Tag: Karie Herring

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The Good Christian

I attend church each Saturday evening. I ingratiate myself each morning in His word. I pray regularly and even keep a prayer journal. Tithing? Done, at my 10%. I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior and he died for my sins and for that belief I have sought salvation.

For some, this basic attestation would be the epitome of a good Christian. Believing in His word, carrying on in our godliness, acting upon some righteousness. But truth be told this is just bullshit. Being a good Christian and acting like a good Christian are two entirely different state of affairs.

For the last 18 months I have found a great deal of insight into the truth of Christianity. At the forefront and the most humbling of qualities for a true, “good” Christian is the admittance that we are broken. Our core of humanity is our faults, our errs, our inability for perfection and that we are truly sinners. I have watched so many glorify their existence as a follower of Christ only to contradict their very faith and being. Going to church, believing, praying, tithing are not the only determinants for “good” Christian values.

love all, gandhiAs I bounced between loving and understanding Jewish faith, Islamic faith, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and even Agnosticism, the experiences brought me an insurmountable amount of respect and love for people, no matter their faith. The acceptance and understanding we are one. This path of enlightenment and higher learning led me back to Him. While my beliefs did not mean I was not worthy, nor did they deem me ineligible for salvation, but they were a road map to what Christians should represent, we are all human beings. Being one with each other. Review the historical lineage to understand that each of us has been given a divine plan in our depreciation:

Christ was born unto a teenage girl (teen mom, nothing lavish or righteous here. Divine plan) and was poor; the family was not wealthy monetarily nor was he extravagant or boasting. If we date back farther into Christ’s past we see Rahab. Rahab who was a prostitute, while she played an intricate role with Joshua in the battle of Jericho (Again, nothing lavish, nothing to brag about. Divine plan), ultimately she was a sinner, broken, and imperfect. Her imperfection is within the lineage of Christ.

So I struggle with “Christians” who bark about living a godly life and attest that we should all be “good” by their standards, detesting others for their imperfection; when really the only standards we should be living to are in some sense biblical. Let me clarify that when I say we live to biblical standards, we are not literally living to the exact verbiage, with some exception. In my path of learning I have found a great deal of interpretation with the Bible. If we lived to biblical terms we would be burning and offering our children, sheep, to the Lord and living much more humbly if we were literal. Living by the ten commandments however should be literal, they are basic and set an amazing foundation.

I found that at the core, of any belief, we are to love and respect our God. The Father of life, he has given us wonderful blessings and abilities, magical, supernatural and sometimes indescribable moments of beauty. Through the horrors and pain is the simple beauty of hope. Hope is the magical essence of all humanity. To the end we always have hope. Good Christians should represent hope. Jesus had a whole lot of love and hope for people. He had hope for the Pharisees, the Philistines, the tax collectors, the Romans. His hope was his goodness and love for all man, which led to his priceless sacrifice.

Sacrifice, or denying oneself should be a “good” Christian trait that many do not posses. Recently I attended a 24/7 prayer event with my church. Truly moving. I was not certain what to expect other than I enrolled for two hours of prayer, one hour on two separate days; happily denying myself two hours in the week.  During this time I wanted to become better at my prayer to honor my Father, to have a stronger bond and deepen my faith. My first day for my first hour was the most powerful. I was to pray for those who have wronged me in my life.

WOW.

I was also to make a list.

Double wow.

luke 9:23, theres more to life than meI sat back and thought long and hard of who I was to put on the list. Surprisingly my list was shorter than expected, maybe a handful of people. So I began to pray for them. I prayed for myself in this prayer as well to ask for my forgiveness that had I hand in the maltreatment I would be granted forgiveness and wisdom. Tears burned through my eyes, my jaw clenched as I tried to fight back the tears and I felt a tremendous weight upon my chest. In my quiet I wailed, I exposed my heart and my pain and the brokenness of all of us. My hour brought such understanding to how we as people as a whole should love one another, to accept one another with our faults, our pain, our hurt.

“Getting good with people means getting good with God” (Cal Jernigan). Something truly powerful exists in the acceptance of all people, we don’t have to understand them and in most cases we won’t; but basic acceptance and love for people in their brokenness can bring about peace. Albeit an inner peace, maybe a small step towards peace at large, and above all hope.

no boasting, scripture on not boasting, proverbs 25:14Moreover my sacrifice to deny myself was an acknowledgment that this was NOT about me, life is not about me. Life is about loving God and doing his will. I think Christians lose sight of this fact, they become so engrossed that it is about them and what they are doing, how they will be rewarded. They lose perspective that their movement is about what God is doing through you and with you that should be the focus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil 4:8)

God is not hellfire and brimstone, God is a father, a disciplinarian, a lover, a teacher, guiding us in equality, righteousness and love.

Being a good Christian is truly a holistic action. We are broken, always broken, always sinners. By taking that first step to admit this fact and then following in behind the word of God we can work towards our salvation. By loving all people we can make strides towards being a good Christian. Making sacrifices by denying ourselves for the Kingdom is a true Christian. Acts of kindness, love, selflessness, never abasing others or boasting of our works.

Admittedly I am not a good Christian to the societal standards. I am broken, a sinner. I live a humble life. I am benevolent to the point where my philanthropic heart is richer than my coin purse. I do not pretend to be perfect or righteous and I pray each day for guidance and wisdom. I pray one day that the stigma of being a Christian is eliminated from our world. One day may we end acting like good Christians and starting being Christian, being like Christ, denying ourselves and picking up our cross to follow him. If we could admit its okay to err, our life is okay to be in need of spiritual growth and healing despite “finding God” only in our desperation. If we could admit that its okay to be who we are, no matter our color, race, creed, religion, beliefs, without retribution or vengeance that maybe we all could embrace a bit of the ideal of a true good Christian, a fundamental basis of God and all people in the state of human being.

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I Prayed to Become a Mom

Prayer is a powerful tool, Amen. While I was dressing today, I realized how prayer has really transformed many of my life events. My most recent prayer was to escape the confines of my ever oppressive boss….and then I was fired.  Prayer answered. Needless to say God has a way of keeping us on our toes with answering prayer. I began to timeline my prayers and how God is working in my life and that of my children. Only thinking about this topic as my grandmother posted a wonderful article to my Facebook timeline and from my recent attendance at a women’s conference. Over the years I never really stopped praying. Despite the fact that I did not welcome the divinely love of God and his son Jesus, I still managed to say prayers here and there, you know, being spiritual and karma and all. For years I prayed to become a mom, asking God, very specifically to allow me to become a mom and to be pregnant with twins so that I can “get it over with.”

twins, in utero, twin babiesAs I mentioned earlier, He has a way to keep us on our toes, and specificity plus repetition equals passion. Oh did I have a lot of passion to become a mother. For three years I prayed. I prayed and prayed, I threw pennies in wishing wells, baited those same pleas on falling stars, you name it. Until one day in 2007, many years after I had prayed and after I had already birthed my oldest child, God answered my prayer to become pregnant with twins. God also answered me to become a mother.

I know this makes no sense considering my oldest was toddling and on the verge of entering kindergarten by the time my twins arrived in 2008, but I did not feel like a mother despite carrying him in my belly for ten months and delivering him in 2003.

For those early years I struggled to still be me. I struggled to be a mother. What is being a mom anyway? I changed my sons diapers, I fed him, rocked him, I loved and still love him with all my heart, I provided for him. Somehow I did not feel like I was a mother, I did not feel like mom. Going about my day-to-day I did not dwell on this feeling, but I know it nagged at my soul. Praying for strength, praying for wisdom, praying for the crying to please stop so I can sleep and praying for him to be potty trained so I could stop changing diapers. But those prayers went unanswered, for a bit, because I had the specificity and repetition to ask to become a mother. I asked for twins. I asked to get it over with. As I said, I asked for years because I struggled to get pregnant. God answered my prayer, my many prayers within a prayer.

In 2008 I delivered Seth and Sara via c-section in the throes of cold and flu season. My stint in the hospital was lonely, even though The Chad came to visit I did not have G with me to share in the love and experience of his new siblings. I could not talk with him and I could not share with him all of the happenings. I could feel his fear and sadness on my heart. At that moment I knew I had become a mom. I could feel the love transcend time and space for all three of my children. I knew my place in their life, I knew what they needed, I knew how they felt, I knew their voices, and I knew I was a mother. God answered my prayer to become a mom and to have twins, admittedly one boy and one girl and when I prayed to “get it over with” well that landed squarely on The Chad when he got a vasectomy.

Short of sounding crazy, delivering my twins changed my life in many ways; I stopped acting like a mom and became The Five Fish, Karie Herring, Chad Herringone. I was so busy trying to act like a mom and trying to be a mom. I was not grasping that being a mom, wife, and woman was all one person. I thought I had to sacrifice a part of myself , sacrifice one of those people to be the other. We talk about sacrifice as a parent that we would do anything for our kids, but a selfish part of us cannot let go completely. The sacrifice is that we let go of who we used to be, our former selves before parenthood. My evolution allowed me to let go…completely. I let go the ideal that this was about me and what I did for them and I accepted that this was about Him, them, and what I did for all of us in the name of love. Inconveniences of the kids bickering was not about their fight, but more about what was at the root of the argument between my children. The whining was no longer an inconvenience to my mood, but about showing my kids to speak assertively, stating what they needed and I was here to help fulfill their needs. Respect was no longer about what was right and if they liked the individual, myself included, but respect became about love, that respect is love.

God had a plan for me. His plan was more about self discovery, sacrifice, and above all else love. Today I pray for my children and their plans. I pray that He guides them in His divine plan and that He shows them the same humor he has bestowed upon me. I also pray for other moms. I pray for dads. I pray for those mothers who want to be moms without holding onto who they think they have to be rather than who they are becoming. I pray for those dads to become fathers and love their children without regret. His plan just happened to be different from my plan and the way I prayed to be a mom.

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Double the Cheerios Club Pack

Now that summer has arrived and the kids are home, FULL TIME, have you noticed your grocery bill start to climb? Well you don’t have to feel the pain of the rise in groceries if you are a club member to such stores as Sam’s Club or Costco, to name a few. Being a club member offers perks and benefits to help you save money on your monthly grocery costs.

What’s even better? That buying in bulk helps to save more as well since club stores carry most of the major brands we see and shop for in our standard grocers.

What’s so exciting?

New 2 box Cheerios contains two individual boxes, making them easier to store and easier to pour!
Not to mention…

By reducing the amount of air in each individual bag, these enhanced containers fit 10% more cereal than before and use less packaging. While each box contains more cereal, packaging material has been reduced by over 200,000 lbs, saving 1,000 trees and taking 130 Cheerios trucks of the road, decreasing CO2 emissions
You don’t have to take our word for it, check out all the benefits of new 2 box Cheerios packaging! http://bit.ly/CheeriosNew2Box

New and improved 2 box Cheerios are now available on the shelves of Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s nationwide. (MyBlogSpark.com, 2012)

Now you too can share in the Cheerio’s awesomeness and enter to win (2) Cheerio’s Two Box packs, for a total of (4), yes FOUR boxes of Cheerio’s. What’s even doubly better, is that TWO winners will be chosen to receive:

  • (2) new 2 box Cheerios packaging (four boxes)
So here is how you enter to win:
  • Tell me if you shop at a club store, why or why not? (You must do this before all other entries)
  • Subscribe to my reader
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Tweet this giveaway daily with @KariewithaK #MyBlogSpark
  • Like The Fish on Facebook
  • Share the giveaway on Facebook (Worth 2 entries, every day you share)
  • Blog this giveaway (Worth 5 entries)
  • Comment on a non-giveaway post

Contest ends June 16th @ 2:59am EST.

As always: No Purchase Necessary, available to US residents. One entry per household. US postcard entries also acceptable if you do not have access to the above entry options, no limit to postcard entries as long as all are received before the close of the contest, email contests@thefivefish.com for your postcard entry details or to use email as your postcard entrance as these entries will be logged by the administrator of the blog. Winners will be chosen by “And the Winner is” Failure to adhere to the aforementioned rules set forth by this contest will result in forfeiture of your entry with no notice. Facebook does not promote, endorse, nor sponsor this review and giveaway and will be held harmless. As always, good luck and enjoy. My opinions herein are my own and are no way influenced by the receipt of a free product, they are an honest reflection of myself and my review of the integrity of the product.

“Disclosure: “Disclosure:  Cheerios® cereal, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.” I was provided with a 2 box pack of Cheerios at no cost in order to promote the product and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.”

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Cupcake Taco Recipe

Crunching for time and on the look out for some tasty bites that I know my kids will enjoy, one of my bosses shared this recipe with me, of which I altered to enjoy in my home that, 1) Saves us money and 2) Saves us time. We love Mexican food and my kids love tacos, then add the love of sweets like cupcakes. Fuse the two and you have cupcake tacos. What is better than the love of cupcakes and the love of tacos to get CUPCAKE TACOS!

These tasty beauty bites are fun and great for the whole family. They require so little time and so little efforts. Made with wonton wrappers that you can find in the produce section or the refrigerated section. All you need is a cupcake pan and the following ingredients to make your cupcake tacos:

taco cupcakes, cupcakes, tacos, recipe

  • Ground Turkey (we use free range organic, but you can use ground chicken or beef)
  • 1 package of Won Ton wrappers or Egg Roll wrappers
  • 1 can refried beans (We used 365 Organic refried beans)
  • Chopped cabbage (or lettuce)
  • Diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup of shredded cheese (mexican mix or Colby Jack and Monterey)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the meat, add your favorite seasoning for spice and flair. We like chili powder, chipotle powder, cumin, onion powder, sea salt, fresh ground pepper and cilantro. Set the meat aside.

Take your Won Ton wrappers or eggroll wrappers and mold into cupcake dish. If using the Won Ton wrappers use two and alternate the layers. Layer in the meat and your refried beans until full then top with cheese.

Slide into the oven and bake until the wrappers are golden brown and appear crunchy. Serve warm topped with your favorite veggies.

Using the recipe calculator these yield about 200 calories per cupcake and pack quite the punch with 19 grams or protein. Taco cupcakes can be pre-made and stored in the fridge, make a large batch and stash in the freezer. They are a great addition and cost so little to make. For those picky eaters, they are also fun and taste great.

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Improve your Dental and Oral Health – Natural Dentist

Recently my eldest son and I took a trip to the dentist. Mainly for him. I sadly and truthfully have not visited a dentist in over 18 years for a basic checkup. I know, rather pathetic and sick, but admittedly too my original dentist from my childhood was SUPERB! Really the man could not be beat with chair-side manner and overall demeanor with dental treatment. Added that he was strikingly handsome and smelled wonderful, BONUS. I digress early.

So my son’t visit went well and I returned for my visit and was told that for not visiting the dentist in the amount of time that had passed I had pretty dang good brushing habits, and my trouble spots could be cured with an adjustment of brushing and use of a really good mouth wash. I explained to my dental hygienist that the alcohol based mouth rinses made me gag and I was not a fan of anything that could double as a flame thrower. She explained that alcohol free products are available.

Then I quickly remembered the mouth wash that has been sitting in my kid’s bathroom for the last month.

Yes, I am a failure for receiving a product and not trying immediately and posting. What can I say, I am not a product whore, but I am TOTALLY up to trying out a product I have never bought or never considered buying. That’s just me. I digress, but I have been using the mouthwash daily as an addition to my brushing.

Dentists estimate that 80% of us develop gum disease in our lifetimes, ranging from mild gingivitis to severe periodontitis. If left untreated, however, gum disease may progress to other oral health issues, including tooth loss (it’s the #1 reason for adult tooth loss!). Other studies and experts, including Dr. Oz, have also linked gum disease to heart disease, stroke, breast cancer and respiratory diseases, such as COPD. While it can happen to anyone, the following raise the risk for developing gingivitis:

  • Poor dental hygiene
  • Pregnancy/puberty/menopause (hormonal changes increase the sensitivity of the gums)
  • Uncontrolled diabetes
  • Genetics/family history (30% of general population susceptible to gum disease)
  • Smoking
  • Stress
  • Medications
  • General illness

Gingivitis is due to the long-term effects of plaque deposits, and it is often painless, so bleeding gums may be your only symptom until it has progressed further along (other symptoms are swollen/tender gums, receding gums, and/or persistent bad breath).  Luckily, one of the early warning signs of the gum inflammation IS the bleeding you see when you brush or floss, so it is your body’s way of telling you something’s not right. If you have a family history of this issue or notice bleeding when you brush or floss, you should schedule a dental visit to evaluate your condition, as well as take steps at home by adding The Natural Dentist Healthy Gums Anti-Gingivitis Rinse to your oral care regimen. (Natural Dentist Press Release, 2012 – RL&A)

What most people do not understand is that we sometimes do not always get every crack and crevice when we brush and floss, no matter how hard we try. So adding a mouth wash or rinse to your routine is a great way to help prevent oral health problems and maintain overall great dental and oral health. I really enjoyed the light mint of this mouth wash and that it is completely alcohol free. I have seen folks promote Listerine like it is going out of style, but I might as well wash my mouth with Windex if I wanted a squeaky clean burning feeling.

But I won’t rant on about how awesome this mouth wash is for you or your health, but I am going to allow you to leave me a comment to enter to win this bottle to try out yourself! Just leave me a comment and tell me what is your fear with the dentist or what about your dental health do you want to improve on?

For extra entries you can do the following:

  • Subscribe to my feed
  • Like The Five Fish
  • Follow me on Twitter and tweet daily for increased chances to win! Just @ me so I can see your entry with the link back here.
  • Share this giveaway on Facebook
  • Comment on a recent post
  • Blog this giveaway (worth 3 entries)
  • Enter one of my other giveaways

Contest ends Friday June 1st @ 11:59pm AZ time.

As always: No Purchase Necessary, available to US residents. One entry per household. US postcard entries also acceptable if you do not have access to the above entry options, no limit to postcard entries as long as all are received before the close of the contest, email contests@thefivefish.com for your postcard entry details or to use email as your postcard entrance as these entries will be logged by the administrator of the blog. Winners will be chosen by “And the Winner is” Failure to adhere to the aforementioned rules set forth by this contest will result in forfeiture of your entry with no notice. Facebook does not promote, endorse, nor sponsor this review and giveaway and will be held harmless. As always, good luck and enjoy. My opinions herein are my own and are no way influenced by the receipt of a free product, they are an honest reflection of myself and my review of the integrity of the product.

“Disclosure: I was provided with a bottle of Natural Dentist at no cost in order to promote the product and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.”

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Clorox2 The Stain Fighter

Recently I ran a post about monster stains in laundry. Having three kids I can attest to LOTS of monster stains. Two toddlers, boy and girl, and an eight year old boy are royalty of mess making. Clothing is made to be an extension of a napkin by all means; swipes of the mouth end up on sleeves, hands are stroked against pant legs or right across the chest of a great shirt, usually their hands are a carrier of some “sauce”. Needless to say stains are not uncommon in our laundry chores.

Shortly after my Monster of a Stain post, my demonic, beautiful and adorable daughter was treated to an organic fruit pop of sorts for dessert. It was strawberry or berry of some sort or it was just a mess of melted fruit pop because it was bright red and pink on her cute zebra print dress. The stain was striking against the black and white print. Her brand new dress I was worried would be stained permanently. Or so I thought.

I read the back of the Clorox2 bottle to see how to pretreat the stain so that I could have some chance to salvage her new dress that her grandmother had recently bought for her. Quite frankly it was adorable too so I was going to be as devastated as she if we could not eliminate the staining beast from the dress.

If you look at the dress it truly seemed as if there was no possible way any pretreatment, soaking, or bleaching could save this cute little dress from the rag bin. But I had faith and hoped for the best with her dress since she absolutely loves her fashion.

So I treated the stain and tossed it in for a wash with like colors. Tossed it in the dryer without inspecting whether the stain had come clean or not, again trying everything not to jinx myself.

The end result is pretty impressive and in no way what I expected by any stretch of the imagination. I pictured a dress with a stain outlined or faded lightly that was now maybe a light shade of orange splashed along the front. Instead I was presented with a dress that was free from color fading which can be experienced in pretreatment and a dress that has no resemblance of it’s former stained glory. No faded outlines of a stain, no remnants at all of a stain, I was ecstatic. My daughter was excited, to see her dress stain free and I was the laundry hero. If only she knew, without the help of Clorox2 and cold water I would have never been able to save the dress from her supping a fruit pop. What are your laundry products for fighting monster stains? Do you trust products like Clorox2? Do you use natural remedies like lemon juice or seltzer?

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A SPONSORED POST ON BEHALF OF CLOROX2,  I WAS COMPENSATED FOR MY TIME BY POSTING THIS INFORMATION AND IN NO WAY WERE MY PERSONAL VIEWS COMPROMISED OR ALTERED.

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The Job of Mom

Sweating profusely and panting I watched the closed captioning for the evening news on Fox while riding the bike at the gym. Wholeheartedly giggling at the headline, “Stay at home mom wars.” You have to be kidding me? Now the media and political genre has picked up on the stay at home plight to discredit these women. Here I thought this was only reserved for those bitches who own blogs, yet work outside of the home and have yet been afforded the opportunity to be an in home caregiver for their own spawn.

I watched as the news was delivered, the debates about a certain journalist vomiting of her mouth about how a political game players wife should not be any authority of business decisions and current economic policy because she has never worked a day in her life. Further I giggled that these deplorably, over-educated, imbeciles rattled and spouted off about scenarios they themselves have yet to encounter in their lifetime. Highly entertaining news television for my evening workout as I peddled even more fervently to their idiocy. Women who have not struggled financially, personally in the job and role of motherhood, and who never stayed home a day in their life with their children without “hired help.”

You see I laugh because I have worked in both jobs as a mom, stay at home and work outside the home mom.

My eldest son was the ripe age of seven weeks when I enrolled him into a child care facility while I returned to work. My first week was heart wrenching as I cried each morning as I left him in the care of another woman. Only two and a half years later was I able to have the opportunity to stay at home with him, and soon after,conceive and birth my twins, care for them, see them reach the age of two before again returning to the workforce. My return was not one that was taken lightly and I still struggle.

Viewing myself more now as a provider and not a care giver I am not always feeling the job of mom. The struggling feeling that you are more of the hired help, yielding income to support your family; weekends, week night evenings, and just about any spare time is filled with the maintenance of keeping up a home as well as trying to ensure some form of maternal parenting is provided to our children as a strong foundation into their upbringing. It’s lifestyles like this that have encouraged many stay at home parents to pursue an education from one of the many online accredited colleges. no way am I discrediting my husband for his strong paternal role with our children which is monumental where most households experience the opposite, dad at work and mom at home with the kids. He is a phenomenal father, patient, kind, and a strong force for our sons and our daughter. Something I did not have in my home, and am ever pleased that they have such a loving man in their life.

Being a mom is not easy because we are so universal in our children’s foundation. We are initially the delivery vehicle for birth, to be brought into this world, a food source with the milk of our breasts, we provide comfort, security, love to our crying babes with our soothing delicate voices, our touch, arms to bear, hug, and embrace them. We also make sure to promote our children’s independence, despite our innate sense to always protect our children from harm, we push for them to learn on their own in spite of the struggles we know they will face. A mother should be loving and assertive as to stand her ground on what is right so as to encourage just actions and a moral compass for the future of these young individuals.

Motherhood aside, a “mom” is also a wife, lover, friend, co-worker, employee, woman, girl, child, daughter, sister. So we must learn to balance the motherhood role in life in addition to those roles we have taken on or assumed. I struggle on being a mom, wife, friend, lover, and woman. Not knowing when I can “treat” myself to those moments that were predefined in my life prior to the conception of my children. When can I revisit being a woman. A wife. A lover. If you scoff at this notion, clearly you are unaware of the actions of lumping a husband into the children pool, often emasculating him and issuing forms of discipline and condescension that we inflict because we are so often in “mommy mode.” We forget to be a lover, and embrace our femininity. By doing so does not make us selfish but well rounded, healthy, and aware of who we are and not losing our sense of self.

No matter if the job of mom is staying at home or working outside of the home, we are a mother nonetheless. We just, however, juggle the various roles that accompany our number one job which is being a mom. Loving those unconditionally that we bore of our own flesh and blood, safeguarding in their present and future, and yet pedagogical to foster learnings.

What do you struggle with in the job of mom? Do you sometimes feel a disconnect because you work outside the home? Do you feel a disconnect or lack of appreciation for being a stay at home mom?

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Inns and Outs of Spring Break

For over eight years The Chad and I have been deprived of a REAL vacation. You know the kind where you request paid time off with your employer with that hard earned vacation time that generally get’s paid out on your check. The kind where you actually leave home and relax. Yes, this is the vacation we have been seeking. While we took a small “vacation” to San Diego a few years ago where we treated the kids to a full day at the beach and Legoland, the vacation could be classified more so as a trip. We managed to squeeze in a “mini-vacation” for the kids while The Chad was working in the Southern California area at the time.

This year we vowed to actually take the kids on an adventure vacation in the states. Visiting the beach was definitely on the list and we wanted to do something out of the ordinary. We also wanted to avoid theme parks and canned vacations s at ALL costs. So my Google search began to find unique places to stay and keep within our earthy, love of the outdoors, family style vacation without going too granola. I had found it too, and wish I could recall how I came upon the idea of sleeping in a tee pee. Yes, I said tee pee. As in Native American, triangular, authentic, tee pee. A KOA located in the midst of an agricultural mecca (Ojai) between Santa Barbara and Santa Paula had these fantastic six to eight man tee pee’s to sleep in. “BINGO!” I told myself. Now pitching to The Chad was another task, I knew the kids would buy in, but would The Chad.

My master powers of persuasion were of superior quality in selling this family vacation, out-of-state and pseudo camping. Now we would gain the popular vote of the kids to see if they really wanted to trudge through crowds of cattle at the theme parks, or go camping in a tee pee. Thankfully my kids shared in my granola spirit to enjoy the great outdoors and spend time as a family sans modern technology and instantly gratifying, cartoon infested parks. Now to plan the drive as the camp area was at least an eight hour drive from home and not a journey either of us wanted to take in one shot. So we mapped the half way point which landed us in Palm Springs. Then we had to decide on our stay since it was literally just a midway for us during the vacation and did not have to be anything spectacular. But when I say it did not have to be spectacular it also did not have to mean it lacked ANY and ALL redeeming qualities.

Copyright Days Inn, 2012

I booked our stay at the Days Inn through Hotels.com and considering our past visits with the Days Inn we “assumed” these accomodations would be as convenient and agreeable. Oh how wrong I was! I booked a Deluxe with each stay and the deluxe afforded me the second story, which I specifically requested NOT to be booked. Small children and lugging bags is not deluxe if YOU are the concierge. The room lacked ANY form of caffeine for the early risers. A lot of good the microwave and fridge does me when I need caffeine for my morning beast. The sheets were…clean…if you could call them that. A mascara smear stained on the sheets in the fashion that the previous user received a good ol’ snogging doggy style, presumably. If you wanted to clean up and take a shower, I hope you are at least knee high to a grasshopper, because resting on your knees would afford you the chance to wet and rinse your hair and body, and if you got lucky a scalding, high heat rinse would complete your washing experience as to remove any form of germs on your body followed by an ice showering to close and tighten those aging pores. Finally the “heating and cooling” system, which was similar to a window AC unit a fraternity brother installed. We had to shim the venting with an empty bottle of shampoo in order to circulate any air in the room. Needless to say I was anxious to go camping than I was to be in this shady ass excuse for hotel accommodations. But look at that happy Photoshop family picture and the site boasts the boutique hotel? HOGWASH!!

On the road again and we were KOA bound to roast marshmallows and camp out in a tee pee. We could not be more excited.

% KOA Campgrounds

We arrived at a reasonable time in the afternoon to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the cool of the shade in this little gem outside of Santa Paula and Ojai. Our tee pee was the largest on the property and we plotted out where everything would go, such as our camp stove, sleeping arrangements and we immediately began prepping dinner with cooking filet mignon over the open fire. I ran up to the check in area and wrangled some firewood for the evening in addition to what we scrounged around the camp area. Too busy dealing with the twins who were eager to inspect the public restrooms, which did not exist at the check in, I completely spaced reminding the camp head that we needed our heater for our tee pee which was provided as part of our package. Instead, I became distracted and attempting to distract S & S while waiting for the camp head by shopping the little general store area. Of which I found a cork screw for my bottle of chardonnay. Yes, I digressed, but sought relief in the impending alcohol indulgence. I also bought the firewood, wrangled gnomes, and immediately forgot the propane heater. BANNER!

By this time I had returned to our tee pee and was greeted by the hubs and half throwing the little people out of the car so they could scurry to the bathroom for the urgency to pee that didn’t exist, because they promptly returned to playing. Grrrr. His greeting was, “Forgot the heater huh? Isn’t that the reason you went up to the check in office?” Wanting to cry and kick his ass all at once for 1 – planning this God forsaken trip by myself with little input, 2 – doing ALL the packing for the trip within an hours time before loading humans into the car to depart, and 3 – for not making sure that the gnome sized humans stayed with him so I could focus on getting the goddamned heater. Sighs. After we went around about the cluster fuck situation I just had to deal with, he finally headed up to get the heater, and then returned empty handed. Great. I am sure this will be my fault. At this point I have pretty much said “fuck it” to the remainder of this trip, nothing else could be redeeming, and it pretty much wasn’t.

Freezing our asses off that night ,shortly after the front loaders and earth movers kicked off for the night, which was right around the ripe hour of 7pm we agreed we would not stay another night. The plan to camp in a tee pee was great in theory, but the cascade of events was not worth our trip continuing to take a shit.

The next morning we packed and headed off toVentura, where we stayed in the lovely Marriott Hotel. Which clearly was made for anorexic, petite people because they don’t believe in queen size beds. I won’t bore you further with these details, but the price was stupid for the discomfort, the only redeeming quality, COFFEE. IN. ROOM. Joy and rapture folks, Zip Line, ventura beach park, Ventura beachjoy.and.rapture. The day we arrived we spent basking in the sun on the beach. Which is exactly what we wanted to do, and did, and loved. The kids loved it. They even rode a zip line which is the other reason we chose the camp site we did, for the kids adventure activities. Which were nil and no longer offered during the “week.” LAME. Of course we did not find this out until the evening before checking out where the groundskeeper (who shared in our disdain for the construction on site at our campground) that the kids activities were only on the weekends. But the website said the activities are “always going on.” Details Karie…don’t get stuck on the details.

Our final day we trekked back to Palm Springs and the hell of the Days Inn, where check in is supposedly at 2pm…negative Goose. The check in is at 3pm and we were luck to get a room when we did, since housekeeping was still making rounds. But the next morning they were sure prompt to clean our room at 9am, I mean we didn’t even work up a morning deuce after breakfast before they were dressing the “linens” on the bed. Not to mention the “free continental breakfast” meant waiting in line at the diner on site to obtain coffee and a danish. Classy.

At last the trip came to an end and I could not have been more freaking grateful to be going HOME! That is when you know the vacation is over, when you are ready to be home, go home, and go back to work. Granted, I am excited our family was able to spend some quality time together, I just wish the trip hadn’t felt so royally fucked over. What did I learn for this vacation? Quit doing the cool shit. Talk to your friends. Get outside feedback. Just today I was told about Jalama Beach outside Santa Barbara, where you camp on the beach. We are there for the next trip. Just beach, just family. But overall the kids had fun, and that was ultimately what mattered is that they had a blast. Seeing the muster of peacocks in our campground, roasting marshmallows, playing on the beach and riding the zip line on the beach. Their enjoyment made the hellish event all worth it!

 

 

 

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TAG – Celebrate National Reading Month

Celebrate National Reading Month with TAG and Scholastic!

Use this $3 coupon at your favorite retail store to save on Tag books and start your child’s reading journey!  Visit the link to take advantage of the savings and promote early reading and education in your home.

Save $3 on your purchase of any TAG reading system for $34.99

(Offer good through March 31st, 2012 – Coupon expires June 30, 2012)

Recounting the numerous posts I have about reading would be boring, so let me just share again that reading is an intricate building block in any child and or adults growth and education. As an adult learner I cannot tell you how much I love to read. Even more so for children to put together words, to make sentences, to communicate effectively. My home is a HUGE proponent for early learning and education and when Leap Frog created the TAG reader my son immediately received one and as many books he could stomach. My twins even have the TAG Jr. to engage their young minds from the time they were 18months old.

More than 15 years ago LeapFrog began building its legacy: helping children learn to read. They do this by hiring professionals with design degrees to design new and
innovative products for children. So we’re celebrating this month with Tag, the #1 selling reading system.* It helps children learn to read and more by bringing words and pictures to life—that’s why 99% of teachers recommend Tag!** And the Tag library of 60+ interactive books, maps and more helps build the fundamentals for school success.

*U.S. Source: The NPD Group/Consumer Tracking Service: PS Electronic Learning, Electronic Reading, Toy Brands as defined by LeapFrog in Dollars, Annual 2010. Canada Source: The Nielsen Company, Market Track Closed Group, National Toy Market 2009 (52 weeks ending December 2010). **Based on 2010 survey conducted by LeapFrog of teachers participating in its Tag Kindergarten Program, who received Tag School Reading Systems from LeapFrog for use in their classrooms (LeapFrog & Scholastic Press, 2012)
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A SPONSORED POST ON BEHALF OF TAG-LEAPFROG, I WAS COMPENSATED FOR MY TIME BY POSTING THIS INFORMATION AND IN NO WAY WERE MY PERSONAL VIEWS COMPROMISED OR ALTERED.
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Volvo – Driving Fun in the Sun, European upgrades for American Tastes

Basking in the early morning sun, on what seemed to be an ordinary Saturday, I took a local jaunt to the plush and chic Monteluccia Resort and Spa nestled in the nape of the Camelback Mountain range. My drive into the north valley of Phoenix and center of styling and luxury to meet with the folks of Volvo to drive their newest spawns of vehicular conception. Volvo is a brand synonymous with safety innovation. The history of Volvo was forged between two gentlemen looking to build a vehicle more befitting for the harsh Scandinavian weather and landscape, which speaks volumes to this Arizona native, where harsh climates encompass our entire surrounding. Innovative for their time, Volvo built a vehicle born to withstand rough roads, harsh winters, and using the highest grade, quality steel in the construction of the frame and body.

Today, Volvo is using what is called “High Strain Steel” (North Holbrook, Volvo Media Event, 2012), which is considered the strongest and lightest steel in the industry for both performance and safety. Hence, their safety crumple zones that have inspired other car makers around the world to make such dramatic improvements to their steel cages to reproduce a vehicle with these innovative upgrades. What I found is that Volvo makes cars for people, people are who drive their vehicles, so why not listen to what people have to say about their vehicles. “Thinking of you first,” were the words spoken by North Holbrook, Western Regional Vice President for Volvo as he doled out charismatic and juicy details about Volvo’s rich history in safety and innovation. He further added that the input of current, former, and prospective Volvo owners shape and mold the styling, sport, and luxury of the safest car on the road. Additionally, Volvo has an entire site dedicated to how Volvo’s safety has transcended time and individual lives as everyday owners share compelling stories of how their lives were saved and changed by Volvo.

But enough of the history lesson let’s get to the prime rib and Au gratin of what the Saturday morning with Volvo was really all about.

DRIVING!

Lots of driving and “fun in the sun” as the Volvo crew called it. Shipping in some of the best in fleet for us to drive around the scenic, hectic, and entertaining terrain of the North Scottsdale area of metropolitan Phoenix. This fleet, delivered right off the boat from Sweden to New Jersey and then sent via transport to Scottsdale included the famed C30 coupe, C70 coupe convertible, the S series saloons and XC60 which is a crossover vehicle that can handle the job of an SUV but the styling and luxury of an executive saloon.

C70 Coupe Convertible

I had my heart set for the XC series to test out for some off-road handling (bringing out my inner youth of dirt bikes, 4-wheelers, and off-road 4X4 driving) yet speaking to the responsible parent, in need of an automobile as people mover, with comfort and spaciousness for those trips to Costco. Instead, however, I opted for the C70 convertible as I was enjoying my Saturday morning sans kids. My alter ego, or original self, called loudly as I was presented with the FINAL C70 convertible in the corral of the select Volvo fleet. Though I was leaning to the C30 to have some manual transmission, autoeroticism, pardon the pun, as I shifted through the gears and get a real feel for the Polestar tuning that comes as an upgrade to the Volvo fleet. The C70 could not be resisted in the moderate Arizona spring weather. The C70, also equipped with Polestar, was something to fondle in regard to handling and sport. Polestar is only known for those who may be an astronomer (just Google it) or if you are well versed in the European racing circuit. Polestar has been making high performance racing parts and vehicles in Europe for years and only until just recently has Volvo been able to offer this warrantied and certified (for five factory years as the gents with Polestar boasted) in the US on their line of vehicles. Volvo has been racing sedans and recently added the C30 to the racing family, which was an even more exciting opportunity for me as I pondered heavily upon which vehicle to snuggle with for the day.

C70 Convertible % Volvo Cars US, 2012

Being an Arizona native and not wanting to pass up the rich morning in the sun, and basking in the million dollar weather, I eased in the sexy looking C70 convertible. At first glance this car does not look to be your typical convertible, a two-step, collapsing hard top as I applied one button to motion the top into the spacious boot of this coupe. Silent, and safety again within reach, as I began to drive away, my Volvo began to scream a warning at me. As the Volvo crew ran to my side, I giggled at my doltish behavior as I stopped immediately to acknowledge my convertible top was not completely secure into the boot, hence the screeching of a warning signal. Applying the brake, holding the button down, the dash confirmed with a simple “ding” that the job was  at last complete and I was safe to continue on my drive.

% Monteluccia Resort & Spa, 2012

Easing through the cobble stone parkway of the resort, I pulled out onto Lincoln Drive merging into the ultra exclusive neighborhoods of Paradise Valley. Immersing myself into the luxury of the Volvo I was pleasantly surprised by the elegant feel of the moleskin leather wrapped dash and the affectionately soft, body wrapping seats of this coupe. Getting my driving legs about me and familiarizing myself with my playful options I decided to really see what this Polestar business was all about. I took the car out of the automatic transmission mode and right into a sport shift, jockeying my way through Scottsdale traffic, feeling the turbo-charged 5-cylinder of this coy and misleading Swedish driver. Finding my groove, I found that the rev limiter is rather impressive for this ultra safe coupe, but still yielding an impressive 28mpg highway for those seeking a petrol friendly auto. Needless to say that Volvo puts on a great facade as this beaut was hiding an inner sports vixen waiting to be tested to her limits.

Hugging the road through the desert scene of the McDowell Mountain Range as we made a trek through the urban adventure that Scottsdale, Arizona has to offer, I found that Volvo still had a bit of over-steer when pushed. Definitely a lot of “giddity up and go” as I played with the paddle electronic shift. The C70 had no problems handling and reaching highway speeds, and, when she wanted, felonious speeding, yet still maintaining a level of handling as the over-steer jumped in as what seemed to be Volvo’s safety measures with their vehicles as to not get too aggressive with the Polestar upgrades. However, not too many soccer moms should be pole positioning through traffic when people moving children. Ahem. But I digressed riding solo in this coupe full of styling, fun, sex appeal, and overall safety. Returning to the corral of coupes, saloons, and SUV’s I bid a longing adieu to my morning date.

Energized and literally ready to buy I was truly sold on the Volvo brand. Not knowing anything more about the vehicles history, handling, brand reputation or styling I walked in blind and emerged with foresight of a Volvo coupe in my future as a date night car. Now if I can just convince my better half…let the plotting and mind control begin. (Insert evil, villainous laughter)

Ahem, I digress. I do want to thank Volvo Cars US, their overtly friendly and more than accommodating drive team and staff, the Monteluccia Resort and Spa staff and chef’s providing excellent cuisine, and the Cake Group for an amazing Saturday of fun in the sun with the Volvo team.