4/27/2009

Tie Buddies & Exergen WINNERS!

And the winners are.....

Tie Buddies Winner is commentor #16
Angie said... 16

We're working on this skill right now. My dd would love the fairy and magic wand!

Please contact me within three days with your mailing information and confirm your choice of the product.

Exergen Winner is commentor #58
carolpie said... 58

The other day hubby came home with donuts and gave baby a donut hole. We put the donuts on the counter and told her she had enough. Later in the day I glanced into the kitchen and saw the donut box being pulled across the counter and down. I ran into the kitchen and there was baby clutching the pink box on her lap with her hands around a donut biting it as fast as she could! Caught!

Please contact me within 3 days with your mailing information.

4/23/2009

I'm a LemonHead

Yep, I'm a LemonHead. I have a hard time wearing headbands because they tend to pinch and give me a headache. Well I was recently able to try the LemonHead bandeez and clipeez. I loved the bandeez! Now I also liked the clipeez but not having a little girl and not really using many decorative things in my own hair I know I won't get much use out of the clip so I will be passing it on to my neice. It did stay put in my hair and was very well made. The bandeez was great though. I put it on when I got ready in the morning and it stayed in place all day! That never happens with any of the other headbands I've tried before. I have even tried those cloth wrap around things but they would constantly slide away. The bandeez stayed put all day and caused me no discomfort! The bandeez can be used as a headband or headband and ponytail holder.


You can also use the clipeez alone or with the headband to make it even more versatile and pretty.
I will be ordering some more of these for myself and will definately be recommending them to my friends and family. Right now if you order $35 or more you receive free shipping from their site.

Thanks to Family Review Network for this opportunity.
The child pictured in this review is from the LemonHeadkidz website.

4/19/2009

Pledge Fabric Sweep - WINNER!

And the winner is.......

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

68

Timestamp: 2009-04-19 21:53:21 UTC




We have two cats in our household (Cakes and Sprinkles). Cakes loves to play fetch and sleeping on the the top of the couch. Sprinkles is afraid of everything and she lets me know when Cakes is getting into trouble. Thanks!

4/16/09 7:25 PM
Please contact me within 3 days with your shipping information so I can pas it along to the sponsor or a new winner will be chosen.

Clorox Wipes - WINNERS!

And the winners are.....................

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

56 92 35 67 39

Timestamp: 2009-04-19 18:37:33 UTC


yyeres said... 56

I would display it in my window. yyeres(at)gmail(dot)com

Betty C said... 92

I could use one in every room but I think the greatest use would be in the bathroom. It seems like something always needs to be wiped up.

Sue said... 35

I have four boys who share a bathroom. On the back of their toilet... Obviously.

Anonymous said... 67

These are a great improvement over the old canisters. I would keep them on my kitchen counter for speedy clean ups.
jwatkk at comcast dot net

JeansandTs said... 39

I would put them in the bathroom on my over the toilet space saving shelves. JeansandTs@hotmail.com

All winners have 3 days to email me with their shipping information or new winner/winners will be chosen.

4/15/2009

Oh, Happy Day

Today was a pretty good day. The boys got their school work done early so we could go to a friends for a little play time. They had fun running in and out, playing with lots of toys and even a few caterpillars. It was a good time for all. I even got some grown up conversation which is always good.

After our visit we had to rush home to change into baseball uniforms and then head out to another game. We had a few fumbles here and there but in the end we came out victorious with an 11-6 win. Then we headed to Zaxby's for some dinner and then to my parents shop to get a brad nailer so Hubby could get some more work done on our siding. We will be ready to paint soon and I can't wait to see some color on my house. The clay gray that we have right now is just really dull to look at.

Tomorrow my mom is coming up so we can have some girl time. I'm really looking forward to it.

4/14/2009

Stuff Wanted

Ok, my regular readers know that I review lots of products and I love it. I would really like to get into the summer spirit by being able to review some summer type items. I'm talking fishing, camping, biking, hiking, tennis type stuff. I'm not sure where to look to find places to review those types of things so if anyone has any suggestions please pass them on to me. I promise to share the products whenever I can.

Baseball the Good and the Bad

Last night was our second game. I was really looking forward to this game as it was against our old team. See Oldest has been playing for four years now. He started out with a great coach. A really nice man, but I realized right away I did not fit in with the other moms. At the time I was the one taking him to practice and most games because of Hubby's work schedule. I got to where I would take a book or school work with me so I would have something to do while waiting. Most of the women knew each other from church and just put themselves in a class above me. At the end of the year I was never contacted about the team party and therefore we missed it, which meant Oldest didn't get is trophy. The next year Oldest was on the same team and that year the coach allowed Youngest to be on the team too even though he was too young. He was only 4 playing on a 6 year old team. He only misses the birthday cutoff by 2 days though and we were told that t-ball was full so I let him play. It was nice for both boys to be on the same team. During that season I asked about Oldest's trophy from the previous year and was promised he would bring it to one of the games. He never did. There weren't really any problems that year except being made to feel less than the other mom's and some of the kids shied away from my boys because they were homeschooled. Last year Oldest played on a new team but Youngest was on the same team. We had several new parents and so I was excited about meeting new people. There were 2 that I got along with well but we were made to feel like outsiders with the rest. I'm assuming it is because we didn't go to their church and since they already knew each other they didn't feel the need to get to know us. But last year their were many problems. Our children didn't get to play in certain areas and we were not consulted on certain decisions just told this is what was going on. My parents also sponsored the team and all they asked was a plague that showed they had sponsored to hang in their new offices. They were promised that. Unfortunately they did not receive one, instead their t-shirts were paid for by the team. When the coach offered to pay for the shirts and hats I told him that wasn't neccessary but he said their was enough in the fund and he wanted to. He did not say that was in place of the plague. As grandparents they would have bought their own shirts as they do every year. At the end of the year one of the mom's said her son wanted a team shirt like we had all ordered earlier so she went around and asked if anyone else wanted one. Both my boys did so we ordered them one too. Well the shirts didn't come in before the season ended. I waited a month and called coach to check on them. He said we could meet up but it never happened. I called him back about a month or two later and asked him to give the shirts to the man he works with (every day) so that his wife (a good friend of mine) could get them to me. He said ok, no problem. It took me until this season started to get them. I thought he wasn't coaching this year because we ended up on another team but at our first game I ran into him and he said he had the shirts in his truck and would send his son to get them. At that same game I heard some parents on his team complaining because their children go to District J school but they were on District M's team. For some reason we are in District M but were on District J's team. It didn't make since that there were two mixed teams but I was glad to have a new coach and a new beginning. I also love that our coach is really teaching them about baseball. Anyway that mom that was complaining started saying our coach picked his team and was gettting really ugly about it so I told her that most of our team had never met him before and he had no idea who the kids were or how they played. After last nights game I believe that our old coach requested to not have us this year, which is fine by me but a little sad because the kids had no idea of the tension and they really liked that coach. They like thier new one too but since we had been with the other one for three years they were a little sad.
Anyway, at the game last night we were all having a good time cheering on our kids in a very close game. We were actually tied at two different times. Before the game I had talked to several of the mom's and everything was fine. Well about half way through the game one of the mom's turned around and said that my yelling was really bothering her and she just couldn't take it anymore. Umm, we were all yelling and cheering our team on, I was even cheering on the other team since I knew most of the boys on it. I didn't respond to what she said but continued cheering for our team. We ended up winning 15 to 12 after one of the boys on our team made a beautiful catch to get the batter out. The entire stand jumped up and cheered because it was a really great catch. She made another comment to one of her mom friends about my cheering. I again ignored her. It is a kids game, I'm not going to get into a fight over it. After the game several mom's from our team came up and told me that they couldn't believe I hadn't told her to move if she didn't like it or something. I wasn't bothering anyone else only her and again I have to wonder why? Is it because we were winning and she was mad, because her son didn't get to play much (which was her coaches choice) or just because she had decided last year that she didn't like me and thought that since we weren't on the same team she wouldn't have to deal with me. I don't know. I really hate it when others think badly of me because I want to be a Christian example. I know I can bring things on myself because I normall talk before I think but I can not think of anything I've ever done to them other than not go to their church, not send my kids to their school, and not make as much money as them. It was sad that she put a damper on an otherwise great game. I was really proud of our team as they had made lots of improvements since their first game and both of my boys did really well as far as paying attention and being on top of the game. They didn't catch every ball that came their way and when they threw they didn't always aim so great but it was a big improvement anyway. That same mom made several comments about our coach being mean and how glad she was he wasn't their coach but our coach wasn't being mean. He huddled our kids together to tell him how proud he was of them and to tell them where changes needed to be made or tweaked. In other words he COACHED. Anyway, I'm really glad he's our coach.
We play this team again in a few weeks and I hope it goes a bit better because we could end up back with them next year and that thought scares me. I don't want to see my kids shunned or looked over for good positions just because of prejudices against me.

Anyway, Congrats Wild Devils on your first win of the year!

LunchBots

I don't often pack a lunch because I just don't like the hassle and I don't like to eat soggy sandwiches. Of course, with two children, baseball season, field trips, a new diet and no money; I have had to readjust my wishes and start packing lunch whenever possible. Last week I took the boys and some friends to the zoo and I packed a lunch. Luckily I had recently received some of these new LunchBots that are perfect for packing lunches.

The LunchBots Uno is the perfect size for a sandwich or for a good portion salad or some other main meal. Since I still don't want to eat a soggy sandwich I put four slices of bread in mine. The four slices fit well but I'm not sure that you could get two sandwich's in there. I pre-mixed some peanut butter and jelly and had that ready to make the sandwiches once we got to our lunch destination.



The LunchBots Duo is great for taking things such as vegetables and dip or to pre-separate crackers or cookies for two children. I used mine to put exactly sixteen wheat thins in each side so I could have them ready for my snack without having to count as I ate. It came in very handy and the size is great.

Both of the LunchBots are the perfect size to fit int he pocket on the front of my cooler. I belive I can fit three of them in there. Compared with my usual plastic containers I very impressed. The LunchBots accept the cold in the insulated pocket without having t be in the ice. That will come in very handy for veggies and fruit when I want to carry those without worrying about the water seeping in. I also like that the metal containers are a healthier choice for the entire family. Plastics have recently come into focus as possibly being dangerous due to chemicals that my leach into your food products. You can read more about the potential danger of plastics at the LunchBots website.

The uno comes with a nice metal blue lid and the duo comes with an orange metal lid. The lids will fit on either of the containers which will be nice when I get another set so I can have one color for each child. These containers can be purchased here for just $14.99 each.

Thanks to MomFuse for this opportunity.

4/12/2009

Easter

It is amazing to me that two days ago we had horrible storms resulting in this
It was really bad and there were several tornado's in the area but we were spared those. The second picture the hail is 2 inches big. We sat on the porch and watched this stuff fall and unfortunately watched the dents appearing in our vain and the plastic rain guard getting broken. Our neighbors actually had hail go through their car window so we came out better than them. Anyway back to the amazing part. Two days ago we had those storms and then today God gave us a day like this.....

We enjoyed a great lunch with family and then the boys went outside to find the hidden eggs. Daddy and Uncle Jeremy made sure they hid them very well and we're pretty sure there are still a couple we didn't find. After everyone else went home Hubby and I worked on our new walkway and the boys played a little football. Of course, Hubby couldn't help but get in on some of the play time. Here is the beginnings of our new walkway and in step-by-step pictures.

That's all we have done so far. We will have to add on as we can afford but if we don't do it in small steps it will never get done. Right now we think it looks a little bit like a turtle. I can't wait to see the finished product and I will be sure to post pictures but it will be several months before we see those.
Anyway, that's how we spent our holiday and I as I sit in reflection of the day I thank God for such a wonderful day and such a great time with the family.

4/10/2009

DaBib Winner

And the winner is......

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

19

Timestamp: 2009-04-11 02:43:10 UTC


Please contact me within 3 days with your shipping information or a new winner will be chosen.

4/07/2009

Money, Money, Money

I tell you what it is so hard not to worry about money these days. I know that stress is not good for you and that we are suppose to lay all our cares on God but sometimes it is really really hard. Last week I went to the doctor to get some blood test results and they were not good. I have a weight issue that is related to my PCOS and it has led to many more serious issues. So now I am facing having to really really try to lose weight. I can usually lose about 20 pounds when I try really hard but they tend to come right back so now I have to lose a lot more than that and I don't know how I'm going to. My biggest concern is how much healthy food costs. I just spent two hours at Walmart trying to find healthy food that Hubby and I had decided to try and I couldn't find a lot of it and what I did find was $$$$. We have to change Extra Virgin Olive Oil and to Splenda and those are both expensive. I bought it but wow. I really pray that this works.

On a happier note, my friend and I are taking the kiddo's to the zoo tomorrow and I am really looking forward to a day out. On our way home we're going to run by IKEA too. We both have a few things we need from their and it is not worth the shipping to order it online.

I can not believe how cold it has gotten down here. We actually had flurries today and that is crazy. I prayed all winter for snow and we didn't get it but now it is suppose to be Spring and so I am ready for Spring. Hubby and I started doing some yard work last week and I am so ready to get out there again but it is too cold. The boys had their baseball pictures today and those poor kids were freezing. We were having to tell them to take off their jackets to get their pictures and then bundle back up to wait for the team picture. They all have cute little pink cheeks and noses. I can't wait to see the picture. The photographer said he'd email me a picture so I could use it in my blog title so hopefully we'll all be able to see them really soon.

4/05/2009

Pledge Fabric Sweep

I recently got new furniture. When we picked it out we weren't thinking about how everything would stick to micro-suede furniture because it gets static electricity. We didn't know it would get static electricity. Anyway I have spent the last several months trying to find something to clean the furniture with besides the lint roller. My lint roller worked fine but I was going through the little sticky sheets faster than I wanted to. Then I saw these Pledge Fabric Sweepers in Walmart and I almost bought one. Almost. The nearly 6 dollar price held me back. Even after leaving the store I still thought about that thing and every time I used my lint roller I thought that 6 dollars didn't sound so bad. Then I got an email with the chance to review the Fabric Sweeper and I jumped on it. I hate to say but I was a little disappointed. The first thing I noticed was that it isn't reusable. Once the collection area is full you have to throw it away and buy a new one. Then the first time I used it I noticed that, although, it picked up the pet hair from the couch it did not pick up anything else. We have hard wood floors and so everything sticks to our feet and therefore gets on the couch when we start snuggling into it. So the fact that it didn't remove the crumby stuff along with the pet hair meant that I would have to use something else to get rid of that and that meant more money spent. Since I don't have a huge pet hair problem, only having one dog that is not allowed on the furniture, I decided to give my sweeper to my mom to use. She has 4 dogs, 2 cats and a pig which all live in the house. I knew that she would be the true test. She also was a bit disappointed. She said it did pick up the hair but it tended to stick to the rollers and not shoot into the collection cup as it should. We think that maybe having a full circle roller on one side would help. She also said in some of the really bad areas it seemed to make hair balls but not really pick it up.
I have read other reviews of this product with much different results, so obviously some people loved it. It just wasn't for me. Want to find out if it's for you? Leave me a comment telling me how many and what kind of indoor pets you have along with contact information and you could win one! Contest will end on April 17th at 9 pm EST.

"This post was written for Family Review Network as part of a program by SC Johnson, who also supplied the product for review and giveaway."

Tie Buddies



One of the hardest things for children to learn is how to tie their shoes. Oldest had it mastered in about 3 days but Youngest just couldn't figure it out. We tried everything and then just gave in and started trying to make sure we bought velcro shoes. Of course the older he gets the harder it is to find non-tying shoes and since he plays baseball he has to have cleats which always tie. I have tried every way I could think of to teach him but nothing seemed to work. Then came tie buddies. These are definitely my buddies. Withing 5 minutes of using these great little squares he was tying his shoes! I couldn't believe it and neither could he. He was so excited. As soon as daddy came home he had to show him that he could tie his shoes "all by myself". He also showed every one of his friends over the next few days. What really impressed me is that within a week he was tying all of our shoes even without the tie buddies. I think it gave him the confidence to learn how to do it on his own.

Tie buddies are small almost square pieces with two holes in them for the shoe strings to thread through. They are really easy and after only 9 easy steps your children will not only be able to tie their shoes with the tie buddies but also on their own.

STEP 1: (FOR PARENTS)

Begin with the widest part of the Tie Buddy at the top, holes facing up. Thread the lace up through the closest tunnel, then out the top and down through the second, outer tunnel. Do not leave a loop above the Tie Buddy. Make sure there is roughly 3.5” of lace between the Tie Buddy and the last shoe eyelet. The 3.5" should be measured with your childs' foot in the shoe with the laces untied. Measure from the eyelet to the base of the Tie Buddy. You may need to adjust according to your childs' shoes and lace length so try the tying process yourself first to be sure the Tie BuddiesTM are placed correctly. Repeat the process on the second lace.





STEP 2

Holding the TIPS of the laces, make an "X" and wrap one end through the hole and pull tight.




STEP 3

Grasp just below your Tie Buddies



STEP 4

Pass the left Tie Buddy (character) behind the other's back


STEP 5

...and back around in front



STEP 6

Now finish by pushing that Tie Buddy (character) back
through the hole





STEP 7

Now grab both the Tie Buddies
(characters) and pull up and away until your bow is tight




STEP 8

You've done it!
You can tie your shoes!




STEP 9

Once they've gotten the hang of it, remove one Tie Buddy so they can practice holding a lace on their own. Soon enough,you'll remove the other and your child will be a shoe-tying whiz!

Now if that looks like something you'd like to try then leave me a comment telling which style you would like to have. Make sure you leave me a way to contact you or your entry will not count. This contest will end on April 24 at 9 pm EST.

Thanks for Family Review Network for this opportunity.

4/04/2009

Month in Review

So I've been promising to upload some pictures of the goings on around here and so I am finally able to do that.
One day during the month Grandpa came by for a visit and before leaving gave the boys a ride on his motorcycle. They loved it! Unfortunately only one of the pictures I took of Oldest came out and you can't tell it is him but it is. The first picture is of Oldest coming home and then Youngest getting ready for his ride.


I have to say when Oldest went I was a nervous reck. I completely trust Grandpa but I do not trust motorcycles. Then it seemed to take an awful long time for them to get back from going around the neighborhood. When they finally got home they confessed to taking the long way around and going down by the fields to see the cows. That made me a little less nervous when Youngest went. They both really had fun.

We also had a kitty visitor for a short amount of time. We have a PO Box and when I went to get my mail the lady that works there said she had rescued a kitty out of the mail box outside the office. It was the cutest little kitty and I knew my friend Gina was looking for a cat so I took her home with me. I wasn't able to get in touch with Gina right away so we accepted kitty as a weekend guest. I spoke with Gina on Saturday and she said she would like the kitty so on Monday we met to make the exchange. After having kitty for 4 days the boys were very sad to let her go but I really didn't want the responsibility of another animal. Later we heard from Gina that she isn't sure that kitty is a girl. I hadn't checked and just took the post office workers word for it. Oh well, it was still cute. See....


Youngest has a birthday coming up and he constantly asks how many days it is until is birthday. After answering him several times I decided to find a way to show him. We make construction paper chains to count down to Christmas so I thought it would be a good idea to make one to count down to his birthday.


He got a little tired and had to have help with the gluing but we got it done and now he doesn't have to ask how many days. Oldest can't wait until next month to make his. He wanted to make it at the same time as Youngest but I explained that there would be too many links in his chain right now so he would have to wait until next month.

We're also in the midst of baseball season. We have had practices for the last month and had our first game today. We lost 12 -18 but we played hard. Our local recreation department doesn't give us much pre-season practice time so we have some work to do on our fielding. I'm sure we'll do better next week.

The picture on the left is youngest getting ready to bat and the right picture is Oldest playing pitcher. They are still in a coach pitch league but they have a child in the pitchers position because the coach isn't allowed to catch the ball at all. Our poor coach had to duck quickly a few times today but he managed to not get hit.

Well that pretty much is what we've been doing for the last month. I will try not to wait so long to post next time. We have another game next Saturday and so I will try to post then and if I can before that. I am still working on another Infertility & Me post also. My computer won't work and my mom is going to be taking hers back soon so I may be posting sporadically in the mean time.

4/03/2009

Bright Star Kids

Bright Star Kids is a company that makes stickers of all kinds for your home. They have wall art sticker which can turn any room into a farm, an ocean, or even a fairy land. They also have iron labels for clothes, stick on labels for sippy cups and other household items, along with bag tags and more. We had the joy of tryin out the Farm wall art and we loved it. Youngest has always enjoyed playing with moveable art. He has had magnets, felt and stickers. For Christmas the boys received some Dinosaur wall art that did not do well on our textured walls. They would stick them up there and as soon as they moved away they'd start peeling off. It was very disappointing for them not to be able to turn their room into a jungle. So when Bright Star Kids offered us the chance to try their wall art I jumped on it. And it worked! We loved putting the farm scene on the walls and pretending that we actually lived on one. Later that day I went in the boys room and noticed that all the stickers were still up! I was amazed. I did worry a bit that night when I went to put the kids to bed because I noticed that an entire section was missing off one of the walls but Youngest quickly assured me it was fine, he had moved them all over to the wall next to his bed. I am very happy that even with our textured walls the boys have been able to really enjoy these new decorations.

We also received some wall letters. They are nicely cut and easy to install. The boys love that their names are on their wall. Since they share a room they love that their names identify there personal space.

Bright Star Kids Wall Graphics & Wall Letters are really well priced and with the US currency rate being so strong, US customers get a fantastic deal. Their Wall Graphics range from approximately $26USD to $52USD per pack. Wall Letters start at around $3USD per letter and get reduced down to around $1.50USD per letter when you buy 15 +. There is only one flat shipping fee of approximately $10USD. All US customers can change the amounts to be displayed in their currency, which makes it really easy.

Until April 25th my very special readers can receive a 20% discount on their orders by using the code FAMILYREVIEW at checkout. The discount doesn't work with any automatic store discounts. For example if a person buys 2 or more Wall Graphic or Wall Letter kits, they will automatically get between 15 - 25% off. These products won't get the extra 20% off, but any other product that's in the order will.

If you have kids or know someone who is expecting the Wall Graphic's would make a great gift. Even if you not sure about something as large as the wall graphic's you should check out Bright Star Kids because they have somethings that anyone could use.

Thanks to Family Review Network for this opportunity.

4/01/2009

Exergen Temporal Scanner

How I wish I'd had one of these when mine were babies. I still remember the struggles of taking temperatures. We were blessed with Youngest when he was only four months old and he was sick. It was awful. I was new at this mommy stuff and here I was having to deal with taking an infants temperature. I tried taking it under his arms but was told it was better to take it elsewhere and then there was the whole add a degree or subtract a degree thing. I hated it, he hated it. It was awful. Well, mom's now have a better solution. The Exergen Temporal Scanner is the easiest thermometer I've ever used. I've had the above mentioned experience as well as the opportunity to try the ear thermometer and neither of them worked well for me. I was thrilled when the ear thermometer came out but the ones in my price range proved to be inaccurate more than not. So far the Temporal Scanner has been accurate. Fortunately, nobody has actually been sick since we received the thermometer but I have tried it several times a day on different family members and it seems to be accurate every time.

It is also super easy to use. All you have to do is remove the protective cap, place the probe in the middle of the forehead, push and hold the button as you slide the probe to the temporal hairline, release the button and read temperature. That easy. Some things, such has wearing hats or sleeping with your head covered, bangs, and making several swipes can affect the reading of the thermometer. If you feel that you didn't get an accurate reading with the first swipe, wait for a second before swiping the head again.

So, want to know how to get your own? They are available at the following retailers beginning at $29.98. Wal-Mart, Babies R Us, Walgreens, Toys R Us, Costco, and www.baby.com
You can get a $5 off coupon HERE.

Of course if 30 bucks is a little hard to come by these days, you could always just leave me a comment telling me your funniest baby story whether it is about temperatures or not. You can get an extra entry by blogging about this giveaway linking back to my blog and leaving a comment me telling me you did so. Be sure to leave a way to contact you or the entry will not count. The contest will end on April 24th at 9 pm EST.

Thanks to Family Review Network for this opportunity.

New Look

Ok, I didn't get around to uploading pictures today or doing a real post b/c I've been working on my new look. What do you think? I did it all and am so proud of myself. Of course I couldn't have done it all without the help of my bestest friend Amy. She redid her look too. She's still working on her nav bar buttons but I love her color scheme and her header. My header will change as soon as I have some pics of the kiddo's in their new uniforms but for now this will work. Well it is nearly 2 am and I better get around to hitting the hay so I will post a real blog with some pics soon. I promise.