Mama Noggin

Game of the Month

Here is a new game my son has been playing. I'm not sure if the site has spyware etc so you're on your own....

Rollercoaster Creator - Build a rollercoaster and reach the flag

Working Mom's Summer

For those who asked... the Hello Skinny Jeans are awesome.  I wish I had ten pair!  Buy them here and here.  And I also love my new Curtis & Co. watch I received this summer.

I've been a busy working mom so I will be posting with frequency over on my main blog while I am traveling back and forth to Las Vegas (see photo), which is killing my ADD .  And speaking of ADD - ADHD... my son is about to try his first week at sleep away camp.  He's excited, I'm scared. 

MicheleLewis.com

BUSY MOMS

I will start with the infamous blogging words....I know I haven't written in a while but...busy is as busy does and I've been busy.  I know, I know, who isn't these days?  Scheduling children to do lists, school functions, a dropping tush,volunteering, husbands needing tending, work and all the other fun things you dread of running a household. Personal time?  Not to mention the technology we've become so addicted to while thinking we're saving time but in fact...when you factor in learning new features, upgrades, bugs, viruses, security and getting distracted by the millions of websites waiting to take over your day...are we really saving any time?  I know 90% of my phone list lives the same way but, like me, has the attitude...if I call them, they need to answer.  That's really a post in itself.  Next year, I'm following through with the commitment to myself to reduce my commitments. Which is another post within itself.

Bitching stuff aside, I wanted to give a Hello! Skinny Jeans update because some readers were asking for a follow-up.  I bought two pair and all I can say is...Hello! These jeans are so awesome that I would wear them everyday.  They don't stretch out, they make your legs look great.  And the proof?  Every time I wear them someone asks if I've lost weight.  OK, I have lost some weight lately, BUT the people that already know that ask if I've lost more on my Hello! days.  I give these jeans two butts up. 

VAIL VALLEY BLUES

You might have read on my poker blog,  we have had a house in Vail since 1994 and my mother-in-law recently decided to make my husband captain of the remodeling ship.  We spent the New Year week fixing, cleaning, moving furniture and arguing about who was right.  Additionally, we seemed to have kept up with our tradition of leaving the Vail Valley just before the arrival of deep powder.  We knew the big storm was coming and since we drove due to my husband's toys tools, we had to get out of town before the Vail Pass closed.

As we drove out of town my high-class-troubled thoughts lingered on opening day in 1996 when I noticed ski patrol untying the ropes at the top of a black run.  My husband (then boyfriend), an ermine and I had the knee-deep powder run to ourselves.  I had set my stance back so I could keep the tip of my board up and float.  It was truly an amazing experience as we felt we were the only people there.  It was a common day for us as residents yet rare for the vacationers grinding out runs to fulfill the price of a Vail lift ticket on a short trip. 

I was not surprised on my first day home to read my notification of the 10 new inches, nor the second day's 16 inches or today's 9 inches.  However, reading of Friday's avalanche death in the east Vail chutes was saddening.  It is difficult to feel sorry about missed snow due to furniture relocation when you know others are mourning such a tragedy. 

Jesse Brigham was only 27.

BIRTHDAY BLISS

It wasn't long ago that I found myself sitting in the TCH lobby alone waiting for the results of my two-year-old son's ultrasound.  My husband had just taken him downstairs to eat after a morning fast.  When I first sat down I was fine...I assumed it was another test equating another "I don't know" answer.  But the longer I waited the more aware my body became of the inevitable bad news.  My hands began to shake, my palms began to sweat, my heart-rate increased with every passing minute and my thoughts lingered on the black cat that had run across my path the night before. 

I finally called my pediatrician who said:

"I'm so sorry you had to wait, they wanted to tell you in person....he has a tumor."

"Do they think it's malignant?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm so sorry to tell you this over the phone." She said.

"That's OK, I'd rather hear it from you than a stranger." I began to cry.

Months of tests and doctors talking to me like I had an IQ of 70, I had decided I would smack the next doctor that told me antibiotics wouldn't help a virus.  Yeah, thanks but I had that information in 1993-94 via Dr. Robert Josey. 

Finally, I received some closure on the mysterious 104 fevers my son had been running for the past five months.  Wilms Tumor - Cancer. 

But five months later and one less kidney he completed chemotherapy. 

Today...he is celebrating his 6th birthday.  While he knows his life is extra special, he's extremely focused on presents, cake and icing.  And frankly...life doesn't get more normal than that. 

SUCKED INTO SKINNY JEANS

After months of the Bliss catalogue sending me it's love of the hello! Skinny Jeans, I've decided I am going to buy a pair.  I convinced myself I didn't need to participate in the fad because I had found a pair of jeans that I love.  In fact, I love my new jeans so much that I bought five pair of the same design.  No, I'm not worried if anyone thinks I'm wearing the same pair of jeans everyday because any person that would notice such a stupid thing probably can't even legally vote. 

This materialistic, vain purchase is unofficial at this point because I haven't tried on a pair yet.  After all, there is still the possibility of a baby got back moment in the dressing room (see video below).  It doesn't matter how much you weigh...there is always a pair of pants out there that puts that boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, I like big butts and I can not lie...in your head.  However, there is a bright side to those moments.  You end up saving money and then you can strut your stuff down to the cookie stand for a chocolate chip cookie to celebrate.  Yeah, I'm aware there are plenty of books claiming it's an unhealthy way of handling the situation.  But hey, let's keep it real. 

Photo Courtesy Skinnyjeans.com

HIP WEBKINZ PIMPAGE

Last month, or something like that, I wrote about how grateful I am that I'm not stuck in the middle of the Webkinz craze.  I know, I know my time is coming but until then I'm living in bliss due to my child's ignorance lack of knowledge of these web based critters.  

For those of you already stuck in the Webkinz world you're in luck if you're looking for the Reindeer.  Diane Sizemore, owner of Hip Hop Lollipop, still has the Reindeer Webkinz for sale. 

I've been meaning to give her store a shout out for a while now but....I've been meaning to do a lot of things.  Not only does Hip Hop Lollipop sell toys and clothes (including cute clothes for boys) they offer the kind of birthday parties where you don't have to do much as a hostess.

TEACHING YOUR PARENTS TO TEXT MESSAGE

I've lived in Houston most of my life with the short term exceptions of Austin, Vail, Boca Raton and a summer in Vegas.  Life on the Gulf Coast and Florida guarantees one thing...an education in Hurricane preparation.  Since I was ten I've known that if a hurricane is coming you do one of two things:

1. Leave town
2. Buy water, canned food, fill your bathtubs with water, buy batteries, flashlights, tape windows, fill up your car (before the hurricane - you don't want water in your gas), load your gun and have an escape plan.

When Hurricane Rita headed for Houston we opted for number one simply because we were in the middle of a heat wave with two toddlers.  Sorry, call me a wimp but I'm not interested in sitting in a house with two kids, in 100+ degree weather and without T.V. 

That being said, my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law got caught up in the infamous televised traffic jam.  A trip to Austin normally takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours but that day it was a 19 hour road trip.  Not only did the road lack gas and restrooms but it also lacked cell phone reception.  Being a lover of sms technology I sent a text message to my mother-in-law hoping for a reply.  About an hour later I received a message from her that they were fine but still far away.  With nothing to do she sat in her car and learned to text message.  I was able to advise her on who had gas and who didn't, etc. 

Ever since then I've been an advocate of making sure everyone in the family knows how to text message.  Furthermore, Google offers an excellent free service that I use all the time for information, phone numbers, flight status, movie times, weather, sport scores and more.  Click here to check it out.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today.

MORE ON HOLIDAY STRESS

It's funny I would write about how writing helps alleviate stress when I'm too busy and stressed to sit down and write.  Perhaps it's because my brain is more confused than the previous sentence.  Nonetheless, I wanted to pass on this tip I received in my email inbox from ADDitude for ADD/ADHD'ers and how to stick to your holiday budget. 

Journaling is a great tool for developing self-awareness about any chronic problem, whether it’s overspending, overeating, or something else. This season start a money journal to keep holiday spending under control, start by asking yourself these key questions.

1. What are my long-term financial goals? Why are they important to me?
2. Which financial goals am I now meeting? Which ones are not being met?
3. What specific behaviors must I adopt in order to meet all my financial goals?
4. What are the benefits to my current spending habits? What are the drawbacks?
5. What do I like about gift giving? What do I dislike?
6. What am I most likely to buy on impulse?
7. What makes a purchase worthwhile? What makes a purchase wasteful?
8. What is my definition of “overspending”?
9. How do I differentiate luxury and necessity?
10. What did I learn about money growing up that I now think is true?     False?
11. What rationalizations do I use to justify overspending?
12. What would have to happen for me to be able to stick to my budget?

I guess the true test is whether or not you can remember to sit down and write. 

TEST RESULTS SAY MORE LEAD AHEAD

Another good reason to avoid chewing on pencils. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the toy store they pull you back into fear.  MSNBC revealed in an article today that 35% of 1200 tested toys contained lead paint.  Unfortunately for everyone involved, most of these toys are still on the shelves.  Mattel Inc ran their own test to find that some of their own recalls had levels up to 200 times the accepted limit.

According to the MSNBC article:

Easthope said 17 percent of the children’s products tested had levels of lead above the 600 parts per million federal standard that would trigger a recall of lead paint. Jewelry products were the most likely to contain the high levels of lead, the center said, with 33.5 percent containing levels above 600 ppm. Among the toys that tested above that limit was a Hannah Montana Pop Star Card Game, whose case tested at 3,056 ppm.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a level of 40 ppm of lead as the maximum that should be allowed in children’s products. Lead poisoning can cause irreversible learning disabilities and behavioral problems and, at very high levels, seizures, coma, and even death.

To all of you that say "Gosh, it seems like kids don't behave like they used to" or "Man, everyone has ADD/ADHD these days, why is that?" Well, maybe we should take a closer look at the definitions of toxic and toxins.

Here is a kit that you can use to test products at home.  I haven't tried this but if I do I will let you know my results.