Oh YES! I recently had the opportunity to test out Heely’s, (you know the sneakers with wheels in the heels). Since they came onto the scene,I have always wanted a pair, I thought they would be perfect for keeping up with my little one, but alas they were only for kids at the time. Well not anymore!

Naturally I selected the groovy purple ones…

I, like many other kids grew up wearing my roller skates, which seemed much more easier to pick up on, and natural, and , but hey I was young then and you pick stuff up much faster. Then Roller Blades came out, which did take me much longer to learn, now we have Heely’s.  This definitely has been much more trickier then I anticipated, but that’s because kids just make everything look so much easier.  Though it took some time to get in the swing (and no i’m not doing any jumps or twists… YET!), it is a lot of fun, and quite a nice little workout.

I found the construction of the shoe to be quite durable, and very well cushioned which made it feel very comfortable on with out making my feet look overly wide like other “skater shoes”.  The laces seemed a bit short to me, which I guess is so you don’t trip on them, but other than that, very well made.  I also liked the fact you can take the wheel off rather easily and pop on a cover to wear the shoes regularly. There is a very large selection to choose from so you can get them to go with just about anything.

Also if you go to the Heely’s Website you will find several motivational and instructional videos which I found extremely useful. It takes practice but its been worth it, and I totally recommend you grab a pair and get your spin on. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

*While Heely’s provided me with a pair to review, the opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Heely’s, Bussiness 2 Blogger and I promote Blog With Integrity.

One of the many things I LOVED and have implemented in our lives from Elizabeth Pantley’s ~ No-Cry Discipline Solution is the 6 Steps to Staying Calm…

Step 1: STOP

Identify your angry feelings.  Raise your hand to signal STOP…Stop talking.

Step 2: SPACE

Move away from your child or move your child away from you.  Alternate choice, if calm:  SQUEEZE ~ give your childe a big hug.

Step 3: SOOTHE

Calm yourself first.  Take a deep breath, repeat a relaxing phrase, or practice yoga, read, listen to music, or excersise.  Whatever it takes.

Step 4: SEE

Replay what happened in your mind’s eye.  Analyze the situation objectively.

Step 5: SPECIFY

Define the EXACT problem (The problem is…)

Step 6: SOLVE

Decide which parentling skills to use.  Create several possible solutions. Follow through!

I only just now finished watching the Charmed series, I know, but better late then never right?   I had seen 1-7 and a few episodes from season 8 but never actually finished it, and personally I find it much better to watch a season on dvd, because then there is no waiting a week in between. So I have been watching season 8 on Netflix for the past week or so and though I know it was the final season I must say it was such a bitter sweet end for me.  I mean its really sad when something that has been around for the better part of 13 years comes to end, even though you know it really should because it can’t go on forever. I know I will always have the reruns, but I am finding its harder to watch them now that I’ve seen the last episode and how it ends.

(Desktop Wallpaper- right click and save image)

Despite my sadness for it being over, I give HUGE props for the way they ended it.  It brought complete closure for me.  Most episodes end leaving it open to use your own imagination, or they leave it in such a mixed up confusing way that you have a million questions that will never be answered.  That is not closure for me.  I won’t spoil the ending too much for the few out there that still haven’t seen it, but it was beautiful, complete, and I am so glad for the last turn of events with Kaley Cuoco’s character in the end. I maybe overly emotional, but the whole thing was so sweet it did make me a bit teary and my heart ache a little.

Don’t you hate it when you are in the middle of the demo process of something you are going to make look beautiful, when you realize “CRAP! Why did I not take a before shot?”
Well here is a what my new little roadside chest of drawers looked like at the moment I had that realization…

It was a very dark chocolate brown before I started sanding it, with old school tarnished brass pulls. One of the drawers aslo had the face piece broken off. A little wood glue, paint and new adorable little knobs I found at Home Depot for $2.97, and you have…

Once I finished it my daughter laid claim to it, however much to her disappointment it went in my closet which then forced an entire closet, bedroom and dresser spring cleaning.  Another whole day project, but it turned out great, and I have a much neater bedroom now. Mission accomplished.

Now if only I could find a 3 drawer chest that I can use for a night stand.

Well of course Kayla’s #1 hero is daddy, but coming in second is Captain America (which daddy is totally ecstatic about). The two of them share a love of the Marvel characters which is both amazing and comical. They spend every weekend playing with all the action figures, Xbox games, ipad games, and watching all the cartoons. Kayla was completely devastated when we told her she could not go to the new Captain America movie with daddy, but I think the surprise of meeting him today more than made up for the disappointing “NO” I gave to the movie. I mean look at that grin from ear to ear…

As most of you know I’m a TOTAL fan of Jordi Labanda‘s artwork, I have quite the collection of his notebooks already. I have recently come across the dilemma that Target has decided to stop carrying them… Grrr!  I turned to ebay to try and continue to feed my fix for the medium sized notebooks which have become a perfect fit for my journal/day planner.  For a small fortune I would have been able to do so, but luckily I stumbled across MiquelRius.com.  They have a ton of notebooks and bags by Jordi Labanda at the same price I would pay at Target. YAY!  Plus those cute little purse sized notebooks on the bottom they gave me for free. SWEET!

So for any other fans out there who didn’t know or for anybody that likes the selection I got and wanna jump on our groupie wagon go to MiquelRius.com and as always Enjoy!~

I saw this fun project in my Lowe’s magazine the other day. I thought this is something that could be fun and involve the whole family as well as being a rather interesting learning experience.

Not only do you get the fun of raising your own chickens, but you get to build the coop yourself.  For the step by step directions of building the coop just go to the Lowe’s Site…How to Build a Chicken Coop.  Send me pics if you choose to do it, I’d love to see them!

My daughter Kayla as most of you know is Autistic, what you may not know is that she is extremely smart and an excellent reader.  She reads and comprehends now at approximately a 3rd grade level (she’s only entering Kindergarden next year)  I was obviously ecstatic when she started reading on her own, and have greatly encouraged it never guessing it would one day bite me in the butt.  Now it was only a mild incident, but I realized I’m in for it the older she gets.

The incident occured the other day at Home Depot, when she was starting to get a little fresh, a warning of being put in the cart like a baby if she didn’t stop being fresh was given, but she continued.

In the cart she went.  She then proceeds to read the child safety warning on the cart in front of us and then told me:  ”Mommy children should not be put in bottom part of the cart, it’s not safe, you are going to get in trouble”.  Yup that’s my daughter schooling me in public.

So what gifts do your children have that have become your curse? Or how have your children schooled you in public?