Read my ramblings about life as a breastfeeding, babywearing, co-sleeping, sometimes cloth diapering, kinda crunchy livin', attachment parenting practicing, deal seeking, freebie lovin', stay at home mom of a busy toddler and precocious preschooler!
I'll admit, I'm very biased about the content of this blog, The Barking Owl...it is after all drawn and written by my darling little sister Amanda. But she is a very talented artist by profession, and she takes her talent for writing humorously and her mastering of the mouse and MS Paint to create hilarious yet true musings about her day to day life.
One of her features is my precocious almost 4 year old Cooper and his "Cooper-isms"
Here is a sample of what you'll see:
My sister also features her special needs kitty Tumble, her husband Travis and of course herself. Please Follower her on Google Friend Connect, you will not regret it. It's your daily prescription of laughter and sunshine, in the most sarcastic dose possible!
With the craziness of the holidays and all of our traveling, I'm way behind on blogging! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend/week whatever holiday you celebrate and that you enjoyed your time with your family!
Pear Tree Greetings winner is Comment #26 Rhiana
Chex Mix/Kroger GC winner is Comment #84 Brittney
Winners were chosen by Random.Org and have 48 hours to respond to my email or a new winner is chosen!
I'm not at all creative when it comes to my decor, and what I lack in creativity, I make up for in being cheap ;) Celebrations.com has just released a series of Webisodes dedicated to showing you how to recreate this seasons hottest decorating trends in a way that is fast and affordable!
Just a few examples of what you'll see on these fun webisodes:
Celebrations.com Expert Shawn Rabideau (who's clients include Jennifer Lopez, Kenneth Cole, and Bethanny Frankel-he was featured on her show!) has a cute and memorable way of sending out your party invites by creating an invite/wine bottle label!
Want to party like a rock star? Or maybe just decorate like one :D Check out this creative (and really EASY!) way to decorate that will leave your party goers saying WOW! Party expert Jes Gordon explains:
There are many other decorating ideas featured in these short and easy to follow webisodes on Celebrations.com, just in time for your New Years Eve party :D
Win! One lucky reader will win a $40 savings pass (credit) to 1800Flowers.com!!!!!
Mandatory Entry: Check out one of the great webisodes from Celebrations.com and tell me something you learned from one of the videos!
Extra Entries:
To qualify for extra entries, you must first complete the Mandatory entry. Please put each entry in a separate comment. (and for example, if you are already a FB fan, just leave a comment stating :i'm a fan on FB) for each entry/comment, you must leave your email address
*For 2 entries, follow 1800Flowers on Facebook
*For 2 entries, follow 1800Flowers on Twitter
*For 3 entries, Add my button to your blog, located near the top left side and leave a link to your blog in your comment-leave 3 separate comments
*Become a FB fan of Life with the Stevens
*Follow Life with the Stevens on Twitter
*Update your Twitter status to "Win a $40 GC for @1800Flowers from Life With The Stevens @hlstevens" Or something along those lines ;D You can update 2x a day for 1 entry each.
*For 2 entries,Follow my blog through google, located on the right hand side of my blog-leave 2 separate comments
*Vote for my blog by clicking the "We're on the Fence" button on the right side of the blog, above the counter. Each click of that button gets me a vote!
Entrants from the US are eligible. Contest Ends on January 2nd, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Winners will be chosen by random.org and announced January 3rd, 2011. Winners will be notified by email with “You Have Won The 1800Flowers Giveaway” in the subject line. Winners will then have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Disclosure/Disclaimer: I received no compensation for participation in this post. Thanks to 1800Flowers for this opportunity. 1800Flowers and myself will be responsible for prize distribution. For more information on this blog and my posting practices, please refer to my disclosure policy.
Who wouldn't want to be rewarded for doing a good deed? Well, now you can thanks to 1-800-Flowers.com and DailyFeats who have partnered up to help you spread cheer and good will :D DailyFeats is a website that you can earn points and rewards by doing good things, like Being Active and !SpreadCheer! All you have to do is sign up, and start earning! I clicked the !SpreadCheer Feat first, because thanks to 1800Flowers.com, I was able to send my brother and his future wife a beautiful All Wrapped Up arrangement and spread cheer to him since I will not be able to see them this Christmas. After just two days, I've already earned 100 points! You can cash in your points for rewards such as local coupons, and great gift certificates! It's so easy to earn, I got a few points for checking in with the !earlytorise yesterday because I snuck out of bed early and got some house cleaning done before everyone woke up!
So what are you waiting for, sign up and earn rewards just by doing something good for yourself or for others! Be sure to follow 1800Flowers on Facebook, and get exclusive deals just for FB fans and contribute on Twitter with the #spreadcheer tag!
isn't this pretty? My brother and his fiance loved it!
Disclaimer/Disclosure: My thanks to 1800Flowers.com for this blogging opportunity, I received the option to give the above arrangement to a loved one as compensation for this post, no other compensation was given. For more information on my blogging practices, please see my disclosure policy.
As a mom, I have to be ready for change at the drop of a hat! Kids grow, personalities change, and life races by at warp speed when you're a parent so you have to be prepared for things to never stay the same!
I love my life, and I wouldn't trade being a stay at home mom for anything. But as my children get older, I find that I want to start working on "me" and what I want to be when I "grow up!" Before I had children, I was in college working towards a Political Science degree, but once my first son was born, I knew my true calling was to be a mother and I'm so blessed to be able to be home with my sons. Becoming a mother has led me to a new passion: Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding for my family has been such an important part of our mother/son relationship. While it doesn't define me, it is a big part of who I am. I worked hard to establish this relationship with both of my children, and am blessed that I have been able to breastfeed both for beyond a year (and counting!) This new found love has led me to a new career path beyond motherhood: becoming a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC). And that is what I aspire to be in the New Year. I've been researching schools and I think I've found the right one to help me reach this goal. I feel I can put my own personal experience and passion for breastfeeding to good use and help other mothers in my communities who may be struggling with nursing. I'm so grateful to the CLC I met when my youngest was in the NICU, she is part of the reason I was able to be successful with breastfeeding even when my son was unable to nurse for 8 days. I think it so important to have someone to talk to about these struggles, so that you don't feel alone when it doesn't come naturally like everyone told you it would-I know personally it meant so much to have someone who could relate to my issues. Being a mom provides a sort of camaraderie between woman, but being a breastfeeding mom is a sisterhood that I'm so blessed to be apart of.
What are your goals for 2011? What do you hope to achieve in the New Year? Go for it! It's never to late get started, whether it's weight loss, rock climbing, taking a overseas vacation, or just have more time with your family. Happy New Year!
I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network blogging program, for a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
Did you know Diarrhea is Cool?? Okay, I know you're laughing now, as you should. But we need to fight those under indulgers that make your holiday parties lame. Now is not the time to munch on 3 stale pretzels while rocking out to Christmas Carols at your high school best friends brothers uncles Ugly Sweater party. It's time to feast on the holiday spread set forth before you and not worry about those tummy issues-after all, Pepto Bismol has you covered, or at least it's covering and protecting your stomach from any unmentionable issues taking place!
If you haven't already seen the Pepto Bismol commercials featuring Ken Jeong, you're missing out!
Check these out!
WIN! Pepto Bismol wants you to win big in your fight of Under Indulgence with Life With The Stevens by offering up this super fun PINK prize package to not one but TWO readers!! iPod shuffle pre-loaded with holiday tunes Lights and decorations Plastic serving ware Pepto-Bismol (of course)
Mandatory Entry: Follow me through Google Friend Connect, and once you do that, leave a comment telling me your favorite food you like to have at your table come the holiday season! If your email is not in your profile, please leave it in you first comment/entry!
Extra Entries:
To qualify for extra entries, you must first complete the Mandatory entry. Please put each entry in a separate comment. (and for example, if you are already a FB fan, just leave a comment stating :i'm a fan on FB) for each entry/comment, you must leave your email address
*For 2 entries, Follow Pepto Bismol on Facebook
*Check out the Pepto Bismol Holiday Press Release and tell me something you read/learned from it! ETA: I've been told by a few people that they cannot access this press release, if you can that is great if not, but you tried go ahead and leave a comment telling me it doesn't work for you! SO sorry!
*For 3 entries, Add my button to your blog, located near the top left side and leave a link to your blog in your comment-leave 3 separate comments
*Become a FB fan of Life with the Stevens
*Follow Life with the Stevens on Twitter
*Vote for my blog by clicking the "We're on the Fence" button on the right side of the blog, above the counter. Each click of that button gets me a vote!
Entrants from the US are eligible. Contest Ends on December 30th at 11:59 pm EST. Winners will be chosen by random.org and announced December 31st, 2010. Winners will be notified by email with “You Have Won The Pepto Prize Pack Giveaway” in the subject line. Winners will then have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Disclosure/Disclaimer: Thanks to Pepto Bismol for this giveaway opportunity. MSL group and Pepto Bismol will be responsible for prize distribution. For more information on this blog and my posting practices, please refer to my disclosure policy.
Without fail, someone at a holiday party or Christmas family get together will bring their favorite Chex Mix. I'm partial to the Original Chex Party Mix I think it's that bit of Worcestershire sauce that makes it sooo yummy! There are so many amazing Chex Mix recipes available, whether you looking for something sweet, salty, or gluten free, you're bound to find a recipe that appeals to you at chex.com.
My oldest and I scoured the recipes and decided to make Pink Powder Puff Crunch Chex Mix. We made our grocery list and headed to Kroger to buy our supplies! The Kroger Family of Stores has Chex cereal on for 3 weeks starting December 2nd – December 25th. Kroger will offer Chex cereal at their lowest prices of the year!I was able to get everything I needed and we got busy making our mix. My son had a blast shaking the ingredients together in the bag and watching our mix turn into pink powder goodness :D
Buy it! You can find everything you need to make your Holiday party extra yummy at your local Kroger store! Win it! One lucky winner will receive a Chex Mix Party package of two boxes of Chex Cereal PLUS a $25 Kroger Gift Card !! Mandatory Entry:Check out all the Chex Mix Recipes and let me know which one you'd love to try!
Extra Entries:
To qualify for extra entries, you must first complete the Mandatory entry. Please put each entry in a separate comment. (and for example, if you are already a FB fan, just leave a comment stating :i'm a fan on FB) for each entry/comment, you must leave your email address
*Follow Chex Mix on Facebook
*Follow Kroger on Facebook
*For 3 entries, Add my button to your blog, located near the top left side and leave a link to your blog in your comment-leave 3 separate comments
*Become a FB fan of Life with the Stevens
*Follow Life with the Stevens on Twitter
*For 2 entries,Follow my blog through google, located on the right hand side of my blog-leave 2 separate comments
*Vote for my blog by clicking the "We're on the Fence" button on the right side of the blog, above the counter. Each click of that button gets me a vote!
Entrants from the US are eligible. Contest Ends on December 27th at 11:59 pm EST. Winners will be chosen by random.org and announced December 28th, 2010. Winners will be notified by email with “You Have Won The Chex Mix/Kroger Giveaway” in the subject line. Winners will then have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Disclosure/Disclaimer: I received a chex mix prize package for my participation in this blog. Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Kroger and Chex for this opportunity. MyBlogSpark will be responsible for prize distribution. For more information on this blog and my posting practices, please refer to my disclosure policy.
We got SNOW!! We were visiting my inlaws and got bombarded with snow! I love snow so very much (call me crazy :D) my oldest went outside to play for a good 2 hours with his aunt and uncle, he had a blast as you can see!
If I could be so bold as to ask for your prayers/good thoughts tomorrow, my youngest son Bennett (16 months) is having an ultrasound on his head tomorrow to find out for sure if he needs surgery. If he does, it will be performed by the end of the year. I'm so very anxious/nervous. I know most of you do not know his birth story, and one day I'll post it, but he's been through so much in his short life with his birth defect and surgery as a newborn, and I'm just so scared to go through it again. So if I could selfishly ask for your prayers, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you everyone!
I've never been one to make a resolution aside from being more patient with my husband or taking more naps :D This year I'm going to work on living a healthier lifestyle, as well as encouraging the same for my family. We're dropping refined sugar like a hot potato and going to eat better. It's important to me to do this for my children, and I hope that I can stick to my plan!
As a Pearista for Pear Tree Greetings, I have the privalige of offering a montly giveaway for their most fabulous products! This month, PTG has introduced the "What's Your Resolution? New Years Photo Cards"
I think this idea is super cute, and it's a way of getting the support you need to keep at your goal, whether it be losing weight, quitting smoking, or eating more chocolate ;)
Buy it!: You can buy your own set of New Years Photo Cards from PTG here. While you are there, don't forget to check out their Pear Tree Promo Code page to get all the latest deals and savings! Haven't yet purchased your Christmas cards? You've still got time, check out their amazing selection!!
Win it!: Win a set of 16 "What's Your Resolution? New Years Photo Cards"!
Mandatory Entry: Share your New Years Resolution! Don't have one? Post your favorite 2010 Memory!
Extra Entries:
To qualify for extra entries, you must first complete the Mandatory entry. Please put each entry in a separate comment. (and for example, if you are already a FB fan, just leave a comment stating :i'm a fan on FB) for each entry/comment, you must leave your email address
*For 2 entries, Become a FB Fan Pear Tree Greetings
*For 2 entries, Follow Pear Tree Greetings on Twitter! Please leave your Twitter handle for verification
*For 3 entries, Add my button to your blog, located near the top left side and leave a link to your blog in your comment-leave 3 separate comments
*Become a FB fan of Life with the Stevens
*Follow Life with the Stevens on Twitter
*For 2 entries,Follow my blog through google, located on the right hand side of my blog-leave 2 separate comments
*Vote for my blog by clicking the "We're on the Fence" button on the right side of the blog, above the counter. Each click of that button gets me a vote!
Entrants are eligible worldwide. Contest Ends on December 22nd at 11:59 pm EST. Winners will be chosen by random.org and announced December 23rd, 2010. Winners will be notified by email with “You Have Won the Pear Tree Greetings Giveaway” in the subject line. Winners will then have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Disclosure/Disclaimer: I received no compensation for this post. Pear Tree Greetings and myself will be responsible for prize distribution. For more information on this blog and my posting practices, please refer to my disclosure policy.
You may or may not remember my super fun review and giveaway with iStyles Originals back in June, but I want to share with you now the newly launched website of iStyle Originals! It's original, it's sleek, and it's easy to navigate. iStyle Originals is "clothing and accessories for the iGeneration!" That's us, folks!
Everything on their site is $19.99 and under, you can't beat that especially for the amazing quality everything is made of! My son LOVES his iDream pillowcase!
Some of my favorite items in their massive selection of Adult, children, animal, and other "wares" are:
Right now, you can recieve 25% off your order until the end of December by using the code: istyleblogger
Add that onto the free shipping offer (until Dec15) and you've scored one awesome deal! Get your orders in before December 15th in order to get your gifts in time for Christmas!!
Find iStyle Originals on Facebook and stay up to date on all their deals and happenings!
This was such a fun event, I'm so grateful to have been a part of it! Thanks to Simply Stacie for the invitation and hosting the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop!
Now onto the winners!!
Winners chosen at random thanks to Random.org
Emails will be sent out shortly! As always, the winners have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen! a HUGE THANK YOU to all who participated in this event, and to all who entered-we couldn't have done it without all of you!!
As you may have noticed, Crazy Dog T-shirts is one of the amazing sponsors for the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop! I had the pleasure of hosting a blog review and giveaway with them, and to this day, the shirt I reviewed for them is one of my absolute favorites (Bayside Tigers anyone?)
Crazy Dog T-shirts is the place to go for the gift to give the person who is hard to shop for or that person who has everything!
They have 3 daily deal tshirts on sale for $6.99!! They also give you the option right on their homepage to win a tshirt weekly!
They give away shirts on FB, and often update their status with ways to save even more, so it PAYS to like Crazy Dog T-shirts on Facebook!!
Here are a few of my favs!
I hope you all will do me a favor and like Crazy Dog T-shirts on FB, and sign up for their weekly drawings, as a way of saying thank you for sponsoring this awesome giveaway!
Crazy Dog T-shirts is our amazing sponsor for the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop! Thank You for your awesome donation!
Comment #26 Nicole-Lynn said... 26 I'm thankful for a loving fiance! He has been so supportive and wonderful and I couldn't be more excited to marry him soon! :)
Congratulations! Thanks to all who entered! As always, the winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner is chosen!
I'm about as unsteady as they get when it comes to polishing my nails. I feel like I am concentrating so hard that I am shaking, and more often than not it looks like my 3 year old painted my nails :D Liquid Palisade is just what I need to give my self that well polished look! What is Liquid Palisade? It's a barrier, not a polish, that helps prevent any "unwanted nail polish mishaps"! You paint the Liquid Palisade everywhere that you DON'T want nail polish to be-around your nail bed, your cuticle, skin...it dries in just a few minutes if that. You can use this with fake nails too! After you've painted your nails, you can peel the purple Liquid Palisade right off! It's stretchy, and it comes off pain free!
I had to give this product a try, to see for myself. It's a really pretty purple color, too bad it wasn't polish, I'd be all over the color :D
It applies very easily, as if it were nail polish, it has a very light weight brush. After it dried, I picked my favorite neutral color and went to town. I even purposely got polish on my line of Liquid Palisade to put it to the test! After my polish dried, the Liquid Palisade peeled right off!! It didn't ruin or damage the polish on my nail, and I had a seamless paint job!!
I even tried to give myself a french manicure, using the Liquid Palisade as my guide, and this was the first time I was able to get a nice line on my nail!
You can see the purple around my nail
It peeled right off!!
This is a must have for any woman-mother or not! If you're too busy or can't afford to get regular manicures, this is a product that you need in your nail care regimen! We as woman don't have time to make mistakes :D Get your polish on perfect the first time with Liquid Palisade!
This product retails for just $22.00! Go here to get yours!
Disclosure: I received a bottle of Liquid Palisade for review purposes only, no other compensation was given. My thanks to Kiesque for this opportunity. For more information on my blogging practices, please see my disclosure policy!
This event has been months in planning and I am super excited that the day is finally here! I have up for grabs 4 Gift Certificates to be won, one winner for each gift certificate. You will have from December 1st-December 5th to enter the giveaways. The entries will be simple, see below for how!
Please check out the wonderful prizes donated by my very generous sponsors. I invite you to check out their sites or bookmark them to visit after the hop ends. Have fun everyone!
Prize #1 $15 Gift Certificate for Crazy Dog Tshirts
Prize #2 $25 Home Depot Gift Card
Prize #3 $25 Kohl's Gift Card Prize #4 $25 Visa Gift Card
Main Entry:
Follow my publicly on Google Friend Connect AND tell me if you are in the US, Canada or International.
Vote for my blog "On The Fence" by clicking the button on the bottom right
Grab my button and put it on your blog!
You can tweet 2x a day at least 2 hours apart {#HOLIDAYHOP ~ @hlstevens is giving away 4 Gift Certificates ENTER http://tinyurl.com/28ct77z ends 12.5}
Update your FB status to include @Life With The Stevens and mention the Hop!
Giveaway ends on December 5, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. The winners will be selected by random.org and notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. Good luck! Winners will receive the card in order which their comment was randomly chosen. IE: The first comment chosen will receive Prize #1 of the Crazy Dog Tshirt gift certificate, the second will win Prize #2 of the Home Depot card, and etc. You will not get to choose, random.org will choose for you :D
Disclaimer: I was given gift certificates in exchange for a public post and advertisement. My thanks to all who participated. For more information on my blogging practices, please see my disclosure policy.
To find the other blogs participating and to enter their giveaways, click the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop Button in the top right corner for the full list!
