I Love Daddy

“I love Daddy”

“I love Daddy”

“Yes,  I do”

“Yes, I do”

“I just want to tell you”

“I just want to tell you”

“I love you!”

“I love you!”

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Yet Another Snowfall…

Well, the snow has stopped falling and has left yet another 3 or 4 inches to our yard.  I’m really starting to think that Winter will never end, but I’m going to go by the Calendar and know that it really will end soon!

Brian was home yesterday thanks to our good ol’ Presidents!  It’s always great to have him here all day and into the evening. We get to  enjoy having dinner together and doing bedtimes together.  He ended up sneaking out during nap time and make a huge igloo and tunnel for the kids to play in.  They LOVED it!  I’ll post some pics on it later…but here’s a sneak peek!

I’m down two daycare kids today and it’s kinda quiet.  I let my sweet hubby sleep in since he’s been so kind to let me sleep in whenever possible.  Andrew seems to get up at 7am no matter what day it is!  I guess it could be worse!

Ella has her big 4 year old check up today!  She’s so excited and feels so big!  I’m so glad she’s gotten over a lot of her shyness in the past year.  I really attribute that to going to Preschool.  We just love it there as much as she does!  The amount of growth she’s had since September is AMAZING!

Time to clean up breakfast and get ready for the doctor.  Be back later with an awesome giveaway from GREEN company EcoStore USA!

Have a great day!

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Build-A-Bear Workshop REVIEW & GIVEAWAY (CLOSED)

CONGRATS TO HEIDI B!!  COMMENT #174

Meet Tinky and Nut.

They are the first Build-A-Bear animals to join our family.  Tinky came to join us for Ella’s 2nd Christmas from her Aunt Kari and Nut on Ella’s 3rd Birthday.  Ella loved going to the Build-A-Bear store at the mall and picking out Nut to join Tinky at our home.  She helped stuff her, put her little “beating” heart in, fluffed her up and dressed her in baby clothes!  She has really enjoyed these two stuffed gals to death.

Now, meet Holly and Hal.  They are the two newest members of our family!

So adorable!  Both dressed for winter and ready to go!

I was so excited to be asked by Build-A-Bear to welcome these adorable moose into our family.  I just knew Ella and Andrew would love them!

We saved them for Christmas morning and put them under the tree from Santa.  You should have seen the look on Ella’s face when she saw the signature boxes sitting there!  She ripped right into them and they’ve been hanging out with Tinky and Nut ever since.

Build-A-Bear Workshop has been named one of the “Best 100 Companies To Work For” and is backed by the Good Housekeeping Seal of approval.  Good to know that you’re supporting a wonderful business when you spend your dollars in one of their many stores!

When you go to a Build-A-Bear store, it’s so much more than just walking into a store and buying a toy…it’s an experience that your child will remember for a long time.  The child-friendly staff welcomes your family to the store and walks you through each step of building your child’s new best friend.  It’s amazing to watch as your child’s face lights up as their new toy is brought to life by stuffing and a little love.

But, don’t worry if you don’t have a Build-A-Bear Workshop near your house…you can order right online!!  They have the same items online as in the store.

Once you take home your new friend, the experience is not over.  You can return to the store at anytime to buy new outfits,  inset new stuffing once your little guy is a little flat from all the hugs, and now you can bring your pal to life  for by visiting buildabearville.com, a fun and safe virtual world!

Can you tell that I’m a BIG fan of Build-A-Bear?  AND I want you to be as well! So….thanks to Build-A-Bear…I’m giving away 1 Holly and 1 Hal to two different readers!  YAY!

I just know that you’re going to fall in love with them! (and I’m positive that your child will as well!)

Want to win?

Here’s the deal:

WIN YOUR VERY OWN BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP’S HOLLY AND HAL

MANDATORY ENTRY
Go to the BUILD-A-BEAR and check out their products.  Come back here and tell me which one you like the best and would like to have!

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Make sure to leave a comment on each of the entries you complete above.  The contest will run through Sunday, FEBRUARY 27TH. The  winner will be chosen by random.org and contacted by email.   The winner will then have 48hours to respond.  At that time if no response has been given, a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck to everyone!!

DISCLAIMER* I was provided with the product written about in this article for testing and review purposes.  The opinions expressed are my own.

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It’s A Snow Day!

I love snow!  I like it a lot more now that I don’t have to drive in it.  I know that a lot of people hate it.  But, hey…it’s Winter and we live in the Midwest.  What do you expect?!    Thank goodness we don’t live in Alaska – that would be rough!  I do prefer white, sandy beaches and crystal blue waters – but snow is what I have and I’m gonna make the most of it!

The sky dumped about 6 inches of the white fluffy stuff from midnight to 6am and continues to fall.  We’re supposed to get another couple of inches throughout the day.  I’ll take pictures of the final snowfall later on.  But, for now…I ventured out to snap a few photos before the roads are all plowed and cars have dirtied it up.

We’ll be staying in today and snuggling up and keeping warm.  I’m making a big pot of my Mom’s famous Veggie Soup (first made famous by my Grandmother!) and will most definitely share the recipe with you all later.

Stay warm and safe if you’re somewhere where the snow has covered the earth!

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Hide and Seek

I’m pretty sure Daisy the dog wasn’t really planning on playing hide and seek with the kids. I could have helped her out, but I grabbed my camera instead so that we could all enjoy this moment even though she wasn’t!

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Holiday Shopping – Are you finished?

It’s December 8th and I am no where near finished with my Christmas Shopping.

Back in September, I told myself that with every paycheck, I’d pick up a couple of gifts so that the “blow” at Christmas wouldn’t be too bad.   That didn’t work out so well.  I think I picked up 2 or 3 gifts.

So, we’ve been trying for the last 3 weekends to get out for a few hours and at least pick up some gifts for the kids.  The 1st weekend, my sister, who is going to watch the kids for the day so we don’t have to pay a babysitter on top of all the shopping we need to do, was busy. The next weekend, I got sick.  And this past weekend, my husband who NEVER gets sick, got sick.  Now, the kids are coming down with a cold, but hopefully it only lasts a few days.

We’re going to try again this weekend!  Crossing my fingers and toes that everyone is well and healthy.  I am really looking forward to the day out alone with my husband.  It’s a rare luxury around here!

Have you finished your Christmas shopping or are you rushing around like me trying to finish up?

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Green 4 Your Soul – Green Products For Your Life!

I’m a bath & body junkie.  I LOVE to get new products for myself and for my family.  I’m always very excited to find affordable organic and safe products to use as well!

I found a new company that takes the guesswork out of going green – Green 4 Your Soul.  Going green shouldn’t be an exhaustive and frustrating journey.  With the current atmosphere of dishonesty in the natural health and beauty industry it’s a sad fact that going green takes a lot of time, effort and money.  But, Green 4 Your Soul has done the background work for you!

Green 4 Your Soul has a full disclosure policy and lists all ingredients for each product carried so clients can make informed purchasing decisions.  All product lines carried by Green 4 Your Soul are required to meet  strict standards.  They will not represent any products that are tested on animals, smell unpleasant, contain harmful ingredients or simply don’t work.

The majority of companies represented by Green 4 Your Soul are American based and woman owned businesses.  Many of the companies donate a portion of their proceeds to charitable organizations, so you can feel good in knowing that your purchase is making a difference in people’s lives as well as protecting your health and the environment.  In addition many of the products that Green 4 Your Soul carries are Fair Trade, USDA Certified Organic and are packaged in Post Consumer Recycled Bottles.

Green 4 Your Soul sent me Noli n Nali’s Ella Bella Bubble Bath & Body Wash to try out on my kids.  I’m very picky when it comes to what I put on my children and went to the Green 4 Your Soul website to check it out before putting it in the kids bath.  I found out that this bubble bath is:

The first children’s bubble bath and body wash to be Certified Organic by Oasis
American Company
Created by a Mom for Moms and babies
100% natural and organic ingredients
Vegan
PH Balanced, Hypo-Allergenic and Cruelty Free
No Petro-Chemicals, Parabens, Sodium Laurel Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, DEA, Additives, Dyes, Urea, Phthalates, Propylene Glycol, Gluten, Nut Oils, Synthetic Colors, or Synthetic Fragrances
Noli n Nali donates a portion of their time, products and profits to environmental and children based non-profit organizations
Noli n Nali uses biodegradable ingredients, safe plastics, locally farmed ingredients whenever possible, post consumer packing materials and eco friendly paper and ink

SOLD!  I decided it was safe to add to the children’s bath that night and boy, did they enjoy all those sweet, vanilla orange, scented bubbles!  Ella was particularly excited to find out that the bottle was “made just  for her” since it had her name on it.  The bubbles lasted a long time and the kid’s skin felt soft and moisturized when we dried off before putting on jammies for the night and I was happy knowing I had just used a safe, organic product on my kids.

I would recommend checking out Green 4 Your Soul and their amazing catalog of products.  I definitely will more often now!!

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Bringing Books To Life With LeapFrog Tag Junior

Thanks to LeapFrog and Global Influence, I was recently sent the NEW Tag Junior Reading system to try out.  I was more than happy to have been asked to report back to all of you my thoughts!

Having a 3 year old and an 18month old, the Tag Junior is perfect for them both!  Ella loves to sit and “read” books for hours and Andrew loves to look at the pages.  The NEW Tag Junior now allows them both to hear the words and sounds and enjoy songs, interesting sound effects, open-ended questions and amusing sentences.  By touching the same spot in a book, toddlers can hear a different response each time. With the rounded, lightweight frog like appearance, the Book Pal is easily held in their little hands as well.

By easily connecting  the Book Pal to a USB port on our computer we are able to download audio for up to 5 books AND include one of our child’s name to be incorporated into a greeting and farewell!  We can also print activity sheets, such as coloring pages just by going to the LeapFrog Connect site.

As many parents will appreciate, the NEW Tag Junior has  a battery-saving feature and the Book Pal will turn off automatically after a period of inactivity.   We love this feature considering how many batteries we go through around here!

With the ever expanding collection of books, we’ll be able to add to our library at home for many more holidays and birthdays!

Consider the NEW LeapFrog Tag Junior for your toddler ages 2 – 4 for the next Birthday or Christmas!  You’ll be glad you did!

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Big Boy Haircut

I figured since I blogged about how rotten Andrew has been with his new biting habit, I better show you just how adorable my baby boy really is!    Take a look at his new “big boy” haircut!

Isn’t he just the cutest thing? Well, I sure think so!

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Our Superhuman Powers

I’ve always known that my 3 year old daughter inherited my superhuman sense of smelling, but today takes the cake.  I am beyond amazed!

I’ve always had pretty keen sense of smell, but when I became pregnant with my daughter 4 years ago,  it became a million times enhanced – I kid you not.  I could smell the faintest smell in a room and tell you exactly what it was and where it came from.  A passerby’s deodorant  – I could tell you what brand and scent.  A dirty diaper in a crowded room – who it was and where it came from.  A fun smell test of brands of soda – I knew EXACTLY what was what by one sniff.

I really thought that once I had my daughter, this “side effect” of pregnancy would subside.  But, it didn’t. And in fact, I passed it on to my daughter.

Ella started telling me what chapstick I was using and what kind of candy I had just by giving her a kiss or by sitting on my lap.  I couldn’t sneak anything past her!  It was unreal.

She would come down the stairs at night after she was supposed to be in bed and stand at the stairs and say:
*sniff, sniff* ” What’s that smell, mama?”  *sniff, sniff*  “I want a Reese’s Cup too mom!”

I couldn’t believe it!  She would time and time again prove to us that her sense of smell was just as strong as mine.  But, today takes the cake…
I came home from running some errands and Ella came running up and jumped up on my lap:
*sniff, sniff* “Mom, where have you been?”  *snifffffff* “The Library?”

You know where I had been?  A bookstore!  OK – so she wasn’t right on, but I think it’s pretty amazing!  Guess we need to hone her skills a little more.  She’ll be right on before long!!

Next up…her mind reading abilities.  YES – she’s pretty good at that as well!

Do you have superhuman powers?  Do you see any superhuman powers in your children?

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