You Can Be a Winner at the Game of Life!

Growing up we routinely had game night/day. Card games like crazy eights, dice games like yahtzee, and every board game you can even imagine. Checkers, Parcheesi, Monopoly, Clue, backgammon, and Life.

Ah, The Game of Life. 

I remember a snow storm, sometime in the late eighties or early nineties. It was a doozie and the schools were closed for at least a few days. Digging out was slow going, and my family passed the time playing games. At first we were having a blast. Hot cocoa with marshmallows and a rousing round of scrabble. But by day four, everyone was getting a little tense. My mother pulled out the big box which contained The Game of Life and we all gathered around the table. 

From the get go, I was screwed. I got the lowest salary and seemed to land on every space that required me to give away my money. Finally, I made it to the end and I decided to risk it all. I decided to spin to become the millionaire tycoon. I picked 7.

The dial landed on 6.

In a barely audible whisper I said. 'damn.' I wasn't even ten years old yet, and somehow this curse word slipped from my lips as if I were a salty septuagenarian sailor. My brother's eyes grew as wide as saucers. I looked down, knowing I was done for. But much to my surprise, my parents erupted with laughter. Shocked, and a little angry, I repeated myself in full voice. And still, they laughed. Eventually I stormed off to my room, and after a few hours we were all back to normal. 

Thankfully the weather warmed up the next day, otherwise who knows what profanities would have slipped over my nine-year old lips.

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The post was brought to you by EA Games and The Parent Bloggers Network. Click on over to PBN to read all of the details if you want to play along!

Win! Win! Win!

Hey! Check out my PBN review of eebee's adventures over at The Cheese Says....Mmmmm! and enter for a chance to win a copy of the DVD and a fun toy. Christmas is right around the corner, after all...

Autism's False Prophets

Check out my new review over at The Cheese Says....Mmmm! of the newest book by Paul A. Offit M.D., Autism's False Prophets. 

Yo! Yo! Yo!

Interested in reading my new PBN review of Yoplait yogurt for kids? Click on over to The Cheese Says....Mmmm! and enjoy!

Money, It's a Gas

Everyone is feeling the pinch these days. Gas, groceries and good bye paycheck! Not only did we get audited but yesterday when I pulled my car out of the garage there was a big puddle of oil underneath it. Guess where it is now? Oh, and even though the dealer put a huge decal on my borrowed car proclaiming it to be a 'courtesy loaner car' I had to pay $35 to get it. Nice.

So what can we do? Cry into our fists and rend our garments? Sure, but while you're at it, why don't you also try blogging the recession. That is, when you open your feed reader, click through to read the posts on the actual blogs. The author gets more page views and therefore more ad revenue, if the run ads. Kristen came up with the idea, and I can't imagine why someone hasn't done this before.

If just helping a girl (or boy) out doesn't do it for you, there is a while gaggle of awesome prizes she's giving away for peeps who spread the word out via their own blog. So steal the button code over here and get to typing! 

If you're looking for more chances to win things (like a $250 visa gift card or two) then click over to The Cheese Says....Mmmm! to read my latest post and find out how to play along!

Finally, I leave you with this photo of a tomato, fresh from my garden. It took almost an hour for it to come down from room temperature, as it was being warmed by the sun. I almost don't want to eat it.

Master of the Blow-Out!

Check out my review of Beauty Confidential over at The Cheese Says....Mmmm! Trust me, you'll be glad you did!

Go Kaboom! On Your Toilet!

Trust me, you'll be glad that you did. Click on over to The Cheese Says...Mmmmm to read all about this bowl cleaning doohickey. Afterwards, you're all invited to my toilet brush burning bonanza!

What's Up My Sk*rt? My Panties, and They Are Majorly Bunched Right Now

On Sunday we went to Target. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend were coming to visit that night and had requested a particular type of cereal for breakfast. Knowing that we were low on milk, I asked SOB to grab a gallon while I chased Sam up and down the aisles, picking up bottles of mouthwash or whatever else he threw to the ground. When we got home and unpacked the bags, there was no milk.

Yesterday SOB, on his way home from work, called to see if I needed him to pick up anything at the store. 'Milk!' I said! The little milk we had left had been polished off that morning. He got home, and in the bags there was no milk.

Later on we all went out for an early dinner. I must have said nineteen times that we needed to stop on the way home for milk. We got home, and there was no milk.

Even later, SOB and the brother-in-law and his girlfriend went down the street for a few drinks. They walked, since the place was so close. Also within walking distance? A Walgreen's and a Publix. 'Puh-lease remember to stop for milk on your way home,' I begged. We even had a phone conversation while he was out in which I gently reminded him to stop for the fucking milk.

This morning while I was at the gym, my cell phone rang. It was the brother-in-law asking me if I could stop and pick up some milk on my way home.

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This post was brought to you by a Blog Blast sponsored by Sk*rt and the Parent Bloggers Network. There are some pretty fan-effing-tastic prizes (with a value of $275!) up for grabs, so check out the details and get to typing!

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that in order to win the super-mega-awesome prize, your entry has to get the most votes over at Sk*rt, so click here if you'd like to vote for ME!

Just a Little Prick...

Got a few minutes? Click on over to The Cheese Says....Mmmmm and read my review of Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases by Paul A. Offit, MD. And as always, click on over to the Parent Bloggers Network to see what all the other peeps had to say!

Savory Chicken

Back when I was in middle school, I was on the fringe of the popular circle. I think I was only really included to even things out, since it was a small group. There were eight 'cool' boys, so there had to be eight 'cool' girls, too. At lunch, we all sat together at one long table. All the girls would sit at one end with four of us on each side, and they boys mirrored our positions at the other end of the table. Every other Tuesday, though, us ladies would sit at a table of our own. Why? Because every other Tuesday was Savory Chicken day.

Savory Chicken was basically rotisserie chicken with some herbs and spices. I never ate it, because us popular girls only brought lunch from home. The boys, however, had developed a passion for this cafeteria foul, and would come to school on Savory Chicken day with their pockets bulging and jingling with change.

Now you could buy an entire tray lunch for $1.25 back in those days, but these fellas were only interested in the chicken. They made an arrangement with the lunch ladies to buy individual pieces of Savory Chicken for 40¢ apiece. They would all pony up a nickel, and one kid would go and buy a single piece of chicken on a paper plate. When he returned to the table, he would place the solitary thigh or breast directly in the middle of the group of boys. They would all sit down, and then someone would issue the signal. For the next twenty or thirty seconds, the entire table turned into a flurry of arms. It was like some kind of primitive feast where they all fought and scraped over tiny bits of dry, commercially prepared chicken as though it were a fresh kill. When it was finished, they would sit back down and survey the remains. Then they would all put their nickels on the table and the next boy would go and fetch their next piece of chicken.

This would continue for the entire lunch period, every other Tuesday, the entire three years of my middle school experience. I wish I could make some sense out of their behavior, but I've never had the pleasure of being a pre-pubescent boy. At least I can look back and remember these guys when Sam hits that age and starts doing some crazy-weird shit, right?

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Check out School Menu and its parental counterpart Family Everday, two sites that work together with School Food Services Directors to provide and promote healthy eating and physical fitness for kids and their parents.

Light Iris

The Parent Bloggers Network peeps recently turned my attention to Light Iris, a new site devoted to expectant and new moms. Light Iris launched on Mother's Day, which is all too appropriate if you ask me. The first thing you'll notice when you click over to Light Iris is...to read more, click here!

Now the World Don't Move to the Beat of Just One Drum

PBN has started a new monthly feature called Different Kinds of Parents. The first installment went live today, and it's pretty snazzy. For the kick off, the gals interviewed Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of Family Pride - the national non-profit organization committed to securing family equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer parents, guardians, and allies. Definitely go and check it out!

Oh My Heck!

The fine folks over at the Parent Bloggers Network have done it again! They are having another big fun Blog Blast, but this time, the potential rewards are off the flippin' charts! On Friday June 8th, write a post on the following theme: “Where Does My Time Go?” Then send your link in an email to parentbloggers@gmail.com. One lucky participant will be drawn at random to win a two day pass to BlogHer '07! That's over $200 bucks of stuff, plus you might get the chance to rub elbows with some super cool bloggers, and maybe even learn some stuff! Click here for the total rundown!

I am sad and weepy because I cannot go to BlogHer this year due the event being scheduled only a wee bit before my due date. I can't have my uterus exploding all over Chicago, right? But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't go! And not have to pay for it! Do it for me, won't you?

Bilingual Baby

Yo quiero hablar Español. It would be cool if Sam could, too. And F² as well. But only if I figure it out first. We can't have them running around knowing a secret language, right? Anyhoodle, why don't you head on over to The Cheese Says....Mmmmm! to read all about Boca Beth, our first foray into becoming a bilingual family? Remember those prizes I talked about? What you'll find over there is just the tip of the iceberg! ¡Buena suerte!

Saturn Vue Green Line: A Hybrid For the Masses?

A few months ago we bought a new car. During our search, we heavily considered a hybrid, but had trouble finding one that was both large enough for our growing family and priced within reason. I have always been a supporter of fuel efficient vehicles, but found it discouraging that the models on the market didn't fit the needs of the average American family. Saturn has found a way to fix that with the Vue Green Line Hybrid, which combines ample space for tots and their associated gear and a sticker price that won't force you to sell off a kid just to pay for it.

On a Tuesday morning, two guys from GM hand delivered a Silver 2007 Vue to my front door. The car looked pretty nice. Unfortunately, the delivery men did not. They were a bit surly and couldn't answer the few basic questions I had about the vehicle. They did help me transfer my stroller and car seat, though. Luckily, Sam was at Jesus school, so I had a some time to spend online getting info on the Vue. I found that the SUV gets an EPA estimated 27 miles per gallon in city driving and 32 miles per gallon on the highway, and has a base price of $23,495. When I played the 'Build Your Own' game and tricked it all out with a sunroof, heated seats, and satellite radio, it still only came in at $26, 750.

One way Saturn has managed to keep the shock off the sticker is by using a simpler version of hybrid motors that are already on the market. In the Vue, the battery assisted motor only kicks in when the car is at a stand still, or when you need a boost to pass another vehicle. Because of this, the battery packs are much smaller than other hybrid models. On the plus side, they take up almost no storage space in the car, but on the negative side, the car cannot run solely on battery power. This is also why the Vue has lower economy ratings than the other hybrid SUVs on the market. The battery also supplies power to the radio, lights and air conditioning when the gas engine isn't running. One piece of information the GM guys could have provided that would have made my driving experience more pleasant is that there is a small green button inside the vehicle that, when pressed, also economized the AC. I wasn't aware that this feature was on, and I found it mildly annoying that the AC cut out every time I came to a red light. Otherwise, my first day of driving was a satisfying one.

The Vue drives like a normal vehicle in most circumstances. It was only slightly noticeable that the gasoline engine stopped when at an intersection. The transition from gas to battery that occurred when going down hill was the only thing I found a little alarming. When the system would switch to battery charging, I noticed a slight deceleration. After a while, I got used to it. The standard stereo was fine, although if I were purchasing one, I would probably go for the upgrade. There was plenty of room in both the front and back seats for passengers, baby and miscellaneous stuff. There was less room in the trunk area than I would have liked, but I drive a looooooong station wagon and can fit three strollers in my cargo space, so I'm a little biased. SOB sat in the driver's seat as well, and he said that he was impressed that it drove like a normal car. Being on the tall side, he also appreciated the extra head room, especially when loading Sam in and out of the back seat.

At the end of the week, the GM guys came right back to my front door and took the car. Again, they could have used a touch more charm, but I can't really complain about door-to-door service. I'm glad that Saturn is making a car that has some environmental conscience, and a price that won't send most people running for the hills. Knowing that GM has the capacity to manufacture a car that runs entirely on electric power, it's a little disconcerting that we're not able to move further in that direction. However, I read somewhere that future models will have even better fuel economy ratings, so there is hope. This car is a great way to help spread the hybrid mentality to as many people as possible.

And? I got a free car for a week!

Sweet Dreams are Made of These!

They say if you have plenty of vivid dreams, then you are getting good quality sleep. Last night I had a dream that I was taking a school tour through a museum that just happened to be haunted. And I was being protected the object of my high school affection, Todd W. The dream was filled with plenty of detail, and plenty of making out in dark corners.

Before I read Good Night The Sleep Doctor's 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health by Michael Breus, Ph. D. I don't recall dreaming ever since Sam started hanging around.

Long time readers may recall that I've mentioned my sleep troubles before. They might also remember my adventures with ear plugs. I've been a troubled sleeper since adolescence, and the situation has only been compounded by snoring sleep partner, a baby and a pregnancy. For a period during college, I spent some time in behavior modification therapy with the main intention of improving my sleep. While it helped, it wasn't as comprehensive as I would have liked. Now a few years later, Dr.Breus' book has provided me with all the information my therapist left out, and I've noticed a big difference in my sleep quality.

When I started reading Good Night, I was initially discouraged. There is a little caveat on page 57 that says pregnancy complicates the hell out of everything, and a discussion of such is beyond the scope of the book. However I decided to press on. I'm not going to be pregnant forever (only 20 more weeks!) and I'm sure I'll use the strategies I develop because of this book after the arrival of Numero Dos. Or at least a few weeks (or months) after the arrival of Numero Dos.

After the introductory chapter, the book goes into a series of quizzes to determine what type of problems, or disordered sleep, you are having. The book makes a clear distinction between true sleep disorders (insomnia and sleep apnea) and disordered sleep, which is what afflicts the typical person. After taking the quizzes, I determined that the root of my sleep trouble was anxiety and my sleep partners. Duh. After each quiz is an action plan to be put to use immediately.

The very first item on my action plan turned out to be the most effective sleep inducing technique I have ever tried. It was so simple it was almost elegant, the very definition of good science. All I had to do was count backward from three-hundred by three. On the fist night, I was asleep before I even hit two-hundred.

After some additional evaluation of my sleep environment, I jumped headfirst into Sleep Boot Camp, which is detailed in chapters 8, 9 and 10. While I wasn’t able to stick to the schedule exactly as it’s outlined, the book allows for a little personalization. I found it very useful that the sleep diary discussed in the book is clearly outlined in the appendices, as well as many of the retailers Dr. Breus mentions in the text. We ordered not one, but two white noise machines from the Ear Plug *Super* Store. All of these resources can also be found through Dr. Breus’ blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Overall, I was very pleased with the newfound quality of my sleep. Despite being pregnant and having to get up to pee at least once a night. Already. If I manage to keep up the good habits I’ve gained as a result of this book, I’ll be in halfway decent shape once F Squared arrives.

How about you? Do you think you could benefit from better sleep? Um, you’re lying if you said no. Leave a comment by Monday at 10am and WIN my gently used copy of Good Night The Sleep Doctor's 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health by Michael Breus, Ph. D. Winner to be chosen by my highly technical randomizer. Good luck!

Skeptics, Draw Near! My Baby Can Read! I Think...

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When The Parent Bloggers Network issued a call for folks to review a series of DVDs called Your Baby Can Read! I though I was hitting the proverbial snark gold mine. This was ready-made mocking territory, and I hadn't even gotten to the part about it being based on the research of Robert C. Titzer, Ph. D.

(I know. I am juvenile. Like, fourteen.)

But then I read some of what Dr. Titzer had to say and watched the 'parents' section of the video and I thought, hey, this might make sense. Dr. Titzer's theory is that babies can learn written words as easily as they learn spoken words, often at the same time, by using a multi-sensory approach. The videos show the word, say the word and then show a picture or an action related to the word. For example, they show the word 'Cat', say the word 'Cat' and then show a short clip of a cat with a simple narrative. It didn't hurt that the video also showed numerous babies and toddlers actually reading, including Dr. Titzer's own children. So I decided to dedicate a few minutes of Sam's day to these DVDs and playing with the accompanying cards.


Right out of the gate Sam seemed to enjoy what he was watching. Naturally, we began with the Starter DVD. The images are engaging without being over-stimulating, so they held his attention well. There are also segments of song, which he seemed to enjoy even more. The accompanying cards, while seemingly plain, have been and continue to be a huge source of entertainment for him. There is a word printed on each side, and a pull tab at the end. When you pull the tab, a picture or action of the word slides out of a pocket.

Every morning, I would put on the Starter DVD for Sam as he ate his breakfast. Initially I was thinking that he probably just enjoyed watching TV while eating, something we try to discourage in the household, Daddy. But I noticed that he did seem to be paying attention. I think it helped that all of the people featured were children or babies. Also, all of the narration is done by children or soft-spoken adults. There are several requests in the video for the viewers to repeat words. At twelve months, Sam only says 'Mama' and 'Dada' so he hasn't gotten around to actually saying any of the words yet, but he has picked up on some of the actions. The first time he clapped when the word 'Clap' came on screen, I considered it a fluke, but I encouraged him. So you can imagine how shocked I was when he did it the next day. And the next. And then later that afternoon when I showed him the card that says 'Clap.' Is he reading? Dr. Titzer says that at first, the babes aren't truly reading, but memorizing the look of the word. Over time, they can begin to recognize individual letters and can begin true reading, but it takes time. Once we started Volume 1, I noticed that Sam would sometimes clap when the word 'Chimpanzee' came on the screen. Perhaps he's made some sort of connection to the letter 'C'

We've only just begun. It's recommended that you watch the starter DVD for one month, and then Volume 1 for two months, while occasionally reviewing the starter DVD. There are five DVDs in total, and I'm hoping to continue to see Sam make progress as we continue to watch. If you are interested yourself, go get yourself a free demo DVD or watch some testimonials. Or click on over to the Parent Bloggers Network and see what other parent bloggers have to say about it.

The only major drawback I can fathom is that we'll have to be much more careful about spelling out words when we don't want him to know what we're talking about. It would be really embarrassing to be corrected by a three year old.

Huzzah! Cheese Party Reviews School Zone Discovery Cards for the Parent Bloggers Network!

When we arrived back home from Pittsburgh, we were delighted to find a package waiting for us. I love presents, even when they're not exactly for me. I tore open the box to find that our School Zone Discovery Cards had arrived. Since this was going to be my first review for the Parent Bloggers Network, I was very careful to give everything a good once over before giving up the goods to my evil overlord. We received the Peak-a-Boo Bunny Guess Who set and the Fuzzy Animal Friends Discovery Cards. My initial reaction was that these cards seemed like something I would probably buy if I saw them at Target or Babies R Us. The packaging was colorful and engaging enough that Sam probably would have been happy with that alone! I do have one small complaint in the packaging department. The Peak-a-Boo Bunny Guess Who box had little tabs that held the cards in place, which were secured with several small pieces of Velcro. The glue holding the Velcro in place wasn't the greatest and two pieces came off. I found one stuck to my rug and another stuck to the back of Sam's jammies. It wasn't a huge deal, but worth mentioning in my opinion.

We started out with the Fuzzy Animal Friends Discovery Cards. These cards are suggested for babies six months and up and retail for $15.99. Each card has an animal on it with different 'sensory rich' parts, such as the bird's feathery tummy or the alligator's shiny teeth. Each card also has fabric tags that stick out from the edges. Each card has two sides, so when Sam flipped them over there was a whole new animal to play with. On one side you get a frog with crinkly eyes, and on the other you get a mouse with crinkly ears! A short phrase accompanies each animal for the grown-ups to read aloud. The big hit in our house was the card with the googly eyes. He would shake the card wildly as I would read 'Slither and Shake Purple Snake!' While Sam appeared to enjoy these cards, they didn't hold his attention very long. I do think, however, that these would be ideal for a baby who is closer to six months, and maybe slightly less independently mobile. I can imagine he would have spent more time figuring them out when he was a wee bit younger.

Next we moved on to the Peak-a-Boo Bunny Guess Who cards. What I liked initially about these cards was that they seemed slightly more complicated, and hopefully that would translate into more interest from Sam. These cards are recommended for babies nine months and up and retail for $11.99. The was they work is kind of hard to explain. Basically, there is a magnetic card with a plush bunny head on top, and six other cards that you stick to the bunny card. Each card has a picture with two animals, say a cat and a spider, on one side with a question such as 'Peak-a-Boo! Who lives in the web?' When you flip the card over, there is a flap that you pull down that reveals the answer. 'Spider lives in the web!' Additionally, the plush bunny head has magnets in the hands and eyes, so you can cover and uncover the eyes as you flip the card. There is also a squeaky toy in the bunny head! Do you see what I said about it being more complicated?

Initially, Sam only wanted to play with the bunny head card. He had a good time exploring the magnetic peek-a-boo hands. He then tried to get the bunny's ears to play the peek-a-boo game, too, and he got a little frustrated when that didn't work. Once he mastered the bunny, we moved on to the cards. One problem I encountered with this product was that the magnets in the cards weren't very powerful, and frequently the cards would not stick together. Several times we ended up playing with the question cards without the bunny card. Sam really enjoyed pulling the flaps down on the answer side of the cards. I am quite pleased to report that after almost two weeks of playing, none of the flaps show even the slightest signs of distress. Since he loves to grab the cards by the flaps and swing them around, to me this is a true mark of durability!

Overall, I was pleased with both sets of cards. The Peak-a-Boo Bunny Guess Who cards could use a little work in the magnet and Velcro departments, but the concept is what matters most. Both sets of cards are very educational, but they come across as just plain fun to babes. I plan on tucking away the Fuzzy Animal Friends Discovery Cards until early next year when I will whip them out for Numero Dos.

Want more? Click on over to the Parent Bloggers Network to see what other folks are saying about the School Zone Discovery Cards!