One Big 'Pyle' of Love

Wordless Wednesday - Garlic Explosion

2010-09-08T03:39:00.003-04:00

I meant to share these last week! I was in the kitchen cooking. Apparently Elijah decided to cook in his kitchen too... only using garlic salt and dried red peppers...

This Labor Day Remember, Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving

2010-09-01T13:47:00.005-04:00

I know I have written about this many times before, but with Labor Day weekend among us I thought it was important to spread the word once again to help stop buzzed driving.

Did you know that in 2008, just over the Labor Day holiday weekend, 194 people were killed in crashes involving an impaired driver? I've heard people say things like "Well they deserve it for being stupid" but what they must remember is it's not always the one who's been drinking that gets hurt. It could be any of us.

This Labor Day, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council are trying to remind people to plan ahead and designate a sober driver for any Labor Day celebration because "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving." By helping to spread this message during the Labor Day weekend we can help keep impaired drivers off the road, even if they have had just one drink. Everybody that helps share this message could help save a life!

The NHTSA has some pretty neat tools to help you do just that!

Post the new Designated Driver badge - a badge you can send to people to thank them for being both a designated driver, and a friend. You can post it on your site, share it through facebook or even twitter! Click the + to get it!

Designated Driver Drink List - One of the most important things you can do before you go out is to designate a sober driver. If you're throwing a party, make sure to offer up non-alcoholic drinks for the sober drivers in your group. They have compiled a Facebook tab with 50 non-alcoholic party drink recipes right here.

Alternative Ride Locator - They have created a new Facebook tab with a nationwide list of alternative ride programs so that you can enjoy yourself and not worry about how you will get home.

Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving website- You can sign a pledge not to drink and drive, play "Spot the Difference," an interactive game that simulates the effects of buzzed driving , and watch a real-life video about how buzzed driving changed one woman's life.

Visit Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving on Facebook and Twitter (@Buzzeddriving)

Remember: Buzzed Driving IS Drunk Driving.
This Labor Day, let's work together to put an end to buzzed driving. Don't ruin the end of summer with a drunk driving arrest or worse!
Plan ahead and ask your loved ones to do the same.

This post was written and published as part of a Global Influence partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council. I was NOT compensated for sharing this information.

Boudreaux's Butt Paste

2010-08-31T23:45:00.002-04:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. All opinions are 100% mine.

With the summer heat still going strong here in Maryland, I still have to keep a look out for diaper rash. Elijah gets heat rash in his diaper area really easily after only being outside playing for an hour! What isn't exactly easy with Elijah is getting rid of any diaper rashes. He has eczema and really dry skin and it seems to take forever to clear anything up.

A few months ago I switched to Boudreaux's Butt Paste diaper cream on Elijah and have had a very positive experience with it since. I had never used it before, and hadn't really heard other opinions on it, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Boudreaux's Butt Paste is diaper rash ointment and skin protectant. It helps to prevent diaper rash, protects chafed skin, and seals out wetness. Boudreaux's is a white cream, it's a bit more liquid than some of the comparable creams which helps it to spreads on easily and cleans off quickly. The scent is not bad and sort of mild. You can get Boudreaux's Butt Paste in convenient foil packs which are great for traveling or sticking the diaper bag, 1oz, 2oz, 3oz, 4 oz tubes and 16oz jar. It's also nice that the tubes have a flip top cap, not a screw cap you have to fumble to remove. It is available in drug, discount and grocery store chains. While shopping I have seen it at Target, Walmart, Babies & Toys'R'Us and even Wegman's grocery store, so I don't think you will have a hard time finding it.

A few months ago Elijah had a slight bit of rash after running around and playing outside with me on a warm day. When we came in from outside he took a bath and then I applied the creme to the reddened area while re-diapering him. I realized later I probably should have applied it before we went outside and he ran around sweating. By the next diaper change, about 2 hours later, the rash was less red already. By bath time the next night it was very faint, and by bath the next night it was completely gone. I applied a thin coat to the rash at every diaper change and that along with a thorough bath everyday using hypoallergenic soap, it cleared up the fastest I have ever seen.

Another helpful tip I discovered accidentally while using it is that it also takes the itch off of insect bites! I had a small mosquito bite on my hand and had gotten a dab on it, it instantly soothed the itching and helped reduce the redness and swelling! I have been using it on bug bites ever since!

I switched Elijah to Boudreaux's Butt Paste and have already bought another tube! I highly recommend it!

If you want to try it out for yourself, Boudreaux's Butt Paste is currently offering a free sample by following the instructions posted at their website.

Notable Newness Freebies: Free Reusable Lunch Sack and $35 worth of P&G Coupons!

2010-08-30T15:37:00.004-04:00

Get $35 in savings on your favorite P&G brands like Cascade, Mr. Clean, Dawn, Febreeze, and Swiffer, plus tips from Home Made Simple TV’s Patrick Brown, our booklet inspires you to make your home beautiful, balanced and – best of all – simple.

www.thepromotionaloffer.com/hmsdrtv

Purchase of any2 Annie’s Homegrown products and get a Free reusable Lunch Sack! UPC's:

013562302109
013562300846

http://www.annies.com/konserve

Poo Free Summer: Sharing Poo Stories, Win 5 tubs of Wipes!!!

2010-08-27T04:06:00.005-04:00

Our Poo Free summer is coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean we won’t continue to live “Poo Free”! When we told other people we were challenged by Huggies to live Poo Free this summer, they asked what that meant. Obviously everybody poops, so it’s not something that can be stopped completely, but there are ways you can stay as poo free as possible. We lived poo free this summer by using Huggies wipes! They are the thickest wipes out there (vs. national brands) to help keep the poo where it belongs, on the wipe, and off of your baby and you! With Elijah starting to potty train we can also be more Poo Free by teaching him to wipe with Huggies Wipes, helping him to be cleaner on his own.

Luckily we managed to make it through the summer without any big poo explosions but Elijah tends to stay pretty regular. I remember when Elijah was born, one of our first conversations about his poo habits just seemed so natural. His godmother laughed that she never thought we would be having a conversation like that. It is true, before you are a parent you wouldn’t dream of discussing bathroom habits, then your first child is born and it seems like that is the most important topic. Did he go? How often is he going? How much? What color was it? Ah, the joys of parenthood.

We praised Elijah at each stage of poo progression and we both thought it was so cute when he pooped ‘a real poop’ the first time. To normal people this may seem odd, but to us as parents it made us proud. It meant he was eating right, was digesting right, and was basically working right all around. How could you not be proud?

Changing poo diapers really has become second nature to me, even in the toughest circumstances. A few weeks ago we were shopping when Elijah decided to go. It was a rather large and smelly one so we couldn’t exactly wait until we were done shopping. Then their changing station was so gross I couldn’t even think about using it. So I did what any mother would do, took him out to the car, laid down a blanket in the trunk and changed him, in the trunk, in the parking lot of the grocery store. It’s times like that, that remind me why it’s always a good idea to keep a bag with 2 or 3 small blankets, 2 or 3 diapers, a box of wipes, and a bottle of antibacterial hand gel in the car at all times. Elijah and I both were able to stay poo free, even minus the proper facilities!

How did you stay Poo Free this summer?

Your answer gives you a chance to win 5 tubs of Huggies Wipes!!!

To Enter: Leave a comment below answering one of the following questions:

How did you stay Poo Free this summer?
Share your best Poo story. (Biggest explosion, funniest/most obscure place you’ve had to change a diaper, first time you changed a diaper, etc)
Share a story about a time you needed wipes the most!

For an extra entry: (leave a separate comment for each entry)

Answer another of the questions above.
Follow Huggies on Twitter. Leave your @.
Tweet about this giveaway including a link here and @huggies. Feel free to use this text: “Stay Poo Free! Enter to win 5 tubs of @Huggies Wipes! http://bit.ly/a0RKOf Ends 9/12”
“Like” Huggies on Facebook.

Good Luck!

Contest open until Midnight EST, September 12, 2010

Winner will be chosen using random.org and contacted through email. Winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Thank you!

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my participation as a Huggies Spokesperson for the duration of Huggies Poo Free Summer campaign. All opinions are 100% my own and in no way influenced, I am proud fan of Huggies whether or not I am paid. ;)

Let me share your company at a national blogging conference!

2010-08-17T21:03:00.003-04:00

The Type-A Mom Conference 2010, September 24th - 27th in Asheville, NC, is about the attendees having a great time, learning, connecting and getting ideas for taking their blog to the next level. It will also give me a chance to network and chat with some of the other most influential women in blogging and social media!

I am currently seeking full or partial sponsorship to attend and would love to do so thanks to YOUR COMPANY!

Having started this blog in 2008, it has come a very long way. From personal rambling to becoming a destination resource for other parents, One Big Pyle of Love continues to grow in popularity and I would love for your company to be a part of that growth. Attending Type A Mom conference would certainly be a great start!

In exchange for full or partial sponsorship I am prepared to offer you exclusive ad space, posts and more! Here are just a few of the options I am open to depending on your level of sponsorship:

Premium Ad space on my site up to 250x400 for an entire year, a smaller button on my personal blog, as well as an ad on my twitter background.
Mentions in every post about the conference on my blog.
Dedicated blog posts about your company and products.
Tweets and facebook status updates featuring your company and products.
I can add a mention of your company to my business cards that you will hand out at the conference.
Wearing of clothing or carrying tote bags branded to the sponsor’s company.
And More! have a suggestion? I am open to all! I am willing to make this more than worth your contribution!
To make it even more worth your time, Type A Mom will be creating a page on the official site with the list of all personal sponsors (Including YOU!) featuring your logo, a link to your site! Your company will be exposed to thousands of people that aren't even attending the conference! If you offer me a full sponsorship Type A Mom can even provide you information on how to buy in to the swag bags!

It would be an honor to have YOUR company sponsorship to experience Type A Mom Conference! Thank you!

If you are interested in sponsoring me, please email me at my personal email ejsmomej@gmail.com a.s.a.p! Thank you!

Notable Newness: Giveaways

2010-08-15T17:59:00.002-04:00

Here are some of the great giveaways I've found going on right now! :)

$35 Jiffy Lube GC - 2 winners, Ends 8/19
Everyday Minerals Blush - Ends 8/26
Milson Road Personalized Daily Portrait - Ends 8/30
Speck ipad case - 3 winners, Ends 9/2
ToiletTree Products Fogless Shower Mirror - Ends 9/7
Trim Treads Sandles - Ends 9/8

Wordless Wednesday - Walking around in the dark

2010-08-11T15:48:00.004-04:00

Exhibit A:

He does this all the time. Bags, clothes, blankets, anything really. Surprisingly he doesn't run into much and we stop him if it looks like he's going to crash. It's one of his favorite activities!

Exhibit B:

Poo Free Summer: Happy EST Week!

2010-08-11T02:06:00.003-04:00

Happy EST week!

Because Huggies wipes are the thickEST wipes (vs. national brands) they are celebrating with a whole week dedicated to EST!

The Poo Free Parent Squad is all sharing some posts this week with some poo stories that we think are the silliEST, funniEST, poopiEST, craziEST, cheesiEST, and all those other EST words you can think of!

I am going to do my part by sharing our greatEST poo memory! Elijah only really had that one poo explosion I talked about 2 weeks ago, so we don't have as one of the messiEST stories, but we sure do have one of the cutEST!

From the first day Elijah came into this world we quickly identified two faces. The pee face and the poo face. They were plain as day! The pee face was a look of surprise accompanied by what we liked to call 'the pee alarm', a tiny screech of surprise. Not upset, or long, just a quick *SQUEEK* to let us know. His poo face was a bit funnier, he would scrunch it up, more one side than the other and then let out a huge sigh of relief. We would always crack up, which then caused him to crack up.

Within the first few months we would hear his 'pee alarm' go off and so we would go change him, only to bring him back in the room and see the poo face. We quickly realized Elijah didn't like to poo in a diaper he had already peed in, and as strange as it sounds, actually seemed to hold it sometimes until we got him changed.

By the time Elijah was about 8 months old he graduated from the pee alarm to the diaper grab. He would grab his diaper and look uncomfortable when he peed and babble at us, asking to be changed. Although he still waited until he was in a pee free diaper to poo, he started cuing us other ways when he had to go.

By a year he would run out of the room and towards his changing table grabbing his diaper. The only problem with that was that he sometimes alerts us before he pees. Which as you can guess can end up pretty much like that Huggies commercial with the guy trying to change the baby. You remember the one? Yeah, that one. Luckily he quickly grew out of that! But still told us when he had to go.

His poo alarm has gotten even better as the second year approaches! He still runs for the door the instant he goes yelling 'I'm POOPED!' and grabbing his diaper. Then he runs into the bathroom to change. I have to admit, it is rather nice that we've always pretty much had him tell us when he went. It's especially helpful now that we have begun potty training.

Staying poo free while potty training... is an adventure. He has peed a few drops in the big potty, but other wise he hasn't been exactly successful yet. For instance the other day he started yelling that he had to go poop. So I rushed him in the bathroom, pulled off his diaper and sat him on his potty. And we sat. And we sat. And we sat. Eventually HE gave up and tried to put his diaper back on. I just figured he didn't have to go after all. Would you believe the moment we got back to the playroom he pooped. I guess he was a little too quick to jump up. Soon as it hit him though he ran back to the potty and sat down. Diaper and all. He let out a sigh and then told me he needed a wipe. Even though he didn't technically make it we still applauded him. He tried so hard, and all his months of telling us when he went or had to go is certainly paying off.

We are so proud of our little guy for wanting to potty train, and trying himself without any prompting. If all goes well maybe we will be totally poo free by next summer!

So what are some of your favorite EST memories?
Share in the comments, follow Huggies on twitter or visit Huggies Facebook page to join in the conversation!

You can also visit the other Poo Free Parent Squad Members to check out their EST week and other Poo Free Summer posts!

The Diaper Diaries
Busy Dad Blog
Classy Mommy
Queen Mother Blog

The Learning Tower , you NEED this!

2010-08-09T18:56:00.009-04:00

Elijah is always so curious what I am doing up on the counter but I never felt comfortable holding him on a chair or sitting him on the counter to watch. We tried just bringing him in the kitchen in his highchair, but that was only so good for so long. He still couldn't really see what I was doing unless I showed him step by step and he couldn't really help since the high chair doesn't come close to the counter. A while ago while I was on my friend Tara's site, Feels Like Home, and I saw her daughter using this platform like thing at the counter, that was my first glimpse of The Learning Tower and I had to find out more!

The Learning Tower is a safe, fun way for kids to help up at the counter! It is the only safety stool rated by the manufacturer for children as young as 18 months, and at 21 months Elijah has absolutely no problem using it. The platform is adjustable and he is already tall enough it can be set at 1 step down from the top. I can see him using this happily until he is 5 or 6 and old enough to reach the counter himself. And even then I can see him still using it. Having been tested to hold up to 500 pounds I don't have to worry about a weight limit. In fact, the Learning Tower is designed to comfortably hold up to two children! It would easily hold Elijah and a friend and future sibling with no worries at all!
The Playhouse Kit and the Art Easel accessories available for the Learning Tower can help it be the most used piece of furniture in your home! There is even a Toy Tower! A scaled down version of the Learning Tower for your child to use with her dolls and stuffed animals! How neat is that! We have had the Learning Tower for about 2 weeks now and Elijah has used it every day! We have stood up to the counter together and cooked, played with his toys, played with play dough, colored, washed dishes, washed our hands, played with water in the sink, did a mold of his hand, painted, stacked blocks and more! Elijah is happy to be a counter height with me and I am happy to be able to spend more time with him and teach him even more!

The Learning Tower is made of wood so it's quality, heirloom type furniture. This is a piece of furniture I will be able to save for my grandchildren I am sure! And it cleans so easy, just wipe with a damp cloth! Even better, The Learning Tower even offers a lifetime warranty!!! Just make sure you register your tower after you get it! You can also order replacement parts.

The Tower weighs 35 pounds assembled, so it's not something you can easily carry to another room but we found it fits perfectly under our breakfast bar between our stools when we need to push it out of the way when not in use. I picked a azure blue one for Elijah because it's such a nice color and matches his eyes! It also comes in Natural, Dark Cherry, Apple Green, Royal Blue, Red, Pink, Black and White. You can see the colors on The Learning Tower product page.

As soon as we received the Learning Tower Elijah was excited! I told him it's something he will be able to use to stand up on. Of course he took that literal and stood on it right away... and continued to stand on each part as I put it together!
He was a huge help putting it together though! All it takes is an allen wrench (which they included but we have one with a handle I like to use) and the directions are so clear and simple.
Even with Elijah's help it only took us about 20 minutes from opening the box until it was ready to go! It probably will only take about 10 minutes normally when your helper isn't standing on each part!
Once together I explained to Elijah how to get up and tried to show him. He hasn't ever climbed anything like this yet though so he didn't really understand. For now I just lift him up in it.
At first he was a little afraid. He started by sitting on the platform and it took us a few minutes to try to convince him he could stand. He started by peeking over the counter at the toys, then he attempted reaching for them and just sitting on the platform playing. After he played and colored while on the platform for a bit he slowly stood up and realized how much fun it was to be up at the counter with us!
Now he loves it and cant use it enough! The Learning Tower is a quality product that I highly recommend for every household with children 18 months to 6 years. I look forward to sharing the memories we will make with him standing on his tower. Anytime we use it with anything I blog about I will be sure to tag the post with the Learning Tower category so you can follow the different ways we use it and hopefully get inspired with new ways to use yours!

My next post featuring the tower will include a video we took of Elijah using it the first time! Can't wait for you to see it!

Buy your own Learning Tower!
http://www.littlepartners.com
You can also use their store locater to find a retail store near you that carries The Learning Tower!

Connect!

Twitter: @LearningTower
Facebook: facebook.com/LearningTower

Big Thank You to Lizzy, the most wonderful PR agent I've ever worked with (seriously someone give that woman a raise!) that made this review possible and is so totally sweet! And also a big thank you to Little Partners for making such a great product and allowing us to feature it here!
Disclosure: I received a Learning Tower for Elijah to use in exchange with sharing our experiences with it. That in no way influenced our opinions. We honestly love it and would buy it regardless!

Free V8 V-Fusion to the first 1,000 people right now!

2010-08-09T12:13:00.003-04:00

V8 is giving away 12oz bottles of free V8 V-Fusion to the first 1,000 people on Facebook every Monday through September 27.

Visit V8's Facebook Page every Monday at 11am CT for your chance!

I got this today! Hurry for your chance!

Technical difficulties and a teaser...

2010-08-09T04:15:00.006-04:00

Due to some technical issues I wasn't able to get my newest Huggies Poo Free Summer post up this weekend, but you should be able to expect it later today! I know you are all on the edge of your seats waiting for more poo stories, right? ;)

Mailbox Monday will be up later today too! And possibly a song for Music Monday!

Also there is another exciting review to be posted. Wait until you see this! Make sure to check back in to see what it is that Elijah and I are putting together!

Psst... You can get a hint by going to http://www.littlepartners.com!

Poo Free Summer - Poo Diaper Changing Stories

2010-08-08T20:54:00.005-04:00

Before Elijah was born Dave was adamant that he would never change a poo diaper. And honestly I didn't care nor expect him to. I remember thinking to myself that it was probably normal, Daddy does the playing, Mommy does the dirty stuff. Elijah was born and they bonded instantly, closer than I could have ever imagined or dreamed.

But he still didn't change a poo diaper.

He got up in the middle of the night for feedings. He rocked Elijah to sleep. He held him close, played with him, bathed him, sung to him, loved him. He did more than I have ever seen another Dad do. He has stayed involved like that every step of the way. I honestly couldn't ask for Elijah to have a better father.

He just didn't change poo diapers.

He was great at helping me change him though! Elijah had... has a tendency to want to feel around down there and see what I am doing during a diaper change. So Dave has always gone out of his way to keep Mr. Poop Chop from sticking his hands in an having a field day.

Then one day I had to go out and leave Elijah at home with Dave. Elijah pooped while I was gone.

Dave was forced to change the poo diaper. So what did he do? Put on a pair of latex gloves. Oh yes, You heard right. He wore gloves to change a poo diaper.

I don't go anywhere often without Elijah. Dave has only watched Elijah alone about 5 times in the last 20 months. You bet Elijah takes that opportunity to poo though. Every time. And every time Daddy wears gloves. Cracks me up!

Elijah's godmother won't come within 30 feet of Elijah if he has any bodily functions needing tended to. We always laugh at her 'I don't do poop' comments as she ducks and runs for cover anytime there is mention of some back of the diaper activity. Honestly in the entire time I have changed Elijah's diapers I have only gotten something on me twice, and I don't think twice about it. I wash my hand thoroughly and move on. Maybe it's a Mom thing? We are programed to do it. I do admit the projectile poo into my hand when he was about 4 months old and I thought he was done, was not one of my happier dealing with poo days. But it still didn't really bother me.

Does it bother you? Does anybody in your life not do poop diapers? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Hope you're having a Poo Free Summer!

Want to connect with other parents to share more of your Poo stories and watch some great Poo Free videos from the other members of the Poo Free Parent Squad?

Check out Huggies Poo Free on Facebook!
Follow Huggies on Twitter

Mailbox Monday Freebies

2010-08-02T18:50:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Mailbox Monday! Join me every Monday when I share what I received in the mail this past week for FREE and share links to get the items FREE yourself! To keep up to date with all my free stuff posts make sure you subscribe or check back often and look for these posts and Notable Newness Freebie posts.

Remember to always use a separate email just for freebies if you sign up for them to prevent your mail email from getting junk and third party ads you don't want! To make signing up for free stuff easier consider using the AutoFill Forms and InformEnter add-ons for the Firefox web browser. I use them both and have even written a tutorial for InformEnter you can view.

Click on the photo to view larger.

It's been a very small mail week. I have been so busy with everything I haven't had time to sign up for freebies as often, and it shows! :D

Magazines:

Traditional Home
Bloomburg Businessweek
Baby Talk
Rouge
Chevy High Performance (Dave was so happy with this one!)

Freebies:

Purina One Dog Food
Secret Clinical Strength

Not pictured, but still offered:

Free Nursery Water reusable bag (Limited amounts daily. Starts at 12 noon est daily until all bags are given out)
Free Baby's first year calendar (blank inside and awesome for new babies!!!)
Free child safety tattoos (great for summer vacations to amusement parks!)

Want more freebies? To see all Walmart's current freebies check out this page. Sam's Club also has a sample page here. You may need a club member number to sign up for some. (You didn't hear this from me, but some people say any 9 digit number works.)

A bunch of the free magazines I receive come from ValueMags.com. They always keep a rotating selection of free subscriptions. Bookmark and check back to their site often for their current free titles. They give away a lot of digital subscriptions too. I didn't like digital subscriptions at first but now I am LOVING them! I can still read them, save them, and even print pages I want, anytime! And they don't even take up any space! I am totally sold on them now!

What did you get in the mail this week?

Check out A Frugal Friend for the Mailbox Monday linky to add your post and check out others!

See some of my previous mailbox monday posts here.

EcoMom - Great products for Mom and Baby

2010-08-02T18:48:00.005-04:00

From the site:
"Founded to address the connection between the health of our environment and the health of our children, EcoMom® is committed to making eco-conscious living easy, affordable, and rewarding. From organic baby food to eco-friendly diapers to healthy toys to non-toxic cleaners and everything in between, we do the research for you. Every product we offer is EcoMom® Approved so you know you’re getting the very best for you and your family. We realize the enormity of this responsibility and therefore look to the best research available, enlisting the help of experts at organizations such as Healthy Child Healthy World and Environmental Working Group, as well as our research partners - a discriminating team of doctors, scientists, and moms, dads and kids just like you. But we don’t stop there. In our continued mission to make this a better place for you and your family, we donate 1% of all sales to charity.
Safe. Simple. Smart… EcoMom®.

Customer quote: “When I am looking for great food, bath products, clothes, cloth diapers and toys, I always head to EcoMom first. Their EcoPass is a great way to save money, which I know we are all trying to do.”

Want to save off your first EcoMom order?
Pyle Of Love readers can use code NC20 at checkout to get 20% off!
Click here to visit EcoMom today!

This post was published as part of a campaign through the Escalate Media Affiliate Network.

Poo Free Summer - Poo memories and wipe love!

2010-08-01T23:15:00.008-04:00

When Elijah was around 2 months old, it was his first Christmas, and we had went to visit family. He was passed around family member to family member for about 30 minutes until it was time to eat. We went, sat down and it was then Dave and I realized something... smelled. We picked Elijah up and whisked him off to the bathroom for what we thought would be a quick change. 20 minutes later we realized keeping your child poo free is not always an easy task.

Being first time parents, even though we had changed diapers before, were not prepared for the explosion that had occurred. Apparently he had went to the bathroom sometime during the time he was visiting family, and the passing around didn't exactly help it to stay contained. We got him to the bathroom and about passed out when we saw the amount of poo damage that had been done. Poor little guy had it squished out his neck into his hair and all the way down his legs into his shoes! His adorable, perfect Christmas outfit that I had spent weeks searching for, and couldn't wait to see on him in our Christmas photos, was ruined. Not even 20 washings would save this poor outfit. (I know because I tried... as well as every stain remover known to man.) Dave and I were not sure the best way to attempt to clean him up so we first tried to wipe the majority of it off of him using wipes. We weren't even half way done before that cute little pack of travel wipes seemed like the stupidest idea ever. Who thought to only put 20 wipes in that box? Don't they realize a diaper apocalypse could happen at any moment and these few wipes will not save us....

Luckily we had a pack of Huggies Naturally Refreshing Wipes (mainly because I am obsessed with the Cucumber and Green Tea disposable smell!) We used one of those and gave him a quick bath in the sink, then I thought it might be a good idea to do it a second time.. you know, just in case. Finally we got him dried off and dressed in a clean outfit and were able to return to dinner... in time for dessert.

Lessons learned from our poo explosion story: Buy stock in wipes. It doesn't matter how good of a parent you are, poo happens. It's going to happen and it's going to be everywhere. Be prepared!

Since then we have kept a full box of Huggies wipes with us at all times and in every room of our home. We have learned a lot of tips and tricks about using wipes. I even complied a list of 101 uses for Huggies wipes! Check out the video below for a small sample of what we use them for in our every day lives.

Enjoy and may your summer be as poo free as possible!

Proflowers.com Review

2010-07-27T19:21:00.001-04:00

I recently had the chance to review ProFlowers.com and it came at the perfect time! Dave's birthday was two days ago and I surprised him with this to start his special day off right!
This Birthday Bear set from Pro Flowers includes the bear, the balloon and the rose. I thought it was totally adorable and perfect gift for Dave! The bear is 14" tall and so totally soft! It is quality and will be loved for years to come! Elijah has already told Daddy that he will be sharing it with him! haha! I personally loved the little cupcake and hat and think this is the cutest bear I have seen in a long time!

The Happy Birthday Balloon varies a tiny bit from the one shown but just in colors and is still the perfect addition to this set! It's 7" in diameter making it a great size and since it's Mylar if you pack it away in a cool dark box after the birthday it should stay pretty full and nice for years to come!

The Yellow miniature rose comes with a terra cotta garden pot and is about 8" tall. It included care instructions and is absolutely adorable. It does say that some plants wilt during shipping, which is totally understandable since they are stuck in a hot box in transit, but mine wasn't exactly reviving quickly so I contacted them and would you believe they sent a whole nothing set out the next day? I couldn't believe the customer service!!! The next one will be here soon so I will update you.

All in all the set is absolutely beautiful and will order from them again. I was planning on ordering Dave's grandmother, who turns 90 next month, a birthday bear set since she collects bears, but since they sending a new one I will give her the extra bear and balloon. I am already looking at other sets though I can send others for their birthday or upcoming holidays. Their prices and delivery options are great for sending gifts even last minute!

Pro Flowers has a great selection! Flowers, plants, and gifts for almost every occasion imaginable! I especially love their wreaths and new baby gifts!
I highly recommend ProFlowers.com!

Disclosure: I received the birthday bear set free to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Tackle it Tuesday: Devo Cake - Chocolate Energy Dome Edition

2010-07-27T02:45:00.005-04:00

Okay, Okay. This isn't EXACTLY housework, but it's baking, so it's still a domestic type thing right? Plus this has been on my to-do list for a hot minute.

Yesterday was Dave's Birthday so what better way to surprise him than with a special one of a kind cake, themed after one of his favorite things! As most of you readers may know DEVO is one of our all time favorite bands. Especially with the new album just coming out not a day goes by we don't listen to them or watch their videos. Elijah even has gotten into it and asking for them by name! A 20 month old spud, we are so proud! :D

Anyway, so originally I was going to make the cakes, cut to size of an energy dome and then use one sheet of fondant to cover it really smooth. If you are not familiar with what an energy dome is here are a few pictures. The blue is the color they are currently wearing for the new album so I was thinking of doing the fondant that color.

Since Dave doesn't like fondant though (and I didn't get to the store) I decided to go ahead and do one with chocolate icing. Once I made it I can make it again anyway and do a fondant version later. I think for my first try it turned out pretty decent.

First, the cake cut to size:

I used icing on each layer and built upon it, then I did the outside. Note that my icing spatulas all went missing in our last move so I was stuck with a rubber spatula and a butter knife to try to smooth the icing... which wasn't happening. But either way it still turned out pretty awesome! Hope you all like it!

Happy Birthday my Davo Daveed! I Love You!

Duty now Spuds!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2010-07-25T22:34:00.005-04:00

Daddy,

Your birthday reminds me
how grateful I am that you are my father.
With all that’s going on in the world today,
I’m thankful I get to watch you,
to look up to you, being an example of a good man.
What a privilege it is to observe your strength,
your competence, and your kindness.
I am so blessed to be under your wing,
your protection, your care,
learning important life lessons from you.
If all fathers were like you,
the world would be a very different
and much better place.
Happy Birthday, Dad,
from your baby boy!

Happy Birthday Daddy!
Love, Elijah

Poem By Joanna Fuchs

Wanchai Ferry {review & giveaway}

2010-07-25T21:00:00.001-04:00

Once a week we have a frozen food night and have either pizza or Chinese. More often than not it's Chinese. Our favorite brand is Wanchai Ferry due to their selection and great taste. So I was thrilled when Wanchai Ferry offered me the chance to try one of their new entrees through My Blog Spark!

We were able to try their newest flavor, Beef & Broccoli. It is the first beef dish in their line of complete meals for two. Since it is a meal for two, I made 2 bags and some egg rolls to go with it since there is three of us. The instructions were easy to follow and took about 15 minutes from the time I went to open the bag until the time I put it on our plates.

The vegetables were delicious and the beef was very tender. It also included rice and sauce to complete the meal. I do wish they were a bit bigger serving sizes, but it's very good so I will just buy two bags.

We have already tried many of their other flavors and loved them just as much! I even checked out Wanchai Ferry's Meal Tips page for some new ideas!

Bottom line: Quick, easy, delicious, pretty good value for the price.
Bought it again since the review. Plan on buying it regularly.

Buy it!
Wanchai Ferry is available in the freezer section of most grocery stores. Our local Wegman's and Walmart Supercenter both always have a huge selection available but if you want to find out which stores near you carry it, please check out the store finder on their website. Get a $1.60 off coupon here.

Win it!

*Update! Giveaway Closed! Congrats to N. M!

I have one prize pack including a VIP coupon and 2 tea sets for one winner!

To Enter:

Fill out the form below! Easy right?

*FORM EXPIRED*

For extra entries please leave comments below!

Follow me on twitter and leave your twitter name @erinjeany
Tweet about this giveaway and leave tweet url. Feel free to write your own tweet, including a link to this post. If you are not feeling especially imaginative you can copy and tweet this: 'Win a Wanchai Ferry entree & tea set! http://bit.ly/d4kWin Ends 8/1 #win #contest #giveaway' (unlimited entries, leave 1 hour between tweets)
'Like' Wanchai Ferry on Facebook and leave your facebook link
Like me on facebook. Link on right side bar.
Blog about this giveaway or add it to a contest site/linky. (3 extra entries each)

Giveaway: Contest ends 8/1/2010. One main entry per person.
Disclosure: 1 Bag of Wanchai Ferry Beef and Broccoli, prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away were all provided to me from Wanchai Ferry through MyBlogSpark for the purpose of this review and giveaway. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.

More S'Mores, More S'miles!

2010-07-22T13:01:00.003-04:00

We LOVE s'mores! So much that our family uses any excuse to make them!

We make s'mores at home in the microwave, over the grill, over the fire pit, camping, pretty much anywhere possible. We don't need a special occasion; we make s'mores just because! I personally like to catch the marshmallow on fire and then blow it out before adding my graham cracker and Hershey's chocolate. Dave is more of a slow cook type of guy!

Do you love S'mores? Then check out www.SmoresSmiles.com! There are instructions for making S'mores, recipes, family fun ideas, tips, an instant win game and more! More S'Mores, More S'miles!

Disclosure: I was not compensated for writing this post, but it was done to enter a contest for a S’mores prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

One of Dave's best friends, Mike, came to visit from Florida this past Monday. His father, Roland came too. It was a wonderful visit and Elijah really enjoyed meeting and playing with them both.

Happy Wednesday!

Mailbox Monday Freebies

2010-07-19T21:43:00.003-04:00

Click on the photo to view larger.

Leave a comment below if you want to know what something is I haven't included below or if you find that any of these offers have expired so I can update the post! Thanks!

Magazines:

OK 1 year (qualifier)
Parenting Early Years (no longer offered for free)
American Baby 1 year
Parents (no longer offered for free)
Maxim (no longer offered for free)

These magazines, although not pictured, are still available for free:

Get Married 1 free issue
Bridal Guide 1 free issue
Wood Magazine 3 free issues
Dime Magazine 9 free issues
Mountain Homes 1 free issue
Designing Windows 1 free issue
Subaru Drive Performance 2 free years
Vacations Magazine 1 free issue
CBS Watch 1 year (qualifier) I got my sub back when it was always free.
All You 2 free issues when you enter. Just cancel after the 2nd if you don't want it. Although the coupons in there pay for itself!
There are also many free subscriptions here. Just fill out the info and it gives you magazines you qualify for.
This is another site that I use often just like the one above to get Free Magazines!
Free Travel Guides and Brochures - Browse destinations, pick travel guides that you'd like, receive guides Free by mail or download.

A bunch of the free magazines listed above come from ValueMags.com. They always keep a rotating selection of free subscriptions. Bookmark and check back to their site often for their current free titles. They give away a lot of digital subscriptions too. I didn't like digital subscriptions at first but now I am LOVING them! I can still read them, save them, and even print pages I want, anytime! And they don't even take up any space! I am totally sold on them now!

A few of their free digital subscriptions currently available are:

Outdoor Life (15 issues)
Spa (7 issues)
Transworld Skateboarding (12 issues)
Working Mother (1 issue)

Freebies:

Got lots and lots of coupons and freebies when at Artscape on Saturday. Not going to list them all since they aren't available online but if you want to know which any are, just ask.

Not pictured, but still offered:

Free Nursery Water reusable bag (Limited amounts daily. Starts at 12 noon est daily until all bags are given out)
Free Baby's first year calendar (blank inside and awesome for new babies!!!)
Free child safety tattoos (great for summer vacations to amusement parks!)

What did you get in the mail this week?

Check out A Frugal Friend for the Mailbox Monday linky to add your post and check out others!

See some of my previous mailbox monday posts here.

Cascadian Farms and FarmVille partner! {Giveaway}

2010-07-19T21:31:00.004-04:00

If you are friends with me on facebook you probably know I LOVE Zynga's games! I am always playing Yoville, Frontierville, Farmville and more. One of my favorite things these games can do is partner with real world events and companies to bring us lots of in-game fun and extras!

This entire week, July 19 through July 26, Cascadian Farm will partnering with Farmville to bring you some truly awesome and unique stuff!

To begin with, Cascadian Farm is proud to be the first official branded – and organic – crop to be offered in the game. All this week you can plant and harvest branded Cascadian Farm organic blueberries as the most profitable crop!

Cascadian Farm has also created their own “Farmer Joe Cascadian,” inspired by the brand’s real-life farmers, who you can friend request, neighbor, and play along with! Add Farmer Joe at www.facebook.com/farmerjoecascadianh and use the FarmVille application to become his neighbor in-game.

There are also some coupon offers, organic farming and green living tips you can check out!

To find out more information please visit: http://www.cascadianfarm.com

As part of the promotion Cascadian Farms in partnership with MyBlogSpark sent me a great "Cascadian FarmVille Fan” prize pack that includes Cascadian Farm Fruit & Nut Granola, Harvest Berry Chewy Granola Bars, along with a Free item Cascadian Farm coupon and a FarmVille $10 gift card!

Their products are DELICIOUS! I found them easily in the organic section of our local Wegmans and spent my coupon on the Chocolate Chip Granola Bars! All of their products I have had so far are tasty and natural tasting. They don't taste processed like some of the granola products on the market these days do. Mmmmm the goodness of organic! I will definitely be buying these granola bars from now on!

Win it!

*UPDATE: Giveaway is closed! Congrats to Natalie!

I have one "Cascadian FarmVille Fan” prize pack that includes Cascadian Farm Fruit & Nut Granola, Harvest Berry Chewy Granola Bars, along with a Free item Cascadian Farm coupon and a FarmVille $10 gift card to give away!!!

To Enter:

Fill out the form below! Easy right?

*FORM EXPIRED*

For extra entries please leave separate comments below telling me what you did!

Tweet about this giveaway and leave tweet url. Feel free to write your own tweet, including a link to this post. If you are not feeling especially imaginative you can copy and tweet this: 'Win a Cascadian Farms & Farmville Prize Pack! http://bit.ly/aiV8Yz Ends 8/8 #win #contest #giveaway' (unlimited entries, leave 1 hour between tweets)
Friend Farmer Joe on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/farmerjoecascadian
RSVP to Cascadian Farm’s Farmville Community Celebration http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123030261073465
'Like" Cascadian Farm on Facebook and leave a message on their wall that PyleofLove.com sent you! http://www.facebook.com/CascadianFarm?v=wall
Like me on facebook. Link on right side bar.
Blog about this giveaway or add it to a contest site/linky. (3 extra entries each)

Giveaway: Contest ends 8/8/2010. One main entry per person.
Disclosure: Cascadian Farms prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away were all provided to me from Cascadian Farm through MyBlogSpark for the purpose of this review and giveaway. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.

Thursday 13 - 13 Favorite Big Brands

2010-07-15T02:35:00.004-04:00

13 of our favorite big brands
(in no particular order)

Next week's Thursday 13... 13 of our favorite Mom owned brands!

Play along! http://thursday-13.com