I’m Promtacular. . .

April 27, 2010

. . .and I’m not alone, dragging down two of my best friends from the ‘hood with me. Stop by Promtacular! and see what I mean.


And, as ridiculous as I look, I feel a bit wistful for those days when wearing a full-coverage dress to the prom was considered ok. Yes, I am getting old.
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Filed Under: Blog Love, Fairly Odd Me, My-Not-So-Sordid Past 10 Comments

Trash to treasure

April 23, 2010

“We’re going to do WHAT?!?!” my nine year old groaned as I smiled through gritted teeth and explained that it was Earth Day so we were going to wander our neighborhood and pick up trash.


Her younger siblings quickly followed suit, proclaiming this the most BORING idea ever, and why did we have to do this, and blah, blah, blah, complaint, blah.

It was almost enough to make me stomp up to my room and sulk, but as I’ve been sulking for, oh about 20 months now, I thought that maybe I should motor forward.

Before we left, I called and invited another neighbor—-an upbeat one with two fun boys— to join us, hoping their enthusiasm would win over my brood.

And so there we were, a crew of seven, trash bags in hand, wearing gardening gloves to keep away the ick, wandering the streets of my neighborhood on a bright sunny April morning.

“Look! A cup!” someone yelled and the others pounced. Finding a glass bottle was like finding treasure. Everyone wanted to say they found a soda can. The kids ran into thickets to retrieve a napkin or piece of newspaper.

We got to the end of one street, and our group grew bigger. A friendly older neighbor, the one who sneaks extra candy into Halloween bags, told us to come back in a few minutes. We did, and he had set up his ice-crushing slush machine for us all. We had cup after cup of icy, sweet slush and the kids danced in the yard, stopping only to pick up a gum wrapper or plastic straw on the side of the road.

We didn’t finish the whole neighborhood; in fact, we only did half. But, as the kids and I meandered home for lunch, I know I was not alone in thinking that our neighborhood looked pretty great today.
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Filed Under: Fairly Odd Kids 14 Comments

Whether you need a crib or not, a little Tax Day gift for you

April 15, 2010

When I first found out I was pregnant, I went into information-gathering mode, reading everything I could about birth plans and baby care, products and gear. But I still remember my first trip to the big-box baby store: where was brand XYZ that was so highly recommended in my baby books? What do you mean they only have 12 brands? I wanted to compare 15!

Do you know how happy my research-y heart would’ve been to find CSN Store’s Baby Cribs Plus with 600 cribs and 800 strollers and 40 billion other baby doodads? OK, maybe that last number is inflated slightly, but only slightly, because Baby Cribs Plus is part of the entire CSN empire. This is the kind of empire I want to enter if I ever need to furnish my entire home top to bottom.

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Now you may be thinking, Christina! Your kids didn’t even sleep in a crib!, and you are right. But, I still bought a crib naively thinking my kids would use it, and I would’ve loved to have drooled over this beauty from Stokke (above) or this more budget-friendly modern crib from Argington. And my sister would’ve been even more thrilled to get my barely-used hand-me-down.

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It’s been a while since I had an infant, evidenced by the fact that I can’t believe how much the Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper has evolved since the light-blue eyesore I had in my bedroom holding books and a water bottle for years (check it out above).

And I would’ve gone bananas looking at all the baby room decor they have. How long until I have grandchildren? (ha, just kidding! stop looking at me like that!)

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Now, here comes the fun part: I get to give one of you a little gift. Just take a look at CSN Stores’ Baby Cribs Plus, or peruse any of the 200+ CSN stores, like cookware.com, toysandgamesonline.com or allmodern.com (my fave), and pick out something you like in the $100 range (including shipping).

Leave a comment below with a link to that item, and make sure you leave an email address where I can reach you (that’s very important, Anonymous).

I’ll select one winner at random on Monday, April 19th at 8am to receive the item listed in your comment. This contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only. (North American FTW!)

And, dear FTC: I have not been compensated for this review in any way. I just like giving stuff away from sites I actually shop.

We have a winner! Congratulations to Erin who has won the dollhouse of her (daughter’s) dreams! Thanks everyone for commenting!

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Filed Under: Blog Love, giveaway 32 Comments
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