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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Tanya

Children's Silhouettes !


Children's Handpainted Silhouettes!


I found this WONDERFUL local artist that does handpainted silhouettes of your children. (And also wall murals, aka MURAL GIRL!) She also does silhouettes of virtually anyone, adults, pregnant mothers, parents and babies! Oh yeah and she can SHIP your order to you if you are not local!


Jayme Ferrari of Handpainted Silhouettes is amazing! She customizes the colors too. Ours matches our living room furniture. It is GREAT! I can't say enough. You have to see them to appreciate just how great they are.


Visit her website today http://handpaintedsilhouettes.com/


I ordered one of Little Man for Milkman for Christmas. It is SO adorable. I told her she needs to stay in business for at least another four years so we can get one of Little Princess when she is the same age!

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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Tanya

Ten on Tuesday

10 Best Things That Happened to You This Year
1. Got pregnant!
2. Watched Little Man grow!
3. Went to the Great Wolf Lodge for the first time! (and second)
4. Had my 30th birthday
5. Had another wonderful year at my job
6. Got a Blackberry
7. Another great year with my husband
8. Got to watch my cousin turn Sweet 16
What are your top 10?
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Monday, December 29, 2008

Tanya

Wetnoz Spring Roll Give-A-Way Winner

AmandaSue said...
This sounds like a neat toy! I also like the "lil pup" elevated dog bowl and booster! LoLo my 2yr old boston terrier/daschund thanks you for entering her for this toy!
AmandaSue you have one week to e-mail me your mailing address. Thanks for entering. Please make sure you check out my other giveaways!
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Tanya

Winner of the Build-A-Bear Workshop Gift Certificate

Amy B said...
Wow 4 kids and have never been there before. I think the doggie is so cute. My 4 year old and 11 year old would love this. Congrats Amy B! You have two weeks to e-mail me your mailing address.
Be sure to check out my other giveaways!
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Tanya

Tales of Tanya

The day I graduated from high school we had rehearsal at the Tacoma Done in the morning. my friend and I had gone to rehearsal and were on our way back driving through downtown. We had our music blasting! The guy next to us honked at us and started pointing down. Being the teenager I was I thought he was telling me to turn my music down. So I gave him the bird. Then he did it again. I then rolled down my window and he told me I had a flat tire! So feeling like and idiot (which I deserved) I pulled over into the McDonald's parking lot. My friend called her dad who came to pick us up but I did not want to leave my car there. So she went with her dad and I waited. Luckily my dad came with Fix-A-Flat and we took the car home just in time to get ready for the graduation ceremony and the party afterward.
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Friday, December 26, 2008

Tanya

Food Friday

First off I LOVE soup! I also LOVE Broccoli Cheese Soup! I found this recipe and over the years modified it to my style. I hope you enjoy it too!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 cup hot water
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 cups milk
1 package of chopped frozen broccoli (or fresh!)
12 ounces of beer
1 pound Velveeta
3 tablespoons flour

In large pot over medium-high heat, saute onion and celery in butter until tender. In small liquid measuring cup, combine water and bouillon; set aside. Add milk, cheese, beer, broccoli and 3/4 cup of broth to onion and celery mixture. Cook, stirring constantly (if you don't the cheese will burn to the bottom of the pan), until cheese melts. Combine remaining 1/4 cup of broth and flour; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to soup, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened.
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Thursday, December 25, 2008

Tanya

Merry Christmas!

MyHotComments.com
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Tanya

Baby Tooth Album Hopelessly Sentimental...

I saw the COOLEST thing in a magazine the other. So I contacted the Baby Tooth Album company and they were nice enough to send me two Baby Tooth Albums to giveaway! This album is funny and cool at the same time. Created by a mom and her dentist husband, Baby Tooth Album founders are also supporters of the Smile Train.

Over the past eight years, Smile Train has provided free cleft surgery for over 300,000 children. These children were suffering not because they were born with a cleft, but because they were born too poor to ever afford surgery. Being born with a cleft in a developing country is truly a curse. In fact, every baby born in Uganda with a cleft is given the name Ajok which means literally, “cursed by God.” And no one knows how many newborns with clefts are killed or abandoned right after birth. And the ones who are lucky enough to find a Smile Train free cleft surgery program, not only survive, they thrive. After a 45 minute surgery hands them back their future, and a second chance at life that they never thought they'd get. To learn more about Smile Train or to donate to this wonderful charity, please visit http://www.smiletrain.org/.

Now more about Baby Tooth Albums, they offer many great products, like memory books, tooth organizers, tooth fairy scrapbooking supplies, and many, many more great products!

Enter to win your very own Baby Tooth Album Memory Book. Here are the details on the album.

Just add Photos and Baby Teeth!! Save, organize and cherish your child’s precious baby teeth in this one-of-a-kind memory book and baby tooth organizer. This mini instant scrapbook/photo album comes complete with:
  • Baby Tooth Organizer: to save and organize baby teeth,
  • 8 Memory Pages: to cherish your child's toothless moments,
  • Baby Tooth Guide: to keep track of your child’s changing smile,
  • Tooth Fairy Sticker Sheet: to embellish your child's baby tooth memory book.
The Baby Tooth Album Memory Book is truly one of the most unique and precious products on the market. Baby teeth are unquestionably one of the most precious souvenirs of child’s growing years. Virtually all parents keep their children’s baby teeth-they just don’t know what to do with them!!

Simply open the Memory Book, rotate the clear protective cover of the Baby Tooth Organizer to the appropriate tooth well, place the tooth and rotate cover shut.
In the following beautifully designed whimsical pages, place snapshots of your child’s toothless smile, journal special moments and dates, and even save your child’s letter to the tooth fairy! Also included, is our “Baby Tooth Chart” which not only allows you to record dates and special notes, but also helps you track your child’s smile with tooth eruption and shedding patterns. Finally, our “tooth fairy inspired” sticker sheet is a great way to have fun personalizing your memory book even more.

There is nothing like it on the market today!

To enter post a comment on if you have a boy or a girl (if you don't post this I will not approve your post) you will be using this for and also visit http://www.babytoothalbum.com/ and comment on your favorite product. Entries will be accepted through January 4, 2009 and I will pick the winner using Random.org. I will draw two winners. ONE boy and ONE girl. US readers are only eligible. Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win! I will also list the winner on PRIZEYwinners so if you are a subscriber to PRIZEYwinners you do not need to leave your e-mail address. If you do not send me your mailing address within one week of notice of winning I will give your prize to someone else.
To get extra credit
Bloggers - Blog about this contest and link back to me and leave me the link in your comment.
Non Bloggers (or bloggers) - subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry! Must be a NEW subscription, current subscribers may not sue this as extra credit.
Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Tanya

Another Chirstmas Craft

So it's not Christmas yet so it's not too late to add a decoration to the tree!!!

Yesterday was another snow day so Little Man secretly learned more about patterns and some fine motor skills by making a paper chain for the Christmas Tree! He learns about patterns at preschool but they use pictures and stickers and such. So our pattern was simple red, green, red, green but in paper chains.
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Tanya

Ten on Tuesday

10 Favorite Holiday Songs
1. Silent Night
2. Mary Did You Know
3. The Christmas Song
4. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
5. Away in a Manger
6. Silver Bells
7. White Christmas
8. Of Come All Ye Faithful
Hmmm can't think of any more off hand!
What are your top 10?
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Monday, December 22, 2008

Tanya

SNOW DAY!

We've been hit by TONS of snow. More snow then I truly have ever seen in my lifetime. Little Man has been having SUCH fun playing in it! Here are some pics!He said it is like a BIG snow cone! Too bad it's not flavored! I have to keep reminding him stay away from the yellow snow, we do have a dog! Really I would only let him eat it off the table!




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Tanya

Snow Day Kids Crafts

So I know it's a little late for Christmas crafts but we have been inundated with snow (which NEVER happens in Washington, 9" in the last two days!)
So Little Man has not gone to daycare or preschool and I have been home a well. (Daddy gets to be home too!)
So I have had to come up with some crafts and such to keep the 4-year old man busy.
Friday we made Non-edible Cinnamon Ornaments, sorry I forgot to take pictures while we were making them but here is the finished product! Since the weather is undriveable we are going to attach these to packages and give away on Christmas!


Here is the recipe!
1 cup ground cinnamon
1 tbl ground cloves (optional)
1 tbl ground nutmeg (optional)
1 to 1 1/4 cup of applesauce
1/4 cup flour
2 tbls white glue
Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Using electric mixed add 1 cup applesauce and glue. Add more applesauce if needed to form dough. Place dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Don't make them too thin or they will crack. Cut out using SIMPLE Christmas cookie cutters. Make holes in the top using a straw or toothpick. Dry for a couple hours in the oven at 200 degrees (I still have to dry at room temperature overnight even when I put them in the oven) OR at room temperature for a couple days. Once dry hang with your choice of ribbon!





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Tanya

Tales of Tanya

Christmas 2007. This was it the year Little Man knew who Santa was and what he brought. He was so excited and I think Justin and I were even more excited. The night before we waited for him to go to bed then we went to work. We assembled an art easel that Santa had brought and set up a couple other gifts unwrapped for him. We took a picture of our masterpiece and headed to bed. The next morning we made sure we were up before him with the camcorder in hand to record his reaction. We woke him up to tell him Santa had been there! We turned the camcorder on and lead him in to the room with the tree and gifts. "Where's Santa" he asked. That was it, where's Santa? Don't you see all the gifts that appeared over night? Nope just where's Santa.
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Friday, December 19, 2008

Tanya

Aunt Michelle's Taco Soup

This year for Halloween we made our rounds and when we were done we were SO cold! When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's there was a nice hot pot of Aunt Michelle's Taco Soup. It was SO good and warm. She also said it was SO easy to make! We just happened to make it the weekend before Thanksgiving too and had plenty of leftovers so we froze them! Enjoy!
Taco Soup
From Michelle Faussett
1 pound ground hamburger
1 can corn (undrained)
1 can red kidney beans (undrained)
1 can pinto bean (undrained)
2 can Mexican stewed tomatoes (undrained)
(or just plain stewed if you don’t like it spicy-That’s how I did it)
1 can small olives (undrained) (we love olives so we put in 2 cans of any size)
1/2 cup onion (optional)
1 package Taco seasoning

Brown hamburger in large stock pot with onion.
Dump in all the can ingredients including juice. Simmer a couple of hours.
Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips or corn bread. Can also put in crock pot. Freezes well.
(*You can also add a package of dry Ranch Dressing!)
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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Tanya

Holiday Safety

It is of course the holiday season. Having formerly worked for the Pierce County Fire Prevention Bureau I want to give everyone some holiday safety tips. According to the USFA over 40 people die every year from holiday related fires. More than 1,650 are injured and over $990 million in damages occur.


1. First off WATER YOUR TREE! This video as been circulating for years but is well worth a watch:

2. Keep and eye on your open flames or candles!

3. Use indoor lights INDOORS and outdoors lights OUTDOORS. Use indoor extension cords INDOORS and outdoor extension cords OUTDOORS.

4. Do not overload electrical outlets.

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Tanya

The Pacifier King and Queen?

When Little Man was little he LOVED his pacifiers. We finally had to tell him when he turned 4 that he needed to give them to a baby would needed them. So on his 4th birthday he gave his cousin Molly his last pacifier. Life was GREAT after that! So when he found out he would be having a sister he said "We need to get her some binkies!"
I found this great company that personalizes your pacifiers and outs your child's name on them. Little Man thought it was so COOL. He wanted all pink!
Mypacifier.com has a great selection of different pacifiers for your little one (silicone and latex). They also have different sizes for different aged children and most of them come in packs of three!
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Tanya

Holly & Hal

Have you ever been to Build-A-Bear? If yes have you been there recently? They have the CUTEST antlered brother and sister duo Holly and Hal Moose! Little Man got a Hal Moose who has light up antlers. Holly and Hal sell for $12 each. For a limited time when you purchase both Holly and Hal you also get a very cute storybook FREE called "Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure". The book can also be purchased for an additional $15.99. Little Man went to Build-A-Bear tonight to get him some new clothes. He picked out some cute Christmas pajamas and elf slippers!

Build-A-Bear is a great store for kids. When you walk in there are TONS of unstuffed animals for your child to choose from.








Once they choose they animal they are off to the stuffing station. Here they help stuff the animal, and give it a heart!





Once stuffed it's off to the Fluffing Station! This is Little Man's favorite station by far. Here the animals can be "washed" and dried. They even have little brushes to make them fluffy!




Then you get to select from a HUGE variety of clothing. Down to the underwear! And of course there is an extra hole in the back of all the pants for the tail.
One lucky winner will win a $10 Build-A-Bear gift card!
To enter go to http://www.buildabear.com/ and post a comment about your favorite furry friend. Entries will be accepted through December 28, 2008 and I will pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are only eligible. Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win! I will also list the winner on PRIZEYwinners so if you are a subscriber to PRIZEYwinners you do not need to leave your e-mail address. If you do not send me your mailing address within two weeks of notice of winning I will give your prize to someone else.
To get extra credit
Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
Non Bloggers (or bloggers) - subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry! Must be a NEW subscription, current subscribers may not use this as extra credit. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
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Tanya

Sadie's New Toy and Giveaway

So our dog LOVES her toys. Balls are her favorite but they are not allowed in the house. She seems like squeaky toys the best. If there is a squeaker in a stuffed animals she will rip it apart until this finds the squeaker and leaves a trail of stuffing behind!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJjstMPpudw



I found this GREAT toy for her. It does not squeak but it does roll, bounce, and floats. The floating part is especially good for our river property since we normally throw a gross ball in the river for her to fetch. Best of all with a slobbery dog like mine, it is machine washable!
Wetnoz Spring Rolls are ergonomic fetch toys! They are easy to hold for the owner and easy for the dog to bite.
Wetnoz also won the 2006 "good Design" award and the 2005 IDEA Gold Award.
Wetnoz gave me a small Spring Roll to giveaway to one lucky reader.

To enter go to http://www.wetnoz.com/ and post a comment about your favorite product and the breed of your dog. Entries will be accepted through December 28, 2008 and I will pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are only eligible. Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win! I will also list the winner on PRIZEYwinners so if you are a subscriber to PRIZEYwinners you do not need to leave your e-mail address. If you do not send me your mailing address within two weeks of notice of winning I will give your prize to someone else.
To get extra credit
Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
Non Bloggers (or bloggers) - subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry! Must be a NEW subscription, current subscribers may not use this as extra credit.
Please post your extra credit in a separate post.

Wetnoz has lots of other great products as well so make sure you check out their website for that special pet on your Christmas list!

See the tiny clear squeaker? That is the prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box!

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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Tanya

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Best Things About the Holidays
1. Family
2. Christmas Songs
3. The small amount of snow we do get!
4. Cutting our own Christmas tree
5. Days off from work!
6. FOOD!
7. Watching everyone open their gifts, especially the kids!
8. The kids seeing Santa
What are your top 10?
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Monday, December 15, 2008

Tanya

Spam!

I had a reader contact me who said they received "weird" from Miss Livina email which mentions my blog. If anyone received this I APOLOGIZE! I have changed all the passwords on my accounts. I'm not sure if they accessed my subscriptions OR if they just randomly started contacting readers who have left comments on my blog and contacted you through your Blogger account. Either way I apologize. I do not know this person and again have changed my passwords so they cannot access my subscribers. Thanks!
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Tanya

Tales of Tanya

When Little Man was potty training we found that he would do great if we offered a reward. We started to offer one jelly bean for potting and two for pooping in the toilet. After a while he caught on and would go potty a little bit just to get a jelly bean. So we tried to find something with less sugar to encourage him to continue to potty train. My mom found sugar free jelly beans. It was Codeman's birthday in 2007 and Little Man had his share of the sugar free jelly beans for the first time. We were all enjoying the pool and we were also teaching Little Man to not go to the bathroom in the pool. At one time we had gotten out and I told Little Man he had to go to the bathroom before reentering the pool. So into the bathroom we went. There was Little Man standing in front of the toilet going to the bathroom and out came a fart, and much, much more. I yelled for "The Aunt". "Ah crap" she replied. "Yes, all over the floor and the wall and your shower curtain." She quickly came in and assisted in the cleaning effort and told Little Man that Codeman had done it more than once before. Who knew that sugar free candy was a laxative!
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Friday, December 12, 2008

Tanya

Food Friday

Mmmm there is nothing more tasty than homemade rolls. I have been using this tasty recipe for years now! We even use it for holidays instead of store bought rolls.
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Tanya

i See Me Books!

So warning if you are a relative STOP reading this or you may ruin your Christmas gift!
For all others, I was going to wait until after the holidays to share this great company with you but they are offering free shipping until December 14th only so I had to share it with you!
With iSeeMe books we got a book called, the World According to Little Man (your child's name here). This book is SOOOO cool. You get a packet with some blank paper and a questionnaire. You ask you child the questions and have them draw certain pictures on the paper. You return it to iSeeMe and they send you a book of the artwork and the answers. It is so cool!!! Like Little Man says "There are 100 people in the world."
They have other great personalized books as well, My Very Own Name, My Very Own Fairy Tale, etc! So if you order between now and December 14th you can get free shipping by using this code: FSR585
Check it out today!
(Click on picture below to to get to their site)

Personalized Children's Books

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Tanya

Disney's Baby Einstein

If there were three things Little Man loved when he was little it was Disney's Baby Einstein videos, binkies, and Touch and Feel books!
During the holidays we spend less time with our family. Disney's Baby Einstein is a great way to incorporate meaningful moments of interaction and discovery with your kids.
Baby Einstein had recently released a 10th Anniversary Special Edition Baby Mozart DVD.
Another wonderful Disney DVD with classical music and real-life images to captivate your baby.
They also have a great book, Touch and Feel Farm Animals. Little Man loved Touch and Feel books so much he would normally wear them out!

One of the things we did not have while Little Man was growing up was the Lullaby Classics CD by Baby Einstein. Today Little Man still listens to music all night. It helps drown out the noise we often times hear living on a busy road. He started listening to Lullaby Classics this week and he loves it! I can't wait to share all these wonderful products with Little Princess!
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Tanya

Double Your Gas Rewards

Safeway (Vons, Dominick's, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Pavilions, Carrs and Genuardi's) is offering Double Power Pumps Rewards now through December 25th. For every $100 in groceries, precriptions and YES some gift cards you buy you will get DOUBLE the gas rewards!!! In this economy every penny saved helps! You can enter your zip code at this link to find the gas station near you! http://www.safeway.com/IFL/Grocery/PowerPump-Locator
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Tanya

Another great personlized gift idea!

We are very into personalized gifts this year especially since Little Man is learning to spell his name. I found a great company called Frecklebox.com. They create personalized books, coloring books, puzzles, posters, journal books, place mats, growth charts, and party favors. Little Man got the coolest coloring book. He thought it was SO great because his first name is on EVERY page! He also got a precious book called "My Name is Carson".
You can find also find their link on my blog home page on the right sidebar under "GREAT products and Gift Ideas!"

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Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Tanya

Ten on Tuesday

10 Things You Want For Christmas
1. AeroGrow AeroGarden DELUXE
2. Amazon Kindle
3. Terry Cloth Turban Towel Hair Wraps
4. Pregnancy Pillow
5. Wireless Weather Station
6. iTunes Gift Card
What are your top 10?
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Monday, December 8, 2008

Tanya

Letters From Santa! There is still time...

With the economy how it is today what better price to have a letter sent to your child from Santa for just $4.99 (shipping included!) Hurry order now! Orders accepted until December 15th! I'm ordering ours now. Delivery only takes 3-5 days and arrives in a large red envelope personalized with your child's name and city in the letter.

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Tanya

Our trip to cut down our Christmas Tree

Warning: This video my look "adult content" when viewed.
It is not meant that way, and was completely unintentional (he did not even know I taped it until we left) but may look that way to some. It is completely hilarious !

We went to Mitchel's Tree Farm in Gig Harbor this year to cut down our Christmas tree. We try to go every year.
Here is daddy and Little Man finishing it off.
(Well it was already cut they just cut off some bottom branches)

So it gets even better than the video!

We get it home and it did not look like a very big tree when we cut it down but it turns out it is about two feet too tall! So Little Man got a "mini" tree for his room!

Lastly here are two pictures of Little Man. One in front of our decorated tree before we went to my office Christmas Party and the second in front of the tree with his Santa Suit on before he and Nana decorated a Gingerbread House.
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Tanya

Tales of Tanya

Now you have to forgive me because my stories will not necessarily be in timeline order. I will skip around a bunch!

One of the best memories I have of my mom was baking homemade cookies with her. We baked cookies quite often. I remember one time, I was in elementary school and we were making cookies. At the time we had a dog named Buttons who always got in trouble for chewing on things and peeing on the floor. I was standing on a chair mixing the dough and my mom had gone downstairs to do a load of laundry. I had to go to the bathroom SO bad. But I did not want to miss anything and wanted to keep stirring the cookie dough. I hoped down on the floor and pulled my leotard aside and peed on the floor. When my mom came back upstairs I told her that the dog had peed on the floor as I continued to stir the cookie dough!
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Tanya

Winner of Baskets of Endulgence

Amy said...
I've only tried the Chocolate Caramel flavor and it was yummy!
Jeff and Mandee said...
I haven't tried Chex Mix bars before but the turtle one sounds yummy!

Anonymous said...
Everything looks good in this nice basket. Never tried so it would be a great win. Thanks for the chance!
Please e-mail with your mailing address by December 15th. Thanks for entering. Check out my other giveaways!

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Friday, December 5, 2008

Tanya

Food Friday

Here is my FAVORITE Turkey/Chicken Pot Pie recipe! This recipie really makes two pies for me. I normally freeze the extra one or give it away to a friend! It calls for turkey but you can use chicken too.
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Thursday, December 4, 2008

Tanya

Little Man's New Fliggity Shirt and Cape

So one of the best things is watching Little Man and daddy playing boy things. They love to play superheros. Two years ago Little Man made a homemade cape out of a white handkerchief that he colors with fabric pens. That works and is very cute. However the bigger he gets the tighter the cape gets around his neck and the more it falls off! SO I found the absolute CUTEST shirts online at http://www.fliggity.com/
Here is a video of his first flight! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2asP7t47uk

I told him he would have to fly a little easier so he did not knock himself out! Needless to say this is a GREAT product! The cape easily detaches for the times when you are about to walk into a restaurant and don't really want to take the cape with you! It is made of very good quality material too. And the best part, the cape is reversible! You can use this coupon code to save 20% on your order from now until December 31: fliggityDEC. What a GREAT Christmas gift!
They also have Fliggity Fly shirts where the "wings" are built in. They are SO cute! The boys shirts run small so order the next size up.
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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Tanya

Week 24


Well the back pain is pretty bad and constant. I have been seeing the Chiropractor at least twice a week. Little Princess moves around all the time! I can't sleep on my left hand side though! For some reason it hurts like heck rught under my rib cage but only on the left. Here is a belly shot for the week!
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Tanya

Little Man's Little Weatherbuddy

Often times in the morning I find myself having to tell Little Man to put a heavier or lighter jacket on. I recently found a great new product invented my a Mom!

It is an outdoor pictorial thermometer that uses words and pictures (instead of numbers) so now even young children who cannot read or don't understand what temperatures mean can pick out their own clothes correctly, reducing the power struggle!!! It is called My Little Weatherbuddy.
Clothes appear and disappear layer by layer at the temperature changes! And they have a boy and a girl version. Check it out today!
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Monday, December 1, 2008

Tanya

Tales of Tanya

My mother and father both had large families. As I said in my Tales of Tanya post my mother was one of 7 children. She was born in Pensicola, FL. All of her siblings were born in different states except two were born in New Mexico.
My father was one of 6 children. He is one of the middle children. He has a brother who when you put them side by side they could pass as twins, yet they are several years apart. When my son was younger and the two of them were together he would get confused on who his Papa was. Up until he was about 3 he called them both Papa. My dad often will have someone come up and start a conversation with him and not know he is not talking to the right person!
My dad grew up in Tacoma. My mom grew up all over with her junior and senior year here in Tacoma. My father is a home kind of man. He does not want to move away. Most of his family still lives in the Tacoma area. When my dad was growing up he had an Afro (spelling). It was GREAT to see that in their wedding pictures.
My mom told me that her littlest sister was the flower girl at her wedding. Their colors were light blue and yellow. My stubborn aunt refused to wear anything but her bright red patten leather shoes. My mom even bought her a pair on Christmas recently to remind her of her stubbornness. It was really funny!
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Tanya

Winners of Window Wedges

Please email me your mailing address. Prizes not claimed by December 8th will be redrawn and given to someone else.
jenny said...
wow i realy could use this where i live my little one windo's go out to a flat roof and well by have some of them i know theres going to be no way she can get out and then i know i can keep the windo's open. also on the loft beds never but a young child under the age of 5 on the top bunk part of any kind of bunk bed thay could get heart dont even let them house play on them or a rond them . i know from what happen to my bother when we where kids not olny that but from what happen to my own son and every one knows a trip to the er is no fun when your a kid. just want to let you know thanks
moushka said...
We need one in our daughters bedroom. We never open the window in there for fear of them falling out 2 stories.
NateAndJakesMom said...
I need these because I have one of the most active little boy (and I am afraid the littlest one will learn by example). We live in a two story home with all boy's bedrooms upstairs. The one I am most worried about (the 16 year old is fine I hope) has started climbing on things, moving them to where he wants and getting up higher... It is only a matter of time until he wants to see out his windows.
- Marybeth I. said...
My 7 year old keep opening her 2nd floor window. This would help me with peace of mind....
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Friday, November 28, 2008

Tanya

Little Man Visits Santa!


He told Santa he wanted another dinosaur for Christmas!
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Tanya

PARENTise

I was invited to check out this great new website called PARENTise. It is a very useful site. We of course will be looking for a daycare for Little Princess in May 2009. So there is a Childcare Resource and Referral line we can call ad get referrals. However this is just a list of licenced providers. It includes no personal recommendations. This is where PARENTise comes in handy. PARENTise helps parents make educated decisions buy providing parents with information needed to make this decision. The information comes from other parents. So the information is personal and first hand. During PARENTise's big launch they are hosting a giveaway EVERY day! The launch runs from November 17 through November 30th. Which means you have a lot of catching up to do in the next two days!! You can win your own copy of Oscar the Pig: Mommy Goes to Work, and here is how to enter. Go to the PARENTise blog and leave a comment under GIVEAWAYS AND put this link at the bottom of your comment http://www.tanyapeila.blogspot.com/.
Extra credit! Join PARENTise on Facebook, or start following PARENTise on Twitter, leave a service rating on the PARENTise website (2 entries). Please post all extra credit in separate posts on the PARENTise blog. Winners will be drawn with a random number generator. This contest will run through midnight on November 30th. So enter NOW!!!
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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Tanya

Happy Thanksgiving

MyHotComments.com

As we celebrate Thanksgiving today. I wantAdd Image to tell everyone that I am SO thankful for my family, friends, readers and my God. He has blessed us with two beautiful children and many talents. He has also provided us with everything we need in the economic crisis.

MyHotComments.com


MyHotComments
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Tanya

Little Man's Favorite Snack and Giveaway

We are always looking for a healthy snack to give Little Man on the go. This is sometime hard to do. We recently found Chex Mix Bars.

These new snacks combine crunchy Chex pieces, pretzels and peanuts with chewy and indulgent ingredients like caramel and chocolate. And if that´s not enough, they have less than 150 calories per bar and provide at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving (48 grams recommended daily)!


I have received three "Baskets of Indulgence" to giveaway to my readers. These baskets contain a box of tasty Turtle Chex Mix Bars to sample, chocolate candles, caramel lotion and spa essentials like a loofah, hand massager, nail brush and spa towel.

To enter post a comment on if you have tried Chex Mix Bars and your favorite flavor or if you have not tried them just leave a comment. Entries will be accepted through December 7, 2008 and I will pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are only eligible. Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win! I will also list the winner on PRIZEYwinners so if you are a subscriber to PRIZEYwinners you do not need to leave your e-mail address. If you do not send me your mailing address within one week of notice of winning I will give your prize to someone else.

To get extra credit

Bloggers - Blog about this contest and link back to me and leave me the link in your comment.

Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry! Must be a NEW subscription, current subscribers may not sue this as extra credit.

Please post your extra credit in a separate post.

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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tanya

Turkey Gravy Recipe

At our house on Thanksgiving it always seems like we never have enough gravy! A couple years back while watching the Food Network, I ran across a VERY yummy recipe for extra turkey gravy. It does take a little while to "simmer" but you don't have to pay attention to it when it is simmering! Click here for the recipe for Tyler Florence's Turkey Gravy. Guaranteed to give you MORE than enough gravy for your Thanksgiving meal. Please visit Food Network today to get other great recipes for your upcoming holiday meal! This year I am being daring and adding Emeril's Kicked Up Prime Rib to the menu!
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Monday, November 24, 2008

Tanya

Tales of Tanya

I get many e-mails and comments from my readers that they want to know more about me and my story. So starting this week I will blog once a week about me. My life past and present.
Tales of Tanya
My name is Tanya. I was born in Tacoma Washington. My family on my dad's side are Cherokee Indians and come mostly form Oklahoma. My mom's side comes from England many, many years ago. My great, great, great, great grandfather was a piano teacher and his wife was a music teacher.
My oldest living ancestor that I personally knew was my great grandmother who lived into her late 90's. She made hand painted porcelain items. I have many of her pieces in my home from plates to trinkets containers. All of them are very precious to me and my family.
My other great grandmother lived to her mid-90's. She lived in Bremerton, WA. She passed away when I was about 3-4 months pregnant with my son. In her house they found a baby quilt that she had hand quilted. Today it hangs in our nursery.
My grandparents had 7 children. Her first was given up for adoption. She found me via a genealogy site several years ago. We have kept in touch ever since. My grandmother will not talk about it which is her right. But I was glad to gain an aunt and uncle and a very talented cousin!
They moved quite often because my grandfather was in the Army. My grandmother stayed at home with the children. My mom is the second oldest child.
My mother and father married in October over 20 years ago. I was the first of two children. My mom said if she were to have had my brother first I may have never been born!
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Friday, November 21, 2008

Tanya

National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month

"President Ronald Reagan designated November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in 1983. At the time, fewer than 2 million Americans had Alzheimer’s; today, the number of people with the disease has soared to more than 5 million. By 2050, 11 to 16 million people will likely have Alzheimer’s.
Later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s himself, President Reagan died in 2003.
While there is much we don’t yet know about Alzheimer’s disease, tremendous progress has been made since 1983. The Alzheimer's Association uses National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness month to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease and to shed light on the importance of finding breakthroughs in diagnosis, prevention, treatments and, eventually, a cure." (from www.alz.org )
Visit the Alzheimer's Association's website for more information on this often devastating disease. Be educated.
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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Tanya

The greatest spoof email!

I'm sure we have all gotten this email at least once! Has anyone ever made them?

Neiman-Marcus, if you don't know already, is a very expensive store; Let's let them have it! THIS IS A TRUE STORY!My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe In Dallas, and we decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the 'Neiman-Marcus cookie.' It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe, and the waitress said with a small frown, 'I'm afraid not, but you can buy The Recipe.' Well, I asked how much, and she responded, ' Only two fifty - it's a Great deal!' I agreed to that,and told her to just add it to my Tab.Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement, and the Neiman-Marcus Charge was $285.00! I looked again, and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said,'Cookie Recipe-$250.00.' That was Outrageous! I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress said it was 'two fifty', which clearly does not mean 'two hundred and fifty dollars' by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money because, according to them, 'What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the Recipe. We absolutely will not refund your money at this point.' I explained to the Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes which govern fraud in the State of Texas I threatened to report them to the Better Business Bureau and the Texas Attorney General's office for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, 'Do what you want. Don't bother thinking of how you can get even, and don't bother trying to get any of your money Back.'I just said, Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to have$250 worth of fun. I told her that I was going to see to it that every Cookie Lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250cookie recipe From Neiman-Marcus...for free. She replied, 'I wish you wouldn't do this.' I said, 'Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you ripped me off!' and slammed down the phone.So here it is!Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of.I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to EVER make another penny off of this recipe!

NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES

(Recipe may be halved)

2 cups butter

24 oz. Chocolate chips

4 cups flour

2 cups brown sugar

2 tsp. Soda

1 tsp. Salt

2 cups sugar

1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)

5 cups blended oatmeal

4 eggs

2 tsp. Baking powder

2 tsp. Vanilla

3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda . Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar, and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie Sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.Makes 112 cookies.

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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Tanya

Does Your Bathroom Stink?

Well mine doesn't! So living with two men right now (the little one smells worse than the big one in the bathroom) AND having Sunday football at our house I have informed all the men about Poof Drops and their current location in the restroom! At this year's 24/7 MOMS Conference each attendee recevied a bottle of Poof Drops, "Changing the Way You Do Your Business".
Two drops of this liquid deodorizer before you do your business will leave you the smell of Japanese Mint, not stinky bathroom!
I need another bottle for my purse!
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Tanya

My new iPod

So I'm a big anti-Apple person, but I won a new iPod Classic for raising money at Relay For Life this past year and I could not help but to open it instead of selling it on eBay! I did not even need it. My Blackberry plays all the music I need! BUT I did find that Little Man thinks it is the greatest things since PB&J's! So I decided to do some research and find out what all I could put on this thing that would be educational for him. Enter MobiStories.
MobiStories is virtual books for kids! Why not we as adults have the Kindle: Amazon's Wireless Reading Device (on my Christmas list this year because the book shelves are just WAY too full). So I was lucky enough to receive $15 off my order. I was able to order 4 virtual books for Little Man that he can listen and see on my iPod Classic! What a great alternative to the DVD player in the car when we don't have that far to go!
but you can play MobiStories on much more than the iPod. The virtual books are also compatible with iPhones, iPods, Computers, DVD's, MP3's, Zunes, iTunes, YouTube, Viddler, Revver, MySpace, and Facebook! They are a great acronym too:
Reading just became more fun!
Even the youngest kids are mobile and digital savvy.
All parents are searching for the next big thing to keep their kids engaged and inspired.
Digital children - digital books. Talking our modern lifestyles to heat, MobiStories was created to instill the love of reading in today's children.
So visit MobiStories today and use the following code to get $10 off your purchase! BSM189A
And you get a free book just for giving them your e-mail address!
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Tanya

Little Man's New Alarm Clock

I often cringe at how independent my Little Man is getting. Then again I think/know I encourage it. Today was the first day my 4-year old used an alarm clock. Yes I know many of you at thinking ALREADY? Yes already. He has "issues" in the morning. We have pushed bedtime to 8pm. I should probably push it to 7:30pm but we don't get to spend that much time together on weeknights as it is. So back to the morning "issues" he does not like to get out of bed, just like his mommy! So I will wake him up when I get up at 6:40am and it takes 5-10 minutes just to get out of bed. Then goes the struggle of getting dressed. Now this struggle is only Tuesdays and Thursdays. Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays he only has to put his clothes in a bag for grandmas. But we still have issues with this.

So I decided to buy him an alarm clock. So I set it for 6:40am and I set mine for 6:45am and told him his goal was to get dressed before mommy came downstairs. It sort of worked this morning. As I came downstairs I was met by a bare naked little boy holding his underpants saying "how do I turn it off, it is annoying!"

LOL, that is the point! So we made a deal that I would set it 5 minutes earlier and that if he was completely dressed OR had his clothes in the bag ready for grandmas then he could watch some TV before we left. We will see how this goes tomorrow!

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Tanya

I love All Small and Mighty!!!!

So I have been using All Small and Mighty since we got a High Efficiency Washer and Dryer in February 2007 (I only know the date because the warranty has expired but that is besides the point). But I've never told anyone how much I love the new laundry detergent I started buying!
All Small and Mighty Free Clear! They have detergent for HE washer and non-HE washers. And what I like most about it, the size! One bottle does 32 loads of laundry (13 cents a load, compared to Tide Free 19 cents and Dreft 26 cents per load). And it is SO light and way less mess than the big regular laundry detergents. I recently started using the All Small & Mighty Free Clear. This detergent is free of perfumes and clear of dyes. So when our next little one is born no more expensive Dreft (All Small and Mighty is 50% cheaper than Dreft!) for us. All Small & Mighty Free Clear is what we will be using!
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Tanya

And the winners are...

quitecontrary1977 said...
I really love the copper metallic donut pendant!
Leah Ferguson said...
I love the Blue Camouflage Donut Shaped Pendant, it's so cute and great for babies! Especially mine every time I seem to check his teeth lately their is another tooth trying to come through!
Anonymous said...
I like ALL of them. I am due in one week!Tammie
Alexia said...
I really like the Blue Camouflage Keychain! And also the donut pendants, but I like about 4 of the colors :)
Jocelyn Drake said...
I absolutely love the donut shaped pendant in Jade... my fav and my nine month old would love it to!!
Monkey's Mom said...
I love the donut pendant in mother of pearl. Beautiful!!
kaylee8 said...
My favorite is the Bronze Teething Bling Pendant - perfect for the holidays!

Please email me your mailing address no later than December 1, 2008. If I do not hear from you by then I will choose another winner. Be sure to check our my new give-a-way Window Wedges!
peila (at) harbornet (dot) com
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Friday, November 14, 2008

Tanya

Little Man's NEW Bed and Window Safety

Little man got a new bed, a loft bed! He loves it! We have taken the bottom bed out and he uses it as fort. So getting this new bed got me thinking how close he now is to the window. He has two windows in his room. One is double hung and I don't like leaving even the fan in it during summer because it is a ground height. So now with this bed he is closer to the higher window, and pretty much could climb/fall right out if he knew how to open it. So I started looking for window safety devices. First off I found out that:

So I found this GREAT product called the Window Wedge. It is made by Randy and Marge of Cresci Products, Inc. Randy is a retired NYPD Detective who remembers responding to many incidents of children falling from windows. This is why he designed the Window Wedge.

Each Wedge is made of durable ABS plastic. They are installed with a easy hook and loop installation method. No tools, no screws, no nails, no window damage. This installation method ensures the safety and security of the window opening (which you control) as well as makes it removable for emergency situations.

Randy suggests that for children's windows you make the opening no more than 4".

Don't have kids? You can still use the Window Wedge to ease you nerves and add some home security. The product is a big deterrent to criminals. The harder they push, the tighter the Window Wedge engages.

So my new friends Randy and Marge were nice enough to send me 4 packages of Window Wedges to give a way to my readers. (Well the actually sent me 6 packs but I used two packs on 4 windows, yes that is correct you only need ONE wedge per window and there are TWO wedges per pack!) I originally thought I only needed the wedge for one window but with another little on the way I started looking at the other windows in our house and which ones the kids have access to, so I used more!

So here is the giveaway. Four lucky winners will receive one pack (two wedges per pack). Here's how to enter.

To enter post a comment why you need Window Wedges in your home. Entries will be accepted through November 30, 2008 and I will pick the winner using Random.org. US readers are only eligible. Make sure you leave an email address in your comment or that you have one accessible on your blog so you can be contacted if you win! I will also list the winner on PRIZEYwinners so if you are a subscriber to PRIZEYwinners you do not need to leave your e-mail address. If you do not send me your mailing address within one week of notice of winning I will give your prize to someone else.
To get extra credit
Bloggers - Blog about this contest and link back to me and leave me the link in your comment.
Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry! Must be a NEW subscription, current subscribers may not sue this as extra credit.
Please post your extra credit in a separate post.

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tanya

Prenatal Education System

So while browsing through the new Pregnancy magazine I saw this great ad for a Prenatal Education System, learning while in womb. Yes you heard me right. So I started doing some research on the subject and the product BabyPlus.
Now when you first Google Prenatal Education you get childbirth classes and such. But when you look deeper there are tons of articles and studies done about what babies can hear and learn while in your womb.
BabyPlus delivers rhythmic sounds that resemble mommy's heartbeat. They recommend you don't start using it until 18 weeks gestation. That is when your baby is almost completely done producing all of its brain cells! (WOW! My baby has all its brain cells already.)
Now they recommend using this system twice a day for an hour (no you don't have to keep track of the time it turns off automatically for you!). They have a calculation to let you know how many days to use their 16 lessons depending on how many weeks in your pregnancy you have left. They say some babies will sleep through the lessons, while others (like my little bean) will be active (or VERY active in my case!). You can download a "lesson plan" or calendar from their website to help you keep track of how many days each lesson should be played. Since I am 20 weeks along we are going to play each lesson twice a day for 8 days each lesson.
So I am sure you are asking by now WHAT DOES THIS DO for your unborn baby?
"BabyPlus is based on more than 25 years of scientific research."
Babies are born more alert and relaxed.
Babies self sooth much more easily.
Babies nurse better.
Babies reach milestones earlier in life.
Later in life are more school ready.
So everyday I put my little pouch around my waist and push the start button. I try to sit a relax but sometimes do the dishes or things around the house. I have heard that they sleep through the night early on too! That would be great seeing as Little Man did not sleep through the night until he was 1 year old!
More to come...
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Tanya

The Constantly Tipping Booster Seat!

After driving for as little as 30 minutes there he goes again! Little Man is bending over, leaning over and who know what else. How safe can this be? Well not safe at all! So I thought I would try those annoying "H" shaped buckles that come with infant seats to keep his belt tight. Well annoying is an understatement! So after a couple times using that we just stuck to the regular seat belt but having to constantly tell him to sit up, put your back and head on your seat, etc etc this was needing to change! Enter Seat Snug! This device clips into your factory seat belt and ensures the belt stays snug without restricting the shoulder strap! No more bending over and leaning over! Thank you Seat Snug for such a great kid safety product!
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Tanya

We're having a GIRL!


Yeah! It's a girl, it's a girl, it's a girl (Little Princess)!!!! Here are the socks Little Man got to pick out from the ultrasound tech! We are all VERY excited!
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