Excuses, excuses

I'm not one to make excuses, but you'll have to excuse me (yep, I said it).  I've been MIA for MONTHS.  Well, not exactly MIA, but not a great blogger.  I've been absolutely swamped and having a fabulous time with the families in small fry society and bun in the oven bunch.  Last you heard from me we were in planning made for the third term.  Now I'm about to launch the summer term.  Where has the time gone?  I hoped you've liked the small fry society page on Facebook as I keep it updated daily with news, funny comments and questions and stories, event updates, giveaways and more.  It's no blog, but it's a nice place to keep in touch. 

I can't wait to hear from all of you.  You've been missed.  What's new?

xoxo

A call to mom a day keeps the stress away

 
If you're feeling stressed out and looking for something soothing, just pick up the phone and call mom.  Thinking a simple text convo with tech savvy momma might do the job?  Afraid not.

New research published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior has found that speaking with mom over the phone or in person was associated with a drop in cortisol, a steroid hormone that is release in response to stress AND also raised levels of oxytocin, a hormone linked to desire and gratification.  However, chats with moms over text or IM had no effect.  This may explain why AML jr likes me, her mommy, to sing, rock and console her before bed over anyone else (admittedly, I love that this is the case, despite my exhaustion at the end of the day).

Authors suggested that it is the voice’s familiar tone, cadence and intonation, not the specific words spoken that have calming effects on the body.  “In an age when emailing and texting and IMing is so popular, this shows that we’re missing the important component of the human voice that is able to convey comfort,” Leslie Seltzer, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin and lead author of the study, told ABCNews.com. “The computer or text is just not the same as talking to someone."

Watch out moms, I think this article further confirms that YOU are just the right person for your kids to call early in the morning or in the middle of the night when life is stressing them out (boy or girl troubles, school issues, work struggles, kid/grandkid chaos, etc).  Admit it, it feels good to be needed by your kids no matter the age. :-)

To read the full article on ABC News, click here.

Send Mom to Congress contest

Are you or do you know someone who is making a difference in the school system?  Creating positive policy changes?  Fighting against budget cuts?  If so, why not get rewarded for your tireless efforts!

Parenting magazine launched the Mom Congress initiative in 2009 to celebrate and connect parents working to improve our nation’s schools.  Each month, Parenting and Parenting.com give readers and the Mom Congress members updated educational news and resources to help them make a difference and bring about positive changes for students.  The magazine has launched the third annual search for one fabulous parent advocate for each state to attend the Mom Congress on Education and Learning® Conference in Washington, D.C., this April 29 through May 1.

Parenting will select one parent from each state to attend the conference and get the opportunity to connect with national leaders in education.  The theme of the 2012 conference is “Teach Me Something New” and is dedicated to fostering the crucially important relationship between parents and their children’s teachers.  The conference will include a town hall-style discussion focused on parental engagement in education with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.  There will be sessions with Parenting editors, celebrity speakers, leaders from prominent education and children’s advocacy organization, and past Mom Congress delegates who will share success stories, challenges, and concerns as they work to improve our nation’s schools.

Moms leave the conference empowered and armed with new information and resources to allow them to make even more significant progress in their home state's schools.  The 2011 class of Mom Congress delegates’ accomplishments include the creation of a nationwide book drive in support of early literacy, Books Make it Better; recognition through The White House “Champions for Change” program; the improvement of several school lunch programs across the country; and the development of new educational resources and programs in nearly every state, from early science education workshops in Florida to a new parental advocacy program, Camp Educate, in California.


Enter now for a chance to be the mom attending from your state by clicking here. The last day to enter the contest is February 15.  Winners will receive roundtrip transportation and hotel accommodations in the nation’s capital for the three-day event.

Fruits and vegetables for an entire year? Sign me up!

You all know I LOVE the Baby Brezza, no secret there.  In a world filled with tons of sometimes complicated choices for baby products, I am a huge fan of the Baby Brezza brand, namely their One Step Baby Food Maker because it makes life simple and it's affordable.  I mean isn't One Step music to a mom's (and dad's) ears?  The food maker allows you to make nutritious and delicious fruit, vegetable and meat combination meals in just minutes and with very little effort for your little ones.  It steams and blends automatically making your life easier and freeing your hands up to do the million other things parents have to do each day. 

I'm super excited to share that Baby Brezza Enterprises, the makers of the Baby Brezza One Step Baby
Food Maker, have launched an exciting sweepstakes for families just like yours! By simply adding the Baby Brezza One Step Baby Food Maker to your existing registry, you'll have the chance to win fruits and
vegetables for your family for an entire year! To enter to win, add the Baby Brezza One Step Baby Food Maker to your Baby registry, anywhere Baby Brezza is sold (Babies R Us, Toys R Us, Amazon for instance).  After you have entered, please send an e-mail to sweepstakes@babybrezza.com, including either the direct link to your registry or attach a scanned copy. Make sure you also include your full name, address, preferred email address and phone number. Entries will be accepted through December 31st, 2011.  For full sweepstakes rules and regulations, visit http://www.babybrezza.com/sweepstakes_rules.php.

Baby's napping? Food is cooking in the Baby Brezza?  Grandma's in town to watch the baby?  Mom's out shopping with the baby?  Now's the perfect time to enter to win a full year of fruits and veggies for the fam ($2500 value!).  Good luck!

EATS! American Grill--South Tampa's family-friendly gem no longer hidden!

 
This term of small fry society of course included a Girls' Night Out.  Last term we did it at Neiman Marcus and it was a lot of fun between the makeovers, style presentations, delicious food from Datz and wine from MommyJuice.  Buuuut I got a lot of requests from the moms to do a sit down dinner for the next GNO.  So, I went on a mission to find a truly family-friendly restaurant in South Tampa so that the moms could enjoy a night out without kids and husbands, but still think of the restaurant in the future as a destination for a family dinner out.  EATS! American Grill was kind enough to host our group of mommas and it did not disappoint!

EATS!  Just saying the restaurant's name is fun!  This restaurant serves up some of the best classic American cuisine in the area and it's absolutely family-friendly.  Think ribs, big salads and sandwiches, fried pickles and fried green tomatoes--mouth watering yet?  This restaurant has a lot to offer to diners with various tastes.  Also, did I mention they have full bar service?  Oh, and milkshakes!  I had a dirty martini and it was delish.  Besides the great food and libation, EATS has 10 HD televisions and features the local sports teams, the Bucanneers, the Rays, the Lightning and the Magic on the mainscreen every game possible.  They also accommodate the younger crowd by having at least one of the sets on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney, or a current video release of a movie.  I told you they were family-friendly!   The service was wonderful--I personally love when the server has your soda refill in hand before you even have to ask for it, who doesn't?

EATS is located at 4502 S. Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, FL 33611.  Go check it out for your next Girls' Night Out, date night and/or family dinner--very few places truly have something for everyone and this is without a doubt one of those places!

To shop now or later (or not at all), that is the question

Wow, it's been almost a month since my past post.  I could give you my laundry list of reasons why my posts have been absent--stomach flu, AML jr's bday, tons of house guests, work, etc. but what's the point?  I've been wanting to write, but I kept getting distracted--so many ideas but just couldn't find the time to type them out for you.  Papa Lusty has also been encouraging me to write as of late and he's right--I miss this, I miss you.  Whoooo I'm back!

So, here we are.  It's mid-November, the Christmas music has arrived, the cold weather has arrived in some of your cities, the winter colds and flu have arrived, the urge to eat more and more has arrived, some of our family/friends are soon to arrive/we'll arrive in our hometowns soon for the holidays aaaaand big shopping deals have arrived.  Amen for shopping deals!  Unfortunately, a better economic situation, bonuses and raises (for most), and new jobs have yet to arrive...that's why these holiday sales are more important than ever.

In our home we have one year old AML jr to think about for holiday gifts and I can't wait to buy her stuff for Chanukah, but I'm hoping to find the best deals possible.  I also want to buy Papa Lusty some gifts too.  I'm wondering how long to hold out to get the best prices on clothing, toys, tech stuff, etc.  With all the deals already out there, I wonder how much better the sales are going to get around Thanksgiving?  And with an increasing number of stores opening up at 10pm on Thanksgiving, along with the lowest prices come the longest lines to shop and check out, is it worth it?  Target is one of many stores opening at 10pm on Thanksgiving, which is making some people unhappy as it interrupts the holiday.  And what about online shopping--some of the same deals/better and saves a ton of time and hassle, right? 

This year I'm especially thankful for a fabulous daughter, husband, grandparents and dog, good health for me and my family, my family and friends in general, all the people and businesses who have supported small fry society aaaaaand I have to say earlier shopping hours and extra savings!  After tucking AML jr into bed, I will be one of those shoppers on a mission at 10pm searching for phenomenal savings in lieu of sleep and that extra slice of pie.  What's your plan?  Shop now and save time and some money and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday (and that extra piece of pie), shop on Thanksgiving and spend more time but save more money, or skip shopping altogether?

The Addams Family--Full Disclosure

I know you've been anxiously awaiting my review of The Addams Family.  I wanted to remind you that I love the theater.  I did an earlier post about seeing Motherhood The Musical and mentioned that I was an avid fan of seeing shows on Broadway when I lived in NYC.  So I was delighted to hear The Addams Family was coming to town this week at Tampa's very own Straz Center and I would have a chance to see the show and review it, as it's been on Broadway for quite some time and the show's run ends at the end of December (and I don't anticipate getting up to chilly NYC in the next two months).  I am at times skeptical when seeing the traveling tours of shows because I'm never quite sure what to expect--will the show be just like Broadway?  In this case, the answer is no..and that's an exciting thing!  And here's why....

It's a new story!  Per a recent St. Petersburg Times article, "All the changes stem from a rewrite of the relationship between Gomez and Morticia and their daughter, Wednesday. We found a story beat that we hadn't found before," Oken says. "Gomez gets caught between his kid and his wife, and ultimately he has to ask Morticia for forgiveness. It opened the door to a much stronger central narrative, which, I believe, makes the show work in a way it didn't before."  They also cut four songs, added three songs and substantially changed two other songs.

The show's theme is around love, believe it or not (Fester loooooves the moon, for instance).  As dark as The Addams Family is on the outside and seemingly is on the inside too, they all have a soft spot for someone in their lives.  Much of the story revolves around Wednesday's "secret" engagement to Lucas and through lots of twists and turns every family member seems to connect, disconnect and then connect once again with the people they love.  The story is something most of us can relate to--our love for our parents, significant others, children, friends--it is constantly tested by our actions/inactions.  Like Gomez's situation in which he's trapped keeping a secret for Wednesday from his wife Morticia, we can get caught in the middle between two people we love and risk losing one or both of those people (this is when forgiveness also comes into play).  As the songs in the show go, sometimes we discover that a "move toward the darkness" can be a  good thing in our relationships, embracing being "crazier than you" can make living a little more fun and feeling "happy/sad" at the same time is a the bittersweet emotion we have likely all experienced at one time or another (AML jr turns the big one next week--that's a perfect example of me feeling happy/sad).

The Addams Family is funny, sad, dramatic, sweet, cute and provocative at various times throughout the show.  Although I didn't see the Broadway production, I think the show flowed really well, the songs were catchy and enjoyable (plenty of finger snapping, don't worry!) and the characters were pretty perfect.  Wednesday's voice is phenomenal! Oh and did I mention the Carol Morsani Hall is beautiful and large--no complaining about not enough leg room in this theater!

I highly recommend going to see this show.  It's one-of-a-kind, just like The Addams Family!  It's in Tampa at Straz through Sunday October 23 and tickets are still available.  Stop snapping and go get your tickets!