This is an advisory to moms out there looking for holiday gifts for their little kids and trying to get their hands on what’s supposedly the hottest toy  this 2009 season ~ Zhu Zhu pets.

These little hamsters that normally sell for $9.99 and are on Ebay now for $39.00 because they’re hard to find. My advise : WAIT till after the crazies die down.   It will be available after the frenzy … for much less than Ebay!  Trust me on this one!

I was there to fight/elbow/knock down other moms for Teddy Ruxpin, Cabbage Patch dolls, Pokemon and Beanie Babies (yes, the hundreds of them).  Thank goodness we knew better (I got smarter) with Furby.  And my kids were done with toys when Tickle Me Elmo was hot.  And with all the above…they all became available shortly thereafter.   *Knocking self on head*

My daughter was at Toys R Us with her girlfriend at midnight yesterday.  She told me that there was a lady who bought 10 or more of these Zhu Zhu hamsters ~ presumably to resell it on Ebay.   Thank goodness my child was smart enough not to fall for hype ~ she’s learning well!  I fell for it!!   I’m hoping she’s smarter than me!

Oh moms and our guilt and eagerness to please!!  You’re not alone.  You can make your child happy.  With patience and $10.00.  

After all that holiday eating and festivities…we are totally vegging at home. We’re over leftovers.  Done eating. Even Newman is tired.

Last night we set up camp in our TV room ~ an add-on to this home which we recently refurbished and moved all home entertainment systems into. We pulled out the futon and decided we were spending the next couple days and nights back there, and not in our bedroom.  The room was is aglow in red from the daylight reflecting through the sheer cranberry window treatment and the room accessories. At night is is warm and cozy and warm…and cozy.

I had PartyLite Holiday scents burning for ambiance so it smells like December. We watched Seinfeld and Frasier and fell into a deep sleep.  All three of us:  him, me and Newman.  Camping in our own home. A spontaneous decision to park our bodies somewhere else for a change of scenery.

We are still stuffed today, and we have the other side of the family to celebrate with tonite.

Here’s a collage of photos that I took yesterday.  This is actually a slide show I posted on my Facebook page using SMILEBOX (check them out on my sidebar on the right)  We had so.much.food but I only had room for the turkey in here.  I had a blast with the camera.  They had to pry it away from me so I could eat ☺

No mall for me today.  My daughter did make it to Toys R Us at midnite-thirty last night and got home at 9:00 AM.  She and her girlfriend did the Santa thing and got most of their major purchases for the children out of the way.  I believe she will be sleeping in the better part of this day.   How fun to see her carry on Believing.  I’ll have my time sometime this week..or next.  For now, I’m savoring seeing my kids and kidlets and all the family Part I yesterday.

 Baby ‘Lyssa’s momma survived her first day at work today as a new nurse.  The day was not lacking in angst but it did make things better that I was watching the little one (next week, she will go to a sitter with her cousin, Nate).  How could I not…when I got the crocodile tears yesterday.  Still, it was a pleasure to spend some time with my babyGRAND today and get her used to someone other than mom and dad.  And ‘ammie certainly had lots of love and hugs to give.

Other than getting used to being bottle fed, the day was e.a.s.y.  She only cried when she fought the foreign object (silicone nipple) and I did try three different kinds with her.   But when she was hungry…she fed!  In fact, she took another bottle after she finished the one.

But lemme tell you….the new working mom was EXCITED to come home.  I mean ‘strip off all clothes and wash the hands and gimme my baby please right now’ kind of excited! I was laughing (and took pictures). At that moment, the world was just a mom and her baby.

I’m glad it went well and was not traumatic for anyone.  Work was pleasant and she liked it. Actually, there was a party. And another one tomorrow.

I took 159 pictures today.  *laughing*   Here are some other fun ones.

Oh boy, my dear sister is in trouble.  Her babies are growing up way too fast and I don’t know how she’ll handle it.   This little one was JUST the baby of the family, until two years ago when our kids officially started our fourth generation.   This photo seems so recent though, when they were just two little girls.  Now this baby just turned 14.

How’d that happen!

UPDATE:  Wednesday 10:00AM  Wow, this contest is doing really well. I’m so grateful to all of you who have participated.  I’m truly honored and can’t wait for a winner.  My husband reminded me last night that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK!!  I’ve been too busy to realize that!  Is it time to panic??

I got this idea from reading Holly’s response in the Blog Star community  at The Blog Frog and I wanted to experiment myself. So here’s the deal.  Reply to this post with a number. Tell me what you’d get with free money!  First response is Number One..next one is Number Two..and so on.

Tell me what you would buy with $25.00 from Target.  At the end of the week (on Sunday), I’ll use Random.org to pick a winner.  All bloggers are welcome.  Please leave a  link to your blog so we can visit and I can say thank you!  You have TWO opportunities to win  (One entry per person here on Blogger and one entry on my Blog Frog community) 

If this is a successful contest, then I’ll share it with other bloggers in my community so they’ll be able to do the same thing and then you’re just gonna have to make your way around The Blog Frog and find the next contest! Nice way to rack up some dough, huh!  Good luck..and remember…link up so we can say hi !!

I’m going to start off by being Number One.. but don’t worry…I won’t include myself in the drawing! Enjoy!  And oh yeah, Ho! Ho! Ho!

Wow.  yowsa.  My goodness.  I read back my first blog from about five years ago.  I found some GOOD stuff!  I had it on Multiply and I have no clue how I can import it..but really, it’s where it belongs ~ in something old, and ancient.  But let me share some good posts, if you don’t mind.

It’s Saturday! And that means it’s time to share some shots which didn’t make it to any of my published posts ☺ You can join our little blog carnival started by Angel  and share your photos there. Then link up so we can check out your amazing shots. 

This is a ‘free’ week, so anything goes.  And because I’m loving Saturday and the sun is out, I’m sharing a happy picture of me playing with my itty boo babyGRAND Baby ‘Lyssa when she turned two months.  This was during our monthsaversary and she’s going to wear this bib till she turns one!

Yesterday, it rained and I took this shot of droplets that were caught on a bush.  I thought it was pretty cool. I’m working on my macro skill..but you get the idea.  I didn’t have time to switch lenses.

Kinda cool, huh!  They kind of look like they’re in suspended animation and they were…in a spider web.

On another subject,  I got a bloggy award from Mindi and I’d like to thank her for it. That was sweet of you ☺ Thanks for sharing.  Awards are meant to be shared,

When my beloved mom-in-law Beverly began getting sick a year ago much of her care was taken over by my SIL, Kym and my husband (and me, with love).  I miss her so much especially at this time of year.  Her last four months with us were a doozie of a roller coaster ride that began with an urgent call to my husband one day, about this time last year.  My husband’s cell phone rang.

Now you have to know that my hubby adored his mom but she drove him batty as well.  He also is not shy and will gladly venture into the Feminine Hygiene section of the grocery looking for posies.  He had no clue.  He assumed some kind of panty thing…with flowers. Pocketful of posies flowers.

Proudly finding his way to the right aisle, he was amazed at the choices women had!  And the brand names we women had to sift through each month when we had to face the evil monster and men had to suffer through our PMSes. He read the names  “Always” and “Carefree” and “Stayfree“.  Regular. Super. Maxi.  Overnights.  Thin and ultrathin.  But no Posies.  Where the dang is the posie pantyliner!  He moved over to the disposable undergarments.  Jeez, being female sucks!

Serenity. Depends. These stood out as well as the generic store brand. Men and women disposable undies (he knew he was doomed … men would need them too!!).  Still no effing posies and by this time he was wondering what in the bajesus was his mother wanting. Was posie a brand? Pantiliner, pad or underwear?  Where is the flower!!  The pocketful of posies?

After about ten minutes I get the call.

At this point, I’m cracking up.  I love how he’s so in touch with his feminine side.  I have got to love this man who would buy women’s pantiliners for his momma!  I had to save him from himself, though. Ten minutes was more than the patience he had.

Well, of course he did.  And he had choices.  Just like we of the female species do.  

Ahhhh…life is good.  I miss you, Beverly.  I need to remember how much we laughed and cried at this time last year.  But I’ll start with the posies.  ♥♥☺♥♥  And laughing. Out loud.

It’s FRIDAY!!!  Bless everyones hearts if you’ve made it to the best workday of the week..the END.   And to start off the weekend, I’m participating in Jeanette’s blog meme to share with you all my accomplishments of the week (or lack thereof).  It’s always good to look back and confess or brag, whatever the case may be.  Head on over to Jeanette’s and grab a link so we can all share our week in review!  For me, well let’s see.

YES I DID! … give and get me some  Baby ‘Lyssa  love and smooches on Wednesday.  I babysat for four hours and stared, hugged, rocked and sang lullabyes to my sweet almost 3mo babyGRAND.  I can’t get enough of her. 

YES I DID! … have conversations with Nate, my 2yo babyGRAND on the phone.  He is talkative and has big words!  He’s getting ready for a trip to Disneyland tomorrow and wanted to show me some things.  He doesn’t understand why I can’t see him through the phone.  Next time, we’ll do it on Skype!  I miss the little man but I’ll love on him on Thanksgiving!

YES I DID! … offer to make some lemon bars and bring a Honeybaked ham for our family turkey day next week. YES I DID! try to sneak out of making the lemon bars, but they noticed.  So I’m bringing some!

YES I DID!  let Newman sleep with us instead of by himself all week long cuz it was cold and he looked sad and lonely.  Plus he was additional warmth for us and I don’t like sleeping with the heater.

YES I DID!  Clean my kitchen and did the mound of dishes the day before my cleaning lady came.  I just couldn’t go to bed with stuff in the sink.  Next time I cook a big dish, I need to remember to do it before they come..and save me the trouble.  My house is finally de-germed and disinfectorated, smelling fresh and good for another two weeks.

YES I DID! Start a BlogFrog contest as an experiment  ~ $25 gift card to Target to the lucky winner I’ll pick on Sunday.  If you haven’t commented..you still have time.  Dontcha love free money??

And finally…YES I DID! work my butt off all week and only shelved one item today..cuz it’s raining and cold and dreary and icky.

Here’s to the weekend and then a big week next week!  ☺♥☺♥

I never heard  of her  till yesterday when someone mentioned on a community blog that she had suffered from a stroke.  Her name is  Anissa Mayhew.   I read her about her on  Heather Spohrs blog and suddenly I wish I did know her.  In real life. 

She seemed like someone I’d love to laugh with.  A great sense of humor in spite of life’s mysteries.  A woman who blogged about many different things including the leukemia that her child Peyton is currently able to beat.  My thoughts are with Anissa’s family, which includes three young children WAY too young to be without their mom. Please pray.

The interwebz all of a sudden became a small world for me yesterday.  While I was busy going through my usual Wednesday mid-week trying to finish off work, I had to give pause to think about the times in my life when life gave me the most unexpected of punches.

Yesterday was one of those days for the Mayhews.  I join the hundreds (thousands) of people hoping for her full and complete recovery.  I hear she’s a fighter.  I hope so and I pray that she’ll continue to beat the odds.

These gloves are for you Anissa.  I hope you fight like a champion…and I wish you a full, quick and complete recovery.

I am not the only tie dye lovin’ or wearin’ person in  my family.  Apparently, I’ve got groovy relatives out east and can I just say I am totally JEALOUS right now?

No, not because they live by the water and can hear the waves crashing on the wall when they go to sleep!

Not because they get to watch beautiful sunsets (and send it to me by text with “We’re thinking about you!” in the subject line).

I’m not jealous because they have a gorgeous tan all.year.long.

I am totally horrifyingly jealous because they drove all the way to Tennessee today to watch Bruce Springsteen doing the Born To Run album/show  tonite.  L.U.C.K.Y…D.U.C.K.S. !!!

This was a s~l~o~w concert year.  Only one Springsteen show when he opened his tour.  The guy needs to come back.  We didn’t get U2 tickets but we’ll worry about that closer to showtime in June (they’re doing stadiums).

These two littles grew up rockin’ to The Boss (and Bono..The Doors..and more)…and they will see him for the first time tonite.  I’m excited for them.

And jealous.  Green with envy.  *sigh*

I tried to find chicken wings at the grocery store yesterday and they moved it.  In it’s place..there were turkeys and more turkeys.  It’s that time of year!!  I have to clear out my fridge to make room.  It’s REALLY time to think of what’s around the corner.

To that end ~ I’m thinking of one of my favorite things to do this time of year and that’s our holiday cards, and no, I’m not doing email this year.  I want to stay traditional as I love receiving cards from friends.  I’m going to check out Paper Culture which I was referred to by the Juice Box Jungle (see their cool widget on the top right of my blog!).  Take ‘em up on their limited time discount too!!  Paper Culture is currently offering a $15.00 discount (promo code: NOEL) and free shipping if you order by November 30.

I’m loving their Holiday Photo Cards and since I’ve been having the time of my life with my camera this year, I think I’m going to spend some time looking for that perfect shot that I’ll want to share with friends and family.

I’m getting excited…first for the turkey…and then for the man with the ho ho ho!!

I was browsing the net earlier this evening looking for unique gifts for the holidays.  I think I’ve mentioned it a few times that I enjoy the ‘hunt’ and challenge of finding cool one of a kind gifts online.  I found this cool site that had some really crafty gifts.

The online store is called Craftsbury Kids and in particular I saw these two items that I wanted to share with you.  (Disclosure:  not affiliated in any way. Just found them and want to pass on the info).

These are custom silhouette pillows.  You send them your photograph and you can choose the color of the silhouette and the background and can even personalize the print.  Takes 3 weeks (lead time) so you still have time if you want this on someone’s tree!

I also thought this was neat.  They’re custom dolls for boys.  You can choose features and clothing colors. Kind of like American Girl (for girlies).  This one will be your little boy’s best bud.  Lead time is also 3 weeks.

How’d I find these?  Well, lets just say that I’ve gotten around the interwebz lately and am having the funnest time discovering treasures.  Don’t worry..I’ll share my finds with you.  It’s what I love to do anyway.

Better get your lists to Santa ready!  Okay, gotta run..Monday wasn’t so bad after all!

Wearable ROCK!

Here at ThinkGeek were just wishing for a fully playable guitar built into a t-shirt when along came the Pixie of ROCK… she wailed with face melting guitar solo and *POOF* there it was in our hands… The Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt. We turned on the mini amp, cranked the volume to 11 and started to rock. As the Pixie explained, the Electronic Guitar Shirt is incredibly easy to play because each button on the neck is a major chord. She went on to mention how you can play dozens of classic rock songs with very little skill. However she warned us never to use the Guitar Shirt for evil lest, we are prepared to summon the Demon of Rock and duel to the death for musical supremacy.

Now you can purchase one of these fine Electronic Rock Guitar Shirts and get a little wearable ROCK magic for yourself. The Electronic Guitar Shirt is not a toy that plays pre-canned musical riffs, it is a real musical instrument that allows you to play your favorite songs and sound great doing it. All major chords are recorded from a real electric guitar, and the included magnetic pick allows you to strum just like you would a real guitar. The included mini amp clips to your belt and gets plenty loud with great sounding amplification circuitry. The tone knob on the amp lets you adjust the sound just like a real guitar.

                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Disclosure:  I’m not affiliated with this company, nor have I purchased this item.  I just came across it and thought it was really cool.  I’ve bought stuff from this company before and my son had fun with ‘em.   I’m hoping he doesn’t ask me for one of this for Christmas.

Facebook Derivatives

  “So…..earlier this year I raved about the Virgin Lounge at Heathrow. Now I’m ranting about the United Lounge at Heathrow. Let’s just say both reflect the service and sophistication of both airlines. One overflows and the other is remarkably, appalingly lacking. (Sigh)”

 And these:

“Is now in Paris for dinner and all day work tomorrow. I’m so tired even my hair hurts….”

“Ohmigod the driver of my car from hotel to Heathrow needs to shut up!! He’s giving me second by second report of his past trips to the US 20 years ago. Help!!!”

And this (still with her sense of humor intact)

“Just got this from a friend: Secret to enjoying a good bottle of wine: 1. Uncork and allow it to breathe. 2. If it doesn’t breathe, give it mouth to mouth. ”

I am traveling the world vicariously through her.  Maybe you will too.  Since she can’t chronicle her whereabouts…I am sure she’d allow me to track it for her.

 

GDaddy (aka Sickman / GrammieDaddy) was feeling a little better today and needed a little outing.  Fortunately, since the sun decided to make an appearance after the night and morning rain, we decided to go for a little drive to our fave pizza joint in Alameda (LaVals).  I ordered their special, to go.  We had Newman with us and he kind of liked being able to sniff around which is what he did with GD while I waited for our food.

We went to the  neighborhood with huge gigantic maple trees but they’re not turning the right color yet, still some green.  I imagine it won’t be till the middle of November that I’ll see the yellows and firey reds.  Still, the clean and crisp fall air was just what our lungs needed, so we dug it.  Inhaled it, in fact…riding in the car with the windows down so Newman could stick his little face out and bask in the wind.

For the rest of the afternoon, I’m working on a graphic file for a Monday project and then I need to get down and domesticated.   Where’s Gus Gus when you need him!


Oh, and while I’m on the subject of inhaling..I need to take a really deep breath because my niece, who I swear was just a little kid a while ago, turns 14 today.  Hard to fathom. Sister, dear…good luck and I’ll be there for you!

Happy Birthday Buddy Girl.  Stop melting ♥♥s

• I did take Wednesday off from 11AM ~ 8PM to spend with four of my favorite people in the world. It was like being in Disneyland ~ no cares in the world whenever I get to hold, hug, squeeze and smell my little babyGRANDS.

• I did assume the roll of Florence Nightingale all.week.long.  Add to that the Laundry Fairy, Kitchen Queen, Domestic Housekeeper and  Dog Walker.  Mr. GrammieDaddy better get well soon.  

• I did manage to work my tail all week, including while I was out with the kids and kidlets on Wednesday. I was tempted to leave communication devices at home.  

• I did share a special ice cream treat with my 2yo (Nate).  I am happy to share with you that he totally understands what brain freeze is.

• I did rejoin Blog Frog after having it dormant for a month.  I am glad I gave it a second chance. It’s all good.  From me, I hope you’ll be able to see (and reap) the benefits.

• I did let positive energy run my life all.week.long.  In spite of.  And it served me well.