Written By Mama

Archive for August, 2012

Wow, this last week has been something fierce for me. I have been very stressed & [thank you PMS] very emotional.

Some of you have been following for a while and know a lot about my life. I have been married to Cody for 4.5 years (on Sept. 14th). We have been through a lot. Most of you know what I’m talking about and some of you don’t. That’s fine. I don’t want to recap everything right now, I’ll save that for another post

Last week, I left Cody. *side note: I’m living with my mom right now* I made the decision to pack up my things, and Landon, and move out. It was not a easy decision. I’m sure you’ve heard me say, “I don’t make money blogging.” I do make some, but not much. So when I made the decision to leave, it was not just leaving. I knew I would have to get a “real” job. Which has been nearly impossible so far. Two, yes 2, companies have denied me because of my lack of work in the last few years. Apparently they don’t think that sitting on the computer for hours on end typing, paying taxes on the products I review, advertising & paying taxes on the paid posts I write, constitutes as a real job. That’s fine, really. However, the pompous jerk that interviewed me at GC Services the other day should be kicked in his baby maker. Lack of experience or not, I will not tolerate being belittled by some scrawny, control-hungry jerk. End of story.

Anyways, I’m still job hunting. I’ve got a few things looking up for me, but they could easily fall through. Like GC Services.

On top of all the stress with leaving, I broke my mom’s washing machine the other day. We’re not really sure how, or if it was even me. The water sensor didn’t trigger, causing her entire laundry room & garage to flood. Water was running for probably 30 minutes. Maybe longer. Now, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, except ALL of my stuff was in the garage. Everything from the second set of couches Cody & I owned, to boxes of Landon’s clothes. My scrapbook stuff is completely ruined & everything is wet….still.

We got over it though. I can always buy new scrapbook stuff and wash Landon’s already wet clothes.

The hard part happened today. I had to drop Landon off at his dad’s for the weekend. Yes, Cody will have Landon until Monday afternoon. I have never gone more than a few hours without Landon. Even when family watched him overnight for us, we always dropped him off late & picked him up early.

At first, I thought it would be good to have a little break. I have been super stressed and Landon can sense it. My mom is getting gray hair just because of Landon’s hyperactive-ness and…well, toddler-ness! She loves him and knows it’s not his fault, but I know she’s getting tired :p

So every few hours I have text Cody. I know Landon is fine, but I just worry. He has a new puppy to play with and lots of toys there.

Puppy Kisses <3

Dinner was really quiet, clean and boring. We ate dinner in like 20 minutes. Now I'm laying in our room & thinking about how quiet it is. It just makes me sad. Do you think he realizes that I'm not there? I hope he misses me, but I don't want him to walk around looking for me. Ugh. I'm just a bag of mixed emotions right now :p

Landon & his new puppy

Well, now that I have gotten all that off my chest, I do feel a little better. I still wish Landon was here and not at his dad’s but Landon does love Cody and Cody is a very good father to Landon.

Are you a single parent? How did you manage to enjoy that first weekend?

Can you believe Suburban Coupon Mom has been blogging for a year now?! I look forward to the day I reach such a great milestone.

Her way of saying ‘Thank You’ for sticking around for so long is by having a GIVEAWAY! I have teamed up with some AMAZING bloggers, with help from them and some awesome sponsors we are able to bring you this fantastic giveaway!! There will be 16 winners in this giveaway…Yes, you read that correct 16 people will win in this fantastic event!!

The prizes are

1- $100.00 – Visa Gift Card

4 – $50.00 Gift Cards for Target, Toys R Us,
Visa, Amazon ( 1 Each)

8 – $25.00 Gift Cards for The Disney Store,
Build a bear, ITunes, Old Navy, DSW, Sephora, Amazon and Uncommon Goods (1 Each)

3 – Thermal Aid Bears

Make sure you get as many entries as
possible you wont want to miss out!!

Giveaway will run from Sept 1st 12:01am ET to Sept 14th 12:01am ET

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So I was recently emailed about an opportunity to giveaway a Milk Unleashed variety pack consisting of four shelf safe milks (white and
chocolate) from: Hershey’s, LaLa, Horizon OR Organic Valley. Plus the variety pack will have a cow stress ball and information on
shelf safe milk!

I haven’t tried shelf-safe milk yet, but it sounds really convenient. I mean, it’s put on the shelf and doesn’t take up more room in the fridge. The best part is, it comes in different flavors. I love chocolate milk. Yum!
For all you busy mommies that have kids in school, then rushing to soccer practice and ballet practice, this is great for you! Just toss a container or 2 in your bag and off you go!

So there’s this app that has fun ‘On-the-go’ games, tips & recipes. It’s called the Milk Unleashed App. I sat here for about 20 minutes playing with it before I wrote up this post. It’s pretty fun & I have a few of the recipes I’m going to try. Yum!

You must be 18 years of age or older to enter this giveaway. The giveaway will run from now until September 10th 2012. The winner will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen in their place. Written By Mama is not responsible for shipping prizes and will not be held responsible for any prize not received. Milk will be chosen at random by one of the brands listed above.

GOOD LUCK!!!

To enter, leave a separate comment for each entry – you can Tweet daily, just make sure you leave a new comment for each tweet!

1. Using the app above tell me what kind of “Family On The Go” you are by clicking on the ‘Take The Quiz’ option then leave a comment below.
2. Tweet this – “Family adventures can be more fun with shelf-safe milk enter a #MilkUnleashed #giveaway @WrittenByMama & @milkunleashed http://bit.ly/NA9j75” Once you Tweeted it, leave a comment with the link.
3. Follow @milkunleashed on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know you did, along with your Twitter handle.

I was recently given the opportunity to review the Back To School Pack of Lovable Labels.

I was super excited to try out my labels when they arrived. So I started sticking them on everything. After all, what doesn’t need to be labeled…right? I have to admit, I never thought Landon would go to daycare – I thought I would stay home with him until he started school. Well, before Cody and I separated I realized that Landon would have to go to daycare while I went to work (don’t even ask how the job search is going, please). Anyways, I was excited to know that I already had something covered – labeling. Like most daycare facilities, the ones I have looked at all require Landon to have his stuff labeled.

First, I labeled all his sippy cups, bowls, some clothes, a pair of shoes and his backpack. I’m sure you’re wondering what a toddler is doing with a backpack when he’s not going to school or daycare at this time – well, I found it’s easier (and way more cute) to put diapers and such in his monkey bag. He also likes to carry it! See, why would I carry a diaper bag when he carries his monkey bag :p

Next thing I did was go through and wash everything that had labels (that could be washed). All the cups & bowls washed without losing their labels! I was excited. Next was to check the clothes. Guess what? Those were also still where I put them

What I love most about the clothing dots, is you don’t have to iron them on. You just stick it to the clothing label and that’s it! I’m going to admit, I wasn’t a very good housewife – I never ironed :p

Knowing that everything was waterproof, I went on to labeling other things that I wanted labeled – such as his favorite books. I couldn’t resist putting little transportation labels on his transportation books :p
I also love how thin the slimline labels are, it makes it easy to stick on just about anything!

If you haven’t noticed already, the transportation design I chose is super cute and brightly colored. Each set of labels has a different vehicle on it. If your child isn’t into vehicles, there are tons of other designs and even solid colors you can choose from. There is room on each label, for up to 20 characters, making it completely customize-able and as unique as your child.

I love that the stickers come in an easy to store, not bulky book.

Want to know something else that’s totally awesome? Lovable Labels doesn’t just cater to kid’s labels. If you don’t have kids, are slightly OCD or just enjoy organization, then you should check out their household labels.

So here are a few facts about Lovable Labels:

Owner & president of Lovable Labels was founded by your average mom, Laura Porreca. She was in the market for a good, sturdy label (like every other mom), to labels her child’s belongings. See? It’s daycare.
Lovable Labels helps give back to schools, communities and more. They offer fundraising for sports teams, daycare centers, camps and more.

If you’re a blogger, they have a great blogging program (duh) and even an affiliate program. The affiliate program would be great if you’re trying to monetize your blog/website.

Here are a few facts about the Back-To-School kit I received:

They’re available in 12 designs/colors and there are 45 different icons total.
Each label is dishwasher safe, microwave safe (not that you’re going to nuke your toddler’s shoes), waterproof and UV resistant. I think it’s great to have UV resistant labels in Texas.
Each kit includes 15 Sticker Labels, 80 Slimline Labels, 12 Shoe Labels, 48 Press n’ Stick Clothing DOTS™, 2 Mini-Metal Tags (two 4” silver ball chains included) and 12 Square Labels.

So guess what? Lovable Labels have given me the thumbs up to giveaway a package of their Back-To-School pack of labels, that you can customize with your child’s name! You can enter my Lovable Labels giveaway now! Good luck y’all (:

If you haven’t already, please read my Lovable Labels review.

I seriously wish I could curl up with a teddy bear, when I see this picture :p

So the lovely folks from Lovable Labels has given me the a-okay to host a giveaway for a package of their Back-To-School labels. The kit includes:
15 Sticker Labels
80 Slimline Labels
12 Shoe Labels
48 Press n’ Stick Clothing DOTS™
2 Mini-Metal Tags (two 4” silver ball chains incld)
12 Square Labels

If you don’t win, here’s a coupon code for $5 and purchase over $25! This code is only good until September 30th, so don’t delay.

BTS201241

All you have to do is enter using the Giveaway Tools form below! Please read the following rules before you enter. By entering the giveaway, you are agreeing to each and every rule – no exceptions.

This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Facebook, Twitter or any other social media site. The giveaway is open to residents of the US & Canada. You must complete the first entry in order to be eligible to win. You must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. The giveaway will run from NOW(!!) until September 10th, 2012 at 12 (noon) EST. Winner will be emailed within 48 hours from the end of the giveaway, they will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Please make sure you check your spam folders or add [email protected] to your safe senders list. If the winner doesn’t respond, a new winner will be chosen in their place. Odds of winning are based on the number of entries you complete and the number of people that enter.

Here’s the giveaway form…GOOD LUCK!

…

How many times do I have to tell you that I love Halloween? Well, I’m sure I’ll tell you 100 more times before Halloween is actually here.
I was searching through EdenFantasys the other day and found some really cute costumes – I’ve become a little more familiar with the website since my last post. Seeing the costumes got me thinking about how close Halloween really is. I mean let’s face it, 63 days isn’t much time to prepare for a spooky haunted house and get the perfect outfit. Especially if you have other day-to-day obligations, like work and/or school.
So where do you find time to shop for that perfect costume? Well, by shopping online! Not only do they have women’s costumes, but they also have men’s costumes! I’m contemplating getting the Haunted House Mistress outfit or the Robyn Da Hood outfit, before my size is sold out. It’s really cute and not too revealing. The best part is, it’s on sale and comes with free shipping! Who doesn’t love free shipping? Once you start looking through all the costumes, you’re bound to find something you like. Especially since sizes run from small to 4X in most costumes/outfits. Go ahead, check it out!

EdenFantasys is an adult site. Please do not visit unless you are 18 years of age (21 in some states) or older. Thank you.

I love Rubbermaid products. I have always found that they make things just a little easier. So when I had the opportunity to review a Rubbermaid LunchBlox Sandwich Kit, I was super stoked.

The first thing I did when I received my LunchBlox Sandwich Kit, was pop it in the dishwasher. Guess what? It’s dishwasher safe, so I wasn’t worried about it getting ruined – because let’s face it, if it’s not dishwasher safe it’s not getting washed tonight :p
When everything came out of the dishwasher, it was clean (not that it was really dirty prior to) and nothing was warped.

Since the ice-pack had to be chilled, I popped it in the fridge over night and decided I would worry about making lunch in the morning. Before I did that though, I decided to “play” with it a little. You know I can’t get anything without messing with it first. That’s when I realized, no matter what way you assemble the kit, it all snaps in place!

3 different ways to assemble the LunchBlox Sandwich Kit using the Blue Ice Pack

So after I got the Blue Ice Pack chilled, I packed Landon’s lunch (we were going to grandma’s to help her unpack) and that’s when I realized that it doesn’t fit into his lunch box while stacked. BUT it really didn’t matter, because it still all fit into his lunch box perfectly. Most importantly though, it kept his food chilled.

Everything perfectly placed into Landon’s lunch box

Something I really, really like about the Rubbermaid LunchBlox Sandwich Kit is, each compartment is perfectly proportioned. I was able to fit almost a whole apple, sliced, into the medium one. Then, there was peanut butter in one of the small ones & cucumber quarters in the other one.

Apples & peanut butter – Yum!

My second favorite thing about the Rubbermaid LunchBlox Sandwich Kit is, the large compartment, where the sandwich should go, is large enough to hold anything. It doesn’t have to be a sandwich. Which is nice for right now since, Landon doesn’t really like bread and usually tosses it to the side. So I tend to give him leftovers or something else for lunches.
I was able to pack enough fajita meat for Landon and I both to have 1 wrap each – there was a TON of room left. I could have easily packed enough for 5 wraps, maybe even 6.

Yum, fajitas!

Other meals I’ve packed in the Rubbermaid LunchBlox Sandwich Kit include:
~ Cereal & banana slices (the large container and 1 small container).
~ Sandwich, grapes, carrots and avocado slices.
~ Chicken Salad, cucumber quarters, grapes & cherries

My all time favorite thing about the LunchBlox Kit, is the fact that even if you don’t have a dishwasher it’s really easy to clean. I was able to hand wash the kit without any problems. There are no tight spots or creases inside the containers, so there is no chance that food will get stuck.

Another thing that makes this kit completely awesome is that it stacks, so it’s not taking up hardly any room in your cupboards. I always recommend their Easy Find Lids – I have never had a problem with them in my cabinets

So now that I have rambled on about what I think of it, why don’t I give you a few facts!

~ If your lunch box doesn’t comfortably fit, you can buy a LunchBlox Lunch Bag. Which is designed to fit your sandwich kit perfectly in place, while stacked.
~ Microwave, Dishwasher, and Freezer Safe
~ Sandwich container holds regular and specialty bread

Each kit includes:
2 Snack Containers (.5 cup capacity), 1 Side Container (1.2 cup capacity), 1 Sandwich Container (2.6 cup capacity) and 1 Medium Blue Ice

Size:
4.81″ l x 5.625″ w x 5.25″ h

The LunchBlox Sandwich Kit is currently available for purchase at Rubbermaid.com, Target, Kmart, Kroger, Safeway, Bi-Lo, Winn-Dixie, HEB, other grocery stores and select Wal-Mart stores. I have heard others even say they’ve seen them at Walgreen’s! If you go online, you can also find a coupon for $1.50 off! *Coupon valid in the US only*

So, remember last month when I started an awesome giveaway for 2 free tickets to LEGO KidsFest in Austin, Texas? Well, that giveaway ended and guess what? I have a winner!
Let’s all give a huge congrats to Debbie! She’s taking her little one to LEGO KidsFest. Maybe while there, they’ll see the awesome LEGO Master Builders and maybe even suck up some LEGO bricks in a Bissell Sweeper!

Master Model Builder Chris Steininger in Hartford, Connecticut

Me? I’m going on Saturday, September 1st. I’m so excited. I know Landon is going to have a blast with the DUPLO LEGOS. I’m most excited to see all the life-sized models that are made completely of LEGO bricks! Don’t worry, I’ll take lots of pictures and there will be a blog post about it

I <3 Batman

I'm super excited about this event. This will be the first time Landon has gone to something like this. I mean, he's gone to Zoomerang but that's different. I'm excited to get him out of the house to experience fun stuff. Since it seems like we're always stuck in the house. Always.

Here's the details:

When: August 31st - September 2rd 2012
Time: Friday 4pm-8:30pm Saturday 9am-1:30pm & 3pm-7:30pm Sunday 9am-1:30pm & 3pm-7:30pm
Each time & date offers the exact same exhibits and activities. Tickets are normally sold out before the Friday, so you should buy your tickets early. LEGO KidsFest tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for children and can be purchased online.

Among the many LEGO attractions, families will find:

• LEGO Model Gallery: 40 life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks

• LEGO Master Builders: live demonstrations and activities from the crew who get paid to play

• Creation Nation: build your own creation to add to a custom map of the U.S.

• Race Ramps: build your own custom car, then race it down the ramp against friends and family

• LEGO Games Arena: roll the dice to play LEGO board games

• Construction Zones: creative free build, play and display areas

• LEGO DUPLO®: younger visitors can explore imagination through building

• LEGO Retail and KidsFest Marketplace: purchase LEGO merchandise and official KidsFest tour goods

• Brick Pile: a gigantic pile full of LEGO bricks for creative play and enjoyment

• Monochromatic Builds: bricks of a single color to foster group creativity

• Brickscapes: fantastic displays that combine lots of LEGO and DUPLO sets

• LEGO Universe: become a custom LEGO Minifigure in this multiplayer online game

• And much more, covering over 150,000 square feet of space

They’re even selling LEGO merchandise and tour goods! I love collecting little things like that for Landon’s memory box. It’ll be nice to open it up in 20 years (or so) and see a souvenir from the day we went. Nothing better than good memories

Okay, so I have completely rambled on about going to LEGO KidsFest – because I’m super excited, are you going? I would love to see you there!

I love, love make-up. I love a good make-up though, not something that cakes onto your skin or clogs your pores. So when Trinkies asked me to be part of this awesome giveaway, I jumped on the opportunity!

At BFTE Cosmetics you’ll find the latest looks and colors. They even have a “Get the Look” section where you can see how their colors can be used together to create beautiful looks for
you. It doesn’t stop at eye shadows, BFTE has a wide variety of products, mineral foundation, mineral blush, makeup brushes and more!

What girl doesn’t like new cosmetics? Not many that we know of! So, Trinkies teamed up with BFTE Cosmetics to bring you this great giveaway where one lucky winner will receive $35 credit to be used at BFTE Cosmetics.

The giveaway will run from August 21, 2012 to Midnight (EST) August 31st. Winner will be notified via email and/or via Facebook message.

• All entries are chances to win. The more you complete, the
  more entries you receive.
• All rafflecopter entries will be verified.
• All winners are subject to be publicly announced on blogs
  and social networks.
• Giveaway is open to US residents.
• If the winner is not verified and replied within 48 hours we
  reserve the right to choose a new winner.
• You must be 18 years old to enter to win. This giveaway is,
  in no way, affiliated with Facebook.

Please allow the rafflecopter widget to load
below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Written By Mama is not responsible for sponsor prize delivery.

So today’s blogging challenge is, “What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever blogged about?”
I didn’t have to think. I didn’t have to flip through my posts. I knew instantly.

The time I found out I had hemorrhoids. I know, it’s an extremely personal topic AND it’s kinda yucky to talk about. However, I spent 4 hours in the emergency room after passing blood for an entire weekend. I think it was worth blogging about. Don’t you?

I never had any until I had Landon, and actually never until that weekend. Which was less than 3 months ago. It was awful. The entire experience in the ER. The pain. The embarrassment. Everything. I still think about that trip and shudder.

So tell me, what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever blogged about? Don’t blog? What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever posted on Facebook or Twitter?