In Honor of NYE: Champagne Infographic!

Since it’s New Year’s Eve and I’ll be spending the better part of my day cleaning and cooking in preparation for the New Year’s Eve shindig that will take place at my house tonight, I decided to take it easy with an infographic (ya know, so I don’t actually have to write  tonight).  And in honor of New Year’s Eve and all of the champagne that will no doubt be consumed tonight (not at my house though, we’re too close to the hills of KY to ring in the new year with champagne—it’s strictly Jim, Jack and Jose at my house) I thought y’all might wanna know a little more about the bubbly you’ll be toasting with at midnight!

Have a very merry and most definitely super safe New Year! 

 

via

Win a $10 Subway Gift Card on Facebook In Anticipation of Gift Card Weekend!

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

If you're like me, and most of the people I know, then you probably gave and no doubt received at least a few gift cards this holiday season!  Let's face it, gift cards are just the way to go, and they are especially awesome for those people who are difficult to buy for (my husband for example).  So if you're into gift cards like I am, and come on, how could you not be, then you have to check out the awesome daily Facebook gift card giveaways going on in anticipation of Gift Card Weekend!

Alright, I know you're wondering, "What's Gift Card Weekend?" and lucky for you I happen to have all of the info you need!  Gift Card Weekend is a once a year where participating retailers (you know, some of our favorite places like JCPenny, Sephora, Adidas, Applebee's and SO many more) give featured offers for gift cards purchased during the holiday season and redeemed from January 6 through January 8, 2012.  There's lots of awesome places participating in the Gift Card Weekend festivities including: Lowe's, Regal Cinema, Giant Eagle, Marriot, Spa Finder, Buca di Beppo, Bass Pro Shops, and Subway!

And speaking of Subway, from December 23 through December 31, you can head over to the Gift Card Weekend Facebook page and "like" them for your chance to win a $10 Subway gift card in their daily gift card giveaway, you can even earn extra chances to win just by sharing with your Facebook friends...easy, peasy and you could win a Subway gift card or lots of other cool prizes! 

If your holiday loot included a ton of gift cards then make sure you check out all of the info. for Gift Card Weekend on Facebook and don't forget to "Like" them for your chance to win!

Being Prepared For An Emergency Is Easy!

Winter’s in Ohio are extremely unpredictable; last year we had a rather mild winter followed by a tremendous amount of flooding in the spring (that tends to happen when you live on the banks of the Ohio River) and a couple of years before that we had a particularly harsh winter with ice storms that left us without power for the better part of a week.  With snow, ice and freezing temperatures in the winter and flooding and the threat of tornado’s in the spring, it’s a good idea to be prepared for nature’s wrath so I know that my family won’t have to go without in an emergency!

Since becoming a mom I’ve learned that there are certain situations that you just have to be prepared for, even if they never happen.  One of those situations is unexpected power outages due to snow and ice and in my neck of the woods both of those are very real possibilities!  I remember discussing emergency preparedness kits with my mom a few years back and her telling me about freeze dried meals and how easy they were to store, and with some having an average shelf life of 25 years, it just makes sense to at least become familiar with companies that sell freeze dried foods. 

Taking my mom’s advice, I decided to do some research into freeze dried food and long term food storage and I found Prepare Wise!  Not only do they make long term food storage easy to understand, they also have a fabulous selection of top of the line freeze dried foods that are shelf stable for up to 25 years—in my book that’s definitely a huge plus!

Winter is upon us in Southern Ohio and while we haven’t had snow (yet) I know it’s on the way!  I can definitely sleep a little easier knowing that I’ve done my homework and am fully prepared for whatever disaster Mother Nature brings our way and that makes this mommy feel a whole lot better!

Is Losing Weight On Your List of Resolutions for 2012?

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

Losing weight may not be a "new" New Year's resolution, but it's definitely one that's at the top of many people's lists...including mine! 

I have to admit, I'm not really a dieter, as a matter of fact, I've never actually fully committed to a diet...like ever!  It's not because I don't want to lose weight, honestly, it's because until recently I never had to worry about losing it.  For the better part of my life I have been thin, diets were not something that I ever had to worry about, until I had my youngest daughter.  After Lil' Diva was born I realized that my days of eating whatever I wanted and not exercising were not going to cut it anymore, it was a sad day, but a necessary day as well because I realized that in order to look like I once did I was going to have to work for it!  That said, I didn't actually begin looking into weight loss and weight management options until very recently, yeah, I might have been a little bit in denial! 

One of the first weight loss systems I looked into was Slim-Fast, I had only ever heard good things about it and their Slim-Fast3.2.1 Plan looked like something that I could definitely commit to!  If you're not familiar with Slim-Fast's 3.2.1 Plan let me give you the lowdown!  The 3.2.1 Plan is flexible enough that a variety of people can stick to it successfully, but it also provides results...something that every dieter craves!  The plan is simple:  3 snacks, 2 Slim-Fast Shakes or Meal Bars(I love the Slim-Fast Shakes), and 1 Balanced 500 calorie per day!  And to make it super easy to stick with the plan the Slim-Fast 3.2.1 products are available in the pharmacy section of stores that the majority of us have access to including Wal-mart, Target and Kroger and online at Amazon.com!  To stay in the loop with everything that's going on with Slim-Fast make sure you 'Like" Slim-Fast on Facebook! 

I'm not positive about what diet plan I'll adopt for 2012, but I definitely want to at least try the Slim-Fast3.2.1 Plan and who knows, it might just help me lose the weight and keep it off so that diets become a non-resolution in 2012! 

Random Acts of Zhu 2011

There are so many reasons why I love being a mommy blogger; from being able to try out new products before the hit the shelves (that part is SO awesome), being able to connect with other parents and share the knowledge I’ve gained by being a Mommy for the past 12 years, and being able to give to others!  It’s that last one that’s the most gratifying and no time is it more awesome than during the holidays!

I remember sitting down on the living room floor with my husband wrapping Christmas presents a few weeks ago and him asking me, “Do you think we bought the kids enough this year?”, and then I remembered the four hours the previous night I spent wrapping presents (and barely made a dent in my wrapping list) and immediately answered, “Definitely, I have no idea where we’re going to put half of this stuff!”. 

My husband and I both grew up in single parent (for the most part) homes, neither of us ever had a lot, so we were always thankful for what we did have.  We also both promised ourselves that when we had kids of our own,  we were going to do whatever we had to do to make sure that they grew up with more than we did—and we do!  It’s not always easy for us, or even financially sane sometimes, to give our kids as much as we do, but it’s important to us that our children never feel like they have less than anyone else like we sometimes did growing up.  Of course, making sure that our kids don’t go without sometimes comes at a price and sometimes that price can be creating spoiled brats and though our children are definitely a lot more spoiled than some kids I know, we always try to make then see things from every perspective so that they never take what they do have for granted!

Some of you may remember last year when I participated in the Random Acts of Zhu program sponsored by Cepia (the makers of the popular ZhuZhu Pets), I was honored to be a part of the RAZ program!  Well, this year we were chosen again to take part in Random Acts of Zhu and I couldn’t have been more excited!

A little more about the RAZ program!

"Random Acts of Zhu" (RAZ) program is a charitable initiative, this program at its core seeks to bring joy to children. Last year, Cepia, LLC partnered with 100 bloggers and donated 10,000 toys to kids in need in our 2010 RAZ program.

I cannot tell you how amazing it felt to take part in the RAZ program last year and I was so thankful to have been chosen again this year!  Last year I donated 100 ZhuZhu pets to our town’s Hometown Christmas, a completely FREE program that the town puts together for members of the community; there’s free food and drinks, caroling, and even a visit from Santa with lots of toys for the kiddos!  It’s an amazing thing that our town does and I was honored to be able to donate the ZhuZhu pets on behalf of Cepia to the town! 

This year, I had planned on donating the shipment of ZhuZhu pets and accessories to our Hometown Christmas, but it was held a little earlier than it had been the year before so I had to rethink my giving strategy!  In a way, I’m glad that I wasn’t able to donate to our Hometown Christmas this year, because it opened my options up and I was able to make a few smaller donations instead of one big one! 

The day that I received the shipment of ZhuZhu pets to donate my oldest daughter came home from school and mentioned something about her class taking donations for a Christmas Angel, I glanced at my daughter and then to the massive wall of ZhuZhu Pet boxes that I had stacked against my living room wall and I knew immediately where my first donation would be!  The next day I contacted Taylor’s homeroom teacher, explained the RAZ program to her and set up a time to make the donation—she was more than thankful for the donation and so very glad that Cepia is doing what they are to help others!

When I posted on my Facebook wall about receiving a massive shipment of ZhuZhu Pets to donate locally, several of my friends commented and liked the post and praised Cepia for the RAZ program.  And then I received a few messages from people, in my town, with suggestions for families to donate some of the ZhuZhu pets to.  While it was definitely not how I had intended to donate some of the ZhuZhu pets, I couldn’t ignore the fact that the point of choosing 100 bloggers to participate in the RAZ is so that those bloggers can make a difference locally, so I chose three families (that I knew of and knew of their financial situations) and with the help of my brother-in-law Travis, I played Santa to several very deserving kids!

Sorry about the poor picture quality, it was dark (obviously) and we were trying to be covert so I snapped the picture quickly without checking to see if it came out.  Just in case you can’t see, this is my BIL Travis (in his Santa attire) getting ready to deliver the car full of ZhuZhu Pets!  It felt amazing to be able to give some very deserving kids a little bit of Christmas cheer and I can’t thank Cepia enough for making it possible!

Last, but most certainly not least, I decided to contact Kay Marshall (the organizer of our town’s Hometown Christmas) and talk to her about donating the remaining ZhuZhu Pets to her church’s local Toys for Tots toy drive.  Every year (since I can remember) the church Kay is a member of, has collected food and toys and then in turn, delivered baskets of food and toys to needy families in our town for Christmas; I even mentioned my mother, my sister and I being the recipients of one of those baskets one year.  I knew instantly that it was the perfect choice!  Kay was as excited as I was about the donation so I couldn’t wait to drop the ZhuZhu Pets off with her and I took the drop off as a great opportunity to teach my two youngest children about the power and importance of giving!

With my brother-in-law, Lil’ Man and Lil’ Diva in tow I set off to deliver the remaining ZhuZhu Pets!  Since I really wanted to show Lil’ Man and Lil’ Diva how important giving is, I decided to let them help Travis and I deliver the boxes, Lil’ Man even insisted on getting a picture of him handing Kay one of the boxes!  I have to admit, it was awesome to be able to give such a large shipment of ZhuZhu Pets to so many needy families for Christmas, but it was just as awesome to see my son and youngest daughter be so excited about helping other kids—for me that was an amazing thing to witness and truthfully, it made this Mommy extremely proud!

Here’s hoping that many. many more companies follow Cepia’s lead and donate in such a huge way next holiday season—it would make this world a whole lot better place!

Christmas 2011

I hope everyone had an amazing time celebrating the holiday season with family and friends!  We’ve had a few issues with sick kiddos and toothaches, but we made the best of it and had an awesome time! 

I thought it might be fun to share some of my favorite memories from this Christmas with all of you..enjoy!

 

 

 

3 Great Websites For FREE Santa Calls and Videos!

Holiday preparations are in full swing at my house and I’m sure that y’all are in full-on holiday mode as well so I’ll make this quick!

If your little ones are like mine, then they are all about Santa Claus right now!  Every year I find all kinds of new Santa sites devoted to letting kids experience the magic of Santa and I wanted to share my favorites with all of you! 

NORAD Santa Tracker (this isn’t new, but it is something that we do with the kids every year on Christmas Eve)!  NORAD Santa Tracker lets your little ones see where Santa is and how long it will be before he makes it to your house—you know, in case you need some incentive to get your overly eager little ones to sleep on Christmas Eve!

 

 

Send a Personalized Call (or Video) From Santa  is a Google site that I just discovered today (thanks to a tip from one of my Facebook friends)!  It’s a totally FREE personalized phone call from Santa!  I did one for Lil Man and Lil Diva and the excitement on their faces when Santa’s voice came on the phone was priceless!  It literally takes minutes to personalize the call and your kiddos will LOVE it!  FYI—you can send either a phone call or video (we only tried to phone call since I use another website for videos).

 

My all-time favorite website to send FREE personalized Santa vides to my kids is Portable North Pole!  We’ve used PNP for the past 3 years and my kids LOVE it!  The video quality is awesome, the video is personalized and Santa is so charming!  I love that you can completely personalize the video; include photos of your child, items on their Christmas wish list and lots more! There’s even a PNP app for Apple and Android phones—Santa’s gone high-tech y’all!   If you want to send your child a video from Santa this is definitely a website that you MUST check out!

Parenting: It Should Come With Instructions!

I remember becoming a mom for the first time, almost like it was yesterday.  I was nervous, excited and a little terrified all at  the same time; I had this teeny, tiny baby that I had absolutely no idea what to do with.  I remember being so unsure about nearly everything; how often to feed her, how much formula she should get and even how warm her bath water should be, thank goodness I had my mother there to help me, because unfortunately they don’t give you a new parents guide with your little bundle of joy.

As my daughter got older, I became more sure of how  to handle the responsibilities of being a mom, I was a little more sure about the little things, but I was still a little new to the whole parenting thing and foolishly I thought that all you needed to raise a baby was a little knowledge and a whole lot of love.  Turns out, you have to also worry about their futures—and that was something that I was not prepared for.


I remember my mom asking me how I planned to save for Taylor’s college and if I had gotten a life insurance quote—and I remember thinking, “life insurance?  for what?”  Needless to say I had no idea what raising a child was all about; thankfully I had tremendous support from my family and my mom was always there to lend a hand or give advice when it was needed.

Almost thirteen years later I would say I’ve done an alright job raising my oldest daughter; she’s smart, kind, caring and just an all around amazing kid.  I still haven’t gotten that life insurance quote and her college fund isn’t where I’d like it to be, but it’s a work in progress—just like this thing called parenting! 

Let Swiffer Help With Holiday Clean Up!

Cleaning is a dirty word in my house—a very dirty word!

It seems like the majority of my days are spent cleaning up messes and then re-cleaning them an hour later! 

With all of that cleaning going on, it only makes sense for me to take shortcuts wherever  I can to make the job easier on me, while still cleaning the house to my strict standards!  With Christmas coming in less than a week and presents to wrap, stockings to fill, goodies to bake and family to entertain; cleaning must be done, but is the furthest chore from my mind at the moment!  That’s why I love that I have a few secret weapons to help me get my holiday cleaning done and done right, in a flash!

If you've never tried Swiffer’s line of cleaning products let me be the first to tell you that you are totally missing out!  Not only do I count on my Swiffer 360 Duster to cut my work in half, I ‘m not sure I remember how to dust without it—not that I’d need to because I always keep a well stocked supply in my house! 

When I received an awesome gift basket from the awesome folks at Swiffer last month I was more than ready to get cleaning with all of the tools to help my house go from messy to super clean in no time!  Among the products that I received to try out were a Swiffer 360 Duster and an original Swiffer Sweeper with Dry and Wet Clothes.  I ‘m not gonna lie, I get more excited about receiving cleaning products to review than just about any other item, except for pens—I love pens!

Almost as soon as I received the gift basket I went to work, after stopping off at iTunes to download some cleaning music (thanks Swiffer for the iTunes gift card) including my all-time favorite song,“Pour Some Sugar on Me”!  It’s not hard to imagine how the rest of my day was spent; between the awesome Dust-Lock Adhesive of the Swiffer 360 Duster and the ultra dust busting Swiffer Dry Clothes, my house was clean and company ready in no time!

Swiffer Sweeper Dry Clothes and Swiffer 360 Duster’s are the perfect solution for the holidays because they’re so versatile (I mean hello, that 360 Duster can reach every nook and cranny in your house…without dropping dust all over the house) and the Swiffer Dry Clothes make sweeping a breeze and let’s not forget how Swiffer Wet Clothes make mopping a thing of the past!  If you’ve got company coming over and don’t have time for an all-day cleaning session, but still need our place to look fabulous…Swiffer is the answer that you’ve been looking for—I promise!

You can check out Swiffer’s full line of products, including Swiffer Dry Clothes  and Swiffer 360 Dusters at mass merchandiser, drug and grocery stores nationwide!  

Disclosure:  I received a very nice gift basket (containing Swiffer products and an iTunes gift card) from Swiffer as a thank you for my honest review of the products!  All opinions are my own and were in no way influenced by the sponsor!

Toyota’s “More Prius. More Giving.” Toy Drive on Facebook

I love company’s that give back!


It’s always nice to see a company that does its part to help others, and this time of year it’s especially heartwarming to see company’s trying to make the holidays a little brighter for children across the country—that’s why I want to tell you all about a great initiative from Toyota called “More Prius.  More Giving.”!



The Toyota, “More Prius.  More Giving.” toy drive is super easy to contribute to and it’s completely FREE for you! 

It’s as easy as 1-2-3!

1.  Go to Toyota Prius Facebook Page and “Like” them!

2.  Choose the toy you want Toyota to donate to Toys for Tots (you can choose between 5 different toys).

3.  Toyota adds your toy selection to the back of the Prius v and a needy child get’s a toy for Christmas!

It’s super simple, completely FREE and an awesome thing that Toyota is doing to help make the holiday season a little brighter for as many kids as possible!  You can donate a toy to Toys for Tots (via the Toyota Prius Facebook Page) from NOW until Friday December 23…you can check out the widget below for more information!





If you have a Facebook account there’s no excuse not to participate and help give a child something to smile about this Christmas!

Burger King BK Crown Program {Win a $25 Burger King Crown Card!}

I have to be honest and tell you that our family doesn’t eat out much, and when we do that eating out usually consists of me going to pick up pizza or running through the drive-thru at a fast food joint.
Since I cook all.the.time I definitely appreciate being able to pick up a hot, easy meal that I didn’t have to cook—it’s the best part about fast-food!  Unfortunately, in our area there are very few restaurants to choose from, thankfully we do have a Burger King and since I’m a Whopper lovin’ fool, I am always super psyched to go chow down on my favorite burger!  The kids love Burger King too, especially the kids meals and the super awesome crowns that are awaiting them at every visit!  Love Burger King?  Do your kids love Burger King?  Well check this out!
IMAGINATION IS KING™ at BURGER KING^®. The new BK CROWN^TM/MC Program, built to inspire every kid’s imagination and encourage kids to help choose how BK^® gives back, brings families together to enjoy not just a meal but a mealtime experience.
 

• The BK CROWN^TM/MC Program comes in a fully interactive Kids Meal box. Sitting atop each box is a newly redesigned BURGER KING^® crown, because every kid deserves to be treated like royalty at BURGER KING^®! With crowns on their heads, kids can dive into the box, taking it apart, playing fun games and activities that challenge their minds, inspire their imagination and engage with the whole family.
• With the BK CROWN^TM/MC Program, Burger King Corporation invites kids to tell BURGER KING^® what matters to them most. BKC has established a fund to help support the Wildlife Conservation Society, National Parks Conservation Association, DonorsChoose.org and Have It Your Way™ Foundation. By visiting BKCrown.com, kids learn how BKC’s charitable partners make a difference. Upon entering BK CROWN^TM/MC Codes and clicking on their favorite cause, each kid’s vote helps BK^® choose which charity to give back to.
• The fun doesn’t end at the restaurant; the BK CROWN^TM/MC Program experience lives on at www.BKCrown.com where kids can place their vote for how BKC should give back, as well as find more games, win prizes and enjoy interactive play.
• Also at BURGER KING^®, for just $9.99 your family can enjoy the “BK™ Family Bundle” which includes a WHOPPER^® sandwich, WHOPPER JR.^® sandwich., two small fries, two small soft drinks and a Kids Meal. Now that’s a deal worth getting together for! Limited time only. Price and participation vary. Prices higher in HI.
• 

Jamie and I took Lil’ Man and Lil’ Diva to Burger King recently (the rest of the kiddos are apparently too cool to be seen eating in public with their parents) to check out the new BK Crown program and of course, enjoy some yummy Whopper goodness! 
We decided to go with the BK Family Bundle, at only $9.99 the meals fed Jamie, myself and Lil Man and that though that still left us buying another kids meal, it was way cheaper than ordering all of the items separately…and saving money makes this momma happy!  When all was totaled we fed a family of four for less than $15—that kind of thing just does not happen everyday folks!


Is Burger King on of your favorites?  What do you think of the new BK Crown Program? 
WIN IT!
One MIBR reader is going to win a $25 Bruger King Crown Card (that you can use to purchase a kids meal featuring the BK Crown Program…among lots of other yummy choices!
Check out the Rafflecopter entry form below to enter!  Good luck!

Win It! Punch Time Explosion for PS3

As I’ve mentioned before, my son is all about video games, and video games that star some of his favorite characters, are among his favorites!

I shared with all of you a couple of weeks ago 3 hot video games for Christmas 2011 and this one is my favorite of the three:  Punch Time Explosion XL!   features 26 Cartoon Network stars including Ben 10, Samurai Jack and Johnny Bravo, tons of levels and a variety of multiplayer options.



More about Punch Time Explosion XL:

Punch Time Explosion XK is available for PlayStation®3, Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii™. Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL is an affordable and family-friendly title (rated E-10+) that everyone will love. The game is the only brawler of its kind this season and makes a great holiday gift, priced at $39.99 Xbox 360 / PS3 and $29.99 Wii.

Guess what?  One MIBR reader is going to win a copy of Punch Time Explosion for PS3!

Check out the details and enter to win using the Rafflecopter entry form below!

Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program

As a college student, I know how hard paying for college can be, that’s why it’s super important for me as a parent to instill in my children the importance of good grades and saving money for their college tuition!  Since I’m so passionate about the importance of college, not only for me, but for my children as well, I wanted to share an awesome partnership between Foot Locker and DoSomething.org to offer 20 scholarships to 20 young athletes! 

If you know a college-bound student who excels on the court/field and in the classroom you definitely want to check this out! 

Getting your kids into college is only half the battle.  Then you have to pay for it.

Foot Locker and DoSomething.org have partnered to offer 20 college scholarships to 20 amazing young student athletes.  The Foot Locker Scholar Athletes Program honors students who demonstrate academic excellence and show their strength of character and devotion to their sports, as well as their communities.  Students will be rewarded not because they scored the most touchdowns or ran the fastest mile, but because they have become strong leaders in the community, exemplifying sportsmanship both on and off the field. It is the award for flexing heart, not muscle.

Students can apply online or be nominated by teachers, coaches, friends and family by visiting www.dosomething.org/footlocker. Application closes on January 9, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. (EST).

Applicants must be college-bound, participate in a sport and maintain a 3.0 GPA.  Participants will be required to submit three essays and two recommendations.  All applications will be reviewed by a panel of scholarship experts and celebrity judges.

Fastweb, a trusted scholarship and financial aid resource used by students to help find opportunities to pay for school, is supporting the scholarship program. 

The Foot Locker Scholar Athletes program is a part of the Foot Locker Foundation, Inc., which is dedicated to providing monetary support for educational and sports programs across the country.

Festive Hot Chocolate Stirrers Make Great Homemade Christmas Gifts!

If there’s one thing I love in the winter, it’s hot chocolate! 

I could seriously drink it every.single.day and never get tired of it—it just makes me smile! 

Yesterday the girls and I were searching the internet looking for ideas for easy homemade Christmas gifts for their teachers and we came across a gazillion posts for hot chocolate stirrers and we decided that homemade hot chocolate stirrers were the perfect teacher’s gift!  So we made some and you know I can’t make anything without sharing it with all of you so…enjoy!

What You Need

1 package of Large Marshmallows

1 package of  Hershey’s milk chocolate chips

crushed candy canes and/or other festive candy (for decoration)

tooth picks or coffee stirrers

cellophane

ribbon

a mug (suitable for hot cocoa)

1 or 2 packet's of hot chocolate

Step-by-Step (ooh baby—a really bad NKOTB reference…sorry)

1.  Melt an entire package of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Chips in the microwave.  Microwave times vary, but I melted mine in 15 second increments until the chocolate was melted and smooth.

2.  Place marshmallows on toothpicks or coffee stirrers.

3.  Dip marshmallows into chocolate and then immediately roll in crushed candy canes or other candies.

4.  Place on wax paper and allow to harden. (I refrigerated mine for about 10-15 minutes)

Once the marshmallows are cool and the chocolate has hardened, wrap marshmallows in cellophane and tie with festive ribbons.  Place 1 or 2 packs of hot cocoa mix into a mug, add hot chocolate stirrers and viola you have an easy homemade Christmas gift  that is gorgeous and so YUMMY!

Macy’s Believe Campaign 2011 {Win a Macy’s Believe Snowglobe}

If there’s one thing that my children look forward to this time of year it’s writing letters to Santa!  I love seeing the looks of concentration on their faces as they write their lists methodically, making sure not to leave off a single item, and always being sure to ask about Mrs. Claus and the Elves!  I can’t imagine their letters to Santa not being one of their very favorite Santa memories when they get older. 

When my sister and I were little, we wrote letters to Santa every year, I remember putting so much thought and care into my letter and being so excited for Santa to receive it and hopefully share it with Mrs. Claus and the Elves (and Rudolph too—I loved him).  One of my very favorite Santa memories is of waking up Christmas morning to find a handwritten letter from Santa addressed to me—it still makes me smile thinking about it!  It was those small things that make me realize what an amazing mother I have—I only hope that my children will grow up and think back on those very special moments and think the same thing about me!

Since the holiday season is all about small miracles I am always very quick to stand behind companies who help make Christmas a special for children and those who donate so generously always amaze me—none quite as much as Macy’s!

One of the many reasons why I love Macy’s so much (aside from the obvious) is that for the past four years they have helped raise more than $4 million dollars to the Make-A-Wish Foundation with their Believe campaign!  For every letter to Santa received at the special red letterboxes at Macy’s across the country, Macy’s will donate $1 to The Make-A-Wish Foundation to help grant wishes for children. It’s such a simple thing—have your child write a letter to Santa (something that they will undoubtedly do anyway—and take it to the red letterbox at your local Macy’s—and then Macy’s donates $1 for that letter!
As a special treat in stores this year, believers of all ages can take their photos with the characters from the animated holiday classic, “Yes, Virginia.” Visit any Macy’s Believe Station to pose for holiday photos with Virginia and her friends – and don’t miss Macy’s celebrated Santalands to pose with Santa himself!  How very cool is that?

I hope that all of you will have your child(ren) write their letters to Santa and take them to your local Macy’s red letterbox—it’s  a great cause and such an easy way to help spread some holiday cheer!
Now I have an awesome surprise for one Misadventures in Baby Raising reader!  I have a Believe Snowglobe to give away to one very lucky MIBR reader just in time for Christmas!  Details on how to enter are below!  Happy Holidays!  Just a heads up this is a very short giveaway (so that the winner receives the snowglobe before Christmas) so if you enter make sure you can respond within 24 hours of the giveaway ending!

You can enter below using the Rafflecopter Entry Form!  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  I was not compensated in any way for this post…the company or PR is providing the giveaway item for the winner!  Merry Christmas y’all!

Sing 4: The Hits Edition Giveaway Update!

I know that many of you have let me know that there is no Extra Info box for the Sing 4:  The Hits Edition giveaway (blame it on me being up until 4 am working lol) SO I have fixed the entry form!  It now says to Leave a blog comment as the mandatory entry requirement! 

 

Thanks to everyone who brought this to my attention!

Lil’ Diva’s Having Surgery This Week and I am NOT Happy About It!

I just wanted to let y’all know that I might not be around much the rest of the week!  I will get giveaway winners drawn and emailed (though winner’s posts may or may not happen) so make sure to check your email!!!!

 

In addition to this being my last week of school for the semester (thank goodness for Christmas break—I’m in major need of some time off from school) it’s finals week and that means exams, papers and more papers!  So I am going to be busy—please believe me when I say that I would much rather be writing for y’all as opposed to writing about sexism and racism in education institutions (the topic of one of my papers). 

 

 

On top of finals Lil’ Diva will be having oral surgery this Thursday (please keep her in your thoughts…she’s been miserable with a bad toothache for the past several days) to repair a broken tooth and fill some cavities.  FYI the whole “giving your child a cup (of anything) at night is just as bad as giving them a bottle at night” is TRUE and the cavities that Lil Diva has to have filled are proof of that!  We spent all day today at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati and were extremely lucky to get a surgery date so soon!  While I  HATE the idea of any of my children having surgery, I am thankful that  the dentist can go in and fix all of the teeth at once without traumatizing Lil’ Diva with multiple visits!  So please keep her in your thoughts and pray that she’s back up and running around being her normal silly self very soon!

 

So, that’s how I’ll be spending the rest of my week!  I hope your week is shaping up to be a less eventful one than mine!

 

See y’all soon!

Holiday Gift Guide: Plugggg MP3 Player!

 

 

 

 

 

 

With one teenager to buy for this Christmas and three tweens you can bet that their holiday wish lists are full of the latest tech gadgets! 

 

Unfortunately for the four of them, mommy and daddy are not made of money and their dreams of tablets and smartphones are about as close to coming true as my dream of Edward Cullen showing up at my house to watch me sleep (oh come on, you know you so dream about that too). 

 

Given my children’s expensive tastes and deep need for every electronic gadget known to man (at least according to them) I am always super stocked when I find something on their list for less!  If you have a kiddo on your list that’s dreaming of an awesome MP3 player this Christmas then you have to check out Plugggg!

 

What is Plugggg?

 

Plugggg is a credit card size MP3 player that is lightweight, powerful, and at $29.99 for 8GB they are affordable enough for every teen and tween on your list!

 

 

 

Plugggg Features:

 

8 gig capacity
(about 2000 songs).

Plugggg goes virtually unknown in your pocket or
on your arm during workouts.

10 – 12 hour play time

3.7V lithium battery - 5 year battery life.

As easy as click and drag from your computer to device.

Watch movies, videos, or read your books or listen to your favorite songs.

From your tablet, laptop, desktop or vehicle navigation system.

Included with Plugggg : Earplugs, 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter, and USB adapter.

Plugggg also works with all mp3 FM transmitters and cassette adapters.

Plugggg supports multiple audio formats such as:
MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, OGG & other music formats.

 

And if all of that isn’t enough to get you excited about this hot little tech gadget then the 3 year limited warranty might be—that beats the heck out of the 1 year limited warranty and $229 price tag of the iPad Touch!

 

If you’re in the market for an awesome, lightweight, powerful MP3 player you should definitely check out Plugggg! 

 

BUY IT!

 

You can purchase Plugggg MP3 player online for $29.99 for an 8GB unit!

 

Disclosure:  I received the products mentioned above from the company or PR to facilitate my review.  All opinions are my own and were not influenced by the monetary gain.

#WIN IT! Sing 4: The Hits Edition for Nintendo Wii

You may remember a review that I did last week of three awesome video games for the holiday season?  Well, I have some awesome news for all of you…one of you is going to win a copy of Sing 4:  The Hits Edition for Wii!  For more info. on the game and to find out how to win this awesome game keep reading…

My girls LOVE to sing and they would spend all of their time on YouTube if I’d let them so I knew they would really love Sing 4:  The Hits Edition!  It’s a video game that lets you sing along, karaoke style, to song of today’s biggest hits by Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Usher, The Doors and more! 

About Sing 4:  The Hits Edition

Features

*Precision lyrics
*Pitch correction
*Voice effects (T-Pain anyone?)

4 Game Modes

*Solo
*Duet
*Battle
*Co-op

You can even download songs from lots of your fvorite artists! 

Sounds awesome huh?  Well, of course it is and one of YOU is going to win a copy!  How’s that for awesome?  Check out the details and enter below using the Rafflecopter widget! a Rafflecopter giveaway

What is the Right Age to Have The “Santa Talk” With Your Kids?!

I’ve been having  rough time this year with my 9 year old daughter Savanna and whether or not she  believes in Santa! 

 

Savanna is right at that age where she’s really starting to doubt a lot, yet she still wants desperately to believe—for a mom, that’s some hard stuff to deal with!

 

 

My oldest daughter, Taylor, told me a couple of years ago (when she was 10) that she didn’t believe in Santa Claus anymore.  I was kind of caught off guard when Taylor told me, but I did everything that I could to ensure that the thought was hers alone and that she didn’t question it all before I reluctantly gave her the confirmation that she was looking for.  I’m not gonna lie—it sucked!  I hated that some of the magic of Christmas was suddenly just gone for her, but she seemed to take it all in stride.  Though I hated the thought of Taylor not believing in Santa, I finally came around and faced the inevitable (that my baby is growing up).  It’s taken me a bit, but I’ve finally decided that I love the idea of Taylor being “in on the secret” I kind of think that she takes as much joy in seeing her siblings excitement as I do!

 

I am not, however, ready to have two children who don’t believe in Santa!  And my daughter Savanna is so not the same easy going, let it slide off her back, kinda girl that Taylor is…nope, Savanna is NOT going to make this easy!

 

So, my question for all of you is this…

 

What is the right age to have “the Santa talk” with your kids?  Did you tell your children that Santa wasn’t real at a certain age or did you begrudgingly just confirm their suspicions ?

Semi-Homemade Holiday Treats: Peanut Butter Blossoms, Truffles, and Potato Candy!

I am the queen of semi-homemade cooking—yeah, I know, you thought it was Sandra Lee, but you thought wrong!

 

I happen to be particularly awful at baking and/or candy making—I just suck at it to be honest!

 

I do however, love baking cookies and making candy with my kiddos for the holidays and that’s where my semi-homemade cooking skills take center stage! 

 

Last year I shared a few of my favorite semi-homemade holiday treats—Potato Candy (made with leftover homemade mashed potatoes) and Reindeer Chocolate Truffles (made using store bought truffles) so this year I thought I’d share another of my favorite holiday treats with all of you—Peanut Butter Blossoms…these are perfect Santa snacks!

 

 

Semi-Homemade Peanut Butter Blossoms

 

Yield:  2 dozen cookies

 

Ingredients

 

2 snack pack size packages Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie Mix (combine according to package directions)

1/4 cup granulated or colored sugar

24 Hershey’s Kisses

---

1.  Prepare Peanut Butter cookie dough according to package directions.

 

2.  Roll 1 tsp.  dough into balls and roll in sugar to coat.

 

3.  Place cookies in over and bake according to package directions (I usually undercook mine because I like a chewy, as opposed to crunchy, cookie)

 

4.  While cookies are baking unwrap Hershey’s Kisses

 

5.  When cookies are turning slightly golden brown on the edges remove cookies from oven and immediate top each cookie with a Hershey’s Kiss.

 

6.  ENJOY!

 

 

 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

#WIN a Copy of Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town for Nintendo Wii

What’s Christmas around here without giveaways?  And I just so happen to have a pretty awesome giveaway for y’all—check it out!

Remember the 3 awesome games I told y’all about the other day?  Punch Time Explosion XL, Sing 4: The Hits Edition and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town—well I’m giving them away…all of them!  There are 3 giveaways so make sure you enter all 3!



First up is Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (Nintendo Wii!

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town in based on the popular children’s movie and it has been a favorite around here for the past week!  If you have a Wii, you have to check this game out—it’s pretty cool!

How would you like to win Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town for Nintendo Wii?  Check out all of the details and enter using the Rafflecopter entry form below!

Introducing Our Newest Family Member…

If we’re friends on Facebook then you may have seen me announce a new addition to our family last weekend—settle down, I’m NOT pregnant!

 

One of our friends posted a picture of the puppies she was giving away on Facebook and the rest is history!  My husband fell in love instantly and the very next day he came home with a little furry surprise!

 

So, it’s my pleasure to introduce the newest member of our family—Maximus Cash or Max for short! 

 

 

 

Is that not the cutest face ever…or what?

Holiday Gift Guide: The Children’s Place

One of my absolute favorite places to buy children’s clothes is The Children’s Place!

 

 

It doesn’t matter what season, or what occasion—The Children’s Place seems to always have the perfect outfit and the perfect accessories to match—and I love that!  On top of the ridiculously adorable fashions at The Children’s Place they are super affordable…now that’s something that this mommy definitely appreciates!

 

I’ve worked with The Children’s Place several times in the past and each time I come away loving TCP that much more, and snagging all kinds of seriously cute fashions for less!  So when I had the opportunity to work with The Children’s Place for the holiday season I was stoked!

 

I always have the same problem when shopping at The Children’s Place (both online and in store) and that’s trying to stay under the budget that I set for myself (and usually blow) before ever stepping foot (or clicking the mouse) in the store.  Seriously, there are always so many super cute pieces that I fall in love with and then I start putting the pieces together (I love their Build an Outfit tool) until I have completely lost all track of time and space—yes, my addition to shopping at TCP does happen to be that serious! 

 

For my review I was given a $50 TCP gift card and let loose (I promise that no one was harmed in the making of this review—except for maybe my mouse…they don’t make em like they used to..).  I knew before even venturing over to The Children’s Place website that I was about to score some major deals on some of the seasons hottest styles—and I was so right!

 

I decided that I was going to shop for Lil’ Diva and her big sister Savanna, because they tend to be the only ones really interested in what clothes they wear, and I had a great time finding items that were perfect for them!  Check out what I managed to snag for next around $50!

 

 

 

The “Little Miss Sunshine” t-shirt for Savanna is super cute and I LOVE the yellow!  The Love Birds graphic thermal for Lil’ Diva so fits her personality and is going to look amazing on her!  I also picked up a couple more goodies for the girls (my camera decided to have a nervous breakdown before I could snap the pics, but you can still check out the items below).

 

I chose these Monkey Puppet Slippers for Lil’ Diva because she loves monkeys and because they will keep her little toes toasty warm all winter long (and they’re only $6 right now so grab a pair before they’re all gone).  Savanna is into jewelry so I thought I’d grab a pair of earrings (the pave initial earrings are perfect for her) and I love the clunky heart necklace…it’s so Savanna!

 

 

 

 

If you’re looking for the perfect place to find kids clothes this holiday season then you have to check out The Children’s Place! 

 

Right now TCP is having a HUGE Holiday Clearance Event with up to 65% off hundreds of styles! 20% OFF Savings Pass at The Children’s Place with the online coupon code T4F2011 OR you can print The Children’s Place coupon and shop in-store!   And as always FREE shipping on all orders over $75 and $5 flat-rate shipping on all other orders! 

 

Disclosure:  I received the products mentioned above from the company or PR firm to facilitate my review…all opinions are my own and were not influenced by the sponsor!

DaGeDar for Nintendo DS

We had the chance to review DaGeDar earlier this year and it has been one of my children’s favorite things to play with every since—if you haven’t had a chance to check out DaGeDar you must…your kids will love it!  DaGeDar for DS is based on the runaway hit DaGeDar racing balls and toys and is one DS game that you’ll definitely want to check out for Christmas! 

I mentioned yesterday how much my son loves video games and while he’s becoming the expert in all things PS3, he’s just learning the ropes of the Nintendo DS! 

Since I’d like for Lil’ Man to start playing more DS and less PS3 (I want my TV back dang it) I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to review a new DS game that just happens to be created from one of his favorite toys…DaGeDar!


About DaGeDar for Nintendo DS