Arctic Puzzle take 3

We have had the Arctic Puzzle for awhile now and I must say that my son still loves it. The puzzle came in really handy this past week as he was sick from a stomach bug for a few days and this kept him from getting bored. I would recommend this puzzle to anyone who has a child and it would make a great Christmas gift, Easter gift or a birthday gift. I would even give it as a reward for doing a good job like keep their room clean. lol

All in all this puzzle would make a great gift no matter what it was for. It is educational while being fun.

Arctic Puzzle a few days later

We have had the Arctic Puzzle for about a week now and while my son is not as excited about it as the first day we got it he still loves to play with it. He hasn't tried to play with it on his own and the reason may be that it is kind of bulky for him to carry himself. He likes to be able to do things on his own (carry and such) and if he can't carry it himself to where he wants it whenever he wants to he gets a little frustrated.

Other then that he has been playing with it with us. He loves to do it with his father when he comes home from work each day. They look so cute sitting together at the table. He loves saying what each animal is before putting the animal into it's place. This also helps us because he has a speech delay and we can correct him without making it seem like we are.

Another thing I have noticed it that is my 14month old daughter also tries to play with it. Obviously she can't get the pieces in all right but she will sit with me and try to do it. It is really cute how she will stack them up first before putting them down.

This is a great puzzle and so far the only thing we have noticed is how bulky and heavy it is for my son to carry himself. I am going to remedy that by putting the pieces in a cloth bag so he will be able to carry it.


I received the Arctic Puzzle from Maclaren.com to facilitate this review, the opinions expressed are my own honest opinions and were in no way influenced. :)

New Arctic Puzzle from Maclaren

I was picked a couple of weeks ago to be a kid tester for Maclaren and we get to test out their brand new Arctic Puzzle. I was especially excited to be testing out a puzzle as my 4yr old son Cole loves puzzles. This is also a 3-d puzzle and we haven't done one of those kind yet so I was also looking forward to seeing how he did with it.

We received the puzzle today and my first impression was that it was a very well made puzzle. The bottom board is a nice thick wood so I don't have to worry about it breaking. The actual pieces were also sturdy so no worry there about them getting broke either. I like that it has the outline of the shapes on the bottom so that child can get a feel of what goes where. Overall this is a great puzzle and I can already see ways to make it more challenging when he memorizes the layout.

Cole's reaction was in a word priceless. He was excited at first because I let him open the mailbox (he doesn't get to open often since I have Christmas presents coming in lol) but he went beyond excited when he saw the puzzle. It took less then a minute for him to open the box and get the puzzle out.

Our first reactions to the puzzle were very favorable. At first glance this puzzle would be a great addition to any home. Please check out what else Maclaren has and follow them on twitter and facebook where they give out great info and do giveaways!

I received the Arctic Puzzle from Maclaren.com to facilitate this review, the opinions expressed are my own honest opinions and were in no way influenced. :)

Snow day!

I know it snows here and sometimes quite a bit but it doesn't mean I have to be happy when it does. I love snow, don't get me wrong, but I hate when there is so much of it you are literally trapped in your house. Here is my car (yes it is under there) I figure it will take me all weekend to dig out .







Here is my kids toy set that is in the backyard. It is so high back there that our dog will not go to the bathroom because it is over her head. lol







We go through this at least once a winter and after living here for over 30yrs I am still not used to it. the kid on the other hand love it because they get a snow day from school.


I think it is time to move to a warmer climate

Please vote for me

I hate entering contests where you have to get votes to win but I really want to be a Brand Ambassador for Inglesina Baby USA . I have done research on this company and I would love to try out their products with my two youngest. It also doesn't help that I have a stroller fetish and love trying new strollers (if I had the money I would buy one of every kind lol) So please go vote for my video so I can try these great products out and show everyone how great they are! It is a contest where you can vote daily :)

Here is the link :http://bit.ly/b8cxH1


Thank you so much!

My Christmas Cards

I always do a photo card as a Christmas Card and this year I was lucky enough to win 50 cards from tiny prints at a twitter party last month. As I haven't used them before I was looking forward to seeing what they had to offer and boy it was alot. They have hundreds of different designs so finding something that I liked was easy.

After much deliberation and designing at least 5 different cards I settled on the Christmas Circus Ornament Card. I loved the idea of it being able to hang on a Christmas Tree like a ornament would. I also went with this card because I have three kids and getting them to sit still together for a nice picture is almost impossible. With this one there are three photo spots so I was able to pick out the pics I liked best and stick them in.

On to the actual designing....it was a snap. I love how I was able to select the picture and once it was in the right place I could adjust to where I wanted it. You are able to move the picture back/forth or side to side. You can also make it smaller or make it bigger. If you want to change the color you can even do that.

After I was done it was onto ordering. Since I had won mine I did not have to use a CC but still went through the checkout process and that was easy as well. I ordered them Nov,7 and got them today Nov 12. Now that was fast! I was impressed with how they turned out...my only thing is Idid not realize how big they actually are (I thought they were smaller cards lol)

So after all this you have to be wondering what my card looks like so here it is.......... You will have to excuse the blurriness. I took it with my camera phone because my regular camera battery died.

So if you are looking for cards I would definitely check out Tiny prints, these also in addition to the Christmas cards they also carry Thanksgiving Cards, Hanukkah greeting cards and others.

Disclaimer: I was not given anything from Tiny Prints for writing this post. I won these cards at a twitter party held for Tiny Prints. This in no way shaped my opinion on their cards or website. The opinions expressed here are all my own.

Wordless wednesday

Never done one but I love this pic so here is some peace for you :)

Yes my kids do strange things.....

Yes my kids do strange things.... At this moment my 1 yr old thinks she is a dog. How do I know this? She was licking up crumbs from the floor with the dog tonight. I was both amused and disgusted at the same time. I did just clean the floor today but ewwwwwww. She has also sat down and eaten out of the dog dish with the dog , I moved that one quick. I am waiting for her next words to be barking. lol
Onto my 4yr old son.....he has a hair fetish. I don't know if he gets it from his teenage sister or what but you can't touch his hair and it has to be down all the time. Those cute little boy Mohawks or spiked hair you see? I will never have that. As soon as I attempt to do that to his hair he has to run into the bathroom to brush it down. I guess I should look at the bright side that he will not be doing crazy hairdos as a teenager.
Then my teenager.......way to many things to list. She is a teen they all do things we find strange.

Getting old sucks

My birthday is Monday and I have to say getting old sucks. I am getting closer to the dreaded 40 and as I think back I wonder where the hell did all that time go? It seems like just yesterday I was wrestling with my younger brothers in the yard or playing Jail Break with the neighborhood kids. Now I am tired by 9pm and forgot about running around all day. Which leads to me to what for a birthday present.... Wii Active.

Now I know you are thinking "What? Who asks for that for their birthday?" but I really feel the need to get into some kind of shape after my last child. We have the Wii and I have heard great things about Wii active. Plus my two younger ones can make like they are playing with me when I work out. So that is what I asked for and hopefully I will actually get off my butt and use it. lol

EdenFantasys

Yes I will be talking about sex and sex toys so don't continue reading or stop if you are under 18 :)..........................





A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win at a twitter party hosted by Eden Fantasys a Fairy mini wand massager. I was really excited to try this out as I love trying out new things :). I was also pleasantly surprised by how fast I received my prize. Usually when I win from a twitter party it takes weeks for my prize to get to me. Eden fantasys had that out to me within days and I had it within a week.





I am in love with this massager. It has various speeds that go from nice and slow to really fast. The head is ribbed and flexible so it doesn't feel stiff when in use. I like the design on it as it makes it easier to hold when it use. The Fairy also comes with attachments that you can buy separately for even more fun. It even comes with a little cloth bag so you can keep it clean and hidden. The only thing I can see that might be a pain is that it is a plug in (no batteries) so you need to be near a wall socket to use it.

So if you are looking to buy anything new to spice up your sex life I highly recommend this. It works great and feels amazing. The Fairy Massager comes in different sizes so it is easy to find that works for you.

I received the Fairy wand massager as a prize from a twitter party and no other compensation ...the thoughts and opinions are all my own

Me

I am going to start working on my blog more. I want to do it but everytime I start something comes up. Hopefully when the two oldest start school that will free up some time for me to do what I want to do. lol One can dream....

Ten Tips for Planning a Unique Baby Shower

I haven't planned a baby shower in awhile but the ones I do plan I like to be unique in that they reflect the personality of the Mom 2 Be... here are some tips if you are planning one...

1) Have the party reflect the Mom's 2 be taste and not your own. She is a bit on the wild side? Use darker items. More on the girly side? Then use softer colors. I would use red and black or dark blue and chocolate for a mom that seems edgier and Pink/purple or yellow/green for a softer mom.

2) Think of having the party outside the norm..... how about a day at the beach? Or a day at the spa? For a spa party the Mom 2 be can be pampered with a pedicure, facial and manicure while the guests get mini ones. For a beach party have a cookout. Make some burgers and hot dogs and have the Mom 2 be layout on the beach with a drink.

3) For favors you can make up key chains or coffemugs with a cute baby or mom saying. You can also make bookmarks with a sonogram pic. They would give guests a great way to remember the shower.

4) Everyone likes to play games and two of my favorites are guess how round the belly is and guess the candy bar. For guess how round the Mom 2 be is, you give everyone some string and they cut it to where they think the length would go around the belly. The one closest wins. For guess the candy bar...you grab some diapers and stick some unwrapped candy bars in them. Everyone gets to guess what kind they are. The one with the most correct guess wins.

5) Food is important. Take into consideration whether your guests are gluten free or vegetarians. You can also serve up different types of fare like some Thai or Mexican. The one baby shower I went to had little slider burgers and some spicy noodles.

6)Everyone likes to get invitations and I love personalized ones. Tiny Prints has adorable baby shower invitations that are really affordable. Put a sonogram pic on there or just a pic of the mom 2 be showing off her beautiful belly. You can get some great ideas at http://www.tinyprints.com/baby-shower-invitations.htm

7) Everyone loves cake. Instead of cake though I like to do different flavors of cupcakes and frost them in the colors the Mom to be loves. If you have a bakery that does custom orders you can even put figures on top. For my Sister in laws bridal shower we had monkeys on top of all of hers.

8)Have a sideshow. You can have a sideshow playing on a TV or wall featuring the Mom 2 be as she grows up, gets married and other things. This would be a great way for party guests to reminisce about the mom 2 be and also for them to interact with someone they don't know.

9)Shower decorations... I love getting mine from party city but there are many places on the web you can order them from. Themes are great for baby showers. For my baby shower we did all animals because I wanted animals for the baby's room. Find out what the Mom 2 Be's theme for the baby's room is and use that for decoration ideas.


10) Keep the Mom 2 be happy and relaxed. If something goes wrong she doesn't need to know about it. Also when she is opening presents have someone stand by with a garbage bag for wrapping and to help pile up the presents out of the way. This way they are not cluttering up the party space.



"I wrote this blog post while participating in the Twitter Moms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 tiny prints gift code plus 25 free tiny Prints greeting cards (Valued at$149.75) For more information on how you can participate click here http://tinyprints.twittermoms.com/about))

Depression

Ahhh depression I how I missed you so! NOT! I hate being this way and not being able to do anything about it. I have tried doing things I know will make me happy to no avail. It just keeps getting worse. I was on Paxil before but went off when I got pregnant with my second and didn't go back on. I guess it is time to go back on to it again. I can't keep living like this.

MIA

I have been MIA awhile because we are remodeling our kitchen. What was suppose to be a quick remodel has turned into 3 weeks of hell. Never again am I remodeling a kitchen. We had to gut the entire kitchen because the tiles on the wall were so old the glue behind was hard a s rock. The ceiling had to come down because the electrical was really bad.

We are getting close to being done and I am getting more crabby the closer we get. It just seems to be dragging. I spent two weeks away from the house with the kids but had to come back because i got a job. Also, every time I turn around there is another mess to keep up.

I just wish it was done :(

My Febreze house party

I had my Febreze house party this weekend and it went great! With all the products that I was sent I was able to give everyone a goody bag and do a door prize for one each of all the samples and the apron. The party started out great indoors. I had opened samples and put them out in different rooms so people could see them and smell the new scents. I also did a little demonstration of each product and by far every ones favorite was the new set and refresh

After goodies and showing the new scents and products we took the party outside where there was swimming and golf! lol My siblings decided to take a empty pot and start trying to putt into it.

Here are some pics of the party

and after lol

Win A little Tikes Bounce house!

One Savvy Mom is giving one of her lucky readers a Little Tikes Triangle Bouncer. This is a great bouncer for kids and since it is a triangle will fit great in all yards! So head on over to http://savvycouponmommy.blogspot.com/2010/06/little-tikes-triangle-bouncer-review.html and start entering today!

Rayovac Powers your Summer event!

Rayovac is having a Powers you summer 30 day giveaway! From June 21 to July 20 you can enter to win great prizes! They are giving away cameras, bikes, camping gear, supplies of Rayovac batteries and more. Just enter at http://www.rayovac.com/PowersYourSummer/ everyday and tell them how you power your summer. There is not correct answer so have fun with the question! You must be 18 or older to enter :) Also make sure to like them on Facebook www.facebook.com/RayovacFans

There is also a twitter party to go with this event! There will be over 20 giveaways so a great shot at winning something fun from Rayovac!
Rayovac Powers Your Vacation Summer Promotion Twitter Event
Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010Time: 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CST
Location: #rayovac
Follow: @Rayovac_Battery, @5minutesformom, @CirclePRMary


Twitter parties are fun and you have a great shot of winning something! I won a Disney gift card at the last twitter party for Rayovac. So if I can win so can you :)






Disclosure:"the first 99 bloggers to promote the rayovac powers your summer twitter event won a prize package from Rayovac"

Houseparty

I have said it before and will say it again...I love houseparty.com! I just received my Febreze party pack today and it is great. It came with a ton of stuff that I will use for goody bags for my guests. There are also a ton of great coupons that I will be handing out. Check out Houseparty.com and sign up! IF you get picked for a party they send you almost everything you need to throw one great party.

Win Flo-Tv

One savvy mom is giving one of her lucky readers a Flo-tv with 6months of service! This would make a great Father's day gift.. http://savvycouponmommy.blogspot.com/2010/05/flo-tv-review-fathers-day-giveaway-ends.html So head on over for your chance to win

Win a bounce house!

Want to win a bouncehouse(I sure do!) than head over toMy Organized Chaos where they are giving away a SUPERSTAR Bounce House from PlayHouseBouncers.com. It is really easy to enter and who knows maybe you will be the lucky winner! Just click here http://www.myorganizedchaos.net/2010/05/superstar-bounce-house-playhousebouncers-review-giveaway/ and away you go!

Great prizes

Love dressing up your little girl? Want to win some great prizes for your photography studio? Head on over to Julie MayRee Photography. She is giving away some amazing prizes! http://www.juliemayree.com/blog/?p=621

Things I have won lately

I like entering blog giveaways,sweepstakes and other things. Here are some things i have won recently....


From Sugar Pop Ribbons I won Untangled Anyware Collection. I just received this in the mail a couple of days ago. I was impressed by how fast I got this prize as I had just won it on the 24th of May. My son loves this set. He is so excited to have his own dish set that is engraved with a lizard(it is a gecko but he thinks it is a lizard). I love this set because it is easy to clean and I don't have to worry about him breaking it.
Sugar Pop Ribbons hosts great giveaways so please check out her blog at http://sugarpopribbons.blogspot.com/arpopribbons.blogspot.com/ and enter some.













From Chubby Cheeks thinks I won her Simply FaBOWlous®! giveaway of a hat and headband. I also won Simply FaBOWlous®! sharing giveaway on Facebook where I won another great hat(It is the pink one and still a little big on her but I couldn't resist.lol). All of these items are well made and I am surprised that my 8month old daughter left the hats on! Chubby Cheeks thinks also has great giveaways and can be found here http://chubbycheeksthinks.blogspot.com/. So go enter some!



You should check out the awesome items that Simply FaBOWlous has here http://www.fabowlous.com/info_gallery.html

Win a Cloth diaper package

When Chubby Cherubs Cloth Diaper Naturals on facebook reaches 2000 fans they will be giving away a cloth diaper package worth $450! So head over and fan them so they can reach their goal and give out this great giveaway!Just click on this link and start spreading the news http://tinyurl.com/2fb56hw

Great weekend

We didn't go away this weekend but decided to stay home and relax. It is a good thing we did, I had a cold that i managed to give to everyone else. Having a sick boyfriend, a toddler and a baby is not fun. We did manage to go swimming and take Cole to the first parade he was in. He started playing T-ball and the league has a parade to kick off opening day every year. HE loved being able to ride in the back of the truck and throw candy to people. He doesn't have his first game until Thursday but we can't wait to see him play.

I won from My Four monkeys

I love entering sweepstakes and have just found blog giveaways. I actually won my first one last week from My Four Monkeys. She was holding a giveaway for a $25 GC to Axl's Closet and I won one. I was able to get these two fabulous shirts for my son .

My Four Monkeys have alot of great giveaways going on now so head over and enter some. You never know what you can win.http://http//myfourmonkeysproductreviews.blogspot.com/

And if you want to check out all the cool clothes at AXL's closet they can be found here.... http://www.axlscloset.com/

I'm Trying to WIN an iPad™

One Savvy Mom is giving one luck reader a Apple® iPad™ with Wi-Fi-16GB. All you have to do to eneter is visit her site at http://bit.ly/c2EN8Z . Good luck everyone!

Houseparty

Houseparty.com is a great party hosting website. I found out about them a couple of months ago and have already hosted two parties.

If you go to http://www.houseparty.com/events you can sign up. Once you are signed up you can apply for any party that is open. Right now they have two Kraft parties(Red Bull Barbecue sauce and Oscar Meyers Hot dogs), Febreze, Bic and more. IF you are chosen for the party you applied for houseparty will send you a package that contains everything you need for a party. For a DIGIORNO one I did I got coupons for free pizza, pizza cutter, coupons for $4.00 off a pizza, a apron and many more items.

Right now I am a host for the Shrek/McDonald's party and the pics are just some of the items Houseparty.com sent me for the party. I had also got shrek watches, shrek happymeal toys, coupons for free snack size Mcflurrys, coupons for free apple juice, arch card to buy food for the party and more.

So if you haven't done so go on over to Houseparty.com and start applying for parties! You will not regret it.

Cookies for cancer

http://www.cookiesforkidscancer.org/ is helping to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer. One way you can help out is to hold a bake sale. The site can give you recipes , ideas, location ideas and tools to help you along.

My idea for a good place to hold one is during a block garage sale or block party. You could also sell some water and/or lemonade also. One recipe I like is popcorn snack


Ingredients
3 quarts popped popcorn
4 cups Cheerios® cereal
4 cups Corn or Rice Chex® cereal
2 cups salted peanuts
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
In a large greased roasting pan, combine popcorn, cereal and peanuts. In a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup and butter; bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat; quickly stir in vanilla and baking soda until mixture is light and foamy. Immediately pour over popcorn mixture; mix well. Bake, uncovered, at 250 degrees F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely.


You can bag the mix into little bags, tie with a ribbon and card that thanks them for their support.



So do something good and positive and raise money for a great cause!

Deal Wise Mommy

Deal Wise mommy is one of my favorite blogs. She posts allot of freebies and does some great giveaways. I love her blog because she always answers questions and is a super friendly person so please check out her blog at http://www.dealwisemommy.net/ Thanks!

Clash of The Titans

Clash of the Titans is one of my favorite movies. I have watched it many times over the years and was excited that they were remaking it. So yesterday for mother's day my BF took me out to dinner and a movie....I decided we will go see Clash of the Titans. I wish we hadn't. I have been been so disappointed in a movie in my life. They completely changed around the storyline and left out major parts. I can understand changing some things around but this movie in no way comes close to the original. We should have went to see Iron Man 2 instead.

Britax Car seats

I have a Britax Decathlon and I love it! This car seat is very comfy, and has a 65 weight capacity. My son is getting ready to move up to a booster and we are planning on getting him the Britaz Frontier 85. This will allow us to harness him up to 85 pds. Brtiax makes other great car seats like the Advocate CS. They come in a variety of colors (the one picture is the Kathryn pattern) and patterns so finding one you like should be easy. If you want to know more about Britax Car seats visit their site at http://www.britaxusa.com/.

You also have a chance to win the Britax Advocate CS at http://www.twoofakindworkingonafullhouse.com/2010/04/ride-safely-with-britax-advocate-cs.html or click on the Two of a Kind button to your left. She always has great giveaway and I love reading her blog!

Nice sunny day

Well today I decided it was time to teach my oldest daughter who is 14 to mow. She didn't do to bad only missed a spot and still has all her toes. My SIL thinks it is great that I taught her because she at 29 still doesn't cut the grass. I think this weekend I will teach her about tire pressure and car care. I want a daughter who doesn't have to rely on a man to get things done that she is able to do herself.

Twitter

I hate twitter. To me it is the most annoying thing in the world. Half the time I can't figure out what people are saying. Also for me when I twitter something most of the time it won't go through. IT has not posted at least 5 things I have wanted it to this morning. ARGHHHHHHHHH

WIN a Bounce House at Two Of A Kind, Working On A Full House during her Outdoor Oasis Event!

Want to win a bounce house for your kids? Than head over to Two of a kind working on a full house. Just click the button to your right and off you go. She does alot of great giveaways so make sure you head over! or copy and paste the link here....

http://www.twoofakindworkingonafullhouse.com/2010/03/rock-crawler-bounce-house-from.html

Getting used to blogging

Blogging is really neat once you figure out what you are doing. lol Today I learned how to put someone elses button on my blog (without totally losing everything!) Now I just have to go get some followers.....

Getting excited

Shrek 4 is coming out in a month and I can't wait. We love all the Shrek movies and can't wait to take Cole to see his first movie ever in the theater. Houseparty.com is also having people host a Shrek/McDonald's party. Go to Houseparty.com and sign up and maybe you will be one of the lucky ones to host a party!

Sick

Why is it when men are sick they just get to lie around and nap and rest while we as mothers don't? A couple of weeks ago my BF was really sick so I took the kids out of the house so he could have some quiet and nap. This week I am sick and I get nothing...still making dinner, doing laundry,taking care of the kids and everything else. I need to go lie down

It is crazy

Life is crazy...it never seems that you have enough time in the day anymore to do the things you want to do (like read) let alone the things you need to do (which is clean...yuck) Which brings me to some cleaning products I have discover,,,,,tide stain release works great! I had bought this on a whim since it was on sale and I had a dollar off coupon that got doubled. I am so glad I did. My son had left a crayon in one of his pants and I didn't notice it until after that load had went through the dryer. About half the clothes were totally ruined(or so I thought). I figured since I had the stain release downstairs I would give it a try and it worked great! Out of those clothes I only ended getting rid of two shirts. I decided to try them on my BF's oil stained jeans next (which never get clean) and while it didn't take all the oil stains out it did make them noticeably lighter.

The other new product I tried(which was again on sale and which I had a three dollar off coupon for) was the new scrubbing bubbles power sprayer. This to also worked well. It did freak me out a little in the beginning since the sprayer does shot out jerkily and not really smoothly. It did clean my tub well and it stayed cleaned for a good 5 days(bottle claims it would work for up to 4days cleaning). It also has a nice scent to unlike the original.

That is it I am off to bed!

OMG

I am doing a blog! Whoo hooo! I guess I am going to have to learn how to post stuff now. lol A little about me...I am a mom (a stay at home one right now) and I love entering contests, clipping coupons and trying new things out. One of my favorite sites right now is Houseparty.com. Everyone should check this site out. They have different parties that you can apply for and if you get chosen to throw the party they send you a party pack with free stuff! I did a DiGiorno pizza one and it was great. I got coupons for free pizza for the party, $4.00 off coupons to give out, bead necklaces, coasters, a apron, pizza cutter and games to play. My favorite party they are going to be doing is the McDonald's Shrek party for Shrek 4 everafter that comes out May 22(I believe) so head over and sign up! They don't send spam and the parties are fun to host.