SAHMdom & Friends: Mutually Exclusive?

            This is probably going to sound like a pity party, and perhaps it is a little bit. However, I know I'm not the only sahm out there who has trouble making friends. So buckle up for the ride and let's do some venting and brainstorming!
            My husband and I are originally from Indiana, which I'm sure I've mentioned a million times. Long story short, we met at the factory we worked at together there, got laid off at the same time, were tired of Indiana in general, so we moved to Arkansas. Why Arkansas? Good question. The best answers I can give are 1) My brother and sister in-law live here, so we had someone to stay with while we found our own place and 2) It wasn't Indiana.
            4 years later, several jobs, several moves, and a baby later, I still don't have anyone here that I actually do things with. I have a texting buddy that lives about 30 minutes away, but we've never gotten together to do anything. I had a friend from a previous job for awhile, but it kind of dawned on me one day that we don't really have a lot in common besides kids. Maybe I'm just too picky, but that's not a good enough reason to be friends with someone for me, not to mention I always swore up and down before I even had Myka that I wouldn't become friends with people just for the fact that they had kids too.

Jazuk Designer Die Cuts Custom Banner Giveaway

Welcome to the Jazuk Designer Die Cuts Custom Banner Giveaway!

This giveaway is proudly hosted by Mommys Craft Obsession and generously sponsored by Jazuk Designer Die Cuts!

These would be great for just about any occasion: holidays, birthday parties, wedding receptions, and so much more. Good luck to all the GGWB fans entering!

Photo Copyright: Jazuk Designer Die Cuts

Jazuk Designer Die Cuts is a work at home mom business based off of Etsy, owned and operated by Stephine who is a mom of two and is married to her best friend. She began her Etsy business just a few months ago as a means of providing her family with additional income and it quickly grew into a passion for making and designing. Jazuk Designer Die Cuts has become a go-to Etsy shop for custom banners and all of your die cut needs!

I have had the privilege of knowing Stephine for many years and when it came time for me to purchase a few custom items for my bridal shower and bachelorette party, I knew without hesitation that Jazuk Designer Die Cuts was the shop for me! I got in touch with Stephine and described the ideas that I had for decor and she was able to create three gorgeous banners, tags for my wedding favors, and diamonds for my bridal shower donuts! 

What I loved most about working with Jazuk Designer Die Cuts was the professionalism and attention to detail that was put into the entire process. Each item was crafted to my exact vision and was the "icing on top of the cake" for my pre-wedding festivities! To say that I was impressed at the quality of Jazuk Designer Die Cuts would be an understatement! 

I highly recommend Jazuk Designer Die Cuts for all of your banner and die cut needs! 

To Purchase: Visit Jazuk Designer Die Cuts and grab a pre-made or custom banner, or other die cuts for your special event! 

To Win: Mommys Craft Obsession and Jazuk Designer Die Cuts wants to give one lucky winner a custom banner of their choice up to $25 in value! Please note that shipping is not included in the prize value and winner will be responsible for the shipping costs. Open to U.S. residents only.

Entry-Form

The Giveaway will close late on the evening of February 25th. The winner will be chosen at random through  Giveaway Tools.  The winner will be announced both on Giveaway Tools form as well as notified by email and announced on MCO’s Facebook. The winner will have their prize sent to them by Jazuk Designer Die Cuts, Mommys Craft Obsession and participating bloggers are not responsible for prize shipment. Must be 18 years and older. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google are in no way affiliated with this giveaway. No Purchase Necessary. Void Where Prohibited by Law. US Only.  This article is 100% original and in my own words. Everything written is from my own personal view point and opinions and I have not been influenced by any outside sources. What works for me, may not work for you. All photos have been taken by me unless stated otherwise. I have NOT been provided with product or compensation by Jazuk Designer Die Cuts. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Jellaby: The Lost Monster Book Review

Photo taken from: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/show/id/39025

This is not my image nor do I own the rights to it.

            Jellaby: The Lost Monster, by Kean Soo, was another book outside of my "comfort reading zone". Not that I read children's books for my own pleasure all the time, but you know what I mean. It is a graphic novel aimed towards 9-11 year olds. I've never read a graphic novel before, so it was an interesting experience!
            Jellaby is about a girl named Portia who doesn't really have any friends since she and her mother are new to town. One night, after waking up from a nightmare, she hears a strange noise outside her bedroom window and discovers a large, purple monster walking through her yard towards the woods.
            Portia decides to follow him into the woods and befriends the monster. Soon she is trying to hide him from her mother and classmates while at school. One of her classmates, Jason, ends up discovering him after Portia tries to help him get away from some bullies.

Blogger Opp - Green Mountain Diapers GC

Sponsored By: Green Mountain Diapers

Hosted By: Mami's 3 Little Monkeys

Prize: $50 GC to Green Monkeys Diapers!!

Open to US residents

Dates: February 19th through March 5th

This is Green Mountain Diapers first blogger run giveaway and it's a pretty big prize, lets make this a huge FIRST success for Green Mountain Diapers too!!

Please post this announcement post on your blog, you will receive 2 FREE links into the Giveaway Tools entry form for doing so. Paid options also available, see details in Google Form when signing up. 

SIGN UP HERE!

Eco-Love Valentine's Giveaway

Eco-Love Giveaway Hosted by Pea of Sweetness and Deals of Sweetness

Sponsored by Born Skincare, Pea of Sweetness Shop, The Ultimate Green Store, Sunsella, and YumEarth

Co-Hosted by An Ordinary Housewife

 

As an eco-conscious consumer Emilee from Pea of Sweetness and Deals of Sweetness loves raising awareness for the benefits of an eco-friendly lifestyle and sharing eco-friendly products. What better time to spread the love than Valentine's Day? She thought of a great way to show that love - by putting together an eco-friendly prize pack! Included in the prize pack are the prizes listed below. Be sure to click on the reviews if you would like to know more!

  

Your choice of product from Born Skincare. Born Organic Skincare offers an organic skin care line that is ToxicFree and infused with grapes. Each ingredient is hand selected. The winner will get to choose a product from The Source collection with values ranging from $34 - $60 - winner's choice! Emilee had the chance to review four of the five products in The Source Collection. You can read her Born Organic Skincare Review on Pea of Sweetness. 

   

Two reusable, personalized coffee cups from the Pea of Sweetness Etsy Shop. Emilee has been brainstorming ideas of new products to introduce to the Pea of Sweetness Etsy shop, and wanted to introduce more reusable, eco-friendly products. Next up are reusable coffee cups personalized with decals however you would like! The winner of this giveaway will be the first recipient of these new products, which will be added to the shop soon for $15 each. 

   

$20 Gift Certificate to The Ultimate Green Store. The Ultimate Green Store is a one-stop shop for quality eco-friendly products. You can shop for kids, home, office, pets, bath and body, and so much more! You can spend your gift certificate however you wish! Emilee had the chance to review the Eco Tools Bamboo Brush set and Shainsware Recycled Cuff Bracelet Starter Kit. You can read The Ultimate Green Store review on Deals of Sweetness.

    

Sunsella Little Gems Silicone Baking Cups. Little Gems are bright and colorful, sturdy, BPA free, Non-Stick, Dishwasher/Oven/Microwave and Freezer Safe, and, of course, reusable! No more paper liner's sticking to your cupcakes, and no more paper waste! The food safe silicone isn’t just BPA free, it is also phthalate and lead free and have been tested to be sure they meet FDA standards. You can read the Sunsella Little Gems Silicone Baking Cups Review on Pea of Sweetness. Little Gems are valued at $15.99. 

   

YumEarth Organics Lollipops and Fruit Snacks. YumEarth was born out of commitment to offer healthy foods free of harmful ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes and other artificial ingredients. YumEarth is the number one organic candy company in the US. These goodies have NO artificial colors or flavors, no high fructose corn syrup and no dairy, nuts or gluten! Head over to Pea of Sweetness to read her YumEarth Organic Fruit Snacks review and organic lollipops review. Total value $9.98. So what do you say? Are you ready to enter? One winner will receive this awesome eco-friendly prize pack with the products above valued at more than $120! This giveaway begins on 2/10 at 7:00pm and ends on 2/24 at 11:00pm (times are Central) and is open to US residents ages 18+. Please refer to the full terms and conditions in the Giveaway Tools.

Entry-Form

  Disclosure: Emilee from Deals of Sweetness and Pea of Sweetness received free product(s) to facilitate their review. No other compensation was received. Participating bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Baby Learning Time (BLT) Update 2/10/14

            I know I said I wasn't going to do any more updates a few months ago, but now that I'm not babysitting I have a lot more time, energy, and patience. Even though I definitely want more kids, I have to admit it's really nice being able to spend a lot more one on one time with Myka. I won't be doing weekly updates, but if I discover any nifty tips that work for us or we do anything particularly exciting in the learning department, I'll let you know!
            Myka has recently become even more interested in books. She has always liked looking at them herself, but she is REALLY into them now. (She still won't let me finish reading a book to her without taking it away from me but hey, she's 1. What can you expect?) It's so funny and cute watching her sit and "read" a book to herself. It's not so funny when she feels the need to pull ALL of her books off of the shelf...in the living room AND her bedroom.

Dark Eden Book Review

 Photo taken from: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/show/id/36654 

This is not my image nor do I own the rights to it.

            Hey folks! As I mentioned, I will be bringing you more and more book reviews because I love, love, love reading and believe it's a great way to keep your brain "in shape". We're starting off with the sci-fi/fantasy novel Dark Eden by Chris Beckett.
            I feel like I should start out by admitting that I've not read a lot of sci-fi books in the past, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. It took me a chapter or so to "get into it", but that has more to do with the way it's written than the genre.
            Dark Eden is set on an alien planet that's named, you guessed it, Eden. The group of 500+ humans living there are the descendants of a man and woman from Earth who became stuck on the planet by accident. As you can probably imagine, some of the population has inherited genetic abnormalities, one being a "batface" (hare lip) and the other being "clawfeet" (I'm assuming this is referring to webbed feet). The entire current population are also "simpletons", for lack of a better way to put it. While some of them do have mild retardation, most of them are just so set in their ways and don't know any better about a lot of things.
            This is the main reason I had difficulty getting into the book at first: Since it's written from the character's point of view, you have to get used to their more simplistic way of speech. They also have misunderstood certain words throughout the generations. For example, their anniversary of their ancestors coming to the plant has turned into an "Any Virsry". You get the idea.

30 Day Honey Challenge-Week 3 Update

            Hey folks! It's the end of week 3 of the 30 Day Honey Challenge. I'm going to start off with a little self promotion. If you've been following this little experiment and are thinking about trying it out for yourself, I am hosting a giveaway right now for 3 one pound jars of an assortment of raw honey from Mohawk Valley Trading Company, which you can read more about and enter HERE. If you're going to use honey for it's beneficial properties, you HAVE to use RAW honey. The pasteurized stuff from the store doesn't contain any of the "good stuff" because it's quite literally been cooked out.
            My face has been having it's good days and bad days still this week. Overall, though, I have to say that I've noticed a big difference in the acne along my jawline on both sides. While it's obviously not completely gone, it has diminished some and definitely gotten less red and angry looking since I started the honey challenge. I think I mentioned this last week, but it's the most noticeable difference.

Me Beau Bebe Nursing Blanket Giveaway

WELCOME TO THE
Me Beau Bébé Nursing Blanket Giveaway

Hosted by: Green Organic Mamas

Sponsored by: Me Beau Bébé Nursing Blanket

A special thank you goes out to our Sponsor
Please kindly visit their pages above.

I just love multi-functional items, don't you? This nursing blanket can also be used as a changing pad, stroller cover, and more! Be sure to read all about it on the sponsor's website.-GGWB

Read More about Me Beau Bébé Nursing Blanket in the Green Organic Mamas Product Review

Giveaway Details:

One Winner will win a Me Beau Bébé Nursing Blanket
(ARV $85)

This giveaway ends 02/21/14

Open to US residents

Enter the giveaway on the form below

Entry-Form

Disclosure: This giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google or any of their affiliates. The GO Mamas may have received the products mentioned above for their honest opinion. Participating bloggers received no compensation for this publication. The opinions expressed by The GO Mamas are their own, and may differ from yours or this blog's. Getting Green with Baby is not responsible for prize fulfillment or shipment.

Raw Honey Review & Giveaway: Mohawk Valley Trading Co.

            Hey folks! I have another great review and giveaway to share with you today that I'm really excited about! As many of you have probably seen, I've been doing a 30 Day Honey Challenge to personally test whether raw honey actually works in giving you clearer skin. So, when I received the chance to try out several different varieties of raw honey from Mohawk Valley Trading Company, I jumped on the opportunity!

            Mohawk Valley Trading Company is based out of Utica, NY and offers beeswax candles, handmade soap, honey, natural skin care products, and dark, robust maple syrup. As far as their honey goes, they specialize in raw honey, but they do offer liquid honey as well. Not all honey is created equal (or processed, as the case may be). Not sure what the difference is?