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Life

Confessions of a Wanna-Be Stay at Home Mom

April 8, 2013 10 Comments
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Last week I was in recovery mode.  I took a full week off work to get through some things at home and spend time with Joel, my kiddos and my folks and turn off work for awhile.

And by ‘turn off’ I mean check my work emails via phone only every other hour instead of incessantly as I usually do.  And I know every other hour is A LOT for someone who is supposed to be on vacation, but I hate to feel like I ever let anyone down.  It’s the perfectionist in me.  But really, I know I needed to unwind and unplug ~ I just have trouble doing that.

I tried my best.

Here’s where I spent Monday’s happy hour since the kids were with Joel’s mom:

We even bundled up and braved the rainy, snowy drizzle to see The Croods with the boys on Tuesday:

Packed a backpack full of some quiet toys in case Drew wasn’t into the movie.  You never know what will hold a 2 year old’s attention long enough, but he did great!  Crawled up into my lap and snuggled for the 2nd half of the movie, but didn’t freak out or fuss or get bored or over-stimulated.

Wednesday was a Me day.

A Venti Starbucks on my way to a nail appointment to settle into the morning.  Everyone say, “ahhhhhhhhh” in a deep cleansing breath.

I can’t tell you how much I love a Barista who will put two cups on a Venti tea and the no-burn sleeve.  I’ve actually gotten glares from some when I’ve asked for a 2nd cup before.  I loved not even having to ask this time!  Why, you ask?  Kindergarten science experiment here for you folks: the water travels up the tea bag string and label and leaks all over the outside of the cup and dribbles into a messy pool of tea on your desk, hand or cup holder.  If there are two cups, the Barista will tuck the tea bag string and label into the second cup and all remains well and dry.  Not asking for much.  Just sayin’.

My nail appointment was followed up by a quick trip to Loft (where they were hosting a 50% off flash sale that only lasted a couple hours!) and then to a much needed hair appointment.  My colorist talked me into a chocolate brown with highlights which brightens up most of my complexion and she says will make me look younger and more refreshed.  I think she was planning a dramatic change since the bags and circles under my eyes were surely dragging me down and making my black hair look blacker.  I was too exhausted to argue so I let her do her thing.

I picked up the kids early from daycare (yes, they were in daycare on a day I had off because, welp, because Mommy needed a break!  Hence, the title, wanna-be stay at home) and took advantage of the later sunshine to take Aiden for a long bike ride through the neighborhood.

Just me and him and the sunshine and his smiles.

I had to work this one out of him.  He’s an over-filmed-camera-ready kid, that’s for sure.  He’s been working on a fake camera smile recently, too.  I’m so glad I got these natural looking ones out of him.  Just a little coaxing and making funny sounds is all it took.  Waaay better, more natural smiles come from him when I make silly sounds than when I just say, “say cheese!”

Thursday & Friday were days spent with my mom.  She’s getting around much better since her total knee replacement surgery but is pretty frustrated that she can’t get her knee to bend to the angle her doc wants it at yet. She’s working her tail off though and is the strongest, fiercest, most courageous woman I know.  It was also her birthday so I picked up the kids early from daycare again and we played in the yard and danced in the sunshine.

I also caved and made watered down, half sugar kool-aid.

We never (ok, maybe just once before, but that’s close enough to rarely never!) have kool-aid at our house, but since I had a few packets left over from dying Easter eggs, I decided to throw caution to the wind and let the boys have a taste of the dark side.  Dangerous, I know.

And before you know it, a whole week had passed.  And vacation was over.

I failed at being a stay-at-home mom.

1) because I sent the kids to daycare while I took care of a few ‘me’ things, visited with my mom and even threw in a happy hour

and

2) because I couldn’t turn off the email on my phone.

I really worry that I’m not stay-at-home material!  I commend you stay-at-home mom’s, you manic multi-taskers with babies & kiddos surrounding your every move making it look easy!  My hat is off to you!  I, on the other hand, will remain a wanna be, for now.

Biggest Faker Ever,

~pw

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Written by: Phanneth
Food

Whirley POP Giveaway {Winner!}

February 22, 2013 8 Comments
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Thank you for the entries and the super cute comments on what you all do for family fun night!  Popcorn, or course, stole the show; although I loved the inflatable pool and lobster tails ideas, too! 🙂

The random winner of the Whirley Pop popcorn maker is:

#6 ~ Kendra Smith: We cook dinner together and play games. Homemade pizza is our fav!

Congratulations, Kendra!  Contact me at phanneth@fireflytales.net with your shipping info to claim your prize!

*******************

One of my favorite nights of the week is family movie night.  Well, popcorn night, to be exact!

My dear friend, Danielle turned me onto fresh popped popcorn using her stove-top, hand crank popper.  Light, fresh, crisp & drizzled with freshly melted butter and topped with super fine popcorn salt.

 

 

There is nothing in the world like fresh popped popcorn.

 

 

There is nothing in the world like an old fashioned, stove-top Whirley Pop!

 

 

The handle stays cool to the touch and the hand-crank is a safe distance away from the heat source, ie. safe enough for me to let Aiden help me operate it.

 

 

Turning the handle moves the popcorn kernels (1/2 cup)  and oil (as little as 1 tablespoon!) to ensure an even heat and pop.  The lid is vented to let out steam but keep the oil from splashing out.  Whirley Pop makes perfect popcorn every time.  As little as only 2-3 un-popped kernels!

So throw those microwave bags out and get fresh! 

This is something you have to experience.  And once you do, you’ll never go back to microwaving.  Leave that filmy fake buttery oily topping behind!

 

 

It takes only 3-4 minutes for a bowl full of awesomeness.  Make the switch ~ your family will thank you, I promise.

So today, because Firefly Tales got to 100+ LIKES on Facebook, and because I have some of the blogging world’s awesome-est readers, I’m giving away a stove-top Whirley Pop to one lucky reader.

It could be you!

 

To enter:

1) Leave me a comment on the blog (below) answering the question:

What does your family do on Family Fun night?

2) ‘Like‘ the Firefly Tales Facebook page and copy/paste your answer into the comments on FB!

Do you play Scrabble?  Do you make dinner together?  Do you watch movies?  Do you rock climb?  Do you go out to eat?  It can be anything!

Just shout it out in the comments below and make sure to stop by to ‘LIKE’ the Facebook page and share the giveaway.

1 random winner will be announced Saturday night!  Good Luck!

~pw

**Giveaway is not sponsored by Whirley Pop ~ I’m just a good popcorn addict who wants to share some popcorn love**

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Written by: Phanneth
Tales

Wine Glass

December 27, 2012 1 Comment
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Is my wine glass big enough?

How about now?

Is my funny face funny enough?

Don’t answer that.

Just having some Christmas fun with my little sister.

We’re talking super dorkiness here.  Why did no one tell me my hair was frizzing out?!

Thanks for the ginormous wine glass, Timmy!  I’m sure I’ll find some good uses for it.

I promise not to go overboard…more than once, er, twice…

Cheers!

~pw

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Written by: Phanneth
Uncategorized

The GIVEAWAY is LIVE! (Winner Announced!)

June 17, 2012 No Comments
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Thank you to all that entered, and THANK YOU for being patient with me this weekend.  Poor baby Drew got sick and all of my attention was on him.  Now that he’s snoozing away, I can say…

Congratulations Tracey Wright!  You are the lucky ducky winner of a set of (2) POURfect mixing bowls!!  I will reach out to you to find out what beautiful color you want your handy-dandy bowls to be.

More contests coming soon!

~~~~~~~

My very first FireflyTales.net GIVEAWAY is live, my fabulous readers!

One lucky ducky winner will get a set of 2 brightly colored POURfect mixing bowls.

Red, green, white, blue, or black!

Winner will get to pick the gorgeous color of their liking.

**Winner will be chosen randomly and announced on 6/17**

Entry form is available through 6/15 on my Facebook fan page under ‘Sweepstakes’…GOOD LUCK!

(and ‘LIKE’ us while you’re at it!)

**You can also click on the Facebook icon on the right hand menu bar to be re-directed to the fan page. …did I mention to ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook while you’re filling out the entry form?  😉

Sprinkling you all with some good luck dust (not that it increases your chances since it’s a random drawing, but it’s a cute visual isn’t it?).

~pw

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Written by: Phanneth
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