Losing It Thursday!!!

Last Weeks Weigh In: 192.4

This Weeks Weigh In: 192.6

I'm actually surprised that's all I gained. I have stressed beyond belief for the last 2 weeks and I did really good with my eating up until the last two days. I just kind of gave up and ate a bunch of cookies, candy and chips. I was craving carbs so bad and I guess it was my comfort food. This wouldn't have been an issue if I would have exercised. From the looks of it I would have been able to eat those things and probably lose if I would have worked out for a little bit.

I'm linking this up with My Little Apricot!

Scholastic Storybook Treasures~I'm Dirty & I Stink Review & Giveaway!!!

Winner: Comment # 9 Michelle!!!

I was looking forward to reviewing the Scholastic Storybook Treasures I'm Dirty & I Stink 2 Pack DVD set. This looked like a great set of DVD's for Luke and I was right! These have been Luke's favorite so far!

12 terrific tales about trucks and trash and boats and bikes in a 2 DVD collection! From the smelly story of a garbage truck in I Stink!, to the classic family favorite Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and the grimy gut-buster I’m Dirty!, kids and parents will be thrilled to watch their favorite books spring to life on DVD with celebrity narration by Andy Richter, Forest Whitaker, Steve Buscemi and many others!.

I’m Dirty!

Burt Dow: Deep-Water Man

The Paperboy

Stars! Stars! Stars!

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves

Johnny Appleseed

I Stink!

Trashy Town

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

The Remarkable Riderless Runaway Tricycle

The Beast of Monsieur Racine

Arnie the Doughnut

My Thoughts

Like I said earlier, this is by far Luke's favorite DVD's so far from the Scholastic Storybook Treasures collection. He was excited to watch abou the trucks. His favorite stories on these are of course the I'm Dirty and I Stink. He has wanted to watch those over and over. This is another great collection of stories from Scholastic Storybook Treasures!

And if make a purchase at newkideo.com before July 15th you can use the code NEWKIDEO10 at checkout to get 15% discount on all the Scholastic Storybook Treasures collections! These would make a great gift idea or even purchase now and use as a stocking stuffer!

One of my readers is going to win their own copy of Scholastic Storybook Treasures I'm Dirty & I Stink!

Mandatory Entry

Visit newkideo and tell me another DVD you like to have!

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1 Extra Entry: Follow me on twitter and tweet! You can do this daily for an extra entry everyday! You can use this sample tweet:

#Win Scholastic Storybook Treasures I'm Dirty & I Stink DVD 2 pack! #giveaway @getinonthewins @NewVideoDigital http://goo.gl/fb/dKYYf

1 Extra Entry: For each of my other giveaways you enter

3 Extra Entries: Place my button on your blog and leave a link

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave a link

This giveaway will end on 7/19 at 10pm is open to US only. I will use random.org to choose a winner and they will have 48 hours to respond or I will choose another winner. I received the mentioned DVD for review purposes only and no other compensation was recieved. These are my own honest opinions. A big thank you to the sponsor for the review product and sponsoring this giveaway!

Melissa & Doug Seaside Sidekicks Sand Toys Review & Giveaway!!!

Winner~Comment #41 Michelle!!!

One of the great things about summer is getting outside and playing. Whether it be at the beach or in your own backyard. I am always on the lookout for high quality outdoor toys that withstand being outside and be tons of fun and Melissa and Doug never dissapoints.

I was thrilled that Melissa and Doug were going to send us some of their sand toys for review! As soon as I saw these items, I knew they were going to be a huge hit with Luke!

We received four different sand toy sets to review!

Seaside Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Set

There IS something new under the sun…a 12-piece set to make cupcakes at the beach or in the sandbox! First, fill the unique , hinged cupcake molder with sand "dough", add cupcake toppers, put in tray and "bake". You can even use the icing tool to add more designs! For storage, you may keep the whole set in the included mesh bag.

Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Set

Make fabulous mudpies and sandcakes with this sea-creature inspired "baking" set. Young chefs will love using the shell shaped measuring cups, octopus whisk and crab mixing spoon to "cook" up some great beach treats. The turtle lid on the "mixing" bowl doubles as a sifter!

Seaside Sidekicks Sand Molding Set

The turtle mold has lots of friends hiding under its shell…a fish, a crab, a starfish and a seahorse! This set provides hours of sand molding fun in the sandbox or at the beach and quick clean up, as all the molds store neatly in their turtle "shell".

Clicker Crab Pail and Shovel

A crab-shaped scoop and a sunny red-orange, crab-face bucket make digging for treasures at the beach even more fun! Clicker Crab is always smiling and you will be too, with this sturdy plastic duo.

My Thoughts

These toys bring two of Luke's favorite activities together. He loves playing in the sand and he loves baking! When he saw these toys for the first time, he said "ooooooo" and he immediately wanted to take them outside to play in his sand table. No waiting for a trip to the beach here! These toys are great for the beach or for backyard play!

Of course the first thing he wanted to do was dig, that is until I showed him the wisk. That is his favorite!

The sand baking set is perfect for the little chef in your life. Luke loved pretending to bake tasty treats! The lid to this little "mixing bowl" can be used as a sifter, perfect for sifting just the right amount of "sand flour"!

Can you see how intent and serious he is with his baking!

Luke loves pouring the sand into the buckets and I love that this foster's his imagination.

Not to mention that these toys are the cutest!

Here is he is wisking up something tasty in the Clicker Crab pail!

The seaside molding kit is great for making shapes in the sand and Luke loves it when I make a shape and he can smoosh it down :) These all fit inside eachother for easy storage!

The sand cupcake set was absolutely great! I showed Luke how to smoosh the sand into the mold and out comes a sand cupcake. He caught on right away and was off making his own sand cupcakes. This set came with a mesh bag to store all of the pieces together, so no missing peices! Of course these toys are high quality which is to expect with all Melissa and Doug toys.

I love that these toys were so much fun in the sand table!

These toys produced some great fun and held Luke's attention for about an hour and that was with using them in his sand table! I can just imagine how fun these would be when we take them to the beach!

I absolutely recommend these toys to anyone who is looking for beach or backyard fun! These would make a great gift for a summer birthday as well!

One of my readers is going to win these Melissa & Doug Sand Toys! One reader will win the Seaside Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Set, Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Set, Clicker Crab Shovel and Pail, and the Seaside Sidekicks Sand Molding Set!!

Mandatory Entry

Check out the Melissa and Doug website and come back here and tell me another product you would love to have!

Extra Entries

3 Extra Entries: Follow Melissa & Doug on Facebook

3 Extra Entries: Sign up for the Melissa & Doug Toy and Birthday Club

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1 Extra Entry: For each of my other giveaways you enter

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You can do this daily for an extra entry everyday. You can use this sample tweet:

#Win @MelissaAndDoug Seaside Sidekicks Sand Toys! Great Summer #Fun! @getinonthewins #giveaway http://goo.gl/fb/MFzoc

3 Extra Entries: Put my button on your blog and leave a link

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave a link

This giveaway will end on 7/12 at 10PM and is open to U.S. only. I will use random.org to choose a winner and they will have 48 hours to respond or I will choose another winner. I received the mentioned products for review purposes only and no other compensation was received.  A big thank you to Mellisa and Doug for providing the review products and sponsoring this giveaway. These are my own honest opinions.

Another Reason To Go See Cars 2!!!

I just found another reason to take Luke to go see Cars 2!

The Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation!!!

Set in new owner Bonnie’s bedroom, “Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation” features Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) and Buzz (voice of Tim Allen) and the rest of the favorite “Toy Story 3” toys as they create the ultimate Hawaiian vacation for Ken (voice of Michael Keaton) and Barbie (voice of Jodi Benson).  It seems Ken badly miscalculated their travel arrangements, so the gang has to create a dream getaway in Bonnie’s Midwestern bedroom—in the middle of winter.  “Hawaiian Vacation” also features the voices of Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, Blake Clark, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Jeff Garlin and John Ratzenberger.

The Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation is appearing exclusively with Cars 2 in theaters everywhere! I was so excited when I saw this! Luke and I both love all the Toy Story movies and I'm totally hoping they come out with another one!

I'm seriously thinking of taking Luke to the movies to see Cars 2! It would be his first trip to a movie theater. What do you guys think? Any tips, hints, tricks or words of encouragement?

Mommyhood Monday!!!

First off, I have to say that I am so happy to have Luke home. He was gone all last week with his daddy and is home now! Yay! I missed him so much and he had a hard time with me leaving him at daycare this morning, but I'm so glad to have him home. I just can't say it enough :)

Luke turns 3 on Thursday and I'm in full blown birthday party planning mode! We are having a robot party this year! I ordered some plates, decorations and some party favors from Oriental Trading and they are just the cutest!

 

His Toy Story Bike is safely hiding upstairs too! I can't for him to open it!

I've never been much of a birthday party person. Before I had Luke and even when he was a baby, I always thought I would have a party for his first birthday and then just have something small for the other birthdays. That is until I saw the pure joy in his face! He loves parties. Everyone getting together, the food, the games and yes the gifts. He loves it all, and I have to admit, I love planning his parties, I love getting everyone together and having fun. I love making his invitations. I love it all too! So, I guess I've turned into a birthday party person :) I'm not having his official party until July because of visitation schedules and the Fourth of July. I plan on getting some cupcakes and sending them to daycare on Thursday and then maybe a trip to McDonalds or pizza. I just can't believe my baby is turning 3!!!

Friday Favorites!!!

I'm so glad that it's Friday! I've been super busy this week and am running on empty and so ready for this weekend! I can't wait until my life calms down a bit and I can start crafting again! I still have a few crafts that I need to share with you guys and my "I have to try this craft or I'll just die" list keeps getting bigger and bigger!

Right now I'm loving all the summer crafts! Especially the ones that are using towels as the fabric! Fabric can be so expensive so if I can use a cute towel...I'm all for that!

Check out THIS Beach Towel Tote from Funky Polkadot Giraffe!

This is so cute and would be great to take to the beach. Throw your wet swim suits in there and then throw the bag in wash with them! Awesome!

Now of course I can't ignore a couple cute photo crafts!

Check out THIS Collage Frame from Sew Dang Cute Crafts!

I love how great this frame looks and how easy it would be to make! I even think I have some of these sized frames sitting around my house not being used!

Check out THESE Family Photo Cubes from StyleBurb!

This is such a cute way to display photos! She even gives us the template to use to print these guys out! I think these would look great in color too!

And last but not least, check out THESE Rainbow Poptarts from Babble!

One of Luke's favorite foods are Pop Tarts. I'd love to make these Pop Tarts for him because not only are they great to look at, they are made with real fresh fruit! And the best thing is that they seem pretty easy to make too! This is definitely going on my "recipes to try" list!

I hope you guys have a great weekend and a safe and happy Fourth of July! We are planning on swimming, going to the parade and watching fireworks! Yay! Oh yeah, and cooking out too!

Losing It Thursday!!!

Last Weeks Weigh In: 193.0

This Weeks Weigh In: 192.4

Ok, so not a huge loss but a loss none the less. It would have more if I would have fit in more exercise. I did however mow my lawn (for the first time ever) and that was a huge workout in itself! Even my arms were sore from weed eating. I have a great exercise DVD series that I need to try out and I know I'll like it, I'm just having a hard time getting it out and doing it. It's a constant struggle but I'm glad I'm able to post a loss this week and I hope that I can give myself the kick in the butt to start working out on a regular basis.

I'm linking this up with My Little Apricot

Wordless Wednesday!!!

Last week kicked off the summer reading program at our local library. This is something that I have done with Luke since his first summer. Luke loves the library and he got so excited when he realized where we were!

They have great little computers just for kids Luke's age and to my amazement, Luke remembered those computers the second we walked in the door. He said "I play puter Mommy!!" and off he went while I signed him up for the program. I could spend hours in the library. Before I had Luke I used read novels all the time and now I love to read magazines and crafting books! Luckily, Luke has this same love of the library and of reading too! So, while I picked out his books, he played on the little "puters"

Look at the little computer! It has a little mouse and a little kids keyboard!



Here he is with the headphones on getting ready to play a game!




We both always look forward to our weekly trip to the library during the summer!

Cars 2 Prize Pack Giveaway!!!

Winner~Comment #38 joycemlinek!!!

I have never taken Luke to a movie theater before but I think I'm going to make Cars 2 his first movie! Luke and I both enjoy the first Cars movie and Cars 2 looks like it is going to be great too!

When star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix, Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage!

To get you in the Cars 2 mood there are some great activities you can do with your child!

Click HERE to check out these Whitewall Tire Cookies!

Or how about THESE Oil Can Holders!!

You can click HERE to check all the fun Cars 2 Activities!

The Cars 2 movie opens in theaters everywhere on June 24th!

One of my readers is going to win a Cars 2 Prize Pack containing a Cars 2 T-shirt, 3 Cars 2 Bumper Stickers, 2 Cars 2 Temporary Tattoo Sheets and a Cars 2 Puzzle!

Mandatory Entry:

Tell me your childs favorite Cars character!

Extra Entries:

1 Extra Entry: "Like" Cars 2 on Facebook

1 Extra Entry: Follow Disney Pixar on Twitter

2 Extra Entries: Follow my blog

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1 Extra Entry: Enter any of my other giveaways, 1 extra entry for each giveaway you enter

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on twitter and tweet. You can do this daily for an extra entry everyday. You can use this sample tweet:

Rev your engine and enter to #Win a Cars 2 Prize Pack! @disneypixar @getinonthewins #giveaway http://goo.gl/fb/ZbikM

3 Extra Entries: Put my button on your blog

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave a link

This giveaway will end on 7/5 at 10pm and is open to U.S. and Canada. I will use random.org to choose a winner and they will have 48 hours to respond to my email or I will choose another winner. I received no compensation for hosting this giveaway and these are my own honest opinions.

UPrinting Flyer~Quick Giveaway!!!

UPrinting is offering up another great giveaway here at Lil Bit of Us! If you have your own business, are planning a benefit or even just a yard sale, flyers from UPrinting are a great way to advertise! UPrinting can meet all your flyer printing needs!

UPrinting is giving away 250 Flyers to one of my readers!

4.25" x 5.5", 4" x 6"

14pt Cardstock Gloss, Front Only Printing,

nightclub flyer templates and business flyer templates also available for download

3 Business Days Turnaround, *Free Shipping

Restriction: Limited to *US residents 18 years old and above only.

Please note if you have won this same prize from UPrinting within the last 30 days you will not be eligible to win.

Mandatory Entry:

Tell what you would use these flyers for if you win!

Extra Entries:

2 Extra Entry: Be a follower of my blog

2 Extra Entries: Subscribe to my emails

1 Extra Entry: For each of my other giveaways you enter

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on twitter and tweet. You can do this daily for an extra entry everyday. You can use this sample tweet

#Win 250 Flyers from @UPrinting & @getinonthewins #giveaway http://goo.gl/fb/Ge5rP

3 Extra Entries: Put my button on your blog and leave a link

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave a link

This is going to be a quick giveaway so get your entries in now because it's going to end on 6/24 at 10pm!

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive night club flyers for hosting. For more information about flyers, please visit UPrinting.com

Energizer Gas Rewards~Lithium Batteries Giveaway!!!

Winner~Comment #62 tweety800265!!!

There isn't one person that I know that isn't affected by the high gas prices. I can remember when I first started driving and gas prices were around $1 a gallon! Now, people are having to watch their money more closely so that they can afford to fill up their gas tanks. Well, Energizer is here to offer a little help!

Summer travel season is in full swing and the ever changing cost of gas prices is impacting everyone.  To help with the big summer shuffle between activities for your kids and family road trips, Energizer has a deal to help make a positive impact on your gas budget.  We’re rewarding Energizer_® Lithium customers by helping their dollars last longer. Consumers simply purchase two packs of specially-marked Energizer_® Ultimate Lithium or Energizer_® Advanced Lithium batteries and you will get a $10 Prepaid Discover^® Gas Rewards* card mailed to you. It’s that easy.   

 About Energizer® Lithium Batteries: 

Lightweight and perform well in extreme temperatures, from -40° F to 140° F (-40° C to 60° C).

Energizer® Ultimate Lithium batteries last up to 8x longer** in digital cameras for up to 8X less waste.

Energizer® Advanced Lithium batteries last up to 4x longer** in digital cameras, 20 hours longer** in wireless gaming accessories and up to 30% longer** in personal audio devices.

** Vs. Energizer® MAX®. Results vary by device and play and/ or usage patterns.

And Should you be interested in something other than purchasing gas with your reward card, the Reward Card may be redeemed for any merchandise offered by a retailer that accepts Discover.

To find out more about the gas rewards program or to enter a code visit Energizer on Facebook!

Energizer wants to give one of my readers a head start on their gas rewards! One of my winners will win a specially-marked package of Energizer_® Ultimate Lithium and a package

of Energizer_® Advanced Lithium batteries!!!

Mandatory Entry:

Tell me if you and your family are cutting back on summer travel due to the price of gas!

Extra Entries:

1 Extra Entry: Follow Energizer on Facebook

1 Extra Entry: Follow the Energizer Bunny on Twitter

2 Extra Entries: Be a follower of my blog

2 Extra Entries: Subscribe to my emails

1 Extra Entry: For each of my other giveaways you enter

1 Extra Entry: Follow me on twitter and tweet. You can do this once a day for an extra entry everyday. You can use this sample tweet:

#Win Energizer Lithium Batteries & Get Gas Rewards! @getinonthewins @EnergizerBunny #giveaway http://goo.gl/fb/hbOZd

3 Extra Entries: Put my button on your blog and leave a link

5 Extra Entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave a link

This giveaway will end on 7/5 at 10pm. I will use random.org to choose a winner and they will have 48 hours to respond to my email or I will choose another winner. I will be receiving 2 packs of Lithium batteries in exchange for hosting this giveaway. No other compensation was received and these are my own honest opinions.

Mommyhood Monday!!!

This is a sad week for me. Luke is with his daddy all week this week. This will be the longest that I've had to be away from him. He left yesterday morning and I miss him already. How do you deal with not seeing your child for a week? I guess I would feel better about it if he could talk. If he could tell me he was having fun. I hope that he isn't confused on why he isn't coming home like he usually does, why he hasn't seen his Mommy or his toys, or his dog for a week. My heart is aching today. Does this sound ridiculous to you?

I'm trying to keep myself busy with things that I need to get done. Boring things but important things. We have our court date next week. I guess I will keep plugging away at work, and doing what I need to do at home until Sunday. Last night I watched Star Wars and realized....I like Star Wars. If I can get everything done that NEEDS to be done, I'm going to get out my sewing machine and finish my curtains.

I know this is such a random Mommyhood Monday but I felt the need to write about how I was really feeling. I want to be as real as possible on here and this is what is going on in my life this week.

We Are Done With The Potty!!!

Welp, it's official! We are done with the potty!!!

Luke has been potty trained for almost a year now but he has still been using the potty chair. I mean, why not! It was in the living room in front of the t.v.! And it is super cute too!

I was reluctant to "fix" something that worked so I left well enough alone. Well, anyone who has potty trained a child knows that the potty is a pretty disgusting thing. So we no longer have the potty. When I realized that Luke could climb up on the big toilet (otherwise known as mommy's potty) We turned the potty seat into a step stool and now he uses "mommy's potty" all the time! Yay Luke!!!

The funny thing is that he doesn't even want me in there when he's using it. He tells me to go sit down. I leave the room and tell him to let me know when he is done, he says "ok mommy" and that's it! No cleaning the potty, no dumping the potty, no potty sitting in my living room! Yay for me!!

Just for reference, although I am super excited that Luke can now use the big potty, that would be just about enough of the growing.