Just an old pic

Just a picture that I found today, a friend commented on it and I remember how much I love this photo and this ERGO!

"The Club No One Wanted to Join"

Wall Street,  Investments, Banking, trusting people we don't know with our  money.

Its a common practice today to invest, and why not? It helps business to grow and it helps investors to make some cash back for their good faith.

But what happens when one of those investors is only out for themselves? What happens when hard working people put all their eggs in a basket, and then that basket drops? Well it leaves them all crashing to the floor, and thats what happened to the Madoff Victims.  The large group of investors who trusted Bernard Madoff with their money ended up with their lives shattered all over the floor just like that basket.

Most people thought of these investors as rich people who got what they deserved. How could they trust someone in Wall Street with all this money. Why didn't they do more research? What were they thinking?

The truth is that most of these people were hard working Americans, many of them growing up with nothing during the depression, and working hard to make ends meet. These people thought they were going to be protected by their government. But they haven't been, the insurance that was supposedly on their money is nowhere to be found. A life savings gone in a day.

"The Club No One Wanted to Join" is a collection of personal stories, written by the people who lived them. It tells of their struggles and disappointment. It explains how their families lost everything. Reading this book puts a face on those people, it gives them a personality and a soul. Which is obviously what Bernard Madoff was lacking. Innocent people scammed by someone who wanted no more then a fortune, what he got was jail. 

My favorite thing about this book is how these people have learned to rebuild thier lives afterward. These people have found comfort in their families and in remembering that it was just money in an account.

This book is absolutely on my 'must read' list. If you're not into Wall Street, don't worry because thats not what this book is all about. Its about Americans working hard and losing it all, and then rebuilding thier lives. It helps to put into perspective how lucky we really are and that money really is just some numbers in a bank.

Buy It:

The Club No One Wanted To Join-Madoff Victims In Their Own Words

is available on amazon.com

Win It:

I am so excited about this giveaway because I know that you will love this book.

To Enter:

1. You must be a follower of Mommypants! Leave a comment telling me you are and be sure to leave your e-mail address.

I will choose one winner on January 21st 2011 via Random.org

Good Luck and be sure to check out this book!

Energy Star

My friend Audra who blogs at "Turning a New Leaf"

Just put a great post up about saving energy in your home

Tons of great tips check it out

Save Energy!

Merry Christmas

Bittersweet being her without Annabella's dad

But I'm glad that I'm with my family

and I can't wait to watch my little booger open gifts!

Merry Christmas and I hope that Everyone  has a great one

Home for Christmas

After a slightly hectic plane ride (other passangers and not Annbella this time)

We made it back to the East coast for good

I'm so glad to be back, it feels good to watch family enjoy Annabella. Her favorite person absolutly has to be my little cousin Kolt, he's 8 years old and they have become absolutly infatcuated with each other. Kolt is glad that he's not the baby anymore and Annabella follows him around all day long and copies exaclty what he does!

She warms up to each family member quickly (except for the men that don't have beards) Its great to see how much they enjoy her, each family member finding a special way to entertain her. Its been 8 years since we had a baby in the family! I look forward to her having the opportunity out here to form an individual and special bond with each member of this HUGE family that I do!

As for myself, I have been getting some well needed breaks. I attended a Christmas party the other day with some of my friends that I haven't seen in ages. It was right back to where we were when we started!  We shared so many laughs and smiles.

Of course getting back and starting from scrach, isnt' easy. I feel stressed out a lot and am trying to take this one day at a time. Its good though to have friends to talk it through with. I have some friends who have been through situations similar to mine and its good too see them thriving with great lives.

Its nice to have four generations of family together!

Smart & Sexy Extreme Push Up Bra

Its an understatement to say that early motherhood and pregnancy changes your bra size a couple times. Its been a while since I thought that I may need a pushup bra. But these days, since we are almost done with breastfeeding, my ladies are back to about thier usual size (I even think a little smaller) No complaints

When I was sent the Extereme Push Up Bra in Lepord from Smart and Sexy Lingere. I was excited, its probably been since high school that I had a push up bra. I was super excited to see how the girls looked in it!

The bra looked great I love the design, it also felt comfy and I didn't feel like my boobs were being forced to be pushed up, it felt natural like a regular bra.  The bra claims to add a whole cup size! Now I don't know if it did because I'm not sure how to tell but it did make them look bigger and more perky! Which is always nice

The bra is made of strech satin, and its very comfortable and feels smooth on the skin. It has adjustable shoulder straps as well as a closure in the back. The only downfall to the bra in my opinion is that it only has one hook in the back rather then two or three. Personally I like to have at least two hooks on the back I think it helps keep the bra even. But it stayed on okay and it didn't seem to ride up my back.

The padding on the bra is heavy at the bottom then gets lighter at the top of the bra. I really liked how the padding sat under my breasts and lifted them up.  I also really liked how smooth the bra was not lacy like other bras which makes it easy for me to wear under a t-shirt.

Overally I'd say for the price of $15 Smart&Sexy's Extreme push up bra is a good bra. I question whether this bra would work well for larger breasts due to the lack of support in the back of the bra. But for ladies with smaller chests looking to add some clevage, this is the affordable bra for you!


I recieved a free smart and sexy bra for this review, all opinions are my own.

Enjoying Christmas movies with Hershey's Drops

Oh my goodness

When I first heard of the Hershey's Drops, I didn't think too much of them. I'm not a fan of convince store candy, and yes I consider myself a chocolate snob. Besides that  I thought that they would be small and probably not have many pieces of cookies in the Cookies and Cream (one of my favorite candy bars ever)

Now I thought that they would be about the size of an M&M 

But was I wrong, they are about two and a half times the size of an M&M, just the perfect size to put on your tongue an let melt in your mouth.. (And yes I'm doing it now, because its the best way to eat the cookies and cream bars too)

At first I was concerned because of the glaze or wax or whatever it is on the outside, I thought that I would taste it, that it would be thick because when I held the candy in my hand for a minute, they didn't melt. But when I tried it I was surprised, All I tasted was chocolate and that stuff on the outside, It didn't even seem to be there, even on the ones that I ate straight from the bag

No mess

No waxy tasting outer cover

They come in 8oz as well as a king size pack.  They would make great stocking suffers as they were released nationwide in December.

Overall I like the drops better then the Hershey Cookies and Cream Candy Bar. My only issue with them is that they contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, which in general I try to avoid, but I think this may be one of those exceptions!

I love that the packages that they come in are resealable. It makes it good for when I attempt to hide them from myself... not that it has worked yet. They are also good to keep in my purse for a good chocolate fix.

I received a sample of Hershey's Drops in my Swag Bag from the SheBlogs twitter party..... I didn't receive any money for this review. Its my honest opinion... these things are good yo..... 

This is going surprisingly well

Almost done!!

Annabella is taking her naps in the pack-n-play which is probably where she'll sleep tonight, and tomorrow night. 

The  relo-cube got here early today so I have plenty of time to pack it up

I'm pretty much already done, here's a picture of it as of about two hours ago

I even moved Annabella's dresser by myself. The crib was no problem to get apart, since I have done it myself every-time anyways.

I'm a little disappointed with myself for not being more conscious about Annabella's changing table. It flips over into a dresser but the top now needs to be refinished because we had towel floors. It never occurred to me to put something UNDER it. but I guess live and learn,.

Anyways, now that its almost all packed I find myself wondering what in the world I will do all day tomorrow and then of course I still have most of the day on Thursday to wait. Hopefully we can find something fun to do that day before our big airplane trip!

Amazing Cows! Review and Giveaway

Its no secret to my friends that I love cows, I think that they are pretty darn neat, I like how they hang out in herds and I love cheese. So naturally things having to do with cows interest me.

So when I was asked to review Sandra Boynton's newest book Amazing Cows I was ever so happy to oblige! Written for children, this book is a great addition to any collection.

Whats it about? 

Cows!! Its a hilarious book filled with jokes, short stories, comic books, hidden pictures, poems as well as lots of other crazy topics that are sure to have your kids stuck to the book! (Ahh quiet time!)

When I first picked up the book, I was first drawn to all the great illustrations, I love how cute and comical all the cows look. The pictures are colorful and have lots going on, which makes this book great for lots of ages because even though my toddler might not understand the words yet, she can for sure appreciate what the cows are doing and wearing.

My niece liked how the stories were short and easy to read. The book is big, and has lots of little stories, and poems that can be read in a short period of time making this a great book for bedtime! The jokes got lots of belly laughs out of her, and I could see her reading the book later choosing ones to bring to school the next day to share with her friends.

I especially appreciated the poems, growing up I read lots of poetry at my grandmother's house and it can be lots of fun, when you know how to read it. Amazing Cows had lots of poems that I could read to the kids. 

I have a feeling that this is going to be a book that we read a lot in my house. It is a great book for teaching little ones to read on, as well as a good book for older kids to read to younger kids because the short stories don't require long attention spans. But be warned, this is one of those books that its easy to get caught up in! It didn't take long for me to reach the end of the book!

Who Will Love this?

Anybody, I guess thats a little vague but its true, the book is great for grandparents who like old fashioned comedy and don't quite get the newer comedy. Its also wonderful for them to read to grandkids.

If you have someone who has a farm in your life this would be a great gift for them as well. As a fellow cow lover I can appreciate Sandra Boynton's love for cows. 

Kids! Any kid will love this book, because funny books are great ways to get them reading! 

Get Your Own

Sandra Boynton's Amazing Cows is available Here at workman.com

Be sure to check out her other books, as well as her Mom's Family Planner Calendar which was sent to me as well, I'll have a review for that later this week

Win A Copy!

One of you lucky readers will win a copy of this book for yourself or the cow lover on your list!

To enter:

1. You must be a follower of Mommypants!, and leave me a comment telling me your favorite thing about cows!

2. For an extra entry blog about this giveaway! Leave a comment with the link please
Be sure to leave a comment for each entry!

Be sure to leave your e-mail address on your comments so that I can contact you! I will choose one winner via random.com on January 10, 2011

These photos were Excerpted from AMAZING COWS by Sandra Boynton 
Copyright 2010 by Sandra Boynton
Used by permission of Workman Publishing Co., Inc. New York
All Rights Reserved

Ten Tips for Making this the Ultimate Holiday Season

Hooray! I just love posting about the Holidays, there are so many ways to make it great! I have been thinking hard on ways to make it special for my daughter and I as well as the family that we are soon going to be with. Of course, I am always open to suggestions, and I'm sure that you readers are just as excited to make this season shine!

So here are Ten Tips to make this the Ultimate Holiday

1. Spend it with Family: There is nothing better then family at the holidays, though it can be stressful at times, they are the people who the season is best spent with, even if you don't go spend Christmas day with everyone, make a point to visit them all. Check out  this post on Tips on Starting Holiday Traditions
2. Shop early: don't spend the twelve days of Christmas battling shoppers, do it now so that you can spend Christmas vacation with you loved ones rather then standing in line.
3. Shop Online: Its so easy when everything is just delivered to the house, avoiding icy roads and angry drivers check out Hasbro Toy Shop for all the toys that your little one could possibly want! They even have the "Ultimate Toy Line" a line of toys that are sure to make your little one jolly this year, a great place to shop to be sure you get the top toys! You won't have to risk running to the toy store only to find out they are already out of the season's hottest toys like Fur Real Friends, or a Star Wars Millennium Falcon 
4. Avoid lots of shipping: when shopping online be sure to make a list so that you can get everything shipped together at once, this can take a huge chunk of change off your bill
5. Bake: Make cookies! Make pies, this is the season for eating sweet, so don't worry about your diet, because everybody puts on some pounds this time of year. You can cut those calories for the new year!
6. Believe in Santa: Do your best to appreciate the spirit of the holidays and not be a Grinch, I know its commercial, its hectic and its stressful. But all these things are stresses that we put on ourselves during a Holiday that really should be about spending time with the people that we love
7. Share: Help others, have your kids get rid of some of their old toys before Santa comes and fills their stockings. If your kids are anything like my daughter, what about getting rid of a toy from the forgotten toy chest everyday for Hanukkah or the Twelve days of Christmas?  Work in the soup kitchen or with your church. Remind family that this season is also about giving not just getting. (And make room for all those new toys on the way)
8. Take a walk: Enjoy the winter weather, I know its cold and snowy, but its only like this for a little while, so take your kids out and help them notice the seasonal differences. Whats making those tracks in the snow? What trees still have leaves on them? Draw pictures of what you saw when you get home.
9. Sparkle; Get your glitter on, its winter and the Holidays are the best time to sport a glittery top or pair of shoes! Don't let the tree get all the attention! Black goes great with a super glittery piece
10. Sing: Don't let Christmas carols go out of style, listen to them on the radio and get singing we all know the words and your kids don't care if you're out of tune. Even if your kids tell them it drives them nuts, do it anyway, they secretly love it ::wink wink::

Well folks, I promise I'll have more holiday tips soon and I have a great review and giveaway coming up this week. Make sure to make the most out of your Holidays and don't forget to smile in those pictures! You'll have them for years to come

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Hasbro Ultimate Gifts blogging sweepstakes, making me eligible to get a $50 Gift card to use at www.HasbroToyShop.com! For more information on how you can participate, click here

Gabba Search

My daughter loves Yo Gabba Gabba

So for my airplane ride thats coming up in the next few days, I thought I would get her some Yo Gabba Gabba toys to distract her....

HA, Good luck, these things may have well been made out of gold, between the prices of the toys or the fact that I can't find them anywhere locally, this is ridiculous

Tips for Starting Holiday Traditions

I was in Target yesterday shopping for some Christmas gifts for family as well as Annabella (yes thats right I got to go shopping ALONE!!) I was lucky enough to make some extra cash the day before and since some retail therapy always fixes my woes, I decided to indulge.

I came out on top, some killer motorcycle boots and an AMAZING handbag, a cozy soft sweater and some studded leggings only ran my bill bill to  $70.

Then my Target trip I got Annabella and I some matching pajamas, as well as some sets for the rest of the family so they can join in the fun.

While shopping yesterday I was thinking that  I wanted to start a tradition that Annabella and I could do every year, so I came up with a list of things that I thought were important and of course being the blogger that I am, I have decided to share them with YOU!!

1. Simple: Go for something easy that won't require too much work to do every year. The holidays can get busy and if you start a tradition that requires lots of time and effort, it may be hard to keep up with
2. Cheap: Make sure that its something that you'll be able to afford every year. I think pajamas were a great idea because even if we don't have much money, its easy to buy some cheap pajamas or make them out of cheap material
3. Picture worthy: make it something that you can have a picture of each year, ugly Christmas sweaters for the family make great yearly pictures to put on cards, ornaments of coffee mugs!
4. Location: take this into consideration, is there a yearly event you can all go to? Are you guaranteed to have a white Christmas? Maybe you can have a snowman family that poses with you!
5. Write about it: Have your family write down their memories each year in a Holiday notebook you can put it with the holiday decorations so that when everybody is older you can all enjoy the memories that you made. Add recipes and pictures!
6. Collect it: Ornaments, or figurines, even Christmas decorations, have a Christmas day and shop for them together each year. The decorations will remind you of the days that you spent together. And you can pass them on as family moves away to their own homes. 

I hope these spark some ideas in your heads. Traditions are great ways to hold family with you every year, whether celebrating Hanukkah, Christmas or Yule. Start traditions with your family that you can continue for years to come.

FCC hosts "Generation Mobile"

Studies show that teenage cell phone ownership has gone up by 68% in the last five years

They send text messages on average once every ten minutes (if you know my cousins you'll know its often much more then that!) 

So what does this mean for us, will carpal tunnel begin at twenty for our children? How is this effecting them?

The FCC is hosting "Generation Mobil" to bring together teens, parents, educators and experts on the subject

It will feature remarks from FCC Chairman Juius Genachowski and a presentation of findings from a Pew Internet and American Life study on kids' mobile phone usage.

A second panel will focus on education parents  through a "ask the mobile experts session" Where they will have recommendations for  tools and recourses for parents.

"Generation Mobile" is free and open to the public, if you would like to attend please pre-register by submitting your name and organization's affiliation and phone number to generationmobile@fcc.gov

It will be Hosted on December 14 

 10:30am-1:30pm est

 McKinley Technology High School 

  151 T Street Northeast

Washington DC 20002

If you can't make it then be sure to check out the webcast at  http://reboot.fcc.gov/live/ 

You can send questions during the forum by sending them to livequestions@fcc.gov  

Or by tweeting your questions with the hashtag #GenMobile on twitter

Good luck ladies! Stay informed~

Packing it up

It almost feels as though I don't have enough stuff to pack.

So far only at 11 boxes, I am wondering where the rest of my life is?

I am leaving most of it here, my bed, couch, coffee tables and kitchen table.  Taking Bella's furniture and my dress form, the dear old girl.

I should be blogging, I should have lots to write about in all my free time.

But I'm sitting here, watching my life slowly pack into boxes.

It seems my life is on hold for the next 14 days, I know that in the next few it will get hectic and quick, but for now I just anticipate going back to CT.

airplane without a stroller this time

The stroller was left outside and got moldy

So it looks like we'll be doing the airplane trip via Ergo... 

I'm confident that it should go well with less things to worry about.

Although I do like the stroller, I think it may be nice to pack light

Also bringing the carseat with me this time because I found out that its free to send them.

Anybody got more airplane advice?

now you can send cards from your about one account!

Adding another level of simple to your life check out how easy it is to send holiday cards from your AboutOne account.

Don't forget to check out my AboutOne review, and giveaway for a one year subscription!

 AboutOne Review

Ch-ch-ch changes

In other news I am wishing that I had made a sweet advent calendar like all the ones on the blogs that I have been keeping up with! I think that my palate has surpassed the cheap chocolate ones. Next year, I am going to make one with gourmet chocolates for each day... Of course, I suppose I could go out and buy a box and then just eat one everyday. But I don't know if I'll have the self control.

The next two weeks are busy for sure, Annabella and I are moving back to Connecticut so that we can be closer to my family, after being a mom for the last year, I've realized that I need some help if I'm going to be going to school and working. 

I'm excited though, I will be moving closer to all of my family and my best friends. I have missed them so much and I can't wait to be back there just enjoying their company. 

I don't feel rushed, we only have two rooms in our house, and I've already packed most of my kitchen into boxes, all I have to pack now is the crib, our clothes, my sewing machine and some books. I have to get some more boxes but I think about ten more should do it.

I got my dram flight back to Connecticut, we leave at 6pm and we have three and a half hour layovers in each stop (two of them) I'm hoping that because of this Annabella will sleep most of the plane trips and play at the airports (fingers crossed?)

Its not to say that I'm not sad. I love California and I'm not looking forward to snow. I'm really going to miss the freedom that California provides. I'm going to miss the beach, and San Francisco and all the amazing town that is Sebastopol.

So Good-bye, California!

I'm glad that I have the AboutOne account, because it will make moving much easier., Since we will need to be choosing doctors and daycares and dentists. 

You readers can look forward to some AWESOME tutorials now that I am moving back, I will be closer to my craft-partner Heather Lynn!! We already have plans for a sewing room and eventually getting an Etsy store up. Its an understatement to say that she brings out the best in me. As most best friends do.

I am excited to live near my sister, and my cousins, Annabella smiles every time I tell her we are going to live near Uncle Kolt and she has been practicing his name. I am happy that we will be living with my family because I love watching them with Annabella. 

So stay tuned because there are sure to be some interesting posts coming up.

Including and AMAZING giveaway that I'll probably be doing in January! 

Good Morning

Good Morning and Happy December 1st!

I am spending this morning cold!! But warming up with some New England coffee that I received in my SheBlogs swag bag! They sent me the Breakfast Blend. I'm quite a fan, its mellow but yummy. I don't have to add quite as much cream as I usually do so thats nice. I also really like the caffeine content, its keeping me awake,  with extra energy for blogging! Hooray! 

They Have some awesome deals for the holidays so get over there now so you can have some great coffee on  Christmas morning, grab some decaf for the old folks after diner.

If you would like to get your hands on some New England coffee check out their website!

http://www.newenglandcoffee.com/

I received a sample of new england coffee, for this review, the opinions are my own.