Post Mother's Day $25 Macy's Gift Card 5/18

Just in case you didn't get anything you wanted for Mother's Day or maybe you are not a mother, you can now celebrate a little bit of you with something just for yourself. You don't have to be a mother to appreciate and acknowledge yourself which is why you every now and then buy something to pamper yourself. Pampering can be big or small but when done right, it can turn a bad day into a good day. It can bring a little comfort just when you need it. You might even be working on those New Year's resolutions and what better time to reward yourself?

Badgley Mischka Swimsuit, Surplice Over The Shoulder Draped Front One Piece

With summer approaching pretty fast, it's also a good time to start looking at swimsuits. Macy's has a great line of suits for this summer! I personally prefer all black suits but I've always been partial to the color of black. If you win, you can pick out a cute suit that will have all eyes on your this summer!

The Giveaway:

One reader will win a $25 gift card to Macy's!

To Enter:

Please use the Rafflecopter form below.

Giveaway ends 5/18 at midnight (EST) - Open to US and Canada

How are your New Year's resolutions going? Are you meeting them or do you need a bit of a nudge to keep going? April is the perfect time to reassess your goals and either enhance them, change them or just make new ones. Warner Brother's is going to help give you that nudge with this new giveaway with what might be some of your favorite actors from Hollywood.

You can win New Year's Eve on DVD starring Ashton Kutcher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Katherine Heigl, Sofia Vergara, Hilary Swank, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zac Efron, Jon Bon Jovi, and Josh Duhamel <-- yes, Josh! I'd make him my New Year's resolution but I doubt he would deliver himself to me when I won!

If you need that extra nudge, check out the quiz below and see what it might have in store for you! There is even a countdown to how many days until your next one!

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.

Giveaway ends 5/10 - US only please

MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS opens in theatres everywhere next Friday, May 4th! In celebration of The Avengers opening in theaters Mommy and Baby Reviews and Giveaways, Mom Blog Society and Mom Does Reviews are giving 3 winners the Ultimate The Avengers Prize Pack filled with goodies!

Each Prize pack includes the following:

MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS t-shirt in adult sizes of S, M, L or XL

MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS set of 6 buttons

MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS one pair of limited edition 3D glasses

There are many more razors left so sign up for a free one here.

Reviewers Wanted for Book for Children with Epilepsy

I'm looking for about five reviewers for this new book, I Have Epilepsy. It Doesn't Have Me about epilepsy geared for children. If you would like to review the book, you also must agree to post on Amazon within two weeks of receiving the book. If interested, send an e-mail to youthfultips@yahoo.com.

Father's Day Gift Idea: Michaels & Adorable Baby Clothing

I was trying to think of a nice personalized present for my dad for Father's Day and Pinterest came through. Even though my photos didn't turn out quite as nice as I had hoped, the end product is there. I will probably go ahead and retake some more to get the right effect but here is what I did. After putting the girls in one of my favorite dresses from Adorable Baby Clothing, I was ready to have them hold the letters that spelled out D A D. I purchased the letters at Michaels and will probably pick up a frame since they have great framing sales.

That's my first attempt so I'll see what else I can come up with. I can admit that I'm lost without the photo editing software Picnik. Even though they moved it to Google, it's not the same as many of the features are missing so I hope they bring it back. All in all, I think my dad will like the gift.

Blogger wii Giveaway Sign Ups!

Wii Giveaway Blogger Sign-Ups

Do you think your fans would love a wii gaming system? Who wouldn't?

Join us for this amazing event and make your readers very happy too :)

There will also be a blogger prize for most referrals!

Here's what the prize package will include

Black Nintendo Wii
Black Remote & Nunchuck
New Super Mario Brothers
Nintendo Music CD
4 Games
All Participating Blogs get backlinks to their site.

$8.00 for 3 links. $1.00 each additional link.

Spiritillo – Italian Hand Knit Blanket Giveaway 5/8

Are you tired of Made in China, Are you looking for unique gifts or clothing for the children in your life? Spiritillo Italian Hand Crafted Creations offers select handmade clothing for children, exclusively made in Italy with Italian thread. Owned by Miriam Brindisi, Spiritillo Italian Hand Crafted Creations is Proudly made in Italy. As a child, Miriam learned how to crochet and knit from her grandmothers and aunts, who in turn learned from their grandmothers and aunts. She now continues their age-old tradition. She uses cashmire, cotton, lisle and wool. Miriam's mission is to provide quality attire for children, using ancient techniques with a modern twist. Each piece is different from the other, no two are ever the same.

Last Day to Enter to Win a $75 Amazon GC & Ficklets

Hurry and enter to win a $75 Amazon gift card and Ficklets! Ficklets are the first patented interchangable eyewear charm huggers for your children's glasses. They are cute, inexpensive and adds some amazing personality to your little one's glasses.

To enter, click here.

Advertising Turnaround: "Exploiting" Men

I've long wondered why everything evolves around half dressed women in the rammed down our throat perception of the "ideal" woman who really isn't a "real sized" woman. Of course there are women who wear size 0, sports size DD bras and is just perfect looking all around but that is not the norm. Given what the average American woman is, I can't understand why we are bombarded with these images of women who look hungry. I also don't understand given the population demographics of our country. We are a country with more women than men. Women work more now so definitely have buying power so why do the commercials and shows cater to men? Do the advertisers really think us women want to have those images bombarded in our heads? Do they want to create a society that we can't live up to? I think it's dangerous on many fronts and then they scratch their heads at the soaring number of eating disorders among girls and women.

I diverted a bit but the topic of this post is THANK YOU ADVERTISERS! I'm happy to see that businesses are now turning the tables and are exploiting men. My oldest saw the Liquid Plumr commercial and immediately thought of me. In fact, every time she sees a like minded commercial, she lets me know. I've even went so far to write advertisers to give them kudos. Maybe if men were bombarded with images of perfect, hot men, they might see how it feels to think you have to live up to the perfect image. I was watching a vodka commercial called Save the Fireman and again, it was of another commercial for us women. I'm glad to see more and more advertisers are figuring it out.

There are more women then men. We have buying power. We want commercials catered to us too!

I had to share this one because I love it:

Twilight Saga Super Giveaway 5/15 #twilight

Twilight Saga Super Giveaway

One winner will get all of the following prizes!!

Twilight Scene It DVD Game

The entire Twilight Saga Book Set in Hardcover!

2 Twilight Keychains

1 Twilight Tote

$20.00 Fandango Gift Card

A HUGE thank you to the following sites for participating in this event!

Mommy and Baby Reviews and Giveaways Kathleen's Blog Spot Savvy Living Powered By Mom Crafty Kate Going Crazy Mommy's Memorandum Clipping Money Susan Heim on Parenting Coupon Nurse Successful Together Capri's Coupons Tidbits From A Mom LoveMy2Dogs The Frugal Free Gal Mom Goes Wild Mommy Coupon Swappers Nana Roberta Home Grown Families Lamp Post Homeschool Store Parsimonious Pash Addicted 2 Savings 4 U Health, Beauty, Children & Family Megz Creations Mom Does Reviews Mom Blog Society Building Carpenters Mommy Moments with Abby

If you are foodie like me, you enjoy the awards that go to food! From world-class restaurants to food trucks, and everything in between, you can help decide who's truly the 'best of the best' across 20 categories in the world of food in the first ever The Munchies: People's Choice Food Awards. General Mills' Tablespoon.com is honoring the most delicious food experiences America has to offer - from the most iconic burger, to the best local farmers market, to the best chef. Featuring some of their favorite food people from TV, blogs, books, restaurants and beyond, Andrew Zimmern, Chef & James Beard award-winning television personality, and a panel of celebrity chowhounds have developed the list of nominees across three groups:

Terrific Tastemakers- the media and personalities that make the food world sizzle, from Favorite Food TV Personality to Favorite Food Blog
Best Bites- the most delectable interpretations of our favorite foods, like Most Iconic Burger and Best Cookie
Delicious Destinations- the establishments that keep us coming back for more; think Coolest Coffee Shop or Most Intriguing Cocktail Bar

<--- Vote for my personal favorite, Bobby Flay!

Vote for your favorites once per day (even recast your whole ballot with just a click!) at Tablespoon.com/themunchies now through April 30th. You can check back in May to see who the winners are!

While celebrating food, they're also fighting hunger. On behalf of the expert panel and all of the voters, Tablespoon.com is donating $15,000 to Feeding America, the nation´s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. One good meal deserves another, so head on over to Tablespoon.com/themunchies to vote now!

*Disclosure: The information about The Munchies: People´s Choice Food Awards was provided to me by Tablespoon.com through MyBlogSpark.

Healthy Directions Website & DIscount

Have you heard of Dr. Tabor? If not, he has devoted his career to researching and developing scientific and medically based anti-aging solutions, including ground-breaking natural skincare therapies and weight-control products. He focuses specifically on the use of safe and effective skincare ingredients, as his research has found most anti-aging skincare therapies on the market to be scientifically baseless, ineffective, and even harmful.

Dr. Tabor also believes that a woman’s external appearance is a direct reflection of her internal health, and he has made it his mission to develop effective products that contain ingredients that help women achieve total health, wellness, and beauty—from the inside out. He is just one of the four doctors you can learn more by visiting the newly launched redesigned Healthy Directions website and save 15% off your entire purchase with code BLOGLUV.

The Healthy Directions website has been redesigned to provide a highly targeted experience for people to easily navigate and understand health conditions, putting them on the path to good health. It features expert content and an e-commerce store, which offers an array of vitamins, supplements, skincare, and other health and wellness products. The new site also provides visitors with access to Healthy Directions doctors, leaders in the industry who work with both alternative and conventional practices.

Healthy Directions provides:

Healthy Directions is a leading direct-to-consumer nutritional supplement company and publisher of alternative and complementary health newsletters, which has been providing doctor-guided health advice to address specific health concerns for more than twenty years.
Healthy Directions has a strong history of doctor-developed formulations with incomparable safety, quality and consumer service. Their mission is to help people lead healthier, happier lives by providing expert guidance and advanced nutritional supplements from America’s leading doctors of integrative medicine.
The new website has been designed to help people easily navigate and understand health conditions and to provide them with information that will help put them on the path to good health. It combines the most useful doctor-guided information on how to address, treat, and cope with health ailments that affect a significant number of Americans including: heart disease, diabetes, digestion issues, arthritis, hormonal issues and aging.
Previously only available via subscription newsletters, Healthy Directions’ rich online content will give consumers access to each doctor's philosophy, information on how to address a specific health issue, and feature answers to the most commonly asked questions related to achieving and maintaining good health.

Stay Connected

*Disclosure: I did not receive compensation for this post but the information was provided as part of a blogger program I will be participating in.

Free Schick Hydro Silk™ Available!

Free Schick Hydro Silk™ sample are available! Through this link, you can receive a free Free Schick Hydro Silk™! I just did so it's not a scam and I signed up to be an insider which is why I get to share these samples with my readers.

Just click to sign up for your free Schick Hydro Silk sample.

HBL Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner Review & Giveaway 4/30 ($95.85 Value)

I have wavy or slightly curly hair and it's hard to take care of mostly because I color it, dry it and then use my CHI hot iron on it. It's very abused and I have split ends, very dry hair and it's hard to keep the tangles out. This is one place where I don't skimp out on a good hydrating conditioner. I was offered an opportunity to review complimentary bottles of

HBL (Health. Beauty. Life) Hydrating Shampoo, Conditioner and Treatment so I gave it a try for two weeks.

Pro's:

Softer hair
Less tangles
Improvements in split ends
Conditioner is highly concentrated - I did add water as I applied it (see con below)

Con's

The conditioner is thick or very concentrated so I had a hard time getting it out of the bottle without using brute force. I did add some water which helped to get it to come out and I didn't notice if it affected the conditioner because my hair still seemed to improve. This could also be a pro because you don't need as much.
I did not like the fragrance of both the shampoo and conditioner. It wasn't a bad fragrance but it wasn't one that I liked.

Overall, I did notice improvements to my hair and it did help to remove the tangles that plagues my hair. In spite of the fragrance, I'm still using it so that is indicative to the product's effectiveness and how I like it. The Treatment adds an extra layer of defense against the harsh elements I subject my hair to.

Stay up to date:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/HBLHairCare

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HBLHairCare?ref=ts
Purchase: http://hblhaircare.com

The Giveaway:

One reader will win their own set from HBL!

K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students. I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program. If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their open invitation to write an online learning review of their program.

My Little Taylor Swift Wannabe

My soon to be five year old loves to sing and even goes so far as to "write" her own songs. She's either dancing, singing or doing something as she's the busiest little bee I have ever seen. I figure with her love to entertain us with either singing, dancing or making us laugh, she will end up being something in the entertainment world. She is a Taylor Swift fan so I'm sure she is inspired by her quite a bit. Both my girls love Taylor and I'm glad because she is one role model I don't mind them admiring.

Check her out:

Bobble Bots Moshi Review <-- FUN!

Are your kids a fan of Hexbugs or do they like robotic type toys? If so, you won't want to miss out on Bobble Bots Moshi Monsters! They are made with high-tech vibration technology with playsets that can be built how your child wants it to be built. The little power houses also come in cute collectible designs such as DJ Quack, Coolio, Honey and many more. What is really neat about the Bobble Bots was my girls were coming to get me every time a commercial was on for them telling me they wanted them so when the opportunity came about to host a Bobble Bots Moshi Party, I couldn't resist.

This is our introduction to Bobble Bots as soon as we received them. They were "tested" out before the party because as good hosts, we had to be able to really show how much fun they are! This was not a problem for them!

These were so much fun and the girls went crazy playing with them. We had hoped to have a bigger party but we ended up moving sooner than expected and will be using these with our big birthday party we will be having in a couple of weeks. The playsets were easy to put together and since they are in pieces, it makes for easier storage. The small yellow clips keep the Bobble Bots in their areas. They can swoop in and out of doors, bump into each other but they keep going!

Check out our video but please note that we didn't fasten one of the roof's down so it was bumped off slightly.

Which Bobble Bots is your favorite?

Bobble Bots were made from the creators of HEXBUG and launched this spring. Innovation First International teamed up with Mind Candy to introduce these fun robotic pets.

Disclosure: I received the Bobble Bots Moshi Monsters sets from Mommy Party in exchange for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Stay up to date with Bobble Bots:

IMAN Cosmetics Launch of 2012 Color Story: Sweet Temptations

IMAN Cosmetics has launched their new spring 2012 line called Sweet Temptations. It's the perfect palette for spring, spotlighting a sexy wash of glimmering honey, citrus and berry tones for eyes and cheeks that coordinate with a juicy pop of candy colored hues for lips. For a full list of "Sweet Temptations" products including videos on how to get the look, just visit IMAN Sweet Temptations.

In addition, IMAN has teamed up with Wal-Mart to host a series of exciting in-store events celebrating the “Sweet Temptations” launch. The events will be held at select Wal-Mart stores throughout Georgia on April 28. For more information or to RSVP, just click here.

STAY CONNECTED

Get the latest info about IMAN Cosmetics at:

- Facebook @ www.facebook.com/IMANCosmetics

- Twitter @ www.twitter.com/IMANCosmetics
- Tumblr @ http://imancosmetics.tumblr.com

$20 TinyPrints Gift Certificate Giveaway 5/3

Birth Announcements, Graduation Announcements, Fathers Day Cards, Baby Shower Invitations, & More from Tiny Prints

Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduations and the lists goes on with all the events forthcoming. If you enjoy sending greeting cards, you will like this giveaway for a $20 gift certificate. I received it and wanted to pass it on to one of my readers. TinyPrints has more than cards in case you didn't know. They have gifts, address labels and much more. If you haven't checked them out lately, you should!

Refined Vines: 12x9 Mounted Prints Wall Decor

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.

Make Your Mark on LA because on May 29th, Green Works is making one of Los Angeles’ grimiest alleys beautiful through the power of cleaning. You can enter for a chance to win a trip to L.A. with Green Works to help transform the alley into a reverse graffiti art piece. You will also receive a Coupon for $1 off just for watching the original Reverse Graffiti Project video.

In case you don't know about The Reverse Graffiti Gallery, reverse graffiti or “clean tagging” is a method of creating art by removing dirt and grime from a filthy surface. This unique art form taps into the Green Works mantra that cleaning can be beautiful. For the Reverse Graffiti Gallery, Gorks set out to find a dirty place in L.A. that needed some love. After searching hundreds of blocks, Green Works found the perfect place. And on May 29th, Green Works will unveil the gallery of unique art made simply by cleaning with Green Works. But they're not working alone. They have found the perfect artist to partner with—a true pioneer of the reverse graffiti method. Together they're going to turn one grimy alley into an inviting and beautiful place for the community to enjoy.

Prize Details: The winner of the grand prize will receive a three-day trip for two to Los Angeles to attend the Reverse Graffiti Gallery opening, a $1,000 gift card and access to some of the best art the city has to offer with day passes to select museums. While there, you can lend a hand in helping to create a reverse graffiti image with ork's artist that will appear as the final art piece in the Reverse Graffiti Gallery. Three additional entrants will also be selected at random to win Green Works products.

Entry Details: Check out the Reverse Graffiti tab on the Green Works Facebook page to enter. Follow the links and instructions to complete and submit the registration to receive an entry into the Sweepstakes. Limit: You may enter one (1) time during the Promotion Period. Multiple entrants are not permitted to share the same email address.

Check it out on Facebook and for full rules, follow the link: http://greenworks.herokuapp.com/includes/rules.html.

Big G Cereals' Curvy Straw Cereal Pack Giveaway 4/28 - US

Breakfast I think is one of the most popular meals of the day because my girls love their cereal. Our pantry is stocked full of General Mills cereals. Since we just moved and I had to reorganize, I know for a fact that we have 21 boxes of cereal with at last 15 of them being General Mills. I like the line of cereals from General Mills because it is made up of more whole grain than any other ingredient and it's a great way for kids to get some Vitamin D with milk in their bowls. Both my girls will leave the milk behind and that can be a lot pending on who poured the milk. Now with the addition of these cool curvy straws, they are enticed to finish their milk. These Curvy Straws are now available in specially marked boxes of Big G cereals.

What is cool about these straws? They connect so kids can make shapes and see who can be the most creative and for us adults who are still childish, we can have fun too! What a great way to help them drink their milk while boosting their calcium, dairy and Vitamin D intake! There are six different colors featuring six different Big G cereal characters to collect. Some of the participating cereals are:

Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (17 oz.)
Lucky Charms®(16 oz.)
Reese’s® Puffs (18 oz.)
Honey Nut Cheerios® (17 oz.)
Trix®(14.8 oz)
Cocoa Puffs® (16.5 oz)

You can also save with this General Mills cereal coupon saving $1.25 off two boxes of participating cereal.

My girls loved the this great prize pack and you can too! If you win, you will receive:

Two glow cups
Two tangle toys
1 'spilt' milk bowl
1 curvy straw
1 box of Trix <--- couldn't have come at a better time as my girls were just asking for that!

To Enter:

Please use the Rafflecopter form below.

If you know a military child or have one, you don't want to miss out on this great opportunity to nominate them for the 2012 General Sarge Month of the Military Child Contest! Throughout the month of April, they will be taking submissions for the special Month of the Military Child Contest. This year it is a video contest so you can get your creative juices flowing with something fun. The aim is to have a short video clip of your child explaining what it's like having a parent in the military or you can talk about how proud you are of your little special "bear."

More information can be found here on General Sarge's site.

The prizes include:

First Prize

– Official General Sarge Build-A-Bear Workshop Teddy Bear, a teddy bear tent from Build-A-Bear Workshop and a $40 gift card from Best Buy.

Second Prize

– Official General Sarge Build-A-Bear Workshop Teddy Bear and a Build-A-Bear Workshop $50 gift card.

Third Prize

– Official General Sarge Build-A-Bear Workshop Teddy Bear and a $20 gift card from for kids clothing from Gymboree.

I Love My Spices

I just moved and for those of us like me who move around a lot, it's a pain. My kitchen is a good bulk of the items I own from appliances to my spice rack. I cherish my spices and so I have quite a few and they outgrow the rack I have for them. I suppose it's probably time to look at other spice racks or even a wall spice rack to take on the extras I have. I can't imagine cooking without them which I did for some time until I really started watching all the cooking shows and learned the importance of what spices can do for a dish. I was really surprised at how the flavor can be enhanced with just a couple. I also like fresh spices and pending on the spice, I will use them.

All in all, I purchase the traditional try, easy to use spices but when I cook, I don't like having to sort through shelves trying to find one which is why I need another spice rack! A couple of days ago, I sent a text to my oldest with only, "spice rack" in the message. She's always telling me how hard it is to shop for me so I figured I'd give her a hint. One thing I do like are the selections available now for racks. When I first hit adulthood, they were all boring and limited but now there are some really cool designs that are functional too. All I know is I love to cook and bake and without my spices, I'd be lost.

Can't Go Wrong with Cheesecake

Crème Brulee Cheesecake - 9 Inch (8003CC)

My girls and I love cheesecake and we are very picky on the cheesecake we like. It's one of those things for us that we will definitely indulge in and it's also a special occasion type treat. For my oldest and I, we prefer a cheesecake for our birthday instead of the traditional type of cakes. One of my favorites is white chocolate cheesecake and I also love creme brulee cheesecake.

I have made cheesecake at home but it never turns out as well so I stick with ordering mine which I have ordered online many times in the past. You'd be surprised at how amazingly good it can be in spite of thinking an online order of cheesecake wouldn't be. In fact, the last few times I've had it, it was ordered from online.

I'm a big party planner so deserts are really important with my themes and the person I'm hosting the party for. If I can choose the ultimate desert, it makes the occasion that much more special. Dinner parties or holidays are also a great time to wow the guests with some delicious desert. My oldest turns 24 this July and I think sending her a surprise cheesecake will make the perfect gift for her. Have you ordered cheesecakes online before and if so, how did it turn out?