Dinosaurs & Dandelions

The Little Clinic {#Bzz Campaign}

2011-10-23T13:57:00.000-05:00

Being a mother of 2 children and a busy self employed daycare owner, I work 11-12 hours a day and my evenings/weekends are filled with cleaning, grocery shopping, and working on other various work-related tasks. It's not easy for me to hire a sub short notice or take time away from my business to take myself or my family to the doctor over colds, sore throats, or tummy aches. It's definitely not condusive to our bank account either! Not to mention, who on earth wants to sit in a full doctor's office, emergency room, or walk in clinic with a sick child for hours on end? Um, not me! Now with the convenience of The Little Clinic, I don't have to worry about any of that!

The Little Clinic operates 80 clinics inside select Kroger, Fry's, and King Soopers stores in OH, KY, TN, AZ, GA, and CO. These walk-in clinics offer quick, affordable, high quality healthcare for your whole family (18 months and older) so that you can spend less time and money when your family is sick. The Little Clinic is open 7 days a week, evenings, and no appointments necessary! You can visit The Little Clinic for things such as: common illnesses, minor injuries, vaccinations, laboratory services, wellness services, and some procedures (such as TB skin test, ear wax removal, etc.).

Most insurances are accepted, which means you only pay your copay. If you don't have insurance, that's okay! Treatment is offered at a low cost to you! Visit TheLittleClinic.com to find a location near you! You can also connect with The Little Clinic on Facebook!

*Disclaimer: I joined this BzzCampain on BzzAgent. I was in no way compensated for this post. I received informational material and/or product(s) for review purposes only. All opinions and statements above are completely mine*

Renuzit Fresh Accents for the holidays {Review & Giveaway}

2011-10-23T12:57:00.000-05:00

I love the holidays, and with the holidays come wonderful festive scents. Who doesn't want their home to smell like a fresh cut Christmas tree? I was so excited to try Renuzit's new Fresh Accents holiday air fresheners.

Renuzit's Fresh Accents bring you two new scents: Winter Berry, and Festive Snow. These holiday air fresheners are designed to blend into any home decor to offer a more modern visual appeal. I put the Winter Berry freshener in my husband's bathroom because, well, he's a man, and he needs one in there! I will admit, it was a bit overpowering and made me a little sick to my stomach at first... but his bathroom is really tiny. I actually ended up putting it under the sink, and could still smell it! The Winter Snow is for sure my favorite! I am saving it for when I put my Christmas tree up, but could smell it perfectly well trough the package!

Renuzit sent me 3 coupons good for a FREE Fresh Accent air freshener, for 3 of my readers. Want to win? Just use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Winners will be drawn at random and notified by email. You have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen! All entries are verified. Open to US only, as I am responsible for shipping the winner's coupon.

Music In Motion {Review}

2011-10-21T18:56:00.000-05:00

If you know me, you know I've been working with children for over 6 years and now run a daycare in my home. I'm always up for great kids songs, especially that promote learning while being fun! I was sent Groove Kid Nation "Music in Motion" to review, and couldn't wait to pop it in the CD player for all of my kiddos. Not to mention, they love to dance, so I knew they would be excited to hear something new.

Music In Motion is a compilation of groovy soul tracks for children of all ages, performed by a group of LA musicians with the intent to teach musical instruments and concepts. The tunes are extremely catchy and I loved watching all of my children dance around to it. The new feline band, Kool Katz, gives little ones fun characters to associate the music with.

Ten percent of the wholesale price of Music In Motion will be donated to CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting poverty. What a wonderful way to help people in need!

*Disclaimer: I was sent a product for review purposes and was in no way monetarily compensated for this post. All above opinions are completely mine*

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Freschetta #Proud To Support Pink {Review & Giveaway}

2011-10-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

As a member of the Freschetta Fresh Connection blogger team, I was invited to participate in their amazing new Proud To Support Pink program! Freschetta is doing their part this month to honor Breast Cancer Awareness by offering the opportunity to consumers, to help donate to the Memorial-Kettering Cancer Center for cancer research. How? It's simple! Every time you purchase specially marked Freschetta products, you jump online, enter a code at ProudToSupportPink.com, and $1 is donated straight to the cause... up to $50,000! You can also check out Freschetta on Facebook and share your stores about breast cancer. Oh wait, did I mention you could win one of many pink iPod Shuffles? Freschetta is giving away 50 of them a week during October!!! You can visit Proud To Support Pink to sign up to enter, and gain extra entries by purchasing, sharing on Facebook, or Tweeting! In addition, Freschetta is also giving away 50 iPod's a week to cancer centers around America. Don't you want one? I do!

I was sent a coupon to try my choice of Freschetta pizza. Being as I've never had one before, and we eat a lot of pizza in this house, I was really excited to try it! I chose their Brick Oven Pepperoni & Italian Cheese. I won't lie, before I took a bite, I wasn't too sure. It just didn't "look" as good as other frozen pizzas we've had. Boy was I wrong! It was delicious and was comparable in every way to something you would find fresh in a pizzeria. Yum!

Freschetta has lots more to offer in the taste department. Check out Freschetta.com or your local grocery store! Ready for a giveaway? Good.... because Freschetta has offered one of you the nice package they sent me (coupon for a free pizza, and two cute pair of pink ear phones). Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. It's simple. Winner will be chosen randomly and notified via email. You will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen! Good luck everyone!

My Indulgence {flipflop Wines Review}

2011-10-04T12:01:00.000-05:00

Incase you're new around here, I reviewed several Flipflop Wines months ago here on the blog... You can read it HERE. I was beyond excited when I was contacted to try a few more of their wines. I can officially say I've tried them all. Recently I was sent a bottle of flipflop's Mascato. This was my first taste of Mascato and I must say, it is now my new favorite wine!

Appellation: California
Tastes like: Light-bodied Moscato with floral aromas, semi-sweet palate, and a soft, lingering finish.
It is full of: Crisp, bright aromas balance sweet notes
Eat with: Pad Thai, Chinese chicken salad or vegetable curry
Serve: Chilled
Store: Away from direct sunlight

As I said once before, Flipflop Wines give a whole new meaning to "cheap wine".... by cheap, I don't mean lacking in quality or taste. I simply mean, extremely affordable... $7 a bottle! You can read all about Flipflop Wines and their company HERE.

I also want to tell you about a really wonderful project Flipflop Wines is connected with.....

Flipflop Wines has been partnered with Soles4Souls since before my last review for them. It has continued to grow and become more successful. Soles4Souls is an international charity that distributes footwear to people on need. For every bottle of Flipflop wine purchased, they will donate a pair of shoes to someone in need. They have now launched the Flippin Good! Deeds Challenge which gives us bloggers a chance to run a shoe drive until November 15th, collecting used shoes from friends, family, community, and readers for a chance to win 1 of 2 international distribution trips. Unfortunately, me now running my in home daycare, I don't have a lot of time to put into a shoe drive... although I want to help. That's why I'm sending all of my readers to a fellow blogger to help their chances of winning a trip (I chose at random, a blog that I currently follow who is participating in the shoe drive).

Want to help someone in need and donate old shoes?!? Please visit Life With Levi, who is teaming up with several other bloggers, to get your shoes to her as soon as possible! I will be cleaning out our closets and giving away some shoes as well. My kids are always outgrowing them, and I know DH and I have way too many in our closet.

*Disclaimer* I was sent a bottle of wine for review purposes. All above opinions are completely mine.

Nashville Area: Photo Session {Giveaway}

2011-09-14T19:35:00.000-05:00

Heavenly Chic Photography (the fab girl who does all our photos) is holding a Halloween Pic Contest! Submit a Halloween photo of your child(ren) to HeavenlyChicPhotography@gmail.com. Voting will run Oct 1-31, and will take place in an album on her photography page for the entire month. Winner gets a free portrait session. Runner up gets a mini session! *Local to Nashville ONLY*

Find her on the Web, and Facebook!

Mompact: Snugzee Baby {Review & Giveaway} Blog #59

2011-09-12T00:01:00.007-05:00

As a member of Mompact, I was invited to participate in this amazing giveaway Blog Hop, helping support mom owned businesses. There are 120 blogs each giving something away! So once you're done entering here, scroll down under the Rafflecopter form and click the large link to the next blog! This event will run from Sept. 12-17th! All winners will be notified by email, and chosen randomly using the giveaway platform each blog has chosen to use. Please do any mandatory entries required before doing bonus/extra entries! Enter as many or as few giveaways during this event as you want, but you may only enter each one once! Good luck and have fun!

I am blog #59 in this event (just for your own reference)

I was beyond excited to receive my product to review and can't begin to tell you how pleased I am with it! Snugzee Baby is handmade in Austin, Texas. These adorable fabric cushions are designed for ages newborn- through toddler (up to 25 lbs) and offer the perfect head/neck support while in a carseat!

I couldn't wait to get these on my daughter's car seat because she is officially big enough to be in a big girl convertible car seat. As an infant she had a neck rest but it was nothing like this. And of course she quickly outgrew that. Plus, it's not made for older babies! She is 10 months old now and is a big girl for her age. I hate watching children fall asleep in the car with their heads slumped down to their chest. How uncomfortable. The first time we put her in the car with her Snugzee Baby, she slept like a rock! They simply velcro around the straps/harness and you can also purchase the seat belt covers! Snugzee Baby offers lots of different adorable fabrics to choose from (I got Prism)!

No one of you can win your own set of Snugzee Baby! Enter using the simple form below! Don't forget to visit all of the other blogs in the giveaway hop over the next 5 days! There are lots of awesome thing to be won!!!

Visit Shawn Ann's World to enter the NEXT blog giveaway......

Gazillions Bubbles Cyclone {Review & Giveaway}

2011-09-08T13:37:00.000-05:00

Children LOVE bubbles, that's a given! I've worked with children for over 6 years now and have 2 of my own.... and any early education teacher will tell you, bubbles are a must in every classroom, no matter what the age! Any time I have a room full of bored, cranky kids or when it's raining outside, we would get out the bubbles and go nuts! It's funny how something so simple can be so amusing to a group of preschoolers. Hey, I'm not complaining. It's makes my day easier sometimes! But honestly, who wants to sit around and blow bubbles until you're lightheaded and can't see straight? Not me! That's why I was beyond excited to give my son the Gazillion Bubbles Cyclone for his 4th birthday this year! Not only would he enjoy it, but so would my daycare children (I run a daycare in my home). I knew a bubble machine would be perfect fun on days when it was way too hot to go outside or when we were all just in a yucky mood.

Of course I was too busy keeping children out of my son's face when opening his presents, so I didn't get to snap a picture of him opening his new bubble machine, however I most certainly did get some of him and my daycare kids enjoying it. Our Cyclone was really easy to put together (although I had a tough time getting the small screws in and out of it, to get batteries installed). I simply put the batteries in, screwed the machine onto the top of the bubbles, and set it in its holder. We put a towel down on the table in the middle of the room and turned it on. Within a minute or so, we had a whirlwind of bubbles. The smiles and giggles were a joy to see. I then quickly realized why I never did bubbles inside my house.... there was a huge, sticky mess on the table and working its way to my floor. At that point I turned it out and told the kids this would be an outside toy from now on... an exciting outside toy nonetheless. I do wish there were an easy way to store it (although I have no suggestions on that). The machine itself had gotten messy as the bubbles were falling and such, but I was able to rinse it off and sit it out to dry. No big deal!

Gazillion Bubbles has tons of really cool products for all ages. My opinion, every parent should own a bubble machine.... it's easy entertainment! They are offering one of YOU the chance to win your own Gazillion Bubbles Cyclone! Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. You must do the mandatory entry first, and make sure to leave any necessary information (answers, usernames, etc) in the "Extra info" field!

Aerobie Skylighter {Review & Giveaway}

2011-09-08T13:18:00.000-05:00

If your family is anything like mine, we love doing things together, especially outside. My husband is a sports fanatic so anything active, he is definitely up for it. Not to mention my 4 year old son wants to do everything Dada does. When I was contacted to review the Aerobie Skylighter, I was ecstatic. I've see and heard of them and knew it was something we would enjoy. Although it is designed for ages 10 and up, my son had no problems using it at all! In a matter of 15 minutes, he was throwing it like a pro! My brother and dad came to visit and were playing with it too. I run a daycare in my home and have younger children. My 2 year olds have been playing with it and are getting really good at throwing it. I love taking them out to run around and throw/catch the Skylighter, which wears them out for a great nap (they are snoozing as I'm writing this, hehe).

Pretty sure my husband and my brother had more fun than anyone. They had other plans but when Cameron brought it outside, that changed really quick! We haven't used it at night yet but now that it's cooling off around here, we plan to get outside (of course when the rain stops) and test out those fabulous lights on our Skylighter (afterall, that's why it's called a Skylight, right?). Let me tell you a little more about the Aerobie Skylighter...

Spectacular flights, day or night
Powerful LEDs light the entire transluscent disc
Amazing long and accurate flights
Large 12 inch diameter for unequaled stability
Cushioned rim for performance grip and soft catches
Long life, replaceable batteries
Made in the U.S.A.

Where can you get one? Aerobie is available in more than 35 countries and if you live in the USA, you can SEARCH HERE to find a store near you! Aerobie has lots of fun things to offer, so check out their website!

The Skylighter retails for $15!

Want to win one for your family? Good.... because Aerobie is giving one away to one of my readers! Just use this simple Rafflecopter form below to enter! Make sure you do the mandatory entries and in the "Extra Info" sections, leave any usernames to identify yourself (GFC, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). If I cant verify your entry, you can't win! Good luck!

5 Legitimate Work From Home Jobs

2011-09-03T18:24:00.000-05:00

Before I opened my in home daycare, I was a SAHM with 2 kids. I was always trying to find things to do to make a little money to help my husband with the bills. But as you probably know, it's impossible to find real work from home jobs online without getting scammed or wasting time to do a million surveys for $5.00.

I can across an article on Christian Personal Finance that gives you great info on 5 truly legitimate work from home jobs involving writing. Go check it out if you're looking for something to do from home! It can't hurt!

Costume Super Center {Review} It's Almost Halloween!

2011-08-30T12:13:00.000-05:00

I love fall! And fall means Halloween, super fun parties, and lots of candy! I think I enjoy it just as much as the kids do. Costumes aren't just a once a year deal though... I'm sure you know that! www.CostumeSuperCenter.com has everything you could imagine whether it be Hello Kitty, Angry Birds, or Batman Halloween costumes! Don't believe me? See for yourself....

The possibilities are endless. Now that my son has his costume, I think I know what my daughter will be so she can match her brother. We were sent The Brave and The Bold Batman Costume, which my 4 year old is crazy about! He decided on a whim he wanted to be Batman and this costume looked awesome. Of course he needs big muscles and a long cape. Not to mention the fabulous Batman mask. The costume itself is made so well and far exceeded my expectations. I run a daycare in my home so when it arrived all the kids got to see it, and as you can imagine wanted to try it on. Needless to say, a few of my parents have already ordered this exact costume for their child! My son isn't very fond of the camera but was able to snap a few on my phone. He loves to wear the mask around on a daily basis, which is fine by me! And the best part about Costume Super Center.... their prices! This awesome deluxe costume is just under $30! Truth be told, if I had went into my local party/costume store this would've cost me at least $50!

I'm thinking this will be perfect for my daughter....

And I think my husband and I have ours situated too:

Next year I think we will do a whole family theme! How fun will that be?!? And I know exactly where I will be shopping for all of our costumes, wigs, accessories, and Halloween gear!

Right now, for a limited time, Costume Super Center is offering an additional 15% off already low prices on anything $30 or more, with code 15OFF30! So go check it out! You are going to need a while to decide on your costume after searching their huge selection!!!

*I received no monetary compensation for this post. I was provided a product for review purposes. All above opinions are completely mine*

FREE Teeth Whitening Pen (8/12)

2011-08-12T12:27:00.000-05:00

I just signed up for a new account at SaveMore and instantly got a $10 credit for singing up. You can then purchase this teeth whitening pen for $8 with free shipping and use your credit.... making it absolutely FREE! Deal is only for today (8/12) so hurry!

GO SIGN UP HERE FOR YOUR $10 CREDIT!!!

No More Rack Daily Deals {Win an IPad and more!}

2011-08-11T13:07:00.000-05:00

I've sign up for many of these daily deal sites, and I will admit.... most of them offer deals that are just way out of my price range for really expensive designer things. That's not the case with No More Rack.... today's deals are all under $40!

My favorite thing about No More Rack is their friend referral program! You can earn a free pitcher and glass set just by having 5 friends sign up! You can get TVs, iPads, computers, Wii, XBox, and SO much more, for doing absolutely nothing but telling your friends. They don't have to purchase anything either! They just simply have to validate their email address! Awesome right?

If you don't have an account, I highly suggest SIGNING UP right now and spreading the word and giving your friends your referral link. I won't even hide it, I'm trying like crazy to win an iPad for myself because as much as I want one, we don't have an extra $700 to drop on something like that. So please please please go sign up for me! I'm going to be offering extra entries into giveaways for doing this too (hint, hint)!

ScrapSmith Review {Discount}

2011-07-31T13:42:00.000-05:00

"Making Memories Last"

I absolutely love pictures, scrapbooks, and anything to that nature that I can use to showcase memories in my home. However, I do not have the patience to make scrapbooks. I've started several, and they still sit in my closet, unfinished. Im not creative enough to make every page look different or to come up with unique designs for other home decor. When I came across Trista, at Scrapsmith.com, I was blown away at her beautiful work. When she offered to send me a review product I was ecstatic. I simply uploaded my favorite pictures of my husband and I to a Photobucket account then sent her the link. She did everything else! My finished product is beautiful and I absolutely LOVE showing it off. I've never seen anything like it before. I can tell she put a lot of time and effort into making it as original as possible.

Each "page/sleeve" is made of old newspaper print and has a picture on each side, as well as a two sided page inside the sleeve! I just love the creativity of it all. They all fit perfectly into this beautiful book that has our names on the front. I couldn't be more happy with it. My best friend saw it as soon as I got it and was highly impressed. Now she's wanting one! What do you think? I leave it laying out for all of our guests to see!

I also adore the amazing hanging art pieces she makes. In addition, Trista does custom cards, and other home decor. She will work with you to design exactly what you want! Look at some of these.....

Gorgeous right? Trista has offered all of you a 25% discount on any purchase from her! You can contact her through email, follow her on Twitter, or add her on Etsy (a work in progress), and visit her website at Scrapsmith.com. Let her know I sent you!

*DISCLAIMER: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I was sent a product simply for review purposes. All above opinions are strictly mine!*

Parent's Choice #MyBlogSpark {Review & Giveaway}

2011-07-31T13:02:00.000-05:00

As parents, we often don't want to buy anything less than name brand when it comes to our children. Years ago when my son was an infant I only purchased the well known, more expensive brands of baby food, formula, diapers, wipes, toys and many other baby products. It was costing me almost $200 a month just in formula! In my personal opinion, that is outrageous. How can anyone afford children at that rate? I'll tell you how.... by choosing Parent's Choice brand for all of your baby needs. You will find products at HALF the price of any name brand with all of the same nutritional benefits.

Now that I have a 9 month old daughter, I have been purchasing Parent's Choice brand formula since the day she was born. She's had a tummy problem since she was a few months old and has been on soy. Lucky for me, Parent's Choice formula consists of a wide variety to fit the needs of every baby! Want to know how much you can save by switching to Parent's Choice? Just check out their $aving's Calculator to find out what your family could be spending.

Personally, I do a lot of my shopping at Wal-Mart, so having Parent's Choice as their store brand gives me convenience and savings! If you have kids, you need convenient and afforable... there is no doubt about that! I was more than happy to try the milk-based formula's I was sent from Parent's Choice through My Blog Spark! It's time for my daughter to start trying milk based after being on soy to test her tolerance. As soon as I got my awesome prize back (including some great Parent's Choice drop in bottles), I gave it a whirl. I am super excited to tell you that she has done awesome and will now be off her soy and onto regular formula for the last few months of needing it!

One lucky winner will receive a $10,000 college scholarship in the form of a College Savings 529 Plan. From now until 11:59pm on August 15th, 2011 you can choose to increase your little one’s chances of attending the college of his or her choice, by “liking” Parent’s Choice Infant Formula here on Facebook and filling out the simple form here. Visit this link for official sweepstakes rules.

And now, I'm excited to announce that one of you awesome readers of my blog will win your very own Parent's Choice Prize Pack consisting of :

12.9 oz can of Parent’s Choice Premium to try
12.4 oz can of Parent’s Choice Advantage to try
Two $3.00 off coupons for Parent’s Choice Infant Formula (redeemable at all Walmart stores)
Parent’s Choice Starter Set – a complete nurser system that includes a variety of bottles, nipples, liners, leak proof caps and retainer rings

All you have to do is use the Rafflecopter entry form below and do the mandatory entry. All other entries are completely optional. All answers, comments, usernames (for Facebook, Twitter, GFC, etc) need to be put in the "Extra Info" field on Rafflecopter. I will choose a winner randomly on August 15th. All entries are verified, so make sure you are actually doing them! Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond with requested information! Good luck!

Dinner Is Ready {Review & Giveaway}

2011-07-20T12:11:00.001-05:00

I can't begin to tell you how much I love to cook. Before my daughter was born, and especially when my husband was deployed for a year, I taught myself how to cook and found the best rated recipes I could find online to try out for my family. My dad is in the restaurant business and I completely trust his judgement, so he was always my tester. But, 8 months ago when I had Mia, that all changed. I barely have time or energy to cook on a daily basis and I end up doing meals just a few times a week. Even then, they aren't the meals I wish I had time for. And I most certainly don't attempt new things unless my husband is home with the kids or they are visiting Nana. Sound familiar? I'm sure it is to most families. Between sports, dance recitals, homework, and chores, along with parents who work full time jobs... cooking a good sit down meal seems like the last thing you really want to do, even though you want your family to eat well. What do you do?!?

Dinner Is Ready is your solution, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You can spend ONE day cooking and freeze 30 meals to have ready for your family at any time. And no, I don't mean like the frozen lasagna you buy at the grocery store. I mean meals that will not taste frozen! The book, Dinner Is Ready, teaches you all about freezer friendly foods, and the art of freezing. I had no idea! You are given MANY recipes that are absolutely mouthwatering. I couldn't wait to make my list!

In addition to the cookbook, you can get software to go along with it. The software allows you to make, adjust, and print your shopping list for everything at once! No sitting down to calculate or adding up amounts. You can simply choose recipes, make a menu, or us conversions to adjust meal sizes, and print in a few clicks. It was incredibly easy to use! I took a few screen shots to show you....

You can also get the kit for lunches and side dishes! I was more than pleased with the whole process. I was worried about timing but Dinner Is Ready explains that as well! I'm super excited to share this with all of my readers, and to continue using it. As of next week, I am opening a daycare in my home, where I will be working 12+ hours a day. This is exactly what I need in my life. And so does every family!

Buy It:

You can purchase the Dinner Is Ready book and software for $31.95 online

Win It:

Dinner Is Ready has offered one of my readers the book and software combo that I reviewed!!

Like many other blog owners, I am using Rafflecopter for most of my giveaways now. It seems to be much easier for readers to enter as well as easier for bloggers to choose winners and verify information! You must do the mandatory entry first (in this case, leaving a comment on this blog post) before you can do any additional entries. All entries are verified! This giveaway will run from 7/20-8/12 at 8pm CT. I will choose a winner randomly via Rafflecopter and then email the winner. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email with information or another winner will be chosen. Be sure to check your Spam folders!

I received no monetary compensation for posting this review/giveaway. I was given product(s) for review purposes only. All above opinions are strictly mine.

College Students: Ever thought of renting college books?!

2011-07-17T07:48:00.000-05:00

I sure wish I knew of a service like this when I was in college years ago! College books are ridiculously expensive and you NEVER get nearly what you paid for them when you sell them back to the bookstores. When I got an email from staff at CampusBookRentals.com, asking if I would be interested in writing about their company, I was more than happy! Plus, I'd like to go back to school some day via online classes and finish my degree so knowing this is an option for me is great!

CampusBookRentals.com had the largest selection in the nation so you're almost sure to find the book you need for your class. Shipping is FREE both ways too! How nice! The whole process is very simple!

Have books sitting around your house from previous college classes? They will even buy them from you! You can get an instant quote on the website!

I did a quick search for Early Childhood books on their site and got 1000's of results! Wow! I clicked the first title. Its retail was over $70. But you can rent it for a whole semester (130 days) for $37. Awesome! Thats much more affordable. And I dont have to worry about re-selling it when I'm done with it. I WILL be using CampusBookRentals.com and urge you all to do the same.

CampusBookRentals has partnered with Operation Smile in hopes to help fix the smiles of children suffering from cleft lip. They donate a portion of EVERY book rental to Operation Smile. You can find more about Operation Smile at their website.

*I was given no monetary compensation for this post. All above opinions are strictly mine*

Bryton Pick Floss {Review}

2011-07-14T10:56:00.000-05:00

These days it seems everyone has a busy lifestyle. Even as a SAHM (only for the next week), I stay quite busy between cleaning, cooking, children, errands, blogging, and preparing my daycare to open next week. Dental hygiene is something that should never be put on the back burner. I often don't take the time to floss and I can admit that. Every time I go to the dentist that's the one thing they tell me... floss more! It's just something I forget to do. Horrible right?

Bryton Pick Floss was designed as a quick, on the go, resusable floss that can simply be washed off and used for up to 30 days! It's small and portable and even has a credit card size carrier you can easily fit in your wallet. It is made of flexible and thin stainless steel.

I was sent 2 of them to try so I gave one to my husband. I will be honest, we weren't big fans. I wasn't getting anything on the pick when flossing and I was so afraid the stainless steel was going to cut my gums, even though I was careful. It just didn't feel like it was doing the job. I much prefer regular dental floss. However, it may suite you just fine. Bryton Pick Floss can also be used with braces!

BRYTONPick is available @: Meijer Stores, A&P, Pathmark, Winn Dixie, Walgreens.com, Kinney Drugs, Save Mart, CVS.com, Drugstore.com, Pearson Dental Supply & Others. You can ask your local pharmacy or food store manager to order BrytonPick for you; just pass them our info.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

UPrinting Brochures {Giveaway}

2011-07-14T10:02:00.001-05:00

Now that I am a proud small business owner, I have so many uses for the products offered at UPrinting. One of them being brochures to advertise my in home daycare I open as of this coming Monday! Advertisement can be expensive but it doesn't have to be. Don't hire someone or pay hundreds of dollars to get the word out about your business, use the brochure templates at UPrinting to design and print them yourself! The possibilities are endless with your options in folding, gloss, text, pictures, and complete customization!

One of you can win 50 FREE brochures for your business too!

One(1) Winner of 50 Brochures
8.5" x 11"
100lb Paper Gloss, With Folding (Half Fold, Trifold/Letterfold, Z-Fold, Roll Fold, Accordion Fold), Outside and Inside printing, 2 Business Days Turnaround
Restriction: Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only.

Like many other blog owners, I am using Rafflecopter for most of my giveaways now. It seems to be much easier for readers to enter as well as easier for bloggers to choose winners and verify information! You must do the mandatory entry first (in this case, leaving a comment on this blog post) before you can do any additional entries. All entries are verified! This giveaway will run from 7/14-7/23 at 8pm CT. I will choose a winner randomly via Rafflecopter and then email the winner. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email with information or another winner will be chosen. Be sure to check your Spam folders!

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive a poster for hosting. Check out UPrinting.com to see more of their brochures and brochure templates.

Humans can have feathers too {Review}

2011-07-01T06:18:00.000-05:00

Ever since I stopped getting my hair dyed regularly every 6 weeks, I stopped going to my favorite salon as much as I used to. I'm also out of the loop on what's "hip" and when I heard about feather extensions I thought, "What in the world?!?". My best friend was planning to get some and although I'd seen pictures I was a little unsure about this trend. I'm all for doing fun things to my hair and have had SO many different colors and styles (see below)....

Many months ago when I stopped working I realized we couldn't afford my hair habits so I sadly went into Salon Niki and had it turned all back to my natural color (which it hadn't been in 5 years). We talked about how if I got bored we could easily do bright colored highlights underneath which would be cheaper and easier to maintain because it doesn't matter if your roots show! This brightened my day!

Then I learned about these feather extensions. My best friend got a few and I saw her over the weekend..... I was in love with them. I started Googling images to find different looks. Then a mom of a little girl I'm going to keep came over a few weeks ago and had a few in her hair! I had to have some!

As you can imagine.... the list goes on and on and on. Go see for yourself!

You can curl them, wash them, brush them, and even reuse them!!!! They simply use pliers to clamp it into your hair and boom, your done! Took like 10 minutes! The going rate is about $15 a piece. Way more affordable than coloring your hair, easy to change, and resuable! You can't go wrong. Salon Niki (in Smyrna, TN) has many to choose from..... which wasn't as easy a choice as I hoped!

Fun right?!? Well after "trying on" many different colors... I decided on orange!

And there you have it!

If you live in or around Nashville, TN.... I cannot say enough amazing things about Salon Niki. The owner, Alicia, is my personal stylist who I've become great friends with. But every single girl in that salon has superb talent. My mom goes there, and so do many people I know! I've never been to a salon where I was given the style, and cut in the picture I brought in... until the first time I went to Salon Niki. I DO NOT trust people with my hair and would never go anywhere else. I'm constantly recommending people and get more compliments on my hair than you could ever imagine (so does my mom). Thinking about getting feather extensions, or even just a new haircut? Make an appointment right now!!! If you don't live around here, find a salon who has them and try it!

Salon Niki

6600 Old Nashville Hwy

Smyrna, TN 37167

(615) 809-2473

Visit their WEBSITE to learn even more about their staff and services!!!


	I was not given any monetary compensation for this post. I simply wanted to share my experience with an awesome business!

Wanna know why I've be MIA?

2011-07-01T05:47:00.000-05:00

This is why...

As of July 18th, I will officially be opening an in home daycare!

I'm sure some of you have seen me write about my past experience as a preschool teacher. Although I've been a SAHM since October before my daughter was born, I've always missed making money and being able to contribute to things for our family. Not to to mention I just missed being a teacher. But I couldn't make myself pay my employer most of my check to bring my own kids to work. Silly if ya ask me. Especially when you worked for them (and went above and beyond any time they asked or didn't ask) for 4 years! I kept throwing around the idea of watching kids in my home but kept making excuses as to why I wasn't doing it. Finally a mom of one of my old preschool kids called me and asked if I would be willing to fill in for her on Fridays at her house because she was going to start watching children. We talked and she thought it may end up being 30 hour job for me eventually. However that isn't going to be the case. That's when my husband asked me "Why the hell aren't you doing it here Erica??". I sat for a minute as we ate dinner and then said "Good question. Why aren't I?". I explained that he would have to give up his man cave and it would cost a lot of money to get the room the way I want to start up. He was all for it!!!! The next day we cleaned out the room, moved furniture to my moms attic, packed up sports memorabilia to put into our attic, and began making a list of To Do and things I would need!

It's been extremely fun putting it together because it's something I've always wanted. Now I can be with my children, make money, and be in the comfort of my own home. No gas to use, no dragging my kids out early in time to get to work. I also get to participate in the state funded food program which will allow me to feed the children extremely well, and be reimbursed for it. Awesome right? Not to mention I get to claim SO much on my taxes.... you would'nt even believe it. I plan to get my license from DHS to watch more than 4 children in the next year as well, and hopefully keep growing and some day open a large center! A girl can dream right?!

Why did I choose the name Lions, Tigers & Tots Daycare? An old friend and former co-teacher of mine and I always talked about opening our own center one day (unfortunately she lives in NY now or we would totally be doing this together) and after we both worked in a themed center, knew we wanted to have a theme as well. Jungle it would be. We threw around names for fun but I couldn't find any name that wasn't already taken. My fabulous Facebook friends came up with this one. I'm planning to have a friends mom come do murals and animals on my walls in the next few months!

I even made a professional looking website and a Facebook page! I'm pretty proud of myself. Know anyone around the Nashville, TN area who may be looking for childcare for a child over the age of 2? Send them my way!!!!

Now I have to show you some pictures of the before and after of the room (when the house was empty)...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Sooooo..... what do you think? If you say an ad on Craigslist with pictures, would you call?? I ordered business cards but don't even know where to begin handing them out.

Blog Bash 2011 Winners!

2011-06-28T12:56:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to announce the 4 winners of the awesome prize packs from Blog Bash. Thank you all SO MUCH for entering and following my blog. I gained so many new readers and I can't tell you how much it means to me. I hope you stick around for more giveaways!

#414 Holly McCreary (Family Prize Pack)

#408 Renee Hall (Kids Pack)

#448 Amy Brewer (Daddy Pack)

#87 Sarah Cruz (Mommy Pack)

Blog Bash 2011: It's Party Time!!!! {Giveaway}

2011-06-26T02:00:00.003-05:00

It's finally time for the event we've all been counting down for many months now!

Welcome to Blog Bash 2011, hosted by the wonderful Family Approve.

Please read this post CAREFULLY to make sure you don't miss anything and fully understand how to enter this giveaway.

This post will remain as a sticky at the top of my blog for the entire event (June 22 at 12am-26 at 11:59pm).

You are cordially invited to visit each of the 150 blogs in the linky list below to enter some amazing giveaways! Take your time and have fun. You have 4 days to get entered into them!

Giveaway will end on June 26, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Open to US. The winner will be chosen by random.org. Winners will be announced on Dinosaurs & Dandelions and emailed. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. I received no monetary compensation for sponsoring this giveaway. However I was given some products for review purposes. Please note that Dinosaurs & Dandelions, “Blog Bash” or the “Blog Bash” bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. We will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.

I have 4 prize packages to giveaway to 4 lucky readers! Want to see them? Here they are!

Make sure you visit the Sponsor Spotlight posts link under each photo for extra entry opportunities incase you missed the early entries last week.

Prize Package #1: For Mom

Belle Fleur Ring ($46.99)

Stella & Dot

$100 Swim Spot Gift Card
Swim Spot

Hairclip of choice (up to $13 value)
Grungy Galz

mark Ibiza Sol Color & Fragrance Collection ($56)

Making Of A Mark Girl

Kiss The Cook Apron ($15)
A Stitch For You

Prize Package #2: For Dad

Grill Master Apron ($15)
A Stitch For You

Personalized Fishing Pole Cover ($12)
Oops! I Craft Myself

6 Lil' Teammates figures of choice ($50)
Lil' Teammates

10 Baseball cards (ranging from 1980-2011) ($5)
Taber's Sports Memorabilia

Patriotic Lighter ($19.95)
Zippo

Prize Package #3: For the kids

Master Chef Child's Apron ($8)
A Stitch For You

Handmade Upcycled Night Light ($4)
Oops! I Craft Myself

2 Handmade Popsicle Holders in choice of fabric ($3)
Mothers Love--Designs by Roxie

Set of 50 Minifigure People Crayons ($12)
Posh Paper Creations

$35 Gift Code to her shop
Snuggle Bug Kids

Handmade Bottle Cap Necklace ($16)
Loran Scruggs

Prize Package #4: For the family:

11x14 Float Wrap of your favorite family photo ($55)

You will email the sponsor a high resolution photo of your choice to be printed!
Heavenly Chic Photography

4 Holiday Table Napkins ($20)
A Stitch For You

$30 Gift Code
Chickadee Vinyl

Thermal Lunch Tote ($14)
Thirty-One Gifts by Ami

I will choose 4 winners, 1 for each package!!! You have until June 26th at 11:59pm to enter any and all giveaways in Blog Bash 2011 among the 150 blogs listed below! Take your time and have lots of fun. Good luck to you all. Now, here is your mandatory entry and a few bonus entries. YOU MUST SUBMIT THEM IN THE GOOGLE FORM. COMMENTS DO NOT COUNT. DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR GFC NAME, EMAIL, FACEBOOK NAME, ECT. If I cannot verify your entry, I will choose someone else. Oh and all extra entries count toward any/all prize packs.

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED... PLEASE CHECK YOUR INBOX AND SPAM TO SEE IF YOU'RE A WINNER!!!!

Blog Bash Sponsor Spotlight: Zippo

2011-06-21T07:52:00.000-05:00

Zippo has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Not because I'm a smoker, but because my dad was and always had a Zippo. So did my uncles. I loved the sound of it opening and closing for some reason. To me, Zippo ARE lighters. Period. Not only do they still make these classic lighters in tons of styles but they also have great outdoor, Butane, and candle lighters!

Ready for some early entries for Blog Bash?!? Fill out the form below for EACH entry listed (for however many times the entry is worth). Be sure to include ALL information. Then come back June 22 to do the mandatory entry the day the event begins. You MUST do the mandatory entry or none of your extra entries count. I am offering early entries to help you save time when entering! I am trying to make it as easy as possible for my readers.

EARLY ENTRIES FOR SPONSOR: Zippo
*Become a fan of Zippo on Facebook and tell them I sent you

*Follow Zippo on Twitter

*Sign up for the Zippo newsletter (very bottom of page)

FILL OUT FORM HERE

*I received no monetary compensation for this post. I may have been provided product(s) in exchange for my honest opinion. These entries are open until the end of Blog Bash on June 26.*

Winner of the I Love Daddy Event!

2011-06-20T06:07:00.000-05:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone who entered and anyone who may be new around here. I am so happy you stopped by! I chose my winner via Random.org on Rafflecopter.... so without further ado

Way to go Stephanie! I hope you love your diaper bag!

If you aren't aware of Blog Bash 2011 starting in 2 days.... make sure you go pre-enter at all of the Sponsor Spotlight posts (listed under giveaways on the right side of my page), and come back on the 22nd to do the mandatory entry! Then hop to all other 150 blogs and win awesome stuff!!!!! You DO NOT wanna miss this folks! Subscribe by email if you don't already so you don't miss the main event post!