Totally Toned Arms~ Giveaway- CLOSED

Once Barack Obama joined the presidential race and attended events with wife at his side, the media, bloggers, and people everywhere started buzzing about Michelle's toned arms--and asking how on earth she does it. Even at the Presidential Inauguration, much of the talk was about Michelle's amazing arms. Media outlets from GMA to CNN to MSNBC have covered the story, inspiring women across the country to call their personal trainers and say, "I want Obama arms!"

Certified personal trainer Rylan Duggan, creator of the successful (and pricey, at $70 each!) e-book series Go Sleeveless!, constantly gets calls from clients and reporters asking for the training secrets behind Michelle's arms. Duggan is the expert quoted in much of this coverage, and in FIGHT ARM FLAB, he offers his 21-day program to get those sleek and sexy arms.

In this low-priced paperback, Duggan reveals the program (combining strength training and cardio) including a 7-day jumpstart maintenance plan, and essential diet secrets designed to shed fat and reveal toned muscle, plus 50-60 black and white photos throughout to illustrate. This is a simple program that anyone can do, no matter what their fitness level, at home and with little equipment. With this series of 25 easy exercises, anyone can have Obama arms--in a matter of weeks!

Visit RylanDuggan.com
Or check out GoSleevelessBlog.com
You can also follow @CoachRylan on Twitter.

Here's my take of the book~ I read the book this afternoon, it's not what I thought it would be.  There is an exercise program in the book, as well as a food guide.  The usual stuff of what not to eat.  The exercise program you would need to buy some equipment or join the gym if you really wanted to follow the program.  Overall, I may try it out, when I get the time, but I definitely couldn't follow the food program.  The cost of eating whole foods, and organics would be costly, plus trying to get the kids to give up all the goodies would be hard.  This is just my opinion, it may work for you!  I am NOT endorsing this book or Michelle Obama.

Would you like to win a copy?

I am giving away 5 Copies of Totally Toned Arms 

Mandatory Entry:

1. Follow my blog publically (without this all other entries will be void)

other ways to enter - you must have your email address visible so I can contact you

2. Follow me on twitter

3. Grab my button

4.Subscribe in a reader

Please comment once for each entry!

Giveaway ends January 10th at 11:00 p.m. EST.  Contest is open to US residents only.  You must have a valid mailing address.  No P.O. Boxes.  Winner will be chosen using Random.org and winner will be emailed and have 48 hours to contact me or another winner will be chosen.

I was sent a copy of this book by Hachette Book Group.  Thanks to Hachette Book Group and The Product Review Place for the book. *** Disclaimer*** I was not paid for this book or for my review.  Unless noted the post is my own thoughts.

General Mills Cereal -Review

 Have you heard?

General Mills recently announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.

Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children’s diets.

Other cereal benefits:

* Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children’s diets.

* Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet today.

* More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.

My children LOVE to eat cereal, we usually buy 5 boxes of cereal a week. Our favorites our Lucky Charms, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I am glad to know that the cereal my kids eat is now going to be healthier for them, and the next time they want to snack, I can give them cereal, knowing it's not full of sugar.
This past weekend, the baby went to my mom's cupboard and grabbed her box of Lucky Charms, her bowl, and sat down and had a little snack all on her own.

***Disclaimer*** I was not paid for this post.  Thanks to General Mills and MyBlogSpark for providing me with free coupons, and the information regarding their cereal.

Merry Christmas to all~ hope you all have a wonderful day and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season!

After Christmas Giveaways

Check out Angie's blog at My Four Monkeys she is having an after Christmas giveaway of toys. So if your kids didn't get what they wanted, maybe you can win something here!

Wordless Wednesday

My "baby" all dressed up for Church, can you tell she is a little stinker!

The Crafty Moms Review and Giveaway- CLOSED

I recently found The Crafty Moms when I was looking for some cute hats for my girls.  They have the cutest hats, hair bows, diaper bags, tutus, nursing covers, etc.  I bought the Kufi Caps and some hair clips to attach to the hats.  They are so cute, and very inexpensive.  The Kufi Caps were only $6.00 each and the flower clips were $3.50.  The different style hairclips have different prices.
The Crafty Moms are a few Moms who love to sew and make adorable items for kids.  They are located in Cedar City, Utah.  You can visit their site and shop day or night, they accept pay pal or checks.

The Crafty Moms have graciously offered one of my readers a $15.00 gift certificate to buy anything they want!

5 Ways to Enter to win:

1.Mandatory entry: Visit The Crafty Moms and tell me what you would buy if you won.

2. Follow me on Twitter

3. Become a blog follower.

4. Subscribe to get my blog.

5.Grab my button and put it on your blog. 

You must have your email address in one of your comments, so I can contact you if you win.  All winners will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

This contest is open to US residents only.  All entries must be received by January 1, 2010 at 10:00 p.m. EST.  I will pick a winner using Random.org. 
***Disclaimer*** I was not paid in anyway for this product.  I bought the hats, and bows myself.  The Crafty Moms has kindly offered the gift certificate, and this in know way influenced my review.

The kids in the snow

The kids couldn't wait to get in the snow.  I bought them all boots, and snow pants and the girls went out that night.  It was freezing cold, but they loved it anyway.

My little man wasn't as thrilled with the snow, he lasted 20 minutes before he had to come in and get warm!  The baby didn't venture out yet!

We made it....

to New York and PA. Holy Cow is it cold! We are off house hunting today.
Will try to get my Blog Hop Link up later today!

And we are off.....

to the land of snow and cold. We leave today! My girls have their shorts on for the last time until probably June! I am going to try and take a picture of the girls in the same place I did four years ago when we first moved here, I will have to add the extra two kids that came along since then! Hope you all have a great day~

Memories of Grandparents

I was thinking about my Grandparents last night, and all the memories I have of them, and how different they were. My Grandparents on my Dad's side were the best! They were the kind of Grandparents every kids loves to spend time with. My Grandmother passed away when I was twelve, but there are so many things I remember about her. She loved Bingo! She always had the glass Pepsi bottles in the fridge and always had Cheese Puffs to go with it, and there was always a jar of those soft peppermint candies that look like pepto bismol, ready for you to eat. As kids we always got to go to our Grandparents apartment when my parents went grocery shopping, and we got to watch T.V. usually the A-team (we didn't have cable when I was little so this was a treat), and we played Atari. My Grandfather passed away 2 years ago, but some of my memories of him were him doing puzzles all the time, and he would all ways sit outfront of his apartment building and wave to people.
Then there are my Grandparents on my Mom's side.  We have lots because of divorce and remarriage. It's amazing  how different a Grandparent can be.  My mom's mom and husband were the Grandparents we never wanted to see.  Children were meant to be seen and not heard with them, you couldn't sit on the furniture and we weren't allowed to be noisy, basically we couldn't be kids around them!  Then my Mom's Dad and his many wifes were again different.  He would take us out on his boat,  we swam in their pool, etc.  Granted we didn't see this side of the family very often, because of distance, but still they were the kind of Grandparents kids love and I have many memories of them.
Now that I have kids it amazes me that someone wouldn't want to be a Grandparent.  But, that is how it is playing out in my kids lives.  We have my parents, Nana and Goppy, who are THE Grandparents.  The kids love to spend time with them, and will shortly be living with them, when we move.  And then we have my husbands parents, not the Grandparent type.  No calls, no cards, no gifts, basically no acknowledgement that they have Grandkids.  It's amazing how resilent kids are, this doesn't bother them, most likely because they are still little.  But I hope, that like me, they grow up and can remember as many memories of their Grandparents that they can.

The winner of the SmartKnitKIDS..........

is entry #3
Lorina who said:
Following Smart Knit Kids too.

Congratulations Lorina! Thanks to all who participated!
The winner has been notified my email and has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Winner of the 1 year Did you know? Devotion book.

Is entry #2
Amanda said...
I am a follower.

Congratulations Amanda~
The winner has been notified by email and has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

And the winner is........

Entry #1~
Lorina said...
I like the Christmas ornaments one. (either the red and white or the green and red)
Congratulations to Lorina for winning the personalized baby bag tag from The Blue Barn.
The winner has been contacted by email and has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Saying goodbye~

Don't you hate goodbyes? We are slowly saying goodbye to the friends we have had over the past four years here in Texas. It's harder on the kids than me. Since we have moved so much in our married life (this is the fourth move in ten years)I have gotten used to the goodbyes. Now that the girls are older, it is not going to be easy on them. They each have a best friend who they have done everything with for the last four years, the girls are also sisters, and the four of them have been pretty close. Tonight they will be having one last dinner with them, and I am sure their will be some tears. The younger two kids don't really understand what is going on, which is good, because I will be wiping enough tears from the older two. Now as for me, I can't say I will miss this place, it's no secret that I haven't liked it here. Perhaps, if I had met some of the friends I have now, a little sooner, I would have been a little happier, but it's too late now. We will be leaving in a few short days, wow, I can't believe it's that soon.
As I look through the house there are so many memories. My older two girls asked Jesus into their hearts here in this house. My younger two kids this is the only home they have known!
Please remember me in your prayers, that I have the grace to help the kids get through this transition, and that it will be an easy one!
Have a great weekend~ I will try to post the winners of my giveaways as soon as possible. And if you haven't entered what are you waiting for!

A great find

I was entering a contest when I found the site The Crafty Moms.  This store is great, especially if you have little girls.  They have lots of bows, hats, and even diaper bags, and the best thing is the prices!  I am going to be ordering some really cute hats for my girls, and because I wrote about their store on my blog, they are giving me a free bow of my choice!  So what are you waiting for?  Go check out The Crafty Moms.

Houston we have a problem.....

Two years ago Christmas we had a horrible trip home, and as we get ready to fly out again for Christmas I really hope we don't have the problems we had then. The following story is from my previous blog, so it is a repost. But when you read it you will know why I hate flying.
We have finally arrived home. We left my parents home on Wednesday night and stayed at a hotel across from the Buffalo airport. Our flight was to leave at 7:07 on Thursday morning. Now bare in mind that M. is extremely sick, Mi. is sick and I am coming down with whatever germ they have. We got up at 4:30 to get every one ready. Went through all the security and boarded our plane at 6:45. We left Buffalo airport and landed in Cleveland with only enough time to get in line for the next flight. We boarded our plane and we sat on the plane for close to 2 hours, as there was a mechanical malfunction. We weren't allowed out of our seats so it was a lot of fun entertaining three kids who didn't understand why we weren't moving. On top of the two hour delay our flight is another 2 1/2 hours to fly from Cleveland to Houston. Our plane in Houston was leaving at 11:45 to take us home. Needless to say we missed our flight. We landed in Houston at 12:30 hoping that the other flight had been delayed, but no such luck. So we got to wait in line hoping that they could put us on the next flight out. We were given the run around and we were told we would be put on the first flight out on Friday. You can only imagine how upset I was. The kids were sick and I was afraid I was going to run out of baby formula and diapers. We then tried to get on stand by on the next couple of flights out, but they only had one or two seats open each time. We waited till 7:00 p.m. that evening before giving up. We then went to the Continental desk where they said that because we missed our flight due to mechanical problems they would put us up in a hotel. They put us in the Hilton Inn and gave us vouchers for dinner and breakfast. We also got a little bag with toothbrushs etc. So we arrived at the Hotel and decided to go right to dinner. What a joke! The hotel only had one waitress and she was also in charge of room service so she would take an order and disappear for awhile. It ended up taking 2 hours to get our food and eat. Now its 9:30 and everyone is dirty, tired and very grumpy. I put M. in the tub and my hubby says" You are never going to believe what is behind this chair." I went to look. There was a pair of men's dirty underwear sitting there! I am not making this up. So I called the front desk and they said Oh, did you want a new room. Of course I did. So we got a new room and went to bed. Got up again very early and went to the airport for our flight home a day later than planned. We finally arrive home, and went to get our luggage. The luggage comes and goes, ours in not there. We went and asked about it and the man said it had arrived Thursday, and they had locked it up for the night. So we go to retrieve it and naturally one was missing. This is an important one. It has all our bathroom toiletries in it, and my makeup which I have been without for way too long! We find out that it is in Mexico! And we are hoping it arrives sometime today-Saturday. The trip was a crazy one, and I hope to never repeat it. We are home now and I will hopefully be able to put Christmas pictures up soon. Things are crazy after being gone for almost 2 weeks. We also went to the Doctors after getting home and M. has some new virus- a Herpes type 6. she also got a shot to cover her in case of strep throat. Both her and Mi. are on medicine. ( we are assuming Mi. has the same thing) So hopefully they get better soon.

I entered to win 6NSQUZE6U8KV

Check out http://girlzasoulsista.blogspot.com/2009/12/last-chance-to-enter-zhu-zhu-pet.html and get entered to win.

Merry SITSMAS

Merry Christmas to all my readers. Can you believe 2009 is almost over. 2010 is going to be a year of huge changes for us. We will be moving across country from Texas to New York, this January. Lot's of new things will be instore for us~ new house, new job (hubby), new Church, and new friends. Wow, I can't wait to see how it all works out!
Sorry I can't post any Christmas pictures our computer is still not working, so I can't upload anything~
Merry Christmas! and thanks to The Secret Is In the Sauce for hosting the Merry Sitsmas!

Whatever happened to.....

customer service? I can not believe how hard it is to get a live human being on the other end of a phone! Since we are moving in like a week, we are getting all the mail forwarded and what not. I tried calling my insurance company today to change our address. First I hate the automated machine that never understands what I say, it always interrupts me and says it doesn't understand what I want. I have taken to just yelling "Customer Service" into the receiver, because I don't have time to listen to "Please press 1 for..., please press 2 for..." You know what I mean!? So today after waiting, and waiting I finally get a real person on the line, I tell her I just need to change my address. She says, "I am sorry I need the policy holder to do that!" Can you believe it, I am not even aloud to change the address!! My poor hubby had to do it, and he had to wait even longer than I did! Whatever happened to the good old days, when a nice human being answered the phone? I miss the days of simple things.




6NSQUZE6U8KV

My phobia

is a yucky, eight-legged creature, otherwise known as the SPIDER. I am petrified of the things. It all began when I was five years old, we were walking in the woods, when my dad thought it would be funny to put this spider that was on his walking stick, on my leg. I freaked out, screaming and crying, and I still do it today, almost 30 years later. It seems that if there is going to be a spider in the room, it always finds me. I will not go into a room without first doing a quick scan to make sure there is nothing lurking there. I know, I have a serious problem right? When I was expecting my first child, my mom said, What would you do if there was a spider on the baby? Sadly, I probably would not be able to help the baby, that's how much I hate spiders! Thank God that has never happened, but I have had some pretty interesting encounters with the eight-legged creatures.
After my first daughter was born I went to visit my sister, as she had just bought a "new" house. My daughter was only about 6 weeks old, and I was still pretty emotional, and cried alot. Anyway one morning I went to take a shower, when I was done I grabbed a nice clean towel, wrapped it around me and felt something crawing on my leg. There was a big, fat, hairy wood spider making it's way up my leg. I dropped the towel, and start to cry, and shake, and pretty much have a meltdown. Meanwhile, my mom and sister are downstairs watching the baby, and my mom hears funny sounds coming from the bathroom, she thinks uh-oh she is having a suffering from the baby blues and is having a little meltdown. She comes to the door to see if I am ok. when I don't answer, she gets worried, I finally find my voice and tell her I am stuck in the shower because there was a spider on me and I can't move. My poor mother had to come in and get me out of the shower and calm me down. Then there is the spider that found it's way into our car.
Once when we were driving down interstate 95 at night, I looked down and saw something crawling on me. I started freaking out, and told my husband I had to get out of the car IMMEDIATELY! I start to panick and am crying which is scaring my two little girls in the backseat of the car. Hubby pulls over in a not so nice part of town, and searches the car, finds nothing and tells me nicely to get in the car, but I can't, because I know there is something in there. Meanwhile, my girls are in the backseat of the car watching Mommy through the window have a meltdown. My nice, calm husband tells me to get in the car becuase 1. we have a long trip to finish, and 2. the girls are watching me and I need to calm down. So I finally get in the car, curl into a ball and pray that I was just imagining the whole thing. So we start driving again down busy I-95, my hubby puts his arm around me and as we drive he looks down and crawling down his arm is a HUGE spider, he yelled and threw his arm, which made the spider land on the floor. Once again I start crying, because I have to get out of the car, I am that afraid of the thing. He somehow manages to trap it and we pull into a gas station. It was about 4 inches big and was a Wolf Spider, if you have never seen one, they are big and hairy! Hubby apologized for making fun of me and we continue on our journey. I am reminded of all this because this morning as I am getting out of the shower, I look down and swimming in the water is a dead spider, I am thankful I didn't see it till after I was done in the shower! Now you may ask what about your kids? Do they share your fear of spiders? NOPE, so far they are all bug lovers, and spider don't scare them. They all know of mommy's fear of spiders, and find it very funny that mom can't look at the spider exhibit when we go to the zoo.
What about you? What's your phobia? I would love to hear about it, and maybe reassure myself I am not totally crazy!

Check out this blog giveaway

April Showers Blog Design is having a HUGE giveaway and celebrating her OPEN waiting list that starts January 1st! April not only does blogs - but also invitations, announcements, calendars, cards, business cards, custom illustrations, and so much more! Just by pasting this paragraph on my blog I'm a winner! www.aprilshowersblogdesign.com

Products for keeping you healthy ~ Review

Have you ever suffered from a canker sore?  You know how painful, and ugly they can be.  There is a product called Lip Clear Lysine+ Cold Sore Treatment that is a good solution to healing your cold sores as quick as possible.  Lip Clear Lysine+ is all natural, has a non-chemical flavor, and goes on clear.  You can find Lip Clear Lysine+ at  drug stores,

supermarkets, and health food stores nationwide, and online at http://www.lipclear.com/   It retails for $6.99 for a 7-gram tube.

Florastor is a product for keeping your digestive system working properly.  There are billions of microorganisms in our intestines that keep our systems working, and when this balance gets disrupted we end up with problems such as diarrhea and abdominal discomfort.  Florastor is a clinically tested, natural, yeast-based probiotic that aids in growing the good microorganisms that our intestines need.
Florastor is now available at many retail stores for $9.95 for 10 capsules, $39.95 for 50 capsules, or a 20-count  blister pack for $21.95.
You can now also get Florastor Kids.  It is safe for babies and children ages two months, and older.  This comes in a great tasting powder form.  You can dissolve Florastor Kids in beverages, including formula, or soft foods.  It is used to help prevent and manage antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and traveler's diarrhea.  It sells for $11.95 for a box of 10 powder packets.  Visit Florastor's website for more information.

The Canker Cover is a unique patch that will treat most canker sores in 24 hours, and provides pain relief from irritants for 8-12 hours.  Canker sores are a painful blister inside the mouth, cheek or inner lip, that affect 56 million people a year.  If you don't treat a canker sore it can be painful to eat or drink.  Some of the cuases of a canker sore are stress, low immune system, biting the inside of the cheek, and food allergies.
How it works: Apply the patch to the affected area, and it wil dissolve, you can apply a second patch 24 hours after the first patch, if necessary.  The patch sticks to the canker sore and forms a clear, gel patch which will seal the area that is infected for 8-12 hours.
The patch is made from natural, edible ingredients.  You can buy these for $9.99 for a box of 6 patches, available at drug stores and supermarkets, or online at http://www.cankercover.com/

Softlips Pure is a line of organic lip conditioners that are made to keep your lips soft and healthy.   Softlips Pure is 100% natural light flavors, and the package is made from recycled materials that is printed with vegetable-based ink.

Softlips has a lot of different flavors to try.

•  Softlips PURE has four new flavors~ peppermint, acai berry, papaya and chai tea.

• Softlips SPF 20 flavors are vanilla, cherry, strawberry, raspberry with green tea extract.  And new is Mint with a hint of vanilla, and Wildberry.                                                                                         
• 
  
  Softlips Limited Edition Winter Flavors are Winter Mint, Sugar Cookie & new for 2009 are Sugar & Spice and Sugar Plum Berry.
  
  
  

SoftLips is packaged in a sleek, slim stick that can be slipped into purses or pockets.   SoftLips PURE can be purchased at Target for 2.99 each for a 0.07 ounce stick.

The other lines of SoftLips can be bought at retail and drug stores nationwide.  Prices range from 2.79 for one stick and 3.99 for dual packs.  For more information you can go to http://www.softlips.com/ . You can also find them on Facebook.

*** Disclaimer*** I was given these products free of charge, I was not paid to review these products.  Thanks to Robin Leedy & Associates for sending me these products to review.  I was given the chance to review theses products due to my membership with the the product review place

What's in a name?

How much thought did you put into naming your child? I am going to start of my telling you that I absolutetly hate my name. Always have always will! As a child I was quiet and shy, and it didn't help to have a name that know one had heard of before, much less for a girl. I got quite tired of having to repeat my name over and over again because people just didn't get it. I vowed when I had kids they would all have normal nice sounding names. And they do! They all start with the letter M. they are somewhat popular names, nothing to outgoing. I wanted my kids to be able to go to a store and be able to find their name on a pencil, cup or whatever. Do you know I never have had my name on anything! Lot's of people ask me where did your name come from? Let me tell you, my Mom, bless her heart, named me after someone she thought was a good person, then we saw the movie.
I am named after an English school teacher, Jean Brodie, from another era. When my mom was in highschool they showed the film The Life of Miss Jean Brodie, now as my mom remembers it, she thought it was a great name, and that she was a great person. Somehow my mom wasn't really paying attention that day in class. Fastforward a few years, my mom is having a baby (me) and needs a name, she remembers how she loved the name Jean Brodie and so she decides to switch it around and name me Brodie Jean. Again I can't stress how much I hate it. Fastfoward about 30 years and my mom calls me and says that the movie The Life of Miss Jean Brodie is gonna be on t.v. and I gotta watch it. So I start to watch it, and oh my word, my mother was not paying attention in class for sure, when she thought this was a good woman to name me after. Half way through the movie my mom calls me laughing and apologizes for naming me after this woman. She really wasn't such a good lady after all, and that is an understatement!
Now a days you hear boys with the name Brody with a "y", but I have NEVER seen nor heard of another girl with then name Brodie spelled with "IE".
By the way I have gotten over my name~ now I just don't care that I have to repeat myself over and over again when someone asks me my name.
But the lesson I learned was what impact does a name have on a child? Do parents really stop and think about it? I know I did!

Children's Zyrtec Perfect Measure~ Review

Recently I was sent a box of Children's ZYRTEC perfect measure allergy medicine. This is the only 24 hour chilren's allergy medicine that comes in pre-measured spoons. Perfect for on the go! This is packaged in an easy way so that you make sure your child is getting the right amount of medicine. Just twist off the cap and squeeze the pre-filled medicine right into your child's mouth.
ZYRTEC relieves sneezing, runny noses, itchy, watery eyes, and itchy throat or noses.
This product is intended for children ages 6 and older. It comes in a dye-free and sugar free grape flavor.
You get 10 pre-filled spoons in each box, and sells for $11.99 at major retailers.
My kids haven't had any allergies in quite awhile, so we haven't gotten to try these out, but if they do start to get allergies I will definitely try these out.
*** Disclaimer*** I was not paid to review this product, I was sent this product free of charge. Thanks to Buzz Agent for sending me this product. I am a member of BzzAgent. All statements made are my own opinion, and therefore may not be the same as your opinion.