Grab your daughter or friends and see Monte Carlo this summer!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Monte Carlo. All opinions are 100% mine.

Monte Carlo, a must see movie about a young woman's Paris vacation turned into the dream trip of a lifetime, is Selena Gomez's new film and you won't want to miss it!  It's a story about three girls who find themselves in another country - literally - and become heiresses in a fantastic twist of events.  It's pretty much every girl's dream, because honestly who hasn't dreamt about traveling to another country only to find out that you're going to live the rich and glamorous life from now on?!

 

Check out the Monte Carlo trailer here, and get ready for the film!

 

Monte Carlo comes out on Friday July 1, but you can purchase tickets ahead of time {starting June 29} at Fandango.  I'll be getting my advance tickets for this one, since it sounds like such a fun-filled summer movie.  Maybe I'll make a girlfriends night out of it!  This would also be a great movie to go see with your young daughter, and it'll be a fun opportunity to bond with her over a star that she probably really loves {what young girl doesn't love Selena Gomez right now?}, so make a night out of it and spend some time together.

 

You can also like the official Monte Carlo page on Facebook for some cool updates, chit-chat, and fanfare about the movie!  Enjoy, and maybe I'll see you at the theater!

And there's A LOT of backseat space!

Something that is absolutely fabulous about the 2011 Chevy Cruze is all the room in the backseat.  I have to think about these things, because I have two kids in car seats, and if you're in the same boat you should listen up!

When I brought the car home, we had NO TROUBLE installing both car seats easily and efficiently.  I'm talking no bumped heads or bruises, no yelling or grunting, no frustration whatsoever.  I installed Little Rocker's car seat by myself within about 2 minutes, and RJ installed Monkey Man's car seat in about 5 minutes.  They fit beautifully in the 2011Chevy Cruze backseat and we still have plenty of room for Little Rocker's chubby feat, storage behind the front seats, and toys between the boys car seats. 

It's a great thing!


Double Carseat Space from Buffalo Chevy Girls on Vimeo.

Adventures in my Chevy Cruze

Saturday morning, Little Rocker and I drove out to Greg's U-Pick to meet the other two awesome Buffalo Chevy Girls for some strawberry picking.  Little Rocker has visions of grandeur, as we made the trip, and I just know he was thinking about all the strawberries he could fit into the huge Chevy Cruze trunk - and his little belly.

I was pretty excited too, because I was able to fit our entire Radio Flyer wagon {we have the BIG one} into the trunk of our 2011 Chevy Cruze, and that's a pretty awesome feat.  All I had to do was put one of the back seats down and the wagon slid easily into the trunk.  I even did it on my own! {no help from a man for this independent mama!}

The other two Buffalo Chevy Girls and their families are awesome!  Little Rocker and I absolutely loved meeting the entire The Job of Mommy family and the amazing The Simple Buffalo Life mama and her youngest son, M.  Rocker was right in his element with a bunch of bigger kids, and he made a point to jump into all the big kid fun.

After we picked {and devoured} our fill of strawberries, the kids took a moment to enjoy the trunk of the Chevy Cruze in their own way.  It was nearly impossible to drag Little Rocker out of there!  I finally was able to convince him that living in the spacious Chevy Cruze trunk would be no life to live, and he ran off to play with the bigger kids again while us beautiful Buffalo Chevy Girls took the rare child-free opportunity to do a quick photo op and get to know each other a little better.

It was a fabulous day for a long drive in our Chevy Cruze, and we even had some time to stop at a few garage sales.  The perfect {almost} summer Saturday.

Monday's Baby Food Bonanza: Great tips for picking strawberries this season!

 

 

Strawberry season is in full bloom!  Here are a few fun facts about these seasonal super fruits, and some useful tips for picking your own strawberries!

FUN FACTS   No one knows the true origin of the strawberry's name, but a popular theory is that it morphed from "strewn berries."   On average, there are 200 tiny yellow seeds on a single strawberry.   If every strawberry grown in California this year was lined up, they would wrap around the Earth 15 times!   Strawberries are good sources of folic acid, potassium, fiber and calcium. Strawberries are also fat-free and low in calories.   One cup of unsweetened strawberries contains only 45-55 calories.   Unripe strawberries will not ripen once picked.   Not going to serve your strawberries right away? No problem! Strawberries will keep for months if they are frozen without air. For more information on Better Oats and to find our products in your area, visit www.BetterOats.com

TIPS FOR PICKING STRAWBERRIES:   Always call before visiting the farm to make sure strawberries are available and to see if you'll need to bring your own picking containers.   If you go on a weekend, leave early to make sure the field hasn't been picked clean.   Bring something to drink and a few snacks. And don't forget hats and sunscreen!   Be careful not to damage other fruits in or along the edge of the row while kneeling or walking around.   Pick only the berries that are fully red. Part the leaves with your hands to look for hidden berries ready for harvest.   Help farmers by removing damaged fruit from the plant.   Use forefinger & thumbnail to twist off the stem above the fruit.   Strawberries may be kept fresh in the refrigerator for two or three days   To avoid spoiling, don't wash the berries until you're ready to use them.   Never been to a strawberry patch before? Visit a pick-your-own strawberry farm! Click here to find one in your area. You have a bunch of strawberries... ...Now what?   Add them to your favorite variety of Better Oats instant oatmeal!   And if you can't make it to a strawberry farm to pick your own, try our Oat Revolution Strawberries & Cream.   Made with REAL strawberries Made with 100% all-natural whole grain oats 21 grams of whole grains per serving Contains flax seeds Good source of Omega-3 Excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A & E Good source of Calcium Naturally trans-fat and cholesterol free

What I like so far about the 2011 Chevy Cruze

I want to talk to you today about two very cool features on the 2011 Chevy Cruze that I just love...but first, Look at my sweet ride!!!



You can follow myself and the other great Buffalo Chevy Girls on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or follow our Buffalo Chevy Girls blog! Also remember to use our very cool hash tags, #chevygirls and #chevyfun



The first awesome feature on the 2011 Chevy Cruze that caught my eye is the turn signal blinker! It seems very silly, but the 2011 Chevy Cruze has this special little diddy that allows you to easily inform everyone else on the road that you're planning on changing lanes. I know it's not a huge thing, but believe me when I say that many people "forget" to do this. If you want to activate the change lanes blinker, you just slightly tap the turn signal bar and you'll get three short blinks on that side of the car. This way, you'll tell everyone that you're about to change lanes and you don't even have to worry about turning it off! SO FUN!

The other feature that I'm absolutely in love with so far is OnStar.   I. LOVE. OnStar. It's just so amazing how I can press a little button on my rear view mirror and get to talk to a person who find directions for me {more accurate directions than any GPS I've ever used} and also uploads those directions to my car. For a girl who gets lost frequently, this is pretty much a big deal. Can you say AWESOME!?



OnStar & Blinkers from Buffalo Chevy Girls on Vimeo.

I'M A BUFFALO CHEVY GIRL NOW! #chevygirls #chevyfun @chevybuffalo

Hey all!  Big things have been in the works over here, and I'm finally going to tell you just what they are!  I know I've been kind of cryptic lately, and for that I apologize, but a lot was going on and I needed to be sure that all my "ducks were in a row" before spilling the beans...

I'm one of the very amazing and very new Buffalo Chevy Girls!  The Chevy Girls on the Go campaign is being sponsored by the Western New York Chevy Dealers, and is part of a nationwide campaign.  One of the fabulous Chevy Dealers in Western New York is letting me test drive a 2011 Chevy Cruze for one month and will also be providing me with gift cards for some exciting Girls on the Go Missions.  I'm also being given a Flip camera so I can record these awesome missions and share them with you! 

I want to stress that every opinion I give in my posts and vlog entries about the 2011 Chevy Cruze will be 100% MY OPINIONS, and I will never lie simply to plug a product {as always}.  My main concern is being real with my fabulous readers, and I will continue to be your awesome guide to all things baby, toddler, mommy, and LIFE!

*You fan follow me and the other awesome Buffalo Chevy Girls on Twitter at @chevybuffalo be sure to Tweet our hash tags, #chevygirls and #chevyfun

*You can like us on Facebook

*You can read our posts about the 2011 Chevy Cruze on the Buffalo Chevy Girls blog

"Jorge" score and other adventures

Like most other kids, Little Rocker has a favorite toy.  His best stuffy friend is "Jorge" the giraffe, and he was given to Little Rocker by Monkey Man on the day they met.

It was a joyful introduction, during which Little Rocker ran up to his newborn brother's hospital cradle squealing "Baby! Baby!" with a huge smile on his face.  Minutes later, RJ presented Little Rocker with a stuffed giraffe and said "This is from Baby Monkey Man."

Love at first sight.  They've been best friends ever since.

Over the last 8 months, "Jorge" has visited many places, including The Buffalo Zoo, the Aquarium of Niagara, and even Southern California!  He's a very well traveled giraffe.  I started to notice that "Jorge" was getting a little dingy, and I also thought about the scary possibility of losing "Jorge" on one of our many travels.  What would happen if Little Rocker were to drop "Jorge" and neither RJ nor I noticed in time?  What if he was ruined?  What if something BAD happened to "Jorge"???  What would RJ and I do then?

These questions became pretty troubling for me, so I was super excited when I saw that giraffes just like "Jorge" were on sale at Babies 'R Us!  I made a point to stop in there today {we needed some baby and toddler supplies anyway} and while the boys and I were there I picked up a replacement "Jorge".  You never know when your kiddo might lose or ruin his best buddy and I'd like to be prepared.

I also decided that it was about time for Monkey Man to make a best stuffy friend, so Little Rocker and I picked one out just for Monkey Man!  I wanted Monkey Man to have a unique best buddy, just like "Jorge" is for Little Rocker, so we picked out a cute green alligator stuffed animal - name to be determined.

Monkey Man's new friend is bright green and has a pudgy little tummy just like Monkey Man!  Little Rocker gave him to Monkey Man right away, and the little stinker started kissing his new buddy's nose.

I think they're really going to be best friends!

What toy is your little one {or little ones} attached to?

Suicide is unfair...

It stomps on other's dreams.  It leaves questions that can never be answered.  It halts love...never to be shared.  It takes life from many...years of life...eternities...it leaves nothing good.  It is cold.  It is severe.  It is kind only to one, but that kindness is finite.

It's left me to wonder.  What happened?  What was done wrong?  Why did you do this?  Could I have said something, done something, not done something?  Should I have said more?  Could anyone have?  What were you thinking when it happened?  Were you sorry, happy, excited, sad?  Did you regret your decision?  Did you realize what you would be leaving behind and wish you could turn back time?  Do you realize now how broken you've left us?  Everyone is shambles.  Children with no mother who will look for years for her love.  They may never remember you, and that is a tragedy.  This is a true tragedy.

I've been thinking a lot about you, lately, and I miss you.  We all do.  You're life ended too soon...years too soon.  Half a century too soon.

If you are depressed, scared, sad, or have thoughts of suicide.  Please, PLEASE call the Help Line.  Call for your husband, your wife, your children, friends, family.  Call for all the people who love you very much and will be lost in their questions when you're gone.  Call for yourself.  You deserve to live.  You deserve life.  And so do we.

Little Rocker is a naughty dude

He has a huge bag of Mega Bloks that he's just crazy about, but he can't control his frustration when a building project goes awry.

Rather than power through it, troubleshoot, or change his game-plan the little dude just flips out and throws his blocks at the nearest victim.

I'm so over this.  

I've been putting him in Time-Out for it, after telling him "WE DON'T THROW" but he's just not getting it.  After being hit in the face with a Mega Blok for the hundredth time, I just told him "THESE ARE GONE" and packed up the entire bag.  He definitely understood what was going on and got this extremely worried look on his face, before yelling "NOOOOO!" to me.

Do I feel bad for taking his favorite toy away?  Yes.  Am I sorry I did it?  No way!  He needs to learn, and this is the consequence for continually throwing his blocks.  What if he hit Monkey Man in the eye or something?  I don't want that to happen, so I'm taking action.

Little Rocker can have his Mega Bloks back when he plays nicer.

The meanest thing

Sometimes grandparents don't exactly play nice - and it's certainly NOT fair.  I don't think they do it on purpose.  It's just that grandparents often have no filter, and say whatever pops into their head at the time.  My poor little Monkey Man was the product of this today.

As my mom, Monkey Man, and I sat on the porch this morning, my mom said something that I didn't understand at first.  She told me that "it's really unfortunate because people are going to compare Little Rocker and Monkey Man and how they are at each stage."  I thought she meant that people would comment on how much larger Monkey Man is from Little Rocker's size at each stage.  Since Little Rocker had C. diff, he's a lot smaller than he probably would have been and he was also pretty small at each stage from 6-18 months.  This is from not getting the right nutrition, as everything just left his body, and he didn't grow much for a few months.

This is not what she meant.

She was referring to how adorably cute Little Rocker is and how she thinks that Monkey Man is just "cute like a human."  Her words.  This means that's he's NOT unattractive, but he's not an exceptionally good looking person.

I have to disagree.

Maybe I'm just being his mom, but I happen to think that Monkey Man is also ridiculously good looking.  In fact, I've been considering submitting applications for both of my boys to Fisher Price Models.  Fisher Price is just about 35 minutes from our house, so I thought it could be a fun thing to do, and maybe a way to earn some money for the boy's college funds.

What do you think about that?!

I NEED to apologize...

I should be overloading you with adorable family photos, hints of wonderful trips that we've recently embarked upon and excerpts of short trips that we've made.  Sadly, I can give you none of that because I. AM. AN. IDIOT.

Seriously, I am.  I'm an idiot because I lost our camera charger.  It's gone.  Gone.  GONE.

We've looked everywhere.  In obvious places.  Not so obvious places.  Unusual places.  We have nowhere left to look.  I just can't imagine what I did with it, so we're leaving it up to God now.

I'm so sad about it because now I'm going to miss so much in the time it takes for a new charger to arrive or our original to be found.  It sucks!

So, I'm sorry for the lack of photographs.  Someday, they will return.  I promise.