Man, Who Blew Some Lucky Dust My Way?

I have just been notified that I am one of the semi-finalists for a Mother of the Year contest for a local magazine.

If you want the details, I am #9 in the Most Generous Category. The contest is for the Utah Baby Guide Magazine. So, if you want to vote for me, you basically have to send an email telling them you want to vote for #9. Details are here.

I'd love if you sent them an email! :)

Eco Store Review and Giveaway

When I had the opportunity to try out Eco Store products, I was thrilled. We are slowly trying to go green and what a great way to eliminate nasty chemicals from our house.

I got to try out the Natural Antibacterial Spray Cleanser, the Plant Based Laundry Detergent, and the Vanilla Shampoo.
I loved the spray cleanser. It has a nice citrus smell, and worked just as well as any other cleanser I've used. I love that it's natural and kills off all the yucky germs in my kitchen.

The laundry detergent would be great for anyone who has severe reactions to detergents, or to use on baby clothes. We didn't notice any smell left over, except a clean smell, which is great for those who have allergies. It is concentrated so you don't need to use a lot. In fact it's just one little scoop.

I got the vanilla shampoo for my husband, because he LOVES vanilla. He really enjoyed using it, and said it smelled like Captain Crunch. I thought it just smelled sweet, which is nice, because most vanilla smells give me a headache. Not this one!

Honestly, the best thing about all of these is the chemical free factor. I feel safer using these products around my daughter.

If you order any Eco Store Product, you will automatically receive a $2 off coupon to be used at MEIJER.

Want to win a cleaning package including the Spray Cleaner and the Auto Dish Powder?

To Enter:

• Visit Eco Store and tell me another product you'd love to try other than the ones I talked about.

Extra Entries (You must do the entry above for any of these to count)

• Add my button to your blog (1 entry)
• Add me to your blog roll (1 entry)
• Tweet about this contest and leave me the link to your tweet (1 entry per tweet)
• Blog about this contest with a link to me and to Eco Store (5 extra entries- please leave a separate comment for each entry)
• Favorite my blog on technorati (button is on the right sidebar) (1 entry)

Contest is open to US residents and will end April 13th at 11:59 pm MT. Winners will have 48 hours to contact me or I will draw a new winner.

How Was Your Weekend?

I realized that I have been doing so many reviews and giveaways that I haven't really posted anything about my life recently. Since I want you guys to know me, and not just the products I review, I thought I'd tell you about my weekend.

Weekends are usually my break. My husband is home and he usually takes care of my daughter, since he doesn't get to spend much time with her during the week. Well on Saturday he had a friend who wanted him to hang out for this friend's birthday, so he was gone all day, and didn't get back until midnight.



So what did I do while he was gone? I watched Twilight! Walmart had sent me a Twilight party pack and I bought the 2 disk special edition version of Twilight. So I watched it, then watched the special features, and re-watched the movie with the commentary of the Director, and the girl who played Bella, and the guy who played Edward. I always love listening to those commentaries because they tell you about things that were happening behind the scenes, etc.


By the end of the day, however, I was done. Do you ever have those days where you get so sick of cleaning up, or cooking, or doing the dishes, simply because you know you'll just have to do it all again tomorrow? I had one of those days. I just couldn't handle doing anything else and so I decided not to do it at all. I went upstairs, put on a movie and went to bed.

Then Sunday was pretty laid back and I spent most of the day getting ready for church and then we went to church. That's pretty much how my weekend went. How was yours?

Monday's Free Redbox Code 3/30

The free redbox code for today 3/30 is:

89ZQJ3

It expires tonight at midnight so be sure to use it today!

Bright Star Kids Review

When I found out I was pregnant, I had grand envisions for my daughter's room. I was going to paint and decorate it super cute. Well, besides making and hanging the curtains, that didn't happen, and now that she is almost two, the walls are still bare white.

Well, they were until earlier today. I had received a Wall Letter Kit from Bright Star Kids of the nickname we call my daughter, to help change those bare walls into something amazing. I put the saying up above her crib and now she has some decorations up! Now maybe I'll get motivated to decorate the rest of her room.



What I loved about them:

• I got to choose the size, the color, the saying, and the font
• VERY easy to put up
• They're removable! Which is great for those people who can't paint the walls, or for someone who likes to redecorate often.

What I didn't like:

• Honestly, there wasn't anything I wasn't a fan of. They were so easy to use, and easy to fix if I messed it up, which I did. I put them on the wall at an angle, but I hadn't removed the last layer yet, so I peeled them up and repositioned them, and fixed them.

They look small in the picture, but honestly they pretty much fill that wall.

If you have ever used vinyl lettering before, you know how simple it is to use. It's pretty much a rub, peel, stick, rub and peel process. That's it! It took me less than 5 minutes to finish it, including the time I took to fix my mess up.

Along with the Wall Lettering Kit, I also got to try out the chalk panels. My daughter has become a HUGE fan of drawing with chalk, but it's been cold the last few weeks, so we can't go outside. These are perfect for letting her use that chalk inside the house. It basically has a colored background (my kit came with 2 purple and 2 pink), and 4 chalk board panels to place over the colored background. They come in sets of dots or rectangles.

The hardest thing with these was trying to decide where to put them. We don't really play much upstairs in my daughter's room. In fact, most of our time is spend on the main floor, which happens to also be our living room. I didn't want to have these on the wall when guests came over. While they are movable, I didn't want to have to move them every time we had company, but I did want them to get some use.

I finally decided to put these on the side of a cardboard box that we have, making a coloring cube. It's easy to move from room to room, which is great. My daughter was a huge fan of this cube, and I KNOW it will get a lot of use.


What I liked about the chalk panels:

• They are SUPER easy to use. Simply peel and stick.
• They are movable
• They clean easily with a damp cloth
• They're super cute.

What I didn't like:

• I couldn't decide where to put them! There were too many uses. Did I want to use them in my kitchen, or let my daughter play with them? Which room did I want to put them in? Although that's not really a design flaw, it's more of a user flaw. :)

They also make adorable wall graphics, and labels. Everything is made in their facility in Australia and is made using the highest quality removable vinyl there is available. Prices are very reasonable and shipping time was fairly quick too.

Want to try these out? Bright Star wants to give you a discount! Simply enter the code FAMILYREVIEW for 20% your purchase. Discount good until April 25th.

Notes on using this code: The discount doesn't work with any automatic store discounts. For example if a person buys 2 or more Wall Graphic or Wall Letter kits, they will automatically get between 15 - 25% off. These products won't get the extra 20% off, but any other product that's in the order will.

Thank you to the Family Review Network for introducing me to this awesome company!

More Winners

I need to announce the winner of my apron contest and the winner of the GC from Born 2 Impress.

The winner of the apron chosen by random.org is:

#10 Shannon said...

I registered and voted for you. Good luck! And thanks for the giveaway.

The winner of the GC to Born 2 Impress is:

#82 Aisling said...

The Blue with White Daisy Infant Head Wrap is precious!

Congrats to the winners! You have 48 hours to respond to my email, or I will have to draw a new winner.

Flip'n Fridays

Cat from 3 Kids N Us has started Flip'n Fridays where you post a video about what has been going on this past week. I decided to join in, and here's my first Flipin' Friday video.

eenamaria on QVC Tonight!

Hey everyone, I just got this note asking me to post about the bags I wrote about the other day. The creator, Sarah Morgan will be on QVC tonight promoting her new clutch. Be sure to vheck it out!

eenamaria on QVC Special Occasion Style!

Tune in Thursday, March 26th at 8 PM to purchase one of these amazing bags, or watch live online at www.qvc.com!

Watch Sarah Morgan and eenamaria debut the Uptown Girl clutch from the Harlem Swing line on QVC Special Occasion Style!

Atkins Bars

I remember when the Atkins diet only meant meat. Well, they are all about proper nutrition and teaching you what foods are good for you.

From their site: "It works by teaching you how to eat the right foods - the foods that turn your body into an amazing fat-burning machine. That's what makes Atkins truly unique. You eat the foods your body was meant to consume, you start burning fat today, right now - and you get powerful, long-term success."

Sounds perfect right? They have a whole four phase program for you where you eat a variety of your favorite foods - lean protein, leafy greens, vegetables, nuts, fruits, whole grains.

They also have delicious bars and shakes that you get to eat throughout the programs. I got a variety of these bars to try out. Let's just say that I don't have a picture of them to show you because they didn't last long.

Their bars are divided into three different categories: Atkins Day Break- which are great for breakfast or as a mid morning snack, Atkins Advantage- which are great anytime of day to give you an extra boost of fiber and protein, and the Atkins Endulge- which are a smarter alternative to your favorite candy bar, yet they still satisfy your sweet tooth.


I have to say that my favorite were by far the Endulge bars. In fact, their Caramel Nut Chew Bar tasted just like a Snickers bar. Yum! I really enjoyed their Advantage bars to give me a pick me up during the day. They were great when I was on the go and forgot to eat. I notice I tend to get involved in projects and then realize that lunch was supposed to be 2 hours ago. Now I'm starving and don't want to take time to make something healthy. These were great to eat then, and they were very satisfying. I didn't feel hungry a few minutes later like I usually do with normal granola bars, etc. I did notice that they tended to taste a little like a protein bar, so be prepared that it has a slightly different taste. I didn't mind it at all.

So do you want to win a variety of Bars from Atkins?

To enter:

• All you have to do is answer this question as either true or false (Hint: Visit Atkins.com for the answer!)
  

During the Pre-Maintenance and Lifetime Maintenance stages of the Atkins Diet, you can slowly increase the number of good carbs you consume each week as long as you are still losing weight.

For Extra Entries: (You must answer the first question for these to count!)

• Subscribe to this blog (1 extra entry)
• Add my button to your site (1 extra entry)
• Add me to your blogroll (1 extra entry)

Contest will end April 8th at 11:59pm MT. Winner must reply withing 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.

DaBib Review and Giveaway

I have so many shirts from my daughter that are stained, it's unbelievable. She likes to feed herself, and why I want her to be independent, I don't want her to ruin all her clothes. I could sit there and feed her myself, but she's getting a little old for that. We use bibs most of the time, but besides the sleeved one we have, they don't really protect her clothes from the mess she still manages to make. Then we got the DaBib.

Besides being super cute, this bib is very functional. It has a soft collar that attaches close to the neck that eliminates the gap between the bib and the shirt. Genius!! It also has a pocket that lays flat on the back of the bib. Then you need that extra protection, you flip it around so it provides a nice little catch for all the dropped food. They are also made of a material that is super easy to wipe off, so you can use it over and over.

We are a huge fan of the DaBib, and I bet you will be too. Check out these cute videos on youtube all about the DaBib: DaBaby, DaDoll, and DaBib and Vito Gottabone- Alias Pasta Face. Thank you to the Family Review Network for our chance to try out this awesome bib!

Want to win your very own? DaBib is giving one away to one of you lucky readers!

To Enter:

• Visit DaBib and tell me which style/color you like.

For Extra Entries: (They only count if you do the above entry first)

• Blog about this contest or post it on your MySpace/Facebook page (5 extra entries- leave a seperate comment for each)
• Tweet about this contest and leave me a link to the tweet (1 extra entry)
• Subscribe to this blog (1 extra entry)

Contest is open to USA and Canada residents. Contest will end on April 6th at 11:59 PM MT. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me, or I will draw a new winner. Please be sure to leave me a way to contact you either through your profile, or in your comment.

Wednesday Free Redbox Code 3/25

Don't forget that every Wed in March (and the first week of April) Redbox is giving an extra free code. Today's free code for 3/25 is:

MMM325

Remember that it's only good until midnight tonight, so be sure to use it today!

Wordless Wednesday- My New Washer and Dryer!

This is what I just won from Mom Central! (Minus Kelly Rippa) A BIG thanks to everyone who voted for me!

muvee Reveal

I had a lot of videos and pictures that I take, but I don't really do anything with them. Well, I didn't. I just got a chance to try muvee Reveal, and awesome software program that makes fun movies out of your pictures and videos.

It was super simple to use. Basically you open the pictures you want to use in your video. Then you can arrange them the way you want, rotate, fix red eye, whatever else you want to do to them. Then you pick what style of video you want (I chose a scrapbook style for mine). Then you can add music if you want (I didn't have any on that computer to add, so I chose to not use it). Then you can customize your titles and credits, and that's it! It's super easy, and super quick.



You can even try it out for free with a 15 day free trial. I wanted to thank Family Review Network and muvee Reveal for the chance to try this out! I know I'll use it in the future.

The Birth of Corneille CD Review

I don't know about you, but I've noticed that I don't get to listen to a lot of music like I used to. Now I hear a LOT of They Might Be Giants- Here Come the 123's or Here Come the ABC's. Or nursery rhymes, and other kids music. I don't even know what is popular right now, and I feel pretty much out of the loop.

When I was asked to be a part of Music Moms, a new group dedicated to bringing NON kids music to moms, I figured I'd give it a shot. I love music anyways, and this gives me a good excuse to listen to new things.

The first CD I received was The Birth of Cornelius by Corneille. Corneille has been a singer/writer/producer for a number of hits in Canada, France, and even Japan. This CD is his first done entirely in English. It's a soulful, R&B style, that is different than things I usually listen to, but I liked it. It's very calming and soothing, which is perfect for those days your kids are running wild and you need a break!

Here is the music video for the first song on the album- Back to Life.


I was reading through his bio, and wow, he has had quite the life. His parents and other family members were all killed in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994. He alone escaped and ended up in Germany with some family friends. He said, "Music has been the place where I could go to hide and forget about the world. I couldn't make sense of a majority of the things that happened to me, so I used music as a shield. But over time, music has become a vehicle to channel out everything that I've been keeping from myself for all these years. And the new album is definitely the most honest, real assessment of everything that's happened in my life, because I'm not trying to hide as much."

The Birth of Cornelius is available in stores now.