Pool Boys #WW

Where we'll prob'ly sing a song, And we'll maybe dance along.

My D loves to dance. He always has. His big thing right now is the Backyardigans. He loves how much they sing and dance. The other big thing is Yo Gabba Gabba of course but lately it all been about Pablo and the gang. Last night while we were visiting my mom, we video'd some of his dance moves and I thought I would share.

This one is the theme song for the show. I tried to get the TV in the shot so you can see what he is doing in case you haven't seen the show. You can kind of hear K singing in the back ground too...



This one is the "Surfs Up" song they sing in several episodes. I couldn't get the TV in on this one but if you want to see Pablo do this dance too you can see it here. You will have to forgive the camera shake at the end. I got the giggles something serious when K joined in.




Then there is this little gem where Monster "sings" the Backyardigans Theme song.

Mommy Confessions

Ok, so its been a while since I had a confessions post. Still, we all have them. I have decided (again) its time to stop keeping them to myself in hopes that other mommies will realize that none of us are perfect. Here are my dirty little secrets for the week past few months in hopes it will encourage me to be better. What are yours?

 ~ Yesterday, I promised my kids that if they were good and ate all their breakfast, we would go play in the sprinkler in the front yard. I honestly thought they would forget... but they didn't. So, we got all swimmy suited up and got some sunscreen on and headed out front. As soon as D's little feet hit the driveway it started to rain. Wait, I think monsoon is a better word for what happened. I'm talking sideways, blowing kind of rain. So, what did I do? Ran out into the driveway, dragging my kids with me. We played in the rain for as long as it lasted and then, when it stopped, we hooked up the sprinkler and did our thing again. Our grass is rather well watered for the week I think. At least in the front yard.


~ I let K scrub the toilet. With an old toothbrush. Gross? Yes. Even though it was already clean. Kept him busy while I showered though didn't it? (The answer is yes. I even shaved my legs!)


~ Last weekend, our air conditioner was on the fritz. Big time. So while we waited for the landlord to answer our calls and come fix it, we stayed with my mother. In her two bedroom apartment. Stress city my friends, stress city. While we were there, D slept with her and K slept in the pack and play in her room. She got up with the boys every morning, letting me sleep in a little which was grand but I may or may not (totally did) take advantage of that. In fact, I would purposely stay in bed until I absolutely was about to pee myself just to get the little extra quiet time. 


~ I sing to my boys. Like, a lot. I love to sing. Always have. If you know me personally, you probably didn't know that. I don't sing in front of anyone but them unless I am quite intoxicated. You also probably didn't know that Tommy used to be a karaoke jockey and I used to go to his shows all. the. time. when we were "dating" (Which we only did for about 4 weeks but thats another story altogether.). Anyway. I sing. To my boys. And they love it. So there internet.

~ D got away from me. At the Dogwood Festival here in the ATL this spring. He was playing in the jumpy house and I was watching him while T and K were playing elsewhere. You guys, I literally turned my head for one second. ONE. I looked back and he was gone. Gone gone. I freaked out and started looking all around calling to him and the loser that was "running" the jumpy house claimed he never saw D get out which made me panic even more. I found him fast. Or rather he found me. He had gotten out and gone the wrong way. He came running back and jumped on me from about five feet away. It scared him pretty bad too. Worst. Mommy. Ever.


Ok, thats all the crazy I am letting out for this week. What about you guys? What are your confessions?

Best Daddy Ever (WW)

Blog Hop Goodness!

Welcome! You are here from a blog hop, no? I hope you enjoy what you see! Feel free to look around a little while you are here! Lots of fun things going on right now and several really cool giveaways coming up soon!!

Feel free to stop by and "like" me on Facebook or Follow me on Twitter too! I ALWAYS follow back! Be sure to leave me a comment so I can find you! Looking forward to getting to know you and your blogs!

Colorless Garden

Produce for Kids- Win a $50 Grocery Card!

Produce for Kids, a year round resource for healthy meal planning and family nutrition, is launching its largest Get Healthy, Give Hope campaign to date, raising money for Children’s Miracle Network® Hospitals across the county.

Produce for Kids® promotes the benefits of healthy eating and
supports worthy causes for children. The program educates
shoppers about healthy eating through promotional campaigns in
retail grocery produce departments across the country and online at
www.produceforkids.org. These campaigns combine advertising, instore
display materials, public relations and social media marketing
to reach families.

Working with 16 supermarket grocery store chains across the country to help spread the word about their new campaign, there are lots of ways to get involved and even more ways to win some really awesome prizes!




 First, Produce for Kids is holding an amazing sweepstakes on their website with totally awesome prizes like Interactive gaming systems, kitchen cookware sets and chances to win grocery gift cards! The best part is how easy it is to win these great prizes all while helping to spread the word about the program!


Here is the exciting part for you! I have an additional $50 grocery gift card to give to one of you! To make this super simple, there are two ways to enter to win:


1. Visit the Ideal Meals page and leave a comment below with your favorite Ideal Meal. (Ideal Meals are newly created for each campaign and are simple recipe ideas that feature campaign produce sponsors and encourage healthy eating among families!)

2. Stop by and "like" the Produce for Kids Facebook page to stay up to date on all the amazing recipes and ideas as they come up! Be sure to leave a comment here letting me know you did this though or you won't get the entry!

Bonus entries:

~Tweet about this program using the hashtag #healthyeating and leave a link to the tweet in the comments.

 ~Follow Render Me Mama in one of the following ways: GFC, RSS feed or email subscription and let me know what you choose. (1 entry each!)


Good luck! I will draw the winner on June 28th at 6pm! Be sure your email address is available either in your profile or in your comment or I won't be able to reach you if you win!

Bring On the Babiators

I was recently given the opportunity to check out a relatively new product: Babiators. Cute, right? The whole aviators/ baby thing? Well, I thought so. I have to admit when I first heard about them I thought they were probably just like all the other kids sunglasses I have bought for the boys that they wore for a few hours and then snapped the arms off of.


I was wrong. Yes, I admitted it. In fact, I was so wrong and so impressed, I made my very first vlog about them:



These little guys are impressive, no? I have actually been way rougher on these little sunglasses than probably is considered normal wear and tear and they have stood up to and bounced right back from every test I have put them through! I did actually managed to stop myself from running them over with the van but I think they would survive just fine. Just in case though, Babiators come with a one-year Wear and Tear Guarantee!



The best part is that the boys love them too. Who can resist this face?

Just in case you were wondering, they are actually great beyond their flexability too. Babiators’ lenses offer 100% protection from UVA and UVB rays! Very important for little eyes. (Especially for blue eyed people like us!) Plus, Babiators are made without BPA, without phthalates, and without heavy metals. So you know you are offering the epitome of safety and comfort for your little ones.


Ready to buy your little ones their very own pair of Babiators? They are available online at the Babiators website and also in select retailers across the United States!


Or, you could win a pair here! Here is how to enter:


1. You must follow Render Me Mama via GFC and leave a comment saying you do. Do this before any other entries or they won't count! (Mandatory) *1 entry


2. "Like" Babiators on Facebook.  *1 entry


3. "Like" Render Me Mama on Facebook . Leave a comment saying you did so with your First name. *1 entry


4. Follow Render Me Mama on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter handle. *1 entry per tweet


5. Follow Babiators on Twitter and leave a comment with your Twitter handle. *1 entry


6. Tweet about this giveaway using this: "I just checked out @Babiators on @RenderMeMama and entered for a chance to win my own pair! Check it out! http://www.rendermemama.com/". Leave a comment with a link to your tweet. You can do this once a day. *1 entry per tweet


7. Subscribe to my feed either by RSS or Email. Don't forget to click the confirmation link it sends you! *2 entries each. (Leave two separate comments!)

Be sure that your email address is displayed in your profile you that you leave it in the comment or I won't be able to reach you if you won! I will draw the winning number via Random.org on Friday the 24th at 6pm and email the winner. Good luck!
*I was sent a pair of Babiators for the boys to try out for this review. All opinions are my own.

Stressed Out Mama

It really is a jerk, isn't it? I have found myself at the epicenter of a massive stress monsoon here lately. The problem is, none of it is really in my control. The last month has been a nasty one. It started off with some in law craziness that I won't get into but suffice it to say that I am not what they think of me. I have neither horns nor some skewed super plan to destroy life as anyone knows it.


After that, T went through a period of  job opportunities that just weren't quite what we need. Now, while getting job offers, even if you can't take them, seems like not that big of a deal, you have to realize that for us, any move has to be very strategic. I stay home with the boys and while I wouldn't trade that for the world, things can get tight money- wise. So, when an opportunity comes along for T that would be a good fit in some ways, if the money isn't what we need, its just not even an option anymore. We have little to no wiggle room to try out a new job and take any kind of loss that usually accompanies a new career field. That is partly do to the fact that T doesn't really have a career field. He has dabbled in everything. So lots of excitement squished by money troubles.


Then of course, D and I got strep. Fun stuff. I thought mine was just a sinus infection gone on too long but it turns out, after a late night, fever filled night at the emergency room, I just had a weird presentation of every ones favorite sickness. A few days later, D started acting out. Now, something you should know about D is that when he is tired/ hungry/ sick/ anything other than normal, he acts out. Screams, whines, throws things, etc. Totally out of character. Just not my regular, easy going D. So, as soon as he started fighting bedtime and screaming we knew something was up. Another late night, fever filled night at the emergency room for him and T and he got the diagnoses. My baby has been on his first dose of antibiotics. Sad face.


Which brings us to the next fun event. I don't really know if this is one of those side effects that all kids get on antibiotics but D has been a mess. A whiny, sleepy mess. He just wants to chill on the couch all the time and if we have to go somewhere its meltdown city. Talk about stressed out mama. I can't stay in the house all the time. I start to go wacky. Not a pretty site. So being house bound with the boys has been quite stressful. Not because we aren't having a good time snuggling and playing board games and such but because Mama needs out. I live my life according to two tiny tyrants schedules. Perfect as they may be we all need out.


Oh, and don't forget the part where our air conditioner stopped blowing cold air. That is fun in nearly 100 degree weather!


Then Sunday is my birthday. Not really excited about it. I am getting older... Yay? T likes to give me crap because I am three months older than him so for the next three months I will get taunted and ragged on about being the old lady. Plus, we never really do too much to celebrate so its not that big of a deal.


Add all this to the regular stresses of life and it makes for one tired, cranky kind of mama. Something I am trying to fix this week. I am focusing on spend some me time again. I don't want to wear myself out to the point I make myself sick again. Its a personality flaw I have. The mama bird syndrome.


This weekend, I am headed out of town with my best friend for an overnight trip. The first I have taken away from my boys since D was born almost 4 years ago. While I am nervous as heck to leave them, they will be fine and I know we all need a break. From each other and from the house. Hopefully I will at least get a good night's sleep.


Anyway, sorry for the whine party. Hopefully I can get it all sorted and squared away. A little break will make the world of difference. Anyone have any suggestions on how to make it all work without getting stressed?

Kicking Off Summer Wordless Wednesday Style!

My mom bought the boys their very first "Slip n Slide"...

D was in HEAVEN.

K too. I was surprised, I thought he would hate it...

But he loved playing in the water.

So grown up all of a sudden..

WHOOPS!

After trying to convince the boys to run and jump down the slide. T took it upon himself to show the boys the idea by gently throwing them down it. They had so much fun doing that, they did it for hours. Over and over. Love it.