Category: Uncategorized

This is a little off topic but I was thinking about this today.  Or, I guess thinking about what my husband said to me. I needed to borrow his SUV yesterday to pick up a bike for one of my kids.  My car doesn’t have much room.  He reluctantly let me borrow it and he took my car to work.  He came home from work last night.  He said “it was kind of refreshing driving your car to work today, would you mind if I took it tomorrow?”  I was a little shocked by the request since he was reluctant to trade for the day in the first place.  (Also he has a fairly new suv with all the bells and whistles and my car is old and has no bells and whistles).  I said “Why?” He didnt’ want to answer me at first so I just told him “I don’t care go ahead”.  He sat there for a minute and said “I liked taking your car it smells like you.  I like that especially when I’m driving to work”

I was not expecting that answer but it made me happy.  So now your turn, What is the last sweet thing your spouse/significant other said to you?  This is meant to be fun and maybe even get us thinking about our partners.  And please nothing to graphic lol.  🙂

I became a member of booksneeze.com.  I had received my first book and reviewed it.  If you read my blog you know that I’m always looking for a way to get something for free or at a bargain price.  I don’t mind if I have to work for it a little bit. I started wondering, are there any other programs like booksneeze.com out there?  Completing some searches I found a few.  I’ll share them with you, because, well, that’s what my blog is about.  Letting you know about Good Freebies, Fun sites to visit, Sweepstakes I find, review of products that fit a budget and whatever else might save you money.

www.booksneeze.com
Christian books

Litfuse Group
 

Waterbrook Multnomah 
Christian books

Navpress
Christian books

Harper Collins First Look Program (temporarily not available)
You don’t have to be a blogger to be involved in this one.  I did this one for a while and received many very good mainstream books from them.  You can choose your genres that you’re interested in.  I reviewed books like:  Football Hero by Tom Green (very good even if you’re not into football, i think I cried once or twice), Ever by Gail Carson Levine, Seeker #1: The Quest Begins by Erin Hunter and many others.  The message on the First look page says they are on Hiatus while they “create and even better book program”

As I find more I’ll list them.  I’m also looking for main stream publishing companies that have blogger book review programs that aren’t necessarily christian books.

I was looking at new posts from blogs I follow on my dashboard. I came across this post from http://craftedition.blogspot.com/
to make your own stamped washer necklace.

I’ve seen similar necklaces around for sale several different places. I thought it would be nice to get one customized with all of my kids’ names on it. Now with this post I can make my own.

She tells you where to get the supplies and for convenience even made up little kits to buy with all the hardware you need so you can make your own. How great is that! Follow the link below to see what I’m talking about.

http://craftedition.blogspot.com/2010/05/stamped-washer-necklaces.html

ORIGINAL blog post with even more pics: http://notsoidlehands.blogspot.com/2010/04/jumpin-on-bandwagon-late-againwith_14.html

I have a couple of babies in my family that will be turning 1 soon.  One happens to be my youngest child.  When I look for gifts for children, whether it’s my own, a family member, or because one of my kids were invited to a party, I want to find something unique.  It’s hard to know if you’re niece already has this, or would little Johnny like that, or Didn’t my brother get him one of these last year?

I like to find unique places to buy gifts.  I have to admit, I stumbled onto http://www.ebeanstalk.com by accident. I was looking for information for my blog.  I started exploring the website.  I found myself thinking “Isn’t that cute?”  “I’ve never seen one of those before.”  “I bet ______ doesn’t have one of those.”

http://www.ebeanstalk.com  makes it easy to find the toys by having the toys broke down into age categories as well as being able to narrow it down to boys, girls, and top sellers.

For instance:
Baby toys I go to the website and click on Baby Toys on the left hand side. I list of cute little toys like these ones come up:

Big Buzz E Bee $29.95
Sights, sounds, peek a boo activities and more with this one.  Click the link to read what all it does.

Melissa and Doug Fill and Spill Mailbox $26.95There’s a few fill and spill toys on the market.  All very cute.  This is the first one I’ve seen.

Moving on there are a lot of other age categories to choose from.  Even up to 12 years and older:
Toys by Age
Looking through the 12 years and up section I see this:

Tin Can Robot $14.95 on eBeanstalk
Definitely unique.  I bet it would be a lot of fun too.  Making mental note of this one for later. It’s a kit that includes the parts.  All you need is a soda can to turn a used can into a neat toy.

Maybe you’re thinking that you just want a plain old trampoline, or bike, or whatever.  They have that too.

The site also offers birthday reminders, wishlist maker, and a section with expert advice on toys for the best learning and developmental toys.  This makes me happy being that I’m an Occupational Therapy Assist. They even have links to articles:
http://www.ebeanstalk.com/experts.php

What do I think eBeanstalk can work on?  Well if you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know it’s the prices.  eBeanstalk can we do something with that?  I did look at the clearance section on the site:  http://www.ebeanstalk.com/clearance.php  that’s a pretty good start.  I can’t say the prices will detour me from purchasing because they do offer unique toys I personally haven’t found anywhere else.  I’ll watch for deals though.  Also I found out that if you sign up for their newsletter:  eBeanstalk newsletter sign up you can safe 15%  and free standard shipping if your order is $65 or more.

All in all I will be back to the site.  Leave your comment and tell me what you think.

This is something we can all use a little of.  Thinking of 10 things that can make our lives happier and healthier.  This is my personal list in no certain order:

1.  Make time for the family–My husband and I work opposite shifts.  He doesn’t get to spend as much time with the kids as he’d like and we don’t get to spend enough time together.  But on his days off we try to make up for it.  I make a special meal. We all sit together and eat and discuss our day.  No tv’s on, no cell phone nothing. My husband also tries to make special guy time with our 3 boys.

2.  Take some “you” time–I know, as a mom, that’s probably one of the hardest things to do.  My time, when all the kids are in bed and before my husband gets home from work. I usually have about an hour and a half to myself.  That’s my facebook or blogging time, or my candle making time, or my reading time, whatever I feel like doing for me time.

3.  Get active with the family–Let’s face it, most of us aren’t as active as we should be.  I know I’m guilty. I do have a physical job outside the home which i love. I work as a therapist.  And as a therapist I see the trouble people can into by being sedintary.  I try to find a couple days a week to take all the kids out for a walk around town, kick the soccer ball around with them, take them to the playground (and be active with them….what a mom can enjoy the swings too right?) This also has a secondary benefit (See list number 1)

4.  Read your food labels–again I’m guilty.  I don’t always buy the healthiest things.  I’ve been making an honest effort over the last 2 years though to buy healthier food.  1% milk instead of 2%, having more fruits, veggies, and juices around the house instead of twinkies, soda, etc.Once I started really reading labels I was shocked to see some of the fat content, sodium amounts, calories in some food

5.  Make healthy eating fun and exciting for kids—One of my boys’ favorite treats is apples with peanut butter.  I like to crush plain cornflakes into the peanut butter to to give it a unique crunchy texture.  I started swapping their white bread for whole wheat bread and cutting their sandwiches into cute shapes You can use metal cookie cutters, ravioli cutters whatever you have that works.

6.  Talk to your kids about healthy eating habits–I started talking to my kids about healthy choices and examples of healthy choices in terms they’d understand around 4 years old.  I even made a little quiz:  what’s a better snack?  oranges or a snickers bar, what’s a better drink choice?  chocolate milk or soda?  and so on.  I also tried to explain why it was important to eat healthier: weight gain and the problems that can compound from that, vitamin c to help the immune system etc.

7.  When possible make it from scratch or as much as possible instead of prepackaged:  You can control what goes into your food better.  You can use egg beaters instead of eggs, you can use skim milk instead of whole milk, etc.  I know that’s a toughy especially when companies make it so convenient and quick for us.

8.  Drink more water:  Water as we all know is so important for our bodies.  It helps our skin, keeps us hydrated, helps us decrease our hunger between meals, and so much more.  Milk and Orange Juice like Tropicana is great too!

9.  Don’t sweat the small stuff:  Does it really matter if the dishes sit for an hour after supper if it means getting in some quality time with the family?  Who cares if your mother in law made a surprise visit and your floor wasn’t vacuumed?  Don’t overload yourself at work.  Sure you want to be a superstar or strive for that raise but stress takes a toll on our bodies and can increase sick days.

10.  Get some sleep:  Try to strive for a regular bedtime (for yourself too not just your kids).  Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep.  When you can’t try to find time for a nap.  If you’re fatigued how will you have the energy for the kids?  the family time? work?  whatever.  Renew your body.

I also have a free code for you exclusive for twittermoms.com to offer to my readers for Tropicana Juicy Reward points:

TWMOM-READR  

Tropicana Juicy Rewards website

“This one-time use code is valid for new accounts ONLY. Must be entered within 6 hours of creating your account. Limit one new account bonus code per new account. All accounts must be created and all codes entered by May 7, 2010 at 11:59 PM EST.”

This blog was written for the opportunity to win an amex gift card from twittermoms.com and Trop50.  Want to write your own blog for a chance to win.  Visit:
Twittermoms.com/Tropicana 10 things to lead to a happier healthier you

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tropicana Trop50 blogging program to be eligible to win 6 free Juicy Rewards points and a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”