V: Season One on DVD

Do you watch the V on ABC? I can't believe a new season is starting already, Tuesday, January 4th.

This past season was a great one, that makes you wonder what is out there. How do you think you would respond if visitors would land in your town? Not that I think it would happen, that's for sure. I would be a little worried and would be scared of what else is to come, not sure how I would react until it happened, but like I said I don't see it happening any time soon. ;o)

The show is a great show, and if you haven't seen it you should check it out. You can even watch recaps online here. If you already love the show the first season is already out on DVD and would make an excellent Christmas present! It would be a great way to recap over the show before the new season starts.

What are you waiting for, time is running out visit http://bit.ly/e6ABTG to pick up your set before the Season 2 Premiere!

Disclosure: I have been hired by Warner Bros. WBWord division to promote V: The Complete First Season on DVD. You can purchase a copy here: http://bit.ly/e6ABTG.

Forgiveness

Have you ever had something happen in your life so major that you just couldn't get past it no matter what? I have had a burden on me for going on three years.

Until last night I have been praying and struggling so hard with what happened and wanting this burden off my shoulders, but no matter what I could not let it go. Until last night God has kept me struggling with it, not sure why but I know there was a reason, as there is always a reason with all that God does in our lives.

I will not go into detail, but I know that I am free of the burden and God opened my eyes and wants me to be a better person. I feel free of what happened a few years back and so I can move on with my life and with the rest of the family this happened with. I just felt like I was never going to be free of this, and I just could not understand why God would let me stay so miserable with this. I may never know, however I do know I am free now with his help and I can move on with my life.

If you have something that is a burden and you need understanding, give it to God. In time he will open your eyes and help you to understand and to forgive if that is what needs to happen. It may not happen overnight or when you want it to, but in his time he will help you with it.

DollyWood

How many of you have heard of DollyWood located in Pigeon Forge, TN? Where we live it is very common to hear about Pigeon Forge and DollyWood. I was just wondering how many other people have hear of Dolly Parton's DollyWood?

We live about 2.5 hours from there and we love it. I grew up going there each summer as we have family that lives there and worked at DollyWood and would always get us in.

Now that I have my own kids it's important for us to have fun and enjoy time at a theme park and we find that DollyWood is our choice. The park caters to families and the staff will help you any way they can, and they keep the park very clean and because of these reason's we choose to go back year after year and by season passes.

We went last weekend to visit for their Christmas lights and enjoy the show. Here are just a few pictures that I took while we were there.

If you are ever in the area of Pigeon Forge, TN stop in and see DollyWood or even Splash Coutry the water park there. I think you will be suprised how well Dolly makes sure everything is taken care of.

Wordless Wednesday

(Hard to believe my oldest son is in 6th grade band, seems like I was there just yesterday.)

2010 Holiday Showcase

I had the privilage of having a holiday showcase party from MomSelect. It was a great way to share some great gift ideas with others and so why not share them with you.



Here are just a few of the great ideas your little ones will love:

• Sneaky 3D puzzles - they are larger pieces which make it easier for the little ones and they will love how the puzzle comes to life!


• Play Doh Mega Fun Factory - will keep your little ones busy for hours.


• Play Doh Shape and Spin Elmo - what kid doesn't love Elmo and he will help them learn shapes, and to count.

Then last.... Small Frys from Build a Bear - they are so cute and they are the perfect size to take along. Your little ones can play online with them virtul world.

These are all great affordable gifts that your little ones will love and will even make great gifts to give to the other little ones you have to buy for.

Disclamer: I was sent the MomSelect Holiday Showcase from MomSelect, however the above opinon is from the heart.

It's almost here....

What you might ask, CHRISTMAS! Are you ready? I have been looking online and trying my best to come up with great and different ideas for the boys. It seems like all that kids want now days is what their friends are getting. When I was little I can remember asking for a type writer and weird things, not what my friends were getting. However, the difference now days is that everything is some how connected to something electronic. While looking online at CSNstores.com I came across some kids backpacks and they are so cute! It is for sure something I think little man will love as he can take it to preschool with him. Go on check them out they are so cute!

Christmas Cards

It is hard to believe that it is time for Christmas. It’s my favorite time of the year though, decorating the tree, house, and even my office at work. One thing that came to mind the other day is I still haven’t done my Christmas cards and it’s that time of year again! I told myself I would have them done by now and mailed, however that is not the case. I usually am on the ball and have them printed by the first of December, however with me working full time, going to school 3/4 time, and having a family, I am just behind.

Have you already sent yours out? Are you already starting to receive them in the mail? We received our first one this week, so I know that I am behind. When it comes to spending money I know that I want to get a good quality, as a lot of family and friends hold on to the pictures that I send out on our Christmas cards. It’s the one time of year that they can see how much the boys have grown and changed. That is why this year I have chosen Shutterfly.com, I have used them in the past and they have a quality I can’t pass up all they have to offer.

Personally for me, I love the ones that say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. With some companies they are hard to come by, but that is not the case with Sutterfly.

They have you covered in every way, as they have so much to offer besides cards. Have you ever thought of having a New Years Party and need invitations? Well shop no more, go on over to Shutterfly.com!

While you are there you can make a great present for your family or special friend. Have you ever thought of making a calendar as a gift? It would be great gift for the grandparents. They have so many designs to choose from on Shutterfly.com and they are at such a great price.

Wordless Wednesday!

Episencial Skincare Collection

Have you heard of it? If not, you are missing out!

Episencial Skincare is the all natrual way to take care of your little ones and the planet. Episencial Skincare is free from all the bad chemicals that companies add these days to our everyday products. Too they are socially responsible and they do not test their products on animals, they include organic ingredients and the bottles are made from recycled meterial. All their products are doctor recommended, so you know you are keeping your little ones best intrest at heart.

Episencial has you covered all the way as their line includes:

• Suuny Sunscreen SPF 35
• Protective Face Balm for all over relief of chapped skin and lips
• Soothing Cream for eczema, itches and bothered skin
• Sweet Dreams Bubble Bath
• Better Body Butter
• Playful Foaming Wash
• Nuturing Balm

We enjoyed smelling the products, and talking about them. We talked about how important it is to try to find the things that are good for our children while trying to help mother earth. We also talked about how for us it's hard to find in our local stores great products such as these. They smell great and we know they are great for our little ones. Each mom got her on bag of products to use on her little ones.

If you would like to get your hands on Episencial Skincare make sure to visit them at www.episencial.com! You can also check them out on Facebook at facebook.com/episencial or on Twitter @babyskincare!

Disclamer: I was sent the Episencial Skincare Collection from MomSelect to be host a for MommyParties. The above opinion is from the heart regarding Episencial Skincare.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I feel like I am behind, which I am. I have been meaning to update about Halloween and every thing else we have going on. I am a mom, student and work full time, so I haven't found a moment to do it. Well, that was until today.





I just wanted to share a couple of fall pictures with you all.

I also wanted to say....

Happy Thanksgiving!
May you and your family be blessed with family and friends, and truly be thankful for all that you have.

Thinking back....

Do you ever sit and think about when you were little? This afternoon, I was thinking back to when I was younger and how I use to day dream about how my life would unfold. All I could think about was how fast I wanted to grow up, and now that I am here there are days I wished I could go back being a kid. Do you ever have those days? I can remember my parents and other adults saying “Don’t wish that, it will be here before you know it.” Yeah right, I use to say to myself. Heck, I am an adult now and I am the one telling my son to stop saying the same thing. As we get older and life unfolds, I guess it is just a never ending circle of life. I now thinking about my older son’s future, and I have it all planned in my head. I can see him now, going off to college, getting a job, getting married, and having kids. Then again I wonder if it will happen like that, the way I have it all planned out. I know for me personally it did not happen the way I planned, nor the way my parents might have thought my life would turn out. I can say one thing though and that is that I am so thankful for the life God has granted me with, and I would not have it any other way.

10 Great Tips for First Time Moms

Our youngest son is two years old now, but it seems just like yesterday when we brought him home. At that time it had been a while since we had a baby in the house, as our older son was fixing to turn ten. It’s amazing how you forget so many little details, and it seems like it only takes a short time too. I know just in the past two years I am already forgetting a few things with our youngest. That’s why I have came up with some great tips for you first time moms to have for when you bring your little one home.

1. If you want to come home to an empty house without a lot of family there, tell them. I know I wanted help, but not the whole family there when I got home. Too this will help with the germ issue that you may be afraid of.
2. Have hand sanitizer ready for those who want to touch or hold the baby. This is the easiest way to kill the germs no matter where you are at.
3. When family and friend offer help, take it! I am not talking about the ones that just want to come over and hold the baby. (I know how some family members are.) I am talking about the ones who offer to cook, or offer to come do laundry, and then the ones who want to help with the baby so you can get rest.
4. Gas drops are a must, and please don’t be scared of them! While we were still in the hospital we had gas issues with little man and the nurse gave him gas medicine even then. It will become your best friend. I even used store brand gas drops and they did the trick just as good as the name brand.
5. Be realistic with yourself, you are going to come home tired and your significant other is too. It might be that you have to co-sleep with your little one to get some rest. I will be the first to tell you, you are not going to spoil your little one when they are that young.
6. If you plan to breastfeed, relax and enjoy it. I know for the first few weeks I was like all he wants to do is eat. I would feel like I just fed him and it was time to do it again. You will feel like they are attached to you for several weeks when you first bring them home, which can be very stressful especially if you are home by yourself. Just remember it is so worth it though!
7. Drink plenty of water, juice and things to keep you hydrated especially if you are breastfeeding. This will help your milk supply to stay up and hopefully bring your milk supply in faster.
8. Make sure you take your “me time” as you will need it. This will help you to be a better mom to your little one. Take a long shower or bath, go to the bedroom read a book, just relax without your little one around.
9. Make sure you are prepared to take care of yourself, stock up on those pads, etc that you might need when you get home. This is one thing I think a lot of us just totally forget about because we are so wrapped up in bring our little one home.
10. Don’t be afraid to see a doctor if you are depressed, it happens more than you will ever know. With my first son I did get depressed bad and had to have medicine to help me. With my second son I did not get depressed. Everyone is different, but don’t think you are crazy or the only one out there that is depressed, just ask for help.

One Bonus Tip: Trust yourself, you will know how to love and take care of your little one.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Lysol® Wee Wisdom blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Around the Corner....

is Christmas! Can you believe it? How many of you have already started your shopping? I heard some woman the other day in Wal-Mart saying she was done. What???

Hard to believe, guess more people are getting started earlier to beat the crowds. I know this year I myself have already got an earlier start and I am turning more to the internet. This year I have ordered several things fromCSNStores.com and I know that I am planning on looking there again for Christmas gifts. They have such great items to choose from and their prices are great! One thing is they have everything I can think of from a barstool to toys and anything in between. They have your whole list covered! I can say it will be very hard for you to not find someone something from CSN Stores, so stop by and check them out.

Wordless Wednesday

As I returned from the customer service desk at our local Wal-Mart this was what my husband and older son were doing with little man. ;o)

Simple Life

The simple life is something I feel that I have always lived. I feel that I am not a high maintenance woman as my childhood shaped the person that I am today. I know what it's like to not have money to do things with friends or to have the best name brand clothes as my friends. I would not dare say that I grew up poor as I was blessed in many other ways. I grew up living right next to my grandparents farm and that is one thing I am so grateful for. Without living like I did I feel that I would have never known what true hard work really is and what it is about. I am talking about hard work, working on a farm and working to pay for things in life, and not the extra stuff. I am talking about food on the table, clothes and things we had to have, no extras.

My dad's family is large as there are ten children total, my dad was the youngest. My dad was the only child to stay and live right next door and help out. My dad was the one to always help out with the maintenance of my grandparents house, to always keep the spring water going to our homes. The things my brother and I done were things like help cut wood, plant potatoes and dig them, help with the garden, mow, etc.

These are memories that I will forever hold dear to my heart, especially the planting a digging taters as we call them here. We are country, mountain people around these parts of North Carolina. ;)

This past weekend we dug our taters that we planted earlier in the year and it brought back so many memories of when I was younger. I had to take a picture of my dad on the tractor, it was with my husband's cell phone so it's not the best quality.
In the background you can see my aunt Christine, she came to help us. This field that we now plant is nothing like we use to plant. When I was smaller we would plant at least an acre field and it would take all day to do with 10 people helping. My job was to drag the chain after my uncles put down the fertilizer, and just before everyone else would lay down the taters behind me. I use to complain so hard about this job because it was hard work for a little girl like me to drag a heavy chain around. Looking back I see how important of a job it was as it helped those taters grow.

I am so blessed in many ways, especially now. Even my husband never had the opportunity like I did to learn how things work on a farm and what it's like to get eggs from a chicken, watch them ring the nose of a hog. These are small memories that I will hold so dear to my heart, and I want to say "THANK YOU" to my parents for raising me up like they did.

Wordless Wednesday

My World....

has not slowed down any! Ugh... I really thought I was going to get back into blogging more, however I haven't had a chance to work on it like I wanted to. On Wednesday I took my youngest son to daycare and he got sick so I ended up spending the day giving him extra TLC. Little did I know that on Thursday I would get to be the wonderful host to the stomach bug little man had on Wednesday. I was so sick Thursday night and into Friday, and I can say this was the worse stomach bug I have had in a while. During last week I missed two days at work and two days of classes and one of those days included my midterm exam. I was lucky enough to have a great teacher who put my test in the testing center and I got by there in the nick of time and took it. I am happy to report I made a 100 on that test. :o)

Little things like that make my day! I say that I am back and ready to get back into blogging, so stay tuned.

The New Adventures of Old Christine

How far would you go for your child? Like I have said before there have been times that I have felt like Christine with some of the moms at my sons school. I have wanted to be like Christine many times and say something like she would, however that's not the Christian in me and I will not stoop to there level even though it has crossed my mind.

I guess really I can't say that I have done anything major for my son, but if push come to shove and it involved my son I would be there for him.

Over all I think in some fashion all us moms can relate in some way to Christine and if you haven't seen the show you should! It's a great show to watch and maybe have some personal time to relax and laugh.

Tune in to "The New Adventures of Old Christine" 5 days a week! Check out http://www.oldchristineweekdays.com/listings/ to find your local show times.

Disclosure: I have been hired by Warner Bros WBWord division to raise awareness for 'The New Adventures of Old Christine'

Stop......

Over this past week at my full time job we lost an employee of a massive heart attack, who was only 53 years old. It was a shock to us all and we are dealing with it the best we can. This week has opened my eyes, and has made me really think about life. I have thought about what is important to me in life and what I hope to accomplish in life.

We all hear how we can all be taken from this life in a blink of an eye. However, until you go through having someone die close to you that you didn’t expect to be taken that early in life, I don’t really think anyone knows what that saying really means.

For me it has really opened my eyes this week, as I am being more aware of things around me and my family. I guess you could say the small things that we really don’t think about in our daily life. It really has made me STOP and think about life, and ask myself if I die today is there anything I wish I would have done. Also, if I died today would my family know what to do? I am not talking about living without me; I am saying my last wishes as to where I want to be buried, what I want to wear, etc. Who really STOPS and thinks about things like that at my age? I mean really?

I ask you to take a moment STOP and think about your life as we are not guaranteed another moment on this earth.

The New Adventures of Old Christine

Old Christine's world is crazy! Not only does she have to deal with her ex-husband Richard (who's still very much in her life, inspite of the fact he has new girlfriend also named Christine), but she also lives with her brother Matthew while raising her son Richie as a single mom. On top of that, she owns a gym with her best friend Barb, frequently goes on dates, and has to deal with the "meanie-moms" at her son's private school? Some how, though, Christine manages to juggle it all!

I think for many of us Mom's out there we can relate to this show. I know I sure can even though I am not divorced, a single mom or have my brother living with me. How do I relate to her? Well for the simple fact of juggling it all as a mom. What mom is not busy? I mean really if there is one out there I would love to meet with her. ;o)

I know from my own stand point that I fell like Christine sometimes at my sons school. Please do not get me wrong, I find nothing wrong with stay at home moms and I think it's great that you can do that and I wished I could. However reality for me is that I can not do that, but I do like to help out at my sons school as much as possible and my job allows me time to do so. Like I said before though at times I have felt like Christine with some of the moms at my sons school. As a lot of them are stay at home moms seem to be rude to moms like me who want to help out but are made to feel not as welcome or in their click. I have wanted to be like Christine many times and say something like she would, however that's not the Christian in me and I will not stoop to there level even though it has crossed my mind.

I think in some fashion all us moms can relate in some way to Christine and if you haven't seen the show you should! It's a great show to watch and maybe have some personal time to relax and laugh.

Tune in to "The New Adventures of Old Christine" 5 days a week! Check out http://www.oldchristineweekdays.com/listings/ to find your local show times.

Disclosure: I have been hired by Warner Bros WBWord division to raise awareness for 'The New Adventures of Old Christine'

Wordless Wednesday... Curiosity

Health Insurance

Health Insurance is a part of life especial now days and the key question that everyone asks who can afford it, right? Reality is that if you are unemployed you more than likely do not have health insurance, but I ask this. Do your children have health insurance?

I know you are thinking… How can I afford to keep insurance on them? My question to you is… How can you not?

What are you going to do once your child is sick or hurt and you now go to the emergency room and have a $5000 bill over your head? When you could have paid for a health plan and paid such a much smaller amount to cover what just happened.

Can you tell me there is a policy out there I can afford for my children? Yes!

The policy is with UnitedHealthCare StudentResources and let me tell you a little bit about why this is such a great policy.

The policy was created for K-12 students and is offered for school-age children ages 5-18 (4-18 in Texas). The plan is available through many participating school districts from small rural schools to some of the largest in the nation such as Los Angeles Unified and Miami/Dade County. UnitedHealthcare has made partnerships with thousands of school districts across the U.S. to provide a quality health insurance for your children.

You may ask “What if I have health insurance for my kids already?” I understand, but can I ask you a question. What is your deductible? This could be the policy that you have been waiting for. Let’s just say your insurance deductible is $1000 per person and you have to go to the emergency room. You may be required to pay that $1000 out of pocket but with this K-12 health plan also, you can get reimbursed for eligible medical expenses after the $50.00 deductible.

The prices are great! You can cover your child for as much as you probably pay for lunch at school.

The k-12 plan is affordable as the rates have not increased since 2006. ($588 per policy year or $147 a quarter or $98 every 2 months.) To get right down to it, that is about $1.61 per day.

What are the advantages?

• Same day enrollment and coverage
• Can be combined with other health insurance for extra protection
• $50 deductible per policy year
• Easy online enrollment
• Open enrollment throughout the school year and summer
• 24 hour protection for eligible injuries and sickness at home or at school
• Unrestricted choice of medical provider

How do you enroll?

1. Visit www.K12LearnMore.com and click on Plans and Pricing tab to see if your district participates.

2. Enter your school district name and state.

3. Click View Plan materials to review the coverage page.

4. Just click the Enroll Now button and follow the steps.

I hope this information that I have brought you today will be very informative and help guide you on your way to finding great insurance for your little ones.