Minnie & Daisy BFF Book & Magazine Review + Giveaway!

Cuddling up with a good book has always been one my favorite things to do.  I love escaping into the worlds and lives of the people, either real or fictitious, that I’m reading about.   It doesn’t matter if it’s a book that I’m reading myself or one that I’m reading aloud to my kidlets –I start imagining myself as the person in the story and even start reading in their “voice,” which brings much delight to my kids! I ’m thrilled that they also enjoy books and listening to stories.

My kindergartener son recently discovered the many literary and gross delights of Captain Underpants.  It’s different from any of the other books I’ve read to them before because it is a novel, with chapters and multiple volumes.  So far we’ve read through six of the ten books in the series.  Now while my three and half-year old daughter has listened attentively to these books, “Tra La La!,” she did asked me to find a book “just like that,” but for girls.

So we tried out Disney Publishing’s new chapter book series and magazine featuring Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck.

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Squawk, Paper, Scissors…Crafting With Kids

“I’m bored!”  “There’s nothing to do!” It’s the two phrases every parent dreads hearing from their children. If I left it up to my kidlets to choose what to do, they’d pick watching cartoons and playing video games (at least my son) all day, every day. As much as I love the boob tube, I don’t want them to turn into couch potatoes so I’m always trying to come up with fun activities that we can do together.

THM-BirdhousesA lot of times that means doing crafts, playing games or working on some other type of project. Doing activities are a great way for us to spend time together, talk about life and create fun and happy memories as a family….at least that’s what I’ve heard and ironically, seen on TV (hey, wasn’t I trying to get my kids away from that evil box in the first place?).

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What Moms Really Want For Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 12, so don’t screw it up!  Just joking, just please make sure to give dear old mom a phone a call to share a “thanks for having and raising me right kind of moment.”sparkle - http://www.sparklee.comI’m not particularly picky when it comes to Mother’s Day gifts.  I mean, who doesn’t like to get something wrapped up all pretty with a surprise inside?  Sure, around the Christmas holiday or my birthday I give The Hubs some suggestions in case any family member should ask what they should get me, but I very rarely hate what I get (though a few times I’ve had a good chuckle about items I’ve received!). 

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Bugging Out

I’m thrilled to have The Hubs aka @DadandMarried guest posting for me today — sort of like his early Mother’s Day gift to me.  He’s talking about my least favorite subject in the world, which is why he’s talking about it, ceepy-crawly bugs!  Don’t forget to show him a little love here – so he’ll do share more posts ;)

Like a lot of families who pay handsomely to live in a home which has trees, plants, and a tool shed that should probably be condemned, we are surrounded by insects. Not the poisonous, loud, or straight-from-the-History Channel apocalyptic swarms, but the little ones who are just as diabolical in their own way.

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Still Losing It – Month 2 Shaklee180 Progress

It’s been two months now since I started my Shaklee 180 journey to a healthier me! Earlier this week I shared my progress in a blog post you can read here or just click on the video below to get some different views of my progress so far.

Now it’s your turn to share.  What motivates you to be healthy?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support, and incentives for participating. All opinions given here are my very own. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. I am also a Shaklee Independent Distributor.

 

green + glam Shampoo & Conditioner Review

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A few weeks ago I shared how our family is trying to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.  To this point we’ve been abiding by the simple mantra of reduce, reuse & recycle, but we are now starting to try to eliminate any chemicals we use in our home – whether it’s the household cleansers or products we use on ourselves.

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I never had really thought about the types and amounts of chemicals that are in my various beauty products until I couple of weeks ago when I received samples of the Organic Beauty Now green + glam hair care line of products, their Purity shampoo and Intensive Moisturizer conditioner.  Continue reading

April Update: Month 2 Update – Making Progress with Shaklee 180

This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating, however all opinions expressed here are my very own.

It’s now been a full two months on my goal to a healthier me as part of the #Shaklee180blogger program and I’m still loving it.  I like that Shaklee uses all natural ingredients in their meal replacements, including no GMOs, and it’s a no brainer for me to follow.  I have a Shaklee smoothie or meal bar in place of two meals each day and then eat one healthy meal on my own.

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I’m always so good the first month of ANY diet or weight loss plan I try.  It’s like religion to me and I don’t deviate from the plan one bit.  However, two months in is when I usually start to waver a bit.  I start to get cocky about how well my weight loss is going and feel that I can deviate from the plan to eat what I want or let’s be honest here, what I can sneak in.  I always seem to forget how hard I worked to get that first round of weight off.

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I’m Mom-ing It Forward Today With A Musical Maracas Kid Craft

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  It was beautiful here on the East Coast with sunny skies and warm weather which all tells me that Spring is finally here!

One of the first Spring celebrations is coming up later this week.  It’s Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) and last week I shared some fun ideas and a yummy recipe from Ingrid Hoffman for Turkey Nachos to celebrate the holiday.

images-6Well, I’m still in a fiesta mood and I’m “muy feliz” to be guest posting today at Mom It Forward with a fun and easy “Musical Maracas” kids craft.  To see me and my little senorita shake our homemade maracas,  just click on the Mom It Forward logo below – and make sure to leave me a little love there!

Mom It Forward: Contributor

 

Celebrate #CincodeMayo With Family Fun & And A ‘Simply Delicioso’ Recipe From @SimplyIngrid #CokeFiesta

I love a good party. It doesn’t matter to me whether I’m the host or just a guest at one. I mean, who doesn’t like celebrating with friends and indulging in some yummy food!  When The Hubs & I lived in our old house BC (before children) we had a BBQ and pool in our backyard.  It seemed like we had a “party” every weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day for the five years we lived there.  We’ve been in our “new” house now for nearly four years and I can count the number of parties we’ve had here on one hand.

CincodeMayo1With Cinco de Mayo coming up in less than two weeks, I thought it would be a great time to have a little family party and try some Mexican-inspired fare.

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Earth Day – Our Family Plan Of Reducing, Reusing & Recycling

Today is Earth Day and it’s the perfect time to teach children how to appreciate our planet, explore nature and learn about ways to protect it. The most effective way to teach our children to live a green lifestyle –with consideration for the environment including the air, land, water, animals and all the people we share the world with – is to show them through example in our own homes.

Earth Day 2013

As a family, we are always working to live a more eco-friendly life.Our family plan isn’t complicated, it’s actually pretty simple.We follow the popular mantra of “reduce, reuse & recycle.”Learning how to reduce, reuse and recycle not only helps the environment by reducing waste, saving energy and natural resources, but it also helps us as a family save some money. Continue reading