Week 2 - Letter to .... 30-something Dating newbie

Dear 30-something Dating newbie,

Do you remember when you were a teen and dating involved those silly little games, someone else telling you they wanted you to date their friend because he had a crush on you? How about the fact that they wanted to break up with you because your hair was too long/short/dark/light? Forget about it…. You’re an adult now, you are in your mid-30’s, you might have a family or finally see a break in your career. You might have just come out of a 10+ year marriage and you are looking toward the idea of finding someone you want to spend time with.

                So you start off where many people start. Craigslist, Nothing against the site, when it comes to finding an I-pod or a used fridge NOTHING beats it. When it comes to finding love, it might be a little difficult to shuffle through the spam and filth to get a person that’s worth dating. If you want funny stories, it’s the way to go!

                Regardless whether you get a site you pay-for, one for free or have a large group of friends that set you up on blind dates all the time, there are a few things to remember.

·         You don’t NEED to date. You WANT to date. There is a huge difference mentally between these two words. Make sure the man knows this before going into it.

·         If you have kids, be careful. Research the man; don’t introduce the kids too soon.

·         Be honest, totally honest. Put up a recent picture… if you don’t want to date someone of a certain race, religion, zodiac sign, etc, make note of it in your head. That way you can search using the right parameters.

·         Don’t expect to find “Romeo”… expect to find YOUR Mr. Now.

·         If there is no “magic”, no “spark”, don’t let it go too far and/or end it soon. It’s not worth leading someone on or rolling your eyes on a phone call when you can happily move on and find someone else to spend time with.

Just have fun! It’s not all about how many dates you can get, playing games or being bored with someone who’s cute but has no substance. We are older now, we don’t want to “raise” a husband, and we want a grown man. Once you find one, you’ll hang up your dating gloves forever!!

Good luck!

Me….

~Just as a side note: I found my guy on PlentyofFish.com after taking a year and a half off dating to “get my head on straight”. I was a single Mom of 6 kids and now am getting married in 34 weeks! I was not paid by Craigslist or PlentyofFish.com to write this, I am just writing from experience~

K5 Learning - Because learning can also be taught at home

              I believe that school is an integral part of our kids lives. For learning, socialization and problem solving, they get it all in one single day... add 4 more and they get a week of growth right before our eyes. I've got one child in college, another one graduating in 5 months and another graduating next year. I also have 4 others still in elementary school waiting to take on the world that is provided for them.

         
 Now, I don't believe that schools are the only teachers around, even with our kids in school we still need to do some extra work at home that isn't always required. Because not all kids are created equal and without parental interaction they can't make it in a fast moving school.

            That being said I'm always looking for new ways to help my kids navigate through school and get the core essentials that will build a stable foundation later on in life. So I am turning to K5 Learning.

K5 Math is an award-winning program which builds self confidence and a deep understanding of math concepts. K5 Math covers numbers and operations, geometry, measurement (including time and money), algebraic thinking and data analysis.
K5 Math Facts uses adaptive technology to help kids develop instant recall of basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. Progress on each and every math fact is monitored until mastery is obtained.


K5 Spelling is an advanced vocabulary program which improves language skills one word at a time. We feature adaptive instruction, automatic word generation, an optimized visual interface, and a 150,000+ word database.


K5 Reading helps kids become strong readers and develop a love of reading. This award-winning program covers phonemic awareness, phonics, sight words, vocabulary and reading comprehension.



K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students.  I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program.  If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their  open invitation to write an online learning review of their program.

Mom... Phineas and Ferb are coming to Denver for a Live Show!!

I don’t watch a ton of kids shows: I know... shocker that I have 7 kids and not many shows go on in my house that annoy the tar out of me. BUT… I am going to make a confession. I DIG Phineas & Ferb, they are funny, have great music and aren’t annoying or mindless like so many kids shows these days.

When I was told that Disney's Phineas & Ferb were coming to the Wells Fargo Theatre in Downtown Denver, I was THRILLED! It’s a perfect time of year to snuggle up in the theatre, watch a great stage show and see my kids giggle at the antics.

Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever! 

Want to see the same show? Want to enjoy a night out with the kids and a ton of other people laughing and dancing to cool songs? Well here is your much needed information for a night the kids will never forget:

Friday, February 3 at 7:00 PM

Saturday, February 4 at 1:00PM, 4:00PM, & 7:00PM

Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.

If you want to sit in VIP Stage-side seats the tickets are $67. All other seats are 27$ and less.

Now, if you want to go on February 3^rd at 7pm, you can save $3 using the code: FFAPF

(Valid on Friday performance only; excludes VIP and stage-side seating. No double discount, redeem through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or http://www.ticketmaster.com/PhineasDenver)

Oh... And for those of you who asked, “Hey, where’s Perry?” I can only tell you that he’ll be there… ready to foil another one of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s evil plans!

Come on out to the show, let me know if you’ll be there!!

Fire Bubbles and Exploding Toothpaste - Steve Spangler Rocks!

Steve Spangler is like the Tim Taylor of Science. He’s always looking for ways to do it bigger, better and to keep the interest of our littlest scientists, our kids. Not all science projects are created equal. Do you remember learning about cornstarch and its reaction to water? Too much and you lose it … too little and you can’t work it (Dave figured this out this weekend while making a white onion sauce). But… did you ever get to play with it? To make it move and dance like a scientific marionette? Well… I can tell you that this is one fun way to learn how and why something reacts this way.

Now, Steve Spangler has a new book called Fire Bubbles and Exploding Toothpaste with 25 new and extraordinary home experiments. What do you need? Each task tells you what fun things you can, step by step instructions, the hows and whys of each project and the photos are amazing.

You’ll have a blast with these experiments…

·         Floating Bowling Balls

·         Pop Bottle Music

·         Bouncing Smoke Bubbles

·         Walking on Eggshells

·         Balancing Nails

·         Fireproof Balloon

·         Skateboard Rocket Car

My kids and I are choosing our experiments now, I’ve found out where to get dry ice in my area and that has opened a whole new group of possibilities! Hopefully next year when my daughter is six she’ll ask for a Science party for her birthday…. A Mom can dream right?

If you want to find the book it is The book is softcover, 160 pages, over 200 color photographs. Published by Greenleaf Book Group, Austin, Texas and can be purchased at Steve Spangler Science 

(I was given a copy of this book for review, it didn’t TELL me my opinion… my opinion is my own)

Dear.... - Letters of the year - Week 1

Dear Single Mom,

              People talk about the "let down" after the holidays. December 27th is depressing because after months of planning in a whirlwind of wrapping paper and gift cards you are left with a tree and no gifts, stockings with no treats and visiting relatives that aren't set to leave until after the new year. It's a hard time for everyone...  but as a single/divorced/separated mom you experience this every week.
         
           Once a week you have to let go of your little ones and drop them off with their other parenting unit. For me it is Tuesday nights, I pick them up from the babysitter after work at 3:30. I take them to a yogurt shop, a pet store or any variety of places to kill 30-45 minutes. Then the drive to their dad's house. A bit of small talk, exchanging of clothes, coats, shoes and information about what monies are due in the next few weeks and I'm back in my car. My youngest who is three usually cries the whole time, running to the side of the road for one last blown kiss and a tearful wave goodbye.

            I pull away with a heavy heart and the car is quiet. I don't realize how much of my energy is spent as "mom" until the little ones are gone for a few days. Suddenly I'm not policing them from the front seat as they start to argue in the back. I am not constantly looking in the rear view mirror to see if they are okay. I'm just me once again, a quick glance back at the empty car seats and I sigh heavily. It's a letdown, all of the energy of getting them packed up, out of the house, into the car and then off again, zipping around to keep my mind and theirs off of the fact that they are leaving me for 2-5 days.

 
   There is a sadness that always threatens to take over.Don't get me wrong, the "me" time is great. I can sleep without having a little girl crawl into bed with me, I can go to bed BEFORE 8:30pm if I want to or even manage to go an entire night without saying, "Stop touching that!". But there is still a quiet sadness on that drive home, at time's it's heart wrenching and brings tears to my eyes. However, there is nothing that can be done, I've got to be strong, because if not, I'm possibly losing the one thing that'll be there when they are all grown up.

Me.

What can be done to help you with this? Don't give in to the sadness, don't go home and sulk or walk around aimlessly. Order some photos from Walgreen's and pick them up on the day you drop off the kids. Have a coffee at Starbucks, just you. Enjoy wandering through Sunflower Market and looking at the new herbal face washes. Go to the library and sit with a magazine that you don't subscribe to, read it. Whatever it is... take time for YOU! It will go a long way to helping you feel revived and remembering who "you" are again.

Good luck.
Love,
Me

Tiny Prints Winner.....

The winner of the Tiny Prints 50 cards giveaway is:

 mummytotwoboys said...

I love the Very Merry Christmas design!

I'll be sending you an email today and hopefully will hear from you by Tuesday Morning, if not, then I'll choose another winner!

Congrats to the winner and Thanks to everyone that entered!

CheeseBurger Soup Crockpot Meal

I made this dish the other night and it was a huge hit! Dave turned it into a cheesy mac like thing, which I think made it even better!

2 pds ground beef (I use 1 pd beef, 1 pd ground turkey)
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
5-6 med potatoes (chopped)
1 cup carrots (sliced)
1/2 cup ketchup
4 tablespoons mustartd
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 14 oz cans beef broth
2 10.75 oz cans cheddar cheese soup

1.) Cook beef, onion and garlic. Drain
2.) Combine all in crockpot
3.) Cook on low heat in crockpot 10 - 11 hours

Top with shredded cheese

Optional: Pour over Elbow Noodles