Beecology Review - Mother's Day

Beecology is a wonderful company that makes eco-friendly, natural beauty and skin care products.
Honey, beeswax, oatmeal, and olive oil are just some of the ingredients that are used to make these beauty care products. Beecology offers handcrafted soaps, body washes, shampoo, lip balm and more.


You can pamper your body the natural way, and give yourself soft, smooth and silky skin. I love honey, and the idea of using it in my skin care routine appealed to me very much.I just love the Hand and Body Cream. It absorbs into your skin easily, and feels wonderful. The Relaxing Lavender with Honey Soap is amazing. I took a bath with it just before bed, and the lavender scent was very relaxing and pleasant. The Java Soappuccino Coffee Soap smells like a rich coffee and is perfect to keep in your kitchen. I love the smell of it and it cleans your hands completely, but gently.

All the above items come in a charming drawstring bag, perfect for Mother's Day. The Mother's Day Gift Bag includes Hand and Body Cream, two bars of Handcrafted Soap, a pair of garden gloves, and a packet of flower seeds. This is a lovely present for anyone on your Mother's Day list.

Visit the website at Beecology.com to see the complete line of products and to learn about the company's charitable giving. You can get updates about new products, sales and promotions by following them on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.



*I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided the item reviewed in this post for free by the company or PR company that represents them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Duck Pond Fun

I have always loved Ducks. Not sure why kind of an odd thing for a kid to like. (My make believe teacher as a kid was Mrs. Duck lol) I would love to feed them and watch them. I find it soothing. Even as an adult I still love to go feed the ducks. Now that I am a Mom I have taken my son many times to go feed the ducks. The other day it was cloudy so I decided to take him to the Duck Pond. Once its summertime and over 100 degrees its not so fun to be out there so I am trying to go as many times as we can before that.

We have met all sorts of people at the duck pond. We meet nice older women who go around collecting old bread from local stores, other families just like ours who love to feed the ducks and bird watchers out to see some species. This time we had the pond all to ourselves. The minute we got out there the Geese, Ducks, Birds and Squirrels came running up to us. Well trained wild animals. We were having a blast feeding them and seeing all the little baby geese and ducks.

When I was about 4 years old I was goosed by a geese when I was trying to get away with my cookies at a lake. I did not want to share and that made this particular Goose very mad! Just this week my nephew asked my sister Sam about my Goose story and if I was afraid of them. I told her to tell him nope, I keep my eye on them but I am not scared. Thankfully the Geese stayed in the water but did get a little rowdy when we ran out of bread They got so loud my son was telling them all to Shhhhhh! The squirrels on the other hand oh my I was getting a little nervous of their bold behavior. They ran up within inches of us and snagged pieces of bread my son had dropped near him. They did not even flinch as I walked towards them to shoo them.

We had a wild and fun time outdoors enjoy nature and the fresh air. We are thankful to have the American River so close by filled with all kinds of animals. We have seen deer, beavers, turtles, owls, hawks and so many cool animals in this spot. Its something we enjoy year after year.

Do you have a favorite Outdoor Area that you take your kids to?

Sesame Street: Elmo Singing with the Stars DVD Review and Giveaway

My son loves to sing and dance with me. We turn on the radio and dance all the time. Lately we have been going online to watch music videos of Sesame Street songs. I have a few favorites and so does my son. A few times the internet is slow or it wont load and my poor little guy gets so upset that "Elmie" freezes up and we cant watch it. Plus I work from my computer so I cant spend all day watching music videos. I said to myself there has to be a DVD somewhere with these Sesame Street videos and there is!

Sesame Street: Singing with the Stars is a fun movie with the music videos from episodes of Sesame Street. The DVD had our favorites and ones we have not heard before. My son had us watch it over and over. I danced so much that afternoon I think we both needed a nap. I love his enthusiasm to get up and move all around. Its almost like a fitness DVD for us lol.

My favorite is the Emmy Award Winning Song from Will.I.Am "What I Am". Its so positive and upbeat I love it. I have it on my computer for days when I need a little happy boost. My son loves to dance to it. He calls Rosita from Sesame Street Mama, he tells me thats a Mama. He makes me laugh. 

This is my #1 favorite song from Sesame Street. Its so positive.

There is a bunch of stars on the Singing With The Stars DVD, Alicia Keys, the Dixie Chicks, Andrea Bocelli, Adam Sandler and more.  Includes classics such as R.E.M.'s "Furry Happy Monsters".  "A New Way to Walk" by Destiny's Child is a cute one my son likes to say "walk walk" then jump up and down. Another one I like is  "1234"   by  Leslie Feist, its great to teaching kids to count to 4.

GIVEAWAY

Win a copy of Sesame Street: Singing with the Stars DVD


To Enter This Giveaway:

Who is you favorite or your kids favorite Sesame Street character?

*Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if its not public in your Google account*


Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on.

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#Win Elmo Singing with the Stars DVD from @sesamestreet at @FrugalFamTree #Giveaway ends 5/18 http://www.frugalfamilytree.com/2012/05/sesame-street-elmo-singing-with-stars.html

*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts May 4, 2012 and ends on May 18th, 2012 at midnight PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided the item reviewed in this post for free by the company or PR company that represents them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

Eat, Nap, Play

It was a  fun day and my son was exhausted. I did not get much work done, but I had a blast playing with my son all day. We played cars, read books, piled all his stuffed animals on his bed and put him in it (about 4 times in a row since he thinks its so funny), watched a movie (Elmo of course), played ball (yes just like a dog oddly he loves me to throw it then he goes and gets it lol) and  we played make believe kitchen.

He loves to play make believe. He will ask me if I am hungry and then bring me a container and tell me ok try. I pretend to eat it, share it with him and then we drink our fake coffee. He makes me laugh how he even says Ahhh Good  then tries to make him self burp. Its been while since I said ok this whole day will be about my kid. Sad but true and I need to make more days just Mommy and her side kick hanging out doing kids stuff. The bills, stress and worry can wait a day.

By the end of the day he was tired and fell asleep on the floor. His shirt he was wearing was perfect! 

We have been in a Movie Craze

For the last month or so I have been on a movie craze. I have been watching tons of them. I was wondering if anyone else had seen a few of them.

These are all grown up rated movies not for kids! :) My hubby and I have been making movies our date night every Friday and Saturday at home after we put our son to sleep. Its been super fun! I pop some popcorn and have a little bit of candy, for realistic theater feeling of course!

Here are a few we have watched. There have been some duds and ones so scary I won't share lol.

Enter Nowhere - a mystery film with Scott Eastwood, Clint Eastwoods son

Invisible Sign with Jessica Alba

Extremely Loud Incredibly Close - this make you cry like a baby! with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock

Melancholia with Kristen Dunst and Kiefer Sutherland - about the end of earth (nudity in this one, just to let you know upfront)

One Day with Anne Hathaway, I cried a lot with this one too

Redemption Road - Michael Clarke Duncan and Luke Perry. About two men needed closure to a tragedy.

And two I did not like at all!

Tinker Tailor Solider Spy
My Week with Marilyn

Do you recommend any grown up movies for us to watch next?

A boy and his Mama

Trying to get Liam to take a decent picture is tough sometimes. Like all (or should I say most) kids he has to be in the mood. If he is not in the mood, this is what I get!

Half opened eyes, pushing me away causing the picture to blur.

Pointing at something else he would rather be doing.

Looking away while I try to sneak a kiss.

Seriously I just wanted to snap a few quick pictures of a boy and his Mama. Is that too much to ask for?

DuneCraft Seed Bombs Tasty Herb Mixture Review - Mother's Day

There is something so wonderful about cooking with produce and herbs you have grown yourself. It makes your food taste better in my opinion. Fresh basil tossed into your spaghetti or chives to go on some garlic bread is the little extra that can make a good meal great. I have been doing a lot of container gardening since we have been having work done to the roof I did not want my plants squished. Containers are perfect for herbs. It makes it easy to make sure they do not grow all over the place. Not a bad thing to have a ton of herbs but its nice to be able to contain them. (we have peppermint all over our backyard from the neighbors planting it in the ground. Smells wonderful when I mow the lawn lol)

I planted 3 in this small container. When they get bigger I plan to move them into bigger containers. (the fourth one is a rock. We place a rock in all of our containers for a mini decor.)

I planted a small container of the Seed Bombs Tasty Herb Mixture and am waiting to see them sprout. Its easy to plant it says to just place it on some dirt, water and they will grow. It also says you can throw them, toss them or crush them, all very fun to do as well. I like that its a mixture I look forward to the wonderful herb smells. Best of all they are made in the USA.

Seed Bombs would be a great gift for Mother's Day for any woman that loves to garden. DuneCraft, the makers of Seed Bombs makes many great mini gardens too. There are butterfly gardens, farmers gardens, rain forest biospheres and so much more. I could spend hours looking at all the cool stuff.








*I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided the item reviewed in this post for free by the company or PR company that represents them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Sesame Street: Big Elmo Fun DVD Review

My son adores Elmo, he calls him "Elmie". He can spot Elmo in stores, on tv and even if he sees an Elmo Balloon stuck on the ceiling at the grocery store. If he see it he points it out. Its been since the New Year that my son has been Elmo crazed. He liked it before but now he seems to be in a Elmo mode. He wants to watch it all the time. I love Sesame Street myself so I am more than happy to let him watch it. I like having the DVDs so I can see what he will watch and not have to worry about commercials.

The newest Elmo DVD we have is Sesame Street: Big Elmo Fun, it includes 3 Full-Length Sesame Street Stories Plus the Full-Length Bonus DVD “Monster Hits". Elmozilla is a really cute one about how Elmo wants to be taller than the other little monsters and how he learns to be happy with how he is. There is a great learning episode about Butterflies that I liked. My son can now spot a butterfly in the yard and tells me about how he saw butterflies on Elmie. I love how a good DVD can show him things and then he can recall them later.

The DVD comes with a height chart. My son measured himself just like Elmo did.

One of my favorites on this DVD and is now my new favorite Sesame Street episode is one called "Cast Iron Cooks". It is a spoof of the show Iron Chef. Its beyond cute how Elmo is one a cooking team in a competition against the Cast Iron Cooks. Elmo learns about cutting things in half, counting and how to follow instructions.

You can buy Sesame Street: Big Elmo Fun at the Sesame Street online store. 

*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free a copy for my review.

Martha Stewart Pets: PetSmart Rain Coat and Collar Review and Giveaway

My husband and I have had dogs for many years before we had kids. Our dogs were the "kids" in our lives back then. Now that we have our son, the dog and him are best friends. I love how much my son loves the dog and how much the dog adores him. We take our son to PetSmart often so he can see all the fish, lizards and hamsters. He always makes his way to the dog section to look at the dog toys. He makes me laugh how he cuddles the dog toys. He tells me he wants them for his "Kosha" our dog, he renamed the dog once he began to talk. I tell him her real name but he says No Dog is Kosha. So I guess thats her name for now lol.

For the Spring Time we like to get the dog a rain coat for when she goes out and its pouring rain. My son loves that she has one. He puts his on with his boots and we put hers on. He thinks its hilarious to see her in her rain coat. I was impressed with the quality of the Martha Stewart Pets Orange Raincoat. Its durable and colorful with cute bone patterns. My dog does not like to get her ears wet so the hood is perfect for her on rainy days.

Of course since we have a girl dog she is a fashion hound! My dog loves to wear a new collar, its like how I am with shoes. For Christmas she got a Martha Stewart Pets collar that we love. Its cute and durable. The quality is what I enjoy about the Martha Stewart Pets line. I am a huge fan of Martha Stewart, my dog's official middle name is Martha, after you know who :)

It seems fitting to have my dog to wear Martha Stewart Pets items. She loved the new Martha Stewart Pets Houndstooth Flower Collar. She pranced around the backyard in it. I could hardly get her to hold still for a picture. The collars are bright and like all the Martha products they are fashionable. She will be the cutest dog at the dog park, yes I am biased about how cute my dog is.

We also were sent a cute Martha Stewart Pets Jumbo Bunny in Egg dog toy but as soon as my son spotted it he claimed it and ran off with it. He loves dog toys. Its really cute and it squeaks. He has been taking it with us out shopping and someone asked where we got the cute toy, I had to explain its a Martha Stewart dog toy lol.

 GIVEAWAY

Win a Martha Stewart Pets Raincoat and Collar from PetSmart (in the size you need)


To Enter This Giveaway:

 What other item from Martha Stewart Pets line do you like?

*Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if its not public in your Google account*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on.

-Like PetSmart on Facebook +1
-Follow PetSmart on Twitter +1

 -Follow/Add to your circle  Frugal Family Tree on Google+ ( right hand side) +1
-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1
-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +1 

-Follow PopcornNPearls on Twitter +1

-Be a friend of Popcorn and Pearls on Facebook +1

-Follow Popcorn and Pearls on Pinterest +1

-Share this giveaway on Facebook ONLY, using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +1 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Copy and Paste This Tweet on Twitter and leave me the link (to find the link click on the time stamp under your tweet. Can be done once a day for the duration of the giveaway)

#Win Martha Stewart Pets Raincoat and Collar from @PetSmart at @FrugalFamTree #Giveaway ends 5/14 http://www.frugalfamilytree.com/2012/05/martha-stewart-pets-petsmart-rain-coat.html

 *Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts May 2, 2012 and ends on May 14th, 2012 at midnight PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided the item reviewed in this post for free by the company or PR company that represents them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

Tom's Of Maine Toothpaste Review

I first discovered Tom's of Maine when I was in college. We were doing a lot of healthy changes in our lives and we wanted to find a natural deodorant brand. I liked the all natural ingredients and how it contained no aluminum. I was given a sample of Tom's of Maine Wicked Fresh toothpaste at a sampling days event and I loved the flavor of it. I wanted to try a big tube of it to see if it worked as god as other brands since it tasted so great.

Wicked Fresh Cool Peppermint toothpaste uses natural flavors and botanical extracts for their ingredients. I love the way it makes my moth feel. There products contain no artificial colors, flavors, fragrances or preservatives.  Its a burst of mint flavor and my teeth feel clean. I have used other all natural toothpastes but I do not like them as much. I like the clean feeling of Tom's of Maine. Its a great toothpaste for after dinner brush. Its not over powering or chemically, its like a mint after dinner but your brushing your teeth! If you do not like Mint flavor it will be a bit too much for you, but I love Mint.

I like that Tom's of Maine practices environmentally friend actions. You can recycle you deodorants packaging at Whole Foods, their boxes are reused for packing and shipping and they are always working on more way to be Earth friendly.

I purchased at Walmart Tom's of Maine Deodorant. I wanted to find a natural deodorant that had a nice scent.  I found a Fresh Apricot one that so far I really like. They have Beauty Bars for your face that I would love to try as well. You can find Tom's of Maine at Whole Foods, Target and Walmart.


You can learn more about Tom's of Maine on their facebook and twitter pages.



*I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided the item reviewed in this post for free by the company or PR company that represents them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others.