Mama, Mama .......MAMA!!

Seeing this sweet face sad breaks my heart!

I have a parenting question for all the moms and grandmas out there. What do you do when you little one seems to be temporally traumatized by you simply leaving the room? These last two weeks anytime I leave the room to do something else my son runs after me yelling MAMA!! Its so sad! My husband will be in the room I leave so its not that he is alone. He will even be enjoying himself watching one of his favorite DVDs and the second he hears me get up he gets upset.
This has become quiet the issue when I have to use the bathroom. I can hear him crying "mama mama" and see his little fingers poking under the door. Its very heart breaking that he gets that upset. When I open the door to come out he is instantly ok. My husband is baffled by this too. He will pick up our son and try to calm him, but that only works for a few minutes until he remembers I am not in the room. Showering for the day has started to give me anxiety knowing my little guy is gonna freak out. I have been trying to wake up before him to shower but he always seems to hear me. He has hearing like a hawk I swear!!
Does anyone have a tip or some info to share with me to help my little guy avoid a melt down when he sees me leave the room?
Thanks in advance!!

The Real Skinny on Losing It Book Review

The Real Skinny On Losing It by Michelle McKinney Hammond.

This is the first book I have read by Michelle McKinney Hammond. I loved her enthusiasm, sauciness, and fun spin on the very serious subject of permanent weight loss. She takes us on a detailed journey of her many attempts at losing weight. From the cabbage soup diet, to the rice diet, to the lemon juice cleanse, McKinney Hammond does indeed seem to have tried everything to take off the pounds. There is a lot of information in this book. Much more than the "Do this and you'll get skinny" diet book. Not everyone will be willing to try some of the suggestions here, such as eating according to your blood type, or using acupuncture. But her wise, bottom line advice is extremely motivating and powerful. She wants us to understand that we must nurture our bodies, our souls, and our spirits. And when we do this, the weight battle is no longer really a battle at all. With a dose of God and some spiritual principles included, I would recommend this book to anyone trying to lose weight.

A little info about the author from the Publishers website :

Michelle McKinney Hammond is the author of over 30 books on living, loving, and overcoming. She is the President and Founder of HeartWing Ministries, which hosts annual DIVA Weekend Getaway Conferences. As a relationship and empowerment coach, internationally known speaker, singer and television co–host, it is Michelle's mission and passion to help women and men to first be intimately connected to God and then empowered to become their personal best in order to experience victory in every area of their lives.

You can visit Michelle McKinney Hammond website for more information about her.

List Price: 12.99

ISBN: 978-1-4143-3383-0

Release: January 2011

You can purchase The Real Skinny on Losing It from Amazon.com or Christianbook.com






** This review is my own opinion. I was not paid for this post. Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this ARC.

Soda Stream Review

Soda Stream is a fun alternative to store bought soda, and they have a ton of flavors to choose from. There is Ginger Ale, Rooter, Cranberry Raspberry, Zero Coke, Diet Lemon Lime, Diet Pink Grapefruit and they even have an Energy drink! Soda Stream brought back a fond memory for me, I remember as a small child my Dad came home from the local fair with a soda making machine. It seems like such a dinosaur in comparison to this kit. In the old day you had to funnel the water through the top and wait and wait for it to become bubbly. There was like 2 flavors to choose from and it just tasted like syrup to me. Not something I enjoyed at all, and as a kid who wants to wait what feels like forever?


Well the Soda Stream making machine was so simply that I could not believe it! All that we had to do was fill up the bottle with cold water, put it under the spout, twist it on like a cap and push the button three times. Then we added a cap full of whatever flavor we choose (we picked Rootbeer to start), put the cap on the bottle, flip it around a few times to mix up the flavor and we were done. It was awesome. In our first attempt we were a little apprehensive about holding the button down too long and it was not very bubbly. So on our second attempt we followed the directions (who knew) and it worked great. It took us only like 3 minutes to make the soda from start to finish. It comes with two bottles which was nice so that you could have two choices in the fridge for later. Also included were 3 bottles of flavoring for sparkling water, I tried the Lemon Lime and really liked it for a healthier feel.



I brought the machine over to my parent’s house to show my Dad how far soda making has come. He was very impressed and could not wait to get started. My sister loved the idea of the Energy drink (she seems to drink them like water) and said it was great, tasted like Red Bull. She also said that the Energy drinks she buys in the store cost so much that this is a much cheaper alternative to that. In fact while I was there she and my brother polished off the whole bottle and made another one right away. After we finished making our sodas my Dad insisted I leave it there for him to enjoy for a few days, I really need to go back and get it or I will never see it again! I think the Soda maker is a fun idea to do with older children; it is very interactive and easy to do. Your child can really help out and afterward enjoy a tasty beverage that they just helped make. The clean up was easy and the machine is so compact that it is easy to store in your cupboards.
The one drawback for my husband and I is that we aren’t as into the diet drinks as others might be. This is a great product for other Mom’s wanting to cut calories and people who really enjoy a variety of diet drinks. I love that they not only cover all of the tradition flavors but they also have choices like Diet Pink Grapefruit and an Energy drink. Making homemade soda is a fun and cost effective way to enjoy a nice cold drink.


You can purchase your own Soda Stream at Macy's, Sears, Bed Bath & Beyond and many more locations. You can find a location near you here.

If you would like more info in Soda Stream you can follow them on twitter and facebook.

*The opinions in this review are my own. I was not paid for this review. I was sent one Soda Steam kit for free for my review.

$20 CSN Stores Giveaway

I sometimes get lost in the CSN Stores. I can spend hours looking at all the great stuff they have. Its like window shopping in my living room! For the Valentine's Day Event I am giving away $20 gift certificate for one lucky reader to use at any of the over 200 online stores. I would love to buy some new Modern Furniture for our poorly decorated house! There are so many great items on sale right now too. In the Clearance section I found some great modern clocks that have free shipping and are under $20!!

The winner can spend their gift certificate on anything in the store. You can use it towards a bigger purchase and even find a great free shipping deal!

GIVEAWAY:
Here is how to enter the giveaway.
MANDATORY Entry:
Follow me on GFC (Google Friends Connect) (right top corner)
 
Leave your email address in your comment so I can contact the winner.

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.

Follow Me on Twitter +2
Add me as a friend on Facebook +2
Follow CSN Stores on Twitter +2
Like CSN Stores on Facebook +2
Visit CSN Stores website and tell me what you would buy if you won +2
Enter any of the other giveaways during the Valentine's Day Event and leave a comment on which giveaway you entered. +2 for every giveaway you enter.
Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link +5

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts January 30, 2011 and ends on February 8, 2011 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.Thank you CSN Stores for allowing me to host this giveaway.

Stonyfield YoBaby Yogurt Review and Giveaway

Oddly enough my son is not a sweet food lover. He likes savory and rich foods. But thankfully he LOVES yogurt!! He is a bit picky about his flavors but if I find one he likes he will willingly eat every bite. When I was pregnant I was obsessed with Stonyfield yogurt. I would put the vanilla flavored yogurt in a fruit smoothie every night as a yummy dessert. When I saw the YoBaby line of Stonyfield yogurt I was so excited for when my baby would be old enough to try it. When he was 6 months old I first gave it to him and he loved the banana flavored one. Banana and blueberry are his favorites. For this review he tried the peach yogurt for the first time and he enjoyed every bite. He thinks he is a big boy and insisted that I let him feed himself. He made a mess but ate the whole thing! A few things I love about YoBaby is that the product is made with whole milk by cows that have not been treated with synthetic growth hormones or antibiotics, the yogurt is certified organic and the yogurt contains a unique blend of 6 probiotics. I give him the yogurt when he has some tummy issues and it really seems to help him.

Now that my son is 14 months old he seems to be more picky about drinking milk instead of formula so I am thankful he will eat his yogurt. I know he needs the zinc and calcium that are in the whole milk yogurt. We have tried the Gerber Yogurt but he seems to not enjoy the flavor as much. So if you have not had any luck with other brands of yogurt please do try the YoBaby. I think the flavor difference of it being organic makes a difference to his little pallet.

Here is some information about YoBaby yogurt from their website:

Certified organic. Because YoBaby is organic, you know it’s made without the use of persistent pesticides. That’s especially important for babies, because their little bodies are more vulnerable to pesticide exposure. YoBaby is also made without the use of synthetic growth hormones or antibiotics.
 
Helps support brain development. We make YoBaby from whole milk, which helps support healthy brain development. Pediatricians recommend whole milk for babies and toddlers up to two years.
 
Helps support baby’s immune system. One serving of YoBaby provides 25% of your baby’s daily need for zinc, the mineral that helps support a healthy immune system.
 
Helps support growth. Each serving of YoBaby provides at least 25% of your baby’s daily needs for calcium, protein, and vitamin D, plus other nutrients essential for babies' growth.
 
Six live active cultures. Like all of our yogurts, YoBaby contains our exclusive blend of six cultures, including the probiotic L. rhamnosus.
 
Makes feeding time easy. YoBaby is delicious, so babies love it. Parents tell us all the time that YoBaby is one of the first foods their babies ask for by name.
 
“YoBaby yogurt is rich with nutrients, purely organic, and made with whole milk recommended for proper nutrition. Little ones love the taste, so I know it is an easy and fun food for parents to serve.”

— “America’s Pediatrician” Dr. Bill Sears

GIVEAWAY:

For our Valentine's Day event Stonyfield Yogurt has offered for a giveaway a prize pack that includes:

3 Free Product Coupons for YoBaby Yogurt

YoBaby Bib

Eric Carle Growth Chart

YoBaby Travel Bowl with Lid

Here is how to enter the giveaway.
MANDATORY Entry:
"Like" YoBaby on Facebook

Leave your email address in your comment so I can contact the winner.

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.


Follow Me on GFC (right top corner) +3
Follow Me on Twitter +2
Add me as a friend on Facebook +2
Follow Stonyfield Yogurt on twitter +2
Visit YoBaby Stonyfield Yogurt website and tell me your favorite flavor +2
Enter any of the other giveaways during the Valentine's Day Event and leave a comment on which giveaway you entered. +2 for every giveaway you enter.
Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link +5

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts January 29, 2011 and ends on February 8, 2011 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 sent 4 free product coupons for the review in this post.