Mom Gone Witty

Abortion Bill

2009-11-30T20:30:00.001-08:00

As a Christian and mommy blogger I feel compelled to speak about this subject with my readers. I of course do not want to offend anyone with my views on the subject and am open to hear every ones opinion. I am a mother of five daughters and because I have been pregnant five times and delivered five living children I cant imagine what my life without them would be like. I look at each one of my girls and see how individual they are and can imagine what their roll may be in this world as they grow. In their eyes I see the life that God has given them and there are times that I feel that I can even see the souls. I use God because I do not believe we evolved from monkeys and or do I believe that the world exploded creating the earth. I believe that God is the creator of the world and life.
I am very emotional when it comes to speaking about life and God so I wanted to do a little research before I started rambling like a blubbering idiot. Hence the name of my blog "Mom Gone Witty." I have not been blessed with elegant public speaking and I am much better at expressing my thoughts and views in writing.
The first thing I looked up was the definition of Embryo: Meaning - a vertebrate at any stage of development prior to birth or hatching: from the Merrian-Webster dictionary

This is the definition I found for Embryo when I typed in 2009 definition of embryo: at dictionary.com

1.an animal in the earliest stages of its development in the uterus or the egg, specif., in humans, from conception to about the eighth week
2.an early or undeveloped stage of something
3.anything in such a stage

The reason for the definitions is to show how time has changed the thinking of humans. The definition of Human comes from the Latin word Homo sapiens meaning "wise man or knowing man." The question I have for human kind is " When did life become a right?"
When you look at the definition of Embryp as, "Anything in such a stage" what is that? What does anything mean and how did life become such a vague definition?

Women have been fighting for women's rights so that we can be equal to men and here we have more rights then men do. For instance, a man also played a roll in the conception of the unborn child but he does not have the right to decide if wants to be a father or not. Why? Because its the women's right to do with what she sees fit to her own body. But if the man decides he don't want the baby and he punches her in the stomach, he will be charged with manslaughter. How is that any different then having an abortion.
A women decides to have a baby and the baby is killed at the hands of someone else its murder, Why because she wants it? But if she don't want it and she goes to the doctor to have the doctor kill her baby its her right.
This is what I mean by, "How did the human race become so unwise.?" This is common sense but because over time we have changed morals to rights and individual thinking into a popular vote, we have stopped thinking for ourselves.

I know and you know that life begins at conception weather or not we define the unborn child as a embryo and or fetus. These two names do not change what life is and how it starts. Without the process of life from conception to embryo and then on to fetus, you and I would not be here.

Now with this proposed health bill making an abortion preventative care while taxing the American people makes no sense to anyone. This can not even make sense to the person who wrote it because the words "Preventative health care" means detecting conditions at an early stage and taking action to slow the progression.

How does an unborn child fit this criteria? Why don't they call it what it is and call it "Preventative life." There is no way to prevent life, its inevitable no matter what bill they propose and what we need to understand that the rights we have worked so hard will be gone with this bill.

If I as American do not support abortions I no longer have that choice. By making me pay for them they are taking away my rights and my freedom to decide what I stand behind. And with each abortion performed and supported by the money I pay, I will have that child's blood on my hands.

This is not a right and if I refuse to pay then what? If I refuse to pay because I morally do not believe in abortions then the government is forcing me to commit a sin. That is not freedom and even as a women I don't want any part of it.

Now, please remember when reading this that this is my opinion and I am not judging anyone who has had an abortion but instead using my right for freedom of speech while I still have it.

I cant express enough how this bill is not a right to any American but instead a step in the wrong direction. Instead of moving forward, helping out our neighbors and working as a team to make a better world we are moving into a direction where we as Americans are losing our rights.
If I cant chose weather or not I support life then what can I do.

I can not as a christian and a mother support this bill and nor will I be forced to pay for the death of a child. Regardless of women's rights, life is life and death is death. Murder is murder no matter which way you look at it and there are plenty of other options to prevent pregnancy.

I also watched Kennedy speak last night as the media tried to ask him what happened between him and the catholic church. His response was typical and I was more disgusted then anything, he as a politicion support this health bill but when asked what the catholic church thought about his decision, "He had no comment." This was a private matter between him and the church.
Seriously, This is a health plan for the American people but someone who supports it is ashamed to say what his church thinks about it.. There is something wrong with this bill if Kennedy supports it but is to ashamed to say publicly that his church also is against it.

I would love to hear what you think and whether or not you think we should be forced to pay for this bill.

Medifast Diet - Week 7

2009-11-30T18:16:00.000-08:00

Medifast Diet - Week 7

I am finally home and so glad to be here. As for the two weeks passed being back home, I can honestly say that I missed my family way too much. Home is where the heart is, is an understatement and before I knew that I always thought Washington would be my home forever.
I of course wanted to be more successful on my Medifast diet but I only lost four more pounds and so it was a total of 2 pounds per week. I also wanted to share what it feels like to be overweight. I analyzed my feelings on my six hour flight home and realized that people who have never been overweight like myself most likely have no idea what it feels like. I started struggling with weight only when I got into high school. Before that I was a tiny little thing and my mother had to buy me slim jeans that she could only find and Jcpennys. Weird right. That's what I thought, then I had two children and reached a weight gain of 75 pounds over my normal weight. I lost the weight before I got pregnant with my third daughter and then again I gained the weight again. This time I have kept the weight on for 7 years and I am so exhausted of being fat. Why does it feel so easy to gain the weight and so hard to lose it. As I sat on that plane I wondered if I'm really just happy being fat because I have done nothing till now to lose it.
I know that I don't like wondering if people are looking at me because I'm fat, or if they can notice the fat on my back as they stand behind me. I also know I don't like having to fell like I need to pull my shirt down constantly to cover my stomach or always looking in the reflections around me to see if I really look the way I feel. I am constantly wondering if my husband notices how much weight Ive gained and if I look like a slob to the teachers of my girls school. As much as I would like to believe that I am okay with being over weight it is a constant little devil on my shoulder.
This is a Medifast diet review but at the same time it wouldn't be a review on my success with weight loss without telling you my failures as well. I am still completely satisfied with my Medifast diet and could not be happier with the food choices I have, the convenience of the perfect portions and six meals daily.
I still am looking towards the future and the last day of my review when I can say I did it and not feel so down on myself.

I see Me Book Winner

2009-11-28T19:27:00.001-08:00

I am so sorry that I am getting to this so late. I really don't know where my head was and so with no further delay,
the winner for the I See Me Book is

AStarrA

Thank you to everyone who participated in this wonderful giveaway and a special thank you to
I See Me Books for allowing me to host this giveaway.

BLOG UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2009-11-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

Please excuse the Mess of my Blog. The images should be back up and running by tomorrow. There was some sort of mix up with Photobucket and that's why all the images are funny looking.
Thank you for your patience.

Roxanne

Medifast Diet - Week 4 Update

2009-11-13T08:03:00.000-08:00

Medifast Diet - Week 4 update

I am almost through my fourth week of the Medifast diet and I have lost another 2 pounds as of Wednesday. I would not have weighed myself but I went to the doctor and you know how they are about weighing you. I always dread that part and when I step on the scale I am hoping it is under 200 pounds. Of course not.. Not yet at least but I know how happy I am going to be when it does show that I have lost that much weight.. I will probably start screaming and jumping up and down like I had won the lottery. I wish I could say I worked out everyday this week but unfortunately its Friday and I was only able to fit in one work out this week. All my kids have come down with the fifth disease and they have been out of school for approximately 2 weeks if you add all the days together.

Crazy is the only way I can express a house full of sick kids. I then leave Sunday to head back home to visit my mother and sister. I am going to send my mother a email of things we can eat so that she doesn't go crazy and buy anything she thinks we might like. Its better if I tell her a head of time so I don't show up to a cupboard full of junk food..lol I am so excited about going home, its been three years since I been there and I am looking forward to spending time with my nephew and upcoming new niece. This has been the biggest reason I have gained the weight I have. I miss my family so much and living 3000 miles away from the only family I have, can really play a toll on my happiness. This is all a learning process for me, eating healthy and learning to cope with the reasons I decide to eat junk.

The funny thing is that I know when I am doing it that I shouldn't. I know that I will gain weight and I still eat it. I know that if I continue eating unhealthy I will most likely develop diabetes and heart disease but I continue to cook unhealthy. Now that I am working on my image and my inner well being I find myself wanting to make better health choices. I want to be thin, not only because it is healthier for me but because its better for me and my family in the long run. Once I lose the weight I want, it will be easier to keep up the healthy eating habits.

I also just got a new shipment of food in and I am so happy.. I just found out that the shakes also come pre-made. AHH,,, I love it. I can now just take my shakes on the run with me, since the shakes I have found easiest for me with my busy lifestyle.

I also got Chili and it is suburb. I love chili and this was a perfect thing for me to have in my cupboard along with cream of Broccoli that I will be trying today. I also received Parmesan and nacho cheese puffs... Can you say, Yum? Yes, I really do like them and they are perfect for that urge to snack on crunchy food. I also got honey and regular pretzels to snack on for in between meals. The Medifast foods give me such great variety in foods its easy to make good choices when you have foods to choose from.

The main reason this diet is perfect for me is because its convenient and thoughtless. I can take it with me and the staff at Medifast has made me feel important.

I also wanted to update you on the plate of cookies that were sitting on my stove. As much as I wanted to eat them, I grabbed a snack bar instead. I did not eat the cookies and the next day they were gone thanks to my children..lol

I have found that I have come a long way in the last 3 weeks and dieting is becoming much easier as the time goes on. I really hate using the word diet because its not really a diet, its a new way of eating.

I now am hungry every two hours instead of starving. Usually if I'm hungry I am starving because I may have only ate once that day. Now I am hungry every two hours instead of the starving feeling I am use to. I love knowing that if I am hungry I should eat and I also found that when its dinner time, I am happy with the portion I made myself instead of filling up the plate and scarfing it down because I was starving.

So don't forget to swing by Medifast by clicking on the button or any highlighted Medifast. You will be amazed at the options and the friendly, caring staff.

We Have winners

2009-11-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

We have winners Today...
Somehow I missed the giveaway date for the Homestead Company Giveaway.
I thought it ended on the 5th with the rest of them and I sincerely apologize to you who entered, So I will announce that winner as well today..

Homestead Company Foot Spa Giveaway goes to:

Theladya comment #7

This Number was chosen by random.org

The Baby's Bundle Snuggle Blanky Giveaway goes to:

Fancygrlnancy comment #169

This number was chosen by random.org

Soda stream Giveaway goes to:

Hondaray6 Comment #84

This number was chosen by random.org

Dont forget to enter into the I SEE ME book giveaway.. Ends tonight at Midnight

Thank you to everyone who participated
all winners will be emailed shortly and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Thank you all again very much..

Oh my its - A I see me Book review and Giveaway

2009-10-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Its A - I see me book review and giveaway..

I was so excited when I found out I was able to review this book and then host a giveaway. Yes, one reader will receive either the book pictured to the left or My Very Own Name personalized with your child's name. Most of my readers know that I have two daughters with Autism and Tori who will be turning 7 is the most severe of the two. Tori has me going from left to right, up and down nearly 24 hours a day and because she is constantly in trouble I needed a special way to let her know that no matter what, she is so very loved and special. Dealing with a child who has Autism can be emotionally draining to me but I cant imagine what it must feel like for her. When I came across the I see me personalized books, I knew that this was what I needed to get for Tori. The funny thing is that just the other day she came to me not knowing that she will be getting this book and said, " Look mom this book has my name in it. It was a book from my oldest daughter and it really did not have her name in it but because she thought it did, she was so happy.

I was so pleased when this book arrived and I read through the beautiful pages.. Have you ever got a book that you just loved and the smell of it made you never want to even crease the pages? Well if you are a book lover then you know what I mean and this book made me feel like that. It was so perfectly put together with a beautiful dedication on the first page, along with her name and the day she was born. This story starts of telling a tale of a special girl who's name is slowly spelled out on each page you flip finally building to the grand finally of your child's entire name. Your child is the special girl they are talking about and the greatest thin g about this book, is your child sincerely feels special.

I honestly couldn't be happier and not only with the book. The staff at I See Me Books made me feel like my needs were important and that they were met immediately. This is another one of those companies with good people behind the scenes. Be sure to click on the highlighted links to take a virtual tour of the books I mentioned and more. Thank you I See Me Books for allowing me to review this book and host a giveaway for your company.

Buy it Now: To Purchase one of the books I mentioned please visit the I See Me site by Clicking Here..

Now Win It: I See Me Books is giving one lucky reader a Personalized Book with your child's name, you will be able to choose between My Own Fairy Tale or My Very Own Name so, head on over to I See Me now and come back to comment on what Book you would like if you win. All Entries must be in by November 6th at 11:59 p.m. EST. You must complete this entry to qualify for any extra entries and all entries that do not have the mandatory entry will be deleted.. Winners that do not respond within 48 hours will be withdrawn and a new winner will be chosen.Want to earn extra entries?...

*Entry 2: Follow me on Twitter and then retweet this giveaway -I just entered in to win a Personalized book From I SEE ME @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/1i6ESu you can copy and paste this tweet, you can also tweet UNLIMITED tweets for an extra entries.. Be sure to comment each time you tweet and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 3:Become a fan of I See Me On Facebook

*Entry 4: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to I see Me then comment back with your blog URL (5 extra entries) You must leave five separate entries.

*Entry 5: Grab my NEW button design and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 6 : Make any purchase from I See Me and receive (10 Extra entries.) You must leave 10 separate entries.

*Entry 7: Email a friend about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com The more people you email the more entries you can get. Be sure to CC: me for each email and leave a new comment for each friend you email.

*Entry 8: Join me on Facebook..

*Entry 9: Enter any of my other giveaways and receive an extra entry for each giveaway you enter. Don't forget to leave a comment for each giveaway you enter.

Giveaway Rules:

1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

The Rama Warrior Meditation Chair Review

2009-09-29T06:06:00.000-07:00

Zen By Design
Rama Warrior Meditation Chair

I know that all mothers have the hardest time relaxing and finding the time for ourselves is at the bottom of our list. I wanted to review this chair because I wanted to be able to create a time that was just for me. No kids, no husband and complete relaxation. Can a chair do that? I asked myself this question and I was completely amazed when I found the answer to be yes. But first let me say that there are a lot of products out there but there are few that are backed by honest, good people. The president of Zen by Design contacted me himself and what I found was an amazing man behind the scenes. He genuinely cared about me, what I wanted and that I was completely happy with the product. I told him that I wanted the micro swede fabric in chocolate with a light colored wood and that is what he did. This chair was made just for me and I couldn't be happier.
Let me tell you a little about the Rama Warrior Chair and why it works. This chair was specially designed for relaxation and complete body comfort. With the lumbar support placed in the precise spot at the small of the back creating an amazing sensation of comfort, balance and support. I know, how does a chair do that? Well, my husband is a manly man and he does not sit Criss Cross Applesauce "as my girls would say!" and I found him in our room sitting just like this on my new Rama Warrior chair. He said to me," I cant believe how comfortable this chair really is and how relaxed I actually feel sitting in it. The greatest feature of this chair is the tilting feature, it allows you to tilt the chair forward to create the perfect curve in your lumbar spine.Having stress in my lower back every day I sometimes feel like it could break in two, but this chair has relieved the stress to my lower back and the seat cushion is the perfect size for anyone. I actually sit comfortably on this seat with room to spare and I can not even begin to express the softness of this cushion, " Except my bottom does not get sore sitting in it for long periods of time." I think every mother should have one of these chairs! We as mothers forget that without our sanity we can not be good mothers. We need a little down time from crazy everyday issues that arise and spending time in this chair is the perfect way to do that. Even if its only twenty minutes a day, we need to find the time to relax and try to be stress free for our families. My daughter always says, "Dad may be the Head of the house but you are the neck and you can change the direction he turns his head." Isn't that true!! As much as our husbands would like to think that they are the strongest and the king of the house, without us mothers everything would fall apart. For those of you who are saying that you cant find twenty minutes because you work, they also have the Wandering Monk chair. This chair has all the features of the big chair, but its light weight and can fold up to take wherever you go. So now having a moment to yourself can be as easy as this and weigh less the five pounds. This chair is also designed for any body type up to 6'4" and can even be great for the kids on the go. Another thing I love about this company is that they use the highest quality of fabrics and wood when making these chairs. You can have your chair designed to fit your personality or lifestyle. I chose the micro fiber suede because I need durability with five kids but you can chose the silk in beautiful colors that will last a life time. Zen by Design has made me a happy mother of five and I know they can do the same for you.
I would love to hear back from my readers on what fabrics are your favorite and what you do to try and beat the stresses of being a mother.

To order your very own chair click on any highlighted Zen By Design or Click Here.
You will not be disappointed!!!

We Have A Dali Decal Winner

2009-09-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

We have a winner for the Dali Decal Giveaway.

I am sorry for the delay in posting the winner but all my girls including myself have been sick and I just have not been up to much. I thank all of you for your patience and again apologize. The winner was chosen by Random.org and be sure to see the new upcoming giveaways including a book personalized with your child's name.

The winner is

Catss99

Please contact me within 48 hours with your contact information..

Congratulations..

Oh My Its A - Baby Snuggle Blanky Review and Giveaway CLOSED

2009-09-19T06:45:00.001-07:00

The Baby's Bundle
Gifts for the pampered baby and loving mother..

When this little snuggle blanket arrived in the mail I was in love. I needed this snuggle blanket for my new niece who is arriving in November but I found that I wanted to keep it for myself. Yes, I know this sounds odd because what would I do with it but this is the softest little blanky I have ever felt in my life. I wish I would have had one of these for my girls who had to have their blanket. This is the perfect size to keep around while keeping the blanket discreet. The Baby's bundle is giving one of my readers a baby snuggle blanket to enjoy and the lucky winner will be able to choose which snuggle blanky they would like to have. I spent a long time in this store just looking at all the wonderful things they have to offer and pictured above is the Moby Wrap Baby Carrier that I came to love. What a wonderful concept, the Moby was designed to use the entire back and shoulders to carry the weight of the baby. The Baby's Bundle even has a mini Moby for the big sister or brother to Carry around his or her baby dolls, just like mommy promoting empathy and baby bonding. Since I am a wife of a military man I am partial to military friendly companies and The Baby's Bundle has several items for the military baby.This baby blue Camo blanket is so adorable and I can only imagine how soft it is in person. If it is anything like the one I received then its bound to be as soft as a baby's bottom. I loved each and everyone of the designs found in this store and the service I received was above and beyond my expectations.The Baby's Bundle has a little for everyone and since I love this little snuggle, my own wish would be to have the adult Minki in the Zebra print with pink silk. Oh My this is a gotta have it moment and I want to have it. The one displayed to the left is the Cheetah pink but you can see how beautiful this blanket is and why I want it. The next picture is the Zebra print with the Pink in the baby blanket and either in adult or baby size this blanket is awesome. I can not express how soft these blankets are and how much you and your baby are gone to love them. The quality of these blankets are phenomenal and you can see that someone put extra effort to make these blankets turn out perfect. Another awesome product I found in this store is the Babe au Lait Yoko Nursing cover. How awesome is this, now you can discreetly feed your baby in public while keeping eye contact with baby and providing ventilation. This Nursing Cover was designed for the convenience of breastfeeding in public which we all know can be a huge hassle just trying to keep the blanket over our shoulder hoping not to expose ourselves. The cover is made of 100% cotton and has a terrycloth pocket for easy cleanup to store breast pads or binkys.This cover is large enough to cover mom and baby while providing other functions as a blanket, nursing cover or even a sun shade to protect baby's fragile skin from harmful uv rays. Amazing products!!!! I can go on for days about the products here at The Baby's Bundle but I will now send you over to the store to check it out for yourself. Be sure to check out everything and then come back and comment on the items you like most for your first mandatory entry.

Buy It: You can purchase any of the items I mentioned and more by visiting The Baby's Bundle by CLICKING HERE The Baby's Bundle is also offering 15% off to Mom Gone Witty readers for the length of this giveaway so enter in this code at check out "momgonewitty"

Now Win It: The baby's Bundle is giving one lucky reader a snuggle blanket of their choice. Head on over to The Baby's Bundle now and come back to comment on what item you think you would like to purchase from The Baby's Bundle for your Mandatory entry. All Entries must be in by November 5th at 11:59 p.m. EST. You must complete this entry to qualify for any extra entries and all entries that do not have the mandatory entry will be deleted.. Winners that do not respond within 48 hours will be withdrawn and a new winner will be chosen.

Want to earn extra entries?...

*Entry 2: Follow me on Twitter and then Follow The Baby's Bundle on Twitter, then retweet this giveaway -I just entered in to win a Snuggle Blanky From The Baby's Bundle @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/10UQFv you can copy and paste this tweet, you can also tweet UNLIMITED tweets for an extra entries.. Be sure to comment each time you tweet and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 3:Become a fan of The Baby's Bundle On Facebook

*Entry 4: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to The Baby's Bundle then comment back with your blog URL (5 extra entries) You must leave five separate entries.

*Entry 5: Grab my NEW button design and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 6 : Make any purchase from The Baby's Bundle and receive (10 Extra entries.) You must leave 10 separate entries.

*Entry 7: Email a friend about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com
The more people you email the more entries you can get. Be sure to CC: me for each email and leave a new comment for each friend you email.

Entry 8: Join me on Facebook..

*Entry 9: Enter any of my other giveaways and receive an extra entry for each giveaway you enter. Don't forget to leave a comment for each giveaway you enter.

Giveaway Rules:
1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

We Love Colors Review

2009-09-18T05:48:00.000-07:00

We love Colors...
I love this place and when I found this company I new I needed every pair of tights in every color and every style. I have five daughters as you all know and I love my girls to be unique and individuals. Since we live in a small town and shopping at unique places are far and few between, I needed something that made them different from everyone else. Maybe because when I was a child I was different, and I had to be the one that stood out in the crowed. I don't think much has changed..lol We love colors allows me to mix and match outfits and colors for my girls. They have every color and style imaginable from solids, stripes to splashes of color. I have two daughters that I call my free spirits, they like to dress in what makes them feel comfortable and nothing short of being fashionable. I wouldn't consider their clothing options to be fashionable but I just sit back and laugh at how unique their personalities really are and they show it in what they wear. My daughter Saylor who is five needs to layer everything, She wears jeans with her dresses.. I know that cant look good," right?" Well it doesn't look that bad and I just have to laugh because sometimes she wears plaid pants under a polka dot dress with striped socks. That's why this company works for our family so well. No matter what personality or style, We Love Colors has something for each of my girls. The best way to see what I am talking about is to head on over to We Love Colors and check it our for yourself. If you do end up buying something from them, please come back and comment for me. Thank you to We Love Colors for the wonderful tights and for allowing me to do this review for you,,
To check out this company and or buy any of the items I mentioned above, Click Here..

Ann Loren Gift Card Winner

2009-09-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

We have a new runner up lucky winner for the Ann Loren Gift Card Giveaway:

Dee

The last winner chosen did not respond so congratulations to Dee!!

Thank you so much for participating in this giveaway and Thank you to everyone who entered and tweeted.
Numbers were chosen by random.org

WE HAVE WINNERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry that the winners are being posted late. It has been more then a crazy first few weeks of school.. This will make a great story for you all to read, so stay tuned if you want to know what its like getting five kids ready for school..
(Its a Calgon Moment.)

Our first winner for the Jupita's upcycled Jewelry giveaway is:
(Drum Roll please........)

WendiP

Congrats to WendiP and thank you to everyone who entered into this giveaway. All numbers are chosen by random.org

Our second winner for the Digital frame giveaway is
(Another Drum Roll Please....)

Chrissyb

Congrats to Crissyb and thank you to everyone who entered into this giveaway. All Numbers are chosen by random.org

Last but not least, the final winner in the Halloween Hair bow giveaway is
(Drum Roll again Please...)

Theladya

Congrats to Theladya and thank you to everyone who entered into this giveaway. All numbers were chosen by random.org

All winners have 48 hours to get back to me with their shipping information and I will be contacting you by email as well.

Thank you again everyone..

So Chic Boutique Giveaway WINNER

2009-09-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

So Chic Boutique Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered into this giveaway and thank you to So Chic Boutique for supplying the product for this wonderful giveaway.
The winning number was chosen by Random.org

More wonderful giveaways coming soon so don't forget to check in often.

OhMY Its A - Homestead Company Review and Giveaway

2009-09-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

The Homestead Company
Taking care of your skin as nature intended.
Melanie Nader who is the founder of The Homestead Company, graciously sent me her Foot Spa kit to try out and now is offering one of these sets to one lucky reader.

Melanie started this company because she needed products that she could trust and were safe for her children. A lot of products out there say that they are natural and organic but don't work to heal the skin. Melanie wanted to create a product that was not only good for your skin but actually works and so she did. I have tried a lot of products out there and have not yet found a product that has worked like this. I had my oldest daughter use these products on my feet and I fell in love. Don't worry I didn't make her wash my feet, she wanted too..lol She has all her own supplies to do manicures because she had her own business over the summer last year. So, first she massaged my feet with the all natural hand and foot scrub made of dead sea salt and raw Shea Butter. Then she scrubbed my feet with the pumice stone that comes on the brush inside the kit. After she felt she had completed the job, she rubbed my feet with the Peppermint and Eucalyptus lotion. These two scent's just go perfectly together and I felt relaxed and relieved even though three of the other girls needed to join in. Normally this would be one of those moments that you wished you were in a spa somewhere else but instead, each girl took either a hand or foot and massaged me with the lotion. So I added a few pics of my daughter giving me my foot spa treatment and finally giving me a french manicure. She is so good to me..
The way my feet felt when I was done made me feel young again. I have honestly not had my feet feel this soft in years. When I hit thirty years old I felt like it all went down hill, my skin became dryer, my toe nails became thicker and now heart burn kicks in every time I eat something spicy..ohh
The Homestead company also has so many more products that are fantastic for everyone in the family. From diaper rash cream to eczema cream.
Each one of these products are made with all natural oils and butters making these products different then anything else you will find on the shelf. When I visited The Homestead Company site I decided to read the testimonials from their customers and found that everyone loved the products and had such great results. I have added a few of the testimonials for each of the products.
Eczema oil:
“We are so thrilled with the eczema oil we purchased from you, it has really helped my daughters eczema like no other product we have tried before, thank you so much!”

Homestead baby products:

“My daughter has had diaper rash for 2 months, I have taken her to the doctor and put her on antibiotics, I have tried every cream out there, and after just 3 days of using your Baby Wipe Companion her rash is clear, thank you for making such a great product.”

Homestead Spa products:

My legs have been painfully dry and itchy for years, even to the extent of keeping me awake at night. I used a prescription lotion for a long time and no relief. Now that I have tried your peppermint foot lotion and my legs feel relieved and the dry skin is gone."

Melanie also being a mother wanted to be able to make a quality product that works and keep the prices affordable. Melanie is the exception to most companies out to make a dollar, she makes her products with the highest quality of ingredients while keeping the cost low so that everyone can afford to take care of there skin without breaking the pocket book. I was also completely impressed by the eczema testimonial that I went ahead and ordered it. My oldest daughter has awful eczema and with the satisfaction guarantee on this product I am certain it will do the job.
Buy these products: You can purchase any of the products I mentioned and more by visiting The Homestead Company at there web store http://www.homesteadcompany.com be sure to read their testimonials and check out all the products they have to offer

Now Win It: The Homestead Company is graciously giving one lucky reader a Foot Spa Kit including the Hand and Foot scrub made of Dead Sea Salt and Raw Shea Butter, the Peppermint/Eucalyptus Hand and Foot Lotion and the wooden handle brush and pumice. The complete kit for keeping your hands and feet soft all year long. So, for your first required Entry follow my blog and then head on over to The Homestead Company, then come back and comment letting me know what product(s) that you would love to try. All entries must be in by September 30th at 12:59 a.m. EST The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified by email no later the noon October 1st.

Want to earn extra entries?...

*Entry 2: Subscribe to The Homestead Company News letter by returning to their homepage and entering in your email address.. Click Here to subscribe...

*Entry 3: Become a Homestead Company Fan on Facebook and leave a comment about this giveaway.

*Entry 4: Follow me on Twitter and then retweet this giveaway -The Homestead Company Foot Spa Giveaway @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/mVZec you can copy and paste, you can tweet" UNLIMITED" times for an extra entries.. Be sure to comment each time and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 5: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to To The Homestead Company then comment back with your blog URL (5) Extra Entries

*Entry 6: Grab my New button and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 7: Make any purchase from The Homestead Company and receive (10) Extra entries.

*Entry 8: Email a friend about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com
Email as many firends as you like and leave a comment for each one you email.

Giveaway Rules:
1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

ENDING SOON

2009-09-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to enter into the Sippy Cup and $25.00 gift Card from So Chic Boutique.
Its almost over and you still have a chance to win one of her Personalized Sippy cups and 25 dollars to spend in her store. Check out some of the great items she has to offer.
Now Unlimited Twittering. Don't forget to leave a comment for each tweet.

This personalized bath time towel is a wonderful gift Idea.

Click Here to enter into this Giveaway

All siblings need a little something to make them feel special when a new baby is born and I know this from experience. Having five daughters and trying to fit the new arrival in without making the other children excluded is one of the hardest things when a new sibling comes. So Chic Boutique has several items to make the big, middle, and little sibling feel just as important.Click Here to enter into this Giveaway

Also I love custom boutique clothing and this outfit is a must have for any little girl and with the gift card eligible for winning you can use it towards purchasing this outfit.

Click Here to enter into this Giveaway

There are so many awesome and unique Ideas for making every little child feel special so head on over to So chic Boutique and then come back and comment on what items you would like to have from this store. There is no need to just mention one when they are all so great.
Visit So Chic Boutique by clicking Here

L.L. Bean Back Pack Winner

2009-09-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

Congrats Comments - Hot Comments

Is the winner for the L.L. Bean Back Pack Giveaway

The winner was chosen by Random.org and thank you to everyone who participated'
there were 83 comments and I appreciate everyone of them.

Don't forget to enter in the other giveaways,
there is a lot of fun stuff to win.

Oh My Its A - Soda Maker Review and Giveaway CLOSED

2009-09-05T13:45:00.001-07:00

Soda Stream "Soda Maker" Giveaway

This has got to be to most amazing thing I have ever seen and I love this machine, giving it two thumbs up. It was so much fun and we felt like we were conducting a cool science project. I will never go back to buying soda in a can or bottle again. There is no need once you have this machine and the money you save will be worth it. Also knowing that we all would like to go green but love the convience of bottles, cans ect. This is the perfect way to play your part in saving the environment. I first took some pictures of how easy this was to accomplish making a bottle of soda and I must tell you what my youngest daughter Charlie said while taste testing. " She took a sip and seriously says, this is not so bad!" Which meant she loved it and drinking the entire cup was a dead giveaway that she really enjoyed the soda. Normally, I try and avoid my children drinking soda but since I can read and know the ingredients in these syrup it makes giving my children soda guilt free. This first picture is of my husband intensely reading the directions for placing the Co2 tank in the back and getting it prepared to make soda. He said to me, I hope your not taking pictures of me..LOL I did, sorry hunny. The installation was a snap and a lot easier then I though it would be. So now that the Co2 tank is in place and the back cover is replaced its time to make soda. Yes, that's right its not rocket science to put this machine together and as soon as the tank is in place and you have read the directions, you are ready to make soda. You then fill the bottle that comes with the machine with water and then place it into the machine, twisting it till it is secure. A few pumps of the Co2 and you have carbonated water, ready to add syrup. Once you add the syrup you can shake it a few times and PRESTO you have homemade soda at a fraction of the cost. The winner will receive everything included in the picture to the right. The winner will get the machine with Co2 tank, flavors, and reusable bottles. There is no need to worry about too much sugar, or aspartame because these products use Splenda and are Aspartame free.With all the health risk that come with artificial sweeteners like Aspartame its a wonderful weight lifted off my shoulders that I now have another choice to drinking diet soda. Also the non-diet soda flavors taste just the same as if you bought them in a store. You can ask my girls, I took a picture of them trying the Orange Soda and I got thumbs up all the way around except for the baby because she couldn't hold on to the cup with just one hand..lol When I was searching the soda stream site I checked out prices so that I can reorder when we get low and found that they also have water flavors. I love flavored water but I personally cant afford to buy it by the bottle from the store. So when I found that Soda Stream also makes flavors for your water, I was ecstatic. The water flavors come in a pack of three and makes 20 liters per bottle. That's 60 litters of sparkling, flavored water for $9.99, now that's a price I can afford and about a zillion bottles I didn't use by making it myself. The Soda flavors only cost $4.99 a bottle and make 50 servings of soda without the waste of bottles or cans and with all natural ingredients. This is now a permanent fixture on my counter and I will be a life long customer of soda stream. So head on over to Soda Stream and check out all of the amazing products they have to offer. I can not rave enough about this company and their products, so check it out for yourself. You can also read the ingredients that are in each soda flavor and average the cost you will save y making your soda and waters at home.

.Buy It: You can purchase this machine and any of the products I mentioned and more by visiting Soda Stream @ http://www.sodastreamusa.com

Now Win It: Soda Stream is giving one lucky reader a Soda Stream Maker and the flavors to try out and enjoy. So Head on over to Soda Stream and check it out, come back and comment on what Flavor you think you would like best. This contest will be open until November 5th at 11:59 p.m. EST. and the winner will be announced no later then 12:00 Noon on November 6th. The winner will be notified by email and also posted here for everyone to see. You must do this entry before you can receive the extra entries.

Want to earn extra entries?...

*Entry 2: Follow me on Twitter and Soda Stream on Twitter then retweet this giveaway -I just entered in to win a Soda Maker by Soda Stream @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/3c0cWn you can copy and paste this tweet, you can also tweet UNLIMITED tweets for an extra entries.. Be sure to comment each time you tweet and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 3:Become a fan of Soda Stream On Facebook

*Entry 4: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to Soda Stream then comment back with your blog URL (5 extra entries) You must leave five separate entries.

*Entry 5: Grab my NEW button design and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 6 : Make any purchase from Soda Stream and receive (10 Extra entries.) You must leave 10 separate entries.

*Entry 7: Email a friend about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com

Entry 8: Join me on Facebook..

*Entry 9: Enter any of my other giveaways and receive an extra entry for each giveaway you enter. Don't forget to leave a comment for each giveaway you enter.

Giveaway Rules:
1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

Oh My Its a - Dali Decal Review and Giveaway (Closed)

2009-09-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

Win $25.00 - Oh My its a , Beautiful wall art Giveaway and Review By Dali Decals. I love Dali Decal's and this is why. When I started looking for wall art I found this one piece for around $15 dollars and when it arrived I was quite disappointed. It was only 10 inches by 10 inches and the worst part about this, is that I took off all my pictures to rearrange them around this fantastic piece of wall art. Don't get me wrong, it was nice but it was nothing compared to what I received from Dali Decals. I found so many fantastic and unique designs at Dali Decals, I began to design my girls room in my head. I could imagine how much fun they would have in a room with this wonderful wall art filling the walls. I myself am a very imaginative person and so when I come by something that catches my eye, the way Dali Decals did I cant help but start daydreaming about all the things I can do with these pieces. I also dealt with this wonderful women who took my request and got me the decal within days, she also remembered the conversation we had about what piece I wanted to try out. I had originally said that I wanted the Burgundy Live, Laugh Love decal but when I ordered, I ordered it in black. She remembered and then called until she got a hold of me to make sure that it was the correct color. It was the best customer service I had received in a long time. This picture shows the decal that I received and I could not be happier. It was exactly what I was looking for and so much more. This decal I placed above the window in my entry way and you can see just how big it really is. It is defiantly not 10 inches by 10 inches and the installation was a snap. It arrived on a sheet and all I had to do was cut the pieces so that I would have the words separated and then I peeled the decal and placed it on the wall where I wanted it. I then used the tool they supplied with the decal and rubbed the paper till I was sure it was on. 1,2 and 3.. That's it and I am not exaggerating when I say it looks as if I had a professional paint this on my wall, its that perfect.. I also found several more pieces I would love to have including these flowers. You will get 14 flowers that range from 12 to 40 inches in height making this a wonderful set to put on my girls wall. I love making my girls feel special and creating moments that they will remember forever and having these flowers would create such and imaginative place for them to be. Just imagine throwing in some lady bugs, butterflies, bumble bees, and clouds! It would be so amazing to create and again it is so simple and easy to place these exactly where you want them without the mess of painting. I also found these little penguins I absolutely love and placing them in my bathroom just near the bathtub would create a winter wonderland for my girls to imagine while playing in the bathtub. There is a reason this is called art and Art should be defined as things that make you happy through the eyes of someone Else's imagination. It allows you to create things you didn't think were possible, leaving you with a since of accomplishment. Here is a picture of the penguins and a tree I would love to have just behind my couch. The picture shows the tree behind a bed but when I saw this, I could imagine it behind my couch making it a visual point when you enter the living room. I can also imagine a corner fireplace glowing just to the side that's not blowing, adding a glow to the tree's bark. So now use your imagination and head on over to Dali Decal to see what kind of creations you could make using these decals. Dali Decals is giving 1 lucky reader a $25.00 Gift card to their online store, so head on over to Dali Decals and see all the other designs they have to offer. Dali Decals is also offering Mom Gone Witty readers $5.00 off their purchase with this code

lovebugs09

Now Buy It: You can purchase any of the products I mentioned and more by visiting Dali Decals @ http://dalidecals.com don't forget to use the code above to receive your $5.00 off.

Now Win It: Dali Decals is graciously giving one lucky Mom Gone Witty reader a $25.00 gift card to their on line store. This is an amazing opportunity to own wall art to decorate your house, so try and get as many entries as you can. This Giveaway will end September 25th at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced no later the noon on September 26th.

Want to earn extra entries?..

*Entry 2: Follow me on Twitter and then retweet this giveaway -I just entered in to win a $25 Gift Card to Dali Decals, fine wall art for your home @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/tAZcM.. you can copy and paste this tweet, Unlimited tweeting, please leave a comment for each time you tweet.. Be sure to comment each time and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 3: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to Dali Decals then comment back with your blog URL (5 extra entries) You must leave five separate entries.

*Entry 4: Grab my NEW button design and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 5 : Make any purchase at Dali Decals and receive (10 Extra entries.) Plus your $5.oo off.. You must leave 10 separate entries.

*Entry 6: Email as many friends as you like about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com leave an entry for each friend you email

Entry 7: Follow me on Facebook and then leave a comment on your wall about this giveaway.

Entry 8: Enter another one of my giveaways and leave a comment for each one you enter..

Giveaway Rules:
1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

New Bow Designs and Giveaway (CLOSED)

2009-08-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

New Bow Designs and Giveaway

Halloween and Christmas are my favorite bow making time of year and here is just the beginning of what I am going to come up with this Holiday Season.
You can win one of these bows on September
15th 11:59 p.m. EST.. The winner will be announced on a new post and emailed no later then 12:00 p.m. on September 16th.
Now win one of these bows and a waffle knitted head band by twittering.
That's right, leave a comment saying you entered and then leave a comment each time you twitter any of my giveaways. Make sure you leave a comment saying what giveaways you twittered about, entered, blogged about and receive an entry for each one you do. But really all you have to do is twitter.. And twitter often to increase your chances of winning.
If you don't win this bow you can check me out on eBay or Etsy to buy one of these bows. They will be listed no later then August 28th..
Click Here to be redirected to eBay and or click on my Etsy minni on the sidebar.
Have fun and remember Tweet, tweet and retweet..

(copy and paste) I Just Entered one of many great giveaways @Mom Gone Witty http://bit.ly/mVZec

Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions..

Roxy

Oh My Its A - Ann Loren Clothing Review and Giveaway (Closed)

2009-08-24T05:03:00.000-07:00

My girls were the hit of the day in these fashionable outfits from Ann Loren by JE Designs. You would not believe how may times I got stopped so that someone could tell me how beautiful my girls were in these outfits. Ann Loren graciously sent me these beautiful outfits and is now giving one lucky reader the same opportunity. wanted to create unique Boutique clothing at affordable prices, so that is what they did. Ann Loren can keep their prices low because they design the clothing and deal directly with the manufacturer, leaving out the middle man. They keep each style in stock for 1-2 months and then the outfit retires making the outfit almost one of a kind. When browsing through the Ann Loren store, I found that I loved absolutely everything and wanted to buy it all. The unique design of this clothing gives this store the edge needed to keep me coming back and looking for more. I love my girls having clothing that I know no one else has and with these three outfits, they are sure to be unique Ann Loren by JE Designs. My girls are playing hide and seek with their older sister and as they counted I snapped this shot. Just look at the way these outfits stand out and if you new my girls, you would know that each one of these outfits matched their personality, skin tone and body type. Its amazing how Ann Loren new what designs would flatter little girls.. These outfits made my girls feel so special and beautiful, I couldn't get them to take them off when we got home. One thing I loved about the outfits, was that the designs were completely different. When you go to a store that comes out with a new line, they usually tend to be the same style or design just different colors or material. Not one of these outfits had similar characteristics, the pants were all different with different material, lengths and design. Each top had a unique style and fabric so I didn't feel like I just got the same outfit for each girls, just different colors or look. Another great feature about this clothing was that it was lightweight and comfortable. Not one of my girls asked to take off their clothes, which the little one usually would have asked that if she was uncomfortable. They played all day and were not restricted by the clothing what so ever, instead they played liked they had been playing in Tee shirts and shorts. This clothing line is absolutely amazing and worth every penny. I was completely satisfied with each style I received, the quality of the clothing and overall look. I couldn't be happier and know you will be just as happy as I am. So go on, head over to Ann Loren and check it out! Here are just a few styles you will see once you go check it out for yourself. You can find clothing that starts off as low as $9.99 and that is even a price I can afford.

Buy It: You can purchase any of the products I mentioned and more by visiting Ann Loren by JE design by clicking the link provided.
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/annloren

Now Win It: Ann Loren by JE Designs is giving one lucky reader a $25.00 Gift card to their store. With the prices starting off at only $9.99 you can possibly by two outfits with this gift card. So Head on over to Ann Loren and check it out, come back and comment on what item(s) you like best. This contest will be open until September 15th 11:59 p.m. EST. and the winner will be announced no later then 12:00 Noon on September 16th. The winner will be notified by email and also posted here for everyone to see. You must do this entry before you can receive the extra entries.

Want to earn extra entries?...

*Entry 2: Follow me on Twitter and then retweet this giveaway -I just entered in to win a $25 Gift Card to Ann Loren Clothing Boutique @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/LYJ7F.. you can copy and paste this tweet, you can also tweet once a day for an extra entry.. Be sure to comment each time and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 3: Sign up for Ann Loren's News letter at the top right of their store home page.

*Entry 4: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to Ann Loren by JE Design then comment back with your blog URL (5 extra entries) You must leave five separate entries.

*Entry 5: Become a fan of Ann Loren on Facebook

*Entry 6: Grab my NEW button design and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 7 : Make any purchase from Ann Loren and receive (10 Extra entries.) You must leave 10 separate entries.

*Entry 8: Email a friend about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com

Entry 9: Join me on Facebook..

Giveaway Rules:
1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

Oh MY its A - L.L. Bean Quad Back Pack Giveaway (CLOSED)

2009-08-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

L.L. Bean Quad Pack review and giveaway!

I was so excited when I found out I would be doing this review and that L.L. Bean would be allowing me to Host a giveaway for this Quad Pack. L.L. Bean is graciously Giving one reader a Quad Pack worth $59.95. This Back pack is awesome and my oldest daughter loves it. Let me explain why she loves it so much. She is now in middle school and has six classes and four of them require 1 1/2 inch binders. I remember when all you needed was one binder with five Tab dividers, Not at this school. My mother had originally bought her a Jonas brothers back pack, but it fit only half of one binder. There was no way she was going to fit all she needed in to this backpack. So when this Quad Pack from L.L. Bean arrived in the mail, she immediately took it and filled it up. She has four 1 1/2 inch binders in this pack, along with her locker shelf, book covers, locker accessories, pens, notebooks and probably more. I honestly could not believe she fit all that in there and it shut with ease, no problems at all. I love the pockets on this back pack and its all the pockets I need in my purse. The laptop pocket featured in this picture is a fantastic addition to this Quad Pack. You can fit a laptop safely into this pocket while still having plenty of room for binders, notebooks and more. The Quad Pack also has other great features like the MP3 Port that allows you to place the ear buds through the back and place them in your ears without tangling. The MP3 Port can also double as a hydration port allowing you to use this on long runs,walks or bike rides. The Quad pack also has unique side zipper pockets that open in the front allowing easy access to stuff fleece, work out gear and more. I also loved that the side mesh pockets have cinch closures so that your water bottles ect. don't slip out. I took a picture of my daughter sporting her new back pack while wearing her Betty Boop P.Js just so you can see how much room this really has. Also I snapped a quick picture of all her stuff inside and was amazed myself how much room was still left to add additional items we may have not gotten yet. I asked her to put this pack pack on so I could take pictures and when I tried to help her put it on she said, "No Mom, this is how you wear it!" She then placed it on one shoulder and let it hang.. Boy am I out of the loop, I would have thought it would be more comfortable to wear it the right way.. But if she ever does decide being cool is not as important as comfort, she will be able to use the chest and waist harness, that buckles up taking the weight of the shoulders. L.L. Bean also has a large selection of other back packs for the entire family including messenger bags, deluxe rolling back packs, girly back packs and even back packs in Camouflage. The prices are unbeatable and the quality is staggering. Take a look around L.L. Bean and see what other great deals you can find for back to school.

Buy It: You can purchase any of the products I mentioned and more by visiting L.L. Bean @
http://www.llbean.com

Now Win It: L.L.Bean is graciously giving one reader a Quad Pack worth $59.95. All you need to do is follow my blog, take a look around L.L. Bean and come back commenting on another item you could see yourself buying in the future and then join their newsletter by entering your email address in at the bottom of the page. This contest will be open until September 5th 11:59 p.m. EST. and the winner will be announced no later then 12:00 Noon on September 6th. The winner will be notified by email and also posted here for everyone to see. You must do this entry before you can receive the extra entries.

Want to earn extra entries?...

*Entry 2: Follow me on Twitter and then retweet this giveaway -I just entered in to win a L.L. Bean Quad Back Pack worth 59.95 @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/mVZec.. you can copy and paste this tweet, you can also tweet once a day for an extra entry.. Be sure to comment each time and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 3: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to L.L. Bean then comment back with your blog URL (5 extra entries) You must leave five separate entries.

*Entry 4: Grab my NEW button design and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 5 : Make any Back to School purchase from L.L.Bean and receive (10 Extra entries.) You must leave 10 separate entries.

*Entry 6: Email a friend about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com

Entry 7: Join me on Facebook Blogs located on the right side of my blog

Giveaway Rules:
1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

We Have A VOODOO makeup Winner...

2009-08-20T04:56:00.001-07:00

Kathy

Has won the Voodoo Mineral Makeup Giveaway.
Number was chosen by Random.org

Thank you to everyone who entered.
Make sure to see what other giveaways are going on
Now...

Oh My, Its A - Digital Picture Frame Giveaway(CLOSED)

2009-08-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

c
Its another great giveaway and another "Oh My," Moment. This digital Frame features:

60 Pictures capacity to enjoy any where you want to display it..

A 1-1/2" LCD screen displaying all your pictures in color.
You can select which photo you want to view manually, or set the auto play feature to switch from picture to picture automatically.
It also features a clock and calendar display, and you can set the time you want each photo to be displayed.
It can upload pictures directly from your camera with a high-speed upload—no driver or computer needed.
Select from Black and White.
Each measures 3-3/8" x 2-7/8" and requires 2 "AAA" batteries.

The great thing about this giveaway is all you need to do is enter, and this is how were are going to do it.

1st You must follow my blog & Then

2nd Follow me on Titter then Twitter, tweet and retweet this giveaway often:
Leave a comment for each time you tweet...

I just entered in to win a Digital Picture frame @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/mVZec
You can copy and past this tweet

To earn even more entries:

*Grab my button, leave the link to your blog

*Tell a friend about this giveaway and CC: it to Bm1carson@gmail.com

*Follow me on Facebook

*Enter into another one of my giveaways and then comment back for each giveaway you enter.

*Blog about this giveaway and leave the Link to your blog

*Check out my Etsy store and let me know what bow is your favorite..
Halloween Bows are coming soon....Keep checking in to see the new designs

*Answer this question: Where would you rather shop for Custom Boutique Bows? Ebay or Etsy

This Giveaway will end September 12th 11:59 p.m. EST and chosen by Random.org
All giveaways are open to us residents only and you must be 18 years of age or older.
Thank you for entering and remember to have FUN..

OH MY ITS A - So Chic Boutique Giveaway 25$ giftcard and Sippy Cup(Closed)

2009-08-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for the perfect gift, search no further. The So Chic Boutique has everything you need to make that little one feel special. I recently received the Trendy gift pack including the personalized Onesie, hat, burp cloth and Bib with my nieces name on it, pictured to the left. Oh My, it is oh so cute and the quality of each piece is superb. I honestly can not be happier with the items I received and I can not wait to give this set to my sister. So Chic Boutique is also graciously giving away a $25.00 Gift Certificate and one Personalized Sippy cup. You can also now find these sippy cups now on sale for only $10.00. These cups are absolutely amazing and I have never seen anything like it before, that's what makes So Chic Boutique unique. They offer a large variety of personalized items that will make shopping easy when your looking for that unique gift . Each sippy cup can be personalized to meet your needs and with this unique design and quality is well worth the price. I also absolutely adore the Peek A Bloomers. When I saw these bloomers I new I would be getting these for my niece as well! These bloomers are a definite "Oh My" moment and worth taking a look at.. So go ahead and checkout these little bloomers, along with the sippy cups and anything else that may just catch your eye. Now remembering the older kids, I saw these adorable Kids Aprons that I fell in love with. Having five girls, I know what it means for them to help out in the kitchen when I'm cooking. With these personalized Aprons, I can make baking time even that more fun and memorable. There are very few moments we get these days to spend with our children and making moments that count with the time we have is what makes the moments memorable.. My girls still go through old pictures often and ask me. "Was that me when I was a baby?" And when I say yes, their faces light up just knowing I loved them so much and treasure the pictures I took. These aprons are fantastic and you cant beat this price, especially for the quality of the apron itself and the time that went into make them personalized. So Chic Boutique is now on the top of my list for "Best Gifts for special occasions." So Chic Boutique is also offering free shipping on all orders over $30.00 and with the sippy cup sale going on now this is an awesome Bonus. To receive free shipping, type in this code SHIP30 at the end when you checkout. So take a look around and see what cool back to school deals you can find. Now here is where to buy and how you can win it. Just remember to right down the free shipping code to receive your discount. Here they are again.

Free Shipping on all orders over $30.00 - SHIP30

$10.00 Sippy cups on sale now.. Originally $14.95

Buy these products: You can purchase any of the products I mentioned and more by visiting So Chic Boutique at http://www.sochicboutique.com/index.html

Now Win It: The So Chic Boutique is graciously giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to spend at there web store and also along with the gift Certificate you will receive a personalized Sippy cup like the ones displayed up above. All you have to do, to win this wonderful giveaway is Join my blog and then Join the So Chic Mailing list at the bottom of their web page. To join their mailing list CLICK HERE.. and then scroll all the way down and enter in you email address..
Its that easy!! This contest will be open until September 9th 11:59 p.m. EST. and the winner will be announced no later then 12:00 Noon on September 10th. The winner will be notified by email and also posted here for everyone to see.

Want to earn extra entries?...

*Entry 2: Follow So Chic Boutique on Twitter (click Here)

*Entry 3: Follow me on Twitter and then retweet this giveaway -I just entered in to win a $25.00 GC to So Chic Boutique and a personalized Sippy Cup @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/mVZec .. you can copy and paste, you can also tweet once a day for an extra entry.. Be sure to comment each time and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 4: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to To The So Chic Boutique then comment back with your blog URL (5 extra entries) You must leave five separate entries.

*Entry 5: Grab my button and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 6 : Make any purchase from So Chic Boutique and receive (10 Extra entries.) You must leave 10 separate entries.

*Entry 7: Email a friend about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com

Giveaway Rules:
1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

We Have A Winner for the Homestead Giveaway

2009-08-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

kiddiescornerdeals

Congrats for winning the Homestead Foot Spa Giveaway.
Number was generated by Random.org
Thank you to everyone who participated.

Link your giveaways Here

2009-08-16T05:59:00.000-07:00

Add your links for everyone to see.

WE HAVE WINNERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-15T03:16:00.000-07:00

You won the Baby Attitude body suits
I will be contacting you shortly by email

Numbers were chosen by Random.org

Thank you everyone who entered my giveaways and I hope to see you all back soon.

You have won the Silver Bangle Bracelets
I will be Contacting you shortly by email

Numbers were chosen by Random.org

Thank you everyone who entered my giveaways and I hope to see you all back soon.

Jupita's Jewelry Giveaway (CLOSED)

2009-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

WOW, is the word that comes to mind when I see this artist's work. Jupita's is an amazing Etsy store where you can buy upcycled handmade Jewelry and art. I am honored to be able to host this giveaway and you will feel the same if you win one of these bracelets. There is also a story and inspiration behind the artwork by Jennifer who is the creator of this exquisite jewelry and art work. Jennifer gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Othello who was born with a rare condition called gastroschisis. This is when a child is born with the intestines outside the body. At nine months old Othello under went a five organ transplant a new stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas and small intestine, this transplant gave Othello fourteen more months of life. Othello then passed away July 1st 2004. Being a mother I cant imagine the pain from losing a child and I don't think anyone else who has not had to endure this kind of tragedy could. Jennifer took her creativity with jewelry, sculpting and drawing to bring awareness to transplants and other families going through the same thing she did. The cost of this transplant was more then her family could afford and the insurance would not cover the entire cost, so Jennifer's family contacted the Children's Organ Transplant Association where they gave them the stepping stones to start fundraising for Othello's organ transplant. This kind of cost is unjust to any family that has to face the possible loss of a child and so Jennifer who has been in the exact situation now donates the money she makes from her Jewelry, sculptures and art to help these families in need of financial assistance. Over the last month I have been able to have a few conversations with Jennifer about her goals and have found an amazing person behind the scene. She is now the mother of toddling twins and knowing how much work it is when you have a toddler, she still finds a little time to whip up this beautiful Jewelry having two toddlers. Jennifer's jewelry is one of a kind and being recycled from plastic gift cards make them that more intriguing. I spent a little time looking around in her store to see all the designs she has come up with and wondered why she hasn't gone global with her amazing jewelry. I wanted to show you a few pieces that are my favorite and then you can head on over to Jennifer's Jupita shop and check it out for yourself. This necklace displayed on the right is one of my most favorite and I love how it brings definition to the neckline and then draws your attention in to the center of the chest. What an amazing piece. I am also showing a sculpture from her other store Drops of Jupita where she has her sculptures and art work listed. This piece on the left is a bracelet made of gift cards in the shape of guitar picks and I love how she displayed it on top of her art work. Jennifer has also decided to not only giveaway a bracelet which will be the giveaway for this month but also she will be donating a piece from her Drops of Jupita shop next month. She will be giving away one of her bracelets this month to one lucky reader and then next month she will be sculpting a piece for one lucky reader as well. Jennifer needs your help to bring awareness to the life saving of transplants and the needs of families that are going through the same financial burden she once endured. Jennifer is also going to let the winner of this drawing pick the bracelet of their choice and with the designs she has listed in her Jupita store, this will be a fabulous giveaway. You can learn more about transplants and how you can help by visiting Othello's www.othellosmithfoundation.tk foundation page and read more about how one family helped out another in their time of grief.

Now Win It: Jupita's is giving away one bracelet of your choice to one lucky winner. So to win one of these Upcycled bracelets Follow my blog and then head on over to Jupita's and then come back and comment on what piece you would choose if you win.Once you have picked your favorite bracelet check out www.unos.org or www.cota.org and add to your comment something you didnt know before about organ transplants. Be sure to check them all out you might find a special gift for someone else. All entries must be in by September 11th 12:00 a.m. EST and the winner will be chosen by Random.org and posted no later then noon on September 11th.
Want to earn extra entries?...

*Entry 2: When visiting Jupita's Etsy store Heart her shop as your favorite.

*Entry 3: Subscribe to Jupita's shop feed.

*Entry 4: Follow me on Twitter and then retweet this giveaway -I just entered Jupita's Upcycled Jewelry Giveaway @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/mVZec you can copy and paste, you can tweet once a day for an extra entry.. Be sure to comment each time and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 5: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to To Jupita's Store Link then comment back with your blog URL

*Entry 6: Grab my button and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 7: Make any purchase from Jupita's and receive (5) Extra entries. Please leave a comment for each 5 entries.

*Entry 8: Email a friend about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com

*Entry 9: Enter into one of my other giveaways.. You will reveive an entry for each giveaway you enter into. Be sure to leave a comment for each giveaway you enter into.

*Entry 10: Follow Jennifer's blog Not so Photo JEN ic to stay up to date on her new creations.

Giveaway Rules:
1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

Kids Say and Do the Darnest Things..

2009-08-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to add this to my blog because I have five kids that are so funny. I sometimes forget all the funny things they say so I want to share them with you and when I need a good laugh I can come back and read it myself. Let me introduce you to my oldest daughter first.
Destiny is of course the one on the left who is posing with my youngest daughter Charlie. They actually ended up taking my Camera into the Bathroom at Fenway Park and started having a photo shoot in the Bathroom. Any way Destiny is my amazing, hard headed, funny child. She is twelve years old and the mouth of an adult. So moving from the west to the east was probably the hardest thing Destiny has had to do in her 12 years of life and since we have moved to the west we have moved three times, so that's three different schools. Destiny has found it extremely hard to make friends, not that she hasn't made friends but finding that one friend that is a true friend is what has been the hardest. Those type of friends are usually found when we are young and since we move so much she has had a hard time making that connection with someone. Any who Destiny asked me why I loved her obviously needing some reassurance. At the time I was painting the living room and trying to keep the little ones out of the paint. I asked her if we could discuss this later because I needed to concentrate on painting. Later that day she comes to me and says that she really does not want to go back to school and so I of course told her its going to be okay and she is going to make new friends. What she said made me laugh... She says, Mom... I don't fit in with the nerds and I don't fit in with the cool kids, so where do I fit in? I just started laughing and said that's why I love you. Destiny is so in tune to people, and she knows who she isn't but not quite sure who she is yet. She thinks way above her age and the things that come out of her mouth sometimes just amazes me. I wish she could find that one true friend but until then I guess she'll just have to make do with me. So I wanted to also tell you something funny she did.. Now remember she is a Jonas Brother Junkie and if I could find a way for her to meet Nick Jonas I would do it in a heart beat. So she has several posters of Nick Jonas but this one day I was coming up the stairs to go to my room when I glanced behind me and saw a guy laying in her bed. I nearly jumped out of my skin and took the ninja fighting stance, ready to kick but. Then I realized she had laid a poster of Nick Jonas in her bed with his head propped on a pillow. I nearly died of a heart attack, she had made a spot in her bed for Nick to lay. I said to her, do you need a check up from the neck up and she just started laughing. See Destiny is a lot like me and loves to make people laugh so doing odd things like this is normal for her.
So lets meet Ryann. We pronounce her name like Ryan the boys name but spelt it that way so if she felt like changing it to a girl pronunciation she could. Ryann reminds me of myself when I was young because she is such a procrastinator.. If Ryann is told to do something and she then comes up missing "Check the Bathroom,," Ryann always seems to have to go number 2 anytime she is told to clean or do her chores. The funny thing is I just took her to the doctor because her stomach was bothering her and they sent us over for ex rays. Come to find out she is backed up and needs to go the bathroom more. I started laughing because as often as she says she using the bathroom, she hasn't been. This is probably not the story Ryann would like me to tell about her but if I didn't you wouldn't get her. She is very kind hearted but the laziest of all my kids. I would have to say the funniest thing she has said to me is, once when I was going to the store I had to come back home because I forgot my shoes. I know that doesn't make sense that someone would forget there shoes but I hate wearing shoes and only wear them when I am going out somewhere that I know I am going in. Any way Ryann says to me, Do you want me to tell you where they are? I said sure, that would help.. And she replied seriously, Go to the hall closet, take a left then a right and start digging. I never laughed so hard. She had just given me directions to my shoes and she was serious..
So lets meet Tori, she is my 3rd daughter and the little odd ball of the family. She looks nothing like her sisters but looks exactly like me when I was her age. My mom says its like looking at me all over again. Tori is also one of my daughters that is on the Autism spectrum and makes me laugh the most because she takes everything so seriously and doesn't understand normal body language, gestures or demeanor. Tori has me going in every direction and most of the time I think she is on a roller coaster herself and she doesn't know where the breaks are. Like I said Tori takes everything seriously even though she has a great sense of humor. The other day in the car Tori ask me what a Sandwich is made of? I thought to myself what a odd question because she eats a sandwich quite often. So I responded with, bread, meat, cheese anything that you would like to put on a Sandwich. She says, No I mean what is a sandwich made of?
Now trying to tap into what she might be thinking I asked her,
what do you mean already realizing she must mean the word Sandwich itself.. She then asked, is it made out of sand? I couldn't help myself when I answered, "Yes and Witches too!!" Tori is such a lovely child and I love to watch her experience life through her eyes. Because of her Autism she does odd ball things and one of them that stands out the most is when I got up around three in the morning I had found her in her room and she had emptied the entire dishwasher onto her bed. She had seven settings laid out on her bed with fork, knives, spoons and plates and On each plate she had baby rice cereal and enfamil formula as the main entree!! I cant help but laugh when it comes to Tori because I don't think she knows why she does the things she does half the time. Okay, lets get to my Moon. My fourth daughter we named after her dad who is a boat driver in the Coast Guard.. Her name is Saylor and we call her Moon... Can you guess why? Its because of the huge head she had when she was a baby, it reminded me of the moon. No, that's not why but its funny any way. If you remember the Cartoon Sailor Moon, that's where we got the Moon from and it just kind of stuck because of the huge head..lol Saylor is also an interesting child on the Autism Spectrum with developmental delays. She is so funny just like the rest of us but I can see sometimes the little devil come out from behind those big beautiful eyes..
Saylor is so smart despite her delays and has defiantly compensated for them. Saylor is always thinking of how she is going to make you laugh next and one day I had asked her to grab me a soda.. She is so easy and rarely argues but this day she had something up her sleeve. She said, sure and brought me a soda immediately but when I opened it I was not expecting it to explode in my face. I looked over at her and she is giggling to herself. I said to her, did you do that on purpose. and she said yes.. We laughed so hard because that was her first real successful joke she had played on someone.. And of course it had to be me! Saylor is always thinking about what goes on around her as well and when she said this next comment I was intrigued to what really goes on in that little head of hers. I ask my girls to pick up after themselves and it ends up being more of a fight then I would like it to be. I would love if my girls would just help out and pick up the mess they made without me having to remind them contently. Saylor one day decides to tell my oldest daughter that she is not going to help tidy up the living room. When Destiny asked her why, she responded with, " I'm not going to clean until mom and dad start cleaning, too!" I pulled Saylor aside and asked her if she had said this while I am doing the dishes and She, said yes she had said it and when I told her she needed to clean up after herself, she said I don't make the mess and you and dad don't clean up either.. I couldn't believe that my five year old was talking to me like this. Where did she get this attitude from? Not me...lol She wasn't trying to be rude when she said it she was just trying to make me see her point but for a five year old to think this way made me laugh. Last but not least is Charlie the baby.. She is also so funny and as I continue telling stories you will see how funny these kids really are.lol Charlie has been sick since she was born and we called her our 100,000 dollar baby because that's what it cost in the first few months of her life. She has upper respiratory distress which causes her asthma to act up unexpectedly resulting in a ER visit and stay. Since moving to the East coast she has been 100% better and only 2 visits to the ER in two years. Its been wonderful. Any who Charlie had to have attitude to deal with all of this and she kept it as time went on. The funniest thing I can think of for Charlie is the time she took a bath in Peanut Butter. She had her hair out and it was all frizzy like Einstein and then painted herself from head to toe in peanut butter. I wish I had that picture on this computer because It was so funny. It took me nearly a half hour to scrape the layers of peanut butter off her skin. She also is funny with her comments and just the other day she wanted to share her dads ice cream. She went up to him with her puppy dog eyes and said, Dad! I still haven't told the other girls I'm your favorite. Reminding you that she is only 4, I was flabbergasted at this comment. How does a 4 year old know to say something like that to get her dads ice cream?.. Oh my she is hilarious and there is so much more to come, having five girls is going to be of course a adventure especially in their teenage years but I am looking forward to it and I cant wait to be a part of it all...I hope you all enjoyed meeting my girls and I will be posting more often about the funny things they say and do, so stay tuned....

VooDoo Beauty Review and Giveaway

2009-08-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

Voodoo Beauty graciously just sent me a sample kits of their mineral makeup and now they are going to give one lucky reader a .2 ounce jar of their Warm Glow Mineral Bronzer. No, I'm not adding pictures of my beautiful face..lol As much as I would have liked to add pictures my better judgment said not to..
Voodoo Beauty offers a full line of 100% natural mineral makeup to choose from and the options are endless. Whatever your skin type, color, or preference you are sure to find what you need here.
Again I have tried several mineral products including Lore'l mineral makeup and I was very pleased to say this makeup worked the way I wanted it to. They use no fillers, including talc, bismuth, cornstarch, oils or fragrance, every product they carry is all natural and healthy for your skin. I remember when I tried the Lore'l Product, my skin kept itching and I couldn't stand it. I would have to wash my face and forget about wearing makeup that day because now my skin was irritated.
The voodoo mineral makeup line is so pure you can sleep in it and not worry about skin irritations and breakouts in the morning.. I can vow that, because I ended up sleeping in it..lol
They also offer a fantastic line of complete kits to start you off. I love that because if your anything like me, I hate trying to figure out what it is I need to get the look I want. Here she has it all set up for you including all the brushes you need to make the perfect look. The greatest thing about this kit is not only that you get everything you need to start off with but that her prices are amazing. This kit start off at only $26.95 and I am telling you that this is a fantastic deal. Not only can you buy the kits already put together, you can come back and buy individual pieces as you need them for more then reasonable prices. Another great feature I loved about this product is if you sweat or get your makeup wet, there is no need to reapply just gently blot your face with a towel for a new dewy look. Best of all if you have oily skin, this product absorbs the oil while retaining your skins natural moisture. One other product I wanted to show you before I tell you how to win the Warm Glow Mineral Bronzer Jar, is the eye shadows. These eye shadows are so awesome. Not only can you apply this eyeshadow dry, but you can wet it for a completely different look. These eye shadows go on like silk, blend easily and last all day long. They do not streak or crease for a fresh finish every time you use them.
Buy these products: You can purchase any of the products I mentioned and more by visiting Voodoo Beauty at there web store by Clicking Here....
Also Voodoo Beauty is offering all my readers 15% off your purchase
Just enter in this code IHEARTVB

Now Win It: Voodoo Beauty is graciously giving one lucky reader a 2 ounce Jar of their Warm Glow Mineral Bronzer. For your required Entry follow my blog and then head on over to Voodoo Beauty, then come back and comment letting me know what product(s) that you would love to try. All entries must be in by August 19th at 12:00 a.m. EST The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified by email no later the noon August 19th.

Want to earn extra entries?...

*Entry 2: Subscribe to Voodoo Beauty Store News letter by returning to their homepage and click on the link in the top right hand corner.. Click Here to subscribe...

*Entry 3: Follow me on Facebook and leave a comment about this giveaway.

*Entry 4: Follow me on Twitter and then retweet this giveaway -Voodoo Beauty Mineral Bronzer Giveaway @MomGoneWitty http://bit.ly/mVZec you can copy and paste, you can tweet once a day for an extra entry.. Be sure to comment each time and leave your twitter URL:

*Entry 5: Blog about this giveaway with links back to this Giveaway and to To Voodoo Beauty then comment back with your blog URL

*Entry 6: Grab my button and place it on your blog or web page and then comment back with your URL

*Entry 7: Make any purchase from Voodoo Beauty and receive (5) Extra entries.

*Entry 8: Email a friend about this giveaway and then CC: it back to me Bm1carson@gmail.com

Giveaway Rules:
1.This giveaway is open to US residents only and you must be at least 18 years of age.

2. You must have the required entry completed before any extra entries will be counted.

3. All winners have 48 hours to respond with full contact information by email. Be sure that you do this so you don't get skipped. If the winner does not respond in 48 hours then a new winner will be chose.

4.Most important: HAVE FUN !!!!!!

Talks To Moon Book Review

2009-08-04T05:47:00.000-07:00

Click image to be redirected to this site...

I must first relate this book to myself. Having to move every four years can be hard on myself but especially my kids. Every time we move my girls become a white buffalo, being the new one in school, having no friends and trying to fit in with children who have already created clicks and it has been the hardest obstacle they have had to face in their little lives.
This book shares the story of a young white buffalo who is treated unkind because of his white fur. It tells the tale of how he finds himself by talking to the moon and then finding a young friend much like himself. When this young white buffalo is able to conquer his fears, he finds that he is much more then just white fur, that he is special and being different just means you have more to offer. The story this white buffalo has to tell is a story all kids should hear. Its about accepting and loving even when we fear it and knowing that we are not alone in this huge world.
The author of this book A. Vitaro is also a wonderful addition to the author world. He is the president of Zen by Design and sharing his book with me has been my reward. Its not everyday that we come across people who make a difference for other people wanting nothing in return, but I have been blessed with finding one of those people.
You will not be disappointed with this book and it is definitely a must have to Share with your family. All proceeds sales of this book will also be donated to charitable organizations.

To learn more about this book and purchase it now: Visit http://www.talkstomoon.com by clicking the link.
Please leave your questions and comments and I will be sure to answer them..

Diaper Cakes by Wendy Review

2009-08-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

Now, first off you cant eat these cakes or candies!! Diaper Cakes by Wendy are delightful and elegant with delicate creativity put into every design. I actually just won two of her washcloth candies and I found that these little candies were magnificent. Wendy is a dedicated stay at home mother, wanting to strive at being the best mother while finding a way to put her creativity to work.These cakes and candies are a spectacular baby shower gifts and something any expecting mother would love to have.
When I stumbled on to Diaper Cakes by Wendy I was looking for something unique for my sisters baby shower. Since I live 3000 miles away from her now, I needed something that was going to amaze her and that she would remember forever. I found this Ladybug Diaper Cake and fell in love.
I had searched many Diaper Cakes and none came close to the quality and ingenious design as these. Wendy now has several designs including do it yourself Diaper Cakes w/diapers included. This is a wonderful idea for the creative and not so creative person wanting to present the perfect baby shower gift.
Checking out Diaper Cakes by Wendy is a must. Her party favors and gifts are as well thought out with creativity as her Diaper Cakes. Don't hesitate to stop by and ask questions, Wendy also takes special orders and design ideas.
Thank you Wendy, for sending me your washcloth candies, I know this will make a great addition to the package I will be sending my sister for her baby shower..

To Buy : Visit Wendy at her store - Diaper Cakes by Wendy Click Here

Transformers 2 Movie Review

2009-08-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

I know, I'm late watching this movie but I can say that it was GREAT. I love action packed, humorous and suspenseful movies. This has all three including Shia Labeouf whom I have watched since he starred in the Disney Sitcom Even Stevens. I remember saying that he would be a great actor because as stupid as he was in Even Stevens, he made me laugh.
I also loved the first Transformers movie and it was more kid friendly then the second. Transformer's 2 has more sexual innuendo then the first, so I would recommend watching it before you decide to let your kids watch it.
The mother and father in this movie were fantastically funny and it made the movie just that much better. Though Shia Labeouf can steal the spotlight of any movie he plays in, I would have to say that the short comical clips they threw in of the parents were a masterpiece in itself. This defiantly is a movie I will be buying on DVD and recommending to friends and family..

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Review

2009-07-30T06:04:00.000-07:00

Having read all the Harry Potter books and finding something wrong with all the other movies, I must say I really liked this movie. I can always tell a good movie when I take my kids, if they sit through the whole thing without having to use the bathroom then it has kept their attention.. It felt like it took 5 movies to get this one right and even though it was not exactly like the book, they took a new comical approach that made it a great movie. This movie was 2 hours and 45 minutes which has been the longest Harry Potter movie so far and I myself sat through it without walking out and I would recommend it to anyone who is a Harry Potter fan. I will also be buying this on DVD and look forward to the next movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This next movie will sum up the ending of this movie and I heard it is two movies long. Should be interesting to see how they fit it all in.

The Night of the Museum 2 Review

2009-07-30T05:53:00.000-07:00

Being a huge fan of the first movie, I was so excited when I saw that they had made a second movie. I was sure it was going to be as good as the first and I was so disappointed when it wasn't. Don't get me wrong it was a good movie, it just wasn't as good as the first. Most sequels are not as good as the first but I was certain with the cast in this movie they couldn't make it anything but superb. There were some funny parts in it and the moral of the story was cute but I could have waited to see this when it came out on DVD. I liked the new characters they put in, like the balloon dog, Einstein, and Abraham Lincoln. The cherubs were so cute singing the Jonas Brothers songs. My eldest daughter who is a Jonas Brother Junkie, says that was the best part of the movie. If your looking for a good family film, you cant go wrong with this movie but if your looking for it to be as good as the first, I would wait and get it on DVD.

3 Stretchy Bangle Bracelet Giveaway Ends 8/14 CLOSED

2009-07-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

These stretchy Bangle bracelets are so cool. I am looking forward to giving these away to a lucky winner. Remember my goal is to make people aware of the world wide spread of hunger that kills little children everyday. A lot of my last entries said how easy it is to sponsor a family at world vision and how a goat is one of the simple ways to make a difference in someones life. We take for granted the little things, like how easy it is for most Americans to go out and buy a goat but for these people its a life changing purchase that they don't have the means to make. Visit World Vision and see what kind of difference you can make.
The winner will receive three beautiful silver plated stretchy bangles that are easy to fit with an incredible comfort design.

MAIN ENTRY: (2) parts - Follow my blog publicly and visit World Vision. Come back and comment on something you learned about poverty. It can be something you did not know before or something you would like other readers to know. ( If these two parts are not done then your entry will be deleted.)

For Extra Entries:

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on Twitter and Retweet this giveaway: You can copy and paste this
Starbucks Basket Giveaway to fight Poverty Enter now @http://roxy-littlelovebugs.blogspot.com/ ( You can tweet this up to 2 times a day for 2 total extra entries per day) Make sure you leave your twitter url and the times you tweeted..

1 Extra Entry: Subscribe to this blog by email

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on Facebook

1 Extra Entry: Read my Book Review on "The Hole in our Gospel " and comment back telling what you think of my first Review

1 Extra Entries: Enter into a giveaway at Angies Blog - My Four Monkeys , Because Mom Said So and Sham Looking for a Deal and comment back here telling me which giveaways you entered.

1 Extra Entry: Grab my Button and place on your blog- Be sure to leave the link to your blog so I can see where you put it

5 Extra Etries: for telling friends about this giveaway- Email five friends and the CC: me at Bm1carson@gmail.com

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and be sure to leave the link to where you blogged

10 Extra Entries: Become a World Vision Sponsor or make a donation to fight world hunger

5 Extra Entries: Purchase the Book "The Hole in our Gospel " By Richard Sterns the President of World Vision.

Thank you so much to all my readers and thank you for sharing in my life. All your comments are loved weather they be just from the heart or comments entered into the giveaway.

The winner will be notified by Email so please remember to leave your email address in each entry so that I will be able to contact you. The winner must respond in 48 hours or another number will be drawn. You must be 18 years of age to enter into any giveaway here on this blog.

Also note that the Main Entry is the only Entry needed to win this giveaway and it must be completed in both parts. Any Extra entries are available but not mandatory.

I thank you for entering into this giveaway and hope you will help World Vision in the Fight to end World Hunger.

Good Luck and God Bless

5 Attitude Onsie Giveaway - Ends 8/14 CLOSED

2009-07-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

This giveaway is going to be so much fun. Again I am trying to bring awareness to the hungry of the world, not just in the United States. Now that it takes only a mere few hours to get to other countries we can not say that they are not in our reach for help. They are our neighbors and the fact remains that children are dying of hunger. Here is a fact for you: there is enough food produced to feed the world! So I ask why are there hungry kids and kids dying of hunger? I cant imagine my own child crying at my feet because she is hungry and the heartache of the parents who has to say, "I'm sorry we have no food!" No person should ever go hungry especially little kids who have no control and each one of us has the power to make a difference, and it starts with you. I hope everyone who comes to this giveaway will choose to enter to win and spread the word so that we as the "HUMAN RACE" can change the changeable... Remember to read through the entry rules and get as many entries as you can.
You will be able to choose from the boys or the girls onesies and you will be able to pick your size. These onesies come in two sizes - 3-6 months and 6-9 months and what an awesome baby shower gift for someone or an addition to your babies wardrobe. Each onsie has its own attitude saying for either boys or girls and these onsies are sooo cute.

MAIN ENTRY: (2) parts - Follow my blog publicly and visit World Vision. Come back and comment on something you learned about poverty. It can be something you did not know before or something you would like other readers to know. ( If these two parts are not done then your entry will be deleted.)

For Extra Entries:

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on Twitter and Retweet this giveaway: You can copy and paste this
Starbucks Basket Giveaway to fight Poverty Enter now @http://roxy-littlelovebugs.blogspot.com/ ( You can tweet this up to 2 times a day for 2 total extra entries per day) Make sure you leave your twitter url and the times you tweeted..

1 Extra Entry: Subscribe to this blog by email

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on Facebook

1 Extra Entry: Read my Book Review on "The Hole in our Gospel " and comment back telling what you think of my first Review

1 Extra Entries: Enter into a giveaway at Angies Blog - My Four Monkeys , Because Mom Said So and Sham Looking for a Deal and comment back here telling me which giveaways you entered.

1 Extra Entry: Grab my Button and place on your blog- Be sure to leave the link to your blog so I can see where you put it

5 Extra Etries: for telling friends about this giveaway- Email five friends and the CC: me at Bm1carson@gmail.com

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and be sure to leave the link to where you blogged

10 Extra Entries: Become a World Vision Sponsor or make a donation to fight world hunger

5 Extra Entries: Purchase the Book "The Hole in our Gospel " By Richard Sterns the President of World Vision.

Thank you so much to all my readers and thank you for sharing in my life. All your comments are loved weather they be just from the heart or comments entered into the giveaway.

The winner will be notified by Email so please remember to leave your email address in each entry so that I will be able to contact you. The winner must respond in 48 hours or another number will be drawn. You must be 18 years of age to enter into any giveaway here on this blog.

Also note that the Main Entry is the only Entry needed to win this giveaway and it must be completed in both parts. Any Extra entries are available but not mandatory.

I thank you for entering into this giveaway and hope you will help World Vision in the Fight to end World Hunger.

Good Luck and God Bless

WE HAVE WINNERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

We have a winner for the three giveaways and I am so thankful to all of you that entered. This is a great cause and I hope we can all fight together to stop world hunger. There is no reason "any" child should go hungry.

The Hole In Our Gospel - WINNER IS:

NotQuitePhotoJenic- Jen : Congratulations..I will be emailing you shortly

Jen Had several fantastic insights to world poverty and this is one of them:

NotQuitePhotoJENic said... "10 percent of the population in the United States lives below the poverty line"

I wanted to read more about Hunger in the US. We are always hearing about how "we" can help other nations and their hungry. It is rare that you hear about those in our "backyard".

Thank you Jen for being so inspirational to the rest of us.. God Bless and I hope you love reading this book as much as I did.

Making Memories Basket - WINNER IS:

Coriwetphal - Congratulations I will be emailing you shortly

Coriwetphal also had a great insight to helping out others that are in need and this is what she said:

coriwestphal said... I learned that it's SO easy to help! A super simple way to help, as we do our school shopping this year, is to put together a few extra school supplies in a kit for children here at home or in another country. Seems pretty easy to throw a couple extra boxes of crayons in your cart, doesn't it.

Thank you Coriwetphal for entering into this giveaway and I hope you make many memories with your family. God Bless

Starbucks Basket Giveaway - WINNER IS:

throuthehaze - Congratulations I will be emailing you shortly

throuthehaze said... follower
i learned that intense fighting between militant groups and Pakistani forces has driven nearly three million children and their families from their homes.

Thank you throuthehaze for entering into this giveaway and if you love Starbucks as much as I do then you are going to love this basket. God Bless

The greatest thing about doing these giveaways was to see that even though we know that there are people starving all over the world, we tend to forget that when we live out daily lives. This was a great way for those of us to know that even though we know they are starving there is a lot more behind the scenes and it doesn't take much to make a difference. I hope you all will join in again in the next giveaways to help fight world hunger.
THANK YOU EVERYONE...

Check this out...

2009-07-28T06:11:00.001-07:00

Okay, Here is a fellow blogger breaking into the giveaway business and she needs some entries. I personally know how hard this business, hobby, ect. can be and I myself have run into my own bumps along the way. I got my Blogging Angel when I found My Four Monkeys, without her help I would have never gotten as far as I did so I hope you all will head on over and join her giveaway.

Sham looking for a Deal

Continued: Harry Potter to the Hospital

2009-07-27T04:41:00.000-07:00

So I left off with my friend Beverly telling me to go ask one of my husbands crew from the Coast Guard to help me out. This was of course embarrassing to have to ask my husbands work to help me out but I did and the little gentleman that helped me out was so sweet I wanted to squeeze his cheeks till his face popped. Any way, he now tries to pull the gas can out of the gas tank and becomes just as baffled as I was about how this gas can got stuck in the first place. I mean who do you even call in a situation like this? Its not like they have a 1-800 service for gas cans stuck in gas tanks...So the little guy runs back to the station to grab a butter knife to hopefully pry out the nozzle but after a few attempts at this it fails and I am running through my head who in the heck do you call for something like this?.. He says to me, I think I need something smaller to fit in to the hole and so I recommended a toothpick. My daughter ran to Beverly's to fetch a toothpick after she let me know that she would like to do a cheer for me with the letters "D" "U" "M" "B".. I couldn't help but laugh because she has a crazy sense of humor like myself but I told her she was lucky at this moment that she decided to keep her cheer to herself..lol
She returned with a plastic toothpick and the little gentleman was able to pry the can out of the tank with this little green toothpick. I held the toothpick in my hands and shouted in the air like a Frankenstein movie "I'm a GENIUS.." And then I petted the toothpick saying " I love you Little Toothpick" You can only make jokes in a situation like this because what really is the point of getting angry. There is not one, you make do with what you are dealt and roll with the punches. I believe every hard moment is just another chance to make yourself stronger and make the adventure more fun.
I hugged the Coast Guard Boy with a huge bear hug saying "THANK YOU" a few times. You should have seen his face. I know he wasn't quite sure if his boss's wife should be hugging him..lol
This day and the few days after turned out to be very trying as my husband returned home from surgery with a Stent in his Kidney and as the next few days proved to be trying. I gritted my teeth and hung in there hoping my husband would start feeling better because if I had to deal with his crankiness for much longer, I would have gotten a motel.
I'm sorry but I have five kids and it seems every time your husband gets sick he becomes another child, depending on me for his every need. I'm not complaining about being needed by him but I know when I get sick, he still has to go to work and I still have to get out of bed and take care of everything.
For instance, I sprained my ankle on my second daughters 4th birthday and it swelled ten times its normal size. They half casted it and sent me home, but what seemed to amaze me was that even though I couldn't walk my husband couldn't get the time off to take care of me. I had a 7,4 and 1 year old plus a brand new baby who was only 3 months old. I ended up taking the cast off, bringing in a wagon so that I could push my self down the hall in the wagon while carrying my new baby. It was insane, and that was another one of those moments I didn't think I was going to make it through with a full head of hair intact.
So, my husband had his Stent removed and he returned back to work this morning. Thank you God, it was defiantly scary there for a while but I am so blessed that he had a great recovery.

Up coming Review For Annloren Boutique Girls Clothing

2009-07-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

Annloren's Boutique Girl Clothing
Upcoming Review.
I am so excited to announce this upcoming review.
Annloren has been gracious enough to allow me to try out their clothing line for little girls and review about it right here.
Stay tuned for more info on this review and be sure to check in at Annloren's Clothing Boutique.

2009-07-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

Tarabelle's
Store Review

I recently won a gift card to Tarabelle's and was delighted at the selection and great service I received. Being a Ebay member myself, I know how important it is to get out the merchandise quickly. I received the items I ordered in record time and in perfect condition.

These are the two skirts I ordered and if you are a Gymboree fan you know how expensive it can be to
purchase a wardrobe from them. Tarabelle's has one of the largest selections I have come by with over 3000 items to choose from and with prices you cant beat. Having five girls to shop for this school year is one of my biggest concerns as a mother. You want your kids to be dressed well and with this many kids, its going to be hard.
I will be using Tarabelle's Store to do more shopping for my girls this school year. Her prices are way below the price you would spend in store and if your looking for customer service that is genuine and kind, then this is defiantly the place to shop. I am not joking when I tell you I received my items in two days after ordering them and I am so impatient when I order things in the mail. I cant wait for them to come and when these Items showed up on my front porch without me having to ask where is the stuff I ordered, I knew this would be my hot spot this school season. Tarabelle's has over 5000 feedback received and holds a power seller status with 100% positive feedback. In the Ebay world this is a perfect score and you cant get better service and product then this. I hope you will all visit Tarabelle's after reading this review and hopefully comment back on some of the awesome things you found in her store.
Thank You Tarabelle's for the wonderful products and fantastic customer care..
Click on any Tarabelle's marked in red to be redirected to the store.

Up coming book review "What He Really is thinking?"

2009-07-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, here goes...
I am going to try and find out what Men are thinking.. We already know what they are thinking "NOTHING" but on a serious note I will be reviewing the book

What's He Really Thinking?
By Paula Rinehart

I am kind of intrigued to find out what Paula has to say about men and what they are thinking. I wonder if it is any different then what I have already learned about men in my 32 years of life..lol

So stay tuned to find out what I learned and how this book may be able to help others in their relationships with the opposite sex..

Harry Potter to the Hospital

2009-07-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

This week has been one of those weeks that fly by and you wonder how you made it through it without a mental breakdown. It was crazy from the get go, and still the drama replays over and over in my head like a bad movie flick.
So let me tell you how it started and hold on to your seats because its a wild roller coaster of fun, laughter, sarcasm and tears..AHHHHH
Let me tell you about the weekend before first when we went and saw "The Night at the Museum." I will be doing a review on this movie as well.. Any way, when we were at the movie theatre we saw this huge display of the new movie 2012 where the scene was a huge city sinking into the ocean.. As a christian I know that the world is not going to end on December 21st 2012 because Jesus says, I will come like a thief in the night, no one will know the day nor the hour. If you think about what Jesus says here its pretty clear that he didn't say that the world is going to end December 21,2012 but this is a good scare tactic to get the world scared enough to go out and buy stuff they don't need to prepare for the end of the world. Example: Remember the Y2K when the end of the world was suppose to happen in the year 2000.
So my husband was raised in a family that believes Jesus does not exist and mocks who ever says any different. My husband new nothing about Jesus until he met me and the journey to his salvation has been a long one even though every step has been in progress.
Because of this movie display for 2012 my husband gets scared and worries that he will have to watch his children die in a huge massive wave, "Being in the Coast Guard and driving boat in 40 foot seas, you can imagine how scary this looked to him.
To make a longer story short, My husband said the sinners prayer and became saved last weekend. Now his mission is to take this short life we have and make it count, he wants to spend every moment enjoying the little moments instead of waiting for the next big moment.
Now every Sunday we will be going to see a movie together as a family and this weekend he had planned the whole weekend out. Saturday we would go see Harry Potter ( I will be reviewing this movie as well) then Saturday night we were going to a pirate party on the docks with some friends he knows through work and finally Sunday we would be going to Fenway Park for a tour put on by the USO a military sponsored program.
So Monday after this wonderful weekend spent with my family my husband calls and says he is on his way home from a meeting but isn't feeling well. For those of you that remember my last post when my husband was in the hospital for Kidney stones, It was just the beginning for the quake.
My daughter Ryann is going to home to stay with my mom for a few weeks and she leaves on Tuesday, so after my husband got home I took her to the store to get what she needed for the flight home. I was gone longer then I wanted to be and when I walked in the door I found my husband on the bathroom floor shaking, sweating and vomiting.
I dropped everything and ran in the bathroom to him and found him in a state of shock. I had to quickly change him out of his uniform into civilian clothing and call 911.
They rushed him to the hospital and I got my girls dressed and out the door driving to the hospital not far behind the ambulance.
My crazy neighbor who lives in the church next door had my oldest daughter with her so I had to leave a note telling them where I went. The reason we call her the crazy lady who lives in the church is because she is just like me, Doesn't fit in with the norm, loves to laugh and doesn't attend the PTA...HA
Any who, when I arrived at the hospital my husband was worse then when I just saw him 30 minutes prior. I actually thought that he was going to die that night and I watch as he became colder, pale and shaking uncontrollably.
There was a moment that I thought I couldn't stand there and watch this anymore, I didn't want to watch my husband die and I had seen death enough to know I didn't want to see it again.
Thank goodness he had said that he wanted to sleep and I took the girls home to feed them and check in on Destiny who was still with the crazy lady next door.. By the way her name is Beverly and I love her dearly..
When I got to Beverly's her and her husband had made us dinner so that I wouldn't have to cook. She then told me that she would take Ryann to the airport in the morning for me, which was now a great weight lifted off my shoulders. I didn't know how I was going to get everything done by myself and get back to the hospital. My husband called and told me that they were admitting him and that he would be going in for surgery in the morning. Yeah me, now you can imagine what a wreck I was.
I decided to stay home with the girls and return in the morning for his surgery. Okay now here is where it gets comical. Beverly shows up at 6 in the morning to take Ryann to the airport for me and when I went outside I saw a car that was not hers. I said, who's car is that...?
She said, that's my Lemo!
What...Are you serious I responded..
Yep, I'm not driving to the airport in this weather.. Which it was raining..
She is so funny, she makes me laugh. She treated my oldest two daughters to a lemo ride to the airport.
After waiting to hear from my husband she had returned with my oldest Daughter and I had been getting ready to go to the hospital. I drove my car next door and parked on the hill so I could thank her for taking them to airport for me.
When I returned to my car Destiny had turned it off so she could run to the bathroom before we left and when I got back in and started it, it wouldn't start. OH MY GOODNESS are you serious...
My car had run out of gas and now I was standing in the rain with a small can of gas we use for the lawn mower.
All I needed was enough to get it started and make it to the gas station. It was because I was sitting on the hill and all the little gas I did have had sat in the front of the tank not allowing it to disperse through the lines.
SOOOO, I go to pull the gas can out of the tank and it is now stuck. OH MY GOODNESS AGAIN,
It would not come out at all and I looked up into the sky and started laughing hysterically on the verge of breaking down into a fit of tears..
I had never run into a scenario like this so I had no idea who to even call about a gas can stuck in my gas tank. Beverly comes out of her house and looks at me and then looks at the tank, then looking back at me again.
She says, I don't know what to tell you, I cant help you and I have no one here that can help. She then said run to the coast guard station and get one of the guys to help.
Normally, I don't like asking guys for help because their is not much a guy can do that I cant do as well, and under the circumstances I had to swallow my pride and go ask for help.
I have to go for a little bit but I will be back with the rest of the story..
Besides its getting a little long
TO BE CONTINUED.....

Shark Steam Cleaner Review

2009-07-21T15:28:00.001-07:00

I just bought this Shark Steam Cleaner and I have never been so pleased. I have tried others and came up no less then disappointed. I wanted to share this review with you all because I was sceptical about purchasing this cleaner and now that I have I think all mother should have one.
If I can give this cleaner 5 stars***** and two thumbs up I would. It is completely amazing in every aspect and I am going to tell you why.
I love that this has an exceptionally long cord, so there is no stopping, unplugging and finding a new outlet every few steps. I also am in love with the micro fiber reusable pads (it came with five) because it was a no brainier to use them. They have Velcro on them and all you need to do is throw it on the floor and place your steamer on it, "seriously it was that easy." The other steam cleaner had these pads that wrapped around the bottom and then you had to tie them on. It was a complete pain in the but.
The water tank is very small on this machine which concerned me when I first filled it with water. Then I mopped two rooms with it before I had to refill it again. It uses approximately about 10 oz of water and I really was amazed that it cleaned so much area before running out of water. When I did have to refill it I unplugged it because I was afraid it would backfire steam when I unscrewed the lid to refill it and I was literally shocked when no steam backfired out of the tank. I cant tell you how many times I actually burned myself on the other steam cleaner I had when I tried to refill it. To top it off I help the steamer in one hand by the stick as I filled it, yes I did because it was so light. It was 8 pounds and as lightweight as it is I can say that is packed with power.
Okay, now the coolest thing about this machine is that it has no trigger to release the steam, so there are no finger cramps half way threw.. When you push the steamer forward the stick releases the steam from the tank and it is as easy as pushing a small sweeper mop but sanitizes with the steam.
I really cant say enough about the Shark steamer except you have to try it to believe it and with it costing around 99.00 dollars at most stores, you can find it at BJ's, Costco and possibly Sams club for almost half the price. I got mine for 69.00 dollars at BJ's.
Being a mother of five young daughters, I need easy to use products that do a superb job without the hassle of complicated instructions. This is the product that all moms need to keep floors clean especially the bathrooms and kitchen..
If you don't have a wholesale store near you try, comparing prices at Walmart, K-Mart, and Target first. Here is the link to the Shark website so you can see the features for yourself.
Shark Steam Cleaner

Please leave comments if you already have the Shark Steamer and what you think of it. Also if you do decide to buy this machine and have an opinion about how much you like it, please leave a comment.

HEY EVERYONE-MORE EXTRA ENTRIES

2009-07-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

Seriously, this is really easy and a lot of fun. Knowledge is power and all I am asking that you do is to follow my blog and tell me something you learned at World Vision. That is the only mandatory entry so please don't be afraid to enter into this drawing. The giveaways are free and its for a good cause.

GET (5) EXTRA ENTRIES BY TELLING FIVE FRIENDS ABOUT THESE GIVEAWAYS
EMAIL THEM AND THEN CC: ME @ BM1CARSON@GMAIL.COM
ONCE I RECEIVE THIS EMAIL I WILL GIVE YOU (5) EXTRA ENTRIES INTO ALL THE GIVEAWAYS OF YOUR CHOICE.
SO GO AHEAD AND START SPREADING THE WORD.
IF YOU DON'T ENTER YOU CANT WIN, SO HURRY HURRY
SPREAD THE WORD...

What Goes Around Comes Around

2009-07-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

I just got this in an Email today forwarded to me by my mother and I wanted to share it with you all. It brought a tear as I read causing me to choke up by the kindness of another...

The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life. Her coat was new. She looked like she had never missed a meal in her life. His first thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so many others had done before.

"Leave me alone," he growled... To his amazement, the woman continued standing. She was smiling -- her even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"No," he answered sarcastically. "I've just come from dining with the president.. Now go away."

The woman's smile became even broader.

Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand under his arm. "What are you doing, lady?" the man asked angrily. "I said to leave me alone.

Just then a policeman came up. "Is there any problem, ma'am?" he asked..

"No problem here, officer," the woman answered. "I'm just trying to get this man to his feet. Will you help me?"

The officer scratched his head. "That's old Jack. He's been a fixture around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?"

"See that cafeteria over there?" she asked. "I'm going to get him something to eat and get him out of the cold for awhile."

"Are you crazy, lady?" the homeless man resisted. "I don't want to go in there!" Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up.

"Let me go, officer. I didn't d o anything.."

"This is a good deal for you, Jack," the officer answered. "Don't blow it."

Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner. It was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived.

The manager strode across the cafeteria and stood by his table. "What's going on here, officer?" he asked."What is all this, is this man in trouble?"

"This lady brought this man in here to be fed," the policeman answered.

"Not in here!" the manager replied angrily. "Having a person like that here is bad for business."

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. "See, lady. I told you so. Now if you'll let me go. I didn't want to come here in the first place."

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled. "Sir, are you familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?"

"Of course I am," the manager answered impatiently. "They hold their weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms."

"And do you make a goodly amount of money providing food at these weekly meetings?"

"What business is that of yours?"

I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company."

"Oh.."

The woman smiled again.. "I thought that might make a difference."

She glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a laugh. "Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?"

"No thanks, ma'am," the officer replied. "I'm on duty."

"Then, perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?"

"Yes, ma'am.. That would be very nice."

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel.. "I'll get your coffee for you right away, officer."

The officer watched him walk away. "You certainly put him in his place," he said.

"That was not my intent... Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this."

She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him intently.

"Jack, do you remember me?"

Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes. "I think so -- I mean you do look familiar."

"I'm a little older perhaps," she said. "Maybe I've even filled out more than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that very door, cold and hungry."

"Ma'am?" the officer said questioningly. He couldn't believe that such a magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

"I was just out of college," the woman began. "I had come to the city looking for a job, but I couldn't find anything. Finally I was down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment... I walked the streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I

saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get something to eat."

Jack lit up with a smile. "Now I remember," he said. "I was behind the serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something to eat. I said that it was against company policy."

"I know," the woman continued. "Then you made me the biggest roast beef sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into trouble. Then, when I looked over and saw you put the price of my food in the cash register, I knew then that everything would be all right."

"So you started your own business?" Old Jack said.

"I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that, with the help of God, prospered.." She opened her purse and pulled out a business card. "When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons. He's the personnel director of my company. I'll go talk to him now and I'm certain he'll find something for you to do around the office."

She smiled. "I think he might even find the funds to give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get on your feet. If you ever need anything, my door is always open to you."

There were tears in the old man's eyes. "How can I ever thank you?" he asked.

"Don't thank me," the woman answered. "To God goes the glory. He led me to you."

Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance before going their separate ways.. "Thank you for your help officer," she said.

"On the contrary, Ms. Eddy," he answered. "Thank you. I saw a miracle today, something that I will never forget, And thank you for the coffee."

Have a Wonderful Day. May God Bless You always and don't forget that when you "cast your bread upon the waters," you never know how it will be returned to you. God is so big He can cover the whole world with his Love and so small He can curl up inside your heart.

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go.

Only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly!

The power of one sentence! God is going to shift things around for you today and let things work in your favor. If you believe, send it. If you don't believe, delete it.

God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close..

If you need God to open some doors for you...send this on.

Have a blessed day and remember to be a blessing...

"The Task Ahead of Me is Never as Great as the Power Behind Me!!"

The Hole In Our Gospel Book GIVEAWAY -CLOSED

2009-07-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

If you have read my book review on this book then you know how important it is to share this book with others. I will keep this short and simple and just give you the basics on how to enter in to win this book. I know the winner of this book will love it as much as I did so enter in today.The reason for putting this giveaway together is to bring awareness to World Vision. World Vision is a Mission organization with the mission to inspire others to help them fight Poverty. I just recently read and reviewed the Book The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns and since reading this book I have a new mission of my own. What I learned from this book is that every person counts. Every little bit helps and what ever I can do to help is what I am going to do. The facts are that, when we sit down just to eat our dinner, it takes about 20 minutes for everyone to finish and in that 20 minute time frame 300 children have died around the world. That's approx 1 child every 4 seconds, 26,000 today and approx 10 million this year. These numbers are unacceptable and tragically fact not fiction. Pandemic issues arrive often from the bird flu to the swine flu and in all actuality there is already a pandemic that has spread world wide and continues to grow. Its called poverty and we as Americans and the human race should be trying to stop this pandemic from spreading and hopefully eradicating it all together. A Pandemic means having widespread effect: existing in the form of a widespread epidemic that affects people in many different countries. AIDS is currently considered to be pandemic along with poverty. When 10 million people including children, their mothers and the head of household are dying because they cant feed there families or have the medicines and clean water to exist, we would call this a pandemic. In America approx. 35 million people are on the brink of hunger including 12 million of them children. The difference with America and third world countries is that we do have a government that is concerned about this and that we have people willing to put organizations together to help families in need of food, we also have the state we live in help with Tanif. Allowing Americans in need to get help when they are down.
My own story of kind people helping those that need help referring back to my last blog. I recently took my kids to have dental work done and two of my girls are Autistic and my five year old has developmental delays when it comes to breathing and swallowing at the same time. Because of this she pockets her food in her cheeks and has caused decay throughout her entire mouth,. The remaining bill in over 2300 dollars and my own teeth have had to wait. I went to the dentist because one tooth I have has abscessed and the infection has made a pimple of infection along my gum line. This Dentist made the difference for me, knowing that my funds are limited he sent me down to Well Springs which is a charitable organization in my town. I went there and told him my story and the trouble I am having with being able to fix my teeth. Come to find out my Dentist is Head of the Board at this organization and that he will be fixing my teeth including dentures and charging me nothing. I was so taken back by his kindness and sincerity to help me in my time of need, I started crying. It was this moment that made me realize that even I can make a difference for someone else that is less off then I myself and paying if forward is what we should be doing as the human race. Showing Gods love by giving is preaching the Gospel and just for information Gospel means: The Good News and the Good news is that God loves us and wants us to spend eternity in heaven with him.

MAIN ENTRY: (2) parts - Follow my blog publicly and visit World Vision. Come back and comment on something you learned about poverty. It can be something you did not know before or something you would like other readers to know. ( If these two parts are not done then your entry will be deleted.)

For Extra Entries:

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on Twitter and Retweet this giveaway: You can copy and paste this
The Hole In Our Gospel Book Giveaway Enter now @http://roxy-littlelovebugs.blogspot.com/ ( You can tweet this up to 2 times a day for 2 total extra entries per day) Make sure you leave your twitter url and the times you tweeted..

1 Extra Entry: Subscribe to this blog by email

1 Extra Entry: Read my Book Review on "The Hole in our Gospel" and comment back telling what you think of my first Review

2 Extra Entries: Enter into a giveaway at Angies Blog - My Four Monkeys and comment back here on what giveaway you entered in. You will love her site, I DO...

1 Extra Entry: Grab my Button and place on your blog- Be sure to leave the link to your blog so I can see where you put it

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and be sure to leave the link to where you blogged

10 Extra Entries: Become a World Vision Sponsor or make a donation to fight world hunger

5 Extra Entries: Purchase the Book "The Hole in our Gospel" By Richard Sterns the President of World Vision.

Thank you so much to all my readers and thank you for sharing in my life. All your comments are loved weather they be just from the heart or comments entered into the giveaway.

The winner will be notified by Email so please remember to leave your email address in each entry so that I will be able to contact you. The winner must respond in 48 hours or another number will be drawn. You must be 18 years of age to enter into any giveaway here on this blog.

Also note that the Main Entry is the only Entry needed to win this giveaway and it must be completed in both parts. Any Extra entries are available but not mandatory.

I thank you for entering into this giveaway and hope you will help World Vision in the Fight to end World Hunger.

Good Luck and God Bless

Making Memories Giveaway-CLOSED

2009-07-15T08:35:00.001-07:00

Here is another great Giveaway with lots of things I also would love to receive in a Basket if I won. Believe it or not all this stuff fits perfectly in this Basket and its a lot. The winner will be receiving a beautiful Leopard Print Basket filled with a Pink 5X7 Frame, A writable picture scrapbook that holds 100 pictures, 2 easle frames, 2 mini frames, 2 picture books, 2 4X6 black fames with the words Laugh on one and Love on the other, and lastly a set of linkable picture fames for your fridge. This is such a fun basket to win and another great way to share and save your memories. This Basket will have the same guidelines and Story as the Starbucks Basket Giveaway so I apologize for the same story..The reason for putting this giveaway together is to bring awareness to World Vision. World Vision is a Mission organization with the mission to inspire others to help them fight Poverty. I just recently read and reviewed the Book The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns and since reading this book I have a new mission of my own. What I learned from this book is that every person counts. Every little bit helps and what ever I can do to help is what I am going to do. The facts are that, when we sit down just to eat our dinner, it takes about 20 minutes for everyone to finish and in that 20 minute time frame 300 children have died around the world. That's approx 1 child every 4 seconds, 26,000 today and approx 10 million this year. These numbers are unacceptable and tragically fact not fiction. Pandemic issues arrive often from the bird flu to the swine flu and in all actuality there is already a pandemic that has spread world wide and continues to grow. Its called poverty and we as Americans and the human race should be trying to stop this pandemic from spreading and hopefully eradicating it all together. A Pandemic means having widespread effect: existing in the form of a widespread epidemic that affects people in many different countries. AIDS is currently considered to be pandemic along with poverty. When 10 million people including children, their mothers and the head of household are dying because they cant feed there families or have the medicines and clean water to exist, we would call this a pandemic. In America approx. 35 million people are on the brink of hunger including 12 million of them children. The difference with America and third world countries is that we do have a government that is concerned about this and that we have people willing to put organizations together to help families in need of food, we also have the state we live in help with Tanif. Allowing Americans in need to get help when they are down.
My own story of kind people helping those that need help referring back to my last blog. I recently took my kids to have dental work done and two of my girls are Autistic and my five year old has developmental delays when it comes to breathing and swallowing at the same time. Because of this she pockets her food in her cheeks and has caused decay throughout her entire mouth,. The remaining bill in over 2300 dollars and my own teeth have had to wait. I went to the dentist because one tooth I have has abscessed and the infection has made a pimple of infection along my gum line. This Dentist made the difference for me, knowing that my funds are limited he sent me down to Well Springs which is a charitable organization in my town. I went there and told him my story and the trouble I am having with being able to fix my teeth. Come to find out my Dentist is Head of the Board at this organization and that he will be fixing my teeth including dentures and charging me nothing. I was so taken back by his kindness and sincerity to help me in my time of need, I started crying. It was this moment that made me realize that even I can make a difference for someone else that is less off then I myself and paying if forward is what we should be doing as the human race. Showing Gods love by giving is preaching the Gospel and just for information Gospel means: The Good News and the Good news is that God loves us and wants us to spend eternity in heaven with him.

MAIN ENTRY: (2) parts - Follow my blog publicly and visit World Vision. Come back and comment on something you learned about poverty. It can be something you did not know before or something you would like other readers to know. ( If these two parts are not done then your entry will be deleted.)

For Extra Entries:

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on Twitter and Retweet this giveaway: You can copy and paste this
Making Memories Basket Giveaway to fight Poverty Enter now @http://roxy-littlelovebugs.blogspot.com/ ( You can tweet this up to 2 times a day for 2 total extra entries per day) Make sure you leave your twitter url and the times you tweeted..

1 Extra Entry: Subscribe to this blog by email

1 Extra Entry: Read my Book Review on "The Hole in our Gospel" and comment back telling what you think of my first Review

2 Extra Entries: Enter into a giveaway at Angies Blog - My Four Monkeys and comment back here on what giveaway you entered in. You will love her site, I DO...

1 Extra Entry: Grab my Button and place on your blog- Be sure to leave the link to your blog so I can see where you put it

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and be sure to leave the link to where you blogged

10 Extra Entries: Become a World Vision Sponsor or make a donation to fight world hunger

5 Extra Entries: Purchase the Book "The Hole in our Gospel" By Richard Sterns the President of World Vision.

Thank you so much to all my readers and thank you for sharing in my life. All your comments are loved weather they be just from the heart or comments entered into the giveaway.

The winner will be notified by Email so please remember to leave your email address in each entry so that I will be able to contact you. The winner must respond in 48 hours or another number will be drawn. You must be 18 years of age to enter into any giveaway here on this blog.

Also note that the Main Entry is the only Entry needed to win this giveaway and it must be completed in both parts. Any Extra entries are available but not mandatory.

I thank you for entering into this giveaway and hope you will help World Vision in the Fight to end World Hunger.

Good Luck and God Bless

Starbucks Basket Giveaway-CLOSED

2009-07-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

When I put this basket together I added things that I would want to get in a basket. There is just something about getting a beautiful basket with things you love to have filled inside. The winner will receive this Basket with two .25 pounds of coffee, French Roast and Breakfast Blend, Two Coffee cups, A tin filled with Pirouline hazelnut cookie sticks, 3 mini signs and a $10 dollar gift card to Starbucks. This is actually a basket I would love to have myself so I know the winner will enjoy it. The reason for putting this giveaway together is to bring awareness to World Vision. World Vision is a Mission organization with the mission to inspire others to help them fight Poverty. I just recently read and reviewed the Book The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns and since reading this book I have a new mission of my own. What I learned from this book is that every person counts. Every little bit helps and what ever I can do to help is what I am going to do. The facts are that, when we sit down just to eat our dinner, it takes about 20 minutes for everyone to finish and in that 20 minute time frame 300 children have died around the world. That's approx 1 child every 4 seconds, 26,000 today and approx 10 million this year. These numbers are unacceptable and tragically fact not fiction. Pandemic issues arrive often from the bird flu to the swine flu and in all actuality there is already a pandemic that has spread world wide and continues to grow. Its called poverty and we as Americans and the human race should be trying to stop this pandemic from spreading and hopefully eradicating it all together. A Pandemic means having widespread effect: existing in the form of a widespread epidemic that affects people in many different countries.

AIDS is currently considered to be pandemic along with poverty. When 10 million people including children, their mothers and the head of household are dying because they cant feed there families or have the medicines and clean water to exist, we would call this a pandemic. In America approx. 35 million people are on the brink of hunger including 12 million of them children. The difference with America and third world countries is that we do have a government that is concerned about this and that we have people willing to put organizations together to help families in need of food, we also have the state we live in help with Tanif. Allowing Americans in need to get help when they are down.
My own story of kind people helping those that need help referring back to my last blog. I recently took my kids to have dental work done and two of my girls are Autistic and my five year old has developmental delays when it comes to breathing and swallowing at the same time. Because of this she pockets her food in her cheeks and has caused decay throughout her entire mouth,. The remaining bill in over 2300 dollars and my own teeth have had to wait. I went to the dentist because one tooth I have has abscessed and the infection has made a pimple of infection along my gum line. This Dentist made the difference for me, knowing that my funds are limited he sent me down to Well Springs which is a charitable organization in my town. I went there and told him my story and the trouble I am having with being able to fix my teeth. Come to find out my Dentist is Head of the Board at this organization and that he will be fixing my teeth including dentures and charging me nothing. I was so taken back by his kindness and sincerity to help me in my time of need, I started crying. It was this moment that made me realize that even I can make a difference for someone else that is less off then I myself and paying if forward is what we should be doing as the human race. Showing Gods love by giving is preaching the Gospel and just for information Gospel means: The Good News and the Good news is that God loves us and wants us to spend eternity in heaven with him.

MAIN ENTRY: (2) parts - Follow my blog publicly and visit World Vision. Come back and comment on something you learned about poverty. It can be something you did not know before or something you would like other readers to know. ( If these two parts are not done then your entry will be deleted.)

For Extra Entries:

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on Twitter and Retweet this giveaway: You can copy and paste this
Starbucks Basket Giveaway to fight Poverty Enter now @http://roxy-littlelovebugs.blogspot.com/ ( You can tweet this up to 2 times a day for 2 total extra entries per day) Make sure you leave your twitter url and the times you tweeted..

1 Extra Entry: Subscribe to this blog by email

1 Extra Entry: Read my Book Review on "The Hole in our Gospel" and comment back telling what you think of my first Review

2 Extra Entries: Enter into a giveaway at Angies Blog - My Four Monkeys and comment back here on what giveaway you entered in. You will love her site, I DO...

1 Extra Entry: Grab my Button and place on your blog- Be sure to leave the link to your blog so I can see where you put it

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and be sure to leave the link to where you blogged

10 Extra Entries: Become a World Vision Sponsor or make a donation to fight world hunger

5 Extra Entries: Purchase the Book "The Hole in our Gospel" By Richard Sterns the President of World Vision.

Thank you so much to all my readers and thank you for sharing in my life. All your comments are loved weather they be just from the heart or comments entered into the giveaway.

The winner will be notified by Email so please remember to leave your email address in each entry so that I will be able to contact you. The winner must respond in 48 hours or another number will be drawn. You must be 18 years of age to enter into any giveaway here on this blog.

Also note that the Main Entry is the only Entry needed to win this giveaway and it must be completed in both parts. Any Extra entries are available but not mandatory.

I thank you for entering into this giveaway and hope you will help World Vision in the Fight to end World Hunger.

Good Luck and God Bless

The Hole In Our Gospel Book Review

2009-07-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

I have been given the privilege to read and review the Book The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns. And I must admit when I picked this book to read I was worried that I may pick it up, read a few pages and put it down but instead I was inspired to lead a new life and all due to this book and the testimony of a man who decided to listen to god and and change the world.
Richard Stearns tells his story of being a normal man like you and me with good and bad times. From childhood to adulthood he struggles with becoming a good man and then one day is challenged by God to change everything he knows to save the hungry,the poor and the sick while raising his own five kids.
The insight that this man has acquired over his lifetime is absolutely amazing and inspiring. The life changing moments that he has experienced is what makes this book exceptional. You can say that this is just another book about what we already know but I beg to differ completely, because he puts things into perspective in a way that is undeniably the truth and fact. We as Americans easily can turn the page and move on with our day to day lives because that is the luxury we have living in the united states of America for most Americans and what Richard Stearns does in this book challenges us as the human race to look deeper into our hearts, souls and Christianity. I myself as an American have taken for granted the simple things in life that have become just a way of life, like where I lay my head and when I lay there I can see the American flag flapping in the wind outside my window. Normally this is just another morning for me and now when I see the picture window with the flag flowing gracefully in the wind I cant help but thank God for this View. I also then realize how lucky I am to be able to feel security and a full stomach because of that flag and because God chose for me to be here, right here in this house with these five girls and my wonderful husband. I am blessed to have running disease free water, food in the cupboards and doctors to heal my girls when they are sick.
Because of this Book by Richard Stearns I have a new outlook on life and I have been compelled to act and hopefully help serve the Lord with my actions. I have a new mission for my life and for sharing the Gospel with the world. I have new, fresh and inspirational ideas on how I should spend my life serving the Lord and his people, you, me, the poor, the sick, the oppressed, ect.
This is a book that can and hopefully will change the world because it is actually common sense that a lot of us just need to be reminded of. Common sense for the Christian that has always wondered what his or her purpose is. Common sense for the world, their leaders and everyone who is lucky enough to wash their hands after using the restroom...
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read, don't like to read and to anyone wondering what we should do now in these times of a deteriorating economy. I will now share this book with everyone I know and dont know.

Carolina Pad & Paper

2009-07-11T15:49:00.001-07:00

Carolina Pad & Paper

Shared via AddThis

2009-07-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Mommyof2girls for winning this weeks giveaway
#1
Number was generated by random.org
Thank you for participating

Military Madness

2009-07-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong when you read this. Being a military wife, I am hole hearted for the military, what it stands for and I am proud to be an American. Dealing with daily issues that somehow always seem to come back to how the military controls every situation and aspect of our lives can be frustrating.
Just a little F.Y.I we as a military family are not covered 100% with medical insurance and or Dental insurance. We have a co-pay for medications, doctors and dentist. But my husband it cover 100% on everything because he is an active duty military member. I think that's fantastic but what about his family? Even though we don't do his job and technically have joined the military, we as a family endure all the pain he does as no longer having an identity. I don't have a say on where we go, how long we stay there, if I want to leave my family, If my husband is deployed or anything that has to do with running my own life.
My reason for this info is so you can understand the story I am about to tell. Now listen closely its a wild roller coaster of emotions that happens in a time frame of only 48 hours.
I suffer from restless leg syndrome and so the night before all this happened I only had two hours of sleep because I had a dentist appointment for two of my girls at nine in the morning. Now remember emotions fly high when you have no sleep and anything can make you breakdown at a moments notice no matter who is around.
My daughter Saylor is on the Autism Spectrum along with my other daughter Tori. Saylor has Developmental Delays and from the time she started to learn how to eat she pocketed her food in her cheeks because she never got the concept that you can chew, swallow and breath at the same time. This ended up with rotting of all her teeth along the gum line.
When she was two and we were living back in Washington no one would work on her and then the one dentist I did find that would wanted to charge me 4000.00 dollars and have her put under for two hours. Or we could wait till she was older and he could work on her a few teeth at a time. Well, thank you very much but I don't have four thousand dollars and I don't feel comfortable putting my two year old under for a two hour time frame.
So shortly after we move to Massachusetts and I find this dentist who starts working on her with nitrous oxide and it was going great but he wanted to be paid up front at every visit. He had given me an estimate of over two thousand dollars and they didn't allow payments. Okay, fine! We Ended up getting money monthly from my in laws to help us out because the cost of living was triple of what it was on the west coast. We started using this money to pay for Saylor's teeth and then we moved again because of the water on the military base we were living on.. (That's another story I will tell.Believe me its great!!)
So we move again and are only there for a Short period of time till we move again to where we live now and That's another great story for a rainy day. Any who I try looking for a dentist to get her teeth fixed and I have no luck finding one that will work with me on the budget I am on and so I have to just pick one.
I love this Dentist they are fantastic with my girls and their needs but they cost an arm and a leg. Literally!! They charge me 105.00 dollars just to use the nitrous oxide and with three small children under the age of six and two with autism, I really don't have a choice. After taking all my girls in for their exams because rumor is that Obama is going to reduce the medical we have to give to the people with less then perfect medical.
I know Obama now lives in the White house and now has more money then I could ever dream of buying suits, cars and expensive dogs but I don't think he accurately checked the medical and dental that is provided by the military.
The Truth is that the Medical and Dental that is provided by the Military is worse then state medical and finding a doctor or dentist that takes military medical is harder then finding a doctor that takes state because the military pays less then the state. I know because I have now been on both at some point in time.
So any who, I wanted to make this as short as possible but I don't think that is going to be the case. After I take them all for exams I start getting the treatment plans in the mail and when all is said and done, I will owe them again over 4000.00 dollars and that is with my dental plan.
So I say okay, I will just have to figure it out and after paying for the last four month 400.00 dollars a month and now all my kids are done.. I find out that Saylor will not be having any more work done because her insurance ran out. What do you mean her insurance ran out? DO you see her mouth? And because of this they are not going to finish the front of her bottom and top teeth because I have no more insurance and they don't want me racking up a bill that I cant afford to pay.
The funny thing about this is that when you go to the dentist they tell you how important it is to save their teeth even as baby ones but if you don't have the money to pay for them, they are more then willing to tell you that they are not worth saving because they are just baby teeth and they are going to fall out any way.
Hello, are you serious? You want me to leave her rotting teeth in her mouth because you know that I cant afford to pay without my insurance?
Okay, so I get to the front desk after the dentist tells me I need to keep an eye on her mouth looking for gum pimples which indicates that their is an abscess and finding out that I myself have a gum pimple because I couldn't fix my own teeth knowing that my girls needed work first.
So I am standing at the counter and I ask the lady for my grand total when the lady next to her looks at the screen and says, You know you don't have good insurance?
I said I know, and if I talk about it I will start crying and of course as soon as I said that I started hysterically crying and I couldn't stop. She reluctantly hands me a piece of paper with the grand total of 2313.00 dollars owing.
Holly cow, that's a lot of money and not all the work Saylor needs is done. How is it my husband dedicates his life to serving his country and I cant get my kids teeth fixed.
Okay I am now a wreck and I still have to come back in two hours for my other daughters appointment. I paid them 100 dollars in cash and a 100 dollars on my card so I would have 30 dollars in cash to take them out to lunch while we waited. After we ate and waisted time, I went to star bucks to get a coffee, still going of two hours of sleep and my heart is sitting in my stomach.
When I got to Starbucks my older daughter started harassing me over a strawberry frapachino so when I got to the intercom I ask the guy if I could just sell him my oldest daughter for the coffee drink? He started laughing and agreed he would take her jokingly and then had the lady give me my coffee for free.
Why? I said.. And the lady said the barista just said its on the house.
I started crying again because his random act of kindness made my day.. How nice was that!!
I wish the story ends here but it doesn't. The Ending to a long and emotional day resulted in my husband and kids falling asleep before I did and I have still only had two hours of sleep and I sit next to my husband on our bed while he sleeps.
He wakes up suddenly grabbing me and calling my name. He is in awful pain and delirious from not being quite awake yet and his stomach hurting badly. After about an hour of searching the internet for the symptoms, he says he is ready to go to the hospital.
I watched my husband leave in an ambulance as my girls slept unknowingly. I laid awake again till 6 in the morning waiting to hear what was going on before I fell asleep. I don't know anyone who I can call in the middle of the night, to come watch my kids so I had to stay home waiting to hear from him.
While I was sleeping with the phone I must have turned it on because when I woke three hours later and called my husband, he was on his way home with the fire department. They gave him a ride home because he couldn't get a hold of me..
I felt awful.. The verdict was that he had Kidney stones.. Yep that I heard is the closest a man can get to child birth.
So now in 48 hours I have had five hours of sleep and my husband was in so much pain all he could do was sit trying to stay comfortable.
While he was sleeping I went and filled his prescriptions and guess what the co-pay was? Nothing.. Because he is an active duty member everything is free for him but even though I and my kids stand next to him day in and day out, moving with him and loving him while he is mainly gone at work. I and my children are not good enough to get the same coverage as he does.
I am now on an antibiotic for the abscess I have in my mouth awaiting to have six teeth pulled for partial dentures at age 32. Its kind of sad if you think about it.. I don't have the coverage I need to take care of my own teeth nor my kids that it has resulted to dentures at such a young age and my five year old has to push on her teeth daily hoping to get them loose so they will fall out before they abscess.
In the big scheme of things, I think that our government should reanalyze the care it provides for their military and their families.

WINNER

2009-06-29T00:58:00.000-07:00

To Garilyn on winning this weeks bow giveaway
Your random number was
3
and was generated by random.org
Thank you for participating in this weeks bow giveaway and remember to enter
in for next weeks giveaway.

2009-06-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Congrats Comments - Hot Comments

Congratulations to the winner of my bow that was given away at
My four Monkey's..
Remember to enter in for this weeks drawing under
"Bow giveaway"
Just keep scrolling down to get there.
All entries must be reveived by Midnight on Sunday.
Good Luck

Tag I'm It!!

2009-06-21T16:09:00.001-07:00

So I just got tagged by "My four Monkeys" and what I'm suppose to do is add the sixth picture from my photo album and then add a description to it but my sixth picture is a bow so I'm going to choose this picture instead.
This is our family at a tour of Fenway Park. My husband is on top of the world here and if he could just pitch a tent and stay forever he would be in heaven. Poor guy out numbered
6 to 1.... Also the top of this picture was autographed by Johny Pesky who use to play for the Red Sox. The Yellow pole behind us in the background was actually named after Johny Pesky. He was outside signing autographs and I had just got a ice cream cone with my girls. When I asked him to sign my hat he mentioned that my ice cream looked good. I asked him if he would like a bite and so now my most memorable moment at Fenway was that Johny Pesky not only signed my hat but he had a bite of my ice cream.

2009-06-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

What a life, I am a mother to five beautiful daughters and a Coast Guard wife. Not the easiest job, but the best job. I am a stay at home mother and work from home making boutique style bows and blogging about reviews,giveaways, and my life. I am originally from Washington State and we were transferred to Massachusetts two years ago, 3000+ miles from home and from my family. Were not rich but were not homeless which makes our lives a daily adventure worth living. I love being with my girls and my husband is my best friend. We only get one life to live and we don't get a second chance at it so I try to do it some what right the first time. I don't know where we are going next but as long as we do it together its a journey worth taking.

The Ab Circle Review

2009-06-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you that remember me telling you about the exercise machine I ordered, Its the Ab circle and I absolutely love it. When it says that all you need to do is use it 3 minutes a day, they were not joking.
Immediately after using the ab circle my abs were feeling it, but the greatest thing about this machine was that it did not only work out my abs. It took a lot of upper body strength as well to keep this moving and so I ended up working out my arms, chest and back.
I also set the clock for three minutes and when I did so I didn't think that was going to be enough time to benefit any but what I found was that the continuous motion from side to side worked my abs more then straining sit ups that we all hate.
Another feature I liked about the Ab Circle was that it has a small removable bar that you can take out so that the arms of the machine swing out and you can then also work your butt and thighs. It was easy to do, no mechanical skills were necessary to make this machine work and that's what I love about it.
My lower abs are the hardest for me to work out, especially after having five children but the Ab circle made it so that I worked out even the stomach muscles I normally cant do by doing normal sit ups.
I have tried every machine out there and I have all of them in my basement to prove it but I will defiantly be using this every day to get the results I want.
It also provided me with a cardio workout that I also did not expect when I purchased this item, so my plan is to work out an extra minute each day to get to my 30 minutes of Cardio needed to lose weight.
The abs are the only muscles that you can work out everyday since our core muscles are what hold us up and do all the work. So using this machine daily will benefit my core muscles and give me the cardio time I need.
I would recommend this product to anyone and if you need more information on viewing and possibly purchasing this item, I have attached the sites link below.

https://www.abcirclepro.com/?mid=553679&sourcekey=N9AGSCHGGL

Good Friends

2009-06-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

I often wonder if finding good friends is possible any more. I learned at a late age that people you know are not your friends just because they call you friend. You would have thought that I would have learned this in school but I didn't learn this till I entered the work place and found that adult drama can be even harder then high school drama.

I have three good friends and I have known all three of them since kindergarten. I can actually remember the first time I met my friend Shannon and I was only five. I remember it like it was Yesterday and I can even tell you what she was wearing. She had long red curly hair, purple butterfly earrings and matching butterfly Barrett's. Her accessories matched her purple shirt and we played dolls together while our mothers talked with the teacher.
I really don't know why I remember that moment the way I do but I do know that Shannon has become my sister over the years and she is one of those people I will always hold dear to my heart.
With 27 years of friendship behind us, there have been good times and bad times and even though we don't get to talk everyday it seems we can pick up just where we left off. That is a friendship worth treasuring for life.

I watch my daughter Saylor who is five, try and make friends with strangers. My heart breaks when I see her needing friendship that much, she is willing to ask anyone to be her friend. I say to her all the time that when she goes to school she will make many friends, but I really know how hard it is to make good friends. Since we are in the military we move around so much my girls will most like never be able to develop the friendships I have with my life long friends.
I think it can be hard for girls also because girls can be caddy and when your the new girl in school it makes the cattiness even bigger.
I have two best friends I have always known and that is my mom and my sister. They are two people I will never be able to live without and just knowing them has made me a better person. I could talk all day about my mom and sister but my friendship with them is what I hope for my girls. Because we move around so much I am hoping they will be able to create strong, bonding friendships with each other.

Friends are very important in life and especially good friends should never be taken for granted. Friendship holds no grudges, friendship is honest and forgiving,and when you have a good friend you sometimes don't know how good a friend is till the friendship is lost.

My Four Monkeys reviewed my Bows..

2009-06-17T06:07:00.000-07:00

I want to first thank "My Four Little Monkey's" for the great review she did for me today. I have met a lot of people over time and it seems harder and harder to find good people. I must say the writer of "My Four Little Monkeys," Angie.. Is one of those rare finds.
She does an exceptional job when reviewing products on her blog and her professionalism is superb.
http://myfourmonkeysproductreviews.blogspot.com - Don't hesitate when joining her blog, the information for new innovative products and unique finds you will see on her blog are worth the read.
I also needed a lot of help when it came to designing my blog and Angie helped me out even though she has four kids of her own that she home schools. She found the time to give me pointers and get me headed in the right direction.
On her blog she is reviewing the bows I make and sell on Etsy. With this review there is a bow give away and entries must be in by 6/24. There is no purchase necessary and all you need to do is go to her blog, read the review and follow the steps to get your entry. http://myfourmonkeysproductreviews.blogspot.com
You will be able to choose any bow you like from my store - www.bm1carson.etsy.com
Because of this give away I will be continuing the bow give away every Sunday with no purchase necessary.

Thank you Angie for the great review.

Information Station

2009-06-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and jumped out of bed to use the bathroom. The instant bouncing out of bed didn't do me any good and I then began thinking about it. I laid back down to close my eyes for a few minutes and realized when I opened them I immediately had the urge to stretch. It felt so good all over my body and I wanted to continue stretching. I then had to find out why we stretch in the morning and why it feels so good, I began looking it up on line and found that the need to stretch is a wonderful thing.
We lay motionless for several hours causing our normal blood flow to pool in our muscles, once we start stretching it forces the blood flow in a high pressure manor back to our heart. I am assuming the fast pace the blood flows back through our veins is what causes the pleasurable feeling throughout our muscles.
I loved watching my babies stretch when they woke, their backs arched and their little limbs tightened as their faces became all wrinkled. I also see my cats do it when they wake up but it seems cats have a better concept of how the body works. When they wake up they stretch each limp one at a time till they are in a standing position and their back arches to complete the stretch.
Since we live in a society that is high paced, always going, never stopping even to eat. I think we take for granted the little things our bodies tell us and we end up not being healthy. If you don't want varicose veins, I suggest you start stretching and taking brisk walks. Come to find out varicose veins are caused from limited activity and then this high pressure blood flow to your limbs. It stretches out the veins causing them to become week and then forming the beautiful thing called a varicose vein. I don't know about you, but I don't want this to happen to my legs and if that's not enough motivation for me to get off my but and exercise I don't know what else would be.
So my tip for the day is, Take a few minutes in the morning to allow the blood to reach all your muscles and your heart. Not only does it feel good but it will benefit your body. Also take 30 minutes a day to take a walk to avoid those unsightly blue veins that we all dread. Also walking increases oxygen to your blood.
While searching why we stretch I also found out why we yawn. I originally thought it was because I was tired. Nope, it is due to carbon dioxide build up in your blood. This sends a a signal to your lungs resulting in a yawn. Lack of oxygen can cause you to be tired so when your feeling sluggish and start yawning frequently, remember to take some deep breaths through your nose to restore the oxygen levels in your blood.
If you liked my info blog let me know. I love to hear what you all have to say.

Poems by Me,,,

2009-06-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

Little Daughter

Pitter patter of little feet,
how they always seem to beat
in a tune of innocence.
Fingerprints on the wall,
time has passed they grow so tall.
Now with trips to the mall and slamming
of doors down the hall,
there is not a moment I'd change at all.
The beating of your heart and mine
once beat in rhyme.
Let me tell you little daughter,
my love for you will never falter.
You have me wrapped around your finger
thoughts of you will always linger,
In my soul and in my heart.
I love you daughter..

2009-06-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

Contact me anytime....

Bm1carson@gmail.com

If you would like, you can also leave a comment anywhere on the blog and or

You can write on my wall @ Facebook

Daily Words of Encouragement

2009-06-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 7:10

"For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation."
This is a great verse and exactly what I was trying to say in my Blog "Life is too short to sweat the small stuff."
God only gives us what we can handle and what we experience only makes us stronger, closer to God and leads to our salvation. Without the experiences that bring us sorrow, we cant grow to appreciate the ones that don't, instead we continue through life forgetting to stop and smell the roses missing out on the moments that make us humble.
Try and remember to rejoice in the moments of sorrow and take these moments we experience and use them to build our relationship with God, our family and friends.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The most uplifting thing about this verse is forgiveness. One thing I have always struggled with being a christen is, hoping and praying that God will forgive me for my sins. This verse says just that, if we confess our sins to him, he is just and WILL forgive us for our sins and then he cleanses us from all unrighteousness., I don't think that this verse can say it any clearer then that. If we ask for forgiveness with our hearts, his faithfulness is just and forgiving. I think we all struggle with the weight of sin everyday, wondering if God will forgive us and in the bible there are so many verses that will explain this over and over again.
There was a tragic and historic day that made this all possible, it was the day Jesus died on the cross and so clearly put it. "Please forgive them for they Know not what they do." What a gracious and merciful moment. For the Savior to put his pain aside and ask forgiveness for the ones who took his life.
God Bless..

Friendship
True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost."

- Charles Caleb Colton

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.. It has no survival value: rather is one of those things that give value to survival."
C.S. Lewis

"Your friends will know you better in the first minute they meet you then your acquaintance will know you in a thousand years."
Richard Bach

Its On, like Donkey KONG

2009-05-22T06:29:00.001-07:00

So I found my motivation to lose weight. And so I say again, Its On, like Donkey KONG.. I have been struggling since my first post to lose the weight I have gained since moving 3000 miles from home. Here on the East Coast they have every ice cream you can ever imagine.. I really never liked ice cream till moving here and the heat gave me an excuse to eat it.

I originally lost almost thirty pounds right before we moved here and now I gained it back plus twenty more. I think I was on a new diet, "lets see how fat I can get.."

As for my motivation, it came to me last night when the baby sitter arrived to babysit so we could go to the Red Sox game for my husbands birthday,. She works with my husband and she was not the one who babysat when we went to dinner the other night.
When she first arrived at the station for duty, I asked my husband if she was pretty and of course like every good husband, he said, No. So I was cool with that, because as long as I know she is not pretty then I should have nothing to worry about.

Normally I am not a jealous person, but since I have gained the weight I am much more insecure and I worry I am going to lose my husband to a skinny, younger women. Don't get me wrong, I believe by husband loves me with all his soul, and we are sincerely soul mates, but when your overweight you cant help but worry about how your husband may perceive your weight gain.

So any who, I was all ready to go and I was outside watering my flowers when she arrived. I turned around and before I saw her face, I saw her cleavage. She was wearing a pretty tank top with her boobs pushed together and up, my first reaction was to start smacking her boobs and send her home crying,.

Who shows up at their bosses house with her boobies hanging out? I was so flabbergasted by this, it took me a while to notice her face and when I did I found she was actually pretty.. NOT Hot, but pretty and the first thing my six year old said was, " Your pretty."

I then would have rather stayed home with my girls, then go to the Red Sox game. When showing her around the house there was point when I was following behind her and I noticed the white cargo pants she was wearing were almost see through and she was either wearing no panties or a thong. I was not sure why she would dress so sexy to come watch 5 little girls but I was not impressed at all.

I can guarantee I wont be asking her to babysit again. Unfortunately the girls had a great time, but all I could think of was the movie Big Momma 2 with Martin Lawrence, when he goes and applies to for the Nanny position. He notices the pretty blond with huge boobs and says to her, you must tan naked because you have no tan lines, and then asked why she doesn't work for her last employer any more. It was because they were divorced after having her as a Nanny..

The other day before my husband and I went to Costco, this infomercial came on for this new exercise machine. It actually looks really fun, and so I ordered it, and now I am just waiting on the arrival of it. I am not sure the name but I will tell you how it works and the name when it gets here but the cool thing was, they guarantee you will lose 10 pounds in two weeks while just doing three minutes a day. I figure if I do 30 minutes a day, I will have lost all my weight in one week... Now that rocks..

Knowing that goal is unrealistic but fun to think about let me tell you about this machine. Its up off the floor and its an angled disk with handle bars. You put your hands on the bars and then place your knees in the knee holders that are located at the bottom of the disk. You move your knees from one side to the other while holding on to the bars. It is suppose to be equal to doing 100 sit ups in 3 minutes while getting your cardio. I don't know how well this is going to work but since my problem area is my stomach after having five kids, I am praying this works because I hate doing sit ups.

My problem with weight loss this time, is I love food. So what I am hoping is that if any of you have any ideas about things I can cook that are low in carbs, low in saturated fat and sugar I would so greatly appreciate it.

I am the worst at thinking of new things to cook. I usually cook the same thing because I know its healthy and I don't have to worry about reading everything just so I can cook it.

I had been meaning to add my food list to this blog but have not found the time to do so, but I am hoping we can maybe switch food ideas and help each other out.

I also wanted to thank you all for your wonderful comments, kind words and most of all for following my blog. When I first started this blog I couldn't imagine that anyone would be interested in what I had to say but if I can make you laugh and bring some sunshine to your day then it is all worth it.

Life is to short to sweat the small stuff

2009-05-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

If there is a bit of advice that I can ever offer it would be this.. Life is to short to sweat the small stuff. Most people don't learn this until they are older, their kids are grown and or they have grand kids. The sad thing is that time can pass and you can miss so much if you learn this to late.

I don't want to be the person who misses out on the little things like, the hugs, kisses, funny questions, and the sincere "I love you Mommy."

I have been blessed to have the opportunity to raise five beautiful little girls and I cant imagine taking for granted the fact that I get to enjoy these little people as long as they let me. The love is unconditional and the reward is priceless.

Is my house clean? NO Are the beds made in the morning?NO Are there dishes to make dinner?NO Can I find matching socks? No Is dinner on time?NO

There is not enough time in the day to make sure that everything is perfect all the time. Yes, everyone has chores but if they get done they get done. If they don't there is always tomorrow. The funny thing about my house is that I have a sign that says, " My house was clean yesterday, Sorry you missed it." That statement is so true.

I had to call the cable guy one day to come and fix the cable but I couldn't invite someone in if things were total chaos. So I cleaned and cleaned until everything was put away and it look presentable. Now every time we clean for someone to come over my little girls ask, "Is the Cable Guy coming?"

Yes, I agree that things need to be clean, and that there needs to be structure in a home but I also believe that kids should be kids and that enjoying life with the ones you love is so much more important then that.

My dad passed away when I was 23 and I was devastated for a very long time. I wasn't angry that he was passed but I was more angry that I had wasted 23 years with my dad expecting he would always be there. Even though I know people die, I guess I thought my dad was indestructible and that he would always be there. Nope, not the case. If I could have foreseen into the future and known my dad was going to pass so quickly, I would have enjoyed even the bad times.

My dad was an alcoholic just like most dads in my time and all drunks repeat themselves. Don't ask me why, but they do. My dad made my childhood miserable most of the time and being a mean drunk didn't make it any better, but if I knew then what I know now I would have done it all with a smile. I would have looked at my dad with compassion and sympathy rather then anger. I would have seen that his issues were out of his control because he had an illness and I would not have taken it so personally. I would have had more good times with my dad rather then bad because as an adult now, I know that you can change any situation by your attitude. I was an angry little kid and so I fought back instead of taking in the situation and learning from it. I know I was a kid and that's why I didn't think that way but my point is that life is to short. He was only 53 when he died and that was not enough time for me to tell my dad I loved him even though he wasn't the best dad.

I also learned how important it is not to take for granted the people you have in your life today because tomorrow may never come. I learned how important it is to tell my kids how much I love them every moment of every day. I also learned that children deserve respect no matter how little they are.

I was going through a rough time with my dad when I was around 15 years old and I had just got home from church with a friend. My dad was already drunk and one thing he loved to do, was lecture me about absolutely nothing. I was not in the mood this day I think, because when I got home he immediately started in on me and I must have given him a look of irritation because he pointed his finger in my face and said, "you need to respect me." The funny thing was that I just had been at church and the pastor had said something that had pertained to this situation.

He said, that the bible says we need to respect our children before we can expect them to respect us. I remember being so shocked when he had said this. " You mean I am worthy of respect?" I'm just a kid, I didn't know that we were suppose to be respected what so ever, let alone by your parents.

So when my father had said that, I had grown ten feet tall and said. "Respect me first and then I will respect you!"

I saw my dad speechless for the first time. I quickly shrunk back to my normal size because after I said it I realized that I had just sassed my dad. I turned and ran as quick as I had said it and believe it or not, he left me alone for the rest of the night.

I tell this story because I think with all the worldly issues that can make the world seem so overwhelming. We miss the important things!

If there is only 5 things my children learn from me, then I have done my job. They would be, Compassion, love, honesty, forgiveness and that all things are possible with God by your side.

There is really nothing more important then that and If you look at the big picture with out these qualities what kind of person are you creating.

If I can spend all day watching my kids be kids, I will have lived my life to the fullest. We don't have much and I couldn't imagine having more but what we do have is each other and without the love of my children, husband and family.. Life would be meaningless.

So remember when choosing what battles to fight, make sure they are worth fighting and that in the end your children know you love them.

What I know today is that I wouldn't change my past for anything. My past is what has made me who I am today and I don't regret any moment of it. Had my childhood been any different I may not have the love for life and my kids that I do and I wouldn't be me...

Sorry this blog was not as funny but I will be back with more. By the way..My neighbors have been coming on the weekend to fix things up for their joyous arrival on June 1st. So I have been having my girls do the Cha Cha Slide every time they are here. Just a little glimpse for them to see what they have to look forward to moving in next to us. Having five kids and myself do the Cha Cha slide on the hardwood floor can get pretty loud...

As Good As It Gets..

2009-05-15T05:36:00.000-07:00

Last night was the first night out for my husband and I in nearly two years. I should have started working out a lot earlier then just the week before. I love those women magazines that you buy off the rack when you check out, they have lots of info in them and the advice I got last week was quite good.
It had an article about skipping lunch and eating a snack before and then a snack three hours later. I figured this would work for me except when I went to a picnic with my daughter at her school, I found myself wanting to tackle her little friend for her lunch. I was eating a lunchable and she had chicken and mashed potatoes. I was willing to give her everything in my wallet just to have her lunch. The little crackers and meat was not cutting it since not eating anything but snacks for the last week.
So my reason for the quick weight loss was, my husband is in the Coast Guard and his boss is moving to another station. I had two weeks to get some of this weight off before having a farewell dinner with them. Except I didn't utilize the whole two weeks, just the last one.
Whats my problem? Well I like food and I have no will power!!
I also have no nice clothes to wear because I wont buy myself anything until I lose the weight otherwise I will just get comfortable with what I'm wearing and give up. So, I get this magazine in the mail for this women clothing, OK that's good. I'll just order something out of that and have something nice to wear for this upcoming dinner. I ordered this white shirt that looked awesome on the lady in the magazine and these cargo type nicker pants. I originally wanted the black shirt and black cargo pants but of course they were out of both those colors and I needed something to wear, so I went with the white shirt and green cargo.
Oh My Goodness, what was I thinking.
White does not work good with fat and I was also pasty white after a long winter with no sun. What happens next is classic. I love tanning because the sun makes me happy and less gloomy, so I have a star thought. I will get tan really quick and the white shirt wont make me look so big. Right? Not
Now instead of just looking fat, I look like a tan umpa lumpa in a marshmallow costume. I really wanted to go buy a different shirt but my husband insisted that he liked the shirt and I looked beautiful.. I don't know if he was trying to fool me or him..
Oh and I am going through pre-menopause so the hot flashed I had during the dinner made little beads of sweat appear on my forehead and my skin turn red. Oh that was fun..
So to start of the night we get in the car and start down the road. I decided that I didn't like my hair any more and I went to pull down the visor mirror and something hits my hand and landed on my shirt. When I looked down I saw legs moving and I started screaming...."ITS A SPIDER" Yes it was small but I swear this was a mini tarantula. My husband pulls over and uses a piece of paper to flick it off my shirt, I then got out and started jumping up and down on the side of the road to hopefully shake it off if it were still on me.
Okay Spider is now dead and we are headed to dinner. When we get there I see its a seafood house, which I don't eat seafood and I don't even like the smell.. Yeah me,,
Every one is dressed to the nine in their designer clothing and matching purses, jewelry and so on.
I bought my pants at walmart!!!
It was one of those dinners where you get asked lots of questions you really don't want to answer and then you sound like an idiot when you do answer,. I would have much rather been home watching BONES and eating Pizza with my girls.
We were waiting on my husbands boss to get there when this guy introduces himself to me and then says we have met before. I said, okay I guess so and then turn to my husband and ask when his boss is going to arrive so we can eat and get home. He replies with, "that was my boss"
OH MY, I can not believe I just did that. I told this guy he was one of many coasties I had met and obviously us meeting was of no importance to me because I don't even remember who he was. I was so embarrassed and had to apologize for not knowing who he was. Seriously I had only met him once and it was over a year ago.. How was I suppose to remember? I cant even remember which of my kids are born in what year and I am suppose to remember this guy..AHHH
So that's not the only time I put my foot in my mouth. I was then talking to the XPO whom I have never met and I decided to tell him that the coast guard guys here are a bunch of weenies because they are on alert when the winds reach 30 miles per hour. On the West coast it blows like that constantly and then when my husband told me that was the XPO, I really wanted to go home..
Then we sat at the same table as my husbands boss, his wife and another couple. That was fun..
His wife would ask me a question, I would answer and then she would stare at me while shaking her head as if I was suppose to say more. I hate that... My mother in law does that to me and I just want to run away. Why do people look at me like my answer wasn't good enough, or it was not the right answer or are they looking deep into my soul to see whats in there?
Any who, while trying to get thin and tan for this dinner I decided to kill two birds with one stone and I tanned naked in my back yard, in hopes to scare off my neighbors. If it were me looking into someones backyard and saw some fat naked lady tanning on her back porch... Id move!!!

How poor people spend money..

2009-05-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

So... funny thing is, it could not be a more beautiful day for mothers day. The sun is shinning, wind blowing and the sun delicately touches my face. My girls are playing without much fighting and my husband is finishing the floor up stairs and here I sit writing this blog. I want Barbecued chicken, potatoes salad and corn on the cob for dinner, easy right.. Except I need more things for this dinner.
I decided to go out with my youngest and get the rest of these things for dinner but my husband couldn't find his wallet so I had to make due with what I had in my purse. On one card I have 9 dollars, 15 on the other and 40 dollars in cash and minus 50 on another card. Seems easy enough I know but not for a family of 7. I had a empty tank of gas and by the way, gas prices didn't stay low enough, long enough for me.
I put 10 dollars in my gas tank, bought charlie some popcorn and gum. I am now down to 6.00 out of one of my twenty's.. were still good right?
So we get to shop and stop and I get what I need and proceed to the self check out because what I am about to do is kind of embarrassing. I buy the corn, eggs and butter with my card that had 9 dollars on it.. "that's gone." Then I buy the coffee and corn holders with the card that has 15 dollars on it .."that's gone." Then I use cash to buy the Coffee creamer,potatoes and barbecue sauce.. After all is done I have 26 dollars left but I forgot to get something to drink for the girls. I stopped at the convenient store and picked up a 12 pack of sprite and you can estimate how much I have left.
One reason I can be happy about being poor is that God provides me with what I need and nothing more. I am humble and happy with what I have and I can say the same for my kids. If I come home with a piece of Gum out of a gumball machine because the quarter was the only thing I had left, I can honestly say they would be content.
Another great thing about being poor is that I want more, but I don't get disappointed when I don't get it, I also have the next paycheck to look forward to. If I didn't have that I think I would get board, and it gives me a goal to reach.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to have matching sheets and bed spreads for my kids or enough money that I didn't have to always say no to my kids. But what we want is not as important as what we need and if at the end of the day my kids have full tummy's, a warm bed to sleep in and the love of God what else is there really?

Mom, your too fat!!

2009-05-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

If you want to know how you look or if your overweight just ask your kids. We teach them to be honest in all circumstances or there will be consequences, so you cant expect any less then that when it comes to how mommy looks. If you cant trust your husband to tell you the truth when you ask him if your too fat, just as one of your kids if you can ride their bike. Most likely if your overweight they are going to respond with " NO, your to big your gonna break it!"

Yes, I'm fat and I could use the word overweight but I know that is just a nice way of saying fat so lets just be honest. My daughter who is three was sitting next to me one morning pushed on my stomach and said, " Your fat mommy." The sweetest thing about this moment was that she understood my facial expression. When I pouted she changed her response to, "no your not fat mommy."

I'm not fat because I have five kids.. unfortunately my youngest is almost four and I cant use that excuse anymore, besides Ive seen many women have several kids and still look fantastic after birth,, " I hate those women.." My only excuse is I have no will power, and I love food.

No really I know why I am overweight and I would like to take you on my journey to lose weight. Anyone who want to join me is welcome with open arms and having a support system is wonderful.

Let me tell you my story first and hopefully you will understand why we keep the weight on. I gained 50 pounds with my first pregnancy and then the same with my second. I was so young I thought you needed to feed your baby everything in the fridge and cupboards and then some. I was also in a bad marriage and the depression was overwhelming.

I was now 23 and weighed 200 pounds with two kids. I hated who I was and took for granted my health. It wasn't till my dad passed away 2 months after I had my second daughter that I realized the life I was living was not the one I intended for my future. I was just Roxanne in apartment number 21 and my dreams were bigger then that.

I left my husband two months later and moved in with my mother, and when I was looking in the mirror one day I realized how fat I was. For some odd reason I knew I was fat but had no idea what I really looked like.

I began a journey to eat right and exercise while looking for a job to raise my family. Since I was now doing it on my own, I had this sense of confidence I never had before and Independence was a reward I never new could feel so good.

My first weight loss success was a wild roller coasters ride. I would do really well for a few weeks and then find myself eating a bag of cookies. This ended up being my biggest secret to weight loss even though at the time I felt so guilty and failure was depressing. The best advice I can give you is when you end up eating that bag of cookies, don't feel guilty. Just remember you cant do it again right away and that you have to work even harder not to do it the next time. Also use these moments as treats to yourself for doing so well... I don't suggest eating an entire bag of cookies like I did but treat yourself for doing well.

I hate exercising.. I know most people hate it and the ones who say they like it most likely are just obsessed with the exercise. I do like to dance and so do kids, so use it to lose the weight. Pick up beat, fast pace music, gather your kids in one room and rock out. Not only will your kids love it but you will feel fantastic afterwards. Also I believe that toning your muscles is also very important to add shape to your body and make you feel strong. Once you have rocked out with your kids, throw in a few sit ups and push ups. Anything that will tone your muscles and it also keeps your heart rate up after dancing to continue the fat burning.

So back to why I am fat. I lost the weight once and then gained it back after having three more kids.. Ahhhh... where did they all come from? I gained no weight with my third one, which was amazing after gaining 50 with each of my first two pregnancies. Then I gained about 20 with my fourth and 30 with my fifth but it wasn't the pregnancy that did it to me.

Obviously I got remarried and that's how I ended up with the other three children but having my fifth daughter is what brought on the weight gain. I ended up having complications with this pregnancy and when she was born she became ill. This took a huge toll on my emotional well being. When I look back on it now it seems so crazy and all of it is like a blur.

We ended up spending the first two years in and out of the hospital and I ate a lot of hospital food. You would think that if your in a hospital they would at least serve healthier food, or I could have made better decisions. I think I hit 220 pounds after all was said and done, and when I visited my doctor she said quit eating crap, lose the weight or your going to die.

I was not even thirty yet and I had high cholesterol, high blood pressure. They say it can be hereditary but I wasn't going to die like that. My doctor put me on the South Beach diet and I started walking while my oldest two daughters were in school. I was doing really well and lost 25 pounds in the first two weeks of this diet. So why am I fat now?

We got orders and were being transferred 3000 miles away from home. I had to leave everything I had ever know, loved and I was not happy about it. There are not many options to choose from trying to feed 7 people while traveling across the country. I gained all my weight back and then some.

On the east coast, they have more ice cream options then on the west coast. That's my story and I am sticking to it... So to make an even longer story short, I'M FAT and I am tired of it. I don't want to be an embarrassment to my family and I want to be able to enjoy doing what my kids love to do without feeling like everyone is pointing at the fat lady who is going to break the swing.

We gain weight becuase we are not happy with the way things are. Something in our lives is keeping us from making healthy decisions and in order to lose the weight we need to find out what it is and try to change it. If you cant change it try and make it managable so that focusing on your weight loss is also important.

Thank you for reading my blogs and I hope we can change our lives together and share stories that keep the little moments the best moments.

BTW,,, I did good today and I will share my recipes with you tomorrow.