Thursday, November 29, 2012

Dollops and Miss Banana Pants!

Today, I'm guest posting over on Miss Banana Pants with a post about my beauty regime pre and post kids. Click HERE to go give it a read and make sure to leave some love for Miss Banana Pants. She's funny and always keeping it real - two of my favorite things!


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! 

Preschool Thanksgiving outfits!
They got to pick their own names - Fast T-Rex and Yellow Hopping Ladybug

Daniel got in on the action by wearing Isabelle's outfit from last year

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

My Life In Numbers

33 – The number of years I’ve been alive
  
7 – The number of towns/cities that I’ve lived in.

1 – The number of siblings I have

12 – The number of siblings my husband has

14 – My favorite number

1 – The number of tattoos that I have

90210 – One of my favorite shows of all time

2- The number of times I’ve been engaged

1 – The number of times I’ve been married

3.5 – The number of months I was engaged to my husband before we said “I do”

52 – Average number of times I check Facebook in a day

12 – The number of months I’ve been blogging

5 – Number of people who live in our house

3 – Number of bedrooms we have in our house

5- The age of my oldest

2 – The age of my youngest

14 – The number of months between my oldest and middle child

19 – The number of months between my middle and youngest child

0 – The number of epidurals/pain meds I received in labor

0 – The number of parents of mine that are still alive

2 – The number of grandparents of mine that are still alive

27 – The number of times a day I wish I had a maid

5 – The number of binkies I let Daniel sleep with each night

10 – The number of books each child needs in their bed at night or they complain (Note: none of them can read)

5 – The number of days per week that I refrain from strangling my children when trying to get out the door to school

9 – The number of times I yell “Stop yelling!” at the children each day

4 – The number of days in a row that I’ve had turkey and stuffing sandwiches for lunch

7 – The number of missing Barbie shoes that roam our house.

27 – The approximate number of Cheerios in our couch cushions

32 –The number of times a day I dream of going to Target alone

27 - Number of times this year I've dressed up in silly costumes and had my picture taken

I’m linking up with Greta at G*Funk*Ified for this post! 

What are your numbers? 

*Photo credit Woven

Monday, November 19, 2012

LUSH'S FUN Moldable Soap Giveaway!

Our family recently had the chance to check out LUSH’s product called FUN and boy did they have fun with it! LUSH makes fresh, handmade cosmetics and FUN is their new natural, multi-purpose moldable soap. Kids (or grownups!) can make fun shapes with it and then take it right in the tub. It can be used as soap, a shampoo, a bubble bath, and a toy.

I let the kids play with it at the kitchen table and then they each got to bring their finished product in the tub with them. If you crumble a small amount under the running water in the tub it makes lots of bubbles. You can then rub the product directly on your skin to use it as soap. There is also no messy clean up or remaining residue after bath time which I LOVE. We have previously used products that are made for the tub but then they leave you with a discolored tub or cleaning up left over chunks of product – not the case with FUN.

Each color also has its own separate scent.

  • YELLOW FUN: A comforting blend of vanilla and gardenia, smells like delicious marzipan.
  • GREEN FUN: An uplifting fragrance with lemon and lime oils that awaken the senses.
  • RED FUN: A fruity combination of orange and mandarin oils to revitalize the mind.
  • BLUE FUN: A gentle, soothing hug in the bath before bedtime using calming oils such as lavender and chamomile.
  • PINK FUN: A sweet treat with ice-cream scented tonka absolute and benzoin resinoid which helps to stimulate circulation.

I personally liked the Yellow FUN scent the best. I am super sensitive to smell so I found the Blue FUN a little too strong smelling for me. I’m not a huge lavender/chamomile fan anyway though but if you are then it would probably be great for you.

Another great part of FUN is that 2.5% of sales from every bar of FUN is contributed to the FUNd, a LUSH initiative which supports charities in Fukushima, Japan which is still recovering from the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster of 2011. FUNd helps to create safe places for children to play outside. Pretty cool, huh?
  
I think FUN would make great stocking stuffers, gifts, or just something different to use with your family at bath time. FUN is available at LUSH stores nationwide and also at LUSHUSA.COM. Each tube of FUN is $6.95.

The best part? TWO lucky Dollops readers are going to receive 2 colors of FUN to try out for yourself. Double cool, huh?

Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Hallmark Greetings and a GIVEAWAY!



Although it may be hard to believe, the holidays will be here before we know it. Along with presents, it’s also the time for holiday cards. I always remember that my mother loved greeting cards. She would never miss a birthday, holiday, or special occasion for someone. She would happily roam the card aisle for an hour picking out the perfect card. Of course, when I was little I would get so annoyed but now I “get it.” Cards can be humorous, sweet, touching, and sometimes they say EXACTLY what you want them to. It’s like the Hallmark people are mind readers!

I’ve had the pleasure of checking out some of Hallmark’s new holiday assortments and they are awesome. 


In addition to their boxed collections, they have Signature Collection cards which would make anyone feel super special.

Hallmark also has Interactive Recordable Greetings. Children can record their wish lists directly into this card to let Santa, grandma or someone else special know what they’d like to receive for Christmas. Fun for all ages, the Recordable Wish List card is especially perfect for little ones who aren’t yet able to write a wish list for Santa. I also think it’s so cute to hear the child’s voice on the card – and I’m sure the recipient will, too!

Our family is also loving the Interactive Countdown Greetings. With the help of Mickey Mouse, or one of Santa’s friendly elves, these cards double as a holiday greeting and a functioning countdown clock. Display the card and watch the days and hours tick away, bringing you closer to the excitement of Christmas Day.  We’ve got ours set up and the kids love keeping an eye on it!


 One lucky Dollops reader is going to receive a Hallmark prize package that contains:

  • An Interactive Recordable Greeting
  • An Interactive Countdown Greeting
  • As assortment of additional boxed and Signature Collection greetings

Awesome, huh? Please enter the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, November 12, 2012

Likelli: Personalized WINE Recommendations for YOU!



Are you like me and tend to drink the same few wines simply because you know you like them? Do you get somewhat freaked out when you enter one of those big liquor stores with the endless aisles of wine? I mean really, how do you choose? Have you ever tried looking up information online for wine recommendations? It can be overwhelming and daunting! Well…enter Likelli!


Likelli is a women-founded start-up that aims to help wine drinkers explore and try new wines. They help to take the guess work out of choosing the best wine for you. They believe that the “best” wine isn’t determined by ratings or what professional wine critics drink. It's determined by your input!

Simply head to their website and it will ask you for one or two wines that you enjoy drinking. 



Based on what you like, they’ll help you find wines that are compatible with your palette. No more guess work in aisle 5! As you try and rate more wines their recommendations get better and better for you.

Once the wine recommendations pop up you can then save them, print them, or wait for it…wait for it….order directly from Likelii! They recommend a wine, you pop it in your shopping cart, and they deliver it right to you. Already know what you want and don’t need a recommendation? Well then just order away! You can search by whites, reds, or regions.

They also are currently offering free shipping on items over $100. Sounds like it might be time to order up a whole bunch of wine before the busy holiday seasons arrive! Also, head on over to their Facebook page to find out how you can enter to win FREE wine - woo hoo!

*I received a gift certificate from Likelli to try out their service for review. As always, all opinions are my own*

Sunday, November 11, 2012

My Husband Thinks Our House Is Dirty



For the past few weekends my husband seemed a bit “off.” He was more annoyed by things, more frustrated, more not liking life so much (in my opinion). So last weekend I asked him what was bothering him and his answer really surprised me. It turns out it wasn’t just the annoyance of children (which I had chalked it up to) but instead he said that he felt like he had to spend the weekends cleaning and that the house was dirty. At first I kind of wanted to punch him in the face. As a stay at home mom/housewife I felt like his comment was a huge slap in the face to me but you know what? He was right.

I do spend my days sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning up toys, doing laundry and all that “fun” stuff. However, I’m not scrubbing the floors, or the walls, or cleaning out the fridge on a regular basis. This is precisely the dirt that he was referring to. I honestly just don’t like doing that stuff. My mother on the other hand loved to clean. A lot of my memories of her when she was in good health were of her cleaning. I just didn’t inherit that gene. 

Plus, it’s tough with the kids. Who has time to really clean when you have three small children to look after? But I think I’ve been using them as an excuse. The truth is do I have the time. There are moments of down time when I could be washing the floor boards but I choose not to. I choose to be on Facebook. I choose to write blog posts. I choose to watch General Hospital. Now does that make me a bad housewife? Eh, the jury is still out.

I do think those things makes me a better mother though. I need that down time to refuel, to recharge, and to have contact with someone who wants to discuss things other than crafts, dinosaurs, and Elmo. But my husband’s comment struck close to home (too close to home). I had been slacking. 

So this past week I started tackling the rooms on by one. I cleaned and scrubbed parts of the kitchen that I’m not sure have been touched in the past five years. I’m talking about scrubbing the top of the refrigerator, using all those fancy attachments of the vacuum to clean the space above your cabinets but below the ceiling, and I got every last bit of crayon/pen off the front of the cabinets. It felt good – damn good. 

The house is definitely still a work in progress and I have lots left to do but I’m getting there. In order to avoid the “D” word from being used again to describe the house I’ve also decided to assign myself chores for each day. I know, I know, what am I 10 years old and need chores? But yeah, I think I do. I am a planner and do better with a set schedule. So I’m going to have a day for mopping, a day for bathroom cleaning, a day for changing sheets, etc. So if after all of this my husband still thinks that the house is dirty I’m going to hand over the mop to him (after I punch him in the face).

These were my only friends last week

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

My One Year Blogiversary!



Today marks the one year anniversary of my blog! Okay, okay it’s not actually today. It was November 2nd and I totally missed it. I’m sure if the blog could it would totally divorce me over my insensitivity of missing our big milestone. Since I call the shots here though, I’m pretending it’s today and sending up virtual confetti, lots of pink balloons, party horns are a blowin’ and cupcakes are plentiful.

When I wrote my first post, I didn’t really know what to expect. I didn’t know where this adventure would take me. Frankly, I didn’t know if anyone would read or if it would last. Well I’m happy to report a year later that I’m so glad that I dove in the deep end. I’ve found an amazing community of bloggers.  I’ve made great friends both online and in real life. I’ve had the privilege of attending two blogging conferences and met amazing people there. I’ve been able to attend awesome events, review great products, and share my thoughts with you. Speaking of you, THANK YOU. Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, thank you for sharing my journey with me.

This marks my 178th post (not bad for a year) and I look forward to the next 178+. I hope you’ll stick around for the ride!


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