Frugal Family Tree

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Sterling Publishing Being Smart Books Review and Giveaway Birthday Bash

Sterling Books is a publishing company that carries books on tons of topics for adults and children's books. The children's categories are endless. They have everything from Easy Reader Classics, History, Hobbies, Magic Tricks and even have IQ tests.

We were lucky enough to receive a few books from the Begin Smart Books category to review. They are beginning books for "smart" babies, these books teach them things they learn as they start life. When you are browsing the web site when you click on a book it gives you all important information any parent would like to see. It tells you the material of the book, the number of pages and the age range of the book among other things. I thought it was a great way to shop because when I was looking for a target age range the fact that it said twelve to eighteen months let me know that was exactly what I was looking for.

First we read the book Begin Smart All Gone, ages 12-18 months. All Gone is a simple book that displays first food words like juice and cookie, the pages are chunky and perfect for little hands.

Then we read Begin Smart What Does Baby Say?, ages 12-18 months. What Does Baby Say is a first lift-the-flap book with questions and simple one word answers that helps a child to learn about the art of conversation. Baby L loved the lift-the-flap style book and kept wanting to read it over and over again.

Last we read Begin Smart Splish-Splash , again ages 12-18 months. Splish-Splash is a rhyming story about a teddy bear as he does all of the steps it takes to take a bath all the way to bed time. Baby L loves bath time or any type of water play so this was a great story for him. I love to read stories that rhyme and also loved that the Mama Bear was there to help the whole story, just like me. All the books were great, but Splish-Splash one was by far our favorite.

Sterling Publishing offers so many more books with so many categories to choose from, I definitely recommend checking out the web site to see what they have. You will not be disappointed!

GIVEAWAY:

Win the same Being Smart Books I was sent for your own book collection.

To Enter This Giveaway:

Visit Sterling Books and tell me what other kids book you would love to have?

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*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 4, 2011 and ends on June 24, 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 provided for free the books for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

(Baby L's 1st day in this world...smiling away)

(Baby L almost 1 year...still smiling)

One year old? Where has the time gone? Baby L is turning ONE and I swear I feel like he was just born yesterday! JJ was my 1st born and he was my practice baby...just kidding. He was the one that launched my into the wonderful world of Motherhood. I was new to the Mom gig so I felt like time was going at a good slow and steady pace. I was watching JJ and waiting for him to get big just to see the next "new" thing he was going to do. I loved JJ being a baby but didn't soak it up as much as I have with baby #2. I knew with Baby L that he was going to get big and do all of the big boy stuff soon enough, I needed to sit back and enjoy this time. It felt like the more I watch and prayed for time to slow down, the faster it went. It really has been a great 1st year with Baby L. I have loved to watch him turn into this little person who loves to do everything his big brother does, loves to eat anything he finds on the ground, LOVES animals of all kind, and loves to snuggle his Mama! He thinks that his Dad is the greatest and I know the feeling is mutual.

The first year is so important, babies look to you for the emotional stability and support that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. You are their world and for the next few years their little personalities and bodies are growing at such a rapid pace. Something I always try to remember is that you can't get the time back. Your children will never be this age again, 1 year or 16 months, or 2 years and so on. When the time is gone, what you have is memories. Keep making those memories and store them close to your heart. They will continue to grow and new stages will happen, you better not blink because you might miss something!

As hard as it is watching my baby turn a WHOLE YEAR OLD, I am so excited to plan his 1st party! The decorations, the cake, the PRESENTS!! It is all going to be awesome.

Stick around and see how we are celebrating Baby L's 1st Birthday here at the Frugal Family Tree. We have lots of great sponsors and lots of great giveaways! Keep checking in with us, we are going to be partying all month!!!!

Old Navy Active Wear Pants Crowdtap Review

I have been on a mission to lose 30 lbs before I turn 30 and the Women's Compression Capri activewear pants I received for being an Old Navy Style Council Member through Crowdtap are inspiring me to try even harder! I have not really lost anything worth blogging about but I do feel like I can do more and feel better when I am doing it so I am healthier from working out and eating better.

Awkward pose I was doing LOL

The pants feel fit unlike most of my work out clothes. They make me wanna get smaller to look even hotter in them. I like how they are breathable while you are working out in them. They stay in place too so no pulling up your pants and pulling down of them from uncomfortably spots lol! My friend came with me and she got the same ones and loves her too. She wears hers around the house too. The other coupons I sent to my sister and Mom so they will be sporting some awesome Old Navy Activewear pants too!

Old Navy has tons of cute Activewear including some Yoga pants I was eyeballing in the store. I told my hubby hint hint for my bday!

Would you like to have a chance to work your way into being a awesome crowdtapper like me? Crowdtap is a free site where you take surveys and participate in campaigns to share your opinions. I am highly opinionated so this place is great for me! You can sign up here to start your path to being an insider!

* I was not paid or compensated for this post. Just wanted to share my crowdtap experience as an Old Navy Style Council Member!

California hail storm and a Mother bird needed help

Not Normal for Cali on June 1st!

I know for most states hail is a whatever happens all the time. But for here in sunny California its a big deal when it happens on June 1st! This is suppose to be the first day of summer. There should be sunshine, the smell of BBQ in the air and the sound of the ice cream mans truck driving around the neighborhood. Well it was nothing like that! The day was raining like crazy, thunder so loud it was starting to scare me a bit and then the tornado warnings that were only 20 minutes from here.

It was a weird moment when we were eating dinner with the blinds open to see outside. We do this every night so we can enjoy the sunshine while we eat. It was raining hard but in the distance I could see white soft clouds and blue skies. My husband hates then rain so I told him "Cheer up I can see blue skies just beyond the neighbors house. This will clear up any minute." I was so very wrong! The rain came down harder then very loud thunder followed by the biggest pieces of hail I have ever seen! I was stunned that it was happening so fast. The first hail was about the size of quarters! The whole neighborhood was covered in ice. I wanted to take a picture as it was happening but my husband suggested I stay in side. I am a bit crazy with my camera!

This is after it rained and melted the hail a bit.

To my amazement it hailed for a few minutes and when the pieces got smaller I went outside to snap some photos. I am still stunned this happened on June 1st! I even upload some pictures to our local news since they were asking for pictures from our area. It was quite a wild weather day here in Northern Cali.

The nest that fell from the tree above this recycling bin.

After the sun came back out about an hour later I went outside to pick up some trash that had been blown around from the wind. On top of my recycling can safely sat a nest with 4 eggs in it. It was amazing to me since I never until the day before put my recycling bins in that location under our fruit tree. I usually have them elsewhere but changed spots to make it easier to use the bin. I am so happy I did since I am sure a fall to the ground would have resulted in eggs being broken. I looked up to see the spot right above where the nest once sat. My husband was now outside holding our son showing him the eggs. I wanted to cry at the thought of the Mama birds little babies not in there home. I can imagine she flew off somewhere to hide from the huge pelting hail. I have seen the Mama bird a few times eating the fruit from our tree and I knew I had to help. After all for the first year my sons nickname was Birdie (he is now my Bubba!). I ran back inside and got a pair of plastic sterile gloves so my human scent wouldn't be on her nest. My husband held down some of the surrounding branches and I gently placed her nest back into the spot it once sat. I am happy that my recycling can caught the little eggs and I was able to have a Dr. Dolittle moment to show my son every Mama and her babies are worth caring for.

Do you have any animal rescue stories to share?

Organicville Foods Review and Giveaway

I am always on the look out for new products to try, especially in the kitchen. After you have been cooking dinner for 35 years like I have been, a little change is definitely needed! I love organic foods and as I become more aware of the benefits of eating organic, I try to incorporate them into my daily life. There are now so many organic foods to pick from, not just fruits and vegetables. Do I always eat organic? No. My budget and life don't always allow for it, although I wish it did. I recently came across a line of foods called Organicville Foods.

The company offers pasta sauces, salad dressings, salsas, and much more. Every product is certified organic, gluten free, vegan, and contains no added sugar. For dinner last night, I made pasta using the Portabella Mushroom Pasta Sauce. It was delicious. Portabella mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, and fragrant onions and garlic are blended together to taste so good, you'll want seconds. A simple salad, and some garlic bread sticks were enough to make a delicious yet easy meal.

We have also tried the Mild Salsa, made with agave nectar. That was very tasty, too. It tastes great with tortilla chips or used as a condiment with different dishes. Organicville products can be found in natural food stores and in many grocery stores across the country including Whole Foods, Safeway, and Costco.

You can also order from their online store at www.organicvillefoods.com. I will definitely buy more from this company. The founder is a third generation vegetarian and one of her goals was to make organic foods taste good. I think she has succeeded.

GIVEAWAY:

Win 2 items from the Organicville Foods website of your choice.