Family * Travel * Food

Sushi is NOT for everyone

Yesterday afternoon I took my daughters out for sushi. We had been talking about going for some time and finally went for it. The girls have never tried sushi before so they were very excited. I expected Brie to be interested since she is my junior foodie but not Chardie. She's more like her dad~stick to what you know. Long story short...we ordered 2 varieties each. Our plates were beautiful. I dove in first and enjoyed mine. The girls had really strange looks on their faces. Chardie ordered the salmon roll and yellow tail roll. I tried hers and I thought I was about to hurl! Too fishy for my liking. Brie had the crunchy roll (safer choice) and the Philadelphia roll. She wasn't fond of either. I forced myself to try to eat theirs after I finished mine. I enjoyed it but was not thrilled like most people I know who swear that sushi is the best food on earth. The girls both said, "Next time we will have the sesame chicken!"
Shelly, Mom Files
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Math= FREE time!

We went to Chick-fil-a yesterday and William was not interested in the food. He snatched up all the sauces to line them up so he could count them! He would keep rearranging them and had about 20 minutes of uninterrupted fun. This meant 20 minutes of peace for ME! :) I wonder what it would have been like if he had 10 or more sauce packs?

Shelly, Mom Files
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Random banana story

A couple weekends ago I was in Walmart during the super stupid busy time on a Saturday evening. Of course I know better but the daughter's needed some things so what's a momma to do? We planned to make banana splits that night together as a family. We bought vanilla ice cream, nuts, strawberries, hot fudge sauce, whipped cream... We get through the check-out line only to realize we forgot something. BANANAS. There was no way I was getting back into a 50 foot long line for a few bananas plus I had ice cream in my cart. I ended up driving home to unload my groceries and decided to go to another store for bananas. It dawned on my that at 7:30 pm you might not find any bananas in the produce section. I then came up with a brilliant idea~ Sonic drive-thru. Yeah, they sell bananas. I know I would be spending a buck for each banana but who cares at this point. I just need 2 of them for tonight. My kids made so much fun of me and said that is was so tacky to order bananas from Sonic. So of course I made them ride with me.
I get in the drive-thru and politely ask if they had any fresh bananas. The fella told me that they sure did. I drove up to pay and then was handed my 2 bananas. The freakin things were damn near frozen! There was no turning back at this point. I brought them home and they tasted fine. Will I buy bananas there again? NO. I told you this was a random banana story! BTW, it was DWAYNE that made the big deal about needing bananas. Just thought I would add that in there :)
Shelly, Mom Files
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What William loves

Every single morning when William wakes up he goes into my bedroom and looks through my window. He tells his daddy that he loves to throw rocks in the water and catch a fish. He repeats this at least 6 times.
Since the weather has warmed up, Dwayne takes him out in the backyard to the water to throw a few rocks and to toss the line in (with a live worm). William will swear that he caught a fish. Poor guy, the fish are not biting quite yet. Dwayne can't wait for the day William pulls up his first real fish. I can hear William now saying "FISH ON!" Hopefully we will be able to get a photo or video when that day comes. I have a feeling it will be soon.
Shelly, Mom Files
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Egg obsession?

I think I have some of the oddest teenagers around. Both girls go through their phases of loving certain foods and drinks. Their current food obsession~ eggs. Yep, eggs. Not just any eggs, they have to be the Eggland's Best eggs. No store brand for these young ladies.

Every night they go into my clean kitchen and cook up a couple eggs each. Generally Chardie prefers scrambled or fried. Brie is taking on a more foodie-like taste having hers over easy. That really surprises me since most kids would dare not eat their eggs runny. I just bought this carton of 18 count eggs 2 days ago. I think we run out of eggs faster than we do milk!
Shelly, Mom Files
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Clenching, biting and grinding at night

Some of us clench, bite or grind our teeth at night while we are asleep and are not even aware of it. I have been noticing that for the past few months I have been waking up to having my teeth clenched down tightly. It really has been even worse in the past few weeks. I don't even know why I do it. I found out that I am a clencher from a dental visit last year. The dentist asked me if I grind my teeth and I knew I didn't since my husband would know since he sleeps next to me every night. She told me that I clench since my teeth showed signs of it. Honestly, if she never said anything then I might still be completely oblivious to it. This really concerned me so I thought I would do some research of my own to get some idea of why the heck I am doing it. It turns out that it is very common and can be triggered by stress, anxiety or even restlessness. I don't have any of these problems so it still puzzles me. I was reading on Facebook the other day about a friend who grinds her teeth so badly at night that she fears she will become toothless. My daughter told me that one of her friends bites the insides of her cheeks at night and wakes up to a bloody mouth each morning. So it appears that so many people do it and I am not alone. Last night I purposely kept my mouth open a bit and tried to catch myself in the act of clenching down. I don't know if it will help me to reverse my problem but I am sure am aware of when I do it. There may come a day that I will be forced to sleep with a night guard. I think I will address it with my dentist on my next appointment that is coming up in a couple months.

Question: Do you or someone you know have a problem with clenching, biting or grinding their teeth at night? If so did you have a particular solution that worked to remedy this problem?
Shelly, Mom Files
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Brie's braces update

It has been almost 2 months since Brie got her braces and I am happy to report that things are going very well. It's going way better than we thought. She adjusted really quickly to them and feels like having them is just normal now. She has figured out what she can and can't eat and methods to make eating certain things a bit easier. The only real issue she has had so far is a bit of pain from the pressure of her teeth moving. It is amazing to see just how much her teeth have moved already! Our schedules have not been coinciding for me to snap a photo but I am sure I can pin her down some time soon and sneak one in. Brie has done really well with the extra teeth brushing and longer flossing time. It takes longer but she knows how important it is throughout this process.

On her last orthodontist visit she asked the technician how many colors she could get for her rubber bands. She was told she can get as many as she wanted. Of course she requested rainbow. My girl loves her colors!!
Shelly, Mom Files
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WTH!? Wednesday

There are so many things lately that have me saying WTH!?

I will kick things off with skinny pants. Not all of us are cut out to wear them. I accept that. Why are boys wears them tighter than girls? Also WTH is up with dudes wearing them with a belt but the waist part is around their thighs? Perhaps I am a bit too antique to appreciate that type of fashion.

The other day I went into the gas station to pay for my purchase and there was an interesting character ahead of me in line. The cashier asks him “how can I help you” and he proceeds with “umm umm umm, gimme a, umm umm umm…” He went through that for an entire minute and ends up buying 2 scratch-off lottery tickets for $5 each and then asks for $5 on pump 8 {blank stare} WTH?!! He was driving an old Chevy with 22’s that were worth more than the actual vehicle. I’m sure the $5 in gas bought him enough to get him 2 miles up the street.

My son. Oh what a chip off the old block. Why oh why does the boy child insist that he needs to kiss me on the lips? No matter how much I have taught him to give kisses on the cheek he insists on the lips. He also has some thing for touching boobies. He gets in so much trouble for doing it so he found a new method. He takes his hand in a cup position and holds it about one inch away from the boobies and smiles. Bad behind! WTH!?

So now it's your turn, please share your WTH moments in the comments...

Shelly, Mom Files
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He's old school and not changing one bit

If you have been an active Momfiles reader then you might know that Dwayne and I are very old school. I however know when to get with the times. For example, these are my ear buds. They are cute, small and can fit in my pocket.

Here is Dwayne's version~ the bulky headphones. He has had them since about 1996. It finally came apart a week ago and he was heartbroken.


He went and bought new headphones. They are HUGE. It is like he specifically needed to seek out the biggest ones he could find. Not only is it enormous but it also has a 50 foot cord attached! WTH!?


You can compare the size of the old ones with his new ones. My husband takes old school to his own ridiculous level. Oh and he likes to listen to his cassette tapes from his boom box with these. He has even tried plugging this thing into his BlackBerry! bahahaha!

I did go and buy him some plain ear buds for his phone so he doesn't look like a fool. Bless his heart, what do I do with him? ;)

Shelly, Mom Files
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No naps allowed!

I never thought the day would come that I would be so happy that my little guy stopped taking a nap. This has been going on for about 2 months and it has made my life so much easier. William is not grumpy at all without a daytime nap. He goes to bed at 8:00 pm and I have to wake him up the next morning at about 7:30. I find that if he takes any part of a nap he won't go to bed until after 10:00 and that does not work for me! I really like his new schedule and he seems to like it too.

At what age did your little one stop taking a nap?

Shelly, Mom Files
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CSN Stores $45 Gift Certificate Giveaway

*Closed*
Winner is #121 Tania~ Congratulations!

I tell you what, CSN Stores has been my go-to when I am researching items that we need around the house. They have over 200 online stores and offer everything from wooden swing sets to bakeware. I have used CSN quite a few times and I have been completely satisfied with the ease of use of the website, the vast amount of choices and variety, fair prices and the super fast delivery. Now that I think about it I sure could use some new cookware and bar ware (hint hint to the hubby)

The great folks at CSN Stores has offered a $45 online gift certificate for one lucky Momfiles reader to use on anything from their 200+ online stores.

Here's how to enter~Mandatory: Visit the CSN site and tell us what you would purchase if you win the certificate. Perhaps a new coffee maker or something for your office?

For additional entries:

* "like" Momfiles on Facebook and leave me a message on my wall letting me know you entered this giveaway
* "like" CSN Stores on Facebook
* Share this giveaway on your Facebook wall
* Follow Momfiles and CSN Stores on Twitter
* Tweet this giveaway (one time per day) Example:
Enter for a chance to win a $45 @CSNStores gift certificate #giveaway from @momfiles http://tinyurl.com/4cbok6b
* Follow Momfiles through Google Friend Connect
* sport the Momfiles button on your blog (please leave blog link)
{Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry method to count}

This contest will end on February 24, 2011 at 9:00 pm EST and is open to Canada & US Residents only. Winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. Please be sure to leave an email address in your comment if you do not have a Blogger profile. Good luck to all!
Shelly, Mom Files
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Preschool at home

I take my stay-at-home mom gig quite seriously so I do my best to stay on top of teaching William all I can. I recently started having him sort beans by color and size and then counting them. You would not believe how much enjoyment he gets out of it. He yells out each color and then places it in the correct group. Then he pretends to be me and says "Now count the beans".

Of course I would never leave him unattended for long with the beans~ Not that he would put them in his mouth but he would probably try to throw them all over the place or even at the dog. I think I am going to make a chart of each type of bean by gluing them in groups to help avoid a lot of mess. Of course I am sure he will figure out how to peel them off :)


Shelly, Mom Files
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Wordless Wednesday | Swiper No Swiping!

Can you tell someone just loves his new Swiper the Fox toy?


Shelly, Mom Files
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Outrageous Food

I consider myself to be very adventurous with food, a foodie as some call it. I am willing to try just about anything once (with the exception of rattlesnake or bugs). My food adventure list is extensive especially growing up in a Guyanese home. We ate things that were not considered the norm to our everyday American friends. Quite frankly if people knew the things I have eaten they would have thought twice about our friendship. I was watching a fishing show with Dwayne last night and these crews were fishing in Alaskan waters for herring. The herring were being fished not for the actual fish itself but for what was inside of them~ the roe (egg sacs). They were fishing for export to Japan. The Japanese eat the herring roe in the new year to promote fertility. I got all excited because I remember being a kid and having freshly caught fish that you had to clean yourself and finding those big egg sacs. I used to have to fight my mom over who was going to get to eat it. We generally had it curried or stewed. I have has everything from cow's feet, tail, brain, testicles and more. Are you freaking out right now? hehehe! Like I said, I am very adventurous with food~ I hope we're still friends :D

What about you? What are the most outrageous things you have ever eaten?

Shelly, Mom Files
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Why I love the carpool line

Most people think I am insane because I get in the school carpool pick-up line really early. I actually have gotten a lot better because I used to always be first (by at least 10-15 minutes). Yep, I was the lady people talked about saying that I had no life. I have evolved and now I end up being 5th or so. I sit for about 30-40 minutes at the middle school and another 30 at the high school. Sitting in the car is so nice. It's my quiet time. The little one only goes with me on the first pick-up and stays home with middle sister while I go pick up the older one. Even while William is with me he behaves very nicely in the car. The fact that he is secured into his car seat means no running, climbing or destroying. He just sits quietly and enjoys playing with his toys, reading his book or listening to his Yo Gabba Gabba CD.

This is usually my time to think. I bring a notebook and pen to jot down ideas for blog posts as well as write to-do lists or reminders. Some days I get so behind (more like procrastinate) on clipping and filing coupons so I bring this little basket with all I need to get the job done. I feel like carpool time is my creative time. You would be amazed by the brilliant brainstorming I do. When I am feeling too lazy to do anything productive I will sometimes Facebook, Tweet, text or make a phone call to pass the time. I don't know about anyone else but I just love the carpool line :)
Shelly, Mom Files
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It's tax season

Well it's that less than fun time of year- tax season. We have a pretty decent system of keeping up with our paperwork throughout the year to make it easier to file. I guess there still seems to be so much else we have to gather to ensure we are getting as much money back as we can as well as being thorough. I have thought about doing our taxes ourselves but I get all scared that we will mess something up. We just go up to the same place we have for years (a mom 'n pop's spot) and just pay them to do it correctly. I have always had friends and family tell me how easy it is to do yourself but there are just some things I am not willing to mess with!

So what about you? Are you one of the brave people that does it yourself or are you a wimp like me?
Shelly, Mom Files
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Wordless Wednesday

This was me back when I was 17! I was at Disney and in those days I wore a size ZERO! Check out my tacky cut-off Guess jeans. Believe it or not this was stylish in those days. Dang I feel aged right about now! ;)

Shelly, Mom Files
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