Crawfish Tales is MOVING!

Find Crawfish Tales now at www.crawfishtales.com!

Bittersweet Vacation

Bittersweet is the only way to describe the past weekend. My husband and I took our first vacation without Baby Crawfish to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary.

When I booked the trip to the Marriott Grand Hotel, I had envisioned sleeping late, room service and lounging by the pool with Customer Service by Peter Shankman accompanied by a drink with an umbrella in it. It was the perfect not too close to home but not far enough from Baby Crawfish location.

While I did get the drink with the umbrella and I did read the book, which was great by the way, I did not get the rest of the vision.

It started off by the fact that it took me two days to just pack her! I was so afraid to forget something that she would need that it was an exhausting process. The morning that we left for the trip, hubby and I threw our bags together and ran out of the door. While Baby Crawfish had perfectly matched outfits for her weekend, mommy on the other hand did not. We are talking navy yacht club logo flip flops with a black dress to dinner, oh well.

For the three hour or so ride from New Orleans to Point Clear the topic of conversation was nothing but Baby Crawfish. I am really not sure what we talked about before she was born.

The Grand Hotel is absolutely beautiful, (review of the hotel to come in a later post this week) and just what we needed.

I learned, what many parents before me have learned, you are now trained to be on your child’s schedule. At 6:30AM when hubby and I were wide awake wishing we were still sleeping I knew my vision of sleeping through breakfast was shot. I camped out in the bed and refused to get out before 9AM, strictly on principle.

By the time the last day rolled around I hoped out of the bed at 6:30AM threw the bags together, just as I did when we were packing them in the first place, and convinced hubby that it was time to go home. I just needed to get home to my Baby Crawfish.

Over all the trip was wonderful, hubby and I really enjoyed all the resort had to offer and the uninterrupted conversation. This weekend has shed a light on a new perspective to vacation. You can take the mommy out of the city but you can’t take the mommy out of the girl!

To make it worse, when we got back Baby Crawfish had gotten two teeth in our absence! My first words were, “We are never leaving again.”

Lesson: It is good to get away and be a couple and it is VERY ok to miss your baby terribly!

I will miss her just as much on our next parents’ only vacation! 

Get your entries in!

Just a reminder that all entries for the Ringling Brothers Circus ticket give-a-way must be in by Monday, June 13 by 5PM. 

Get the details here, http://crawfish-tales.blogspot.com/2011/06/give-way-family-night-out-for-greatest.html. 

Use Marketing Powers for Good Not Evil: A Happy Ending

This is an old post that was very popular, that I am reposting with an update. The couple who were fundraising have been blessed with a child! Check out her blog post with the story of how it happened.

Originial Post:
Mommyhood is an amazing and exhausting experience. I wish that everyone, who wants to, could be blessed with the experience. It breaks my hurt to think of a childless mother.

A Facebook friend I went to college with posted on her wall to buy Burpies for Babies. As a mommy who loves to check out baby gear, I clicked the link and was surprised at what I found.

The link goes to a couples blog which details their path to become parents through adoption. Burpies for Babies is a way that they are raising funds to help pay the costs for an adoption.

For just $10 you can get a handmade (and very cute) burp cloth to help this couple from Shreveport, Louisiana. I don't know this couple but hope you can join me in helping them to achieve the most rewarding job of being a parent.

Check out their blog for more of their story and to purchase a Burpie for Babies. Also like them on Facebook.

The Magic Ball

So Vtech invented the Move and Crawl Ball or as it is known in my circle of moms, The Magic Ball. They are doing a terrible job of marketing it so I wanted to throw them a bone.

The Magic Ball has taught many babies, including Baby Crawfish, how to sit up within days of purchasing. I know it sounds crazy. If your child is around the time where they should be learning how to sit up or are trying and just have not gotten it yet…get the Magic Ball.

The Magic Ball is the perfect height to get them that little bit of steadiness and confidence that the child needs to figure out how the sitting up thing works. Once they get the idea, they are good to go.

The ball also rolls around by itself so now that Baby Crawfish crawls, it moves around and she chases it giggling away. There is something about it rolling by itself that she finds hysterical and fascinating.

For just $14.99 at Babies R Us, you can get a Magic Ball that sings, counts, makes animal noises, teaches shapes, rolls, lights up and has taggies. The packaging says promotes sitting, but I have been amazed at the results.

I make a motion to change the name of the Move and Crawl Ball to the Magic Ball. Any one second?

Give- A-Way: A Family Night Out for The Greatest Show on Earth

What:

Watch out NOLA, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® is rolling into town! Crawfish Tales will award two winners with a Family Pack of 4 tickets to the show time of your choice!

BARNUM 200 ^SM, a new jumbo-sized, un-miss-able event celebrating The Biggest Bash in Circus History will be at the New Orleans Arena for seven performances Thursday, June 16 - Sunday, June 19.

From the moment that you arrive, the momentum explodes as The Greatest Show On Earth^® comes to life in a way that can only be inspired by the greatest showman who ever lived.  At BARNUM 200, the funtastic and funbelieveable experience answers “What wonders create The Greatest Show On Earth?”

How To Enter:

To enter, comment on this post and tell me your favorite part of the circus. Is it the elephants, the clowns, the acrobats, the cotton candy?

Tweet or post a link to this give-a-way on Facebook for an additional entry. 

The Circus Experience:

To kick off the The Ringling Bros. experience, a free and open to the public event, the Crescent City Summer Celebration Parade, will be held on June 15 at 11AM at the intersection of Girod Street and Loyola Avenue.

The circus animals will be on parade lead by Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson, along with the show’s clowns and dancers. Guests will also have a chance to win free tickets by catching some of Ringling’s exciting throws!

The parade will begin at the New Orleans Arena and go down Girod Street, left on Baronne Street, up Poydras and conclude on Loyola Avenue. As the parade comes to the end, a “watering” event will be held on Loyola Avenue where spectators will have a chance to see how Ringling keeps its largest and most pampered animals cool in the summer heat.

Bonus: If you have not made plans for Father’s Day. Dad will get in FREE to the circus on June 19^th performances, 1:00 and 5:00PM, code FATHER at the box office.

Deadline: 
All entries must be submitted by June 13. The winner's name will be posted on the blog on June 14. The winner has 24 hours to contact me to claim the prize.

Didn’t Win:

Tickets are $90 (Circus Celebrity), $45 (Front Row), $35 (VIP), $25, and $15 for Reserved Seating. Tickets are available at the New Orleans Arena Box office, online at Ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. 

Crawfish Tales Details:
Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation

When does the new car smell wear off?

I call myself a new parent but when does a new parent stop being a new parent?

Baby crawfish is now eight months old. While I feel like I am getting better at this parenting this or she is getting easier, I still feel like there is so much I don’t know.

A few weeks ago the entire Crawfish family had the stomach flu. I am not ashamed to say that I had no idea what I was doing and the idea of the emergency room did pop into my head several times. We never made it to the emergency room, but it felt like I was back at the beginning of this parenting thing helpless and unsure of what to do. I was able to compose myself, think about the situation, think about what Baby Crawfish needed and respond. I didn’t call my mom. I did it myself…as a mom.

With each new stage she reaches I am learning just as she is. Every time I get confident that I have a handle on this, she throws me a curve ball and does something such as stand up in her bed or gag herself sick on her food.

I am not sure that a new parent ever stops being a new parent in the fact that each and every age brings new rules, products, situations, challenges, and exciting times.  So in that case does the new car smell ever really wear off? 

Give-A-Way: Monte's Birthday Party at Hotel Monteleone

Give-A-Way: Monte's Birthday Party at Hotel Monteleone


Winner: Erika Lehmann. Thank you for submitting the most entires! Enjoy Monte's Birthday Party with your daughter!

What:

The Hotel Monteleone's lovable mascot, Monte, is celebrating his birthday! Crawfish Tales has two tickets to give-a-way!

Monte's birthday party will be on June 11 from 10AM-noon at the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter.

Monte the Lion is one of the most loved – and most cuddly - members of the Hotel Monteleone family. Children attending the party will have the chance to take pictures with Monte on his birthday and play with his mascot friends including Gumbo from the New Orleans Saints, Hugo from the New Orleans Hornets, Boudreaux from the New Orleans Zephyrs, Riptide from Tulane University and Havoc from Loyola University.

A birthday cupcake making station will sweeten the mood along with food, pictures and games. As a special birthday treat, Monte the Lion will premiere his very own children’s book and will sign copies for all party goers.

Didn't win: 
Tickets for Monte's party can be purchased for $25 online.

There is a bonus: Everyone who purchases a ticket will have the chance to win four tickets to “Shrek the Musical” at the Mahalia Jackson Theater and to meet the characters live. “Shrek the Musical” will be in New Orleans May 31 – June 5.

Crawfish Tales Details:
Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation