Gram Takes on the Heat

After we returned home from Omaha, my mom came down to Houston to visit. This time it was actually hot...yeah, like 110 hot. I had to return the Traverse that week, uhhhh - I'm over it now though. :) It was really, really nice to drive a brand new car for 8 weeks. This was a first for me. I have never had a brand new car. We spent the whole day detailing both cars and preparing for the return. Cambry was thrilled (as you can tell - see below) to have the 'lady bug' car back.


Or was it that she was thrilled to finally be let behind the steering wheel? Ironically, after I returned the Traverse, the A/C quit working in my Equinox, again. I am knocking on wood as we speak. Although my car has recently been dubbed the 'holy car,' yes literally. Every time something goes wrong with it, it is due to a hole in that particular part. However, we have been new hole free for 3 1/2 months. Yeah! My Mom was a trooper, didn't complain about the heat even once, even when we drove 30 minutes to church without A/C. We even spent the whole day one day down at Hermann Park. This was a great experience for all of us!




One of Cambry's favorite things to do with Gram is to have a popcorn tea party.

Thanks for coming Gram! We can't wait to have you in Houston again.

Wordless WednesdaySchlitterbahn, Galveston Island

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*Footnotes are not tallied in the word count of the body.

[begin footnote]
Schlitterbahn, Galveston Island was a fourth and final Mommy Mission for the Mommy Madness promotion. (Thanks for all your support!) Schiltterbahn is noted as one of the top 10 waterparks in the world. We went two weeks ago just before heading up to Omaha. This was probably one of the best days we have had in TX so far! (Helps when you are in great company)
[end footnote]

Only One Week Left

There is only one week left of the Mommy Madness Promotion! One week! Can you believe it? I am going to be so sad the day I have to return Trini. She has been a wonderful part of our family the past 7 weeks. To avoid getting all sappy about a car, let me get to the meat of the post quickly.

Vote, vote, vote - please. (You don't have to vote for me, but do vote.) lol. Each time you vote on the Mommy Madness site, you are entered to win a weekend getaway for four to Barton Creek in Austin, TX. (You have to be a TX resident to vote.) Wicked is playing in Austin in August; I've heard it's AMAZING! So there you go, a musical, spa services, golf, dinner, and quiet time. Go on, get over there an vote. I want you to win!

Oh, and don't forget, there is just one more week to test drive the Traverse for a free massage at Massage Envy. Stop by any Houston area Chevy Dealership, tell them you are driving the Traverse for the Mommy Madness promotion, and earn a gift certificate for a massage. It's that easy. :)

Enjoy! Thanks for your support. I love you all!

Because My Family ♥s Videos

The next two are videos I made for the Mommy Madness Promotion. Mommy Madness Houston Site Joe votes the bottom one as the 'Best Video Yet.' :) Enjoy!

Mommy Madness Houston Soundbites

I'm on the radio, and not just for winning a prize! Thursday was such a cool afternoon. Joe was able to sneak away from work for a hour so that I could drive out to CBS radio to record soundbites for the new Mommy Madness radio commercials. I have to give all the staff at CBS radio credit, radio is much more intricate than I once believed. Generally not nervous at functions like this, I actually had to talk myself down, all the equipment was quite intimidating.

I could not figure out how to put audio on the blog (not easily anyways), so you will have to look at this lovely picture of Valerie (fellow Mommy Blogger), Natalie Mix 96.5 Radio Personality, and myself, for the entire minute commercial. Enjoy!



If you have not been to the Mommy Madness Houston Site in a while. Make sure to stop by. While you are there, please vote for your favorite Mommy Blogger. (Yes, you can pick me if you like.) Click the "Vote for the Madness" box on the right. Each time you vote, you will be entered to win a weekend getaway for four to Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin, TX. (You have to be a TX resident to vote, sorry to all my super supportive out of town family and friends.) Thank you! I really appreciate your vote.

Amoung My Favs

This weekend ended my friend Matt's week stay in Houston. I think he enjoyed himself, although Houston was not his favorite city. Saturday night Joe came home early from work - just for me :) and Matt and I hit the town. We had dinner at the original Carraba's downtown. Delicious! We shared mussels to start, and I had clam pasta for dinner. Seafood and Pasta...can it really get any better than that? Afterwards we headed over to the Toyota Center for the Fleetwood Mac concert. I was hoping to share some pics, maybe even a video. No such luck, they were not allowing photography or recording devices of any kind. I have never been to a live show where they didn't allow this, not even the Eagles. Stevie Nicks was beautiful and talented for a woman in her 30's...being that she is in her 60's she was phenomenal! A timeless goddess! Lindsay Buckingham can still rock it too, wow! We had a great time; I am thrilled that we were able to go. Thanks George! After the concert we stopped by a little pub to watch some live music, cover band style. This was my first time to a bar in Houston.

Just when you thought a day couldn't be better, along came Sunday. After spending the morning with the kids, I went to pick up Donni for massages at Massage Envy, courtesy of the Mommy Madness Promotion. I will let the video do the talking.


Joe had to go to work for a bit after I came home. Afterwords, he picked up Chinese food from Yao's. (Yes, the Rockets own Yao Ming has a place here in Houston that his parents run.) This is for sure my new favorite Chinese place. Try the curry shrimp.

Despite all the stress from financial burdens, our home in Omaha, and my lack of income, life has been really enjoyable lately. Joe works really had everyday for us (the kids and I) to be together at home, and experience life to the fullest. You're the best Papa Joe!

More Mommy Madness Videos

There are a few of you who are not able to view my videos on the Mommy Madness site so I will continue to share them here as well. The first video is a the first video I made for the promotion (2 weeks ago). It is a little on the long side. The second video is just a fun video I added this week.




If you live in the great state of TX, make sure you stop by a Houston area Chevy Dealer to test drive the Traverse. You will receive a complimentary one hour massage from Massage Envy. Register (and vote for your favorite blogger) to win a weekend getaway to Barton Creek on the Mommy Madness site too!

Director, Producer, Videographer, & Lead Actress

Although I never thought I would say this, I am having a lot of fun making videos for the Mommy Madness promotion. It proves to be quite challenging to hold the camera yourself (or prop it up, turn it on, and run in front of it) A few of my family members have mentioned that they are not able to see the videos on the Mommy Madness site, so I am posting them here for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Trini Traverse

I am already attached to the Traverse. I am completely bummed that we will have to return it at the end of eight weeks. There is a purchase option, but we are in no place to buy a new vehicle. This Traverse is my ultimate Mommy Mobile! It has sooo many features that I don't currently have. Check out my blog entry on the Mommy Madness site She's a Keeper. You will learn all my favorite features, what I could live without, and why I named her Trini.

**If you are in Texas, remember that every time you vote, you are entered to win a weekend getaway! (and spa services) You can vote as often as you like. Thanks in advance for your support! Click Here to Vote

I'm a Work in Progress - New Edit Please Read

My broken links have now been fixed. You should be able to click and link to the radio station sites, as well as the Mommy Madness Site, and the other Mommy Bloggers Sites. Sorry for the delay.

Addition to original post:
I stand corrected. I apologize to all of my out of town friends and family who have tried to vote for me as their favorite Mommy Madness Blogger. I didn't realize the voting was only open to TX residents. As a person living out of state, you can vote one time. Once you reach the Mommy Madness site, scroll down a bit and you will see the "Vote for the Madness" box on the right, click. You will seen the voting screen where TX residents can fill in their name, etc. Scroll down a bit. You will then see a tan poll box. You can select my name and click vote. It's that easy.

A special thanks to everyone for their support!

Go On, Get Your Vote On!

It's here, it's finally here! Mommy Madness Houston kicked off today at 12:01AM. Today was the perfect day for it. Life was madness around here. (To people like me, madness is a great thing. It gives you that rush. That 'activating all your senses' kind of rush.) The computer crashed - due to a virus - early, early Sunday morning. Thankfully, I thought a few hours before that would be super time to back up my photos and documents. So other than all my software, settings, and web contact information for everyone I know, I have all I need. :) Please send me an email, if you would, so I can update my outlook.

After spending most of the day yesterday on the phone with Dell on-call, I was able to get my internet and outlook back up. Hooray! Life line restored! Now for some blog therapy. Oh, and can someone please look to the left of my blog address in the URL area and tell me if my favicon (that apple slice) is still there? I switched to Firefox and I can't see it. Thanks for helping to restore the peace.

Now for the good stuff...
Have I told you lately that I love the Chevy Traverse? Really, the more I drive it the more I love it. Let me rephrase that, the more I look at it, the more I love it! (driving helps too) I find my self stopping by the bedroom window (the window that overlooks the drive) just to check on (read, admire) my purple beauty. Today we took at trip down to Galveston Island, in the Traverse of course. (Yes, as soon as I get the software back, I will post pictures.) Joe drove; I did nothing in the comfort of the ultra spacious passenger seat. As a woman who normally will take two vehicles, even on a 1000 mile trip, to avoid having to ride in the passenger seat, the Traverse may have me demanding a chauffeur more often. We had the double BOB, umbrella stroller, my 15 'must have' bags (3 really), the cooler and a huge stash of sand toys in the back, and I still had a perfect platform to change Boston's diaper before hitting the beach. Hey, you do what you gotta do.

The Mommy Madness Site is up! Stop by as often as you like to vote for your favorite Mommy, and be entered to win. After you vote, if you enter your current car year, make, and model, you get another vote! (Men and women and vote and be entered to win, and you can win from anywhere in the country.) I would really appreciate it if you would pass the word on. Thanks for your support!!

Miss Daisy is Driving

As with many children, the driver's seat (anywhere in the front really) is a mecca for Cambry. Today, before our playdate, I let have her moment in the new Traverse. To sweeten the pot, I gave her the grail - 5 minutes of button pushing freedom. She immediately pressed the horn. It was cute, even though she was given free reign, she still hesitated and asked permission before testing each button and lever. Her last request was to put the key in the ignition. Not until you're 16 lady. Sorry.

**A new update regarding voting: We have now been informed that you will be able to vote more than once during the Mommy Madness promotional period. I think it will be the opportunity to vote daily. (Voting begins Monday, April 20th) For each time you vote, you will be entered to win a Girls Weekend Giveaway complete with spa services!

Mommy Madness - Tell Me More

Today was a HUGE day for me. I can not even put into words the amount of excitement that I felt today meeting with the contributors and creators of such a genius promotion - "Houston Mommy Madness." I could not contain the thrill behind it all, well it wasn't as though I tried either. If you're happy and you know it - show the world.

Being still quite unfamiliar with the Houston area, especially downtown, I set to leave the house more than one hour before the event began. Put the address into the GPS - fail. :) I ended up calling the organizers of the event, twice, for directions, and was the last to arrive. I chose my seat and was handed a packet and some paperwork along with a set of car keys. I began writing my name and glanced up for just a moment to look at the keys. My eye caught "Purp_" jotted on the tag. Without out thinking, I held up my keys and said, pointing to the tag, "Does this mean my car is purple!?!?!" (This most likely came out in a volume not at all appropriate for this business type meeting, but again, I couldn't contain it.) A PURPLE CAR! It really doesn't get any better than that.



Okay, let me digress for a minute to tell you how this all happened for me. Like any country girl, I am thrilled to be in Texas and immediately find the best country radio station and programmed it into my car. (Music of any kind is a necessity for me, but country will always have a special place in my heart.) One day while listening to the KILT I heard a ad for the Mommy Madness promotion. I immediately went online and submitted an application. A couple of weeks later, I went back to the site to see a notice that stated we should check back on April 20th to see the winners. I was a bit bummed to learn I wasn't selected. None the less, I went on with my day. Joe around noon to let me know that someone from CBS radio and Chevrolet had called the restaurant looking for me. Apparently, a woman with CBS Radio (Jeanie) was googling one day to see what sites were talking about or producing traffic about the event. Remember that post I made a while back about the Chevy Traverse and Mommy Madness?? Well, when she googled, my blog came up, as the first entry no less. The problem was, my application was not in their records (lost on the web somewhere?) so she had no way to contact me. Reading my blog, she read of the Flemings Town and Country opening and decided to call the restaurant and look for me. I called her and she offered me a place on the Mom Squad. AMAZING! Thanks Jeanie!!

So here we are, back around the board room table at CBS radio, joined by the creators of Mommy Madness, executives from GM, Chevrolet, CBS Radio and three totally rockin' Radio Personalities from their stations. Mix 96.5 - New Hot 95.7 - 650 AM - Sports Radio 610AM - KILT 100.3

Mommy Madness is an opportunity for five Mommy Bloggers to drive a brand new Chevy Traverse for 8 wks. In addition, we will be sent on "Mommy Missions" that tie into the madness of our lives and offer some fun opportunities for our families. We will make blog, picture, and video posts on our own blogs as well as the Mommy Madness Site several times through out each week. The site launches Monday, April 20th. Be sure to check it out and follow along. There will be incentives for you too. Check the site for how you can easily earn an hour massage at Massage Envy, and make sure you vote for your favorite Mommy to be entered to win a Girls Weekend Getaway (complete with spa services). *You can only vote one time. You will earn an extra vote for referring a friend.

The Mommy Madness promotion is currently running in three cities around the nation. Houston, Kansas City, and Dallas. The promotion will run from April 20th - June 14th.

Who is on the Houston Squad you say? We will make our debut on the Mommy Madness site on Monday the 20th. Until then, here are the Magnificent Mamas and their blogs.

1. Angie (that's me) - A Slice of Life
2. Valerie - Moms Living Fit
3. Christine - Christine Meeker Studios
4. Larami - The Alpha Team
5. Stephanie - Real.Life.Mom

Here we are thrilled to be just moments away from viewing our new cars.
(click to view larger)

Trying to contain ourselves as we listen to the walk through info.

And there is my dark cherry beauty parked in the drive at home.

A special thanks to CBS Radio and the Houston area Chevrolet Dealers for this truly unique opportunity!

Chevy Traverse Mommy Madness - We're on the Squad!

I have been anxiously awaiting the day when I can announce to you that we have been chosen to be a member of the Houston Chevy Traverse Mommy Madness, Mom Squad. TODAY IS THE DAY!! Five Houston Mommy Bloggers have been chosen to drive a new Chevy Traverse for 8 weeks and share their experiences through pictures, video, and blog posts online. Make sure to check back often to share the adventure with us. There will also be opportunities for you to win an hour massage and even a Girls Weekend Getaway! Mommy Madness begins next Monday, April 20th. Follow along here as well as the Houston Mommy Madness site. I will have many more details for you after we pick up the vehicles. Stay tuned.

Chevrolet Traverse Mom Squad

I applied today to be a part of Mommy Madness and the Chevy Traverse Mom Squad. This is an awesome promotion that is going on in Houston. Five Mommy Blogger winners get to drive a Chevy Traverse for eight weeks! Wish me luck!
Mommy Madness
Chevy Traverse