I have this problem

I have this problem. I can't stop planning...things.

I don't know what it is about me but I manage to agree to plan a lot of stuff - which frankly doesn't make a lot of sense when I don't have a tremendous amount of spare time.

I guess I've always been a ridiculous organizer/planner type of my kid's birthday parties. They must have a theme and everything must fall in line with that theme. Oh and I plan two parties per year at work. But still that didn't exactly seem overwhelming.

But then somewhere along the line that developed into something more. Last school year, I decided I wouldn't just be a sideline PTA member (read paying for membership but not volunteering). I decided I would actually volunteer. And I didn't just volunteer I chaired two committees.

Just this past summer after our family reunion ended, I agreed to plan the next one. I'm not sure what crazy overtook me at that point- but I'm confident it involved crazy because that involves a whole lot of people in a whole bunch of different states and travel and food and Oy. My head hurts thinking about it.

And if that wasn't enough a few months ago when I heard no one stepped up to plan the school auction -I did it. Some little voice in my head told me it would be fun. In reality it's been 60% fun 40% stress.

So here's where you armchair psychologists get to diagnose me. Why am I a big old nutball that takes on things that inevitably stress me out yet as soon as one is over I jump right into the next with little more than a month to rest ?

I know, I need help, right? I am a mystery to myself.

And on that note, Happy New Year my friends. I'm telling myself I will blog more in 2012

(And there's yet another committment - someone break out the straightjacket. Now)

Teaching about Giving with Help from Radio Disney- Updated**

Ok y'all, you know I don't tend to post press releases and such. However, I'm doing it now.
Why, you may ask. Because right around this time my kids get a horrible case of the "gimme gimmes" and "I wants". All year long we try to emphasize that our kids are very fortunate to have all that they do and teach them that there are some children and families who aren't as fortunate. We teach them that it's important to give back. But this time of year, when every piece of mail and every other television commercial highlights the slickest, shiniest must have Christmas item it's a challenge, for sure.

And that's why I think what Radio Disney is doing this year is particularly cool. They're brilliantly mixing giving with kid infused fun and games. My family and I will be attending the one in our local area at Factoria Mall from 10-4. Please, if they're in your local area and you can make it out consider doing so (basic info below. Check the website for events in your local area).

Happy Turkey Week and start of the holiday season my friends!



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

RADIO DISNEY ENCOURAGES KIDS AND FAMILIES TO GIVE BACK THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WITH THE LAUNCH OF ITS FIRST ANNUAL "FESTIVAL OF GIVING," DECEMBER 3 AND 4


--Local Radio Disney Stations in Over 30 Markets bring multiple charities together for a convenient way to give back--

On DECEMBER 3 AND 4, Radio Disney stations in over 30 markets are bringing multiple charities together in their local communities to create a convenient way for kids and families to help others this holiday season.
"Festival of Giving" kicks off Radio Disney’s Project Family initiative, inspiring families to spend time together in an effort to make a lasting, positive change at home, in their community and the world at large.

"We know our audience of kids and families is passionate about giving back," said Sean Cocchia, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Radio Disney. He added, "With the busy holiday season upon us, 'Festival of Giving' will make it easy and fun for families to donate to local philanthropic organizations in their communities."

All 31 "Festival of Giving" events will have a variety of organizations on-site to take donations including Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, The Humane Society, local food banks and animal shelters among others. Each event will be hosted by Radio Disney’s local stations and will feature music, interactive entertainment and prizes.

*disclosure: I was not compensated or provided anything for this post I'm simply passing along information I think is worthy

Top 10 Reasons I shouldn't be allowed out of the house before sunrise

One would think that having been in bootcamp for a little over a year now I'd have this thing down pat. I leave the house wearing my workout clothes with bag packed chock full of all the items I need to shower and get ready at work.

Pack the night before. What's that scouting motto ? Always be prepared. Or whatever. It's easy enough right ?

But it's not. For me.

9 times out of 10 10 times out of 10 I am beyond tired and it's all I can do in the evening to cook dinner, review homework, wash my workout clothes from the day before, walk the dog, pick out clothes for my kids for the next day and blah blah blah... you get it. There is just so much to do. And it makes me think "Hey I need one less thing to do". I can pack in the morning!

So I do it. And it ultimately causes one (or more) of the items on my top 10 list to occur

10) It's way too early for your thoughts to be anything resembling coherent so you will inevitably forget to pack underwear. And one day when this happens you will have packed a dress to wear (True story)

9) You will forget your towel and figure out how annoyingly challenging it is to dry off with paper towels (also a true story.In fact this happened today)

7) The rooster's aren't even up, you will forget your bra. And the shirt you're wearing doesn't work with the braless look. This will later become the day you learned how to fashion a bra from scotch tape (Also true. last Friday)

6)

Well I don't really have a six through one. But c'mon after number 7 do I really need one ?
And that my friends, is why I shouldn't be allowed out of the house before sunrise.

Jabra Sport Review and Giveaway

A few months ago I was contacted on behalf of Jabra a company I hadn't heard of but quickly learned produced " handsfree and corded communication solutions" to demo their latest in mobile fitness equipment.

I was immediately intrigued because as you know, I'm on what feels like the never ending quest to get fit and will try just about anything to help me get there. No wait. Scratch that. I'm not a proponent of fly by night junk that promises overnight results. I am however a fan of things that make my run and/or workout seem less like a chore. Like music. Nothing gets me going better than hot beats or pulse pounding electronica during a workout.

Up until I was contacted, I'd been working with music via my phone played through your standard corded headset. Which? Ok,fine it works - but there are those times when I'm bouncing and the cord bounces and then it gets tangled or worse yet becomes detached and then I have to stop to plug it back in and uggh, that kind of irritates me. But I dealt with it because? What else could I do ?

Enter the Jabra Sport a cordless headset that works through bluetooth technology and allows you to play music and take calls while working out. Let me say that again. It's cordless. I know. Cool right ? I slap on those earpieces, the cord remains behind my head and out of the way, then I turn on the music and ride (run/workout) like the wind (uh excuse the cheesy 80s song reference).

Seriously though, I have been using my Jabra sport for a few months now and can say without hesitation that I am in deep deep love. It's completely easy to use, stays charged for up to 4.5 hours at a time, allows you to control volume and song selection from the earpiece and most importantly does none of the aforementioned things that,now that I have this gem, can say kinda drove me batty. The cord is ridiculously strong so even someone like me who is rough on things can't break that sucker. I'm told it's military grade.

I may never go corded again.

The Jabra Sport retails for about $90 on Amazon but if you want to check one out for yourself go here and enter to win a Sport, a carrying case for the sport, an armband and a free download of the fitness tracker app Endomondo. C'mon. You know you want to enter.

Disclosure* Opinions are my own. I was given a Jabra Sport cordless headset to facilitate this review.

Untitled and Random

I need to write something, I keep telling myself over and over again. Yet, when I come to this space I don't write anything.

I don't know why this space, this space that used to be so important has become so neglected. I'm not really any busier than I was when I started blogging (which is to say I'm always busy but not busier). There are plenty of events I want to write about- I just, I don't know...

So I decided I'd update you on random pieces of my life in hopes that it will stir something in me that makes me want to come back here and post as frequently as I did before.

Here goes:

Weight loss and fitness quest continues. I'm still doing bootcamp but I haven't met my goals. This frustrates me greatly

Work,Work and more work. Oh and to top that off I'm planning a few events for the twins school and the next family reunion for like 8 bazillion people. IKNOW! What was I thinking ?

TomGirl, my oldest stepdaughter, turned 18 in March and is dating a 24 year old. This!? Also frustrates me. He's a nice enough guy, but frankly he's too dang old. She's waaaaay to into him and I fear she's going to get her heart stomped

GT, my youngest stepdaughter, can't stay out of trouble.

The twins started school and are doing fairly well. But me? I hate 3rd grade math

The hubby has a new gas powered RC car hobby which is going to cause us to go broke

Alright,it's not all bad( I'm just very very good at whining)

Managed to hit a few parties with some friends I haven't seen in a while and throw the hubby a super spectacular 40th birthday soiree.

While I haven't reached my goal weight I am noticing I've lost inches which of
course means new wardrobe. So there's been shopping. Which? Makes me so happy

Lastly, for the very random but completely crazy:

Remember a while back I talked about how obsessed I get about planning my kids birthday parties ? Well, I am not alone. And I'm not as crazed as I thought I was.

This past weekend my daughter, J and I went to GirlFest which is essentially a day for girls with activities, performances and vendor booths sponsored by Girl Scouts. In any event, we visited a party planning booth which had me over the moon because it was hip and fresh- And someone else to do the work for me? Love it!

But upon asking the owner for a general price, I found that a (rock star) party for 8 girls was $820. "We can work within your budget and don't have to include everything" the owner said. Yeah, maybe I wouldn't need all those technical consultants for the lighting (Whattheeverlovingeff ?)
I.There.are.no.words. I just want to know who pays that?

So there you go.

Random and untitled.

We camped, we saw, we kicked...

A few posts ago, I talked about our upcoming summer camping plans and how I was thrilled to be able to go on said trips and partake of some much needed R & R. Well my friends, I've now done as I planned and let me tell you both trips were fantastic-just as I'd hoped.

But for the purposes of this post, let's focus on the last trip that my family and I took courtesy of Go Camping America. After much research (because, let me tell you, they have tons of wonderful resorts to chose from)I decided Maple Grove Resort would be the best location for our family.
It wasn't too far, they have cabins (as much as I'd like to have my very own RV. I don't. Yet.) an indoor pool (which for this crazy Washington weather is a GODSEND), a clubhouse, children's playground, children's rec room, you name it they had it. So we headed off on a Saturday, got there in record time and as luck would have it were treated to good weather.

Check in was a breeze, the staff incredibly friendly and can I say that we absolutely LOVED our cabin? It was seriously more than we expected. I've done remote tent camping and "rustic" cabin camping and these cabins seemed like luxury accomodations-as far as cabins go. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they were positively adorable and stocked with everything we could possibly need. The only thing we brought were linens and grub. It was that easy.

Activities were plentiful including my first time ever playing "card bingo" (played with a deck of playing cards). Best of all, the public bathrooms and areas were immaculate. Yes, we had a bathroom in our cabin but frankly we weren't in there that much and it was nice to know that all of the other facilities were completely clean!

I can't say enough about how much fun we had - including snipe hunting at dark...which was also a first for me. Thank goodness my husband is a more experienced camper and can share these "traditions" with our kids.

Here, take a look for yourself: I've uploaded a short video of our time at Maple Grove and entered it in Go Camping America's Not Bummer Summer Contest. You too can upload a short video of your family vacation at any of their resorts for a chance to win the grand prize of a 7 day RV trip (RV rental included) to any of their parks. But if you don't plan on that , would you consider favoriting (adding it to your favorites) this on YouTube for me. That's how I win.

And if you can't be bothered to watch the whole thing (although,gah, it's only 2 minutes and 38 seconds) skip to the end. My son will show you some moves that will have you howlin.

Smooches!

And then I almost died...

So at the ripe old age of 38 I have...hip problems. Inorite!? I didn't expect this for at least 40 more years or... never.

But so it is. And it's derailed my hot body/fitness plans enough so that I went to the doctor to make sure I wouldn't need to be the youngest hip replacement candidate ever.

Things were going along swimmingly for a while, meaning I was sitting by myself waiting for the doctor, when he reappeared to examine my x-ray. Initially, he told me everything looked fine. Then I saw it. It looked like a golfball right in the middle of my pelvis.

"What's that?" I asked in a shaky voice thinking it's a tumor and I'd be dead in 10 minutes

"Hmm,are you constipated? Sometimes stool balls can look like that"

"Uh no, I'm uh very regular" I said partially amused but mostly embarassed

"When's the last time you saw your GYN? You really should have that looked at"

And that's when I knew death was imminent. In that fraction of a second I'd diagnosed myself with everything from a malignant tumor to,well,everything unmentionable and horrible.

I managed to tell him that I see my OB-regularly and wondered why they wouldn't have caught something so gargantuan.

"I can't say...but"

Then it hit me "Well I have fibroids, but my OB's office checks them regularly since I have a family history of fibroids and related surgeries"

"Could one of them be calcified?"

I quickly remembered that I'd been told shortly after I had the twins that one of them had calcified and thus was no longer in danger of growing and causing problems. Upon sharing that news with the Doc, he clicked in the corner on the radiologist's notes and read "patient has 2cm calcified fibroid"

"2 cm. Why does it look so large?"

And then Doc fuckup measures the golfball and confirms it's indeed 2cm.

"Yep, I geuss that's what it is then"

Cue me, mouth open, ready to box "Um we could have just read the notes and done this before and saved me the worry" (nervous chuckle)

"Yeah, I guess we could have" (authentic chuckle from Dr Fuckup)

It was at that moment that I pulled the razor blade from my hair and promptly cut him. Ok, not really. I really just wiped the sweat from my brow and breathed a sigh of relief.

But, if there was ever a moment I wanted to roll gangster style and do something like that it certainly would have been then.

Yeehaw, Summer (and Camping!) here we come!

I told you all last year how much I look forward to summer and the freedom from homework. And fortunately, that time my friends, is upon us again.

I must tell you, I feel like dancing. So what's on tap for my family you might ask? Paris, Rome, Greece - you know your typical whirlwind trip around the world wining and dining it at 4 star restaurants of course.

Alright so maaaybe not...

But the fam and I do have a few trips planned. Camping in Cali in just a few weeks for the hubs' family reunion and while to some that may sound all "meh", I have the bestest,craziest, funnest in laws ever that are deservering of made up words to describe their funocity. So there.

And more camping! Yay! I mean who doesn't love camping? Enjoying nature,swimming, hiking, relaxing, cooking over a campfire and telling scary stories. Not to mention -when you have a family of up to 6 at times the expense makes perfect sense.

Y'all care to join me? This month is national Go Camping month and the folks at Go Camping America want you to do just that. To help you do so, they've introduced their 'Get Outdoors & Go Camping America..It's Easy! promotion.

Go here for great discounts including 20% off stays at any of their parks (nationwide),discounts for Camping World, Coleman Products and El Monte RVs! Hurry as these discounts are only good through 6/25.


And lastly, they've teamed up with the kids movie, Judy Moody to sponsor the 'Not Bummer Summer Go Camping America Video Contest'. They're encouraging families who take advantage of the discounted camping to capture their experience on film for a chance to win a grand prize RV camping vacation getaway! For more info on that portion of the campaign click here

And hey,meet me at the campfire. I'm told I make a mean s'more.

*Disclosure-My family receives a trip at one of the above parks in consideration of the above promotion

And this is why I have a "mommy" blog

Ok, ok if we're getting technical, this blog is not even close to being a "mommy" blog. It's not that I mind that title necessarily. I just think it's a misnomer or mis categorization as this blog isn't so much parenting stories as it is the rants and raves of a woman that just happens to be a parent.

That said, I'm owning the title "mommyblogger" today because I couldn't not share this amusing kid tale:

Both my husband and I have been working furiously over the last several weeks to help my son,B master all the acheivements he must complete to earn his wolf badge and advance to the next level of scouts. The activities run the gamut from discussion of cooperation and courage to the more physical such as hiking and sports.

It's been a challenge, in part because B hasn't really wanted to focus on some of the tasks at hand but also because B's mommy and daddy have been known to slack every now and again.

*Ahem*

Yesterday, the task at hand was to discuss bicycle safety. B and I went through a series of questions all of which he answered with ease.

What do we always wear when we ride a bike ? "A helmet" .

What do we do before getting on our bike ? "Do a check to make sure nothing is broken and that all parts are working".

And then I asked him " What do we watch out for in the street?"

"Crack and herrion" he said

I looked over at my husband for some help to clarify who these people crack and herrion were that he was referring to. He looked just as confused as I was.

I looked again at my child and asked "What?"

"Crack and herrion" he said

Still perplexed, I started to probe a little bit more when his sister J all of a sudden says

"He means crack and heroin. You know street drugs"

"Oh yeah heroin" my son says

I looked at my husband and laughed until tears came from my eyes, stopping only for a moment to tell my son he was exactly right and that yes he should watch out for crack and heroin on the streets. But what I was referring to was his need to watch out for cars and other people.

"Oh" he said "yeah that"

And through my belly laughs I again reassured him his answer was right on but that I was looking for something else in that context.

Although I'm pretty sure we couldn't finish up after that.

And I would just like to thank the school district for teaching my children about street drugs and to "Just say No"

but mostly for the huge, gigantic belly laugh

Today, I wax nostalgic

It was eight years ago today that my life was forever changed. At 12:38 and 12:40 I laid my eyes upon two of the most beautiful babies that would quickly steal my heart and make it full. To my son B, and my daughter J, I love you more than words can say.

Happy Birthday, my loves!

Some things are just too funny not to post

I think I mentioned way back when that to me Craigslist is comedy gold. I know that's not its intent,but good lord, with stuff like this how can it not be? Honestly, I may not need to sell or buy a thing but I find that I look at Craigslist regularly just so I can find little gems like this:

Need money, can do many types of jobs < location redacted>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2011-04-01, 3:58PM PDT
Reply to: @craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I am in desperate need for rent money and am looking for any odd jobs that people need done so that I can keep my place.

I am a 22 yr old girl out of cosmetology school that needs some extra cash.

I am a great listener and will keep people company
I can help people move to their new apartment
Babysitting, I'm very good with kids
Being someones date for an event, I am very personable and cute!
Event shows
Handing out flyers
Cleaning!
Anything within means, this is not meant to be perverted, I just want to help other people and be able to stay at my apt this month!

Please email me reasonable requests,
Thanks



Sure she says "reasonable requests". But,Let me spank you while I wear a gorilla costume might be a perfectly reasonable request to Chester the molester.

I feel for this girl,kind of, because I know what it's like to be young and broke. But there has just got to be another way. Seriously! She didn't have one non-crazy friend to talk her out of placing said ad or uh wording it differently. It also puzzles me that she makes a point of saying she's just out of cosmetology school yet doesn't talk about hairstyling/cutting or perhaps doing makeup for a special event. I would think that would be the first thing she'd want to to do. But i'm guessing that she was high when she placed this ad... so common sense probably flew out the window.

*sigh* I have little hope for our future.

Quick Update - It would be longer if I wasn't so lazy.

*tap* *tap* Is this thing on? Anyone out there? I wouldn't blame you if you weren't there. Who wants to continue to keep a blog on their reader that posts once a month at best.

Yeah, I hear ya but cut me some slack ok? I've told you I can't multi task for shit so it's all I can do to manage everything else in my life.

*Ahem*

So here's what I've been up to for anyone who cares (and it's in bullet points for your viewing pleasure)

• Turned in to June Cleaver, well, minus the immaculate house and dinner waiting on the table. But I AM now an official PTA mom coordinating not one but two events for our school. Scary right? And get this I've been so "on it" the PTA President asked me if I wanted to join the board next year. I declined. I figured I'd only subject them to a little of my brand of crazy.


• Working out like a fiend at boot camp. I know, I know. Or maybe I don't know what's come over me. Especially when I voluntarily get up at 7 a.m. to make an 8:30 stair climbing training event. And it was like 1500 stairs y'all. My calves hated me yesterday and today I'm pretty sure they've downright given me the finger.



• Celebrated TomGirl, my oldest stepdaughter's, 18th birthday Sunday. Her first act as an adult ? Piercing her tongue. Oh to be 18 and dumb! Ok, I'm totally kidding. I'm pretty sure I wanted to do the exact same thing at that age. I'm tempted to call her and ask her seven hundred questions which forces her to talk and thereby providing comic relief for me. Because ? Have you ever heard someone with a swollen tongue talk?



• Planning a trip to Cali for the Mr's family reunion and trying to figure out if we can squeeze a trip to Disneyland in while we're there. So if y'all have any tips or tricks about how to do Disneyland on the cheap please let me know.



• Working , Working, working...waiting to win the lottery so I no longer have to end these update posts with "working,working,working"

Love you.Wantyou.Miss You.

The end.


* Ps - Mars Needs Moms Giveaway on my review blog if you're so inclined and a fitness one coming up later this week. Booyah!

Why Gawd, Why ? (Alternate title could I be any more dramatic)

As I get older, one thing is becoming abundantly clear:I can't multi-task for shit. And this, my friends, makes me sad. I wasn't always this way. I used to pride myself on my ability to do multiple things at once. It was the stock phrase I told all my potential employers.

"Yes, potential employer, I can create that 3 hour presentation while filing,taking phone calls AND eating lunch...I just want to please you"

I've said it tons of times.

But if I said it today,well, I just be flat out lying.

I used to be all, "Ooh Twitter! Why yes I can join in on 35 conversations, socialize with my friends and blog during my work day. No problem!
(note that my definition of multi-tasking is being able to work while simultaneously being crowned princess of every social media site on the internetz) I am superfrickin woman!

Then as I missed deadlines and made a mistake or two (or fourteen) reality came crashing down.

I, StaceyBecauseIMustBlog, can no longer keep up with every.little thing. And OMG that's making me crazy because *hugedeepsigh* I'm realizing I have to be all serious-like.

I blame aging and oh dear gawd could I be getting more responsible ? I think I actually want to put out a good work product reflective of the workplace badass I once was before the interwebs grabbed hold of my soul.

Sometimes, this getting old things really sucks. Soon my wine bottle will be replaced with geritol tonic and my dancing shoes will be replaced with orthopedic shoes and I'll start using phrases like "In my day..."

*abiggerhugerdeepersigh*

Pray for me y'all.

Facebookers, I need your help! - Updated!

*********As I said on Facebook, "I winned, I winned! (blah blah blah) I freaking love you people!"

Thanks for your support!
*****************
Hey y'all this will be short but sweet. And maybe not so pretty. Unless, you get enjoyment out of seeing people beg then I guess it will be kind of pretty. But anyway...

Picture me on my knees, hands folded , with a pleading look:

Are you on FB? Please email me at im(dot)a (dot)twinz (dot) mommy (at)gmail (dot) com (and yes I know that's a long email. thank you).

I'm trying to win a contest. It's not just any contest though- it's helping me to achieve some fitness goals and rid my self of my jiggly booty forever! Remember when I told you I'd gone crazy and joined fitness boot camp. Well I'm still crazy and still at it AND now my Fit camp is holding a contest on FB where the person with the most "likes" on their weight loss story/bio wins $250 and a week of free fit camp. There are only four of us competing and I'm getting all kinds of competitive.

So help a sista out will ya? All you have to do is like their page and then like my post and guess what, there is a full body picture of me there *sigh*. So if you're ready to throw up your breakfast and see what I look like, email me and I'll give you the deets. I'd post them here but after all this is the internetz and frankly I don't know who's looking and who's not.

And what else is this space for if I can't beg my friends and readers for their help right ?

Thanks y'all

Happy MLK day and XOXO

and finally

Cheers to me getting a smaller ass!

Dear 2011, I want to be your BFF

Happy New Year y'all! What? I'm only 6 days late. For someone who has trouble being on time to anything you should applaud not criticize.

2010 ended decently I suppose, if you don't count attending a gerbil funeral on Chrismas Eve or the muscle strain that was so intense it sent me to urgent care. But I'm still alive and swangin'. So there's that.

I've already had a talk with 2011 and asked her to take it easy. I've told her I expect nothing but good health and good fortune. I also told her to toss me a couple of winning lottery numbers but the jury is still out on that one.

I'm kinda excited about the new year. It will hopefully, ideally (pretty please) be as good as I make it. Yeah that was a little Rah! Rah! Rah! but I'm choosing to take the stance that I can control a good degree of what happens to me.

We shall see...

My plans ? The 3 Fs. Family,Friends, Fun. I thought about adding a fourth F in there but as much as I wanted "Forget work. It's utter bullshit" to be part of my mantra I can't really (Unless *ahem*2011 you give me those lottery numbers like I asked, ohhkahyy? Also, that doesn't quite flow, now does it?)

This year promises to be busy, beginning with a visit from my lovely twin sister next week then leading in to school events, kids stuff, the husbands 40th (which, fuck I have to top last year's gift) blogger events, trips,more visits from family,parties, slimming down, fame! fortune! and glory!

Ok maybe some of that won't really happen.

But it sure as hell would rock hard if it did.

Cheers y'all.