Fun and Funky Mommy

Fiber 1 Chill Challenge

2012-01-27T22:54:00.000-08:00

Well its been a month since I posted :( I can't believe its been that long but I have not been online as much as I used to be since Jan 1st as I have been working on my New Years Resolution :) I quit smoking!!! Go me! I used to take my laptop with me when I would head out for a smoke so I spent a lot more time online before and have been trying to stay busier and off my but to keep from smoking. So far so good, its been 27 days and I now can consider myself a non smoker!

If your New Years Resolution was to get in better shape then I have a great challenge for you. The Fiber 1 Chill Challenge is Presented by our friends at the Running Room. The Fibre 1 Chill Challenge is an opportunity to get active by walking or running for 20 minutes, on Wednesday February 29th. PLUS as bonus, the first 10,000 people to register will get a free toque! Abandon the hibernation and get outside - click here for more information!

How great is that? Another way to motivate yourself and keep yourself going. Also don't forget to check out Life Made Delicious when looking for some high fiber recipes, and healthy meal ideas!

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Goodnight

2011-12-24T22:18:00.000-08:00

Well here we are, chilling on the couch waiting and waiting and waiting some more. Kristina has been on the fence about Santa for the last year or so, well exactly actually. Her and her friends were discussing at school last year after Christmas. Shes up in bed, wide awake, and we are dog tired. She has to be really out though before we go into operation Santa or it will be us that blows it for her.

We are ready, everything is ready, just need to set it all up and then we can finally go to bed. But enough about that, we are so excited and so are the kids. This is the first year that Brandon actually gets it, he is so excited and has been talking about it for at least a month. Singing Christmas carols, talking about Santa and just plain old being excited. Kristina's excited to, for sure, but nothing like a 4 year old.

Well from our family to yours, many Merry Christmas mornings and have a great new year!!!!! I will be back after some much needed family time, maybe next year ;)

Last minute gift ideas - HEXBUG

2011-12-23T23:48:00.000-08:00

When we got this box of goodies in the mail Brandon was over the moon and we spend the whole day playing with them. We got a box chock full of HEXBUG's and both of the kids have been playing with them non stop since. They are a great stocking stuffer, the bugs are a lot of fun and you can get the big tracks for them to run around in and they can jump at each other and flip over.

They are even a lot of fun for me and I am not a big play on the floor kind of Mama, not all day at least. We played on the floor all day, setting up the tracks, playing with the bugs, redoing the tracks so they were cooler and doing it all over again. When Kristina got home from school she was over the moon, "I always wanted these" she loves them and I love that they can play them together even though they are 5 years apart.

There are so many different sets you can get, there are glow in the dark sets, habitats and battle bridges. I love that when your kids really get into this you can get them more sets and just add onto your existing sets. So cool and even Brandon was taking pieces off and adding new ones.

HEXBUG's are available in many stores for the Holidays and I am sure you can pick them up after the Holidays as well for some great Birthday gifts to have stashed away! I know that both of my kids would like even more :) Personally I just love the bugs, lots of fun!

We are down to crunch time folks

2011-12-21T22:35:00.000-08:00

Well, we are 4 sleeps away, I can't believe how fast Christmas has come his year. I know I know people say that all the time but this is the first year that it has snuck up on me this fast. I guess its because we have so much going on right now. Between working 30 hours a week, couponing, blogging and raising two kids and a small husband :) we have been crazy. I am certainly not complaining but man oh man we are busy :)

I know that we are not alone though and that this is the life of so many. Because so many of us Moms feel like this we all need to have an arsenal of great, simple, fast and easy recipes that we can whip up on a moments notice. That's how I have been feeling on my days off, oh no its 4:30, Kris will be home soon and I still haven't taken anything out for dinner, what are we going to have.

Baking too, holy cow, we do so much more baking this time of year and how so you fit it all in with the shopping, wrapping, visiting and everything else that has ended up on your to do list. Well with only 4 more sleeps I have some great recipes to share with on behalf of Life Made Delicious!

How easy and delicious do these would be, and they double as a great gift!

Christmas Handprint Cookies

Ingredients:

1 pouch (496 g) Betty Crocker* Sugar Cookie Mix

1/2 cup (125 mL) butter or margarine, melted

1 egg

Food colouring

Method:

•Heat oven to 375°F (190°C) for shiny metal baking sheet or 350°F (180°C) for dark or non-stick baking sheet. Stir cookie mix, melted butter and egg in medium bowl until soft dough forms. Chill dough until firm.

•Depending on the size of the hand, take 3 tbsp (45 mL) to 1/4 cup (50 mL) of cookie dough and shape into ball. Place child's hand on ball and press down until handprint is taken. Using metal lifter, transfer to baking sheet.

•Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from baking sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

•Paint handprint with a mixture of 1 tsp (5 mL) water and 3-4 drops favourite food colouring.

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own!

Jumpstart with a Giveaway

2011-12-20T23:14:00.000-08:00

Jumpstart has been on Fun and Funky Mommy before, and they are here again because I love them! For review they sent Brandon some new Wii games. Brandon loves playing Wii but gets frustrated with lots of the games because they are meant for adults and older kids. Jumpstart has a few games that are great for Brandon's age, almost 4.

The first game we tried out was Crazy Karts and Brandon went crazy for it. He loves other car racing games but gets frustrated quickly because there are to many different buttons to push and he just ends up stuck straight on a wall and can't do anything, He picked up on what to do with the new Crazy Karts game right away and had so much fun with it. He wanted to play it all day.

•Create the ultimate contender from over 250 combinations of high-speed karts and quirky drivers

•Speed through 12 thrilling tracks packed with tight corners, steep drops and crazy obstacles

•Become a Crazy Karts champion and earn codes to unlock special prizes at JumpStart.com

The other game we got to try out was Pet Rescue, he had fun with it but it was no competition with Crazy Karts. It had much more learning aspects, which I loved, and Brandon didn't even notice lol. I love that its worked in without the kids even realizing that they are learning. He does play this game, for sure, and he does like it but nothing beats cars to an almost 4 year old :)

Join the JumpStart friends on an adventure designed for little hands and big imaginations! The first learning game for preschoolers ever offered on the Wii™, JumpStart Pet Rescue is packed with over 80 fun-filled lessons and activities designed for 3-6 year olds. As players explore a jungle, beach, neighborhood, town and pet land on a mission to rescue lost pets, they practice over 75 essential skills including pre-reading, memory, listening and more.

Along the way, kids can earn special virtual rewards, adopt and care for cuddly pets and design the perfect avatar. And, the JumpStart characters are on hand to guide kids every step of the way so that even the youngest players can finally enjoy the excitement of Wii™ gaming.

One of my lucky readers is going to win their choice of either Krazy Carts or Pet Rescue for the Wii!!

To Enter:

Tell me what else is available through Jumpstart!

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win Krazy Carts or Pet Rescue for the Wii from Jumpstart @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/7ndcp2m

***** Contest will end on December 30th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada and the USA*****

Happy Holidays from Disney Junior

2011-12-14T15:29:00.000-08:00

We, and by we I mean Brandon, are so excited for Christmas. Brandon talkes about Santa and Christmas everyday and of course Kristina, Kris and I are excited but man this is the first year Brandon has actually gotten it and its awsome. I love when his eyes just light up and how magical it all to him. Kids really do hold the magic of Christmas.

Kristina is a bit less into it this year, I guess its the age. Shes 9 now and still helped decorate and seems excited but just not as much as in past years. Other than the advent calender the one big thing she is getting excited about these days is Christmas shows and movies. She will even watch ones that are more geared towards little kids. Christmas shows are Christmas shows and I love that we can all watch them together as a family!

Kris has about 6 Christmas movies on the PVR and I am sure more will be added. Disney Junior has some great ones! We missed the first 2, did any of you catch them? How were they? Here is the schedual

Snow Day Saturdays – Every Saturday from 9am-12pm

Jake & the Never Land Pirates – December 3rd

Stella and Sam – December 10th

Handy Manny – December 17th

Imagination Movers – December 24th

Be sure to help your little ones get into the Christmas spirit by watching these, I know we will definetly be watching the next two, at least PVR ing them :) You can also check out these great e-cards on the Disney Junior site to make with your little ones!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Disney Junior Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Burt's Bees with a Holiday Giveaway

2011-12-13T22:59:00.000-08:00

I have been a fan of Burt's Bees for a while now, as I am sure you have noticed as they have been on the blog a few times! They make a very affordable natural product line with a vast selection of products. There are some that I can't live without. In the Summer you won't find me without the after sun soother, love it!

For review this time I was sent a few different products from Burt's Bees. It was the Burt's Bees facial care set and it included replenishing lip balm, peach and willowbark deep pore scrub, and soap bark and chamomile cleansing cream. I also got the eye cream and daily moisturizing cream from the sensitive skin line which I am loving. The lip balm I have had before and love it, it moisturizes really well and doesn't feel all waxy like some do.

I always wash my face in the shower in the morning and not at night, I know, bad for my skin but I am to tired at the end of the day :) I have only used scrubs though so I wasn't a fan of the cleansing cream because it didn't really feel like it was all coming off and didn't leave that fresh clean after for me. The scrub though is amazing and I use it everyday. It leaves my skin feeling so clean and fresh.

The sensitive skin line is awesome. I have very sensitive skin so I love when companies come out with a line like this. The eye cream was given to my MIL as I don't need eye cream, right? ;)

The daily moisturizing cream though is my new daily cream. It feels so nice on my skin, not greasy at all and doesn't cause any breakouts :) The only thing I would change about it is that its a pump bottle and if you use a full pump you have way to much and its a waste. I use about a half pump but it would be nice if the amount that came out was a lot less. Nobody would need as much that comes out.

Burt's Bees has lots of gift packs for that hard to buy for person on your list and some great stocking stuffer ideas. I know a little girl who will be getting some lip tints this year :)

One very lucky Canadian reader will win a $150 basket of goodies!!!

To Enter:

Like Burt's Bees on Facebook

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win $150 worth of Burt's Bees @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/7vqcumg

***** Contest will end on December 20th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY*****

Equal sweetner at McDonalds #CBias @McD_Canada #EqualCanada

2011-12-05T00:06:00.000-08:00

Brandon is a huge McDonald's fan, huge, just like any other almost 4 year old I guess. Its yummy kid friendly food and a toy, usually an awesome toy that Brandon loves and I don't want to throw out right away :) Even though Brandon and I usually just hit the drive through for an iced coffee and cinnamelt for me and cheeseburger with fries, juice and a toy for Brandon he does love to go inside when given the chance.

For a special treat I took Brandon to McDonald's on Friday and when we pulled into the parking lot he asked why we not go through drive though, in four year old speak. I thought it would be a good way to spend an hour to go inside, have lunch and play for a while to burn off some energy. He loved it.

Watching the kids play always motivates Brandon to eat faster and not lollygag. He was so excited to get up there and play and I was remembering how when I took Kristina as a little girl there. Brandon kicked off his boots and took off, I could have left and he would have been happy until dinner time. Kristina on the other hand was so scared to go up high. She was so scared of something, I still don't know what but she took a good year of going there to be able to go up on her own.

I gotta tell you, its a lot more fun for kids up there than for me, I am afraid of heights lol.

Our lunch was great as usual but once I finished my chicken burger I moved onto my cinnamelt, my favorite by far. I chowed down, it was delicious as usual, but then when I was done I happened to look at the top of the box and noticed the best before sticker on the top. I had noticed these before because they are right on top of the box, the date was for two days before. So upon a closer look, maybe I was crazy, it did say served by November 30th at 12 something.

At this point one of the employees came into the play area so I asked her over and showed it to her and asked if it was just miss tagged. She figured it might be but wasn't in the kitchen today so told me to head up to the counter and ask them. It had tasted fine so I figured it was just miss tagged and went up when Brandon was done eating. I showed it to the cashier explaining the date and asked if it could have just been tagged incorrectly. She didn't know so she asked the swing manager.

The swing manager asked me if I wanted my money back and I said that I just wanted to know if it had expired two days ago and she said yes, sorry it did. So of course I said then yes I would like my money back. I was just kind of stunned and asked if it would make me sick or anything and she said it would probably be fine and gave me my money back. I understand that mistakes happen, to everyone, and all the time, but I had hoped for more of a reaction from her that I had just eaten something that had expired two days before hand. I wouldn't have been to worried if it was a few hours but two days...

I also asked when I ordered if they had equal sweetener as an option and they didn't so I skipped the tea and just had a diet coke. Check out Equal on Twitter and facebook. All they had was sugar and another sweetener, it would definitely be nice to have another option available. Also, the best thing about this restaurant, how clean the play are is, I love a clean play area or I don't go back and this one is soooo clean! We love it! Follow McDonald's Canada on Twitter here!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias

Loose Button giveaway

2011-12-03T22:45:00.000-08:00

I love getting mail, I get review items and coupons and samples with coupons in the mail all time time, even the kids love checking the mail. If you don't review things or coupon to get samples etc the mail may be kind of boring for you. If you want to liven it up a bit you need to check out Loose Button!

At Loose Button, our mission is to help customers discover, try and purchase quality beauty products through a unique shopping experience. Our team comprises of talented individuals who bring a diverse set of experiences from the fashion, publishing, retail, social media and technology industries. We are passionate about creating great experiences, and have been recently featured on Flare , Globe & Mail and National Post for our work.

Our service, Luxe Box, is an exciting and new subscription service that allows members to try beauty products in the comfort of their own home before buying them full-sized. Members receive 4-5 hand-picked deluxe sized products in a chic box every month, delivered to an address of their choice. Members also get exclusive access to beauty tips and tutorials that teach them how to make the most out of their products.

I got the November Loose Button Box for review and its awesome, Kristina and I are still fighting over who gets what. The only thing I won't use is the loose tea, I am only a red rose tea kind of drinker. So I gave it to Kris's Aunt who loves loose tea and she loved it. She didn't even know what kind it was, tried it out and loved it. Now Teaopia probably has a new customer :) That's how it works!

You get to try out new products, with sample sizes so that you can see if you like them before you go out and buy the entire bag or package. I love all of the makeup it came with. There was some great sparkle eye liner from Lise Watier, some lip treats by Mereadesso, two perfumes by Paco Rabanne, one for me and one for Kris, as well as the tea and some Benifit Cosmetics facial cream!

This Canada only giveaway will be a quick one so that you can get your address in in time for the December Loose Button box!

To Enter:

Go to Loose Button and tell me one of the brands that they work with that I havn't mentioned here

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- like Loose Button on Facebook

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a box from Loose Button filled with sample sized goodies from top name companies @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/7rv4wpz

***** Contest will end on December 10th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY*****

Brother labelers make my OCD self very happy - AND a Giveaway

2011-12-02T22:37:00.000-08:00

When my girlfriend was hounding me about how she got me the best Christmas present of all time, to bad when I showed her the awesome label maker I got to review from Brother Canada I ruined her idea :)

She knows me well and knows how OCD I am and how I could literally label everything in my house! With couponing lately I have started a bit of a stockpile, some are starting to call me a hoarder ;) Rumors are going around that you won't be able to stack coupons soon so I want to get as much as I can, that I will use before it expires, and my pile is starting to get to an ok size.

I ended up picking up some bins to store smaller things in and so of course I wanted to label them so that I wouldn't have to pull them all down to see what was inside of them. The label maker that I received is the PT-1100SBVP and its amazing. Not only does it print out words, it even has 72 built in symbols to make your labels just a little bit more fun. Check out my label for my medicines :)

The Brother label makes are one of the best brands out there. That is the brand that my girlfriend was going to buy me. They are very well known with great quality and priced products. I am loving my Brother labeler and so is Kristina, she wants to label all of her stuff, I hope shes not as OCD as me :)

One very lucky Canadian reader is going to win a Brother PT-1100SBVP labeler just like I got!

To Enter:

Go to Brother and tell me what other product of theirs you would like to have!

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a scrap booking label maker from Brother @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/ctacjo6

***** Contest will end on December 15th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY*****

Dyson rocks it out again!

2011-12-01T22:56:00.000-08:00

I have loved my Dyson DC24 since I first turned it on and vacuumed a strip of my old nasty carpet. Once I saw what it could pick up a day after I had vacuumed with my old vacuum was the last time I have used any other vacuum. I am hooked, what can I say.

I did have a bit if a scare yesterday though. My Dyson lost suction, it wasn't picking up anything and was making a funny noise. It sounded clogged and I could feel down one of the hoses that there was stuff stuck in there. I was pretty sure they would warranty it but sometimes warranty's sound all great until you actually need them and then they really suck. Not the case with Dyson at all.

I had never registered my vacuum, not an issue, talked to a real person in less than a minute. He was so kind to me and helpful! He had talked me through taking the hoses off and unclogging them in under 15 mins and it was good to go. I was soooooooo happy that I didn't have to send it away and wait the 7-10 days to have it back, which is very fast, but nobody wants to be without a vacuum. I even noticed that one of the hoses was showing some wear while I was taking them out and he is shipping me a new one out right now.

I was 100% in love with Dyson before and now I am even more in love with them even though I didn't even know I could be! I love when a company really stands behind their products!!! I am sure this is one cleaning device that any woman would be happy to get for the Holidays!!!

PS- this post was not in any way sponsored or asked for but I just wanted to share my great experience with all of you!

Wow them, easily!

2011-11-30T23:34:00.000-08:00

It's time to start all of that Holiday baking, well if you haven't already that is. I know that I should have started, and wanted to start, about 2 weeks ago but still haven't. It always creeps up on me this time of year just how much there is going on and how much there is to do in such a short amount of time. You not only have all of your regular daily food to cook you have to bring appies and desserts to school functions, staff parties and nights out not to mention the gifts and fancy party clothes to pick out!

We don't always have time to whip up a few dozen treats the night before your child tells you that they are signed up to bring treats to school. What about when you work all day and need to take an appy out for after work?

What all of us need is a stack of easy recipes that we can call on when we are stuck like that! I also love baking in advance, which I am still trying to do, freeze it all and then you can pull it out and ice it etc the night before or the morning that you need it. I am thinking that sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies will be great like this. You pop them out of the freezer and then ice them, soooo good.

The Life Made Delicious site, that I am sure you have checked out by now, has lots of great easy Holiday recipes on it now. There is also another one called three steps to wow and its fabulous! Time to break out the printer or old school pen and paper and mark down your favoties! You start with Pilsbury cookie dough or some Pilsbury Cresent rolls dough and add a few quick and easy things. Here are some of my favorites!

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

TinkerBell on Disney Junior

2011-11-28T23:22:00.000-08:00

Brandon uses his imagination all of the time! Hes a big play on his own kid, probably because I was big on that from the beginning. I have always believed that if you are always entertaining them they will always need you to entertain them. I am not saying that I don't play with him, at all, but just that its so good for him to play on his own. With his sister at school all day hes like an only child for a lot of the day. Also even when Kristina is home you have to remember that they are more than 5 years apart so as much as they do play together they also have lots of play time apart.

Brandon will talk to his toys and talk back for them, he plays a lot of dress up, and makes make believe houses and forts. The other day, the entire day was spent playing Buzz and Woody. Daddy was Woody all day and Brandon was Buzz all day. It worked into everything and lasted all day lol!

Have you seen TinkerBell Fridays this month? TinkerBell is over 100 years old now, she was first introduced in 1904, how crazy is that. I remember when my brother and I were little and my mom took us to see Peter Pan in the theatre and my brother thought that if Peter Pan could fly, he could fly. So with my horrified mother watching he jumped up on the arm rest of the seat and jumped off as high as he could, during the movie. Obviously he didn't fly but it sure stuck with us and just goes to show you how imaginative kids can be.

Each Friday Disney Junior will air a different TinkerBell movie PLUS they have a brand new “Pixie Hollow Game” coming to http://www.disneyjunior.ca/

What do you do to ignite your kids imagination?

Disclosure: I’m part of the Disney Junior Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own!

Free Yogurt!

2011-11-21T21:05:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I went almost 2 weeks without posting! I have gotten a little coupon crazy! Ya my husband thinks I am a little crazy, well a lot crazy actually. I have started collecting, trading and of course redeeming. Its been a lot of fun and I don't know if its because I have an obsessive personality or what but I have become quite addicted to it.

The hottest coupons are FPC (free product coupons) and you would think that because its giving you a free item that these coupons would be really hard to find. They are really easy to find if you know where to look! Even if you don't coupon per say I would think these would be pretty hard to throw out.

Life Made Delicious products are always known to have coupons on them. There were the taco kits with free cheese, now there are some with $4 off beef or chicken. There was the Hamburger Helper with the free veggies and the granola bars and fruit snacks with free juice, and now there is cereal with free yogurt! You can check out all of the Life Made Delicious offers here!

On specially marked packages of General Mills cereal you get a free coupon for yogurt! As much as I love a good coupon it has to be for something that you will use, and when its for a free product, even better! I have already collected a few of these. I buy cereal all the time, preferably when its on sale and I have a coupon :) but to pay $3 or $4 and then get a coupon for free yogurt worth $4 or so how can you not stock up and get lots!

Yes I guess I am turning into a bit of a hoarder. I have always, when I had the money, bought a few of things that I knew I would use before they expired and were on for a great deal. Now that I use coupons I stock up even more :) It can be bad but when its an amazing deal you just have to do it, assuming you have the room and will use it or donate it before it goes bad! Be sure to watch for these great coupons on your favorite cereals and check out the easy recipes on Life Made Delicious as well!

Disclaimer: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Posterjack

2011-11-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

My husband has a very close knit family. I don't know if I have shared our living arrangement before but we live on a large chunk on land with some of my husbands family. His Nana and Papa have a house down past the pond near the bottom of the property, Kris and I have a house at the top and across the driveway Kris's Aunt and Uncle have a house with a basement suite where Kris's Mom lives. Usually when I tell people about this they ask me how we can do it. Family 24/7 :)

To be totally honest I love it. I have come to love Kris's family as my own and we spend a lot of time with them. When Kris's cousins come to visit their parents (his Aunt and Uncle) all of our kids play together and if we didn't all live here the kids wouldn't be as close as they are and that's pretty important to me. Also when Kris's Sisters come over to visit we get to see them the entire time they are here and can still come and go for naps etc as we need, just a hop skip and jump away.

Party because of this, Brandon is very close with his two cousins who come to visit every other weekend or so. He calls them his kids and talks to them or about them on a daily basis. He loves them to bits and so we have some pictures of them up around the house, on the fridge and I wanted to get one for his room. When I was contacted by Posterjack I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get a big picture of Brandon and his boys done up. How cute are they?

When it arrived Brandon couldn't have been happier. He wanted it hung right above his bed and he loves looking at it. Its made very well and is so much better than a framed picture in my opinion! I love it, it looks like art and we will have it for years to come. It will make a great memory one day when he is to old to remember having matching pjs with his boys!

Poster Jack would make a great Christmas gift for your partner or even a Grandparent. I know that my Mom would love to have a canvas of the kids hanging in her living room. Maybe I will have to add that to her list! Be sure to check out Posterjack, they don't just have canvas prints either! You can see them on Facebook and Twitter as well!

November and December winners

2011-11-07T22:22:00.000-08:00

December 20th 2011

The winner of the Brother Labeler is comment number 99

99. Emma said...

I follow you publicly 1/2 entries
benjifiliso@hotmail.com
Sunday, December 04, 2011 2:07:00 AM

The winner of the Burts Bees basket worth $150!!! is comment number 112

112. janice budgell pollard said...

email subscriber

janicebudgellpollard at hotmail dot com
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 7:14:00 PM

Dec 13th 2011

The winner of the luxe box from Loose Button is comment number 2

2. Lisa KH said...

I've subscribed to Fun and Funky Mommy newsletter.
weezi_k@hotmail.com
Saturday, December 03, 2011 11:08:00 PM

Dec 8th 2011

The new winner for the skillet and Hamburger Helper is comment number 302

102. C Wilson said...

tweeted mailto:cacch71@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/#!/Carolineinbc/status/133916993341493248
Tuesday, November 08, 2011 6:52:00 AM

The new winner of the Invisalign chair is comment number 69

69. robynl said...

http://twitter.com/#!/rlee1950/status/135195133841907713
yourstrulee(at)sasktel(dot)net
Friday, November 11, 2011 7:21:00 PM

Dec 1st 2011

The winner of the Invisalign teen chair is comment number 57

57. ginette4 said...

daily tweet
https://twitter.com/#!/ginette4/status/133964179806765056
anger_family @yahoo dot com`
Tuesday, November 08, 2011 11:51:00 AM

The winner of the Hamberger Helper and veggies is comment number 94

94. ksceviour said...

I follow on twitter & tweeted
http://twitter.com/#!/ksceviour/status/130756414091182080
ksceviour@hotmail.com
Sunday, October 30, 2011 2:24:00 PM

The winner of the $50 to Uncommon Goods is comment number 5

5. Terra H. said...

follow your blog via gfc #2
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
Tuesday, November 01, 2011 11:51:00 PM

Nov 2011

The winner of the crock pot is comment number 161

161. Debbie said...

daily tweet

http://twitter.com/#!/mommakoala/status/134278017760509952

mommakoala(at)cogeco(dot)ca

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 09, 2011 6:36:00 AM

The winner of the Betty Crocker cook book is comment number 238

38. renee said...

http://twitter.com/#!/nicjosemm/status/124789939517931520
Friday, October 14, 2011 3:14:00 AM
reneetaylor@sympatico.ca

The winner of the pink racecar from Raspberry Kids is comment number 79

79. andalene said...

I also like the Skip Hop Studio Diaper Tote in grey. abrennan09@hotmail.com
Saturday, October 08, 2011 10:15:00 PM

The winner of the entire Live Clean Baby Soothing Relief Collection from Live Clean is comment number 117

117. Sweet Panda said...

tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/PandaSweetSweet/status/124944837203075072
sweetpanda2010 at gmail dot com
Friday, October 14, 2011 1:29:00 PM

The winner of sand and play set from Green Toys (US Only) is comment number 18

18. Christina said...

I "like" Fun and Funky Mommy on Facebook (Christina F)
Sunday, October 09, 2011 4:58:00 AM
ChristinaAileenF@gmail.com

The winner of the two tees from Hank Player is comment number 47

47. robynl said...

Like you on facebook(Robyn Lee)
yourstrulee(at)sasktel(dot)net
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 12:23:00 PM

The two winners each winning two packs of Shoo Zoos are comment number 16 and 36

16. Paula M-B said...

Subscribe to Fun and Funky via email
pjkmitchell at hotmail dot com
Thursday, October 20, 2011 9:33:00 AM

36. Diana said...

dt
http://twitter.com/#!/goldiez/status/128255665117478912
goldiez at hotmail dot com
Sunday, October 23, 2011 4:46:00 PM

Crockpot is celebrating 40 years with a Giveaway

2011-11-06T22:29:00.000-08:00

For the modern at-home chef, Crock-Pot® Designer Series slow cookers are designed for today’s lifestyle. These 6 quart programmable slow cookers feature programmable settings, dishwasher-safe stoneware and a gasket lid for added comfort and handling. The hide-away easy lifting handles tuck completely into the base and rectangular body shape allows the design to stand alone – and with a sleek brushed stainless steel finish, they look great on the counter.

I have a crockpot but its ugly. I know stupid reason for not using it very often but I don't have room to leave it on the counter and wouldn't if I did have room because its ugly. Because its always in the cupboard I never think to use it. Well now I don't have an excuse not to use my crockpot as often now that I have the new 6.0 Qt. Crock-Pot® Designer Series Slow Cooker

• 6.0 Qt. / 5.6L oblong slow Cooker – ideal for 6-7 people
• Removable stoneware for easy serving and cleaning
• Tempered glass lid
• Digital timer counts down cooking time
• Auto-shift to Warm setting when cook time is complete
• Dishwasher safe lid and stoneware
• Rinse-Clean™ stick resistant coating for easy cleaning
• Programmable cooking time from 30 minutes to 20 hours
• Gasketed lid
• Brushed stainless steel finish
• Integrated Handles and Cord Storage
• Model # SCCPBP600S-CN
• MRSP $89.99. Available at Sears

Did you know . . . ?

• Anything goes: Although slow cookers are known for traditional dishes like roasts and beef chili, you can cook almost anything—from crème brule to lamb shanks—in your slow cooker.

• Celebrities love them too: Reese Witherspoon brought her Crock-Pot® slow cooker onto The Ellen DeGeneres Show to showcase her favourite dish, coq au vin.

• Meal ideas are in the palm of your hand: The Crock-Pot® brand’s iPhone App helps you decide what’s for dinner with hundreds of slow cooker recipes right at your fingertips.

• Red ruled in 1971: The first Crock-Pot® slow cooker featured the iconic glass lid, with a bright red exterior and basic crock interior.
The last thing I made in a crockpot was my apple butter. If you don't know what apple butter is its applesauce simmered down to be extra thick and sweeter than apple sauce. Its sooooo good. Here is a link to the recipe.

I know I see my friends always posting their favorite crockpot recipes on facebook. Whats your favorite recipe? I have a quick giveaway! One of you can with this 6.0 Qt. Crock-Pot® Designer Series Slow Cooker, it will end on Saturday night though so be quick!

To Enter:

Tell me your favorite Crockpot recipe

(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a 6.0 Qt. Crock-Pot® Designer Series Slow Cooker @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/cxotehw

***** Contest will end on November 12th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY*****

Invisalign Teen with a giveaway worth up to $7000

2011-11-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

Every time I take my kids to the dentist I cringe. Not because I don't like the dentist, I do, they are great, but I am worried about Kristina, her teeth and my pocket book in the next few years. Sometimes the dentist will tell me bits and pieces about what he thinks is going to happen with Kristinas teeth but he says its hard for him to know for sure until her mouth stops growing and the teeth finally stop shifting.

Ultimately it looks like she is going to need some sort of intervention teeth wise. They are definitely crowded and there isn't enough room in their for all of her monster teeth. I thought that it would be better to do something about it now before they all go crooked but the dentist says that we can't. All I can do at this point is research what I want to do when the time comes and try to save a whole lot of cash!

When I learned of Invisalign I was pretty intrigued. Basically what Invisaline is is an alternative to the classic treatment of crooked teeth, metal braces. Metal braces can be very painful, they can scratch your mouth, you get food stuck in them, when they are tightened I have heard that its very painful and of course they don't look so great and don't make you feel so great when you have them. Of course this isn't to say that braces are not a great product just that there are some flaws with them.

Invisalign takes a modern approach to straightening teeth, using a custom-made series of aligners created for you and only you. These aligner trays are made of smooth, comfortable and virtually invisible plastic that you simply wear over your teeth. Wearing the aligners will gradually and gently shift your teeth into place, based on the exact movements your dentist or orthodontist plans out for you. There are no metal brackets to attach and no wires to tighten. You simply pop in a new set of aligners approximately every two weeks, until your treatment is complete and you achieve the confident smile that you've always wanted. The best part about the whole process is that most people won't even know you're straightening your teeth.

Invisalign is not only available for adults. The new Invisalign Teen was developed with leading orthodontists who understand the unique treatment and compliance needs of teens as well as their active lifestyles. Every patient’s needs are different and there are many factors that determine the cost of Invisalign treatment. But, in most cases, Invisalign is comparable in costs to traditional braces, is covered by most dental insurance plans, and affordable financing options are always available.

Invisalign’s treatment capabilities are not limited to mild/cosmetic cases – Invisalign can help correct a broad range of cases: Overly crowded teeth, widely spaced teeth, crossbite, overbite and underbite. Treatment time is about the same as with metal braces and in some cases, shorter. Invisalign treatment is also ideal for busy parents because there are never any emergency appointment from broken wires/brackets; it requires fewer appointment (because you get your sets in advance) and less chair time (for those uncomfortable tightenings)

My brother had braces as a child as well as the hated headgear! He was definitely made fun of by his friends, and maybe me, kids are mean. I couldn't imagine watching my child go through that. Its hard to deal with bullying in the first place but when you can prevent it, possibly, by going another route I would totally do that. Also how annoying would it be to go to the orthodontist every few weeks and then having to get in right away when you have troubles. I barley get any sleep as it is because I have to much to do and then to fit in all of those appointments, no thanks!

Something else that I was very happy to see was that I could have Kristinas teeth done with Invisalign in my own town. Its available in so many places, there is a place on the site, here, that you can go to and see if its available anywhere close to you. Its available at so many orthodontist and dentist offices and they are able to do it for you right there. I guess unless you ask about different options everyone just assumes that braces are the only thing available. Not anymore! Make sure you ask your dentist or orthodontist and check out Invisalign!

I have a giveaway as well for one of you! You can enter on all of the blogs but you can only win on one! You can enter to win your own Invisalign foldable outdoor sports chair! The best thing you can enter to win? A full Invisalign treatment worth up to $7000!!! You can enter to win the treatment here and all of the rules and regulations are found here! I will be entering and would love to win so if you don't want to enter feel free to skip this one :)

To Enter to win the Invisalign foldable outdoor sports chair:

Tell me how the Invisalign Teen treatment benefit you

(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win an Invisalign sports chair and a full teen treatment worth up to $7000 @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/3auqpwy

***** Contest will end on November 18th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY*****

Disclosure - I am participating in the Invisalign Teen program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Align Technology, Inc. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

RUBIK's Race game

2011-11-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Looking for the perfect retro gift for the holidays? Look no further! The RUBIK’s Race® is a blast from the past and promises hours of fun! The fastest game in town, RUBIK’s Race is a re-introduction of the original ‘80s game inspired by the world’s most popular, yet torturous, hand-held puzzle! Designed by reclusive Hungarian sculptor, engineer and architect, Professor Erno Rubik, inventor of the original RUBIK’s Cube®, RUBIK’s Race is the ultimate face-to-face game that challenges players to get their brain and fingers racing and go head-to-head with their opponent to match the pattern of nine coloured squares. Like the original RUBIK’s Cube, the world’s best selling puzzle ever which has achieved global sales exceeding 350 million units since its launch in 1980, RUBIK’s Race requires skill, speed and logic. But in this game — players race to complete a puzzle!

Here’s how it works:

Shift It. Slide It. Solve it! The RUBIK’s Race includes a Scrambler, a device that contains 9 coloured cubes, and a Game Base. The Base allows two players to face one another, separated by a hinged vertical “window,” and provides each player with a 5x5 slide puzzle of 24 tiles comprising of the six iconic cube face colours — white, yellow, orange, red, green and blue. At the beginning of each round, the Scrambler is shaken to set the target pattern. The goal for each player is to frantically shift and slide their tiles around and try to be the first to make the 3x3 centre of their puzzle match the target pattern of the RUBIK’s Cube Scrambler. When a player completes the 3x3 target pattern on their board, they drop the window onto their playing area, covering all but the centre 3x3 grid, and declare themselves the winner!

Holiday Favourite“The retro RUBIK’s Race will inspire an entirely new generation of Cubers to challenge the puzzle with outstanding speed as well as bring back fond memories for die-hard ‘80s Cubists,” says Dave Charbonneau, president of Kroeger Inc., one of Canada’s leading toy experts and best known for distributing the world famous RUBIK’s Cube. RUBIK’s Race is suitable for children ages 5 and up and requires no electricity or batteries – it’s eco-friendly and easy to use! RUBIK’s Race can be found at toy and game retailers across Canada, including Toys ‘R’ Us. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $19.99.

We got the RUBIK's cube race game to review and the kids had fun with it. Brandon was definitely to young to understand the concept of how to play properly but he did like "playing" with his sister and moving the pieces around. Kristina however really enjoyed the game, she get frustrated at the end however when I told her that the pieces had to match up the center 9 squares not just any 9 squares.

It was very easy to put together and set up. Its also great to take with you on the go, camping or on a trip. We took it over to my girlfriends house for the kids to play while we were canning! We will definitely be playing it again though, all of us. Check it out for the Holidays for those kids who have way to many toys!

Uncommon Goods - with a Giveaway

2011-11-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

Uncommon Goods carries just that, uncommon goods. Really cool, different and interesting things that you wouldn't find shopping in town. Lots of their products I found that I didn't even know that they existed! I had a great time browsing through Uncommon Goods and had a really hard time deciding what to order for my review.

I ultimately decided on two bins made our of recycled tires for holding Brandons cars. They are really cute, super different and go great with the car theme seen as they are made of tires. Brandon doesn't seem to care what his toys are stored in, weird right, but I love these baskets. They hold quite a bit of stuff and later on down the road when he doesn't need them anymore I think I will use them to hold our firewood pieces by the fire so we don't have to go in and our so often. I may have stolen that idea from the website :)

If you have someone on your Christmas list this year that is hard to shop for, or seems to have everything this is a great site to check out. They have the best gifts for men, gifts for Dads, gifts for the wine enthusiast, and wine gifts for men. They even have a great kids selection as well. The kids were able to try out the Gel Gem Art Kit and loved playing with it. First they just played with the pieces of gel, sorting them and checking out all of the shapes. Then they got into cutting them and making up different designs.

I love that the pieces of gel weren't actually messy or sticky at all, yup OCD, but the kids had a blast with them. This would make a great Christmas gift to keep little ones occupied for the end of Christmas Holidays.

One lucky US winner is going to have a $50 gift certificate to pick some things out at Uncommon Goods

To Enter:

Go to Uncommon Goods and tell me what product(s) you would choose if you won
(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- sign up for the Uncommon Goods emails
- tweet a link to the gifts for men page
- vote for a product here - DONT say Fun and Funky Mommy sent you, you need to say something about the product
- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win $50 to Uncommon Goods @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/3wufu3e

***** Contest will end on November 20th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to the USA ONLY*****

Buddha Board - Water Wizard

2011-10-31T22:17:00.000-07:00

Brandon is big on doing art lately. He likes to color, do crafts, chalk, paint, and anything else messy that he can get his hands on. Its been really amazing watching how Brandons art has gone from barley even scribbling to drawing circles, faces and they even actually look like what he says it is.

When I first heard about the Buddha Board Water Wizard I was very intrigued. Its like a desktop artist easel and they have kids versions as well as adult versions. You set it up either on the table, or your lap, and all you need to do some creating is the magical pen that comes with the Buddha Board and some water. You fill the pen up with water and create. It takes a few seconds but your image starts to appear and looks bold and fabulous. After a while it does disappear and then you can start creating all over again!

Whether you are artistic yourself or you are looking for some Christmas ideas for your kids you should definitely check out the Buddha Boards. They even make a great small sized one that's awesome to keep in the car for longer car trips or taking when you go to friends or family houses!

The full size is only $21.40 Cad and the mini is $9.95 Cad with a min order of 2. For this price you can order a few extras for gifts! Very unique and how many kids don't like to draw?

Kinder Surprise - My Kinder Moments - You can WIN $500

2011-10-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the new app on the Kinder Canada facebook page called My Kinder Moments? Its very easy to use and a lot of fun! My Kinder Moments take your special moments that you photographed of your kids and turns them into Kinder Moments.

You can choose from some pretty cute frames, some are for more obvious themes, Halloween, First tooth etc and some are more general. They are all really cute and so easy to use. The best part is that for every one you create you are entered to win the monthly prize, this months prize is $500 to spend on a new Fall wardrobe for your little one!

All you do is allow the app access to your facebook page, then you choose your frame, that's the hard part. You upload your picture, either directly from your computer or your facebook pictures and then you are done. Send it to a printing company or show it off on your facebook page.

I loved this one and now Brandon has a cute picture to remind him of the day we went to the pumpkin farm picking pumpkins with his cousin! It was so much fun, we fed the chickens, goats and of course got to walk the spooky barn and pick pumpkins! We went last year as well and he totally remembered it! We love them and will be going back year after year.

I’m part of the Kinder® Mom program and I receive compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Hamburger Helper with a Giveaway

2011-10-29T22:43:00.000-07:00

By now you all know how much I like coupons, I have actually gotten even more into coupons over the last few weeks. When I was in Vancouver with my Mom, Aunty, and daughter last weekend I even did a quick walk through a drug store there looking for coupons :) I am getting a bit addicted and its pretty funny. I could be addicted to worse things though than saving money.

While working with the great team over at Life Made Delicious I have learned about some awesome new coupons that are in store now. You can get $4 off chicken or beef on the Old El Paso taco kit, got one, free yogurt on selected cereal, got 2 and free juice on select fruit by the foots and fruit snacks. The main one we are going to look at is the free veggies with Hamburger Helper.

We don't make a lot of Hamburger Helper because Kris can't have wheat but I love the one pot meal theory. Why not do it all up in one big pot, meat, carbs and veggies. The first thing I would do to Hamburger Helper is add some veggies to it. My kids love veggies, raw or cooked as long as they are dipped in sauce or in a dish, steamed veggies not so much, other than corn. Anytime I made spaghetti sauce, chili or any other one pot type meal I always puree and chunk up some veggies in it.

Its easier than ever right now with the coupon for a free bag of green giant vegetables! You buy Hamburger Helper and a bag of Green Giant frozen veggies and then next time you use your coupon and buy Hamburger Helper and get the bag of veggies free, and keep on doing it until the promo is over :)

One of my lucky winners will be able to skip that first step by winning three boxes of Hamburger Helper and three coupons for free Green Giant vegetables as well as a skillet to cook them in worth $60!!

Open to Canadian residents only, also please note readers can enter across multiple blogs but only win once

To Enter:

Tell me how you make your Hamburger Helper, do you have a special ingredient or something you do to make it extra delicious?

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win 3 boxes of Hamburger Helper, 3 coupons for free Green Giant Vegetables and a Skillet @Funfunkymommy #LMDGiveaway http://tinyurl.com/3q33dey

***** Contest will end on November 22nd at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY*****

Disclaimer: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

My weekend in the big city #CBias #EqualCanada

2011-10-29T00:13:00.000-07:00

So last weekend I was in Vancouver for my birthday, I was pretty excited to go and it was even more fun than I imagined it would be. My aunt was going over to visit a friend so we hopped into her car and hitched a ride. Our plan was pretty open, lots of shopping, eating and drinking. It was my 30th and Kristinas 9th birthday within days of each other.

We stayed at the Delta hotel and resort in Downtown Vancouver. I have never stayed at a hotel like the Delta before. It was a very nice looking hotel, nice rooms, very friendly staff, the usual with a good hotel but the staff were nothing like I had ever met before. The gentleman who served us dinner both nights was so friendly and nice. He brought Kristina extra doughnuts for dessert and the following night he even brought them to her for an appy without knowing whether or not we were having a meal.

He never charged us for her dinners, its free for under 6 so he just made it free. When budgeting for a trip this is huge, he saved us so much money just in food alone. He also comped my dinner for my birthday night and an appy for everyone to share. He may have also comped a drink or two, I don't really remember how many I ordered :)

The breakfast waiter we had both days was amazing as well. Not only did she give us the easiest directions to the best mall in the city, she is from the island where we are from, small world. Even though we didn't know her so was so friendly and kind. She comped my breakfast for my birthday and both of Kristinas!!

Here is what we had for Breakfast on my birthday! I had the omelet, with hash browns, toast, and some fresh fruit. I love that the fruit was already missing its rind, random I know but I don't like rind, even touching it lol. My Mom had had a bagel with cream cheese and a nice big bowl of fruit and Kristina had Mickey Mouse pancakes with sausage and fruit. We all loved our breakfast. I tried some of the French Vanilla coffee, hoping it would be like Tim Hortons, I don't really like the taste of real coffee. It was more like coffee than Tim Hortons French Vanilla so I had to add a whole lot of Equal to it to make it taste better.

I was pretty excited to see that they had Equal in their sugar/sweetener collection. I am looking for it everywhere I go now and it only seems to be in about 1/2 of the places I have been. So thank you Delta hotel for everything you did to make our girls birthday weekend amazing! You can learn more about Equal on their website, twitter @EqualCanada or on facebook!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All opinions are always my own!

Card Swap party TOMMOROW with giveaways

2011-10-27T23:35:00.000-07:00

So I will be telling you more about the company that is Card Swap with a review and giveaway shortly but tonight I have some amazing news!

I talked to the folks at Card Swap and they are going to include ONLY the fans of Fun and Funky Mommy in their big party tomorrow night. Yes tomorrow night Card Swap is throwing an amazing party. If I didn't have to work I would be glued to my computer all night!

The party is happening on the Card Swap Facebook page so if you like their page, here, and then RSVP to the party, here, you can win. Also if you are online the night of the party, tomorrow night, Friday, then there will be many more ways to win. One of them being a Fun and Funky Mommy fan will be winning a gift card just for being a fan on my facebook page, here :)

One of the great parts about this party is that even if you can't attend, virtually, you can still win a gift card. As long as you RSVP to the party you are in to win!

Some quick background, Card Shop is a Canadian company who buys gift cards from people like you and I who end up with a gift card we don't want or can't use and you sell it to Card Swap. Then of course when you are looking to buy a gift card, for yourself or someone else, you can buy it from Card Swap for a discounted price. Card Swap always verifies the balance and there are no fees :) Can't get any better than that!

Keep an eye on my facebook and twitter because I will let my fans all know when the giveaway is going to be for my fans only!!! Watch for it and tell your friends!

Campus Book Rentals

2011-10-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

If you or someone you know is in college or university you know that one of the highest cost items is textbooks. You need a lot of them and they don't come cheap! When I went it was very hard to find them used, and not outdated, so you just end up at the college bookstore and forking out a whole lot of money that you don't really have.

When you are in school you tend to be living as cheap as possible, eating the cheapest foods and not buying clothing or anything else that can be considered frivolous while on such a small budget. One of the solutions can be Campus Book Rentals!

Renting textbooks saves you money plain and simple and gets the same result in your classes as buying your books. Rent textbooks without the risk of your books becoming worthless by the end of the semester. Rent college textbooks from the comfort of your home or office. Don't lose money at your school bookstore anymore. Rent textbooks along with customers on over 4,000 college campuses that have used our service so far. Join the movement.

Another great thing that Campus Book Rentals offers is opportunity to sell your books to them. You can send them to them. You put the ISBN number in and they will tell you what they will pay you for them. They send you a prepaid box or envelope and will put the money on an Amazon gift card, cheque or paypal within 2 business days of receiving the books. This is put on by FirstClassBooks.com

Campus Book Rentals offers new and gently used textbooks for typically less than half the price you'll pay in your school bookstore. Search for the college books you need and save money today!

WHY CHOOSE US?

Here's a few reasons:

1. We have a top notch support staff. We hire problem solvers. Live help. Quick responses.

2. We've been around since the beginning. We pioneered textbook rentals and you can be confident we know what we're doing.

3. You'll save money. Pay less than half price to rent textbooks, and if you decide you want to keep the book instead of renting it, just pay us the difference and the book is yours. It's really risk free.

4. We have a 30 day risk free guarantee. Return your book for any reason within 30 days for a full refund.

5. There's tons of perks. Monthly giveaways, textbook scholarships, shirts, and other prizes. Registration is free and you do not have to be a paying customer to win.

Dyson Hot

2011-10-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

We have a wood stove, practically no insulation, and there are a lot of days, and nights, where we are chilly but don't want to light the wood stove. You can't just take the chill off of a room with a wood stove, you are cooked out. Maybe the pros can do it but Kris and I sure can't. If we light a fire when we are only chilly we end up with the fire going and the windows open and even the Dyson fan on. Weird I know.

When I heard that Dyson was coming out with a new Dyson Hot fan heater I was pretty excited about it! This is just what we need for when its not cold enough for a fire but chilly. We have had the Dyson Hot for weeks now and are even more in love with it than I could have imagined. Kris usually has to get up in the middle of the night, when its cold out, to continue to add wood to the wood stove through the night. Hes usually up to pee but it sucks for sure.

Now what we do is just set the Dyson Hot fan heater for the temperature we want and as soon as the temperature drops below that it comes right on. The Dyson Hot feels great pointed right at my feet while I am vegging out on the couch or blogging away but it doesn't just heat where its pointed! It heats the whole room, and easily, it doesn't take hours to heat up our living room. So much faster and much more efficient as well.

I love its totally safe for kids because there is no exposed element to burn themselves on. I love that if its getting to hot the Dyson Hot turns on the fan to cool the room down to the temperature you set it to. I love that its small and doesn't take up lots of room yet can heat the entire room faster and more efficiently than a full size heater. I love that its so easy to keep clean, just a quick wipe with a damp cloth and its like new. I love that it comes in an awesome blue color. I love that with just a touch of the finger you can point it up or down and that it oscillates and is very quiet! I think I just love it :)

Dyson Hot™ features smart technology that can be set between 32 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit to heat a room. Dyson Hot™ monitors the room temperature by measuring surrounding air. If a drop is detected, the heater turns back on to maintain the desired temperature.

James Dyson says:

“Fan heaters rely on inefficient motors or dust friendly grilles. As the heat rises you’re left with a partially heated room and a worrying burning smell. We’ve developed a heater that heats the whole room, without you having to constantly adjust the temperature.”

It took 22 engineers – including experts in thermo dynamics and fluid mechanics – over three years to research, develop and test Dyson’s patented Air Multiplier™ technology for its application in a heater.

How it works: Using patented Air Multiplier™ technology, air is drawn in through a mixed flow impeller, a combination of the technologies used in turbochargers and jet engines. It is then accelerated through a 2.5mm aperture set within the loop amplifier. This creates a jet of hot air which passes over an airfoil-shaped ramp channeling its direction. Surrounding air is drawn into the airflow, amplifying it six times in a process known as inducement and entrainment.

Safety features: Dyson Hot™ has low surface temperatures throughout and no visible heating elements. And if tipped over, the machine has been engineered to automatically cut out.

Remote Control: Turning the Dyson Hot™ on and off, adjusting temperature, airflow rate and controlling oscillation can be done easily from across a room. The remote control is curved and magnetised to store neatly on top of the machine.

Precision: Dyson Hot™ has temperature controls and an intelligent thermostat. Variable airflow and oscillation is controlled either by remote or on the front of the machine.

Cooling fan: Unlike conventional heaters it has a dual-mode function as a cooling fan. In keeping with Dyson’s Air Multiplier™ range it couples high airflow and velocity.

Dyson Hot™ is available at on dyson.com and most major Canadian retailers at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $449

The Dyson Hot is available in a sleek iron/blue or elegant white/silver, is very easy to clean, no little nooks and crannies, just a quick wipe of a damp cloth, and it only weighs just over 5 lbs.

· Guarantee – Dyson Hot™ has been tested for the equivalent of 10 years of constant use and comes with a two year parts and labor guarantee.

Got Free Cards

2011-10-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

Do you send out ecards? My Aunt sends us ecards, well mostly for the kids, every Holiday! Its pretty cute actually and the kids love it! They find paper cards boring and they always end up just thrown in the recycle and it seems like such a waste. Not just of the paper, the money, how much they cost to make and ship, not to mention all of the energy used in making, sending, and then recycling!

When there is such a great option like ecards it seems like the easy choice. You don't have to go to the store, you don't have to mail the card and waste the money on a stamp if the person lives away. Plus they can be much more interactive and of course fun.

Got Free Cards has so many choices available, they have free Halloween ecards, Christmas ecards, birthday ecards and so many more. Best of all they are FREE!!! Free ecards are a great choice so give it a try and see how you like it!

If you try it out let me know what you though!

Shoezooz with a Giveaway

2011-10-18T23:42:00.000-07:00

Brandon just may be getting my shoe problem, if you want to call it a problem. He has his favorites for sure, like his boots, motorcycle boots is actually what he calls them. The only trouble is that he can't seem to get them on the right feet no matter how hard he tries. I have heard to things to help kids learn how to tie their shoes but never something that helps them put them on the correct feet. He doesn't know his numbers or letter well enough to write those in the bottom of his shoes so Shoezooz has found the perfect solution.

Shoezooz has created stickers that you put in the bottom of your child's shoes that is one picture that's split into two. So right now in his motorcycle boots he has a pig, a head and bit of body in one and the rest of the body and the tail in the other. He loves showing off his pig that's hidden in his boots and it works like a charm. I showed him the pig before we put it in and now he has put his shoes on correctly every single time. I just tell him to put on his boots and look for the pig.

The package we got has a sheep, pig and cow and he is loving them. The stickers don't seem to be wearing off at all, they don't even look a few weeks old, considering hes a boy and wears them everyday that's excellent. At only $5.99 a package they are a great investment. Check out here where you can purchase them and of course I have a giveaway! Two winners will each receive two packages!

To Enter:

Go to Shoezooz and tell me what you learned

(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win 2 packages of Shoezooz -helps your child put their shoes on the right feet- on @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/3fzhhfq

***** Contest will end on November 5th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada and the USA*****

Hank Player with a Giveaway

2011-10-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

Favorite t-shirts don't come along very often, but if your drawer is filled with Hank Player, they'll come along every day!

Hank Player strives to create a quality, long lasting t-shirt that brings together a combination of hip, novelty graphics and vintage inspired colors. All about clean designs, Hank Player tees are garment dyed and vintage washed to give it a familiar lived-in and super soft, comfy feel.

The kind of clothes repeatedly picked out of the drawer or closet when given the choice, Hank Player has the ability to make a positive statement about the kids wearing them and once they put them on, they'll never take them off!

Hank Player lets a boy define himself, and you'll recognize him in our designs. The one who throws his head back in a belly laugh, cries when he loses, cheers when he wins, and wears a cape and pretends he can fly. Here's to boys — our boys, your boys, Hank Player boys!

Now available for boys of all ages, Hank Player's proudly made in the USA. Shop the Hank Player Campus Store for hip baby gifts and novelty graphic tees (including our Official NASA tee) for infants, toddlers, boys & men.

I love finding Brandon cute, sassy and attitude shirts. Shirts that say it like it is and shows our thoughts on our sleeves so to speak. The witty shirts are my favorite, we always get comments when we go out with those kinds of shirts on. When I had the chance to review one of the shirts from Hank Player I was pretty excited. It quickly turned into frustration though, I had to choose one, only one, how was I going to do that? Well somehow I narrowed it down to the super cute I am the future peace t-shirt.

The best part of all of it all? I ordered a size 6 for Brandon, some size 4's are getting to small, so I thought a 6 would be good or a bit to big. Turns out the size 6 fits Kristina, and shes in a size 10/12! So good thing she loves it, she wears it all the time. And being that its good for boys or girls Brandon can wear it soon. Hank Player carries shirts for boys, girls, men, women and even a few bags!

If you like the funky shirts from Hank Player be sure to keep them in mind for the Holiday Season. I know Kristina would have loved to rip that shirt open on Christmas morning. If you can't wait that long you can win one here! One of you will win TWO shirts from Hank Player. The winner will choose the size and Hank Player will choose the shirts to send as their stock changes very quickly.

To Enter:

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- like Hank Player on Facebook

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND @HankPlayer AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win TWO shirts from @HankPlayer @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/63qzzy7

***** Contest will end on November 5th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada and the USA*****

What coffee houses have Equal sweetener as an option?

2011-10-16T23:52:00.000-07:00

Well I am going to let the cat out of the bag and share with you all that its my 30th birthday this Saturday! I am so okay with it, not upset at all, and very very excited about my plans. My Mom is taking Kristina and I to Vancouver for a weekend of relaxing and shopping! My Mom and I have always been big shoppers so this will be a great time for us. Of course Kristina loves to shop and is pretty excited to have a weekend away with the big girls. It her Birthday this Wednesday so its kind of both of our presents :)

the Mama and the drinks

We were at my parents tonight for Sunday night dinner, we try to have dinner together every Sunday and my Mom and I were getting into planning our trip, can you say IKEA :) After dinner the kids were spent and ready for bed and my Mom and I were pretty into talking about and planning our trip so Kris decided to take the kids home and my Mom and I went out for coffee. After working all weekend it was a nice way to end the weekend!

the sugar and sweeteners

My parents live in Comox so we headed to the closest Tim Hortons and ordered our favorites! I had an iced capp with milk, not so sweet for me then, and my mom had a nice steaming hot mug of hot chocolate. Nice warm way for her to end the day, the only thing that would have made that better for her is being in her jammies. We couldn't order dessert, we had just had some delicious Betty Crocker gluten free cake for the birthdays before we left so we definitely didn't have room for a doughnut no matter how good they looked!

the restaurant (nice and renovated)

It didn't surprise me that Tim Hortons didn't carry Equal, because, well, I was there last week asking about it. I still suggested it though because I think that its only fair that people who don't want sugar have just as many choices as those who do want sugar. There are syrups, chocolate, sugar, honey etc that sugar is for and then sweetener as the only other option? It doesn't seem fair. I don't drink plain old coffee so I can't speak for myself but that's what I would think.

Overall my Mom and I had a great time chatting about our trip, ps you won't hear from me next weekend because I will be having a blast :) The only thing that could have made this better was to not have the air conditioning blowing down right on me, it made for an extra chilly iced capp, it probably could have been better had I had hot cocoa though lol.

Do you use sweetener? What kind do you prefer? Feel free to check out Equal on facebook and twitter , @EqualCanada as well as Tim Hortons on Twitter @TimHortonsNews

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. As always these thoughts are my own! #CBias

Greeting Card Universe - great deal on Christmas cards

2011-10-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

Have you seen all of the Christmas goodies already out in stores? Its coming and quickly! I love Christmas and can't wait to set up the tree and start baking and eating, and wrapping and more. One thing I try and do every year is Christmas cards, some years I am on it and some I am not. It depends on whats going on that year, how early I got on starting and how much I love the cards I found.

This year I will be sending out Greeting Card Universe cards and they are so easy. All you do it 3 things. You pick out your card, you customize it with text and pictures to make it look exactly how you want it. Then you pay for it and have it shipped to you. Super easy. You don't even have to write in the cards if you don't want to, you can have it say love the.... and then you just stuff them in the envelopes, address them and done!

You can even use Greeting Card Universe to order birthday cards, anniversary cards and more and even have them shipped right to the recipient! That doesn't get any easier. To top it all off right now until October 18th all cards are on for $1.49 from $3.00! To kick off their new Holiday Photo Card Collection, cards will be available at half price for one week, beginning Tuesday October 11th, a deep discount traditionally reserved for exclusive sales days like Black Friday. How awesome, now is the time to get organized, place your order and then one night have a ~~bottle~~ glass of wine and address them and then send them out, you could even have them out before everyone else, if you wanted to look that keen :)

Use code 2011OCT149

Seventh Generation buy one give one

2011-10-12T23:43:00.000-07:00

I was given an amazing opportunity to do something good for my community and in turn it did something great for me and my kids. Seventh Generation has a new campaign going on that is going to do some amazing things. You can purchase a package of the new Seventh Generation Free and Clear diapers and Seventh Generation will donate another package on your behalf. Seventh Generation is aiming to reach their goal of giving away up to 240,000 diapers to 40 shelters in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. This means a donation of up to $160,000 in diaper value to a charitable cause that rarely sees corporate assistance!

When the kids and I went to do our donation today it was a great time to talk to the kids about people who don't have as much as us. People who are leaving bad places and don't have money or jobs and who have babies that need food and diapers. Seventh Generation sent us 4 packages of diapers to donate to whichever charity we wanted. We chose to donate our 4 packages to the Transition society who provides support and training to Transition, Second and Third Stage Houses, Safe Homes, Children Who Witness Abuse programs and other programs in the Violence Against Women sector. Through research projects and partnerships we publish and promote Promising Practices for supporting women, youth and children fleeing violence.

When I posted on my Facebook page where people thought I should donate this came up along with the pregnancy center but I thought being that the diapers were a size 4 would go over better at the Transition society. You can do the same, teach your kids about helping out others and especially if you use diapers anyways why not buy the ones that help out others!

Also don't forget about the 7th Gen Nation, where you can have access to coupons, special offers and great tips for green and healthy living!

Disclosure – I am participating in the Seventh Generation program by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-10-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

Well I have most of it prepped, just gotta start the turkey with the stuffing in the morning and then work on the rest. I am pretty excited to finally do my own turkey dinner. I think I have everything under control although I feel a bit out of control though without a list, I am a list girl :)

But the main reason for Thanksgiving is to give thanks! I am thankful for my amazing and supportive family and friends. I am also thankful for all of you! If it wasn't for all of you great readers I wouldn't be able to do this blog to the extent that I do now. I love what I do, that it fits so well into my life and works so well for my family. The sponsors and companies I am also thankful for, again, if it wasn't for them none of us would have this blog, although I am sure you guys could find another, I couldn't!

So for that I am thankful, what are you thankful for? Enjoy your turkey if you getting one :)

Tim Hortons #CBias #EqualCanada

2011-10-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

I love Tim Hortons, for those of you who aren't Canadians you may not have heard of it. Its our version of Dunkin Doughnuts, I think that's your go to coffee place. Tim Hortons has the best coffee, its cheap, always fresh and hot, and you can get it made how you want. I don't drink regular old coffee, I just don't like it, I drink French Vanilla coffees which are sooooo good and I usually have a bagel and doughnut or cinnamon bun to go along with it :) I also love to pick these up to make at home, in French Vanilla of course!

When I had the opportunity to take some time for me and head to Tim Hortons for a coffee date I was all over it, that's something you don't have to think twice about! With cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner on Monday night I am sleeping and breathing turkey, just not eating it yet. I could definitely use a few minutes away and thought what better way to do that than over some coffee with a friend.

My girlfriend Christy (above) and I (in the orange) met up for lunch today and had a great catch up. We have 3 in our town and went to the one closest to my work, as I work all weekend but was on a lunch break. This restaurant was just recently renovated and looks great, and it right beside a Wendys. It was nice, don't tell the kids, to not have them underfoot and we could actually focus on each other instead of 1/2 paying attention and 1/2 dealing with kids. It was also cheaper :) The kids love Tim Hortons and have big lists of things that they each like to eat. Brandon could even say Timmies at less than 2 years old and knew when we were driving past one :) You think I go there to often?

There is something about the way Timmies, as we Canadians call it, put all of their baked goods on display that makes your mouth water. You go in just wanting a nice hot cup of coffee, or an iced capp in the Summer, and walk out with more. I don't think I have ever left Timmies with just a coffee. When my girlfriend and I went yesterday we got a full lunch to go with our coffees. Sandwiches, soup, cinnamon bun, doughnut an iced capp, and pop, can't get much better than that.

The purpose of our trip to Tim Hortons was to find out about the different sweeteners that they offer. You don't just have the cream and sugar options like it used to be. They had cream, milk, sugar, and splenda. The cashier was saying to me that you could even use their vanilla syrup as a sweetener. That's a good idea but no less sugar although you would get some flavour with the sweet at the same time. The Tim Hortons I was at didn't carry Equal but I did leave a comment card suggesting that they carry it. Its a great option for people with diabetes and those looking to watch their sugar intake!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias but all opinions are as always my own!

Green Toys with a Giveaway

2011-10-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

Brandon has lots of "green" toys and lots of those are Green Toys! Green Toys are made from recycled milk jugs and are 100% made in the USA. From the recycling, to production and assembly are done in California. How awesome is that!?! Green Toys products are tested by nationally recognized, independent, third-party labs (located, yes, in the USA.) They contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA. They are also designed without any external coatings, eliminating the fear of lead paint.

The packaging is also very environmentally friendly. They minimize packaging, and all of their boxes use as little material as possible. All Green Toys products are packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties, and are 100% recyclable. So, not only are they earth-friendly and ready for your recycling bin, they are really easy to open for those little fingers just itching to get at the toys!!

We believe the world would be a much better place if everyone said “please” and “thank you", cell phones didn’t ring during movies, and all toys were fun, safe, and made from environmentally friendly materials. Since it’s probably no use holding our breath for those first two, we’re concentrating on the toys.

Green Toys Inc. makes an awesome line of classic children’s toys constructed from recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials. This helps reduce fossil fuel use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improving the overall health and happiness of the planet.

Brandon and Kristina each recieved a few things from Green Toys and they were pretty excited when they arrived. I was pretty happy, again, with how easy they were to open up and get into, you know they can't wait long to get playing! We got a jump rope, which isn't just for skipping either, they use it to play tug of war, to pull each other on cardboard boxes, to tow bikes and more. The ecosaucer flying disc, which I love because it doesn't end up in the recycle after a few months because its thin and flimsy. It has some strenght to it and will last for sure, however its still easy for Brandon to throw.

We also got the sand play set. This isn't just for Summer either, you can use it for gardening in the greenhouse, digging in the wet Fall dirt and the bucket is great to take on walks for collecting bits and pieces that they find along the way but can't bear to leave behind. Green toys are very moderately priced. The jump rope is $10.49 the sand play set is $21.99 and the ecosaucer flying disc is $5.49. They are a bit higher priced than the cheap ones you find a department stores but they are way better quality. They make great gifts and I love that you don't need to replace them every year, if not sooner like some others! I am hoping Brandon gets the brand new school bus for Christmas, hint hint :)

One lucky US reader is going to win a sand and play set from Green Toys!

To Enter:

Go to Green Toys and tell me what other product you would like to get other than the ones I mentioned

(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a sand and play set from Green Toys - made out of recycled milk jugs @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/6enn858

***** Contest will end on November 5th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to USA ONLY*****

Halloween is coming, are you ready?

2011-10-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

We are picking up Kristina's costume tomorrow, now that we have been to all of the stores, thought about it, and has sort of, tentatively, made a decision. Halloween is a big deal for kids. I think she feels like it has to be better than the year before every year which makes it hard. It has to be perfect and she wants to be about 20 things and just can't narrow it down.

Brandon however has wanted to be ~~only~~ about 5 things but for him its not an issue. He has a big drawer full of costumes, play silks, swords made of foam, I am not that crazy, hats and masks. If he wants to change his mind everyday I am so ok with that, as long as he only changes to something else in the dress up drawer. So far he has wanted to be a pirate for the last two weeks or so. When we were at the dollar store today I upgraded him to a plastic sword, we will see how bad of an idea that was later, and a chest shield to complete his outfit. I just need to pick up an eye patch and we are done.

The only thing that makes Halloween more fun for Brandon than everyday dressing up is the candy, and probably seeing all of the other kids dressed up as well. We play dress up almost everyday though and are big on imaginary play. I think its good for kids to not just play with their toys but to take them to the next level. Its one thing to pile up some blocks into a castle but another thing all together to get our your little people and animals and play kingdom for an hour.

Disney Junior Dress-Up Mondays is going to be starting on the 10th. It's a chance to see all of your hard work (not just on the costume) featured on Disney Junior and DisneyJunior.ca. It doesn't even need to be their Halloween costume, if they have even decided yet, just take a picture of dress up time!

•Phase 1: Upload a photo of your little one all dressed up on DisneyJunior.ca between October 10th and 17th

•Phase 2: Tune into Disney Junior on Mondays in October (17th, 24th, and 31st) and you could see your little one on the big screen! Perhaps on the small screen too! Check out the spooky gallery on DisneyJunior.ca for even more ghoulishly delightful little creatures.

If you’re thinking this treat couldn’t get any sweeter – think again! To accompany each Dress Up Monday Disney Junior will be showcasing brand new Hallowe’en themed shows! We don’t want you to miss out – so here’s the line up

October 10 – Special Agent Oso *new episode*

October 17 – Jake and The Never Land Pirates *new episode*, and Stella and Sam *new episode*

October 24 – Jungle Junction *new episode*

October 31 – FULL DAY OF HALLOWEEN THEMED EPISODES!

Be sure to check it out! You know we will be!!!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Playhouse Disney Junior Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Thanksgiving - Who is as excited as me?

2011-10-06T22:56:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this coming Monday, I am cooking, with my husbands help, my first turkey with all the fixings! I have been planing the menu out in my head for the past two weeks. My parents are going to see my brother for Thanksgiving and its not a big holiday for my Mother in law so if we want turkey its up to us. With how much I love turkey, well a turkey bun anyways, we just have to. When we thought my parents were going to be in town we were going to buy a turkey anyways just for leftovers. You really can't recreate a turkey bun!

So my menu consists of turkey, obviously, my secret family stuffing recipe, homemade cranberry chutney, we just canned it last week, roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, fresh corn on the cob that I blanched and cut off the cob and froze. Buns and pickles, home canned, and something for dessert. I can't believe I haven't decided on a dessert. I am trying to make the entire thing wheat free, other than the buns lol. Wheat free buns are so bad that Kris won't even eat them.

I am not a big fan of pumpkin pie or pumpkin itself really, other than to look at or of course roasted seeds, those are yummy, so what should I make. Maybe I will make up a Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devils Food cake, Kris loved the last one I made, and I could decorate it with orange icing. Or I could make a Chocolate-Orange cake with Ganache Glaze! Check out this and more easy recipies on Life Made Delicious! I hope that by now you use it lots, I just typed gluten free cake into the search bar and the Chocolate-Orange cake with Ganache Glaze came up, how yummy does that look! I think I will have to make it, I will let you know how it turns out unless one of you has an even better recipie from Life Made Delicious to share with me!

Disclaimer: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Live Clean with a Giveaway

2011-10-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

So Live Clean has been here before, you can check out my review of the Enviro Kidz collection here! This time around I was able to review the Baby Soothing Relief Line of products. Just because they are baby products doesn't mean they are just for babies, they are just meant to keep skin baby soft. Brandon and I have been using the shampoo and wash as well as the baby lotion and its awesome. We are loving it just as much as the Kidz line!

Live Clean Baby believes that “going green” is all about taking baby steps towards making significant eco-conscious efforts in your life. Buying eco-friendly baby care products is an easy first step to “going green”.

Live Clean Baby is a unique collection of eco-friendly baby care products designed with your baby and the environment in mind. Live Clean Baby promises performance with natural, gentle ingredients - caring for baby's delicate skin using plant based formulations enriched with certified organic botanicals that are safe for baby and safe for the earth.

The Live Clean Baby Soothing Relief collection also includes baby bath, diaper ointment, and non-petroleum jelly. Its available at Walmart and Superstores among others. Check it out next time you see it, you will be pleased! It left our skin feeling very clean and I loved that I didn't feel like I was covered in residue afterwards. The lotion was amazing, it rubbed in so well and had a nice gentle scent to it! I even have a giveaway for one lucky Canadian! You can win the entire Live Clean Baby Soothing Relief Collection (Canada only)!!

To Enter:

Go to Live Clean and tell me what other product interests you

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win the entire Live Clean Baby Collection (Canada only) @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/5tpceq8

***** Contest will end on October 27th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY*****

My Wonderful Walls Facebook Giveaway

2011-10-04T23:53:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of My Wonderful Walls and love watching their Facebook page to see photos that their customers post about how they have made over their kids rooms. Its pretty neat seeing parents, who say they have no artistic ability, redo their kids entire rooms and have them end up looking amazing! My Wonderful Walls if you don't remember my review is a company who sells not only wall decals, which I love, but they also well wall mural art kits. The short of it is to put up a sticker with a cut out, you paint inside it, peel it off and wam bam you have a dinosaur or a rocket or a dog :)

My Wonderful Walls has sort of an "ugly room" contest, officially called "Make My Walls Wonderful Photo Contest" going on right now. People submit their ugly room photos, people vote, and then get the chance to win any product from My Wonderful Walls. The contest will run untill the end of October so make sure you check it out, its easy to enter!

PS I hear they are getting a pirate set - I want one :)

Who loves a free movie?

2011-10-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

SAVE THE DATE FOR FREE MOVIES! October 22nd is Community Day at Cineplex. Join us on the morning of Saturday, October 22nd at all Cineplex Entertainment theatres for Community Day in support of Starlight Children's Foundation. Doors open at 8:30AM with a great selection of FREE movies beginning at 9:00AM. Plus, enjoy a regular popcorn, regular fountain drink and selected candy for only 2 DOLLARS each with 100% of the proceeds donated to Starlight Children's Foundation! For more information, please visit: http://www.cineplex.com/Promos/Starlight/Community.aspx

About Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada:

For more than 20 years Starlight Children’s Foundation has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and life-altering injuries. Through a broad array of in-patient, out-patient and online resources, Starlight works hard to support seriously ill children and their families from diagnosis through the entire course of medical treatment and beyond. Whether it’s a trip to the zoo, a toy-filled playroom or an exciting sporting event, Starlight’s mission is to bring fun, joy and giggles right where they are needed the most!

Raspberry Kids with a Giveaway

2011-10-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

Cars aren't just for for boys! Don't get me wrong Brandon loves playing with cars, he plays with them all the time but there is no rule that says girls can't have just as much fun with cars as boys. No with the new Green Toys pink race car. Now girls can have a race car that's not just fun but pink. How much fun is a girls pink race car?

Brandon received the new Green Toys race car from Raspberry Kids, an amazing kids toy store, for review and he loves it. Its not a huge toddler one but also not a really small metal one. Its the perfect size for him. Not to big or to small. The only thing he doesn't like about it is that there is no "dude" in it. Hes tried to fit other dudes in it but so far nothing is fitting right.

Buckle up, because the Green Toys™ Race Car is ready to roll! Built in the USA from 100% recycled plastic milk containers that save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this sleek racer will tear up the track without harming the planet. This cool hot rod is better than any hybrid, and proudly displays the #2 recycled plastic symbol from which it is made on its hood. The ultra-eco design has no metal axles.

Raspberry Kids was started by an amazingly inspiring Mother Sue Sinclair and read her story here! I can only give you a glimpse of what Sue carries at Raspberry Kids, she covers about everything that you need for your kids. She has clothes, toys, things for eating, bathing, decorating, organizing and about anything else you can think of. There are a good 50 things that I would love to get from Raspberry Kids!

If you want to tell me what you would love to get from Raspberry Kids, and are from Canada, you can win the pink race car from Green Toys!

To Enter:

Tell me what else from Raspberry Kids you would like

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a pink Green Toys race car from Raspberry Kids @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/67xz3od

***** Contest will end on October 27th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada only*****

13 Days of Halloween giveaway

2011-10-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Do you want something eco-friendly for your kids to carry their Halloween goodies in? Topical BioMedics, the maker of Topricin Pain Relief and Healing Cream has just the answer.

In celebration of the 13 Days of Halloween, beginning on Monday 10/10 through Saturday 10/22, Topical BioMedics will be giving away limited edition Topricin Boo Boos Happen Trick or Treat Bags everyday to 13 lucky random winners.

Topricin’s Boo Boos Happen jumbo size Trick or Treat Bag is eco-friendly and is made of recyclable, non-woven polypropylene. The bag measures 14” X 15” and has a 16” handle – the perfect size for kids to carry home their Halloween treats.

And for Moms and Dads who will be standing for hours handing out candy, walking with kids in their quest for treats, carrying heavy bags of goodies or dancing in uncomfortable costume shoes at Halloween parties…Topical BioMedics is providing the remedy you and your family need to get through Halloween - pain free.

The Boo Boos Happen Trick or Treat Bag includes samples of Topricin Classic and Topricin Junior to help ease the aches and pains for both adults and kids.

To be entered to win Topricin Boo Boos Happen Trick or Treat Bag Contest, simply like Topricin on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Topricin or follow Topricin on Twitter - http://twitter.com/topricin and then e-mail your name, address and phone number to marketing@topicalbiomedics.com to complete your entry. (Note: this is the address where the Trick or Treat Bag should be sent.)

Topical BioMedics will select 13 random winners each day of the contest. All winners will be notified by e-mail and Topricin Boo Boos Happen Trick or Treat Bags will arrive at your doorstep just in time for Halloween. It starts October 10th and runs untill the 22nd.

Don’t forget to check out Topricin’s NEW ‘Boo Boos Happen’ first aid kit - now available!

The Boo Boos Happen first aid kit is a must-have for Moms and includes: a tube of Topricin Junior and ‘Ouchies’ self adhesive bandages that kids can decorate themselves, creating a design with the markers that are included. The handy zippered blue bag is perfect for tucking in other essentials and is recyclable.

The Boo Boos Happen first aid kit can be purchased at Topricin’s online store at http://www.topricin.com/product/boobooshappen/. Enter in promo code BOO25 to receive 25% off your order.

Topricin is available in pharmacies, natural food stores and other fine retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods, Vitamin Shoppe, Vitamin World, Fred Meyer, Wegmans, and other retail stores throughout the U.S., as well as direct from the Topical BioMedics’ online store.

BOGS - seriously the best boots ever!

2011-09-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last few weeks picking more apples than I have ever eaten in my whole life. Picking apples is a lot of fun, but can be very messy. My girl friend, Brandon and i have waded through mud, climbed into and out of muddy ditches, and traipsed across piles and piles of dirt. I would have been a lot worse had I not been wearing my new BOGS boots! BOGS are not only waterproof, they are super cute, comfortable, warm and best of all made for work play and everything in between.

BOGS are the best of the best boots for anyone who steps foot outside. They are warm, so comfortable with great support, and did I mention cute? These are the most gorgeous boots I have ever seen. Once you have seen a pair you see them everywhere, and then, the more you want a pair. My girl friend bought a pair last year and has been raving about them ever since. In fact, everyone that I have talked to that has a pair has so many great things to say about them. They all, no exaggeration here, all rave about them.

Kris loves his pair too. They are very boring looking in my opinion lol but they work well for him. He wears them fishing and because they are nice and tall he can wade much further into the water without having to wear waders. He wasn't sure just how great they would be but once he wore them once he was hooked! They aren't just a rubber boot for water either. They are good to -40 so they are great in the snow as well, with out "wet" coast weather they will be great for about 10 months of the year!

The kids both got a pair of BOGS as well, from In-Sport, and they both love them too. Brandon and I go on walks each week, neighbourhood walks, with a group of kids and parents and they are usually in trails and through the woods so we usually end up all muddy, cold and wet but had a great time getting there. Brandon's BOGS are so much better than his old rubber boots. The old rubber boots gave him blisters, never really fit right, they were always to big or to small, and rubbed the backs of his legs and never lasted more than a kid or two at most. His BOGS will last through many many kids and are so comfortable for him. He can walk and run easily in them, loves to wear them because they look so cool, and they are nice and tall so they keep his feet dry in the tallest of mud puddles, without rubbing on his legs with them coming up to his knees.

Kristina of course was so excited about how cute and funky her boots were and has loved wearing them, again for their comfort and warmth. I know that Kris and I will get years and years out of our BOGS from In-Sport and the kids will be able to pass there boots down to many happy puddle jumping kids. BOGS are available in lots of shoe stores, sporting and outdoor stores and in plenty of online shops. Check out the full collection at In-Sport!

New Betty Crocker Cookbook Giveaway

2011-09-29T23:13:00.000-07:00

This last week has been insane for me. My girlfriend and I have been canning like crazy people and making all sorts of goodies. I had an ad up on craigslist looking for apples and got so many it was crazy. We even got a bin full of pears from one woman who had a giant pear tree. Kris's Grandparents also have a plum tree so we had a bucket of plums as well. We started out just with good old applesauce and went from there. It was a whirlwind few days, hence my absence here, and the amount of goodies at the end of it was amazing.

All it cost us was the sugar, pectin, and seals. We made 30 liters of applesauce, 16 liters of juice, and almost 50 small jars of jelly's. We made plum preserve, pear preserve, vanilla pear jelly, spiced pear jelly, ginger lemon pear jelly, and apple butter. Its exhausting to just write that lol. We are both beyond exhausted and our houses were disasters. I have to tell you though it feels pretty amazing feeding my kids free and healthy natural foods that I know exactly whats in them. Not to mention the Christmas gifts I now have stockpiled in my cupboard :)

Brandon was in his glory. We started out making salsa, I can't even remember, maybe two weeks ago. Brandon squeezed 30 lbs of tomatoes and got all the seeds out and still wanted to do more. With the apples he peeled tons of them, he loves being in the kitchen and helping us make anything and everything.

When I cook I either have to do it with my girlfriend, shes an amazing cook, or I have to use a recipe, and if its an easy recipe all the better. I can't just wing it and guess, go buy taste etc. I can't do it at all. When I heard about the the latest addition to the Betty Crocker cookbook collection: “The New Edition of the Big Red Cookbook” I couldn't wait to check it out. You don't even have to wait until you run to the bookstore either. There are 85 of the 1500 Big Red Cookbook recipes on the Life Made Delicious site! You can check them out before you run to the store to get your hot little hands on it! You can pick it up at Amazon, Indigo and Chapters, BettyCrocker.com and Wiley Publishing.

Even better - One Canadian reader will win a copy of the Betty Crocker cookbook collection: “The New Edition of the Big Red Cookbook”

To Enter:

Tell me your favorite recipe from the cookbook on Life Made Delicious
(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Canadians - win the new Betty Crocker cookbook @Funfunkymommy #BettyCrocker2011 http://tinyurl.com/5v6sbvn

***** Contest will end on October 27th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY! You can enter on multiple blogs but only win one one!*****

Disclaimer: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

FUB Children's Wear

2011-09-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

Although the collection at FUB Children's Wear is small, its also full of classics and staples. You don't think that half of it is ugly and half is to trendy etc its just all basics and staples. Not only that its made with the best quality of fabrics. The sizing is definitely a bit strange compared to ours but the folks at FUB Children's Wear are great and ready to help.

Brandon received a sweater to review and honestly its sooo cute, a very manly sweater. I could literally see him in every single piece of the clothing that FUB makes! If you are looking for something different from the department stores for a gift or to get a great quality staple look no further. This sweater was amazing to wear on our Fall walk today down to the river and through the forest. Its not thick but so nice and warm!

Almond Fresh Facebook Giveaway - win a trip to Napa Valley

2011-09-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

Do you or someone in your family drink Almond milk? Do you drink it? Bake with it? Its really a product that you can use for so many things! Not only that you can get it in regular, chocolate and vanilla! Here is whats great about Almond Fresh Almond Milk

Almond Fresh

• Low in calories and one serve provides 45% of your daily recommended dose of vitamin D, 25% of Riboflavin, and 50% of B12

• Dairy-free and does not contain lactose or casein

• Fortified with calcium, vitamin A and vitamin D and contains naturally occurring vitamin E, riboflavin, vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc

• Almond Fresh Vanilla and Original have about half the calories per serving of 2% milk and is comparable in fat.

• The Unsweetened flavour contains only 30 calories per serving-that's less than half of the calories found in skim milk

• Almond Fresh products are wheat and gluten free

• Certified kosher

• The brand is owned by Earth's Own - a Canadian company with a passion for health and well being, (find out more here: http://www.earthsown.com/).

Make sure you check out the Almond Fresh giveaway going on right now on online! They are giving away a trip to Napa Valley!!!!! How can you get in on that? The contest is called Real Nutty, Real Joy and it runs from September 5th to October 30th.

Just visit the Almond Fresh Facebook Page to learn how you could win a trip for 2 to Napa Valley, California! The trip covers your airfare, car rental, four night accommodation and a spa day for two!

Additionally, there’s a second component to the contest where you can submit a photo of a “joyous” photo of yourself to the Wall of Joy and you could be 1 of 40 people to win $50 worth of Almond Fresh!

(All permanent legal residents of Canada, California, Washington State and Oregon are eligible to win, providing they are over the age of 18 in the province or state in which they reside on September 5, 2011 and providing that they are not employees of Earth’s Own Food Company Inc., their advertising or promotional agencies or the independent judging organization or family members with whom these employees are domiciled.)

Water for Elephants

2011-09-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

Take a journey back in time with the romantic tale based on Sara Gruen’s New York Times #1 Best-Seller novel of the same name, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, coming to Blu-ray and DVD on November 1st from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Starring Academy Award®-winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk The Line), Robert Pattinson (Twilight series) and Oscar®-winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), the film presents an epic tale of forbidden love in a magical place filled with adventure, wonder and great danger. Showcasing the decadence of a bohemian circus and the majesty of its animals against the backdrop and beauty of a bygone era, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS makes the ideal holiday gift idea for your favorite film buff, fashionista or book-lover! Devastated by the sudden death of his parents at the height of The Depression, a young dreamer from the wrong side of the tracks, Jacob Jankowski (Pattinson), abandons his veterinary studies at

Cornell University. With no other family, no house, and no money, Jacob stows away on a train carrying the circus performers of The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Hired as a veterinarian to care for the troupe’s animals, Jacob is temporarily filled with the promise of an exciting life that comes with a traveling circus troupe. However, as he builds a rapport and falls in love with the star of the show, Marlena (Witherspoon), they become prey to the circus’s owner, Marlena’s violent and abusive husband August (Waltz). As the circus begins to crumble from within and against all odds, Jacob and Marlena come together and fall in love through their compassion for a special elephant. With their love on the line, Jacob and Marlena come to a crossroads that will forever change their destiny. Directed by critically-acclaimed filmmaker Francis Lawrence (Constantine), WATER FOR ELEPHANTS features fantastic supporting performances from Paul Schneider (Lars and the Real Girl), Jim Norton (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Mark Povinelli (The Polar Express), Richard Brake (Batman Begins), and Academy Award®-nominee Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild). WATER FOR ELEPHANTS will be available on Blu-ray and DVD in the U.S. Pre-book is September 21st.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.

Watch for my review soon!!!

Kinderglo with a Giveaway

2011-09-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

Brandon can't go to sleep without a nightlight. We had one that just sat on his dresser in his room and was from one of his favorite shows but he didn't like that it was so far away from him. Tonight when I put him to bed he asked for his Kinderglo again and when I peeked in on him about a half hour later he was laying in bed snuggling with it and rubbing the hippos face. It was soooo cute. He usually goes to bed and I turn out the main light but I let him read books for a little bit. The Kinderglo is great because he can hang onto it and it helps him see to read his books.

You can choose what color the Kinderglo will be, and whether or not you want one solid color or to have it change colors continuously. You can also have it set to turn off automatically after 30 minutes or to have it go until you decide to turn it off. I like that Brandon can do that himself, he might not know exactly how to do it but with only one button he just keeps pushing until he gets what he wants. I love that I don't have to worry about having to turn it off before I go to bed and that if after 30 mins he still is awake he can turn it back on himself.

The Kinderglo comes in 8 different designs and all of them are super cute. Even Kristina wanted one, we had been looking at lamps for her room and when the Kinderglo came in the mail she wanted it so she used it for a few days until we got her lamp. She loved it and I might just get her the angel one for Christmas, she loves angels!

Once very lucky winner is going to get their choice of lights from Kinderglo!

To Enter:

Go to Kinderglo and tell me the name of one of the online stores who carry them!

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a Kinderglo nightlight @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/5uab5hd

***** Contest will end on October 10th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you can't win! Contest open to Canada and the USA*****

Izzy’s Adventure Week

2011-09-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Are your kids a big fan of Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates? My son is obsessed with this show and Kristina, at 8 1/2 loves watching it too. She is a big Izzy fan and Brandon just loves everything to do with pirates. We watch Jake every Saturday morning and I always make sure to tape them on our PVR so that when Brandon is needing a pirate fix we can put it on whenever we want. If you have Disney Junior On Demand I am one jealous person, our network doesn't provide it :(

This week (Monday to Friday) there is a treat for all of you Izzy lovers. Everyday from 5pm ET and join Izzy on an exciting pirate adventure, all week long! I know we will be watching all of them and of course PVRing them as well to watch again and again. Check this out to, there is a Jake and the Neverland Pirates DVD coming out! I can't wait to pick this up for Brandon, this is one Christmas gift that I know he will freak over!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Disney Junior Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Kinder Surprise - Awesome giveaway

2011-09-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

Have you checked out the new Kinder Canada Facebook page yet? If you haven't yet now is the time! They are having a fabulous giveaway going on right now for 10 very lucky winners! 10 people will each win a $200 gift basket full of Kinder Surprise goodies! You can't get any better than that! There are even some pictures posted on the Facebook site of people Kinder toy collections for years! I love it.

One of the Kinder catch phrases is "have you played today?" We all play everyday but how do you make time for special play that your kids will remember for years to come. Do you remember how exactly you played as a child or do you just remember a few things that stuck out for you. That special time you went somewhere or the first time you played soccer with your Dad?

Kristina and her Dad have started playing soccer in the evenings so she can practice, she joined her first team this year and is pretty excited about it. We have been talking about and playing a lot of soccer lately. If this is something that she does for a few years I think this is something that she will remember for years to come. With Brandon I take him into the kitchen and we bake, cook anything in there and he is in his glory. I think he can use my Kitchen Aid mixer better than me :) We made play dough last week and he played with it everyday last week afterwards because he was so excited about it!

What do you do with your kids to make play special?

Disclosure: I’m part of the KINDER® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own

Baby and You - on Facebook

2011-09-17T22:54:00.000-07:00

While I do read parenting sites and forums I don't find that I read them regularly enough to make any new friends or any lasting online friendships. I do find them useful for finding out about whether certain things are normal or concerning and to get advice but I don't find that I use them as much as I could be. I tend to use my computer to find new products for my site, check emails, blog and of course I ~~waste~~ spend a lot of time on Facebook. Its so addicting for me, I think to myself, ok, 5 more minutes and then I need to go to bed but then I look and its been an hour!

There are two featured Mom Bloggers, Jody from Mommy Moment dedicated to all things Mom and Lisa from Growing Your Baby are running the show over at Baby and You. They have been doing an amazing job getting parents talking about everything. From what you do to thank the people in your life for helping out with a new baby to sleeping through the night and what makes a great partner! Its a great way to get chatting with other parents, maybe find someone who parents your style across the country that you can swap advice with!

Another great aspect of the Baby and You Facebook page is that you will have access to some great exclusive coupons! You know that I love coupons and I sure hope that you love them too! Be sure to check out the Facebook page and pop in to say hi!

Disclosure – I am participating in the Baby and You program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Loblaw Companies. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own!

Apples apples everywhere!

2011-09-16T23:17:00.000-07:00

This is my first year hunting and gathering apples :) I have gotten into canning a lot in the last 2 years, finally bought my own canner last fall. I almost always can with my girlfriend and we are always trying out new recipes and ideas. I really wanted to do something with apples because you can usually get your hands on some for free. You really can't get cheaper than that.

We decided to make applesauce. I went with my Aunt and we picked a lot. We got 2 superstore bins full and 3 reusable shopping bags full. It only took us an hour and we got them from my cousin in law because she had so many we were able to go and get as many as we could. Apparently she doesn't want to see another apple this year lol.

After collecting I took my 2 bins full to Christy's and we peeled and cored them, that also took about an hour. Brandon was in such a good mood and he helped us a lot. He was ripping up the apples into small pieces and putting them all in the bowl for us. It was so cute, he loves helping in the kitchen.

Basically we cooked down the apples, added some cinnamon to taste and then used an immersion blender to mix, blend and make the apples all smooth so there wouldn't be any chunks. To can the applesauce you just take the hot apple sauce, hot jars, we run a sink of hot water to put them in, and then fill the jars to a 1/2 inch from the top. Then you stir with a chopstick or something to get out any bubbles, wipe the rim, add a hot seal and screw on a lid to finger tight. You put it in a water bath, and once the water is boiling you time 10 minutes and then you are done! Simple, and so cheap. Just be sure that all of the jars seal, if not you can redo them or you can just throw it in the freezer or eat it right away. We ended up needed to buy 125 ml jars for this so this cost us $22 for over 55 jars, all natural and soooo cheap and next year we will have the jars and just need to spend about $9 on seals!

What do you make with the apples you get? Check out the easy recipes on Life Made Delicious!

Disclaimer: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

National Guacamole Day - Free Guacamole - September 16th

2011-09-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

National Guacamole Day is celebrated coast to coast on September 16th! Schlotzsky's, the home of The Original round toasted sandwich, announced that it will celebrate National Guacamole Day at locations throughout the nation!

Participating Schlotzsky's locations will celebrate National Guacamole Day on September 16 with a fantastic promotion! Customers will receive a free 3 ounce serving of guacamole with the purchase of any sandwich meal. This can be use on their sandwich or used for guacamole and chips! In addition, customers will receive a coupon for $2 off any Wholly Guacamole product, while supplies last.
Be sure to check it out, I don't have a Schlotzsky's here so let me know how it was!

M&M Meats National Family Dinner Night - Thursday Sept 15th

2011-09-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

M&M Meat Shops seventh annual National Family Dinner Night!

It’s that time of year again – time to get together with family and friends to enjoy a great meal.

For everyone who registers their participation in National Family Dinner Night, M&M Meat Shops will make a $1 donation to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada, up to a maximum of $100,000.

It’s that easy – enjoy dinner together all for a great cause.

What: M&M Meat Shops sixth annual National Family Dinner Night to support the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada

When: Thursday, September 15th, 2011

Where: Dinner Tables Across the Country

Why: To sit down to a delicious M&M Meat Shops dinner with family and friends, and support the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada

How: For everyone who registers their participation in National Family Dinner Night, M&M Meat Shops will make a $1 donation to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada, up to a maximum of $100,000. To participate, simply sit down and enjoy dinner with your family on Thursday, September 15th, 2011.

We always sit down and eat dinner as a family. I miss out on it three nights a week when I am at work but we always sit down, talk about our days, and eat at the table. Together. Eating dinner on the couch is only an option for my husband when he is out fishing until late. He was just tested again for Crohn's disease and so far it looks negative but he has a wheat allergy so we have a glimpse of what its like for those living with Crohn's or Colitis. Even that glimpse we have is hard. Being wheat free is hard, the invisible symptoms are hard and its hard on families. All you need to do is go online and register that you are going to have a family dinner, together, and you can help families with Crohn's or Colitis. Its really that simple.

I, well my whole family actually, are big fans of M&M Meats and are happy to giveaway a $50 gift card from them to one very lucky Canadian!

To Enter:

Tell me your favorite product from M&M Meats

(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a $50 gift card to M&M Meats - Celebrate National Family Dinner night - Sept 15th @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/5rq9yqd

***** Contest will end on October 10th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY*****

Mangosteen Pericarp Oil from XANGO with a giveaway

2011-09-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

For centuries, a paste of mangosteen peel and coconut oil was fashioned to treat the challenged skin conditions of Southeast Asian inhabitants. Today, XANGO honors this restorative tradition with our naturally fermented pure Mangosteen Pericarp Oil. Unlock the secrets of the past and embrace nature’s treatment of the future with our most concentrated xanthone complex. Now validated by modern science, experience XANGO’s new answer to soothed, energized, and protected skin.

Directions: Apply topically. For dry skin, add 1-2 drops to Glimpse Moisturizer. Avoid direct eye contact.

Benefits and Features:

- Contains the pure essence of mangosteen – a richly concentrated xanthone oil

- Helps to restore the skin to its most healthy state

- Brings balance while soothing challenged skin conditions

- Calms the signs of inflammation and stimulates collagen production*

- Safe for family use and anywhere on the body

The mangosteen pericarp — or the part of the fruit that surrounds the fruit or seeds, also known as the skin or rind — is not commonly thrown away as one might toss, say, the peel of an orange. In fact, the pericarp is what has traditionally housed the fruit’s numerous beneficial properties. XANGO® Juice uses the whole fruit, both what’s inside as well as what is outside.

I had the opportunity to try out the Mangosteen Pericarp Oil from XANGO and I am liking it! Its definitely oily to go on, it is an oil after all! It did absorb in quickly though and my face didn't stay greasy at all which is big for me. I have combination skin, dry and greasy so anything that will add grease is not a good thing but the Mangosteen Pericarp Oil didn't bother my skin at all.

The Mangosteen Pericarp Oil from XANGO definitely has made my skin look healthier and really made a difference to my dry spots. I am hoping that with time it will also make some difference in my rosacea! If you have problem skin be sure to check it out!

To Enter:

Go to the XANGO website and tell me what other product catches your eye!

(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a bottle of Mangosteen Pericarp Oil from XANGO @Funfunkymommy

***** Contest will end on October 5th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you you can't win! Contest open to Canada and the USA*****

September and October winners

2011-09-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

October 10th 2011

The Canadian winner of the $50 gift card to M&M Meats is comment number 529

129. Cheryl said...

DT: http://twitter.com/#!/loucheryl/status/121200151892197376

Tuesday, October 04, 2011 6:04:00 PM

The winner of the Kinderglo nightlight is comment number 120

120. D.Calvert said...

Tweeted

http://twitter.com/#!/dewinner/status/116394778144419840
calvert0 at telus dot net

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 11:15:00 PM

October 5th 2011

The winner of the $25 gc to Glass Dharma is comment number 63

63. Jennie Yuen said...

daily tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/jennieyuen/status/113815181188009984

sweetcivic604(at)yahoo(d0t)ca
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 8:24:00 PM

The winner of the Mangosteen Pericarp Oil from XANGO is comment number 37

37. Tina said...

http://twitter.com/#!/tlee351/status/119959349627076608
tleesfb at yahoo dot ca
Friday, September 30, 2011 7:24:00 PM

Sept 22nd 2011

The Canadian winner of the Burts Bees lip tints is comment number 35

35. Glogirl said...

I would love to try the Cranberry & Pomegranate Sugar Scrub.
ajmizen(at)hotmail(dot)com

The winner of the Goddess Gardens kids and adults sunscreen is comment number 100

100. Jennifer L. said...

I subscribe by email.

jentam777 at gmail dot com

The winner of the $25 to Crazy for Bargains is comment number 250

50. itsme said...

https://twitter.com/#!/cneiding/status/115845195546898432 tweet clarissa
Monday, September 19, 2011 10:50:00 AM
Sept 19th 2011

The winner of $30 gc to Skin Free is comment number 49

49. itsme said...

subscriber
Monday, August 22, 2011 5:52:00 PM clarissa@neiding.com

The winner of the free product coupons from Seventh Generation is comment number 71

71. Sweet Panda said...

tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/PandaSweetSweet/status/112880010896998400
sweetpanda2010 at gmail dot com

Sept 2011

The winner of the 3 bars from Dragonfly soaps is comment number 140

140. 3Lilacs said...

https://twitter.com/#!/Elfvixen/status/101723985531781120

spec@live.ca
Thursday, August 11, 2011 11:38:00 AM

The winner of their choice of shoes from UMI is comment number 175

175. Carla said...

I would choose the Oleson shoes for my son! Thanks for a chance to win!
bcgeates@netbistro.com
Sunday, August 07, 2011 7:52:00 PM

The Canadian winner of the $100 BIC back to school giveaway is comment number 630

30. leanne_mac said...

http://twitter.com/#!/leanne_mac/status/105498957618221056
leannemacg at gmail.com
Sunday, August 21, 2011 9:38:00 PM

The winner of the $50 cash card from Disney Junior is comment number 222

22. flowerchild said...

daily tweet

https://twitter.com/#!/flower_child_23/status/107811941489188864

flower_child_23(at)hotmail(dot)com
Sunday, August 28, 2011 6:56:00 AM

The winner of the two bottles of femMD is comment number 32

32. karasceviour said...

I follow you via GFC, entry #1. karasceviour at hotmail dot com
Saturday, August 13, 2011 11:30:00 AM

Pediped - Back to School

2011-09-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

With back to school having been this last week there has been a lot of shopping going on and lots more still to do, for us anyways! I don't really see the point of buying all of the back to school clothing and shoes too early. If you are going to have a hot September the kids aren't going to wear their brand new hoodies, jeans or running shoes for at least another month or so. I just saw on someones facebook that they bought some shoes for their son and they fit in August when they bought them and they already don't fit.

Why not wait until part way through September, then go online, print out the size chart and order some shoes, great prices, great shoes and you don't have to leave your house!! That's my kind of shopping. While I do enjoy shopping in stores sometimes I also love doing it once the kids are in bed and shopping online. Its a lot easier now a days. There are size charts online, reviews and so much more to make it a positive experience.

Whenever I review shoes from Pediped I am always very happy with what arrives on my doorstep. Pediped shoes are always amazing quality and are built to last. Brandon never complains about sore toes or feet and is always happy to slip into them and velcro up! I love how flexible they are, how they come with an extra insole so you can make them fit smaller and then take it out so they last longer, I love how they look. I love that they are velcro so that Brandon can put them on and take them off on his own, I love how they all don't look like velcro, and I love that they go up to a youth size 1!!!!

Right now I love that they are having a contest that you can enter your child in to be the next Pediped model. You can win a trip for you and your child to go to the photo shoot AND a $750 Pediped gift card! That's enough to have all your kids in shoes, unless you have 12 kids, and even gift some!! You can enter here!

Do Something Little, Help Something Big - with Energizer

2011-09-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

Both Energizer Canada and Evergreen are working together on their “Do Something Little, Help Something Big” initiative in which Energizer is proud to contribute $100,000 to Evergreen to make cities more liveable. For each pledge, Energizer will donate an additional $1 to Evergreen. Evergreen is a not-for-profit organization that is committed to making Canadian cities greater and more liveable… creating a more sustainable future for all of us. For more information, feel free to visit here!

I decided to ‘Make a Pledge with Energizer” and pledge my Five Kind Acts!

I have learned this last week how something that seems so small can make such a difference. Kris's Nana is very sick with lung cancer right now. It has gone into her brain and she had to have radiation done so she is loosing her hair. Her hair was coming out quickly so decided to shave it really short and was putting baby oil on it because it was very itchy and dry. She couldn't use anything on her head that had purfumes, dyes, parabens etc so I took her down a bottle of lotion that I had recently reviewed to see if it would help her. The feeling I got when I found out that it took away all of her itching and didn't grease her hair up into a mowhawk like the other stuff was amazing. There really is nothing like that feeling, I took that sympton away for her and it feels like I cured her cancer. In a situation like this you would do anything to make someone you love better and it felt amazing to actualy be able to do something worthwhile!

I have also pledged to go further with strangers. I always, well unless I am having a really bad day, make an effort to smile at strangers because you never know who just needs a smile but I am trying to take it further. The other day in the grocery store I was in line behind a woman who was trying to empty her cart with a baby in a sling. She had to hold onto him everytime she bent over so he wouldn't slip out. Instead of just smiling at her, seems kindof rude, I offered to help her empty her cart! A smile is a fabulous start but you can always take it further!

What will you pledge?

Disclosure – I am participating in the Energizer Canada & Evergreen “Do Something Little, Help Something Big” program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Energizer Canada & Evergreen. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Seventh Generation with a Giveaway

2011-09-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

Since becoming a mom I definitely take more care in our environment. I make sure to recycle, reuse, re purpose, and turning lights off, not using harsh chemicals in our home and more. Now that I have a lot more a reason to, I want the earth to not only last longer but last better and be a great place. Does that even make sense? Once you have kids, you are more "invested" I guess in the outcome and state of the earth. Maybe its not like that for everyone but that's how it was for me.

I have been a reducer, reuser and recycler for years but in the last 3 or so years I have gotten into using green cleaners. I not only hate the smell of chemical cleaners I don't like using them on anything that we eat on, near or anywhere near our food. I also won't use them on the bathroom mirror because some could get on our toothbrushes even though I move them, or on our sink where we brush our teeth. Why would I spray something down with chemicals that I now need to rewash because I need to put food there! Doesn't make sense to me so I just won't use it.

When I had the chance to review some products from Seventh Generation I was pretty excited. I am not sure if I have ever used their cleaners before but have hear many great things about them. Seventh Generation sent me some coupons to use for diapers, wipes, a cleaner, a laundry product and a dish washing product.

Something that I have never found "green" that I loved was a natural dish soap. We, well I, do dishes by hand as we don't have a dishwasher and if a dish soap doesn't product bubbles and cut grease I don't think its working properly. I don't know if the bubble part is just in my head or not but its there and I couldn't wait to try out the Seventh Generation dish soap. I was thrilled with the results, there were even more bubbles and grease cutting power than with my old dish soap. I even used it to wash our griddle after we made bacon, now that's putting it to the test! I couldn't have been happier with it and will definitely be adding it to my grocery list.

Brandon isn't in diapers anymore but he does wear training pants when we are going through an accident stage. Reading other Moms opinions has made me think that they will be great but the Seventh Generation training pants aren't available here yet so I am waiting on them to arrive to see how they work!

I am happy with the laundry soap, all purpose cleaner and the wipes. I love that the wipes are chlorine free, who wants to wipe chlorine on their little ones bum! The cleaner worked great and I loved that I didn't have to clean it off the counter to feel like I put food on it afterwords. The laundry soap was great, free of dyes and chemicals so I can safely use if on my sensitive skinned family!

Overall I would definitely buy Seventh Generation again, it was at most stores here in my town and at very competitive prices, you can even get some coupons online! Make sure you check out the Seventh Generation community for great coupons and lots of great information!

One very lucky reader is going to win a 100% organic cotton Seventh Gen Eco lunch bag as well as coupons for a FREE package of Seventh Generation Free & Clear Diapers, Free & Clear Baby Wipes and dish washing products!!

To Enter:

Tell me your best tip on how to be more environmentally conscious!

(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy
- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a Seventh Generation eco lunch bag and coupons for their free and clear products! @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/3uqxmj7****Contest will end on September 19th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you you can't win! Contest open to Canada ONLY*****

Disclosure – I am participating in the Seventh Generation program by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on my blog are, of course, my own!

Waxing for an 8 year old?

2011-09-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

Had you asked me if I would ever consider allowing my daughter to have something, anything, waxed at 10 or 12 years old I would have said "NO WAY" with most certainty! Never would I have even considered it. What a way to teach your child about self esteem, being all natural, and loving yourself however you come!

To give you some background Kristina is SUPER hairy. She was born with black hair all over her back :) It did go away but it was sure a sign of things to come. Shes just got dark hair and lots of it, I say thanks to her Dad. Kristina has very dark leg hair, arm hair and a pretty bad eyebrow, that's right, one eyebrow.

When she came home from school last year saying that some of the kids were calling her "one brow" I started thinking and talking to people. Is it wrong to get her eyebrows waxed? Shes only 8! The more people I talked to though and the more I thought about it the more I knew I was OK with it. I sat her down and explained to her that she shouldn't worry about what other people think and she just needs to love herself. However if it was bothering HER that I could take her in and get it waxed, it would hurt, but we could do it if she really felt like it needed to be done.

That was about 6 months ago and she decided that she was ready. She was going with her Aunty this weekend, before school started, to get her hair all done for school and she wanted to get her eyebrows done to. So she did it. She did awesome and loves how it looks now.

To clarify I did not let them "shape" her eyebrows just take off the middle and make sure it lined up nice with her eyes! I really wish I took before and after pictures!

Would you let your 8 year old wax?

Glass Dharma with a Giveaway

2011-09-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy drinking with straws, I find that many drinks just taste better when you are drinking them through a straw. Call me weird but that's me. Some drinks have to have a straw, how can you drink a smoothie without a straw? I can't! I was finding it harder and harder to find bigger plastic straws and then came across Glass Dharma! They are hand-made, fire-polished and made of borosilicate tubing the strongest type of glass available. AND they are guaranteed for life! For Life people! That's forever!

If that's not enough for you just look at how beautiful these straws are, they are gorgeous and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes with colored glass dots or plain, bent or straight. Don't forget about the environmental aspect of a glass straw. I first thought how many straws can really end up in the landfill? Think about this:

As of March 2008, McDonald’s serves an average of 52 million meals PER DAY! (Per their website) How many of those served do you think were given a plastic straw? I hope it is becoming obvious just how big of a problem these pesky little plastic straws can be. Remember, this is just from McDonalds!! Get the picture??

Here are the features and some more reasons why Glass Dharma is a great choice!

Plain and simple, here’s how and why they work:

- Glass straws don’t leach toxins into your food as you drink.

- Each time you use your glass straw equals one less plastic straw ending up in your landfill.

- One glass straw replaces thousands of plastic straws. (How many times will you use a straw the rest of your life?)

- Using your glass drinking straw adds a feeling of beauty to your day.

GlassDharma glass drinking straws are:

- Made of borosilicate tubing and is the strongest glass commercially available.

- Means that we have spared no expense in bringing you the strongest, most durable drinking straw possible.

- Annealed to Corning, Inc. specifications (a process that strengthens the glass). So you can have confidence you are purchasing the highest quality glass straws available.

- Made of glass which does not leach ANY TOXINS into your food. So you can use your non-toxic straws with confidence.

- Created with the beauty and elegance that only glass can give.

- You’ll feel like royalty – with a touch of ‘glass’.

- A great environmental addition to your kitchenware.

- Great for hot or cold drinks, microwave and dishwasher safe!!

- Are fully backed by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

- If they don’t meet your expectations, return for a full refund.

- Covered with our unbelievable Lifetime Guarantee Against Breakage. Means that if they ever break, we’ll replace them - Free,

- Hand-made in the U.S.A.

- Buying from GlassDharma means that your dollar is not going off-shore - it stays right here in the U.S.A.

If that's not enough of a reason to try out Glass Dharma you can enter here to win a $25 gift certificate which will put a few glass straws into your cupboard!

To Enter:

Go to Glass Dharma and tell me what you would pick if you won

(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a $25 gift certificate to Glass Dharma - beautiful hand blown glass straws - guaranteed for life @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/3wl68fu

***** Contest will end on September 30th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you you can't win! Contest open to Canada and the USA*****

Crazy for Bargains with a Giveaway

2011-08-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Everyone has something, well I think anyways, that they buy lots of and are a bit obsessed with! They love them and love to have lots of them :) For me its PJs for Brandon and its hoodies with Kristina. I can't help it, I love all of the cute little PJ's for Brandon. Whenever I find a good deal on PJ's I just can't help to grab another pair. I think he has about 8 pairs in his size right now and another 6 so far for the next size ;) I have a bit of a problem! Well my husband thinks so anyways.

I always get my kids each a pair of PJ's for Christmas eve every year so they go to sleep Christmas eve and then wake up Christmas morning with new PJ's! They love this tradition and so do I! When I found Crazy for Bargains I was so excited that I found a great new place to pick up cheap and adorable PJ's for the kids! Crazy for Bargains has kids, women's, plus sizes, infants, and men's PJ's, robes, bras, panties and slippers! You can get your whole families outfitted for sleeping and slumbering at Crazy for Bargains!

As whats in a name Crazy for Bargains is always a bargain! They have some of the best prices I have found online and the quality was awesome! I was thrilled with the PJ's we got for Brandon. They are the same quality that you find in the stores with a much bigger selection and of course at bargain prices! You can search the site by the size, product, or style you are looking for or you can search by character! Right now Brandon is obsessed with Toy Story and so getting him some "Buzz" PJ's was like the best thing to happen to him, according to him.

They were just like the PJ's you buy in big box stores. They were sized the same, washed and wore the same and they are priced like they are going out on clearance. The best part is you don't have to be there on the right day and have a choice of maybe one or two pairs that will work for you. You have the whole store to choose from and even free shipping if you spend more than $40! You can also just get flat rate shipping for $5 as well if you don't spend that much. Still an amazing deal!

Crazy for Bargains has offered up a $25 gift certificate to one lucky winner!

To Enter:

Go to Crazy for Bargains and check it out, grab a pen and make your list of what you will get if you win!

(This must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win $25 to spend at Crazy for Bargains! Better make a big list because they have some great prices @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/3l6ja7y

***** Contest will end on September 20th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you you can't win! Contest open to Canada and the USA*****

Goddess Garden with a Giveaway

2011-08-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

While it may feel like Summer is almost over you still need sunscreen, until at least the end of September and then don't forget about traveling! I think that its pretty hard to find sunscreen in December if you are holidaying somewhere hot! I always stock up on sunscreen at the end of Summer for the next year. You don't want to be without and we go through so much! Its nice to find on sale this time of year. Its usually also good for a few years so its not going to go bad before the next Summer!

When I spoke with Goddess Gardens I was pretty excited to try out their natural sunscreen. Some that I have tried in the past are thick white and mostly zinc so they don't rub in at all and you end up looking quite ridiculous and then frankly I just end up throwing it out. I don't want to look white and neither do my kids so if that's natural sunscreen I don't want it.

Lucky for us this is totally not the case with Goddess Garden, while it does not absorb into your skin it does "rub" in so that your not white. Its actually better for sunscreen to not be absorbed into your skin so that the invisible minerals act as “physical block “ bouncing UV (ultraviolet) rays off skin! It smelled great and wasn't greasy at all! I would definitely purchase this again for my family!

Top Reasons Customers Love Goddess Garden Natural Sunscreen:

• Pure protection without chemicals

• 82% Certified Organic ingredients

• Sheer & non-whitening minerals

• Non-greasy for face & body

• Sun protection effective immediately

Goddess Garden has offered up one adults and one kids natural sunscreen to one lucky winner!

To Enter:

Go to Goddess Garden and tell me something else that you would like to try

(this must be done for additional entries to count)

Additional Entries:

- like Goddess Garden on Facebook

- add my Fun and Funky Mommy button to your blog (2 entries)

- follow me publicly (2 entries)

- subscribe to Fun and Funky Mommy

- like me on facebook (leave your first name and last initial so I can find you)

- blog about this giveaway with a link to me

- follow me on twitter @Funfunkymommy AND @goddessgarden AND tweet about this giveaway for one entry (can RT daily for another entry)

***Feel free to Retweet this***

Win a kids and adults full sized natural sunscreen from @goddessgarden @Funfunkymommy http://tinyurl.com/3zvazwj

***** Contest will end on September 20th at 8:00 PM. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. The winner will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Make sure that your profile is set to public or that you include your email in your comments because if I can't get a hold of you you can't win! Contest open to Canada and the USA*****