Not Everyone's Mama

I don’t think there is anything I like to do better than get together with family.  I wish we could do it more often.

Yesterday we drove over to my cousin Wendy’s to see everyone.  Tons o’ family, including some of my favorite people in the world who came up from Alabama.  I wish we lived closer to them.

Christiano was in lovely form yesterday.  Turns out that he doesn’t like big crowds of people he doesn’t know.  Who knew?  He clung to me almost the whole time until the very end when he noticed there were purses to get into and drinks to grab that were just at the right height for him.  He also ended up having stomach problems, which I am thinking were actually his nerves and being stressed out from the crowd.  He didn’t have a problem in the morning and none when we got home, but while there I was thankful that I packed him an extra outfit and that my cousin Wendy had extra diapers.  Poor baby!

Can you see tooth number 7 finally popped through?  He’s 15 months.  I’m starting to think he’s only going to have 7 teeth.

My cousin Mike’s wife, Crissa, who is one of the sweetest people alive, and their son Evan.

Crissa, my Uncle Randy, and my Uncle Walt

The beautiful sisters – Aunt Sue, Aunt Jackie, and my mama

I keep wondering if I let my hair grow out naturally, if my hair would come in like my Aunt Sue’s.  Her hair is gorgeous.  All these different shades.  Mine always looks so dull at the roots when it’s growing in.

I adore this man.  My uncle Randy.  I think he should truly grow his hair out like this.  In my defense for not noticing it wasn’t his real hair for like 5 minutes, everyone else thought it was too. 

My cousin Wendy and her husband Josh – before their water fight, which I call as Wendy’s win!

Jordan, I believe before the water fight because at the end, Ryan got him soaked.

My dad snapped the picture just as I was telling Christiano to stop pulling down my shirt.  Thank God I wore a tank top.

Me, Aunt Jackie, my mom, and my sister Abby in front.

Ok, if these are my cousin Cory’s sons, they would be my second cousins, right?

Ryan, Troy, their mom Sheila (who I haven’t seen in years and looks absolutely gorgeous), and Steve.

Wendy and her dad, Uncle Walt – another guy I adore

Hey dad!  What’s up?  Kinda like him too.

My cousin Cory and Deb

.

Can I just say I adore all these people?  My cousin Mike, another one of my favorite people ever, and his son Grant.  Totally his mini me.  If you knew Mike when he was younger, you know what I’m saying.  Spitting image.

Mr Grant

Wendy’s son Kyle and my guy, Jordan

and last but not least, my little niece, Mikayla.  She was kind of shy like Nano.

All in all, it was a fabulous day.  The water fight was too much fun, though I stayed nice and dry on the deck.  Ryan and Troy took the kids out to play soccer, where Ryan and Jordan collided like two mack trucks, which caused my cousin Cory to tell me to call my son off of his son because Jordan was taking Ryan out.

Jordan was nice and bruised up when we left to go home, but he had a blast playing with the big guys.

I didn’t get pictures of everyone that was there.  Somehow my cousin Skip and most of his family eluded my camera as did two of Wendy’s children, Kole and Kloe.  I just noticed that my daughters managed to avoid me also.

I want to go back.  The Alabamians are heading back Thursday and Friday.  I want to see them again before they leave.  I miss them a lot when we go forever without seeing them.  Now, we just need my cousin Shelly and her family and my cousin Buddy and his family to come up and visit and my summer will have been complete.

No plans today.  Pato has to work and mom stayed up in Council Bluffs to spend time with her sisters.  The pool opens today but I am not brave enough to take 4 kids by myself.  Brave or stupid, either way, I’m not doing it.  I know the kids will be begging all day, but they’ll just have to wait until next Saturday when Pato is off to go.

Speaking of Pato, suggestions on the best multivitamin for men?  He has been looking at them and told me to check out reviews and see what my fellow bloggers thought.  I haven’t seen a lot of reviews on men’s vitamins though.

On that note, I need to go empty the dishwasher and chop up some veggies for the birds.  They are hollering at me because they finished their bird bread in about 5 minutes and want something else.  Piggie birds.

Oh, and the barn swallows that I mentioned the other day, they got tired of fighting me for the spot above my sliding glass door and have now built their next in the rafters off to the side I noticed this morning.  I need to move the kids toys over now so they don’t get pooped on by the baby swallows when they hatch eventually, after she lays her eggs.

Have a great day!

ETA – I wanted to draw attention to this video/article that was on a local TV station here.  Tot badly burned by playground equipment.  I don’t know about your kids, but mine always run ahead of me at the park to get their play on.  That will not be happening anymore.  Check the playground equipment before your kids get on it.  Watch the video and look what happened to that poor baby girl.

ETA – I have added this post to Saturday Sound Off hosted by To Be Thode.  If you’re wondering why I chose this post and not a giveaway, it’s for the video/article right above this.  Just want as many moms out there to be aware of it as possible.

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I have to hurry up and get ready to go to my cousin’s house for our family reunion, but this picture is too fun to not sare.  Yesterday we went to Friday’s for dinner after heading to Wal-Mart and getting everything I needed for today.  The girls were getting hungry and a tad cranky because our food was taking awhile.  Nano, he didn’t care.  He was a cheerful little guy.  I was starving and ready to check out some hydroxycut reviews just for appetite suppression at that point.  Oh yes, I did just go there again.

My girls are all, whatever, while Nano is advertising Miller Lite.  He’s teething.  It’s a coaster.  Let the child chew. 

Have a great day and a safe trip if you’re going anywhere for Memorial Day today or tomorrow.

Don’t forget the National Moment of Remembrance tomorrow at 3 PM.

Take that moment to spend a minute thinking of our fallen heroes with the rest of our fellow Americans.  Remember, we are strongest when we come together.  If you go here, you can actually view the names of our men and women who have given their lives all the way back to the Korean War.

Have a great day!

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I am actually writing this on Friday night so I don’t forget because Alyce just cracks me up.  I shouldn’t laugh at her when she’s upset, but she is the biggest drama princess I have.  Seriously.  She can tear those tears on like a faucet.

Example.

In the car, on the way home from dropping Jordan off at his dad’s.  Alyce was talking about how she loves me, and she loves daddy, and she loves sissy, and she loves Jordan, and she loves Nano. Then she burst into tears.  She loves Raven too.  But she didn’t know Raven’s name until the last time we went to the park (last Friday).  I’m talking tears streaming down her face because she now knows Raven’s name.  (Even though that was the first and only time she has met Raven, who actually is in Katiana’s class.)

Alyce, why are you crying?

I’m crying, sniff sniff,  because I didn’t know Raven’s name.  But now I know Raven’s name.  Mom, can you see my tears?  Yes honey, I can even see them from the rearview mirror.  But, really, you don’t need to cry because you know Raven’s name.  But mom.  Big sob She’s my best friend.  At this point, Katiana, who has no patience for drama, unless it’s her own drama, gets her little head going in the cabbage patch and tells Alyce, Alyce she’s NOT your best friend.  You only met her once.  Which sets Alyce off any more.  But she’s my beeeeessssst friiieeeeeeennnnd.

Ok.  Whatever you say honey.

Now tonight.  Alyce was sitting in my clothes basket.  Nano pushed it over.  Alyce started crying.  I gave her a hug.  Asked her if she thought she would make it.  Sniff sniff.  Noooooooo. 

But Nano, I forgive you.  Sobbbb

And mommy, I forgive you.  And I forgive daddy.  And I forgive sissy.  And I forgive Jordan.

Hey now.  What did I do?  I didn’t push the basket over. 

I know mommy. insert more crococile tears  Nano pushed me over.  I forgive him.  And I still forgive you too.

Nano, I forgive you for pushing me over.

Nano – uh uh (that would be his way of saying no)

Alyce – I do Nano.  I do forgive you.

Nano – uh uh

Alyce – sobbing hysterically, mommy!  Nano said I don’t forgive him.

Alyce, Nano doesn’t know what forgiveness is yet.

Ok mommy.  Nano, I still forgive you.

And now they are happily playing. 

Now it’s Saturday morning and I can get those pictures posted.  First, one more Alyce thing.  After I typed that up last night, I called Pato to tell him all of it.  We were sitting outside on the porch and Alyce said she wanted to talk to daddy.  She’s half sobbing again as she tells him all that I told you above and then perks right back up, “but now daddy, my tears are gone.  I see the moon and I’m not crying anymore.  The moon makes my eyes happy.”

Oh y’all.  Living with my daughter is just too much fun!  I tell you, you never know what will come out of that little mouth.

On to pictures.

Like I said, last night we drove Jordan out to his dad’s.  He wasn’t going to be able to pick Jordan up next weekend and we’re going out of town on Sunday, so if Jordan wanted to see his dad, he needed to go last night.  Problem is, Jordan’s dad hates to drive in rush hour traffic.  I offered to take Jordan out just to stop the madness that is Jordan and Katiana fighting over every little thing the other one says.

Dropped him off.  Came home.  Decided we’d take a walk around the pond here at the apartments and then go to the park.

Before we left we watched Mama robin who built her nest in the corner of our porch.  Actually, I don’t know if it’s the same robin.  There is always a nest in the corner of my porch.  They just remodel year to year.

Can you see that?  That’s a baby robin.  I think there are 2 siblings off to the side.  I had to stand on my wicker couch on my porch, put my hands all the way over my head, and zoom in to get this shot, hoping I’d at least get one of the babies.  I didn’t want to make mama mad.  Maybe as they get bigger and stick their head out more I can get a better shot of them.

I don’t mind mama robin.  I love that she builds her nest there.  You guys know I love birds.  And if you don’t –

I love birds.  (Poor Lucky was molting in that picture.  He looked like a street bird.)

I even love barn swallows.  They eat lots of insects.  I hate when they build their nest on my porch.  I can handle it though when they build their nest in my rafters even though they poop all over EVERYTHING.  Mama robin is all polite.  When her nest is emptied, her birds have flown off, there is just a pile o’ poop under where the nest was.  I make sure the kids don’t put their toys there.  It’s all good.  The barn swallows don’t care where they poop.

Do you know where the barn swallows are building their nest this year?  On the ledge over my sliding glass door.  3 inches above it.  I’m all, no no no no no.  You’ll poop on our heads when we go out the door.  My kids are constantly out that door to play outside.  You cannot build there.  When I noticed them doing it, I scraped it down (it was only like an inch big).  I thought they’d get the hint.  They started to build it in the rafters RIGHT OVER MY SLIDING GLASS DOOR where they will poop all over our heads.  Scraped the bit down that was up.  Asked them to please build it in the corner across from the robin.  They don’t listen.  It’s been me against the barn swallows.  They keep trying to build it on my sliding glass door.  I’m going to have Pato hang up aluminum foil there today and see if that deters them.  I don’t care if you are on my porch, just not over my door, man.  They sit on the air conditioner giving me the evil eye when I am out there.  I don’t know what to do.  For the record, I only scrape it down when it’s about an inch thick.  I would never knock down a nest that was mostly built or one that had eggs in it.  

Back to the walk.

So I can’t ever get all 3 to look at the camera at the same time.

Another mama and her babies.  We got almost all the way around the pond when I saw that.  I said, oh no.  Turn around.  We are going the other way.  I had a goose try to attack me once.  I was walking through a parking lot near a fountain when she came running after me flapping her wings.  I picked up Jordan (he was 3) and took off running.  She chased me until I was far enough away from her babies to make her happy.  Pato’s never laughed so hard.  Wasn’t even going to try to pass this one with my 3 little ones.  I only have so many arms and geese are ferocious. 

OT – Isn’t down products made from goose feathers? They just pick up the feathers the birds lose right? They don’t take live birds and take their feathers? I can’t use down mattresses without allergy mattress covers anyway.  Yes, I have birds and am allergic to down. 

So we took the long way to the park.

Cheesy smile for grandma

We stopped and gazed longingly at the pool which doesn’t open until Monday.

Another cheesy smile for grandma – for those who are new, this is what Christiano does when he sees a camera.

Christiano thinks they need to repaint our toys at the park or we’ll start going to a different park.

Katiana can FINALLY cross the monkey bars.  She’s been practicing forever.

Alyce – possibly dancing.  If you look closely, you can see she got into my eye shadow.  Did it all by herself.  I forgot about it until we got to the park.  Lovely.

So, there you have it.  Our Friday.

Pato’s off today and we’re heading out to get window shades for the car.  Christiano now is sitting in the third row with Alyce because he wouldn’t get out one day when he climbed in.  The sun hits him back there and makes slightly mad.  I need 3 more water bottles for the parakeets because they only drink out of the one tube, ignoring the dishes of water. I’m worried they will run out of water when we leave on Sunday (I’m just going to be gone during the day).  I fill their water bottle up, usually 3 times a day.  They use the other containers for baths. 

Tonight I’m going to go see Sex and The City 2 with my mom and sister.  Woohoo!  Time away!

That being said, depending on how early we leave tomorrow, I may or may not be blogging.  Who knows.  Maybe I’ll blog from the road.

Have a great day!

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We now have a trombone in our family.  I’ve been talking to this one lady for a few days about the trombone she had.  I was ready to buy it when another lady emailed me and told me she had one that she would just give us.  She is a music teacher and takes in lonely instruments and repairs them for her kids who don’t have much money.  She said she was really backed up on repairs and didn’t think she’d get to this trombone for quite awhile.  It had a dent in the slide that needed repaired and the case was rough.  I said, yep!  We’ll take it.  It’s a King Cleveland 605 which makes this trombone most likely older than I am.  (1974 is my made on date.)  I was nervous.

Jordan wanted to go up to the door and get his new trombone.  He made me wait by the car. 

The lady ended up bringing the trombone outside to me. (I didn’t want to get all of the kids out of the car and I won’t leave them in the car, obviously.)

She showed me the dent, and it is tiny.  It’s enough that it catches when you push the slide out, but you can push through it.  I don’t think it’s going to cost a lot to get fixed.  It has a couple of spots where it has been well used, but I was actually in shock over the condition this trombone was in.  I assume trombones haven’t changed too much since the day this one was made.  There weren’t many dents, scratches, anything.  She played it for me.  It sounds like any other trombone that I’ve heard.  I could say that some of the boys in high school started out with new trombones and theirs looked worse than this one does after their first year.  I think this trombone was well loved by whoever had it.  The case is rough, hinges falling off, handle missing, but no cracks.  Pato worked on the hinges last night and got them in good working order and he said that putting a handle on it would really easy.  Case, check.  I found a person on Craig’s list that does band instrument repairs and I’m going to take it over to him and see if he can fix it/do major cleaning on it cheaper than the music store – who wouldn’t even give me a guestimate on the cost of taking one dent out of the slide.  Oh, there’s no way we could no.  It depends on the dent, the location, the condition of the instrument.  You can’t tell me if it would cost between $10 and say $500?  Impossible I guess.  The lady that I talked to said that music store is absolutely ridiculous.  (It’s one that’s been around longer than me, my parents got all of my band things there.)  She told me one of her students broke the bridge off her violin.  That store wanted $60 to fix it.  The lady told her student to go pick up a bridge for $3-5 and she would fix it.  That’s why I’m looking at the repair guy on Craig’s List. 

We went and got brass and silver cleaner last night.  Got to work on it and that puppy shines like it is new now.  I thought we’d need to get a new mouth piece, but with the silver cleaner it sparkles and doesn’t smell like old metal anymore.  Now to let the band instrument repair guy clean the inside and work his magic.

Jordan is so excited he can hardly stand it.  He wants to take it to school and show his teacher already.  I told him he needs to wait for us to get the case fixed and the repair on the slide, which means he can take it in August when school starts.

He thinks that I need to get my clarinet recorked and repadded so that we can have duets.  Getting that done is on my list of things I need to get done.  It’s just not an emergency.  

Now I need to get him –

• the first lesson book
• Super Slick Slide Cream
• Slide-O-Mix Slide Lubricant
• mouthpiece brush
• music stand
• metronome

I did not need a music stand or a metronome when I played.  The school had music stands.  And I got rhythm.   I guess most of the time I practiced at our piano, using that as my stand.  I had been known to stack up books to lean my music against.  I guess I won’t fight the music stand. 

In other news, Jordan and Kat have fun field day at school.  Got my 2 dressed up in their athletic best and slathered in sunscreen.  Jordan HATES putting on sunscreen.  He always has.  Even as a baby.  The looks he was giving me as I put it on him.  I’d laugh if I wasn’t irritated at the comments that went along with the looks.  He is fair skinned like me and burns easily.  Burns and freckles.  Katiana loves to put on sunscreen.  I put it on her, but I don’t worry as much about her burning.  Still need to to protect that skin even though she inherited her daddy’s lovely skin, the kind that tans when you take a short walk to the car.  Alyce and Christiano are the same way.  Kat’s already got a nice tan going even with the sun block I put on her.  Slightly jealous.  I gave them both baggies full of sunscreen to reapply as needed.  Any one want to place bets on whether Jordan will actually use it? 

Kat’s been waiting to wear the outfit she has on today.  My brother got it for her birthday.  It’s a white tank top with a purple and gold camouflage butterfly  on it with purple and gold camo shorts.  Purple and gold are our school colors.  I thought it would be perfect for today and I’ve been holding it in her closet.  Jordan on the other hand hates his outfit, but I thought he looked good when he left.  Red/black/white basketball shorts and one of Pato’s sleeveless workout shirts.  Jordan was flipping out because if he holds his arms just so you can see his “boobs” through the shirt. 

Jordan, seriously, how often do you stand like a bird at school?  I mean really.  Are you going to be out there flapping your arms ready for take off?  The shirt actually is pretty slimming on him.  It’s not as long as the other ones he wears but it’s not tight either.  Hides the tummy.

He topped it off with this God awful hat.  It is neon blue with this white jigsaw puzzle pattern through it.  I didn’t buy it.  I would never have bought it. It’s ugly.  He loves it.  Possibly because I hate it.

Tennis shoes check.  Water bottles check.  They are getting sack lunches at school and are now on the bus off to field day.

I on the other hand am off to do the dishes that Pato used last night and are piled in the sink again.  (He ever makes a comment like he did to me the other day he better go get some insurance quotes because he will be in a world of pain.)  Fun fun for me!

I’ll leave you with the song one of my friends told me to play for Pato last night.

You’ve probably heard it –

Yeah, that’s in reference to my husband’s snide remarks that I posted about yesterday.  If you missed my Facebook status yesterday, I’ll share that too –

Dear husband, today I have:

Got 2 kids up/showered/fed/off to school

made breakfast for little 2

emptied dishwasher did dishes -that magically appeared after I went to bed

washed counters ^^

swept kitchen floor ^^

Took garbage out cut up veggies for the birds + changed water/papers

this done before u got out of bed @ 9 am Enjoy your day hard @ work while I sit here & do what I always do which is obviously nothing.

Forgot to mention that I blogged and edited pictures in that time frame too.

Have a great day!

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We have a closet full of VHS tapes.  In fact, I have every Disney movie on VHS up until I started buying them on DVD a couple of years ago.  It must have been longer than a couple of years ago, because obviously Katiana has no recollection of VHS.  The point being I have so many videos that we don’t have on DVD.

The day before yesterday, I was going through my emails from our local ReUseIt Network and came upon someone giving away a TV/VCR combo.  Our VCR died a long time ago and we hadn’t replaced it.  I asked if I could have it and they chose me.  Off I went to get it.  I brought it in from the car yesterday and set it up on the table because I need to Pato to move the huge honking TV in Kat’s room so I can put it in there.  (Before anyone flips about their being a TV in my kids’ rooms, they turn it on maybe once a month.  They usually watch it out here in the living room.) 

The girls and I went through the videos in the closet and they each picked out one.  Kat picked out 101 Dalmatians and Alyce picked out Snow White.  Turned out they weren’t rewound last time we watched them.

I put Snow White in the VCR and started rewinding as my girls are waiting patiently.

Kat:  Mom, it’s not on.

Me:  I know.  I’m rewinding it.

Alyce:  What’s rewinding?

I showed them the tape inside of the video tape and explained that it had to be all the way to the other side before they could watch it.  That it’s not instantaneous like a DVD is.

They kept pushing open the door to look in and were not happy that they couldn’t see anything.

Katiana: This is sooooooooo slow.

Alyce: Yeah, mom this is soooooooo slow.

Me:  Do you want to watch Snow White or not?

Both: Yes

Then wait for it rewind.  Then we’ll fast forward through the previews.

Alyce:  What are previews?

Kat:  What’s fast forward?

Banging my head on the table.

Finally the movie was done rewinding and then done fast forwarding.

And they were happy.  The end.

No not really the end.  Then Jordan came inside and started digging through the video tapes and I was subjected to a Pokemon marathon.  He tried to make it a marathon, but I only actually let him watch 1 because it was 8:30 by the time the movie was over and time for bed. 

We’re so vintage round here.  I need to get an 8 track player and really amaze them.  Except I’ve never used an 8 track player.  Just cassettes and records.  That’s it.  We need a record player!

I’d really like to get a VCR/DVD combo and record all of our tapes onto DVD.  That’s not piracy is it?  If you’re just making a copy of your own for your own use? 

So, Pato is on my poop list this morning.

Mind you, I vacuumed the living room twice yesterday.  Between Nano and his crackers, the birds throwing seeds out, and the kids coming in and out of the sliding glass door, it always needs vacuumed.  Not to mention I did the dishes (twice), cleaned the counters, swept the kitchen floor (twice), you know stuff you do every day.  He came in last night and wanted to put clothes away.  A chore, if you visit my blog often enough, you know I refuse to do.  It’s not that I mind putting clothes away.  It’s that he never leaves cash home to put money on the money card. 

So, he gets the privilege of doing laundry.  We have 6 in our family.  We go through a lot of laundry.  He washes 8 – 12 loads on his day off (6 at a time) and then just puts the baskets on the futon.  And there they sit.  And sit.  And sit.  Until he decides to put them away.  If he left me money on the laundry card, I’d wash them 1 or 2 loads at a time, and I’d put them away as I did them.  There is no way on God’s great Earth that I am putting away 12 loads of clothes at once.

He kicks aside some things that were on the floor (that Nano got out) and then goes to vacuuming – third time total the floor has been vacuumed.  As he does it, he mutters under his breath how I never clean anything.  I looked up and said, excuse me??????  He said, well, it’s the truth.

I didn’t go into a rant about all I did do that day that includes the listed above, plus feed our children (that includes making the meals), plus play with our children, plus put our 2 youngest down for a nap, plus bathe our children, plus get the oldest 2 up for school and ready in the morning while he was still in bed SLEEPING, plus plus plus plus plus.  Kiss my what????

I just shut down my computer, walked in the bedroom, and slammed the door. 

He slept on the couch last night.

Man needs to invest in a health savings account because if he ever makes a comment like that to me again, he’ll want to see a doctor.

You know that cartoon where the house is a stinking mess and the woman is sitting amidst all the chaos.  The husband comes in and asked what happened in the house?

She says, you know how you ask me what I do here all day?

He says yes.

She says, today I didn’t do it.

I so feel like doing that now.  Leave breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes piled in the sink.  Leave the carpet alone all day.  Leave the kitchen floor and counters. 

The only problem with that is I’d have to clean it later.

Sorry honey, I sat on my butt all day blogging, playing games on Facebook, eating bon bons, watching Oprah or Rachel or Ellen, pick your vice.  You might want to feed the kids.  I forgot.  Oh and the baby needs changed.  I haven’t changed him since you left for work, cuz I DO NOTHING ALL DAY.  (And don’t mind the sticky goo covering Nano when he goes to hug you. I didn’t clean him up all day either.)

That can of soup in the picture of above proves nothing except that Nano got in my pantry and took out EVERY single can while I was making dinner.  That one escaped when I was cleaning up the mess.  I did eventually see I missed one.

Have a great day!

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I have been a member of Blog Engage for almost 6 months now.  Long enough to decide if I like it.  I do.  It’s actually the only I site that I daily submit all of my blog articles too.  There are others that I post specific articles too, but Blog Engage is my daily go to.  In fact, you’ll see at the bottom of every post (including this one) a button that says vote.  That will take you straight to Blog Engage.

Why do I like Blog Engage?  I feel like a member of the community.  I don’t get the most votes, I am not the most popular blogger over there, but I’m ok with that.  The bloggers that I have met, I love.  The content that I have read, I always enjoy.  There are a lot of people who post helpful tips to other bloggers regarding blogging, SEO, etc.  Then there are those like me who post their odd ball articles about what their kids did that day and the reviews that I do.

The last couple of days I have found a blogger who takes various words on Twitter and makes poems with them.  They aren’t frivolous little things either, they are fantastic poems.

Wanderer Thoughts

Random Twitter Poem

Today I also found out that TweetDeck’s new upgrade allows you to schedule your Tweets, thanks to a fellow Blog Engage contributor.  (Just happens to be the same blogger who posts the Twitter game poems, loving his blog!)  Why is this useful to me?  I always forget to tweet my giveaways.  hanging head in shame

I just went to the front page of Blog Engage and found an article on a free photo recovery tool.  Who doesn’t need that?  I back up to 2 external hard drives and I still worry that I’ll lose something.

It’s that kind of content that keeps me going back.

Plus Brian is always posting helpful tips for lots of things on the Blog Engage Blog and he has guest bloggers posting a lot giving their ideas on common things we all face as Bloggers.

Sometimes I think that my blog doesn’t always fit in over there, but then I think about the fact that I love going to the blogs that I’ve found on Blog Engage that are completely and totally different from my own.  If I like visiting other sites, maybe a few people like to come over and visit my part of the blogosphere.

So thank you to Brian and all the Blog Engage members.  I really enjoy being a part of the group, even though I’m kind of a quiet part of the group.  Waving hi to everyone at Blog Engage.

I’d love to see some more of my fellow review bloggers sign up so I can see some of your content there every day!  Check out Blog Engage and let them know that HeatherM74 sent you!

ETA – I forgot that Blog Engage is invitation only now, if you would like to join, let me know and I’ll send you an invite!

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I recently was able to try the Scientific White Bamboo Exfoliator by Kenneth Beer MD.

Before I give you my thoughts on the product, let me tell you what Scientific says about it.

White Bamboo Exfoliator is a clay-based scrub for all skin types and warms upon contact with water. This deep-cleansing formula helps purify skin, minimize pores and balance excess oils. Microsifted White Bamboo crystals gently resurface the outer layers of skin. Our four powerful antioxidants (Acai Fruit Extract, Green and White Tea as well as Ferulic Acid) aid in correcting daily environmental damage. With regular use, White Bamboo Exfoliator can help provide a more luminous, smoother, healthier younger-looking complexion.

There is a lot more information on the product page that I think is essential to knowing about this product and how it works so check it out when you have time!

When I got the Scientific White Bamboo Exfoliator, I excitedly ran to the bathroom to try it after ripping open the package it came in.  I put the quarter sized amount in my palm and went to work spreading it on my face and neck.  The first thing I noticed is how it heats up.  Immediately.  I wouldn’t call it painful, but it is definitely warm.  Be very careful not to get this near your eyes because it is very abrasive.  I massaged it for the two minutes and then left it on for 3 more.  You can definitely feel the bamboo as your massaging this into your face.  I start out rubbing more vigorously then back off and lightly rub it towards the end because it can get sore if you rub too hard.

The results?  Immediately my skin felt baby smooth.  I mean, couldn’t stop touching my face baby smooth.  It looked brighter.  I was happy with just that result.

After 3 more uses I was amazed one day when I was putting on my make up.  Amazed.  I have scars on my face.  Not from acne per say, because what I have doesn’t look like acne to me. I have bumps all over my cheeks that are the same color as my skin.  When I was in my 20s, I tried to pop them like you would a zit.  All it did was scar up my cheeks horribly.  And I still have bumps. 

Why was I amazed?  The scarring was disappearing.  I’m at probably 1/2 the scarring I had before.  They were just dark spots and small indentations, but they bothered me.  A lot.  The bumps are starting to leave too.  I don’t have any in the center of my cheeks now and the ones around the center are dramatically lower in quantity.  Do you know how happy that makes me?  I’m starting to feel good about my face again. 

I also noticed that the faint age lines that I am getting are not quite as noticeable when I’m not smiling.  When I smile they are still there, but they are getting better as well.

Verdict, I love this!  I use it every other day in the shower right now and I’m loving the results that I see. For our income, it’s a little high in price, but for what it’s doing for me, it’s worth it.  Speaking of price, they have a coupon right now, their monthly special.  If you add the Scientific White Bamboo Exfoliator to your cart, then click on the sidebar where it says monthly special 20% off of the Scientific White Bamboo Exfoliator, you’ll see a $13.60 discount in your cart.  I really want to try his Intensive Repair Serum now.

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I had thought to myself that this would be excellent for your rough feet too (my heels are horrible, dry, cracked, gross).  I noticed on the Scientific White Bamboo Exfoliator product page that they do recommend that.  I am going to have to give it a try!

Thank you to Scientific and Kenneth Beer MD for sending me the Scientific White Bamboo Exfoliator to try out.  Fabulous!  I’ve never used another product like it with results like I have gotten.

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You know by my review how much I love Opulant Alchemy. (Speaking of which, that giveaway ends today!)

She has another Etsy store!  Peepshow Perfumes. 

Guess what that one is?  Your own custom blended perfume!

… So, how do you want to feel? Sexy, Succulent, Sweet, with a hint of mystery & a dash of delicate femininity? Create your own custom blended perfume from my extensive collection of high quality of fragrance oils. Pick your tangy fruits, delicate heart notes & deep base notes. A chance to create a one of a kind fragrance that is ALL YOU!
How it works…
Choose your fragrance notes from the list below. Let me know, in the notes at checkout, the proportion you would like your fragrance notes. (EX: 1 part Peach, 2 parts Vanilla, 2 parts Gardenia). Choose up to 6 fragrances to add to your perfume, but it may be as simple as 2 fragrances… or leave it to me & just let me know the notes you would like.
All finished perfumes are "perfume" strength (strong!) & will be in a base of pure grapeseed oil. Safely packaged in a 1/8 oz glass roll on bottle with a black cap. I will choose a sassy “Pin Up Girl” label for your bottle! … We all have a little saucy pin up girl in all of us, just dying to get out!

Again, like all of her prices, they are way too reasonable!  ($11 for your own custom made perfume?  That is crazy!)  I hopped right on over and blended up my own perfume, well, actually, she blended it. I just picked the parts.

I ordered –

2 parts Sweet Pea
1 pt lily of the valley
1 pt violet
1 pt cherry blossom

Sweet pea is my absolute most favorite scent in the world, so it had to be the main smell. 

It got here today and I could just about eat myself up after putting it on.  It smells so good!  It’s fresh, and floral, and just smells clean.  I am so happy with it.  I know that just like her other perfumes, this one will last all day too.  I’ve rarely have to reapply.  I’ve gotten quite a few compliments on her perfumes.  The most recent one was when I was standing right next to my almost 12 year old niece, she said something smells so good!  I said is it this?  as I gave her my wrist.  Yep!  I want some!  I was wearing Flowerbomb at the time.  I can’t wait for Taylor to smell this one! 

Can’t forget the packaging!  My Peepshow Perfumes label is so cute.  Got myself a little redhead pin up girl. 

I am totally going to make another one for myself.  I’m thinking something with red apple, maybe vanilla, and I’m wondering how cherry blossom would smell with that?

I’m also thinking about my neice’s birthday in July.  If her mom can tell me what Taylor’s favorite scents are.  How many other 12 year olds do you know with their own custom made perfume?

So, ladies after you enter the giveaway to win one of her fabulous perfumes from her Etsy shop, Opulent Alchemy (that one is on me, I love her perfumes so much, I am giving one away out of my own pocket), head on over to Peepshow Perfumes and blend up your favorite scents!

To the FTC man, this review is all me!  I received nothing for it.  I purchased my Peepshow Perfumes perfume all on my own and as always, have to share her wonderful products cuz they smell so good!

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