Photo Gifts

So I have tried out a few different sights for photo books. I've tried Shutterfly, Snapfish and ArtsCow. Snapfish was the worst I think. Not that the photos weren't nice or anything. It's just the options that were given to create my book weren't as nice. And there were a lot less options than Shutterfly. I like a lot of layout options! I also like the option to make my own layout and decorate the page as much or as little as I want. That is why I like ArtsCow the best.

With ArtsCow you have the option of choosing a premade layout or creating your own from scratch. You can also use the premade layout and customize it by moving things around or deleting or adding things you want. This creates an endless list of layouts for you to play round with! This is why I LOVE ArtsCow for photo gifts. The company is out of Hong Kong so it takes a bit longer to get here. But over all my photo book from them is a better quality. The pages are stitch bound. To me it makes it look better when the book is opened. The glued books from Snapfish and Shutterfly don't lay out as flat. Have you ever had a children's book fall part on you? I have. It was glued like that too. I have old books that were my mother's when she was a little girl, and they are stitch bound. All but one of them is still held together! Leading me to believe that the stitch binding is better quality in the long run as well. You can see the difference in the pictures below.

And least we forget. The prices are great! When you sign up there are tons of free things that you can get. That's how I got my first photo book and some Christmas ornaments! They have most, if not all, of things available at Snapfish and Shutterfly.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my review. No giveaway this time. Unless you sign up with ArtsCow. Then you'll get a bunch of stuff Free For Shipping! I just thought I would let you guys know about another place to get some good deals. As long as you don't mind waiting a little longer for it to get to you. If you are in a pinch and need it faster, then go with Shutterfly. Other wise, definitely go with ArtsCow!

Glider Giveaway!

I found another giveaway that I would love to win! It's for a nice, comfy glider and ottoman from Stork Craft. Doesn't it look nice? Go take look! I looked around on there and they have a lot of nice things. If I had the money right now I would get the rocking horse for my little guys birthday.

Go to Two Of A Kind Working On A Full House blog spot to find out more about this giveawy.

And The Winner Is

I went to Random.org to pic a number for the winner. First I wrote everyone's names down and put a number by them. I did not include my own post responding. :) Out of 30 entries the winner is post Number 1. So Jen, you have 24 hrs to go to the Inspired By Fin and pic out any necklace you want up to 16 inches long. Then email me back with your address so I can have it sent to you.

For everyone who didn't win. Here is a coupon code for you to get 20% off anything in the store! Just use the word blog at check out.

I am still looking for my next giveaway . Hopefully I can get a response form someone by the end of the week. Thank you everyone for joining me in my very first giveaway. This was lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again sometime in the future.

Baltic Amber Giveaway

My First Giveaway!

I am excited to be hosting my very first giveaway. And Rachel from Inspired by Fin has greed to let me giveaway one of her Baltic Amber necklaces. I have one of these that I got second hand for my little guy. When he wears it he drools a lot less! (from teething)It also seemed to help out a little with an ear ache he had a while back. I have also heard a couple of moms say that when they wear them they get a lot less headaches. So I really want to get a new one of these for me. Inspired by Fin has so many selections to choose from. And all sorts of different sizes. By far the best looking baltic amber necklaces I have ever seen.

Well, on to the good stuff from the people that know about it better than me.

Inspired by Finn Online Shop: "Historically, Baltic Amber has been used in Europe as a natural and traditional remedy and curative for many ailments for centuries. Long ago it was considered one of the leading ‘medicines’ of its time. Baltic Amber is the most esteemed amber in the world, and the healing qualities of Baltic Amber make it unlike any other type of amber found in the world.
When baltic amber is worn on the skin, the skin’s warmth releases trace amounts of healing oils from the amber. These oils contain succinic acid and are absorbed into the skin.

Baltic Amber has some of the highest concentrations of Succinic Acid found in nature, and this is what makes it so special. Succinic Acid is a natural component of plant and animal tissues, and it's presence in the human body is beneficial in many ways."

So what other ways can this Baltic Amber help us?
*Pain Relief
*Strengthen the body's immune system
*Restoring energy
*Maintaining Wellness
*To help break a cycle of (chronic) inflammation

Click here to see what other's are saying about Inspired by Fin.

To enter please leave a comment here. Also remember to leave a way for me to get a hold of you if you win. If I don't know how to get in touch with you then I can't give you your prize and I will have to pick someone else. The giveaway is for your choice of any necklace in her store up to 16inches long.
For more entries:
*follow my blog and post a comment that you do.
*Blog about my giveaway with a link back to here and a link to Inspired by Fin. Then leave me a comment saying you did. Remember to give a link to your blog.

I also would like to add that Rachel has given me a code to give out to all of my readers for 20% off in her store! So if you don't win one, you can save some money on one. How cool is that?!

This giveaway will end on Sunday August 16th. So hurry up and get your entries in! Good Luck to all of you.

Tiney Bubbles Cloth Diaper Detergent

I got my free Tiny Bubbles Detergent in the other day. So far I have washed 2 loads of diapers in it. On my 3rd now. ;) I like it so far. I don't have to do the 3 extra rinse cycles like I had to do before. It's always a good thing to save water, electricity and time! I am going to wait at few weeks before I give my complete review though. Just to make sure it really does work for us. But so far so good. It also has a lot less suds. I guess that's why it takes less rinses.

Warning... - Parenting Talk - DiaperSwappers.com

This is my post from a forum I visit. I just want to pass it on and let every one know about it as much as I can. Don't let this happen to your baby!

Warning... - Parenting Talk - DiaperSwappers.com: "Last week we were at the beach. Which we do very often. Loaded up with plenty of sunscreen and some shade set up too. Any ways, my 10 month old baby boy always eats tons of sand out there. This time he found a half of a lime that my sister had used for her drink. He chewed on it the whole time we were out there. I thought it was great because it was keeping him from eating all that sand. A lime is bound to better than sand right? We went home after a few hrs and washed up and every one went to be a little early. All normal... Until the next day. My poor baby woke up with a red rash all around his face. Later that day it was on his chest and arm. Over night blisters came up on his face. By the time I got him to the Dr the second day, he had blisters on his chest and face. And the ones on his face were popping.

Apparently the combination of the citric acid in the lime and the sun produces a chemical reaction that can burn some people. I just want to clarify that none of us, including the baby, are allergic to limes or other citric fruits. I even got a small burn on my foot where the baby touched me.

If you really want to see what this burn looked like I am going to post a link. As I don't think I would want to see it with out being fully warned of what it is before hand. I just really want to spread the word out there so no more babies will get burned like this. It comes on pretty fast in my little guy. His blisters are already all popped and healing. Where as my food is still blistered up. So the time frame may vary according to how much exposure, and how much juice got on you.

I guess it's like how we add some lemon juice to our diapers to bleach them out. Or like some people put it on their hair to bleach it. Makes since by all means! Just didn't dawn on me I guess."

Here are the links to some pitures of his burns. Just incase you need to see what this can do.

Here is his face and chest.

Here you can see the big blister on his thumb.

Here is what it looked like yesterday. You can see the lines where it dripped down his arm.

And here is what it looks like today.

Change Can Be Good

I'm finally getting the hang of cloth diapering and I am starting to venture out and try new things. For instance, I just got some prefolds in a trade. So I am going to try them. I use AIOs(All-In-Ones), Pockets, and fitteds right now. With so many kinds of diapers out there it's overwhelming at times. So I haven't even tried switching detergents since ours has been working fine so far. The only thing I don't like about it is that I have to run the rinse cycle 3 more times after I wash them. That seams like a waste of electricity to me. Not to mention the water. Right now I use Purex Free & Clear. Mostly because it's the only one I can find locally that is safe for use on cloth diapers. I often visit The Natural Baby Company to look around. I keep eyeing a few things there. But the next thing I want to try is the Tiny Bubbles Laundry Detergent. It's completely phosphate free and biodegradable. It's also a low residue detergent. So maybe that will help me cute out some of those rinse cycles.

We went to the beach in South Padre Island. Well, we went down there to go to Schlitterbahn. But the day we got there we decided it was to late to go there so we headed to the beach first. I didn't get many pics of the kids because they were in the water almost every second. But all us girls went on a banana boat ride. It was a lot of fun. We tipped over three times. And I was the one to help every one back on the boat. No one else could do it. That was where holding a 20+ pound baby all day comes in handy. LOL This was my nephew's first time to the beach. He found the sand, and loved it! What is it about baby's and sand? They just seem to love it. The pic I have down there of Evan has Keegan in the background eating more sand. But it's a nice pic anyways.

Me & Keegan

Keegan & Evan

Keegan & Daddy

Christian, Keegan & Justin

On the boat: MIL, SIL, Me, Niece, Niece & Megan

Everyone else I don't know. LOL

I'll put up more when I get the pics back from Schlitterbahn! I'll even tell you how all of that went.

Monkeys, Monkeys, Everywhere!!!

We all love monkeys in this house. Mostly because my oldest son has an obsession about them. We have some crocheted monkeys the kids still play with, and my kids have tons of stuffed ones! And of course from time to time we have monkey related shirts and cloths. LOL But come one, how can you NOT like monkeys?! This Monkey is no different... 3MonkeysClothDiapers on Etsy has some cute prints! And they are AIOs for only $13.oo. How much better could that be? MonkeyToes Reviews has her review of the new 2 size diaper. And a giveaway! Check it out... Review & Giveaway

Personally I like the the dragon print best. But honestly, I would get at least one monkey print too.

The Coolest Bib Ever!

If you have kids you know that they get messy when the are learning to feed themselves. This bib from Baggino is the ultimate bib. It covers so much! Even the arms. And it goes far enough down so that when food is spilled it doesn't hit their pants! Now how many times have I wished it were easier to clean up the baby after he eats? Way to many... I think I could actually let him wear his cloths while he eats with this bib! LOL If you click the Baggino link above you will see that there is a neat looking diaper bag too. :) I just had to add that. :) I want one!!!

With out further adieu... You can enter to win one of these at Two of a kind, working on a full house. How cool is that?! I just love the chance to enter contests. I have yet to win one. But I'm sure to win sometime soon. This contest ends June 12th so hurry!

GroBaby is here!

Yay!!! I got my free Gro baby one size cloth diaper in the mail today! I am so excited to try it out. I just did the diaper laundry though. So I'll have to wait a couple of days to get it prepped. :(so sad) I think I may need to get some more soakers to go in it though. ;) I am liking the idea of a snap in soaker that you can just replace when wet. If I like these as much as I think I will I will be buying some!

In case anyone is interested you can find them for sale here: The Natural Baby Company

There are also some other things I want from them.... hehehe.... I'll never have enough fluff.

Cloth Diaper Giveaway

I found out about this new give away from a cloth diaper that sounds amazing! Here's the link to find out more: Your Moma Reviews. It even shows some video and goes into detailed description all about the diaper. It's a great review. Anyways, I am entering. I need all I can get. And FREE IS GOOD! And if these diapers are what they say they are, I'm in for a special treat.

Cloth Diapering

I have begun my cloth diapering journey. Finally. LOL I have fallen prey to a bunch of people selling bad ones out there. Then I found a couple of great forums that I learned from! I was so glad I found them. I have learned so much from both places. The biggest place is Diaper Swappers. I have gotten a few good ones from there. And the next is a newer forum with some of the greatest ladies I have met online. It's Cloth Diapers Anonymous. I find all the info I need and then some, and I get a lot of laughs doing it!

Anyways, I have heard of a new Gro Baby diaper. I think this is one that I would LOVE to try out. I've heard some good things about it and I really want to see if it's right for us. I found this place to be a good one to get them from: The Natural Baby Company. Maybe in a month or so, once I catch up from all that waisted money!

Busy Days

With baseball season up and running now I am really busy. Kaleb and Christian are both playing this year. This is Kaleb's first year. Him and Dillan are both on the same team. They just got their uniforms yesterday. We had opening ceremonies and pictures. That took most of our day. Especially since they were spread apart at 9:00-11:00, then again 4:00-5:00. We had just enough time to go eat lunch then come home for a nap in between.


Christian in in his first year of kid pitch. There are more rules to follow now. LOL But he's liking it and learning more. He's getting better. His team is the Cardinals. Red shirts and white pants. I hate it when they have white pants. It's so hard to get that red dirt and the grass stains out. But he loves it for the same reasons I hate it. LOL That way he looks cool. Like he slides all the time.


Between the two of them I am at practices and games almost every day of the week. But as busy at it sounds it's all good. I love watching them have so much fun. And the little ones are just so darn cute!

I just wanted to update a little. Keegan is 6 months old. He's sitting up now. And getting on his hands and knees. Every day it seems like he is doing something else. Christian and Kaleb are starting baseball practice now. This will be Kaleb's first year. He's really excited. He got his first bat the other day and has been carrying it around with him every where asking when he gets to play. It gets pretty annoying, but it's really cute too. I can't wait to get some pics of them at there games this year.

I've learned a little more about photography so I am looking forward to trying out some sport pics next. Now I really want to share some of my favorite pics of the kids. Keep in mind they are not taken with a really good camera. It's not an SLR or anything. So some of the pics may look a little grainy. But I have done my best with what I have. I think I'll go ahead and add the edited ones too. Maybe some of you can critique them for me. Who knows, maybe I can get some pointers and learn some thing new. Please click on the pics to see them better. For some reason they kept on loading big and not resizing themselves. So I had to do it manually on here. They may be a little off.

The twins are coming down this weekend. They will be here for one week. And of course their spring break is the week after my kids spring break. Oh well. At least they will get some quality, one-on-one time with daddy this time. We are headed out to the beach this weekend too. More photo ops!

It really has been a long time!

It's been a long time since I posted any news. Baby is almost 6 months already! LOL I don't know where the time goes.

I guess I'll have to update with lots of pics! I've been trying my best to get some really good ones. And in the process I have been taking way to many. But that's OK. I love it anyways.

These are from October.

Duh...

November

I am running out of time so I will have to get back with more pics tonight or tomorrow.

See you soon!

I LOVE free stuff

Don't you?! I found this free give away today and thought I would share. Because I love slings and wraps to carry babies in. And because I like supporting people hand crafting things. So follow this link Christopher And Tia to find out how you could enter to win a free ring sling from SugarBugSlings. It's one of these slings Choose Your Hues Ring Sling. Nice huh?