Leslie Loves Veggies & Bouncing Frogs Giveaway Link!

Had to share a terrific giveaway I found on Leslie Loves Veggies!

Right now, she's hosting a review and giveaway of Bouncing Frogs Products! To share a little about Bouncing Frogs, I'm posting an excerpt from their website:

"Bouncing Frogs specializes in uniquely elegant and luxurious baby bedding, toddler bedding, and coordinating burp cloths and blankets. Handmade with the finest-quality fabrics, our luxury baby and toddler products are truly heirloom quality: So durable that they stand up to the wear-and-tear of everyday life with a baby. So beautiful that you'll be proud to hand them down for generations to come."

These linens are gorgeous! Well stitched, adorable and tasteful design mixed with infant softness and durability, I'd be happy to save these to give to my children when they are grown. I have to share a taste!






The Luxury Baby Linens: Style Melanie.

This stunning crib set has a lot of charm.
The chocolate and blue combination is trendy and classy.

This 5 piece set includes:
• bumper
• crib sheet
• bed skirt
• fitted sheet
• decorative pillow







The Toddler Bedding Style Sally.

The blanket is made of the Green and Pink Stripe fabric on one side and a pink and beige toile fabric on the other and finished with a beige decorative cording.

This 4 piece set includes blanket, bed skirt, fitted sheet and pillow sham.








Now to the giveaway information and link! Leslie Loves Veggies and Bouncing Frogs are giving away 5 prize packages!

Winner #1 ~ Will receive a Changing Pad Cover! Winner's choice of color {$24.99}
Winner #2 ~ Will receive a Security Blanket {$19.99}
Winner#3 ~ Will receive a Luxury Burp Cloth! Winner's choice of color {$19.99}
Winner #4 ~ Will receive a Luxury Baby Blanket! Winner's choice of color {$44.99}
Grand Prize Winner ~ Will receive ALL OF THE ABOVE in Winner's choice of colors! {$109.96 Value}

LINK TO GIVEAWAY HERE!!
Giveaway will end on Tuesday 9/14. U.S Entries Only.

Oh by the way, while I wish you luck, I hope I win more :)

Pictures and text attributed to http://bouncingfrogs.com & http://www.leslielovesveggies.net

Cloth Diapers 101 Webinars!

I haven't really publicized our household cloth diapering habit, so here it is: We cloth diaper! There are so many different reasons to use cloth, ranging from how economical they are, to how much less of an impact they have environmentally than their disposable counterparts. These are just two of my reasons, I also love how cute they are and how easy it is to cloth diaper!

Cloth can be very overwhelming to a novice. Modern cloth diapering is so different from our mother's cloth diapering experience. There are many different type of diapers for many different diapering styles! And prices can range from very economical, to more expensive than disposables, depending on your choices and diaper savvy. Have no fear, there are hundreds of resources and informational aids out there! I just want to share one I find helpful.

Babykicks Brand Diapers have sponsored and created the Cloth Diapers 101 Webinar online cloth diaper classes! Here's a quick clip from their blog, showcasing their online classes:

'You may have already heard about BabyKicks online cloth diaper classes, and perhaps you’ve already tuned in to one. Either way, if you are looking for information about cloth diapers, pregnant and checking into all the different options available, or are utterly overwhelmed with all the different options available then we are sure you will benefit from this class. It can be much easier to attend a class while you’re at home, on break, or at a friend’s house then it is to pack up the kids, or find a babysitter, and make it on time to a local cloth diapering class (if there is even one available where you live). We started the online classes to make it more convenient for busy and/or expecting parents and also to help inform caregivers and family members about how easy cloth diapers really are. The class may even help to ease skeptics into the idea of changing a cloth diaper. Any type of cloth diapering class is excellent, and local classes are especially good because you can see and touch the items being shown, whereas in our online class this isn’t possible. And, of course that is a downside, but our class is very informative and is also live. This way you can have your questions answered immediately. It’s possible to use our class to become more familiar with cloth before seeking out and attending a class local to your area. Like a “dip your toes in to test the water” kind of thing. The class is twice a month and runs for an hour.'

Sounds great, doesn't it?!


















I'd like to share a few links with you.
First, here is the BabyKicks Cloth Diaper 101 Webinar Schedule. Secondly, I have a link to the BabyKicks Website. And lastly, BabyKicks is hosting a giveaway designed to spread the word about their Webinars. So if you're interested in cloth diapering and want to try winning a few to do a trial run, feel free to hop on over to their Blog to learn how to enter!

BumbleWee Nursing Wear (& link to Daily Giveaway!)

Wanted to share a great site for Nursing Wear!
"Nurse your wee one in style with BumbleWee Nursing Wear's great selection of Nursing Tops, Nursing Pajamas & Nursing Dresses from Majamas, Japanese Weekend, 1 in the Oven and other great nursing lines. "


They have a great selection of tops and dresses! I wanted to share a few of my favorites.



First we have the Anna-Jane Top by Mothers en Vogue. It's so femenine, which is one of the things I missed while breastfeeding. There isn't a more femenine mothering experience than breastfeedings, so why don't mothers have the opportunity to look the part? The Anna-Jane is perfect for a semi-formal outing with baby in-tow.










Next is the Havanna MAXI Dress by Mothers En Vogue. This is a perfect example of a breastfeedings mother's 'little black dress'. Simply put, I LOVE it!











Lastly today, I present the Cuff Sleeve Henley in Green. It's a great everyday, running errands and feeling good shirt.













Why am I showcasing a nursing-wear company when I am not myself breastfeeding at this time? I wanted to share the opportunity for a daily GIVEAWAY!
Everyday through the end of August, BumbleWee is giving away a nursing top! Go to their website and click on the big purple button 'Win a Free Nursing Top!' Enter daily for a chance to win every day! It only takes a minute and there are 14 more opportunities to win this month!

Sweating Through the Heat

My husband and I are happy new home owners! We signed for our first home this spring. And signed for all the joys of home-ownership as well. Which include, but are not limited to: tearing down the moldy drywall in the unfinished basement, 'sealing' the home to deter air-conditioning and heating waste, replacing old, broken windows and fixing a destroyed fireplace mantle. It was a fixer-upper home to be sure, but the hubby and I were looking for a house we could make into a home. We've been struggling along with home repairs and enjoying every minute of it (at least pretending to enjoy it, that is).

Just a few months after our rental turned into ownership, our air conditioner died! It's the hottest, most humid couple of weeks we've had in Missouri, what timing! With a toddler and dogs, it's been difficult to handle the heat.

After reviewing the problem and calculating our other repairs, finances and expenses, we've decided to lose the AC for the summer. It will be a Spring '11 project. Until then, we've been making due.

Here are some of the ways we've handled the heat:
- Water-bottles. We are constantly consuming water, staying hydrated is the first step to health, regardless of the heat.
- Box fans in the windows. Keep the air flowing. Every room has at least one fan. The bedrooms have more.
- Keep the curtains closed. Sunlight is great, as long as it's not adding heat to an already hot area.
- Water-fun. Lily spends a couple afternoons a week in the kiddie pool or running through the sprinkler.
- Cool Showers and baths. Not only does it feel good, it lowers internal body heat, which is a much needed break. Doesn't need to be long, only 5 minutes.
- Blankets in the freezer. Throwing Lily's blankie in the freezer for 15 minutes before bedtime gives her a cool down as she falls asleep.
- Keep the heavy activity chores to early morning or late evening. Not while people are sleeping or course, but yard work, including mowing, weeding and other maintenance is a lot easier without the sun beating down on you.
- Run the dishwasher overnight. No need to add heat to the house when it's hottest, the kitchen can swelter when we're in bed.
- Spend one day cooking for the whole week. If I want to sweat in the kitchen, I'll be sure to make food. If I do all the cooking in one day, I can avoid the extra sweat the rest of the week.
- Line dry the laundry. I do this anyway, but it's a great way to avoid adding dryer heat. And the sun is a great stain buster. I also love the outdoor clean smell!
- Keep the lights off. You wouldn't believe how much extra heat a few light bulbs can throw off.

Keep cool this summer!

The first casualty of the military lifestyle

So it has happened. We had to give away our first dog. Hubby and I got TJ in November 2008. He was our first dog together and was a part of the family. But he never adapted to change very well. We had our daughter and he started getting anxious easily. Then Hubby graduated and we bounced around the country for a few months. Finally we bought our first house and thought he would settle down. But TJ withdrew more and became more stubborn. He started running away for a few hours at a time; he would spend his day avoiding my daughter and I, hiding in empty rooms in the house. Finally, he refused to come inside and snapped at me. Hubby and I drew the line at that, I will not allow a potentially dangerous animal in the house with my daughter. So Sister-In-Law drove halfway across the country to take him for us. At least now we know he'll be in a house without kids, with an owner who can devote the time and attention to him that he needs.

The first casualty of military life. TJ, we will miss you.