Making Time For Play

Tuesdays. Yuck. Some people loathe Monday’s, for me, it’s Tuesdays.  We hit the ground running at 7:30am and once you factor in after school activities, we don’t stop until 9:30pm at night.  This my friends gives Tuesday the distinct possibility of becoming a very bad no good kind of day. 

After a couple of frantic Tuesdays, that saw my two daughters eating their main meal of the day in the car and all three of us near tears by bedtime, I decided it was time to find a way to tackle this crazy busy day.  I gave up a career I loved to stay home with my girls, no way was I going to lose one day of every week to stress and panic. I had to put a little fun back into the day.  Find a way to stop running and find a little joy! 

Here are my tricks and tips on how to put fun and joy back into every day.

I started by fixing my Tuesday.

The main meal on Tuesdays is now lunchtime.  I pull the girls out of school at lunch, bring them home and a hot yummy lunch is ready and waiting for then. 

The new rule at lunch.  No TV!  (This applies every day.)  Guess what?  With the meal ready to go, that healthy lunch is consumed in a snap and we have time to hang out and even get outside and play! 

The weather has been beautiful here lately!  A quick swing in the backyard, a game of fetch with the dog, a walk to the mailbox and a quick ride on the scooter. These may not be lengthy activities, but they give me time to interact with my girls, find out what’s on their minds, and gives them time to unwind and recharge before they have to go back to school and tackle the rest of their busy day.  A teeny bit of fresh air can really help!

After school pick ups. We plan ahead.  They know they have to hustle to the car but we try and make driving or “commuting” time to their after school activities enjoyable.  Favourite Cd’s locked and loaded in the car, and of course dinner and dessert…mmm Kinder anyone…on the way!  We dance and sing, I generally embarrass my 12 year old at every single stop light.  I’m a Mom, it’s my job. 

It seems life has become very hectic, trying to cram in the must do activities, homework, play dates and downtime. One thing I think we must never forget is how fast and fleeting childhood really is!  These babies grow up far too quickly and I plan to pack each and every day with fun and joy.  Thanks to Kinder for the gentle reminder :)

 

Disclosure: I’m part of the KINDER® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

So My Mother Found My Blog

As many of you know this little blog of mine was done anonymously for over a year, closer to two!  Only recently did I come out of the bloggy closet, quietly posting a real picture of myself, slowly letting small details of my real life and my real first name leak on to the cyber pages.  Letting my blog morph, grow, from a place where I rant from behind my closed doors to where I rant out in the open!

I bitch about how hard it is to be a good Mama in the suburbs, spill about what I really think about those tight Mama cliques in these parts, over share about flashing the lawn boy and what’s going on as we set the bedroom on fire …..oh um, yes we did,  AND NOW SHE KNOWS!!

My Mother knows it all!  She has been reading along for two whole weeks and wondering why I have not filled her in on my secret life! Umm where do I start? I talk about my loves, my hates, my hopes, my desires, my passions and yes…my naked times!

I don’t worry about punctuation.  I don’t concern myself with what anyone will think.  This has been my space, my place to rant to rave, to laugh and cry.

How can I keep blogging now that she KNOWS?

Well, I’ll tell her what she suggested.  She could “tell me some of her sexual secrets to make things even.” NOOOOOO

My burning ears. Stop Mama Stop.

Sigh…so now what?

Well, if My Mom knows (and she is creeping up on 70 years old and has managed to stumble across my little "job on the side" via google) I have to wonder, does everyone know? 

This my friends is why I am the one who does not lie or keep secrets.  I am no damn good at it.

Ha.

Guess now I decide. 

a)  Tell all my friends and family that I've gone all double oh seven and have been leading a secret bloggy life.

b) Forget I know and just keep on blogging? 

c)  Quit.

Or panic?  Nope  not gonna.  Just going to think on it for a bit.  Sigh.  What would you do?

PS  Hi Mom! Ha

Vasanti - Fixing My Ugly Day

Have you ever had one of those days where from the moment you get up you just know it’s going to be an ugly day?  The kids don’t co-operate, the oatmeal burns, and that glimpse you just caught of yourself in the mirror. Shiver.

I was having one of those days, one of those super I look deeessgusting days, and thought, today would be a fabulous day to give some new beauty products sent to me by a friend a little spin.  Today would be a true test.

Farah of FacesbyFarah is an adorable Make-Up artist and knows her stuff.  She sent me some products from Vasanti Cosmetics and asked me to give them a try. 

The first product I put on was the Brazilian Bronzer.  I have to tell you bronzer is something that I rely on quite heavily because I avoid foundation.  I liked that bronzer!  It added a nice healthy glow to that sad looking face in the mirror.  The second product I tested was the Mount Rushmore Eyeshadow Duo.  First I have to tell you, I LOVE the packaging.  It is a sleek little silver box that is small enough to fit in the teeniest of clutches.  I like small.  Then the colours. Love again.  A shimmery silvery taupe and the richest of plums. 

I am not a make-up artist, but am pretty sure these colours made my green eyes pop!  Guess what I also realized at this point in my experimenting, the smile that had been very absent from my morning, she was back.

Since I was now feeling the pretty, it was time to try the Vasanti long lash mascara.  I am usually a mascara snob.  I end up with the top brands with the biggest of price tags. 

This mascara in it’s sleek silver tube beat many of those brands!  I adore it. Longer lashes?  Oh yes.  No clumping, no lumping, just beautiful length. 

In summary.  I am so thankful to Farah for pointing me in the Vasanti Cosmetics direction.  These products can be found on Amazon.com as well as select Shoppers Drug Marts and Rexall Pharma Plus’ .  Vasanti's website ships Internationally.    

Thanks Farah:)

Dempster’s Lunch Box Inspirations & A Panini Grill Give Away

It’s 10pm at night and I am happy to report I am not one of those Mom’s who is frantically trying to figure out what on earth I am going to put in my daughters lunch boxes tomorrow. This my friends is a change. I was often the Mama who struggled with beating the lunchtime boredom, and keeping those tummies fed in a healthy way. After all, there is only so many sandwich combos you can put in a lunch box right? Wrong! The key for me, preparing all lunches the night before. No exception. Having a fridge full of yummy and healthy choices for the kids to get their chef on with, and the biggest one, thinking outside the um bag. :)

Need some help to get out of the “Lunch Time Rut”? Let me introduce you to a new special section on the Dempsters.ca website. Lunch Box Inspirations. On this fabulous site you will find recipes, tips and new and fresh ideas to help inspire you and your little one’s. Lunch time can be fun!

I am also THRILLED to announce that I have been asked to be part of the Dempster’s Lunch Box Inspirations Team! Yes, I am one of the Canadian Mama’s who will be offering daily recipes, tricks and tips to help get you motivated and excited about lunch again! Hope you will pop over and say Hello. You can also find Dempster’s on Facebook and join in the conversation on Twitter by following the hashtag #DempstersLunch!

More exciting news. The generous people of Dempster’s have offered one of my lucky Canadian readers an amazing giveaway. So drum roll please…

I will be giving away a Hamilton Beach Panini Grill (retail value approx $70.00) Woot! Woot! Doesn’t a hot gooey sandwich toasted to perfection in your own Panini Grill sound just about perfect right now?

Here’s how to win. Canadians only for this one please.

MANDATORY ENTRY:

1) What is your favourite “go to” school lunch?

Easy Extra Entries:

2) Follow me publicly, or tell me that you already do, that is an extra entry!

3) Follow me SassyModernMom on twitter and give this awesome giveaway a tweet! Just one tweet total please. You may cut and paste :

Cdns! #Win a Hamilton Beach Panini Grill from @SassyModernMom & #DempstersLunch a Cdn Only #Giveaway http://bit.ly/qHluXJ

4) Follow my facebook fan page. Please! Again, tell me that you do.

5) Like Dempsters Facebook Page then come back and tell me you did. Feel free to say hello when you are over there!

(Plus for every new facebook fan Dempster’s gets, they will donate a loaf of bread to a local food bank!)

6) Leave a comment on one of my other posts. Come back and tell me which one:)

Update:

....and the winner as clicked by my 10 year old daughter on Random.org is lucky number 81!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Contest will close Monday Oct.3rd. The Winners will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond or new winners will be chosen.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Dempster’s Lunch Box Inspirations program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Dempster’s Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

JANES FlatJacks Saved My Day and a Give Away!

Home from school. “Quick girls, you have exactly 8 and a half minutes to use the washroom, change into your gymnastics/dance leos, brush out your hair and meet me back at the front door. Go Go GO.” Sadly this is not a joke, this is my every Tuesday. Ahh life in the Suburbs. Trying to give my kids the best of everything has led to a couple of days a week where we must RUN from school …..to after school activity. This means diner on the go and getting creative to get it done!

When I was offered the opportunity to try a product by JANES called FlatJacks and their two new flavours, I jumped at it. The timing, perfect.

So, what is a FlatJack? A FlatJack is an all white meat toaster chicken snack. They are fully cooked, breaded, found in the freezer section at the grocery store, and perfect for snacking. FlatJacks are available in three different flavours: Original, Buffalo Style and Gilled Cheese. Some information from the Janes Family Food site:

Provides 8 grams of satisfying protein
Fully cooked
Zero trans fats
Low in saturated fat

The beauty of these snacks, they are super easy to cook up…just run it through your toaster twice and they are ready to go! It’s hot, portable, and provides the protein my girls need to get them through until dinner.

My girls have now consumed their FlatJacks off a plate with a knife and fork, standing in the kitchen (when they should be sitting at the table) and of course on the run! On my crazy Tuesday nights I know FlatJacks are a great protein snack I can have ready in a flash, and I feel good about giving them to the most important people in my life.

More information about FlatJacks and other great JANES products can be found on their facebook page and at www.janesfamilyfoods.com You should see some of the fun ideas on their facebook page!!

More exciting news! The generous people at JANES have put together a great giveaway for one of my lucky readers!

Canadians only for this one:) Take a peek! You can win everything you see here! A brand new toaster, a serving tray, re-usable grocery bag, a set of tongs, and of course coupons to try JANES FlatJacks! WOW!

For my Canadian readers: Separate entries for each and an e-mail address please, you want more chances to win right?

Mandatory Entry:

Which flavour to you think you or your kids would enjoy the most?

Easy Extra Entries:

2) Follow me publicly, or tell me that you already do, that is an extra entry!

3) Follow me SassyModernMom on twitter and FlatJacks and give this awesome giveaway a tweet! Just one tweet total please. You may cut and paste :

Cdns! A #Giveaway for JANES FlatJacks! Giftbasket includes samples & a toaster! @SassyModernMom! Pls RT http://bit.ly/ouifWG

4) Follow my facebook fan page. Please! Again, tell me that you do.

5) Like FlatJacks facebook fan page then come back and tell me you did. Feel free to say hello when you are over there!

6) Leave a comment on one of my other posts. Come back and tell me which one:)

Contest will close Friday Sept 23rd. The Winners will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond or new winners will be chosen.

Disclosure – I received a gift as a thank you for hosting this giveaway. The opinions on this blog are my own. Pictures courtesy of JANES.

AND THE WINNER IS

Congrats to Kathy! Please send my your mailing details:)

Do You Remember When?

My aching heart. This video by GymChicksRock on youtube struck a deep chord with me.
I am the mother of a competitive gymnast. She trains twelve hours a week, and spends three hours a week commuting in the car. She lives, breathes, loves gymnastics. I am a proud Mama...but am trying to protect her heart. The heart of the girl who is giving gymnastics her everything. We are trying to show her the world outside of gymnastics, cheering from the sidelines, encouraging her to give it her all, helping her go for her dreams always aware that a day will come when we will have to coach her to move on to a new dream. The 'Lympics is not in her future and that is fine! We are so proud.
Sigh. It's a difficult balance.
Here is to all of the competitive athletes out there giving it there all every single day, and to all the parents wiping tears, bandaging knees and cheering with all that they have got from the side lines. I wish you luck.

Maybe Now I’ve Seen Everything?

-A young girl with seven piercings in each ear, two in her nose, one in her lip and one in her bulging child like abdomen. 

-A toddler, “double fisting it”.  Chocolate milk in one bottle, blue Kool-aid in the other?  Sigh.

-A man in a wheelchair.  Three emerald green parrots on his shoulder, poop running freely down his back, and an empty bird cage perched on his lap.

-Huge groups of flirty teens running amuck.

-Proud Dad’s holding hands with their daughters.  Both having conquered their biggest fears.

-Men with no teeth hocking their wares.

-Mama’s snapping pictures of so many firsts.

-Screaming kids.

-Screaming adults!  (That might have been me.)

-People smiling, laughing, strolling, and munching.

All sites and sounds from the best people watching on earth.

The annual fall fair.

     

 

Don’t miss my great FlatJacks Giveaway!!

Warm and Fuzzy Wordless Wednesday

My free spirited, relaxed, easy going, always smiling, hugging, dancing, singing, giving, caring, beautiful baby girl is turning 10 this week.  My SweetGirl.  Sigh. 

We celebrated in style.  Luau style on the beach.  Heads turned, strangers took pictures, little girls laughed the way only little girls can.

The sun shone down on us.

I am so blessed.

Happy Birthday to my baby.

Guess this wasn’t so wordless huh?

My List of Yuck

It’s Monday morning and I feel ranty.  Instead of being all blue, I will just list, in no particular order, a variety of things that make me go Yuck…

~Baby toads held in front of my nose by 8 year old girls.

~Spiders so big they can only be killed with a hammer. 

~The slime in the bottom of the drain after you wash the dishes.  Shiver.

~Belly button lint. 

~Chronic Halitosis.  GO to the dentist, get some gum, brush your teeth? It’s not that hard.

~Black dog hair on the white ceramic tile.

~Sticky stuff found when you place your hands on the handle of a grocery cart.

~Smell of gas that can never be washed off your hands no matter how hard you try.

~”Estimates” to fix your TV that run in to the hundreds of dollars.

~People who lie.

~The end of summer…that brings the cold

Yuck.

Rant away.  What’s on your list of yuck?

What 15 Years Of Marriage Has Taught Him

Hello! If you are popping over from ThetaMom where I am being featured today (squee) welcome!  Hope you will stay a while, jump in the conversation and perhaps get a giggle as I chat about the honest and sometimes crazy that happens behind the closed and competitive doors of the suburbs. 

This week I celebrated my 15th Wedding Anniversary.  As I sat at my desk lay in my bed with a big ol bag of chocolate covered almonds reflecting back, I tried to decide how to sum up the past decade and a half.  Do I talk about the powerful and sweet moments of our marriage like, bringing home our babies or buying our first home.  Perhaps the scary..surviving a health scare, saying goodbye to friends too soon, would be more appropriate.  Do I go all honest and talk about how marriage, a good marriage, is not all roses and sunshine, but requires some work.  Work of the very best kind.  That true love is a true gift worth fighting for?  No, I decided the best thing to do….talk about what 15 years of marriage has taught MY man.

Here is what my sweet smart man has learned about surviving marriage in the suburbs:

-Never to ask your wife if she has PMS.

-Sometimes it’s better to just shush…and let me rant.

-He knows he will always score when he delivers a heartfelt handwritten love letter.  The universal truth is that women are suckers for romance and I am the biggest sucker of them all.

-It will always be his job to take the garbage out.  Period.

-Nothing gets more man points in the bank then a back rub with no strings.

-You lose all those points if you fart in the marital bed.

-The wife, she could never look fat in those pants!.

-He may not be wrong all of the time, but when he’s right, best not to be too smug about it. 

-Bringing me coffee.  Always a good idea.

-He has learned just to pretend like he doesn’t know I’m spending all our money on new clothes, shoes and chocolate.  When Mama’s happy, everyone is happy.

*Worth noting, he has not learned that whiskers in the sink make me bonkers.  Underwear belongs in the hamper and that despite his best efforts, national holidays and family functions will occasionally fall on football Sundays.

Honey, I love you more fiercely every day, something I didn’t think was possible.  I hope we keep planning, dreaming and laughing together for the next 100 years or so.  Happy Anniversary….Mwah.

For The Love Of Sleep!

Do you know what eight nights away taught me?  My bed..it sucks. Ohh I know ugly word, but it’s the ugly truth!

We just returned from more then a week away at the in-laws cottage and while we were there I was like a little bouncing Goldilocks.  (and not in the pretty dancing around the house looking all pretty being all delicate and finally meeting my perfect mattress match way.  More in the stomping grumbling complaining crying I can’t sleep until I found a comfy spot kind of way!!)

This makes a Mama tired, and everyone knows, a tired Mama is a mean Mama.

I tried out every bed in the darn place.  The first mattress was too hard. The second mattress was too soft.  The third you guessed it, she was just right.

When we got home I realized something.  Our mattress is not just right! Hubby and I discussed buying a new one.  A big investment, but we realized something.  We really don’t know where to start.  This lead me to Mattress Find.  Here I could compare Memory Foam to an innerspring mattress. Find out exactly what the heck a Sleep Number Bed is, shop by leading brands, and even find out how long my next bed should last me!

So with just a little bit of internet shopping, Goldilocks might just get a good night sleep after all.

….and they lived happily ever after.

Disclosure:  Link was provided but all opinions are my own.

One More Reason To Shower Alone

When your wife tells you, no.  No thanks.  Honey don’t.  It’s not a good idea!  Maybe the man of the house should listen…

At the tail end of our week away, the in-laws joined us at the cottage on the lake. It is after all, their cottage.  After a day at the beach, the entire family require showers to get the sand off our sun burned bodies.  Mr. Amorous decides this is not something I should be doing all alone.  Fool.  His parents are in the house! Does he listen to my arguments?  My pleading that NO, he should not join me?  Uh, of course not.  He is a man and he is determined it is naked time.

SassyModernDad jumps in the shower with me. I heave a heavy sigh and announce “Did you at least grab a towel?”  Opps!  Nope he did not.  He pops out of the shower and promptly splays his naked bod all over the ceramic tile. Hard.

I grabbed a towel. Gasped, gave a little scream, and in less then three seconds have at least 7 thoughts.

-OUCH!

-Oh Crap.

-Is he okay?

-Is he conscious?

-Do I get out?

-I’m going to have to run for help all nekkie and then his parents are going to know we were in the shower together!

-Men!

Thankfully. HorneyHubby hopped right back up, grasping his left foot in his right hand.  His toe, not quite in the right spot. He smashed it against the toilet on the way down.  Ug. Super broken.

What does he do then?  Gets back in the damn shower. 

I spent the next 20 minutes alternating between fits of giggles and calling him an idiot.

Good thing he is cute.

One thing I know for sure….life will never be boring.