Wordless Wednesday: My Favorite Christmas Decoration {Linky}

I want to see your Wordless (or Wordful) Wednesday posts! Link up below! And for more Wordless Wednesday fun, check out The Florida Hogans, Angelica's Awesome Adventures and Shibley Smiles. Happy WW!

~*~Winner!!!~*~

Thank you to everyone who entered my PetCakes Giveaway! The winner is...



And the winning comment was...



Congratulations Erika! I hope your little girl loves her deliciously cute PetCakes!

For more chances to win cool stuff, check out my current giveaways at the top of the right sidebar.

Boost Your Reception With Cell Ranger STIX {Review & Giveaway}

We are pretty fortunate to live and work in a large city, so we don't have too much trouble with our cell phone signal. Every now and then, though, my phone will drop a call. It is so frustrating to be right in the middle of a thought, and then your call is gone. Then you have to call the other person back and hope they are not calling you back at the same time, which makes it even more frustrating. By the time you are back on the phone together, you forget what you are talking about.

Cell phone repeaters can help solve your cell phone reception problems. A cell phone repeater can give you improved reception and fewer dropped calls by amplifying a weak signal. It can also help with weak or slow text messaging, and 3G broadband. A cell phone repeater can increase your battery life and reduce radiation levels from your cell phone. When it increases the signal strength, your mobile phone doesn't have to work as hard to communicate with the nearest cell tower, and therefore, reduces its power output.

We received the Cell Ranger STIX from RepeaterStore.com for review.

Well, I should say that my "techie" husband received it for review. As soon as he saw it in the mailbox, he installed it on his car. He loves all of these high-tech gadgets, so he couldn't wait to try it out! The installation was simple. He placed the magnetic mount antenna on the roof of the car, and then ran the cable down through the sunroof.

Once he had the cable in the car, he just plugged it in to the accessory port and it was ready to go.

He has not had a dropped call since he installed the STIX! And every time he checks his reception bars, they are always full. Now I just have to figure out a way to get him to put this in my truck instead so I can experience the same great coverage! This will be great on those trips to see the grandparents, since we do run into areas that have a weak cell signal.

The MSRP for the Cell Ranger STIX is $149. You can purchase it at RepeaterStore.com for $129.

Cell phone repeaters are not just for your car. You can also boost your signal at home or in a small office with a repeater like the Wi-Ex zBoost SOHO YX545. To boost your signal in a large building, use a repeater such as the Wilson 801262 DB PRO. And if you're like me and use your phone for a data connection while riding along as a passenger in the car, you can boost that signal with the Wilson 801240 SignalBoost Pro. RepeaterStore.com can help you boost your signal anywhere!

To keep up with the latest products and news, subscribe to the RSS feed of the RepeaterStore blog.

~*~One of my readers is going to win a Cell Ranger STIX from RepeaterStore.com!~*~
~*~(MSRP $149)~*~

Mandatory entry: (This must be done in order for any optional entries to count) Visit the FAQ section of RepeaterStore.com and tell me something you learned.

Optional entries: After you make the mandatory first entry above, you can get one extra entry (unless stated otherwise) for each of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

* Follow @Repeaterstore on Twitter
* Like RepeaterStore on Facebook (please let them know The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! sent you)
* Follow my blog publicly with Google Friend Connect (left sidebar)
* Like The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! on Facebook (leave your first name and last initial)
* Share this post on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon below (I will verify this with you privately if you win)
* Follow @thelifeofrylie on Twitter (leave your user name)
* Tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting this tweet and leaving me the link to your tweet (you can tweet daily for an extra entry each day):

Boost your cell signal with a STIX from @Repeaterstore! Enter to #win from @thelifeofrylie (MSRP $149) http://bit.ly/gIabRw #giveaway

* Post my button on your sidebar or your blog roll for TWO extra entries (leave me two comments with a link to where I can find it)
* Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post for THREE extra entries (leave a link to your post in three separate comments)

Giveaway will end on December 14th at 9:00pm EST. The winner will be chosen by random.org. I will notify the winner by email within 24 hours, and you will have 48 hours to respond. If no response is received within that time frame, I will pick another winner. Please leave your email address or make sure it is in your profile so I will have a way to contact you. I will announce the winner once they have been confirmed. Giveaway is open to the US and Canada.

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion. I received the Cell Ranger STIX at no cost for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. A big Thank You to RepeaterStore.com for providing the giveaway prize, and to GiveawayBlogs.com for posting this review opportunity!

School Pictures

Back in September the kids had their pictures taken at school. We just recently got the pictures and they are so cute I just have to share!

The photographers bring different outfits for the kids to wear. The older kids got two different outfits and the younger kids got one. This year they were all Orlando Magic players and cheerleaders.

Rylie's second outfit was like a little rocker. Think Avril Lavigne like 5 years ago, I guess. I think her pictures turned out so cute! She always looks older in school pictures.

Bryce's pictures turned out cute too, but I can't believe they couldn't get him to smile better. Although since he has his buppy in the pictures, I can only guess that he wasn't in such a great mood at the time. Luckily the color matches the rest of the picture. ;-) And really, could they not have fixed that hair that is sticking out from behind his ear? haha

I really like this idea of the different outfits for the kids, especially since I didn't have to worry about what they were going to wear!

Happy Monday everyone! Have a great week!

My Best Fish Friend {Review & Giveaway}

A few weeks ago I posted a review of My BFF. My BFF is a kit that contains fish embryos that you grow at home. It is so cool! If you missed my initial review, you will definitely want to check it out to see how easy it is, and how much fun it can be for your family.

My initial review showed you how we prepared the fish food and started the process of growing our My BFF. Well I am happy to report that we have fish! One day we were able to count seven at one time, but since then we have only been able to count five at a time. They like to hide in the dirt, so it is possible that we're just not able to see them all.

We have really had fun with this kit! Rylie loves to look for the fish each day when she comes home from school.

We feed our fish twice a day so they can "grow big and strong", as Rylie likes to say. Their food is live brine shrimp, which are included in the kit and very easy to prepare. You simply give them 2-3 siphon/droppers of the brine shrimp each day.

We have to keep the My BFF water fresh, so every few days we simply take out half of the old water, and replace it with fresh water.

Without further ado, meet our new Best Friends!

We really have enjoyed the My Best Fish Friend kit! It has been a lot of fun, and a great educational experience too. This would make a great Christmas gift for children of all ages!

You can purchase My BFF from the My BFF Official Site for only $19.99 plus $6.98 S&P. The My BFF set includes the Miracle Fish Pouch, One-Month Supply of Brine Shrimp Food, Brine Shrimp Food Containers, Magnifying Glass, Food Siphon, Measuring Spoon and Breeding Manual. You will also need a transparent container that will hold 8 to 12 ounces of water, 8 to 12 ounces of fresh clean water (bottled water is preferred) and non-iodized salt.

~*~One of my readers is going to win a My Best Fish Friend kit!~*~

Mandatory entry: (This must be done in order for any optional entries to count) Check out the My BFF FAQ section and tell me something you learned.

Optional entries: After you make the mandatory first entry above, you can get one extra entry (unless stated otherwise) for each of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

* Follow my blog publicly with Google Friend Connect (left sidebar)
* Like The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! on Facebook (leave your first name and last initial)
* Share this post on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon below (I will verify this with you privately if you win)
* Follow @thelifeofrylie on Twitter (leave your user name)
* Tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting this tweet and leaving me the link to your tweet (you can tweet daily for an extra entry each day):

Grow your own fish with My BFF! Enter to #win one of these fun kits from @thelifeofrylie! http://bit.ly/dQ0MkC #giveaway

* Post my button on your sidebar or your blog roll for TWO extra entries (leave me two comments with a link to where I can find it)
* Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post for THREE extra entries (leave a link to your post in three separate comments)

Giveaway will end on December 12th at 9:00pm EST. The winner will be chosen by random.org. I will notify the winner by email within 24 hours, and you will have 48 hours to respond. If no response is received within that time frame, I will pick another winner. Please leave your email address or make sure it is in your profile so I will have a way to contact you. I will announce the winner once they have been confirmed. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion. I received the My BFF kit at no cost for the purpose of this review. A big Thank You to My BFF for providing the giveaway prize!

Relax & Surf Sunday - November 28th {Linky}

<a href="http://www.thelifeofrylie.com/search/label/Relax%20Surf%20Sunday" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2eSxTWKaaAE/TGbrQsbCvMI/AAAAAAAABPg/Ie5kUQ9qQVk/s320/SundayButton.jpg" title="Relax & Surf Sunday" /></a>

Welcome to Relax & Surf Sunday, with your hostesses The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! and Shibley Smiles! This is a great blog hop for everyone to make new friends! You can find some new blogs to check out, and also get your blog out there and gain some new followers.

Here are the rules...

Wait, there are no rules! That is the whole point behind "Relax & Surf". We just want you to relax, and surf around as much as you want to. You don't have to make a post. You don't have to post our button. You don't even have to follow us. Of course we hope you like our blogs and will want to follow us, and we WILL follow back! Just add your blog to our linky at the bottom of this post, and visit as many blogs as you would like to. If you decide to follow a new blog, make sure you leave them a comment so they will know you are following them.

Each week we will randomly select one blog from the previous week's entries to be our featured blog for that week. If that blog happens to be yours, you will get a cute little button to display on your blog, and you will also get the #3 spot for that week!

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Our Featured Blogger this week is Cori's Big Mouth!

Hi! My name is Cori and my blog is Cori's Big Mouth! I blog about my life as a college student, hanging out with friends, trying not to kill my family (haha) and as a nanny for 3 year old triplets. My blog is eclectic, but as am I, so it fits me perfectly! I'd love for you to swing by and say Hi! I'll be sure to return the favor!

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Link up below and have fun! Thanks for stopping by!

This linky will be posted every Saturday night at 9PM EST. Please link to your blog's main page only.

~*~Winner!!!~*~

Thank you to everyone who entered my Pear Tree Greetings GC Giveaway! The winner is...



And the winning comment was...



Congratulations Jodi! I hope you have fun creating your personalized cards!

For more chances to win cool stuff, check out my current giveaways at the top of the right sidebar.

Saturday Playdate - My Real Life Parenting

Thanks for stopping by for another fun Saturday Playdate! Today we're playing with Vivienne from My Real Life Parenting. I had the pleasure of meeting Vivienne through Twitter when I tweeted that I was looking for someone to come over and play today. I checked out Vivienne's blog and after reading her About Me section, I knew that was a blog I wanted to follow. Vivienne's kids are much older than mine, so I can definitely learn a lot from her. She has over 16 years of experience of being a mom. She has four children ranging in age from 16 to 10, so you know there is always something for her to blog about!

When you're done here, make sure you stop by Vivienne's blog and read a few of her posts. If you're like me and have young kids, you will get a glimpse into what the future holds for us. Or if your kids are a little older, I'm sure you will be nodding your head in agreement.

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Thankful for the Memories

By: Vivienne Borne

After visiting some of the other play dates, I guess I am coming from a different place and time. I am the nearly 41 year old mother of four. Three boys and a girl ages 16, 14, 12 and 10. My husband and I are on the cusp of celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary. Some days that is hard to believe - some days it isn’t. I have been a stay at home mother for 16 years, a homeschooling mother for 8 years and a part-time working mother for 5 years. I teach ballet multiple evenings a week and have started coaching high school cheerleading as well.

My time is certainly very precious as I am so busy, but through my entire life I have always written. Something of a passion for me – though amazingly therapeutic in nature. I started blogging this past summer after mustering up enough courage to put myself out there to be read and heard. Shockingly and soon after, I landed a writing job for a local magazine. During the past 6 months, I have interacted with wonderful people in the blogging community. I have also found myself criticized and my parenting analyzed by those online individuals that feel it is their duty to go out and tell everyone that posts anything online all they are doing wrong and should improve upon. Writing publicly has been bittersweet.

Insecurity is a problem for me. It's a HUGE problem for me. I've spent a lifetime worried what others think of me. Worried that I don't measure up somehow. Worried that I talk too much. Worried that I am doing something I have no business doing because obviously somebody else can do it much better than I can. Worried that someone doesn't like me. (Which if you think about it - is ridiculous - because do I like everybody?) Nonetheless, that's me. The worrier. Worried mostly that people will think I'm not worthy of their friendship or their effort or their time. Yes, I know what the Bible says about worrying. I worry about that too.

Becoming a mother put that much more pressure on my insecurity. There are so many ways to do so many things with a plethora of choices to make down the road of parenthood. The past 16 years have presented themselves with many challenges. All mothers want to make the “right” choice – it’s just the continual debate over what the “right” one may be. I remember when we moved into our community and my oldest son was 4, my second son was 2 and my 3rd son was about 1 month old. I would take the boys to the playground in our neighborhood and I was bombarded with concerns from the neighborhood mothers that I had not yet enrolled my 4 year old in preschool. To hear them talk, he was destined to be a complete loser and would forever be behind. They informed me that I would have to “camp out” in the church parking lot the night before to secure my son’s preschool registration. I was horrified by all of it. I just wanted to be home with my children. They were so young – why did they have to leave me so soon?

Boy, have I learned a lot since then. If I could go back and do it over I would do it differently. Not necessarily the choices that I made – but the way I felt and reacted. The way I dealt with people. The insecurity that I allowed to rule me – I would do away with. I wouldn’t question myself again. I would follow my gut instinct every time and not be swayed by public opinion or the masses of mommies. But alas, hindsight is 20/20.

I have now embarked upon the most grueling, challenging and heartbreaking stage of motherhood that I have encountered. I have teenagers. Several of them. Make no mistake – this is difficult. When I think back to the days when my children were all younger, I didn’t appreciate what I actually had. I was busy wondering when I would shower, complaining that I couldn’t wait for the next childhood stage, dreamt of every child being toilet trained, missed eating out in nice restaurants, dates with my husband, uninterrupted sex, and I wanted to wear nice clothes that I didn’t worry about vomit episodes over my shoulder. I wanted time for myself. Time to go to the bathroom without someone on the other side of the door pounding or crying. Time to fix myself a decent dinner, not scarfing down leftover chicken nuggets or spooning applesauce into my own mouth after the baby’s. I wanted time to read a book other than Goodnight Moon or If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Time to take a nap without a restless toddler digging his feet into my ribcage next to me. Time to clean the house without someone walking behind me spilling Cheerios and Goldfish all over the floor and stomping happily in them.

Those days are long gone. What I didn’t know back then was those were the really good times. Every young mother hears everyone tell her those words but we don’t listen. We don’t hear that sweet grandmother in the grocery store tell us how much we should treasure that precious pumpkin sitting in the cart. Why don’t we hear her? Mostly because we just spent 2 hours racing through that store forgetting most items on our list, to constantly feed lollipops, fruit snacks and American cheese from the deli to that child to keep him from trying to stand up in the cart with his arched back, screaming and crying to the point of choking and gagging and eventually vomiting in the midst of our shopping. We just can’t get our brains around the words that this is a wonderful time. Gee, I wonder why.

But I can look back now and tell you I miss those days. Well, maybe not those grocery store trips, but at least that time in my life. We were happy and healthy. We all got along. I was the Pied Piper – they were eager and willing. There was unconditional love on a two way street. All for one and one for all. With teenagers, it’s not like that. It is at this stage in my life that I have learned how incredibly stupid I truly am. I don’t understand anything and I never will. And for goodness sakes, I am the only parent who ever does or says anything like that. NOBODY else’s parents are like me. I am completely embarrassing and utterly humiliating. Everything I ask them to do is ridiculous and obviously way too much effort. Why can’t I be like everyone else’s mother?

For the past 16 years, I have taken my children to the pediatrician office and hanging on her wall is a plaque that reads:

For 16 years I sat right beside that plaque in that little chair. I read those words and each time I thought – “Not my kids. Besides I’m a cool mom.” But a couple of years ago I was sitting in that little room, upon my little chair – I glanced up to that sign and knew...

I was wrong. It happens to all kids (even mine) and once they were teens – no moms are cool – even me. I suppose that is the design of adolescence. So most of my writing these days is devoted to the experiences that come with raising teens. The good. The bad. And the ugly. Don’t get me wrong there is definitely “good” – but generally not enough to counter the daily “ugly.” Sometimes they still inspire me to write something sweet about them – but I struggle. My mother once told me that you go through stages where you love your child, but frankly you don’t like them very much. I have found this to be true at times with my teens. I will always love them from the bottom of my soul – but there are moments I look at them and think, who are you and what have you done with my kid? Writing about it is helpful because it feels great to hear that another mother is going through the same thing. Every mother appreciates a healthy dose of validation.

Because I had scheduled this play date right after Thanksgiving – I thought it was important that I find something that I was thankful for and to write about that. I have watched Twitter and my Facebook blow up with everyone’s thankful statements. I read them and waited to be inspired. I try to dig really deep – to find something wonderfully blissful to write. But sometimes that just isn’t real life. The teenagers are home on vacation today with their attitudes and arguments so I found myself challenged to write about thankfulness today. I am all about being real and telling it like it is…thus My Real Life Parenting blog was born.

As a mother and a blogger I am inspired by my emotions. I realize our lives could be extremely challenged with some sort of health or financial issue. But we’re not. We are very blessed. I know there are so many out there that are facing such difficulties that I probably don’t have a right to feel discouraged. But I’m just going to confess -everything tends to get a bit clouded – even jaded – when they are in their adolescent funks with their long faces moping around the house wanting nothing more than to be out of the house. There are times it is simply painful.

Forgive me for not having the warm fuzzies at the Thanksgiving table tomorrow. While I love my mother and father dearly and am looking forward to spending the holiday with them as well as my brother and sister-in-law, it does stink when you have to suck it up and pretend to be a happy family when at the present moment it is tense at best.

The best I can do is tell you that I am so thankful that my teenagers were once babies, toddlers, preschoolers and little elementary schoolers with cherub faces. I need those memories now more than ever. They are what I hold onto when my 9th grade son looks into my eyes and tells me that I couldn’t possibly help him with his homework because it is too difficult for me since I didn’t finish college and I couldn’t possibly understand. When every fiber of my being wants to run into my bedroom and cry- heartbroken by those words and the malice with which they were said, I now unequivocally realize that God gave me the capability of remembering when that same child put his sticky popsicle hands on my face to give me butterfly kisses with his eyelashes while we would swing on the swingset on a hot July summer evening and tell me that I was the best mommy in the world because I sang “You Are My Sunshine” with him.

Today I am thankful for that memory. I’m sure I’ll remember something else tomorrow too. So for the young, new mom’s out there – that is what you are doing right now. While it is a trying time in your life – it really is glorious. You are squirreling away dozens of memories to help you survive adolescence. It doesn’t matter that you are stressed out right now – you won’t remember that part…trust me. :-)

Please visit me at My Real Life Parenting for my family stories. Visit me at My Real Life Parenting on Facebook to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you – well as long as you aren’t going to criticize me for my parenting tactics. :-)

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Thanks for stopping by for our playdate! I hope you had fun! If you would like to come over for a playdate, let me know in a comment or an email.

Weekend Win It - November 27-28 {Linky}

Welcome to Weekend Win It! This is a great way to spread the word about your giveaways, or find some great ones to enter! And remember...you don't need to be a blogger to enter these giveaways! All you need to do is know how to leave a comment. It's that easy!

I have a few great giveaways going on right now!

PetCakes are deliciously cute! Enter two win TWO of these plush pals at my PetCakes Giveaway!

JoeShopping.com is an awesome new shopping/social media site! Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card at my JoeShopping Giveaway!

Kaleidoscopes are more than just plastic kids' toys! You can find some great, unique gifts at Kaleidoscopes To You. Enter to win a beautiful Teleidoscope at my Kaleidoscopes To You Giveaway!

For dry, winter skin, you need Udderly Smooth! Check out my Udderly Smooth Giveaway for your chance to win an assortment of products!

GourmetGiftBaskets.com has a variety of awesome gift baskets for every occassion! For your chance to win this yummy Holiday Sweets & Treats Snowflake Tin, enter my GourmetGiftBaskets.com Giveaway!

Have a Family Taco Night at your house with Old El Paso! Enter to win a Family Taco Night Prize Pack that includes a $10 Visa card in my Family Taco Night Giveaway!

Here are some great giveaways that I entered this week...

OK, so I was crazy busy and didn't have time to enter ANY giveaways this past week. In fact, I'm typing up this post as we're driving home from our Thanksgiving travels. So here are my "go to" blogs for great giveaways...

Shibley Smiles
Thanks, Mail Carrier
A Mom's Balancing Act
3 Princes And A Princess 2
Two Of A Kind, Working On A Full House
Life Is A Sandcastle
Acting Balanced
Night Owl Mama

What are you waiting for? Go check out those great blogs and enter some giveaways! And if you are hosting a giveaway (or twenty), please link them up below! I would love to find some other great giveaways to enter! Please come back and let me know if you win a giveaway that you found at Weekend Win It.

Have a great weekend!

*Please enter giveaways in this format: Blog Name - Giveaway - End Date. Thanks!

Five Question Friday - November 26

Happy Black Friday! Who has been out scouring the stores all night? Not me! In fact, where I am, I don't even know if there are any stores within a 30 mile radius. ;-) We drove down to Brian's mom's house in SW Florida for Thanksgiving. The drive was surprisingly great. The kids slept for most of the first two hours and then quietly watched their movie for the last hour. We had a great dinner and a nice time with family.

We're on our way home this morning. It looks like we're going to have to brave the mall later. UGH. We're having family pictures done at the beach tomorrow and I had this great idea that we would all wear white shirts and jeans. Well, the only white shirts I could find for all of us were thermal shirts, and when Brian and I tried them on the other night we looked like we had under shirts on. So we're going to attempt to find different shirts. Who knows, though...you may soon see pictures of us in our "under shirts". Luckily the kids are so darn cute that no one will pay attention to us.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and has a great weekend ahead!

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Now for some Friday blogging fun! If you would like to play along with 5QF, head over to My Little Life and link up!

1. What is your favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal?

I love the sides! Stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn casserole and even green bean casserole. But if I had to pick my ONE favorite, it would be corn casserole. Since we weren't at home this year, I brought all of the ingredients with me and made it when we got to Brian's mom's house. I can't have Thanksgiving without it.

Wait, should I have said something more profound like "being with family and reflecting on all that we're thankful for?" I like that too...but I love the food! :-D

2. Are you a host or a guest for Thanksgiving this year?

A guest! Thank goodness too! I typically don't like to host Thanksgiving dinner. I was just telling a friend yesterday that I don't know how to cook a turkey and I don't care to learn. It is just one of those things that if I never do, that is OK with me. So if you come to my house for Thanksgiving, please bring the turkey. If you don't, I'll be running out to Boston Market.

3. When you think of one Thanksgiving tradition, what comes to mind?

Hmmmm. I can't think of any Thanksgiving traditions that we have. And as much as I hate to "disrespect the turkey" and talk about Christmas in a Thanksgiving post, I guess I'll have to go with decorating. We usually decorate the outside of the house the weekend after Thanksgiving. We may get the tree up too, but that usually happens the next weekend.

4. You have two pieces of pie in front of you and you HAVE to eat one...do you choose pumpkin or pecan?

That's easy...pumpkin! Pecan pie is just gross.

5. Are you a Black Friday Shopper?

I used to be. You know, back in the day when Black Friday started at 5AM. But not anymore. First off, it starts at midnight (or even earlier now), and I'm just too damn tired for all of that nonsense. I'm too old for all-nighters.

Even though I don't consider myself a Black Friday shopper, last year Brian and I went to Toys R Us at around 10 to stand in line for their midnight opening. We went to get Rylie a Smores Pony. When we got there the line was already around the building. When we finally got in we got the little card for the pony and decided to look around for a few minutes. Then we had to stand in line for another 30 minutes just to pay. Yeah, we won't be doing that again. The Black Friday deals don't even seem all that fantastic anyway. All in all, it was worth it, though. Rylie sure did love her Smores Pony...

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Don't forget to stop back by after 10PM EST tonight for my Weekend Win It giveaway linky, where you will find some great giveaways to enter, and you can also promote yours! Come on over on Saturday for Saturday Playdate and meet a fabulous guest blogger. Then come back on Sunday for Relax & Surf Sunday, where you can link up your blog and hop around on your own terms, with no rules!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration today! If you’re traveling, I hope you have a safe trip. We're spending the day with Brian's mom and some of her family. I REALLY miss being away from my family on holidays, and I will be thinking about them all day! I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving meals with your families and that you will take some time to think about all that you have to be thankful for.

I am thankful for so much this year…

…My Handsome Husband. He is the most wonderful man I know. He is a great husband and an awesome dad. He always puts his family first. Since the day Rylie was born he has been a 100% hands-on dad, and some days does more with the kids than I do. Most of all, he puts up with me. I am so blessed to have him in my life.

…My Beautiful Children. Rylie and Bryce have made my life complete. They are my world and I love them more than I ever knew I was capable of loving someone. Their smiles light up my life and their hugs and kisses can make even the worst day better.

…My Awesome Parents. They have always done anything and everything they could for me, and they still do. When I need them they are there. My brother and I are #1 to them and we always will be. (Well, maybe #1.5 now since Rylie and Bryce came along.)

...My Brother. Another man I know I can always count on and will always be there. I wish we lived closer together, but I am thankful we don't live too far apart.

...My Aunt And Cousins. They may technically be "extended" family, but we are all just as close as can be.

…My Friends. I have a great group of friends. I really do. I have a few “besties” that I know I can ALWAYS count on. I truly value all of my friends and would do just about anything for all of you.

…That My Dad Is Out Of The Hospital. My dad spent the last two days in the hospital due to an intestinal blockage. I'm so glad he doesn't have to spend Thanksgiving there. My poor dad has many health issues and just can’t seem to catch a break.

…My Job and My Boss. While I don’t necessarily love going to work every day, I am thankful for the job I have. I work for a great company and I have an awesome boss.

…My Bonus. We received our annual bonus checks yesterday. Yay!

…My Kids’ Daycare. These people take care of my children for more hours than I do during the week. I am so happy they are at a place where they are being educated, and most of all, respected. I can’t say enough good things about the owner and the teachers at the daycare.

…My Blog Followers. This blog wouldn’t be what it is without you! I have met so many great people through the blogging community. I have been blogging for over 10 months and have made so many connections. Some of you I now also know in real life, and hopefully I will meet more of you one day.

…Smart Phones and Wireless Internet. Well, because I will be using both to catch up with you all today! I have been so busy lately (with the blog and just life in general) that I haven’t been able to do much blog reading, which is my favorite part of all of this. I hope to visit a lot of you in the next couple of days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Family Taco Night {Review & Giveaway}

Dinners at our house during the week have to be quick and easy to prepare, and something that two toddlers will like. Mexican food has become a staple for us lately. Most meals are simple to prepare, and the kids always gobble them up! We have used many products from Old El Paso for our Taco/Burrito/Enchilada dinners. Old El Paso has a great idea for "Family Taco Night", where you set aside at least one night a month to bring fun to your dinner table and spice things up a bit!

Old El Paso offers a variety of seasonings, sides, sauces, and meal kits as simple solutions for a night of catching up with the family over a delicious taco dinner. To satisfy your Mexican style cravings, the Old El Paso line up of products includes chilies, dinner kits, dips and sides, enchilada sauce, refried beans, seasoning mixes, shells, taco sauce and salsa. The Old El Paso taco seasoning mix selection includes flavors like Burrito, Cheesy Taco, Chili, Fajita, Taco, Mild Taco and even a seasoning with 40% less sodium.

We received a "Family Taco Night" prize pack to review. It included a packet of original Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, a Cactus Chip & Dip Serving dish, a set of 3 Fiesta Chili Pepper serving dishes and a $10 gift card to purchase our taco fixings.

Our Taco Night dinners were so easy to prepare! We browned the ground beef and added the seasonings. Then we made up the tacos with the seasoned meat, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and sour cream. We used soft taco shells because they are easier for the kids to eat.

As always, the whole family enjoyed the tacos! The Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix is just the right combination of seasonings, without being too spicy for the kids to enjoy. They liked their tacos so much, I even had to share my second taco with them!

Family Taco Night is a great idea! And we will definitely be doing this again soon. For a fun twist on Family Taco Night, check out all of the different Old El Paso recipes, such as Double Layer Tacos and Chicken Ranch Tacos.

To keep your family laughing at the dinner table, have some fun with El Tacodor, the world´s only Family Taco Night Game. With El Tacodor, your family can share a special night at home by challenging one another to quick fire trivia, wordplay and pantomime. Visit El Tacodor today to download instructions, a score card, and a challenge sheet for even more fun on Family Taco Night!

Visit MyBlogSpark to download a printable coupon for $0.60 off any two Old El Paso products today!

~*~One of my readers is going to win a Family Taco Night Prize Pack which includes a packet of original Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, a Cactus Chip & Dip Serving dish, a set of 3 Fiesta Chili Pepper serving dishes and a $10 Visa card to purchase your taco fixings!~*~

Mandatory entry: (This must be done in order for any optional entries to count) Check out the Old El Paso recipes and let me know which one you would like to try.

Optional entries: After you make the mandatory first entry above, you can get one extra entry (unless stated otherwise) for each of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

* Follow my blog publicly with Google Friend Connect (left sidebar)
* Like The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! on Facebook (leave your first name and last initial)
* Share this post on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon below (I will verify this with you privately if you win)
* Follow @thelifeofrylie on Twitter (leave your user name)
* Tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting this tweet and leaving me the link to your tweet (you can tweet daily for an extra entry each day):

Enter to #win a Family Taco Night Prize Pack from @thelifeofrylie! Includes a $10 Visa card! http://bit.ly/fLB80k #giveaway #myblogspark

* Post my button on your sidebar or your blog roll for TWO extra entries (leave me two comments with a link to where I can find it)
* Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post for THREE extra entries (leave a link to your post in three separate comments)

Giveaway will end on December 8th at 9:00pm EST. The winner will be chosen by random.org. I will notify the winner by email within 24 hours, and you will have 48 hours to respond. If no response is received within that time frame, I will pick another winner. Please leave your email address or make sure it is in your profile so I will have a way to contact you. I will announce the winner once they have been confirmed. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion. I received the prize pack and information at no cost from Old El Paso through MyBlogSpark. A big Thank You to Old El Paso for providing the giveaway prize!