Jumpin-Beans

If you know me, I am all about making memories and incorporating traditions with Broxton.  I want him to look back and remember these things... and maybe start new traditions with his family years and years from now!   We do things like movie night and arts and crafts and fun things... But we have started a new one (last year) that even my dad is a bit jealous about!    The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Our new tradition started last year when I was able to share with you the  2013 Hess Toy Truck .  Broxton thought it was the coolest thing and it is always so fun to see him playing with it.  (My dad may or may not have been a tad bit jealous when he came to visit and saw it.)   I knew then that the quality of this truck was amazing and th...

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Two desperate dads compete in a no-holds-barred battle to be the best father and make this the best Christmas ever! Fun-loving, laid-back dad Larry (Larry the Cable Guy; Cars, Tooth Fairy 2) is having a bear of a time finding the perfect Christmas gift for his eight-year-old daughter, Noel. The season’s hottest toy, The Harrison Bear, is all sold out, and Noel’s new stepfather wants to keep it that way — so he can be the one to make her holiday wish come true. When Larry learns all Noel wants for Christmas is the bear, he’ll stop at nothing to make his little girl happy and get her the toy of her dreams…Co-starring WWE Superstar Santino Marella, Jingle All The Way 2 is heartwarming and hilarious fun for the who...

When my brother was younger, he was a very quiet person.  He was not a very social person and would rather be on the golf course or at home than out with friends...  Sometime around 10th or 11th grade, that all changed and he literally became Mr. Social.  He was always going and doing something...   all the time.  I love that he has broken out of that shy shell and became social... It makes me happy.   The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Why am I telling you this?  Because with his social scene constantly expanding, he goes to parties - ALL - THE- TIME.  The last couple years he has been going to these "Ugly Christmas Sweater" parties.   He has a great time and I love that he is out there having a blast... I don't remember going to partie...

I love being a mom.  Love love LOVE it... More than anything.  I know I am not perfect and I know I never will be, but I try to be the best mom I can be....  and the best mom for my son. Every now and then I need to relax and focus on me.  Not a selfish thing, but just a time to recharge and refocus on what the priorities are in my life...  The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. A couple years ago, I was introduced to a scent I will never forget, Moroccan Oil.  The smell is amazing and it was great for my hair.  I had the oil (that I secretly used on my skin as well) and the shampoo / conditioner... The only problem was that it was so expensive.  I had to give up that enjoyment... But not any more! Suave has come out with their Suave Beauty line ...

Just a friendly reminder I have lots of great giveaways going on!   Make sure to enter to win!!!!   SOL REPUBLIC Collegiate Tracks Headphones set (arv $129) NFL TeenyMates Tin (arv $20) VTech InnoTab Max ( arv $109) Tinkertoys (arv $49) Silver Cuff  from WorldVision USA  (arv $85) $500 Put me in the story Shopping Spree 2 tickets to College Football Hall of Fame (arv $40)

The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. It is getting down to Crunch Time here... Can you believe December came so fast?  It seems like just the other day we were celebrating Christmas 2013... now a whole year has passed? Say it ain't so!  Are you finished with your Christmas shopping?  Have you even started? I can proudly say I am "almost" done. I don't know if I told you Broxton's latest.. He wants to paint his room. I have no clue how or what or why... but that is the latest... Sadly, I put my foot down on that one. I am not one to hinder his creativity, so I made a deal... He could put posters up, or drawings or whatever he wants.. but no permanent decor. He was so thrilled to have that say so on his room!  So, he has started telling me the things he wants to p...

The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Welcome the Roaming Reindeer ! These are 2 cute little stuffed toys that were sent to our house to help Santa and the elves deal with Christmas...   With the Roaming Reindeer Kit, you get a hard cover book and 2 adorable plush reindeer.  They even have shirts on them that say 1 and 2. (Don't want you mixing them up!)   In Roaming Reindeer, we learn that Santa and the elves are so busy that they need a bit of help to see how the kids are doing... The next thing you know, the reindeer are paired up in groups of 2 to go to all the houses of the world.  If your little one is on their best behavior, they both stay... but if one starts to act up, Reindeer 1 will sneak away to let Santa know that there is a problem.  The great ...

The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Dealing with death is hard enough... But dealing with death and explaining it to a child is harder... at least to me it is.  It is like I don't have the right words to say to explain things... and my heart breaks... and although I am selfishly sad for me, I am sad that I don't know how to take the hurt away from a young one... Luckily for us, we don't have to deal with that at this time... but whenever the time does present itself, I do feel like I am a little more prepared now, than in the past. We were sent a book called My Yellow Balloon.  While the cover looks like a happy story, it is actually a story presenting love and loss.  I really appreciate having a book to help whenever the time does come that I will need it. In My Yellow...

** I was not required to post this.  I just thought it was a wonderful thing that Slinky did and I wanted to share with you what a great company they are.  All thoughts are my own. Each year, our local MOPS group gets together and packages several boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We fill it them up full of goodies hopefully to make the boy or girl happy with what they receive.  Each year, we try and cram as much as we can in there... Hygiene items such as soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste... Then fun items like color crayons, notebooks, pencils and what not. Finally we top it off with toys!  This year, I was so lucky to have the wonderful people at Slinky donate slinkies to place into each of our boxes! I knew that Broxton was excited when he got one this year... and I knew that I loved them as a kid.. So, I know that whenever these slinkies are opened, the kids are going to have a blast playing with them and getting as much excitement and joy out of them a...

Remember me talking about Hope for Steve ?   Well, I got an awesome email today and I just had to share!!!  (If you don't mind.. I would LOVE for you to help spread the word on Hope for Steve!) I wanted to share a couple things from the email... The town of Norcross has been working for months on an initiative called  Santa’s Workshop , which is a  decorator's showcase and market filled with intricate decor and special holiday gifts, hand-crafted by local artisans. Santa’s Workshop is opening its doors to Hope for Steve this  Sunday, December 7 th , where  100% of ticket proceeds will benefit Hope for Steve and ALS TDI. Hope for Steve’s “day” will be this Sunday , but FYI Santa’s Workshop will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through December 21 st , with proceeds benefiting Habitat for Humanity (every other day except for this Sunday. THE DETAILS: --------------------------------------------- WHEN:   Sunday, Decemb...

This is not a sponsored post.  I just wanted to share.   (November 3, 2014 – Conshohocken, PA) The IKEA Soft Toys for Education campaign, a good cause partnership between the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF and Save the Children, was first launched eleven years ago. The idea is simple; for every Soft Toy or children’s book sold from November 9, 2014 - January 3, 2015, the IKEA Foundation donates 1 euro (approximately $1.30)* to UNICEF and Save the Children for children’s education projects. The Soft Toys for Education campaign aims to provide quality education to vulnerable children living in poverty in developing countries. Since the campaign started, donations from the annual IKEA Soft Toy Campaign have totaled $ 90.4 million** (€67 million), helping more than 11 million children in 46 countries enjoy their right to a quality education. The donations help UNICEF and Save the Children train teachers in childfriendly teaching methods, improve child protection systems...

Growing up, we always had a tree.  A beautiful tree full of great ornaments and memories of years gone by.  I never had a real tree.  NEVER.  Each year, my mom would get my dad to get the tree out of storage, then she would decorate.  When I moved out on my own, we bought a cheap little tree and a couple of ornaments to go on it. Nothing fancy, but it was a tree.  When I got married, I wanted to have a pre-lit tree so bad that I could not stand it (I don't mind decorating the tree, but those lights... man that drives me nuts!)  Marc and I had a deal, he would string the lights on it, I would do the ornaments... and that was how it was...UNTIL we bought a beautiful artificial tree on sale- PRE LIT! I was thrilled with our purchase and that was how it has been.  Until a couple years ago. He got in his mind that he wanted to go get a real tree...  It was a big deal as we took Broxton to the tree farm and purchased one... Talk about making memor...

The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Dry Skin a problem for you?  I am sure it gets worse with the cold weather... If your skin is one that suffers, look into trying out DerMend alpha + beta hydroxy therapy .  I have mentioned before that Marc has dry skin...  (I get it too, but not like his.)  When I was given a chance to try out the DerMend line, I knew I wanted to try it out for Marc... only problem is, he has been using several different lotions, so I can not get a true feel as to how he feels about it... I will say that I used it on my hands a few times, but honestly I wanted a scent  and this one doesn't have any....  I did use it on my feet a few times, now those jokers have not had a pedicure in some time, so they needed a bit of TLC. I did like how...

The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I will tell you now, I am a country girl at heart.  When we get in the car, Marc wants classic rock, Broxton wants "kids music" and I want country... Luckily for us, it somewhat rotates and we all get to listen to what makes us happy at some point in the ride.  The more I listen to Marc's music, I start to learn some of the groups, but honestly, I could not tell you who sings what or anything like that...  All I know is I was looking to get a Blues Brothers shirt for Broxton (He loves them and can sing most of the songs from the movie.  At one point, we thought of having Marc and Broxton dress as them for Halloween one year!) and I found a million different super cool shirts!  If I bought gifts for every single person ...

The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I don't know how, when or why... But Broxton is a fan of the blues brothers...  Some parts of the movie are not very age appropriate, but that is neither here nor there...  I am trying to tell you about something great!  So, Broxton loves the Blues Brothers and I wanted to get him a Blues Brothers shirt... I looked here, there and everywhere... but could not find one in kid sizes (must be trying to tell me somthing)  Well, I did find an awesome shirt at Tribut Apparel and was lucky enough to get to review it!  It is not offered in kids sizes, but lets be honest, I am not sending him to school in a shirt talking about "half a pack of cigarettes" so that was never the plan.. I wanted him to have it as a sleep shirt.  I...