Aloha Friday

"In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response."

To participate, you ask your readers a question and then sign Kailani's Linky with your Aloha Friday post.

So head over to An Island Life and answer her question. But first, answer mine. I mean you are already here, right? =)

Do you think that your spouse should tell you if someone they work closely with is attractive?

So, this week I finally made it over to my husbands new work. He changed schools this year and has been talking about how he really likes his new principal. He said she was about our age and had young children like us. What he failed to tell me was that she is beautiful. My husband has always said that he preferred blonds, up until he met me, of course (gag). I don't need to tell you what her hair color is, do I?

I would have liked to have been more prepared for this meeting. Instead, I had to pretend my mouth was full of sandwich in order to buy some time to compose myself. So her first impression was me looking like a cow chewing cud. I just think a little warning would have been nice.

Topricin to the Rescue - Giveaway

Sometimes you don't have to know why something works, just so long as it does. I have found Topricin that has a line of all-natural pain relievers for any part of the body. I was curious and skeptical. Could rubbing in some kind of lotion really help alleviate my achy feet or my tennis elbow?

Topricin contains transdermal micro-dosed medicines to go deep to where the pain originates. I get arch pain in my feet whenever I stand too long, especially barefoot on my kitchen tile. I used the Topricin Foot Therapy Cream on them about an hour before bed and realized when I went to sleep that my feet no longer ached. After a long day of trick-or-treating (aka: chasing Jake around) my feet were swollen & I used Foot Therapy Cream and they felt better in less than a half an hour.

I have what I call "bloggers elbow." Otherwise known as tennis elbow or tendonitis. Basically, it is an inflammation of the tendons in my wrist and elbow. I got it from, well, blogging too much. I used the Topricin cream and it did lessen the pain in my wrist. If I could stop blogging maybe it might even alleviate the pain? We will never know... I gave it to my mother to use and she stated that it "either worked, or my shoulder and arm healed on its own."

Topricin states that this all-in-one cream addresses numerous types of pain - sciatica, arthritis, carpal tunnel - in any area of the body. It is even said to be an extremely effective first aid cream for bruises, abrasions and strains, and has been known to effectively treat stubborn skin conditions like shingles and eczema. I have terribly dry skin and this helps, though I have to reapply throughout the day. Pregnant women with aching backs and swollen feet might benefit as well. Both Topricin and Topricin Foot Therapy Cream are free of hazardous chemicals so they are safer to use. It is worth a try. Like I said, I don't know how it works, it just does.

BUY IT!: You can purchase Topricin online at www.topricin.com (2 oz. tube Topricin ARV: $16.95 & 8 oz. Topricin Foot Therapy ARV: $48.99) or click here to locate a store near you.

WIN IT!: Topricin is giving away sample packs of their Foot Therapy Cream!

TO ENTER: Tell me who you want to win the Topricin Foot Therapy Cream for (it is okay to say it would be for you, of course).
This is required before you may use any of the extra credit options.
Please leave your email address in your comment if it is not visible in your profile.

Extra Credit! You may do any or all of the following, just don't forget to leave a separate comment for EACH one you do:

• Blog about this giveaway with a link to my blog (http://agiveawayaddictedmommy.com) and Topricin (http://www.topricin.com) (2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Follow my blog
• Add my button to your blog
• Add me to your text blog roll (not button) 2 entries, leave 2 comments
  
• Subscribe to my blog via email
• Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following: WIN! Topricin Foot Therapy Cream at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy @kariellen http://tinyurl.com/yjqsqhv Leave the link to your tweet in your comment. You can do this once a day! Just come back and leave the link each time you do.

Contest ends November 20th at 11:59 PST and a winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. I will contact the winner on November 21st and they will have 48 hours to respond. US Only.

**Entries are Per Person, Per Email Address, Per Household, Per IP Address and/or Per Blog. Failure to follow these rules will lead to disqualification in this contest and all future contests on this blog. In other words, no cheating please.

This post was written after receiving the products free of charge for review. It is the only form of "payment" received for writing this post and all views and opinions are mine alone. I cannot guarantee that you and/or your family will love it as much as I have - but I would be totally surprised if you don't.

NEW Winner Announcement Format

Effective today, November 4, 2009, winners will be announced on a single post that can be accessed by clicking on the WINNERS tab in the navigational bar at the top of the blog. Winners will still be contacted via email, but will have to click on the WINNERS link to see what prize they have won.

As always, I take screen shots of the winning entry as well as the random.org selection. I will happily email anyone these pictures should it be requested.

Wordless Wednesday - Halloween

Luke the Dragon

Jake as DJ Lance Rock from Yo Gabba Gabba
Don't know who or what that is? I envy you.

For more Wordless Wednesdays: 5 Minutes for Mom

All I Want For Christmas Is My...

So, I don't normally enter these contests but, this one is one I really do NEED, not just want. www.visionbedding.com is offering a custom bedroom makeover valued at $1,000 for the most compelling/creative plea. So here is my bedroom. I am already in the Christmas spirit... oh wait, it is always in those colors! Please www.visionbedding.com - All I Want For Christmas is My Bedroom to NOT look like Christmas all year long!


Is it the ugliest? Probably not, but doesn't a gal need a place that she can sink into and drift off to sleep without visions of sugar plums dancing in her head? I KNOW this is why I can't lose weight. Every day I wake up craving candy canes, gingerbread and fruitcake. Okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit since no one actually craves fruitcake.

You too can enter the contest & I encourage you to check out Vision Bedding's website where you will see my favorite blanket theme Graue Triologie, which is of course, beautiful tulips! The site is fabulous and allows you to dream up/design your own unique bed set!

Thank you Vision Bedding and TwitterMoms for this opportunity to embarrass myself in front of the entire blogosphere!

Just What the Doctor Ordered - Skin MD Giveaway **CLOSED**

As a mom, I am continually washing my hands and using hand sanitizers. Even more so with all the Swine Flu fears circulating about. I also live where it is very dry and as it gets colder it gets even drier. I am constantly fighting dry skin. I have all kinds of lotion but I get so tired of reapplying it all day and feeling all greasy with no real solution.

Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion promised to be a different kind of lotion, a shielding lotion that would form a protective barrier. Made from the finest natural ingredients, it states that it "promptly absorbs, transforming the outer layer of skin into a hydrating invisible shield." The directions state to apply a small amount, initially ever 2-8 hours until moisture level improves and then just once every 12-24 hours.

I decided to try it on my hands first. I remember a bartender once telling me that he could tell the age of a customer by looking at her hands. That while make-up and botox could hide age on a face, the hands don't get that type of treatment and thus divulge your true age. (He was talking about fake ID's but this information stuck with me - I didn't want to look old, ever.) My hands were making me look older than I was. They were dry and cracking an no amount of traditional lotion was solving the problem, just temporarily covering it up.

I was skeptical that Skin MD Shielding Lotion would work since it was so light. It absorbed quickly and I while my hands felt softer after using it, there wasn't any other "proof" it was still on my hands (if that makes sense). I placed it by my bathroom sink so that every time I washed my hands, I could reapply the Shielding Lotion. In only 2 days my hands looked and felt so much better. After 2 weeks of use, I can report that my hands look and feel great. I am now moving on to my feet - I think it might take a little longer but I am already noticing that the skin on my feet feels less tight and dry.

Used and prescribed by Dermatologists, Skin MD Shielding Lotion is safe to use on moms, dads, and kids of all ages. It is also recommended for people suffering from eczema, psoriasis and thyroid conditions.

BUY IT!: You can purchase Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion on their website for $18.00 & $25.00 for the lotion with SPF 15.

WIN IT!: Skin MD Natural is giving one of my readers their own bottle of Shielding Lotion!

TO ENTER: Leave a comment telling me who in your family could benefit from Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion?
This is required before you may use any of the extra credit options.
Please leave your email address in your comment if it is not visible in your profile.

Extra Credit! You may do any or all of the following, just don't forget to leave a separate comment for EACH one you do:

• Blog about this giveaway with a link to my blog (http://agiveawayaddictedmommy.com) and Skin MD Natural (http://www.skinmdnatural.com) (2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Follow my blog
• Add my button to your blog
• Add me to your text blog roll (not button) 2 entries, leave 2 comments
  
• Subscribe to my blog via email
• Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following: WIN! A Better Lotion - Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy @kariellen http://tinyurl.com/y8hatzh Leave the link to your tweet in your comment. You can do this once a day! Just come back and leave the link each time you do.

Contest ends November 17th at 11:59 PST and a winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. I will contact the winner on November 18th and they will have 48 hours to respond. Open to All.

**Entries are Per Person, Per Email Address, Per Household, Per IP Address and/or Per Blog. Failure to follow these rules will lead to disqualification in this contest and all future contests on this blog. In other words, no cheating please.

This post was written after receiving the products free of charge for review. It is the only form of "payment" received for writing this post and all views and opinions are mine alone. I cannot guarantee that you and/or your family will love it as much as I have - but I would be totally surprised if you don't.

WINNERS

Hoopnotica: The Eclectic Element (Comment #237)

Safe Sizer Plates: Thao (Comment #77)

Incog-neato Decorative Pad: Riley (Comment #75)

I have sent emails to all winners and they will have 48 hours to respond.

Take Me Back Tuesday - He Looks Just Like...

<center><a href="http://nateandjakeandme.blogspot.com"> <img src="http://web.me.com/mraceto/kari/tuesday/button.jpg" /> </a></center>
How do you play along?
We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if I just scan a few each week, eventually I will get them all safely into my computer. But you don't need a scanner to participate - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time.
Every week you can come back here and share photos that "take you back." Maybe it is the bad hair we all had in the 80's or the bell-bottoms you swore were so hip in the 70's.
If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!

It cracks me up when I go visiting people with my 2 little boys and each person has a different idea as to whom my kids resemble. "Luke looks just like your husband!" and then moments later, "Luke looks just like you!" I think I am going to give up trying to figure it out because...

In this picture my husband looks just like Luke.

And here, my husband looks just like Jake.

Basically I guess both kids look like my husband which is a good thing I guess.
Considering I am a girl and I want my kids to look like boys.
I am funny that way.

Give the Gift of Hope this Holiday Season

There are gift guides all over the blogosphere and I had hoped to put together a Giving Guide this year. However, I have a charity that I believe deserves to be the only one that I promote this year.

Operation Smile is an organization that provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children around the globe. There are so many organizations that do wonderful things for others, however, I cannot look at the pictures of these children and not feel a tug at my heart. I just need to do something.

My children have plenty of toys and clothing and will surely get much more from friends and family this holiday season. They don't need these things from my husband and I. I want to give them the gift of knowing they are helping others. We will be purchasing a gift in the name of each of my children from the Operation Smile Store. There you can purchase pain medication for 12 children for $30, antibiotics for 10 children for $30 and many other services and items for as little as $20. Maybe pool some money together with friends and purchase a complete surgery for one lucky child for only $240.

So, if you can open your heart, and your pocketbook, please consider giving to this fabulous charity. I challenge you to visit Operation Smile and not want to do something for these children. I promise, you will get more satisfaction from this than any item of clothing, toy or gadget you can buy.

Visit the Smile Store here.

Snazzy Baby Travel Chair/Knee Pads Giveaway **CLOSED**

When I had Nathan, 2 other family members were having babies so there were always playpens, swings and high chairs at every family gathering. No need to travel with half your house each family gathering. However, this time around (15 years later) we are the only ones with babies so again we need a small trailer to carry all the kids stuff to each event.

Luckily we now have a Snazzy Baby Travel Chair which has made life so much easier! It can turn an ordinary chair into a temporary restraint system so you can feed your child or use it in a shopping cart instead of using those (disgusting) simple and not-so-safe straps some come with. We use it whenever we go to a restaurant or to someone's home & it has made for some much nicer meals since Jake is safe and secure (aka: not running all over the place).

I didn't mention how incredibly light the Travel Chair is. At 7 ounces and super compact, it fits in any diaper bag easily. I have even just thrown it into my purse and it also has a built in strap so you can just throw it over you shoulder as well. I was worried that something so light would not contain my squirmy child but it did a fabulous job. To see it in action Watch TDmonthly Video .

Snazzy Baby also carries Knee Pads for crawlers and early walkers. While I did not have a chance to review these, they did receive an iParenting Media Award (as did the Travel Chair!). The knee pads are ergonomically designed for flexibility and movement without impacting circulation. Most of our house is covered in carpet but I know most of my friends homes are either tile or wood - these would be a must for a little one in those homes.

BUY IT!: Knee Pads ARV: $19.99 & Travel Chair ARV: $34.99 and you can purchase all the Snazzy Baby Products on their website, www.snazzybaby.us

WIN IT!: One of my readers can have their choice of a Travel Chair or Knee Pads from Snazzy Baby!

TO ENTER: Go to the Snazzy Baby website and tell me which you would choose and in what color.
This is required before you may use any of the extra credit options.
Please leave your email address in your comment if it is not visible in your profile.

Extra Credit! You may do any or all of the following, just don't forget to leave a separate comment for EACH one you do:

• Blog about this giveaway with a link to my blog (http://agiveawayaddictedmommy.com) and Snazzy Baby (http://www.snazzybaby.us) (2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Follow my blog
• Add my button to your blog
• Add me to your text blog roll (not button) 2 entries, leave 2 comments
  
• Subscribe to my blog via email
• Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following: WIN! Snazzy Baby Knee Pads or Travel Chair at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy @kariellen http://tinyurl.com/yf8v8qb Leave the link to your tweet in your comment. You can do this once a day! Just come back and leave the link each time you do.

Contest ends November 16th at 11:59 PST and a winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. I will contact the winner on November 17th and they will have 48 hours to respond. US Only

**Entries are Per Person, Per Email Address, Per Household, Per IP Address and/or Per Blog. Failure to follow these rules will lead to disqualification in this contest and all future contests on this blog. In other words, no cheating please.

This post was written after receiving the products free of charge for review. It is the only form of "payment" received for writing this post and all views and opinions are mine alone. I cannot guarantee that you and/or your family will love it as much as I have - but I would be totally surprised if you don't.

TinyTongs for Tiny Hands Giveaway **CLOSED**

I am pretty lazy when it comes to teaching my kids how to do things on their own. It isn't because I want to do everything for them, I just don't like cleaning up the mess when they do try. One of the things I have been putting off is getting Jake, my 2 year old, to feed himself with utensils. He really hasn't wanted to do this so I haven't been pushing it either.

Tinytongs is a great in-between tool for children learning to self-feed. The handles are curved shaped with non-slip grip, to fit little hands. They simple squeeze the handle and pinch the tongs around the small food item they want (or if you are Jake you try to pick up everything, including the plate). When using tinytongs children also strengthen their hand muscles, the same muscles used in later years when learning how to write.

It is taking Jake a little more time to master his tinytongs but I think that had started him when he was younger, these would be a lot easier. Right now, at his age, there is so much to do and so little time to do it. Why use tinytongs when he can just shovel it into his mouth using his hands? Tinytongs can be used for children 12 months to 5 years and I am hoping to get Luke, who just turned one last week, to start using tinytongs too. One messy eater is plenty enough for this house.


DISCOUNT: You can purchase tinytongs online at www.tinytongs.com and at specialty juvenile retail stores (ARV: $7.99)
My readers will get at 20% discount by entering agam20 at checkout!

WIN IT!: One of my readers will win their own tinytongs!

TO ENTER: Visit the tinytongs website and tell me what your favorite color is.
This is required before you may use any of the extra credit options.
Please leave your email address in your comment if it is not visible in your profile.

Extra Credit! You may do any or all of the following, just don't forget to leave a separate comment for EACH one you do:

• Blog about this giveaway with a link to my blog (http://agiveawayaddictedmommy.com) and tinytongs (http://tinytongs.com) (2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Follow my blog
• Add my button to your blog
• Add me to your text blog roll (not button) 2 entries, leave 2 comments
  
• Subscribe to my blog via email
• Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following: WIN! tinytongs Makes Mealtimes Less Messy at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy @kariellen http://tinyurl.com/yjdhbmh Leave the link to your tweet in your comment. You can do this once a day! Just come back and leave the link each time you do.

Contest ends November 16th at 11:59 PST and a winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. I will contact the winner on November 17th and they will have 48 hours to respond. US Only

**Entries are Per Person, Per Email Address, Per Household, Per IP Address and/or Per Blog. Failure to follow these rules will lead to disqualification in this contest and all future contests on this blog. In other words, no cheating please.

This post was written after receiving the products free of charge for review. It is the only form of "payment" received for writing this post and all views and opinions are mine alone. I cannot guarantee that you and/or your family will love it as much as I have - but I would be totally surprised if you don't.