My favorite pic from camping!

We've taken alot of pics this year, some close ups, some of nature, some of the kids, Hubby and I will snap anything that comes our way! But of all the pics we've taken this year, this is one of my favorites!
We went camping alot this summer, and my daughter enjoys walking around just looking at the birds, trees, etc. Her and Daddy went walking to find the trails and we got this awesome pic of her, I just love the colors and how it's like a Hide and Seek pic of her!

It's days like these I love!!

This past week has been such a tiring one, I told myself this weekend was going to be one of rest and relaxation. That meant for me, no shopping till I drop, no cleaning for hours, and def. no staying up all night! Now, I cannot say that I didn't do any of them, in fact, I did go shopping, I did clean the house, and I did stay up too late last night, BUT, I also got a TON of books and spent almost all afternoon Saturday reading! I haven't really read a book from start to finish in one day in a long time, but I actually finished 2 books, and my daughter finished 4! I'm so glad at least one of my kids got my love of reading!
I don't know if anyone else does this, but as a kid, I read so many books that when I see them now, in Used bookstores or Thrift stores, I have to buy them and read them! I was a huge Babysitters Club fan, had them all, and so now I'm trying to get my daughter into them. If she doesn't enjoy them, I'll still enjoy reading them, lol!
I'm hoping tomorrow will be another nice, relaxing day, however, because I spent the whole day reading today, I now have a big load of laundry staring at me... maybe I'll stay up late again tonight and finish it!

Loving the Conair You Curl!

I've been wanting a You Curl since I first saw them in stores, but me being cheap, was not going to spend $40 on something that I probably would only use every once in awhile. So, I waited, and waited, and on Cyber Monday found it for $28 on Amazon! Throw in my $20 giftcode I had, and paying $8 for it, well, that I could handle!
First off, I love the fact that it heats up almost instantly! I plugged it in and turned around for a second, checked it seconds later and it was ready! The curls are AMAZING! I experimented, did some spiral, some waves, and they all came out perfect : )
BUT, the only problem I'm having is figuring out how to do the BACK of my hair! Normally, I just straighten my hair and go, and I've been doing that for over `11 years so I got that down pat. This new task, is not only stressful, but a pain in the neck, literally : } My sis told me using 2 mirrors would work, so that will be tried out tomorrow. Any other tips are GREATLY welcome!

Winners!

And the winners are....

NewMami_rgv- Winner of the $25 Gift Code to Union 28! Congrats!

Crystal- Winner of the Birthday Giveaway!! Congrats!

Emails have been sent out and winners will have 48 hours to claim their prizes! Thanks to all that entered and hope you come back soon to check out more great giveaways!

Mom Rocks The Holidays With Rayovac!!! Check it out!

Rayovac wants to power your holidays with fun new contest. To enter, just visit the Mom Rocks the Holidays with Rayovac  contest tab on Facebook, like them and tell them how you or your mom makes the holidays rock for a chance to win the Grand Prize of $1,000 cash! There will be 3 Grand Prize winners and 20 Runner Up winners will take home a Paper Jamz guitar, amp, drum kit, guitar strap, and two Rayovac Alkaline AAA 24 packs of batteries.




Also, be sure to visit 3 Kids and Us mom blog  where you can win 1 of 5 Mom Rocks the Holiday prize packs that include a $50 Visa Gift Card, Pper Jamz guitar and Rayovac Alkaline AAA 24 pack of batteries.



Disclosure – Followers who promote the Rayovac Mom Rocks the Holidays Sweepstakes may receive gifts from Rayovac.

Bloggers Santa Swap hosted by The Mommy Files!

Want to have some fun this Christmas? If you'd like to meet a new blogger and have some fun shopping for them, then head over to The Mommy Files where Shannon has organized another great Swap! I've been doing them since I started blogging, and I've gotten to meet some great bloggers while doing so! If you like to shop, or just want to have some fun  meeting some new bloggers, then stop over at The Mommy Files and check out the Santa Swap!

Wizards of Waverly Giveaway at The Mom Buzz!

Heres an awesome giveaway for the girls, a Wizards of Waverly Gift Set from TownleyGirl.com! I know my daughter would just LOVE this, her favorite show is Wizards so she loves anything Wizards she can get her hands on!
If you head over to The Mom Buzz, you have a chance to win a gift set of your own! Giveaway ends Nov. 27th so get your entries in soon!

Birthday Giveaway!! It's my Birthday and I'll SHOP if I want to : )

In 2 weeks, I'll turn the big 32! Yep, on November 28th, I'll be another year older! Since I can remember, my family has celebrated my birthday on Thanksgiving, which has been pretty great! A huge dinner, multiple desserts, and the ENTIRE family is around. Nothing a girl can complain about! But, I'd have to say my favorite part about my birthday being so close to Thanksgiving is getting to spend my Birthday cash on Black Friday! I spend weeks planning for the day, what stores I'll hit, what the best deals are, I actually have a Composition book dedicated to Black Friday plans, I know, I'm a bit nutty!

This year, I'd love to share my fun with my readers, and get some tips and ideas from you all while we're at it! One of my wonderful readers will win a $20 Gift Card to either Target, Kohls, or Walmart, their choice- AND a $10 Gift Card to Dunkin Donuts, to help keep their energy up while shopping for the Holidays!!

All you have to do is be a Blog follower! That's it! ( Mandatory)

Extra entries-

1. Let me know you're best Black Friday tip, or best Black Friday deal you've gotten ( 1 entry)

2. Tell me you're favorite store to shop, anytime! ( 1 entry)

3. Become a subscriber ( 2 entries)

4. Follow on Twitter and Tweet giveaway ( 1 entry, per day)

5. Enter my Union 28 Giveaway ( 2 entries)

6. Grab my button ( 2 entries)

7. Blog this giveaway ( 3 entries)

Winner will be chosen Sat. November 27th. Winner will be contacted via Email and have 48 hours to claim prize. Thanks for entering and good luck!!

Union 28 Review and GIVEAWAY!!

This month my husband and I will celebrate our 12th Wedding anniversary! I am so thankful to have found this man, he is caring, loving, a great Dad, and well, I don't know what I would do without him! I will love him forever, he not only my husband, but my best friend! So when I found the company Union 28, I knew I had to find out more! I love to wear Tshirts with sayings, it's almost like my uniform, but hey, I'm comfy!

Union 28 sent me the their "My Husband Rocks" Chocolate Brown Fitted Tshirt. As soon as it arrived, I tore it open, and I was so happy to find that it was super soft and a little bit longer than your regular shirt! Nothing makes me happier when trying on a shirt to find that my stomach area will be COMPLETLY covered! However, this shirt DID say that they run very small, and they do. I got an XL, and although it does fit comfortably, I am NOT going to throw it in the dryer! If you do make a purchase, make sure you check the sizes just so you know you'll get the correct fit! So, as soon as I showed my hubby, he said, "Well, wheres mine?!"! And it's things like that that make me love him even more every day! Now I know at least 1 thing to get him for Christmas, lol! 

Union 28 offers a line of designer t-shirts for husbands and wives who want to honor each other and make a positive statement about marriage.

From Union 28 -
It is our Mission to enhance Marriage relationships, communicate a positive image of marriage, and encourage/support the sanctity of the marriage covenant between a man and a woman in a fun and stylish way.

If you head over to their site, you will find not only Tshirts, but Dresses, hats, hoodies, and even Childrens apparel! Know someone thats getting married soon? I think this would be such a cool gift to give to the Newlyweds, it's original! So much more to choose from than just the ordinary "Bride" and "Groom" shirts you see all the time!

Want to make a purchase? Well, Union 28 has been gracious enough to offer my readers a discount on any purchase, good thru Dec. 31st! 

Heres the best part! Union 28 has offered one of my readers a $25 Gift code to purchase some goodies for yourself and/or your spouse! All you have to do is let me know why your spouse rocks! ( Mandatory entry!!)

Extra entries-

1. Head over to Union 28 and let me know what you like best! ( 1 entry)

2. Like Union 28 on Facebook ( 1 entry)

3. Follow my blog ( 2 entries)

4. Become a Subscriber ( 2 entries)

5. Follow on Twitter and tweet giveaway ( 1 entry, per day, leave link)

6. Grab my button ( 3 entries, leave link)

7. Blog this giveaway ( 4 entries, leave link)

This giveaway will end on Sunday, November 21st. Winner will be chosen using Random.org, and will be notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize.


Disclaimer- I recieved a Tshirt from Union 28 free of charge, in return for my honest opinion about their product.

Sweetly You Review AND 20% Discount!

I love perfume! I love many diferent scents, depending on the day, I might wear a fruity scent, or a day like today where it's cold and dreary, I'm wearing a sweet Marshmallow scent! I was given the opportunity to review a Fragrance Sampler from Sweetly You, and I am in LOVE!

I was able to review a Perfume Sampler Set, that if purchased is $9.95! You'll get to choose 10 of your favorite scents, and mix and match as you please. I had such a hard time choosing just 10 scents, and I'm sure you're thinking, 10 is ALOT, but Sweetly You has over 60 fragrances to choose from! So I finally narrowed it down to my top 10, which were-

Creme Brulee- Like the Rich, creamy, Melt in your mouth French dessert


Marshmallow Madness - Creamy, fluffy marshmallows


Brown Sugar - A rich blend of Maple, Brown sugar, and Butter


Swiss Miss- Just like the Rich hot cocoa


New Romance- Luscious blend of Tangerine and Bergamot, with ripe apple, peaches and berries
Warm Allure- Vanilla, citrus, and a touch of coconut.


Very Sexy- Exotic Fruity floral blend


Flirty- Similar to Tommy Hilfigers Tommy Girl
White Ginger and Amber- Exotic woods and Vanilla notes highlighted by Coconut and Muguet

Hawaiian Breeze- A tropical blend of Orange, pineapple, peach and strawberry, combined with Jasmine and Lavender

My 2 absolute favorites are Warm Allure and New Romance, with White Ginger and Amber and Marshmallow Madness coming up right behind them. When I wore the Creme Brulee, Brown Sugar and Swiss Miss fragrances, both my Hubby and kids kept telling me I smelled like yummy candy, lol!One day I layered the Swiss Miss with Marshmallow Madness, YUM!  I would probably wear the Hawaiian Breeze and Flirty fragrances in the summertime, OR on a nasty day when I just want to think I'm at the beach or somewhere that its warm! I love that I can layer some of these and come up with a whole new unique scent of my own!

Sweetly You is a company that offers many other products, such as Sugar Scrubs, Body Butters, Bubble Bath and Body lotions! They also offer Travel sizes for when you're on the go, perfect for the workday or if you're going on a short getaway!

What I really like about Sweetly You is that they have so many gifts to choose from,  Customized Gift Baskets, Gifts under $10, and Birthday Gifts, that all come with a bag of Jelly Bellys! Too cute! There is something for everyone, especially with the array of fragrances to choose from, and the products you can pick to use the chosen scent in.

With the Holidays coming up, I think Sweetly You would be a great gift for Family, friends, even a teacher! If you would like to purchase something from Sweetly You, they have offered all of my readers a 20% discount!
Just use this code at checkout to recieve your 20% off!
P90298K99

I'd like to thank Sweetly You for giving me the opportunity to review all of these wonderful fragrances, and now have a store that I can purchase my perfumes from, without breaking the bank!


Disclaimer- I recieved a Fragrance Sampler from Sweetly You, free of charge, in return for my honest opinioins of the products.

How will I spend my Thanksgiving? Let's see...

I look forward to Thanksgiving every year, not only because it's a time for the whole family to get together, but because we also celebrate my birthday! Yep, my Bday is November 28th, but we always have my "party" on Thanksgiving. What more could a girl ask for? I'm getting a HUGE spread of delicious food made by the best cook in the world, my Grandma! And after dinner, well, forget about just getting a little Birthday cake, I get cake, Pumpkin pie, Apple pie, Ho Ho Cake, cookies, and tons of different cookies and sweets to eat : )

Of course, aside from that, my little sisters, cousins and I always break out the old home videos, which we'll watch for hours, laughing until we cry ( well, usually thats just me, crying so hard from laughing at the crazy clothes and hairdo's I used to have!) Years ago, when we were all younger, everyone got together at least once or twice a month for birthday parties, Graduations, etc. Now, my cousins are away at college, so there's hardly a time when we are ALL in one place at the same time. Watching those movies gets us all sentimental and it really does bring us closer, even the boys!

Killer making his Black Friday shopping list!

Well then it's onto the next tradition, which is taking out the Black Friday ads, and making my lists and checking them twice, three times, four times, .... yes, I will go back and forth until I"ve got the MEGA BLACK FRIDAY GAME PLAN worked out! Again, years ago, the kids would start making their Christmas lists, now it's my OWN kids making their lists! ( Even the cat got into it one year!)

10 year Anniversay!

Our Wedding Day!

Last, the Hubby and I will go back into the "Nintendo room" ( what we call the spare bedroom/office), and we'll watch our Wedding video because our anniversary is November 27th! Always makes me cry, because I am also so thankful to have found someone that makes me feel like the most beautiful, special woman in the world. I love seeing everyone all dressed up, but mostly, I love watching us saying our vows. I wish we would have written our own ( mabye if we ever get to renew them we can), but we were young, in love, and that's all that mattered. It was our day, and I will love that man until the day I die!
So yep, I've got alot to be Thankful for on Thanksgiving, good food, good shopping strategies, but mostly, a Wonderful, loving, caring family that may drive me nuts at times, but always has my back, and I wouldn't trade them in for anything!
What does your family do on Thanksgiving? Any neat traditions, or crazy family members? Let me know!



Disclosure- This post is an entry to the Plan It, Blog It! 2010 Thanksgiving Blog Writing Contest.. Sponsored by Uprinting.com

Clean + Green Winners

And the winners of the Clean + Green giveaway are....

Crystal

Minishoes1
 and

Christine

Congrats, I will be sending a confirmation email out shortly! Thanks for entering!!!

Halloween Blog or Treat Goodies!

One of my favorite parts of Halloween has become participating in the Halloween Swap that Shannon from The Mommy Files puts together! What a great way to meet a new blogger, and get to buy fun gifts for them too! This time, my partner was Heather from Giggling Kids! I had so much fun shopping for her, and I'm really looking forward to reading her blog, seeing what she's up to!

I recieved my package from her, and it was awesome! She even thought of my kiddies and made them little goody bowls too, thanks! My goodies were Halloween Cookie cutters, a Fall Candle ( smells SO good!), Halloween Fun Bands, Cotton Candy, and a TON of candy! She even got a Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Peep, I always wanted to try one but just always forgot to pick one up! Loved it, and everything else! I hope you enjoyed your goodies too, Heather, and I thank you so much for being my partner in the Halloween Swap!
Thanks to Shannon at The Mommy Files for putting together yet another great swap, and if you'd like to try one out yourself, there will be a Christmas Swap in December!

Anystream Hotel 50 Spray Showerhead Giveaway at Kiddies Corner Deals!

Right now if you head over to Kiddies Corner Deals, you have a chance to win 1 of 5 Hotel 50 Spray Showerheads from Speakman Showers! These look awesome, and I'd love to win one for our bathroom! Head over and enter, giveaway ends November 7th!

Nestle and Walmart $100 Gift Card Giveaway at The Not So Blog!

Do you have a favorite Halloween memory? Well, if you do, head over to The Not So Blog for a chance to win a $100 Walmart Gift Card! I'd love to win this to start out my Holiday shopping, and if you'd like to head over quick, because this giveaway ends Oct. 29th!

Getting help and Giving back

My family has gone thru some rough times the past few years. Hubby has had many surgeries, I had a back fusion, and it definetly took a toll on us, mentally and financially. I am so thankful and greatful for my wonderful family and friends, that have helped us out the entire time! I'm also thankful for the kids school, that helped us out around the holidays, I honestly don't know what we would of done without everyones help and kindness!
I started thinking about how I could do my part and help others out, starting with the holiday season. Of course, I always donate a few things to the School toy drive, and donate all the kids older clothes and coats to the clothing drive, but I wanted to do something more. So I started thinking about helping out the Pediatric floor at our hospital, Central Dupage Hospital.
A few years ago, my son was in the ER for what we thought was just a really bad stomach bug, but it turned out to be Appendicitis. He was the bravest 9 year old, HE calmed ME down, he's just the greatest kid! After the surgery, they needed him to start walking and the incentive they gave him was that when he could walk to the end of the hall, he got to go to the Toy Closet and pick something out! Well that made him get up really quick! But once we got there, the nurse told us that they run mainly on donations, and that once the holidays are over, they get way less than they did at that time.
So that got me thinking, because I always pick toys up when I see them cheap, for Kids bday parties or just a treat for my kids. But everything I bought, my kids and kids friends are pretty much NOT playing anymore so they've been sitting in my closet. I pulled everything out and thought, I'll donate them to the Peds floor!
Now I'm on a mission, I want to do this for real. I want to be able to get toys to those brave kids, I know they deserve a treat and if I can make just one kid feel better for the day, well, it's worth it! What I'm looking for is info, how to do this, where to start, things like that. If anyone knows what direction I should start in, I'll love you forever : )