Valley View Casino - Jackpot

Oma and Opa took a quick break from the bustle of everyday life and headed to the casino last night.

Valley View Casino & Hotel, Southern California's premiere gaming destination, combines the thrill of 2000 of San Diego's only Certified Loose slots and your favorite table games with beautiful luxury hotel rooms, seven delicious restaurants and impeccable guest service. Take a step away from the ordinary and take in every detail we offer, from free live entertainment nightly, breathtaking views, expertly-prepared meals, remarkable amenities and so much more.

Well the slots paid off well for us last night. The photo above is of my biggest jackpot of the evening – Oma won $172.00 on a 50 cent bet!

Valley View Casino -  It was a fun evening that included a “free lobster buffet!”

Free Children's E-Book by Spencer Cluff

Newt Newsberry Black Ops Campaign

Free Children's E-Book - Short description

An average kid, with average friends, takes on the extraordinary goal in becoming America's FIRST kid senator but he must first get through the evil and powerful mayor, Mort Axes, a man who has never lost a fight and will win at all costs. But Newt gets some help from some unlikely friends. Meet them all, starting with Hu Flung Pu, "T-Bone", Alistair Crumpet, and Brooke McVitty.

Author Spencer Cluff

Having a middle grade son that blows through the Wimpy Kid, Big Nate books I felt the market needed more books in that style. Those other books come out annually and a few books for an entire year just does not fill that need of even an average reader. My books are longer than the others currently out there (8-10,000 more words) and I also use a secret code throughout that the kids can use to see the messages between the characters not written in the book. I thought it would be fun to bring back the top secret decoder of the old days and makes the book unique.

Click Here to Get Your Free Children’s E-Book

 Use coupon code AF55C at the checkout to get it free

 

 

 

Grandparent Plays Critical Role

Reef enjoys his homemade quilt

In this day of frequent job transfers and a global business economy, many families are forced to maintain long-distance family relationships. However, one cannot discount the value of a Oma – Kleinkind (Grandmother-Grandchild) Relationship.

Reef - 2 Weeks Old

Grandparents have come to be known as “secondary attachment figures.” According to the article “Back to the Future: How Early Attachments Shape Your Relationships” in the Summer 2007 issue of Attachment Parenting: The Journal of Attachment Parenting International, all attachments whether parent-child or grandparent-grandchild play a crucial role in shaping what a child’s perspective of what “normal” relationships are like.

But even grandparents whose grandchildren do not live with them can have a critical role in supporting their grandchildren’s parents. Grandparents can be great sources of parenting tips and affordable childcare to their grandchildren’s parents.

What Determines a Strong Grandparent-Grandchild Bond?

These elements prove to be crucial in developing a strong grandparent-grandchild relationship:

1. The child feeling a sense of emotional closeness to his grandparent;
2. The child having regular contact with his grandparent;
3. The child viewing his grandparent as a source of social support.

Oma and Reef - Bonding Time

Oma is blessed to have Baby Reef close by. Since his birth, Reef, my first grandchild, (two weeks old) has made me more peaceful and appreciative each day. What a joy. Oma looks forward to nurturing that special Oma – Kleinzoon relationship. 

Opa gets Reef to smille

Check your mood - Keep Smiling

I absolutely love and live by this piece of child rearing advice:

Cranky Baby?  Check Your Mood:

Children take many emotional cues from their parents. That’s why cheerfulness is one of the best ways to respond to a cranky child (newborn), and why a big smile is often the easiest way to sweeten a sour face. But it’s difficult to provide the emotional sunshine your child may need when you’re in a bad mood or when the pressures of the day are making you cranky and short-tempered yourself. If your child seems persistently unhappy, do a quick assessment to see if you may be part of the problem, and then take a few moments to calm your mind and reset your attitude.

When grand-baby Reef Indy gets fussy and cries, Oma first makes sure his needs are met (dry diaper . . . correct temperature . . .); then Oma just relaxes and talks to the newborn.  

It is important to remember that a crying baby who can't easily be soothed can put a lot of stress on the adult caretaker.  You need to remember that crying is normal and take the time to take a few good deep breathes before soothing the child.

 Hello Oma - I am two weeks old today!

The more calm and confident you are in the situation, the easier it will be for your charge to return to his/her happy state.

Source

Free Ruby Tuesday’s Cheeseburgers

Oma is the only person in Reef's Escondido Family who eats meat.  Both Mom and Dad are vegetarians.  Even Opa has stopped eating meat.  While Oma has cut back on eating red meat, a good burger or patty melt does capture the palate every once in a while.

That is why a "Free Cheeseburger at Ruby Tuesdays" sounds perfect for Oma. This Wednesday is National Cheeseburger day and Ruby Tuesday will be giving away a possible 100,000 free cheeseburgers.

Click Here "To Get Your Free Burger"

Be Sure to Thank Ruby Tuesday for their generosity

Like Ruby Tuesday on Facebook

Follow Ruby Tuesday on Twitter

*Reminder, if you get the free cheeseburger, be kind and don’t forget to tip your waiter or waitress, they still have to work hard!

Reef's First Halloween Outfit

With a name like Reef - what could be more appropriate.

chasing fireflies Catalog Photo

If you have a little guppy at home, here's a costume you could have lots of "fin" with. Our delightfully plush hooded bunting has a full front closure and soft teeth around the face. Polyester, polyester-cotton. Imported. One size fits 0/6m. (text from the chasing fireflies catalog)

U Can Find It Here

****WARNING:  Oma ordered Reef Indy's outfit today because she received a free shipping offer in the mail.  I was going to buy it anyway, but the free shipping offer got me on it!

However, forgetting that you always have to read the small print and even though the online shopping cart reported that my "Free Shipping Code" had been accepted - I was charged the full price.   My order did not total $50.00 or more.

*Free ground shipping on orders of $50 or more that are placed by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, September 16, 2013. Enter promo code BOOFREE in step 2 of the checkout process

 

After calling their customer service center, the nice lady who answered the phone stated that there was nothing that they could do for me.  

Oma will let you know about the quality of this product as soon as it arrives.

Talcuim Powder or Cornstach?

Last night Oma and Opa enjoyed watching their kleinzoon (grandson), Reef Indy. This session was much more tranquil. Reef only got fussy once when he was hungry and  after each bowel movement.

Since Reef’s mommy is breast-feeding, Reef’s poop is mustard colored, seedy, and runny. His diaper area looked a tad irritated and chances were Reef was starting to develop a little diaper rash. The best defense against diaper rash is a dry bottom, so Oma changed Reef’s diaper as soon as possible after it became wet or soiled.

Disposable diapers have come a long way since 1961 when Victor Mills, a P&G chemical engineer, first created a disposable diaper to help him better care for his own grandson. The Pampers we are using have a “Color-changing Wetness Indicator” which makes wetness detection much easier. When the yellow line on Reef’s diaper changes to a blue line, Oma knows it is time to change Reef’s diaper; sure beats placing a finger inside a soiled diaper!

Reef Indy - Age 9 Days

Since Reef is a natural baby – Oma put a little organic corn starch on his bottom between changings. Oma heard that talcum powder dust could be harmful to a child's lungs. Therefore, we chose to use cornstarch. Oma put the cornstarch onto her hand, away from Reef’s face (never directly on or near him) and gently rubbed the corn starch on his bottom to help absorb moisture.*

Reef Indy's Dad & Mom

When Mommy and Daddy returned to collect Baby Reef Indy, he was happy and serenely sleeping in his swing.

*At every diaper change, carefully wash away any powder that accumulates in the folds of your child's skin.

Talcum powder is usually made up of various combinations of zinc stearate, magnesium silicates, as well as other silicates which are finely ground. The size of particles is so small that they are both easily carried in the air like dust and can reach even the smallest areas of the lung.

There have been numerous reports of babies having life-threatening episodes from inhaling the powder. And in fact, there have been many deaths reported from aspiration of the powder. A good number of these cases occurred during a diaper change when adult supervision is usually very high. But as every parent knows (including myself), infants and toddlers can be awfully quick sometimes, so reaching for and spilling the powder bottle is not such a hard thing to do for the little ones.

So, clearly talc can cause pneumonia, inflammation (or swelling) of the airways of babies, and even death. But what about cancer? When the link to asbestos and cancer came to light, it was noticed that a lot of the exposure to asbestos was accompanied by other inhalable fibers and dust including talc. However, a specific link to talc exposure and lung cancer has not been established. On the other hand, there has been some interesting research into a possible link of talc to ovarian cancer. (Robert W. Steele, MD, is a board certified pediatrician)