Wordless Wednesday - 2/25/09

Happy Boy

*taken with my cell phone

Daddy Diaper Changing Toolbox

From the first time Dave and I ever discussed having children there was always one line in the conversation that remained the same. “I WILL NEVER CHANGE A DIAPER. EVER. EVER. EVER.” That was Dave of course. His determination to convince me that he would never change a diaper was very strong. So strong really I actually believed he would NEVER change a diaper.

Then the time came. I had Elijah on a Friday, brought him home on a Sunday. Monday, guess what? I was sleeping, and instead of waking me up, Dave changed a pee pee diaper. WOW! I know right?

So now his tune had changed. It went from “I WILL NEVER CHANGE A DIAPER.” to “I WILL NEVER CHANGE A POOPY DIAPER.” So the days went on and Dave kept changing pee pee diapers and asking for assistance with the poop. For the longest time Elijah was very predictable with the poop. Always the same time, color and consistency every day. And when he went he always had to have the same clean up routine. Otherwise he gets mad. Our poop routine:

• Go to Elijah’s bathroom
• Turn on the ceiling heater (our spoiled baby isn’t changed until the bathroom is warm enough)
• I get the supplies ready. we use wash rags instead of wipes for poopy butts and to cover the little shwinky.
• Dave undresses Elijah up to the diaper and puts a cloth diaper under his butt (GREAT way to avoid messes!!! Less cleaning of the changing pad required!)
• I undo Eli’s diaper. Place small wet rag on the shwinky to prevent any extra hazards.
• Dave holds Elijah’s legs while I clean his backside.
• After he’s sufficiently clean, A&D or Destin is applied to any red areas to prevent diaper rash.
• New Diaper is applied. Dave shuts the tabs of the new diaper while I go to wash my hands and rinse out the rags.
• Dave redresses Elijah and carries him out. I take the dirty rags to the laundry room and place in the laundry tub.
• Elijah then ALWAYS wants a bottle after being changed, so 9 times out of 10 Dave feeds Elijah his bottle.

So as you can see we have a great routine that works, even if Dave will never change a poopy diaper, he at least does all he can to make the burden less on me. Unless he is at work, he has actually assisted with ALL but two of Elijah’s poo diapers! He’s the best poop assistant ever! LOL

For the record, Dave did change ONE small poop diaper. Another time I was sleeping and he didn’t want to wake me. But vowed to never do it again after realizing that rubber gloves do not protect from things that can fly out of babies at any given time. LOL! Luckily for him the two times that he was left alone with Elijah he did not poop.

After all this I was surfing around on mom blogs and happened to see the greatest gift ever for new dads. I really wish I would have known about this before Elijah was born. I still am thinking about getting one for Dave. It’s the Daddy Diaper Changing Toolbox!

This is seriously cool and the best present ever for Dads to Be or New Dads. It comes filled with so many neat things, it’s sure to keep Dads laughing, and MAYBE will inspire them to give Diaper Changing a chance!

I love the Optional Step by Step Dad Humor Directions included and the box items themselves are hilarious! A Patent Pending Poop Poncho !?!?! A Turkey Baster --for precision hiney washing!?!?! HA-HA I love it!

I’m not going to list all the happiness in the toolbox though, instead I am going to let you head over to Fun Stuff 4 Babies and look at the toolbox and inventory yourself. Then come back here and guess what?

Yes! A giveaway!

Since we are helping Alicia welcome her new son Cayden. We couldn’t leave out her husband, the Dad –to- be, Ryan! Thanks to funstuff4babies.com Ryan is getting one of these awesome toolboxes to get a fun start in his Daddy Diaper Changing! Congratulations Ryan!

AND You can win a Daddy Diaper Changing Toolbox for your Diaper Changing Beginner too!

TO ENTER: Visit www.funstuff4babies.com look at the Daddy Diaper Changing Tool Box. Come back here and leave me a comment with your favorite item in the box OTHER THAN the two I have already mentioned!

For extra entries:

• Follow @erinjeany on Twitter and tweet about this contest. Then leave one extra comment with your twitter name and the link to the tweet.
• Blog about this giveaway. Then leave one more extra comment with your blog post link

One main entry per household! You must complete required information to be considered. Please remember to leave your email. If I don’t know how to contact you, you cannot win. This giveaway will run until March 3rd at Midnight, eastern time.

Thank you for reading! Good Luck!

Let’s go strolling

A while ago I started my Search for the Perfect Diaper Bag. I found a excellent place to buy everything I needed to organize Elijah’s bag,Let’s Go Strolling.

How many of you moms use your diaper bag as your purse, lunch bag, trash can, tot suitcase AND then maybe to carry diapers? There is a tagged post going around and when you’re tagged you are supposed to write a blog post listing the items in your diaper bag. Now I am not going to call anyone out here but I have read some rather interesting items this past month. One included nail polish and lipstick that exploded open. Another even included a used tampon… eewww What was that mom thinking???

Either way there is no rule saying your diaper bag has to include ONLY baby stuff. In fact I have a little emergency Mommy kit in mine that includes a nail file, aspirin, and NEW, not used, NEW, pads and tampons among other things. It just makes sense if you have to carry a bag anyway, why not just make it ONE bag instead of two or more. The trick is to organize that one bag!

Let just talk about the diapering section since that’s really what the bag is for to begin with anyway. There are some great choices at Let’s go strolling for diapering accessories!

As for wipes themselves my FAVORITE wipe case EVER, is the Skip Hop SWIPE case. Besides the fact that it has the strap so you can attach it on to your diaper bag, stroller or you wrist to carry it easily, it only takes one hand to open! You just push that red button and slide your hand across. Great for trying to change the baby by yourself when you’re out! It’s BPA-free, Phthalate-free, PVC-free, so you know its safe. That is by far my favorite wipe case, but there are others if that one doesn’t grab you.

Like this Made By Angie, handmade wipe case! This little cute wipe case makes taking your wipes out a little more fun!

Now how about those diapers? You could get an awesome changing pad, like a Bumm Runner or you could get a Skip Hop Pronto Mini Changer. This thing is awesome! It has everything you need! I am starting to become a huge fan of leaving the big diaper bag in the car and carrying a little changing station into places with me. I think this is my favorite all in one so far. They have 4 different styles so even Dad can carry it and it not scream “I may be carrying a man purse!” It comes with the extra wide, wipe clean changing pad attached, but it can be zipped off to be used by itself even! I comes with its own wipe case and lots of great pocket space! You should really check this thing out!

If you’re looking for something even smaller the Diapees and Wipees or Ju-Ju-Be Be Quick are both great choices!

Both great for grab and go diapering! And available in many different prints so you should be able to find something to match your favorite bags.

If you’re a cloth diapering momma, Let’s Go Strolling has something special for your diapering on the go too! They have a Generation Baby Wet Sack! This waterproof durable bag is perfect for containing dirty cloth diapers, bathing suits, anything you don’t want leaking all over your bag. It’s machine washable and dryable, phthalate and lead free. Elijah is always making a mess on something. Whether its just his soaking wet bibs from drooling all over the place or he has a diaper explosion that wet sack is great. Or if you want something a little more disposable try Diaper Mate Disposable Diaper Bags. Those are great for containing Elijah’s little messes. The dispenser is perfect for his diaper bag.

There is so much else I want to buy!!! The Best Loom Zoom Kit is a great carry all. Not just for diapering, but for carrying a bottle and some snacks as well. And don’t forget to get a Stroller Swiveler to attach those accessories onto your stroller handles!

And yes! They even have that little diaper bag accessory for us moms! The Ju-Ju-Be BeMine! – It comes in many styles so you can carry this in the diaper bag and then when you need to go without the bag or baby (i know… gasp…) you can just grab it out yourself and go.

Well I hope some of these diapering ideas will help to organize your diaper bag! And make sure you check out Let’s Go Strolling for many other great accessories.

Want a hand starting out that organization? Or maybe you need the whole diaper bag!?!?!

Let’s Go Strolling wants to give one of my readers a head start with a $15 gift certificate!

To Enter: Please visit Let’s Go Strolling and sign up for their newsletter and look around ! Come back and leave a comment with the email address you signed up with and your favorite item in their store. You must leave all required information or you will be disqualified! One entry per household!

For extra entries:

• Subscribe to their blog, Strolling Along, Through RSS or Email. Leave one extra comment leaving the reader you subscribe through or the email you subscribed with.
• Follow @erinjeany, @letsgostrolling and @strollingalong on Twitter. Then tweet about this giveaway. Come back and leave a comment with your twitter name and the url of the tweet.
• Blog about this giveaway. Come back and leave me another comment with your link.

You MUST leave separate comments for each!

This giveaway will run until Midnight EST, March 2nd, 2009.

Good Luck!

Babywearing with a Sleepy Wrap

How many of you moms are baby wearing moms?

I always thought I would be a attachment parenting, co-sleeping, baby wearing mom. The thought of being able to keep my baby so close and secure with me was always so exciting! I couldn’t wait to be able to keep Elijah right up against me and still get my housework, shopping, and even blogging done, knowing my little guy was snuggled up against me. I thought it would be great to sleep at night knowing he was right next to me for his night feedings and for when he needed me. Well apparently Elijah had other plans.

I was not able to breast feed. Which I think made Elijah more independent to begin with. He wasn’t so dependent on just me since Dave and I both fed him his bottles. After the first week Elijah started to get fussy at naps and bedtime. So we put him in his crib one night. Next thing we knew he was fast asleep. Now that was hard on me. (I must have jumped up and checked on him a million times the first 2 weeks) but from then on he will only sleep in his crib. Now at almost 4 months he sleeps through the night waking up for only one feeding. So I guess that’s a blessing, but a big part of me really liked snuggling my little man all night. He’s such a good baby though, he loves to snuggle in the big bed with Mommy for nap time!

Since Elijah didn’t want to be held 24/7 baby wearing was going to be a interesting venture. At first my every attempt ended in screams. We tried carriers, slings, everything I could think of. But Elijah just did not like being held that much. He would be okay for a bit, but after a short time he would get bored and just wanted to be put down and relax in peace and quiet, stretched out. I guess I don’t blame him after nine months of being balled up, but it kind of hurt my feelings my little man didn’t want to be in my arms, every second of every day.

I gave up on the idea for a little while until one day a few weeks back I was given the opportunity to try the Sleepy Wrap. It took me a few times to get it wrapped right. Then a few more so that Elijah and I were both the most comfortable, but I got it and put him in, and walked around the house. It went sort of like this: He’s in… He’s crying… We are walking around… He’s getting quieter… He’s looking around… He stopped crying… We’re walking around… stop at the mirror in the hall… HE’S SMILING! Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that he didn’t want to be carried around, it was HOW he was carried around!!!

If he is up, supported and can look around, he’s awesome. And this revelation is all thanks to Sleepy Wrap!

There are SO many benefits to baby wearing! You can be hands free while giving your baby a safe, warm, loving place to lay! They are proven to cry less, be healthier, sleep better, and become more independent. When we are consistently meeting our babies needs they are more apt to know we are still there for them even after we put them down, instead of crying for attention. Overall it means a happier baby! Now I know some of you don’t believe in baby wearing, and that’s fine too. I’m not the type to push my beliefs on to other people, but I am sure there are still times you like to carry your baby around. Like shopping or taking walks. Since Elijah doesn’t like to be carried all the time these are the times I look forward to, and the times I get to use my Sleepy Wrap. And now that I have done it a few times I can wrap it and have him in it comfortably in minutes!

Sleepy Wrap is made of heavier cotton knit with a touch of spandex which makes it perfect to support your little one just perfectly. I love that Elijah’s hips and legs are supported too! No pressure on his spine and hips like in the hard carriers where their legs hang down. No matter which way I wrap it, Elijah fits perfectly every time! It doesn’t matter how big or small your baby is or you are for that matter! It fits to you both! It would be awesome too if you nurse. It’s a nursing cover in itself. No extra attachment necessary. It’s so soft and stretchy, even after washing. I love that I don’t feel lopsided like I did when I tried the sling and I don’t feel like Elijah is being squished, even though he’s so secure in there! And the best part is that I don’t even feel like I am wearing him. It evenly distributes his weight, has the wide straps over both shoulders, and is just plain comfortable. They even have three different ways to carry your baby so you can figure out what works best for you. Elijah’s favorite is the Classic Love Your Baby Style. He likes to keep his feet out and moveable, so it works great! Plus he can see, and that’s his top priority! He’s got to be able to look around while we’re moving about.

The story behind Sleepy Wrap is a wonderful invention for their own children became the talk of the town, and there a business was born. I love products created by parents! But what really drew me to try Sleepy Wrap was their Mission Statement:

Sleepy Wrap Inc's mission is to provide comfortable and durable baby carriers to parents throughout the world and give them a helping hand in raising confident, joyful and compassionate children. We hope to enhance the bond between mother and child by enabling both to be close and connected to each other in a practical yet magical sort of way. It is so easy to place "things" between mother and baby, especially in today's society. A great majority of the baby gear out there although intended to help a mother out actually ends up hindering her by further separating her both physically and emotionally from her child. Often times, rubber, plastic and fuzzy blankets end up substituting and even end up replacing Mother. This is not to say that life shouldn't be made easier for mom. A mom who carries her baby or wears her baby can show her affection without effort. She can respond to her baby's cues because she is right there. Communication happens easier because she is right there. Baby is content because all his needs are being met and he trusts that they will continue to be met. When a baby knows that his attentive mom is present and can hear her heartbeat and her familiar voice he is a calm and happy baby. A mother who holds and carries baby is constantly given the reaffirmation that all that her baby really needs- is her! When a mother shares her life and space and moves with her baby through her day she will fall in love with her child. She will naturally treat her baby with understanding, compassion and respect from which will blossom a loving relationship based on trust. This "trust" is critical as it is the basis not only for a child's healthy neurological, behavioral, and social development, but sets the stage for which that child will build and form all of his subsequent relationships throughout his life. Babies who have their early needs met by loving parents will know how to create enduring relationships. Having been treated with love and respect, they will grow up to have the freedom to use their time in creative and meaningful ways and continue to transform into their greatest potential. The warmth and empathy that comes when we as mothers carry our own is truly profound and cannot be underestimated. Children are the pedestal on which the future of our world rests- investing in their well-being is well worth it!

Even if you are not a baby wearing, attachment parenting Momma, it’s still so nice to have your little one snuggled up against you. Dave didn’t even mind using it and said it was comfortable on him as well! That’s got to be a good sign when the Daddy likes it!

I would recommend Sleepy Wrap to any parent with a baby that still wants to be carried and that is light enough to be carried! They even have a picture of a mom carrying a five year old in a Sleepy Wrap on their site. If that doesn’t prove how strong this thing is, then I don’t know what will. Even though I am not sure I want to be carrying Elijah when he’s five, it’s nice to know this Sleepy Wrap will grow with him!

Notable Newness 2.22.09

HELLO Wonderful readers! Hope you had a great week! lets get on with the Newness!

This past week on From Son Up To Son Down (click on highlighted part of the title to read the post)

• Help Dave & I go on our first vacation together. Our BABY MOON!
• Have you been wondering if the Smooth Away hair system really works? Check out this past weeks Mommy Monday.
• Have you seen He’s Just Not That Into You? Even if not, you may LOVE the soundtrack!
• GIVEAWAY: MIMOBOT Designer Flash Drive – Ends 3.1

Coming this week!!!

• CYBER BABY SHOWER FUN! Now since Alicia’s computer died and then my laptop bit the dust with all the party posts - we aren’t going to celebrate the way we originally planned BUT what we will do is have some fun posts with reviews, giveaways, and shower gifts for Alicia and baby Cayden. THEN after Cayden has arrived we will have another celebration with some games and other fun stuff once Alicia is settled!

Other Webby Notable Newness:

• Have you seen Mom Faves yet? Vote for my site and add all your favorite stuff! It’s SO addicting! I promise, you moms will LOVE it!
• Have you seen the “Caption this” Post on Complicated Mama? hehe Just another reason her Mr. Complicated is Cooler than Cool.
• I swear every one of the posts Tonya writes is a winner! But if you haven’t ever seen her A day in my life, then you at least need to head over every Sunday and see her “Weekly Winners” photographs from the past week! I can never get enough of the photos of her twins!
• Speaking of Tonya – She has great ideas for those scraps of yarn you have laying about on Currently Crafting…
• Okay and ONE MORE from Tonya’s Munchkins and Mayhem blog, Have you ever wondered how good the Edible Arrangements really were? She has solved the mystery!
• Did you see @its_me_betty’s first post as a guest blogger? You already may know her as an active Twitter Mom,or as the supportive, loving, AWESOME, pr’ing wife behind The Joe Review, now see what she has to say about Supporting your spouse this week on MomIF.
• Very few blogs make me want to drool… but Blog Well Done happens to be one that makes my mouth water! Besides his GREAT recipes and cooking info this Wednesday he is having a LIVE cooking demo at 6:30pm Central! You got to check him out!
• Baby Love Letters – I love the great ideas each week and I’m sure Elijah will appreciate that I do them every week.

Notable Freebie Newness:

• Are you home schooling? NATO’s bookshop has some great free resources! Everything from what NATO is and what they do, maps, and movies. Mostly all downloadable! A huge help in your US Government lessons!
• Speaking of home schooling, the EPA has 2 posters and full color brochure you can order, on Keeping our Oceans clean and safe, to help with your biology lessons!
• Even though I’m not currently selling anything, I have had tons of success on Ebay. Many people have been asking me tips and hints. Well instead of me writing a blog post about it I found you something even better! Get “The Stay At Home Mom’s Guide to Successful Ebay Selling” for free E-book style!
• Wal-Mart Freebies are always great! I received a bunch this week including a sample of Always Infinity Pads. Ladies these are awesome! I also ordered a sample of Huggie’s New baby wipes today!
• Help spread cervical cancer awareness!If you know me, you know this is a cause I really push and stand up for! Get your Pap Smears Ladies! Visit the site and get some very important and serious information! Take a quiz before you leave a get a free Liz Lange Health Journal
• Buy One Entree, Get One Free Coupon you can print for Ruby Tuesdays!

Contests!

• Thrifty Jinxy has a Mr. Linky up every Monday for Contest Corner! Link your contest and enter some great ones!
• 5 Minutes Around the Blogosphere over at 5 Minutes for Mom is full of great contests, info, AND a Mr. Linky!
• I LOVE Hot Links of the week at An Island Review!

Okay I think that’s enough GREAT linky goodness to get you started!

Have a great week! Hope to see you back soon!

~Erin

Mimobot Review

As most of you know, my laptop died last Friday. When I was telling you about the laptop loss and my normal computer backup routines, I told you a little about my Princess Leia Mimobot Flash Drive. Here's the excerpt if you've already read the post or don't feel like going back:

“Tragically I hadn't backed up in about 2 weeks. Something I usually do almost every day... It's why I keep a little jar of pen drives with it!!! And why I have spindles and spindles, cases and cases of back up disks from once a month for the last 7 years and boxes and boxes of 3.5" floppies from before that!

Central Pen Drive Guide

1. Central Current: Current design jobs for clients / Blog stuff & draft posts / daily Mozilla Thunderbird email backups
2. Central DigiGraphics: Digital scrap booking & current personal projects
3. Central Home Management: Our home management files, schedules, cleaning lists, family emergency info, family medical info, kitchen guides, you know all that OCD home organization goodness.
4. Central Media: Video game information, walk-throughs, cheats. Media Inventories.
5. My ***NEW*** 4 gig Princess Leia Mimobot is still currently empty because I love it so much I just sit and stare at it for hours. [review coming soon! ... now that I have to re-write it!]

BUT my computer had not been working right all week so I didn't get to back it up.”

So as promised I want to tell you about my exciting Mimobot flash drive!

A few months back I saw someone on Twitter, tweeting to @mimbot. They were saying something really weird that grabbed my attention and so I had to figure out what this was all about. I clicked on to @mimobot's profile and was interested to read that they were having a Word of the Day competition. Everyday they were posting a WOTD and all you had to do was reply to them with a sentence using the WOTD to be entered to win one of their very cool flash drives. From the moment I saw them I was in love!

Mimobots are collectable designer USB flash drives. Launched in 2005 by Mimoco, Inc. They are original designs by artists and preloaded with all kinds of neat “Mimory” that includes music, video, animations, and games. Many of the Mimobots are produced in limited quantities between 500 to 5,000 units. They offer 1 to 8 gigs of storage and look cute while doing it! They even have a great story about how the Mimobots came to this planet: the story from the mimobots of planet blõôh.

They have a few different types: original MIMOBOT characters, artist series collaborations, and licensing partnerships. Besides all the great artists originals, the licensed Mimobots are characters

I’m sure you will recognize. Japans DOMO, Halo Characters like Master Chief, Happy Tree Friends, and STAR WARS!!! Yes, Star wars!

Star Wars in one of our favorite movies! I fell in love with the Princess Leia one! My mom called me Princess Leia growing up and she is of course my favorite Star Wars Characters. Dave collects Boba Fett stuff, so he had to have the Boba Mimobot. Wow were we amazed when we received them. We didn’t even want to open them! They come in these really neat clear cases that are so cool. On the top of the case it says what number yours is. My 4 gig Princess Leia is 2,224 out of 3,500. Dave’s Boba Fett is 4,420 out of 5,000. That alone makes you feel special! So we finally got around to opening them [carefully!!!] How awesome are these things?!?!?! Yeah I know! Pretty much as awesome as it gets! Dave plugged his in and we spent the next hour playing with the preloaded content on both of them. I have never been so excited over a pen drive in my life! They even came with cute little protoHoodie Keychains especially to fit our characters! They have these fun hoodies to fit everyone of their Mimobots in a variety of colors. I always am excited when my technology can stay warm and adorable in their own little hoodies. I will have no problem when I get my new computer backing it up everyday! These Mimobot drives are so cool, you WANT to use them as much as possible! I am happy just looking at it! hehe! Dave’s actually using his to back up some files right now! So I know you’re all going to head right over to Mimoco’s Mimobot site and buy one right now! BUT for those of you who want a chance to own one out of the goodness of their hearts, they have offered one of you lucky readers a Mimobot of your choice! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY, MY RULES HAVE CHANGED!!!

TO ENTER: Visit Mimoco.com and look at the Mimobot Drives. Come back and leave a comment letting me know your favorite Mimobot and why!

US ONLY – ONE ENTRY PER HOUSEHOLD

Not following all directions will result in disqualification!

For extra entries:

1. Visit Mimoco.com and goto store locations. Come back and leave a comment telling me the closest place they’re sold near you.
2. In another comment, tell me an artist you would like to see design or character you would like to see in a Mimobot.
3. Follow @mimobot AND ME @erinjeany. Then tweet about this giveaway with both of our twitter names included. The more creative the better! Then come back and leave another comment with your twitter name AND the tweet URL!
4. Blog about this giveaway. Leave another comment with your blog link.

GOOD LUCK!

And remember: ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER!

&hearts Erin

All Mimobot Images are copyright of Mimoco, Inc.

Swag Bucks - WOOHOO Giftcards!

Okay I am going to be perfectly honest. I am obsessed with Swag Bucks.

Swag Bucks is a site where you earn digital dollars called "Swag Bucks", which can be redeemed for exclusive swagbucks.com merchandise. They have a few different ways to earn the bucks too.

My favorite is a search bar add on to firefox. All you do is search like normal in that search bar instead of the normal google one and get google and ask.com results. Each time you search gives you a chance to win from 1 to 5 swag bucks. How easy is that? I win at least once a day. Depending on how much I do that day you can win much much more. Makes you not want to bookmark sites so you can use that an an excuse to search for them! hehe

They have a facebook account and twitter profile and often leave swag buck codes for you to snag for a limited time. You can also get bucks from shopping, recycling old electronics, commenting on their blog, submitting poll ideas, and inviting friends... friends like YOU my sweet dear blog reading friend.

The lists of prizes are seriously endless! Everything from Vinyl records to sports and music memorabilia to gift cards. Seriously tons of prizes! A 1 gig Ipod Shuffle is 890 swag buck's, a harmonica is 210 sb's (lol yes a harmonica), they even have a iphone for 3800 sb's! My favorites are the Amazon.com gift cards and in my opinion are by far the best deal. They are 45 sb's for a $5 gift card! I have already gotten a bunch and was just redeeming TWO more and realized I should share this with you.

I found Swag Bucks through searching for ways to make money and gift cards online. Like many of the sites that are out there I figured it was going to be hard, annoying, and I would never get anything . Whoa. Not the case here! Swag Bucks is SO easy, and Amazon gift cards rock!

Whats really cool is that they email you the gift card. Then if you set up a amazon account they have a feature to input your giftcard numbers so you can save them all up and keep a running total without having to worry about where you put the emails. You can use it like a savings account for Amazon.

Right now we have $15 in our "savings account" that we are going to use to get a 2000 Wii Points card. Of course unless we think of something better. Now that there are so many merchants on Amazon.com it beats the pants off of going to the store.

Anyway so enough about my pants! I LOVE swag bucks though and think you might too! If you want to join I ask you to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use my referral link below so I get some extra bucks! Then you can blog about it yourself and get your own group of referrals, you can use their search, get their codes and be Amazon.com gift cards rich yourself!

Okay I'm not rich YET. But hey, you have to start somewhere!

Here's my referral link:

http://swagbucks.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=278678

and here's where I say THANK YOU!

Have Fun! ~Erin


btw: this was no way endorsed, approved, or even known about by the Swag Bucks people. This is my honest to god opinion, truth and amazon.com gift card winning story. Like I said at the beginning, I'm just obsessed with them. ♥






Is Swag Bucks one of your favorites too? Vote for it at MomFaves!

Wordless Wednesday - 2/18/09 -

He did that himself! Maybe his head was cold. LOL ~Erin


Submitted to Wordless Wednesday Fun at: 5 Minutes for Mom, Wordless Wednesday HQ

Smooth Away Review

Good Morning Moms! Today I am going to tell you about a product I was lucky enough to try out.

Smooth Away is an easy, safe, & painless way to remove unwanted hair. By using Smooth Away pads that are covered with superfine crystals you buff away the hair leaving your skin soft & smooth.

Have you seen the commercial for Smooth Away? The woman is just rubbing the hair off with ease. How many of you actually thought, "No way is this going to work?!?!" I admit I was skeptical at first. The first day I received it in the mail I opened it and Dave and I both looked at it and still were thinking that it can't be very good if it works at all.

BOY WERE WE WRONG!

This may sound like TMI but, later in the day I went to pee and when I sat down I grabbed the big pad and did three circles clockwise, three circles counter clockwise on the top of my leg. I looked down and WOW! The hair was gone! I rubbed it with my fingers, felt smooth. I couldn't wipe and wash my hands fast enough to go tell Dave in the time it took me to pee it worked. I ran to him and said "You will never guess what just worked!" He laughed as I threw my leg up against the wall and pointed to the spot. He rubbed the area on my leg and said, "Whoa, I would have never thought, and it's so smooth." So I did another circle and showed him. We were amazed.

All together it took me about 45 minutes to do both of my legs. So it took me a bit longer than if I was to use a normal disposable razor, but I did it while watching TV, so it didn't seem as long. The funny thing was that I was worried I was going to get hair all over the place. I still vacuumed afterward since I did it in the bedroom, but I really didn't even see any! So even though it takes longer, it's so convenient that you don't have to sit in the bathroom and be bored. You could even use the Smooth Away in one hand and click with your mouse in the other so you can read my blog at the same time! Or for you Mom's that cannot seem to have enough time to shower for more than a minute, this is the perfect solution! You can play with your kids and get smooth legs all at once.

The kit I received comes with the large Smooth Away applicator for legs and arms, the MINI Smooth Away applicator for lips, chin and sensitive areas as well as 4 large and 4 mini replacement pads. Mine came with a after shave lotion too that minimizes hair regrowth. My legs felt smooth after I was done before I even put any lotion on. After that they were even more smooth. It was so easy! No razor burn, no cuts, and if you missed a spot you can get it right away in less than 30 seconds.

Right now on their site they are having a buy one get one free for only $14.99 plus shipping and handling but you can also get a list of retailers that carry the Smooth Away and other product information. I was excited to see they sell replacement pads too! A three month supply is only $9.99 plus shipping and handling. Considering the price for disposable razors and shaving cream this is a good deal!

I definitely recommend as my Mom pick for this week! My legs feel great!
Thanks for reading! <3erin>

Hoohobbers Winner!!!

And the winner of the Hoohobbers Tote Diaper Bag is:

NUMBER 107!

Its LISA! Congratulations! And look! Her extra comment about her other favorite Hoohobbers item paid off!!!

I sent you an email Lisa! Please respond within 72 hours! Thank You!

And Thank You to everybody who entered! New giveaway later this week and tons of great reviews! So make sure your subscribed and checking back often!

Thanks for reading! <3 Erin

He's Just Not That Into You Soundtrack Review

He's Just Not That Into You is a self improvement book inspired by an episode of Sex and the City, written in 2004 by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. After becoming a New York Times Best Seller and being featured on Oprah it was made into a movie. Shot in Baltimore, Maryland (my home city woot!) and produced by Drew Barrymore's Flower Films (my favorite actress). It's currently in theaters and opening weekend, the movie made $27.5 million, ranking #1 at the box office .

I can't wait to see this movie! So when I got a chance to own the soundtrack I was really excited to hear the great mix of songs. Overall I was pleased with the soundtrack and recommend it to other music lovers looking for a new mix of some old and new great tracks.

Available at music stores everywhere, Amazon's description on the soundtrack is: "Soundtrack to the 2009 romantic comedy featuring music from Corinne Bailey Rae, R.E.M., Talking Heads, Human League, My Morning Jacket, Maroon 5 and many others. An all-star ensemble cast headlines this comedy: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johannson, Justin Long, and Drew Barrymore. The soundtrack is the sound of the watering holes, cafes, and supper clubs where people meet, flirt and mostly fool themselves. This very personal mix of tunes compels you to join these nine lives."

This soundtrack is too hard to describe using only a paragraph to sum up the album as a whole, so I have given a few lines of opinion on each song.

1. I'd Like To (Corinne Bailey Rae) -This was not one of her best songs according to the charts. It's from her debut self titled album. I thought it was groovy, popish r&b, that could be pretty catchy. I enjoyed this song the more I played it.
2. I'm Amazed (My Morning Jacket) - A Indy rock song with great guitar. despite being #8 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. It wasn't really my tastes.
3. Don't You Want Me (Human League) - love this song! Released in 1981 its just as good as it ever was! The 25th most successful single of all time in the UK.
4. Supernatural Superserious (R.E.M.) - I liked this song more than i thought i would. The first single from the band's fourteenth album Accelerate Typical R.E.M.though is very catchy and happy. The song was used by ESPN as part of their coverage of Major League Baseball's 2008 Opening Day.
5. Madly (Tristan Prettyman) - Tristan was a former Roxy Clothing model who got heard by the right people, and they were right. She plays guitar, this song has good beats and she has smooth voice I could listen to over and over.
6. This Must Be The Place (Talking Heads) - Debuting in 1983 this new wave love song is not one of Talking Heads better songs. I wasn't that impressed and immediately skipped by it.
7. By Your Side (Black Crows) - From the first note it's obviously a Black Crows song. This blues rock song came out in 1999 and I thought it was okay but a bit repetitive.
8. I Must Be High (Wilco) - A folk rock country sound.Wasn't my favorite, but wasn't the worst either.
9. You Make It Real (James Morrison) - I liked this song from this award winning singer songwriter, although much of his music is just as good. The lyrics were sweet and the beat was very mellow rock. A great song to share a glass of wine with your special someone over.
10. If I Never See Your Face Again (Maroon 5) - Catchy, more pop than normal Maroon 5 almost disco sounding in certain parts.This song received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration since it features Rihanna going back and forth with singer Adam Levine.
11. Can't Hardly Wait (The Replacements) - I like this alternative punk-y song. The replacements were a great band and this song from their 1987 album, pleased to meet me, is just one example. The teen movie by the same name was actually named for this song.
12. Fruit Machine (Ting Tings) - Very bubble gum, teeny bopper sound to this song that uses a lot of tremolo picking. It's not really my style, but is an interesting break between songs.
13. Smile (Lilly Allen) - I enjoyed this song.It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in July 2006 so apparently I am not the only one! Her songs have a great mix of Pop, Ska, Rock, Electropop, and R&B and this song is perfect for this soundtrack because it help to tie the flow of the album together.
14. Somewhere Only We Know (Keane) - This song is probably my favorite on the album. It has just the right blend of piano, guitar, drums and great vocals. I saw a video of Keane preform this song at Live 8 in London in 2005 and you can tell hes so passionate when he sings it. Great addition to this soundtrack.
15. Love, Save The Empty (Erin McCarley) - This my second favorite song on the album. Her voice is so beautiful! Her album of the same name peaked at #5 on iTunes "Top Albums" chart on January 2, 2009 and this song definitely helped it get there I'm sure!
16. Friday I'm In Love (Cure) - Classic Cure and is one of the band's most well-known songs.The main theme song for this soundtrack, it is very fitting given the lyrics of the song and story line of the movie. Even if you were tired of hearing this 1992 hit by 1993, it still makes a great addition to this soundtrack.
17. Last Goodbye (Scarlett Johansson) -Much better than I expected honestly. She has an interesting voice. A Jeff Buckley cover, it sounded like more of lounge act song then his original rock style. It makes sense after watching the enhanced video on the CD of a deleted scene in which Scarlett Johansson is singing in a lounge type setting. Jeff Buckley's version peaked at #19 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, but I don't expect this version will be that popular.


Hope you enjoyed my input! What's your opinion of this soundtrack or any of the songs? Let me know what you think of the movie if you see it! [No Spoilers Please! hehe]<3

im done.

i give up.

I worked from 3 am until just now on a blog post to share with you about valentines day and my love for dave. I was even going to give it to dave as a present.

for some reason blogger crashed on me. auto save failed. its gone.

first my laptop. with all that [see below post]

and now this.


i give up. im done.

OhMyLaptop -The End Of Heartache

Seek me
Call me
I'll be waiting

This distance
This disillusion
I cling to memories
While falling
Sleep brings release
And the hope of a new day
Waking the misery
Of being without you

Surrender
I give in
Another moment is another eternity

Seek me for comfort
Call me for solace
I'll be waiting
For the end of my broken heart
Completion
I'll be waiting
For the end of my broken heart

You know me
You know me all to well
My only desire
Is to bridge our division

In sorrow
I speak your name
And my voice mirrors..mirrors my torment

Am I breathing?
My strength fails me
Your picture
A bitter memory

~The End Of Heartache ~
By Killswitch Engage

My laptop died today.

My laptops name was Central Evil. and it was just that. and i loved it anyway.

For some reason that Killswitch Engage song ^ came into my head when it happened.
(If you like rock/metal its a awesome song! I have it on my player here)

Tragically I hadn't backed up in about 2 weeks. Something I usually do almost every day... It's why I keep a little jar of pen drives with it!!! And why I have spindles and spindles, cases and cases of back up disks from once a month for the last 7 years and boxes and boxes of 3.5" floppies from before that!

Central Pen Drive Guide

1. Central Current: Current design jobs for clients / Blog stuff & draft posts / daily Mozilla Thunderbird email backups
2. Central DigiGraphics: Digital scrap booking & current personal projects
3. Central Home Management: Our home management files, schedules, cleaning lists, family emergency info, family medical info, kitchen guides, you know all that OCD home organization goodness.
4. Central Media: Video game information, walk-throughs, cheats. Media Inventories.
   
5. My ***NEW*** 4 gig Princess Leia Mimobot is still currently empty because I love it so much I just sit and stare at it for hours. [review coming soon! ... now that I have to re-write it!]
   

BUT my computer had not been working right all week so I didn't get to back it up. Hence the missing Tuesday Tutorial & Wordless Wednesday posts. I called Mommy after it happened... I was devastated.

I lost ALL my upcoming blog drafts. This includes ALL 15 posts already pre-written for hosting Alicia's Cyber Baby Shower that was supposed to start Sunday. This also includes all the graphics I made for the occasion. I am not sure if redoing all of this work is possible by Sunday, so I will keep you posted on this. At this rate baby Cayden will be here before Alicia (whose computer died the other day) and I can coordinate our computers both working at once. BUT I promise to work really hard to re-create the whole thing! Then we can have a full 7 days of GAMES, GIFTS, PRIZES, STORIES, and BABY LOVE!

this also includes 17 reviews.YES 17. The next month and a half. SO if you were expecting to see your product reviewed this week. I AM SO SORRY! I will diligently work [well as fast as you can work with a 14 week old] to rewrite and post these reviews as soon as possible.

this also includes Wordless Wednesday & Tuesday Tutorials I had written for about 2 months.

I lost my Mozilla Thunderbird downloaded email. YES I have some of it archived in my GMail. BUT I deleted much of it cleaning out my GMail just yesterday thinking the messages weren't THAT important since I had the contact info on my Thunderbird. ...fail

I lost about 200 photos of Elijah, including ALL the photos I just downloaded from my phone camera BEFORE my phone so mysteriously disappeared last week. [I swear its a conspiracy against me]

I lost my very first, second, and third vloggs. -Thanks to Pure Digital Technologies and Jamie at Commstrat PR Firm I will now be Vlogging exclusively with a sexy new FLIP ULTRA! So I had started my newest feature with some pretty awesome videos of my beautiful face and adorable son. Another lovely thing I get to start over.

I also lost many great programs. Including about 5 of those hidden object games that we love so much. and tons other programs I cannot even think of them all. I know I had stuff like Power Tab Editor & Libra 0.9.2 which are both free BUT the databases I had created to go along with the software... I somehow missed backing up... ummm... ever. Of course it only now occurs to me. Tab Editor contained over 200 guitar tabs for songs I like and have played. Libra contained well over 1,000 entries of our media inventory. DVDs, video games, books... All by ISBN, barcode, etc with all possible information.Other programs like Photoshop 7, I failed to backup brushes, presets, styles, and fonts. Quark express I have on disk and itunes, Pidgin & Notepad Light are easy to get back. I just can't think of what I had on there. AND My Diablo 2 is saved on Blizzards Server so all i have to is re-down the patches after I install it. [its on the mac too so no big deal]


oh well. I don't know what else to say except :::CRIES::: life happens. Some things are beyond our control. We must just deal with them and move on. It will be difficult to move on with out my laptop of course. But oh well. Will keep you all posted.

If anybody has a computer they would like me to review PLEASE let me know! [HEY YOU APPLE PR GUY :::hint hint:::]lolzofthewishfulthinking

kthXbai

Hugs for now! Till next post ♥ erin jean

Elijah's Announcements - Magnet Street Baby

When your children are born it is the most exciting experience in your life! That day forever becomes your favorite day of every year and you cant wait to share it with every person you know!

For Dave and I, I'm pretty sure we planned every single detail of Elijah's birth, down to every last detail... except one. We never picked announcements. So after Elijah was born we started looking. We looked, and looked, and looked. And it seemed every single one looked exactly the same. We wanted something that said "This is a a special baby!" Not just any baby. but OUR baby. Then I spoke to Pat from Magnet Street Baby and he recommended that we get a holiday themed announcement. DUH! Elijah was born ON HALLOWEEN DAY! I never even considered getting a Halloween announcement. But I am SO glad I did! Look at this!

How cute is that? We loved the little spider and web. The three photos we chose are, in order, the day he was born, his first week after a bath, and then during a bath his second week. It's amazing how much he changed so quick!

The announcements we chose were 5 x 7 magnets. They also have smaller magnets and linen announcements, cards, and address labels and seals to match!

They are a great shop for not only baby announcements, but also baby shower invitation, baby ceremony invitations and announcements, and Holiday products.


Even though we chose Halloween, there we SO many more we liked! Their selection of themes is so great! Whether your baby was born on a Holiday like mine, or you just have a certain theme you would like to stick with, they have the announcements for you! They even have adoption, twins and multiples announcements!

First of all the customer service I received at Magnet Street Baby was fantastic! They worked so hard to make my order perfect and exactly what I wanted. I could not believe how quick they sent my proof. I noticed one little change I wanted and they had it back to me with the hour! They also sent out a shipping confirmation that day!

The day the announcements got here I was so excited! They shipped so fast! So I opened the box and did a little happy dance! They came with beautiful linen envelopes that are so nice you won't want to address them! And packed so carefully. I could not wait to mail them to everybody! I was so excited actually that I walked around the house with a stack of them sticking the magnets to every metal surface I could find!

We love Elijah's announcements! We're so happy we chose Magnet Street Baby!

I definitely recommend Magnet Street Baby for your announcements, invitations, and cards!

Thank You to Pat, the designers, and all of Magnet Street, for having such a wonderful company, being so helpful, kind and for having so many great products! We were truly blessed to have you to help announce and celebrate Elijah's Birth!


Make sure to check out the other Magnet Street stores too! Wedding, Holiday, Moving, Graduation, Celebration and more!

♥ Erin

"Wagie Rides" for Tuesday

Today as the Whitt Family gathered with their family and friends to celebrate the life of their daughter Tuesday, even though many of us could not physically be there, we can still show our support by being there in spirit.

One of Tuesday's favorite things to do was take a "wagie ride." Since Elijah is too small to go on a wagie ride today, in honor of Tuesday, we had dancing time this morning and then had mom & baby quiet snuggle time this after noon, then had a big family group hug this evening. *will have photos later

I know Tuesday is up in heaven looking down on all the people that celebrated her life today and I hope she sees all of us smiling up at her.

♥ Tuesday sweetheart, you were so full of strength, courage, grace, and love. You will never be forgotten by those you touched, Tuesday will always be remembered for you, as your day. Watch over your family and friends and know that you were loved deeply by so many. You will be missed little angel. ♥




To help this virtual parade of "wagie rides" grow big and strong. Please visit http://momswithoutblogs.blogspot.com/2009/02/together-in-spirit.html and add your link to your post about your celebration of Tuesday's life. And also please visit The Whitt Family blog and leave your love & support. There is also information about a memorial fund that has been set up to help ease their burden. Thank you.

The Search for the Perfect Diaper Bag - Hoohobbers Review & Giveaway

I'm having the this problem with diaper bags. I either love the bag or hate it. If you didn't read my original post on "The Search for the Perfect Diaper Bag" then you should before you read this post to get an understanding of where this saga started. So far I've tried about 4. I tried purse style, messenger style, and tote style. Most recently I started using a tote style Diaper Bag from a company called Hoohobbers. I love it!

Hoohobbers is a Chicago based company that has designed and manufactured its own line of products since 1981. They have everything from furniture to bibs, bedding, art smocks to beautiful Moses Baskets. They even make the hanging cradle bedding. I still have my hanging cradle from when I was a baby! Elijah weighs too much for it now, but you better believe I will be ordering bedding for it for our next baby!

Their very first item was their Junior Director's Chair and since then they have added so many wonderful award winning products to their line! Hoohobbers even offers special personalizing and customizing services in quick turn-around times. They will even design products using your own materials. WOW! I could send them my material I found and bought anywhere and they could make Elijah a new crib set. How awesome is that? They even do custom bedding up to king size! I could get a set made for his crib and then another set for his big boy bed, and then another set for our king sized bed in the same pattern. I don't know why, but that really excites me. So for all you parents who have the baby's crib in your room, or your baby and your older child share a room, you can still decorate the room in one print! How cool is that?

I could not believe the amount of their products that you can personalize with names or monograms. BUT I have to say my absolute part of their store is that you can have EVERYTHING match. Seriously. Just about everything. You go to their swatch page online or in their catalog, pick out your favorite, and then go through their catalog picking out all the great stuff you want in the same pattern.

Okay, so back to the diaper bag. They have 3 different styles Tote, like I received, back pack and messenger.
The can all be personalized and come in so many great fabrics! They are long-lasting and durable with nylon reinforced bottoms, nylon lined insides, nylon lined pockets
AND come with nylon changing pads [which wipes clean SO easy.]
All three stylish diaper bags have four pockets (pockets on the tote diaper bags and backpack diaper bags are outside; on the messenger diaper bags they're inside.) They are all machine washable even! I know :::gasp:::!

The backpack diaper bag can be used as a single-strap sling, or the sling can be unzipped for regular backpack use.
The straps on the tote diaper bag snap around any stroller handle!

This is a perfect grab and go diaper bag. I am pleased how well it goes with my wardrobe. It doesn't shout "Mom" but is roomy enough to hold Elijah's diapering supplies, bottles, and my stuff instead of me carrying a separate purse. I'm so excited to use my Hoohobbers tote diaper bag! Every time we go out now and I carry it with me and I feel just as good as if I were carrying a Dooney & Burke or XOXO handbag!

I would LOVE to hear what your opinion is too on this awesome diaper bag!
And guess what? Hoohobbers wants to as well! So they have offered to give a lucky reader one of their tote diaper bags!

WooHoo! All you need to do to enter is:

• Visit HooHobbers & look at their diaper bags! Look at the fabric swatch choices and leave me a comment with which tote diaper bag you would choose. I LOVE my Cocoa Green! Which is your favorite? Remember to leave your email so I can contact you if you win! You MUST do this or you will be disqualified!
• Non bloggers - Either leave me a comment OR Email me at Ejsmomej(at)gmail(dot)com with the above information.
  

For Extra Entries: (Maximum of 6 extra entries)

• Leave me a comment with your favorite item from HooHobbers besides the diaper bags. (1 entry)
• Add my button to your blog and leave me 1 extra comment with your link. Current linked, just leave me your blog link. (1 entry)
• Follow me on Twitter @Erinjeany & tweet about this giveaway. Leave me 1 extra comment with your twitter name and the tweet link. Current followers just tweet! (1 entry)
• Follow or Subscribe to my blog and leave me 1 extra comment letting me know you did so. Current Subscribers just comment. (1 entry)
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me 2 extra comments leaving the link to your blog post on the first one, and the link to your blog on the second. (2 entries)
• Non Bloggers - Email 5 people about this giveaway and CC me at ejsmomej (at) gmail (dot) com. Extra points for each additional 2 people. (1 entry per 2 - maximum of 6 times)
  

This giveaway will end Friday February 13th, 2009 at Midnight EST. Winner will be announced Saturday February 14th, 2009 and will be sent an email. Winner will then have 72 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn! Open to US only, Sorry!

Good Luck & Thanks For Reading!