How do you like your clean care routine??

Yeah, you know what I am talking about....  your, (clearing throat) bathroom routine...

Yeah, you are probably wondering where I am going with this but the reason that I am referring to such a sensitive subject is because I was given the opportunity to try Cottonelle's Clean Care Routine through Crowdtap.  Honestly, at first I was thinking, how in the world am I going to talk to my friends about their bathroom habits.  I mean, yes, I love my friends and we talk quite a bit but I never talk to them about how they handle themselves in the bathroom.  Well, Crowdtap gave me the opportunity to try out Cottonelle's Clean Care Routine and to share the routine with my friends.  So, I did...

When I received the FREE products in the mail, I immediately came up with the two friends that I wanted to share the Cottonelle products with and waited for the next time that I saw them.  I changed out our toilet paper and added the wipes to the bathroom.  I am not going to give a detailed review for obvious reasons ;) but I will say that my husband has said that he wants me to continue buying the wipes.

I will admit that Cottonelle toilet paper is much thicker than my normal toilet paper and the wipes are a nice touch.  Thanks Crowdtap and the Cottonelle Clean Crew for allowing me to test your Clean Care Routine!  I think it's changed my bathroom habits... now how about yours??

I received the items above for FREE from Crowdtap and Cottonelle Clean Crew to test and share.  All opinions are my own and no other compensation has been received.

Sick baby = tired momma :(

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary!  It was such an inspiring and sweet day filled with family, laughs, and tears.  We had to travel about 4 hours to celebrate with them.  My husband and I both said that one of us would return home sick...it always happens and we knew it would happen this time as well.

On the way home, my daughter started complaining of a sore throat.  I immediately remembered that we forgot her allergy medicine and knew that was probably the problem.  Unfortunately, there isn't much that allergy medicine will do after the fact.  We figured we would give it a try, so we stopped and purchased some more allergy medicine for her.  We decided to grab dinner and stopped at a nearby Applebees.  My daughter ended up sleeping in the restaurant while the rest of us ate dinner.

We finally get home and put her to bed, but that didn't last long.  Before I knew it she was in the bed with us.  The next day Calleigh woke up stuffy and so much worse off than the day before.  My husband found a sample of Children's Mucinex that I had received for free from Smiley360 and decided to give it to her before her nap.  When she woke up, she said she felt better but there were no signs to back this up.  We decided to give it to her again that night.  Well, this morning she woke up and the stuffiness is gone!  She is still sneezing but at least we know the yuckiness is coming out!!  She is eating again and saying that she feels much better!  She said the red medicine helps her feel better!!

Thanks Smiley360 for including me in this mission!!  It was great to have that medicine readily available for my daughter when she needed it!

I received a FREE sample of Children's Mucinex from Smiley360 for me to try and share my opinion with others.  All opinions are my own and no other compensation has been received.

Another shopping trip??? Yes, please!!!

I must admit, I have become quite fond of shopping!!  Believe it or not, I didn't like to shop a few years ago.  As a matter of fact, I hated it!  I hated shopping for myself because I have such an odd shape and there is only so much shopping that you can do for your house.  That has all changed!!

If you don't know anything about Crowdtap, let me fill you in.  Crowdtap is an amazing company that often lets followers try products for free!  Yes, I said FREE!  They want your honest opinion about products and they often have lots of question for you when you login to their website.  The series of questions are referred to as Quickhits.  Then you can apply for different testing opportunities, party opportunities and other tasks.  You earn points for everything that you do with Crowdtap and you can redeem those points for giftcards and other rewards.  You are pretty much getting rewarded for them giving you things.  It's a win-win situation for you!  All it takes is a little of your time and an honest opinion.

So, Crowdtap and the Old Navy Style Council offered me another shopping opportunity.  This time they sent me out with a friend to shop for their Women's Best Tees.  I scheduled a trip out with my friend Becca and met her at Starbucks for coffee prior to our shopping trip.  When we entered Old Navy, the tees were right there.  My first thought was oh my goodness, they are so soft!!  The colors were amazing and they had different styles for different body types which I absolutely love because I have to get v-neck shirts.  Becca and I had such a hard time deciding which shirts to get.  We both were immediately drawn to the dark gray shirts but that's as far as our similarities went.  Becca ended up getting the dark gray v-neck and a green v-neck.  I picked up the dark gray v-neck and the orange v-neck.

Becca was amazed at how nice the shirts were and also by the other deals we found while shopping at Old Navy!  I am a huge Old Navy fan and love that their clothes are such good quality.  Just to let you know how well their clothes hold up...I have been married for over 8 years.  I have 2 pairs of Old Navy jeans that I have had since before I got married!!  They still fit and are still in good shape!

I want to thank Crowdtap and Old Navy Style Council for giving Becca and I the opportunity to try the women's best tees for free!  It was a great experience and we absolutely love the clothes!!

I received 2 coupons for 2 free Women's Best Tees for myself and a friend.  All opinions are my own and no other compensation has been received.

Thanks Old Navy and Crowdtap for giving me a new excuse to go shopping :)

First, let me just say that my posting is a little delayed because I have had a ton of things going on besides the holidays!  Two of my friends had babies within a week of each other!  Both were by c-section and one was 3 hours away so I have been a busy bee trying to be there for my friends.  Also, the holidays brought about travel so I haven't had a free moment to myself in weeks!

Anywho, once again Crowdtap gave me a wonderful opportunity to take one of my friends out shopping for new clothes!  This time Old Navy and Crowdtap gave me 2 coupons for FREE Old Navy dresses!!!  Yes, you read that right...FREE dresses.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Old Navy Style Council with Crowdtap???  They have been so generous and this is the 4th item that I have received since I joined on to the style council!

SO, I planned a day with a friend (without the kids of course) for some much needed girl time!  My friend and I will be going on a cruise in January so getting new dresses came at the perfect time!  First we went out to lunch and then went off on our shopping adventure.  After entering Old Navy, we immediately started looking for the newest dresses, which weren't hard to find because the mannequins were dressed to impress at the front door.  Chelsea and I browsed through the dresses at the front, grabbing two or three, then headed to the women's department to find more options.  By the time we made it to the dressing room, I had 3-4 dresses, some t-shirts, shorts and a scarf!

The first dress that I tried on was the cap sleeved wrap dress in red.  I will admit that I didn't have good luck with this dress.  I am a little more top heavy and I had a hard time getting this one on just right.  On to the next one :)  This time I tried on the v-neck sweater dress in lime green and gray.  I immediately fell in love with this dress!  I really was trying to talk myself out of this dress because I just recently bought a black and gray sweater dress.  The size that I had gotten for the sweater dress was a little big so I used that as an excuse to pass and try on the last dress.  The final one that I attempted (the first dressing room trip that is) was the belted cap-sleeve knit dress in purple.  Chelsea really liked the way this color looked on me but once again the fact that I am a top heavy made this one difficult to pull off.  Usually I have to wear something with a v-neck or a slinky type neck, otherwise it doesn't look right.

I then decided to try on a few more versions of these dresses and a different size in the sweater dress.  My second trip to the dressing room ended in me making my decision!  I purchased the v-neck sweater dress in lime green and gray!!!  I love this dress!  It's so comfortable and form fitting!  It looks good with leggings or by itself.  I can't wait to wear it on a night out with the hubby!!!

Chelsea tried on the same dresses that I did except for the wrap dress (they didn't have it in her size).  She eventually decided on the v-neck sweater dress in black and white.  It looked great on her!!  She says she will wear hers with leggings and flats while I think I will wear mine alone with knee high boots :)

Chelsea and I both had such a great time shopping at Old Navy for these new dresses!!  Even though the store was extremely busy (waiting line at the dressing room), everyone was super friendly and tried to accommodate everyone.  The only complaint that I had during this specific trip was that I wished they would have had more dresses available.  There are quite a few online that I would have loved to try on!!  Either way, I think I ended up with a great dress and can't wait to wear it!!  Don't worry, when I do, I will post pictures!!!

I received 2 free dress coupons from Crowdtap and Old Navy.  All opinions are my own and no other compensation has been received.

Finally received my first Cravebox!

I recently signed up with Cravebox, a company that sends out the best new products to members to try out for themselves.  I have a few friends that had received boxes from Cravebox and they posted pictures of the items that they received which peaked my interest.  SO, I signed up to be a member.  The first box that I was offered was the Back to School box.  My son recently started kindergarten so I was super excited to see what was included.  

When I received my box, I couldn't wait to open it!  Here's what I found...

BIC® ATLANTIS BALL PEN  

• Try BIC® ATLANTIS Ball Pen for super smooth writing with a contoured grip. Try all 4 bright ink colors: light blue, pink, purple and lime green that retract in one click!

BIC® ATLANTIS MECHANICAL PENCIL  

• Try BIC® ATLANTIS Mechanical Pencil in fashionable bright colors with cushioned tips for less breakage.

FRUIT OF THE EARTH ALOE GEL  

• Made with the most concentrated amount of fresh Aloe Vera leaves on the market, this cooling gel forms a protective barrier that helps retain moisture and promote healing.

HALO ORAL ANTISEPTIC  

• Halo is the first-ever, FDA-monographed oral antiseptic that has been clinically proven to provide up to 6 hours of protection and scientifically proven to kill 99.9% of infectious germs. And, just in time for back-to-school, Halo is the hottest new product that every mom will want to help protect themselves and their families from airborne germs.

YUMMI BEARS® 

• From Hero Nutritionals®, the original, #1 nutritionist-recommended Gummy vitamin. Supports your child's healthy brain and eye development. Allergen-, gluten- and dairy free.

KLEENEX SLIM PACK 

• Thin and sleek, so you can always keep a tissue on hand. Their trendy design makes it the perfect accessory for hip kids, while their convenient size makes it easy to slide them into pockets, back packs and bags.

LUNCHABLES™ with SMOOTHIE from OSCAR MAYER (a coupon for a free one)

• Introducing 3 Lunchables™ combinations that include a delicious Chiquita® Strawberry Banana Fruit Smoothie. Real fruit. Real fun.

LITTLE PIM® EARLY LEARNING LANGUAGE PROGRAM  

• The #1 early language learning system, featuring the award-winning Entertainment Immersion Method™ - Give your child the gift of language at the age they learn best!

These descriptions and list was pulled from the Cravebox website.

At this point I have tried the pens, pencils, aloe gel, gummy bears and the lunchables (well my kids tried them!).  The pens write so smoothly!  I love them and I love the fact that it's not your "normal" colors.  Ever since high school I would much rather write with bright colors than blue or black...I guess that's the girl in me :).  

The pencils were great!  I always choose mechanical pencils instead of regular pencils (when pencils are needed) so I was happy to see those included in the box.  I have a house full of regular pencils since my son is in Kindergarten so these pencils will be just for me. 

The Aloe I have only used once.  My daughter woke up a week or so ago with these weird bumps on her arm.  I tried using lotion, assuming it was just dry skin and it didn't do anything.  So, when this Cravebox came in I decided to try the Aloe.  Unfortunately it didn't work but I loved how smoothly it went on her skin and that it is all natural!

The Yummi bears have been my children's favorite.  They love anything that's a gummy and since it's a "vitamin" they think the more the better :).  The only thing that I am a little hesitant about is that I am unsure about how great DHA/Omega-3 is for children.  Are the claims really true???

Lastly, the Lunchables coupon was gone before I knew it.  We had some grocery shopping to do and they kids are always begging for the quick meals.  When we passed the Lunchables, that was all she wrote.  Luckily I had the free coupon!  Since my family doesn't eat meat, the choices were slim to none but my daughter decided on the cheese pizza one.  My daughter is only 3 so I was thinking that the meal would be a little much for her.  Boy was I wrong.  She ate the entire thing...Oreos and all!!!  There were no complaints coming from her!

I am so excited that I found the Cravebox program and can't wait for my next box!!!  I have also been joining their Twitter parties (as you probably noticed in a previous post) and they are so much fun!  If you love trying new products you should check out Cravebox!  There is a small fee when you sign up for a box, it's anywhere between $10-$15 per box but the membership is completely free.  You do not have to request/pay for a box to be a member, but you do have to pay for the box to get to try the awesome goodies!!  

All opinions are my own and no compensation has been received.

Can you smell the sweet smelling air freshener???

I am not one that typically buys air freshener.  I have always felt like there are other ways to maintain a decent smelling living area.  That doesn't mean that I do not use air fresheners.  I will use them but I have to practically get them for free before I use them.  When we moved into our current home, the landlord had left a can of air freshener by Febreze that smelled so good.  I think it was cotton or fresh laundry or something to that extent.  I always told myself that when I went to the store that I would buy more of that air freshener but I never have.

I received an email from BzzAgent offering me a chance to try the new Glade Expressions air fresheners and I was super excited.  Not only was I able to try the air fresheners for FREE, I was also given the opportunity to find one that smelled similar to the one that we had.  When I received my coupon for the free air freshener from BzzAgent, I went to Walmart on the hunt for the perfect smelling one.  After smelling so many different scents that I felt sick, I decided on the Cotton and Italian Mandarin.  I felt like it had a nice clean and soft scent and that it would flow well with our decor.

I have now been using the air freshener for over 2 weeks and I love it.  I always use it after I have cleaned a room to kind of "top it off."  The only thing that may be difficult to deal with is that the mist is a little strong immediately after you spray it.  I usually have to leave the room after spraying the mist or I will end up coughing.

Overall, I highly recommend this air freshener.  I will have to try the other scents that are available but I will admit that it's going to be difficult to buy something other than the Cotton and Italian Mandarin!!

I received two coupons for FREE products from BzzAgent.  All opinions are my own and no other compensation has been received.

Just won a prize from a Twitter party!!!

I can't believe that I actually won something!  I've been to a few Twitter parties but never seem to be one of the "lucky ones" so I wasn't expecting anything this time either.  Well, I won!  I am supposed to be receiving a Soleil Bella from BIC Basket!!  The Twitter party was for a company called Cravebox.  They ship new products to your door for a low subscription rate of anywhere from $10-$15 a box.  I haven't received my first box yet but should be getting one soon and I am super excited!  I have read that the products included in the boxes are pretty nice.  I will definitely post updates when I received my box so that everyone can see what Cravebox is all about :)