Tat it up...

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For some reason, (which is beyond me) my girls are in LOVE with tattoos. They have been for a while, it started with an obsession with Lyric where she just loved to write on herself and tell me it was a tattoo, or try to write on me to give me a tattoo and now it’s spawned off to Aria who also has the obsession. Once I got my real tattoo Lyric was just in awe of it, always wanting to look at it, to touch it etc. I swear one day this girl is going to be tatted up and have her own shop.

For now though, the ink isn’t really that pretty on her skin, you can’t really tell what the tattoo is, and I really don’t like pen all over me as well. She’s even had a Henna tattoo this summer and was sad when it finally washed off. What shall I do with her? Well, I’ve found the perfect solution to the pen at least, and it helps me teach her read at the same time. Yes I’m still talking about tattoos. They’re Tattoos for Tots!!! These are really cute removable tattoos for kids. These are the first of its kind with learning in mind, the designs combine printed words with pictures which engage children to make connections between letters and sounds, it’s a wear to learn sort of thing. The Tattoos for Tots was created by two moms, an elementary school teacher and a graphic designer, these temporary tattoos are made in the USA and contain only safe and non-toxic, FDA approved colors.

The tattoos seemed to last pretty good, they didn’t just come off after a day of normal wear and didn’t rip or tear or flake off. With just a scrubbing in the tub they came off, so when you want them off it’s pretty easy to do.

Visit www.tattoosfortots.com to view some more and order some for your little one, these would be great for stocking stuffers this Christmas season.

WIN IT!!!
I have 4 packages of Tattoos for Tots to giveaway. Each package contains 2 sheets. So that means that 4 lucky readers will have a chance to win. All you have to do to be entered is head on over to the Tattoos for Tots website and take a look around, come back and let me know which tattoos you like best from which collection.

This giveaway is open to those WORLDWIDE!!! And is open to non bloggers, PLEASE just remember if your blog profile is private, or you’re a non blogger, leave an email address or your entry will be disqualified....Winner will be chosen via random.org

For extra entries (please leave each extra giveaway in a separate comment, each will earn you an extra entry):
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link
• Stumble this giveaway
• Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email
• Add my blog to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar
• Fave A Wrestling Addicted Mommy's Blog on Technorati

Giveaway Ends October 9, 2008 @ 11:59pm EST

If I could ask a favor....

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Today is a pretty big day around here. A very nerve wracking one as well. First I'd like to thank those who have kept us in their thoughts and prayers during the past 2 months. I'd like to let you all know that Rodney has found a job!!! Not the best job in the world, but it's work and it brings in money.

He's now working with Altel full time as a sales rep and he started yesterday. So far he's enjoying it, that's him the cell phone guy, his love lol. Well, he also has a job offer with Sprint as well for an assistant manager position, all we're doing right now is waiting for the official letter of an offer which should be in within a few days. So Altel will go bye bye and onto Sprint he'll go.

But the reason today is a big day around here, is because Comdata is making their decsion today. Remember Comdata is the BIG job, BIG money, Great benefits, Home office and traveling a few days a week, 9-5 weekends off job. Basically the dream job!!! It's down to Rodney and one other candidate and the VP will be making his decision today if he hasn't already. So my favor, any T&P's or luck or whatever you can throw our way would be appreciated. I'm going to sit here stalking Rodney's email and voicemail all day while he's at work. For once in our lives, it would be great to NOT get the short end of the stick and actually get the really great job. Rodney wants it so bad, and I feel he does deserve it after all the 'crap' we've gone through with his other employment we deserve to be with a long lasting company for once with great pay and not get taken advantage of.

So here I'll sit, and wait and wait and wait, once I know I'll update so you'll all know as well...

FREE Handbag Giveaway from HandbagPlanet.com

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Ok, if your like me you have an obsession with handbags (and shoes lol). One of my fellow bloggers (Sheena from Mommy Daddy Blog) sent me an email the other day letting me know about a great new site that's giving away some AMAZING handbags.

HandbagPlanet.com is launching a new handbag store on October 15th, and to celebrate they're giving away a FREE handbag every hour for the first 24 hrs of their launch. All you have to do is sign up! Head over to www.handbagplanet.com and sign up yourself, then pick that beautiful bag that you'd like to win. It's all free, no spam, no phishing scams no nothing, just an easy way to win a great looking bag!!!

Ghouls, Ghosts and Gobblin's...OH MY!

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Or in my case, cute little monkey’s and pretty little girls. It’s that time of year again, Halloween! One of my favorite times of years. Time for all the ghouls and goblins to come out at night, unless you live in my house and have two little girly girls who want nothing to do with being even remotely scary and gross!

That’s right; my children want to be cute little things, pretty little things. It’s quite the dilemma sometimes to find the perfect costume for a good price, so many things are just way too expensive to even consider for a 2 year old and a 5 year old for one whole night. This year, Aria wanted to be a monkey and Lyric, well she had to be the difficult one. She wants to be Hannah Montana. Now that’s a pretty popular costume this year it seems, but the price I was seeing was outrageous.

Lucky for me, The Family Review Network teamed up with the Halloween Party Store this year and gave some of us the opportunity to do a review of a costume. Lyric was thrilled as we looked through all the costumes (we already had Aria’s), and her eyes opened as wide as ever when she saw that yes, they had affordable (and official Disney) Hannah Montana Costumes. She got her wish!!

Once I placed my order, I was surprised to see the costume at my doorstep only a few days later, Lyric thrilled with her costume couldn’t wait to try it on. I was always a little scared of seeing what the costume looked like in person, would it be a cheap costume that was going to rip the first chance she put it on? NOPE! The costume was in great durable condition and each piece packed up on its own. Great quality and it fit perfect.

I’ll defiantly be heading back to the Halloween Party Store next year for the girls next Halloween costumes. Great prices, great quality and a selection for not only kids but adults too (and plus size costumes as well) it’s a hit for us!

Visit www.halloweenpartystore.com to view more costumes that they carry, and to buy one for yourself or your kids. Halloween is fast approaching so you better hurry, don’t want to be one of those last minute homemade costumes that your child will never forget (and not in a good way).

Daily Freebies!!!

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~ Bear Naked Free Fruit & Nut Granola Sample

~ Tide Free Sample of Tide Total Care

~ Degree Free Sample of Degree Men Absolute Protection

~ Astroglide Free Sample of Astroglide X Premium

~ Chatelaine Free Book for the first 10,000 (Canada)

~ Prada Free Perfume Samples (UK & Ireland)

~ Schick Free Quattro Titanium Razor or Trimmer

~ Walmart Free Sample of Benefiber Fiber Drink Mix

~ Del Monte Free $35 in Coupons

~ Nature's Bounty Free Tote Bag

~ Wildlife Gifts Free 2009 Calendar

~ Stetson Free Sample of Stetson Rich Suede

~ ASPCA Free Pet Safety Pack (US & Canada)

~ Playtex Free Drop-Ins Original Nurser System (US & Canada)

~ Ontario Beans Free Recipe Booklets and Place Mats (Canada)

C is for Cookie, K is for K'nex!!!

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A childhood memory that spans the test of time it seems is Sesame Street. I’m sure you remember watching it, and see your own kids watching it today. I even remember and still have some of the Sesame Street books and toys from my childhood that my kids now enjoy when they visit Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

It seems that the popularity of Sesame Street hasn’t faded over the years, and with the introduction of Elmo, it seems that it’s hotter than ever. Team Mom has introduced us to a great new toy from Sesame Street and K’NEX. The K’NEX Sesame Street building sets! I was pretty familiar with K’NEX but always associated it as something for older children. When I heard about the K’NEX Sesame Street building set’s I was excited to see something for the younger kids to enjoy (ages 2+) and thought for sure that this is something Aria would love. She’s a very creative thinker and also a big time Sesame Street fan.

When we got the box in the mail, her eyes lit up with joy. ERNIE!!!! Was the first word that came out of her mouth when we opened the box. We were delighted to see the Bert & Ernie Building set. Playtime looked like it was going to be fun on that day. In the Bert & Ernie building set you can find three educational ‘play & learn’ activity cards. These allow both the parents and children to have great fun together while creating, learning and building with different activities and learning about colors. Each set also comes with a portable storage container that you can fit all your pieces inside and take with you, or put away neatly. The Bert & Ernie set has 46 pieces to it and you can build Bert & Ernie as well as a number of other imaginative things.

A great toy yet again from K’NEX, not only does it give the kids some fun times, which also allows them to use their imagination, but as well the Sesame Street building sets helps with physical, social-emotional, language, and cognitive development. My children just loved their building set, and I’m sure your child will love creating their favorite characters from Sesame Street themselves. Visit Knex for more sets and information.

WIN IT!!!
Win your very own Sesame Street Building Set from Team Mom and K’NEX! All you have to do is visit the K’NEX website and let me know which K’NEX Sesame Street building set you think your child would love for themselves. One winner will be chosen randomly to receive a K'NEX Sesame Street Building Set. *please note that the winner will be set a random K’NEX Sesame Street Building Set

This giveaway is open to those with a US mailing address only (No P.O Boxes sorry)!!! And is open to non bloggers, PLEASE just remember if your blog profile is private, or you’re a non blogger, leave an email address or your entry will be disqualified....Winner will be chosen via random.org

For extra entries (please leave each extra giveaway in a separate comment, each will earn you an extra entry):
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link
• Stumble this giveaway
• Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email
• Add my blog to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar

Giveaway Ends October 8, 2008 @ 11:59pm EST

Keeping your children safe.

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One of my top jobs as a parent is to keep my children safe. With the way this world is today, it’s a hard task to do sometimes, the worry you go through on a daily basis sometimes clouds your judgment. But as parents we always have to be on top of our game when it comes to our kids. That’s why knowing your surroundings, knowing the threats that could exist in your neighborhood is essential. A great many resources are out there today especially for parents when looking at neighborhood threats, you can more than likely view a List Of Child Molesters in and around your area online to make sure that you and your family are prevented from becoming victims. Keep yourselves and your children safe.

Eco-Fashion!

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I know right now the trend seems to be to find the most eco-friendly, eco-conscious products for just about everything in our homes. I hope this becomes a way of life and fades fast as a ‘trend’. One place that’s a great way to become my eco-friendly is by looking at our clothing, what makes a better statement?

MyConservationBaby.com provides a great way to spread the message of becoming more ‘green’. They offer clothing for all ages from onesies, hats, and tees for both children and adults. With great messages like “Protect The Environment”, “Conserve”, and “Stop Global Warming” these products are more than just some great looking clothing. The earlier we start putting these thoughts in our next generation the better and we all know how aware other people are with our kids and even our clothes, so why not put out a great message instead of some usual cute little witty sayings?

Teaching your family to instill the habits they’re wearing can also be a great start of awareness for the cause. Start small, especially with the kids simple tasks and ways to conserve will last through their lives and they’ll pass it on to their children. Their clothing is made from 100% baby soft certified organic cotton, and is both quality made and machine washable. Their tees do run on the smaller side, so I would suggest ordering a size up.

Take a look at their products, and start your family on the right track today. Visit www.myconservationbaby.com pick up a shirt or two provide yourself with some eco-conscious fashion!

Aspiring Little Chef's

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The girls love to cook. They love being in the kitchen and watching me, or trying to help themselves. When I’m working with a new recipe, sometimes it’s hard to give them a chance to help out, as it could be difficult not only for them; but for me as well.

When I found a cookbook for kids, I was thrilled and had to try it out. Handstand Kids provides cookbooks that have easy recipes for kids to learn how to cook and have fun while doing it. It also helps introduce them to a different language at the same time. It’s great to give kids a hands-on learning experience and get them excited about the world around them.

We got the Italian cookbook and being Italian myself, it was nice to be able to teach my kids some words that they can familiarize themselves with when cooking. You’ll journey into Italy once you open your pizza box and find the cookbook inside along with your very own chef’s hat. Inside the book, you’ll find pages that illustrate items and then give you the Italian word underneath. The recipes were fun and easy that we could all do it together; the girls especially loved the chef’s hat that came inside the box along with the cookbook.

Not only does the book offer fun and flavorful recipes, but the Handstand Kids are also a diverse group of characters (the vegetarian, the picky eater etc.) so there’s sure to be a character that you or your child can be familiar with. The recipes are also nutritious recipes but something kids will find delicious at the same time.

Handstand Kids cookbooks are a great item for kids who are interested in the art of cooking. It’s also a great help to parents when they want to find something easy enough to cook with their children. Right now you can get the Italian Cookbook and the Mexican Cookbook from Handstand Kids. Handstand Kids was just named one of the 2008 winners of the Top Toy of the Year from TDMontly.

You can purchase a Handstand Kids Cookbook for $28 by visiting their website: www.handstandkids.com

Gear

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I'm not much of the outdoors type of woman. I can leave the bugs, and the cold, and the dirt, and everything else behind. Just not my type of thing, but give ma some green and a mall to shop in and I'm one happy woman! I guess if I had to, I could do some shopping for someone for the outdoors, I mean shopping is shopping, and I'm happy to do it. Although it may be a bit boring, maybe I could find some cute stuff who knows. All I know is that Galco is a great place to go when looking for tatical outdoors gear! So if your in the market, check it out!

Blah!

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Something I've noticed. The past couple of days I haven't been feeling well (and to the commenter who asked if I could be preggo, that's a 100% NOOOO!! lol), I've been just feeling so BLAH! Nevermind the fact that I broke out like crazy! It's not fair, I left those times behind as a teenager, and now even in adulthood I have to worry about acne ugh!

Thankfully I did a race around the clock and got the house all ready for this weekend for Lyric's Birthday. She's so excited about her birthday, little does she know the ton's of presents that she got. I can't wait for her to open them. Not much of a day, just hanging out at the house, she wants to roast marshmellows and light some sparklers as well. So a simple birthday but she's happy about it and that's all that matters.

Misikko Winner!!

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Popping on tonight to let you all know who the lucky winner is for the Hana Professional Flat Iron ..

Chosen randomly the winner is:









Commenter #324:
mitch said...

I would love to try the Corioliss Ultra Slim Flat Iron.

CONGRATS!! You'll be emailed shortly.

Winner has 72hrs to respond to the email sent, if there is no response a new winner will be chosen.

I'm off...

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So I'm starting my weekend off a little early. Normally I don't blog on weekends if I can help it, but tonight, I sit here curled up in bed, sweating and calling the toilet my newest best friend (because you all needed to know that). I don't know what's wrong with me, its just one of those things that HIT me out of no where. What's worse? I have a house full of family and friends this weekend to celebrate Lyric's 5th birthday.

So I'm hoping to get this whatever it is, out of my system fast, I need to clean, wrap presents and be presentable come Friday. Lord help me if this gets any worse....

Have a great weekend guys!!!

The days of our lives...

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Well, I've kind of kept quiet about what's been going on here lately.

First, Rodney was offered a job as a Sales Rep with Alltel. The pay sucks, but with commissions it's livable, and we all know Rodney's very good at doing what he does, which is selling cell phones. So he took the offer, but the background check place is being a pain in the you know what... and saying they need verifiable employment and the w2's aren't good enough (umm, it's not his fault that the last 2 companies he worked for 1 was bought out after he left, and his most recent closed), so we've had to go back over 6 years to find an employer for them to call up. Good luck on that...So we're still waiting on that.

Remember when this all first started, Rodney had that awesome job come along that we were hoping for, the one that was a base of 50K/yr and with commissions they said a conservative amount that a regional makes is 6 figures... yea, well we're still waiting...That is the Comdata job, and THAT is the interview he had this morning at 8am face to face finally (up until now it's been 3 phone interviews). Rodney said it went really well, and he feels confident. Said that the guy talked as if Rodney was already working for the company and it was more like a conversation rather than an interview. What do we do now? Well, he wants Rodney to write up a letter and email it to him, basically telling him why he would be the best person for the job. So we'll do that today. Then he said in about a week or so he'll get a call about coming to Nashville to do a drug screen and some other stuff (I'm assuming that's if he gets chosen lol), but the fact that he said the more positive instead of the negative is a good sign!

This afternoon, Rodney has a second interview with Sprint for an Assistant Manager Position, meh, not the best, but he knows Sprint inside and out and the pay is better than Alltel...

So here's hoping this Comdata business comes through, It really sounds promising after I heard about the interview, but I don't want to get my hopes up because I'm banking on this job, we could REALLY REALLY REALLY use it, it would change everything!! It's also great because although there is travel during the week, sometimes overnight, his office...HOME BASED!!

So that's whats going on... If anyone has any tips about that letter I have to help him write up it would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Someone caught the wave..

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And won themselves a mixed case of Nui Water! Would you like to know who? Wonder if it's you? We'll lets find out!

The winner of a mixed case of Nui Kids Water is.....................








Commenter #117:
purango said...

I like that they donate 50% of profits to charity. garrettsambo@aol.com

CONGRATS, I'll be in contact via email shortly.

Well, that was interesting, another lucky person has a chance!!! The previous winner's email bounced back so I had to choose another. So the winner of a mixed case of Nui Kids Water is..

Commenter #26:

jenn s. said...

I love how natural sugars are used and how they give so much to charity. Sounds like a super company with a great product.

The winner has 72hrs to contact me back with their shipping information. If the winner does not contact me in the alloted time frame another winner will be picked.

Yes, It is time for bed....

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As a parent, life is sometimes crazy, chaotic, and downright unorganized to say the least. With two active girls, sometimes our daily routine just gets out of whack and out of order, I don’t know one minute to the next sometimes. This isn’t good for me, or for the girls. Thinking, we need a schedule of some sorts, some better organization, along came Milestone Parenting with their great concept.

My girls really like to do things on their own, but when I’m doing something else, sometimes it’s hard for them to know, whey they should be doing things, and when they shouldn’t. Well Milestone Parenting has come up with some great routine charts to help out. With two routine charts, both personalized with the girl’s names, we were on our way! The Personalized Bedtime Routine Kit wand the Personalized Daily Routine Kit both come with a chart, stickers which gives you the typical daily routines according to the type of chart, and a quick start guide.

The days (or nights depending on the chart) are planned out according to the stickers which depict an activity such as brushing your teeth, eating a meal, cleaning up toys, reading books and even bed time then you choose the right time for each ‘activity’ to be done. This was great for my girls since it was visual rather than words, and it taught them how to tell time at the same time! It allowed them to be able to do their daily routines on their own, without the help of mom or dad (most of the time), and they knew what was to be done when. With a digital clock next to their charts, they could recognize the digits written on their chart beside the clock. They knew exactly when it was time for dinner, time to clean up and time for bed.

The posters for the routine charts are great, durable and reusable! So are the stickers, so this makes changing a routine easy, simply change the time and away you go!

If you need some help with daily organization for your kids and family check out Milestone Parenting on their website: www.milestoneparenting.com

Stains, Stains, Stains

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Oh the stains!!! I can’t believe how many stains a house can incur, with children and pets (and sometimes even husbands), it’s an unavoidable part of a mom’s life. The number of times I’ve tried to stop a stain from happening is uncountable. In fact right now we have a lovely stain on our nice area rug from my children, who thought it would be a good idea to get into some of mommy’s peppermint foot cream and get it all over them, and leave a wonderful pink stain on our carpet. We’ll get back to that though later on in the post...

When I was approached by Mom Central with the opportunity to review a product from WD-40, I jumped at the chance; it was just what I’ve needed for that pesky stain since nothing else seems to work. And with the WD-40 name behind it, I was intrigued. I was sent the Non-Toxic Spot Shot Instant Carpet Stain & Odor Eliminator as well as a sample piece of carpet, and some things to stain it up with (chocolate sauce and ammonia). The Spot Shot is supposed to make stain and order removal easy and family friendly.

I can say, I was very impressed with the Non-Toxic label on the bottle, I’m always looking for safer cleaning products around my house, and it’s also environmentally friendly, another great plus. Spot Shot should eliminate old tough stains as well as new stains, and also neutralize smells though the dual-odor eliminators, it also incorporates anti-resoiling agents into your carpet to help prevent stains from returning. So to make the review great, and real, I took out the carpet sample, and went on my way, staining it with the ammonia (COUGH oh my, that stinks), as well as the chocolate sauce.

My one issue already, is that you could tell the carpet sample has been treated, as the chocolate sauce almost rolled off of it in little beads. I continued to rub both the things in really well in order for it to be saturated. I also decided to add my own experiment by adding some orange soda to the carpet. I let it sit for a while, get that stain in good, and then proceeded to use the Spot Shot.

First I tried it on the ammonia, rubbed it in with a damp cloth and didn’t see a stain left in its place. I did however let it sit and dry, and I can still smell the ammonia. Now it’s not as strong as it was, it smells almost like hair dye now in the carpet… hmm… Onto the next test...The chocolate sauce. Again with a damp cloth I rubbed the carpet with the Spot Shot, and it seemed to come out pretty easily and well, I was impressed. Now the big challenge, the orange soda. Not so impressive! It took a while for me to scrub it out, and I can still faintly see that it is there after the amount of scrubbing and the drying time. So sad to see. I did notice something else thought after I lifted the carpet sample up on my floor. The orange soda that did come out of the carpet sample, didn’t lift, it actually was pushed thought the carpet and ended up on my floor. I am so not impressed now.

I moved on, and back to that stain I was telling you about before, the lovely pink lotion stain on my carpet. I’ve tried everything to get it out, and I thought maybe this will help, even if it only pushes the stain through, at least I know now and can get to it under the carpet tile right away. Well…Spot Shot didn’t get my tough stain out. It may have lightened it a little bit, but nothing that I could tell really had changed. I was so disappointed. I used a damp cloth, I used a sponge and I also used a scrubbing brush to try to work with Spot Shot on this stain, but to no avail, it just wasn’t going to come out. I’m so disappointed. I can’t say I highly recommend Spot Shot to other mom’s for stain removal or odors from my own experience, just from my simple tests; it didn’t make a pass for me.

You can however check it out for yourself, and maybe you’ll have a better experience than I did. You can find more information about Spot Shot by visiting the website: www.spotshot.com on the website it also claims that they do have a money back guarantee, so I guess if this is something I’d bought, I’d probably be taking them up on that offer.

Another Round..

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Of some great giveaways around the blogosphere. I have to say, I really love entering all of these great and wonderful giveaways, and I do love having them as well. Thanks to all the blogger's who participate, and all the companies that sponsor them. I think what we've all got going on here is great, keep up the good work everyone!!

Cool Moms Rule!

• Enter to win a Disney DVD Bingo Set (ends 9/28)

A Mom Who Loves Reviews

• Enter to win a Soda Stream Starter Kit (ends 10/1)

Mamma Made

• Enter to win a Dragonfly Dress (ends 9/26)

Mama Manifesto

• Enter to win Honest Kids Drink Pouches and Honest Tea (ends 9/25)

Mamas Like

• Enter to win a Ballerina In a Box (ends 9/23)

Classy Mommy

• Enter to win a Cupcake Club Alarm Clock (ends 9/23)

Ohana Mama

• Enter to win Mother Ink Tattoos (ends 9/23)

An Island Review

• Enter to win a Caramel Apple Cinnamon Butter Candle (ends 9/23)
  

Do you have that Glow Mama?

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There’s nothing worse during pregnancy than having to drink just plain water. At least for me, I’m not a huge water drinker normally, but during my pregnancy it was awful. Just not something I could drink, I’d have to force it down almost.

Well now, those pregnant women who have the same problem I did, no longer have to worry because Glow Mama is there to keep you hydrated, healthy and give you a great refreshing taste in the form of Kiwi!

This isn’t one of those high sugars, artificial everything drinks either. Glow Mama knows the importance of healthy nutritious drinks for pregnant women and mom’s so they make sure they only use the best of the best ingredients along with keeping those artificial sweeteners out of their drinks. They also don’t use any artificial colors or flavors, no caffeine, and 0 fat! Basically, Glow Mama is a what you see is what you get drink, no surprises.

One of the main ingredients after water is kiwi juice. Did you know that kiwi’s are one of the most nutrient dense fruit in the world? I sure didn’t. I actually love kiwi and couldn’t wait to try out this drink, although, the third ingredient on the list is white grape juice, I can say honestly I could taste that well and above the kiwi flavor. It was a little disappointing as I was looking forward to a kiwi taste, but it was good and refreshing just the same. You’ll also find can juice, fiber, calcium and vitamins (C, B3, Iron, B6, B12), and folic acid on the ingredient list of Glow Mama.

Not only is their drink very tasty and refreshing, but if you check out their website you’ll find lots of different recipes for some great mocktails so that you can use to ‘enhance’ your Glow Mama drink and make it a little more interesting.

For more information, check out the Glow Mama website: www.drinktoglow.com. Thanks to The Family Review Network for allowing me to introduce this great product to my readers.

Also for a special treat, Glow Mama wants to offer 15% off of their products to my readers, when ordering from their website, simply enter the code: wrestling and you'll receive 15% off of your order.

Am I really a complete Idiot?

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I bet you've all heard about the line of books "The Complete Idiot's Guide", such a funny name and also a great line of books that do carry a lot of useful information. You can really find The Complete Idiot's Guide to just about anything you want information on, or to know about.

Thanks to The Family Review Network, I found two of their guides that are just a great read, and a must have if you have kids in the house. Both guides offer some great tips and information.

I first got read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Backyard Adventures, this I was hoping would give me some insight on what the heck to do with the girls in the backyard. Since this summer, especially my oldest has been all about the outdoors and camping. What could we do to make it more fun at home and in our own backyard? This book was really a great guide to have. It gave us some great and fun activities for the girls, and really it provides them for kids (and adults) of all ages, so this can be used over and over as the girls grow up. It’s also got some great ideas for lessons and education about the outdoors, and things you can do around your home instead of going on an expensive vacation. This book was great; a small investment for some big adventures that can be had as a family. Lots of activities I’ve never thought of, and I even learned about the outdoors myself a bit.

The next book I read was The Complete Idiot's Guide to Snack Cakes. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book, but it sounded interesting, and I’m not that great of a baker or cook, so anything can help. It would be nice to teach this idiot a thing or two when it comes to the kitchen! The first thing I noticed was the great colorful photos! It made everything look so good. The recipes are very easy to follow, and there’s so many of them. Easy snack cakes to make in your own kitchen, I think I’ll be able to bust a few of these out on my own, hopefully without burning any of them. There are recipes included not only from American kitchens, but from kitchens around the world, all brought to you and written by an expert master chef and baker, but believe me, and the recipes are easy enough that you don’t have to be one yourself.

Head over to amazon.com and check out these Complete Idiot Guides and more!

Be Enthusiastic with your Dress Up Clothes...

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Dressing up is one of the fun things little girls love to do, and mine are no different. On the daily it seems they find someone new that they can dress up to be, and especially around this time of year, they think of it more and more with Halloween on the way.

Finding good quality dress up clothes that aren’t going to fall apart two days later isn’t an easy task. A lot of my girl’s dress up clothes are raggedy and missing pieces, not new looking at all. I mean they get played in, they need to be a little tougher than some of the dress up clothes that we have. Well a place called Cordelia’s Corner agrees with me on this. Rebecca Blake was tired of the same thing, tired of buying dress up clothes that would ultimately fall apart shortly after they were purchased, so she decided to make her own.

Not only are the dress up clothes from Cordelia’s Corner durable, they’re also washable too, and have yet (at least in our home) to disappoint. Both my girls play with their outfit constantly, and have worn it inside the house and out, and I can say this is one of the more cuter pieces we own, but also one of the most durable. Not a thread out of place so far. And their imagination goes so far with one simple outfit. The beautiful Pink Filled Skirt that we got was so pretty, made with 100% polyester organza, and filled with so many beautiful white artificial flowers and green leaves, this was a dress up skirt no girl could turn down, paired with a pink leotard, Lyric was a beautiful dancing ballerina in an instant!.

Cordelia’s Corner has great dress up clothes made for almost anyone; some of their costumes are so great that they can be worn as a flower girl or pageant dress! How unbelievable is that, and again they are all washable, some hand, some machine and a few that are dry clean only, but they’re not going to fall apart once they are washed, no matter which way they’re done.

All of their products are made with enthusiastic play in mind, and as you can see from the pictures that I’ve got, my daughter was very enthusiastic when she first slipped on her dress up clothes.

Visit Cordelia’s Corner and take a look at their products, be it for dress up play time, a tea party, or even a Halloween costume that your daughter would love to own, these great dress up clothes won’t disappoint. For more information visit: www.cordeliascorner.com

Great Giveaways...

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Some are last minute, some end in a few days or a few weeks, but these are some of the great giveaways I've 'stumbled' upon....

Robyn's Online World

• Enter to win your choice of 2 Between Me and You Keepsake Journals (ends 9/26)

A Daycare Life

• Enter to win a L'oved Baby Nursing Shawl & Signature Pants (ends 10/4)

Leslie's Life

• Enter to win a bottle of all natural hand wash (ends 10/3)

Red Sox Mommy

• Enter to win a Tee of your choice from Planetmomtshirts.com (ends 10/2)
• Enter to win a Precious Girls Club Book (ends 9/30)

Something Snappy

• Enter to win a leash pouch and wool ball from Purrfect Play (ends 10/2)
• Enter to win a Dwink Box Holder (ends 9/28)
• Enter to win The Ultimate Back To School Combo from Mabels Labels (ends 9/26)

An Island Review

• Enter to win an 8oz bottle of Febreze Fabric Refresher Decor Collection (ends 9/29)
• Enter to win Bob the Builder Can-Do-Zoo Software (ends 9/27)
• Enter to win a quarter membership to Listplanit (ends 9/26)

An Island Life

• Enter to win a copy of Generation Text (ends 9/27)
• Enter to win Avatar The Last Airbender: The Complete Book 3 Collection

Blessings Abound

• Enter to win a pair of See Kai Run shoes (ends 9/29)
• Enter to win 1 of 4 Spazzsticks (ends 9/26)

For The Love of Baby

• Enter to win a Precious Girls Club book (ends 9/29)
  

Nurse Mommy

• Enter to win a pair of hand made knit socks (ends 9/26)
• Enter to win two full size eye shadows (ends 9/25)

MomDot

• Enter to win an item between $25-$50 from Crib Rock Couture (ends 9/22)
  

What a pain...

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I love that its so easy to sell things online now. You no longer need to wait for a garage sale, or flea market or any of that business. With the great invention of craigslist and Ebay it's so easy...

Recenltly to make ourselves some more money here and there we've been listing a lot of things on ebay, the only thing I can say that is awful. How time consuming it is to get everything together, take pictures get a listing up, and then you sit in wait for 7 days (or however long your auction is) to see if your items have sold... Thankfully we just made a mortgage payment with the items we just listed, it's a great relief that we had such easy access to selling things online, and making enough money to actually make a mortgage payment. That lifts a big burden off of our shoulders for at least another month.

The downfall now, getting all of our bearings in order, and getting everything ready to ship. The shipping part is the most frustrating to me. Getting all your supplies, the packing, the taping the address writting and then the trip to the post office. Thankfully that job is Rodney's. Poor guy had a box full of things to take and over $100 worth of shipping costs. It was all worth it tho, a mortgage payment plus some is now sitting in our bank account...Ebay is a lifesaver!

GREENGUARD

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So many of us worry about our children’s health. Certain times of the year we worry about them being outdoors due to allergies, bug bites, UV exposure, and air pollution. But, did you know that the indoor air is two to five times more polluted than the outdoor air? There’s also health risks associated with indoor air pollution. The source for these pollutants come from a variety of products in our homes and schools due to furnishings, flooring, electronics, window treatments, mattresses, cleaners and even paints.

The GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certification Program tries to offer a solution to parents who are concerned about the indoor air quality of their homes, schools and other places their children spend their time. The GREENGUARD Children & Schools standard is overseen by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), which is an industry independent and non-profit organization. Their mission is to not only improve indoor air, but to improve the quality of human life by testing and certifying indoor products based on strict chemical emissions criteria.

You can find the GREENGUARD Children & Schools certification mark on more than 170,000 different products that are produced by over 500 different manufacturers.

You may not know, but some of the very materials and products that we use to furnish and maintain our indoor environments can release hundreds of pollutants such as formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone and even biological allergens.
Because of all the time spend indoors especially during the winter months that are on the way, so many children are at risk of breathing in these pollutants, and especially at risk are those with asthma, allergies and respiratory diseases. GREENGUARD Children & Schools wants to help, so with the help of GEI who is considered the world’s foremost resources on indoor quality and other companies who meet the standards of using the GREENGUARD mark (such as DuPont, Georgia-Pacific, BASF, Owens Corning, Benjamin Moore and others) products and undergo quarterly testing to ensure that the products are safe and continue to meet the emissions criteria that GREENGUARD stands by.
With all the concern today on environmentally friendly products, and keeping our kids safe and healthy, it is hard to distinguish which products are truly environmentally friendly and which ones are not. When you see the GREENGUARD mark, it ensures that that product has passes rigorous testing to prove that it will emit the fewest possible pollutants into the air.

GREENGUARD Children & Schools standards takes into account the special sensitivities that our children have and incorporates those into their most stringent product emissions criteria. They make sure that every day products meet strict emission levels of pollutants including VOCs, phthalates and respirable particles.

For more information on the GREENGUARD Children & Schools certification program and GEI you can visit www.greenguard.org

Daily Freebies...

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~ Walmart Free Huggies Sample

~ Calvin Klein Free Secret Obsession Fragrance Sample

~ Greenies Free Sample of Pill Pockets Pet Treats

~ Costco Free Sample of Kotex Lightdays Pantiliners

~ PVA Free Fun Mailbox Name & Address Labels

~ Head & Shoulders Free Trial Size (Canada)

~ Purina Free Sample of Cat Chow Naturals

~ Fresh Pets Free Sample (UK & Ireland)

~ Walmart Free Sample of Nicorette White Ice Mint

~ Walgreens Free Sample of of Always Infinity

~ Estee Lauder Free Sample of Sensuous Fragrance (UK)

~ Member's Mark Free Infant Formula Samples

~ Nicorette Free Starter Pack of Nicorette White Ice Mint

~ Head & Shoulders Free Dry Scalp Care or Smooth & Silky Sample

~ Senseo Free Bag of Senseo Pods

~ Kids Kitchen Free personalised Wooden Spoon (UK)

We all need some happiness...

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STRESS! PMS! KIDS! HUSBANDS! Those four things are something that can drive woman nuts, and those four things alone can attribute to pain, frustration and a need for some relaxation! But with most of us on a tight budget, how can we get a ‘spa’ like relaxation at home? Well, The Happy Company has come to our rescue.

The Happy Company is devoted to developing tools for a healthy living that fit into the busy modern lifestyle most of us have today. They want us to be able to take care of ourselves, love ourselves, live, love and be happy! The Happy Company provides good-for-you products that will give you a feel-good experience and relive some of that stress while giving you the relaxation comforts that you need. In the early 90’s The Happy Company was started with the small hand-held wooden massagers, and now have expended into the entire relaxation industry.

My family and I got to try a bunch of their great products, and they couldn’t have come at such a great time. With all the stress and frustration around here, relaxation was needed. My husband’s favorite product, the cozy Neck Wrap is something we’ve both used, but something he uses on a daily now. I’ve used it for a really bad kink I’ve had in my neck and it worked great, it gave me the relief and comfort I needed. He uses it at night to distress and give comfort. The Neck Wrap has a flax seed fill insert which you can heat in the microwave for heat comfort and the outside cover is 100% polyester ‘chenille’ and is so soft and comfortable. Once you heat up the neck wrap, the insert naturally retains heat to either keep you warm, or help you relax while the herbs inside sooth your senses with a light pleasant smell of aromatherapy (lavender, clove and chamomile). If you don’t want the scent, it is removable, which is a great feature, the cover is also machine washable.

Their Warming Scarf is something I have yet to use, but can see it as being very useful as the winter months approach. The design in itself is such a great concept. The Warming Scarf is made of a durable warm and very soft fleece, and also has grain filled inserts in the pockets (found on the end of the scarf). You can pop the inserts into the microwave and then put them back into the pockets of the scarf which will give you long lasting warmth and relaxation whenever you need that chill taken away from the cold that’s on the way, a great concept for those on the go. It also has the great features of the pockets having zippers on them, so it's a great place to store your cell phone or keys while your wearing it.

One of my favorite items (one of, because I do have another) is the Hot or Cold Gel Body Wrap. This wrap has been great when I’ve got cramps due to PMS; it’s also been great for those back aches. You can take the gel pack insert and either microwave it for some heat, or keep it cool in the refrigerator for cold therapy. The cover is adjustable and can be used on any part of the body. This product is great for any of those aches and pains in your muscles or joints. It will help relax you and reduce that pain as well as improve circulation. Like I said, so far, I’ve found this great for lower back pain and cramps. A must have for any woman. *Note that this product does contain latex.

My other favorite product is the Soothing Eye Mask. The Eye mask can be used either with or without the gel insert. The cover of the eye mask is a very soft machine washable knit cover, we have ours in 100% acrylic sweater, but you can also purchase it in a 100% cotton jersey cover. So it’s very comfortable and soft, perfect to use without the gel insert as a sleeping mask. I however have been using it whenever I’ve had any of my lovely sinus headaches lately. The gel insert can be kept in the refrigerator so it keeps nice and cool to give that soothing experience when placed on the eyes. The gel also contours to your eye shape and has more than enough coverage to make sure that all the points that need to be affected.

The Happy Company has so many other products to help you be on your way to a happy, relaxed life, be sure to check them out at: www.thehappycompany.com and find your way to happiness.

WIN!!!! The Happy Company wants to make sure that they spread the happiness around, and wants to offer my readers a great prize. Five (5) lucky readers will win a Soothing Gel Eye Mask from The Happy Company. All you have to do is visit their website and leave me a comment telling me some of their other great products that you might like to try, and why you would benefit from the Soothing Gel Eye Mask.

This giveaway is open to those with a US mailing address only!!! And is open to non bloggers, PLEASE just remember if your blog profile is private, or you’re a non blogger, leave an email address or your entry will be disqualified....Winner will be chosen via random.org

For extra entries (please leave each extra giveaway in a separate comment, each will earn you an extra entry):
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link
• Stumble this giveaway
• Subscribe to my blog via RSS or Email
• Add my blog to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar

Giveaway Ends October 6, 2008 @ 11:59pm EST

I have a goal...

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And I'm going to implement it right after Lyric's birthday is finished. There's no way I can implement it before hand, I'm too busy and my thoughts are just not in it. My goal, is to loose all my icky weight...I really need to do it for good this time. I guess once Rodney has whatever job in his pocket it will make it easier as well, back to buying the healthy foods, and who knows, maybe for once being able to get a gym membership. All I know, is I hate the way I currently am, and really want to be able to go shopping for some swimsuits by next summer. I'll get to my goal, I swear it, if it takes everything I have, It will be done... It's now or never.

Winter is on it's way...

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Winter is on its way. I’ve been through many tough winters. I mean come on, I am Canadian, I did grow up just off of Lake Ontario, some of the winters we had were pretty rough. Even right now, living in Ohio, we get a lot of snow. I’ve seen enough snow to last my life time, but thankfully I haven’t had as rough as a time as some people, just to think, those who live in Montana, or Colorado with all of those hills to drive up and down. I don’t think I could do it, I hate driving in the winter as is, I’d really hate it if I had to drive around with roads like that, all snow covered and icy, to the point where I’d need tire chains on my tires. No thanks; I think I’ll stick with the mounds of snow on the straight roads instead, shoveling my driveway with a good old fashioned shovel.

Bills = Headaches

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There are so many expenses today when it comes to living and being an adult. From the mortgage, electric, cable, internet, and cell phone. Sometimes I don’t know how to keep up. Lately we’ve been trying to downsize our bills because of our recent circumstances. We don’t pay a whole lot, but it’s always nice to find a way to pay out less. Even with car insurance, it’s a struggle to find the best price and the right coverage. We really need to sit down, write everything out and do things one by one. Listing them all and trying to go over everything all at once has been just a giant headache.

So behind...

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I've been so behind lately with so many things. Housework, my reviews, giveaways, blog posts ack, sometimes it feels like my life is so out of control, I don't know how I'm going to ever catch up. I can say, it's been really nice having Rodney home for the most part, we've gotten a lot accomplished at least around our house. Hopefully, with some upcoming interviews this week, this will be the last week we have the time to do that all day. It's great having him home, but things are running low, including money.

Anyways, I wanted to say I'm so sorry for the lack of posts, the forgetfullness of announcing some giveaway winners, I'll get to that right now. I've just been busy around the house and whatnot, being a wife, being a mom you know how it goes....

First for the winner of a shirt of their choice from Fliggity.... This giveaway ended on 9/18...The winner was chosen at random like usual, and the winner is.....









Commenter #87:
mama zen said...

I LOVE the Biggity Bat!

kelli at pfrog dot net

CONGRATS!!!!

The 5 winners of the Best-Ever Spinach Country Living Collection Dip Mix from Heritage Specialty Foods (ended 9/19) were chosen at random and are:










Commenter #2:
sandy said...

Heritage - Hearst Ranch Truffle Red Wine London Broil
and pecan pie in a jar

Commenter #82:
tarahsrecipes said...

The "Southwestern Cheese Ring" sounds wonderful and right up our alley!

Tarah
tarah716[at]ymail.com

Commenter #84:
gkstratos said...

Chicken Pot Pies!
gkstratos@yahoo.com

Commenter #49:
miss bliss said...

Wow! I'm hungry for dips. I'd try the Heritage - Blue Crab Forestierre Dip. YUM
michelleharrod(at)hotmail(dot)com

Commenter #152:
jennifer said...

The 3 dips in the Country Living - Appetizer Dip Trio sounds great! Thanks for the giveaway!

CONGRATS GUYS!!

Next the winner of the Wow Wow Wubbzy DVD which ended 9/20 is:

Commenter #10:

windycindy said...

"Little Bear" is our favorite show. I would love to introduce my sons to this show. Please enter me in your drawing. Many thanks for a fun giveaway drawing! Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

CONGRATS to everyone!! I'll be in contact via email shorty. Don't forget to check out the other giveaways going on right now, and keep your eyes open for newer ones coming soon!!!

Fire Ants...

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Yuck!! First of all I hate any bugs/insects period, but ants are icky. Especially when they can hurt you. Thankfully I've never encountered any fire ants or fire ant nests, I guess I'm lucky. But I know there are those out there who have and it doesn't sound like a pleasant experience either. It's great to find a site that helps you and give you guides on dealing with fire ant infestations and the various ways that their mounds can be eliminated. I know that finding information like this is helpful, so when you can find a great site online where you can find out quickly how to eliminate these pesky ants, it's a lifesaver!

R.Kelly Speaks...

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I'm sure a lot of you know about the R. Kelly sex scandal trial that has gone on. He was found innocent (really? how that happened is beyond me), and now he's speaking about it.

I used to be a huge R. Kelly fan, his music is great, the man can sing and turns out hits like no tomorrow, but the man has an issue, and it needs to be addressed. I can no longer consider myself a fan, nor listen to his music after the claims (and also seeing the sex tape, come on it was him, no doubt about it). It's quite clear that this man is a pedophile, a child molester whatever you want to call him, he's it. People that are sitting behind him (fans) who are cheering him on, offering him support really need to open their eyes to this man. I know I don't want my children listening to some man singing that could potentially hurt them. As usual, because he's a celebrity, he gets an innocent verdict and a slap on the wrist. When is the law going to be on the sides of the citizens, and of the sides of our children instead of the sides of these celebrities?

R. Kelly makes me sick...I hope that somehow, somewhere someone speaks up and tells the truth about him, or it's found out somehow...You can check out his BET interview where he speaks out below:


One thing I am proud of....Funk Master Flex, thank you for speaking out, speaking out publicly about this sick poor excuse of a man. It takes a lot for one celebrity to speak out about another, and I praise him for that. So many people see the truth of this man, why the law/jurors didn't is beyond me...



For the girls who have been abused and taken advantage of from him, I only hope that they realize they're under age, he's a grown man, and it wasn't a good thing that happened, at the time, I'm sure all they think of is "Oh, My God, this is R.Kelly" but in reality, it was abuse and something very WRONG that happened to them...

Daily Freebies...

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~ Carefree Free Pantiliners Sample (US & Canada)

~ Ringtonehall Free Mobile Cell Phone Strap (US, Canada & UK)

~ Women's Health Free Sample of Tampax Pearl

~ Kotex Sweeps Free Sample Pack for entering

~ Downy Free $1 Coupon for Downy Total Care

~ L'Oreal Free Sample of Skin Genesis (Canada)

~ Fusion Free 3-Pack of Condoms (UK)

Dating a Millionaire?

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Yes, I’m married. I love my husband to death, but what would it be like to date a millionaire??? I can only ever think about what it would be like, because well, we’re not millionaires and we never will be. I do have a single friend though (yes D I’m talking about you), who really needs to just get out there and date more, have fun…Maybe she should look into dating some good looking rich guys, D maybe you could one day be one of those Millionaire women I think you should give it a try!

Crochet is Cool!!

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I'm not really big on knitted or crochet items, it's just not me, but when I saw the newest line of handbags from The Sak I actually fell in love. And to think, they're crochet, it's pretty unbelievable that this is something I would love to have, but it's true! I'm a big fan of handbags in general, but I'm very picky at the same time. Between shoes and handbags it's a tossup as to which I love more.

The latest line of handbags from The Sak bring crochet from grannyish to being hip! Sakroots is a tribute collection celebrating The Sak's 20th anniversary and they're using that to show their new collection which is inspired by the natural surroudings of Bali, Indonesia where the brand has very strong roots and they're growing strong! These stylish new bags feature The Sak's signature honeycomb weave in rich fall colors such as olive, flint, sangria, taupe, black and coffee. Each bag also has a functional top zipper and has a great removable beaded bracelet which you can wear on your wrist or use to decorate your bag.

Sakroots retails from $79 - $89 and is available now at select retail locations and www.thesak.com be sure to check them out, there's so many cute new bags that are just calling my name, and I'm sure you'll hear your name being called too once you take a peak!