Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Card Worthy?

So, what do you think - is this pic Christmas card worthy?

We had a family pic on the cards last year, but I am leaning more towards just the girls this year...what do you think??

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, please leave me a link so I can check it out!!

While you are here, check out the giveaways in the right sidebar!

Natalie's Big Girl Bed - WOW, time flies!!

Natalie turned one year old in September, and now she is in a big girl bed. With Emily, there was no toddler bed until well after her 2nd birthday. But with all the drama involved with Natalie's crib, we decided to just make the switch.
So over the past like week and a half, you have heard me talk about the Stork craft crib recall and my irritation about their lack of responsibility. We heard that the fix for the crib made is a stationary side. I am short. There, I said it. But I have a really hard time getting Natalie into the crib when the side is up, it is just too high for someone who is almost 5'2". Glad we made the switch because Natalie loves having a bed like her sisters!

Kidorable **Review & Giveaway**

Emily was sent the most beautiful raincoat and rain boot set that I have ever seen! Kidorable is an adorable company with much more than raincoats and boots!

They have umbrellas, backpacks, knit hats, hanger sets, and more! Each of the product lines have beautiful, creative styles - from butterfly, mermaid, fairy, ladybug, to dinosaur, fireman, frog, pirate, and more! The kidorable products are so stylish and fun that Emily had a really hard time picking which was her favorite! They make rainy days beautiful, hanging up clothes fun, they even have bookends that can brighten up the shelf!!
This is an amazing company!
The products that we were sent are great quality and will definitely be able to be passed down to Natalie.
One thing that I thought was great about Kidorable is that they also have a "My First" collection, so if you have a little baby, like a year or so old, they have a line of firsts - first raincoat, first rain boots. So if you have a little one with an older sibling, they can both be stylish in the rain!!
Kidorable also has a Facebook Fan Page where there is usually something fun going on and a twitter account.

You can view and purchase any of the kidorable products on their website.

The people at Kidorable have generously offered a Proverbs 31 Mommy & Wife reader a chance to win an umbrella of your choice! There are a lot of really cute ones, so it might be hard to decide!!

GIVEAWAY RULES - Starts now and ends Monday, 12/7 at 12 NOON, PST
**Please always include a valid email address in your comments if one is not visible in your blogger profile, or I will be unable to contact you!**
Leave a separate comment for each entry you are completing
MANDATORY ENTRY (must be completed for any extra entries to count): Go to the Kidorable website and check out the umbrellas and come back and tell me which one you would want if you win, chose carefully as this will be your prize!!
EXTRA ENTRIES (worth one extra entry unless noted otherwise):
• Follow my blog publicly through google friend connect (left sidebar)
• Follow through Face Book’s Networked blogs (left sidebar)
• Subscribe to email updates (only activated subscriptions count) 2 entries
• Fan Kidorable's Face book Fan Page and write on their wall letting them know that you are coming over from Proverbs 31 Mommy & Wife
• Follow Kidorable on twitter
• Grab my button or add me to your blog roll 3 entries
• Follow me on twitter & tweet this giveaway, including URL – 1 entry daily
• Blog about this giveaway and link it back here 5 entries
• Enter my other giveaways – 1 entry each
• Comment on any non-giveaway post – 1 each


Open to legal residents of the USA, age 18+ only. Winner will be chosen 12 NOON PST on 12/7. Winner is picked based on the random integer generator at random.org. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email I will send them before a new winner is chosen.

50 FREE 4x8 photo cards **Expires SOON**

Ok, I know that this is very last minute, but as long as you have a photo that you want to use, it doesn't take any time at all. Fuji Film and SeeHere.com are giving you 50 FREE 4x8 photo greeting cards (either horizontal or vertical) all you have to pay is shipping and handling - which is very reasonable, I paid $3.16. All you have to do is either register for an account at SeeHere.com or sign in to your existing account, create your greeting card, and at check out enter this promo code: freebie4mom-1109
I became aware of this great deal through NPRA, and there was some discussion about the code only working if you actually type it in, don't copy and paste.
I hope that  you have a picture that you would like to use so that you can take advantage of this wonderful deal, as it expires 11-30...yup, Monday is the last day to use it, so you'd better hurry!
Merry Christmas and Be Blessed!!!

Thankful Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is a wonderful day, all over the country there are people giving thanks. For many different reasons, people, events, and hopefully for God!




I recently read a verse that has been on my mind ever since:
Always be ready, because you don't know the day your Lord will come. Matthew 24:42

I am thankful that I have a wonderful family. That we are able to share joy, laughter, love, and pain, tears, and worries. I am thankful that no matter what has come our way thus far, we have prevailed - not because we are just that amazing, but because the Lord is on our side. I am thankful that this Thanksgiving we have two healthy, beautiful children. And that we are in our own home for the first time. I am thankful for all that we have accomplished this year, even though it was not easy. I am thankful for the verse above because it reminds me to live each day as though it were THE day - to smile at people, seek & praise the Lord, love my family, love others, and share the good news:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:8-11

I hope that you have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

Extreme Irritation with Stork Craft Regarding Recalled Cribs

Earlier this week, Stork Craft recalled a VERY LARGE number of cribs, you can find more information on that here. I happen to own one, and my daughter has been sleeping in it sinse she was born, but at the urging of the recall we have sinse had to find other safe sleeping arrangments for Natalie, which pretty much translates right to she is sleeping in our bed with us. I love snuggling and cuddling as much as the next person, but really I am not a huge fan of Natalie in bed with Zack and I.
Anyways, the reason that I am SO incredibly irritated is that the phone number given n the recall notice, the same number I posted in the last post, is always busy - there is no one answering them. AND the website doesn't load. I contacted the CPSC and they said that they are aware of the situation and urging parents to be patient.
I am normally pretty patient, at least I try :), but this is rediculous and I am out of patience. My sister bought it for us before Natalie was born, and this was not a cheap crib. (Not saying that cheap cribs would wearrant this lack either, besides have you seen a cheap crib? Me either!)
I am very disappointed in the Stork Craft brand at this point and am pretty sure that I will never purchase any of their products ever, ever again! Thanks for listening!

IBW Interactive books - **Review and Giveaway**

IBW Interactive books are tons of fun! They are very age-appropriate and entertaining for children. It is really a neat concept, each of their books has a web address at the end of each chapter. After your child, or you and your child, read each chapter, you get on the Internet and go to the address given. Each web scene is a short animation that corresponds to the chapter that was just read.
We were sent one book from the KA Reader series and one book from the Busy Preschoolers series.
My oldest daughter will be 3 on December 6 and she absolutely enjoyed each of these books. She loved the webscenes from the KA Reader book, and the story. She was able to connect the chapters with the pictures and tell me information about the pictures that came from the book.
The Busy Preschooler book was wonderful!! There is an activity for each letter, they are simple yet fun and educational. There is also a webscene for each letter, and an ABC-TRACE. The ABC TRACE really got Emily's attention because she is into learning letters right now. The ABC TRACE has little "tracer pacers" at each touch point of the letter. The child uses the mouse to click and drag, as if they were writing the letter.
I have a video of Emily doing the "H" activity, but am having trouble getting it to upload. :( I will figure it out, and when I do, I will post it too!
So that you can get the idea, I am going to tell you briefly about the activity and will give you the address of the webscene: The activity was a riddle where the child had to guess what body part was being talked about, they had to act out the phrases as you read them (ex. It can count and clap and wave) and at the end guess what it was - hands! Here is the webscene, at the bottom is the link to the ABC TRACER.

IBW Books has very generously offered one of you lucky readers the opportunity to win your own interactive books! You will be able to chose from the following prizes:

The Busy Preschooler’s Guide to Learning – fun activities built around the 26 letters of the alphabet, with step-by-step help to guide parents in how to use everyday situations to teach 105 skills their kids need before they walk in the kindergarten door.

~~OR~~

THREE (3) KA Readers – beginning readers that use a new kind of storytelling where kids see an animation unfold at the close of every chapter! Dr. Seuss-like rhyming hooks kids on the fun of words. Online activities help parents assess a child’s reading and comprehension.

GIVEAWAY RULES
**Please always include a valid email address in your comments if one is not visible in your blogger profile, or I will be unable to contact you!**
Leave a separate comment for each entry you are completing

MANDATORY ENTRIES – there are 2 (must be completed for any extra entries to count): *Go to IBW books’ website and have a look around, then come back and tell me which of the series’ is your favorite. *Tell me which of the prizes you will want if you win.
EXTRA ENTRIES (worth one extra entry unless noted otherwise):
• Follow my blog publicly through google friend connect (left sidebar)
• Follow through Face Book’s Networked blogs (left sidebar)
• Subscribe to email updates (only activated subscriptions count) 2 entries
• Grab my button or add me to your blog roll 3 entries
• Follow me on twitter & tweet this giveaway, including URL – 1 entry daily
• Blog about this giveaway and link it back here 5 entries
• Enter my other giveaways – 1 entry each
• Comment on any non-giveaway post – 1 each, 3 maximum

Open to legal residents of the USA, age 18+ only. Winner will be chosen at 12 NOON, PST on 12/09 based on the random integer generator at random.org. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email I will send them before a new winner is chosen.

Wordless Wednesday - Why Zack loves Montana...

Papa took Zack fishing, and the first year Zack could not believe the size of the trout they were catching. Here is one from the last time we went this fall. This is a beautiful fish...yummy too!

The Friendship Stone **Review and Giveaway**

I recently came across a wonderful company whose products represent lifelong friendship and positive thinking! Sounds great, right? Not to mention that through this link, feel free to bookmark the site when you get there ;) they donate 20% of sales to Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America! It gets even better, the founders of the company are best friends, and sisters! (I am a succer for close families!) And another 10% is given back to the villages in Africa where the stones originated to help make the villager's lives better!

I was sent this wonderful Friendship Stone. The Tiger's Eye is beautiful! When you look at the stone from different angels, the colors seem to change. In the booklet that came with the stone, there is a story of a mother who gave one of these Friendship Stones to her children. The color changing was explained to the children as representing their power to change their feelings by changing their viewpoint. WOW. Holding the stone in my hand and just rubbing it is very calming, I really enjoy the friendship stone and everything it stands for!
Cathy Raff, the owner/founder of My Stone Company has a heartwarming story of her own, and I would like to share part of it with you. In her first year of college, Cathy was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitus and had a total colectomy (removal of large intestine) on her 21st birthday. Cathy says, "I knew this was really my birthday, as I felt re-born on the day after I awoke from surgery." When Cathy was 31, she she fell in love and got married. After 4 years and 12 unsuccessful IVF treatments, the couple had three children through surrigacy. Through all of the medical challenges that Cathy has been through, she began thinking of her disease as a gift. She began thinking of what was important to her, and the amazing feeling of being pain free! In 2004, the friendship stone journey began when she was on a business trip with her husband to South Africa.
The Friendship Stone has generously offered to give one of my readers a Power of Two - Friendship Stone Gift Pack a $24.95 value. Also, remember that if you purchase a power of two gift pack, 20% of net sales gets donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America - 15% to your local agency and 5% to National, when you order through the BBBSA-TFS site.
GIVEAWAY RULES
**Please always include a valid email address in your comments if one is not visible in your blogger profile, or I will be unable to contact you!**Leave a separate comment for each entry you are completing
MANDATORY ENTRY (must be completed for any extra entries to count): Go to The Friendship Stone website and come back and tell me one thing you learned about the company, products, or anything that interested you
EXTRA ENTRIES (worth one extra entry unless noted otherwise):
• Follow my blog publicly through google friend connect (left sidebar)
• Follow through Face Book’s Networked blogs (left sidebar)
• Subscribe to email updates (only activated subscriptions count) 2 entries
• Grab my button or add me to your blog roll 3 entries
• Follow me on twitter & tweet this giveaway, including URL – 1 entry daily
• Blog about this giveaway and link it back here 5 entries
• Enter my other giveaways – 1 entry each
• Comment on any non-giveaway post – 1 each, 3 maximum


Open to legal residents of the USA, age 18+ only. Winner will be chosen at 12 NOON, PST 12/08 based on the random integer generator at random.org. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email I will send them before a new winner is chosen.

Crib recall - Storkcraft

Stork craft cribs are being recalled. 535,000 (approximately) are being recalled, including some 92,000 with the Fisher Price logo. ANY stork craft that was manufactured and distributed between May 2000 and November 2008. The reason that these cribs are being recalled:

The metal support brackets used to support the crib mattress and mattress board can crack and break. When one or more support brackets break, the mattress can collapse and create a dangerous gap between the mattress and crib rails, in which a child can become entrapped and suffocate.

No children have died because of this defect, thank God, but one child sustained bruising to his head and another became trapped.
Parents are urged to stop using these cribs and to find a safe sleep method for their child. The remedy suggested is to contact Stork Craft to receive a free replacement kit with new mattress support brackets. The contact information for stork craft is:

Contact Stork Craft toll-free at (866) 361-3321 anytime to order the free replacement kit or log on to www.storkcraft.com

This information was taken from www.cpsc.gov, here is a direct link to the recall notice including pictures.

We have one of these cribs for Natalie. I am getting incredibly frustrated, this is the second recalled crib that we have had. The first was Emily's - it worked fine for us, but after it was in the garage we found out that it had been recalled. Luckily this recall is fixable!