Mother's Day Giveaway Event May 1-18

Everyone loves their mom and always wants to find the best gift to make her feel loved and appreciated. These are the gifts I have found and would love to share with you. After you enter my giveaway head over to Makobi Scribe to see her mothers day gift ideas worth over $3000. Then enter the grand prize drawing of a $1000 worth of Karina Dresses.
 Enter using the rafflecopter form below to win Yves Rocher prize pack from free & frugal mommy of one

a Rafflecopter giveaway Makobi Scribe Reviews, LLC or the Mother’s Day Gift Event Bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes.

My Mom is the Best! Giveaway Hop April 29-May 7

Welcome to the My Mom is the Best! Giveaway Hop hosted by Modly Chic  & Still Blonde after all these YEARS!

Now we all know that our moms are the best so why not win some great prizes! Right now you can enter using the rafflecopter form below to win a Packit Personal Cooler. You can read my full review next week....why wait enter to win your very own now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Looking to loose some of the winter weight?

Have you heard of The Fast Metabolism Diet? I know what you are thinking another diet book to get lost under my cookies in a few weeks. I am the first to admit that I am not a diet person and have a horrible time when I feel like I am starving to death! The author Haylie Pomroy was recently featured on the Dr. Oz show and showed how she helped clients loose up to 20 pounds in four weeks! When I had the option to host a MommyParties for the book I was very excited to try the recipes and get real life feedback on how successful the plan could be-here is the menu I served:

Phase I: Watermelon Smoothie
Phase II: Pepperoncini Pork Roast
Phase III: Berry Nutty Oatmeal Smoothie
Phase IIII: Sweet Potato Hummus and Cucumbers

The best part-I used my new crock pot to make the pork roast! The new Crock-Pot® Slow Cooker featuring Smart Cook™ Technology  allows you to choose your meat and time to be ready and does it all for you...no more chewy overcooked chicken!

As mother day approaches and spring treat yourself to a better you-the book allows you to track where you are now and includes so many fantastic recipes. I really love that you can track your recipes and weight loss it really makes the book feel interactive and holds you accountable. The chicken and barley soup is amazing and a new must have in my diet-to feeling better which a great plan!

Super Why Live on Friday!

So excited Super Why Live is coming to Chicago on Friday! Don't live near Chicago? Check out the full schedule here and be on the lookout for tweets live from the show!

Book Review: The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep

As I am sure you have all seen there are so many baby books out there that claim to get your baby to sleep, eat, bond, etc. When my daughter was born I think I read every single book but nothing really worked for our parenting style or her strong will. 

I recently have had the opportunity to review  The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep by Harvey Karp, M.D.:

Finally, kids do come with instructions!

Surprisingly simple steps to boost your little child's sleep fast!
Dr. Harvey Karp made doctors applaud and parents cheer with his brilliant solutions to centuries-old problems such as colic and tantrums. Now, in THE HAPPIEST BABY GUIDE TO GREAT SLEEP: Simple Solutions for Kids from Birth to 5 Years (William Morrow Paperback; On-Sale: March 19, 2013; $15.99; ISBN: 9780062113320), Dr. Karp stuns the world again by solving the #1 problem plaguing new parents: exhaustion. Dr. Karp's surprising insights include:
How to train brand new babies to sleep better: Infants can be taught to sleep at least one extra hour from the first weeks of life! Dr. Karp shows how to safely boost baby sleep in just days.
What’s the best white noise (and which ones worsen sleep): The right white noise (low pitched and rumbling) is the key to good sleep—even through teething—for all babies. Plus, it even gives parents a more restful sleep
Why parents should always wake a sleeping baby: For good sleep, babies must learn how to self-soothe. The best way to teach babies how to fall back to sleep—when they rouse in the middle of the night—is to wake them just as they’re being put into bed.
How to enjoy the benefits - and avoid the risks - of swaddling: Swaddling dramatically improves a new baby’s sleep. Yet, many states are shockingly banning this ancient parenting tool. Smart moms should do it and Dr. Karp will teach them how to do it properly and safely.
The importance of powering down: Staring at bright screens at night (TVs, computers, phones) can wreak a toddler and a parent’s sleep.
Easy "no-cry" tips that end infant and toddler bedtime struggles in just days!

I learned so much from the book including the proper white noise and how powering down can really help our sleep cycle. Thanks Dr. Harvey Karp!

 disclosure: “I am participating in a book review campaign with One2One Network. I received this book from Harper Collins for the purposes of reviewing it. I have not received compensation. My participation in the campaign enters me into a drawing for a gift card. All opinions stated are my own.”

Boys only ice cream social featuring Xtreme Customz!

As you know my house is usually filled with glitter and pink....not a very fun place to bring your friends over if you are an 8 year old boy! So I decided to make last Saturday boy's only ice cream party. This meant no barbies out in the toy room, taking down our pink sparkly cloud/curtain, and above all do all things boy. To kick off this amazing ice cream social we gave each boy a Ridemakerz Xtreme Customz Batman car and an angry bird coloring book.

So how did the cars go over? Let's just say I think I may have started a "boy's only" tradition. Each of the boys had a chance to build and customize their own car.

 The parts were very easy to snap on and off and you could choose what you would like to include. Each of the boys choose to add different accessories and I was amazed at how the same kit could look so different! Unfortunately my house became a high end race track-we had cars "jumping" from the couch, windows, and book case. The boys thought it was great that they could "break" the cars into pieces and reassemble into a new car. My favorite game that they played was transforming the car into a new "secret" car to hide from the Joker.

There are so many other styles available including Spiderman- I see a new obsession in our house (even my husband like to customize the car!) You can purchase the car exclusively at Toys 'r" Us, and now available at Target. My daughter loved the car because it had "ears" and has since become her Mickey Mouse Club house car-oh the imagination!

* A big thanks to MomSelect for supplying the cars-all thoughts are my own*

Win a RUUM giftcard!

RUUM is currently giving away a $2000 shopping spree! Find out details HERE.  In addition, one lucky free & frugal mommy of one reader will win a $25 gift card to freshen up their kids’ wardrobe! Just enter below and we’ll pick a winner on April 30th!

RUUM can also be purchased for a limited time on totsy! 

* Contest for shopping spree will be open until 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, April 17th, 2013. Contest is open to US residents only. The winner will be announced on Thursday, April 18th.*

 Enter using the rafflecopter form below!

POPSUGAR Fitness Giveaway!

Want to win a trip to New York? You can enter here to attend the class FITSUGAR Event-hurry ends the 14th!

Earth Day

Thank You for taking a part in the Second Annual Earth Day Event and supporting eco-conscious living.

This event is sponsored by Venus De Miles, Reneu Shoes, and SodaStream

hosted by Fitspiration For Moms and Way 2 Good Life

The event takes place from April 7 at 11 PM EST and ends on April 21 at 11.59 PM EST

For every giveaway you enter during the Earth Day Event, you gain an entry toward the event Grand Prizes. Go here to enter - 3 chances to win a Grand Prize.

• $270 by Venus De Miles: Bicycle Event entry in IL or CO, $100 gift GoLite certificate, and a water bottle
• $100 gift certificate by Reneu Shoes
• $85 starter kit by SodaStream

Enter using the rafflecopter form below to win 1 of 2 prize packs:

1. Yummi Pouch Prize Pack

2. Zeenie Mother Earth Doll

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Car seat must have-Little Bean Creations foot rest

You know that one think you buy and wonder how you lived before it came into your life? For me it is the Little Bean Creations foot rest:

Seriously before we owned the foot rest by daughter would climb into my car and then have to climb over to the middle arm rest step up and get in her seat. Needless to say my arm rest/center console was constantly covered in gross little shoe prints and mud. When I can across the foot rest at the ABC children's expo I knew it was something special. It is super easy to install and comes in grey, pink, blue. Now I know what your thinking-instead of a dirty armrest you now have a dirty little footrest attached to your car seat....well it is machine washable AND because it is so easy to remove I can easily take it off and wash it quickly. My daughter loves having a place to put her feet. According to Little Bean Creations:
"On average, children between the ages of 1 and 5 spend five and a half hours riding in a car each week. Car seats provide safety, but cause legs to dangle unsupported. The body position puts pressure on the lower back and legs and can cause discomfort. The car seat footrest helps reduce the pressure by supporting the feet and legs."

If you have any type of van or SUV and have a kiddo that has to climb all over the seats to get into their car seat I would say this is a must have! Even in my husbands little car my daughter loves have a place to just rest her legs without dangling like a rag doll.

Pawalla Box-Happy Birthday Cooper!

My loving little fluff ball turns 7 today! I cannot believe that it has been that long since I found him in the woods. He was just a tiny little ball of fluffy matted fur with big green eyes. I immediately took him home and had every intention of finding him a place to leave....7 years later we can see how that is working out!
For my special little man I wanted to get him something different just like him. True story-when you call him he runs to you like a dog and meows something that sounds like "coming mom". He is also on a special diet because of his sensitive stomach so it makes gift giving a little tricky. My new go to place for pet treats is Pawalla Box. It is for both dogs and cats and can even be given as a gift! I love them because everything is organic and selected by a pet nutritionist. They ask you a few questions about your pet and send a personalized box-here is Cooper's box:

Do you see the Meostard lower right corner? I have never heard of it before and Cooper goes crazy for his "dinner sauce" as little miss would say. There were also these great freeze tried chicken treats and Cooper's favorite the catnip toy:

It is so cute to see him drag the toy from room to room like a little puppy. Pawalla is such an easy service to use-you set up how many boxes you want and do not have to worry about being charged each month or cancelling a membership. We are going to start ordering on a regularly basis just to experience all the new treats, toys, and food available-it really is a great surprise in a box!