First Day of Kindergarten

Five years and 11 weeks ago I had a baby. When I type that out it doesn't seem like it could have possibly been that long ago, but obviously it has. I am painfully reminded of how fast life moves each day and even more so today as my "baby" started Kindergarten. After a traumatic start to school in Pre-K last year ( a post for another day perhaps), we have moved onward and upward to a new school and bright horizons for my smart and, ahem, spirited little boy.

As we start this school year, I have high hopes for you buddy. I know you are bursting with potential just waiting to be tapped. You are amazingly intuitive, are already reading above a 1st grade level and can do some times tables. You blow me away with your ability to memorize and regurgitate facts that you might have heard once...months ago. 

You are funny and laugh easily. I pray you make friends in your new school and learn to love school and look forward to going each day. I have my hands full with you, but am truly blessed. Good luck and I will be there every step of the way...until you say you don't need me anymore...and then I'll still be there. I love you buddy.

If it wasn't attached....

I really think I might forget my own head if it wasn't securely fastened on. The last 2 weeks have been awful. Here, in no order of importance, are the things I have forgotten in the last 14 days:

• My purse at home
• My work laptop at home
• To feed my kids breakfast before we left for daycare
• My daughter's lunch on the seat of my car 
• That I had a doctor's appointment
• Where I put my keys...twice
• To add events into my phone calendar resulting in a couple of crazy over-scheduled weeks coming up
• To buckle Arielle into her seat after putting her in the car. (Luckily I only got 2 blocks before she reminded me)
• A load of towels in the washer for 2 days (ewwww)
• To put a check in the bank almost resulting in a very unbalanced account!

I'm sure there are other things I have forgotten but I can't remember them right now. I don't know when I have been this bad! I think I need more sleep, to reduce the amount of activities we are all doing and to get myself more organized so I don't leave the house without the stuff we all need for the day! I'm going to start by making a framed dry erase list that I will check off before I leave the house each day. What are your tips to stay organized and keep track of everything going on in your busy lives??

Tiny Prints Giveaway

It is about that time when all of the kidlets will be heading back to school. Around here it is a momentous occasion. Nate is starting Kindergarten. I'm not sure exactly why my boy thought it was ok to just grow up, but he will officially be a school-goer! I am a sucker for school supplies and fun things that make going to school exciting. I used to love to get all of my things nice and organized in my backpack. I'm not type A, why do you ask?

I have just the thing to make going back to school fun for you and your kids. How about a $50 and free shipping credit to Tiny Prints!   Back to School with Tiny Prints has a huge selection of fun and useful items to get you and your kids back into school with style.

A few of my favorite things are their personalized notebooks, custom stickers and labels, and especially the mom contact cards. I think it is so cute just to be able to hand someone a card with your info instead of having to write it down! I will be getting some of these as we will be in a new school with all new families to meet.

I think as a first day of school gift to Nate's teacher it would be nice to give her some of Tiny Prints super cute teacher stationery too. With so many cute products you are sure to find something you just have to have!

Tiny Prints is sponsoring a Twitter party along with @ResourcefulMom on Tuesday the 21st from 1-2pm PST/4-5pm EST based around the Back to School theme with awesome prizes to give away, so make sure you mark your calendars. You can RSVP for the Twitter party HERE.

So get hopping and enter the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~Kameron

This is a sponsored post. In exchange for hosting the giveaway I am being given a Tiny Prints credit equal to the giveaway. All opinions about the products are my own.

An Ode to my Toyota Sienna

What can haul 6 women, 6 purses, 6 suitcases 2 back packs, and 14 large tote bags full of swag??

My Toyota Sienna.

When Liz and I started planning our BlogHer trip, ahem a year ago, I knew we'd be driving. Living in RI it was a no-brainer for me. I had no desire to haul a bunch of crap onto the train. I don't have the patience for that. At. All. I wanted to decide when we came and went and not be pinned down to catching the train. Also the cost of a ticket at the time we wanted to go was ~$100. While that is not terrible for transportation, I would have had to take either the subway or a cab from Penn Station, so add some money for that.

Enter the momvan, purchased in December 2011. I will be honest when I say my hubby had to talk me into this purchase. I had a Toyota Highlander before and, while it is an SUV of sorts, I didn't feel like a soccer mom driving it. I still thought I could look hot (Sorry, I literally just laughed at myself. Fell free, it's ok.) getting out of it, like maybe someone wouldn't realize I was 30 something a mom of 2. That is just not the case when you drive a minivan. I test drove it and it won me over with its ample space, doors and hatches that open and shut with the push of a button (my favorite!), and it's 8,000 cup holders. Ok, maybe there is 7,000 but you get the picture. I have been singing the praises of this van since I got it, but it solidified its place in my driveway when we put it to the BlogHer test.

See for yourself.....

...all of that and we were still comfortable! All in all we paid $120 for transportation ($20 each) which included gas and a rocking Groupon I got for 3 nights in the Icon Parking garage, which was right across the street from the hotel. I call that a win any day!



Disclaimer: This post is in no way sponsored by Toyota. I just honestly think they freaking rock!!!

BlogHer 2012 I did it MY way!

Last Thursday I hopped into my momvan with 5 other local bloggers and hauled us all to the Big Apple for BlogHer. The week leading up to the trip there was so much drama about the conference on FB. I had a few opinions on the ridiculousness but chose to let it go, not get involved and make MY experience at BlogHer the best it could be. For someone who rarely keeps her mouth shut I was proud of myself. I went with a handful of private party invites, conference sessions and events I wanted to attend and wonderful women I wanted to meet and hang out with.  I accomplished everything I set out to do and more.

One of the things I was most excited about was meeting Brooke in person for the first time. We have "known" each other since late 2008, a couple months after I started blogging. You never know how it will be to meet someone you've only known virtually, but she fit seamlessly into our group and I love her even more now! There were 4 of us in our room: Brooke, Liz, Michele and I . You know you really like a group of girls when you can do that successfully! It was honestly like a huge 4 day slumber party complete with getting our hair done, hula hooping, tutus, Batman, cupcakes, dancing, pasties, great food, a stuffed uterus, and of course a unicorn cake (and next to it The Next Martha...way nicer than the real Martha btw).



The icing on the unicorn cake was the large group of amazing RI Bloggers, that I hang out with, who also came to NY. We all crossed paths for different events and hung out. I love being a part of such a down to earth, drama-free, and sweet bunch of women! Melissa, Megan, Sarah (our fellow road trippers in the momvan), Audrey,  Melissa, Jen, Joanna, Liza, Jodi, Jessica, Candice, Sarah (and sweetie baby Avery), Elizabeth, Catherine you guys rock!! Now get yourself a cup of coffee and a snack and settle in for the onslaught of pictures. 

Good choices pay off

It seems logical that we should all eat right and exercise. We all know this is the way to be healthy. You'd think given this simple knowledge we would all be fit and happy, right? It is simple, but not easy. Food is delicious. Exercise is hard. It seem that the better something tastes the worse it is for you. I find this irony of life to be pretty evil. I have said in the past that my dependence on food for reward, solace, etc. has led to my life-long struggle with my weight. In the past year I have been re-learning how to eat and figuring out how I can fit exercise into my insanely busy daily routine. I have had to decide what is more important to me, that mini high I get from eating something sinfully bad for me or the emotional well being I get from knowing I was strong enough to make the right choice.

I was honestly doing things half-assed for the better part of the past year. I started running, completed 3, 5K races and a half marathon with 12 weeks of training leading up to the half, and was only able to lose 1 pound!!! Why? I was still not paying attention to what I was putting into my body. You don't realize how much you eat until you start tracking it. It also puts it into perspective when you realize how much physical effort you have to put in to burn the calories you just consumed. I used to get a coffee roll from Dunkin Donuts all the time. They are 400 calories. I have to run almost 4 miles to burn those calories. That is close to 40 minutes! Is it worth it?? I don't think so any more. I am making better choices and it is showing in my physical appearance as well as my mental well being.

We embarked on Project 10  8 weeks ago. I weighed myself this morning and have now lost a total of 6.5 pounds. I am below 150 for the first time in 6 years! I did a little Lucky Charms leprechaun dance when i got off of the scale this morning. It was only partly because of the number I saw. The true happiness came from the fact that my hard work and restraint are paying off. I don't deprive myself. I eat ice cream and pasta and other delicious things. I just no longer let the want or perceived need of these things to consume me. I imagine, much like an alcoholic, food will always be my drug of choice. I will fight my internal battle, but I will keep getting back on the horse if I happen to fall. It can be done. You just have to want it. I want it, bad.