"How We Love Our Kids"

disclaimer:  I received the book below for free from WaterBrook Press in exchange for my honest opinions.  All opinions remain my own.

"How We Love Our Kids"

by Milan & Kay Yerkovich

  

Mommy in PA says: 

  "How We Love Our Kids" teaches us as parents to be able to make small changes in our thinking and actions to get the relationships we want from our children.  Many times parents believe that the children are the ones who need to change when in reality it is us.

  Milan and Kay give a lot of good advice from their own experiences.  There are a lot of cute little stories about things that they had gone through to come up with their solutions.  They also have examples based on other families that they have come by over the years. 

  I love how the book is broke down into the different personality types.  Part 1 is all about us parents.  The different types are The Avoider Parent, The Pleaser Parent, The Vacillator Parent, The Controller Parent, and The Victim Parent.  Each one touches on what that particular parent's strengths and weaknesses are.  You are probably wondering how to tell which one you are.  Well that's easy because each one has a list of characteristics to help you narrow that down.  It is pretty obvious when you start reading down through one of them and go...Oh my, that totally fits me.

  Part 2 of the book is all about the different child types.  There is The Avoider Child, The Pleaser Child, The Vacillator Child, The Controller Child and The Victim Child.  Each one touches on what the child's particular strengths and weaknesses are and have a list of things so you can figure out which one your child is.  I love how it explains that some combinations are harder to parent and that it's just a mater of changing small things in the way we communicate with them that can make a huge difference.

  Part 3 is about unique children.  Examples are The Introverted Child, The Free-Spirited Child, The Determined Child, The Sensitive Child, and The Premature Child. 

  Part 4 is all about the healing process, it is never too late to achieve that greater relationship with our children.  The gifts of insight, comfort, power, frustration, confession, laughter, and God each have their own section is this chapter.  These are the tools that you will use to heal your family.

  It's nice to know too that all parenting styles have their positives and negatives and that there is still hope for a happy outcome. 

Change is good...

  Mommy in GA and Mommy in PA have a little something we have to tell yall...we've done a lot of thinking and figured it was about time that we let you in on a little secret...we are procrastinators.  There that wasn't so hard...LOL!  We've gotten behind quite a bit the past couple of weeks and we realized that a lot of it was our inability to stay organized.  We had all those cute little titles for the days of the week and tried our darndest to post things on the appropriate days but what ended up happening was we'd miss the day and put the post off for a whole week to try to keep it organized...well not anymore...this week will now be officially named RAPID FIRE REVIEW WEEK!!!!  Stay tuned...

We Have Winners...

  Congratulations to our new winners...

 

Simple Green

 

Eileen B.

 

Goody Good Stuff

 

Laurie E.

 

Winners please check your emails.  You will have 48 hours to reply to the message we are sending you or you forfeit your prize. 

GIVEAWAY

  disclaimer:  I will be receiving my own package of this product at a later date for free for posting this contest for our readers to enter.  All opinions about this product remain my own.

 

Ok, so this one is a little bit different than our normal giveaway setup where we try the product first, tell yall about it, and then offer a giveaway.  This time we are doing the giveaway first and then we will both get to try the product after a winner is selected.  This is a quick 5 day giveaway so make sure to enter right away so you don't forget (like we tend to do...lol).  You will have two chances to win so be sure to enter both!

 

To find out more about Noxicare you can head over here.  And to enter for your chance to win just enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 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.

Directing Your Destiny

disclaimer:  I received the book below for free from Hay House, Inc. in return for my honest opinions.  All opinions remain my own.

 

"Directing Your Destiny:  How to Become the Writer, Producer, and Director of Your Dreams"

by Jennifer Grace

 

 

 

  We've all done it...daydreamed about what it would be like to have the house of our dreams, the job of our dreams, the life of our dreams.  Well what if you could play a major part in making your dreams a reality.  Well that is exactly what this book is about. 

 

  Jennifer Grace was at one time a SAG actress, a screenwriter, and a filmmaker.  She takes her experiences in those fields and makes it into a very unique way of looking at positive thinking.  Week 1 is about how to become the writer of your dreams (this is where the daydreaming comes in), week 2 and 3 is about how to become the producer of your dreams (setting intentions- this one I will talk about below because it is my favorite so far), and week 4 is about becoming the director of your dreams (what can I do to help this along). 

 

  This isn't just a story of how one person made their dreams come true.  This is a literal step by step guide to help you make it happen.  Each chapter is devoted to a few different techniques that you slowly integrate into your daily routine.  She takes you through baby steps so that it isn't too overwhelming and she even explains the importance of each of your tasks. 

 

  I love how at the end of every chapter there is a review of what you are to be doing each day.  This makes it super easy to just flip to those pages and make sure you didn't forget anything.  I will admit that I have not mastered doing all of the things everyday yet but am working on it.  It does take a little bit of time (but who doesn't have an extra 30 minutes or so if it means having what you want in life?). 

 

  Now above I mentioned how I would talk more about my favorite part of the book.  Well my favorite part is the setting intentions section.  Intentions are things that you want to make happen (ex: job of your dreams, home of your dreams, great health, etc.).  She later has you make up six note cards with your intentions/affirmations on them.  Here is an example I used "I am proud to see my photograph published", notice the wording has emotion involved.  She explains all of this in great detail about how you really have to feel the way you will feel when you get what you want.  Well about two weeks after I wrote up my cards I received an email from a bank that I had emailed some outdoor photos to.  They had chosen one of my photos for their calendar's honorable mentions page.  I have entered photos in contests like that before with no response so I like to think that my affirmation helped me out here. 

 

  I know I will read this book over and over, adding things to my daily routine to keep the positive energy flowing.  I also love how the author refers you to other sources of information.  There is a movie mentioned in one of the first sections.  Needless to say, my daughter and I found the movie on Netflix and watched it that evening.  This book is very inspirational and motivating!

 

To find out more or get a copy of your own you can head over to Amazon or Hay House.

 

 



BACK TO SCHOOL BASH!

  This year we are doing things a little differently.  Instead of the Back to School Blog Hop like last year, this year we are joining forces with other bloggers (mainly 3boysandadog.com) to bring you the Back to School Bash!  You, our readers, will have more chances to win this way.  And just look at all the awesome prizes!!!!

 

Welcome to the Ultimate Back to School Bash #bts2013!

3BoysandaDog has teamed up with A+ Interactive Math and some fabulous other brands to bring you this giveaway.

Prizes:

• A+ Interactive Math - 1 year FREE Online Full Curriculum - A+ Interactive Math - 1 winner (choice of: grades K - Algebra I) Value $124.99 . A+ Interactive Math is dedicated to making math enjoyable and learnable for all ages. A+ Interactive is perfect for homeschooling parents or parents that just want to give the child some extra math help. A + Interactive Math offers full curriculum books, workbooks, online education and interactive math CD's. You can purchase A+ Interactive Math or view their catalog here.
  Door Prize for all participants:
  Multiplication for Elementary & Middle School - download (value $21.99)
  link: http://aplustutorsoft.com/SpecialOffers.do
  Code: enter 3DOGSMATH upon checkout

• $100 Visa Card - This fabulous gift card is being brought to you by www.learntobloghangouts.com! This is the perfect way to get a great jump start on your back to school shopping! You can use this $100 Visa gift card at any location that accepts Visa.

• Back to School Survival Guide - This back to school guide is brought to you by The Confident Mom. In this Back to School Survival Guide you will find everything you need to help you ensure the school year runs seamlessly. This guide is an 80 page printable that will help you keep your child safe while using the internet, help with homework, making packing school lunches easier, become a savvy back to school shopper and much more! You can read more about the Back to School Survival Guide or purchase one here.

• Office Depot Sackpack of School Supplies -Office Depot is committed to providing affordable school supplies! You will find $25 worth of school supplies in this sack pack. The Office Depot Foundation donates over 30,000 backpacks to school children each and every year!

• BYOU Magazine Subscription

• Go Picnic Ready to Eat Meals - Go Picnic makes packing lunches and snacks a breeze. They offer gluten-free, kosher, all-natural and a variety of other snacks that are perfect for back to school lunches and snacks. You can view the large variety of products they offer here.

• Tummy Calm - Have a little one with an upset stomach? Tummy Calm is a safe option to helping your child feel better. Tummy Calm is made with all-natural FDA regulated ingredients. You can read more about Tummy Calm and place an order here.

• BIC School Supplies - BIC offers a wide range of back to school items from pens, pencils, markers, highlighters and much more! BIC is your one stop shop for your back to school supplies.

• Teach My Preschooler - Teach My is your one stop solution for giving babies, toddlers and preschoolers a jump start on education. You will find interactive learning products that promote learning in a fun manner. You can order a Teach My learning program here.

• Texas Instruments - Texas Instruments should be your go to supplies when it comes to tools for math and science calculators. One lucky winner will be receiving this http://education.ti.com/en/us/nspire-family/cx-handhelds. This is a colorful and engaging way for to learn math and science!

• Wild Planet Foods - Wild Planet Foods has tuna like you have never tasted before. This tuna is the perfect ingredient for a healthy and delicious school lunch. Wild Planet offers tuna that has 6 times the Omega 3 and 1/2 the mercury other brands have. Order up your own supply of Wild Planet Foods here.

• GHCretors - GHCretors offers all-natural, non-GMO and gluten-free popcorn in a variety of flavors! You will love that a healthy snack can taste so good. This might just be the best popcorn you have ever tasted. Get your order placed here.

• ListPlanIt - Are you ready to get your life organized? If so then ListPlanIt is the place to visit! Any kind of list you can imagine you will find on ListPlanIt. The winner is going to receive 2 ePlanners (Student ePlanner and Home Education ePlanner, value $10) + a coupon code for a 3-month trial to ListPlanIt! This is a fantastic prize to get the school year started off. You can also sign up for ListPlanIt here.

 

Go to The Ultimate Back to School Bash (<<----click there) post to enter for your chance to win this HUGE giveaway worth well over $350 dollars!

 

Good Luck Everyone!  We hope to see some of our readers on the winner's list : )

Tasty Tuesday - Ozeri Stone Earth Pan

disclaimer:  I received the product below for free in exchange for my honest opinions.  All opinions remain my own.

Ozeri Stone Earth Pan

Product Manufacturer:  Ozeri

Product Use:  Cooking food on the stovetop

Product Features:  has a warranty, PFOA-Free, non-stick, stone coating, no harmful heavy metals, scratch-resistant stone-derived coating, silicone coated handle, eco-friendly, easy to clean, and has a magnetized bottom for rapid heat transfer.

Price:  $89.99 retail but can be found for less on Amazon.

Misc:  Made from Stonehenge coating from Germany.

Find Out More:  Amazon

Mommy in PA:  This is one of the most exciting things I have gotten a chance to review.  I've been wanting to get one of these type of pans for years so when I got the opportunity to review this one I just had to do it!  

I wasn't the only one excited about the Stone Earth Pan.  As soon as I opened the shipping box and showed everyone what was inside my son said with enthusiasm "We have to do the cheese test" LOL!  So below you WILL see the cheese test.

This pan is excellent quality.  One of the first things I noticed was how heavy it was.  It is also extremely durable.  I have issues with my cat getting up on top of my dishwasher sometimes and he's knocked down the occasional pan or two in his day (all of which resulted in dents).  He knocked this pan down the day after I got it and not a dent is to be found...needless to say I am not leaving it on the dishwasher anymore though, just in case.  

These pans are meant to be oiled very lightly when you first get them so I used a small drop of olive oil and made sure to get off all of the excess.  I haven't had to use any oil or butter in my pan since.  The non-stick cooking surface works excellent as you can see in the photos above and below.  Above being the fore mentioned cheese test and below being the egg test.  You have got to watch my video clip.  I am actually excited to cook!

Clean up is super easy too!  Since nothing sticks cleanup is a breeze.  

This pan will have a happy home in my kitchen for years to come.  It has now taken the place of three other pans in my kitchen that I just don't want to deal with anymore (they had the regular non-stick surfaces that eventually just weren't non-stick anymore).  So in closing this is a great pan, well worth the cost, and it is the perfect size for a lot of different foods.

Free Samples of Tampons, pads, liners, Free Kotex Samples - U by Kotex*

Get Free Samples from U by Kotex!

 

Free Samples of Tampons, pads, liners, Free Kotex Samples - U by Kotex*

6 Foot Peel and Stick Chalkboard for $15 Shipped!

iChameleons -Blackboard $15 for a six-foot, peel-and-stick chalkboard, plus free shipping!

 

Thought that this may come in handy for menu planning, school activities, or just to give your kiddos something other than the wall to draw on...LOL.

Bella Vita's Bottle Net Bags

disclaimer:  We received the items below for free in exchange for our honest opinions.  All opinions remain our own.

Bella Vita's Bottle Net Bags

Manufacturer:  Bella Vita

Product use:  carrying wine bottles or other items and also doubles as a trivet.

Product features:  felt, multi-purpose, reusable, and great for gifting.

Price:  $4.95

misc:  keeps bottles safe during transport.  Comes in gold, pink, red, yellow, apple, black, burgundy, and olive. 

Find out more:  Bella Vita Bags, Facebook, Twitter

Mommy in GA:This is a fun product!!!  We are not big wine drinkers but It does make for a nice gift when you go to someone elses house and this will be the perfect way to deliver it!!!!

The really cool thing about MY Bella Vita Bottle net bags are that they came in black and red (GO DAWGS!!!!!!) and we are Georgia Bulldog fans in this house :)  

So I used my Bella Vita Bottle Net Bags stacked for  a full effect Georgia fan gift set!! :)

Yeah, I guess the green background really wasn't a great idea...lol!

Mommy in PA:  These are the coolest things ever!  I don't know how many times I've walked past these laying on my table and just had to pick them up and play with them.  They worked great for holding my Olive Oil.  At first I was a little worried that they would tear with all the weight but they hold up great!  I was also a little worried that once I used it to carry something that it wouldn't return to it's natural flat shape on it's own but it did.  I know I will find a lot of other uses for these besides the obvious ones.  My son thought the olive green one we got made a pretty cool ARMY hat...LOL!  I would really like a smaller version maybe made out of a rubber-like material to carry my drink bottle around : )

Our Top Twelve...

Disclaimer:  We did not receive anything for this post.   

So every month we have been choosing one of our top twelve products from our first year of blogging and this month we are focusing on Goody Good Stuff.  You can see our review of Goody Good Stuff here. 

 

  Goody Good Stuff has generously offered to do a giveaway for our readers in celebration of them making our top twelve list.  Be sure to sign up below for your chance to win.



 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stay Tuned...

We would like to apologize for the lack of posts lately.  We've been sorta taking a little blogcation since Mommy in GA has been getting her kiddos ready for back to school time and Mommy in PA has been canning beans and making hay.  Hoping to get things back to normal this week...hopefully today.  Stay tuned ...

We Have Winners...

Congratulations to our most recent winners...

 

Top Trenz

 

Allie S.

 

Way Better Snacks

 

Kyhere H.

 

 

Winners have 48 hours to reply to the email we send or forfeit their prize.  Congrats Winners!!!!

Washing Wednesday ~ Borax

disclaimer: Thank You Purex insiders!!!!!  I was sent a free product of borax in exchange for my honest review, all opinions are my own

20 Mule Team Borax Review

Mommy in Ga (me!!) received this product via Purex insiders !! I love being part of this community and getting to try all these great products and best of all sharing all of my thoughts with ya'll!!!

I am not really sure where to start because there is so much you can do with this!!  I guess I will start where most of you think is the only place you can go, the Laundry room.....

Throw a little of this in with your clothes and it makes for a fresher load of clothes:

add a half of a cup and it will boost your regular detergent to clean better, while deodorizing also!

You can use it on:

 baby clothes

dedicates

laundry stains

and

help reduce the effects of hard water

Awe that's cute, you thought I was done!!!

Put a quarter of a cup in your toilet bowl, swish around your toilet brush and let it sit at least 30 minutes but as long as overnight

Clean your garbage disposal/drain by adding 2-3 tablespoons  and let it stand about 15 minutes and flush with water (with garbage disposal on if it applies)

tough carpet stains (add half a cup of borax to 1 pint water, sponge on , wait 30 minutes, rinse out well, let dry and vacuum)

Boost your dishwasher power also!!

Oh my goodness, we still have more options on where we can use Borax, this is GREAT!!!

Tile/Grout

Sinks

Pots/Pans (porcelain AND aluminum!!)

Clean your refrigerator

clean your oven

clean your microwave

stainless steal

fine china

garbage/diaper pail(those are rough to clean!!)

neutralizes mattress odors

outdoor furniture(plastic and metal!!)

These are just a few things you can do with it!  You can also make your own:

 laundry detergent

household cleaner

Well why don't I just give you a link to see a few other things you can do with the 20 mule team borax!!

I used the Borax in my laundry (horrible stains with 4 little ones!!) and I also cleaned my porcelain bathtub and my toilets with this, I LOVE it!!!

Washing Wednesday - Simple Green

disclaimer:  We received the items below for free in exchange for our honest opinions.  All opinions remain our own.

Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner

If you're like mommy in GA and mommy in PA you are constantly bombarded with ads about different kinds of cleaners and how one is better than the other, is safer than the other, works better than the other.  Well mommy in GA and mommy in PA recently got a chance to try Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner to see how we thought it performed compared to our normal cleaners.

Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner is an environmentally sensitive non-toxic cleaner/degreaser.  It has many uses from wiping down your countertops to cleaning up greasy tools (you can even use it to get out tough stains in your laundry).  This is a dilutable version that comes in three different sizes (24/32 oz., 67 oz., or 1 gal).  It is also biodegradable. 

Mommy in GA and mommy in PA each received a 32 oz. bottle of cleaner with a spray bottle to mix our dilution in and here is what we thought:

Check out the handy dandy measuring lines that they put on the side of the bottle!!! 

Mommy in GA:
I LOVE this product!!!!  I am what I call a distracted cleaner which means, I clean a little in this room and move to the next room and see stuff and clean that.  It used to take forever because I would have to keep walking through the house to get the right cleaning product....GRRR!!!
With Simple Green, I had the only cleaner I need for any room in the house!!! I just carry it with me in every room I go!!!

I go in my Kitchen and wipe the counters and then I look around and see dirty little finger prints on the doors of appliances so I spray my Simple Green and wipe them away but, then you look at the floor and see what they  have been dragging in (OR SPILLING!!!!) all day long! So then you spray the floor and wipe it away!  Well that is just the Kitchen, you then move to the bathroom and it cleans the counter top the floor the potty and the tub!!!Literally anything with a wipe-able surface you can clean it with Simple Green!!

Oh and HOLY COW, I almost forgot the best part!  You get to choose how strong you want your cleaner to be! Using the bottle pictured above you get to use the line and you can make a really strong product or a weaker one depending on what you are using it for :)

All around great product for everything I have used it for so far, Oh and the kids' don't say "EWWW what is that smell" (like when bleach or other harsh products are being used) they say "MMMMM what is that smell??!!"

                                                                                             This is a before and after of mommy in PA's table part of her couch....what a difference : )
 

Mommy in PA:  This is one of the best cleaning products I have used.  Not only do I love the cleaning power but I also love the scent (it smells kinda minty).  A lot of the other cleaners I've used seems like they leave a lot of residue, this on the other hand doesn't seem to leave any.  I was amazed at how well it cleaned my windows (no streaking either).  It's great to just be able to grab one cleaner and tackle everything in the house : )

Simple Green also carries a lot of other more specialty type cleaning products too.  Just head on over to their site and take a look.

Thanks to Simple Green one of our lucky readers will win their very own Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner.  For a chance to win just enter via the Rafflecopter form below. 



a Rafflecopter giveaway