March 2013 | Florida Mom Blog, Reviews and Giveaways | The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too!

March 31, 2013

Happy Easter!

Getting Rid Of The Vacation Weight #SmoothBlogger

Coming back home from vacation is never easy. It's bad enough that I had to come back to "real life", but there are all of things that I fell behind on that need to get caught up. We have been back from our cruise vacation for over a week now and I'm still playing catch up. Work was nuts last week, and I was pretty busy with the blog too, but I think I have a handle on both of those now.

Something else I fell behind on while I was on vacation was exercise. While the fitness center on the ship was pretty awesome, I will admit that I didn't step foot in it. I did look through the windows while Brian and I were sipping cocktails out on the deck, but that was the closest I got to exercising while we were gone. And thanks to all of those cocktails and the awesome food we ate every day, I managed to gain 6 pounds during the 5 days we were on the ship.

Yes, 6 pounds in 5 days. Craziness!

So while I was busy catching up on work and blog stuff last week, I was also busy working out on my elliptical trainer from Smooth Fitness. I need this vacation weight gone!

Weekend Win It - March 30-31 {Giveaway Linky}

Welcome to Weekend Win It! This giveaway linky 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!

I have some great giveaways going on right now...

Giveaway: Kidorable
Ends: 3/31

Prize: Choice of Backpack

Giveaway: Build-A-Bear Workshop
Ends: 4/1

Prize: $25 Build-A-Bear Workshop Gift Card

Do you have a kid who touches everything? I sure do! My little "princess" isn't afraid to touch bugs, snakes, and equally icky stuff, nor is she afraid to get shoulder deep into a pumpkin and scoop out all of the guts. Add that to the "craft projects" where more paint gets on her hands than it does the paper, and her days of digging in the dirt, and Rylie can be one messy kid.

Bryce, on the other hand, is a little more particular with the messes he makes. While he won't touch non-furry creatures, or even silly putty, for that matter, he seems to always get his hands sticky. My kids have both recently been obsessed with tangerines lately, and after Bryce puts a couple of those away, his hands are so sticky that even he doesn't want to touch them.

Manhattan Toy Saved Us From The Rainy Day Blues {Review & Giveaway}

We had a very rainy Sunday this past weekend, and we were all stuck inside the house. I attempted to get some work done while Rylie and Bryce played with their toys and entertained each other, but after a while, they got bored and were up to no good. I had a box of goodies from Manhattan Toy on the table, and I decided that our rainy Sunday afternoon would be a great time to get them out.

The specialty toy maker recently launched a series of 28 appealing arts & crafts, do-it-yourself, role-play and puppet kits plus exciting games collectively known as the brand new "imagine i CAN™" series. With fun topics like knitting, pet rocks, castles, caterpillars and fairies, I knew at first glance that both of my kids would have fun reviewing these kits.

Spring Cleaning? More Like Spring Overhaul

One of my very good friends recently moved, and a few weeks ago I got to check out her new house. Less than a minute after I walked through her front door I felt the green eyed monster creeping up. Yes, I felt jealous. Her new house is absolutely amazing!

As I walked around her house, I thought back to what my house looked like when we first moved in. It was open and airy, and not filled with clutter. It was at that moment when I realized why I thought her house was so nice – it was clean. While I would give my left arm (ok, well, maybe a toe) for her kitchen, her house really isn't that much more amazing than mine. It's about the same size, has the same amount of rooms, and has a similar floor plan. It just has a few features that mine doesn't have at the moment – floors without toys strewn all over them, furniture that doesn't have crap from two Christmases ago piled on it, and a guest bedroom that people can actually sleep in.

I decided right then and there that it was time to make MY house a nice house again. Forget spring cleaning…we're going to be doing a spring overhaul! I've been saying this for a while, but after feeling the way I felt when I visited my friend's new home, I know that I have to take the necessary steps to turn my house back into the amazing house it once was.

Wordless Wednesday: Caribbean Sunset

Jewel Of The Seas Western Caribbean Cruise - Day 1

After we cruised with our best friends on the Monarch of the Seas back in September of 2011, I caught the "cruise bug" and ended up booking 3 more cruises, before we even set sail on the first of the three. We cruised the Western Caribbean on the Liberty of the Seas back in November, and just over a week ago, we set sail on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas for another Western Caribbean Cruise.

We "tested the waters" with Rylie on the last cruise, and the whole family went on this one...including my mom. We booked two oceanview staterooms, with the kids in my mom's room, of course. ;-) Bryce was so excited for his first cruise, but he had no idea what to expect. When we finally arrived at the port and started walking up the gangway to the boat, he said "where is our seat?" Imagine his surprise when he found out that we had a room, rather than just a seat!

~~Winners!!!~~ Peaceable Kingdom, Super Duper Publications

Congratulations to the winners from the last two weeks!

Peaceable Kingdom Sticker Book or Game

Taggies Tag N' Play Pals {Review & Giveaway}

When Haley was a baby, I didn't know much about baby toys and what they did or didn't like. I just kind of went through the baby store and scanned things I thought were cute and that maybe she would like. Of course, you can never predict what your child is going to like or what their favorite toy will be, but lucky for me, most of my friends had kids already and ventured off my registry and gave me things their kids like.

One of my friends gave me a Taggies book, which I had never heard of. It had lots of soft, shiny tags around it, and I quickly learned that Haley liked to play with all the tags on her stuffed animals. I can't believe I actually cut a few off before she got here...who knew? Our first Taggies product that we received as a gift at my shower was a Sweet Dreams book.

Weekend Win It - March 23-24 {Giveaway Linky}

Giveaway: Walgreens
Ends: 3/24

Prize: $25 Walgreens Gift Card (3 winners!)

Giveaway: Quality of Life
Ends: 3/26

Prize: Immune Boosting Package - contains Kinoko Gold AHCC (60 count) and ProbioPure (30 count)

Five Question Friday - March 22nd

Happy Friday! I had a pretty awesome week! Why? Because this was the view out of my window for the past 6 days...

Yes, I'm talking about the two goofballs there, but also the beautiful ocean behind them!

We just returned from our 5 day Western Caribbean Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas, and we had a great time! Of course there will be daily recaps and a gazillion pictures to come in the next few days (or weeks...depending on how caught up I get this weekend), but I have to look through them all first. If you're interested in cruising, you won't want to miss my posts.

I Am Currently Out Of The Office

Photo by Royal Caribbean

We set sail this past Saturday on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas for some fun in the sun! I won't have any internet access while we're gone, so don't miss me too much. Have a great week, and I'll be back here next weekend!

Weekend Win It - March 16-17 {Giveaway Linky}

Giveaway: Super Duper Publications
Ends: 3/17

Prize: $50 Super Duper Publications Gift Certificate

Giveaway: Walgreens
Ends: 3/24

Prize: $25 Walgreens Gift Card (3 winners!)

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, Haley, I had no idea what to register for. I didn't really have anyone helping me while I was at the store, and we needed so much for that first baby. It was overwhelming. There were a few things I decided to buy on my own because I knew of a few discount places that sold them cheaper than most baby retailers, and I figured if I bought some of those essentials cheaper myself, then friends and family would get me things off the registry that I needed and couldn't find somewhere else. One of the things that I decided to buy myself was a cart cover, and I got it somewhere like Marshall's or TJMaxx. When I was registering for items, the cart covers that most baby retailers carried were around $60. Um, what? For a shopping cart cover?? It seemed pretty pricey to me, and I found a much cheaper alternative.

While I definitely used it for a few months with Haley, I ended up not using that cart cover once she got a little bigger. It slid around and had these horrible holes that you needed to thread the actual shopping cart straps through, and it was a chore. Mine was also pretty bulky. It was such a hassle to use it that I ended up putting it in the garage and just trying to use those wipes that stores provided and hope that somebody before me didn't have a really sick child in the same cart.

Soften Your Laundry Naturally With Woolzies Dryer Balls {Review & Giveaway}

I know there may be some people out there that like to do laundry (OK, that number may be small and no one that I know, but hey, they have to be out there, right?) but I am not one of them. Yes, I like having clean clothes and yes, I love the smell of clean laundry, and there is nothing like a nice, warm towel. But can't I hire someone to do it for me? Actually, it's not that bad. I am OK with the washing and drying part, I just sometimes take too long to fold, and I despise putting the stuff away.

I am always looking for something that will make this job a little easier. I use various stain-treaters, and have found a detergent that I love. While I like the smell of dryer sheets, I don't use them very often because the kids' laundry is mixed in. A few years ago, I saw rubber dryer balls on one of those "deal a day" sites and they were free, you just had to pay for shipping. I figured why not? They arrived a few weeks later, and they were SO loud. Those hard plastic balls were always just BANGING into the side of the dryer. Thank goodness our dryer was in the garage at our old house! I think those balls lasted all of about a week before I pitched them.

I recently heard of some wool dryer balls that claim to be pretty quiet, and I figured that it would be great to try them out and see how well they worked. The fact that they are eco-friendly is just a bonus! Woolzies Dryer Balls from Soft by Nature, Inc. are 100% pure wool natural laundry softeners.

I love when Publix has their Running Out? Run In. promotions, because it seems like that is what we do every week. My husband does most of the grocery shopping in our house, and even though he goes to Publix on the weekends to get what we *think* we need for the week, we always seem to run out of something mid-week. Luckily there is a Publix on his way home so he can stop for milk, fresh fruit, cereal, snack items, or whatever else we run out of during the week.

From March 14th through March 20th, look for the Running Out? Run In. event at Publix to take advantage of great savings on some favorite brands from General Mills and Procter & Gamble, like Cheerios, Totino's Pizza, Charmin and Crest. Plus, from March 13th through March 30th, if you buy $25 of participating products* during this event, you can mail in to receive a $5 Publix gift card to use on your next shopping trip!

So I Really AM A Couch Potato #SmoothBlogger

A few weeks ago I began my quest to get fit with my awesome elliptical trainer from Smooth Fitness. As I read through the instruction manual during those first few days after it was set up, I noticed that one of the preset programs was a Fitness Level Test. I decided that should be my first step on my quest so that I could see what my fitness level was before I started exercising regularly.

Before I could get started with the test, I had to set up my User Code. I have to admit that I was a little overwhelmed with the "brains" of this machine, since the display panel contains so many different options, but it was very easy to use. When I first turned the elliptical trainer on, the display went right to the U1 (user 1) code, and walked me through setting up my information. Once I entered my age and weight, it was time to select my program.

MyMemories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software {Review & Giveaway}

If you are anything like me, you probably have a zillion digital images and very few actual printed photos. When I was asked if I wanted to review MyMemories Suite, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to do something with some of my pictures. I am by no means a crafty person - in fact, I am pretty much the opposite of crafty - so I was a little nervous going in to the digital scrapbooking software.

I am happy to report that the software is very simple to use. You select the scrapbook template you would like to use, point and click to select your photos, add your text and voila! There are several preloaded scrapbook templates to choose from or you can download additional templates, embellishments and papers from their website for a nominal fee.

I decided to create a Christmas scrapbook since we recently celebrated my daughter's first Christmas. Here are the six pages in the digital scrapbook that I created:

First Optometrist Visit

I take a lot of pictures of my kids. A LOT. And not just for the blog, either. I'm forever snapping pictures of their crazy antics, the awesome firsts and different experiences they have, and even if they just happen to look cute...which is often, of course.

I started noticing that whenever I was using the red-eye removal tool that Bryce's pupils were ALWAYS huge. Being the paranoid mom that I am, I started paying attention and comparing his pupils to Rylie's in the same lighting, and I got nervous. I remembered that one of my friends had blogged about taking her kids to the eye doctor, so I reached out to her to get her opinion. She said that I probably didn't need to worry about Bryce's big pupils, but that I should take them to the optometrist anyway because all kids should see an eye doctor regularly.

I ended up doing a little research and found that, according to the American Optometric Association, kids should see an eye doctor as young as 6 months old. (You can even get a free eye exam through the InfantSee program for babies 6-12 months old!) Since my kids were way past that age, I read a little more about Preschool Vision and found out that the eye exams done at the pediatrician's office just aren't enough. By age 3, your child should have a thorough optometric eye examination to make sure his or her vision is developing properly and there is no evidence of eye disease. So off to the optometrist we went!

Make New Springtime Friends At Build-A-Bear Workshop {Review & Giveaway}

Every time we go to the mall and Haley sees the Build-A-Bear Workshop, she wants to go in. My husband's sister came to visit last year and they took her there to build her own monkey, and she has been a fan ever since! The window displays I imagine would draw any child in, and she is no different. She always wants to go in, make a bear, or look at the many different outfit options they have. Her Aunt Liz bought her monkey a cute Hello Kitty shirt, complete with a denim skirt, and shiny pink sandals. Haley, since last year, continually puts those shiny pink sandals on her own feet, even though they look ridiculous, and walks around.

I love that at Easter, Build-A-Bear Workshop releases their Easter animals, and they are always so cute! This year is no exception. They have the Chirpy Chick and Flower Fun Bunny.

~~Winners!!!~~ Mega Bloks, Tea Time And Day Out With Thomas

Congratulations to last week's winners!

Mega Bloks® Barbie® Build 'n Style Pet Shop

Gear Up For Spring Adventure With Kidorable {Discount Code & Giveaway}

Spring is almost here, which means it is time to get out of the house and enjoy some adventures outside. Whether you will be spending your days at the park, at the beach, or even just visiting grandparents, your little ones will need something to transport all of their important belongings in. The best way to do that is in a cute backpack for toddlers and kids from Kidorable!

Weekend Win It - March 9-10 {Giveaway Linky}

Giveaway: Peaceable Kingdom
Ends: 3/12

Prize: Sticker Book or Game (winner's choice!)

Giveaway: Super Duper Publications
Ends: 3/17

Prize: $50 Super Duper Publications Gift Certificate

Spring is right around the corner, which means the Easter Bunny will soon be hopping by to bring kids their favorite treats. Have you decided what to fill your child's Easter basket with this year? Bazooka Candy Brands have made it easy for you to give your children the treats they love by offering an Easter candy assortment filled with Push Pop, Baby Bottle Pop, and Ring Pop varieties!

With festive variations like Baby Bottle Pop Easter Berry, Push Pop Strawberry, and Ring Pop Watermelon, each collection contains flavors that you do not want to miss. The yummy Easter assortments are perfect for an Easter egg hunt, or just to fill your child's basket with on Easter morning.

Rylie and Bryce love the Bazooka candies, especially the Baby Bottle Pops. I will definitely include this fun Easter assortment in their baskets this year.

Five Question Friday - March 8th

Happy Friday, my friends! It's been a decent week here, and definitely much better than last week. Bryce is back to 100%, and thank goodness, because he lost so much weight from being sick that his pants were falling down all week!

It was super cold here in Central Florida this week. I'm not just talking about a cool front dropping the temps down into the 60s, either. It was in the 30s a couple of mornings! I know that isn't horrible to you northerners who are dealing with snow right now, but for us native Floridians, that is COLD. My truck was covered in ice a couple of mornings, and we even had to break out the thick jackets and mittens! Or are they gloves? LOL I don't even know the difference!

Puppet Monsters {Review & Giveaway}

I am not sure I can publicly admit how many costumes/disguises my family has, but anyone who knows us knows that my husband has quite the extensive collection. He has a great sense of humor, and is a big kid at heart, and somehow, this has become his "thing". Our little girls love it when he puts something on and comes out into the living room, and they play lots of games. They have quite the collection themselves, but it is mostly princess dresses, and Kennedy is still a bit too young for that.

When I saw the video for Puppet Monsters, I knew they would fit perfectly into our family. On a recent trip to the Children's Museum here in Houston, Haley loved playing with puppets there and making Kennedy laugh as she popped them over the edge.

Puppet Monsters are puppets that you wear...on your head!! I love the creativity of these, and how they get children to use their imagination! Once the puppet is on your head, it has long arms, and there is a little pocket to put your finger in so that you can move the arms around. There are several different monsters to choose from too!

The Sleepover She Will Always Remember

Hopefully.

Did you guys see the cute pictures of Rylie and Peyton and their sleepover fun? Those were taken last Saturday night, after I agreed to let Rylie's best friend Peyton spend the night with us. Peyton's parents were having a party, so we decided to have her over and have a little party of our own.

We started the evening out with dinner at Chili's, and then came home to get the sleepover madness started. The girls played for a while (mostly dress up), jumped on the air mattress like it was a trampoline, and then got ready for bed. We let them stay up late to watch a movie, and they finally dozed off around midnight.

I thought since they went to bed so late that they would sleep in on Sunday morning. Boy was I wrong!

Wordless Wednesday: Sleepover Fun

Boost Your Immune System With AHCC And Probiotics From Quality Of Life {Review & Giveaway}

My kids go to ~~a petri dish~~ school every day, and they have since they were both 2 months old. I'm sure you can imagine the germs they have brought home with them throughout the past 5 years. Unfortunately, I have fallen victim to the "daycare bugs" several times, so I need all the immune boosting I can possibly get.

My family gets flu shots every year, but unfortunately, that wasn't enough for Bryce this year. He ended up with croup, strep and the flu, all in the same week! Luckily he recovered like a champ, but some people aren't as lucky. Combined with pneumonia, influenza is the nation's 9th leading cause of death.

When Bryce got sick, the rest of us were very vigilant about taking our vitamins and doing everything we could to stay healthy. I am a firm believer in taking vitamins and supplements to stay as healthy as possible. I recently learned about two immune-boosting supplements from Quality of Life that will give our immune system a boost during the flu season:

~~Winner!!!~~ Ring Pop

Congratulations to last week's winner!

Ring Pop Valentines

Walgreens "Up Market: Fresh" Mobile Tasting Tour Is Coming To Tampa {Giveaway}

For years I have been saying that drugstores are way more than just stores where you can buy medicine and other health products. You can get just about anything during a quick stop at your neighborhood drugstore - you can see a nurse if you're sick, pick up medication, grab a couple of items needed to finish your dinner preparation, and even shop for gifts and decorations for holidays. The only thing missing is fresh food - fruits, vegetables and meats. If drugstores had those items, you could run all of your errands for the week at one single store.

Well thanks to Walgreens, that one stop shop is a reality for Florida residents. Fresh foods are now being offered at newly renovated Well Experience stores. Fifteen Florida Walgreens, five of which are in the Tampa area, are part of this company pilot to transform the traditional drugstore into a health and daily living store. Each of the stores have been redesigned around customers' needs, including: