Of course, I said yes. The toy arrived and my kids played with it. And then the holidays happened and everything got pushed off and put on to the back burner…

So, without further ado, my review.

I was given the choice of the Battle Machines: Combat Crash or the Lazer Combat: Land vs. Air. Big Boy chose the Combat Crash toy because he said he was no good at flying planes.

Jada Toys Battle Machine: Combat Crash

When the toy arrived, he jumped right in, insisting on putting it together himself (he should be able to… he’s nine) so I just sat back and watched.  He had it together by the time I got the batteries in the cars and remotes.

The track put together.

The Battle Machines: Combat Crash is a track set with two cars and two remotes.  SUPER easy to put together, SUPER easy to operate.  The track simply snaps together, and the signs snap into the rail.  Then you put the cars on the track and pull the trigger on the remote.  For an extra turbo boost, flip up the guard on the turbo button and KAZOW!  You’re zipping around the track.  Guide your car around the track with the steering wheel but be careful!  If anything hits you from behind, your doors and hood pop off!! Race with your friend for lots of combat crashing fun!  And you can race on and off the track!

To quote my Big Boy, the Combat Crash is “Totally Awesome!”.  He just loved putting the track together and then racing and crashing his car into his sister’s.  Little Miss had loads of fun too.  Her favorite part was watching her brother crash into her car and the hood and doors popping off.  Major giggle factor there.

Its also pretty durable.  After we finished playing with it, Big Boy took the track apart and put it back in the box.  As he was bringing the box down to the basement, it opened and all the pieces tumbled down the basement stairs!  Not a nick or crack in site.  Whew!  I was going to be pretty upset if we just got this great new toy and it broke apart due to a fall down some stairs.

Big Boy and his blue racer.

Little Miss and her red racer.

This is the perfect gift for the little racer in your life.  It is available at most major retailers including Toys R Us and Target for $49.99 in stores.

Special thanks to Jada Toys for allowing me to try out their toy and also to Janina and Southard Communications for the opportunity.   I can’t wait to do it again!

This is an original ROSCMM post. The product mentioned in this post was provided to me free of charge (or at a considerable discount not available to the public) for the purposes of writing this post. All opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not a result of any compensation or free products received (although they are both openly accepted.) and no, you can not steal my content unless you specifically ask me for it first. It’s called copyright, yo.

Copyright 2012 MastermindMommy

Chewie...

Chewie is our (almost) 11 month old Siberian Husky puppy.

Meet Chewie’s head collar…

Meet Chewie when he’s wearing his head collar…

This is what Chewie looks like twice daily when I walk him.  Now, I don’t meet a lot of people when I walk Chewie, but those that I do meet (usually dog owners themselves) take one look at Chewie in his head collar, and ask me if he bites, or if he snapped, or if he’s viscious.  Seriously people??  Can you not tell that its just a strap around his snout?  Can you not see that his mouth is open and his big giant floppy tongue is sticking out??  If he were wearing a muzzle, he wouldn’t be able to open his mouth.  He wouldn’t be able to drink, or eat, or bite your ass if he wanted to.

A Siberian Husky’s instinct is to PULL.  It’s what is bred into them.  I have every intention of hooking my kids’ sleigh up to him in the winter time and charging for dog sled rides.  (no joke, man)

If I DON’T use the head collar, my Siberian Husky (who’s instinct is to PULL) will PULL me all over the neighborhood.  Now I’m no lightweight (as if you didn’t know that already) but if he sees something he wants to get at (cat, bird, another dog, shiny object) and he’s not wearing his head collar, he will YANK my arm off trying to get to it.

With the head collar, a slight correction to him (I’m also studying the methods of Cesar Millan, aka, the Dog Whisperer) and he will sit and wait to be ALLOWED to yank my arm off.

The idea behind a head collar is very much like a halter for horses.  Where the nose goes, the rest of the body will follow.  You wouldn’t put a regular collar and leash on a horse and expect to be able to ride it or lead it anywhere, would you?  It’s the same concept for Chewie.  If he’s wearing the head collar I can lead him (like every pack leader should, thank you Cesar) where I want him to go.  Ultimately , I want to do away with it and just use a regular collar and leash, but until he realizes that I am the pack leader,  this is the way I need to do it.

So if you see me walking down the street with Chewie and his head collar, take a minute and consider what you see…  Is is mouth open? Can you see his teeth?  Then no, he doesn’t bite.  But I might!  So, think before you open your mouth!!

This is an original ROSCMM post. All opinions in this post come from Jennifer herself unless otherwise noted.   This post has no compensation level as I did not receive anything for writing this post,(visit my Full Disclosure page for more details) and no, you can not steal my content unless you specifically ask me for it first. It’s called copyright, yo.

Copyright 2011 Mastermind Mommy

It is also very typical that when I am up at the wee hours of the morning that I go on Facebook and see who else is up, maybe play some Frontierville or Zombie Lane, maybe catch up on some blogs that I haven’t read in a while.

I was doing just that when I came across a post from a blogger expressing her condolences for another blogger whose husband suddenly passed away.

Jennie Perillo is a talented chef,  food blogger and friend to a lot of other bloggers I wish I knew.   I have just learned that her husband died suddenly yesterday from heart attack.  He leaves behind not only Jennie, but their two young daughters as well.

I can’t even imagine what they must be going through right now.  Words cannot express the pain I feel for them.

I think today I am just going to take some time and give thanks for the life I have.  The life my husband and I have built together, the children we’ve brought into this world with love and the things that make our lives worth living.

I know I complain about my family…  a lot.

But I am thankful for them.

I love my Little Miss and Big Boy, and especially the Hubs.  And I hope to God that they know how much.

Anyway, I love Kellogg’s products, especially the Special K snack bars and Special K Cereal, so when Technorati contacted me that Kellogg’s wanted bloggers to try a new cereal I jumped at the chance.

In case you live under a rock, I’ve been on a special quest to lost weight for a couple of weddings I’ve got this year (two next month!).  Special K cereal has been a part of my family for a very very long time so I completely trust anything made by the people who make the cereal my father has been eating since before I was born.

When the boxes arrived, first of all, I must say, I was not expecting Kellogg’s to mail two boxes of cereal to me.  I expected a coupon that I could use at my local grocery store.  Thank you Kellogg’s.  Next, I admit, I’m a little leary about anything that has Fiber in its name.  Usually for me fiber= not a happy stomach.

Reading the box further it states that the cereal is rich in Antioxidants.  Antioxidants are a good thing.  According to Discovery Health, antioxidants “are substances that are capable of counteracting the damaging, but normal, effects of the physiological process of oxidation in animal tissue. Antioxidants are nutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as enzymes (proteins in your body that assist in chemical reactions). They are believed to play a role in preventing the development of such chronic diseases as cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts.”  Most adults don’t get enough antioxidants in their diet (including me) so I thought this was an excellent way to further my dieting and weigh loss adventure.

Upon first taste, I was sold.  The Yogurt Berry Crunch was sweet and crunchy, just what I need in the morning to get me going.  It kept me full until lunch and I had the energy to keep up with Little Miss and Big Boy and all their shenanigans.  The Cinnamon Oat Crunch was also very yummy although they didn’t smell as sweet as they taste.  They kind of reminded me of those other little O’s only better.  Even my kids liked it and if its not a sugary sweet brightly colored cereal, they won’t even try it.  Sadly, I only got one bowl of the Cinnamon Oat Crunch before the rest of my family ate it all.  Hey Kellogg’s, wanna send me a new box so I can better research the product??  Just kidding.  Sorta.

You should try Kellogg’s Fiber Plus cereals if you’re looking to incorporate more fiber and antioxidants into your diet.  You should try Kellogg’s Fiber Plus cereals is you want a tasty change to your breakfast routine.  You should just try Kellogg’s Fiber Plus cereals.

Many thanks to Kellogg’s for allowing me to sample their cereal and participate in this program.

This is an original ROSCMM post. The product mentioned in this post was provided to me free of charge (or at a considerable discount not available to the public) for the purposes of writing this post. All opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not a result of any compensation or free products received (although they are both openly accepted.) and no, you can not steal my content unless you specifically ask me for it first. It’s called copyright, yo.

Copyright 2011 MastermindMommy

The cape, circa 2008.

I hate that cape.

It is scratchy.

And annoying.

And it reminds me of our worst vacation ever to Lake George a few years back where we won that cape at an amusement park.

But I take it from her and put it on.

“Why do I have to wear this cape?  Do all princes wear capes?”

There is no reasoning with a three year old.  “Mommy, you have to wear the cape so you can be the handsome prince and rescue the beautiful princess from the dragon.”

“Yes, but why do I have to wear the cape?”

“C’mon Prince!” I’m not winning this one…

“Ok, where’s the beautiful princess?” I say, putting on the scratchy, annoying  worst vacation ever cape.

“MOMMY!  I’m right here!”

“Oh, YOU’RE the beautiful princess?”

“Yes, now lets go fight the dragon!”

“Wait, I thought I was supposed to rescue you from the dragon. Not fight it with you.”

“Look!  There’s the dragon!  Let’s go fight it!” she says pointing to our 9 month old husky puppy.

The dragon!! AHHHHH!!

“But that’s Chewey!  That’s not a dragon!”

“MOM! We have to go fight the DRAGON!”

“Oh, alright, but you should really change your dress, I don’t think Snow White would appreciate it if you got her dress dirty fighting a dragon.”

“We’re going to get you dragon!” Insert various fighting sound effects here. 

Dragon, disguised as a nine month old husky puppy, yawns, rolls over.

“C’mon Prince!  Let’s get that dragon!”

“Wait!  Do you really think we should try to fight the dragon if he’s sleeping?  I mean, he’s not really bothering anybody right now.”

“MMMMMOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!”

“Ok, ok…  let’s get the dragon!”

Dragon, sensing that something is afoot, gets up and walks to the back door wanting to be let out.  He wants nothing to do with this.

“YAY!!  We ran the dragon, out of town!  HOORAY!! Now we can go take a nap.” I say, my hand reaching up to remove the scratchy, annoying, worst vacation ever cape.

“No, there’s another dragon over there!” She’s intent on “getting” a dragon.

“There is?  Where?”

“Over there. By that chair.”

“What color is it?”

“Ummmmmmmmm, pink.”

“With purple polka dots?”

“YEAH!”

“Oh, we can’t fight him…  there’s a law against fighting pink dragons with purple polka dots.  We could go to jail.”

“We’re not going to jail!  There’s no police to take us to jail!  Let’s fight that dragon!”

“Look!!  Max and Ruby is on!”

“Max and Ruby!!  Can I have a snack??”

And thus ends my stint as the handsome prince wearing a green, scratchy, annoying, worst vacation ever cape.

I love playing with my kids.  And really, why WOULDN’T you want to play the prince to this??  

The Beautiful Princess

This is an original ROSCMM post and was written for the From Left to Write Book Club. and was inspired by The Costume Trunk, by Paddywhack Lane, a copy of which I received free from the publisher for the purposes of this book club, and no, you can not steal my content unless you specifically ask me for it first. It’s called copyright, yo.

NO CAPES!!

Copyright 2011 MastermindMommy

YUCK!

However…
My kids LOVE it!!

So when I was contacted by Lauren at Litzky PR on behalf of Hasbro to see if I was interested in trying out their new spring products the only thought that crossed my mind was “rainy day activity”.

At the time I was babysitting my 2 year old nephew three times a week and between him and my three year old daughter, I was at a loss for stuff to keep them busy on a rainy afternoon.

Play-Doh seemed to be the answer.  We have a couple sets of our own and when I would break them out for my son,(now eight) he would happily play for a solid hour, no whining, no crying, nada.

So, Lauren sent me four different Play-Doh sets, each one a new product for spring.  I received the Flip and Serve Breakfast Playset,  Cookie Monster’s Letter Lunch Playset, one of theFairy Tale Assortment (Three Little Pigs), and the Smashed Potatoes Game.

The first set we tried was Cookie Monster’s Letter Lunch Playset.  What fun!  The playset comes with Cookie Monster donning a chef’s hat,a big bowl for his letter soup, letter shapes and 4 containers of compound.

Cookie Monster's Letter Lunch!

Kids can learn their ABCs by forming letters to spell names and words!

Lunch Time for Cookie!

The kids ate up a whole afternoon making letters and feeding them to Cookie! (well, I should say Little Miss did… Smoosh was happy with a lump of Playdoh and a knife.)  Even I got in on the act!  My nephew liked it so much, my sister in law went out and bought it that very day! (I wouldn’t let her have mine…)

Next came Smashed Potatoes…  Picture this…  Family Game Night…  We were SO tired of playing UNO! and were looking for something new to play.

Smashed Potatoes

The object of the game was to make it through the game board without getting caught in the various potato traps and being turned into french fries or mashed potatoes.  If you get caught, you go back to the beginning and start over.

Little Miss and her purple potato

Big Boy and his yellow potato.

After an intense showdown between Big Boy and Little Miss, a winner emerged…

And the winner is...

LITTLE MISS AND HER PURPLE POTATO!!

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!

YAY!!  Family game night will never be the same!  Big Boy is STILL asking for a re-match!

Another Play-Doh set I received was The Three Little Pigs from the Fairy Tale Assortment.

We’ve had quite a few rainy days here on Long Island, so I was happy to introduce my little ones to yet another Play-Doh set.  One of my favorite stories to tell the kids is The Three Little Pigs.  I am a very animated person when it comes to telling stories.  I like to do all the voices and really get into it.  This Play-Doh set is probably my favorite one.

Little pig, little pig, let me come in!!

With the molds included in this set you can construct your own Three Little Pigs story and make it come to life!

There's the straw house...

The house made of sticks...

And the house made of bricks...

And of course, the three little pigs...

What a fun afternoon we spent playing with this!!

Little Miss enjoyed making the piggies...

While Smoosh... smooshed 'em!

I wanna try Hansel and Gretel next!

The last Play-Doh set I received was the Flip and Serve Breakfast playset.

Flip and Serve Breakfast Playset

I love breakfast in any form.  This playset lets you make a bagillion different variations of breakfast, from eggs and bacon with hashbrowns and toast,  to waffles and pancakes.

YUM YUM GIMME SOME!!

And you can top it all off with a milkshake with whipped cream and a cherry!

Of course, I wish they were real and not compound, but it was fun making everything all the same!

Wanna bite??

Perhaps my opinion of the compound is changing…  :)

Many thanks to Lauren at Litzky PR and Hasbro for the opportunity to try out and review their products.  All of these Play-Doh products are available to order online or at most major toy retailers.

This is an original ROSCMM post. The product mentioned in this post was provided to me free of charge (or at a considerable discount not available to the public) for the purposes of writing this post. All opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not a result of any compensation or free products received (although they are both openly accepted.) and no, you can not steal my content unless you specifically ask me for it first. It’s called copyright, yo.

Copyright 2011 MastermindMommy

I have friends that don’t have kids yet.  Sometimes I’m envious of the life they lead. I’ve been a mom for eight and a half years now. Those years have had their ups and downs, but sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I didn’t have kids. Aren’t there days when you do the same? Don’t lie!

There would be no toys on the floor (unless they’re Hubs’), there’d be no toothpaste in the sink (unless it’s Hubs’).  I would have a full-time job (maybe in publishing like I always wanted) that I would have to get up for instead of getting up to get the boy off to school.  I could have my weekends to myself (maybe a date-night with Hubs) and I wouldn’t have to worry about finding a babysitter if I wanted to go out.  Maybe Hubs and I would have a house of our own instead of our current living situation.  We could host dinner parties and poker games.  Hubs could have a trophy room and I could have a library (hey, I’m imagining…).  There’d be no emergency room visits when someone falls off the swingset or cracks their head open (unless Hubs hurts himself at work).  No Cub Scouts, no dance.  We could go away on vacation and it wouldn’t have to be kid-friendly and don’t even get me started on the money…  Oh!  And I’d be thin!

But…

I wouldn’t have my kids.  I wouldn’t have the laughter and the smiles.  The giggles and the hugs.  I wouldn’t be able to watch my husband play Xbox with my son or push my daughter on the swings.  I wouldn’t be able to watch their joy on Christmas morning when they open that one gift they’ve been asking for all year.  I wouldn’t have that little hand to hold when we’re walking somewhere (oh, I’m so afraid of losing them!) or hear that little voice calling “Mom?” (my ears are tuned to it, aren’t yours?).  I wouldn’t be able to kiss their little sleeping heads

.

Also, I wouldn’t be bombarded everyday with facts about Space. (Big Boy is going to be an astronomer/astronaut/astrophysicist one day, I swear it!) I wouldn’t be the Cub Scout leader, or the stage mom (I’m not really a stage mom… yet…). I wouldn’t be able to go to the spray park or the children’s museum or the playground. (Sure, I could do all those things without kids, but I’d look awfully funny don’tcha think? I’d be the weirdo at the park that all the moms make sure their children stay away from…)

Or be able to say things like:

“Put your underwear on, and stop calling yourself a wiener.”  

“Stop picking your nose! C’mere and let me get those boogers for you.”  

“Did you remember to change your underwear?”

“No toys at the table!”

“Are you sure you rinsed ALL the shampoo out of your hair?”

“Did you remember to wipe?”

“Tell me why you need to scream every time the dog comes near you.”

“Is there a reason why you MUST be COMPLETELY naked when sitting on the toilet?”

I wouldn’t be a blogger if I didn’t have my kids.  I wouldn’t be here with you Dear Reader, sharing my stories.  I wouldn’t have my Tastefully Simple business either, and we all know how much I LOVE my business!  I wouldn’t have my mom friends either, gosh I love my mom friends.

I’d probably be a 9 to 5-er.

I’d have “work friends”.  And do “work” things like go to company picnics, and company lunches.

And I’d probably be miserable.

I love being a mom.  Years ago, when my son was a baby, a man once said to me “There are two things you never really know until you have children, love, and fear.”  I love my kids with all my heart and soul. I didn’t know I could love anything as much as I love my kids.  They define who I am and what I want to be.  Sure, I’d like a book deal (pretty please),and a house (pretty, pretty please),  but I think if I can just go through life knowing that I raised my children into responsible loving adults who will one day become good parents, I did what I was meant to do.

I was put on this earth to be Mother to those two little children.  And if God ever decided to take them from me, my life wouldn’t be worth living.

Thanks Mama Kat for helping me to remember why I do it all…

This is an original ROSCMM post.  All opinions expressed are that of Jennifer herself.  This post was written for Mama Kat’s Weekly Writing workshop and has a compensation level of 0. (See my disclosure page for full details.)  And no, you can not steal my stuff.  It’s called Copyright, yo!

Day 1′s assignment was to write an elevator speech- in 140 characters.

Day 2:  Write a list post.  I’ve done this one a couple of times before so it wasn’t easy finding a topic.  I hope I’ve done it justice.

5 Things I’m not.  (But I wish I could be…)

5. Confrontational. I’m opinionated. Yes, that much is true. I have lots and LOTS of opinions, BUT… Most times I will keep them to myself, or voice them to you dear reader, instead of to whom they should be voiced.

4. Neat. If you’ve read my bio on my About Me page, you would know that I clearly state that I am lazy. I am, it’s true. I’d rather sit here and read blogs or waste time in Facebook than do a load of laundry or vaccuum my house. I hate folding little things (like kid clothes) because it’s so time consuming and monotonous. I mean, how many socks can this kid possibly HAVE??

3. Thin. When I was 15, I was thin. I didn’t think I was, but I was. I wore a size 8 and went to dance class nearly every night. I ate what I wanted, I drank what I wanted, and I burned it all off at the end of the evening. I am currently working toward that weight and lifestyle again, although I know with age, it’s going to be a long hard battle, but I’m willing to go the extra mile (pun ABSOLUTELY intended) to get there.

2. Attentive. I think I might have something akin to Adult ADD… (Look! A Birdie!) I can never stay with one thing for long. I start projects and never finish them. I start books and never finish them. I don’t know why. I think it has to do with that “L” word. (lazy, silly! Not THAT “L” word)  So please forgive me if I start to follow you and then suddenly stop.  The only constant in my life right now is my family.

1. Insightful. I have a friend who reads my blog (you know who you are) and she always leaves a comment on my posts that make me stop and think. I wish I could always see the big picture like she does.  Instead I’m in my own little world unable to see but the world directly in front of me.

So what do you think?  Are there some things you wish you could be, but just aren’t??  I’d love to hear about it!

This is an original ROSCMM post. This post was written for the SITS Girls 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. All opinions in this post come from Jennifer herself unless otherwise noted.   This post has no compensation level as I did not receive anything for writing this post,(visit my Full Disclosure page for more details) and no, you can not steal my content unless you specifically ask me for it first. It’s called copyright, yo.

So WHAT??  I’ll tell you so what…  I’m too young to have any grey hair.  I know, I know, plenty of people have grey hair and a whole lot of it and they’re not even close to my age…  It doesn’t matter, they’re not me…

Anyway, this month the From Left to Write book club is reading 29 by Adena Halpern.  Its about a 75 year old woman who makes a wish on her birthday candle to be 29 again…  just for one day.  The next day she wakes up and guess what??   Yep, she’s 29 again, but this time no baby body, no droopy boobs or love handles, awesome.  :)

So of course, I got to thinking, I’m 32.  29 is too close to 32 to wish I was back there again, and my life was pretty much the same back then as it is now, only my kids were a little younger.  And maybe I didn’t have this one grey hair.  I think if I could go back to any age it would be 15.  Just so I can smack some sense into myself.

Now I admit, I had a pretty happy childhood.  My mom was a SAHM (like me) and my Dad worked in the city.  They worked hard to give my brother and I what we wanted and we were never without what we needed.

I was 14 when I started dating seriously.  My first steady boyfriend dumped me at his cousin’s sweet sixteen party and broke my heart.  I was 15 when I started dating his best friend, we’ll call him “Ted”.  Ted wasn’t really my type, but I wanted to get back at his friend and show him what he was missing.  It all went downhill from there.  We only dated for about six or seven months, but it was probably the worst six or seven months of my life.

Ted was not a nice guy.  He was mean and degrading.  He played with my young mind and had me believing that he was it.  There was no one else in the world out there for me.  He fucked me up but good.  He “confessed” to cheating on me (which he really didn’t) and used to tell me stories about how his father  would have flashbacks of the Vietnam war and chase him around the house with a butcher knife.

My family and friends tried to tell me.  They tried to warn me, to open my eyes, but of course a victim of abuse doesn’t see the truth until they are ready.

There was another boy in my life at that that time that I had a crush on but I didn’t dare make a move while I was with Ted.  He was insanely jealous and controlling.  He would turn on me at the drop of a hat and there was no reasoning with him.

During that time my mother stopped talking to me.  She was hurt and disappointed in me.  She wanted me to stand up for myself and break up with this boy, but I refused.  Toward the end he’d even given me a promise ring.  Can you imagine?  Engaged at 15??  I was quite the dumbass back then.

When I finally did break up with him, he cried and cried.  I told him it wasn’t forever, that we were just taking a break.  Big. Fat. Fucking. Lie.  The next day I had plans to meet that other boy for lunch.  I had no intention of going back to Ted.  It was over.

Thinking about it now, I’m sorry that I put myself through that abusive relationship.  I’m sorry I strained all those friendships for that asshole.  I’m sorry I disappointed my mom and lost her for that short period of time.

But I don’t think I would change it.

A month later, I started dating the man who would become my husband.  The man who would father my two beautiful children and who will still do anything to make us happy.

Ok, maybe I would have made a move with that other boy when I met him for lunch, just to see what it was like, but other than that, I’m good.

I’m a firm believer of everything happens for a reason.  This situation happened upon me to teach me something and I think I learned the lesson in it.

So, I guess I’ll take my one grey hair and go about my business.  And maybe NOT wish on my birthday candles.  :)

This is an original ROSCMM post and was written for the From Left to Write Book Club. This post was inspired by 29 by Adena Halpern, a copy of which I received free from the publisher for the purposes of this book club, and no, you can not steal my content unless you specifically ask me for it first. It’s called copyright, yo.

Copyright 2011 MastermindMommy