Under The Barnyard Light Review And Giveaway

 ** I received a copy of this book for free in return for my honest review. ** 

We are very grateful for being given the opportunity to read, Under The Barnyard Light! This is so beautifully written and with such magical illustrations, you will surely be reminded of some of your favorite stories when you yourself were little. Of course, there are a number of children's books that are worthy of mentioning when it comes to recommending to family and friends. But, there is something about this book that makes it oh so special! 

Under The Barnyard Light was written by Carla Crane Osborne and illustrated by Brandon Dorman. 

Carla grew up on her family farm and also tended to the animals. (Yes, she also has red hair. Much like the little red-haired girl in the story!) 

Children will enjoy following this little girl while she's taking care of her chores which involves preparing her farm animals for bed. This includes feeding the calves and taking care of her horse, Dandy. It is written in verse which fits so well with the enchanting illustrations. 

We especially enjoyed this book because it includes 2 of our most favorite things! Little cows and snow! Well, I usually love snow quite a bit however, we've been getting hit with snow almost every day for a couple of weeks, I'm starting to get a bit anxious for spring! It's actually snowing right now as I type this...

While we don't live on a farm, we visit local farms quite frequently and purchase a majority of our groceries from local farms, farm stands, and farmer's markets. I am very thankful that we are so blessed to be surrounded by so many farms! We see the hard work and dedication involved with running a farm and appreciate every one of them. (We also get to see lots and lots of cows along the way!) 

You can enter below to win 1 of 2 copies of Under The Barnyard Light, for your own bookshelf! 

Good luck!

Entry-Form

Should I Scoop Out My Bagel (RSVP For A Twitter Party Too!)

When it comes to eating the right foods - there is so much information out there. What diet should you follow, can you have a cheat day or drink a glass of wine? Don't you wish you had a best friend that could answer all your questions about what is truly important and actually relevant to your health? Should I Scoop Out My Bagel and 99 Other Answers to Your Everyday Diet and Nutrition Questions to Help You Lose Weight, Feel Great, and Live Healthy is written in short chapters that answer 99 questions that you probably wanted to ask - but never had anyone to ask. Ilyse Schapiro and Hallie Rich have twenty-five years of combined experience in the health field and they are able to cover the multitude of questions that constantly top the list, including:

• Is eating a wrap healthier than eating a bagel sandwich?
• Is it time to get on the gluten-free bandwagon?
• I have salads for lunch every day, and I’m still not losing weight. What am I doing wrong?
• I’m tired of feeling tired. What can I do to lose the urge to snooze?
• I eat well, so what’s the point of a multivitamin?
• Learn about GMO's and Organic Foods

The book is like talking with your girlfriends. They provide practical advice that makes sense. This book is what every woman needs to read to get the answers they have been looking for!

About The Authors:

Ilyse Schapiro, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian and certified dietitian/nutritionist who holds a master’s of science in clinical nutrition and dietetics from New York University. Before launching her own practice, she was a dietitian at Joy Bauer Nutrition and served as a clinical dietitian at the Hospital for Special Surgery. She resides in Mamaroneck, New York. Hallie Rich worked side by side with both her father and grandmother at her family’s dietary supplement business, where she rose through the ranks to become a senior executive at the Company. Following the passing of her father, Hallie founded Rich Vitamins. Hallie received her BA with honors from the University of Michigan and resides in New York, New York.

Twitter Party Details:

I am so excited about this Twitter Party! The authors will be at the party to help answer your questions! Plus you can win awesome prizes including Amazon Gift Cards (or Paypal Cash) and copies of the book Should I Scoop Out My Bagel! Make sure you RSVP. Date - January 14 2016 at 9:00-10:00pm EST

• Sponsor - @ScoopOutMyBagel
• Host - Janellcp
• Co-hosts - @april__stephens : @simplysherryl : @odouglass11 : sincerelymindy_
• Hashtag - #HealthyScoop

Enter Below on the Giveaway Form for a chance to win $25 and a Signed Copy of Should I Scoop Out My Bagel and 99 Other Answers to Your Everyday Diet and Nutrition Questions to Help You Lose Weight, Feel Great, and Live Healthy! Plus come back for out Twitter party for more fun, prizes, and useful information!

Entry-Form

 

Daddy Bear Daddy Scrubs Review and Giveaway

I started hearing about this company through some other bloggers, and right away, the name, Daddy Scrubs, caught my attention. I just loved the actual, daddy scrubs they make for dads to be, and thought this was one of the most coolest and original ideas I seen in a long time! So, when the opportunity came along for us to share our thoughts on one of their products, I was anxious to see what, Daddy Scrubs, were all about!
Of course we were super excited because this specific gift item came with a book, and of course we love books! Plus this also came with an adorable teddy bear to match with the story. Of course the little ones had to hug and squeeze the teddy bear, and then the bickering started... "Who gets to keep the bear?!!!" (Even Aaron, our 9 year old joined in for that argument!)
 I may as well start my review here, because after all of the fussing and carrying on, the bear had maintained his handsome features, and believe me, 3 little kids, pulling on tiny teddy arms, and squeezing so tight, I have seen some toys and stuffed animals, NOT survive! But this bear, stayed looking just as if we just opened up the package we opened up just an hour before the battle. Not even a wince. This was impressive, no matter the age, this teddy bear will stay intact and stay cute for a very long time. That was a good thing since I was going to be giving this book and bear gift set to my son in law who is a brand new daddy;) (Well, my granddaughter, Lillian too.)
I thought this would be a fun thing for them to share together, and he can read the book to her, and while he's at work, she can keep her daddy bear closeby. When I explained this to the kiddos, they were delighted and shrieked and squealed, and they couldn't wait for their tiny little niece to visit and check out her special gift to share with her daddy:) That kind of stopped the fighting, even though Deegan took over the job of being the bestest babysitter for Lillian and her dad, and he kept this bear safe and sound for a week or so until the time came to hand him over.
 In the meantime, Deegan especially enjoyed the storybook that came with the bear, What Daddy Bear Loves. ( He is a 2 year old, so he really enjoys books like this, and the fact that the pages are super tough was another added bonus!) The other 2 thought this was an awesome story, even our "all growed up son", Aaron was just so happy and kept saying, "Oh, Lillian will love this story! It is such a nice story for her and her daddy!" Genevive, our "just turned 6!!" young lady, is in that phase where she is learning to read, and loves to try and try and try and after a few times, was able to help quite a bit with this easily read storybook. She seems to gain so much confidence when she can read to her little brother, and Deegan really loves to be read too!!
 This book is so sweet, written so nice, short, and to the point, and the lesson learned is one to last a lifetime. That is what makes the perfect children's book! The story is about a daddy bear who loves to spend time with his little cub, whether they are climbing or exploring, they are spending quality time together and that alone shows your little cubs, or kids, that you love and respect them and enjoy being with them. It's a wonderful message, and especially wonderful for new dads, doesn't matter if they have 5 or 1.
 What's so awesome to me about this gift set, is that the new daddy and baby can share this book for years and years and years. Not only does this set teach the new parents why spending time together is so important, but it also allows for the daddy to have have his own special time with his baby, no matter their age(s). Mommy's are always getting gifts for their babies, why not the daddies? My son in law was smiling pretty big when we gave him his gift to share with our new granddaughter, and I know they will continue to enjoy this gift together for a long time to come. I told him he has to read this little story to Lillian, everyday or every night, and I believe he actually does;) (in between his video games and work of course, lol!)
 But really, we are very proud of these new parents, they are madly in love with their little princess! It was nice to say, "Hey, Andrew! When are you guys stopping up for dinner? I got this real cool blog review opportunity and it ends up it's something for you and Lillian to share together!?" and it was very neat to see a drummer/video gamer/comic book fan get all giddy over this Daddy Bear gift set that will be their own little special treasure. I think this company is just fantastic!
We always get our baby showers, and baby things, baby appointments, baby everything, and even though sometimes I think the dads might not show it, I wonder if they feel left out sometimes. I just love what, Daddy Scrubs, is all about, and they have a lot of reasonably priced daddy gifts to choose from.
You can read more about their company and check out these original gifts here! Check out this video!! GIVEAWAY!!
 ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER BELOW FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A DADDY BEAR DADDY SCRUBS SET!!




a Rafflecopter giveaway I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Super Moms Inc by Carolyn Woods Review and Giveaway!!

Super Moms Inc : Work From Home, Build A Profitable Home Business, and Find Time For Your Family When You Have Kids to Take Care Of! , is the actual title of Carolyn's book! (I was worried how to fit it all in the title section above;)
I like the title, it covers almost everything that you will find in this book.
This is an excellent book for people who are looking for ideas, just starting out in the work from home, stay at home, scene, and not just for moms either.
Carolyn covers pretty much everything from where to come up with extra money when times get tough, to where to possibly grab some extra money, to long term opportunity ideas you may not of thought of and could definitely benefit from.
I also loved the addition of her personal charts and graphs on how to better keep lists, and budgets. (You know me, lol, I love lists and any charts, graphs or ideas that make my life and business easier!)
The personal stories and thoughts that she adds in with each section makes it as though you are talking to a friend, rather then just reading a "how to" manual. (She is also a busy mom of 4, so who knows better then a fellow busy mom;)
Brainstorming is great and when you find yourself in the position where you may have to earn some extra money somehow, or you quickly need money, a friend, or Carolyn's book, is a definite must have! I'm sure some of the ideas most of us have already done, thought of or tried, but there is always the "newbies" out there, of any age, as well as sometimes when stressed, the rest of us need a good, back to earth moment. This is a handy little guide to keep at home for some pointers.
Although I have to point out there are a couple things I have tried or currently do, that were not mentioned in this book, that have worked well for me. She is a mom herself, and she made me think of several more ways to earn some extra cash.
A couple years ago I was trying to gather ideas for a blog post about how to earn money for groceries, shopping, holidays, and school clothes, when you don't have internet access, or minimal internet access. I never got very far with that one, although I had some of my own brilliant ideas, I didn't have anybody else come up with anything, and I wish I would have known about Carolyn. (or that her book had come out a couple years ago, so I could've just referred my readers!)
It is especially hard for me to earn extra money from home, I am partially disabled, and have 3 small kids at home. (our oldest is grown up now and is a mommy herself!) but we also live in the middle of nowhere, so a lot of people's ideas for how to earn extra cash doesn't always fit somebody like me to well. But Carolyn does touch on almost every possible outlet and you can add or delete and come up with your own clever ways to make a profit!
I do work pt outside of our home, (I usually joke and say this is because I need a break from the little ones! lol!) But I don't earn enough to cover our gigantic expenses!! Yes, my husband works, we actually have our own trucking business, with 1 employee... him!  But we also pay our own repairs, fuel, taxes, tags, insurances, it's endless and costs a hundred times more then a regular vehicle. So, I am endlessly online, trying to find what fits my family best. I have been doing this for almost 7 years now, and have learned the hard way many times!!
I also agree with Carolyn's time and money saving ideas, and didn't ever think of some of them myself, so I certainly learned something from her book.
I do have to add however, that I have been using coupons for several years, and I do keep a log of each shopping trip, each store, amount, what I saved, how much do I get back (ie: rewards, Extrabucks, Up Rewards, Catalinas, etc), and how much was spent per item. Now, this may seem like it takes forever to collect, sort, cut and scour the ads each week, and run everywhere, and it can, sure. But there are weeks, I "take off" and not bother, and there are weeks where it is very minimal.
I do save an enormous amount of money with coupons, and depending on the store, I won't spend 50 cents per item. (The highest I will go is $1 per item) Otherwise, it isn't worth my time. Of course there are things like produce, meat, milk, dairy, deli, that are super high, but if I clump it all together and some of my free groceries cover some of the high priced items, I'm happy;) I could go on and on about coupons but there is so much mis information out there since these ridiculous shows started on the television. I am always sad to see how people have been misled and how people have given up on something that can actually make you money if you play your cards right! (WalMart will pay overages and CVS and Rite Aid will in fact give you $10 in rewards to use on anything in their store, regardless of how much you just saved in coupons.) So, there are sporatic money makers as well as a LOT to be saved.
Back to the book;)
Carolyn has tried so many things and will let you know what has worked, what hasn't worked and what to look for and what to expect. I love the way she took this project on, and I admire her honesty. You can trust her as she explains how she handled things and how she came up with the ideas.
You will really end up learning something and thinking, "Wow! Why didn't I think of that??", when you are finished with her book.




 

You can read more about Carolyn here on her blog! and you can find her on Twitter! and Facebook!
ENTER TO WIN YOUR CHOICE, EITHER A KINDLE VERSION OR A HARD COPY OF, SUPER MOMS INC!!
 ** Please read our disclosure policy **
 ** I received a copy of this book for my honest review **
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Happy Hour Effect by Kristen K. Brown Review and Giveaway

I am starting to really love these self help books, especially the ones where the author shares their ideas about how to de stress our lives, and have a more productive and more fulfilling life.

(There will be a Rafflecopter on this post in just a bit for you to enter to win your own copy of, The Happy Hour Effect!! This is the start of our, Make Time for Busy Moms, Giveaway month, and this is the perfect start:)

Of course this is ALWAYS something we can use advice on. What's funny is, most of what Kristen K. Brown discusses with the reader, is kind of like, "OHH!! That makes so much sense!!" "So, why wasn't I doing it this way or that way??"

What sets , The Happy Hour Effect, away from quite a few other self help books I have read, is her personality, her own experiences, there are a lot of extras in this book, and besides the fact that everything in this book is quite possible, and fairly simple. You will also find that you most likely have a lot in common with this very busy mom. She can really relate to most of us and what we go through in our busy days.
 My favorite for instance is the part that I am personally very used too. I rarely have time to wear much anything other then pajamas, lol, unless of course we are going to a doctor appointment or I am going to work. Well, really, work is iffy, depending on how bad my RSD in my legs are that weekend, I may just end up with pajama pants on. Haha, the same for the doctor, so ok, never mind. But there are times I just don't care what I look like and I will run out the door in pajamas,sometimes even braless! (slippers are all I can wear due to my RSD, but I do go out of my way to find pretty ones;), and I have short hair that sticks up everywhere in the back, kind of spiky. (I got this haircut about 12 years ago and have stuck with it because it saves me time, although, I rarely bother doing my hair unless I am going to work), but, I'm sure you get the picture.
 I see plenty of other moms doing the same, and I am sure, like the author says, i have also scared a store clerk, or 2, or 3. I am 38 years old, so I kind of "grew out" of the whole, "OMG! I am not leaving this house until my hair, make up and clothing is on!" attitude. It's a shame really, but sometimes we just don't have that time. There are to many kids, (even 1 is to many when you are trying to run out the door!), and you only have a few minutes to gather everything, coupons, wallet, keys, it just seems pointless to bother. The point here is that if we would actually take the extra few minutes, even if we just wash our faces, brush our hair, throw barrettes in, anything, we would probably start to feel quite a bit better about ourselves, hence, a much happier attitude.
 It is true that when you look good, you feel good. I even feel much better around the house with my lip gloss and barrettes. I know it isn't much, but it is better then nothing. It drives me crazy when there are so many kids banging on the door when I'm in the bathroom, screaming, fighting, bickering, I usually open the door and leave the way I am.
I was happy to read that the author knows what all of this is like. And she makes plenty of excellent points as to why we really should try and take those extra few minutes to get ready and look decent before we leave the house. Even if just down a few blocks for some milk.
There are some not so nice things that can start happening to us when we are super stressed out and lose energy. (This was another cool part, Kristen K. Brown isn't a fan of exercise, so we don't have to read all about how great our lives and bodies would be with exercise, who wants to hear that anyway?) However, if you use the simple steps in her book, you will most likely start to see changes almost just as fast as feeling the changes!
Stress brings on wrinkles, (something I sure don't want, especially since being older and being a new grandma!), it also brings more illnesses, you always feel tired, exhausted, annoyed, and your skin really takes a massive hit! Another one that really sucks, is stress fat. I know I don't need that at all! If there is something I can do to make all of these things better, make me healthier, and be almost stress free, I'm in!
 I love the way this book is written, Kristen really took the time to prepare this book, and genuinely wants to help other people. It is very cool that everything she talks about, really isn't so far fetched and this is all within our reach.
 Did you know by the way, that chocolate, especially darker chocolate, is a huge stress reducer? Well, it is, and you can eat it, and be happy and not worry about anything, why? Because it does indeed have health benefits and it makes you happy, therefore, less stressed out;) Of course she doesn't tell us to eat a few pounds a day!! I always have a bag of semi sweet chocolate chips in the fridge and I eat a few everytime I open the fridge;) YUM! It depends, I usually am stuck in the kitchen preparing food, planning meals, menus, doing dishes, and cleaning messes, and then preparing more food, packing lunches, it is neverending! OK, not every single time, but quite a few times a day I do grab a few;)
The Happy Hour Effect, is a definite must have for any busy moms, and dads! You probably know many people from work, school, family members, friends, neighbors, plenty of people who would benefit from this book. It is also handy to keep in your diaper bag, vehicle, purse, backpack, anywhere you may find yourself stressed out and need a good pick me up.
 About the author: (taken from the author's website)
Kristen K. Brown is The Queen of Stress Relief! She is a transformation coach, business consultant, bestselling and award-winning author, online TV host, speaker and the founder of Happy Hour Effect LLC and WidowMommy.com. She has her Master's Certificate in Integral Theory which is all about exploring and understanding issues from multiple perspectives. She is a Certified Holistic Health Consultant and is also a 15 year corporate America veteran. Her debut memoir, The Best Worst Thing, is about her journey to a new life after the unexpected death of her husband of a heart attack at the age of 30 when their daughter was just an infant. It hit the Amazon bestseller list the same day it was released and hit #1 on the Amazon Movers & Shakers list. Her second book, The Happy Hour Effect: 12 Secrets to Minimize Stress and Maximize Life, was released by Goodman Beck publishing in November 2012. She does live and virtual book signings, readings and book club events and a portion of the proceeds go to heart health research.
 You can also find Kristen on Twitter and Facebook.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Our Mom Spot Summer Reading Giveaway

We were all super excited that we won this giveaway a couple weeks ago, and we just received our package this past weekend!!
The kids LOVE their new books, and didn't waste any time getting them out to read!!
For those of you who are not familiar with www.ourmomspot.net, they are a community of parents who come together to help each other, inspire each other, offer advice, tips, and just simple and fun chat for other busy, and crazy parents like us;)
They also have all kinds of information, discussions, giveaways and a lot more!
I never really enter many giveaways, I wish I did, but I am usually to busy hosting them, or doing book reviews!! But, I received an email about this giveaway from Our Mom Spot, and had to enter!!
We won these books:





We are so thrilled to have won these awesome books!! The kids have had so much fun the past few days, and Aaron (our almost 9 year old), has been reading them to the littlest ones, over and over.
You can read more about the author, Doreen Cronin, here!
They are just adorable! Cute illustrations, tons of facts, and written in such a way that you don't even realize you are learning. (that is my favorite kind of way because it seems what you read, sticks in your mind a lot longer, and it is easier to remember, especially for kids!)

Here is a couple pictures of Aaron, reading to his brother and sister;)
We are very proud of him! He reads exceptionally well, and a LOT!

I had a few extra minutes to quick throw in some laundry, do a sink load of dishes, and start dinner while they read!! So, THANK YOU Doreen Cronin and Many thanks to OURMOMSPOT.NET!!! and Thank you for having such an amazing community for parents:P
PS) I was actually in desperate need of a mouse pad, so that was a much appreciated gift I found in our package!!!! Thanks again:)