Damn Tornado Alley

So Mr. Sasha and I are in bed last night (get your mind out of the gutter!), enjoying the pilot episode of Swingtown, and as it often happens this time of year in our part of the country, our favorite weatherman broke in and he and the crazy-ass storm chasers started in talking on top of each other about power flashes and debris. So we missed the last 15 minutes of a show I think we are really going to like. Damn weather.

Did you watch? There's a recap up at cbs.com, but no real details about the last bit. Can you fill me in? We'll watch it online later, but I really want to know now....

For Slim- A Lesson in Consumerism

Slim, here's the link I was talking about at lunch- when we were discussing the dirtiness and lack of metal forks at Mazzio's at the absurdness that Carl's Jr. can claim to be out of ketchup (and fries!) with both Albertson's and SuperTarget within walking distance.....

The $39 Experiment

Self Tanner Update

Did you get around to trying Loreal's Sublime Glow in medium as I recommended?

So far, it's endorsed by me, my neighbor Crystal, Beauty Addict (she's got a fabulous post on self-tanner smell), and Laura!

Laura writes: ......but I just finished up my Jergens and bought some Loreal Sublime Glow (Medium) and OMG - It's so much better than the Jergens! At Target is was actually a bit cheaper too ($6.49 vs $6.99) I really like that it's got little sparkly things in it that reflect the light. Hey, any help we can get, right? Anyway, I'm definitely a convert! If they only had it for the face - I'd be happy! It smells so much better than the Jergens I'm using on my face (which smells like peepee). Thanks Sasha!

So who else has tried it and what did you think?

Instituting Anti-Biting Program

You may remember in April that I posted about the fabulous anti-biting workshop I attended at our local health department. I finally found the Nuk Massage Brushes online and am placing an order today for enough for the entire 1 1/2 year old class and the 2 year old class (WC's class). These are the two classes where biting is the biggest problem.

I am so excited and so hopeful that this helps! I feel so lucky that my kids attend a center that is so welcoming to parent suggestions. They are totally on board with this and I know it wouldn't be that way everywhere.

Cross your fingers that this helps!

Summer TV!

OK, before you freak out and leave me a comment that my excessive TV-watching is probably contributing to the downfall of my youngest child's behavior, let me assure you I Tivo all my programs and either watch them after the kids have gone to bed, or while I am running on the treadmill, which lately hasn't been much.

So basically my TV-watching time is pretty limited. I am freaking out a little because I just got my new TV Guide (love it!) and there is a whole list of things I am wanting to watch this summer.

1. Nashville Star (Tivo alert! Changed from USA Network to NBC- you'll have to change your Season Pass) (June 9th)
2. Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Home (Tivo alert! Name changed) (Oxygen June 17)
3. My Boys (Tivo alert! Needs to be re-added as a season pass- info from last summer was lost) (TBS June 12)
4. Swingtown (CBS Thursdays- this week!)
5. Big Brother (Tivo Alert! Will probably need to be added since the put the season number after it) (CBS July 13)
6. Project Runway (Bravo July)
7. The Next Food Network Star (Food Network- started last Sunday)

I still haven't watched the Lohan show or Denise Richards either, and I don't think I will. Just no time. My list above looks much better.

EDITED TO ADD: Damn, Slim, you are right. I left off So You Think You Can Dance! I even attempted to do a whole post dedicated to Claire Callaway and her new (bad) hair, but I couldn't find a pic the other day. Love that show. Love the choreographers most of all.

Note from School 6/3

"WC was sent to the office today for taking off her shoes 3 times and for sassing her teachers."

Wah.

New Motto Found at the Health Department

"Power belongs to those who use it, and if parents don't, their kids will."
-Gregory Bodenhamer, Former Probation Officer, Author

Well, well, well. We are making progress.

Today I met with the Child Development Specialist (CDS) and got the results from The Wild Child's developmental assessment from last week. As I suspected, she scored age-appropriate in all areas, and her speech actually measured at beyond a 3 year old level, which is fab since she is only 28 months old.

We worked on a sensory questionnaire today and I'll go back next week for the results of that. I also scheduled a hearing screening to rule out a hearing problem.

Some background for those of you just joining us: The Wild Child is hell on wheels. She's actually a fabulous child with such a great spirit and personality- but she chooses some inappropriate behaviors when she doesn't get her way that include (but aren't limited to) biting, hitting, spitting, ignoring, etc. We also have trouble getting her to follow directions when she doesn't want to do what we are asking. Most scary to me is that she has been running from us in public places and won't respond to us when we tell her to "Stop!".

The Child Development Specialist and I have decided that WC is a "spirited child". We also went over a cool analogy involving The Hundred Acre Woods that put it all in perspective for me (WC is a Tigger, The Politician and I are Piglets, and Mr. Sasha is a Pooh- more on that later when I get a copy of it next week). Basically, parenting WC is just different than parenting P, and the Sashas just need to figure out what to do. As one friend said last week, "You don't want to look up in 2 years and realize that WC is running the house!".

The most fabulous part of all this is that the CDS is going to meet with us weekly until we get a "discipline plan" in place once we figure out what will be most effective. She even offered to visit WC's early childhood development center to observe her in class and discuss with her teachers what discipline plan we decide on.

I feel so good about all this and really feel like I am taking the steps I need to take to keep myself off Super Nanny on national TV.

Passionberri?

Does anybody know what the hell passionberri is? There is a new store going in a strip mall near the Sashas but it's just this sign and a blank empty store right now. Their website is crap- take down that splash page and put up some content!!!! Am I missing something on there? Is there a "click here to continue" somewhere?????

So does anybody know- it is like pinkberry or Tutti frutti? Thanks to Perez and Buford Betty, I am flippin' dreaming about these places, just dying.

Happy Birthday Mamalicious!

Hollyanna, I knew when you came into Hayes in first grade with your Hawaiian shirt on and a comb in your back pocket that you were way cool and we were destined to be good friends.

And I also knew that we were way too hot for 1987 when we randomly dressed up and had Mimilicious take this shot in your driveway. That is a bandanna that you are wearing as a bikini top and yes, I do have on a trash bag and blue lips.

Thanks for being a good friend for all these years- I love ya and can't wait to celebrate your 34th with you.

Now when is that going to be?

Parents Magazine June 2008 Cliff Notes

I know you are as busy as me and don't have time to read magazines, but I had a hair appointment today and actually had 20 uninterrupted minutes while I was under the dryer! So I read the June 2008 Parents magazine for us and tore out some interesting pages so you don't need to read it yourself.

Without further ado, here's the high points:

• Veet In Shower Hair Removal Cream, designed to withstand water, so you put it on before you get in the shower, wait three minutes, then remove the cream with the sponge that comes with it.
• McCormick has come out with Potato Steamers (in your grocer's freezer) the steam in the microwave in no time- Italian Herb and Roasted Garlic & Rosemary varieties.
• KytoStat bandages ($15 for a pack of three at drugstore.com) don't just protect the wound- they actually stop the bleeding. Expensive- but it sounds like they may be worth having on hand.
• Theme park smarts- Safety Tat - Temporary tattoos with your phone number! Very cool.
• Last but not least, Parents is having their Annual Cover Search. As I've told you before, don't you dare go entering your kid and trying to beat mine. Kidding. Sort of.

Wow, I just noticed that was almost all "products" that I tore out and nothing about actual parenting, with the exception of the bandages and safety tats that would make me a safer parent. Interesting.

Damn you, swimsuit season

Oh, how I hate summer. I mean, I LOVE summer, but I HATE putting on a swimsuit. And most of all, I hate shopping for a swimsuit.

I hate it so much that I wore the same top for 8 years, and even when the back clasp broke, I continued to wear the top and kept using the MacGyver-ified grey rope that held the back together. For like 3 years. I'm sure Slim will remember because it all went down at the lake on their pontoon boat.

Anyway, one of my requirements is that the bottoms be shorts, not some skimpy bottom. Mr. Sasha doesn't understand, but the backs of your legs at 34 just don't look like the back of your legs at 18. Even if I was underweight, the yuckiness would still be there.....

Anyway, I am thinking about getting this suit but am not sure which print I like best. Opinions please?

Heat Wave Print

Ebbtide Print (on model above)

Beach Breeze print

2008 School Pics

Holy crap my kids are growing up fast. The Politician will be 5 in August and starting Pre-K. The Wild Child turned two in January and is continuing to turn our house upside down.

But, sweet niblets, isn't that the sweetest face you've ever seen?

This is more like it..... She's hamming in up for the camera, and P is dashing off in the background. I'll have to get this one for sure because it cracks me up.

Ask the Product Junkie: Brown Lipstain

Stephanie asks: Any ideas for lipstains? I tried Lip Envy at Sephora. It was 15 or 16 dollars and the only stain they had that wasn't pink. (I am looking for something brown or at least natural lip color-no pink!) It is not good at all!!!!! It doesn't stain anything! It comes right off and is chunky when it wears off and mixes with the gloss I wear over it. Ahhhh!

Stephanie, I agree that Lip Envy is not a good product- I was not impressed with it at all. Did you know Sephora has a great return policy?

Anyway, I saw a friend from college this weekend (Hi Heather!) and of course I asked her what lipcolor she was wearing. Her coloring just happens to be similar to yours.

Turns out she wears Revlon Colorstay Overtime Lipcolor in True Chocolate. Fabulous brown color. This is a two step product with a stain/longwearing lipcolor on one end and a top coat on the other.

I love love love this product (two of my HG lippies are Overtime Lipcolor Sheer in Sheer Pomegranate and the Overtime Lipcolor in Perpetual Plum) and think you would like it too. You can apply the topcoat as much as you like and it's doesn't ball up the lipcolor.

New Lipgloss Find

Well, my last two posts certainly were downers, weren't they? So in an effort to cheer you (and me) up, let's talk about one of our favorite topics, makeup!

I noticed a new product in my Walgreen's flyer last week, Revlon's ColorStay Mineral Lipglaze. (Note that for some reason, this product is not listed on Revlon's website.)

I love lipgloss, but have a terrible time wearing it because it always runs in the little lines around my lips. So I'm always searching for a lipgloss that has staying power and pigment and doesn't run.

Found!

I purchased the two darkest colors, Overtime Wine and Plum, and they are fabulous. Smell is nice, feels good on your lips, pigment has staying power, wears off evenly, and lasts all morning!

I Hope Supernanny Works at DHS

In a moment of desperation, I just called the girl who set up the biting workshop at DHS, and asked for her help.

Mr. Sasha had just called me and said that after I left for work, The Wild Child did the following:

• took off her shorts and tried to secretly throw them away
• poured out her baggie of cereal on the floor
• tried to get the cereal box to eat out of instead
• spit on him a few times
• hit at him
• yelled "No!" about a million times
• tried to bite Mr. Sasha when he was putting her in her car seat
• cried/screamed all the way to school
• then magically changed her tune when she saw her friend walking in to school, wiped off her tears and said "Yay, school!"
• once she was in her classroom, saw a little boy crying for his mom and she gave him a hug and said "It's OK."

WTH?

So we have a "developmental assessment" scheduled for next Tuesday morning. Maybe she has some developmental delay that is causing her to be frustrated? Maybe she has a sensory integration problem and just can't deal? Maybe we are just bad parents? We will see what DHS has to say.

Night Time Potty Training Hell

I was doing just fine putting a night-time pullup on The Politician every night. It didn't bother me one bit that he didn't wake up to pee. Not one little bit.

But now he's starting to wake up to pee and it is driving Mr. Sasha and I ca-razy.

Most usually we'll wake up in the middle of the night and realize that he's standing by our bed. Who knows how long he's been there and it's kinda creepy. He wants someone to go to the bathroom with him and then take him back to bed and tuck him in. Sometimes I pretend I don't hear him and let Mr. Sasha deal with it all (Hi Mr. Sasha!).

I have told him every night for months about how he can do it on his own, not wake us up, etc. He's not listening.

I need a solution, and I need one now. What's a tired girl to do? Help?

My Mother's Day Present

Amy asks: Did you ever get that garmin thingy for running you mentioned right before mother's day? If so are you happy with it?

I can't believe I forgot to post about this! Mr. Sasha actually got me the model that was one step up from the one I originally told him about- he got the Forerunner 205.

I absolutely love it! It shows your pace, distance, and elapsed time, all figured using a satellite system! It's rechargeable, so no pesky batteries to replace. The band is actually small enough for my pretty tiny wrist. All in all, one of the best presents I've ever gotten. All of you on the C25K bandwagon need one- you'd love it!

There's something to be said for picking out your own gift. Mr. Sasha actually ordered his own Father's Day gift today- some new golf shoes and some golf shirts so he'll be all set for his Amateur Golf Tour this summer.

How about you- what's the best gift you've ever gotten, and did you pick it out yourself, or were you surprised?

Problem getting your cashback from Ebates?

Evil Kate writes: This will probably come as a real shock but I think I screwed something up when I tried to use it. We tried to book our rental car through ebates but I don't see where it shows it worked....HELP!!!!

In the 3-4 years that I've used ebates, there have been about 3 times that something slipped through the cracks at ebates. However, if you click on "help" in the upper right hand part of their screen, you'll get a nifty customer service menu. And, behold, a link that says "Where's my cash back?"

So, Ms. Kate, just log in, click on that, and follow the instructions. I've never had a problem once I've gotten the proper information to them. Heck, there must be 10000000 people who belong to ebates, no less than 75 referred by yours truly. I figure it kind of like the post office, give them that much stuff, they're going to lose a little bit here and there.

Hope this helps!

Oh, and if someone still isn't registered with ebates, now's the time! Follow my link on the right to get your $10 bonus too!

A New 100 Calorie Treat

Made a quick run to SuperTarget at lunch to pick up necessities (milk, Mr. Clean, printer cartridge, Market Pantry Raspberry Blackberry sparkling calorie free water, toothpaste for P) and of course I went down the snack aisle. I'm a big fan of the 100 calorie packs, seeing as how I have no control when it comes to portions and the way I've been eating lately, I'll be needing that wardrobe back that I donated to charity after I finally lost my baby weight last year. So I'm making the 100 calorie packs my afternoon snack.

Anyway, the above York 100 Calorie Peppermint Wafer Bars called my name and ended up in my cart. And they are tasty! The are 7 packages in the box ($2.99) and each package has two long slim chocolate-covered wafers with a peppermint creme in the middle. I'll definitely be buying these again and will also be searching for the Reese's version.

New Beverage Find

Damn, this stuff is good. Mike's Light Hard Cranberry Lemonade- 98 calories or thereabouts.

Super good on an early summer night listening to an Americana band in the park. Makes corralling the kiddos on picnic blanket not as bad as it could be.

Maybe if I had brought a few more we could have stayed longer......