This post is sponsored by Happy Family Yogurt but the content and opinions expressed are my own.

Edith has never been the happiest baby in the world, despite her appearance in pictures. She's very... particular. She likes to be held all the time. But only facing outward. She likes to read books. But SHE has to be the one to turn pages, throwing the book to the floor when she's done (and screaming for you to pick it up again). The list could go on and on.

A couple of months ago, though, she turned even grumpier. I didn't think it was possible.

No teeth on the horizon, her sleep was about the same as usual (meaning, still bad), and she wasn't on the verge of any new milestones (unless you count the walking she refuses to even attempt, despite being capable).

Ah, though, every time she needed to go #2?

TRAGEDY.

My Sunday Best, Vol. 37: Pattern Mixing and a Game Day Recipe

This post is sponsored by Lindsay Olives, my absolute favorite olive brand! All opinions are my own :)

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! 

I hear there's a big game coming up in the next few weeks, but I couldn't tell you who's playing... I've fallen off the wagon when it comes to following any professional sports. I *do* notice that Sunday Mass tends to be a little less crowded when that biggest of big games rolls around. In that vein of things, I thought I'd share one of our favorite recipes, in the hopes that it inspires you for a tasty game day menu!

But first, here's what we wore...

Pattern mixing win? Fail? What do you think?

Also Mary Claire with the embroidery hoop hat/halo is obviously super-styling! She had already been to Mass earlier with my mom...

The Expert Scoop on Pregnancy Tests: From Moms Who've Been There (and a giveaway!)

6 kids into this parenting gig, and I thought I was an expert on all things related to pregnancy tests! But when I asked some fellow moms for their tips, I learned so much: Blue dye vs. pink dye, when during your cycle you can start to test, how *not* to sneak buying tests in the store past your kids... And what exactly is the best pregnancy test to use?

My Sneaky Mom Secret (for getting kids to bed early!)

We just added baby #6 to the family. And while the kids adore her, by about 4 pm I'm ready for a nap. Or bed. Or at least ready to eat ice cream or drink hot chocolate without the kids knowing!

A few years ago we stumbled upon a genius solution to getting kids to bed crazy-early. It only works a few times a year (once a month, max), but if you plan it right? Oh man, it's gold. 

The secret? New toothpaste.

Sweetening the Literacy Pot

Out of my five children, I've got three avid readers and all are avid listeners! We're fortunate enough to be able to surround them with excellent books, and with Grandma living in a house in our back yard, there's always someone available to read to them.

It's not uncommon to find them snuggled up with each other sharing a book, either (or, ahem, fighting over a book... but I don't take pictures when that happens)! I pride myself on being able to supply them with high-quality books to satisfy their voracious appetites, but recognize what a huge privilege it is that we can do so. Did you know that most children in low-income households in the US don't have access to any age-appropriate books at home? 

Enter First Book, a charity that provides high-quality books to low-income schools and families!

Second Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of the Day

 This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Tyson Foods, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #JDgreatdays  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

I'm not one to be controlled by my constant appetite but... Wait, I totally am. Y'all, especially when I'm pregnant, I'm SO prone to get completely and totally hangry if I don't get enough to eat. I've found that the best way to control this is to put myself on a fairly strict schedule of what to eat when, particularly when it comes to the first two meals of the day.

That's right: Breakfast and Second Breakfast.

The Worst Thing About Teaching (and How YOU Can Help)

When I went through my education program in college, we talked pedagogy. We talked philosophy. We talked big dreams and goals for changing lives.

But do you know what we didn't talk about?

Classroom budgets.

Or lack thereof.

It was a rude awakening for me to get my classroom budget my first year teaching and find out I had $100 to spend on every single thing I might need for 4 general music classes (2 per semester) and 4 choir classes. It wasn't even enough to cover music for one concert! Not to mention pencils, folders, replacement keyboards and headphones, etc... Over the years, I don't even want to think about how much of my personal money I spent on extra pencils, paper, and other general supplies. It was one of the worst things about teaching, the fact that I had to spend so much energy searching for good deals on school supplies and figuring out how to fundraise to cover the rest, when I should have been able to focus that energy on my students!

Did Somebody Say Potty Training?

So far in our parenting careers, we've successfully potty trained 4 children! Hurrah! I feel like I should get a medal, or maybe a bottle of wine?

But it's not quite a 100% success with the four oldest quite yet...

There's one lone nighttime holdout. 

Our oldest was night trained by the time he was 3. Our 2nd was 18 months (I KNOW. It was the BEST.) The twins took longer to day train, so I wasn't surprised that night training took a while as well - both were day trained by about 2.5, but it wasn't until after their 3rd birthday that we started having dry nighttime diapers every once in a while. And then... It stopped.

Well, one of them continued doing really well staying dry every night. The other twin? Had a dry diaper at Thanksgiving and still talks about it.

It's May.

The Easiest Way to Score on Black Friday

Every single year I think, "Wow! Black Friday deals! I should get out of the house and shop so I don't miss any!"

And every single year Black Friday rolls around and I think, "It's cold, I'm tired, and I'd really rather not leave the house..."

Okay fine, last year I had a better excuse...

So my Black Friday shopping occurs in the comfort of my home, either on my phone or through the handy dandy laptop! I've kicked myself after putting an order through only to realize I probably could have found a coupon somewhere to use with it...

Play With Your Veggies!

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Weave Made Media® and DreamWorks, but all my opinions are my own. #weavemade #VeggieTalesfun http://my-disclosur.es/RgFrEH

We might have a serious problem in our house:

My kids won't stop pretending to be vegetables.

I know, not the most popular form of pretend, right? But VeggieTales is one of their absolute favorite shows, and their love for it has permeated the rest of their play!

It started off when we decided they'd only be watching "religious" TV during Lent. They were totally fine with this, because they knew it meant VeggieTales was still allowed! Any show that makes them laugh hysterically (Silly Songs with Larry, anyone?) and imparts a lesson in faith & morals is definitely a winner in my book.

VeggieTales has quickly became a favorite show, which I love because I remember so many of the movies and songs from my childhood! And it's a great way to reinforce Bible stories in a totally different manner than other books and movies.

They've all got their own characters - Peter (the baby) is Junior Asparagus, Cecilia is Laura (the carrot - Junior's best friend), John Paul is Jimmy (the gourd), and the twins are Bob and Larry.



So you can imagine their excitement at getting their own stuffed Bob and Larry toys!

Words cannot express their joy. They. Are. So. Happy!!! I think it's particularly telling that they're actually leaving me alone to make them breakfast in the morning because they're so ecstatic to have Bob and Larry to play with. And I totally get a kick out of the fact that they're playing with vegetables!

They've immediately brought them into the inner circle - Mary Claire very carefully tucked Larry in before she went off to eat her breakfast.

And Bob is always giving Larry piggyback rides!

We've been eating a lot of cucumbers and tomatoes lately, and every single time we do the kids talk about how they're eating Bob and Larry. And they're happy about it. 

It's kind of weird...

Needless to say, this is one toy that isn't getting forgotten any time soon! Bob and Larry have been playing in the sand with the twins, going down the slide, playing in the water table (they dry quickly!), and even sleeping with them!

The best part? Bob and Larry have been taming the post-nap grumpies - Mary Claire and Elizabeth are usually SO angry when they wake up from their naps, but the moment they see Bob and Larry, they're back to their cheerful selves!

Peter's a big fan too - I think we might have to head back to the Walmart where we got these and pick up a Junior Asparagus for him! And Cecilia and John Paul want to know when they'll be getting their own, too - they have Laura Carrot and Petunia Rhubarb at Walmart, too (and all sorts of other sizes of toy, including GIANT Bob and Larry!). You can check out more news from VeggieTales on Facebook!

Who are your favorite characters? Are my kids the only ones who pretend to be vegetables?

Veggie Tales Noah's Ark: Review & Giveaway

The kids are on a serious Veggie Tales kick lately, which I'm 100% okay with because Veggie Tales is awesome.

We scored an advance copy of Veggie Tales Noah's Ark and previewed it yesterday.  As I expected, everybody loved it!

I don't think there's a child in all the world that doesn't know the story of Noah's Ark.  As Veggie Tales films always are, the movie was faithful to the main themes of the story, with obvious embellishments.

Like, you know, water slides and karaoke in the ark.  John Paul looked at me, eyes lit up, and said, "This must be the FUN Noah's Ark!!!"

"Do you really think they had Karaoke back then?"

"Yup.  Definitely."

So, you know, suspend your disbelief.

Wayne Brady and Jaci Velasquez (anyone else addicted to the WOW CDs back in the day?) are the voices of Shem and his wife, and the story is told from Shem's perspective.  He and his wife arrive back from their honeymoon to see that Noah (Pa Grape) has made a ginormous boat and that they're expected to live there instead of the adorable house they were planning on building.

They were entranced!  Elizabeth's favorite part was the pigs.  Because they were pink.  ("MOM!!!  Da pink pig is puyying da WAGON!!!")

Cecilia was very pleased that Mr. Hamster made his way back to Mrs. Hamster in the end.

Best line?  Noah: There's no giant squid in this story - come back for Job!

I laughed out loud :)

The music was decent, although none of the songs were particularly catchy (but that could be because it was only our first time watching it).  Very gospel-inspired, and the last song really reminded me of "A Star is Born" from Hercules.

My kids loved it, and I think your kids will too!  I've got a copy to give away for YOU - what a fun Easter basket treat that will be!  

You've got until the end of the day Monday to enter (US only, please) - I hope you win! 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer Giveaway - Got Sunglasses?

Summer!  It's practically here!

 

 

As a teacher, I'm preeeeetty happy that summer vacation is here, even though it's technically not summer quiiiite yet.

 

  And while I don't really have a "vacation" because this just means I'm doing the mom thing full-time, it means no worrying about the babysitter eating half the brisket that's in the slow cooker for dinner, no wondering if there's enough milk in the fridge for the babies, no needing to get dressed and out the door by 8:30... 

 

And it means a whole lot of play dates, watching the big kids try to push each other and the babies on the swings (Cecilia pushing John Paul = funniest thing EVER!), and day trips on Andrew's days off.  So excited!

 

With all this time outside and on various outings, I keep my sunglasses with me ALL the time.  But I'm just not a huge fan of them...  They're kind of huge, a little tight, and not all that flattering.  I mean, who has time to try on sunglasses with a trillion kids at home?  Not I!

 

That's where Firmoo comes in!  Not only can you get your first pair free (INCLUDING sunglasses!), but they offer free shipping for US orders over $39!  And they have an online system where you can virtually try on the glasses after uploading a picture.

 

 

You can customize how your sunglasses are tinted, even if you want to look like this lady:

 

 

Nobody's judging you, chick!

 

Here's where YOU come in!  The awesome folks at Firmoo want me to give away five $20 E-vouchers to use on their Classic Series frames.  In addition, if I get 50 or more valid contestants, they'll give the GRAND prize of a pair of FREE glasses from the Classic Series, shipping included!

 

So what are you waiting for?  Leave a comment to tell me your favorite Classic frame, like my facebook page, follow me on twitter, and tweet about the giveaway!  Not only are you giving yourself a chance to win, you might help someone else win the GRAND PRIZE!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received no compensation for this post - I just wanted to give you all a chance to win some stuff!  And if 100+ people enter the giveaway, I get a free pair of sunglasses and I'm thiiiinking of getting purple ones, so enter, okay?