~ GIVEAWAY ~

SpringFree Trampolines, home of the World’s Safest Trampoline – is giving away one of their largest and coolest Trampoline models – The 11ft. Large Square Trampoline!

~ VALUE ~ $1,889 dollar value!

What makes Sprinfree Trampolines different? As I told you in my previous post about visiting the newest Springfree store in Plano, Texas – my husband and I have always been a no trampoline family. Trampolines seemed too dangerous! What if our daughter jumped off accidentally, and landed on the ground? Or, what if she landed on the hard spring sides and got badly injured?

Springfree Trampolines have an innovative solution. Flexible fibreglass rods give a soft non-jarring bounce. And unlike traditional trampolines, the rods lie beneath the jumping surface… out of harms way!  Who hasn’t had the experience of jumping on a traditional trampoline that has those metal springs that give a jolting bounce, and despite safety pads – really hurt when you land on them? I sure have.

Springfree Trampolines have a SOFT EDGE! And they also have a FlexiNet™ enclosure that has flexible supports to cushion jumpers and prevent falls. The jumper is directed back to the center of the mat and can’t make contact with the enclosure rods! When Springfree first contacted me I wasn’t sure a Trampoline this safe could really exist, but after visiting their store and learning more about the sophisticated design that makes this trampoline unique – I am a believer!

Our 3 year old loves Springfree (See a video of her jumping in it), and as a parent I love that she is in the World’s Safest Trampoline!

~READY TO WIN? ~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Several bloggers and I attended an event with Springfree, and are hosting this giveaway where you have the chance to win the Large Square Trampoline you see above! Entering is super easy, just use the Rafflecopter form above. The form is the same on all the blogs co-hosting. So by entering here, you are already entered on the other blogs as well! You can enter using your email or Facebook account, your choice. Winner will be drawn June 10, 2012.

*I was provided a Springfree Trampoline to facilitate my review. All opinions and enthusiasm are my own.*

Related posts:

1. A safe Trampoline? Yes!
2. PAM Cooking Set GIVEAWAY!
3. Giveaway: The Playtex Diaper Genie II Elite!

Enjoy three crafty ideas from last week, and below you will find a place for you to Link Up! Happy Link Up!

Parmesan Crusted Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Make Soft Pretzels!

The Best Dirt Cake Ever!

YOUR turn!

You can submit just about anything!  – Anything that will teach us something new! It can be an old or new post! Have fun linking!

Related posts:

1. Add your DIY Post now, Mommy Club is open!
2. Blog Post Link Up! Mommy Club Wednesday!
3. Mommy Club Link Up! Now Open!

Then, you will be able to sign up your own blog post! Remember if you are reading this blog through email, you need to open it in a browser page to add your own content! Have fun linking!

How to make several Hair Pins easily!

cinnamon raisin swirl bread!

Mothers day ribbon necklaces w/ceramic pendants DIY

YOUR turn!

You can submit just about anything!  – Anything that will teach us something new! It can be an old or new post! Have fun linking!

Related posts:

1. Link Up your Blog posts! Mommy Club!
2. Add your DIY Post now, Mommy Club is open!
3. Mommy Club Wednesday! Crafty? DIY? Tutorial? Link Up!

In came the HP Deskjet 3052A. We didn’t need to worry about it taking up too much space – it’s perfectly compact. Yet it still has a really large surface for scanning.

You can find it in Walmart or at http://www.walmart.com/HPePrint.

I love that I can print from my iPhone or iPad wirelessly… from ANYWHERE. So for instance if I’m at my daughter’s gymnastic class and I take a great picture – I can send it via a personalized email address to our home printer. It will start printing as soon as I send it- and my hubby can see it! When my husband goes away on business, he can send us pictures from his trip, or even his itinerary -  from wherever he is. And it will print out in our office. With just a press of a button!

If you are looking for a great compact printer that allows you to print without hooking up your phone or camera memory card to it – I recommend the  HP Deskjet 3052A. It retails for $69 at Walmart, a great price for an all-in-one printer.

*I received this product for review from MomSelect.  I received no other form of compensation and all the opinions above are 100% my own.

Related posts:

1. Review of “Grossology” at Ft. Worth Science & History Museum
2. Review:Nickelodeon’s Storytime Live on Stage!

Before I was a stay at home mom – I was climbing the corporate ladder in NYC. I worked on several television shows, and even worked at the now famed “30 Rock” Building.

Because I worked across the hall from the Saturday Night Live Studios, on Thursday & Fridays I could walk out of our office into the hallway, and watch whatever band was the musical guest that week doing their sound checks! I could also watch the SNL cast practicing skits during the week. I have some great memories of watching all the cast members but especially the women kick some serious comedy booty! I was really lucky to work in a building full of women that worked in all aspects of television, and that was super exciting to me as a young woman!

In honor of little known facts- Go Daddy is giving away a 3 year unlimited 4GH Hosting from Go Daddy!

Want to know an “unknown fact” about Go Daddy? Did you know that Go Daddy actively employs and promotes corporate woman? The Chief human Resource officer, VP of PR and VP of marketing are all women, as are several high ranking individuals in the legal department. Pretty cool, heh?

There’s a lot you don’t know about Go Daddy! Including all the tools they have for bloggers! Check out www.godaddy.com and learn more!

Join the conversation below, for your chance to Win: A 3 year Unlimited 4GH Hosting from Go Daddy!

Tell me! What is a little known fact…about you?!?

 This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Go Daddy. The opinions and text are all mine.

Related posts:

1. Big shoes to fill…

~ TRAMPOLINE GIVEAWAY? ~  Just click the link and it will take you to the entry post, now open until June 10th!!

SpringFree Trampolines – have you heard about them?

My husband and I have always had a no trampoline policy at our house – they seemed too dangerous! What if our daughter jumped off it accidentally, and landed on the ground? What if she landed on the hard spring sides and got badly injured!? SpringFree Trampolines has SOLVED those problems!

And they just so happened to have opened a new store in Plano, Texas.  The Grand opening festivities are this Saturday! Come out to their Grand Opening on Saturday, May 5 from 10am-6pm for a chance to try out their trampolines, hang out with the Dallas Mavericks Street Team and win some awesome prizes! And while the SpringFree store is a great place to take the family to burn off a little energy anytime…

You can  RSVP for the Grand Opening now  and you will be entered for a chance to win your very own Springfree Trampoline!

But don’t despair if you can’t make it to the SpringFree store opening this Saturday...guess what the next giveaway on Milk and Cuddles is? Take a look at the video below, and you will see my 3 year old having a grand old time at the SpringFree store!

And one of the trampolines you see in this video – you will have the chance to win on Milk and Cuddles very soon!!

Springfree Trampolines! from Shannon S. on Vimeo.

PS. Be sure you are signed up to receive our email updates so you can enter the Trampoline Giveaway as soon as it’s posted! Happy Jumping!

Related posts:

1. Springfree Trampoline Giveaway!
2. The Container Store – Giveaway!

Enjoy three crafty ideas from last week, and below you will find a place for you to Link Up! Happy Link Up!

Painted Rug Tutorial!

Free Printable for Organizing Medicine Doses!

Nightstand Makeover W/ DIY Chalk Paint

YOUR turn!

You can submit just about anything!  – Anything that will teach us something new! It can be an old or new post! Have fun linking!

Related posts:

1. Time to Link Up your Solutions & Tips!
2. Mommy Club! 6 Awesome Ideas- and your chance to link Up!
3. Last Mommy Club Link Up before Easter! Link Up!

Well… to be completely honest I was somewhat less enthusiastic about it at the time. But it’s done now, and I am thrilled. In case you are just now joining me, you may want to check out the two earlier posts that answered two questions you may be asking yourself right about now…

What is a Colonoscopy? And why did I get one?

What is the Prep for a Colonoscopy? Do I have any tips?

Colonoscopy Day:

I got to the clinic in the morning, checked in and was issued a really stylish hospital gown. I’m telling you, they were all the rage. Everyone I saw was wearing them. Next, I was hooked up to an IV with saline in it. I was told that was to be sure I was not dehydrated. That made me laugh because as I told you in my last post I was up at 3:30 am drinking the colon prep – and about a million cups of water. So I was pretty sure based on my need to pee every 10 seconds that dehydration was probably not a huge concern for me!

After a very short wait, a nurse and anesthesiologist came in to see me. I asked some questions because I was concerned I would be “out” but maybe still feel pain. The anesthesiologist assured me that he would take great care of me – and I would not feel a thing. Shortly after he left two nurses came to wheel my gurney back to the procedure room. One must have been new, because she almost wheeled me into the storage room full of supplies and boxes. I found that hilarious, and I joked that for a minute I thought maybe we were all going to go shop at the Container store. Everyone laughed and we all agreed that would be somewhat more fun than a colonoscopy. The laughing really helped me not freak out at this point as well, so that was a great distraction. Anyone else a nervous laugher? Next my doctor came in and said hello, asked if I had any questions. I just asked him to be gentle:)

The Actual Procedure:

The anesthesiologist had me roll onto my side and got my head in a comfy position on a pillow, and then started the propofol that was being used to put me to sleep. It was really interesting. I felt suddenly like I was very drunk maybe for 3 seconds, the next thing I knew I was in recovery and a nurse was saying I did great, and she would bring my husband back to me! It felt like the whole thing happened in the literal blink of an eye! DONE!

Recovery:

In order for the doctor to move the scope through your colon looking for any sign of problems, they pump air through your colon to keep it open and spacious. In recovery your job is basically to toot it all back out. I was kind of paranoid about this part because I was sure it would be SO embarrassing. But you have two things on your side. One, you are still a little drugged so you really aren’t likely to be embarrassed easily. Two, the only people around you are nurses and doctors who know that it’s just plain air you are passing (after all they are the ones that put it in you!) and frankly they are around this all day everyday. You would only stand out to them, if you didn’t pass the air back out. So don’t let this detail freak you out.

After about an hour I was cleared to leave. No heavy lifting, operating machinery or making any big life decisions. You may feel fine – but you are still a bit drugged up. I can attest to that, for the first couple hours after the procedure my sense of time was way off. And I also had trouble remembering who I had seen, and what was said.

(Waiting room where my husband was. He only had time to write two emails before they said I was done!)

Bottom Line: (Pun Intended!)

I got pretty pictures of my colon (that I will not be posting here…lol) and everything looked great. The doctor did find one small polyp, that he removed. It will be sent to the lab and in the unlikely event that it was pre-cancerous I will get a colonoscopy every 3 years, instead of the planned upon 5. The great thing about the colonoscopy is that the doctor can remove any polyps he sees while he is in your bowel, as he sees them! So he can stop any cancer that could have grown before it even has a chance!

You guys, Colon Cancer is a curable disease. You just have to find it early. And the colonoscopy is painless!

Isn’t your life worth it? You bet your bottom it is

*This colonoscopy was brought to you in loving memory of Patricia Noonan Molloy

Related posts:

1. Colonoscopy – Getting ready for mine
2. Colonoscopy – The Preparation Day

As I said in that post -  my first step was meeting with a gastroenterologist, and he scheduled me for a colonoscopy. The day before you are scheduled to have a colonoscopy you are customarily asked to not to eat anything solid. Just liquids…

Day before- Only Liquids

Above, you see what I shopped for. Gatorade, Jello (no red or purple), hard candy to suck on  & soup broth. I went a little wild and got both chicken broth, and beef broth. It was a soup party ya’ll;)

-This was really no problem. I wished I’d gotten more broth actually as Gatorade and water didn’t really sound that good during the day. And before 6pm I was allowed milk products, so I made a great coffee and added some creamer as my lunch. I usually use skim milk- so that felt kinda special and fun. You take the victories where ya find them, right?

-I did hear after I had already shopped that I could have had yogurt until 6pm as well, so I suggest picking some up if your doctor also allows that. It would have been a nice change.

After 6pm- Start Drinking the Prep…

-Ok, I promised to be TOTALLY HONEST about this whole thing. So here it goes…the prep I had to drink was yucky tasting for about the first half. Then after 50% was gone… the stuff I had to drink became putrid. It was really, really hard not to throw it up. Luckily a reader had suggested in the comments of my last blog, that it helped her to keep a hard candy in her mouth to swish around between sips. I did that – and it did indeed help. It’s really the after taste that was hardest for me, so keeping something handy that can change the taste in your mouth with in between sips is a great idea!

-Another tip. My cousin wisely told me not to try and chug the whole thing down really fast (that was totally my plan too!). Even just taking big sips made me feel like I might throw up, so even though it takes longer to drink the stuff… I do think its better to work through it at a moderate pace. Do not try to handle the Suprep like a really big shot;)

-I realized at this point that I had totally misunderstood why people kept telling me the worst part of the colonoscopy was the prep. I thought they were referring to the sheer amount of prep & water you have to drink. But in hindsight, I’m pretty damn sure they actually were saying it was really, really hard to keep the prep down. And this point brings me too…

Wake up at 3:30 am to do the prep again

-This sucked. I only got through half the prep when I started to get sick to my stomach. So at that point  rather than throw up what I had managed to drink- I just focused on lots more water.

My Bathroom Supplies…

-The tip about A&D I mentioned in my last post was a good one. I recommend it.

-I also suggest you clean your bathroom and make it as spa like as possible…since you will be spending much of the evening there. I was also really thankful my husband suggested I watch movies from Netflix on the ipad. Definitely have some kind of entertainment available. There will be lots of waiting, but you wont want to be too far from the potty:)

-The Aveeno bath that was recommended on my sheet from the doctor is so laughable to me now! I cannot imagine at what point they thought I would have time to take a leisurely bath…LOL. Perhaps everyone experiences the prep at different rates? For me- that Aveeno bath would have been a FIASCO! Do not recommend;)

- On a whim I searched the hashtag #colonoscopy on Twitter, and found several other people doing the prep at the very same time as me! It was great as we could complain to eachother in real time

- FYI white wine does not count as a clear liquid on the prep diet. Darn it!

Next post… Going to the procedure! Aggghhh!!!

Related posts:

1. Getting a Colonoscopy – The Actual Procedure!
2. Colonoscopy – Getting ready for mine
3. Have a Blessed Memorial Day

Then, you will be able to sign up your own blog post! Remember if you are reading this blog through email, you need to open it in a browser page to add your own content! Have fun linking!

Pink Lemonade Cake & Frosting Recipe

DIY Dishwasher Facelift!

Wire Hangar -Chandelier Tutorial!

YOUR turn!

You can submit just about anything!  – Anything that will teach us something new! It can be an old or new post! Have fun linking!

Related posts:

1. Wednesday Linky Party! Mommy Club!
2. Share your Resources, Solutions and Tips! Wednesday Linky!
3. Link up! Wednesday! Now…Open!