September 2011 | Florida Mom Blog, Reviews and Giveaways

September 30, 2011

Weekend Win It - October 1-2 {Giveaway 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 some great giveaways going on right now!

Bryce's Two Year Well Check

Finally! Bryce was actually well at a well check! It went really well, too. On Wednesday I took my handsome TWO YEAR OLD for his checkup...

With all of the medical "stuff" that he has endured lately, I figured he would scream the entire time we were in there. He didn't, though. He cried some when we laid him down to measure him, and then when we put him on the scale, but once we got back into the room he was OK.

Double Meat Dudewich {Recipe}

This manly sandwich is all about extremes. Two meats - beer-soaked barbecued pork and savory smoked sausage - are piled high on an onion bun with coleslaw and pickles to top it off. It might take two (or more!) men to polish off this messy but awesome creation.

Forget the dudes, let me at one of these yummy looking sandwiches!

Remove Tough Stains With OxiClean {Review}

Laundry. The one chore that seems to never end in my house. Between all of our clothes, bath towels, beach towels, sheets and blankets, my washer and dryer are always going. It becomes overwhelming sometimes, especially when I have to wash the kids' clothes. Between my little diva who thinks she needs to change outfits seven times a day, and my little eating machine who thinks that his shirt is a built in napkin and bib all in one, their laundry piles are usually big and ugly!

It takes time to go through those big piles and pull out all of the pieces that need to be pretreated because of stains. Then it becomes quite irritating when I spend time pretreating stains on clothes, only to find those stains still there when the clothes come out of the dryer. That is a regular occurrence around here. I have yet to find a stain remover that will take out spaghetti sauce on the first try, and since that is a favorite meal around here, we have several pieces of clothing that become unwearable until I pretreat and wash them several times.

Wordless Wednesday: Three Going On Sixteen

It is already starting...

~~Winner!!!~~ Schwan's Prize Pack

Thank you to everyone who entered my Schwan's Giveaway! The winner of the Schwan's Prize Pack is...

Back From Our Cruise Vacation

This post contains pictures of drinking, dancing and raw meat. Yes, raw meat. Oh! And it is long. Very long. So you may want to grab a ~~cocktail~~ cup of coffee before you begin...

We're back from our wonderful cruise vacation. While I'm glad to be back home with my sweet little babies (and internet access), I sure do miss that boat already! We sailed to Nassau with Royal Caribbean on the Monarch of the Seas this past weekend, and despite the rain and a hiccup or two, we had a fabulous time! How could it not be fabulous when it started like this...

Saturday Playdate - Who Wants To Come Over And Play?

OOPS! With all of the vacation preparation this past week, I neglected to set up a Saturday Playdate for this weekend. In fact, our Playdate schedule is looking pretty bare for the next few weekends.

I would like to extend an invitation to all of my bloggy friends to come over to our place for a Saturday Playdate! We always have a great time! Part of what I love about blogging is the fact that I get to meet new people all the time, and guest blogging is a great way to do that. If you would like to introduce your blog to some new readers, I would love to feature you over here.

Weekend Win It - September 24-25 {Giveaway Linky}

By the time most of you read this, I will be cruising through the Atlantic Ocean with Royal Caribbean! We're heading to Nassau and CocoCay for a fun weekend getaway!

This is our first "adults only" vacation since our honeymoon in 2007. We need it! We're cruising with our best friends Melissa and Rick, and I know we will have a great time. We're off for 4 days of sun, fun, relaxation and a ~~whole hell of a lot of~~ few drinks.

~~Winners!!!~~ Scotch Tape, Hallmark

Thank you to everyone who entered my Scotch Magic Tape Giveaway! The winner of the Scotch Magic Tape Prize Pack is...

Sneak Those Veggies In With Kidfresh Meals {Review & Giveaway}

We all want the best for our kids, and this includes feeding them healthy foods. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done most of the time, especially when you have picky eaters like I do. If my kids could live on chicken nuggets and cereal, they would. We try to serve a fruit or vegetable with every meal, but the veggies usually go untouched. Another issue we have with dinner time is that we don't have time during the week to prepare meals from scratch. Therefore, we eat more processed convenience foods than I would like.

Kidfresh meals have solved our dinnertime woes! With tasty dishes such as Mac and Cheese, Pasta and Meatballs, and Chicken Quesadillas, my kids are now eating healthy, nutritious dinners in less than 5 minutes!

~~Winner!!!~~ Kindle And Amazon GC

Thank you to everyone who entered our Kindle Giveaway! The winner of the Kindle and the $80 Amazon Gift Card is...

Bryce's 2nd Birthday: The Presents

You didn't really think I was done with the birthday posts, did you? Unfortunately, it has just taken me this long to find the time to post this.

After we got home from Bryce's birthday party, everyone was pretty tired. A few of my good friends came back to the house so we were all just sitting around talking. We decided that we would wait until Sunday to open Bryce's presents, but we went ahead and let Bryce open the BIG present from Uncle Danny and Mama, once we realized that he was not going to be taking a nap. Take a look at Bryce's new obsession...

Make Your Own Baby Food With The Baby Bullet {Giveaway}

One thing that new parents look forward to doing is feeding their baby solid food for the first time. It is so much fun to watch them try to "figure out" how to eat. Their facial expressions can be priceless...especially when they are covered with the food that they were supposed to be eating. I will never understand how babies get more food on their faces than in their bellies!

We went by our pediatrician's recommendation and started feeding Rylie and Bryce cereal at 4 months, and then we moved on to vegetables and fruits at 6 months. We did a lot of research on which was the best jarred food, and we ended up going with the one we felt had the best overall ratings. I have a lot of friends that made their own baby food, and I always felt like I was doing an injustice to my children because I didn't have the time to make their food. It turns out that the jarred baby food was just fine, but I still look back and wish I would have had more time to attempt to make homemade purees for my kids.

The Nasty Carpet Is Gone

Well, at least it is in one room!

We moved into our house in 2004, and still have the same cheap, builder-grade carpet in most of the rooms. You may remember my post about Dirty Little Feet in which I expressed my disgust for our carpet. Well it had gotten even worse since then, especially in our front room.

During the last few weeks of my cat's life, he had taken to urinating in that front room. I have no idea why, but I imagine that it had something to do with the diuretics he was on and the fact that he just didn't feel good. We always cleaned it up as soon as we noticed it, and scrubbed the crap out of the carpet, but if you know anything about cats, you know that the smell of their pee does not come out easily. I asked my friends if they could smell it when they walked into my house, and they assured me that they couldn't, but I knew it was there and I was so grossed out about it. So after Morgan passed last Monday, we decided it was time to get that carpet out of the house.

Shape Up Your Body With Kymaro {Review}

As you all know, I have lost some weight in the past year, and I am now really happy with how I look. I am fitting into sizes that I haven't fit into since college, and weigh less than I have in years! Unfortunately, I am in my mid-30s and have had two c-sections, so even thought I have lost a lot of weight, there are certain parts of my body that will never look like they did before.

I recently received some products from Kymaro to help shape up my body - Bust Up Cups, New Body Shaper and CardiWrap.

Yet Another Heartbreaking Goodbye

~*~Captain Morgan~*~

April 18, 1997 - September 12, 2011

Last Monday we lost yet another furry family member. We had to say goodbye to my sweet Morgan.

Back in February, Morgan was diagnosed with heart failure. I took him in to the vet when I noticed that he was breathing very heavily. The heart failure caused so much fluid to build up outside of his lungs that he couldn't fill them properly and was having a hard time breathing. The vet drained his lungs and put him on two different medications.

If you have a baby, or if you have ever shopped at Babies R Us, then you are most likely familiar with Tommee Tippee. Tommee Tippee is Great Britain's #1 feeding brand, and is now available in the US exclusively at Babies"R"Us and Toys"R"Us. They have a great selection of newborn and toddler feeding products, and I am a huge fan!

Tommee Tippee has recently launched a new website to help parents save their memories about the day their child was born. I don't know about you all, but I didn't do so well with the whole baby book thing. I started Rylie's and kept up with it until she was about 10 months old, but I never even opened Bryce's. I would have loved to have access to a website such as this when my kids were born! I would have been able to preserve those memories with a click of a few buttons.

~~Winners!!!~~ Wet Ones, Mitchum

Thank you to everyone who entered my Wet Ones Giveaway! The winner of the Wet Ones Prize Pack is...

Kids are back in school! For many parents, this can make life more hectic than it already was. Back-to-school also means back-to-after-school-activities. Many parents are running to soccer games, cheer leading practice, or countless other activities that pack our schedules full. We have to find some way to squeeze dinner into our busy evenings, and that is not always easy.

Welcome to another fun Saturday Playdate! Today we are playing with Emily from Family and Life in Las Vegas, a Las Vegas based blog where she writes about "in true Las Vegas fashion" a little bit of everything. Weekly features include parenting tidbits, a weekly toddler talk, and a top ten Tuesday post. You will also find posts about parenting while her spouse is deployed, posts on fitness for moms as part of her FitFluential Ambassadorship, and lots and lots of pictures of her two year old son Squishy. Emily is a huge fan of giving back to her community and is currently chairing a campaign called Spread The Warmth, a charity fundraiser/giveaway event to raise money and awareness for Embrace Infant Warmers.

Bob Evans Sausage & Mushroom Calzone {Recipe}

Bob Evans Italian roll sausage is an easy way to add flavor to this traditional Italian recipe.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Bob Evans.

Moon Dough's Less Crumbly New Formula {Review}

Earlier this year I did a review on the Moon Dough Magic Zoo. I received a few emails after my review was posted asking questions such as "Did you REALLY like it? I thought it was too crumbly and made too much of a mess." The truth is, I did really like it. My kids are still playing with that set. I did edit my review to add that it was crumbly, but at the time of my review, we hadn't had any issues with any messes.

On September 16th, The Lion King roars into theaters in Disney Digital 3D for a special two-week event. Did you read that? It is only going to be in theaters for two weeks, and you definitely don't want to miss this theatrical extravaganza! Get up close and personal with the characters of this epic tale of the "Circle of Life". Witness Simba's adventures with Nala, Timon and Pumbaa, and the battles for the throne like never seen before!

~~Winner!!!~~ Lysol Healthy Touch

Thank you to everyone who entered my Lysol Healthy Touch Giveaway! The winner of the No-Touch Hand Soap Dispenser is...

Notice the first empty wrapper already on the plate.

Bryce's 2nd Birthday: The Party

Bryce's 2nd birthday party was at a super fun gym called A Kid's Gym. I love having parties away from home, so I did an internet search and found this place. It was great!

I'm sure you already know this, but I will warn you now that there is going to be picture overload...

Solving For Pi Cheesecake {Recipe}

It’s a simple equation: mango + raspberry + cheesecake + pie = delicious! Take a cue from the molecular gastronomy trend and scoop up this deconstructed dessert that literally “pops” with flavor!

Kidtoons Is Now Playing: Sid The Science Kid {Giveaway}

It is a new month, which means there is a new Kidtoons movie playing, and a new giveaway for you! Just in case you're new here, and aren't familiar with Kidtoons, this is what it is all about:

Kidtoons is dedicated to helping parents connect with their kids by bringing family friendly animated movies to the big screen every weekend at participating theatres across the country.

Cheesy Po-Tot-Chos {Recipe}

You won’t have to ask twice to get everyone in front of this pile of potatoey goodness, topped with cheese, salsa and fresh veggies like tomatoes and avocado. This twist on classic nachos is so good- it may be a fight to snatch the last bite!

~~Winners!!!~~ Dermagist, My Pal, Coffee-mate, Land O'Lakes

Thank you to everyone who entered my Dermagist Giveaway! The winner of the Dermagist Gift Pack is...

Happy 2nd Birthday Bryce!

~*~Happy Birthday Bryce!~*~

Happy 2nd birthday to my sweet little boy! I can't believe it has already been two years since you came into our lives and completed our family.

~~Winner!!!~~ My Pet Firefly

Thank you to everyone who entered my My Pet Firefly Giveaway! The winner of the My Pet Firefly is...

Due to technical difficulties, Saturday Playdate is being posted on Sunday. Playdates have to be flexible, right?

Welcome to another fun Saturday Playdate! Today we are playing with Beth from Me as a Mommy. Beth's blog is all about her two adorable little ones and family life, with some reviews and giveaways mixed in. Oh! And tons of pictures!

Weekend Win It - September 10-11 {Giveaway Linky}

Party Planning - Last Minute Style

My dad always called my mom "Last Minute Lois" because she procrastinated and did everything at the last minute. These days, I'm sure he would be calling me "Last Minute LeeAnn". Bryce's party is in just over 24 hours, and I still don't have everything I need!

I did well and actually had the invitations made early, and had plenty of time to send them out. We are doing a Cars theme, and I found some adorable invitations at Image Invites. Here is the proof, minus certain details. Although if you buy nice presents, I guess I can tell you where it is!

My Shopping Buddy

Up until recently, Rylie was not very fun to shop with. She didn't want to sit in a cart or stroller, and could care less about picking anything out. Boy have times changed! She is now asking to go shopping with me, and loves picking out new clothes and shoes!

This past weekend I needed to go out to get supplies for Bryce's birthday party, and Rylie said she wanted to go with me. Our first stop was supposed to be Target to look for goody bag items, and then we were going to head to the party store to get decorations. Well, I wanted to get her a cute tutu-style skirt to wear to Bryce's party so I asked her if she wanted to go to the mall to look for one and she excitedly said yes.

Maximize Family Time With Schwan's {Review & Giveaway}

Family dinners are very important to me. Since my husband and I both work full time jobs, we don't get to spend much time together as a family during the week. That is why we have started the tradition of eating dinner together as a family, and we are going to continue this for as long as we can. It is the one time of the day when we all sit down together and talk about our days. I figure if we start this now when our kids are young, hopefully this will be something they enjoy doing. Well, at least until they are teenagers!

Rafflecopter - Yay Or Nay?

If you enter many blog giveaways, then I'm sure you already know about Rafflecopter. It is the newest way to enter giveaways. Rather than leaving comments on the blog post, you get a nice entry form that, in my opinion, is super easy to use. If you have entered any of my recent giveaways, like the AWESOME giveaway for a $75 SpaFinder Gift Card, then you have already seen these entry forms here at The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! They look like this...

~~Winner!!!~~ Coca-Cola Park Kit

Thank you to everyone who entered my Coke Rewards Giveaway! The winner of the Coca-Cola Park Kit is...

Hallmark's Back To School Confidence Checklist {Review & Giveaway}

By the time you read this, most of your little ones will be off to school. Whether they are going to Kindergarten for the first time, or they are a seasoned pro and are off to a higher grade, that first day of school can be intimidating. It is exciting to meet a new teacher and new classmates, and pack up that new backpack with pencils, folders and glue, but sometimes kids need more than school supplies to face the exciting and challenging situations the upcoming year holds.

For 50 years now, people have relied on Scotch Magic Tape for countless uses at home, work and school. It started out as the first virtually invisible tape that could be written on, and has evolved into a versatile product with so many uses. Scotch Magic Tape is a staple in my home and office, and I do not use any other brand. In fact, when I need to add tape to my shopping list, I don't just write "tape", I write "Scotch tape".

The back-to-school season is time to stock up on Scotch Magic Tape. Whether you use it to hang up your child's "artwork" around the house, fix ripped homework papers, or put your child's name on their folders and other supplies, you will want to make sure you have some Scotch Tape on hand when your child goes back to school.

I am so excited to bring you Fall Into Cash $150.00 PayPal giveaway! I have teamed up with some awesome bloggers to bring you this giveaway. One winner will receive $150 paid to their PayPal account. This giveaway is open WW to anyone over 18. Only the entries received through Rafflecopter will count. To enter follow as many bloggers as you like! And of course the more bloggers you follow, the better your chances are at winning! Good luck!

Disney On Ice Skates Into The Amway Theater With A Special Ticket Offer

I am so excited to be taking Rylie to her first Disney On Ice show next weekend! She is especially going to love this one because it is all about her favorite Disney characters - the princesses!

Get tangled up in the newest thrilling show to hit the ice, Disney On Ice presents Dare to Dream - the first Disney On Ice show to play the new Amway Center. Experience Disney’s hilarious hair-raising escapade, Tangled; as Rapunzel, her unlikely companion, Flynn, and Maximus, embark on an uproarious journey that takes adventure to new lengths!

~~Winner!!!~~ Glow Crazy

Thank you to everyone who entered my Glow Crazy Giveaway! The winner of the Glow Crazy Distance Doodler is...

Rylie Got Her Ears Pierced!

I am becoming increasingly aware of the fact that my little baby girl is growing up. It is all happening so quickly. A couple weeks ago she told me she didn't need to sleep with her "buppy" any longer. She brushes her own teeth, goes potty and washes her hands by herself, and can pretty much dress herself.

While some parents are saddened by the idea of their children growing up, I love it! I love watching my kids experience things for the first time. I love how proud they get when they accomplish something they haven't been able to do before. I have to admit that I also enjoy not having to do every single little thing for them.

I am always on the go. I feel like I never stop.Since I work full time outside of the house, our weekdays zoom by like a big blur. The weekends go by even quicker! We are always running to a birthday party or a playdate, or just trying to get out of the house for a while so the kids don't go stir crazy. When we leave the house, we always pack snacks and drinks for the kids, and possibly even a sandwich and some fruit if we are going to be out during lunch time. For some reason, I never think about packing anything for myself, and us moms need snacks and healthy, wholesome meals while we are out and about, just as much as our kids do.

Relax & Surf Sunday - September 4th {Linky}

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...

~~Winner!!!~~ Duckle Dance Gift Pack

Thank you to everyone who entered my Wisharoo Park Giveaway! The winner of the commemorative Duckle Dance Capezio and Wisharoo Park Gift Package is...