December Holiday Meal Giveaway

This is for San Diego Residents only.

Do you know about San Diego Mommy's Spot? Michelle from Her Cup Overflowth runs San Diego Mommy Spot. It's a great place for San Diego mommy's to meet, chat and more. Come on by and join us!

Michelle is running a giveaway right now for Golden Share Foods. In a box is everything you need to make a wonderful Christmas dinner!

Click Here to read more about it!!

Sewing Again

First I want to thank everyone who stopped by and gave me their well wish's on a previous post. It means a lot to know that people I've never met face to face care about me and my family.

Second, I have been sewing again! It's been awhile, lost my passion, but making the girls Christmas dresses over the past few weeks has sparked me again. Plus it was perfect timing because we had an appointment to have our family pictures. It was awesome! Unfortunately I didn't have as festive of an outfit, but ya know how that goes :)

Both girls have their monogram on the bodice of the dresses. M's skirt part of her dress has an embroidered reindeer with lights strung around his antlers and C has Merry Christmas with a snowman and Santa holding presents and a reindeer with garland (she picked it out herself). I think they turned out adorable!

Family Together

Hi everyone, how was your Thanksgiving! Mine was wonderful. I cooked and we had my grandmother over. It has been so long since I have spent a holiday with her and actually this was the first holiday the girls have spent with a family member besides us. Another reason I am so happy to be back near our family. Now it's time to get ready for Christmas. I just started my Christmas Shopping (today) but luckily most of my gift buying will be online this year so not too much stress.

So what is THE toy your kiddos are asking for this year?

C wants everything she see's on TV of course, but she feel in love with doll house that her friend K has. So we decided to get one for her. Makes it easy for shopping too, because I emailed our family members and asked them to get the accessories for her....easy :)


A big CONGRATS to Renee G who is the winner of the Wizz-e giveaway! An email has been sent.

Sale, Sale, Sale

HOLIDAY SALE AT SEW FIERCE!!!



If your like me the economy hit you hard, and for this holiday season we are having to really budget our money. That's why starting Nov 27th until Dec 18th all in stock items and clothing will be marked down 20-40% off!!

Had your eye on a cute outfit or a bib & burp set from Sew Fierce? Now is the time to buy! Not only will you save money, but you will be buying handmade items made by a stay at home mom. Buy handmade this holiday season and help support all the wonderful crafters, artists and more.

Offer only valid at our dot com site...www.sewfierce.com, not at the Etsy Site.
Offer not valid on custom items.

Trying To Find My Way Back

It has been a long road for me the last several months and unfortunately it is not yet over. I am truly sorry for dropping off the face of the earth. I have neglected my blog and my business and I am trying to find my way back.

As you may or may not know I have a gastric ulcer with a hiatal hernia. Usually no big whop. I have bad days and good days. Days where the pain is manageable and days where it destroys me from the inside out. Lately due to on and off stress in my life my ulcer has been in full blown mode. I have had many trips to the ER and many tests ran. Every 6 months I have a scope done (endoscopy) and more tests. What fun. All of this on top of my normal motherly and wifely duties. I have put up a good front for everyone elses sake, but it's waring me thin.

Along with dealing with my ulcer, some other "illnesses" (for lack of a better word) have crept up and kept me prisoner to a daily routine I can not brake. I have become solitary. It has effected my work, my blog and probably to some point my family. My daughters are not privy to what is going on, they just know when I do not feel good. I am glad they are so young to not understand. My husband is very supportive and tries so hard to get close to me and make me smile again. Because of my ulcer and "illness" I have had to create a very strict diet for myself and has dropped me from 175 lbs in July to 139 as of today, and I do not know when it will stop. I guess some of that is up to me.

I have to thank the companies I have been working with on my reviews. You may have noticed I have posted several reviews all at once recently. These are reviews I have had for some time but have not been able to finish and the companies have been amazingly understanding of my situation.

I also have to apologize to you my readers. Since I opened this blog over a year ago you have been awesome. I have made so many bloggy friends and I am sorry for the abrupt manner in which I left my blog the last several months. I am trying to get my mind and my body healthy again. While this will take some time my goal is to get my drive back. Back for my family, back for my buisness and blog and back for my life.

Thank you to a special friend (you know who you are) for listening, caring and being their for me with no judgements when I needed someone last week. It means more than I can express.

IBW Winner

Congrats to

Joann of Ten Kids and a Dog

Wizz-e Review and Giveaway

I am amazed at what we can do online now. Growing up we did not own a computer. If we were lucky we got to us one once we got to High School. Now this generation has everything they want at their finger tips. Pretty cool and yet also scary as a parent.

One of the definite "cool" things my girls can do online is visit a new site called Wizz-e. Wizz-e is a site for electronic books. I was given the opportunity to have C play around with the site and give her opinion as well as mine. She really loved it. In a short amount of time she learned how to read a clock and was doing math addition problems.

Wizz-e books are very stimulating with bright colors, excellent illustrations and great animation. You see a book right in front of you. You can turn the pages, read at your own pace or click a button and the book will not only read for you, but highlights each word as it is read. Perfect for the beginner reader.

C's favorites are "What Time Is It", and "Simple Math - addition to 10". There is a simplicity to the books while still being forward thinking and complicated enough for kids to actually learn. Along with these books they also have games, wonderful story & nursery rhyme books, phonics and more. With 30 books in it's library there is something for everyone and every age. Another key aspect are the little quizzes at the end of each book. Your child needs to use his/her recall from the story to answer the questions correctly. Perfect for memory learning.

Pricing for the books run from 1.99-8.99. You can use them through their website or download them straight to your PC. They also offer a few free books for you to try. One of their books Hoop-la the Hippo just won the iParenting Outstanding Product Award for 2009! Congrats Wizz-e!

Now for the fun part...GIVEAWAY Time!

Wizz-e is offering 1 winner 5 books of your choosing!! That is a great prize!


How To Enter:

Visit Wizz-e website and leave a comment telling me what books you might pick. Please leave your email address if it is not available on your blog or profile.


Giveaway closes November 27th @ 11:59pm (PST) Winners will be picked November 28st by Random.org and notified by email, a post will follow. Winners have 48 hours to reply to email otherwise a new winners will be picked.

Disclosure: I received complimentary online review products from WizzE. No payment was received for this blog post.

JumpStart Escape from Adventure Island Review & Contest

As many of you know I did a review several months back for JumpStart's online educational game (if not click here). Well JumpStart is no longer just online, they have branched out to the Wii. I was lucky enough that Jumpstart provided me with a copy for a review.

Escape From Adventure Island is a fun game for kids ages 5-9 and is rated E for Everyone. In the game you crash land your blimp on Adventure Island...ooh no! You now need to navigate your way through the Island completing missions to earn sand dollars that will trade for helium tanks that in turn will fix your blimp.

Just like in the online JumpStart game you get to choose a Jumpee character, this is always C's favorite part. You also get a tree house to decorate. There are several different areas you can visit on the Island or go down into the deep water in The Scuba Hub and play underwater games.

As always this JumpStart game is packed with over 150 learning skills from math and reading to critical thinking skills. How can you not love that!

Want one...for FREE? You know you do!

Jumpstart is holding a HUGE contest on their blog. Contest will end on November 16th so you want to enter to win today!

The Prizes:
50 winners will be randomly chosen to receive a copy of JumpStart Escape from Adventure Island, a brand new Wii™ learning adventure for ages 5-9. Plus, 3 lucky winners will be chosen to receive the Ultimate Escape Prize Pack including:

• 1 copy of JumpStart Escape from Adventure Island (rated E by the ESRB)
• 1 Nintendo Wii console – to escape boredom
• $250 in SpaFinder® gift certificates – to escape stress
• 1 Flip™ Mino HD video camera – to record your adventures
• 3 lifetime JumpStart memberships – 1 for you, 2 to share with friends
• 500 JumpStart.com virtual coins – to keep your kids’ online adventure exciting
• JumpStart gear – to dress for adventure

How to Enter:
Leave a comment here with a story of your family’s favorite imagination adventure before November 16, 2009 (limit one story entry per person). For a bonus entry, send a tweet including ”I just entered to win the Ultimate Escape Prize Pack at http://blog.jumpstart.com/win/escape! #jumpstart.com” before November 16, 2009 (limit one Twitter entry per person). We’ll be tracking the Twitter entries, but if your tweets are private, make sure to report back here with a link to your tweet. Good luck! (Prize information was taken from Jumpstart blog)

Disclosure: I received complimentary online review products from JumpStart. No payment was received for this blog post.

IBW Book Review & Giveaway

I had the opportunity to review IBW Books and they were gracious enough to send me 2 books. IBW is a new interactive way of reading with 2D and 3D animations you look up on the computer as your reading. Since C is very computer savvy already, I knew this is something she would be interested in. While she is only 4 and not yet reading, it was no problem for me to read it for her and she worked the computer.

The 2 books I received for review were they're KA Reader 3 " A Day At The Zoo" and Busy Preschoolers " Celebration of Letters G & H".

The KA Reader book helps develop vocabulary. The words were very simple to read. Nice big lettering and at the end of each story was a "webscene" web address that corresponds with the story. The webscene is an animated short "clips" that plays along as you read page by page. C very much enjoyed watching the clips, and seeing the pop-up words as I read. In “A Day at the Zoo,” a family of dogs has a silly day together visiting the zoo. You can see the same webscene C viewed online after we read chapter one in the book here www.KA-Reader.com/3-1

The Busy Preschoolers book was all about the letter G & H. Each letter had it's own poem on one page and instructions on the other on how to do a craft or game with the poem you just read. Just like the KA Reader, there are web addresses for the webscences. Just another way to keep your child engaged and interested. C's favorite part of this book as the puzzle she did online for the letter H.

I really liked how the IBW books engaged C in several different ways from word recognition, to puzzles and shape finding. They also have a hand writing program called ABC-TRACE-123. Your child uses the mouse to click and drag cute animal icons in a specific order to create a letter. Not only is it fun but it aids in developing the motor skills needed for hand writing. This is not just another book that I read and she gets squirmy half way through. She stayed interested the whole time.

All of “The Busy Preschooler’s Guide to Learning” online activities include drop-down menus with suggestions to help further your child’s learning. You can check out the Letter H puzzle and try the ABC-TRACE-123 activity that C had so much fun with here. www.BusyPreschoolers.com/h

" IBW titles use a new storytelling process that combines an actual print book with interactivity of online animations. There are six or more webscences included in every IBW book.

To learn more about IBW books, find other titles and how to order your own, visit their website at www.IBW-Books.com



Win It Here!!

IBW is giving one winner the choice of great 2 prizes!


* The Busy Preschooler's Guide to Learning - fun activities built around the 26 letters of the alphabet, with step-by-step help to guide parents in how to use everyday situations to teach 105 skills their kids need before they walk in the kindergarten door. (Retail value $60)

* THREE (3) KA Readers - beginning readers that use a new kind of storytelling where kids see an animation unfold at the close of every chapter! Dr. Seuss-like rhyming hooks kids on the fun of words. Online activities help parents asses a child's reading and comprehension. (Retail value $60)


How To Enter:

Visit IBW Books website and leave a comment telling me what you think you would like most about the IBW Books. Please leave your email address if it is not available on your blog or profile.


Giveaway closes November 20th @ 11:59pm (PST) Winners will be picked November 21st by Random.org and notified by email, a post will follow. Winners have 48 hours to reply to email otherwise a new winners will be picked.

Disclosure: I received complimentary online review products from IBW. No payment was received for this blog post.

Smelly Washer Review

Do you get that mildew/mold smell from your washer when you open the lid? After you wash your clothes does it smell like it needs to be ran again? Then it's time you tired Smelly Washer. I have been fighting with this mildew smell for several months. I tried running my washer with vinegar and water, but it just didn't work. I thought if I used a smellier detergent maybe that would help..nope.

Thanks to Smelly Washer.com they sent my a bottle to try myself and review. I have to say all in all it was very easy to use and it worked!! I could not believe it. Months of this awful smell was gone and all I had to do was follow the easy instructions to clean my washer. Smelly Washer doesn't just clean the washer, you can also use it to get ride of the musty smells from your bath or kitchen towels and any clothes that seem to hold on to odors.

Smelly Washer has up to 24 treatments in one bottle and is all natural! Smelly washer is made from 100% all natural citrus based ingredients and is safe for top and front load washers.

What causes machine odor?

"There are a number of things that can lead to front load washer smell and washing machine odor, and yes, one of them is stinky gym socks. Over time, dirt, grease and grime from clothes can build up on the inside of your washing machine. Detergent and fabric softener reside also accumulates, as does lint, skin and other organic matter. The combination leads to funky odor washing machine and often even mildew." Information taken from Smelly Washer Blog.

To find out more about Smelly Washer and to read testimonials visit SmellyWasher.com or their blog.

Disclosure: I received complimentary online review products from SmellyWasher. No payment was received for this blog post.