Granola Gourmet BLOG GIVEAWAY!!

When I am out and about with my kidsand they say "I'M HUNGRY"(this happens every time we LEAVE the house) The last thing I want to do it have to drive through a fast food or (fat food as we like to call it ;) joint to grab them something that is UNHEALTHY and pricey!

When we were asked to review the granola Gourmet bars we were excited, but HONESTLY I was a bit worried, because we ALL know that there are 500 Granola bar companies out there trying to get our kids hooked on JUNK & SUGAR!!

I did a bit of digging into these bars before showing them to my boys and I was plesantly suprised at what I found! MAIN INGREDIENT....ORGANIC OATS! I have to say that when I got the package there were 4 bars to sample, and MAMA had to decide WHO got what...

I myself had the Ultimate Cran-Orange. I can't begin to explain the smell when i opened the package...You can almost SMELL the flavor! ...and the taste...I can honestly say I have NEVER had a granola bar I liked more. This is NOT your average run of the mill granola bar by any means, and after sampling the bar I didn't want to have to share with the boys..BUT I DID!!

You see my boys LOVE granola but they are picky about what they will eat. I couldn't wait to see their take on them. So after school for snack we split the three remaining bars into 3 pieces each.

The boys ....LOVED THEM! You see these bars have texture...crunch oats that aren't to hard all wrapped up in gooey goodness!

My 9 year old LOVED the Ultimate Mocha Fudge
Little man who is 6 Couldn't get enough of the Ultimate Berry or the Ultimate Mocha Fudge

The Ultimate Berry when opened was like the Orange...it smelled so good and it is the FIRST thing my boys both noticed! 

The chocolaty bars are sweet but NOT to sweet and they are gooey but also have a bit of crunch from the oats..not like any bar I have ever eaten the boys LOVED THEM! The best part is they are GOOD FOR THEM!! They were a perfect snack for after school and right before we sat down for homework.
They are also PERFECT for moms on the go that want something easy and healthy for their little ones, OR for themselves!!

The bars are KOSHER, have NO WHEAT, NO dairy and are HIGH in Omega 3's!! They are PACKED with Whole Grains and made with over 75% ORGANIC ingredients! THEY SCREAM HEALTHY and they TASTE YUMMMMMMMMMMMY!!!

Not only do they taste great, THEY ARE MADE IN AMERICA and to me that is a HUGE PLUS! This company GIVES BACK, a portion of your purchase helps fight diabetes!

We WILL be purchasing these! The best part is you can get them on AMAZON!!!

NOW for the giveaway part:

ONE winner will receive a product package from "Granola Gourmet"

This includes 4 Granola Gourmet Energy Bars, one of each flavor: Ultimate Berry, Ultimate Fudge Brownie, Ultimate Mocha Fudge & Ultimate Cran Orange.

Entries must be received no later than NOON Arizona time on February 1nd Winner will be emailed on the 2nd and will have 24 hours to respond back to my email.

MANDATORY ENTRY

Go to the Granola Gourmet website and tell me WHAT STATE these are made in.

Other ways to enter You may do as many or as few as you like. please leave a comment for each thing you do & DON'T FORGET an email so I can contact you!

Entry 1. like Granola Gourmet on facebook and leave a post letting them know that SUPERMOM sent you.
Entry 2 like Granola Gourmet on twitter and leave your twitter ID in a post
Entry 3 Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect (on the right)
Entry 4 post to any other post on my blog
Entry 5 blog about this giveaway (worth 5 entries)
Entry 6 TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY (Check out this blog giveaway on @Thissupermom for @Granola_Gourmet Don't miss it! Free Gourmet Granola Energy bars & they are YUMMMY!  ) one entry DAILEY
Entry 7 Share on Facebook and leave me a link to your post


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. 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.

Hope for God's Children Corp. $200 BLOG GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

 

 

It's Time For a GREAT BLOG giveaway!

 

This group is VERY near and dear to me, and since I put the blog giveaway up...I KNOW just how awesome it is!! 

A new Launch will be starting soon and they want to GROW GROW GROW their blog, fan page, as well as twitter page and REALLY get the word about just what Hope for God's Children, Corp. is all about! With a little help from YOU.....they can do just that.

Please make sure you look around to find on this blog to find out more about the launch and the family it will be helping out, what a beautiful little angel this little girl is.

http://www.hopeforgodschildren.com/ 

They will be hosting 4 WEEKS of blog giveaways, and JUST YOU WAIT until you see some the awesome gift that have been donated to help us spread the word!

ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVE NO LATER THAN 12 NOON EST on the 31st of January
Winners will be announced on the 1st!

It seems TO GOOD to be true...BUT IT IS TRUE!!! REALLY FREE JEANS

Today while on face book I came across a page called PETROL JEANS a company started in 2004. They posted on their page...send 20 friends win a free pair of jeans!

REALLY? I questioned it, and I posted about the questions, and I CALLED the company!!

IT IS TRUE! if you send 20 friends to their page...YOU WIN a free pair of jeans!

SO pop over and fan their page LIKE IT and then go to the "WIN a pair tab" and comment that
Sharlene Battaglia sent you....

and then go invite 20 of your friends!!

Super Bowl Party Game Review .....Python Printable Games

We are a HUGE sports family....eat, live, breath......SPORTS. So we were thrilled when we got asked to review this Super bowl Party Game Pack. I can honestly say my 9 YEAR OLD was the happiest, and every day we got asked about 10 times if TONIGHT was family game night and IF we were going to get to play the FOOTBALL GAMES!

Let me start by saying this is GREAT family fun, even if your not a HUGE football fan. The pack is loaded with games, and fun for everyone. I only wish there were MORE Mad LIBS because those were my FAVORITE. I also think it would be great if there were a page added that was geared a bit more for the kids because I know MANY families who would have a blast with this.

The boys did LOVE the word search and at age 6 & 9 they tore through it in about 15 minutes!
My favorite page was the MadLibs

It ended with:
 Swapping spit with a stinky skunk. Yes, I'd rather be anywhere else in the world. I'd rather be poop-faced drunk. 
Alex WOULDN'T read it to daddy because the word POOP was in it, but BOTH the boys got the biggest laugh out of the MadLibs!

Hubby was rocking the trivia pages. His excitement was get answers right that were WRONG on the answer sheet! Since our pack was a 2010 pack SOME of the items have changed on a FEW of the pages, and with each one he found he was thrilled with himself! Some of the trivia was Challenging, some I was able to answer and SOME the kids even knew! We spent a good hour reading football trivia from the PAGES in this pack and had fun talking about them, and laughing about some of them.

A few of the games are VERY MUCH for a party with friends, so we looked over them, and will save them for SUPER BOWL to play with others.

Overall this pack is a great fun!  All three of the boys had fun "guessing" for the trivia questions.

If your going to be hosting a Super Bowl Party I would HIGHLY recommend Super Bowl Party Games Pack. Great for the GIRLS and for the guys! They are easy to use and once you pay, you print them right at home, you can even print a copy for each person at the party!

Python Printable Games has many other themed packs you might like as well, here is a link to try a few fun pages for FREE 


I was asked by Python Printable Games to review the Football party pack. I was given the pack for free. The review is my thoughts on the product and I was in no way paid or compensated to give this company a good review.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. 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.

A little funny from US to YOU....The truth about sheep...

Today was a NO SCHOOL day.

Little man was out of school 3 days last week, so has been in the house for 6 days now....MAMA is about to go KOO-KOO. To many days, hours, minutes of being stuffed in a  tiny apartment with a 6 year old will do that to any mom! I have heard the same stories, poems, songs, arguments NON STOP FOR DAYS!!

We have poems due at school in a few weeks the boys have to stand infont of the class and resite the poems for a grade.

Little Man has a nursery rhyme...
So he stood up and said, 

"Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,

And can't tell where to find them;

Leave them alone, And they'll come home,

Wagging their tails behind them."

 

and his big brother replied.....

 

"NO WAY THAT ISN'T TRUE, because SHEEP do NOT have tails, they have those little cotton balls like a bunny" 

 

(When he found out that they DO indeed have tail before being "taken away" he was very mad...I think he is going to be a animal rights activist....and if we would let him, I KNOW he would be a vegetarian!)

List those Giveaways!

It's a Monday thing! Feel free to add your giveaways here so that others can find them :) Grab the link and add it to your blog as well so that others can find all these great giveaways as well!

Sometimes crying over "Spilled Milk" is the only thing you can do.

The last week has been very crazy here, filled with a sick little boy, a hurting mama, a grumpy husband, and many other things that are plain NORMAL life. When so many of these things pile up it doesn't feel like "normal" life anymore what ever NORMAL is, and it just starts to wear you down.

Worn down like those little pencils my 9 year old brings home in his backpack because the teacher won't let him have them at school anymore. Those little eraser one, end point on other couldn't sharpen if you try pencils. Worn down like a favorite blanket that you JUST can't get rid of even though it has holes in it. Worn down like the sole of your favorite shoes that you can't part with....you know what I am talking about, because at one point in time EVERY mother feels this. That feeling like if one more thing goes wrong she isn't going to be able to fight back the tears.

My children know that when i hit that point, the tears will fall and this mornign was the cherry on top of it all.

Master B got up coughing he still hasn't been able to get rid of the cold he has and it is driving me nuts, but I KNOW it is just a cold and taking him to the Dr. is POINTLESS! My neck was a little stiff this morning, so I wasn't feeling the best myself. It is a weekend and like clockwork bailey did her token ONE bark to let me know she was ready to get out of her cage and go outside. I JUST WANT TO SLEEP! Both the boys were sleeping but I got up and took the dog out. i have yet to get coffee and I am not sure WHY I forget EVERY TIME I go to the store but I do, and this morning I really could have used it! Once the boys were awake the fighting over what movie to choose began and I tried to tune it out, but it was starting to wear on me.

I decided to get the rest of the laundry done early and start on the kitchen so I could relax a big this afternoon. I can't stand to get back up on laundry because NO MATTER how hard you try it feels you can Never get caught back up on it! kitchen was almost done, I reached up to put the glass bowls in the cabinet............




GLASS EVERYWHERE! I know they were only bowls, but as soon as it happened the boys came running and master B said "MOMMY, I am so sorry that you broke your FAVORITE bowl!"

He knew! I know it SOUNDS silly but it really was my favorite bowl! It was a LARGE blue bowl and the side of it said cookies. It was something I bought after Christmas about 10 years ago on sale at Kohls, I didn't pay a lot for it, but there was something about it! It was tall and a nice weight. I used it for EVERYTHING! As I looked at the counter and the floor, I couldn't hold back the tears, I am still upset about it. BOTH my large bowls are broken, and it will be a long while I am sure before I find another FAVORITE.

So they say Don't cry over "spilled MIlK"  but this mama is going to tell you that SOMETIMES it is the only thing you can do! Sometimes it is the only thing that makes you feel better about a situation.

good-by blue bowl you will be missed
Sincerely,
ME

Ebates...Have you joined?

Right now Ebates has a great promotion and I would LOVE to be able to refer a few new friends!

If you are not a member already follow my link and sign up...IT'S FREE..and you get money back for shopping online!

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=mTr4RJDprwOT3ezHrnfaiw%3D%3D

If I can get 250 referrals I will give away $250 gift-card to my website! 

It is FREE to join so check it out and leave me a comment when you join!!  JOIN wiht my link and they will add $5 to your account!

VALENTINES GIVEAWAY 3 WINNERS

I am not a sign a paper card kind of MAMA, and so each year we have to come up with a way to top the Valentines from the year before ;) 

Last year we had a HUGE hit with out..."I DIG you Valentine" they were SUCH a great hit that I listed them this year so that we could share them with others as well. 

They feature a goody bag with toys, and candy as well as a plastic shovel ;) for DIGGING!! You can check them out in my Etsy store if you are intrested in purchasing them for your little ones, or for a party!

This year we are going to be giving away 

SUPER HERO Valentines!! 

The cards read 

THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH A SUPER FRIEND!

each pack includes a bag of pieces to decorate the mask with so this fun "card" is also a Craft kid that will be a TON of fun for each child! 

purchase them here

I have them in singles, 5, 10 & 15 if you need another amount let me know. 

ONE winner will receive a 10 pack of assorted color super hero masks.($35 retail value) 

Winner may choose boy or girl card of a mix of both. 

TWO winners will receive ONE mask each 

MAKE SURE you leave a new comment for EACH entry!

Mandatory Entry 

Like my blog with Google friend connect.

Extra Entry

Check out my Etsy store and post a link to your favorite item 

Purchase Valentines from me for 5 entries! (leave 5 comments)

Follow me on twitter and tweet about this blog giveaway (leave your twitter name in the post) 

Tweet about this twice a day at least 2 hours between each tweet 

share on face-book using the button on this post (leave your name) 

Follow me on face-book

Sign up for my newsletter on the right (leave your email address in the comment)

Blog about this giveaway (3 entries, leave a comment for each) 

Leave a comment on any other post (let me know what one)

3 winners will be email on January 31st make sure you leave an email address so I can get in touch with you!

Items will be shipped to the winners free of charge. Open to the USA & Canada only.

NO ONE ELSE is aloud to get sick!

We went from my pulled neck to a sick kid overnight. My neck a week later is still hurting and little guy missed the last 3 days of school with a bit of a fever and a stuffy nose. tonight Master A went to bed coughing.
I think I am going to go buy a few cans of Lysol in the morning so that I can spray the whole house from top to bottom in hopes of getting rid of what ever is flaoting around in here!

I opened the windows today to let in fresh air, and I vacuumed the floors TWICE.

now it is time for a shower and tiger balm.....I can hear my pillow calling me!

I have a few fun giveaways on the way.

We have been contacted by a few fun companies for reviews and giveaways so I am hoping that we will have a few starting next week :)

I am also hoping to get a few bigger giveaways and have been working on these the last few weeks. I can't wait to let everyone know about these great companies!

Website sale :)

25% off all orders of $50 or more! Tons of great lines that are ONLY found on my wesbite so make sure check them out.

Sibling sets, vacation sets, spring, and summer as well as holiday!!

When your a MOM even neck & back pain can't get you down!

4 days ago..YES you read that right...4 DAYS ago, my neck started hurting a bit, quickly the pain went into my shoulder and by the afternoon I was in so much pain I couldn't move my head or neck unless I turned at the waist.
I don't know about you but death bed wouldn't be a good excuse for me as a mom and wife to be resting. Someone ALWAYS needs something they can't get on their own, help doing something, or FOOD!

"Mommy, isn't feeling good, I am REALLY hurting, "

"WELL MOM, do you remember when I HURT my knee and the next day it was even worst? Well, I think you should just get everything done today cause' you know that it will be worst tomorrow."
SURE ENOUGH "TOMORROW" mama couldn't pick her head up to get out of bed, BUT

The dog needed to be walked, boys needed breakfast, and laundry was piling up!

A tube of icyhot later and I was STILL in so much pain that when hubby got home, I WENT TO BED...yeah 5:30 and this MAMA was OUT LIKE A LIGHT! I NEVER go to bed before 11...NEVER. not only did I GO to bed, I SLEPT ALL NIGHT LONG!!

icehot just wasn't cutting it any longer. heat packs, moist heat, ice, Motrin...still in tons of pain~

so tonight this mama went to the store and got TIGERBALM and a bottle of wine...

CAN I TELL YOU THIS STUFF IS AWESOME!!!! relief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now the pain isn't GONE, but i can deal with it!! and it only took the TINIEST little amount to make me feel SO much better!

After my glass of wine...MAMA is going to bed!

Wedding ties ..these are NOT your traditional tie!!

 6 WEDDING Neckties

Sometimes making colors for a wedding fit together can be a BIT tricky, and these ties are the answer to that problem!

Bride may choose up to 3 fabrics for these ties. I will work with you to create the look you want and need.

Ties are made with cotton fabrics, and can be made in any color combo or print!!!

Please contact me for larger parties, or smaller. I Love working with brides and i feel so honored as a designer when a bride has me create her ties...weddings are so special and to be included is such a fun thing!

 

 

WE WON!!! ELMERS CanYouTopThis challenge....

I LOVE crafts, art, anything to do with a project, so when I found out about the Elmers Can you top this Challenge..I KNEW I had to enter...

If you didn't see what we made, make sure you check it out and the background story on it as well!

Elmer's #canyoutopthis challenge...& it was a TON OF FUN!!

 

 

After we were done, I told my sister and a few other people about the project. My sister entered the contest...

#CanYouTopThis Tri-fold Kitchen Set

 

SHE ROCKED that kitchen set!! 

We have been BOTH waiting to hear if we won one of the $100 Wal-mart gift cards for our entries....this morning we both got emails from Mommy 2 K that we had WON!! 

5 blogs hosted this contest and my sister & I BOTH won on the same blog! I thought that was one of the coolest parts about it! that and that we are getting a $100 Gift card in the mail!

Living so far away from each other we don't get to see each other a bunch, but it was fun to be excited about the same thing TOGETHER. Something that fueled BOTH our love for the arts!

Congrats little sister ;) Glad we both won, because if you had won and I didn't I would have been so mad at you I might not have talked to you for a week ;) LMBO!!

It has been one of those days...a PJ Day.

NO COFFEE...I think that explains it ALL!

This morning I got up threw on a sweat shirt and my fleece Christmas frog PJ pants, and headed out the door to take the boys to school...the looks said it all but my reply was "NO COFFEE in the house" to the two teachers, and both laughed and said the UNDERSTOOD.

I came home sat in the chair and watched tv, untill it was then time to go get the boys.......

I DID get my coffee but it wasn't until I went to get the boys from school, and at that point I think I needed a POT because the cup wasn't any help.

The boys did homework, and we left to on our walk. it was a LONG walk today but a nice one.

Dinner and then the boys were off to bed....

it was just BLAGHHHHHHHH all day....

I never really did get out of my Pj's........


Note to self...GO GET COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a NOTE worthy giveaway!!

Ends soon but this one is a MUST ENTER! OR you could just pretend so i ahve less people to compete with ;)

Giveaway – Ming Wang $336 Little Black Dress – 2 Winners – Ends 1/6/11

Sweeps4Bloggers 

Ming Wang makes some of the most practical, comfy clothing for the the mom on the go that I have ever seen! I SO hope I win one of these dresses, but whomever does will be a HAPPY mama!!

Ming Wang
 
About: Ming Wang is inspired by the basic principle that women want to feel comfortable and look stylish in great fitting clothes. The collection has been designed to meet the needs of today’s on-the-go woman with a demanding and active lifestyle. Each silhouette has been cut to fit and flatter, no matter the woman’s body type, shape or size. Ming Wang is the must have staple for every woman’s closet!
Ming Wang’s mission and passion is creating garments that cater to the active woman who is dedicated to style, yet seeks the perfect blend of elegance and practicality.

From now on ...YOUR DOING IT ALONE!!

When I was a kid there was no structure when it came to homework. no one to help if you had a question, and so most of the time I was trying to get Vocab done at lunch before running into the class. if I got part of it done I was happy. I didn't care about grades, because I honestly didn't know to care about them. NO ONE in my family ever graduated form high-school, much less went off to college..it was the norm. Do just enough to pass and after a few years your done.


THIS IS NOT the approach I take with my kids. I see how much that HURT me and I want the best for them so home-work and school are a HUGE thing to me because of this.

Each day the boys get home we sit at the table go through folders, talk about school, eat a snack, then start homework.

We recently moved from CT to Arizona...meaning GREAT AWESOME SCHOOLS to...well not so great :(
My third grader is VERY advanced, (this goes back to the above part)...he is working on 5th grade math and reading on a fifth grade level. We brought testing scores with us when we moved to have him placed in the advance program but were told it didn't start until 4th grade...the poor child was BORED TO TEARS in school. When I approached the teacher about it after two weeks at the school her words to me were...."Alex needs to take  a chill pill, he is working WAY above the other kids and I don't have time to give him anything more to work on. I have 28 other children in the class, so if you could talk to him and let him know that he is going to have to learn to have FUN here and not  work so hard that would be great"

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!! REALLY!!!?!?!?!??!
and so the following day we started looking for a NEW school for our boys!

We are now at an AWESOME charter school in the area, and the boys are LOVING it. They work at a MUCH faster pace, and are a grade level ahead of task...PERFECT for us!!

Benjamin is 6 and in Kindergarten. Yeah we kept BOTH our boys back that extra year because first THEY ARE BOYS, and second they have really late birthdays so to us it was worth it!

Yesterday Benjamin had 2 math work sheets, a book to read and he had to write each of his 12 spelling words once each. This is a lot for him since he got chucked into the school mid year and has had honestly a 2 month vacation from school when you think about it....The move, the school he was doing Nothing in here, then Christmas break. So I sat with him and kept repeating ...up to the ceiling DOWN to the basement as he wrote the letters. With  each letter that he didn't make correctly we would erase and try agian...

This was followed with ....TEARS, GROANING, and I Cant's...

Three words in, I honestly had lost every ounce of patience I could muster and so I told him I was going to go finish the laundry and would check on him in a few minutes....

I started folding and putting away, and about 2 minutes latter I was greated with a BUBBLY BOUNCING BOY and a paper.......

THAT WAS ALL FINISHED and the letters looked great.....

Today when the boys get home, we will sit down, eat our snack, talk about out day, look at folders, and then.....

MAMA IS LEAVING THE TABLE...............YOUR DOING IT ALONE!!!

This week I say .......YES!!

I was inspired by another blogger for this post, and I hope it will inspire others as well!!

Thank you The B.M.C. Report, I loved your blog post so here is mine.....

I say YES to a chocolate bar...I deserve one!
I say yes to remaining calm at homework time.
I say yes to 5 more minutes of snuggling before sending them off to bed.
I say yes to making sure that my I tell my boys "I LOVE YOU" each day
I say yes to making sure my boys know that GOD loves them too!
I say yes to stopping to smell the fresh cut grass even if only for a second.
I say yes to marveling at the beautiful sun God made for us.
I say yes to getting ALL the laundry done.
I say yes to a fun walk with the family each afternoon.
I say yes to inspiring others
I say yes to find a positive in every situation
I say yes to giggling
I say yes to learning something NEW
I say yes to making sure I blog each day with SOMETHING even if it isn't a huge post.


What do YOU say yes to? 

"MOM, where do PUPPIES Come from?"......THINK FAST MOM, THINK FAST!!

Meet Bailey the Christmas puppy...(that is a WHOLE other story for another day)

She is the BEST puppy ever, and the love of our two little boys lives! She is a Mama's girl, she wears bows in her hair when we go out. We have had her since December 23rd & she is SPOILED ROTTEN! (just like our other kids.

So my little guy was playing with Bailey while I was making dinner....

"MAMA, where do Puppies come from?" 

(he is 6)

THINK FAST MAMA , THINK FAST!!!

Me........"Well There is a MAMA & a DADA dog. They make a puppy and it grows inside the Ma Ma's tummy like a baby does"  

Little guy...."I KNOW THAT, BUT HOW DOES IT GET THERE!"

UMMMMMMMM..... I am NOT doing a good job at thinking fast LOL

me...."Well, God puts it there"

little guy...."BUT HOW" 

me...."GOD IS MAGIC" 

little guy............"OH, that's cool!"

MAYBE I AM good at thinking fast!!

Dear HUBBY....

I am writing you a 2011 GOALS list, because  I KNOW you won't write one for yourself!

1) I will start dropping my dirty clothing IN the basket not BY the basket. I know my wife would LOVE me forever and it would save her a LOT of time each day.
2) I will remember to put the seat down so that when my wife goes to the bathroom at 4:00Am after walking the dog, and is nice enough NOT to turn on the lights to wake me up, she doesn't fall in!
3) I will stop emptying my electric razor in the sink and all over the cabinet without cleaning it up..I bet that would save teh wife a lot of time too!
4) I will take my drink glass into the kitchen at  night so that the puppy doesn't spill it on the floor in the morning.


HONESTY I would be SOOO beyond thrilled if you could stick with the plan! it would mean the world to me...

OH and while you're at it ...

WILL YOU PLEASE BRING HOME SOME WD-40 so that the fridge and the bedroom door Stop MAKING THAT HORRIBLE NOISE when I open and close them....I really can't take it anymore. You are in fact a manager at Home-Depot and I KNOW they sell it there!

Love your Devoted wife,
ME

Stylish Blogger AWARD!

I will start off by saying....

WOW .THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! 

I was so excited to see that I had been given a blog award by   

Sweet Life by Nicole

this SO made my night!

Knowing that SOMEONE took the time to even add your name to a list; a list that took THEIR time, makes you feel so SPECIAL! SO MUCH in fact that I didn't want to wait until morning to make my own list. I hope that I can add a smile to another bloggers day, the way one was added to mine! Over the last few days I have found MANY great blogs. Below are a few that I found great information on and some that just put a smile on my face.

How It Works:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

 

 

 

7 things about ME

My favorite color is BLUE

I DO NOT like spiders, no matter how small they freek me out!

 I am a night owl

I Design childrens clothing

When I start a book I can't put it down until I finish it 

I can't fall asleep while watching a movie NO MATTER how tired I am  I HAVE to see the end

I don't like driving

  

My nominations are:

 

 The Unexpected Mother

 Finding Heaven

By Word Of Mouth!

The Mommy Chronicles

momswrites

The Book Buff

Me and the Twins

365 days of my life as A MOM

Beholden to Nature 

A Little Bite of Life

DaLa Chanelle

Close My Eyes and Leap

I am NOT a VOLCANO and other such Stories

My Life as Me

The Knit Wit by Shair

Three 1/2 out of four "aint" bad.....is it?

So my four GOALS for myself this year

1) Get to the gym at least three times a week (or exercise)
      I took the boys and little bailey pup-pup on a HUGE walk this afternoon and we were all tired when we got in. LOTS of nice fresh air, and it was good for all 4 of us. Both the boys got a Razor scooter for Christmas and they are AWESOME for taking walks around the apartment complex! THANK YOU SANTA!!

EXERCISE DONE...CHECK

2) CHORE CHARTS...OH yeah BABY! and the boys were REALLY excited about them too! Who knew
     I found a great website with FREE printable charts that you can make custom. Each of the boys picked their theme and we added 5 chores for each boy. If you are looking for an EASY chore chart with cute themes check out this site.

CHORE CHARTS DONE.....CHECK

3) BLOG a little as much as I can. honestly I have been Loving putting my thoughts down the last few days, it has been very therapeutic! Even if NO ONE reads what I am putting down it has been a little piece of sanity in the sea of motherhood and craziness! I know I have a few comments so SOMEONE read at least a few of my posts, and that made my day even more!

BLOGGING DONE.......CHECK

4) Make the boys clean up after themselves...Yeah it didn't happen with everything but I did make them take their PSP & DSI to their rooms.....BUT chore charts start tomorrow so I am cutting myself slack on this for tonight ;) honestly I THOUGHT they had cleaned up their dirty clothes and put them in the basket, but NOPE they are on the floor BY the basket. I really think that is a GUY thing because hubby does the same thing!

Boys are in BED....Bailey PUP-PUP is napping on the kitchen floor (not sure WHY I spent 3 hours MAKING her a princess dog bed), hubby went to see a movie & i am going to curl up with my blanket that is almost done drying in the dryer and watch a movie...

ALL is well at the Battaglia house

Amazon Giftcard Giveaway

In September a friend of mine told me about a website she thought I should check out. I love blog giveaways, and I am a coupon queen, but I am NOT a fan of point system websites that require you to do things to win prizes. many are just scams, and you do so many "levels" and never end up getting enough points to get anything. Never the less I looked into the site and joined it to check it out for myself.

I joined on September the 1st, and by the first week in December I had $225 in Amazon gift cards! There are SOOO many other things you can "purchase" with your points, but the amazon cards were my FAVORITE!



The program is set up to help members actually win MANY points. Even if you are just searching a few times a day with their search bar you should be able to make enough points to win at LEAST one $5 amazon card a month! If you start NOW by next Christmas you should have a nice "bank" put together for Christmas shopping.



Members download a tool bar and use it to do their searching online. You are rewarded at random for searching and your points go into your account. You can also win points for codes that are posted somewhere on the site each day, for doing surveys, and for doing tasks. Get your friends to join and you win gain points even faster because you will win the points your friends win up to the first 1000 points!



The program is FREE to join, and will cost you NOTHING to use...just be prepared that you will be spending more time on the computer ;)



To get you started I am giving away a $5 Amazon Gift code. It will not expire so you can add it to your Amazon account and keep adding until Christmas 2011!!



Mandatory



Check out Swag bucks

if you are not a member then SIGN UP, if you are a member then just tell me what you like to "purchase" with your points.



EXTRA WAYS TO WIN: leave a separate entry for each item you do.



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10 ways PLUS to win!!

Code will be sent through email to the winner. Entries must be in by January 14th.

I have not been compensated for this review in any way. Price is one that I have won from swag bucks on my own, it was not donated in any way for this review. This Review is not sponsored by the program in any way!

MONDAY.....I NEED YOU!!!!

I LOVE my boys...

I repeat ...I LOVE MY BOYS!!

Christmas break has been dragging on for what seems like MONTHS! The boys are tired of playing with each other...and all the toys that Santa brought. They have resorted to Forts, pillow fights, webkin football, and torturing their new puppy they got for Christmas (THEY WILL NOT let her nap, they must touch her at ALL times)

Mommy needs a "Christmas" break now and it is why we are COUNTING DOWN the hours until bed time knowing that when we wake, it's OFF to school with them both!

I think I am going to go buy myself one of those $5 cranberry scones and a coffee once they are gone, and just SIT and watch movies!

Or at least do something for me.
I plan to spend at least 30 minutes in the gym since I will be able to actully work out without the boys rolling Bakugan up the treadmill, and shooting them under the weight machine.

MAMA IS THRILLED at the thought of it all.....it actually just gave me goose bumps.

YOU HAVE GOT to be kidding me...they are SO getting chore charts!

The boys have been playing in the middle of the living room all day long. PILLOWS, blankets, FORTS they are all over the floor. SOOO once they went to bed I tried to clean it all up so that we could start new on MORE forts in the morning. I know I need to work with them on cleaning up after they play, but as most moms know...95% of the time cleaning up after they are in bed takes a fraction of the time that sitting on top of them asking them to pick up each things would take.

GOAL ONE: Tomorrow we are working on CHORE CHARTS!
GOAL TWO: make them at least help clean up some of the mess they make...I would save MYSELF hours of time a week if I...
a) do goal ONE
b) make them clean up at least PART of their mess.

The problem is I ORGANIZE it all and it drives me NUTSO when I take hours to make sure all the Legos are in one bucket, the Playmobil in another, the bakugan in bins under the bed.....etc

So tonight I am cleaning up the mess, the boys are running back and forth .......

"I NEED WATER"

"My covers are WRECKED"

"Bubby said I was stupid" 

"My nose hurts" 

"IF ANYONE ELSE GETS OUT OF THE BED THEY ARE TAKING THEIR PILLOW AND FORT OUT ON THE PATIO TO SLEEP" ;) yeah it was so one of those nights....

So while cleaning up I realize that my 9 year old had taking the laptop into the fort, and so I try to untangle the power cord from around the pillows, blankets, and chair. As I do...


THE LAMP falls of the table ...ONTO the laptop and ...yeap.....SHATTERED the screen..

I quit!!!!

TOMORROW my kids are getting chore charts!!!!

A few MUST join websites for the new year!

It's a new year, and so many of us have made goals we hope to keep. One of my goals is to make sure that I go the gym at least 3 times a week and since it is about 40 feet from my door there is NO excuse for me to not be able to do this...

THE OTHER is to SAVE our family money AS MUCH as possible!!

SUPERMOM

There are so many great websites out there that can help do this, and a few that I LOVE that I want to share with you!

After our move I tried to find ways to get more BANG for our BUCK since Christmas was right around the corner and I wanted to make sure we had money to spend but that we weren't wasting it in the process.

I told you about SwagBucks one of my FAVORITE sites...From September to December I was able to make over $200 in Amazon cards and this was a BULK of the boys Christmas this year!! I have a $5 amazon giveaway going on that has only 2 ENTRIES right now so make sure you check it out for a chance to win!

The second site i fell in LOVE with over the Christmas holiday was LilLuxe. Each day new deals are posted and the savings are OUT OF THIS WORLD!! We bought quite a few things on this site for the boys and other kiddo we needed to shop for. They have deals on some of the BEST brands ever. So worth signing up just to get the newsletter even if you only purchase once or twice a year!

Site number three and this one is a GREAT one for MOMS & DADS!! EVERSAVE So many great deals on this site. Another great one to sign up for to see the deals in YOUR area!!

From time to time as I find other sites that I think are a MUST to help others save, I will post them. make sure you check these sites out..I am almost POSITIVE you will be glad you did!