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Jul
3
Mabel’s Labels Camp/School Pack Giveaway
Filed Under contest/giveaway, family life, for baby, for mom, fun stuff, paper products | 5 Comments
It is that time of year…..sending the kids off to camp and mentally preparing for back to school (which will be here before you know it!). We were recently sent a fab collection of personalized labels from Mabel’s Labels. Mabel’s sticky labels are famous the world over! They withstand the dishwasher, microwave, UV Rays and hard wearing children. I enjoyed sticking them on all my kid’s important “things” and my kid’s love seeing their names on their favorite “things”. No more lost jackets and bags- we have attached our fun “Tag-Mates” to all of our important gear. I loved how easy it was to apply the labels- simply peel off the adhesive and attach.You can find a wide variety of labels and more on their website: canister labels, labels for your spices, clothing labels, fun and creative tags for teachers, and lots more! We are excited to host a giveaway for a FREE combo camp/school pack. This pack includes 15 sticky labels, 8 shoe labels, 40 iron-on labels and 2 bag tags. Simply tell us why you should win this great giveaway in the comments section.
Deadline to enter giveaway is Saturday, July12th at 11:59 pm central time. Be sure to include a valid email address. Winner will be randomly chosen via random.org.
Winner will be notified via email and announced on this post. We’ll also be posting the winner’s name to PRIZEYWinners, so if you don’t want to leave your email address, just check there for the winner announcement after this giveaway closes.
If the winner does not claim prize by July 18th, 2008 they will forfeit their prize to alternate winner who will be drawn at random.
May
23
Summer memories
Filed Under blog blast, bragging rights, family life | Leave a Comment
PBN and Huggies® Little Swimmers® disposable swim pants have teamed up and are asking bloggers to reminisce about our family summer adventures - especially those in the water!
I have many memorable summer adventures. In fact they are all memorable! My kids love the water as much as I do. We have a backyard pool that has provided many memorable moments for our family as well as the beach vacations we take every summer. Never the same place twice. We try a different beach every year. Last year was Myrtle Beach and this year will be San Diego. But why tell you about our memorable summer adventures when I can show you?
I can’t end this post without mentioning my most bittersweet summer memory. Last summer we put our beloved 10 year old Golden to sleep because he was losing his battle with nasal cancer. He loved swimming in our pool so we treated him to one last swim before his peaceful departure from earth. He didn’t swim with his usual zealous but just sitting in the cool water had such a calm and comforting effect. We will never forget him or his love for the water. ~Kristie
To participate:
Write a post about your family summer adventures. Post anytime this weekend - Friday, May 23 through Monday, May 26. Make sure to link http://www.littleswimmers.com/na and http://blog.parentbloggers.com somewhere in your post. Then email the link to your post at parentbloggers@gmail.com.
The winner will receive a “Summer Fun Essentials Package” - a beach bag filled with summertime must-haves such as beach towels, pool toys, a sand castle building kit, and a cooler. Plus, products from the Huggies® Little Swimmers® line, of course!
May
13
Not your ordinary personalized storybook!
Filed Under books, family life, for baby, gifts, personalized | Leave a Comment
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I am thrilled to share our latest product review for a personalized storybook from custommadeforkids.com.I was sent The First Adventures of Incredible You which was customized by me filling out an order form that contained 17 questions. The questions are generic enough that they can pertain to just about any family but felt specific to my family when I read the finished product. It feels like the book was written just for my family with specifics such as my youngest splashing in the tub with her sister or how everyone comes running when daddy makes brownies.
I created the book for my youngest who is two. She absolutely loves the book and how could she not with such colorful illustrations and her name along with personal details written into the story?
I have given and received many personalized books over the years and must say that this is by far the best I’ve ever read. The quality of the book is superb right down to how my child’s name and other personal information is integrated into the story. It truly feels like it was written just for us.
I’m not the only parent who feels this book is the bomb. The First Adventures of Incredible You is the winner of the iParenting Media Award for Outstanding Product in the Gift category. This award winning book is the perfect gift for keepsake baby gifts, baptism gifts, birthday gifts, or holiday gifts for newborns and young children. Not only is it a great gift for children but also for grandparents and expecting parents.
Take the virtual tour yourself to see how beautifully crafted this book is.
A big thanks to custommadeforkids.com for providing us with such a treasure to review. Not your ordinary personalized storybook indeed! ~Kristie
Mar
17
In the Motherhood is in the hood!
Filed Under family life, fun stuff | 2 Comments
The oh so hysterical Suave and Sprint conceived In The Motherhood webisodes are back! Chelsea Handler and Leah Remini have returned for this second season along with Jenny McCarthy for more hysterical mommy adventures.
At www.inthemotherhood.com moms can submit their stories, vote for their favorites and watch as the winning submissions are turned into new episodes starring Jenny, Leah, and Chelsea. You will also find activities and a mom based community where you can connect with other woman.
If you missed the first season you really should also check out those webisodes. Not only are they funny but real moms can relate because they are real mom stories.
Dec
6
Day Runner knows Family Matters
Filed Under Uncategorized, family life | 1 Comment
I used to pride myself in being a very organized mom but all organization went out the window after throwing a fourth kid into the mix. I let my desk get so cluttered with paper, mail, catalogs, and books that I thought being an organized mom was never going to happen again.I was so excited when Parent Bloggers Network offered Family Matters for me to review. I was hopeful that the Family Matters color coded products by Day Runner could help me get my life organized.
I’ve had the products for a couple of months now and I have managed to get organized and stay organized.
Exhibit A
This is my desk prior to receiving my Day Runner Family Matters products. As you can see it was a complete disorganized mess.Exhibit B
Isn’t this much better?
I lined up the color coded storage cases with the activity folders on the right. I assigned a color for each of my kids except the baby and two for me. One for personal paperwork and the other for business. Every day after school my kids put important papers from their backpack into their color assigned storage case. This has eliminated the stacks of papers on my counters and the loss of important forms.The undated erasable wall planner was on the wall to the left until my kids got a hold of it but it was nice for the short time I had it. My only problem was that I didn’t update it as often as I should. Maybe that’s why it took me a week to realize it was missing.
I love the erasable door hangers that are also color coded. I gave my husband one so he can jot down things he needs me to pick up at the store but he kept misplacing it. I think a magnetic strip on the back would be a great addition to the hangers so they can be placed on the refrigerator when not hanging on a doorknob.My kids use theirs to remind them of things they need to take to school. They are the perfect last minute reminder as we walk out the door to the garage.
My favorite Family Matters product is the wire bound monthly/weekly appointment book that I had no idea how much I needed until I had it. The planner is also color coded and is divided up into monthly and weekly sections. It doesn’t begin until January 2008 but I’ve already started filling in important dates. I prefer the monthly view but I can see the weekly view being useful during very busy weeks. I keep it open on my desk so it’s handy for jotting down notes and important dates. There is also a very helpful priority to-do list on the bottom of each page of the weekly view.
Overall I really like the products. The color coding is a great way to keep a busy family organized and my kids think the color coding is fun which also helped keep them organized. My only complaint is that I would prefer the products to be a bit more stylish and offer patterns or bolder colors.
Aug
22
Fathering Your School Age Child
Filed Under books, family life, for dad | Leave a Comment
I signed up with the Parents Blogger Network to review Fathering Your School-Age Child: A Dad’s Guide to the Wonder Years
because I thought it would be a good read for my husband. Three of our four children are between the ages of five and nine but we are far from experts on parenting.
I gave the book and a deadline to my husband. The book sat untouched on the counter for a week. Not surprising. He doesn’t read much beyond the daily newspaper, business journal, or People magazine so I read it for him. If I came across something that I thought would be of interest to him then I bookmarked the page and put in place of the People magazine on the bathroom counter.
We both tend to be cynics when it comes to parenting books. Most of the ones that we have read preach more of a perfect parenting type of approach. They left us feeling inadequate especially since we have children with ADHD, learning disabilities, and sensory issues. Most parenting books don’t address these issues unless the book is specifically written for one of these issues. This book scored big points with us on this matter. Armin A. Brott addresses how to be a dad to a child with ADHD or LD throughout the book. We like that he didn’t single these kids out. He also sends a clear message that it’s okay to be a good enough dad.
The book is easy to read and will be great for referring back to as our children grow. He breaks the book down into chapters for each age between three and nine. Then he breaks down each chapter into the physical, emotional, and intellectual milestones of each age.
The book is current and up to date on technology. He gives recommendations for toys and video games in addition to instant message acronyms. The back of the book is chock full of resources for parents which could be a book its self. Brott definitely did his homework.
Overall the book is a fun and informative read for dads AND moms.
Aug
9
Quality family time is a pricless gift
Filed Under family life | 2 Comments
School starts for my kids in a couple of weeks so I’m doing my best to enjoy the more than enough quality time I have with them during the summer months. Once school starts so does our very busy schedule of homework, sports, dance classes, and music lessons. Squeezing quality family time in is not easy so we have created “family traditions”. These are traditions that our kids look forward to and will hopefully remember with fond memories when they are adults.
Our first tradition was our commitment to our faith. We attend mass on Saturday nights as a family followed with going out to dinner and letting the kids take turns deciding what restaurant we should dine at. Church may not be their favorite thing to attend but they really look forward to dinner out. I hope we can keep them enjoying this tradition into their teenage years even if it means them bringing a friend.
Another tradition is our Family Council which we have every month or so. We come together at the kitchen table and take turns telling each family member what we love about them then we go back around to tell each other any concerns or problems we have. This has been a great way to improve our family communication. Our kids love it because it gives them an open forum to tell me and my husband what their beefs are with us.
Our kid’s favorite traditions involve play. They all love to perform so they love putting shows on for us. Their dressing up, dancing, and acting out plays will be such a treasured memory for us once they outgrow this tradition. “Hard Tricks” with my husband is another tradition we will miss once they are grown. They have some very impressive balancing on daddy’s feet and flip-over tricks.
We also have some very important holiday traditions with our extended family. There’s the Annual Turkey Contest where the kids use their imaginations to come up with a turkey creation. All the kids win first prize but they don’t seem to catch on because one may win first prize for best use of pine cones and another wins for best use of a rubber glove and feathers. They all win a cheap dollar store prize and then an announcement is made for the first place winner to get their picture taken so they all run in to stand for their photo. They are either truly oblivious to the fact that they are all first place winners or are just pretending because it’s so much fun.
We also have an Appreciate The Christmas Tree party the Saturday after Thanksgiving where we honor our godchildren. Godparents and godchildren swap gifts and Santa stops by for a visit.
Another way we spend quality time with our kids is to take two family vacations a year. We kick off every Christmas season with a trip to Branson, Missouri and take a beach vacation every summer.
Quality time is the best gift I can give my kids and it doesn’t have to cost a dime. Cuddling before bed, reading books, playing board or card games, and listening to them with my full attention is the kind of quality time my kids want most. I’m doing my best to give them my most quality time now because all too soon will come the time when they won’t want it as much as they do now.
This post is brought to you in conjunction with Parent Bloggers Network & EA’s Wii-Boogie, a family gaming experience. Shake it. Sing it. Create it.
