New Group ACM Nomination!

The Lost Trailers have been nominated for an ACM award... Top New Group!

This is a fan voted category, so we need your votes. Starting tomorrow, Friday 2/26, go place your vote for us.(see link below) Be sure to forward this to friends as well to get the word out about the vote!

Spread the news and GO VOTE!!!!

http://www.voteacm.com

A helpful hint....

TupperWave Stack Cooker: Browning Ground Beef

My family purchased a side of beef recently. After browning the ground beef (the old-fashioned way- in a skillet) we all remarked independently about how lean the meat was. Each of us reported only getting about 1 Tbsp of grease off of the beef. How Healthy - YAY!
Well, upon reading over the Microwave hints handout I came across a line that I hadn't paid attention to before:
Hamburger browned in the microwave has the same amount of fat as chicken.
Now, I have pretty much blindly believed every factoid that Tupperware or other consultants have shared with me...but this one had me doubtful.
Not believing, I proceeded to make tacos for lunch and browned my beef in the Tupperwave Stack Cooker with the colander, which allows the grease to drain throughout the browning process.
(This is where I stop and tell my guests, "Here's the Gross part"....)
That same beef...from the SAME cow...that all of my family was draining 1 Tblspn of grease from....when cooked in the TupperWave Stack Cooker yielded 1 CUP of GREASE....I DUMPED OUT 1 WHOLE CUP OF GREASE....there was a bit of water in it....but most of it hardened up. 1 CUP OF GREASE@!@#$%
That "Oh So Lean" beef that my family and I had been eating contained an entire CUP of grease!!!!
All my beef is now browned in my Tupperwave Stack Cooker and I have sold hostesses on getting this with their credits...leading them to urging their friends and family members to date a party! So, for just the cost of my clogged arteries... from eating 1 CUP of grease all my life...I am increasing my sales at each party! How awesome!!!!

26 Week Baby: Infant Brain Development

Research shows that babies respond very differently emotionally to lullabies (think "Rock a Bye Baby") and play songs (think "Where is Thumbkin?"). Learn why, and when to choose which.

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My new "resume"

I’ve jumped back into the freelance writing life in an effort to make a bit of money while I stay home with my stars. This, of course, necessitated the updating of my resume.

It got me thinking. Some of my most impressive achievements and abilities will never grace the pages of this supposedly all-important document. And it seems like a shame. I am referring, of course, to motherhood–all that it requires. And with that, I present my other resume…

EXPERIENCE

Mother, 9/12/07-present (lifetime commitment)

•Collaborate with the kids, their father (my husband), to ensure that they grow and thrive; oversee everything from basic maintenance, such as diaper changes and feeding, to high-level development including babbling, drooling, sitting up, laughing, and rolling/tummy time, with plans to teach them how to be kind, walk, use the toilet and drive
•Provide attention, protection, guidance and full range of entertainment services including peek-a-boo, tickling, general zaniness and impromptu songs, stories and farting noises
•Willingly put my children’s needs before my own while still taking care of self and providing excellent example of how to live life to the fullest
•Manage public relations; handle photography and mailing of seasonal cards and wellness updates; manage upkeep of internet account with near-daily shots of children to prevent extended family from suffering cuteness withdrawal
•Love these children with all my heart, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year–even when yelling reaches peak annoy-ability levels

Giver of Life, 9/12/07
•Gave birth to baby girl weighing 6 pounds and 15 ounces; filled with pure joy upon her arrival
•Kicked ass throughout 39-hour labor during which concluded in a C-section
Giver of Life 7/29/09
•Gave birth to baby boy weighing 8 pounds and 4 ounces; once again a feeling of joy and accomplishment

Grower of Human Being
•Provided egg for successful fertilization; worried endlessly about fetus from moment of conception
•Attended birthing and parenting classes despite overwhelming exhaustion and overwhelmed bladder
•Ate enough cheese to feed all of Minnesota for three years; consumed record amounts of orange juice and apple juice
•Tolerated the shooting of sharp pains up my rear-end for several months; withstood debilitating hip pain and baby’s roundhouse kicks
•Enjoyed pregnancy despite all of the above

Warrior, 7/09 -present
•Managed to maintain sanity when baby refused to eat; chugged Mother's Milk Tea, took an undisclosed amount of prenatal vitamins just to maintain my health and help the intake and calories of breastmilk
•Mastered use of Supplemental Nursing System while successfully limiting use of the “f-word” to 400 times per day; sacrificed small but previously perky boobs to hospital grade breast pump
•Analyzed growth charts, lab results and intake levels; conducted in-depth, terrifying online research on daughter’s condition and treatment

EDUCATION

The Parental Institution of The Reeds

•Coursework in everything, with an emphasis on love, the value hard work, and a good sense of humor
School of Hard Knocks
•Classes included Terrible Mistakes, Bad Relationships 101, and Welcome to Life
•Curriculum revolved around parenting without anything resembling adequate preparation

SKILLS SUMMARY

General: Expert-level nurturing, crisis and conflict management, hazardous waste handling and sanitation, budgeting, soothing, teaching life skills and morals, child safety, nursery decorating, baby-wearing, silly face and nonsensical sounds mastery

Technical: Milk production, human creation, swaddling, rocking, one-handed diapering (experience with both formula and breast milk poop platforms), bottle maintenance, reflux abatement, toilet training

COMMUNITY SERVICE

•Contributed two new members to the human race
•Responsible raising of kind, compassionate, contributing citizens
•Adept removal of screeching kids from public places, ensuring a peaceful community
•Additions to the world of a love that grows by leaps and bounds each and every day

Potty training...

Has officially started in our house! I'm convinced she's ready as the last two days we have only had 1 wet/dirty diaper each day. Other than that, she's been successful on the potty!! YAY! Plus, she's started telling us that she needs to go and 3/4 times she will actually go :) THANK GOODNESS!!! Today she woke up and told me it was time to go - and she did. Good girl!!!!!!!!!!! :D
**Although I learned NOT while Sesame Street is on...she had a fit when she heard Elmo's World theme and she had to miss it. Thank goodness for rewinding live TV :)***

In other news, my baby will 6 months tomorrow. Seriously, where does the time go?!? He's learning something new everyday and growing like a weed. I remember from this point with Abby and it seems like they learn EVERYDAY!!!

Is it still normal for me to miss my dog this much after 3 weeks? I look for him everyday. It's hard to walk into the house and know he's not there. It's hard to not cry when Abby starts talking about playing with him again. I've started the closure process with cleaning up his stuff, but I can't bring myself to fully do it yet.

Shut Up and Grow Up!

Did the Minnesota Vikings run up the score on the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday's NFC divisional playoff? Keith Brooking thinks so. A late Brett Favre touchdown pass infuriated the Dallas linebacker, who charged over to the Vikings' sideline to voice his displeasure. And in his postgame press conference he didn't back down.
The Vikings had held a comfortable 27-3 lead since the early part of the fourth quarter. Dallas looked completely deflated after going down 24 points and the team's subsequent play did nothing to dispel that notion. On the Cowboys' next two possessions the team went four-and-out, gaining a mere 14 yards on eight plays.
After the second turnover on downs, Minnesota took over on Dallas' 37-yard line. With 5:26 remaining and the Vikes holding a nearly insurmountable lead, runs to milk the clock were expected. But after an Adrian Peterson run on first down, Favre hit Bernard Berrian for 19 yards on the next play. Two Peterson runs followed, before Favre threw a short three-yard pass to bring up fourth-and-three after the two minute warning.
Here, the Vikes had four choices: 1. They could take a knee and give Dallas the ball back for the game's final two minutes; 2. Wave a partial white flag and run the ball up the middle; 3. Kick a field goal (which also could have been percevied as running up the score); 4. Drop Favre back to attempt a pass.
Minnesota went with option No. 4 and Favre hit tight end Visanthe Shiancoe(notes) for an 11-yard touchdown. This choice did not go over well with Brooking. The Cowboys' linebacker, presumably upset because he felt Minnesota was running up the score, stormed over to the Vikings sideline and exchanged words with coaches and players, including Favre. He had yet to calm down after the game:
"I thought it was totally classless and disrespectful. This is the NFL, that's not what this is about. I don't think there's a place for that ... I was looking for [Vikings coach Brad] Childress. I didn't think it was right, but they've got to see us next year."
Brooking needs to relax and listen to his own words.
He's right. This is the NFL, not high school or college. The Dallas Cowboys don't get sympathy. Throwing that pass may not have been the greatest sportsmanship, but it also wasn't an affront to decency. If Brooking didn't want Minnesota to score then maybe he and his 10 teammates on the field should have done something about it.
Just because the Cowboys quit doesn't mean the Vikings needed to also.

Would Dallas have stopped playing if the game was reversed? No. Would any team not score given the opportunity? No. SHUT UP! There is no mercy rule in football...you're a "pro" and you should know that you idiot!! The Cowboys were never really in the game, so get over yourself and enjoy your vacation....

Thank You Megan (even if I never meet you)

One of my "mommy board" mommies shared this with me. Of course, I just cry reading it, but it's true and I'm sure it will be very calming and reassuring in days to come.

The Rainbow Bridge

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,

Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.

Where the friends of man and woman do run,

When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,

Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.

On this golden land, they wait and they play,

Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,

For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.

Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,

Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,

Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.

All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,

Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;

Together again, both person and pet.

So they run to each other, these friends from long past,

The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,

Has turned into joy once more in each heart.

They embrace with a love that will last forever,

And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.