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Free Blogger Event: #JingleJubilee Giveaway Hop

It’s getting closer to my favorite time of year – Christmas!! And to help make it a little bit merrier for us and our readers, we’re hosting a super fun holiday hop full of prizes… So join us for this Free Blogger Event – the Jingle Jubilee Giveaway Hop!!

Jingle Jubilee Giveaway Hop - Free Blogger Opp
Bloggers, please join us for the Jingle Jubilee Giveaway Hop 2012!

Sign ups are now open for this holiday blog giveaway event hosted by A Helicopter Mom, About A Mom, The Kids Fun Review, Sunshine and Sippy Cups, and The Adventures of J-Man and MillerBug. [Read more…]

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Posted by on October 16, 2012 Filed Under: Blog Hops, Blogging Events | No Comments

How a Busy Mom Can Use Tech to Get a Little “Me Time”

“Most children threaten at times to run away from home. This is the only thing that keeps some parents going.” – Phyllis Diller… Of course I love my little girl. And of course I love my darling little nephews who spend their before-and-after school time at my house too. But – those little lovelies also are sometimes tiny terrors, lol. And as a work at home mom who doesn’t always get a lot of time to myself {remember the good ol’ days, before kids, where you could pee alone – whenever you wanted to?} – so I have to do my best to carve a little bit of “me time” out of each day, to keep me from going crazy. Because you know if momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody gonna be happy, right?

Once Upon A Time

“It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.” – The Golden Girls

Many of you may know that I’m a wee bit tech challenged. {And by “wee” I mean that most new gadgets require me to ask for help – turning it from a ME project to a WE project…} So, when I had the chance to try out the super sweet Klipsch headphones from Best Buy, I honestly wondered what on earth I would even say. I mean – all headphones are the same, right? And what on earth would someone like me need them for? I don’t play games, don’t have an iPod, don’t do any cool stuff that even needs headphones. Which also meant that I’d never owned any either. Well, I am a changed woman. For reals. I opened up the Klipsch box to find a super small set of little earbuds – which I thought would annoy me in my ear. Then Mike made a suggestion that has rocked my world ever since – He said, “Why don’t you try watching all those shows you miss, at night while you’re trying to get Abby to sleep, while wearing the headphones so you don’t wake her up?”

The Mister had a great idea. One that benefits ME. I’m still kind of in shock…..

I never have time to watch TV, and don’t have much interest in it anyway. But, I have four shows now that I do really love – Once Upon A Time, Fringe, Homeland, and the new Revolution. So since I’m too busy to catch my shows when they air, I use Hulu to keep caught up on my faves. The speakers on my laptop aren’t that amazing, but they get the job done. But ohmyHECK ladies – Once I used the Klipsch headphones to watch tv online, I was blown away. I could hear so much detail that had been missing…. Water running in the background, the whispered dialogue was as clear as could be, it was amazing. I was seriously impressed, which I did not expect.

Pandora Radio

“Raising a kid is part joy and part guerilla warfare.” – Ed Asner

So, once I realized what an amazing difference these headphones made in the sound quality coming from my laptop, I decided to try them out on my other favorite online entertainment site – Pandora.com. I must have music playing, all day, all the time. So since most of my time is spent working online, the majority of the songs I hear are played here. And the Klipsch didn’t disappoint – they made my favorite songs sound good again! And – they are amazing at blocking out all of the background noise in a room too, which is another surprise for such a small set of headphones. But what this means, is that I’m able to throw on my headphones when I need to work for a couple of hours. Mike can hang out in the living room with Abby – she can chase the dog with a Nerf sword around the couch 17 times, screaming while he barks and howls – and I {blessedly!!} don’t hear a thing. I can also use the headphones to just zone out for a bit – listening to more Pandora on my iPhone while I do the laundry, or other chores. Or I can head out to the patio to read a book and listen to music, without hearing the commotion going on inside. I’m hooked.

Find the Klipsch on BestBuy.com, or look for them in-store. And for more Smart Mom Tech, check out my Best Buy WOLF Pinterest board.

Let’s Chat: What tech helps you unwind as a busy mom? What do you shop at Best Buy for? Leave some comment love….


 

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Posted by on October 15, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 14 Comments

How to Create a Cinderella Princess Party – #DisneyPrincessWMT

“Oh, that clock! Old killjoy. I hear you. ‘Come on, get up, you say, Time to start another day.’ Even he orders me around. Well, there’s one thing. They can’t order me to stop dreaming.” – Cinderella… I loved Cinderella as a little girl, but we only had it on an old VHS, so Abby hadn’t seen it yet. Which means that you know I was ALL over it when I heard that it was being released on BluRay, and started planning a fun party to get some of Abby’s friends over to watch it. If you’ve been reading here for awhile, you probably remember that a few months ago Abby had a seizure. It was the scariest thing that I’d ever been through in my entire life. Ever. Full-on Grand Mal seizure, and she wasn’t even two yet. They had hoped that it was just a febrile seizure – related to a fever. Well, I haven’t posted about it here yet, but I’ve talked to some of you on Facebook about it… She’s had more. We’ve been driving a few hours both ways to Seattle Children’s Hospital for appointments, since the doctors here in town aren’t sure what’s wrong. So – saying that life has been a little stressful is an understatement. And it also means that we were in definite need of some fun times. So momma got to work putting a Cinderella party together to help Abby shake things off and have a fun day!

Cinderella toys at Walmart

[Read more…]

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Posted by on October 15, 2012 Filed Under: Celebrations | 4 Comments

Let’s Get Our Kids Playing Outside Again – #TogetherCounts

“Adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson… I am very much an outdoorsy type of person. I love to spend time in nature, even if that’s just an afternoon spent working on the patio, surrounded by our trees and garden. So I’m very lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest, where there are amazing natural places to visit. Just an half hour drive brings us into the woods – with pine trees, rivers and lakes, mountains to climb and trails to hike. And, after having my nephews living with me over the past couple of years, I’ve realized how very important it is to get kids out of the house, away from the video games and TV, and out breathing fresh air and running wild – in the wild.

Boulder Cave, Washington

“The woods were made for the hunters of dreams” – Sam Walter Foss

The kids love this place – Boulder Cave, in Washington. There is so much to see and do, and they have a blast. I never even hear any whining about video games the whole time, lol. Whether it’s here, or camping, or fishing, or a day out boating with friends, time spent outdoors really helps all of us relax and refresh again.

Boys catching frogs

“Climb up on some hill at sunrise.  Everybody needs perspective once in a while, and you’ll find it there.” – Robb Sagendorph

Things like this totally make me happy – the boys out by the water, catching frogs. Reminds me of when I was a kid. I feel old to say stuff like this – But “when I was a kid,” we spent all day playing outside. Riding bikes on our quiet street, building forts in the back field, or driving my Barbie dolls on a “Safari” through moms vegetable garden. I hate that so many kids have become so un-used to the outdoors, that they don’t even know how to have fun out there anymore. They’re totally missing out. So we’re celebrating Take it Outside Week October 14 – 20, which I am totally excited to learn about. I found this info on a seriously amazing site called Together Counts. Learn a little more:

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein

Together Counts is all about getting kids outside and active, eating better foods, and building healthier families. The principle behind their program is Energy Balance, which means balancing the calories we eat with the calories we burn. The idea is to get more families eating and getting active together, with a message of moderation – not “good food vs. bad.” I’m very much an “everything in moderation” style of mom. I do my best to keep our house stocked with healthy fruits and veggies, and good snack foods. But I like to bake cookies and cupcakes too. As long as we’re active, and trying to keep a good balance, I feel good about our choices. So I love that Together Counts is realistic, and has tips that fit into a real mom’s life.

Together Counts is a first-of-its kind coalition that brings together more than 195 retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, restaurants, sporting goods and insurance companies, trade associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and professional sports organizations. Learn more and sign the pledge on TogetherCounts.com.

You can also learn more by following them on Twitter and Facebook, where you’ll find loads of great tips and ideas to use. Or enter to WIN big for your kids school – There are several contests and prizes, like a $30,000 grant and a brand new playground for the winners school. How cool is that, right? The whole site is filled with an uh-may-zing amount of information, resources, and tools – for everyone from parents, to teachers, to students. Love it.

Let’s Chat: What do you think of Together Counts? Are you interested in finding creative new ways to keep your family healthy? Share in the comments!

  And mark your calendars – Join Together Counts at a Twitter party on 10/17 from 8-9 PM EST in the hashtag #TogetherCounts! Hope to see you all there!

{Disclaimer: I received compensation for sharing my honest thoughts about the Together Counts campaign with you. All thoughts, photos, and opinions here are 100% my own.}

 

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Posted by on October 15, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution, Giving Back | No Comments

The Most Amazing Video I’ve Ever Seen #FirstWorldProblems

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” – Muhammad Ali… Most of you have probably noticed that giving back is a pretty important thing to me. Even though I don’t make a ton of money, and we live on a super tight budget, but I always find a way to give back, especially at the holidays. I buy gifts to donate to the local YWCA shelter for women who are trying to get out of a domestic violence type situation. I use my holiday shopping dollars to buy charity gifts to places like Heifer International. And, I’m definitely going to be supporting this new organization that I found today – Water is Life. Seriously – I think that this is one of the best marketing videos that I’ve seen in forever. It’s funny, in a weird way. It’s moving. It makes you think. It does an amazing job of making you realize WHY people around the world need our help. It gets the message across perfectly, in a video that makes people want to share it…

I encourage you to make a donation – even of just one dollar – to the Water is Life foundation. Want to learn a little more about them first? Read a story of the founder of the charity on the TPRF blog, which features real stories of the people behind great groups like this…

 As a Fulbright Scholar, Ariane lived with families in the Azawak region and discovered the human face of climate change: people literally dying of thirst because of their inability to adapt to a rapidly changing climate.  Ariane found these people to be the most generous and dignified as well as the most vulnerable of the populations she encountered in her travels throughout West Africa. She had never before witnessed an area with so few resources and infrastructure, where individuals live on the brink of disaster on a daily basis due to circumstances beyond their control. Most importantly, she had never seen half a million people in such distress receiving so little assistance from the rest of the world.

Or buy the CD Aman Iman: Water is Life – to show your support.

Let’s Chat: What do you think of this video? Click the retweet or Facebook buttons to share this with your friends too, and spread the word about this great charity!

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Posted by on October 12, 2012 Filed Under: Giving Back | 2 Comments

Win $25 Cash or GC of Choice – One Day Flash Giveaway!

Welcome to the Meg’s Moxie 1 Year Anniversary Final Flash Giveaway! [Read more…]

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Posted by on October 9, 2012 Filed Under: Contests | No Comments

What Would You Build on a Free Piece of Land?

“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.” – Ellen Goodman… Now, that doesn’t sound much like the American Dream that we all imagine, does it? Definitely not my idea of happiness. After losing my job while I was on maternity leave a couple of years ago, I had to make a lot of changes in life – I had to find ways to cut down my bills, simplify my life, and chart a new path. That led to buying a house with my mom instead of saving to buy one on my own. {Yep, we like each other well enough to live together. Almost all of the time… Lol.} It led to me starting this site, and finding freelance work online instead of going back into retail management. It meant selling some of our unneeded things, cutting back on things like cable and nights out, and cutting more coupons. But – without ever meaning to, these changes are leading me to actually finally get closer to my ideal life. My version of the American Dream – I get to work from home, spend time with Abby, have flexibility when I need it, and am my own boss. Sure, I’d love to make the income that I made running retail stores, but I’m happier here at home.

American dream - How to build your dream home

What would your perfect home be like?

The house that I bought with my mom isn’t my “perfect” home, but it truly is pretty great. It sits on a really big piece of property, with a covered patio, 4-bay shop, fenced yard for Abby to play, and an in-ground pool that quickly became the gathering spot for all of our friends and family each summer. There’s enough space for us all to be comfortable, and I even have a guest bedroom for when friends come into town to visit. The house isn’t huge, but it’s cozy, it’s got what we need, and it makes me happy. And, our untraditional living arrangement really works well for us. It started out with more of my family living with me too – which was a little bit crazy for a couple of years. But I love that Abby has gotten to grow up so close to her grandma, cousins, and uncle James. And I’m lucky that we all get along well enough to have made the situation work, so that I’m able to get by on a smaller income while I build my business. I’m so grateful that when life gets tough, I have a great home filled with amazing family to rely on!

American Dream - How to buy a piece of land with little down

American Dream – How to Build Your Dream Home on a FREE Piece of Land

My dream, ever since I was a little girl, was to build my own house someday. {I also wanted to be an architect, and would draw out my perfect floorplans and stuff all the time…} I love the idea of creating something that’s just exactly what I want – unlike when you are looking at homes, and have to find one that’s “almost” perfect to settle for. We still sometimes dream about this – but honestly, I wasn’t even sure how we’d get started. I recently was introduced to this really cool option by a friend of mine – It’s called LandCentral. They make it easy to buy your own piece of land without a ton of money down, to build on now, or as an investment for your future. And – the coolest thing about it all is that to help introduce their program to more people, they are doing a giveaway where one amazingly lucky winner will get to choose their own TOTALLY FREE piece of land in one of five states! Can you even imagine? To enter, visit LandCentral.com. It only takes a few minutes, and could lead to an amazing opportunity for you and your family!

free property in Colorado

Click through – then look for the sidebar box that looks like this to click and enter to win!

What would YOU do with a free piece of land? Build a dream home? Build a vacation cabin? Save it to pass down to your kids? Leave me some comments!

{Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation for this post. I seriously love LandCentral and what they can offer you, and wanted to share this fantastic giveaway with you. I hope one of you win this – Good luck! Photo Credit one: Jeffweese. Photo Credit two: Jeda Villa Bali – both on Flickr Creative Commons.}

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Posted by on October 8, 2012 Filed Under: Contests, Busy Mom Solution | 6 Comments
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