I’ve long been a fan of tuna salad, but my usual “recipe” consists of just canned tuna and mayo. That’s how my mom always made it, and it’s how my kids like it, so usually I don’t bother to do much else.

But I love going to a nice restaurant for lunch and ordering a fancy tuna salad with herbs and fun flavors and textures so when Sir Kensington’s sent me some of their gourmet mayonnaise to try, I decided it was just itching to be put into a fancier tuna salad. I decided to try my hand at one that was worthy of this new condiment!

First, a word about Sir Kensington’s. We all know that the mainstream store brands of mayo aren’t good for you. They all contain soybean or canola oils, so I often buy organic to avoid the GMOs. But even non-GMO soy oils aren’t really good for you. The diehard real foodies make their own with olive oil, but I have never wanted to bother so I just make do with what I figure is the lesser of the evils. (I like Trader Joe’s brand; it tastes the most like Kraft and Hellman’s. I detest Miracle Whip, and the other organic brands I’ve tried have that sweet taste that I associate with MW. Bleh.)

ANYWHO. Sir Kensington’s offered to send me samples of their gourmet ketchup and mayo, so I happily agreed. Here is what they have to say about it.

Sir Kensington’s is known for their all-natural ketchup line handcrafted from whole tomatoes and featuring ingredients such as honey, raw sugar, apple cider vinegar, lime juice and spices. As a result, Sir Kensington’s has 50% less sugar and 45% less sodium versus other national brands. It’s currently available in two flavors – Classic and Spiced.

The brand is also launching a new Non-GMO Project Verified mayonnaise line – Sir Kensington’s Gourmet Scooping Mayonnaise just in time for the summer. Available in Classic and Chipotle flavors, both mayo’s feature sunflower oil, organic cage free eggs and are gluten-free. Even better, they have 33% less saturated fat versus the leading national brand.

You can imagine how excited I was to hear about this! They sent me full size samples of each variety to try.

The first thing we did was serve them on grilled hamburgers. Everyone loved the ketchup. My husband prefers the Spiced, and the kids like the regular. I don’t do ketchup on burgers, but I did try the Chipotle Mayonnaise. Now I am addicted to Sir Kensington’s Chipotle Mayonnaise on my hamburgers. I won’t use anything else. It’s phenomenal. The creaminess of the mayo enhances the moisture of the burgers, and the spices give it a kick. Here’s the ingredients list. So pure, you could make this at home.

The regular mayo is good too. It has so much more flavor than any other mayo I’ve ever tried, but it’s not sweet at all. When I went to make my fancy tuna salad last week, I immediately went for my Sir Kensington’s.

I chopped up some onion really fine.

And some fresh parsley.

I mixed it all together — the can of tuna (solid white albacore, always!) with 1/2 cup Sir Kensington’s mayonnaise, a tablespoon of the finely chopped sweet onion, a tablespoon of the chopped parsley, and the final gourmet touch — a tablespoon of capers!

I adore capers. I have no idea what they are, but I love them. They take any ordinary dish up a notch or three.

I plated it on a bed of fresh lettuce and served it with a side of grapes.

Delish!

My poor kids are doomed when it comes to their oral health. I personally have had 35 cavities filled, 5 teeth pulled, 2 rounds of braces and 3 root canals in my 40 years here on this earth. I used to blame my rotten teeth on the Coke & Pizza Diet that I lived on for the first half of my adult life, but then I cleaned up my act, and my teeth are still giving me fits. I had two root canals in the last month alone!

My husband’s teeth aren’t quite as bad as mine, but they aren’t great either. We both brush regularly and floss occasionally, ahem. And we eat well.

My kids haven’t fared much better in the oral health department. They have each had a few small cavities filled, and getting them to brush and floss is like . . . I was going to say “pulling teeth” but that metaphor is just too ironic. We’ll go with “a chore”.

But it’s not just that. They all have what the dentist calls “deep grooves” in their teeth — in other words, they are just unlucky recipients of our doomed dental gene pool and will have to work extra hard to avoid cavities. Grand!

They aren’t diligent about their oral health either. There are many days when I ask one or more of my kids if they brushed their teeth, and they give me that sheepish grin. We all know what that means. (“We all” being moms, of course.)

Just thinking about them going through the day like that turns my stomach. I may not be an excellent flosser, but the first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth.

Recently we took my son to the dentist because one of his gums was looking swollen and I was concerned. The dentist looked in his mouth and declared that the swelling was due to plaque around the gum line, and he must start flossing correctly. (My kids have those “flossers” that they use occasionally, but I don’t think they were doing a very good job with them.)

That was the final straw for me. I decided I was taking my family’s oral health into my own hands — quite literally! I actually got into my daughter’s mouth with the floss and showed her what it should feel like. I want my kids to have beautiful, healthy smiles, and there is certainly no reason why they shouldn’t. We do live in 2013, after all!

Our dentist showed my son how to floss properly and get up under his gums on each side of each tooth. I brought the girls over while he demonstrated, so they could see the proper technique. When we got home that day, I made sure to watch them floss and brush to ensure they were doing a good job. And I’ve been diligent about asking them morning and night if they’ve brushed and flossed.

As for me? I have gone from an occasional flosser to a daily flosser. I never EVER go to bed without taking off my makeup and brushing my teeth. WHY can’t I add flossing to that routine? I know, I’m 40 years old and I’m finally coming to this realization. Pitiful. So I did. Just like that. I made a conscious decision to add flossing to my nightly routine and not to deviate for ANY reason, I don’t care HOW tired I am. And I’ve been doing it now for a few weeks.

The other thing we’ve added to our oral health routine is mouthwash.

I’ve never used mouthwash and didn’t really think it was necessary, but given our dental history, I decided we can use all the help we can get.

This campaign with Collective Bias came at just the right time. When they invited me to do a social shopper insights study that required going to Target and shopping for Colgate mouthwash, I had to laugh. They had no idea how ironic this request was for us! Just that day, when I was telling a friend about my son’s swollen gums, she asked if we use mouthwash.

Of course I never need anyone to twist my arm to go to Target, so I took a trip the very next day.

After meandering around the entire store, filling my cart with all sorts of necessities I didn’t know I needed – ha! – I landed in the oral health aisle. Because they were running a buy 2 get one free deal on all Colgate products, I picked up 2 bottles of mouthwash and a tooth brush for me. (I left mine a hotel room somewhere and have been using one of the kids’ freebies from the dentist for the past few months.)

Here’s a picture of my cart before I started loading my loot into my car. Does everyone else always end up with a cart full when they go to Target for “just one thing”?????

My kids were delighted when I got home. Who knew that mouthwash was such a novelty!? Of course, they each wanted their own bottle so I was regretting not buying a few extras, but they’re making do with two for now. I gave them the lecture about never swallowing it, and all that jazz. I’ve been much more diligent about making sure they brush and rinse before leaving the house in the mornings, and each night I make sure they brush and floss and rinse. So far, their teeth are looking much better. My son’s gums are no longer swollen, and their teeth are all looking much whiter.

As for our oral health? Only time will tell. I’d love to spend less time in the dentist’s chair, funding his exotic vacations. We shall see if my new flossing and rinsing regimen will reduce my frequency of cavities and root canals.

For now, these healthy smiles sure are pretty to look at!

A few weeks ago I decided to challenge myself to go through my closet and try to wear a different outfit every day for 30 days. This is an attempt to get out of the habit of wearing the same 5-10 outfits over and over and then getting to the end of the season and realizing that I didn’t wear half of my closet! I think I’m going to take the same approach to menu planning.

I usually sit down here to do this post each week and scan over my Recipe Index and throw my menu together willy nilly. But I have a huge recipe binder where I collect all my favorite recipes (I even print out the recipes that I use frequently from my favorite cookbooks so I have them all in one place) and I don’t use half the recipes in there. So I decided to change that. Today I went through the entire binder, pulled out recipes I don’t think I’ll ever try or make again, and I planned out the next 8 weeks of meals on a spreadsheet, using every single recipe in that binder at least once. When I get through all of it, I’ll just repeat it. I did a summer version for now. When the weather turns, I can do another with my winter recipes. I’m thinking of creating some “printables” with meal plans and grocery lists that I can provide for those who want to join me. Would that be useful??

For this week, here’s what I’ve got on the agenda.

Dinner Menu

MONDAY: Kielbasa on the Grill, Bok Choy with Bacon & Onions, Dill Fingerling Potatoes

TUESDAY: Easy Gluten Free Pizza Pasta with a side salad

WEDNESDAY: Chicken Piccata, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Caramelized Onions, French Potato Salad (recipe to come)

THURSDAY: Grilled Flat Iron Steaks with Wine Reduction (recipe to come . . . if I feel motivated enough to actually make this) with dill fingerling potatoes and mustard greens

FRIDAY: Citrus & Herb Whole Roasted Chicken with Carrots and Onions, leftover fingerling potatoes and/or potato salad

SATURDAY: Phillies Game (in other words, junk dinner)

SUNDAY: Pesto Goat Cheese Pizza and a side salad

And this week I’m going to post my grocery list. This is really for me — because once I put my meal plan together, I rarely go to the next step and make a grocery list for it, so I end up shopping almost every day. Or I deviate and make something not on my plan so I can use what I have at home. Even though this is more for me than you, I am posting everything needed for these recipes even though I have some of it on hand already, in case you want to use it too!  I am hoping that by doing this, I will be able to stick to my meal plan this week!! I love that some of these ingredients are used in several dishes – such as the bacon. It was coincidence, although I should get better about planning my weeks of meals this way.

Grocery List

• 2 packages nitrate-free kielbasa (I use Applegate Farms)
• 1 lb grass fed ground beef (local farm)
• 1 lb nitrate-free bacon (local farm)
• 1 whole chicken (local farm)
• 8 oz pepperoni (I use Applegate Farms)
• 1 dozen eggs
• 1-1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (farmer’s market)
• 1 jar Rose Romano’s Italian Peppers Marinara with Red Bell Pepper
• 3 onions
• 1 orange
• mustard greens (CSA)
• 2 heads garlic
• dill (CSA)
• parsley (CSA)
• basil (my windowsill)
• scallions (CSA)
• 1 head bok choy (CSA)
• 1 bag brussels sprouts (Trader Joe’s)
• 1-1/4 lbs organic fingerling potatoes (Wegmans)
• 2 lbs small red or white boiling potatoes
• 3 lemons
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 lb organic carrots
• dried sage, parsley and thyme
• sea salt and black peppercorns for freshly ground pepper
• 16-oz gluten-free elbow macaroni (DeBoles is my fave)
• gluten-free all-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
• gluten-free seasoned bread crumbs
• chicken broth (homemade or 1 qt box – I buy the box if I don’t have homemade on hand)
• olive oil
• Champagne vinegar
• apple cider vinegar
• dijon mustard
• chardonnay
• prepared pesto or enough basil to make my own
• butter (I stock up on Kerrygold at Trader Joe’s)
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 2 GF pizza crusts (we use Against the Grain)

Gluten Free Living LIVE CHAT

Also, if you’re around at noon on Monday, June 17th, feel free to join our LIVE CHAT over at the Udi’s Gluten Free Community where I’m a Community Leader. We will be talking about gluten free living during the summertime, and we’re giving away some FABULOUS GIFT PACKS with Udi’s products. YUM!

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The other day, my recent copy of InStyle Magazine was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, and my 13-year-old son walked by and said, Mom, why do you have all these fashion magazines?

It’s for work, I shrugged.

I always get a chuckle when I say that. But truly, I do comb through every issue of InStyle and People Style Watch diligently, ear-marking pages and gathering ideas for my fashion posts.

This week I want to share my latest fashion crush — printed wedges.

I love a wedge sandal. The height makes me look taller and slimmer and gives me confidence. Just about every outfit looks better with heels. The wedge also gives you stability that most heels don’t, and a sandal generally stays on your foot without squeezing your heels and toes like a pump. A wedge sandal is also a more casual look than a pump or a high-heeled sandal so it’s great for elevating your everyday outfits . . . haha, I’m punny.

The printed wedges are too much fun. And the best part about wearing a printed shoe is you don’t really need a lot of excitement in your outfit. This is the perfect accessory for a plain jane like me! Just be sure to keep up your pedicure. No one wants to see dirty, scaly feet or chipped nail polish in a cute sandal.

I set out to find some cute printed wedges to whet your appetite. I started with my favorite shoe shopping site, Zappos. I love Zappos because of their easy return policy and free shipping. I also checked out Piperlime and Nordstrom. Again, they make shipping free and returns easy! And don’t forget about Amazon. I’m a Prime member, so I get free 2-day shipping on every order. They have lots of great shoe and clothing brands and often their prices beat their competitors. It’s always worth a look! Payless and Target have great styles for great prices, but I prefer to shop in store. (Although with the Target REDcard, you do get free shipping.) Here’s what I came up with!

12 Printed Wedge Sandals

1. Luichiny Women’s My Fair Lady Wedge Sandal, $59.96
2. Kate Spade New York Irina, $197.99
3. Born Cassady, $150
4. Nine West Dig, $99
5. Betsey Johnson Rambling, $79.99
6. JustFab Anacapri – Black, $54.99
7. Via Spiga Cai, $159.99
8. Splendid Kikka, $89.99
9. BC Footwear Kissable, $46.86
10. Women’s Nautical High Wedge Sling, $19.99
11. Sam & Libby Kelly Wedge Sandal, $34.99
12. Mossimo Pemella Demi Wedge, $32.99

Last week, I began officially training for my half marathon (13.1 miles) coming up in September. I’ve never run more than 6 or 7 miles at a time, and even those events have been few and far between, so I’m a bit intimidated by the idea of these long runs I have in my future. I’ve always heard people talking about their “long runs” and it always sounded so elite. So official. Like they belonged to some exclusive runner’s club.

I guess I’ve joined the club because now I’m the one talking about my long runs, and trying to figure out how to prepare for them and how to fit them into my schedule and what I’ll need to stay hydrated and fueled and injury-free.

At first, I didn’t need much for my running hobby besides a good pair of shoes, some moisture-wicking apparel and my iPod. Over time I’ve slowly gathered other running paraphernalia such as an armband and headphones for that iPod, athletic sunglasses that don’t slip and a cool Garmin watch so I can monitor my pace. But now that I’m preparing for the half, I’m looking into that “goo” you hear about (or energy gels) and hydration packs and blister treatments. It’s all part of membership in that exclusive club, I guess!

Enter New Skin, makers of Liquid Bandage and other products to treat and protect cuts and scrapes. Since it was such a great fit for my half marathon goals, I’ve agreed to participate in a 3-month program where I will try out New Skin products and use them as needed. So far I haven’t really had any issues but I hear stories of blisters and chafing and all sorts of lovely side effects of distance running. Thanks to the package from New Skin that I received last week, I’m thrilled to already have some great tools in my arsenal. 

New-Skin® Liquid Bandage and Liquid Bandage Spray can be used to help prevent bacterial contamination in minor cuts and scrapes. Both dry rapidly to form a tough protective cover that is antiseptic, flexible, waterproof, and lets skin breathe. Their Anti-Chafing Spray is a waterproof silicone-based formula that prevents and soothes chafing and blistering from friction or rubbing. You can buy all three of their products over the counter at most drugstores and pharmacies.

I’m starting to put together a Runner’s Toolkit so I have everything I need when I start getting into those long runs. Here’s a list of what I think I’ll need. 

1. water (and a Hydration Belt)
2. GU energy gels
3. New-Skin® Liquid Bandage, New-Skin® Liquid Spray Bandage and New-Skin™ Anti-Chafing Spray
4. an awesome playlist (I’m working on that. Post soon to come!)
5. Garmin Forerunner

I’d love to get your feedback, if you’re a runner. What else should I have in my Runner’s Toolkit??

Be sure to check out the New Skin Facebook Page for tons of tips and recipes and motivation. I love how they encourage an active lifestyle. They even have a section on their website to help you find events and activities in your area.

New-Skin® recently conducted a survey finding that 66% of people cite general fitness, exercise, conditioning and overall well-being as their motivation or reason for running. New-Skin has been providing active skin protection for over 100 years, so get outdoors and be active with New-Skin!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of New-Skin. The opinions and text are all mine.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of New-Skin.  The opinions and text are all mine.

I just discovered this carnival called InstaFriday and I have to join in! Yes, I know it’s not Friday, although it feels like it because today is the last day of school for our kids and the whole week has felt a little bit off. But anyway, I will still link up tomorrow, but I’m posting today since I don’t really have any other posts ready to go!

I love Instagram. It’s my favorite of all the social networks — probably because it hasn’t yet been ruined by brands trying to get in on it (although I’m sure that’s just a matter of time). For now, I enjoy seeing everyone’s life in pictures. And of course I enjoy sharing mine when the inspiration strikes. Here are my favorites from this week. In fact, I’m going back further than a week because I haven’t done much instagramming lately. I guess I’ll have to get better at that!

I’m jolynneshane on Instagram if you want to follow along!

Yes, I’m a dork. I take pictures of eggs. I love getting fresh eggs from local farms — no two are alike. Of course nothing in nature is, but we get so used to factory-farmed everything that we forget sometimes.

I ordered these wine glasses from Crate & Barrel and I was so delighted with them when they arrived that I had to take a picture. I went through a stemless wine glass phase, but I’m over it. They just don’t have the same ambience. I chose these delicate stems for the form factor. I hope they don’t all end up broken before the summer’s out!

We made these cupcakes on a whim one night. My son wanted to make something and he went scouring through my cookbooks until he found this old favorite – Bonnie Butter Cupcakes. I helped him make them, then later on that night I frosted them and the girls did the sprinkles. They all declared them the best cupcakes ever. Since going gluten free, I rarely bake anymore, so I don’t think they’ve had them in recent memory. I have a feeling they will be in our house often now that they’ve been discovered.

My husband and I went out to our favorite restaurant last Friday for a date night – Majolica in Phoenixville, for you locals. We ordered the chef’s 8-course tasting menu, which is always a delight! This was our favorite course, although they were all fabulous. This is Charred Spanish Octopus with Feta and Marjoram. Oh yeah, baby!! The flavors were a party in my mouth. I could have happily eaten 5 of those plates.

After spending a week on the couch, it felt great to get back out there and RUN on Tuesday! I did 4 miles in 41 minutes, and I took this selfie when I was done because I’m a dork like that.

And today is the last day of school for my three. I grabbed this picture of the girls before they headed to the bus stop.

Let me know if you participate in InstaFriday. I’d love to stop by and check it out!

I’m well into Week 2 of my 30 Days of Summer Outfits challenge, and so far I’m having fun. I’d be having MORE fun if I hadn’t been stuck on the couch all last weekend with dreadful toothache pain and nausea, but let’s not dwell on that!

For those just tuning in, I decided that I have too many clothes that I don’t wear so I’m challenging myself to wear a different outfit every day for 30 days. I hope some of you will join me! I’ll be hosting a Linky on July 1st where we you can link up a post or a Pinterest board of the 30 outfits you’ve worn this month.

Here are the rules: 

1. Wear a different outfit every day for 30 days. Try to wear as many different pieces from your wardrobe as possible.
2. You CAN repeat pieces of clothing, as long as you don’t repeat an entire outfit. So you can wear the same jeans twice, but not with the same top. Kapish?
3. Take a photo each day and post them on July 1st. Then link up your post to my 30 Days of Outfits carnival. (If it’s too much of a hassle to take a picture of YOU wearing your outfit each day, you can always just take a photo of the clothes by themselves.) It’s super easy to use PicMonkey to make a collage of your outfits. Or if pictures and collages sound daunting, just list what you wore; that’s fine too! I’m easy! This is for fun, not to be stressful. If you don’t have a blog, you can link to a Pinterest board that you create.

Here is what I’ve been wearing this week!

30 Days of Summer Outfits {Days 6 – 12}

Day 6: Coral and pink striped top from LOFT with cuffed jeans shorts and silver flips — just an easy, casual outfit for a day kicking around the house.

Who needs a haircut!? I remedied that problem the very next day.

Day 7: Black maxi skirt with orange tank (Banana Republic) and orange/taupe/black/white scarf (Banana Republic Outlet, new!!) The silver wedge flip-flops are Reefs, and I wore a simple silver chain link bracelet. I posted about how this outfit came together in my How to Style a Maxi Skirt post.

Incidentally, Banana Republic is running a 35% off promotion for today and tomorrow. This could be dangerous. (Code is SAVE35BR if you’re interested!)

Day 8: Black Ruffle top (CAbi) with red jeans (DL 1961 Emma Legging) and black patent wedge sandals. The silver necklace is Stella & Dot, and I wore dangly silver earrings and a grouping of black and silver stretch bracelets.

I really wanted a higher, sexier shoe (this was a date night) but it was chilly and rainy and I wanted something I could walk in comfortably so I just stick to these. I guess they worked. This outfit is actually one of three that I tried on to wear that night. I got quite an incredible response on my Facebook page when I posted the three outfits to get feedback. I like the other two outfits so I might try to incorporate them later this month, but this one felt more like a date night to me although the red jeans are a little too short for my liking. Why yes, I AM a little OCD, thanks for noticing.

Day 9: White V-Neck 3/4-Sleeve Tee (CAbi) with coral shorts (J.Crew Factory, new!!) and pink/coral statement necklace.

I’d been dying to wear this outfit ever since I bought the shorts and necklace at the J.Crew Factory Outlet a few weeks ago. I put it on to wear to a Blues Festival on Saturday and had to have my husband turn the car around when I started feeling sick on the way there. I had thought I was feeling well enough to go but alas. It was not meant to be. So I ended up wearing this outfit to doze on the couch while my family attended the festival. Good times!

I love the necklace. I don’t have anything like it, and I can’t wait to wear it again!

I think this outfit would be cute with a chambray shirt tied at the waist. I really need to get one of those!

Day 10: Purple tank with cut-offs and Puma sneakers.

In light of my struggles with plantar fasciitis, I’ve been advised to spend more of my time wearing supportive shoes. I just laughed when my doctor told me this and said, “Clearly you haven’t seen my blog!” Sneakers aren’t usually the fashion statement I like to make, but I need to be more sensible if I want to continue training for this half marathon so I figured I’d at least buy a pair that are cuter than my typical running shoe. I actually like the looks of these quite a lot — plus they are very supportive and comfortable.

Day 11: Blue and white striped top with white jeans and silver ballet flats.

I’ve love this top that I picked up at Old Navy last spring. It makes me feel very French for some reason! I wore this outfit to get a root canal (joy!) and then to my son’s 7th grade awards assembly.

Day 12: Magenta (yes, it is magenta, not red, I have no clue why it looks red in this picture!!) Timeless V-Neck Tee with gray khaki cuffed shorts (both from Banana Republic last year) with brown embellished sandals. The necklace is from Studio Jewel. Adding an accessory to the simplest of outfits always takes the style quotient up a notch or two.

I was actually a good girl and wore my sneakers when I left the house, but I couldn’t resist taking the picture with the sandals I’d prefer to wear.

And that’s a wrap! For more fashion-over-40 inspiration, check out all of my Daily Mom Style posts!

I’m linking up with:

I had some mahi mahi from Trader Joe’s in my freezer and decided to try something new. I went online and discovered this recipe for ginger glazed mahi mahi and decided it was exactly what the doctor ordered!

It’s super easy to put together and only requires 20-30 minutes of marinating. Then you just return the marinade to the pan to create the glaze at the end. SO EASY!

I served it over rice with a side of sautéed swiss chard.

I’ve told you before how I’m enjoying Shopcade, a new personal shopping app that brings relevant deals directly to users based on what they want – like Pinterest with direct shopping and saving capability.

Because June is wedding month, Shopcade is partnering with jewelry brand Ettika for a fabulous wedding themed Twitter party at 9PM EST on June 20th. If you love jewelry, you won’t want to miss out.

They sent me an Ettika bracelet to see for myself the quality and value they have to offer, and I can’t wait to receive the Braided Gold Leather Bracelet with Multi Faceted Beads. It’s going to be perfect for stacking with some of my more colorful bracelets for summertime.

If you have a special occasion coming up, you should definitely take a look at their wedding collection. So many gorgeous pieces to choose from!

Here are some ideas for outfits to wear to a summer wedding, including accessories from Ettika!

Casual Wedding:

Semi-Formal Wedding:

Formal Wedding:

Which look is your favorite?

I was sitting in my son’s 7th grade award’s assembly when I got the phone call.

“Um . . . Jo-Lynne . . . I think you forgot . . .”

Once again, another Mom Fail moment has left me feeling irked and demoralized. I feel like I can never get it right, no matter how hard I try. I am either late to arrive, or I forget to go, or I write the time down wrong, or I forget to pick something up at the store, or I forget to send whatever I bought at the store to the classroom . . . but today I took the Mom Fail to a whole new level.

I actually remembered to buy the water bottles for the class party, and I even wrote it down on my calendar so I’d remember to send them in, but I wrote down to send them in on the wrong day. Of course the wrong day being 2 days late (cuz it would have been too convenient to send them in two days early!)

I. Give. Up.

I console myself only with the fact that I was supposed to bring water, not something fun like cupcakes or something essential like plates and napkins.

(Note to self. Send plates and napkins with child #2 on WEDNESDAY.)

As an aside, I think the reason I wrote it down wrong on my calendar was because I  was sending something with child #2 on Wednesday so when I agreed to send something with child #3, I assumed their end-of-year class parties were on the same day.

I’m telling you, I can’t win. I don’t know why I bother volunteering to do anything. I think I’m more trouble than I’m worth.

Yeah, Mom, I know, that is “bad self talk” but honestly, how can a 40-year-old grown woman with three kids be so irresponsible?

And as if I’m not feeling sorry for myself enough already . . . I spent the entire weekend laid up. (Not that I can use that as an excuse for getting the day of the class party wrong. That was just a stupid mistake, plain and simple. But it still adds fuel to the fire.)

I had a brief reprieve from my dental woes after my last root canal back in April, where I had horrible pain resulting from my bite not being right and had to go back two times before it was corrected. And because I live in the boonies, I had to drive 30 minutes each way to get those 5-minute adjustments. Color me annoyed.

Finally that tooth had settled down and I was just about to go back in to have that temporary cap replaced when the tooth pain started up again — on the Friday evening of Memorial Day Weekend, no less. So I spent that entire weekend in pain.

Come to find out when I got to the dentist on the following Tuesday, it was actually the tooth beside the original root-canalled tooth (canal is now a verb; I hereby declare it) that was acting up. Good times!

So. I made an appointment to have a 2nd root canal, but before I could get to it, I started in with excrutiating pain — worse, even, than it was over Memorial Day weekend.

It was so bad that I ended up alternating Percocet and Ibuprofen for the last 2 days, basically sleeping and reading books to try and keep my mind off the pain (want a good summer read? I have several to recommend) and in the process, losing an entire weekend of my half marathon training that I was sadistically looking forward to. I also missed my son’s baseball game and my daughter’s choir performance.

Woe is me . . .

I can honestly not imagine how people with chronic pain or illnesses keep their sanity.

This morning, bright and early, I called up my friendly endodontist (yes, I call him mine; after 3 root canals in this office, I have added him to my speed dial and probably bought his summer home at the shore) and pretty much demanded an emergency root canal, which he graciously provided.

I always chuckle in a jaded sort of way when I walk in and they ask how I’m doing — as if I’d be there if I were feeling hunky dory.

So after another excruciating hour in his vinyl recliner chair, here I am, home again, home again, jiggity-jig, with another dead tooth (hopefully) and another temporary filling.

But, naturally, my bite feels high. Only time will tell if it is going to cause me undue pain and distress or not, but I am not feeling overly optimistic. I have a sinking feeling I will be taking more Ibuprofen tonight and will be schlepping back to my friendly endodontist again tomorrow. In fact, right now I’m pretty sure I’m doomed to an eternity of regular dental visits.

And while I’m complaining. Have I mentioned that my plantar fasciitis is acting up again and I’ve been seeing a chiropractor 2-3 times a week for that?

It’s a good thing work is slow right now because I feel like I am never home.

I realize these are first world problems. I am so thankful that it’s nothing serious, but being in constant pain for weeks on end doesn’t do much for one’s good humor.

In more pleasant news, my son received an award today for excellence in band. It’s a character acknowledgement as much as a performance-based award, so we’re pretty proud of him. I guess I must not totally stink as a mom. Maybe by some miraculous feat, they will all three inherit their father’s responsible nature and not end up a space cadet like me.