Monday, October 31, 2011

25 Crazy Dayz of Giveawayz event is here: #Win a $299.99 Hoover!

EVENT IS CLOSED
Are you ready for a HUGE giveaway event?!?

The CouponCabin’s 25 Crazy Dayz of Giveawayz is HERE!
This is a HUGE giveaway event involving over 400 giveaways!
Just in time for the holidays; enter one or enter them all. Enter for your chance to win some fabulous gifts for the people on your Christmas list… or keep what you win for yourself.
The Mom Mart giveaway is a Hoover worth $299.99!

CouponCabin25CrazyDayzofGiveawayz

Monday Meet & Greet #14 Arizona Mama

It is time for another edition of the ever fabulous Monday Meet & Greet!
Each week the featured blogger is chosen at random and a Q&A is created so that we get to learn a little more about the featured blogger and the blogs that they write.
Drum roll please...

Week 14’s featured Meet & Greet blogger is:
Nancy from Arizona Mama
Arizona Mama

Are you in the mood for a Happy Halloween?!?

A lot has changed in the last couple of years. Pre-children Halloween was all about dressing up, going out, and getting the bejeesus scared out of me. This is no longer what Halloween is all about.

Now that I have children, Halloween is still all about costumes… just more kid friendly costumes. It is still all about going out. But my definition of “going out” has changed. Going out is now walking around the neighborhood showing off our awesome movie themed costumes to friends and family while trick-or-treating! Having the bejeesus scared out of me now involves a game of hide-and-seek with my toddler instead of a haunted house.

I love Halloween. It is one of the most carefree whimsical days where pretending is a prerequisite. Where using your imagination is a must! I love seeing people get really into the holiday. I especially love seeing all of the decorations that people create and display.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Making Christmas Shopping Easy: 2011 Holiday Gift Guides & Wish Lists!

When making my holiday checklist for Christmas presents I think about who all I need to buy for and what am I going to get them? I know exactly what I want to get my children. I know exactly what I am going to get my parents. I have absolutely no idea what I am going to get my husband or his parents! AAhhh! And here starts the stress of the holidays for me. On top of shopping for everyone else's gifts, I have to figure out what I would like to unwrap on Christmas morning.

Heck, I don’t even really know what I want most of the time. How can I expect my husband to know what the perfect Christmas gift is? I have come to the realization that my husband is NOT a mind reader and that if I truly want something I cannot use subtlety at all. I have to tell him “I want THIS, and you can buy it HERE.” Sadly, this takes all the fun of being pleasantly surprised out of opening gifts. I have found a solution to both of my dilemmas.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Friday Fun Pic: Week 24


Every once in a while I get the privilege of taking care of my niece, Abby. She is the little rascal on the left. I love it when Abby comes over to visit because it means I get a little girl time. In a household full of boys, I need a little girl time every once in a while. And my little doses of girl time are fabulous! As a bonus I get to watch the babies play together, and they totally play together. They crawl all over each other, talk to each other, and steal one another’s toys. It is comical and incredibly fun to watch. What can I say; I love babies!

the kiddos

WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT: Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Single Electric Breast Pump

and the WINNER is...
The winner of the Mom Mart Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Single Electric Breastpump Giveaway is Dana Beeman!
 
Congratulations on winning!
 
The winner has been verified and emailed.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

The hilarious things my children learn… and repeat!

For over two years I have taken care of a little girl twice a week. For the sake of this blog I will refer to this person as Lily. I pick Lily up from school and take her to her after school extracurricular activity. She is great with my boys and an absolute joy to take care of.  This last week we decided to turn off the silencer (DVD player in the car) and talk. And talk we did!

We discussed what was going on at school and what Lily’s Halloween plans were. Then we decided to try to make each other laugh. Out came the jokes. We told silly riddle jokes, funny accent jokes, and knock knock jokes. William, who is no slouch when it comes to picking up on what is going on, got in on the joke telling too. Pretty soon we were all cracking up!


That night at the dinner table William turned to me and delivered his best knock knock joke.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

#WordlessWednesday: Pumpkin Patch Kids


This was baby Steven’s first time visiting a pumpkin patch; so you know I came prepared with a camera!

One of my favorite fall activities is visiting a pumpkin patch.
The cool crisp weather, the smell of apple cider, and the rich colors of falling leaves makes playing outdoors in the fall a treat for the whole family. Picking out the perfect pumpkins was a great source of entertainment for my little guys too.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The perfect holiday gift: Something About Silver Review & #GIVEAWAY!

If you know me, you know that I do not wear a ton of jewelry. In fact I rarely ever wear any jewelry. Each and every piece of jewelry that I own is special in some way. It was either a gift from a loved one, or it holds some sentimental value. I also have to be in love with a piece of jewelry in order to buy it, simply liking it will not do. I have to want to wear it!

When I was contacted by Something About Silver to do a product review and giveaway I was a little apprehensive since I am not a big jewelry person. But once I took a look at their website and saw what they had to offer I became very excited about reviewing a piece of their jewelry. I spent a couple days looking at their website trying to figure out exactly what I wanted; there was so much to choose from! That alone is HUGE, since I do not like most jewelry.

Something About Silver specializes in custom hand stamped jewelry. They offer a wide selection of necklaces, bracelets, rings, charms, and keepsakes. All of their jewelry is constructed by hand in a studio located near Clearwater, Florida. So every piece of jewelry is a one of a kind piece of jewelry. And if you don't see something that you like, you can email them! They are happy to work with you to create a piece that is perfect for you.


I was given the Blessed Cross Charm Necklace (ARV $38.95) for the purposes of this review and I have to say that it has quickly become one of my favorite pieces of jewelry.

Did you win? October Follow Frenzy Winner has been drawn!

and the winner is...

The winner of the October Follow Frenzy Giveaways is Becky F.
Congratulations on winning $150!

Monday, October 24, 2011

No Rules Social Media Monday Blog Hop #15

This social media hop is designed to raise your ALEXA score, create more traffic, more followers, and more unique page views for your blog, twitter, and Facebook pages and to help you meet other amazing bloggers.
It is all about sharing and having fun!

While it is not required, it would be appreciated if you could spread the word about the Social Media Monday Hop by grabbing the button for your blog. Feel free to send out a blog post, a tweet, or share the news on Facebook! After all, the more people that participate, the more blog traffic and potential followers there are.
”mom

Monday Meet & Greet #13 MI Savings Mama

It is time for Monday Meet & Greet!
I have teamed up with a group of blogger friends to bring you a new blog every week to check out. Each week the featured blogger is chosen at random and a Q&A is created so that we get to learn a little more about the featured blogger and the blogs that they write.

Week 13’s featured Meet & Greet blogger is:
Amy from “MI Savings Mama”
MI Savings Mama

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The 25 Crazy Dayz of Giveawayz Sponsor Spotlight – Hoover®

The CouponCabin’s 25 Crazy Dayz of Giveawayz is right around the corner! I am getting more and more excited about this awesome event the closer it gets! I have a seriously amazing sponsor who is generously donating a fabulous prize for this event.

Want to know who my sponsor is.... Hoover! Yes, you heard me correctly. Hoover is the Mom Mart sponsor for the CouponCabin’s 25 Crazy Dayz of Giveawayz! Hoover is sponsoring this giveaway with the MaxExtract77 Multi-Surface Pro™FH50240 with (ARV of $299.99).

Friday, October 21, 2011

Follow Frenzy October #Giveaway - #Win $150!

Welcome to Follow Frenzy October!
This is a STICKY post and will remain at the top this blog throughout the duration of the event. To read newer blog posts please scroll down. Thank You!

Friday Fun Pic: Week 23

With Halloween just around the corner I have been putting together the last of the finishing touches on the family costumes. I have both William and Steven’s costumes ready for the big day. I still need to sew my costume and finish piecing together my husband’s costume too. I know that there are some things that I cannot sew myself, so I went ahead and ordered them. My husband’s pirate hat, hook hand, and the boy’s buccaneer swords arrived in the mail and William’s eyes lit up when I pulled each piece out of the box. He immediately put on the pirate hat and made a grab for the swords! For the next hour or so he ran around the house yelling, “Ahoy Mate-y! Arrrg!” He really likes pirates. What can I say; I think he is a pretty adorable looking pirate… Maybe I will make my husband dress up as Peter Pan and let William be Captain Hook?!? For some reason I don’t think my husband will be on board with this idea.


Http://MomMart.blogpspot.com

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Child proofing the house… is there such a thing as doing too much or too little?

 Toy Top
My son reminds me of one of those topsy turvy toys. He will get up on his feet like he is doing a push up and inch his way forward. It is not a full blown crawl quite yet, but it is pretty close. Steven is six months old and he is moving forwards and backwards. When these directions don’t get him to where wants to go quickly, he simply lies down and flips himself over from belly to back until he has rolled within reach of whichever toys has caught his interest.

As much fun as it is to watch my son do this, I have started to realize that he is very close to being mobile. Since my peanut is starting to move around more and more I have started to think more and more about child proofing my house.

With mobility comes curiosity.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

#WordlessWednesday : A Little Red Radio Flyer!

Ready…. Set…. GO!
Riding A Radio Flyer
Shock among shocks, but I am going to add some words to my Wordless Wednesday post.
I just wanted to share with you what is going on in this photo collage. My son is riding his bike for the first time. Yes, you heard me. My little boy is riding his bike for the very first time ever! He was finally able to reach the pedals, so he hopped on his little red Radio Flyer tricycle and pedaled around the basement to his little hearts content. It probably gave his self confidence a major boost that I was hooting, hollering, cheering, and snapping pictures left and right. Crazy mommy!

$200 Cash #Giveaway; Want to #Win some Money?


Photobucket
 

I am pretty excited to announce that I have teamed up with a rock star team of bloggers to bring you guys an awesome giveaway. With the holiday’s right around the corner, we decided to put together a prize that will help with your holiday shopping!

We're giving away a $100 Amazon gift card OR PayPal cash, winners choice, to TWO readers!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Oh My Aching Ear!

No my ears do not hurt because my children are loud rambunctious fools. They are just that, but unfortunately that is not the cause of my ear ache.

Let me start off by saying that I do not have time for being sick or hurt. I am a mover and a shaker and am always on the go. My mother teases me because I am always in the car heading somewhere. This weekend was no exception. I had two parties to attend as well as a Bears game! GO BEARS!

I have been trying to get over a cold for the last couple of weeks and I have pretty much kicked it, hooray! The kids have pretty much kicked it too (insert huge smiley face here). But when it rains it pours. When one person gets sick, we all get sick. Not fun but very true. Needless to say I was very pleased that we were all kicking the cold to the curb.

Unfortunately this reprieve did not last long. I woke up on Saturday just miserable. It felt like sinuses but I do not have sinus problems… hhhmmm. Then by Saturday evening my ears started to hurt. Now I am in pain.

My ears feel stuffed up. It is like my cold has migrated to my ears. That or someone has taken a wad of cotton and jammed it in there. Either way, I am none too pleased.

Go see a doctor you say? That is the game plan. Although I have a lot on the agenda today, seeing a doctor is a must. I have high hopes of being able to make an appointment this morning. In about one  minute I will be calling and begging!

Wish me luck!

http://mommart.blogspot.com/

Monday, October 17, 2011

Monday Meet & Greet #12 Staying Me

It is time for another edition of the ever fabulous Monday Meet & Greet!
Each week the featured blogger is chosen at random and a Q&A is created so that we get to learn a little more about the featured blogger and the blogs that they write.
Drum roll please...

Week 12’s featured Meet & Greet blogger is:
Stacie from “Staying Me”

Sunday, October 16, 2011

No Rules Social Media Monday Blog Hop #14

Join Mom Mart every Monday for a Twitter, Facebook, & Blog Hop!

This social media hop is designed to create more traffic, more followers, and more unique page views for your blog, twitter, and Facebook pages and to help you meet other amazing bloggers.
It is all about sharing and having fun!

While it is not required, it would be appreciated if you could spread the word about the Social Media Monday Hop by grabbing the button for your blog. Feel free to send out a blog post, a tweet, or share the news on Facebook! After all, the more people that participate, the more blog traffic and potential followers there are.
”mom

Yummy! A Quick and Easy Healthy Breakfast

I am a big fan of food that is quick and easy to make. As a mother of two little boys 2 years-old and under I do not have a lot of time to dedicate to complicated meals.

I also do not have a ton of time to dedicate to working off excess calories. So I have been trying to come up with healthy meals that are simple enough that even I can make them. One of my favorite quick and easy meals is something I call “Breakfast Medley”, and it refers to a fun combination of sweet and salty deliciousness. 
 
Breakfast Medley

Saturday, October 15, 2011

#ABE IS COMING!


A Blogtastic Extravaganza is coming this January!
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I had a blast participating in A Blogtastic Extravaganza (ABE) this last August. I made some great bloggy friends and gained some fabulous readers! I love giveaways, both entering them and hosting them. When I heard there was going to be another ABE I jumped at the opportunity to sign up. Guess what? I was accepted again! Mom Mart is going to be participating in A Blogtastic Extravaganza in January!

 
Fellow Bloggers & Readers:
“A Blogtastic Extravaganza” is a HUGE giveaway event that will last 5 days. There will only be up to 100 elite blogs participating in this event. Each participating blog will have an awesome giveaway package worth at least $100! It is a fabulous event with outstanding blogs! If you think that this is something you are interested in participating in I suggest you sign up now! To sign up for this event and to read the rules and regulations visit My Silly Monkeys.

For those of you who were here with me for the last “ABE” Event, I had an awesome “Ultimate Diaper Bag” package that was worth more than $200. I have been thinking long and hard about what type of theme I wanted to do this time around. Since I am always on the move and going from one place to the next I have decided that the Mom Mart theme for A Blogtastic Extravaganza is going to be “On the GO!” I have already lined up some seriously awesome sponsors for my package and am super excited!

Sponsors:
If you are a sponsor and have a product or service that you believe fits with an On the GO package theme, please email me at MomMart(at)Yahoo(dot)com and we can discuss sponsorship details. I usually write a Sponsor Spotlight post advertising sponsor products or services before the event starts and I install a 125X125 sponsor button on my sidebar for the duration of the event. This event attracts thousands upon thousands of visits and would be a fantastic way to showcase your company!

I feel like a kid in a candy store whenever I think about A Blogtastic Extravaganza! I am giddy with excitement over this event and hope to see you all there!

http://mommart.blogspot.com/

Friday, October 14, 2011

Friday Fun Pic: Week 22

I have been having a blast gearing up for Halloween for the last couple of weeks. Each year my entire family dresses up as characters from a movie. The movie we have chosen for this year is Peter Pan. My husband will be Captain Hook and I will be Princess Tiger Lily. I bought my baby boy a crocodile costume and have sewn a Peter Pan costume for my toddler. This picture is of my son William trying on his costume. My mother always made my Halloween costumes growing up and I love seeing home-made Halloween costumes! Unfortunately my sewing skills were not up to constructing a baby size costume, but I was able to sew the Peter Pan costume in an afternoon. I think it turned out pretty well.
Peter Pan
http://mommart.blogspot.com/

Thursday, October 13, 2011

A Fun Family Friendly Activity: Moon Dough!

When I go shopping for products to buy my children there are certain things that I take into consideration.

Number one is the longevity of whatever it is I am considering purchasing. How long is this item going to last? Will it only be good for a one time use? Are my children going to outgrow it in a matter of months?

Another factor that weighs into my purchasing decisions are the benefits of using the products. Does the product I am considering purchasing work on any developmental skills? What is the point of the toy?

Finally, I look at the mess factor. How long am I going to have to spend cleaning up the mess my children made from playing with this product? What all will be involved in the clean up? Will I be sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, or simply wiping down a surface?

After taking all of this into consideration, I then consider products that the whole family can use together. I love playing with my kids. I love it even more when the whole family can gather around the table and do something fun together. 

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

#WordlessWednesday: Highchair Hooligans!

My little men think that a highchair is just another toy…
with wheels!
 I can climb on, ride on, and push this highchair too!

http://mommart.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

My Best Friend is My Brother: Sibling Friendship

One of my favorite things to do is watch my children. They are always surprising me with the things they say and do. Life with two boys’ two-years-old and under is never dull. It is frequently messy and there are often bumps and bruises along the way; but it is NEVER dull.

Monday, October 10, 2011

No Rules Social Media Monday Blog Hop #13

Join Mom Mart every Monday for Hopping good time!

Welcome to another Social Media Monday Hop!
While it is not required, it would be appreciated if you could spread the word about the Social Media Monday Hop by grabbing the button for your blog. Feel free to send out a blog post, a tweet, or share the news on Facebook! After all, the more people that participate, the more blog traffic and potential followers there are.
Mom Mart Social Media Monday Hop

Cold and flu season is HERE and my home is under siege!

Taking care of a sick child

This weekend was filled with humidifier refills, games of tissue tag, and nasal aspirator mayhem!

Yup, you guessed it. We have all caught a cold. Well, everyone except my husband who seems to be immune to everything! I guess that should mean that he is in charge of taking care of all of us, right?

My baby boy woke up with a mild fever and a runny nose on Friday and it was all downhill from there. Once one of us has caught something, we all catch it. No if, and, or buts about it!

Of course Friday was the boys’ doctor appointments. Steven had his 6 month wellness visit where he was supposed to get another round of immunizations. William had his 2 ½ year wellness check-up; there were no scheduled shots for him thank goodness. As you may have concluded, there were no shots on Friday.

When your peanut has a fever and his body is already trying to fight off one thing some doctors prefer to wait a while before giving them a round of immunizations. Although, I have heard that if your child has a mild cold there is no need to delay a vaccination. For me personally, I prefer to wait a week or two until my little man is feeling better and will be able to handle the shots and the possible side effects better. This is a very hot topic among moms, beware!

Monday Meet & Greet #11 Sarah’s Blog of Fun

 Ready, Set, GO!
It is time for another edition of Monday Meet & Greet!
I have teamed up with a group of blogger friends to bring you a new blog every week to check out. Each week the featured blogger is chosen at random and a Q&A is created so that we get to learn a little more about the featured blogger and the blogs that they write.

This week you are being introduced to a fun new blog, please stop by and check her out after you read a little bit about her.

Week 11’s featured Meet & Greet blogger is:
Sarah from “Sarah’s Blog of Fun”

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Think Pink! Think Purple! Think about Breast Cancer & National Alzheimer’s Awareness!

Pink RibbonPurple Ribbon
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month followed by National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness month in November. These are two great causes that I firmly believe in!

Think Pink! Think Purple! The pink ribbon is the symbol of breast cancer awareness whereas the purple ribbon is the symbol of various causes including but not limited to Alzheimer’s Awareness.

Many people wear a pink ribbon to show their moral support for women with breast cancer. The National Football League promotes breast cancer awareness throughout the month of October by including pink in their team websites and advertisements. Individual football players can be seen sporting pink gloves, pink hats, and even pink patches on their uniforms to show their support.  

Friday, October 7, 2011

Friday Fun Pic: Week 21

It seems that every time I turn around my family has migrated to the kitchen! If it is not a cooking craft bringing us into the kitchen it is a painting project or meal preparation. We seem to be spending more and more time together as a family cooking dinner and baking cookies these days. My little man loves to “help” mommy and daddy in the kitchen. He is definitely a hands-on type of child. This is a fabulous photo of my husband, Travis, and my son, William, licking the bowl and the mixer clean of cookie dough. This is my husband’s favorite part of baking cookies… I think William likes it too! My boys are oh so entertaining! Like father, like son.

Written by: Laura Andry

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Starting Solid Foods: How I made the transition from bottle to solid foods.

supplies
Making the transition from the bottle or breast to solid food can seem daunting as a first time parent. It is not something that you will remember for the rest of our life either. If you are anything like me once this stage of parenting is over, so is the texbook training and research you put into knowing everything there was to know about getting your baby started on solid foods. All of that hard earned knowledge seems to fly right out the door once my babies are eating solid foods.

Right now I am starting my six  month old on solid foods and I am having to go back and re-learn everything all over again! Since I am putting in all of this work to re-educate myself, I thought I would share my findings and experiences.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

10 Holiday Planning Tips!


With the holidays fast approaching I have started to organize and plan ahead. I have put together a quick little list for you to help you get ready for the holiday season. I hope you find this helpful!

1)   If you come from a large family or do not have a lot of funds for Christmas gifts, pick names out of a hat and do a secret Santa gift exchange. This way you can do the holiday season without breaking the bank.

2)   Make your list and check it twice. Christmas shopping can get insane if you let it! I like to start making my Christmas gift list and wish list in October so that when the holiday season arrives all of my Christmas shopping is complete.

3)   Stock up on gift wrap, bows, ribbons, tape, and taggies for wrapping up all of the presents you are going to need to wrap. Want to be eco friendly and fun? Save your Sunday paper comics and use that as wrapping paper; it is brightly colored and entertaining!

4)   Think about your Christmas Cards! I like to make my Christmas cards personal and include pictures of my family. You can do this too by using Storkie.com.
 
5)   Display all of your holiday cards. Have a designated area where you display all of your holiday cards. Some people use the mantel of their fireplace while others use their refrigerator. A bloggy friend of mine suggested using a painted shutter to display holiday cards!

6)   Make a game plan! Know where you are going to be spending the holidays and how long you are going to be there. If you have family that is spread out and you are going to try and spend a little bit of time with everyone being organized can make this transition easier on everyone.

7)   Planning on staying at home? Plan your holiday meal ahead of time. I host Christmas Eve every year. My in-laws come over and we eat, go to church, and exchange gifts. Although the menu changes, my planning of the feast does not. I create a menu, then have all of the recipes organized and on hand for the big day. I have a grocery list of all of the items I will need to prepare the meal completed ahead of time.

8)   A clean house is a happy house. I take the time to do a thorough cleaning of my home right before the holidays. I know that once the holidays arrive I will not have the time or inclination to really scrub my house clean. Doing this before life gets crazy can save your sanity!

9)   Decorate! Nothing puts me in the holiday spirit like putting up my holiday decorations! From putting out my wreath to decorating the tree, nothing says winter wonderland like great holiday décor.

10) Decide which holiday traditions you are going to take and which holiday traditions are going to be left behind. You do not have to do everything your parents did, but you may want to hang on to the ones that you have fond memories of.  What traditions do you want to pass down to your children?


I wrote this blog post while participating in the Storkie holiday blogging program. I received compensation for my participation. All opinions are 100% mine

Written by: Laura Andry
http://mommart.blogspot.com/

#WordlessWednesday: Mommy's Little Pumpkin


I know that Wordless Wednesdays are supposed to be wordless... but I just cannot seem to help myself. This is my little pumpkin in his little pumpkin outfit provided by my wonderful and stylish mother-in-law.

– You were right Sandy! I think he is absolutely adorable in this outfit. I just want to eat him right up!

Written by: Laura Andry

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