I’ve been on a bit of a blogging hiatus due to the craziness of the holidays so I thought I’d give a quick update on some of the more exciting things we’ve been up to.

First and foremost, I became an aunt! That’s right, my brother and his wife had a little boy earlier this month. He’s the sweetest, most amazing little guy and I can’t believe how wonderful he is. I am completely smitten with him. This is me with my brother at the hospital.

Next up, my husband celebrated his 37th birthday.  This year the boys made him gifts at Color Me Mine in Crestview Hills. Here’s Sean painting a fish-shaped picture frame that he picked out for his Dad. One of his favorite things to do with his dad is fishing and so he thought it was the perfect gift (and it was). It’s cut off a bit, but if you look closely you’ll see he painted the number ’37′ on the tail

Our family is a Food Network family. When we do watch TV, you’ll typically find us on this channel.  As such, over the winter break the boys challenged my husband and I to compete in a little “Iron Chef” competition. They gave us 20 minutes and we had to prepare two dishes using Ritz crackers.  While I feel that I was the obvious winner…. The results were a tie!  My dishes, seen here, were mini-smores and mini pepperoni pizzas (I of course was playing up to dishes I  know the boys love….). We had an absolute blast and I am sure this won’t be the last Iron Chef challenge at our house.

Finally, this year we started a new Christmas Eve tradition and it was awesome.  Rather than just do a big Christmas Eve dinner or watch movies, we did a fire pit and spent the evening outside, making smores, sipping hot apple cider and just talking about the year we’d had. We invited my parents over and it was lovely.  I can’t wait to do it again next year. It’s something I think the boys will always remember.

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December 2010

August 2011, 20lbs lighter.

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It’s official. My oldest has got the theatre bug. This week he completed an acting summer camp at The Carnegie and man, he’s got the bug, BAD.

For the camp they got to write their own plays (as a group) based on a theme which was Adventures of an Underdog, design their costumes and props, memorize lines, as well as create their backdrops for the stage. The best part? On the last day of camp, parents were invited to watch as they performed their plays on a real stage in the theatre!

I am so proud of him. Here are a few photos from their performance.

Their play was called L.A.R.P.ing Adventure.

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If there is one thing I secretly struggle with it’s staying organized when it comes to my personal life.  While I am an early adopter and love technology and live by my Google Calendar, I am a traditional girl at heart and still find myself writing notes and tracking things the “old school” way –> on paper. The problem here is this results in an unruly paper trail of sorts – notes at my desk, notes in the kitchen, notes stuffed in my purse, they are everywhere. Now, if it was just me that this was affecting, that would be one thing, but it’s not. You see I am married and many of the things I am trying to keep track of not only affect me, but they involve my husband as well. Often times what happens is he ends up out of the loop because I forgot to tell him, or he didn’t check the note “pile” on my desk. Additionally, my MIL lives with me and I have two boys, it can be hard to keep everyone in the know.

So, the question of recent has been, how to I change this? How do I get more organized at home. Luckily, 2 Moms Media was reading my mind and sent me a package of products from The Blue Sky Home Series.

The Home Series features products specifically designed for helping busy Moms stay organized and were even developed based on feedback they received from Moms on their needs and what would help them better manage things at home. The initial result was the development of  14 different products, all under $10 (which is right in my spending “sweet spot.”) They have everything from planners and calendars, to weekly family boards to activity trackers. Oh, and they are not only functional they are really cute and stylish.

Multi-Tast Mouse Pad

OK, I love this. As I mentioned before, my notes end up all over the place, which can make it hard for others to know what I am up to (heck, it makes it hard for me to stay on top, too!). The multi-task note pad allows me to keep all of my notes – Do, Call, Buy – in one place that’s easy for anyone to find/read – on my desk. Now, because I share my desk with the kids, the fact that it’s padded underneath and doubles as a mouse pad is huge because desktop space is at a premium. Retail price: $5.99

Grocery Checklist Pad

With five people living in our house tracking what we’ve run out of, what new things we want to try, what we are low on, etc. can be hard. The Grocery Checklist is great because it not only breaks your list down by section of the store – fruits/veggies, beverages, Frozen Foods, etc, but it’s got magnets on the back which allows you to keep your list on the refrigerator. This makes it so much easier as now when I am making dinner or grabbing a snack and see we might need to pick up something, the list is right there. Also, it makes the list public so that everyone can see what’s on it, and add to it as necessary so nothing gets forgotten when we head to the grocery. Retail price: $3.99

Door Notes

These have been the biggest hit with the kids. The Door Notes resemble “Do Not Disturb” signs from hotels, and let you leave personal reminders where your family will see them when they get up – on their door.  I have already used these a lot, from reminding my oldest to take out the dog in the morning, to reminding the boys to pack their toy bags for our recent trip to the lake. These have gotten so popular in fact, the boys have started asking me to put notes on their doors for things they want to remember. Just last week SM had me put a reminder on his door that a local radio station was broadcasting a concert live and he didn’t want to miss it. Retail price: $9.99

Win A Selection of Blue Sky Home Series Products!

One lucky Mommy Bits reader will win a Blue Sky Home Series Prize Pack!!

To enter (Leave a comment for each one you complete):

1) Tell me which of the products I talked about above would help you the most.

2) Follow me on Twitter at MommyBits

3) Tweet about this giveaway and include @mommybits in your tweet.

4) Facebook Fan of Blue Sky

5) Follow this blog on Networked Blogs (See box in right column)

Winners will be drawn using a random number generator. Contest closes at 9pm on Tuesday, August 16th .  Winner will have 24-hours to respond to my email.

Pick Up Blue Sky Products

Like what you see? You can find Blue Sky Home Series products at Target as well as online on their website. They also have a pretty active Facebook page where I’ve noticed they share information on sales, new products and even sites that are hosting product giveaways.

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I have been dieting again, and it’s finally working.

Now, before you roll your eyes at me, remembering all those times I told you I was going to get in shape (see long list of links below), please give me a moment to explain.

December 2007 – SparkPeople.com Rocks (I am back on a diet)

April 2007 – Revisiting My New Year’s Resolutions

March 2008 – Sometimes The Truth Sucks Butt (Son tells me to go on diet)

August 2008 – I Think I am In Need of An Intervention

November 2009 – More of Me To Love… and I Hate It

August 2008 – Launch Cincinnati Losers Blog

OK, so those of you who know me, know that I have made feeble, well-intentioned attempts over the years to get back into shape. There have many been times I’ve worked to lose weight, seeing small results – 3 to 5 lbs- then like always, I’ve fallen/run/jumped whatever….off the wagon.  It’s been a journey for as long as I can remember, being most successful back in 2006 when I lost 20lbs (which I of course gained back) on SparkPeople.com.

When you are a Mom, when you work-full time, when you are always on the go, a diet can be hard to follow-through on (excuses, excuses right?).

Always full of good intentions, I’ve never really been able to do it – to lose the weight I gained after college and after having two children…. that is until recently.

I don’t want to jinx myself, but I have been successfully dieting since mid-May and it’s starting to work. I’m seeing results.  Results that I like and to-date I’ve managed to lose 12 lbs!

I have done it the right way this time. Through diet (eating better) and exercise (walking & stationary bike) and support from my amazing husband.  I’ve still got a ways to go, and I am even going to start running again so I can do a 5K with my friend Katy in the fall, but I am excited and motivated by the changes I am seeing when I look in the mirror.

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Yesterday the boys and I along with my Mom celebrated our final day of “Vacation-palooza” with a trip to BIG BUGS at Highfield Discovery Garden. We’d never been before, but I must tell you, we LOVED it and will definitely go back.

If you want to check it out too, Big Bugs runs through Sunday, August 21st.  Tickets are just $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for children age’s two to 12. Admission includes access to the Highfield Discovery Garden.

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Today I wanted to share with you a cool promotion going on over on the Warren County CVB Facebook page – The Splashground Vacation Sweepstakes.

The timing for sharing this is perfect as just today on my other blog, Family Friendly Cincinnati, Kristin wrote a post on Family Summer Bucket Lists where all the contributors shared their lists, and both of my boys picked activities in Warren County – The Beach Waterpark and Kings Island (we’ve not been to either before!).

The “Ohio’s Largest SPLASHground Vacation Sweepstakes” kicked off  earlier this month, and the premise is simple:

They will award one lucky fan of “Warren County – Ohio’s Largest Playground” (on Facebook) with a water-themed vacation each time their Facebook fan page hits a predetermined goal for new number of “likes.” As the goal for new likes on the WCCVB Facebook fan page increases so does the value of the vacation packages, which will remain secret until the previous goal is reached.

The promotion just hit it’s second goal of 250 “Likes” and the winner won tickets/passes for Kings Island, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and Lazer Kraze.  They haven’t yet announced the prize package for their next goal, 350 “Likes” so you’ll need to watch their Facebook page for updates.

For more info and to enter, visit Warren County – Ohio’s Largest Playground on Facebook. You can also follow the promotion on Twitter @WarrenCountyOH.

Disclosure: From time to time I work with Warren County to promote family fun activities. As a thank you for helping raise awareness of the SPLASHground promotion, they are providing my boys with tickets to a Warren County attraction.

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Following is a guest post from my friend Kristin. I hope you’ll all take a moment to read over it, then head to Abuelos on Monday to help out. As a mother of a child close to Maya’s age, this just breaks my heart.
——

Sometimes life throws you a mean curve ball but you step back, get yourself geared up and you come out swinging. And that’s exactly what my dear friends Bonnie and Tom Collins have done after learning that their youngest daughter, Maya (age 7) has cancer. She’s got Acute Myeloid Leukemia and is currently undergoing treatment at Children’s Hospital Medical Center. No one thought she’d be facing this foe during her second grade year but since we can’t push the rewind button on life, we just have to keep looking forward, keeping our spirits high, our thoughts positive, our prayers ongoing and our support for the Collins family strong.

Her mom describes Maya as feisty and I know that Maya’s feisty nature will play a big part in her fighting this disease. But, in order for Maya to get into battle mode, she has to undergo chemotherapy to kill off all the bad leukemia cells in her blood which in the process destroys any good cells she has. So, she’ll need a bone marrow transplant to get herself back on track And that’s where you can help!

On Monday, May 23, some of Bonnie’s friends (me included) along with a representative of Be the Match will be hosting “Marrow for Maya” at Abuelos’s in the Deerfield Towne Center. The event takes place from 11:30am until 7pm. For only $25, you can get swabbed and entered into the Be the Match registry. Even if you aren’t a match for Maya, there are so many others that you could potentially help to save their life. If you stop by with your kids, we’ll have a card making table where they can make a special card for Maya as well as face painting. Plus, Abuelos has graciously offered 20% discount food coupons to use if you also get a hankering for some delicious Mexican food.

If you’d like to read about Maya’s journey, visit her Caring Bridge page for updates. If you’re unable to attend “Marrow for Maya”, there are other ways to help:

Visit Vince Hopkin’s Team in Training Page for the Leukemeia & Lymphoma Society and make a donation – Vince is honoring Maya during his race (he’s also a neighbor of the Collins’). As of April 27, he has raised $8270 and he has a goal of raising $10,000. Maybe you can help him reach his goal. Proceeds go towards helping with cancer research. Go Vince Go!
Visit Maya’s cousin, Amy Forgerson’s Team in Training page and make a donation. She is raising money in honor of Maya too. Her goal is to raise $3000 and she’s already raised $1195! Go Amy

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post. Maya, her sister Anna, and Bonnie & Tom hold a special place in my heart and the hearts of my girls. For all the wonderful volunteers who have already donated in Maya’s honor, took part in the Butterfly Walk and the upcoming Dragonfly Tea, we thank you for your thoughtfulness and your generosity.

- Kristin

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I don’t know where the time has gone since we renovated our bathroom two years ago. It seems like just yesterday.

This weekend I finally headed out to Home Goods and picked up a few items to decorate it.

Who knows why it took me so long but it’s gotten me motivated to finish other project around the house. Maybe next I’ll finally hang the art in B-Man’s room, lol.

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As many of you know, back in June I left the “Agency World” to go to The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center in Covington.  For those of you not familiar – The Carnegie is the largest multidisciplinary arts organization in Northern Kentucky and it’s home to six art galleries, a 400+ seat theatre and a children’s arts education center.

I wanted to take a moment to just make sure you were aware of our upcoming production of Rodger and Hammerstein’s musical, CAROUSEL.  If you know this show, you know how wonderful it is —> it was named “Best Musical of The Century” by TIME Magazine.

CAROUSEL will be playing at The Carnegie weekends April 1-17 and tickets are really affordable, at just $19-$28 dollars. It’s being directed by NKU’s Mark Hardy, who is a veteran of the Broadway stage and by Carmon DeLeone who is with Cincinnati Ballet.  On top of that the show includes a seventeen-piece orchestra and the lead actor is a GRAMMY nominated performer.

I wanted to share with you a video we produced just to give you a little bit of an idea how AMAZING it’s going to be.  If you are interested, you can find more information on The Carnegie’s website, or call (859) 957-1940 to purchase tickets.

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