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Sanity-Saving Sippy Cups – Facebook Contest

23 May By

As parents of young children, I think we can all relate to wanting sippy cups that actually prevent drinks from spilling or leaking when our kiddos are running around with them. Munchkin has recently released their new Click Lock sippy cups, and are running a Facebook contest that you’ll want to check out.

To celebrate the launch of Munchkin’s leak-proof Click Lock sippy cups, four fans created videos, and now Munchkin needs help selecting the best video as their next commercial.

Visit the Munchkin Facebook page and vote for your favorite video in the Click Lock Video Contest!  And why might you want to do this, you ask? All voters will be entered to win an iPod Touch so you can create your own movies at home!

That’s not all, though – Munchkin is providing a giveaway right here, too – enter to win your own Click Lock cups and a $10 iTunes card.

Prize: Click Lock cups and $10 iTunes card

Enter: Comment below telling me what your kids drink most often in their sippy cups to enter. For an extra entry, you can Tweet and Facebook this post out. Please leave an additional comment as the random generator that pulls the winner goes per comment.

Terms: Contest ends on  May 31st. US only. Munchkin is responsible for prizing. Please allow 3 weeks for delivery. Winner will be contacted via email and has 48 hours to respond before new winner is pulled. All thoughts and content are my own. I received a promotional item in exchange for this post.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Guest Writers Tagged With: , , ,

Costumes Provide Summer Fun that Beats the Heat

23 May By 1 Comment

Hi, I’m Christi from FrugalNovice, dropping by for a guest post. My boys are 3 & 4 1/2 and are energetic like you wouldn’t believe. We also live in Texas, which means it’s hot. Like, all the time. We’re talking 100 degree temps in APRIL, people! As a result, our window of time for good outdoor play is pretty small, and is limited to the mornings and evenings. That leaves us with the whole afternoon for figuring out good indoor options, and it can be hard to come up with something new and fun for the kids to do.

You probably typically think of costumes for Halloween, like I always have until now. But let me tell you, online costume retailers like Costume Supercenter are really a treasure trove of dress-up options for girls and boys. That’s especially great for us because when we go to the store all we ever see is princess gear, which doesn’t exactly appeal to my kids. Looking online, though, the boys had a blast looking at all the choices for dress-up. They eventually whittled down their selections, and I’m sure you’ll be just shocked to find out what they picked. Introducing:

Iron Man and Spiderman! When the costumes arrived, the boys wanted to try them on immediately… and proceeded to wear them all. evening. long. They were transformed into a world of fighting bad guys and saving the day, and they ran all over the house playing pretend. As a mom I love the creativity that it fostered, and that they were having active play inside. The costumes were well-made and fit true to size – we ordered to allow a little room to grow and the costumes should last us for a while! C (Spiderman) is like me and always has a hard time with hats fitting – his mask fits for now but he may outgrow that part of it a little sooner. The costumes seemed to be a bigger part of their pretending anyway!

This experience gave us insight into just how fun costumes can be for everyday play… and I  learned a lot about superheroes, too:

Note: I received costumes from Costume Supercenter to facilitate this review. I was not compensated monetarily for this post. All opinions are honest and are those of myself and my family.

Filed Under: Guest Writers, Reviews

Uncovering History With The 1940 Census

15 May By Leave a Comment

While I am not generally a history buff, the release of the 1940 census records have piqued my curiosity. I don’t really know much about my family’s heritage, and have never really cared to, but I feel myself being drawn to our family history more than ever. My kids have started asking questions as we look through scrapbooks about who each person is, and honestly I don’t know most of the people in my own family. If they have been dead for over half of my life, I am lucky if I remember their name.

I have been spending time reading books from different time periods to the kids, and this also causes them to question our family. They want to know if anyone in our family owned slaves, or came over on the Mayflower, or fought in the war. It seems like they want to make sense of history, and if they can just relate it to their own lives they will better understand.

While I never cared before, I am starting to get excited. I guess I’m not the only one…

According to CNN the National Archives and Records Administration received over 60 million hits in three hours! With that much interest, I have to believe I have missed out. By simply remaining clueless about my families heritage, I feel like I am missing out on an important part of my past.

George Santayana is known for saying “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Well, maybe it’s just as bad to have never known the past. How else can I learn from my family’s mistakes?

So now my kids and I want to begin our Family Search to see what we can learn, and I can’t help but hope that one day a future generation is searching for me!

How much do you know about your family’s history?

Filed Under: Guest Writers

While staying At Orlando Hotels, Enjoy Orlando’s Shopping and Nightlife

3 May By

While staying At Orlando Hotels, Enjoy Orlando’s Shopping and Nightlife

Orlando hotels provide you with all possible comforts and facilities to make your stay more enjoyable but no visit to Orlando is complete unless you’ve seen its shopping facilities and nightlife.

Orlando hotels are always ready to welcome you and make you feel totally at home during your stay in the city. In fact, the hotels in Orlando and OrlandoEscape.com, the ideal website which has been your guide to the city and on which you have probably made your bookings, will also tell you that the city is equipped with some state-of-the-art shopping malls and has an equally heady nightlife as well. It’s just for you to visit them and have a blast while you’re on vacation.

You can just skip into the Florida Mall, the largest shopping center with over 250 shops that sell just about everything. Then there are the Pointe Orlando, Altamonte Mall and The Mercado to pick up some of the best clothing, jewelry and dress accessories at bargain prices as well. At the reception area of most well known Orlando hotels, you will find free pamphlets giving you full details of which shops to visit and for what.

Similarly, Orlando’s nightlife is something to die for. Clubs, bars and restaurants serving every possible cuisine come to life after sundown  and while walking down Universal’s City Walk, you simply can’t miss the glitzy signs of the exclusive clubs like Latin Quarter, City Jazz and the Groove to name a few. Orlando is after all Disney City and the fireworks at night is something that is just not to be missed at all as hotels in Orlando and Orlandoscape.com will advise you well in advance. Heed this advice and you certainly won’t regret it.

In case you are in the mood to take in a dinner show, make sure to book in advance for the major shows like Arabian Nights, Al Capone’s, Medieval Times, Pirates Dinner Adventure, Sleuths, Fiasco’s Dinner Show and Central Florida Improv. You can even enjoy hot air balloon rides, helicopter rides and tours, indoor sky diving and surfing and Wonder Works that are bound to leave a lasting impression on your mind.

The staff of Orlando hotels will also guide you to the Millenia Mall, Prime 1 Outlets and to some of the best Florida flea markets where you can pick up some of the choicest stuff at throway prices. For those who enjoy their sundowners, Orlando offers the Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville,  Bob Marley, Pat O’Brien’s, Rising Star, Red Coconut Club, Cigarz and the groove SM. You can also enjoy a quick drink or simply lounge at the Dragon Room, Tanqueray’s Bar & Grille, Howl At The Moon, The Social and the Grand Bohemian Hotel in that perfect holiday mood immediately after sunset to the wee hours of the morning.

Filed Under: Guest Writers Tagged With: ,

Personality Brings Clarity with Custom Closets

30 Apr By

Home design is a major outlet for individuality.

It is a beautiful thing to be able to spot evidence of your influence in every nook and cranny. The personality and touch that you have worked hard to establish in your home can be put under duress, however, should disorganization and clutter take root. The struggle often comes when hoping to achieve congruency stylistically or attempting to renovate an area with difficult angles. Having custom closets can ensure that your eye for personalized aesthetic beauty is satisfied while delivering your home to a state of organized prominence.

 Problems of Store-Bought Solutions

Generic store-bought solutions, while perhaps satisfying a quick-fix need, can fail to contribute to your home’s individuality. The unique spatial constraints of your home (be they odd angles, tight squeezes, or elevated ceilings) can present the need for a unique solution. Finding an affordable custom closets retailer who can assess and measure the areas you’re working can help you find ways to make sure that your custom closet fits both your organization and aesthetic needs.

Functional Fit

Each area of your home performs a job, and thus, needs the proper tools with which to accomplish it. Custom closets often come fitted for your needs, specifically. For the bedrooms or living room, closet organizers can line the inside of your custom units, giving you better control over the way you store your belongings. While accessories will vary by room, the opportunity to control how your accessories are stored can make these space-hogging buggers a breeze to organize.

 Stylistic Achievement

We all hope that our homes carry with them a noticeable theme and charming decor. Nothing is able to throw off the feel of a room quicker than a piece of furniture that doesn’t match. The exteriors of your custom closets should be personalized to complement their surroundings. Different retailers offer the ability to choose the wood grain and finish of the piece, as well as the style–which can fit flawlessly into a room of modern, rustic, or vintage persuasion.

Filed Under: Guest Writers

Credit Cards can be key to good credit!

23 Apr By

From the time I was a teenager, I dreamt of living on my own. I wanted my own apartment, my own car and I wanted to write my own ticket. It sounded like the perfect plan at the time. Little did I know, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Being an adult is hard!

First of all, buying a car with no credit is impossible. I had no idea that having zero credit is almost like having bad credit. I needed to build my credit to acquire what I wanted- my own vehicle. So I started researching ways to get my FICO score up. I found several different ways to do so but decided on the easiest, low balance credit cards.

It sounds scary at first but with a few pointers from my dad, I knew I could get my car.

One of the added bonuses of using credit cards was the ability to easily build my credit. I was able to achieve perfect credit just by buying small items and paying the entire balance once the bill came. I avoided the dreaded finance charges which was great since they can easily add up every month. I knew several people who built quite a lot of credit card debt by just paying the minimum balance each due date. I learned from their mistakes and vowed not to get myself in that predicament.

One of the biggest tips I can give anyone using credit cards is to closely monitor your monthly credit card statement.

Pay attention to any charges you do not recognize since identity theft is popular this day in age. Also, don’t buy anything with a credit card you can’t afford to buy with cash. Credit card debt is no joke and it’s not something anyone wants to have. Make sure you pay your entire balance every month. What you do now will either benefit or hurt you in the future when you try to make a big purchase like a home or vehicle.

After a few months of using credit cards to build my credit, I was able to finally be the owner of a nice used car. After a while, I realized that moving out on my own wasn’t so bad after all.

To this day, I still follow all the tips I listed and my credit score and lifestyle has benefited.

~Megan

Guest Writer for momDot

Filed Under: Guest Writers

Casino Bonuses for the gambler

21 Apr By

I love the thrill of stepping foot into a casino!

The cocktail waitresses carrying those delicious concoctions, the little old ladies cashing in at the slot machines and the tourists hoping for a win at the black jack table make me giddy. I can’t forget about the excitement of maybe winning a large pot of chips! It’s just something about the atmosphere that gives me a rush. Sadly, I can only visit casinos once a year as I live nowhere near Las Vegas or Atlantic City.

Luckily, there are online casinos where I can recreate the atmosphere in my own home to win!

The internet seems to be overrun by online casinos these days though. Almost everywhere I look, I see ads for gambling online. But where do I start? How do I please my need for a casino rush? Casinobonus2.com is a great blog to find a fit for you. In fact, the site is a social way to find a curation of the best online casinos.

But, what do all these phrases like casino bonus and no deposit bonus mean?

  • A casino bonus is just a fancy term for the benefit of having the casino match your deposit. Usually the match is 100%. If you deposit $20, the casino will give you $20 to play with.
  • A no deposit bonus is a perk the casino gives you without having to deposit money. You can even win money with the no deposit bonus without having to put up your own cash at all.

I like this option the most. The one thing about casinos in Vegas is that you can’t win anything with unless you have money to start out with.

What  Casinobonus2.co offers is simply a list of online casinos that offer these casino bonuses for the gambler to browse.

The site is updated everyday with recommended casinos that have no deposit bonuses. You’ll also find lots of user submitted tips and tricks on making money using the casino’s offered bonus. What’s better than free money? The site is also easy to navigate with a list of the best online casinos to try out.

I’ll still be visiting Vegas when I’m able to but online casinos may just help me fill the void until then!

~Megan

guest writer for momdot

Filed Under: Guest Writers

Tiny Translators

27 Mar By Leave a Comment

When we moved back up to North Carolina, I dreaded enrolling the boys in school. While they have never had a hard time completing school work or getting good grades, moving is stressful and every state offers a different curriculum. I had two fears; that they would be really behind and have to do hours of homework each night or that they would be way ahead and be bored out of their minds 7 hours a day. Thankfully it was a healthy mix. They knew some of the material he other kids were learning, but they also had a few new things to learn in order to catch up, especially in subjects like math.

Now that they year is almost over, I am very happy with how they transitioned, and I think their new school has been a great place for them to grow. One of my favorite things about the North Carolina school system is that they offer foreign languages starting in elementary school. As a past homeschooler, this makes me extremely happy because I know that they sooner they start working on a language the better they will grasp it, and the languages they learn can be as second nature to them as English. When a student is expected to learn a foreign language after the early years of learning, they often have a fear of the language and generally find it much more difficult to memorize.

My boys have both been learning Spanish, and early on when I would quiz them on which words they knew, they would freeze up and forget. Now I can tell the language has become a part of them because they can speak it, and translate it. I thought about going ahead and submitting applications for them so they can make us some money by offering translation services. You think I’m kidding? My boys can go into Burger King and tell you what every Spanish speaking customer in the restaurant would like to order!

If you are interested in helping your children learn a foreign language many schools and libraries can help you find a tutor or program geared towards your child’s age. I would highly recommend having your child use a professional teacher or certified program because if they learn it right the first time it makes it so much easier than having to break bad habits.

What foreign languages did you learn in school? Do you think it’s important for children to learn other languages?

Post by: Shasta Walton

Filed Under: Guest Writers Tagged With: