Wow. I asked for a video camera with waterproof case. High maintenance much?

Verizon listened to moms and came up with a huge giveaway you can nominate your own mom for!

The Perfect Day

The Perfect Day Giveaway Sweepstakes Grand Prize Package includes: a manicure, pedicure, massage, facial, laundress, house cleaning, and dinner/restaurant voucher or gift card for $350 (approximate retail value: $1,350).

Contest begins on May 10 at 12:00 a.m. ET and ends on May 11, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

How to Enter

Here’s How to Enter Verizon’s Perfect Day Sweepstake:

Follow @VerizonWireless on Twitter. Then simply tweet out a message that makes a positive statement about your mom for Mother’s Day in the following format:

My mom is the most incredible woman I aspire to be. #PerfectDay http://bit.ly/IWTZs8
Your entry must include both #PerfectDay and http://bit.ly/IWTZs8 be entered in the contest. You can enter 5 times per day during the contest (max 10 times).
The grand prize will go to the best tweet of why your Mom deserves the #perfectday.

So tweet away to enter your mom for this amazing giveaway!

{Prizes: ONE (1) GRAND PRIZE: Perfect Day Giveaway Sweepstakes Grand Prize Package. Prize package includes: manicure, pedicure, massage, facial, laundress, house cleaning, dinner/restaurant voucher or gift card for $350 (terms and conditions of voucher or gift card apply) (selected by sponsor in its sole discretion). Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $1,350. Official Rules. This is a sponsored post.}

YAAWWWNNNN…

I had been dragging soooo much the last few weeks. I was actually starting to think something was seriously wrong with me. I couldn’t keep my eyes open, but I didn’t have any time to rest. I’m BUSY!! Busier than usual. So to figure out what was wrong with me, I naturally went on line. A cursory search of my symptoms on WebMD confirmed that I was not dying, so that was nice.

What it did start to look like was that I was missing some serious protein, especially in the mornings when I most needed it.

My mornings are pretty chaotic, as most moms’ are. I could get out of bed earlier, but I wait until the last possible moment, savoring the snuggly feelings of my blankets for about five “five more minutes” before I jump into my morning routine. So not only do I have a bunch of stuff to do, I give myself the absolute minimum amount of time in which to do them all.

After getting the kids up and sending someone out to walk the dog, I jump back into bed to get one last “five more minutes” before my husband makes me coffee and then I really getting into the morning routine. Since I’m the kind of mom that taught her kids to serve their own cereal, I don’t have to worry about making breakfast, but I do still make their lunches. In an effort to get back into shape, I’ve also added going to the gym right after dropping the kids off. And because I don’t always like working from my home office, I plan on going to a quiet spot somewhere to work from my laptop for a few hours. That means I have to pack my gym bag and laptop bag, too. Just after checking that the kids brushed their teeth and helping my son with his hair, we head out the door.

Nowhere in there did I say anything about breakfast, huh?

A couple of times last week, I was on the elliptical and thought I was going to D. I. E. DIE!!! I wasn’t doing anything totally strenuous, but I was feeling really woozy and out of breath. I thought about it and realized — duh, Stupid — I hadn’t eaten anything. Not even a banana. You can’t work out without eating anything! So the next few days, I made sure to eat at least a banana. But I still was feeling really run down and dizzy after my workout. Not only that, but my regular rest in the afternoons was coming on earlier and stronger than usual. I couldn’t even make it home one day, my eyes were so sleepy. I actually had to pull over from how tired I was.

*Side Note: If you saw a lady sleeping in her car in the parking lot of the Home Depot… yeah, that was me.

So since I HAVE to get my work done and I HAVE to lose the “happy” pounds I gained when my husband and I reconciled, it was necessary to find some solution. I needed something convenient and full of the stuff my body needs to get through my workouts and the rest of my day. I thought about drinking the shakes I was drinking before, but they were really high in sugar and carbs.

Then I got asked to try out the Premium Protein shakes and bars.

I’ve been drinking one shake over ice every morning for the last five days instead of my coffee, and in the afternoon, I’ve been treating myself to either a Yogurt Peanut Crunch, Chocolate Peanut Butter or Double Chocolate Protein bar. (BTW: The kids LOVED the bars!) Guess what? It’s working. I’ve had enough energy to get through my time on the elliptical (without anyone worrying that I’m going to need a medic) and I’ve been getting through the rest of my work and my day without feeling sluggish or woozy, which is really nice because I don’t like sleeping in home improvement parking lots.

It’s kinda creepy.

If you want to check out the shakes, here are a couple of recipes you might want to try:

Monkey Frosty Protein Shake – Because I love Bananas. And monkeys. But I don’t eat the monkeys.

Fresh Berry Boost – It’s berry good. Sorry… I couldn’t help myself.

Cafe Vienna Shake – It’s like coffee… except more proteiny.

Disclosure: This is a paid campaign. After sampling their tasty products and getting the results I wrote about, I decided to help promote Premier Protein.

1 Premier Protein Chocolate Shake
1 serving Cafe Vienna instant coffee
1 cup ice cubes

Directions: Add all ingredients into a blender and mix on high until blended. Pour and enjoy!

READ: Three Ways The Right Protein Can Help Boost Your Day

Disclosure: This is a paid campaign. After sampling their tasty products and getting the results I wrote about, I decided to help promote Premier Protein.

Fresh Berry Boost Smoothie

1 Premier Protein® Vanilla Shake
1/2 cup Acai juice
1 cup Raspberries
1/2 cup Blueberries
Approx. 6 ice cubes

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Pour into glass and start your day with a boost!

READ: Three Ways The Right Protein Can Help Boost Your Day

Disclosure: This is a paid campaign. After sampling their tasty products and getting the results I wrote about, I decided to help promote Premier Protein.

1 Banana peeled and frozen
1 Premier Protein Chocolate Shake
3 Tbsp Peanut Butter
Ice for volume

Directions: Break frozen banana into pieces, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until lightly chunky. Scoop into large cup and serve with a spoon.

READ: Three Ways The Right Protein Can Help Boost Your Day

Disclosure: This is a paid campaign. After sampling their tasty products and getting the results I wrote about, I decided to help promote Premier Protein.

I was having lunch with some girlfriends the other day when the subject of giving birth came up. I’m not sure why, but we went there. My friend, Sondra told us about how she went to a hypnobirthing specialist.

If you’re not from California, hypo-anything might sound a little airy fairy to you. But here, it’s like going to get a haircut. Although I’ve been to a hypnotherapist, I never used hypnobirthing during any of my deliveries, so I was intrigued to hear about her experience.

She told us about her first visit and how they discussed her birth story. The story she had in her head about the day she was born. Now, most of us probably don’t remember being at our birth. What we do remember are all the stories that the people around us (Mom, Dad, Grandma, etc.) told about the day we were born. Some of those stories get more fanciful every year, at times even mythical. Mom’s labor was 400 hours long of Dad had to drive 90 miles per hour through traffic so that mom wouldn’t have a baby on the side of the road. The reality might just be that mom popped you out in a day and dad only had to drive two mile to the hospital.

Still, it’s their story.

But their stories, just as their habits and colloquialisms do, become part of us. Your birth stories, the story of the moment you entered this world, can have a strong impact on how you perceive yourself. I know mine did. I didn’t realize it until we were talking about it at lunch that day.

My Birth Story

I was supposed to be a boy.

My dad had plans for me to be president, so I just HAD to be a boy. My mom, drugged up on who-knows-what-all thought that my umbilical cord was my penis and argued with the nurses that they were wrong, I was a boy! Nope. Sorry. Girl. I always joke around that from the moment I was born, I was a disappointment. It’s meant to be funny, and truly, I can laugh at it now, but wow… thinking about how that realization shaped my life really hit me like a punch to the gut.

Besides the disappointment of not being a boy, I also had a lot of guilt. Before my first birthday, my parents separated, then later divorced. I always assumed it had to do with my lack of penis. Now that I’m older, I know that it was just that they were nuts. But tell that to a little girl who wonders why daddy didn’t love her.

And tell that to a twenty-something idiot girl that is trying to fill that daddy void with a string of idiot boyfriends.

My Kids’ Birth Stories

I had to do a little contemplating this week. Without influencing their answers, I asked my youngest two what their birth stories were. “If I was a girl, I was going to need therapy.” That’s what my son remembers. He also remembers that I jumped up and down with joy when we found out it was going to be a boy and that I yelled, “I make boy parts!” My daughter said, “I was the only kid you planned.”

Oh boy.

Their responses were pretty funny, and possibly therapy worthy. I haven’t yet asked my oldest two what their birth stories are. I’m really nervous about that. I’m actually thinking about sending them both letters retelling their birth stories from the perspective of a mom who has learned a lot since being their too-young-to-know-any-better mom.

Rx

If you’ve got a jacked up birth story, don’t worry, there’s hope!

You could go through a hypnotherapist (which I would recommend), where that person will guide through imagery, rewriting or retelling a story in a way that doesn’t shift from reality, but that holds a more positive, empowering message in your subconscious. If you don’t want to go that route, take some quiet, undisrupted time to imagine your adult self retelling your eight-year-old self all those silly stories in a way that would let him or her feel good about who they are. You might also want to journal your thoughts to do some more noodling later on.

We can’t travel back in time to fix the silly things our parents tell us, but retelling the stories and myths of our life can have a significant impact on how we approach life’s nasty little obstacles… like a father’s disappointment.

What’s your birth story? Share them in the comments!

.

and I killed a man.”

Could this have been me? How many times was I checking a message rather than keeping my eyes and mind focused on the road ahead? How many times was a text so important as to put myself and those around me at harm?

I am so guilty of this. So guilty.

Sometimes, it gets so bad that I throw my phone away from myself because I keep floating out of my lane. I’m sure to the people behind me, I look like I’m drunk. It’s ridiculous, really. Any incoming message, text, tweet, photo… whatever…

It CAN wait.

This short film is a much needed and sobering reminder to me. Maybe you could use the reminder, too. I hope you click over and watch it. If you have teens, you might want them to watch as well. Most of the drivers and victims in the film were teens. A few never made it to adulthood. Others did, but with serious repercussions.

VIDEO: The Last Text: AT&T Documentary

This is a sponsored campaign from AT&T.

Reading this in email and can’t see the image? Click over to the post!

I know… it’s a funny card. But the truth is, I think life might be easier on my kids if they leave my house without an inordinate amount of dysfunction. Two already escaped, sadly, not unscathed. But at least I learned a few things and hopefully *knocking wood* the next two leave a little less scarred.

The best way I’ve found to not screw kids up too much (besides having a couple to test theories on) is to lean heavily on the advice of experts. So if you don’t want your kids to spend endless hours on a therapist’s couch complaining about you, you might want to join this free tele seminar tomorrow, compliments of Invisalign.

Positive Parenting Solutions

Parenting expert Amy McCready will teach you easy-to-implement strategies to correct misbehavior and reclaim the calm voice you had before kids. Discover proven tools for your most frustrating discipline dilemmas and the secret for consequences that work!

FOR: Parents of school age kids to teens
DATE: Thursday, April 19
TIME: 2 PM Eastern or 9 PM Eastern

There are two sessions to choose from, but webinar seating will be limited RSVP now!

http://www.positiveparentingsolutions.com/invisalign

About Amy McCready

Parenting expert Amy McCready is the Founder of Positive Parenting Solutions and the author of If I Have to Tell You One More Time (Tarcher/Penguin, 2011). She is a frequent guest on The TODAY Show and has also appeared on Rachael Ray, CNN, Fox & Friends, MSNBC, and elsewhere. In her most important role, she plays mom to two teenage boys.

PS: I’m a member of the Invisalign Mom Advisory Board. My daughter will be receiving free treatment from Invisalign. Her dysfunctional humor is also free, compliments of me.

at the arcade.

I spent too many hours and quarters playing Ms. Pac Man, Asteroids, and my personal fave, Centipede. I’m proud to say, you could almost always find my initials on the leader boards. If someone knocked it off, I’d spend my whole role of quarters trying to get back on. In our little world, it was like being famous. Sort of.

At home, my sister and I spent hours playing Pong, later graduating to Donkey Kong, Frogger, and Tetris. Most of the time, I played with other guys. Not too many of my girlfriends wanted to spend a lot of time at the arcade or in front of the TV playing video games. They preferred to slap on some Bonne Bell lip gloss and Maybelline mascara and head to the mall to check out the boys. They didn’t seem to get that the boys were at the arcade. Duh! Not wanting to be left out, I gooped on the gloss and followed them to the mall.

But I really wanted to be at the arcade.

Then I grew up and had kids. No more arcade days for me. But after paying my dues with years of having The Elmo Song stuck in my head, the kids finally grew up and got into gaming. I was so excited!!! Except for the fact that most of my favorite games were “retro” when retro wasn’t cool, it was nice to have an excuse to play again.

But these days, we don’t need an excuse.

Gaming has become a regular part of life for everyone. When we were kids, adults would laugh off our video games. But adults of our generation will push their own kids aside to rock out to Rock Band or kick some ass on Street Fighter. Unlike our parents, we get gaming, even if they still don’t get us still playing. Just the other day, I was showing my mom Draw Something on my iPhone. She thought it was interesting, but before I could finish demo’ing it to her, she asked, “Doesn’t this just waste time?”

“Yes, it wastes time,” I told her. “That’s kind of the point.”

I love tuning out with a game. A few of my favorites to tune out with come from PopCap. I have Bejewelled Blitz on my iPhone, Solitaire Blitz on Facebook, and Plants vs. Zombies on my Nintendo 3DS. With all that playing, you’d think there wasn’t time to get anything done. Actually, gaming is helping me cope. It’s like Zoloft but without the whole losing-interest-in-sex thing.

Picking up a device or flipping over to another window to play a quick “casual game” between answering emails and working on articles or posts is a fun reward for getting my work done. Plus, it’s a simple little pleasure that helps me get through the day. And I’m not alone.

More and more women are jumping into gaming. With the popularity of “casual games” on our mobile devices and the ease of connecting with friends with a quick game on Facebook, women are finding gaming a nice escape from our routines and responsibilities. But us girls are attracted to gaming for different reasons than the guys. Men mostly want to compete. Not that women don’t want to compete, but as Melanie Morris of Ireland’s Image Magazine found out, “Females seek something different in gaming to men. They’re looking for coping methods, and they like the positive affirmations. It transports them to a safe environment where they can go into their own world.” That’s not to say that women aren’t competitive. We just like the warm fuzzies of gaming, too!

I recently co-hosted a PopCap sponsored roundtable discussion at Splashes in Laguna with a group of female bloggers that enjoy a good game. Pop Cap is best known for Plants vs. Zombies (which I recently downloaded onto my Nintendo 3DS). We were talking about some of our favorite games and why. One feature we all agreed on some games is a chat feature. Being able to flip behind the game to chat with our friend/opponent is part of the fun. Most everyone at the table was only slightly familiar with Solitaire Blitz, but by the next morning, we were all tearing it up to the top of the leader board. Two weeks later, we are sharing virtual silver and bottles of rum with each other. We also have a private Facebook group where we’re goading each other on for high scores. We’re not a competitive bunch at all.

One thing we all agreed on at the PopCap luncheon:

Recharging with a little play time is a really good thing.

So what games are you hooked on?

Disclosure: I’m one of the #PopCapMoms Group and a #NintendoEnthused Brand Ambassador. That means I get paid with cash and/or games. My mom STILL doesn’t get it.

“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

That’s what I thought the first time I saw this video a few years back. It’s a timeless reminder that a little creativity and passion can go a long way to making this world a better place for ourselves and for others.

Enjoy!

VIDEO: Reverse Graffiti

Disclosure: Sponsored post that I was delighted to accept.