Happy 110th Birthday Crayola

 Can you believe those delightful little crayons that our children, and ourselves for that matter, go nuts over(and that my dogs like to eat when they are left in his reach, yuck) are turning 110 years old this year?!?!

 To celebrate the 8 original crayons are throwing a birthday bash at the new fun-omenal Crayola Experience, the world's only interactive Crayola family attraction. Right now, they're out on a colorful adventure to spread the news.

Best of all you are invited to join in on the fun. How? You can follow the crayons on their big adventure, and enter to WIN a trip for 4 to celebrate their birthday and the Grand Opening of the all new Crayola Experience this coming May, 2013.

Visit the Crayola Facebook page and click "enter now" for your chance to be first in line when the Crayola Experience reopens.

What is the Crayola Experience? "The new Crayola Experience features four floors of new interactive exhibits and one-of-a-kind attractions that will bring the magic of color and your child's creativity to life!"

The winner will be among the first to experience the fun, along with a three- night, all-expenses paid stay(please read the official rules for all the details). 

Make sure you like The Crayola Experience on Facebook, for neat findings during construction as well as updates on the progress. You may also check out their website however at the moment it is under construction as well, but you are allowed to purchase advanced tickets.

All information written in this post was given to me by Crayola, I received no compensation, just happy to share the information with all of you.

Battle that Winter Skin with Carmex Skin Care

I know Spring has just begun, although here in the Midwest we wish someone remembered to tell the weather, but the blues of winter are still lingering on our skin. Cold, icy winds have left my hands and face chapped and rough. My legs are dry as well. Time to break out the Carmex Healing Cream and Hydrating Lotion.

"Just like their pharmacist-recommended lip balms, Carmex skin care products are loaded with healing ingredients to deliver deep hydration and serious moisturizing power. Their unique formula is sure to repair your driest, roughest skin, even in the most extreme conditions."

I have reviewed both products in the past and my opinion remains the same, these are my go to for dry skin repair and moisturizing. Moisturizing is the job and Carmex does it well. You can check out my previous review here.  While I wait on the warmer weather to catch up with the calendar, I will be repairing what old man winter has done to my skin.

I would love, thanks to the great people at Carmex, to give one lucky reader the chance to try both the Carmex Healing Cream and Hydrating Lotions for themselves, I am sure I am not the only one who needs to repair some damage. Feel free to enter below, don't have damaged winter skin, no worries, enter any way. I am sure you will find that Carmex Skin care works great and keeping your skin soft and moisturized.

With Carmex, everyone is a winner.

I was given samples of the products listed in this post in exchange for my review, all opinions are my own true and honest thoughts. No monetary compensation was given. All images belong to Carmex and are used with permission. Giveaway open to all residents of the continental USA who are of the age of 18 at the time of entry. Winner will be given 48 Hours to claim prize(s) or a new winner will be chosen. Thank You for playing.
  

Crossroads

The past year seems to have flown by. On February 13th of this year I celebrated my 33rd birthday, I know it isn't one of the romanticized and/or dreaded numbers like 16, 21, or even 40, but it is a milestone I am glad I encountered just the same. I seem to have better LUCK, for lack of a better word, on my odd years. I am not superstitious, just stating the fact that my even years have shown me more grief and struggles than my odd. I am sure this is purely coincidence.

My grandfather passed away a year ago February 19th. My heart still feels the weight of grieving for the great man that he was and I find that even in my adult years I idolize him. He was my superman so to speak, I never imagined life without him.

I know I mentioned some changes that caused me to have to relocate. A long term relationship, including a 3 year engagement, ended a year ago this month. I took it hard for reasons other than the norm. Here I was trying to figure out why everything was ending, yet I was crying over the years I had set my goals and dreams aside to encourage and support someone else to fulfill theirs. I was so mad at myself, I raise my daughters to be independent, successful young women and yet I was doing the complete opposite. We lived in his hometown, near his family. I woke up one morning a few days later and decided I needed to be with my family and now I know they needed me too. It took them a while to admit it and some are still in denial, but that is where we are, at a crossroads for the children and myself. I am not really sure where we are going, but I have faith in myself that we will get there and things will be good, not easy, but good.

I want to explore my dreams and goals once more. I have always wanted to work in animal medicine. I have started the process of enrolling in school so I can do just that, but part of me is second guessing that decision. I will go back to school, but still not sure what I want to do with that education. I have a lot of support no matter what I decide. My new beau, "J", is constantly encouraging me to try new things and better myself. We started dating in June and aside from a short 2 week episode of what I like to call J's idiot tantrum, we are very happy. I am taking things one day at a time as far as that goes. Dating is not what I remember at all and until I met him I was starting to wonder if it was really worth pursuing. I was quite content being single, but now I wouldn't change things for anything, even if it doesn't end well, I will enjoy the adventure.

One goal I am working on currently is to get fit and get to a much healthier weight. I am quite happy with my progress and cant wait to share with you all as I continue that journey. I dropped under the 200 LB mark a while ago and I am still excited about that. To me it was a major hurdle.

The real reason I am here

I started this blog years ago, not on this site, but the idea of it I guess you could say. I always said I was going to keep it true to myself, to write in a way where you feel like you are actually talking to me and at the same time write about whatever crossed my mind regardless of who it may offend because in the end this is still my blog. Here lately I have been thinking about who I was back then and where I disappeared to. I loved me then, I was strong and had a thirst for life, always seeking out the unexpected. I do not know where I went or how I got there, but I want that me back. I miss her.

My point in all this is that I am going to try really hard to bring me back. I am not going to care so much if I offend anyone, sorry, but I do hope you all understand and come along for the ride. I promise you, it is sure to be a bumping one, but we will take plenty of rest stops.

Carmex Everday Lip Conditioner review

Brrrr it is getting cold out there. Icy winds, wet air, snow, sleet, rain, and even the sun are no fun in the fall and winter as far as our lips are concerned. We chap, peal and bleed. It hurts. My oldest plays the trombone in the band and chapped or dry lips are no fun for her.

Carmex to the rescue again, while we all know the traditional Carmex lip balms we use to help with chapped lips, they have come up with something new. It isn't a lip balm or a lotion, it is a lip conditioner. Carmex Everyday Lip Conditioner uses 13 moisturizing ingredients to help leave your lips silky smooth and kissable, never sticky.

I love how it glides on smooth and doesn't feel greasy or stiff. My daughter says it doesn't feel like she has plastic stuck to her lips like some other brands do. It comes in a mild orange flavor that is very pleasant. After I applied it I felt the normal Carmex tingle for a bit, but once it was gone I didn't even notice it was there. I love that is has a matte finish so I can wear my favorite lip sticks and glosses over it. Who doesn't like to look cute while still being protected.

Carmex Everyday Lip Conditioner has found a forever spot in my makeup bag. The cute little tubes are going to make excellent stocking stuffers in our house as well.


I was given the product by Carmex in exchange for my review, all opinions are my own and no monetary compensation was given.

Introducing NEW Purex plus Oxi

  Lets face it, if you have children you have stains. Finding a laundry detergent that fights stains well and stays within our budgets can be rather tricky sometimes, so when I heard about the new Purex plus Oxi I was very excited. 

"Purex^® plus Oxi is so powerful, it works against over 101 different stains!

The three stain-fighting enzymes in Purex plus Oxi each work against different types of stains for the most Purex stain-fighting power you can get." 

After using it on my children's clothes for the past month now, I have to agree with the above statement. Each month at least one item of clothing ends up in the trash or the rag pile due to being stained. This past month nothing has been trashed. Purex plus Oxi got out the grass, grease, marker, pen, and even blood that my children have gotten on their clothes. What more could a mom ask for. Not only do you stay within your laundry budget, but you save money on clothing as well.

A few things you may wish to know:

• Purex plus Oxi has been specifically formulated to work equally well in both High Efficiency washing machines as well as Standard Top-Load washing machines.
• You can use Purex plus Oxi on all clothing that is marked as machine-washable. As always, be sure to follow the directions on the clothing label. 

•  Purex plus Oxi has been tested and found to be hypoallergenic and safe for sensitive skin. 
• It is available in Fresh Morning Burst scent

You could win with Purex plus Oxi, Purex wants to give 1 lucky winner $1,000! There will also be 250 2nd place winners that will each win $25! Enter their sweepstakes here: Win

Sweepstakes end November 30, 2012 so hurry. 

Want to give the new Purex Plus Oxi a try? Three lucky readers will get a chance to try it for free. Enter in the Rafflecopter form below, 3 winners will be selected to win a coupon good for one free bottle of Purex plus Oxi.


*Purex provided me with a sample of Purex plus Oxi so I could review it. However all of the opinions expressed here are, as always, my own.

Neon Tiki Tribe - Kid's Books with Moral Stories and Dyslexic Font

 The Neon Tiki Tribe is a team of super-positive super-heroes featured in this all-new book series. Showcasing rich colors, moral stories, and a font created to help the nearly 1 in 10 kids with dyslexic symptoms, these books all have a moral story.

 I was recently given a chance share these wonderful books with our friends thanks to Mommyparties. The Neon Tiki Tribe members use special sunglasses that give them super powers to help defeat the The Evil Ku Tiki Tribe. Tiki stands for Thoughtful, Intelligent, Kind, Individual, which every parent hopes their child grows to become just that. Mowah, Zeke, Tia, and Dar with the help of Greg, take children on an adventure to do what is right.

 We were given three books to try out. In Book 1: Tiki Beach Battle, Zeke discovers someone has been dumping trash into the water. The team also finds some animals that have been effected by the trash and it is up to them to find out who is responsible and put a stop to it. Tiki Beach Battle teaches kids the damage that can be done when we don’t take care of our trash.

In Book 2: Dog Rescue Mission, the Neon Tiki Tribe helps a neighbor whose dog is missing, they use their special sunglasses to find the dog, but they ruin into trouble and the Evil Ku Tiki Tribe. “Dog Rescue Mission” teaches kids about the importance of honesty and the courage of telling the truth.

In Book 3: Playground Push around, a girl named Mya is being bullied and she turns to the team to learn how to deal with it. This book really hit home for me as bullying is a huge issue with school age children these days.

Check out The Neon Tiki Tribe on Facebook and Twitter

 My children do not have any learning difficulties but I know several of their classmates do, I was very happy to hear that these books are printed with a special font called Dyslexie, , a revolutionary new typeface designed specifically for individuals with dyslexia. My brother suffers from Dyslexia, however these books gave him a chance to finally read stories to his 3 year old daughter. You can find out more about the Neon Tiki Tribe and purchase the books at their website: http://neontikitribe.com/

The kids had a blast acting out scenes from the stories using the special "sunglasses". We took advantage of the beautiful weather and had our party outdoors with a bonfire. We roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. And listened to the stories by the fire. It was such a nice get together that we decided to make it a weekly thing even when I do not have goodies to share.

I was given several copies of the books, 2 shirts, 2 posters, and the glasses for this party from Mommyparties/MomSelect, no other compensation was given and all opinions are my own. Only children whose parents gave permission are featured in the pictures.