Empty Promises

Promises we make to our children that we have no intentions on keeping...

Im going to leave without you!

I'm telling dad!

No Christmas presents for you!

I'm trading you in for another kid!

You won't get another meal until you eat your vegetables!

You can get that toy next time...

What do you promise (threaten) to your children?

Looking good

My favorite skincare brand are neutrogena products . Neutrogena has been manufacturing and selling skin care products for many years and is known world wide and has gained quite a following in recent years. I believe that Neutrogena products are affordable and easy to find compared to other skincare brands that are only found in certain stores.

Two products that I love are theNeutrogena Healthy Skin Enhancer Tinted Moisturizer, and the microdermabrasion home kit.

I love the soothing feeling and how great it looks on the skin. It goes on nicely and comes off easily at night and leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth. I especially liked that the The scent is very pleasant too. This one is definitely a winner!

You must use the Neutrogena home kit 5 times to get the same results as you would expect from 2 professional microdermabrasion treatments. This is still cheaper than getting a professional microdermabrasion treatment.
This could take more time than you are willing to give, but the end results are worth it. A professional treatment takes about 3 weeks, so you would have to wait as well.

According to Neutrogena, after a series of control tests by dermatologists, they had some quite remarkable results. Participants started to show improvements in their skin after only one use of the Neutrogena home microdermabrasion kit!

1 Day: Participants showed visibly brighter and smoother skin.
1 Week: After between 5-6 uses of the Neutrogena microdermabrasion system skin was said to be significantly brighter and smoother with an overall improved radiance of the face.
1 Month: After approximately a dozen applications of the Neutrogena home kit results in many cases were comparable to those expected with professional microdermabrasion machines. Fine lines, wrinkles, acne scars and sun damage had all decreased.

Of all participants in the Neutrogena microdermabrasion home kits trials:
100% claimed their skin was smoother.
97% said that fine lines and sun damage had been removed through microdermabrasion.
75% thought that their skin had an overall improved texture and complexion.

Neutrogena microdermabrasion risks:
Part of the appeal of the Neutrogena Microdermabrasion System is that in the majority of cases the Neutrogena home kit is entirely safe with minimal risks. Some microdermabrasion processes do not work well on dark skin; however, the Neutrogena home kit is said to be safe and effective for improving dark skin colours.

Do not use the Neutrogena microdermabrasion home kit if you have:
Inflamed Acne
Rosacea
Broken skin

Hope this helps you to decide if you want to give Neutrogena a try!

Homework

Guest post from: Constance Rodgers

We recently had to Get wild blue internet access at our house. Living in such a rural area, we haven’t had internet at our house. Then our son got in middle school and all of the
sudden it seemed to be a necessity for him to be able to do his homework. All of
his teachers have blogs and that is how they send information to the parents. No
more newsletters coming home in the folder or behavior sheet coming in the
backpack, now his teachers just email the parents when there is a concern or
update their blog to give information about an upcoming project of field trip!
Most of our son’s assignments also involve doing some research on the internet
to complete the work. We just don’t have time to be going to the library in town
every single night for him to do what he needs to on the internet. So we broke
down and bought a new computer and found internet access that we can get. Our
son is happy because he has been telling us for years that he is “the only one”
of his friends that doesn’t have a computer at home!

Saving for college the easy way

Just recently, we were discussing how my middle child will have it rough trying to go to college. I never had the chance to save for college. It's just so hard to be disciplined to save. When I found out about a program that helps you save without any hassles, I was excited!

Mission Tuition offers a free educational savings program for parents, relatives, and even students. By using the website to shop with major retailers, you can earn valuable money toward cash rebates (as well as earning discounts at the same time)!

How it works

When you sign up, an educational savings account is opened for you. When you shop on-line at Mission Tuition and the advertised rebate from each of our retailers goes directly into this savings account. You can use any of your existing debit or credit cards to make purchases. If your favorite card earns miles or points, you receive them in addition to Mission Tuition's cash rebates to double your benefits with every purchase.

It's free to join Mission Tuition, so bloggers are welcome to sign up, too!

The flu

I woke up to a gurgling tummy. Not the hungry gurgling-not at all. I tried to ignore it, but it kept at me until I had no choice but to get out of bed and run to the bathroom.

I hate the flu.

I laid on the couch with two pairs of sweats on, a sweatshirt, a hat, mittens, and three blankets and STILL was freezing. I do not wish this sickness on my worse enemy-well, there was this ex-boyfriend I might not mind wishing it on...

Unfortunately, it spread throughout our household, each day someone else got it. We tried to figure out how we all got it-like that makes it better? Why do we do that? After a week, it left our home to invade some other poor unsuspecting families' home I'm sure. Then, they can argue about who brought it in their home.

I'm still trying to catch up on work. Emails waiting to be answered, messy house to be cleaned, argh!

I hope to have things back to normal soon, because I have an awesome giveaway coming up!

Getting Your Children Re-Energized for School

Guest Post: Ella Davidson of the couponing website Coupons, provided this guest post. Coupons is a coupons and deals website that strives to save consumers money while helping to better the world.

We all know how much children love school breaks and how hard it can be to get them back on track when school is about to start again. You don’t need to feel discouraged, though, because there are some simple tips and tricks that will help you get your kids in shape for school without too much hassle.

There are two main things you need to focus on to ensure your youngsters are ready for school:

• The Body

• The Mind

Energizing the Body

Relax – The main role of a break is to energize the body so the first thing you need to do is to ensure that your kid’s break is relaxing and not too crowded with activities. Even though those activities are fun, too many of them will become tiring. Plan the list of activities such as trips or camps in advance and make sure you leave your kid enough time to play and get bored – they need it.

Sleep – Sleeping is another factor that has a great impact on the amount of energy a kid has. While it’s perfectly normal to let children oversleep from time to time, don’t make it a habit. A child that is used to sleeping in every morning will have a very hard time to adapt to a school schedule. The best approach to this is to let your kids oversleep at the beginning of the break and gradually bring them to a sleeping schedule that’s similar to the one they have during school time.

Finding the perfect balance between fun and relaxation may not be easy but it’s worth making the effort to do it instead of having fun to exhaustion and then facing a hard time getting your kid back on track once the school begins.

Energizing the Mind

Just as the body, the mind needs a little break from time to time too. Stress is the main cause for a tired mind and doing stress-free activities, even if they are mind-challenging can still relax the mind.

Fun Activities – There are a lot of activities that are both fun and educational at the same time that you can do with your children. Play games, build a tree house, go-karting – there are endless opportunities to combine the pleasant with the useful. Not only will these activities will be fun and educational but they’ll also allow you to spend time together as a family.

Responsibility – There are moments when children want to be treated as adults, so why not give them a little responsibility? Start with simple things such as buying them a small pet and leaving it to them to take care of it. If you want to take things a bit further, give them a little more freedom and help them make their own schedule – being sure to include their school and after-school activities. They will appreciate that you trust them and will strive to impress you with their handle of the adult task.

Quick Facts

• Don’t be stressed – a child’s mood is very easy to influence and being around stressed adults will unconsciously make them stressed as well;

• Share your childhood stories – kids always tend to want to imitate their parents, hearing their parent’s adventures from their school period will make them eager to get back to school;

• Have fun – After all, that’s what a break is all about. Be sure to take photos to capture the memories!

References

Microsoft.com: Get Your Kids Ready! A Teacher’s Five Tips http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/get-your-kids-ready-a-teacher-s-five-tips-HA010281616.aspx

About.com: Child Care – Top 10 Morning Madness Tips for Getting Kids Up and Ready

http://childcare.about.com/od/behaviors/tp/gettingkidsup.htm

Further Reading

Organized Home: Do It Now! Tips To Get Ready For Back-To-School http://organizedhome.com/seasonal-spin/back-to-school-tips-get-organized

iVillage: Make Getting Ready for School a Snap

http://www.ivillage.com/make-getting-ready-school-snap/6-a-128003

Back to school, Monster High, Freedom

Today was Emily's first day back to school, so the morning was spent running around looking for backpacks and school shoes. Listening to the moans and groans of two children not looking forward to going back to the boring and long day of teachers and school work.

As I warmed up the car and the kids dragged themselves out of the house, I sighed. I really like when they are home for breaks and hate to see them go. At the same time, I welcome the freedom to work and not feel guilty because the kids are saying they are bored of their Christmas gifts already.

Speaking of Christmas presents, I really didnt get a chance to tell you what we got this year. I'm always anxious to see what the hubby got me, since he likes to spoil me once a year. Last year it was a new camera body (still love it!). I knew he wouldn't be able to go so expensive this year, but I was still excited.

I had been complaining that I miss my Netbook-it contracted a terrible virus that we still haven't been able to get rid of-so, he decided to get me an Acer Iconia Tab A500 Tablet. He was going to go with the iPad, but it doesn't do flash and I go to a lot of photo sites that do flash, so it was a good choice. I love, love, love the convenience of carrying it around while listening to podcasts and other learning material. Normally, I'd be stuck at my laptop and would have to drag it around or put on pause if I needed to move. It fits in my purse too, which is nice. I brought it to my dad's house on Christmas and I didn't think that I was getting it back. lol.

Jordon was so hard to buy for this year, so we just let him go clothes shopping and gave the rest in cash. Jessica was the same way, but Emily was super easy. She loves Monster High, so we just bought anything that had to do with Monster high dolls . I now want to puke when I see a new Monster High toy at the store. We don't even let her go down the toy aisle unless she has a twenty in her pocket. Good bye TY Beanies, hello Monster High obsession.

I was glad to take down the tree and get on with the new year. Like I said in another post, I'm ready to start the New Year Resolutions, starting with keeping up with eating right. I let myself eat badly somewhat for the holiday, which is okay. I was actually looking forward to my healthy eating- I feel so much better when I do!

Hey! This is nice. I've been able to type more than three sentences without someone yelling from another room that they are hungry or bored.

Maybe the kids being at school not so bad.

Rich isn't just about money

I've been researching marketing books and wanted to also find financial advice books as well. When I came across I will teach you to be Rich by Ramit Sethi, I felt it was a perfect guide essential to getting your finances on track. The book covers a six-week program that automates saving and jump-starts investing. Most the material Sethi has covered on his blog.

The introduction asks, “Would you rather be sexy or rich?” Sethi talks about how money is like food. Most of us have stressed over our weight at some point or another and tried at least one ridiculous diet. The same level of simplicity is all it takes to keep our finances under control. It’s not a sexy approach — but it is an approach that can make you rich in the long run.

I recommend purchasing this guide, and to visit his blog as well. For anyone looking for interview tips for a job, Ramit Sethi put together a video to help as well.

New Year's Resolution?

I'm not usually one to make New Year's Resolutions, but to make goals all year round. I'm what you call A List Maker, actually. I'm an entrepreneur, so I've got to always be challenging myself. It's hard competing out there in the business world. You always have to reinvent yourself all the time.

So, I make goals for myself on my pad of paper and reference them daily. I tend to do this strictly business wise, but this year I would like bring my personal life into my list making challenge.

By this, I mean that I tend to put some mothering on the back burner when I get busy with work. I've noticed this when I realized that my seven year old should be reading better then she does. Bad mom. My other two were reading at an early age and reading is so important to me. I loved to read when I was her age, which blossomed to wanting to become a writer.

Another big goal is to get back into blogging more. My plans last year was to share my life experiences and photography to the world. I started slacking a bit towards the end of the year and then got out of it. I worked hard on my blogs and then I let them go. I'm not sure what happened, but I plan on jumping full force this year. Starting today.

Try making lists. They are addictive and a great way of full filling your goals. I almost forgot to mention that I finally stuck to my goal of losing weight! Okay, most would have said I didn't even need to lose any weight, but it was important to me to get to the weight I wanted to be at. I can now fit into all the clothes I used to be able to wear before having Emily. Woo hoo! Actually, I want to lose another four pounds and I hear the last 5 pounds are the hardest to lose. I'll post what I did to lose that weight. Mind you , I don't diet. I just changed my life style I guess you could say.

Well, that's it for now. Enjoy your day off if you have it!

Calm

Some may remember when I announced we had adopted a kitten about five months ago. Here he is when we first got the little booger.

He fooled us with his sweetness. He was cute and lovable the first couple of weeks. THEN, he began to show his true colors. We quickly found out that he was a devil cat.

So ornery. So crazy. He was in everything all the time and wanted to "play" with us and the result was scratched up hands and a few close calls of an eye getting poked out by his claws.

This cat was the poster child for cat nip.

We got him fixed, hoping that it would calm him down-nope. We came to the conclusion that we would just have to deal with him the way he was and hope that age would calm him down eventually. One thing I did know was, he was getting his front paws declawed because I wasn't taking anymore chances of any of the kids getting their eyes blinded by his playfulness. Did you know that little ones like to put their faces in cat's faces?

So, the little brat went to the vet for two days (it was heaven for us, lol). When we got him back, we were worried if we left him out that he would break his stitches, but he just meowed if we kept him in the carrier. He ended up sleeping for two days and limped around for another three.

One thing I've noticed with him is that he's alot calmer now. Maybe he finally settled down after this traumatic experience, or he thinks we just punished him for all his meanness.

Either way, I'll take it!