Category: Uncategorized

I had seen an ad several times on Facebook for something called the “U-Play mat”  at first glance it looked interesting.  After seeing the ad several times I decided to check it out.  http://www.facebook.com/PLAYTHISWAY

Then I found the video about the U-Play mat:

The more I read and learned about the U-Play mat by Dr. Jen, the more I just had to try it for myself.  The U-Play mat was developed by Dr. Jen, a pediatrician, with consultation from Speech and Occupational Therapists. Dr. Jen is also a mother herself with 2 sets of twins.  Read more about the creation of the U-Play mat here: https://www.playthisway.com/about.php

The U-Play mat attracted me because, not only am I a mom of 3 boys, but I’m also a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA/L for short). Personally, I thought of how I would love to use the U-Play mat with my 1 yr old.  He was on the verge of saying more words. He only had the “mama, dada, and no” down at the point that I was researching the U-Play mat.

On a professional level, I was starting to have Occupational Therapy treatment implementations pop into my head.  For instance: communication for daily tasks, increasing attention span, focused activity for sitting balance exercises, just to name a few.

Dr. Jen and the caring folks at  Playthisway.com  sent me a U-Play mat and 2 card decks to try myself.  I received the U-animal deck and the U-food deck along with the convenient storage tote.  There are additional card decks available: Additional Card Decks

This is everything I received. As you can see, my 1 yr old quickly started exploring.  I let him feel and look over the mat as I read through the 10 exercises listed in the “How to use your UPLAY mat” booklet.  I decided to start off simple.  I started with the U-animal deck. I placed all the cards in the clear pockets and seated my 1 yr old son in the center of the U shape.  This shape allows the child to see the cards around them.

My son looked over all the cards.  I started by sitting in front of him on the floor and pointing to a picture. I would then say the name of the animal.  To be quite honest, the first time all he wanted to do was crawl around all over it.  He’d stop and look when I pointed to an animal and said the name, but would move on.  This session only last about…oh 20 seconds and he crawled away to find the his sippy cup.  But, as the instructions state, you should find a little time each day to use the U-Play mat and engage with your child. Do it in a quiet spot with minimal distractions.

The next day was not much better.  After about 4 days however, his attention to the U-Play exercises started to increase.  I tried only placing cards in every other slot on the U-Play mat so as not to over-whelm him with animals.   I started to learn how to engage him more in the activity.  I would point to the cow for instance and say “cow..moo!”  He would laugh.  Then we’d go to the pig. I would say “pig…and snort” and he would laugh even harder.  By the end of the week he was looking around the U-Play mat. He began to place his hand on top of card.  I would then say the name of the animal and the appropriate animal sound of the animal card his hand was on. He would laugh. Then he’d choose another and put his hand on that.  By this point his attention to the U-Play mat activity had increased to about 1 min.

Then one of the most exciting moments (this is the mommy part of me talking). I pointed to the cow and said the name. He was looking at it.  I waited, then pointed again and said “cow”.  He put his little hand on top of the card and said “cow”.  I wanted to cry and burst at the same time.  By the end of trying every day for 2 weeks his attention to the U-Play mat exercise I chose had increased to 2 min and finally said another word.  It may not sound like much but progress is being made.  And for a 1 yr old, I’d say that’s pretty good.  It was 2 min of time you can tell he enjoyed.

There are 10 exercises in the booklet like: Matching (each deck contains doubles), Same, Different, Yes/No activities and more. They have clear easy to understand directions with examples.  You can also make up your own cards using index cards. Try writing a single letter on a card–maybe A, B, C, D etc. or numbers to use.  I even played a memory game with my 6 year old. (like the game Memory where you put the cards face down and each player get to take a turn flipping to cards over to find a match) when he made a match I let him put them into the pockets on the U-Play mat.

1. GROUP A – REQUESTING/MANDING: Works on request-making skills.
2. GROUP B – NAMING/TACTING: Works on skills for identification and naming
of objects in the everyday environment.”

That is directly from the U-Play mat autism manual from the link listed above.  I recommend reading over that section.  There is a lot of good information and ideas to use the U-Play mat appropriately with a child diagnosed with Autism.

As a COTA/L, the advice I would give, is to set realistic personal goals for you and your child.  This would be included for anyone using the U-Play mat.  Don’t expect to sit down your first session and have your child be able to interact and perform for 15 minutes.  An appropriate goal for the day may be to have your child attend to the task for 1 min.  Maybe not necessarily have correct answers the first time.

If your child is able, let them explore the mat and cards for themselves the first time.  If they are able, let them choose the card deck they would like to use. If they are using something they are interested in, they are more likely to participate.  As Dr. Jen points out, praise your child for correct responses.  Don’t forget to have fun!

I get to help choose the best answer!




Please do not leave entry comments here, they must be on the U-Play facebook page to be official. But I would love your feedback on the review!

When I was a consultant for a home sales company I was always looking for a new outlet to showcase my products. I had heard of having online or eparties but was not sure where or how to start the proper way.  I was lucky to fall on: http://myvendorparty.webs.com/

The owner of the site, Andrea, is friendly and helpful.  She even had periodic events with multiple vendors back to back which was nice because some people would stay from the previous vendor party or come early for the next one and learn about your products.

This would also be a great meet and greet and different way to showcase your etsy shop, handmade items, and is great for all you home consultants like Tupperware, Lia Sophia, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, etc.

It’s very relaxed.  I hate talking in front of people.  I have sort of an irrational fear of that, so this was perfect for me.  It was always a lot of fun. You choose the dates and times along with Andrea.  When I last used the site 30 minute time slots were free and only $1 for an hour time slot.  Please double check with Andrea on this when requesting to set up a party.

You can also request a party if you’d like to host an AVON party or another vendor.

I’m no longer a consultant and I am not compensated in any way for referring people.  I just truly think this is a great tool to use for anyone looking for fun, unique, and relaxing ways to showcase their home business.

The site again is:
http://myvendorparty.webs.com/

    Messin’ around on facebook, as I do sometimes, I came across an ad for Bacon Hot Sauce .  I’m thinking “Bacon Hotsauce my husband would be all over that”.  My husband keeps several bottles of hot sauce on hand at all times. He eats it on pizza, burgers, tacos, burritos, mix it with ranch dressing for a dip, etc. Here is Bacon Hot Sauce Facebook Page: Bacon Hot Sauce on Facebook

    I wondered what it was like.  Bacon Hot Sauce was generous enough to send my husband and I, a bottle to try.  I started thinking immediately what I wanted to try it on.

 Looking at the bottle the label has this funny pic of a pig breathing fire and sweating with steam coming out of it’s ears.

  The first thing I wanted to do was smell it.  Would it smell like bacon?  I tore the seal off the bottle and opened it up.  Sure enough,  mix of bacon and…well…hot sauce.  After that, I wanted to try it.  Immediately I put a small dap on my finger to taste.  Woooo, ok definitely hot sauce!  Tolerable for me.  I like hot but I’m the kind of girl that when we go out for wings, orders the medium not the mild or hot.  This is just right for me.  And the Bacon flavor is noticeable.  Not overwhelming, but a nice blend with the hot sauce.

  I tried it on a hamburger during a 4th of July outing.  Outstanding on a hamburger.  Do you like a bacon cheeseburger?  Then try this on your burger or cheeseburger.  Adds the bacon flavor with a little bite.

My husband loves my Buffalo Chicken Dip.  So, I made some for the the hubs.

 

Just so you know that’s hubby’s hand in the pic not mine.  He had trouble getting the shot I wanted when I was pouring the Bacon Hot Sauce  in, so I took over.  He did try though.  Maybe he has a hand modeling job in the future?  lol. Anywho,  the Bacon Hot Sauce Buffalo Chicken Dip turned out fantastic.  Hubby and I each had an appetizer plate full.  The Bacon flavoring really gives it an extra something that sets it apart from using a typical hot sauce.

I think most people have their own variation of the Buffalo Chicken dip but here is mine:

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Bacon Hot Sauce:

–small can of canned chunk chicken
–3/4 brick of 8 oz cream cheese (you can add the whole brick if you like it creamier)
–approx 1/2 up shredded cheese ( I used cheddar and montorrey jack blend but you can use whatever you  like)
–about 1 tsp cayenne pepper (you can omit this if you don’t like it too spicy, the Bacon Hot Sauce itself would be good)
–Bacon Hot sauce to taste ( I used about 2 tablespoons full in this recipe)

I used a small dip crock pot.  Add canned chicken and cream cheese.  Warm until cream cheese is melted then stir. Add shredded cheese and mix until melted.  Add 1 tsp cayenne pepper and mix.  Then add Bacon Hot Sauce. Serve with tortillas, corn chips, crackers, or whatever else you’d like.

Bacon Hot Sauce has great customer service as well. You can get your own bottle of Bacon Hot Sauce here: http://www.baconhotsauce.com/

Review Summary: Definetly worth a try.  Great for something a little different to add to your meals as an ingredient or condiment.  


GIVEAWAY:

Bacon Hot Sauce has been so generous as to offer 2 bottle of Bacon Hot Sauce to my readers.  2 winner will be chosen to each win a bottle for themselves.

Mandatory Entry:  This must be done first before any bonus entries will be counted.  
“Like”  Bacon Hot Sauce on Facebook 
and leave a comment telling me you did so.  I will check. If you already “like” bacon hot sauce on facebook just leave a comment telling me so.




***Please remember to include your email so I can contact you if you win.  TIP: put it in this format:
joeschmo at blah dot com  to avoid spammers***

Bonus Entries: Leave a comment for each if it says +2 leave two comments, +1 leave one comment and so on

1. Follow Bacon Hot Sauce on twitter (+1) entry:   @baconhotsauce

2. Visit  www.baconhotsauce.com  and tell me the name of a recipe you’d like to add to their recipe section. (+2)

3. “Like” Free Stuff, Fun Sites, Contests, and More on facebook (+1) entry:  FFCandM on facebook

4. Follow me via google friend connect.  Widget is in Right hand column (+1)

5. Follow me via Networked Blogs: Widget is in Right hand column (+1)

6. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs using the brown top mommy blogs button in Right Column (+2)

7.  Follow me on twitter (+1) entry: @angiewith3

8.  Tweet this giveaway message on twitter: ”  I entered to win a bottle of @baconhotsauce from @angiewith3 you can too  http://bit.ly/bhreviewffcandm  7/19 10pm EST Pls RT ”  and leave the tweet address in a comment.

9. Post this giveaway message on facebook: ”  I entered to win a bottle of @baconhotsauce here, you can too: http://bit.ly/bhreviewffcandm “
leave a link to your facebook comment (hover over the time stamp, click on it, copy and paste the url address in a comment.

10.  Subscribe to Free Stuff, Fun Sites, Contests and More via RSS feed using button in Right Column (+1)

11.  Subscribe via email to Free Stuff, Fun Sites, Contests, and More using sign up in Right Column (+1)

Giveaway will run until July 19, 2010 at 10pm EST.  Winner will be chosen using random.org.  Winner(s) will have 48 hours to reply to winning email. If winners have not replied by that time a new winner(s) will be chosen.  US entries only.

I was provided with a bottle of Bacon Hot Sauce for review purposes.  No monetary compensation was received for this post.  I was under no obligation to give a positive review.  All opinions stated in this post are my own.  And sorry my husband but you are not eligible to win.

Random.org drew lucky number 1

Pam said…

I follow. I like the Dallas Cowboys.

Winner for the eos—evolution of smooth products giveaway—eco friendly and frugal
I subscribe to the RSS feed!

Lucky number 15 on that one

Got2b Smooth Operator winner—Kim lucky number 50 for this one.

The comments on this one were all kinds of crazy. I had to write them down and number because the comments were saying there were 80 but in reality there were only 74 because there were irrelevant comments posted on the giveaway that i had to delete but blogger was still counting them as a comment.  That will be my next DIY tuturial I look up…numbered comments.

I know some of you have seen information lately about CSNstores.com. I decided to check them out. Looking through CSNstores.com I saw an array of products. Just about anything you might be looking for, for you home like lights for instance.  My husband and I are always looking for cost effective ways to improve our home,  lights are an easy and cost effective way to increase the look and warmth of the inside or outside  of your home. When adding outdoor lights it can also increase the safety of the outside of your home.  Walkways are more visible.  You’re able to see who’s is coming toward your house.  Your children can play in the backyard just a little longer with a good flood light.  Set the ambiance of your outdoor pond or garden with accent lights. There’s a lot of things that adding lighting to your home can do.  They don’t have to be expensive to serve the purpose.

                                                                Kichler accent spotlights

My husband and I were talking about wall sconces in our foyer.  I think these ones from www.csnlighting.com/
are beautiful and inexpensive.

                                                                               Coventry 1 light wall sconce pewter

 

These are only a couple examples of csnstore.com’s great lighting selection.  www.csnstores.com has over 200+ stores to choose from.  If your looking for say, toys for your child’s upcoming birthday, they have that.

Maybe your looking at meeting your fitness goals and want to look at exercise equipment. Yea, they have that too.  

Me I’m in the market for a new 2 quart saucepan.  I used the only 1 I had to make candles now I can’t use it to cook in. Though, it’s going to be tough choosing since we also need an exhaust fan in our bathroom and this one is just too cute in the  lights section.

Stop in to  http://www.csnlighting.com/   
or any of the other 200+ stores that www.csnstores.com has to offer.  You’re sure to find what you were looking for.  Or maybe something will find you.  

Have you added lighting somewhere inside or outside of your home? How did it change the look and quality of the space?

Free Stuff, Fun Sites, Contests, and More