Time for more gift ideas!

I know many people living in states that get snow. Or even ice. We get ice. Maybe once or twice in a month. Might not seem like much, but its annoying still. So I was curious when I was asked if I wanted to participate in a review opportunity in league with the US Family Guide. They are partnering with Scrape-A-Round.

If you know someone who has to suffer through the cold winter months of ice and snow, you might want to check them out...

If you're tired of scraping your windows the old fashioned way, then join the Scrape-A-Round movement. You will secure your family's safety, access new gift ideas and scrape your windows cleaner in half the time with the world's best windshield ice scraper. View the Scrape-A-Round action

 

The Scrape-a-round is a brilliant feat of ice scraping engineering. The simple explanations why Scrape-A-Round is the best ice scraper are as follows, Scrape-A-Round is the:
Best ice scraper because of the softer plastic, allows the scraper to conform to the window curvature! Find out more information: http://www.scrapearound.com/
18" of ice scraping surface.
The comfortable grasp provides relief for the arthritic or carpal syndrome sufferer.
Direct pressure to the window, no pressure lost through the ice scraper!
The circular rotational motion of ice scraper.
Double ice scraper action, leading edge and trailing edge.
Multi functional, remove the cap and it doubles as a funnel.
This scrapes windows frost and ice free in half the time!
Makes the perfect gift for the Holidays!
http://www.scrapearound.com/

My readers get to save! Get FREE Shipping at http://www.scrapearound.com/ Use code LU8FBEZREU2 at checkout.
http://usfamilyguide.com/coupons.php?bid=13171&dealid=3099

3DLightFX gift idea

As a part of the US Family Guide of bloggers, I was wanting to share a cool gift idea that I might later have the chance to review. Christmas is around the corner. And some parents, like myself, aren't a fan of their kids receiving too many toys. Let's face it, my kids have a room full of them and I'm going to have to donate some before they get a bunch more. Or after Christmas if I don't have time until then... So what ideas can I give to those wanting to buy for my kiddos? Aside from a few clothing items they needed, there wasn't much they really needed that could wait until Christmas for them to get.

3DLIGHTFX 3D Deco Lights are the perfect gift this holiday season. They have a full range of comic book, super hero, Disney Princess, sports and car lights that look as though they are popping right out of the wall! They are battery operated and cool to the touch so you can place them any where in the room! Your kids will loves having these in their rooms and they're also the perfect editions to a den, family room, man's cave or office! Find all of these amazing products here: http://bit.ly/TargetUSFamily

Another reason to consider them, is if your children are like mine and don't like having a dark room to sleep in. They make the perfect night lights! The kids love them because they have the crack sticker that makes it look like they are really coming out of the wall. We have the Death Star one hanging near by baby's crib.

I love that it has a timer option and will shut itself off after a while.

They are available at Target and Target.com. Just use the link above.

You can also check out their website. They have such a wonderful variety to choose from!

Time to get organized

Let's face it, I'm always trying to stay organized. Every day I seek to keep my to-do list, my home, and my kids on track. Next month starts a new year. And with it comes a lot of changes. I've been slacking with my pregnancy, but I'm getting back into the groove of things. To help me in my endeavors, I've got this nifty At-A-Glance planner that was sent to be reviewed by Shoplet.com.

Shoplet is the largest e-tailer of office supplies. They have a great selection for your home and business office needs. They also carry a variety of cleaning supplies, medical supplies, and office furniture.

This planner goes weekly and monthly through 2017.

It gives you equal spaces for weekends as it does for weekdays. I prefer this since my weekends are usually just as busy as my week days.

There are also monthly tabs to help you find things quicker. It's 8.5 x 11 inches. As much as I like having a pocket sized one for my purse, this one won't get lost in the clutter. I'm also loving the purple cover and the design it has. I'm not for being fancy, but I do like a little creativity in my life. One other thing I find very interesting about this planner, is that it tells you what day and how many days are left in the year! So January 1st is day 1/364.

The 2nd is 2/363. Got a hot date coming in the next year? Keep track of how many more days you have to wait! Or... watch the days past and reflect on what you've been filling them with. Are you living up to your fullest potential?

She's here!

My daughter is officially here. However, this post comes a little late... She's now 14 days old.

My little girl has been marching to the beat of her own drum this entire time. It would seem she doesn't stay within the lines any more than her father and I do. As such, she came in her own good time.
Thursday, November 17th, I had my 39 week check up.

As part of that, the midwife attempted to check my cervix. It took quite a bit of effort, but she finally found it. In doing so, she disturbed the mucous plug. She scheduled my inducement for the following Sunday morning. Friday night, about midnight, my water burst. And over the next few hours my water gushed in spurts. Contractions got to 8 minutes apart before slowing down and becoming sporadic. At one time I had 2 strong ones within three minutes apart. Feeling like we should be safe rather than sorry, we decided to head to the hospital. After getting in, we filled out more paper work. Mind you, I had pre-registered twice already. My online version didn't count. And yet, I felt like I had answered all the same questions twice more after arriving at the hospital. Contractions were strong, but sporadic still. They got me hooked up to monitors and started the IV. While going through all this, I had a nurse and someone she was clearly training. The trainee knew more about entering the correct information into the computer system than the charge nurse did. The charge nurse told us that they had been busy all night long. And that some of those new moms admitted shouldn't have been having babies at all. I mean come on... who doesn't know what a circumcision is?! Especially if you are having a baby boy! Or how about a teenage mom who named her baby Anti Delicious. Are you setting her up to be a hooker?!
Moving right along... It came time to check my cervix. My fiancé was sitting in the waiting area just outside the curtain, listening. The charge nurse got gloves on and attempted to check my cervix. Apparently, mine was quite elusive. None of the medical professionals I dealt with that night and the following day could easily access it. NO ONE. She had me practically doing moves that made it look like an exorcism was taking place and still couldn't reach it. I'm whimpering and my fiancé is wondering if they are killing me. Then she calls another nurse down from the next floor who is known to have longer fingers. Again, I go into the crazy position and she struggles, but finally finds my cervix. I'm only at 2 centimeters by this point. My cervix is effaced and soft though and contractions were still strong, so they admit me and after a while of observing send me upstairs to Labor and Delivery.
Once I arrive upstairs, I'm hooked up to monitors and its early morning. They decide to get some Pitocin in me to see if we can kick start stronger, more regular contractions. I had my fiancé, his mother and his sister keeping me company. I cannot tell you how thankful I was to have them. We told stories and kept the laughter going. His mother also timed my contractions for me. It was very comforting and helped the time pass with ease. Getting closer to lunch time, we started betting on when she would be arriving. My fiancé was born at 1:19. And knowing how my baby girl likes to beat records (she was my only one that stayed inside past 38 weeks and refused to be coaxed out by standard methods), we were thinking she might try coming later than him. Though I was sincerely hoping for noon.
Contractions got stronger and I started to doubt that I would make it to the end. I was hoping for the end to get there quicker. For a moment I thought I was ready as to push, so the in laws went to wait outside. I was checked and at first they thought I was truly ready. Then I was checked by the other attending midwife when nothing seemed to happen with my pushes. Turned out my cervix had eluded the first midwife and I was only 6 centimeters along. They positioned me on my side and put a peanut-shaped workout ball between my legs. A little later, and I'm crying out from the intense pains. I get flipped to other side and the pain increases. Within 10-15 minutes of having last been checked, I was telling the nurse that it was time to push. The look of panic was seen briefly while she told her trainee I wasn't allowed to push until we got my midwives in the room. With or without them, I was kicking the ball away and rolling myself over as I was going to push. The head nurse looked and called over the headset, "I see hair! There's a head, she's ready to push." By now, the panic was obvious. The trainee grabbed one leg and I grabbed the other while commencing pushing. It felt like forever, though it was over quickly.
Meagan arrived and they laid her on my chest.

At first, my fiancé and I had concern at how dark she appeared. My concern was if she was breathing. His was more of if I had dabbled along the way. Thankfully when I spoke up, they turned on lights and we saw that she was bruised from her rapid descent. In my eyes, she was the most beautiful creature on earth. My little angel.
Our journey wasn't over. We were there 3 days dealing with jaundice tests and the ill results. Watching her under the blue lights was nerve wracking.

I didn't get an explanation to truly understand what was happening to her. I also hated the bands around her ankles. They cut into her skin and made her cry often. At one time, she managed to kick off the monitor (which freaked the nurses out). The responding nurse reattached it too tightly. I was looking for scissors...

We also had issues with the breastfeeding. She didn't get anything to come out until we got home. But she did make me bleed. It was quite the ordeal. And I'm incredibly happy its over. She's home and I'm preparing to return to work on Monday. I'm nowhere near ready for that step, but its just how things go. My little darling is finally here.

Hickies can be a parents best friend...

Not that kind of hickie! Get your mind out of the gutter...
As part of the US Family Guide, I'm reviewing Hickies - No Tie Elastic Shoelaces. I have an 8 and a 6 year old that both have no interest in learning to tie their own shoes. We have attempted many times to go over the easiest ways to do so, without success. So I was quite thrilled to be offered the chance to try out Hickies.

These are no-tie elastic shoelaces. You simply thread them through the holes and fasten. They turn your sneakers or tennis shoes into easy, streamlined, slide on shoes! My kids prefer to slide their shoes on anyhow, even if they are the kind that get tied. This way, I'm not slowed down having to tie them each time we have to go somewhere. They have a great tutorial to walk you through the process in getting started with using them.
I like how sturdy they are. My kids wear out their shoelaces painfully quick. Shoelaces come unraveled and don't want to re-thread as they should.

They also loosen over time when your kids keeping sliding their shoes on or off. These things hold their elasticity.

Some good points in their favor:

• They work with any shoe that has eyelets.
• One size fits all.
• Elastic keeps shoes secure and comfortable.
• Play will be uninterrupted by pesky retying.
• Fun look without knots and bows.
• 3 levels of adjustable tightness.
• Quick and easy to slide on or off and be on your way.
  
  They have a current promotion running through US Family Guide. You can get 20% off just in time for stocking stuffers! Use the code, USFG at checkout to save. This code expires on November 30th, however, so you better check them out soon. Use the link below to get started.

hickies.com
Also on their website, if you buy 2+ packs, shipping is only 99 cents. And if you buy 4, you get another for free. Stack up the savings and give them to kids you know as stocking stuffers. Save the parents some grief this coming year.

Wedding planning continues!

I had a question posed to me in the comments of my last wedding post. I'd like to take a moment to respond to that question before addressing the next part of our plans.

So the question is:
"I understand wanting a nice wedding. Here's my question...if you know you're going to do it, why wait? I just don't understand people who wait. A wedding is for those getting married and not so much others who attend. Just my thoughts."

My reply is this...
For us, there are a couple things having us wait. For starters, finances. We are doing it when we will have funding for everything. As I'm currently part time, I only have so much money to cover all the bills every month. Not much is left over for anything extra.
Secondly, is our desire to make it our perfect day. Regardless of who is there, we have imagined a day for us that is to our liking. We have put much planning into it. We want a day we will remember for the rest of our lives as one of the best.
And lastly, there are certain people we want to share that day with. So picking the time that gives them the chance to be there is important to us. I want my family from Florida to come in. I'd love my best friends to be there. And he has a brother in the Marines that he would like to serve as his Best Man.
Waiting and planning will give us this accomplishment. We can truly enjoy the act of being joined in matrimony and starting a lifetime together.

Now for the next step we took in planning the wedding...

We had to hire a photographer. Okay, maybe we could've had a family member taking pictures. And truly, we will need someone to video the ceremony as that doesn't come included. But this way, family and friends can enjoy the day without being assigned such tasks. We also had a special photographer in mind for this part of the planning. Lene Griego is the proud owner of Master Photography by LG, LLC. We had very special reasons for wanting her to be our photographer. I've known her for over 8 years now. I've seen her work through Facebook. And also because she has a wonderful green screen. My plans were to utilize her green screen so that every guest has the chance to put themselves in a professional photograph with a background of their own that they get to take home as a favor. My fiancé and I have gotten to try this out at a couple comic cons. That's where we got this beauty done.

Master Photography has a physical location now that we hope to get our newborn pictures shot in. If you are looking for a fun or nerdy Christmas card this year, its not too late! You can call or stop by her location.  210-860-9005 or come by 8521 Blanco Road, inside the Mad Crafter Gift Shop.

Let me know what you think of our idea. Would you do something like this at your wedding?

Kikkoman House Party

I love hosting House Parties. You never quite know what to expect. Granted, this time around, my party was a bit farther delayed than we originally planned. My daughter decided to come when we least expected. So I took the turkey, brined in Teriyaki sauce instead of soy, to my future in-laws house for Thanksgiving.

I've never brined a turkey. I've always had the traditional kind. But I'm always up for trying something new. And that's what we did. Granted, with every new trial, comes the first time mistakes. My turkey came out a little dried.

And I suppose that with teriyaki sauce, you need more of it than the soy to truly taste it.
They sent recipes, shirts, coupons for free products, and an oven mitt.

The recipe they sent for the soy brined turkey is here.

As I mentioned, my turkey wasn't as beautiful or juicy. But you have to test it out differently to get it right. My suggestion if you decide to do something other than the recipe, go bigger.

We purchased a 9lb Butterball turkey. I got a 10 ounce bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce, and threw in the spices with water to my largest pot.

Granted I used half that amount of teriyaki sauce. And therein lies my mistake.

We could barely taste it. Scratch that, couldn't taste it at all.

We found that there are way more Kikkoman products than we originally thought.

More than just soy sauces.

I'm actually considering trying another recipe. I'll tweak it a bit. But I'd like to try a teriyaki turkey one day.

As for the party. I enjoyed the time we shared and the thoughts that were put into words about the turkey. Brining was nothing new to them. But soy and teriyaki was. Adding more flavor next time would be advisable to make this a more successful event. And having more options about shirt sizes wouldn't be a bad idea either. We only had large and extra large shirts, sadly. But the coupons I passed around were appreciated. Everyone got the chance to get their own Kikkoman products to try for free. What can be better than that?

My opinions voiced here are my own. I was sponsored in trying and hosting this party. I was not paid or otherwise told what to say.