Snow Storm

I had planned to catch up on reviews and giveaways this weekend. But, things didn't go as planned. We got a snowstorm and we lost power on Saturday morning around 10am. We tried to wait it out and hope the power would come back on, Jeff's buddy brought a kerosene heater for us to keep warm. When we got word that the power might not come back on til the 12th (that's what the power company told his buddy's wife) I started to panic. I wasn't comfortable with that heater being on all night, you know carbon monoxide and all.

Jeff went out to shovel some more snow, then come back in and told me the Virginia National Guard was making rounds. I got mad and asked why he didn't ask them to take us out of there! So I called my dad and let him know I was upset, and Dad still had power (not to mention he has a gas fireplace and carbon monoxide detectors and such for backup) So he said if the National Guard could get us out, we could stay with him, he give me the non emergency number for the county and I called, they told me if the National Guard come and got me they would have to take us to a emergency shelter in ANOTHER TOWN!!!! I got mad, my dad lives in the same town, and he has power, not to mention my kids would be a LOT more comfortable there! So I told her to go ahead and send them, I called dad and we made a plan. If they refused to take us to his house, we would walk to the bottom of the hill to the main road (probably about a half mile) and Dad could meet us there, heck even the National Guard could drop us off there and Dad would pick us up. So when they got to our house (it was the volunteer fire dept pickup truck and 2 national guard hummers) I spoke to the fireman and he said he would talk to dispatch and work something out to get us to my dad's.

Well, while I got the kids and our bags together, they tried to turn around. One of the hummers tried to do a 3 point turn in the middle of our dirt road, and he ended up in a ditch. The 2nd hummer tried to pull it out, and they got stuck!!! Really, I couldn't make this stuff up, the frigging national guard got stuck in a ditch, in 2feet of snow while trying to rescue a family....MY family!!! The 2nd hummer got out easy, but it took about 4 or 5 guys digging to get the other one out, they even called for another truck to come pull them out, but finally got it. All the while Jaxon and me are in the pickup truck, Jeff and the kids went to the unstuck hummer. We couldn't leave until the one hummer was out.

Finally, we left, got to Dad's and are safe and warm! Today when he got home from work he took me to the store to get something to eat and then we drove to our road to see what it looked like, I ended up picking my lock with my debit card to get in (cuz the keys were in a bag at Dad's) I got the playpen, our blankets and pillows (we brought the kids' last night) and also a chance of clothes for us. I also grabbed my laptop and router because I couldn't get used to my Dad's desktop computer and mouse. So, I now have internet access!!!

We didn't sleep well last night, it was rough, the kids were scared and we were sleeping in recliners and the floor. Tonight should be better, the kids didn't take a nap and they were worn out by running around all day with Pawpaw. They are already asleep, Jaylin is here on the couch beside me, Jeffery is asleep on the floor infront of Dad's TV, they were watching the super bowl, Jaylin actually 1st fell asleep in Dad's computer chair, it was cute, I have a picture I'll have to upload later.

Well, I have plenty to do. Need to get the kids upstairs to bed...somehow lol. I hope Jaxon sleeps better tonight now that he is in his playpen and not the floor.

Fandangling (review/giveaway)

All 3 of my kids have had mobiles on their crib. Face it, babies love to watch anything move...but what happens when they can sit up and pull up? The mobile has to come down off the crib because baby can pull on it and might break something, or hurt themselves. I hated taking down the mobile for Jeffery and Jaylin because they loved it so much, they would just lay there and watch it go around until it wound down and stopped...by then they were either asleep or started screaming for me to wind it again. I was dreading taking Jaxon's mobile down, but now I don't have to worry so much because I got a chance to review Fandangling!

Fandangling is 5 little stuffed toys that you can easily attach to your ceiling fan. For the review I picked the Safari themed one (of course, it has a monkey on it!) it matched all of Jaxon's other nursery items (which are currently in our bedroom since we share a room) that is jungle theme with monkeys and lions and things like that. The Safari Fandangling come with a monkey, giraffe, parrot, tiger and an elephant. I think it looks absolutely perfect in our room, and Jaxon loves to lay in his crib and watch it. I love the fact that I don't have to worry about getting up to wind up the mobile anymore!

Fandanglings are easy to install too, they are just held on with Velcro. So all you have to do is clean the top of your fan blades, stick one of the Velcro pieces to the top of each fan blade at the end, then attach your Fandanglings. Simple! I personally wouldn't recommend keeping them up there if you put your fan on High, no I didn't try it. But I would think that they could possibly fly off and hit something, I'm not saying they will, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I have too many things that could break if a toy went flying across the room and hit it.

Fandanglings come in a few different themes such as Puparazzi, Bugz, Ariel's Friends, Butterfly Wings, Nemo's Friends and Happy Holidays, OR if you want, you can pick and choose which stuffed toys you want from their selection. If I would have seen that section I would have probably gotten all 5 monkeys, oh well. I love how colorful they are, and if you don't have a baby anymore, Fandanglings would look adorable in any kids room for decoration, or in a playroom! I think when we move I'll buy one for each of the kids' room and also the play room!

For only $19.95 plus shipping and handling, you can get your own Fandangling! I think that is an awesome price for something that you can use for years, first as a mobile for baby, then as decoration for their room!

The Giveaway: One lucky reader will win their own Fandangling, of their choice!

Main Entry: Go to Fandandling and then come back and comment with what your favorite theme or stuffed toy is. Don't forget to leave an email address for me to contact you. For all giveaway rules and extra entries go HERE.


Open to US & Canada

Extra Entries: For all Extra Entry methods go HERE.

• Follow Fandangling on Twitter
• Become a fan of Fandangling on Facebook

Giveaway will end on February 14th @ 11pm EST

Disclosure: I received free product in return for writing this post, the free product had no influence on my opinion of said product. Everything written in this post is my honest opinion.

Happy Birthday!

To Jeffery! He is 5 today!!! I swear I have no idea where the time goes!!!

This time 5 years ago I was laying in a hospital bed hooked up to pitocin being induced at 37 weeks!

Little did we know the little monster inside of me was breech...his butt was wedged down so much they thought it was his head...everytime they checked me they said "oh his head is still pretty high up there" come to find out it was 1 butt cheek that was being pushed down. At around 1030pm they told me I would probably need a csection since I was still only at 6cm. I cried, it wasn't how I wanted it, but at 1148pm Jeffery Amos Staples was born butt first! Weighing 6lbs 3oz and 19in long. The first thing the doctor said to me when he cut me open was "that's why he wasn't coming down, his butt was down!" His one butt cheek was swollen and bigger than the other, Jeff said he looked funny.

February 2, 2005

So, Happy Birthday Jeffery! Mommy loves you!!!!

Monday Mingle - February 1st 2010

Welcome to my first Monday Mingle of 2010. It's been a hectic first part of the year, but I'm glad to be back to mingling! To join in on Monday Mingle head over to Eighty MPH Mom for questions and do your own vlog!

Check Him Out!

I've been worried Jaxon isn't up to where he should be developmentally because he's 8months and wasn't sitting, he's not crawling or even scooting (he just goes in a circle). Now I can cross one of those off the list! Check him out!

Isn't he the cutest little thing!?!?!! 8months old already! He sat up by himself for a good 5-10minutes before he got excited and fell over. He is in the 50th percentile in his age for height and weight, so he's normal size, she did say his head is slightly large, but he get's that from Daddy lol.

He has 4 teeth already, in this picture you can clearly see his bottom 2 teeth! I think I'm going to cry!

For more pictures of Jaxon, Jaylin and Jeffery, along with some editing fun I'm doing, I created a blog just for my photography called Three Thousand Words Photography, so check that blog out and follow for more pictures, and if you are interested in being a guest blogger there let me know!

My Parent Rewards (review/giveaway)

Ever need/want a coupon for something but couldn't find one? Ever wish you could easily find coupons, print them out and go? I was never a big coupon user, but My Parent Rewards contacted me and asked me to try their product, I checked the website out then agreed.

What is My Parent Rewards (MPR)? MPR is a card that looks like a credit/debit card...it has a special number on the back which enables you to go to MPR's website and search for unique coupons for your area, even online shops. These aren't coupons you can find in your local newspaper, these are just for people who have the MPR card. I could go on and on about this card, there is so many advantages to it that it's crazy insane! The coupons you can get are endless! The categories include Eat, Shop, Play, Golf (I still wonder why this isn't in Play...does Golf really need it's own category?), Services, Travel, Grocery, and Online. You just enter the zip code for your area and it pops up with all of the coupons available in the selected category (you select the radius around the zip code too) I love that one of my all time favorite restaurants I've been going to since I was little (like Jeffery's age) called Country Cookin' where I can print out a coupon for "Free drink with purchase of entree" if you go out to eat, you know the drinks can rack the bill up, so this comes in handy.

There are all sorts of good coupons, I will be checking MPR before we go grocery shopping from now on too. I haven't had a chance to check out all the online coupons that are available, but there are TONS! I can't wait until we plan our trip to Norfolk again, I can look up where we can go and save money!

"My Parent Rewards cardholders enjoy:

• Thousands of dollars in savings on family fun
• Exclusive 2-FOR-1 and 50% OFF dining discounts
• The BEST DEALS on hotels, car rentals, airlines and vacation packages
• BIG SAVINGS on attractions, movie tickets, sporting events, concerts and more
• Up to 45% OFF groceries and prescriptions and much more!" - MPR website

But, wait! That's not all! (Sound familiar? lol) You can't just pick up a MPR card anywhere, they are sold as fundraisers! I think it's a great idea, schools or organizations can sell MPR cards and will get 40% of the proceeds! Cards are sold for $20 each, so that means $8 of that will go to whoever you buy the card from. I'm thinking of looking into it for the kids' Head Start because they need to upgrade their playground (it's unsafe to play on, so they technically don't have a playground) and are lacking the funds for it, I need to talk to the director and such first. I think it's an awesome way to save you some money, and support a local group or school at the same time.

The Giveaway: My Parent Rewards wants to give 5 readers a MPR card!

Main Entry: Go to MPR and enter your zip code, go to "Preview Discounts" and come back and comment with a coupon you know you would use if you had a MPR card. Don't forget to leave an email address for me to contact you. For all giveaway rules and extra entries go HERE.

Extra Entries: For all Extra Entry methods go HERE.

• Follow MPR on Twitter
• Become a fan of MPR on Facebook

Giveaway will end on February 3rd @ 11pm EST

Disclosure: I received free product in return for writing this post, the free product had no influence on my opinion of said product. Everything written in this post is my honest opinion.

It's a Crazy Life

I haven't been around, but for good reasons! We're in the process of getting approval to buy a house! My mind has been going through a million things the past few weeks, we went last week and Jeff's FICO score is only 5 points away from where he needs to get approved!!! We'll be getting a Rural something or another mortgage because we live in the boonies pretty much lol, no down payment! The mortgage lady said we'll probably be approved for $127k which is 27k more than I expected or was planning on, the payments will be doable especially since it will include insurance and taxes! YAY! So, with that, we've started packing. It's inevitable so just as well start now so we can take our time doing it and not be rushed.

I also got sick last week, as did Jaxon (of course, he's with me 24/7!) and I was laid up in bed for 2 days, didn't help the 2nd day the kids ended up having a snow day so they were home all day, and Jeff had to work...it was a LONG day I pretty much laid on the couch and watched the kids, Jeffery helped me because he understood I was sick. I still don't have my voice fully back and that's why I didn't do a mingle this week.

Whew...Jaxon has 2 teeth now, and 2 almost in...one on the top has finally busted through. Of course, here are pictures!!!! You can see the one tooth already through and the 2nd tooth ALMOST in!!!

Look at that big grin! Couldn't you just eat those cheeks up! Talk about eating things up, since he's been teething I had Jeff buy him some of those biter biscuits, and here is the end result...

After he eats one, he has to have a bath right after! Now check out these eyes....

You can't look at me with a straight face and tell me he's not going to be a heart breaker.

Now here is something I don't get often....

That's Jeff! He hates his picture taken, so I surprised him with this one. Forgive his scruffyness his goatee and mustache are just now growing back (I got mad cuz he shaved it and he looked 16, I felt like a pedophile lol)

Now, meet the newest member of our family....

This is Kitty, Jaylin picked her out and named her (the girl has a beta fish named Fish and a kitten named Kitty...she's a creative one she is!)

That is all for now. The kids are home from school and need to get settled before the music therapist comes in about an hour. I hope to get caught up with reviews and post more and more posts all together. I've neglected my blog long enough!