Times Like These

There are times that I'm soooo thankful my kids love me, and there are times I wish they would go bother their daddy and leave me alone for 5minutes to get something done!

Today was one of the good days. We (meaning me, alone with all 3 kids under the age of 5!) were on our way home from my aunt's house (the one my kids call grandma) and we were almost home when this conversation happened:

Jeffery: Mommy?
Me: Yes Jeffery?
Jeffery: You are a good mommy!
Me: (on the verge of tears) I'm a good mommy?
Jeffery: yes
Me: why am I a good mommy?
Jeffery: because you take us places, I love you!

Ok, someone give me a tissue please! This is the boy who beats things up when he is mad, but he can be the sweetest little thing ever when he wants to!

Monday Mingle

At the request of Jennifer over at Eighty MPH Mom, I just did Monday Mingle, which is a vlog about anything I guess...I hope lol. I just read the following weeks will have questions to be answered...that will be easier for me to do...I didn't know what to talk about this week, so I talked about my issue last Friday morning.

Like I said in the video, I will answer any questions...although probably wont be in video form...I can type better than video things lol. If you really want to see the picture, I can easily upload it to the blog here so yall can see that it is NOT what the ER dr thought!

Jeep Playyard (review/giveaway)

There was one product when I was pregnant with Jaxon I knew I needed, a playpen! The one playpen we bought ended up being recalled and I had to send in the mesh sides to get a rebate which ended up being spent on bills. I knew I needed one, but there were other things more important that we had to buy. Recently I was sent the Jeep® Trek Easy-Travel Playard made by Kolcraft, I was shocked at how huge the box was sitting on my front porch!

I was lucky, when the playpen arrived Jeffery and Jaylin were napping and it just happened to be time for Jaxon to eat, so I fed him and put him in the swing and he watched me put his Jeep® Trek Easy-Travel Playard together. It did take a bit to put together, I just followed the directions closely, it had good illistrations and great written directions. Some of the parts were tough to put into place, but to me that means it's solid, it wont fall apart. What attracted me to the Jeep® Trek Easy-Travel Playard was the storage compartment on one end of it, I'm able to put some of Jaxon's diapers and extra onsies and such there so I don't have to keep going into the bedroom to get them. It also has a bassinet attachment and a changing table attachment {Please note, never place baby in the playpen while changing table is attached, I missed this in the instruction manual, I have since changed the pictures of this review for safety concerns}, I love both of those features, I don't have to bend way down to pick Jaxon up when he wakes up. There is also the cute little toy bar with a lion, zebra and giraffe, it matches everything else in his theme which is jungle.

I've mentioned before that Jaxon's crib is in our bedroom, and I think I've mentioned that Jeff works swing shifts (2 weeks of dayshift, 2 weeks of nightshift), well when Jeff is on nightshift he can't sleep well when Jaxon wakes up during the day and I'm busy with the older 2 and can't get to Jaxon right away, now that we have the Jeep® Trek Easy-Travel Playard in our living room (the color of the playpen actually matches our living room colors!), problem solved! Now Jeff can sleep easy during the day, I don't even have to go in the bedroom to get diapers or clothes or anything since it has the storage compartment on the end of it!

The Jeep® Trek Easy-Travel Playard wasn't too hard to fold up, took a little bit of muscle to pull up the pull handle (oh, I forgot to mention the playyard has wheels and a handle so you don't have to carry it, just roll it! Yet another plus of this playyard!) The sides fold easy, and it's easy to strap shut, the floor, bassinet attachment, and changing table attachment all fit inside the folded up playyard. The cover is a bit tight, so getting it put on was a bit of a struggle, but I thought it was well worth it, to be able to just roll this behind you and take where ever you travel to. It's going to be a lifesaver when we visit Jeff's parents.

Jeff told me today that Jaylin decided to test the durability of the Jeep® Trek Easy-Travel Playard, he caught Jaylin standing in the bassinet so she could reach the top of the fireplace mantle. She weighs a good 35-40lbs and it held her, although I don't plan to let her do it again!

The only downside, it's pretty bulky...so putting it in our van is going to take up a bit of room, the cause of the bulkyness is the storage compartment...which honestly, is worth the bulkyness to be able to put Jaxon's clothes and diapers in that, zip it up, and roll it with us where ever we go. No need for an extra bag for Jaxon.

I love my Jeep® Trek Easy-Travel Playard! It's a must have for any family with a baby who travels! It's great from newborn on up! As you can see from the pictures above, Jaxon loves to watch the little animals on the toy bar.

Giveaway: Kolcraft would like to give one of my lucky readers their very own Jeep® Trek Easy-Travel Playard!

Open to US & Canada

Main Entry: Go to Kolcraft's site and browse around, then come back here and tell me another of their products that you like! Don't forget to leave an email address for me to contact you! This must be done before any extra entries!

Extra Entries: (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry)

• Follow me on Twitter
• Tweet this Giveaway using @monkey_mayhem (can do daily)
• Follow me on Google
• Sign up for my email feed through Feedburner
• Blog about this giveaway
• Favorite me on Technorati (I added that button under my Twitter button)
• Become a fan of Monkey Mayhem on Facebook (button on my left sidebar)
• Take my demographic survey (link is at the top of my blog)

This giveaway will end on September 8th @ 11pm EST!
Good Luck!

Not Always Easy

I have 3 wonderful kids, I love them to death, but all 3 of them have their different health issues that I have to deal with. Jeff works a LOT (seriously he just worked 7 12hour nights straight, then worked for a canoe place yesterday and today) so he don't have any time to take them to the many different doctors.

The reason this come to my mind is we just got into an argument where out of anger he called me "lazy" because I haven't made a follow up appointment for Jeffery's GI doctor because I don't want to have to take Jaylin and Jaxon again. I then yelled at him to make it himself and drive the hour to get there and take him himself! Anyways, I couldn't talk to the GI specialist very well because Jaxon was crying and Jaylin and Jeffery were fighting over a toy...yea, I'm not going to do that again! Jeffery is STILL unable to control when he poops. Jeffery also has behavior issues, I take him over an hour away on Wednsday for an evaluation to see if he has ADHD or Autism.

Jaylin is having a lot of speech issues, not many appointments for that since she's had all surgeries already (tonsils and atnoids, ear tubes) She starts school next month and I had to make sure she had her physical and all that fun stuff done. I'm worried about that.

Jaxon, I have to take him next month to a ENT over an hour away because he weezes when he eats or sucks on anything, his pediatrician says its not normal. So here we go again with many many appointments!

Seriously, I've been on the go nonstop it seems with theses kids...I try to make it seem like I'm managing well...but to be honest, I'm TIRED! I do it all because my kids need me to take care of them, to make sure they are healthy, to make sure they are developing normally and all that stuff. I think the nonstop started when I was pregnant with Jaylin and we realized Jeffery wasn't talking like he should for a 1yr old...then started with the ENT for him, surgery to get tubes (might I mention I had a 2 or 3week old Jaylin in the hospital that day with me since Jeff had to work), then the speech evaluations, then speech therapy. Then Jaylin getting sick, then Jeffery switching to school to get the therapy (it was home visits), more doctor and specialists for Jaylin's sickness all the time, ended up with an ENT for her, tubes followed shortly after, then the sinus infections were nonstop (seriously, from May 2008 til March 2009 my poor baby was pretty much nonstop on antibiotics), add ontop of all this I found out I was pregnant with Jaxon, so then I had to juggle my prenatal appointments in with all that fun stuff. I was a very pregnant mommy when Jaylin had her tonsils and atnoids taken out in March (actually I remember her falling asleep on my big ole belly and Jaxon kicking her while she slept in the hospital that day). Then come the speech evaluations for Jaylin, and then referal to the school and they did a full evaluation for her...we cut it close with my due date and her last evaluation! Jaxon was a few weeks old when we got the results. She is going to be in speech therapy in school this year, so thats taken care of. Now the ENTs that the kids were going to stop taking their insurance, I have to take Jaxon over an hour away to an ENT in a bigger city for his problem.

Can't I catch my breath sometime?? It really seems nonstop, and when doing it by myself its even harder. I try to put on a brave face and just do it...but today I'm breaking down. Wedsnday morning I have to get up before the sun comes up to get Jeffery dressed and out of the house and on the road before 630am to get to the behavioral clinic at 730am when his appointment is at 8am (luckily Jeff is off that day and is going to keep Jaxon and Jaylin at home) then after that is done come home and the Head Start open house/orientation is that evening from 4-6pm, I'm going to make Jeff go with me to that since I have to take both Jeffery and Jaylin.

So there...its all out in the open, I'm not as put together as people think I am...I'm a complete wackjob for attempting to do a million things in one day, when I can barely handle anything at all. 3 kids, 3 different issues, a million different drs and appointments! Let's just cross our fingers that Jaxon don't have the speech issues his older siblings have.

My "Princess"

Are you wondering why princess is in quotes? Well look at this picture of my little "princess" Jaylin, she's sooooo into something, can you guess what she's looking at?

Have you ever seen anything like the picture below? This is what she was watching.

That is a demolition derby! Cars crashing into eachother...my DAUGHTER was soo into that! What happened to her wanting to play with barbies, or something....no she'll play with Jeffery's matchbox cars, and be more interested in a demolition derby than her older brother!

We went to the derby last night after a rough day, I'm not going to get into the details of that. Lots of drama, and I lost a lot of years off my life with worry. I'm just happy it's over. So instead of going home, where I could sit and think about the horror that happened durring the day, we went to the demo derby to watch Jeff's coworker/friend in it.

This is Roger's car, 3X...Jeff helped him prepare this car for the derby, Jeff even made the fin on the roof...it has "XXX" sawed out of the middle of it (can't see it very well in the picture)

Just for entertainment, here are some more pics of the derby...if you have never heard of a derby, it's where there are different "heats" in each heat all the cars smash up eachother until only 3 cars are still able to move. The 3 cars from each "heat" go to the final round and only 1 car comes out of that one and thats the winner. We didn't stick around for the final round, we left after Roger was out. We saw a couple cars catch fire, in the pictures you can see firemen/women on each side of the ring, they all had fire extiguishers and all kinds of gear...its actually watched very closely by officals....you will notice little pink flags on the roof of the cars, when a car is unable to move, engine stopped working or whatever, they take that flag off and then the other cars still going aren't allowed to purposely hit the cars without flags, I saw one or 2 cars get disqualified for hitting a car without a flag. Poor Roger, he had to take his flag down because he got STUCK on another car and couldnt get off of it, after a certain amount of time of not moving, and not making contact with another car (crashing them) you have to take your flag down. Yea, I liked it more than I thought I would...I've always heard of derbys, but never went to one.

This is the ring the derby is held in.

This is how they line up to begin, they smash into eachothers trunks. The purple car "J2" is a female driver, the only one I saw in the 3 heats we watched.

I'll have to add more later, Blogger won't let me upload pics for some reason right now.

EyeBuyDirect.com (review/giveaway)

I've worn glasses since I was young, I think like 8 or 9 years old. My dad wears glasses, so being I'm a spitting image of him, I inherited his eyes too ha ha! I've been through a ton of glasses in my lifetime, I was rough on them when I was younger because I had no idea how expensive glasses were.

Now, I'm out on my own I have to pay for them myself (well Jeff has to pay for them since he's the only bread winner here) I've worn the same frames for YEARS now, because I would rather spend my money on the kids. I would occasionally go get an eye exam to update my Rx, and got contacts once or twice (but they are expensive too), most of the time the difference wasn't that much, so I didn't bother with changing the lenses in my glasses to save money...but recently I got an exam and when I got my trial pair of contacts I was amazed at how much difference my old glasses and the contacts were in strength! I could see clearly! This was right after I had Jaxon so money was EXTREMELY tight. That's when I stumbled upon EyeBuyDirect.com. They have a ton of selections of glasses for GREAT prices, prescription glasses start at $7.95, that includes lenses!!!! EyeBuyDirect.com even has "Eye Try" where you take a picture of yourself with your web cam or upload a picture of yourself and "try on" the glasses before you buy them! The picture to the left is my "Eye Try" picture with the glasses I ended up getting, (forgive the quality, I used my built in cam on my laptop) Tamalpias for only $34.95. I've worn wire frame glasses all my life, I was overdue for a MAJOR change, these glasses accomplished that! Here to the right is an actual picture of me in my new glasses!

EyeBuyDirect.com offers a lot more than other places, you can get a real Swarovski crystal put into the lens of your glasses, you can get UV protection, different thickness of lenses, color tint to the lenses, anti-reflective, anti-scratch, and Photochromic (Light-adjusting) of course some of those cost extra. Ordering was simple, I just got the plain Jane, standard thickness, anti-scratch and UV coating. You just click the boxes of the extras you want, and put in your prescription information, and check out! Simple. I love my new glasses! I think they look pretty good on me, better than my old ones.

The Giveaway: EyeBuyDirect.com is giving away a pair of glasses (excluding designer eye wear and sunglasses).

Main Entry: Visit EyeBuyDirect.com and then come back here and comment with which frames you would choose if you win. Remember, this must be done before any extra entries are done for them to count. Please also, leave an email address for me to get in contact with you, no email address means not knowing if you won, which means I would have to choose another winner.

Extra Entries: (please leave a separate comment for each extra entry)

• Follow me on Twitter
• Tweet this Giveaway using @monkey_mayhem (can do daily)
• Follow me on Google
• Blog about this giveaway
• Favorite me on Technorati (I added that button under my Twitter button)
• Become a fan of Monkey Mayhem on Facebook (button on my left sidebar)
• Take my demographic survey (link is at the top of my blog)
• Post link of your own "Eye Try" picture
• Post a comment on EyeBuyDirect.com's Wall of Fame

Giveaway will end on September 6th @ 11pm EST
Good Luck!

Happy Anniversary Jeff!

I posted earlier that last night I went to Jeff's work and decorated his truck, well, here are the pictures of the finished product! He is such a sweet guy, he loved this, he loves sentimental stuff like this. He told me before he left for work today, that last night after his last break, he walked inside and the guard asked "did you get your truck decorated?" ha ha! She sat in there and watched me do this to his truck! She said she couldn't see the truck itself because of trees in the way of the cameras, but she saw me walking around it a lot, haha! She said after I left she walked out and looked at the finished truck! I laughed! Before he left this morning all but the back window was cleaned up. Without further ado, here are pictures (forgive the quality, I had to take them when it was completely dark out with just a dim streetlight and my camera flash)

Trust me, I wanted so badly to write ALL over his truck, but the stuff could only be used on windows, I didn't want to mess up his truck permanently.

What you cant see in the picture above, I put little hearts on each corner of his windshield (not obstructing view)

On all the windows is our wedding date "Aug 27, 2005"

Happy Anniversary Baby!

Vote For Barley & Birch!

Please go HERE and vote (endorse) for Barley & Birch! They need 50 votes (endorsements) in 48hours to be considered for the award!

All you have to do is click the endorsement button, then register and you vote for them! Come on, it's worth a few minutes of your time to help them out! Barley & Birch are awesome with eco awareness! My kids love their shirts from there!

4 Years

I just got home a little bit ago from decorating Jeff's truck with silly string, streamers, balloons and window chalk (pictures will be posted tomorow, I'm tired now) I waited in the parking lot for almost 2hours for him to go on his break, which he never got, I wanted to see his face when he saw his truck, but the kids got cranky and we come home.

I just got a call from him on his lunch break, he asked if I took his anniversary gift home with me when I left (I texted him telling him his gift was in his truck lol), I told him nope, it was still there. I then heard "what did you do to my truck!?!?!?" I laughed! He walked all the way around it, I put hearts everywhere, I ♥ U on both side windows along with our anniversary date Aug 27, 05, and the same on his back window along with a banner hanging from his roof that said "Happy Anniversary". He then opened his truck and taped on the steering wheel was a card, it was sentimental, I knew he would like it. He loved it! When I told him I would buy an actual gift for him on Friday when he got paid, he said "this is better than any gift you could have bought me" omg, seriously, my heart melted! I fell in love with him all over!

We have been married for 4years today. We'll have been together for 6years at the end of October. All that time and 3 kids later, he can still melt my heart as if we first met! He's awesome, we may fight sometimes (I usually win lol) but he's such a great guy, he works his butt off so I can stay at home with our kids (seriously, tonight was his 6th night in a row working 12hr shifts...he has to work tomorow night too! 2 of those days were overtime and volunteered)

I'm going to bed now, I'll post plenty of pictures tomorow of his truck!

Ouchies (review)

Having 2 kids running around like wild monkeys (soon it'll be 3 before I know it!) so "booboos" are common in this house! I got tired of the same ole bandaids, some look too childish even for my kids. Now I have Ouchies, cool and cute bandages!

I was sent a box of Teen-Ages girl bandages, Teen-Ages boy bandages and Make Your Own-Ages. I have to say I love these things! I even use them for myself, heck I think I've seen Jeff put one on! Ouchies are perfect for any age. Jeffery loves the dragon Ouchies, and Jaylin loves the camo with hearts Ouchies. I love how some of them look like tattoos, makes them even more unique. Both Jeffery and Jaylin love the Make Your Own-Ages, the box has 5 different color bandages and comes with 3 mini markers so you can decorate the bandage how you want!

Another plus to me, I love the tins they come in! Most of the bandaids I've bought recently have just been in a cardboard box, blah, plain!

The best thing about Ouchies...a tin box only cost $5 for 20 bandages in 5 different designs (4 of each design in each tin), that's a heck of a bargain to me!

Go to Ouchies and join P.A.B.B. (People Against Boring Bandages...cute right?) they will send you email updates on Ouchies happenings and news, along with first opportunities on new bandages, special discounts and free samples!

Wordless Wednesday

In honor of mine and Jeff's 4th wedding Anniversary which is Thursday....this is the sign infront of the florist who did the floral arrangements for our wedding....sadly they are now out of business.

Head over to Extraordinary Mothers, Wordless Wednesday HQ and 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday!

Stupid Luvs!

We've had kids in diapers for almost 5 years now...Jeffery actually still uses diapers at night and during nap time...we used Pampers at first because that's what the hospital started us with...then Jeffery got into Blue's Clues and we got Luvs because that's the character on them and they were cheaper for more diapers in a box, come to find out the tabs didn't stretch and didn't fit him good, so we switched back to Pampers (all of this is when he was quite young) Then I saw a commercial where Luvs switched to stretchy tabs so we switched back for awhile. THEY LEAK! We went BACK to Pampers quickly...then money got tight and we needed to save some money...at $3 cheaper for a box, we had to switch back to Luvs (it adds up when you have 2 in the same size diaper) I swear, I cussed those diapers like there was no tomorrow!!!! They leaked, the tabs broke off, and it was irritating me beyond belief...well I know they have this "leak proof guarantee" I called the number, they expected me to mail them the RECEIPT and a diaper to them...uhm, I don't keep receipts for diapers...so I couldn't take part of that! I was pissed! Jeff kept saying "maybe it's just this box" so we got box after box...I finally got fed up, I told him "We're getting Pampers...no ifs, ands, or buts about it! I'm tired of cleaning up poop off the floor when it falls out of a diaper when the tab breaks!"



That was a few months ago....recently we ran out of diapers when we didn't realize we were low, I was forced to go to the Dollar Store to get diapers, they only have Luvs, Huggies and an off brand...well my kids are allergic to something in Huggies (I was too as a baby) and I don't like off brand....so again I was forced to get a small pack of Luvs this past week. I'm pissed again! They seem to get worse, weaker tabs or something....shoot we just went to the city the other night and by the time we got home, Jaylin's diaper had broke and she hadn't even peed in it!!! I'm sick of Luvs....they SUCK!!! We're a Pampers family from now on, I don't care how far we have to drive...we will NOT get another pack of Luvs! I'm not cleaning up another mess because Luvs are junk! They should have to come over here and clean my kid's rooms carpets because of their dumb diapers, they were soaked with pee and poop when the tabs broke, also replace some of my kids' wardrobe when the tabs broke while they were sleeping and soaked their clothes, bedsheets and mattress!

Some of my Best Friends Are Bloggers

Yes, you read that right! Since becoming a blogger a little over a year ago I have made some of the best friendships one can imagine without ever meeting someone. I've joined numerous mommy and review blogging sites to get my blog out in the public eye...what I didn't expect was to meet some wonderful women while doing it!

I may or may not have mentioned that I use Skype a lot...it's a chat/IM program, that's how I talk to my bestest of blogging friends. I love that if I'm having a rough day or an exciting day I can jump on Skype and 9 times out of 10 there is at least one person on there that is willing to listen to my sad story, or boast about something new my kids have done.

I want to take this time to thank those ladies...I don't have a lot of in real life friends, so these gals are awesome to me! I hope to be able to meet most if not all of them at BlogHer10 this year!

Melissa of Outnumbered 3 to 1, she worked her butt off for our B2S event. Actually her posting on Extraordinary Mothers about wanting to do an event is what got us starting to talk! She's awesome, we talk multiple times a day about anything and everything.

Jennifer (Speedy) of 80MPH Mom is another awesome gal! She's sweet, funny and kind. She's always there to listen (or read). While I was pregnant with Jaxon she texted me multiple times asking if I was ok when I hadn't signed online in awhile...even afterwards she would text to ask how I was doing. If something was happening with me that I had to go to the hospital or something, she would be one of the 1st I would text so she could update everyone else on Skype.

Ryann of A Working Blogging Mommy I've known her online for years now...we were a member of an old mommy board before either of us started blogging. She's such a goof, I tend to call her a dork more than once a day! We plan on doing a Christmas Event soon (so look for it lol) Our girls are close in age so we have quite a bit in common to talk about.

Paige of The Nurse Mommy, she's another one I've known from the same mommy board as Ryann. She's one of the sweetest women I have ever met. She even sent some outfits for Jaxon when we were hard on cash before. She also has the cutest little boy (besides my own 2 lol) who I love hearing all about!

There are actually many many more gals I heart but it's too many to list all their good qualities! Erin, Christine, Andrea, and Casey! You all rock! I'm sorry if I forgot anyone!

Cloud B - Gentle Giraffe on The Go (review)

When taking baby or kids out for the day, it can be stressfull when they get tired and aren't in their own bed, they need something familiar to help them fall asleep. Cloud B has come out with Gentle Griaffe on The Go, a sound machine inside a plush giraffe.

We got the Gentle Giraffe on The go to review, and I have to say I love it just as much as Jaxon does! I attached it to his crib rail using the velcro straps on the back of the giraffe and turn it on to help him get to sleep, it has a volume control and 4 different soothing sounds: Safari Groove, Victoria Falls, Jungle Trails and Babbling Brook with a button on the back for each. I usually go to bed when Jaxon goes down for the night, and the sounds of Gentle Giraffe on The Go even helps me fall asleep since Jaxon's crib is at the foot of our bed. When I know we're going to be out of the house for a long period of time, I attach Gentle Giraffe on the Go to the outside of his carseat so he still has those familiar soothing sounds to help him go to sleep in the car or where ever we are. It has also helped transition Jaxon into a different sleeping area during the day, since we just got a playpen I keep him in the living room with me so Jeff can sleep when he's on nightshift, yesterday I didn't bring Gentle Giraffe on The Go in with him, he didn't like it and cried for a long time, today we tried again...this time with Gentle Giraffe on the Go, he went right to sleep, as you can see in the picture he's out like a light with his Gentle Giraffe on the Go beside him!

Gentle Giraffe on the Go is only $23, awesome price for something that can help your child rest easy and save your sanity haha! Gentle Giraffe on the Go is part of the Cloud B Endangered Species Collection which helps bring awareness to our animal friends who need our attention. A portion of your purchase will go to Conservation International.

Cloud B makes more than just Gentle Giraffe on the Go, they make a full size version of Gentle Giraffe, also a Sleep Sheep in both sizes, Dozy Dolphin, Twilight Turtle, Ladybug, and Sea Turtle...along with many more cute and cuddly animals that do different things! They also make blankets, burp cloths and many other baby products...check out Cloud B for all of their awesome products!

Sodastream (review/giveaway)

We drink a lot of pop (some may call it soda, soda pop, coke or whatever lol) in this house, I'm a big Dr. Pepper (recently the cherry flavor lol) and Jeff drinks a lot of Mt. Dew. The costs can add up with 2 liters being around $1.50 each and to be honest, we can probably go through at least 1 a day EACH! If you do the math, $3 for everyday of the year, that's over $1000! So why not make our own pop? Sodastream makes that possible!

I received the Genesis Starter Kit to review. The Genesis Starter Kit come with the soda maker, 60-Liter licensed carbonator & two carbonating bottles. Being the Dr. Pepper lover I am, I tried the Pete's Choice (compare to Dr. Pepper), it takes a little bit of tweaking to get it tasting right, the right carbonation, and the right amount of syrup. I got it on my 2nd try I think. The instructions said to give it 3 pumps of carbonation, and a cap full of syrup...I had to give it a little more carbonation and a little less syrup. I even took a bottle over to my dad to try...he liked it, and drank a whole bottle! This is going to save us so much money now! The syrup is only $4.99 and can make up to 12 liters. There are over 25 flavors! They also sell water flavors, called MyWater and they have 3 flavors to choose from, Berry, Lemon-Lime and Orange (or you can get the variety pack with all 3). Oh I also made some Fountain Mist (compare to Mt Dew) for Jeff...he liked it! He said he could tell it wasn't exactly Mt Dew...but close enough!

To get a new carbonation bottle when you run out, you send in your old bottle(s) and depending on how many bottles you send in and how many you want back decides the price you pay, like I have one 60-Liter bottle and I can send it in for another 60-Liter bottle for only $37.99, not bad since it makes about 60 liters of soda or water.

**Giveaway has ended...Winner Announced**

Giveaway: I've been given the opportunity to giveaway a Fountain Jet Soda Lover's Start-Up Kit (approx. $100 retail value.) It includes the winner's choice of black/silver, white or red/silver Fountain Jet, CO2 to make over 100 liters of soda, 2 reusable carbonating bottles, a sample pack of flavors, and 3 full-sized flavors of the winner's choice! Awesomeness right?

Open to US & Canada

Main Entry: Go to Sodastream and browse around, then come back here and comment with which 3 flavors you would choose if you won. You MUST do this before any extra entries!

Extra Entries: (leave a separate comment for each)

• Follow me on Twitter
• Tweet this Giveaway using @monkey_mayhem (can do daily)
• Follow me on Google
• Blog about this giveaway
• Favorite me on Technorati (I added that button under my Twitter button)
• Take my demographic survey (link is at the top of my blog)

Giveaway will end on September 2nd, @ 11pm EST.

Good Luck!

Incorporating Strategy into Adventure Games

So many websites are offering online games now, yet most of them are rehashed versions of the same basic games with little thought or quality put into them. To make matters worse, many of them either cater to adults or list half-developed games filled with characters that boarder on copyright infringement in some faint hope of attracting more kids. This isn’t to say that every website with games are bad, in fact, many of the well-known sites, like Nick.com, offer a number of free games online specifically for children, using the same characters and themes that the children have been watching on TV.

Taking ideas originally created in their cartoons, games feature characters from SpongeBob SquarePants, Danny Phantom, and many more. By not limiting to a single game per cartoon, Nickelodeon offers multiple genres of options including multiple kids games featuring the different Avatar nations, racing games highlighting the SpongeBob cast, and interactive coloring books portraying the babies from Rugrats. While the graphics in some of these games leaves something to be desired, the game play is above average, even beating the quality of some recent console games.

As one of the most popular games on Nick.com, Han’s Han’s the Biking Viking: Leaving Loki’s Lockup is a prime example of wrapping strategy and tactics inside amusing games. Even thought the game is fairly short and simple from an adult’s perspective, it can be quite the challenge for a child who is not used to looking at teamwork or utilizing the talents of individual characters for the betterment of all.

This type of skill building is incorporated into many of the games found on the website, though there are some games that are purely built around the premise of having fun. While Nick.com may have an advantage over their competition due to using of characters that they have made popular through cartoons, the user ratings of the games (an average of 75-85% satisfaction) proves that their not just running with a fad, but rather that they are developing games of quality.

Winners Galore!

Ok, I decided to end all the B2S giveaways on the same day because I forgot to promote them when I posted them. They all ended tonight at 11pm. All winners are choosen by Random.org.

Wubbanub Monkey Winner (I know, not B2S but the winner needs to be selected) Random number 21:
8/6/2009 13:06:55 dreamer

Kokopax Winner - Random number 26
8/20/2009 13:16:52 Jenna

PakNak Winner - Random number 52
8/22/2009 6:41:50 Erma Hurtt

Snorg Tees Winner - Random number 219
8/23/2009 18:39:05 Geoff Kaufman

Bumkins Winner - Random number 14
8/7/2009 9:31:08 Linda K

Barley & Birch B2S Winner - Random number 33
8/22/2009 18:27:04 Paula Hafner

Nerf Wall 2 Wall Basketball Winner - Random number 120
8/23/2009 13:42:27 kathy pease

Belkin CushDesk Winner - Random number 87
8/20/2009 3:37:36 Shawna O'Brien

Carolina Pad Winner - Random number 189
8/21/2009 11:43:57 Liz @ Loving Mom

Fabkins Winner - Random number 63
8/23/2009 3:03:53 KC

MomAgenda Winner - Random number 38
8/15/2009 0:23:06 HSB Suzanne (aka Anita)

MJM Books Winner - Random number 85
8/23/2009 23:16:43 Lily Kwan

Crazy Dog T-Shirts Winner - Random number 148
8/22/2009 22:22:24 Susan Chester

Pediped Winner - Random number 91
8/20/2009 10:53:25 teresa sardina

Cream Perfume Company Winner- Random number 224
8/23/2009 17:51:41 Jodee Hortin

Lunchbug Winner - Random number 5
8/4/2009 10:35:49 Linda K

NachoMama Tees Winner - Random number 27
8/10/2009 20:32:00 Jennifer Manista

Cool Jams Winner - Random number 73
8/17/2009 18:13:24 tina harris

Congratulations to all my winners, you have all been emailed, if I don't get an email back within 72hours I will be forced to choose another winner for that giveaway.

Thank you to everyone who entered all the B2S Giveaways! I hope you all come back again for more giveaways to come!

Kids Say

Ok, I snagged this from Melissa at Outnumbered 3 to 1, so I decided to do it too!

This isn't as much as what was said but what he done.

Me: Jeffery go get your cup, time for bed

Jeffery: I don't want to go to bed

Me: I said it's time for bed

Jeffery: ugh! (he then smacks the couch in a temper tantrum)

Me: I'm going to count to 5, if you don't have your cup in here by then, you are getting water....1

Jeffery: NO!

Me: 2........3

Jeffery: (kicks the couch and gives me a dirty look)

Me: Do it again and no TV.....4

Jeffery: GRRRROOWWWLLL (he then goes into his room and proceeds to growl AGAIN)

I thought it was funny, and Amy was here and it took all we had in us not to laugh while he could see us...he seriously sounded like a bear! My 4yr old has a attitude like a teenager....but the anger of a bear.

Everything Has A Reason

Last week we had a pretty interesting night, and in the end I was thankful everything played out like it did. Amy and I were planning to take a trip to Kings Dominion (amusement park about 2hours away) and Jeff's work had them for only $25 (regular is like $40) so Thursday nights (every other week) Jeff's check usually goes through around 7:30pm or 8pm.

Ok, so last Thursday the kids and I went and picked Jeff up from work so we could kill some time and wait for his check to go through, then go to his work and get the tickets. So we went to Walmart and walked around for awhile, 730 come and Jeff went to the ATM to check the balance of our account....nothing. I used the debit card as credit (we have a $500 overdraft limit, and as long as the money goes back into the account the same business day there would be no fees) and payed for diapers and such, then we went to Kmart to get the kid's backpacks and napmats...I did the same then went to the ATM in the mall and STILL nothing! So we decided it might be just because they aren't our bank's ATM so we drove to the outskirts of town to the bank and check it...nothing. So we sat in the parking lot and waited til 8pm to check again....nothing. I was getting worried at this point! We ended up going to Wendy's (Jeff had some cash on him and the kids were hungry) where Jeff called his work to ask if they would take a check for the tickets...the did! So we drove all the way back across town to his work where he wrote a check for the tickets. We did it!

So we were on our way back home and you know the saying "go catch that speeding ticket" when someone is speeding past you? Well Jeff said that to a car that was coming up beside him pretty quickly, I looked over and it was a state trooper HAHA! We got a good laugh about that. So we stayed behind that state trooper most of the way home, when he turned on his lights and slowed down we switched lanes and noticed a car in the ditch....then a deer in the middle of the road!! The car was TOTALED! The hood was completely smashed in, we could tell it had JUST happened because the people were just then getting out of the car. So we swerved to miss the deer an started thinking...if his check would have went through as planned, and we were ahead of where we actually were...WE could have been the ones to hit that deer, that could have been our vehicle totaled...we had all 3 kids in the car so it would have been a disaster!

Oh, and when we got home, I checked the bank statement and his check had went through! It really made us think, there we were getting mad at eachother for stupid things in the city about his check not going through in time, and because of that, it saved us big time!

Comparison

Jaylin, around 3months

Jaxon, almost 3months

Jeffery, around 3months

Now....you tell me who Jaxon looks like! HAHA!

Still In Need

I'm still looking for more of my readers to take my demographic survey so I can create a press kit. If you could take just a few minutes to answer 20 questions I would greatly appreciate it! Click HERE to take my survey....pleasssseeeeeeee ☺

Thank you!

Be Patient

As most of you can see, my blog looks a bit different! I'm so excited! Please be patient while Czianya finishes up everything, it will be a bit funky for a little while but it's only temporary! I will continue to blog as normal, and all giveaways are still going!

Thank you for understanding!

Can My Heart Grow Anymore?

My heart swells everyday more and more with this boy (all of my kids actually do different things to make my heart swell, but for now this post is about Jaxon) He now smiles at everything I do, even when he has a bottle in his mouth, he fights himself over whether to smile or eat! It's so amazing, he's not even 3months old yet and he rolled over the other day (I saw it...I know what I saw! It amazed me!) So, I want to share with you pictures of my baby doll Jaxon when he's smiling, it melts my heart every time!

Is he a happy baby or what?? How can you NOT fall in love with that smile?!?!

He has discovered his tongue! He's so cute sticking it out all the time!

Jaxon and Pepper are the same age! Pepper is 12weeks and Jaxon is 12weeks today (I need to find out Pepper's birthday, they may share a birthday for all I know!)

Come on, you can't say these 2 don't look alike!!! That's Jaylin around 3months old and Jaxon almost 3months old.

Giveaway Opportunity!

Frugal-Freebies.com is having a great toy giveaway sponsored by All Children’s Furniture who carries everything from kid's furniture to toys. Stop by before midnight Aug 21st EST to enter to win!

Send Me To BlogHer10!

I didn't get to go to BlogHer09 because I heard about it too little too late...this year that isn't going to happen! I am planning to go to BlogHer10 (to learn about BlogHer Conferences click HERE) in New York, NY! I just need a few sponsors to help me get there, so if you are looking to sponsor someone to go to BlogHer10, I'm your blogger! If you sponsor me, this is what you will get:

• My big mouth (yes I'm a huge talker lol) will talk about your company at BlogHer10
• I will put your company logo on a shirt and wear it during BlogHer10
• I will put your company logo under "BlogHer10 Sponsors" on my sidebar until BlogHer10 is over.
• I will give you ad space under "Sponsors" for 6months after BlogHer10 is over
• I will put your business card, sample product or flyer (Can put in more than 1 if you want) in 50 swag bags I will be passing out at BlogHer10.
• I will blog and tweet about your company sponsoring me

I'm also open to other suggestions about how to promote your company!

What will I need sponsorship for? Here is the breakdown of the costs:

• Hotel Room - $600, 3 nights at special BlogHer price of 200 a night at the Hilton (not including taxes) I will need the amount of 1 nights stay in order to reserve the room
• BlogHer Conference ticket - $202.95 (that is the EarlyBird price that is only valid until February 28th)
• Airfare or Rental Car (I'm scared of flying, still unsure if I will suck it up yet) from Shenandoah, VA to NY, NY
• Random other expenses (such as food, taxi fare, etc)

If you want to sponsor me, please email me at monkey_mayhem@comcast.net No sponsorship is too small (or too big lol) I will appreciate all sponsorships the same no matter the amount! I will say though, if you want to do a full sponsorship (pay for EVERYTHING) I will do more than I posted, I will give you ad space for 1 full year after BlogHer (you will stil get ad space under BlogHer10 Sponsors, but your banner/logo will be bigger).

Thank you for taking the time to read this, if you are interested, or have any suggestions, feel free to email me!

EA Sports Active (review)

Ok, I just had a baby 2 1/2 months ago and I've barely lost ANY weight since then...I need to get a move on it. I got EA Sports Active to review the other month, and I wanted to wait to write the post until I was consistently working out with it, I want to do the 30-day challenge but I will admit the EA Sports Active kicked.my.butt! My first time on it, I broke out into a sweat within 10minutes, the running killed my legs (but you know, no pain no gain!) I am slowly working my way up to the full workout each day.

I have the Wii Fit, and I never got this much of a workout with it like I do with EA Sports Active! There are a lot of things I like better with EA Sports Active than the Wii Fit...the main thing for me is EA Sports Active is more positive, Wii Fit seemed to kind of insult me and joke more than tell me I can do it. The most obvious difference is the EA Sports Active is more of a challenge, you do more cardio with it than Wii Fit which focuses on stretches and balance. EA Sports Active is actually compatible with the Wii Fit board...I haven't used them together yet because I need batteries for my Fit Board.

EA Sports Active comes with a leg strap, which is where you put the nun chuck during certain exercises, and a resistance band to increase intensity of some exercises. EA Sports Active has a built in journal to keep track of your progress, you can even keep track of exercises you do besides on EA Sports Active, you can also work out with friends and family in multi player mode (just buy an accessory pack with an extra resistance band and leg strap) You also get to choose your trainer, male or female. Your trainer walks you through the exercises to teach you how to do them, then encourages you to keep going!

EA Sports Active workouts aren't just running, and other blah exercises...they have things such as in line skating, boxing, tennis, volleyball and other fun stuff, but just because it's fun don't mean it's not a intense workout!

Once I officially start the 30day challenge (hopefully soon, it's been so hot in this house I haven't been able to workout for more than 5 or 10min without getting sick to my stomach from the heat), I will keep track of it here on my blog for everyone to see my progress!