2011 August — MomStart

Our Newest Family Photo

August 4, 2011 By Momstart 11 Comments

I haven’t had time to write a personal post, a real personal post in quite some time. The past three months have just zipped by. It began with my house flooding, which took two full months to get everything back to normal and honestly, it will never be like it was but at least the walls are back up, painted, and kids in their own beds. I spent one of those two months gone every weekend for my blog. First I traveled to Chicago with Craftsman realizing that I have nothing to fear from using power tools.

Then I had a day at home to see that my house was still drying out from the flood. That next day our whole family was whisked away by Proctor & Gamble to learn more about Pampers. I have found that I really love being a Pampers Ambassador even though it’s not a paid position. My biggest passion is making a difference in my community and Pampers is helping me make a huge difference. After Pampers I went to LA with Disney, got to be piglet and wow that was amazing and I still have more to tell you about that trip but I’m under embargo. For now I leave you with the fact that you do have to watch The Help as soon as you can. It’s amazing.

Anyways, I came home and I’ve been spending time with the kids. They are both going to school this fall, yes it’s just preschool but I won’t see them for three hours a day four days a week. So I’ve been really busy playing games. We’ve been doing family things during the weekends, things like a day out with Thomas. I’ve been cooking and trying out new recipes and that’s been a big hit here. You guys keep crashing my site with all the traffic love. I’ve had to upgrade my hosting account twice. Hopefully we won’t crash anymore and I can start concentrating on bringing you other wonderful giveaway events. This last week we had sports camp and I was a parent volunteer. WOW I’ve never been so tired in my life. We all just fell into bed. Then all this planning for Blogher. Oh man, I just haven’t had any time for personal thoughts!

This week I am at Blogher, so as far as personal posts this is about all you’re going to get.

Filed Under: personal

50% Discount at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop

August 3, 2011 By Momstart 7 Comments

The last time we went to Ben & Jerry’s was free ice cream day. Oh it was wonderful, it was a nice warm day, not too hot because we did have to wait in line for the free ice cream after all. After all four of us got our free scoop (can you guess who took the longest to make their decision? Yes me, I’m so indecisive, the kids knew right away, who can turn down bananas and peanut butter combined, not them of course) we went and took a walk out on the pier across the street. Downtown Kirkland is BEAUTIFUL!

Today, you can get 10.00 worth of ice cream for only 5.00. Practically everyone on the planet knows and loves Ben & Jerry’s, for they’ve been scooping ice cream since 1978 and grateful ice cream lovers have been happily ingesting it for just as long. So round up your crew and head on over to the Kirkland location for some good times. TIME magazine called their ice cream "The Best Ice Cream in the World," and we couldn’t agree more. Whether you order up a fabulous sundae, shake, fresh fruit smoothie or cone, every last lick, slurp or bite is going to be all kinds of crazy delicious. We will see you in line because this is one juicy deal we’re going to take advantage of! Get your ice cream and enjoy the scenery!

Be sure to check the Juicy Details.

Valid at the Kirkland location only: 176 Lake Street South. Entire value must be used in one transaction. Excludes tax. Limit one per person.

Filed Under: savings Tagged With: Ben & Jerry's, Ben & Jerry's Discount, coupon, ice cream sale, Juice in the City

A Day To Remember Wordless Wednesday

August 2, 2011 By Momstart 26 Comments

Filed Under: personal, Wordless Wednesday Tagged With: Wordless Wednesday

Goodbye LG 4.5 Steam Washer & Dryer in Red

August 1, 2011 By Momstart 13 Comments

This month I became a Whirlpool mom, so before I post my first Whirlpool post, I wanted to say good bye to my friends the LG 4.5CF Front Load Steam Washer in Red and the red LG Steam Dryer. You served me mostly well. I think I was more in love with the color of you than your ability to wash and dry. No, I’m very pleased with your abilities. Whirlpool has a lot to live up to. I’m excited to share with they compare these coming months, but first, I must say good by to my two favorite toys in the house.

Dear Washer,

I have to say thank you for washing all of my clothing for the past two years. I loved how large your capacity was. You faithfully cleaned the clothes and only grumped at me 3 or 4 times for being over loaded. I did have a tendency to overload you but you kept on chugging. You even washed that sleeping bag after we went camping. I’ve washed it many times before by hand in the bath tub and even in your predecessor, but it still always had dog hairs on it. And you my dear, got that sleeping bag clean for the first time ever.

I loved your color.

I Loved your key features:

I loved your Allergiene™ Cycle which we used many times along with the sanitary care as well.
I loved your TrueSteam™ Technology
I loved your TrueBalance™ Anti-Vibration System
I loved your Ultra Large Capacity (4.5 cu.ft.)
I loved your SteamFresh™ Cycle
And I loved your Wash/Rinse Optimizer™ and 1300 RPM Spin Speed

I loved your color

Of all of these my favorite was of course your size I mean after your color. I really loved stuffing you full of clothes.

My only compliant with you would be that you were a smelly machine and very difficult to keep clean.

And I always forgot to empty your water and boy did it smell.

Dear Dryer,

Somewhere in the first year you lost the ability to dry properly. I’m not sure what went wrong and I probably could have called someone out to service you but why in the world would a 1500.00 appliance stop drying properly after the first. year. My husband thought it was only jeans that didn’t dry out, and we figured out a way to make you work, but then I started to notice you weren’t drying most loads properly. Maybe it’s because I put to many clothes in you at one time, but I just don’t know for sure. I think you should have had the power to do the job.

But I did love your features too!

Of course I loved your 3.9 cu. ft. Capacity and 12 Wash Cycles
We loved using your SteamFresh/Allergiene Cycles
I loved your 9 drying Options and your 1,200 RPM Spin Speed

I loved the ability to add time to a drying cycle while it was running. I loved being able to do the timed cycle on low heat. I loved all your options, and yes, I loved your color too.

Would I recommend these appliances?

Yes, truly I loved them. They were red, they were extremely quiet and used very little water. I’m excited to be working with Whirlpool for the next six months writing about my new appliances. I even had to test them out right away.

Filed Under: personal, review Tagged With: LG, LG 4.5CF Front Load Steam Washer Red, review, Whirlpool

22 Days Bar Healthy Chocolate Challenge

August 1, 2011 By Momstart 10 Comments

Dropping, replacing, and starting new habits is hard. Let 22 Days [https://www.22daysnutrition.com] help you “Replace hunger with a healthy habit.” You can take the 22 Days challenge and get started on fixing your wannbe summer beach body ASAP.

Psychologists have discovered it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, so start now; that’s less than a month, you can do it! My favorite bar of the 22 Days bar line is Cherry Chocolate Bliss so that gives you a starting point. I know I had you at chocolate! What else will you like: Nut Butter Buddha Crunch, Goji Maté Firecracker, Fruit Nut Karma, Enlightened Pumpkinseed, or Daily Mocha Mantra? If you’re looking for 100% good for you with all natural ingredients that is quick and pocket-able for parents on the go … BAM!

I also like that this bar is safe for kids (though be cautious of allergies and ingredients). Grab it and when they want a taste, you can say, “Sure.” 22 Days bars will satisfy you and not fail you in energy and as you reach from your fitness goals like other products that claim to satisfy you. There won’t be a sugar rush or crash, and you can have peace of mind knowing you did something good for your mind, body and brain.

You all know I’ve been making changes from last year to this year to improve my health and lose my baby weight as a hopeful side effect. I’ve been sitting around 155 now for a couple of months which is great from where I started but not where I want to be. I’ve been trying to cut back on sugars and eat whole foods. Though 22 Days would classify as processed due to the fact that it’s in a wrapper you should check out the ingredients; Cherry Chocolate Bliss bar: Organic Raw Almond Butter, Organic Agave Syrup, Gluten Free Oats, Organic Raw Almonds, Organic Tart Cherries, Organic Dates, Dark Chocolate Chips (evaporated cane sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter), Organic Freeze Dried Acai Powder (with organic lime juice and/or citric acid), Sunflower Lecithin, Sea Salt.

The bucket list of need-to-knows:

* made with raw and organic superfoods
* no preservatives
* biologically complete hemp & rice proteins
* no artificial ingredients
* USDA certified organic
* no harmful additives
* vegetarian / vegan
* no corn syrup
* gluten-free
* no trans fats
* heart healthy fiber
* no soy
* full of vitamins, minerals & antioxidants
* no dairy

Compared to Balance, Clif, Genisay, Luna and PowerBar Harvest bars, 22 Days bars are the only vegan, non-soy protein, and raw superfood delivering bars. 22 Days are also organic and all-natural as are some other bars, but not all and not the ones you may thing! And sugars – this may vary by flavor, but an average the least was Luna at 11g, followed by 22 Days at 14g, and the other listed competitors are 17g or higher. How does your favorite bar compare? I dare you to compare! I’ll wait, go get it now … check it out.

You can find 22 Days bars in local grocery stores but you can also purchase them by the case on their website.

Follow 22 Days on their blog, on 22 Days on Facebook, and track them on Twitter @22DaysNutrition.

We received product for this review.

About Summer:

Summer is very active in our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living while cooking up a storm.

Filed Under: review, Summer Tagged With: 22 days bar, bar, healthy snack, Nut Butter Buddha Crunch, superfood

Summer Reading: Hailey Twitch and the Campground Itch by Lauren Barnholdt

August 1, 2011 By Momstart 4 Comments

It may be the summertime, but it’s vital to your child’s learning to have them reading or read-to for at least 20 minutes a day.

I just finished Hailey Twitch and the Campground Itch from Sourcebooks Publications’ kids line Jabberwocky. Hailey Twitch is the main character of this Lauren Barnholdt story (and series) and she is a younger sister, trouble-maker/adventurer/explorer, an imaginative 7 year old who has her own sprite. Hailey will make your child want to continue reading; she is funny and always has mayhem following her. As a parent I love that this book teaches lessons in the midst of real life relations between sisters, friends, and parents (and in others in the series I believe classmates and teachers though this is the only book in the Hailey Twitch series I’ve read).

Hailey Twitch and the Campground Itch, which was released in April 2011, is just cute, Cute, CUTE. And if you read it with your child you better get used to triple words; that was the only thing that really got me about this book. However, I feel it is very age appropriate considering the emotion and attitude of the age.

If your child hasn’t been into the Hailey Twitch series yet and is in Kindergarten, 1^st or 2^nd grade then you should start your own collection. You can get a copy of the Hailey Twitch and the Campground Itch, which is the newest in the series, on Amazon for only $6.99 (paperback) and there is also a Kindle edition available if you wish for only $5.59.

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go." ~Dr. Seuss

"Reading together twenty minutes a day is the most important gift you can give your child. Read to your bunny often, and your bunny will read back to you." ~ Rosemary Wells

Keep up the summer reading!!!

We received samples for this post.

About Summer:

Filed Under: review, Summer Tagged With: Children's book review, Hailey Twitch and the Campground Itch, Lauren Barnholdt, review, Sourcebooks

Wine Lovers Juice In The City Deal: 1/2 Off Barking Frog in Woodinville

August 1, 2011 By Momstart 4 Comments

The first sale of the week for Juice in the City Seattle celebrates the fine taste for wine. The Barking Frog is nestled across from Willows Lodge in charming Woodinville, WA. This unique restaurant was awarded "Most Innovative Wine List" by the Washington Wine Commission and is a five-time winner of Wine Spector’s Award of Excellence. Barking Frog, one of the most highly touted dining establishments in the entire Northwest, is also where today’s juicy deal gets you $30 worth for only $15.

For only 15.00 you can enjoy 30.00 per person, not per table. That makes a big difference. With an unpretentious, lively atmosphere that is both cozy and upscale, this eatery is a local gem! And with the surrounding beautiful scenery and all of the stars shining brightly in the sky, it’s also a destination in its own right, but you’ll definitely want to pull up a chair and feast upon the stellar American regional cuisine it is famous for:

Limit one per person. Entire value must be used in one transaction. Excludes tax and gratuity. Must present JITC Deal Code printout to redeem.

Be sure to check out all the details before making your purchase at Juice in the City

Filed Under: savings Tagged With: Barking Frog, Barking Frog Discount, Juice in the City, savings, Wine sale, Woodinville WA

Our Newest Family Photo

50% Discount at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop

A Day To Remember Wordless Wednesday

Goodbye LG 4.5 Steam Washer & Dryer in Red

22 Days Bar Healthy Chocolate Challenge

Summer Reading: Hailey Twitch and the Campground Itch by Lauren Barnholdt

Wine Lovers Juice In The City Deal: 1/2 Off Barking Frog in Woodinville

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