The Life of a Home Mom is moving...

I wanted to be the first to tell you all that I'm finally moving the blog..... http://www.homemom3.com/  yes I know it isn't a major change but it should be easier to type in. :)

Can't wait to see ya over there.

Juicy Rewards Updates & a Contest

As ya'll know I'm a Tropicana Mom and have been buying a ton of Tropicana Orange Juice, unfortunately I tossed two of the big gallons in the trash this past week without grabbing the code. Akkk. That's okay, I'm sure the kids will drink much more juice to replace those points. (Currently have 47 points)

There is a contest going on that ends at the end of March. Tropicana's Monthly Contest:

Prize package for winner and three (3) guests includes:

• Round-trip coach air transportation for four (4) from an airport near winner’s home within the continental U.S. (airport and carrier selected by Sponsor) to Las Vegas, Nevada

• Two (2) double occupancy hotel rooms for three (3) nights at Paris Las Vegas

• Roundtrip limousine service to and from airport

• Poolside lunch

• Birthday dinner at either the Eiffel Tower Restaurant or Mon Ami Gabi (up to $400)

  New Orleans Style Getaway!Prize package for winner and three (3) guests includes:
  
  • Round-trip coach air transportation for four (4) from an airport near winner’s home within the continental U.S. [(airport and carrier selected by Sponsor) to New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Two (2) double occupancy hotel rooms for three (3) nights atHarrah's New Orleans
  • Roundtrip limousine service to and from airport
  • Guided tour of New Orleans with champagne
  Grab your friends and go!
  Atlantic City Escape:
  • Total Experiences Prize includes trip for winner and three (3) guests
  • Round-trip coach air transportation for four (4) from an airport near winner's home within the continental U.S. [(airport and carrier selected by Sponsor) to airport servicing Atlantic City, NJ
  • Two (2) double occupancy hotel rooms for three (3) nights atHarrah's Resort Atlantic City
  • Roundtrip limousine service to and from the airport
  • Daily cabana rental at The Pool with VIP passes to evening nightclub
  • Dinner at The Steakhouse (up to $400)
  Get the VIP treatment
  Lake Tahoe Getaway:
  • Total Experiences Prize includes trip for winner and three (3) guests
  • Round-trip coach air transportation for four (4) from an airport near winner's home within the continental U.S. (airport and carrier selected by Sponsor) to Reno/Tahoe, Nevada
  • Two(2) double occupancy upgraded hotel rooms for three (3) nights at Harrah's or Harvey's Lake Tahoe
  • Roundtrip limousine service to and from the airport
  • Dinner at Sage Steakhouse
  
  
  
  Still debating on signing up? Hurry and get in on this. Who knows you just might be in Vegas soon. 

LinenKids Winner

Random.org picked #30 as the winner! The winner is Secret Life of a WAHM.

Secret Life of a WAHM said...


I LOVE the Winged Linen Dress.

Congratulations! Please email me at homemom3@gmail.com with your mailing address.

Sylvania Halogen Blog Tour

How many of you change your lightbulbs every month or once every two months? It gets crazy right? I have four kids, each one tends to run through a room and leave on a light no matter how often I tell them to shut them off. With that being stated we are constantly having to replace lightbulbs faster than most. When MomCentral asked if we'd like to review "Sylvania Halogen SuperSaver light bulbs" I jumped at the chance. These lights save you 33% energy and last longer.

Facts from Sylvania:

The SYLVANIA halogen SUPERSAVER light bulb emits the same bright white light as regular incandescent bulbs, but uses up to 33% less energy (and no mercury). With a familiar shape and dimmable features, these bulbs can also fit easily into pre-existing accent lights, track lights, or other fixtures, making them a great transition lightbulb for busy Moms. Of note, traditional incandescents are being phased out under the Federal Government's Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Many of you know I've been trying to get myself and my family to live healthier and that includes things around the house as well as food. By using these lights we'll be taking yet another step towards going green. I know it won't all happen over night but it helps. I will admit that the light it gives off is a bit different from what we are use to but at least it is brighter. You don't even need more than one to be put in due to the light it brings about. Yet, it states it saves 33% energy makes me feel these are definitely a bargain. I have 2 chandelier in my home, one has 4 lights, the other has 6 and I have no clue how many other regular lights we have. I place one each in both of the chandelier and can definitely see a difference. The best part it means I honestly don't need to get any other lights until these are gone.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of SYLVANIA and received products necessary to facilitate my candid review. In addition, I will receive a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

How to Train Your Dragon Movie & Toys

How many of you will be hitting up the movie theaters this weekend to go see, "How to Train a Dragon"? I wasn't really sure about this movie when I first started hearing about it because I hadn't watched any of the previews and just kept hearing the kids talking. Now it only sounded like something really cheesy to me and it hadn't been made into a cartoon so didn't sound like anything exciting. That is until the hubby and I watched a movie recently and got to see one of the previews for "How To Train a Dragon." It looks really cute and he (and the kids) love dragons and swords so this would definitely be a good one for them. I liked that it didn't look like your typical cartoon and I loved the theme of it.

How to Train Your Dragon Movie:
A young teenage Viking is learning to hunt dragons but suddenly meets one face to face and learns they are nice. He asks if anyone has trained them and is basically laughed out of the place but decides to try anyways. Can he teach this dragon to be friendly? Can he teach his people they don't have to fight them?

Of course everyone knows that with one hot movie coming out kids are going to be begging for the books, coloring books, posters, toys, etc. This is perfect time since Easter is only a week, these would make for some great basket fillers.



I already have a few asking for the books and two asking for the toys. Little A wants any of the toys, his sister wants the stuffed dragon. It really is cute. Here's a preview of How to Train Your Dragon:

Easter Line Up

Easter is just one more hop away. Are you ready for April 4th, which is when the bunny should hop on by your house? Whether you are or are not your children are probably bouncing off the walls by now waiting to do something. So, here's a list to help you out!

Easter Craft Ideas:
I have a Growing Easter Bunny Print you can do that I've done ever since my first was a baby. I'd love to see pictures if anyone does this one, just leave a comment. Now if your little guy/gal loves to color or paint you may want to head over to Printables for Kids and print some of those cute Easter Coloring pages out. Don't forget Family Fun Magazine just came out with their Easter crafts for kids and I have a few listed here for you

MomChats has a simple bunny craft for your little ones to draw and color.  San Diego Family has created a cute little pom-pom Easter Basket your kids can make and go easter egg hunting with. They also have a Rainbow Bunny and a Cupcake bunny you can make.  The Crafty Crow has a few Easter Egg ideas for your little guy/gal to have fun with. Don't forget to explore this site as there are a ton of fun crafts for you and your little one to do.

Sizzix has some cute Easter crafts for kids, here's one girls would love to do it is a flower crown. (take a peek at the pretty flower crown here)Oh and boys could always do it minus the streamers and make it into a crown for a King. Of course my favorite is the flower dress, which I think any little girl would get a kick out of making.

Katelyn Thomas over at GadAboutMedia has been creating Easter Garland for us. Just look at those cute little lambs. Or learn about how to naturally dye your Easter Eggs over at Gigglepotamus, these are some really pretty eggs.

Want to make some embroidered eggs? Chloe over at GadaboutMedia has you covered with her "How-to of the day: Embroidered Easter Eggs."  It even comes with step-by-step pictures to help you out. Don't forget to check out Noreen's "Adorable Doodled Paper Eggs" over at Tottie Talks Crafts, she also has a lot more crafts for you to try out if you explore her blog. I love those doodle dolls.

Everything Mom has a variety of easter craft ideas and stories. She's got crafts like the Easter Tree, hippity hop creatures, finger puppets, Easter Craft Masks and much more. Hop on over to read the rest.  The Kaboose has a ton of Easter Crafts and activities to do too. You will find easter bunny cracker treats, yes easter treats. There are bunny masks, egg bunny, sleepy bunny, bunny ears, bunny basket and much more.

Easter Treats & Food:
I'm not going to lie, I'm not a great cook but I enjoy having fun on the holidays and making a meal or two. Many times my issue is I can't figure out what to make, but with these helpful ideas I think I'll have fun this Easter. I would really like to try the Easter Basket Cake and see if I can get that basket look down. Don't you think Linette did an amazing job at that? Before you ask, the chocolates you see on that cake can be found over at Kids Fun Reviewed where she has the recipe for those Chocolate eggs.  Yesterday Linette posted about the Easter Bunny in an Egg Cake and made everything look so easy to make. Check it out!

Still got a sweet tooth or just want to continue with the fun? That's okay, Char has a cute little chocolate Easter bunny cake over at Celebrate-it and a whole list of items to include for an Easter Bunny Party. I think my kids would've like the plastic eggs and Lollipop bouquet the best. One last cake before we move on to centerpieces, this one is a white bunny cake with 5 easy steps.  The only thing I didn't come across was a carrot cake, man I think I'll have to do that one myself.

Centerpieces:
Not everyone has kids and even those that do have kids will find this craft a fun one. Make a paper mache easter egg center piece for your table that your guests will be oohing over. Not only do these look really nice, it is a cheap centerpiece to make.  Or you could head over to the Dollar store and get these cute Dollar Store Easter Party Centerpieces.  Maybe you'd like to add a bit more elegance to the table, try it with some Spring Inspired bouquets.

Basket Ideas:
Over at Toy Wish List there's a 5 easter toy ideas for boys I think would be perfect for an Easter gift for your little man.

Cake IMG: http://www.amazingmoms.com/
Flower Crown IMG:  http://www.sizzix.com/

Cayanne Pepper in the Eye

Fooling around with spices a bit today and ended up getting Cayanne pepper right in my eye and all I'm saying is it HURTS. Have you ever done that? Of course I'm the type of person that can't even deal with watching a Visine commercial due to having sensitive eyes. So imagine me trying to wash it out with the stuff, I can't allow anything near my eyes, I don't even put mascara on because of it. Yeah that was fun. It is still burning but at least it doesn't ache any time I blink. I won't explain why I was messing with this, but I will say the dog is back to pooping in my yard.

Disney Family Fun Easter Crafts for the Kids

As ya'll know I have four kids and something you may or may not remember is I love almost every single holiday that comes by. So it shouldn't surprise you that I have been craft mad lately and will be posting crafts and how to make them in the next few days since Easter is around the corner. (I also have a holiday mom blog)

Have you seen the Family Fun Magazine yet? It has a ton of Easter crafts in it and here's a few of them. (thanks to Hannah Plotkin for sending this to me) I know my kids will want to do craft 1 and 2 first.

Crafts

- Sheep Egg: Courtesy of hard-boiled eggs, vibrant egg dye, a cute pipe cleaner stand, and some glued-on details (paper ears, pom-pom nose, and so on), this critter is an Easter favorite.

- Sock Hop: Make your own bunny beanbag and get some use from the single socks left behind.

- Pop-up Eggs: Make your Easter extra festive with this 3-D paper egg. The secret to its look is colorful, accordion-folded paper strips.

- Count the Days Till Easter: Save the eggs for dyeing, then use the carton to build anticipation for the bunny’s visit with this surprise recycled “calendar”.- Egg Pedestal: Display your finest blown egg on this easy-to-make stand.

Activities

- The Great Egg Drop: Kids construct protective coverings around raw eggs before dropping onto a target below. The goal is to hit the bull’s eye without breaking the eggs – making a little bit of a mess and a lot of fun memories!
 
- Less Sugary Easter Egg Hunts: Fill plastic eggs with puzzle pieces to make Easter egg hunts more fun and less sugary.
 
- A Kid-Friendlier Way to Dye Eggs: Put the eggs in wire whisks, and dip away!

Hershey's Better Basket: Blog Hop

Hershey's Better Basket Blog Hop

Hershey's has some great new Easter products being sold exclusively at Walmart. The basket pictured above includes many Hershey's goodies that are available only at Walmart.

I was given a virtual Easter basket by Nancy at Southern Blessings to join Hershey's Better Basket Blog Hop! Hershey is going to donate $10 per blog post up to a total of $5000 to Children's Miracle Network! How awesome is that? We can help them raise money virtually!

HERSHEY’S BETTER BASKET BLOG HOP RULES

•Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.
•Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
•Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
•Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
•Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this #betterbasket blog hop, and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.
•Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).
•Please note that only one blog post by each blog url will count towards the donation.
I would like to pass this virtual basket on to every one of my readers! Y'all are the best! I would like to encourage each one of you to publish a post about Hershey's Better Basket Blog Hop in order to help raise money for Children's Miracle Network!

I'm passing this basket to 5 others. Others that come across this post, feel free to jump in and just leave me a comment here telling me you did it.
http://www.momgadget.com/, http://askewtoyou.blogspot.com/, http://www.grabapan.com/, http://www.mamaonthego.com/, http://www.momecentric.com/.

Wordless Wednesday: 1st Day of Spring?

This was our "official" first day of Spring according to news reports. I say someone slept through their alarm clock. This isn't Spring, this is still Winter.  Happy WW!

Read other WW posts at WW, 5MinutesforMom and 7ClownCircus.

The Silent Bodyguard Application

Have you heard of the Silent Bodyguard application for your iPhone? This is one of the best applications I have heard for the phone. I'm not sure if my friend knew that I was stalked before when she let me know about this new mobile application but I think this would definitely make someone feel a little bit safe while walking around on their own in a new place. 

See I lived in a small town in Oklahoma where everything seemed friendly until one day this man tried breaking in. I had no clue who he was or how long he'd been watching me, but I knew it had to be at least a month because of what he'd said to me. Scary thought right? It meant he knew my entire routine and the fact that my husband wasn't around. I didn't even have a cell phone, so I never felt safe walking around. I would go to the store and see him on the same street a few blocks behind me. Go into the store and he'd be across the street when I came out, talk about never feeling safe. I was scared one day they'd find my body somewhere, or the fact they never would find it. I ended up completely moving out of the tiny town that I had grown to love so much and to a new state.

The Silent Bodyguard is a mobile app that sends an SOS distress signal with GPS coordinates to immediately reach potential rescuers without alerting any onlookers. Which would mean my stalker could've been right across the street, inside my home, or directly in front of me and all I'd do is have to push a button on my phone. He wouldn't even know what I did either.

First you have to have an iphone, ipad or ipod. It can be downloaded through http://www.livesecure.org/ for just $3.99. Upload it and fill in your personal information and contact form, ie who you would want to know about where you are to save your life. This could be people you trust to help you when  you need it, ie husband, sister, brother, father, best friend and of course the police. Then when someone comes up to harm you, click the button to alert those on your contact form. I hear they are trying to make it so the blackberry will work with this too.

Why was this created? Besides the fact that it could actually save someone's life you mean? The app was inspired by Jo Perry, a Mom whose youngest daughter was the classmate of a girl abducted and killed while simply on an errand in Los Angeles and whose oldest daughter attends the same University as the graduate student recently murdered in her lab. Dr. Clint Van Zandt, former FBI chief hostage negotiator and criminal profiler, is backing a new safety application designed for mobile phones. Which tells me this is a great product. LiveSecure.org offers Dr. Van Zandt’s weekly blog with his analysis of the latest national crime stories, as well as a free DVD, “Protecting Children from Predators.” It also has information on a national one-strike law for sexual predators and other vital security articles for families and businesses as well as links for organizations or individuals concerned with safety and security.

Hopefully this will save many and make others feel a little more confident walking around. I know I still have issues walking in public since my own experience.

Tuesday Giveaways

Here at "The Life of a Home Mom" I'm giving away the following: (Make sure to click on the links to go to the actual giveaway/contest page):

-  Motherhood DVD ends 3/31
-  Kids Linen Blue Bath Time Waffle Collection Giveaway ends 3/25

Always remember I'm willing to host giveaways for a company but do ask that you ship the item to the winners.  I can be contacted at homemom3@gmail.com

Win one of 5 Sets of Clean & Clear finishes skin care products

http://www.gadaboutmedia.com/beauty-and-fashion/skincare/product-giveaway-clean-clear-finishes/
ends 4/9

Win Organic Cherish Gift Set from BABYBEARSHOP.
Organic Cherish Gift Set
ends 3/28
CharcoCaps is offering a monthly $100 pre-paid gasoline card (while supplies last). Simply take the gas etiquette quiz and sign-up to win the gas cards by following this link Gas Etiquette Quiz

Winners are contacted each month so that the pre-paid gas card can be purchased for their local gas station. This can sure be useful for daycations, staycations, or just driving around town to the supermarket, etc.

In the 3/22 issue of Woman's World -win an outdoor wooden playset and one year supply of Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies.
www.fibergummies.com/ww
ends 4/30, winner will be announced 5/4

Hop on over Little Fun; Little Learning and enter to win Peter Cottontail's DVD for Easter.

MomGadget is giving away a basket full of stuff:  gift basket includes a 16 oz jar of Triple Paste, 2 oz tube of Triple Paste, 3.5 oz tube of Triple Cream, brushed cotton receiving blanket, a plush Triple Paste comfort bear, and the Good Night Moon book by Margaret Wise. Products are arranged in a handy, reusable oval wicker basket. Enter to win your Triple Paste Cream it ends 4/10

Giant Toy Giveaway over at FreeStuff4Kids, you can win stuff like: table top foosball, Art master activity desk, Radio Flyer my 1st scooter and many others.
 
Mom Knows Everything is giving away a Studio MovieBox HD & Dazzle Video Creator Plus HD. Ends 3/28
 
Survival 4 Moms is giving away Boogie Wipes, actually 2 packs of 30 Boogie Wipes, some Boogie Wipes sachets, and coupons towards your next purchase of Boogie Wipes. End 3/31
 
The LT Experience is giving away a casserole Dish from Le Creuset. Hurry and enter this one ends 3/26.
 
Mommypalooza is giving away a really cute baby shower (like) kit. This includes an adorable Q-tip holder and a really cute elephant baby bank.
 
Shirley Jump (one of my favorite authors, I think I have all but one book) has a giveaway every month on her blog. Hurry and enter at Shirley Jump's website.
 
If I left anyone off just comment with your link to your GIVEAWAY in the comment section.

Snow, Snow, Go Away!

Remember that childhood song you use to sing for the rain, "Rain, Rain, Go away, come again another day"?  Well I'm sick and tired fo the snow, because it can literally make you sick and tired, or the entire family. Granted this time not everyone is sick but instead it made everything dangerous, cancelled plans, etc. Ugh! While it may be pretty, right now I'm not feeling the love for it.

It began to snow on Friday, Friday afternoon had been in the 60-70s but it would soon get cold enough for it to become slush, sleet, freezing rain. Saturday it would continue to snow all day. We ended up purchasing a used car before it happened but once we got home it began.  Saturday morning we tried to see if everyone fit, I had my suspicions and sure enough the car is too small for all of us unless we make two trips. We had talked about going out for breakfast, SoccerBoy volunteered to stay home...he wanted on facebook and knew this would be his chance. We went over to Ihop and it had stopped snowing, course by the time we left it was snowing again.

This morning, the house is quiet except for the howling wind and as I watch the trees I can see them bending in unnatural ways. I almost think I'll hear a crack or snap and watch a tree fall. The snow has finally stopped, but now the cool air is back and Spring has once again been hidden from us. Hopefully the snow will stay gone this time and not come out until November. Enjoy the pics.

The good news is this snow is the snowman kind and the kids will end their Spring Break making snow castles.

LinenKids Giveaway

It's another GIVEAWAY here at "The Life of a Home Mom" remember that review of our Linen Stuffed Rabbit Boy that we got. The company is focused on making their products eco-friendly and fun. Today they let me know that they wanted to giveaway one of their brand new products to a lucky reader.

Prize: 
1 lucky reader will get a Kids Linen Blue Bath Time Waffle Collection. (yes the picture is brown and white but the one you will win is BLUE)

What's that exactly? One lucky winner will get a a back scrubber, sponge and bath mitt with a convenient loop on the side in sizes adapted for their little hands. All this from the wonderful people at LinenKids.

Rules:
1.  Head on over to LinenKids (http://www.linenkids.com/) and tell me one other item you would like. It can be anything from one of their clothes, towels, toys, etc. Just tell me what exactly in the comment section.

Extra Entries:
2.  Tweet this, facebook this, blog it.
3.  Fan me at Twitter (www.twitter.com/homemom3) or facebook (Eliza Ferree- Writer)

4.  I don't want to leave the wonderful people at LinenKids out so extra entries if you:
Fan LinenKids on Twitter (www.twitter.com/linenkids) or facebook (LinenKids)

Deadline:  I will do the drawing at noon on March 25, 2010. The winner will have 24 hours to respond before I post a new winner.

OPEN TO ALL

Stuffed Linen Rabbit Boy Review

Little A was recently sent the cutest little Linen stuff rabbit boy from LinenKids over in Lithunia. I found out the company began when one mother (Jurate) of two boys wanted them to wear eco-friendly clothing. She has designed a line of eco-friendly clothing but didn't stop there. Jurate decided to make linen stuffed toys (bunnies, pigs, dolls, pillow dogs, etc) and wooden toys. (variety of wooden puzzles)

Our toy is an eco-friendly stuffed rabbit, very adorable and cuddly, you don't have to feel guilty purchasing him either because you know it is all safe.  He is wearing brown trousers with suspenders (or over-alls) and a nice linen pink and white plaid shirt that velcros up. His face is embroidered and has no loose parts or hard parts that a baby could harm themselves on.

This little bunny has long ears and stands at 22 inches tall, which is the perfect size for little ones to drag around with them or cuddle with when they sleep at night. He would also make the perfect pal for those Easter baskets that'll be popping up at the beginning of the month. Dont' you think? Center him inside a little basket, fill it with easter eggs and a few pieces of chocolate and you have yourself a unique basket that not every kid on the street is going to open up.

This bunny which has been named "Lenny" by the kids has found a very happy home. He came inside a linen cloth bag, the kids said it looked like an "old time mail sack" another said it reminded them of a potato sack. I thought it was cute with a little drawstring to let them open and discover what pal was inside. Little A is constantly dragging the bag around and filling it up with toys, the bunny is always with someone whether it is being played with, slept with or watching tv or even someone do their homework.

Want to order your own Stuffed Linen Rabbit boy or girl? Yes, there is even a girl one that wears a pretty blue dress, both costs €13.00 each, which I believe is roughly $19.86.  You'll have to do it soon because it takes 2 weeks to get him in the mail since it is handmade and in Lithuania.

I love how it looks like he is smiling at you. Isn't he cute?

There will be a giveaway coming in just a few minutes.

(The Stuffed Linen Rabbit boy was sent to us to review from the LinenKids.  We were not paid for this review, only by a gorgeous little bunny.)

She Wanted Bangs

BalletGirl has been asking for a while to get her hair cut and every time we settle down to do it something comes up. Well, yesterday I told her I was going to chop her hair if she didn't get it out of her eyes. She replied, "Really? You'll cut my hair if I leave it like this and then I can get bangs?" This told me there was no hope, the girl obviously wanted them badly.

Grabbing my scissors, water and a brush we sat down and started to do it. Course her hair was all one length, I hated to cut it. What does she do at the very end? She moved...well I can't fix it but she LOVES it. I think it'll take getting use to it. Here she is as a before and after.  By the way her bangs are parting weird, I guess it is because she always parted her hair this way and it was trained.  She isn't entirely sure now but I yesterday she LOVED it.

Motherhood DVD Giveaway

At the end of last month I reviewed, "Motherhood" starring Uma Thurman and I still say I LOVED that movie and think it's a great comedy and definitely touches on motherhood. Here's a small blurb of my review, if you want to read more click through.
Motherhood Review

When the alarm finally goes off the morning rush is in full gear. Mom is making breakfast for everyone, brewing coffee, signing papers, etc. Dad is sitting in a chair reading his paper as mom hurries around grabbing laundry to make a full load, grabbing shoes and putting them on children. On her way out she stops to ask the elderly neighborto see if they can help with anything.

Outside her daughter runs into the neighbor across the street that is obviously in a higher income bracket. The two girls try to compete with one another over parties until her own daughter stares up at her and says, "I'm going to have really cool goody bags. Right mom?" Talk about a guilt trip. Of course that's when she realizes she is still wearing her nightgown. (what mom hasn't done this?)

The pr company has asked that I do a giveaway and give one reader a copy of "Motherhood", which of course I'm happy to do. So who has the luck of the irish with them?
GIVEAWAY
RULE:  Tell me one thing about Motherhood. (good, bad, the ugly)
 
Extra entries for those that answer the above and do one of the following:
-  tweet this giveaway, blog about my giveaway, facebook it
 
-  Subscribe to my feed
-  become a fan of my twitter page (www.twitter.com/homemom3)
- follow me on my Facebook page:  Eliza Ferree- Writer
 
Deadline: 3/31 noon, I'll announce the winner on April 1st (No april foolin either)
ONLY US

Tuesday Giveaways

I'm a day late posting this, not sure why it didn't go through last night but here is my Tuesday Giveaway list and watch because I'm going to be posting a variety of giveaways today....I mean it is St. Patty's Day. Do you have the luck?

GIVEAWAYS:
Mirra is giving away one gift pack of their beauty products
Mirra's gift pack
ends 3/17

Penguin Pete wants to know your kid's favorite superhero or cartoon character! Respond to THIS POST and three responses will win a Klutz Superhero Starter Kit, a stainless steel water canteen and a jar of Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies. Winners randomly picked 3/19 at noon.

Klutz Superhero starter kit
Ends 3/19

Win a $20 Gift Certificate to My Polka Dot Princess
http://www.dealafina.com/giveaway-win-a-20-gift-certificate-to-my-polka-dot-princess-etsy

Win a Protect-a-Bed (read the rules at the link)
Protect a Bed
ends 3/21

Win one of 5 Sets of Clean & Clear finishes skin care products
http://www.gadaboutmedia.com/beauty-and-fashion/skincare/product-giveaway-clean-clear-finishes/
ends 4/9

Win Organic Cherish Gift Set from BABYBEARSHOP.
Organic Cherish Gift Set
ends 3/28

CharcoCaps is offering a monthly $100 pre-paid gasoline card (while supplies last). Simply take the gas etiquette quiz and sign-up to win the gas cards by following this link Gas Etiquette Quiz

Winners are contacted each month so that the pre-paid gas card can be purchased for their local gas station. This can sure be useful for daycations, staycations, or just driving around town to the supermarket, etc.
In the 3/22 issue of Woman's World -win an outdoor wooden playset and one year supply of Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies.
www.fibergummies.com/ww
ends 4/30, winner will be announced 5/4

Do you have a giveaway? List it in the comments

Wordless Wednesday: Leprechaun Boxes

The Kids' Leprechaun boxes and the little trinkets in each that the leprechaun gave them. They were so thrilled this morning. Girls are wearing their necklaces and excited about getting more charms, SoccerBoy is already planning on going to the Vintage store and purchasing another end of the world type of movie and Little A has all the letters on the fridge. Happy St.Patty's Day!!!

Read other WW posts at WW, 5MinutesforMom and 7ClownCircus.

St.Patty's Day Fun!!

Many of you know I celebrate a holiday a month but one of my favorite holidays has always been St.Patrick's Day (St.Patty's Day).  I mean the legends, stories, colors and everything are so much fun! We didn't always celebrate this day as a child, however once I had my first child we celebrated it every year. At first we just wore and had everything green, the second year I read a folk story about how the saint ran the snakes out of Ireland and tossed a big black one in a box into the sea and all the leprechauns were thankful and always left tokens in empty boxes they found on St.Patty's Day. So after this we made (craft boxes) our own leprechaun boxes every year, leave them outside the night before and on St.Patty's Day the kids go outside and search for them. The leprechaun always leaves a small trinket inside.

The boxes above are the ones the kids worked on today, obviously not completely done.

How many of you love the magic and color of St.Patty's Day?  Did you know the Chicago River is colored an emerald green every year for St.Patty's Day? Take a peek at it here:  Chicago River Goes Green However they do it, no one knows and the ones that may know are keeping their lips sealed.

Ready to cook for St.Patty's Day? Woman's Day has 9 St. Patty's Day recipes for you to follow along and make for the big day, the mashed potatoes, shephard's pie skillet and beer bread sound like something I want to try out this year. Or you can try your hand at making a Shamrock Shake, it may turn some away but sounds delious. For those that want a wine for their meal check out Natalie Maclean's Top 10 wines and food for St.Patty's Day.

While the adults are cooking up a storm, why not keep your kids busy with some of these crafts for kids that Karen W of "Little Fun; Little Learning" found in FamilyFun Magazine. We like the Wee Leprechaun best.  Linette over at Kids Fun Reviewed recently had a St.Patrick's Day Blog Carnival and has a wonderful list full of St.Patrick's Day Crafts and desserts, head over and check them out. The Cupcake photos look good enough to eat.There are also St.Patty's day card, finger puppet, leprechaun hat cupcakes and the hat craft, etc.

Here's a quick snapshot or two of the kids at the St.Patty's Day Parade and one of the floats.

What will you be doing for St. Patrick's Day? If you got to see a St.Patrick's Day parade tell us which floats did you like the best. My kids each had their own favorites but something tells me they enjoyed the loot even more.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, don't forget to wear your green!

Top 10 Wines for St. Patty's Day from Natalie Maclean

Natalie's Top 10 Green Wine & Food Matches

1. Corned beef and cabbage: Pinot Blanc

2. Irish Stew: Cabernet Franc

3. Spring Asparagus: Gruner Veltliner

4. Field greens salad: Riesling

5. Tomatoes: Pinot Noir

6. Green peppers: Sparkling Wine

7. Grilled veggies: Rose

8. Green peas: Sauvignon Blanc

9. Spinach and bacon salad: Merlot

10. Artichoke: Verdicchio

For those that don't know Natalie Maclean has come up with a new and "Green" Mobile Application for your phone. This time you will know exactly what wines would go good with certain foods. Check it out Nat Decants has the following:

- Find 380,000 professionally tested food and wine pairings

(not generated by computer algorithm)

- Access thousands of wine reviews by an independent journalist

- Search the reviews by winery, price, score, region, grape, vintage, food match

- Track your wines in your virtual cellar and add your own journal notes and scores

- Search a directory of 10,000+ wineries to buy wine or plan a visit

- Find thousands of tasty, tested recipes for every wine

- Get wine savvy with articles, glossary definitions & blog posts

- Share on Twitter, Facebook and e-mail with friends

So you won't go wrong and you can make everything Green for St.Patty's Day! Oh and did I tell ya....it's FREE!!

A Tropicana Update

I told ya recently that I am now a "Tropicana Mom" and that MomCentral and Tropicana sent me a $50 Gift Card so I could purchase some of the juice to share an honest review with ya'll. First, I kid you not that you can really take advantage of this right now.

Go to Tropicana.com and sign up, once you sign up by your juice (make sure it has "Juicy Rewards" on the carton) and once at home sign in and add your code to your account. Once you have your desired amount you can cash out using your points for any of the rewards you want.  Don't forget that several bloggers will list Juicy Rewards codes on their blogs.

Here's the juices I bought (keep in mind I have 4 kids and 2 adults):

-Pinapple Mango  6 points-code on back
-No pulp              6 points-code on back
-Lots of pulp (hubby loves)  3 points- code under cap
-No pulp orange/tangerine (I liked this one)  3points- code under cap
-No pulp calcium (another favorite)  3 points-code under cap
-Big jug of no pulp original 6 points-code under cap

Currently I have 42 points in my account. If I were to get a reward right now I could easily get a get a free membership at a gym when I buy one. So a BOGO deal and only 9 points.

Don't forget to sign up as a follower on Tropicana's Facebook and Tropicana's Twitter to get secret codes to use. They post these every few days so you can always add up and end up getting things for 50% off, bogo deals, etc. I'll start tossing out the codes as I see them to help ya'll out.

"I wrote this review while participating in the Tropicana Juicy Insiders Ambassador program by Mom Central on behalf of Tropicana. I received a $50 Visa gift card to use in redemption of the points and to facilitate my review."

Contest Winners....

I'm just going to do one post with all the winners from my contests that have recently ended in case you didn't see who won:

The winner of the Yo Gabba Gabba Giveaway:   Arkay (who's already been contacted)

The winner of the Hit the Deck Giveaway:   Rosie (I can't figure out how to email ya so please email me at homemom3@gmail.com)

The winner of the Florastor Giveaway:  Michelle Smith

The winner of the SoftLips Giveaway:  AmyD

The winners of the Rainbow Brite Game Giveaway are:

Busy Bee, Cass, Okaat, MasonGranny59, dvice

I will be emailing you all for your mailing addresses, or you can email me at homemom3@gmail.com

If you didn't win, not to worry there'll be new giveaways coming right up. Have a GREAT day everyone!!

Happy Birthday Little A!!!!

Today Little A turned 3-years-old! Can you believe it? I remember posting here and telling everyone all about feeling sick and how later I found out I was pregnant.  I also remember feeling scared out of my mind when I got that cortizone shot and right after that finding out. The pregnancy was one of my best ones, even if I gained a ton of weight from it. 

Remember how I painted the Belly for Halloween? That was his first Halloween and he wasn't even out of the tummy yet, he saw that picture last night as I was combing through my blog to look at photos. (one good thing about keeping a blog, it stores your memories) He kept saying, "ew yuck, mommy eat me." I tried telling him he was in there. Big mistake, he ran to dad.

Finally, it was time for him to be born. He already passed what I thought would've been his due date but docs let him keep going. He was induced and came much later in the evening of March 14, 2007. He was the longest one I had to wait on. I went in at 5am and had to wait until almost 5pm to give birth. Normally I went in during labor and gave birth within that hour, if not sooner. He came with a shock, the doctor broke my water and left. I had told him the moment he did that he'd be coming but didn't believe me. Thankfully he got back in there. Phew.

I wont' lie there have been times where this little man scared me: Within the first few months he didn't respond to noise or even cry, when we took him in for hearing they said maybe he just didn't have a reason.Eventually we heard him. Phew. Another time he quit breathing, dad rushed him to ER, right before he got there he started back up and doctors never could figure out why. At two months old he'd cut his first tooth completely through. OUCH!

Today, he's my little daredevil and I wouldn't change him at all. We had a small party today, green streamers and a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Not to mention his gifts, his favorite being his blocks which he even passed his cake to get back on the ground and play. All in all, I'd say this was a great day and a special one to think on the past. Happy Birthday Little A!

St. Patty's Day Parade

Today we went to the St.Patty's Day Parade here in our town, now normally there are a TON of people that show up. So much that there are like three rows of people, one behind another on the sidewalks. This was not the case today, at least not when there was rain coming down. But before heading out, which we were walking (remember the car broke down) we prepared everyone with umbrellas, warm clothes and jackets. The stroller we had a blanket and pillow in and went on our merry way...of course we checked Facebook to see if the parade was still on. (they'd been announcing it all day)

Noticing there weren't many people there we started wondering, but decided to stay anyways at least until 1:30. The parade was suppose to start at 1pm but with the rain ya never know. The kids sat under a pavillion to keep from getting wet, by this time it was just sprinkling so we weren't very worried about it. Once the parade start I looked under the stroller and found Little A sleeping, there was no way I would wake him for this.

My other three went up to the yellow tape and waited patiently for it to begin. They each had their favorites too. BabyGirl of course liked watching the horses come down the street and the little dancers. BalletGirl was impressed by a red car that went by, it stopped right in front of us and she shouted:

"Mom, I'm going to have that car one day." (check out that car, my girl has some expensive taste)

SoccerBoy liked watching the flame throwers, which I must say was also my favorite part. Of course I think their other favorite part was catching all the loot.