Today's Blog Brought to You by the Letter "S"

For Swagbucks!




Have you signed up for it?
No.
Oh you are missing out.
Just like google except you can win Swagbucks which you can then cash in for prizes. I already have enough for over 5 Amazon $5 gift cards.
Woo.
I use it for every thing.
So click on the link, sign up & have a ball collecting those points.
I even use it as my search engine at work.


I just got back from the Dollar Tree.
My neighborhood one is a hole but they do have some stuff that is worthy.
I got a few things I am going to alter.
They have a really cute St. Patrick's sign that I picked up & I even got some pompom's for Cheeks to use when he does "crafts".


So anymore guesses on the upcoming giveaway?
I will give you another hint.....X marks the spot.
So put that with the hint the other (rain, rain, go away).
Give me a guess in the comments.
Every guess will count as an entry.


Woops out!

Oh That's Right! He's Back!!!!

Behold....Chef Gordon Ramsey!

He's back.

Last night was the season premier of Hell's Kitchen.

Who watched?

You know my tushie was planted on the couch. Let me tell ya, the premier episode did not disappoint! Ramsey was at his finest...asking "Who cooked the diaper?" & spitting food everywhere. Love it!

Wanna know the sad part?

I fell asleep with 5 minutes to go & have no idea who went home.

Can you believe that crap!?!!!!???

Sigh.

I will find out who went home, if you know, leave me a comment & let me know.

On another note, keep your eyes peeled for another fantastic giveaway. I will be posting over the weekend or even maybe later today.

Hint: Rain, rain go away, groundhog wants to play.

That's all you get.

If you can guess correctly what I am going to be giving away, it will earn you one entry in the "mystery" giveaway.

Got an idea?

Let me know!

Woops out!

A Review, A Discussion, Call it what you will..

I recently had the pleasure of participating in the Silicon Valley Moms Blog Book Club, I am part of their NJ Mom's blog (<~~~see link over there). The book we read was "Who by Fire" by Diana Spechler . This book had me at hello. The author starts the action in the prologue, adds twists and turns and ends with a finale. Just like a great action flick.



The novel centers around Bits, a young woman, who must travel to Israel to "rescue" her brother, Ash, from living the life of an Orthodox Jew. She is traveling there under the premise to bring him home to attend the funeral of their little sister who was kidnapped 13 yrs earlier. Both children feel the guilt of allowing that to happen. Their mother is an expert at giving "Jewish guilt."



Have I experienced "Jewish guilt?" No, I was raised by an Irish LDS mother, in a prodominantly Jewish town, who knew how to throw guilt with the best of them. Try that on for size!



Bits & Ash's mother wants her children home, where she can keep an eye on them & "keep them safe." I can definitely relate to that. As mom to 3 boys I want to keep them all safe 110% of the time. I want to know where they are and feel that only I can make sure they are taken care of to the nines. Sure, their dad is capable and he did a great job raising the older two til we got together in 2006 (as did their mother...she is a very good mom!!) I just feel that when they are with me, it's my responsibility to maintain their well being.



Bits & Ash's mother feels so strongly that she hires a man to help her get her son back from what she considers a cult. Would I do this? In a heartbeat. Do I support alternative religions? strict religions? Yes. Do I agree that religions are a cult? No. Being LDS I have often been referred to as being part of a cult. My reply to that is gather your information before you make such a remark. If I truely thought my child was a member of a cult, I would be on the first plane to find said child, do whatever I have to do to drag his tushie home! The same as the mother in the story. She is doing what she feels necessary and having some much needed "fun" along the way (to find out the fun, read the book!!).



"Who By Fire" is one book that will surprise the reader. Diana Spechler keeps the story going with ups, downs, twists, turns. She tells each family members story with great detail without making it boring. Having the mother as the protaganist allows for the tale to flow like a smooth river in the depths of Autumn. It also lets the reader in on a lifestyle/religion that many are not privy too while not preaching about it. Hard to do but Diana Spechler does it with ease.



So take my advice and read this book. Read it from a parent's perspective, read it from a child's perspective, read it from a siblings perspective, just read it! You will not be disappointed!!!



Woops out.

Rambles, Mutterings & Rants

Superboy up there slept til noon today.
Ah, must be nice.
I remember being 15, I wasn't allowed to sleep til noon.
That Nana, she was a tough one.




Not much has been going on here.
Been sick since Thursday.
Had a 102.8 fever & intestinal issues.
Then Friday I felt better, went to work & 30 mins into my work day I had to leave.
Felt achey & still had the intestinal issues.
Today I am still achey & fighting the intestinal issues.
Good freakin times!



Now I would like to address something.
Something that plagues millions of drivers in the world.
Mainly those on freeways, highways, interstates, whatever you would like to call them.
I want to know why when there is say a tow truck on the shoulder of the road, hitching up a disabled car, that everyone must go 15 miles an hour so they can gawk.
Don't get me wrong, I am a nosey Nellie just like the rest of you
BUT
at the end of the day I want to go home.
And seriously, I could care less about a car getting towed.
If you are that concerned, pull over & help out!
Let those of us who need to pick up the little ones from daycare, then go home & cook dinner, do laundry & bathe little ones get home!



Also, rain.
It's rain people.
It's not dense fog in blackout conditions.
It's rain.
Water.
Wet.
That's it.
It doesn't require you to go 25 mph under the speed limit.
Unlike yourselves I do not have the luxury of arriving to work at my leisure.
I have a time schedule to keep & if everyone just watches the road, the people around them & maintains the speed limit in these conditions we will all arrive safely at our destinations.



On another note, never spray paint in windy conditions.
Don't ask why I know this.
Just take my word for it.




Woops out!

It's a Freebie! It's a Freebie!

Have you signed up for this one yet?

I signed up & I have already received my sample (YUMMY!) & a bunch of coupons.
Easy Peasy.

Go.
Sign Up!
What are ya waiting for??!!!


Woops out!

Crash & Burn

See that pile up?
Yep.
Someone had a bit of a pile up last night & today.
Cheeks decided to pile up some vomit on my lower back.
Ah, refreshing.



I still think he feels blah.
He's upstairs for a nap.
He slept til 10am & went back down for a nap at 2.
They say sleep is the best thing, right?
Poor kid.



I know he doesn't feel good when he turns down Cheese Puffs.
Which we can all thank Pop Pop Bob for introducing those non messy snacks to my son.
Thanks!



Not much going on here.
What's going on in your neck of the woods?
Who are you rooting for in the games today?]
Of course, we are Steelers.
I would love to see an Eagles vs. Steelers Super Bowl.
How exciting eh?



Well I have rambled on enough.
Tell me your team today.
Woops out!

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!!

The winner have been chosen for the Giveaway



They are:
Noah's Mommy
Cyndi
Mary R.
Mom's Who Save
&
MJ



Congrats!!!
Please send me your physical addresses to: mkw70@comcast.net
I will get your prize out in the mail this week.



Woops out!

Because I haven't been made fun of enough...

Feast your eyes on this puppy.
Yep.
That's me.
The brunette (shhh...it will be our little secret about the red hair).
The blonde is my friend from high school, Jen.
She & I lost touch about 10 yrs ago & recently reconnected thanks to Facebook (love that site!)

I was something, wasn't I? LOL
Big hair
&
Um, thin.
God, I was thin & I thought I had a weight problem!
Oh to be that weight again.


Can you believe this pic was taken 20 yr ago!?
I know all my faithful readers are thinking "Shut up! You don't look a day over 25"
Well tis true.
In a mere 6 mos I will be only one year away from 40.


I was going to turn this post into a 25 things about me meme post but I thought eh, why not just ramble since it's what I do best.


What I really want to know today is...
Have you attended any high school reunions?
Did you have fun?
Let me know.


BTW, don't forget about my giveaway here:
Giveaway

Woops out!

Red Alert! Red Alert! Freebie!!!

It's a Freebie, girls!! It's a Freebie.


Valid TODAY only, Suave is giving away a coupon to every woman to get a free bottle of Suave.


Hello!
Free.
Go!
Now!
Click any of the "Suave" words to get your coupon!!!


Woops out!

G! I! V! E! A! W! A! Y!

What does that spell!!???
Giveaway.
Oh that's right.
It's Giveaway time here at Meghan's Mindless Mutterings.
And pretell, what is it that is being given away.
Feast your eyes on these puppies:

Yep! I have 5 pairs of $1.00 off coupons that I will be giving away.
They are for the new Ore-Ida Steam n Mash Potatoes.



So how do you enter this fabu giveaway.
Well, now that is easy.


1. Leave me mad blog love telling me why you like mashed potatoes.
2. Post a link on your blog back to this awesome giveaway (then let me know w/ a link to it)
3. Twitter about it & let me know that you did (my twitter id is mkw70)
4. Follow my blog or subscribe to it & let me know



Really? How simple is that?
I know! Really simple.


This giveaway will be kept open until Friday, Jan 16th, at 8pm.
So get to entering y'all! (I am apparently channeling Paula Deen this morning, butter anyone??)


Woops out!

And to what to my wondering eyes should appear?

A layout,the first for the year!!!
This was taken Christmas 2007.
I did not reach my goal of getting them scrapped before Christmas 2008 but I am close to it.
I did another layout from 2007 Christmas
BUT
I can't share yet.
It's for a telephone scraplift challenge that Tara is hosting on Divalicious.
When she gives the ok, I will post it.



So the snow yesterday....
Was that a bust or what?
Big whip de do.
It's all gone already.
I wouldn't mind a nice, good snowfall.
Of course, I say that now, until I have to clean off my van & then deal with wet shoes coming into my house.
Cheeks has yet to experience really good snow to play in.
I am anxious to see what he would think of it.



Tell me, do you have snow where you are?????
Woops out!

Little of this, Little of that

Good Saturday Morning, Citizens.


Have you made any new resolutions?
I made a few (like say getting someone to break his binky-crack habit & learn to use the big boy potty).


I also decided to live more green.
I have been getting this newsletter for about a year now & wanted to share it with you.

I signed up for it & it comes in my email.
That's it.
Nothing else.
It always has tips & great links that you can look at or just hit the delete button & call it a day.
Go sign up for it.
It will at least give you something to read, say, when you are at work & are supposed to be "busy" so you are reading your personal email.
Yea, that's it!



On another note, someone is refusing to use the potty.
I have talked to Bobster about it, over & over, but he just refuses to go.
Imagine changing those diapers.
"shudder"
Seriously, Cheeks just goes "No potty" & does his biz on the floor.
I have taken to bribing him. I tell him the reward, pause, let him realize how cool the reward would be, then I tell him he has to go on the big boy potty.
He then shakes his head & says:
"No Potty"
He loves to flush the potty
BUT
only when he wants to, like right before brushing his teeth when the toilet doesn't need to be flushed.
He's only 2 & 4 months, so is it too early?

He does have his own potty.
It's called the Royal Flush.
It plays royal music if you pee/poop in it.
That's a no go as well.
He will sit on it & read or use it as a stand still
BUT
to use it as it is intended is a no go.

He knows when he has to go potty b/c he will usually go off by himself & then came back smellin oh so pretty.
So he knows.
But he's happy as Bobster says "Having a trail of flies following him"
I am ready for him to move onto big boy pants.
Sure.
Being in diapers is the last trace of having my "baby" (well he still has the binky, but we are really working on that)
BUT
I am willing to abandon Pampers & Huggies & move onto Spiderman & Blues Clues undies.


One day right?
So readers, if you have had a boy how old where they when you potty trained them?
How did you do it?
Let me know.


Woops out!

Ouch!

In short:


I tried to take Cheeks out of the dining room chair last night to put him in the corner (Don't ask).
I was pulling him up.
Almost had him out when....
BAM!
His feet caught on the dining room chair & knocked it over.
On my left foot's big toe.



I calmly stood him up.
Bent over.
Screamed.
Yelled a bad word that I am sure will make it into his vocab.



He said "You ok Mommy?"
I told him "NO"
He said "I kiss it"
So I let him kiss my toe.



It throbbed all night
&
became blue instantly.
It's like aqua blue.
Lovely shade.
Down by the nail bed.



On top of that I had nightmares all night.
Bobster thought it was Cheeks that was yelling for me
When it was me yelling "Mommy" in my sleep.
He came upstairs to find out who it was.
I admited it was me.
He got me some advil for the throbbing toe
&
Comforted me.



Now I am off to work w/ a throbbing, bruised to infinity toe, no sleep & a hive on the corner of my left eye.




Good times!
Woops out.

Mid Week Rambles & a Kick A** Recipe!

Is that not the best photo?
Can you believe one is a size 14 wide & the other one is bringing his tootsie's in at an 8.5?
Yep.
I live with the Flintstones!
I wear a 10 so Cheeks is definitely going to have to big feet.
AND
you know what the say about big feet...................
Big Feet, Big Boots.
Get your mind out of the gutter people!



Speaking of Cheeks, it seems he has added some key phrases to his vocabulary.
Now keep in mind, we do not have pristene mouths in my family.
I know, can you stand it???!!!
Anyway, he learned the following phrases from me, the Grandpop & Bobster.
In that order.
His 1st phrase of choice:
Holy Sh*t
This was learned when he had diarrhea about 2 weeks ago & I went to change his diaper.
For the love of God it was bad & that phrase just flew out of my mouth.
He instantly repeated it.



His 2nd phrase:
Kick Ass
Yep.
The Grandpop said in front of him "Well thankfully he doesn't know how to say Kick Ass"
Hmm......
He does now.
Verbatim.
Came flying right out of his mouth.



And finally, while watching the Eagles game last Sunday, a call was made that Bobster didn't like.
Well being a man, he jumped up & yelled:
Bullsh*t.
Immediately, Cheeks pointed at the tv & yelled:
Bullsh*t.



Ah, makes a mother proud to hear her child's vocab growing by leaps & bounds.
Good times!



Now he also likes to yell "Hello!' when he hears a bell.
Like the other day.
In the deli line at the food store.
They were ringing the bell & yelling for #62.
Well I guess #62 wasn't coming fast enough for Cheeks so he yelled
"Hello!!!!!, Hello!!!!!!"
I was mortified.



So now you see how my son picks up verbage.
I am so proud.



Now onto a simple, quick, fantabulous recipe.
It's done in like 10 mins.



Pork Chops w/ Kick
You will need:
Boneless pork chops (4)
BBQ Sauce
Chili Powder (2 tbs)
Garlic Salt
Pepper


Turn on the broiler.
Line a cookie sheet w/ foil, spray w/ Pam or whatever you would like to use.
Season pork chops w/ garlic salt & pepper.
Both sides.
Rub with chili powder.
Both sides.
Place on cookies sheet.
Broil each side approx 4-6 mins (til juices run clear)
Remove.
Coat each side generously with BBQ sauce.
Return to broiler, 1 min. each side.
Viola.
This is kick ass readers.
So yummy!
Try it tonight.



Got a quick easy recipe to share with me?
I am always on the lookout.
Leave me blog love with your recipe in it.
Puh-leese!



Woops out!

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Oh that's right.
The giveaway is over.


We have a winner.


I went to Random.org to generate the winning number.


Here it is:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
15
Timestamp: 2009-01-07 01:41:14 UTC


And our lucky comment is:
Donna said...
I LOVE your BLOG. (Does that count as blog love?)
1/4/09 12:02 AM



Email me Donna for your prize!!!
Congrats.



And to all my faithful readers, all, um 3 of you, there will be another giveaway in the near future!



Woops out!

It's the 1st Giveaway of 2009!!!!!

What could it be???
What could it be???



How about your very own box of My Fruit Roll Ups.
You can personalize them!
How much fun is that!!!!!?????!!!!!
Woo.



So here is what to do to get entries:
1. Leave me mad blog love.
2. Follow me
3. Twitter about it.



Easy Peasy, Cottage Cheesy.



I will keep this contest open until Tuesday, Jan 6, at 8pm.



If you twitter about it, DM on twitter so I know.



I will pick the winner, only one winner, by the random number generator.



Ok, whose gonna be 1st to enter????



Woops out!

It's a New Years Day Par-Tay!

Have you heard of the Roost?
Well if you haven't, click on her name & go check her out.
Fabu blog!
Anywho she's having a Mr. Linky New Years Party.
So I thought, what a fun topic to do & decided to join in.
It's to post your 10 fav photos of 2008.
Well I have a ton so I sort of did it by my fav events.
Still counts tho, right? There's photos, so I think it does. Teehee.
Join me in my walk thru 2008.

Feb 2008
Cheeks first haircut.
The Nana gave it to him at her salon.

This is my Grandparent's house.
For the Love of God, I have no idea why the new owners think these outdoor decorations, monstrosities, which ever you prefer, are nice. I don't get it, I doubt my Grandparents would. Sigh. Anyway my sister discovered this & took a pic & I thought why not share.

This pic, well really, words can not describe why it's my favorite.
Looks like he should be committed, doesn't it?

Over Memorial Day, we took the Nana & PopPop Bob to the Carranza Memorial (I don't feel like linking so just google it please). I just thought this was a sweet moment.

Our & mine first time camping for the weekend. Thank God for an air conditioned trailor, cause Mommy doesn't do tents!

Cheeks turned one in August.

Cheeks helping bake his big brother's birthday cake!

And TimBob turned 15. The new accessory for 15 yr old boys...binkies!

And Chris became double digits baby! 10!!!!!

I just adore this pic because not only can you see the massive dustballs under my table, the 3 empty Pepsi can's & the lovely fan on the floor, I think I captured the love between the big brother & the little brother!!!

So those are my top 10.

What are yours?

Leave me mad comment love with your top 10 & don't forget to participate in the par-tay!

Happy 2009!

Woops out!