Manage Kid's With Allergies

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls Collective on behalf of Children's Claritin®. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program.


Ugh, allergies, right?!?

My preschool daughter gets them - the sunken-looking eyes, sniffles, etc.  My other kids didn't have allergies, and so I had no idea.  Kate had to point it out to me - allergies, duh!  When I gave her some Children's Claritin
, it really made a difference.

I know we don't have it bad - lots of kids have food allergies or larger health concerns to deal with, so allergies isn't much.  But still, as a mom, you want your kids to feel good.    Anything that will help them be themselves is sought-after.

We wash sheets frequently, and I like to think my house is pretty clean, but I was looking for other ideas...

Some helpful hint from the Claritin Website:
-Keep windows closed (to keep pollen outside)
-Clean air fliters once a month (we need to work on this - I think we only do it a couple times a year)
-Live clutter-free - - less knick knacks there are, the less dust can collect on things
-change sheets, pillowcases, etc - - we even occassionally vacuum our mattresses - did you know you could do that?
-some allergies might be caused by household plants, so keep those to a minimum

Do you gals have any additional helps and tips on managing kid's with allergies??  I think kids are so much happier when they feel good, so it's important to be able to set up a healthy environment for them.

Clear to Enjoy Spring: The Allergy Guide for Moms and Kids

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For more tips on relieving allergies, visit www.Facebook.com/Claritin. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Less Ordinary Designs

It's INVITATION SEASON!!  I've seen it on blogs, I can feel it in the air - Invitation Season is here!  Lots of things to need invitations for: parties, weddings, showers, new babies, birthdays, etc.  Good thing there's a solution - have you ever checked out Less Ordinary Designs?  Amazing.

A few weeks ago I took a few senior pictures for a friend's daughter.  That got me thinking that I should do a post showing you what things you can do with pictures on invitations.  That got me looking around on Etsy.  I found Less Ordinary Designs and was instantly drawn in.  She has unique card designs and I just love her style.  A lot of other card shops send you the file so you have to do the editing to put your pictures in - I don't like that because I don't have photoshop, so there's no point.  But with Less Ordinary Designs, you just email your pictues and she puts it all together and sends you back a final copy.  Then you can take it anywhere you'd like to be printed - perfect!!  And turnaround time is less than 24 hours - wow!

Here's a few of the designs I loved:

And yes, this is a GIVEAWAY (I know, exciting, right?!) - one person will win a $15 Gift Certificate to Less Ordinary Designs.  You can choose which design you'd love to have.  Perfect.

To enter, check out Less Ordiniary Designs and leave a comment letting me know your favorite Custom Photo Card.  And I know how hard it is to decide on just one favorite, so for a second entry leave a second comment stating another favorite design of yours.  Giveaway will end this Thursday, May 6th evening so hurry and enter. 

If you can't wait until you win, you might as well just order something from their store - reasonable prices and quick!  If you get your design back in less than 24 hours and then send it to a one-hour photo printing place, you coluld have your invites/announcements in your hands tomorrow.  Or maybe even today!

Little Miss Momma Giveaway

I'm sure you've heard of Little Miss Momma - did you know she has an etsy shop, Little Miss Momma Shop?!

Check out the cuteness:

 

And tons and tons of super cute rings!  My favorite:

So what's the giveaway??  You could win ANY 2 rings in her shop - yes, 2!

Can't wait - you must order now?  Then use the code "BEE20" for a 20% discount just for you gals - wahoo!

To enter the giveaway:

--check out the Little Miss Momma Shop and come back here to leave a comment saying your favorite item.

--for an extra entry, you can become a follower of the Little Miss Momma Blog -

Good Luck - giveaway ends Friday, Feb 25th, around noon - - 

Coming up later today - I show off what I finished this weekend - love it.......

Kristen Duke - Say NO to Auto

Do you have a fancy camera and don't know what to do with it??  I look around storytime/activities/family gatherings/etc and it seems like SLR cameras are all the rage - yet when I see them, everyone is shooting on the green auto square - drive me crazy!  Wake up people!  You paid big bucks for a camera, and if you have it on the green square you might as well be using a pocket-size point and shoot.  So anyways, push yourself to learn a little.  I've done a few photography tip posts (a good place to start is HERE) - I'm no pro, but it's fun to share what I know.

Now speaking of pros, Kristen Duke really is one.  And she just put out an ebook, Say NO! to Auto (catchy title, right?!?)

Kristen gave me the opportunity to review her Ebook.  Here's some thoughts:

--3 Basic Concepts - not overload - - - when I first wanted to learn my camera I tried to look stuff up online and I checked out a few books from the library - talk about information overload! I was SO turned off to the mounds of stuff I didn't understand.  Kristen's ebook is basic and not overwhelming - it makes you want to try getting off of auto, instead of scaring you away.

--Great format! - - - this book comes in a pile of 4x6 pictures, so you can just upload them to Walmart and print out your book for super cheap, then either bind it or just hook a ring in the corner or even slide them into one of those mini photo albums.  I LOVE that.  The size travels well in your camera bag, and if it came in regular page size, those can cost a ton to print in color, etc.  Prints of 4x6s are super cheap. There are 18 pages. Genius.

--Picture Samples - - - with photography, visual learning is a must.  The book has a bunch of sample pictures that show what settings were used in each picture - it also links different lighting situations to certain pictures (shows examples of shady pictures, it's settings, etc)

--Challenge - - - the book ends with an "assignment" so it makes you use your new-found knowledge.

The ebook is only $10.  Seems like a steal. Kristen sells it on the top of the sidebar of her blog, Kristen Duke Photography, and you can find more information HERE.

I can't wait to see if she comes out with an advanced version....

Book Review: The Magic Warble

I was sent The Magic Warble to read and review.  I love reading, so I was excited about this opportunity.  The blurb: Dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals, and an evil queen – all these and more can be found in The Magic Warble, an enchanting tale of adventure and friendship.

Twelve-year-old Kristina Kingsly feels like the most unpopular girl in her school. The kids all tease her, and she never seems to fit in. But when Kristina receives an unusual Christmas gift, she suddenly finds herself magically transported to the land of Bernovem, home of dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals, and the evil Queen Sentiz.

In Bernovem, Kristina not only fits in, she’s honored as “the chosen one” the only one who can release the land from Queen Sentiz’s control. But it’s not as simple as it seems. To save Bernovem, she must place the gift she was given, the famous “ Magic Warble” in its final resting place. And she must travel through the deep forest, climb a treacherous mountain, and risk capture by the queen’s “zelbocks” before she reaches her destination. Guided by her new fairy friends, Clover and Looper and by Prince Werrien, a teenage boy, as well as an assortment of other characters, Kristina sets off on a perilous journey that not only tests her strength but her heart.

I love reading Young Adult books.  Great themes, and you can usually count on them being clean, etc.  This book had a feel like The Chronicles of Narnia - good vs. evil, main character finding strength within herself, great adventure in a land of gnomes and fairies.  

I don't want to give too much away, but I enjoyed this read.  It's nice to escape into another world for a little while and see a character overcoming the impossible.  The end had a twist I didn't see coming - that's always fun.

So, you want to read it now, don't you??  Or you want your child to read it??  Here's a link to Amazon:
You can also get it on your Kindle if you're one of those.




And it gets better - Victoria Simcox, the author, wants to give away a signed copy to one of you - wahoo!

To win:
--Check out her blog www.victoriasimcox.blogspot.com and come back her to leave a comment saying you did so
--Become a fan of The Magic Warble on FB http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=577159739#%21/pages/The-Magic-Warble/118277634882514 - then leave a comment on this post saying you did so
--find Victoria Simcox on Twitter and leave a comment on this post saying you do so.

Good Luck! - I'll leave the giveaway open for a week and draw a winner next Thursday, Feb 17th, around noon - -

DownEast Jeans

Guess what - - I love DownEast Basics.  Oh, you knew that.  I love that their clothes are affordable, but still cute and stylish, but not trying too hard - make sense? 

Anyways, here's a Flower Box Top I bought from them when everything on sale was 50% off (after Christmas) so it was $15.  I love it - I think it's a little out of my comfort zone with the embellishment, but not too crazy.  (And I might venture to say it does the impossible task of making me look a bit voluptuous - humor me people...)
I wore it for dinner out with Trevor - dressed up, but not all out - perfect. 

I wore those garage-sale trouser jeans and look what I found in my closet - fashionable (right!?) flats - I had bought them a few years ago for a Christmas party (sale, $5, JC Penney?) and hardly ever wear them because I never thought they were daily-wear-with-jeans type of shoes - but I'm embracing it.  And no socks - you should be proud.

And here we are back home, ready to watch never-ending past episodes of The Office - we're party animals.  Love when the kids invite themselves to spend the night with their Grandparents! (And no, my head isn't double the size of his - I'm holding the camera and hence my head is closer to it - oh, and he's always making weird faces in pictures I insist on taking -  )

Anyways, you might have already guessed, but I got to review an item from DownEast Basics - wahoo!
When I showed off my jeans to playroom someone said "you ordered jeans ONLINE??" - and THAT is the reason I wanted to review jeans - because ordering online is tough with jeans, so I wanted to spread the word on their fit and feel.  I don't live by a DownEast, so online is the only way I (and a lot of you) can shop.

I got my jeans and liked them a lot.  Keep in mind - I don't have fancy jeans.  I don't want to even wander in to The Buckle and try on $100+ jeans because I'm afraid I might like them.  Anyways, for me, these jeans were amazing - great cut and fit.  I would say they are $100 jeans for half the price.

So I model them for Kate who immediately says "they're too big" - me, huh??  She (self-proclaimed jean snob) said the people at The Buckle would never allow it.  So I got another size.

(Sidetrack - the customer service at DownEast is AMAZING.  So prompt to get me another pair.  And another time, I wanted to order a certain dress (shown here) that was sold out - so I contacted them via their FB page, and they set up things with customer service who found the dress I needed, in my size, and shipped it out that day.  WOW.)

The first time around I was unsure what size to order so I ordered the bigger.  And I was nervous to go smaller - what if they were too tight.  Kate's theory - they're supposed to be tight - they have stretch - by day 2 they'll be perfect. 


And so I learned - jeans are supposed to fit snug.  Did you know that?? I didn't.  So here's both pair (bigger pair on the left, smaller on the right) - in the end, I was worried about the waist fitting too tight on the smaller pair - but it didn't.  What did happen was with the smaller pair, the legs/thighs fit a lot better. (Ignore the length on the big pair - I was going to hem them.)

After being washed and dried (yes, I dry everything, jeans included) - picture from one of my kids - I didn't really notice a size difference after washing:

Now, I need to discuss jean length - any opinions??  The pair I have is a little long, but I don't want to hem them, because what if I wear shoes with a heel/wedge - then they need to be long.  But when I wear flats, they're a tad too long - what do you do? Do you have a long pair and a short pair of the same jeans??

So conclusion, I love DownEast, and now I love DownEast Denium.  These were the Bling Boot Fit Jean.  The details are stunning in person - the "bling" jewels, the stitching, the lining inside.  High-end denium at an affordable price (especially when you catch a sale).  I would recommend ordering jeans online - I had a great experience with fit and feel.

I know you want to give DownEast a try.  Or you already love them.  They are offering to one lucky winner - An Item of your choice from the New Arrivals section - you'll be cutting edge! -- Winner to be drawn with random.org next Wednesday, Feb 9th.

To enter:
--Visit the DownEast Basics New Arrivals section, come back here, and leave a comment as to your favorite new item.
Extra entries:
--follow DE on twitter: http://twitter.com/downeastbasics  
--become a DE Facebook Fan:  www.facebook.com/downeastbasics

·        Giveaway winners must be shipped to U.S. address

Oh, and did you know DownEast has a blog where they knock-off the look of celebrities using DE clothes - love that - it's here: http://www.downeastbasicsblog.com/

Glass Etched Plates - and Silhouette love

Did you gals notice this little button on my sidebar??  That's right, I get to promote the Silhouette!  Fun, right??  Click on the button to find out about all it's fabulousness:

I bought a Silhouette several months ago - I couldn't help it with all the hype out there in craft-blog-land.  I've never used any other cutting machines, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I really like my Silhouette.

I used it to take my neighbor gifts to a whole new level with personalized glass etched plates.  The plates were only $1 and I think they turned out great!

I used a snowflake design and cut it into some regular ole contact paper.  I had the software cut out a circle and I inserted the last name initial of each neighbor (remember to MIRROR the letter, since you will see it through the plate):

Then I brushed on the glass etching goo:

Finally just let it sit 5 minutes, then rinsed it off - at first I thought it didn't work, but the glass etching is kind of hard to see when it's wet, so after I dried the plates, voila, fab:

Want to know a couple of great deals going on this week at Silhouette??

--10% off any vinyl from Silhouette - use the promotional code "SUGARBEE" (I kind of want some "fuzzy" vinyl - doesn't that sound fun?) -  (to find it go HERE, then to "shop" then to "vinyl")

--if you purchase a subscription to the online store ($9.99 a month) you can get the Silhouette for $175 - that's an amazing price!! - once again, you'll need to use the promotional code "SUGARBEE"

So, what's in the online store?? - well, what's NOT in the online store - it has TONS of images - - some that I've used:

--the "birthday girl" logo and the candles (set of 3, I used twice) were both from the store - used for my daughter's birthday shirt:

--I downloaded 2 different types of cupcake liners to make my Flower Cupcakes look amazing:

--And last minute when I didn't have enough gift tags, I just whipped out my machine, browsed the online store for options, and cut these:

Handy, right??  You know you want one.......