Madelyn Ashley Boutique Giveaway!

If you read my post yesterday, you read that I put together a fun bag of goodies to give to Kenley at the hospital to celebrate the day that she officially becomes a big sister! When brainstorming ideas for the bag I knew a Big Sister shirt was a must - I mean it's kind of a right of passage isn't it? However, I've got to admit most of the shirts I see are just not my style. I'm not overly girly and don't really do frills so finding a shirt that is cute and fun but not cheesy wasn't as easy as you'd think.

Enter Madelyn Ashley Boutique.

Jess has some ADORABLE shirt designs perfect for a big sister or big brother but also for your kiddo's birthday parties as well. I really love that she uses fun hoodies and raglan shirts because it's different than the typical plain white tee you usually see. Can we talk about the little navy raglan "ONE" shirt? Pretty sure Ziggy's first birthday ensemble is officially determined. 

I LOVE the shirt I picked out for Kenley and cannot wait to see it on her! She's going to look so cute and be so proud! The fabric is nice and lightweight so she'll not only be cute but super comfy. The color is a perfect teal, I wish my photo would have turned out a little better so you could really see how great the color is. And, I know Kenley will be super wound up about the glitter letters - her shoe laces are glittery and it's basically the most exciting thing ever.

Jess was sweet enough to offer one of my readers one of her shirts for FREE! All you have to do is enter below and I will announce a lucky winner on Monday!
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Saint and Sailor Studios | A Giveaway

When thinking about a nursery for my baby boy, there wasn't a question in my mind that it would be sports related. You all know what a sport-loving team-supporting household we are so there really wasn't much else that made sense in terms of a theme. I did know, however, that I didn't want the room to be over the top themey. I wanted it to be cute and calm and unique and not necessarily the classic "sports theme" that I've seen so many times. As the decorating and planning has progressed, a style for this room has really evolved so I am BEYOND excited to be teaming up with Saint and Sailor Studios to not only give you a little sneak peek of Ziggy boy's room but also give you a chance to win a set of canvases for yourself.

Shawn, the artist behind all these incredible prints has a fantastic collection of artwork to chose from and not just related to sports, but so much more. I really love his work and his style and it's actually a little embarrassing how much time I spent looking through all of his pieces in an attempt to choose some for Ziggy's room. After much perusing, I decided on a set of 4 vintage sports prints for my little guy's room. 

I was so excited about these and once they arrived I was blown away. The print quality is incredible and the colors are perfection. I very honestly can't say enough about how happy I am with these prints. They look so great in the room and are something that can grow with Ziggy as he gets older. 

Shawn offers a variety of prints, canvases and home decor in a varying sizes in his Etsy shop and sells pre-collated sets as well. There's really something for everybody. I thought I had Kenley's room all decorated but now I have my eye on those ballet slippers and am scheming a spot where I can hang it. 

 Shawn has very generously offered to give one of my lucky readers their very own set of four 11x14 canvas prints!!! Can you say heck yeah? Enter below and I will announce the very lucky winner on Monday! GOOD LUCK! 

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Vintage Sports Painting - A Giveaway!

As you all read yesterday, we are die hard Arizona Wildcat basketball fans in our house. In doing a sports themed nursery for Ziggy, I definitely wanted to incorporate our favorite teams {Gophers, Wildcats and Aggies} but in a modest way.

Seth at Dull & Boring has some amazing handpainted sports artwork that fit perfectly in what I am trying to do in the nursery. His vintage team logos and mascots are so fun and a great way to add some unique decor to your sports loving home.

I knew immediately that I wanted the vintage Wilbur {Arizona's mascot} for Zig's room but am now wondering if I need a Gopher one for our man cave too. The quality is awesome, Seth was great to work with and I am so happy with how this is going to look in the nursery! I cannot wait to show you all the gallery wall this is going to be a part of! 

All you sports fans are in luck because Seth is generously offering up a FREE painting to one of my readers! If you don't see the team you want, no worries, Seth offers custom paintings as well! 
You can enter below and I will announce a winner on Monday! 

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Baby Bump Bundle {+ a giveaway!}

There must be something in the water because literally every day someone is announcing they are pregnant! I am so excited to have so many friends expecting because as you all know talking about pregnancy and babies is my all time favorite thing ever! One of the more recent initiates in to the mama club is my friend Katie from Keep Calm and Carry On. Katie and I have been blog friends since what feels like forever and when I got a text message with this photo:

I about died!

I knew right away I wanted to send Katie a little something to congratulate her{and big brother Rocky} on this super exciting news and knew a package from Baby Bump Bundle was just the thing!

BumpBundles are care packages featuring handpicked products specifically for expecting mamas {they have nursing, fitness and new baby bundles as well!} at each stage of pregnancy.


Adorable, right?

I opted for the Second Trimester Bundle for Katie and was so impressed when the bundle showed up at my door! The point is to have these bundles delivered right to the mama-to-be, but I wanted to check out the products and add a couple of little things of my own to the bundle first.

The bundle was filled with some amazing products and I have to admit it was a little hard for me not to just keep them for myself {even though I am NOT pregnant}!

Anna Naturals Glowing Mama Face & Body Scrub || Baby Words Green Sonogram Magnet
Sweaty Bands Headband || Mama-to-Be Tea Sampler

I threw in a couple little treats for Big Bro Rockstar, and a onesie & some diapers for baby Camden.

Then sent the package on it's way!

This is FOR SURE my new go-to gift idea for mamas-to-be! Those 9 months are really all about the baby and mama deserves to get some treats and be taken care of too!

My friends over at Baby Bump Bundle have very generously offered to give one of my readers $30 off any bundle {or product!} of their choice! I know that every one of you can think of someone {maybe it's yourself!} who could use a bundle - so enter to win below! Winner announced next Monday!
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Febreze Noseblind Giveaway {+ $60 AmEx Gift Card!!!}

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you...it really is me. July has been probably the craziest month of my life and I am FINALLY getting my life back in order, which hopefully means more time for blogging! But, more on that tomorrow, today I am not only going to tell you about some amazing Febreze products but give you the chance to win some...along with a $60 AmEx gift card.

You are welcome my friends. You are welcome. 

Febreze got in touch with a little challenge: have some friends over for a movie night, pop some popcorn and have them take a couple surveys on the scent of my home. Kenley asked her best bud Brody to come over and watch Princess and the Frog and we asked his parents to come along and smell our house. 

When Kenley parties, shirts are optional.

Upon arrival Colin & Sharisse took a survey and answered that the primary smell of our house was cleaning products - which was a huge relief because our front door walks in right next to the kitchen, so often our garbage can is the first thing you smell. Also, I knew we were having company so I cleaned that day....which is why the house smelled like bleach. And after popping the popcorn, the predominant smell was a split tie between popcorn and cleaning products - yum!

Over time, we all become accustomed to the odors around us therefore becoming Noseblind. This nasal condition definitely concerns me because, like I said, when you walk in to our house the first thing you are smelling is the trash - not to mention I live with a toddler, a dog and a husband who plays sports. Using these Febreze products over the past couple weeks has definitely made my house smell fresh and clean but also given me piece of mind because they aren't just masking the smells they are eliminating them! Febreze contains a molecule known as Cyclodextrin that traps and eliminates the bad odors, so you can rest easy that your guests aren't smelling trash, dirty socks, wet dog or dirty diapers upon entering your home.

I am guessing you would like to get in on the clean smelling house Noseblind action...right? Simply enter below and you could be bringing home the following:

*1 Febreze Refresher

*1 Febreze Air Effects

*1 Febreze Fabric Refresher

*1 Febreze Noticeables with refill

*1 Febreze Candle

-and-

*1 $60 AmEx Gift Card!

{winner announced next Monday, August 4}

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To keep up on these fantastic products, be sure to follow Febreze on Facebook & Twitter!

This review and giveaway was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Febreze. I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, but all opinions are 100% mine.

Breezy Organization {a giveaway!}

 It's no secret that my blog motivation has been majorly lacking lately. As all you other bloggers know, blogging is a major time commitment - you've got to come up with interesting post ideas, take photos, organize/edit/watermark those photos, write and compose the post, proof-read, preview, edit and publish and then repeat 5-7 times a week! It's a lot! But I love it! To keep this blog going, I really needed to find a way to keep myself organized and on the ball so that blogging didn't have to be such a time suck. Enter Breezy Organization.

 This adorable Etsy shop is filled with helpful {and super cute!} printable organization solutions. Amanda offers everything from blog planners, meal planners, health & fitness planners and even a pregnancy planner {plus so much more}! 

Seriously....how cute are these?

I got the blog planner and am obsessed!

Amanda really thought of everything and my blog binder is single-handedly responsible for motivating me to blog again. It's so nice to have everything for Mama and Mou in one place. And, the fact that it's so dang cute makes it even more fun to use. It's a great place for me to jot down goals, ideas and tasks for my life outside of blogging as well. I keep my binder right by the computer so it's easy to grab and use while I'm getting stuff done. 

And now the awesome part...Amanda has offered to give one of my readers one of her planners - FOR FREE! Yup, you get to choose from any of Amanda's adorable planners {up to $15.00} and she will send it over for you to print and get yo-self organized! So take a look at her shop, decide which planner would help your life and then enter below! I'll be announcing the winner next Monday!
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Potty Training Update {& a giveaway!}

Thank you all for your potty training wisdom on my previous post. As I had mentioned, Kenley has shown great interest in all things potty - from following me in to the bathroom, to washing her hands and grabbing her diaper with a pouty face after she has gone. We realize that she is a little young but we figured why not get the ball rolling and approach this with a no-stress, no-pressure attitude? Since buying a potty two months ago, Kenley has peed in it twice. The first time being the second day we had it. Initially we thought she was super-baby but quickly realized that both instances were total coincidence. I am thrilled that she loves her potty and knows what "potty" means but obviously the key to potty training is teaching her to tell us BEFORE she has to go.

If I'm being completely honest, Jason and I have been pretty lazy about the whole thing. We put Kenley on her potty every night before bed, but beyond that it's totally random and really when we feel like it. It really is a process because each time we put her on the potty she has to get undressed, take off her diaper, sit on the potty {while we pray she is entertained for more than 2 seconds} and then we have to carry her to her room hoping she won't pee on anything and then diaper her and redress her. 

Enter Pampers Easy-Ups. 

Exactly the solution we needed. These diapers are not only adorable {I mean what little boy or girl wouldn't want Dora or Diego hanging from their booty?}, they are super absorbent {holding 25% more than the leading training pants}, and {in my opinion the best part} they pull up! Having that ease of sliding the diaper on and off has been a game changer for us. The whole potty process is so much quicker and easier and as a result Kenley is on the potty more which I know will help her in the long run. I also think that the Easy-Ups have a more underwear-like look and feel which will surely make the transition to big girl undies easier. 

I know a lot of you mamas are in the same boat or are dangerously close to being in the same boat, so I am thrilled to be teaming up with Pampers to offer all my readers an AWESOME giveaway!  

The winner will receive a 100ct box of Pampers Easy-Ups, a portable potty {which is amazing} and fun items to kick off your summer- Kenley got an adorable octopus bubble machine, a huge sidewalk chalk kit and an Elmo Potty Training book which keeps her on the pot for more than 2 seconds. A $100 value!

Enter here to win:

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As if that wasn't enough, join me on Tuesday, June 10th at 9:00pm EST for the Pampers Easy-Ups twitter party! 

Just RSVP here: http://twtvite.com/PampersEasyUps

and follow the hosts: @DoubleDutyDivas, @BridgetteLA, @CeceliaMecca @AngieKcom @WhatMommiesNeed @RamblingChick, and our sponsor @Pampers

for a chance to win one of the following amazing prizes:

• 100 ct Easy Ups, Sesame Street Portable Potty
• 100 ct Easy Ups, Baby BanZ Sun Protective Beach Tent
• 100 ct Easy Ups, Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Trike
• 100 ct Easy Ups and Splash Zone Spray N Splash Inflatable Water Park
• RSVP: 100 ct Easy Ups

For more updates and information make sure to follow Pampers on Facebook & Twitter.

This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Pampers. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.

Two-Day Zula Juice Cleanse

February kicked my ass. Between my trip to Vegas, getting a three week long cold and being super stressed out about the whole job situation, I have felt like absolute crap. So when Renee from Zula emailed me and said "I'm dropping off a two-day cleanse tonight, get ready", I knew it was the perfect opportunity to get my body {and mind} back in gear and finally attempt a juice cleanse which I've been wanting to do for a long time.

Before I rehash the details of the cleanse, I need to tell you about Renee. This amazing lady is a mama to FIVE {yes 5} kiddos ranging in age from 3 -12! After her 4th little one was born she was looking for a way to maintain her weight and also get all the nutrients she needed to feel her best. She discovered juicing, fell in love, had friends asking for her juices and late last year Zula was born! As a busy mom, Renee understands that juicing needs to be convenient which is why all of their juices are individually bottled and delivered (for free if you're in the Twin Cities)! She snuck up like a little elf and left my juice on the doorstep because she gets not wanting to open the door in your PJs or waking a sleeping baby with a doorbell ring. 
Pretty frickin awesome, huh?

I asked Renee to tell me more about Zula and the juicing lifestyle and her words are much better than mine, so here's what she had to say:

"I've always been passionate about people and health and I pour my heart into trying to make our brand communicate what we're all about.  Most people are becoming aware that the definition of "food" is debatable.  Personally, I feel like it's a physical and mental workout to go grocery shopping these days.  Is the food safe? Is it processed (and what does that mean)? Have the nutrients been cooked out of the product? How long has this been sitting on the shelf? Is it organic (and does it matter)? Is it gluten-free (and if it is, what are the other ingredients)? At Zula, we're not judgmental or snooty about what people eat – we're just trying to make real food convenient and to be a place where you can be assured that the food you're eating is going to feed your body (and taste good!).  Real food - without the marketing hype.  So why the juicing lifestyle… and what is it?   The idea of drinking fresh juice for the benefits isn't a new concept, we're just trying to make it more convenient while using the finest ingredients.  When juicing becomes a part of your life, you'll find yourself choosing healthier foods and having an energy level that makes you sound like an infomercial.  Fresh juice is a very concentrated source of nutrients – phytonutrients, vitamins, antioxidants and enzymes and juice cleansing is a way to flood your cells with this nutrition while giving your digestive system a break."

And now on to the juicy (get it) details....my experience with the cleanse. Like I said, I did a two day cleanse and I it was much harder than I anticipated. Going in I thought "it's just two days, how hard can it be?"

 

Halfway done with juice #1 and thinking "yeah I got this!"

For two full days I "ate" nothing but juice. I had 6 pre-bottled and fresh pressed juices each day:

 

Lemon Skinny, Beet Retreat, Carrot Plunge, Green Drench, Pineapple Passion & Cashew Dream

The juices were DELICIOUS! Unlike the juices you buy in the grocery store (which are REQUIRED to be processed), Zula juices are not pasteurized so the naturally-occurring phytonutrients, vitamins and enzymes remain intact. The juice is fresh pressed right here in St. Paul using 100% organic ingredients which are completely raw, kosher certified, vegan, gluten free, diary free -AND- HPP free. Which, in fancy talk, means the juice actually tastes like the ingredients {and is super good for you}. The Carrot Plunge, for example, is made with organic carrot and organic apple and it literally tastes like you are drinking a carrot! To some that may seem gross but to me it's reassuring, it's unnatural for carrot juice NOT to taste like carrots. The only one I wasn't crazy about was the Beet Retreat, but I don't like beets and I don't like ginger so that wasn't a huge surprise. The Cashew Dream was my favorite {with Pineapple Passion as a close second} because it seriously was a DREAM! After a day without protein this filled me up AND tasted sweet so it was like having dessert. I drank this one last to sustain me through the night. 

The first half of day 1 wasn't bad. Sure I was hungry and I missed my morning coffee, but I mixed my Lemon Skinny with hot water and drank it from a coffee mug to give the sensation of  a hot cup of coffee, so really it was no big deal. 

 By late afternoon, I felt sick. This is going to sound crazy, but I seriously felt like I could feel the toxins coming out of my body. I was sweaty and almost felt flu-like. I also had a killer headache. One of the Cleanse Tips from the Zula website suggests resting - and I totally get why. I had very little energy both days and just felt like lounging, which felt so AMAZING, I got SO MUCH SLEEP! Day 2 was much easier, I was definitely hungry and was craving ANYTHING I could chew on but I didn't feel sick and wasn't so focused on what I couldn't have but more on how this was affecting my body {in a good way}. I spent pretty much the whole day doing nothing, laying on the couch and sleeping. Again, amazing and much needed.

When I woke up the morning after the cleanse was over I didn't run for the coffee pot or the refrigerator, but instead felt rested, energized and accomplished. Mentally I felt so clear headed and proud that I had finished. Physically I felt light and clean. We had brunch plans that morning and I ordered a veggie and egg white omelet which is definitely not something I would have ordered before. The cleanse made me really conscious of what I was putting in my body and made me want to make better choices to maintain that amazing feeling. I did lose 3 pounds while cleansing, but this was not a weight loss motivated cleanse; I just wanted to know if I could do it, see what it was like, and get my body back on track after taking pretty poor care of it for a month. I'd love to say that a couple weeks later I'm still making the best possible food choices {not always} but I now know that I can turn to Zula Juice when I need to get back on track or want to supplement some wonderfully healthy and nutrient filled liquid meals in to my diet. 

My advice for anyone looking to try a cleanse would be this...

*Do it on a weekend. I started mine on a Friday and it was tough trying to get through the work day. Next time {yes I plan on doing this again} I think I'll go for a Saturday & Sunday {maybe even try a 3-day cleanse} so that I can really take the time to relax, rest and get the most out of cleansing both body & mind. 

*Schedule it around that time of the month, if possible. I got my period the first night of the cleanse and I think that is what made me feel so sick. The juice definitely kept me from eating an entire bag of Rolos like I normally would and my cramps were actually less painful than normal, but overall I physically felt pretty crappy.

*Find a cleanse buddy. A girlfriend of mine had done the Zula cleanse before so she was an amazing resource. While she didn't do it with me {this time} it was awesome to be able to text her for advice and encouragement.

*Just do it. I am a huge planner and truthfully probably never would have found a "good" time to try this. Renee kind of forced me in to it which was perfect! I had no time to plan or think, I just jumped right in and totally DID IT!

For more information on Zula Fresh Pressed Juices check out www.zulajuice.com

and follow Zula on Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram

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