Written By Mama

Archive for January, 2013

I am terrible at organizing. I am probably one of the most unorganized people you will ever meet. Well, if you’re like me (and Pandora’s Deals) you should check out ReStockIt.com. They sell tons of office and business supplies at the lowest prices. Pandora’s Deals was able to work with them to do a little makeover of her daughter’s teacher’s classroom! Check out Pandora’s Deals Review (please note link has been removed for Malware reasons, at this time) and see some of the awesome products that ReStockIt.com carries. Be sure to follow ReStockIt.com on Facebook and Twitter so you can be the first to hear about their latest products and promotions!

ReStockIt.com is generously offering one of our readers a $75 gift code to use on their site! This code is good for one-time use only for a purchase of $75 or more and will expire on April 15, 2013. The giveaway is open to US readers ages 18+ and will end at 12 midnight ET on February 8, 2013.

Good luck!

Self love is important. I use to have really low self-confidence, until I realized how totally awesome I am But I’m not the only totally awesome person, you are totally awesome too! You are just as important as anyone else on Earth.

Anyways, since I’m a Love Ambassador, I was asked to share this awesome video with you. It’s a love dare.

So what do you think? Can you do it? I did!

This is the first year, in many years, that Cody and I won’t be celebrating Valentine’s Day together. Even though I won’t be celebrating with Cody, I still found myself checking out the lingerie at EdenFantasys. Maybe it’s just habit? Anyways, while I was surfing the site, I found a ton of awesome promotions.

The shipping promotions are awesome! FREE Expedited shipping on orders of $35 or more. Or if you’re really loading up the basket, you can get FREE 3-Day shipping on orders $79 or more. I love free shipping. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that a time or two around the blog.

Another promotion I noticed, maybe because I was already looking at the lingerie, is a lingerie sale. You can save 25% on seductive lingerie. I think my favorite is the Red Babydoll & G-string. Well, maybe minus the panties that come along with it, I’m not a fan of wedgies. I think this outfit would make any mom feel super sexy for her special Valentine.

If you’re not looking for lingerie, but maybe something a little more exciting, there are discount codes available until February 1st! You can take 25% off any order, excluding Jopen items and sale items, with code PASSION25. More codes are available on their website.

Do you have anything special planned for Valentine’s Day?

It’s been a while since I’ve done Wordless Wednesday. It hasn’t been intentional, I’ve just been a little busy.
Anyways, today’s Wordless Wednesday post is about the pregnant bell pepper we had today!

I know this post is supposed to be wordless but, I have to tell you the story.

My mom: OMG It’s pregnant!
Me: Uh-huh….wait what?
My mom: Our pepper is pregnant! It’s got a baby!
Me: ….what?!…

Yup…it was definitely pregnant.

Raise your hand if you love convenience. If you didn’t just raise your hand, clearly you don’t have kids. If you do have kids, then you know the importance of convenience. So when I was introduced to the BubbleBum, an inflatable booster seat, I was so amazed. This booster seat was invented for convenience. It was invented for parents by a parent.

BubbleBum was founded by Safekids USA Certified CPST Grainne Kelly from Northern Ireland who, like many other parents, was appalled by the lack of car booster seats available from car rental desks even when booked in advance.

Anyways, how about the facts?
BubbleBum is constructed with material similar to life vests. You can purchase it in one of 2 colors, black and purple.
You can seat 3 kids in the backseat, using the BubbleBum Booster Seat.

Seriously, you can deflate it! Once deflated, you can roll it up and put it back into the drawstring bag. Then you can store it in your glove compartment or in the trunk. That’s definitely a space saver.

Okay, now onto what I think of the product:
When I first received my BubbleBum I was excited. Really excited. I remember growing up and my booster seat was made from a very hard styrofoam. So the idea of something comfortable, for Landon, was really exciting.
Anyways, so I pulled everything out and started reading the instruction manual. Yeah, I’m mom enough to admit I read the instructions lol
Anyways, after reading the instructions, I went ahead and blew up my BubbleBum. When I said it’s inflatable, I wasn’t kidding. You really do blow it up! It’s really easy though. I thought it was going to be hard, because let’s face it, using your breath to blow things up, sucks. It wasn’t difficult at all though. I think it took me 20-ish seconds to do this.

I know, it’s a horrible picture with the glare from the sun :-/

There are a few things I love about the BubbleBum. The first thing I love, and helps make this booster seat super safe is the belt positioning clips.

The Belt Positioning clip are constructed of high press metal and ABS. These positioning clips hold the lap portion of the belt low down on the child’s lap and away from the soft tissue of the abdomen.

Remember earlier, when I mentioned the kind of booster seat I had? Well it didn’t have belt positioning clips. It’s amazing to see how safety has changed in such a short time (because I’m really young, get it? lol)

The other thing I really like about the BubbleBum is the Shoulder Belt Positioning Clip. It helps make sure that the seat belt is properly positioned across your child. It’s adjustable, so it grows with your child’s height. Safety is the most important when it comes to our children, right?

When I was done using the BubbleBum, I went ahead and deflated it to see how easy it was to store. Wow! All you have to do is open the little valve, and roll up the booster seat. Then you put it back in the drawstring bag and store it where you want to store it. In my case, I put it in the back of my blazer.

As much as I love this product, y’all should know that I didn’t drive Landon around on it, because he’s only 2 years old. I did however get to drive my friend’s daughter to the grocery store! She said “It’s more comfortable than the one mom makes me sit on.”

Now something you should know about this product, it’s possibly the most versatile product ever. Here’s why: You can use it in the car, on an airplane, on the bus, you can carry an extra in case you have an unexpected little-guest. It’s easier (and more space efficient) to give grandma the drawstring pouch than it is to transfer over your booster seat.

Okay, so now that I’ve gone on forever about how awesome this is, you’re probably asking about the price. It’s priced around the same as many other backless booster seats! Except is way cooler
The next question you’re probably asking is, where can I buy this?! Well the BubbleBum has just launched at many Target stores! You can find a store near you by using their Store Locator.

If you live in the San Antonio area, here are the local Target’s that are currently selling BubbleBum:
18255 Blanco Rd
San Antonio, TX
78258

11311 Bandera Rd
San Antonio, TX
78250

22832 US Highway 281 N
San Antonio, TX
78258

5355 W Loop 1604 N
San Antonio, TX
78253

The lovely folks at BubbleBum are offering one of my readers the chance at winning their own BubbleBum Inflatable Backless Booster Seat! You can enter my giveaway HERE.

Tired of dragging around a bulky, uncomfortable booster seat? Well I recently got to review the BubbleBum, an inflatable, portable, light-weight booster seat. Make sure you check out my BubbleBum review to see how awesome this thing really is! BubbleBum is generously offering one of my readers their own inflatable booster seat also!

When you’re done checking out my review, make sure you follow them on Facebook and Twitter to see updates, contests and other safety tips!

This giveaway is only open to US residents that are 18 years of age or older. Giveaway Tools will generate a winner, and I will email them. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or a new winner will have to be chosen in their place. You must complete the mandatory entries in order to be entered to win the contest. Written By Mama is not responsible for shipping the prize.

Good luck!

OMG so I was on Pinterest today (holy wow, I bet you woulda never guessed lol) and I found the most amazing (and ridiculously easy) cookie recipe. It may only be super amazing because it’s got salty pretzels and chocolate in it (and well, what woman doesn’t want that mixture for about a week each month?!)

Anyways, I did change it up just a little bit because…well because I wanted to lol

What You Need:

Mixer (hand or stand)
Brownie pan
Aluminum foil
Baking spray
1C Flour
1/2 TSPN baking soda
1/2 TSPN salt (um, I kinda eyeballed it)
1/2C of butter, softened
5 TBSPNS granulated sugar
5 TBSPNS of light brown sugar
1 egg, room temp
1 TSPN vanilla extract
1 package of Guittard Milk Chocolate Chips (you can use semi-sweet if you want – this ingredient is slightly altered to accomodate my local grocery store’s inventory.)
1 handful of salted pretzels. (I used alphabet pretzels because that’s what Landon liked)
1 handful of Valentine’s Day M&M’s (okay, I may have used a little more than a handful lol)

What You Need To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 375*
2. Line the brownie pan with aluminum foil then grease the foil with baking spray.
3. In a small bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Set bowl aside.
4. In your stand mixer (or bowl with hand mixer) cream both sugars and the softened butter.
5. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix well.
6. Add flour mixture. Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.
7. Then remove bowl from stand and mix in the chocolate chips. Leave a few out to treat yourself for doing so well so far. Mix the chips by hand so they don’t break into pieces and melt into your cookie mix.
8. Spread the cookie dough evenly throughout the foiled, greased pan.

9. Sprinkle the pretzels and M&M’s on the top of the cookie mix. Slightly press toppings into the batter, that way they stay in place when done cooking.
10. Bake for 20-30 mins or until the edges are browned. Mine are slightly overcooked, that’s why it looks so dark.
11. Let cool for 2 minutes, then remove the foil (with the cookie in place) to help cool the cookie faster. Enjoy!

You can alter this for different holidays just by changing the M&M’s. I love recipes like that! Tweet me pictures if you make them!
If you like it, feel free to share it using the buttons below!

Recipe altered from Knead To Cook‘s recipe.

Check out Pandora’s Deals reviewof the four products that she got to try. Be sure to follow Mia Mariu on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to be the first to hear about their latest products, promotions, and more! You can learn even more about the company by checking out some of their YouTube videos.

Mia Mariu is generously giving one of our readers all four of the same products that Pandora’s Deals got to review! The prize pack includes the following awesome products: the Refreshing Foaming Gel Cleanser, the Mineral Cream Concealer, the Volumizing and Lengthening Mascara, and the Hydrating Stick Gloss. Read all about each one in my review. The winner can choose their own shades of concealer and gloss. This prize pack is valued at $62! This giveaway is open to US residents ages 18+ and ends on January 30 at 12 midnight ET.

Good luck!

I use to think that the phrase “one day your home will be quiet again” was a sick joke made up by a man. After Cody passed I was overwhelmed with the lack of alone time I was getting. Having a toddler to raise alone isn’t easy.
I have decided, since I have a steady, reliable income I’m not going to work outside the home. Instead, I’m going back to school. I have to wait for paperwork from the Veterans Affairs but when it comes back, then it’s done! I’m kinda excited, and really nervous. Blah, blah, blah…

Anyways, about a month or 2 after Cody passed, I decided to go on Ft. Hood and see what childcare they could offer me. In the civilian world, childcare is expensive. The cheapest I’ve found was almost $200 a week! That wouldn’t be too bad, but you have to pay that amount every week even if your child only goes 1 or 2 days out of that week! I have enough to live and support Landon, but I don’t have enough to pay that much for childcare.
I was told, because Cody was not active duty when he passed, they couldn’t help me. Cody was a Veteran. I have a military ID still, I get to keep all my military benefits. He wasn’t just chaptered out. He had physical and mental illnesses due to being in Iraq. If you’re familiar with the military life, then you know what that little brown military ID card is for. Why would I have that ID card if I can’t utilize all my benefits? Frustration and disappointment was kicking in.

So I went to the Survivors Center to see what they could do for me…
After the wonderful Miss Renee made a single phone call (yup just one call), guess what? I have an appointment tomorrow morning to register Landon at daycare! The best part? I can actually afford to drop him off there! It’s hourly, so I don’t have to pay an absurd amount each week – and there’s no registration fee!

The phrase “one day your home will be quiet again” is no longer a sick joke. It’s a reality just a few days away!
So feel free to do a mini-victory dance for me

I wonder how I should celebrate…

I am determined to (finally) make 2013 the year I get organized! Okay, that’s a little bit of a lie. I’m not in a rush to organize myself anymore than last year LOL. But Lindsay from Pandora’s Deals is off to a wonderful start, thanks to the folks at momAgenda who have thought of everything. Check out her review of their Desktop Planner (I hear she’s seriously loving this thing!) and be sure to follow momAgenda on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to hear about their latest products and promotions!

momAgenda is generously offering one of our readers their very own Desktop Planner! This giveaway is open to US residents ages 18+ and ends at 12 midnight ET on January 21, 2013.

Good luck!