SevEn cLoWn CirCuS

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Twisted Silver Giveaway

I *HEART* Twisted Silver jewelry.

I mean *heart*, *heart* it, and these newest pieces are no exception. Set to be released on September 22nd from the new Salvage line, both bracelets make my heart sing.

Yes. They really do.

The best part? They are dainty enough for my daughter to wear, too.

This "Belt Bracelet" definitely has an 80's feel (do you see the cool clasp?), yet is casual enough to wear all week. It's absolutely adorable paired with the "Cutie Bangle" shown below.

The "Belt Bracelet" retails for $30.00, and the "Cutie Bangle" is a mere $20.00.

Which means....one of my lucky readers is going to be getting BOTH bracelets with a retail value of $50.00 in the mail soon.

In order to enter, simply visit Twisted Silver and tell me which piece or pieces you desire the most.

For an extra entry, tell me which necklace you think I should consider purchasing to wear at SITScation in October.

That's it. Simple.

Go. Shop. Come back and enter to win.

Good Luck!

Contest only open to US residents and giveaway ends September 25th.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo(s) but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it(them). If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button (below and on the left) or simply hyperlink to my site, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!

Grab My Button

LINK TITLE

Next week I thought I do something a little different. I'm going to offer a prompt for Wordful Wednesday. Of course participation based on the prompt is voluntary. If you don't like the prompt, publish your Wordful Wednesday like always on any topic you chose. Let me know what you think of the idea of a prompt? Something you like? Or just a bother?

The prompt is:

What is your favorite travel destination? Show & Tell us about it. {Recycling is totally acceptable!}

Funny story.

I was lounging around my pool the other day. Thinking about our wild lizards. Loving them. Praising them in my head (and out loud to my sister) for keeping any potential spider issues under wraps. I was was on my pedestal telling said sister how we haven't had a spider problem this summer.

"In fact", I said, "I'm sure it's because of all of the lizards. I never appreciated them before like I do now". "Do you know", I elaborated, "I know YOU are always talking about black widows, but I haven't seen even ONE since we moved here". {FYI: Black widows are common in these parts.}

Not two minutes later she got up and pointed out the above pictured MONSTER SIZED BLACK WIDOW. In my yard.

I sort of ate my words.

And then grabbed my camera.

Only problem was, I was too freaked out thinking about getting biten and dying from the poison that I didn't get a clear picture of that sucker. I saw it look me in the eye with murderous thoughts and then.....

I got my sister to kill it.

I'm no murderer.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Tuesday's Tribute

What is it?
Well, we'll tell you what it is NOT... It's Not About YOU. It's about SOMEONE ELSE. It's our chance, each of us, to shine our light on someone else.

This week, I'd like to shine my light on Mayhem & Moxie AND Tuesday's Tribute.

I've loved being the hostess of Tuesday's Tribute after Jay from Halftime Lessons turned the reins over to me, but it's time for a new owner. I'll still be participating, just not hosting.

Tuesday's Tribute will be going to 2 hostesses with the mostesses. Francesca and Kacey, former writers for 3 Bay B Chicks just launched their new blog, Mayhem & Moxie and Tuesday's Tribute will be a fixture there. So, be sure to show them your support by linking up your Tuesday's Tribute at their site, starting on Tuesday, September 22nd. I have a feeling they are going to breathe new life into Tuesday's Tribute, and that's such a wonderful thing. For all of us.

Let the Tribute's continue.

Kids.......

I was planning on having a little rant fest about my kids today.

I was going to tell you that last week (make that 2 weeks ago. I forgot to publish this) wasn't my week.

I intended to explain to you in minute detail why my children get into worse trouble than your kids.

I had stories to tell.

Like the one about having to rush my daughter to Urgent Care for stitches when she fell by the pool.

Or the one about looking outside and seeing my trash cans turned on their sides. With my 3 boys playing inside of them. Can we all say disgusting?

Lest I forget, there is the one where I found my twins covered in black car dust on the top of my van.

And then there is the one about walking into my bathroom only to find my glass Q-tip holder-jar smashed all over the tile with a brand-new-gallon-sized-bottle of mouth wash dripping into all of my drawers and covering the floor.

But then, I heard that my sister in law went into her finished basement to discover 4 inches of water covering the floor from a stopped tub with the water left running.

I'm pretty sure she had a worse week than me.

I'm also pretty sure now that my children don't hold any records for trouble making.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Found through blogging......

I love that blogging provides me opportunties to "find" new authors, products, ideas and just plain enjoyment.

Recently, I've found two new authors that I'm not sure I would have had it not been for blogging.

The first author is Deirdre Carey. Her book, Hope, Faith & Charlie is about her sons courageous (miraculous, really) battle with a rare form of brain cancer. Despite enduring Stage Four brain cancer and undergoing 21 months of chemotheraphy AND six surgeries, Charlie battled his cancer out.......and smiled through it all. This is about Charlie but really about the "blessings that happened along the way". Really touching. You can find this book on Amazon.com or http://www.hopefaithandcharlie.com/.

Susan M. Heim has been published multiple times. An editor by trade, Heim has twins like me. And writes about them. I especially appreciate her book, "It's Twins: Parent-to-Parent Advice from Infancy Through Adolescence". I did a lot of head nodding when I read this book. Each section has some practical advice/information, true stories, tips, and trivia. This is a great book to consider if you have twins or know of someone that is having twins.

Chicken Soup for the Souls are always a fun read. This one is no exception, especially if you are interested in or have twins. Thanks, Carissa for introducing me to Susan M. Heim.

The clean freak in me couldn't resist trying out this new garbage disposal cleaning product. Their claim that "Disposer Care® plus Bleach Alternative is the only disposer cleaner to disinfect and foam away 99 percent of the disease-causing grunge while leaving behind a pleasant smell" lured me in hook, line and sinker. You can find them through the Summit Brands website. They even have a cool Store Locator feature where by you can find the store nearest you to purchase them.

I always like trying out new skin care products, and I was introduced to two this month. The first is the "Skin Smoothing Cleanser" in the Kinerase line by Skin Care Rx. It's hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, and suitable for all skin types. I like that it is foamy and very mild.

Lastly, I wanted to draw your attention to a product by Lexli. Being a Buzz agent has been great as I've been exposed to products I might not have otherwise, like AloeGlyC. Lexli sent me their AloeGlyC Renewing Exfoliant, and I'm really, really liking what it's done for my skin. AloeGlyC exfoliates and rejuvenates your skin in one step. A combination of Aloe Vera, Glycolic Acid and Vitamin C removes dead skin while moisturizing the skin. I really have noticed an improvement in my skin as a result of using AloeGlyC and reminds me of the results of having microdermabrasion done. Aloe GlyC is available online at lexli.com, exclusively.

Friday, September 11, 2009

And They Are Off...

That's right, people. My number 1, 2 and 3 started their new school year. Finally.

Don't get me wrong. I loved having them home for THREE WHOLE months, but, it was time. For all of us.

Thank goodness for the chaos of getting three children to their respective classrooms. Otherwise, I might have considered getting a little teary eyed. There's a first time for everything, you know. As it turned out, there were a lot, and I mean a lot of red-rimmed-eyed-parents. Lots of excited kids, and a few that were not so excited. Thank goodness mine fell into the excited category. I don't know what I'd do if I had to drop off a crier. That just tugs at the heart strings a little TOO much.

(She wasn't happy at first about being in a 4th/5th combo, but her smile is telling me a different story.)

(Second grade? No way!)

(Can we say Kindergarten?)

Oh. Oh. The best news of all?

My main water line burst last night.

Oh yes. No water. Let's just say that getting the kids out the door was interesting.

AND, I just discovered a bald spot on my head the size of a quarter. Can we say freak out?

Thursday, September 10, 2009

The first day of............

school started yesterday for my oldest three. They had a wonderful day......I even have pictures of it. But I'm saving those for tomorrow.

Today, I have to be a little snarky.

First, I have to know:

Do you cry when you send your kids to kindergarten?

I know that I am in the minority here. I have never cried when I dropped my children off for their first day of kindergarten. Disclaimer: I've never sent two at once though, leaving no children at home, so I can't guarantee that I won't cry when I send the twins.

Back to my story. The kindergarten teaching team gave all of the parents this note when we dropped our kindergarteners off. It had a ziplock baggie attached, and inside the baggie was a tea bag, a kleenex and a cotton ball.

The letter said this:

"Dear Parents,

The first day of school is here, your child is growing up. Here's a little "gift" for you as you leave your precious one with us today. After you have wiped your tears {guess I won't need that kleenex}, make yourself a cup of tea {when it's 100 degrees outside?} and put your feet up and relax {people have time for that?}. Then hold the cotton ball in your hand {hold the cotton ball in my hand? Seriously?}. The softness will help you recall the gentle spirit of your child {I'm pretty sure I can recall my child's gentle nature without the aid of a cotton ball}. We will work along side you this year to help your child grow to be the best that they can be {This is good news!}.

Thank you for entrusting your child to us {If we send out children to public school, we don't have much of a choice, but I do appreciate the sentiment}. We promise to do our best every day to be your child's companion in learning and exploring this bright new world {It did seem brighter out yesterday than normal....} they've just stepped into.

Sincerely,
The Kindergarten Team"

I couldn't help but laugh at the fanciful nature of the letter, and wonder how many moms had my reaction (probably not many) and how many thought it was the sweetest sentiment ever. What would you have thought had you been given this "gift"?

Today is my most recent installment of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Wordful Wednesday-Dominos

A little sibling companionship and a few dominos go a long way in entertaining my kids.

I love it when they play together. Especially if during that "play time" they actually ARE playing. {You know, as opposed to fighting or getting into other sorts of mischief.}

Can you hear the peace and quiet I somehow earned? {I say earned because it had to be more than luck, right?}

Monday, September 07, 2009

Tuesday's Tribute-Divakaruni

What is it?
Well, we'll tell you what it is NOT... It's Not About YOU. It's about SOMEONE ELSE. It's our chance, each of us, to shine our light on someone else.

Huh? Whaddya mean?
We each spend a lot of time talking about ourselves and our lives, but we are also fairly GIVING people too...Tuesday's Tribute is a chance to talk about OTHER people, OTHER blogs, OTHER lives.

Now's your chance to shine your light on someone, or something else.

I just discovered a new author. Wait, that sentence sounds misleading. I just became acquainted with some of the works of an author new to me.

If you haven't already, you really should "meet" Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

Oh. My Stars. I love her prose. It's beautiful and elegant and detailed and the way she tackles relationships......different sorts of love, really, captivates me. I've only read two of her novels (Sister of my Heart and Queen of Dreams), and I'm ready to beg, borrow or steal (well, not really) to get my hands on more.
I especially LOVED Sister of My Heart. The story is told from two points of view. It's about love and relationships. Culture. Tradition. Discovery. The author really does a remarkable job interweaving the main characters lives and memories as they provide strength and contrast to each other as they travel life's path and grow together....and apart. The ultimate message is pretty powerful, too.

There's actually one passage in the book that reminded me of blogging, and snail mail letter writing. The passage says, "Letters are so much more comfortable, so much less complicated than people. In them the world can be reduced to an inch-wide window, can be idealized like a touched-up photograph."

I've always loved writing. Always had pen-pals, have always loved to correspond via the written word. As I read the words above it hit me. I like writing letters or blog posts because they are comfortable. Even if the subject matter isn't comfortable, tackling a situation or re-living one is easier done with ink and paper (or keyboard) than with spoken words for me. Writing allows me to reduce and filter my experiences and give of myself only that which I wish to give. Hum....there's so much more I could share here......so many thoughts rolling through my head. But we'll leave those for another post.

If you are a lover of words like me, I highly recommend giving Divakaruni a try.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

The One in Which Think I'll Wake Up With a Grey Hair....

It's a given. Some times I HAVE to share parenting stories. Some times I feel compelled to.

Like today.

I haven't started going grey. Yet.

I have a feeling that with what happened yesterday that might change.

I'm a pretty laid-back mom. That hasn't always been the case, but having 5 children that at one time were 5 years of age and under changed all of that.

My goal went from being....well, I'm not sure what my philosophy was back then-I can't remember. But, it changed. I started trying not to sweat-the-small-stuff and instead focus my break-downs/freak-outs on the big stuff. I did formulate a bottom line. I want to keep my kids ALIVE and out of harm until they fly out of my nest. Happy too. I want them to be happy and feel loved and be safe. That's my bottom line.

My youngest. And my second youngest. They'll be the death of me. I swear. Never in the history of mothering my other children have I been so worn down and stressed out. I'm pretty sure that from the moment that little fertilized egg split (which was later than I would have recommended, by the way), those little boys put their heads together and plotted. Plotted ways of changing me (they've successful done that-but in a good way for the most part) and making my hair turn prematurely grey. For kicks. I think they somehow know that their pregnancy, premature birth and growth thus far has made me a more thankful mommy than I was before but also a busier one, and for years a sleep deprived one. But one without grey hair. Surely some of my locks should have turned a silvery shade by now, and up until yesterday, they hadn't, and I'm pretty sure that's about to change.

Yesterday number 5 of 5 disappeared on me at Target while I was making my purchases. One minute he was there, the next he was Gone. Gone. Gone. Not only did he slip past me, he slipped past 4 of his siblings. It happened so fast that I thought there was no possible way he could have made it out the doors, right into a busy parking lot. No, I didn't even consider it. The first thing I did was station number 1 of 5 in front of the large panel of electronic doors with orders to stop 5 of 5 (I'm borrowing this number system from the original Octamom) if he should try to go outside. Then I promptly alerted the Target employees that I had lost a child. Luckily I had 4 of 5 so that I could say, "I've lost my son and he looks exactly like this (pointing to 4 of 5)".

I fully expected to find 5 of 5 at one of the candy endcaps. You know, the one's that are right by the registers that kids can't resist?

And then the worst thing happened, and also the best. The best thing that happened is that a man walked inside the doors of the store holding 5 of 5's hand. This wonderful man knew who John belonged to (I guess we are pretty hard to miss) when he spied him outside all alone and afraid. This thoughtful man took John by the hand and said, "Let's go find your mommy". And John took his hand and was safely restored to me, inside.

The worst thing is that John was outside. In a busy parking lot. And he's three years old. He was outside while his stupid mom was inside looking for him by the candy. A stranger took his hand and told him what he needed to hear. Luckily, that man was was a good person and did what he promised. BUT. What if he didn't? What if he didn't? John would have happily held his hand and let the stranger lead him anywhere, if he thought it was to me. He could have been hit by a car. He could have been abducted (he IS cute, you know-I could see why someone else would want him). And I was inside. That's why I think I might go grey.

Nothing happened. The situation turned out to not even really be a situation. But it was, because thinking about what could have been makes my knees go weak. And quite possibly my hair grey. We'll see. Yes, we'll see.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Writer's Workshop-My Neighbors

I'm pretty sure none of my neighbors will ever have access to my blog so for once I can talk about someone and feel pretty confident it won't get back to them. I feel sure that none of my neighbors are up with the whole blogging scene. They are WAY too busy looking into or wandering around in my yard.

Here's the thing.

We moved into a well established, older neighborhood where most of the home owners ARE the original owners. Their children are all long grown up and gone, and I sense they have a sort of proprietary feeling about the neigborhood.

On one hand, I'm glad. I feel SUPER safe here because we definitely have a built in neighborhood watch system. On the other hand, I'm having a hard time getting used to having neighbors in my yard, or looking into my yard when I didn't invite them. It's just weird.

When we first closed on the house, I can't count on my two hands how many times I arrived here to work on the house and strangers would be wandering around the property, not realizing it was NO LONGER on the market. I thought that was odd.

Then one day the next door neighbor opened the side fence, walked on back and asked my husband when the new owners were moving in. Did I mention she interrupted him on the phone to do so? She thought he was a "worker". Irritating.

When our pool was being remodeled another neighbor frequently let himself into our backyard to talk to our concrete guys. He wanted some work done too. He even brought his dog with him. I don't know. I was under the impression that if you wanted to enter someone's gated yard, you asked. You walked to the front door, rang the doorbell. Introduced yourself to the home owners. Told them you needed some concrete work done and could you have their business card please? Or better yet, could you talk to them in person? And you'd leave your dog home. Possibly?

Remember those pictures I showed you of the side of my house that we landscaped? Well, the area used to function as RV parking. So, there is a two sided opening fence behind a DRIVEWAY. Not the driveway we park in, but a driveway none-the-less. Let me illustrate:

(see there on the right? You can see where the side walk sort of T's with the driveway?)

(That's the gate I'm talking about.)

One has to walk the length of the driveway to get to the gates to enter the backyard. I just happen to have a sliding door that leads from my bedroom to the sideyard pretty near the fence. This morning I woke up because one of my neighbors was practically climbing the fence trying to see into the backyard. Again. I don't get it. One can clearly see into my backyard from the street.

I just don't get it.

Maybe they are just more interested in the yard than in us. Maybe I burned my bridges when one of said neighbors brought me a delicious cake and I didn't invite her in (in my defense though, I was leaving).

Bottom line? I live in a neighborhood where the only kids are MY KIDS and the neighbors like to be in my yard more than I would like them to be. BUT, I still LOVE it.

And, I haven't caught anyone skinny dipping. Yet.

For more Writer's Workshop entries, be sure to visit Mama Kat.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Wordful Wednesday-Los Angeles Fires

Don't forget to enter to win my Famous Footwear $100.00 giftcard giveaway, here.

*Wordful Wednesday is for those of us that like to showcase a photo(s) but that just can't seem keep our mouths shut about it(them). If you'd like to play along, post a photo on your blog, and let the words roll. Feel free to "capture" my 7 Clown Circus button (below and on the left) or simply hyperlink to my site, and be sure to add yourself to Mr. Linky. Thanks for playing along!

Grab My Button
LINK TITLE

Around this time every year the hills surrounding the Los Angeles area catch fire to some extent or another.

This year is no exception.

Scary stuff.

Look at all this smoke that reminds us that somewhere very near fires are raging. Homes are being evacuated. Lives are being lost. Smoke is in the air and ash is raining down.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Tuesday's Tribute-Moxie Media

Don't forget to enter to win my Famous Footwear $100.00 giftcard giveaway, here.

Go ahead. Click on the image. Then tell me what you think.

Doesn't Moxie Media have the coolest web design?

I'm so excited about this new adventure that I can hardly contain myself. Moxie Media contains a group of forward thinking bloggers that are committed to sharing their stories in a non-traditional way via social media campaigns. "Moxie Media is the comprehensive web advertising tool that businesses need in order to build brand awareness, drive traffic, and boost sales among women" (since as women, we know women).

Moxie Media is going to LAUNCH September 21st with a week long (5 business days), 70 plus participant trip around the blogosphere. It's going to be so much fun, you won't want to miss it. And pssst......a few days before the launch, check back here. I'm going to be giving away almost $500.00 worth of goodies.

Hum. I've turned it back to me again. I'm not very good at this, am I?

Bottom line. Moxie Media is something I'm totally excited about. It took a tremendous amount of work and dedication to get to this point (thank goodness it was in exceptional company). I'm hoping it'll change the way we market on blogs. I'm excited for all the possibilities, for the potential. I'm excited, period.

Subscribe Now: Feed Icon

Subscribe via email

Followers

TheBlogFrog Widget

My Headlines