Top Ten Tuesday--Candy-Free Easter Baskets

Perhaps you are like me and have yet to gather your Easter supplies--don't worry there's still time. Here are my Top Ten Ideas to fill those baskets with things Other Than Candy. Since Leo had so many food allergies--especially in those first years, I couldn't put any candy in the Easter basket--I've been filling our baskets every year with stuff you can't eat. Here are my favorite basket-stuffers:

1. Clearance stocking stuffers.* After Christmas is a great time to get small toys for cheap from the stocking stuffer aisle. T will be getting a small princess and a Polly Pocket from there this year.

2. Clearance toys.* When toys went on clearance at Target (was that the end of January?), I got a few more toys, like a Power Rangers phone that will go in L's basket.

3. Sand and water toys. I remember it must've been L's second Easter I filled his basket with sand toys--in fact his Easter "basket" was a big sand bucket. Hopefully your stores (like Target and Kmart) already have a sand and water aisle going, I know mine do and the toys are cheap!
4. Money. Since I couldn't fill plastic eggs with jelly beans and m&ms, I thought of other stuff to stuff them with, including coins. Put 4 quarters in an egg and that equals a trip to the dollar store!

5. Socks. This was always a feature in my basket growing up (later tights and hose as we got older) so they always make an appearance in my kids' baskets, often stuffed in plastic eggs. The funner the socks the better.

6. Stickers. Alone or stuffed in an egg, what kid doesn't love stickers?!

7. One big item. Sometimes rather than filling their baskets with little "junk," I like to buy a more substantial toy. I think this year it will be a lego Batman set for L (his current obsession). T will get a set of generic barbies I got on clearance (see #2 above).
8. Something they need anyway. This year I plan to put a cute t-shirt in each basket. I usually just buy the cheapest tees for their summer wardrobes (Walmart for $5 or less) so it's a treat when I splurge on character shirts (a whopping $8). This year it will be Lego or Angry Birds for L and Disney princesses for T. Other ideas might be a beach towel, summer hat, water shoes etc. that you would buy anyway, but can pep up a basket.

9. Crafts. My kids love crafts so I usually throw in something crafty. This year I have a little clay thing to paint for each kid.

10. Dollar stuff. The dollar store or the dollar area of Target is where I go for "filler." I might get bunny ears or a hat. It's where I buy the plastic eggs I stuff. I also might buy a chocolate bunny for each kid if I can find one without corn syrup (plain chocolate is really the only candy L can eat). Bonus if it's more than one thing for a dollar--like 2 decks of cards or 3 pinwheels--one for each kid!

What non-candy items do you like to put in your Easter baskets?

Top Ten Tuesday is now hosted by Many Little Blessings. Go here to join the fun.

*Sorry these two ideas don't help when Easter is 2 weeks away, but next year you can be on the lookout when clearance comes around.

Top Ten Tuesday--Excited for Fall

We live in Phoenix, so we have at least two more months of HOT weather. {That stinks!} For the sake of my mental health, I'm thinking a lot about Fall. Here's what I'm looking forward to....

1. Nice weather. Duh, I'll be happy when it's no longer 116 degrees.

2. The park. We live almost next door to a great park and that is the cheapest way to entertain the kids. Can't wait to get back there in the cooler weather!

3. My birthday. It's at the beginning of October and although the day itself is nothing special, I won't mind getting some goodies. Heehee.

4. T's birthday. My baby turns 3 in mid-September. I'm having fun picking out clothes, toys and books for her.

5. Halloween. My love of Halloween is well-documented. I love the decor, costumes and food. Bring it on, I can't wait!

6. Warm clothes. I love jeans, I love sweaters, I can't wait to break out my warm clothes and maybe add some new pieces.

7. No more sandals. I hate my sandals. Well, I don't hate them, they are very comfortable, but they're kind of ugly. I've had them for 4 summers and I'm done. {Yes, I've been browsing for new ones, but I'm quite picky and have not found anything to replace them. So now I'm just looking forward to sneaker weather.}

8. Matching pajamas. Again, my love of pajamas is well-documented. Most of my cute sets are for cold weather so I look forward to busting those out this Fall.

9. Our anniversary. We'll celebrate 13 years of marriage this October. Hopefully my parents will babysit and we'll hit the town (or at least Carabba's).

10. Football season. Hubby is a huge football fan, especially college football, and we are counting down the days (less than 2 weeks to go!). I get excited because he's excited. And L is too. He told someone today "we like Michigan football." Yeah baby, Go Blue!

What's your favorite thing about Fall?

I'm linking up with Amanda for Top Ten Tuesday.

Top 10 Tuesday--Summer Camp!

To my regular readers, I hope you didn't miss me too much. We were on vacation and I barely touched the internet (not including checking email on my phone). Now we are back and it's the first week of our regular summer schedule which includes, drum roll please........ summer camp twice a week--the first time ever I will regularly be child-free!!!! That's right, T and L will both be at camp from 8:30 to 1 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Whatever shall I do with myself?! Today was the first day and I think I'm gonna like camp days, heehee. :-)

And since it's Tuesday, I present to you (in no particular order) the Top Ten Best Things about the kids going to Camp:

1. Alone time. Obviously. Alone time for mommy is such a rare and precious thing. Prior to this momentous day, my alone time has been limited to one or two solo errands per weekend.

2. Shopping alone. Okay, I've shopped sans kids before (weekend errands, remember?), and I didn't plan to do it today. I had planned to do nothing but watch a chick flick, but the number of things I needed from Target kept adding up, and if I didn't do it this morning, I'd have to do it with kids, and nobody wants that. So I went to Target after drop-off and it was glorious. The store was practically empty and it was particularly lovely to be on my own.

3. Watching whatever I want. Again, it's not that I never get to watch what I want, but when I do, it's usually a tv show at the computer. I haven't watched a movie by myself in the living room in I don't know how long. So for my first camp day, I decided to watch an entire chick flick. I was bummed to have to go to Target first, but I did manage a whole movie. Sadly I chose a dud: Dear John. Did not like it at all. :-(

4. Camp gets the kids outside. We live in Phoenix where summers are HOT. It's like other people's winter--you just don't want to go out in it if you don't have to. By enrolling the kids in camp, it ensures they play outside at least twice a week, taking the burden off of me. They play in sprinklers and stuff first thing in the morning.

5. Zen mommy. My hope is that relaxing and/or being productive while the kids are away will restore my spirit so I can be more patient. It's too soon to tell. T threw a major tantrum before her nap that kind of destroyed today's zen, but I did keep my cool during said tantrum so that's a good sign.

6. Productivity. I let myself off the hook today, in honor of celebrating the first day of camp, but on future camp days, I'm hoping the child-free time will help me get stuff done, be it regular (neglected) housework or extra de-cluttering. Fingers crossed!

7. Friends. I love that L gets to keep hanging out with his friends and I'm hoping T will make some new ones (she really has no friends of her own yet).

8. Getting T ready for school. This is the school T will attend in the fall (with the same kids if not teachers) and I think this is a great way for her to get acclimated--with fewer kids and extra playtime.

9. It frees up naptime. On camp days when I've spent the morning either relaxing or getting things done, I'm hoping I'll have the energy and patience to be there during T's naptime (instead of my current habit of relaxing/hiding) and maybe even do crafts with L while T sleeps.

10. Other perks for mommy. Today, because I was crunched for time to finish the movie, I ate lunch in the living room. Without setting a bad example for the kids. And I can eat wheat--like frozen pizza or (Thursday's treat perhaps?) doughnuts--because L isn't around to be tempted. And just generally doing whatever the heck I want. Boo-yah!

The tricky part will be not eating everything in the pantry while the kids are gone!!!

Will you have any child-free time this summer?

For more Top Ten fun, head to Oh Amanda.

Image credit.

Top 10 Tuesday-- My Favorite Movies of All Time

In the past, I have avoided naming my all-time favorite movies. You can read here about my favorites of 2010 and about some movies I don't think you should miss, but it's hard to narrow down my favorites forever and for always. But it's Top Ten Tuesday, so let's give this a try. In no particular order....

1. Dead Poets Society. My all-time favorite for a very long time; it's probably not my #1 anymore but certainly top 10.

2. Deep Impact. Hubby and I can watch this over and over. A great action adventure but also inspires deep thought.

3. Contact is another sci-fi favorite. Jodie Foster is {sadly} one of the few actresses that can sell super-smart. Love her! And probably my favorite Matthew McConaughey role.

4. Signs. This is probably my current #1, I never get tired of watching it. Like Deep Impact, it's both a good adventure but also thought-provoking.

5. Little Miss Sunshine. A special little film, there is one part that consistently makes me laugh and cry at the same time. Priceless.

6. Lord of the Rings trilogy {I know, that's technically 3 movies}. Epic.

7. Braveheart. This is a sentimental favorite--Hubby and I watched it on our first real date and then annually on the anniversary of that date for many years. Eventually we couldn't watch it yearly anymore, but it still deserves a spot in the Top 10.

8. While You Were Sleeping. No profound thoughts, I just love this movie!!!

9. Jane Eyre. I know I've mentioned on here many times my love of the book and this movie. I think Charlotte Gainsbourg is the perfect Miss Eyre.

10. Mansfield Park/Pride & Prejudice/Persuasion. How did I get to the end of my list without any Jane Austen?! Forgive me for cheating, I'll just throw these 3 in together. {And technically P&P is a tv miniseries. Oh well.}

Honorable mention: Ever After is another of my favorite chick flicks that I can watch again and again.

May I just take a moment to say that I love what imdb.com has done to make searches so easy with the drop-down feature. Love it!

Ack that was hard, I'm already second-guessing myself! And I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh well, for more Top Ten fun, head to Oh Amanda.

What's your favorite movie of all time? Or just for today? ;-)

How I Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Suddenly, I love St. Patrick's Day. I guess it comes from having kids. It's kind of like Halloween--an excuse to dress up and eat junk food. And you know how much I love Halloween. So here are my Top 10 Ideas for celebrating St. Patrick's Day!

1. The hat. A few years ago, I bought a hat from the dollar area of Target and it has become a favorite. It's basically a green Dr. Seuss hat. Love it! Sadly the hat is currently missing--I only have 2 days left to search my cluttered house to find it. Better hurry!

2. peppermint bark. This is a new idea I had this year. I'm going to make my usual Christmas treat of peppermint bark but color the white chocolate layer green. Basically, I melt semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave and spread it on a cookie sheet, and let it cool in the fridge at least half an hour. Then I melt white chocolate chips in the microwave, stir in a smidgen of peppermint extract (half teaspoon?) and in this case green food coloring, then spread that on top of the semisweet layer. Refrigerate to cool, then break it into pieces.

3. giant shamrock cookie. I made this last year and I'm going to do it again this week. So easy and yummy, see my full instructions here.
4. banner. You'll have to bear with me on this. It's a super easy craft but we didn't do it till yesterday so you'll have to check out my Valentine's version instead. I bought a baby blanket from Dollar Tree (light green for St. Pat's) and trimmed it so it would fit over a dry-cleaning-hanger (the type that's like a thin tube), gluing it with fabric glue. I cut a bunch of clover shapes out of dark green felt as well as the word "LUCK." Then L glued the clovers and word onto the blanket with fabric glue and we hang it on our front door.
5. wear green. This is pretty self-explanatory. The kids and I always dress in green for the occasion. A couple years back I bought this tee at Target and I break it out for St. Paddy's Day. High-quality photography brought to you by my son.
6. lime jello. Yeah, you could cook authentic Irish food, but where's the fun in that? ;-) We like green food, and lime jello is a perennial favorite.

7. pistachio cake. I've been told this cake doesn't look appetizing but I don't care--it's delicious. I love pistachio flavor. This recipe is from the Cake Mix Doctor, basically you add pistachio pudding mix to yellow cake mix--and don't forget the chocolate chips and chocolate frosting. {Here's a similar recipe.} So good! Sadly, we avoid feeding any nuts to L, so this will not be on our menu this year.

8. pistachio cookies. Again, love pistachio (and not on our menu this year). These are really yummy cookies but a huge batch. Use this pudding cookie recipe, substituting pistachio pudding for the vanilla. With chocolate chips, of course. And add some food coloring to make them extra green.

9. window clings. I love seasonal window clings, I have them for nearly every holiday. I buy them at Dollar Tree for $1. For St. Pat's we have a bunch of leprechauns and clovers.

10. mantle. This is the first year, I think, that I've decorated my mantle for St. Patrick's Day. It took me till February to put Christmas away but it was too soon for Easter stuff. I found a green and yellow cross at Ross for $4, then gathered some other green stuff from around my house. In the end, I went back to Ross and bought a leprechaun figure for $6. Cute stuff I'll use year after year.

Of course, this list is linked to Oh Amanda's Top Ten Tuesday!

How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

Top 10 Movies of 2010

These are the best movies I've seen in 2010 (not necessarily movies that came out in 2010)--in no particular order.





1. Shutter Island Surprisingly good, kept me thinking about it long after.



2. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I've not read the books, but I thought this movie was great, good mysteries.



3. Last Station Great acting!



4. Secret Life of Words I can't describe this, just check it out.



5. Young Victoria One of my top 3, so romantic!



6. Bright Star Also in my top 3, very romantic, very sad.



7. The Blind Side Probably #1 for me. Great story!

8. Once Great story and great music.

9. The Hurt Locker Last year's best picture. Well-deserved.

10. The Messenger Hard core, great acting. I think actor Ben Foster (also of Pandorum and 3:10 to Yuma), is going to be the next big thing.



Honorable mention: Precious. Very hard to watch, but you've got to see it if you haven't already.



Check out more Top 10s at Oh Amanda's Top Ten Tuesday! You can also read more of my movie "reviews" by clicking on the movies tab in my sidebar.

What's Working for me right now (Top Ten)

So my parents lived with us for most of November. They've now moved into their own house (thank goodness!) but I lost what should've been a big month of holiday planning and progress. So I'm a bit behind. Meanwhile, my daughter is the definition of the Terrible Twos. And L has been out of whack since the grandparents arrived--super sensitive and prone to tantrums (come on, you're 5, get over it!). I'm working on a new mantra of "just love them." Obviously not in the only love them sense, because I still have to feed, clothe and discipline them, but basically love them. So when I can, instead of leaving the room when they throw a fit (and who can blame me?), I try to stay and comfort/distract the wailing child or whatever. Sometimes it works, sometimes the fit continues and I leave. It's a work in progress, I'll let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, here's what has been working for me lately in top-ten-catch-you-up-and-link-to-Amanda-Kristen-and-Jill fashion:

1. Scotch paper cutter. I've coveted these for years but always found them too expensive/overpriced to indulge in this luxury. This year, when I saw it on sale for $3, I bit the bullet. Oh my goodness, spend the money, it is worth it for the savings in time and frustration! {Then the next day Target dropped the price to $2.50 and there's was a $1 off coupon in the paper. Anyway.}

2. Kmart. I've been meaning to write a pro-Kmart post for a while now. They are saving me big bucks on T's clothes (regular everyday price of $3.50 per piece (including jeans!) and sales on 2-piece sets as low as $6, wahoo), but I generally want to give them a shout out for sending their ads in the mail, which helps me catch a bargain. This week, you must go there and buy super soft fluffy pajama sets for $10.99. I bought a set yesterday for my sister (who asked for soft pjs on her wish list) and went back today to get a set for myself and for my BFF whose birthday is at the end of the month. So soft and super cheap!!!

3. Gifts that give more. A bunch of blogs have been highlighting charitable giving this time of year, like Amanda's post about giving a goat etc. Sadly, those are mostly out of my price range (my budget is $15 per gift outside my hubby and kids). But here's what I've managed to do this year: I bought my aunt a pair of earrings ($11, I think) from the Mercy House shop, that funds a new maternity house in Kenya. I bought my mom stationery ($12.95) and my grandma a necklace ($6) through the Hunger Site store (my purchase funded 75 cups of food). And I found a website called Orphans Hope that let me buy a winter jacket ($10) for an orphan in Ukraine on behalf of my sister.

4. Roku. This is a box that somehow hooks up to our internet and lets us stream Netflix instantly to our TV. Every night, Hubby and I watch (part of) a movie or an episode of Intervention after the kids go to bed. Love it! I should also mention that Care Bears To The Rescue has come to my rescue more than once during the daytime (I will not mention, however, that my 2-year-old will grunt for the Roku and point to the show she wants to watch, ahem).

5. Walmart for photo cards. I got an email about a great deal from a website I'd never heard of to get 60 photo cards for $4.90 shipped. Awesome, I thought. Till I went to the website and I tried to make a card and I just couldn't get it figured out (theoretically, you could add as many pictures to a blank card as you wanted, but I could not size the various pictures (I wanted to use 3) so they would fit). So I gave up on the great offer and headed to walmart.com which I've used the last 2 years for cards. I picked a card that was made for 3 pictures, plopped in my photos and within minutes, I'd ordered our cards. 36 cents per card, not bad. {No shipping, I'll pick them up in-store.}

6. Elfing Around. My apologies, I should have done a big post about this last month, so you all could buy an elf in time. Alas. Anyway, it's a website that sells you not just an elf but an experience. I won an elf for L last year in a giveaway and he loved it so much that this year I bought T an elf of her own plus the Year 2 package. So they send you the elf, plus 12 nights of mischief that the elves get into--you stage the elves and in the morning your kids are blown away by all the fun stuff the elf did overnight. Kind of like Elf on the Shelf, but it's so wonderful because the activities, and sometimes even the props, are provided. Awesome! We love our elves. L even brought his elf to speech yesterday and explained to his teacher that "he's not really mine, he belongs to Santa at the North Pole." Precious!!! {Of course, it's kind of a pain to stage elves every night, but most nights it takes 5 minutes or less.}

7. Nesquik. Okay, this is kind of a long story so here are the main bullets--L drinks this nasty formula called Neocate. For 5 years he drank it from baby bottles, then around Halloween he finally switched to cups, but then his volume dropped--he can't/won't drink as much of this foul beverage from a cup--and he needs all the calories. So we started adding Nesquik powder to turn it into chocolate "milk" and his volume has gone back up. It's not a permanent solution (his GI and nutritionist are worried about cross-contamination from the processing plant), but for now, I'm thankful for Nesquik.

8. Sharing bargains. My BFF and I have various websites and blogs we read/subscribe to for bargains, coupons, deals and when we come upon a deal we think the other could benefit from, we call or email to spread the word. This has helped me find some great deals and I hope she would say the same.

9. Bribing for diaper changes. I'm reluctant to even mention this because you know in a couple days it won't work anymore, but for now the way I've started dealing with T's refusal to let me change her diapers, is to give her a pretzel stick. That (so far) is usually enough distraction to let me lay her down and change her pants. Hallelujah, fewer tantrums.

10. Priority mail flat rate boxes. This is how I do out-of-town Christmas gifts. If it fits, it ships. No guessing/wondering about prices plus easy checkout at the post office during this hectic time of year. Last December, I stood in a long postal line, then at my turn I start unloading my bag and tell the guy I have all flat rate--one large, 2 mediums and 2 envelopes (or whatever it was)--he was able to calculate what I owed as I was putting the stuff on the counter. He said it was the easiest transaction (for that many packages) he'd had all day. Heehee. Oh and this year the post office sent me a postcard asking if I wanted them to drop off some flat rate boxes. Yes please! I sent the postcard back in and the other day a pile of boxes showed up at my door. Even easier! (And free of course.)

Wow, this turned out to be a long post! I wasn't compensated for any of these opinions, they're just stuff I like. No affiliate links either. I'm linking to Oh Amanda's Top Ten Tuesday, We are THAT Family's Works for Me Wednesday, and Diaper Diaries' Thing I Love Thursday, for obvious reasons. ;-)

What's working for you these days?! And how do you get your kid to cooperate during diaper changes?!

Top Ten Tuesday--Halloween Costumes

I have mentioned before how much I love Halloween, so today I bring you my Top Ten Halloween costume ideas (in no particular order, and these are not affiliate links)...

1. I love peacocks so I think this infant costume is Adorable! 2. This is the cutest baby bunting costume I've seen:

3. I love this! It's a Coke machine costume!

4. T loves playing with her Mr. and Mrs. Potato Heads, so how's this for a great costume? 5. How about one of these Christmas costumes from Oriental Trading? Only $10 and your child can wear it for Halloween AND Christmas!

6. Pottery Barn has amazing costumes, but I especially like the food ones. Here's popcorn:

7. I just think this R2D2 costume is too cute! 8. L had the idea that he and T should be pirates. How cute would matching pirates be?! Girl and boy.

9. I think it would be so cool to dress up our family like the Scooby gang. I'd be Velma, of course, because I wear glasses. Hubby would be Shaggy cuz that's easy--green tee and brown pants. L could be Fred, T could be Daphne, and we could carry a stuffed Scooby.
10. I would love for T and me to dress up in matching poodle skirts.

For more Top Ten fun, visit Oh Amanda.

What are your favorite costumes? Share in the comments!

Wish List

My birthday is next week. How old am I, you ask? I will be 36. Eek--how did that happen?! Anyway, today I bring you my {mostly fantasy} wish list.

1. Pretty much anything Halloween or Fall related. I love love love this season!

2. I need a watch, but I can't decide what kind I want. I love digital because it helps me know exactly what minute it is as I'm rushing out the door. But those make for pretty ugly watches.

3. I need a dustbuster. How do I not already own one? I need something cordless and portable so I can just clean a little spill at a time without dragging out the big guns, and also to clean up our cars.

4. I would like a new apron. I have an apron that's in pretty good shape, but it's 11 years old, I think I deserve something new and super cute. I'd love a Coca Cola apron but I haven't found a good one. This one has my kitchen colors and is adorable:

5. I need clothes! Okay, not really need. I want some new pieces to brighten my fall/winter wardrobe.;-) I've been browsing the internet with very little luck--I'll just have to go shopping and try things on. But I'm admiring this "jet sweater" from Old Navy. (I can't manage to paste a picture--can you please click over and tell me if this is cute or hideous?)

6. Speaking of clothes, I saw this cute skirt on etsy. Don't know if I'm cute enough to pull it off, though. And skirts are pretty impractical for my lifestyle. But I love the waistband!

7. A makes-me-happy diaper bag. I've been on a quest for a new bag for months now (kind of on hiatus at the moment). Something like this but that costs less than $50.8. Glee volume 3 soundtrack. I can't believe I don't own this already. Have I been living under a rock? A must-have.

9. So technically this is Halloween costume, but I think it would be fun for both Halloween and for playing dress-up with the kids. Even though it's only $19 at Walmart, I can't justify the expense because I can't say for sure I'd wear it outside of my house. But I love it and I already own a pair of saddle shoes. :-)

10. I would absolutely love this Coke chalkboard for my kitchen! And since I plan our meals ahead, it could always have tonight's dinner posted on it.

What do you think? What's on your wish list? Where do you shop for clothes? Let me know in the comments!

For more Top Ten fun, visit Oh Amanda.

Top Ten Tuesday--Movie Reviews

Another random list for you all today. If you've been here before, you might have noticed that I like to review/rate the movies I've seen. And we watch A Lot of movies these days thanks to Instant Netflix on our Roku. Lately, I've gotten very behind in my reviewing. So without further ado, 10 movies we've recently watched and what I think of them....



1. The Young Victoria. We'll start with the best of the bunch. I loved this movie (coincidentally, so did Hubby)! A beautiful love story, a little history, goooooorgeous costumes, I highly recommend it. I will be watching it again.



2. The Road. Too disturbing, we stopped watching after 15 minutes. {This one is not available on Instant Netflix, we got it in the mail.}



3. Iron Man. Total piece of crap. I chuckled a few times, the effects were pretty cool, but everything else, awful. What a waste of a great cast!



4. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I turned this on for the kids yesterday and I immediately got hooked. The final sequence was kind of long, but mostly I loved it. Great family movie!



5. Endgame. A movie about the end of apartheid. Really interesting, great cast (William Hurt, Jonny Lee Miller), a little tough to follow (I could have used subtitles but they aren't available on instant (that I know of, please correct me if I'm wrong)). I recommend this one, I'd like to see it again.



6. Seraphine. A slow French movie about a poor artist being discovered by a German critic/dealer. We hung in on till the end despite its slow pace, hoping for a good payoff. Nope, a waste of time. I don't recommend it.



7. The Men Who Stare At Goats. Not as hilariously funny as I was hoping, but entertaining. Loved Ewan MacGregor and George Clooney in their roles, Jeff Bridges is good too.



8. The Constant Gardener. This one is tough to rate. I kind of enjoyed it, but it was tough to follow without subtitles and the characters aren't particularly likeable. We gave up halfway through. The mystery was sort of compelling, though, so I might try to watch it again with subtitles and see if I can follow better. {I should probably mention, we aren't hard of hearing, we just can't crank up the volume without fear of waking the kids. We watch movies when they're asleep.}



9. Waiting for Guffman. One of those Christopher Guest mockumentaries. We were hoping this would be as funny as his dog show movie, but sadly it wasn't. Very lame.



10. A Single Man. {Not available on Instant, we got this is in the mail.} I rented this because we love Colin Firth and he was nominated for an Oscar for this performance. We made it about halfway through (this often happens, we stop when it's time for bed, then decide later if it's worth finishing). His performance was wonderful, but the movie wasn't going anywhere, so we decided we'd seen enough. It was slow and not to our liking.



Agree? Disagree? Please share in the comments. Also, I need your movie suggestions. As you can see, we've had a few stinkers lately, and I would love your recommendations! Don't assume we've already seen it, we've been out of the movie loop for several years!



For more Top Ten Lists, visit Oh Amanda!

Top 10 Tuesday--TV Shows

I love Top Ten Tuesday because you can make a list of anything, and I've got a totally random list for you today--10 TV shows of which I've seen Every Single Episode! 1. Little House on the Prairie. Although I watched this as a kid, it was in 1999 (after law school) that I watched all the reruns on the Hallmark channel.

2. The Brady Bunch. I think it's fair to say that after watching this in syndication (over and over) my entire childhood, there is not a single episode that I missed. I could probably say the same for Happy Days, Diff'rent Strokes, Mr. Belvedere, Cosby Show, Growing Pains etc., but I feel most confident about the Brady Bunch.

3. Thirtysomething. I watched this start to finish in reruns on Bravo in 2000. Even though I was only twentysomething at the time, I really enjoyed it.

4. Homefront. I absolutely loved this show! So sad it was only around for two seasons. I watched it at the time and also in reruns on Bravo in 2000.

5. Roswell. I was totally and completely obsessed with this series. I watched (and recorded on VHS) every episode. Obsessed!

6. Young Riders. Another obsession of mine (a few years earlier), but who could blame me? I was a teenager and the cast was full of hot guys. Never missed an episode.

7. Glee. Okay, so there's only been one season so far, but I've seen every episode they've made. {PS: if you aren't watching this show already, you should be.}

8. ER. I watched in "real time" the first few seasons, then Hubby stopped liking it so I got out of the habit. Then I caught up through reruns on TNT and returned to watching it in primetime. It went out with a whimper, but I stayed until the end.

9. Chicago Hope. I watched on and off when it was in primetime, but I watched from start to finish in reruns (I think that was on TNT as well).

10. A Different World. My favorite show, possibly of all time! Love love love it, even today if I have a chance, I'll catch a rerun. In law school, it was in reruns and I taped it every day (again, VHS) and I'd watch it and keep episodes I especially loved (or record over the less-special ones the next day). Dwayne, Whitley, Kim, Freddie.....

What are some shows you've seen every episode of?

For more Top Ten fun, visit Oh Amanda!

Top 10 Tuesday--Things I Bought at Whole Foods

Yesterday, the kids and I stopped at Whole Foods after speech to stock up on some Gluten Free products. L is officially (according to the patch test) allergic to wheat, but he's been tolerating a small amount of wheat (like breaded chicken nuggets) for a while now and we (okay, I) have probably become a little too liberal--he's been eating bread, waffles, pasta, pizza--and finally Hubby and I noticed some things. Hubby noticed some itching and that L sometimes said his tummy aches. I noticed his behavior went from bad listening to no listening. (I'm not saying gluten = bad behavior, but maybe wheat = discomfort = bad behavior.) In any event, Hubby and I decided it was time to cut way down on the wheat and see what happens. But then L was left with very few foods he eats (mainly Pringles and chicken and Rice Chex)--so I headed to Whole Foods to see what I could find. Here's what I bought, in fancy Top Ten List form:

1. Conte's Gluten-Free margherita pizza. As if on cue, Real Simple magazine's September issue rated frozen pizzas, including gluten-free and Conte's was the winner in that category. We had this pizza last night (me and the kids, Hubby ate leftover chicken) and I was impressed. Great cheese/sauce/garlic flavor, if it weren't for the crust it might have been my new favorite frozen pizza. The crust is made of rice. The flavor is pretty bland and the texture is almost melt-in-your-mouth (not really what I want in pizza crust) but overall, two thumbs up. Oh and both kids liked it too. It's expensive (isn't everything at Whole Foods?!) at $9 for a pizza that doesn't even feed the whole family.

2. I also got another brand of frozen pizza to try: Glutino GF duo cheese pizza. ($6 for an even smaller pizza.) We'll give that a try soon.

3. Van's GF waffles. I tried Van's apple cinnamon waffles on L a long time ago and he could tell the difference from our usual Eggos, but that was before he fell in love with maple syrup. This time I got the original flavor and drowned it in syrup and he's a big fan. Woohoo!

4. Erewhon cocoa crispy brown rice cereal. L has eaten Erewhon's crispy rice cereal for a long time, it was one of his first real foods, but he's been bored of it lately. So when I spied this chocolate version (and confirmed the absence of corn syrup), I thought it would be a good way to get both kids interested in breakfast again. And I was right, both kids love it. Score!

5. Jo-Sef GF cinnamon cookies. Another area where we've been too liberal with the wheat: dessert (cake, cookies, pie crust etc.). I let L choose from the selection of GF cookies and it took several tries to find one without corn in the ingredients. {For those of you just joining us here, L is also allergic to corn.} But Jo-Sef came through. And turns out, they're yummy. All of us enjoyed a cookie or two last night. :-)

6. DeBoles GF rice spaghetti style pasta. Spaghetti is one of L's favorite foods so it would be cruel to eat it in front of him, which means our whole family will be switching to wheat-free spaghetti. Whole Foods had a bunch of choices made from rice, quinoa or a mixture of things. I chose this rice one because some of the others had too much fiber (which angers my IBS). We'll see how it tastes....

7. Annie's rice pasta and cheddar (i.e., GF mac 'n' cheese). Sometimes L loves mac 'n' cheese, other times he says he hates it (he does this with so many foods, it's very aggravating) so I was thrilled to spot the GF version. Haven't tried it yet, but I hope it's a hit.

8. Gluten Free Pantry favorite sandwich bread mix. I asked a gluten-free facebook friend for a bread recommendation (I was thinking I'd just buy a loaf) and she said that pre-made loaves taste bad and this mix makes the best bread. Sucks that I have to make my own bread, but I did once try a GF loaf from Whole Foods and it was inedible--so I'll take her word for it and give it a try. I'm thinking even if it's only mediocre, I can turn it into french toast sticks, which L likes. We'll see.

9. Seventh Generation disinfecting wipes. This was an impulse purchase because there was a big display and I'd just read Diaper Diaries review so I thought "let's give it a try."

10. Acidophilus. This one's for me. I've been taking acidophilus since a stomach bug in January--I find it helps my IBS.

Wasn't that fun?! Head on over to Oh Amanda for more Top Ten lists!

And I'll keep you posted on how our wheat-free experiment works out.

Top 10 Tuesday--Vacation Highlights

The kids at Scripps Aquarium

As I mentioned yesterday, we were on vacation last week, so I wanted to do a quick roundup of the highlights and what better way than a Top Ten List. We were in San Diego so there was lots to do, however my mother-in-law doesn't like people to use her house as a hotel, so we did short bursts of tourism in the mornings and spent the rest of our time with the family. Here are the highlights..... 1. Cabrillo National Monument. Spectacular views! The kids enjoyed walking from the visitor center up to the lighthouse. Daddy and L went up the winding staircase to the top of the lighthouse while T and I stayed downstairs and in the museum area next door. Then we went around the back to look at more great views and enjoy the gorgeous weather. The kids had lots of fun. {There are tide pools in another area of the park, but we didn't attempt that this time around.}

2. San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park. We chose this outing because of L's love of all things cars, but we were slightly disappointed to find almost all the cars roped off. 5-year-olds are all about the touching. But they did have a car and motorcycle to sit on in the children's area and a 100-year-old car to sit in. T was unimpressed, but L walked around with Daddy and enjoyed the museum, I think.

3. Scripps Aquarium. No Sea World for us--too expensive and our kids don't last more than two hours, so for our Fish Fun we headed to this aquarium. In addition to lots of small and one big tank, there are tide pools outside that the kids loved exploring. L also liked the shark tank and there was a water table the kids could play at (they could set up barriers to make currents and L loved sending boats down the paths and yelling "I win!"--a big hit).



4. San Diego Air & Space Museum. I was really impressed with this museum, I couldn't believe how many aircrafts they fit into this relatively small building. I was assigned to follow T, who wasn't interested in the planes, she preferred to run around the atrium. L liked running around too of course, but Daddy managed to walk him through most of the exhibits. There was also a tiny plane for T to sit in and a helicopter for L to climb in, so it was a good time.

5. Star of India or as L calls it "the pirate ship." Hubby's sister took L on this outing last Thanksgiving and he loved it so we had to do it again. (I stayed home while T napped so L went with Daddy and his aunt.) His aunt was so awesome to get him a pirate hat and telescope (and gun that I wasn't thrilled about) and he had a fabulous time exploring the ship and pretending to be a pirate in the model ship below deck.

6. The beach of course. We like Mission Bay. {My husband says the bay is not the same as a beach, but I say if water meets sand, it's a beach.} The hit of the week! They played in the water, they played in the sand, T loved being pushed on the swings (this part of the Bay we like has a playground on the sand as well for extra fun). Super fun! The only downer was the air and water were both cool and we couldn't stay more than two hours for fear of freezing our children.

7. No trips to the ER. No, we don't have a history of tragedies on vacation, but staying in an unchildproofed house plus all the time my kids spent running sock-footed on the linoleum floor, it's a miracle no one was harmed.

8. The kids pooped semi-regularly. L did not poop the entire time we were at the in-laws' last Thanksgiving so we wondered how it would go this time. Without going into details, I'm happy to say he stayed regular. T, however, skipped a few days in the middle of the week that had me literally praying for poop and the Lord did provide and our trip continued.

9. Great weather! Obviously a major reason for vacationing in San Diego in August is to get away from the Phoenix heat and SD delivered. Gorgeous 70-degree days and light breezes and blue skies and no rain (except overnight). Fabulous!

10. No housework. Well, I did a couple loads of laundry and I washed bottles by hand and of course there was the extra child-supervision, but mostly it was a huge drop in housework from my usual routine. And zero cooking--wahoo!

I know I'm fashionably late, but I'm linking up with Oh Amanda. Go over there and check out more Top Ten fun! :-)

Top 10 Tuesday-- Must-See Movies

I am linking up with Oh Amanda today with this list of 10 movies you should see if you haven't already. Some are my old favorites and others are recent finds, but they have in common that you may have missed them in theaters and I recommend you check them out. In no particular order....


1. The Hurt Locker. I know this won best picture, but I feel like a lot of people haven't seen this yet. It follows a team of soldiers in Iraq who get called in to deal with explosives. It's just a really well done film, not too suspenseful, very compelling.



2. Mansfield Park. This film is only loosely based on Jane Austen's novel of the same name. I saw the movie first and then read the book and personally, I prefer the movie (sorry, Jane). Fanny Price is poor and sent to live with her rich cousins. She falls for cousin Edmund but can he ever love her back? There's unrequited love and longing glances and Jonny Lee Miller. Love it!

3. Passengers. I'd never heard of this movie until we recently found it on Starz. It's a clever mystery (again, not too suspenseful) about a plane crash that kept us guessing until a satisfying conclusion.

4. Swept from the Sea. I love this movie! It's a beautiful story about love and kindness between a lonely woman and a shipwrecked man. Great cast--Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Kathy Bates.

5. Once. How can I describe this little gem? Street musician guy meets foreign rose-selling girl and they discover a mutual love of music and become friends. It's sweet, it's complicated, it's got great music--check it out!

6.Persuasion. Another Jane Austen adaptation, this one very true to the novel. Anne Elliott loved Wentworth back when they were young and he was poor but she was persuaded to give him up. Fast forward 15 years and they meet up again and it's all awkwardness and bitterness and longing. (I feel like everyone has seen Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility; Persuasion is less well-known, a little harder to follow on first viewing, but oh so worth it!)

7. A Walk to Remember. Bad boy (Shane West) meets good girl (Mandy Moore), opposites attract. Well, it's a little more complicated than that. Sweet, moral, good singing. If you like chick flicks, this is a good one.

These last 3 are all M. Night Shyamalan movies. Everybody's seen The Sixth Sense but you may have missed these three that I think are even better.**

8. Signs. A widower (Mel Gibson) and his family discover crop circles in their cornfield. This is one of my favorite movies--it's about a lot more than aliens. It has a few scary moments, but Shyamalan has a way of warning you that something's about to happen, so even a wimp like me can handle it.

9. The Village. Again, this was billed as a monster movie, but it's much more than that. As Netflix describes, it's about "an isolated village whose residents face the constant threat of evil creatures." But really it's about friendship, love, family--and great storytelling.



10. Lady in the Water. Who markets this stuff?! This is a wonderful movie that nobody saw. It's a fable: an apartment manager (Paul Giamatti) meets a sea nymph and tries to help her return home. A great little story, compelling from start to finish.

**Yes, we are big Shyamalan fans, but do not, I repeat, DO NOT rent The Happening. It's AWFUL.

So what do you think--have I convinced you to go rent some of these? Do you agree with my assessment of those you have seen? What are some of your faves that I should check out?

For more top ten lists, visit Oh Amanda. Thanks!

Top 10 Tuesday-- Activities with L

This is (I believe) my first time joining Oh Amanda for Top Ten Tuesday--go over there and check out more Top 10s! I have a big ambition for this summer: to play with my kids. I'm such a slacker mom, there are days where I realize it's almost lunchtime and between housework and internet "breaks" (mostly the latter), I've barely been in the same room with my kids. Bad mommy! So with our schedule a little less frenzied this summer, I have set myself a few goals. The two biggest are (1) every morning that L is not at camp and we don't run an errand, we will spend some time at the kitchen table doing an activity and (2) I will consciously play with T for half an hour a day (most likely split into 2 15-minute sessions). These will also be good times to reinforce what we're doing in speech therapy.

Just to give a little bit of background, my kids spend most of their time in our living room which is a giant play room of toys strewn from one end to the other (that I rarely bother to clean) but things with lots of pieces or things T will destroy are kept out of there (as well as art supplies) and we play with those at the kitchen table. When I think of it. Which hasn't been often enough.

So, thanks to some ideas from the recent Works For Me Wednesday--Mom, I'm Bored edition, I give you the Top 10 activities I can do with L during kitchen-activity-time. (T will be able to join in on some of these activities, for others I'll set her up with something age-appropriate--I'm still working on those ideas.)

1. Puzzles.

2. Playdoh. This is a good one for T to join in on, as long as I'm there to keep her from eating it.

3. Building sets. Lego, Trio, K'nex.

4. Basic art. Coloring, stickers, stamps.

5. Painting. L loves to paint. When I haven't had anything fun to paint on, I've given him a manila folder. I was thinking of maybe making "pet rocks" with paints and googly eyes.

6. Holiday crafts. (I got this idea from WFMW, thank you, Neverbored.) We have two different ornament crafts we didn't get to last Christmas. Also, I have a St. Patrick's Day banner I didn't get around to in March. Perhaps we'll work on a craft that could become Christmas gifts this winter.

7. Pipe cleaners. I got this idea from WFMW (thank you, Lisa) and bought the pipe cleaners at Dollar Tree. I still need ideas for some crafts to do with them.

8. Baking. As easy as making a cake from a box mix or as complicated as cookie cutter cookies. L loves to help bake!

9. Workbooks, puzzle books, activity books, sticker books. We have a nice stash of these and L loves them.

10. Play sets. We're giving L this awesome Mystery Mansion for his birthday next week and we'll play that at the kitchen table (because if we keep it in the living room, T will destroy it in no time flat). I'm so excited to play Scooby Doo with him!!! He has other toy sets that we keep out of the living room that are good for kitchen play too.

Edited to add: Games, how could I forget games?! Kitchen time is great for getting out the board games like Candyland and Cootie.

Also, I'm linking this to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family, because I think these ideas will work for me and maybe they will work for you too! Check out lots more ideas here.

Alright people, what am I missing? Please help me out with more activity ideas and with ideas to keep T happy at the table with us. Thanks!!!