffee, 25 cent ice cream cones. ***

Limit of 2 specials per order or per car

Oct 9: $1 Burrito / $1 Quarter Pounder w/cheese
Oct 10: $1 cinnamelts / $1 6 pc chicken nugget
Oct 11: $1 hotcakes / $1 Big Mac
Oct 12: $1 hotcakes / $2 Any angus burger
Oct 13: $2 Big Breakfast / $2 any happy meal
Oct 14: $1 Sausage McGriddles / $1 Big Mac
Oct 15: $1 Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit / 49 cent hamburgers and 59 cent cheeses
Oct 16: $1 Burrito / $2 Quarter pounder w/cheese
Oct 17: $1 Egg McMuffin / $1 6 pc Chicken Nugget
Oct 18: $1 Cinnamelts / $1 Filet of Fish
Oct 19: $1 Hotcakes / $2 Any Happy Meal
Oct 20: $2 Big Breakfast / $1 Big Mac
Oct 21: $1 Bacon Egg & Cheese Bisuit / $2 Any Angus Burger
Oct 22: $1 Sausage McGriddles / $2 Any Angus Burger
Oct 23: 11 am - 2pm - Help break the drive through record , receive a free hamburger or cheeseburger coupon w/every drive through order
Oct 24: $1 Burrito / $1 Quarter Pounder w/cheese
Oct 25: $1 Cinnamelts / $1 6 pc chicken nuggets

1 Mom + 2 Dads + 1 Little Boy went to the TGS open house

Today was officially like our 1st school function.  The TGS had an open house.  Calvin was so excited to show off his classroom.  All 4 of us went together - Me, Chris, Calvin - and his dad, Aaron.  Many of you must think this had to have been quite awkward.  Like I told Chris before we went, "It's only as awkward as we make it."  And we walked through the school like we were no different than the rest of them.  :-) 

Calvin,
You have absolutely no idea how lucky you are to have not one, not two, but three parents that love you dearly.  Three wonderful parents that want to work together to raise you.  Growing up, I never knew divorced/separated/not-together parents could find common ground in their child.  We all love you very much.  Don't ever forget it. 

Love,
Mom

25% Off at Tanger Outlet Mall

Tuscola's Tanger Outlet Mall has something cool going on.  If you donate $1 to breast cancer research, they give you a coupon for 25% off a single item at select stores like Coach, Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger, and many others.  Look here for a complete list.    Dawn and I were up there a couple weeks ago - I got 25% off the already discounted and clearance items at Coach!  That's HUGE! 

Yesterday I went up there on a mission.  Ended up at Old Navy because they have a huge Cardigan/sweater sale - $15!!!  They had the pink sticker on their door saying they honored the Breast Cancer Pink coupons - but seriously the chick working their was clueless.  They don't sell the coupons there but they honor them.  My point is this:  1.)  That girl was stupid and truly not able to do her job completely.  2.)  Go to Coach, Wilson's Leather, or the Visitor's Center to get your 25% off coupons - then go back to stores like Old Navy and use them. 

I got 25% off my $15 cardigan!  Pretty sweet deal!  This promotion ends October 20th! 

McD Complaint

Have you ever ordered a Fish Fillet at McDonald's?
Asked for cheese on it?
Well, I have. And I have a complaint. 1/2 of a piece of cheese??? C'mon! I didn't ask for half my sandwich w/ cheese and the other without. It's weird... and it's cheap on their part. I think they charge $0.30 to add cheese... and all I get is half of a piece?!?

There ya go... my daily complaint.

Announcing my new nephew, Landon

Meet Landon. 
He's 1 week old and possibly the cutes baby! 
Yesterday he got to meet his Favorite Aunt, Christina.