Looking Back at 2010

Wow! I can't believe that today is the last day of 2010...is it just me or did this year go by very quickly? It feels like I was just barely making my New Year's resolutions for 2010 and now it's time to make some new ones. My new year's resolution is to NOT make any! I thought for sure this year would be the year I kept every resolution I made. They were big ones but they should have been easy since they were all things we wanted. My goals were to get pregnant, sell our house, buy a new house...and for my husband to become supervisor. Not one of those things happened. So now those same goals are things I still want to have happen in 2011 but I'm being smarter about it and I'm not making them New Years Resolutions. Instead, their just my hopes and dreams for 2011.

So now I was sitting here thinking about last January and I realized Tobin was only 18 months old when we started 2011...that sounds so little! Now he's 2 1/2 years old, wearing glasses, talking in sentences and even counting and he knows his colors! How did he get big so fast?! So I thought it would be fun to look back over the months at some pictures of Tobin to see how much he has grown.

Last New Year's Eve 

 February

 At the beginning of this year Tobin was still in a high chair...

 ...he was still drinking from a bottle...

...and he was still in a crib!

 March

Last March we added Harley to our family!

 April

 May

 June...Tobin turned 2!

 July

 August

 September...Tobin got glasses!

 October

 November

 December

Looking back at these pictures makes me realize that Tobin started off the year still as a baby but now he is definitely a toddler! He's turning into quite a little man and it's amazing how much can change in one year. I'm hoping that 2011 will bring us a lot of wonderful new changes (mainly a new baby). I hope everyone has a happy and safe new years! See you in 2011!

ToiletTree Products Fogless Shower Mirror Review & Giveaway (Open to US & Canada)

Have you ever tried to look in a mirror while showering? I have and it doesn't work. Did you know that it's easier to tweeze your eyebrows and shave while you are showering? To do those things, you definitely need a mirror. So what you really need is ToiletTree Products Fogless Shower Mirror.

About The Fogless Shower Mirror (from their website)

Our patent-pending design is simple yet most effective. Fill the mirror’s reservoir with hot water from your shower head and you’re done.
It's ideal for close shaves, cleansing and exfoliating, removing make-up, tweezing and more.
No chemicals or special coatings required. Our shower mirror is designed to remain fogless and maintenance-free for a lifetime.
No more cleaning up messy, hair-filled sinks.
No more standing over your sink dripping wet while you shave, tweeze, or remove your make-up. Get it all done in the shower and be done!

The Fogless Shower Mirror is amazing! First of all it's really nice looking and would look beautiful in any shower. The mirror is a very decent size where it's big enough to see your whole face but still fits perfectly in your shower. There is a shelf on the mirror where you could put your tweezers, razor, etc. I love that it also comes with a squeegee that is attached to the mirror so you can get rid of water droplets if needed. The mirror also adjusts which I think is pretty cool. I think the mirror looks awesome in our shower and the silicone that it comes with makes it so it adheres to almost any surface and actually stays!

So how does Fogless Shower Mirror work? The mirror easily comes off the stand and you just fill the mirror reservoir with water and replace it. You can also be like me and just use a cup (I use one of Tobin's bath cup toys) to fill it up instead of removing the mirror.

The water then neutralizes the mirror and air temperature to completely get rid of fogging. I was amazed at how easy it was to install and the fact that it actually works! My husband loves it and uses it to shave. I love it as well and I use it to tweeze my eyebrows, wash my face, and it even entertains Tobin when he has to take showers with me (so it has many uses)!

It is also shatter proof and rust proof! We love it and highly recommend the ToiletTree Products Fogless Shower Mirror.

GIVEAWAY: Thanks to ToiletTree Products, one LUCKY winner will receive a Fogless Shower Mirror like we reviewed.

MANDATORY: To enter, you MUST visit ToiletTree Products and tell me what feature you are most excited about (besides it being fogless) OR tell me something else you learned about the product or company.

**Open to US & Canada. Must be 18+ to enter. All entries that do not meet the mandatory entry will not be eligible to win. You MUST leave an email address or have it visible in your profile to be eligible to win.**

EXTRA ENTRIES:

**Please remember to leave one comment per each entry. So, if you get 5 entries, leave 5 comments. If you only leave one comment, then you only get one entry! Remember to leave an email address.**

-Follow ToiletTree Products on Twitter
-"Like" ToiletTree Products on Facebook

-Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect

-Become a Facebook Fan/"Like" Second Time Around

-Add me to your blogroll

-Subscribe to my blog by RSS Feed (2 Entries)

-Subscribe to my blog by Email (3 Entries)

-Enter any of my current giveaways and tell me which ones (1 Entry for Each Giveaway Entered)

-Follow me on Twitter AND Tweet this giveaway and leave me the link to your tweet (1 Entry, Once Daily)

#Win a Fogless Shower Mirror from @ToiletTreeProd and @tobinsmommy08 Ends 1/13 http://bit.ly/fY8v5x Open to US & Canada #giveaway

-Grab my Button and post it on your blog

-Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link to your post (3 Entries)

-Leave a relevant comment on a DECEMBER/JANUARY non-giveaway post and tell me which ones (1 Entry Per Post, Limit 5)

This giveaway will end on January 13th at 10pm (MST). The winners will be drawn by random.org and will be notified by e-mail as well as announced on this blog. The winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner(s) will be chosen. Good Luck to all of you!

**I received the product I reviewed free of charge so I could do an honest review. No other compensation was received. My reviews are 100% my own and others may have different opinions. A BIG thanks to ToiletTree Products  for the opportunity to review and host this great giveaway.**

Guest Blogger Brett: Nurisystem's Exciting Announcement

I am back on the ball. The holidays are over and I have finally found my motivation again. I have found that working out has really helped me stay motivated. When I don't work out, it's so much easier for me to fall off the wagon. I also have a great support system set up. I had a good talk to my wife about trying to keep snack food hidden (she's a junk food junkie and has a huge sweet tooth). I first told her to get rid of it all and keep it out, but when I realized she was practically in tears about the idea of not having her candy and snack food, I decided that was too much to ask. So instead, I asked her to first of all try and buy the stuff I don't like and then to hide as much as she can so I won't be tempted. I also found that if I gave Tobin food that I didn't want to be tempted to have and told him that it was only his and not to share, then he really would not share. If I try to take it back, he will scream and cry and then of course there's no way I'm going to keep trying to take it away from him. So far all of these things are working and I'm hoping that this will kick my metabolism in gear and get me out of the plateau I have been in.

I found out some great and exciting news from Nutrisystem. I have talked a lot about the delicious gourmet Nutrisystem frozen meals that I have been eating and Nutrisystem just made a great announcement about them, so here's the press release and read to find out this exciting news!

HOORAY YOU! THE NUTRISYSTEM “NEW YOU REVOLUTION” BRINGS FRESH FROZEN FOOD TO ALL

 

Nutrisystem, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI), the number one home delivery weight loss company, announced today that it is revamping its programs by incorporating its highest scoring, best tasting fresh frozen gourmet foods into all of its weight loss plans at the lowest price in the Company’s history. Part of Nutrisystem’s “Hooray You! New You Revolution” initiative is to empower and celebrate the success of its members, and with these significant changes it will make Nutrisystem® weight loss programs more accessible to a wider audience than ever before. The new Nutrisystem 28-day program will now include one-third frozen foods and two-thirds of pantry foods. Additionally, the program previously cost $399 per month and it will now cost $299, including an additional free week of pantry foods, a gourmet money back guarantee and free shipping. The New Nutrisystem® Select® Plan, available only in the Continental U.S., can be purchased by calling the Nutrisystem hotline 1-800-891-3215 or logging onto www.nutrisystem.com.

“The launch of this program is a groundbreaking accomplishment for our team. Nutrisystem has now found a way to do what no other weight loss company had been able to do – and that is to provide home delivery of fresh-frozen foods at the lowest price in the category,” said Joe Redling, Chairman and CEO of Nutrisystem. “We spent the better part of the last year conducting extensive category research and, of course, listening to our own customers. The message we heard was clear and simple – they want great tasting, high quality foods at a low price with no gimmicks and no complicated plans. Through this system wide revamp I’m truly pleased that we’ll now be providing just that.”

Added Redling, “This winter season, many weight loss companies are launching new programs. We applaud those who are working hard in the fight to combat the national obesity epidemic but warn consumers to be wary of the newest fads and magic pill solutions. At Nutrisystem, our program is backed by the science of the low Glycemic Index and at a low price. We believe the solution to a healthier lifestyle can be just that simple.”

The New Nutrisystem Select

“Nutrisystem Select” offers gourmet, fresh frozen cuisine to every customer, delivered right to their doorstep. As part of the revamp of its food programs, Nutrisystem is adding new items to its menu including: Garden Vegetable Omelet, Margherita Pizza, Roasted Vegetable Pizza, Asian Style Beef, Roasted Turkey Medallions, and Orange Crème Bar.

The New Nutrisystem Select program includes:

·                  Free 24 hour, seven days a week phone access to nutrition support and counseling from the Nutrisystem team of registered dieticians as well as weight loss counselors

·                  Free membership and access to online tools, tips and community support on Nutrisystem.com

·                  Savings of hundreds of dollars compared to other weight loss programs

·                  New – Gourmet Guarantee – money back if not completely satisfied

·                  New – First seven days free

·                  New – Transition plans to help keep you on track after reaching your goal weight

·                  Available for Women, Men, Silver and people with type 2 diabetes who want to lose weight via Nutrisystem D

·                  Nutrisystem is delivered right to the customer’s door, and free shipping is included with Auto Delivery – there’s never any center visits or calorie or carb counting required

“As the nation continues to spiral into an ever-worsening cycle of obesity, we’re taking action now that will make our weight loss programs more accessible to more Americans than ever before. When crafting this new program, we recognized that the barriers to dieting and the reasons why people fail often comes down to a matter of cost, convenience and eating foods that taste good,” said Dr. Bruce Daggy, Vice President of Research and Development of Nutrisystem. “Feedback from our members has always given the highest food ratings to our frozen foods, but cost has been a barrier. One of the most important aspects of our programs that will continue is our adherence to a balanced diet based on the low Glycemic Index. We recognize that weight loss and health is not just about counting calories. Our focus remains to support a sensible and sustainable approach to eating.”

To order the new Nutrisystem, visit http://www.nutrisystem.com/ or call 1-800-891-3215.

Until Next Week......

~Brett~

**All products have been supplied by Nutrisystem as part of their Nutrisystem Nation Blogging program. Views expressed here are my own. No other compensation was received.**

Wordless Wednesday: You Know They Are Tired When....

...They Fall Asleep Playing!

WINNERS!!

Wow! I have gone from having over 20 giveaways and now after I draw these 4 winners, I'll only have one giveaway going on. Not to worry though, I have plenty more lined up and many more to come! I'm still trying to get back to reality and since there's still New Years coming up, I'm kind of waiting until January to really get going again. So now to announce the final Holiday Gift Guide Winners! Thank you so much to all of you for entering them. The holiday gift guide was a great success and just so you know, Natalie and I are working on an upcoming Valentine's Day Event, so there's some fun things to look forward to. Now for the winners of the giveaways that ended tonight, using random.org the winners are:

EZ SOX

#75 kewkew

Gentle Naturals

#120 Alyssa 

Lansinoh

#71 Mrs. Smitty

Conair & Scunci

#78 ♥Cari♥

Congratulations! The winners have been emailed and have 48 hours to respond or sadly a new winner(s) will be drawn. A BIG thanks to the wonderful sponsors for sponsoring these great giveaways as well as a big thanks to all of you who entered. Happy Holidays!

Now That's What I Call Great Customer Service

I had mentioned that for an early Christmas Gift, my husband was incredibly sweet and sent me beautiful red and white Christmas roses from ProFlowers. My husband has always used ProFlowers even when we were dating, so he has been a customer with them for about 10 years. We have always loved their flowers because they don't come fully bloomed, sometimes they don't look the prettiest when we get them because they haven't even opened yet, but then over the next few days they open up and you get to watch them grow. Because of this, some will last for weeks (depending on the flowers). I know that roses don't last too long, but when we have ordered roses in the past they have always lasted at least a week if not more. They always send flower food so that helps the flowers to last longer. When I received my roses though, the flower food was missing. Also several roses were already broken when we received the flowers.

Now it hasn't even been a week and half of my flowers are dead and the others are wilting quickly.

I was so sad and wrote ProFlowers last night and was shocked this morning to find a wonderful email from them and I saw they had actually wrote me back about an hour in half after I wrote them. That was so fast! They were amazing and gave me a variety of options to fix the problem. They were willing to send me the same flowers at no charge, or I could even choose another flower or product of equal value or less, or we could get our money refunded, or they even offered to give us a store coupon for the amount spent PLUS $10 and it could be used with them or one of their partnering sites. I was shocked. I did not expect such great and fast customer service.

I have always loved ProFlowers in the past and this was my first problem with them in 10 years and they fixed it so quickly that we will forever be ProFlowers customers. I would have recommended in them (and have recommended them) in the past and now I definitely say, you should definitely order flowers from ProFlowers. Not only are their prices very reasonable, their flowers beautiful, but their customer service is top notch. Thank you ProFlowers for being so amazing and reminding us that great customer service still exists!

**I did not receive anything for posting this. I was just so amazed at the customer service I received, that I just had to share my experience. My thoughts are 100% my own and others may have different opinions. No compensation or product was received and ProFlowers did not ask me to write this.**

I'm a Chiquita Mom (Review & Giveaway) 5 WINNERS!!! **CLOSED**

Bananas are the one fruit that I always buy every time I am the store. We run out so quickly, mostly because my husband is a big banana lover. Tobin did love bananas, but now he's been refusing to eat fruit at all so I am trying to think of creative and clever ways for him to eat fruit again. So when I was asked to be a Chiquita Mom, I was thrilled! Chiquita Bananas are delicious and I was excited to be sent some creative recipe ideas that could maybe help me to get Tobin to eat bananas again.

I was sent a wonderful Chiquita Mom Kit which included:

-Chiquita Mom's Flip Book

-Chiquita Banana Recipe Cards

-Chiquita Child Silverware, Cup, and Bowl Set

-Chiquita Moms Grocery Tote Bag

-Chiquita Moms Freezer Bags

-Coupon for FREE Chiquita Bananas

I immediately went out and got some Chiquita Bananas. I bought a big bunch and had planned to make several recipes. A few days later I went to get the bananas and found only two left! I couldn't believe how fast the bananas went! Tobin found his love for bananas again when I showed him how to eat a banana like a monkey, he thought it was so much fun to eat the banana like that.

Since I had only two bananas left, I quickly got to work to make one of the recipes. I decided to make the Quick Chiquita Chocolate Banana Pop Recipe.

Since Tobin doesn't like crunchy things on his treats, I decided to leave out the cereal or nuts option and instead just dipped the frozen bananas in chocolate. It was so easy to make and they tasted delicious! Chocolate covered bananas are one of my favorite treats! It's a much healthier option than ice cream. Tobin loved it and thought it was a fun way to eat a banana.

Chiquita bananas are a great source of energy because they are full of three kind of natural sugar, vitamins, and minerals. So be sure to pick up Chiquita bananas the next time you are the store. Also, be sure to check out Chiquita's Nutrition Tips & Recipes online.
 

GIVEAWAY: Thanks to Chiquita, FIVE lucky winners will receive a Chiquita Mom Kit like the one I reviewed.

MANDATORY: To enter, you MUST visit Chiquita and tell me a banana recipe you would like to try that was not mentioned here.

**Open to US ONLY (No PO Box). Must be 18+ to enter. All entries that do not meet the mandatory entry will not be eligible to win. You MUST leave an email address or have it visible in your profile to be eligible to win.**

EXTRA ENTRIES:

**Please remember to leave one comment per each entry. So, if you get 5 entries, leave 5 comments. If you only leave one comment, then you only get one entry! Remember to leave an email address.**

-Follow Chiquita on Twitter
-"Like" Chiquita on Facebook

-Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect

-Become a Facebook Fan/"Like" Second Time Around

-Add me to your blogroll

-Subscribe to my blog by RSS Feed (2 Entries)

-Subscribe to my blog by Email (3 Entries)

-Enter any of my current giveaways and tell me which ones (1 Entry for Each Giveaway Entered)

-Follow me on Twitter AND Tweet this giveaway and leave me the link to your tweet (1 Entry, Once Daily)

#win a Chiquita Mom Kit Including FREE Bananas and So Much More! @tobinsmommy08 Ends 1/11 http://bit.ly/h1O3V4 5 WINNERS!!! #giveaway

-Grab my Button and post it on your blog

-Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link to your post (3 Entries)

-Leave a relevant comment on a DECEMBER/JANUARY non-giveaway post and tell me which ones (1 Entry Per Post, Limit 5)

This giveaway will end on January 11th at 10pm (MST). The winners will be drawn by random.org and will be notified by e-mail as well as announced on this blog. The winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner(s) will be chosen. Good Luck to all of you!

**I received the product I reviewed free of charge so I could do an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation. My reviews are 100% my own and others may have different opinions. A BIG thanks to Chiquita  for the opportunity to review and host this great giveaway.**

Giveaways Ending Tonight!

There are many great giveaways ending tonight and several have low entries! So be sure get your entries in before it's too late! They all end at 10pm MST. Good Luck!

EZ SOX Giveaway (Winner's Choice)

Gentle Naturals Baby Products Prize Pack Giveaway (LOW ENTRIES)

Lansinoh Products Prize Pack Giveaway (LOW ENTRIES)

Conair & Scunci Prize Pack Giveaway

Christmas

Our Christmas started very early. In my family it's a tradition to wake up REALLY early! With my family we always woke up at 5am and with my husband's Mom it's usually 7am, so we compromise and we wake up at 6am. I thought about just letting Tobin sleep in this Christmas though, but my husband decided we should try and wake him up anyways. So we brought him down and as soon as he saw the kitchen that Santa brought, he was so excited and was immediately awake! Look at how cute his kitchen is:

We let Tobin play with his kitchen for a little while and then we let him open the little gifts Santa left him in his stocking (as well as go through his candy).

Then it was gift time. Tobin was so excited to open gifts and he was excited about everyone's gifts, not just his. He especially loved opening Harley's gifts for him. Tobin loved every minute of it but by the end, he was ready to just play. He had two gifts left and when we told him that he could open another present, he said "no". Once we told him he could sit at his kitchen, then he was happy to open the rest of the gifts.

We received a lot of great gifts. My husband gave me some tools and tool bag which was a surprise but I was actually excited about it. He also did a great job at picking out a shirt and a pair of awesome boots for me!

My husband got a lot of great gifts as well, including a pair of one piece footie pajamas (which is something he's always told me he wanted). One of the other gifts he received was a putting golf kit and Tobin loves playing with it with my husband.

After we got ready, we headed off to my parents house where we had some breakfast and opened more gifts.

Then it was off to my husband's Dad's house for lunch and more gifts. Tobin was loving getting so many presents.

By the end of the day though, Tobin had had enough (I think we all had). We were tired and just ready to go home. So it was off to home and bed. We had a wonderful Christmas and my favorite part was seeing Tobin's face light up when he opened his gifts. He loves his kitchen and he's so happy to finally just be at home so he can play with all of his new toys.

How was your Christmas?