Perfect End to the Summer

My middle son starts high school this morning.  I'm so excited for him.  Our advice to him - make it a great four years - get involved, do well and have fun.

To end the summer, we went tubing with friends yesterday.  It was a perfect day for it.  We've lived in Bucks County for 14 years, always wanted to go and regretted not going every September.  Not this year.  We floated down the Delaware on a perfect day.  Kids (seven boys) had a football, spun around on their tubes(until I would personally throw up), relaxed, caught up with friends and had an awesome lunch on the way home.  If you ever have the chance to go - do it!!!!.  Trying to come up with something that every one wants to do on a lazy Sunday - is priceless.  Go with another family and chill, whether you're moving quickly or not, rapids or not - relax and enjoy.  Perfect, perfect, perfect:)

It's a good Monday morning,
NeuroticMom

I just put a new bottle of soap out in the kitchen and thought I'd blog about it.  I always use  Bath & Body Works soap - in the kitchen and all of the bathrooms.  They are so inexpensive, there are a variety of scents and the products are not tested on animals - what's not to like.  The special now is 4 soaps for $10.

Shop away,

NeuroticMom

A Great Idea. Why didn't I think of that?

Sometimes you hear something, and it's so simplistic and so basic, and you think "How did I not think of that???"
This is one of those things.  While trolling through some craft blogs I stumbled upon a post titled 'easy mopping.'  And that, right there, grabbed my attention.  I have a lot of tiled floor throughout my house.  With 3 boys and 1 yellow lab I am constantly cleaning up some kind of tracked in mess.  So anything that might make that job 'easy'?  Yeah, you have my attention.


This comes from Rachel over at Holy Craft.  Rachel, you are a genius.  Thank you for sharing your genius with the world:

I just take this old Swiffer that I picked up in the free box at a garage sale
grab one of my old washcloths, and poke all four corners into the little swiffer holes
and have at it! I usually use a wet rag for mopping and sometimes throw some vinegar into some warm water. When you are done mopping, just throw the dirty rag in the washing machine and that's it!


Easy peasy!  I already own a swiffer mop.  And I hate buying refills.  (which is why I n-e-v-e-r use it ;)  Can't wait to try this out.  Be sure to visit Rachel over at Holy Craft and check out her talented craft ideas too.  Thanks Rachel!


Waiting for a mess,
TechnoMom

Great Gap Coupon at Groupon Today!

Great deal at Groupon today: $50 Gap coupon for $25

Groupon is free to join, once you sign up you will receive a daily Groupon coupon invite via email.  I've seen mostly restaurant coupons for my area of the country but I know it varies by where you live.  This was my first time ordering a Groupon coupon and it was painless! You might as well.  You know you're going to end up at the Gap ( or babyGap or Gapbody) sometime soon anyway! Do you Groupon? TechnoMom

$25 for $50 Worth of Apparel at Gap
$25 worth: discount: savings: $50 50% $25 Company Information: Gap website Locations: Valid at all Gap stores.

Snack Time!

I like a little snack.  Especially when I'm sitting on my deck drinking this:

 I'm not a huge fan of fatty snacks because I like to do this alot.

I am also a huge fan of the Hungry Girl, (a eat-well, but do it with low-cal, low-fat, guru).

So channeling my inner Hungry Girl, this is what I came up with:

Get a round of this:

                                           

Only 35 calories per wedge! ( And one wedge goes a LONG way ;)

Next get a box of these:

You can eat FIFTEEN crackers for 120 calories (with 4g of fat and 5 grams of Fiber!)

I can't even eat a full serving--it's so yummy & filling!  One wedge of cheese and 10-12 crackers is a perfect snack with  a bottle of wine.

Now you know how I'm spending the rest of my summer nights :)

TechnoMom

Pet Insurance

It's been a crazy couple of weeks.  We were away for five days last week and got a phone call from the neighbor taking care of our dog.  Casey (the dog) is rarely sick - a little thing here or there and allergies, that's pretty much the extent of it.  She was fine when we left Wednesday afternoon.  By Thursday night she was sick.  My husband and I were playing pool with a bunch of other baseball parents stuck in a hotel while our children played for the State Championship.  Relaxing, drinking and I might add winning every pool game that we played.  Life was good.  Until....the phone call.

Casey is six years old and couldn't urinate.  Five days, two emergency trips to the animal hospital by friends and family, surgery and $3,000 later, our dog is back home with us.  She had 20 stones removed from her bladder.  Apparently this breed is prone to stones but it's unusual for girls.  Of course.  We are seriously thinking of pet insurance.  I have to make some phone calls today:(  Twenty stone doesn't sound like a one time thing as she grows older and her life expectancy is 16-18 years.

You never know,
NeuroticMom

Favorite Sunscreen

I use sunscreen on my face every single day of the year, without fail.  I've recently switched to a new sunscreen and I. am. in. love!

My new fave:

Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer liquid (spf 55).
It is truly sheer.  It doesn't leave my face oily.  It's like wearing your favorite moisturizer.  Once it is absorbed you don't even know it is there!  You can apply makeup on top without it getting cakey.

I have tried sooo many sunblocks over the years.  I personally use spf 30 as a minimum.  I have found that most sunscreens over 30 leave my face feeling greasy or worse, white.  Like I could star in the next Twilight film white.  Not a good look for me ( or really, anyone).

So glad I found a sunblock that works really well and doesn't feel like sunblock :)

Keeping wrinkles at bay,
TechnoMom

Took the kids to see "The Last Airbender" this weekend.  We really enjoyed it.  The ages of the kids spanned from 5-14 years old.  Adults liked it too!  Check it out if you get a chance.  Fun entertainment.

NeuroticMom

Baffled

I just ordered my son a wristband at powerbalance.com.  It's a really cool product.  A friend of his left his wristband here last week and we tried it out.  Apparently it works with your body's energy.  I know it sounds a little weird, but it really worked.  If you stand straight and put your arm out in front of you, keep your feet in a solid, stationary position and move your arm around your body as far as you can (without having the wristband on) - mark how far you were able to go.  Then, put the band on and try the same thing again.  Four out of five of us could move further around our body.  My husband did not believe it was the wristband.  But now I am seeing these things everywhere - professional athletes are giving testimonials and wearing it (it comes in different styles and colors).

My son's orange and white wristband arrives on the 16th and he's so excited.  So, we will cross our fingers and hope it's not a waste of $30.

All keep you posted,

NeuroticMom

Miserable People

I've had it with coaches who do not give a shit about a kid's feelings.  Every time an error is made, every time a kid doesn't get a hit - something is said to bring them down, not boost them up.  Why do we let people like this coach?  Then, even if you do things right, why aren't you told what a good job you've done?

Last night my eleven year old had a baseball game.  They lost 6-9.  But the loss is not what has everyone fired up today - it's the mistreatment of the kids.  Everyone is really upset about seeing my son hysterically crying coming out of the dugout at the end of the game.  You see, he doesn't cry.  He's known for that.  He cried several times during the course of a six inning game last night.  They said he missed a sign - six other kids on the team said he didn't - and he made the last out of the game.  I should tell you that he played the entire game at second base, had no errors, walked twice, got hit by a pitch and that last out of the game was a few feet away from being a grand slam.  But none of that seems to matter.  The coach who screamed at him for missing the sign, picked his bat up when the outfielder caught his ball and threw it at a fence.  Son asked him why he did it, coach said he was frustrated and son told him, "It doesn't belong to you."  Isn't that simple - "it doesn't belong to you". AND you should set a good example.

The lesson I told my son last night: a man is not jugded by the way he reacts to things during good times, it's when times are tough that a man is truly tested and judged.  It's easy to make the right decision when we are happy and life is great.

I think at this point, a parent may go nuts tonight if one of these kids gets yelled at and starts crying.  And to all of the coaches out there: you won't get a child's respect and best playing efforts when they're scared to death.  Be a good example and the kids will want to win for you, not because they're afraid of you!  Of course this does not apply to people who are coaching their own kids - that's a whole different story!

I've vented,
NeuroticMom