Loving this week on The View - Cast of Jersey Shore and Octomom!

So last week I revealed that I'm one of The View Ambassador Moms and this week's upcoming shows is exactly WHY I am!

First of all, I cannot get enough of the campy cast of MTV's Jersey Shore and TODAY (February 23, 2010) they will be joining the ladies of The View! I really want Elisabeth to get a bump-it hairdo like Snooki...don't you??

Snooki Hasselbeck courtesy of JerzifyYourself.com

Not only that, but Nadya Suleman will be at The View on Wednesday and should make for a VERY interesting interview, no?

Want to know what else is happening?

Here are some schedule highlights...

Tuesday, Feb 23:  The cast of MTV’s Jersey Shore

Wednesday, Feb 24:  Nadya Suleman who famously gave birth to octuplets last year will be making her first trip to NYC to chat live with the Women of the View.  Author Danielle Steel will also be a guest

Thursday, Feb 25:  A one hour show Themed “trying to have a baby?”Guests include Giuliana And Bill Rancic

Friday, Feb 26:   Regis and Joy Philbin will perform a song from their new CD: Regis & Joy: Just you. Just me.

Want to know what other ambassadors of The View are saying? Go to www.search.twitter.com and type in #theviewmoms to see what we are discussing and join in! Just use #theviewmoms in your tweets.

Janine

Related posts: The View Brand Ambassador <-- I'm one of them!

Disclosure: I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items to facilitate my review. Opinions expressed here are mine and were not reviewed or approved by Mom Central or The View prior to posting.

The View Brand Ambassador <-- I'm one of them!

Many of you know how chatty I am. But you might not know I also like to play 'Devil's advocate" during discussions with friends. So it's no surprise that I'm a fan of The View.

I love the controversies, the mix of personalities, the guests (and guest hosts - holla to my newly extensioned friend Kate Gosselin) the ladies of The View entertain every week.

 That's why I jumped at the chance when Mom Central put out a call to bloggers who might want to be Brand Ambassadors for The View.

Each week for the next 4 weeks we'll have assignments to let you all know what cool things will be happening with The View. For example, did you know Mom Central is running a contest to send one fan to New York City to watch a taping of The View?!? You can enter HERE.

Do you watch The View? Who's your favorite host?

More importantly, do you think I would make the PERFECT addition to The View?

Janine

Disclosure: I am a participant in a Mom Central campaignfor ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items to facilitate my review.

PBS Sprout...I'm so sad to say goodbye

The Twofer have already caught the Disney Channel bug.

I don't have anything against the Disney Channel. But I have a soft spot in my heart for PBS Sprout.

I knew no matter what time of day, Sprout would have something the girls would enjoy watching...while they learned.

Shows like Angelina Ballerina, Noddy, and Kipper got us through those long, cold nights when one or both of the twins were fighting a bad cold, croup, or a nasty virus. The Goodnight Show calmed them (and me) before bed.

And the best part? The commercials. Or the absence of commercials is what I loved.

Sure, PBS has funding partners they need to thank but that's nothing compared to the commercials they see (and I hear about) on other channels.

The other night I let them watch TV in my bed like the 'old days' but this time I insisted we watch PBS Sprout. And you know what? They watched!

And then they whined.

The whined because they didn't get to watch any 'real' TV before bed. {sigh}

And so it's time to say one last goodnight to PBS Sprout, and to our friends Nina, Sta, Hush and Lucy.

Goodnight friends, Goodbye PBS Sprout.

Missing my toddlers,

Janine

Another milestone - I can sleep in!

This has been going on for a few months now but it just dawned on me that it truly is another milestone.

This weekend I did not wake up until 8:30am. This is sleeping in for me. I had heard the girls awake at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am but then I somehow fell back asleep. They had gone downstairs and turned the TV on.
I. LOVE. TV.

Motorola TV Ad Photo Credit: MS Blue Sky via Flickr

I know we participated in Turn Off TV Week and for the most part we don't watch TV during the week. At this point, I'll take an extra 2 hours of sleep while they cram all of their TV watching into a Saturday morning.

Have I made a deal with the Devil? No! It's TV. It's what kids are supposed to do on a Saturday morning. I did it. YOU did it. We survived...we even prospered some of us. And we had much happier parents because of it.

More importantly, I am a much better parent getting those extra 2 hours of sleep.

Reaching this kind of milestone only reminds me why I do not want to have another baby (or two). I can't go back to the newborn sleepless nights. I can't. I can't and I won't. And so what begins as a milestone for the Twofer, is also a milestone for me and my uterus.

And I'm ok with that.
Janine

Turn Off TV Week Survival Guide and Giveaway

***UPDATE 5-10-09***
Winner of the Outdoor Prize pack is...Stacy!
Congratulations!
*******************
Last week my kids participated in Turn Off TV Week. Note, I did not say ‘family’, I say my kids. I actually did not watch TV either. The Mister, however, cheated just about every night when the girls went up to bed. But who’s counting.

I was in full support after having been part of the Subway / NIH WE CAN! effort to fight childhood obesity. Actually, it was easier than I thought, even with one kid sick and home from school on one of the days! Here are some of the things we did that helped us survive.

We Made a mural in honor of Earth Week

I am not a crafty gal but I do have a large roll of white paper. I laid out about 5 feet from a roll of white paper I had in my non-crafty craft closet, grabbed the glitter glue, markers and stamps they got from the Easter Bunny, and told them to have at it while I cleaned up from dinner.

Murals = Cool

We played board games

Now that the Twofer are almost 6, they have kid versions of games that even I can get into…. Princess Monopoly, Cranium Cadoo, and various card games. Yet reality is, we’re playing those games on the floor in the family room…in front of our tv…that is turned off. Depressing. So, why not add a little gambling? Whoever loses has to empty the dishwasher. The next person to roll a 6 has to get Mom a glass of water...you get the idea

Play-Doh anyone

For real, I can't remember the last time they just sat and played with Play-Doh. That roll of white paper came in hand again...

Play-Doh = Cool

We made dinner together

Em was definitely into this. And has been asking every night since if she can help. We stepped it up a bit and I allowed her to do some cutting with an actual knife, AND crumble up the ground beef as it was cooking. But it just isn’t real cooking until someone gets burned and Em wound up with burn on her tummy. Yes, her tummy. Long story, but it involves my cook top being located on an island in the kitchen and the lack of a child guard that has since been put back.

Other things we did besides watch TV

• Went to the library and read books.
• Had friends sleep over…with no TV – yes, they were game for it!
• Went shopping, ran errands, got ice cream (no TV means yes to spending money)
• Took a bath! (Girls have been showering but a nice leisurely bath with lots of toys was very entertaining)
• Played outside…a lot.

Which leads me to the giveaway...

I have in my hot little hands a big box filled with all kinds of outdoor toys that YOU can enter to win!

Win ALL of this great outside stuff!

Contents Include:
Balls
Bubbles
Baseball bat game
Some kind of racquet game
Frisbee thing
Chalk
Butterfly net
A kite and
a $10.00 gift card to Subway!


Here's what you need to do (as ALWAYS, separate comment for each!)

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite "No-more-TV-today!" activity
2. Tweet this post (click on '30 sec ago' for the link)
3. Email a link to this post to 5 friends and cc me (scarytwins [at] yahoo)
4. Grab my button and put it on your site (leave link)
5. Do 10 squats, 3 Hail Mary's and pat yourself on the back (just making sure you're paying attention)
6. Blog about this topic and include link to this post

Contest ends Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 11:59 pm!

Doing my squats,
Janine

Thanks to Subway for providing the great outdoor prize pack!