I’ve been working on teaching Hailey her letters and she loves playing games with letters.  Hailey loves to see her name and recognizes the “H” and gets excited whenever she sees an “H.”

So when a package arrived from Sweet Memories and More with a shirt in it that had an H on it, Hailey was thrilled.  I showed her the shirt and she said “H! H! H!”  And when she got to wear the shirt she kept pointing to the H all day and making sure I knew it was on her shirt.  See how excited she is in her picture?

Sweet Memories and More is a store that specializes in personalized gifts.  They can create personalized baby shower favors or wedding favors, keepsakes, plates, baby gifts and so much more.  You just have to check out this fun website to see all of the great products that are avaiable.  Everything is super cute.

How would you like one of these adorable personalized shirts for your child?  They range in size from 6 months up through 4T and are so incredibly cute. 

Here’s what you need to do for a chance to win:

• Click on over to Sweet Memories and More and pick out your favorite product.
• Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite product is.

Want an extra chance to win?

• Blog about this giveaway on your blog linking back to this post.
• Come back here and leave me a SECOND comment with the link to your post.

Can’t wait to make your purchase?  Use this coupon code for 10% off your entire order through January 1, 2009: blog08

This giveaway is open to US shipping addresses only.  This giveaway will end on July 18th at 11:59 pm EST.  I will use the random number generator shortly after that to pick a winner.  (I will be on vacation next week so my winner announcement may be a little bit late.)

This giveaway is now closed.

I have found another fabulous mom-owned company that I just have to share with you. Chocolate Cake Club is a store full of great items for children- they have toys, games, puzzles, art supplies, backpacks, and so much more. There are also items for mom- like scrapbook supplies, organizers, diapers bags and more.

What about Chocolate Cakes? You might be wondering. Nope- none of those. So, why are they called the Chocolate Cake Club? Well, if you’re anything like me, thinking about eating chocolate cake makes you feel pretty happy. To the owner of the company, Sue Kirchner, chocolate cake symbolizes family and celebrations or indulgence and rewards. So, take some time to step back from the usual business in life and reward yourself or your child with a fun new item.

Hailey was able to check out the Sugarbooger Goal Soccer Melamine Kids Dish Set from the Chocolate Cake Club. And as you can see from her picture she was pretty happy about it. She loves the soccer ball on her plate and she loves her matching fork and spoon. There is a matching cup too but it’s not in the picture of Hailey. (As a side note- the reason there is a only a little bit of food on Hailey’s plate is because she is more likely to eat and not throw her food on the floor when I only give her a little bit at a time.)

Anyhoo, how would you like something from the Chocolate Cake Club? There is such a great selection that I can assure you that you will find something you love. And guess what the Chocolate Cake Club has agreed to give one lucky winner? A $25 gift certificate! Now I know you’re excited about the idea of being able to pick your items to buy with your gift certificate.

Here’s what you need to do if you’d like a chance to win a $25 gift certificate:

• Stop by the Chocolate Cake Club and have a look around. Pick a favorite item.
• Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite item is.

Want a second chance to win?

• Blog about this giveaway on your blog linking back to this list post.
• Come back here and leave me a SECOND comment with the URL to your post.

Want something right now and can’t wait to see if you win?

• Save 15% off of your order now through August 15, 2008 using this coupon code: LWM15

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian shipping addresses and will end on July 11th at 11:59 pm EST.

This giveaway is now closed.

We are all trying to do our part to help our environment.  I think about it more now that I’m a mom than I ever did before.  I want to leave our world in the best possible shape for our future generations.  So, when I had the chance to review some product from Stubby Pencil Studio I was so excited.  Stubby Pencil Studio was started by Kate Rosenthal in 2006 when she realized the need for eco-friendly and do-it-yourself art products for children.

Hailey received a fabulous package of goodies from the Stubby Pencil Studio and she was thrilled.  Here are some pictures of her enjoying a few of the fun items she received. 

Hailey enjoyed playing with some natural play dough- Mary’s Softdough.  She loved it.  And I loved it- it did not crumble at all like your typical play dough does.  There was no play dough on the floor when she finished playing.  And you moms know that is important.

Hailey always insists on writing Brooke’s name when we play with play dough- so here she is right after we wrote Brooke’s name.  In this picture Hailey is smelling the softdough because it smelled sooooo good.

Here Hailey is coloring with Soy Crayons on her Color ‘n Kids Interactive cards.  I have been teaching her about bugs and insects so the package of Six Garden Pals Color ‘n Kid cards was perfect.  She loved coloring her ladybug.  And I love that crayons are made from all natural pigments and soybean oil and that the cards are printed on 100% PCW recycled stock.

Here Hailey enjoys writing with Jumbo Triangular Color Eco Pencils.  This was her first time using colored pencils and she absolutely loved using them.  I loved the triangular shape because they didn’t roll off of the table and all over the floor.  Plus they are produced with 100% FSC certified wood from reforestation sources.

So, how would like to win a $70 prize package from Stubby Pencil Studio?  I thought you might be excited about that.  Here is what your prize package will include:

Green to the Letter Stationery set including:
4 packs of Color ‘n Kids cards (winner’s choice of styles)
Set of 10 Smencil pencils 
Set of 12 eco colored pencils
Set of 12 Watercolor crayons
Box of 24 Soy crayons
Trio Pencil Sharpener

If this sounds fabulous to you, and I know it does, here is what you need to do to enter to win:

• Click over to Stubby Pencil Studio and look around.
• Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite item is.

Want a second chance to win?

• Blog about this giveaway on your blog, linking back to this post, and leave me a SECOND comment with the URL of your post.

This giveaway will end on July 4th at 11:59pm EST.  I will pick a winner using the random number generator shortly after it ends.  This giveaway is open to US and Canadian shipping addresses.

If you can’t wait to see if you win, you can use this coupon code: BDAY08 for a free pack of Color ‘n Kids cards: Six Birthday Wishes ($7.95 value) good thru 12/31/08. The coupon code goes in at checkout - on the review your payment page - on the left hand side there is a spot to click that says Questions, comments or BONUS CODE.

When I was a little girl I knew just how my life would be when I grew up. I was going to be a stay at home mommy. I would spend my days playing with kids, taking them to the park, reading books, doing fun activities, etc. Do you know what wasn’t a part of my dream? Laundry, bills, making dinner, cleaning, sleepless nights, taking a toddler grocery shopping, and certainly not being sick and still having to do all of that. I really had no idea how hard it would be to be a mom.

I was recently watching a show where someone said that they had heard a little girl say that she wanted to be just like her mom when she grew up and “do nothing.” As kids we really had no idea the sacrifices our parents made for us and we couldn’t possibly comprehend all they did for us. Once you become a parent you suddenly realize “Wow! My parents did a lot for me!” (Thanks, Mom and Dad!!)

I think for most of us, even though life isn’t exactly how we dreamed it would be it is still pretty good. We have a lot to be thankful for even if it means being thankful for the piles of laundry and all of the extra cleaning we have to do. So, even though I have to cart a big old basket of clean laundry up my stairs every few days I am still living my dream. It’s a little bit different than what I had dreamed of when I was a child, but it’s still a great life.

I have a shirt from LTDChix with this graphic on the front of it and I love it! The two ladies who started these Living The Dream shirts are both moms who are living the same dream that you and I are living- carting kids around, trying to find a few minutes to exercise, and doing lots of laundry. And these fabulous ladies have agreed to give one of you one of their fabulous shirts.

Here is what you need to do if you want a chance to win:

• Click on over to LTDChix. Look at the choices they have for shirts and pick the one that reminds you of your life as a mom.
• Come back here and leave me a comment telling me which one is the most like you.

Want two chances to win?

• If you’d like a second entry into the giveaway you can post about this giveaway on your blog linking back to this entry. Then leave me a SECOND comment with the URL to your post.

This giveaway will end on June 27th at 11:59 pm EST. I will use the random number generator shortly after that to pick a winner.

Have you ever gone out to eat only to realize that you didn’t have a bib with you for your baby or toddler?  That has happened to me many times- and tucking a napkin into the front of Hailey’s shirt just does not cut it. 

There are so many times that I see a product and I say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”  And these bib clips from Kangaroodle were one of those times.  It is the perfect solution to my forgetting a bib when we go out to eat.  This bib clip can turn a napkin into a bib- actually it can turn just about anything into a bib.  So, now instead of having to keep a bib in Hailey’s diaper bag I can just keep this bib clip in there instead.

I didn’t bring my camera with me the last time we went out to eat, so Hailey had to model the bib clip for you at home.  See how easily it works?  I just clipped a paper towel on and the paper towel turned into a bib.  And what is even more amazing is that Hailey actually leaves it on for more than 30 seconds (the typical time span her regular bibs stay on for).

These bib clips are not the only wonderful item at Kangaroodle though.  There are so many things at Kangaroodle I would love to buy.  This store is all about fun, functional and fabulous items.  They have some adorable clothes, some really cute decorations for baby’s room, toys, items just for mom and even more.  You just have to stop by to see all of the fabulousness.

So, now I suppose you’re wondering what the title of my post is all about.  You know, where I mentioned a $50 gift certificate.  Well, how would you like a $50 gift certificate to Kangaroodle?  You would?  I thought so.

Here’s what you need to do if you want a chance to win:

• Click on over to Kangaroodle, have a look around and pick out your favorite item.
• Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what you favorite item is.

Want two chances to win? 

• If you’d like a second entry into the giveaway you can post about this giveaway on your blog linking back to this entry.  Then leave me a SECOND comment with the URL to your post.

This giveaway will end on June 20th at 11:59 pm EST and is open to US and Canadian shipping addresses.  I will use the random number generator shortly after that to pick a winner.