I LOVE Naked Juice!

Ok, anyone who know me knows this: I am a HUGE fan of Naked Juice . . . especially their Green Machine . . . mmmmmmm! Yesterday, I discovered a new flavor of Naked Juice: Chai Spiced Cider. I am a big fan of apple cider, but I am usually pretty leery of things marked "chai flavored". They tend to be to strong for me in the spice department. So I bought this flavor fearing that I may have found the one variety of Naked Juice I absolutely hate . . . WRONG! OMG, love, love, LOVE this stuff! It's a perfect blend of spices that isn't overwhelming. If you liek spice cider, you love this - delicious! Highly recommended!

I'm back!

Okay, I never really went anywhere, but finding time for a blog has proven difficult, to say the very least. Three kids, a job and moving . . . yes, we are in the process of moving, too. Crazy.

So I have noticed something recently. We, as a society, have an interest in steps. Not stair step, checklist step. Step-by-step steps. Goals achieved by breaking then up. Self Magazine has even added a section based on this idea. Improve your beauty routine In 30 Days . . . become an environmentalist is 30 days . . . you get the idea. There is the 100 Push-Up Challenge. The 90 Day Challenge. Does anyone try these? I like the idea, but I don't have time for even "step-by-step", it seems. Isn't that sad? I may try a few, but I am not hopeful that I have the motivation to stick with it for long. We shall see.

Anyway, Happy Election Day! Go vote!

My Girls Enjoying Archaeology Day at the local Half-Price Books :)

Yet Another Poem That I Love . . .

INVITATION

If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer . . .
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,
For we have some flax golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein

Whoa - Has it REALLY Been THAT Long?

I guess I'm not surprised that I haven't posted since May. June was pretty hectic, especially since that is when I returned to work. Oh - and I've never been that good at keeping up with a blog anyway. So here I am back (again) and trying to think about a good topic to write about. *Ponder* Hmmm . . . maybe I'll sleep on it.

I Heart The Asian Market . . .

. . . I really do! There are so many great food finds for so much cheaper than regular grocers. For example, my daughters absolutely LOVE the small packs of preserved bean curd crackers (yes, I said PRESERVED BEAN CURD) that my parent's neighbor (for blogging purposes, we'll call her "K") gives them when they visit. "K" is Japanese and is an amazing cook, so it stands to reason that she keeps a decent assortment of interesting Asian foods around her home. As I said, my daughters love these crackers and "K" told me that she actually gets them at the local Asian market, Choi's. We live fairly close to that store and have stopped in to check it out on occasion (mostly for bulgogi marinade, which I also highly recommend), so we stopped by on the way home to see if we could score more crackers for the kids. Did we ever! For mere $1.89 per box, we found not only the bean curd crackers, but also coconut flavor Silang crackers in boxes of 16 packs each (5 crackers per pack - the perfect snack size). So for $3.78, I have two huge packs of snacks and two VERY happy girls! Happy girls, happy mommy - not bad, huh?

Oh btw - if anyone is feeling thirsty the next time they are in the their local Asian market, we also recommend trying Calpico drinks in the Peach and Mango flavors. So good!

Pink Floyd . . . A Tired Mommy's Miracle

. . . I kid you not. I have three children - two girls and a boy - each as different as can be. They all had one thing in common - gas. Bad gas. Two I wondered if they weren't even borderline colic - though the pediatrician didn't think that was the case. Enter Pink Floyd. One exhausting night about 5 years ago, DH and I had had enough. Our daughter was crying out in pain and we knew that if she would just relax and sleep, she could pass the gas much easier. SO we put her in the car seat and went for a drive - it wasn't working. Finally, DH couldn't take the crying and put on some music - Pink Floyd's Division Bell was in the player - and a most amazing thing happened - she stopped almost instantly! Within mere minutes she was sleeping peacefully! Thinking it was a fluke, we tried it again the next time and didn't expect it to work. To our surprise, it did! We have since played the CD every time our three children needed calming down, with amazing results. In fact, as I type this, my baby son has just come off of a 45 minute crying spell by listening to Division Bell - he is now sleeping peacefully. I love you, Pink Floyd!