Parenting Lounge

March 31, 2013

in mom says,video

Oops.

I have kinda forgot I have a blog the last few months.  It isn’t that I don’t LOVE it here, it is just that I have been a little busy doing some super exciting things.

One of the cool things about being online in 2013 is that if I want to run a LIVE talk show from my living room, I can.

Oh, and I do!

parenting lounge

The Parenting Lounge airs each Tuesday evening at 9 pm CDT.

It is simultaneously broadcasted on G+ and my YouTube channel as a live show.

Last week was Part II of our Favorite Things…don’t worry, you can jump right into part II because the plot isn’t very complicated.

The Parenting Lounge panelists are some of my favorite people in the world:

Previous episodes have been a ton of fun as well.  It has become my favorite evening of the week because I end up laughing the entire time.

So, exactly what IS the Parenting Lounge?

I promise you it is not a parenting expert show, but there are many years of parenting experience between all of us.

It is more about moms supporting moms and sharing in the laughter of the ridiculous situations we all end up in on a daily basis.

I hope you will tune in.  This Tuesday evening I will embed the live show here at JCN so you can watch along from the comfort of here.

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5 small steps for momkind

February 7, 2013

in Mom blogs,mom says

If you know me, you know I am not a resolutions-type gal.  It just requires so much planning…and follow through.

*sigh*

But, I have been getting older every year.

*gasp*

And every year that happens, things just seem to start falling apart.

The thing that is hard for me to accept is that despite getting older, I have control over how I feel.  It kinda takes the excuses away.

All this self-realization and emotional group hugging has brought me to..

5 Healthy Things It Would Not Kill Me to Improve

5 Healthy Things that Wouldn’t Kill Me to Improve

  1. Make a list- I am not a list maker, but that means I am a wake up in the middle of the night and worrier.  Waking up in the middle of the night decreases sleep.  Decreased sleep makes me grumpy.  I have found that if something is on a list that I am actively crossing items off of, it decreases my worry over it.
  2. Drink water in the morning- I notice that I consume 90% of the water I drink after 2 pm.  That coincides with my “no more caffeine after 2 pm or I won’t sleep {see #1 above}” rule.  Coincidence?  I love a few cups of coffee in the morning and a soda at lunch.  Instead of banning the things I love, when I dilute it with a glass of water first thing in the morning it seems like I end up drinking less coffee and soda because I am not as thirsty.
  3. Take a walk- My husband and I have been taking a walk nearly every evening for 30 minutes.  It is good exercise, but it is also a really good time just to chat uninterrupted.  Win-win.
  4. Eat more fancy salads- I love a fancy salad.  Pile nuts, fruit and a lovely dressing on anything green and I am in heaven.  I eat them in restaurants all the time, but hadn’t been doing it at home.  AND it is easy!  So 2013 is the year of the fancy DIY salad for me.
  5. Go to Yoga- I just feel better when I am regularly going to yoga, yet it is something I let slip when I got busy.  The first thing I cut from my schedule.  I need to go back.  I want to go back.  I will call and get a class schedule today.

What is on your 5 Things to improve list?

Quaker Popped Snacks

When I was contacted to write about these things for Quaker® Popped, my boys were so excited to go to the grocery store and try all the flavors that we don’t regularly buy.  I love when they throw themselves fully into my blog research!

We had been buying the cheddar cheese and kettle corn flavors, but grabbed the ranch, caramel corn and cracked black pepper and sea salt.  The response in my house was overwhelmingly positive and all my “research” was devoured within the first 24 hours.

Quaker Popped

It appears we will be trying all the flavors we can find...in the name of continued “research”.

Quaker® Quakes® are now Quaker® PoppedTM – a new name for the snack made with the delicious goodness of whole grain brown rice and corn and a great snacking solution.

Reply below for your chance to win a sample of all 14 flavors of Quaker Popped Rice Snacks and $1,000 gift card to help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Quaker. I received product in conjunction with this post. The opinions and text are all mine. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  See Official Sweepstakes Rules

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how to set Up LEGO® youtube channel for kids

January 30, 2013

in Mom blogs,mom says

Santa arrived early this year due to the time sensitive nature of the packages that he carried.

Well, the packages weren’t necessarily time sensitive, but the fact that we were about to embark on a 14 hour road trip made Santa’s helpers decide that Christmas was going to be celebrated in mid-December.

Lego Youtube Channel

Santa brought the boys iPad minis.

{Santa’s helpers had stayed up late on the date of iPad mini release and logged in multiple times to assure that the sleigh held 3 iPad minis because 1 or 2 would never do.}

It also might be noted that Santa’s helpers were tired of their iPads being cooped by 3 boys, so really in the end it was a gift for Santa’s helpers as well.

For the last month, there has been a flurry of app purchases.  The boys have been diligent in the quest for the best apps for kids {yep, we even made a list and checked it twice}.

The one thing I didn’t allow them to download was a YouTube app.

There are just a lot of things on YouTube that I don’t want them to see.  The majority of comments left on YouTube should NEVER be read.  By anyone.

Then I learned about LEGO videos which goes nicely with their LEGO® obsession around here.

Lego YouTube videos - lego table with Legos

There is now an Official LEGO® Channel on YouTube.  It has a target audience of kids ages 6-11 {wow, I have three of those} and over 500 LEGO® videos to chose from.

What I hadn’t realized is that you can set up a LEGO® YouTube playlist that will ONLY recommend additional videos that are on the Official LEGO® Channel.  No more questionable videos.  No more questionable comments.

To set up a playlist from The Official LEGO® Channel:

  1. Go to your YouTube account and create a “new playlist”.  I named mine LEGO® Channel so the boys would recognize which channel to watch.
  2. Visit Youtube.com/LEGO and watch a video.
  3. Click “video options”.
  4. Select “Add to Playlist”.
  5. Sign in using your YouTube login.
  6. Add selected video to your new playlist.*

*To keep non-LEGO® videos from being recommended in this playlist, simply build the list with ONLY Official LEGO® Channel videos.

This whole thing was a complete mom victory.

The boys were impressed that I KNEW about the LEGO® Channel, they were thrilled that I set it up on their iPads, and they LOVE watching the videos.

There is a lot of content on web; creating a playlist on the Official LEGO® Channel is a great way to ensure your kids are entertained and watching videos you can feel good about.

Visit the Official LEGO® Channel to build your own playlist to watch with your kids and then reply below for a chance to win one (1) $1,000 gift card to buy your family’s favorite LEGO® products!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of LEGO. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

{ 5 comments }

is snowboarding hard?

January 25, 2013
is snowboarding hard - ski group

Last month I underwent a personal journey… The Great Snowboarding Experiment of 2012. I have skied most of my life – at some points more than others based on what is going on. It started in 6th grade when my dad took my brother and I to a ski hill not far from where we [...]

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the christmas quilt picture story of 2007

December 19, 2012
christmas quilt

Welcome to the Sixth Annual Posting of the Christmas Quilt Picture Story. This quilt was given to me at my first baby shower. Each year my children are subjected to posing with it for holiday photographs. In 2007, I again dragged the kids down to a large department store portrait studio.  It was the same studio chain that [...]

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my 6 year old editor

October 26, 2012
child editor

First grade has a daily journaling assignment. Yes, first grade. I have nothing against daily writing.  In fact, I wish I wrote that often, BUT my first grader barely reads and prefers NOT to write. So, I have him draw a picture and then dictate to me 3-4 sentences about the picture and we call [...]

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wii u as seen by me and lytro

October 24, 2012
Wii U and Holly Homer

A few weeks ago I was invited by my dear friends at Nintendo to come out to a Wii U party held in San Francisco. What is a Wii U? I have been a Nintendo Ambassador for several years now and have the full support of my three boys {and husband} to visit the land [...]

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upstairs or outside

September 22, 2012
upstairs or outside

Upstairs or outside. It isn’t just a frequent phrase in my house.  It is a frequent request on my part.  Ok, it really is a command. Three boys together seem incapable if keeping to themselves in a quiet and orderly manner. The best non-straight jacket solution is to keep the chaos upstairs or outside leaving [...]

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the parenting plan lottery

September 19, 2012
parenting success

There are times in the moments of motherhood that cluelessness prevails. I admit {to myself} that I don’t know what I am doing. I pick a plan of action pretending to the outside world that the plan was intentional. The truth is that I am playing the odds.  These moments of clueless decisions are plentiful [...]

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i am still alive

September 14, 2012
Holly is alive

It is probably not the best blogging practice, but I have neglected my blog to the point where it is necessary to mention that I AM still alive. I am, I promise….see? Part of the reason why I haven’t been HERE is that I am getting out of the house in REAL LIFE. Yep, I [...]

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kids say the funniest things

August 25, 2012
second stomach for dessert quotagraph Ovaltine

One thing I don’t EVER want to forget are the silly things that my kids say. It is one of the reasons I blog.  It has become our family’s scrapbook.  So when Ovaltine {some of my fav people} contacted me about Quotagraph, I was super excited and made a bunch immediately! Quotagraph is place where [...]

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