Wordless Wednesday

After reading so many blogs in the Ultimate Blog Party, I noticed many that did something called "Wordless Wednesday". They would post a picture and maybe a caption and that would be it. I think this is something that I am going to give a try on MGB. Let me know what you think!

Here goes....


What a way to bring in the First Day of Baseball.......HAIL!!

Winner of the Mother's Day Giveaway!

Congratulations to Lauren of Shooting Stars Mag for winning the Mother's Day Gift Giveaway, sponsored by lulu.com!

Lauren, welcome to Mom Got Blog and I hope that you are able to come back and share what item you chose to create and let us know how it came out! Curious minds want to know!

I try to get a few posts written on the weekends but today...this is it. I am back out to the yard to finish clearing flower beds of unwanted weeds and spreading 5 YARDS of mulch! I could not think of anything MORE fun to do on a beautiful Saturday afternoon (she says sarcastically), can you??

Enjoy your weekend and congrats again to our new friend Lauren!

Ben, Time is Ticking

 "Big Ben"

When most say that, they probably think of this:

However, I'm talking about this one:

If you are not a football follower, Ben Roethlisberger is the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has just been suspended for 6 games for his actions. It will be all over the news, so I am sure you will see, read or hear about it and I do not need to go into details here. My beef is with Ben:

Dude, grow up.

You play for a team where the city lives and breathes their sports teams. I don't think I have ever seen more black and gold than I have in Pittsburgh. You cannot go anywhere without seeing something with a beloved team (Steelers, Pirates or Penguins) on it, whether you are driving and see it on a city building, eating in a restaurant, shopping in a mall, heck, passing an athlete as you are walking down a city street. Pittsburgher's LOVE their teams and those who play on them.

But I have to say Ben, that when you cross a line, your biggest fans from the city that loves you will shun you. They will still love you deep down, but they will also want to teach you a lesson that they were hoping you would learn on your own...

Kind of like the Michael Jackson song:

"Ben, you're always running here and there

You feel you're not wanted anywhere

If you ever look behind

And don't like what you find

There's one thing you should know

You've got a place to go

(you've got a place to go)"

Pittsburgh wants you to realize that they want you to stay, but they will let you walk if they have to.

You have a good thing going...don't blow it.

Mother's Day Giveaway!

I had such a fun time hosting a giveaway on the blog!! I hope you had fun too.

 I have a surprise for you...

I am hosting another one!
Mother's Day is right around the corner and I am always trying to think of new and creative ideas for gifts, however, I am forever thinking about ideas and never putting them into action...so flowers are my stand-by gift that has been given for the last few years.  After the last giveaway, I was contacted by a rep from Lulu to see if I had an interest in hosting a Mother's Day Gift Idea Giveaway. After seeing what the item(s) would be, I thought yes! Finally! A good idea and project to do with the kids!

Would you like to create a photo calendar for Mom? Or maybe a Photobook for Grandma that she can carry around as her special "brag book"?  Then be sure to enter this giveaway any time from April 19 - April 23. More details below:

I don't know of any Mom that does not live by or run a household on a 12-month organizer. Whether it is a white board, self-printed or even hand drawn place that shows what is going on in the family with appointments, practices, vacations, etc. I've lost count as to how many times I have been asked "Are we doing anything on such and such a date?" or "When is this birthday?" and I'm sure you already know what my answer is:

"Look on the calendar."

I'm not sure what hangs on your fridge, door or cabinet, but my calendar hangs on the front of my fridge and is just the basic black and white version that I have printed from Outlook. It would be nice to have a calendar put together with family photos for each month or to customize special dates with a photo.

And who doesn't like to share a photo book of the family or cute grandchildren? I have made my own in the past after special events, but it always took a long time. These photobooks can have pictures loaded up from all your own files or online places such as Facebook, Flicker or any other application you use. A few clicks and you are done!

So, this Mother's Day Giveaway has two ways to win!

The first giveaway is easy-peasy. What is great about this part is that ALL readers are winners! If you would like to create a calendar or photobook for Mother's Day, you have won a 20% off coupon! Go to Mother's Day Gift Ideas at Lulu and enter the coupon code: MOMDAY20 at the check-out after creating your masterpiece.

For the Grand Prize, you can win a special coupon for a free, customized, photo book or calendar (up to a $50 value)! All you have to do is:

1. Become a follower of this blog before April 23rd.
2. Leave a comment to let me know you are a new follower.

Already following? Awesome! My goal is to reach 150 before the end of April, so tell a friend!

Winners will be randomly chosen on April 23rd and will be announced on April 24th.

Good luck!


**This giveaway is being sponsored by Lulu.com. I have not received product for this drawing**

Ultimate Blog After- Party 2010!

Can anyone say "Blog Hangover"? That was some party-some folks are still kickin' it, but I have found that with my age comes a little wisdom and know when to call it a night. NOT!

This Blog party was fantastic! I am so glad that I came across the 5 Minutes for Mom site and signed up to meet and greet new blog friends....and there were A LOT! Over 2300 blogs came to the festivities-I wish I could have visited all of them. Thank goodness the links will be available to go back and click through and revisit. I enjoyed reading all the blogs I visited and I wanted to share with you some of my favorite new sites: They are witty, fun and I think you will enjoy reading them as well:




1. Coffee Lovin Mom: Ok..."You had me at hello"...Amy is from Chicago (One of my ultimate FAVORITE cities) and as her title suggests, loves her coffee as much as yours truly! She has even dedicated her blog header to her "Saturday Shorts" errr, coffee pants. She is extremely funny and a very talented writer. Go visit her-you will love her too!

2. Musings of a Manic Mama: Get ready to laugh! Alisha is from Texas with an obsessive family dream of moving her homestead to Alaska! Quite a contrast! Her blog draws you in right away and you feel that you are along for the ride as she spins her quick wit around her adventures. From catching a fish to glamour shots channeling Evel Knievel, I find myself going back again and again!




3. The Queen of My House: Misty or "House Queen" has such a lovely blog! I found myself looking forward to scrolling through her blog to read her sidebar items called "I'm Thinking" to see what we had in common. Twighlight fan? Check. Vera Bradley fan? Check. (She is having a fabulous VB bag giveaway this month!) Photography? Check. Also a very funny writer!


There were so many blogs that I visited that I found it hard to name just three! I am so glad that I met these ladies through this blog party and I look forward to meeting more new friends!

Being that this is an "after-party", I felt I should toast the last day with friends and a cocktail. I am not one to have "foo-foo" drinks, but last night I became a believer...at least to this particuar recipe! Uhm, this is why this post is showing up this morning rather than yesterday as I planned!

These martinis were pure evil...but so delicious! I said to my friend.."Ok, we'll try them, but just so you know, I have wine chilling in the fridge for back-up". Two drinks later, we were brainstorming on how to decorate these for Fourth of July and her Christmas dessert party...all the while trying to plan a trip to Vegas.

Here is the recipe for you:

Snowball Martini
serves 4-6

3/4 cup half-and-half or light cream
1/2 cup coconut-flavored rum
1/4 cup vanilla vodka or vodka
1/4 cup cream of coconut
ice cubes

In a pitcher, stir together the half-and-half, coconut rum, vanilla vodka and cream of coconut. Place ice cubes in martini shaker. Add coconut mixture. Cover and shake. Divide among prepared martini glasses.

As I said, pure evil; heh, heh, heh.

Saturday is Not for Dust Bunnies

Ok...I totally took advantage of leaving the Ultimate Blog Post up for the entire week. It was a long week and when I got home from work, I just wanted to sit and relax. Laziness....pure and simple.

I will be posting an "After-Party" post later on today to share some of the fantastic blogs I visited! I am so glad I took part in this event and can't wait to introduce you to some great sites!!

But, for now..it is a gloomy, rainy Saturday.  I have no excuse to not clean the house today. Sorry dust bunnies- party is over.

Ultimate Blog Party 2010!

Let's get it it started...Let's get it started..in here!!

I found this site 5 Minutes for Mom the day before yesterday and started reading about their annual Blog Party. Being new to blogging, I really wanted to give this a try. I mean, who doesn't love to attend a party?! So, I am going to participate in this huge event this year and see what it is all about! It's an event where I hope to meet other bloggers and network and invite you to check it out as well. Whether you have a blog or just read them, you can participate. Let's check it out!

For those stopping by for the first time:

I started blogging last June, which I guess makes me a new fish in the blog ocean.  I love to write and  wanted a place to jot down my thoughts and observations about all the different things that are part of my little world and figured that starting my own blog would be a good place to do so. Finally, a place to share my (sometimes) silly stories and love of sports. I have loved every single minute of it!

My name is Kelly and I am wife to the greatest husband in the world (17 years strong!) who doesn't quite get why I like to blog, but I love him anyway. I am a mom to two teenagers, one boy and one girl. They are the joy to my life and have brought joy to my hairdresser's life. (Someone needs to cover the gray hair that these two kids provide!)

I love sports; have since I was a kid myself. I've played them all...however, my favorite was found late in athletic life (ripe of 34) and it is speedskating! I compete in both short track (like Apolo Ohno) and long track (like Shani Davis). I have been to the US Nationals in both disciplines and have medaled in the Masters category. It is a fantastic sport that keeps me in great shape and has also enabled me to meet some wonderful friends who share the same passion for going in circles, really fast! I also l-o-v-e cycling and share that with my husband, who is a fantastic bike rider. It is something that we love to do together and is often the perfect way for us to spend some solid quality time together.

One thing that most folks don't know is that I collect Christmas ornaments from places that we visit. It's a great way to remember where we've been as a family and share stories when trimming the tree during the holidays. Another thing that most don't know is I am a H-U-G-E Scrabble fan! I play any chance I can get and was one of the first apps I downloaded onto my ipod! :) 

So, what will you find on Mom Got Blog? I guess a little bit of everything. I write a lot about sports, quirky family happenings and anything adding to the journey.  One of my favorite categories is my "Really?!" posts...which are things I have seen or experienced that make me say "Really? Are you kidding me?".

As I mentioned, I am really new to this blogging thing and still trying to learn as much as I can. The Ultimate Blog Party seems to be a great way to meet new friends and network with other bloggers!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jamie Oliver Earns an Apple For "Food Revolution"

You know the saying...

"An Apple a day..."

Well the "Food Doctor", Jamie Oliver has written a new prescription for Americans and the food we eat, especially our kids and school lunches. And what is that? Eat real food!

I am such a fan of Jamie's Food Revolution that I decided to add his button and link to the petition he has created. I don't just add things on this blog unless I really find weight to it..especially a link or button. The fact that I added both, means that I  agree with Jamie's vision of creating better diets and in this case better school lunches.

A few years ago, when our kids were in elementary school I had a wake up call to the school lunch program. I admit, I did not make lunch every day. At the beginning of each month, I would sit down with the kids and we would go over the menu and pick which days they would like to buy. I protested to a lot of the choices...fried cheese sticks, big soft pretzels...these items are not lunch-these are what some would consider snacks or appetizers! In any event, a certain dollar amount ($2.00 per lunch) would be put into their account to cover the few days they did want to buy. It never failed that mid-month, I would get a letter from the school saying their account was short. One month, the letter said that the account was a negative $5.00! They only started with $8.00!

So in I marched to the lunch lady, letter in hand ready to say that the accounting was wrong. What she showed and said to me stopped me in my tracks. She had a print out of all the food items the kids purchased that month and it wasn't all a balanced lunch. Much of what I saw was what the school called a la carte. Kids had the choice to get whatever was set out for them...ice cream, Twix bars...cookies, etc. If you give a kid a choice of buying an apple or a Twix bar, which do you think they are going to pick? It was explained to me that I did have the option to block these items on their account so that they could only buy the lunch that was provided. BUT....if I locked these items, that would also prohibit them from getting milk.

That's right. Milk would be blocked because the school considered it an a la carte item. I asked, "but isn't that included in a lunch purchase?" The answer was no. "Are you kidding me?" She wasn't.

As I left the lunch room, the first wave of students were going through the line. The lunch workers were not just handing out the tray of lunch, they were asking what the kids wanted ON the tray..."do you want corn?" No. "Do you want salad?" No. "Do you want a fruit cup?" No. When I went to school, you ate what was put on the tray. We didn't have a choice. As I got older, ice cream was offered (Push-ups or the Nutty Buddy ice cream cone) but that was it-and I didn't get it every single day.

Since that meeting, I packed a lunch for the kids every day. There may have been one or two occasions where oversleeping had me reaching in to the wallet, but for the most part they have been brown-bagging it. A big plus I find for our family is that we do eat fairly healthy. Do we have sugary cereals? Sure. Maybe a bag of chips once in a while? Yes. But, we also have a bowl of fruit-(which I am often asked by the kids' friends -"Is that real fruit or fake?") on the kitchen table always available and a salad every night along with fresh vegetables with dinner.

To Jamie, I offer an A+ and an apple for teaching our kids how to make better choices and why it is so important for them to do so!

You can watch Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" on ABC, Friday's at 9pm EST. Check your local listings. I think you will be surprised and learn something too.

Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun....

I love when spring (and fall) get those really off the charts warm days mixed in to the normal cooler temperatures.
It's like a little surprise amidst the grind.

Today it is forecast to go into the low 80's and I cannot wait to enjoy it.

I am a big collector of suns. I love the expressions that are on them- most always smiling and with a happy face. Maybe that's why I also like to grow sunflowers...they are big, happy, bright yellow flowers that tower above you and when against a clear blue summer sky, seem to represent a sun that you can look at without burning your corneas.

I hope today you are having a nice summer surprise...

Time to roll the windows down in the car, play the music a little bit loud and kick back and relax and soak in the sun.

Happy Easter!

It has been quite a week. I forgot how exhausting going back to work can be. I am not saying SAHM's have it easy or are any less exhausted, but it is a different type of tired for a working mom- I have been on both sides of the fence, so I feel ok to say that.

This week had me channeling the Dunkin' Donuts guy...remember him? Barely shuffling his feet while saying "Time to make the donuts"...I have been up at the crack of dawn, still doing my "mom stuff" and trying to get myself out the door. Work is now eating up 8 hours of time I would normally use to run errands, doctor appointments and house duties- all the things mom's (and dad's) seem to juggle. It will get done, but now it is a matter of prioritizing for a tighter time frame.

I've been looking forward to this weekend and spending some quality time with the family. It was awesome that the weather cooperated and has been absolutely beautiful!

Yesterday, my husband and I went for a bike ride at our Battlefield loop and he crushed me. I worked so hard to keep up with him, which is a good thing even though I am whining about it. At one point, a guy on a motorcycle was riding along side and with his fingers gestured to us with a two and then a five, then a thumbs up. I didn't think we were riding that fast, but when I looked down, he was right. When we got to the steepest hill on the course, we came across a guy pulling a child carrier  and my husband asked if he was ok. I felt horrible, I did not stop- I kept going. I thought "there is no way I can stop and get going again on this hill" so, up I climbed. I kept looking back to see if my husband joined me- I felt bad that he was nowhere in sight, but at the same time, I reveled in the fact that I "beat" him up this hill for the first time (and last I'm sure). Of course I know it's not fair that he stopped and helped the guy pop the chain back on (which my husband shared with me later) but I am taking that "win" any way I can get it!! Besides, I knew my husband would catch up and he did before I made it through the roundabout and back to the crest of the hill.

Seems this ride was not enough of a challenge for him, so he talked me into going out for a "quick loop" when we got home. We explored a new road which we both said would be good for hill repeats and when we crested the final hill we were welcomed with a lovely view of the river. What goes up, must go down, so the ride back to the main road was a nice, much needed break, which 5 minutes later, I was so thankful for. We climbed a little and then, I saw it. I have been so proud that I have not climbed any hill yet this season in my "Granny" gear. That was until I climbed this one. It could not be helped. My legs were baked and there was no other way to get up this snotty thing. So I said hello to granny and told myself, "relax and just ride the hill". Just before reaching the top, I though my legs were going to fall off, so I got out of my saddle just to get more momentum to turn the legs over. My husband, having absolutely no sympathy for me, passed me and threw the hammer down. Fricka-Fracka...I clicked my gears and took off trying to catch him. For being so tired, I surprised myself when I looked down and was clocking in at 30mph! In my MIDDLE RING! I haven't been able to use my big gear for over a year and have not tuned up the bike yet to have it fixed. I can't wait until I do!

The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping with my daughter. A fun, yet hellish adventure all wrapped in one. I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say, I said "no" A LOT and she tsssked and rolled her eyes A LOT. Good times.

Today we enjoyed waking up to the birds singing, wishing eachother a Happy Easter and finding colored eggs strategically placed around the house. Apparently, the Easter Bunny is lame in hiding these as both kids proclaimed "they are in plain sight! They are supposed to be hidden."  Sorry kids, when the EB is fumbling around at 4am, all places look pretty hidden. It could be the low light, or maybe the eyesight is going because not enough carrots are being consumed. What the EB wants to know is when do you stop looking for these? Because sleep is looking soooooo much better the older this rabbit gets.

Now that we have enjoyed our day with lasagna, chocolate and jelly beans, it is time to share some stories and enjoy eachother's company. Maybe take a walk or play a good board game.

I hope you have had a wonderful weekend!