Free Samples ~ Week 24

I am starting to wonder how many more samples and freebies I will be getting over the next few weeks, as they have slowed down quite a bit; and with the limited time I do have, I don't always sign up for every freebie or sample that comes up. Here is what came in the mail this week:

• FREE coupon for Glade Spring Collection product
• Sunny Beadz necklace (product review & giveaway from Tomoson for FFF here)
• 3 FREE (regular sized) bags of Chips from Frito Lay (product review & giveaway for FFF)
• Teach My Toddler set (product review/giveaway for June)
• Free sample of Huggies Supreme Wipes from Sams Club

Arwen Kinsley is 9 Months Old!

Arwen is 9 months old today! Hard to believe that 9 months ago she was still in my belly...and I am starting the countdown to her birthday this July...only 3 months left! EEK! I am hoping to design and create my own theme, but we will just see how that goes (that will be another post!)

So here are some things that Arwen can master:

• Crawling on all fours (she is into everything now) and can move from room to room easily
• Has 4 teeth (2 on top & 2 on bottom) which has led to biting :(
• Says 'Mama', 'Dada', 'Bubba', and 'Duck'
• Pulled herself for the first time this week (on Wed, 04/27) It was so neat - we were all sitting there and watched her do it!!
• She loves to eat!!! Any food is game now - as long as its soft, or chewy - she has been eating bread, cheese, veggies, fruits and more of all kinds!
• She is still a wonderful sleeper - all night long & at least one nap per day
• She likes to stand with help (from a toy or by holding your hands) and has even taken a few steps when you hold her hands
• She is almost always a very happy baby still ~ always smiling, laughing, cooing, squealing and more!
• She is such a sweet girl by giving kisses, hugs, and cuddles all the time
• She loves to play with her big sister Destin and is learning to "share" along with her
• She loves to swing at the playground and just being outside is fun for her
• Loves bath time (splashing & of course, ducks!)

Due to time, stress, money, etc. I have decided that I will not be taking her for a 9 month checkup at the Dr...so I weighed/measured her -- She is 28 inches long & 17.6 lbs (which is just about the same as Destin as this age!)...so many people in our family think Arwen is BIGGER, but she is the exact same size :) 

That's all I can think of as of right now...until next time, be sure to read my blog and check out my newest job at Frugal Fabulous Finds (http://frugalfabulousfinds.com) where I am the new Product Review & Giveaway Specialist. Lots of product reviews, deals, giveaways, etc. I am loving it!

Gogo's Crazy Bones Bonanza!

About a month ago I was selected to be a host courtesy of Child's Play Party (see my post here)...and this month I was lucky enough to be selected again for another party ~ Gogo's Crazy Bones Bonanza! Woo hoo! If you would like to learn more about this great company and apply for parties too, then check out their website!

What are Gogo's Crazy Bones?

Gogo's are the hottest mini game toy for boys and girls ages 4 - 12.

Gogo's are small colorful characters that come in hundreds of colors and designs, each one with a unique name, design, personality and special ability. Kids of all ages have fun collecting, trading and playing with Gogo's Crazy Bones! Check out the video below:

Gogo's were inspired by games from ancient Greece where children played by bouncing and throwing sheep knuckle bones. Today’s Gogo’s are reminiscent of old school favorites such as marbles and jacks, with a modern twist! Each Gogo has a unique number for collecting and designed so you can hold and throw with one finger.

Look for the Stamp

You can identify an authentic Gogo's Crazy Bone by the Magic Box Int stamp on the back of your Gogo. This certifies your Gogo is an original with fantastic bounce, design and personality.

The Series
Each Gogo's Series has about 80 different Gogo's in five different colors, some of which are rarer than others, each with a unique face and name. You can find Series 1 – The Originals, in stores now. Series 2 – The Evolution Series, will hit stores near you in May 2011 and Series 3 – Gogo’s Explorer Series will arrive in August 2011!

Every Gogo has a sticker for the sticker album. Each Gogo is available in 5 different colors.

http://gogosland.com/gogos_site.html#/home

What did I get?

Here is a pic of what came in my party box, minus the evaluation forms. The 100 Gogo individual packs were divided in half by the white sealed bags.

This party pack had lots to share:

• Product samples: 15 Gogo’s Crazy Bones sticker albums (see a closer look in the pic below) which included 15 Gogo’s “Flow” packs with 3 Gogo’s and 3 stickers per pack
• 100 single Gogo packs (1 Gogo and 1 sticker)
• How to Play Gogo’s Crazy Bones instructions (included in sticker album)
• 10 guest evaluation forms

Here is a closer look at one of the 15 Gogo’s Crazy Bones sticker albums

This is a closeup pic of 1/100 single Gogo packs

Now, for the party...

Here are some videos I took....the kids just loved them!

 

Where can you buy them?

http://na.gogoscrazybones.com/about/where-to-buy

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A165793011%2Ck%3Agogo's%20crazy%20bones&page=1

You can find Gogo's Crazy bones on Facebook & Twitter! This is truly a new toy that your children (of all ages) will love!

Our Easter Weekend

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! Here is how ours went...

Friday
I made a post about what was new with us :D That day, my mom & little brother (Grandma & Uncle Joe) came over, played and had lunch. Then that evening, Patrick and I decided to get the girl's stuff from the Easter Bunny!

Wow it was CRAZY at Walmart! I haven't seen it so stir crazy since Christmas...note to self - do not wait til the last minute next year or for the next big holiday! We also went out to eat dinner at La Fuente (this yummy Mexican place - where Destin slept the whole time!). I hate to say it, but it was kind of nice having Destin sleep - we were actually able to enjoy ourselves "out to eat" for the first time in long time.
 
Saturday
We went on an Easter Egg Hunt in the morning in Raymore...got a few good pics (see below).

This is a pic of Destin at the Raymore Easter Egg Hunt last year (in 2010)

Waiting was very hard to do...

Mommy & Arwen took most of the pics :)

Destin found lots of eggs, and even gave some to the younger children there too!
So sweet!

We stayed home the rest of the day, where I cleaned, baked and did laundry (again!). Then that evening we celebrated Clara's 10th birthday at Landmark Skate in Lee's Summit (really close to our house).

Destin loved skating! This was her second time!

Arwen got to "skate" too in the stroller!

The birthday girl and her cake :) 

Destin loved the free rides at Pappi's Pizza :)

Afterwards we went to Pappi's Pizza, played games and I took lots of pics/vidoeos of the kids with their Gogo's Crazy Bones stuff (see post later this week).

Sunday
Happy Easter! The Easter bunny came and left a trail of Easter Eggs all the way down the hallway and into the living room/kitchen. Destin was very impressed! And loved eating candy for breakfast (a very RARE thing I might add!).

Later on that afternoon, after the girls got baths (since we had such a late night), we drove to Patrick's brother's house and had a nice family lunch with tons of yummy foods to eat. Pat's two older brothers, their wives, children and his mom & stepdad were all there. It was so nice to get together again :) It just seems that over the years we don't get together as often as we used to.

We got some great pics of the family too!

Destin kept having an Easter Egg Hunt with the hardboiled eggs :) I missed the egg toss!

Gma Tammie, Popi and all the kids

Cousins!

Patrick, Mom, Daniel & Mike

From our family to yours, we hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Free Samples ~ Week 23

Week 23 (April 18 - 23)

• "God Gave Us Two" book from Blogging for Books (see review from last week!)
• Chocolate bar (shaped like a house) from Kudzu via Facebook
• "History is an Argument" poster from teachinghistory.org
• The J.Lohr Vineyard Table recipe booklet
• Johnsonville Italian Sausage coupons (2 x free, 2 x $1.50, and 2 x free Rinaldi Sauce ~ I think I might give these away or have a giveaway...since we have been eating sausage for the last month almost every week with my coupons from the She Speaks program!)
• Orville Redenbacher's Pop Up Bowl Sample (a reg. size bag) & $1.00 off coupon
• Copenhagen Flask (its stainless steel with leather outside) with my husband's initials on it
• Large Poster from Kaspersky Lab that has Rosie Riveter on it

New teeth = Biting!

Earlier today I posted about Arwen's new teeth coming in. Her 2 front teeth, that is! I haven't managed to get any pictures of them yet, but BOY! do I know they are there!!!

This may be a little TMI for some of you...but Arwen has been biting me non-stop, every time I try to breastfeed her. I just don't know what to do....I tell her NO very sternly, and sometimes she gives a sad/mad face, but then she will just repeat biting me again and again. Does anyone have any tips?

I strictly breastfeed only...no bottles, no pumping, AND no pacifiers. Now that Arwen is almost 9 months old, she is starting to eat more and more FOOD - mashed potatoes, fruits of all kinds, beans, mac n cheese, crackers, and more! With more food in her diet, I am only starting to feed her (breast feeding) about three or four times a day. Some days its even less...which is about right. When Destin was this age, I started to wean her from breastfeeding, and started her on regular milk at 11 months old.

I know most pediatricians want you to wait until your baby is at least 1 year old, but I made the exception for Destin. She had 8+ teeth (twice as many as Arwen), and was only breastfeeding one or two times a day. The hardest time to break  her from was at bedtime...Destin would only go to sleep after I fed her...but with Arwen - she goes to sleep on her own every night, and most of the time she hardly breastfeeds at all. Which may work out great for both of us, when it comes to going strictly to regular milk.

When I switch to regular milk...it will mean a couple of things:
a) I no longer have to be WITH Arwen 24/7 and MIGHT be willing to let her stay with someone (at least for a couple hours).
b) That leads to maybe having a date night with Patrick (which hasn't happened since before I was pregnant with Arwen - over a year ago!!).
c) Our milk costs are going to go UP - so I will be on the look out for some good milk coupons (which I do now already). Destin drinks at least 3 cups of milk everyday. And I am sure Arwen will do the same.
d) This means both my babies are growing up. As if I didn't already know this, but they are. They grow up so fast - and I just wonder where the time went? :(

Wish me luck with my teething/biting/growing baby girl :)

What's new with us??

I don't know why, but I feel like I haven't really blogged in awhile...so I thought I would chime in and say what's new with us...

Arwen

• She will be 9 months old in less a week! Wow!
• Got 2 new teeth this week! Her top ones, to be exact...she looks so grown up! And I am currently writing another post about that...all I can say is - biting + breastfeeding = 1 sad mama (yes, that would be me!). So now she has a total of 4 (2 on top & 2 on bottom).
• She is still saying "duck" all the time...its so cute when she actually has a rubber duck or sees a picture of an actual duck. But she likes to say it ALL the time, and labels everything as a "duck".
• In case you were wondering, she is still saying 'dada', 'mama' & 'baba'
• Is an EXPERT crawler! She is crawling from room to room, up and down the hall and is definitely a PRO! Its so funny to watch her, because Destin never really "crawled" at this age, she would just scoot on her belly or army crawl - but Arwen, she is on all fours, and on the go - all the time! OH! AND she is into everything - the cabinets, drawers, and more! I definitely have my hands full!

• She is eating lots of baby foods, sleeping great and more too! But I will save the rest of her updates for next week!

Destin

• Is loving 'Thomas the Train' and trains in general this week!

• Loves being able to dress herself (notice the two different shoes, backwards shirt, and her favorite hat)
• Loves the movie "Marmaduke", and still loves Max & Ruby, Mickey Mouse and more! I love how she likes to watch "Jake & The Neverland Pirates" then she goes around the house saying, "ARRR! PIRATES!" Too funny!
• She is extremely emotional lately, throwing lots of fits when she doesn't get her way - but I think it might be partly due to the fact that she does NOT sleep (for naps or at  night)...UGH!
• Wants to be outside ALL OF THE TIME! She loves the park, playing with chalk, her water table and helping daddy mow the yard.

Patrick

• Getting a summer softball team together with his dad, and four brothers
• Still working every day non-stop (Someday I hope that he won't have to do this all the time)

ME

• Still working on our Family Trees w/Ancestry.com and contacting lots of family members close and far away for help on pics, info, etc.

• Loving my new job at Frugal Fabulous Finds...I am the Product Review & Giveaway Specialist...where I get paid to post deals, product reviews, giveaways and more! If you haven't already been to the site - you should! We are also on Facebook & Twitter!  

Anyways, that's whats new with us...this weekend we are going on an Easter Egg Hunt, getting the girls Easter stuff, celebrating our niece's 10th birthday at Landmark Skate and of course celebrating Easter! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Take care, Melissa

Cord Blood Banking $100 Coupon Giveaway

What is Cord Blood?Umbilical cord blood is the blood collected from the umbilical cord immediately following the birth of a child. This blood provided nourishment for the baby during pregnancy, but once the baby is delivered, umbilical cord blood is no longer necessary.

Umbilical cord blood is rich in multipotent hematopoietic "stem cells" (or blood stem cells). These cord blood stem cells produce the cellular ingredients necessary for the blood and the immune system. When the umbilical cord blood cells are transplanted into patients, they can help restore the immune and blood systems to help fight diseases and replace diseased blood.


Collecting your child's umbilical cord blood and saving it in a cord blood bank provides you with insurance in case your child develops any of the illnesses where cord blood is used in treatment.

Is Cord Blood controversial?
They are not taken from an embryo, but rather from an umbilical cord (which is generally discarded) after a baby's birth. There is no controversy about collecting and storing cord blood stem cells because the cord blood would otherwise be medical waste.


Although, to date, cord blood treatments have only been used to treat blood diseases, there has been extensive medical evidence that, under the right circumstances, cord blood treatments using stems cells could be used to treat a much broader range of diseases. The beauty of using stem cells harvested from cord blood rather than embryos is that there is no stem cell controversy.


My thoughts…
To be honest, I wish we had the money (it can be very expensive) to do this with our girls when they were born. You just never know what could happen…and it would be nice knowing that we had their cord blood in storage in case they ever had a type of cancer, heart disease, etc. There are so many things that research can someday use cord blood for and maybe someday you or your family could need this life saving blood. Please consider looking into this company, and compare what you find to make the right decision for your family.

Just want to note…
You can only look into doing this if you are currently pregnant, or will someday be pregnant - which may limit how many people sign up to win this giveaway. If you know someone who is pregnant, and/or someone who is looking into cord blood banking then you may want to enter the giveaway (see details below).  


Check out the story of Baby John: http://www.mazecordblood.com/video/index.html  


To learn more about MAZE Cord Blood Laboratories and the importance of banking cord blood see: http://www.mazecordblood.com. MAZE is an affordably private cord blood bank with nationwide delivery and has no additional yearly storage charges. Compare the prices of leading cord blood banks: http://www.mazecordblood.com/cordblood-bank-comparison.htm  


Now for the Giveaway:
I have 2 $100 coupons for my readers! You will have a total of 6 ways to enter! Please read the details below carefully so that you can win!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect (and leave a comment below telling me you did so).

Make sure you leave your email in your comments, so I can notify you if you win!


Bonus (please leave additional comment, with your email afterwards):
1. Leave a comment telling me why you would like to win this giveaway
2. Follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/mp_roach)
3. Follow MAZE on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/cord_blood_bank) 
4. Tweet about this giveaway & copy/paste what you wrote
5. Like MAZE on Facebook
This giveaway will end on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 11:59 PM! Thank you for entering and GOOD LUCK!!! I look forward to reading all the comments :)

iCaughtTheEasterBunny.com Review & Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED (as of Friday, 04/22 at MIDNIGHT)! CONGRATS to everyone that entered ~ Since we had such low entries...You all won! Each of you was notified by email Saturday, 04/23 at 1 PM :)

Easter is this weekend…and what better way to share this wonderful holiday with your family, than a picture of The Easter Bunny at your house!

That’s right! The folks at iCaughtTheEasterBunny.com have come up with a unique and fun way to show your little ones that The Easter Bunny came for a visit. Now you will have the “proof” your little ones are looking for!

Imagine the look of wonder and surprise when a child receives a photo of the Easter Bunny caught in the act in his or her very own home! iCaughtTheEasterBunny.com is a unique website that helps visitors create those memorable keepsake photos. With over 20 poses to choose from...you can make your own unique, believable photo of The Easter Bunny at your house! In three simple steps, iCaughtTheEasterBunny can turn a typical Easter into something spectacular.

Step 1 - Capture Your Background
Take a digital picture of your yard, porch, living room or anywhere near your home. This will be your background photo. {Horizontal, high-resolution pictures work best. Save your background photo to your computer and then upload it to this site.}

Step 2 - Create your Photo
Pick one of our many Bunny poses and magically place him into your background photo. {You can adjust his size, color, brightness and position with our easy-to-use tools. Then select a festive border, preview and finalize your design.}

Step 3 - Share the Magic!
Download, email or print your photo, automatically, for quick pickup at a store near you. Plus you can share it instantly to more than 30 popular web sites: including (but not limited to) Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and more!

Here is the one I created:

To view more pictures of families who “caught” The Easter Bunny click on this link: http://www.icaughttheeasterbunny.com/photo-gallery/  

Please Note:
This company does not send you the actual photo in print. They just provide the software on their website to create the digital photo. If you want to print the photo, you can save it to your computer and then print it off on your computer, or you can send it to your favorite place to get your photos (mine is Shutterfly)!

How much does it cost?
For less than $10 anyone can bring back the wonder of Easter and be a hero to children by catching The Easter Bunny "in the act." If you would like to purchase one of these for your family, they provided me with a 25% discount code for you to use (just copy & paste the following code and use at checkout): BUNNYHOP25

This company (CatchaCharacter.com) is definitely an amazing find, and something you can treasure with your family and friends alike. They also have three other characters to choose from which include: Santa Claus (you can see my review about him in December here), the Tooth Fairy, and Cupid for Valentine's Day.

Now for the Giveaway:I have 5 free Gift Codes to give to you (valid for 1 free photo each), my loyal readers!

MANDATORY ENTRY: All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me who you would like to share this with...your children, your nieces/nephews, or maybe you will give it as a gift!

Make sure you leave your email in your comments, so I can notify you if you win! Bonus (please leave additional comment, with your email afterwards):

1. Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect
2. Follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/mp_roach)
3. Tweet about this giveaway
4. Share this giveaway on Facebook

This giveaway will end on Friday, April 22, 2011 at 11:59 PM! Thank you for entering and GOOD LUCK!!! I look forward to reading all the comments :)

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas a Minneapolis SEO and Web Design firm. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

The BIG Announcement!

You might have already seen the announcement on Facebook yesterday, but I wanted to post here too :)

I am now the NEW Product Review & Giveaway Specialist for Frugal Fabulous Finds!

Basically, I am an assistant to an amazing blogger named Wendy and her Facebook admin, Melina. I will be doing product reviews, giveaways and more for her blog and hopefully bringing more viewers to my own blog too :)

Here is my most recent giveaway (click link below) with FFF which ends Thurs, 04/21 at Midnight! Go and check it out - you just might win!
http://frugalfabulousfinds.blogspot.com/2011/04/giveawaywalmart-propel-zero-gift-pack.html

Please check out the following links - like them and/or follow them on Twitter:http://www.frugalfabulousfinds.com/ http://www.Facebook.com/FrugalFabulousFinds http://www.Twitter.com/FrugalFabulous

I cannot wait to get all the free products, and share them with my family, friends and all of FFF's loyal fans :)

Weekend update

Hello Everyone! We had such a wonderful weekend! I am trying to take more videos of the girls, so please click on them below to check them out. I have many many more posted on my account with Youtube too!

We went to a new park in Lee's Summit off of Pryor Road (at least, I think its new!). It was a lot of fun...see the videos below :)

We went to Patrick's little brother's (Andrew) 14th birthday...and got to see all of the family. Patrick has four brothers, two of which are older, married and have beautiful children ~ my 2 gorgeous nieces and 1 handsome nephew :)

Andrew getting ready to blow out his candles

Destin and her cousins

Destin loved the cake!

Arwen and her Uncle Daniel

The girls had so much fun playing with their cousins - and next weekend we are going to my oldest niece's birthday party at a skating rink :) We cannot wait!

Sunday...Patrick went to Paradise Park with his younger brother, Eric and they hit softballs (they are practicing for their summer league). I went to the grocery store (and got some great deals - see post here). Then we went outside for a little bit to play, while daddy mowed the yard (Destin helped too).

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I got some big news on Monday night and cannot wait to share it with you all :)

Here is my new signature :)