Parenting & Motherhood

Bargains, Deals and MORE.

2011-06-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a great bargain now a days? Almost every one I know is trying to find ways to save. From the fluctuating cost of gas prices to the over priced outfits at the mall, I've been looking around to save a few dollars.

Here are a few things I found:

Outback Steak House is offering a $10 gift card on orders more then $50. The only catch is you can only redeem that from now until July 15. And, this promotional offer ends this Sunday so HURRY!
Olive Garden- You can redeem a $4.00 off any two dinner entrees until June 26.
Here's one for you and your kids. If you go to chuckecheese.com there are several coupons from pizza's to tokens but it ends TONIGHT. So hurry.

There are sites such as thekrazycouponlady.com that has daily special's listed on their site and it's updated on a daily basis. There are printable coupons you can use at the store or promotional codes online you can enter. If you like dining out like I do, you'll truly enjoy restaurant.com because if has so many promotional offers on different restaurants. I personally love to go to Tokyo Shabu Shabu and right now I can get a $50 gift certificate there for the price of $25. Talk about a bargain! For you ladies who love retail therapy, you guys will love retailmenot.com. They have promotional coupons from Victoria's Secret to Khols to Aldo's. Gasbuddy.com (also a downloadable app) provides you with the cheapest gas where ever you're at, so you never waste gas trying to shop for gas.

Sephora.com and the actual store is offering you a free gift on your birthday each year if you sign up a VIB member. It's free to sign up and it takes only minutes to do so. Groupon.com and Yelp.com both have promotional deals each day. I receive daily emails from them offering all sorts of things from discounted massages, to restaurants to wine tasting and much much more. It's free to sign up the deals are delivered right to your inbox.

Anthony's robot

2011-06-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

My nephew is simply amazing!!! He's spending the whole month of June in Seattle with his dad and he sent this video to his mom yesterday. It's a little over a minute long and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I've never met a kid at 10 years old use the word "interesting" let alone do a robot project in the middle of summer when he could be outside playing or playing video games. But he's a regular growing boy who's well into those things too. But he's all around very talented and smart, and he just excels in everything he does. From snowboarding, to school to MMA. I know just why his mom praises him the way she does. I remember last year my husband called him to talk about UFC. He was only nine years old then but could carry a conversation with an adult easily. And just a few weeks back, we got into a conversation about exorcism and that led to other topics and I was there for literally 30 minutes listening to him.

It's no surprise to us that he does all these things. In fact, i think we always look forward to the other adventures he does in his life. We're just amazed at what creative thoughts get in his head. I mean, at 10, i never thought about trying to build a robot. I just wanted to play outside with my friends or watch TV.

What was my sister's secret?!? I often asked her this. She read to him and thought him and all that other good stuff, which is good. But it didn't stop there. One of her BIG things is talking positivity into his life. She never kicked him down and always believed in him and verbalized it everyday. Even when he says "I'm not good enough" she always told him to keep trying. It may sound cliche', but I think hearing that from a young age has molded his brain to thinking he can do anything- and that's what he believes in. He was exposed to all sorts of things at such a young age. With doing so, may of those things has become his hobby and motivation. He's such an awesome kid.

Our children are a reflection of us; They represent us. We're their first role models in life. We're not called 'Mother" for nothing. Whether we realize it or not, we are the first teachers in their lives (teacher of life.. haha i like that).

"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible" ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

Pregnancy at 15 weeks.

2011-06-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

Sinus- you're kicking my butt right now. aghhhhhh!!

Why does it feel like I never get enough sleep? I literally dragged myself out of bed this morning after fighting with the alarm clock for 30 minutes. Not to mention, I slept for almost 10 hours. My body's aching, head hurting and the little fetus that I'm growing inside me has been moving since noon yesterday making it impossible for me to do anything comfortably. I know my husband is probably wondering why I'm wining so much. But I wonder, if men got pregnant would they wine as much as we do. I mean, carrying a baby for 9 months is no easy task. Your body goes through so many changes physically not to mention the emotional ones. I literally feel like this baby is pushing up against my rib bone to make room for herself and it's pretty painful.

My growing toddler

2011-06-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

She's running around like a little monster. Spilling drinks everywhere; throwing food on the ground. She wines if she doesn't get what she wants and she cries and scream for like 30 minutes before she finally throws in the towel and takes a nap. She even has a new hobby- drawing, the only problem is she likes her artwork better on the wall then on paper. She's driving me crazy. Taking things out the closet, trying my shoes on and leaving her tracks everywhere. And when you try to take something away from her she screams, "NO WAY! NO WAY Mama!"

My daughter has turned into a little monster! Aghhhh!!

I'm having one of those days :/

Conquering the storm with this thing called LOVE

2011-06-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

I remember the times me and my husband would fight constantly. It came to a point that it was abnormal if we didn't argue. We'd argued at least once a day everyday. I don't even recall what the arguments were about. I just remember fighting all the time. Our first year was rough. We just kinda jumped into everything all at once and that's how we started. So our first year of being together we had to get through my fluctuating hormones and moods and I was dealing with a lot of insecurities, doubt and shame. It was tough going through my first pregnancy, going to school and working at the same time. I was tired a lot of the times but I tried to keep it together.

What I felt like he doing wrong: EVERYTHING. I felt like he was inconsiderate of my feelings, he was never there for me, his comments and reaction to everything was rude. And he was disrespectful. I just felt like he was plain mean! i remember thinking, "this is what I'm stuck with for the rest of my life? This is going to be the father of my child? What he was thinking: This girl nags at me all the time and she's inconsiderate of what I'm feeling. She wants me to do everything for her and she's so insecure, I can't even go out with my friends! In his mind he's thinking, "I don't want to be stuck here forever, How will I ever love her the same?"

For maybe a year and a half we had constant arguments and three breakups. We've reached our boiling points that enough was enough. We couldn't even be around other people without arguing once. As embarrassing as it was, we argued all the time regardless if it's in front of people or just by ourselves. We were hopeless about the relationship and we thought that that was the end. We didn't want to try anymore because trying itself seemed too hard.We've exchanged harsh words to each other and I was convince nothing was ever going to be the same more the less be better. So I decided to leave- this time for good.

As I'm there crying my eyes out looking at my daughter, I couldn't believe I had brought her into this world to just break her heart. She's so young and I know she doesn't know, but the only thing that ever kept me there was to avoid the possibility of her growing up in a broken home. But I couldn't take it anymore. I had to leave. I had to escape from that hell; from that happy place. It just wasn't worth it anymore.

A big change for us was humility. After being so comfortable with each other I think that sort of slipped away. Something like being able to man up to your mistake made such a big difference. We stopped that mentality that he/she is wrong, I'm right, because that never got us any where good. We didn't talk enough. After being with a person for a while you'd think they'd know what you want and didn't like, but that's not the case. You really have to verbalize what you like and don't like. If there is something wrong and bothering you, say something right away. Don't keep it inside and think it'll go away. You might just blow up later. Each day we learn something new about love and each other. Everyday is like a new lesson and a new chance. You have to learn how to ride with it. Forget the pass and just move on with life. Don't hold grudges.

Love is nothing like they describe in love stories. Because it's going through hell with someone and still coming out strong at the end.

Who will you save on the The Voice?

2011-06-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

I never stay up past 9pm but last night was exceptional. I was up until 11pm watching NBC's "The Voice" and it was an amazing performance from all of them! Again, my fav girl, Vicci Martinez, rocked the stage. Coming from someone so little is such a big soulful voice. I love her! Make sure you guys cast in your votes before this coming Monday, June 20, to save your favorite artist. You guys can click the link below if you missed her performance last night.

The Voice - Week Eight: Vicci Martinez Sings "Jolene" - Video - NBC.com

I'm so thrilled that Dia & Xenia made it out of Team Blake. They both have very unique voices and I'm certain he made the right choice. And I think Christina's team is very strong too. Now it's just coming down to the best of the best and the competition is getting more intense!

Me and my husband are so addicted to this show. We always watch the previous episodes on demand. I've just never watched a show that all the singers were this good. Even from the battle rounds, they were all great. I'm anticipating the results for Team Cee Lo and Team Adam already. I know Javier Colone is favored so he is more then likely to go to the semi finals. I can't wait until next week's episode!!! Tuesday, come already!

Who do you think will make it out of team CeeLo and Team Adam? I want to hear your opinions!

Pregnancy do's and don'ts

2011-06-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

I found out I was pregnant at roughly 4 1/2 weeks. I immediately bought prenatal vitamins as part of my prenatal regimen. I was told about New Chapter Perfect Prenatal from my sister-in-law. It's made with whole-food, organic and probiotic nourishment. It's easy on your stomach and can be taken on an empty stomach. I went to Amazon.com and got a deal of $55 opposed to the regular price of over $100 for the full trimester one. I also bought their Wholeomega Prenatal which was made fro. m pure Salmon fish oil which cost about $25. This prenatal vitamin also claims that it will lessen or completely stop any nausea and vomiting. I'm happy to say that I only got mild nausea and no vomiting at all

Do take Prenatal Vitamin

Engage in yoga or an exercise regimen
Prior to my pregnancy I was very active. I went to gym 4-7 times a week doing cardio and strength training. I still continued with my regular gym routines. There are many benefits of exercise during pregnancy. You'll feel better, look better, prepare your body for labor and you bounce back to your pre-pregnancy body sooner then women who don't exercise. I recently bought a DVD called Rajashree Pregnancy Yoga DVD and Audio CD. You can buy this at Bikramyoga.com for about $30. Rajashree is the wife of the famous Bikram Chaudry who created the world famous- Hot Yoga. She created this DVD based on some of the Bikram poses but tweeked it a little for mommy's to be. Studies show that women who do Yoga during pregnancy has a higher baby birth weight then those who don't. It has defintely help me with concentration and I feel great.

Skip the hot sauna, hot tubs and hot baths
The thought of relaxing in the sauna right now is like piece of heaven. The sauna is a place of relaxation, it aids in aches and pains and it's an antioxidant. But during pregnancy this is highly discouraged because being in these places could raise core temperature and may cause harm to you and your growing baby. Being in these places can also cause hypotension and dizziness which results in less oxygenation for your baby.

Absolutely NO alcohol
You should not consume any type of alcoholic beverage during pregnancy for this can be extremely harmful to your baby. Alcohol passes through the placenta and your baby has a dose of what you're having. It has devastating affects on your baby and can cause serious mental and/or physical damage. Better pass it up.

Other important do's and don't are:

You also should avoid fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or golden or white snapper (tilefish) because they contain high levels of mercury.
Stay away from Raw food
Stay away from deli meats because they contain a bacteria called listeria which can cause miscarriage
Make sure you're eating pasteurized cheese and milk.

Making money on Ebay

2011-06-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Like most people right now, my life has been impacted by the worsening economy. I work for a company called Prolife Home Health where we send medical personnel's to our patient's home to provide care for them in their own home. We were getting paid through Medicare, and since they've had budget cuts this year so have we.

With my growing family, I wanted to figure out a way to make some extra money on the side so I decided to sell some stuff on www.ebay.com. I started with cleaning out my closet and earned $500 in one week. Another week I earned an extra $300 just selling things I don't use anymore. I sold things from used toddler shoes, to my old clothes, leather jackets and used purses. Almost everything I put up sold. I've heard about people making a living off Ebay so I wanted to get the insight on it too. I did some research and landed on walletpop.com which gives you tips on how to sell on Ebay wisely. I also went on www.youtube.com to get some inspirations and came across numerous people who have claimed to have made all this money from just selling used stuff on Ebay. Some people sell used clothing in lots where they get from garage sale, Goodwill or some other thrifty stores. Other people sold name brand items where they bought from Ross, Marshall, TJ Max or if they were on clearance. I found numerous people who had an Ebay Store. So I did more research on how to obtain a business license. I came across a website called www.businesslicenses.com where you can efile your business permit. With a business permit you're open to a whole new world of selling. I went to a convention with my father-in-law in Las Vegas this past March where they had hundreds and hundreds of wholesale suppliers and distributors. I remember thinking, so this is how those big stores make all this money.

In California, there's a place in downtown Los Angeles where a lot of wholesale buyers go to to get their products. They have a fashion district, a toy district and even a fabric district. You can even bargain with distributors to get an even better deal. I made $120 from a product that I invested $36 on, which is not bad at all.

Ebay is only one site you can utilize to generate some extra income. There are also sites like amazon.com, liquidation.com or half.com that does the same things.

If you guys have any other tips please share them.

The Big Shocker

2011-06-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Finding out I was pregnant was a big shocker for me. I mean, I was convinced that I wasn't pregnant. But when I was a week late with my period, I knew something was wrong. I've had late periods before, so I thought this would be just another false alarm. To be safe, I went to CVS Pharmacy and bought First Response. I went home and took the test. As I sat there, looking at the stick I realized that it said POSITIVE! I was literally there for 5 minutes staring at the stick in complete shock.

I thought the results were false positive but I read on www.justmommies.com that home pregnancy tests were 97% accurate and it's very rare that you would get a false positive. And when a woman is pregnant we produce a certain hormone called hcG hormone and that's what the home pregnancy test detects. My husband works as an ER nurse at Anaheim Regional Medical Center and he was telling me that those home pregnancy tests are the same kinds they use in the hospital to determine pregnancy. I finally saw my doctor. To confirm pregnancy they had me pee twice plus a blood test.

Blue or Pink?!?

2011-06-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

I thought morning sickness and hormonal headaches are suppose to be gone by now?!? Why am I still getting them???

I've been anticipating on the gender of my unborn child. Since I already have a 2-year old girl, my husband and I were hoping for a baby boy this time. I've been doing a little bit of research. I read about this test you can buy over the counter called, "Intelligender" where it claims it can detect the gender of your baby as early as five weeks. Since the reviews weren't that great on Amazon.com, I decided to pass up on it. There is also an ancient Chinese Birth Calendar which the results are based on your lunar age and the month of conception. The only problem with this is there is at least three different versions online. I went to www.chinesegenderchart.info and it predicted that I was going to have a boy and then on /www.webwomb.com/chinesechart and it predicted I was going to have a girl. So even though some claim that it can be over 90% accurate, it depends which Chinese Calendar you happen to land on. Another method some women have done are gender prediction tests based on old wives tales you can take online. But just like the Chinese Birth Calender, it really depends which website you go too. I went to www.parents.com and the results was a girl. However, most of the comments from other women on that site said it wasn't accurate.

There are more accurate tests to determine the gender of your baby. Amniocentesis is a test performed by your physician if you're older then 35 years old, have had an abnormal ultrasound or have a history of birth defects in your family. It's main purpose is determining if your child has birth defects but it is also very accurate in determining the sex of your baby. Another more popular alternative is an ultrasound test. Usually performed 18-22 weeks, it's 99% accurate in determining the sex of your baby. Positioning of your fetus is very critical to the results. Some doctor's office also have available a 3D ultrasound, which they claim they can tell the gender of your baby as early as 14 weeks.

I've read and been told by some technicians that boys are easier to tell then girls and you can even tell as early as 12 weeks. Boy parts develop much quicker then girls.

With this being said, I went ahead and scheduled an appointment for a 3D ultrasound at Prenatal Peek Clinic. I had the lady check twice because I couldn't believe it. I'm having a GIRL! It wasn't what I expected, but I'm certainly thrilled about it! Some people are saying that I got it too early. But I will be having another ultrasound in the next few weeks for a more definite result. I'll keep you guys posted.