Misadventures in Baby Raising

Tea’s Bali Safari Collection {#WIN a $100 Tea Gift Card}!

2012-01-24T23:57:00.001-08:00

It seems like I’m always buying clothes, and with four kids in the house who are constantly growing, I’ve had my fair share of experience with several children’s clothing brands. There are those brands that I totally hate, there are those brands that I like and there are those brands that I love and one of my absolute favorites is Tea!

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Tea several times in the past couple of years and each and every time I am amazed at the uniqueness and quality that I find at Tea!

When it comes to buying clothes for my kids, especially for Lil’ Man and Lil’ Diva, my number one concern is longevity. I’m not saying that something has to last from one season to the next (with a two and three year old that’s impossible) but I am saying that in order for me to buy it, the item has to last longer than a couple of play dates! I learned my lesson in the past about buying clothing that wasn’t so well made, while the discounted price tags may have been appealing at the time, the reality is that the cheaper clothing almost always wears out before the more expensive, better made items which costs me more money in the end. Based on my past experiences I always try to buy better quality clothing for my kids, even if it means that I’m spending a little more in the beginning. Quality is just one of the many reasons why I love Tea; unique clothes, that my kids love and I approve of, that are also affordable are just a few of the other reasons!

If you’re not familiar with Tea let’s get you better acquainted!

Tea started in San Francisco with 3 pima cotton sweaters and a vision, a vision of bringing the world together through fashion! Tea’s known for clothing that is a fusion of worldwide cultures and modern design—in my eyes, that’s one of the best things about Tea!

So I know you want to know how the name Tea came about—so did I the first time I heard of them! Tea got its name from, well, the drink! The founders of Tea believed that Tea was a perfect choice for a name because tea, the drink, is served in nearly every culture all around the world!

One of my absolute favorite things about Tea is the uniqueness of each piece of clothing; I love that Tea chooses a destination (a place that the people behind Tea have been) and take you there through fashion—the idea that I can give my children pieces of clothing that also tell a story is absolutely special and appealing for me as a mom and a consumer!

Tea’s Spring/Summer 2012 Collection is inspired by Bali and I have to say, I was definitely excited to check out the collection! Tea sent both Lil’ Man and Lil’ Diva a few pieces from the Bali Safari collection to review and they were both more than willing to try each piece on and even pose for a few pictures for Mommy!

Before I tell you about the completely gorgeous items we were sent to review, I want to tell you a little more about the Bali collection! The Bali collection was inspired by the Tea design team’s trip to Bali! I think Emily said it best when she said:

In Bali, your are surrounded and embraced by happiness. You can see it on people's faces - a mix of dancing celebration and transcendent, spiritual bliss. - Emily

Browsing through the collection, you can see that the inspiration that the designers found in Bali are translated gorgeously to the pieces in the collection!

As I mentioned above, Lil’ Man and Lil’ Diva both received several items from Tea’s Bali Safari collection and no one was happier about new clothes, or trying them on and doing a photo session, than the always camera ready Lil’ Diva!

Tea sent Lil’ Diva four pieces that my daughter loved and I found completely adorable, charming and unique! My absolute favorite item that Tea sent for Lil’ Diva was the Artisan Lotus Dress (it just so happens to be Lil’ Diva’s favorite as well) it’s design is unique and fun and the material is perfect—there isn’t a little girl on earth who wouldn’t love this dress! I also fell in love with the Ribbed Purity Tee in Dahlia—it’s simple and completely understated, but it’s also perfect for a variety of outfit options! I paired the Artisan Lotus dress with the Ribbed Purity Tee…what do you think?

Lil’ Diva LOVES the dresses from the collection and I kinda have to agree that they are completely perfect for her, they suit her playful, imaginative, fun personality—great job Tea!

Lil’ Man usually prefers to wear nothing except for his undies (I wish I were joking) but he was very excited to try on the shirts that Tea sent for him to check out! My son is all about comfort and while he isn’t quite the fashion forward child that Lil’ Diva is, he does know when he loves something…and he loved the Pelaga Camp Shirt! The cool jersey camp shirt, made of 100% cotton was the perfect choice for Lil’ Man as he loves shirts that button up the front, he calls them “work shirts” because they resemble the button up shirts that my husband wears to work! My personal favorite shirt that Tea sent my Lil’ Man was the Long Sleeve Purity Tee in Lemongrass, in addition to being one of the softest children’s tee’s I’ve seen, it just screams spring and happiness…I absolutely love it!

As you can see from their photo shoot, both of my kiddos were very excited about their new Tea clothing—and Mommy couldn’t be happier either, though I know to expect something great every time that I work with Tea!

You can check out all of the items above and so much more online at teacollection.com and remember Tea offers simple shipping with FREE shipping on orders $150 and over and $7 on all other orders!

So, how would you like to experience a little of the Bali flavor for yourself? Tea is giving one MIBR reader a $100 gift card to shop at Tea! How completely awesome is that?

WIN IT!

One MIBR is going to win a $100 gift card to Tea!

To enter, please use Rafflecopter Entry Form Below! Blog Comments Do Not Count!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I received the items mentioned above from the company or representing PR, all opinions are 100% mine and were in no way influenced by the sponsor.

The Fresh Beat Band:Music From The Hit TV Show CD Coming Soon To a Store Near You!

2012-01-24T00:16:00.001-08:00

My children are HUGE music fans—as a matter of fact, they only really seemed to be interested in children’s shows that feature music as one of the main components of the show! That must be why my kiddos LOVE The Fresh Beat Band!

From the very first time my son saw the show he thought he was Twist and he still does to this day! I have waited and waited for The Fresh Beat Band to do a Live Tour and I am so glad that they finally are and that they will be coming to Cincinnati (I just pray we can find tickets)! Did you know that The Fresh Beat Band also has their first CD coming out? You can check out all of the details below!
In advance of the nearly sold out nationwide concert tour, Nickelodeon will release the first-ever The Fresh Beat Band soundtrack – The Fresh Beat Band: Music From The Hit TV Show -- available on iTunes and in stores everywhere on Tuesday, Jan. 31. The Fresh Beat Band: Music From The Hit TV Show is the highly anticipated first soundtrack for the popular preschool group who are gearing up for their first 15-week, 95-show live tour kicking off Feb. 2 in Anaheim, Calif. The album features 19 catchy, preschool-friendly tracks culled from three seasons of the live-action TV series that teaches kids about music appreciation and how to express their feelings through movement, song and instrumental music. Both the soundtrack and the tour will showcase the Fresh Beats most popular songs including, “Here We Go,” “A Friend Like You,” and “Just Like A Rockstar,” which all peaked at number-one on the iTunes Children’s Songs chart.

Nickelodeon will premiere a new hour-long episode of The Fresh Beat Band, “The Wizard of Song,” guest-starring Jason Mraz and Sarah Chalke (Scrubs) on Friday, Jan. 27, at 1:00 p.m. (ET/PT). In the The Wizard of Oz-inspired episode, Marina gets swept up into a windstorm and lands in Oz where she meets Glinda The Good Witch (Sarah Chalke), befriends a Scarecrow (Twist), a Tin Woods-Woman (Kiki), and a Lion (Shout). They set off on a journey to find the Wizard of Song (Jason Mraz) so he can help Marina get back home.

The Fresh Beat Band: Music From The Hit TV Show Track Listing:
1. Fresh Beat Band Theme
2. Here We Go
3. A Friend Like You
4. Just Like A Rockstar
5. Reach For the Sky
6. I Can Do Anything
7. Bananas
8. Music (Keeps Me Movin')
9. Good Times
10. Loco Legs
11. Get Up And Go Go
12. Another Perfect Day
13. Shine
14. Stomp the House
15. Surprise Yourself
16. We're Unstoppable
17. Friends Give Friends A Hand
18. Freeze Dance
19. Great Day
20. Bonus track from Bubble Guppies: Sun, Beautiful Sun

In 2011, The Fresh Beat Band performed live on The View, in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, at a sold out concert at Carnegie Hall with Jason Mraz, and on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. at Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play.   The Fresh Beat Band, centers on four best friends – Kiki (Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer), Shout (Thomas Hobson), Marina (Tara Perry) and Twist (Jon Beavers) – in a band who love to sing and dance. Kids are introduced to the fundamentals of music such as melody, rhythm, tempo and performance styles. In each episode, preschoolers sing and dance along as they help The Fresh Beat Band solve everyday challenges. Viewers also learn the importance of friendship, working together in a positive way and respecting each other’s differences.
Check out the tour website -- http://www.freshbeatbandlive.com, Facebook page www.facebook.com/freshbeatbandlive and for more Fresh Beat activities and fun go to http://www.nickjr.com/the-fresh-beat-band/.

How Our Puppy Got His Name!

2012-01-23T23:49:00.001-08:00

If you’re a regular reader then you probably know that our family has added two new additions to our family recently, no, I didn’t get pregnant and not tell you all; we added our rambunctious puppy Max and our adorable little fur ball Rocky to our brood!

While I have introduced all of your to our puppy Max, I don’t think I’ve told you about how we came to adopt him or how he received his name!

At the dinner table one night in December, my husband asked me a question, in passing, about a photo that one of our mutual Facebook friends had uploaded. Since I rarely have time to think, let alone stalk Facebook all day, my answer was a simple no. Now this is the point where my husband usually goes back to eating and watching Two and a Half Men, but this time was different, he kept talking and we all knew that something major was about to happen (because he rarely says three words to anyone during dinner). “She put a pic up of the puppies that her dog just had—they were cute!” Alright, now I knew something was definitely up because Jamie doesn’t say cute—like, ever! I knew exactly where the conversation was going as soon as I looked at him, fumbling with his iPhone looking for the picture—we were getting a puppy…no matter what I thought of the pic!
It didn’t take much begging on Jamie’s part to convince me to say yes to a puppy—all he had to do was show me the cutest picture I’ve ever seen…

I told you, serious cuteness! When our friend told my husband that she had one puppy that wasn’t spoken for my husband told her he wanted him before I could even agree or disagree. As soon as we found out which puppy would be coming home with us, my heart melted! That fuzzy little cutie in the top right hand corner was our new puppy and the entire family was already in love even before he came home!

The next night all of our kiddos stood guard at the front door waiting for Daddy to come home with their new puppy. All day we tried to come up with a name that would fit our new puppy. Many names were tossed around including; Puppy (which was Lil Diva’s contribution), Cash (you know, as in Johnny Cash, Dog (pronounced dee-oh-gee…that was my husbands offering, go figure), and Max (short for Maximus). All of the kids went back and fourth unable to choose a name to fit our new fur baby, soon arguments started and I knew that if one child’s name were chosen over another chaos would ensue. So, being the completely brilliant mommy that I am decided that I would choose our puppy’s name. I have to be honest and tell you that even I had a hard time deciding on a name; I loved the name Maximus, but knew that one or two of the kiddos would have a hard time saying the name. The more I thought about it, and the more Iooked at the picture, I knew that Maximus was the perfect name for our new family member, so I settled on Max ( a name that all of the children could say). When I announced our new puppy's name to the kiddos they were so very excited and even more anxious for Max’s arrival.

When Max arrived at the house with Daddy we were actually at a Christmas parade, but as soon as the kiddos found out that Max was at home the parade was old news and they couldn’t get home fast enough! I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, but Max is adored by all of us and his name is perfect…he’s definitely a Max!

I am sharing this tale about my beloved canine companion in partnership with the “What’s in a Name?” Campaign sponsored by DogFenceDiy, the invisible fence alternative. DogFenceDiy cares about the safety of your dear pets.

Fresh and Clean with CleanItSupply and Pine-Sol Lavender (#WIN IT)!

2012-01-22T22:33:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned last week, our household has experienced our fair share of illness since 2012 began; thankfully the many viruses that were wreaking havoc in our house have finally gone away.
Now, last week I launched a giveaway for a case of Original Pine-Sol (and I can’t wait to draw my winners soon) so it only makes sense that this week highlight and run a giveaway for my personal favorite Pine-Sol scent—Pine-Sol Lavender!

I confessed to you all how much I adore Original Pine-Sol (it seriously is part of my every day cleaning routine), but I forgot to mention how much I also love Pine-Sol Lavender!
One of my very favorite scents has always been lavender—it’s such an amazing, fresh scent and I have always associated it with clean! I’m definitely the type of person who wants visitors to my home to feel like they are walking into a fresh, clean home—you can ask my SIL’s how much I complain when someone comes over and the house isn’t up to my standards—and for me the smell of lavender just screams ‘clean and fresh!

While I do love lavender scented Pine-Sol for the smell (seriously people, it’s amazing) I also love that it has the power of Pine-Sol, making it a multipurpose cleaner that you should have in your cleaning arsenal! Pine-Sol lavender is one of the best home cleaning products because it cleans and deodorizes multiple surfaces while smelling amazing!

If you’ve been to my blog before, then you know how much I adore CleanItSupply.com—and since they sent me a slew of cleaning products to try out I just had to give then a little shout out—check out the picture…you would definitely give them a shout out too!

As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, CleanItSupply sent me a case of Pine-Sol Lavender to try out and since Pine-Sol cleaner was already such a big part of my cleaning routine, I couldn’t wait to get the package open and start cleaning! Several hours and half a bottle of Pine-Sol Lavender later, my whole house was clean, it smelled absolutely clean, fresh and amazing and I was one very tired Mommy! What can I say about Pine-Sol Lavender that I haven’t already said? Honestly, not much…I love it, it works just as well (and in my opinion better) than some of the other stuff on the market and it just smells like happiness and come on, you cannot go wrong with a big bottle of happiness!!!!

Now I have a big surprise for y’all! CleanItSupply.com is giving not one, but 2 (two) MIBR reader’s a case (yes people, a case…that’s 8-48oz. bottles) of Pine-Sol Lavender--now that’s a lot of cleaning my friends!

WIN IT!

Two (2) Misadventures in Baby Raising readers are going to win a case (that’s 8-48oz bottles) of Pine-Sol Lavender! Enter below using the Rafflecopter Widget!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: The wicked awesome people at CleanItSupply.com provided me with the products mentioned above for my review CleanItSupply also provided the products for giveaway. All opinions are 100% mine and were not influenced by the sponsor!

Command is Looking for Brand Enthusiasts Who Want to be in a Command Commercial!

2012-01-22T22:27:00.001-08:00

Are you a major fan of the 3M brand (can someone say Post-It and Command…oh how unorganized my life would be without them)? Do you have aspirations of seeing your name in lights (or at the very least starring in a commercial for one of your favorite brands)? If you answered yes then you have to check out this awesome contest that 3M is hosting…you can get all of the details below!

Calling all Command Brand enthusiasts!

Command Brand from 3M is hosting a casting call to discover the star of their next commercial! So, if you or your readers are a fan of the brand and ready to make your TV debut, simply log onto the Command Facebook page and submit a short essay (500 words or less) telling us:

Why you love Command Brand products
What the brand means to you
Your favorite project including Command Brand

The deadline to enter is January 26, 2012.* Upon submitting your essay, you will also be entered for a chance to win a Command Brand products prize package.

Homemade Calzones Make Great Alternatives for Pizza!

2012-01-20T00:34:00.001-08:00

One of my family’s favorite meals is pizza; I’m convinced that all four of my children would be content with pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week—yes, it’s that major!

While I do enjoy pizza, in moderation, I get bored with the same old pizza and when that happens there’s only one solution—I make homemade calzones! And they are Ah-Mazing!

Since I’m sure I’m not the only Mom who gets tired of the same old pizza, I thought I’d share this simple recipe so you can try it at your house! I will say that while the recipe is simple. it does take a little time if you’re using homemade pizza crust (which I was) I decided that for simplicity’s sake I would recommend refrigerated pizza crust in place of homemade!

Homemade Supreme Calzones

Yield: 2 Large Calzones

Ingredients

2 ready to use refrigerated pizza crusts

1 pound of lean ground beef

1 package pepperoni

1 jar pizza sauce (I prefer and always use Ragu traditional pasta sauce in place of pizza sauce)

1 large green pepper

1 medium onion

1 8 oz. package of shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 stick of butter

2 cloves of garlic minced (or 1/2 to 1 tsp. garlic powder)

olive oil spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees (heat oven according to pizza crust packaging).

2. Crumble and brown ground beef until cooked through. Drain any fat from meat and set aside.

3. Melt butter on low, once butter had melted add garlic powder or minced garlic (whichever you prefer).

4. Roll out pizza dough onto a greased pizza pan.

5. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of pizza (or pasta sauce) onto pizza dough, spread pizza sauce onto half of the pizza crust.

6. Spoon half of the ground beef onto pizza crust, spread ground beef evenly on top of the pizza sauce.

7. Layer pepperoni on top of ground beef. Repeat layering with green pepper, onion, parmesan and mozzarella.

8. Once all toppings are added, fold empty side of crust overtop of the filling side. Using your fingers (a fork works as well) crimp the edges of the pizza dough together, making sure to seal all opening. With a knife cut two small slits in the top of pizza crust (to allow for venting of steam).

9. Take butter/garlic mixture and brush over the top and edges of calzone.

10. Bake in a 475 degree oven until golden brown.

Each calzone can be cut into thirds, topped with remaining parmesan and served with remaining pizza sauce!

Progresso and The Biggest Loser Work You Out and Make You Over!

2012-01-19T23:22:00.001-08:00

One of my goals this year is to get back in shape!

I’ve spent the last three years since my youngest daughter was born saying that I’m going to get in shape and lose some of this baby weight, without actually getting up and doing it! So, 2012 is my year—I think!

I know I’m not the only one whose goal for 2012 is too lose some weight and bring some of that sexy back—so I can’t wait to share this review and giveaway with all of you!

Progresso wants to give YOU the chance to win an awesome makeover in their Souper YOU Contest! Entering is super easy; all you have to do is tell Progresso why you deserve a makeover and what you love about their soup and you could have the chance to win an ultimate makeover experience in Hollywood this spring!

I don’t know about you, but soup is one of my all-time favorite things to eat—like seriously, I could eat it everyday and never get bored! Traditionally, soup can be a heavy meal packed with as much fat and calories as your average cheeseburger (depending on what kind of soup you’re having), but Progresso has 40 soups that are 100 calories or less! For me that’s the best news ever, because at only 100 calories, I can have my soup and eat it too!

Progresso Soup will help you stay on your weight loss journey, while still offering amazing flavor and variety! In addition to all of the veggie goodness in each can of Progresso, with these soups you also get all of the hearty ingredients that you crave like rice, beans, pasta and meat! Come on…how could that not make your day?

If you’re on the fact track to weight loss and Progresso is your secret weapon, then you should definitely enter the Progresso Souper You contest!

A Little More About the Souper You Contest:
This year, the Souper You^® Contest will provide three lucky winners with an ultimate makeover experience in Hollywood; this includes a trip for 2 to Los Angeles, California where the winner will receive a head-to-toe makeover including hair and makeup, guided shopping spree with a $1,000 fashion retailer gift card, $1,000 spending money and 2 tickets to this season’s live finale of NBC’s The Biggest Loser!

To enter visit visit www.SouperYou.com and submit your photo and a brief essay telling why you deserve a makeover and what you love about Progresso Soup, no later than February 22 (the day before my birthday)! can check back on March 12th for the announcement of the top ten finalists, and to vote for their favorite finalist until March 25th!

Checkout the video of the 2011 Souper You Winner…who knows—you just might be next!

Make sure to visit the Progresso website for more souper information and great taste! You can also find Progresso on Facebook so be sure to give them a thumbs up today! Hey all you couponers—check this out: you can print a coupon for $1.25 off 4 cans of Progresso soup!

So, how would you like to win a Progresso Prize Pack? I thought so!

WIN IT!
One MIBR reader is going to win a Progresso Prize pack containing:

2 VIP coupons for FREE Progresso Soup
1 copy of The Biggest Loser Workout DVD

Check out the rules and enter this giveaway below using the helicopter entry form. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
“Disclosure: The Progresso^® Souper You^® prize pack, information, coupon, and giveaway have been provided by Progresso through MyBlogSpark.”

Make it Clean with CleanItSupply.com: Win a CASE of Pine-Sol!

2012-01-18T23:36:00.001-08:00

Cold and Flu season is in full swing and that always has this Mommy a little worried! With four children in the house it’s almost a sure bet that someone is going to get sick during cold and flu season and when one gets sick, it’s an even better bet that we all are going to catch it! This time of year my cleaning routine becomes less about dusting and window cleaning and more about disinfecting EVERYTHING that’s not moving!

As hard as I tried to keep the crud (that’s what I like to call viruses) away from our house, we all fell victim to a nasty cold virus on New Year’s day—and it was not pretty! About two days in to what I may have referred to as the plague a time or two (what? it seemed that devastating to me at the time) UPS delivered the most perfect package I could have received at the time—take a look…

that’s the most amazing thing ever for a houseful of sick people—right? Thanks to the most awesome cleaning supply company ever (Clean It Supply) I got to try out all of the products pictured above as well as Original Pine-Sol—yes, I do consider myself a lucky girl!

I don’t know about you, but keeping my house clean and free of germs is a top priority for me all year round, but especially during cold and flu season. And one of my very favorite ways to do that is with Pine-Sol!

Now I know that some of you are thinking that Pine-Sol is just for floors, but that’s absolutely NOT the case, Original Pine-Sol is an all-purpose cleaner that does that work of many cleaners in one powerful disinfectant and deodorizer! I’ve been using Pinesol for years to clean my floors, disinfect my countertops and deodorize my bathroom! Aside from that familiar, fresh, pine scent that fills my home every time I use Pine-Sol Cleaner, it’s so versatile that I can literally clean my whole house with one single cleaner! Pine-Sol is safe enough to use on ceramic, porcelain, plastic, fiberglass, stainless steel and wood surfaces and tough enough to tackle staph and salmonella! On top of everything else, Pine-Sol is completely completely biodegradable and phosphate-free so you can feel good about using it in your home!

As I mentioned above, my package couldn't’;t have come at a better time; and I’d kinda be lying if I said that I didn’t start cleaning almost immediately after my cleaning products arrived! Two weeks later and everyone is feeling better and that nasty virus was no match for Pine-Sol and all of his friends that I can’t wait to tell y’all about soon!

So, are you fighting a nasty bug in your house? Has the crud taken you out of commission? Not to worry, Clean It Supply is giving 2 (yes, TWO) Misadventures in Baby Raising readers a case (that’s (12) 28 oz. bottles) of Original Pine-Sol! How awesome is that?

WIN IT!

Two (2) MIBR readers are going to win a case (that’s (12) 28 oz. bottles) of Original Pine-Sol!

Check out more details on the giveaway and enter using the Rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: The wicked awesome people at CleanItSupply.com provided me with the products mentioned above for my review CleanItSupply also provided the products for giveaway. All opinions are 100% mine and were not influenced by the sponsor!

Eye Care Can Be Easy…With the Right Tools!

2012-01-18T21:54:00.001-08:00

I’ve never been an expert on glasses, thankfully, good vision runs in my family, my oldest daughter Taylor, however, wasn’t so lucky! Bad vision runs on Taylor’s father’s side of the family and that helped to contribute to Taylor’s need for glasses a few years ago. Even with Taylor wearing glasses, I’m still not all that familiar with lenses and prescriptions and contacts, and as a result I get very frustrated when I take my daughter to the optometrist because I don’t feel as educated as I should be. Thanks to MomSelect, I’ve gotten to know a whole lot more about eye care with the help of Zeiss educational tools!

If you’re unfamiliar with Zeiss, let me introduce you!

“Carl Zeiss Vision is a global leader in precision optics. With a full line of advanced customized lenses, advanced performance coatings, i.Scription® by ZEISS diagnostic technology and a national laboratory network, Carl Zeiss Vision is dedicated to creating a better visual experience for patients and greater success for eye care practices. “

I recently had the chance to check out some of the Zeiss Educational Tools ,available on the Zeiss website. and become a little more educated on eye care and vision correction. After doing some reading, I learned that I really knew nothing about vision correction and with my daughter’s vision problems that just was not acceptable! With the Zeiss Educational tools you can learn facts on vision and lenses, tips for selecting the right eye doctor, the right questions to ask you eye doctor and you can even find out how aging affects vision. In addition to being completely awesome, Zeiss makes it easy for eyeglass wearers and non-wearers alike to better understand their vision needs—and that is a great resource for any parent to have!

I may not be an expert on eye care, but thanks to Zeiss and their helpful, easy to use educational tools, I am a little more educated about my daughter’s vision issues and I know better how to get her the right care for her eyes—that’s huge for me! If you’re an eyeglass wearer, or know someone who is, you should definitely check out Zeiss!

Disclsoure: I was provided with a Target gc and Zeiss Lens Cleaning Kit—thanks to MomSelect and Zeiss—for this post. All opinions are 100% mine and were not influenced by MomSelect or Zeiss!

Lights Out Against SOPA: Internet Black Out Today!

2012-01-17T21:51:00.001-08:00

Misadventures in Baby Raising will be participating in the SOPA blackout today, Wednesday January 18th, in an effort to show our support for those who oppose SOPA, we won’t post any new content today! We will be back up tomorrow and ready to roll! If you’re unsure about what SOPA (and you really should make yourself familiar with it—if passed it will change the internet as we know it) you can check out the infographic below to find out more about SOPA and what you can do to speak up against SOPA!

Think SOPA doesn’t effect you? Check out Google’s blacked out logo in protest of SOPA or Wikipedia’s completely blacked out site…SOPA is serious and if passed could change the way we ALL use the internet!

via

Exclusive Fan Only Facebook Coupon for Jahgoo and BabyZoo!

2012-01-17T00:17:00.001-08:00

If you’re a fan of BabyZoo ( I know I am) then you have to check out this exclusive Fan Only Facebook coupon for Jahgoo and BabyZoo!

Kastel International brings high-quality, modern, European baby and child products to the United States. Its featured brands, Mutsy, Jahgoo, BabyZoo and Babyhome offer well designed products that make a difference in the everyday lives of babies and parents.

Today through January 31^st,, Kastel International is offering a 20 percent coupon on their Facebook page on any purchase from their BabyZoo and Jahgoo lines. BabyZoo is a line of innovative sleep aids for children and Jahgoo, a collection of modern designed bathroom items. Head to https://www.facebook.com/KastelInternational?v=app_237202476309340 to get your coupon today!
What are you waiting for? Get on over to Facebook and grab your coupon! Happy Shopping!

Spice Things Up For Valentine’s Day with EdenFantasys!

2012-01-17T00:12:00.001-08:00

It may be freezing outside, but that doesn’t mean you can’t heat things up in the romance department!

With Valentine’s Day coming up, it’s time to start thinking of ways to spice things up on Valentine’s Day and every day and my favorite place to go for inspiration is EdenFantasys!

Over the past few years I’ve developed a deep love for nearly everything that EdenFantasys has to offer; from adult toys to their ever expanding line of beauty and body products, you can always find exactly what you’re looking for to help keep the romance alive at EdenFantasys!

I thought I’d share a few of my favorite things with all of you and let you know that EdenFantasys is so much more than just sex toys…check out their awesome selection of lingerie, body and bath products and much more—and FYI guys…these make great Valentine’s Day gifts…just sayin’!

How adorable is the I Love You Babydoll?

Or maybe the Terme trio hair care set is more your style?

Of course, you can’t go wrong with a great massage kit and the Shunga Garden of edo organic collection is a great choice!

Whether you’re the adventurous type, or more reserved, you can always find something amazing at EdenFantsays to help chase away the winter chill by heating things up in the bedroom! And since Valentine’s Day isn’t too far off, a visit to EdenFantasys might be just the thing you need to give you a little V-Day gift inspiration! Happy Shopping!

Disclosure: I received a gift code to EdenFantasys.com for this post.

Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snack: {WIN IT}

2012-01-15T22:27:00.001-08:00

With four children at home, having snacks for them to munch on is a necessity! With all of that snacking going on, it’s only natural for me to want my children to eat healthy snacks whenever possible. It’s not always easy to get my children to eat snacks that are good for them and that’s why I love Ocean Spray^® Fruit Flavored snacks!

In addition to being absolutely yummy, Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored snacks are also a snack that you can give your child(ren) without feeling guilty! Why you ask? Well Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored snacks are…

* Made with real fruit juice and natural colors* and flavors.
* Available in 2 varieties: Assorted Fruit and Berries & Cherries
* 80 calories, gluten free and contain 100% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C.
* Available with year round Double Box Tops.

I don’t know about you, but those are some pretty great reasons to grab a box, or four, on my next shopping trip!

Thanks to Ocean Spray and MyBlogSpark I got to try the new Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored snacks, and I have to say, my kiddos loved them! I seriously had to hide the last two boxes just so I could test them out myself (they were very good by the way), I’m pretty sure that means my kids really enjoyed the Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored snacks! Wanna try Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored snacks? Click here to snag a coupon for $1.10 OFF of 2 boxes!

So, how would you like to WIN a box (or 6) of Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks? You can check out all of the details on the giveaway below!

WIN IT!

Four (4) winners will each receive 6 boxes of Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks (3 of each variety)! Enter below using the Rafflecopter Entry Form!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Disclosure: Ocean Spray^® Fruit Flavored Snacks, information, and giveaway have been provided by Ocean Spray^® through MyBlogSpark.”

Rubbermaid’s Give the Gift of Organization Contest!

2012-01-12T22:27:00.001-08:00

One of my goals this year is to get more organized—I am a total scatterbrain 99% of the time! With that in mind I wanted to let y’all know about a very contest by Rubbermaid (love them!); the Give the Gift of Organization contest is pretty cool because you can nominate someone who has maybe been an inspiration to you or has helped make a difference in your life! You can check out all of the details below—happy organizing!

Rubbermaid just launched the Give the Gift of Organization Contest! At Rubbermaid, we know first-hand that organization can give you more time to give back to the community, yet it can be hard getting started. We wanted to reward those who give everything to others and help them get more organized so they have a little peace of mind. That is why we are offering a $5,000 organization makeover to someone deserving. Check out the contest and nominate someone who has made a difference in your life. You can learn more and enter at http://contest.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid.

“Like” This Post and I’ll Do a Giveaway…Really?

2012-01-10T23:41:00.001-08:00

If we’re friends on Facebook (and if we’re not we should be, I’m a lot more fun on Facebook) then you may have caught my little rant last night about the constant status updates by bloggers asking their Facebook Fans/Friends/Readers to “Like and/or Share” said status update as a condition to begin a giveaway…ummm what? Honestly, I thought it was just me who was annoyed as all hell by these requests, but some of my fellow bloggers seemed to agree with me and after reading this post by The Neat Things In Life, I couldn’t resist blogging about it myself!

Photo Credit: Mad Tomato

Aside from being super annoying, the whole “Like/Share this status and I will put up a giveaway”, is kind of like buying your friends; or definitely banking on the fact that your friends have nothing better to do than unknowingly help your inflate stats…oh yeah, I went there!

I’ve been a blogger since 2008 and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that the one surefire way to gain friends and readers online, is by being honest with them, definitely NOT using them for your own selfish gain—and I most definitely think that’s exactly what this whole “Like/Share” thing is about!

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have a huge army of regular readers here on Misadventures, but that’s because I chose to shift my focus from a personal/parenting blog (which is how Misadventures started) to more of a review and giveaway blog; that switch came at the price of losing some amazing regular readers—a move that if I had it to do over I would definitely not make again!

Getting back to my original point, I think that asking your Facebook Friends/Fans to Like and Share status updates before starting a giveaway is a little greedy, and definitely tacky, and extremely annoying. I think that something that your Facebook Fans may not understand is that if it’s a sponsored giveaway (meaning that you are holding the giveaway for a company or PR firm) then you’re going to have to post the giveaway regardless…whether you get 1000 likes or none, if the giveaway is sponsored, it’s going up with or without the Likes! I will say that I did check out a few posts where people were asking for “Likes/Shares” to start a giveaway and at least a few of them were being sponsored by the bloggers themselves. In that case, as annoying as it is, I can’t really blame the blogger for trying to get as many “Likes/Share” as he or she can.

BUT if the giveaway is being sponsored then you just need to be smacked for assuming that your readers/friends/fans are stupid enough to continue to “Like” your posts so that you can maybe, if you’re feeling generous that day, start a giveaway. That’s seriously something that I see girls at my daughter’s elementary school doing; “Um, if y’all be my friend, I might give y’all some of my candy!”

My point—stop this crap already! Seriously it looks egotistical and sloppy and honestly, giveaway’s are hard enough already with all of the FTC and disclosure stuff…and even mentioning giveaway’s on Facebook is such a confusing topic for most bloggers, why make it worse?

So, I can’t be the only one annoyed by this…right?

Buy Pet Food Online at MrChewy.com!

2012-01-09T23:20:00.001-08:00

If we’re friends on Facebook, then you probably know that since December, we’ve added two new members to our family, calm down I didn’t give birth or anything, I was talking about our new fur babies; our puppy Max and our new kitten Rocky!Rocky and Max join our big baby, our dog Brownie, as the furriest, and least difficult members of our family!

With all of new family members, it’s become very necessary to visit the pet section of our supermarket quite often these days. Of course, when I’m buying puppy food, adult dog food, cat liter and kitten food it can become quite a headache (and backache) to load them into my cart, get them into my car and unload them at home! Honestly, I dread going to the store to buy pet food and I try to always make sure that our furry friends have enough food to make it until Jamie can go to the store with me; obviously, that’s not always possible and that means that I do often have to take on the task of buying pet food by myself.

Recently I was approached by MrChewy.com to do a review and I couldn’t resist the chance to do a review for an online pet supply store, simply because I dread buying pet food and supplies at my local supermarket.

If you’re not familiar with MrChewy.com, then let me be the first to introduce you!
Mr. Chewy is an online pet food and supply store, where you can shop in the convenience of your home (no more lugging heavy bags of pet food into and out of your shopping cart) and have your items delivered to your door in record time! Just in case you need a little more convincing:

* Mr. Chewy offers over 70 brands of dog and cat food, treats and supplies—so finding your favorite brands is as easy as a click of the mouse.

* Mr. Chewy offers their customers everyday low prices on popular brands!

* No need to lug heavy bags of pet food and supplies in and out of your shopping cart and car; Mr. Chewy deliver’s your order right to your door!

* FREE SHIPPING on all orders of $49 or more!

I was given a $50 gift card to Mr. Chewy for my review so I headed off to to the website to see what I could find for my furry friends! First off, I was completely amazed by the selection at MrChewy.com! There were brands that I was familiar with, including our favorite—Pedigree, and so many that I had only heard of, but had never seen in my local supermarkets. Since we don’t have a mass pet supply store close by I love knowing that I can find my usual brands as well as some of the specialty brands that I haven’t been able to find around here. I was also very impressed by the prices, and though some of the prices were a little more than in my local store, to me, it’s worth it to not have to lug around dog food and cat liter—having it delivered to my door (for FREE) makes this pet Mommy, very happy! I was able to score two 17 pound bags of Pedigree dog food, one for Max and the other for Brownie, as well as a very much appreciated treat for each (we didn’t have Rocky when I ordered from MrChewy.com) for less than $50—and shipping was FREE and super fast! I hadn’t ordered from an online pet supply store in the past, but now I can’t imagine doing it any other way; it’s FAST, convenient and affordable—what’s not to love?

If you have a furry friend (or 3) at your house then you have to check out MrChewy.com for all of your pet care needs…you won’t be sorry!

Disclosure: I received the product mentioned above from the company or representing PR firm—all opinions are my own!

Lunch Made Easy With the StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouch

2012-01-08T22:43:00.001-08:00

When you have little ones chasing each other through the house (with flyswatters), a pile of college textbooks in one hand and a laptop in the other; it’s not always easy to get a healthy lunch! Heck, who am I kidding, sometimes we don’t get lunch at all! So when I find products that make grabbing a quick lunch on the go possible—well, let’s just say I don’t mind spreading the word!

Starkist has long been my favorite brand of tuna, but with their protein packed, 100 calorie Flavor Fresh Pouch, StarKist is making believer’s out of everyone, including the pickiest eaters! Don’t believe me? Check out the video below and see how Charlie the Tuna is finally getting the thanks he deserves from even the smallest eaters!

I love that StarKist offers 14 of its delicious varieties in the Flavor Fresh Pouch—it definitely helps to break up the routine. Finding time to eat lunch, or any other meal for that matter, is not always easy at my house, but with StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouch I can grab a quick, protein packed, yummy snack that’s good and good for me! And the fact that I can grab a pouch and eat it on the go even while chasing little ones, taking exams or writing blog posts—and that’s completely awesome!

If you find yourself skipping lunch because you’re just “too busy” then you should definitely check out StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouch tuna—you may just be surprised!

Brought to you by StarKist!

Dance Moms Season 2 Premieres January 10th!

2012-01-05T13:45:00.001-08:00

I’ve admitted before how much of a reality TV addict I am; honestly, if it wasn’t for reality television I probably wouldn’t watch TV at all. Besides the outrageously funny, dramatic ooh and aah inducing moments that make up nearly every episode of every reality show on television, more than anything I just like seeing that my life (which seems anything than normal most days) is a whole lot more normal and so much less dramatic than I ever imagined!

One of my favorite reality shows is the outrageous Dance Moms on Lifetime! With demanding coaches criticizing every move that is made by their little dancers to the parents who are often times more outrageous and seemingly nuts than the coaches Dance Moms just makes for great reality TV! Don’t believe me? Check out this clip from the season 2 premiere of Dance Moms (Tuesday, January 10th at 9/8c).

Crazy isn’t it? I’ve never enrolled any of my children in dance classes and one of the reasons why is because I know coaches like this and I know parents like these and I want no part of that for my kiddos! I do however, love watching this show and I can’t wait for the season 2 premiere on Tuesday!
Do as always I want to know—have you seen Dance Moms? Do you love the show or do you cringe when you see the coaches and parents go crazy?

"This post is sponsored by Lifetime—all opinions are my own.”

Sorry For The Mess!

2012-01-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

I know that things look a little crazy around here right now, but I promise you that all will be back to normal soon...very soon if I have my way!

I just figured that the new year called for a new blog design so I decided to change things up a bit...I hope y'all like it!

My Goals for 2012, NOT to Be Confused With Resolutions!

2012-01-01T23:10:00.001-08:00

I don’t like New Year’s resolutions—I just don’t!

I’m either forever setting completely unrealistic goals that I will never be able to accomplish within a year, or I just make resolutions that I know going in I’ll never keep. If you’ve been around here for a while then you may remember my New Year’s Unresolutions post from last year; since I still feel the same way about resolutions, but still want to set a few goals (both personally and professionally) for myself for 2012 I decided to do a post dedicated to 5 Things I Want To Accomplish in 2012!

5. Stop cursing so much! If you know me then you are probably laughing (really, really hard) right now, because I curse like a sailor (it’s one of my worst habits); I would really like to STOP doing that this year. It may have been cool (at least we thought so) to drop the F bomb 300 times when I was 18, but at 33—not so much!

4. Make the Dean’s List! This one is HUGE for me! I’ve made the Dean’s List before, but with my blog, kids and, well, life in general getting in the way, I haven’t made school the priority I should have been making it for the past several semesters. I would really like to change that this year and get back on track and back to the damn near 4.0 I’m used to having!

3. Make More $! Though I realize that this may be at the top of a lot of people’s “resolutions” lists, I also know that using it as a goal just makes sense! I’m proud to say that in 2011 I made more money blogging than I have since I started Misadventures three years ago. I never imagined when I began blogging that I would I was starting something that I would fall in love with doing (being a blogger is something that I couldn’t imagine not being) AND that I would make money from—it really is the best of both worlds! That said, making more money in 2012 than last year would totally kick butt (see I’m trying with the curse words)!

2. Spend more quality time with my kids! I know that being a SAHM (or WAHM as I think more accurately describes what I am) I’m with my kids everyday, but sometimes I’m so busy that I don’t get to spend as much fun time with them as I would like! Taking a little break over the holidays has really made me realize how much fun my kids are and how awesome it is to spend time just hanging out with them—we had all 6 kids here over the Christmas break and trust me when I say that once they get “too old” to hang out with Mom and Dad, there’s no going back! I intend to spend every single second I can just chillin’ with my kiddos this year!

1. Finally get misadventuresinbabyraising.blogspot.com turned into misadventuresinbabyraising.com! This one has been needed for TOO long, but once you get a PR 4 (or PR 3 as the case is currently) you get all excited and you don’t dare do anything to lose that, however, I’m tired of Misadventures not really being mine and intend to change that as soon as possible!

And I think that’s about it! So, I want to know—are you as resolutions un-friendly as I am? Why do you (or don’t you) make resolutions? What are your goals for 2012? Oh, and if you get a second make sure you check out my NEW blog MisadventurousMommy.com (it’s my uncensored, I’m-gonna-take-over-the-world-and-there’s-not-a-damn-thing-you-can-do-about-it, yeah, I might be a mom, but I’m a pretty kick ass (sorry I couldn’t resist) mom if I do say so myself blog)!

In Honor of NYE: Champagne Infographic!

2011-12-30T23:20:00.001-08:00

Since it’s New Year’s Eve and I’ll be spending the better part of my day cleaning and cooking in preparation for the New Year’s Eve shindig that will take place at my house tonight, I decided to take it easy with an infographic (ya know, so I don’t actually have to write tonight). And in honor of New Year’s Eve and all of the champagne that will no doubt be consumed tonight (not at my house though, we’re too close to the hills of KY to ring in the new year with champagne—it’s strictly Jim, Jack and Jose at my house) I thought y’all might wanna know a little more about the bubbly you’ll be toasting with at midnight!

Have a very merry and most definitely super safe New Year!

via

Win a $10 Subway Gift Card on Facebook In Anticipation of Gift Card Weekend!

2011-12-29T22:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gift Card Weekend for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you're like me, and most of the people I know, then you probably gave and no doubt received at least a few gift cards this holiday season! Let's face it, gift cards are just the way to go, and they are especially awesome for those people who are difficult to buy for (my husband for example). So if you're into gift cards like I am, and come on, how could you not be, then you have to check out the awesome daily Facebook gift card giveaways going on in anticipation of Gift Card Weekend!

Alright, I know you're wondering, "What's Gift Card Weekend?" and lucky for you I happen to have all of the info you need! Gift Card Weekend is a once a year where participating retailers (you know, some of our favorite places like JCPenny, Sephora, Adidas, Applebee's and SO many more) give featured offers for gift cards purchased during the holiday season and redeemed from January 6 through January 8, 2012. There's lots of awesome places participating in the Gift Card Weekend festivities including: Lowe's, Regal Cinema, Giant Eagle, Marriot, Spa Finder, Buca di Beppo, Bass Pro Shops, and Subway!

And speaking of Subway, from December 23 through December 31, you can head over to the Gift Card Weekend Facebook page and "like" them for your chance to win a $10 Subway gift card in their daily gift card giveaway, you can even earn extra chances to win just by sharing with your Facebook friends...easy, peasy and you could win a Subway gift card or lots of other cool prizes!

If your holiday loot included a ton of gift cards then make sure you check out all of the info. for Gift Card Weekend on Facebook and don't forget to "Like" them for your chance to win!

Being Prepared For An Emergency Is Easy!

2011-12-28T23:07:00.001-08:00

Winter’s in Ohio are extremely unpredictable; last year we had a rather mild winter followed by a tremendous amount of flooding in the spring (that tends to happen when you live on the banks of the Ohio River) and a couple of years before that we had a particularly harsh winter with ice storms that left us without power for the better part of a week. With snow, ice and freezing temperatures in the winter and flooding and the threat of tornado’s in the spring, it’s a good idea to be prepared for nature’s wrath so I know that my family won’t have to go without in an emergency!

Since becoming a mom I’ve learned that there are certain situations that you just have to be prepared for, even if they never happen. One of those situations is unexpected power outages due to snow and ice and in my neck of the woods both of those are very real possibilities! I remember discussing emergency preparedness kits with my mom a few years back and her telling me about freeze dried meals and how easy they were to store, and with some having an average shelf life of 25 years, it just makes sense to at least become familiar with companies that sell freeze dried foods.

Taking my mom’s advice, I decided to do some research into freeze dried food and long term food storage and I found Prepare Wise! Not only do they make long term food storage easy to understand, they also have a fabulous selection of top of the line freeze dried foods that are shelf stable for up to 25 years—in my book that’s definitely a huge plus!

Winter is upon us in Southern Ohio and while we haven’t had snow (yet) I know it’s on the way! I can definitely sleep a little easier knowing that I’ve done my homework and am fully prepared for whatever disaster Mother Nature brings our way and that makes this mommy feel a whole lot better!

Is Losing Weight On Your List of Resolutions for 2012?

2011-12-28T13:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Slim-Fast for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Losing weight may not be a "new" New Year's resolution, but it's definitely one that's at the top of many people's lists...including mine!

I have to admit, I'm not really a dieter, as a matter of fact, I've never actually fully committed to a diet...like ever! It's not because I don't want to lose weight, honestly, it's because until recently I never had to worry about losing it. For the better part of my life I have been thin, diets were not something that I ever had to worry about, until I had my youngest daughter. After Lil' Diva was born I realized that my days of eating whatever I wanted and not exercising were not going to cut it anymore, it was a sad day, but a necessary day as well because I realized that in order to look like I once did I was going to have to work for it! That said, I didn't actually begin looking into weight loss and weight management options until very recently, yeah, I might have been a little bit in denial!

One of the first weight loss systems I looked into was Slim-Fast, I had only ever heard good things about it and their Slim-Fast3.2.1 Plan looked like something that I could definitely commit to! If you're not familiar with Slim-Fast's 3.2.1 Plan let me give you the lowdown! The 3.2.1 Plan is flexible enough that a variety of people can stick to it successfully, but it also provides results...something that every dieter craves! The plan is simple: 3 snacks, 2 Slim-Fast Shakes or Meal Bars(I love the Slim-Fast Shakes), and 1 Balanced 500 calorie per day! And to make it super easy to stick with the plan the Slim-Fast 3.2.1 products are available in the pharmacy section of stores that the majority of us have access to including Wal-mart, Target and Kroger and online at Amazon.com! To stay in the loop with everything that's going on with Slim-Fast make sure you 'Like" Slim-Fast on Facebook!

I'm not positive about what diet plan I'll adopt for 2012, but I definitely want to at least try the Slim-Fast3.2.1 Plan and who knows, it might just help me lose the weight and keep it off so that diets become a non-resolution in 2012!

Random Acts of Zhu 2011

2011-12-27T23:19:00.001-08:00

There are so many reasons why I love being a mommy blogger; from being able to try out new products before the hit the shelves (that part is SO awesome), being able to connect with other parents and share the knowledge I’ve gained by being a Mommy for the past 12 years, and being able to give to others! It’s that last one that’s the most gratifying and no time is it more awesome than during the holidays!

I remember sitting down on the living room floor with my husband wrapping Christmas presents a few weeks ago and him asking me, “Do you think we bought the kids enough this year?”, and then I remembered the four hours the previous night I spent wrapping presents (and barely made a dent in my wrapping list) and immediately answered, “Definitely, I have no idea where we’re going to put half of this stuff!”.

My husband and I both grew up in single parent (for the most part) homes, neither of us ever had a lot, so we were always thankful for what we did have. We also both promised ourselves that when we had kids of our own, we were going to do whatever we had to do to make sure that they grew up with more than we did—and we do! It’s not always easy for us, or even financially sane sometimes, to give our kids as much as we do, but it’s important to us that our children never feel like they have less than anyone else like we sometimes did growing up. Of course, making sure that our kids don’t go without sometimes comes at a price and sometimes that price can be creating spoiled brats and though our children are definitely a lot more spoiled than some kids I know, we always try to make then see things from every perspective so that they never take what they do have for granted!

Some of you may remember last year when I participated in the Random Acts of Zhu program sponsored by Cepia (the makers of the popular ZhuZhu Pets), I was honored to be a part of the RAZ program! Well, this year we were chosen again to take part in Random Acts of Zhu and I couldn’t have been more excited!

A little more about the RAZ program!

"Random Acts of Zhu" (RAZ) program is a charitable initiative, this program at its core seeks to bring joy to children. Last year, Cepia, LLC partnered with 100 bloggers and donated 10,000 toys to kids in need in our 2010 RAZ program.

I cannot tell you how amazing it felt to take part in the RAZ program last year and I was so thankful to have been chosen again this year! Last year I donated 100 ZhuZhu pets to our town’s Hometown Christmas, a completely FREE program that the town puts together for members of the community; there’s free food and drinks, caroling, and even a visit from Santa with lots of toys for the kiddos! It’s an amazing thing that our town does and I was honored to be able to donate the ZhuZhu pets on behalf of Cepia to the town!

This year, I had planned on donating the shipment of ZhuZhu pets and accessories to our Hometown Christmas, but it was held a little earlier than it had been the year before so I had to rethink my giving strategy! In a way, I’m glad that I wasn’t able to donate to our Hometown Christmas this year, because it opened my options up and I was able to make a few smaller donations instead of one big one!

The day that I received the shipment of ZhuZhu pets to donate my oldest daughter came home from school and mentioned something about her class taking donations for a Christmas Angel, I glanced at my daughter and then to the massive wall of ZhuZhu Pet boxes that I had stacked against my living room wall and I knew immediately where my first donation would be! The next day I contacted Taylor’s homeroom teacher, explained the RAZ program to her and set up a time to make the donation—she was more than thankful for the donation and so very glad that Cepia is doing what they are to help others!

When I posted on my Facebook wall about receiving a massive shipment of ZhuZhu Pets to donate locally, several of my friends commented and liked the post and praised Cepia for the RAZ program. And then I received a few messages from people, in my town, with suggestions for families to donate some of the ZhuZhu pets to. While it was definitely not how I had intended to donate some of the ZhuZhu pets, I couldn’t ignore the fact that the point of choosing 100 bloggers to participate in the RAZ is so that those bloggers can make a difference locally, so I chose three families (that I knew of and knew of their financial situations) and with the help of my brother-in-law Travis, I played Santa to several very deserving kids!

Sorry about the poor picture quality, it was dark (obviously) and we were trying to be covert so I snapped the picture quickly without checking to see if it came out. Just in case you can’t see, this is my BIL Travis (in his Santa attire) getting ready to deliver the car full of ZhuZhu Pets! It felt amazing to be able to give some very deserving kids a little bit of Christmas cheer and I can’t thank Cepia enough for making it possible!

Last, but most certainly not least, I decided to contact Kay Marshall (the organizer of our town’s Hometown Christmas) and talk to her about donating the remaining ZhuZhu Pets to her church’s local Toys for Tots toy drive. Every year (since I can remember) the church Kay is a member of, has collected food and toys and then in turn, delivered baskets of food and toys to needy families in our town for Christmas; I even mentioned my mother, my sister and I being the recipients of one of those baskets one year. I knew instantly that it was the perfect choice! Kay was as excited as I was about the donation so I couldn’t wait to drop the ZhuZhu Pets off with her and I took the drop off as a great opportunity to teach my two youngest children about the power and importance of giving!

With my brother-in-law, Lil’ Man and Lil’ Diva in tow I set off to deliver the remaining ZhuZhu Pets! Since I really wanted to show Lil’ Man and Lil’ Diva how important giving is, I decided to let them help Travis and I deliver the boxes, Lil’ Man even insisted on getting a picture of him handing Kay one of the boxes! I have to admit, it was awesome to be able to give such a large shipment of ZhuZhu Pets to so many needy families for Christmas, but it was just as awesome to see my son and youngest daughter be so excited about helping other kids—for me that was an amazing thing to witness and truthfully, it made this Mommy extremely proud!

Here’s hoping that many. many more companies follow Cepia’s lead and donate in such a huge way next holiday season—it would make this world a whole lot better place!