Those first few weeks after coming home with baby seem to be a blur.  Weeks or months in my case of sleepness nights and I felt like I was running on fumes. But just looking at my sweet little bundle of joy all wrapped up cozy and warm, gave me the motivation I needed to keep on going.

While my babies aren’t really “babies” anymore, when they were younger, the thing I looked forward to most was hearing them call me mama.  That moment was incredibly special for me with each of my children.  After hearing them call me mama, the thing I looked forward to most was them walking.  I loved watching them learning to use their little legs to get them where they wanted to go and seeing how excited that they figured it out.

With my first child, I kept track of all “firsts”, memories and developmental milestones in a baby book. With my second and third children, instead of using a baby book, I wrote down these special occasions into a spiral notebook. While I love my daughters baby book, it just isn’t as cute as I thought it was when I bought it. So my thinking with my other children was that I could create more of a scrapbook style book with all these important memories later on. Instead of a standard baby book with teddy bears and rattles, I could create a baby book with their pictures.

Philip AVENT now offers a free iPhone application, “My Baby & Me” that allows you to keep track of your baby’s health and growth, sleep patterns, diaper changes, and feeding schedule which can then be combined into a sharable movie of all your baby’s firsts.

How do you or did you keep track of all your baby’s milestones and memories?  Join the discussion on the Philips AVENT Mom Tribe and be entered to win one of four spout cups or a baby monitor.

I am a Philips AVENT Mom Ambassador for Mom Bloggers Club and will be compensated for my time sharing about my journey of motherhood.

I’m the world’s worst about getting family photos taken.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m constantly taking pictures of the children and Ryan, but since I’m the one always taking the pictures, I’m always left out of the photos.

However, this year, thanks to my friends over at Nautica, our family pictures turned out absolutely amazing.  With the help of my mother and a tripod, we were able to capture all of us, hand in hand.

I absolutely love these pictures.  I was always jealous seeing other family pictures taken in interesting places and I think my mom, my Canon camera and our tripod did a great job of capturing this shot.

On November 7th, Nautica launched the Holiday Well Wishes Photo Project and as part of this project, Nautica will donate $5,000 to Charity: Water to fund a project that will provide clean drinking water for a community in a developing nation. Charity: Water uses 100% of the public donations to directly fund sustainable water solutions in areas of greatest need. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. To join the Holiday “Well” Wishes Photo Project and show support, you can upload a photo of your family wearing Nautica to the Nautica Facebook wall and share how your family gives back during the holidays.

As a special offer to my readers, Nautica is extending a 30% off coupon code good until November 14th.  When you shop at Nautica.com, use code BLOG30 to save 30% off your apparel purchase.

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 received media samples in order to facilitate this review.

Does being a hero mean you have to have a special superpower or possess a talent or ability that no one else has?

No. Not in my eyes.

To me, being a hero is someone who always stands up for what is right. Someone who thinks about others before themselves.  Someone who tries to lead by example.  Someone who loves no matter what the cost.

That’s a hero to me.

That’s my mom.

Although growing up, I never thought I’d call her a hero.  She was my mom, the one who disciplined, who said “no” more times than the number of hairs on my head.  She kept me out of harms way and taught me how to be a respectable adult.  She raised me to always be honest and caring.  She made sure I had the best life possible and gave me all the tools to succeed.

She was and still is my hero.

Maybe you know a heroic mom or maybe you see one when you look in the mirror. Share your story and be entered for a chance to win $2,500 cash from Allstate. Plus four runner-ups will receive a $100 Visa Gift Card. *The five finalists will be chosen from the Entries receiving the most votes.  

As a mom, one of the most important things you can do is purchase life insurance to protect your families future. Allstate has been helping to do just that with a range of life insurance products for over 50 years. If you’d like to get a quote, please visit allstate.com/life.

Disclosure: This is post is Sponsored by Allstate. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. Official Contest Rules

Being able to become pregnant and carry a child is truly a miracle.  A miracle that I had the opportunity to experience three times.  My pregnancies were easy and even enjoyable and if given the opportunity, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

I’ve been featured on the ABC News page for my participation in the Million Moms Challenge, with my post The Waiting Game.

I hope you’ll join me in joining the Million Moms Challenge and by simply leaving a comment on the ABC News page, you will be entered to win an exclusive Million Moms Challenge Gift Pack, which includes an all-expenses-paid trip to a conference on mothers hosted by the UN Foundation in DC (Jan/Feb 2012), an iPad2, a custom-made Million Moms Challenge pendant and $50 donation in your name to Global Giving.

Please raise your hand and say you’ll help this call to make healthy pregnancies, safe births, and children who survive and thrive a basic right around the world.

Let’s start by looking back to — oh — four years ago.  My daughter had just turned four and that meant we could get her into some of the local group sports programs.  Her father and I were so excited and decided to sign her up for soccer.

Big mistake!

The whole thing, from beginning to end, was just a huge mistake.

After we spent an insane amount on Nike soccer shoes and purchased all the required “soccer wear”, we showed up to the first practice and expected to have a soccer star.

She showed so much potential.

Boy were we wrong.

She wanted nothing to do with running around and kicking the ball.  Absolutely nothing.

She refused to do anything but cry.  Honestly, I had no idea how to handle it.  I looked over at my son and his face showed exactly what I was thinking.

What the heck?

I guess we will just stick to golf ball pick up in the backyard.

Can I be totally honest with you without fearing that you’ll shake your finger at me?

Are you sure?

Well, good.

While I totally love the idea of being able to do home improvement projects around the house, the simple fact is, my husband and I don’t know the first thing about home improvement.  Anytime repairs need to be made or we want to upgrade, we call one of our dads.  Both of them seem to be pretty handy.  With each repair though, I feel like the hubby is learning something and hopefully one day we will be able to do it all ourselves. (I’m sure the dads would LOVE that.)

Currently, our ice maker in our refrigerator does not work.  We figured out what part we needed (dads are great) and when I was searching online, I came across EasyApplianceParts.com.  I love that they are accredited by the BBB plus they’ve received the BizRate Gold Medal for great customer service. Not only can I purchase the part we need, I  found a handy dandy section where they offer a free refrigerator repair guide.  I guess I should have done some searching before calling the dads.

After reading some of the findings from one of their recent polls from customers, I think the hubby needs to take a home improvement class. Here are some of the findings that I found interesting:

• Almost 80% of repairs require only 30 minutes (and 50% take less than 15!)
• Fridges tend to break the most (I knew that – from experience) – the average cost to repair them using parts from EasyApplianceParts is around $48
• On a 5 point scale, 88% of people said that their DIY repair was “Really Easy” – only 2% of people said it was “Very Difficult”
• A repairman can cost anywhere between $45 and $70 just to walk in the door, which doesn’t even include labor or parts

So tell me, are you a DIY type person or are you more like us, dependent on other people for help?

While I’m away on blog trips, my husband does an amazing job at keeping things going smoothly at home.  He never complains, he just does what needs to be done.

I’m not sure what I’d do without this man in my life.  Seriously!  He is extraordinary.

When I arrived home from a recent trip to LA, he had a surprise waiting at home for me.

A new desk.

I’ve been working at our kitchen table or on the couch in the living room for ages.  I kept on saying I was going to get myself a desk, but I just couldn’t justify the expense right now.  We are trying to sell our home in the country to be in a more urban area and I’m stashing money away in savings.  My husband knew that I would never buy a desk for myself.  So he bought one for me.

Gosh, I just love this man.

You hear about it all the time. People’s lives being turned upside down because of identity theft.  Heck, you might have even been a victim yourself.  But the bottom line is, we have to put a stop to this!

I recently attended an event in Arizona where I met with the folks at LifeLock. If you’ve never heard of LifeLock (where have you been hiding — just kidding), it’s a company that is dedicated to providing identity theft protection.

While I was in Arizona, I learned so much about how we make ourselves vulnerable to identity theft and just how easy it is for someone to steal your identity.  I don’t want to go through the heartache and struggles of identity theft (who does) and now I can have someone on my side watching out for me.

I want to share some tips from LifeLock on how to protect yourself AND your family from identity theft.

• Shred and Destroy: You’d be surprised the lengths people go through to get a hold of your personal information. Dumpster diving anyone? Invest in a cross-cut shredder and shred all papers that contain your personal information.
• Keep Quiet: Don’t share your information unless absolutely necessary.  Most doctors offices and dentists offices don’t “need” your social security number anymore for claims, so you shouldn’t need to disclose it.  Always ask why it’s needed and disclose at your discretion.
• Stay Alert: You’d be surprised just how high-tech identity thieves are. They are constantly busy coming up with inventive ways to get a hold of your personal information, including skimming your credit card during check out without you even knowing, quietly snapping a picture of your account by looking over your shoulder unnoticed, and phishing for your identity via email, websites, texting, or phone calls. Always keep an eye on your credit report and report any unusual activity.
• Shop Carefully: If you’re like me, you shop online more than in a brick and mortar store.  I love the convenience of being able to shop in my jammies and stay inside.  When shopping online, make sure you are shopping on a secure site by looking for a security seal and the https (not http) in the URL when it comes time to enter any personal information.
• Strengthen Security: From mailbox to internet, make sure proper security is in place.  If you have an unlocked mailbox, replace it for one that features a lock and key.  When traveling, it’s best to place a hold on your mail. Change online passwords often and use a combination of numbers, upper and lower case letters and symbols to make sure your passwords are secure.
• Protect the Whole Family: Last but certainly not least, the whole family is susceptible to identity theft and therefore all members of the family need protection.  Lock up all government related ID’s and never carry them with you when not in use.

In this day and age, you need more than just a credit monitoring service. LifeLock is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year using a combination of data surveillance techniques and outstanding member service to make sure that you’re covered.

I’m sure you’re thinking all this would come at a pretty hefty price tag.  I though the same thing.  I was extremely relieved to find out that LifeLock isn’t really all that expensive.  In fact, I’m sure many of you spend more at Starbucks each month.

LifeLock offers two options, the basic protection is available for $10 a month or $110 a year and the ultimate protection is available for $15 a month or $165 a year!  I’m not sure about you, but I spend more than that on coffee each year.

The amazing folks over at LifeLock have provided me with an exclusive discount code available for Simply Being Mommy readers!  To get 10% off your LifeLock memberships, use code SimplyBeingMommy at checkout.

I visited the LifeLock Corporate offices to meet with the executives to learn more about the company. They provided all accommodations.

It has almost been nine years since I married my best friend, the love of my life.  In the past nine years, we’ve experienced so much. We’ve had good times, we’ve had bad times, but when it really comes down to it, no matter the situation, we depend on each other.

I can’t believe it has almost been nine years.  Almost a whole decade. Sometimes it feels like an eternity. Ha!

But seriously,  I can’t imagine my life without this man.  The last nine years have been wonderful.  We have become parents and welcomed three babies into our lives.  We’ve purchased our first home together.   We’ve grown to depend on each other and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Since our ten year anniversary will be coming up shortly, I’ve been thinking about maybe getting us a set of eternity bands.  I’m totally not a materialistic person, but I think having another ring that is a symbol of our love and devotion to each other is perfect after being married for ten years.  Don’t you?

This would be the perfect ring for me.  Now, if only I could convince the hubby. I’ve given him just over a year to save up.  See how thoughtful I am.  We are perfect for each other