In Love with Monave

Another heartfelt holiday season is upon us and while most think that Valentine’s is just a Hallmark holiday, the rest of us like to take the day to truly celebrate love. So our friends at Monave have a very special giveaway to offer:

Think of a special woman in your life: mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter. Do you think you could guess which Monave products she would enjoy? Would you like to surprise her with a lovely gift-wrapped set of whatever Monave products you think she’d enjoy, for Valentine’s Day? If you are game, and want to take the plunge, please email Monave via information@monave.com , and describe a meaningful experience that you’ve had with this special someone. There’s no limit to how much you say. They will pick three winners, based on content, and the winner will choose up to $50.00 worth of Monave products that they think their special someone would love!

Your last day to enter is February 9th so be sure to get our submissions in just in time for Valentine’s Day!

That Love and Feeling

While I would love to serenade you to The Righteous Brother’s I will spare you my lusterless singing ability. But I will share something that piqued me to do this post. I happened to be helping a dear friend who needed to vent and was seriously about to lose her mind, much like the rest of us who are on the brink thanks to motherhood, and I was amazed at the observation she had about a loved one who is very near to delivering a baby. Mind you moms….a baby. An innocent, new car smell, bundle of peeing, pooping, boobie loving joy.

My friend told me how she thinks her dear loved one appears to not in anyway be attached to her unborn child. I was speechless. Seriously almost stupefied. But a comment and observation such as this is not the first to put me in the blond woman trance.

When I delivered the twins my mother made an astonishing remark to me the day they were born that forever lives in me; “How does it feel? Is it any different?” Okay is what different because I had a C-section so yeah that was different to have someone play with my uterus from the outside in AND I could feel the “tugging” which really freaked me the hell out. Plus the whole catheter thing…can you say GROSS! She continued to say, “Do you love them both…exactly the same, no more no less, you just love them?”

The amazing thing with carrying any child is that as a soon to be mother you truly either have that love and feeling or you don’t. You either build a primal, instinctive bond with your unborn child or you do not. I am a firm believer that although women were given a uterus that does not mean they were given the ability to love and rear a child…well rear yes, love and feeling, no. I also feel that some women are just incapable of those feelings on a higher plane period.

My pregnancy with Grant was amazing and I took so much for granted at first, but at about six to seven months when I really began to show and his kicks grew in intensity and my co-workers saw me flinch all of the sudden my belly was an alter of love. My friends and co-workers would flock to touch my belly, feel Grant kick, I knew I was beaming because I was so blessed with the creation of life inside of my body. I could feel these kicks and turns and hiccups ALL the time. To watch their faces was such a blessing, that I should cherish my pregnancy in spite of the heartburn, constipation, wetting my pants, cravings and awkward sex. A moment that these people, who were caressing my stomach like a love ball would not understand, and I needed to forget all my woes as I watched how my audience was in awe at my creation of life.

Now the twins…well…my reaction to finding out about my pregnancy spoke volumes as to my utter excitement. I had an almost acrimonious attitude, albeit I was delighted to be pregnant and that I was bound for a healthy pregnancy, but the thought of two individuals invading a very small space of real estate that is my uterus was less than a stellar thought. Once I went through my stages of grief in a rather swift fashion I was excited and I knew this pregnancy was a challenge.

The experience was all of a challenge. Carrying two healthy babies to almost full term and by not suffering from any illnesses or gestational induced diseases I had won the battle. But above all the experience was phenomenal. To feel two distinct individuals kicking, hiccuping, moving, I wanted to pet them, and so I did. I would spend hours rubbing my bulbous midsection that almost seemed alien-like. I would talk to them, sing, have big brother do the same and have him feel all that I felt, I was captivated by this pregnancy.

So upon their arrival I knew at that moment, that I heard each cry that I knew I loved these children. When Grant was born, I was overcome, I was wrought with emotion and did not want to let my baby go, ever! With the twins I was much the same and yet felt so hopeless lying on an operating table, fully lucid, unable to reach and hold my children, unable to unleash my raw emotion of birth. For hours I waited for them, waiting to hear and see them, hear more of their cry’s to know they are mine.

Finally when I was allowed the opportunity to hold them and see them I was hypnotized. I just looked at the two of them. In awe. They are mine. I did it and I just wanted to trace their faces with my finger and look at each tiny finger and toe as I had cherished so much with the birth of Grant. I broke down, overcome by the love so easily disbursed to these two tiny people. So when my mother asked me if I could love the two of them equally, just as I could one, I should have taken more sensitivity, because who wouldn’t love the two, equally and unconditionally.

But I can see now how the love for a child is so individual, how the love and feeling for a child or unborn child still in utero is based on the mother and the primal bond that either exists or it doesn’t. I truly feel for those who are incapable of loving a child in that way or unable to love any child for that matter, maybe a lot has to do with age, but I can say that the feeling of seeing your children for the first time after such a long gestation is something to be treasured, and one I feel each and everyday I see them. Regardless of the messes they make, the back talking, the fits, the absolute disasters and embarrassments I can still look at them and be hypnotized by that love and feeling.

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I Suck as a Mom

Not only do I suck as a mother…but just about every other uterus that has hosted the parasite child and or children that we love today is a suck-tatstic mom. I know…how dare I say you suck as a mom. Well admit..you do! Hell, all those ass hats who CLEARLY think they are such great human beings that camp out on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, in the “Self Help” section of Barnes and Noble, you know they MUST be better mothers, fathers, parent’s right? Look where you can find them.

Wrong. Here is why they can eat rat heads and suck a goat’s ass. Our parenting skills are courtesy of our parents with a twist, we take what we learn from them and put our twang into parenting. Think of it as a cubre libre, a rum and coke…with a lime. We aren’t given the master manual of how to raise our children to June Cleaver standards, which I am still researching, I believe June was flawed and…I know that if you are given a nickname like “Beaver” you are bound for fricking therapy!

I was talking with The Chad today about my blog. I told him I was so happy to take a step back, to see where I was, to look at the kids again in a different light and before I knew it we were discussing my book. Yes. A book. My book. The book I am writing based on the fact that I am a parenting expert who knows diddly shit! Just like all the other diddly shit knowing parents out there. We talked so much about all the funnies from our early parenting days with Grant. Simple items like ‘How to Feed Your Child.’ Sounds easy right? Wrong. If you were like us, we fed the poor boy until he puked. Yup. Projectile, overfilled the damn tank like they tell you not to do at the gas station, mistake of over feeding our kid. How were we to know? He just kept going….so we rooted him on like any good parent watching their child at a hot dog eating contest. Until we got the Poltergeist effect of formula hurled onto us with a projectile reach of at least five feet. Good form Grant baby….all over me AND dad.

We make mistakes. Lots of mistakes. Mistakes are not bad, mistakes are meant to be lessons to be learned. I look at mistakes as information that was mis – tooken. Yes, I mistook the information to be correct. I was not necessarily wrong, just an err. By looking at my mistake as a simple err rather than a brow beating incident that would result in endless mommy guilt that I would inevitably take out on my child who would take out on their child and we all would end up on Jerry Springer in therapy.

Being a parent is the hardest job on Earth. Our training sucks, the vacation time only gets better after 15 years of service (maybe less), the pay is wet and sloppy (but hey…I will take kisses any day of the week), and the hours are a bitch (Parenting gives a new meaning to the “graveyard” shift). So before you swing your royal gavel about being a parent or someone else’s parenting skills, take a step back and remember you may be pointing one finger at them. But you have at least three pointing back at YOU! Each of us that are parents do what we can with the tools we are given and we can build a bridge or we can build a fortress. Parenting is like a flower with each petal, each bloom, and each dormancy a new chapter in how we shape our children and ourselves. Making mistakes and learning from them is all the fun of looking back at how we have flowered, bloomed, and how we pollinated with beautiful people for whom we call our children.

Do your best, love your kids, and know that you are doing your best with what you know at THAT moment in time, in your life, and that you did and will continue to do right by your children and yourself. Because I know that I can look at my kids and know that I am not perfect, but I love each one of my children perfectly, no one can change that and no one can tell me how to raise them or love them.

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The Perfect Nursery from QTips

Each of my pregnancies is so rich in my mind. I can remember each one of them so vividly and how I planned out the layout of the nursery, the bedding, the window coverings, pictures, how I would arrange the diapers, my planning was impeccable. However, when the time came with my first I was frozen as to how to put the basics together with diapers, wipes, the essential baby needs.

By the time the twins came around I knew I was prepared. Celebrity nursery designer Wendy Bellissimo suggests that neutral colors be chosen if you are going to be “surprised” by the sex of your baby, store essentials like Vaseline, diaper cream, rubbing alcohol and Q Tips and hold off on the paint. She confirmed everything I had setup and planned in my double nursery with the twins. I knew I could not be over prepared with this double whammy of a blessing.

The new Q Tips packaging is stylish and sleek for any nursery with the slide out box, neutral colors, and fun themes. The new boxes also allow for safe storage of your Q Tips to protect the integrity as well as protect your baby. Q Tips are great for applying ointments in a delicate manner, cleaning baby’s delicate areas (umbilical cord), and for small cleaning of your baby such as outer ear, behind the folds of your baby’s ear, and other delicate areas. **When cleaning a baby’s ear you should never enter the ear canal as to avoid damage to the ear.

In addition to preparing the nursery with essentials why not add style and functionality. Yes…items can be both functional and stylish! Not to mention some fun accesories for your child to enjoy as he or she grows into their space. Fun accesories like pictures, keepsakes, and of course the all famed piggy bank!

The folks at Mom Select sent me a two pack of Q Tips and a stylish elephant piggy bank to enjoy and to share with you my readers! Yes, you can add Q Tips and the adorable piggy bank to your nursery or someone you know who will be creating their nursery. I know my nursery is now toddler territory and I am also the donations coordinator for my twin mom organization so I am donating my Q Tips and bank for one of the new expecting moms in the club to enjoy!

How can you win this gift pack of Q Tips and the stylish elephant bank? Tell me the various uses you have for Q Tips in your home, car, for your children or tell me who can put these items to good use!

Extra Entries:

  • Follow my blog and tell me you do
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Tweet this giveaway and attend the party on Twitter: Get nursery ready with this giveaway #QTipsBaby and @Kariewithak http://bit.ly/c3ZAgd
  • Where? Twitter February 4th @ 8pm EST
  • Who? @ResourcefulMom @MomTalkRadio @MomSelectAmy
  • What? #QtipsBaby
  • Subscribe to my feed
  • Fan The Fish on Facebook
  • Email a friend (worth 2 entries)
  • Blog this giveaway (worth 5 entries)
  • Grab my button (worth 2 entries) and tell me where you have it posted.
CONTEST ENDS FEBRUARY 6TH @ 11:59PM ARIZONA TIME
Best of luck!

The Fish Out of Water

Goodbye is the healthiest action anyone can take when looking to end something. Everything truly comes to an end whether we realize the situation or not. I love to say goodbye. Closure. Finito. My finale. A closed chapter per se.

I am a soul seeker, I look for answers and when I am faced with numerous options and not the definitive answer I do what all people do…NOTHING. Why? Why act on emotion and the unknowing, why act on the drama of a three act play waiting for the curtain call only the curtains never do call.

I stated that I started my blog with specific intentions, my outlet, my freedom to express what life is like in my home (world), with my children, myself, and my husband. By no means am I saying I am “special” or a chosen one but just a socialite stay at home mom, housewife and former career woman who can share the angst’s of life and that we are not alone in our feelings, our momentary insanity, our trials in parenthood, our failures and successes as individuals in our many roles. My blog began to take a fun turn….reviews, giveaways, contests, Oh my! I was Dorothy traveling the yellow brick road, I was off to see the wonderful wizard of blogs. Only I felt more like Alice tripping down a rabbit hole, only that rabbit hole was laced with LSD and bad trips.

Taking a step back allowed and still allows me an insight into the world of “blogging” and the interaction in “social media.” What I find completely interesting is the dynamics in this virtual and alternate reality. I also saw a side of myself I did not like, someone I was morphing into that was not me. Even “me” wasn’t me anymore as I watched bits here and there of my soul being chipped away by those who could take my good heart and genuine sincerity and deplete my reserves, little by little. I watched as COMPLETE strangers made character assassinations in a weak and pathetic attempt to gain an advantage. One I can now look at and laugh hysterically at the sheer pain, anger, and rage pent up in such individuals to attack someone at such a level. Truly a sad, sad day for them in their actions, and an even prouder day for me…that I can take pity on their wretched souls as they burn from the inside out. Taking a step back allows for total and complete reflection, removing oneself from the aquarium.

Continuing on my path I would have morphed into the juggernaut of blogs. A completely destructive force to myself, my family, and those around me creating a catastrophic area of effect. Supernova is what comes to mind. A bright star becoming so consumed with itself burning into oblivion. What would be the purpose? Sure I could go forth and monetize my blog, become a “top mom blogger,” get great invites, go on trips, and then what? Really what is the next level? Total world domination. Why? What would be the reason? Is that really my goal? Is that really what I want? Nope. Why not you ask?

My goal has and will always be law school. I was a born negotiator, mediator, and royal piss you the fuck off because I am ALWAYS right kind of person. My goal is to continue to be the best, happiest, healthiest mom to my kids and so they learn what took me well into my 30s to figure out. My goal is to be a fabulous socialite wife and lover to my husband. My goal is to continue to be a strong and awesome friend, sister, and overall real deal of a human being, to continue to be true to myself and those around me.

Sometimes in life we become so engulfed in what we are doing, where we are going, who we are sharing with that we tear down the walls we had built with precision to protect ourselves from our own demise. Then we are entrenched into our situation we are blinded, almost delusional because our view of reality is so obtuse. Boundaries are created for a reason and if we do not respect or realize our own boundaries, no one else will either. Reaching center allows you to survey everything and take inventory.

Until We Meet Again

Tonight I had a come to God with myself and a few comments made on my blog made me realize that my life has been a little too consumed by this blog. My life is more than a blog, than this blog. I will be fulfilling my commitments because that is who I am, but I have let these commitments take a hold of me more than I had intended. My blog was meant to be my release, my space, and now my space has been damaged. I let too many things, people, and events consume me personally with my life and my time. I am taking time to re-evaluate, you can email me if you need. As I said I will be fulfilling commitments and obligations. My regards until we meet again.

Karie

Fleet Fiber Gummies

While we are still in January I wanted to bring this product to your attention and promote awareness that January is National Fiber Focus Month. Fiber. So many cringe at the sound of the word. When you think of fiber you tend to think elderly, those nasty food additives, or worse, the flavor lacking food that resembles the taste of cardboard.

But did you know that fiber is essential for a healthy diet, weight loss, blood sugar maintenance, and digestive health? However, our children don’t have to worry about this right? Wrong. Last year the American Academy of Pediatrics increased the recommended daily fiber intake standards. Especially because our lives have been so consumed with time or lack thereof and over scheduling our kids are not always receiving adequate intake in their meals, so many parents head for the drive through window because of time and convenience.

twins, salad, Karie Herring, Thefivefish.com

Foods that are naturally rich in fiber, apples, breads, rice, salad, green vegetables, just about everything that is a plant of sorts is rich in fiber for your diet. So what if your kids are like everyone else’s kids and they will not eat the green leafy goodness that helps us feel full, promotes digestive health, and tastes great? Why not a supplement?

(If you are curious those are my kids. Eating chicken salads. Yes, chicken chunks in a green salad. I am lucky with their eating habits.)

Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies from Fleet are a great way to help your kids stay regular and get their daily dose of fiber in their diet. The gummies are a cute penguin shape and best of all they are sugar free, calorie free, AND gluten free. Recommended for children ages 2-11 to maintain better digestive health, three gummies a day are equivalent to a half cup of broccoli.

Now if you are not sold or sure on the supplement visit the Fiber Gummies site to get some great ideas on how to incorporate foods (such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains) into your child’s diet and even get a $1.00 off coupon to buy a bottle of fiber gummies. Or if you don’t want to buy them, try to win a bottle here on this blog.

Tell me what you do to get your kids to eat veggies? Do you hide it in their foods? What creative way do you try to get your kids to eat veggies? Leave me a comment and tell me.

Extra Entries:

  • Follow my blog and tell me you do
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Tweet this giveaway with daily Tweet entries available: Enter to win Fiber Gummie Supplement with @KariewithaK https://thefivefish.com Ends 2/4
  • Subscribe to my feed and tell me you do
  • Fan The Fish on Facebook
  • Fan Fiber Gummies on Facebook and get all the updates, sweet deals, and meal ideas!
  • Buy a package of Fiber Gummies (email me a copy of your receipt dated after the date of this post for credit) Worth 10 Entries!
  • Blog this giveaway (worth 5 entries)
CONTEST ENDS FEBRUARY 4TH 2010@ 11:59PM ARIZONA TIME
Best of luck!
*The Five Fish received a package of Fiber Gummies to review. In no way does this review intend to diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and in no way represent any medical expertise.

Savings in Online Shopping

Now days who really wants to sift through endless ads and drive from store to store when looking to compare shopping prices. When I set out to do any sort of shopping I am looking for a handful of factors in the ideal product with the main factor being price. I then look at comparable options from one product to the next, then availability, quality of the product, and again back to price.

The Chad and I had remodeled our kitchen roughly five years ago and I sorted through catalog after catalog and new home magazine after the next trying to build the perfect kitchen in my head. We finally came up with a fabulous idea for our kitchen and we set out to shop initially for the cabinets, and in hind sight probably should have shopped online first, but managed to settle at our local home improvement warehouse.The two of us also knew we have to stay within a budget so again, price was a factor in our purchases and project. But we also did not want to sacrifice quality in price.

However, the appliances were a completely different story than the cabinets, appliances were virtually everywhere online. We knew that a great deal of online stores carried a vast array of products and we sought out the best shopping deals around by first shopping online. I knew in my kitchen I wanted a built-in refrigerator, but built-in appliances could mean trouble if they broke as the cabinets may be damaged or cut into in the event of an unforeseen repair, thus increasing overall cost for a favored product. So I began to shop for traditional refrigerators and in my quest I came across my dream appliances.

I found everything from the small counter top appliances, to specialized products like built in wine-coolers and of course the mother of all appliances, I found my refrigerator with matching freezer, built-in wall oven, glass cook top, dishwasher, and of course a free-standing kitchen hood. My kitchen is definitely a shining light with the stainless steel free-standing kitchen hood, fullsize stand alone freezer and full size stand alone refrigerator.
By shopping online, we were able to find the best shopping deals, price compare to local stores, and we were able to determine our total savings and stay within our budget during the kitchen remodel.

Ever since our kitchen remodel I shop online first before I even leave the house to shop in a traditional store. I want to know I am getting the most for my dollar no matter what products I may be in the market to purchase. By shopping online I was able to save thousands of dollars on my appliances, so even if I can shop online and save even a fraction of that number I am more than satisfied.
*Sponsored post, however, all the content here within is my first hand experience and was not influenced in anyway by this post.

The Hat Diva

This little girl is something. She is overly independent, knows exactly what she wants all the time, demands it, is ornery as all get out, gorgeous, loving when she wants to be, and has her tender moments and of course she is bossy. Man, she is her mother’s daughter. But I love shoes….she loves hats, I will forgive her when I see her at Churchill Downs donning the biggest, most fabulous hat ever while sipping a mint julep.

Until then, I will enjoy these precious moments with my baby girl. Some days I cannot get over how beautiful this little girl is and she is all mine! Best of all, she plays in the mud, water, and loves to say shit…or is it ship…or chip…either way she is one of a kind and all mine. My Little Bitty, Hat Diva.

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Questions About Taxes: Mrs. Fish Thursday Tips and Tricks

So I want to bring back the old slave of my mind…put her to work for you. I am hearing buzzing about taxes? Home mortgages? Tax credits? Current homeowner tax credits? Oh you didn’t know about that one…ah yes…I will share more! Blog ad payments, review items are they counted towards income, what can you write off, what can you not write off on your taxes? Believe me….I have been audited for NOT claiming everything so I can tell you what is what on your taxes BEFORE you go to your overpaid CPA or worse…GASP….H&R Block. Getting prepared for your taxes is a snap. Bring me your questions.

Throw me all your questions.  I will….cram all of my answers into FIVE minutes of vlog time for next Thursday. Seriously any money, purchase, credit, whatever question you have I HAVE an answer. Could be any question, let’s make this fun too ya know?

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