“Do you want some crunchy things?” I say.

We buy healthy crunchy things. But they’re not what they are KWIM? Like vegetable chips or sticks. The kids just think they’re eating chips.

I’ve tried to make healthy crunchy things. The kids are “Meh” about Kale chips. Chick peas? Every single time I try to roast them they come out all wonky. Some are soft, some are too crunchy. Then I put too little spice or not enough. I’ve never gotten it right. Never. But the few that I find in there that are good, I love. So I keep trying.

I was walking down the natural food aisle of the supermarket the other day and I see these little packages getting no love on the bottom shelf. Does that say “Chick Peas”?  And there are four different bags! Four different flavors?! I was a little too excited about the chickpeas. I think my 3yo actually shushed me.

I bought all four flavors of the Biena Food Roasted Chickpeas. I have to confess, I did not have high expectations. I mean come on – they’re chickpeas.

Clearly because I’m posting about them I liked them. I wouldn’t tell you about something that I thought was yucky. But I didn’t just like them, I loved them! The honey roasted were my favorite.

I feel like these snacks could be your grandmother’s ;-) They are made with all-natural ingredients that you can feel good about putting in your body. That includes the actual chickpeas, which are non-GMO and come from American farms! For centuries, chickpeas have been prized for their protein, fiber and nutrient content. They’re satisfying and help keep you energized all day. People worldwide love them, like me! And you know what else? If you’re in Massachusetts – they’re LOCAL. Gotta love giving the love to local.

These things are what our grandmother’s snacked on, I’m sure of it. But I know they didn’t taste this good! Poorvi and her team went through 500+ test bathches to get the flavors right for me, I mean, us.

So you wanna try ‘em? The good people at Biena would like you to try them too! They want to send you that sampler pack above. Awesome right?

Visit the Biena website and tell me which flavor you’d most like to try! Just leave a comment below.

You can get extra entry by:
Liking ViolaCay on Facebook Leave a separate comment.
Liking Biena on Facebook. Leave a separate comment.

Maybe if we all love them enough they’ll move them off the bottom shelf to the money spot at eye level ;-)

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Winner has 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. This giveaway will close at 11:59PM ET,  May 21th, 2013. Please leave a separate comment for each entry and remember to use a valid email address. The winner will be chosen via the WordPress plugin “And the Winner Is” and will be notified by email and announced here on the blog. All opinions are my own.

I officially called it last week on Day 14. He was trained before that but you don’t want to get all crazy and call it too soon. Then, bad things will happen. And when it involves poop and pee you don’t want the bad things, do you? But today I will call it, publicly. He is wearing underpants day AND night! He is potty trained.

Around these parts we celebrate the end of  the potty training palooza with underwear cake. I am not kidding.

This time was a bit different because this big boy doesn’t like cake or cookies (I think it’s a peanut allergic thing) and he doesn’t eat ice cream. What’s a mom to do?

Marshmallows!

He loves marshmallows! For a couple of days they were his go to reward for poopin’ in the potty so that’s what I made it out of. For the seams I used some of that gum that comes on a roll. Super cute right?

There is an element of sadness to this moment as he’s my last baby. There will be no more babies in this house. I now have three big kids. They are moving fast into soccer games, homework, and not needing me to wipe their bums. And with that last bit, there’s also an element of this…

How does the potty training go in your house :-)

My kids have only recently started bowling and we are really excited for this program – Kids Bowl Free. Yep it’s like it sounds, kids bowl free.

Get the kids active without spending a ton of money – Kids Bowl Free is an amazing brand – designed by bowling centers to give back to the community and provide a safe, secure, and fun way for kids to spend time this summer. Children whose age does not exceed a limit by a participating bowling center are eligible to register for 2 free games a day, all summer long!

Family passes are also available for the summer are $24.95 for up to four adults to play as well all summer long! So grab the grandparents and get bowling! 

For more info in this program you can look at their FAQs: http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/questions.php. Browse the website, find them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter!

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This post (and my sharing on social media) was inspired by my participation in a compensated program initiated by Kids Bowl Free. I was compensated with a family pass to bowl this summer. All commentary and opinions are, of course, my own.

The Event!

HEY local folk! The Drool Baby Expo, hosted by Magic Beans, is taking place on Tuesday, May 21, from 4-9pm, at the elegant Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston’s Seaport District!

I’ve been to this event two years in a row now and it just keeps getting better. I’m really excited to see what they have in store for us this year. I plan on talking to lots of vendors and finding all the “Well those aren’t your Grandmother’s…” for you all. There will be raffles, one night only specials from vendors, spa services, food, and an ah-mazing gift bag.

They’ve borrowed some ideas from similar upscale expo-style events like those thrown by Big City Moms in New York, and added some unique Magic Beans character for an event that’s exciting, fun, and very useful for new and expectant parents.

Check it:

The Giveaway!

Drool Baby Expo has given me a Standard ticket and a Value ticket to give to one of YOU! Standard tickets have a $35 value, which includes a gift bag worth over twice the price of admission, and complimentary spa services, food and beverages, access to exclusive discounts, and free raffle prize entries. A Value ticket includes no gift bag, but includes everything else – it’s perfect for a spouse, family member, or friend who wants to tag along.

The Details!

A few ways to gain entries, so go on…

Leave a comment below about your favorite thing about babies :-)
Like Violacay on Facebook and let us know here that you did in a separate comment.
Like Drool Baby Expo on Facebook and let us know here that you did in a separate comment.

That’s it!

And the Winner Is: Kristy M – Congrats and see you there!

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See you there! Magic Beans was nice enough to give me a ticket too! 
Winner has 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. This giveaway will close at 11:59PM ET,  May 13th, 2013. Please leave a separate comment for each entry and remember to use a valid email address. The winner will be chosen via the WordPress plugin “And the Winner Is” and will be notified by email and announced here on the blog. I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. I received a ticket to Drool Baby Expo to participate in this giveaway.  All opinions are my own. 

This last time he’s not reading, but the light is still on.

I shut the light off and say “Good night baby, I love you”.

He pops up in bed and he says “Mom! Today was the best day ever. And it’s all because of you.”

Me, in my head, “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

“Thanks buddy. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom”

I win parenting, for today.

Second, if your toddler falls down and hurts themselves, like scrapes their knee. Either deal with it yourself or find a nurse at the park. They have them, that’s what they do. Use them.

And third, if your child’s situation falls somewhere in between, well than you have some decisions to make. None of them are easy. Most will cost you money. It’s a shame that we have to think about money in these situations but we do, don’t we? Healthcare isn’t free, is it? Hrmpf.

In our situation we had a 2 year old with a ear infection and some asthma (undiagnosed) issues and a 6 year old that woke up with a 103 degree fever the first morning we were there.

You have some options about how to get your kid some help. You can:

• Go to Urgent Care
• Go to the Emergency Room
• Use Docs on Call – they come to your hotel
• Call your own Pediatrician – in almost every case your doc is going to tell you to use one of the above services. Most pediatricians will NOT prescribe anything for a patient they have not seen. Which is hugely frustrating, but also kind of important. If your kid is sick get them seen by a doctor.

In the first three cases your hotel will have the information that you need. You’ll have to decide what you think your insurance will cover and what you think you’ll have to pay out of pocket and make your choice. If you don’t have a car, the urgent care we used had a free shuttle which was very convenient. A taxi would be necessary for the ER trip, the front desk can get you one.

If you bought trip insurance you may just want to bail. We didn’t, so we couldn’t. It would have cost us a ton of money to change the flights meanwhile losing the money we already spent. Although for a few minutes the thought crossed my mind.

Now that you’ve taken care of the physical part here’s the other part – the mental part. The thing about having sick kids at Disney or on any vacation is that you’re going to need to get over yourself and right quick. It is not your kid’s fault they got sick, they have not ruined anything. If you breathe a moment of that to them you are an awful person. That said, I know you’re upset. You spent a lot of money, you had expectations. I get it. Have a hissy fit in the bathroom. Give yourself a good cry in the shower. Then tend to your sickies and make sure that those that are well are still having fun.

We had to slow down. We spent lazy mornings in the hotel while assessing everyones wellness, or illness as the case was. We lingered longer over lunches. Said yes more often. Ice cream in the morning? Yes. Funny Mickey wizrd hat that costs waaay too much? Yes.We went to the pool and to the arcade instead of going to the parks on a couple of days. We spent more time just being with them and watching them.

Because they were sick I had my eyes trained on them to be sure that they were feeling ok. In that observation, I know I was able to see things I would have missed otherwise. I would have been so focused on getting us from place to place and thinking “what’s next?”.

My favorite picture from our trip is this one:

I love it because we had just spent a nice leisurely time at breakfast. My guy is feeling better, but still not at his best. But he’s so excited. He is pouring over the map rapidly talking about where we should go. I think had he been well I may have shushed him and told him I had it all worked out and to hurry up that the bus was coming. Instead, I listened to him and discussed his ideas. I saw the light and the colors and my beautiful boy so happy and snapped a photo.

I know there is a place for planning out your disney trip, and I’m happy to talk about that with anyone who will listen. I have advice and ideas and real life knowledge about how to have a great Disney World trip. The fact that I can actually say our trip to Disney was great even with all the evidence that it really was not, says something. Sometimes the best laid plans… :-)

I am grateful that our first real family vacation unfolded the way it did. I am not grateful for sick kids, but everyone was, and is, OK. There was some Disney Magic around. It turned out fine. It taught us how we travelled as a family, how we face adversity, how we cope. We will never vacation the way I thought we would again. And for my family, that’s ok.

If you presently have a sick kid on vacation, listen to me, it’s gonna be ok. Make the memories as they come to you. Don’t force it. Take it easy.
You’ll laugh about it someday. Promise.

My wonderful future sister-in-law (if my BIL ever gets off his duff) is running a project called Blankies for Boston.

They are collecting 1000 comfort blankets for victims, victims’ families, and first responders of the Boston Marathon bombing.

The four women organizing this project met knitting and crocheting scarves for the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School, which collected over 3500 scarves!  In just two days, Blankies for Boston, had participants from the UK to California.

Sometimes in tragedies like this, people feel like there is nothing they can do to help. Yes, of course you can give money, to funds like the One Fund (and you should) But this? This is different. It is a little piece of the soul of someone’s heart knitted all up into a blankie of love and sent to someone that really needs that love right now. Doesn’t that sound awesome? :-)

Know how to knit? Head on over to the Facebook page and check out the specs and get knitting? Know someone that knits (um MOM? Can you hear me?) then send them this link.

There are a ton of people from other parts of the country helping out, but now they need help getting the word out locally.

Get the word out my bloggy friends. Get the word OUT!

Also, please message them if you are directly connected to a victim or first responder, so that they can get them a blanket.

Thank you my lovelies.

#BostonStrong

I turned and looked back at my kids, thankfully so oblivious to the panic I feel. There is a terrorist roaming around my area of the world. I am not so naive to think that there aren’t more or that they haven’t been there before. But now, I KNOW IT. I know he’s out there somewhere despite our local and national law enforcement’s best efforts.

My city is on lockdown. We’ve been asked to stay indoors. My city isn’t even the one where they are actively looking for this scourge on humanity. It’s a town over. My friend lives there, with her lovely boys. I am sure that her door has been locked all day. I am sure she has been nervously peering out her windows wondering if evil would visit her house in his attempt to flee authorities.

A man and his brother blew up the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday. It’s why I went quiet here after saying I was back from my self imposed quiet last week. I have posts about potty training, chick peas, and bowling set to go. But I can’t get my head around what has happened to my hometown, my state. I have lived in Massachusetts for my whole life except for prolonged travelling stints. I have always come home.

Home has been in  Holliston, Amherst, Watertown, Stockbridge, Belmont, Boston & Newton. Someone bombed my home. They killed my neighbors, hurt my friends, and sacred the hell out of all of us.

My friend was running the marathon. The first bomb went off literally as they put the medal around her neck. It was a frantic and breath holding 10minutes before we knew what happened to her and her family.

Every single person I know has a story about Monday, and how it touched them or someone they love.

I don’t have more to say about it right now. I’m just a little sad and a little scared is all. I hope you all are doing well.

#BostonStrong

I am also a half-assed mama, but someone already staked a claim to that ;-) Half -assed housekeeper? Yep. Wife? You guessed it.

So many things lately are half done around here and I’m getting kind of sick of it. Sometimes I leave the dishwasher half emptied. Seriously.

In my own defense there is so much going on in this house that I can’t keep up. To be clear, this is not a complaint. I am loving my life with all it’s crazy.

But, it’s so so crazy sometimes that I have to close up the dishwasher leaving it half emptied. In which case my husband will inevitably put a dirty dish in there. Or I’ll stop him juuuust before he does and yell “That’s still clean!” To which he tilts his head to the side as if to say “WTF. Really? Again?” Then in my head I say “I know, I know I’m a half-assed everything. I suuuuuuck.”

And so it goes.

So this week. I will try to see everything to it’s full completion before moving on to something else. Like this blog post. I am DYING to get up and do something else. Anything else. I am SURE I could think of something. But I won’t. I will stay until I press publish.

Then I will write more posts.  I will fold the laundry and then PUT IT AWAY. I will clean off my desk and then find a place for all the crap I took off of it. I will empty my son’s backpack and return school forms in a timely fashion. I will do this!

Oh you know what I did right before this? That’s right. I emptied the damn dishwasher.

Take that…whoever.