"Taming Romeo" Book Review...

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
...My favorite author, Rachelle Ayala, just published another book titled Taming Romeo. It was different than her other books but I still absolutely loved it!

Summary
Evie Sanchez is recovering from heartbreak by working at her parents’ Filipino restaurant when in walks Romeo Garcia, the boy she left behind. Only now, he’s a hot movie star surrounded by gorgeous actresses and adoring fans.

Bad boy Romeo Garcia never understood why Evie stood him up at the prom. When he rescues her from a flying coconut in the dumpster, he is determined to dig into her heart for the reason. Their mutual attraction and unresolved feelings ignite in a scintillating night of daring ***, and Romeo shows Evie what she’ll miss the rest of her life if she walks away again.

Evie lands a part as Romeo’s co-star and falls into her role, totally in love. He plays his part, too, with his romantic gestures and skillful lovemaking. But is the fantasy real or revenge? Evie and Romeo are about to discover if their buried feelings will explode in pure delight or utter disaster.

Review
This story was quite different than her Chance for Love series, but I still loved it. I especially enjoyed that Evie and Romeo weren't kept apart the entire book and the major conflict was where their long-term relationship stood. Don't worry, there was still plenty of twists and turns along the way. However, I feel like the book should have been called Taming Evie, not Romeo. Although he was a "bad boy," he was still incredibly sweet and you could tell how much he truly loved Evie. We all need a Romeo in our lives.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

EB & Ryan's Save the Date Photos...by Me!!!

...My SIL got engaged over the holidays. She's already full swing into planning mode. They've set their date for September 20. She called me right before New Year's and asked if I would take their "Save the Date" photos for them. I was so excited and honored that she asked...and nervous too!

The Friday before, I spent the afternoon practicing. Here are the pins that were the inspiration: Pin 1 and Pin 2.

My models were less the cooperative.

The dog wouldn't sit still and my husband acts like a middle school boy.

Finally! At least one of them cooperated!

The first Saturday in January, I dropped AR off at my MIL's and headed out to Busch Wildlife to meet my SIL, her fiancé, and their Rottweiler. It's a favorite location of the entire family. Here's some posts I've done when we've visited before: post 1 and post 2.

I'm a long ways from being a professional, but I had fun and EB was happy so that's the important thing! Her fiancé hates to have his picture taken, but he played along while we spent an hour in the snow taking picture after picture. Here are some my faves from the day.

I wish I could've gotten a better shot at her ring, but I think this one is great since they're both smiling. Natural lighting is not my thing.

I did focal black and white editing on this one but you can't really tell. I love her hair in this pic.

This was the shot they wanted for their Save the Date card. Again, focal b&w on the dog/sign with them in the background.

I only took 140 pictures in the hour we were there. I edited a few of her favorite images and let her pick from different styles.

This is my favorite! I can't believe Zeus sat still for so long, he was such a good doggie!

This was EB's favorite, she's got a great smile.

I love this shot of Zeus looking back at them while they kiss.

A family photo, seriously this dog rocked the photo shoot!

After doing this shoot, it makes me want to take another camera class so I can work on lighting, especially outside, and figure out what the heck an F-stop and aperture is!

I took my laptop with me so we could pop in the memory card to make sure we got some good ones before leaving. She was thrilled just with the quick look at them so that meant this photog was one happy girl!

 

One of my goals for 2014 was to do a photo shoot for someone other than AR (not including this one) so I might be calling some of my STL friends to see if I can do a family photo shoot for them. I'm not looking to get into this regularly or seriously, but I want to be able to take good pics, be able to help out friends and family, and be slightly dangerous with my DSLR.

 

Any tips or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, what do you use for editing? A big thanks to Sara and Katie for the tips!

Workout Wednesday...

...I printed off a training plan for a 10k so I'll at least be running 3x per week.

Wednesday-Ran a mile.

Thursday-If stress counts as a workout then I ran a marathon.

Friday-Walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes.

Saturday-Nada.

Sunday-Working Women's Survival Show-lots of walking but no real exercise.

Monday-Officially started training for Hospital Hill today. Ran 2.5 miles.

Tuesday-Ran 2 miles today on a full belly. Rookie mistake, I knew better!

Slap Koozie Review!!!

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Remember those awesome slap bracelets from the '80s? Well, if you loved them and have a need for them in large quantities, or even just one, check out these slap koozies! A unique slap-on-style beverage insulator that you can 'slap' around your can, bottle, wrist or people you just meet!
 

The SlapKooler is an amazing synergy between 80's style slap bracelets and beverage insulators, the SlapKooler features dual recoiling slap bands embedded in a insulating and protective neoprene core. The slap koozie beverage insulator is the slap bracelet ... reinvented!

The SlapKooler is a one-of-a-kind promotional product that will elevate your event or party to a new level! Watch the grins go from ear-to-ear as your guests and fans light up with delight when they first try a SlapKooler!

 

SlapKooler Product Features:

All SlapKoolers contain dual recoiling steel bands encased in 4mm thick Neoprene (wetsuit material) topped with polyester fabric for easy personalization. No sharp edges so they are extremely kid-safe and fun!

We can print anything on the SlapKoolers, including pictures or complex illustrations!

Safe, durable & fun slap koozies are both fun and functional toys made for everyday use, and the kids will love these! With the slap koozie, you get a perfect beverage insulator, slap bracelet, wrist band, and stress reliever.. the possibilities are endless! Proudly made in the USA!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

"Heather, The Scared Tooth Fairy" Book Review...

...AR and I recently read "Heather, the Scared Tooth Fairy." It was a sweet book and I loved that the mother and daughter wrote it together. Maybe when AR is older, we can do the same thing. The book was written by Jeannie Dowling and her daughter Jasmin. Here's some her take on the story and why she wrote it:

"I wanted to have a fun project for my daughter Jasmin (9 years at the time) and I to do together, so I thought that creating a book together would be fun.

 

I’ve always wondered what it was like for tooth fairies.  Did they have to go to school?  How long did they have to go to school…was it one year, or the same as us, 12 years?  So I let my imagination run free. 

 

Hoping to help my daughter and others with their fears, we thought of something that made me scared when I was in elementary school.  I remembered getting a new teacher in the middle of the year in elementary school.  I had so many worries of what the new teacher was like and what she expected. 

 

I would write a couple pages and read them to Jasmin and she would help me come up with some rhymes and other ideas that could come up in the lives of a tooth fairy.  With each page that I made Jasmin would draw some pictures on what she thought everything looked like.  Both of our pictures ended up in the book. 

 

To make the story extra fun, Jasmin added her hamster Nibbles into the story.  In real life, Nibbles was always checking things out, so in the story he is always checking things out."

 

This book was self published on Amazon and you can find it here. Jeannine also created a website called www.toothfairywisdom.com that has all kinds of fun games and activities for the kiddos.

There isn't anything I don't love about this book. It was written with love by a mother and daughter. Jasmin did an awesome job of illustrating and Jeannine did a great job telling the story. Definitely a story my daughter and I will read throughout the years.  

 

 

*I received a free copy of this book from Pollen-8.

February Photo Challenge Week 3...

...Week 3 already, this month is flying by!

February 15
Something you see every morning
This is my view every morning when I wake up

February 16

What's inside your bag
My school bag

February 17

Something sweet
Lickin' her lips!

February 18

Nature
Not the best, was trying to capture the wind.

February 19

A gift
This was a gift to myself after my stressful day.

February 20

Something you bought
It's also something I bought

February 21

Best part of your day
This is blurry but I only had one shot at it. This is AR running to me when I walked into the sitter's to pick her up.

I always start these photo challenges so motivated and then I end up having to cram all the photos into one day!

St. Louis Ambush Reunion Game GIVEAWAY!!!

...Remember when I told you that my dad and I went to a St. Louis Ambush game earlier this month? We had a blast and next week is the last game of the season AND the Reunion Game! Players from the Steamers, the old school Ambush, and the Storm will be on hand to sign autographs before the game, play an exhibition game at halftime, and stick around for more autographs afterwards. I'm totally bummed that I won't be able to go, but some lucky reader might be able to!

The game is next Thursday, February 27 and kickoff is at 7:35pm. I have two tickets to giveaway along with some other Ambush goodies. The giveaway starts NOW and will run until midnight on Sunday, February 23. Share with all your friends because it's going to be an awesome time especially when you meet Mark Moser, John Klein, Justin McMillan, and more!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Easy Nacho Bake...

...Lately nothing sounds good. This is always a sign that I need to start counting calories and working out because it means I've eaten everything that sounds delicious! When it comes time to menu plan each week, I always try to find an easy recipe via Pinterest. Last week, I found this recipe for Easy Nacho Bake. Unfortunately, I'm sorry I don't have a link to the pin!

Ingredients

1 small (7 oz) Nacho Cheese Doritos, crushed
1 pound ground beef (or turkey, venison, etc...)
1 package taco seasoning
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 cup shredded lettace
1 small tomato, diced (I used a can, definitely recommend a fresh one if you have it)
Sour cream

Directions
1. Brown burger with taco seasoning (drain if needed).
2. In 9 x 13 dish, layer crushed chips, meat, 2/3 cheese, lettuce, tomato, and top with remaining cheese.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
4. Top with sour cream!

I thought this would be an excellent meal that AR could help with because she could crush the chips. Yeah, well my chip crusher turned into my chip thief as she kept sneaking them out of the pan!

Before...mmm! We wanted more cheese so I added some regular shredded Cheddar cheese. As stated above, I used diced canned tomatoes, definitely use a fresh tomato if you can.

After-mmm, this was so good! Super easy to make and quick. The directions didn't say to spray the pan but I did and it came out very easily.

What's your go-to quick, easy yet still delicious dinner recipe???

Workout Wednesday...

...Wow, another week of slacking...

Wednesday-Nothing. :-(

Thursday-Nothing-long day, go, go go!

Friday-Swam 20 minutes.

Saturday-I took AR swimming so it wasn't a real workout of swimming laps but there was a lot of chasing a toddler around a pool, going through the lazy river, and catching 26 pounds of baby being hurled at you!

Sunday-Nada.

Monday-Major workout fail. I was dressed ready to go and my back-up babysitting option failed. :-(

Tuesday-Ran a mile and took a walk outside in the gorgeous weather with AR when I got home.

I'm hoping the warmer weather will kick me into gear. :-/

Leather Charm Bracelet from Penny Auctions Canada...

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

...Look at this gorgeous leather charm bracelet I received from Penny Auctions Canada:

These bracelets includes multiple strands adorned by silver alloy charms. Fastened together by two steel clamps, It includes a lobster claw clasp and back chain, making it fully adjustable to fit any wrist size.  With lots of styles to choose from these will surely be a staple in your spring/summer wardrobe!

This new year has brought about some excting changes with Penny Auction Canada's site. We have started a brand new affiliate program as well as our Daily Deal auctions where customers can find products they love for less! Add that to our already thriving penny auctions and you have yourself a place where deals are abundant!  FYI-I love this pic of AR holding my wrist with the love and infinity bracelet.

The way it works it that you purchase bids which cost 75 cents/each. As a reader of my blog, use the code TOMOSON25 when you checkout and you'll get 25 free bids with a 25 bid purchase. Also, any new sign-ups are entitled to FIVE free bids (no purchase necessary). All you have to do is create a free account and send an email to affiliates@PennyAuctionsCanada.com with your username. Here's AR trying on the bracelet herself.

Be sure to check out their Facebook page as they always have some great giveaways going on!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

"Wedding Dreams: Motivational E-Book" Review...

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Wedding Dreams: Motivational Photography Book is the e-book of it's kind that I've read. I imagined it was going to just be full of various wedding photographers, which is was, but I was shocked and excited to see inspiring quotes along that way. One of my favorites was:

Live without pretending

Love without depending

Listen without defending

Speak without offending

 

I wish this book came as an actual coffee table book. It would be perfect to give to the newlyweds and an excellent reminder for those of us who are already married.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Liebster Award!!!

A big thank you to Meg at Meg-In-Training for presenting me with the Liebster Award.The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. What exactly is a Liebster?   Liebster is German and means favorite or beloved! The Liebster is a great way to share with the community and get to know other bloggers!Here are the rules:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!

My questions from Meg:
1. Why do you blog? Honestly, I started my blog because Kristal did way back in the day. Since then I've used it to document marriage, running, infertility, you name it, and I've probably covered it (minus politics but stay tuned for a borderline post on that). Through blogging, I've met awesome peeps and gotten lots of free stuff so there's no way I'd give it up!

2. If you were stranded on a desert island and could have one thing, anything… what would it be? A computer with Wi-Fi so I could stay connected, write, post pics, etc...

3. What’s your favorite food? Mexican-yum!

4. Dream Vacation? The beach!

5. Your proudest moment? Pre-baby=running a marathon Post-baby=every time AR does something new. I tell her all the time how proud I am of her, I never want her to doubt that.

6. If you could have any career/job you wanted, what would it be and why? A mix between a stay-at-home mom and what I do now. I don't think I could be a full-time at home mom and I do enjoy my job so if I could do both, it would be the best of both worlds.
7. Cats or Dogs? Seriously? Duh...dogs!

8. What do your family and friends think of your blog? Although they tease me, I think they enjoy it because they get to see AR pics and know what's going on in our world.

9. What are some of your favorite blogs to read? Check out my sidebar.

10. Sports: Love ‘em or hate ‘em? Considering it's my job, I'd better say love!

11. Who is the hottest person alive (besides your significant other)? Ha-love the way you worded this! Lance Walker comes to mind, but he's not alive-RIP. I really don't watch that much tv/movies so since I'm a devoted Grey's Fan, I'll say McDreamy.

Now, it seems as though all my peeps have already been tagged so I'm breaking the rules and awarding this to all of my readers! Feel free to play along and answer in a blog post of your own. The questions will be this or that style but feel free to elaborate on your answer.
1. Winter or summer?

2. Sweet or salty?

3. Early bird or night owl?

4. Kindle/Nook or good 'ole fashion book in your hands?

5. Wedding: Big or small?

6. Grey's Anatomy or Private Practice?

7. Cardinals or Cubs? Think carefully before you answer.

8. Tigers or Jayhawks?

9. Facebook or Twitter?

10. Blogger or Wordpress?

11. Shorts or skirts?

Happy blogging!

AR's Almost 15 Minutes of Fame...

...Yesterday morning, I boot up my computer and login to check my email. My stomach dropped when I saw that I had one titled "Photo Permission." I always jump to the worst case scenario and I've heard horror stories about bloggers who snag an image on Google only to be accused later of not having permission to use it. I carefully open it and am relieved when I see a picture of my own child. Whew!

It was actually from the Creative Director at Realtree Outdoors. All of you hunting wives know what Realtree is and for those of you who don't know, they are a nation-wide camouflage brand, read that as they're a big deal! He had done a Google search and found AR's baby pic by Katie Beach and was asking permission to use it on a post today for Valentine's Day.

I was so excited! They ended up not being able to use it, not sure why, but he sent me the mock-up that they did with permission to use it and they're also sending AR a Realtree onesie/shirt. Although it didn't pan out, it was still super awesome! Their Facebook page alone has 1.3 million likes and the pic they ended up using had over 3,300 likes. I told Katie she should add some Realtree to her prop basket!

 

UPDATE! She made it on their Facebook page Sunday morning with the comment "Realtree camouflage is always a great backdrop for baby pictures! A big thank you to Alyssa and her husband, outdoor enthusiast and hunter, Matt (aka "Grizzly Daddy)," for allowing us to post these pictures of their daughter AR. Alyssa pens a popular blog called "My Husband's Watching TV While I'm Watching The Baby."

 

Is that not an awesome shout out to 1.3 million people or what!

February Photo Challenge Week 2...

...Week 2!!!

February 8
Smiles


February 9
A furry friend
I know I've recently used this but I like it!

February 10
What you wore
PASS
February 11
Your sky
It snowed today, it sleeted, it was nasty out just like this sky.

February 12
A bad habit
I was trying to take a picture of my chewed down nails. Every time I held my hand up, some little girl did the same...

February 13
The color red
Matt's Valentine's present from AR and I. She picked out the screwdriver all by herself!

February 14
Your one true love
My family!!! This is all of us after our Valentine's date to Shogun's.

Up and Down I-Phone App Review...

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Up and Down is an interesting number games, testing the reflexes of the player.

So you think you have an intuitive feel for numbers? This new iPhone game involves either tapping the numbers in ascending or descending order and will bring your head down from above the clouds!

Do it fast and accurately to avoid the time bomb exploding in your face! (Time Bomb Stage)

This game is designed to be an educational tools for small children, helping them to learn their numbers.

This is a simple game which is good for kids and adult alike. Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

I downloaded this on my iTouch. It's been forever since I used it and AR was in love. She really has no concept of up or down but she loved the time bombs going off-lol! As she gets more familiar with numbers, we'll definitely be using this as a teaching/fun game for her to play.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

AR's O'fish'al Valentines...

...If case you missed it, yesterday was Valentine's Day! I hope you had a great day with your true love(s) or even just chilling by yourself. AR, Matt, and I went to Shogun for dinner. It was always a tradition before we had AR so this year, we included her in the tradition which she loved the flaming volcano. I also decided to have AR and I make Valentine's for her friends.

Here were the supplies needed: tape, Goldfish, strips of paper, printable, and pillow boxes. The pillow boxes were a lot harder to find than I expected. I found them online at Paper Mart here. It was actually cheaper to buy 50 from them than 24 from other places I found. Don't be surprised if you find another craft made of pillow boxes!

Next, I printed and cut out these hearts that say: Will you o'fish'ally be my Valentine? Love, AR

AR and I filled each box with Goldish then I taped the strip of paper around it and topped it off with the heart on front. I was going to do pink strips for the girls and blue for the boys but then I couldn't keep track of how many I needed of each so I ended up doing all blue except one. 

We gave them out at the Valentine's Playdate and to all the kids at the sitter's. They were a hit!

Pics of my girl handing them out. I saw some other really cute ideas on Pinterest so who knows what we'll come up with next year!

Paddy O'Shea's Golf Card Game...

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Paddy O’Shea’s Golf Card Game™ is a new card game that we feel is more fun than Uno and more challenging than Hearts!  It is a fun game that golfers, card players and board game players find exciting and challenging.

A family game for 2 to 6 players ages 10 and up.  It is easy to learn and unpredictable in its play.  Strategy and luck are involved.  The game consists of nine hands (“Rounds”) and usually takes 40 to 50 minutes to play a game.  Most players want to play more than one game! It makes a great gift!

Since we only have one TV in our house and Matt and I can never decide what to watch together, we spent the other night playing this card game. It was so much fun...easy but challenging at the same time. To say we were both a little competitive would be, um...an understatement! Now enter this giveaway, not much time left!



I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Workout Wednesday...

...I changed the title of these posts since I'm not really weighing-in and it's more a workout recap and last week, I was lazy so feel free to belittle, ridicule, and throw tomatoes at me!

Wednesday-Sunday-NOTHING!

Monday-Ran 12 minutes and did some arm workout. Hey, it's not much, but it's all I could squeeze in!

Tuesday-Boot camp!

Summary: SLACKER THIS WEEK!!!

Matthew's Bouncin' Third Birthday!!!

...After the Valentine's Playdate on Sunday, we headed to Bounce U for Matthew's third birthday party. Matthew is the son of a friend of mine from high school. This was the first birthday party AR had attended outside of someone's house. It was also her first "real" time in a bounce house. Judging from the pictures...she loved it!

I wasn't really sure what all she'd be able to do but it turned out, there was lots! She and a few other girls just a little bit older jumped around having a ball. The party was great because it was just our party in the inflatables so it wasn't insane crazy like some places.

They had balls in this house so AR would throw them out the entrance at me and I'd throw them back in at her. She thought it was hilarious!

There was also two raised circles in the middle. AR had a blast jumping off them aka falling down and laughing.

Then there was a huge slide. The first time, I helped her up which she panicked a little until we got to the top. She went down no problem and I was going to go back down the stairs but suddenly I saw ten little ones climbing up so...what goes up, must come down, right? Yeah, I was the only parent to slide down. The older girl helped show AR how to climb the ladder the next time.

She quickly got the hang of it and went down it by herself three times!

It was REALLY high and REALLY fast! But my daredevil didn't mind.

Whoa!!! She'd get a little cock-eyed but it didn't scare her.

Turning, turning, but still smiling!

And a big grin to finish!

Here's AR and the birthday boy, Matthew!

This inflatable blew air so that the ball would balance and then you were to hit it with a baseball bat. AR just wanted to feel the air coming out. Hey, whatever makes you happy, right?

All the kiddos at the party!

So yeah, my kid had nothing but sugar all day Sunday. An egg for breakfast and these veggie chips were the only non-sugared food she ate. It helped us at the end of the night but yeah, we'll be on a strict veggie-only diet to make-up for it! I kid, I kid...no worries, I'm sure my child will still have sugar this week, it was just a bit of an overload on Sunday.

Matthew and AR looking thrilled to have their photo taken. The birthday boy was being bribed by his dad with a "coin" to take this picture.

AR had a great time as did all the other kids. Thanks for inviting us, Christina!

Valentine's Play Date!!!

...Happy Monday! Our Sunday was so busy that I think I need to add an extra day to my weekend so I can recover. Saturday we spent most of the day wedding dress shopping with my SIL, MIL, and the rest of the bridal party. AR did so good aside from running in and out of the dressing room a few times but she made Mommy proud.

On Sunday, we started the morning at Angie's gorgeous new house for a Valentine's Playdate. I feel like it's been forever since we got together and I absolutely love Ang's new house. Oh how I'd LOVE to have a playroom! Angie had created this sweetheart backdrop for pics.

Sophie and Nick both had these bean bag chairs that all the kiddos loved. I mean, I'd love it too if it let me relax this much!

Nick showed us all of their toys and there was a LOT of them!

Emma fell in love with the cookies. I agreed with her.

Poor Mac got a boo boo but his Momma took good care of him.

Dez was loving the balloon and the balloon was loving his hair!

Here was a good shot of all the kids...gotta love photographing toddlers, right?

This may very well be my most favorite photo of the day. I seriously laugh out loud every time I see it.

The boys took off so we got a girls only pic. I love Emma's expression in this one!

Although AR is going through a total "mine" stage, she's still pretty good about sharing which is a relief.

Toe touches with the bestie! They were trying to burn some calories from their cookies.

And I now know what to get AR for her birthday...this car! She loved it! She sat in it to watch the other kids, eat her cookie, drive around. Girl loved her ride!

Thanks for hosting, Ang! It was an awesome time!!!

St. Patrick Day Shirt Review...

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

...Does anyone else feel like we just celebrated Christmas and New Year's and already next week is Valentine's Day and then St. Patrick's Day next month? I swear, the older I get, the faster time goes!

The past few years, Matt's work participates in a local St. Patrick's parade. He ALWAYS wants me to ride in the float with them, especially now that we have AR he wants her to be a part of it too. Something always comes up...work, Easter celebrations, bad weather, and we aren't able to. This year is, hopefully, the year!

I found a website that has hilarious Saint Patty tees for all tastes. The tees are printed on the highest quality softest cotton. and available in Womens (slightly form fitting) or Mens (Standard Fit).  This was the shirt I selected.

I even went crazy and ordered the women's fit shirt! Of course, now that I have it, I realized I should've ordered a men's because it's probably going to be cold and I'll need to layer, layer, layer! It was really hard to narrow down the choices to just one. Check them out for yourself at Saint Patrick Day Shirts.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

St. Louis Ambush Game...

...Remember my Christmas post where I told you all that Matt got me two St. Louis Ambush tickets? Well, the game was last Saturday. My dad and I went for 'ole time sakes. Mattie did pretty good on the tickets...front row! Check out how close we were to the action.

This was literally in front of me and beside me were a million and one kids all vying for the players attention. The boys wanting the Milwaukee Wave's Bennett to take a picture with them while the girls all screamed over how dreamy it was. Oh how it reminded me of my middle school days when my teammates and I did the exact same thing.

I have to comment that in a world of professional athletes being role models, the Milwaukee Wave impressed me with their sportsmanship and friendly demeanor to all the kids. It was refreshing to see athletes in a positive manner. FYI-We sat on their end so I didn't get a chance to see any of the Ambush players interact.

Beers are only the price of a hat trick! When I found this out, I told my dad that we should both grab a beer since the last time I went to a game, I couldn't even drive. We had a good time especially since there was a lot of action and the score was pretty close...until we pulled the goalie at the end of the game and it backfired.

As the game started and the lights lowered, out came the Ambush mascot...Bushwacker! It was nice to see a familiar face and when the music started, it was like I was still back in the '90s with "Whoop There It Is!"

Halfway through announcing the team, a giant Chad Vandegriffe head sat down behind me. The group of guys sitting behind us play softball with him and apparently cheer him on with the #JumboChad #Chadhead at every home game. These guys were hysterical!

I tweeted pretty much the whole game. Twitter is a lot more fun when people, teams, organizations interact with you. Here are a few of my tweets...

The guys behind me wanted to get #CV21, #JumboChad and #Chadhead trending. When Chad scored, I tweeted and looked back at them asking if they were tweeting. They all pulled out there phones and threw out a few hashtags. When I got home, I checked out the hashtags and tweeted the creator of #JumboChad. After checking out his stats, I tweeted, "With 8 tweets and 7 followers, no wonder you can't get #CV21 trending..." He replied that they were new to the Twitterverse and I said they needed #TwitterTrending101!

 

Overall, it was a great game and a fun time was had by all. I would love to go to the Throwback game on the 27th and see the players from my day. Hopefully the Ambush stick around because I'll definitely be going to games next year. 

K9 Advantix II...

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
...While here in Missouri, we're covered in snow and probably getting more snow this weekend and even MORE snow next week, it's fun to think that spring is right around the corner. The warm weather will be great but that also means that flea and tick season is upon us. K9 Advantix II is a leading brand of pet medication that helps combat fleas and ticks on dogs.

You can purchase this online in a four pack from Entirely Pets.

My silly dogs thought it was food so they did all kinds of fun tricks for me! Silly furbabies!

K9 Advantix II is so easy, just open and spread between their shoulder blades down their backbone and voila-bye bye ticks and fleas!

Don't worry, the models in this post were compensated with Milk Bones for their time and patience.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

February Photo Challenge Week 1...

...Here goes the February Photo Challenge! Feel free to join in for any or all!

 

February 1

Self-Portrait
This isn't the greatest photo but it's my life these days: baby in one hand, camera in the other and I'm loving it!
 

February 2

The Color Pink
I found anything and everything pink she could wear: onesie, tights and heels!

February 3

Something that made you laugh
Would this face not make you laugh? Anytime she laughs, I immediately join her.

February 4

An inside joke

I can't explain because then it wouldn't be an inside joke! We love Chester at our house!

 February 5

Family
This seems to be the current trend in family photos. It's not my best work considering I was wearing flip flops and my child was standing at the window inside crying wanting me to come back in.

February 6

Guilty Pleasure
Although this could fall under bad habit, too.

February 7

Something you look forward to

Apparently my child is looking forward to summer because she pulled out the sunglasses. I was trying to capture her looking at our Disney on Ice tickets though.

 



"Three's a Crowd" Book Review...

...After I finished Melissa Keir's "Second Time's the Charm" I rushed on to "Three's a Crowd" so I could find out what happens between Lissa, Alex, and Chloe. I can tell you, I wasn't disappointed!

Summary
Single mother Lissa Vincent found her soul mate in her best friend’s ex-husband. Alex Hunter couldn’t believe his fortune when his ex-wife told him her best friend was available. After divorce, finding love again could be a challenge but it appeared Alex and Lissa had gotten lucky. Yet as they start their lives as newlyweds, Alex and Lissa don’t realize just how difficult it might be to blend a family.

When Alex’s ex new marriage begins to unravel, she sets her sights again on Alex. Does Alex still have feelings for the mother of his child? Will Lissa keep her best friend or lose her husband?

Fairytales promise a happily-ever-after. But what really happens after the after.

Review
While this book was short, it definitely was a page turner. "Three's a Crowd' picked up where "Second Time's a Charm," Alex and Lissa married and tried to blend their families. Unfortunately, Chloe isn't failing in the love department with her marriage so trying to be a good friend, Lissa invites Chloe to live with her which equals D-R-A-M-A! Chloe tries to steal Alex back. In the end, everyone does what is best for the kids. All I have to say is that Lissa is WAY to good of a friend. Alex and Lissa's marriage stood the a true test of love.

Weigh-In Wednesday...

...Happy birthday, H!!! With it being so cold out, it makes it so hard to get up early and get in a good workout but I'm trying!

Wednesday, January 29-Tank Top Arms!

Thursday, January 30-Ran for 20 minutes on the treadmill and did Tank Top Arms. I've been really slacking on working out this week but once I ran, it felt REALLY good!

Friday, January 31-Arm day at boot camp!

Saturday, February 1-Rest day.

Monday, February 2-Arm day with the group workout. I feel like I should arms and abs of steel after this workout.

Tuesday, February 3-Tank Top Arms! Oh and my legs are so sore from deadlifts yesterday.

Gotta Be Eight!!!

...Tomorrow is my sweet niece's birthday, she'll be turning 10! I still remember when she was born and AR's age, crazy to see her so grown up. In our family, the rule is you have to be 8 years old to get your ears pierced. Don't ask me where that age came from. I just know that my sister was 8 when she got her ears pierced so when I wanted to get my ears pierced, she told my parents I had to wait until I was 8. When we both had daughters, we knew we'd abide by the "Gotta be Eight" rule. Well, eight came and went for H and she didn't want to get her ears pierced. Finally, this year, she decided she wanted to do it! So on Saturday, we all loaded up, H, my sis, me, AR along with Papa (my dad) and her friend, and headed to Sweet and Sassy for the big event. Since I took over fifty photos and I recently realized that you could make a video in Picasa, which is what I use for editing, I decided I'd try it out. See the big event for yourself! Congrats, Little Sister! You did a great job and I'm proud of you.

Here I am double checking that the marker dots for the holes are even.

Catching the newly ear pierced girl getting her pic taken.

Of course, we had to hit up Justice! Papa was the only boy in both stores!

Happy birthday, H! We love you!

Sill Shield Velcro Leash & Harness Reflector Giveaway...

...I know most of my readers out there are mommies to both human babies and furbabies. Well, this giveaway is for your favorite furry friend! I'm giving away a 3-pack of Velcro leash/harness reflectors. They are the latest in pet walking safety. Made in the USA, these 2-sided reflectors are made from the exact same reflective material used on school buses. They are weatherproof, shatterproof, ultra-lightweight and easy to use. Simply peel one open & wrap it around any strap. Great for horses & people too! You can purchase them or find more great products at Sill Shield.

The giveaway will open today, February 3 at midnight and close at midnight February 7. A mandatory entry is required. All you have to do is visit Sill Shield and let me know what product you'd use with your furbabies. Check out the Rafflecopter for extra entries. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post from 4sponsor.com with my unbised thoughts.

Pampers Swaddlers Softies!!!

...Pampers Swaddlers are now in size 4 and 5! This means tons of #PampersSwaddlersSofties for my girl, not to mention that life-saving color changing line. Thanks to CrowdTap, I got to sample the new Pampers Swaddlers AND I got to share a pack with my good friend Jenni and her daughter Emma.

We were supposed to meet up last Sunday but our schedules weren't able to coordinate. I went ahead and got a pack of Pampers Swaddlers for AR. She was super excited about them!

When I told her that we'd got a pack for Emma, too. She couldn't wait to share the #PampersSwaddlersSofties with her bestie!

We finally found that Wednesday night would be a good time to meet up. AR was super excited to have a friend over on a weeknight. Here she's asking, "Is Emma here to share yet???"

I told her, not yet so she decided to use the #PampersSwaddlersSofties as a seat.

Jenni and Emma arrived and AR was clapping, smiling and just super excited to see them. Of course, they'd barely gotten in the door and she had to share the #PampersSwaddlersSofties with her!

Jenni and Emma were so excited!!!

Emma had to take a closer inspection.

After all the Swaddler excitement, the two girls sat down to read a book together. How sweet!

They were over the pictures here, can you tell?

Besties and #PamperSwaddlersSofties Sisters 4 Life!

Thanks CrowdTap for letting us experience the awesomeness of #PampersSwaddlersSofties!

Beltlock Review...

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Beltlock is designed to prevent kids from opening the seat belt securing the child's car seat. Beltlock is designed to be strong, durable, visible in the car, easy to fit and easy to remove with a key by an adult. Beltlock offers peace of mind when traveling with kids.

OMG! This was so easy to install. Seriously, you just fit the orange Beltlock over your seatbelt and then click it into place.

I had H try to unlock it. She tried every which way, different angles, and for the life of her, she could not get it unlatched.

She got frustrated which was good. If a ten year old can't unbuckle the seatbelt then surely my almost two year old won't either.

It was also super easy to take it off. I slipped my key into the slots and it popped open. Now let's hope AR doesn't figure that anytime soon!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.http://beltlock.ie/index.php