Mama?
Yes?
Where are you?
At Mom 2.0.
Huh?
You know a blog conference where woman get swag, stay up too late and raid the mini bar!
Oh, yes! I did hear of those.
Which one are you?
The one in the corner looking like Anna Wintour with a scowl on my face but looking really stylish.
Really?
No, not at all! I’m the one with the lampshade on!
(Not in a million years…). Mama is here…can you find me? XOXO
Of course you’re wondering what Mama has been up to the past couple of weeks, right?! Well, besides changing poopy diapers and tripping over our newly blind Pug-dog (so sad Mama knows), Mama has finally broken ground on the DIY project that we’ve been talking about forever and a day. Here’s how it went down…
Hubs: “Lily-girl’s school and craft projects are eating up the dining room table? Where am I supposed to eat?
Mama: “We could do it 1970s-style and bring in TV dinner trays?” (How retro, right?!)
Hubs: *SNIFF* *HUFF* (insert eye roll as well)
Mama: “Okay, let’s finally redo the guest room and make it into a craft/guest/office/homework room?”
Hubs: “That’s a lot going on in one room, don’t you think?”
Mama: “Don’t worry, Mama has Pinterest and Ikea to consult with us!”
Hubs: (insert suspicious raised eyebrows here)
Doesn’t it all come down to Pinterest these days anyways? Well, it’s all good in theory but when it comes to actually applying the ideas in real life it can be a tad overwhelming. As can Ikea on President’s weekend but we managed to make it through with no extras but the one thing we came for (at least this trip) and the hubs survived putting it all together (always a bonus). While the room is still in project-mode and not fully ready to be shown off here, Mama is so proud that we took the plunge to make our house more functional for our family. The kids love sitting in there doing crafts, homework and Mama has space to put all of those craft supplies and projects that are always popping up. Next up is paint and hanging the Plasma TV that Mama found at Costco.
How is this relevant to you and your home? Well, it just so happens that Celebrity Designer Dad Stephan Saint-Onge is presenting a FREE Life Improvement Seminar this Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. at IKEA San Diego (2149 Fenton Parkway, San Diego) to help you make your home more functional on a budget and with a little creativity. WHAT?! Sign-me-up! FREE design advice people and it’s a real live person instead of just a pinned picture!
Presented by Family Circle and Ikea, you’re sure to get the room advice you’ve always wanted but never wanted to pay a designer for.
Plus, they’re going to have some awesome FREE giveaways for attendees!! So come on down and get your free design advice and be inspired to make your kitchen or any extra space in your house that more functional this year. Believe Mama when she says it’s life-changing y’all!
Don’t believe Mama on how fabulous his advice is? Check out this video:
See you there! XOXO
*This is a sponsored post but all opinions and design are Mama’s. Mama really does like IKEA and Design Dad.
What a weekend…it rained…and rained…and then it was windy and cold. The sun did peek out every once in awhile but not enough to make you want to drudge the kids to the park to play in the mud. As you know, Mama always has a few tricks up her sleeve when it comes to entertaining the kids on a rainy day but sometimes, you just want do to something a bit different but way fun. Sometimes we just get stuck in a rut of how to entertain the kids when the weather is less than spectacular or perhaps you have a few things around the house you need to get done. These activities will keep them entertained at least long enough for you to brush your teeth or take a quick shower!
Happy Monday Mamas! XOXO
1. BabbaCo BabbaBox — remember last year when Mama told you how obsessed the kids are with getting mail? They live for even junk mail like the Disney Movie Club stickers or a flyer about a new hotel. So you can just imagine their delight when a package addressed just to them arrives every month that is full of activities that kids and parents can enjoy together without ever having to leave the house. Appropriate for kids ages 3-7 (although, Lily-girl is almost 7 and she still adores it), BabbaCo delivers a box of themed activities and crafts. For example, this month (February 2013) the “My Awesome Adventures” BabbaBox is available and it will get their little imaginations revving. Which is such a change from turing on the TV (EEK!). This month BabbaCo and Shutterfly have teamed up to give you gifts and prizes (SCORE!). Just sign up for BabbaCo’s newsletter which will give you fresh ideas for activities, recipes and other fun stuff and you are entered to win a great prize package: an Annual Membership to the BabbaBox ($240 value), and a $50 Gift Card from Shutterfly. Additionally, BabbaCo is also running a “Cure to the Indoor Blues” offer right now: 33% ($10) Off the 1st month of a new monthly or annual subscription. Just use the Coupon Code: FEB33 at checkout. So fun and so what the doctor ordered for a rainy day. To sign-up for the Newsletter and/or a box subscription visit, www.babbaco.com.
2. Dance Party — crank up the tunes and get the wiggles out. We always sing really, really loud and jump on the couch…because if you can’t do it on a rainy day, then when can you do it?! Oh, and the best part…it’s FREE!!
3. Window Markers — drawing on paper is so ordinary but drawing on the glass windows and doors is so boredom busting. Have them doodle away and then wipe on, wipe off with glass cleaner for easy clean-up. Crayola Washable Window Markers, $3.88, at amazon.com.
4. Game On — blow off the dust of of those board games and get the kids thinking on how they can beat you in Old Maid, UNO or Sorry. If you have preschoolers (ages 3-5), try the new Bear in Underwear game, $20, at kiddlywinks.com.
5. READ, READ…READ! — how many books do you have in your house that you haven’t read in months or maybe even years? Pull them all out and have a reading marathon. The kids will love discovering old treasured books and it may spark their imaginations for new activities like building forts out of pillows saving the world!
**This post was sponsored by BabbaCo in an effort to get your kid’s imaginations moving and creating…nothing wrong with that!
As you already know, Mama loves Halloween. Not the scary, freaky side of Halloween where vampires and clowns jump at you out of the dark. No, that’s not Mama’s idea of a good time. Mama much prefers the fun and whimsical side of Halloween where pumpkins are painted pretty, friendly scarecrows smile at you from outside in the yard and where you get to sit with your family and watch ‘The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.”
So last week went something like this…
Baby Boy: “Mama, who is Snoopy?”
Lily-girl: “How come Charlie Brown only comes on during the holidays?”
WHAT?! Has Mama failed as a parent because Mama’s kids have no clue who Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie Brown and Lucy are?? The classic Peanuts Gang must, must be properly introduced to the kids STAT. Let’s road trip to Knott’s Berry Farm for a trip down memory lane…because honestly, it’s only one hour from Mama and it was one of Mama’s favorite places as a kid. The food was good….mmmm boysenberry pie and fried chicken….and Snoopy was Mama’s favorite stuffed animal (the girl version with the pink ruffled collar).
And so thanks to an invite from the Knott’s Berry Farm folks, Mama’s kids got the chance to discover one of Mama’s favorite places as a kid. In fact, for the Halloween season you can be a part of the annual Camp Spooky celebration that is happening every weekend NOW through October 28. It’s not really spooky…in fact it’s really fun with a trick-or-treat scavenger hunt, corn maze, silly stories and kooky cookie decorating and a costume parade. The kids had a great time discovering new rides and taking pictures with character favorites like Linus, Lucy and Snoopy, it made Mama’s heart so happy.
What’s even better….there is so much to do and see that the park never felt overly crowded. Mama hates paying good money to go into an amusement park and not go on more than one or two rides because the park is so full. Knott’s is perfect for ages 2 to adult because you have your little rides like flying airplanes to your smaller roller coasters that even Lily-girl braved to your thrill rides like Montezuma’s Revenge (EEK!). Mama is not really a thrill seeker but if you are — this is your place!
So skip the long lines and expensive tickets and head on over to Knott’s for a seriously GOOD time and tell them Mama sent you. The moral of the story…now Mama’s kids know who The Peanuts Gang and they can’t want to watch “The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.”
And…that might not be happening since we are now on day four of no TV until Baby Boy goes poop on the potty…it’s going to be a LONG winter folks…!
Discounted tickets are available at Knotts.com and are $25.99 for kids, ages 3-11, and $35.99 for adults (12-61).
Being a Mama is funny sometimes. In fact, Mama the other days just had to stop at the hilarity of the situation of three kids whining, crying and tantruming and just giggle. Why get mad when you could just laugh instead?
So this week it’s just plain HOT outside. Okay, for those of you in the midwest…we do have nothing to complain about but 83 degrees is hot around here. Mama has finally caught up with work and has a few minutes to take Baby Boy swimming in our community pool. Awesome, right? Well we finally get there…only to find out the pool is closed and drained on the hottest day of the year so far. BUMMER! He’s been so patient and really needs some time with Mama so what do we do…we go home and find our old baby pool to blow-up.
After spending a half-hour blowing it up, the pool is ready. CeCe and Baby Boy get in and are happy for about 15 minutes before the pool slowly starts to deflate…and soon becomes flat. WHAT?! Of course, a tiny hole because it hasn’t been used since last summer. So what do we do now? We head into the air conditioned car and go to Target to scout a new one out. We scour the aisles and happen to find only 10 left. Three of which won’t work because they are Princess and then tucked in the way back…a Cars pool and it comes with a slide. Success! We run home and Mama reads the directions.
“Don’t use a high-power air compressor on this pool as it may damage the seams. Blow-up only via mouth or hand pump.”
Seriously?! Blow-up only by mouth??? Last time it took a half-hour with an air compressor. This is not looking good.
Mama starts blowing, and blowing and huffing and puffing for 15 solid minutes. Mama is feeling light-headed and the pool still looks deflated as does Baby Boy and CeCe has all but forgotten the fun of having a pool and has taken up shrieking instead. She’s not entertained by Mama blowing up the pool. Mama decides to ignore the instructions (men do it all the time!) and use the air compressor.
This pool is taking forever to blow-up but finally…finally, another 30 minutes go by and we have ourselves a backyard pool. Baby Boy immediately jumps in and CeCe decides to join him…but what about Mama? Mama is so HOT from all this air blowing and running to Target. Why not jump in too? So Mama sticks a few toes in and is quickly told by Baby Boy, “this pool is NOT for adults Mama. Only kids — see the box.”
Humph! He’s too smart for his own good. So here’s our pool for the summer and what we’re doing to stay cool and have fun at the same time. However, when it comes to water…the kids aren’t all that picky about how to play with it. Water balloons and water squirters for a good old fashioned water fight are always fun too and toddlers always love water tables to splash around in.
So this summer it’s all about water fun and cooling down…how do you like to play with your kids outdoors on a hot summer day?
This post is brought to you by the San Diego Honda Dealers as part of the Honda Dealers Like Moms Sweepstakes. Enter weekly to earn CASH and prizes…tell them Mama sent you! Click below on the logo enter….
My philosophy is simple: just because you're a mom doesn't mean you have to forgo style or your life. You can do it all with a little help from Mama. Mama makes life easier by doing all the shopping, crafting and ranting for you because really...what Mama has the time for that?! Mama will not lie, I can bake but if you're looking for cooking tips you might be better off going someplace else!
