Diapering Today {#clothdiaperhop Sponsor Spotlight}

Interested in cloth diapering but not quite sure where to start?

The Willow Store's Catherine Bolden has created an amazing resource in her DVD, Diapering Today.  This DVD is a comprehensive video about the why and the how behind cloth diapering. Any questions you may have will be answered after watching this video.

Not only will you learn about the basics behind cloth diapers and the reason why it's important to reuse, you will also learn some wonderful tips and tricks to modern cloth diapering. We've cloth diapered our children since we brought home my son and even I learned a thing or two from Diapering Today.

The DVD is set out in chapters. And each chapter is simple and to the point. There isn't this rush of information thrown at you to try and sort out. You are fed a little bit at a time making it a lot easier to absorb and really understand the process behind cloth diapering. And you're getting this information from fellow cloth diapering families!

If you purchase and watch the DVD you might see a familiar fluff butt... my daughter's gorgeous Charlie Banana cloth diapered butt is in the picture for The Evolution of Diapers chapter. How cute is it? 

 Want to see more? 

Check out the trailer below:

And if all that hasn't sold you on picking up a copy, 1% of the profits of this film will be donated to providing cloth and education to low-income families. How awesome is that!? So do some good, educate yourself, and spread the word on how great cloth diapering is!

If you still have questions feel free to email me and I'd be happy to answer or refer you to someone who can answer. I love helping others learn how easy it really is to cloth diaper your little ones. 

Check out The Willow Store on Facebook and follow them on twitter to keep up with the latest in cloth diapering fun. 

The Willow Store has kindly offered to give one lucky Simmworks Family Blog reader a copy of Diapering Today (a $17.95 value) in the Fluffy Butts Cloth Diapering Giveaway Hop!

Make sure to head on back to this blog between June 4th and June 15th to enter to win my cloth diapering essentials package for Fluffy Butts! Then enter all of the other wonderful blogs linking up to this event.

Want to purchase a copy of Diapering Today? Head over to The Willow Store or Amazon now!


Disclaimer: I received a copy of Diapering Today as a thank you for submitting my photo for their video, no review was expected. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.This post contains affiliate links. By clicking through to the sponsor's website your are helping support the Simmworks Family Blog.

Kiddie Antics {#BackyardBlast Sponsor Spotlight}

We are officially ready for summer in this house! The weather is perfect, the water is warm, and the kids are geared up with their personalized beach sets from Kiddie Antics. These sets are perfect for that summer beach party you have planned.

Kiddie Antics, Inc. is a 28 year old party planning service, that is owned and operated by its original owner. Their long lasting success comes from their loyal and referred costumers, along with their large celebrity clientele.

Kiddie Antics offers a variety of personalized party favors for children ranging from infancy through 10 years old. A few of the party favors they offer are:

Musical tote bags - includes an echo-microphone, a personalized tambourine, maracas, and a trumpet. This is a great idea for music or karaoke themed parties. This bag was definitely my daughter's favorite. She was instantly happy and started rocking out as soon as she got the maracas in her hands. We might have to get these for her second birthday party for all of her friends!

Gumball Machines - varying from all different sports, to princess', pirate's, and of course, the traditional machine. Adding a little twist, they offer the choice of having gum balls or jellybeans in your machines! These are a great party favor for older children who are celebrating with you and your child.

Block pail sets - the perfect gift for children five and under. These block sets come complete with 33 blocks and a clock top. That way you can teach your child time and shapes. For more great toddler ideas check out the infant/toddler favors.

Castle Backpack Set - If you want a way to make your beach party even better when building those awesome sand castles, order a Castle Backpack Set! These backpacks have all the toys needed to build that award winning sand castle (see the picture at the bottom of the post). All of the beach fun items can be seen here.

Sip and Snack  Bottles - These bottles come apart to form a straw cup and snack cup that are easily portable for on the go sip and snack fun. Instead of grabbing your snack bag and sippy cup simply use the Sip and Snack Bottle while out and about. For more fun cups go here to check out their selection.

This is just a taste of what Kiddie Antics has to offer. All party favors are hand painted, to your party's theme. Each favor is also personalized with your party guests name. For added convenience they come individually wrapped (which is included in the listing price).

My kids absolutely LOVED What Kiddie Antics had to offer and enjoyed the products pictured.The personalization was the perfect touch to making these favors stand out from others we've purchased in the past. Each item can be personalized with your child's name or the names of the children attending your party.

When totaling up the amount I've spent on previous party favor bags for my kids that I've assembled myself it's come out to roughly $10-15 per child. If I would have known about Kiddie Antics before these parties I totally would have taken advantage of having them do all the work! Plus, as I mentioned before, they do all of the personalization and wrapping for me. 

We will definitely be using Kiddie Antics for our future parties.

 Do Yourself a Party Favor!

Email or call Kiddie Antics, Inc. for all of your party needs

1-800-905-5660 - info@kiddieantics.com

You can also find Kiddie Antics on
Facebook and Twitter

Kiddie Antics has kindly offered to give one lucky Simmworks Family Blog reader a Castle Backpack Set (pictured above) of their own in the Summer Backyard Blast Giveaway Hop!

Make sure to head on back to this blog between June 1st and June 15th to enter to win my summer fun prize package for Summer Backyard Blast! Then enter all of the other wonderful blogs linking up to this event.

Want to purchase a few favors for an upcoming summer fun party now? Head over to the Kiddie Antics website and see all of the awesome items they have in store for you.




Disclaimer: I received products from Kiddie Antics for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
 

Growing Up Is Hard To Do

My beautiful baby girl no longer gives open mouth kisses. She puckers up.

And forget holding my hand when she steps down from our front porch... she can do it all by herself with no help. 

I knew that watching the kids grow would be hard, especially with no plans of a third child in the works. I've been trying to let each moment, each milestone soak in as much as possible. Being home with the kids during the week has helped give me the opportunity to watch how much they grown and change each day.

I watch how much these little ones change and am in awe of how quickly they adjust to these new skills and techniques. I definitely don't react as fast!

I feel as if I need time to process it all. Make my mind realize how quickly things are changing and try and be "in the moment" as much as possible while I watch them grow and become these amazing little people.

In just a few months my oldest will be going to preschool and while it's just a few days a week (and right around the corner from our home) I don't know what I'm going to do without my little buddy during the day. I'm sure we will stay plenty busy, but after being with him day in and day out for this past year I know it'll feel a bit weird to not have him with us on our daily adventures.

Just this morning my daughter and I dropped him off with his great aunt and m ydaughter was beside herself with sadness because she couldn't go too. I just know the reaction will be similar as she watches her brother go off to school.

Donuts might have worked as a great distraction this morning but they can't be a daily thing.

And what will I do when both are in school? I'm sure I'll be able to find volunteer work, continue working at home part time, and keeping myself busy with activities, etc but the thought of them growing so quickly and heading off to school so soon is such  a weird thing to think about.

Maybe we should think of having another... Nah! That's be crazy.

Captain Positive: Be Happy {#ShakeRattleWin Sponsor Spotlight}

One of the main goals I have for myself as a parent is to make sure that I create a positive environment for my children to learn and grow. I want to be conscious of my negativity and try and keep a positive outlook for myself and my family.  I love when I find tools to help me do just that. Especially when they come from wonderful people who truly believe in the tools they are creating!

Positively Kids brings parents, caregivers, and educators many tools that they can give to the precious little minds they can have a positive impact on. Whether a child is two or six they can learn how to:

• Change the world by acting positive
• Think with positive self esteem and confidence
• Grow their minds and open up to the opportunities that are presented to them
• Be inspired by positive beliefs
• Feel healthy inside and out
• Have confidence in their decisions
• Help others see the benefit of thinking positive
• Be motivated off of the good, not the bad
• Develop big hearts & bright minds

I first heard of Captain Positive when I met Stacey, one of the founders, at a networking event. I hadn't heard of an organization with the focus Positively Kids has and absolutely love that I found them! Being able to create a positive environment for my kids at home and on the go has become a priority in our lives.

I was asked by Stacey to provide my opinion on the cover they were choosing for their new Captain Positive CD called Be Happy. And in exchange I received a copy of the CD once it was ready. And ever since, our family has been moving and grooving to the tunes that inspire, educate, and keep us positive.

Just about every afternoon when my daughter wakes up from her nap and her brother is still sleeping we have a little dance party while preparing dinner. Its a time for the two of us to connect and have a little fun while getting ready for the evening. Lately we've been putting in the Be Happy CD and when I ask my daughter what she wants to listen too she quickly responds with, "Woof, Woof!" (her version of Captain Positive!).

While my children are still young, I think that this CD is a wonderful tool for any age! Building up self-esteem and creating a positive environment can start at any time but we're hoping to start it now. And Positively Kids has helped us do just that.

Captain Positive and Positively Kids are creating wonderful music that promotes positivity and happiness in our children!

To read more about Captain Positive head over to the Positively Kids website! Check out Positively Kids on Facebook and follow them on Twitter! And to be inspired even more, check out the Positively Kids Pinterest boards.

Positively Kids has kindly offered to give one lucky Simmworks Family Blog reader a copy of Be Happy of their own in the Shake Rattle & Roll Giveaway Hop!

Make sure to head on back to this blog between May 22nd and June 5th to enter to win my Keep it Positive prize package for Shake Rattle and Roll! Then enter all of the other wonderful blogs linking up to this event.

Want to purchase Captain Positive: Be Happy now? Head over to Amazon.com and buy one for $14.11 (qualifies for free Super Saver Shipping with purchases over $25)!




Disclaimer: I received a copy of Captain Positive: Be Happy for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. This post contains affiliate links. By clicking through to the sponsor's website your are helping support the Simmworks Family Blog.      

Wordless Wednesday

Simmworks Weight-Loss Challenge {The Breakdown}

Yes, I'm talking about weight loss again.

Because I have a confession to make. I'm now 10lbs over my last weigh in number posted here. And I'm depressed about my weight. I can't even write it down.

It's a vicious cycle. First I made excuses because at the beginning of March, when I was going to start the 17-day diet, my grandmother was in the hospital and stayed there for over a month (she is now out of the hospital and doing better than she was), then I had some personal struggles that I had to work out, and by the time I was able to finally start putting the focus back on me I was already full of excuses and anger.

So I busied myself with life and forgot about weighing myself, tracking my food, and getting to the gym.

But it's time to STOP! I am determined to meet goal by my 29th birthday in March 2013 and I have a plan. Since I want to lose 50 lbs in 9months I'm going to break it up into three goals starting on June 1st, 2012 -

1. Lose 20lbs by August for BlogHer'12
2. Lose another 20lbs by New Years
3. Lose the last few pounds by March 20th, 2013

And here's how I'm going to do it:

• Weight Watchers - I'll post weekly updates of my weigh ins including a picture of the scale (eek!)
• Shakeology - I will be using this awesome dietary supplement to replace one meal each day
• Workout at least 5 days a week at the YMCA and at home - with helpful online guidance from Coach Kristen
• Food Journal - I'll be photographing each meal and snack I eat and tweeting it with the hashtag #simmwlc on top of logging it on the Weight Watchers website
•  Monthly updates on the first of each month starting in June WITH pictures including a giveaway for a healthy product that's helped aid my weight loss and help keep me fit

I'm excited to announce that the first giveaway I will be hosting to kick off this weight loss challenge is an EatSmart Precision GetFit Digital Body Fat Scale! This scale is amazing! It's not only super easy to use, it also uses automatic user identification technology to store data for up to 8 users. Plus it gives you your weight and body fat results within seconds of stepping on. No tapping to turn it on or waiting forever for your results. But more about that later...

And if you're interested, you can join along too!

Here's how!

I'm looking for at least 8 other bloggers to join me in promoting a healthy lifestyle while sharing the products we love with our readers starting on June 1st, 2012. Along our journey we'll share our stories, post monthly recaps, and participate in giveaways each month.


If you're interested, read below for the requirements:

• Post an introduction post with goals and start weight or, if you aren't comfortable with revealing your weight, the amount you want to lose (no need to link to this blog if you don't want to! And pictures are optional)
• Post at least one blog post a month with a weigh in update and personal recap of the following month
• Host one giveaway in the 9 month period for a product that's helped you lose weight, get fit, or improve your health and include at least one follow link for each blog in the group (self-sponsored is ok)
• Post the rafflecopter form for the latest giveaway in your monthly update

In exchange for participating you will be allowed to have up to two social media links in each rafflecopter giveaway this group hosts (at least once a month, excluding G+ per Google's TOS). 

If you are interested in joining me on this weight-loss challenge email me at simmworksfamily@gmail.com

If you are a company who would like to sponsor one of our monthly giveaways, please feel free to contact me as well! I look forward to hearing from you.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. By clicking through to the sponsor's website your are helping support the Simmworks Family Blog. 

Zipit Bedding {Toddler Bedroom Makeover}

We're in the process of giving my son's room a makeover. We're moving things around, adding a few pieces of furniture, and making it a room for both my son and my daughter. In an effort to update the room we're making a change with the theme. Instead of his beloved dinos of last year he's upgrading to some pretty cool bedding!

Stay tuned for future posts about the fun renovation we have in store for the kids' bedroom.

Zipit Bedding is a new and revolutionary bedding set that is full of fun and surprises. The set comes with a fitted sheet and comforter that attach to one another by two zippers, and a pillow case that also zips up. The pieces can zip apart for washing and are easily put back together when you put them on the bed.

SPECIAL DISCOUNT: For a limited time, my readers can get Zipit Bedding at a special DISCOUNT PRICE of only $39.99! That's $20 off the already discounted web price. For only $39.99, you can experience this great new product. Don't miss this opportunity! Click HERE to order (www.zipitbedding.com) and use this code at checkout to receive your discount: SIMM10.

I tried putting the bedding on with the comforter already attached to the bedding and with it unzipped and both ways were equally as easy. The zippers slide on and off quickly and are simple enough for my children to use effortlessly.

This bedding set makes changing beds easy and simple! I was able to change my son's bed within 3 minutes and had no tucking or fussing to deal with. And when I can save time anywhere in my day I'm a happy camper.

The fitted sheet also has two pockets attached to each side. These pockets are the perfect place to store flashlights, toys, and small books. My son loved that he was able to store his favorite monster and flashlight right next to him. He now finds other small toys to put in the pockets to hide from his sister.

I love how the Zipit bedding zips up just like a sleeping bag. It makes tucking my son in very easy and he enjoys the cozyness of the covers around him. The comforter is also very easy to unzip as well. Almost as easy as throwing the comforter off when it's unzipped. This makes night time visits to our bed effortless for my son.

One of my son's favorite features, besides the side pockets, is the pillow case. Zipit creators didn't leave the pillowcase out of the zipper fun! The case can be zipped and unzipped together and is just as fun as the bedding.

Another great thing about this bedding is the fact that it doesn't just fit one theme. From aliens to robots to cars to dinos, the print on the underside of the comforter and on the fitted sheet match my son's personality perfectly.

The only thing I don't like? That it doesn't come in more colors! Currently the Zipit Bedding comes in navy (like my son's) and pink. I would love to get this set for my daughter but the pink just won't fit the feel of our room. Once they come out with a purple set I'll be the first in line to buy it!

The makers of Zipit Bedding are kind enough to offer my readers a special discount! 

Feeling LUCKY??? It's a WIN WIN for EVERYONE!

Win 2 Tickets to Disney Resort in California! AND get $20 off each Zipit Bedding set you order.
There are 2 TICKETS TO DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA hidden in the pocket of 1 Zipit Bedding set! Will you be the lucky winner?

If you use SIMM10 at checkout you can purchase this bedding for only $39.99! That's $20 off the already discount web price of $59.99. AND get the chance to win 2 tickets to Disney Resort in California!!

Tell your friends, quantities are limited! And make sure to follow Zipit Bedding on Facebook for more awesome offers and deals. 

Disclaimer: I received a set of Zipit Bedding for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.