Upcoming CSN Stores Review...My Choice? CSN Baby!

When it comes to online shopping, the company that has it ALL and more is CSN Stores! Pretty much everything you need for your home can be found in one of their 200+ online stores. You can kind find things for every room in your home....like furniture, bedding, grills, luggage, or a coffee maker. See what I mean?? They really do have it all! And what I love most is that you can search through the products to find something perfect for your personal style that is in your price range. They have lots of great sale items if you are looking for a deal!

I will be doing an upcoming Review for CSN Stores...and I know exactly the Store I will be checking out. CSN Baby! With a new little one on the way, there are plenty of items I'll need to prepare for his/her arrival. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences with you!

I Feel It....

It's 3 AM. The cat woke me up, and I am laying there trying to ignore my headache and fall back asleep.

And then I feel it.

Driving in the car, stopped at a red light.

And then I feel it.

Laying with my Daughter, getting some cuddle time in before bed.

And then I feel it.

So light. I hold my breathe so I can feel it better. A tap, a flutter, a push. So small still, you blink and you'll miss it.

These first kicks from my growing Baby, a special moment we share together. Starting a forever bond between a Mama and her baby.

The feeling comes back to me so easily, so familiar. Like it was just yesterday my Daughter was in my belly, rolling around and kicking...letting me know she was there.

Such a miracle. These days and years are ones I will always cherish.

Old Navy $2 Cami Sale 7/29 - 7/31

Old Navy is having a $2 Layering Cami sale from 7/29 - 7/31

It's an In Store only deal and according to this ad you can give them this coupon or say "Cami 4 Me' at the Register.

Personally I would feel silly saying that and probably get a checkout girl who has no idea about the promotion, so I'd say Print the Coupon :)

Thanks to My Frugal Adventures for passing along this Deal!

'Max Spaniel Funny Lunch' Children's Book Review

My Daughter absolutely loves to cuddle and read books together. It is one of her favorite things to do, and I admit that I love it too! It gives us great bonding time and helps her enrich her mind and develop what will hopefully be a lifelong love of books.



Recently we had the opportunity to review 'Max Spaniel Funny Lunch', a cute and funny story that had us both giggling! Funny Lunch is a book about a Spaniel dog named Max who has his very own Diner. Your kids will laugh out loud at his adventures and food mishaps...and an ending that I loved! When a huge crowd of hungry animals come to the Diner looking for pizza, Max tries to make a huge order of pizzas but ends up only making a huge mess! Your kids will love seeing how Max thinks quickly to find a solution and get them their pizzas!

You and your Children should also love seeing the creative illustrations that really let the characters and storyline come to life! They add to the humor of the book and make it even better.




MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

David Catrow is a nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist and the award winning illustrator of numerous books for children, including Take Me Out Of The Bathtub and other Silly Songs by Alan Katz. He lives in Springfield Ohio with his wife, and their three dogs, Bubbs, Beetle, and Blue. Max Spaniel is based on Bubbs!

For more info on the author and his work you can visit his website!

This Book is best for ages 4-8, in my opinion that is the best age for this humor. Some jokes were over my Daughter's head at 3...but she still liked the book!



You can learn more about the Book and purchase it for only $6.99 at Scholastic. That's a great price for this hardcover book that is sure to be a hit with your kids!

Target Clearance...Watch Your Local Target Store!

If you are a Target Shopper (like me!) you may have noticed that they have a HUGE amount of items on Clearance right now!

Most things started at 30% but are going to 75% now. I was there just today and toys were still at 30-50% Off...but soon that should go up to 75% Off like last year.

And look out! Because I can't refuse 75% Off, LOL! I buy & save for upcoming occasions.
I did a lot of my Christmas shopping with that sale last year and hope to this year too!

I have heard rumors that they switch it to 75% Off on Thursdays (probably this Thursday) but it's best to call ahead or just keep checking if you are a regular (like me...)

They have some great Baby items on Clearance too including Baby Gear like strollers, car seats, etc. In fact I saw a highchair today for $35 that was originally over $100! I resisted because we already have a highchair. But it was tempting!

I bought an ultra soft cuddly baby blanket there the other day for $3 that was originally $15. that was my very first New Baby purchase :)

Update on Dental Appt

Well we are back from the dreaded dentist appt!

It went pretty much as expected. she started crying as soon as we sat down. she was even shaking she was so upset. The dental assistant never even touched her, she was just upset at the idea of it. Pretty much exactly how the doctor goes.

She started off by talking to her and wanting to just show her her little tools. i suggested she show her stuffed animal she brought along first. so she pretended to clean his teeth and made everyone very easy, gentle, and didn't use any scary words.

i thought the girl did an excellent job! After she was done showing her, she pretty much said that at this age it's still about just showing them and getting them comfortable...and we agreed not to try the cleaning. She would have lost it if we had done that today.

then she got to play with her own little mirror and look at her mouse's teeth, and then she practiced looking at her own teeth. While we waited for the actual dentist to get to us, we practiced silly faces with the assistant and practiced opening our mouths and saying 'aaah'

I let her look in my mouth and her Dad's mouth too, anything that would relax her and make her feel like she had some control over it. Like playing dentist!

Then the Dentist came over and she was Really nice and good with my Daughter. We used enough tricks (like show us this funny face, look up at the crab on the wall and show him your smile, etc) for the Dentist to get a view of all of her teeth.

The report was excellent! No cavities, perfect bite, perfect alignment. All of her teeth looked perfect. She thought that her complaints may be about a little canker sore in her mouth. she didn't see anything that looked sore (neither do we when we look) but she felt 100% confident that she had no tooth or gum problems. Probably just that she had a little sore from biting her cheek or something.

If it persists I will bring her back, but I am thinking she'll be better soon. I haven't heard any complaints yet today, so that's good news.

Now we won't have to go back for 6 months and I can only hope she'll be a little better by then :) I am SO relieved that she didn't have any cavities and didn't need any additional work done.

Dreading Appt Tomorrow...

Let me start by saying that my Daughters HATES the Doctor. At her 3 year checkup, she was so upset that the Dr said we would do her vision & hearing test when she is 4. And that was with no shots...just talking & normal exam stuff. Heck, she cried at the scale.

She could barely do any exams or even just talk to her, because she was crying so much.

I think it stems from her appointments for her H1N1 shots. They were fast appts with just the poke, and I think that was the turning point for her. Ever since she has hated even the word 'doctor'

So tomorrow, she has her first dental appt.

I'll be honest, I am thinking about it so much I want to barf. First of all, I am nervous because there is NO WAY in heck she is going to let anyone near her mouth. She is an ultra sensitive little girl, and gets freaked out by things like that. Especially when it's a stranger. Screams will be heard around that entire office, let me tell ya. Then I have visions of having to hold her down or trying to keep her mouth open, and that sounds terrible. I don't want to traumatize the kid.

Secondly, she has been complaining for the last week that her tooth hurts. It's random when she says it.....usually she is eating some food (not sweets). I don't see anything in her mouth that looks sore or like a cavity, but something is upsetting her.

Add the tooth pain and her natural fear of appointments/exams and I have one ROUGH day ahead of me tomorrow.

Oh, and I realized that the two things she hates the most (Doctor appts and getting her hair washed) were the two things that I freaked about when I was a toddler/young child.

I am just thrilled that those are the things I have passed on to her, LOL! My mom has told me stories about when I was 2-3 and would literally kick the Doctor to keep him away from me. And I remember the fights I would put up when I had to wash my hair...probably up to 2nd grade.

This is nature's way of a payback I think.

As for the Dentist....I am making it a fun thing as best I can. Not grouping them with Doctors at all. Just telling her that they want to see how pretty her smile is and that they want to teach her how to keep her teeth clean and healthy.

Which is fine and dandy until she hears that suctiony-thing they use to clean her teeth. Then the screams will start.

I requested a Female Dentist which should help because she likes women more than men :)

My best case scenario is that they can at least take a look and see if they can figure out what is causing her pain. If she needs work done, I will make those decisions but until then I can't worry about it.

Has anyone dealt with young children & the dentist? How did it go?

Really Late On This One! (Winners)

I am playing the Pregnancy Card on this one!

I need to pick some winners of 2 Giveaways that ended ages ago. When you are sick, blogging is put on the back burner so I apologize that I didn't get these posted sooner!

First up, the winner of the Stella Is A Star Book (With CD!)

#17 Donna


3 Winners of Aquafina Coupon & Aquafina Chapstick

#58 Kelly
#63 Terra H
315 sylvia

Winners have been emailed & have 72 hours to reply to claim their prize. Thanks!!

Loving These Lounge Pants!!

After I stopped throwing up and was trying to get a handle on my morning sickness, I realized that some days eating everything in sight really helped me stay away from the throat constricting nausea that had been my nemesis for the last 2 months.

Eating helped, so I ate. And because of lovely food aversions I would just eat whatever I could that particular day. I am not a candy person, but candy has really helped me curb that nauseous feeling. Hard candy, chewy candy, even gum can really make a difference in my day.

Of course I started to gain weight...which made me really happy! After barely being able to eat I started looking as sick as I felt, so to me gaining weight was a way for me to see that I was getting healthy again.

But now? Ummm...I feel like I am looking a lot further along than 16 weeks :) Luckily at my appt last week I had a weight gain of 2 pounds in that month. I was convinced my Midwife would be having a little talk about my eating habits, LOL! But not bad so far!

I haven't gotten into my Maternity pants yet...but over the weekend I did pick up a pair of Maternity lounge pants from Old Navy because they were on clearance for only $5. Great price!




I literally wore them for 3 days straight. While they were in the wash, I wore a pair of black pants that were my regular size...and they were so freaking tight on me. They made me feel huge and left marks on my tummy from being too tight. So as soon as my comfy pants were out of the dryer I put them back on.

And I am still wearing them right now. Ha! Best $5 spent...ever.

A Long Rest...

It has been AGES since I last blogged!

As you may have guessed with my previous pregnancy posts, I have not been having an easy time with everything. Luckily Baby #2 is growing great....it's only me that has been miserable :) Oh, and probably my husband because of all the constant complaining I've been doing for months now.

Hey....I still say listening to me complain about being sick is WAY better than actually being the person that IS sick, am I right?? He has it easy!

So basically to recap the last 6 weeks...they have been hard. Initially I decided to take time off after an ER Visit. Everything ended up being okay, but it made me realize just how sick I had gotten from dealing with non stop vomiting & nausea for weeks & weeks. I lost a lot of weight. I was weak and didn't want to leave the house or stand for more than a couple of minutes.

I gave in and tried Zofran (which I was hoping to avoid) because I was desperate for relief and nutrition. It didn't really work. So I stopped taking it.

I realized that the only time I didn't feel sick was when I woke up during the night, and that was after taking a Unisom before bed. So I talked to my midwife and we decided to try 1/2 tablet at night & 1/2 tablet in the morning.

I still get a sick feeling most days, but I am not actually throwing up anymore, which is SO important. I can eat and stay hydrated....have energy to live my life and take care of daughter...and keep my growing baby healthy too.

Headaches have been my newest trouble, but they have been lessening this past week so I am hopeful that that phase is mostly behind me.

I hope to start blogging pretty regularly again....only as I feel well enough to. One day last week I started to tackle my emails, and a horrible headache set in. So I am not going to push myself...


I am about 16 weeks pregnant now, and am SO excited for what August will hold for us. We will get to find out if we are having a boy or girl...and should be feeling the Baby move in the coming weeks too. I am hopeful that will start this week, because I hear you feel it sooner with your 2nd Baby :)

Looking forward to those positive memories to be made in this pregnancy....instead of just feeling sick all of the time.

Customized Clothing From Just Jen - Bridal Tee Review!

Wedding Season is upon us! If you are getting married, going to be in the bridal party, or need a great present for the Bride, you have to check out bridal shirts from Just Jen! Here you find stylish tees, tank tops, hoodies, and so much more...all adorned with dazzling rhinestones in your choice of color!

Getting a Bridal tee form Just Jen is the perfect way to make the Bride feel special on her Wedding Day. Wearing a 'Bride' tank top is so much more fun than wearing a plain shirt while getting ready for your big day! It's also great for a Bachelorette Party, Bridal Shower, or leaving for the Honeymoon!

Just Jen also has clothing choices for everyone is the Wedding Party too! You'll find tees for your Maid of Honor, Bridesmaids, Flower Girl, and even Mother of the Bride! These shirts make great gifts for your girlfriends, as a way to thank them for the time and effort they put into your Wedding Day & Planning. And we all know how proud Mothers are when their Daughters are getting married...I bet they would love to wear this tee shirt, maybe on a special girls only lunch date!



As some of you may know, my Sister got married in early June, and I was the Maid of Honor. We had been to the dress shop plenty of times in the last year, choosing dresses, getting fittings, and picking out shoes. Whenever we would go I would see my sister looking at the Bridal Shirts, and I could tell she really would like to have one. But honestly, the selection was so limited at the Bridal Shop. You had a black tee with white rhinestones.....usually one or two phrases. And cross your fingers that your size was there too!

The perfect solution? Ordering a shirt from Just Jen! There you can choose your shirt style and color, the phrase you'd like to have on it, the size, and even which color crystal you'd like to have on it. Completely customizable, completely yours! I let my Sister pick out her own shirt, that way she could get something perfect for her personal style. She ended up choosing the Bride Tee Shirt - in the Beater Tank Top style. This was a great shirt choice for a Summer Wedding! She picked White for the shirt color with Fuchsia Crystal Rhinestones.




The shirt arrived so quickly! I thought for sure it would take longer because of the customizing, but it didn't! The tee also came in pretty pink tissue paper, which makes it perfect for gift giving! I could immediately see the difference in quality from the other Bridal Tees I had saw in stores. The crystals were bright, sparkly, and looked completely flawless. It fits her perfectly,she looked so great wearing it for her Wedding activities - it let everyone know who the special guest of honor was!



Ordering from Just Jen is very easy! They have it set up so that everything you need to customize is on one single page...just fill in your choices and you are good to go!

Of course, you can purchase Just Jen clothing for any occasion! They have some adorable Maternity shirts, and even Birthday Tees and Big Sister Tees for your Kids! You can even create your own phrase all your own with their Custom Option! I think a big Sister Tee would be a great gift for my Daughter when I have this Baby....a little something special that is just for her.