Friday, April 30, 2010
We are huge video game fans at my house. Everyone from my husband to our smallest children enjoy video games and while I don’t mind my children playing video games in moderation it’s always nice to see them choose an educational game over something not so educational.
Recently I had the chance to review a Nintendo DS game called Easy Piano and I was more than happy to check it out. My oldest daughter loves music and has shown a lot of interest lately in learning how to play an instrument so I knew this game would be perfect for her. Easy Piano by Valcon Games, released April 13 is an extremely unique game that can not only teach you to play the piano but also to read and compose your own music. Some of the cool features of Easy Piano:
With 2 difficulty modes, 10 lessons, and a ton of mini-games Easy Piano has all of the musical bases covered. Not only is this game fun and entertaining it is also educational. I don’t know about you, but if I had the choice between buying my children a video game that can teach them to play an instrument and a game that has them shooting at everything under the sun, I would choose the educational game 10 times out of 10. We (yes I said we…it was fun) really enjoyed Easy Piano and I think you (oh and your kids too) would as well.
Buy it: Easy Piano retails for $39.99 (price includes game and keyboard) and is available at Wal-Mart, Amazon, and other online and offline retailers.
Recently I had the chance to review a Nintendo DS game called Easy Piano and I was more than happy to check it out. My oldest daughter loves music and has shown a lot of interest lately in learning how to play an instrument so I knew this game would be perfect for her. Easy Piano by Valcon Games, released April 13 is an extremely unique game that can not only teach you to play the piano but also to read and compose your own music. Some of the cool features of Easy Piano:
- It includes a real keyboard that attaches to the DS.
- You can play using the keyboard or unplug it and use a stylus.
- You can master songs in Quick Game mode to earn new songs.
- You can compose and even save up to 3 original songs and even replay your compositions using different instruments.
- Learn to read music from a very awesome instructor and so much more!
With 2 difficulty modes, 10 lessons, and a ton of mini-games Easy Piano has all of the musical bases covered. Not only is this game fun and entertaining it is also educational. I don’t know about you, but if I had the choice between buying my children a video game that can teach them to play an instrument and a game that has them shooting at everything under the sun, I would choose the educational game 10 times out of 10. We (yes I said we…it was fun) really enjoyed Easy Piano and I think you (oh and your kids too) would as well.
Buy it: Easy Piano retails for $39.99 (price includes game and keyboard) and is available at Wal-Mart, Amazon, and other online and offline retailers.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Being a mother of four means that I often have to deal with unexpected issues with my children. Those unexpected issues can lead to unexpected expenses which also seem to throw a wrench in our financial plans. Take for instance the sudden revelation by my oldest daughter’s doctor that she needed glasses.
Alright needing glasses, not a huge undertaking, we can handle that. The next day I scheduled my daughter an appointment at a local eye doctor. While the eye doctor conducted his tests I realized that I had never had to deal with one of my children having prescription glasses and I began to wonder how much time, money, and worry they would create…after all my oldest daughter is not the most careful with her belongings.
With prescription in hand, we headed to pick out glasses. Now the actual choosing of the eyeglasses is to me the most fun part of the experience, my daughter not so much. “Too round.” Too square.” “Too pink.” is what I heard for what seemed like hours. Every single frame my daughter chose on the rack turned into “the ugliest thing ever mom” once they were on her face. A couple of hours and what seemed like 300 pair of glasses later, my daughter finally chose a pair of frames that suited her and made her happy—thank goodness.
That was last summer and I’m happy to report that not only does my daughter know where her glasses are, they are also in pretty good condition (you have no idea how huge of a deal that is for her). I was sure when my daughter’s doctor mentioned that she needed prescription eyeglasses that it was going to be this big, huge, expensive undertaking, but I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out to be quite the opposite. My daughter can see like she is supposed to, there have been no issues with broken or misplaced glasses, and mommy’s wallet hardly felt the pinch…I’d say that’s a pretty successful end to our unexpected eyeglass adventure.
This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed are 100% mine and not influenced in any way by monetary compensation.
Alright needing glasses, not a huge undertaking, we can handle that. The next day I scheduled my daughter an appointment at a local eye doctor. While the eye doctor conducted his tests I realized that I had never had to deal with one of my children having prescription glasses and I began to wonder how much time, money, and worry they would create…after all my oldest daughter is not the most careful with her belongings.
With prescription in hand, we headed to pick out glasses. Now the actual choosing of the eyeglasses is to me the most fun part of the experience, my daughter not so much. “Too round.” Too square.” “Too pink.” is what I heard for what seemed like hours. Every single frame my daughter chose on the rack turned into “the ugliest thing ever mom” once they were on her face. A couple of hours and what seemed like 300 pair of glasses later, my daughter finally chose a pair of frames that suited her and made her happy—thank goodness.
That was last summer and I’m happy to report that not only does my daughter know where her glasses are, they are also in pretty good condition (you have no idea how huge of a deal that is for her). I was sure when my daughter’s doctor mentioned that she needed prescription eyeglasses that it was going to be this big, huge, expensive undertaking, but I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out to be quite the opposite. My daughter can see like she is supposed to, there have been no issues with broken or misplaced glasses, and mommy’s wallet hardly felt the pinch…I’d say that’s a pretty successful end to our unexpected eyeglass adventure.
This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed are 100% mine and not influenced in any way by monetary compensation.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Shasta over at Faithfully Frugal and Free just started a great new Meme…Tuesday Top 5. Now far be it for a list loving girl like me to pass up this fun meme. If you’d like to play along you get can all the details here!
Alright so this weeks Top 5 Theme is Fears. Wow I could make a list a mile long on this one, but I’ll just stick to 5.
5. I have this horrible, completely irrational fear of going into the post office at night to check my mail. In my head I can picture someone hiding and jumping out and killing me…I seriously think this is how I’m going to die. Crazy I know.
4. Heights. Now I know this is a common one, but I take it to the extreme I can’t even go on the Ferris wheel at the fair or let my kids go without having visions of them falling off.
3. Roller Coasters. I seriously have a major panic attack when I see one. The ONE time I did go on one I spent the entire time praying to God that I didn’t fall off and die.
2. One of my worst fears is having a house fire and not being able to get my kids out.
1. My kids riding in cars with people other than me. For some reason I don’t feel like my children are safe when they are in a car with someone else. I literally pace the floors and ask God to keep them safe over and over again the entre time they are gone. I know I have issues.
Well that’s mine crazy yes, but mine none the less. Make sure you check out Faithfully Frugal and Free for the other Tuesday Top 5 participants!
5 Things I Learned While Attempting to Discipline My Children
1. Children never listen, ever! Not only do they not listen they also insist on blaming us (the parents) for them not listening. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve repeated, “Pick up your backpack.” or “Clean your room!”, or “I told you NOT to do that.” I would be a very rich woman. A few days ago my middle daughter Savanna (whose nickname should be Diva) and I had a very heated conversation about cleaning her room…here’s how it went down.
Me: Did you clean your room?
Savanna: (looking somewhat confused) Huh? When did you tell me to do that?
Me: Oh I don’t know about 50 times in the last hour.
Savanna: I didn’t hear you!
Me: Don’t you mean you weren’t listening?
Savanna: Um no…it’s not my fault you were whispering it.
Me: Really? Well how bout this…GO CLEAN YOUR ROOM! We good now?
Savanna: (flipping her hair and stomping off) Mom you didn’t have to yell at me!
I cannot win with these kids!
2. Time Outs are for Suckers. Now while I realize this one may catch me a fair amount of heat from parents who believe that non-aggressive discipline is the way to go…I DON’T CARE…time outs do not work! Never, ever have a seen a child who was sent to time out have a major epiphany afterwards…nope quiet the opposite actually. In my experience sending my kids to time out I’ve experienced temper tantrums, screaming, kicking, repeated bad behavior, and the list goes on and on. In conclusion Time Outs = Parents with a penchant for punishing themselves!
3. Spanking’s Aren’t Cutting It. Now I know you’re shocked that since I don’t believe in time outs I also disagree with spankings, well don’t be. You see it’s not that I disagree with spankings, it’s that they don’t work. In the 11 years I’ve been a mother I’ve handed out many spankings,and did they work—nope they only made more unnecessary crying, and threats of “This is child abuse.”, and a sore hand. So in my opinion spankings are as useless are timeouts—at least where my kids are concerned.
4. Backtalk is a way of life with tweens! I remember being a little kid and attempting to mouth off to my mom and then it kind of goes fuzzy, want to know why? Well because if and when I decided that I was big enough to be mouthy with my mom I usually ended up backhanded in the mouth. And you know what I think it worked…I can only remember a handful of times I back talked my mom so either it worked or I’ve blocked them out because they were too painful to remember..lol!
5. Threatening and not following through makes you a wuss—and your kids know it! I am so guilty of threatening “I’m gonna bust your butt.”or “You just wait till I find my belt.” and not following through. I’ve done this for so long that when I say those things to my kids they just stand there and stare at me like “Pish she’s not gonna do it.” and 99.9% of the time they are right. My threats have become almost as big a joke as time out around here.
Notice how I said attempt in the heading,well it’s because I’m still (11 years later) trying to figure out what works best for my kids. I do however have a few tricks that have worked pretty well in the past and I can’t wait to share those with you…maybe I should make all readers sign a waiver before they read the post…hey not all of them would be considered cruel and unusual punishment…I think.
Until next time…tell me something you’ve learned while trying to discipline your kids!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
With all the spring flowers and gorgeous sunshine I think it’s the perfect time for a BLOG PARTY! I couldn’t be more excited that summer is on it’s way and I want all of my AMAZING readers to be excited as well so Misadventures in Baby Raising is having it’s 2nd annual Fun in the Sun blog party! Remember last year’s party? You can check that out here! This year I’ve added fun products for moms and dads too so make sure you check out all of the reviews…you might find something for you to have fun in the sun!
WHO: Well me of course!
WHAT: A super spectacular FUN IN THE SUN blog party extravaganza!WHERE : Right here on MIBR!WHEN: May 1-8 Mark your bloggy calendars so you don’t miss a minute of the fun, reviews, and awesome giveaways!WHY: Well that’s easy…because I LOVE all of my readers so much that I though y’all deserved a BIG Party!RSVP: Grab our FUN IN THE SUN button and put it on your blog! If you grab the button before May 1st (the start of the party) then you automatically get 5 extra entries into ALL of the FITS giveaways!
And here’s a sneak peak at some of the sponsors of the Fun in the Sun blog party!
If you grab the FITS button please leave a comment on this post letting me know you did! Also if you blog about the upcoming blog party before May 1st I will give you 5 extra entries into the giveaway of your choice (remember the option to blog about a giveaway is included in each post so this will be 5 more on top of that on one giveaway).
I hope to see you all there on Saturday!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Teaching my children about money has proved to be quiet challenging. I’ve tried numerous tricks to get them to understand the importance of wise spending and saving, but they still do not seem to grasp the concept. I’ve searched high and low for something, anything that might make them more financially literate and that’s when I came across Ekomini.
Ekomini is the world’s first and only web-enabled interactive piggy bank—it’s quite unique and really cool. Ekomini was designed by professionals in the field of education to help promote financial literacy in children. It features an interactive money box that connects to a computer via a USB port to provide children with a fun and unique way to keep track of what they save. Children also have the ability to interact in the online world of Ekominiville where they can learn how about saving, conscious spending , donating and investing their money in a way that is both educational and fun. The Ekomini Piggy Bank is currently being launched in the US and costs just $39.99. For more information about the product, including where to buy you can visit the Ekomini website.
Is this not the coolest thing you’ve seen to teach your kids about money? I don’t know about you, but I think Ekomini could actually do what I’ve had the hardest time trying to do—teach my children about saving and spending money.
, I’ve mentioned many times before how much I like Reality Television. Not only is it a complete escape from my reality, it’s just great television! One show that I have watched faithfully since it’s inception is The Real Housewives franchise. 
Now I love all of the ladies in all of the cities, but the one I watch without fail is The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Maybe it’s because of their accents, or maybe it’s all of the juicy gossip and the drama, but these ladies are must see TV for me. To my complete and utter delight I was able to review The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season One and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season One was released on March 30th and includes a 3 DVD set complete with both reunion shows, lost footage, and the director’s cut of the table flipping season finale. I mean come on even the Madonna episode of Glee has nothing on Teresa and her Jersey girl, obscenity laced, table flipping meltdown last season…”prostitution whore” that was priceless!
I have to admit I put in the first DVD fully intending to pace myself and watch one at a time, but several hours later I had watched all three, it was pretty addictive! My favorite part was of course, the director’s cut of the season finale…amazing. With season 2 set to premiere May 3rd, the season one DVD set is a MUST HAVE for every Real Housewives fan!
Buy it: Since I know all of you super fans want to know where you can pick up Season One of The Real Housewives of New Jersey…you can order your copy here or here!
And guess what? I have one copy of The Real Housewives of New Jersey to give away to one lucky MIBR reader!
Win it: To be entered in this giveaway leave a comment on this post telling me why you love The Real Housewives of New Jersey or which housewife is your favorite. This is mandatory and must be completed before any extra entries are allowed.
Extra Entries: Please leave separate comments for each extra entry.
US Entries Only Please!
Good Luck!
Now I love all of the ladies in all of the cities, but the one I watch without fail is The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Maybe it’s because of their accents, or maybe it’s all of the juicy gossip and the drama, but these ladies are must see TV for me. To my complete and utter delight I was able to review The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season One and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season One was released on March 30th and includes a 3 DVD set complete with both reunion shows, lost footage, and the director’s cut of the table flipping season finale. I mean come on even the Madonna episode of Glee has nothing on Teresa and her Jersey girl, obscenity laced, table flipping meltdown last season…”prostitution whore” that was priceless!
I have to admit I put in the first DVD fully intending to pace myself and watch one at a time, but several hours later I had watched all three, it was pretty addictive! My favorite part was of course, the director’s cut of the season finale…amazing. With season 2 set to premiere May 3rd, the season one DVD set is a MUST HAVE for every Real Housewives fan!
Buy it: Since I know all of you super fans want to know where you can pick up Season One of The Real Housewives of New Jersey…you can order your copy here or here!
And guess what? I have one copy of The Real Housewives of New Jersey to give away to one lucky MIBR reader!
Win it: To be entered in this giveaway leave a comment on this post telling me why you love The Real Housewives of New Jersey or which housewife is your favorite. This is mandatory and must be completed before any extra entries are allowed.
Extra Entries: Please leave separate comments for each extra entry.
Follow Misadventures in Baby Raising via Google Friend Connect…2 extra entries!This giveaway ends on May 8, 2010 at 11:59 PM EDT-- one winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced in a separate winner post. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me and claim his prize, failure to do so will result in winner forfeiting his prize and me choosing a new winner.
Follow MIBR via email or RSS…2 extra entries each!
Grab the MIBR button and place in on your blog…2 extra entries!
Become a Fan of Misadventures in Baby Raising on Facebook…2 extra entries!
Follow MIBR on Networked Blogs (widget is in my sidebar)…2 extra entries!
Follow Me on Twitter…2 extra entries!
Tweet this giveaway on Twitter (be sure to include @Allie_23 in your tweet) and leave your status link in your comment…2 tweets per day for length of giveaway!
Stumble this giveaway (only this giveaway,not the whole site using the widget below this post)…3 extra entries!
Enter any of the other giveaways on MIBR…1 extra entry per additional entry into another giveaway!
Comment on any non-giveaway post…1 extra entry per comment!
Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post…5 extra entries!
US Entries Only Please!
Good Luck!
Friday, April 23, 2010
With spring in full swing and summer right around the corner I seriously couldn’t be happier. One of my favorite things about summer is being able to play outside with my kids…I’m just a big kid at heart! I’m always on the lookout for great outdoor toys for the kids to play with that are affordable and fun—and I’m pretty sure I’ve found a great one from CSNStores.com. For those of you who don’t know what CSN is, CSNStores.com consists of over 200 online stores that offer shoppers great deals on everything from cribs and shoes to outdoor furniture and of course great children’s toys.
Now I know you can’t wait to see what I’m going to be reviewing very soon…can you? Well I guess I can give you a little sneak peak!
Is that not absolutely adorable? Be sure to keep an eye out for my review coming soon!
Now I know you can’t wait to see what I’m going to be reviewing very soon…can you? Well I guess I can give you a little sneak peak!
Is that not absolutely adorable? Be sure to keep an eye out for my review coming soon! Thursday, April 22, 2010
Have you ever searched for days, or weeks on end for the perfect card for your daughter’s birthday party, or your sons graduation announcements, what about Thank You cards? If you’re like me a boring old card just will not do. I discovered Tiny Prints a while back while browsing some of the mom blogs I frequent and instantly fell in love with everything they do…from photo cards to personalized greeting cards and stationary Tiny Prints has it!
Tiny Prints recently debuted their new line of greeting cards, Tiny Prints Greetings, “a new line of stylish printed greeting cards users can personalize, schedule and send online. The new service combines the power of Tiny Prints proprietary web technology with the trendsetting design sensibility the brand has always delivered.” Tine Prints Greetings offers users great benefits with the new service including:
Personalized Greeting Cards: Users will still find the amazing selection of stylish, fun, creative designs that they know and love from Tiny Prints, only now they will be able to match those much loved designs with one of thousands of verses from their vast library. Perhaps the coolest part of the cards is that they can be fully customized to include the recipients name, and even uploaded photos if the users chooses.
Better Shopping: In addition to being able to personalize the cards users can address the envelope, add a stamp, and pay for the card as easy as 1, 2, 3! Tiny Prints mails the cards directly to the recipients and all cards can ship within 24 hours.
Convenience: Another cool feature of the service is the ability for users to set up automatic reminders for special events; Mother’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and other special events. Users can even schedule a queue of greeting cards to be sent automatically up to a year in advance.
Users can utilyze this service and pay per card or sign up for a membership that includes special pricing on all cards the user sends, starting as low as $1.99 each! Know what else is cool? Everyone who signs up for a membership plan will receive 3 cards FREE just for signing up and the first year’s membership fee has been waived…how cool is that!For all you Tweeters out there…Tiny Prints is having their first ever Tiny Prints Twitter Party this Friday April 23, 2010 at 9PM (ET) . The hashtag for the party will be #makeitpersonal. You can RSVP for the party here.
Now since I know how much y’all love a giveaway I have an awesome one for you! One lucky Misadventures in Baby Raising reader is going to win 25 Tiny Print Greeting Cards!
Win it: To be entered into this giveaway please visit Tiny Prints website and have a look around, come back and leave a comment on this post telling me which design is your favorite. This is mandatory and must be completed before any extra entries will be counted!
Extra Entries: Please leave separate comments for each extra entry!
Follow Misadventures in Baby Raising via Google Friend Connect…2 extra entries!This giveaway ends on Thursday May 6, 2010 at 11:59 PM EDT—one winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced in a separate winner post. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me and claim his prize, failure to do so will result in winner forfeiting his prize and me choosing a new winner.
Follow MIBR via email or RSS…2 extra entries each!
Grab the MIBR button and place in on your blog…2 extra entries!
Become a Fan of Misadventures in Baby Raising on Facebook…2 extra entries!
Follow MIBR on Networked Blogs (widget is in my sidebar)…2 extra entries!
Become a Fan of Tiny Prints on Facebook…2 extra entries!
Follow Me on Twitter…2 extra entries!
Tweet this giveaway on Twitter (be sure to include @Allie_23 in your tweet) and leave your status link in your comment…2 tweets per day for length of giveaway!
Stumble this giveaway (only this giveaway,not the whole site)…3 extra entries!
Enter any of the other giveaways on MIBR…1 extra entry per additional entry into another giveaway!
Comment on any non-giveaway post…1 extra entry per comment!
Blog about this giveaway with links to Tiny Prints and this post…5 extra entries!
Good Luck!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Kissimmee Tourism. All opinions are 100% mine. 
One of my favorite vacation spots is Florida; between the sun and the sand it’s just absolute perfection! As many places as I’ve visited in Florida there is one that I have never been, but always dreamed of going—Kissimmee (the heart of Florida). Besides being centrally located and just south of Orlando and Disney World, Kissimmee offers many great attractions and fun things to do during your stay.
Since I’m already looking into vacation spots for next year I decided to have a little fun and imagine what my dream Kissimmee vacation would look like…want to see?
Besides visiting the many theme parks close to Kissimmee (Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios Orlando) I think a day of horseback riding would be a great activity to do as a family and offer us a chance to see some of the beautiful scenic views of Kissimmee that are off the beaten path. Of course an airboat ride through the native Florida swamps sounds like a great adventure to me as well.
One of the hardest parts of planning my vacation would no doubt be choosing where to stay, there are so many amazing resorts and hotels in Kissimmee that choosing one would be next to impossible. Well unless I could stay at the Gaylord Palms—it just screams relaxation and luxury!
Kissimmee is definitely on my radar for possible vacation destinations next year—with all it’s charm, beauty, and fun how could it not be? And if you’re looking for a great vacation destination you should check out the Kissimmee website which is full of information for you to plan your visit!
I realized today that I hadn’t had a chance to post the second part of our Yo Gabba Gabba Live experience…so I thought now’s as good a time as any…right?
I posted the first part of the YGG Live show (the meet and greet) a couple of weeks ago and you can check that out here. While the meet and greet was very cool, the show itself was amazing. From the props and music to the characters and the surprises it was just an exciting, fun experience! Little Man and Ki Ki loved it—I’m pretty sure it was the first time they both paid complete attention to anything ever!
DJ Lance and the YGG characters
Sillies Out Song
Let’s Get the Sillies Out is one of my kids’ favorite songs!
If the YGG Live show rolls into your city you have to check it out…it’s an experience your kiddos (and you) won’t soon forget!
I received tickets to the show in exchange for posting about YGG…opinions expressed are my own and in no way influenced by tickets received.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Calling all of you fabulous home cooks…I have a great contest for you to check out from Dole!
Starting today (Friday April 16, 2010) you can enter your original signature entree into the California Cook-Off for a chance to win the ultimate cooking experience. Entering is easy…just submit your own original recipe with seven ingredients or less that spotlight Dole Canned Fruit or Juice. Five finalists will win a 4-day 3-night, all expense paid trip to Los Angeles where they will get the ultimate cooking experience and swap cooking tips with celebrity chef Ben Ford, $1000 cash, and placement of your recipe on 1000s of Dole Canned Fruit or Juice labels. So put your thinking caps on, grab some yummy Dole products, and get creative! To help you get your creative juices flowing Dole is offering one Misadventures in Baby Raising winner some VIP coupons for free Dole products!
Win it: To be entered into this giveaway please tell me what your favorite Dole product is and if you plan to enter the California Cook-Off….this is mandatory and must be completed before any extra entries are counted!
Extra Entries: Please leave separate comments for each extra entry.
Follow Misadventures in Baby Raising via Google Friend Connect…2 extra entriesThis giveaway ends on Friday May 30, 2010 at 11:59 PM EDT. One winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced in a separate post. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me and claim their prize, failure to do so will result in winner forfeiting their prize and me choosing a new winner.
Subscribe to MIBR via email or RSS feed…2 extra entries each
Grab my MIBR button for your blog…2 extra entries
Follow Me on Twitter…2 extra entries
Tweet this giveaway on Twitter (please include @Allie_23) and leave the link in your comment…2 times per day for length of giveaway
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Enter any of the other giveaways on MIBR…1 extra entry per entry in other giveaways
Blog about this giveaway with links to this post and the California Cook-Off…5 extra entries
VIP coupons were provided to me by Dole for this review.
If there is one thing every mom would like to have more of it has to be relaxation! Being a mom is stressful, tiring, thankless, and hectic and many of us don’t always get the down time we so desire. Thankfully Yoplait understands a woman’s need to feel like a goddess ( we can dream can’t we?) so they’re teaming up with actress Isabella Miko (who plays Greek Goddess Athena in Warner Bro’s Pictures new movie “Clash of the Titans”) to help us ladies out. You can check out the trailer for Clash of the Titans below!
I’ve mentioned before how much we enjoy yogurt at our house; my kids love it and I’ve always be
en a huge fan. When choosing a yogurt there is always one brand I go to first—Yoplait! To my complete delight Yoplait has introduced their new Greek yogurt and thanks to Yoplait and MyBlogSpark I recently had the chance to check it out! The important thing to note about Greek yogurt is it’s thick, rich, creamy texture…to me it’s what makes it so yummy and sets it apart from traditional yogurt. Yoplait Greek yogurt comes in four delicious flavors; Strawberry (my personal favorite), Blueberry, Honey Vanilla, and Plain and with 12 grams of protein it nourishes your inner goddess from the inside out! I really enjoyed Yoplait’s Greek yogurt and I will definitely be making it a regular addition to my grocery list.
en a huge fan. When choosing a yogurt there is always one brand I go to first—Yoplait! To my complete delight Yoplait has introduced their new Greek yogurt and thanks to Yoplait and MyBlogSpark I recently had the chance to check it out! The important thing to note about Greek yogurt is it’s thick, rich, creamy texture…to me it’s what makes it so yummy and sets it apart from traditional yogurt. Yoplait Greek yogurt comes in four delicious flavors; Strawberry (my personal favorite), Blueberry, Honey Vanilla, and Plain and with 12 grams of protein it nourishes your inner goddess from the inside out! I really enjoyed Yoplait’s Greek yogurt and I will definitely be making it a regular addition to my grocery list.Want to try Yoplait’s new Greek yogurt…get a printable coupon here!
Thanks to the people at Yoplait and MyBlogSpark…one of my amazing reader’s is going to win a Nourish Your Inner Goddess Gift Pack complete with everything you need to nourish your inner goddess!
Win it! To be entered into this giveaway leave a comment on this post telling me which of the 4 flavors of Yoplait Greek yogurt you’d like to try most! This is mandatory and must be completed before any extra entries are counted!
Extra Entries! Please leave separate comments for each extra entry…unless otherwise noted each extra entry is worth 1.
Follow Misadventures in Baby Raising on Google Friend ConnectSubscribe to Misadventures in Baby Raising via EmailSubscribe to MIBR via RSS feedGrab my Misadventures in Baby Raising buttonTweet this giveaway on Twitter (please include the link as well as @Allie_23 in your tweet)…2 tweets per day per length of giveawayPost this giveaway in your Facebook status…Once a day for the length of the giveawayStumble this post on StumbleUpon (this post only)Add Misadventures in Baby Raising to your blogrollBlog about this giveaway and include a link to this post…5 extra entries
This giveaway ends on Friday April 30, 2010 at 11:59 PM EDT. One winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced in a separate winner’s post. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me and claim their prize, failure to do so will result in winner forfeiting their prize and me choosing a new winner.
VIP coupons and Goddess Gift Pack were provided to me by MyBlogSpark and Yoplait.Thursday, April 15, 2010
One of my goals for 2010 with my blog is to share some of what I’ve learned since I started blogging. I am in no way an expert, nor would I ever claim to be, but I have amassed a wealth of knowledge on everything from design to coding and I want to share that with all of you!
When I was a new blogger I knew nothing at all about being a blogger or running a blog, and if it weren't for the amazing ladies who took time out of their busy schedules to help me I’d have probably given up fairly quickly. Of course, I didn’t give up and a little over a year later here I am passing on some of what I’ve learned to all of the newbie bloggers out there in the blogosphere!
The first topic I decided to tackle is blog buttons—you know the cute little 125x125 buttons that everyone has on their blogs—they are actually very easy to make and I’m going to show you how.
First thing’s first…you have to design your button…if you already have a button designed then you can skip this part and go straight to Step 4. I use Paint.net it’s free and fairly easy to use, but there are many programs out there you can utilize for this task.
Step 1: Start Paint, click File then New and a dialogue box pops up that allows you to choose the size of the new box. Type in 125 Width and 125 Height (under Pixel Size) then click OK.
Step 2: Once you click OK you will be taken to your 125x125 image. Now is the time to be creative, you can design your button simply with a color that compliments your blog and text, or you can get even more creative and use images and background patterns. For the purpose of this demonstration I’ll show you a basic button with one color and text.
Step 3: When you’ve decided on a color and the font all you have to do is place your blog name on the “button” and save it.
Step 4: Once you’ve designed and saved your blog button you need to upload it to a photo sharing site like Photobucket. When your button has been uploaded to Photobucket you need to find the Direct Link to the image and copy it.
Step 5: Now all you have to do is code the button, which is super easy as long as you know what code to use. The code below is the code for a blog button with scroll box below. Place your image link and blog URL into the correct places and you will end up with your finished Blog Button similar to the blog button below!
I hope this tutorial helps you pimp your blog (I know how cheesy, but I couldn’t resist)! If there are any tutorials that you would like to see please leave me a comment below and let me know!
When I was a new blogger I knew nothing at all about being a blogger or running a blog, and if it weren't for the amazing ladies who took time out of their busy schedules to help me I’d have probably given up fairly quickly. Of course, I didn’t give up and a little over a year later here I am passing on some of what I’ve learned to all of the newbie bloggers out there in the blogosphere!
The first topic I decided to tackle is blog buttons—you know the cute little 125x125 buttons that everyone has on their blogs—they are actually very easy to make and I’m going to show you how.
First thing’s first…you have to design your button…if you already have a button designed then you can skip this part and go straight to Step 4. I use Paint.net it’s free and fairly easy to use, but there are many programs out there you can utilize for this task.
Step 1: Start Paint, click File then New and a dialogue box pops up that allows you to choose the size of the new box. Type in 125 Width and 125 Height (under Pixel Size) then click OK.
Step 2: Once you click OK you will be taken to your 125x125 image. Now is the time to be creative, you can design your button simply with a color that compliments your blog and text, or you can get even more creative and use images and background patterns. For the purpose of this demonstration I’ll show you a basic button with one color and text.
Step 3: When you’ve decided on a color and the font all you have to do is place your blog name on the “button” and save it.
Step 4: Once you’ve designed and saved your blog button you need to upload it to a photo sharing site like Photobucket. When your button has been uploaded to Photobucket you need to find the Direct Link to the image and copy it.
Step 5: Now all you have to do is code the button, which is super easy as long as you know what code to use. The code below is the code for a blog button with scroll box below. Place your image link and blog URL into the correct places and you will end up with your finished Blog Button similar to the blog button below!
<center><img src="Direct Image Link”></center><br/>
<center><textarea rows="4" cols="10" wrap="hard">
<center><a href="Your Blog URL”><img src="Direct Image Link”></a></center>
</textarea><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span></center>
<center><a href="Your Blog URL”><img src="Direct Image Link”></a></center>
</textarea><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span></center>
I hope this tutorial helps you pimp your blog (I know how cheesy, but I couldn’t resist)! If there are any tutorials that you would like to see please leave me a comment below and let me know!
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