I have a new found love for Gymboree. The quality of their children’s clothes is fantastic. I worried as my kids grew out of Carter’s and the other brands that I’ve loved that I would “want” for quality clothing. Gymboree fills that need for me. Add to that the fact that they have amazing boys clothes … and I have a winner. (Anyone with a daughter knows that finding clothes for a girl is a piece of cake!)

If you missed my Summer Gymboree Fashion Haul video, you can visit it now and see the cute things we came away with then.

(Best explanation of Gymbucks I’ve come across.)

Let me start by saying “Thank you” once again to Kirkland‘s. What a fun company to work with and what an amazing jewelry organizer. Like I said earlier in the week, this product isn’t available on line (as of this moment), but look for it in your local Kirkland‘s store. You might also want to register with Kirkland‘s. They send out awesome coupons from time to time, and they don’t spam you to death!

So … without further ado …. (note to self: why do you always chose to do vlogs on days that you don’t have to wear make-up to work?)

Congratulations winner. I’ll be contacting you for your addy

Thanks to everyone that entered … I really appreciate you helping me out. There will be more giveaways so keep your ears tuned

When we first moved to our suburb, there was a clear lack of restaurants – especially compared to what we were used too. One of the first sit-down places that opened was Chili‘s. If we could have, we would have helped hammer in the nails as they were under construction. We were so excited!

Luckily, after they opened, we were not disappointed. The dining room is large and clean. The bar is similar and offers a huge amount of seating which is nice if you don’t feel like waiting … it’s open seating.

Aside from the food, my favorite thing about our neighborhood Chili‘s is call ahead seating. We use it ALL.THE.TIME. In fact, we eat there more often, because of this feature. With 2 kids in tow, waiting an hour to be seated is not on our lifeplan.

Needless to say …. we love Chili‘s. So, when I was approached by Chili‘s for a marketing campaign, I was a sure thing.

Don and I were excited to take part and although we have our “go-to” favorites that we get every time ….

(… like yummy Southwestern Egg Rolls. Oh my goodness … they are so good.) We were committed to trying something that we otherwise might not.

We started with Skillet Queso Dip …

… served with chips, it is more like a chili and chesse dip. We absolutely loved it.

Don ordered a Jalapeño Smokehouse Burger. It looked incredible.

With applewood smoked bacon, smoked cheddar, tortilla strips, the bacon alone would be worth ordering the burger. It was so thick and juicy … it looked like heaven on a plate.

I ordered the Bacon Burger and asked for it to be sprinkled with bleu cheese.

I couldn’t believe how large this burger was. I actually had a hard time finishing it, but it was one of those times when I couldn’t put it down. The juices that were flowing out of the burger were so good. The bun was thick enough that it didn’t fall apart, but just soaked up all the juice. I was so impressed.

Each of these burgers came with fries. Don ate all of his while I didn’t take a bite of mine. That says a lot since I love the seasoning on Chili’s fries.

I hate to admit this, but we loved what we had so much that we went back again 4 days later. We, again, order the Skillet Queso and decided to split a burger since it was for lunch.

We opted for the Ultimate Stacked Burger. It has 2 patties, cheese, bacon, and onion strings.

We cut it in half and neither of us could fit it in our mouth … Now THAT my friends is saying something! We loved it … and couldn’t eat it fast enough. The quality of meat that they are using in these patties has enough fat that it makes a really flavorful juice, but is meaty enough that it stays thick even as you hold on to it in the bun. It’s a great combination. Much better than what we use at home!

Although our kids didn’t join us this time, I feel like I should add that they LOVE going to Chili‘s. As a mom who doesn’t allow them to eat junk 24 hours a day, I really appreciate the healthy options on their menu. The kids alternate between pizza, quesdilla, and macaroni and cheese. For sides, they love the steamed broccoli, corn on the cob, and mandarin oranges.

Is there a Chili‘s in your area? If you don’t eat there often or haven’t tried it in a while, I’d encourage you to go back. The new additions to the menu, as well as the old favorites are better than ever! They might have converted me to a burger girl again … I’ve fallen in love with each one I’ve tried.

* I was contacted by a marketing company working in conjunction with Chili’s. I was provided a gift certificate to cover the costs of our food, but had no other requirements in writing this review. This is my honest opinion of my experience at the restaurant.

I love television … I actually should be picked up by a network as a television anaylist. The DVR and “Instant Viewing” are the best things to ever come about in my book. So, with that said, I thought I would write about the 10 shows that I love.

In no particular order:

(1) Designing Women: Oh how I love the Sugarbaker Sisters. I’m thrilled that you can now buy some of the early seasons on DVD. Even though these were shot in the early 80s, they still put me in stitches.

(2) Desperate Housewives: I’ve been with the women of Wisteria Lane from the first episode. I’ve written before about how I can see elements of myself in each of the main characters. I truly love this show.

(3) Toddlers and Tiaras/Little Miss Perfect: I’m the biggest pageant buff on the planet. It’s a miracle from above that Piper has only been in one pageant. I guess that proves that even I can offer up restraint when it comes to protecting my children from my crazy ways!

(4) Grey’s Anatomy: I’m a Grey’s newbie. I’ll admit that I always wondered what the fuss was about. Now, thanks to Netflix, I know why everyone’s been crazy for this show. I’m up to the present season and can’t wait to watch all of it before the series comes back in September.

(5) Little People, Big World: My co-workers always make fun of me for watching this show, but I love it. The values that Amy tries to instill in her family are respectable. I hope they make it and don’t fall into Reality TV divorce court.

(6) Jon and Kate Plus 8: If I had a dollar for everytime that my husband has rolled his eyes at Kate, I’d surely be a millionaire. Let’s face it, we’re watching (or watched) because the kids are so darn cute.

(7) Design Star: HGTV is my middle name. I’m sad to say that we are on the particular cable package that we are because it offered HGTV in HD. It’s true. The colors pop and it just makes the whole project come to life. Now, if one of those designers would just get over to my place!

(8) Brothers and Sisters: I’ve been a Calista Flockhart fan since Ally McBeal. Brothers and Sisters is another of those shows that I was able to watch and get caught up to present day with Netflix. It’s a great drama and in a lot of ways reminds me of my husband’s family … minus the drama and gay brother.

(9) So You Think You Can Dance: My dancer days are probably over (ahem … two kids/mommy body). But, that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate good choreography and want to stay current with the latest trends. There are some awesome kids that come through this program, not to mention some incredible soundtracks.

(10) Glee: Oh how Glee makes my heart happy. I own every soundtrack … I rearrange my life to watch every episode. Oh, if only high school had allowed me to sing up and down the halls with a hottie like Finn. What a wonderful world

For the past six years, I’ve relied on two products more than any other. So much so that I won’t substitute the store-brand version … and that is HUGE for me.

Meet obsession #1 – Zout. The best stain remover EVER.

I’m not sure how, but my mother-in-law stumbled upon this product when Avery was a baby. Formula stains were yellowing all of his clothes, not to mention poop stains for the occasional blowout!

Zout is so easy to use. Just spray the stained area, let it soak in  for about 5 minutes, and throw the garment in the wash.

Did I mention that it’s great on every stain? Ketchup, grass stain, chocolate, ink pen … it’s wonderful.

If you haven’t tried it yet, I definitely recommend it.

*This is a product review that I am writing on my own. I wasn’t paid by Zout although I’d be happy to accept anything they wanted to send

Several weeks ago, I attended the Mom 2.0 summit in Houston. One of the sponsors of the conference was Mission Tortilla. I was so impressed with the staff representing them – professional, courteous, and really understood that, as a mom, I am very concerned with what my kids are putting into their mouths at meal time.

When approached by Mission Tortilla to try some products, I jumped at the chance. If there is one thing we love, it’s tortillas.We’re Texans, you know! We love anything wrapped, fried, grilled or served in a tortilla!

The first product we tried was LifeBalance Wheat Tortillas. Let me be completely honest by starting with … I didn’t want to eat these. I like wheat bread, but I HATE wheat pasta and the like. I was really scared.

They were SO good. I could not get over it! We used these when making regular chicken fajitas (the kids ate them as cheese quesadillas).

In the future, we’ll be using these for tacos, enchiladas, and cheese wraps that I send with the kids for school snack.

The second product we tried was the Jalapeno Cheddar Wraps. Oh my gosh … so flavorful and yummy. They are remarkable! Be sure to fill them with atangy item to really pull out the spicy flavor of the wrap. (I used grilled chicken, lettuce, and ranch dressing.)

If you need some new recipes for your Mission products, I’d suggest you try MissionMenus.com. Pick the product that you want to cook with and you can find recipes specific to that particular shell. Genius.

These products are amazingly flavorful and so incredibly fresh. I HIGHLY recommend them. In the past, I’ve always purchased the plain, flour tortillas and left it at that … branch out, try something new. Mission has some great options when you are bored with your old faithful! We’ve turned over a new leaf … Opened up a whole new world of flavors for one of our favorite food items.

Disclaimer: I was provided with free products from Mission Tortilla. This review is my opinion and my words.

My ear has been blocked up for several days. I can only hear about 60% of what’s going on, so life is highly annoying. I’ve tried ear candles in the past and since I think/thought that this might be a clogged ear wax issue {disgusting}, I decided to go the candle route.

If you’ve never used an ear candle before, you’ll enjoy this video showing my experience. Please disregard that I’m wearing pajamas – it was a last minute decision to chronicle this venture.

{Don’t you love how YouTube always picks the best screenshots? Yikes.}

PS – my ear is still blocked up. However, there is ZERO wax in it. Q-tip came out completely clean. Tomorrow starts Sudifed/Advil in massive amounts. After that, I think I’ll see an ENT doctor.

You might never guess that I love fashion … especially if you know me in real life, but I do. Don’t get me wrong, I REALLY love comfort and tend to lean that way … but there is a special place in my heart for a designer dress and a good pair of heels.

One of the things I love so much about television is seeing the actresses and what they are wearing. Shows like Desperate Housewives, The Deep End, Regis and Kelly, and The View, as well as all the soap operas, are a wonderful place to see great outfits, shoes and accessories. It’s very inspiring.

Being an average person, I know that I’d never be able to afford the clothes that I see online. Target, J.C. Penney’s and Kohl’s have similar looks at more affordable prices. But, the inspiration, for me, is definitely television. It seems more “in reach” for me as opposed to magazine fashion.

One of the things I love best about The View is the online piece called “What I’m Wearing”. Taped with Elisabeth and Sherri, they go through piece by piece and tell you what they’re wearing. It’s awesome, especially when some of the pieces are from stores/designer’s that I know. I’ve put a couple of things on my Wish List and will watch for them to go on sale.

Here’s a link to “What I’m Wearing“.  Don’t you wish all television shows did this?

* I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items to facilitate my review.

Me & Heather Armstrong (Dooce)

I’ve been blogging since 2004 and somehow I’ve managed to never attend a blogging conference. I’ve seen all the posts and nearly die with envy every time as I see pictures popping up like wild on Twitter … but it’s  never worked out for me to leave work and family to attend.

With the Mom 2.0 Summit being [practically] in my backyard, I really wanted to go. There were some early conflicts that kept me from purchasing a ticket, so I had  counted out the possibility of this being “my first conference”. Some last minute changes opened up my schedule, but by that point, the ticket price was outrageously high. It was WAY past the Early Bird discount date, and even coupled with not having to stay in a hotel, it was still out of my reach. I was so disappointed.

Less than 24 hours before the first session began, I was sponsored. My sweet friend heard of a sponsor with an open ticket and put us in contact. It was a complete fluke that it worked out and even more crazy that it was a company that I had used religiously throughout both of my pregnancies. Amen. {More on this amazing company soon!}

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. I mean, I thought I knew, but until you are actually there – you really don’t know. The Mom 2.0 Summit had three tracks to pick from. One was a personal track (I chose that one), one was a professional track (I’d chose this one if I had it to do again), and the third was for business people (product oriented).

Me, Heloise, & Sarah (@mainlinemom)

Friday’s summit began with a special keynote with Gretchen Rubin and Heloise. Yes, that Heloise … the one with the helpful hints in the society pages of your newspaper. She was lovely … as was Gretchen.

I did three sessions on Friday. All of them were very useful. It was great for me that they primarily focused on writing! I’d taken a conference day and needed to be able to say that I honestly got 8 hours worth of content! I learned so much about writing, community, and engagement. It’s something that I’m really striving for within my blog, but also REALLY working for in my day job. Our team spends a lot of time on these concepts and we are getting ready to have to face these topics again.

This is DEFINITELY me before riding in the Weinermobile

The highlight of Thursday, if we’re being completely honest, was riding in the Weinermobile. I mean, who woulda thunk that the Weinermobile would be available for our group. Too funny … or actually Bun Believeable!

Friday began with a keynote panel with Heather Armstrong, Gabrielle Blair, and Maggie Masongie. It was incredible. They shared, what to me, were next steps for where I’m at right now. I would have paid dearly to have been able to crawl into their heads for even more time. They were candid, funny and charming. I so appreciated their advice and mentor-like attitude.

The sessions on Saturday were not as strong for me although I did enjoy them all. (It was more the subject matter that wasn’t my favorite.) There was a live Twitter stream in every room. With several of the sessions, I could see tweets from other conference rooms and thought “crap … I should have done that session.”

I think I am at a odd crossroad with my blog and job. I could have easily fit into several tracks here. I needed a clone.

With that said, I have now learned that it’s easier to decide what conference is for you after you attend one. I now know what sessions really resinated with me and which ones are still challenging me days later. In the future, I’ll look for conferences that are catered that direction. There are a zillion great conferences out there now … I can’t wait to really dig into the offerings.

I would recommend Mom 2.0 Summit. It was well-run and completely organized. The speakers were top-notch. Even the sessions that weren’t my favorite were led by completely qualified and engaging women. The entire experience was very inspiring and motivating.

Now … to put it all into practice!

Enjoy this video – a highlight of my weekend.

As a working parent and a mom of two, I crave girl-talk … conversations between women about regular things that are not daycare pricing, the latest virus, or fundraising forms. Because of my schedule, I rarely have time to talk to anyone that isn’t in my office or over the age of 6.

Enter The View.

Many weeks ago, I filled out a form to become a Brand Ambassador for The View. I immediately filled it out. I love the show and appreciate so many things about it. After forgetting that I’d applied, I found out that I was accepted!

Let me introduce you to The View if you haven’t seen the show before. It is an ABC daytime talk show featuring four female anchors:  Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselback, Sherri Shepherd, Whoopi Goldberg, and a part-time Barbara Walters. I love something different about each of these ladies. Joy is hysterical and says what you really want to say, but wouldn’t dare. Elisabeth has the conservative values that I hold (although she’s a little more fanatical than me). Sherri is a great mix of all the ladies. She really brings a balance to the table. Whoopi speaks her mind and really plays the devil’s advocate on the cast. She, many times, makes me consider the other side of the coin. Barbara Walters, a great of the industry, has such a wealth of pure wisdom and knowledge. She is an amazing woman.

The show opens up with a segment called “Hot Topics”. This portion covers topics that you’ve most likely heard about on the news. Sometimes it’s political, but often it’s just an interesting news story. The women discuss their views on the subject in a no-holds-barred manner. Following that, there are interviews with celebrities, musical artists, or other noted people.

In today’s episode, the interview section was with Chandra Wilson from Grey’s Anatomy. I have just started watching Grey’s (not sure what took me so long!), so I really enjoyed getting to know a member of the cast. The segment following that was about “sexting”. They brought two sides to the conversation: one was a girl who had sent pictures to a boyfriend that then spread them throughout their town; the other was a boy who had forwarded pictures of a girlfriend. It was so incredibly sad to hear the stories of how lives have been torn apart by this new teen fad. But, in true The View fashion, it brought a topic to light that we all, as adults, need to understand and try to put to a stop.

I’ve had a sick child, so I’ve gotten to watch the show in the comfort of my home the past two days. That’s a welcomed, but not a typical treat for me. If you visit the ABC website, you can watch full episodes online. (They are approximately 38 minutes long.) Since I bring my lunch to work each day, it’s the perfect amount of time for me to stream the show while eating.

Right now, there is an exciting sweepstakes going on. One lucky winner will be randomly selected to receive a trip from Mom Central to head out to NYC and watch a taping of The View. The sweepstakes is open until February 28. Fill out an application here!

During the next four weeks, I’ll be able to give you some cool information about The View. I hope you’ll enjoy the posts and check out the show. I think you’ll really like it.

Disclosure: I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items to facilitate my review.