Sick For The Weekend

It never fails

It started out with the boys coughing and the typical runny nose.  It is funny how kids can just run around and play even when they are sick.  Even still, they seem to have their moments.  Forgive me if this is short but I have revisited my sleepless night when they were babies.  When little ones are sick, they toss and turn all night long.

Finally, when the boys are so exhausted they crash around 7 am and then sleep well into the morning which throws their entire schedule off.  There is one very good reason why I hate colder weather and this is it.  It brings in all the nasty sick viruses and everyone is trapped indoors.

My husband went to bed and he is sick and I am feeling it creep up on me.  I feel tired, and I know that means its coming my way.  It is not your normal tired but the one where you feel draggy and a little achy around the eyes and your head feels like its gonna explode.  No matter what, I am determined to ignore it, but who knows where I will be tomorrow.  If the tickle in my throat is any indicator, ill be croaking out my voice in the morning. *SIGH*  Thank goodness for my blog!

Room In Progress Part 3

Sorry that I haven’t been able to update on the room progress until now.  I have been so busy with weddings, and sick kids and running to the basement every chance I get to get the room ready for carpet.  My hands are spattered with paint as I type this and did I mention that I HATE drywall?

The pictures that I have here are when the initial finishing started, and a few pictures of the walls after they were completely mudded and the primer was on.  I am just now getting some color on the walls.  The next step will be to have Rite Rug in to install the carpet!  I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to get to that point so I can start arranging the room and getting the trim up.  I don’t want to give too much of the room away until it is close to completion.  I underestimated the work required to do this yourself and I spend a lot of my free time down there.  I hope to not see another paint bucket for a long time  lol.  Three gallons of primer and two gallons of color so far have been put on the walls!  The ceiling won’t go in until the Spring and it will be a drop ceiling (we hope, no clue about how it works) so not too much of a mess.

Sorry about some of the quality, my nice camera was in repair (grumble!)

LOOK AT THE BEAUTIFUL WALLS!!!

Off to paint more walls, more to come!

Wordless Wednesday

It is apple season again and this is one of our favorite things to do. This was the first of several weekends that we will be heading for apples and pumpkins!

Apple Picking!

Holidays Did I Miss December?

I had to go out and do a little shopping for the boys for some dress socks and dress shirts for a wedding that we were attending over this past weekend.  Typically, I love the holiday season, because with it, comes baking, and all the fun aspects of preparing for them.

Over the years it seems like the push to get holiday merchandise on the shelves has become a top priority for retailers.  I am all for getting a jump on your planning but Christmas in September????  I haven’t even gone to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin for Halloween yet, my boys don’t even have a costume.  I seriously think that we are all stressed enough without rushing our minds and pocket books into the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping.  Does anyone really want to buy holiday bobbles and garland even before the leaves start to change or have I missed the bus on this one too even if you have a steal of a coupon?

I am almost getting to where I want to run far away from stores that have Santa one aisle over from the bulk bags of Halloween candy and the goblins and ghoul decorations.  Don’t they realize that they are overwhelming us, stressing our already hectic lives and making it a chore rather than something to enjoy?  I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow, so can you please hide the twinkling lights and keep the fah lah lahs on mute, maybe just until I don’t have to wear shorts anymore and the trees outside show a hint of Fall?  Pretty Please?

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

Canon What Happened To My Fairy Tale?

Canon cameras, have always been my first choice when it comes to purchasing a camera for myself.  I do a large amount of photography both here on my site for review purposes, and on the side for a small family photography business.  The very first camera that I had, was a Canon Rebel 4000 35mm camera, and I used it till they started coming out with their digital SLR cameras.

It wasn’t until I had a problem with a $400 lens that I got a first hand glimpse into Canon customer service and the repair process, that I became a bit disenchanted with everything.   I had brought my lens into the local camera store where I had purchased the lens, and they had told me that the wait time is an average of six to eight weeks.  I felt like I had no other choice, and told them to go ahead and send it in.  The lens happened to be under warranty so I was lucky.  At the eleven week mark, I started to get really frustrated because I was losing photography jobs because my lens was not back.  I had made numerous phone calls to the camera shop and I got some run around and called Canon direct and no one could explain why they still had my lens.  After a few emails someone over at Canon in customer service contacted me apologizing for the long delay.  The best she could say was sorry, talked about the various repair centers, but assured me that she would pass this information to the higher ups and would contact me to give me the full story.  I never heard back after that, and since I lost her phone number, I couldn’t follow up.  I sort of let that one go, and was just relieved to have my lens back after three months.

The best is yet to come, however.  Recently, I had brought my camera along with me on an event, nothing unusual and I had done this numerous times before.  My camera has never been dropped, or mishandled because I do consider it to be my baby.  I had fully charged my battery, and popped it in and was ready to take pictures when, I flipped the power on and nothing happened.  I was completely baffled because it had worked just the day before for the boys birthday.  I went into a bit of a panic because I could not afford another $800 for a camera, and I use it for everything.  So the last fiasco was right in the back of my mind, but the lady I talked to from before, had mentioned that next time I could send my camera in direct and have it back sooner, gee thanks.

I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, since my 2.5 year old camera was obviously out of warranty.  I went back the camera shop who originally sent my lens to Canon through their camera repair center, to have them take a look to see if I was missing something.  He asked if that was sand he saw in my camera, the same accusation that was made about my lens yet I have no sand around me, no beaches here.  (This is a whole other story).  I was already mad but that just made it worse.

I managed to get a hold of someone in the PR department for Canon, but she only directed me to the repair center.  All my feel good, warm fuzzies about owning a Canon had totally left the building.  I don’t care if the camera does my laundry, is it really worth the hassle?  So I packed up my $800 camera in its original box, spent $20 and insured the thing and sent it away to Virginia.  And, I waited.  Then I got the email stating that it would be $224 to repair my camera that doesnt turn on.  My hands were tied, because I could either not pay it and have nothing, or pay it, neither of which was an option that I could afford.  I mean who has $800 laying around for a new camera?  The worst part about it, is that, the camera is only 2 yrs old, and you would think that something this expensive wouldn’t just stop working but I guess I am just disillusioned.

So I finally got my Rebel XTi back and along with it, an empty bank account.  It turns out that the power to the camera wasn’t working “DUH!”.  And they cleaned the camera, and replaced a fuse!  A fuse?  $224?  That’s one expensive fuse!  And to rub a little more salt, as part of being a valued customer, they offered me a Canon 5oD refurbished for just $650 as a replacement, what a bargain!

But seriously, I really do think that, they could have handled things a little differently and stood behind their products a little more.  I feel like I have lost all the excitement that came with owning a Canon and the enchantment is gone. As a customer you want to know that you are getting a good product.  I don’t know if I could afford to own another!

Wii Accessories By Performance Designed Products *Review and Giveaway*

I can remember when  my husband and I were on a quest to find a Wii gaming console and how difficult they were to attain.  On a visit to see my parents, we got wind of a shipment at a local store and he raced up there and got one of the only five that they had received.

I am not a huge gamer, although I was brought up playing Nintendo when I was a kid and I have been a fan of their games ever since.  I can remember getting the first ever Zelda game and playing it every day until I finished the game.  Now that I am a mom to two boys, I know there will probably be some gaming in their future but even though I am older now, I still enjoy playing.  We even have the Wii Fit, which I must say is a rather impressive piece of equipment.  The way games are played have come a long way in the past twenty years from Atari to Wii.

I was recently offered some fun new products from Performance Designed Products to try out with our Wii gaming console.  I was really excited to try them out.  The NERF Sports Pack, is a really cool way to play Wii Sports or any game that includes baseball, racketball/tennis, or golf.  I love Wii sports, but I was never exactly coordinated by using just the Wii remote to play and everyone is always kicking my butt.  Lets face it as an adult, I have become a bit clumsy and uncoordinated in the gaming department.  I am sure I am comical to watch.  But, with the cool NERF Sports pack, it was great to pop in my Wii remote into the tennis racket and feel like I had a better swing.  It made a huge difference in how I played rather that trying to coordinate moving like I had a racket in my hand, I actually had something like it to hold on too.  I managed to win a few games.  I think this is great for little hands too, the boys didn’t necessarily understand the game but they fared pretty well.  They come in four colors, red, green, blue and black.

Later, we got ready to race with the NERF Racing Wheel.  I was never a huge fan of racing games, but with a cool NERF racing wheel that all changed.  I felt like I was in the pits at Nascar and ready to take off.  As with any Wii game, you can of course just play with the remote but the racing wheel made it feel much more real.  My husband was laughing at how into the game I was, and that my tongue was hanging out of my mouth in concentration.  Even though I am not gaming on a regular basis, I do tend to get competitive.  My only beef with all this NERF stuff is that it has that funky new out of the box smell that lingers a little more than I would like.  Maybe they can invent one that smells like berries, or new car leather?  How cool would that be?

Then to top it off after giving your tired Wii remotes a workout, you can pop them in and bring them back to life in one of these two chargers!  There is the Wii 2X Induction Charger (sounds like a mouthful).  This charger specifically lets you charge two of your Wii remotes without having to fight to remove your silicone protection sleeve on your remote.  I like this idea because anything that saves me time and hassle is well worth it.  It also comes with 2 rechargeable battery packs, 2 battery covers and a UL-approved power cord. You can’t ask for more than that.

The other charger we received, the Energizer 4x Charger holds up to four Wii remotes (Wow!).  We only currently own two Wii remotes, but this great for when the family of gamers grows.  When the boys are a little older and more into gaming then, this will be great to have a place to put all of the remotes to charge and have them ready to go for the next round of fun.

These are great additions to your Wii gaming system and it makes a little less coordinated people like myself able to get in on the action.  It seems like the younger kids always pick up on how to use this stuff faster.  I love these PDP gaming accessories and it makes your game play a little more realistic.  The chargers are also useful in not having to replace batteries in your Wii remotes all the time.  These would make a great gift for any gamer, as well as fun Birthday or Holiday gifts.

**These products were provided by the company for me to review**

Would You Like to Win  A Set of These Accessories For Yourself???

DoubleBugs would like to give its readers the chance to win these fabulous accessories for your Wii gaming system!

Here’s What You Gotta Do

Visit Performance Designed Products (pdp.com) and tell me what other products that you like and what games you will play with your new gaming accessories and why you would like to win.

For Additional Entries (please leave a separate comment for each)

Tweet about this giveaway

Add me to your Twitter (this must be an active account where you tweet on a regular basis)

Blog about and link to this giveaway and provide the link (3 additional entries)

Add me to your technorati favorites

Contest starts September 14, 2009 and Ends October 19, 2009

Good Luck!!!

Keurig Winner

Congrats to Kimberly, the winner of the Keurig Platinum Brewer!  Thank you to all who entered and come back to see what’s going on, here at DoubleBugs!

Original comment on post for main entry

I love the Keurig. My brother in law has one and a few people I know and they alaways rave about them and I’m so jealous! I have wanted one of these for over a year now.

I’m a busy mom and I enjoy a HOT cup of coffee in the morning but sometimes I’m so busy running around with the kids that by the time I get to the coffee that was brewed in the pot it’s either “burnt” or cold. I love the Keurig because I could make fresh hot coffee when I have the time to enjoy it.

I would like to try the fair trade K-cups because I love to try different types of coffees and I love that the coffee was aquired with fair trade practices.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Holiday Inn Make It A “State-cation”

With the economy the way it is lately, I can imagine that a lot of families have stayed close to home for the Summer.  I know that for us, it just wasn’t financially feasible to take a big family vacation.  Sometimes I think that we live in our own little bubble close to home and sometimes overlook the fact that there is more to do outside of a 10 mile radius in your home state.

For us it didn’t take us long to discover that there were things that, even after living here for the past 15 years, that we haven’t seen.  Since having the boys we are constantly on the look out for fun things to do with them.  So we decided to plan a little weekend getaway in our own state.  We decided to set it up and make the plans and look for our accommodations.  I can remember a favorite Holiday Inn that my husband I love to stay at in Miami Florida, so when we are looking for hotels in our area, we always look for a  Holiday Inn first.  Holiday Inn, currently has more than 2,500 locations in the US, offering a fun and easy getaway in every state.

We found a really fun family hiking area with a few local things for the kids and a Holiday Inn nearby with nice rooms and plenty of space for us as a family.  We made plans to do some nature discovery walks with the boys, go fishing, and then head to a local Amish community.  We took our first ever “state cation” and we plan to do some more exploring this Fall!  Not only that, it was a much needed trip that didn’t break the bank.

Take a look at your own state, get a plan and make it a “state-cation” with Holiday Inn!

**I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Holiday Inn. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate**

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