Butterfly Kisses…Or Something Like That

Posted on by Mandy


Whenever my son picks something just for me out of the treasure chest at school for his good behavior, my heart just does a total flip flop, for two reasons. The first reason is that, “*sniff* Mah Baby loves me so much he picked something for ME when he could have picked anything he wanted!!! *sniff*”, and secondly, the treasure chest means he was on his best behavior, and when you have a very lively and spirited little five year old boy, this is always good news to hear.

Monday was a great day for E.B. When I picked him up from school he couldn’t wait to show me the yellow plastic butterfly he picked from the treasure chest especially for me. According to his teacher, he had been working really hard the past few days to be able to get this butterfly, so naturally this made it even more special.

That night at bathtime he wanted to play with the butterfly in the bathtub, and sicne it was made of hard plastic I let him. Bathtime is when I sing corny songs to him, so naturally the butterfly inspired a song I remembered singing at church during my childhood. And naturally, I bursted into my “Broadway” rendition of said song….

“If I were a butterfly, I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings….and if I were a robin in a tree, I’d thank you Lord that I could sing….”

All at once the little plastic butterfly was snatched from my hand and dunked down into the water. Then E.B. added his own line to the song….

“…and if that butterfly fell in the water he might droooowwwwnnnnn…….”

At least it was a plastic butterfly.

Prilosec OTC – Everything You Do Without Heartburn

Posted on by Mandy

Have you ever asked yourself what you could be capable of doing if only you had the means to do it? What are you excited about? If you had the resources, what could you be doing in life to make a difference and fuel your passion?

Prilosec is the official sponsor of the Everything You Do Without Heartburn promotion and they are looking to sponsor people who want to take their passions in life to the next level but don’t have the means to do it on their own.

To participate, visit www.PrilosecOTC.com for official rules and to complete the online application. Your application will become a live profile at their online community where you will then campaign for yourself by asking for votes from friends and online members. If you are selected for sponsorship, you will be rewarded with a nice contribution to fuel your passion.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Prilosec OTC. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Social Media Overdose- Bloggers Rehab?

Posted on by Mandy

Does anyone remember the dinosaur days when blogging was so simple? You blogged, you read and commented at other blogs, and you *might* have gone to a blogging convention, but that was pretty much the extent of blogging. It was easy enough to keep up with your favorite blogs and people because you probably had them listed on your blog roll and, at least in the mommy blogging world, there weren’t quite so many blogs to to choose from. I miss those days sometimes.

THE PROBLEM:

And now? There is Twitter, Facebook, vlogging, blogging forums, feed readers, Google Follow, stressing over stats, SEO, PR opportunities, giveaways, and about twenty billion blogs to choose from.

I finally came to the realization that I would never, ever be able to keep up with all of this at once. I work. I have a child. I have a life beyond this computer screen. I love Facebook, I love blogging, I love reading blogs, and I love to work with PR and offer relevant giveaways on my blog, BUT… I also feel incredibly guilty if I don’t visit someone who has recently left a comment on my blog, I feel bad if my stats don’t hit a certain number each day, and I feel like if I’m not at my forums or checking out Twitter, then I miss what’s really going on in the blogosphere. I feel overwhelmed trying to keep up with 300 blogs in my feed reader. I also feel like if I am not doing all of this on a daily basis, then I am not “working my blog” to its fullest potential. I hate the competitiveness that goes along with blogging. I hate feeling like blogging is just not enough.

I want to do it all when it comes to blogging, but I just can’t keep up.

THE SOLUTION:

I’m implementing my own therapeutic blogging program called Do One Thing to help me reign myself in, put the focus back on my writing and to sincerely enjoy the other blogs I read. And what is Do One Thing, you might ask? If I only do ONE thing a day to connect with other bloggers, readers, or PR contacts, then I won’t hold it against myself. If I only answer ONE email, leave ONE comment, read ONE blog from my reader, make ONE Tweet, then I’ll have done one thing pertaining to blogging besides blogging itself and I’ll have managed my time more wisely. There will be days, of course, when I do MORE than one thing, but on those days when my computer time is very limited (which has been the case more often than not recently), I won’t allow myself to feel bad about what I don’t do. That’s it.

And? I must somehow whittle my feed reader down to 100 blogs. That’s going to be very painful. But necessary. And? Stop obsessing over traffic, SEO, networking, and stats. It’s a blog, for crying out loud, right? But it’s also so much more. *sigh* In regards to PR and giveaways, I am only accepting and posting the ones I want to, so I am proud that I have been more selective in that aspect. Baby steps.

I’ve promised myself in the past that I would do these very things to stop the blogging insanity, but I never do. But it MUST stop. It must.

I may lose readers, traffic may tank to new lows, and I’ll probably miss out on all of the blogging gossip, but that’s ok. It will have to be ok, because I’ll still be here blogging if anyone stumbles in and wants to read.

Is there a such thing as Blogger’s Rehab?

Scooby-Doo! AbraCadabra-Doo Review & Giveaway

Posted on by Mandy


One cool thing about parenting is getting the rare chance to share something from my childhood that my son also grows to love, and Scooby Doo has definitely been one of those things E.B. and I can enjoy together. We recently received a copy of the new Scooby Doo DVD called AbraCadabraDoo and we enjoyed watching Scooby and the gang solve another mystery.

Synopsis:

In this brand-new adventure, Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang set out on a trip to visit Daphne’s sister Madelyn, who has been studying magic at the Whirlen Merlin Magic Academy. However, when the gang arrives, they learn that the school has been troubled with strange disturbances. Many of its students have fled after reporting sightings of a giant Gryphon that’s frightened them. The gang smells trouble and sets out to investigate

To get a sneak peek, check out the clip below:

Scooby Doo! AbraCadabraDoo is now out on DVD as of February 16, 2010 and you can watch even more clips at the official website at www.abracadabradoo.com

GIVEAWAY: I have 3 copies of the new Scooby Doo AbraCadabraDoo DVD to give away to 3 lucky winners! To enter, just leave a comment on this post. Giveaway will end Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 11 PM Central. U.S. only.

Play Ball! ….Or Not.

Posted on by Mandy


Last week E.B. turned 5 years old and reached the “magic age”. He can now play park commission tee ball if we so desire to sign him up. I’m torn.

PROS:

This would be good physical activity for him. It would also be a chance for him to be around other kids his age. Of course, I know he is around children his age at school, but he has no brothers or sisters and the neighborhood kids are a good 3-4 years older than him and I won’t let him out of our yard to play yet, so his social interaction is pretty limited. He also hits a mean ball, and sure, maybe I’m a little biased, but he is pretty good.

CONS:

Is he ready for this? I mean, he is only 5. We have many, many years ahead of us to participate in sports. Shouldn’t we wait until he is old enough to request to play?

Any “ball moms” out there willing to chime in with your two cents? I’d love some other perspectives.

Valentine’s Schmalentine’s

Posted on by Mandy

The older I get, I find myself crossing over to the “Valentine’s Day is just a commercial, made-up holiday with no real relevance other that to guilt people into buying something for their significant other because you kind of have to or risk looking like a clueless loser” camp. We weren’t going to make a big deal over it this year and I was perfectly fine with it, because I know Cracked Daddy loves me and really, we’ve just about done it all when it comes to Valentine’s Day.

And then….Cracked Daddy ordered me to the couch to watch Twilight (!!kid-free!!) Saturday night, and then I woke up this morning to roses, chocolates, and breakfast fit for a queen. And the nap!! I got a 2 hour nap. Alone! Kid free!! And I liked it.

Well played, honey. Well played.

Suave Wash Them Grow Giveaway

Posted on by Mandy


Bathtime for my little guy has never seemed like a parenting “chore” to me. When he was a baby, it was relaxing. As he has grown, bathtime is “fun” time. He plays with toys, we sing, and we also talk about his day. It’s definitely quality time while getting clean.

Suave has recently started a new campaign called Wash Them Grow to encourage parents to turn bath time into quality family time. As part of the campaign, Suave Kids created www.washthemgrow.com, an online forum for parents which includes a trivia game and tips generated by parents, for parents.

Each day parents play the trivia game they are entered into the Wash Them Grow Sweepstakes and are eligible for a weekly family e-Keepsake Kit, or the grand prize, a family vacation to Orlando!

Suave Kids is also launching a new body wash –Moisturizing Body Wash– that will leave kids’skin baby soft and smooth. All Suave Kids Body Washes are hypoallergenic and have an ophthalmologist tested formula that makes bath time tear-free.

GIVEAWAY:

One lucky Mommy Cracked reader will win a set of 4 Suave Kids Body Washes. (Berry, Strawberry, Free and gentle, and Moisturizing)

TO ENTER:

Just leave a comment on this post. Deadline to enter is Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 10 PM Central.

I Have To Get This Off My Chest

Posted on by Mandy

Dear Mr. Weatherman,

All I can really say at this point is FAIL! That light dusting of
snow looks nothing like the 1-3 inches you promised and assured all of us we would get a snow day because of. I’m done
with you. Done! Your predictions mean nothing to me anymore.
We’re through.

Sincerely,

Mommy Cracked…who will never get her hopes up for a snow day ever, ever
again.

Dear Mother Nature,

Sweetheart, we need to talk. May I just ask HOW is it that my little
section of the great state of Mississippi gets NO significant snow, while you
dump it exactly 30 miles north and south of us every. single. time.? And
to tease us with beautiful, big snowflakes, only to turn off the snow faucet an
hour later with NO accumulation? You are a heartless tart!

Sincerely,

Mommy Cracked….who thinks you do this just for kicks. Snow in SOUTH
Mississippi over 3 times this year but not us? Really?! Really?

Dear Wycleff (Or whomever it was that came up with this idea…)

While the intentions of raising money for Haiti by re-doing We Are
The World are admirable and a cause I am definitely down with, What The Honk did you do to the song? I was not impressed at
all. At all. Or maybe I’m just too old school to appreciate
this.

Sincerely,

Mommy Cracked…who is probably the only other person in the world that
hates this new version.

Dear E.B.

Your Mommy feels just terrible that we didn’t make it to the Monster Truck
Rally tonight. We had a big weekend planned for you, and then Mommy got
sick. You’re totally OK with it because, bless your heart, your Daddy and
I never mentioned it to you at all (because we’d never hear the end of
it…which is good I suppose since we had to cancel), so you are completely
oblivious and happily playing Sponge Bob on the PlayStation. But
still. It’s your birthday week. You deserved this. I’m sorry,
and we promise to make it up to you in the near future with another fun trip in
which we won’t tell you about either.

Sincerely,

Mommy….Who loves you more than peanut butter.

Disclosure: These rants were brought to you by Sinus Infection from Hades and Antibiotic-Induced Stomach Issues. I did not receive a gift card from anyone for writing this, but I totally should.