Ninja Mommy Hacks: Life with 2 Minions and lots of wine!

Do you like standing in long lines? Do you like warm/hot stuffy shops filled with people?  Do you like IPA's? Do you like fruity beer?   If you answered YES to any of those- this event in Old Town Clovis is for you!    The annual Craft Beer Crawl in downtown Clovis in March... and sadly, I will never go back. My husband and I love red ales-- we did not find one! Now, we did enjoy looking at the shops items for sale-  it was neat to incorporate the small town shops within the beer crawl- the issue.... you cannot leave with your BEER!  So everyone is standing inside, making it stuffy-- hot... and miserable. Clovis PD needs to learn to look the other way on this 1 day of the year....  this way people can enjoy the outdoors with their beer. Tioga Sequoia was our favorite-  and that is only 10 minutes up the road...  I would rather sit there with beers for the $75 we paid Old Town Clovis + the babysitter we paid to take care ...

Ok, so in July my 2 year old got Hand,Foot, Mouth-- for what felt like the 10th time this year.  As I was Pinterest'ing "make it stop"-  Young Living Thieves oil kept popping up.    I did some more research and knew I would be "all in" for essential oils. Oils get into your body thru the skin or inhaling (diffusing).   You can either roll them on with a carrier oil (Coconut Oil) or diffuse them in a diffuser (one comes in the kit with YL).   Once the oils are in your body- they go to work to support and "fix" issues. In my household we are looking for support with: ADHD, anxiety, good sleep, high blood pressure, stress, foot pain, and overall health. I decided on Young Living and bought the starter kit...  Here are my "miracle" oils and why... 1) Vetiver:   this very thick, smokey, earthy, took me a while to get used to it, GEM....it's a miracle worker.  It suppresses the Central Nervous System and puts anyone to sleep in minute...

Calera Winery in Hollister (yes seriously, Hollister, CA) makes a DAMN amazing Pinot Noir.    I tasted their entire flight and was impressed with ALL of the wine... this is rare for me.    I can be a picky "wine"y  B**___ sometimes. Calera is beautiful and worth the drive to tour the cave & hillside.   The winemaker uses gravity (instead of pumps) within the process.   The wine takes a 7 story/level drop (gravity) to complete (rather than pump in and out of containers).     You are able to reserve a tour to walk up all the 7 levels.. which is a must.  The view is incredible! My other favorite is Bread & Butter...  I had it at a tapas place in Livermore, Ca. Both Pinot's left a silky buttery after taste.   Smooth & creamy...   dreamy.... Links here:  Calera, Hollister, CA:     http://www.calerawine.com/ Bread & Butter:  http://breadandbutterwines.com/ Wine On, Auggie

We visited Calera, DeRose, & Leal in Hollister, CA.  My husband is from there and his brother still resides there.    My BIL was the sober driver of all us drunk asses...  here is my review. #1) Calera... stop here.  seriously- no need to see ANY other winery in probably all of calif.   You can read my other blog about Calera & their amazing Pinot.  I loved everything from the entire flight... amazing views... we could have sat around this place all day with a bottle! #2) DeRose...  yeah... um....  kinda a shit-hole compared to Calera.    I was not impressed with anything,  oh wait-  except the bathroom.  The bathroom had 2 toilets side by side.... no wall..no partition.... like "let's hold hands a pee together" status.    So my husband and I (remember us drunk asses)... held hands... and.....  yeah. #3)  Leal-   again, not impressed with the wine.  But the grounds/facil...

Oral-B has an app-   it's a Disney timer-  each time they brush for 2 minutes they unlock a sticker.  Each sticker set comes with it's own digital book.   First is Monsters U, then Frozen is unlocked... next Star Wars. Kids LOVE it!   I leave the iPad in their restroom all week long because that's the ONLY time during the week the iPad is used.   Here is the link to the app:  https://oralb.com/en-us/product-collections/disney-magic-timer-app (I receive NOTHING for this endorsement.  I do not make any money off my blog...) -Auggie

Once again, I cannot take credit for this!    Pinterest is my BFF... Ever heard of a "Rock Jar"?   Well the idea is easy-- Get a bag of dollar store glass rocks/pebbles/round things.   The things that go in flower vases as a decoration.   And get 2 jars of any size-  they must BE CLEAR!   At 2 1/2 years old I started this with my kids.   They earn ROCKS for doing good deeds, being overall helpful, doing chores, doing the right thing, and in the beginning- just breathing!    Reward the good-all. the. time.   Each rock is worth 10 minutes of screen time.    They can ONLY give me 6 rocks at most at a time (60 minutes total for TV/Ipad, etc).      If they earn a rock (or more) you pull the rocks from your JAR and hand them to your child.  Count them out, then they put them in their jar.  The psychological part of them earning, holding, counting, and putting the rocks in their jar is KEY!!! ...

Sworkit Pro is the app I bought; they have a lite version, but I read enough about it to convince me to buy it.  I really really LIKE it!   Because- YOGA!!!  A part of my Miracle Morning (Hal Elrod's book) I have started using this app for my workout.   It has a 7 minute full body workout-  it shows you the workout as you do it.  The voice telling you what to do is NOT annoying.  It gives you 10 seconds to get into the poses and get ready.   Turn your phone sideways for the video on how to do the move.     The best feature is the "create your own workout" mode.  You go thru ALL exercises and chose the ones you want to incorporate.    Then tell it how long, and you can even say "rest after _____ exercise".    Everything is custom.  It then goes thru the sequence as in you would do in a gym. So the yoga starts in prayer pose, etc.   It builds a workout naturally.  You set the length of the...