What a wise guy: Family dinners

"Mama, are you OK?" Miles asked with his strangely perfect grammar.

I nodded my head and tried to continue telling Mark the story from my stupid, stupid day.

"Mama, are you OK?" Miles asked again.

I tried to reassure him but the day wore on my face and I could not even muster an "uh huh."

Mark told Miles that maybe mama needed a hug. My little boy, resting on my hip, gave me a big hug. A big, big hug as he would say. He pulled back, looked at my face and hugged me again.

"Mama, are you calm now?"

I am trying to be, I thought. I am trying to be.

If I have learned anything in the past 26 months of parenting, especially the last 6 months, it is never to underestimate a child. Miles never ceases to amaze me in his actions, abilities and his words. Especially his words. I know there was that whole Bill Cosby, kids say the darndest things thing but my child has had some real gems.

"Can I read the Bible naked?"

"Denali not going to the zoo today. He's just a doggy. Denali not going to zoo today. He's a bad doggy."

Miles: What does the Statue of Liberty say?
Me: I don't know. What does the Statue of Liberty say?
Miles Freedom

Of course, his zingers aren't so funny when he is staring down his plate of homemade chicken and noodles - and I mean homemade chicken and dumplings. I had baked the chicken, shredded it and made stock with the carcass for the soup. Fresh carrots and celery floated in the broth, with other flavorings simple - garlic, onion and salt. I made dough with whole wheat and white flour, rolled it out and cut it into thin dumplings that was sure to satisfy everyone at the dinner table.

But I've been known to be wrong. And this time I was.

"I don't like this. It's yucky. I want mac and cheese."

While my discerning toddler had not taken a single bite, he was adamant that he did not like dinner and wasn't going to eat it. No matter how much I coerced, bribed, threatened, the dumplings remain untouched and the requests for mac and cheese persistent. He left the table without dinner, and I frustrated.

It's a tough balancing act as a parent trying to get a kid to eat - and eat the things you want them to. Through their recipe destination, Campbell’s offers a fresh way to feed the family with kid-friendly recipes like Mini Chicken Pot Pies, and fun ways for your kids to eat tomato soup or chicken noodle soup.

While I like to keep processed ingredients to a minimum, it is nice to have some quick meals in he arsenal. I made the linguini with chicken and broccoli to a much better reception than the chicken and dumplings. Not only did Miles eat without protest, he was asking for more of the green stuff.

I guess that Campbell’s Wisest Kid knows a thing or two.

We all love sharing things about our kids—from pictures to funny things they do. Through the Wisest Kid, you can check out the fun way to tell everyone the “wise” things kids say. It’s super easy and fun and you can share it with your family and friends.

Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored program via BlogHer. While I am being compensated for my participation in the program, the words and thoughts are my own and 100 percent authentic.

Let's pretend I didn't write this: A book review

I was compensated for the following BlogHer Book Club review but all opinions expressed are my own.

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The older couple, who lived up the street, would pack up the truck on Sunday night and troll people's trash for treasures. Treasures like Betty Boop paraphernalia, which lined the walls in such numbers that you couldn't see the paint. The matriarch of the family next door had a bingo addiction so fierce that she would hit up two games a night. And the brother of a friend did things to Barbies that I didn't understand until I saw "Clerks."

And yet, it was my father's addition to our animal menagerie that made us the weirdest family on our street in a fairly urban area of Cincinnati.

A stuffed raccoon. Which was placed strategically on the 55-gallon fish tank, filled with goldfish-eating Oscars, that he used as a room divider between the living and dining areas of our small ranch.

And so it was great empathy that I read "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson, better known as The Bloggess.

When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it. In the irreverent "Let’s Pretend This Never Happened," Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter help her uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments—the ones we want to pretend never happened—are the very same moments that make us the people we are today. For every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the dark, disturbing, yet wonderful moments of our lives.

There are times as a writer – one who has published both non-fiction and fiction – when I read something and go, “Holy crap! I wish I could write like this person.”

And that’s exactly what happened as I read "Let's Pretend This Never Happened."

Lawson’s eccentric childhood tales are made to be told – from the squirrel puppet to “pet” turkeys following her to school – but what makes them, all strung together, a good book is her unforgiving, almost offensive writing style. It is laugh-out-loud funny, and I often found myself reciting passages to Mark as he tried to grade papers on the couch ... and drive ... and do the dishes. Lawson writes in such a way that you feel as if you are having a glass of wine (or several bottles) with an old and recounting the atrocities inflicted upon you by your parents.

Except most parents don’t throw a semi-docile bobcat on your future spouse.

I guess that this would be a good place to mention that this book is not for you if you are sensitive to the treatment of animals, are easily offended, do not like the use of swear words, never fight with your spouse or don’t see humor in those arguments and were never scarred by your parents.

As for me, my dad threw a dead Beta fish in my hair thinking it was a dried, crumply leaf and let our pet bird fly around the house for funsies as I locked myself in the bathroom in terror. Scarred and hard to offend, I am.

You can find out more about Jenny Lawson's "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" on the BlogHer Book Club page and join the discussion.. If you would like to read an interview with Lawson, you can find it here.

Here I Go Again: A book review

The following is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own. 

I probably should have been arrested as I ran through Stepford additions in the St. Pete area of Florida last Thanksgiving.

I was huffing and a puffing through a 9-mile run (crazy that I can still remember that more than a year later), and the only thing saving me was not the Island Nectar Gu Roctane I had tried to take but the audiobook edition of "Pretty in Plaid: A Life, A Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase." I was listening to Jen Lancaster (or whichever actress was paid to read it) talk about meeting Candice Bushnell an what an even it was, to meet someone who was so much of an icon. All I could think of was how Jen Lancaster was that idol to me, and I plotted ways to garner her attention and a meeting.

My social media efforts, lackluster at that, have been unsuccessful thus far but my love for her work is unwavering. And so it was with great enthusiasm that I applied for the "Here I Go Again" Blogher Book Club campaign.

"Here I Go Again" is the second novel from Jen Lancaster (most of her work is memoir/non-fiction).

Twenty years after ruling the halls of her suburban Chicago high school, Lissy Ryder doesn't understand why her glory days ended. Back then, she was worshipped ... beloved ... feared. Present day, not so much. She’s been pink-slipped from her high-paying job, dumped by her husband and kicked out of her condo. Now, at thirty-seven, she’s struggling to start a business out of her parents’ garage and sleeping under the hair-band posters in her old bedroom. Lissy finally realizes karma is the only bitch bigger than she was. Her present is miserable because of her past. But it’s not like she can go back in time and change who she was...or can she?

"Back to the Future" meets every nerd's fantasy, readers see the exploits of Lissy Ryder blow up in her face and learn that what might seem like the best way to right a wrong doesn't always garner the greatest outcome. Not intended to be more than a beach read (I hope), Jen Lancaster manages to make what could be a predictable story of learning the meaning of life an engaging, funny tale full of nostalgia for anyone who grew up in the 1980s.

Lancaster takes a big risk in asking readers to suspend disbelief - everything from time travel to a ditzy woman owning a mega PR firm to people staying friends after high school. Wait, maybe I'm the only unlucky one on that last part. Anyway, it could be a problem for some but I pushed the "huh?" thoughts aside to give myself the best chance at enjoying the story. And I did enjoy reading the story.

Where the book fell short for me was in its tone. Lancaster wrote it in her trademark voice - full of snark and sharp wit - the one I love so much. It became difficult, though, to separate Jen Lancaster the writer from Lissy the Ryder and I found that the tone became a bit tiresome and juvenile in "Here I Go Again."

Join the discussion on the Blogher Book Club page. If you are interested in following Jen Lancaster on social media she's on Twitter and Facebook. And, of course, you can also find her on blog, Jennsylvania.

Harnessing power of 'Instinct': A book review

If there was one thing people were hoping to find this time of year, it would be willpower. Whether they made a New Year's resolution to lose weight, save money or quit saying the "f" word, it is willpower that will help them reach their goals.

It's just a matter of finding it. Or, according to author and psychologist, Kelly McGonigal, it's a matter of developing it. 

"The Willpower Instinct: How Self Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It" is based on a Stanford University course taught by McGonigal.

From the publisher:

Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters. For example, readers will learn: Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. 

I've always thought of willpower as something you have or don't have. Like having blue eyes or the ability to run a 5-minute mile. However, McGonigal argues that not only does everyone have the capacity to use willpower as it was something that evolved in humans for survival but something that can be developed like a muscle.

I have never (successfully) read a book in the self help category, often turned off by the matter-of-fact way in which they tell you to do things. Yes, I will stop eating after 7 p.m. because you told me to and because you said it's bad. Rather than telling you to stop doing something because it's bad McGonigal explains why you want to do something bad - talking about what part of the brain allows us to use and develop willpower - and also the parts, the impulsive parts, that try to thwart us. It is my opinion that this knowledge and understanding that helps us change behavior.

In our willpower endeavors, McGonigal divides them into three categories: I want, I will, I won't. For the purposes of the book, I chose to say that I will budget my discretionary budget because I want to spend less and save money. I won't spend money on small, unnecessary things such as coffee from the shop near work. Even if the flavored brew of the day is Butterscotch Toffee. Throughout the book, McGonigal offers challenges to help develop willpower and achieve goals. Some of them are easy -merely thinking about your decision and meditation - to awesome, like getting more sleep.

And that's the beauty of the book: You get to choose your own goal and you find out how to achieve it and why those methods work. It can be a bit cumbersome to get through the scientific research if you are unaccustomed to reading non-fiction but chapter summaries and real-life examples help further make sense of our willpower. Or lack there of.

P.S. I haven't purchased a coffee all week though I did redeem a coupon for a free small coffee at McDonald's.

You can find out more about Kelly McGonigal's "The Willpower Instinct" and join the discussion on the Blogher Book Club Page. If you are interested in following Kellie on social media you can find her on Twitter and Facebook.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Best face forward

The smell. The silky texture. The thin, pink liquid. The elegantly shaped bottle. The black cap.

I can remember everything about the Oil of Olay lotion that my grandma Dupps would wear. To an 8-year-old, it was the epitome of sophistication. I loved to run into her apartment, a huge space in a weathered part of Cincinnati, and grab the bottle off her dresser. A dresser with beautiful glass knobs that I still have today. Grandma would squirt the tiniest amount into my hand, and I would rub it judiciously over my hands and face, taking the time to slowly breathe in the perfumey scent.

Grandma Dupps didn't have a picture-perfect life - she grew up in an orphanage, only made it through the third grade and worked long hours after husband died in his 40s. Money didn't come by easy. I knew that even as a child as I'd sit at her kitchen table and slurp Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup.

And that's why I knew that Oil of Olay had to be a great product. Expensive looking as it was, she made it  a priority in a tight budget.

Oil of Olay has since graduated from that bottle. They have award-winning products that help you look younger, have softer, better smelling skin and present your best face to the world - all at a fraction of department store prices. (Trust me on this - I nearly dropped $60 on an eye serum but finally came to my senses.)

Procter & Gamble, maker of Oil of Olay and a Cincinnati company (hometown pride), has recently launched an eStore so you can explore the fabulous and reliable products without leaving the comfort of your couch. Especially great if you have a sick toddler who won't let you put him down to go to the bathroom much less go shopping.

What is the P&G eStore?

The P&G eStore has been created with shoppers for shoppers to be a premier online retail site with new and better ways to shop online. The eStore strives to inspire confidence in purchasing household and beauty products online, with continual development of new services, features and tools to help customers through their online shopping journey.

It's easy to say, "I'm just going to buy it at the drug store. I have a coupon from Sunday's paper and it's on sale." Which might be true but P&G has its own eCoupons on the site, in addition to mail-in rebates and special offers. It also has a wide selection of goods that your store might not carry or require multiple stops on your Sunday afternoon errands.

If the nail tech doing your pedicure on Saturday said that you looked tired (true story), you can try the Olay Regenerist Microsculpting Cream free with $79 purchase (OLAY79); or the Olay ProX Advanced Cleaning System free with $99 purchase (OLAY99).

In addition, P&G is offering readers and non-readers alike some incentives to check out the store.

• Free shipping with $25 purchase
• 15 percent off first order (use code A9Z-MN5-KY3-ISA)
• Free samples with every order

I am betting the ever frugal Grandma Dupps wouldn't complain about that - and she'd probably make those samples last 6 months while she was at it.

I was compensated for this post but all stories and opinions are my own.