Wordless Wednesday - Soccer Time

Our baby girl is always into something, mainly shoes and she doesn't discriminate. Anyone's shoes will do! On this day she happens to be sporting her big brother's soccer socks and shoes! She cracks me up.




For more WW participants head to:




To view other Wordful Wednesday blogs head over to:



Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

Sunscreen Allergies? Episencial is our Solution

Last month I got this email -

Can you believe summer is almost here? It's time to start thinking about summer skincare, and we think all-natural is the way to go!

Our Sunny Sunscreen is featured in an amazing limited edition Fun Summer Skincare value kit available exclusively at diapers.com.  It features three top selling Episencial skincare essentials - Sunny Sunscreen, Soothing Cream and Protective Face Balm, plus a cute Hungry Caterpillar art project for your child - all for $19.99. (30% savings!) Check it out here -  http://bit.ly/bm8BxZ. (And get an additional $10 off coupon on our Facebook page - tab "Coupon!") We think this is something you and your readers will really enjoy. 

Need a little more sunny-inspiration? Episencial Sunny Sunscreen offers the safety of a chemical-free formula plus the added health benefits of top-quality skincare. According to the Environmental Working Group database of ingredients for personal care products (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com), our all-natural formulas have among the highest safety ratings for ingredients that target sun damage and prevent sun-induced heat rash.  For battling sun exposed skin, dehydration and oil-dry symptoms, Episencial Sunny Sunscreen (SPF 35) is the best defense for babies’ tender skin. 

Plus it melts into your skin - leaving no thick white residue or greasy feeling. We are confident you and your children will fall in love! Let me know if you are interested in trying Episencial Sunny Sunscreen.

Honestly, I passed because I had already stocked up on Coppertone for kids and Coppertone for Babies. I thought I was all set until this happened...

This photo was taken in a panic with my cell phone. It doesn't do the situation justice because it was much worse than this and all over his body. I sent it to my friend Emily who quickly began helping me research what was going on. Our little guy has given me plenty of panic moments: his malrotation surgery, nut allergy, egg allergy, asthma and now this! It happened before but I never connected it to the sunscreen until now. Most of us don't put the sunscreen on early enough before they get into the water and it washes off. This is why it took so long to catch this and he attends a swimming camp and they don't let it dry on either otherwise this would have happened before.


On this day the backyard was being mowed so the kids couldn't go out in the backyard to play with their water toys. I slathered sunscreen on all of them while they waited and this time the sunscreen had time to dry. As it dried he began to break out all over his body. It was AWFUL and I immediately gave him Benadryl which eventually worked it's way through his system. Meanwhile, I phoned his allergy doctor and spoke with a pharmacist. Each told me to try different brands and do a spot test. Sounded simple enough right?

Emily told me to check the active ingredients because she found a lot of research on chemical reactions and told me to stay away from anything with "Octi" in the active ingredients list. Seems simple enough right? I also tried Neutrogena but the same thing happened, he broke out in hives. Aveeno, Banana Boat, Coppertone, Equate and Neutrogena have the same active ingredients. Avobenzone, Homosalate, Octisalate, Octocrylene, Oxybenzone but vary in percentages used. Rather than spot test different brands and put him through this over and over again I searched for that email from Episencial. I remembered it was organic and when I checked the active ingredients the list was Titanium Dioxide (Sunscreen) 10%, Zinc Oxide (Sunscreen) 4%.

I immediately contacted them for a sample of this sunscreen! After all we are in the early months of summer and he has camps, swim lessons and will be spending plenty of time in the sun. Lucky for me they were nice enough to send it my way. I was holding my breath! My poor little guy....

Whoo Hoo! We have a solution. He was happy and I am ecstatic to share this story with all the Moms on Twitter and Facebook. We were all tweeting and messaging back and forth links and research and I got a lot of different brands of what their friends tried. I'm relieved we have solution. Going organic is more expensive but obviously necessary in our case. I hope that our story will help other parents who are looking for a solution of their own. Thank you Episencial for providing a product that helps our son stay protected from the sun while allowing him to play out doors in comfort!

Episencial did not provide any cash payment for this post only the Sunny Sunscreen. Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

5 Fingers of Thanks

1.) Thankful that my husband has a new job!
2.) Thankful that people notice my planner so I can tell more people about Dave Ramsey.
3.) Thankful that we are finally on the potty training stage.
4.) Thankful that we made it through the madness of last week. It was super busy!
5.) Thankful that I'm nearly done with my inventory count.

If you would like to share in my Sundays of thanks there is a Mr. Linky.

Below is the code for those five little fingers above or feel free to create your own.

<a href="http://pamelamkramer.blogspot.com/search/label/5%20Fingers%20of%20Thanks" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee193/PMKU/5fingersofthanks.jpg" /></a>

Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

Challenger Soccer Camp - Those Wacky Europeans

The kids had a great time at their Challenger Soccer Camp this summer. The program is a lot of fun for them. It's stress free and they have such a blast. On Tuesday they had crazy sock day, Wednesday was crazy hair day, Thursday was bring a flag day and Friday was dress the coach day. They get divide up into teams and pick the country they want to be. They get bonus points for bringing facts about the country they choose. It would have been nice to have my camera each day but with the 3 ring circus I have it proved to be too much. I'm lucky to have gotten the photos that I did. Enjoy the show!


Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

Freebie Friday - Link Up #contests and prizes every Friday

Are you hosting a #contest? Great! Post it here on Freebie Friday. What better time to search and enter contests than on the weekend? Sign in so that others can find your giveaway. I will be hosting Freebie Friday each week from now on so be sure to drop back by. Now go grab your tasty beverage, sit back and relax and contest hop with me! Don't forget to check out these hosted contest links too.





Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

Aloha Friday #220 - World Cup

Kailani at An Island Life has created this really fun idea. If you are interested in joining in, please visit her site for more details.

Go USA!

My question for you is...
Are you following the World Cup? Who are you cheering for?

Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

Iron Chef - Here He Comes!

My son has spent the week at our community center taking a mini gourmet cooking class. The kids love it! As you can see here, he came home with a first place ribbon for his "Three Chocolate Cookies." He has recipes for Chicken Empanadas, Peanut Butter and Banana Stuffed French Toast, and Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie.

Of course bringing home the blue wasn't good enough, the little people here had to judge for themselves!

And we have a thumbs up from little brother...

And two more thumbs up from little sister...

ok so she couldn't exactly get the thumbs right but clearly you can see her efforts.

This is his second summer for this class. He enjoys cooking and this is a great way to get more recipes. Another added bonus is when he goes away to college I'm comfortable knowing that he will be eating. Some day will he impress a special young lady with his culinary skills. Even further off into the future when he becomes a father he will make his children very happy with his "Three Chocolate Cookies" recipe. *Sigh* makes me all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it. :)

Special thanks to our community center for offering such great opportunities to our children to learn life skills.

Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

Wordless Wednesday - Counting Kramers

One little...

Two little....

Three little Kramers...

For more WW participants head to:









To view other Wordful Wednesday blogs head over to:






Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

#Mamavation Monday

Weekly Mamavation Goals - 

This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by @Subwayfreshbuzz.

1.  #fruitnveggie challenge. Get 7-8 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. 
2. Water challenge. Strive to drink more water. Some moms are striving to drink half their body weight in water. For instance if you weigh 180, strive to drink 90 ounces of water per day.

My Goals -

• The long term goal 50lbs. by the end of the year.
• The short term goal 4 lbs. per month. 
• January - 4 pounds lost = goal met.
• February - 5 pounds lost = goal met.
• March - +1 gain = goal NOT met.
• April - 0 gain/loss = goal NOT met.
• May -2 pounds lost = goal NOT met.
• June

My Work Outs - Back to work!
Monday - 1 HR PM Boot Camp
Tuesday - 1 HR AM Yoga, 1 mile walk
Wednesday - 1 HR PM Boot Camp
Thursday - 1 mile walk
Friday - 1 mile walk
Saturday - 5K race
Sunday - 1 mile run, running the hill

Measurements -
Chest -1"
Waist  = same
Hips -1"
Legs = same
Arms = same

Scale Reading -
1 lb. loss.

Stress Level -
Can't blog about it this week. I'll let you know next week what happened.



The UP side -
I finished the 5K and you can read how that went over here. I kicked up the cardio this week. I watched what I ate and kicked up the water too. Oh well, it is what it is and moving on! I'm considering a running boot camp just to learn the proper techniques etc., there is an art to it. My mother and I went bra shopping over the weekend and I found out where most of my weight is and that's just wrong. At least now I have proper gear to help the girls with stand my aggressive work outs. lol

I'm looking forward to reading how the rest of my "sistas" did this week.
And this is a little GLEE inspiration for all of this week!

I'm always hunting workout music which you will find in my DJ Booth at Blip.fm. You can search the #mamavation hashtag or #workouttunes to see my lists. If you have any music suggestions leave them in the comment section!

From RealAge.com

Secure Your Success
Charting your progress gets you there faster. Try these tools:




Track my weight loss.


Watch my waist get smaller.


Track my walking.  

Need for fitness support? Join the "Sistahood".

Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

5 Fingers of Thanks

1.) Thankful that my husband returned home safely.
2.) Thankful that our lives are about to change and we are continuing to work our financial plan.
3.) Thankful that we got to spend time with family today.
4.) Thankful for the church wide breakfast this morning!
5.) Thankful my hubs enjoyed his Father's Day cards and presents.

If you would like to share in my Sundays of thanks there is a Mr. Linky.

Below is the code for those five little fingers above or feel free to create your own.

<a href="http://pamelamkramer.blogspot.com/search/label/5%20Fingers%20of%20Thanks" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee193/PMKU/5fingersofthanks.jpg" /></a>

Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

5K Independence Run - HOT! HOT! HOT!

This is my after race photo that my son took of me. I'm seriously GROSS and SWEATY. I went alone but I saw one person there that I knew really well, Sara Oliver. She has been my spring board for fitness and I started boot camps with her program. We began our race a couple of minutes after 7am. I remember thinking to myself, "remember the tortoise!" I'm not that fast but figured if I stayed at a steady pace then I would do well. Michael Jackson's The Way You Make Me Feel got me through the first mile. He kept saying, "Whooooo...Go on Girl!" lol - I finished the first mile at 10 minutes 11 seconds.

The second mile was pretty ugly, many people ahead kept stopping to walk and I thought slow and steady, slow and steady. But all of a sudden they would start running again and leave me behind. It was really frustrating! I just wanted to kick it into high gear but I stayed at a steady speed. When I hit the 2nd mile my time was 22 minutes and something seconds. Then the heat came and it was overwhelming and no matter how much I prayed or pleaded with myself my body just stopped at W. Reata St. I was so annoyed because I really wanted to finish it out but it just was not to be. When mile 3 came the guy called out my time as 30 something minutes, I can't for the life of me remember the number. Even though I walking at this point I was going as fast as I could because I just wanted to go home and visit with my husband. I could see the finish line and I could hear Sara, "Come on Pam, way to go!!!" Oh my gosh that was the best ever. There is nothing like having at least one person cheer you on at the end. I finished with a time of 37:51.

They handed me number 123 and I went to find water and hand in my card. I came in 4th in my age bracket. There aren't any trophies for 4th place. - lol - It's ok because the goal was to run the entire race. I didn't make it but there is a Running Boot Camp that I'm really interested in and that's the upside. I'm about to mix it up again. Until next year! My little guy wanted to run with me. He wanted a number so I let him borrow mine.

I seem to be inspiring my kids. :)

Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

Freebie Friday - Link Up #contests and prizes every Friday

Are you hosting a #contest? Great! Post it here on Freebie Friday. What better time to search and enter contests than on the weekend? Sign in so that others can find your giveaway. I will be hosting Freebie Friday each week from now on so be sure to drop back by. Now go grab your tasty beverage, sit back and relax and contest hop with me! Don't forget to check out these hosted contest links too.





Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

Aloha Friday #119 -

Kailani at An Island Life has created this really fun idea. If you are interested in joining in, please visit her site for more details.

If you are a regular reader then you know that my family really loves Dave Ramsey! 

His plan just makes sense and we wished we would have started the baby steps when we got married.

We are currently working on our debt snowball.

My question for you is...
If you could pay off any ONE bill today, which one would it be?



Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

There's No Place Like Home

 After clicking my heels several times and paying over $2K in repairs, we are finally home! I think of my car as my second home. It's where I spend the majority of my time running errands and taxing children around town. My precious van has been in the shop for an entire week. Thankfully I had a rental car. The dealership has an on site Enterprise Rental car.

They put us in a 2010 Chrysler Sebring. Seems fine enough you would think, right? It worked all week until we tried to fit all 5 of us inside over the weekend. Oh what a nightmare! My husband and I in the front and our nearly 5ft tall 9 year old in between two car seats in the back. Did they fight! It was just awful. They were hitting each other and yelling at each other and then came the crying. It was a nightmare. lol - I couldn't go to Sam's to do my bulk shopping because there was not any room with the kids. When the dealership called to tell us our van was ready I drove there in record time.

Ah yes, there's no place like home! Everyone has their own captain's chair and plenty of personal space. We are back to rocking out to our home made cds. Soon we will be off to Sam's to catch up on our shopping. Oh, and now we can grab that little baby pool for the back yard. I don't care if our vehicle is 5 years old, I'm happy to have the space! I'm happy to be home.

Photos are from autotropolis.com and makebelievecostume.com. Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

Wordless Wednesday - Everyday is Father's Day!

He gets the "HEROS" welcome every day he comes home. The kids line up one at a time and run and jump in his arms. After he changes out of his work clothes they pile on top of him on the couch. Then they like Dad to make them fly! It's a rough life...lol

For more WW participants head to:










To view other Wordful Wednesday blogs head over to:






Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.

#Mamavation Monday

Weekly Mamavation Goals - 

This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Flatout Flatbread.

1.  #fruitnveggie challenge. Get 7-8 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. 
2. Water challenge. Strive to drink more water. Some moms are striving to drink half their body weight in water. For instance if you weigh 180, strive to drink 90 ounces of water per day.

My Goals -

• The long term goal 50lbs. by the end of the year.
• The short term goal 4 lbs. per month. 
• January - 4 pounds lost = goal met.
• February - 5 pounds lost = goal met.
• March - +1 gain = goal NOT met.
• April - 0 gain/loss = goal NOT met.
• May -2 pounds lost = goal NOT met.
• June

My Work Outs - Back to work!
Monday -45 minute walk
Tuesday - 1 mile run, 1 mile walk
Wednesday - 1 HR PM Boot Camp, 1 HR PM Spin Class
Thursday - 1 mile walk
Friday - No workouts
Saturday - No workouts
Sunday - No workouts

Measurements -
Chest +1"
Waist  +.5"
Hips +1.5"
Legs +.5"
Arms -.5"

Scale Reading -
4 lb. gain.

Stress Level -
My week could have been turned into a country song. My Grandmother's mass turned out to be non cancerous which was great news! On Thursday I turned 38 and in the middle of a birthday celebration my Grandmother had called 911 so back to the hospital we went. After 2 days she got to go home. Meanwhile, my childhood friend's father was on life support in the same hospital. Seriously! You can't make this stuff up. Today he is off life support and doing much better.

I was so upset about my gain and on frustration over load. I thought about the week and realized that I ate out 5 times this week. That NEVER happens!!!! I don't normally have the time or the money to eat out that many times in a week. My Mom and I went twice, then my hubs took me out for my birthday and on and on. Now I know where those pounds came from.

The UP side -
As long as I know where the extra pounds came from then I can pick myself up and dust myself off. I'm ready to kick it into high gear with the cardio. I'm going to see if that will help my situation. I went shopping over the weekend with my Mom. I could get into a smaller size which is good but I looked like I was wrapped up like a sausage which is bad. lol - At least I can see what is going on. I'm looking forward to this week now that everyone is well and my birthday extravaganza is OVER! - lol

I'm looking forward to reading how the rest of my "sistas" did this week.
And this is a little GLEE inspiration for all of this week!

I'm always hunting workout music which you will find in my DJ Booth at Blip.fm. You can search the #mamavation hashtag or #workouttunes to see my lists. If you have any music suggestions leave them in the comment section!

From RealAge.com

Secure Your Success
Charting your progress gets you there faster. Try these tools:








Track my weight loss.


Watch my waist get smaller.


Track my walking.  

Need for fitness support? Join the "Sistahood".

Before you go, don't forget to link up! I'm sure we are in some of the same circles. Have a look around the side bars and don't forget to check the "Add Me" tab.