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While I haven’t been perfect in my endeavors, I have been making progress and that makes me happy. I still have a long way to go before I am where I want to be, but I am moving forward… though at times it feels like I’m going sideways and backwards too!!

I was recently given the opportunity to review a book by Kaira Rouda called Here, Home, Hope. I had mentioned reading it once before and meant to write about it sooner, but time passes by so quickly lately… so here we are.

This book could not have come at a better time for me. In it the main character is a mother of two, who left the workforce to stay at home to take care of her house. While she was happy, she couldn’t help but feel like something was off… something was missing in her life. She started a T2C (Things to Change) list. She took charge of her life again and though it wasn’t always easy, she found the happiness, peace and sense of belonging that she was looking for.

While I can’t compare myself to the character in the book, I did find the story to be motivating. I devoured that book and it was finished soon after I began reading it. In a way it made me feel like the path that I started going down at the start of the year was a right one… I was just being to  cautious about it… that’s my nature. I am afraid to fail, but then again how will I know how I do if I don’t at least try (I know honey you have been telling me this for a while!). If there’s anything that I learned from reading this book, it’s that I need to step out of my shell and follow my dreams… in order for those dreams to become a reality, I need to also acknowledge them… I need to move away from baby steps and start taking some big steps!

Fine Print

{The review above has been sponsored by the One2One Network. While I received a sample of the product mentioned above, I was not monetarily compensated and the review is written based on my honest opinion. Please click on the link to see my full disclosure policy.}

Soooo….. on with the review. Mega Brand and RoseArt were kind enough to send me a sample of a new, fun and creative product that they have out – Color Blanks. Color Blanks are design-free figurines that provide fun canvases for children (or adults *ahem*)  to discover their inner artist. They are collectable, posable, plastic figures that can be decorated with markers, stickers, paint and more.

It took me about a week before I finally unblanked my Color Blank…. the kids were in bed and it was just me, my little gal (because I decided my little one was a girl), some paint and a few markers… and you know what? I had a blast! I painted it first and then decided that I wanted the black paint to stand  out more, so I went over it with the black marker that was provided in the kit – the marker went on smoothly and looked great (it also has held up much better to the areas that were only painted). I used some Sharpies that I had at home to add some embellishments and completed my little girl’s look by giving her a face (I used a few of the stickers provided in the kit for this).

Okay, so the only girly thing about her is her curly hair (that I sharpied on), the flower on her belly and her eyes… but she’s my girl! I had originally thought that maybe Noah could color and decorate it, but I have to honestly say that I am glad that I did, because I had a lot of fun doing it. So much fun, that I considered it to be my craft for that week!

Fine Print

{The review above has been sponsored by MEGA Brands. While I received a sample of the product mentioned above, I was not monetarily compensated and the review is written based on my honest opinion. Please click on the link to see my full disclosure policy.}

Up until my mother’s wedding this past Saturday, Noah had been doing well in the potty training department. I finally thought that he “got it” and we were having very few, if any, accidents. I wish I could say the same right now! He’s also gotten a bit of an attitude towards us, which we are trying to stop before it gets too bad. I’ve thought about hanging up a chart on the fridge so that we track and reward him for good behavior and was happy to hear that there is a website that can help me with that!

I heard about GoalForIt.com through MomSelect and took the time to check it out. I found that the site can very quickly and easily help me make behavior charts for Noah, which I can then either leave on check off online, or print out to hang up here at home in a spot where he can see it. Once I realized that I could not  access and use the site the way it is meant to me used while using Google Chrome as my browser, I was ready to go! The chart was very easy to put together and I loved that it was a combination of both pictures and words… so much easier for my non-reading toddler to understand.  It also gives you the option to make your own custom behavior or chore tiles, though I have to admit that when I tried to do that I got was a blank tile in my behavior chart. I opted to leave everything online and not print it out, I didn’t want the extra paper clutter on the fridge. I was given the option to have email reminders though… either daily or weekly… I thought that was great, since I have a problem remembering things unless I see them or am reminded of them.

Over all, I think GoalForIt.com is a good site  for parents (and kids) who love and need charts. I really liked that it was free! I would like to see them work on browser compatibility though. I have to be honest, it was very frustrating trying to make a chart while using Chrome and not be able to complete the task. If I hadn’t decided to try the site while using IE (which I never use), I probably would have given up on it without knowing what it could really do.

Fine Print

{The review above has been sponsored by MomSelect. While I am being compensated for this review, it is written based on my honest opinion. Please click on the link to see my full disclosure policy.}

The Clic-It diaper bag lets you organize the bag the way you need to have it organized… some days you need more than others, but why should you have to sacrifice organization for that need? The diaper bag and accessories are built with the Clic-It Quick Release clip system that allows you to organize your accessories the way that you want to and lets you put them in the spots where you use them the most. Besides diaper bag, the Clic-It diaper bag system includes a bottle holder, insulated tote, pacifier holder, diapers and wipes case, organizer pouch, gadget case, key ring, and changing kit. The messenger  flap is removable and the strap also turns into a belt.

I was sent the diaper bag with messenger flap, changing kit, bottle holder and organizer pouch for review. I’ll admit that when I first started packing the bag for our outing to the pumpkin patch, I was disappointed that there was no zippered pocket on the inside of the bag. I liked that there were 4 outside pockets as well as 2 inside pockets, my old bag did not have that and it was nice to be able to put the items I grab for most quickly within  reach.

While I haven’t had much use for the bottle holder (yet), thanks to being a walking milk making machine, I have used all of the other items I was sent… in fact I use them practically on a daily basis. The organizer pouch fulfills the need for the zippered pocket, though I’ve found that it is easier to clip it onto one of the outer clips than the inner ones, where I would prefer to have it. Other than that though I’ve been very happy with the bag and it’s accessories and use it daily.

If you would like the chance to win your out Clic-It diaper bag and accessory system then the following info may be interesting for you! Clic-It is kicking off the “Gearing Up for Baby” contest from November 15 – December 24. Log onto www.clicitbag.com for details on how to enter for a chance to win a prize pack including a new Clic-It diaper bag and accessory assortment (retail value: $117.00).

Fine Print

{I was sent the product mentioned above to review for free courtesy of Team Mom. I was given no other compensation. The review is written based on my opinion. Please click on the link to see my full disclosure policy.}

It is partly because of my lack of knowledge and this thinking that I agreed to the review. I wanted to see who the people were who put their trust and money into Bernard Madoff’s hands. I had heard about him through the news shortly after the whole Ponzi scheme came to light, so it wasn’t a completely unfamiliar name. I knew that he was in jail for fraud and that there had been some big name Hollywood types that had fallen victim to him… but who were the others? Were they everyday people like you and me? As it turns out, many of them were.

The book is a collection of essays, written by some of the victims of Madoff. After reading the essays written by the victims – many of which prefer to be called “survivors” – I found that you couldn’t categorize this group of people into just one group… they weren’t just of one religion or background… they weren’t all doctors and lawyers… they didn’t all live in big fancy homes. What  they did have in common is that they worked hard and saved what they could, and then invested in a fund that they was safe and had a good return… most were referred to Madoff by friends and family who also had invested with him. These were not short term investors and they weren’t following some get rich quick scheme. Their ages ranged from young (30′s) to older (80+). While their backgrounds and lifestyles may have differed greatly from each other, their stories all had one thing in common… they had invested their life savings in a fund that they thought was secure (and insured) and found out the hard way that it wasn’t… and that the SIPC and SEC did nothing to help them.

It was interesting to read the essays written by the survivors. Not only did I get to find out more about who they were before that fateful day in December 2008, but I also got to find out how their lives had been impacted since. Many of them wrote of it being an eye opening experience… how they learned that living with less was actually living with more. They wrote of hope and new beginnings… though not by choice. I found it hard to read the essays written by the older generation… the ones that were retired and lost everything that they had worked all their lives for… the younger generation has time to make up for what they had lost; the older generation doesn’t. I would hate for something like that to happen to someone I loved.

Overall, I learned that what happened to these victims, these survivors, could happen to any of us. Just because you are investing your money somewhere you think is secure, that doesn’t mean that it is. We can all learn from this… it can happen to anyone, but let’s hope that it doesn’t.

If you want to find out more, you can click on the link above, which will take you to the Amazon page, or you can check out their Facebook page.

Fine Print

{I was sent the book mentioned above to review for free. I was given no other compensation. The review is written based on my opinion. To see my full disclosure policy, please go here}

Now I’ll let you know that when I got the email about this review opportunity I was a little hesitant to accept it. I’m not the greatest cook out there and I thought to myself “Do I really want to review bread crumbs?” Because I am not the worlds greatest cook though I decided that yes I did want to try them out and review them… and I am so happy that I did.

I finally decided to make a dish using it the other day. I took out two frozen chicken breast and let them de-thaw (I may have used the microwave to speed things up since I took them out only 1 hour before dinner… last minute Lucy – that’s me!!). I then cut them up into little bite size pieces and got ready to bread them with the panko. I set up my little station of flour, (beaten) egg and  panko (in a ZipLoc bag), and got to work. I was pleased with the way that it stuck to the chicken pieces, giving them a nice even coat. Once all of the chicken pieces were breaded, I put some olive oil in a pan and cooked them until they were done.

The real test came next… the taste test… and it had to be passed by two (three if I count myself) judges… Noah and Ray. Since I had to nurse Abby, I let them be the guinea pigs!! =) Ray took the first bite and said right away that he liked it. Noah ate them too since they looked like little chicken nuggets, which made us happy because he has gotten very, very, very picky with his food. I was able to sit down and eat a few minutes later and that was when I was really happy that I signed up for the review. The Lemon Pepper Panko was awesome! It had a great taste and stayed nice and crunchy, despite the fact that I had put the lid on the skillet to help cook the chicken faster. I loved that it had a little bit of a zing to it too. I will definitely buy this again once I use it all up.

Giveaway

Here’s your chance to enter to win the prize pack shown below!

You will receive a box of Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko Bread Crumbs and a signed copy of Chef Michael Chiarello’s cookbook Bottega.

To enter just leave me a comment letting me know how you plan on using the panko. That’s all it takes to enter, but this step is mandatory! This giveaway will end on Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 11:59 PM CST.

You can do any of the following for an additional entry each:

• Follow me publicly via Google Friend Connect, subscribe via RSS or sign up for email updates (You must verify the subscription in the follow-up email)
• Follow me on Twitter (@MamaMichie) and tweet about this giveaway. Please leave the URL to your tweet in the comments. (You can tweet daily for 1 entry per day)
  
• Like Mama Michie’s Musings on my Facebook fanpage (Leave user name)
• Follow me on Networked Blogs (Leave user name)

Please make sure that you leave me a separate comment for each entry!

Also as long as you fill out your information in the secure form, you do not need to list your email again in your comment.

I will be using random.org to pick the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to get back to me otherwise a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!!

Fine Print

{I was sent the gift pack mentioned above to review for free courtesy of General Mills and MyBlogSpark. I was given no other compensation. The review is written based on my opinion. To see my full disclosure policy, please go here}

on my doorstep. After bringing it into the house, I did a little dance of joy (picture Larry and Balki from Perfect Strangers… yes I am old enough to remember that show). For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is the new Fisher Price EZ Bundle… it is an infant seat, toddler seat, swing and high chair all in one! Here is some information about the EZ Bundle from the Fisher Price website:

Here’s a revolutionary new space-saving idea that’s also a great value! The EZ Bundle 4-in-1 Baby System gives you 4 baby essentials in one! Start with one seat, then snap it into the infant seat frame, the swing frame, the high chair frame or the toddler seat frame. So easy to switch—and everything you need is included! Requires 4 C batteries.

4 baby essentials in one bundle!

Infant Swing
• 6-speeds for variety
• 3-point restraint
• Comfy stain-resistant seat pad
• Approx. 0-6 Months, Maximum weight: 25 lbs.
• Use Swing from birth until child becomes active and attempts to climb out of the product.

High Chair
• 5-point restraint
• Comfy stain-resistant seat pad
• Approx. 6-24 Months, Maximum weight: 50 lbs.
• Use High Chair only with a child who has enough upper body control to sit up unassisted.

Newborn Seat
• Great for feeding or napping!
• 3-point restraint
• Comfy stain-resistant seat pad
• Approx. 0-6 Months, Maximum weight: 25 lbs.
• Use Infant seat from birth until child is able to sit up unassisted.

Toddler seat
• Holds toddlers up to 50 lbs.!
• Comfy stain-resistant seat pad
• Approx. 18 Months & up, Maximum weight: 50 lbs.
• Use Toddler seat only with a child capable of getting into and out of the product unassisted.

Since I got it on a Friday night the box didn’t get opened up right away… no…. my living room had to wait until the next morning before it was allowed to look like this:

I must say that it was easy enough to put together… I had a great helper too! I basically put three (3) things together… the newborn/infant seat base, the toddler seat base and the swing. The highchair is put together by placing the legs into the bottom of the toddler chair and adding the tray…. though Noah had fun eating lunch in the toddler chair with just the tray attached.

My thoughts:

I  like it and I like the price (at the time of this posting it was $150 on the Fisher Price website). I like that I don’t need to have 4 different bulky items in my house. Though there are a few larger items included in this package, I was able to easily fit the two things I’m not using right now (the Toddler seat and the highchair) into the box even after I had put everything together. I’ve been using the swing and newborn/infant seat daily for over two weeks now and Abby and I (well… Noah too) both give it thumbs up.

Abby has been eating her cereal while in the newborn/infant seat for over a week… so I feel like the fabric has been given a good run for its money…. and has stood up very well to the test. The seat material feels great to the touch… not plasticy (that’s a word right?) or like vinyl, yet it cleans up beautifully! Abby has a habit of blowing raspberries while eating and we have had more than our fair share off cereal got onto it… and each and every time I’ve been able to just wipe it away with a baby wipe.

Both of my kids like sitting in it, so it has gotten the approval of both the toddler and infant… heck, Noah even likes sitting in when when we have it set up as an infant seat! (If you’re able to make out any of the larger items in the background, you can tell we were Fisher Price fans even prior to this review!)

Fine Print

{I was sent the product mentioned above to review for free courtesy of MomSelect and Fisher Price. I was given no other compensation. The review is written based on my opinion. To see my full disclosure policy, please go here}

Moon Dough is a new molding compound that never dries out. It is soft and light… like a marshmallow. It comes in eight (8) different colors and various play sets. We were sent the Moon Dough Barnyard and Noah couldn’t wait to open it! I was finally able to tear it out of his hands long enough to take a picture of the box and then get to work setting it up for him.

The barn itself came in a few pieces that you had to put together… this wasn’t so bad, but I have noticed over the past week that the bottom part of the silo doesn’t want to stay in place and I keep finding it in various places around the house… usually not far from Noah’s cars since he  likes to stick them in there. I guess he thinks it’s a little garage or something… who knows. Anyway… like I was saying… putting the barn together was easy. I next opened up the play mat, which in my opinion was an over glorified laminated paper place-mat. The last thing I opened up was the Moon Dough itself. My first impression was that it didn’t smell good… so much so that I double checked to see if it was non-toxic and where it is made (it is non-toxic and is made in Sweden).

So, with the safety of the dough verified, I opened the bag and smooshed it together (yes that is the technical term). It definitely is light! It is a bit flaky though and leaves your hands feeling like you’ve rubbed flour on them. Not terrible, just different. We then put it to the toddler test! I helped Noah mold it and play with it. we made a few fences and hay bales… a few chickens and cows. The moon dough really is pretty cool and fun to play with.

I just don’t think that Noah is quite ready for it yet… or better yet I’m not ready for him to play with it yet… because it  is messy. It is definitely not meant for rough toddler hands… ones that quickly destroy the newly molded cow just by picking it up.  It quickly breaks apart and little pieces get everywhere. That’s not something that I feel like dealing with right now since Abby is thisclose to crawling.

Overall… I think that Moon Dough is fun to play with… it’s just not necessarily the right thing for a two year old… he can’t turn the handle to make the little animal shapes and just has too strong of a grasp to play with the molded shapes. I like that it never dries out the way that other doughs do, but I don’t like that the plastic bags that the dough comes in are not resealable… I mean how hard is it to put it into a resealable bag or tub? I do like that extra Moon Dough is available in other colors and can be bought separately.

Do you and your kids want to try out Moon Dough for yourself? It’s available at Amazon.com, Michael’s, Target and many of the other big box stores.

Fine Print

{I was sent the product mentioned above to review for free courtesy of Team Mom. I was given no other compensation. The review is written based on my opinion. Please click on the link to see my full disclosure policy.}

I was contacted shortly before Noah’s birthday by My Baby Clothes Boutique. I took a look at their website and just had a blast! There were so many cute outfits that I could picture Abby in… but I was able to narrow it down to an adorable pettiskirt.

I couldn’t wait for the package with Abby’s new pettiskirt and headband to arrive. I didn’t have to wait long though… I was impressed with how quickly it shipped. I opened it right away and couldn’t wait to have Abby try it on. What do you think… isn’t it cute?

Here’s a close up of the headband…

I love the feel of the feather… it’s soo soft! The headband fits nice and snug without digging into her head.

Overall, I’m very happy with both the skirt and headband as well as with the website and service!

Giveaway

Here’s your chance to enter to win a $25 gift certificate to My Baby Clothes Boutique! To enter just leave me a comment letting me know which outfit or accessories you would buy from there. That’s all it takes to enter, but this step is mandatory! This giveaway will end on Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 11:59 PM CST.

You can do any of the following for an additional entry each:

• Follow me via Google Friend Connect
• Subscribe via RSS or sign up for email updates (You must verify the subscription in the follow-up email)
• Follow me on Twitter (@MamaMichie) and tweet about this giveaway. Please leave the URL to your tweet in the comments. (You can tweet daily for 1 entry per day)
  Feel free to copy and paste this as your tweet:
  Dress your little one in style! Win $25 to www.mybabyboutique.com  Enter @MamaMichie http://bit.ly/93zfTf #giveaway
• Become a Facebook Fan (Leave user name and a separate comment for each entry)
• Follow me on Networked Blogs (Leave user name)

Please make sure that you leave me a separate comment for each entry!

Also as long as you fill out your information in the secure form, you do not need to list your email again in your comment.

I will be using random.org to pick the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to get back to me otherwise a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!!

Fine Print

{I was sent the product mentioned above to review for free courtesy of My Baby Clothes Boutique. I was given no other compensation. The review is written based on my opinion. To see my full disclosure policy, please go here}