The Toys'R'Us Ultimate Easter Basket Giveaway - Enter Now for Your Chance to Win!

The Toys'R'Us Ultimate Easter Basket Giveaway - Enter Now for Your Chance to Win!: "We're giving away 25 prize-filled Easter Baskets! Build your Basket with 5 prizes of your choice and find out if you're an instant winner!"

Prince Lionheart is getting innovative!

Prince Lionheart: official website

Oh man! I am so excited to see these new and innovative products being offered. When I had my first child I had nothing like this available to me. Now that I am having bouncing baby number three I am excited to see what's out there now. Like this new bathtub that folds flat! I cannot wait to get my hands on this pretty little space saver.

I also cannot wait to try this handy little do dad on my counter top or in a cabinet. Check this thing out! Baby food in a handy dandy little area. There is even a spot for your baby's silverware. Looking forward to solid feeding with this gadget.

Oh yea, drying with style. Not to mention it will save some counter space seeing as it's compact (relatively) so you won't have to lay out towels, paper towels, or a bulkier dish drainer which can collect some serious yuck. This little guy fits in your sink for easy cleaning. Now if it were just dishwasher safe. LOL. 

Check this out. The new "wee pod" as a lip on it to prevent your little man from overshooting the toilet when sitting on his wonderful and cushy "wee pod" seat.

Stork Craft contest- win a glider and ottoman!!! YEA!

Stork Craft Contest. CLICK HERE!

Stork Craft Hoop Glider, Cherry with Beige Cushions

**Update - If Stork Craft gets 2000 followers on Twitter then we will giveaway TWO prizes. The Hoop Glider and another Stork Craft product. Two prizes, two winners! We’ll let you know of this mystery product if we get to 2000! 

Soothe baby with the comforting rocking motion of the Storkcraft Hoop Glider Rocker and Ottoman. This set features a rich wood-colored finish, enclosed metal ball-bearings that allow for an incredibly smooth motion and solid wood construction. Sturdy and beautifully finished, this glider rocker and ottoman will be treasured far beyond the baby years. We are giving away one of these AMAZING gliders to a lucky contestant! The winner will get to choose their choice of either an espresso or cherry Hoop Glider with beige cushions.

 Storkcraft Hoop Glider Rocker and Ottoman:

• Storkcraft nursery furniture
• Solid wood construction
• Metal, enclosed ball bearings for an extremely smooth glide motion
• The pads are polyester with a very soft, luxurious feeling
• Beautiful non-toxic finish
• Storkcraft Hoop Glider Rocker and Ottoman meets or exceeds all U.S. and Canadian safety standards

You can purchase this glider at any of the major retailers that carry our products, such as Walmart, Babies R Us, e-Channels, CSN Stores, Amazon.

To enter right here on our blog, visit Stork Craft and tell me another product that we carry. This is required and must be done before the extra entries count!

EXTRA ENTRIES!
You can do any of these things for an extra entry. Make sure to leave a separate comment for EACH thing you do.

1- For TWO extra entries, blog about this giveaway. Be sure to link back to this post and Stork Craft.
2- Follow @StorkCraft on Twitter AND tweet about this giveaway! You can tweet twice per day for up to two extra entries every day!! You can copy and paste:  Win an @StorkCraft Hoop Glider and Ottoman http://bit.ly/e7tVcH Espresso or Cherry. Open to US AND Canada!
3- Follow Stork Craft on Twitter, HERE for one entry.
4- Become a fan of Stork Craft on Facebook, HERE for one entry.

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Friday, March 11th  when I will draw a winner at random. PLEASE leave your email address if it is not visible on your profile. I will notify the winner via email and they will have 36 hours to respond!

Open to US And Canada!

-Adam

KINDERGARTEN

I went to a kindergarten readiness seminar for parents last night at our local elementary school. I made sure I arrived there early, I wasn't sure how many other parents would be attending so I needed to make sure I gave ourselves plenty of time for parking, figuring out where we were supposed to go and where I was supposed to take the kids for their babysitting session while I attended the seminar. i was very surprised. I got there a half hour early. Walked into the school with the boys- there was a lady there greeting people and directing you where to go. We went into the multipurpose room and took the first seats we could find. I'm watching the time tick by and I am looking around the room..1..2...3...4...9. Nine parents, it grew closer to 6 p.m. when the seminar was supposed to start when a tall blonde haired woman walked in and introduced herself as Denise. She was the speaker at tonights seminar. More parents poured in as she proceeded to start the seminar. Her program is by the Penn State Cooperative extension- something that is funded through grants and state aid  to help make life better in the communities they serve. She discussed 4 different areas of development and what they really like to see in children before they enter kindergarten, she also had a video (long and kinda boring, but somewhat interesting/informative). There are a few things that parents may not know about sending their baby to kindergarten. There are the parents' standards (which are usually set high- colors, shapes, numbers, letters, how to read/write, and so forth) then there are the school's standards: I was actually kind of surprised. Kindergarten teachers don't expect your child to be able to sit through the day- they understand that most 5 years cannot sit for long periods of time. They do want to see that your child can follow simple directions, focus their attention for a period of time, has the ability to take turns/share, the ability to control themselves (for the most part), ability to solve problems with other kids without hitting (using words, getting help), able to work on things by themselves and in a group, has the age appropriate social skills and ability to make friends and interact with other children, as well as adults( being able to say I would like...) et cetera, the things they want to see kids do by themselves include: putting on your own coat, using buttons, zippers, and such, dress/undress themselves, use the restroom/wash hands with minimal help.. These are all things that teachers would like to see in our kids. Simple enough, right? Maybe not so much. LOL. Denise gave us all some great ideas for things we can do at home with our kids to help them be ready as well.  Most of these things are things that can already be found in our homes. One thing she talked about was RHYMING. Something I would have never though of as an early pre-reading skill. She says some of these skill help to determine what kind of reader your child will be. Kindergarten teachers like to see children being able to make rhyming words even if the words that they are rhyming aren't "real" words like burger = wurger. Some of the ideas she gave us for at home included using paper, pencils, markers, scissors, gluesticks to help children build on skills like writing, following simple directions, learning colors, shapes, numbers, and letters, developing scissor skills and getting creative with glue. Another table of parents were given some containers in different sizes and shapes- that group said well, the could learn sizes and shapes, but what about volume- that more macaroni might fit in the oatmeal cylinder then in the snack size box of cereal? Another group of parents had a bag of crackers- they suggested counting, shapes, and size- what about texture? Another group had gotten bathroom cups and buttons- they suggested counting-  numbering the cups and having your child put the right number of buttons in each cup, but what about size and shape of buttons, texture of buttons, what about "hide and seek" with the buttons and cups? There are many things we can do at home to help prepare our children for kindergarten we as parents just need to get creative.

FDA warning

FDA warns about food coloring effects in children? Say what! Click here to read more.

Wow! Who would've thought. Check out this article and please tell me what you think! I've heard of food coloring setting off certain behaviors in children before, but this is new-kinda.

Whoa! March 28th! A whole week has gone by!

Well, I'm sorry that a whole week has gone by since I last posted. What was I thinking- I went into a blogger coma.... brain farts, forgetfulness, and writer's block. I kinda still have a blogger coma. I finally figured out how to get my Flickr account to link to my site as you can see above. Also, I have added a direct link to my photo stream so that you can see all the free stuff, samples, products, and coupons I have so far received and verified as 100% free, or free with small postage fee (you'll see which ones have the fee by the descriptions). Understand that you get a better quality and quantity of sample typically when you splurge on the small postage fee. Again, something I'll show you when they come in.  In other notes. We were not selected for any of the House-Party parties. I believe that this rejection dates back to the 2008 incident. We were selected to host a Clorox Greenworks Party. It was supposed to be awesome. Coupons for full size products to test, coupons for the guest, piggy tail light bulb, and so much more cool green products and gifts for guest and host. The package never arrived. The day of the party came and went. Finally we received our package- excited I couldn't wait to tear into it and reschedule our party. I opened it and there it was...... an envelope with some seed packets for my guests. What a disappointment and joke! How was I supposed to host a "Green party" with nothing, but a bunch of seed packets. No products, no product information, no coupons, no goody bags for my guests. Nothing. I felt completely let down and angry. I had been talking about the party for months with my friends, co workers, family, even my boss was interested in coming. I gave the seed packets to my son's class for a garden project. I guess that wasn't allowed- because I HAVE NEVER BEEN SELECTED AS A HOST AGAIN. True story-very sad.  I did however find a new panel to join- SHESPEAKS. Also, my boys and I have been selected to try out some new products and we cannot wait to try them, share them, and invite our friends to try them and spread the word. So balance has been restored to my product trying world. Speaking of we should be getting our package in the next 2 weeks. I cannot wait to see what we're getting- we know that it is some Hormel Kid's Completes Meals- we just don't know how many or what kind. We are going to take pictures when it comes in.  Also, very excited to see what comes in our mailbox this week and to share it with everyone! New on blog- we now officially have our very own forum-discussion boards-w/e you want to call them. They are up, running, and ready for business. Link is located on the right side of the blog. Thanks guys- until next time- have fun and do something exciting!

March 20th

Finally got the software for my digi-cam installed. Created a flicker account today, uploaded the pictures from Columcille, tried to link my flicker acct. to my blog via a widget, but it's not working. *sigh* I just cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. Oh, well. I'll eventually get the picture working. That was I can show you pictures of all the great freebies that I have applied to receive and once received (verified that they work) then I will gladly start posting the links on here. You can already follow some of the freebie links that I have had success with by following me on twitter. I have also applied for several Houseparties and I should be hearing back on a few of them this week. If I am accepted I will let you know and post the date and link to my online party viewing when the event takes place.

March 19th

We decided to go on our nature walk and Daddy came along. Him I get along very well for the most part, just not when we are together (dating). We had a very nice time, although we did have to cut it short because the big guy had to use the the potty(yay, big thing here!)and the park doesn't have one. So we only got to walk around for about an hour. Still very nice though and we got lots of photos (the kids had disposable cameras-we'll have to wait for those to be developed). As soon as I have a moment I plan on posting the ones from my didgi-cam which are great too! Not alot of pic.s of my big guy (Bradley) because he kept running away from me. I was supposed to work today, but I am having a very difficult time finding and keeping a permanent babysitter. My kids aren't bad they are just very very very very high energy and it's difficult to find someone who has the patience and energy to keep up with them. I have a rough time myself, especially since being pregnant I can't consume my caffeine like I was. I'm limited to one cup a day. :( I'm hoping to be able to set up some video recipes for everyone in the next few weeks and also Big news- WE (THE BOYS AND I) WERE ACCEPTED INTO THE SHESPEAKS PROGRAM FOR THE TRIAL/TESTING OF THE NEW LINE OF HORMEL COMPLEATS FOR KIDS. We are very excited for this one. We cannot wait to share the product, coupons, or whatever else may come (and our reviews) with all of you. You can check this program out online at http://www.shespeaks.com/hormelcompleatskids . Even the kids are excited about this one.

Today

Well, it's a new day and I have slacked a little on my blogging here, but I have a perfectly good explanation. I have been busy trying to to find the best freebies/coupons online that I could offer to you guys my loyal fans, readers, and fellow bloggers. As these wonderful items are mailed to me (Verifying that they do work and you will get your freebie) I am going to gladly post them as they come in. I have already received a few items. I just need to photograph them for you so can see what you will be getting and then posting the link to their site so that you too can enjoy your freebies! Heads up I have applied for 100's of freebies, samples, and coupons in the last 4 days- so brace yourself. On a lighter note... the weather here is warming nicely. Today it is a whole 58.8 degrees out which means.... WE CAN GO ON OUR NATURE WALK!!!! YAY! This also means you will get to see pictures of our very own wonderful local secret: Columcille: a old fashioned megalith park in which the stones were actually brought here from Ireland. Thank you Bill Cohea for bringing us this beautiful megalith park and the wonder that it offers to us and our children. Keeps us in touch with nature. Speaking of There is an event coming up at Columcille. Check them out on the web: http://www.Columcille.org

Hmmm...

Not quite sure what to write about today. I didn't get to blog yesterday because I actually fell asleep in front of the computer trying to think about what I was going to write about. LOL. The kids fell asleep way early on Friday night. I know! I was shocked too especially because it was only 7:15 at night! So of course as any mom would do... I did laundry, and then tried to catch up on some missed episodes of Criminal Minds. Bad choice- they were both awake by 6 a.m., so of course now I was completely exhausted even though I'm pretty sure I was asleep no later then 10 p.m.....maybe or at least that was the last time I looked at the clock as I was drifting in and out of sleep. (All night actually, I slept, but not really) Tossing, turning, waking up coughing my brains out, having to blow my nose and get some cold water to drink. Anyway, so as I was saying 6 a.m.-the time they rolled their pretty little heads out of bed, ready and rearing to go. Seeing as it wasn't exactly a nice day outside we were confined to being indoors. Not a good combo for super tired mom and two overly energetic boys. I couldn't keep them still. I tried movies. Arts. Crafts. I tried video games and board games. I tried getting them to bake something with me. Finally, no lie. I sat down in front of the computer and started looking up freebies for kids. They sat next to me at the computer desk, sorting through the links to find ones that were currently active so they could get their own mail. What is it about kids that get them so excited about our postal services and receiving items in the mail- even if it's a catalog that you may think is junk and ready to toss in the recycle bin and they are like noooooooo, don't toss that. I want to look at it. REALLY? Alright, if it floats your boat, I don't see the harm. Of course once a month I have to go through their mail and relieve some of the clutter that comes from all those wonderful advertisements in the mail. I do this when they are at daycare, after I get home from work-before I pick them up. Somehow they always know when something has gone missing even if they aren't sure what it is that is missing. I think our favorite catalogs this time of year are all the ones we get from the different seed and garden companies. WE go through them every year (for the last 3 years)to decide what we're going to try this year or next. The seed packets will come in the mail and we'll start them in our mini-greenhouse indoors 6-8 before planting time and somehow we always fail. They never survive. The animals get to them (birds, squirrels, deer, or cats), the heat kills them (it was killer hot last spring/summer-very little rain), or we kill them (over water, kids dropping the pots, et cetera). So anyway, all the free stuff we enrolled for we are now waiting for. Once these free items arrive in the mail, I will let you all know, if they are awesome or flops, and if the kids really enjoyed them and if they do- I will share those websites with you. I would like to make sure that we are successful before I send you and your valuable time to various websites.

Things I'd like to accomplish in my lifetime- MY LIFE LIST

I was inspired to create a list of the things I'd like to accomplish in this lifetime- from what I understand people who write down thier goals tend to accomplish those goals in the longrun. So, here goes...

MY LIFE LIST

1. Rediscover who I am (I was once an artist and a nationally published poet)
2. Finish writing a book
3. Travel the world and the U.S. with my children (volunteer vacations for world travel- if you don't know what these are look it up)
4. Go on an archaeological dig with my children
5. Learn at least 3 foreign languages
6. Finally learn how to play the 5 guitars I own with my oldest son- he has a high interest in guitar
7. Learn how to play at least 3 other instruments including the violin, harp, and piano
8. Finish a degree in something uninterrupted- no breast cancer scares or concussions, or distractions
9. Be more committed to practicing yoga, meditation, and  tai chi
10. Finally start reading some of the unread books in my own personal library (which has been boxed up and stashed away in attic- all 300 something of them)
11. Make more homemade (ice cream, yogurt, trail mix)
12. Grow a successful garden (both a vegetable/fruit and a separate herbal garden) that doesn't get eaten by animals, destroyed by drought, or accidentally ran over by an Argo (a 6 wheel aatv)
13. Take a martial arts class with my children
14. Start my own business
15. Learn more about the classical musicians I listen to and the artists that I admire
16. Build furniture- I was once a carpenter
17. Make my own wine, beer, or liquor (I do have a book....somewhere)
18. Study astronomy
19. Be in a movie- even if I am just an extra
20. Own my dream home- kinda basic really with just a few extras like a home office, library, music room, and art studio...OH yea,  and the attached greenhouse and workshop.

Introduction

*SIGH* Well, I really don't know where to start. I guess I should start by introducing myself so here goes.
I am Mikey. I am female and I am a single mom. I have two that's right two boys that are 1 year and 6 months apart. They are newly 5  and the other is on the way to being 4, the most interesting thing here is that baby number 3 is one the way. The boys are asking that I have a girl this time, I'm praying for a girl this time although to be honest I never wanted to have a girl. (I've recently came to this conclusion after realizing how much of a handful the boys are already-I can't imagine a 3rd boy in the mix!). I've never blogged before, but I figured... meh... why not? What have I got to lose? I figure I can only gain from having a new experience and that there is a boatload of gain to be had here. Everything from you (my readers) getting to know me and mine, to us getting to know ourselves better, sharing our lives little ups and downs and all around, connecting with other people and knowing that none of us are alone, not to mention all the fun I'll get to have sharing my thoughts with someone who isn't between the ages of 3 and 5. LOL. So as time goes by I am hoping to give you a glimpse into what our lives are like, the things we do to make life better, and things (products and such) that we find helpful, fun, useful, tasty, or otherwise awesome. Perhaps we can even share some parenting tips, advice, recipes, and ideas. Everything from solving rainy day blues to getting involved with nature. I hope that you all will become as much a part of my family as I will yours. Thank you.