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Ya know, I love Boogie Wipes. Ever since I got to review them last year, I have been addicted. I am even a brand ambassador for Boogie Wipes and Kandoo Products! Well anyways, I received an email this morning about this amazing contest Boogie Wipes is holding.

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We loooove our Boogie Wipes, which is why I looooove being a Saline Ambassador! I just got an awesome email from the Boogie Moms with some sweet deals. They’re too good not to share with everyone!

The first deal is a coupon for $1.50 a package of Boogie Wipes (30, 45 or 90ct packages only). If you’re in the US you can download the coupon HERE. If you’re in Canada, you can download the coupon HERE. Make sure you print quick because these coupons expire on Feb. 17th!

On Sunday, March 3rd, there’s going to be a coupon in the paper! So if you don’t get the paper, make sure you run out early, because we all know they’ll be gone in a flash.

How about a making a Candy-Heart Letter with your kids for their teacher? You can find out how to do that HERE.

How about a Kandoo giveaway? The first 500 people that sign up to receive the Kandoo Newsletter will receive a special Kandoo Prize pack! You can sign up HERE. Let me know if you get one

Cody’s all time favorite sports team was the Boston Red Sox. He had an unbelievable amount of Red Sox tops and even more Red Sox caps. Every payday, Cody set aside money to purchase new Red Sox gear. It was kinda annoying, honestly. Even though he’s passed, I want to keep that memory alive. So when I found out Kolcraft was teaming up with Major League Baseball, and the Boston Red Sox was one of the teams on the strollers, potty rings and step stools, I couldn’t pass it up. I know Cody is thrilled, that his baby boy will be riding around in style

Shaun pushing Landon in his new Boston Red Sox stroller from Kolcraft

Interested in more info about the MLB line, including what other teams are on the new Kolcraft products? Check out the Kolcraft Blog! I’ll have a review [and giveaway!!] coming in March, so make sure you check back often. You don’t wanna miss this.

Loving his new stroller

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!

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…

We’re in the countdown now y’all. Do you realize this is the night most kids all around the world have waited for – and it will officially be the longest day of the year for us mommies and daddies.
Want to see how much longer you have to wait until you kick your kids to bed? Then you really should check out NORAD!

Not only can you track Santa’s journey but they also have other activities! Let your kids play some games while you prep the dinner, get the house ready and even wrap those last minute presents.

Just so you know, he’s on his way to the Philippines – only 12 more hours till bed time! Yay!

This post is NOT a sponsored post. I just thought it would be fun to track Santa Please view my Full Disclosure.

There are so many things in life that can spark a memory – some good & some bad. Since Cody passed, my memories are triggered by the most random things. A street sign. A smell. A sound. A voice. Today I was sitting here thinking about Christmas traditions and how I’m going to do it different next year. That’s when I remembered Christmas 2009. It was mine and Cody’s second Christmas together. Cody bought me everything I wanted – I didn’t know at the time though. I was so impatient to see what I got that we decided early on in December that we could each open one gift early…like 10 days early LOL. I got the knife set I wanted! He got the X-Box game he wanted!

Then the next day we decided we could each open one more gift. This went on for 2 more days. Then finally we said screw it. We opened all our gifts almost a week before Christmas! As a kid we had a tradition, on Christmas Eve, all the kids got to open one gift. It was a gift that the parents chose and then we had to go to bed. So Cody and I adopted that tradition, except for Christmas 2009. By the time Christmas Eve got there, we had nothing left to open – seriously. Christmas morning came and again, there was nothing – I think that’s the year I stopped believing in Santa (I was 20 years old, BTW).

Since that year, we decided to do it by the books – absolutely no presents will be opened until Christmas Day. With the exception of one on Christmas Eve. We only got to share two more Christmases with that tradition, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. This year, I have held to that tradition. Next year…well next year I will be starting a new tradition with Landon. We will find the way we want to celebrate the holidays, without it being too painful. But for now, we will celebrate it the way Cody and I did.

We hear about it in the news every year, someone’s house was broken into just days before Christmas and all their gifts were stolen. I know Christmas isn’t about receiving, it’s not really about giving either. It’s about Christ.
However, who wants to spend hundreds (possibly a couple thousand) of dollars on gifts, to have them stolen? Cody and I had that happen our first Christmas together. It was horrible.

So I’ve gathered a few tips to help keep the boogie man away from your house this season:

• Keep gifts out of site.  I know people like to put their Christmas Tree in the window, where passerby’s can see it. But if your gifts are wrapped and placed early, that’s a sure way of calling for the boogie man. Either move your tree or keep gifts in the closet until Christmas Eve.
• Don’t let your house look unoccupied. If you’re leaving town for a few days, or even weeks, there are a few things you can do to keep your house looking “busy”; Ask a neighbor to check in every morning and/or night. Ask your neighbor, or friend, to check your mail – thieves will also take Christmas mail if they think there’s cash or gift cards (you can also cancel your mail for the duration of your vacation). Never leave your trashcan on the curb for longer than a day. Ask someone to turn on different lights in your house. Having someone you know & trust coming in and out of your house can be good!
• Break down boxes. This is good for before, during and after Christmas Day. If you have a brand new X-Box 360 or Playstation 3 box on the curb, not only does your trash-man see that, but so does the thief that’s been watching your house. Now they know exactly what to look for and they have the box!
• Use black trash bags. If possible, place all empty Christmas packages, wrapping paper, and boxes (mentioned above) into a black trash bag. It’s impossible to quickly & easily see what’s inside a black garbage bag.
• Register your electronics. Take a few minutes after opening gifts to register your electronics. Don’t toss the box or receipt until you’ve done this. That way if your Sony Flat Screen is stolen, it’s on file & can easily be reported. I know most kids want to rip into & set up their toys right away, but this can really help.
• Be aware. Even in your own neighborhood, you need to be aware of your surroundings. This isn’t just during the holidays, but you really want to look around before toting in all those gifts. Most people shop & bring home gifts when they’re alone – that way your spouse & kids don’t see them. You don’t want the boogie man to see you walking into the house alone. Most thieves prefer to break in when no one is home, but you can never be too sure this season.

Do you have any really awesome tips for us, that I left out? Please share them in the comments! Let’s help stop the crime this season.

• Picture courtesy of the lovely Lindsay from Pandora’s Deals. Check her out, she rocks!

Today a dear friend said something, that normally wouldn’t bother me, about her ex-husband. Basically she said it’s inconvenient that he decided to be “daddy for the day”, over Skype. It hurt me because, even though he hasn’t been the best dad he’s trying to make an effort – even if for one day. That’s one more memory that her baby boy is going to have of his father.

I did a lot of ranting towards and about Cody. Unfortunately I realized, after it was too late, that every “inconvenient” moment was really a blessing in disguise. Landon might not remember Cody when he’s older, but right this second, he knows that Cody loves him more than anything in the world. Right now, he remembers Cody and that’s what’s important.
And unfortunately, there will come a day when Landon will want to know more about Cody because he’s forgotten who he was. Landon will never get to make his own opinion about the kind of father Cody was. He’s going to have to go off of what we tell him. That’s a day that I fear more than anything. So if your child is able to know his father and spend every “inconvenient” moment with him, then let him. Even if you have a grudge against your child’s father, let your baby make his own choice when he’s old enough. Not every child will get that chance.

I’m just a little jealous that most kids will get to know their daddy, while my sweet baby boy won’t.

We’re back on the roller coaster today.

No, we’re not at Hershey Park or Disney World. Oh how I wish it was that simple. Nope, today is a ride on the biggest, baddest, scariest roller coaster of momhood.

I have a teenager. A wonderful-terrible 14 year old who has decided that today, when mom has a dozen articles due on deadline and the dog just threw up on the carpet and the van is on the fritz is the absolute perfect time to launch into a full-on weeping, screaming, sobbing, sneering rant about absolutely everything in her life.
“My life is awful! You have no idea what it’s like!” (Throws herself down in a kitchen chair)
“You hate me! Everyone at school hates me!“ (Stops to check an incoming text message on her Android, then picks up the tirade…)
“I need to get ready for school. I hate school. I don’t have anything to wear.” (Storms off)

This daughter who just yesterday took over and made dinner because I was still fighting off this cold that won’t let go? This sweet child who last week got up early and made her lunch, loaded the dishwasher AND walked the dog? Yup. Same kid.
You who are new to mommy life have no idea what’s ahead. The terrible twos? Hah! A walk in the park! A grouchy 8 year old? A treat in comparison! Don’t believe me?
These days, within seconds it goes from sharing a funny story and a hug to tears and accusations that I’m doing absolutely everything to make her life miserable. And then, just as I think the roller coaster is about to jump off the track entirely, there’s another turn, and suddenly we’re on level track again, soaring through blue skies.

When my first child was born, I got lots of advice, like taking naps when the baby napped (Surprise! He never, ever napped!)
When my second baby arrived, so did more advice like making my historic home baby-safe (And yet, at 15 months I caught her standing on top of the pedestal sink, my lipstick in hand – and all over her face. But the cabinet locks and stair gates were securely in place!)
And when my third little one came along, the advice continued with ideas for finding “me time” amid the chaos (Yeah, right! There were far too many days when I couldn’t remember when I last showered, much less read a book or had a cup of tea while it was still hot!)
But no one, at any time, gave me any advice about the pre-teen and teen years.
No one offered sage wisdom for dealing with a 14 year old in full melt down 10 minutes before you have to leave for an important meeting. Or comforting a sobbing 15 year old when she’s certain that no one at school likes her, she’s never going to pass Algebra and her life will fall apart if she doesn’t get an iPhone.

Where were the dispensers of mommy-rules-of-life when you’re faced with a moody 12 year old who has decided that his English teacher is an idiot and he is just not going to do her assignments anymore? Especially when you agree that the woman is several crayons short of a box, but you don’t want to make it worse.

So here I stand today, facing a sobbing, ticked off teenager. But instead of getting mad, instead of searching frantically for advice for shutting off the fountain of tears and complaints so I can get back to work, I stop. And I remember. I remember what it’s like to be a high school freshman and insecure. I remember when a pimple was a crisis and not having the right jeans or shoes felt like an insurmountable barrier to ever being accepted. I remember when every other girl seemed to have it together while I was trying to keep track of my seemingly endless assignments and books and still make it to school looking at least okay. And I remember that she doesn’t know that most of the other kids in her class are feeling exactly the same way, no matter how cool and calm and pulled together they look to her. And I reach out and give her a hug. Magic? No way. She sneers and storms off, slamming her door, grabbing her backpack, heading out to the car so I can drive her to the school she hates.
But I smile. Sure the hug didn’t make it all better. But I know that somewhere inside of that angry-scared-tired-lost girl/woman it registered. And I know that at some point the roller coster will hit another smooth bit of track, where we can both catch our breath.
And from the vantage point of momhood, I can see and remember where the ride ends. And believe it or not, I know I will miss this stage as much as those dreaded terrible twos.

Lindsay Shugerman
This, That and the Other