And who will YOU be rooting for? I thought Adam was totally awesome on last night’s show, as was Allison and Matt Girard.  But that is it.  Everyone else can pack up and go home as far as I am concerned.

I was especially offended that Danny Golkey stated on the tape that Smokey Robinson “knew best” and would take his direction and suggestion on Danny’s song.  The suggestion was that Danny sing the lyrics and the backup part of the song.  Instead, there were backup singers there including deliberate pauses where Danny should have been singing.  Maybe it was accidental or a coincidence or we’re just confused in general about what Smokey/Danny were talking about.

But to viewers sitting at home – we were confused.  The tape played and then it snapped to the live performance of Danny singing and doing the OPPOSITE of what Smokey said.  So either Danny changed his mind and decided HE knew best or American Idol portrayed it erroneously that way.

Either way, I don’t think it did him any favors.  Fortunately, there were enough other bad performances that will probably be voted off before Danny.

Take Lil Rounds for example, perfectly nice girl, I’m sure she’ll have a great job in a karaoke bar someday, but for the love of God, what is she still doing on the show? She’s never given me chills when she has performed, voices/acts like her are a dime a dozen.  Don’t believe me? Turn on your local R&B station.  American Idol is suppose to represent someone that has staying power and long lasting viability, not a one trick pony that blends with the rest of the singers.  Ruben Studdard anyone?

Serve this one with your favorite rice side dish and some grilled vegetables. Delicious!

Ingredients

2 tuna steaks
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced

Process

• Mix olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic and ginger.
• Place the tuna steaks in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of the mixture.
• Place it in a refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
• Cover and refrigerate remaining mixture.
• Drain the mixture from the tuna. Coat the grill with cooking spray and grill tuna for 5-7 minutes on both sides
• Serve the tuna steaks with the remaining mixture.

On a gloomy, rainy day, children stuck in the house tend to get bored very easily. We often find ourselves taking a trip out and spending money in order to cure their boredom. Here’s an alternative: have a quick search around the house to find some crafts supplies. The idea is to show them how to make things that won’t end up emptying your wallet. Providing the little one with entertainment isn’t as hard as you think. If you understand the things they’re into, you’re already way ahead. For young children especially, tearing things up into ribbons equals fun times.

Their temperament finds great joy in demolition. When the smashing spree is over, the laughter still ensues, sitting back and looking at what they’ve just done. So for this reason, durability is required.

Here’s a frugal idea that can withstand a little punishment. How about asking them to make a little town or village for their action figures (or dolls)?

Play Town Instructions

Needed:

* Cardboard of any type, size or shape.

* Paint or coloring crayons

* Thick sugar paper

* Scissors

* Glue

Constructing the play town is easy to do. First of all, decide which each of the cardboard boxes are going to be used for. Your daughter will probably want a palace or castle for her dolls. Whereas children with cuddly toys could enjoy making a farm or a zoo for their animals.

Every box can then be carefully painted or decorated to their ideals. If you use giant boxes (or have very small children) you could let them crawl into the boxes along with their toys! The advantage of using these materials is that they can be torn down or ripped and can simply be replaced. Even those expensive playhouses you buy from the shop would never stand up to this kind of abuse.

Further Ideas to Consider

Let the children’s imaginations run free when creating with crafts. At school, art teachers are loved and the lessons enjoyed the most. Remember when they taught us how to make spinning wheels out of construction paper, stick pins and pencils? Or flowers made from tissue paper with a pipe cleaner stem?

At holiday time, creating these craft ideas becomes more easier. You could let the children get messy with flour and water and baking soda to make little holiday ornaments and decorations.

Children love role-playing. With a simple use of construction paper, paint and crayons, and a few balls of cotton wool, they can make their own special costumes, and pretend to be all manner of things, from dinosaurs to cowboys and Indians. Don’t worry, you won’t be stuck all day with these types of projects. Just an hour or two to help them build it, then you can let the fun begin.

How about letting the children eat their masterpieces? No, I didn’t mean the paper! You could encourage the kids to be little chefs and make their own Jell-O eggs, frozen lollipops or cupcakes.

Simply use your imagination and the ideas are limitless. Anything can be made, providing the children with a full day’s activity, without spending a drop of money. Remember back to your own childhood for some good ideas. However, remember to let the children play too!

Can deodorant be a “beauty” product? Ohhhh…I think so.  How many times have you caught yourself in the antiperspirant isle trying to nonchalantly sniff the various underarm products? Smell is a powerful thing, whether you are picking out a new perfume, or a new deodorant.

I can say with all honesty that over the years, I have probably tossed dozens of different kinds of deodorant out due to not liking the smell once it was on.  A lot of them were the “teen spirit” variety – you know…the mixture of underarm and cotton candy.  Some things just shouldn’t be combined.

But recently, I found a new line by degree (I am a fan of their deodorant already) – this new line has the following scents: Sexy Intrigue, Classic Romance, and Delicious Bliss (I think only people with fetishes should purchase this scent).  The one I purchased was the Sexy Intrigue scent.  While it didn’t leave me or anyone around me “intrigued” – AND I’m not sure it felt Sexy per se; I will admit that it smells nice and light and is a great scent for Spring.

It doesn’t clash with any of my perfumes and is a nice break from my normal “powder fresh” scent of deodorant.  If you’re looking to try something different in your deodorant, but not too “off the wall”, then this is the deodorant for you.

On my commute home the other day, I was belting out the latest Kanye West tune about the woman so heartless (with that awesome jazzy electronic voice) and in bursts the announcer with “I wonder if that was one of the hits that Kanye sang at Perez Hilton’s party?”

I nearly went off the road.  Are you kidding me? While I don’t agree with all of Kanye West’s views, I am a big fan of his music and his accomplishments in general.  Lately, I really have to wonder about his choices in company.  Both with his much coveted (by certain sects of the population) new girlfriend “Amber Rose” and now hanging out with Gossip Gangster Perez Hilton…desperately hoping he meant Paris Hilton instead of Perez…but nope, it was definitely Perez he was talking about.

Turns out it was Perez’ 31st birthday party and somehow Kanye ended up performing there.  I also find it amusing that Perez use to love trashing on Kanye, now he’s nicey nice just because Mr. West made an appearance.  What’s next for Kanye – singing at children’s birthday parties?

This week on Natural Moms Talk Radio, I interviewed a mom who made her dream of owning a brick and mortar retail shop a reality.

Her name is Christy Funk and her store in Orange County California is called Belly Sprout. She offers all kinds of products for natural and organic parenting, including wooden toys, cloth diapers, BPA free products, natural skin care for mom and baby, and more.

She also hosts parenting experts and educational meetings at her store. She talked to me about the challenges of raising a retail store while raising two young sons.

You must have heard the saying “your body is a temple”. Well, in most circumstances that is very true. You should realize however, that each day we introduce poisonous toxins into the body by handling certain chemicals around the home. Some of the main culprits are cleaning products. A good alternative to traditional supplies is to use eco-friendly products made from natural ingredients.

Did you know you can make your own cleaners yourself? Well, that’s where the idea of most modern cleaning products came from, simple ideas and solutions to household cleaning tasks. Using something acidic will naturally cut through grease and grime without damaging the work-surface. Be it paint, grease, grime or stubborn stains, the rest of this article will show you how to tackle them naturally.

Any ingredient containing abrasive material has the ability to obliterate hardened material and stubborn stains. To do this normally we would simply use a cleaner with harsh chemicals. The trouble is with this, is the fact that chemicals also evaporate into the air and can be inhaled – which can do damage to your lungs or mucous membranes.

It may not be necessary to buy the ingredients to make your own household supplies, as you probably already have them. This is ideal to save money in the current economic climate. The only thing you really need to pay for are some sturdy spray bottles that will last a while. Don’t worry, these will probably end up paying for themselves very fast. This idea may not even be new to you if you think back to how your grandmother may have used similar techniques.

Recipes for DIY Cleaning Supplies

* Mix vinegar with baking soda. Pour this concoction down the plughole to unblock drains.

* Water and ammonia. Use this to clean windows (be careful with ammonia).

* Simple essential oils mixed with water, spray into the air as air freshener.

* Cornstarch with vinegar. Another good use for cleaning windows

* Raw lemon to cut through grease.

* Washing soda with Borax. A good alternative to normal washing powder.

* Hydrogen peroxide. Can be used as a mild bleach or disinfectant.

* Citrus essential oils mixed with water as a disinfectant, wood cleaner or grease remover.

Floor Cleaning

If you don’t want to store too much supplies, small batches can be mixed as and when required. You could even let the children help you with the cleaning as the natural cleaning supplies are very safe. Remember though, it’s still a good idea to keep the room well ventilated.

Creating your own natural household cleaners is an excellent way to rid your house from the bacteria, help to reduce global warming, and best of all have a house smelling clean and fresh! To buy essential oils, simply visit your health shop or buy online. Of course, remember to check the bottle to make sure there are no added ingredients.

You’ll notice how much difference it makes to breathing easier. Use a decent scrubbing brush, have a supply of cloths or rags to hand and you can use these products anywhere in the house. Now you know a way to create your own natural household cleaning products. Why not begin straight away?

The recent publication of an article entitled “The Case Against Breastfeeding” has the breastfeeding advocates in a tizzy.

I even added my own thoughts on my blog, specifically mentioning the author’s use of the word “Furious” to describe how she felt when breastfeeding.

The author has several claims. Among them:

1. Breastfeeding isn’t as great as the popular media would have you believe. Many of the “benefits” are overstated.
2. Breastfeeding makes “meaningful work” impossible since it takes so much time. Pumping and working aren’t doable for most.
3. Breastfeeding is anti feminist.
4. Breastfeeding gets in the way of co-parenting.
5. Breastfeeding is bad for marriage relationships.

If you’ve read the article, what are your thoughts?

Is it one mom’s attempt to explain away her guilt by playing sour grapes? (Well I don’t want to breastfeed so to avoid guilt I’ll pretend it doesn’t matter.)  Is it backlash against lactivism? Are there any valid points to her arguments?

Let’s hear it.

Right now in my girls’ room, my 8 year old son and 6 year old daughter are spoon feeding their 3 year old sister, who happens to be wrapped up in a blanket, swaddle style.

What’s going on?

An experiment gone amok, I’m afraid.

You see, my 3 1/2 year old daughter has developed a bad habit of pooping in her pants. Not entire poops, mind you. More like productive farts.

This child has been potty trained for well over a year, both #1 and #2, day and night. She doesn’t have developmental delays or health problems that are causing this.

She is just too occasionally busy to get to the potty on time. One of the reasons I know this is true is because she never does it when we’re out somewhere (when the result would be embarrassing to her – other kids would find out), and usually just a few minutes after these itty bitty accidents, she produces a normal B.M. on the potty.

The bottom (ahem) line is that she doesn’t want to stop what she’s doing and take care of important paperwork.

And mommy is getting tired of the cleanup work. I try insisting that SHE do the cleanup, but that just creates a bigger, stinkier mess in the bathroom.

So today, my oldest son suggested a new tactic. He said we should treat her like a baby when she has accidents. Since babies poo in their pants, she should no longer be able to enjoy Big Girl privileges such as: watching House online (our weekly must see TV), playing computer games, eating certain foods, etc.

It sounded like a good idea at the time.

Only.

I think she’s enjoying the babying a bit too much. A moment ago, they were feeding her a “bottle” which turned out to be a baby doll sippy cup. They even warmed the thing on the stove. (Which is hilarious, considering my kids were breastfed and never had bottles and I’ve never warmed one in my life.)

The 10 and 6 year olds have been “rocking” her and toting her around in their arms all night. They fed her “baby food” (yogurt). Then I heard her “crying” from her bed. Two older kids came running.

I think something has gone terribly, terribly wrong with the experiment.

What do you think?

Back in the old days, it was not an uncommon thing to grow your own vegetables, fruits and beautiful flowers. Learn the art of gardening, and end up with a skill, enabling you to not only grow your own food, but spend some more quality time with the family.

First of all, the garden can be used in a variety of ways. Some of us want to to use the garden to create beautiful landscapes and flowery delights. A sea of bright colors are a sight to behold and were put there to adore. A flower garden would also be great for attracting wonderful wildlife like butterflies and hummingbirds. Flowers also create an amazing fragrance in the air.

There are two main areas of gardening. The first idea is to use the entire space for growing vegetables. Don’t worry about this idea though, it doesn’t have to be so massive. You could simply clear a nice section of garden, enough to dig an allotment. This is an appropriate enough size to provide enough food for a small family. There is no better taste than that of a fresh cabbage or lettuce that has only been removed from the ground the same morning.

Obviously vegetables grown in the yard do not need to go through any processing, meaning all of the minerals and vitamins are still in the plant. It is easy to detect the difference between a homegrown vegetable, as opposed to something bought from the store. Growing your own veg is not only easy on the wallet, it is excellent for your body and personal health. Every item of veg you grow can then be crossed off the shopping list.

Another option is of course growing fruits. These tend to be a little more expensive than vegetables in the supermarket. You’ll be amazed at how different they tastes are to the normal fruit you buy. Without any use of pesticides or growing aids, it sure makes a change. It is very nice to wake up in the morning, walk out to the garden and pluck yourself a few pieces of fresh fruit to squeeze for some breakfast juice.

You could easily get the kids to help with the gardening. Kit them up with a strong pair of gardening gloves and appropriate tools, you can teach them how to sew seeds, water the plants or check for bugs and disease. Plucking an apple straight from the tree seems to provide an awesome taste for your palate. The kids particularly enjoy this – ask them to go and collect a few berries or citrus, and you’ll be surprised how few make it back to the house (the rest are in their stomachs).

If your garden cannot be dug, or you simply do not have the space, there are still alternatives. You could introduce a planter into the yard, which can surprisingly accommodate more than you’d have thought. You can even grow tomatoes in the container upside down! For the smaller fruit producing trees, these can be placed in a large pot so they do not get too rooted in.

Using planters doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be rounded pots. You could use whatever you have available. Any old pots, cups or containers can be used as appropriate planters. Putting everything above ground is referred to as “container gardening”. You’ll find a lot of city dwellers use the technique.

You can go even more small-scale and grow simple herbs in smaller pots, left to rest on the windowsill. Upon harvest time, give the children a chore to go around and pluck any ripe fruits or herbs. If you feel you need to use pesticides, you must remember to use the organic kind, so you don’t end up ingesting any poison.

A lot of money can be saved by doing your own gardening and growing your own fruit or veg. You could grow from seeds instead of bulbs, and still end up with some tasty treats or pretty flowers. At harvest time, the vegetables can be canned or put in jars, ready to be eaten later on. Teaching the children this is valuable skill could be something they can use their entire life.