Instagram for 4th Grade?

For the past few weeks, my 10 year old has decided that she needs an Instagram account.  Tonight, I signed up for one.  After seeing what it is like, I think that I will consent to one tomorrow as long as I control passwords and have full access.  I am more than a little apprehensive to allow her to dip her toes into the social media world.  Cyber bullying puts this generation at risk for losing a safe place.  I hope this is the right call.

Coffee and fair trade...best of both wolds

I have always enjoyed good coffee.  I like my coffee to be strong, rich and robust, with a splash of milk and one ice cube.  Prior to having kids, I loved a certain über expensive Kona coffee from Hawaii.  However, when we chose to become a one income family, certain luxuries had to be let go.  My coffee was one of these luxuries.
A year ago, I got a Keurig and have been purchasing kcup from the target clearance endcaps and scratch and dent stores around here.  I have had some good ones, and some that were down right icky.
However, I never had any that were outstanding and would send me to the full price aisle to seek it out.  That has all changed.
I participated in the Green Mountain Fair Trade BzzAgent campaign and was sent the Three Continent variety of coffee to try.  Needless to say, I was excited to try free coffee!  I learned about Fair Trade and viewed a video featuring Kelly Clarkson visiting farmers involved in the process.  Fair Trade secures a fair wage for the growers.  This enables them to have a better way of life with fresh water and many other basic human rights we take for granted.  The growers can put more time and "love" into their crop and the end result is fabulous.  I like the thought of helping out the selfless growers that help me wake up every morning and keep up with my kiddies.  I have known many farmers in my life, and it know the countless hardships and challenges they face.  It is a job of dedication, not an easy paycheck.
When I tried the first sample, I was struck by the strong, full bodied smell that filled my kitchen.  This coffee is not for the weak.  It has a rich robust flavor that is reminiscent to the Kona of my past.  I'm no longer going to be happy with the clearance varieties.  This is worth venturing into the full price aisle.  My fancy coffee days have returned.  The fact that it is Fair Trade makes it even better.

<img src="https://img.bzzagent.com/image/gmcFT.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=8733263768&Campaign=9406330341&Uid=1446666&token=4173f80e58ab49cfd1a4a149884e8aed" alt=""/>

Last minute Halloween fun!

<img src="https://img.bzzagent.com/image/truMoo.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=8657869689&Campaign=2847543547&Uid=1446666&token=33854cdfa8ac0bc4535da82c7441c309" alt=""/>
For the past few months, I have sampled several products as a BzzAgent.  One of the most recent products was TruMoo milk.  
I have never been a fan of milk.  In fact, prior to this, I have not imbibed in a glass of dairy since 1989, when I headed off to college.  This milk is different.  The 2% chocolate tastes like a milkshake in a carton.  It also is hormone free and has less fat and sugar than other chocolate milks out there.  For Halloween, they have a limited edition orange colored vanilla milk.  My three year old absolutely loves the vanilla milk, but the rest of us find it a little too sweet.  Between the chocolate and vanilla flavors, we have drank more milk in the past month than we did for at least three months.  It is that good!  Definitely worth a try!  
The Halloween fun doesn't stop with the disney colors though...
TruMoo has a great Goosebumps campaign going on right now.  Visit TruMoo to enter to win a Haunted Hollywood vacation for the family and get a coupon good for a Goosebumps DVD just in time for Halloween.  

New cream for all the faces in the family

I was recently selected to review a few products for BzzAgent.  One of these products was Curel Intensive Healing Cream.  This cream is designed for all skin types and safe for all ages.  It uses advanced cremide therapy to repair skin and provide long lasting relief and protection.  In my house, my son and I both suffer from super sensitive and dry skin.  I was very excited to try this out to see if it could help.  In my decades of dry skin, I have probably tried over 100 creams with results ranging from successfully glowing healthy skin to pulling a blanket over my sore and splotchy face and going back to bed!  However, I haven't strayed from the pediatrician recommended thick greasy cream for my little guy before this point.  When I first applied this new cream to his delicate face, he was super happy.  This applies easier and absorbs quickly into his skin.  For me, anything that makes our night less tearful and less stressful is wonderful!  On my skin, I have noticed great improvements on some problem areas.  I would recommend this product for anyone to try.  It is great to have a product safe for all sensitive faces in the house, and works well on problem dry areas that appear on so many of us when the weather gets colder.   It is easy to apply, is not greasy, and comes without the high price tag.

The free tickets and the newest Star Trek fan

As a SAHM, I have mastered a few tricks at getting bargains.  Freebies are one of my best friends, especially tickets for family fun activities.  I have learned that a local am radio station frequently gives out tickets for movies, festivals, and expos in my area.  Last week, I won three movie passes for the IMAX theater in town, and today we took our 9 yr old to see a Star Trek movie.  I chose this movie not because I am a fan of Star Trek, but because this was the IMAX 3d choice, and I am too cheap to ever pay for the IMAX choice on my own. The first time I tried to see a Star Trek film in college I fell asleep about 15 minutes in.  I hoped for different results this time, and my wish was granted.  It was a blast.  The effects and visuals were absolutely enthralling and I even managed to blindly follow the plot.  Perhaps the most amazing thing was watching my daughter transform throughout the experience.  In the beginning, she was horrified with the movie I chose to see.  I think she only agreed to get some popcorn and some one on one time with mom and dad.  After the first few minutes, she was hooked.  I wasn't quite sure what to think when she googled everything she could about Star Trek from the moment we got home until she went to bed.  Even as I write this, she is in bed watching something Star Trek related as she falls asleep.  I think I might have to contact a few of the guys I hung out with in college that were huge  sci-fi fans.  The last I heard, she was looking up conventions coming to the greater Philadelphia area....I think I might be a little over my head!  This freebie might have been more than I bargained for!

The things men teach their sons.

I was raised in a family with little to no interest in the wide world of sports.  I remember listening to the radio in the morning before getting on the school bus to find out who won the Super Bowl the previous night because watching  it simply wasn't an option in our house.  My hubby is a passive fan of some sports, and a loud, enthusiastic (bordering on ear splitting) one on others.  He happens to have been an avid Islander fan of the 80's.  Our son appears to love all sports, and has a slight volume control issue.  Now a few weeks go, dear hubby decided to watch hockey with little man and recognized an old favorite player, Butch Goring.  Hubby yelled Butch! at the tv and the mini mockingbird tried to repeat it.  Unfortunately, his u sounds like an i.  Now, over the past few weeks, my little man has since taken to screeching his rendition of Butch! at various different times.  Today it was first released in the bread aisle of Target, as we were passing a proper looking elderly woman.  She took the time to ooh and ahh over his cute smile.  When she turned away, little man gave out a huge grin and screamed, "B*tch!" at full volume and with the upmost pride.  I immediately tried to explain it to her.  She just quickly left the aisle as a few more "B*tch!'s" followed her. For the next 10 minutes, little guy must have screamed B*tch at least 20 more times...always in earshot of others, including the previously traumatized woman when we met up again at the checkout.  All I can hope is that most of the people in Target today have had experience with the never boring lives of toddlers!

The Prednisolone nightmare. The bark is so much better than this bite!

Both of my children have had sleepless nights from the dreaded croup.  The first time, my daughter scared me half to death.  I immediately googled this condition and, in a state of sheer panic, followed its advice to my closest er.  She received a shot, got a nebulizer treatment in the dr's office the next day, and life continued with no major changes.  As the years passed, I became an expert at humidifiers, hot steamy bathrooms, and stargazing in the chilly night air to help subside the relentless barking cough.  A few times were worse than others, and we would go to the dr in the morning for Prednisolone that would just make her eat nonstop for a week. Prednesolone is a steroid used to treat many illnesses including croup in small children.  My daughter used it many times, with no ill effects.  Anytime the temperature changed more than 20 degrees in a 24 hour time period, croup would come back.  I don't have any idea how she always came in contact with the virus that leads to it, but it happened until she turned 8.  For one blissful year, we were a croup free home.  Nothing I learned from my daughter could prepare me for what little man had in store.......
Last week, the dreadful noise returned to interrupt our quiet spring evening.  Immediately, and confidently, I entered his room with another pillow.  I turned up his humidifier, and took him into a steamy bathroom.  This time nothing seemed to help.  I spent hours that night watching him get worse.  Cold sweats, chills, rasping and whistling with every labored intake of air, his tiny body seemed to literally cave in with every breath.  I lost my confidence.  First thing in the morning, I took him to the dr.  We left with the familiar prescription, and I stocked up on his favorite foods.   That night, he woke up every 20 minutes.  We went through the treatment routine throughout the night and were exhausted, grumpy, but functioning somewhat ok the next day. That night, he went to bed early, and appeared to pass out almost instantly.  When he woke up four hours later, he had turned into a complete stranger.  Even his high pitched scream sounded foreign.  His eyes looked crazed like he wasn't sure who I was or where he was.  He literally screamed at this earth shattering pitch from 10 pm until 3:30 am.  In the moments he paused, his entire body would stiffen and he would become violent, grabbing everything and anything he could and throw it, hit it, or pull it as hard as he could.  Looking back, I can equate it to the difference between Gizmo and his Gremlin counterparts.  I considered taking him to the er, and still don't fully know why I didn't except to say I was simply trying to calm him and handle this latest turn of events.  I tried everything I could think of, and nothing could comfort him.  At 3:30, he simply collapsed, and slept for an hour.  He woke up at 4:30 and we went through a 30 minute rage.  At 5, I was a wreck.  I woke up hubby and tried to fill him in to the latest turn of events.  I am amazed and can't understand how he and my daughter slept through all of the night's chaos.  I think it would have woken me up a mile away.  Hubby stayed home and little man seemed to improve. He was tired, a little grumpy, and seemed to lose most of his appetite, but overall his demeanor made me doubt my recollection of the previous night's nightmare.  My doubt went away when he woke up after a brief nap.  Now hubby could see a brief reenactment of the rage and utter terror that seemed to overtake our poor toddler.  We called the dr, and went in for a reevaluation.  By this point, I began to question if this was a side effect of the medication.  I was told to look for hyperactivity, increased appetite, and perhaps insomnia.  After a lengthy visit, it was decided that Prednisolone could be to blame.  Steroids have been known to infamously cause rage in adults, depression to many, as well as other troubling side effects.  Usually, lengthy use is needed to cause these bad side effects.  We only used it for two days.  After going through this, I did some research and found numerous other reports describing this toddler "roid rage."  The dr we saw told me that many have told her about experiencing horrible vivid nightmares.  Perhaps this is what terrorized my son so badly.  I just know that it was heart wrenching and terrifying to watch these unknown demons take him over.  After stopping the medication, he seems to sleep better with each passing day.  It has now been a week, and last night he only woke up four times.  He managed to calm himself within a few minutes for three of those four. I am grateful beyond words to see him returning to his normal, mischievous, lovable self...and hope that I never experience the flip side again!