And on the 8th day, massages were created
May 9, 2009
Today as one of my Mommy Missions for Mommy Madness, I had to go get a free massage at Massage Envy. I know! The Torture! Our first mission was taking the Traverse shopping to Kroger. Mission? Try daily activity! But this is a mission I think they need to force us to go on every week to ensure we are calm when we are driving our Traverse. I’m just saying!
A free massage where I did not have to start it with begging, reciprocate to get the hour long treatment, and I didn’t even need to put out afterwards as a thank you. Though a good nap would have made it perfect.
As I lay there being spoiled I had a chance to just think. I know you are supposed to relax but my mind is never still.
Even though we have been trying in vain to rid Brandon of whatever is making him so sick, and even though Zarek put three different schools into a panic thinking he had the swine flu, and even though I am really searching for more hours in a day to actually get the things done that I need to do, I realized how very blessed I am.
As the knots were worked out, the kinks de-kinked and the tension in my shoulders finally release, I began to think about the things that have been stressed out so much lately.
Worrying about being the PTA president next year. But? I am so honored that the women I most admire trust me to handle such an enormous job. They have faith in me. I have a great team of beautiful people to work with me.
Worrying about the fact that my boys were sick and we were all in lock down. But? I have been able to spend quality time with all 3 of the kids while their guards are down. I have been able to take care of them and let them be vulnerable. We actually talked.
Worrying about my blog and blogging and how things are changing. But? I am able to come here any time I want and write whatever I want without anyone telling me what to say or how to write. No editorial guidelines. And? It brought me my amazing column that I write for Parenting Magazine. And? It brought me my agent.
Worrying about not finishing my book. But? As I stuggle with one, I have finished a second and am on a third. Mainly because when the first one gets really, really tough to work through, I have the ability to switch gears and write things that are funny.
I am blessed. And OH. SO. RELAXED.
I will upload my video later. You can see me go from total excitement to totally Zen Chill. It is pretty funny! You will enjoy it. Or not. Right now I am too relaxed to care.
And remember that if YOU go into any and get your very own North Texas Chevy dealer and test drive the Chevy Traverse, you will get your very own gift certificate for a one-hour massage to any Massage Envy location in Dallas/Ft. Worth. (Be sure to let them know Jenn sent you!) Also, ladies, if you want someone to go with you to take your test drive, let me know and I will meet you up there and we can cruise together!
Posted by Jenn @
12:29 AM |
Now that I hit My Motherload, I am going to have to learn to cook!
May 8, 2009
Now, those of you who know me and know my stories know that I am infamous for my lack of cooking skills. (As in was called by an Oprah producer to do a segment about it.) I have even caught frozen vegetables on fire. You didn’t know that was possible, did you? But, my goal this summer is to learn to cook. No, I take that back. To learn to love to cook. (I know. But, hey, if I can become the PTA president, I can learn to love to cook, people.)
So you can imagine the squealing and screeching that went on here here when I got an e-mail from Mom Central asking me to test drive a Freestanding Range and Over the Range Microwave from Frigidaire’s new collection of 250 kitchen and laundry appliances! For real? A brand spanking new Range for me to learn to cook? I love it already. (The microwave will be a double special bonus!) The whole line has been designed to give moms more free time away from the kitchen and laundry room.
Look what will be gracing my kitchen (and not just to store sweaters either!) *Click the images for a larger looksie!*
Yes I will be actually cooking meals on this bad boy. If you promise not to tell my husband, I am really looking forward to getting stared. I may even invite you over for dinner sometime. Okay, that may not happen because there are a lot of you! But click on that sweet thang and see why I am actually eager to get started. I can learn the range and cooking at the same time.
But? What if I am way too busy to cook a real meal on a stove or in the over? No problem. To save me time, Frigidaire has blessed me with an amazing Over the Range Microwave. Seeing as I ripped the handled off of my old one about 10 years ago, this will be sweet. I suppose you want to see it too? I know you do! Check out my other sweetness. 
I am so honored to have been chosen by Mom Central to be a part of Team Range/Microwave. I cannot wait to start test driving these. I know my family will be happy to actually have home cooked meals, too. I will keep you up to date on my learning process and my love for my new appliances.
Now, you too can win one of these amazing appliances that are being offered at My MotherLoad. To win, simply report the five things you would do with an extra hour each day. (I know you all have things you would do with an extra hour in a day!) All participants will be entered for a chance to win an entire suite of new Frigidaire appliances. Plus, check out the other prizes you can win – like a gorgeous new Frigidaire Affinity washer/dryer. They are super awesome and you know you want all of these.
Also, become a fan on the Frigidaire Facebook Page and keep a lookout on the new time I have gained. Follow all of us moms on Twitter. It will be fun to see how we handle the new products. Especially for those like me who receive an amazing gift of not only a new range but a new outlook on cooking and family meals!
Now, of course to make it all legal and official, here it the button.
Posted by Jenn @
1:28 PM |
Do you want my little black book?
September 13, 2007
I have no style. None. No. Wait. I do. My style is “I work from home so I can wear my pj’s and socks all day and no one cares” OR when I need to get dressed up I have “I am a PTA mom and can get away with jeans and t-shirts because kids make messes” style. So I have style. In fact, Nina Garcia (best known for her appearnace as the unerring, fromidable fashion judge on Project Runway), author of The Little Black Book of Style says I can have my own style. Though I know that is not what she had in mind when that message came across. Actually, I really did like the message that I can create my own style. One that makes me feel confident. (And I do mean beyond pj’s or jeans and t-shirts.) I love that there is such a strong emphasis on “being your own muse” and creating your own style. Without the freak.
As for how much I will actually get out of this book, probably not as much as someone else who is out and about in the “real world” more than I happen to be. I am not sure the book is the right fit for me, but it is nevertheless and incredible book. My favorite section? The Fashion Cliff Notes Decade by Decade. The illustrations are beautiful! Ruben Toledo is an illustrating master.
I do recommend this book for women who are looking for a bit of style guidance. It is a great, quick read with incredible advice from people who know fashion and style. I even learned a thing or two about ways to update my style. Just because I am a PTA/Soccer mom doesn’t mean I have to look like a slob. And just because I will never wear anything that is fresh off of a runway doesn’t mean I cannot have style.
Style is internal. And everyone can create their own. And good style? It will bring out your confidence. And any woman who has confidence is beautiful!
I am giving away the free copy of The Little Black Book of Style! Do you want a copy? Just comment and let me know about your worst fashion mistake. If for no other reason than I need the entertainment! The winner will be chosen at random. I look forward to reading what you have to done horrible in the name of bad fashion!
Posted by Jenn @
8:15 AM |
All about the movies
August 14, 2007
I have been all about the movies lately.
I went to see Becoming Jane and when given a chance to see a movie that does not involve talking animals or animated anything, I jump at it.
And of course my kids were wild about watching High School Musical The Concert and Hannah Montana over and over and over.
My personal new favorite laugh out loud at the mid-life National Lampoons like DVD, Wild Hogs.
Like I said, all about the movies, baby!
Go read my latest reviews and tell me what else I should see. Oh, and in the next day or so, my review blog is moving. Yeah! I will let you know.
Posted by Jenn @
4:43 PM |
Book Review: The Big Payoff
May 21, 2007
[Editor note: The following is a review of a book I received complimentary and was asked to review. In the future, all reviews will be handled on a separate page of my blog. Thanks.]
I recently joined the great ladies at MotherTalk and I
Posted by Jenn @
3:10 PM |
Ayun and the Mamalama Ding Dong tour bus pull up for some coffee
August 19, 2006
It is not often that I will find a person, place or thing to gush about. Okay, I gush alot, but you totally need to understand that this particular gushfest involves a role model, a person I admire more than coffee (yes, that much) and a woman who took time out of a hectic publishing schedule to answer the questions of a wanna-be, naive author who had nothing to lose by bombarding her with questions. Who am I talking about? Why the amazing, cooler than cool, badder than bad Ayun Halliday. (Ayun as is rhymes with ray gun, just so you know.) I will admit that I pretended to be all cool when she asked me to be on her virtual bok tour, but that lasted about 5 seconds before I fainted, came to and emailed her back an emphatic YES. I have admired her for years, so it was a no brainer.
To celebrate the UK release of her book Mama Lama Ding Dong: A Mother’s Tales From the Trenches (The Big Rumpus in the United States) she called upon several bloggers to host her tour bus for a day. Today is my day, so pull up a cozy chair, grab a drink and sit back while I completely gush about this amazing woman and her writing. (If you are not familiar with her, check out this interview to get to know her a bit better and then check out her website. While you are there, sign up for The East Village Inky. You will thank yourself (and me!) if you do! We’ll wait here and braid each other’s hair until you get back.)
Back? Good. Now, let each of us Dare to be Heinies and dish about the book.
When I first read this description of motherhood in the chapter, “The Daily Grind”, I nearly wept with the realization that someone else not only felt this but ADMITTED it :
The pain of childbirth is a white hot constellation of torture, almost impossible to describe, remember impressionistically at best. It inspires respect.Taking care of the little criminals day in and day out is another matter. Cutting their food into crouton-size cubes, wiping their spills and their heinies, washing their hair, forcing them to give the ball back, maneuvering them through the grocery store, clearing their mouths of golf balls, dice and Monopoly houses, goading them to pick up their toys, strapping them into the car seats they loathe, reading those hideous Richard Scarry books incessently…that’s like being eaten alive by ants. Not even red ants, just the regular ones.
I fell in love as I read that passage and realized someone “got it” and was brave enough to put it out there. I cheered her on while pretending silently that I loved the daily drudgery and didn’t feel frustration because that is what you do in Stepford. In the coolness that is her New York neighborhood, you can say things like that.
However, when I read her exerpt on lice–the FIRST time–I laughed. Oh, how horrible! That is hysterical! I cannot imagine! That was before my daughter had brought home lice. When I came to that point in mamalama dingdong, there was no laughing. I screamed, threw the book and began to weep before I remember that at one point I laughed. Obviously if Ayun can laugh about the horror, I could try.
She writes:
“Head lice were outed on the children’s program Arthur this year in an effort to de-stigmatize the problem. I guess I’m glad that lice have hit the mainstream, thought what’s next for Arthur and his pals? Heroin addiction?”
I for one was thrilled to read of the horror she described just to know that a bad-ass mom like Ayun could be infected with the dreaded lice, then a Stepford mom like myself, surely would not be immune.
I wish I could quote this whole book to you, but that would be silly (and plagarism!). I mean, you WANT your own copy. You really do! I have a copy if both The Big Rumpus (so dog eared it needs tape to hold it together) and Mama Lama Ding Dong. I love them both! (Okay, they are the same book with different names and different colors, but it feels so new and fresh to pretend that I am just now discovering the amazing Ayun Halliday.
Ayun is the kind of author who makes you feel as if you are sitting there with her sharing stories over a cup of coffee. A woman you want to make your personal friend. By simply reading her books, your cool factor is bumped up at least a notch or two. She is just that good! But don’t take my word for it, go get a copy of Mama Lama Ding Dong: A Mother’s Tales From the Trenches (The Big Rumpus title=”The Big Rumpus”>The Big Rumpus in the United States) and laugh yourself into a new friendship with an amazing woman and mom!
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Posted by Jenn @
11:26 AM |
In all of my free time…
October 21, 2003
I guess since I have so much free time on my hands, I decided to add one more thing to my plate. I have thought about it a lot. I signed up for this a while back, but wasn’t going to say anything. But then, I thought, why not? I tell you everything else. (Well, almost.)
Yes, it is true. I signed up for NaNoWriMo. Have I lost my mind? Probably! Am I excited? Sure am! Do I have any idea what I am going to write about? Sure, I do. I have about 35 ideas about what to write about. Figuring out which one I am going to do is the tough part.
Wish me luck. (And send me coffee!) I am going to need a lot of both!
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9:21 PM |
The day my what did what?
October 11, 2003
Kidlet Jr got a new book last night. He picked it out himself. Bought it with his own money. It was what he wanted to spend his money on. Want to know what he got? The Day My Butt Went Psycho. Yes, this is a real book.
This is the warning in the front of the book:
If you are a parent or a teacher or even if you’re just over eighteen, put this book down now! You won’t like it. You won’t understand it. You will be totally grossed out by it. It goes on for 3 more paragraphs.
It has some pretty great reader reviews on Amazon, too. What you have to know is that Kidlet Jr. hated to read. He thought it was silly and boring. He thought there was nothing about reading that he would ever find fun. Then he met Captain Underpants. I knew once he changed my name to Poopsie Pizzatush that I had created not only a reader but a reader who enjoys getting others interested in his books. (Okay, so the potty humor helped a LOT!)
I’ll let you know how the new book is. I plan on reading it this weekend. So if I come back talking about butts and farts and other such potty humor, it isn’t my fault! I swear! Blame it on Lumpy Pizzatush! It was his fault!
UPDATE: Okay, so I just went to Andy Griffiths’ website. Oh, the plethora of fun, potty humorish things to see. (You gotta try the Move Your Butt game. Sort of like Frogger, but with butts.)
Okay, I really need to go now. I think I set a record for the most times butt has been used in a blog entry. I need to go read something more age appropriate for a while.
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12:31 PM |
