In case you missed my column today...

Although I don't exactly plan it this way, it seems that I am forever destined to be a last- minute shopper at Christmastime.

Instead of complaining, I've resigned myself to my fate and now look at the glass of eggnog as half-full.

So I share with you the Top 6 Reasons Procrastinating Shoppers Rule:

1.) Camaraderie. There's nothing like bonding with other last-minute folks. Everyone is so joyful on December 23rd, it's like one big CheerFest at the register at Lowe's, we even give each other special waves in the parking lot while searching for a spot. Just yesterday as a kindly old man and I reached for the last Shrek Chia Pet on the shelf, he mumbled something about me being similar to his sainted (and apparently promiscuous) mother. The holidays are all about family.

2.) It's more polite. Gift-giving becomes a kinder, gentler process when you're dealing with limited selections. I don't see Uncle Albert as the 4XL guy he is--I like to look at the inner-Albert and get him that reindeer sweater in a boy’s medium.

3.) Creativity. Anyone can fill a gift list from a major retailer. But it takes an industrious soul to buy presents for the whole family at 7-11. (Those WWE Slurpee cups are refillable and collectible, Grandma. You’re welcome.)

4.) Does every holiday tradition have to be taken so literally? I mean who's to say that figgy pudding isn't a suspicious-looking Snack Pack at the gas station and that among the various meats in Spam Christmas goose isn't one of them?

5.) To keep the balance of the universe in check. While the annoyingly prepared are shopping at 3 am on Black Friday for 98% off the hottest toys of the season, I'm shopping at 11pm on Christmas Eve paying double for the crap no one wanted. It's the circle of life or something like that.

6.) It's more eco-friendly. There is no such thing as a giftbox for your purchase after December 1st since those have long run out. In a pinch I have been known to wrap socks in Frosted Flake boxes and Snuggies in Ziploc bags. It’s my gift to Mother Earth.


To my fellow procrastinators: Merry Christmas. To all those who have finished their shopping and are enjoying this week relaxing before a fire?

Here’s that special parking lot wave.


©2010 Tracey Henry


(And in case you also missed some updates on Whoa Momma.

Tips to share

New article up on Whoa Momma with tips on preventing MRSA.

See? I am still working.

Proof I didn't pack myself in a box yet

Readying the house for a buyer and the kids for school has been time-consuming and completely exhausting, and I'm trying to fit everything in and get everything done on this ever-expanding to-do list.

I'm failing.

But I did finally get a post up about heart condition on Whoa Momma.

Movie night

Simply to enjoy an evening out and not for review purposes, I actually got tickets from a radio station last weekend for a sneak preview of Despicable Me.

So the kids and I braved the rain and crowds for Twilight, and saw this funny movie. It was considerably better than Saturday's trip to Toy Story 3 where 2/3 of the family had to be carried out to the car in fits of sobs. (I was one.)

Here is our review set to go on Whoa Momma next week:


“Mom, that was sooo funny!”
~A. age 6

“That was so beast.”
~M. age 10

At least these two critics were unanimous: Despicable Me is a very funny movie.

Although not in theaters until July 9, we got a sneak peek of the new animated film starring Steve Carrel recently, and it certainly was a big crowd pleaser to the packed theater.

The story is about a fading super villain trying to commit the world’s greatest crime and out-do his younger up-and-coming nemesis. Seeing his opportunity with three young girls (Miranda Cosgrove) selling cookies, Dr. Gru adopts the orphans and finds that he may be outmatched when it comes to parenthood.

The movie earns its PG rating with a few derrière and toilet jokes, but overall it’s pretty harmless. It starts off a little slow, but the laughs come soon enough, especially when we meet Dr. Gru’s “minions,” who look like little yellow Tic-Tacs, but are much funnier.

It’s a bit Addams Family-esque, (Dr. Gru looks like Uncle Fester with a Boris and Natasha accent) but the dark parts are fleeting and replaced with jokes and slapstick stunts. The plot was a touch predictable, but it is a fun story and the 3-D effects and animation are impressive.

That, and Steve Carrel is beast.

The end is near

Tomorrow is the last day of school and I would know that even if we were not counting it down by the millisecond by these tell-tale signs...

I'm seriously considering breathing tomorrow but only after an afternoon cardiologist appointment.

Nothing for Mother's Day

I actually wrote this a couple of years ago before Jesso, but it still holds true today.

Nothing for Mother's Day.

If you need me today, I'll be poolside with steak and cake, Sangria and my little ones all day.

Perfect.

Happy Earth Day

My unwitting tribute to Earth Day includes a second visit from the plumber to fix the toilet from Jessie's tribute to Earth Day by exfoliating Mother Nature when she dropped an entire jar of sea salts down there. Yesterday, they took the toilet apart to find that little gem, and today it is still not working properly so perhaps Jessie followed up with a mud mask or a tube of deep moisturizer.

Oh yes, and I also wrote this up for Whoa Momma.

And this on SuburbanDiva.com.

It's called "research"

Lions, tigers and Snuffleupagus, oh my!

Jessie and I got to go on assignement together today.



We told you about all of the new happenings coming this spring to Busch Gardens and the new Sesame Street’s Safari of Fun, a new 2 ½ acre play land with kid-size rides, water fountains, and other fun attractions, but the good news just got better with the announcement that kids can experience the fun FOR FREE.

Acknowledging that serving families and younger guests was an area that Busch Gardens wanted to improve upon, Donnie Mills, executive vice president and general manager announced today that kids five and under could explore the new attraction (and the rest of the park) for free for the rest of 2010.

Although the Safari of Fun won’t officially open until March 27, 2010, you can take advantage of this special offer now. Simply visit the website SesameStreetSafariOfFun.com and register online under "Free Preschool Pass" before you come to the park. Once there, you can redeem your free pass with your registration confirmation and child’s birth certificate. (This offer is only available to Florida residents.)

Don’t forget to check out the other fun options on the website as well. In addition to games and videos and photos of all of the new attractions, you’ll also be able to reserve your table at Dine with Elmo & Friends, a new opportunity to eat a couple of cookies (or scrambled eggs) with Cookie Monster and other furry friends.

Another special treat for families? Forty four spots in a preferred parking area will be available for guests with strollers so they can bypass the tram. Spaces are limited, but no additional fees will be charged for these prime spots. (You can request the parking spots at the parking tollbooths.)

All of these new family-friendly additions and specials mean big time fun for your little one.

(Cross-posted at Whoa Momma)

Happy Groundhog Day and New Year!

Although my piece about Groundhog Day went up live on Whoa Momma today, I am celebrating New Year's all over again.

I don't know about you, but I'd pretty much like to forget all about January and start 2010 again, this time with a little more joy, a lot less chaos and a whole lot more writing.

Whose with me?

Random Updates

Collectiong my thoughts around the Interweb this morning...

My Hallmark giveaway is up at Whoa Momma.

My letter to Santa on Suburban Diva.com

And a great local event to attend on Saturday--Snowfest!

Whew. It's been a busy morning....

Giving away goodness this week

I know you're thinking that with all of this partying and blog avoidance that I haven't been working, but you're so wrong.

I've been working incredibly hard giving things away. Make sure you enter all of these current contests to score some swag:

See's Candy (2 readers will recieve gift cards for $25 delicious dollars worth of sweet goodness)

Michael Buble's new CD (5 readers will receive sweet sounds of goodness)

A Journal from Energizer and Susan G. Komen for the Cure (to make sure we are all spreading the goodness.)

Make sure you're entered...

P.S.

Here's that link to my Kouzzina by Cat Cora post on Whoa Momma.

I'll spare you the trouble of sending me hate mail

I've been around long enough to know that the below blog that was posted this morning on Whoa Momma will elicit hateful comments from one of the following themes from anonymous posters all of which have absolutely nothing to do with what I wrote, but via bad spelling and grammar I will be yelled at for one or more of the following:

a)How could I dress my child in such clothing. (I didn't and would never)

b)How dare I bash strippers.

c)Michelle Obama.

d)Remonstration from the Women's Movement.

e)Remonstration from the pedophiles.

f)Remonstration from the art community.

g)Remonstration from Great Britain.

Should be a fun day.




We must put an end to sexy clothes for children! Sing it, Sister!

Young girls are constantly inundated with social messages that concentrate too much on their looks! Preach on!

Let’s combat this social injustice by putting our infants in nipple-tasseled onesies! Ame--WTH?

Clothing designer Suzi Warren said in a recent Aol Parent Dish article that her nipple-tassel shirts and "C is for Condom" tees are actually a protest against sexually inappropriate clothing for children. "There is nothing very sexy about a baggy, lap neck, long sleeved t- shirt for a 6-month-old. So by embellishing this style of garment with printed nipple tassels, the result is not that the baby becomes sexualized by the tassels, but that the tassels are made benign and silly by the baby. In fact the more inert, innocent and unaware the infant is, the more ludicrous the contrast becomes."

Um, ok?

"The trap set to ensnare girls into a life-time of preoccupation with their looks is a subtle one. My garments are not part of this trap because they are about a subtle as a blinking brick and are aimed at parents of children too young to read or speak.”

I am all for a revolt on the short shorts and tube tops for preschoolers, but I’m not quite sure if putting my infant in nipple tassels is the most effective way to show my support for this particular protest. I realize real change has to start somewhere, but I’m not sure birth is the place to announce, "I’ve Done F**k All Day." While I’m irony’s biggest fan, there’s just too many w’s in the Ewww factor of this fashion statement.

Which is considerably better than too many X’s, because X is for X-rated.

Sundays are more delicious than Mondays

On this week's episode of Sunday Dinners Gone Wild, I prepared the traditional Labor Day weekend fare: Beef Wellington Aux Duxelles with Bordelaise sauce. Which translated means Beef Wellington with Mushrooms instead of duck pate so you don't gross out your guests, potatoes with creme fraiche, green beans with caramelized shallots (or shallots sauteed really, really long instead "caramelized"), homemade pickled vegetables, salad, bread, birthday cake and panna cotta with sweetened strawberries.

A serious improvement over hamburgers.

I'd be lying if I said I couldn't get used to this type of dining: cooking for two days so as to linger over multiple courses, friends and bottles of wine for three hours. It beats wolfing down a meatloaf in front of the tv. But in addition to raising the bar a bit high so that on a Tuesday night after baseball and homework you can't throw that meatloaf at your gourmands-in-training, my menus do have one serious drawback.

Dishes.

I use every single one when I cook. Ever. Single. One. Even when I run the dishwasher six times before the actual meal to cut down on this droll post-meal chore, I still end up with sinks, counters, floors, tables and couches filled with souffle cups and pickle forks. I cannot seem to streamline the number of last minute serving dishes before serving.

And so Sunday Dinners have now lead to Monday Dishes. Which is not nearly as much fun, but since eating Beef Wellington on paper plates would be a crime against humanity, I guess you know where to find me on Mondays.

(And since I made twelve servings of panna cotta, Tuesdays as well.)


Speaking of food, here's a link to a food-related post in Whoa Momma! today.)

Not exactly sticking to the itinerary

No, I haven't forgotten you, nor have we fallen from the planet--although we are orbiting around aliens at the moment here in South Georgia.

No, every detail of this is being recorded and will be chronicled beginning Monday here and over on Whoa Momma.

It promises to be just exactly how you'd expect this vacation to be, only with more screenplay opportunities.

Whoa Momma needs summer camp feedback

(Cross-posted from Whoa Momma!)

I did laundry every day last week when my older son was at the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Pioneer Camp. If you are familiar with it, the kids who attend the camp are generally dirty every day and then get hosed down at the end of the day. So every day he was soaking wet after playing in the mud, getting in the line of fire of squish (it's rotten food than is basically squished by a sledgehammer) or going through the pudding gauntlet. It used to be the pudding pole but the gauntlet is fun too, only maybe dirtier.

And even though I was tired of the daily laundry routine by the end of the week, for the third year in a row my son was as happy as a clam. He couldn't wait to get there every day and when my husband picked him up, he couldn't wait to talk about the expolits, whether he worked in leather, made a shelter with a team of kids or learned a new joke or riddle. If I had some stock in Tide, I would probably send him every week each summer.

So, now we want to hear from you. A few weeks before school ended, Go Momma ran an extensive list of bay area summer camps. But that's only part of the information we want to give you. We want to be able to share what other parents and kids thought about the camps. We want you to tell us about your child's summer camp experience. Did she love it so much she can't wait to get back next year or next week? Or would she rather stay home alone than go one more day? Do your feel like you are getting your money's worth or will you look elsewhere next time? Does it offer extra care or are you out of luck when noon hits? We want to know everything, so Mommas and Poppas, please fill out this questionnaire on your child's camp experience and let us know what you think. Once we have gathered your tales from summer camp, we will share them with readers in the coming weeks.

Thanks in advance for your help. Here's to lots of laundry in your future.

-- Sherry Robinson

*Please leave your thoughts here.

I don't normally do this, but...

...but today is different.

I posted my thoughts on Mother's Day here on Whoa Momma. If you know me at all, you know I'm not a fan of this day. (And if you don't know me, read the article for better insight.)

Sometimes I admit to still being somewhat reticent of posting this type of content because the more you put out there, well, the more that's out there, and the more vulnerable you are.

But you know what? Sometimes there's safety in numbers. And when you unwittingly touch people who share a similar experience, it actually ends up to be quite a powerful thing.

So even if you don't get through my long-winded post, read the reader's comments. It's so refreshingly beautiful to read an entire thread dedicated to just strangers being vulnerable with one another for a change, paying spontaneous tribute to their own wonderful mothers. I promise you, it will take your breath away.

Going National

Although it wasn't about my doll protest, CNN ran a story this morning on the new tween Dora doll that another Mom blogger wrote of earlier this month.

It was a great mention with a very generous screen shot of Whoa Momma! and I'm tickled to be a part of that.

Even though I have a feeling the haters will be out in full force this weekend...