"The Rachel" Gone Wrong...So, So Wrong...

I am pretty certain that I'll remember the day I went in for "The Rachel" for the rest of my life. In fact, I am sure that when I have grandchildren I will be telling this story and having them laugh at me and bring it up at every single occasion like my sister does...

Hope you're ready to laugh your ass off at me hysterically--it is pretty funny {now that 15 years have gone by!}...

I was getting ready to go into my Junior--or was it Senior?!--year of high school. Now for those of us who have been graduated for longer than a couple of years let me refresh our aging memories a bit. High school is that awkward time. Breakouts, hormones, broken hearts...it's amazing I have any happy memories left after all of that! It's the time where you "think" you're an adult only to now laugh hysterically when thinking back how "grown up" you were. It's the time when you can still eat a lot--but you have to lay off the junk a little bit or else that prom dress won't be as flattering.

Basically, in a nutshell, it was hell. To make me feel a little better about myself my Mom asked if I wanted to go to her hair stylist at the time. Heck yeah! I don't think I really got my hair "done" so to say. I would get a cut here and there, but nowhere as nice as this place.

Image from here

When the big day arrived I knew exactly what cut I wanted. Uber popular and super cute, I just knew that "The Rachel" would transform my life--I would have the haircut that would make all high school boys think that I was gorgeous. I couldn't wait to show up for the first day of school looking like Rachel!

I go into the salon with my sister and Mom. I may have been late to the appointment. I can't remember. Oh--and my sister swears to this day I bumped a man in the parking lot with my car. I have absolutely NO recollection of this--but she laughs hysterically and says, "Do you remember when you bumped that guy in the parking lot when you got your hair cut?? Bwahahahaha!"

And then I tell her no, I do not. That is a lie and I know I would remember something like that happening...

Oh. So back to the story.

Tell the stylist exactly what I want--I mean, everyone knew what "The Rachel" was back then. And I'm pretty sure a lot of us still know what it is today. I'm sitting in the chair, she's cutting away and I remember thinking that I was the luckiest girl in the world, I couldn't believe that I was getting "The Rachel" and I couldn't wait to go cruising with my girlfriends and meet boys and...

I looked in the mirror. And this is what was staring back at me:

Image from here

I had a MULLET!! I just sat there and wanted to cry. I hated it. Hatedhatedhatedhated it!

My Mom kept telling me how much she loved it {to this day she claims it was cute...riiiight....} and I think my sister laughed right then and there. I ended up wearing hats galore that summer and my new bff were bobby pins. It was awful. 

*Shudder* I bet I'll have nightmares tonite with mullets appearing....seriously....

Have you ever had a horrible yet highly hilarious hair malfunction?? Please tell me at least one of you have?! If not, just make one up....I'm kidding {sort of....}

Sing it Saturday...Young Forever Edition

Thought I would start something new while I configured up my q&a post...

It's Sing it Saturday--basically it's just the song that got you through the week. It could have a sentimental meaning, a fun "I wanna rock it" vibe or a song that just gets you....



For me, this song? It's just me. I don't feel like I'm 31 in a matter of days... I'm whatever age I am. I just love life. I love myself. I love everything....


What song are YOU feeling? Link up below and see what songs are getting us through the week!

The One Where I Have Nothing Witty...

I cannot believe I have been seriously not witty for awhile. I'm sitting here listening to Leo watch some political type TV show where it makes me want to shove nails into my eyeballs. I'm serious. He watches this show Monday through Friday which leaves me a TON of time to be witty. But, alas, today...nada. Not a single witty thing escapes me. The rest of this post will probably be of me and my rambling. And my feeling sorry for myself that people I L-O-V-E-D unfollowed me on Twitter. I know, I know, sniff sniff.

But my feelings still get hurt. I am sensitive. Gah. I know...I shouldn't care, but I do!

Anyway. Back to having the nada for brains lately. And to justify this I blame being on vacay for a week in Texas. Which reminds me...I'll be on vacay in Tennessee for my birthday week in June. If you want to guest post contact me--leave a comment and we'll set it up! I have never had guest posters and would love a few of you to come and write over here.

I sometimes wonder if I had actually finished college instead of becoming a full-time party girl and eventually joining the Air Force if I would have better posts, more ideas flowing. But honestly? I don't think so...I have loved my life thus far and wouldn't change a thing. But then I read other blogs where they are practically geniuses and don't have to depend on a glass of wine to wind down from one hell of a hellacious week...totally not me.

I am seriously that mom who is counting down the days for the weekend. Because weekends to me = relaxation time. Some wine. A few margaritas. You know--I get to unwind a little. I've always been like that, though. Seriously--if you knew me back in the day? You would really wonder if this? Was really me. For real. That's one reason why I joined the Air Force {where I still got to party, but it was in a much, much more somewhat responsible way...} and got my life in order, became an actual real life adult, met the man of my dreams, had two beautiful girls {and a baby in heaven} and now?

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend. And please take a moment while at your bbq's, the lake, or wherever you may be to remember our fallen men and women. The ones who we celebrate the lives of and their sacrifices for our holiday.

Winners Roll Call!

Congrats to all of the winners! I have emailed you--please respond back within 48 hours or a new winner will be picked.

The two lucky winners of the all® Oxi-Active™ are: 

Roxy

dreamcleavers

The winner of the VitaFusion giveaway is:

Hil'Lesha

Free Tropicana Orange Juice!

 

I had to share this sweet deal with all of you--today ONLY you can get a coupon for a free carton of Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice for only 5 points!

This is a great deal! I'm really loving all of these great prizes that Tropicana Juicy Rewards is offering! And hurry--there are only 45,299 free cartons left--get yours before they're all gone!

Edited to add: You must be enrolled in the Juicy Rewards program and have a balance of 5 points to complete this offer.

I wrote this review while participating in the Tropicana Juicy Insiders Ambassador program by Mom Central on behalf of Tropicana. I received 12 free Juicy Rewards points and a $50 Visa gift card to use in redemption of the points and to facilitate my review.

Ask Me...Do I Dare Say Anything?

I think it's finally time to do a little question and answer session with you all. I've never done one--and have been blogging for over two years now!

You can ask me anything. Personal, blogging, weird...go ahead. Just do it...

And I can't wait to read--and answer--your questions! Oh--and don't be shy. If there is anything you want to know I would love to help. Or help feed your curious side.

I'll have a post later this week with all of the answers! Have fun!

Donut? Yes, Please!

 Madelyn is a great eater--probably one of the best little eaters I have ever met. Well, she doesn't care for mustard after I gave her a bite of my Whataburger yesterday...but other than that? She eats and smiles the entire time.

So what happened today shouldn't have been of any surprise to me. I was trying to put Madelyn in her highchair except I was holding my prized hot pink frosted donut from Shipley Do-nuts. And let me tell you--that place is a treat, y'all. I don't have it in Mississippi, so my father in law has bought it for me aka McFatty us three times this week!! To die for delish...yum!

Anyway. I was holding the donut and trying to get her in the chair. I took one bite and set it down on the tray. BIG mistake. HUGE. Because Madelyn aka Lightning Hands had a hold on that thing faster than I could grab it back. Double fisted and eating it. All of it. She ate an entire donut--I think she was in heaven--and she also wore herself out....because after scrubbing off all of the icing? She literally passed out asleep.

I'm a Book-aholic...

I have been on a reading rampage lately...I mean it's out of control. In the past couple of weeks I've finished TWO books. I know, right?! Two?? How did I manage that one?

I like to credit this with two things. One being that when the girls nap I sit out on the front porch with my Diet Coke and read, read, read.

And two being that since we're in Texas I've been reading a lot. The girls are loving their cousins and Mamo & Papo which equals mucho reading time for this beyond exhausted Momma.

Now you're probably wondering what books I've been getting myself lost in. They're both excellent. One is not for the, um, prudish ones...just sayin'--you'll see what I mean when I get to that one...

First book I finished was one that I mentioned that I was reading a few days ago--The Art of Racing in the Rain. I'm pretty sure there were lots of tears lost with this book as I read it. This book is told through the dog's eyes {his name is Enzo...love it}. He tells you the story of his master's life--how it went from everything a man could want in life to the bottom...the rock bottom. I recommend it to everyone--I promise it's a great read and I read it so quickly. I didn't want to put it down...and I look at dogs in a different way now. It's weird, but after you read it you'll get what I'm saying.

 The next book is the one that I'm not sure who will like it. It's graphic in more ways than one...that's for sure. The book is Candy Girl and the author is also the screenwriter for Juno. I loved that movie so when my sister offered for me to read this book I thought why not?  This book is about a 25 year old who moved from Chicago to Minneapolis to be with a man who she fell in love. She's walking by a strip club and sees that they're having an amateur nite. She thinks to herself, what the hell, and goes for it. It's a fast read, but there were parts that made me gag a little. It was a pretty good book--it was funny and interesting to see the stripper's point of view. I've never known what they go through on a daily/nitely basis so this was definitely an inside view, haha!

I'm now reading Love the One You're With. It's good so far, but I'm only a few pages into it. I'll update with what I think after I'm done with it.

Are you reading anything right now that you think is a must read? I'm ready to buy a few more books before I run out of good reads!

The One With Changes...

Since becoming a Mom I have endured many, many changes in my life. Haven't we all? It's like once you know you are expecting--whether it's by those two pink lines, adoption, etc--your life, although still technically your life has changed in a big, big way...


1. Sleeping in is a thing of the past. Once you welcome that child into your life the sleepless nights start adding up and you honestly cannot remember the last time you woke up not tired. You also count waking up around 7:00 to have slept in. The upside to this is that you now get more done in these early hours. I cannot believe how much I get done before noon now!

2. Your conversations with other parents can be about any and/or all of the following with nobody batting an eyelash: poop, spit up, teething, poop, food, tantrums, poop. This can take place while eating, drinking drinks, etc.

3. Money that used to be for your manis, pedis, hair, clothes, and dates now goes to baby food, diapers, toys, books, dvd's, replacement toys, batteries for said toys. The funny thing about this is that you don't mind one bit with this. As long as I know my girls are happy I can keep on giving myself manis/pedis, stretching out my roots for a few weeks longer and only buying clothes for myself when it's absolutely necessary.

4. Control over the TV. You know when you got married/moved in with significant other and had to compromise on what shows would be watched and when? Well, once the little ones come? It's their choice. Even if you don't allow them to watch TV {that's so not me by the way....} you still have to make sure that there is something child friendly on the tube. What....you mean Rock of Love isn't acceptable to watch anymore??

5. Going to the bathroom. Alone. Those days? Are over--kiss that time goodbye! You may occasionally get to go to the porcelain throne alone...but, oh, 99.75% of the time? You'll have another set of hands in there with you. You have no idea how much I appreciate to have that bathroom time alone! And you also have no idea how many icy glares I cast towards the bathroom when Leo is in there. By himself. Door closed. And no children. This also goes towards showering/bathing....


What are your big changes that have happened since motherhood?

Winners!!

First of all a HUGE thank you to everyone who enters my giveaways--it means a lot to me that I get so many entrants and faithful readers through you. Thank you!!

And now I would like to announce two winners.

The winner of the Bryan Foods giveaway is Benita!! Congrats!

The next winner is Kathy--she won the Jimmy Dean giveaway!!

Congrats to you both! Both winners have been emailed and have 48 hours to get back to me or a new winner will be drawn.

Went to the Big "D"...and I Mean Dallas...

Ahh...be still my heart. This past weekend I was in Dallas with my sister and her family--to include the CUTEST little baby girl ever! I loved every second of my weekend--the Texas margaritas, the laughing with my sister and just sitting around talking. My sister is my best friend {although when we were kids...um...I never would have thought that, haha!}. I love her and seriously wish we all lived closer. 

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the weekend...I love these pictures!

And, Kristi, we had so much fun with you!!

The One Where I Cried...And Cried...

It's been an exhausting month. I'm not sure if Isabella is just having a lot of jealousy...or is craving more attention. But whatever is going on, it's been really, really hard on me. I know that not every day will be filled with sunshine, unicorns and butterflies...

What? You don't have unicorn days?! Those are the best kind of days....what I would do right now for a unicorn day.

*Sigh*

Anyway. I know that being a Mom is hard. I know that it is by far THE hardest job that I've ever had in my life. But today, after many "NO!" and "MOVE, MOMMY!" and beating up on Madelyn episodes I hit my emotional breaking point. The point that has been taunting me day in and day out for weeks now.

I'm sure a lot of you Mom's know exactly what point I am talking about. I raised my voice--which I hate doing. I've always tried really, really hard to NOT raise my voice...and I put her in her room. Madelyn was looking at me the entire time and it's almost like she knew I was about to lose it emotionally. I placed her on the floor, sat down and started crying.

It wasn't just a tear here and there, it was full on bawling my head off. Crying until I felt my eyes getting puffy. Crying until I was sobbing. Isabella came out of her room and saw me. She hugged me. Pleaded me to not cry, Mommy, don't cry...it's okay, Mommy....

And at that moment it was all okay. It's like crying right then for those few minutes cleared the foggy feeling in my brain that has been here for the past few weeks. I know there are so many more things that I could be crying about...but I had to cry today. I'm pretty sure it was the only thing that would have worked today.

Randoms...

Isabella is watching Dora...so I thought that this? Would be the perfect time for some randomness....

*note...it's now after 7 pm. She is no longer watching Dora...it's been a L-O-N-G week around here...

~Madelyn got sick. Again. Fever 102+ and raspy voice. Took her to the ped yesterday and he *thinks* it's a nasty virus going around. Ugh. My poor baby girl has been sick at least once a month now. Ridiculous. This year the virus season has been brutal to us!

~We're going to Texas on Friday! Yay! First to go and see my sister, her husband and their new baby. I'm SO excited to meet my new niece!! Then we go down to Houston to see my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and their new baby girl. I can't wait! The girls and I will be spending the week down there at Leo's parents house--Bella is so excited!

~I went to the Gap Outlet a couple of nites ago. Just me, nobody else. It felt wonderful to go shopping alone, not having to threaten anyone with a timeout to the car...wow! I really need to go shopping alone more often. Anyway, I bought a ton of cute clothes for less than a $100. I love sales! And the Gap Outlet.

~I'm down to a weight that is 2 lbs lower than what I was when I found out that I was pregnant with Madelyn. I'm so happy! Now I just need to lose the weight from when I was pregnant with Isabella....

Image from here

~Guess who agreed to get a Golden Retriever puppy after we're done with our summer trips in July...!! I cannot WAIT. I told Leo I was starting to get baby fever. Which happened around the same time that Isabella was Madelyn's age {9 1/2 months}. He quickly brought up the puppy...which I've been hinting at for the past few weeks, hehe!

Image from here

~I finished reading Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick...I loved it! It was an easy read and I finished it in a couple of weeks. Light and easy read for the summer. I know, I know, I always say that, but it's true!

Image from here

~I'm now reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I love it--I just started it on Sunday and I'm halfway done. I hope to finish it while I'm in Texas...

~I've had so many reviews and giveaways lately...it's a little insane. I think I am all caught up except for one which I'll work on while in Texas or back here in Mississippi once I get back home...

~Loving Wednesday nite TV. The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Fresh Meat...Don't judge on that last one--Leo and I love Real World and all of their challenge shows on MTV...haha!

~Um...not sure if anything else is blog worthy. My brain has been sizzled out lately...not sure what's going on. I blame extreme tiredness....

all® Oxi-Active™ {Winey Mommy Review & Giveaway--2 Winners!}

It's not a surprise that I'm picky about my laundry and what products I use. There are some products that we have tried only to find out that our towels and washcloths smell horrible--pretty sure that is what our determining factor is when buying laundry detergent for the family. I also try to find the best stain fighters for our clothes. With an infant and a toddler this is huge to me! If our laundry products don't help fight stains then we have clothes that are stained and not wearable to go out in....not a good thing.

 When I heard about the new all® Oxi-Active™ Laundry Detergent I was excited to read that it delivers a 2-in-1 advanced cleaning power and cleans better than the leading Oxi liquid detergent on the tough stains. It contains an innovative all® Oxi-Active™ stainlifters--this makes it the most powerful all® product on the market today! After trying it out on our OWN clothes, I agree. Their detergent smells wonderful and gets the stains out. Two thumbs up from this Mommy!

A few key features include: 

-It delivers a 2-in-1 advanced cleaning power  
-It will make your whites vibrant and your colors bright  
-Safe for traditional AND high-efficiency washing machines  
-Cleans those tough stains such as grass, blood, wine, grape juice and more   

Right now you can save $1 by visiting their website here. I don't know about you, but I love coupons and saving money where I can!

***Win It!***

TWO lucky readers will win one full bottle each of the new all® Oxi-Active™ Laundry Detergent! To win tell me your biggest laundry challenge. This must be done to be eligible to win.

***Bonus Entries***

Leave a separate comment for each and every entry

{1 entry} Visit www.all-laundry.com and tell me another product you would like to try

{2 entries} "Like" all Laundry on Facebook and leave a comment that you came from The Winey Mommy

{2 entries} Subscribe via e-mail to The Winey Mommy

{1 entry each} Follow The Winey Mommy and/or subscribe in a Reader

{1 entry} Place my button on your blog

{1 entry} Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveaway! Can tweet up to 3x's/day: " Love clean clothes? TWO lucky winners will win a bottle of the new all Oxi-Active over @winey_mommy! Ends 5/26 http://bit.ly/ai6f4t  " Leave link to your tweets in comment.

***Rules***

This giveaway will end on May 26th @ NOON CST. Open to all US residents 18+. To be eligible to win you must do mandatory entry. If you do not follow that rule all entries will be void. Leave a valid email address in comment or available on profile. Winner will be drawn via Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to notification email. If winner does not contact back w/full name/address a new winner will be picked. All winners will be posted on blog when picked. This blog is not responsible for prizes not being delivered, getting lost, etc. I will try my hardest to work with company if something should go wrong. This blog is not responsible for anything regarding to your use of product.

I received one bottle of all Oxi-Active to review on my blog. No other compensation was given. All opinions are based on my own experience.

VitaFusion Gummy Vitamins {Winey Mommy Review and Giveaway!}

Ever since Isabella started taking vitamins that were gummy vitamins, I have been jealous. I always wished that they made adult gummy vitamins because let's face it...I hate taking huge vitamin pills. I swear, I always gag on them and they leave an awful taste in my mouth.

I was recently able to try VitaFusion's Multi Vites and Power C gummy vitamins--for adults. I know! I was stoked to see a product that was made for adults, but also were gummy. I admit that at first I was a little apprehensive that they would taste good...I opened the bottles and sniffed. Hm....they smell good, maybe they'll taste as good as they smell?

I took them out of their containers and they were soft--not hard like a gummy bear that you would find in the couch after being there who knows how long. I popped them in and I loved them!! I can't wait to have Leo try them--and I know that these are supplements that I will not forget to take. They taste good and give me vitamins that I know I'm missing out on daily no matter how hard I try to eat foods that are healthy for me.


VitaFusion Gummies are gluten free and contain no milk, eggs or peanuts. They're made with natural flavors and colors, too. They have a large selection of vitamins to choose from to help you get supplements that are missing from your daily diet.

***Win It!***

VitaFusion has graciously offered one lucky reader a bottle of choice from the selection of Gummy Vitamins! To enter to win the bottle of your choice simply visit VitaFusion and tell me which kind you would choose. This must be completed in order to win. 

 

***Bonus Entries***

Leave one comment per entry. If you get "2" bonus entries, leave 2 comments.

{2 entries} "Like" VitaFusion on Facebook. Leave a comment on their wall telling them that you came from The Winey Mommy

{2 entries} Follow VitaFusion on Twitter

{2 entries} Subscribe to The Winey Mommy via email

{1 entry per each} Follow The Winey Mommy and/or subscribe in a Reader

{1 entry} Follow The Winey Mommy on Twitter and tweet the following: " Get your healthy on with @vitafusion & @winey_mommy! Win your choice of Gummy Vitamin today! Ends 5/26  http://bit.ly/aXdsqI " You may tweet up to 3x's/day--space out your tweets & leave your tweet link in each comment.

{1 entry} Grab my button and place on your blog

***Rules***

This giveaway will end on May 26th @ NOON CST. Open to all US residents 18+. To be eligible to win you must do mandatory entry. If you do not follow that rule all entries will be void. Leave a valid email address in comment or available on profile. Winner will be drawn via Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to notification email. If winner does not contact back w/full name/address a new winner will be picked. All winners will be posted on blog when picked. This blog is not responsible for prizes not being delivered, getting lost, etc. I will try my hardest to work with company if something should go wrong. This blog is not responsible for anything regarding to your use of product.


I received two bottles of gummy vitamins. No other compensation was given. All opinions above are based on my own experience. Your opinion may or may not be the same as mine.

A Sassy Glass Wine Charms

It's no doubt that by now you know how much I love wine--hence the name The Winey Mommy. I love to find fun wine glasses and fun wine glass accessories. There are so many ways to make an ordinary wine glass into something fun!

Enter A Sassy Glass. A Sassy Glass is the go to shop for your wine glass accessories. With a large selection of wine glass charm sets you are sure to find something for your next get together. They would also be a fun gift for a bride to be, birthday gift, Christmas gifts...

A Sassy Glass all started when creator and owner Melissa Coale had a sleepless nite with her 3 month old daughter. She was thinking of gifts for friends who liked wine/cocktails....and came to thinking about cute stemware charms. She wanted wine charms that would say "DIVA" or "PRINCESS" and began searching for them...but she couldn't find any. With this, Melissa started researching on those sleepless nites in creating the charms that she wanted for her friends. Months went by and she finally had captured the way she wanted her charms to look like. Success! After the success of her charms she started planning and creating her bottle stoppers. From high heeled shoes, purses and birthstones, she has the girliest and funnest wine stoppers available. Love the choices and how they are catered to us women!

 I got sent the Girly Girl  collection and I love it! There is a charm for any mood that I may be in. Last nite I was feeling especially sassy--so that was the charm of choice. And I didn't drink any wine--I simply had a glass of water from a wine glass and the charm still spruced it up. You don't have to be a wine/cocktail drinker to enjoy her charms. I like this fact because when I was pregnant and people were enjoying their wine I just sat there with a bottle of water. I would have loved to have these charms for a "fancy" glass of water. Perfect idea for a baby shower, too.

Starting this month, one person who "Likes" A Sassy Glass on Facebook will be entered to win the Emerald Ring inspired bottle stopper! This would be a great gift for someone--or you could keep it for yourself to use on a bottle of wine that doesn't get finished one evening. Make sure to "Like" her page to be entered--you'll also be the first to know about any specials or new projects!

A Sassy Glass wine charms, bottle stoppers and t-shirts can be purchased by visiting her site. Interested in having an internet party with A Sassy Glass? She offers that, too! If you are the host--inviting co-workers, friends, sisters, etc--you will receive 25% sales in "Sassy Cash". They just place their order with you, the hostess, and you will receive your cash! Cool, right?!

Have fun shopping and browsing A Sassy Glass. She really offers a lot of cute products--I love them all!

I received the Girly Girl collection. No other compensation was given and all opinions above are my own.

L'il Critters Gummy Vites Review

Being a Mom I am always trying to keep my daughters healthy. Once Isabella turned two I was happy that she was old enough to take a children's multivitamin. I try as hard as possible to serve her a nutritious of meals as possible, but that doesn't always guaranty that she will eat everything that I serve her.

Since turning two we have tried a variety of different types of children's multivitamins both gummy and chewable. She prefers the gummy type and since being aware of that I have searched for one that she will not put off eating. Some are too hard and certainly does not feel "gummy". Others are softer, but you can smell the vitamin smell as soon as you open the jar--which isn't a pleasant smell...

Our latest brand of gummy vitamins was L'il Critters Gummy Vites. After I opened the bottle I smelled it. I was relieved to smell a fruit scent and not the vitamin and mineral scent. I took two bears out of the bottle--they were soft like they should be. After giving them to Isabella she literally gobbled them up. I asked her if she liked them--her response was asking for more. I took that as a GREAT sign and I'm relieved to have finally found the vitamin for my family. Gummy Vites was the 2009 Chef's Best Taste winner--which I can say I agree with that award judging by Isabella's eagerness for more {don't worry--I didn't give her another serving!}.

L'il Critters offers more than just Gummy Vites for children. They have Calcium Gummy Bears, Fruit & Veggie Gummy Bears, and more. These are all made by Northwest Natural Products which produce the VitaFusion line for adults--gummy vitamins, Vitamin C supplements, fiber supplements, calcium supplements, and many more products. Northwest Natural has something for everyone in the family!

I love their website as well. It's easy to navigate and has information ranging from supplement facts, nutrition for your children to include sneaking veggies into their meals, general safety for all ages of children, and car seat safety info. Have an older aged child? They offer a kids club, too! Theirs a ton of fun info, puzzles, and games--I can't wait for my daughters to get a little older so they can play on the site with me on a rainy day.

In conclusion, I would recommend L'il Critter Gummy Vites to my readers. I'm very impressed with their high quality and how much Isabella enjoyed them.

A big thank you to Northwest Natural Products for supplying me with the products to review. No other compensation was given.

Make My House Beautiful--Cheap AND Fun

My life lately has been full of projects, projects and more projects. Not that I don't like doing them--I love projects and working on beautifying my home. Especially if it's doing something small and inexpensive to make it better. I've decided to start a new project in my life--make my house beautiful. It will be ways to make me happy and make my home look beautiful with cheap projects that I do myself.


For my first project, I did a total de-cluttering of our master bath. I used to keep tons of my lotion, makeup, etc on this tray on my counter. I threw the tray away and put everything under the sinks. It looks amazing! I have a small bouquet of red flowers on the counter in a corner and our toothbrushes. That's it. It looks so nice! I love walking in there and not feel overwhelmed by the counter.

I've also been working on our yard like crazy. I love the sun, fresh air and exercise. It's perfect! I've raked up our old mulch and leaves, mowed again--I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to mowing....weird, I know. Then yesterday we went to Lowe's where I bought a hydrangea plant for our planter out front and some petunias for another rectangle planter I have. I love flowers--they make me happy just looking at them on the front porch. Leo will be buying the bags of new mulch to lay out so we can completed that project. I know I'll buy some more flowers to add to the front yard as well.

Then my favorite project. My parents recently spray painted their light fixtures at their house and painted their front door. It got me thinking....what a great way to give your house a face lift for a fraction of the cost of buying new fixtures and a new door?! So I started spray painting our fixture out front. And then I decided to paint a shelf that we have in our bathroom that we bought a couple of years ago. I'm painting them all black and they look great!! I ran out of paint so once Leo gets home I'll be running up to Lowe's for more...as for the front door I plan on doing that in a few weeks. Pretty sure I'll be painting it black and then getting some black shutters for our front windows. I'm thrilled and cannot wait for that to be done!!

Now I've been looking around my house like a crazy woman wondering what I could paint next....it's so cheap and easy to do--and I am hooked. Thinking of hitting some thrift stores soon to scope out what I could make beautiful.

Have you been doing any fun and cheap projects? Tell me about them--maybe you'll be the next to inspire me!

Movie Monday: The Blind Side

It's another Monday which means it's time for Movie Monday with Messy Mommy! My movie this week is a movie that I had been dying to see...and it finally got sent to us via Netflix. I ripped open the package to see what had arrived and squealed with happiness--I finally got the opportunity to watch The Blind Side!

This movie was nothing short of spectacular. It's basically about a boy in high school who has nothing. No family, nowhere to live, nothing to look forward to. He gets noticed by a family one nite and they have him stay at their home. What started out as one simple and random act of kindness turns out to be much, much more.

I admit I cried during random parts...but that's typical Chelle for ya. This movie made me stop and think about just how blessed that I am with my life...I loved this movie--two HUGE thumbs up from both Leo and me. It's definitely one that I would love to buy and add to our collection of movies.

Have a movie that you watched this week? Go and link up with Messy Mommy--and you also get to check out what everyone else watched, too.

Perricone MD Winner!

Congrats to hether78 who was the lucky winner of the Perricone MD giveaway. She's been emailed and has 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be drawn and announced.

Thank you to everyone who entered and remember--I have 2 more giveaways still going on with low entries.

Tooth Soap {Winey Mommy Review}

Being a Mom I am always wanting the best for my family. Whether it's cleaning my home, helping outside for yard work or everyone's health...I want them to have the best. Another important part of taking care of my family would be their dental health. Having healthy gums and teeth means a lot to me.

I know we have been told to brush teeth, floss and choose our foods carefully--those are all important parts of a healthy mouth. But have you heard of Tooth Soap? I had never heard of Tooth Soap until recently--and I also go to try it. I was told to give it more than one chance--the texture is totally different and it doesn't get "foamy" like a normal toothpaste. I remember thinking...okay...so what does it do?

After receiving my Tooth Soap {I chose mint--there are TONS of different flavors to choose from} I went and got my toothbrush. I wanted to see for myself how this stuff worked. I got my dropper, dropped some in my mouth and started brushing with my {wet} toothbrush. The texture of it was definitely different, but I kept brushing and brushing. After I was done my mouth felt, well, clean. It's hard to describe the difference....but it felt a lot cleaner than normal. The mint flavor was great, too. I'm not one for crazy toothpaste flavors, but if you like to experiment you can choose from a large variety of flavors.

One last bit of info about Tooth Soap--it's all natural and they only use products that you would find in your kitchen. You will not find any crazy named ingredients where you sit and wonder what it is and how could that be harmful to you and your family. That has been one of the top reasons why I loved this product. I actually know that I'm giving to my family.

I received one bottle of product in order to write my review. No other compensation was given.

Summertime...And the Livin's Easy....

I love thinking back and remembering moments of time from my favorite summers over the years. Summertime makes me a happy girl--I love it! The flip flops, tank tops, sweet tea...you name it, I love it.

This past week has been pretty hot down here on the coast--high 80's and even hovering around 90 degrees with our heat index and humidity. With all of this warmer weather it's had me thinking of some of my favorite summertime memories....nothing like traveling down memory lane to stir up lots of memories...


*Eating huge slices of watermelon as a young girl in the backyard. We have quite a few pictures of us kids holding our watermelons and smiling with our juice stained shirts.

*Taking rides in the wagon behind my Grandpa's tractor with all of my siblings and cousins. It was so much fun.

*Exploring the woods behind our house, packing picnic lunches and eating on the rocks at the creek...loved those days.

*Catching lightning bugs and pinching off their glow stuff to put on my fingernails. *Gag* It grosses me out now, but when I was a little girl I thought it was SO cool!

*Going to the pool and swimming for hours...I love the smell of chlorine...

*Getting married to Leo on July 16th, 2004...

*Having Madelyn July 29 of last year--I was so happy to not be pregnant through the entire summer and that she showed up a couple of days early for me!

*Watching fireworks with my family, going to the fair and eating Pineapple Whip any day or nite of the week...if you are ever in Springfield, Missouri you must try this stuff--it's to die for yummm...

*Going to the movies to escape to a dark, cool theater for a couple of hours to escape the heat.


I could probably go on and on about my love affair that I have with summertime...what are some of your favorite memories of summer?

Crocodile Tears...An *Almost* Wordless Wednesday...

 

This picture just makes me want to kiss those baby cheeks to pieces...

Love her and her adorableness!

I Value My Time...

As a Mom, wife and blogger I value my time very much. I'm feeding children, changing diapers, potty training, doing yard work or writing my posts. I don't get much time for "me"--in fact it's so rare around here that I usually blog about getting a little time here and there for myself--it's that big of a deal.

I get pitches a lot--for anything that you can probably think of. I don't mind getting pitches--a majority of the time they ask me to review a product and/or have a giveaway. A majority of the time I won't hold a giveaway unless I review the product first, but there are circumstances in which I will.

I got a pitch a few days ago--first they got my blog name wrong. It was my old blog name which I changed back in November of 2009. Not a big deal, I'll let it slide. It was a pitch about a new product, etc...I replied back that I would love to do a review and possibly host a giveaway on my blog for this product. I would give the PR company my address and we could go from there.

They in turn wrote me back--still using old blog name after I gave the new one--and thanked me. They told me that they would try to get me the product to review...but they weren't sure if they could.

I wrote back and once again said I would love to do a product review. If that wasn't possible I do charge a small fee for my time to write about a product. If they were to pay me it would be a written advertisement--basically letting everyone know that there's this new product out there, the benefits, how it differs from the old product.

So, today rolls around and I get a reply that they do not pay for posts at this time. I was tempted to write back, that's wonderful--I don't work for free at this time...

Why should we, as bloggers, work for free? It takes time to write posts, get images, read press releases. I'm not going to take the time away from my family or myself to work for free. Sorry--I'm sure there are people who wouldn't mind, but I've been doing reviews/giveaways for awhile now and I have learned {the hard way...} how valuable my time is.

I guess you could say that I grew balls and stood up for myself. I have to admit--I kind of like it....

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you give companies free advertising? What would you have done if this happened to you? And if it has happened before, what did you do? I can't wait to hear some thoughts on this topic!

See? They Do Love One Another...

This picture seriously melts my heart. You see, lately? Isabella has felt the need to show Madelyn who's in charge. And by that I mean that she is rough with her baby sister. I dry numerous tears and console my sweet Madelyn numerous times a day.

I was doing some picking up today and I saw them--playing nicely. No tears, no screaming, no quiet time for Isabella. Here in this picture I saw love--the love of my two girls, playing so sweetly with blocks. And I must say that it honestly melted my heart into a sappy, picture taking, happy Momma.

Bryan Foods: Nothing Says Summer Like the Grill {Review & Giveaway}

When I think of summer my mind automatically goes to thinking about grilling out on the grill. Whether we're at the beach, watching fireworks somewhere or hanging out with friends--the grill is our constant companion. My husband loves all things related to the BBQ--and further more he loves grilling out for his family and friends.

I recently had the opportunity to try out Bryan Foods Juicy Jumbos Hot Dogs. Isabella and I are both hot dog lovers--I love mine with mustard and she loves hers plain--and sometimes with some ketchup depending on her mood that day. Their hot dogs were delicious! They were the perfect length for our buns and were so flavorful--they were so good! I was so happy that our local base commissary {grocery store on base} carried them because now I have a good and tasty hot dog that I can buy for our future BBQ's.

Not a hot dog fan? Bryan Foods has a variety of different products available! They offer cocktail smokies, breakfast sausages, corn dogs, smoked sausage, ham, and lunch meat. Their products are perfect for a variety of get togethers--and to help you prepare for that next BBQ or special occasion, they have recipes to help you prepare and get your menu together.

***Win It!***

One lucky winner will win TWO Bryan Foods coupons good for a free product, hat/sweatshirt and grill forks! To be eligible to win visit Bryan foods and tell me anything from the site--whether it's what products you would buy, a recipe that sounds good or about Bryan Foods company--anything! This must be done to be eligible to win.

***Bonus Entries***

Leave a separate comment for every entry.

{1 entry} Tell me what year Bryan Foods became a Southern favorite

{1 entry per each} Enter any/all of my current giveaways {can be found under giveaways tab on top bar}. One entry per each additional giveaway entered.

{1 entry per each}  Follow The Winey Mommy via Google Friend Connect, subscribe in a reader, and/or subscribe via email

{1 entry} "Like" The Winey Mommy on Facebook

{1 entry} Post my button on your blog--leave a link to your blog in comment

{1 entry} Follow The Winey Mommy on Twitter and tweet this giveaway. Feel free to copy & paste the following: " Love to grill out? Come and enter the Bryan Foods giveaway pkg from @winey_mommy! Ends 5/17 http://bit.ly/c2fx0g "  Leave tweet link in comment--this can be done daily!

 ***Rules***

This giveaway will end on May 17th @ NOON CST. Open to all US residents 18+. To be eligible to win you must do mandatory entry. If you do not follow that rule all entries will be void. Leave a valid email address in comment or available on profile. Winner will be drawn via Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to notification email. If winner does not contact back w/full name/address a new winner will be picked. All winners will be posted on blog when picked. This blog is not responsible for prizes not being delivered, getting lost, etc. I will try my hardest to work with company if something should go wrong. This blog is not responsible for anything regarding to your use of product.

I was provided with coupon for free Bryan Foods product of choice in order to conduct an honest review of the product. No other compensation was given.

Jimmy Dean Sausage {Review & Giveaway}

When I think of Mother's Day I always think of a yummy breakfast that everyone eats together as a family--and one that is not made by Mom herself. I don't know about your home, but in our home? Breakfast is our main meal of the day. It's where we can sit together as a family on the weekend and we actually have time to sit there and not be worrying about nap time, bedtime or bath time.


Jimmy Dean Sausage is a brand that I know we can trust to make our breakfast taste delicious! It's been around for as long as I can remember--and my husband is a huge fan of their sausages. Jimmy Dean has everything from turkey sausage, sausage patties, fresh roll sausage, sandwiches, skillets and more. The selection is amazing and there is surely something for everyone who likes sausage.They have so many different recipes that can be used from their products for your meals.

Here are a few links to recipes that all use the Jimmy Dean Fresh Roll Sausage:

-For your next breakfast or brunch you could try the Hearty Sausage Mini Quiche.

-Need something to make as an appetizer or finger food? Their Sausage Twirls would be a great hit!

-Or if you are wanting to make a delicious dinner the Sausage, Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Quesadilla would make everyone happy.

Jimmy Dean is now making healthier choices for you to buy, too. I just bought their Turkey Sausage Links and they are delicious! Leo and I have started eating ground turkey instead of ground beef so I decided to buy the turkey sausage. It was a huge hit--and it has 60% less fat than the traditional links! That there was enough to make me buy the sausages.

***Win It***

One lucky winner will be receiving TWO coupons for FREE Jimmy Dean products of their choice! To enter visit Jimmy Dean Sausage and tell me what product{s} you would buy with your coupons. This must be completed to be eligible to win.

***Bonus Entries***

{1 entry per each} Follow, subscribe via email, subscribe in a reader to The Winey Mommy. Leave a comment for each that you do.

{2 entries} "Like" Jimmy Dean Sausage on Facebook

{2 entries} "Like" The Winey Mommy on Facebook

{1 entry} Follow The Winey Mommy on Twitter

{1 entry per day} Tweet this giveaway--copy/paste the following: " RT Enter to WIN a Jimmy Dean Sausage giveaway from @winey_mommy! Ends 5/17 http://bit.ly/aNgTXr ". Leave tweet link in comment.

{1 entry} Post my blog button on your blog. Leave a link to your blog in comment.

{3 entries} Blog about this giveaway. Have a link to this post in what you write up.

***Rules***

This giveaway will end on May 17th @ NOON CST. Open to all US residents 18+. To be eligible to win you must do mandatory entry. If you do not follow that rule all entries will be void. Leave a valid email address in comment or available on profile. Winner will be drawn via Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond to notification email. If winner does not contact back w/full name/address a new winner will be picked. All winners will be posted on blog when picked. This blog is not responsible for prizes not being delivered, getting lost, etc. I will try my hardest to work with company if something should go wrong. This blog is not responsible for anything regarding to your use of product.

I was provided with coupon for free Jimmy Dean product of choice in order to conduct an honest review of the product. No other compensation was given.

Spaghetti is Mmmm...

Hey guys--it's Madelyn! I finally got to eat spaghetti tonite...this is how it all went down...

First I have to make sure Isabella isn't close by. She tries to eat a lot of my food--and I was NOT going to share with her tonite...

Okay, this is it...hmmm...

It is yummy! Mommy was right--I DO eat anything and everything.

And the spaghetti? Was a lot better than the kitty's food I got into yesterday...

Michael Bolton: One World One Love

 What do you think of when you think of Michael Bolton? If you're already thinking that he isn't your genre of music, let me tell you about his newest CD One World One Love. I remember hearing when this CD was in the works that he was working with Lady Gaga--and I had to reread it a few times. Lady Gaga? Michael Bolton? How would that even work?


I have to tell you--it works. Right when I popped in his new CD I loved it. I told Leo after just hearing a minute of his first song on the CD, Ready for You, that I loved it already. He looked at me and asked if I should listen to the entire thing before I jump in and say that. I told him I planned on listening to more, but I was already in love with the first song that I heard--which is huge to me! I finished the CD and like I had already told my husband, it was nothing but amazingness...loved it.

Michael Bolton is an extremely talented musician--having sold more than 53 million albums and is a two-time Grammy winning artist. He has collaborated with artists such as Ray Charles, Barbara Streisand and Lady Gaga. He is amazing--and I have a feeling a lot of you will be loving his brand new CD! He will touring the world until September 2010 with stops in Europe and the US. If you are lucky enough to have him coming close to where you live, I recommend that you go and watch him--and then you have to tell me all about it!

 Here are some important dates regarding Michael Bolton and his new CD release

• May 3rd @ 9pm EST there will be a Twitter Party with the official hashtag: #michaelbolton. With the Twitter Party there will be plenty of prizes to be won--to include an phone call from Michael Bolton himself on Mother's Day!! Wow! For all the details in how to participate click here.
• May 4th he will appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
• May 7th he will be on The Ellen Degeneres Show
• May 11th he will be on The Jimmy Kimmel Show

His new CD releases on Tuesday May 4th! I hope you'll check it out and if you do, let me know what you think! I think you'll love it...




I received a copy of One World One Time from Universal as a Team Mom member in order to write an honest review. No other compensation was given.