The only attempt at weight loss that was successful for me was an intense exercise routine. I am currently succeeding at weight loss with Lose It! The first week was a challenge becuase I needed to change our diets a bit. I have replaced my morning cereal with oatmeal and replaced brians morning pop tart with a Vitatop. I have also replaced our sandwich bread with the 100 calories sandwich rounds. I have changed the way I cook, limiting the starch involved.  One of my recent favorites was 1 cup smart taste pasta, dry pesto mix, 1 campari tomato, 1 piece grilled chicken 2 cups brussel sprouts. 

I am really enjoying watching the calories I eat and as a result eating better. I have a goal of 1 1/2 lbs a week and am on track and starting my third week. 

The iphone application (I think you can do this on Loseit.com and Lance Armstrong allows you to do it on Livestrong)sets goals and establishes a daily calorie budget that enables me to meet them. It helps you stay on track each day by recording your food and exercise (with a searchable database or you can create the item) and quickly reenter your favorite things

I picked up the blue nail polish, “Absolutely Alice” for my niece Kelly this week at ULTA. I would have loved this color in high school or even college. My nails seem to be red or unpainted these days. The OPI Alice in Wonderland Collection celebrates the release of Disney’s much anticipated remake of the classic children’s story. Very unique and perhaps slightly odd, these new colors transport you into Alice’s wonderland, where nothing is quite as it seems!

The colors are featured on OPI’s homepage with a feature that allows you to “try on” the colors so you can see how they will appear on your nails. There is also a giveaway to win one of 26 prizes being given away, which comes to an end on 3/5/10, the day the movie is released. If you like these, you will probably LOVE Urban Decay’s Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows which ULTA also carried. This too is out of my make up realm, but for those of you bold enough to go where Alice goes these are great! Click here to check out the trailer and other video clips from Disney.

Its funny how much things change when you have little ones. Things that I thought were important don’t seem to matter much anymore and something as simple as a diaper sprayer makes me elated. Basically it is a small hand held sprayer that hooks up to your toilet. You spray the grossness from the diaper into the toilet, therefore eliminating the old dunk and swish method. This thing is a little slice of heaven! It actually has a really good amount of pressure behind it. I couldn’t imagine using cloth diapers without them (thanks Mom for dunking and swishing!) but use it ALL the time for everything else that we create that is too gross to go directly to the washing machine.

A good friend of mine was using the kitchen sink to wash dog poop off of shoes. She didn’t realize that the germs and bacteria in feces should be separated entirely from the room you cook and wash dishes in.  This sprayer is the perfect solution. I have cleaned my fair share of poop off of shoes and clothes with the sprayer, but am spraying dirt, paint and spaghetti off of clothes and shoes too, they wash so much nicer if I treat them after the high pressure wash with my sprayer.

The cheapest diaper sprayer I could find was on Amazon.com for $35.00.  But you should be able to search online for promotion codes and come up with something cheaper. I also found a link for a DIY Tutorial…this is what we had in our old home. Even if you arent using cloth and are expecting a new baby…wether you are expecting it or not, you are going to have 2-3 outfit changes a day for the first few months and this sprayer will make life much more pleasant.

Because They are on Sale!

Additional 10% off sale items

December 29, 2009-January 12, 2010

verabradley.com/sales

code:winsale09

They are better for active toddlers anyways…I have been using a Jan Sport  backpack on our outings for some time now, its just easier to run around with Jason while we are out without a bag on my shoulder…or wherever I parked the stroller. Brian was nice enough to put this lovely backpack( In my favorite print Yellow Bird) under the tree for me. Its relatively small and lightweight, but with a lot of storage capacity and different pockets. I can easily fit all Jason’s and my own stuff, and find everything I need in a second. Plus, it’s very comfortable to carry, and best of all hands FREE! I’ve been using this bag on a daily basis and I love it!

He also got me this Cool Keeper in Mediterranean White. When ever I leave for a morning outing, I bring Jason’s lunch. It saves money, but I know he’ll eat it and if he doesn’t eat and falls asleep on the way home then he wants lunch and not a nap.

CVS is celebrating the holidays with 30% storewide savings. Check out their Holiday Center for great stocking stuffers and gift ideas for everyone. Enter PROMO CODE friend30 at checkout. Orders over $49 ship for free. I found this link that promises extra online savings (I know my friend Jasmine could pull it off) but haven’t tried it since I’ll do my shopping in the store.

Jason loved his elephant cart, and I’ve got a long wish list to send Santa for Jason after checking out their site. They were nice enough to give me this promo code to share with my friends and family, just enter ParentingWinner20 at checkout to receive 20% off (including sale items) through January 15, 2010.

Last night I took my 11 year old niece out to see New Moon for her birthday. It was this past summer that she introduced me to the first movie; Twilight. I was skeptical at first but now I am totally hooked. Although I did not read Twilight I did read New Moon after watching the first movie. I also had Brian reserve a non-fiction vampire book from the library for me so that I could know exactly what I was dealing with. The best part about the series is that it’s not scary and there is a love triangle. Those are pretty much my two movie enjoyment requirements: romance and not scary. In fact, if there is a possibility of frightful material, I will double check it on Themoviespoiler.com which is just that: movie spoilers for all the latest movies.

The Vatican’s culture council leader, Monsignor Franco Perazzolo’s recent statement has branded the film as deviant “This film is nothing more than a moral vacuum with a deviant message and as such should be of concern.” The Vatican condemning New Moon comes as something of a surprise as they have recently approved of the Harry Potter film and called the sequel to The Da Vinci Code “harmless entertainment”. I have to disagree; the vampires v. ware wolves romance that I saw last night was was nothing more than harmless entertainment. If you’re trying to get your teenaged daughter to enjoy reading, these’ll do it. They contain everything girls love, including an “emotional plot”  that will keep them eagerly turning from page to page.

It seems that New Moon is a film that people really loved (me included) or really hated. The movie pulled in $140.7M in its opening weekend making it third on the all time domestic chart behind last year’s $158.4 million opening weekend for the Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight” and 2007’s $151.1 million haul for “Spider-Man 3.” Not to shabby. While neither Edward or Jacob are healthy relationships for Bella, millions of fans have divided on who will get Bella? For the record, I’m on team Jake….until I read Eclipse anyways.

An expecting friend of mine sent me a questionnaire asking about the best and worst baby products. It wanted to know everything from which diapers and strollers to pacifiers and bath tubs.  I think most baby items are pretty comparable, and you get what you pay for. Here are my top three all time favorite baby items.  Life was easier because I had them.

1. Sound Machine (white noise)
2. Maya Wrap
3. Baby Einstein anything!

We went through two Brookstone sound machines before we found this one at Target that has a rotating image that it projects on the ceiling or wall. The sound machine gently turned a fussy baby into a happy one, we used it for more than just lulling him to sleep, often he would be too fussy to eat and I’d turn it on and it made it pleasant enough for him to eat.

I absolutely LOVED my Maya wrap. We went through a few different carriers before I found one that worked so keep looking if you cant find the right fit.  It does take some getting used to but I took it everywhere with me.  I’ve cooked with him in it, he’s napped in it, he’s nursed in it and we’ve gone on long walks through parks and malls with it. Even after Jason started walking, I kept it for when he was tired of walking or riding in the stroller and wanted to be held. One day all to soon, they wont want to be held, so take advantage of it while you can.

Lastly, Baby Einstein. We were lucky enough to be gifted three volumes of Baby Einstein DVD’s. When Jason got his two month vaccines he had a rough reaction.  For a few days after the shot, when he would wake up he would scream…and scream and scream.  It would last anywhere from 5-7 minutes.  Usually, when he had a hard time waking up or was just fussy because he needed to be, and I took him outside for some sunshine he would snap out of it and check out his new surroundings.  Nothing worked. I even got into the shower once to try and snap him out of it. Nothing EXCEPT Baby Einstein worked. I decided to pop in a DVD and give it a try and he stopped.  For months and months we watched the same Baby Bach DVD once a day. He didn’t really care for the other DVD’s until he was 7 or 8 months old. Now, almost two he still enjoys watching them and so do I. The Beautiful images and music, colors, words languages, art and puppets are a fabulous alternative to whats on TV.

In looking online to find out more about Baby Einstein products offered ( This mirror for the car was one of his favorites) I realized that they have been under attack for a few years. The outrage is stemming from the conclusion that the viedo’s don’t in fact make your child a genius. Here is Mirriam Webster’s Online definition of genius: extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity.  I have to say that Jason falls into this category.  Yes, Im bias but the kid is genius! and No, I didn’t think the video would do it for him. There is a balance between television and real life face to face interaction and exploration of the world. Giving Jason a secure foundation, fostering creative activities, developing emotional relationships with friends and family, and working in the language, reading and counting skills at the given opportunities (three shoes but only two feet! Oh no!) has us on our way down the path for educational success.

Here is my Baby Genius:

I discovered Freakonomics, a few years ago and thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening read. It is written by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The book covers a diverse range of topics that are anything but traditional and quite a bit controversial.  It does a great job of revealing the warped sense of reality that we have all come to know.  Freakonomics compares Teachers to Sumo Wrestlers, the Klu Klux Klan to Real Estate Agents and explains how legalized abortion has reduced crime rates. My two favorite chapters explore the negligible effects of good parenting on education and the socioeconomic patterns of the names we choose for our children.

In the epilogue, the lives of two Harvard graduates is followed. Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, came from a privileged background and had the resources that are quite often correlated with success.  The second graduate, Roland G. Fryer, an African American, was raised in an impoverished, unstable family environment and is asucessful Harvard economist. The economic theory used to answer his interesting questions turns conventional wisdom upside down. The book is a quick and easy read, and is full of conversation starters.

The two authors have their own popular Freakonomics blog. Todays post on iphone alturism was an interesting read. I also found a post that puts a neat twist on the socioeconomic impact of the names chosen for babies. I was surfing around and found lots of interesting articles, and plan on going back to search for more.

My shot out to Freakonomics is because the sequel Superfreakonomics was released this month. I went online and placed a hold on it at our local library.  It looks like it has been ordered and hasn’t arrived just yet…and that I’m first in line for it! Here is a link to the cheapest prices on the internet. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the new book and seeing what comparisons, connections and discoveries are made. If you haven’t read the first one, I highly recommend it.  I’ll be updating you with a Superfreakonomics review just as soon as I can get my hands on it…although I’m fairly certain I will giving it a rave review as well.

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