Christmas Tree Adventure Weekend

So this is the weekend that it decided to get cold and the weekend in which we headed to the tree farm to pick out our Christmas tree.  At first I wasn’t sure how this was going to go since I am sick and the boys seemed a little cranky.

It all started out ok but then one of the boys saw a tractor and well, that seemed to be the primary focus.  He wanted to sit in that tractor and that was all she wrote.  The guy sent us over the the hill way over yonder for the taller trees.  We wanted at least a 9 ft tree since we have vaulted ceilings.  We went to where he pointed and the tallest one was 7 ft.  I am now frozen, and the boys aren’t cooperating.  The one who wanted the tractor decided to stop moving, throw his hat on the ground and proceeded to scream.

Meanwhile, my husband has the other on the little tree cart, and they are bouncing through the hills.  I wave back and say i’ll be right back to see if we are in the right place.  I find an old guy and he says, “ok see the opening there, make a left….head to the second douglas fir sign, you’ll see small tiny white pines, head back to the neighbors fence line and there’s about 40 trees there.”  By now I can’t feel my face so what’s a little more cold?  So we head off into the hills one more time, and find the patch of 40 trees.  They were basically tall sticks with a few sprigs.  So I had resigned ourselves to a much smaller tree.  We head over to the 7 ft trees and I look at the price and its $50.  They had some premium frasier firs already cut, smelled phenomenal and they were 10 ft or taller up front.  For the extra $30, my husband says, lets just get the one you really want and be done.  I think we had all had it by now.  The years previous we were able to find a tree with no problem, but I guess they all had been cut.

They packed up the tree, shook it out, and put a hole in the bottom and we creatively tied it to the roof.  We began our hour drive back and I prayed the tree wouldn’t fly off the roof.  Even though I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere, my dear husband pulled back the cover to the sunroof so I could babysit the tree.  I could see it, but if it did come undone, it’s not like I could catch it.

I spent the day Sunday decorating and getting ready for Santa.  The tree turned out beautiful and now Santa can come to our house.  I love the magic of Christmas!

Sports Authority Is Teaming Up With Nintendo To Get Moms In Shape! *giveaway*

We are a huge Wii family here and love the opportunity to try out anything new.  With the Wii Fit board it has made it possible to have fun while getting in shape.  When  you are on a Wii Fit board you sort of forget that you are doing any work at all and that is my type of workout!

I was naturally excited to find out  that Sports Authority is teaming up with Nintendo to create a new way to experience fitness gaming.  Sports Authority will be selling Wii gaming consoles, Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, as well as various accessories and games for the Wii, in its stores.And to help you get to know the Wii better, Sports Authority will create a “We know fit. We know fun.” experience at 102 of their stores. Stores will feature a dedicated area with a demo unit and knowledgeable trainers to help customers try the Wii Fit Plus before they buy! This is a great way to trade those boring workouts of the same thing  for something that is fun for everyone.

To kick off this great new initiative and campaign to get fit the Sports Authority is launching this experience on Thursday, Nov. 19 at its store in Torrance, Calif. (located at 3610 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA) starting at 9:30 a.m. If you are in the California area, the event will feature Jillian Michaels from the *Biggest Loser*, and the World’s largest Wii Fit Demonstration with 102 people and tips from Jillian Michaels.  They are also giving away some really awesome prizes, Wii Fit boards included, so you won’t want to miss it!

I can’t think of a better way to get thinking about those dreaded New Years resolutions of getting in shape.  Rather than dreading it, why not make it fun!   You can find out more by visiting the Wii Sports Authority page.

As an incentive to get your body moving and in shape, DoubleBugs,  SportsAuthority and Nintendo, want to give readers a chance to win the Jillian Michaels’ new fitness game for the Wii and a Wii Fit Plus board!

Here’s  What You Gotta Do!

Visit Sports Authority and tell me what you would like to have to go along with your Wii Fit Plus Board and why you want to have a Wii Fit Board and come back here and leave me a comment

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Good Luck!!

Constest starts November 19, 2009 and ends December 12, 2009

Wilton and A Crafting Day

I know with the colder weather coming up, it means much more time spent indoors with your children.  With twin 3 yr old boys it makes it hard when they are so full of energy and you cannot let them out to play.  The past few days have been so rainy here and I was scrambling to find something to do with them, that would occupy at least one hour of the day.  Finding small crafts for toddlers is sometimes a challenge but I ran across a really cute one at Walmart the other day.

Wilton the famous cake decorating and candy making supply company had these really cute Halloween candy necklaces that kids can put together and they were only $3.99, so I thought I would give them a try.  The boys had a blast and had even more fun eating them!  It is a nice little project to do with kids ages 3 and up, and they may need a little help.  But stringing on the candy beads is also a great way to develop those fine motor skills.

Check out our crafting day!!

Pumpkin Patch Visit

My goodness, it has been a long day, and I am ready to head to bed.  Today we let the boys pick out a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch and did some more apple picking.   Not only that we took tractor rides and went to a neighbors party for football.  Neighbors up the street even had a bus dedicated to the local team with a big screen tv in it.

Needless to say, the boys got to bed late but were asleep in less than five minutes.  I will have some fun pictures from our adventures at the orchard up soon.  This weekend has been a whirlwind and I have lots to show my readers.  We got the carpet installed in our basement which was the highlight of my Friday.  You wouldn’t think new carpet would make someone this excited but it means that we are one step closer to being done with the room.  It is going to be a family space where the boys can make a mess if they want and we can sort of hang out down there.  The boys know the room is for them because they immediately asked if they could bring their toys down there  lol.

Tomorrow we will be working on the new room, I will be making some applesauce, and fresh apple pies. We are having a great weekend!   What are your plans?

Hasbro Family Game Night September 23rd!

Family time is so hard to come by with everyone’s busy lifestyle.  I think that it is important to take a time out to be together and focus on some activity that you can do as a family without any outside interruptions.

So as part of the family time initiative, Hasbro is having its first everNational Family Game Night on September 23rd.  They want you to turn off the TV, gather round the table and break out your favorite games like Monopoly, CLUE, or a fast and furious game of Connect Four.

About Family Game Night

“Family game night invites families everywhere to turn off the outside world for a short time and create memories together,” said Belisa Anzalotti, Director of U.S. Marketing for Hasbro Games. “Hasbro has established National Family Game Night to designate one evening where American families are encouraged to play games and share in learning and laughter.”

For families on a budget, National Family Game Night provides an opportunity to share an affordable night in. Buying a new game costs significantly less than many other entertainment options, such as dining out or attending a sporting event, and Hasbro games can be played year after year providing hours of entertainment. When planning your family game night, consider some of America’s favorite Hasbro games, most of which are available for less than $20: MONOPOLY, SCRABBLE, OPERATION, YAHTZEE, GUESS WHO?, BATTLESHIP or CRANIUM. Or, if you’re looking for a new game, try PICTUREKA!, a fast finding picture game that provides fun for the whole family.

Some of Hasbro’s classic favorites have also been updated this year, adding a new dimension of play to each game. For example, MONOPOLY Family Game Night: Championship Edition gives players the opportunity to host a Championship showdown at home, complete with tournament style rules and a Mr. MONOPOLY trophy for the victor. CLUE: Secrets & Spies Edition is a new suspense-filled game of global espionage where players work undercover and decode secret text messages sent through real time cell phone text messages. And CONNECT 4×4 is the first double grid, four-player game of CONNECT 4, introducing more competition and strategy to the classic game of four in a row.

In addition to offering hours of fun and entertainment, games also provide countless learning opportunities. Playing games reinforces patience, turn taking and teamwork, as well as losing gracefully and following directions. MONOPOLY, for example, is a great way to start teaching kids and young adults budgeting skills, while BOGGLE and SCRABBLE help with spelling, and CLUE helps with deductive reasoning. Spend an affordable night in with any Hasbro game for an educational and enjoyable experience that will be remembered for years to come.

I can remember before my husband I got married, we spent may Saturday nights with friends playing Monopoly and to this day, it is still one of my favorites.  It is so fun to grab some snacks, turn off the television and just have fun talking and laughing with a good old fashioned board game.  With the boys, just starting to get the idea of playing games, we have decided to take the time once a week to play a game together.  National Family Game Night is a perfect opportunity to start a tradition and make lasting memories, and come together as a family.

Outside National Family Game Night, you can set s a specific day each week and involve family in planning their own special game night.  For the competitive folks you can set up a scoreboard to keep track and award a winner a trip to their favorite restaurant, or have the ultimate game player trophy to pass on from year to year.  Whatever you decide you can make it something special.

Get your game face on for September 23rd!

Wordless Wednesday

Sorry about the quality my good camera was in repair!

Bad Boys Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You

Mimi The Sardine Lunch Bug *Review and Giveaway*

With the boys getting older and the weather being so nice we like to head outdoors frequently during the summer months.  On of our favorite outings is to head to the zoo for the morning and have sack lunch there before we head home for their naps.  When you visit places like the zoo the cost for food and beverages are usually outrageous and when you have a family of four, that can get a bit pricey.  For half of the cost we can pack a well rounded lunch for all us and it is so much more fun to sort of have a picnic as a family.

I am always in search of new and fun things that sort of make my life easier and appeal to the fun and whimsical that comes along with having children.  When I pack a lunch for the boys it is typically in a plastic baggie or in a brown paper bag.  If you know anything about food, presentation is always important especially when you have toddlers, and I try to make all things exciting to them.  They love the idea of picnics and bringing along their own special snacks for their trips to the zoo or to the playground.

Recently we were sent two Lunch Bug lunch bags from Mimi The Sardine and let me tell you they are incredibly adorable and when you see them, you will never go brown bagging again for your children.  We received the Hybrid Cars print and the Propellers because my two go nuts over planes and cars!  When I packed their lunch the first time in their new Lunch Bug bags they were really excited.  They have such bright and cheery colors and the boys thought that they were really getting something extra special.  Who wouldn’t get excited about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that was surrounded by such a delightful packaging?

About Mimi The Sardine

A small, family-owned business located in Marin County just outside San Francisco, Mimi the Sardine’s vibrantly colored Swedish prints capture a sense of delight and a bright innocence, appealing to youngsters and the young at heart, while they naturally bring smiles into life’s everyday eating experiences.

The company’s focus on bright, colorful, coated cotton prints and easy care fabrics has made Mimi the Sardine’s bibs, aprons, splash mats, lunch bugs, backpacks, placemats, and tablecloths synonymous with good times in households all across America. With the transition into soft, safe, organically grown cotton in everything they make, healthy just got healthier—for you, your family, the farmers, and precious ecological systems.

Lunchbugs  are also extremely easy to clean, which is a huge plus when you have little kids and you know there is always bound to be a mess near by. To clean them, you  just wipe, or machine-wash and tumble dry on low! Each bag is equipped with a sturdy zipper and soft handles, children and adults alike fall in love with the fun and colorful patterns, and everyone appreciates its eco-friendly and safe fabric.  I love love love these bags  because they are a vacation from the ordinary and are fun and you can tell that they are made with love.  This is a perfect alternative to brown bag lunches and is sure to brighten up any child’s day.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Would you like to win a Lunchbug of your very own?

DoubleBugs and Mimi The Sardine are giving a reader the chance to win a Lunchbug or your choosing.

Here’s What You Gotta Do

Visit Mimi The Sardine and tell me about another product that you like and why and come back here and leave me a comment.

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Contest starts July 15, 2009 and Ends August 3, 2009

Good Luck!

Flowers For Mother’s Day Topiary

I had always thought that I would someday be a mom, because it was what I had always dreamt about when I was younger.  It wasn’t until the day I met my two sons for the first time that those dreams took on a new meaning for me.  The pregnancy was a difficult one, with 15 weeks of bed rest and 8 of those were spent in a hospital bed, on my side, waiting and wondering if everything would be ok.  If it weren’t for my wonderful husband who visited me every day, and all my friends and family, I don’t think I would have made it.  They would send flowers and I had them lined up in my window sill.  The room had a window but it was a view of a brick wall, and the only thing I had to look at were all the beautiful flowers that people had sent.  They were a reminder to keep going, that people loved me, and I was there to help my two brightest flowers make it into this world.

I was given the opportunity to create a flower arrangement in honor of Mother’s Day and to have these flowers in my home and talk about how having flowers in my home affected me and what Mother’s Day means to me.  We were given, flowers, ribbon, and the materials and the recipe needed to create the arrangement.  I had such a wonderful time making the arrangement and I placed them up on my mantle so I can see them every day.

Making the arrangement brought back one of the best days of my life, the day my sons were born.  Since then, I have always had flowers in my life.  My children have brought such joy and life and happiness into my life, that I can no longer imagine my days without them.  There is something that happens when you become a mother.  I live my days surrounded by toys, laughter, somebody always calling out “mommy”, and living my life for them.   Everything is so fascinating, and magical once again, and there isn’t anything better than seeing things you already know about through the eyes of your child.  I love seeing their faces light up, I love having their arms around my neck, the smell of their hair after a bath.  I love having flowers in my life.  I always ask them…”Do you love your mommy?”….They reply “I doooo love my mommy” and return a kiss on the lips.  Thank you, my two sweet little flowers, for  making my life so bright, and full and amazing!

There are many reasons to send someone flowers for whatever reason, they are a reminder that someone loves you, someone is thinking about you, and that you are special.  Thank you to Colombia Flowers, and CirclePR for making my Mother’s Day even more special.

[IN] Place By Peter Walsh

I just recently had the opportunity to attend a web cast with Peter Walsh the guy from TLC’s Clean Sweep.  He has a new product line called [IN] Place coming out at Office Max to help people like me get in gear and get organized.  I must admit that my work space is less than desirable and I am almost never in there because of it.

We have a den that has sort of become the toss and go room for stacks of papers that have been cleared from our kitchen counters.  It is all the mail and things that we need to keep and well, file away.  As a busy mom to twins, I just feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to keep up with everything.  But now I have a reason to get things in shape.

The [IN] Place line of products includes durable poly folders that you can see through which makes it easy to find things quickly.  I have a file cabinet full of the dark green folders that have lost their tabs and I now have to figure out what’s in each folder.  Peter Walsh’s system lets you use an erasable marker so you can write directly on the folders themselves.  There are so many great things in the collection that once you get organized it is so easy to remain organized.  He also talks about how we as individuals need visual cues, and that having a system in place that makes things visible and that is color coded makes the idea of becoming organized more attanable.

So your first job is to clear the clutter and Peter states not to go out and buy things until you actually see what you have.  I am guilty as charged when it comes to this, because I will go out and buy all sorts of cutsie containers and stuff and get home and then start going through things when I had it all backwards.

You also should be going through your files every 6 months.  This is where I had a dilemma as I hang on to everything and feel like I am drowning in paper.  What I like most about this system is that it is simple, clean looking and makes it easy to keep it that way.  I intend on getting my house in order and the [IN] Place system is a perfect place to start.  Im so tired of feeling disorganized and after listening to Peter Walsh talk, I am more motivated than ever and actually excited.  Now if he could organize me up a few extra hours of sleep?

Carpet Fresh Just Say No To Odors

Since having children and pets there seems to always be something amiss in the air at any given time.  I am a bit particular about things smelling in my house.  If I walk in from grocery shopping and things don’t smell right then I will find its source.   Since having the boys, I have acquired the mommy nose for everything!

One of my big things is any odors related to our dog.  She is one big fur ball and even though I love her, we all know that dogs can stink.  When they lay on your carpet, the oils from their fur and skin just sort of stick like a magnet to your carpet and anything else, so  I thought I would give Carpet Fresh Carpet and Room Odor Eliminator a try.

Carpet Fresh Carpet and Room Odor Eliminator permanently neutralizes carpet odors and helps keep entire rooms smelling fresh by delivering odor-fighting agents deep into carpet fibers and reaching places air fresheners can’t and leaving a long lasting fragrance. Additionally, the Carpet Fresh Quick-Dry Foam format allows you to simply spray your carpets and walk away without scrubbing or vacuuming.  It dries in minutes, leaves no residue, and is safe for use around your family when used as directed.  Not only that, it can be used in your car and on the drapes.

I love the stuff because all you do is spray and walk away, there isnt anything you need to do other than that.  This is nice and it works!  I had the room smelling fresh and airy in a matter of minutes and it dries very quickly with no weird residue or sticky films.  This is perfect when you get those unexpected calls from guests that say they are stopping by in 30 min! And, the best part is that is comes in some really great scents like Country Potpourri, Morning Rain, Apple Cinnamon, Fresh Scent and Super Pet Neutralizer.

Thank you to Mom Central and Carpet Fresh for a wonderful opportunity to try new Carpet Fresh Carpet and Room Odor Eliminator!

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