Sweet DIY idea

Do you LOVE redoing old furniture? Wouldn't you love a way to customize those knobs that could look so much cooler on your dresser?

Introducing Ghostnest.com and their custom knobs!

Simply select your shape, upload your picture and order as many custom knobs as you need!

Its simple, easy and affordable!

A great addition to really set off that piece of furniture you worked hard to fix?

I'm thinking of getting some holiday knobs to add some really fun holiday decor without having lots of breakable decorations all over the house. They are easy to change out and you can even get a few different ones for each piece of furniture if you're feeling super creative!

If you're a bit confused then just watch the easy 'how to' video on the site, I don't think that most will have any problems creating your knobs!

I uploaded a poppy flower

that I took on my trip to Luther Burbank Gardens in Santa Rosa California. I think it was a great way to remember the trip that we took, everyday.

Here's a picture of Annabella's dresser before I put the custom knobs on. As you can see its adorable but plain. I'm happy that I can help this dresser grow with her as well as change it now when we get bored with the same looks.

Just go behind the original knobs and unscrew the screws in the back. Then replace the knobs with your know knobs.

Screw the new knobs onto the screws! 

Look at that! A simple do it yourself solution to the same 'ol dresser! The whole project only took me about fifteen minutes!

The knobs are great quality, they not only are adorable but they seem like they will hold up well. I found that my screws that came with the knobs were too short for the dresser, so I just left the original screws in the dresser and the knobs fit just fine!

The pictures remain looking just like the original pictures. I really like the idea of customizing a dresser with whichever knobs that I like to go with the decor of whatever room that I'm in!

This is another great example of one of the knobs that you can create with Ghost Nest. There are some great already loaded images already loaded onto Ghost Nest that you can use if you don't have an image that you would like to use.

I love the idea of being able to switch the knobs on a dresser to help a nice piece of furniture grow with the kids! No need to buy new furniture as the little ones grow.

Get Your Own!

To purchase your own custom knobs for your dresser or whatever you may need them for check out www..ghostnest.com. And follow the easy instructions to make your own!

Win some!!

Ghost Nest  is offering one Mommypants reader a $25 gift certificate to their store!

To win:

Be a follower of Mommypants and let me know what you would put on your knobs, or what piece of furniture you'd like to fix up!

Contest ends March 11 2011, at midnight. Please leave your e-mail address, any entires without an e-mail address will be disqualified. (Sorry folks but searching all over the internet for e-mail address is something in my past) Winners will have 48 hours to respond to winning`!

Good luck!

I was sent a sample set of Ghost Nest custom knobs for this review and giveaway, All opinions are mine, I did not receive any cash for this review.

Review and Giveaway "Exploiting my baby because its exploiting me"

Do you sometimes feel a bit... paranoid?

At times does it feel like every mother in the playgroup is staring at your sweatpants and unmade up face?

Well then  "Exploiting my baby.... because its exploiting me is just the book for you.

Its the perfect book for you. Now, if you consider yourself the perfect mama always looking fab and never having problems... then you probably are  robot.

Teresa Strasser is funny and honest in this book, just like her radio personality. This book is so straight forward that sometimes I wonder if her stories are coming from my house or hers.

The book is filled with hilarious observations of Teresa's own life, I love how honest she is on all accounts and how she doesn't hesitate to talk about feeling left out by other mothers even though its probably only in her head (yes, I felt this way too) Personally I always felt like the 'young mom' or the 'single mom' at birth classes and other events and wondered what we would talk about, I also always thought they were staring at me.

This book is talks about everything us 'normal' parents feel when pregnant, is there something wrong with the baby? What can't I eat? Is this stomach pain something more?

If you're easily offended this book may not be for you, as I said she is brutally honest and doesn't hold back talking about bodily functions, sex, loneliness and so many more topics that we all deal with when pregnant or a new mom.

GIVEAWAY!

One lucky reader is going to get a copy of their own! 

To enter:

Be a follower of mommypants and just leave a comment below telling me what you were most paranoid when pregnant... never pregnant, tell me what makes you most paranoid about being pregnant!!

Giveaway ends March 3rd at Midnight so be sure to enter!

Make sure you leave your  e-mail address so I can e-mail you if you win~

Good luck!

I received a free copy of "Exploiting my baby. because its exploiting me" to review for this post, all opinions are my own. I did not receive any cash for this review

The Naked Mom

Brooke Burke, is a multi talented woman, she has been on tv, and radio, as well as being on "Dancing with the Stars" , now she can add Author to that seemingly growin list.

All of these which require lots of time, talent, effort and minimal privacy.

Her newest book The Naked Mom is about Brooke, its an honest and real account of her life. She talks about the things that we all deal with in life as mothers. The frustration, joy and, humor that can come with it.

It was nice to read the story of someone who I think is awesome, from her show "Wild on" to "Dancing with the Stars" Brooke is a dedicated and hard worker, so it seems as though it would be easy for her to raise a family. But just like the rest of us, Brooke deals with (even more publicly) the issues we all face, divorce, remarriage with kids, worrying, criticism. and everything else. This book is like getting advice from a good friend.

I especially appreciate the chapter on guilt. Its something that mothers deal with so often, and its hard to get over, I guess it just comes with the territory! In it she has a list of things we shouldn't feel guilty about as well as one we should (that list includes "saying you remind him of his mother") .

Another good topic is the topic of bitchyness... on man do I know about this one. I have on a few occasions been labeled "a bitch". And while I do think that most of the time I am an overly nice person. On the wrong day, I wouldn't recommend crossing me. Brooke's chapter "Embrace the Bitch" lets us know its okay to be a bitch and that sometimes, its almost necessary.

The book is spotted with lists full of everything from life lessons to a suggested playlist. And Brooke is a down to earth girl who just wants whats best for her family. The book is a great read for any mama!

Buy a Copy
The Naked Mom:  is available on Amazon.com!

Win a Copy!

To get your own copy of The Naked Truth just be a follower and leave a comment below!
Contest ends March 1st 2011 at midnight!

Good luck!

Giveaway Reminder!

Don't forget to enter our awesome giveaways!

Only three more days to enter the 

Shutterfly Giveaway

You'll get 25 custom cards in your choice of design!

I made this one, and I can't wait to get it! It was processed and shipped in two days!!

Hurry! This giveaway end February 3rd 2011 at midnight!

You'll have till March 1st to use your coupon!

Low Entries!!

And get your own copy of 

Papertoy Monsters!

This book is so much fun!

All you need is a gluestick and you or your child can create 50 unique and colorful monsters

Everybody in my house has been enjoying this book

This giveaway ends

 February 7th at Midnight,

 so be sure to enter soon!

Shutterfly Valentines Giveaway!

Hee hee!! I'm absolutly giddy with all the great giveaways I've had the privelidge of hosting in the last month or so. I can't wait to see what else comes up.!

Orange Uglad Valentine's Day Card

Modern greeting cards and party invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

What do we have today?

25 FREE 4x5 cards from Shutterfly in whatever design you choose!

Thats right one of you lucky readers is going to win 25 Free cards!!

(they expire March 1st 2011)

Isn't that great?
Be sure to leave your email address in your comment so I can reach you!

To win just let me know your favorite thing about Valentines day!

For an extra entry blog, facebook or tweet about this giveaway!

We're going to end this on February 3, 2011 at midnight so that the winner has plenty of time to order their cards!

Good luck and thanks for entering!

Papertoy Monsters!! Review and giveaway!

So Its snowing here in New England, and there isn't very much to do on the outside of the house.

I was looking for a way to kill time, that was until I received "Papertoy Monsters!" A book of punch out, fold and glue pages!

Whats so cool about that? 

These monsters are seriously cool, its kind of like a 3D paperdoll, only you don't dress it.

Need an example? Check out this Valentine's Day Papertoy Monster which is available to download and print out right from your printer!

Or try the Superbowl Papertoy Monster also available for download on the site!

Now I will note that when I made the first monster, I was weary that a nine year old could make these as well, its tedious no doubt, small spots to glue, and little areas to fold. However, after I made the first one, and then the second, I realized that its a book thats habit forming. In fact, I made total of five of the monsters this morning and my sister made one.  I just couldn't stop (in fact I'm thinking about doing another one after I'm done with the review) 

A few of my new buddies

Its easy for me to see how a child or anyone for that matter could spend hours making these.  These folks have also made the book interactive by putting a quiz online to find out which "Papertoy Monster" fits your personality! You can take the  "Papertoy Monster" Quiz on Facebook as well as join the "Papertoy Monster" Facebook page. I got the "Zombunny" a bunny that thanks to a government experiment gone wrong, raids farmer's trash heaps as well as supermarket  parking lots.

More adorable monsters

I really have to say I am enjoying this book, I was a bit weary at first and thought that maybe it was more hype then anything, but after building a few of these colorful toys, I think that they would make a great addition to a desk or locker. They would also be fun at parties because all the kids could make them and then have monster fights!

Not to worry though, not all these monsters are evil, some of them are nice and spread love and joy around town. 

To see these guys live in action check out this video from Brian Castleforte

Watch Papertoy Monsters come to life in a video from Castleforte!

This book is a collaboration of the top 24 papertoy designers in the world! Which means that I have lots more fun projects to keep making!

To get your own copy:

 Papertoy Monsters:  Check out Amazon.com and other major retailers!

WIN ONE!!

The fabulous folks over at Workman Publishing have offered one reader of Mommypants! a free copy!!

To win!! (Please leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Who is your favorite monster (it doesn't have to be one from the book)
2. Become a follower of Mommypants!
3. Blog about this giveaway

Giveaway ends February 7, 2011

Good luck and thanks for reading!

I received a free copy of  "Papertoy Monsters" from Workman publishing for this review. All the opinions are my own

"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!

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

Giveaway results Monday

We have decided to take a spur of the moment camping trip

HOORAY!

I have spent most of today making

• baby back ribs
• pasta salad
• graham crackers
• rosemary garlic potatoes

We are leaving tomorrow morning

So the results for the soapnuts giveaway will be posted Monday morning or as soon as I get back

I'll still only be taking entries up till 5pm tomorrow (thats California time)

I'll be back next week with giveaway results, recipes, pictures

And a review of my new ERGO CARRIER

that I recieved as an early Mother's Day gift from Heather and My mom!

A very big THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to them

You ladies are the best

Naturoli Extreme 18x Giveaway 2 winners!

Hello Everyone!

Most of you will remember my Naturoli Extremem 18x review

Well the people over at naturoli have aggreed to give TWO of my readers a chance to try a two ounce bottle of this product!

What is it?

• Concentrated form of soapnuts, grown on a tree
• two once bottle does 12 loads
• great for cloth diapers
• environmentally friendly
• can be used for just about every household cleaning job!

To Enter

1. You must be a follower, Check out my Naturoli Extremem 18x review and leave me a comment on this entry letting me know why you would like to try Extreme18X (mandatory for the other entries)(1 entry)

2. Follow me on twitter(1 entry)

4.Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry)

3.Blog about this giveaway (2 entries)
4.Enter another one of my giveaways (1 entry)

GOOD LUCK!
Contest ends May 7

Soapnuts Giveaway!! Three Winners!

Hello everyone!

The folks over at naturoli have decided to give THREE readers a trial size bag of Soapnuts!

Most of you will remember my review of Soapnuts two weeks ago. You'll remember how it works for EVERYTHING!

What are they?
Soapnuts are grown on trees, you make a tea with them and then use it to clean whatever you can think of, I was also recently informed that it can be used as a Mosquito Repellent!  I don't know what these things can't do!

Rules:

Winners will be chosen from the random number generator on random.org
I will contact the winners and you will have three days to respond, if you don't respond in three days (72 hrs), I will choose another winner.
Please leave a post for each entry (if you blog about the giveaway, post three times, its the only way i know to keep the numbers fair)

Giveaway ends April 30, 2010 at five pm

How to Enter:


Mandatory
1. You must be a follower, and leave a comment telling me me what you would try your Soapnuts on (one entry)

Bonus
2.  Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (one entry)
3. Blog about this giveaway (three entries)


Good luck everyone!

Amber teething necklace giveaway

Glad I caught this Cars trucks and teething rings is hosting an amber teething necklace giveaway from inspired by finn I've heard wonderful things about these necklaces and I'm hoping to snag one for myself! Check out her blog, she has a code for a discount as well!
while you are there check out all her other sweet posts about being a mama!

Bra Giveaway

Coupon Mommy sent me a note letting me know about her giveaway from Bella maternity. So I am letting all you bloggers know about it. (But hoping I win!) I went to the sight and found  a page full of non-underwire nursing bras. Including a Sports Bra that I would wear just about every day of my life!  And the french lace collection has a camisole that could be worn out! And the whole collection is so nice! Its pretty pricey, so I'm hoping to win the giveaway! You can enter too at her site along with entering lots of great giveaways

cupcake giveaway

Mommy on Accident, makes cupcakes and they look YUMMY. You can check out her etsy site where she sells the tempting monsters, One word.. Chocolate, and we know thats my favorite food


I am no cake baker, and can't even imagine making cupcakes  that look like that, so I entered her giveaway for 2 dozen cupcakes from her shop! You can enter too by going to her site!