Behind the Studio

Having Goodnites as part of our evening routine always leads to a good morning

Jayna — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:00:33 +0000

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and GoodNites, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BetterNights http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

I always love shopping at Target, but this week I had an even better reason to shop there – a lovely 1.50$ off coupon for Goodnites bedtime underwear! Even though JP is fully potty trained, he still needs a little extra protection for when he sleeps at night. I’ve thought that he could *maybe* make it through the nights if I limit his liquid intake before bed, but that’s proven to be really difficult because he loves having his milk before bedtime. If I don’t put him any overnight protection, he usually wakes up in the middle of the night crying and wet that he messed his bed. This ordeal doesn’t happen often but when it does – I try to avoid showing any frustration because at four years old, I know he’s not ready for diaperless nights yet. I stumble out of bed, change his clothing and snuggle him up with me in my bed, and deal with the mess in the morning. This is why we use Goodnites bedtime underwear for nightly protection against bedwetting.

Our nightly routine usually always goes the same way each evening – dinner, bath, quiet time then bed time, and Goodnites play a huge role since JP is old enough now to actually pull them on all by himself! He was so proud that he slipped into them without any help!

One thing that I really do love about these are the fit. I’ve used other ‘pull on’ brands of training pants and diapers in the past and leaking seems to be more common when we use those. Goodnites hug really close to the legs, so we’ve never had a leak issue with these. Leaks are common with boys - his little parts shift inside the diaper while he sleeps, and leaks occur when ‘it’ points to the edges. This happened to us once before, and I was puzzled as to why he wet the bed while still had a dry diaper on! Goodnites are a cut above the rest with their robust absorbency for more mature bladders – even the back side of the diaper is clearly printed ‘back’ so you know exactly how to put them on.

They call them bedtime underwear, and they weren’t kidding – The design even looks like little boy briefs!

The best part of it all is that JP feels happy and confident to wear these, even though we refer to them as a night-night diapers. Eventually, when I feel like he’s ready to go diaper less, I’m going to switch to using the Goodnites Bed Mats to protect his mattress from the oops moments. Until then, we’ll be using Goodnites, so we can have good mornings

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Jayna

Hi, I'm Jayna, a Wylie mom blogger living near Plano, Texas. I'm a Dessert love & recipe maker. Mom to a rowdy little boy. Coffee lover. Beloved wife and creator of Bellabyte Design Studio. Connect with me, I'd love to hear from you!

Learning more about myself and my health with 23andme.com

Jayna — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:17:50 +0000

Growing up, I was never much of a science girl when it came to my studies – however biology and the study of our body’s chemistry always interested me. One of the topics that really stuck with me was DNA and how it makes each one of us unique. Over the past decade, so much advancement has occurred in this area to the point that you can now send away to have your very own DNA sampled.

There’s so many good reasons as to why someone would bother to have their DNA analyzed. For one, if you’re curious about your cultural background or want to know more about where your ancestors came from, the DNA testing kit fron 23andme.com is a great start!

Not only is it good for finding out more about your ancestry, but you can also detect any possible genetic illnesses that you may be at risk of – like breast cancer and many other common, but serious diseases. 23andme.com can help you by being one step ahead and knowing yourself inside and out. When it comes to your health, Knowledge is key!

For 99$, 23andme.com is offering to send you a spit cup, which you spit in and return to their labs. After they analyze your DNA, they will send you a detailed report about yourself, your health, your ancestry and what you may potentially be at risk for. Do you have a serious disease that runs in your family? Check the list of health reports offered – over 240 total!

How cool is it to know true and accurate scientific details about yourself with regard to your health? I know I do, because when it comes to your health, it’s worth it’s weight to be prepared and have an idea of where you will turn should you get ill.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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Jayna

Saving money was easier than I expected with Walmart’s cheap wireless plan

Jayna — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:03:45 +0000

Remember awhile back when I talked about exploring some cheap wireless plans with the Walmart Family Mobile plan? Well, it’s been about a month now, and I thought I’d add an update about how it’s been going. Truthfully, I can’t say the service is any better or worse than what I have going already with Verizon, only the price is – Way less!

My service with Verizon costs me 74.99$ a month, multiply that by 2 – for both myself and my husband, and that’s 150$/per month. With Walmart’s family mobile program, it costs me way less – coming in at 40$ per month. It was super-easy to sign up – all I needed was a driver’s license and no credit check, so that mean anyone can apply! The bill is all taken care of online – everything is paperless! So I decided to try it out for a month to see if the service is worth the trouble to switch to – and I thought the service provided by Walmart Family Mobile was great!

I love that my service was pro-rated for what I had used for the month… No unpleasant surprises here – everything was as upfront as it had claimed, right from the beginning. See all the phones and options that I saw when I went shopping for cheap wireless plans at Walmart.

The nicest thing about this whole experience, was not noticing a big difference in service provided. I can still make all the phonecalls I want with minimal call drops, and check my email as often as I like. It was abit of a learning curve to get used to the android, after years of loyal iPhone use, which is why I think I will need the special iPhone starter kit when I finally switch to the Walmart Family Mobile plan.

Overall, I thought the service offered by Walmart family mobile to be superior quality for the price. It’s defiantly going to be a go-to plan I will look at when I can get out of my Verizon contract without too much penalty.

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Jayna

Samsung’s new Smart WiFi Camera – The best little camera ever!

Jayna — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 20:02:18 +0000

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. #SocialCamera

I love using my ‘big camera’, as I like to call it – but it can be so huge and delicate to transport around in my purse, that often times I find myself using my iPhone camera as an alternative to capturing moments. I’ve discovered a new WiFi camera that blew me away with it’s functionality and it’s picture quality.

The new Samsung WB200 offers a ton of features for the on-the-go photographer. Not only does it do an amazing job taking pictures, you can upload instantly to your facebook, google, skydrive or even email photos! One of the coolest things was being able to use my self-made hotspot via my iPhone. The camera was able to find and connect to that network – It’s perfect for when you’re on the go and don’t have WiFi available!

Walmart had many types of compact cameras – see everything I saw when I went shopping. I thought 179$ for a camera with WiFi was a great deal!

It’s great to have the ability to upload directly online! So I decided to upload some of my pictures to picasa…

Uh oh! Google thought that I was having someone or something break into my account – so they sent me an email right away! But since I knew it was me, I was able to turn the permissions on so it could upload directly.

…and TA-DA! There they are uploaded, with no download cables needed!

This camera definitely has it’s purpose – think of it as a great compact camera system rolled into an easy to use point and shoot style camera. I love how it performs in low-light conditions too, the auto flash didn’t even pop up when I took these 2 pictures. It was late in the day when I was making dinner.

Using my Canon XS with a 50mm 1.4 lens:

Using the Samsung WB200:

So since I do alot of food photography, naturally I wanted to compare the quality of my DSLR versus the 179$ way-cool WiFi camera. I decided to take pictures and compare…

I think it does a pretty good job – This is going to be great this summer as my on-the-go camera! Now that it’s comparable to using my big camera, taking & sharing pictures this summer is going be both fun and easy!

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Jayna

Congrats to the 3 youngest package designers for White Cloud Tissue

Jayna — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 04:00:20 +0000

This post brought to you by White Cloud. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now that spring and allergy season is finally here, its now time to break out the tissue boxes too! I have a husband and son with terrible seasonal allergies, so we have our fair share of boogers around here. We have several favorite brands that we use regularly, and we like the soft kind – so it doesn't chap our noses! One of my favorite go-to brands is White Cloud for their incredible softness and reasonable price tag.

You might notice White Cloud's new, brightly colored tissue boxed adorned with polka dots, sunshine and lions in the stores. These designs weren't just created by anyone – they were imagined and designed by 3 very special little artists from the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals®.

Since White Cloud teamed up with CMN Hospitals in back in January – they asked the kids receiving treatment there to design the new White Cloud Facial Tissue boxes. The best 10 submissions were selected and posted to the White Cloud Facebook Page where fans had the opportunity to vote for their favorite design.

It has been narrowed down to the top three designs that received the most votes, and those three designs will be printed on White Cloud tissue boxes available at select Walmart locations nationwide. Not only do each of these children win the glory of having their artwork featured nationwide, White Cloud will also make a $15,000 donation to each of the winning artist’s hospitals!

Check to see if a Walmart near you will be carrying these by checking the White Cloud Store Locator- and be sure to use the .75$ cent off coupon found in July’s All You magazine. I love a good cause!

Be sure to follow the White Cloud Twitter Page and White Cloud Pinterest Page for special offers and announcements!

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Jayna

Allstate puts you in good hands for life #GoodLife

Jayna — Mon, 27 May 2013 15:00:51 +0000

This post brought to you by Allstate. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you ever wonder if you would have made different choices at key moments in your life – would your life be different today? I feel like I have encountered LOTS of moments like that in my time! When I was 24, I decided to embark on an adventure and went to study fashion at the art institute of Dallas. That completely changed the course of my life and put me on the path to where I am today. Although it didn't happen overnight, I had to get used to being new and alone in a big, strange city – I built a social network of friends which led to meeting my husband, which led me to being JP's mom.. etc.. You see the pattern? Good things lead to good things which led to even better things! There's always worry, fear and doubt when you are on an adventure trying something new – but it's important to let go of those fears because if you don't, you can't fully embrace the good that will happen along your journey.

I like to think that more good happens in life than bad, which is why I am 100% behind supporting the Allstate Good Life campaign. Unlike other insurance companies, that wait for something bad to happen to you, before they reach out – Allstate is different. Like forgiveness when you have an accident and rewards when you don’t, free access to Good Hands® Roadside Assistance and a new Good Life website full of helpful tools, tips and perks to help you make it easier to live a good life every day. Their website is chock full of great resources for around the house and automotive tips as well.

Do you have a good story to tell about living your life to the fullest? I'd love to hear it!

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Jayna

Happy Memorial Day & a Ryobi Father’s Day Giveaway!

Jayna — Mon, 27 May 2013 05:01:10 +0000

Happy Memorial Day!!

Together with a bunch of other, talented bloggers – I bring you the Ryobi Father’s Day giveaway! Ryobi makes awesome power tools for any crafty / handy, DIY type of person to enjoy. Hope you are having a fun day out with your family!

Welcome to the Ryobi Tools giveaway sponsored by Ryobi Tools and hosted by Measuring Flower! Ryobi Tools is generously giving away an AMAZING prize pack of tools just in time for Father’s Day!

Ryobi Tools is one of the world’s largest tool manufacturers, offering a variety of pro-featured power tools for affordable prices. Ryobi’s tools are the top pick of many homeowners, woodworkers, hoobyists, craftspeople, and contractors. All their tools are backed by a 30-day satisfactions guarantee and come with a 3-year limited warran

Ryobi Tools are sold exclusively through Home Depot.

Win It

The Prize

$436 in Ryobi Tools

Includes:

- Ryobi Hybrid String Trimmer -
- Ryobi Hard Surface Sweeper -
- Ryobi Hedge Trimmer -
- Ryobi Starter kit (Drill and Circular Saw) -

How to Enter

This giveaway is being run using a handy-dandy Rafflecopter form. To use the form, log in using your Facebook account (make sure your primary Facebook email is one I can reach you with if you win) or your name and email. You can read more information about logging into the Rafflecopter form HERE . Your information will be kept completely confidential and safe.

Giveaway Rules

Each entry must be accomplished exactly as it is stated, including providing anything in the “Extra Info” field, for it to count.
You can perform each entry type ONE TIME ONLY unless otherwise specified.
If there is a “leave a comment” entry type, be sure the name you type in the comment’s name field is EXACTLY the same as the name you use in the form (this is so your comment can be verified).
Make sure to leave a VALID email address in the Rafflecopter’s email field so you can be contacted should you win (or ensure your Facebook account’s primary email address is one you can be reached by).

The Deadline

Giveaway Ends Friday, June 14, 2013
Open to U.S. and Canadian Residents Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclaimer: We are not responsible for prize fulfillment.

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Jayna

Salon pretty nails with Sally Hansen Street Style #IHeartMyNailArt

Jayna — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:28:18 +0000

If I could describe my type of style in one word, I would say – Edgy. That’s why I was super excited to hear of Sally Hansen’s line of nail polish colors that are funky and edgy for summer – it’s called #IHeartMyNailArt. I always like to venture off and sport bright colors in the summer months – like hot pink, but I also learned a cool new way to incorporate other colors too. Using some bright & fun colors from Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri and Sally Hansen crackle overcoat, I was able to come up with an edgy, graffiti inspired mani.

Wanna know how I did it? It all began with my shopping trip to Walgreens – I went there because I heard there was a sale on Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri polishes. I love those ones because I hate when I smudge my nails right after I do them! I even put together a little outfit of what I would wear with this cool new mani. I’m soo in love with those shoes and that amazing purse!

Street Style outfit by behindjayna featuring short sleeve t shirts

When I got inside the store, I noticed this display for street inspired nails.. I thought it would be a fun and edgy way to start the summer, I got a few bottles of insta-dri polish, and crackle overcoat. There is 1$off promo going on for Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri polish!

1. I started with painting my nails fully with the yellow Insta-Dri

2. I added some more color with the pink…

I really liked that each coat was able to dry pretty quickly! Even for a single coat of polish, it went on fairly thick and dried glossy.

3. I added some more color with the blue, and let my nails dry for about 5 minutes before adding any more color.

4. Once my nails were dry with the color coat, I applied some black crackle overcoat to each nail.

Be sure to keep up with Sally Hansen on both Facebook and Twitter – you never know when they announce offers or contests!

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Jayna

Get huge discounts on new Cooper Tires during the spring savings event #springsavings

Jayna — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:00:30 +0000

This post brought to you by Cooper Tires. All opinions are 100% mine.

As much as anyone, I really love a good sale – especially when it's for something that I need but don't really want to pony up money for.

Tires.

Yes, it's not the first on my list when it comes to shopping, but it's definitely necessary! Driving with bald tires can be a hazard to both you and the people you drive with. If you're in the market to buy some new tires this season, why not check out the Cooper Tire Spring Savings Event?

Cooper is offering an 80$ prepaid card with the purchase of certain products they sell! I could think of a pair of shoes or 2 that I could buy with that prepaid card!

Some of the Spring Savings Event eligible products include:

CS4 Touring
Discoverer CTS
Cooper Zeon RS3-S and RS3-A
Discoverer H/T
Discoverer HTP (Available only at select U.S. retailers.)
Discoverer LSX and LSX Plus (Available only at select U.S. retailers

Do you have a teen who drives your car? A brand-new baby? Regadless, it's still important to keep your loved ones safe by getting the very best tires for the car they ride in.

You have to hurry, cause the Cooper Tire Spring Savings Event is going to last until June 30th! Consumers are eligible to receive up to an $80 Visa® prepaid card when purchasing a new set of four qualifying Cooper tires through participating dealers in the U.S., Canada, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

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Jayna

Saving money with Walmart’s 40$ per month Family Mobile program

Jayna — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:00:16 +0000

Last week I was fortunate enough to get a new Android phone supplied to me by Walmart Family Mobile. It just what I needed to prompt me to decide that I maybe needed to re-think my family’s mobile plan. My husband and I don’t have an old fashioned phone line attached to our home.. Instead, we each have a respective cell phone and that’s how our family and friends know how to reach us. Since our mobile lines hold such importance in our lives, we opted for some pretty robust plans with Verizon.

But the question is… Do we need what we’re paying for?

I picked up an activation starter kit for my Family Mobile Phone while I was shopping the other day and signed up quickly and easily later on that evening. I was able to set up monthly service for as little as 40$/month using my driver’s license and sim card obtained from the starter kit. My goal was to test out this new service and see if it was any better or worse than my current service. Truthfully, we are paying 75$ per phone per month with Verizon – so of course having 2 phones with Walmart Family Mobile would set us back 80$ a month instead. That’s nearly what I’m paying for ONE phone with Verizon! Plus, I’m not getting unlimited anything from Verizon – although I never reach the limits of my web allowance and texts, it’s still nice to know that I get more for less with Walmart Family Mobile!

I’m not trying to knock my current service with Verizon, because they are very good. I’ve not really looked into anything else because we signed a 2 year contract back in August. Seriously though, Who can resist a two for one deal?! Maybe I’ll have to see if I can get out of this contract!

So in light of this new tidbit of info, I felt like it was maybe time to re-think if I really need the plan I’m currently using with Verizon. I really love my iPhone – I keep up with so much on it! Learning a new device like an android might have a bit of a learning curve – so thankfully there is a special activation card that’s meant just for iPhones!

I was just looking to test out the service, so I got the regular card meant for the T-Mobile Concord. I wanted to see what all the hype about android was since I’ve been exclusively an iPhone user since the birth of smart phones. The verdict? The service with Walmart Family Mobile is awesome – and I love the fact that there’s no contract. Also, the online account management tools are super simple to keep up with your payments and account usage. But the truth is, I still love my iPhone. It’s seriously making wonder if I can get out of my contract with Verizon.

I’ll be sure to follow up and let you know all about how my month of service went!

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Jayna