Basketball Camp

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For Spring Break Elijah got to go to Triple Threat Academy basketball camp. Three days. 9am-2pm. All basketball. Basketball bliss for Elijah. He came home from camp and went straight to the backyard to practice more basketball.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and you have a kid who loves basketball I highly recommend Triple Threat Academy. Great programs. Great coaches. And if you tell them I sent you I might get a plastic trophy or a pizza party.

If you are not in the Bay Area, I recommend the show "The Biggest Loser." I am late to the Loser party because I just started watching it this season. I love it and it makes me cry every week. What does that have to do with basketball camp. Absolutely nothing.

Elijah and his buddy, Kaiden with Ray Young (former Bruin and former pro)

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Hollywood Days - AEFK Fashion Show

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I talked about Athletes and Entertainers for Kids in a previous post. It is a great charity that I was very involved with in my Hollywood Days. One of their big event was a Fashion Show sponsored by Harper's Bazaar. And based on my Stylin' Saturday posts as well as my tall and thin physique, I know you are all wondering, Wendy, were you in that fashion show? Or were you one of the featured designers?

Sorry to disappoint - no and no. I guess they wanted it to be professional or something stupid like that.

Can anyone guess who that is on the cover of the magazine?

(with Kathy Ireland)

(With A.C. Green, who played for the Lakers at the time)

(Billy Zabka and Mark Clayman who I featured in a previous post.)

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I Heart Faces . . . and Smiles

Pin It Now! There is a cool photography wesbsite that Mel introduced me to (she is a legit photographer) called iheartfaces. They host a weekly photo contest. I am not a professional photographer and I don't even have a fancy camera. But I do like to take pictures so I thought I'd enter this week.
The theme is "Smiles." I think I picked a good one . . . and so did Jordis.

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Winner of the 2nd Annual DMV Contest Is . . .

Pin It Now! And the winner of the Second Annual Dirty Minvan Competition is . . .

Erin at Bringing up Burns.

She won with 55% of the votes. Did I mention that Erin won the Most Cluttered Purse Contest last year? She is full of love! Erin will be receiving a lovely rubber chicken to further decorate her ride as well as $40 credit to Michelle's Scentsy store. Even though her SUV wreaks, her house doesn't have to!

Here is an example of a Scentsy Candle (go Bruins!). You plug it in and it brings light and a sweet scent to the room. Headless Belle Barbie not included.

Congrats to Anita who came in second with 30% of the votes! Several people expressed how hard it was to make the call between Anita and Erin. I do believe it was Erin's porta-potty (in the form of a McDonald's cup) that pushed her over the top. Oh yea, and the beer too.


Erin and Anita, you should definitely take a road trip together. You would have everything you need and then some. I bet it would be a blast!

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all of the competitors and give them some make-believe awards:

1. "Best Side Door Action" goes to Busy Mommy Media.

2. "Best Use of Space" for her Center Console goes to Barbie

3. "Car You Want to Have With You in Space" goes to Michelle at idontbelieveingrammar

4. "Your Car Was Really Not That Bad so your Husband Should Take You Out to Dinner" goes to Carol-Ann.

5. "Mostly Likely Provide Meals" Mel at The Larson Lingo (She had the other 15% of the votes)

6. "Coolest Van Ever" goes to Holly Hatch Grabeel

7. "Most Likely to Flash Barbie's Booty at You" goes to Heather at Cookie Mondays

8. "Most Potential to Take Home the Chicken Next Year" goes to Krsiten at The Supan Clan.

9. "Most Caffeinated Ride" goes to Janie Taylor.

10. "Most Equipped to Go Camping and Most Likely to House Old MacDonald Until Next Year's Contest" goes to Amy at Una Mama Loca

11. "Most likely to be Mistaken for a Gangta Minivan" goes to Anita and her graffiti-skilled daughter

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Stylin' Saturday - Lead by Example

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This week we have a guest fashionista. Her tip?

"Just follow my lead."

*** Only two more day to vote in the Dirty Minivan Competition. Get after it.

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Pouty

Pin It Now! Somebody in our family knows how to pout. She's bummed that I won't be winning the Dirty MiniVan Contest--even if I was eligible. Erin and Anita are the fierce front runners for the W.

Only 3 more days to vote. Your vote could change someone's life forever. In a rubber chicken and Scentsy kind of way.

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Hollywood Days - Jason Marsden Part 2

Pin It Now! ***Don't forget to vote in the amazing (and I mean that) second annual Dirty MiniVan Competition!

If you missed Part 1 of Jason's story then go check it out and come back!

And so begins Part 2:
Munsters was on Stage 44. Next to us were shows like “Coach”, and “Charles in Charge”, and a new show called “American Gladiators”. In my Eddie Munster makeup, it was easy for me to roam in and out of “Closed Sets”, because one look at me, and ‘hey, he must be in the movie business’. The summers of ’89 and ’90 were particularly memorable as I got to frequent the sets of “Back to the Future II” and “Dick Tracy”.I remember spending every free chance I had, taking a quick bike ride over to the “BTTF” set to watch Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) being chased on futuristic hoverboards!

“Dick Tracy” was also a fun film to have around. That production took up most of the soundstages and backlot. Easily recognizable because most of the sets were painted in primary colors to affect that “comic strip” look. Plus actors walking around in the Award Winning special effects make-up was a hoot. I constantly would run into Al Pacino, but in his heavy “Big Boy” prosthetics, I had no idea it was him.

I had lived right across the street from Universal in an apartment building that is now the Universal City subway station. Back then, there were no terrorist threats or the like, and Security was so relaxed, on Sundays I would ride my bike right through the Lankershim gate and spend my weekend riding around the Universal Backlot!

There’s another attraction that used to be called the Ice Tunnel. The Tram would pass through it and the tunnel would rotate giving you the sense of vertigo. I once tailgated the Tram on my bike...not a smart thing to do...if I happen to fall off the sides, it would have been like throwing myself into a tumble dryer. Not smart...but I was 15. Needless to say, I made it through and lived to tell the tale!What the tourists on the Tram didn’t get to do, was walk IN the backlot facades (the faux city streets, houses, etc.) Like an urban explorer, I scoured the catwalks of New York Street. I pretended to be Norman Bates in the famous Psycho house.

I walked Colonial Street passing by the houses built for Leave it to Beaver, Animal House, even the original Munsters house (which, ironically, we did not use in our show). It was even easy for me to sneak into the Universal Studios attractions!

Those two years were amazing! Munsters was not a ‘hit’ show per se, but it was a recognizable project. And because of that, I got the perks of being a ‘celebrity’ for a fleeting moment. Christina, Wendy, Carol Anne, and I would be treated to trips to San Diego or Magic Mountain, or the opening of a restaurant, or parade, usually promoted by whichever Teen Celeb tabloid that wanted the exclusive. We got to meet some of our favorite stars, hung out with the likes of newcomers like, oh say, Leo...or Tobey, and made memories to impress our children.

(From Wendy: A pic from a day at Magic Mountain for "Celebrity Teen Talk."

I don't remember all the names but front row from left:

a guy (Jason- do you know who that is?, then Hilary Van Dyke from Jason's show, Alyson Hannigan, me, Christina Nigra, and guy with gold chain and collar action.

Back row from left: Paul Something (Kerry Sable Villar, I know you know his last name! What is it?), Andre Gower (remember him from my other post?), Stephen Dorff, Jason, Soleil MoonFrye, Brian Austin Green)

(Wendy's Pic: Jason and I dancing at a TeenBeat weekend in San Diego)

(Me, in school. Wasn't my favorite part of the day. Could it have been the carpeted walls and ceiling???)

(The late Pat Morita from Karate Kid guested for one episode. He constantly gave me advice on how to make my bits funnier. I loved getting comedy tips from Arnold from Happy Days!)

Next season Jason will do another guest post about his experience working on "Step by Step."

*Thanks Jason for sharing with us!

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Feel Free to Steal my Likes

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I received the "Circle of Friends Award" from my blogger friend, Wendy (mom and cancer survivor), over at Like My Baby.

1.There is no shame in the fact that I am responding to this award with the "Sunshine Award" that I received (after millions of votes) in December.

2. There is also no shame that I am combining this award with one I received from Amanda (friend from high school who blogs about Hawaii stuff and healthy eating) at The Grains of Paradise.

3. Once again, zero shame that I am also combing this with the "Honest Scrap" award I received from Diva Mom at Diary of a Diva Mom.

4. And lastly, there is no shame that I am not following the rules of the awards. Because as far as I know there are no blog-award police.

But I do accept these awards and here is my acceptance speech:

Thanks for the trophy and $5000 cash card that I am supposed to pass along, but will not.
Thanks for these prestigious awards (they are not like chain letters, they are not like chain letters) by telling you about three things I like because you may have run out of things to like. In which case feel free to steal my likes.

1. I like big butts and I cannot lie . . . sorry.

I just had to write that. Because I used to dance to that song in high school. Now I listen to the lyrics and think "Wow. Probably shouldn't have danced to those inappropriate lyrics." But I do like music. So here are two up and coming bands who I like and who don't sing about big butts. And I like the people in them. They are my friends. You should like them too.

Northern District.
Listen here.

And until Northern District gets all famous the girl singer (Rachel) babysits for us and we love her. The boy singer leads worship at our church and is one of the best in the world. They work in collaboration with Cameron Jaymes of . . .

Jaymes Reunion Their album "Everything You've Been Looking For" came out TODAY! And you can get two free songs here. You can get the entire album on itunes for $7.99 like I did! One of the songs is the acoustic version of Lydia's favorite dance song, "Fine." It is one of our main dance songs here in the Hagen house as you can see from this video. The kids are still working on their rhythm and dance-moves repertoire. Apparently Elijah is working on his twitching capabilites and clearly I am still working on my house cleaning vibe.

2. I like podcasts.

In particular I love to listen to my pastor Steven Madsen (Cornerstone Fellowship) and Chris Brown (pastor at North Coast Church in San Diego.)

Lately I have been listening to some awesome messages from Chris Brown. He was Shiloh's intern when Shiloh was in junior high. Shiloh later interned for Chris' youth group. Shiloh was in Chris's wedding, Chris married us, we love the Brown family, Chris' wife is incredible . . .

The point is--this guy is legit and sincere and the real deal and he is ridiculously gifted in teaching.

Here are my recent favorites:

Faith and Doubt

Investing Wisely in a New Decade (message after his trip with Compassion to Kenya)

Nanny 911 (If you are a parent - LISTEN TO THIS! BEST MESSAGE ON PARENTING THAT I HAVE EVER HEARD!)

3. I like books. Lately I like these ones:

In case I run out of things to like, what do you like?

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Meet the Cats

Pin It Now! If you have not checked out the Dirty Minivan Competition yet - check it out. Brace yourself and then go vote. STIFF COMPETITION.

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We have two cats. I used to despise cats. But after six months of marriage we decide to try for a pet and we ended up with these two guys.

This is Phayce (pronounced Face). We spell it like that because we can. We call him Facial for long. We are an Apple family through and through.

Phayce is smart and mischievous. He cannot be trusted with doors because he will open them and escape. This is an escape in progress.

This is Banshee. He is sweet and not so smart. He doesn't open doors, but he does steal pacifiers.


And he plays dress up with Lydia.

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Stylin' Saturday - Argyle Socks

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BLOG PARTY WINNER OF THE $100 GIFT CARD to fair trade company Trade as One . . .

Random.org picked comment 158 Lovelyritaan! Congratulations.

Now I need to tell you about this funny I received last week. Clearly this person has never read my blog and this is some sort of automated email.

"Hi,

I’m about to launch my website and I was hoping perhaps you might consider very briefly mentioning my site? I would very gladly send $50 via paypal. I’m starting a fashion store with guides on comfortable fashion and ugg boots. I was hoping to get support of fashion bloggers like yourself to help me get things off the ground. I could also create a $30 gift certificate for 100 of your readers as well?

Hope I haven’t wasted your time."

Dear Clueless Person Who is Going to Start a Fashion Store,
You have wasted your time.
Love,
The Totally Desperate Mom

Just kidding. I didn't reply at all, but I have wasted some time.

Here are some tips from Elijah although he is very hesitant to share his style these days. As evidenced by these uncooperative photos (of the utmost poor quality).

Argyle socks go with everything. Especially Air Jordans, basketball shorts, and micky mouse t-shirts. Don't ever be afraid to argyletize.

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Time to Vote!

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It is time to judge, but remember it's a vote for love. I know I have many OCD readers and friends who can barely even handle saying the words "Dirty Minivan." There are others of you who hear those words and it is like music to your soul. And you begin to dance. But you can't find your dancing shoes because they are in your DMV beneath a stack of jackets, crushed goldfish, and receipts. Can we all just get along?

One vote per person, but if you involve other members of your household (not your pets or anyone who wears diapers) you can vote on their behalf. Leave your vote in a comment. You don't need to explain why you voted for a particular vehicle, but it does make things a little bit more fun if you do.

Although you might be compelled to vote for me (that is an updated pic of my DMV at the top of the voting page), I will not accept your accolades. I know I am a winner.

Thanks for playing. And remember-where there is love, there is a trashed car.

Now go be a good citizen and rock the vote. Check out all the links as well as the submission from a non-blogger! Voting is open until April 25th. Tell a friend.

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Hollywood Days - Jason Marsden Part 1

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I know I said that Christina Nigra was going to be posting it up this week. However, she is busy cleaning out her dirty minivan (or is it still a Prius?) so Jason stepped up to the plate! You may have seen him on "The Munsters Today" or "Step by Step" or the movie "White Squall" or "Fun with Dick and Jane" or a number of other things. You also may have heard his voice - it's all over the cartoon world! And he is still going strong in the entertainment business . . . welcome Jason Marsden!

Hello to Wendy's readers! Ready for some more teen-actor memories?! In trying to decide which yarn to spin, I perused an old album of pictures for inspiration. The bulk of what I was looking at were my days working on the Universal Backlot. Which is appropriate, I think, because that’s where Wendy and I met while she was working on Lassie.
(Wendy, me, and her friend Sara)

That’s also where I met Dah Ve and Carol Anne who were just mere soundstages away working on their respective shows.
I know Christina came to visit me a few times, David Moscow (who will be guest posting soon)well . . . David was too, “Big” and famous to hang out with the likes of us. Unless it was a teen magazine photo shoot - he loved those! (Wendy totally added that last sentence and knows she will get full retribution for that comment if David ever reads it.)
Anyhoo, that particular point in time seems to tie us all together. So yes, I’ll delight you with Munster Memories!

Quick recap on me. Originally from Rhode Island, re-located to Los Angeles in 1987 with my parents. Nearly a year into our stay it was recommended to my folks that they attempt to get me into the biz. The did. I was graciously accepted. After booking a few commercials, some voice overs, and guest gigs on different projects, I landed my first television series: “The Munsters Today”. I played Little Eddie. We taped the first season at the old Hollywood Center Studios, which is where I first met Christina Nigra!
(Christina came to visit! The pic is a little weird lookin' cuz it's a fancy schmancy 3D photo! That's right, we were in 3D before it became cool!)

I had seen her on Twilight Zone and Cloak and Dagger and was, admittedly, a little star-struck to meet her. We became pals after sharing the same Publicist with the likes of Brian Austin Green and Stephen Dorff and attending many fun Teen-Celeb events.

(My pal Danica McKellar (Wonder Years) and her sis, Crystal came to visit! Danica and I became fast friends after discovery that we shared the exact same birthday. I think I'm a few hours older. **Side note by Wendy: I am trying to get Danica to do a guest post too. She is now on the verge of joining the Totally Desperate Mom club. Due with her first baby this Fall!)

(Me, in my Little Lord Fauntleroy get up, with Lee Merriwether who was Miss USA 1955, and Catwoman in the 60s Batman movie. When Munsters Today got picked up for a second season, they decided to ditch the purple duds and give Eddie a 'cooler' look.)
I enjoyed playing Eddie. Yes, I dare say, I even enjoyed the purple Little Lord Fauntleroy suit I had to wear every week.

(You never know who would stop by the set. Here's Jonathan Winters!)

I’ve always been a fan of Halloween and playing dress up, and as long as I can remember, being fascinated with Hollywood Special FX! The Munsters more than sated that fascination. Especially, when we found out we were to be picked up for a second and third season, and relocated to Universal Studios!

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Come back next Wednesday for Part 2 of Jason's posts. More pics and stories of his adventures on the backlot of Universal Studios! If you have a question for Jason leave a comment and I'm sure he'd love to answer them. He's friendly like that. In the meantime, a big congratulations to Jason and his beautiful wife, Christy. They welcomed Clark Otis into this world on February 17th of this year. Just 3 1/2 months before he was scheduled to arrive! And praise God the little blessing who was born so prematurely is doing great! You can check out Clark and stay updated with his growth and adventures on their blog, Chronicles of Clark.

**Part 2 of Jason's Post.
*** My Q & A with Jason about his role in the movie Blue Like Jazz.

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Showcase Your Dirty Minivan Here!

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This year I have decided to introduce Mr. Linky to Dirty MiniVan competition. I have never had a relationship with him before, but thought I would give him a chance even though his name kind of creeps me out. But by using him, all you fierce Dirty Minivan contestants can just do your own link to your blog post about your pimped out, dirty vehicle. You don't need to email me any photos (unless you don't have a blog) because Mr. Linky will just take people to your post, which will give me more time to go to imaginary/fake/virtual parties.

Let me remind you of the very serious and important rules:

1. HOW TO ENTER:

Please display the pics of your sweet vehicle on your own blog and link it below with Mr. Linky. If you do not have a blog please email me your photos and I will showcase your pride and joy for you.

Your entries are due by April 15th. Don't start voting until the 16th. There is no "I just cleaned out my car excuse" because certainly by April 15th you will have restocked it again.

2. VOTING:

After you go check out the submissions leave a comment here with your vote (between April 16th and April 25th) and any commentary you feel is helpful to sway other voters. If you entered the competition, you must vote or else I will come to your house and clean your car. You may vote for yourself because all the Presidents do it.

3. WINNER:

The winner will be announced on Monday, April 26th although it may be pretty obvious as to who the winner is seeing that you are probably capable of counting comments. Nevertheless, the official announcement will be Monday. On CNN.

4. PRIZES:

Reigning champ Mel has found the rubber chicken and will pass it along to this year's winner. Unless she wins again in which case she will display it on her fireplace all year long.

Additionally, my friend Michelle has offered up a $40 credit to her Scentsy store! You may remember Michelle's Roach Mobile from last year's competition. It was so clean you could eat off the floors - as long as you like deadly spiders, roaches, and disco carpet flooring.

5. NON-U.S. RESIDENTS:

If you live outside of the United States I welcome your participation I totally like you (especially if you have an accent), but your are ineligible for the prizes because well . . . I don't want to pay the shipping costs.

5. SPREAD THE WORD:

Please link this post to your blog (even if you are not a competitor) so we can get some serious competition going. This is no joke.

Let's get this party started. Her is a sneak peek at Barbies DMV. Not trying to give Barbie an unfair advantage or anything, but she was the first one to post!

The rest of you? Get those posts up and sign up with Mr. Linky!

If you need more motivation . . . here's the rubber chicken prize (cute girl not included although there have certainly been moments where I thought about throwing her in as a bonus prize). Now get after it!

P.S. If you are reading this and your heart is pounding and you are thinking that you know you could win this thing, but are too embarrassed of too ashamed of your ride . . . I'm not gonna say that is the Holy Spirit or anything, but it's probably a good indicator that you should enter this contest. There is no shame. There is only love. The way I see it, the dirtier your car is the more you love your kids. That might even be in the Bible but I just have not found the exact verse yet.

UPDATE:
Here is contestant #0, Janie Taylor

She doesn't have blog (Janie, I think this car is proof you are ready to start one) to link to so she emailed me pics and commentary:

Napkin love

A starbucks cup and a Red Bull because a Mom of 4 needs her energy.

Another red bull can and coke can from my 15 yr old who has a hormonal sleep deficiency... Teenagers...*rolling eyes*




School lunch from my kindergartner because we might just get hungry later!


A family tree project from last week just in case we need to look up family history while driving.

A backpack, diaperbag, and sweaters, just in case we get to school and realize we forgot to dress for the 50 degree temps that morning, I swear keeping a wardrobe in the car has come in handy many times! I do this on purpose ... Well ok maybe not, but at least it sounds like I'm a prepared mommy!

And finally- shoes (and a headrest)! Because there have been countless time when we have arrived at our destinations only to find that my 6-year-old "hippie child" is not wearing shoes . . . i.e. the first day of school. Not kidding! True story. So this very important item wraps up my pics of my DHP (Dirty Honda Pilot). I am so prepared because I love my kids so much!!! :)

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