A Mama Stork Knows

Belly Charms Bracelet Winner!

2011-01-19T10:03:00.003-05:00

I used random.org and lucky number 69 was selected!

Congratulations MeggyNC!!

69. MeggyNC said...
I follow your blog <3 :)
megcarter.nc@gmail.com

January 12, 2011 7:41 PM

I'm going to email her now and she'll have 48 hours to respond or I'll select a new winner.

Thanks for entering everyone!!

Belly Charms Mother's Bracelet Review and Giveaway!

2011-01-02T23:49:00.011-05:00

Hello everyone!! I know I've been seriously slacking around here lately, sorry for that. I'm hoping with this New Year and the end of the Holidays I'll have more time to get back to blogging and catch up with some of my favorite internet friends. To start us off nicely, I have a great review and giveaway!

During my pregnancy with Rosemary, I remember looking through websites checking out personalized Mother’s jewelry. That’s where I first came across Belly Charms.

Belly Charms is an online store offering a large variety of jewelry from pregnancy belly button rings, mother’s bracelets, child safety ID's, children’s jewelry and so much more. Sonya (the owner and designer of Belly Charms) has such a large selection of products; I am amazed at her creativity and talent!

I was so fortunate to be given a wonderful opportunity to review a beautiful piece of jewelry from Belly Charms!

I selected a stunning Swarovski Pearl & Antique Silver Mother's Bracelet. The bracelet comes with 5.6mm silver pewter beads separated by sterling silver spacers. The name on the bracelet is surrounded by 6mm Swarovski Pearls and antique silver beads. There is a nice selection of colors to choose from and sizes as well, so that made ordering really easy. I chose the rose colored pearls for Rosemary’s October birthday, and cream rose to accent. My bracelet shipped very quickly after I ordered and arrived packaged in a lovely box.

I couldn’t be happier with how my bracelet turned out. As you can see, it’s perfect!

It is so professional looking and gorgeous, I’m still surprised that someone made this by hand! It’s so lovely, very well made, and since it’s personalized with Rosemary, so very – very special to me. I honestly treasure my bracelet so much and I wear it whenever I think of it.

This bracelet retails for $42.99 and I truly think it is worth every dime!

I know I’ll have this beautiful keepsake forever, and you can bet I’ll be getting matching ones for my future children!

Please check out the Belly Charms website, Blog, Etsy, Facebook and twitter sites for more information on all the fabulous products Sonya has to offer!

Not only was Sonya gracious enough to offer a bracelet to me, but she is offering one to one of my very lucky readers!! The winner is in for a real treat!

To enter to win your very own personalized Swarovski Pearl & Antique Silver Mother's Bracelet from Belly Charms, please visit the Belly Charms website and return here commenting on something you'd love to have. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. "Like" Belly Charms on facebook

3. "Like" A Mama Stork Knows on facebook

4. Follow Belly Charms and myself on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweets. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:

"Enter to #win an elegant Swarvoski Pearl Mother's Bracelet from @BellyCharms over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/f4a70m #giveaway RT"

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the bracelet.

Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S., and ends on January 17, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses nor damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Rosemary's First Year Video

2010-11-17T23:30:00.004-05:00

I finally found time to finish Rosemary's first year video and here it is! It's a bit long, but I think worth it. :) Enjoy!

WW - Hap-Bee Halloween!

2010-11-03T17:23:00.002-04:00

12 Months Old!

2010-10-19T17:29:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday my sweet little girl!

This has been the best and shortest year of my life! I'm so blessed to have you and I hope one day you can realize just how much love I have for you.

I'm feeling so many things right now. Shock over how fast this year went. Sadness that it seemed to go so fast and that you're growing up so fast. Excitement that you're a year old and doing so many neat and wonderful things. So much love that I couldn't even begin to describe how much I feel for you.

This past year has honestly been so wonderful. I can't even imagine what my life would be like without you. Lately I just hug and squeeze you even more than usual, remembering that soon you'll be too big to want me to do it. Thank God you can't run away from me yet! I rock you more at night now that every time I lay you down, I'm reminded that you are going to be too old for me to do it oneday. I just can't believe this.

I can't believe my tiny newborn is this huge toddler now. Taking steps on her own. Wearing big girl clothes. Defiantly doing things she knows she shouldn't. How did this happen overnight!?

I've been working on a video for your birthday and all I do is cry and wish I could do it all over again. All of it. The late nights, the colic, the first smiles, the first everythings. It's so hard to remember that you're still little and there are so many firsts still to come. I'm trying but I can't help but be overwhelmed with how much already you don't need me anymore. I know that every thing new that happens in your young little life is cooler and better than the month before, but I just really need you to slow down a bit for me. Please!

Ok, I realize I sound incredibly selfish and sappy, but I just don't know how to stop right now. I just love you so much and I'm overwhelmed with how much things are changing. Looking at all the old photos and remembering is bringing so much back! It's hard to look at those photos and you in person now and see my tiny infant. You're all grown up! Well, a grown up baby at least.

This past month has been a big one it seems.

You now have seven teeth and a molar on the way. Looks like a full mouth of teeth when you smile. Incredible!

You eat pretty much everything now. I'm excited to give you whole milk soon and peanuts too! Then we can pb&j sandwiches at last. Pancakes are still your favorite followed by bananas and melon. Although, you did have cake at your party this weekend and on your birthday today, so that may be your new favorite. :)

Still in size 3 diapers during the day and we just moved up to size 5 overnights.

You're in size 9 month clothes with a few things in size 12, but not much. We don't have a doctors appointment until November 3, so I won't know your measurements until then, but I'm guessing almost 19 pounds when we go. You love the food!

The most exciting thing is, you too your first steps!! Just this past weekend at your birthday party, which was awesome. You did it in front of all of you immediate family, which was so neat to share with everyone. Way to go!

You're slowly starting to stand on your own for longer periods of time, but not that long. By next month I'm thinking you'll be a pro.

You crawl on all fours most of the time now. Only took you 11 months to ditch the army crawl (which you still do pretty often too). No big deal. I just think it's cute to see you actually going around on all fours after all this time army crawling.

Your favorite toys are books, your play kitchen and home, a stuffed brown dog, and your musical instruments.

We started a toddler class last month that has play time and band time, and you just love the instruments. We have a lot of fun at that class playing and now you even have some instruments from Uncle Kevin at home.

You also are playing more independantly at home. This is nice for Mom to get some things done on her own. :)

We went to your fist cider mill and pumpkin patch this month too. You loved the tiny bit of donut you got. Not too interested in the pumpkins, next year!

I'm trying to remember all the new things from this past month and I think I got them. Still no words really. You say the da da sound, but I'm not really sure it's on purpose yet. Occasionally I think I hear a "doggie" sound, but I'm not sure on that either. Soon I bet!

Happy Birthday my love! Thank you for the most special year of my life. Truely!

I know I'm sad that this first year is over, but I really am so excited and happy for what lays in store for us and for you. You have so much yet to do and I just can't wait to see how much you love life and all the new and fun things you'll be discovering. It's going to be so great. I know it.

love you forever with the most love you can imagine,

Mommy

Wordless Wednesday - First Tiger's Game - We Won!

2010-09-29T00:31:00.001-04:00

Wordless Wednesday - Sleeping Angel

2010-09-22T23:25:00.000-04:00

11 Months Old!

2010-09-20T21:14:00.003-04:00

Hopefully I'll have some more pictures I took up on the 365 blog from her 11 month photos later this week. Hopefully.

Rosemary,

You're 11 Months old! Well, yesterday. Can you believe I forgot to write on it. Guess we were just having too good a time celebrating on a lovely Sunday.

This past month has been wonderful. Busy and flew by quite fast just like every other month. We had a wonderful time though. Enjoyed the ending of you first Summer and the beginning of your first fall. Now it's sweatshirts and socks and shoes until next Summer! Good thing I love fall and Pumpkins and Cider Mills and BIRTHDAYS!

You're more and more like a toddler every day and it's been great watching you get around. No steps on your own yet, but we're in no hurry for that! You climb on everything and anything you come across. Faster and faster every day. I know those steps on your own are coming soon!

One new thing this month is that you FINALLY started crawling on your hands and knees! After over three months of army crawling only, occasionally, you'll crawl on your hands and knees. And only sometimes. You're so silly! Mom just can't wait until your clothes aren't filthy from the army crawling. :)

Your favorite toys this month are books, your laugh and learn toys, and of course anything you can touch that you shouldn't be (like tv remotes, phones and cameras). You got a new maracas and drum set that you like to play with too. I love watching you figure out how to turn the buttons on and beat on the drum so it makes noise. Too cute!

You're in size 3 diapers. You're in size 9 month clothes, but we're just switching over to 9 month pants finally. I'm sorry about the short thing. Not completely my fault...

You have 5 and a half teeth now. The top right wants to be through, and might be through a little, but you won't let me check it out for myself.

Pancakes and bananas are still you favorites but as we start trying more and more food this may start to change. Maybe. :) You could have pancakes for every meal every day I think. I finally gave you spaghetti just this past week and you loved it too! Get ready, it'll be a staple in your life forever. Glad you liked it. :)

No words yet. We're trying though! Lots of babble. Occasionally you'll throw out a dada that Dad thinks might be the real deal, but I'm still not sold on it.

Not too much else new this month. The most noticable is just how fast you're getting at moving around. It really is amazing to watch you crawl and pull up and shuffle along the couches and walls. It's so hard to believe you're able to do these things on your own! A few short months ago you could barely lift your head and now you're almost walking! My baby. All grown up.

Only one more month until you're one! It's so sad and so awesome all at the same time. I have no idea how we got this far already. It literally feels like last week I was pregnant and now I have a small adult sleeping in the other room. It's very surreal. Sometimes I just still can't believe you're here and you're mine and the next I'm expecting you to go off to college. Thank God that's still a few years away!

Thanks for another great month my love,

Mom

Wordless Wednesday - Say What?

2010-09-15T20:57:00.003-04:00

CSN Stores Review Coming Up!

2010-09-13T21:30:00.001-04:00

CSN Stores has over 200 online stores with products for every need or want you'd have. Stores with Console Tables and other furniture, home decor, housewares, home improvement, shoes, pet goods, baby and kids supplies (which of course is my favorite to shop for) and the list goes on!

CSN Stores approached me awhile ago with a great opportunity to do a review for them, and in a few weeks I'll have that up for everyone to see.

When I was deciding what to review, it seriously took me a few days just to narrow down what I'd want first, there's so much great stuff to pick from. I ended up choosing the Fisher Price Shopping Cart as Rosemary is starting love her push toys and I just know she's going to love it!

Take a look over at CSN Stores now to see how many wonderful products they have and I'll report back here in a few weeks on how my shopping experience was with them!

10 Months Today!

2010-08-19T23:34:00.004-04:00

I'll be posting more pictures to my 365 blog later this weekend when I finally get caught up!

Rosemary,

Ten Months old today! Wow!

This month has got to be the fastest month yet!

I blame this on full Summer mode. :) We've been doing so much lately. We've been out of town several times and I really think those two weeks alone let us fast forward through your 10th month.

This month you're doing more than ever! It's seriously amazing to see the difference.

You still are crawling, determined to continue on with your army crawl. No hands and knees for you! You get all over the house and fast, so I don't think it's slowing you down any! Now on top of crawling you pull up to stand on EVERYTHING! At first it was just me, now anything you crawl to you pull up on. Very scary when you don't hang on! You of course don't think you need to...

You got your first bruise from falling two weeks ago and have continued with new ones just about every other day. :) Let's hope it's not causing any brain damage!!

Besides standing all the time (which is by far your biggest achievement this month) you're just amazingly more and more like a person instead of a baby every day. You love to play and talk and investigate everything! Your personality comes out more all the time. I'm calling it now - I think you're going to be on the shy side. An observer. Quiet. I could so be wrong, but so far you just seem like that's the way you're heading. Very dainty. :)

This month your favorites are still books, your laugh and learn kitchen and home and all electronics still. Add that to the climbing and it keeps Mama busy!

You're in size three diaper now. Mostly size 9 month clothes. The pants are still 6 months shorty. :)

I actually bought you your first real pair of shoes this past week too! You just think they're ok. Harder to crawl and pull up with them on. But you're oh so cute in them!

You have three teeth and I think another one is coming soon! Two bottom front and another right next to your right one. So cute how uneven your smiles are!

You love pancakes and bananas the most. Although you eat pretty much anything we give you still. Little piggy! New nickname among the family is goldfish as we think you'd eat until you burst!

One of the funnier (now that it's passed) phases this month is when you finally started standing in your crib and couldn't get down on your own. It only lasted a week (thank goodness) as I'd lay you down for bed or a nap, you'd get up, figure out you couldn't get down or out, start crying, I'd come get you, lay you down, repeat. Poor thing! It was a rough week for all of us sleeping wise. Too cute though when you finally figured out how to sit.

We lowered your crib all the way down too. Had to after you were such a big girl in there. :)

One of your favorite things this month was finally going on the swings! You LOVED, LOVED, LOVED them! We've gone back since and it's just too cute to watch that face light right up.

I'm sure there' so much more we did and that you've learned this month, but that's all I can remember at the moment.

Another great month past my love! Can't believe only 2 more months until you're one! I just can't believe you're so OLD! Where is my baby going?!

Love you forever,

Mom

A Not So Wordless Wednesday - Last Picture Pregnant

2010-08-04T15:49:00.005-04:00

Here we are at 41 weeks. Rosemary arrived via C-Section at 41 weeks, 1 day. Today Rosemary is 41 weeks, 2 days. Officially an outside baby longer than an inside one. Why did it take longer for that 41 weeks 1 day to go by?

Playing With Photoshop

2010-07-22T00:22:00.004-04:00

I recently got photoshop and I've been playing around in it a bit. It's hard to figure out! Here's my photo from today for my 365 blog.

I wasn't too thrilled with the straight out of the camera version, so I attempted to do some actions on it in Photoshop. Here's a few of the edits.

My real problem is that even if I figure out how to use Photoshop properly, how do I know what the best way to edit it is? I'm just going to end up with 5 different photos of each photo. So... that's like 1000 pictures on heavy picture day... :) I think I'll just have to do one photo every once in a while.

Anyone have any tips on learning photoshop? Great websites or books?? Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday - Please Let Me Out Mom!

2010-07-21T23:25:00.002-04:00

9 Months Today!

2010-07-19T23:50:00.005-04:00

To see more of Rosemary's 9 month photos from today, check out my 365 blog.

Rosemary,

9 months. Let me repeat that. 9 MONTHS.

Oh my. I can't believe it. You are almost to the point where you have been an outside baby just as long as an inside baby! Pregnancy seemed so long when we were there, and now it seems so long ago. Ka - Razy.

This month has been so fun and I've loved this one more than the one before - of course.

You're crawling around like mad now. Over obstacles and around and around you go.

You love to pull up too. Uh oh. We lowered your crib the next day. You aren't pulling up on everything quite yet, mostly just lowered objects and your favorite stable one seems to be me. This isn't really my favorite phase as you're constantly pulling my shirt down to share with the world. Lets move on to the couch, shall we? :)

Recently you even began standing all on your own! We have to place you there, but you hang on all by yourself.

You went swimming for the first time this month and loved it!

We went to the zoo and you loved... the fountain? Maybe next year it'll be more fun for you.

You're still in 6 month clothing, but that's about to change this weekend. Time for some big girl clothes!

We've also moved you up to size three diapers. Such a big girl! At least to us. Your stats at the doctors today were great! Up to 15lb 6oz. HUGE! I have no idea what I'd do if you were really 22lbs. I think you're a big girl even if everyone else says you're pretty small. Petite. :)

You're still on homemade purees but you LOVE table food. And I mean LOVE. You've tried so many foods, but I think chicken, pancakes and bananas seem to be your favorites. Not that you refuse much, but you seem to get pretty excited over those. You hate cheese. We'll work on that.

You play more and more all the time. You just got some big girl toys like a bead maze and little kitchen that you love to stand on and press the different buttons to make the noises go. You still enjoy books, especially the textures. You love to turn the pages. It's pretty cute. You unfortunately are still pretty obsessed with cords, outlets, vents, remotes, phones, and more recently, my lens cap.

Still only two teeth, but you've been teething bad lately, so I expect more this month. Fingers crossed they start to pop out soon, it seems to make you pretty uncomfortable. Not the easiest on Mom and Dad either.

One of the biggest things this month was that you were Baptised. Wonderful day and I took lots of pictures so you can remember when you're older - lets add in another of course here.
:)

You also had your first Father's Day and first Fourth of July which were also pretty wonderful too. You sure are lucky!

You also got your first official official haircut at a salon. It went... ok. Lets just say it'll grow back. :)

I think that's most of the special moments for you. I love you and I can't wait to share how wonderful month 10 is with you!

Lucid New York Giveaway Winner

2010-07-19T23:30:00.002-04:00

I used random.org and lucky number 51!

51. Ingrid said...
I have your blog button on my blogroll.
http://averyandme-ingrid.blogspot.com/

I'll message Ingrid to let her know she's won! She'll have 48 hours to respond or I'll select a new winner.

Thanks for entering everyone and Congratulations to Ingrid!

I've got a bunch of new reviews and giveaways for the next couple of weeks set to start later this week so check back to see ones from Guidecraft, Eleven, Belly Charms and more!

Wordless Wednesday - With Daddy

2010-07-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

Lucid New York Giveaway Extended! - CLOSED

2010-07-10T14:34:00.004-04:00

Since the entries are so low on this lovely puzzle piece necklace giveaway from Lucid New York, I've decided to extend the giveaway for one more week!

It's such a cute necklace and I'm thinking that busy summer schedules and the Holiday have kept people from entering. SO... One more week!

The extended deadline for the giveaway will be Friday, July, 16th.

Here's the original link. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday - Cuddle Time

2010-07-07T21:48:00.001-04:00

Rosemary's 1st Fourth of July

2010-07-05T23:00:00.001-04:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

Rosemary's first was wonderful!

We headed over to my in laws early afternoon and enjoyed a day hanging out on the water, barbecuing, and relaxing with family.

J's parents, my parents, and all my siblings were there as well. It was such a lovely way to spend the Holiday!

I took a lot of photos with my new camera, but I haven't really learned enough about it yet to figure out how to get good fireworks shots. I got a TON of Rosemary of course.

She's the best subject anyways. :)

Hanging out at home before heading over to Grandma and Grandpa's house on the lake. Little Miss 4th of July herself!

Filling up on yummy water. Rosemary much prefers everyone else's bottles to her own sippy cup - of course.

Of course most of it ends up down her chin and on her shirt.

Watching the boat go by with Grandpa (my dad.)

J and all Rosemary's aunt's and uncle's coming in on the boat.

The weather was beautiful, but a tad hot. We made poor Lucy get in the water periodically even though she makes it known she is NOT a water dog.

After Rosemary went to bed we went out on the lake for the night. Here's J enjoying a beer in the water.

J's parents lake have a really nice fireworks show and after some cruising around the lake with my family we got to see a really nice display.

This was our are only chance to see fireworks this year as we didn't want to actaully take Rosemary to see them. She goes to bed pretty early and with them starting so late we didn't think it would be a good idea to purposely keep her up late for them.

It was a great show and a perfect way to end the day!

Amy Adele Giveaway Winner!

2010-07-05T22:49:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting the Amy Adele winner!

J had off last week so we had lots of family time. I have a post in the works filling everyone in on the fun. :)

I used random.org and lucky number 2 was chosen for my Amy Adele winner!

2. Jennifer said...
Entry #2 - follow publically GFC

Congratulations Jennifer!

I'll send Jennifer an email this morning. She'll have 48 hours to respond or I'll have to select a new winner.

Thanks for entering everyone!

Wordless Wednesday - Hi!

2010-06-30T00:12:00.003-04:00

Baptised in Faith

2010-06-29T23:00:00.000-04:00

For lots more photos from her Baptism check out my 365 blog

This past Sunday Rosemary was Baptised!

It was a wonderful day and Rosemary did so well in church and after at the party (for the most part).

Rosemary was baptised at the same church my parents go to and the same church me and my husband were married at a year and a half ago. The mass was at 10AM, so it a very early start for us being that the church is 50 minutes away.

We left the house by 8AM so we had time to stop by my parents and drop off some things and change Rosemary into her gown.

We got to the church around 9:30AM just to be early in case there wasn't pews reserved for us. I was starting to get a bit nervous about Rosemary now as she'd been up since 7:15AM and she's usually taking her morning nap by 9AM. Plus, this was her first time at church and I wasn't quite sure how she'd do with all the people and noise.

Thankfully, Rosemary did perfect during the mass! She fussed a tiny bit at a few points but was fine as long as I was holding her.

I felt a little bad that J and Rosemary's Godparents didn't get to hold her much during it, but they got in a bit of time with her towards the end. Jessica (her Godmother) ended up holding her during the most important part of the Baptism, so that was nice.

After the mass we had small party for Rosemary at my parents house who live five minutes from there. It was really nice except Rosemary was pretty grouchy by this point, so it wasn't much fun for her. I tried to get her to nap, but by the time she finally fell asleep, she only slept for 20 minutes or so. Stubborn girl wanted to be up the whole time for her party!

By the time we headed home around 3PM we were all pooped!!

Rosemary slept for about another half hour on the way home and finally went to bed around 7PM. What a long day for her! Me and my husband were exhausted so I can only imagine how she was feeling with no morning nap and a short cat nap or two in the afternoon.

It was such a special day for us and Rosemary was absolutely beautiful in her gown. :)

I'm so happy my entire family could be there for her special day and I'm glad Rosemary is finally officially part of the church too!

I was honestly surprised by how proud and happy I was of/for her as she was getting baptised. I almost cried! I realized then I am so going to be the Mom that cries at every single event in my daughters life.

EcoMom Boon Squirt Giveaway Winner!

2010-06-29T22:01:00.002-04:00

I used Random.org and number 3 was selected!

3. MomLovesDeals said...
I follow on Google Friend Connect. #2

Congratulations to MomLovesDeals!

I"m going to email her now and she'll have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back I'll select a new winner.

Thanks for entering everyone!

Hot Mama Handbags Winner!

2010-06-24T22:44:00.002-04:00

I used random.org and lucky number 13 was selected!

Belle's Butterfly said...
I voted for you on top mommy blogs

Congratulations Belle's Butterfly!

I'm going to email the winner now and she'll have 48 hours to respond. If she doesn't I'll select a new winner.

Don't forget everyone can still get free shipping on their order this month with the code just for my readers! Just enter the code: MAMA STORK – FREE SHIP.

Thanks for entering everyone!

Lucid New York Review and Giveaway - Extended Until 7/16! - CLOSED

2010-06-21T14:22:00.006-04:00

I’m especially excited about the review I’ve got for everyone today!

Most of my reviews and giveaways have to do with Rosemary, but this one is a special treat just for us Women! Well, technically that’s not true as Rosemary was the deciding factor in which necklace I chose, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

I recently had the opportunity to review a gorgeous necklace from Lucid New York!

Lucid New York is a jewelry collection created by New York designer/writer/photographer Anna Sabino. Not only is Anna beautiful and stylish herself, but she’s extremely talented!

Lucid New York is sold in over 100 stores all over the world and has been featured in many popular magazines such as People, Nylon, and Vogue - just to name a few.

Anna’s collection is full of unique, handmade jewelry including necklaces, earrings, bracelets and cocktail rings. I absolutely LOVE so many of them! She is so creative and trendy; I could pick out something to wear for every occasion with all of her fabulous pieces.

When deciding which necklace I’d love to get for this review, I had a hard time narrowing it down, that’s for sure! The necklaces come in either sterling silver or 14k gold - I'm more of a silver gal, so that decision was easy. The necklace itself - not so much.

In the end I chose the puzzle necklace in sterling silver because it reminded me of Rosemary. She was after all, my missing piece.

Am I a complete dork that even when I select jewelry to wear I think of my sweet baby girl? Possibly, but I’m ok with that.

Anna had the necklace in stock already and shipped it right over to me. I received the necklace in an extremely timely fashion – three or four days after I first spoke with her it was around my neck!

It’s absolutely stunning!

The puzzle piece is a silver vermeil charm that is 5/8” by 1/2”. The charm comes on a stunning 16” handmade chain that is so perfect I have no idea how she can make it look so good! I am simply in awe of anyone who could make this delicate (yet sturdy) chain look just as good as one made by a machine. Both the clasp and the end jump ring are on very secure so I’m never worried about it breaking while I’m wearing it.

My absolute favorite feature of this necklace is how Anna secures her charms in the middle front so it’s not moving around.

One of my biggest pet peeves of charm necklaces has to be that the clasp always ends up in front right alongside the charm.

Not this one.

Since Anna has secured the charm to the middle of the chain, this ensures I’ll never have to rotate my necklace around my neck again! The charm is heavy enough so it always stays in the middle and therefore the clasp is always where it should be – in the back. LOVE this feature.

Another reason I love this feature is that I know I’ll never lose the charm!

If you look in my jewelry box you’re sure to find half dozen charms at the bottom that have fallen off their chains. It’s always a pain to try and find the matching chain, so by having the puzzle piece securely on the chain itself, this helps out with that issue as well.

I am so happy with my necklace!

It’s cute, it’s me, and it’s overall a really great necklace!

Head over to Lucid New York now to check out all of her great collection!

Don’t forget about her other pieces besides the necklaces. She’s got some cocktail rings that are perfection!!

Anna also has blog you can check out too where she tells all about her world adventures (like learning the trapeze in Turks and Caicos) and letts us in on her fabulous style finds. And trust me, her style IS indeed fabulous.

Anna has graciously agreed to do a giveaway for the same beautiful necklace I received!

To enter to win the gift certificate visit the Lucid New York website and return here commenting on something you'd love to have. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. "Like" A Mama Stork Knows on facebook - must do this as an individual (adding as your blog favorite will not count)

3. Follow Anna and myself on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweets. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:
"Enter to #win a Lucid New York Necklace from @LucidAnna over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/csyZ2v #giveaway RT"

4. Add my button to your blog or add me to your blogroll; leave your blog url so I may check

5. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs and/or Picket Fence Blogs. This may be done once daily.

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the Amy Adele Gift Certificate. Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and Canada, and ends on July 9, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected. (I'm running this giveaway a little longer than usual as the holiday is in there.)

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses nor damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T21:41:00.007-04:00

Happy Father's Day to my own wonderful Dad! He's the very best Man I know and I'm so grateful to him for everything for he's taught and showed me in my life. I wouldn't be the person I am today without him, his love and his great values showing me exactly how I want to be. :)

Happy Father's Day to my awesome husband J! I love you so much and I'm so glad on your first Father's Day I can say you truly are an amazing husband and father. Rosemary is so lucky she got you as a Father and I know she'll be just as grateful for you as I am with my own Dad!

We had a great time on my husbands first Father's Day.

We started the day off at my parents house with a yummy breakfast, stopped home for an hour so Rosemary could nap, and then headed out to J's parents for dinner.

Filled with family and food we had a really nice day and I hope everyone else had a great one too!

Happy Father's Day to all those great Dad's out there!

Rosemary is 8 Months Today!

2010-06-19T15:00:00.000-04:00

To see more of Rosemary's 8 month pics from today check out my 365 blog.

Dear Rosemary,

Today you are 8 months old my love.

Another month gone, another month I say wow, how did it go so fast!?

You're doing more than ever now.

Getting into trouble every other minute it seems. Crawling all over, chewing on everything you can get those two tiny teeth on. Your favorite seems to be my tables and cords. Wonderful.

You're getting huge too!

Or at least it seems to me. My little baby girl seems to be growing at lightening speed towards a young little lady!

Like every other month so far, this month was the best above all the rest. We have so much fun together now as everday you're showing more and more of your personality. We love to giggle together and it truly is what makes my days wonderful. It seems like every day holds new surprises and experiences. I honestly wish you could remember how great this time in your life is. Guess that's what I'm here for. To let you know what a joy you are and how truly awesome this time of our lives are.

I love watching you learn new things so much - I think that's my favorite part of this month. I love when you realize something new, like the fact that we have a bathroom and you've never been in that room. It's so fun watching your face light up as you realize you can make your way over to check it out yourself. Of course you're only disappointed when Mom grabs you up to set you back 15 feet away again. Sorry girl, it's for your own good. Same thing for all your favorite plugs, cords and outlets. Already living on the edge it seems.

Here's some of the things you're doing as an 8 month old:

- You're crawling now - still just army, but you get anywhere you want in no time at all
- You've had pretty much all the first fruits and veggies and we've slowly started prepping you towards table food
- Still babble a lot - Mama is your favorite! You have started to say Dada a bit more too. :)
- You've learned to press buttons on of your favorite toys, Violet, her paws. So cute!
- Love playing with your toys - especially books! You still love all electronics, but you've moved on to cords and outlets to my displeasure
- Started being a little shy with strangers and other babies
- Love to reach out for me when you get a little uneasy
- Yesterday you stood up all alone (with the help of the chair) for a minute! We're in trouble now!
- Still in size 2 diaper and size 6 month clothes
- Still working on the sippy cup, but you're improving

Thank you for another wonderful month Rosemary.

I love you more every day and I'm so happy I'm lucky enough to be your Mama!

Not as Easy as it Sounds

2010-06-17T00:43:00.005-04:00

I'll be the first to admit I'm not exactly the best writer as far as blogs go, but I'd really like to start sharing more personal stories on here as compared to only pictures of Rosemary or reviews and giveaways.

On several different blogs I visit, I've noticed some participate in a writing workshop over at Mama's Losin' It every week. I thought this writing workshop would be a great way to start writing on a variety of different topics I'd otherwise never think to write on.

I'm not going to commit to doing it every week or anything, but I'd love to do it as often as I can. Who knows, maybe I will continue to do it every week?

For directions on the workshop, click here.

Several posts ago I mentioned that I wasn't so crafty. Here's just one example of how true that statement is.

Learning to Crochet

It all started before I even had Rosemary. I was very pregnant and planning for the most important of events, her newborn pictures.

I knew I wanted to have them done, but what did I want her to WEAR?

Did I want to purchase a knit hat for her, or did I think I could do without?

I researched and researched and I had finally found someone on etsy who I really wanted to make a hat for me, er, Rosemary. Then I checked out the price. If I remember correctly, it was around $25.00 or $30.00 plus shipping. That was just too much money for me to spend on a newborn hat when we were already spending so much on other things that were necessary (or so I thought.)

So I sadly clicked the red x on my screen and moved forward with the planning of my new daughter without a hat of her own.

What’s this you say, I could have found one cheaper? Yeah, I know. But it had taken me forever to pick one out, narrow down colors I wanted, find the seller, etc.

You see, I was new to etsy at this time, and I really didn’t want to go through all of that selection process again. Please remember I was also very pregnant, so I was maybe over analyzing things just a tad.

I never bought her a hat, but as luck would have it, my photographer came with several different hats for her to borrow. It worked out perfectly and I couldn’t be happier with how the photos turned out.

Fast forward a few months later to winter.

I sure wished I had one of those beautiful handmade hats for Rosemary to wear in the freezing Michigan weather. I of course was still too stingy to buy one, when I had the brilliant idea that I could MAKE her one myself!

Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner? This sounded easy. I'd just make all the beautiful things I wanted for Rosemary!

I believe it was either late February or early March at this time. I decide to start researching learning how to crochet. I ask my talented friend Heidi how she learned to crochet, and what I’d need to start out. She gave me some helpful hints and tips on what she had learned so far and pointed me in the direction of You Tube for directions.

I was pumped!

I could do this!

I headed out to Joann Fabrics with a short list of some supplies, and $25.00 later, I returned home with everything I’d need to learn how to crochet.

From what I'd read and heard, this sounded easy!

I purchased enough yarn to do several different hats, in several different colors and even bought a few different crochet hooks as I was sure I’d need more than one size for all the crocheting I’d be doing in the months to come.

I brought my goodies home and I stashed them in a safe place so Lucy, my dog, wouldn’t eat the yarn while I was waiting for my opportunity to sit and really go at this learning to crochet thing.

My supplies sat and sat, and about two or three weeks later I finally had a perfect opportunity to sit down and really focus. As a side note, I have really bad ADD (self diagnosed) so I needed at least a solid hour or two by myself to focus if I was really going to learn this skill.

My husband had gone out of town for the week and Rosemary had finally gone to sleep for the night so I at last had my chance.

I got all of my supplies out, loaded up the you tube videos I’d need and was ready to begin my love affair of crocheting!

So I started to watch a video. And then another video. And another.

What the heck were they talking about? I could feel the frustration building and I hadn’t even started yet!

So I took a few breaths and I decided I just needed to jump right in. I opened up my yarn and got a matching size hook out and prepared my string just as the video had instructed. I pressed play again.

Wait, what was that? I stopped the video, started it over, and replayed the first minute again. And again.

I cannot tell you how many times I had to replay the beginning of this video just to get the first knot on my hook so I could even begin learning crochet. It was awful!

Finally I got the stupid first knot on. Yes, it was stupid at this point. I should have just stopped right there.

But I didn’t.

Now on to the real challenging part, crocheting. I must have watched the rest of that evil old ladies video a million times, and I just. Couldn’t. Get it.

I’d get maybe two loops done and the freaking thing would come all the way undone! I was extremely frustrated to say the least.

After about an hour or so of this torture, I finally gave up. I was almost in tears, I was tired, I was hot, I was bothered!

I had no time, patience, nor skill to be attempting to learn crochet myself.

I threw all my supplies back in the bag and stuffed it in a corner where it sat for the next two months only to be moved one day by my husband to the basement, never to be seen or heard from again.

Yeah, I am SO not crafty.

I did however learn some valuable lessons.

One, next time I think I’m just going to make something to save money, I’m just going to buy it. I’m pretty sure my husband will even support me on this one as it was a total waste of money (and this wasn’t the first time I’d decided to do something like this).

Two, I give a huge round of applause to the people who actually are crafty and can create beautiful things like crocheted hats and blankets with their own two hands.

And three, teaching myself to do something, NOT as easy as it sounds.

Wordless Wednesday - Some Father's Day Outtakes

2010-06-16T00:30:00.006-04:00

These were just too precious to not share. :)

Thanks For The Help Yesterday!

2010-06-15T21:07:00.006-04:00

I went with all headband photos and I used A and C. It turned out perfect!

I found a frame at Joann's for $7.99 and I had a 50% off coupon so it came to $4.00. For the frame and the 4 x 6's I printed, my project cost less than $6.00.

Pretty good price if you ask me! Let's hope my husband likes it too. ;)

edit: I lied. I forgot about the letters. They were $1 each so I spent less than $8.00 total. Still pretty good on the budget.

I Need Opinions Please!!

2010-06-14T19:34:00.015-04:00

So I'm going to do the D A D photos and put them in a nice frame for my husband from Rosemary for Father's Day, and I need some input on which D photos to use.

I'd like to either do all three photos with the headband or do both D photos without the headband. Which do you like better? I really love the A photo, so I'm definetly going to use that one, I'm just not really in love with the others. Do you think I should try to do more photos tomorrow? Any input is appreciated!

This is the one I'm for sure using

Here's the two I'd use if I don't use ones without the headband

If I do the D's with the bows I think I'd pick two of these. Which do you like more?

If you think all three should have the bow, which two D pics do you like more? Thanks for your advice!

I'm glad my husband doesn't read my blog so I can ask for everyone's input! :)

Happy Monday!

2010-06-14T16:12:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone!

Sorry I've been a bit neglectful around here the past month. At least I feel as though I've been neglectful.

If you haven't noticed, great! If you have, sorry!

I've just been so busy it seems like. I've had weddings, showers, bachelorette parties, family things and planning for Rosemary's Baptism all on top of just regular day to day life. It's keeping me pretty busy.

Everything is going great, but I'm a bit sad I haven't had as much time to post on here or stop by your blogs as much. I'm hoping this week is a bit more low key so I can make a decent showing on your blogs. I love going around and commenting, so I'm bummed I haven't been participating as much.

Leave me a comment here if you want me to stop by! I've got a long list of blogs to visit and I'll bump yours up if you give me a little nudge. ;)

Anywho, I just wanted to send a bit of a more personal message to everyone and say HI. We're doing great over here, just busy.

Guidecraft Elephant Pull Along Giveaway Winner

2010-06-14T08:31:00.001-04:00

I used random.org and lucky number 74 was selected!

74. Tiffany said...
I'm following you #1

Congratulations Tiffany!

I'm going to email Tiffany and she'll have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back I'll select a new winner.

Thanks for entering everyone!

Amy Adele Review and Giveaway

2010-06-13T22:36:00.011-04:00

Since Rosemary’s birth I’ve already sent out a few different forms of stationary like announcements and Holiday cards to multiple family members. I chose pretty basic ones from the store, and though they were cute, I never really felt like they were unique or special enough for what I really wanted.

I’ve recently been thinking about Rosemary’s first birthday party (early, I know) and I already know I want to do something a little more special for the occasion. I’m not doing anything really large or super fancy, but I’d love for it to be a little more unique than the same invites a ton of people buy at the local Hallmark. I’m looking for something more special.

In my search for ideas, I happened upon a unique and cute website, Amy Adele.

Amy Adele has affordable stationary, invitations, thank you notes, clothing and more available for babies, children and teens. Hundreds of different designs are available to personalize for any season or occasion. From baby announcements, religious events, and birthdays to becoming a big sister or brother, Amy Adele has stationary and clothing to cover your Child’s needs. Actually, Amy Adele even has a smaller variety of stationary for grown up needs as well!

I was given the opportunity to select a few products from Amy’s website to review, and I have to say, I was pretty excited!

For Rosemary’s big day I’ve decided to go with a bit of a lady bug theme, and Amy Adele had a really nice selection of products for me to choose from to review. I decided to go with a lady bug onesie, invitations and some flat card notes.

I absolutely LOVE how they turned out and I couldn’t be happier with what I received!

The onesie is so soft and the lady bug character and writing are both cute and bright so it shows up really nicely. I think it’s going to fit perfect on her big day!

Close up of Rosemary's onesie

The invitations and notes came out perfect as well. I chose the font I wanted as well as a cute saying I liked and it turned out adorable! The invites and notes come on a sturdy card stock, and the colors are bright and show up excellent. I am extremely happy with both of these products and I can’t wait for Rosemary’s Birthday to come around so I can send them out!

I really feel this is exactly the unique and personalized touch I was looking for for her Birthday!

The flat cards I’m going to use as her thank you notes for her party and I really think people are going to love receiving a little note from my little lady after the party.

Not only are the products affordable and extremely well made, they are also environmentally friendly!

All orders are made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper including the envelopes and address labels. Even the shipping peanuts the order was sent with are made with cornstarch making them biodegradable and FDA approved.

I truly am so happy with all three of my products and I would really recommend Amy Adele to anyone needing stationary or clothing for their child!

To check out all of the wonderful products and designs Amy Adele has to offer, head over to her website now. She really does have an amazing amount of wonderful themes and designs; and I’m sure there’s something for everyone!

For one lucky reader of mine, Amy has graciously offered a $25 gift certificate good towards any purchase on her site!

To enter to win the gift certificate visit the Amy Adele website and return here commenting on something you'd love to have. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. "Like" A Mama Stork Knows on facebook - must do this as an individual (adding as your blog favorite will not count)

3. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweets. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:
"Enter to #win a Gift Certificate for Amy Adele over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/cwilM0 #giveaway RT"

4. Add my button to your blog or add me to your blogroll; leave your blog url so I may check

5. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs and/or Picket Fence Blogs. This may be done once daily.

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the Amy Adele Gift Certificate. Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and ends on June 28, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses nor damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Wordless Wednesday - A Fun Series!

2010-06-09T00:00:00.001-04:00

I'm Crafty!

2010-06-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

I really wish that were true. I've tried, I swear I have, but I'm just not that good at it.

I would love to sew, knit, crochet, CREATE anything, but alas, I'm not exactly good at it.

A couple months ago I tried to teach myself to crochet. Yeah, that didn't work out so well and now I have a huge bag of yarn and supplies in my basement.

Then I bought a bunch of supplies to try to make Rosemary hair bows and hair clips and they turned out... OK, I suppose. I got bored with it after the first batch though.

I'd love to learn how to sew, but I don't have a sewing machine and purchasing one doesn't really make sense as I'm not exactly Martha Stewart. My husband thinks it would be a waste of money and it's a hard argument to win when I know he very well may be right. I'm looking into borrowing one, so perhaps one day I can create cute little pillow case dresses and felt toys for Rosemary.

WELL until then, I actually found something I can make for Rosemary!

I'm SO proud you guys! This is huge for me to have actually gotten this right! :)

Last month I saw on a blog how someone made one of those fleece, no sew blankets for their child and I thought - hey, I can do that, right? RIGHT!

When I finally got around to making the trip to Joann's I couldn't find the blog link I'd saved anymore, but luckily its easy to google no sew fleece blanket. :)

I used these two sites as references, All Kinds of Baby Stuff and Exploring WomanHood.

They pretty much have the same instructions, so either one would work if you're interested in doing this yourself.

Supplies Needed:

Sharp scissors - And I mean sharp! I learned the hard way meat scissors are excellent for this

Ruler or tape measure - I used a tape measure myself

Two coordinating pieces of fleece - You choose the size. I wanted a large one to throw on the ground in the living room for Rosemary to crawl all over so I went with 2 yards of each

Directions:

1. Lay your two pieces down and make sure they are approximately the same size. Mine were not cut right at the store so I had some trimming to do on all four sides.

This part actually took the most time as I was using dull scissors at first. Once I switched to the good scissors, that helped a LOT.

2. Lay your fleece wrong sides together, with edges matching up - I pinned the layers together so it didn't move around all that much.

3. Cut a 4x4" square out of each corner (through both layers of fleece) and discard. If you want your fringe longer (not recommended for a baby or toddler), make your square bigger.

If you make the picture larger you can see I actually used bobby pins to hold it together.

3. Cut all 4" into fleece at 1" intervals around all four sides. I used the tape measure to measure that it was approximately 4" by 1" as I went around the entire blanket and cut all the 4" strips.

4. Tie the strips together. I double knotted to make sure they were extra secure. I went around the entire blanket and did every other strip first. I then turned the blanket over and did the others so it made the strips appear more even.

My finished blanket for Rosemary!

A close up of the cute fabric I chose.

These are pretty rough directions, but that's pretty much the gist of it.

I'm not going to lie, it was actually harder than I though it would be. BUT, I love how it turned out! To do the full 2 yard blanket it took me about 2.5 hours of straight labor, and it was a lot of work! I do think it would be a lot easier to do the smaller ones.

So, yeah... I'm totally crafty now! :)

Good luck if you decide to make one! Takes a little time, but overall pretty simple.

I do want to point out that this type of blanket is not intended to be given to an infant. It's not safe, especially in a crib or for sleeping. For now I'm only using it on the ground so I feel OK with Rosemary using it.

EcoMom Boon Squirt Review and Giveaway

2010-06-08T01:20:00.007-04:00

I have recently been introduced to the EcoMom website and was given the opportunity to do a review for one of their many great products.

For those of you who haven’t heard of EcoMom, here’s some information about their company from their website.

“Founded to address the connection between the health of our environment and the health of our children, EcoMom is committed to making eco-conscious living easy, affordable, and rewarding. By helping women begin to take better care of themselves and their families – with education, support, tools and products - we empower them to take the all important first steps toward a healthier, more balanced, and sustainable lifestyle.

EcoMom.com is about bridging the gap between making healthy choices and making easy choices. We created EcoMom because we care and are concerned for babies and their moms, our families and our communities. We want every mom to be an EcoMom because being an EcoMom means making choices that are good for all of us, and the planet which we all share.”

The EcoMom website really is so much more than a store and I would really recommend checking out all the information they have available on top of the great products offered.
EcoMom offers products ranging for Mom and Baby, from bath and body, to toys, books, food and so much more.

I was given the opportunity to test out the orange Boon Squirt eating utensil.

I received the product and washed it in the dishwasher prior to use. There are only three pieces to the Boon Squirt, so it’s extremely easy to assemble and disassemble.

The idea behind this spoon is great. You fill (up to 3 ounces) the bulb, add the cap to the spoon and it’s great for on the go. No separate container and extra spoon which makes feeding baby on the go easier and cleaner too.

I’m going to be honest and let you know this product really isn’t for me, and I’ll tell you why. I make my own baby food for Rosemary. The spoon is made for smooth textured baby food and I didn’t even think about this before I decided to review it. When you make your own, the food is a lot chunkier than store bought food, so for everyone else who isn’t making their own food, this is a great spoon.

After the first time I tried to put my homemade food in and it didn’t really work, I went and purchased a couple store jars of food to try out with Rosemary.

Rosemary's first time using the Boon Squirt.

The Boon Squirt is actually a great baby food dispensing spoon – especially on the go. I liked using it and if/when I need to use the jarred baby food again, I fully intend on using the spoon. It really does make feeding your baby easier. You add the food to the bulb and that’s it. One handed feeding. You squeeze a tiny bit and food flows out smoothly onto the spoon one bite at a time. The special cap for the spoon locks the food in, which makes it safe for travel as well. The first time we used the spoon it did make her a little messy, but I contribute that to it being her first time with the smoother puree.

Cleaning was extremely easy as well. After all the food was gone I rinsed lightly and put it in the dishwasher.

Overall I really like the spoon, but I’d probably have to say I’d only recommend it if you feed your baby jarred/premade baby food.

To purchase your own Boon Squirt head over to EcoMom now. My readers get 15% off their very first order from EcoMom! It doesn’t have to be the Boon Squirt; you can use this discount on which ever products you may want. The code to get the 15% off is SBBL310 and good through the end of this month.

EcoMom also has a great new program available called EcoPass. For only $99 a year you get 15% off every order as well as free shipping!

One of my lucky readers will receive their very own Boon Squirt to try themselves!

To enter simply visit the EcoMom website and return here commenting on something else you'd love to have (besides the Boon Squirt). Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. "Like" A Mama Stork Knows on facebook - must do this as an individual (adding as your blog favorite will not count)

3. "Like" EcoMom on facebook - must do this as an individual (adding as your blog favorite will not count)

4. Follow me and EcoMom on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweets. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:
"Enter to #win a Boon Squirt from @EcoMomCEO over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/aycopM #giveaway RT"

5. Join EcoMom's Newsletter

6. Add my button to your blog or add me to your blogroll; leave your blog url so I may check

7. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs and/or Picket Fence Blogs. This may be done once daily.

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the Hot Mama Handbags Gift Certificate. Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and ends on June 24, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses nor damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

CafePress T-Shirt Giveaway Winner!

2010-06-08T01:04:00.003-04:00

I used random.org and lucky number 1 was selected!

1. Sippy Cup Mom said...
OMG, there are a ton of Lost shirts I want! I might have to get one anyway!

Congratulations Sippy Cup Mom! I'm going to email you now to get some information. Please respond within 48 hours or I'll have to pick another winner.

Thanks for entering everyone!

Hot Mama Handbags Review and Giveaway

2010-06-07T13:33:00.010-04:00

When I first started looking for a diaper bag about a year ago now, I must say, I wasn’t really impressed with what the stores were offering. I could’ve found something I liked more for well over $100, but I really couldn’t see spending that kind of cash on something just so I could carry around a cuter diaper bag. Let’s face it, there was a good chance it would get puke and/or poop on it and I’m not in the habit of spending that much on something that may end up ruined. I ended up purchasing a plain old brown diaper bag from the baby store. It was plenty big and not exactly ugly, but not really with any style to it either.

About a month or so ago I was reading a blog (sorry nameless blog, I can’t remember which you were now) and they were talking about Hot Mama Handbags. I instantly fell in love with these bags. They are so cute AND affordable! I immediately went and checked out her etsy store and blog to look over more of her work. As Rosemary is getting older, (7.5 months now!) I no longer need the humongous starter diaper bag that fits everything but the kitchen sink. I was definitely in the market for a new bag and I thought a Hot Mama Handbag would be exactly what I needed.

Maranda is a mom of two and started making these wonderful bags for the obvious reason; she herself needed a fabulous diaper bag to tote around her own baby supplies. The rest is history. Now Maranda makes these bags in three great sizes to accommodate your personal needs. The bags in my opinion are perfect for a diaper bag, a purse, a beach bag, and overnight bag – the list goes on. She also makes wristlets, changing pads, key fobs and more that you can buy separately or have her make to match your bag.

I really love how you can get everything to match if you'd like!

When deciding which fabric I wanted for my own bag, I had such a hard time narrowing it down! Maranda has a large selection of fabric, so I’m sure everyone can find something they love. I really loved this bag in the Del Hi Earth fabric, but I also was thinking I wanted it a little different at the top, so I asked her to do the top section and the straps in just a dark brown. She was perfectly happy to accommodate my individual needs. So, when you're looking through her products, even if you see a bag exactly the way you'd like it, just know it's no problem at all to have her tweak it a bit. Maranda will work with you on whatever you’d like!

Since there are so many fabrics to choose from for both the inside and outside of the bag, different sizes, different strap choices - I feel like Maranda does such an excellent job of making the bags unique to each individual owner. The possibilities really are endless with all the choices.

After I chose my fabric, I had another hard decision – size. I was torn between the Medium Emma bag and the Large Emma bag. I decided to go with the Medium Emma as I really was looking for a smaller bag that I could take on my daily errands, like to the library or the grocery store.

I think it was three or four days later and Maranda sent me an email saying my bag was ready to ship. Amazing turnover time! Two days later, I had my perfect bag!

My bag!

I’m not kidding when I say it’s perfect! I love, love, LOVE how it turned out! I can’t believe she MADE this bag. It honestly looks straight out of the store and you would never have guessed someone sewed this at home. The bag is absolutely perfect for my style, but it’s also perfect for my needs as a mother too. In my Emma bag there are 6 pockets which make for perfect little sections for all my random toys and accessories for Rosemary. It has a nice magnetic snap to keep the bag securely closed. There is also a nice key hook at the top of the bag so I can attach my keys so they don’t fall to the bottom which avoids me constantly having to dig around in there.

In my Emma bag here’s what I’m carrying now just so you can get what that size will hold: 2 burp cloths, 3 diapers, wipe case, change of clothes for Rosemary, small blanket, my wallet, my cell phone, two little toys for Rosemary, my camera, and a bit of room to spare for any last minute add ons. Pretty good for a small bag that passes as a purse!

Hot Mama Handbags has an etsy store, a website and a facebook page that you can go to check out all of Miranda’s different products, fabrics, prices and any other details you’d need to get your very own Hot Mama Handbag (or accessories)! These bags are perfect for yourself, make a great gift, or she even has gift certificates available as well.

For the month of June, Maranda has graciously offered all of my readers free shipping on their purchases! At the end of your purchase, enter the code MAMA STORK – FREE SHIP.

For one even luckier reader, you are able to win $25 dollars to Hot Mama Handbags!

To enter simply visit the Hot Mama Handbags etsy store or website and return here commenting on something you'd love to have. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. "Like" A Mama Stork Knows on facebook - must do this as an individual (adding as your blog favorite will not count)

3. "Like" Hot Mama Handbags on facebook - must do this as an individual (adding as your blog favorite will not count)

4. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweets. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:
"Enter to #win a Hot Mama Handbag Gift Certificate over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/d74lYD #giveaway RT"

5. Add my button to your blog or add me to your blogroll; leave your blog url so I may check

6. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs and/or Picket Fence Blogs. This may be done once daily.

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the Hot Mama Handbags Gift Certificate. Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and ends on June 22, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses nor damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Wordless Wednesday - Avocados, Yuck!

2010-06-02T21:13:00.002-04:00

Guess Who's Crawling??

2010-06-02T00:42:00.008-04:00

Please excuse the awful lighting and my voice. She had just started doing it and I was obviously pretty excited so I wasn't even aware of the lighting until after. :)

This was actually on Sunday afternoon and she's been doing it more and more ever since! I seriously can't believe she can do this! WOW.

My baby girl is just doing more and more everyday and it's amazing!

Sorry I've been a little MIA lately. I had an abslutely wonderful long weekend with family and friends filled with bbq's and Sun, and I just decided to take a few days off from the blog.

It was really nice to get some quality time with them, but I missed everyone on here too!

Hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend!

Basie and Paisley Giveaway Winner!

2010-06-01T22:25:00.004-04:00

Random.org selected lucky number 87!

Congratulations Colleen!!!

87. ColleenMarie82 said...
I voted on PICKET FENCES

I'm going to email the winner now and she has 48 hours to respond before I select a new winner.

Thanks for entering everyone!!

aden + anais Sleeping Bag Giveaway Winner!

2010-06-01T22:19:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting the winner, I was having a lovely weekend off from life with the family. :)

I used random.org and the number selected was #12!

12. Cindy @ This Adventure, Our Life said...
My Twitter feed for the link is not working or something...I did tweet it though:
this_adventure
"Enter to #win an @adenandanais sleeping bag over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/aitUqd #giveaway RT"
1 minute ago via web

Congratulations Cindy!

I'm going to email the winner now and she'll have 48 hours to respond or I'll pick a new winner.

Thanks everyone for entering!

Guidecraft Elephant Pull Along Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

2010-05-30T11:35:00.004-04:00

It’s time for another great Guidecraft review!

For my third review in the series, I received an Elephant Pull Along toy for ages one and up.

Started in 1964, Guidecraft is an award winning company that has over 580 educational toys and furnishings. The company’s mission is to create beautifully crafted wooden products that allow children to use their minds and imagination while having fun.

Guidecraft guarantees the quality and workmanship of all their products, and are about complete customer satisfaction. They also design and test their products to meet or exceed mandatory safety standards set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to insure the safety of children playing with their products.

The Elephant Pull Along toy is very similar to the first Guidecraft product I reviewed, the Puppy Pull Along. The difference obviously being that it’s an elephant. :)

When I received the toy it was in a very sturdy box and the toy was twist tied down to avoid moving around in the box.

After being opened there is zero assembly required before giving the toy to a child.

The toy comes with a long white pull string (which is nicely tied up during shipping) to allow for plenty of room for the child to pull the toy safely behind them.

The wheels have a nice rubber outline on them so it makes pulling the elephant on a variety of surfaces easy. This really is a nice added feature from other pull toys as it keeps the toy from constantly tipping over.

The head wiggles back and forth just like the Puppy Pull along which in my opinion, makes the toys just that much cuter! The ears are again soft leather that are moveable and just another fun feature of the toy. The elephant’s trunk is also moveable for children to position to their liking. I thought this was a really neat feature as Rosemary at 7 months already loves anything that can be manipulated by her hands.

The quality of this toy is excellent! The paint is vibrant and colorful sure to be admired by children. The toy is made with a hard wood that seems really durable for children to play with. All of the parts like the rubber and the trunk appear very secure and I just know we’re going to have this around for a long time.

I found no flaws in this toy whatsoever and I know it sure captured Rosemary’s attention! She’s a little young still to be pulling the toy, but I let her check it out (under my supervision) just to see what she thought of it. She loved it! Her favorite part was the ears as she loved moving them back and forth, and kept checking them out. She also loved the trunk as it was easy for her hand to hold on to and move.

I would really recommend checking out the Guidecraft website and catalog to see some great educational toys they have for your child today! You can purchase the toys directly from the Guidecraft website. Guidecraft also has a blog where you can find more reviews from people if there was something in particular you were looking for, or if you wanted some ideas on how to narrow your selection down (there really is so many great toys on their website available).

If you like what you’ve read about the Elephant Pull Along, and think this toy would be great for your child, Guidecraft has graciously offered one of my readers a free Puppy Pull Along!

To enter simply visit Guidecraft and return here commenting on which item is your favorite. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. "Like" A Mama Stork Knows on facebook - must do this as an individual (adding as your a blog favorite will not count)

3. "Like" Guidecraft on facebook - must do this as an individual (adding as a blog favorite will not count)

4. Follow the Guidecraft Blog, please let me know what email and name your are following under

5. Follow me and Guidecraft on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweets. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:
"Enter to #win a @Guidecraft Elephant Pull Along toy at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/awLKQm #giveaway RT"

6. Add my button to your blog; leave your blog URL so I may check

7. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs and/or Picket Fence Blogs. This may be done once daily.

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the Elephant Pull toy. Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and ends on June 13, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses or damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Calling All Photographers!

2010-05-27T23:29:00.004-04:00

I've been eyeing a new dslr camera for a few months now, and I finally got up the nerve to press the purchase button!

It's technically my Mother's Day present, my Birthday present (Nov 22nd) and everything in between present. :)

It's by far the most expensive toy I've ever purchased and I'm still a little nervous about actually going through with it.

I love it though! I really hope I'm able to take a class soon so I'm able to learn more about it.

Why I'm really telling all of you (besides for bragging/excitement purposes) is to ask for any tips, websites, books, etc you know about for beginners. Any and all help is welcome!

I ended up getting the Canon Xsi with a 50mm lens if you were interested.

Woo hoo for new toys!! I am such a lucky Mom. Thanks J and Rosemary! I love it!

I figure I should add a few of my first photos just for fun. It's on auto mode for now as I have NO idea what I'm doing on manual yet. It's so overwhelming all there is to learn! Please remember I also have no idea how to edit or anything at this point, so these are auto adjusted for now.

For more pictures from yesterday and today check out my 365 blog.

It's amazing how I can already see the difference in the quality of the photos!

Oh, and if I wasn't posting enough pictures before, expect A LOT more photos now that I have my new camera! :) Hopefully they'll start to get better over time!

Wordless Wednesday - I'm Stuck!

2010-05-26T00:00:00.002-04:00

Cafepress Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

2010-05-25T20:52:00.014-04:00

If you come into my house at any given point, I’d bet you good money, I have a t-shirt on. It’s my uniform. Especially since I stay home with Rosemary, it’s not often I have to dress more professional during the day than a t-shirt and jeans (or even pajama pants.)

I was recently given the opportunity to review a t-shirt from Cafepress and I of course wanted to do this one seeing how I wear so many t-shirts. So many of mine are old and starting to get worn out, I thought this would be perfect for me to try.

It was shortly before Mother’s Day so I thought a Mom t-shirt would suit me perfect. I chose an organic, white, short sleeved t-shirt that said I heart Mom.

The t-shirt I chose.

The t-shirt was really soft and I loved how the letters were actually on the shirt. I’m not sure the technical terms for it when it’s actually dyed into the shirt as compared to when it’s ironed or pressed on, but I like it so much better that it’s this way. I have several t-shirts that the wording or pictures are peeling off because they are just pressed on.

I’ve washed my t-shirt at least a half dozen times now, if not more, and it’s still perfect! The shirt is still as cozy as it was when I got it three weeks ago and the colors are just as vibrant. Did I mention I love that it’s not the kind with writing that peels off? I do!

So, after my very first experience with Cafepress my impression is that they rock!

I absolutely love my Mom t-shirt and I’ve even gotten several compliments on it as it’s pretty unique.

What I also love about Cafepress is that on top of t-shirts, they have millions of different personalized gifts for any topic, interest, event, or brand you’d be looking for. They have posters, magnets, mugs, aprons, boxer shorts, calendars, onesies, keepsake boxes; the list goes on and on. You can even personalize any of their items to suit your individual needs with your own text and/or photos.

Don't forget that Father's Day is coming up soon and Cafepress would be a great place to scout out some nice gifts for your own Dad or Husband.

One lucky reader of mine is eligible to win a t-shirt of their choice too! Thanks Cafepress!

To enter simply visit the Cafepress website and return here commenting on something you'd love to have. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. "Like" A Mama Stork Knows on facebook - must do this as an individual (adding as your blog favorite will not count)

3. Follow me and Cafepress on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweets. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:
"Enter to #win a @cafepress t-shirt over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/bReLU5 #giveaway RT"

4. Add my button to your blog or add me to your blogroll; leave your blog url so I may check

5. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs and/or Picket Fence Blogs. This may be done once daily.

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the t-shirt. Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and ends on June 08, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses nor damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Finally Took Care of That Hairy Situation!

2010-05-24T20:51:00.008-04:00

Rosemary on May 14th - very hairy as you can see.

Rosemary's hair situation that is. It's something that's needed to be done for, oh, I don't know... a month or so now.

On Friday I was at my parents, and with the assistance of my mom and my sister, it's finally done.

My sister held her while I cut off her rat tail. I'm not lying about the rat tail, it was bad! I couldn't do any more after the first cut, so my mom finished the job for me.

Lovely rat tail before hand.

Oh, and we distracted her with the remote as you can see. Bad Mom, I know. :) Hey, whatever works, right?

Like almost every other hair cut I've been a party to, I cried. I then in turned scared Rosemary, who also cried. Luckily, the tears only lasted a few minutes and then all was fine again. I know, I'm a big baby, but I thought it looked awful at first.

Overall, I'm glad we finally did it! It looks so much better than the shaggy mess that was her hairstyle before.

My little girl, all grown up with her first haircut!

Baby Dipper Winner!

2010-05-23T15:08:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the delay in choosing the Baby Dipper winner, I've just had a pretty busy weekend. :)

I used Random.org and number 16 was selected!

16. Anastasia said...
Follow baby dipper on twitter

Congratulations Anastasia! I'm going to email her now and she'll have 48 hours to respond with her information.

Thanks for entering everyone! If you didn't win, head on over to the Baby Dipper website to purchase this great feeding set!

Vintage Pearl Winner!

2010-05-20T22:03:00.001-04:00

Using random.org lucky number 74 was selected!

74. Shandell said...
GFC follower (2)

Congratulations Shandell!

I'll email the winner and she has 48 hours to respond or I'll have to select a new winner.

Thanks for entering everyone!

7 Months Today!

2010-05-19T21:18:00.005-04:00

To see more of Rosemary's photos from today, check out my 365 blog.

Rosemary,

Seven Months. Wow. Sometimes I still can't even believe you're here and you're mine. Seems like just yesterday I was finding out I was expecting you, then learning you were going to be a she (one year ago yesterday) and fixing your nursery just right. Is it really possible it's been seven whole months since I've been pregnant? A year since I learned you were a girl? Which, by the way, I knew.

I think about all of the things still to come and it makes me a little scared to be honest. Right now I just have to keep you safe and love you. As you grow, I have to do that, and also teach you how to be a wonderful person. I have to teach you right from wrong, how to love, how to forgive, how to count, how to do everything! You can see how this would be overwhelming for a Mom!

Thank God I have your Dad to help. :)

I hope I can teach you the best way to do all these things and more. I know it's only going to get harder, but I know it's only going to get more rewarding too.

When I was clipping your nails today, I thought back at how intimidated I was the first time I did it. I put it off until you were about two months old I think, as I was just so nervous I'd cut you. Then of course I snipped your finger and made you bleed when I finally did. How awful I felt, and how I swore I'd never get up the courage to clip your nails again.!

Well, I did, and now when I clip your nails, I finish all your fingers and toes in about two minutes. Your Mom, the old nail pro. :)

It reminded me of how intimidated I still am about our future together. How I don't want to hurt you and how I want only the best for you. I know I'm going to make mistakes, but I promise, with practice, I'll learn from them and from you. I can't wait for the new things to come because as much as I'm sad to see the past go by, I'm so excited for all the wonderful things our future has in store.

Every month I'm saddened that you're getting older, yet every month I love you more and more. I think how much more fun this month was than the last. Funny how that is.

I want the past to stay the present, but I want the future too.

I want it all with you.

Some of the things you've learned and perfected this month:

- You roll all over the place - baby proofing is in action!
- You got your first two teeth
- You've finished all your veggies and started fruits
- You play more and more with toys and books
- You say Mama all the time with an occasional Dada - as well as plenty of other sounds
- You're a professional sitter now
- You LOVE other babies now
- You play with Lucy and grab her more than ever
- You got your first cold. From your loving Mother. :(

Rosemary, I love you so much and I can't wait to see what month seven has in store!

Wordless Wednesday - When's Lunch Served at This Shower Mom?

2010-05-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

It's a Blog Party!

2010-05-18T17:14:00.008-04:00

That's right, even though I'm sick, I'm still going to whoop it up with a party!!

Welcome everyone to the D-Listed Blog Party! Go here to read more about the party details and if you haven't joined in yet, do it! One lucky partier will even win a $100 visa gift card! Who couldn't use that?!

I'd offer you all lots of handshakes and hugs, but well, I'm sick, so... a friendly wave and smile will have to do. Oh, and some yummy cupcakes! Once I'm better and we're more acquainted, hugs will commence. :)

A bit about me and my blog.

I'm Christine - I'm a wife and a stay at home mom with a 7 month old girl - Rosemary. Yikes. Still getting used to that one. She turns 7 months tomorrow, so I've just done the switch from 6 and half and 6 and three quarters and so on to full out 7 months. :) My newborn baby is well on her way to being a full fledged adult baby...

Anywho, I started a 365 blog back in January and that was how I was introduced to the wonderful world of blogging. I began entering all of these wonderful blog giveaways and meeting great bloggers and in March, I decided to take the plunge and start my very own blog. This is brand new territory for me, so I'm still in the learning phase of blogging.

So far I love it! I've met a ton of great ladies (and even a couple gents) who I'm proud to call friends. I'm having fun with the blog for now, and I've already got a great list of topics I'd like to touch on about life as a Mom for down the road. The only problem seems to be finding time to work on these posts! So, while my posts are pretty much all about day to day life with Rosemary for now, I'm hoping to step it up a notch in the future and start writing on a few other Mom topics. Stay tuned!

I think that's about it for now. I'm not really up to par, so I'm at a loss of more great excitement for you. I'd love for you to take a look around while you're here.

Please be patient, I'm still new to this!

For those that are interested, I do have four great giveaways going on this week (Vintage Pearl gc, a Baby Dipper, aden + anais sleep bag, and Baisey and Paisley books), so feel free to enter if you'd like!

I love comments so please comment here or any other posts I've made! I pride myself on being one of those bloggers who responds to my commenter's and also stops by your blog in return. Comments are my favorite way to connect with my readers as well as other bloggers.

If you follow my blog, twitter or fb, let me know and I'll be sure to follow back! Don't forget to leave your blog link so I can check out your party too!

Thanks for stopping by and I really do look forward to meeting you!

Take care!

Basie and Paisley Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

2010-05-18T17:13:00.002-04:00

Since becoming a mother, I’ve recently been reading A LOT of children’s books. You’ve got your educational ones, your sentimental ones, your fun ones and so many more different types. I love them all, but one of my favorite types has to be the plain old silly, make you smile, fun kind of books.

I recently had the opportunity to read the Basie and Paisley Children’s series and they ARE this type of fun. The two books, A Spider Lives in my Belly Button and A Monstrous Smile are such cute children’s stories; I can’t wait for them to come out with more. It’s all about having fun with this series and the author and illustrator do a great job of making these books show children that.

Basie and Paisley were created in 2007 by the author James Robert Miller who creatively came up with this fun concept for the books. James enlisted his sister, Leslie A. Kelly, to create the fun and loving characters that would become Basie and Paisley. Both James and Leslie reside in my home state of Michigan, and I am so thrilled to know such talent is so close to home! I promise my review isn’t biased on this fact alone.

Miller hopes that, with his books, he can inspire children that no idea is too silly, and that dreams can come true with hard work, dedication, and daydreaming. I’m thinking he’s well on his way with these two books and I look forward to more being created.

The books -

A Spider Lives in my Belly Button

I think you can get from the title that this is going to be a silly one. It is and I love it! This book incorporates imagination and silliness perfectly. Basie and the spider in his belly button sure do have some fun! They eat cheeseburgers and fries, play drums, go roller skating and more, only to find out there isn’t actually a spider in his belly button, just lint. It’s very imaginative and very fun. The idea behind this book is so simple, yet it’s so cute, you just have to smile. This book had me smiling the whole way through and I can’t wait for Rosemary to be a bit older so she can understand the silliness and play along with Basie.

A Monstrous Smile

Paisley takes readers through all of the fun activities that cause her to have a monstrous smile. She plays polka on an accordion, jumps in leaves, talks into an oscillating fan and more. I mean, who doesn’t smile when they do those things?! This book is just as beautifully illustrated as the first one and shows just as much fun and imagination as the other as well.

I’m not sure on the exact intended age for these books, but I think Rosemary at 7 months is a bit young for them by herself. They are soft cover, so even though I’ve read them to her, they’re not the kind I’d let her play with by herself at this point. Perhaps board books are on the agenda?? Once Rosemary’s a bit older, I’m going to be so excited for us to read them together. I really hope she loves them as much as I do!

I really like both of these books. Everything about them. The vibrant colors of the characters, the silly way they’re shaped, the silly things they do, everything! I think it’s a great combination of silliness and incorporating positive experiences that all children and parents would approve of. The characters are drawn well, the colors are bold, the writing is well done, and I really recommend this series.

To purchase these books you can find them over on Amazon and several local Michigan stores. Go here for a complete listing. Basie and Paisley also have cute wall graphics for the characters available to purchase here.

One lucky reader won't have to purchase the series as I've been offered one set of the books for a giveaway!

To enter simply visit Basie and Paisley website and return here commenting on something you learned. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. "Like" A Mama Stork Knows on facebook

3. "Like" Basie and Paisley on facebook

4. Follow me and Basie and Paisley on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweets. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:
"Enter to #win @BasieAndPaisley children's books over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/9CJSZG #giveaway RT"

5. Add my button to your blog; leave your blog url so I may check

6. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs and/or Picket Fence Blogs. This may be done once daily.

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the sleeping bag. Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and ends on May 31, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses nor damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

aden + anais Sleeping Bag Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

2010-05-17T21:55:00.009-04:00

As a new parent, I’ve spent plenty of time thinking of how best to keep my baby safe and appropriately dressed during the night as she sleeps. For the first four months or so, Rosemary slept swaddled, so that made it really easy as far as adding blankets in her crib. Since then, I’ve tried a variety of different sleepers and sleeping bags for her to sleep in. I was recently given the opportunity to try an aden + anais sleeping bag and I was really looking forward to it. While I hadn’t tried any of the blankets or other products myself, I’d heard great things about aden + anais on several different Mom forums and blogs.

I received the aden + anais jungle jam monkey sleeping bag in medium for Rosemary to try out. The sleeping bag is 100% cotton muslin and is designed to wear over a baby’s pajamas, eliminating the need for crib blankets. The sleeping bag and is so soft and cuddly, even after being washed at least half a dozen times. This is the perfect material for a baby to have as a blanket/sleep bag.

I love how light and airy the sleep bag is and how it’s perfect for all temperatures. At first I was a little nervous it was too light and she’d get cold in the bag. Not the case at all. Regardless if it’s been a cool night or a warm night, she’s been the perfect temperature with this bag. With other pajamas or sleep bags, I’ve previously noticed her feet were freezing and other times she’d be sweating. I haven’t noticed this once with the aden + anais bag. I love that I can keep her the perfect temperature without having to add additional blankets in her crib. Safety is of course always an issue in our nursery, so having one less thing in her crib works great for us!

Another thing I like is that the bag zips from the bottom. In my opinion this makes diaper changes easier, especially in the middle of the night. Also, the sleep sacks that have it zippered from the top allow the zipper to scratch Rosemary’s neck a little, so I like to use ones with it zippered from the bottom more. The only thing I did notice about the zipper is that it didn’t always catch very well, and a few times I found it hard to get the zip zippered. I’m not sure really why this would be, I think it’s just that it’s a plastic zipper instead of metal one like some of her others.

Have I mentioned that this sleeping bag is also adorable? It is. I love the monkey design we received and I also like so many of the other patterns aden + anais has as well, it’s going to be hard narrowing down Rosemary’s next one!

Other than the few times the zip wouldn’t catch, I really love this blanket! It’s by far become my favorite of Rosemary’s sleeping bags and pajamas so I hope to get more soon. aden + anais have multiple patterns available for all of their products so it shouldn’t be hard for anyone to find something they love. Products range from the great sleeping bags we tried out to several other blankets, bibs, towels and more.

If you’d like to purchase your own aden + anais sleeping bag or something else from the aden + anais line, you can do so either directly from their website, or by entering your zip code to locate a retailer closest to you.

To be kept up to date with new aden + anais news, join their mailing list or follow them on twitter and facebook as well.

If you are interested (which I’m sure you are), aden + anais has generously offered one of my readers their very own sleep sack for free!

To enter simply visit aden + anais and return here commenting on which item is your favorite. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. "Like" A Mama Stork Knows on facebook

3. Follow me and aden + anais on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweets. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:
"Enter to #win an @adenandanais sleeping bag over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/aitUqd #giveaway RT"

4. Add my button to your blog; leave your blog url so I may check

5. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs and/or Picket Fence Blogs. This may be done once daily.

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. You must do the main entry in order to win the sleeping bag. Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and ends on May 28, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses nor damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Weekly Review - A Lame One

2010-05-16T20:43:00.004-04:00

So I'm sick. Sore throat, nasty headache, sneezing, yucky sick. :(

So that's kind of put posting on my back burner the past few days. Hopefully I feel better soon and when I do I've got a couple more reviews and giveaways for everyone.

The past week was ok from what I can remember (I've got that foggy memory thing going on currently). The exciting news was Rosemary got her second tooth! Other than that it was filled with the usual running around, but add me not feeling well since Thursday to that.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Hopefully I'll be feeling better soon and can add a real post. Sorry for the lame weekly review. :(

Oh, and we'll add my Sacrificing Saturday post into this as well. No cheating this week. Only a day or two left and then I can finally use my phone in the car again! I've already come up with a great strategy for quitting swearing. That starts on Tuesday (I think) so wish me luck on that! I'm hoping I can get my husband to quit too even though he doesn't swear nearly as much as I do. I'll post more about the quitting swearing next weekend when I'm feeling better.

Guidecraft Geometric Puzzle Board Winner!

2010-05-15T14:59:00.003-04:00

Using random.org lucky number 21 was selected. Congratulations Nicci!

21. Nicci said...
badge on my blog - 2

I will email the winner and she has 48 hours to respond or I'll have to pick a new winner.

Thanks everyone for entering!

Kidco Natural Feeding System Winner!

2010-05-14T11:36:00.003-04:00

Using random.org lucky number 6 was selected this morning! Congratulations SugarPlumsMomma!

6. SugarPlumsMomma said...
I already follow you on twitter

I'm going to contact her by email and she has 48 hours to respond or I'll select a new winner.

Thanks for entering everyone!

Wordless Wednesday - Feel Free To Caption This One For Me!

2010-05-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

Weekly Review

2010-05-11T22:56:00.004-04:00

I didn't post an actual review yet for last week, so here's me catching up.

I already mentioned how wonderful my weekend was. Mother's Day was great as was our Zoo trip for Make A Wish on Saturday. The rest of the week was pretty calm, which was nice. I think the only excitement was on Thursday visiting with my Grandparents who spend the winter in Arizona. They flew in on Wednesday night and we all hung out on Thursday before they drove home, which is a few hours away. They only got to meet Rosemary once or twice before they left so it was great for them to be able to spend some time with her before going home.

Rosemary with my Nana and Papa

The Best Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T00:17:00.013-04:00

We started the night out a little rocky as Rosemary didn't want to sleep late Saturday/early Sunday so we were up until 4:45am on Mother's Day. Man, those nights are rough!

Other than the lack of sleep, my first Mother's Day was truly so special.

We went to my parents for breakfast and to hang out with my Mom for a bit followed by going to my husbands parents for dinner. While it was a pretty busy day and I was tired, I feel extremely blessed to have my daughter and family in my life.

Rosemary and my Mother

Rosemary and my Mother In Law

I was lucky enough to receive a couple beautiful cards from Rosemary and my husband, as well as some flowers and cupcakes too! After Rosemary was in bed I had a nice glass (or two) of red wine while we watched a movie and I even had time to write Rosemary a little letter. :)

As you can tell, my day was pretty perfect. We made it to see all the family and I even had some down time at the end of my day. A wonderful day in the life of any Mother! Hope everyone else had a great day too!

Walk for Wishes and Rosemary's First Trip to the Zoo

2010-05-09T23:21:00.009-04:00

On Saturday the three of us and my sister did a charitable walk at the Detroit Zoo for Make A Wish Foundation. Make A Wish is an organization that grants wishes to sick children and is such a wonderful way to help make at least one dream for a sick child come true.

If you ever have a chance to donate or volunteer, this is a great one to do as these children really need some wishes to come true. I was really proud to donate and walk with everyone and on Saturday they actually granted two wishes to sick children. So awesome to be a part of that!

This foundation is especially dear to me personally, as after my younger brother Kevin had brain surgery in 1999, Make A Wish granted Kevin his very own wish. Sometime, (I'll write about this, promise) I'd love to go into detail about that trip, Kevins wish, and why he was granted that wish, but for now I'll just post some lovely pictures of the walk.

This was also Rosemary's very first trip to the zoo!

It was extremely windy which made for a chilly day so Rosemary was unfortunately cooped up in her stroller for the most part. Although the weather was cold for us, I promise you, Rosemary was the only one that was warm. I would never have brought her if I thought it was too much weather wise (if anyone was worried about her and all the wind). Even though Rosemary was bundled up for most of the walk, we brought her out indoors and at a few animals just so she could get in on the action. :)

The Tigers were even attempting to hide from the wind!

The Monkeys were very interested in watching us

Rosemary and her Aunt Jessica

Watching the penguins and hanging out with Mom

Letter to Rosemary on Our First Mothers Day Together

2010-05-09T22:24:00.004-04:00

Dear Rosemary,

This was our very first Mothers Day together and it was the best Mothers Day in my 29 years of life. I can’t even begin to tell you how much more special this day is to me now that you are in my life.

I’ve always loved my mother, your grandmother, but never understood just how much until I had you. I had never truly understood just how much she did for me and just how much she cared for me, until you.

I look forward to the day the same realization comes to you. It will. It’s so amazing, this feeling and comprehension of love, and I can’t wait to share this with you one day.

You bring me so much joy and happiness, thank you. Thank you for making this the best Mothers Day. And thank you for allowing me to be a Mother, your Mother.

Without you I’d still never know just how special this day really is.

Love Mom

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T23:51:00.005-04:00

I wrote this paper titled Role Model for a class in high school in 1998, so I was a senior in high school. I don't remember giving this to my Mom, but right after I had Rosemary she let me have a copy of it. I haven't read it since 1998 (I couldn't bring myself to read this until just now.) and I thought I'd share it with you all. My Mom has always meant the world to me and I'm really curious as to what it says. Now again, please remember I was in high school when I wrote this. I am writing this word for word for you.

My mother has taught me many great lessons throughout my life. Deciding which three lessons are the most valuable has been a difficult decision for her. After thinking about it over time, she was able to select three of the most important. First of all, she wanted to teach me that my family should always be the most important people in my life. Growing up in a large family, my mom wanted to share with me the love and security that she felt as a child. She also wanted to make sure I knew that I can always count on my family for the support I need. Second, my mom wanted me to always believe in myself. She wants me to be happy with my life, who I am, and to accept the talents God gave to me. Third, my mom wants me to strive to be the best that I can be. She wants for me everything she has in life and more. My mom hopes that I will make the right decisions concerning my future, as well as the present. She hopes that she has done a good job raising me so that I can go into the world and be able to take care of myself. These lessons are just three of the lessons my mom wanted to install upon me.

My mother has left me, and continues to leave me, with many lessons of which are very valuable lessons. Lessons that I will value for the rest of my life. One lesson is being true to myself. This is because I have learned that sometimes it is hard to be different, and even if it means being outcast by others, sometimes You are the only one you have. Many times I have found that just being myself will Help me to find my true friends. I've also found that if I need to change in order to gain respect or a friend, that whatever I was changing for wasn't worth the trouble. This coincides with another lesson I have learned from my mom, which is respecting others enough by not trying to change them. Knowing what it is like to be different sometimes, I know that other people are unique just as I am. Learning to accept people for who they are has often been a flaw of mine, but my mom has always taught me to try and understand where people are coming from. Other lessons my mom has taught me are things such as knowing right from wrong, taking care of my responsibilities, and doing things for myself. My mom has taught me so many things, it is hard to even describe why she does all of this for me. She does it simply because she is my mom and she loves me. Hopefully these lessons will stay with me for the rest of my life and I will be able to teach my own daughter these lessons.

Having learned these lessons from my mother, I plan to share all I can remember with my own daughter. I want my daughter to know that she can be whoever she wants. I want her to be confident and modest. I want her to be able to accomplish anything she sets her mind to. I plan to show my daughter that if you work for something, you can achieve it. I also hope to leave with my daughter values such as honesty, respect for others, and friendship. I wish that I will be able to raise my own daughter as good as my mom raised me. Hopefully I will be a great role model to my daughter as my mom is to me.

That's it.

A bit of it is hard to follow, but I'm guessing the assignment was to choose a role model and why I thought they were a role model? Upon reading this just now, I seriously have no recollection of writing this. Apparently I wrote about her often in high school as I thought this was a completely different assignment. I know I did a speech on her in speech class too, but this wasn't it. Funny how she ended up with it! I'm pretty sure when I wrote about her in high school, I would've been too embarrassed to give this to her, so I'm sure she probably found it or something. What's even weirder, is that the teacher I had wrote some really amazing things and I still have no recollection of this! She wrote "Your mother has done a fine job - so will you. You have come mile in your RHS (my high school) career - I really admire your honesty, your courage, your strength." She wrote some other nice comments too. Such beautiful comments, and I never even bothered to notice them before. How different I was at 17 than I am at 29. Now something like this is one of the most flattering comments I could receive.

Anyway, it's obviously not my finest piece of work, but you get the gist of how I felt about my mom even as a bratty teenager over ten years ago. She's probably the best person I've ever known and is responsible for (along with my father of course) any and all good in me today. I really have learned so much from her. I will tell you, ANYONE who knows me, knows that my first priority in life above all else is my family.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you!

Happy Mother's Day to all of us Mother's! Remember we are our children's role models and its so important for us to show our children the very best in life. My mother certainly did and this is just another reminder of my job with Rosemary.

I'm glad I finally read this. I've been putting it off because with my Mothers Cancer I already cry all the time and figured this was just going to bring on more tears. While I may have shed a couple, I'm really glad I waited to read this just now. This was so very fitting for Mothers Day.

May all of us be even close to the woman and mother my Mom is.

Sacrificing Saturdays

2010-05-08T23:11:00.005-04:00

Checking in for my weekly update on Sacrificing Saturdays.

I've made it one more week with no cell phone in the car! It's still extremely tempting to use the phone in the car and I've come to admit to myself this will always be a challenge I think.

Only one more full week and then on the 17th it's on to something else challenging. I'm going to be so relieved to not have to get out of my car every time I want to call or text someone - even as a passenger. I feel pretty silly sometimes... I still plan to continue not using the phone while I'm driving, but as a passenger, I think I'll be OK with using the phone again!

What did people do before cell phones? :)

Up next is going to be giving up swearing, I think... That will be so hard for me, I've got the worst potty mouth!

Wish me luck for my last full week!

Teddy's Pride Oral Care Winner

2010-05-08T22:42:00.003-04:00

Using Random.org for the Teddy's Pride giveaway, lucky number 4 was selected!

4. Melissa said...
I joined your blogfrog community!

Congratulations Melissa! I will email you and you have 48 hours to respond or I'll have to select a new winner.

Baby Dipper Review and Giveaway

2010-05-08T22:01:00.007-04:00

As Rosemary is now eating solids, I’m always on the lookout for great products when it comes to eating dishes and utensils. I’ve recently gotten the chance to use a product, The Baby Dipper, which is a bowl and utensils meant for one handed feeding.

The Baby Dipper was created by stay at home Mom (of TWO sets of twins) Barbara Schantz. Being extremely busy with her first set of twins, Barbara was frustrated with the available feeding dishes on the market. After searching for dishes that made it easier to feed one handed and multitask, Barbara designed the Baby Dipper to what she was really looking for in a great bowl for children and parents.

The Baby Dipper is a Bowl, matching fork and spoon. The bowl is designed with contoured interior and vertical sides to help guide food to the spoon. The non-slip rubber base prevents sliding of the dish and the transparent sides allow easy viewing to see what food is left. Everything included is BPA free, Lead free, Phthalate free and meets all of CPSIA standards.

The bowl can hold up to 4 fluid ounces. It can be used in the microwave and dishwasher, although it is recommended to be hand washed. I have put the bowl and utensils in the dishwasher several times and it doesn’t appear to be wearing down on the quality of the bowl.

I have been using the Baby Dipper for about two weeks with Rosemary now, and overall I really like it.

The absolute best part of the Baby Dipper is that the contoured shape really does help keep all of the food together and fall to the bottom half of the bowl. With other bowls, I’m constantly picking up the bowl and using the spoon to re gather the food to get my next spoonful for Rosemary. This is not the case with the Baby Dipper. Since the food stays together easier, it was so easy to get each and every spoonful. If you’re a parent, I’m sure an annoying part about feeding your child is constantly having to scrape the food together and having to “regroup” the food.

I also really like the sturdy base for the bowl. It truly is non slip which makes it easier to do one handed feedings since the bowl isn’t constantly moving around. When I try to feed Rosemary one handed with her other dishes, there is no way this is possible. The bowl moves around and the food is always spread out all over the dish.

Rosemary is just over 6 months, so we don’t use the fork at all since she isn’t feeding herself yet. The spoon is actually the only thing I don’t really like at this point with the Baby Dipper. The scoop on the spoon is a little deep for her mouth, so food ends up staying back in the scoop unfortunately. Now, by the time she’s feeding herself, this very well may not be a factor. As of for now, I won’t be using the matching spoon since it’s hard for her to eat off of.

There are a few things I wish I could add on to the features of the Baby Dipper. First, I wish it had a lid because I’d love to take this on the go. I really like this dish but since it doesn’t have a lid, it doesn’t really make sense for me to bring Rosemary’s food in one dish and then add it to the Baby Dipper bowl. Next, I wish the bowl came in a larger size. At this point Rosemary eats 4 ounces of puree right now. Soon, she’ll be eating even more, so I’d love if the dish would have an option to buy a bigger size. Who knows, maybe this is already in the works, but I’d really be interested in purchasing another that was bigger and included a lid.

Overall, I love this dish. It’s easy to use and easy to clean. Besides the spoon issue (which may be obsolete by the time my daughter feeds herself), this dish makes it so easy to feed Rosemary and I’ve been using it all the time.

If you’d be interested in purchasing this dish for $12.95 per set (a price well worth it in my opinion), please head over to the Baby Dipper website to either purchase directly or to find a local retailer.

To keep up to date on the latest news for the Baby Dipper, they have a facebook page available for you to fan as well as a newsletter and blog.

If you want to purchase the Baby Dipper, but would first like an opportunity to win your very own set, Barbara has graciously offered one of my readers their very own Baby Dipper for free!

Main Entry – To be eligible to win the Baby Dipper set, go to the Baby Dipper website and leave a comment here telling me something interesting you learned. Leave that in a comment along with your email so I may contact you if you’re the winner.

Extra Entries – These entries are not mandatory, but are for those readers that wish to increase the chances of them winning the Baby Dipper. You must do the Main Entry first before these extra entries to be eligible to win. Remember to leave a separate comment for any and all entries and to leave an email address so I can contact you.

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries, leave two separate comments for this one) Please let me know what email and name you are following under.

2. Follow Baby Dipper on twitter

3. Sign up for the Baby Dipper Newsletter or follow their blog

4. Add my button to your blog and leave a link for me to check please.

5. Follow me on twitter

6. Tweet about this giveaway mentioning myself and Baby Dipper with a link back to this post. Please leave a URL where I can check that you tweeted. This can be done once a day to earn many extra entries. Leave a URL for every tweet please. You may copy and paste the following tweet:
"Enter to #win a @BabyDipper over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/acD0Wa #giveaway RT"

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and Canada, and ends on May 21, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected. If you've previously won a giveaway sponsered by The Baby Dipper, LLC, you are not eligible to win this giveaway.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am neither liable nor responsible for any losses or damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

I'm Going to be a Woman!

2010-05-05T22:05:00.008-04:00

Yeah, you read that right.

I'm going to be a woman!

Today over at Theta Mom, a wonderful community I'm part of, her topic was Are we Women or Mothers First?

My current answer really makes me upset. While other woman contemplated which one they were more of, I knew my answer without even thinking.

I’m a Mother first. The reason I didn’t even have to think about it was I don’t even feel like a woman at all anymore.

This thought literally makes me tear up.

How did I let it get this far? I mean, I know I want to be the best Mom possible, but aren’t I supposed to take care of myself too?

I barely shower these days. I never shave my legs. I love painted toes and I haven’t done that since October. I don’t by myself new clothes, even though I desperately need new things as I’m still up a bit on weight from my pregnancy. I never wear makeup. (To be fair, I never really did that anyway.) I eat HORRIBLE. I spend hardly any time doing anything that I used to before Rosemary like reading or exercising. I used to read on average a book a week, I haven’t read one page since I had Rosemary. The list could go on and on, but you get the point. Once I became a Mother, I stopped being a woman.

Periodically over the past few months I’ve noticed this and promised myself I’d do something to change it. I haven’t.

Now, I don’t want you to think I blame Rosemary one bit for my lack of being a “woman”. This is my own fault. I just stopped caring for some reason. I got busy and being a Mom seemed to be enough. It's not.

What I failed to recognize is that to be a better mother, I think I need to be a woman too. I NEED to start taking care of myself. Even my husband has been encouraging me to do things to make me feel better about whom I am as a woman. For Christmas he spent all this money to get me this great spa package that includes an hour massage, a pedicure, a manicure and a facial. I haven’t even though to make the appointment yet. I also mentioned about a month ago that I wanted to get my hair cut and colored to look nice, and he was all for that too. I still haven’t called on that either.

Well, enough is enough. I’m going to get all of my needs and wants as a woman out there and let you, my readers, hold me accountable for finally taking action! I’m going to start small and make my way into being a woman again!

How silly that sounds. Yes, I’m going to become a woman!

My list:

1. Shave my legs. First things first, right? At least summer is arriving an I know this is one area that I'll have to start up with.

2. Make that appointment to get my (already paid for) massage, manicure, pedicure, facial. I probably won’t do this all at one visit, but I’m going to call and schedule at least one of these to be done in May.

3. Find a hair stylist and call to make an appointment on getting my hair cut and colored. Did I mention I haven’t colored my hair since Aug 08 before my wedding in Nov 08? I got pregnant a month after my wedding so I couldn’t (well, I chose not to) during the pregnancy. Now I have a six month old and I still haven’t gotten it done. I haven’t even had a cut since Aug 09 before the baby.

4. Get my eyebrows waxed. I love having this done. Not the actual process, but how it looks after. It's one of those things that just makes me feel better about the way I look.

5. Buy a new dress this month. I actually need a new one for a wedding I’m doing a reading in on June5th and then for Rosemary’s Baptism June 27th. So this is easily justified financially too.

6. Buy new shoes. Now, I did recently buy new tennis shoes just last week, (mine had huge holes in them and my husband told me I looked homeless) but I’m talking pretty shoes. It’s been years since I bought cute shoes just because. Years.

7. Buy three new books and read them. Any suggestions? I love chick lit the most for fast reads, but I enjoy other subjects as well.

8. Buy one whole outfit for going out and maybe a few real shirts. Not pajamas! All I wear is pj pants and t shirts. I need to get something that’s going to make me feel beautiful when I go out. Not like a Mom who throws on an over sized sweater and baggy jeans when she’s running to get the diapers.

9. Exercise twice a week. I know this should probably say three times, but I'm going with baby steps here. I have an elliptical downstairs, I need to get moving! At least summer is here and I'll also be taking Rosemary and the dog for walks. Fresh air does wonders for my mood as well.

10. I'm going to get fully dressed by 8am (including hair) twice a week. This one is going to be rough. I hardly ever do my hair yet alone by 8am!

Anything else you can think of that I’m missing?

I’ll of course document my makeover, and photograph for everyone as I go through my list. I feel better just writing this down finally. I’m going to make this happen. Now, it may not be overnight as some if this is costly (sorry husband) but I’m going to do this all by the end of August! That’s four months.

I can do this.

I WILL be a woman again! Happy Mother's Day to me!

The Vintage Pearl Gift Certificate Giveaway

2010-05-05T14:35:00.016-04:00

Have you heard of The Vintage Pearl? If you visit Mom blogs, I'm betting you have.

The have a great selection of products from fabulous necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other special keepsakes.

The Vintage Pearl has graciously offered one of my readers a $25 gift certificate to their store! You guys are so lucky!!

Here's my favorite:

To enter simply visit The Vintage Pearl and return here commenting on which item is your favorite. Please leave an email so I can contact you if you're my winner.

For extra entries you may do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries)

2. Add my fancy dancy button to your blog and leave a url so I can check (2 entries)

3. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may do this once a day. Please leave a url so I can check your tweet. If you don't tweet, you may instead add this as your facebook status. You may use the following to tweet/post:
"Enter to #win a $25 gift certificate to The Vintage Pearl over @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/9MQvMj #giveaway RT"

4. "like" me on my new facebook page. You don't have to leave your name here. If you win I can check via email so as to protect your privacy.

5. Blog about this giveaway and leave a url directly to the blog entry. (2 entries)

Leave separate comments for all of your entries and remember to leave an email address in at least one of them so I may contact you. Oh, and you must do the main entry in order to win the gift certificate! Good luck!!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and Canada only, and ends on May 19, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses or damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

The Taffy Box "Blessed" Locket Winner

2010-05-05T12:02:00.002-04:00

I used random.org this morning and out of 107, number 86 was picked!

86. Visione Bella said...
I tweeted on May 1: http://twitter.com/VisioneBella/favorites

http://www.visionebella.wordpress.com

Upon checking her entries, she wrote in an earlier response that, ironically, she'd written about Koryn just the day before! Check out her blog here to read a little more information.

Here's a great link to read more of Koryn's story and how we can all take measurements to prevent finding Breast Cancer too late. This is so important, especially for us woman! Please make sure you're doing all you can to find this awful disease.

I've mentioned in passing a few times, my Mother has Cancer. It started off as Colon and has spread to at least the Lungs, Liver and only God knows where else. If only we'd found it sooner. If only, if only, if only. Ugh. Who knows how she'd be doing today. Maybe she wouldn't need round after round of chemotherapy (aka - evil poison).

I'm not saying this to make you feel bad for me or her, I'm saying it to SCARE YOU. It can happen to any of us and at any age in life. Please make sure you're doing any preventative measures you can like breast exams and colonoscopies. They can (and have) saved lives!

I truly wish you could all win this necklace, but for the rest of you, don't forget to shop at Koryn's stores Mothers Precious Gems and The Taffy Box (I believe The Taffy Box is closed currently, but should be opening up soon after Mothers Day). Proceeds from all her sales go to helping Cancer somehow. (I believe different product proceeds go to different causes?)

Thanks everyone for entering and congratulations to the winner!! I'll be emailing her and then she has 48 hours to respond and if I hear nothing back, I'll select a new winner.

Wordless Wednesday - I Love You Daddy

2010-05-05T01:20:00.005-04:00

Happy 101 Award

2010-05-05T01:10:00.002-04:00

I won a Happy 101 Award a bit back from Shannon over at Webbisodes and I'm just now getting around to bragging about it. If you haven't checked out her blog and beautiful baby, you should! I really enjoy reading her posts about life with her adorable Gilly and looking at the great photos she always seems to take. I'm really glad I found her blog - can't even remember how now, but I KNOW I'd be friends with this woman in real life.

She's that cool.

I'm so flattered she reads my blog, yet alone thinks I deserve an award for it!

Here are the rules:

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink).
3. List 10 things that make you happy.
4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award.

My list of ten happy things:

1. Rosemary and my Husband - Pretty obvious why, THEY ARE MY LIFE.

2. The rest of my family and friends - I could list them all individually, but I somehow feel as though that'd be cheating you readers out of my other happy things.

3. Pedicures - I somehow just feel better when my toes are pretty.

4. Red Wine - I'm a Pinot Noir gal, but I'll take a Shiraz or a Cabernet if ya ain't go no Noir.

5. Spring storms - I love when they happen in the middle of the night or early, early morning.

5. The smell of fresh cut grass - Mmmm...

6. Barbecue - Can you tell I'm a fan of warm weather?

7. My Moms off weeks for Chemo - We LIVE for these weeks. So glad she'll be done in mid June. What a great summer we'll have this year with no chemo and Rosemary here now!

8. Pictures - I love taking pictures, but I really enjoy looking at them even more. One of my favorite part of blogging is seeing into peoples lives not only through their words, but by their fabulous photos! Here's hoping I get my xsi sometime this century.

9. Enlightened Moments - Ever have those days where it all seems to come together and make sense? I LOVE those days.

10. Old school music on the radio - Today I heard Warren G Regulate followed by 2Pac, can you say awesome?!

Now for the lovely bloggers who I feel also deserve this award - In complete random order of course. I'm sure there's so many more, but here's 10 just to start with. If you haven't been to their blogs, check them out!

1. A JD + Three
2. Learning How to Love
3. Happy, Healthy and Loved
4. Cupcake Dream
5. Sugar Plum Treasures
6. Dearinger Diary
7. The Ish Blog
8. Waking Up Williams
9. Mommy and Molly
10. Avery and Me

Comment Love

2010-05-04T00:30:00.004-04:00

I absolutely love comments and I just want to take a moment and thank you all for your comments! THANK YOU!

That being said, I want to apologize for the past week and a half for not being the best about responding to them. Last week was just pretty hectic and I PROMISE I'll be better. I love responding to you all, so I assure you, I'm not taking my lovely commenter's for granted!!

It's also my favorite way of picking out blogs to read. So.... If I didn't stop by your blog today, I swear, I'll be there in the next two days. Scouts honor!

Thanks again for your comment love!

If you're new or nervous about commenting, don't be! It's fun and I try to reciprocate the comment love as much as I can. I always feel awful if I somehow miss someone.

If I do miss yours somehow, I'm sorry, comment again letting me know I'm slacking off! :)

Weekly Review

2010-05-03T23:35:00.008-04:00

So I just realized I never did a weekly review yesterday, so I'm going to add a quick one in just to fill you in on my great, but busy week.

Monday - we had an awesome play date for Rosemary! It was so fun and I'm hoping to go to another one soon. I met some really nice new women, and hopefully it works out I may even begin a Mommy and Baby Yoga class with them. I still have to look into it. There were several cute pictures posted on facebook, but I can only post this one as I'm not sure how the other Moms are with posting their children on the internet. Both of us had a great time!

Tuesday - we spent the day doing errands and then one of my close friends, Erin, came over. She's in an advanced Nursing program, so we hardly get to see her these days and that was a great treat. We ended the night with Tacos and a couple Margaritas!

Wednesday - we had Rosemary's baby group for a couple hours and then we lounged around the rest of the day until my husband got home and then I went out to dinner with my good friend Jen. Oh, and Rosemary tried Zucchini today! She ate it up per usual of course. :)

Thursday - Rosemary, my Mom, Sister and I went to the International Women's Show and that was nice just for visiting purposes. I personally find the show kind of pointless, but my mom likes it, so we usually go every year. It was sort of a nightmare with Rosemary as there wasn't a good place to feed her (and I SUCK at nursing in public) and it was warm and noisy which meant a bit of fussing for her at times. I don't blame her at all! Overall, it was fun, but just tiring. This picture is of us all after, we were pooped!

Friday - I can't even tell you what we did Friday! Relaxed during the day? I know me and my husband watched a movie, and then had the rest of the margarita mix at night. Not that much, just a couple more each.

Saturday - Filled with errands and cleaning. Oh, and we had a nice surprise visit from my parents and brother Kevin. My Dad was missing her since we usually head that way and didn't this week so they stopped by for a little while. This was really nice as they live 45 minutes away and don't make the trip out to me all to often. I'm not complaining here, it was just nice.

Oh, and also my extremely mean husband kicked my baby out of the bedroom! Ok, not really. He brought her pack n play out into the living room. I'm still sad about this and not sure if I'm going to keep it out there yet. He also put away her swing and bouncer. It's just so sad. :( I know she hardly ever used them anymore, but still. Can you tell I'm totally pouting about him doing this? I am. I'm just not ready for my little baby to be a big baby yet. As if keeping this stuff around was going to hold her back...

Sunday - More errands, cleaning and then relaxing at night.

A portion of the weekend for me was also spent on the computer with Julie trying to fix up the blog. I'm still so excited about how it turned out!

As you can see, a busy, but really nice week! I loved that we got out a lot. Weeks like this are awesome for a stay at home Mom! I even saw friends! TWICE. Very rare!

So I Lied

2010-05-03T21:27:00.003-04:00

I said I was going to wait a bit and change my twitter name next week, well, I lied. I went ahead and did it!

So, if you see a new follower named @AMamaStorkKnows, that's ME! Formally known as @Inthknowgivawys. If you have twitter and don't already follow me, go ahead and click here to do so.

Mamarazzi Monday

2010-05-03T15:33:00.009-04:00

So I've noticed on a few blogs I visit they do this Meme called Mamarazzi Mondays. It's the Mama version of paparazzi of course.

I then thought to myself, I'm obsessed with taking photos of my daughter, maybe I should start doing this and posting the some of the ones that don't make the cut for others to see. Seriously ya'll, I have THOUSANDS. I won't put you through all of them. Although, they are pretty cute, so I may have to dig up some vintage ones occasionally.

So onto my very first Mamarazzi Monday! There's even a cute button for it. Click here to see other Mamarazzi links.

These are from today's 28 week photos

If you make this one bigger, you can see her tooth! :) Such a proud Mom.

I think I'm done now Mom.

New Blog Design is Finished!

2010-05-03T13:03:00.003-04:00

You may notice that the blog design is now finished! I'm so extremely happy with it and I love it so, so, so much more than my old one!

I'd love to ask if you notice I forgot to change a link somewhere, or something isn't working, please let me know! I tried to change everything over, especially with my new domain, but I may have missed some.

I'd also love to point out some of my new features. Like my fancy new button you can put on your own blog. :) Can you tell I'm pretty excited about this? Also, I now have a fb page you can "like" as well as easier access to an rss feed where you can also subscribe by email if you'd like. After the excitement of my new blog and new blog domain set in, I'll also be changing my twitter name, so look for that probably next week!

Back to my new blog design...

I can't even begin to thank Julie enough over at Deluxe Designs! Seriously, THANK YOU Julie! I couldn't be happier with my blog!

On top of loving my new blog, she really is the BEST to work with. Julie went above and beyond the call of duty with me - doing what seemed like all these crazy ideas and changing everything (and anything) I wanted. I'm really big on customer service as I feel like even when you have a good product, it can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Well, with Julie, you get a great product and the best customer service ever!

I'm so serious when I say this as I seriously had her do and redo a ton of things just so I could see slight differences. She did them all and was totally sweet about how picky I was. :)

*edited* I also wanted to add how fast and attentive she was in general! We did this all this weekend and she emailed me back really quick on everything. So, she's not only good at this, she's very prompt and efficient!

If you are in need a total blog revamp or even just a new button, header, or anything else, I HIGHLY recommend going with Deluxe Designs. AND, if you tell her I sent you, you get 10% off! She has multiple packages or a la carte services so it's easy for her to accommodate your needs.

You know you need something done with your blog! :) Go NOW!

Thanks again Julie!

Guidecraft Geometric Puzzle Board Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

2010-05-03T10:23:00.011-04:00

As I mentioned in my recent review of Guidecraft’s Puppy Pull Along toy, I have a total of six reviews for you from Guidecraft.

For my second review in the series, I received Guidecraft’s Geometric Puzzle Board. Since there are six reviews for you all, I’ll try not to be too repetitive, but there is some information about Guidecraft I’d like to include for all newcomers to my blog.

Started in 1964, Guidecraft is an award winning company that has over 580 educational toys and furnishings. The company’s mission is to create beautifully crafted wooden products that allow children to use their minds and imagination while having fun.

Guidecraft guarantees the quality and workmanship of all their products, and are about complete customer satisfaction. They also design and test their products to meet or exceed mandatory safety standards set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 to insure the safety of children playing with their products.

The Geometric Puzzle Board says on the website it’s for 9 months and up, but on the box it says for 18 months and up. This is a bit confusing, but upon opening it, my opinion would be that it’s for 9 months and up. The puzzle board is for children to learn colors, shapes and sizes. I’m going off of my daughter Rosemary, who is over 6 months, and I think she’ll be ready for this toy soon.

When I received the toy it came in a nice and sturdy box to avoid being damaged. Inside, the puzzle board was wrapped in plastic to secure the toy from being banged around prior to opening.

When opened there is a small amount of assembly, if you can call it that. There are five color coordinated stickers that needed to be applied to the bottom of the puzzle board where the puzzle pieces fit. I actually stuck them on before I even noticed there were directions included that told me what these stickers were for. This took me literally one minute to do.

There are five pieces to the puzzle. All five are different colors (red, orange, yellow, blue, and green) and are all different shapes (oval, round, square, rectangle, and triangle.) There are matching slots on the board where the pieces fit (with matching colored stickers on the bottom of the board) and there is adequate room for the puzzle pieces to fit in nicely. The puzzle pieces have 2 inch high, easy grip handles. The two inch handles are perfect for little hands to be able to grasp well enough to hang onto and fit in the puzzle.

The quality of this puzzle is excellent. The colors are extremely vibrant and I saw no markings on them at all. The wood is very durable and smooth so I really feel this toy will last even for my future children and I’m not worried at all Rosemary may get splinters. I think this puzzle is great for learning shapes and sizes and I look forward to Rosemary using it this summer.

In all honesty, I’ll probably give the pieces to her before she’s 9 months to start playing with. The colors are so bright, I think she’ll love them even before she can understand about what shapes they are.

I would really recommend checking out the Guidecraft website and catalog to see some of the great educational toys they have for your child today! You can purchase the toys directly from the Guidecraft website. For more reviews, Guidecraft also has a blog where you can find many other reviews from people just like me.

If you like what you’ve read about the Geometric Puzzle Board, and think this toy would be great for your child, Guidecraft has graciously offered one of my readers a free Geometric Puzzle Board!

Main Entry – To be eligible to win the Geometric Puzzle Board, you must go to the Guidecraft website and return here telling me what product your child absolutely must have (other than the toy being given away). There are so many, I just know you’ll find something your child would love. That’s it. Leave that in a comment along with your email so I may contact you if you’re the winner.

Extra Entries – These entries are not mandatory, but are for those readers that wish to increase the chances of them winning the Geometric Puzzle Board. You must do the Main Entry first before these extra entries to be eligible to win. You can do any or all of these extra entries, so please don't feel like you have to do them in order either. Remember to leave a separate comment for any and all entries and to leave an email address so I can contact you.

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries, leave two separate comments for this one) Please let me know what email and name you are following under.

2. Follow Guidecraft on twitter; please leave your twitter name

3. Fan Guidecraft on facebook; please leave your facebook name in the comment

4. Follow the Guidecraft Blog, please let me know what email and name your are following under

5. Follow me on twitter

6. Tweet about this giveaway mentioning both myself and guidecraft. Please leave a URL where I can check that you tweeted. This can be done once a day to earn many extra entries. Leave a URL for every tweet please. You may copy and paste the following tweet to make it easier:
"Enter to #win a @Guidecraft Geometric Puzzle over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/c8wK9q #giveaway RT"

7. Blog about this giveaway. Please leave a direct URL to the blog entry. (2 entries, leave two separate comments)

8. Add my super fancy, new button to your blog. (2 entries, leave two separate comments)

That's a lot of ways to enter! Do as many as you like, but please remember to do the main entry first. Good luck!

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. only, and ends on May 14, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses or damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Under Construction

2010-05-02T00:23:00.005-04:00

As you may notice, the blog is under a bit of construction. :)

Please excuse the work and it'll be done and in perfect order soon.

I'm so excited for the finished result as it already looks so much better!

Thanks Julie!

Sacrificing Saturdays

2010-05-01T19:38:00.004-04:00

For all my new followers, check here to see what Sacrificing Saturdays is all about.

So another week down of no cell phone use in the car and I'm sad to say I didn't make it all week.

It was for the stupidest thing ever too. I didn't even need to use the phone, it was reflex!

On Wednesdays we have a parent/baby group we go to and we get off the express way right by my husbands work. On the way home before I got onto the express way I decided to stop and see if he was available to come out and say hi. I was good and even got out of the car to call. No answer. So I get back in the car and am driving on my way home when he called back.

Instinctively I answered the phone when he called back. Whoops. As soon as I said hello I KNEW that I wasn't supposed to be doing it.

So I cheated this once. I'm bummed, but I'm glad that I didn't start doing it all the time or anything. It was just that once, so hopefully it won't happen again.

THIS is why I have to hide my phone in the car! It's just too easy to answer when it's right next to me in the middle console.

Hopefully this week I won't cheat again!

I Added A Facebook Page!

2010-05-01T00:17:00.002-04:00

It's a big night for my blog, as I just added a new fb page as well!

"Like" it please!! Right now I have zero fans. :(

I Changed My Blog Domain!!

2010-04-30T22:09:00.006-04:00

It now matches my blog name - A Mama Stork Knows. If you have me bookmarked or on your blogroll, please make the switch!!

On a sad, sad note, I lost all of my comment love!! UGH. Which means if you entered my current giveaways, your comments are gone! I am so sorry for the inconvenience, but if you can, PLEASE RE ENTER!

I also had to change my blogfrog community, so I'm not sure if you'll have to re add me there or not. It looks like I still have my members, so hopefully that is still good.

The comment thing really stinks, but I'm excited to have a matching blog and address!

**Update** Comments are back! Woo Hoo!! No need to re enter the giveaways afterall.

Follow Friday

2010-04-30T00:03:00.003-04:00

Welcome newcomers! Take a look around while your here and don't forget to enter my three current giveaways! Make sure you leave your blog information so I can check out yours as well.

Welcome to the April 30 Friday Follow celebration hosted by One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families and Midday Escapades! We invite you to join us every Friday to get more blog followers and to follow other interesting blogs. It is all about sharing and having fun.

Here's how YOU can join the Friday Follow celebration:

--Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops.

--Grab the Friday Follow button and include on your Friday Follow blog post.

--Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.

--Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you'd like.

--Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow.

--Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow.

Champagne Flutes Giveaway

2010-04-29T22:58:00.005-04:00

Normally I'm mostly into giveaways for Mom and Baby items, but these cute champagne flutes from Picture It Creations are up for grabs over at I do Budget Weddings. You don't have to have it personalized for a wedding, any special occasion wll work! For full disclosure, my fab cousin, Taryn, is the owner of Picture It Creations. :) Even if you don't need the flutes, you should check out all her great personalized stuff! She did a frame for me for my wedding and I love it!

Giveaway ends 05/10/10 11:59pm PST

Wordless Wednesday - Finally A Good Reason To Play With Sophie, My Tooth!

2010-04-28T23:41:00.004-04:00

Kidco BabySteps 123 Natural Feeding System Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

2010-04-28T16:39:00.019-04:00

About a month ago now, we decided (along with Rosemary’s Pediatrician) to make the big girl leap up to solids! She was just over 5 months, pretty tiny and still having trouble with gaining weight. Every Pediatrician is different, but we went with what her Pediatrician thought was best for her. Please consult with your child’s Pediatrician before beginning any new diet with your child.

We first started with oatmeal and after two weeks of that Rosemary started veggies! Now my personal decision was to make my own food for her as I’ve heard it’s cheaper and some babies find it even a bit tastier as well. I was given the opportunity to make my own food using Kidco’s BabySteps 123 Natural Feeding System and was very excited about making Rosemary’s first veggies and fruits. I’ve been using the Feeding System for about three weeks now and I’m of course going to share my journey with my readers!

Kidco was formed in 1992 specializing in child, pet and hearth safety gates. Today, they have branched out to make even more advanced safety gates, a variety of home safety products for baby proofing, bed rails, Peapods (travel beds for infants and children), and BabySteps 123 Natural Feeding System.

(How I received the Natural Feeding System - nice and boxed up)

The Kidco Natural Feeding System consists of three parts, hence the BabySteps 123. The first part is preparation. This includes simple to use anywhere, non electric Food Mill and then the Electric Food Mill which needs to be plugged in to use. The second part is storage. The Feeding System comes with two freezer trays which are divided up into 7, 2 oz sections along with a locking lid preventing spills. The third part is feeding. An included spoon, lid, and feeding dish which has three sections preventing mixing of foods and this is especially great for on the go. When I received the Natural Feeding System from Kidco and it included the food mill, a carrying case for the food mill, electric food mill, BabySteps 123 handbook to preparing healthy baby food, two freezer trays and the Feeding Dish. I really liked how it came packaged as all of the parts come in nice boxes for individual storing if I wanted.

The Handbook consists of an introduction to making homemade food, instructions on preparation, storage and feeding baby, food suggestions and recipes, and some pages to keep a feeding diary. I found this book to be very helpful. Rosemary’s pediatrician gave us a small handout on what foods to start with, but that was pretty much it. I really liked all the recipes listed for different fruits, vegetables, and even some full meals. I’ve only made four vegetables so far, but I look forward to using the other helpful tips on purees this book has to offer. I followed this book, but only did the veggies that my daughter’s pediatrician Okayed for her age of five to six months. From what I read, it was pretty similar to what her doctor recommended, but when it comes to her health and nutrition I always do as the pediatrician says first. The book even says to consult with your child’s doctor along with using the book.

I’m not going to go too into the recipes as that would take up a lot of room and people may or may not already have some they want to use either from a parent or another site, but I found these recipes to be easy and Rosemary seemed to think they were tasty!

(Food Mill)

We did sweet potatoes first and per the book it recommends using the non electric food mill for these. The food mill I have a mixed review on. The food mill consists of the mill body, the cutter, handle, a spoon and a nice carrier. It has simple instructions and was easy to assemble. It took a few rounds for me to figure out how much water to add to the potatoes to get the right consistency, but it was overall very easy to use. I did make a little mess with the mill. It was the water that made the mess, which is why I probably won’t be bringing it on the go until we’re onto not adding the water to purees. It’s fairly easy when cranking the handle to go a little too fast and the water can splash out. The only negative thing I have to say is that I found it difficult to get the handle/crank locked into place and undone when adding more vegetables and water for the next rounds of potatoes. I had to use a toothpick to help me turn the crank into place. I couldn’t get this to do it without making more of a mess unfortunately and it caused water to splash all over. I’m not sure if there’s a trick to getting the crank locked in and out better, but I had difficulty with this. Once Rosemary is on to not even needing water added, this will be fairly mess free in my opinion. This was very easy to clean as I just rinsed and put all parts in the top rack of the dishwasher.

(Electric Food Mill before and after blending. Note how the center comes out for easier access of the pureed veggies.)

For the rest of the vegetables I’ve made (squash, carrots, and zucchini), I have used the electric food mill. I have nothing but great things to say about this mill. It’s so easy to assemble, as soon as you add the top (the motor) it turns on, so it’s really easy to work, and also extremely easy to clean. The electric mill consists of the base, the two cup bowl, the blade, the blending attachment, the lid and then the motor. Like the first mill, very simple to put together and easy to use. For all the food I just left the blending attachment on as Rosemary is just beginning to eat solids and I wanted it fairly smooth for her still. As she begins to eat more lumpy foods, I may leave it off for a thicker consistency. All you do is add the food and add the lid and motor and after a few seconds of blending, the food is ready. Very fast and easy as well as zero mess. One of my favorite parts about this mill is that the blade comes right out of the bowl so you can easily get out all of the food with little waste. If I had used a regular blender, this isn’t the case and I’d be digging around trying to get the food to come out. I really like this feature of the mill. Cleanup after was extremely fast with this too. I rinsed the mill quickly and then put it in the top rack of my dishwasher. For carrots, I hand washed as carrots stain everything I’ve found. The only part that’s unable to go in the dishwasher was the motor and that didn’t get dirty at all. This mill is my favorite and I’m sure when I’m home making food, this will be my go to mill as it’s less mess and faster than the non electric mill.

The storage trays I also love! I used both the included storage trays and regular ice cube trays just so I could compare the two. The storage trays that come with are so much more convenient and easier to use as well. With the ice cube trays I filled it up and covered with both saran wrap and foil as I wanted to keep the food from spilling or things for getting in. The storage trays have a very easy to use lid that locks into place so I didn’t have to waste the saran wrap or foil or worry about spills. After the food was frozen and I went to get the food out, the storage trays won hands down when it comes to ease of getting it out. The ice cube trays were very hard to get all of the pieces out and took me several minutes of twisting and turning them to convince the pieces to come out. The storage trays I maybe had to do it for a minute. Since there’s only two of these included in the feeding system, I’m actually planning to go and buy another set of two of these trays so I can make more food at once.

The feeding dish is nice as well. I mostly used it to bring food out with us so it didn’t blend with Rosemary’s oatmeal. The locking lid didn’t allow any blending, so I was happy with the way it traveled. What’s really nice about it is that the storage tray sections and the dish sections are the same size so I could just add it to the dish and it fit perfectly to thaw. This is also dishwasher safe and cleaned very well.

Overall, I have had a very good experience with BabySteps 123 and look forward to continue to making Rosemary’s food with it! My only complaint was with the crank/handle on the food mill, and that surely isn’t enough for me to not recommend buying this system. I found it very easy to assemble, to use, and to clean.

If you currently make your own baby food or are interested in starting, this is a great product for you! The price of this feeding system at my local Buy Buy Baby is $64.99 but it may vary depending on where you purchase. I think this is a great deal for everything you receive with this feeding system. If you aren’t interested in the whole feeding system, the separate parts are also available for individual purchase. You can check out Kidco’s website here to find out where to purchase either online or in a store near you.

(Home made sweet potatoes were a hit! So unhappy when they're are all gone!)

If you’d like to get this whole feeding system for free, Kidco has generously offered one of my readers the entire BabySteps 123 Natural Feeding System I received!

Main Entry – To be eligible to win the Natural Feeding System from Kidco, you must go to the Kidco website and return here telling me a fact about another product you'd love to check out from Kidco and why (other than the feeding system). That’s it. Leave that in a comment along with your email so I may contact you if you’re the winner.

Extra Entries – These entries are not mandatory, but are for those readers that wish to increase the chances of them winning the BabySteps 123 System. You must do the Main Entry first before these extra entries to be eligible to win. Remember to leave a separate comment for any and all entries and to leave an email address so I can contact you.

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries, leave two separate comments for this one) Please let me know what email and name you are following under.

2. Follow me on twitter

3. Tweet about this giveaway. Please leave a URL where I can check that you tweeted. This can be done once a day to earn many extra entries. Leave a URL for every tweet please. Copy and paste the following tweet:
"Enter to #win a Kidco BabySteps 123 Natural Feeding System over at @AMamaStorkKnows http://bit.ly/a8AWA6 #giveaway RT"

4. Blog about this giveaway. Please leave a direct URL to the blog entry. (2 entries, leave two separate comments)

5. Join my blogfrog community and comment in the forum.

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and Canada only, and ends on May 13, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses or damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Spilled Milk

2010-04-27T00:57:00.001-04:00

When I'm done pumping, there's always what seems like a few drops of milk left behind in my breast pump shield. Well, I hate to waste (yeah, even a few drops of this stuff is valuable to me) so I like to tip it back a bit to get the drops to go into the bottle.

Well, it NEVER fails that I end up spilling about 10 times as much as what was left all over my pump and my lap. Ugh. Why do I continue to try for the last drops of liquid gold when I KNOW it's going to end up wasting so much more??

Please tell me I'm not the only foolish Mom to do this?

ErgoBaby Infant Carrier Giveaway

2010-04-26T15:59:00.004-04:00

Enter to win an ErgoBaby Infant Carrier over at The Baby Store Plus.

Click here to check out their store.

Giveaway ends 05/09/10 Noon MST

Weekly Review

2010-04-25T23:21:00.007-04:00

This was another big week, lets see if I can remember it all.

On Monday, as I posted earlier, Rosemary turned 6 months!! My big girl really is a big girl! Such a bittersweet day that was. I love her so much, I just can't believe it's already been 6 months! Sometimes I can't believe it's only been 6 months she's been in my life. Funny how that works.

Wednesday Rosemary had her 6 month doctor visit and she now weights 13lb 7oz! She's on on the smaller side, but this is the first month in a while her doctor was happy with her weight gain. All that oatmeal and veggies are paying off in the weight department. Personally, I think she's huge! She did great with her vaccines too, only crying for about 30 seconds when they poked her. So brave.

Thursday my sister came over for a bit so the three of us had a nice day just hanging out.

We had work party for my husband on Friday night and that was really nice to go to. It was with coworkers of his I don't really know, but the food was good and I had some nice conversation with adults. Jackpot for stay at home Mom's! On an exciting note, I went to a girlfriend's house at 11:00PM! That's right, late night! I seriously can't remember the last time I did something like that. I stayed over until two just chatting and it was wonderful! It's amazing how little things like going out late and getting in some quality time with a friend really make me happy.

Saturday was a HUGE day. We have a tooth!! Rosemary has been extremely fussy the past week and a half and I seriously didn't think we were going to make it! OK, that's a bit extreme, but there were a few days in there that I thought the Colic really was coming back. Well, it turns out it was for good reason! My poor baby popped a tooth yesterday! I know it was yesterday because just the day before I was wondering about teething so I was feeling around in there. I'm so happy and sad for the tooth to finally come. Happy because my baby is such a big girl now! Sad for the same exact reason. My breasts are a little worried about teeth as well.

We also tried carrots yesterday which went over well along with everything else she's tried. I'm thinking they're not her favorite as when they were gone, she didn't get hysterical. This happens with every other food, so my guess is she thinks that carrots are just OK. I'm just glad she likes them enough to gobble them up and not spit them out! One more veggie in the like pile.

Today was my sister Jessica's Birthday celebration (Happy Birthday tomorrow Jessica!) so we were over at my parents for a few hours today doing that. Rosemary did great up until it was time to sing with the lights off. Not such a hit with a baby apparently. Then it was already her bedtime so we went home around 7:30. Of course it was another long evening in the nursery as those dang teeth remain to bother my poor baby!

Overall, it was another great week with lots of excitement as far Rosemary's advancement. Even excitement for Mom this week too!

Update on Baby Eli

2010-04-25T16:03:00.004-04:00

Elijah is an Angel now. Please pray for their family and especially baby Eli.

I'm so thankful Laura and her family had this time with him, that really was a miracle. We just wanted more time for them. He's touched so many lives in his short life and I feel blessed just to have known of him and his strength. I'm going to continue to pray and I hope all of you will join me in that.

Sometimes life is so unfair and I can't comprehend why things like this happen. :(

Rest in peace sweet baby. You've been loved by more people than some of those who live here on Earth to be 100.

Teddy's Pride Oral Care Review and Giveaway

2010-04-25T14:54:00.003-04:00

I talk a lot about my daughter as she really is the main focus of my blog and really, of my life. You’ve seen the pictures, I’m sure you understand! Before Rosemary came into my life, I had a fur baby named Lucy.

Lucy is still a big part of our world, but of course has taken a backseat to the baby, as that’s just how life happens. She still gets plenty of love, although I’m sure not nearly enough for her! My husband and I have always tried to take great care of her as we really do consider her part of the family. She has the best food available, the best treats, the best toys, and so on.

One department we’ve always slacked on though is her oral hygiene. I’ve read that you’re supposed to brush your dog’s teeth at least once a week to keep up and I’m completely embarrassed to say it’s nowhere near once a week that we work on this. We’re bad pet parents. Lucy absolutely hated it whenever we tried it, so we kind of gave up. When we take her to get groomed, we pay the groomer to do it then. So that’s really not too often at all unfortunately.

Well, recently I was given the opportunity to try a newer product called Teddy’s Pride Oral Care. Normally on here, I would stick to products strictly for either Mom or baby, but since I’m such a slacker in the oral care department with Lucy, I jumped on the opportunity.

First the test subject, Meet Lucy.

Lucy is my two year old Yorkshire terrier mix puppy dog and first baby. When I say Terrier, I mean terror! She’s such a great dog, but has the energy of five dogs, I swear! I call her my awareness dog. She lets you know as soon as anyone or anything is coming anywhere near our home. A watch dog might try to attack if someone came close, where Lucy is strictly an awareness dog as she’d just run if they came after her. Oh Lucy. At least we always know if a squirrel is nearby, even at 3AM.

Before I go through my review of the product, here’s a little bit of information for you in case you’re unaware of exactly what it is.

As you can probably tell by the name, Oral Care, is for, you guessed it – oral care. It’s the fist probiotic product for pets (both cats and dogs) that promotes complete oral care. The completely natural probiotics (Probiora3) give pet’s naturally fresher breath and cleaner, whiter teeth. Teddy’s Pride maintains that within a few days bad breath is improved and within a few weeks, teeth will be whiter and cleaner. The Oral Care is odorless and tasteless so pets should not have an aversion to the product. It comes in powder form that you sprinkle on the food once a day and has a measured scoop for easy measuring.

I could go on and on about the facts and safety standards that the product lists, but that would take up a lot of my blog! For further information I really suggest checking out the Teddy’s Pride website. They have so much information to check out that I’m sure they can answer any questions you may have about their product. The website contains information about how the product works, the exact ingredients inside, the quality and safety of the product and so much more.

Please read all about this product before you purchase and consult with your veterinarian before giving your pet any new products!

So, we started Lucy on the Teddy’s Pride, Oral Care three weeks ago and here’s what I think of it. Please remember that just like humans, our pets are all unique as well, so your results my differ from mine.

The first day we gave it to Lucy; she knew something was up with her food dish. She sniffed at it a bit and then ate it like any other day. Lucy tends to be a bit picky with her food (can you say high maintenance dog?), so I was a little nervous that she wouldn’t eat it. Not the case. Lucy continues to be picky about when and where she eats her food, but there has been no change since she’s started the Teddy’s Pride.

I of course tried to get a picture of her teeth (to see how much whiter they actually would get), but that was impossible. I managed to get a picture, but you really can't see on the color with my camera, so I cannot really show you a comparison as far as how the color of her teeth changed. I will state that since she’s only a little over two, her teeth weren’t nasty or anything like that. I really do think they’re whiter, but I unfortunately can’t physically show you how much. It’s only been three weeks, but I can definitely tell a difference.

As for the fresher breath, I also think I notice a difference here as well. I really wish there was some way to prove this, but unfortunately you’d have to have come to my home both before we started and then again today. Please picture me chasing down my dog to take a big whiff of the before and after breath smell. My dog is extremely squirmy, so this was quite the task! Again, my dog wasn’t an overly stinky dog by any means, but I do think I can notice a difference with the breath.

So would I recommend this product? If you’re like me and my husband who have a hard time with the brushing of your pets teeth, absolutely!

It makes me feel so much better knowing Lucy is getting Oral Care now and I would’ve started this before had I even known about it. I really feel like you have nothing to lose. The product is 100% guaranteed money back, so if you were really unsatisfied, you could even get your money back. The Oral Care is just $24.95 for a 60 day supply which I think is a great deal considering it’s promoting my pet’s healthy teeth AND I’m not even doing any brushing!

Check out the website for details on how to purchase! If you aren’t quite ready to purchase this product and would love to try it for free, then I’ve got great news for you! Teddy’s Pride has offered one of my readers a FREE 60 day supply to try out on your pet today!

Main Entry – To be eligible to win the Oral Care, you must go to the Teddy's Pride website and return here telling me one fact you learned that I didn't share with you in my review. Leave that in a comment along with your email so I may contact you if you’re the winner.

Extra Entries – These entries are not mandatory, but are for those readers that wish to increase the chances of the Teddy's Pride Oral Care. You must do the Main Entry first before these extra entries to be eligible to win. Remember to leave a separate comment for any and all entries and to leave an email address so I can contact you.

1. Follow my blog publicly via Google Connect (over on the right side bar). You must follow publicly in order for this to count. Current followers just have to write that you already follow me. (2 entries, leave two separate comments for this one) Please let me know what email and name you are following under.

2. Follow Teddy's Pride on twitter; please leave your twitter name

3. Fan Teddy's Pride on facebook; please leave your facebook name in the comment

4. Join my blogfrog community and comment in the forum.

5. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Please leave a URL where I can check that you tweeted. This can be done once a day to earn many extra entries. Leave a URL for every tweet please. Copy and paste the following tweet:

"Enter to #win Oral Care from @TeddysPride over at @Inthknowgivawys http://bit.ly/bXppKh #giveaway RT"

6. Blog about this giveaway. Please leave a direct URL to the blog entry. (2 entries, leave two separate comments)

Giveaway is open to entrants in the U.S. and Canada, and ends on May 10, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A comment number will be drawn at random from random.org. Winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, another winner will be selected.

I was provided with this product free of charge by the highlighted company and/or its PR agency in order to test the product first hand and to provide you with my personal opinion on it. The opinions I have provided are mine and mine alone. I am in no way required to write a positive review and my review was not influenced in any way by monetary means. Please investigate before any and all purchases as I am not liable nor responsible for any losses or damages you may incur. Please read my Terms of Use before entering this contest.

Update on Baby Eli

2010-04-25T14:17:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to update everyone that baby Eli was born very early this morning, and is still hanging on! Born 4lb 15oz!

He's beautiful as is his Mother, even right after birth!

Continued prayers please!

Sacrificing Saturdays

2010-04-24T23:51:00.003-04:00

So I made it through another week with no cell phone use in the car!

I'll tell you, it's not getting easier. I almost cheat every other day it seems.

Last night I was THIS close to texting a friend while I was in the car. We were on our way home from my husband's work party and I was thinking about meeting a girl friend up for a drink since she was having a rough day. I didn't really want to wait the half hour car ride to see if she was still up for it since it was already 10:30. I even asked my husband if it was OK if I cheat just this once since I wasn't driving!

Well, I didn't and I'm so glad! It really is so convenient to call people and text on your way places. I can't wait for this one to be up!

I'm going to carry on the not using the phone while I drive, but I'm SO going back to texting and calling while I'm in the passenger seat. :)

Guidecraft Puppy Pull Along Giveaway Winner

2010-04-24T23:43:00.003-04:00

Random.org selected lucky number 65 and that is Sherrie!

Sherrie said...
#2

I am following you publicly via google connect.

I've sent out an email and she has 48 hours to respond or else I will draw another winner.

Thanks everyone who entered!

Prayers for a Friend Please

2010-04-24T15:57:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone.

I meant to mention this before, but if you pray at all, I'd really appreciate prayers for my friend Laura and her family. She's being induced right as I write and could use all the love and support we can give to her.

Her little guy, Eli, has Trisomy 13, so we're not sure how this is going to work out. I think they're just praying for a few hours with him. Here's her blog if you're interested in the whole story. Both her, her husband, and her 10 month old daughter are such beautiful, strong people. I can't imagine what they must be feeling or going through. I actaully sent her a card earlier this week and I think it's the hardest card I've ever picked out. I've never cried that much picking out a card at the store, that's for certain.

Please pray or just think positive thoughts if that's all you do. Thank you!

Blog Design Giveaway - CLOSED

2010-04-23T15:26:00.004-04:00

Enter to win a free Custom Blog Design over at Blogaholic Designs.

Giveaway ends 04/30/10 11:59pm CST

Little Green Books Giveaway Winners!

2010-04-23T00:04:00.005-04:00

#27 - Bhav said...
I like the tip about using reusable plates and cups for parties. It does take effort but I think we waste too much paper and plastic during get-together s.

#67 - AStarrA said...
http://twitter.com/AStarrAMama/status/12371382706

#126 - Terri said...
4-22 tweet http://twitter.com/Ziggywag/status/12652734931

#103. The Mother said...
I follow you publicly with Google Friend Connect

#40 - cdziuba said...
I learned this GREEN GLOSSARY of terms:
BlackoutA power failure; when the electricity goes out.
CompostA mixture of rotted leaves, plants, or vegetables that can be used in a garden to give...

I'm going to contact the winners via email and then they'll have 48 hours to return the email or I'll choose others to win.

Thanks for entering everyone!

Rosemary Said Mama Today!

2010-04-22T19:05:00.010-04:00

Me and sister Jessica were having lunch and Rosemary started to cry while she was playing on the floor. In there she said Mama a couple of times!! I went to get the video camera, so of course she didn't do it again, but she does start to. It was so cool!

Please ignore me annoyingly repeating it. :) She does it in the beginning of the video, and a tiny bit right at the end. I know she's a bit young at barely 6 months to say it, but I really thought she was calling for me, as did my sister!

I just know she'll be saying it for real soon! Pretty Good Earth Day!

On February 23, we caught her saying hi on video! She was just over 4 months then. Now, I know she wasn't really saying hi there. She had said it before and has a few times since, it's just a cute video. She says it about 20 seconds into the video and then the rest is pretty boring.

Wordless Wednesday - I Love to Sit!

2010-04-21T21:45:00.002-04:00