• family

    iPoll – An App that Makes you Money

    August 16, 2013 - By 

    An App that makes you money? Tailored to your very shopping haunts? Um, yes please. iPoll is an app that makes sense for you if you like making money. iPoll is free to download and it takes only a few moments to register and set up your profile. Then, every so often log in and check your missions. Missions can be surveys, or shopping-related tasks. Each task that you complete earns you money. Every time you log in, there is something new waiting. I got $5.19 already! Everyone gets $5 when they sign up. Click here to head directly to…

  • family

    How To Make A Do It Yourself Container Fairy Garden – Ten Easy Steps #DIY

    August 14, 2013 - By 

    My girls are crafty and their imaginations are always on the go especially in the summer months. One summer we spent our days blowing things up and doing science experiments in the yard. That was a lot of fun, but mostly it was hands on learning, structured to keep my kids out of trouble. (My girls are going to blow stuff up anyways, so we might as well do it right.) At the end of the school year my oldest daughter started digging up the lawn grabbing grassy clumps of clod and flowers. She told me she intended to build…

  • Back To School - Giveaways

    Flatten Me Personalized Products #BTS #Giveaway

    August 11, 2013 - By 

    I wish you could have seen the smile this Flatten.me water bottle put on my daughter’s face this week. Oh, I know, I know, everyone on the planet has ten water bottles already, right? Maybe so, but do you have one with your face on a superhero body? Or do you have one where your child is posed as a princess? I didn’t think so. Who doesn’t like personalized items? Most of the kids I know adore finding things with their name on them, or seeing it on a T-shirt. Well, Flatten.me has a host of items from books, to…

  • Back To School - Food - Health

    Five Fast Wake Up Ideas for Tweens #YOP #BTS and a Coupon

    August 7, 2013 - By 

    They sure are sweet when they are sleeping. But try to get them to wake up and watch the fun! I am taking tweens and teens of course. And they rarely jump for joy when the alarm goes off. But here are a few ways I help wake up my tween and teen. Oh, we all joke that when they are sleeping they are angels, right? But, wake up time? Well, that’s a whole other ball game. My youngest daughter has always been the kind that springs out of bed bouncing with so much energy I wish I could market…

  • family

    #LinkedMoms Hard At Work #Blogher13 #WordlessWednesday

    August 7, 2013 - By 

    This conference circuit is hard work. Just sayin’. Actually, this is me with my good friend Margarita Ibbott, also my business partner at Linked Moms. Who are Linked Moms? We’re the gals chatting every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST. Join us weekly. Sometimes we talk about pressing parenting issues, health, special needs, travel or what tickles our fancy. Sometimes, we have guests and sometimes our chats are full scale twitter parties.

  • parenting teens
    Back To School - Health

    My Back to School Fashion Rant #BTS

    August 4, 2013 - By 

    My daughter is not a Barbie. She will never fit into skinny jeans. She is my first born. My heart. A talented, kind-hearted, perfectionist who rocks pretty much everything she does. (with exception of ballet, which she could never get the hang of, and one tiny area of math called measurement ) She is not a Barbie. She is not standard issue. She is a beautiful, smart, healthy, athletic kid.  Payton swims like a fish, just got third place at a dive meet in town, sings soprano with an acting troupe. She loves science and drawing and collects other kids…

  • family - Travel

    Win a Family Trip to Syracuse ARV $950

    July 30, 2013 - By 

    Welcome to the Syracuse Family Getaway Giveaway! This Giveaway is made possible by the Syracuse Tourism Organization! HOSTED BY: OTTAWA MOMMY CLUB CO-HOSTED BY: CANADIAN BLOG HOUSE ~ JOURNEYS OF THE ZOO ~ LIFE IN PLEASANT VILLE ~ SHANNON’S VIEW FROM HERE GETAWAY PACKAGE: 1 room with 2 double beds for 2 nights at Double Tree Hotel by Hilton for a family of four with buffet breakfast for four each morning based on availability. Valid through 4/30/14 4 Tickets (2 adult & 2 children) to the Pole Position Raceway in DestinyUSA 4 tickets (2 adult & 2 children) to the…

  • family

    #DIY How to Tie Dye: Ten Easy Steps

    July 27, 2013 - By 

    Before the girls went to camp and I headed off to Blogher’ 13 in Chicago, we had a week of manic hunting for things to do that would keep them busy enough not to kill or eat each other. I mean, we had a fun week of unscheduled activity. AKA crafting. This is one of the fun things we did together. Ainsley actually loved it so much she got all sweet and cuddly and cute.  Believe me when I say that is worth all the T-shirts in the world. 1000 times over.  How to Tie Dye: 1. Buy 100 %…

  • family

    Cousins #WordlessWednesday

    July 24, 2013 - By 

    Wordless Wednesday is a photo linkup. Last week we had the opportunity to get the kids together with their cousins. There’s something about being with your cousins that brings out the monkey in every child.

  • active family travel - Health - infertility - parenting - Parenting - special needs

    Hoping for Okay: Sending A Special Needs Child To Camp

    July 23, 2013 - By 

    Sending kids with special needs to camp is never simple. You have to vet camps hard to find one that might be capable of handling your children. Oh I know most make mention of inclusive policies and such. But, I have seen how this works in practice sometimes and it doesn’t. So, forgive me while I hold my breath and pray that this camp works this time. This morning, I woke fingers crossed and holding my breath. Today I have both kids at camp. No fires to put out. No demands beyond work. No calls from the camp stating: “What…