Kelloggs Plant A Seed Vote For Your Favorite Field

Back in January I did a post about a really cool program to help rebuild the playing fields around the United States.  So many of then were in pretty bad shape and in an effort to rebuild some of these playing fields, came the launch of the Frosted Flakes Plant A Seed campaign.  They realized the need for these playing field as a way to continue to build community and morale.

Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Earn Your Stripes program initiated a call-to-action for a national field renovation. Since that time, thousands of fields were nominated some with as many as 700,000 supporters! Those fields have now been narrowed down to 100 finalists and your vote will help determine the winning fields.  The semifinalist fields were chosen based on the feasibility of the field makeover, the location and age of the field, how often it gets used, how many events take place, what teams use it, the number of other athletic fields in the community, the demand, condition, and the impact a field renovation would have on the community.

From May 1st through the 31st, you can vote for your favorite semifinalist field at www.frostedflakes.com and give communities a gift of a lifetime.  I cannot think of a better thing to vote for, because it brings people together, helps build self esteem and encourages growth, and makes a safe place for our children to play.  Many of the fields that were nominated, are in desperate need of repair, new equipment, and a complete overhaul.  So we should all get out there and vote because it is an opportunity to change lives!  It doesn’t cost anything other than a minute of your time to make a difference.

Charm Story at Things Remembered

One of the best gifts that anyone can get is one that comes from the heart and is personalized gift just for you.  I have never been a huge fan of jewelry but I have always wanted something that reminded me of all the important moments in my life.

I received a beautiful necklace with two very special charms for Mother’s Day from the Charm Story line at Things Remembered.  Everything about it was so very special right down to the way it was even packaged.  I sat there for a moment and just appreciated how pretty the box was, and then I opened it up.  I cannot tell you how special and how beautiful the charms were.  Not only that, it was personalized just for me, with the names of my two babies and their birthdays.  Now I can be reminded of the two special lights in my life and keep them close to my heart.

The nice thing about Charm Story is you can tell a story and you can always add to it.  So, your bracelet or necklace, can always change to reflect your life and will always be special and beautiful to you.  Things Remembered has always been known for their great selection of personalized gifts and is always a great way to remember someone special on their birthday, Mother’s Day, or any occasion.  There is a wide variety of charms to choose from, so you are sure to find that special combination to make your gift meaningful. This is such a perfect way to give a gift that will be treasured for always.  I will definitely be nudging my husband to get me more charms as my story continues!

Wordless Wednesday

In Lock Up

Allergy Protection With 3M Filtrete

Both my husband and one of my boys have extreme allergies. I love Spring and all the flowers blooming but along with all these wonderful things comes the sniffling, sneezing and breathing issues.  One of my sons is always rubbing at his little nose, and nose drops have become a nightly routine just to keep him from sneezing so much.

Because of his allergy issues, it is imperative that I keep up with cleaning the house and taking measures to prevent allergens in our home.  We have the pillows and mattresses coveres, and air purifier running at all times in the room, we keep the dog out of the bedrooms, and I am vacuuming sometimes twice a day.

One important factor that many people forget is to change their furnace filters.  For us, it is one of those things that is out of sight and out of mind until you realize that you are way past due for a filter change.  But since we have allergies running rampent in this house, I put a reminder to change the filter on our calendar.

Studies indicate that indoor levels of many pollutants may be two to five times higher than outdoor levels, making it one of the top five urgent environmental risks to public health.  In fact, many seasonal activities such as cooking, spring cleaning and redecorating can spread indoor pollutants.

Dr. Neil Schachter, M.D., past president of the American Lung Association of the City of New York, suggests a “home health check-up” to help make your home a healthier place to live.  He recommends avoiding cleaning products that contain ammonia or chlorine, and limiting your pet’s access to certain areas of the home, including the bedroom. A high performance air filter, such as a Filtrete filter, may also help improve indoor air quality.

It is currently recommended that you change you air filter at least once per season.  This is about every three months. This may be the last thing on your mind especially when you are busy with life in general.  3M, makers of Filtrete filters recognizes that this is often neglected, so they offer the Clean Air Club.  You can receive a season e-newsletter featuring special offers, better home living tips, and filter change reminders.  Plus the first people to sign up each week will receive a free bamboo plant.  Plants act as a natural air purifier in your home!

If you or anyone in your house suffers from seasonal allergies or allergies in general, this is a great resource to help you get on your way to a cleaner, more allergy free home.  Thank you to Mom Central and Filtrete for helping to understand the importance of how to help better your home for allergen protection.

Bob Evans Has A New Look!

Bob Evans has taken their store and restaurant favorites and built a new home online to make the Bob Evans experience even better. A new store locator, menu information, and a special kids section make the site even better than ever!

Bob Evans has always been one of my favorite places to go for breakfast.  The best part about getting breakfast is that you can order it at any time of the day.  There isn’t anything better than breakfast for dinner in  my opinion.  Bob Evans has always been known for their wonderful home cooked style meals and the prices are great too.  As a family of four now, my husband and I, almost cringe at the cost for all of us to eat at a restaurant these days.  We love heading to Bob Evans however, because we can all eat at around $30 for the entire family.  This is so wonderful, especially during this economy, and we can all feel like we get a chance to go out.

They also have a newly revamped online site where you can go to get tasty recipes each with a mouthwatering picture and even coupons to help you make a culinary masterpiece.  There is a little something for everyone including the kiddos!  They have fun online activities as well as, a Kid’s Club where they can sign up to receive a free kid’s meal for their birthday!  It’s very easy to navigate and it offers information on their full line of products available at the grocery store, their restaurant menu, store locations, and much more.

With Bob Evans you will almost never be at a loss for knowing what there is to eat.  You can try a new recipe, try one of their yummy products like their sausage, or side dishes, or head up the road to your local Bob Evans restaurant and enjoy a wonderful home cooked meal in a warm and homelike environment.  The possibilities are endless whether you have a big family to feed, you are on the run, or you just want to keep it simple. I love having all the choices and especially at the grocery store too!  There is something that is sure to please.

This Contest Is Now Closed

Would you like to try some wonderful Bob Evans products from your local grocery for free?

DoubleBugs and Bob Evans would like to give readers the chance to win 5 free frozen product coupons valued at $5.00 each to one lucky winner!

Here’s What You Gotta Do!

Visit the Bob Evans site and let me know what you like about the new site

For Additional Entries

• Tweet about this giveaway
• Subscribe to my blog
• For 5 additional entries blog about this contest link to me and Bob Evans in your post and leave me the link
• Add my button to your blog

Contest Starts May 12, 2009 and Ends June 1, 2009

Good Luck!!!

Bunny Slippers for Mom

I will have to admit that I am a sucker for all the fun slippers that you see when you are out shopping.  Just a couple of years ago my mom got me some ones that looked like big sneakers, and I have some fuzzy zebra striped ones too.  They are so comfy just to slip on.  I wear mine around the house when it is chilly and out to get the mail.  I am sure that I am a sight for the neighbors, but what is life if you can’t have fun?

When given the opportunity to check out Bunny Slippers, I was delighted at all their fun choices for slippers.  They have them for the whole family too.  They have such an adorable selection of bunny slippers, and they even have bunny slipper flip flops!  They have so many different kinds of slippers they I was finding it hard to choose just one that I like.  I love the lady bug slippers that I received because they are so bright and cheery and the boys even had to try them on.  They have slippers for young children, but it was nice to having something whimsical that is meant for me.

Their new bunny flip hop spa sandals would make a perfect gift for Mom or for anyone.  How fun would it be to get these for all your bridesmaids and hand them out at a spa day?  They are ultra comfortable and the bunny part is not overly obnoxious, but are just fun enough to add a little personality.  They also have some of the most adorable bunny slippers for tiny feet and these would make a really cute gift for a new baby.  If you have a fun personality or just want to be adventurous you should check out Bunny Slippers!

Strider Running Bike Review

I can remember learning to ride a bike when I was in kindergarten, and I remember the bent training wheels that when you rode your bike you could lean from side to side. About 8 months ago I was introduced to something called a running or a balance bike.

I had never heard of a running/balance bike.  Apparently, these bikes are becoming incredibly popular. When you look at them, you will quickly notice that there are no pedals and no training wheels. My husband and I, were wondering how these would be beneficial to the boys.

The whole idea behind the Strider Running Bike is that a child can learn to balance before he is able to actually pedal a bike. The theory is that they can learn to ride a regular bike much quicker this way. The child is able to ride on the bike and gradually get to a point where they can balance and are able to lift their feet and coast. This makes transitioning to a regular bike easier and eliminates the need for training wheels. I know that my boys currently are just now starting to figure out how to pedal but they are already ahead of the game because, they can balance on their two wheel bikes!

About Strider Running Bikes

Strider™ The Strider™ running bike teaches kids age 1-5 years old how to balance and steer a two-wheeler. The simple, thoughtful design offers them easy control and helps build their confidence. They will never need a tricycle and never need training wheels when they start out on a Strider™.

* One of the LOWEST seat heights in the industry… just 11″ from the ground.
* One of the LIGHTEST running bikes on the market at just 6.9 pounds… less than 1/2 the weight of a tricycle.
* The ONLY running bike with frame-integrated Launch Pad™ footrests ergonomically located below the saddle. (U.S. Patent Pending). Launch your child’s skills to the next level: gliding with feet up, riding while standing up, jumping & bunnyhopping.
* Kid and parent-friendly EVA polymer tires are light weight, airless and super durable.
* One of the most ADJUSTABLE running bikes on the market with 3″ of handlebar height adjustment and 5″ of seat height adjustment (plus additional 2″ adjustment available with optional seatpost).
* User-specific Progression™ headset is lighter than a typical bearing headset, has no grease, and requires no adjustment. It also offeres a steering speed damping effect during break-in which is helpful to young riders who are still learning to keep both hands on the bars. As their skills speed up, so will the steering.
* Optional foot brake adds even more fun and learning for the advanced rider… can you say skidmark?!!

The Strider™ brand running bike gets kids started younger, adjusts with them as they grow, and keeps them riding longer and learning more through the unique frame design with integrated footrests and optional brake.

When we first received these bikes the boys were hesitant and somewhat disinterested. Being only just 2 years old when they started it took my husband and I a lot of coaxing to get them to use the bikes on a regular basis. In fact, we went through a phase where they wanted nothing to do with them, and as you know every kid is different. They would get on, go down the sidewalk for only a few feet and tell us they were done. Personally, I would say they were still a little young. But something magical happened over the past 3 months and they absolutely love them now.  They are zipping and zooming all over the place and even more impressive, lifting their feet! They ask for their bikes every time we are out. They are so incredibly lightweight too, so it is so easy to just toss them in the car and take them with you to the park or over to grandma’s. I can imagine that by the time they are three they may even be riding a regular bike with pedals!

Take A Look!

I would highly recommend these bikes if you are interested in giving your child an advantage in teaching them early! Thank you Strider Sports!

Site Issues

My day was going much too perfectly yesterday.  The boys had a wonderful day, they were angels in the store, helped me me do some planting in the garden, and no fighting.  I was making a dent in the laundry which was a huge plus because I had fallen behind when I was sick.  So perfect!  Thats when it happened.  I went to do a post on my site and I get “error establishing a database connection.”

I didn’t go into immediate panic because I just assumed that my host was having a few issues.  So I waited, got dinner ready, and called my husband to see if he was on the way home.  I told him about the site being down and then he goes in that tone “uhhhh that’s not good.”  I instantly felt panic because he proceeds to tell me he updated some things for his nephew’s site etc.  And then I felt a bit sick because I haven’t yet backed up my site.  So, the perfect day tanked right then and there. The night was long, and it turns out the host could restore my data as of 4/25, so we went with that.  Thankfully my pages were cahced in google, so I could get my posts back!  And the lesson learned is…I will faithfully back up everything to avoid a heart attack from now on!

The adrenaline from worrying all night, has made me so incredibly tired!  Amazing how the body responds to stress.  Anyway, I am back with a few more grey hairs on my head as a result.  Ugh!

Dole Make Me A Chef Winner

Congratulations to The Dole Make Me A Chef Winner!

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.

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