We're Empty Nesters

In the literal sense! Remember our little flighty "neighbors" that brought their new family to our door? We watched the faithful mommy and daddy bird get most of their eggs into furry hatchlings (or whatever baby birds are called), and three little furballs became just like their parents; one by one, they flew away. Since our stairway is right in front of the door, my little one would often ask about the birdies as she went up or down it, and yesterday as she was descending, she asked about them. So I opened the door to look at our last birdie, and we must have scared him into taking the great leap to freedom -- we got to watch him discover his ability to fly! And I didn't get a picture of them all grown up! I always figured I'd have tomorrow. Guess that's why people say the kids all grow up so quickly!

And now we have an empty nest. Kind of. As I took the picture, I saw we have an unhatched egg, and the other unaccounted baby that never made it to flight -- several weeks ago, I noticed a scrawny hatchling hanging outside of the nest, and my husband thought it was alive. Not sure if it was the runt and was taken away or just died, but it didn't hang around too long.

There are many joys and sorrows in each family. Some children never are able to make it to full flight because of physical, emotional, or spiritual obstacles, but many do and we celebrate in that. So congrats especially to those celebrating graduates!

And I'm back to cleaning up this nest and the mess they left behind.

High Fructose Corn Syrup in What?

Perhaps I've been naive about it all, but I found it so hard to believe that high fructose corn syrup is in chocolate milk! I learned about it by buying Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk, which happened to be marked down when I was at Kroger, and there is was on the box..."contains no high fructose corn syrup."

For some people, it's not a big deal, and I suppose it doesn't bother me to the degree it might bother others too. But I am trying to be more careful with the types of foods we're eating, trying to get back to the more natural aspect. At this time, it would take too much money and effort to eliminate all processed and GMO foods, but I am more careful about how much of that is brought into our home and especially into my toddler's mouth.

Build a Dream Playhouses™ Review and Giveaway

Build a Dream Playhouses™ is an amazing new company! Innovatively founded by a Cleveland dad and two college entrepreneurs, Build a Dream Playhouses™ offers creative play from well designed playhouses!


Made of corrugated cardboard, the Build a Dream Playhouses™ comply to the standards of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). They are also manufactured from 80% recycled materials and obviously is 100% recyclable!

When I pulled all the components out of the box to build our Imagine Wagon, I was first concerned that I wouldn't be able to do it! With my toddler immediately saying, "Color" -- she knew what to do with it -- I managed to find the assembly instructions and set out to build the Wagon around her.
And after roughly 30 minutes, with some "help," I folded and tucked most of the tabs into the correct slots.

And we love the finished product...

Which can comfortably fit one large adult and a toddler!

One thing that most impresses me about Build a Dream Playhouses™ is that they care about their community and the city of Cleveland. They donate many playhouses to children’s hospitals, charities, and schools. This spoke out to me the most because being an Ohioan, you notice much of the negative effects of the economic downturn, and Build a Dream Playhouses™ is now setting a higher standard and making a difference in the MidWest!


Win It!
You can also win a Build a Dream Playhouses™ of your choice! Be a GFC follower of Discovering the Me in Mommy and a Facebook fan of Build a Dream Playhouses™ and leave them some love; just make sure you leave a comment with your email address. This is required and must be done before extra entries count!

Open to US only

Extra Entries!
You can do any of these for a extra entries. Make sure to leave a separate comment for EACH thing you do, along with your email address.

1 - For ONE extra entry, Follow Build a Dream Playhouses™ on Twitter
2- For ONE extra entry, Follow Discovering the Me in Mommy on Twitter.
3- For ONE extra entry, Like Discovering the Me in Mommy on Facebook.
4 - For ONE extra entry, Tell me which playhouse you'd like to win!

Contest ends at 10pm EST on Sunday, June 12, 2011 when I will draw a winner at random. I will notify the winner, and s/he will have 36 hours to respond.


****This is not a paid post. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. Thank you to Build a Dream Playhouses™, who supplied the products for the review and giveaway!****

Wordless Wednesday -- Our Neighbors Grew

Baby Banz Review

We took our annual May trip to the beach, and I was excited to have Baby Banz for the little one! I really appreciate the quality of the protection they offer, and there are so many choices of sunglasses that will stay on!


(From the website) Created in Australia, Baby Banz has passed stringent standards on sunglasses, worldwide. The lenses offer high sunglare reduction and good UV protection and polycarbonate Ophthalmic quality; the lenses can also be replaced with prescription lenses. There is also an addition of an embedded silicone nose and brow piece, just for more comfort!
You can view their entire collection of sunglasses as well as protective gear here!

Happy Mother's Day!

As a child, when Mother's Day would come, I'd draw a picture, make a card or craft, or buy something kinda cheesy for my mom. But now I'm on the other side of things, and just the thoughts of being Mom is overwhelming.

We got in around midnight from a 12-hour drive back from the beach -- and part of my Mother's Day present was have a chauffeur (my husband) provide a safe and comfortable commute even through heavy rains. After resting a little bit, we were able to enjoy our time at church and with our friends there, and top it all off with lunch at Champps and Starbucks -- yes, my 1/2 price Frap!

I felt like I was able to have a quasi-out-of-body-experience, and just watch my energetic daughter run around the yard, up on the deck and to her faded Little Tykes slide, back down to pick dandelions, with my husband herding her around pitfalls and exits from our property! Even with the two-year-old tantrums, exhaustion, and lack of Me-time, it is precious to invest in the lives of my family. What a privilege and honor to be called Mommy!

And here's an uplifting and inspiring media piece to bless moms!

Did you know...

Starbucks is having their Half-Price Frappuccino Happy Hour again from 3-5pm! Yum! From May 6 - 15.

And the winners are...

Niecey has won the Dayspring giveaway

and rebecca williams has won the Snapily giveaway

Wordless Wednesday - 4 Years Ago