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Given by: Moody Mommy
Given by: Julie @ Coupon Saving Family
Given by: Mary @ Mother Nos Best
Given by: Mary @ Mother Nos Best
Given by: Lorie
Given by: Lorie
Given by: Lindsey
I’ve Got a Sick Baby at Home!
March 10, 2010 | Filed Under Family, Peyton | 8 Comments
Poor Peyton is sick. We took him to Texas Children’s Hospital yesterday afternoon and he was diagnosed with HSP. If you Google it, you can learn more about it. The prognosis is excellent and there doesn’t seem to be any long-term effects. Usually it just corrects itself, so that is what we are hoping for.
If I’m not around as much, you know why. I’m babying my little guy!
Fun at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration!
February 10, 2010 | Filed Under Family | 10 Comments
We finally arrived at Disney after a long 16 hour trip. We stopped overnight at a hotel and finished up the last couple of hours this morning. Can I just say, Disney is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
We arrived at the Polynesian at around 12:30 and then headed out on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Since we are here for a media event, we received a special Media Fast Pass that allows us to skip ahead in line. I must say that it is totally cool not to have to wait in line.
After a few hours at the Magic Kingdom, we headed over to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex for dinner. While we were there we got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy and some of the other characters. I also learned about some of the new things Disney is implementing, including a new cruise ship - Disney Dream! Here is a picture of the whole family, minus me at dinner. The boys did not want to cooperate with the camera tonight.
Here is Lorie and Pluto. She is a blogger who I had the pleasure of meeting here at Disney.
We had someone offer to take a picture of all of us, so you can see everyone, including me with Mickey!
We had a fabulous time tonight, the food and entertainment was fantastic and the cast members of High School Musical did a little performance that Taylor loved!
It’s been a long day and I’m tired. Now if only the kids would fall asleep….
We’re Going to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration
January 12, 2010 | Filed Under Family | 3 Comments
Yep, you read that right! I’m taking the whole family on a 15 hour journey to Orlando, Florida for the Social Media Moms Celebration! This event is the talk of the blogosphere and is already sold out. A couple hours after I registered, I saw a tweet on Twitter that said it was sold out. Talk about a deep sigh of relief. If I had waited any longer, we wouldn’t have been able to attend.
Here is a small tidbit about the event:
The Walt Disney World Resort near beautiful Orlando, Florida is the setting for this first ever, family-friendly social media conference for moms. You’ll experience special events, conference sessions and private parties taking place across the 40-square mile entertainment complex. You’ll have a chance to experience the fun and fantasy of Walt Disney World while hearing from captivating speakers such as Guy Kawasaki, Maxine Clark, MaryEllen Hooper, and more.
I’m so excited for so many reasons! Just a few days ago before I really knew anything about the event, I commented on Lorie’s blog about how I wanted to be able to take the children to Disney soon. I had no idea it would be this soon! I’m so excited for Taylor to see all the princesses that she has adored for so many years. Rylan is going to flip out when he is able to see Mickey Mouse. He watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and is such a huge fan of Mickey! Since Peyton is pretty young I don’t think he will quite understand, but I still think he is going to have a blast.
I’m also excited to meet some of the mommy bloggers and their families that I’ve met online over the past 10 months! There are so many women that I talk to online and it will be really awesome to actually see them and talk face-to-face. If you are going to the event, I would love to meet up. In addition, I’m super excited to learn more about social media. I can’t wait to hear all the wonderful speakers that are lined up.
I want to the thank everyone involved for making this a family-friendly event! I can’t wait for February!
Sponsorship Opportunities Available
The focus of this trip is to grow my knowledge of social media to make me more effective as a blogger and to enjoy the experience of Disney with my entire family! If you have a product that is related to family travel, please contact me for sponsorship opportunities.
Disney On Ice Celebrating 100 Years of Magic
November 12, 2009 | Filed Under Family, Reviews | 5 Comments
Thanks to Mom Central and Feld Entertainment my family was able to experience the magic and excitement of Disney On Ice. This is the first year that we have been able to experience it and I don’t think my children will forget about it anytime soon.
For the past couple of weeks we’ve been trying to build the excitement with the children because they had no idea what Disney On Ice was. We’ve been reminding them every couple of days and they were really excited when show day came!
The show started out with Aladdin and the Genie. The excitement on the children’s faces was absolutely priceless. My oldest was amazed that the characters could skate on the ice and not fall down.
The characters from Finding Nemo were the next to come out. The audience went absolutely crazy when little Nemo swam his way out on the ice. My personal favorite was Beauty and the Beast. It brought back such great memories of being young and watching Beauty and the Beast on VHS over and over again.
At the end of that scene all the Disney princesses did an awesome scene with Belle, Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine and Pocahontas. My daughter immediately noticed that Sleeping Beauty was missing though. I just told her she was sleeping. Ha!
The show continues on with Toy Story, Its a Small World After All, Pinnochio and Mulan. There was more to the show but we had to get home. It was past the children’s bedtime and we still had to drive home. If I could change one thing, it would be the starting time of the show. With 3 small children it makes it very difficult to stay for the whole show.
I can not express how much we ALL loved Disney On Ice. It was absolutely amazing and they did an awesome job of making it entertaining for the whole family. The costumes looked so real and the skaters brought the characters to life. This is definitely something I highly recommend for any family.
If you would like to experience the magic of Disney on Ice you can use code “MOM” for a special deal. With this code you can get four tickets for only $44.00 for Monday-Friday matinee shows or receive $4.00 off Friday night and weekend shows. Any additional weekday tickets are still priced at $11.00.
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely that of the blog owners. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. I have been given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
Healthy Halloween Tips for Children
October 29, 2009 | Filed Under Family, General | Leave a Comment
With Halloween just a few days away, I wanted to post some tips for a healthier Halloween.
- Give your child a nutritious meal before he goes trick-or-treating. A meal with nutrient rich foods and beverages like a peanut butter sandwich with a cup of 100% OJ will fill him up and make it less likely that he’ll be eating the candy before he even gets home.
- Reduce sugar. Although you should serve a full meal on Halloween night, try to avoid all unnecessary sugar that day. That way, if they do have a few treats later, they won’t run the risk of overdosing on sweet stuff.
- Let your child indulge a bit. Not allowing your child to eat her Halloween candy will just drive her to want it more. Although a low-fat diet is important for children, allowing the occasional indulgence, especially on a fun-oriented holiday like Halloween, is also important.
- Set limits on how much candy can be eaten at once. When your child returns home from trick-or-treating, ask her to pick the 10 pieces of candy that she wants to keep. Take the rest away and use them as substitutes for lunch treats or desserts.
- Have your child brush and floss his teeth thoroughly before going to bed. Although this should be done every night, it’s especially important that your child’s teeth be free of the Halloween sugar.
- Donate your leftover candy to charity. Not only will this prevent your child from continuing to eat candy for months to come, it will help teach her the value of helping others.
- Try nonedible options. Instead of giving out candy to local ghosts and goblins, consider small toys, such as temporary tattoos, stickers, crayons, small novelties, miniature magnifying glasses, plastic jewelry/decoder rings, necklaces, and fake money.
I hope everyone has a fantastic Halloween!
Information provided by Florida Department of Citrus
Zhu Zhu Pets are a Hit
September 30, 2009 | Filed Under Family, Reviews | 7 Comments
We were one of the lucky families that were chosen to participate in the Zhu Zhu Pets campaign from MomSelect. We received a huge box full of Zhu Zhu Pets goodies that included:
- 11 Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters (3 for my children, plus 8 for friends)
- A complete Hamster Habitrail
- Themed games and activities
- Easy-to-make recipes
When I received our box, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was throughly impressed with the generosity of the folks over at Zhu Zhu Pets! And you should have seen my children! I wish I would have had my video camera ready! I probably could of won $10,000 on America’s Funnies Home Videos.
Since our Zhu Zhu Pets party was planned for a few weeks out, I went ahead and let my 3 children play with their Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster. They each chose which one they wanted and thank goodness they all chose different colors.
Since I wanted the whole Zhu Zhu Pets Habitrail to be a surprise, they didn’t get to see or play with that until the party this past weekend. We went out of town to see some family and it was the perfect opportunity for a Zhu Zhu Pets party. I have a lot of family that live all in the same area and they all have little children.
When we started putting the Habitrail together they were like vultures! They all wanted to see what was going on and couldn’t wait for us to get finished. The Habitrail was a little confusing to put together, so I was very thankful that my husband was there to help me. I’m sure if all the children hadn’t been around and making so much noise I could have figured it out myself, but nonetheless it got put together.
Once we had every thing set up and ready to go, they all sat around ready to play. Once they got started each and every one of the children played, played and played! They enjoyed watching their Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters make their way through the Habitrail. They really enjoyed that the hamsters could go on their own and it was almost like a real one. Aside from exploring, the hamsters also squeek and chatter.
The Zhu Zhu Pets party totally made the childrens day! My aunt told me the next morning that one of her children actually slept with his Zhu Zhu Pets hamster!
I think Zhu Zhu Pets are really extraordinary. Growing up I had a hamster and I remember the trouble of cleaning the cage and remembering to water and feed. My children can experience being able to have a hamster and not worry about all that stuff. Make sure to be really careful around hair. My 1 year old son put his hamster in my daughters hair and lets just say, it wasn’t pretty. And make sure you stock up on batteries! If your children are like mine, they’ll go through many.
A special thanks to MomSelect and Zhu Zhu Pets for the wonderful opportunity!
Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey is Over the Top!
July 20, 2009 | Filed Under Discount Codes, Family, Reviews | 2 Comments
We had an amazing opportunity to take the kids to see the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Over the Top show last Thursday night. This was their first circus and they had an absolute blast.
We arrived at Reliant Stadium early and we were able to see all the animals up close and meet their trainers and learn more about them. It was amazing to see them all up so close. We were able to see the elephants, tigers, a porcupine, a few dogs, horses and some pigs.
We also had the pleasure of meeting Christine who is another mommy blogger. It was really neat for me because it was the first time I got to meet one of the ladies that I talk to online. It was such a pleasure meeting her and her beautiful daughters!
After meeting Christine we made our way to the All Access Pre-Show! It was a great opportunity for the children to try on costumes, meet the performers, get autographs and clown around.
One of the highlights that I’ll remember from All Access Pre-Show was this dude! I’m always amazed to see people walking on stilts but this dude just did an awesome job manuevering his way through the crowds.
The show started at 7:30 and the kids were so excited! Rylan’s favorite part of the whole show was the dogs catching the frisbees! He thought that was just the coolest thing. Taylor’s favorite part was the “motorcycles in the metal ball”. They were amazed at all the stunts and just sat there in awe.
I did my best to try to capture this but it was just amazing!
Since me children are on the younger side (6 and under) the show was rather long. After intermission the show losts its appeal they lost interest. My only suggestions for improvement would be to leave some of the “stuntless” acts out to shorten the show and to start a little earlier. My children were out way past bedtime and I’m sure many parents felt the same way.
If you are looking for something that the whole family will enjoy, Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey is the way to go! The circus leaves town on July 26th, so hurry up and go see all the fun at Reliant Stadium. Remember to use the special code to score some cheap tickets!
A huge thanks to Mom Central for this amazing review opportunity!
Filling the Co-Host seat at Daddy Digest
July 14, 2009 | Filed Under Family | Leave a Comment
So, my husband Ryan of Daddy Digest does a podcast about 2 times a month and he asked me to sit in with him. At first I was totally against it because I’m just no good at that sort of thing but he kept begging and because I love him dearly, I decided to do it! I must admit, that I had fun.
We talk about anything and everything that comes to mind. This particular episode we talked about the children, my parents new furniture and that crazy parent at Walmart that I could’ve slapped! You can click on over to Ryan’s blog to hear all the past episodes of the podcast. Enjoy!
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Coming to Houston!
July 5, 2009 | Filed Under Discount Codes, Family | 8 Comments
I’m so excited the circus is coming to Houston. My children have never been but we are going this year!! The hubby and I are so excited but we haven’t told the kiddos yet because we want it to be a surprise.
There is a great promotion going on right now that will blow your socks off. You can purchase a 4-pack of tickets for only $44 by logging onto Ticketmaster and entering the coupon code “MOM“. How cool is that!
Here are the show dates for the Houston shows:
Wednesday July 15: 7:30pm
Thursday July 16: 7:30pm
Friday July 17: 1:30pm, 7:30pm
Saturday July 18: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
Sunday July 19: 1:30pm, 5:30pm
Tuesday July 21: 7:30pm
Wednesday July 22: 7:30pm
Thursday July 23: 10:30am, 7:30pm
Friday July 24: 10:30am, 7:30pm
Saturday July 25: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
Sunday July 26: 11:00am, 3:00pm, 7:00pm
If you live in Houston or the surrounding areas, become a fan of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Houston fan page on Facebook.
There is a minimum purchase requirement of 4 tickets and if you need additional tickets they can also be purchased for $11/each.
Sneak Peak: Raising the Bar
June 24, 2009 | Filed Under Family, Reviews | 3 Comments
On Monday, June 29th, TNT’s hit legal series Raising the Bar will air its episode “No Child’s Left Behind”. I was given the opportunity to to see the episode and this is a very important episode that I think every parent needs to see. Something as innocent of taking a photo of your child, could very well get you into a heap of trouble.
A little about the episode:
With the proliferation of social networking sites, more and more parents are posting pictures of their families online. While this many seem like an easy and safe way to share photos with family and friends, it can potentially open the door to legal problems, as seen in an upcoming episode of TNT’s hit legal series RAISING THE BAR. In the episode, “No Child’s Left Behind,” which is set to premiere Monday, June 29, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), a father is arrested when an innocent photo he posted of his son in the bathtub finds its way onto a child pornography site.
I don’t know about you, but I am guilty of doing just that! Never once did it cross my mind that someone would take my child’s photo and place it on a pornography site?!? What is wrong with people?
Please parents, take the time out and watch this episode. If you can’t watch it when it airs, set your DVR. You really need to see this. It’s scary what could happen if your personal photos got into the wrong hands.
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