Keeping Him Safe

Thanks for the post from Sylvester Campbell

Security has gotten even more important to me since I had the baby. Becoming a mom brought out the caretaker side of me and although I’m reasonably responsible anyway, it’s tough being in charge of someone else’s wellbeing. I spent the first weeks as a new mom securing the house, although it was already pretty good. I fixed that window in the back that’s been broken forever and I took some time to look at a site for alarm systems richmond and see if a security system made sense. I child proofed nearly everything in the townhome and even my dog got into the action! I taught him some new tricks and how to alert me if he hears any noises he thinks are out of order. I feel much better now about my ability to care for my son and I know I’m a good mom, although there are times when I nearly have a panic attack thinking about his safety! It’s only going to get worse once he gets a driver’s license!

A Little Less Lonely

I've always lived with in driving distance of my family.  Now that we've moved to a different state I was wondering how I would be able to handle being so far away from them.  I come from a very close nit family and I grew up with frequent "get togethers".  Isabel has also been very close with her cousin Nathan.  From the moment they were born they've seen each other almost every week for play time.  At this point they even have their own language.  

When we moved up here we learned that my hubby has family here.  It turns out that they're only twenty minutes away from where we live now.  We were able to spend Thanksgiving with them and it made living here less lonely knowing that there was family close by.  My hubby's cousin also has a son that is a bit older but is absolutely wonderful with Izzy.  He's patient and plays with her, even when she brings her tea set.  He doesn't push her away or bully her and she adores him.  It amazed me that she not only learned his name the first time she met him but she also was able to say it and call out for him.  What does family mean to you?

Leave My Computer Alone!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Norton Small Business by Symantec for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I count myself lucky that my husband, sister and brother-in-law are all computer savvy.  I can only get by on the day to day things.  If something goes wrong like, it doesn't boot up, it's slow or just won't work.  I can't do anything about it.  There have been a few times were the hardware stopped working and I had to wait until my husband came home.

At least my husband sets up my daily internet surfing so I'm mostly goof proof.  He makes sure that we have a good firewall, virus scanner and more.  I also don't click on everything I see.  My parents however, do.  My parents are are small business owners in real estate.  If something goes wrong on their computer it's more detrimental because of their business.  We might loose a  few pictures while they have the potential to loose important receipts and documents related to their business.

The unfortunate part is that even with computer savvy people in the family my parent's don't listen to their words of advice.  They click on random pop up ads. They don't update their virus software or firewall.  They wait until the computer is on its death bed before getting help.

That's why I think it would be a great idea for them to get the Norton Small Business by Symantec.  Our family has used Norton before and we know that it is reliable.  I think this program would work the best for my parents since it does most of its job automatically.  They can surf the internet and not worry about their files or the computer speed.  It will even tell you if a website or file is safe. This would be the perfect time to pick up either Norton 360 or Norton Internet Security 2012.  The newest versions just launched this past September. The best part is we can get 30% off Norton Small Business Products now.

Are you shopping for a way to protect your computer from your kids, hubby or wifey?  Have you used Norton before?  Which program would work best for you?

Awesomeness = Grandma!

Are you a marathon shopper?  Maybe the one that gets to the stores the night before a HUGE sale for the best deals?  I've seen some amazing pictures of the deals people have been getting from the Black Friday shopping trips and a part of me (a very SMALL part) wonders what it would be like.  Part of the reason I'm not into going shopping on BIG deal days like Black Fridays was because I was dragged along for each one as a kid.  Now in my old (35 years of old) age I'd rather do my shopping in the comfort of my home, in my sleeping clothes and have it delivered right to my door.

Luckily, my mom is still into braving the shopping crowds and her only granddaughter is reaping the benefits.  I want to get Isabel a doll house this year.  I put one on her Christmas list in the hopes that "Santa" will do the honors.  My mom stepped up to the plate and got her this AMAZING dollhouse!  She found a Black Friday deal where she saved about $100 on it.  It's huge and it comes with 34 pieces of furniture.  I can't wait until Izzy sees it.  I know she's just going to go crazy for it.  So Black Friday Shoppers, what kind of awesomeness did you find out there today?

What are you Thankful for?

We all dream big and struggle to work towards our dreams.  For me Thanksgiving isn't about the history of the Pilgrims and the Indians.  It's a day to slow down, look around and be thankful for the people in your life and what you already have.

I'm blessed that I'm surrounded by my family that loves me.  I have a husband that's always been supportive of my goals.  I have a healthy, happy and loving daughter that makes me so proud to be a mom.  I have parents that still look out for me at the age of 35 and only want the best for me.  I have a sister that is more like my best friend who I can always vent to.  I have brothers and sisters-in-laws that looks beyond the "in-laws" and treat me more like a sister.  I have a mom and dad-in-law that support me as a "navy wife" and drop what they're doing to be there for me when my hubby can't.  I have a huge extended family that could fill a football field, almost.

The rest of the material stuff is just the dressing to the people that surround me.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  What are you thankful for?

Cooking Memories

I can't cook. Wait! No, I can cook but I'm not a foodie.  I hope I would eventually get there but right now I'm more of a get something on the table to feed my family.  I admire those that can whip up an amazing meal on the spot from scratch.  If you're own of those, this awesomeness is for you.  Do you have all your recipes in your head or written down on flash cards or note book paper?  Wouldn't it be great if you could have them all in one spot, printed and bound like a real cook book? Or if not your recipes, your mom's or grandma's?  Wouldn't be a great gift to give your mother or grandmother something like that.  If you're interested, check out this deal below and tell me what you think.

Wordless Wednesday

Vitabath Video Review

Hello all! This is my first attempt at a video review so go easy on me. It took 9 tries before I was able to talk without stuttering and yes I'm in my bath robe! It's REALLY cold up here right now. Maybe I'll try to look "cute" for the next one. Hahah... who am I kidding? Let me know what you think?

Happy Heart

It's been almost a year and a half since I became a stay at home mom.  We've had to sacrifice a few things for us to be able to afford living on one income.  In my opinion, it has all been worth it.  Today for example, was one of those days.  My daughter has been sick since Saturday.  Nothing serious, just a little cold while we're all getting used to the colder weather.  If you have toddlers than you know what I'm going through here.  She started feeling better today and to keep her mind off the coughing and a runny nose I tossed her up in the air, ran around with her on my back, tickled her, helped her do flips while giving her the raspberry on her tummy and watched her LAUGH!  How awesome is that?  If I had to work outside the home who's to say that I would have the freedom to kiss her boo boos or do something like this when she's sick?  I gotta tell you after seeing how miserable she's been for the pass few days it made my heart happy to see her laugh and dance this morning.

Mommy Snob

Okay, I'm a mommy snob sometimes.  I've read a few blog posts about other moms giving dirty looks or leaving negative comments.  I'm not one of those.  My mommy snobbery comes out when I hear, read or see other moms doing things to their kids mainly for their own convenience without regard to the research proving it's not in the best interest of their child.  Or they take some of these baby training books word for word without using common sense with it.  It makes me wonder why some women choose to be parents.

The biggest problem seems to be around bed time.  Why in the world would you spend hundreds of dollars on the safest car seat, stroller, crib and devote your time to nurture your child during the day just to check out of parenting at night?  Why would parents think it's okay to leave your child crying, screaming, begging for you for minutes or (god forbid) hours until they give up?  I'm sorry but letting your kid cry it out until they give up sounds cruel to me.  Babies cry for a reason.  It's not to piss you off, or manipulate you.  An infant cries to get their needs met, period.

Over the Hump

I just have to share this.  Do you know those motorized rides you see at the supermarket or the mall?  They look like little cars or boats that you have to pop in some quarters for them to start.  They just rock back and forth and play sounds.  Until today Izzy has been deathly afraid of them.  She'll jump on to play with the steering wheel but will completely freak out and scream once those quarters go in.  I've tried a few times as she got older and older hoping that she'll like them one day.  Well, today was the day folks!  We went to Everett Mall for the first time since we've been here and I took her to the tot play area.  Wasn't interested.  She kept pointing at the motorized car and asked to "ride".  For the heck of it I put in the quarters and she LOVED it!  Wanted to keep going for another 3 rides.  Paint me shocked folks!  I don't know what hump she had to get over before she started liking it but she's all for those coin rides now.  Too bad it take 75 cents for a 1-2 minutes ride.

Puppies vs. Babies

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies. All opinions are 100% mine.

Puppies vs. Babies! Which do you think are cuter, puppies or babies?  Our dog was our 1st baby until Isabel was born.  He's an American Eskimo and as a puppy he was a little white puff ball of energy.  We got a lot of compliments that he looked like 'Bolt".  One time some random stranger stopped his car and asked my hubby if he'd sell our dog to him.  

My dog is cute but I think my daughter out shines him with her eyes closed.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably a little biased when it comes to my daughter.  Don't all parents think their child is the brightest and cutest one on the block?  She has her dad's full lips that are not as over powering as Angelina Jolie's.  She has my eye lashes and brows and will never have to use falsies, look for "plumping mascara" or deal with plucking.  

You can vote for the cutest puppy or baby on Animal Planet for the Puppies vs. Babies online contest from now until November 23rd.  Who do you think is "top dog" or "top kiddo"?  The winner could go home with $5,000!  If I had to choose between puppies or babies, I'd lean towards the babies.  I could be that my ovaries twitching but that's what I'd vote for.

Who would you vote for?  Don't forget to come back and comment on your choice! 

Toddler Proof Wall Decals

Do you rent? We do. When my hubby was chosen for these new orders we agreed to rent a place until we knew for sure that we would settle down here. We didn't want to go through the rush of trying to sell like we had to with this last move. That was WAY too much stress and I don't even want to get into the crap our house is worth now because of the economy.  So now we're renting. One reason I was sad to move was because I took time to decorate the baby's room.  I love how it turned out and I made sure it wasn't obnoxiously girly.

Even though we have to rent I still wanted my little girl to have a beautiful room full of color were she would want to spend her time dreaming and discovering.  The down side was since this was a rental I wouldn't be able to just paint like I did at our last house.  So I found the next best thing.  At one of the discount sites I frequent, Zulily I found these decals that I could put on the walls to decorate.  I finished putting them up yesterday and I LOVE them.  I was concerned that they wouldn't come off without leaving adhesive on the walls or take off paint.  I moved a couple of pieces while I was putting them up and this morning I found a few stuck to her bedding.  When she woke up she must have peeled them off.  Two were stuck to each other, one was on her shirt and the other on her bed.

Usually, those would be in the trash can.  Not these, I just peels them off, took of as much lint as I could and stuck them back on the walls.  Yeah!  They're even toddler proof!  I randomly see them on different discount sites so if you happen to run across them.  They're great and you don't have to be stuck with white walls anymore!

Meal Time Success

Okay, I'm been MIA from my blog. I hope it isn't a case of outta site outta mind with those of you and are following me. I have an excuse though, really. My family has been living out of our suitcases for the past month while we were taking a road trip to our new home. It was a long road trip with stops at both of our families.

But that's besides the point. I'm back and I had the best mommy moment that I want to share with you. My 2 year old is a picky eater. I know, NOT big news since most are picky eaters. Today for lunch I made chicken adobo, which is slow cooked chicken drummetts with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and pepper. The chicken is cooked until it falls off the bone. I mixed her dish is a little bit of rice and from the moment I put it in front of her she got down to business. She ATE and I mean really ate without any pleading, negotiating, yelling or anything on my part. By the time I sat down with my own bowl she was more than 1/2 way done with hers. How awesome is that! It gets EVEN better. After some milk to top it off she went down for her nap in less then 5 minutes.

Hello I'm doing the happy dance over here! What's better than seeing your child love your cooking. Do you have a great mommy moment you'd like to share?

Make Money Tweeting

Childhood Memories

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Family Insurance. All opinions are 100% mine.

I came across some video clips of a Comedy Special called, Stand Up For Family.  It's a showcase that every member of your family can enjoy by comedians like Bill Bellamy, Rodney Perry, Mark Viera, Donnell Rawlings and Tony Roberts. The showcase follows American Family Insurance's commitment to supporting the lives of their customers, no matter how old they are.

I especially liked Bill Bellamy's clips.  His clips brought me back to my childhood!  They made me laugh so hard I was crying!  When I was a kid we had to use our imagination to make the day fun and keep us occupied.  We didn't have toys or games that did everything for us.  His Still Free clip talks about childhood just like I remember it.

Now that I am a mother I think back to my own childhood memories more frequently.  I grew up in the suburbs of Pennsylvania and I will always remember fondly the neighborhood I grew up in.  I loved that the whole street had unfenced backyards where all the children of the neighborhood could play.   I remember heading back there playing pretend games with each other like hide and go seek, freeze tag, and red light yellow light green light.  My favorite part of the neighborhood was the creek that ran underneath the street.  We played with toy boats, tried to catch tad poles and even looked for sunken treasure.  

I love that AmFam has a show like this available as a family friendly event.  It's hard enough finding things to do together that's also appropriate for little kids like Izzy.  It would be a great way to show Izzy the games that mommy used to play when I was her age.  Our games got us outside and running around instead of sitting down and giving our thumbs a workout.  What fond memories do you have as a kid?  Was it the games?  The neighborhood?  Join in on the conversation.

Wordless Wednesday

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wordless Wednesday

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Moving Day

The move went without much of a hitch.  The great thing about being a military family is that you get a full service move.  On Friday we had packers at the house and they pack everything.  You have to be specific if there's something that you don't want them to pack.  If you're not then everything goes into a box whether or not you want it following you to your next home.  For that very reason, the past few weeks I've been going through the house and sorting out the things we were going to donate to the Salvation Army, the things we were giving away to friends or family and the things that were going into the trash.  My motto was if it wasn't worn or used within 6 months than it goes.  We were able to donate around 16 bags worth of clothes and linens to the Salvation Army.  SILgot everything she would need for a baby girl from birth to 1 year of life.  My cousin got a few pieces of really nice cherry wood furniture and my friend Ana got my cherished wall sized collection of books. 

Monday was moving day.  The guys came back to load everything that was packed on Friday to start the trip to our new place.  The only problem was the washer/dryer.  First there was an issue of disconnecting it and finding someone that would do it for me.  Luckily, I double checked with our new place and they don't even use that type.  Problem adverted and they're staying with the house.

So for the next three week we'll be living out of our suitcases spending time with family along the way before we get to our final destination.  Fun Times.

Style Makeover

I LOVE THIS OUTFIT!

I found a link to Ann Taylor's Blog yesterday through Twitter and after going through it I'm hooked!  My style, if you want to call it that is nonexistent.  Ever since Izzy was born I've been running around in "mommy wear".   These are outfits that I pick more for comfort and ease.  I was more concerned about the potential stains and my post baby body than style.  It got to a point were I don't even know what is cute for my body anymore.  It was much easier sticking with the "mommy style" than trying to pick outfits to compliment me.

I love that this blog posts pictures of an entire outfit, including the accessories.  They even give you hints on how to wear different style trends and what to pair with the pieces.  I'm going to use the blog as my "How To" and try to get my style back on track.  I really like the Sunday Brunch Outfit they just posted.  That's something I would definitely wear and great for the type of weather we're moving up to.  I'll post some before and after pictures when I'm confident enough to share my updated style.  Wish me luck!