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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

30 Day Photo Challenge- Day #9

Day 9: a photo of yourself when you were a baby/child.

swidget

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Monday, March 28, 2011

Friday, March 25, 2011

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

30 Day Photo Challenge- Day #1

I seen this on a friends page. It sounds like a fun idea, so I thought I would give it a try!

Day 1: a photo of you and 15 facts
Day 2: a photo of yourself at least a year ago.
Day 3: a photo that makes you happy.
Day 4: a photo of a place you'd like to visit.
Day 5: a photo that makes you laugh.
Day 6: a photo of someone you love.
Day 7: a photo of someone you miss.
Day 8: a photo of your favorite band/musician.
Day 9: a photo of yourself when you were a baby/child.
Day 10: any photo you like for any reason.
Day 11: a photo of a night you loved.
Day 12: a photo of when you were happy.
Day 13: a photo of one of your favorite movies.
Day 14: a photo of your best friend (s).
Day 15: a photo of you and a family member.
Day 16: a photo of someone you would trade places with/ wish you could be.
Day 17: a photo from a trip you'll never forget.
Day 18: a photo of your town.
Day 19: a photo of last summer.
Day 20: a photo of something you ate today.
Day 21: a photo of somebody you find attractive.
Day 22: a photo that you associate a good memory with.
Day 23: a photo of something you want to do someday.
Day 24: a photo of what you want to be when you grow up.
Day 25: a photo that inspires you.
Day 26: a photo of your favorite subject in school.
Day 27: a photo of something you are looking forward to.
Day 28: a photo of something/somebody that made your day.
Day 29: a photo of your favorite person from history.
Day 30: a photo you find beautiful.

DAY 1:

15 facts about me!

1. This is a picture pre second pregnancy :p
2. I have 2 kids
3. I am married
4. I live in Michigan
5. I run my own business ( 2 of them actually and possibly starting a 3rd)
6. My husband and I are trying to conceive our 3rd child (hopefully soon!)
7. My friends think I am a "tree hugging hippie" LOL
8. My grandmother raised me and my sister.
9. I am the oldest out of 7, yes 7!!!
10. I am a GREAT cook!
11. I recycle anything and everything.
12. I love to garden.
13. I love to sew.
14. My favorite color is blue.
15. My birthday is May 20th! ( I will be 25 this year. )

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Green Clay Mask for Oily Skin + Experiment!

Ingredients:

* 1 tbsp green clay (you can get this in any health store)
* 1 tsp apricot kernel oil
* 3 drops of palmarosa essential oil

Preparation:
Mix the palmarosa and apricot oils together. Add a few drops of warm water. Mix together and add more water if need be to get a good, spreadable paste. Apply mask. Let dry for 10 minutes. Rinse off with a warm washcloth.



*Natural exfoliant for all skin types Mix a tiny amount of brown sugar with olive oil in your palm. Once it turns into a paste, massage into your face. Cure chapped lips by mixing brown sugar with honey and massaging into lips. (Lena Korres, founder of Korres Natural Products, and makeup artist Jemima Kidd, in the July 2008 issue of Cosmopolitan)

~*~ My experiment tonight was to mix common household ingredients, and create a face mask suitable for my skin. First I gathered my ingredients...
* Oatmeal
* Baking Soda
* 1 Egg
* 1 Lemon ( Or 2 Tablespoons of Real Lemon Juice)
Next, I separated the egg whites from the yolk, and put the egg whites in a bowl. Then I added 2 Tablespoons of Baking Soda and 2 Tablespoons of Real Lemon juice. I whisked the egg whites and the other ingredients till it was almost a paste.

* For less of a mess you could stop there and add brown sugar to make a cleansing scrubs.

After that I put a handful of Oatmeal into the bowl and worked the oatmeal into the paste with a fork. I added some Water and mixed it all together.
At first it was a little weird putting something I could eat on my face.

Once I had it on my face I looked like some sort of flesh eating monster. It was kinda funny. After about 15 min It became pretty much solid and i peeled it off my face. What remained I washed off with a warm wet washcloth and let my face air day.

The results were amazing! My skin tone improved greatly, and my skin was super soft. Yay!

Friday, March 18, 2011

BzzCampaign-SC Johnson Smart and Easy Spring Cleaning

I was very excited when I received my FIRST Bzzcampaign package today!!!! It has been a couple months since I joined, and I have been patently waiting to get invited to something. I am super glad it was this one! With spring right around the corner, and of course SPRING CLEANING this kit will help me a lot!

Here is a picture of everything that was in my box. I immediately grabbed the candle and lit it. It is the newest scent from glad call "Sparkle of Spring". It is a limited edition as part of their spring line. Oh, it smells so good! It definitively reminds me of spring! It didn't take long for the smell to make its way throughout my house. With the great weather we had today the candle really helped it make it feel more like spring!

My husband seen the toilet gel thing and had a good time sticking it in our toilets. I thought it was kind of funny since he NEVER does anything with the toilets normally. If that's all it takes to get him to do something I am totally in!

I have been a long time user of Pledge, so I know that will work well with all the wood furniture I have.

I need to get a plug in for the Glade scent they sent. Thankfully they sent me some coupons so I will use one of them to get one when I go to the store next.

I tired the Scrubbing Bubbles in the shower tonight. It did a really good job of covering a large area quickly. I let it set for a few minutes, then wiped it down and sprayed it off. I was quite impressed how well it cleaned my shower! I normally use the everyday shower spray stuff from Scrubbing Bubbles, and that helps cut down on the soap scum build up.

I'm pretty excited to start spring cleaning now! I still have lots of the Simple Green products left that I won from their contest. Partnered with the SC Johnson products I received today I have everything I need to get my house in tip top shape!

I will post again about this campaign after I test the products some more.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Bluebird Bath Company- Pail Powder Review

Do you have any stinky diaper pails,trash cans, or pet odors? Well I have a great solution for you!

Let me introduce you to Bluebird Bath Company.
She can take care of all your stinkyness with the pail powder! I was recently given the opportunity to be a tester. Of course I jumped at it. With a baby,an older child, 2 cats, a dog, and a husband I have lots of stinky stuff in my home. As soon as I received it in the mail I smelled it. I chose the Apple Jack Peel scent. It smells a lot like the Apple Jacks cereal.

Here is a list of some of the other scents thats are offered:
Amaretto, Apple Jack Peel, Baby Clean,Banana Bread, Beach Daisies, Bamboo, Blue Agave, Cedar & Saffron,
Cotton Candy, Frozen Margarita, Fruity Loops, Keylime Pie, Monkeyfarts, Pink Sugar, Pixie Dust, Pumpkin Spice,
Seven-Up, Snickerdoodle, Sugarplum, TuberRose, Yuzu.

Essential Oils:
Lavender, Tea Tree, Tangerine.

So the first thing I tested the pail powder on was of course my sons diaper pail. That thing ALWAYS stinks! I sprinkled some in and within seconds all I smelled was the powder. Oh man, it made it smell so nice! The next thing I used it on was the trash can. Ugh, I always hate the way it smells. Well now with the pail powder it smells like Apple Jacks! MMMM!! After thinking about what else I could use it on I realized it could be put in the litter box! I ran to it, and sprinkled some in. Instantly it didn't smell bad anymore! Normally I use baking soda to help with the odor that comes from it, but that only last so long. I am very impressed at how versatile the pail powder is. You can also sprinkle it on your carpets and vacuum it up, and it will leave the scent on the carpet!

I can't forget about the sample bar of soap I received with the pail powder. It smells like an apple jolly rancher. After smelling it I seriously considered eating it LOL. I know of course you can't eat soap. I have pretty sensitive skin so its hard to find something that works, and works well. I used it to wash my hands first. ( I didn't want to use it somewhere else and it not agree with my skin.)The soap made them feel so soft and smell so good! I decided to be brave and try it on my face. Same thing, super soft and smelled great! Guess what?? I didn't break out! My skin agrees with the soap! Whoo Hooo!

I am very happy I got the chance to try Bluebird Bath company's products. I will definitively be buying more in the very near future! You can check out the full product line on her facebook page by clicking HERE.
You can also check out the Bluebird Bath Company store by clicking HERE.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Detergent Chart For Cloth Diapers

This is a pretty useful site when looking for cloth diaper safe detergent.
http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm#S
I found out I can just buy Mountain Green at my local Krogers instead of buying it online. It sucks paying for shipping. I'm very glad Cloth Diaper Geek told me about this. Thanks!! <3

Sunday, March 13, 2011

500 Fan Giveaway Winners!!

Congratulations to all the winners! Please make sure you contact the sponsors within 48 hours to claim your prize!

Silver and Stone Creations - creations with silver(Hmh Kaufman)

Krisshir Collection's Winalite Health & Beauty(Lupita Soto)

Bluebird Bath Company(Dana Denay)

Made By Mamas(Amber-Lynn Michelle)

T + M Creations 10 dollar gift certificate to my 31 gifts(Amy Lynn)

Comfybuns Customs-Cloth Wipes & More(Amy Clark)(Jennifer Barr)(Jayne Gober)

Mommy Made(Erin Laberee)

T + M Creations Free box of hair color(Tiffany Null)

Rockaboo(Madelynns Closet)

Kaleidoscope Art&Gifts(Audrey Jones McNabb)

Miss Priss Gifts(Amanda Burgett Stephens)

The WAHM Hub(Kayla Monnery)

Again Congratulations! I hope all the winners enjoy their prizes!!! <3

Saturday, March 12, 2011

The last few days...

I got my new sewing machine on Wednesday!!!! I spent the day setting it up and getting everything ready to start sewing. I went to the fabric store on Thursday and gathered the supplies I needed. As soon as I got home I started working on a new hoodie for my son. I spent pretty much all of Thursday cutting and sewing. I finished it that night after my son went to bed. It turned out super cute! It feels so good to be sewing again! I can't wait to start more sewing projects. I have several in mind for him, and I have already gotten a few requests.
Today(Friday) I was pretty busy too. I took the baby to visit some friends who haven't gotten to see him yet. They were all excited to finally meet him. It was really nice to visit with my friends and talk to adults for once! I'm sure my other mommy readers know what I am talking about. Also tonight my fan page reached 500!!! I will get to draw the giveaway winners tomorrow night! I am so very blessed to have so many wonderful fans!
I have also been busy collecting supplies for my upcoming blog project. I will have to wait till the 25th to buy the rest. I am really hoping I can find a few more sponsors so I can cut my cost a bit. If not I will still push forward. I believe it is a great idea, and have had a lot of good response from others.

Look for the winners tomorrow night!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Win a Papa Murphy's Gift Card!


All you have to do to win a $10 Gift Card is comment below why you want it. One comment per person. I will pick a winner TONIGHT at 10PM EST via random.org. Good luck! <3

Monday, March 7, 2011

This little light of mine!

I have a project in mind for my kitchen. I have been considering getting a new lighting fixture. We started looking into the different kinds, and I really liked the Pendant lighting. I think the Pendant lighting could really bring the extra wow factor needed to make my kitchen brighter.

I think something like this would look amazing above my island, and also give me the extra lighting needed when I am cooking.

COMING SOON: Look for a new review!

I love fluffy mail :)

Last night when I got home from visiting a friend I was pleasantly surprised to find a package on my door step. I opened it and found my fluffy mail! Inside was two Blissful Booty Cloth Diapers, 5 cloth wipes, a bottle of Blissful Booty Wipe Water Concentrate in Vanilla & Shea scent, and a spray bottle.
The diaper is AMAZING! I was so surprised how soft it was inside. I started rubbing the inside of it against my cheek while telling my husband how soft it was. He of course laughed at me and thought I was crazy. I made him feel it and he also was shocked how soft it was.
One thing I really like already is that there is no pocket to stuff. Everything is sewn together (AIO) and there is no need to do anything before putting it on the baby. (besides wash it)

I opened up the bottle of wipe concentrate to smell it. WOW it smells so good! I followed the directions and mix 1/2 teaspoon of concentrate into the 6 ounce bottle of water. I sprayed some on my hand, then wiped it off. My hand felt so soft and smelled so good after I did it! Even after a couple of hours I could still smell it!!! The wipe water concentrate comes in sevreal diffrent scents:
*Lavender Vanilla
*Melon Patch
*Sugar Cookie
*Baby's Breath
*Vanilla & Shea
*Juicy Berries
*Sweet Apple Cheeks
*Milk & Honey
*CoCo Mango
*Baby White Tea
It makes 24 twelve ounce bottles of solution from just one four oz bottle of concentrate!!!!

I am really looking forward to testing out the diapers. Everyone who has tested the diapers and wrote reviews raved about them! I can't wait to get my little man in some Blissful Booty Cloth Diapers!!! I'm sure he will appreciate such softness on his booty!

You can check out the Blissful Booty Store by clicking HERE
You can also stop by the Blissful Booty Cloth Diaper Facebook page by clicking HERE

Friday, March 4, 2011

Let My Precious Kid® help you keep YOUR precious kid safe.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you all about a great company. My Precious Kid® LLC is a Child Safety & Safe Baby Products Store based in Hillsboro, Oregon. MPK has over 800 products protecting kids, adults, and pets.

Let me introduce you to the owner, Kay Green.

Kay Green is an entrepreneur, business owner, speaker and new mom mentor in Hillsboro Oregon. She started My Precious Kid in 2001 after the adoption of her 4th child. My Precious Kid ID Cards were a result of needing Home school ID's for her kids, and an ID for Haley after her adoption. The Car Seat ID card was Kay's brainstorm after seeing car seat ID stickers from the hospital that were messy to remove or change. That led to creating ID kits to protect children and finding other wonderful child ID products to share with her customers. Today My Precious Kid has over 800 products for child safety, cloth diapers & safe baby gear. In 2008 she moved the business from her home to a retail store front with 3 employees. Her passion still is keeping our children safe.

When I think of positive and strong women role models, Kay Green would be one. Kay helps new moms through a mom mentor programs at her church. She has been doing it for 6 years now. They talk about child safety, starting solids, breastfeeding support, sleep safety, milestones, food allergies, sleeping issues, any other questions the moms might have.It is open to any mom in her community who has a child under age 3. They meet at a local church, Evergreen Christian Center on Wednesdays at 10 am.

Also Kay maintains a blog. Kay's blog is a great place to go for information on keeping your child safe. She also posts re-calls and new product information.

Kay also has a facebook page for MPK. She is more then happy to answer any questions you might have about any of her products or about child care in general. I have found Kay to be a very valuable resource. She is knowledgeable on a wide variety of topics and issues.

Kay's store website is very easy to use. Everything is divided into categories listed on the left side of the page. MPK carries a wide variety of cloth diapers. Any brand you can think of MPK most likely has. Recently MPK introduced cloth diaper packages. There is several to choose from, and one for every budget.

If you would like to learn more about My Precious Kid please stop by their facebook page. <3

Simple Green

A month or so ago Simple Green had a contest on their facebook page. I was lucky enough to win it. I have been a fan of Simple Green for a very long time, so anything free from them was awesome. My favorite thing Simple Green makes is the all purpose cleaner. Not only is it eco-friendly, but it actually works. It works way better then a lot of the other "non-green" products out there. I was pretty shocked when I got my prize. The contest had to do with my kitty so I assumed they would just send me a bottle of the new pet stain remover. I'm glad I was wrong. Here is a picture of my prize. (sorry if it is kind of grainy I took the picture with my cell phone)

Not only did I get the pet stain remover I also got the hand soap, all purpose cleaner (YAY!), glass cleaner, and surface wipes.

I finally got a chance to try out the pet stain remover last weekend. I used the little spray bottle first. My kitty left a few "messes" by her litter box. I followed the directions on the back of the bottle. I sprayed the spots, let it sit for a few minutes, then scrubbed with a damp cloth. It didn't take much scrubbing to get everything out of the carpet. After that I left it to dry, and then once it was dry I vacuumed up the little "crumbs" that were left.

On the back of the big jug (and the little bottle since they are the same) it said I could put some in my carpet cleaner. I was super happy about that! I tried it in my full size cleaner along with a little bit of my normal soap. I was amazed at how well it took out all the stains. Also the little you could smell from the cat was gone! I am totally in love now. I am so happy I got the chance to use it. I know for a fact I will be buying more in the future. It worked better then the Bissell pet carpet cleaner which is what we normally use.

The best part by far is that is Simple Green is safe to use around pets and kids because there are no chemicals in it. If your looking for a good "green" cleaner I highly recommend trying Simple Green. I guarantee once you try it you will LOVE it!


I will close this with a picture of my little "mess" maker. Enjoy! <3

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Want to be part of a world record?

The Great Cloth Diaper Change is out to set a world record! Here is the interview I did with Kimberly Webb - CEO, Rockin' Green, LLC about the Great Cloth Diaper Change.


1. What is the Great Cloth Diaper Change?


It all started with Judy Aagard’s desire to celebrate Earth Day by hosting a family event for the Tiny Tots community and quickly morphed into a dream to set the Guinness World Record for the most cloth diapers changed simultaneously.



Shortly thereafter, The Great Cloth Diaper Change 2011 was conceived and organized by a small group of cloth diaper enthusiasts that were eager to show North America that cloth diapers are a real option for today’s families.


2. Is this the first year?




Yes, and we have been blown away by the response! This has gone from idea to pretty big in a very short amount of time—the cloth diapering community is amazing.


3. What is the goal of GCDC?



The initial plan was to develop an infrastructure for any cloth diapering fan in North America to be able to get involved in, either as a participant or an organizer. Word quickly traveled across the oceans and it was soon evident that cloth diapering has a formidable following not just in North America but around the world. Currently, several countries will be hosting locations to help set the World Record, even though for some it will mean getting up in the middle of the night to do so.


4. Is this going to be a yearly event?



Absolutely, we are already talking about next year’s event.


5. How many groups/cities are participating?



Currently, there are 216 groups that are hosting events, and we are growing every day. We have over 2,500 fans on Facebook now too.


6. How many diapers do you hope will be changed?



Right now we are looking at changing over 5,500 diapers for the event; we anticipate that number to double by the time the event rolls around.


7. Where would someone go to get info to be a participant?



http://www.GreatClothDiaperChange.com
or
http://www.facebook.com/greatclothdiaperchange


8. Where would someone go to find a location near them?




On our website we have a “find a location” map where participants can find the location closest to them. They can then contact the host to RSVP and get additional information.




9. Are there any fees associated with this event?



It’s absolutely free. Hosts in the U.S. and Canada will be collecting $1 (or more) from each participant to go to the Real Diaper Association to continue cloth diaper awareness and education efforts beyond this event. The RDA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit so donations (at the local events or on the GCDC website) can be tax-deductible.


10. What do you hope comes from this event?



Awareness. The cloth diapering community is much larger than people think, and it’s time that we get noticed. And the world record bragging rights aren’t bad either.


11. Can non-cloth diapering families still participate? If so what would they have to do so they could participate?



Anyone can participate; the only requirement is that they change their baby into a cloth diaper at the event. Many hosts will have diapers available at the location for just such an event.


12. Do you think this event will help the cloth diapering movement? Bring more awareness?



We have already seen the effects just in the few short weeks that the website has been launched. Cloth diaper enthusiasts all over the country are blogging, tweeting and facebooking about the event. We have seen cloth diaper stores forming coalitions with other stores in the area, to help further the cloth diaper movement. 10 years ago, this would have taken years to put together but thanks to the power of social media we have been able to get the message out much quicker and to a much larger audience.


13. Is there anything you would like to add that I might of forgot?


One thing I think is really amazing about the Great Cloth Diaper Change is that it’s a “non partisan" event. No brand names used. All money generated will go to a nonprofit that will only help to propel the cloth movement. It’s really all about the diapers.



A big thanks to Kimberly Webb for taking the time to answer my questions. If you would like to learn more please visit The Great Cloth Diaper Change facebook page.

And that's what he said.

Yesterday as soon as my husband woke up I bombarded him with question about the cloth diaper. I had left it sitting out in hopes he would look at it when he got home. Since he doesn't get home till 5am I wasn't awake to talk to him then. I asked if he had looked at it, and he said "no, I didn't see it". Then I asked what he thought, if he liked it, and if he thought it was cute. He replied "ya, it is pretty cute". He was still pretty groggy from just waking up so I let him have his coffee before I started asking more questions. Once we started talking about it again he had a billion questions. Will it come clean? Will the poop leave stains? Do we scrap out the poop? Will the thing inside come out on its own or do we have to take it out? Are you sure you will do the laundry everyday??? ( He hates doing the laundry, so it will be up to me to do it.) I had him feel the inside and asked him if he was a baby if he would rather have that on his bottom or the disposable. Of course he said he would rather have cloth. :)

He does seem more open to the idea of cloth diapering now that we had the opportunity to see one in real life. Of course he still has some concerns about it. He is mostly worried about all the extra laundry, and the "mess" it will make. I keep assuring him that I will take responsibility for the laundry. It will be something I will HAVE to do everyday. I won't really have a choice in the matter. The only way there won't be laundry everyday is if we have enough cloth diapers to last two days. Of course I would still have to wash them, but it would be every other day instead of every single day.

I am pretty excited to use our first cloth diaper. I do have to wait till my sons thrush rash clears up before I can. I know from looking into cloth diapering that you can't use any creams except ones made specifically for cloth diapers. Hopefully it clears up very soon so we can test it out! I will be taking lots of pictures with him in his new cloth diaper. I am really looking forward to this new adventure. I think my husband and I will learn a lot about cloth diapering in the next few months. Hopefully by this time next year we will both be experts! I am definitely going to push forward with my blog idea even if it means me having to spend money.

Be on the lookout for more information. I really hope my idea will help lots and lots of other mom and dad's out there!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Coming soon...

I sent out interview questions yesterday! I can't wait to get them back and share the answers! Also coming VERY soon..... My son sleeping in his crib! He slept through the whole night from 11pm till 7am. It was so nice to get that much sleep, and not getting up with him at 4 in the morning was pretty awesome too. :)
Also coming soon: Review for Simple Green and a couple other things ( will list them once I receive them)