Groovy Girls by Manhattan Toys

Every little girl needs a doll. This year we had the opportunity to give a very special Groovy Girls doll from Manhattan Toys to a very special little girl.
My boys had so much fun helping me wrap the doll. As you can see, she's very cute and just the right size for a toddler. I don't have a picture of the doll with her new mama (yet) but I have been told that she is very loved.
My favorite thing about this fun doll is that she is soft. This makes her much safer for toddlers, and whoever else is around while they are playing.
If you're looking for some great toys for your child make sure you stop in and see what Manhattan Toys has to offer. I promise you'll be please with their selection of high quality children's toys!

Why You Should Avoid HCG

There are lots of claims that HCG, a pregnancy hormone, works great for loosing weight. I'm here to tell you that if you really want to loose this is not the way to go. HCG diets do work, at first, because along with the hormone they have you reduce your daily calorie intake to a ridiculously low number. Of course when you starve yourself you are going to loose weight and the minute you quit doing so it is going to come right back. If you're going to try to loose weight in the new year, I know I am, make sure you do it in a healthy way so your body can feel the joy of your weight loss instead of eating itself to survive!

Proposal Turns Into Unity Candle Ceremony

The other day I had a friend share pictures of a wedding proposal they helped to set up. I had to laugh after looking it the finished result. It was beautiful but they had used red and orange candles to create a bonfire in the living room. This was great since the guy wanted to propose around the campfire (something its much to cold to do in Idaho right now) and between the candles, sleeping bags, and s'mores ingredients it certainly gave the room a camping feel. The funny part was that after they had everything set up the lit the candles and turned out the lights. The couple arrived home shortly and found all the candles melted together. It looked like a unity candle ceremony for sure! Thankfully they didn't burn down the house. And she said yes, so all's well that ends well right!

Tweet to Win A Honeymoon 12/28-1/3

An Odd Cleaning Find: Disposable Wedding Cameras

The other day I was cleaning up and found two disposable wedding cameras that have been hanging around since our wedding almost five years ago. It's things like this that make me feel like a junk collector. The cameras should be fine, they were still in the package, and I know I've been hanging onto them so I can give them to friends who are getting married but do I ever remember to put them in the package? Nope. Do you ever find things like this when you're cleaning? What is the oddest thing you've found that you know you stashed and then forgot about? I'd love to hear your story!

Wedding Invitations: A Brother's Joke

This year for Christmas one of my brothers decided to play a great joke on another of my brothers and we all got a good laugh. My brother just younger than myself is a university student and has been dating a girl for a few months now. As a joke he decided to tell the next brother, he's on a mission and has been gone for about six months, that he gave a ring for Christmas and that they were shopping for wedding invitations. Of course the family at home was struggling not to laugh because we knew it wasn't true but brother 2 did a little freak out before we gave in and told him the truth. It was a super great joke and was just one moment in our twice yearly skype conversation with my brother. It's so fun to spend time with the family over the holidays! I can't wait to have another party!

Wedding Favors Bags + A New Item at Kerrific

We've finally gotten through Christmas and I'm starting to think about the new year. I'm super excited to announce that we have some awesome new items that will be appearing in our shop over the next few weeks. My stack of wedding favors bags to package one of the items in arrived today so I will be getting photos soon to get these items listed. It's going to be lots of fun! I am so excited that I'm done with school and will have more time to be crafty. My kids are already enjoying the results of my crafts after the treats they found in their stockings. Stay tuned for more info as we launch our new Kerrific Hairbow line at our Etsy shop and add some new diapers and training pants to our Hyena Cart store.

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First Day of Preschool

My Goals for the New Year and Unsecured Business Loans

Now that I have graduated I have three big goals. First, to loose 30 lbs (the baby weight I'm still carrying around). Second, to stay on top of blogging (something about finals week put me way behind again). And third, to get my business up and running so E can work fewer hours (I'm wondering if an unsecuredbusiness loan might help with the initial expenses). I'm super excited to begin working on these goals. I wish I could start now but I'm still in the middle of Christmas projects that I have to get done (like my daughter's stocking). AHHH! I suppose I should get off the computer and get to work.

HCG Hormone, Pregnancy, and Your Diet

I've never been much for dieting but I am looking into making some weight loss goals in the new year. In fact, I happen to know that E has gotten me a bunch of tools to help me reach my goals for the holiday. I was doing a brief search today looking for companies to help me reach these goals and ran into an article that I found very interesting. The article was about the HCG Hormone, known to me as the pregnancy hormone, and was recently published about HCG as a weight loss treatment. Apparently this is not a proven weight loss treatment and is in face illegal. I guess I was confused at how someone could believe that a pregnancy hormone could help you loose weight, most pregnant women gain a lot of weight. Oh the things people believe.  

Find A Dental Practice for Sale

Buying a holiday gift for your spouse is always a challenge. The only thing E keeps telling me he wants this year is a visit to the dentist although I'm really not sure any normal person would wish for that. With all the money I will end up spending on dental work for my family over the next few years it would probably be worth it to find a dental practice for sale. Too bad I don't have the right degree to do dental work although I don't think I could stand looking in people's mouths all day. I suppose I shall just have to keep taking my boys to their wonderful dentist and then find one that E and I will enjoy too as we haven't found a new adult dentist since we moved. Any suggestions of a great local dentist would be wonderful!

Fairhaven Health Helps Again

I can't believe my baby is three months old! They grow so fast and I can never seem to keep up. My baby girl is growing faster than any of my boys did and part of that I owe to Fairhaven Health. With the boys I always had a hard time keeping my milk supply up and as much as I love nursing we have ended up supplementing with formula by the time the boys were about 4 months old. Fortunately this time I don't think that will be needed. Since I gave birth I have been taking Fairhaven's new Fenugreek and Cal-Mag Supplements. They are wonderful!
I have actually only been taking a quarter dose of the Fenugreek and I am still providing plenty of milk (plus the baby is sleeping through the night) and it is wonderful! I also really like the Cal-Mag mix. I was a little nervous at first because I was on a mag drip while I was pregnant with B and it was the most miserable week of my life (but that's another story). It did end up working well however and while I was taking it it certainly seemed like I had more energy.
If you're looking for some great fertility, pregnancy and nursing products make sure you check out Fairhaven health. They have great products and great customer support to help you find exactly what you need!

Keep Your Toys Safe

We all know that our kids are going to be super excited about all the new things they get for Christmas, or we hope they will be. If your kids are anything like mine they will want to take their toys with them everywhere they go to show them off. I used to tell my kids no but I don't have to do this anymore thanks to my childproof labels. These labels are great because they have a style for almost any object. Most of them are dishwasher and washer safe so you can even put them on things like sippy cups and clothes. It has been amazing the number of things that have been returned to me simply because they have our name on them. It's great and saves me a lot of time and stress looking for things my children have left behind. Kid labels really are the perfect gift because if you get them first you can label all your kids' new things as they are being unwrapped and they will be ready to go as soon as your kids are. Major stress savor, here I come!

Furniture For the New House

So we got a "new" couch last week. Actually, we got it from the local freecycle group and it's not perfect but at least it gives us someplace to sit. Some day I do want to get a nice set of matching furniture but for now I have a mismatched set of hand me down antiques. Not that this is a bad thing. In fact, I kinda like my antiques. They are a great size for me when compared to today's furniture choices. I love that my feet actually touch the floor when I sit in these chairs although sometimes it presents a problem when our larger friends come over. I suppose I'll have some major decisions to make when it comes time to buy my matching set. Hopefully I can find something that's small enough for me without being too little for everyone else.

Funny Face, I Love You!

Games for Christmas

I love getting my family games for Christmas. I love having new things we can do together and my boys really love games. This year we are getting some classics like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. We love sitting around on Christmas afternoon to play games together. It makes for great family time while we are home between semesters of school too. My problem is that after this year I will be out of new games that are age appropriate for my kids. Do you have any suggestions? We have all the classics so what are some fun games for preschool kids to play?

America The Last Best Hope by William J. Bennett

I've always loved history books, or at least most of them. America: The Last Best Hope by William J. Bennett was an interesting read about America's history between the Cold War and the present day. It covered some major changes including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of Communism, changes in culture, the war on terror, and the election of President Obama.

My Favorite part about this book was that it was uplifting. So much of what we read about today's society is very negative and I much prefer Bennett's viewpoint where the positive is the most important. Another reason this book appealed to me was because it covers things that happened in my lifetime. I have never been a very political person but reading these first person accounts of what was happening was very interesting even for me, the one that sits on the sidelines.

If you like history, or would like to learn more about how America has developed during your lifetime, than you should check out this book. You'll be amazed at the insight you will find and the things you will learn. Plus there are some great pictures of some major historical events. This is something you won't want to miss!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Gift That Keeps Giving - Diva Danger

If you are like me your mom is one of the hardest people to buy gifts for during the holidays. I mean she's your mom and she has everything right. This year I'm giving my mom a gift that keeps on giving. Diva Dangler's Earring of the Month Club is a great way to get something fun in the mail each month. Cost is just $9.95 a month and you will get a beautiful set of earrings in the mail. Plus when you join now you'll get an extra pair of earrings with your first month free. You'll love this high quality jewelry at a great price!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Married Life Chicken Soup

I don't know about you but for me sometimes married life is hard! Things are never what you expect them to be. No one is perfect. Yes, these are things we all know but sometimes it is hard to remember. Married Life by Chicken Soup is a great read when you need a little pick me up about married life. It is full of heartwarming stories that will have you laughing, crying, and experiencing every emotion in between. Its a read you won't want to miss!