Better late than never

We had high hopes for Christmas. Our game plan had been to load everyone up on Christmas afternoon and drive down to see my parents. My sisters were both going to be there, as well as my grandmother. We had made both a pumpkin and pecan pie.

However ... 30 minutes before we planned to leave, Turtle threw up EVERYWHERE. We had originally thought it might be from the excitement and too much candy. So, Jeremy loaded the other three kids up and headed down while I stayed home with the littlest (just in case). 1/2 way into the journey ... Monkey threw up (right after commenting that her tummy wasn't feeling so hot). They turned around and came home ... Christmas was off. For the next FIVE days I was cleaning puke and poop. Merry Christmas *not*

Rotating sickies left enough non-sickies to kill all but 2 slices of pie off by Saturday night

This left us with a dilemma. We still had gifts for my family and they still had gifts for us. We needed to reschedule Christmas ... but when?! Schedules for everyone is just INSANE, so getting everyone back together was going to be impossible ... or was it?

Enter technology!!  January 7, my dad had to be up in Kansas City for a follow-up health appointment and my sister miraculously had the day off. My other sister also happened to have a block of time when she could get on FaceTime and we could do Christmas together! Woot!! *before I continue, please note that the smaller photos are taken from my father's camera. They have been left in a very small format and copyrighted since they are NOT taken by me.*

With FaceTime going, we started on the presents. I am not going to show all of them, but a few of them have a story that just need to be shared.

Turtle had a hard time concentrating ... but there was one toy that had her zoned for quite a bit!

Oh - let's not forget where those matching headbands came from ...

You have the Doc McStuffins outfits. Each girl got their own costume and they both came with headbands, ear scopes, and a bandaid. We wouldn't open the costume part, but we let the girls have the accessories. Monkey has since called the outfit her Doctor Who costume because he's the cool doctor.

Bullfrog has only a few interests when it comes to "toys." They are Bayblades, Transformers, Cars/Vehicles, and LEGOs. He LOVES LEGOs. Of course he got a package for Christmas and we joked that it wouldn't take him long to put it together ... it didn't ... only 90 minutes.

All of the children were given new shoes for Christmas ... and every child wore their new shoes to dinner and home. Peanut was given some elastic ties from "Santa" to put on her shoes so she wouldn't have to wear laces. I have to admit ... I REALLY want a pair of Converse shoes now (although I have always loved Converse).

Finally ... we can't have Christmas without smelling the color purple. We got our customary K-State bowl shirts that fit wonderfully and are beautiful. It was such a bittersweet game, but the boys showed fight and came back from a HORRIFIC first half to only lose by 5. Either way, "Santa" gave me a special present in my stocking that I fell in love with. This meal will be fun!

After we finished presents and cleaned up, it was time for us to head to dinner. I was in the middle of a Clean Eating challenge so I knew it was going to be interesting. I spent the day making sure I knew what I could and couldn't eat. I discovered that Golden Corral has a LOT of clean food and I managed to have 2 plates of food, plus a small dessert plate, and kept it under 1000 calories!!

Absolutely no sacrificing on flavor of the food either. My second plate had more carrots, more asparagus, and a few sweet potato fries (more than a few but 3/4 of them were stolen by Turtle).

Have you ever had a time when holidays don't go according to plan? How have you turned it around? Let me know in the comments below ... especially if you have ever used Skype or FaceTime to make a family holiday complete.

Black Friday has passed ... Bring on Cyber Monday!

Black Friday was INSANE ... there were deals to be had everywhere. People fought over flat screen televisions and the bumper carts game was a guarantee. I was one of MANY work from home moms that held online deals. I raved about them here on my blog, on Facebook, and Twitter. I'm sorry if you missed out of them. Some places even had deals going into today.

The best part about Black Friday is the Cyber Monday that follows. The deals aren't always as great, but it really depends on what you are after and how much time you have. Most Cyber Monday deals are ALL day so you don't have to be awake at 3am to catch them. Even better ... you can shop from work or from home in your pajamas.

So, what should you expect with Cyber Monday? Let's talk.

Mabel's Labels is actually having a Cyber Monday sale starting TODAY (11/29) and going through TUESDAY (12/2)! You will be able to get the following deals:

• 30% off Skinny Minis & Tag Mates
• 40% off Sticky Labels & Shoe Labels
• 50% off Scan & Stores and Wash Aways

Shop Tea’s Cyber Monday Sale! Get 30% off all Tea Collection styles + totally free shipping with code MONDAY! No minimum purchase required.
You read that right ... 30% off EVERYTHING and you do not need ANY coupons or minimum purchase! Tack on free shipping with the code MONDAY and you are good to go. Great deals!

I am holding a Cyber Monday deal with my Mary Kay business. The deals are great and they are for ALL day so you don't have to wake early. You will not see the discount upon putting them in the cart. I add that at the end before invoicing you. Let me know how I can help you get some extra deals and possibly stuff a few stockings! ALL orders over $75 will get FREE shipping!

Teavana is one of my FAVORITE places to shop for tea. I love their Spiced Apple Cider, which is a Rooibos blend. However, they have a great selection for Black, Green, White, and Oolong teas. They are offering a Cyber Monday deal for $25 off a $60 order when you use the code CYBER14.

OMG! The Children's Place has a GREAT deal going on for Cyber Monday! The Cyber Monday Sale just got BIGGER! 50% off EVERYTHING + take an EXTRA 20% off when you spend $40 or more + FREE SHIPPING on EVERY ORDER with promocode: 338DA6. They also are offering discounts on their winter clothing! 60% off Glacier Fleece and Cold Weather Accessories!!

Are you like me and have a body with curves? If you have not already discovered Lane Bryant, now is the time! They are doing a blanket discount on EVERYTHING! Save 50% off everything today!! Use Coupon Code: CYBERCHICLB

Yup, I have posted about this on my Facebook page first because yeah, it is an AWESOME deal for women. Like one you should NOT PASS UP! Payless Shoes is basically giving you 75% off ALL dress shoes! All Women's Dress shoes are 50% off!! PLUS save an additional 25% off with coupon code: ZZCYBER

Do you still have gifts for those Disney lovers in your life? Check out the Cyber Monday deals from the Disney Store! The Disney Store is having a fabulous sale today! Save 25% off $100 or more Save 20% off $75 or more Save 15% off $50 or more! Receive Free Shipping on orders of $75 or more! Use Coupon Code: CYBER

Nordstrom has everything 30-50% off today! Catch it while it's hot!!

Starbucks has a couple of AMAZING Cyber Monday Deals!! Our favorite are the Verismo Machines! 50% off PLUS get a free box of Espresso roast capsules! Link has been added to Landing Page Links! Also, take $25 off orders of $70 or more PLUS get Free Shipping!! No Coupon Code is needed!! These machines are starting to sell out fast!

Mini in the Box has every possible stocking stuffer you need for tech lovers. On Cyber Monday, save up to 80% PLUS Receive up to $100 in Rewards!!

Another store that is offering discounts regardless of the amount you buy is Lands' End. Save 40% off EVERYTHING plus FREE Shipping with NO MINIMUM PURCHASE REQUIRED!! Use code: CYBER and PIN: 1234

Are you getting back into working out and not wanting to spend much on equipment or accessories? GAIAM has you covered with their sales and FREE shipping! Save an additional 20% off everything PLUS Free shipping! Save up to 80%!!!! You can get Studio socks for less than $10!!

You still have time to save on personalized gifts from I See Me! Save $5 on your order of $25 or more- Use Code CYBER5 Save $10 on your order of $50 or more- Use Code CYBER10 Save $15 AND get Free Shipping on your order of $75 or more- Use Code CYBER15

Tackling Mount Washmore with a Review

Well, did you survive Thanksgiving & Black Friday? I think I can mark mine down as JUST BARELY. Friday night ended on a great note, but the week was SO crazy. I literally started thinking about how long it will be until we are empty nesters ... which is sad since that is like 16 years down the road. LOL

Part of the reason for the craziness is that we decided that this week would be when we move everyone around again. While we were given permission to have the parent's bedroom in the basement by the state over a year ago ... our apartment complex did not want a bedroom in the basement. We were looking at getting a sleeper sofa for the living room, but we just could not find a style that we liked. THEN there was the discussion of having to open it and close it daily ... yeah, just icky.

We struck a compromise with Peanut. She has had her own room for over a year now and is seriously OCD about the state of her stuff. However, we were going to have to put the little girls in the same room. Since we were moving our bed out of the basement, we decided to section off a part of the basement just for her stuff. She literally will only have her bed in the room with the girls.

What this meant was Bullfrog & Peanut had to switch rooms ... then we had to move the little girls upstairs. FINALLY, we had to move our room upstairs and clean the basement. With Jeremy working Monday and Tuesday ... and today being Black Friday ... we had Wednesday & Thursday to do it all. The older two rocked and got their rooms done over the weekend so everything was set for quick changes.


Today was the setting up of the basement. Unfortunately, I had also fallen WAY behind in the laundry so I snagged Peanut's help while she was downstairs anyway. We sorted, folded, and put away 7 loads of laundry. We have another 5 to go, but we are both too sore today. However, that brings me to a topic on laundry. We LOVE scents and I HAVE to have soft clothes. I have 2 children that have sensory issues and cannot handle the scratchy fabric. This means that fabric softener is a must for our family. I was given the opportunity to sample Snuggle's new Exhilaration liquid softener as a member of Team Snuggle.

FREE product thanks to Snuggle!

Okay, so ... I have an OLD washing machine that still works great, but has no place for liquid fabric softener. I ordered a Downey Ball on Amazon because I know they work in my machine (I used to use them YEARS ago).

IF you have OCD about laundry being sorted, sorry

My review on the product:

Honestly, I STILL found that the scent does not last from wash to wash. I DO love how soft my clothes are and they smell GREAT in the wash and in the dryer. I just found that after they had been hanging or in the drawer for a few days, they had lost the scent. That is kind of a bummer since they do claim it will last. I have found that their scent boosters DO keep the scent. It seems to JUST be the liquid. Maybe it isn't sticking well to my clothes, I don't know.

BESIDES that though ... I love the product. It makes everything so soft and my favorite thing I washed with the softener was my black double layer blizzard fleece blanket. I am like Linus with that blanket and it was so nice to have it feel brand new again. I haven't had a product that has taken it back to that state so even though the scent didn't last, I WILL be buying Snuggle liquid softener again.

Have you noticed that the liquid softeners don't seem to be as fragrant as they used to? Is it just me? Comment below and let me know!

*Note - I was given a full product of Snuggle Exhilaration Liquid Fabric Softener to review, but all opinions are mine*

Black Friday Deals

Yes, I know that today is only Tuesday and Black Friday is on Friday ... but this is your guide and is early so that you can look through things without having to take time out of your family holiday. I will NOT be posting any Thursday deals. That isn't how I work. While I will be working on Thanksgiving, it is because I am CHOOSING to keep drunks off the road following an event. This is not a mandatory thing. I just want life to be a little bit safer and everyone is able to get home to their families for the holidays. With that said ... Here you go!

Click the graphic to go straight to the deal!

BLOGGERS - Pay attention! There is an AWESOME deal coming Friday and you will want to take part. If you are looking at going to your first conference or your 30th, the Type-A Con should be on that list. It is being held in Atlanta, GA again this year and will be in October. I attended Type-A Con 2014 as my first conference and I suffer from severe anxiety. I can tell you that they make everyone feel SUPER comfortable AND there are plenty of ways to destress. I WILL be going again in 2015!

Use code BLACKFRIDAY at http://typeaparent.com/affiliates?ap_id=HBRedbird to save 30% on your Type-A Parent Conference annual pass starting at midnight EST on Friday. Type-A Parent 7th Annual Conference will be held in Atlanta October 8-10. Type-A Parent offers top notch learning and networking with some of the world's smart bloggers and most beloved brands. Find out more and get your pass at http://typeaparent.com/affiliates?ap_id=HBRedbird

Order on my site!

Get your Mary Kay at a GREAT price on FRIDAY ONLY! When you place an order on my site, it will time stamp it on my email. This will determine your discount. I will then send you an invoice via PayPal that you can pay with your credit card WITHOUT having to give me your information!!! You will see the discount applied on the PayPal invoice. If you have ANY questions on how it works ... please ask me! You will want to remember to add 8.77% Sales Tax & $9.35 for shipping & handling. Limited Edition items are selling out wicked fast so I STRONGLY suggest you order as early as possible because I will try to place as they come in! If something is sold out, I will ask you if you would like a replacement item or your money back.

Other Specials Going on FRIDAY ONLY!

Free shipping from The Land of Nod

Receive free parcel shipping PLUS 15% Off your order at The Land of Nod from 11/27 – 12/1 for a Black Friday/Cyber Monday super sale!

Awesome Deals at Tea

Styles $12, $15 and $17 for Girl, Boy, and Baby

Get Personal with ISeeMe books!

Free Personalization ON Any Toy Now At MelissaAndDoug.com! No Code Needed!Groupon DEALS!
http://www.groupon.com/occasion/doorbusters?elq=62c925e496a34c3896b132ff3c4a2bdc&elqCampaignId=771

Recipes from the Minecraft Party

I held a Minecraft party for my boychild knowing that Bullfrog LOVED Minecraft. I had EVERY intention of doing super simple treats ... like apple slices dipped in caramel for the apples and purchasing mini cookies for the cookies. However, how do you say no to a little boy whose eyes light up when he asks you so sweetly to make a couple different goodies.

To start with, Bullfrog wanted Grinch cookies for the cookies. I made them a few years ago using sugar cookie mix. I really didn't feel like using a sugar cookie base this time, so I went searching for a new Grinch cookie recipe.

This time, I turned to a blogger who made crinkle cookies. The picture isn't great so refer to her blog post for better pictures! One major downside of my apartment is the inability to take good food photographs. *sigh* (I know, blogger problems)

Okay, so by visiting A Northwood Christmas' blog on Grinch Cookies, you will have the recipe base that I used. However, I made some alterations. Let me tell you about them.

1. I did not use peppermint extract. We felt it was a little overbearing last time so we just omitted it this time. It tasted GREAT.
2. We didn't use Andes chips ... I DID however, visit the Dollar Tree and purchased a small bag of Andes mints and chopped them up myself. I know that Andes chips are about $2 to $3. I was perfectly fine with chopping my own mints and saving a buck or two.

I did roll them in powdered sugar and they turned out fantastic ... but I'm also a sucker for crinkle cookies.

Okay, moving on ... the apples. Those are Caramel Apple Blondies by The Love Nerds. I only changed the recipe a touch and it was due to my stupidity in forgetting to pick up a couple items. LOL

1. I forgot the parchment paper ... do not forget this. It causes MASSIVE problems.
2. I used Honey Crisp Apples ... these were SUCH a yummy addition. I could totally see how Granny Smith apples would be great, but I prefer Honey Crisp over EVERYTHING!
3. I forgot the chocolate chips for the topping ... do not forget this ... chocolate should NEVER be forgotten.
4. Cook for the FULL 35 minutes even if it kinda sounds odd. I cooked for 30 minutes and they could have totally used another 5 minutes ... didn't realize it until they were cooled and ready to cut.

So ... there ya are. Caramel Apple Blondies for the Apples and Grinch Cookies for the cookies ... and one very happy birthday boy!

Creeper Party

My son turns 10 next week and all he has wanted for the past two years is a Minecraft Party. I wanted to make sure that it was a party that would be bigger so I could justify the bigger expense. I had NO idea that the party would be so cheap! I absolutely LOVE how this turned out ... however, my pleasure with the turnout had no comparison to how happy it made my son.

So, I turned to Pinterest for ideas and found many that I liked. I don't have a color printer though so I had to get a tad more creative. We decided to have a 90 minute party and do pictures, a snack bar, presents, and then two types of crafts.

I used leftover table cloth for the backdrop and then cut 2x2" blocks of black construction paper for the face.

Snack Bar:

The snack bar was several items that are available in Minecraft. MOST of the food I got at the Dollar Tree and the rest was cheap at the grocery store or I homemade.

• Gold - Rolos
• Sticks - Pretzel Sticks
• Coal - Rice Krispie Treats (with black food coloring)
• RedStone - Hot Tamales
• Slime Balls - Cake pops with Green candy coating
• Bread - Oyster crackers
• Cookies - Homemade "Grinch" Cookies (recipe to come)
• Carrots - Baby Carrots
• TNT - Twizzlers
• Diamonds - Blue Jelly Bellys
• Emeralds - Green Jelly Bellys (LIME not sour apple - don't get me started)
• Melons - Candy corn (*I* was going to use melon rings but boychild wanted candy corn and it's his party)
• Pumpkins - Harvest pumpkins (thank you after-Halloween sale!)
• Apples - Caramel Apple Bars (recipe to come)

Crafts:

The first craft we did was make Minecraft items out of Perler Beads. The kids had a blast. I got a HUGE container of Perler beads at Walmart for only $13. Anything not used today was part of JJ's gift. This was the most expensive part of the party.

She made a splash potion

Then our second craft was making dynamite sticks with a full size Rolo bar. We put red construction paper over the candy, wrote TNT on it, and then tore off a small piece of Twizzler Pull & Peel for the fuse.

The party went over awesome. I think that we could have added another 30 minutes on just for the Perler bead crafts. OH! I also used a free font from dafont.com for the cards that were on the snack table!

If you have any questions or comments, please add them and I will get back to you!

A vault on the go ... a NEED for parents

Okay, so back in September, I attended Type-A Con in Atlanta. I didn't expect to come home with anything other than swag. I was SURPRISED (to say the least) when I got an email from one of the sponsors letting me know I had won their iPad Mini drawing. Even more amazing, it was a sponsor that I was VERY interested in because I know MANY parents who need this.

Before I dive into who this sponsor is, let me tell you about my struggles. Jeremy and I both have jobs. He works outside of the house in a traditional work setting. I work from home and drive for Uber. Both are freelance jobs and are flexible ... but I'm also a hermit. Jeremy is the one who goes to the events while I stay home and corral the two toddlers who would make our life a living hell if they attended.

This leads to common problems. Jeremy gets the schedules and I have all the important documentation. Which means, when he is filling out paperwork, he has to call me to get information such as social security numbers, current vaccination records, health insurance information, and so forth. We also don't like to keep things the kids bring home (count four children plus three of them in school plus everyday activities ... yeah, no thanks), but we like to preserve the memories of them and share them with family members.


Enter KidsLink.

You read EVERY where about how there this app is perfect for moms or that app is perfect for moms. However ... KidsLink is the only app that offers parents the ability to store vital information safely AND share things with their friends. You can pick and choose who sees what!

What are things moms desire in an app? Let me tell you what *I* desire in a family app.

• Somewhere safe to store vital documents for my kids that I can access while I'm out and about
• Ability to quickly send information to babysitters, family members, or friends as needed (or desired)
• Ability to virtually scrapbook since I will NEVER get around to it otherwise. (my kids do not have baby books - yeah, I'm that mom)
• Ability to access this information on mobile devices as well as online
• Ability to work with all operating systems (since my family uses both iOS & Android)

Except for the last one, KidsLink manages to work ALL of these into an app. Why couldn't this have come out sooner! I am having to play catch up with getting everything documented on the Cloud. It is great being able to share milestones with my family, and then hilarious pictures that aren't so appropriate for Facebook. I have the ability to store all of the medical information in the vault and set it so certain people can access it ... which means I can allow my sitter to see it while caring for my children and then restrict access!!

*Note ... VERY IMPORTANT NOTE ... KidsLink is downloadable, but you need an invitation to use it! You are welcome to use my code, HBREDBIRD*

Here is a screencast I did with my computer dashboard. It was easier than the mobile dashboard (when it comes to making a screencast). I will tell you that EVERYTHING is so streamlined. It is awesome. Watch the video and let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Quick Recap:

• Maintain your child's digital privacy while taking advantage of the ease of social media.
• Share life events and photos only with those you want.
• Organize your professional and personal life (and your kids')

Features:

• Storyboards
• Like Facebook timelines, but organized for each child
• BUT you have complete control over each post! You can make it
• private  to just you and spouse
• Close KidsLink friends and family only
• Shared on Facebook (Instagram coming soon!!)
• Ongoing scrapbook without guilt and without photos getting lost in the photo roll or having to share everything with everyone on Facebook
• Lots of filters and borders, just like Instagram
• Profile and vault
• Private and safe just for you and your spouse/caregivers

Profile:

• Place to track allergies, doctor's contact information, bedtimes, etc.
• Mom and dad can both log in and see.
• Email this to the babysitter

Vault:

• Digital filing cabinet for everything, all PRE-organized by child and type, with NO typing required
• Health insurance cards, birth certificates, driver's licenses, artwork, receipts
• Mom and dad can both log in and see
• Or email to the soccer coach or doctor's receptionist
• Stream and notifications
• Catch up with what friends have made public
• Get and share comments on your and your friends' memories
• All comments get saved in each child's Storyboards
• Get alerted about upcoming wellness visits, health issues in your area, and even documents (like immunization records) that are expiring

Invitation only, but you can download the app from the app store (or use the quicklink http://mykidslink.com/install) and redeem using my code