Naptime Blog

There is definitely something to be said about peers.  And just because we are grown-ups and have families and jobs and bills and big responsibilities, doesn’t mean we can’t get together with the girls for a night of laughs and fun!  And guess what?  It doesn’t have to be expensive!

Hosting an ABBA Dance Party was something I could NOT pass up! After all, anyone who really knows me knows that Abba carries the soundtrack to my life! When my oldest child was merely months old, we used to dance around my dining room table blasting “Dancing Queen”. She loved it so much, that by the time she was a year and a half, she knew and would sing every word by heart. She sang (with the DJ’s microphone) at cousins’ weddings, my wedding to her stepfather, her Communion…) in front of crowds and always jammed the dance floor. Juliana is my “Dancing Queen”!

Then, when I met my now-husband Paul, one of our very first dates was to see “Mamma Mia” on Broadway. I was still unsure of where the relationship was going because of my confusion with my recent divorce, but by the end of the show, after dancing, reflecting, laughing, crying, I realized that Paul was the man for me. He knew it too. At our wedding, as we walked back down the aisle as husband and wife, we walked out to Abba’s “I DO”. And after being on bedrest with my twins pregnancy for 2 months, Mamma Mia, the movie, came out just 3 days before my scheduled C-Section, the same day I was taken off of bedrest. So guess where I went that night? Yep! Paul, Juliana, and a VERY pregnant me were dancing in the aisles! Now, all four of my kids can recite the Mamma Mia movie by heart, and they know ALL Abba songs!

Five ladies came to my house last Friday night from Mommy’s Links for my ABBA YOU CAN DANCE HOUSE PARTY. This UbiSoft game for Wii is just AWESOME! And so much fun with a crowd (or by yourself, if you prefer to dance behind closed doors!) All of us moms got a great workout, sang to our heart’s content (songs we all know and love) and really enjoyed the laughs and fun we had all night! And what’s even better is that the kids love it too!

If you love Abba, this is an absolute MUST have item on your Christmas list! See below for the link on where to get it (and it ships free with TWO DAY delivery!)

I apologize for the blurry photos! With our strobe light (complements of Ubisoft), the dim lighting and the fast moving dancing moms, it couldn’t be helped! And as for our videographer, I think 10 year old Andy did a pretty good job!

Please see here for the original post and the disclaimer.

We celebrate Christmas.  We are Roman Catholic Christians, and although Easter is our religion’s biggest holiday, as you know, Christmas gets the most attention every year!  We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. 

For our family, the Christmas season begins on Thanksgiving.  We watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV (one day when the kids are a little older we hope to go in person.  As a New Yorker, I cannot believe I have yet to go!), and when the parade is over, we officially say it is Christmas!  I start my Christmas shopping early the next morning (sometimes late Thanksgiving night, IF we are not too stuffed and tired from dinner!) and we decorate our home inside and out over Thanksgiving weekend.

We send out Christmas cards, at least 30 cards to family and friends.  We decorate Christmas cookies, baking butter cookies, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, walnut balls and a variety of other cookies depending on the year (and our time!)  My husband and I shop and wrap together (except each other’s gifts, of course, although sometimes we know what the other has gotten us in advance!), and we bake as a family.  We attend various parties and Christmas concerts the kids put on at school.

On Christmas Eve, we attend Mass at 5pm, where the children put on The Living Nativity.  For the second year in a row, my daughter is in the presentation.  She is a signing angel.  After Mass, we enjoy a fish dinner, where we have at least 7 different fishes.  I am a seafood fan, so I really enjoy Christmas Eve. We celebrated Christmas Eve with my in-laws for many years, but since Juliana is in The Living Nativity near our house, we have been celebrating with my family.   After dinner, it’s home and bedtime for the kids, and Santa and Mrs. Claus get ready for the morning!  We take out all the kids’ presents, put some together, “eat” the cookies and “drink” the milk (usually putting it back as we are both too stuffed to actually eat anything else!) and prepare whatever we can in advance for dinner the next day.  We always host Christmas dinner at our house, so after opening presents and breakfast, it is back into the kitchen!

Christmas morning at our house is extremely chaotic and crazy, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.  First, the kids get Santa’s gifts, then open the gifts from us (and each other), and usually by then, by parents and siblings have arrived with a ton more presents.  My house usually looks like Toys R Us exploded that morning, and I spend the day worrying where in the world I am going to put all these new toys!  Paul and I go make everyone breakfast, and we enjoy breakfast as  family.  Everyone goes home to shower and dress, and we finish preparing dinner.  Just as we’re showered, our guests start to arrive.  This year, we are hosting my parents, my siblings and their significant others, my mother-in-law and her husband, my father-in-law and his wife, two of my aunts and us.  We will be 18. 

After stuffing ourselves silly for the second day in a row, everyone goes home, and Paul and I usually crash on the couch.  It has been a long few days!  I try to reflect on the day and I remember again the real reason for the season, celebrating the birth of Jesus.  I am thankful for another wonderful holiday.

WHAT DO YOU CELEBRATE?

I can laugh about it now… so I thought I would share!

Twas three weeks before Christmas, sleeping boys and girl
Not a creature was stirring except for a squirrel!

The house was all decorated, our village and tree
We were ready to sit down and watch the TV.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of electronic toys danced in their heads.
Paul on his chair after we cleaned up our mess
Were getting ready to watch The Good Wife on CBS.

When on top of the couch i saw something stir under the slipcover.
I sprang three feet in the air and ran fast for cover.

Off his chair Paul sprang and called for a hammer.
Not ideal if course, but I was all for the slammer.

At first we thought we might have a rat in the house.
There is nothing that grosses me more than a rat or a mouse!

When what to our wandering eyes should appear
Out of our couch a squirrel, oh dear!

My brother hit it twice with a broom to get it out the door
Instead it went back into the couch once more!

Paul and my Dad got the couch into the yard
Getting the squirrel out of the couch was quite hard!

Now scrubbing! Now cleaning! Now bleaching the house! On wiping! On washing! At least it was no rat or mouse!

To the Christmas tree I went, I noticed a mess and ornaments on the floor
Our Christmas village too! My glass snowman was no more!

We got the sucker out, we cleaned up our home
And it ran away unharmed, back in the street to roam!

Not quite the night we planned, and certainly a pain in the neck,
Every word of it is true, and yes, I was a wreck!
But I have to exclaim, because it is just and right,
“Happy Christmas Mr. Squirrel, and to all a good-night!”

This is a true story. This happened to us on Sunday night!

With four kids, it is often difficult to get one photo of all of them for our Christmas Cards. I try every year and there is always someone who isn’t looking or has a silly face… and then someone gets tired or cranky and it is all over. This year, I decided to dress them in festive clothes on an early fall warm day and take them in the yard. I also wanted to put individual pictures up of the kids because they have all grown so much since last year. I have to say I am happy with the results, considering I did it one afternoon by myself!

I was offered to do a review for Mixbook on their line of Photo Christmas Cards. I went onto the Mixbook site and clicked Christmas Cards and was immediately drawn to one design – “Jingle All the Way”. I put the group shot on the top and made a collage of the individual shots that I added to the bottom. Then I played around a little with the special effects and LOVED the mirror image I was able to do!

I really can’t stop raving about the special effects you can play with when designing your cards. Plus, everything is editable… I wanted to move one of the elements in the card them and was shocked and thrilled to be able to! And the prices are pretty good too! 30 cards for about $30 is pretty standard, but once you factor in how much you can customize these cards, the price can’t be beat! I am very happy with my order and I will use them again!

You can “like” Mixbook on their Facebook page or “follow” them on Twitter! Once you become a fan on Facebook you can get a coupon for your order!

This Christmas, amaze your kids and Catch Santa on Video! TheSantaVideo.com allows parents to create a fun, high quality, video of Santa Claus visiting their very own home. Utilizing green screen technology, parents upload a picture from their home, select a Santa Claus scenario, and let our software superimpose Santa Claus right into your living room! Parents can then visit their streaming video online or download an HD copy to burn to dvd, edit, or add to youtube.

Creating and purchasing your Santa video is easy and fun! The video process consists of three simple steps, 1. choose a picture, 2. select a video of santa (skit), and 3. select music (optional) – Then click “Done”. The video can then be reviewed and purchased for $14.95, or $10.95 after receiving a coupon for “liking” them on facebook. Once purchased, the user will receive the video “Instantly” by email, and they can then share the video with a unique streaming link, or download the video to share on youtube, facebook, or perhaps burn to DVD or edit further.

HINT!!!!! As you probably know all too well, kids don’t miss a thing! Your video should have as close to the same background that your house will have when your children go to sleep that night. If you know ahead of time that the presents in the video are wrapped a certain way, and that the cookies we used are chocolate chip, etc. they will be able to go through the process more smoothly on Christmas Eve. You can also make your video on Christmas Eve!

Every year, my husband and I go out early Friday morning to go Black Friday shopping.  The last two years, we actually left the house just before midnight on Thanksgiving to start early.  We always do well, getting laptops, cameras, printers, etc.  This year, we do not have any “door busters” that we really need to get, so I am still on the fence with whether or not to go out Friday morning.

Actually, I have seen so many sales that we can do online for this coming week.  I may take advantage of a lot of those.  As a matter of fact, I have been compiling a list of sales and will share what I find with you later this week.  I like the idea that Walmart allows you to shop online for many of their door busters, as does a few other stores. 

Have you started your holiday shopping yet?  Will you be going out early Friday mornign?

I took a survey yesterday about baby formula (yes, even though I am slightly passed that stage now with my youngest being two).  They wanted moms’ opinions on their preference for baby formula, even for moms who have slightly older children.  I always have been passionate about my baby formula, so I happily obliged to complete the survey.

When my oldest was on formula, I used the brand name formula.  I was a first time mom and fed her what they gave me in the hospital and what my pediatrician gave me samples of, which was probably Similac.  But when my twins were born six years later, I could not justify paying all that money for double the formula and had to seek out another alternative.  That is when I found Parent’s Choice.  My son Louis had acid reflux, and the Gentle formula worked wonders for him.  I was able to purchase their formula for much less at Walmart, they were happy, I was happy, and everyone was happy!

When the baby came, I didn’t think twice but to stick with Parent’s Choice.  By then, diapers.com started to sell it online, which made my life even easier!

I also nursed all four of my children, but formula supplementing was the best for me.  And there is no doubt in my mind, if I had to do it again, store brand formula is the only way to go!

Here we are…  tomorrow starts the beginning of Thankgiving week.  Undoubtedly, you have some preparations to do this week.  Whether you are hosting or visiting, you have to get ready for Thursday.  How much do you have to do this week?

I have been up since 6am.  I have laundry in the wash, I cleaned out the refrigerator and made my husband a list of grocery shopping.  When he comes home from the grocery store, I have to put everything away.  We are headed into the city for a pre-screening of THE MUPPETS, and then I have to come home and finish getting ready for our Thanksgiving Potluck/Food Drive tomorrow.

I am hosting Thanksgiving this year.  Usually we go to my mother-in-law’s, however, I wanted to make it easier on her as she is going for surgery in a few weeks, so we are having it here.  Twenty-three people, including eight kids.  And it is an Italian household, so we are going to have enough food to feed an army!

First on the menu is the antipasto.  My mother-in-law will be bringing that and it will likely have various cheeses and salamis, plus some roasted red peppers, an olive salad and lots of bread.  My mom is making stuffed mushrooms, which she makes soooo delicious!  Next is the pasta (we will always refer to it as macaroni!)  This year, instead of the standard meat sauce, we are having a simple marinara.  Too much of the macaroni and meatballs ends up with no one wanting turkey!  Of course, then is the turkey and all the sides.  On our list we added cranberry sauce, ingredients to make fresh stuffing, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, broccoli, string beans and corn.  And my favorite food – stuffed artichokes.  We also have to make a chicken as my mother-in-law does not eat turkey.  I am sure I am forgetting some other things, but you get the picture.

Next is the fruit, which cousin Jeanie will be bringing.  Following fruit is nuts – walnuts, almonds, and yummy chestnuts.  And finally is desserts.  We’ll be making an apple and pumpkin pie, and I am sure everyone else will bring some other desserts.

On holidays, everyone goes home stuffed.  The hosts are exhausted and the kids sleep like logs that night!  For me, 6am Friday morning starts WIN IT WEEKEND, on my Mommy’s Links site,  and I am not sure yet if I will be heading out shopping for any of the Black Friday sales.  And then of course the MAD RUSH begins….  Preparing for CHRISTMAS!

Where did the year go?  I cannot believe I am saying this already,  but Happy Holidays!

What are your preparations for this week?

Jennifer, wife and mom of four
www.mommyslinks.com

Today, November 11, is Veteran’s Day. Something we will only see ONCE in our lifetimes is the date. Actually, at 11:11 (and eleven seconds!) this morning, it will be all ONES across the board on our watches and clocks. 11:11:11, 11/11/11. Today is the day that brides and grooms have specifically chosen to get married, so they could always remember those cool numbers. Any babies born today will have an awesome birthday number to write down. ELEVEN ELEVEN ELEVEN – or ONE ONE, ONE ONE, ONE ONE.

What comes to mind when thinking of the number ELEVEN?

- “Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven!”

- Eleven Pipers Piping

- The eleventh hour

- Ocean’s Eleven

- September the eleventh

- XI

- Phil Simms jersey number

- Apollo 11

What else do you think of when you hear ELEVEN?

Enjoy this day in history!!!

 Jennifer Nevadomski, Wife and Mom of Four – www.mommyslinks.com

Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted, just hours ago, of involunary manslaughter. Michael Jackson’s doctor, who was with him on June 25, 2009, when the lethal dose was taken, claims he only gave a small dose. There were suggestions that the King of Pop may have actually given himself the lethal dose himself. Either way, one of the most well-known entertainers in our lifetime is dead.

People outside the courtroom were cheering “Justice for Michael”. Justice? Don’t get me wrong. I have always been a Michael Jackson fan since I was a little girl. When he was put up on charges of molestation, I found it hard to believe, however, I would never doubt a child. I still loved his music, but I believed he was guilty. To find out years later that the accusations were in fact a ploy on behalf of the child’s mother for money was a disgrace. Nevertheless, we all could have predicted an early death for Michael Jackson, because he played God and he played doctor. I have said it numerous times and will say it again – SUPERSTARS ARE NOT INFALLIBLE! Singers, actors, sports stars, heiresses… they think they can do whatever they please whenever they want. Superstars are not above the law and they are certainly NOT above God. Money and fame does not give you an automatic approval to do whatever you want!

Insomnia? For insomnia and “constant pain”, Michael Jackson took it upon himself to “buy” himself a medical doctor who would give him as many drugs as he asked for. And as a result, it killed him. The doctor was stupid enough to risk his license, his career, his credibility, his freedom, and the life of another human being (regardless of who that human being was) to OBLIGE.

Justice? OK, so we got one idiot doctor away from harming more patients. But what about the thousands of SUPERSTARS that think they are infallible? Who is going to be the next one to make headlines or end up dead? Justice will be done when these people realize they are no better than the rest of us, and while some of them might have immense talent, they stop living their lives above the law.

RIP Michael… too bad you were not smart enough to realize you could kill yourself by your lifestyle.

Originally posted on Mommy’s Links.
Jennifer Nevadomski
Wife and mom of four