Archives for May 2010

Peppermint Mocha Intervention

May 30, 2010 by PopMommy Pam Leave a Comment

I just saw this on John Mayer’s blog. He saw it on this website.

WAKE UP CALL. THIS IS MY GO-TO DRINK!

Cinnamon Dolce Latte with Sugar-Free Syrup, anyone?

Harmful Drinks in America

peppermint-mocha

11. Worst Espresso Drink
Starbucks Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with Whipped Cream (venti, 20 fl oz)

660 calories
22 g fat (15 g saturated)
95 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 8½ scoops Edy’s Slow Churned Rich and Creamy Coffee Ice Cream

Hopefully this will dispel any lingering fragments of the “health halo” that still exists in coffee shops—that misguided belief that espresso-based beverages can’t do much damage. In this 20-ounce cup, Starbucks manages to pack in more calories and saturated fat than two slices of deep-dish sausage and pepperoni pizza from Domino’s. That makes it the equivalent of dinner and dessert disguised as a cup of coffee. If you want a treat, look to Starbucks’ supply of sugar-free syrups; if you want a caffeine buzz, stick to the regular joe, an Americano, or a cappuccino.

Drink This Instead!

Cinnamon Dolce Latte with Sugar-Free Syrup (grande, 16 fl oz)

260 calories
6 g fat (4 g saturated)
38 g sugars

Filed Under: So Yummy

Grand Finales

May 27, 2010 by PopMommy Pam Leave a Comment

I was going to write all about LOST, but then I realized that I needed to acknowledge some of the other awesome show enders this season on television. I may be in the minority on some of these, but I have been surprisingly satisfied with the following grand finales.

*NOTE: LOTS O’ SPOILERS AHEAD*

LOST

ABC/MARIO PEREZ

Thank you, LOST. I was able to love you all over again. Because you really did LOSE me a little this final season. But I love how you finally returned to your core and came full circle with all the characters. You brought many familiar faces back for the finale. The show became about these people again and how they met, how they loved each other, how they needed each other, and how they moved on.

This past season I was really checking out. I was getting frustrated with that whole sideways world. Now it all makes sense to me. Well, as much as it CAN make sense. I guess I choose to look at the series finale episode as a well-acted, beautifully shot, emotional fulfilling episode. I choose NOT to look at it as a frustrating lot of loose strings. I understood it like this: The characters had to go to their sideways world (purgatory) to meet up with their soul mates and then move on (to their after-life). I especially loved the scene when Sawyer and Juliet remembered each other.

Jack’s death on the island in the final scene was perfect. I loved how Jack made peace with his father, a literal “Christian Shepherd.” Jack joined all the souls who were most important to him and then he died – in the exact same spot where he awoke after the Oceanic plane crash. The eye closing shot was brilliant. It closed the show perfectly and, hopefully, gave fans a little of their own closure. Well, at least, THIS fan. I loved it.

GREY’S ANATOMY

ABC/DANNY FELD

Holy Bloodbath, Batman! The Grey’s season finale was incredibly heart wrenching and literally blood pumping. Dr. Bailey’s scenes with the patient (guest star Mandy Moore) and the intern Charles were some of the best acting on TV all season. When Dr. Bailey was hiding from the shooter and then she pretended to be a nurse, well that was Chandra Wilson winning the Emmy. Speaking of winning an Emmy, Michael O’Neil (gunman Gary Clark) should also be accepting one. He was breathtaking and terrorizing.

April the intern was a highlight when she told that story that saved her life. She had her moment. I also think Ellen Pompeo is underrated as an actress. She definitely knows how to navigate her character’s feelings with detail and emotion. When Meredith and the intern were sitting on the floor while McDreamy was getting operated on by her BFF Cristina, that was perfection. And then Meredith’s scene when she said she would sacrifice her life for Derek’s life and THEN she has a miscarriage before she can even tell Derek she was pregnant? HEARTBREAKING. Grey’s needed this season finale to keep us all on board. It did not disappoint. I knew they had nailed it when I was lying awake that night still thinking about it.

GOSSIP GIRL

Photo: Giovani Rufino/ The CW

Chuck gets shot and lays bleeding in the street while trying to save the engagement ring that Blair refused? What is going on?? There is a lot of violence on TV but this one was a shocker. Usually I’m just shocked by the underage sex scenes on GG, but that ending just threw me. And speaking of sex scenes, what is up with Jenny losing her virginity to Chuck? I did NOT see that coming, which, I guess, was the point. I don’t know if it’s a GOOD thing to say that was just, well, GROSS, but I was excited to see Jenny leave the city to spend some much needed time with her Mama. Maybe she’ll be back next season but she definitely needs the time away to reinvent herself. And please Gossip Girl, I love Chuck and Blair so hopefully next season you can also reinvent their relationship too, or this might be my last year watching.

AMERICAN IDOL

REUTERS/Vince Bucci/Fox/PictureGroup/Handout

Yahoo! Lee Dewyze wins! He was in my fab four back at the beginning of the season. I agree with Simon when he said THIS is what the show is all about: Finding a talented singer who needs a break. Lee is a talented singer and musician who was working in his hometown paint store when he auditioned for Idol. And he made it all the way to the end. Sometimes nice guys do finish FIRST. You go, Lee! Enjoy the ride.

I loved seeing Paula Abdul and Bret Michaels on the Idol stage. The rest of the finale was just okay. But Lee getting the first place prize made the night very sweet and memorable for me. I’m not sure what will happen next year with no Simon on Idol. I might only be recapping the finale of The X Factor.

Filed Under: Pop Culture

Feeling Lost

May 24, 2010 by PopMommy Pam Leave a Comment

I’m posting some super cute photos of my daughter while I sit and think about the series finale of LOST.

Wow, that was GOOD stuff. I’m going to TRY and write about it all tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here’s Annabel. The temperature in Florida has hit the 90’s.

Obviously, she is already wishing for snow.

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annabel-snow-hat-two

Filed Under: Pop Culture

The Magic Book

May 20, 2010 by PopMommy Pam Leave a Comment

I remember when my Dad came home with a Commodore 64 computer. It was a BIG deal. It was 1982 and I was 11 years old. My Dad set it up on a big desk downstairs in our basement. He taught me some of the BASIC programming. We played tons of cool games on it. It was exciting. It was my first baby step into the world of computers and I had no clue where it would lead.

When the Internet popped up, I had just graduated from college. So I didn’t have the Internet as a major study tool during my college years. Heck, I didn’t even have a cell phone. I would take a stack of quarters to the pay phone in our hallway when I wanted to call home. By my senior year there were computer labs on campus, but I still used the library for my research projects. We would camp out in study groups and write down information from books and Encyclopedias. It just seems so arduous compared to today where you can sit with a laptop in your dormroom and Google “19th century french women poets” or “biology 101 study guide.”

It’s so wild to think that my children will never know a world without cell phones or computers or the Internet. I try to imagine what THEY will be using as study aids when they are in college. Will there just be ONE small electronic notebook that is their computer, phone, ID, camera, video camera, calendar, etc.?

The coolest gadget in our house right now is the Apple iPAD. I bought it for my hubbie for no real reason except that he REALLY wanted it. And he never really wants anything. Every birthday and every Father’s Day he gets the same expected polo shirt and spa massage. He said he would wait a year for the iPad. He wanted to save up the money. But I knew I had to buy it for him. It would ROCK HIS WORLD.

And I was right!

Plus, he shares the whole iPad experience with our kids. He calls it “The Magic Book.” Bean and Annabel have read The Cat in the Hat, Winnie the Pooh, and Toy Story on The Magic Book. They have played PBS Kids games on it. They have watched videos of themselves. They have experienced a virtual fishing pond.

magic-book

And it’s just the beginning for them. I guess it’s better to expose them to all this new technology as it happens. I want them to be computer savvy. But I still get stomach knots when I think about them on MySpace, or Facebook, or Twitter, or whatever the social marketing outlet will be when they are teenagers. Then there is cyber bullying and “sexting” and identity theft to worry about.

And I’m sure some people out there will think it’s weird (or perhaps wrong) that I write about my children on this website. It’s a subject that gets talked about A LOT, including here. I do it because I want to remember everything that I experience as a Mom from the exhilarating to the challenging. I want to remember all the pop culture moments that got me excited, made me laugh, or made me sad. This website is my personal diary. It’s part therapy and part virtual scrap book.

I only write down stories and thoughts that I would tell you in person. My husband reads all my entries before I post them. It’s wonderful for me to share moments with my familiy and relatives who don’t live near me. I don’t use curse words and that’s my personal decision.

I write stories about my children so there will be memories for them when they are older. I don’t write anything that might embarrass them and I never post pictures that might make them uncomfortable in 5 or 10 years. My goal is to document everything from the major milestones to those tiny moments. Everything I want to remember. Everything I want to share with my my son and my daughter when they are older.

I want my kiddies to peel through the layers of this website one day so they can learn more about who they were, what they liked, how they changed, how much I loved them. I want them to learn more about ME and who I was, both as their mom and as a person. The thought that they can sit down one day with their own kids and read stories that I wrote is something that makes me happy. It makes me proud. It makes me excited.

I guess, in a way, this mommy blog is MY magic book. And there are so many more magical chapters to come.

Filed Under: Mommy Life, Pop Culture

The Beckhams

May 17, 2010 by PopMommy Pam Leave a Comment

I love this photo of the Beckham family. It’s the adorable David and Victoria Beckham and their super cute boys Romeo and Cruz. They are hanging out at a Jonas Brothers concert at The Grove in West Hollywood. (Thank you People.com for the photo and info.)

They are so lovely, aren’t they?

No. No. They are so MAJOR.

(I hope some of you actually get that or I really do watch way too much reality television.)

beckham-family-photo

Filed Under: Pop Culture

The Last First Birthday

May 16, 2010 by PopMommy Pam Leave a Comment

Daniel and I flew to Maryland to celebrate my nephew, and Godson, Luke’s 1st Birthday. It’s a little sad because it’s our family’s last “First Birthday Party,” unless someone surprises us with a new baby. (And when I say SOMEONE, I definitely do NOT mean me.)

We had such a great time. The weather was perfect for an outdoor celebration. It was super cool to watch all the cousins play in the sandbox, ride big wheels, make sidewalk chalk drawings, blow bubbles, and play football and soccer in my sister’s big backyard. Even Luke got in on the soccer action with the help of his Daddy.

Luke is such a wonderful, mellow little guy. He loves to observe and smile at everyone. But he is minutes away from walking which I’m sure is making my sister a teeny bit nervous.

He loved all his birthday toys and he especially loved his giant birthday cake. He dove right in. It was hilarious. It was a wonderful last first birthday party celebration for our family. I was so happy Daniel and I were there to be a part of it all.

We’ve always referred to Luke as “Baby Luke.” But even Daniel said on the airplane flight home, “Mama, we have to call him Big Boy Luke now.”

Yes, Bean, I guess we do.

luke-1st-bday-one

luke-1st-bday-two

luke-1st-bday-three

luke-1st-bday-four1

luke-1st-bday-five

luke-1st-bday-six

luke-1st-bday-seven

luke-1st-bday-eight

Filed Under: Mommy Life

American Idol Update

May 13, 2010 by PopMommy Pam Leave a Comment

I started with FOUR favorite American Idol contestants.

(I picked my fab four back in February when there were 24 contestants).

And guess what? I still have TWO contestants left!

Go Casey! Go Lee! I can’t wait to see your hometown visits next week.

casey-james
lee-dewyze

PS: I was talking to my husband last night about Lee and isn’t he SO Saturday Night Fever? I mean, he worked in a PAINT STORE and now he’s singing on a stage in front of millions. LOVE it.

Filed Under: Pop Culture

Bean’s First Airplane Trip

May 10, 2010 by PopMommy Pam 1 Comment

bean-airplane-one2

I desperately did not want to miss my Godson Luke’s 1st birthday celebration in Maryland, so I decided to fly up for the weekend. His birthday was Friday and the big family party was Saturday afternoon. I, of course, had to bring a kid with me. I decided to bring Daniel because he would get more out of the trip. He loves to play with his cousins and, I will admit, I didn’t think I could handle a two year old little girl with “crazy” tendencies.

I’m not a great flyer. I have a fear of flying which I try to repress because, well, I want to GO PLACES. I’ve had some really bad flights where I’ve dug my nails into my husband’s arm and screamed into his ear about how I hated him for making me fly and I swear I will never fly again. (Sorry, ONCE AGAIN, about that, Baby.) I get super irrational when I’m high up in the air and I feel like I’m having an anxiety attack.

But the desire to have my kiddies NEVER feel the same way has really helped me. I have calmed down A LOT and, to be honest, there is NO WAY I can show my fear in front of my son. He would get too freaked out. He has flown with me before when he was 6 months old. It was great because all he did was drink a bottle and sleep.

But I consider this time his first real airplane trip. When we were heading to the airport on Friday morning, Bean was a little confused, a little nervous, but also excited. He asked a million questions and he could not wait to see the airplanes. Every experience was fascinating. He loved when I got the boarding passes right from the computer check-in screen. He loved that he could take off his shoes and put them in a bin that zoomed down a giant belt to the other side. He loved the moving walkways. He loved the pizza lunch. He loved looking out the giant windows for our airplane to arrive.

bean-airplane-two1

The trip up would be the big test and he was a champ. He was a little nervous with all the loud noises during takeoff but I was there to explain everything. I was so distracted by his questions that I really did forget to be nervous. I was just enjoying his curiosity. He loved the drink cart and thought it was super cool that he could order a juice with ice and a straw. They even welcomed him aboard over the loudspeaker because I was sure to tell every flight attendant that it was his very first flight. I guess I just thought they would take extra special care of us. I think it was a mental help for me. It was like I was putting a final push of good vibes into the air.

Bean sat by the window. He couldn’t see out when his seat belt was on, but when he could move about he would check out the clouds and the big airplane wing. I had a small backpack filled with lots of books, coloring books, triangle crayons (so they would not roll off the tray. Special thanks to a Facebook friend who recommended them), stickers, new cars, his favorite stuffed animal, and LOTS of snacks.

bean-airplane-four1

I brought him juicy fruits to chew on in case his ears needed to pop, but it didn’t seem to be a big problem. The best part was landing in beautiful Washington, DC and looking at all the monuments. Bean could not believe we were there. I think he was still processing the whole thing.

On the trip home, he was a PRO. He was ready for security and he already knew what he wanted for his airport lunch. (A Five Guys cheeseburger. I had NO problem with that. Ha.)

bean-airplane-three1

He even started chatting with people. The flight home was great except there was a lot more turbulence. I loved that the pilot actually gave us warnings when we would feel the bumps so I could explain to Bean that we were riding through clouds. Again, this experience helped ME so much. I was able to talk him through it and talk ME through it too. When we landed, the pilot (who was informed by the flight attendant that this was Bean’s first time flying) invited us up front to sit in the cockpit so I could get a photo.

I could not ask for a better memento from the experience.

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PS: Please note tattered seat in cockpit photo. I think that’s equally funny and disturbing.

PPS: On a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOTE, this is the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of PopMommy.com! I just can’t believe it. Thank you to all my family and friends who read this website and a very special thank you to those visitors who I don’t know. It means a whole lot to me that you join me here. I’ve had a blast documenting my PopMommy life and I’m excited to continue doing it.

Filed Under: Mommy Life

Happy Mama’s Day!

May 9, 2010 by PopMommy Pam Leave a Comment

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom. My sister. My mother-in-law. My sister-in-law. All my mommy friends. All the moms who read this website. Have a great day. We all deserve it. I have so many cool Mama’s Day Weekend stories to share. But I’ll get to ALL THAT this week. I just got off a plane with my son and I’m EXHAUSTED. I’m ready to relax. Wine and TIVO awaits! Cheers!

Filed Under: Celebrations