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A Renaissance Woman

10/31/07

I've Been Inspired! 30 Days of Thanks

I was reading through my list of neat blogs on the left as I usually do to keep up with my favorite bloggers. Yes, I really do check those blogs because I like them. Any hoo - while reading Quietly Shouting Inside she had a post about this 30 days of thanks. I thought this was a great way for me to remain positive during a time in my life that I need to so desperately. She inspired me and now I've joined BoogieMum's gang in their 30 days of thanks. Maybe you can join too! Surely it can't be to hard or can it? Join me while I find out!

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Wordless Wednesday





The top 2 photos are of our 7 year old at the push car races for cub scouts. The 3rd photo is of our 14 month old taking a nap. They do look a lot alike.

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10/30/07

PMKU is in!

We heard about this bloggy giveaway around the blog-o-sphere and we've actually entered to win on a few blogs. What a great way to celebrate the Fall season. There are lots of bloggers that work at home and create products. We support the entrepreneurial spirit and designed a t-shirt which we refer to as "Millionaire Shirts." The front has the slogan "Millionaire Club" printed on the front and "I'm Working On" is printed on the back. We are going to give away 10 of these and we will pay for the shipping. Our give away is open to the world.

How do you win a free t-shirt? Simple! We support a little company called Happy Panda and they are hosting an online event. Check out The Classy Mommy Cyber Baby Shower prize list and come back here and leave me a comment telling me your favorite prize/prizes up for grabs? On November 4th we will choose 10 random winners. Come back here to see if your name was drawn. Thanks for playing and check out all the great prizes for the Fall Ya'll Give Away!

Contest is closed and the winners are:
windycindy
Alaina
Tyna
Deb
Lindley Alston
Shannon
Kristiem10
The Saunders Family
Karen
Deborah

Thank you so much for visiting our blogs. We hope you will join us 11/9 for chances to win the prizes you commented about at the Cyber Baby Shower hosted by Happy Panda. The baby shower is open to everyone.

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Three Books to Win (Little Black Book of Style, Damage Control, and Sammy's Soldier)

Enter to win, it's part of the Fall Ya'll Give Away! 3 Different books in 3 different places.

Little Black Book of Style
This book has fashion tips from the Fashion Director of Elle and the insightful and incisive Project Runway judge, Nina Garcia.
Mamanista.com


Sammy's Soldier
Sammy's Soldier is sweet picture book, written to help young children feel more comfortable with the deployment process. This is a chance to win a signed copy by the author.
An Army Wife's Life


Damage Control: Women on the Therapists, Beauticians, and Trainers Who Navigate Their Bodies
A book of celebrity anecdotes.
MamaSaga

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Shrek Cookbook

It's here, It's here! The Shrek cookbook that I won from Mamanista. My seven-year-old found it on the table and immediately started picking out all recipes that he wants to try. There are some that he has no interest in trying but I figured we can try some and I will blog about it and let you know how they turn out. Some of them look really good and some look really gross. Either way, you will find out our favorites soon enough!

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See N Say

Another cool toy that is on the must have list is the good old tried and true See N Say by Fisher Price. This one is titled The Farmer Says and it plays the songs The Farmer in the Dell and Old MacDonald. Ours came with the 3 AAA batteries but then again if you have kids most likely you already have a stash of batteries if not rechargeable ones. Todays See N Say has a plastic knob that you pull down. If I remember correctly it use to be a finger string that you pulled. Boy was that a long time ago. Also it was much wider but todays See N Say is more condensed. As you can see the circle is smaller but this time there is a plastic piece that you can flip back and forth like a page. This gives your little one that many more features. The Farmer Says toy is now added to the list of toys my little guys are fighting over these days.

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Johnny Jumperoo

This was one of my all time favorite baby shower gifts, the Johnny Jumperoo by Fisher Price. Our baby boy loved this toy. I've done lots of product reviews but some times I like to throw in photos so you know that we really do use these products. The video footage is from a cell phone so excuse the quality but it's still pretty cute. We had a jumper about 7 years ago, the kind that you hang off of the door trim. This new and improved design seems a lot safer to me. There are levels of height adjustment so this toy will last a while. The design is great because it will collapse and you can take it with you when you travel. Also you can move it room to room without any problem. The toy also has a volume setting and a touch setting so that the music plays only when the baby touches certain spots. I like it better than the saucers because they get lots of exercise.

Bounce and Spin Zebra

The Bounce and Spin Zebra by Fisher Price is a great toy but is it a safe toy? I didn't think so at first. Our Super Star got this as a gift for his first birthday. It took him about another month or two before he got the hang of it. When he would hold the seat it would spin around. As with all toys parental supervision is required but with this one you really need to sit down right beside them until they are tall enough to get on and off the zebra without any problems. For a while he just stood there and played with the spinning frog and bear. Now at almost 15 months he has mastered this toy. He loves to get on it and bounce. Lucky for me there are three volume settings: high, low and off! You need three AAA batteries. Assembling the the toy was pretty basic and it's easy to keep clean. Should you buy it for a one year old? I would say no, wait till about 15-16 months so that they can get some real use out of the toy. This would have made a better Christmas gift than birthday gift.

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Steady Flow

As the day has passed nothing has changed and that glimmer of hope is fading. It's not because of any loss of faith or positive thinking it's based on the reality of what is happening within my body. Clearly I can see things that all the prayers in the world aren't going to change. On that note here is a list of what not to say to a woman who has had a miscarriage. My friend and I came up with this list about 5 years ago after she miscarried and it still stands true to this day.
1. Don't worry you'll have another one.
2. It's Gods will/plan. - Don't say this! It makes it sound like your being punished.
3. There must have been something wrong with it and that's why your body rejected it. - Logical yes, but don't say it.
4. Your young there is still plenty of time.
5. It wasn't really a baby yet any way.
6. It's Gods will/plan. - Is that listed twice, yes it is, that's because you shouldn't say that.

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10/29/07

Thanks Joel

During my night of waiting I was on the couch flipping through the channels and caught Joel Osteen discussing the skinny goat vs. fatted calf mentality. Considering my situation what he was saying made a lot of sense to me. So there I had it a glimmer of hope that maybe just maybe what I thought was happening wasn't happening. But then the morning came and all that changed. I made it to the office and had the ultra sound. They saw nothing and could explain nothing. I had blood drawn and will have it done again on Wednesday. My Doctor did something crazy. He said, "I've seen this before and some women are fine, but most likely this isn't good. You didn't do anything wrong." There it was again that glimmer of hope. Almost seems mean, don't you think? If by some miracle whether that is through God or positive thinking or everyone's prayers....that I haven't lost this baby, that would be fantastic and there it is my little glimmer of hope.

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10/28/07

In The WOW This Stinks Department

It's been a very stressful week for me. Now, I'm having issues and am most likely no longer pregnant. Never tell people till after the first trimester. That would be my biggest rule of thumb. This lessens the amount of people who have to tell you how sorry they are. I'm not looking forward to spending half the day in the hospital tomorrow. I have my first Dr. appointment in the morning and now it will just be a different kind of appointment.

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10/27/07

Wild Mood Swings

They are here the wild mood swings. I'm terribly irritable. Does it have to do with my Freaky Friday? or maybe the previous Suz Sunday? Possibly the constant grilling from my dh about her plans? I have no idea. I have chocolate now. He bought me all kinds and Cherry Vanilla icecream too. I made bacon for lunch. Who makes bacon for lunch? I made grilled cheese sandwiches too. I made all this for the family so it's not like I sat down and ate all this myself. I just made banana pudding with Nilla Wafers. LOL - HELP!! My head is pounding. Could it be because she borrowed my sons shirt and I had to go back to her apartment and fish it out of the pile of dirty clothes. I don't know. I'm tired.

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10/26/07

Freaky Friday

I've always taken great pride in the fact that I raised my daughter to be a very self sufficient young lady. Oh sure, I had to tell her to clean her room a zillion times but what mother hasn't? I thought for sure when she got out on her own that she wouldn't be able to stand it. Surely she would clean up after herself I thought. I have a key to her place to drop in unexpected to make sure she is on the up and up. That is part of the agreement we have for paying all of her expenses while she is in school. I don't normally drop in unless my Mommy radar goes off. We really do give her a lot of space but today the radar went off. My buddy and I went to her place and nothing could have prepared us. If you are easily disgusted you may want to leave right now. If you want to be grossed out click on the photo for a larger image.

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10/25/07

If You Give...














I just had to share these super cute pajamas. Oh how I would love a pair. KN Karen Neuburger is donating 11 pairs of womens pajamas to The Classy Mommy Cyber Baby Shower. The character "Mouse" is from the If You Give... book series from Laura Numeroff. They are from the limited edition line. For each pair that is sold a portion will be used to help buy books for children across the country. The shower isn't until November 9th but I just had to share this cyber prize!

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Thursday Thirteen

13 things to be grateful for...
  1. My hubby kissing me on the cheek before he leaves for work at 5am
  2. My son who gets the baby out of the crib in the mornings
  3. My alarm clock
  4. My morning cup of coffee
  5. Cheerios and Milk
  6. My Saturn Relay
  7. My house that is located one block away from the school
  8. My computer and internet access
  9. My abilities and skills
  10. My level of speed at multitasking
  11. The garbage men
  12. My yoga instructor
  13. My life

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10/24/07

Wordless Wednesday

Books, Books, Books

The first book that our baby received was from his daddy. It's a book called Out and About, my first word book He loved it to death. I couldn't find an image on Amazon or any where else actually, but he loves this book. The binding is completely gone and it didn't survive well. He still drags it around the house though.

Another favorite book of his is Playtime Peekaboo, it's a touch-and-feel and lift-the-flap book. Early in childhood children learn to play peek-a-boo. For most babies this game cracks them up. When you lift the flap you have to read the word, "peek-a-boo." Without fail our son giggles hysterically every single time. He loves the fuzzy parts and this book is a hard back and has held up pretty well so far.

Now for the book that we both like, The Cheerios Play Book. We get to play with Cheerios and then he eats them. What could be more fun that that? This book has held up very well because this is a hand me down from our first son. He got this book seven years ago and it's a little beat up but also a hard back book. If you are thinking about buying a baby book I hope that you will give one of these a chance. They are a lot of fun.

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Favorite Birthday Cake?

From dates to diapers is having a week long birthday celebration. Today she wants to know, "What is your favorite birthday cake?" That is just about the easiest question on the planet for me to answer. I thought about just typing the name but then I found this picture that just makes it all perfect. I love the coffee cup in the background. The two are meant to go together. Please, try to keep your composure. Do your best not to leave your home immediately and run to your nearest store. Please forgive me to those of you on diets but I just have to show you! Ready? Here it is....a New York Cheese Cake. Ahhhh - What a lovely contest. Visit From Dates to Diapers and share your answer before 10/27.

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Photos of a Moving Target

Any idea how hard it is to take pictures of a moving target? This little Super Star was in the middle of hunting acorns. He cared very little about sporting this new graphic. I have lots of moving pictures of him. He's just so adorable toddling about. Today Happy Panda sent Halloween Pandas to a party in New York hosted by Baby Bites.

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Ode to Maya's Mom - Take 2

Maya's Mom how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love you for your positive members and making me feel at home. I love you for your note feature that let's me send them 2 cookies for dessert. I love you for letting my blog feed into my journal and allowing cross comments. I love you for your wide selection of group talks. I love you for helping me make new friends. Thank you Maya, for having such a cool Mom to share.

10/23/07

I Admit It, I Love Address Labels

Colour Me Family has a cute idea: address labels with cartoons of your family on them. You can customize things like hair color, skin color, add Santa hats, different backgrounds and more. What a cute way to label your Christmas cards. You can win 60 labels by entering to win at e moms at home.com.

Family Address Labels Cartoons Christmas
Family Address Labels Cartoons
Family Address Labels Cartoons

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Random.org Likes My Jack-O'-Lantern Crackers

Mama Luxe said...

Random.org picked your recipe for our Recipe Carnival...drop me an e-mail and I'll send you the Shrek recipe book and hook you up with your membership. Thanks for your wonderful recipes!

How cool is that? My big boy is going to be so excited to see this Shrek recipe book. I can't wait to share it with him. He's actually wearing his Shrek jammy's to bed this evening. Thank you Mamanista for holding such a fun contest.

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10/22/07

You're My Little Love Bug

You're My Little Love Bug by Heidi Weimer is one of our Super Stars favorite books. He loves to drag this book all over the house. It is a hard cover book so it can take a bit of a beating and a chewing. When he opens the book it lights up and plays a nice melody. He gets the biggest grin on his face. If we are lucky he will let us read it to him but mostly he enjoys opening and closing it to hear the music. On the front cover you will notice a little heart. This is where you can insert a picture of your very own to make it even more special. What a great book this is for a first birthday gift. One is the perfect age to begin introducing more books baby can manipulate. Thank you Heidi for introducing such a great book for the little ones.

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Exercising During Pregnancy?

I'm a boot camp lover. Here we have Adventure Boot Camp for Women
and I have been doing this for about 5 sessions now. The weight is coming off and I have been doing yoga as well. Now that I am having another baby I find myself in a little quandary. My trainer says that even pregnant I should still be able to do boot camp. She had someone in her weight training class all through their pregnancy. Granted that class is not boot camp.

I spoke with my Dr this morning to make my appointment. I asked him about continuing boot camp and he was very much against this idea. He said regular exercise is fine but nothing strenuous. He kind of scared me. What do you think?

I'm planning to get with the yoga instructor and have her change our routine up. I'm excited to see how that goes. Stay tuned...

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10/21/07

How Did You Tell Him?

I don't know how you told your husband you were pregnant but me, I had to get creative. This is our fourth pregnancy together. Our children have many years between them. We've had certain things going on in our lives recently which made it difficult for me to break the news. He was out of town on a camping trip with our eldest son.

After seeing those famous 2 pink lines I had an idea. I grabbed my phone, turned the camera on and took a picture of the results. I forwarded the picture to his phone and figured that this was the best way to relay the news. He called me shortly after. He was pretty proud of himself. He claims to be working on his own rugby team.

If you broke the news in a creative way tell me about it.

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A Name I Can Trust?

First Response a name I can trust? Apparently so! This is my tried and true pregnancy test that I would recommend. Why? It's never let me down. The directions are simple to follow, the test is easy to use and of course let us not forget those quick results in 3 minutes. When I was paranoid and just fashionably late it would give me a negative sign and I could sit back and relax and nature would take its course. When I saw those 2 pink lines and then went to the doctor to follow up, indeed I was positively pregnant. Recently things have been crazy in my life and to ease my mind I purchased and used this test. Step 1 - 2 pink lines. Step 2 - make appointment with the doctor. Looks like I'm on the road to bringing another Happy Panda into the world. Stay tuned because this blog is about to turn into my journey of my fourth child. Ready, Steady, Go!

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There's Still Time! 2 Diaper Bag Contests

#1 - Enter before 10/21 - Midnight!
O' Yikes - Giveaway!

This diaper bag is fully stocked and ready to go ($145 value) with all the essentials, perfect for active families on the go. Visit One Chic Mama for more details.



#2 - Enter to win before 10/24 10pm cst.

Diaper Bag Heaven [or] Ready, Set, Decorate! from Mums The Wurd! They would like you to tell them about your diaper bag, whether you had one years ago, you're using one right now or you plan on using one in the future. Even if you have a quite fashionable one, tell them about it and why you love it so much! Enter at Mums The Wurd!

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10/18/07

Pumpkin Time

It's not exactly a patch I know but it is a Red Rider wagon. I haven't seen a pumpkin patch around here. My mother found one during her recent trip to San Antonio. She picked up this cute pumpkin for my little guys. We can't wait to carve it up! Angel from 1 Smart Mom has this really neat "Pumpkin Patch" photo contest going on right now. What's the prize? A $20.00 gift card from Fandango. If you are a movie fan then you should enter to win too. And of course after I posted this I found a photo in the local paper of a pumpkin patch and a flyer was sent home from school about the same pumpkin patch. I've got to get more in the loop!

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10/16/07

Thinking about Christmas?

I wasn't either until today. The buzz is that Best Buy is giving away this Rocketfish™ - Wireless Multimedia Bluetooth Keyboard and Laser Mouse - Black/Silver/Red away for free. Can you believe that? I would love to have a new keyboard. If yours is anything like mine then you can hardly see where those letters are because the white is gone. Maybe your happy with your keyboard but know someone who could use it. Wouldn't that make a great Christmas gift? One less present to buy and all you have to do is enter to win. Check for details here at Mamanista.

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10/15/07

Classy Mommy with a Classy Bump

This is Colleen Padilla proud owner of Classy Mommy, a very well known product review site. She recently sponsored a gift and prize in the last cyber baby shower hosted by Happy Panda for 5 Minutes for Mom. As you can see she has a baby bump and we hear she is expecting a boy. Happy Panda is hosting another cyber baby shower for Colleen. If you would like to participate in the games and prizes visit the Classy Mommy blog November 9th, See you there!

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10/13/07

Welcome Sophia

Sophia is here and she is just beautiful. Mother and baby are doing wonderful according to Aunt Janice. 5M4M has some really great first photos listed on their site. One of my favorites is posted here right above her cousin Olivia's photo. If you click on their photos the link will take you to see all of their newborn photos! Take a moment to welcome Sophia. Thanks.

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10/12/07

Thinking Pink

Are you thinking pink? Of course you are and who isn't? There are many contests and giveaways during National Breast Cancer month. One of the latest prizes being given away is this sleek digital camera from Casio. Model EX-Z75 has been released to help create awareness for breast cancer. The lucky winner of this digital camera will always have a reminder to spread awareness all year long. How can you win this digital camera? Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more details. I entered to win this camera and if I win you can be sure there will be lots of new pictures posted. Don't forget to read about Avis Board's Urban Botanic give away also in honor of breast cancer awareness.

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Sophia is Coming!

If you were following the 5 Minutes for Mom cyber baby shower then you know we are still waiting on Sophia. Susan's last post was about contractions and she is at the hospital right now. We are so excited.

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10/11/07

Happy Birthday Mamanista!

Would you like to win a Rockin' Baby Sling? Baby Diva has used her modeling skills to sway me to enter. My Super Star still loves to be carried around by his Mommy and this would be a great ease for my back. Click on the photo to check out more of their designs. They even have fabrics for Dad. How cool is that? Once you have made your choice make your way to the Rockin' Baby Sling contest at Mamanista. She is celebrating her birthday all week long and readers get to share the fun! Contests and prizes are going on right now.

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Fun for Moms

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10/9/07

Jack-o'-Lantern Crackers

Dust off your super kooky Halloween recipe and get ready to post and link with the Kooky Carnival. We are entering for a chance to win the Shrek Cookbook or a six month subscription to What's Cooking and so should you! Creep on over for more details. Meanwhile, take advantage of this 5 minute recipe for Jack-o'-Lantern Crackers from Kraftfoods. If you are a Mom in a rush then this might be the perfect quick fix for you!
Prep Time: 5 min

Ingredients:

RITZ Crackers

KRAFT EASY CHEESE American Pasteurized Cheese Snack
apple peel
parsley springs

SPREAD crackers evenly with cheese snack.
CUT apple peel into small pieces for the jack-o'-lanterns'
eyes, noses and mouths. Arrange on crackers as desired.
ADD parsley for the pumpkin stems.

Now that's what I call quick and easy!

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10/6/07

Diaper Cakewalk - Talk of The Town


Today we hosted a reality baby shower for our friend Sondra. Check out her baby bump! Guess who sponsored a gift to the Mom to be? Diaper Cakewalk! They were generous enough to send a Bear Hug 5 tier Diaper Cake for her baby shower. This gift was the center piece of the entire party and wow was there a lot of buzz. "Where did you get that?" someone would ask. "Did you make that?" someone else asked. I could not take the credit but instead took great joy in telling everyone at the party about this great company that I met online while hosting the cyber baby shower. Sondra and her guests loved this gift. Not only is it put together so beautifully but you can take it all apart and use everything! Yes, every single thing connected to the cake can be used from diapers, wash towels and powder just to name a few. They have everything listed on their site. What a great deal and economical too. If you would like to be the one creating the buzz at the next baby shower you attend or host contact Diaper Cakewalk!

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10/5/07

Winners Are Posted!

I can't even begin to thank all of you for sharing your photos and stories. If I had a prize for every single one of you that entered a story or photo I would give you all one. Each of you has your own special unique story. This was not an easy decision and believe it or not there was a lot of emotions involved. LOL - It was an experience that I will always remember. Thanks to all of you for such a great time. I really hope that we can do this again and of course we all are waiting for Sophia to arrive. We will post photos of her on our sponsor page! Again, thank you and come by and visit www.HappyPandaBaby.com any time!

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10/4/07

Narrowing it Down Updated 9:40pm

If there was a prize for the sweetest photo it would go to Angel Cope. Ladies - we are narrowing down the nominees. We are still making the rounds to everyone's posts. There are a few who entered their names in Mr. Linky but didn't leave a comment. We have no way to view their content or get in touch with them. If you know these ladies please let them know.
Back to the judging we go!

Judging ends in 26 Minutes! This is where we stand. These are listed in numerical order. Ah the agony! Any votes?

No Prize for this category but if there were one for Sweetest Photos: 1, 17, 29, 47, 59
Sympathy photo: 6, 19, 32, 52
Baby Bump photo: 21, 31, 33, 34, 67
Birth Story: 3, 27, 39, 63
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Breast Cancer Awareness Contest


Avis Board with Urban Botanic is holding a contest this month in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. She is giving away two 8 oz. bottles of Urban Botanic nourishing Lotion to two lucky winners.
There are two ways to win:

1. Click here and take the fragrance personality test…then submit your personality test results and a short tribute about a Breast Cancer Survivor that you know into her blog comments.

2. Click here and take the fragrance personality test…then submit your personality test results and a scent combination suggestion for the “Pink Hope” fragrance into her blog comments.

Winners will be announced on her blog October 30th…after her Mammogram!

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10/3/07

To Judge or not to Judge

As you know by now I have the pleasure of judging this wonderful contest and it is in my hands to choose the most sympathetic photo, the best baby bump and last but not least the birth stories. I had to get some help! If I have visited your site you will see a comment from HappyPanda aka Pamela Kramer. My enlisted help is AuntieEm aka Emily Sanderson and if she has visited your site you will see comments from her. This is tough! I would love to post some of the most memorable photos here but am waiting for permission from the owners. Come back soon to see who is in the running!

"Look at this baby!" I say
"Read the story!" Emily says
This is just one of my favorite bumps! And she doesn't make it easy either, have you seen her sympathy photo? Who doesn't recognize that look?
Sarah - bump or story?
MamaSaga - hours of labor! - Cute bump.

Another one of my favorite bump photos! She looks beautiful. Another great photo is #54 and #21.

If we had a prize for cutest bumps - take a look at #4 & #25
If we had a prize for sweetest photo - #1, #5, #22, #29 & #59

There are more but I just need to make my rounds. I only have one more day. Good Luck to all of you.

Sympathy photos - #21, #32 & #48
Birth stories - #39 , 48, 63!
Bumps - #9, # 16, #31, #58
Sweet photos - #14, #15, #17, #18, 62

Keep entering, Keep hopping!

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10/1/07

Cyber Shower Party Post

Emily says that I have to share since I am the hostess. I will share here on our product review blog. This is our latest family photo just after our Super Star joined us. What a year it has been. Now on to the shower and all the cool prizes! Since I am in charge of judging I'm not entering for prizes just sharing. But, you can enter to win! So feel free.
A few questions to comment on:
Pick three gifts that you wish you would have received at your baby shower.

My picks are the Diaper cakewalk because it looks so sweetly put together. You can disassemble it and use all the products after the shower is over. I would also have liked those bunny slippers! Those would have been so great to have at the hospital while having to walk around. Last but not least the Baby Signing Time! dvd set. We taught our son to sign a few words when he was younger but it would have been nice to know more so that would could extend our vocabulary.

Best/Worst baby shower gift.
The worst gift was a package of condoms. That was really just poor taste in my opinion and I didn't really take kindly to the joke. The best gift was a Johnny Jumper. My baby had a blast in it.

You can share your comments here because I would love to here your stories but they will not win you a prize. You can use Mr. Linky but you still have to post at 5 Minutes for Mom to enter to win because the linky box is from their site.

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