Does your baby EVER get a rash? My oldest use to get it so severely from just about everything. There was simply nothing we could do for him except let him go bare bottom since diapers seemed to be the culprit. He seemed to be allergic to any brand of diaper, from the most expensive to the cheap store bought type. I couldn't WAIT to get him potty trained.

I found out through MomCentral that today they actually have a prescription you can get to help with severe or non-severe diaper rashes. Now I haven't been able to use it myself, thankfully Little A has had one diaper rash and I'm hoping to get him trained before he gets another. Wishful thinking? Hopefully not.

I won't lie to you the site isn't all fancy and pretty, in fact it reminds me very much of what a prescription site would look like. This is a great place to get your diaper cream needs. You may not know but sometimes those really severe rashes can actually be from yeast. You would need a doctor's prescription to get the Vusion Cream so the next time you find yourself at the doctor's office find out if they can write you up one. Or learn more about it, chances are they have material on it but no one asks about it because they just don't know.This can help and infant as young as 4-weeks old and as old as those that haven't been potty trained yet.

I know ya'll like freebies or things cheaper. Hey, we are all moms and know how expensive life with little ones can be. You can get a coupon for this for a $25 rebate from Vusion. So it'll be like buying something for free, that is once you get the rebate back in the mail. Cool?

Labels: bloggers, diaper cream, diaper rashes, momcentral, review, vusion, vusion cream

We had quite the day yesterday, first off I ran out of all my caffeine. EEEEKKK! Right? I had no clue I was running low on tea and finished off my last soda, I had grabbed a soda just yesterday morning at the gas station...only problem, it was DIET! Which of course means I did NOT drink it. Ikk.

So, what does this mean for someone that doesn't have a car and does have two small children? It means we went on a .... NATURE HIKE. BabyGirl and Little A (he was in the stroller) loved it. BabyGirl (she just turned 5 at the beginning of the month) was very talkative and even saying hi to the grass, the trees and even an old man sitting on his porch. Yes, she was very friendly. One thing that cracked me up was a tree that had some pieces on it to make a face. Someone actually put wooden pieces on a tree that were in the shape of eyes, nose and well the mouth was either taken off or they didn't have it.

BabyGirl and I had a blast as we talked about strangers, cars, the birds that flew by and even which house we liked and which one we didn't. There's this really pretty brick home that has blue trim, I'd love this one. Even the mailbox is right by the front door. The entire street is something out of a story book or from the movie Pleasantville. I would LOVE it!

We got to the Dollar Deals store and grabbed our drinks, course I had to look at the educational products and found two poster boards for $1 each. One was addition family and the other was a counting one that went up to 20. I grabbed both and we went on our way. It was all in all a great walk.

Labels: homeschool, nature walk

My kitchen smells fruity and I'm not baking anything or spraying the counters with some chemical like I normally do. Instead I just did dishes. I know how silly that sounds but it really smells that good and it is a "green" dish soap so I know it isn't harmful to my kids or the house at all. Actually I even prepared the other sink for my next set of dishes just so I could leave the house smelling good, tossing a capful or a small squirt into the water and letting it bubble up and soak is all it takes. Now the whole kitchen has this scent of clean and fruits.

The soap came through MomCentral, which they got it from the Green Works, they are actually making a whole line of cleaning products that are GREEN. I got the Green Works Natural Dishwashing Liquid and I've already got hooked on it.

I'm not sure but I believe it works better than my Dawn dish soap or the other cleaning agents I use on my counters, that includes Clorox sprays and yes I know this is made with clorox. Actually it is but it has less of the smell, which I like because I can wash everything down and not worry about my son (1 year old) or daughter (age 5) having to deal with the smell and coughing. The dish soap is made out of ingredients that are natural such as lemon oil and coconuts. Sounds yummy enough to eat, but DON'T! Smells great though, like I said it is a clean and fruity smell.

Green Works cares and they've even teamed up with the Sierra Club which is all about the environment. Now I've been slowly moving over to the green side of life and this is just one small step but when a product works this good and helps the environment how can I not?

Want one of your own? These are coming to the shelves in your stores this month, AUGUST! So start looking for them, here are a few scents they'll have:

Water Lily, Simply Lemon, Tangerine, Free&Clear and original.

Hope ya'll enjoy, back to the floors. Too bad they didn't send me some mopping cleaner too. Want to go green? Here are a few tips for you to go green from Clorox.

Labels: green works, green works dish soap, momcentral, natural, Sierra club

Not much this week folks but hopefully someone writes me and tells me that they won something. :) Hey come one, I know some of you do.

Elizabeth over at MomReviews has some nice goodies to giveaway. Head on over and win
Laurie Berkner or a ClickToy

This next one I'm totally copying from the email:

Call 1-800-THE-INFO, a free alternative to the 411 directory service, and ask for the business info/listing of any place you feel like. Then, ask the operator to enter you in the Rock My Room contest.

You can win some awesome prizes, they've got iPod Touch w/Bose SoundDock digital music system, 32inch flat screen TV, laptop computer and a $500 American Express gift card. Target GC or American Express Card and many more goodies.

5 lucky moms will be given a $100 GC to Lands' End just for filling out THIS survey.

Short list I know, but I've got a baby crawling all over me. :) Later. Leave your links in the comments if you have a giveaway.

Labels: august giveaways

Well school started yesterday which means the two youngest are home. Don't think this just means I can sit around. BabyGirl still wants to be homeschooled. Yesterday was so much fun, we read the Kissing Hand and even went on a nature walk. They spotted this (what I'm guessing is) rose bush and had to look at it. Doesn't it just look like a nice day?



Here is my not-so-wordless Wednesday. Visit others at the Hub or 5minutesformom.

Labels: wordless wednesday

Gear up for more giveaways, now with the kids back in school there is so much more free time that even I can play along and enter. So feel free to send me your link to your giveaways or post them in the comments. Hey sometimes I miss a few or they hit my spam box. Here's the email though: homemom3@gmail.com

Film Gecko (Jane) always has those great DVD giveaways and she has them this week too. My daughters are begging me for these first two:

Hannah Montana 3D
Camp Rock

She Plays Music is giving away an Obama Girl Amber Lee Ettinger CD

Beyonce K is giving away Secrets to Contacting Celebrities book

You know I don't know how some get so lucky, but ChefDruck Musing is giving away a Handy Manny DVD from DISNEY. Disney we love you!

Another fun kid movie that is also a giveaway right now is Frank, no we haven't seen it yet but are waiting for it. For those that want to see it you can win it over at Laura Williams' Musing blog. Hurry though.

CVS Giveaways:

I'll admit I'm hooked on CVS since I've got my card now so here are a few giveaways I've discovered and thought ya'll would like to try. Hey now you can't win though as I want it lol. Just kidding.

Savin Maven $25 GC for CVS. Don't forget to look around to see what purchases were recently made and how the game is really played. This is the fun part.

Newlyweds $25 GC to CVS, just imagine how many trips you can make. Wow, doesn't this one sound good. So far I've only done two trips but would love to do a whole lot more.

Money Saving Mom has posted her weekly Money giveaway list here. Check it out and SAVE, SAVE, Save!

Labels: august contests, august giveaways, CVS, cvs giveaway, dvd giveaways, movie

Wow, recently I got to review/try out the new Suave Professionals package, that may not be what it is called but that's what I'm calling this box. It came with all types of goodies that myself, hubby and kids enjoyed. What was it? Shampoo, deodorant, conditioners, styling foam and hairspray.

My box of goodies:

• Travel size Suave Naturals Tropical Paradise invisible solid Deodorant.
• Full size Suave Professionals color care Shampoo & Conditioner for protecting color treated hair.
• Full size Suave Professionals Sleek Shampoo & Conditioner for smoothing dry or frizzy hair.
• Full size Suave Professionals Vibrant Shine Shampoo & Conditioner for restoring shine for normal to dry hair.
• Full size Suave Professionals Extra Hold Styling Foam.
• Full size Suave Professionals Extra Hold Shaping & Finishing Spray.

SoccerBoy's first reaction: "Mom, you need to get this every time from now on." I asked why and he responded, "It feels good on my head." Now that is from an 11-year-old's point of view.

BalletGirl said she loved the way it smelled, course she also took one of my deodorants and said I needed to buy her one of her own but bigger. I explained the smaller one would be the perfect size for her and her little purse or backpack. I will be buying the bigger Tropical scented one for myself.

The hubby never said anything but I noticed it was grabbed repeatedly over the regular suave and I must say I can't blame him. For myself I've tried all of them, the color treated is best since my hair is and this is perfect for that. But I also noticed the Vibrant one really makes you feel like you've just come from a salon. Normally I think I'd bulk at the price of a shampoo that would smell or make my family feel this great, but the prices aren't bad. Actually they are better than what I'd expect from a salon style product. For just the shampoo and conditioner you'll pay about $7.

As for BabyGirl's hair, she's got such fine hair that by the end of the day it normally looks like it needs brushed, but this one gives it somehow a fullness it doesn't normally have. I'm not sure if it is the shampoo or what but since using it her hair looks great. Can't wait to see if this stuff will help with the static hair that's bound to come in this next season. Oh and both girls have been having me do hair styles with them with the foam, they just can't get enough. I like it because it doesn't make my hands feel completely sticky like normal. I normally buy the Fructis but I think I'm going to totally switch over, the price alone is great and compare that with how everyone feels it is just a win win.

You can find most (if not all) of these products in your local drugstore for as low as $2.50. Do you currently use any Suave products? What's your thought on them? Have you used any of the above?

Here are a few tips from Suave:

Shine Through Summer

Chlorine from the pool can quickly turn hair dry and dull. Look for hair products specially-designed to infuse shine. Also, blow dry hair from roots to ends, making sure you do not ruffle your hair. By doing this, you’ll keep the cuticle of your hair lying flat, thus reflect more light, and producing more shine.

How to get the Shine: Suave Vibrant Shine Shampoo and Conditioner is formulated with silk amino acids to restore shine and luster to dull hair for bright, shimmering strands.

Price/Availability: $1.92 – 2.49 at drugstores, mass merchandisers, and supermarkets nationwide

Don’t Let Your Hair Fall when Temps Rise!

Hot summer weather and humidity can cause your hair to lose its shape. Apply a little mousse to damp hair to add body and help control your style. For added fullness, flip your head over and blow dry the roots. When you flip your head upright, your hair will be at maximum volume.

How to get the Shape: Suave Professionals Extra Hold Mouse helps to lock in style for all-day hold and is great for hair that needs body and control.

Price/Availability: $1.92 – 2.49 at drugstores, mass merchandisers, and supermarkets nationwide

Labels: hair, sleek shampoo, suave, suave naturals tropical paradise, suave products, suave professionals, suave shampoo, suave.com

Wow, can you believe it is the first day of school? Well this morning was a rough start, even though everything was planned out the night before we were still going nuts around here. I think it was just that first day of school jitters though, the two oldest were picking at each other left and right. But soon everything was ready to go and I was about to release them to the world...okay not really, it was only the school bus. That is until I saw EVERYONE, including the older kids had parents out there. HOLD UP! Wait for me, I quickly threw my hair in pony tail and was ready to go. SoccerBoy was ready to stage a protest but agreed in the end, I think he realized after me seeing his friends' mom there he wasn't convincing me.

We waited there for about two minutes before the bus got there, the two oldest went their own way as I talked with another mom. Once the bus arrived they quickly got on, excited about the new school year and forgetting all about their arguing just ten minutes ago. "Hurry BalletGirl, get in front of me." Oh how sweet.

The two little ones and I headed home, once inside BabyGirl went inside and finished off her pancakes. Yes, first day of school was pancakes and milk, yummy. As she was finishing up I grabbed up all her HOMESCHOOL work for today. Today is The Kissing Hand and she will be doing a painting of her hand, drawing it and of course reading the book with me. Our day will be spent in the toy room which both the two little ones LOVE. Might even add pics later. How's your first day of school? Anyone homeschooling this year?

Labels: first day of homeschool, first day of school, kindergarten, the kissing hand

Now I've heard of dropping charges when a murderer tells the stories of how someone was killed but never pizza and calzones for life. To top all this off he even got married this past week, I guess he's thinking of those visits. This whole story sounds bizarre to me, I still can't figure out how he gets to request all this when he was the one killing someone! What's your thought?

Labels: pizza for life

Mother-Talk sent us a book by James Patterson to review called, "Dangerous Days of Daniel X." I won't lie, I was intrigued that James wrote a book like this geared towards children. I've read his books before and thought it would be interesting for my son, who's just began to love reading, to read his books. Hey, if he likes it he might like the others I've got.

My son is the one that has read this book, but he keeps me updated along the way. It's a lot of fun to read a book your child read first and then to be able to talk about it as you are reading it. Well that is as long as he doesn't tell me about it. Now that he is half way through the book I've begun. To be honest, the beginning was a bit slow for me or it was the fact it was very sci-fi, but it peaked my son's interest and that is who it is geared towards.

Basically this book is geared towards your preteen-teen crowd, it's fictional and has lots of gory moments. Okay, not really gory but gross out factors like bugs and animals attacking with all the details of them chewing up someone. The book is about a 15-year-old alien hunter who's going after everyone left on a list his parents had started. The one alien he wants is THE one that killed his parents. He doesn't plan on stopping until he gets them all. In a way this reminds me of my favorite tv show, "Supernatural".

SocceryBoy's Review:
Whenever Daniel X goes after a new alien he must move to where ever they are, he knows he needs the higher aliens powers before he can beat the main one, The Prayer....the one that killed his parents. He was only 3 when the aliens came and killed his parents, but he'd never forget the look of the ugly monster that did it and later went after him. I haven't got to finish the book yet, but so far I find it very, very interesting and I asked my mom if I could do the review. I'm on chapter 45 now and I'll let her know how it ends and if I liked the ending or not.

I asked him why he liked it: Because I do and it is a fantasy story. It's not boring, no matter what there is always a problem. Three cats come and more came and they ended up being demon cats and eating him. There were scars and stuff, but he didn't die. There's just something always going on.

He of course read a few paragraphs in the middle of the book as soon as I got it, just teasing me. (he knows that's like doing dog-ears to a book, or sitting it on the ground, upside down face open) But it was those that got him interested, something about ear canals and other gross stuff like when he kills the bugs/aliens. He laughed in the beginning when what we thought was just a kid turns into a bug and grossed me out. Yep, I can deal with horror movies, scary stuff but bugs and cockroaches turn me off. I think that's another reason he liked it, that mixed in with the fact there is always something going on to keep a 12 year old (he's 11) turning the pages.

As you can see, this book may not appeal to an adult but it does towards a child. This one rates 4/5 stars from SoccerBoy and he says he can't give it a 5 until he finishes it. But he's already asking about the second book.

Labels: Dangerous Days of Daniel X, Daniel X, james patterson, Mother-Talk

Some of you know of some issues I've been dealing with at home, some of you don't. For those that do, at what point do I say enough is enough and leave? It is such a hard decision but one I really think I must contemplate. I love this man with all of my heart and soul, but he does not love me the way we once shared. Just look at the love in that picture, truth is the attraction soon died after we got married. See in the military, he claimed it was unprofessional to show feelings such as affection in public. But he still loved me and I knew it. We've been through a lot in the past 12 years, from two deployments to Iraq and a 1 year unaccompanied tour in Japan. We almost split once, well we did except we got back together right before it would've been final. Things were going so great for many years, I was happy with my life and a proud wife and mother.

The first time he went to Iraq though he changed. He came home and never wanted to be home, claiming he always felt like a stranger in his home....more like a guest. I tried everything they said in the military to get him to feel welcome, but due to whatever they went through he changed. I couldn't get the man back. We soon moved, and moved away from the issues there and into a new state. Things were going well for us there, but then once again he went and came back even worse. He liked to spend money and could never stay in the same place. He got into cards and lost money. Since we moved here it has only got worse, we've lost so much money do to his issue. I've tried helping but nothing ever worked, he even went to counseling and quit. Granted he did that because I threatened to leave. He started doing good once again and the other night blew it once again. I'm so tired of this, worrying all the time about how to make ends meet. I'm a blogger, I don't earn that much money...kids are tired of it too now. I've told him all this numerous times. Last time, being yesterday morning when he came home, I told him everything I felt and explained I was ready to leave because I couldnt' keep doing it. He did it again last night. He refuses to talk about it now, the only thing he told me yesterday was he would not go to a counselor because it would only make him feel worse.

I know I shouldn't blog this but you are all my friends and I just need to vent and talk out my feelings. He's completely shut himself off to me and I've got no one but the kids and online friends to chat with. I told him just a few minutes ago I needed to talk, he walked off, even locked himself in the room and then in the bathroom. I give up, there is nothing I can do to help him. But I can help my kids and self. But I don't want to hurt them either. I love this man, but hate him at the moment, I hate this person he has become. I want the man I fell in love with back.

Labels: enough is enough, leaving, men

If you are anything like me you are constantly trying to find fun and educational games for your kids. Many times those games tend to be a bit too educational for my preschooler. Ever have that problem? Well recently MomCentral asked if I wanted to review a preschool game called "Noodleboro."

I got the package and immediately the kids attacked it. Babygirl loved it so much that she is always playing with one of the games out of the box. She loves the fact that she can actually do the activities and you get little prizes with each one.

The object of the game is to get all 4 tokens from each of the activities and beat the sun to the last star. You can do this by noticing when someone doesn't already have a token of the one you've already won and share it. See it teaches sharing and counting, it's definitely a confidence booster. She's so happy with this game.

Earlier she told me, "Mom this game is SO much fun. Lets play again okay, in two minutes."

Inside the Noodleboro: Learn to Share Fun Park Game:
Instructions (of course)
Ferris Wheel- pick a color and spin the wheel, if your color is stopped by the arrow you win a token.
tent show- under the three tents are a pic, pic your picture and have someone move them around and guess which one it is.
Roller Coaster- drop the disc at the top of the roller coaster and try catching it on the spoon.
Log Flume- take your stick down the track with a ball on it, see if you can keep the ball from coming off. Oops.
Book & CD to read along with. BabyGirl has really liked this too and has been listening every day. Moms & Dads will love the little CD as it has a special message: "Wait your turn and take your time...."

Sound like a game you'd like to play with your kids? This one is made by Playskool, which is a company I already love so it just made this an even better product to share with you all. They also have two other Noodleboro games, they are Listening & Manners. Hmm, I think we need a refresher course on manners.

For those of you that LOVE my blog for the contests, MomCentral is having one too. Just click the link and fill out the survey to win your very own Noodleboro game. There will be 200 boxes given away to moms that participate and win. Hurry and sign up I want to see some of my readers get in on this action.

Labels: Hasbro, momcentral, noodle boro learn to share fun park game, noodleboro, noodleboro hasbro, noodleboro playskool

After shopping last week at Walmart I was so impressed that I ended up buying another magazine so we went back yesterday to shop. I won't lie to you, we normally shop VERY cheap and don't get many name brand products. But since I had these freebies we did and loved them, with the kids LOVING Koolaid I can't go wrong and went back to stock up.

I did learn that not all the cashiers understand the buy 3 get something for free, let alone figure out how to scan coupons. In the end I bought 44 groceries that normally cost $61.93 and only paid $38.88, I ended up using $23.24 in coupons. Talk about something that I'll be doing more often. This week not only will I be getting basics but I'll be pricing from around the different stores and not just going straight to Walmart. Walmart price matches so I'll be armed before going in, I hear Hyvee has buy 5/$10 on cereal, another buy 6/$10 one is kelloggs and another is general mills. Plus I have 4 $1 off coupons for the mini wheat blueberry cereal, not sure if it'll work but we'll see. Anyone have any luck with them?

Here's a pic of our shopping trip, one side are all the freebies and coupons, the other is just stuff I wanted like bread, sugar, cream horns, etc.


Today I heard about the Fisher Price House Party, where they actually send you a ton of items to have a party at your house. Wow! Talk about a lot of fun, this would be perfect since we haven't really met many of the neighbors. It would be like an ice breaker and some would get to walk away with some NICE prizes. Now I just signed up and have no clue if I'll get picked but you can be sure I'll let you know if I do. Has anyone done this before?

One package (kit) includes:
* 1 Laugh & Learn™ Smart Bounce & Spin Pony™
* 1 Laugh & Learn™ Fun with Friends™ Musical Table
* 1 Amazing Animals™ Spinnin’Around Musical Zoo
* 1 Go Baby Go Crawl & Cruise Musical Jungle™
* 10 Fisher-Price toys to share with your guests, including Poppity Pop™, Rock-A-Stack®, and Friendly Flip Phone™
* 10 Infant Product Guides
* 10 coupons for the Fisher-Price online store

Why not try it? Go to House Party and apply.

Besides that we rented movies from our local RedBox: Nim's Island (very cute movie), Doomsday (watching now), Autumn Hearts (slow at first but did enjoy it) and Adventures of Johnny Tao (reminded me a lot of Power Rangers, don't ask why). What have you watched lately?

Labels: coupons, fisher price, Fisher Price House Party, movies, nim's island, walmart

I recently learned about CVSing (going to the store called CVS and using the card and playing the grocery game, more on that later), which brought me to several other blogs about couponing and how everyone pays for tons of groceries for very little money. To be honest I use to use coupons, back when I first got married and we had a store that did Double coupon days. But since then I stopped the practice, kind of weird when you think about how many kids I have now and how much it would've helped save.

I read so many blogs about couponing, rebates, games the stores play when you join their card teams and other info. I'm full of a ton of info. Yesterday we went to Walmart to purchase a magazine I had heard about that had a TON of coupons in it. What is it? It is the "All You Magazine" and it has coupons on every page, one in particular to show you just how much it is worth.

Page 159:
FREE Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs (when you buy 3 Kraft items)
There are four other items you can get for free when you pair them to 3 Kraft items as well. For myself, we bought Koolaid, I had no clue it was made by Kraft and it is the cheapest thing you can get.

I bought the following:
- Wheat Thins (2.50)
- Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs (2.50)
- 16oz salad dressing (1.58)
- crystal light (2.98)
- kraft single cheese slices (2.98)
- 15 Koolaid mixes @ .20 each (3.00)
- All You Magazine (1.77)

Total= $17.31
OOP- (out of pocket) $5.04

Those in red ended up being free because of the 3 packs of koolaid per item. Tomorrow I'll be going back to get the exact same items, except we are getting a different salad dressing, crystal light and wheat thins. I'm loving this, oh and hopefully my CVS card will be here and I'll be getting diapers for a few cents.

Got any tips for the new couponer?

Labels: All You Magazine, couponing, coupons, CVS, CVSing, Free stuff, kool aid, Kraft foods, Kraft singles, walmart

Today, thanks to Dawn Diversions, I found The Lazy Blogger and had a bit of fun with it. This post below is actually made up. Of course you'll know that after reading the first paragraph, I mean I don't even know where the Fijian beach is. hehe

OMG! I just returned from my daily swim on the beautiful Fijian beach and realised I have not updated this since you last visited... You would not believe that my hands were chopped off and I was waiting for bionic ones. Please don't abandon me!.

I am hopped up on caffeine with only your readership as life preserver, watching the grass grow, just generally being a parent to my kids, my day seems to be a litany of stuff and giggles from the first cockadoodledoo from the rooster to midnight. I am happy with that. and that I can take that big badge off my head that says bad mother.

I make a solemn vow I will blog about it when I find my way home. Well, I'll try. Don't hold your breath though, you're likely to turn blue..

You can get your own story at The Lazy Blogger. Try it and let me know in comments you've posted so I can go and read your story.

Labels: dawn diversions, fijian beach, the lazy blogger

I love getting stuff in the mail, especially when it is free and something new to try. But my favorite thing has always been pens and notebooks, I'm not kidding either. Growing up when it came time for Christmas or birthday lists I always put books, pens, paper, stamps, etc. No one ever did buy me these things even though they were something I really wanted. So when I was asked by to review the Simply Chic and Eye Candy stationary I said YES!

I was even more excited when I was accepted into the tour and then when the package came. I wasn't sure what the package was at first so I had to take a quick peek before the kids bombarded me. I saw it and got all giddy, "Kids, this package is all MOMMY'S." Yep, I was being greedy with it. They just got school supplies, these were MINE, MINE, MINE.

I opened the box and BalletGirl (just turned 8 last month) got wide-eyed. "Oh, MOM, I want that." Keep in mind her favorite color is green. Suddenly BabyGirl laughed with glee, "THank you mom, you know I love PINK." Eeeek, no, no, these were MINE. Long story short, the magnets got snagged by the girls but they are proudly on the fridge hanging proudly with some wonderful artwork. The PENS, don't ask, I had one yesterday and think it must be in their room. They do write wonderfully though.

Inside my package:
1 pink binder (accordion type, some call it a file folder)
1 medium size black and white with green trim Journal
2 black & white stripped pens
1 black & white stripped folder (two pocket)
1 magnets
1 mouse pad (very colorful and Chic)
1 mini calendar (fits perfectly in the purse)
1 box of note cards (with polka dots)
1 more item but can't recall the name, but several folders put together, perfect to keep a child's homework for the week in so you always know what they do on which days.

These were all designed by a woman named Jackie McFee and I think they are great for any business woman, mom and of course girls of all ages. They also have colors available for guys, call me sexist but I don't think many guys will walk around with the pink folders, but I can see them with the blue or black, white and green ones.

I must say this is a great package that arrived that will definitely prove to be useful. Since I'm just started on couponing I plan on using the file folder to seperate my coupons. Hopefully I'll be able to purchase two more of these folders through CarolinaPad.com and be able to keep all the kids graded work in there. (My camera isn't loading properly tonight, so I'll update again tomorrow with a pic)

Do all these wonderful things sound nice? Want to win some of the loot? Enter the Carolina Pad's "Glam Your Office Makeover Contest." The ten most creative and original winning entries will be featured on the Carolina Pad and Paper Web site’s “Get Organized” page.

You will win:
- Complete Eye Candy or Simply Chic office system
- $100 gift card
- 1000 Best Quick and Easy Organizing Secrets by Jamie Novak

If you don't want to wait to find out if you won you can always order them direct from the site or head down to your local Walmart.

Labels: carolina pad, carolina pad and paper, carolinapad.com, eye candy, glad your office makeover contest, jamie novak, simply chic, walmart eye candy

Disney and Momcentral teamed up and sent several reviews some great CD/DVDs to listen/watch in honor of their Disney Music Block Party Tour. I must say the kids thought it was Christmas or that I won something from Disneyland this time. Course BabyGirl (we haven't watched tv in a few months) thought Disney sent her some movies she could watch on the TV. I quickly informed her that these were music videos, she LOVED them.

Here are the CDs we got:
Disney Music Block Party - This is a compilation of many different songs like Doodlebops (BabyGirl's all time favorite), The Wiggles (daddy's favorite), Johnny and the Sprites, Gwendolyn and the Goodtime Gang (Little A's favorite), Wayne Brady, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, etc.
Ralph's World - Songs like: Abby's Alphabet Soup, King of the Alphabet, etc
Imagination Movers- I want my Mommy, Seven days a week, First day of School, etc
Choo Choo Soul - Fly, Birdie, Fly; Jump Jump, Let's Dance, Animal Sounds, The Bullet train, etc
They Might Be Giants- The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song, (every kid knows that one) They Might be Giants, High Five, Figure 8, etc.

We've been as my kids say, "Jammin' to some Disney Tunes" for the past three days. This is something that has become a ritual after their movie breaks, once their movie is out they pop in one of the Disney Music DVDs that we got in the mail to review. This has made this week a lot of fun and I've definitely seen my kids grooving to their own types of music and lets just say, they don't all have the same tastes.

SoccerBoy likes the "They Might be Giants" he insists he likes it because it has the DVD that they can watch (kind of an MTV feel) and it has a catchy tune.

BalletGirl is stuck because she likes so many but she's more into the hip hop so the

BabyGirl's favorite, as well as Little A's is "Choo Choo," you know this is the one that has the pretty brunette on a train singing with the birds and all the kids on the train. She (BabyGirl) is constantly singing this now throughout the house.

"Come on little birdie, don't be shy...."

I absolutely love these CDs and I'm even going to be using some of them as our homeschool ones that we'll listen to every day. ie the ABCs, Days of the week, etc. Did you know Disney is currently doing a Disney's Block Party tour? If you are going I'd love to hear more about it.

Thanks again to DISNEY RECORDS and MomCentral! Shhh, we secretly replaced the Daddy's CD with a Disney one in the car. hehehehe.

Labels: disney, disney block party, disney music, disney music blog tour, disney music cd, momcentral

He actually flipped this to its side and began what looked like he was working on the gas tank. He had a tiny toy tool and kept sticking it in there making some noises.

Happy WW! View other WW at the Hub or 5minutesformom.

Labels: wordless wednesday

Here's a quick list of giveaways from around the blogosphere, if I don't mention yours feel free to mention it in the comments. If you'd like me to host one for you or review a product drop me an email at homemom3@gmail.com


A Mom's Review is having a Joy is the Greatest Gift Book Contest, hurry over to enter.

Ya'll love chocolate so head over to Chocolate Bytes and enter to win a pack of 2oz Chocolate Skittles. I've yet to try these but always look at them in the aisle at the store.

Gisele Jaquenod is giving away a Birdie mug.

I just love those MomAgendas and that's what Musings of a Housewife is giving away.

Boston Mamas always have something nice to giveaway and this week it is the Nagel Art.

Buddy TV is giving away Prison Break Season 3

Enter to win the Jamie Kennedy contest over at BlogAboutYourBlog.

Mental Magma is giving away $25 GC to Amazon & $15 MentalMagma GC.

Chef Druck is giving away the Little Einsteins DVD, but I'm jumping in on this one.

Be one of the five winners of the Backyardigans Mighty Match Up, there are a ton of other giveaways on this site. Have fun looking around.

Twinz Mommy is giving away Belli Skincare package, there are $62 worth of stuff to win.

Labels: august giveaways, DVD giveaway, gc giveaways, giveaways

I'm joining in the talks about whether we are or are not in a recession, honestly I feel we are and within the next few years it'll show even more than it does now. Right now we are only at the beginning so for all those that don't believe, they'll soon be joining those of us that know.

An example: Look at all those houses on the markets, the neighbor next door that has to move out because they no longer have the money for rent, the couple down the block that are now trying as hard as they can to sell their house so they won't end up losing everything. They thought if they bought a house it would answer all the problems, instead they have a bigger one. Or look at the prices of food and gas. Sure right now gas has dropped I think .10 but come Sept/Oct you'll see it bounce back up. Don't be fooled on gas, they've been playing this game for the past three years and no one has caught on yet.

For us we seem to be seeing it more since we got out of the military, I mean we just got the opportunity to see what a doctor bill for a broken wrist and cast would be like. It's not pretty. Heck, milk is just about $4, I think it would be cheaper to buy a goat. Eggs are around $2 a cartoon and cheese is around $4 or more. Yeah, I think we are in a recession. Prices may be rising but our money is not, more and more people are being cut out of jobs, especially out here in Kansas City. I just hope it all stays away from us.

Kristen at Motherhood Uncensored is starting a cause and/or meme for the bloggers to help make these rough times a little better and all you have to do is visit a few sites and check out some of their posts or comment on some. What blogger doesn't like comments? I know I certainly do.

If you want to join click the Motherhood Uncensored link above.

Labels: are we in a recession, motherhood uncensored, recession

Ya'll know how much I LOVE my little Redbox machine at Walmart and McDonald's but for the past two weeks they've really disappointed me. All those new movies that are suppose to come out haven't even made it into the box. :( This means I have no new movies to share with you. Well, I did watch College Road Trip and I really did like it, even though I thought I'd hate it since it was more of a going off to college movie. It isn't by the way, instead it is a humorous view of how a parent might react. I'm the parent of four and wonder myself how I'll do, I sure hope I'm not like him.

In the meantime we've simply been watching every movie we have, but here is the most watched movies around here lately. (remember I have kids)

Movie:
Cheaper by the Dozen
Alice Upside Down
The Simpsons (series)
Mulan 1 & 2
A Plumm Summer

War of the Worlds
Day after Tomorrow
Waterworld

Course we also watch a TON of Japanese Anime. Don't ask me to name those though, I do know one is GTO. What have you been watching? Since the RedBox hasn't had anything new I just bought 7 movies off Amazon, but wouldn't you know it, they won't be here until the 18th. :)

Labels: movies, redbox, redbox.com

I was lucky to receive the Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber to try out, I'd seen these appearing on the stores and had wondered about them. I'd used Scrubbing bubbles spray before and loved it, use it all the time on my bathroom. But I'm a bigger fan now, the action scrubber is actually a great product I can see myself using more often. Oh but don't tell the hubby, he'd stock up on them. Shhh.

When it came in the mail I was actually very curious because of the handle being what looked to be nothing more than a handle of styrofoam, it wasn't. There is a handle that at the bottom has these two velcro pieces on it that attaches to the rag full of the scrubbing bubbles scrubber. Pour a little water (don't need much) into the tub that it comes in and dip the action scrubber into it and start cleaning away. These suckers have enough bubble in them you can do four or five bathrooms.

Bathroom: tub, shower walls, around the sink, floor (I went overboard) and then did the toilet since I still had bubbles left. PHEW! Oh and this was with just two bathrooms. I ended up having tons of bubbles still left and figured out you could actually use these things over again if you really wanted. Course they come with other scrubbers so I decided to toss my used one. No more sprays and while these things have tons of bubble in them they don't stink as badly as the spray always did.

Inside this package I got the tub for the water, the handle and for scrubbers. You can of course get a number of coupons that are on the net or by going over to the website Scrubbing Bubbles.

Labels: scrubbing bubbles, scrubbing bubbles action scrubber

Many of you know that it is easy to make money online through selling things, well recently my son read an article in the paper about a boy making money online through something called, "Lemonade Stand Online" where he would place a little graphic in his sidebar that displays products you can buy. If you click on the products and buy them he earns 80% of the profit. So he's really excited and I told him I'd place one on my blog entry since it seems to take a bit of time. Feel free to visit his blog (MoneyMakingKids) or click on the one below in order to purchase something. I've already told him any money this makes he gets. (if you sign up please do it through the stand here)

Labels: online lemonade stand

I just got done listening to my oldest two children talking back and forth. ABOUT ME? My AGE? Or I guess you should say how old they must really think I am and get this, they were dating me through the televisions. Wondering about that? Take a peek through history as my kids talked:
SoccerBoy: Did you know mom didn't have a tv like we have when she was a kid?
BalletGirl: What do you mean? Of course not it is ours.
SoccerBoy: No, I mean big like our TV. She had a smaller one.
BalletGirl: Oh that's cool, I want a tiny tv.
SoccerBoy: No, I mean the ones like a big box that had the tiny dial.
BalletGirl: Oh you mean the box ones that didn't have a picture. Man mom you are OLD!
Myself: What? That's not true we had tvs, we didn't have to have those big radios.So what tvs were around when you were a kid?

Labels: plasma tv

Oh man, I don't want this to ever end, this has been so much fun reading all the entries for the $25 Build a bear GC. I do plan on writing up a list of everything all liked, but that might take a few days. I'm very happy with our "High School Musical Bear" from Build-a-Bear and I'm sure Memarie Lane (winner) will love spending her Gift Certificate. I'd really love it (if possible) you could post a picture and show me when you get it, I'd gladly share it here. But that's on you.

Without further ado.........

I'd like to get my daughter the purrrincess kitty and the sleeping beauty costume. Everything has to be PINK PINK PINK with that girl. :P
# posted by Memarie Lane

Yes, the winner is Memarie Lane, CONGRATULATIONS! Please email me at homemom3@gmail.com with your address.

Labels: $25 GC build a bear, build a bear, build-a-bear, build-a-bear workshop

This took me forever to count, but the winner of the Lands' End Multi backpack is:

I think I'm in love with those All-Terrain Mary Janes! Lands End has great prices for excellent quality! We'd love this backpack at our house! Thanks!
# posted by pjmomof3boys

Congratulations! Please email me at homemom3@gmail.com with your address. :) I hope ya'll had a lot of fun.

Labels: lands' end back pack, lands' end multitask backpack

Sorry this is a bit late but as you know it was BabyGirl's birthday and she turned the big 5 so it was a special one. Okay here is the two winners for the Cocoa Puffs drawing.

exotic1

Happy Birthday to your daughter~! Hope you both enjoy your day together. On a day you both should be celebrating and receiving you are giving and that is so sweet of you. My kids love Trix and Cocoa Puffs both of them are there favorites. I myself stick to cherrios as my favorite. We evening eat cereal for a bedtime snack so we go through a lot of cereal. Thanks for thinking of others on your special day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oooh, I don't think there's a GM cereal I've met that I didn't like! But I REALLY like Cocoa Puffs - mainly cuz of the chocolate factor LOL


I hope you'll also stop by my blog - I've got several giveaways for you to enter, too!
Dawn @ Coming to a Nursery Near You

Now don't think ya'll are walking away empty handed, there were just too many of you. BUT they wanted you all to feel like winners so get $.55 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Coupon. Here is the coupon link: http://bricks.coupons.com/bstart.asp?o=53431&ci=1&c=GM&p=8asJ7XWi

It is late tonight so I'll email winners in the morning. Or you could email me at homemom3@gmail.com Congratulations to everyone.

Labels: cocoa puffs combos cereal, cocoa puffs winners

Wow, I can't believe how many people have turned up to sign up for little old me's giveaways. Okay, that sentence sounded better in my head I'm sure. But we have our winner for the first Bloggy Giveaway, the Precious Moments. I wish I could give every one of you a gift, but I can't, so sorry. Now as I stated I'd use the random.org to generate my number and it was NO FUN counting every one of them, but I found my winner.

MommyBrainReports said...

I love the Celebrating the gift of life now and forever..
I have so many of these... I especially collected the little Marine Corps dolls when we were stationed overseas... Thanks for the opportunity to enter! I have a giveaway too! Check it out! http://www.mommybrainreports.com/?p=191

monica AT mommybrainreports.com

I'll be emailing you today Monica, thanks for signing up. I'd also like to say out of the whole time we were in the Marine Corps I only bought one teddy bear Marine doll in dress blues, wishing now I'd bought more items. Hubby is searching high and low for a marine corps sticker, he really misses the Corps. Can you believe I never left the US?

Well Congratulations, I'm sure you'll just LOVE this Precious Moments and your twin girls will love her too.

Labels: bloggy giveaway, marine corps, marine corps dolls, mommy brain, mommybrainreports, precious moments, precious moments figurine