Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

COMING SOON!!!!

Macaroni and Chicken Fingers will begin doing reviews in the very near future.

If you have a product or service that you would like reviewed, please contact us at customerservice@karmelpublishing.com.

We are very excited about this, and hope to bring you money-saving, time-saving, and all-round great stuff! Any suggestions, let us know!

Karen

An AWWWW moment from Mexico

As most of you know, my sisters and I went on vacation to Mexico last weekend. Whenever I go out of town without my children, they each give me a stuffed animal to bring with me so I won’t forget them. (Okay, just because I want a little break, does NOT mean I’m going to forget them, but whatever!) So I let the boys pack the animals in my bag and I make sure to take them out as soon as I get to my destination. We wouldn’t want the little guys suffocating, now would we?

So this trip was no exception. Twin1 gave me his Raccoon named Rocky (my suggestion – you know, Rocky Raccoon by the Beatles!) and Twin2 gave me his frog, Ben. Just as I was directed, I took them out when I got to the resort. Well, the housekeeper who gave me my turn-down service each evening may not have spoken English, but she sure understood my animals! Each night, she would put them in different positions on my bed, ready to greet me when I came in the door. Here are two:

When I talked to my boys on Skype each night, I would show them how Rocky and Ben were sitting. They LOVED it!

It was a small, yet warm gesture that she made each evening. To me, she is somebody who shows pride in her work, and wants to make others happy, as she did for me and my boys. And yes, she got a big tip!

Karen

Thursday Thoughts

What is the one thing, more than anything else, you want your children to know?

Are you sure they know it?

Melissa

Tune In Tuesday Debate- Nursing in Public

When I became pregnant with our first child, my husband immediately assumed a few things. assumed that of COURSE I would want to go through birth without any drugs (uhm, NO! Bring on the epidural at 3!), that I would want to home school (because I'm an educator- again, no, not for me) and that I would be delighted to nurse as oppose to formula feed. I remember looking at him in my state of sassiness, saying,"Tell you what, when the baby comes out, we will attach him or her to one of your dangling body parts and see how you feel about it."

When the time came, I did nurse both of my children for a bit. And it turned out to be a good experience for the most part. But there was always the issue of nursing while we were in public (again, wasn't for me. I hid in the bathroom). What do you think? Should women nurse in public? Let the debate begin!

Melissa

Friday Funny!

So Wednesday at noon I picked up Z2 from school.  She was in a happy, bubbly mood. The normal things ensue. After questions about her day, she proudly hands me a treasure. "Mommy," she says excitedly, "Hannah gave this to me and I saved it for you!" and she plops a chocolate Easter Egg into my hand. "I KNOW they're your favorite." 

I love chocolate Easter Eggs. Even though that piece of chocolate was probably more than a month or two old, I unwrapped its shiny, blue foil, grateful for my unexpected fix. I popped it into my mouth and let it begin to melt. Yum. What a sweet thing for my little girl to do for me!

About fifteen seconds later, she's talking and mentions in a BTW kind of tone,"Oh, that's not the egg that Hannah gave me. Silly me! I found yours on the floor."

UGH!

Happy Friday,

Melissa

Thursday Thoughts

I tend to get on edge with my kids when the pressure is on.  My tone of voice gets short, I'm more prone to say,"What do you need?!?!?" instead of "Yes, my love, can Mommy help you with that?" 

After endless pecking (because you know, raising children is a whole lot like being pecked to death by chickens), the buildup finally reaches critical mass. And then I blow. I yell. Their eyes get huge and they take a step back. 

I wonder what would happen if I hugged them every time I wanted to yell?

They would probably look at me and say, Gee, Mom, you sure are huggy today. What's up with THAT?!?!?"

Maybe I'll try it. I'll make it my research project and report my findings in a week or two. Try it with me?

Melissa

Fab New Recipe? You Decide!

In our new format, we left Wednesday open for just about anything, and we're calling it Wednesday Whatever. Today, I just have to share a recipe that somebody on Twitter found on http://www.curbly.com/. It is so bizarre looking, bordering on the disgusting, that I just know my boys will love it! So check it out: Spaghetti Hot Dogs!

Yes, I'm really serious! Now, I have to tell you that I have NOT made these yet, but I fully intend on making it soon. All you need to do is stick the spaghetti through the hot dogs and then boil. You could add a sauce, but it seems that a sauce would detract from the fun of it.

So let me know if you try it and how your kids like it!

Karen

Tune-In Tuesday Debate

We are very curious about how other parents feel about a variety of topics, so we have begun our "Tune-In Tuesday Debate." Every Tuesday, we will pose a question to you and ask for your comments. Some might be silly, and some might be controversial. We'll try to keep politics and religion out of it!

Our first Tuesday Debate centers around parents, especially moms, who have multiples. When I was pregnant with my twins, you would not believe the questions I got, ranging from the direct ("Oh, twins, did you go through infertility treatments?") to the more indirect ("So, do twins run in your family?") Either way, I found it to be an invasion of my privacy and basically, none of their business!

So if you have twins, how do you feel about the questions you got? And by all means, share the funny ones with us! If you don't have twins, what do you feel is appropriate to ask an expecting mother? And why?

Who knows, maybe I'm looking at this all wrong. What do you think?

Karen

Change is Comin'!

It's the Monday Minute! Tune-in Tuesday Debate! Wednesday Whatever. . .  Thursday Thought and Friday Funny!  

Yep, we will be attempting to be going to a new format just to bring a little order to the chaos.  We also like routine. We are, after all, moms. And you know what happens when routine gets unexpectedly blown out of the water. Well, it can all go to heck if you can't recover. 

So the Monday minute will be something short and sweet- just enough to get us going for the day.  And I've got to write it in a minute or less. (Oh, Help me!)

Tune-in Tuesday Debate- This is YOUR time to get involved. Each Tuesday we will post a question about family and kids and parenthood that will undoubtedly cause a surge of opinion. We want to hear from you! So, comment away.

Wednesday is whatever. It could be anything. you'll have to check us out to see.

Thursday Thoughts- anything from something sweet, to inspiring, to thought provoking.

Friday Funny- must read as you hear funny family stories. It will make you feel more normal. And who knows- send us your funny story and you, too, might become part of our blog.

So that's my minute for Monday.

See you tomorrow!

Melissa

Amazing Concert

I just wanted to share some photos from last night's AMAZING Elton John / Billy Joel concert. Of course, the pics were taken with a cell phone, so they're not great, but we'll give it a try!

The pictures on the right are from the MEGA screen above the stage, and the other 2 are from our seats, on the floor, Row 34!

Hilarious Hotel Story

We’re always looking for good “kid” stories, right? And if nothing too funny or exciting is happening with our kids, we look at our friends and their families. Well, this story is WAY too good not to share!

My friend, Joan, went with her two daughters, Susan, 17, and Abby, 15, to a college graduation in another city. (Of course, names are changed so “Abby” doesn’t get too embarrassed!) Abby had her own room and Joan was sharing a room with Susan. As soon as they checked into the hotel, they all went to their respective rooms to clean up and get ready for the day ahead.

Joan forgot to give Abby something, so she went next door and knocked. And knocked. And knocked. And then called. And texted. Over and over again. By this point, Joan is starting to get pissed off. She can’t believe that Abby either is ignoring her or that she laid down and fell asleep that quickly. So she goes back to her room and takes a shower. Then she tries again. And again, just like before. Still no answer.

All of a sudden, Susan says, “Mom, do you hear that?” And sure enough, through the wall, they can hear Abby yelling, “Help me, somebody help me!”

(Okay, just take a moment here to imagine. You hear your 15 year old daughter yelling for help and you have no way to get to her. I get weak in the knees just thinking about it.)

So frantically, Joan calls down the front desk, while Susan runs down there to get somebody. Joan is just about to break the window to get in when the manager gets inside. And guess what they find? (Now, remember, I wouldn’t be telling this story if it didn’t have a happy ending!)

ABBY IS LOCKED IN THE BATHROOM!!!!!!

She had run into her room, threw everything down on the bed, and ran into the bathroom. And closed the door. (Am I the only one who leaves the door open if I’m alone?) When she tried to get out, the doorknob broke.

So after all this, the panic, the rescue, the relief, what does Abby say to her mom? “See, I TOLD you I don’t take my phone EVERYWHERE!”

Joan aged about 10 years that day.

Karen

Children and Politics

Recently, a friend of mine was telling me about how political her little one, who is all of 2 1/2 years old has become. Apparently she has been correcting her teachers at preschool.

Teacher: Do you know who recently became president of the United States? President Barack Obama!

Little One: OH NOOOO, Miss Jones! We do not say that! That's a baaaaaaad word!

My friend, of course, was mortified. So the question is, how much and what do we say to our kids about politics?

Let the comments begin,

Melissa

Friday Funny!

It's Friday, and for that reason alone, I say let's celebrate! Woo-hoo it's the weekend!  

Last Friday, my daughter and I sat down to lunch.  "Mommy," she said, "After lunch will you sit down and watch that movie with me? The Kit Kittredge one that we've been trying to watch for a week?" 

"Well, honey," I started out,"Mommy has a lot of work to get done this afternoon."

She sighed a big sigh. Gathering up all of her 6 years, Z2 looked me straight in the eyes and in all sincerity said,"But Mommy, you will NOT get an opportunity like THIS at work!"

Completely dumbfounded, I finished my lunch, put the movie in and sat down with my girl and some big vanilla ice cream cones. Best 30 minutes of my day!

Yours, hoping your weekend brings sunshine,

Melissa

You Don't Know Until You Ask

Is your sitter CPR certified? For an adult? Child? Infant? How about a first aid course? What would they do if your child started choking?

I know, you don't think about these things when you are walking out the door. You are only focused on getting where you have to go.  But I'm certainly glad I ask my sitters. About a year ago, my sitter was walking to the bus stop to pick up Z1 (my boy) and she had Z2 (my girl) with her and Z2 was eating an orange. All of a sudden, Z2 was choking on the orange piece. She could not clear it from her throat. Luckily, my sitter was certified and knew exactly what to do. She used the Heimlich Maneuver and (as far as I'm concerned) saved my little Z2! 

So glad I asked. You don't know about your sitter? Go ask her now.

Yours, 

Melissa

Swine Flu Opinions

Since I canceled my trip to Mexico, I'm getting all sorts of opinions ranging from "you would have been stupid to go" to "you should have gone anyway, it's no big deal." So I'm wondering what your opinions are. Leave a comment and let me know: good or bad decision?

I'm just curious!

Karen