Shopping Trip to Old Navy

We made it to Old Navy today! It wasn't too bad either. I didn't even have to wait in line, and there was no pushing & shoving at the table of $3 tees :) There were some cute Earth friendly styles, so I picked a couple of those up. My husband also got a couple for himself, which he really needed. He mostly owns long sleeved button up shirts, so I was excited to get him into some short sleeves for once!

So we left with 5 tees and paid $15..not too bad! With the warm weather here we are going to get good use out of them!

Old navy Graphic Tees Just $3.00 Tomorrow (Saturday 5/30)

I heard on a radio ad today that Old Navy is having their Graphic Tees on Sale for $3.00 tomorrow (Saturday, 5/30).

That is a pretty low price! If you need some summer tees you may want to stop by and check it out! Hopefully it won't be a madhouse :) I think I will go check it out tomorrow. If there are crazy lines or something I think I'll leave. Or go alone....toddlers don't like lines!

I didn't make it to the $1.00 Flip Flops Day, I wonder if it was busy? Did anyone brave it?

Have You Got Your Free Chocolate Today?

It's Time for Free Chocolate Again!

Every Friday (thru 9/25) Mars Chocolate is giving away a coupon for a FREE chocolate bar to the first 250,000 people that sign up! It will be redeemable for your choice of Snickers, Twix, m & m' s, Dove, Milky Way, or 3 Musketeers. (Thanks to Money Saving Mom!)

You can only receive 4 coupons per household during the Offer Period. This is my third Friday signing up, so one more for me!

Go HERE to sign up!

Ducky Soaps Review & Enter to Win Sweet Treats!

Ducky Soaps is an Etsy shop (owned by Louise!) that brings you the most fun and unique soaps for children! These handmade soaps are perfect for Baby Showers, Birthday Party favors, Wedding favors, and also just to make your child's bath a little more fun! Ducky Soaps brings together soap and a little rubber duckie to create a completely original look and experience!


A great thing about this shop is that their glycerin soaps are Hypo-allergenic, non-comedogenic, meets vegan guidelines, and is very gentle on skin (even babies!) I absolutely love using natural, handmade soaps on me and my daughter. It feels good knowing that what I am using is safe and doesn't contain harmful ingredients.


Bath time in my house is a big deal, and not in a good way. My daughter is not a fan of having her hair washed, so she pretty much freaks when she hears the bath running. When her little soaps came in the mail, she was super excited to try them out. Yes, she wanted to get in the bath! Of course, I had to tell her that I would not be washing her hair :) She got to try the Pink Princess Rubber Duck, Pink Rubber Ducky Pig, and the Baby Rubber Duck. We had a lot of fun playing with her soaps! It is really one of the best ideas I have seen! Once the soap is used up, the little rubber ducky toy is left over and they will always be able to play with it! You can also get them scented or unscented - which I love! Sometimes scents are too strong for babies and you want something that will clean them but not make them smell perfumed.


Ducky Soaps offers a HUGE selection of decorated ducks and animals. I had so much fun clicking through the shop and seeing what different styles Louise has to offer! There are things for boys and girls alike, and I bet you could find something perfect for a kids birthday or party favor! Here are a couple of my favorites (and it was hard to pick just a few!)


This is the Construction Worker With Hammer Rubber Duck! I don't have a boy (yet) but I do know that they are pretty into building things & construction workers. This would be perfect for those little boys!
I also love the other animals Ducky Soaps offers, like the Green Frog Toy Glycerin Soap.
Isn't it cute? My daughter would love that one! I also love the Blue Teddy Bear Glycerin Soap. I think it would make a great Baby Shower gift!



I definitely wish I had seen these soaps when I had my baby shower, they would have made the perfect take home gift for my guests!



You are sure to find something you love at Ducky Soaps....go check out the shop and have fun looking! So many of the styles made me smile!


Ducky Soaps are also very affordable and are priced as low as $3.25!


Louise also has 2 other etsy shops that sell little novelty gifts. One offers delicious candies and the other offers body soaps, jewelry, and more!

Sweet Lollipop Shop

Body Beautiful

Update***

Would you like to win some delicious treats? Well you are in luck! Louise is having a giveaway for some Sweet Treats on her blog Sweet Lollipop Shop!! Giveaway ends Sunday (5/31) so hurry over!!

Winner of PeaceLoveMom Tee

We have a winner of the PeaceLoveMom Grateful Mom Tee Shirt!


Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:54
Timestamp: 2009-05-17 15:46:48 UTC


Congrats to Courtney! I will be emailing you shortly, you have 72 hours to respond. Thanks!


Thanks to everyone that entered & that did all of your extra entries like subscribing, tweeting, blogging, and following!!

Coco Bonbons Warehouse Sale!

I just LOVE Coco Bonbons! They sell the most adorable boys and girl clothing in some of the best and most original styles I have come across.

And guess what? They are having a sale! Yup, they are offering their items at 60% off! That is huge! Enter coupon code "WAREHOUSE" when checking out!

Sale goes through May 31st.

Free Chocolate!

Have you signed up for your free chocolate yet? I just did!

Every Friday (thru 9/25) Mars Chocolate is giving away a coupon for a FREE chocolate bar to the first 250,000 people that sign up! It will be redeemable for your choice of Snickers, Twix, m & m' s, Dove, Milky Way, or 3 Musketeers. (Thanks to Money Saving Mom!)

You can only receive 4 coupons per household during the Offer Period. This is my second Friday signing up, so two more for me!

Go HERE to sign up!

Out of the list of chocolates, what is your favorite kind? I think mine would have to be twix...then a Snickers. I don't think I have ever even had a 3 Musketeers bar before! Maybe I'll try that, it could be a new favorite!

Old Navy $1.00 Flip Flops Tomorrow!

This Saturday (tomorrow, may 23rd) Old Navy is having their $1.00 Flip Flop Sale! I know I will be heading out to pick up a pair or two. They are good to have on hand in the summer months. I seem to remember going last year and there weren't many left in my size or in the color I had wanted, so go early if you are interested!

Feeling the Heat

Woo Hoo!

It's finally warm here! Right now the news says it's about 93 degrees out! Just Saturday it was in the 50's so this feels great! Me & my daughter were outside on our deck today getting some work done. Well, I was getting work done. She was playing in her sandbox & mostly making messes for me to clean up :) But it was fun! Then she sat on her little picnic table bench and flipped through my Parents Magazine for awhile! HA!

I swept up all of the birdseed (a downside to having the feeder!) and the extra sand that gets thrown out of the box. And worked on just arranging things. I have been itching to get a table & chairs set for us to keep out there, now that we finally have a deck that we enjoy. The view outside is great...there is a pond, trees, ducks, birds, deer, and squirrels. It's just quiet & peaceful - so much different than our last place!

So I am keeping my eye out for a sale on a table/chairs set. Nothing fancy either....just a place to sit & have some food. I have a feeling I am going to be out there A LOT this summer, since my daughter LOVES to be outside!

Illia Designs Review & Giveaway

GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

Now that Spring has arrived, along with the warmer weather, we are putting away the long sleeves and bringing out the tank tops! One of my new favorite tops for my daughter to wear is from a shop called Illia Designs!

Illia Designs offers handmade clothing items like dresses, tops, pants, hats, and bloomers! The pieces are so adorable! The thing that really stood out to me were the color & fabric choices that are available. They are so bright and cheerful, really perfect for summer! Illia Designs is owned by Heily, a mother of one little girl. She makes all of her items by hand, this is one talented woman!

This is the Turquoise Garden Party Floral Swing Top. I just love all of the bright flowers that really pop next to the turquoise background!

The Pink and Cream Wallflowers Swing Top and Bloomers outfit is another one of my favorites! This would be perfect for a hot summer day! And I think bloomers are just sooo cute!

My daughter has the Purple Paisley Swing Top, and honestly it is just gorgeous on her! I love the ribbon shoulder ties, the soft comfortable material, and the longer length of the top. The colors are so pretty and girly, mixing in purples, pinks, and blues. Since the ribbon sleeves are adjustable it will be easy to make the top get bigger as she grows, a huge plus as a mom with a growing toddler!

GIVEAWAY: Illia Designs has generously offered one reader a Swing Top in any size up to 3T!

TO ENTER: Please visit Illia Designs and take look around at her wonderful items! Then come back and leave a comment telling me your favorite!

EXTRA ENTRIES: Please leave an additional comment for every extra entry you complete.

1. Follow my Blog
2. Subscribe
3. Add my Button
4. Blog about this giveaway OR email 3 people about this giveaway & CC me (ladybugsoupblog @ hotmail.com)
5. Follow me on Twitter & tweet this giveaway - You can do this once a day!

Contest will end on June 5th at 10pm CST. Giveaway is open to US Residents only. Winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced here on Ladybug Soup as well as emailed. Winner has 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Thanks for entering & thanks to Heily for this great giveaway!

Storytime Felts Review & Giveaway

GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

Being a stay at home Mom means a LOT of time at home with my daughter everyday. This is definitely a good thing, but sometimes I run out of fun things to do during the day. I am always on the look out for new activities we can try together that will keep her interested (& me too!) and help her learn and practice her skills.

I first saw Storytime Felts many months ago (last fall?) on another blog. I immediately loved the idea! Storytime Felts brings stories to life by using a Felt board and felt pieces to visually create the story right in front of you. No flashing lights, no batteries required. Just your child using their own imagination, following a story or making up their own. Storytime Felts has an amazing selection of stories to choose from, and some fun extras too, including Dress Up Dolls , Finger Plays, and Felt Activity Books.

Karen from Storytime Felts sent me and my daughter a Felt Board along with Who Ate The Food/ (goes with a Very Hungry Caterpillar) and Build a Bus (goes with The Wheels on the bus). I chose Who Ate the Food for my daughter because she tends to be a picky eater, and I hoped to tell a fun story about all different kinds of food. Maybe open her mind up to a larger variety :) And the Wheels on the Bus happens to be one of my daughter's favorite songs to sing along too, so I knew she would love to see those characters come to life!!

These stories have provided hours of fun and creativity for my little girl. We play these songs & stories out together usually, but she also likes to just try it on her own and I LOVE to see what she comes up with! She plays with the characters from Build A Bus, all while singing the song in her own adorable toddler way. She also likes to 'feed' the caterpillar his dinner! I am really thrilled that we were able to use Storytime Felts together, and I look forward to adding to our collection!

Here are a few more of my favorites from their site! The Let's Play House Felt Board Dollhouse would provide little girls with many hours of fun! You get the house background plus 80 felt figures! This is a whole new way to play house.

Here is another classic - The Three Little Pigs! Give your child a new way to see this timeless story!

I would definitely recommend Storytime Felts to other moms. Their products allow your child to use their imagination and come up with their own thoughts and ideas. I know you will enjoy watching them create, play, and learn with their Felt!
Storytime Felts would also be the perfect tool for teachers, daycare providers, babysitters, grandparents, homeschoolers, and anyone else who could use these tools to help teach children.

GIVEAWAY:Storytime Felts has generously offered one reader a $25.00 gift card to their online store! You will be able to choose something that is perfect for your child!

TO ENTER: Simply visit Storytime Felts and look around at the different items they have available. Then come back and leave a comment with an item you think your child would enjoy!

EXTRA ENTRIES: Please leave an additional comment for every extra entry you complete

1. Follow My Blog
2. Subscribe to my blog
3. Add my Button to your site
4. Blog about this giveaway
5. Follow me on Twitter & Tweet this contest

Contest will end June 2nd at 10pm CST. Contest is open to US Residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond to my email or new winner will be chosen. Please remember to leave a way for me to contact you - have an email address either in your comment or in your Profile.

Thanks for entering & thank you so much to karen at Storytime felts for giving us a new and imaginative way to play!

Pedoodles Sale!

There are a few days left to get in the sale at Pedoodles! Through May 20th, select shoes are on sale for just $30 each! These little sandles are perfect for the warm Spring & Summer weather that is finally here!

So cute, right? Pedoodles has a great selection of shoes for babies & kids, they are so comfortable for your kids and & are made of eco friendly materials! Go check them out!

This past Saturday I went wedding dress shopping with my sister who is getting married next June! I am also the Maid of Honor, so we wanted to get an idea of what color dress to get me, since that would set the color scheme for the wedding.

The very first dress she tried on was straight out of a fairytale. It was gorgeous on her! Of course she tried on many more after that though, to try out different styles and cuts. Each one was beautiful, but had something about it that wasn't perfect. At the end of the day, we had her try on the first dress again, and it was still her favorite. It had everything she wanted. The right amount of sparkle, the right skirt, the right train, the sweetheart neckline, and the dip in the back. It was The One! I couldn't believe it was the very first one she had tried!

Next was me. I was secretly not so excited about this, only because I dread dress shopping for myself. But I knew we wanted to find a color so I went along with it :) Here's what I learned that day:

I cannot wear:

Orange
Light Purple
Yellow

And....I need a tan

But one color did work. The Watermelon - this beautiful punchy dark pink color that really popped next to her dress and didn't make me look washed out. It was so pretty, and had the same kind of detail on the top as her wedding dress. It's a short dress too, so I won't be swallowed up my material (I am only 5'2" and long dresses don't do well!
It was a huge job that actually went very smoothly. So we are all set - now we just wait for the dresses to come in. I don't think we'll be sized until closer to the Wedding, thank goodness :) I am loving my Maid of Honor duties....and am keeping my calendar open for the cake tasting!!

Kiss My Face Winner!

Alright, I have the winner of the huge Kiss My Face Giveaway! This lucky lady will recieve the Complete Facial Care System - Potent & Pure Line! Here we go!

From Random.org

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:146
Timestamp: 2009-05-17 16:00:12 UTC



That's Badger Momma!! Congrats!! I will be emailing you shortly, please respond within 72 hours to claim this great prize!!

Thanks to everyone that entered & did all of your awesome extra entries that I love so much! More giveaways are coming, so keep entering & the next winner could be you!

Wordless Wednesday

Again, not so wordless....

This is my daughter at a local grocery store. I look for places that have these fun kid carts available, because she has developed a hatred for regular carts!

I (and my husband)made the mistake of letting her walk with me in a store, and now she doesn't want to sit in a cart anymore. Of course she doesn't want to hold my hand & walk either, she wants to just be free. And that is NOT happening. She is a runner, a wild child and these little fun carts are one of the only ways to contain her anymore!

I am not one to give parental advice, I usually guess as I make my way through day to day life. But this is one piece of advice I have for you...leave those kids in the cart as long as you can LOL! Once they taste freedom, they may not want to give that up!

Thank goodness she likes to 'drive' these carts - and that keeps her entertained during our shopping trips. Then she doesn't think about escaping!

Two Winners Announced!

We have some winners today! First up is the personalized tee from Christi's Cupcake Cuties

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:9
Timestamp: 2009-05-11 17:09:45 UTC

#9 is susan!! Congrats Susan - I have emailed you!

Next up is the Toddler Apron from Jillie Willie:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:127
Timestamp: 2009-05-11 17:12:31 UTC

mom2anutball! Congrats - I have emailed you!

Ladies please respond within 72 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

Thanks to everyone that entered & thank you to Christi's Cupcake Cuties & to Jillie Willie for a great review opportunity!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

I wanted to wish all of my mom readers out there a very Happy Mother's day!

Today I will just be spending time with my daughter and husband, having a relaxing day at home. My gift from my two year old was her sleeping in until 11:30 :) That was WONDERFUL!!

Being a Mother is the greatest joy in my life, and I feel lucky to be called one today. I hope everyone has a great day with their family, and maybe gets a little pampering!

Have a special day!

2 Giveaways End tomorrow!

You still have a day to enter to win either a personalized shirt from Christi's Cupcake Cuties or a toddler apron from Jillie Willie!!

Both end tomorrow night, so enter & you may just win :)

Winner of Jack & Lily Shoes!

Sorry for the delay in picking a winner for the Jack & Lily Shoes! I am still on limited computer time & checking in whenever possible!

From Random.org...

#95! Insignificon! Congrats!! I have emailed you - please respond within 72 hours! Thanks so much!

Thanks to everyone that entered & if you didn't win, I still have some other great giveaways going on! Good Luck!

PeaceLoveMom Review & Giveaway!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED ~~



In celebration of Mother's Day, I have a great review & giveaway from PeaceLoveMom! PeaceLoveMom is company that is owned by owned three ladies - Lori, Karen, and Suzanne - three very different moms who came together with the same common goal, the celebration of motherhood!! They offer moms a wonderful assortment of products including t-shirts, hats, bags, notepads, even clothing for kids, all with the same positive messages about motherhood.

PeaceLoveMom offers a wide variety of tee shirts with different looks and different messages, so you can pick the one that suits you best. I love this Lucky Mom Salmon Burn Out Tee because of it's vintage feel and the Lucky Mom design. Who doesn't feel lucky to be a Mom right?


Their hats are also great for the summer! I can definitely see myself wearing this hat to baseball games & the park!Some of my favorite clothing items are ones that proudly display that I am a Mom, my greatest achievement of my life. The girls over at PeaceLoveMom gave me the opportunity to try out this PeaceLove Grateful Mom Aqua Soft Tee. I chose this one because I love the bright blue color, and the Grateful Mom message was one that I could definitely relate to. The shirt really is SO soft and comfortable to wear. It's also got a little extra length that helps cover my tummy & keep me covered when I bend over :) I have gotten so many great compliments on my PeaceLoveMom tee shirt, other moms are loving the positive message and that it is stylish and well fitted!

FREE SHIPPING CODE: PeaceLoveMom would like to offer all of my readers a free shipping code to all orders iin the US that are over $20! Just enter LADYBUG09 when checking out.(good thru May 17th)

GIVEAWAY: PeaceLoveMom is giving one lucky reader their very own PeaceLove Grateful Mom Aqua Soft Tee!! (pictured above)

TO ENTER: Please visit PeaceLoveMom and take a look around at their great selection! Then leave me a comment with your favorite item!

EXTRA ENTRIES: Please leave an additional comment for every extra entry you complete!

1. Follow My Blog
2. Subscribe
3. Add my Button
4. Follow me on Twitter & Tweet this giveaway
5. Blog about this contest!

Giveaway is open to US Residents only. Contest will end on May 15th at 10pm CST. Winner will be chosen using random.org and will be announced here & will be emailed. Winner has 72 hours to respond to that email or a new winner will be chosen.

Thanks to everyone for entering! And thank you to PeaceLoveMom for a great giveaway & review opportunity!