Litter Genie

Hey moms love the amazing-ness of the diaper genie?? Then low and behold the Litter Genie!!! (Que awesome music) Thanks to crowdtap I was able to participate in a product sampling and true to its name it is very similar to the diaper genie. I love the air tight entrapment of stinky litter, the easy to use bags and the scooper that attaches.

Herbal Essence

 Thanks to crowdtap, I got to try the new body wash from Herbal Essence. I got to try "Hello Hydration" I love the smell of the gentle soap.

Be sure to try it!

Good2Grow

  As many of you know, I am a Bzzagent. What is that you may ask? Well, it means I have teamed up with Bzz Agent a word of mouth business. They send me amazing products to sample and in return I write reviews, take pictures and spread the bzz.

   I recently was able to try the new Good2Grow juices.

  They are a combined serving of fruits and vegetables, no sugar added, Non GMO, No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. The best part is you can get your favorite character top, that can be washed and reused on any bottle. For a list of characters look here.

  In our family we monitor juice and really push water. I love these for outings and picnics, the bottles are very small, child size, and when the juice is gone we simply fill up with water.

  As you can see above, we used the samples as a morning treat, thus the P.J.'s Alex got a Lightening McQueen top, Jasey got a Dora the Explorer top and C.J. (who didn't want a pic) got a Captain America top. I tried the juice and I really liked it. The kids loved it.

Hershey's Spread

 A couple months ago I discovered this site called Crowdtap. It is a word of mouth site that allows people to try new product from popular brands, create content and spread the word! I received my first sample, Hershey's Spread. It's a delectable chocolate with hazelnut spread that I personally struggle not to eat straight from the jar. It adds a lovely sweetness to normal afternoon snacks like apples and pretzels. It can be found in your store near the peanut butter. See the other flavors and enjoy!

Feeling like a Scrooge!!!

  I love Christmas, I hate the commercialism that goes along with it. I have certain dear people in my life that I begin to avoid, right about Thanksgiving. You know the people I'm talking about, the ones who assign a monetary value to everything they are buying complaining the whole time. The ones who gasp when you mention quality over quantity, or down sizing. The ones who almost stop breathing when I refuse to by my kids certain electronic items, (seriously, my 4 year old needs her own laptop?)

 I recognize that for many families Christmas is very much about the gifts, however, my family is not one of those. Now, as I sit back and look at all the random gifts my kids have received, I'm saddened, most of it will go un-played with. I feel bad that people wasted their money, when honestly the simplest and often the cheaper items would have brought the most pleasure.

 

Free Stuff!!

Did you know popular products are offering free samples all the time? You don't even need to pay for shipping, all you do is sign up! I just discovered this and today received my first free sample from Kotex!

   I got two pads, 4 panty liners, two tampons and two coupons for FREE!!!

  Seriously, it's not like I'm suddenly NOT going to need this stuff anytime soon.

Candy, Candy ,Candy!!!

 Halloween for our clan is a serious family event. My husband is very involved helping make costumes and create faces. I LOVE watching my kids explore their imaginations, deciding what goes with what, how we can make props, best ways to apply make- up and so forth.

 We have always done Trick or Treating with cousins, planning our route ahead of time and almost competing to see who can get the most candy. I know my kids are making memories...

 Neither my husband or I grew up celebrating Halloween, due to our parents religious beliefs. While, I am aware of the darker side, my kids only think of it has a costume party with free candy that the whole city participates in!

 We go over safety as it and the holiday seem to coincide, we go over stranger danger, when to say no, who to go to for help, never go inside a stranger's house, how to cross a street etc...

 Please ignore the messy house, some times I'm a lousy housekeeper, because I am busy being an awesome mom!

Growing and Stretching

 Sorry about the lack of posts! We are homeschooling and as much as I love it, it IS time consuming. This year we started Jasey on kindergarten work, C.J. is in 2nd grade and Alex my baby is almost 2!

 We have spent the past year educating ourselves and going through the steps to become licensed foster care parents. Our hearts have always bled for the hurting children out there and for along time we have longed to be able to do something. Now we are able, even if it's only one child at a time.
  Our own children's compassion and love in accepting this choice astounds me. They are truly amazing kids, of whom I am so proud of. Living in the small town that we do, we have only had one placement to date, but our eyes have been opened to many other ways to help and the knowledge we have been able to pass on is immeasurable.

 Along with schooling our oldest two, we have been struggling with raising a non-verbal child. Alex out youngest is by most means non-verbal he has about 20 words all of which are single-syllable and not used consistently. We are doing speech therapy and SLOWLY seeing progress. In the mean while I have had to grow as a parent and a person. Whenever you have a child developing differently there are always people who mean well, but in the end their words hurt so much. Like the well meaning lady at the bakery who insists on holding his cookie just out of reach until he says "please", not understanding that he would if he could. Explaining to people over and over again what can cause this and what we are doing to encourage growth. Learning to hold my tongue when people tell me, "My child talks a lot, but then, I spend A LOT of time with them", "I heard the more you talk to your child the more they will talk." As if I spend no time with him and never talk to him.

  Honestly, there are some theory's about the causes of speech delays, all can agree that early intervention is key. That is what we are doing, with a therapist and on our own daily between visits. Having a toddler with limited ways of expressing his desires has lead to frustration issues, it's hard to teach a child to use their words when they don't have any.

 On a less serious note, we have also added to our family. We now have 8 feathered friends, Chickens, that live outside in the coup. We are eagerly awaiting eggs!

Time-Ins

 My family is my number one, for that reason I don't always have time to blog. Alex has been having a hard time teething. Which has meant restless nights and needy days.

  I have been introduced to a new concept, by new I mean new to me. Time-ins vs. Time outs. I must say it makes sense to me. I feel almost cheated that, my education, mainstream media my parents shows and magazine have failed to recognize this.

  Bryan Post clearly dines the difference between the two here.  Its hard grasping an idea that at first is so completely opposite everything you know. I have read so much tonight. I think and realize we already do something similar, besides the wording.  Whenever, I notice my kids feeling tired, overwhelmed, scared,  or stressed out I instinctively brought them closer, talking calmly, soothing them with gentle touches i.e. back rubs, cuddles, running my fingers through their hair and so forth. This is where we learned after Jasey would calm down if she was tired, she would identify that and then ask for a nap. Which she will do to this day, when she feels she needs one.

 However, we have never done this for disobedience, I feel weird using that word. We have never done this for exhibits of anger, frustration, or jealousy. Now, we will try.

  I read that we should have a consistent place in the home which is near everyone, that we can bring the child in and comfort. For us, we are choosing the couch in the living room. I am choosing this so I can still see the playroom and observe the other children. Also, do to our house lay out this happens to be the center, convenient. I am looking into making some cuddly pillows.

 I should address that this is a part of  parenting gently, or gentle parenting. I am very new to this, but I like to think we are not completely barbaric. We do not spank, or do physical punishments such as running laps or shaming. We do use time outs. In fact, I often send the temper tantruming child to their room to calm down, only to return when  they are able to control themselves.

 My eyes have been opened. Wish us luck!

Snow day

Painting Shamrocks

Even dolly has a sling

Doing Dr. Dreadful, a boy version of easy bake oven, that makes the nastiest gummy treats.

This is how Zanderbean enjoys the snow

Warming up by the fire.