Magnets.com!

I am one of those people who never evolved from covering my fridge in pictures.

I have toned it down, in my early 20's every visible surface of my fridge had someone's face on it.

Now it is a bit more toned down,  and since my last package arrived at my mailbox, much more organized too! I was lucky enough to be chosen to review the great products over at magnets.com and oh boy, do they have some fun stuff!

When I pulled this out of the mail envelope I was delighted at how nice the folder was, I had expected just lots of magnets in  a bag or something along those lines. But this was super fancy!

On the inside cover, I found this great list of reasons for using the magnets for your company

I think that they are such a wonderful idea, especially because I hang everything on my fridge! I just love to see all my friend's faces when I open the door! That; and I can never decide which pictures to display!

I was super excited! Look at all these great magnets!

There are so many different kinds! A magnet to fit every use that you could think of!

That Arrow magnet? Made for outdoor use! 

 But even though its made for outside, I'm for surely going to be using it for important announcements! I love how magnatized these are, they really stick to the fridge. Outdoor magnets are a great idea for parties or helping people find their way to events. There is nothing worse then a magnet that keeps falling off the fridge everytime that I try to put a picture underneath it, but the magnets that I recieved from Magnets.com didn't seem to have that problem at all!

I love frame magnets, I have quite the collection of them, These ones are great they have a great amount of space in them. One of the perks that I find with these magnets is that they are like getting two magnets in one! Because you can use the center for a magnet too! Put your business card in the middle and its a double magnet!

Aren't these mailer magnets great? I think these would be perfect for a delivery service of some type, I'm thinking the magnets attached to a menu! I would be calling that pizza place for sure! The magnets are secure enough to the cardboard to stay on while being mailed yet easy enough to take off so that paper isn't stuck to them and I can get them off the paper!

Look at all the great shapes that Magnets.com offers! I really love that cow! She has a special place on my fridge now. Magnets with shapes stand out much more then the generic rectangle shapes

And all these! These schedules would be great to have for sports teams! Or even a schedule to remember important family dates. I also LOVE the calender magnets, they are great as a quick reference to see what day of the week certain dates fall on! 

Thats right they even have word magnets! These came attached to a business card for American express and all the words were relevant to their business! I have had probably at least three hours of fun with these already and I'm sure that there is more to come! These magnets are great for discovering what creativity you have when you are feeling a little stumped. I also really like them for teaching grammar, and sentence structure

And now you can see how wonderfully organized my fridge is! Complete with magnetic phrases by me!

Overall I give magnets.com two thumbs up, the magnets are vibrant and they stay on my fridge. I also love all the variety that they offer, there are magnets to suit everybody's taste and style!

I can't wait to order some magnets of my own! I was thinking maybe these might make some great additions to Christmas baskets I'm making, a magnet with Annabella lasts much longer then a Christmas card! Maybe I can even throw in some of these word magnets for my artsy friends!

I would like to say thank you to magnets.com for allowing me to sample their products, and giving me the chance to host this great review

I received a package of magnets for this review, all the opinions in this are my own.

Ten tips for Smart Holiday Shopping

Its that time of year again! If you haven't already, you better start that holiday shopping, because prices are going up, and so are the amount of people in the stores! I try to make most of my gifts, but there are lots of people who I give gifts to that I just can't seem to find the right thing to make (or I just don't feel I have the time) So for those people that crafting doesn't cover, here are a few tips for getting everything you need

1. Join Amazon Prime, Amazon prime is a great program that amazon has, it is a club that you join for about $80 a year, you get FREE shipping on tons of items!  If you are searching for specific items, you can even choose "amazon prime shipping" as a choice, and make sure that you don't have to pay for shipping!
2. Go Local: go to that little farm stand down the street, they have some great local and handmade gifts! Choosing local not only helps local people, but it gives your gifts a touch of charm, especially if you are sending them somewhere else, it helps to invite family far away into your life
3. Get gift-cards: did you know that you can now send gift-cards on facebook? Thats right, don't leave anyone out this is a quick way to get all your gifts taken care of. What a great way to come up with a quick gift when you notice that you forgot someone!
4. Have a backup: Just in case you forget someone, make sure to keep a few backup gifts, bottles of wine, board games, or bath and body sets. These are great when unexpected visitors stop by with  gifts. You will avoid awkward situations.
5. Be frugal; Make up your own gift baskets. Stop at costco and get a bunch of candy, popcorn, some movie tickets and other goodies and wrap them in cute tins and add them to gift baskets. These are great for personalized presents that don't cost much!
6. Take a tip from the fat man: Make a list and check it twice! Make sure that you get everybody on that list! This will help you avoid forgetting about someone while you are shopping and having to run back to empty store shelves
7. Use your apps: Have you heard of the fast price check? Well if you have an i-phone look in your app store. This allows you take a picture of a bar code with your phone and then check the prices of local stores and the internet to find the lowest one!
8. Be prepared: Bring extra everything for your little one. This way you don't have to stop to buy french fries in that crowded McDonald's' line, or have to stop to buy some diapers in the mall where they are super taxed!  Don't forget some fun toys to distract!
9. Leave the kids at home: If its possible get your hubby or grandma to watch the kids while you do your shopping, even if its not for them. Shopping with kids in a crowded mall can be hard, not only are they begging for everything, they can get antsy, or even lost among shoppers
10. Don't be afraid of restaurants: Everybody likes dinner out, and a gift certificate at a restaurant is a quick easy and tasty way to say that you care. How about a restaurant gift card and a babysitting certificate for that new mom and dad in your life? Nights out are sometimes underrated

Most of all enjoy this time of year, the music, the lights. Try to ignore the frustrations that can arise, remember that this is a time of year about joy and love for your family. It shouldn't really matter whats wrapped up in that fancy foil!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Office Depot blogging program, making me eligible to get a $40 Office Depot gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Shhh

At church today I was reminded why I don't like to say 'shh'

Sitting in the baby room in back, I was distracted not by the little girl trying to pretend to be a cat and meowing

But by her mother who kept making sharp "sh" noises to her daughter "sh, sh, sh"  the entire time she refused to LOOK at her daughter. The girl was probably about four years old. Not only did it not quiet her daughter, it also started to get on my nerves. Instead of hearing her daughter meowing, I now heard her trying to "sh" her daughter to silence, which was only causing them to become louder and louder. 

Annabella babbled a little, and when another girl came into the room, the woman even said 'SH' to her and Annabella when they bumped into her chair. I didn't say anything about how they are just kids because we were in the middle of mass and I didn't know the woman.

I guess I don't really know the church etiquette for such things, but in my opinion, if the kids are playing quietly and I can listen to the priest. Its a lot better then my kid screaming because she wants to run around.

Usually when Annabella is getting out of control, I take her away from the situation and help her to quiet down. I'll try to distract her with a toy or a song, or whatever I can find that she won't eat (or sometimes something she will eat) Sometimes I do find myself going to "sh" her but I really try not to because I hated it when I was younger, and apparently still do.

How do you quiet your kids in situations where they are better seen then heard? 

Why wear a hat when you can wear a bag on your head?\
note: no I did not take this picture at church I just think its adorable

Ten Tips for Making your Life Easier!

While my last post was about how to make your holidays a little simpilar, this post is about how to make your life a little simplilar. Its hard not to remember that things are not really as complicated as they seem. I often find myself making huge deals out of situations that really aren't so bad. Because it really doesn't take as long as I as think its going to to do most tasks (even if they look like they will take forever). Here are some of my tips on how to make our busy lives a little simpler

1. Clean as you go: This is something that I struggle with, but when I do this, I find that my life is so much neater! I do the dishes while I'm waiting for the rest of the food to cook. I clean the kitchen while I feed Annabella breakfast and wait for the coffee to brew. I run my errands while I do my laundry
2. Write it down: Buy yourself a planner, and write down EVERYTHING, take that library calender and write down the dates you wanna go so that you have a quick reference in your planner. Check it everyday. It helps so much to see how your week looks and it makes it easy to see areas where you will be busy and even easier to schedule  BREAKS!
3. Three Meals A day: If you have a full belly, then you are less likely to snack  (which means you won't gain extra pounds) Also when you eat your meals it keeps your head clear to think and get the things done that you need, and if you plan it out, you can avoid eating fast food while shopping!
4. Feng Shui: clear the energy in your house and you will be able to focus easily on what you are doing. Tibetan Prayer flags are an easy way to clear some energy. Also a crystal hung in a window not only bounces rainbows all over the room and make you smile
5. Hang your shirts: Its so much easier to have all the shirts hung up in the closet so that you can easily see what you are trying to get, they are hardly ever wrinkled so you don't have to worry about ironing them either!
6. Let your toddler do the work: Plum Organics Baby Food makes pouches of fruit and veggie blends that are BPA free, these are AMAZING for the back of the car when you are in a hurry or when you need to get some work in during meal time and don't want to have to worry about clean-up! They are super healthy, I have a friend who's son is super picky and she swears by these!
7. Folderize your e-mail: My friends are always telling me how jealous they are of my organized mailbox. I have a folder for my receipts, I have a folder for my blog work, I have a folder for my travel info, one for my school info. This has made my life so much easier especially when I am trying to find messages that I need!
8. If nobody will help you: make them ;  it took me a while to learn this one, but for real, when Annabella's father just doesn't help enough I take an 'extended' trip to the grocery store or to my mailbox, on this trip I stop downtown and wander around the stores for a while, or make phone calls that I want to. Its nice to have a breath of fresh air and I can go back in the house feeling better.
9. Car-Bag: I always keep a bag in my car full of wipes, diapers, extra clothes (for both of us), some snacks, granola bars, a bottle of water, and some toys.  When I am in a hurry I love knowing that I have a bag out in the car so that if I forget something I can know that its back there. (Sometimes I keep a Starbucks gift-card back there if I have one, but currently the last one ran out)
10. Spend some time with your baby:  When you are busy doing other things, sometimes its easy for me to make Annabella wait for me to read her a book because I'm working on a cute dress for her. I notice that if I take a break from what I'm doing and spend a few minutes playing with her, she is calmer and I can easily finish my project or task.

Remember to relax, most of the time you probably feel more busy then you really are. Turn on some mellow music and do your chores to that, you'll most likely get lost in the tunes and realize its not so bad after all! Lots of times I notice that when I start to feel overwhelmed!

Hope these can help you

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Oral-B blogging contest, making me eligible to get full-sized Oral-B Glide products and a $30 Target gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Ten Holiday Survival Tips!

Well its that time of year again.. 

Are you ready yet?

 Thankfully in the days of technology its pretty simple to make sure that you don't miss anyone on that list.

My biggest problems is that my family lives so far away, so while I try to stay local, its much easier for me to go online to ship gifts to be sure they make it there safe and on time.

But now that Annabella is here I want to be able to send out more personalized gifts, even some that I made myself.  So I have been trying to get it all done throughout the year, so that most are done. 

1. Start Your List for next year this year: Did your mother-in-law get you some socks while you spent time crafting her a quilt that took you months? Did your neighbor make you a basket of homemade goodies? Its good to know what kind of gifts that people give this way you aren't left feeling like you didn't do enough. Its also handy for shopping all year round.
2. Pick A Craft Theme: Pillows for everyone, or blankets. If you make similar gifts that are handmade, it will get quicker and quicker as you go along. And soon enough it will be like a factory in your house! You'll be whipping them out in no time
3. Start a Spider plant in December: Get a big pot and plant a spider plant in it. All year long cut the babies off and keep re-potting them so that they can make more babies. Also save your baby jars for your Christmas party next year, get red Water beads  and put your babies (you'll have enough to fill quite a few by now) and put them all over your house for your guests to take home, then they can start their own spider plant collection!
4. Send your cards online: Since these days there is nothing wrong with sending generic cards with photos of your adorable family and children, Take advantage of it, dress your kids up in last year's duds or even some nice black or white clothes. Then go online and make them look great. Tinyprints even prints the names on the cards, adds postage and sends them out for you (for a fee but how great is that?) I am now one of those people who sends cards
5. make some dough: most roll out cookie dough can be made ahead and frozen for later use. I also do this with pie dough, its very nice to have it in the freezer when you know you are going to have company over you can just pull it out, roll it, bake it, make some chocolate pudding and whip some cream.  Viola, instant chocolate cream pie!
6. Wrap: Wrap your gifts as you buy them this is good for a few reasons; your kids can't see what they are getting if they search, it saves you time from wrapping them all at once, you don't have to worry about forgetting to tag packages and then forgetting who they are for!
7. Keep some extra: Get some neutral holiday paper, or gift baskets, keep them on hand for any unexpected guests that may arrive. I always have a couple kids coloring sets around, and some bottles of wine, good beers, chocolates, and bath and body goods for the adults
8. Pizza; we eat it a lot here, and during the busy holidays we eat it even more, make the dough after the kids get home from school and by the time dinner comes around you are ready for pizza. All you need is a jar of sauce, some cheese, herbs, garlic salt, pepperoni or some Italian sausage. Of course there are lots more things you can put on. Let the kids have some fun with dinner and you can relax!
9. Get a real tree: I know, I know, the mess! you're saying. The pine needles everywhere! Watering it! Well what about when you turn off all the lights, and the only light in the house is the twinkle of lights creating an evergreen glow over your living room, while you smell that piney smell. It really helps to get back to what the meaning of the holidays are and helps you to feel good inside!
10. Go to the post office two weeks before Christmas, and send your stuff out then. Its just not worth waiting in the lines to send all that stuff. Do yourself a favor get those done now, its okay if they are early. Nobody will mind.  This way if you do have anything that you have to mail last minute it can just be for a quick thing rather then mailing out tons of other stuff! Also the CVS near me ships UPS, so that can be convent

Well that being said, Happy Holidays! And don't forget to have fun! Personally I'm just planning on spending most of this Christmas playing with Annabella, it will be our second Christmas but the first one that she'll really get to experience. Since its just us now, I'm looking forward to starting some new traditions together that we can share for years to come

Personalize your own Tiny Prints Christmas Cards

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $75 Tiny Prints gift certificate! For more information on how you can participate, click here.

This Annoys me

For  a while I have been searching for my genealogy, during that search I looked up some information on the Ellis Island, because when I was younger we went to Ellis Island to see our family's names on the wall.

Well the e-mail told me to go here to the Wall of Honor website. At this site you can pay a little less then  $200 to get your family's name put on an addition to the wall. Regardless if your family actually went through Ellis island.

I have mixed feelings about this, in part I think its a nice way to make money for the City of New York, I suppose its also nice if your family came in through Ellis Island and for some reason their documents were lost and they aren't on the wall

But the larger part of me thinks this is kind of ridiculous. Granted, it will be on an addition to the wall, and hopefully the Island will make it so that its not the same as the rest of the wall. However, I didn't see anything on the site to tell me that.  It was always so fun to go find my family on the wall and then learn about what they went through on the way here.  

I haven't really gotten all my thoughts together on this, but I'm planning a longer post.

How do you feel?

Bruno Mars - Just the Way You Are (Cover by MattyBRaps ft. Tyler Ward)

This is such a great video, what a wonderful big brother! I love the video