Win Green Mountain Coffee!

Posted on February 28, 2011 by

(I am being given a box of K-cups from Green Mountain Coffee)

A funny thing happened a couple of weeks ago while I was Tweeting:

mamasick Emily: Having my last Caramel Vanilla Cream from Green Mountain from my Keurig. It’s my favorite flavor. I really should be a spokeswoman.

GreenMtnCoffee Green Mtn Coffee:  Sounds like you already are to us 🙂 *Ahem* We dub thee the unofficial Caramel Vanilla Cream ambassador – go forth & brew!

Whereupon I brashly asked if I could have a free box of my favorite flavor, which led into this contest!

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This has got to be the greatest contest ever!  Which mom doesn’t drink coffee (through an I.V. if she could) to get through her day?

So, the prizes are as follows:

If the winner is a Keurig user, the winner will receive one box of Green Mountain K-cups of their choice.

If the winner has a coffee machine, the winner will receive two bags of  Green Mountain coffee, whole or ground, of their choice.

There are three ways to enter:

1. leave a comment

2. tweet this contest out

3. link it on your Face Book page

Each entry counts as ONE so if you do all three, please comment THREE times.

The contest will run until 11:59 p.m. EST, Monday, March 7th.

Good luck!

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Congratulations to Jennifer Wagner on winning the Green Mountain Coffee.  Her number, 14, was chosen by random.org.  Congratulations again, Jennifer!  (She chose Breakfast Blend K-cups by the way!)


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Never Been So Proud and So Mad at Him

Posted on February 24, 2011 by

Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop.

Prompt 2.)  What did they get into now? Describe a time your toddler got into something they shouldn’t have.

Tyler was 14 months old.  He had been doing the “holding on from one piece of furniture to another” bit, but he had not yet fully walked.  That day he finally took his first full steps all by himself.  I was so excited as any first-time mom would be!  I hugged him and kissed him.  “Yay, Tyler!”  “Good job, buddy!”  He was pretty proud of himself too.

I always keep a careful watch on him so I don’t know how this happened exactly, but suddenly the phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Yes, ma’am, this is 9-1-1 emergency and someone just called us from your home.”

“There must be some mistake, I didn’t call 9-1-1…”  I looked over at the phone and it was knocked down. I picked it up and saw 9-1-1 had been dialed!  How does a baby who can pick from any random numbers on the telephone choose 9-1-1?!

“I’m so sorry.  My baby knocked down the phone and he did dial 9-1-1, it was an accident!”

“Are you in trouble ma’am, is someone making you say this?”

“No!  I swear, my 14 month-old called 9-1-1!”

The operator and I finally hung up.  “Tyler! “, I said. ” You do not play with the phone. No! No!”

Five minutes later there was a knock on my door.  “Please open the door, this is the police!”

Oh my God!  I grabbed my baby prankster and opened the door with him. Thankfully, the officer seemed to be in good spirits.  “Is this the culprit?”, he asked.

“Yes, you are welcome to look around but I swear to you, he really did call 9-1-1!”

The officer took a look around my apartment, was satisfied that there was no one pointing a gun at my head and left.

That day I was so happy that Tyler made his first steps, but so angry that on his first stroll he decided to dial 9-1-1!

He’s been trouble ever since.

Don't let that sweet and innocent look fool you!

Don't let that sweet and innocent look fool you!

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The Bracelet Contest: A Story of Hope

Posted on February 23, 2011 by

I had 22 entries for my Win a Beautiful Beaded Bracelet Contest.  When I went to choose the winner with the help of random.org, #22 popped up.  “What are the odds of that happening?”, I thought.  The winner was “Caren”, whom I emailed and remarked to her as well how strange it was.

Here is what Caren wrote back to me:

“I’m not a religious sort but my unlikely selection in your drawing must have been a sign from on high.

My daughter’s good friend was diagnosed this fall with an extremely rare form of Non-Hodgekins Lymphoma. She is being homeschooled for her entire high school senior year while she undergoes a series of chemotherapy treatments, each one nastier than the last. She can’t have visitors because her immune system is effectively shut down until the treatments are over. These last few weeks have been especially tough for her spirtually, and somehow while googling something about jewelry I landed on your page and knew I had come to the right place.

The girl is Jewish. There is a prayer for the sick that is recited during the Saturday morning service, asking God to grant a full recovery to the person who is ailing. The phrase for “full recovery” is “refuah shlema” but in normal parlance, “refuah” is the operative term which means both “health” or “healing”.

I would love it if (the artist) could make up a beaded bracelet that says:

refuah

It would be a constant reminder to her that she is in our prayers and that all we ask is for her return to good health. A health talisman, if you will, in a style that won’t be scritchy on her wrist after long term wear.

My daughter can give it to her friend when she’s between treatment series while they let her body “rest” for a couple weeks.”

Indeed perhaps this was a sign from on High as I cannot imagine a young woman more worthy of this gift.  I ask you all to join me in sending good thoughts and prayers to this girl.

Michelle Eberwein, who makes these beautiful, wonderful bracelets, wrote to me and told me that making this bracelet for this young lady will be an honor.

And it is also my honor to have run such a contest which will bring this girl a bit of cheer and hopefully a smile…and a whole lot of people wishing her well.

Thank you.

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Tuesdays With Tyler: At the State Theatre’s Puppet Show!

Posted on February 22, 2011 by

(I was given tickets to see the puppet show by the State Theatre)

Yesterday the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ celebrated “Family Day”. Activities included storytelling, making a butterfly mobile and a warm Herr’s Hub City Big Top tent!

Here’s Tyler meeting “Blue” from Blue’s Clues and “Pablo” from The Backyardagains.

Yes, I know you can barely see his eyes, but it was darn cold out there!

And then we went to see the main attraction:  “The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favorites.”

I knew even I was going to like this!  The black light puppet show originated from The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia.  Before the show started, an announcement was made that this was a “no shusshing” show.  Kids laughed and cheered as they watched their favorite books come to life, which also included Little Cloud, and The Mixed Up Chameleon.

Is it okay to call a show “indescribable”?  I mean it!  No words can do the enchanting show justice!  The music and narration were perfect and even Tyler said, “This is the best show I’ve ever seen!”  Okay, he’s only seen a few shows, but still high praise, and a great review from a four-year-old!

After the show, the company held a question and answer period.  I was amazed to learn that there were only two puppeteers doing the whole show!  They brought out the puppets that the children wanted to see as well.

My thanks to The State Theatre for the tickets to a most memorable show.  Tyler went to school today holding tightly to his new The Mixed Up Chameleon book, still full of enthusiasm.

I wish that I could put up schedule for where you could see this wonderful show next but I did not see a current tour schedule posted.  I would advise calling or emailing The Mermaid Theatre if you are interested.

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The CoQ10 Experiment

Posted on February 18, 2011 by

I started taking CoQ10 about two days ago.  For the uninitiated, Coenzyme Q10 is a substance like a vitamin, that, among many things, claims to increase your energy. From asking around, CoQ10’s results have been mixed, with some claiming it’s a miracle, some saying it did nothing for them and some saying they felt a little bit better.

I am going to try it for 30 days, 1 pill a day, 200 mg.  Then I am going to go off it to see if I had been having any perceptible improvement with it.  I am going to try to keep an open mind.

Do you take CoQ10?  What, if anything, has it done for you?  What dose do/did you take and how often?

And if you have any advice for me, I’d be pleased for you to comment!

All of us with Chronic Fatigue, Lupus, Fibro, or whatever is making us feel like a truck hit us could sure use a miracle!

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Exploiting My Baby’s Conception

Posted on February 17, 2011 by

I read Exploiting My Baby as a member of the From Left to Write book club.  I was given a free copy as part of the book club.  This post was inspired by this book.

Exploiting My Baby by Teresa Strasser is a very…frank book about the author’s experience from conception to birth, and I happened to have loved it.

Thus, I have now been empowered, nay, liberated by Ms. Strasser to…

EXPLOIT MY BABY’S CONCEPTION

and I thank her for that.

I was 35 when my husband and I decided (after consulting a perinatologist, genetic counsellor, 18 viles of blood taken from me, and my husband fainting) to try to have a child.

We had waited a long time due to my health and when I was finally feeling pretty good I wanted this baby thing to work right away.  I charted my basal body temperature daily and peed on ovulation sticks.

The day was Saturday, December 17, 2005.  I knew we were coming close to baby-making time.  The phone rang and on my caller ID I saw that it was one of my aunts whom I had not spoken to in a long time.  As in long time, she was reaching out to me, trying to bridge the gap between our family long time, so I rushed to pick it up.

About five minutes into our conversation my husband came over and started to, you know, do things to me to make me want to get off of the phone.  But I didn’t want to get off the phone, this was a very important phone call and if I blew her off she would think that I was dissing her olive branch!  But it was close to baby-making time!

And so…I. DID. BOTH.

That’s right, I had sex with my husband while I was on the phone with my aunt.  I mean, wouldn’t anyone in my position(s) do the same thing?

I chatted on to my aunt during various maneuvers as my husband tried his best to be quiet (he’s used to this sort of thing from me) and I tried…not to sound like I was having sex.

We completed the act and I still talked to my aunt, for about an hour.  Not the sex, the conversation with my aunt.  Both went very well.

I wasn’t going to be one of those women who bought a million pregnancy tests and tested, like, the day after she had sex.  I waited until my chart showed that I was one day late and bought a test.  And sure enough, I was pregnant.

My husband was very disappointed as he had read about how wild and sexy (and desperate) baby-making sex could be on the side of the woman and he had really been looking forward to it.

But we had succeeded on the first try.  And so, I thank said aunt, for Grant might not have tried to be funny and get me off the phone if it were not for her.

Like Ms. Strasser, we too now have a beautiful son.

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Tuesdays With Tyler: Valentine’s Day!

Posted on February 15, 2011 by

Valentine’s Day was never a big deal for Grant and I, especially now since we can no longer afford to eat out, but we do enjoy living it through Tyler’s eyes.  Tyler’s teachers said his favorite part of the day was passing out all his Batman valentines. He also made a Valentine for Grant and I…and Eeyore.  I guess he loves us all equally.  But what should I make of the Valentine he made exclusively for Spider-Man?

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Here’s Tyler and I showing off our Valentine’s Day Pez and candy that Daddy bought for us.  I wound up eating half the box.  Diet?  What diet?

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Here is my Valentine’s Day gift from Grant.  Since we don’t have money for gifts, Grant gave me one of his watches from his beloved collection.  It is a Swatch watch from 2004 and the flowers are real!  It was inspired by the belief that some flowers can actually tell time.

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And here is Grant and Tyler playing with a gift we did give to Tyler.  No, not the entire Bat Cave, he got Green Lantern.  (Try to overlook the fact that Grant is in his underwear.  That’s just how he rolls.)

Hope everyone’s Valentine’s Day was loving and sweet!

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Win a Beautiful Beaded Bracelet!

Posted on February 14, 2011 by

I discovered Hope in Bracelets when designer Michelle followed me on Twitter.  I’m usually not into following product sites but when I took a look at her beautiful bracelets, I instantly became a fan.  The bracelets were very reasonably priced and when the one that I ordered came, I realized that they looked as good as they do in her pictures and were well worth the price!

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Michelle has Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia and started her bracelets to bring awareness to these diseases in a stylish way!  She uses beads and ribbons to represent the various diseases’ colors and adds words such as “Hope”, “Lupus”, and “Cure MS”.  She will also custom make pretty much anything you want!

And here’s the other reason I love her site:  You don’t have to be sick to enjoy her work!  She also has a beautiful selection of just plain or name beaded bracelets!

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And now, you can win one!  There are three ways to enter:

1. leave a comment

2. tweet this contest out

3. link it on your Face Book page

Each entry counts as ONE so if you do all three, please comment THREE times.

The contest will run until 11:59 p.m. EST, Monday, February 21st.

Good luck!

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Tales of a Rookie Mom

Posted on February 10, 2011 by

Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop.

workshop-button-1

Prompt #2.) You know you’re a rookie mom when you…

Grant and I were nervous about the whole car seat thing.  We had a policeman who had taken a 40 hour class on car seat installment put the bases in our car.  We were all set.  I even practiced with my Teddy Bear being the baby on how to strap him in. Teddy fit in fine.

Moving on to Tyler’s birth.  I had a 3rd degree tear and I won’t go into any more detail about that.  Let’s just say that 4th degree is the worst and I could not stand in the hospital and could only hold Tyler in bed.

By the time we went home I could stand and gingerly walk.  Amazingly, no one asked if we had a car seat; no one, except the guy pushing my wheelchair came down to the car with us.  I was holding Tyler in the wheelchair, and Grant got out the car seat and put it on the floor. The guy went away.  He placed the baby in…and couldn’t figure out how to strap him in.  “I can’t do it! I can’t do it!”  I squat down to help him.  Word to the uninitiated:  don’t ever squat after you’ve torn a couple of days ago after delivering a baby at only 9 cm dilated.

I nearly fell over from the pain.  I am wimpering and Tyler is now screaming.  I can’t do it either!  Luckily, there is a Mother Earth Goddess who walks by and asks if we need help.  She easily buckles Tyler in and we are on our way.

Now we are coming up on Tyler’s two week check-up.  I haven’t taken him outside for two weeks because I am nervous about cooties.  I practice on Teddy again.

Did I mention I had Postpartum Anxiety?

We are five minutes from the pediatrician’s office.  With 20 minutes to go to his appointment I take Tyler and put him in the car seat…and I can’t fucking do it!  I can’t strap him in, I can’t figure it out!  I call my husband at work, I am crying.  Why I did that I don’t know because he would never be able to get home in time.  I call the pediatrician’s office, “I can’t figure out how to get my baby strapped in his car seat!” And being the supportive administrative staff they are, they tell me if I am late we will have to reschedule.

I am freaking out, now I have 10 minutes before his appointment.  Finally I get it!  I have done it!  We make it to the pediatrician’s just in time.

Now I look back, it seems so easy, what was my problem?

I guess now I too am a Mother Earth Goddess.

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Cancer Scare For My Husband

Posted on February 9, 2011 by

For a while Grant had been complaining of pain in his torso, front and back.  His CAT scan revealed three healed broken ribs, which he most probably got from coughing due to his asthma…and some “spots” on his lungs.

This was about a week and a half ago.  You try not to think about it, it can be a million things, but your mind keeps saying, “It’s cancer, I have lung cancer.” Cancer. Cancer. Cancer.  You just can’t help going there.

With Grant’s mental illness, he is taking it harder than the “normal” person would, and it hasn’t been so great for me either.  There were some days he did not want me to leave him alone.  There are some days that with everything else going on I want to curl up in to the fetal position.

Because the CAT scan did not focus on his lungs, he went in yesterday for another one.  He was so freaked out that he drove to the radiologist’s office today to read the report.

And it is inconclusive.  And now they recommend that he sees a Pulmonologist.

The report says that in addition to cancer other conditions and illnesses must be considered including “Military tuberculosis, fungus or viral infection, vasculitis, sarcoidosis, silicosis, and hypersensitivity pnuemonitis.”

I don’t know what all of those things are yet, but I am hoping for one of those, or one of the things they have not included. Please hope with me.  Thank you.

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