For more inspiring photos, check out:  The Bonafide Life, Better in Bulk, Shanamama, From Dates to Diapers, Not Your Momblog, The Divine Miss Mommy, Rajean Blomquist, Brain Foggles, Lil Kid Things, The Centsible Life, Rachel Ferruci, Resourceful Mommy and Zensible Mama and link your own photo stories.

KimV:

We just got our FyrFlyz and my boys Love them! My boys are 3 & 6 and have been playing with them non-stop for the past half hour (apparently they came in yesterday’s mail and we forgot to check our mailbox). It has been a fun surprise, we even locked ourselves in the dark laundry room so we could play with them in complete darkness.

The only downside I see is that they get quite tangled fairly quickly. We have watched a few YouTube videos to learn how to better use them and have learned to make stars, circles, triangles, and flowers-Pretty Cool!

Thanks for letting us test them, I know my guys will get a lot of use out of them…

Alethia:

We got these, and the kids love them! Conor (6) has an easier time with it, and it amazed me how quickly he figured it out. Logan (3) has a tougher time, but he loves trying and watching. Even DH loves them, and he will just pick it up and start playing with it. I do think they get tangled easily, and one of the ends has popped off our hand when we played with them at first you really have to keep a good hold on them. But overall very fun toy. THanks for letting us try it out!

brmom:

My two boys love them. Ryan (6) loves anything that glows. He has wanted some type of glow party for the last year so this toy is the best thing for him. As soon as we got them he went in the closet to try them out. It was a little hard to do any tricks but he still had fun. When it finally got dark that night he had a great time. Brady(8) also has fun with them. He can do a little more tricks than his brother.

One thing I would like to see is different colors. I would love to see how the different colors would work. They do get tangled but are very easy to untangle.

I think these are going to be a great gift to give other kids are birthday presents. I did talk to a few other moms and they have not heard of them yet. So I have been telling them about them and of course when they come over the boys have been letting all their friends try them out.

Erin:

I don’t think these are for my kids. They thought they were cool for about 5 minutes until DD hit herself in the head.  Maybe my kids are still too young for them or just uncoordinated. They do like to watch DH and I make the different shapes with them. 

Maxine:

My kids are 7 and 9 and they where so excited to get the chance to try these out. They lasted for a good hour the day we recieved them in the mail, and theyve played with them close to every day since. They make awsome shapes with the glowing ends, reminds me of the spirograph. Totally cool and they brag about them to everyone. They are always shutting up the room to make it dark so they can play, they are very easy to use, and endless simple fun! Even the three yr old enjoyed just sitting and watching the pretty colors! Thanks for the opportunity to try something new!

Mamasita:

My kids love getting packages so this one made their day! They were a little weary at first, not sure what to do with them. Once they figured out how to turn them on (I didn’t do anything but untangle them, they are 5 and 7 so I figured they could do it themselves) they were excited. I think they thought these were a toy they saw on an infomercial (could be but I don’t know). They started swinging them around and then ran to the back room so they could see them ‘glow in the dark.’ They were even more excited when they found out they get to keep the FryFlyz  They have played with them off and on since they were opened. They can’t wait to play with dad!!!

Annamuza:

My husband elbowed my 4 year old out of the way when our package arrived. Turns out that was most likely a good thing, she wasn’t very careful with them and hit her forehead and tummy a couple times before she decided she didn’t want to play with them anymore. My 7 year old and his daddy played with them for quite a while, taking time to mess around in the bathroom where they could be in the dark. They played a lot the first few days then it seemed like I spent more time untangling than playing. These things really hurt! Daddy decided to “play” with me, coming too close for comfort so I stuck my hand out. My finger was numb for the rest of the day. I haven’t been able to look at all of the different designs that can be made but I think if there isn’t a lot to do, these could be quick into the donation pile, but we’re not there yet. Depending on cost, these might be a good idea for a goody bag at a birthday party or stocking stuffer, maybe a secret snow day stash. Not a good idea for a travel toy used in confined space… ie airplane or car 

BeckMom:

My 13 year old daughter and 11 year old son thought these things were great! They spent time online trying to find cool tricks to do and then they would turn off the lights and do them for the baby. Baby loved the show! I could see my kids getting more into these if they were a little bit younger, but they really had fun while they were trying to impress the baby!

Susan:

These were a big hit! Not a sit-down-and-play kind of thing, but more of a “coffee table” toy, like our Rubiks Cube etc…, but they move so the littles find them extra fun! They tend to be where we are, we all use them while watching TV, talking in the kitchen etc… everyone in the house seems to grab them when they see them. We have 2 young adult boys, a 7(boy) and almost 5 year old(girl). Delaney has a hard time getting them going, but has mastered the “transfer” whereby someone else (usually a big brother) gets them spinning and one hand at a time give them to her. Donovan learned quickly, as he made a whirlygig with a button and string as part of a school project last year. The lights and shapes are an added bonus, but the spinning and noise is contagious! I do not recommend putting more than one in your purse or pocket, unless untangling is something you enjoy (I do), also, if you lose control you can get quite a smack. There is an added work-out for the upper body if you let them spin pretty tight and as you pull you really feel it (I promise-try it!)! In a nutshell, super fun, I would totally buy these, any “spin” (pardon the pun!) on an old fashioned toy is always a hit in my book!

And there you have it! 9 moms who tested these out not knowing anything but to open the package and play. Seems like the consensus is that it’s a hit!

*****************************************************

disclosure: this post is part of a compensated campaign with MomSelect and FyrFlyz. Opinions stated are that of the moms alone. Participants were gifted the FyrFlyz but no monetary compensation was made. 

Written by our Blogger Knitschmidt (who is essentially my twin/sister wife ) ~Emily

Being a Mom is a tough job. Being a Mom of a daughter just might do me in. Not for the reasons you think, although you can ask me again when she’s a teenager. What I’m worried about is raising a well-adjusted girl who is comfortable in her own skin, when there are all of these mixed messages being thrown around out there! Everybody talks about teaching our daughters to have healthy body images. That it’s not realistic for every girl to aspire to be as thin as the women they see in magazines and on TV. And we all know that it is unhealthy to be excessively overweight, and we encourage our children to be healthy and fit. AND we tell our daughters to be happy in the body they have. And yet we still criticize other women for being too fat, too thin, too athletic, too whatever! How can we teach our daughters to have healthy body images if all we do is criticize women that are different from us? I’ve already had my 8 year old daughter ask me on one occasion if I thought she was fat (NO!) and on another if I thought she was too skinny (again, NO!!)

I’m not a big girl. I’m 5’4″ and wear, depending on the day, season or how recently I had a baby, usually a size 4. Is that a “normal” healthy size for an adult woman? Well, it’s normal for me! My friends and family members are all over the size and weight spectrum, and that’s normal for them. I don’t expect everyone to be the same as me, and I would hope others would be as accepting. “There wouldn’t be charts if someone wasn’t in the lower/higher percentiles!” is a common reassurance when we talk about our babies.  The world would be boring if we all fit the same mold. But we seem to forget that when talking about adults.

I saw, posted by a friend on Facebook the other day, “my fat ass is better than your flat ass.” I tried to make light of it, but it really bothered me. Surely if I posted the same sentiment with “fat” and “flat” reversed, I would get flamed to a crisp, and rightfully so.  “Fat-bashing” would be unacceptable, but this is okay? It seems to be a common theme.  I’ve seen it before, and have been on the receiving end of it. I’ve been told “you’re so skinny… I hate you,” or “you’re disgusting” by FRIENDS! How is it okay to say something to someone slimmer that, if the roles were reversed, would be incredibly hurtful? Why are we sending this message to girls that we should accept people for who they are, unless they’re skinnier than you are, then fire away! How is this building our girls self esteem and giving them a healthy body image?

Then this past weekend, we watched the Grammy Awards. I saw Anderson Cooper’s interview with Adele before the show and I love her! She’s beautiful, she’s funny, she’s smart, she’s comfortable in her own skin and can sing like crazy. She seems like a “real woman” in the sense that she seems down to earth and approachable and just normal. But then as she started to rake in the awards, I started seeing the tweets. “I’m glad Adele looks like a #realwoman,” “She’s absolutely beautiful. #realwoman #curves” “The fact that adele isnt stick skinny makes her even better. #realwoman” And it wasn’t just Adele. “I love how curvy Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum is. #realwoman” “I loooooove that miranda Lambert has curves and really doesn’t care what anyone thinks..#realwoman” And I will agree that they’re all beautiful, confident, talented women, but the implication is that they’re “real women” because of their body shape. I love that these women are being celebrated for not being the Hollywood norm. I don’t love that they’re being celebrated at the expense and exclusion of all sorts of other beautiful, talented, smart, funny, real women who are taller, shorter, thinner, less “curvy.” And that on a night when they’re supposed to be celebrated for their talent, that is shadowed by how they look.

There are lots of things that make a woman real, but size, weight and body shape are the least of them. It’s more about who she is, how she treats others and what she accomplishes, no matter how big or small. I’m a mother, wife, daughter, sister. Any one of those would make me a “real woman,” not what size dress I  wear. I’m all for raising our daughters to have healthy body images, and to be proud of who they are and be self-confident, but not at the expense of other women. Isn’t it better for all women if we teach our girls that we come in all different shapes and sizes, and there is no right or wrong, than to teach them that if they want to be a “real woman” they need to fit some pre-conceived mold? We all have enough of our own insecurities without tearing down one another over weight issues.

What would you tell people who think you are either a bad parent or have a bratty kid? Normally I just roll my eyes at them and walk away, but today it really got under my skin.

I consider myself pretty web savvy, noting when a site is secure, who is requesting what info and I don’t click links in my email to get to any bank or bill pay site. I throw out those cards and envelopes in the mail that suggest we are up to no good with our mortgage and car, because I know we are fine there too. What I didn’t expect was someone to come to the house selling phony security alarm systems. That’s got balls.

My neighborhood rarely gets door to door people, maybe two a year, if that. This guy caught me off guard as I thought he was the mailman ringing the bell. He starts asking about our security system and something just seemed fishy. He was explaining all that his “company” offered and thankfully Brady start crying right on cue. I told him we already had a system and were not interested and he asked if he could come inside. Um, no way Jose. I took his business card and said I had to get the baby and shut the door. And locked it. After looking up his company online there seemed to be an awful lot of other gals at home who answered the door and felt skeeved. Turned out the business was legit, but not highly regarded, mostly for their skeevy tactics.

With things like this happening all the time these days, I’ve been looking for a way to protect ourselves and our identities. How can you protect yourself? How does identity theft happen?

Here is a great infographic on they myths of Identity Theft

Get Identity Guard, and all the details you need to know about identity theft and how to help yourself stay safe from it. You can start by downloading their three FREE e-books.

disclosure: This service was provided to me for review at no charge. In addition I received monetary compensation. All opinions are my own. As usual, I wouldn’t share this info with you unless I truly believed in it. 

Saturday, February 11

Michaels ~ Valentine’s Day Memory Book
Make a Memory Book for keeping your favorite Valentines. Make-It, Take It. While supplies last.

Where: Denver area Michaels

When: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM while supplies last

Who: Children 3 yrs and older

How: Just show up.

Cost: FREE with purchase of paper sack.

For more info: Michaels event website, or (720) 494-2673

Celebrate Valentine’s Day – Disney Store

Create Valentine’s Day cards for a special someone!

Where: Denver area Disney Stores

When: 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Who: Ages 3 and up

How: Line-up no earlier than 30 minutes before session

Cost: FREE!

For more info: Valentine’s Day

Where: Lakeshore Learning
When: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Who: Ages 3 to 8.
How: Just show up.
Cost: FREE!
For more info: Call (303) 768-8484 or visit the website.

Craft Activity – Beyond the Blackboard

Where: Beyond the Blackboard, 7721 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada

When: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Who: Families

How: Just show up!

Cost: FREE!

For more info: Beyond the Blackboard

Family Day: At the Movies ~ Boulder History Museum

This Family Fun Day is inspired by the Museum’s current exhibit, Hollywood, Colorado.

Fun for the whole family:

• Be an Acting Star for a Day
• Ad Lib like Robin Williams
• Test Your Improv Chops on the Fly
• Design the Best Movie Poster Ever
• Build your own Camera Obscura
• Screen the Silent Film Cinderella

Where: Boulder History Museum, 1206 Euclid Ave., Boulder

When: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Who: Families

How: Just show up.

Cost: FREE with Museum Admission (Adults/$6, Seniors/$4, Children & Students/$3, Under 5 yrs/FREE)

For more info: Boulder History Museum website

Bring a Colorado I.D. or an I.D. and some proof that you live in Colorado (piece of mail with your address on it) for free admission.
Where: Denver Firefighters Museum, 1326 Tremont Place, Denver
When: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Who: Colorado Residents
How: Just show up with a Colorado I.D. or an I.D. and some proof that you live here (piece of mail with your address on it)
Cost: FREE
For more info: Denver Firefighters Museum WEBSITE

I eat heathy, most of the time *dusts oreo crumbs off*.

But no matter what I do, I still have the infamous “MuffinTop.”

I can’t tell you how many DVD’s, Wii games and large exercise equipment I have purchased to try to get rid of the gut. I do situps until I want to cry, planks until I want to collapse and still, Sir Muffin Top is still there.

*sigh*

There is a new procedure, approved by the FDA, that will help get rid of the top that is called muffin. CoolSculpting by Zeltiq. What I love is that it’s not targeted tho those who are overweight, but for those who have tried all they can, yet the stubborn fat stays.

CoolSculpting® is a revolutionary new body contouring treatment that precisely targets the stubborn fat you want to lose. It’s never been easier to sculpt the body you want – naturally, safely and without surgery or downtime. CoolSculpting is FDA–cleared with undeniable results after just one treatment.

Here’s the skinny: developed by Harvard scientists, our unique, patented, clinically proven procedure involves freezing fat cells without damage to your skin. There’s no knife. No suction hoses. No needles. No lasers, even. After your treatment, you get on with your busy day.

Would you like to win a CoolSculpting procedure to axe that Muffin Top?

There are 14 blogs offering-up a chance for ONE of our readers to win a CoolSculpting procedure (value $2,500)!  You must to use the form below to enter. Contest ends February 15th! You must submit via the form below in order to enter!

(Not a condition of entry, but go ahead and “like” their facebook page for me will ya?!)

**********************************************

disclosure: This is part of a part of a compensated campaign. Um, Hello?! Who wouldn’t want someone to freeze your fat vs. the more invasive ways of surgery. Paid or not, I this this new treatment is amazing!

For more inspiring photos, check out:  The Bonafide Life, Better in Bulk, Shanamama, From Dates to Diapers, Not Your Momblog, The Divine Miss Mommy, Rajean Blomquist, Brain Foggles, Lil Kid Things, The Centsible Life, Rachel Ferruci, Resourceful Mommy and Zensible Mama and link your own photo stories.

After turning down my requests for a chef, nanny, full time housekeeper, driver and butler (C’mon! How cool would it be to have a BUTLER?!) I settled on the one thing that causes me the most stress. Grocery Shopping.

I hate it.

I can’t stand it.

I want to gouge my eyes out once my hands hit that metal cart with a busted wheel (why do they ALL have busted wheels?).

To my surprise he agreed. Now, I let him shop (haha, notice I said I “let him shop”, like he has a choice?) sans kids most of the time. So really, I might hate the shopping less if I didn’t have one throwing cheetos in, another begging for a toy and the third screaming for 45 minutes. But I digress… my husband doing the shopping has been heavenly. He’s actually out right this minute. *cue birds chirping and small forest animals surrounding me as I sing – off key mind you*

I now have at least 90 minutes to catch up on a project, or Project Runway.     I can get housework done and not be stressed and on-the-go all the time. I still make the shopping list, put everything away and do all the cooking, but now I don’t have to watch the pimple faced baggers smashing my bread as they flirt with the checker and put my bags in the cart with the three screaming children.

Who does the grocery shopping in your house? Do you/they like doing it?