Life of a Slightly Crunchy SAHM of Drama Queens

I am back!

2011-07-13T23:55:00.001-04:00

I know I have been horrible about blogging. It has been a bit tough these last few months. With my grandfather passing away the end of April and my friend in May I've been feeling really down. Then on top of all this my hubby messed up his arm at work and was out for a while and finally we started getting some nice weather so I have been spending time outside with the Drama Queens.

I have to ship some prizes out including the stuff off of my Facebook giveaway and the Freschetta prize. I promise to do it soon, but we are a little behind in bills due to hubby being out on part pay. I will get them packaged up this weekend and ship them next weekend when he gets paid.

I am about to begin working on some reviews I am really behind on as well as putting the finishing touches on my Wordpress design so I can move over before Boost Your Buzz happens next month. I would prefer to get the stats for that over there instead of here because the domain is different.

May her memory live on forever

2011-05-29T04:10:00.000-04:00

Some years ago (roughly 17-19 years to be exact) a little girl fell outside my house and skid her knee. At that period in time people were helpful and giving and without question my mother took her in, cleaned up her knee and phoned her mother to come pick her up. This girl was Christina Sullivan and she was one of the greatest people I ever knew and we became fast friends.

Christina had this amazing way of making anyone in our group of friends laugh even in our worst hours. She never failed at finding humor in almost any situation. Silly little things like calling up random friends and asking in a silly voice "would ya like to buy some lobstahs?" So many memories have escaped my mind in the unexpected news of her passing yesterday that I wish I could share with you all. I'm sure as the shock of her death settles into my mind and the reality of it all hits I will be able to share more.

Such in life as we got older we grew apart. Christina had a beautiful son and I worked a lot so time we spent together got less and less. Our paths would occasionally cross and it would be like we never stopped hanging out. We'd say our goodbyes and plan to get together again, but always ended up busy and that day never came again. You always expect to have tomorrow, but sometimes tomorrow never comes. I wanted Christina (and our other friends) to meet my girls, but it always seemed like I couldn't find the time and now I regret that I never did.

I look at all the great pictures of her that my friends have and realize I missed so much. She was only 28, I always figured we had time, but anyone can tell you that isn't always the truth.

RIP Christina (aka Dezel) though it has been some years since I was able to see you, you still hold a piece of my heart.

11/24/82 - 5/28/11

EdenFantasys Review

2011-05-27T14:05:00.001-04:00

I won't deny that my husband and I have a couple of sex toys. We don't have a stock pile of them and I am kind of a prude when it comes to sex. I do become a little adventurous for my husband and have fallen in love with the selection EdenFantasys has to offer.

Some time ago we had the pleasure to win a Clone-a-willy kit on a blog and as couple it is the most fun we have ever had. I am not just talking about the fact that it is a sex toy either. Even if you don't intend to use it as a vibrator the kit is great because it gives you an activity to do privately as a couple. We had a blast and a laugh in our attempt to clone hubby's junk. Laughing so hard tears rolled down our cheeks, it really helped us to bond and have some fun together. Of course if you don't want to use it you could always proudly display it on your mantle as a center piece of discussion during your next dinner party.

Vibrators not your cup of tea? Don't fret, EdenFantasys has something for you. They have awesome party favors and gags to make that bachelorette party a hit with all your gal pals. They also have some amazing and sexy lingerie to help make you feel beautiful in the bedroom. Whether you are looking to try new things, looking for a fun gift to give the newlyweds or looking for some nice, sensual love assistance they will have you covered. What can I say, I love EdenFantasys!

By writing this post I will receive a gift certificate to EdenFantasys, this in no way influenced my post. All content about is my honest opinion.

Patti Pelican and The Gulf Oil Spill book review

2011-05-27T01:27:00.001-04:00

Patti Pelican and the Gulf Oil Spill

By Linda Wuster Deniger

Publisher: HIS Publishing Company
36Pages (Hardcover)
Date Published: March 2011

Patti Pelican and the Gulf Oil Spill introduces families to the Gulf oil spill on April 20, 2010. More often than not there is news coverage of the actual spill, but you don’t always see the animals whose homes have been destroyed. In this book you are introduced to Patti the pelican and Sammy the seagull and their journey to recover from the affects of oil on them. You get a glimpse into just how much work recuse workers and volunteers have to help the wildlife within the spill zone. With such amazing characters the book helps you teach your little ones how bad oil spills are in terms they will understand.

My girls really enjoyed learning about how the birds are taken care of after being saved from the spill zone. They really seemed interested in seeing if Patti and Sammy were saved and able to return home. They were very excited to learn that Patti and Sammy recovered from the spill and were able to be released and reunited with their friends Captain Charley and Salty.

Part of the sales from the book will be donated to IBRRC for quick response to disasters no matter where they happen. You can also make a personal donation online or by mail to:

The International Bird Rescue Research Center
4369 Cordelia Rd.
Fairfield, CA 94534

PetCakes Review

2011-05-18T17:16:00.003-04:00

The Drama Queens are tomboys. Hubby loves this trait about our girls, because it means despite them being girls he can still enjoy boyish stuff with them. Of course this isn't ideal for me because I want girlie girls to dress up, but luckily they do let their girlie sides out every so often to please me. However, there is one thing they can't hide their love of and that is stuffed animals.

It seemed only fitting that my girls would love PetCakes. We received the all new Series 2 PetCakes collection, which includes Bamboo Berry, Honey Cakes, Nutty Nicky and Roco Coco who are all simply adorable. As soon as I opened the box containing these cute little critters I was pounced on. I had just enough time to snap a few pictures before they were off and deciding who got who.

I was surprised at how soft these little animals are which left me not too worried if Kay got her hands on one of them. They are beautifully and brightly colored and the perfect size for cuddling by little hands. The girls loved them so much that to even sneak a better look at them I had to pry them from their sleeping arms after bedtime and put them back before they woke up.

I really enjoyed the detailing on them, but still making them adorable. The cute little cupcake hats with a cherry on top and fitting perfectly within their cupcake sleeve puts the finishing touches onto these cutie pies. I also like that the sleeves are flat bottomed so should I actually be able to get them away from the girls they can easily sit nicely on their shelf or dresser top.

We all enjoyed the PetCakes so much we are looking into getting Series 1 and Series 1 Minis for the girls in the coming months.

Make sure to follow PetCakes on Twitter and like them on Facebook!

{Buy It}

PetCakes can be purchased online in their store.

Cool Gel ‘n Caps, Relieve you little one's head pain

2011-05-18T16:45:00.000-04:00

Keep Head Pain Under Wraps with Cool Gel ‘n Cap®

Relieve Kids’ Head Pain in an All-Natural, Hands Free Way

Elma, NY (December 2010) - As a parent, you want to place your child in a thick protective bubble so they never succumb to the inevitable head bump. But we all know this is impossible; and when it does happen, it’s hard to be comforting while holding an ice pack on a squirming child. Fortunately, Cool Gel ‘n Gear LLC is excited to introduce its Cool Gel ‘n Cap® for just this situation! The Cool Gel ‘n Cap is a unique and super cute first aid hat for toddlers and young children. An adorable plush hat holds an ice pack in place for bumps, bruises, earaches, headaches, etc., leaving Mom and Dad’s hands free to comfort and calm their child with a soothing touch.

“Have you ever tried to hold an ice pack on a child’s head?” asked Timothy Panicali, president and co-inventor of Cool Gel ‘n Cap. “The concept grew from an experience my wife and I went through when we attempted to soothe our son after he bumped his head as a toddler. After careful research and consultation with professionals, including our pediatrician, we developed the Cool Gel ‘n Cap as a convenient solution for families.”

Each cap is in the shape of a playful animal character – currently Toby the puppy and Tulip the bunny are in production, with a friendly bear and hippo to come – and each package includes two, non-toxic gel packs that can be heated or cooled, as well as one non-toxic instant ice pack for emergency or on-the-go situations. There are no limits to placement of gel packs in the hat. Also, a coloring book is included in the package with all the fun Cool Gel ‘n Cap characters.

“The combination of the hat and gel packs help to soothe a child’s pain and ease anxiety while making it easier for adults to apply the proper cold or heat therapy,” adds Co-inventor Ewelina Panicali. “Any parent will appreciate how easy and quick Cool Gel ‘n Cap makes it to provide comfort to their child in what is most often a stressful situation for both.” With the hat holding the gel pack in place on the injury, the parent or guardian can hold the child and concentrate on calming them or placing a phone call to a doctor if the situation requires it.

Safety was a priority in designing the Cool Gel ‘n Cap. All gel packs are non-toxic and safe for use with children. The packs are also fabric that will not burn when heated, and the hat itself is made of a durable polyester, cotton and spandex mix to ensure a snug fit for children ages 12 months and up.

The Cool Gel ‘n Cap kit includes the Cool Gel ‘n Cap hat, two 4” round non toxic cold / hot gel packs, one non-toxic instant cold pack, and a coloring book for $19.99 MSRP

Visit www.coolgelncap.net for more information and to find a retailer near you.

Might be slow...

2011-05-16T04:26:00.000-04:00

So I have decided to make the switch over to Wordpress. I figure why not, it comes free with my hosting and most I talk to prefer it. I also like the idea that it is 100% my own, no worries about blogger crashing for days on end and if posts go missing it is my own fault and not someone else. I am going to be working on getting it all up, designing a new look and then transferring everything over. I won't neglect here while I am working because I have a few reviews still I need to get done, but I might be a lot quieter than usual.

I hate animals!

2011-05-15T03:38:00.001-04:00

Ok so that statement isn't entirely true, but in the sense I despise animals. Don't get me wrong, I still love animals, just not my own. Growing up the hubby and I have had cats and dogs, sometimes both at the same time, but since having the girls we hate them. Of course I still love our cats, but they are just too much since having the girls. Let me point out a few reasons why.....

Laundry is folded on the couch waiting to get put away, I have to walk away to say feed the girls and come back to find a dirty (yes dirty because they are not groomed and people allow them in and out of the house) laying on my clean laundry, which is now covered in fur and prickles.

I clean Kay's highchair before bed so come the morning I can sit her in it with some crunchies or a snack while I prepare everyone's breakfast, but wait what is that you say? Yes you guessed it dirty cat fur all over the surface, so now I have to juggle a toddler and two other screaming children that are starving while I re-clean the highchair.

Walk in the door, stroller basket loaded, remove sleeping Kay from the stroller, place her on the couch, get Khloe and Keira settled, forget to unpack and close stroller, go to use stroller next day to discover enough fur to create a cat.

Having to keep a close eye on all three while in the kitchen should they decide that litter box is a sandbox and begin digging in it with toys and their hands. This now results in extra work for me because I have to clean and sanitize children and toys.

Following Kay around making sure she doesn't mistake cat food for a snack she might have dropped on the floor earlier.... or even worse removing mushy, wet, cat food from clothing because it has fallen into the washer.

Get where I am going with this?

So I ask, since having your children how do you feel about your animals? Do you love them the same? Have you decided they are more work than your love for them?

Every Mother Counts

2011-05-11T18:40:00.000-04:00

Lifeway Foods Partners with Christy Turlington Burns to Make Every Mother Count

Purchase of specially marked product will benefit campaign

Morton Grove, IL— May 6, 2011 – Lifeway Foods, Inc., (NASDAQ: LWAY) a leading supplier of cultured dairy products known as kefir and organic kefir, announces today that in celebration of mothers around the world, Lifeway Foods has joined Christy Turlington Burns and the Every Mother Counts campaign to raise awareness and improve the health and lives of mothers and children everywhere.

Turlington Burns launched Every Mother Counts at the debut of her documentary film No Woman, No Cry, which tells the moving stories of at-risk pregnant women and their caregivers in four countries. For hundreds of thousands of women each year, pregnancy is a death sentence. Nearly all of these deaths can be prevented.

With the purchase of delicious Kefir beverages, consumers can be part of the solution. Lifeway will donate a portion of each purchase of specially marked bottles of Low Fat Blueberry Kefir to Every Mother Counts beginning this summer until the end of the year.

“I’m so excited to be partnering with Lifeway Foods” said Turlington Burns. “As an advocate for healthy products and living, their help in bringing global awareness to maternal health efforts enables involvement not only for me but for all of their customers, too. Together we can really make a difference.”

For 25 years, Lifeway Foods has provided the best in probiotic and nutritious foods to help improve the health of customers.

“When I was pregnant with my girls, I had access to the best nutritional and prenatal care available, but that isn’t the case for millions of moms around the world. We are proud to support Christy Turlington Burns and Every Mother Counts in an effort to raise awareness about the need for improved care,” said Julie Smolyansky, chief executive officer of Lifeway Foods.

Lifeway is one of the first food companies to join the Every Mother Counts effort.

Lifeway Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY), recently named one of Fortune Small Business' Fastest Growing Companies for the fifth consecutive year, is America’s leading supplier of the cultured dairy products known as kefir and organic kefir. Lifeway Kefir is a dairy beverage that contains 10 exclusive live and active probiotic cultures plus ProBoost™. In addition to its line of Kefir products, the company produces a variety of probiotic cheese products. Lifeway also sells frozen kefir, kefir smoothies and kefir parfaits through its Starfruit™ retail stores.

Find Lifeway Foods, Inc. on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lifewaykefir

Follow Lifeway Foods on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lifeway_kefir

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/Lifeway_Kefir

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/lifewaykefir

Book Review: Rocket Town

2011-05-11T16:44:00.000-04:00

Rocket Town

By Bob Logan

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
24Pages (Boardbook)
Date Published: April 1, 2011

Rocket Town by Bob Logan features amazing retro illustrations of an astronaut and his dog as they journey through Rocket Town. Rockets are introduced in pairs of opposites such as "Where rockets are BIG! And rockets are small." Not only will your child enjoy reading this book with you, but they will be learning at the same time. Author and illustrator Bob Logan has worked as a story artist on feature animations such as Madagascar and Open Season, as well as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (my girls favorite movie), so it be only fitting that he would create such an amazing book.

As many of your know the Drama Queens are not often very girlie girl, so when I had the chance to review the book I didn't think twice. From the start I knew they would love it and I was right. I hid the book when it arrived so I could get my thoughts prepared and look through it before they ran off with it, but as luck would have it they found it. I asked Khloe to take care with it and shockingly enough she did. I heard her on several occasions telling Keira "be careful" or "don't pull it," which is a change from their destructive nature.

When I finally had a chance to sit down and read the book with them I didn't have to ask twice, even Kaylee came running to read with us. The beautiful illustrations of all the different rockets are fun and even silly on some pages. Since receiving the book not that long ago there is already some wear on it because of how many times they have sit down to just look at the different rockets and each time they have seen something new. I never would have guessed they would be this interested in a book and read it so many times.

{Buy It}

Rocket Town can be found in most online and many local bookstores.

Follow Me Back Tuesday!

2011-05-10T01:54:00.001-04:00

How it Works

Follow all 3 Hosts & Guest Host’s - Spots 1-5 leave a comment w/ a link to your blog so we can follow you back
( only leave a comment that you follow if you actually follow )

Snag our button & make a F.M.B.T. post.
After you post use that link to add your blog to the hop along with your blog name

( NO BLOG HOPs & GIVEAWAYS PLEASE ) These entries will be deleted.

Follow the blogs you like & Follow Back who follows you ( Remember to leave a comment so you can be followed back )
And most importantly – Have Fun and Come back and see us every Tuesday !!

Link up every Tuesday at 12:00 am est

One year of blogging….

2011-05-08T00:40:00.002-04:00

First let me wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. Funny enough this Mother’s Day marks one year since my return to blogging. It is hard to believe it has been a year already, but it has. I have seen my blog grow a lot in this last year. While I am not happy with or at where I expected to be in one year, I have accomplished a lot in this last year. One year ago today I sat here and wrote this post, saying hello and introducing myself. It seemed only fitting as a one year gift to my blog that I purchase a .com for it. You might have noticed the nifty new http://blog.sahmofdramaqueens.com that you were instantly redirected to if you entered through blogger. I had original planned to just purchase a .com through blogger, but decided I have started to do some media kit work and would eventually like to setup a store on the .com and share the space, so I went with a full hosting package.

If you follow my fanpage on Facebook, you might have noticed I have giveaways going on that just opened up. Right now there are some samples to win, a blogger .com for one lucky blogger, a quick media kit for your blog, mama cloth and I am still accepting sponsors for the giveaways until June 1st (you can email me at karine@sahmofdramaqueens.com) so if you or someone you know might be interested feel free to email me. Head on over and enter some or all of them.

Thank you to all my amazing readers, new and old for sticking by me and being such great readers and fans. Here’s to many more years, reviews, giveaways, zany stories and hopefully more children to introduce to you all.

FRESCHETTA® By the Slice Review & Giveaway

2011-05-06T13:57:00.000-04:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I won't lie I love pizza! Living in Boston you have numerous pizza places within walking distance and being the typical Italian that I am, I have tried many of them. The downside of loving pizza so much is that not often at 3am can you find a place open to grab a slice, which can be hard when you are craving a pizza. It is for my love a pizza and lack of places open at weird hour of the night that I turn to frozen pizza I can cook up when I want it, FRESCHETTA® being one of my favorites. The only bad part is in the wee hours of the morning there isn't many people, if any awake in my house to share a whole pizza with me. When I heard there was now FRESCHETTA® By the Slice, you can only imagine how fast I wanted to try it.

I tried the Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom and my husband tried the BBQ Recipe Chicken and we both really enjoyed our slices. I was very surprised being that it was microwavable at how crispy the crust came out and how great the toppings were. Often you find that mushrooms and other topics become very soft and mushy from being frozen, but the mushroom on the Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom slice were just like a slice made that night. The Drama Queens wanted some, but I was a little worried they wouldn't like the spinach, but to my surprise I had to fight them off to eat the slice on my own. I would tell you about the BBQ Recipe Chicken slice, but my husband isn't always very descriptive and all I got from him was "it was good and the girls liked it." If chicken isn't your thing they also offer Vegetable Medley and Six Cheese Medley, both were not at my store, but had they been available I would have tried them as well.

FRESCHETTA® By the Slice is a new win in our house! If it means having to buy it on a weekly basis to get some of those good vegetables like spinach into the Drama Queens, so be it. I really enjoyed the slices and the FRESCHETTA® quality still comes through even in the individual slice. If I am in need of a quick lunch when only one of the girls wants pizza I can easily turn to FRESCHETTA® to make them happy and save time for myself to prepare something for the other girls. I can't wait to find the other flavors in my local stores so that we can try them as well.

{Buy It}

FRESCHETTA® By the Slice can be found in your local grocery freezer section.

{Win It}

One lucky reader will win a coupon for a free FRESCHETTA® By the Slice and a six piece FRESCHETTA® storage set.

{Mandatory Entry}
Tell me which of the 4 flavors you would try if you won?
* BBQ Recipe Chicken

* Vegetable Medley

* Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom

* Six Cheese Medley

You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach you.

{Additional Entries}

Like FRESCHETTA®s on Facebook

Follow FRESCHETTA® on Twitter

Need more entries? Visit here

Giveaway ends on May 27th @ 11:59pm (EST). Winners will be notified by e-mail and will be listed on this blog. Winner has 48 hours to reply to my email with the requested details before another winner is picked. Open to US residents 18+.

How are you spending Mother’s Day?

2011-05-01T22:34:00.005-04:00

Photo Credit Michael Dwyer

I have lived in Boston or the Boston area my whole life, but often never realize all the amazing events going on in the city. This year I was made aware of one such event happening on Mother’s Day, Duckling Day. My family and I have been invited to attend this year to help spread the word and I thought some other local families would love to attend.

Photo Credit Michael Dwyer

The Friends of the Public Garden, in association with the Boston Parks & Recreation Department and Mayor Menino, will once again celebrate Duckling Day this Mother’s Day, May 8, 2011. Families are invited to get together and enjoy Robert McCloskey classic book Make Way for Ducklings. The day starts at 10:30am for registration and a donation of $25 per family is requested. All registered families will receive a goodie bag filled with Duckling Day goodies and treats. Before the parade their will be family entertainment including face painting, balloon artists and a magician. At noon a parade led by the Harvard University Band will begin at Boston Common on the corner of Beacon and Park street and follow the path of Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings through Beacon Hill and end at the Public

Photo Credit Michael Dwyer

Garden near the duckling sculptures. Children (and adults) are encouraged to dress up as ducklings for the day. At the conclusion of the parade the Wheelock Family Theatre will be performing a dramatic reading of the book. For more information visit Friends of the Public Garden website or on Facebook.

If you can’t attend please feel free to come back to my blog some time after next Sunday when I will be posting and sharing pictures from the day. Hope to see you there if you can attend!

150 Secrets to a Happy Wife Book Review

2011-04-20T16:58:00.004-04:00

Normally I don’t get my husband involved in reviews, especially a book review. He is not a very big book reader, but this book fit for both of us. Author Joe Gumm and his family had many similarities to us. Joe is the only man in a household consisting of a wife and four daughters, like my husband.

What really attracted both of us to the book was not only was it a self help relationship book, but he came at writing it in a humorous way when most books are often filled with psychobabble that often loses the readers interest. Working on your relationship shouldn’t have to be dull and involve words you would need a dictionary to understand. Joe’s opening line “A burrito coming at my mouth at around fifty-five miles per hour doesn’t taste nearly as good as just putting it into my mouth with my hands does.” This line immediately drew us into the book. We knew that not only would Joe give us tips on keeping our marriage happy, but have us laughing the whole way.

The book features an amazing dedication to Joe’s wife “To the smartest, most creative, most loving and caring person in our household: my wife. I won’

t ever understand how you can have four unmedicated childbirths, with a baby as big as a basketball coming our of an area as big as a golf ball, and still be afraid of a roach crawling around on the kitchen floor, but that’s okay. That’s what makes you a great wife, mother and friend. You’re unique and special, and I love dearly.” Joe opens with an introduction that draws you in right away with his sense of humor and his belief that when your wife is happy, everyone else is happy. Following the introduction is thirteen chapters of witty, funny and often charming ways to keep one’s wife happy. Stuff the every day man knows, but doesn’t always do and what us wives want to see.

Chapter List
1. Required Reading for Future Son-in-Laws
2. Small Brains, Big Mouths
3. “I’m Not Fat; I’m Just Big Boned.” Nope, You’re Fat.
4. HELP! My Husband Looks Like Shrek
5. How to Marry out of Your League
6. How to Talk with One Foot in Your Mouth
7. Lazy Is as Lazy Does
8. Pretty Major Stuff
9. Quit Acting like You’re “The Man” and Actually Be “The Man”
10. After You’re Done, Do More
11. Father or Friend?
12. Do You Still Like Me? Yes ( ) No ( ) Check One
13. Things to Say to Your Wife If You Want to Die Immediately

In this book you will not find some doctor trying to explain what is wrong with your marriage, what should be done to fix it or trying to live the marriage for you when he himself has never been married. Joe relates to “The Average Joe” and puts it all into terms for even the most uneducated husband to understand. Even if you or your husband don’t fully agree with some of Joe’s secrets you will still enjoy reading each and every one of them.

I would highly suggest 150 Secrets to a Happy Wife to all my married friends, or those preparing to get married. Heck being the joker I am it might be the perfect gift for the newlyweds. I think if you come into reading the book and take in everything you will see not only the humor, but Joe’s genuine understanding of who his wife is, his love for her and how to keep her happy.

Preparing your taxes or filing for an extension is easy on your own!

2011-04-20T16:18:00.002-04:00

Since I entered the workforce roughly 15 years ago my mom has always prepared my taxes for me. I worried I would do something wrong and have the IRS calling me. This year I decided to take the leap and prepare our taxes. I was really nervous in the beginning, but I knew I had to do it because my mom wasn’t always going to be there to do them for us and financially we can not afford to have someone do them for us.

I decided to use TurboTax to file our taxes. Everyone has told me how easy it was and it is how my mom has filed our taxes in the past. On top of our current taxes my husband had two years he needed to file as well due a mix up with his social security number. We were not aware we could have filed for an extension and I really wished I had found Moolanomy with a step by step guide to filing for an extension. We could also have used TurboTax to use the 2009 tax extension form to file his extension after reading how easy it really was. It would really have been good to know that we were going about filing correctly and being notified that our extension was received. Luckily in none of the three returns I filed we owed the IRS, but were actually due a refund. For future reference I am grateful to have come across these websites should we find ourselves in a position of needing an extension. Don’t be worried to file your own taxes or your own extension because there are websites there to help.

Could my daughter be autistic?

2011-04-12T23:43:00.003-04:00

My greatest fear was hearing four words “you daughter is autisic.” I am not afraid that I would love any of my girls any less, but I fear how we would cope as a family. How would we juggle life of as parents to an autistic child, while still meeting all the needs of our other children. For about a year now I have been asking myself the question all the time.

Khloe is an amazing child. She has been advanced since birth, even doctors have said it. She is like a sponge soaking everything up that she hears or sees and can recite full commercials or scenes from a movie. She was a loving, cuddling child, who listened when asked to do something and didn’t need to be told something several times. We didn’t always plan not to vaccinate, but began researching the options and came to the decision shortly after Khloe received her 2 year vaccines not to continue with them.

Over the last couple years I have noticed many odd quirks and behavioral issues with Khloe. She began throwing tantrums and sometimes hit herself. Never hard enough to hurt herself, but would punch the air or her legs. I originally thought it was typical terrible twos and that she would eventually out grow it. While the hitting has stopped I noticed now she can go from having a screaming fit and kicking walls so hard stuff falls off shelves to playing like nothing happened in a matter of seconds. She doesn’t take well to being told no or asked to do something and if she is a massive tantrum follows.

When it comes to learning Khloe used to love to sit with me and have me show her how to do a puzzle, write her alphabet or numbers. She was eager for knowledge and loved for me to show her how to do stuff. She followed directions with ease and 2 years ago if you asked me I would have told you she would be reading now. While her love of learning is still there, I have noticed she no longer wants to follow directions and becomes impatient and mad when I take time to explain something. For instance the other day I printed out a worksheet and tried to explain to her that she needed to circle all the letter As and items beginning with A. She ripped the sheet from my hand and just began circling everything. I also notice when asking her to bring me something she looks all over and can not find it. I will clearly point to the item and explain where it is and she still wont find it and it could be right next to her or even standing on it.

Hearing and ear problems has always been a worry of ours due to my husband having bad ear problems and some hearing loss. Some days Khloe acts like she is deaf. I will call her several time with no reply and eventually have to get right in front of her so she can visually see me. I have also noticed she often goes off into her own little world and doesn’t hear anything I am saying to her.

Sure any of the above can easily have other causes or reasons for happening. She could easily be feeling my stress level and acting out on it or just choses to ignore me. She could just be going through a phase and all of this might blow over in a few years, but it still concerns us. We have decided to monitor her behavior and symptoms for a little longer before seeking further advice. I want to be sure there is something that warrants more investigating and studies. Right now she still seems to be a mostly happy child, loving and learning, even if it is at a slower pace than before. Either way I have come to the conclusion that whatever the outcome or possible diagnosis we will get through it and take it day by day.

Artism: The Art of Autism

2011-04-12T23:06:00.001-04:00

I heard autistic children and adults called many horrible names, some of which I refuse to repeat. More often I hear they are unloving, uncaring and violent from people that have not lived or experienced autism first hand, but these are all not true. Many suffering with autism are in fact loving, caring and peaceful, but often can not express these emotions, but Artism: The Art of Autism allows you to glimpse into the inner beauty of some of these individuals.

The book features not only beautiful artwork by 54 artists from around the world, but their stories as well. Each individual work of art also includes a little biography of the artist. I really loved to learn a little bit about the artist, to better understand their life and see their inner beauty expressed within their artwork.

I love that this book showcases how beautiful these individuals are. How amazing they are to share their artwork and stories with the world. Had someone shared this book with me without allowing me to see the title or read any of the artist’s information I would never have guessed the artists are on the the autism spectrum. I myself could never create something as beautiful as wonderful artists. They truly are artists, to every meaning of the word and their stunning works of art need to be shared with the world.

You can learn more about the book visit http://artismtoday.com. On the website you can learn details of the book, view some of the artwork and even read a chapter. The book costs $34.95 and is 144 pages, 12 x 9 inches with 218 full-color illustrations and 4 essays by experts in the field. You can also keep up to date by follow The Art of Autism on Facebook. Whether you are interested in the book for yourself or to purchase it as a gift it will be loved.

Upset by The Baby Gizmo Company

2011-04-10T16:33:00.005-04:00

As many of you are aware Kaylee’s photo was picked to be a finalist in the Baby Gizmo Company’s Win BOB’s Heart Photo Contest on their facebook. The prize is a 2011 BOB Revolution SE stroller. I was beyond excited and now I needed to find voters. Below is the email I received when I was picked.

Hi Karine,
Congratulations! Your BOB Photo that you submitted to Babygizmo.com is one of the 20 finalists in the Baby Gizmo Win BOB’s Heart Photo Contest. Now, it’s up to the visitors of BabyGizmo.com (well, actually the visitors to the Baby Gizmo Facebook page where we are displaying the finalists) to decide the winner. Visitors can view all the finalists and vote at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=284994&id=57344471134&saved

Here is how people can vote: (you can find this description here) http://www.facebook.com/babygizmo?sk=app_7146470109

1) Click Here to see the Top 20 Finalist Photos
2) Just click the photo that you want to vote for.
3) Hit the "like" button underneath the photo to enter your vote! ("Like" is just under the photo next to the "comment" link)
4) And if you really want that photo to win, click the "Share" button to tell your friends!
So, ask, beg, and plead (nicely!) that all your friends and family vote (“like”) your picture! Put it up on your Facebook page…Tweet it…Digg it…Blog about it in order to get votes (“likes”)!
We hate to have to say this– but you cannot purchase or buy Facebook “likes” for your photo. *Baby Gizmo reserves the right to disqualify any finalists for behavior or actions that can be considered cheating or unethical. For the complete set of rules visit: http://www.babygizmo.com/news/bobphotocontest2011.php

The most “likes” at the end wins! Remember the grand prize is 2011 BOB Revolution SE. Voting ends at 10:00pm (CST) Sunday, April 10, 2011.
Thanks so much for participating!
Best,
Hollie Schultz
Baby Gizmo Company
http://www.babygizmo.com

hollie@babygizmo.com

I shared all my details right away on Facebook and Twitter and let wrote a post here to get my friends and followers to vote. Within the first hours I got a few votes, but some of the contestants had like 30 votes shortly after voting went live. Which I thought a little odd because of the timing of when the photos went up, but kept it out of my mind and I just kept reminding people to vote if they hadn’t already.

A full day or two into the contest I mentioned to a friend how it was nuts how many votes some of these people already had and she shared some Facebook groups that exchange votes. I questioned joining them and decided to look into the full rules again to see if there was anything against exchanging votes. You can find the rules below and here.

Rules:

All photos must be received by 11:59pm CST on Friday, April 1, 2011. Entries received after the deadline will not be considered.
You must be a US resident to win.
The photo must be your own photo and not the work of a professional.
Photos must not contain material that violates or infringes the rights of another, including but not limited to privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement.
All entrants agree that their submitted photo can be displayed on Babygizmo.com.
The winner agrees to have their name, likeness, and photo published as the winner of the Baby Gizmo Win Bob's Heart Photo Contest. The winner agrees that their photo can be published on the Baby Gizmo website.
Decision of the judges is final.
The prize is not exchangeable or refundable for cash.
Purchasing votes ("likes") during the voting period is strictly prohibited.
Using excessive force to get someone to vote for you is strictly prohibited.
Baby Gizmo reserves the right to disqualify any finalists for behavior or actions that can be considered cheating or unethical.
Baby Gizmo is not responsible for lost, late, inaccurate, incomplete, damaged, or misdirected entries. All entries may be published on the Babygizmo.com website, whether selected for a prize or not. Nothing in these Contest rules obligate Baby Gizmo to publish or otherwise use any photos submitted in connection with the Contest.
The awarding of any prize is contingent upon full compliance with these Official Rules. Entrants agree to be bound by Official Rules and agree that if any winner fails to provide proof of identity, refuses to provide required affidavit, is found to have violated the Official Rules or otherwise does not meet eligibility criteria, prize will be forfeited and awarded to the photo with the next highest number of votes.
Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the contest or in the announcement of the prize.
Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject, disqualify, modify, edit, and revise any entries, subjects, photos, or related materials that are nude, obscene, defamatory, profane, offensive, lewd, pornographic, false, misleading, deceptive, or otherwise inconsistent with its editorial standards, audience expectations, or reputational interests or that Sponsor believes may violate any applicable law or regulation or the rights of any third party. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to verify any element of any entry or related materials and to disqualify any entrant whose participation may subject the contest, Sponsor, or Sponsor's advertisers, clients, or customers to controversy, negative publicity, scorn, or ridicule.

I didn't see anything in the rules about vote exchanging. I did determine that giving extra entries into a giveaway for voting for me was, in my opinion just like buying votes, so I removed that as an extra entry into the Squinkie Doos giveaway.

If you know me you know that I am not a cheater and follow rules to the best of my understanding. I’ve been online for probably 16 years, if not longer and have been in many competitions. One such competition is The Site Fights, and in it’s day before social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Myspace were around it was huge. Basically you entered your site (personal, business, organization, any site as long as it wasn’t illegal or adult related) and placed the competitions banners on your site. Yahoo and MSN groups dominated the net at this time, social media was chatting in an AOL chat room, having AIM, MSN or Yahoo messengers and joining online groups and forums. In this competition you exchanged votes with each other and it was encouraged by the creators of it, so much so they had a vote exchange page within the site where you could post your info. You were encouraged to setup Yahoo groups to easily send out email reminders daily and weekly with your voting details to your voters. Many other competitions like this have been all over the net for years. It was because of this that I decided to join some of the groups to vote exchange. I was in probably 6th place when I did this and I moved up to 4th and then 3rd. Over the next few days it seemed like just as I got close to one of the top two, they got more votes. The 1st place contestant often jumped like 20-40 votes in less than an hour and out of curiosity I looked at her profile to find she had 1000+ friends. Now I have been online for years, I have my blog, twitter and AIM/MSN/Yahoo screen names and combined I don’t have 1000 friends. Some of the top blogs I follow don’t even have 1000 friends. I thought it odd and that perhaps she had friended people off the vote exchange pages, which wasn’t against the rules.

On Wed. night I get the following email

Dear Karine,
We regret to inform you that your photo has been disqualified from the Baby Gizmo Win BOB's Heart Photo Contest. It has come to our attention that you have participated in vote exchange and we consider that an unethical way of getting votes which violates our Official Rules. Your photo will be removed from the BOB Photo Finalists. You are more than welcome to enter our Baby Gizmo contests in the future.

Best,
Hollie Schultz
Baby Gizmo
http://www.babygizmo.com
hollie@babygizmo.com

Are you serious? I did ask people and some did consider it unethical to vote exchange, they also agreed that they should have listed what they deemed unethical in their rules. So if Hollie decided that the name John and color red are unethical, per her rules she could disqualify anyone that had votes from someone named John and photos that contained the color red. Her rules also state the photo has to be your own and no professional photos and as soon as the contest went live I noticed a few photos looked like they were copyright infringed and ripped off travel websites. I am not one to stir up trouble in competitions, so I quietly kept this to myself and just went about getting votes for my photo. At first I nicely replied to her and alerted my friends they no longer needed to vote. Some of them were mad and went over to their page and said they should really should follow their own rules and look into the other contestants with rapid votes being cast and those with photos that may or may not be their own. Instead of answering them they deleted the comments. Not once did any of them say anything remotely bad, but that they should just look into everyone like they did me. My friend did post again and they kept that post up, it said “

Wow I guess anything less than positive gets deleted! If you stand by your decisions you should be able to handle criticism no?” which you can verify here. After I was able to mull over this decision, I sent another email to Hollie and both emails went without even a reply, which in my thinking shows that she just doesn’t want to deal with it. Whether she decided she was wrong or right in her decision a reply would have been nice. This is the email I sent, at no point was I rude or disrespectful. I just stated what I noticed and that it seemed unfair. In the end this just reminds me why I do not enter any of these Facebook like for vote photo contests. Rules are there, but it seems like more than half the time contestants find a way around them. If the rules state no buying votes, then someone can still get around that by doing it secretly, if the rules state no vote exchanging they privately PM and become friends with those on the vote exchange groups, they make multiple accounts every time they believe they are going to lose… the ways to cheat in a Facebook photo contest are endless and unless it is a small contest for no huge, expensive prize (though I have seen many cheaters within the cloth diaper and bow pages) odds are someone is always going to cheat in them. In the end I am not mad, but I am upset. If I had thought it was against the rules would I have done it so openly on public group pages? If I intended to blatantly (which I wouldn’t) break the rules would I have used my personal account to get the votes? Before I go I am going to share my second email back to Hollie.

Dear Hollie,
I wasn't going to push the matter anymore, but it is really upsetting
me. I am not a cheater, I follow the rules, I don't even like being near
people that break rules. I have never so much as cut school when I was
younger and I am seriously upset right now to tears. The current 1st place
photo has 1000 friends, some of the top blogs and companies I follow don't
even have that. So because I joined some Facebook pages to exchange votes I
am classified as unethical, when your congrats email itself said "So, ask,
beg, and plead (nicely!) that all your friends and family vote (“like”) your
picture! Put it up on your Facebook page…Tweet it…Digg it…Blog about it in
order to get votes (“likes”)!" Between my blog, blog Facebook page,
personal page, twitter, networked blogs I have well over 3000 followers
combined and this person has 1000 being an every day person. How are you
not certain that she too is not vote exchanging, but because she was smart
and had everyone friend her to vote it is ok? What is unethical for one
might not be for another. There is no way to be certain that any Like to
Vote contests can be fair as you can't be certain if someone doesn't
privately message people, become friends and then vote. Your rules state no
professional photos or items that could be copyright infringed, but some
look clearly professional. I suppose what is done is done, but I think it
unfair in how you have handled this. When I saw people having numbers jump
very rapidly (the other 3 at the top with myself) I took my friends
suggestion of the exchange because she said it looked like they were doing
it too. Either way between myself, my blog followers, twitter followers and
personal and online friends in the car seat community and mommy community
will no longer be supporters of The Baby Gizmo Company and you can be
certain that this is posted on my blog and any other social media I have
access to.

Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012

2011-04-07T02:54:00.005-04:00

What do you think of when you hear the word autism? I think of a child, unable to be who they really are. Confined to a body that no longer lets them express their true selves. Fighting to be who they want and need to be, but cannot for some reason unknown. In the past autism was hidden, misunderstood and often children were given up or placed into asylums. Just because many of these children cannot express emotion, to simply walk over and give a loved one a hug and kiss doesn’t mean they do not need love. Today there is more awareness of autism, but not enough. There are still dark areas, no clear diagnosis why seemingly average children suddenly regress or why some are born autistic. Many people still do not realize just how unaware the world is of autism. Research still needs to be done, studies organized, genetics looked into and clinical tests done. Years ago HIV/AIDS was basically a death sentence and today people are living longer and even having children after being diagnosed without them contracting the disease. With hope autism too can be better understood so that children can begin living as close as possible to the average child, grow into adulthood and show no signs or symptoms of autism to the naked eye.

Ken Siri and Tony Lyons have compiled an amazing book, Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012. Talking to friends, relatives and care givers over the years I have come to see that many are unaware that with help autism can be managed and a routine can be found to work for your child, yourself and the rest of your family. Most I have talked to say “I fear it. I will not be able to handle a child with autism.” as well as “my life is over because I will not be able to take my child outside in public anymore.” Like most not affected by autism they think their life is over. No one is aware that there are therapies that can help their child stop regression help manage and maintain behavior and daily activities or perhaps even reverse the effects of autism. Ken and Tony have compiled more than 70 therapies into this edition, including therapies of the future and they truly are on the cutting edge.

The book is written in chapters with an easy to follow contents allowing you to quickly find each particular therapy without having to thumb through the entire book. On top of the amazing therapies the book includes a foreword by Rita Shreffer, the Executive Director of the National Autism Association. Following the foreword is a preface written by Ken and Tony, which moved, sparked fear and stunned me all at once. Some of the statistics given have me severely worried about the future of our children and grandchildren. Just before reaching the therapies there is an introduction by Mark Freilich, M.D. who explains the best way to navigate the Autism Superhighway. It is amazing how much knowledge these first sections of the book gave me and even got me to wondering about my own children.

I found that it is best to have a plan of attack with this book rather than reading chapter to chapter or randomly flipping the pages. For someone reading to learn about various therapies to help their child it is best to glimpse over the contents, rule out therapies you might have tried and look into those that you feel may fit your child. After reading meet with your team (doctors, therapists, caregivers) and discuss together how to incorporate these therapies, and if they are right for your child. While some therapies may work well with one child, it might not work or be appropriate for another. Just like children not suffering with autism you might find that coloring a picture might calm one, while singing calms another.

After reaching the end of the therapies chapters you come to the afterword by Teri Arranga, director of AutismOne, vice president of the Global Autism Collaboration, and the secretary of Strategic Autism Initiative. Teri’s afterword is beautifully written and you can feel her love and passion for those with suffering with autism. After Teri’s afterword there is a very nicely listed reference section, followed by the amazing sections Autism Organizations and Schools for Person with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Both these sections have lists by location for organizations and schools specializing in autism all organized for you to easily find one within your region. Closing out the book is an amazing index so you can easily and quickly find anything within the book. Whether you are a book lover and intend to the read it in its entirety or want to open it and just read several areas of interest to you, you can do so with this book.

Editors Note: Ken and I both have children on the autism spectrum. We do not have any financial connection to any organization, doctor, or therapist included in this book. We conceived of the book as a way to learn more ourselves in order to help our children. We are happy to be able to present what we have learned regarding the resources and treatments currently available and those which are emerging. Our team of contributors is impressive. It includes leading doctors, therapists, teachers, scientists, educators, social workers, and parents.
Tony Lyons

Autism Awareness Month

2011-04-06T22:34:00.006-04:00

As some of you may know this month is Autism Awareness Month. Personally I have had little experience with Autism, but we have wondered if some relatives are autistic. I have a cousin who displayed many of the symptoms you commonly see, but his father did not want to look further into so we never learned what was wrong with him. I also have several friends with autistic children, though I have not yet met their children.

Several years ago if you asked me what I thought autism is I would have mentioned classic symptoms that are portrayed in movies and on tv, but wouldn’t be able to go into further detail. Today I do understand it a little better due in part to research, but like autism itself there is still so much to learn and discover. Awareness needs to be raised to help fund research so that earlier diagnosis and possible preventative measures can be found.

Many children and adults with autism are misunderstood. Often called names or thought to not posses any skill or understand what they are taught, but many are just the opposite. No one autistic child is the same as another. Some are higher functioning and at first glance and even speaking to them you would never know, while others are non-verbal and become scared or violent when forced to deviate from their normal routine.

During my book review of Ken Siri and Tony Lyons Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012 there was a section of the preface that hit me like a ton of bricks. Below is an excerpt from the book;

Dr. Insel admits that when he was in training as a psychiatrist he “never saw a child with autism.” He says that he wanted to see kids with autism, but he simply couldn’t find any. Now, Insel says, “I wouldn’t have to go any further than the block where I live to see kids with autism.” This is an epidemic. We’ve come from a time when 1 in 10,000 babies born in the United States exhibited symptoms of autism to a time when the statistics are roughly 1 in 100. Think about that for a moment, 1% of kids born in this country become autistic. And those statistics, which come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are based on data collected four years ago, so that the current rate is estimated to be 1 in 91.

If you were to take the 57% increase in the incidence of autism between 2002 and 2006, as calculated by the CDC (which the CDC itself says it cannot be explained away by a shift in diagnostic criteria) and extrapolate forward, then at least half of all children born in the United States will be autistic by 2046. And these statistics fail to differentiate between classic autism, which is characterized by a child sitting in a corner rocking back and forth with little interest in social interaction, and regressive autism, where a normally developing child suddenly loses speech, interest in social interaction with peers and develops various biomedical symptoms. Tens years ago no one talked or wrote about regressive autism and now this is the fastest growing segment of the autistic population. What if this is just a different disorder. What if it’s a disorder that has gone from 1 in 200 million to 1 in 200 in a 10 year period? Then, certainly, we’re looking at a medical disaster of unprecedented proportions that is here, now and warrants a response at least as dramatic as the CDCs response to swine flu or the AIDS epidemic. We could well be at the tipping point of a crisis that will soon consume our future.

I don’t know about you, but those numbers are alarming. Could it be possible that in just 35 years over half our child population could be autistic? How can there not be more resources and funding to research autism? Genetic mapping and other studies can be done to possibly in the future determine if your child is predisposed, genetically to develop autism, the funds for the these studies and research are not there. Something needs to be done, and fast or else we might very well be looking at the end of our world as we know it. We see movies about zombie apocalypse, alien invasion and deadly viruses wiping out the human race, but could it very well be something staring us right in the face? Something we can possibly stop before it happens?

Even if you have not been touched by autism, doesn’t mean you wont. Autism has no prejudice. It does not care about social class, financial status or if your dear aunt Sally just passed away. Autism can strike any child, at any time and we don’t know why. Become aware, spread the word and help stomp out autism, find treatments and therapies for autism.

Pink Princess Review

2011-04-05T23:28:00.003-04:00

When planning the Drama Queens birthday we wanted to have some adorable dresses for them to wear, that matched, but didn’t need to be the same colors. In my search for something adorable I stumbled upon Pink Princess and fell in love. I instantly fell in love with not only their amazing selection of Pettiskirts & Tutus and Flower Girl Dresses as well as how beautiful all of their products are. When it came time to making a decision on what to review it took me days to make my selection. I went over all of the products several times with many tabs opened to my favorites and began to slowly eliminate (which was very hard to do) and finally settled on the Polka Dot Embroidered Taffeta w/ Sleeves for Keira.

When the dress arrived I was in love with it even more than when I saw it on their website. Keira wanted to put it right on, but I told her she needed to wait because I was so afraid that she would spill something on it before she had the chance to wear it to her party. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I have had some taffeta clothing in the past and I found it a little stiff and itchy, but I was shocked at how soft this dress really was. When Keira got the chance to try it on for the first time she didn’t complain at all about the material and actually refused to take it off.

Pink Princess offers a great selection of formal and special occasion dresses. Whether you are looking for the perfect birthday dress or a beautiful holiday dress they have it all. They even have Flower Girl Accessories, that will finish off your little princesses perfect look for whatever occasion. Not only do they have a great special occasion selection, but they also have Christening Gowns and First Communion Dresses to make your little one look beautiful on their special day. With their amazing selection I can easily suggest them to my friends for whatever event they are looking for a dress.

{Buy It}

You can buy the beautiful dress like I received as well as many other dresses and formal wear on their website.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Pretty Please Vote for Kaylee!

2011-04-03T23:48:00.002-04:00

If you have a Facebook account and a spare minute can you please vote for Kaylee? We are trying to win a 2011 BOB Revolution SE in The Baby Gizmo Company’s Win BOB's Heart Photo Contest. During our recent trip to the Museum of Science Keira broke the sun shield on our current stroller. It has been on it’s last leg for some time now as I received it handed down 4 years ago before I had Khloe and has been used almost daily since receiving it. We don’t have the money for a new stroller and with three little ones it is a must to even travel up the street to the park or store. Winning this stroller would be the greatest blessing and I need everyone’s help. From now until 10pm (CST) on April 10th you can vote and at that time the person with the most votes win. Feel free to share on your Facebook wall and on Twitter. Every vote helps and I would be forever grateful to everyone that votes for us.

First like The Baby Gizmo Company on Facebook.
Then vote for Kaylee by liking her photo.

Birthday Parade: Kaylee Like– Inspired By Finn Review

2011-04-01T00:13:00.005-04:00

I have heard so much about Amber jewelry helping with pain management, but I was skeptical. I couldn’t figure out how simply wearing a piece of jewelry would help alleviate pain, but I needed to try it. Kaylee was already showing signs of pain from teething and I was lucky enough to be able to review a beautiful Inspired By Finn Honey Round Amber Necklace.

Among other things, amber is a natural analgesic (pain reliever) and anti-inflammatory. When amber is worn on the skin, the warmth of the skin releases trace amounts of healing oils on the skin. Commonly known as "teething jewelry," baltic amber has been a natural and traditional European remedy for teething discomfort for hundreds of years. To read more about the many benefits of baltic amber, click here http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/index.php?c=64&p=14913

At first I thought no way will this help with her teething pain, but it was beautiful still and would look adorable on Kay. As the days rolled on I noticed that while she was still in pain, she didn’t cry as much or chew on stuff as much as she was in previous days. I was shocked and in love all at once and since receiving the necklace it has barely been taken off. I worried that she would pull on it, chew it or try to take it off, but since having it on she has paid almost no interest to it.
I love that the clasp is a screw close rather than a normal clasp. With the screw clasp you don’t have to worry about breaking of the clasp and having little pieces of normal clasps being put into your little ones mouth. Another design feature I love is that there is a knot between each bead so should the necklace break that only one bead falls off and you don’t have little beads all over that your little one can put into their mouth and choke on. Inspired By Finn really put little children into thought when designing their necklaces and because of this they are the only company I suggest when my mommy friends are looking into amber jewelry not only for their little ones, but themselves as well.
You can also find Inspired By Fin one Facebook.

{Buy It}

You can buy the beautiful necklace like I received as well as other amber jewelry on their website.
To learn how to save up to 25% off ANY purchase with Inspired by Finn, go here.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Birthday Parade: Khloe Like– Squinkie Doos Review & Giveaway

2011-03-31T23:38:00.006-04:00

Khloe is obsessed with Squinkies, so it would come as no surprise that they would be featured in the Birthday Parade. We were lucky enough to receive the Squinkie Doos Salon Playset and two Squinkie Doos Bubble Packs. Khloe was in love right away because now one of her favorite toys had hair she could brush and style.

Like the original Squinkies, the Squinkie Doos are just as adorable. Now featuring hair you can brush and style as to the fun. Whether you want to put your Squinkie Doo’s hair into a pony tail or a braid the styles are endless even on these little guys. The Salon Playset was simply adorable with a cute little seat to sit your Squinkie Doos on and a pretend over head dryer your little ones can pretend they own a salon with them. Included in the playset and bubble packs were adorable little brushes and a hair dryer.

Squinkies are recommended for ages 4 and up and it really should be followed. Keira is 3 and while she is mature for her age, several times when Khloe had out her Squinkie Doos I noticed that Keira would play with them, but every so often would still put one into her mouth. Of course I knew for sure not to let Kaylee near them and several times when Khloe had dropped a few and I hadn’t noticed Kaylee put them into her mouth right away. Of course Khloe generally keeps an eye on them all, but will become distracted by something every so often and leave them out in the open. If you have younger children you don’t want to play with them you are fine as long as you can keep an eye on play time with Squinkie Doos. I will admit I myself love putting them into their little balls and watching as they come out of their playsets. Khloe loves having mommy play with her and it does help to be sure that the littles don’t put them into their mouths.

Squinkies can be found on their website, blog, Facebook and Twitter. If you follow them they often offer giveaways and fun trivia and contests to win them.

{Buy It}

Squinkie Doos can be purchased at Toys R US.

{Win It}

One lucky reader will win 2 Squinkie Doos bubble ball packs.

{Mandatory Entry}
Visit the Squinkies website and tell me which is your favorite.

You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach you.

{Additional Entries}

Like Squinkies on Facebook
Follow Squinkies on Twitter
Subscribe to the Squinkies Newsletter on their blog

Need more entries? Visit here

Giveaway ends on April 22nd @ 11:59pm (EST). Winners will be notified by e-mail and will be listed on this blog. Winner has 48 hours to reply to my email with the requested details before another winner is picked. Open to US residents 18+. Winner can not have previously won in any other Squinkies contest or giveaway.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Birthday Parade: Everyone Like - Baby Rock Apparel Review

2011-03-31T20:52:00.004-04:00

Anyone that knows us will tell you we are not the average family. Our beliefs in parenting and life are far different from most people we know and our taste in clothing, while still cute borders on rocker/grunge. It only seemed fitting that I would feature Baby Rock Apparel during our Birthday Parade. If your style in clothing is like ours and want to dress your children to match your style while still showing of their cuteness they have everything you need.

I had the chance to review the Lil Sis "Spoil & Love" which was adorable and fit our style perfectly. I knew Kay would look adorable in it and I loved that it showcased she was the Lil Sis. Khloe and Keira loved the shirt when they saw it and giggled with excitement knowing that it said that she was their little sister. We received a 6-12m which had me a little worried because Kay is sprouting up very fast and with a cloth diaper on we often need to go up a size, but I was surprised how well it fit her. She is still wearing it with room to grow and just turned a year old. The shirt is made of 100% Rib cotton, which I found to be very soft on my precious little one and features a neckline designed for easy on and off over the head. The website says they run small, but I actually found them very true to size in comparison with other shirts this size, but if you are worried you could always purchase them the next size up to be safe.

Baby Rock Apparel offer many other unique and cute designs for other parents like us. From super cute tutus and pettiskirts to adorable footwear and even diaper bags for mom’s on the go to have a hip diaper bag to showcase your style. Just because you’ve become a mom doesn’t mean you have to change and with Baby Rock Apparel you can not only keep your style you can share it with your little one. Whether looking for a unique gift for your hip rocker parents to be or something for your own little one Baby Rock Apparel is sure to have something you’ll love. You can even stay up to date by joining their mailing list and receive exclusive offers easily to your email.

{Buy It}

You can purchase any of the products as well as others at Baby Rock Apparel. You can also use coupon code karine for 15% until April 7th.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Drama Queens Birthday Parade comes to an end!

2011-03-31T20:18:00.002-04:00

My event didn’t turn out like I planned. I did not expect for a computer crash and the never ending cold to hit just as I began my event. I had planned for it to run a little more smoothly with at least one review and one giveaway posted each week, but in the end that didn’t work out very well for me. I want to thank everyone for reading and entering, as well as thank my sponsors for providing amazing products for review and giveaway. I also want to apologize, if I had known that my event would have gone this way I might have held off on it, but such is life and you can always be 100% prepared. I am about to write up the last of my reviews that I have gotten behind with. Thank you again and stay tuned because I have a couple of coupon codes with them. Once I am done getting caught up I will be drawing winners for the giveaways that have ended.

Birthday Parade: Mommy Like - Walgreens Brand Extra Strength Pain Reliever

2011-03-30T23:00:00.002-04:00

This is a compensated post written by me on behalf of Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a mom of three girls I often find myself stressed through out the day. I have suffered from headaches most of my life and I find myself with them more now that I am a mom. Day to day life as a mom of drama queens involves tantrums, screaming and fights and that is on a good day. I was lucky enough to try the Walgreens Brand Extra Strength Pain Reliever Quick Gels for this review. I have purchased it in the past, so it only seemed fitting between my headaches and how much I already love the product to choose it and share it with my readers.

We live within walking distance of our local Walgreens, so when I am in desperate need of pain relief my husband can easily head out and pick me up some pain relief. Having Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products so close to us I find it relieving to know that a brand I can trust is within reach. When I find myself in a pinch and in need of some pain relief it's great to know I have some where to turn. I have found not only does the pain reliever help my headaches, but it also helps with my worsening arthritis.

Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness products I have come to love and trust. In a time when we have found ourselves pinching the pennies Walgreens helps us to save on items we need on a daily basis. Just because they are not a "name" brand product doesn't mean they work any less. The Pain Reliever worked just as well, if not better in relieving the throbbing my daughters caused in my head. We opt to save a few dollars, but still get get the pain relief we are searching for.

Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products not only help to save money that you can use for other family needs, but they are recommended by the Walgreens pharmacists. Most of them actually contain the same active ingredients as other national brands and have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You can learn more about Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products on their website. Purchase of Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products helps support preventive wellness services to local communities with Walgreens Way to Well Fund™. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products, or try them out for the first time by visiting any of their stores nationwide or online.

Sunday Share: Museum of Science

2011-03-27T15:02:00.001-04:00

We have wanted to take the girls to the Museum of Science for quite some time now, but the cost to go was out of what we could afford. As luck would have it one of the homeschool email groups I am part of was organizing a field trip and would cost us less than it would cost for only one of us to visit the museum alone. I signed up just in the nick of time because within minutes of sending my email they announced the trip was closed and no one else could sign up.

The girls waited patiently as we counted down the days until the trip. We talked every day about what we would see there and they were most excited about the dinosaur bones. I tried to tell them there would be a lot more than just dinosaur bones to see, but they just didn’t want to hear it.

The second we entered the museum the girls went insane (in a good way) and began racing all over as they couldn’t decide what to look at first. Electricity, motion, physics, theories and button up button to be looked at and touched left uncertain of where to go. We tried to keep to a plan of attack on how to take in as much as possible. I will admit the girls did great, getting a little restless here and there, but over all enjoying everything they saw. They would linger, listen and take in everything they saw and it was tough to pull them away from one section with the promise of more to come.

Right before lunch we headed to the human body exhibits and the girls were in awe. They loved looking at all the models of organs and bones. I love that most of this section is hands on and that they could actually look, touch and take apart the models and really see what was inside our bodies. Right across from this section was human reproduction, which at first I wondered if it was age appropriate for them and decided they would eventually learn it so we might as well take them to see it. Keira walked around looking at the models, while Khloe walked through each area with me asking questions. She loved looking at the different stages of pregnancy and the baby growing. I didn’t go into details on how babies are made, but explained to her she was seeing the baby getting bigger inside the body like when her and her sisters were in mommy’s belly. She was amazed and took it all in.

Next it was time for lunch and we could tell they were hungry and becoming tired so we decided after lunch we would visit the dinosaur exhibit and head home. We ate quickly and headed to the bones. They couldn’t get enough of the size and that they were actually bones and fossils from the dinosaurs. Kaylee was even excited in this area and ran all over with excitement to see the different bones. When Khloe decided to sit back down in the stroller we knew it was time to get ready to leave.

I thought Khloe would be most interested in the dinosaurs, but still today, coming up on 2 weeks after our trip she talks about the reproduction exhibit. Telling us how it was her inside mommy’s belly and how she got big and then came out. Perhaps she will be so interested in it like myself that she will become a midwife or OB/GYN. Whatever way our homeschooling journey takes, whichever field they decide to study I know that we can turn to Studypoint for all their tutoring needs or to help keep mommy in the loop on what they are talking about. In the end we had an amazing day and we all learned and saw a lot.

Birthday Parade: Mommy Like - Pier 1 Spring Outdoor!

2011-03-21T10:00:00.001-04:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Once the weather is warm here in Boston you will barely ever find us inside during the day. Whether out for a walk or just relaxing in the backyard we will not be sitting inside on the couch. With Spring just around the corner (the first day of Spring is this Sunday March 20th) we need to prepare the yard to accommodate us during the warmer months. Pier 1 has you covered for you outdoor needs this year.

When I begin to clean and decorate outside I love to start with seating. Of course seating is a must, not only for entertaining, but lounging around while the girls play. Of course I want something not only attractive, but comfortable and functional. That is why I really love the Outdoor Wicker Rocker, Outdoor Wicker Settee, Outdoor Single or Double Papasan or Outdoor Swingasan Chair. These chairs will not only look beautiful in the yard, but you can pair them up with some of the amazing cushions like the Whimsical Garden Cushions or the beautiful and bold Citron cushions.

Of course you can't sit around without a table. I really love the Outdoor Dining Table paired with the pretty Hot Stripe Umbrella and some matching chairs. Now your not complete without the Green Metal Beverage Tub or some beautiful throw pillows like the Oblong Stripe Pillow. Lastly the lovely Black and White Outdoor Planters (that come in a set of 3) complete your sitting area making it comfortable and functional whether entertaining or having a lazy day in the yard.

What I particularly love about most about the furniture and decor for this season is that I don't have to worry about it in the yard during the harsh New England winter. Not only is it all stylish, but many of the pieces can be used inside when they weather becomes cold. I can easily transfer in most of the seating and decor before the first snow without having to worry about it becoming destroyed. I know those lovely planters I showed you will make a nice addition inside for some beautiful house plants or the Swingasan Chair will fit in nicely with our living room furniture for some added seating. With the Spring collection this year you will easily find many outdoor and indoor uses for many of the beautiful items.

Pier 1 will also be having some Tweet Ups coming up:
Dallas: March 22nd
Atlanta: April 5th
NYC: Aprild 20th

To find out more details about dates and times visit Pier 1 Tweetups

Happy Birthday Kaylee!!

2011-03-14T22:20:00.003-04:00

How can it be that a year has already gone by? It seems like it was just days ago that I was waiting to go into labor to attempt a VBA2C and here we are celebrating her first birthday. One year ago today at 1:27am, 7lbs 15.6oz and 20.5" long Kaylee Mary made her entrance into this world. It’s hard to believe how much she has learned in just a short year. She took her first steps on Christmas Day, and slowly took more and more until by the end of January she was full on walking. She says several words in her cute little voice and is constantly full of laughter.

To my sweet little Kaylee Bug, mommy and daddy were truly blessed to have you join our family. Keira is beyond in love with you, as you are her. I can see you are both going to have an amazing relationship as you get older. I can see, though you might not always show it that you love Khloe tons too, but she can be a lot to handle. I can’t believe you have been in our life for a whole year already, while I am sad you are no longer a baby I look forward to all your new firsts that will come over the next year. May you continue to have your adorable, bubbly personality and continue to fill our hearts with your laughter and smiles. We love you Kaylee Bug and I hope you had an amazing birthday!

Newborn

6 Months

1 Year

Hey What Happened to the Personal?!?!?!?!

2011-03-08T07:44:00.003-05:00

So I have become not so personal on my blog as of probably Sept. It was by no means intentional, but at the time I had a lot of issues family wise (both my family and my in-laws). Then came the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, which immediately precedes the birthday parade.

When I started blogging I intended to remain as personal and family oriented with the occasional review and/or giveaway, but began to enjoy sharing products I might not normally have purchased without receiving it from the company or PR rep. I have also posted quite a few sponsored posts, but in our current financial situation every penny helps, so I might as well utilize my blog as such if the money is there.

Even my review and/or giveaway posts have suffered over the last few months. I had a vision when I began planning for the Drama Queens Birthday Parade Event. Never did I imagine to feel abandoned by my own family (not my hubby and daughters, but my mother, sister, grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins) which resulted in being hit by horrible depression and lacking interest in much of what normally brings me joy. We planned to attend Christmas dinner at my uncle’s home being that he is closer than where it was usually held and we’d be able to get there without a problem. Mere days (like 12/23) before Christmas, no food purchased for the holiday (which we have prepared for our little family and the in-laws since 2008) and not so much as a few dollars put aside that wasn’t spent on gifts for the girls I receive a call from my grandmother that went something like this;

Grandmother: “I just spoke with your uncle and he says there is no room for you to attend dinner, but you are welcome to come for dessert.”

Myself (I may or may not have come off snarky): “Thanks for telling me with no time to purchase anything for us to have for the holiday. You’ve known since Thanksgiving and I have been trying to get you to find out if it is ok that we come.”

Grandmother: “Well you can come for dessert still, but please don’t talk about welfare, foodstamps or your housing search.”

At this point I just mumbled something and got off the phone. I was hurt, upset PISSED! I was only several weeks away from turning 29, an adult, but being treated like a child and told what I could and couldn’t talk about. I felt abandoned, like my family did not care. My mother, sister and nephew live out of state so these “family” (yes because I barely consider them that anymore) didn’t care that my little family would now be basically alone, without a meal on a major holiday. I turned to Facebook, vented to friends, fellow bloggers and mommies like me. This resulted in my uncle and grandmother becoming aware of how I felt, but neither could be bothered to call me. I should have expected that from this uncle since he won’t accept a friend request and has never so much as sent a message asking how myself, hubby or the girls are.

Still hurt and depressed over this my hubby rushes to cash his check on Christmas Eve, head to the grocery store before it closes and pick up as much as he could for a holiday meal. In the end our Christmas was perfect, the girls loved everything they got and it worked our great because we could remain home so they could play with their new toys. While I missed the days before marriage and kids, with dessert, coffee and a few glasses of wine while playing board games a family I learned that we as a family need not rely on anyone else and we’ll begin our own traditions as our girls grow.

All while this is going on, my new laptop crashed on the same day my grandmother called me. All saved email pertaining to the event, pictures, bookmarks and anything I needed/wanted saved was lost. I try to back it up before having to do a full system restore and the file said stuff was in there, but when I tried to restore it there was nothing. I had planned to begin writing reviews/giveaways to publish on their own as the event began on 1/1, but that didn’t happen because I had to try and find as many emails I lost pertaining to the reviews.

Birthday season arrived pretty good, but began the attack of the snowstorms here in MA., and the never ending colds that lasted weeks upon weeks. The month long colds ended, to be followed by yet another cold/fever outbreak and I seriously began contemplating quarantining our entire house to avoid more illness. We still are battling colds as I type this.

I have gotten so down that I even began thinking about no longer blogging or taking a “Bloggy Break” to enjoy some mommy time and family time, but slowly I am getting out of my slump. So I turn to you, my faithful readers, in hopes to stimulate my mind and share a little more about the family and myself. What would you like to learn more about? I am an open book and will answer all questions (within reason that is, i.e. if I believe the answer might hurt someone I know to be reading I might refrain from answering or not fully answering). I want to interact with my readers more and I even invite you to friend me on my personal Facebook page. So ask away! Heck I am even willing to take pictures of random family life stuff.

Birthday Parade: Everyone Like–Bummas Review & Giveaway

2011-03-08T03:41:00.001-05:00

By now everyone knows we cloth diaper. We have part time cloth diapered since Keira was an infant in the summer of 2008, we have full time cloth diapered Kaylee since she was about two weeks old last March and in July we transitioned Keira into full cloth. When we started cloth diapering we just used disposable wipes. In the newborn phase and exclusive breastmilk poop not needing a pre-rinse before washing resulted in the pain staking task of removing all disposable wipes from diapers before washing. More often than not one or more wipes got missed and were found in the washer after removing diapers, this is when we began introducing cloth wipes.

I was lucky enough to have won a set of The Tropical Ones Bummas wipes and was in instant love. They are soft enough for Kaylee’s little bottom, but durable enough for Keira’s Pre-K bottom. My first thought on the wipes were how vibrant their colors are, but thought they wouldn’t hold the color after frequent washing. I was pleasantly surprised how amazing the colors still look today after at least 30 washes.

The wipes are 100% Cotton, Woven Velour Terry Cloth milled in the USA and 5” x 7” in size. Perfect for SAHM or can be easily put inside a diaper bag or pocket book for moms on the go. I love that not only do they cater to our family’s attempt to become greener and more money conscious, but they are also made right here in the USA.

No longer have a little one in diapers? Bummas are still for you! We also use our wipes as washcloths when in a rush. Within reach of our kitchen and living room is our diaper storage area so after a particularly messy dinner or art project they are right there ready to be used on a tough mess.

Don’t have any children at all? Or they have all grown up and moved away? Bummas are a great gift for new parents to be whether cloth diapering or not. With their beautiful colors you can pair them up with a cloth diaper or bath items as a shower gift or a welcome baby gift.

{Buy It}

You can purchase Bummas wipes on their website as well as many online and brick and mortar retailers worldwide!

{Win It}

One lucky reader will win a Bummas set of their choice.

{Mandatory Entry}
Like Bummas on Facebook.

You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach you.

{Additional Entries}

Visit Bummas website and tell me which set you would pick if you won.

Follow Bummas on Twitter.

Need more entries? Visit here

Giveaway ends on March 29th @ 11:59pm (EST). Winners will be notified by e-mail and will be listed on this blog. Winner has 48 hours to reply to my email with the requested details before another winner is picked. Open to US residents 18+.

I won the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Birthday Parade: Everyone Like–Gaddy Nipper Crayons Review & Giveaway

2011-03-08T03:00:00.000-05:00

The Drama Queens are a creative bunch. They love to color and create, so I try to stimulate their creative minds with lots of coloring projects. Whenever we have the chance I love to have them sit at the table and color away, not only allowing them to explore their creativity, but to help teach them their colors. Gaddy Nipper Crayons not only allows for them to do this, but in a fun and adorable way.

We received the adorable Sweets for my Sweet Crayon set to try out, which is simple adorable with it’s single cupcake and four heart shaped crayons. Packaged in an adorable pink box with a heart window on the bottom and filled with colored paper curls had my girls instantly intrigued with what it could contain. Upon opening the box and revealing the contents Khloe and Keira squealed with delight, but still had no clue what I was actually showing them and once I told them they were crayons they took off to find some coloring books.

My favorite part about the crayon set we received, as well as all the other crayon sets available is that they are perfect for birthday goodie bags or classroom parties. They are the perfect treat for children of any age as an alternative to sweets or paper greetings. You can even have your name done in crayon, which can be a perfect gift for that special child in your life, stocking stuffers or even a way to personalize your goodie bags.

The colors are super vibrant and kept my girls occupied passing them back and forth for several hours. I was surprised at how well they colored and how bright they were on the paper. I think they colored better than some of the commercial crayons we usually purchase in the store.

{Buy It}

You can purchase the Sweets for my Sweet Crayon set and I reviewed and many others on the Gaddy Nipper Crayons website or on Etsy!

{Win It}

One lucky reader will win a Sweets for my Sweet crayon set like I received.

{Mandatory Entry}
Visit the Gaddy Nipper Crayons website and tell me your favorite crayon set.

You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach you.

{Additional Entries}

Like Gaddy Nipper Crayons on Facebook.

Follow Gaddy Nipper Crayons on Twitter.

Favorite Gaddy Nipper Crayons on Etsy.

Need more entries? Visit here

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Birthday Parade: Everyone Like–BabyLegs Review & Giveaway

2011-03-08T01:07:00.001-05:00

The Drama Queens hate clothing. If they had the chance to live in a nudist colony, they would be first in line to get in and stripping as they entered. I often worry about Kaylee’s little legs as she walks and crawls around the house. Her poor little calves and knees got the worst of it on our carpet with some pretty bad rug burns. I needed a solution to keep her little legs protected, still leaving her almost naked and have her diaper easily accessible for diaper changes. BabyLegs was my answer!

I received the Duchess and Roller Coaster leg warmers, Rose Dots tights and Love Thang baby socks to review. I opened the package and was surprised at how vibrant the colors were and the girls were intrigued immediately. I was even more shocked when Khloe and Keira wanted to wear the socks right away, inside the house without needing to. They loved them and began posing and showing off their little feet, which I have never seen them do over anything, let alone socks. I was even more pleased by the logo sole grippers which kept the girls from slipping, sliding and falling all over our kitchen floor.

The leg warmers sizing is amazing. Not only did they fit Kaylee great with room to grow into them, but they fit Khloe and Keira perfectly as well (though they loved them more as arm warmers). I really loved how soft and girlie the Duchess pair were, but also loved the vibrant pink and purple colors of the Roller Coaster pair. Kaylee loved them both and tried to take off with one pair while wearing the other. Made of organic cotton, polyester and spandex kept her little legs warm and protected, but still light-weight allowing her to still move around with ease.

We haven’t had a special occasion to wear the Rose Dots tights yet, but they too continue with the quality and beauty that BabyLegs puts into all their products. As the weather warms up and Winter turns to Spring I can easily see myself pairing these beautiful tights with a skirt as we venture out doors for walks, heading to the park or visiting family and friends.

You can find BabyLegs on Facebook and Twitter, so make sure you like them and follow them to keep an eye out for some of the latest deals and sales.

{Buy It}

You can purchase all the products I reviewed in many different designs and colors (including boy patterns) on their website!

{Win It}

One lucky reader will win a BabyLegs grab bag.

{Mandatory Entry}
Like BabyLegs on Facebook and follow them on Twitter (if you only have one or the other just follow them that way and let me know).

You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach you.

{Additional Entries}

Tell me your favorite BabyLegs product or pattern. Need more entries? Visit here

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

7 Questions New Moms Should Ask Themselves Before Returning to School

2011-03-08T00:54:00.002-05:00

7 Questions New Moms Should Ask Themselves Before Returning to School

This guest post was written by Kellen Thompson who has also written at length about receiving accounting degrees online as well as enrolling in online classes

When I was seven months pregnant, I graduated with my Master’s degree. At the time, I thought that if I was blessed to stay home with my baby even for a short time while my husband worked, a Master’s degree would benefit me when I re-entered the workforce. My employer was also willing to pay a portion of my tuition. What I didn’t know at the time was that I would have two more children and ultimately be out of the full-time workforce for almost 15 years. I also didn’t realize back then that when I was ultimately ready to go back to work, I would not want to go back to the same career.

Now I am looking to go back to school to find out what I want to be when I grow up. My children are at the ages that they are more self-sufficient so I could devote more time to my studies. However, the baby that I carried the last time I was in school is now getting ready to go to college and pursue his own dreams. Will we really be able to afford for both of us to be in school at the same time?

There are several questions that moms, in particular, need to ask themselves before returning to school. The first question is how will my decision affect my family? Because, as a mom, our family is our first priority so we have to really assess how our decision to go back to school will affect our loved ones. Another question that we need to ask is will childcare be an issue? When you factor the cost of your education, you need to factor in all of the costs associated with your education, including childcare. The benefit in today’s educational sphere is that now we have the option of pursing an on-line degree and we never have to leave home. The world literally is our classroom and on-line degree programs are available in every possible field. Check out this link to find out more about these programs: guidetoonlineschools.com/getting-started/distance-learning-101ms.

Another question that you need to ask yourself before enrolling in any program is why are you returning to school? You need to check your motive to make sure that it is the right motive, one that will sustain you in those times it may get difficult balancing school and family. And then you need to ask yourself who are you doing this for? Again, make sure that your motive is correct so that you won’t burn out halfway through the program. The right motive can provide the drive needed to keep going when you may feel like giving up.
Another question that I wish I had asked myself 16 years ago is will this degree give me some options. Everyone makes several lateral career moves throughout their lifetime and many of change careers completely at least once. I wish I had thought through my degree and asked myself what else I could do with the Masters I had chosen. For example, a Master’s in some disciplines will give you the opportunity to teach on a university level as an adjunct at some schools. This is an excellent option for moms who want to teach but cannot commit to a full-time position.

The next question you should ask yourself is how long do you want your schooling to take? Again, considering your family commitments, factor in all of your present commitments and set a realistic goal for yourself. And the final questions you need to address deal with finances. How much do you want to spend on your degree and how do plan to pay for your schooling? If you research different options, particularly distance learning versus traditional college, you will find that many institutions and degree programs vary in cost. An assessment of your personal financial situation can help you determine which program is right for you.

Going back to school at any age, at any time in your life is a big decision. But it is also, in my opinion, one of the best decisions that you will ever make. My kids tease me that I have a Master’s degree so that I could change diapers. But in reality, my degree has opened many doors for me that have allowed me to pursue other dreams that I didn’t even know I had 16 years ago!

Confessions of A Coffee Addict

2011-03-08T00:50:00.000-05:00

Confessions of A Coffee Addict

This post was written by Johnathan Skand who also writes for pharmacy-technician.net as well as radiologytechnician.com

My name is John, and I am addicted to coffee. I drink about a pot all by myself per day, taken with a splash of cream and no sugar. I don't like fancy drinks or chai or anything like that (though I do enjoy the occasional latte) -- I want coffee, the drip stuff, dark roasted and flavorful, an exotic blend from Sumatra or Kona coffee on a splurge.
Being addicted to coffee isn't all fun and games. I get seriously cranky when I don't get my fix, as my housemates, family, and past girlfriends can tell you. I start my day with a cup, have one mid-day, and have one after dinner like clockwork. My life is regimented around my coffee intake, and all else must fall in place or get out of the way.
One of my past girlfriends very much liked the outdoors and enjoyed day hikes and camping. I like her very much, so I went along with her plans and we went camping over night. It was the longest 36 or so hours of my life, not because of the blisters on my feet or the rain or the awful beans and rice we made for dinner, but because there was no coffee. I was grouchy and miserable, and could not wait to get back to the car and drive to the nearest gas station or restaurant or grocery store or anywhere where I could find coffee.
She learned quickly for the next time, as I packed a full thermos of pre-made java and she most pleasantly surprised me by bringing a french press for after dinner, when we boiled water over a fire. She was a real keeper, and it was the best camping trip I've ever had.
I am definitely a coffee snob too, and will not settle for Folgers or 7-11 brown water except in the most diring cases, such as coming back from camping. I like the good stuff, and why should I deny myself the best? People don't always share my tastes or expectations, and unfortunately I'm often disappointed at new restaurants and with what friends brew.
Sadly, my addiction is very real. I do get headaches when I don't get caffeine when my body expects it, and whether I've had my coffee or not very much affects my mood and demeanor. But when I get what I need, I'd say I'm a happy, likeable guy. Life is better with coffee, and more often than not, life is very, very good.

Birthday Parade: Mommy Like–Stylin’ Momma / PassionSpice Review & Giveaway

2011-02-22T23:21:00.003-05:00

When I got pregnant with Khloe I already knew I wanted to breastfeed. I didn’t pick up any formula and grabbed a manual breast pump knowing I would be returning to work when she was 6 weeks old. To my shocked and depression Khloe never took well to nursing, my supply lacked and by the time I returned to work she was maybe nursing only twice a day.

When I got pregnant with Keira I invested in a double electric pump, but didn’t set my heart on nursing like I did previously. I didn’t buy any nursing clothing or bras, I figured it would be a waste of money if nursing didn’t work out for us. To my surprise Keira nursed and supplemented with formula and pumped milk until she weaned just before she was a year old. As the weather changed and we began going out more and more I found not owning a nursing bra was making our public nursing sessions pretty hard. I began scrambling at different stores looking for a nursing bra and what I would find left me feeling old, unattractive and no where near sexy. On top of it all it was next to impossible to find a nursing bra with underwire.

After finding out I was pregnant with Kaylee I began looking into nursing bras again, hoping I could find something that was functional, but still made me feel sexy. In my search I stumbled upon review after review about PassionSpice Maternity and Nursing Wear. Since discovering the line the name has changed to Stylin’ Momma and now includes many other items not just maternity and nursing wear.
Katy was amazing enough to give me the opportunity to review the Elle Underwire Nursing Bra in aqua and matching Jade Bikini. As soon as I saw them both in person I was in love. Not only was the 80% poly/20% spandex blend of the material comfortable, it was light (felt like I wasn’t even wearing it) and had amazing stretch to it, I also didn’t need to worry about when Kaylee would decide to pull on the bra. The color is simply beautiful and deeper blue accents really make the set stand out. The bra straps are easy to adjust and I found it easy getting a perfect fit for me. The inner half cups and underwire really help to give me a little extra lift without being over the top, I am a mom after all. The nursing clasps are easy to attach and detach to quickly nurse on the go and cover up when you are all done. I had no issues with doing it one-handed while trying to juggle a squirming baby and never once has it stuck like some of the other nursing bras I have tried. The bikini panties also made of the same 80% poly/20% spandex blend and really hugged my bottom. I found them to be the perfect combination of form fitting, but not too tight and still allowed for them to be breathable. I was quite surprised (in a good way) at the overall comfort of this beautiful set. I could easily nurse again while still feeling sexy.
I am happy to say that Kaylee is 3 weeks away from turning a year old and we are happily still nursing with the Elle nursing bra still in heavy rotation. Recently at a family birthday party I got several compliments on how pretty the bra is. I am beyond grateful and thankful to Katy for giving me the bra and panties for review as they truly are amazing and sexy all in one. Stylin’ Momma also offers beautiful maternity lingerie as well as other accessories including baby carriers and nursing covers. You can also find Stylin' Momma on Facebook and Twitter.

{Buy It}

You can buy the amazing set I reviewed, as well as other maternity and nursing lingerie and other accessories at Stylin’ Momma.

{Win It}

One lucky reader will win a $25 gift certificate to Stylin’ Momma.

{Mandatory Entry}

Visit Stylin’ Momma and tell me what you might spend your gift certificate on.

You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach you.

{Additional Entries}

Like Stylin’ Momma on Facebook

Follow Stylin’ Momma on Twitter

Need more entries? Visit here

Giveaway ends on March 15th @ 11:59pm. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will be listed on this blog. Winner has 48 hours to reply to my email with the requested details before another winner is picked. Open to US residents 18+.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Birthday Parade: Mommy Like–EdenFantasys

2011-02-14T04:53:00.010-05:00

Please note the below content contains material for those that are 18+ and discusses and links to an adult store. If you are under 18 or do not wish to read please scroll onto the next post.

Having three children (four when step-daughter is here) leaves very little time to be intimate. Hubby and I have little time to cuddle and talk, never mind having a sex life. We love having our girls, but miss the days when it wasn’t a dance around naps and sleeping schedules to have some private bedroom time. EdenFantasys is there to help with when you are able find some time to be alone together.

Whatever your pleasure is you’re certain to find it at EdenFantasys. If you are looking for a nice massage kit they have an amazing selection. Nothing says I love you like a nice, long, sensual massage (hubby if you are reading this *hint, hint*). Want to feel sexy? I know I do, even if it is only for a few minutes, they literally have you covered with some beautiful and sexy lingerie. Looking for a little more adventure in the bedroom they also offer a wide variety of gender specific and couples toys for a little more fun.

EdenFantasys is your perfect one stop shop for anything you will need or want to help spice up your sex life. So lock the door, grab your husband and begin browsing, because it might take a while to get through their amazing selection.

By writing this post I will receive a gift certificate to EdenFantasys, this in no way influenced my post. All content about is my honest opinion.

Birthday Parade: Mommy Like–Scentsy Fragrance Foam Review & Giveaway

2011-02-14T03:47:00.004-05:00

I have always been a girlie, girl. I like pretty smelling soaps, lotions and candles, dressing up and just a random day of pampering at the salon. It comes as no surprise that I would love a fragrance foam that is also antibacterial. With three little girls constantly touching things I needed something that smelled pretty, but helped fight off the germs. Sure I can use hand sanitizer, but where is the fun in that? Most smell of plain alcohol or a light aloe scent and in my opinion too boring for me.

Independent Consultant Sheri Carpenter stepped into my rescue. She really knows her stuff too. I couldn’t decide on a scent, with holidays and birthdays filling my head my mind was at a blank on what I wanted for myself. It had been quite some time since I thought about something I wanted, but such is the life of a mom. Sheri was great to work with and I told her I like fruity and warm/baking (vanilla, cookies, spices) smells and left the final decision in her hands.

When my package arrived I tore it open like a little girl on Christmas morning, heck I don’t even think my girls got this excited over opening their gifts. I was amazed, Sheri hit the nail on the head and sent me a Black Raspberry Vanilla Fragrance Foam. It was exactly what I would have ordered for myself if I had a working brain at the time. Of course I had to try it right away (in hiding because Keira, like mommy, loves scented stuff) and it was love at first smell. Before I even had a chance to pump some onto my hands I could smell it, not too over powering and not too light that you couldn’t smell it at all.

Finally I pushed the pump and couldn’t believe how light it was on my hands. I came to the realization foam is 100 times better than heavy liquid hand sanitizer. I could smell it on my hands, feel the softness, but didn’t feel like I needed to dry my hands after putting it on like I usually do with hand sanitizer. I also love that it is alcohol free and kill germs, so I ended up caving and sharing with Keira… BIG MISTAKE because she tried to steal it from me. Every time she sees it now she wants to put some on her hands and I really have no worries about it because it is non-drying and keeps her little hands germ free and smelling pretty.

{Buy It}

The Fragrance Foam is available in 5 amazing scents; Black Raspberry Vanilla, Coconut Lemongrass, Cucumber Lime, Havana Cabana and Lucky in Love and can be purchased for $6 from Independent Consultant Sheri Carpenter as well as other amazing Scentsy products. For the month of February there is 10% to help make way for the Spring/Summer line!

{Win It}

One lucky winner will win a Fragrance Foam of their own in their choice of scent.

{Mandatory Entry}

Browse through Sheri’s Scentsy catalogs and tell me your favorite item, scent or something you learned.
You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach you.

{Additional Entries}

Friend Sheri on Facebook
Need more entries? Visit here

Giveaway ends on March 7th @ 11:59pm. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will be listed on this blog. Winner has 48 hours to reply to my email with the requested details before another winner is picked. Open to US residents 18+.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Happy Birthday Keira!

2011-02-14T00:55:00.002-05:00

Three years ago today at 8:51pm, weighing 7lbs, 7oz and 20 inches long you arrived. Deciding a day before mommy’s scheduled c-section your little love bug self made your debut. Since your birth you have lived up to your birthday and nickname showering everyone with hugs and kisses and having a love of cuddling. In three years I have watched you grow to become an amazing little lady. You and I have a special bond and often stay up watching movies at night after everyone else has fallen a sleep.

To my middle drama queen, my CareBear, we hope your birthday is as special as you wish. You are a great big sister to Kaylee, who loves and adores you. You always put a smile on her face and give her the most amazing cuddles. You are an even greater little sister to Khloe. You let her win all the fights (even though we all know you can win) and give in to her whenever she wants a toy you have. You share with her when you don’t want to and love her even when she is throwing a tantrum. You are a blessing to daddy and I and we look forward to all the years to come. Continue to be you, making us laugh with your silly stories and off the wall one liners. Continue to cherish your sisters, you are the most important, the middle of the cookie, the glue that holds it all together. We love you little miss CareBare.

Newborn1 Year2 Years3 Years

Birthday Parade: Mommy Like - Evie iPhone App

2011-02-13T10:02:00.002-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Evie. All opinions are 100% mine.

Uploaded with Skitch!

Juggling three girls doesn't often leave a free hand while out and about to grab my phone and make a call if needed. If only I had an extra hand to do things for me. Of course that isn't possible, but when making a phone call there is the amazing Evie app for your iPhone. With Evie I can easily speak the name of someone in my contact list or a phone number and Evie will do the rest, no longer leaving me searching through my phone while trying to hang onto the girls.

Evie doesn't stop at just calling on your voice command, you can play songs by command as well. Simply speak the name of the artist, title of the song, genre, playlist, podcast or audiobook and Evie will start it up for you. Evie can even help find a business or point of interest around you. Simply speak what you would like to find and you can get directions or even call them. You can also listen to your Facebook feeds with Evie.
I love that this can easily make driving hands free, simply dock your iPhone and speak the commands to it without picking it up. No longer trying to hold your phone, drive and calm the children. Just because we're moms doesn't mean we're not busy and need a little help, so make sure you check out Evie and be certain to download it for your iPhone today.

Birthday Parade: Everyone Like - So Fudge Brownie Mix from Wildtree with Amanda

2011-02-11T00:27:00.002-05:00

Who doesn’t love chocolate? Especially when in brownie form! The Drama Queens have a major brownie addiction. I am always looking for easy to prepare brownies without any over the top ingredients… care to explain what Maltodextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Medium Chain Triglycerides, Natural and Artificial Flavor is to me? I shouldn’t need to look up half of the ingredients online to determine what I am giving my children. To my surprise (and love) when I picked up the O’ So Fudge Brownie Mix from Wildtree with Amanda I was pleasantly surprised to read the ingredients;

Sugar, Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour, Natural Cocoa, Baking Powder (monocalcium phosphate, bicarbonate of soda, corn starch), Vanilla Powder. How simple is that? Though my next question, how easy will they be to prepare?

Since I was on camera duty this particular night hubby decided to do the mixing and it was pretty simple and like any store bought mix. Even the non-baker can easily follow the instructions to make these brownies. Within a few minutes I was loading up my cute Wilton brownie pop pan and (couldn’t find my square pan) round cake pan with the mix. Placed them in the oven (sorry I forgot to copy down how long they bake for before we tossed out the package) and sat back taking in their aroma as they baked. They smelled amazing, but how would they taste? Would having all natural, non-progressed and no artificial flavoring make them taste bad? I believed no, how could a mix like something you made from scratch taste bad. Time would tell.

As soon as they cooled down we ~~devoured~~ ate them. I decided to let Kaylee try a little piece and she had the cutest faces as she tasted the chocolate. The remaining Drama Queens returned for seconds (even attempted thirds) and the brownies were gone before we went to bed that night. I really wasn’t too keen on the price at first, but when I thought about the cost to go out and buy all the ingredients to make brownies from scratch (if you only plan to make them once and never use the ingredients again) the mix is worth it. If you want tasty brownies with a taste of homemade from scratch Wildtree with Amanda is the way to go. By far my favorite boxed brownie mix I have tasted to date (I have tried many).

Keira's chocolate happy face!

{Buy It}

You can purchase the O’ So Fudge Brownies for $7.50 and other amazing products at Wildtree with Amanda. You can also find her on Facebook.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Birthday Parade: Mommy Like - OCEAN Nasal Care

2011-02-10T22:55:00.006-05:00

Our house has always been dry and once winter hits it kills our noses. With no windows open and the dry heat from the gas stove we constantly feel congested. As a family my husband and I are both more often than not natural healing and prefer to allow stuff to run its course before turning to medication. When it comes to our little ones' noses and congestion we often look for a saline solution or something to clear them out rather than pumping them full of medication for it to take a long time to kick in. We keep them as comfortable as possible when sick with lots of rest and fluids and treat congestion just the same.

We received the OCEAN® Premium Saline Nasal Spray, OCEAN Complete® Sinus Irrigation and OCEAN for Kids® to try and they arrived just in the nick of time! The day they arrived my husband arrived home and complained about how dry, but congested he felt and I immediately handed him the package that had just came that day. He tried out the Sinus Irrigation system and said he felt a difference right away, so we decided to use the OCEAN for Kids on the girls. It was a little bit of a task to get them to hold still long enough for us to get it into their little noses. Khloe and Keira we ended up just holding it upright and misting them and we laid Kay down to give her some drops and in a matter of minutes (and some complaining from them) they told me they could breath (well the older two, but I could hear better breathing from Kay). Now when we get a touch of nasal congestion with our colds or I notice the girls are sounding a bit stuffy I turn to the OCEAN products to help give them some relief.

Generally I love to try products myself, but for some reason I have this fear of putting stuff into my nose (I know I put my girls through the torture, but not myself). While I didn’t get to try it out on myself my hubby and the girls are very happy with their noses feeling the relief thanks to OCEAN!

OCEAN for Kids®

General moisturizing during dry climates and cold temperatures, and while spending time in enclosed spaces (e.g., classrooms, train rides, air travel, etc.

Relieving allergy, cold & flu symptoms
Relieving congestion by thinning mucus
Reducing nosebleeds from dryness

OCEAN Complete® Sinus Irrigation

Two-in-one saline solution for sinus and nasal relief of congestion
White tip contains the saline mist for nasal moisturizing
Orange tip contains an even bigger saline stream for sinus irrigation
Pre-mixed, easy to use, and non-medicated

OCEAN® Premium Saline Nasal Spray

Perfect for people suffering from dry nasal passages, nose bleeds, nasal congestion, or sinusitis
Best-selling nasal spray “recommended by most doctors coast to coast”

{Buy It}

You can purchase OCEAN Nasal Care from Drugstore.com or several local retailers.

{Win It}

One lucky reader will win some OCEAN Nasal Care of their own.

{Mandatory Entry}

Tell me what you do to prevent or treat nasal dryness or congestion.
You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach

{Additional Entries}

Like OCEAN Nasal Care on Facebook
Need more entries? Visit here

Giveaway ends on March 3rd @ 11:59pm. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will be listed on this blog. Winner has 48 hours to reply to my email with the requested details before another winner is picked. Open to US residents 18+.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Birthday Parade: Mommy Like - Hefty® Basics

2011-02-03T23:30:00.005-05:00

When we decided to become greener I knew that one of our biggest problems was going to be lowering and/or stopping our use of disposable dinner products like plates, cups and silverware. Feeding a family of 5, 7 when you include my in-laws results in a lot of dishes and disposable plates and cups helped to eliminate the majority of our dirty dishes. One plus about our disposable plate use is that we do not throw our plates into the trash, but use them in our fireplace, but I was still upset at the thought of all the trees used to make something a little simpler in our daily routine.

One of my biggest regrets is the amount of plates used at almost any party. More often than not we would pick out plates to match our party theme and once all was said and done we had a trash bag or two filled with used plates. Just to match our party we generated a large amount of trash that would just be put into a dumpster at our party location. Many facilities around here do not recycle thus resulting is massive amounts of waste, most of which was made from trees… Now let me introduce you Hefty® Basics!

When I was contacted to review the new Hefty® Basics and was given the information, I knew right away that these were the plates for us! These new plates are free of inks, dyes or coatings and biodegradable, making them perfect for composting. While we do not compost, I loved the idea that these plates are much greener than what we have been using over the years. They are available in 45-count 8 5/8-inch lunch plate packages and 24-count 10 1/4-inch dinner plate packages and can be found in most stores that carry Hefty products. My love of Hefty® Basics grew even more when I read that they have partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant a tree for every 10 new Facebook likes, so make sure you visit them and send your friends!

I received a package of both the 10 1/4-inch and 8 5/8-inch plates and was a little worried on how well they would hold up to the Drama Queens. Being biodegradable and without coatings I was worried that within a matter of minutes the plates would collapse or give out under heavier foods. Hubby and I decided to try them on Christmas Eve by ourselves. We had ordered some Chinese food to eat while we finished up wrapping gifts and putting them under the tree. I worried about how well they would hold up to the greasy food and sauces, but was pleasantly surprised at how sturdy they were. Would they hold up to the Drama Queens though?

I hid away some plates and so glad I did because my in-laws loved them so much they were gone minus the hidden ones. I didn’t get a chance to take pictures of the lunch plates, but I did get some pictures from Khloe‘s birthday where the dinner plates got the ultimate test heavy FONDANT COVERED BIRTHDAY CAKE! I was a little scared that the girls would walk around with their plates like always. Scared that the plates would buckle under the fondant weight and I would have cake, frosting, whip cream, strawberries and fondant all over the floors. Scared that I would have little girls covered head to toe in cake needed a bath instead of cake covered faces just needing an washcloth. Imagine my joy when not only did the girls sit nicely at the table (only occasionally moving the plate onto their lap), but when they plates held up amazingly, even furthering my new found love of Hefty® Basics!

If your family is big paper plate users like our family and trying to works towards becoming greener Hefty® Basics is definitely for you. I even plan to use them at the Drama Queens’ big birthday bash and if you don’t mind not having matching plates with your décor I highly suggest them for your next event as well.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Horrible Event Host!

2011-01-30T20:41:00.002-05:00

I want to apologize yet again to all my readers and sponsors. I have gotten behind yet again. Between myself and Khloe being sick, Keira coming down with it now and Kaylee in teething pain and constantly nursing has left me very little time to get on the computer, let alone type up reviews. I am currently reinstalling PSP so I can edit my review photos and HOPEFULLY start typing up some within the next hour. Today alone I had Khloe laying on my feet, Keira resting her head on my shoulder and Kaylee nursing herself to sleep all while coughing up a lung. It has been a rough couple of months and had I known in advance how bad they would be I would have organized myself a little more by lining up sponsors sooner so I could easily have everything set to publish like I had hoped to do when my computer crashed. I thank everyone for standing by me, and promise I will be attempting to catch myself up as long as I feel ok and don’t find myself passing out with my laptop on my legs.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2011-01-19T06:30:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to me! Today I turn 29 years old and I am feeling it. Though I still feel much like a child at times, it has really hit me that I am a year away from 30 and I have yet to accomplish much in my life except have the girls. There is so much I want to do, had planned to do and had hoped to have done by the time I hit 30. The time is going by way too fast and I really hope to get some of this stuff done, because there is a lot of stuff that I do not want to admit to once I hit 30. So let’s hope that this year as a family we are all a little more productive and get some of it done.

As for birthday plans, we really are not doing anything. I told hubby I didn’t want a cake and anything he was thinking of buying me I much rather he not because we have a lot to do for the girls party (including book the hall, which I am sure is no longer available for the dates we were tossing around). I was a very low key day, though I am sure that is not going to happen with my little overly hyper girls, but a mom can dream can’t she?

Khloe’s Birthday Fun!

2011-01-18T23:28:00.002-05:00

Monday (1/10) we did Khloe’s birthday cake. It took us two days to complete the cake to her specifications. She wanted a heart cake with pink frosting and cherries. I asked her if she wanted it to be pink and purple instead of all pink and she got excited and said yes. While picking up some stuff at the craft store as a bonus I noticed a Buzz Lightyear candle and some Rex and Alien decorations to add to the cake.

We began with a simple white cake recipe I found, covered in homemade buttercream frosting and then marshmallow fondant custom colored to pretty pastel pink and purple. The bottom layer of the cake was homemade whip cream and fresh strawberries soaked in sugar water. The girls LOVED it, and I must say I really enjoyed it as well, though fondant is way too sweet for me so I put that to the side.

Now we have just a little under a month before we have to do it all over again for Keira’s birthday. She has asked for a Barbie cake, which I think will be a lot easier than Khloe’s cake.

Sorry and A Funny Story….

2011-01-18T21:25:00.002-05:00

I am so sorry, I thought I had posts scheduled up until Monday, but it turns out I must have dreamt I wrote them up or something. The girls have been driving me so nuts over the last few days, so much so that I forgot tomorrow is my birthday. After I type this up and post it I will begin working on some more posts for the next few days, including some awesome giveaways. I also have a few more things I need to photograph for the posts that will be coming over the next couple weeks.

To glimpse you into how bad they actually have been let me tell you a little story from last night/early this morning. By 11pm last night I was literally passing out sitting up due to not feeling good and the girls driving me insane. Khloe and Keira were in their room watching some Spongebob and fighting sleep, Kaylee was in bed with us sleeping. It became really quiet in their room so hubby and I decided to go to sleep for the night without checking in on them because that would just make them wake up more if they were not a sleep. Hours later I remember waking to them jumping all over our bed with the TV blaring, so we sent them back to their room with Spongebob on and went back to sleep. More hours pass and I am in and out of sleep not feeling well and luckily hear nothing. At some point before 3am Keira comes to our door, turns on the light and waking hubby and I up, followed by Khloe shortly after saying she is covered in chocolate. We assume Khloe passed out with her cup and it had leaked all over her, so hubby wipes her off, turns Spongebob on and puts her back to bed. By now they have managed to wake up Kaylee, so we decided to change both Keira and Kaylee before getting them to go to sleep. Hubby head downstairs and I hear an “OMG” and after several more minutes he then comes upstairs, shuts off Khloe’s tv, takes away her Buzz toy and turns off the light. I head downstairs because in his rush he forgot diapers and I needed to pee. What I walked into was a disaster! It looked like a tornado had hit our kitchen. There was a chair up to one counter top, powered chocolate milk mix all over the table, floors, chairs and counters. Half of the stuff was taken out of the cabinets (the ones they could reach on a chair) and some glass Christmas ornaments that we forgot to put away were now broken on the floor and table mixed in with the chocolate milk mix. An entire box of cereal was gone and every medicine, container and whatever else interested them was also removed from the cabinets. It took me roughly an hour to clean up and in the end I am glad that everyone decided to sleep in this morning because I was beyond tired and I think I have a cold coming on.

Birthday Parade: Everyone Likes Etsy Feature–Mrs Pantski

2011-01-15T01:18:00.000-05:00

Let me introduce you to Heather an amazing mom and awesome with a crochet hook. We first met on a forum when we were both pregnant with March 2010 babies. Since that time she has opened up shop selling some of the most adorable hats in the world, as well as cocoons, longies and skirties. She is constantly learning and creating new and unique items for her customers.

Since the launch of Mrs Pantski, Heather has been very busy completing her custom orders from her waiting list as well as creating already made items for her Etsy shop. I don’t think there is much that she can’t create and I have seen her go for some challenges posed by customers.

From her simply adorable Owlbert and Owlivia to ever popular Gnome, Elf, Shell, Swirly, Newsboy and beanies to the unique Sophie, Reindeer and Sock Monkeys. Most of her hats can be made from 0-3 months all the way up until adult sizes. So if you are looking for a something special and made from the heart for yourself, your children or as a gift make sure you check out Mrs Pantski.

Mrs Pantski can be found on Facebook and Etsy. Also I will be purchasing a hat for my winner in the Handmade with Love Winter Giveaway coming next month, so be certain to check back.

Birthday Parade: Mommy Likes–Kinoko AHCC Review and Giveaway

2011-01-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

My husband works in a nursing home so I am always worried that he is going to become sick resulting in everyone in the house becoming sick. With so many sick people as well as the visiting families, doctors and other employees coming in and out of his work we needed to make sure we were taking precautions to prevent illness. He decided he would review the Kinoko AHCC to help maintain his good health and keep away anything he may become exposed to. Since he began taking it he has only had a stomach bug that attacked our entire family and a mild cold that the children shared with us. He enjoyed taking it so much during our review that he is planning on picking up some more to continue taking it daily. The only problem he mentioned he had with it was remembering to take it every day.

Kinoko AHCC contains Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) - the world’s most researched natural immune ingredient, supported by more than 25 studies published in NIH-recognized peer-reviewed journals. AHCC is made from the roots of hybridized medicinal mushrooms and is produced in northern Japan. During last year’s flu season, AHCC became Japan’s #1 selling immune supplement and the news about this unique compound is finally reaching our shores.

A new clinical study at Michigan State University conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Gardner, one of the country’s top researchers in nutritional immunology, showed that AHCC enhances the effectiveness of the seasonal flu shot. So whether you are getting a flu shot or skipping it, make AHCC a part of your immune arsenal to fend off viruses both during the flu season and all year round.

{Buy It}

You can purchase Kinoko AHCC online as well as at Vitamin Shoppe and at most Whole Foods stores nationwide.

{Win It}

One lucky reader will win a bottle of Kinoko AHCC.

{Mandatory Entry}

Tell me what you do to take precautions and prevent illnesses in your household.

You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach you.

Need more entries? Visit here

Giveaway ends on February 4th @ 11:59pm. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will be listed on this blog. Winner has 48 hours to reply to my email with the requested details before another winner is picked. Open to US residents 18+.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Birthday Parade: Mommy Likes–Rohto Cooling Eye Drops

2011-01-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

I will admit I never took care of my eyes. I wore contacts most of my teen years and into my early 20s, but I often left them in for days on end. Several years ago I decided to just wear glasses because I noticed the contacts were taking a toll on my eyes and I was still forgetting to take them out at night or I hated the extra time it took to put them in the morning. As a result my eyes have suffered drastically. They are always puffy, tire easily and more often than not are bloodshot.
I instantly fell in love with the Rohto Hydra eye drops. Right away my allergy ridden, puffy and tired eyes felt refreshed. I would never have thought they would have such an effect on my eyes so fast. I have had no luck with any eye drop making my eyes feel this good, so as you can imagine I was pleasantly surprised when these drops worked so well.

ROHTO^® Hydra: The newest product offering, specifically formulated to lubricate and provide long-lasting moisture for dry, irritated eyes with the closest hydration to nature tears, while also providing the brand’s signature cooling “kick”
ROHTO^® Cool: a general purpose eye drop that combines redness relief with a gentle cooling sensation

ROHTO^®Ice: relieves redness while also soothing itch, irritation and burn with an intense cooling sensation

ROHTO^®Arctic: revives strained, overworked eyes and relieves redness with a mild “pick me up” sensation

{Buy It}

You can purchase Rohto Cooling Eye Drops from Drugstore.com or several local retailers.

{Win It}

One lucky reader will win a set of Rohto® Hydra and Rohto® Cool.

{Mandatory Entry}

Tell me which Rohto Cooling eye drops you think would be best for you.

You must also GFC follow my blog and leave your email address in at least one comment or have it public in your profile so I can reach you.

{Additional Entries}

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Need more entries? Visit here

Giveaway ends on February 3rd @ 11:59pm. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will be listed on this blog. Winner has 48 hours to reply to my email with the requested details before another winner is picked. Open to US residents 18+.

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Drama Queens Birthday Parade Update

2011-01-13T21:57:00.001-05:00

I had meant to post up a review and giveaway yesterday, but the last two days I have very cranky children on top of not feeling well myself. These first several reviews and giveaways were not originally intended for my event, but due to being backed up due to the holidays and my computer crash I have decided to incorporate them into the event. Stayed tuned because I am about to start typing up my reviews.

Drama Queens Birthday Parade!

2011-01-12T01:27:00.001-05:00

A little late, but it has finally begun. I did have an adorable button I made, but when my computer crashed that was lost before I got the chance to post it up.

I am going to setup the event as follows;

Mommy Likes – Stuff that I have found and really like.
Khloe Likes – Stuff that Khloe (age 4 appropriate items) likes.
Keira Likes – Stuff that Keira (age 3 appropriate items) likes.

Kaylee Likes – Stuff that Kaylee (age 1 appropriate items) likes.
Any combo of the above would mean that one or more of us like it and would recommend it based on it’s age appropriateness.

Party Planning and execution tips, tricks, reviews and giveaways – this will feature stuff to help plan and execute a birthday party for little girls, though some might also be gender neutral or boyish.

I am hoping to run the event until March 31st, or at least Kaylee’s March 14th first birthday. Should I get too busy, lack sponsors or find I am overwhelmed with continuing the event (after completion of all product I have promised to review and/or giveaway is posted up) I may end it at anytime, however all giveaways will run until their listed end time and date.

I am still interested in any sponsors that might want to join in on my event. You can email me at SAHMofDQ@gmail.com. In exchange for sponsorship I am running company banners for the duration of the event on my sidebar.

Happy Birthday Khloe

2011-01-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

Four years ago today at 2:52pm weighing 6lbs 15oz and 19.5 inches you entered the world. Where has the time gone? My first born, my little girl, miss independent growing up too fast right before my eyes. My baby is no longer a baby *tear*

To my oldest drama queen, may you have an amazing day and may you continue to shine and bring joy to everyone you meet. You grow smarter each and every day and I am blessed to have you as my little girl. Remember mommy loves you and I look forward to many more amazing years as we both continue to grow and learn. You are daddy and my first great treasure and you’re an amazing big sister to Keira and Kaylee. We love you baby girl!

Newborn

1 Year

2 Years

3 Years

4 Years

Looking for help....

2011-01-01T05:46:00.000-05:00

First since I am still rounding up emails and getting everything restored on my computer I will be starting my event on the 12th rather than today.

I am looking for some help. A good family friend currently has a husband deployed in Afghanistan and a son stationed in Germany. I saw her husband mention that him and the rest of the men are looking for every day items. I sent her a message and I am waiting to hear what they might need. Once I know what they are always looking for or needing I am going to post a list and would love any help in getting some of the items. Whether you want to send them directly or send them to me first and I package it all up to send them will be up to you. I love this woman like a second mom and want to make her husband's stay over there a little more comfortable until he can return home to her and their daughter. As I receive more details I will let everyone know, but if you might be interested in helping out feel free to comment and/or spread the word.

Computer Crash!

2010-12-28T18:11:00.000-05:00

On Thursday (12/23) I had a complete computer crash. Unfortunately I lost a lot of saved emails. It had me create a backup and said it saved and showed saved files on my disk, but when I went to restore them there was nothing there. In all I lost 100s of files, not even sure what as well as 1000s of emails (many relating to my blog, reviews and my event). I am trying to download and go through roughly 15,000 emails that luckily Gmail had stored, but anything in the trash older than 30 days is gone and a ton of emails got deleted by Keira when she made me hit the wrong button. I am hoping once I try and get some stuff back onto my laptop that I can begin pre-posting event details, reviews and giveaways. If I am not caught up by the 1st I am going to have to delay my event to begin on the 12th (Khloe's birthday) while I get situated again.

Make feeding time easy time with Annabel Karmel

2010-12-17T17:47:00.001-05:00

When we found out I was pregnant with Kaylee we decided right away we would be making our own baby food. Both Khloe and Keira never had a big interest in store bought jarred food and at most would only eat the fruits. They both ended up having whatever we were eating mashed or cut up and jarred food sat in our cabinet going to waste. We knew that our little Kay needed to eat, but couldn’t justify throwing away money on food our older two had not even touched.

When I was given the chance to try the Annabel Karmel line from Infantino I was thrilled, you didn’t have to ask me twice. The only down part was by the time I replied and the line arrived Kay was already done with purees and preferred her food cut up so she could feed herself so I was worried I wouldn’t find a use for the Fresh Food Mill, Freeze Tray and Mash & Serve Bowl…. boy was I ever wrong.

One of my favorite items in the line is the Fill & Freeze Puree Pops. My girls will not eat yogurt, though they both loved it in the past. I knew it was more of a texture problem and not the taste so I decided to give the yogurt a try in frozen pop form. These were a big hit, the problem is I can’t make and freeze them fast enough. I take some fruit on the bottom yogurt, mix it all up and then pour it into the Fill & Freeze Puree Pops tray. Once frozen I run under cold water for a few seconds, pop them out and I have a great after dinner treat or a easy add on to our breakfast that is healthy and they will all eat.

The Double Decker Meal Box is another product that since receiving it I have found I can’t live with out. I can take snacks for all the girls, a sandwich for myself or for them to share when we are heading to the park to play. It is all in one place and I don’t have to go rummaging through the diaper back looking for each child’s snack. I just pull out the Double Decker Meal Box and it is all right there. It even has it’s own little spoons that stores nicely in the top of it. No more wondering where to put dirty silverware after meal time on the go. Just place them back in their storage area and no worries about getting food all over the other stuff in your bag.

Not going on a longer trip and want something smaller than the Double Decker Meal Box? Don’t worry there is the 6 Stackable Food Pots. These are great for all kinds of uses. Want to store some left over dinner in the freezer? Fill up the Stackable Food Pots, put on the lids and stack them on top of each other for easy freezer storage. Rushing out the door one day before lunchtime? No problem grab on of your pots out the freezer, heat it in the microwave and you can grab your little one’s meal to go. I found them extremely useful in taking along a different portion controlled snack for each of the girls for short walks or car rides.

The next two are the Steam Release Micro Dish and Mash & Serve Bowl which I had the pleasure of trying with my niece and great nephew. On one of her recent visits she had no baby food with her and I mentioned I had the Annabel Karmel line and she was super excited to use it. She ran to the store and picked up some carrots and bananas for her little man, then came back and got to work. She cut up the carrots and placed them in the steamer, following the directions she placed it into the microwave. Once it was done we removed it (be careful we learned the bowl can become extremely hot) and placed the cut up carrots into the Mash & Serve Bowl. She then cut up some banana and added that to the carrots and quickly fed her son. It didn’t take very long at all and her son had a healthy and tasty meal in minutes.

The Fresh Food Mill has become very handy with treats for the girls. As I mentioned Kay isn’t a big fan of pureed food (well except maybe some mashed potatoes) so I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to find a use for the mill, but I did! One night we were having some sundaes after dinner and it came to me. I had strawberries in the fridge that were going to waste. I quickly rinsed them off, cut them up and put them into the mill. Within minutes I had a tasty topping for our dessert. The girls loved having the strawberries with their ice cream. I also used it during the holidays to create some fresh fruit toppings for my pies and cheesecake. They were a hit. I also use it with the Fill & Freeze Puree Pops. Simply puree one fruit or several, place them into the pop tray and freeze for some amazing whole fruit popsicles.

The last item in the line was my biggest fear. What was I going to prepare and freeze in the Freeze Tray? Then it dawned on me, when I cook I over cook. I think it is due in part to growing up in a large family and all the recipes are designed to feed large families and we never worked to cut them back. I have found these come in amazing when I make Kaylee’s favorite MASHED POTATOES! After our meal I simply separate what is left into the tray and freeze. Now whenever I want I can pop one out and heat it up without the hassle of having to cook and entire batch of mashed potatoes.

The entire Annabel Karmel line is BPA free and dishwasher safe. The Stackable Food Pots and Steam Release Micro Dish are both freezer to microwave safe and the Double Decker Meal Box removable food containers are microwave safe. Which I find to be best of all, you can easily grab your little one’s meal or snack on the go in a matter of minutes. Annabel Karmel and Infantino have outdone themselves with this line of products. They are the perfect gift for any new mom or mom to be!

I received the product/s mentioned above for this review. No monetary compensation was received by me. This is my honest opinion.

Make Branson your new holiday tradition

2010-12-17T14:01:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hilton Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

Looking for a great holiday vacation the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel is the place for you. Branson not only offers great shows and entertainment, attractions like the Titantic Museum and the Branson Zipline, but amazing holiday fun.

Santa will be staying at the Hilton. Beginning November 27th and running every Saturday and Sunday Santa will visit children and pose for pictures in the Steakhouse dining room on Level 2 from 9-11am and ending on December 12th. Don't worry if you missed him in the dining room because Santa will also be in the lobby of the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel daily from December 12th until December 24th from 4:30-6:30pm for family portraits. With the beautiful hotel lobby Christmas tree as your background, you'll be certain to have beautiful pictures to email back home to family and friends.

Of course Santa doesn't travel without Mrs. Claus. Becoming a holiday tradition at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel is Story Time with Mrs. Claus. Every Friday and Saturday next to the hotel lobby Christmas tree Mrs. Claus will be reading stories. Story time runs from 5-7pm beginning November 26th and ending on December 18th. It is free and open to the public, perfect for the whole family to enjoy.

Worried about the cost? Don't be, both hotels will have Special Room rates from December 12th to the 30th. The savings is amazing, up to 50% off in-season room rates. Don't delay make sure you visit Branson, Missouri and book your stay at either the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing or Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel.

I feel like a horrible blogger….

2010-12-15T01:06:00.001-05:00

I want to say I am so sorry, I feel like I am neglecting my readers, but it really isn’t on purpose. I went into a slump were I just couldn’t make myself do much of anything except take care of the girls. Plus I have been having severe migraines that wont go away and hubby keeps yelling at me to go to the doctor, but there is no time for that and I am not attempting to go to an appointment with all three girls. On top of it I have been working in trying to get a couple reviews and giveaways up. I also have a lot going on behind the scenes preparing for the event next month and believe me I am really behind with contacting sponsors. I haven’t even came up with a name for it yet. Anyone have idea? It is going to be for all 4 of our birthdays (Khloe, myself, Keira and Kaylee) and I am trying to feature products that we all like as well as party planning tips, tricks, products and information. If someone comes up with a good name I am willing to give 10 extra entries into all the giveaways. If more than one person gives me a name I will do a poll to pick the winning name.

Hug Your Little Ones!

2010-12-15T00:44:00.002-05:00

I follow many blogs and not often am I moved so much to post about stuff I read, but this IS MY BIGGEST FEAR and it is for that reason I had to share. Steph is amazing and if we had some extra money right I would be right there donating for this family, but for now I can at least post and spread the word. You see a friend of Steph’s little boy recently passed away due to a horrible accident (you can read more here) and she is trying to raise money to help them through this horrible time. No parent should lose their little one in such a way, I know as I get my girls in and out of the car or just going on walks my biggest fear is that I will be tending to one and the other will walk off.

Steph will be doing it in a Charity Raffle style were your donations will go as entries into the raffle. Please open up your hearts and help, even if it is just a little. I know if I get some extra money before the raffle ends I will be putting in my donation. Thank you Steph for putting this together to help the family and know that my thoughts and prayers are with this family through this tough time.

The donations we have to auction off right now are: (please note that some of these prizes are 18+ and adult related so use caution when checking out the links)
$10 Gift Card to Bath & Body Works

$25 Gift Code to Steph’s Rockin Bakery

$50 Gift Code to PinkCherry.com

Jules Out Loud is donating a crocheted teddy bear

Project Mommyhood is donating a lovey from Noahs Baby Boutique

A Dust Bunny in the Wind is donating a $15 Gift Code to her store Nitebyrd’s Nest (she must have known what I liked)

Eden Fantasysis donating $100 Gift Code thanks to Jenn (blogger relations guru)

Jaded Vixen has offered two of her racy e books (you know us ladies love racy) on her blog under either pen name

Mamas & Papas Hits the US!

2010-12-14T23:34:00.002-05:00

I have a stroller ~~addiction~~ obsession, so when I heard that Mamas and Papas was now going to be available in the US I was beyond excited. I had heard about them from my friends overseas, but never looked into them because I knew they were not available here. These strollers are truly drool worthy beyond belief, they are beauty in a lightweight stroller.

By far my favorite is the Tour, with it’s beautiful dotty design. With an adjustable back and leg rest as well as a canopy window and pocket makes riding comfortable for baby and eases mom’s mind because she can see baby. I love that it can be carried with a shoulder strap and is lightweight (only 14lbs) while still being a 5 point harness stroller. It even includes a toy loop right on the canopy to attach a toy for your little one.

The Tour isn’t the only stroller in the Mamas and Papas lightweight stroller line, they also offer the Trip, Trek, Cruise and Voyage. They really put thought into their designs while maintaining function and ease of use. Are you excited about them being available in the US now? Well you can learn more about them on their website Mamas & Papas or purchase them at Babies R Us. They can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

By writing this post I will be entered to win 1 of 5 Mamas & Papas strollers being given away. This has had no influence on my opinion of the strollers.

Returning Shortly

2010-12-01T11:03:00.001-05:00

I know I have been scarce over the last few weeks. Between Halloween, then preparing for Thanksgiving on top of a crabby teething baby I have had to put my blog second to everything. I have to start emailing potential sponsors for my big birthday event starting next month and running (hopefully) until the end of March. I have three amazing WAHM sponsors that I will be featuring individually shortly. They are also March 2010 mommies that I met on a forum and have some beautiful stuff. Even if they had not been sponsoring my event I would be sharing them with you. From hair stuff, to beautiful fabric items (clothing, cloth paper towel and cloth diaper items), to hats, longies, shorties and skirties! All stunning handmade items, by far my favorite. Stay tuned for that as well as a couple reviews and giveaways I have gotten super behind on. Also if you have any suggestions or wish to sponsors a review and/or giveaway during my upcoming event please email me at SAHMofDQ@gmail.com. Keep in mind when suggesting possible sponsors that I am still small and that this is a girl related/party planning event.

Holiday Giveaway Gift Hop

2010-12-01T00:01:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop! This event has been months in planning and I am super excited that the day is finally here! Both prizes I donated myself. The Amazon gift code is virtual and will be sent to the winner once they confirm and the Target gift card is a hard store card and will need to be mailed to the winner. Thank you so much for joining me in the Hop. I wish that I could offer more, but between Halloween, Thanksgiving, sick children and a teething infant I just got so busy over the last few weeks I couldn’t work on getting more.

US only (sorry international, but the Amazon is for US and I am not sure about mailing the Target card internationally)

Prize #1 Virtual $5 Amazon Gift Card
Prize #2 $10 Target Gift Card
Main Entry: Follow my publicly on Google Friend Connect. Make sure you tell me in which order you would like the prizes. I will pick the first winner and they will get first choice, then pick the second winner and they will get whichever the first winner didn’t pick.

Bonus Entries:

Follow me on Twitter.
Like Life of a Slightly Crunchy SAHM of Drama Queens on Facebook
Subscribe to my blog by email.
Follow on Networked Blogs.

Giveaway ends on December 5, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. The winners will be selected by random.org and notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected.

Make sure you check out the rest of blogs participating in the Hop.

Pier 1 For the Holidays

2010-11-20T02:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 Imports. All opinions are 100% mine.

I remember going into Pier 1 when I was younger with my mother. I remember her holding tightly onto my sister and I in terror that we might break something. I however was fascinated by the store, I would dream of one day having my own home that I could decorate with all the beautiful things I saw. To this day as an adult I still dream of decorating with the beauty that is Pier 1, but that will have to wait until the girls are just a little bit older.

While browsing recently I saw some of the beautiful holiday items they currently have available. From beautiful ornaments, to decorations, to beautiful table runners to help make your holiday table even more splendid. They have it all to put those finishing touches. I personally would love to have the Maribeth Dinnerware and the Gold Luster Etched Dot Stemware or the Red Spiral Glassware for my holiday entertaining and big dinner. They are simply beautiful and would look amazing on my table.

They have so many great gift ideas and I just love them. The Magnet Board with Frames or White Open Wall Frame are both perfect for my mother and grandmother. I can easily add in some photos of the girls and I now have the perfect personalized Christmas gift. The Wood Candy Stand would be perfect for my little cooks and their baby doll tea parties, as well as some other cute little items that would make for great stocking stuffers for them.

I believe I just might have to hint to hubby that I could really go for the Tranquil Dinnerware and Adelaide Dining Chairs to put away for our place. I also love the Dream Wall Decor, and on clearance at $19.98 it is a steal and many other great items to help decorate and organize our new place (when we finally move). I especially can't wait to shop Pier 1 to decorate the girls' room. My biggest problem is going to be which items I want because I have my own decorating style and love mixing antique with modern pieces creating my own unique style.

Pier 1 gets even better because during this month and next month you can drop off an unwrapped toy and/or make a cash donation at the register for Toys for Tots. Also if you like them on Facebook during this month they will donate $1 up to $100,000 to Toys for Tots.

Is Name Brand Formula Really Better?

2010-11-20T01:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

Name brand formulas are just that, a name. I have never been able to exclusively breastfeed and because of this I have had to purchase formula for all of my girls. We tried the name brands, but as the cost began to add up we decided to switch to store brand formula.
So what is the difference between the two? Name brand formulas just cost more. Nutritionally they are equivalent if not equal. Then why is it that one is more expensive than the other you might ask? Brand name formulas run large advertising campaigns as well as promote their product in full force often giving away samples or free formula for new parents while in the hospital. Free formula costs these companies money and to make up for it they have a higher costing product. Basically I am saying short of cost there is no benefit in spending more on the name brand. I even found that I preferred the store brand formula over the brand names we had purchased in the past.
With the Similac recall many parents scrambled to change formulas and many opted for store brand. With no known recalls they became the "safer" alternative to more expensive and recalled name brand formula. In my opinion there is no need to spend the extra money on name brand, unless you just want to purchase it for it's name.

Open Until Tonight!

2010-11-18T06:54:00.001-05:00

I got a little behind last night and didn’t get to pick winners for Certain Dri and my 500 Follower Giveaway so I will leave them open until tonight at 11:59PM EST. I was planning on going to bed early, then I was too tired to pick winners and verify them, then email them so I decided to hold off and just extend them for another day. As long as I don’t get too caught up in cleaning the girls room, reorganizing for new stuff moving in from Christmas and putting a lot of stuff away I should be contacting two people tonight.

Earn your MAT degree online

2010-11-12T18:02:00.003-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of 2tor. All opinions are 100% mine.

Are you looking to earn your Masters of Arts in Teaching degree? Have a busy life and full schedule? Can't seem to find the time? The USC Rossier School of Education's MAT@USC offters you the convenience and flexibility of studying online.

MAT@USC offers a highly interactive online learning combined with field-based experiences in an accelerated program that you can complete in as little as 12 months. They have a Student Blog with insights from actual students as well as a technology video that introduces the interactivity of the program. You will learn from distinguished USC faculty recognized for their contributions to modern education. They offer a groundbreaking tuition reimbursement programs as well as scholarships, making earning your MAT degree easy.

Rossier and the MAT@USC were awarded by AACTE for innovative use of technology in education. You will earn your degree from an international renowned research institution with a 100-year history of educating teachers to be agents of change. A School of Education which has been ranked #22 in the United States and #9 among all private universities by US News and World Report.

On top of earning your degree from the comforts of your own home you will have full USC student status and benefits. This means that you can participate in the commencement ceremonies as well as free lifetime Alumni Association membership. You will also have the opportunity to become part of the elite USC Trojan Family.

The first cohort of the MAT@USC graduate this coming May. Will you be in the next group? For program information visit to learn more.