Ipsy Glambag Review December 2013

So this is a first.  My poor baby Dragon woke up with a bad cough this morning, so he's staying home from preschool today.  Which means I'm writing this post with him laying on my right arm.  Of course, I'm blaming any and all typos on him.  Kidding!  I have to admit, I haven't been keeping very good track of my subs this month, with all of the holiday excitement they just keep slipping my mind!  So I was happily surprised to see my Ipsy bag in my mailbox yesterday!

I did have enough presence of mind to check my GlamRoom when it went live, so I already had some idea of what I was getting.  And I tell you what, when I saw that I was getting ANOTHER pair of fake lashes I about went bonkers.  I was soooo ready to come on here and whine about another freakin' mascara/black eyeliner/red lipstick/pair of lashes... you know, like I do.  But then I made a little discovery...   I went on my profile page on Ipsy.com and started looking through all the looks and items I'd "loved".  Well guess what?  Back when I was a new subscriber, I went through and "loved" a whole bunch of vintage/bombshell looks, and guess what they all had in common?  Red lipstick! Black eyeliner!  False lashes!  MASCARA!!!  Here I've been complaining about getting these items constantly, and I had basically told Ipsy that they were my favorite thing!  So I went back through (no easy feat - the Ipsy website is hard to navigate and slow to load!) and "unloved" all of those looks AND  the products used to make them, and then I searched out the items I wanted - perfumes! nail polish! pastel eyeshadows! Mauve/berry lipsticks!  and showed them some love!

Yes, there was a point to my little rant there.  If you are an Ipsy subscriber, and constantly getting items that you don't want, please go through your profile page, click on the looks you've "loved", and make sure that those looks don't have products tagged that you don't want!  Another thing I did was go through my Glam Rooms for all my past bags.  If there was an item I wanted, but didn't get, I clicked on it and "loved'" it.  I can't wait to see how this affects my future bags!  A lot of people claim that the bags are random, but I think they do use some sort of algorithm.  Now, this is all speculation on my part - I have no inside knowledge (unfortunately!).  But I have found that the looks and products you "love" tend to have a lot more of an effect than the stylist quiz you take when you sign up.

I know, I know, I always make you guys sit through a huge lecture before showing you the bag.  I'm sorry, I'm JUST TRYING TO HELP.  I swear.  Here you are, my impatient darlings!

Ta-Da!

Ok, first of all, I am going to apologize for these pics.  It was just above freezing, my deck was soaking wet from rain earlier that day, and the sun was at a weird angle.  I did my best.

First of all, the bag this month:

Cute, right?  Quilted black pleather, lined with red satin-y material.  Definitely not my current personal taste (although 22-year-old me would have loved it!), but it's definitely better than last month's gold-and-hot-pink travesty.  I really wish they would do more bags like the May 2013 bag.  That was just gorgeous!

The first item from this month was from Be A Bombshell.  But wait!  Didn't we just get a lip pencil from them last month?  Why yes, we did!  (Sidenote:  I was able to trade for the Shameless (berry) color after receiving Hot Damn (bright red).  It's so awesomely gorgeous!)  The item for this month is something called "The One Stick" ($14), and it's a creamy product that can be used as a lipstick, blush, or eyeshadow.  I was hoping for a good lip color, and I was NOT disappointed!  Flustered is a very pretty, sparkly, reddish berry color that I will definitely use as a lipstick and a blush.  Not so much an eyeshadow.

I know, it's washed out.  Keep scrolling down for swatches!

The next item was going to be either a J. Cat lip pencil ($3.99) or a NYX lipstick ($4).  I haven't had the best luck with J. Cat (glitter palette and zombie-flesh colored lipstick.  Meh.), so I was very happy to see an NYX lipstick - in the color "Goddess", no less!  Haha it's like they KNOW me!  Goddess is a great light neutral color, but I do have to apply it sheerly or it turns a weird brownish shade.  However, if I put it on lightly and blot it down, it's perfect for that "no-makeup" look!  You know that look... when you don't want to put on a whole face of makeup, but you don't want to end up on the "People of Walmart" page?  Yeah, it's perfect for that.

"We guarantee you won't show up on People of Walmart"
 is a great advertising slogan! Right, NYX? RIGHT!?

And since the pics are so washed out, here are some swatches on my arm.  The first pic is in sunlight, the second in shade, and both are just one pass over my arm.

The third item is a Pop Beauty eyeshadow trio ($7.20).  The other item we've received from them, a lip crayon, wasn't my favorite, as it was very sheerly pigmented.  I've heard much better things about the eyeshadow, but the problem is I got the trio in black & white, and I already have SEVERAL black eyeshadows!  I mean, I have more than several brown shadows, but they're all different!  I swear!  Thankfully, I've set up a swap for the neutral trio.  I will try to remember to post pics and swatches when it arrives!

So pretty, but so not what I wanted!

Next, can I say how happy I am that Ipsy finally realized I love indie products!  They sent out a mini polish by Starrily this month called Bzzz Bzzz ($5).  I adore indie polishes and I was so glad to try one... til I saw the color!  I actually have a polish almost exactly like it!  HOWEVER!  You know I will always find a solution.  This polish was pretty high up in wanted items on the trade board this month, and I was able to trade it for an English Laundry perfume sample.  Actually, 2 samples.  The set Ipsy sent included a men's and women's cologne, so I'm even getting something for the hubby in my trade!  Yay!  (Question of the Day - is it pretentious for a couple to wear matching colognes?  i.e. Acqua di Gio and Acqua di Goia? I find it adorable, but I want to hear what you think!)  So here's a pic of the polish, but wave bye-bye, cause it's leaving soon!  Don't worry, it has a travel buddy.  The wonderful lady who is trading her perfume to me is the same wonderful lady trading the Pop Beauty trio!  Yay multi-item trades!

Bye Bye Bzzz Bzzz!

The last item - lashes.  By Andrea. ($5) Le sigh.

And that brings us to the end of this month's bag.  Was I overwhelmed with joy?  Nah.  That hasn't happened since August.  I am more hopeful now that I discovered my epic bombshell mistake and have hopefully fixed my preferences on the Ipsy site!  My bag was worth $35.20 this month, which is actually one of the lower-valued bags I've received! I do still think this is an awesome investment for my $10/month (plus a few bucks for shipping my trades), and if you agree, feel free to use my Ipsy link to sign up!  I'm getting closer to 1000 points, and I can only hope that they have some Beauty Blenders left once I get there for my points prize!

I hope you're having a fabulous day!  FYI, Dragon has finally gotten off my arm.  He's watching a Lego Batman movie right now and it's taking all of his concentration.  Normally, I restrict Knight and Dragon's TV time, but I'm a firm believer that when you're sick, you should be spoiled.  Even if Lego Batman drives Mommy nuts and she has to go write a blog post to distract herself.

Ah yes, the disclaimer.  I do have affiliate links - just the hyperlinks with the word "Ipsy".  All company product pages are simply links to the pages, with no benefits to myself.  Darn it.

Lifeway Kefir Review (Influenster)

How are you beating the summer heat?  A/C? Fans?  Lots and lots of ice cream?  I tend to go for the last option, even though it packs on those pounds!

Thankfully, Influenster (love those guys!) helped me find a better frozen treat this summer... Lifeway Kefir!  What is kefir, you say?  (Don't worry, I had the same question!)  It's a lot like yogurt, but there's a different fermentation process, and kefir has an increased amount of probiotics.  For more information, check out this explanation from Oprah's website... apparently it's a superfood!

Oh, and for what it's worth, here's the definition from the back of one of Lifeway's product boxes:  "What is Kefir?  With an army of good bugs to kick the bad bugs out of your belly, Kefir is a supercharged cousin of yogurt.  Creamy and tart, it makes a delicious drink or frozen snack.  Try some today and see why folks have been enjoying Kefir for thousands of years!"

Kefir comes in many different forms, and I've actually tried their kefir that comes in pouches - it's marketed towards kids, and it's called ProBugs.  We got the Orange Creamy Crawler flavor.  My kids weren't too fond of it - they didn't like the tangy flavor.  However my husband was happy to suck down the rest of the pouches!

I really liked the health benefits, and decided to find a form of kefir that my kids would eat!  And that's where Influenster stepped in, by offering me a coupon for a free Lifeway product of my choice!  Well, sure!  And thanks!

So off I went to the grocery store, and devoted myself towards finding the perfect kefir snack.  I decided to stick with their ProBugs line (marketed towards children) so out went most of the kefir drinks, pouches, and frozen items - although the frozen Tart and Tangy Kefir in Pumpkin is ON MY LIST.  And then it hit me - FROZEN KEFIR!  It's like ice cream!  And sure enough, they had ProBugs Frozen Kefir in Strawnana Split!

*Cue the Trumpets of Victory!*

For Knight, it was love at first lick.  He will eat these things all day!  And guess what?  My picky eater... my won't touch veggies, hates fresh fruit, would happily survive on chicken nuggets and goldfish crackers, Mr. Dragon himself?  He likes it!  He really likes it!  Ok, he'll eat about half of a kefir pop (and then I get the rest!).  Which makes me so happy.  This crazy kid will rarely touch anything healthy, so it's a total win if he'll try something new.

Kefir pop for one, madame?

And of course, being a good mom, I checked out the nutrition panel.  Only half a gram of fat, 70 calories, and 13g of carbs per pop.  It also has 3g protein and 10% of the daily calcium recommendation.  I will be putting the "good tummy bugs" part to the test once the kids go back to school.  I know that school is just a giant petri dish of germs, and Dragon is particularly susceptible to tummy bugs.  If these little tubes of awesome get me through a school year without me having to pick up a pukey kid, they will be officially worth their weight in gold!

Give Dragon ALL THE KEFIR!

Thanks for listening, and putting up with my whacky photo captions.  As always, the products I receive from Influenster are complimentary.  My reviews are completely honest, and I receive no compensation for them from either Influenster or Lifeway Kefir.  If you've had any experience (good OR bad!) with kefir, please share in the comments below!

Stay awesome!

Thursday Thoughts

Whee, it's Thursday!  Time for my thoughts!  Linking up as always through the fantastic Jen from Ramblings of a Suburban Mom.  My thoughts should be much more coherent today, as it has FINALLY cooled down a bit around here!  And by a bit, I mean over 10 degrees.  Highs have been in the mid-to-low 90s lately, and a huge rainstorm last night cooled it off to about 76 for today.  And you can bet that EVERY window in the house is open, and every fan is on!  I'm a notorious cheapskate about our A/C, so getting the chance to cool the house down for *free* is making me quite ecstatic!  And it's making my thoughts so much clearer! So, what AM I thinking about today?  Well...

- It's hilarious how much Dragon looks like a little-boy version of Jim Morrison.  Of course it doesn't help that we let his brown, slightly curly hair grow long and shaggy.  I just sent my hubby a pic text of Dragon, shirtless, wearing a 70s-ish beaded necklace, with a somber expression on his face.  I captioned it "Jim Morrison says 'Hi!'"

- Thankfully, he doesn't act like Jim Morrison (...yet?).  He's currently running around the living room, pretending to be a chicken.  Flapping his arms, pecking at the floor, the walls, and (occasionally) his older brother.  So adorable!  Knight just tolerates it, rolls his eyes, and moves on.  He's almost 6, so he's starting to realize what "being cool" means, and that rolling around pecking at the floor is *not* cool!

- My hubby's foot is healed!  He had one of his last podiatry appointments yesterday, and they couldn't even find where it was originally broken on the X-ray!  He's been given the all-clear to go back to training as hard as he wants, which is awesome because his job is very physically demanding.  Also, because working out is his stress relief, he's been a total BEAR for the past few months while it heals.  Love you, babe!

- I'M A WINNAH!!! Just found out I'm one of the Brand Challenge Winners for Influenster's Palmolive Program.  So not only did I get to try 2 full size bottles of dish soap FOR FREE (ok, 1.5 bottles.  They had some shipping issues... feel free to check out my original post on it!) but now I'm getting more soap, Broadway Press-On Nails (tried these in the Spring Fever Voxbox and really liked them!) AND SinfulColors Nail Polish!  So stoked.  And I needed some good news, because...

- Our second car is in the shop.  It has pretty much not been functional for about a year now (it ran, just NOT WELL).  And when my hubby was away for his job for several months, I kind of just put off dealing with it.  Well, now that school is starting again soon, we absolutely need two working vehicles!  So... pray, send good karma, happy vibes, whatever, that the repair bill won't be *too* much (of course, it will be.  But I can hope).

So, that's what's on my mind today.  Next time I'll try to have some more upbeat and frivolous thoughts! Oh, and I will have a swatch post of fun eyeshadow pigments from Notoriously Morbid coming soon!

Have a fabulous day!

Thursday Thoughts

Whoo!  First Thursday Thoughts since getting home from visiting family/vaca for 3 weeks!  I missed you all!  And I know you missed me too... hahaha!!!

Sooo.... What's on my mind today?

-  My mom is traveling right now, so I'm worried.  She's amazing, and I know she'll get through it just fine, but you know... I just always worry.  She's my Mommy.  Safe Travels, Mom!

- I *LOVE* getting boxes again!  It was actually kind of hard not getting mail for 3 weeks!  I did have a few deliveries, in fact one of them was thanks to Jennifer at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom!  (Yup... the awesome host of this linkup!)  I always try to enter her giveaways because she has amazing ones, and I managed to WIN a June PopSugar box!  I know I already posted about winning in my last Thursday Thoughts post, but it's so much better now that I have the box in my happy little hands!  The scarf... oh, the scarf!  I am loving every item in the box, so thank you SO MUCH to Jen for the giveaway!

- I just found out that the boys are going back to school on August 19th.  Am I the only one that thinks this is incredibly early?  Knight will actually get to have his birthday at school! I never thought that would happen! Oh well... hopefully no one will hate me for sending in cupcakes the first week of school.  The upside is they'll have a full two weeks at Christmas, and they'll be out by June 4th.  Should be an interesting school year!

- I actually have most of the back-to-school-supplies shopping done!  We were at Wal-mart the other night (not my favorite, but hey) and saw their $0.50 packs of crayons, and remembered they were on the list for Knight!  I pulled up the boys' back-to-school lists on my phone, and started throwing pencils, crayons, glue sticks, and notebooks in the cart.  Now my question for you all is... how many glue sticks would you reasonably expect a 1st-grader to go through?  I thought I was doing well with buying 8 until I saw a friend on FB whose kindergartner's list is asking her to buy 20!  Knight's list didn't specify a quantity.  I'm thinking if I end up back at Walmart soon, I'll just buy a bunch more... they did ask us to donate extra quantities if we can.  I just don't know what qualifies as "extra" in this case!

- BOTH of my kids now throw fits when they lose at Candyland!  Dragon has never cared one bit (he just likes moving his piece around randomly and giggling when he gets caught), but I'm trying to get him more involved, because with his speech delay he's fallen behind on learning things like colors and counting.  Unfortunately, it seems to have worked too well, and he threw a royal fit today when Knight won (No amount of card-reshuffling would have worked to help Dragon.  Knight drew the Cinnamon Bun card on his third turn!).

I hope you're having a spectacular day!  Hugs!

Thursday Thoughts

Gooood Morning!  Welcome to Thursday Thoughts, Vacation Edition!  As always, linking up with Jennifer from Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for all the awesomeness!  My thoughts are a bit fuzzy (hey, it's not even 10 AM as I'm typing this, and Dragon slept til 9 for just about the first time EVER.  Here's what's on my mind today:

- Fun!  Fun fun fun fun!!! Isn't it funny that you don't even realize how much you miss your extended family until you get the chance to see them again?  We have been going from house to house, activity to activity, and loving every moment of it.  I have been blessed with truly amazing in-laws, and they have never hesitated to welcome me with open arms and make me a part of the family.  We even got to see some cousins from Alaska that came out to see family when we did, so it's just been extra-special this time.

- Car trouble.  As always.  I was so proud of myself for getting the car paid off in February, that I completely forgot about the CURSE.  If you've never heard of this curse, the legend is that the second you pay off your car (or house, or other major purchase), it will completely fall apart.  Right now, this car is costing us more in repairs than it ever did in monthly payments.  (Not to mention the annoyance and trouble of the random noises and breakdowns.  Nothing like having your car fail to start in the middle of a national park, right!?)  This time it was the battery.  So, I have a statement for my car.  YOU ARE DONE.  You are done breaking down, you are done with noises, with not accelerating or steering right, with any issues whatsoever.  We have fixed your wheels, your alignment, your engine.  We just got you a brand-new battery.  Now quit it before we decide that we can't afford you anymore and go with a nice, sensible sedan.

THIS COULD BE YOU, CAR. Image Source

- Whew!  Ok.  Back to the fun.  We saw Monsters U with the boys yesterday, and it was AWESOME!  Good movie, great life lessons, and it was really cool seeing the friendship of Sully and Mike Wazowski develop.  I just had one little teeny issue.  (Um, I guess *spoiler alert*, but not really.  I don't think this will ruin the movie for you)  The previews?  That fun little scene where they turn Mike Wazowski into a disco ball?  Totally not in the movie.  And that is my own personal pet peeve.  I don't like it when things are in the previews, but not the movie.  Because I spend the WHOLE movie looking for them!  Gaaaah!  Still, awesome movie, definitely take your kids to see it!  (And if you don't have kids, totally go see it anyway.  It's that good.)

Image Source

- The rain.  Oh, the rain.  It has rained just about every day we've been here, and the forecast is calling for it to rain for the next week.  We want to do fun outdoorsy things!  We want to go swimming, go fishing, to the zoo, and to just run and play in the yard!  Thankfully we have been able to keep the kids entertained so far with movies, games, and grocery shopping. For some reason, as long as their Gogo (my hubby's aunt) is along, they will grocery shop all day! I'm hoping it clears up in time for the 4th of July.  We have fireworks, people!  (And we are in an extremely rural area, so we won't be bugging anyone with setting them off.)

Fireworks.  Ours probably won't look this cool.  Image Source

Ok, I'm gonna take off now.  Sesame Street is on!  I'm totally enjoying having regular TV to watch stuff that isn't on Netflix and Hulu, but these commercials are killin' me.  I definitely feel that I made the right choice to cut the cable cord.

I hope you all are having a wonderful week, and it just keeps going!

The Next Three Weeks

Well, we made it!

We had safe travels, including a 2-night stay in Tennessee with my mommy (she's an artist-in-residence at a summer camp in the Smokies every year) and we had so much fun hiking and playing in the mountains!  Dragon and Knight are now very proud of their daddy's prowess in finding small mountain critters. He caught a caterpillar, which immediately pooped on him.

Best quote from Knight EVER:  "Daddy!  That caterpillar thought you were a toilet!"

And my darling husband also managed to find two little crawdads in a stream.  We popped them into a cup we had with us and let the boys watch them swim around.  Of course, we then released them back into the water, with a story to tell their friends.  "No, Bob, I swear!  One of the kids just yelled THE WHOLE TIME!" (Dragon did a good job scaring off wildlife with his constant stream of noise)

Oh, and just FYI, if you have kids and take a nature-y vacation, pack WAY more clothing than usual.  The boys went through three outfits a day.  There was the morning/breakfast outfit that lasted til they played in a stream and immediately fell in.  There was the "here's some dry clothing" outfit that lasted through a hike and then a deliberate "go get wet!" playing in another mountain stream.  And then there was a "let's all take a shower and go into town for dinner" outfit that (thankfully) lasted til bedtime.

We're now in the Cincinnati area for vacation/visiting our family.  I'll be posting, just not very often, or with any regularity.  Also, any of my sub boxes are being held at our post office back home until we get back (can't WAIT to see the look on my mail carrier's face when she delivers 3 weeks worth of mail!  Ahahaha!)  However!  I will still have a few reviews.  I have the PopSugar June box coming here (Jennifer of Ramblings of a Suburban Mom was kind enough to send the box I won here to my aunt's house!  Thank you!)

I also ordered some samples of eyeshadow pigments from Glamour Doll Eyes.  I have heard nothing but amazing reviews on MakeupTalk and I'm so excited to try them!  I fully expect to go completely insane over the color Fiji Mermaid.  Aaaand, I *WILL*  be ordering the Solar Palette from Pacifica on July 1st.  According to their FB page, it will be 30% off for the first week of July!  I'll also be looking for other codes to stack (Pacifica lets you use multiple discount/free product codes in one order.  For this, they have my eternal love).  I'll be back to let you know how much I saved!

Solar Palette!  Image Source 

Ok, that's all for now.  Ready to see some family and get my relaxation on!  Have fun today, and be amazing!

Thursday Thoughts

Ok, so it's been a few weeks since I hooked up with Jennifer at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for Thursday Thoughts.  But we've been traveling, and dealing with the end of the school year, and... yeah, I have the memory of a goldfish at the best of times, so things don't always get done.  However, I only claim to be magical, not perfect! With that being said... here's what's on my mind today:

- It. Is. HOT.  High of 97?  Yikes!  Thankfully there will be a storm later on today, which will cool things off to the high 80s next week (heh. "cool". not so much.).  However, this is the price we pay for not having bad winters!  And I am totally ok with that!  We've got water, fans, and A/C when it gets too bad.  Of course, talk to me in August when we've had several days straight at over 100 degrees, and it may be a different story.

- I am going to have to buy a bunch of stuff crafting stuff soon.  I'm trying to keep the boys away from the TV this summer, and I can only let them play outside in 90+ heat for so long before they turn into sweaty, beet-red monsters!  I'm loving Pinterest for ideas on how to keep Dragon and Knight entertained, and I may be busting out this one today:

Image Source.  Also, not my kid ;)

It's a tray of baking powder, and vinegar colored with food coloring.  The vinegar causes the baking powder to fizz up, so it's like art AND science!  I don't have an eyedropper, but I'll just let them use spoons or something.  Oh, and if any of you have any fun projects/activities for kids (5 & 3 year-old boys), let me know in the comments!

- I made Jello molds with my kids for the first time a few nights ago, and I cannot emphasize enough, READ THE DIRECTIONS FIRST!  I thought I had it all down... but apparently you're supposed to spray the molds with cooking spray first?  And then set the tray in warm water for a few seconds before tipping them out?  Yeah... sorry kiddos for the headless giraffe and half-a-monkey that were all that came out.  We'll get it next time.

- We live pretty far away from family, and I always forget how amazing my family (and in-laws!) are at taking my kids for a few minutes when we're home.  I swear, I didn't see Knight for more than 3 seconds at a time for the whole visit!  Poor Dragon decided to by shy, and cling to me the whole time (gaaaah!), but I'm hoping when we go home for a longer visit, he starts warming up to everyone and I can have a few minutes to myself every once in awhile (that's all I'm asking, kiddo!)

- And that's about it for my thoughts today!  Sorry, road trips take it out of me for about a week after we get home.  Am I getting old?  *sigh*

What's on your mind today?

Thursday Thoughts - and GIVEAWAY ALERT!

Yaaay, I remembered this week!  Gotta love my link-up with Ramblings of a Suburban Mom!  Between the end of the school year and all the general craziness around here, I am lucky if I remember.... wait, what was I talking about again?

Oh, Thursday!  Hooray!  And Memorial Day weekend, so a 3-day weekend for the kids!  Thank goodness.  This Thursday I am thinking about....

- Summer vacation!  This will be our first summer in our new house, and I'm so excited that we have a big yard to play in, and a whole street full of kids to play with.  I'm thinking of heading out to pick up a whole slew of outdoor toys for the kids.  Previously, we've had to move a lot (thanks to the hubby's job), and we've lived in apartments with very limited storage space.  So we're lacking in things like frisbees, water guns, and sidewalk chalk that are necessary for a fun summer!

- One thing I will absolutely love this summer is not waking up so darn early!  Unlike most school districts, our elementary schools start first (7:30) and the high school starts later (8:30).  Which means that I'm up over an hour before that, packing lunches, assembling backpacks, and getting outfits together (someday I'll be organized enough to lay their outfits out for the whole week.  Just not today)

- I'm starting to wonder what I'd ever do without having a package to track in the mail.  I may not be getting a subscription in the mail every day (I wish!), but I do usually have at least one or two active tracking numbers at any given time.  I really enjoy that my current selection of boxes is very spread out over the month (I even got Ipsy and Birchbox on different days this time! Hooray!), and in fact, I'm still expecting Starlooks.  And then... the spoilers for June start!

- Guess who's been mastering new recipes lately?  That's right!  I've been using some of the food samples I've gotten lately to make some new and amazing dinners.  Pork chops with fennel pollen (Thanks Conscious Box!), meatloaf with Raspberry Chipotle BBQ sauce (Thanks, Goodies!), and my hubby is so happy to see some new food on the dinner table!

- Knight's first T-Ball practice is this afternoon!  I'm hoping the rain holds off long enough for it to take place.  I can't wait to see a bunch of 5 and 6-year olds running around the field, bumping into each other and generally causing chaos!  Should be fun!  And you know Dragon won't sit quietly on the sidelines, he'll want to be out there too.

- GIVEAWAY ALERT!  I won the vlog (video blog) contest for my unboxing video on Cravebox's Girls' Night In box!  And you know that means I want to pass the goodies on to you!  Bright and early tomorrow morning, I'll be launching a contest for a free Cravebox!  Which one?  I'll tell you... tomorrow!

So that's what's on my mind today!  The craziness of life, the anticipation of long summer days, the joy of watching my sons play sports and learn new skills.  And... oh crap, I forgot to switch the laundry over.

What's on your mind today?

Potty-a-Go-Go

It seems I've nicknamed my kids all too well.  This is what our living room looks like today:

St. George and the Dragon - by Paolo Uccello c. 1470

I'm the chick on the left, but instead of letting out cries of  "Save me, George!" it's more like "If you two do not stop wrestling I will turn the Wild Kratts OFF!"  But I digress.

It's been a few weeks and I thought I'd put out an update on the epic battle that I have dubbed "Potty Training a Dragon (Is Not For the Faint of Heart)."  In a previous post, I broke the process down into phases, and I'm happy to announce that we've moved up a phase!  Dragon is now attending pre-school in underoos! (and his elastic-waist pants collection is getting quite a bit of wear)  I ascribe it to the amazing efforts of his teachers.  It's one thing to chase my own kid around at home and ask him if he has to go potty every 20 minutes.  It's another thing entirely to keep a 3-year-old dry all day in a class of 15, several of whom are also in various phases of potty training.

We are now solidly in Phase III.  If you haven't read my previous posts, this means that Dragon is mainly in underoos, only switching to a diaper at night or for long (4+ hour) trips away from home.  It's seriously so cool!  I'm down to using 1-2 diapers a day, and WOW does that make a box last!  I can finally see a light at the end of the diaper-buying tunnel. *cue dramatic & inspiring music*

My main goal over the next few weeks is getting him to use a public toilet.  Doesn't have to be seriously public, just one that is not at our house or his school.  I remember that Knight went through something similar, but I don't remember doing anything specific to encourage public pottying.  He just "got over it" after a few weeks.  However, if any of you have hints on how you got your kid over this little potty phobia, please let me know in the comments! (Or drop me an email! Whichever works for you!)

My secondary goal is teaching Dragon to pee standing up.  I'm not sure how common this is, but I found it easier (with both boys) to teach them sitting down, and then later incorporate standing up.  Knight did well with using Cheerios to learn "aim", but Dragon gets mad that I'm using his precious cereal and will try to fish them out.  Seriously, you should have seen my *brilliant* idea to use goldfish crackers one day.  NUCLEAR MELTDOWN.  I quickly flushed it, got him a big bowl of them and a cup of milk, and we all took a time-out.

So that's our current status.  If you're another mom going through potty-training right now, or even if your little one isn't yet ready to start, remember that potty training is a PROCESS that can take days, weeks, or even (as in my case) months.  There will be setbacks and frustration as you figure out what works best for your little one.  If you're that ONE MOM whose kid just woke up one day perfectly potty-trained, congrats.  Pat yourself on the back and go get a congratulatory cup of coffee.  The rest of us will be cleaning up walls, floors, and toilet seats.  We'll be making those memories that will come in handy when making small talk with his first girlfriend.

Have any hints, creative ideas, or fun stories to share?  Leave them in the comments, or email me at amagicalmom@gmail.com!

Thursday Thoughts

It's Thursday, and time for Thursday Thoughts!  Man, I feel like I just wrote one of these. Where does the time go?  I'm linking up through Ramblings of a Suburban Mom, 'cause she's the awesomest!

- I have now watched every single episode of That 70s Show.  I'd watched bits and pieces throughout the years while it was on, but man, watching all 8 seasons?  That was crazy!  And of course... now I need something new to watch.  I've been all about the British comedies and teacozy mysteries* lately, and I need some good recommendations from Netflix!

- My poor darling hubby is begging to get cable/satellite back so he can watch sports.  I'm trying to talk him into installing an antenna to get local channels, but he wants to watch our home team (Da Bengals!), which won't come through the local channels now that we live 10 hours away!  Does anyone have suggestions about online streaming programs (they don't have to be free, just less than the cost of cable each month!) for sports, especially the NFL?

- Dragon has been wearing big boy underoos to preschool this week, and he has gone three whole days without any accidents! Proud mama right here!  We've been working so hard with him at home, and his teacher suggested we start sending him in wearing underoos.  (I personally don't like Pull-Ups.  I know they're a valuable tool for some kids, but mine just view them as something else to pee in.)  And he's been so good!

- And, while I'm on the topic of mommy bragging, Knight has also been very well-behaved at school this week!  He has trouble paying attention sometimes (and I fully admit, he got that from me), but this week he's earned all of the smiley faces in his daily reports!  I definitely think he's improved since his Daddy came home. (I think we all have!)

- I am now on a no-buy for makeup for awhile, due to my fantastic haul at Ulta!  I will get makeup through my subs, but I won't be actively seeking out any new stuff.  I have a feeling I won't feel too deprived, because I get a lot of makeup through Ipsy, the occasional item through Birchbox, and a whole lot of awesomeness through Starlooks! (those are my three beauty subs. Don't ask me to pick a favorite, I love them all equally, but for different reasons!)

- And just in case you need to see something beautiful, here's a picture of the azalea bushes at my house!  We just bought the house late last summer, so I've never seen these babies in bloom... They're gorgeous!

Yay pretty flowers!

I hope you have a wonderful Thursday!

Thursday Thoughts

It's time for Thursday Thoughts, linking up through Ramblings of a Suburban Mom!  No special edition this week, thankfully no field trips, car repairs, or other zaniness has been going on.  Just a nice, boring week.  THANK GOODNESS!  So here's what's going on in my head when my life is not a maelstrom of crazy.

- Wow my house gets dirty when I'm not around!  We've been super-busy running around ever since my hubby came home, and this is the first week I can just stay home while he's at work and the kids are at school.  Let me tell you, it's laundry, laundry everywhere!  And toys.  And all of my husband's work crap.  I am definitely not the perfect cleaning housewife, but dang.

- Ok, I gotta think up a blog name for my husband like I have for Dragon and Knight, but I have the feeling his head will start swelling if I just start calling him the King.  That, or he'll start randomly singing Elvis.  Suggestions?  I'm considering "The Dude", but that doesn't really fit into my magic/medieval theme.  Hmmm...

- I hate crab grass.  Hate it.  I've taken it upon myself to be the family's official crab grass eliminator, due to my hubby's foot injury (can't have the poor thing dragging himself around the yard), and it is EVERYWHERE.  No one mentioned this in the home-buying process!  And it has stinging nettles.  Not cool.  So my proven method is to lift up the leaves from underneath, dig in with a trowel, watch about 5 earthworms go slithering away, then pull the plant up by the roots.  And if you know a better way to get rid of it, let me know ASAP!

- I love that my hubby (The Dude? The Duke?  He likes John Wayne... hmmm....)  still does random romantic stuff.  He just sent me a "thinking of you" text, he put the teakettle on for me this morning without me asking, and he is so cuddly lately!  I love it!  In fact, I hear him coming home from work now, so I'm going to go give him a hug!  Love you honey!

And you, dear readers.  I love you, too.

Goodies Box March 2013

Yup, still behind.  But catching up!  The good thing about waiting so long to write this review is that I've tried every item in this box!  So you get the real deal... not just "This looks yummy", but "This WAS yummy!"

Am I trying to sugarcoat my procrastination?  Possibly.  Let's just enjoy the review though...

Breakfast of Champions!

March's theme was "Rise and Shine", and contained several sample sizes of breakfast foods.  Of course, their definition of breakfast doesn't always jive with mine, so several of these items made excellent afternoon snacks.  (This is not their fault.  I can't stomach anything more than tea or a smoothie before lunch.)

Goooood Morning!

The first item is a Greek Yogurt coated granola bar by Rickland Orchards.  I got the Cranberry Almond flavor.  This is my problem with combination flavors.  I love cranberries, I hate almonds.  GAAAAAHHH.  I sucked it up and tried it anyway.  Greek yogurt?  More like Greek icing.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my fave.  Moving on.

Adequate, but unmemorable.

Next we had the ubiquitous Belvita biscuits! These are pretty good, but very dry.  I always recommend having a large glass of water (or a gallon of milk, a quart of juice, or a jug of wine.  Your choice) nearby.  I seriously don't know if it's the cinnamon or grains that make me so darn thirsty, but seriously.  Sahara.  Also, these didn't give me any "sustained energy", I was hungry again an hour later.  So... kinda recommend?

Eat these if you need to drink more water!  You'll have no choice!

Ok, onto something I really liked! COOKIES!  Why has no one thought of breakfast cookies before?   The Erin Baker's Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookie was like a regular oatmeal raisin cookie, but less sweet and more... oat-y.  The emphasis on the grains did make it feel more like breakfast, but honestly now I just want to have cookies for breakfast every day!

Bravo, Erin Baker's.

Well... that was the pinnacle of my box's achievements.  The rest of the items were given to my husband and kids, so I'll share their thoughts.  Knight ate the Triple Berry Newtons (I guess you can't call them Fig Newtons if they're a different flavor?), and liked them well enough, but he certainly hasn't asked for any more.  Also? These are MESSY.  They have that crumbly grain outer coating, and bits of it get everywhere. And of course, every bit of grain is connected to a tiny bit of sticky, squishy filling.  If you are a neatnik, avoid these!  

This company can claim decades of wreaking havoc on carpet.

My hubby, the granola connoisseur, declared the Vanilla Almond Ola! Granola to be "good, but a bit dry".  It's all-natural and handbaked, which explains why it may not be as sweet as the bigger brands, but it's not something I'll be seeking out.   

Adios, Ola!

Jovan's Instant Breakfast is also something that went to the hubsters.  He uses protein powder a lot, and I'm trying to talk him into using this as a substitute.  So far, no luck, but I may put it into a milkshake and try to serve it to the kids.  Poor Instant Breakfast... it's like the last kid picked for dodgeball.

Awwwww.

Oh, look, here's the item that won the "Weirdest Drink EVER" award!  It was an Alo (no idea how to do the line above the "O") Comfort drink in Watermelon + Peach.  It tasted great!  But alas, it's made with real aloe juice AND PULP.  That's right, this drink is chewy.  Every time I took a swig, I almost choked on the pulp.  Thankfully, my honey didn't have the same "Argh!  I'm chewing my drink!" reaction and finished this off for me.  He actually wants more.  We'll see.

Darn you weird chewy drink!

And last, we have the most ADORABLE jar of Strawberry Preserves!  It's by Bonne Maman, and it was actually pretty decent.  Unfortunately, due to the jar size (yep, I had to take the picture with it pinched between two fingers) I only got to cover two pieces of toast.  It was good, but I seriously wish they had sent a larger sample.  I would not be willing to buy a big jar based on one (good, but not great) toast & tea experience.

But if they had more tiny jars, I'd buy them all!

So that's my breakfast box.  Some other bloggers figured out the cost of all these items, and I'm not going to break it down individually, but it was right around the $7 price. of the box.  This box has been underwhelming for a few months now, but my family always eats everything in the box (eventually...) and it's led me to several great food discoveries.  So I'm keeping Goodies!  They're also improving their communication about shipping times, and my April box should be shipping around the 24th of this month.  It's my goal to be completely caught up on reviews by the time it gets here!  Wish me luck!

Thursday Thoughts

That's right, I'm back for another Thursday Thoughts link-up with Ramblings of a Suburban Mom!  This one is special edition, though.  It's my "I just chaperoned a field trip for preschoolers along with my gimpy hubby" edition.  Lots of thoughts? Oh yes.  Let's get this party started.

- Why did I even agree to chaperone this trip?  Oh yes, because I have a preschooler, I am a stay-at-home-mom (can't use work as an excuse), and I really was kind of excited to see this place.  It was one of those play places for little ones (little as in anyone over 8 would probably be bored) with lots of sensory activities like water tables, pulleys, a "car mechanic" shop, a big fire truck to climb on, and toy train tracks.  And every area was pimped out (I'm sure there's a better way to phrase that, but I'm tiiiiired) beyond belief.  One water table?  Oh no, it was a multi-level area with pulleys, waterfalls, buckets, boats, and little aprons to keep the kids (partially) dry.  And I'm so proud, Dragon only tried to drink the water 5 times. *sigh*

- I loved having my hubby along, and we were both thrilled that he was able to go with us.  (His job is giving him some time off to heal and be with us, his loving family. heh.)  HOWEVER.  If you have a broken foot, and are presented with the opportunity to go on any sort of outing with preschoolers, just take it from me that it is NOT A GOOD IDEA.  You see, due to his speech/communication delays, Dragon is one of the more difficult children in his class.  His teachers have enough on their hands dealing with the kids outside of the classroom environment, without also having to constantly redirect Dragon when he gets frustrated.  That's why I go along.  So it just made things harder to keep Dragon focused and moving while also trying to make sure the hubster had his crutches, was ready to move on when we went to the next area, and was not in danger of being bowled over by a roving mob of exuberant toddlers.

- School bag lunches are crap these days.  I'm sorry, but when I was in elementary school and we went on field trips, the lunches that the school provided were AWESOME.  Chips, cookies, real peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, soda, etc.  Oh, I know it wasn't the healthiest, but there was never even a scrap of leftover food!  Guess what these kids got?  Well, there was a sandwich.  But no real bread, they use those round, flat little things.  And then they covered it in huge mounds of soy butter.  It tasted fine to me, but trust me, not one kid touched it.  Carrot sticks and pineapple bits finished the meal, with standard paper cartons of milk to drink.  I'll let you tell me how much of that stuff Dragon will actually eat.  Did I hear a "zero"?  Yeah, exactly.  I love my baby, but he hates fruits and veggies.   And while I am continually trying to have him try them, it was definitely not happening today.  Thankfully, I had packed some extras for him in my lunch (goldfish crackers, cheese, and turkey slices), so he had a good meal.  And I took home the carrot sticks and pineapple for snacks for Knight later.  The sandwich, amazingly enough, found a home in my hubby's belly.  Guess I might be buying some soy butter soon!

- I think the parents were more exhausted than the kids by the end of the day.  And of course, the little rugrats got to pass out on the bus on the way home (and thankfully, they let us just sign Dragon out and drive him home in our car).  I, however, had to drive.  Booooo.  Which is why, at 10:00 PM, I am heading to bed!  Big day tomorrow!  I get to drive my hubby to work!  Thankfully, I'm just dropping him off, one of his friends has offered to bring him home. Yay!  So I get to come home and tackle the giant mounds of laundry that have been breeding overnight in the baskets (Well, where do you think those extra socks come from?).  I know, aren't you just jealous of my cosmopolitan lifestyle?

-  Sometimes I think I come across as whiny and annoyed/dismissive of my life.  I hope you understand that it's mostly just my writing style (dry, sarcastic, and let's not forget the impeccable grammar).  I love my life, I understand that I'm both lucky and blessed, and I'm well aware that most of the things I complain about are first-world problems.  That's why I love this blog for letting me get stuff like this off my chest.  And I like to think that at least a few of you are like "hey great, here's a mom that doesn't pretend that a field trip with her kid is all sunshine and rainbows!"  That's right.  Because it's all fun and games til your kid tries to drink from the water table.

How was your Thursday?