Gaining Wisdom

I need to get my wisdom teeth pulled. When I mention this to a friend, she says, "Don't people usually do that when they're younger?"

Sadly, yes. I've been hanging on to these choppers for more than twenty years.

My wisdom teeth erupted when I was in my mid-twenties. At the time I was juggling three jobs. I had no dentist and no insurance, but I did extract some free advice from a dentist who hung out at the lounge where I tended bar. He told me not to worry since my teeth were not impacted, and ordered himself another beer.

Time passed. Eventually, I could afford actual dental care, but still I was hesitant. Okay, I was afraid. I told myself that by keeping my teeth, I was embracing a "natural" approach to dental health. I found a dentist who didn't pressure me. My wisdom teeth were fine for a long time, but then, right after I turned forty, they suddenly weren't. I'll spare you the ugly details -- suffice it to say that even straight, fully-erupted wisdom teeth can eventually cause a ruckus.

"Block out two weeks for recovery, " my dentist warned. "People your age don't bounce back that well."

People my age?! Two weeks?! Those words terrified me. Who was going to take care of my three manic children? My husband and I have no family nearby to help us. Anxiety about the pain, excessive Googling of "risks of wisdom tooth removal," worry over the family logistics, and just managing the flurry of daily life allowed me to put off dealing with the problem.

I stalled for two more years.

Then, out of the blue, I shocked myself. I scheduled the procedure without any drama. My husband arranged to work from home for a couple days. Plans for the kids were set. After twenty years of procrastination, I felt ready overnight. I'll get through this, I told myself; John and the kids will deal. I imagined a few days of sleeping, reading and watching movies, possibly even losing a couple of pounds on the soup-and-smoothie cleanse. I thought my new matter-of-fact bravery about something that wasn't even that big of a deal meant I was making some spiritual progress.

Then it all fell apart.

Last night, I had to take my nine-year-old daughter Didi to the ER, after a fall at soccer practice left her sobbing and unable to move her right arm. My husband felt sure she was fine, but I sensed something was really wrong. Five xrays later, it turns out we were both right: the arm was not broken, but the shoulder was badly sprained. Didi trudged off to school today in a sling.

The removal of my wisdom teeth was supposed to happen tomorrow morning. After the ER run, John assured me that he could still handle one incapacitated wife, one injured child on narcotic pain meds, and two more wild children, plus homework, school, soccer, meals and his paying job. I opted to push off the procedure until January 6. I'll be taking Didi to the pediatrician for a follow up on her arm instead.

Am I really just a coward? Is family life really that hard? Ask me how many teeth I have on January 7.

Homegoods for the Holidays (and a $50 Giveaway!!)

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and HomeGoods.

Can we talk about how much I love TJ-Maxx/Homegoods?  I shop there all the time.  It is such a great place for bargains.  I am especially fond of the shoes. And the clothes, And the home decor.   All of it.
So when Homegoods asked me to go Christmas shopping with a $50 gift card, it did not take much arm-twisting.  (I might have actually exclaimed to my husband, THIS IS THE BEST BLOGGING PERK EVER!)



Can you see the joy on my face behind the squinting? 

This morning I set out on a mission.  My goal: find a gift for everyone in my family for UNDER $50.
But as I walked in the door, I was sidetracked by this adorable wallet.  It’s yellow!!  What to do?  Buy it for
myself, or focus on the family?  Let’s just put it in the cart and decide later.



Oooh!  Cute wreath!!  That would look so cute on my orange door.  WAIT!  Keep walking.  Focus on the family . . .

 

Okay.  Here we go.  Toys.  TONS of them.  Name brands, characters my kids like, in a variety of prices.  All marked well below the prices at other stores.



So much to choose from.  Until I turned around and saw even more:





Oh my.  It’s a good thing I came without the kids.

My first find was a fairy doll.  My 4-year-old daugher is a huge Tinkerbell fan but she didn’t yet have this particular doll. She will be thrilled to add it to her collection.  Price: $7.99

  

Then I found a two-pack of Batman action figures.  My 5-year-old Jafta loves Batman . . . and it was marked down to $5.  Score!



Now, on to my toddler.  This ball bopper looks like a lot of fun.  And if I know my kids like I think I do, I have a feeling my boys will be playing with this one, too.  $9.99.

 

Then, I found this Little Einsteins toy for Kembe.  It combines two things he loves: Little Einsteins and water play.  A steal for $6.99.



Before I left, I went in search of something for my husband.  He had for some casual t-shirts, and he likes Quicksilver, RVCA, and Billabong.  I saw each of those brands at Homegoods, but settled on this brown Hurley t-shirt for $9.99 in a supersoft cotton.

  

So, my grand total so far:

Tinkerbell doll: $7.99
Little Einsteins doll: $6.99
Ball bopper: $9.99
Batman action figures: $5
Hurley tee: $9.99

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?  Yeah, that’s right.  I can go ahead and grab that $9.99 yellow wallet for myself, too. 

Grand total for a gift for each person in my family of six (including myself):

$49.95

And now, the best part (for you): I have a $50 gift card to Homegoods to give away!  You can get one entry by simply leaving a comment. 

Rules:


No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) Read the official rules here for alternate form of entry.

Sweepstakes ends at 5 PM PST on December 29, 2010. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here.  For more chances to win, visit the other bloggers offering their own Homegoods gift card!

Gifts that Give Back

Article first published as Christmas Gifts that Give Back on Technorati.

In a season marked by giving, I love the idea of giving back to our community and our planet. This year, my family decided to forego gifts for the adults, and give donations in each person’s name instead. It’s been so fun thinking of each family member and finding ways to honor each of them with a unique donation.

Here are some great ways you can do your Christmas shopping and give back at the same time.


Buying Christmas Cards this year? Consider the fresh, modern designs at Paper Culture, all done in a beautiful recycled cardstock. For every order, they plant a tree in your name, and if you enter the code ”CA10″ at check out 20%will go directly to the Somaly Mam Foundation to help end human trafficking and slavery worldwide.


The bags and purses from Haitian Creations are handmade by women in Haiti, who are a part of a sewing program that is giving these impoverished women lifelong skills. The ability to earn money gives these women the ability to be self-sufficient, to support their families, and to have the independence they need in a society where this is often difficult.

isanctuary is an organization working to help victims of the sex trade recover and rebuild their lives. They work with young survivors – 12 to 19 year olds, making sure they receive all the elements necessary for restoration, including education, counseling, vocational training, and mental, emotional and spiritual healing. The girls create stunning jewelry that is sold online and in retail stores. You can shop at their retail site.

Kauzbots is a line of 10 plush toy robots – each one with its own “kauze.” 10% of the retail price from each adorable bot is donated directly to the non-profit that is noted on the hang tag. With a wide variety of charities to choose from (including AIDS Walk, Arbor Day Foundation, Lifewater International, and 7 others), you’re sure to find one that touches your heart. Kauzbots are designed to inspire kids to change the world!

Punjammies are adorable sari-inspired pajamas. Each Punjammies are created in an after-care facility for women who have been rescued, released or escaped from a life of forced prostitution. Holistic aftercare involves quality medical care, emotional safety, education and the tools to create a new way of life for herself.

Nuru International – be apart of ending extreme poverty throughout the world. You can give a one time gift, or sponsor a family for a year.

The Hunger Site – If you go under Gifts that Give More on the sidebar, there are a lot of interesting things you can purchase in someone else’s name – things as different as a child’s education for a year or a microloan for a pig or goat.

Rising Tide Fair Trade sells beautiful bohemian style bags of various sizes (weekender bags to hand bags) that are hand made in a woman’s fair trade labor coop in West Bengal, India from re-purposed vintage kantha saris and cruelty-free black or brown suede. The female artisans earn a fair wage that allows them to provide for their families. These bags look like they belong in an anthropologie catalogue.

Krochet Kids offers 3 year programs to women living in poverty. In this program, the women learn to krochet hats to earn an income and be able to fully support themselves for the first time in their lives. Based in Uganda, the hats are sold in the US, on their website andat most Nordstroms.

Rocks in the Sun is a gorgeous photography book filled with Haitian proverbs and photos of this beautiful but impoverished country. It’s compiled by Troy Livesay, who lives in Haiti and does great mission work there (and just happens to be a stellar photog). This would make a great coffee table book, and the proceeds go towards their missions work with Heartline Haiti and Worldwide Village.

31 Bits Jewelry is made out of 100% recycled paper, posters, and magazines by internally displaced women in Northern Uganda. Each piece of jewelry is unique and hand-crafted by a woman in the community of Gulu, Uganda.

Invisible Children is selling bracelets made in Uganda to benefit former child soldiers. Each bracelet is a different color, and each color represents an individual child. These colored bracelets are accompanied by an inspiring short film about a child that has been personally affected by this unrelenting war. Invisible Children is also selling ‘MEND’ bags that are made by former female rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army. They are made in Uganda and each bag has the name of the women sewn inside, and a video of each woman online so that you can ‘meet’ the women who made your bag.

World Vision has an amazing gift catalog where you can buy a number of innovative and sustaining gifts for people living in poverty. Their website even allows you to purchase and print a card letting a loved one know you have donated in their name. You can purchase medical attention for a pregnant woman, a goat that can provide milk to a child – even a grove of fruit trees!

Weebles Toy Review and $100 Gift Card Giveaway

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Weebles.

Remember the Weebles toys?  They were a favorite of mine as a child.  When a box came filled with them for my kids, my husband took one look and said, “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.”  Either these toys are a classic, or they had a killer ad campaign in the early 80’s. 

(I think it’s both).

My kids were pretty excited to open the Weebles toys when they came for review, but I had a couple bigger questions in mind:

1) How would these toys fare 15 minutes out of the box?
2) How would the Weebles hold the attention of several different age groups?

For full disclosure, I am constantly on the lookout for toys that can engage all my kids at once, and for toys that don’t lose my kids interest after the first unwrapping on Christmas morning.  I have four kids, aged 5,4,4, and 1.  My hypothesis was that my youngest daughter would go nuts for the Weebles, but I thought my kindergartner, who typically plays with Transformers and the like, would give them a cool reception.

I WAS WRONG.

As you can see in the video, my kids were engaged right out of the box.  My only confession is that I had to stop filming several times because they started to fight over who was sitting closest.  It is rare to find an activity that all my kids like doing together, and I was pleasantly surprised to find they could all play at the same time.



After the younger kids went down for a nap, my oldest two continued playing.  The Weebles are now the hot ticket in the playroom.  I would definitely recommend them as Christmas toys this year.  They will give parents a bit of nostalgia, and better yet – they will keep the kids entertained for a very long time.

I will be giving away a $100 HasbroToyShop.com gift card and a Weebles gift pack to one lucky reader, courtesy of Blogher! 

Rules:


No duplicate comments.  You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from any of the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment telling us your favorite toy as a kid
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) No-effort entry: Follow this link and provide your email address.

Giveaway will run from 11/24-12/24.  This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.  For more info, check the BlogHer.com official rules page

Check out these other bloggers for more chances to win!
BlogHer.com exclusive offers page

Gratefully Taking the CSA Challenge

Thursdays stress me out. I don't mean Thanksgiving Thursday, when all I have to do is clean my house, cook an elaborate, festive meal for ten, and smile like I'm not tired. I'm talking about ordinary Thursdays, when I go pick up a ginormous box of fruits and vegetables courtesy of my local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. If you've never heard of CSA, it's a mode of local, sustainable farming and food distribution. Consumers like me pay for a farm share at the start of each growing season, and receive a box full of whatever has been freshly harvested on the farm each week -- and just like life, you never know what you're going to get. Here's what came in my small share box from Live Earth Farm in Watsonville, California, last week:




Looks delicious, doesn't it? But those expansive rainbow chard leaves are concealing the fact that there's almost three dozen apples in the yellow basket. Can you tell I've got a couple pounds of carrots, and not one, but two, heads of butter lettuce? And two giant stems of bok choy on the counter? Unfortunately, it's not easy to shove all that produce in the fridge when I still have collards, radishes, beets, and two heads of cabbage left over from the week before. Every Thursday night it takes me at least an hour to clean the old, rotten produce out of the fridge, trim and bag the fresh stuff, and organize and put all the edibles away.

Thank goodness the Thanksgiving holiday gives me a week off from all that work!

Aside from the storage issue, participating in a CSA presents an even bigger challenge: getting the food prepared and eaten! Every time I manage to cook up a bulky bunch of something, I feel a glow of accomplishment. That kale in the upper right corner of the photo was doused with a little olive oil and salt and baked in the oven to make veggie chips. The eggplant got chopped, dusted with salt and cayenne, and fried up as a tasty side dish to an Indian meal. (Amazingly, my kids ate both of those dishes.) Almost everything else pictured is still in my fridge five days after delivery, but most of it will make it onto the Thanksgiving menu. Butternut squash soup, anyone?

Despite the challenges, I love being part of a CSA. Necessity has prompted me to offer my kids all kinds of foods I never would tried otherwise. Brussel Sprouts. (Not a hit.) Beets. (Meh.) Fava Beans. (Yum!) Arugula Salad. (Apparently a very efficient Parmesan Cheese Delivery System.) There's no question that my husband and I eat more fruits and vegetables now as well. There is always something in the house to eat now, even if its not as salty, sugary, or fatty as we might like, and always some extra bounty to pass on to friends.

Although I feel bad when I inevitably have to throw some produce away, according to food activist Michael Pollan, buying local, organic food and tossing some of it is still more sustainable then purchasing grapes from Chile, kiwi from New Zealand, or processed food from anywhere. At a time when so many people are struggling, I'm lucky to have the "problem" of too much fresh food. I'm glad I live in California, where so many wonderful fruits and veggies flourish. Our family has a lot to be thankful for, every single CSA Thursday.

Supporting Small Business Saturday

Thanks to American Express for sponsoring my writing today about small businesses.

American Express is presenting Small Business Saturday, a way to honor the local merchants who are the backbone of the economy, this Saturday, November 27.

They're offering statement credits to people who shop at small businesses, advertising for small-business owners, and donations to Girls Inc. for "Likes" of the Small Business Saturday page on Facebook.

Join the celebration by clicking the "Like" button and then visiting the Facebook page to learn more about the program and read the terms and conditions that apply.

*************

The standard dress code for my husband's line of work is... jeans, stylish shoes, and a clever and often geeky tee. Layer hoodies and/or long-sleeve undershirts as needed.

In other words, there is very little difference between the way my *almost* 40 year old husband dresses... and our 4.5 year old son. The only possible exception being that my son doesn't usual grimace when I eagerly show him the cool, new shirt I just bought him.... ahem! ahem!

It's either over done, features the wrong super hero, or is not clever enough.

For this reason, I forewarn shopkeepers and store clerks that I'll probably be back, and if so, "what exactly are the terms of your return policy again???"

I am also forever on the lookout for clever enough, though not necessarily geeky, but certainly high-quality (because, you better believe that when my husband finds something he actually likes, he wears it forever and ever) shirts.

This is how I happened to meet Nathan and a meek, but mighty t-shirt company called Goodjoe...

Perusing Valley Fair Mall in San Jose with my kids, my eye caught a kiosk full of unique and unusual shirts. Unlike the other vendors at the mall, Nathan, the young guy running the kiosk, wasn't jumping out in front of shoppers or calling attention to himself.

In fact, he was almost zen-like as he arranged his display and politely greeted shoppers going by. Yet, there was a way his face lit up when I asked about his shirts that I could tell I had just stumbled upon something awesome!

Begun by a few friends from college in the Bay Area, Goodjoe is a community-based T-shirt company with a passion for doing GOOD in the world and inspiring others to do the same. Nathan is the co-founder and admitted dreamer of the bunch.

But the shirts are only a part of the story.

Goodjoe started as a vision of running a fun and sustainable business that helps artists inspire others. So each week, Goodjoe hosts a design contest on its site.

Anyone and everyone, professionals and amateurs artists alike, are encouraged to submit a design that has a positive, impactful, or inspirational message. Humor and cleverness is a plus.

The public votes and every Monday, the staff selects a winning design. The winning designer receives a cash prize and the winning design gets printed and featured on the site.

Even if you weren't born with an ounce of artistic ability, Goodjoe believes there's creativity and good in everyone. Recognizing that all great things come from a single idea, anyone can submit a design inspiration for an artist to develop and see it come to life.

For each shirt sold, $1 is given to the artist and $1 is given to the "Goodjoe Bucket" supporting nonprofit organizations, which are also nominated by the users on their site.

Once a month, Goodjoe runs another design contest called "for the Greater Good Series". It's a way to create exposure and provide a sustainable fund-raising avenue for nonprofit organizations with otherwise limited resources.

A nonprofit organization is selected from a list of nominees and the design theme is based on their mission statement. At the end of the contest, the organization selects the design that best represents them.

Once the shirt is printed and available for purchase on the Goodjoe site, the nonprofit organization earns up to 50% of the proceeds of each shirt sold.

*************

Everyone who buys a shirt, votes for a design, or nominates a nonprofit organization is helping to make the world a little bit better.

I bought my husband two Goodjoe shirts that day and they did NOT need to be returned. (Win!) He gets lots of compliments and asked where he got them.

"Did you tell them? Did you tell them?", I eagerly ask before launching into Goodjoe's inspiring story once again.

There are many companies, both large and small, making a contribution to society. I still shop at Target for the essentials. There's a terrific online company who delivers diapers to my doorstep in 2 days or less, and my family's toilet paper comes in bulk.

Now that the holiday season is in full swing and finances being tight, it will be difficult to resist those much flasher, louder, BIGGER stores vying for my bucks.

But somewhere between Black Friday and CyberMonday, stop to consider the Goodjoes of the world-- the small, local businesses creating jobs, boosting the economy, and preserving neighborhoods around the country each and every day.

This Saturday, November 27th, 2010 will be the first ever Small Business Saturday.

Join the movement! Spread the word! Most important of all, put your holiday bucks where they count most- your community!

{image credits: Goodjoe.com}

Disclaimer: I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Just Dance Kids Review and Giveaway

The winner of the Just Dance Kids giveaway is...

{{{ Kirsten DeWitt }}}

 

I am new to the Wii system, and I am a self-confessed video game snob.  As friend even called me an Amish Mom for my stingey views on kids and gaming.  However, my mind is open to the possibility of games that introduce excercise and fun, as opposed to gore and violence.  So when the Clever Girls contacted me to see if I wanted to review Ubisoft's Just Dance Kids, I was excited to see it in action. 

 

My kids were on board from the moment the package arrived.  At ages 5, 4, 4, and 1, my kids love dancing and putting on shows.  They are still in that awesome stage where they aren’t worried about being cool.  They just want to have be silly and fun. 

Just Dance Kids is great for kids of all ages.  There are three levels, and songs that appeal to preschoolers (Yo Gabba Gabba) up to the tween stage.  My preschool-aged kids weren't all that excited about holding the remote, so they really just danced along while my husband and I tried to get the moves down. My almost six-year-old was very serious about learning the moves and at the first level it was not hard for him to master.  We all had a blast, and we were all out of breath from laughing and dancing.  As much as this video game snob hates to admit it, this Wii game actually provided us with some quality family time!

If you have the Wii system and are looking for a game that will get the kids off of the couch, this is a great bet.  It's available from Amazon.com or toysrus.com.

Wanna win your very own copy of Just Dance Kids?

Leave a comment below and tell me the song that is guaranteed to get your on the dance floor.

Winner will be chosen at random on November 29th.  Good luck!
–
I was compensated for this post, but my reviews represent my own opinions.  Ubisoft and Clever Girls Collective promote Blog With Integrity.

Operation Christmas Child

Today is the last day of Samaritan's Purse national collection week for Operation Christmas Child. But it's not too late to get involved! You can also mail your donation... go here for details. Your kids will love packing shoe boxes for children their own ages {hello, Target dollar spot!}, and I can't think of a better way to kick off Thanksgiving break!

And The Winner Is....

The winners of last week's Sesame Street Video Game giveaway are....

(((Erin Corbin Frank))) Sesame Street: Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure for the Wii

and

(((Juliet))) gets Sesame Street: Cookie's Counting Carnival for the Nintendo DS.

Congratulations! To claim your prize, please send an email with your name and mailing address to grace (at) formerlygracie (dot) com.

As a special THANK YOU for everyone who entered, we have a special promo code for those still interested in owning a copy of these great games.

Go to www.sesamestreet.org/videogames and enter the code MOMMY at checkout to save 10% on any Sesame Street Video Game. (Offer valid until December 20, 2010.)

Smarty Ants Review & $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

This is a sponsored review from BlogHer and SmartyAnts.

Georgia Caudle   - you've won!

This week, I got the chance to review the Smarty Ants reading program, and I’m excited to say that Blogher has generously provided a $100 Visa gift card and a Phonics Reading Pup with a 1 year SmartyAnts.com subscription for me to give away to one lucky reader!  Details below.

With two children in preschool and one in kindergarten, I am a huge fan of tools that will help them learn to read.  I am especially fond of programs that utilize technology, because my kids feel like they are playing a game while they are learning.  We have used other learning programs in the past and they have really increased my kids’ knowledge, especially in terms of letter recognition and sounds.  I think this program will be very successful in increasing their understanding.  I would even venture to say that this program will get my kindergartner reading simple words as quickly as his class time.

There are many things I like about the Smarty Ants system.  The graphics are well done, and the figures look almost 3-D.  The kids get to customize their ant, and there are several incentives for kids to continue learning.  The system is very individualized, and the first step is that the game recognizes your child’s learning level to cater the lessons specifically to them.  All of the games are heavy on letter sounds, which I think it is big plus.  There is not a lot of fluff in this game: it is VERY educational.  And yet my kids found it engaging and fun.  In between each lesson, the child has the opportunity to use tokens they have earned in exchange for new options as they customize their own ant.

As much as I love the individualized nature of the game, for my family it is also the greatest drawback.  I have three kids who would benefit from a reading system, and yet they are all at very different levels.  Once my eldest had set up the game for himself, there was no way to go back and simplify the lessons so that my younger kids could play.  My daughter was disappointed that since her brother set up the profile, that she had no option to choose a girl avatar and the corresponding clothes, which is a pretty big feature of the game.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to add another user, because I know I can’t be the only mom with multiple kids who would be interested in playing.  Finally, I found a note in the FAQ’s stating that additional users had to set up their own account, with a separate email (and a separate subscription fee, I’m assuming).  Having to have an adult log in and out for each child feels like a major hassle for me. 

We also got to review the Phonics Pup.  As a stand-alone toy, the Phonics Pup is great.  It’s ultimately a talking robot, and the designers did a great job making an automated toy still look cuddly and cute.  My daughter adored the dog and sat watching it sing and talk for a very long time.  I found the dog’s interaction with the computer to be a bit disappointed.  I had assumed it would interact while the child plays, but really the dog does not function while the Smarty Ants program is running.  An adult can program the dog to download songs from the website that correspond with the child’s learning level, but the dog does not sing or talk in conjunction with the game.  I think the dog is a great toy on it’s own, but parents buying the subscriptin along with the dog may be disappointed to find that they are not that connected, beyond both being great learning tools.




I would recommend both the Phonics Pup and the Smarty Ants system to parents.  I think they would make great Christmas gifts and I think they stand out as some of the better learning tools on the market.  I would issue a heavy warning to parents of multiples that the system may spark some frustration with your kids when only one can really use the system at their own level.

Here is a short video of my kids playing with the Phonics Pup and Smartyants system:



To learn more about SmartyAnts, visit their website. You can also purchase the Phonic Pup and a subscription at Amazon.com.

Win it: Want to win a $100 gift card, a SmartyAnts Phonics Learning Pup and one-year subscription? Leave me a comment below with your favorite aspect of the system. US residents only. No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) Follow this link (links to http://goo.gl/OhrZ5 ) and provide your email address and your response to the sweepstakes prompt
e) Sweepstakes ends at 5 PM PST on December 17, 2010

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. 

I Worry

I've been attending a lot of hosted events lately. Ones in which there is a set number of place settings and about a fourth of the expected guests no-show for whatever reason.

This past weekend it was a blogger lunch hosted by Nintendo and the American Heart Association at The W Hotel in San Francisco. The focus was on active play for a heart-healthy lifestyle, but all I could concentrate on were the lovely salads placed before empty seats.

A perfect wedge of lettuce surrounded by artfully-placed sliced cucumbers, drizzled with a light citrus balsamic vinaigrette.

As a panel of various cardiologists and pediatricians took the stage for a Q-and-A on heart disease, I watched the servers clear those salads. Tray-fulls of them still untouched and not a single slice out of place.

I wondered if they would just get tossed. How many resources- gas, water, time, etc.- were spent to get even one of those salads from a farm to that table?

Then, my thoughts turn to the servers taking them away. Assuming they didn't make a two-hour commute to work each day, I wondered if they're able to make a decent living in one of the most expensive cities in the US.

Are they able to afford the same heart-healthy, nutritious food for their families that the panel of docs are telling us we should be feeding ours? And how demoralizing is it to then toss mountains of perfectly good food away like rubbish? Every day? For a living?

I find myself worrying about a lot of things lately.

After being rushed to the ER in the middle of the night last week, my son received multiple breathing treatments. I had found him in his bed flailing around, gasping for air and too frightened to scream. We called for help right away and he made it through just fine.

I don't know what compelled me to check on him at the particular moment. My friend, Marci, would say that it was the Holy Spirit guiding me. Indeed it was, but I worry about the next time... What if I don't check on him until it's too late?

This time it was wasn't too late. As I sat by my son's hospital bed comforting him, I starting thinking about parents who would have been in that same situation fretting not only about the well being of their child, but the mounting medical costs.

The next morning, when I was asked to pay a larger, but not unreasonable amount for his asthma medication, I thought about how someone without our caliber of health insurance could afford the full price out-of-pocket.

Would their child just go without in the hopes that *knock on wood* he or she won't need it again?

I worry about my children's education. Should I support my local public school with all of its cost-cuts and bureaucracy or do I go broke on the Catholic school that's done so well loving and nurturing my son so far?

I worry about my aging parents who live half-way across the country. How will I afford to take care of them when I can barely afford kindergarten tuition?

I worry about the seventy-year-old man who collects the carts and bags the groceries at my local Safeway. It seems like such tedious and hard work. I wouldn't want to do it, but I wonder if he does. Or is he a former Silicon Valley engineer whose job was outsourced and this is just the last option for him?

I worry that my husband's own Silicon Valley career is so competitive and stressful, leaving him little time to sleep, eat, or exercise. When I phone rings, I expect to be the one informing me that he died of a heart attack at his desk just as his co-worker did a few weeks ago.

I worry that I've been a stay-at-home mom for too long and my punishment will be that I won't be able to find a job and support my children without my husband.

I worry that with another emergency like we had last week, we will join the millions of Americans drowning in debt over medical bills.

I worry about the teen mothers and abused women at the local shelter who I long to mentor, but feel I have abandoned because I can't seem to commit my time to anything other than my own needs and those of my family.

I worry about the world-ravaged by war, poverty, and hunger- that those around me seem to know nothing about. Or care.

I worry about lots of things and more, and for this I am told I am unpatriotic.

I'm called an intellectual elitist and a socialist and lazy and dumb.

I'm told I am not a true Christian.

And then, I begin to worry about our future.

Giving

Subba Reddy is an young man who lives in a slum near Vijayawada, India, with his parents and little sister. My husband and I have been sponsoring his education for the past six years through the charity Care and Share, but recently, he wrote to let us know that he's finished his program. Our relationship appears to be coming to an end, and I'm full of both joy and regrets. It's been a bumpy road.

We support three more kids at Care and Share also, and over the years I've spend a lot of time fretting about what lousy sponsors we are. I think about the kids often, but somehow I always forget their birthdays and only manage to send a couple of letters each year. One of our sponsored "daughters" complains that my letters are too short and I don't include enough photos. To be honest, I find it hard to know what to say to the kids beyond "keep up the good work in school" and "we love you." Making a connection with Subba Reddy has felt especially challenging. He was almost a teenager when we were matched, with essentially no facility in English. Anything I write to him has to be translated by an Indian social worker, and I find myself writing what I think might easily translate vs. a message of substance. And really, what do I have to say that might interest a teenage boy on the other side of the world?

Subba Reddy had never attended school before Care and Share gave him the opportunity. By necessity he was placed in a first grade classroom, a gangly 12-year-old surrounded by far smaller boys. He'd been studying for a couple of years and appeared to be making decent progress when we got some upsetting news: he'd decided to drop out and go to work with his parents as a rag picker instead. He'd simply found it too embarrassing to persevere as the oldest student in class. I cried, imagining him now spending his days sifting through mountains of toxic, stinking garbage with his bare hands, scrounging for recyclables that could be resold for a few rupees. I knew that his dropping out wasn't my fault, but still, I wished I'd done more.

Care and Share asked us to sponsor Subba Reddy's younger sister in his place, but we declined. We intended to donate the same amount as always, but we didn't want to be officially matched with a new child. Subba Reddy's exit confirmed that we were lousy sponsors, but we wanted to do better. We resolved to invest more time developing relationships with the other three kids...and promptly failed.

One of the nice features of the Care and Share program is that sponsors can send an extra $20 every now and then, which allows a child to shop for new clothes. I never remember to arrange these shopping sprees until Christmastime hits, and the year that Subba Reddy dropped out was no exception. Still feeling sad about what had happened, I sent $20 each for our three remaining kids, and impulsively threw in the extra $20 that I would have have spent on Subba Reddy if he was still in school. I trusted that Care and Share would put the money to good use.

Then, a small miracle occurred. Subba Reddy played hooky from work one day and stopped by the Care and Share office. "Your sponsor sent you money for shopping," the staff told him, and they took him to the store, just as they'd always done. The misunderstanding about the $20, and the reconnection it forged, eventually led Subba Reddy to enroll with other boys his age in a vocational training program. Here, he found his niche studying auto mechanics. Now in his latest letter, he writes:

Mom and dad, I am very happy to share that I have completed Technical course and working now. I am earning Rs. 4,000/- per month. I am happy that now I am able to support my family. Thank you for all you have given me till now.

A salary of Rs. 4,000 is not so much, even in India -- not quite $100 US -- but it is a respectable wage earned under safe conditions, and a far cry from rag picking. Subba Reddy has every right to be proud.

The truth is, we gave so little. We could have given so much more of ourselves. Thanks, Subba Reddy, for all you have given us. Keep up the good work. We love you.

SUNDAY GIVEAWAY: Sesame Street Video Games

Video games aimed towards my preschooler? Yes. Yes. I was skeptical too...

Besides the fact that the last thing my son needs is more screen time, there just hasn't been many (worthwhile) video games for preschoolers. Well, Warner Brothers Interactive and Sesame Street decided to do something about that. They created some!

Two, in fact: Sesame Street: Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure and Sesame Street: Cookie's Counting Carnival.

After attending a presentation and live demo given by the producer and educational consultant on these games (both moms, by the way. Yea! Girls in tech!), I decided to give them a chance.

Created with the same thoughtfulness, research, and innovation that has gone into forty-one years of Sesame Street's award-winning programing, I was impressed by how well these games engaged my preschooler.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure teaches letter identification, letter sounds, word families shapes, and colors, while exploring zoo habitats. Cookie's Counting Carnival focuses on math skills including number recognition, counting, shapes, and pattern recognition, while journeying through a carnival.
  
  
• Both games are available for the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC.
  
  
• The Wii and DS versions come packaged with "kid-friendly game helpers" for smaller hands. The Wii version comes with the most adorable, soft wii-mote covers, which hide unnecessary buttons and make it easier to hold. The DS version comes with a jumbo clicky stylus.

• Provides auditory prompt and reminders. "Hey, remember that thing you were doing? Let's go back to doing that..." Plus lots of positive reinforcement. Do they knows kids or what? Ha!

• Geared towards three- to five-year-olds, the game difficulty adapts to the child's level as they play.
  
  
• Allow parents to customize up to four profiles (great for multi-child/skill-level homes), review curriculum, and assist without talking the wii-mote away. A major finding from the game research: "Don't ever take a remote away from a child. It can get ugly..."
  
  
• The game also allows parents to set time limits on game play.
  
  
• The Wii version also incorporates the best part of the Wii experience--movement, connecting learning and cognitive skills with the entire body.
  

This week, we are giving away not one... but TWO versions of the game

Sesame Street: Elmo's A-to-Zoo Adventure for the Wii

OR

Sesame Street: Cookie's Counting Carnival for the Nintendo DS.

This means there will be TWO very lucky winners next week!

Leave a comment letting us know which version of the game you would like (Wii or DS) and the answer to this question:

Who is your all time favorite Sesame Street character and why?

You can also earn additional entries by...

1. Follow our blog (publicly) and leave another comment (or let us know if you already are).
   
   
2. Blog about the giveaway and link back here. Post your blog entry before you comment and let us know.
   
   
3. Add the Mama Manifesto button to your sidebar.
   
   
4. Follow @MamaManifesto on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway: "Giveaway- Win #SesameVGames from @MamaManifesto. Enter at mamamanifesto.com "
   
   
5. Become a fan of Mama Manifesto on Facebook by clicking the button on the left.
   
   
6. Drop by my personal blog to read more about meeting the producer and educational consultant who developed these games. Follow me (publicly), and/or leave a comment there.

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When entering extra entries, please post a *separate comment* for each entry, so we can keep track of extra entries.

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[This giveaway will be closed Saturday, 11/20 at 11 p.m. PST and the winner will be announced next Sunday!]

Weekly Goals Inspiration

I think one of the most common things I hear from fellow mamas is how much we all struggle with the un-ending to do list that comes with the territory of motherhood and kids underfoot. I have often described it as feeling like I am living out the plot of Groundhog Day - you know, where the same day starts over and over. Same tasks. Same snacks. Same dishes. Same chores. Same fights. Same. Same. Same.

It just is what it is. I don't think we can escape it. We will have a lot of mundane tasks, and we will probably end each day feeling like we did not really complete any one of them.

I saw this post over at Under the Sycamore and immediately thought, "AHA! That is a great tool for me." The whole idea of having weekly goals is brilliant! Because I have my daily grind goals that seem to suck up the time, and the name of the game in this season of life seems to be INTENTIONALITY. I have to be intentional with everything I want to do. My husband and I may really want to carve out some solo time, but if we are not intentional about it, it ain't gonna happen. Kristen and I have been talking a lot lately about how easy it is to all of the sudden realize that you aren't really connected to your peeps anymore. Life can sweep through and all of the sudden it has been a month or so since you have really connected with friends or other families that you care about.

The same thing is true for my goals that I would certainly like to accomplish. When Ashley Anne was writing about her goals I felt some serious mama solidarity.

So, I have put together a little Weekly Goals template for myself. Feel free to use. I loved the 4 categories so much that Ashely shared that I copied them. They are Home Organization (I'll be tackling my pesky linen cupboard this week), Project Completion (finishing my daughter's preschool scrapbook seems like a good one, since she is now in 1st grade), Something for Someone Else (love this idea of weekly planning how we can love on someone else), and Each Kid (this one makes my heart sigh because I desperately need to be intentional with doing something with or for each kiddo of mine every week. This week I am taking my girlie on a date, and my hubby is taking my son on a date.)

I know that there will be weeks (probably more than not) where I will not accomplish these goals. But, at least I am starting my week with them on my mind and working at that intentionality piece to the equation.

There is a lot to be learned about surrenduring to the beauty that is found in the mundane.

I continue to push forward.

ten on ten

Introducing ten on ten...

Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments!

Typically, the idea here is to document a whole day's worth of photos in one post, but we thought it would be fun to create a Mama Manifesto compilation. We hope this inspires you to remember to capture simple, everyday moments and record them, as well!

Here's a peek into our "ordinary"...

9 am, by Julie: Prepping Santa Fe Soup for a brand new mama. Bringing a meal is a guaranteed way to see and snuggle a sweet newborn.

10 am, by Grace: Somehow I've convinced my kids that Whole Foods is a destination. It's currently their favorite place to be.

11 am, by Cari: My youngest at soccer!

12 pm, by Ali: I got to steal away for a walk by myself (!!) at Balboa Island. It is one of my favorite places in the whole world, and is now only about 10 minutes from my house. I snapped this picture from my iphone, using the Instagram, an amazing free photo app.

1 pm, by Heather M.: 'Hi, I'm Cole. I refuse to nap unless I'm in the car. The second mommy takes me out, I wake up ready to be entertained. Good thing I'm cute!'

2 pm, by Kristen: Two siblings, engaged in an epic battle: Will we play princess dress-up, or beanbag spaceship? Finally, a compromise.

3 pm, by Sharon: My son Gobez is only 8, but he's been playing competitive soccer for the past year. Twice a week we head directly from school to practice. I get tired of the rushing, the routine and time that soccer demands of us. I think my son gets tired too, but his love for the sport and for his team draws a level of responsibility out of him that I don't see in any other situation. Today, as I watch him go, I try to be thankful that he is healthy, that he is strong, and that he already knows the joy of contributing to something bigger than himself.

4 pm, by Heather M.: Diaper change #6, and counting.

5 pm, by Elizabeth: 'wiggle it Mom, c'mon wiggle it!'

6 pm, by Grace: Precious cargo.

Calling in Sick

As a child, I adored reading above all other things, and if I had a "sick" day and had to stay home from school, I would usually stay in bed, deep under the covers, with stacks and stacks of books. I remember, especially, loving the poems of Robert Louis Stevenson -- an illustration from his A Child's Garden of Verses is above -- I believe there is a poem in there somewhere about a boy who stays home sick and makes a world of his covers and how they drape around his knees and legs. My mother brought me chicken soup in bed on a tray with a small vase, sometimes, and a flower. I'd sip soda from a straw, and when I tired of reading, I'd move downstairs and watch game shows on television under an afghan, my mind dulled by fever. I loved going to school and learning, liked nearly all my subjects and had plenty of friends, but missing a day of school was almost romantic in my memory -- it was quiet and peaceful and light, and while I didn't much like being sick, I knew that when I felt better I would go back happily.

I thought of all those things this morning when my Oliver woke up with a sore throat and stuffy nose. He had gone to bed complaining about his throat, but he tends to be dramatic, and I sort of blew him off. I'm NOT the type mother who coddles her children in that way and am very slow to worry when they're sick. I check for fever and then say You're fine, but Oliver's whines this morning were sufficient for me to ask him whether he wanted to go to school or not. He said No and climbed back into bed while I finished getting everyone else up and fed and lunchboxed and otherwise ready for Monday morning. During this time, Oliver did creep out of bed and began playing ball in the living room with his brother. When I heard the ball bouncing against the front door, I called from Sophie's room Stop playing ball in the house and then walked out toward the living room to admonish them both. I also told Oliver that if you can play ball in the house with your brother this early, you're well enough to go to school, so decide what you want to do. Because Oliver is Oliver and has a difficult time making a decision, we went back and forth on how sick he is, what warrants staying home from school, etc. etc., until finally he burst out crying and said I guess I will go to school. If I don't there'll be so much work to make up and then I won't get my homework done and everything in class and...


I won't belabor you with the drama, but we decided that he would go to school and if he felt terrible, he could go to the office and have them call me to pick him up. And after he left, clearing his throat, martyr-like, I closed the door on a very quiet house, relieved. It was only 7:50 am but the amount of drama that had already occurred that early in the morning was ridiculous. That's when I remembered my own "sick" days and how little pressure there was to have one, to take a day off and languish at home. Oliver is in FOURTH GRADE, and his worries about falling behind if he misses a day are jarring to me. I know about the incredible pressures our children are subject to in daily life -- the over-scheduling, the relentless pursuit of excellence in academics, in school choice, in preparation for nursery school, elementary, middle, high and then college. I know about the new documentary Race to Nowhere which tells of the extraordinary stress placed on our youth. I have done my best to shield my sons from most of this pressure, I thought, gifted with the extra burden of raising a child with severe healthcare issues. It's given me a vastly different perspective on how I want my sons to live, and I thought ourselves somewhat immune to what everyone else is constantly worried about.

But today's go to school or not dilemma and Oliver's anguish over it made me stop and think that some of these pressures are just inevitable. I wish that he could climb into bed and read Robert Louis Stevenson, place his plastic soldiers all over the sheet-draped mountains of his knees, sip soda from a straw and watch game shows on television. I wish that he could take a day off and then go back to school and high-five his buddies. Instead, he went to school with a bit of a sore throat and just as I'd feared, the office called around noon and said, Your son Oliver really wants to come home; he's not feeling well.

When I went to pick him up, looking pale and tired, he was happy to see me. He also had his homework with him.


Elizabeth blogs regularly over at a moon, worn as if it had been a shell.

MAMA LOVES … animal books

Since the moment my kid showed an interest in anything, it’s been all animals, all the time. The majority of our library is composed of animal stories, so to whittle it down to just five faves is tough. This is likely to be the first in a series of mama loves animal books – starting with stories that appeal to the pre-K crowd and moving my way through the age groups.


Wild About Books: Best book ever! “It all started when Springfield librarian, Molly McGrew, by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo.” This is the best rhyming story since the great Dr. Seuss, and combines my son’s two favorite things – animals and reading. My kid breaks down into hysterical laughter when the bugs in the insect zoo begin scribbling haiku. Let’s just say, dung beetles are funny!



My Very Own Name: Your child plus a cast of animal characters star in this sweet story – making this an ideal newborn or First Birthday gift. The animals all “gather around … to create a name for her (or him) with the perfect sound.” Together, animals of every ilk offer up a letter to include in the name – until your child’s name is revealed. There is also a “dedicated to” page for a personalized message. It’s not just a book, but a keepsake.

Chimp & Zee: Or, chimpanzees – in case you missed the play on words – are two cheeky monkeys from Jungletown, who hide from their mama and find themselves on a journey through the forest atop an elephant family. This clever story is filled with darling illustrations and a happy ending. My 5-year-old loves to read about other little monkeys being naughty (go wonder!), so this is a winner in our house.

There’s an Elephant in My Bathtub: Just released from first-time authors and father-son duo is this darling story about an imaginative 6-year-old who conjures up a bathtub full of wild animals. The story is illustrated with vivid, child-like drawings, where alligators brush teeth, monkeys jump in laundry baskets and elephants take bubble baths. This story is ideal for those kiddos who resist bath time. Add bubbles and a few wild creatures (of the plastic variety) and see what your little one thinks up!

Owen & Mzee: This is a true-life story of a young rhino rescued during a tsunami, who finds a new home and life-long friendship with a 130-year-old Aldabra tortoise at a Kenyan zoo. It will fill your heart with hope and love for humanity (and the animal kingdom) as these two unlikely creatures become inseparable, best of friends. Owen & Mzee is one in a series of true-life animal stories and the bipeds who care for them.