My name is Anita DeFrank and I am a soda-holic. Isn’t that the first step? Seriously, ask my friends and they’ll tell you they never see me without a pepsi in my hands. 24/7/365

That’d be why I’m really excited about this new product I found via Twitter of my good friend @Ravish30 – actually I found the contest to win one and the name of the product really caught my attention. It’s called SodaStream

Sounds cool, doesn’t it? (Well if you’re a soda-holic like me then it really caught your attention as it did mine, lol!)

I clicked on her giveaway link just so I could at least see what the product was. You’ve got to at least go to SodaStreamUSA (link above) and check out the video. It’s pretty short but it shows you exactly what this thing does and how it works. To make the long story short … you make your own soda at home! Do you have any idea how much money that would save me??

And I’ll admit upfront, the main reason I’m telling our readers about this is cause it’ll get me 5 extra entries to Laura’s contest at New Age Mama’s but that’s not the only reason. I truly think this product is cool! Plus Laura gave it a great review to boot. I’d love to get my hands on one of these!

You too can get a few chances to win by entering here:
http://newagemama.blogspot.com/2010/01/sodastream-review-and-giveaway.html

And I’ll wish you good luck but darnit, I really want this thing! lol!

{Sigh} Now if only I could just convice the folks at @sodastreamusa to let me do a review for you all …

I really never thought I’d have to make a post such as this but unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more apparent that I do. Do you know for sure whether or not child is being served peanut butter or any of the other items on the recall list at school?

I have to assume that most parents/guardians assume that they don’t need to worry about this. Well, it sure seems as though that’s a bit too much assuming! I was certainly one of those parents that assumed a school district of all places would stop serving any items on the peanut-containing recall list such as peanut butter until this salmonella scare was over.

I felt pretty confident in this until I read of one school that is serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to their students. I mean wow – in that case, the school nurse wasn’t even completely familiar with the salmonella outbreak!

Of course after reading that, a quick review of my children’s school lunch menu was required. Sure enough, wasn’t peanut butter and jelly on the menu for today? Now granted – I must mention here that these menus are written up ahead of time. So there is a very good chance that these menus were created before the salmonella scare. But for as many menu change memos we receive on a regular basis – I’m quite surprised we didn’t receive one assuring us that peanut butter would not be served.

The menu also gave them the choice of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or lebanon bologna. In no uncertain terms, my children have been well advised that they must choose the latter. But should there really be a choice?

In my honest opinion – NO! Quite frankly, I don’t give a rats behind where the outbreaks were spotted and where they weren’t. There is a major peanut recall in this country and I don’t want to take any chances. Why would you?

If most parents are assuming it’s not being served and most children don’t have a clue about the dangers – what’s going to happen? Yep, most children are going to be eating those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because most children love PB&J! If everyone is assuming that it’s common sense – who’s going to know for sure?

Upon further investigation of the lunch menu, I see that we also have peanut butter sandwiches planned for two more days throughout the month of February. Only difference is – there is no either/or choices on those days. Peanut butter sandwiches are the only thing listed. I don’t see anything else that’s on the recall list.

I’m really hoping our school district was smart enough to not risk it. We’ll see what happens when my children come home. As a matter of fact, I’ll find out a little sooner. I have a meeting with my son’s school teacher this afternoon. I will certainly be asking her and voicing my concerns if need be.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are so danged easy to replace too! So, forget the peanut butter – who cares! Maybe you’ll tick off a few children but really it all boils down to – do you want a complaining child who’s alive or would you rather risk no complaints from a dead child?

Overreacting? I could be but is it really worth taking the risk? Does it really hurt to err on the cautious side? I for one don’t think so. The moment that recall went out – everything peanut-related went sraight to the trash. Do not pass Go – Do not collect $200! I will not purchase another peanut-related food item until well after the signal that all is well and good. I believe I can do without anything peanut-related for a while.

If it means keeping me and my family alive and healthy – yeah – I don’t have that much of a love affair with peanuts. Besides, it gives me the chance to try a new ice cream too!

So, I highly recommend pulling out those lunch menus! See what’s on there. Cross-reference it to the FDA’s recall list (link above) Make sure your children know what they should not be eating right now and why. And well, call that school! If your childen are being served peanut butter – I would want to know why!

Limos, helicopter rides, llamas, cougars, grand ballrooms and horses? Oh my!

Disappointed children, complaining parents, unreasonable gift requests and angry family members? Oh my!

There was a story featured on Yahoo’s homepage this morning about how to hold a child’s birthday party for under $100. Cool – gotta read this!

A lot of us fall into the same pit all the time. You’re planning this great birthday party and the guest list gets longer and longer. You need to buy this for that and that for this and the shopping list gets longer and longer. Oops! Don’t forget the goody bags. Before you know it, you’ve racked up this huge bill for a couple of hours of entertainment. And that’s BEFORE you buy the present!

A child’s party for under $100 (before the present) …
Eh, that’s not too bad I guess but I’m sure you’ve probably been in my shoes a time or two when spending $100 and then buying a birthday present just isn’t feasible. We personally have 2 children with birthdays within about 2 weeks of each other. That’s $200 plus presents all within a month. Ouch – that can get to be a little too much.

I know lots of times I’ve planned these simple little parties – wanted to keep them simple and the next thing I know, I’m so broke I don’t have the cash on hand to tip the waitresses! Or I’m putting a bill off for another week or so just so I have enough gas money to get me through to the next paycheck.

When you’re making sacrafices like this for a child’s birthday party – some may consider this a not-so-smart idea. We all want our children’s birthdays to be remembered for many years to come but when you can’t remember where you went from one year to the next and they’re all starting to run together, was it really that worth it?

You should take a peek at the artice though because not only does she herself share some great ideas, so does the readers leaving comments and for a little kick of humor, the writer even shares a link to another article she had written when one celebrity couple dropped a whopping $100K (yes, that’s $100,000.00!) for their child’s 2nd birthday party! Is this child even going to remember this?

How to throw a kid’s birthday party for $100.

(Birthdays Without Pressure will show you where some of the cougars, llamas, helicopter rides, etc. from above came from. It’s amazing how society is raising our children to actually be a disappointed GUEST!)

For my daughter’s first birthday, my father had passed away 2 days before which of course kind of dampened the festivities. As much as we desperately tried to keep everything upbeat and fun (just as my father would have wanted), we still couldn’t help but feel down.

To me, I always felt as though a child’s first birthday should be somewhat of a “big deal” even though I’m well aware of the fact that the children probably aren’t even going to remember it. We felt as though my daughter was robbed of her first birthday so for her second, we had really gone out – including a visit from the great and grand purple dinosaur!

Then from there it’s like every year we’re trying to outdo the previous. Eventually, it becomes out of control and the spendind rediculous.

Taking a look at the pictures from my daughter’s second birthday party – it looked like Christmas morning for the whole family. That was however because we had invited so many of our friend’s children and family member’s children – I mean in 1998 – what child under the age of 5 wouldn’t want to see Barney??

We certainly should have asked for presents to not be brought or maybe even a donation to a local charity in her name would have been better. For a child to receive that many presents on one birthday was just way too much.

Two weeks after my daughter’s 4th birthday, along came her little brother. Okay so for the 4th we need to really make it a big thing – we don’t want her feeling left out or forgotten right before the birth of her new baby brother, right? And the following year, we have the little guy’s first birthday party – which remember – I thought should be a grand time – and also remember – my daughter’s birthday was just two weeks before that! Yep, eventually we spiralled quickly into one big money racket!

(Might I remind you as well that my daughter’s birthday usually falls right before they start back to school and my son’s right after – so let’s not forget the new clothes expense too! Needless to say, my children often got new clothes for their birthdays too!)

It took us six years to find the perfect solution for us! We realized if we waited one week after my son’s birthday, we would get a severly discounted trip to a local amusement park (because it was right after the peak season). I checked with him to see if he would be interested in going and he was thrilled! We had an absolute blast! The four of us at a local amusement park for the day. This turned into being the party and the gift all wrapped in one.

So, unless we come up with something else in the meantime, my husband and I and the kids all have a new plan for birthdays. We’re all thrilled with it too because you’d be amazed at the benefits. So, from here on out … here’s our new plan.

– The birthday child gets to pick the amusement park.

– They are well aware that we will have to research and if within 2 weeks, we can get discounted tickets because of the time of the year, we will go then.

– Depending on the finance situation when the birthdays roll around, the birthday child is allowed to bring one friend.

– The birthday child decides what rides we go on in what order, what we have for lunch and pretty much gets to run the day.

– Each child is given an “allowance” so-to-speak for games and/or souveniers, etc.
(Once the money is gone – no more games will be played – no more souveneirs, etc will be purchased.)

– The birthday child is allowed to choose one novelty item, souveneir, game, etc. above and beyond the allowance and within reason.
(For example on our first trip, my son had chosen a hermit crab – which of course we also had to buy all the accessories – cage, food, etc.)

– Dending on the day we go, where we’re going, etc. The birthday child is allowed to have his/her friend over the night before or the night of. A this time we will have birthday cake and ice cream.

– As I said the trip to the amusement park and the perks the birthday child receives are pretty much the party and gift combined. However, we do buy the birthday child one small present as well for their birthday. (Yeah, my husband and I love to give surprises too so we had to be able to keep one small present in there.)

My husband and the children have also realized how much more fun they can have this way. We’re able to save that money that we would have spent in all the “extras” that come with a birthday party, spend some of it the amusement park AND still end up being cheaper. (Go mom!)

WOW! What a perfect solution this has been for our family!

We have disturbed a few family members who are more about the traditional birthday party with family and friends – even if it is just cake and ice cream. Family members have all been told, we’ll let you know when we’re having the cake and ice cream at home and they are more than welcome to join us. If they feel froggy enough, they’re also more than welcome to join us at the amusement park.

Over time, they’ve all come to realize that this is what we all want (children included) and it’s our decision. We’ve started a new family tradition. And who knows? Maybe this is something our kids will do for their kids when they grow up. It’s tough to remember sometimes but there’s only really two people who need to be satisfied with a decision such as this one. You and your child. No one else matters.

Do you have any idea how much pressure this all takes off my shoulders? All I have to do is go online, figure out what it’s going to cost and when we should go. Call the birthday child’s friend’s parents and invite them to go. And the day of the outing – we just go and all have a good time!

No guest lists, no trying to make all family members happy with the date/time we choose. No invitations, no food purchases (beforehand) or cooking myself, no invitations, no party favors, good bags, etc. No house cleaning beforehand – no clean up afterwards. No thank you notes, no nothing but a really good time. And the best part … the kids LOVE the idea too! It’s perfect!

But this, this is one really awesome surprise for one six year old, Gabriel Hurles.
Little boy gets a present of a lifetime.

Edited to add: Oops! I should be ashamed of myself! I forgot to include a link to one of my favorite sites with –> birthday party ideas!

So, what do you do? What’s your perfect child’s birthday party?

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I really shouldn’t complain. The kids going back to school means I have time to work. Much needed quiet time without hearing “MOOOOOM! Make him STOP!” or any pointless arguments. I’ve really had enough of the daily battles, and I hate to say it, but I’m looking at the school as a really cheap babysitter that I can’t wait to dump my kids on.

One thing that still bothers me though is how early the kids are going back to school. They went so far last May as to extend the school day to make up for all the snow days we missed (and it was a HORRIBLE winter – I think in all we ended up with 7 or 8 snow days). A half hour total tacked on every day for the last month or so, just so they could get out of school by the end of May. Which would have seemed great to me when I was in school, except I knew that we didn’t have to go back until the very last week of August.

This year our kids go back the 18th, but I’ve heard others saying they are already back. Are you SERIOUS? August is still summer in every sense of the term. Here in Iowa it’s hot as hell, humid, and no comfortable activities except swimming can be done during the month of August. Yet here we are, going back with two weeks left in the month.

The thing that makes the least amount of sense to me is how a lot of the schools around here still lack air conditioning. Because of that fact, they end up letting school out 2 hours early the first 2 or 3 weeks. Yet in June it’s not that hot at all, but they push so hard to get them out. In fact ,the first week or two of June it’s not even warm enough to swim!

So why are they doing this? It’s no wonder our school our failing – we are seriously shortening the amount of time they are going to school AND the amount of time they can actually learn. Trust me on this one, I went to an elementary school without air, and after noon recess the only thing you could think about was trying to keep cool. You don’t learn a thing when you are hot and uncomfortable.

It just doesn’t make any sense to me in the least. If they absolutely must give our kids a measly 10 weeks of summer vacation, let’s start it in mid-June and run to September. Or better yet, let’s ditch the 180 day rule all together with. Did you know the state only requires a child be in a school setting for 148 days? So where did we pick up the extra 32? Dang, that’s more than a month we are sending our kids to school without the law requiring it.

I think what bothers me the most is the fact we have all these “extra” days off school. At least once a month there’s a “teacher’s workshop”, then all the pointless holidays you can think of. That puts the working parent in a serious tough spot when they have to make other arrangements for daycare. Unlike the summer when they can actually plan for weeks ahead of time, having random days in the middle of the school year can be a serious problem.
I just don’t get it, and it makes me mad. I feel like summer is being robbed from my kids and they are getting days off in the middle of the winter where they can’t do anything outside. The nation has put this big emphasis on getting kids outside to play, yet then we turn around and force them inside. HUH? Please someone explain it to me!

Sadly I think I’m the only one asking this question to myself right now. I don’t think too many are looking for me, except earlier this summer during the Iowa floods when a few had to email me to make sure I still had a home. Our area, thank goodness, was not effected. I can’t say the same for 10 miles north, but that’s another story.

No, I think I’ve been hiding for so long that no one seems to worry when I’m in hide-mode for a month or two. In fact, some may be saying “oh, there were TWO that were posting on this blog? Huh! Go figure!”.

Yeah I know, I’ve become quite the unknown person online.

== End Self Pity Section ==

The reason for this post wasn’t to wine that no one misses me….nah, I’m a big girl. I don’t care that much. Can’t be missed if you are never around in the first place! HA!

What I did want to talk about though, just in case anyone was keeping track, where I’ve been…..

First off, it’s been a very crazy summer.  In between endless running and “stuff to do”, I’ve barely been by the computer. Not to say I haven’t been here every day (I think I’d freak out completely if I had no computer for even one full day). I just haven’t had a lot of time to actually “work” (you know, the thing you do with your time that MAKES you money).

But when I have been around, I’ve been doing something a bit unexpected. I haven’t been building websites or marketing my businesses. I’ve been writing. No, not articles. BOOKS. Come on you remember – those paper things we had before the internet. Come to find out, people still read them. And I couldn’t come up with one good reason not to write one. I mean, I’ve been wanting to do this since I was a kid, so why not now?

It was really time for a change for me. I didn’t exactly enjoy what I was doing as much as I should have, and I’m no where near I thought I would be financially. Not to say I don’t make money online, just not as much as I’d like. The drive is just – gone – and I have no desire to force myself to do anything anymore. Yeah, it was time for a big change, and becoming an author was it.

So I’m happy to say that in the 2-3 months I’ve been pretty much MIA, I’ve managed to actually write a teen novel. Yes an entire novel is complete, and is now in the editing stage. Next comes finding an agent which will probably be as much work as it took to write it, possibly more. That’s alright though, I’m chasing my dream 100% for once in my life, and I couldn’t be happier. I actually have another book in the works that I’ve got a plot for, with a few other ideas (one for a children’s series that I’m rather hopeful about….they don’t call me the Idea Queen for nothing!).

So just in case you were wondering where I’ve been, there’s your answer. I’ve been working to become a successful author.

The other night I was digging in boxes of stuff that my parents have been dumping on me ever since we moved into this house over 7 years ago. Some boxes had old kids books, some had things I’d saved from jr high and high school.

Seeing one particular box with folders and papers from when I was about 12 or 13, I suddenly remembered one of the things I wanted to be “when I grow up”. It had been completely forgotten years ago, but there it was staring me in the face – I had wanted to write books since I was able to print my name.

One of my short stories – something about a super hero cat – was neatly printed and tucked away in a folder with other things. I thought I was going to get a chuckle out of it, which I did, but I also realized it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We were probably forced to write it as assignment and had been learning about certain styles of writing, but still it read as if an adult had wrote it.
I thought back and remembered all the other stories I use to write on a whim, wishing I knew where they all were. Somewhere in a box I’m sure, but I haven’t dug much deeper. I also tried to remember why I had stopped writing, and I couldn’t come up with a solid explanation. I’m sure it was as soon as I entered high school and had better things to do. I remember writing a lot of poetry in high school though, taking it more seriously after my kids were born. Nothing ever became of it though, since being a professional poet is a hard market to crack. So somewhere along the road my writing changed from fantasy world to business world, my true dreams somehow forgotten.

Although I can’t help but think WHY the dream morphed into what it did. When I was a kid I never dreamed I’d write about websites, search engines, and marketing. I dreamed of writing REAL books, or becoming a vet, or a storm chaser, or even a professional singer.

Why did the original dreams fade away?

Granted some dreams just aren’t meant to come true, and we all need a dose of reality to realize that. The singing dream ended in high school because it was something which required talent – which I had for an elite high school choir, but not professionally.

But other dreams, such as certain professions that need to be learned…….where do they go? Is it laziness? Discouragement? Or maybe both?

Funny I went to college for awhile before my kids were born to become an accountant, but quickly realized how much I hated accounting and dropped out. Really I was doing it because it was a “safe” job and all adults are suppose to have “real jobs”. Maybe all that college prep my senior year in high school got me stuck in that “real job” mindset, making me forget all those “crazy dreams” of being something more interesting.

So why can’t we be what we want to be? I find myself lacking motivation often, and I now know why. My main motivator is money and taking care of my family. Sure I weave some of my hobbies and things I enjoy into my websites which keeps me motivated short term. But I lack real motivation because I’m not REALLY doing what I want to do.

I’m not singing, writing, watching storms, or taking care of animals. All of which, I’ve found, tend to distract me when I’m trying to “work”. And yes, my cats DO tend to distract me. I tend to follow them when they walk by so I can play with them. Silly eh? But not really because it goes back to my original interests as a child. Songs distract me sometimes, too, especially when I get one in particular in my head and have to listen to it, belting out the notes while no one is around. Storms I can hardly ever work through, and I have to hop on local weather sites to track which way the storms are going.

I’m starting to ramble. Guess it’s the writer in me, he he.

My main point here is what happened to our childhood dreams, and why aren’t we following them? We all struggle daily to make ends meet, thinking we’ve taken the safe route in life. But did we? Do we all have an easy life because of the profession we’ve chosen for the sake of having a safe “real job”?

Something to think about…….especially if you are at a crossroads in your life. Starting a new path may not be as hard as continuing on the path you are currently on.

Mom, when was the last time you actually took time for yourself?  Just a few extra minutes for mom pampering?  I know I’m so bad at this.  Gee, I feel guilty taking longer in the tub than what it takes to shave my legs

That’s one of the reasons I like the blog Mom’s Indulgence. I’m trying to teach myself that first of all, it’s okay to do this from time to time and secondly how to do it.

Oh and if you’re anything like me, you’ll enjoy a particular blog post called Taking time for you. It’ll remind you to take a little time for you AND shows you why you don’t need to feel guilty.

According to Mom’s Indulgence, believe it not, taking time for you can be good for your family too. (yay! I can take time for me for everyone else! How cool is that!?!)Ergocalciferol
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I just came across this today and I had to share.  Did you know you could have personalized fruit rollup made?  You can enter you own message and/or add pictures.  How cool is that?  Or am I the only nut who’s excited over this?  LOL!  Looks like it works out to be about $1 per rollup.  Eh, not the cheapest I guess but what a cool way to send out thank you notes for a child’s birthday presents or you could make the invitations out of these.  You could even use these to promote your business.  That’d stand out anyway.  Hmm … graduation gifts and I seen one that was design to ask someone to marry them!  Now that’s an interesting thing to do.  I’d have to give the person the whole box and see how long it took them to realize what they rollups were saying.

Anyway, I thought I’d share this with you. 
Customize your own fruit rollups

Oh boy are we having a hard time finding a way to organize which child does what when and how much they can earn.  Right now we don’t have anything “set in stone”.  Each child basically know their individual chores and what is expected of them.  However, these are very, very few.  Other than those I’m always asking each child to “do me a favor” and offering a money reward.  I am so tired of all that, lol!

I want something that’s “set in stone” – something like a chore chart.  We’re not sure if we want to give each individual chore a value.  If it’s done, they get paid for it, if it isn’t they don’t.  OR  Should we just make a list of chores.  If they’re all done, they get paid, if they’re not – they don’t.  I’m not sure if the latter is quite fair to the children however, it does give them more of an incentive of getting them done.

Mom is tired of constantly telling each child what to do, reminding them over and over again to get it done and all that good stuff!  Mom wants something a bit more organized!  (Yes, I’m yelling and venting, rofl!)

 My daughter is 11 and my son is 7. 

How do you handle it?  I’m assuming most combine allowances and chores?  Do you do this?  What do you pay?  What chores are your children responsible for and how old are they?

Yeah, I have a ton of questions … I would just love to hear how other handle the “Chores & Allowances” issue.

 So, spill the beans … what do you do?