The Daily Grind of a Work @ Home Mom...

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What I'm Thankful For...

Despite the fact that I'm Canadian, my American kids make it necessary to begin new traditions in our home.  Last year we practiced, since our kids were too young to understand the concept of Thanksgiving.  But when my three-and-a-half year old daughter came home from preschool last week proclaiming that we'd need to buy a "big fat turkey" (thus dashing my dreams of getting away with more graceful cornish hen for three adults & two kids), I realized that the need for tradition was imminent.  So while my turkey is brined, the pie is ready to bake (I know, seriously), and the other stuff waits to be prepped and cooked, I'm thinking about what I'm grateful for this year. 

I want to have a numbered list, but this year, I just don't.  This year, my list pretty much begins and ends at 1).  Here it is:

And there you have it.  Two mini princesses with messy hair.  Quality beats quanity, any day.
  

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

I know - we haven't even eaten our turkey and stuffing yet, and already we're talking Christmas.  But the fact of the matter is, the holiday season is upon us and there's no time like the present to jump on the spirit bandwagon.  And even if you're not yet ready to battle the crowds and start planning holiday feasts, you can bet that it's never too early for your kids to start enjoying the fun.

Everyone has childhood memories that involve a favorite holiday movie or television special.  My kids recently watched Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas and they loved it.  Ok, so maybe we are Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas.  But who doesn't love the lights?  The beautiful decorations?  The music?  And the awesome programming that arrives just in time to get in the mood! 

So, not a moment too soon came this brand-new Curious George movie.  It is a very George-esque story complete with all the trimmings: Christmas trees, lists, decorations, music, and of course - gift buying!  It's a one-hour episode that is actually appealing to kids and their parents (seriously - Curious George is one of the shows that my adult ears can actually handle).  And if your kids already love George (like mine do), they'll love this longer version of their favorite TV show, no doubt.

This special episode of Curious George will premiere the day before Thanksgiving and continue to replay throughout December on your local PBS station.  But we are giving one lucky family a chance to Win It!  The Daily Grind, along with PBS, is giving you the chance to win a fun holiday bundle, including:

• A copy of Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas on DVD;
• A copy of Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, A CD of music from the movie; and
• A bag of microwave popcorn so you can make a party out of it!

To enter, simply comment below with your favorite holiday movie.  One winner will be selected on Friday, November 27th at midnight.  Sorry, open only to US residents!

An ADORABLE Gift - Adorable Kinders

We have a lot of dolls.  With two girls under the age of four, dolls are a staple in our house. But one thing I learned early on - all dolls are NOT created equal.

My children recently received an Adorable Kinders to check out.  An Adorable Kinder is a rag-doll'esque type of doll without the frail composition you'd expect from a rag doll.  Matter of fact, we found "Brittany" (as she is called) to be extremely well made and rather sturdy.  She is also larger than we expected, measuring at about 18" tall.    

Adorable Kinders were designed around a central theme of a group of Kindergarten friends.  There are 26 dolls to choose from, one named for each letter of the alphabet.  While the girls are beautiful and representative of a great variety of physical characteristics, we loved the fact that there are boy Adorable Kinders to choose from as well.  We have yet to try this feature but each doll comes with a key-code that can be used to register it on the website, and access educational games according to "grade levels."  The child can "graduate" as they complete the games, but like I said, we still have yet to try it out.

All Adorable Kinders are made in the US and are soft and cuddly and perfect for playing with or snoozing with.  They're sort of reminiscent of Raggedy Ann!  The best way to describe these soft rag dolls is to say that they're not your baby's dolly.  They're definitely appropriate for a preschooler+ since they are larger than your average doll, and really made with intricate detail.  Each doll is dressed like a preschooler or kindergartner, and have hair-styles to match.  My older daughter of three-and-a-half fell in love with "Brittany" because I think she felt it was a "big-girl doll."  And I'd have to agree.  

Here's Brittany chillin' on our couch:

 
Isn't she cute?

Win it!  One lucky reader will win an Adorable Kinder for a special child in their life!  Simply visit the Adorable Kinders catalog and tell us which doll is your favorite and why.  A winner will be selected on Monday, November 23rd.  One entry per person please!

   
 
 
  
  All products reviewed were provided to me at no cost by Adorable Kinders.  All views and opinions reflected on this blog are my own and were in no way influenced by any outside party.
 

And Sometimes We Do Use Our Powers For Good...

On Tuesday, November 17th, a fellow blogger, mom, and woman named Anissa Mayhew had a stroke that sent her to the ICU.  Anissa has 3 kids and a family and, clearly, has had a very strong impact on this community.

Because everywhere I click, whether it be a blog in my feed or Twitter, there's something about Anissa's condition or someone inquiring about it.  It's apparent Anissa is not a person who lives in a bubble because everyone knows her.  And, it seems, everyone cares.

Hundreds of bloggers are directing readers to Anissa's CaringBridge.org page where they can read updates on her condition as well as help out her family.  A Paypal account has been set-up so people can give a little to her family, if they want to.  The bottom line is, bloggers are using their powers for good.  Just when I'd about given up hope.

I had the pleasure of meeting Anissa a few weeks ago, when she and her Aiming Low team visited Boston and spread some good cheer by throwing a party and inviting local bloggers.  Thanks to Anissa and her party, many bloggers, who are otherwise chained to their families and houses, were treated to a fun night out.  Thanks to Anissa, I won an awesome HP printer that night!  Thanks to Anissa, I had a few great laughs that night, during a time in my life when great laughs are not as frequent as I'd like them to be.

So here I am, jumping on the blogwagon as I like to say.  I'm directing you to the CaringBridge.org page where you can follow Anissa's progress and support her family in several different ways.  Or, you can leave here thinking about a woman who is laying unconscious in ICU today, while her family exists in a what I can only imagine to be a state of terror as they wait for their loved one to wake up. 

Today is a great day to give an extra squeeze to your kids, your spouse, your mom, or whoever it is you love.  Because this woman, who was cracking joke after joke on a stage in front of a hundred or so people a few weeks ago, today lays in a coma. 

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Bloggers: Use Your Powers For Good, Not Evil!

It seems like all I read these days are posts about the new FTC regulations, or about bloggers who are all "SQUEE!" and "!!!" and "OMGLIKEIT'STHEBESTTHINGEVAHHH!"  And while I agree that the blogging community is saturated with review posts positively glowing about crappy second-rate products, I wonder if we pay as much attention to the opposite.

Calling out a brand/company/product/employee on our blogs.

I've done it.  I called out a company after an employee stole my information and used it to her own benefit (ie, signed me up for a store credit card and helped herself to my credit).  I publicly disclosed my story because I was infuriated by a situation that I felt was out of my control.  I was angry that I would now be faced with dealings including credit card companies, the idiosyncrasies of corporate bureaucracy, and other annoying things.  I had no other means of retribution other than to blog, multiple times, and demand that I be heard.  I wanted everyone to hear the story.  And I used my power to disseminate information and partied with it like it was 1999.

But I'm not sure I accomplished anything by putting this information out there.  I'm not sure I helped anyone, since my experience was likely the exception - not the rule - to any experience typical of this company.  It was likely an aberration and could have been handled offline. 

With more grace, admittedly.

I see posts like mine all the time.  Posts in which a blogger, who may or may not be influential, goes off on a tangent about an awful experience they had with a store/brand/employee.  And I know while I read the post, I often think, "wow, this person might need to get out of their own way."  Because posting an employee or store manager (or whoever wronged the blogger)'s name on your website says nothing about anyone other than the author.  It says they're angry.  And it says that they have a certain amount of power, and they might be abusing it.

I'm just not sure blogging with disdain about one employee within a whole corporation is compatible with blogging with integrity.  In fact, blogging with integrity includes a pledge to "treat others respectfully, attacking ideas and not people."  And posting the name and location of a store manager who did not treat you the way in which you expected definitely does not adhere to this stipulation.

Who cares, right?  I mean, it's my blog - I can say what I want on it.  You don't like it, don't read it.  True.  However, like it or not, we bloggers represent an entire community.  We're a LOUD community and we don't like it when we're trash talked, when we're looked down upon by traditional media and others.  So let's not earn their disrespect.  We have a certain amount of power, we know that.  So let's use our powers for good, and not for evil.

M'kay?

(Un)Virtuous

So I walk (reluctantly) into the gym this morning, about five minutes before my weekly "boot-camp" session is about to begin.  I meet up with the trainer who has been leading these hourly sessions now for about 8 months.

"Jill!"  He is genuinely psyched to see me.  He's really into the good of collective fitness and the bigger the group, the better.

"You look good," he says.  "Did you lose a few pounds?"

Normally, I'd be totally thrilled if someone noticed a few pound weight loss.  But today, I felt weird about it.

"It's stress," I say.  "All stress."

Truth is, I've sort of been eating my feelings lately and somehow none of it is sticking.  This should tickle me, but somehow without actually feeling the pain of it, I don't feel like I'm deserving of any accolades.  Because if my hard-core fitness instructor actually knew what I'd been ingesting of late, he'd probably quit me for good.

I'm chalking the non-weight-gain to one of two things:

1) Either someone up there is looking out for me, feeling sorry for me and ensuring that I don't become obese while I deal with a touch of chaos,

OR

2) Some anxiety-induced hormone or chemical in my body is burning off the crap I'm putting into it as quickly as I'm ingesting it. 

And normally, a compliment as small as "you look like you've lost a few" would be enough to keep me going for at least the rest of the day, combined with a salad or a small chicken breast.  But instead I added more greasy fuel to my boot-camped bod in the form of McD's and Chef Boyardee.  (and no, I'm not five). 

C'mon, let's say it together - EW.

I'll just chalk it up to a comfort food binge and hope that tomorrow, maybe a salad will give me love in the way that french fries do.

Good luck.  I know.

Am I Doing This Wrong?

I dropped A off at pre-school this morning and was greeted at the door by her teacher (whom I love, btw).  In keeping with my request that she tell me even the embarrassing things my 3-and-a-half year old spews out of her 3-and-a-half year old mouth, the drop-off went something like this:

Me: G'morning!

Teacher: Hi, Jill.  Oh, I have to tell you what happened yesterday.

Uh, oh.  My mind starts racing.  Did my typically gentle child push someone on the playground?  Get pushed?  Or more likely, recite the entire periodic table of the elements?

Just kidding...

Me: Oh God, what happened?

Teacher: So, A told me she had to go to the bathroom and I told her 'just a sec' because I was holding something and needed to put it down.

I nod. 

Teacher: So she tells me that she can't wait because her dr. said she shouldn't wait to pee or she'll get a boo boo in her tussy.

Uh, something like that...

Teacher: So I take her to the bathroom and she sits down and starts telling me that her daddy doesn't pee sitting down, he pees standing up.

Oh. My. God.  Now I'm not sure if this is a cute story or if I'm in trouble or what but I do know that I asked to hear the embarrassing things she says and well, here they come!

Her teacher smiles, puts her hand on my shoulder and says, "isn't that cute?"

Cute.  So cute.  All this talk of anatomy and bathroom rituals rolled up into one small girl who has  the vocabulary to communicate if aliens had entered her room overnight and kidnapped her favorite teddy bear. 

Am I even doing this right??

'Tis the Season...

...to save money..."

...to get creative..."

...to be... how does it go - jolly??"

Last week I learned how to accomplish all these things (and more!) in a mere 2 hours at a lovely luncheon put on by the wonderful folks at Stop and Shop.  In the year since I was introduced to the money-saving and customer-oriented culture of Stop and Shop, I have had the opportunity to learn many great things about their stores, and the fact is, they have won me over. My favorite though, is their Scan It! program which allows customers to scan, bag, and pay for their groceries all without speaking a word to another living soul.  Socially inept as I may sound, this does allow for quick shopping and money-savings opportunities I might not otherwise have.    

And now I come bearing some new ideas from Stop and Shop's own Consumer Adviser, Andrea Astrachan, that might help the cash-poor but richly creatively gift-giver get by on not much more than a few dollars and a few minutes this holiday season.

Seriously, I want you to know about the grocery giant's Holiday Rewards program which essentially allows you to earn up to 20% off a grocery order of your choice until December 25th (think turkey!  think apps!  think desserts!).  But I also want to share some of their awesome gift-giving ideas that will simplify, and cheapify (is that a word?) your holiday season so that you can actually relax and enjoy it.

Idea #1:

Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels: 

What you'll need -

• A bag of long pretzel rods 
• Chocolate chips for melting
• Decorations such as sprinkles, cookie crumbs, crushed candy canes.

Melt the chocolate in a pot.  Dip the pretzel rod into the chocolate (use a knife to help apply it if the chocolate is not deep).  Roll the pretzel in your decoration of choice.  Let them cool, then place them gently in a cellophane bag and add ribbon and a gift tag.   

Idea #2:

Cookies in a Jar:

What you'll need -

• The makings for whatever cookies you choose (chocolate chip, oatmeal...)
• A mason jar
• Ribbon 
• Recipe card

Layer all ingredients in the jar, separating by color.  Be sure to pack down ingredients so they fit!  Close the lid and decorate the jar with ribbon or whatever you choose.  Attach the recipe card (which should include the wet ingredients recipient will add themselves).

How easy is that?

We want to help you buy your holiday treats!  The Daily Grind along with the wonderful peeps of 360PR and Stop and Shop are offering one lucky reader the gift of food - a $100 gift card at Stop and Shop!  To enter, simply comment below with your favorite aspect of the store.  The winner will be selected on Saturday, November 14th at midnight.  Only one entry per person.

Luncheon, gift-idea samples, parking and gift card were provided by Stop and Shop.  All views and opinions reflected on this blog are my own and were in no way influenced by any outside party.