Do More Knowing Your Child Is Safe

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Levana. The opinions and text are all mine.

I am a worry wart when it comes to my kids.  I pretty much worry about anything and everything.  When they are awake I worry about all the things that can happy to them during the day.... when they are sleeping I worry about them too... Are they breathing?  I know I have issues... I am working in it!

One thing that has given me peace of mind is a Video Monitor.  Watching my kids sleep is one of the best parts of my day!  We got a Levana video monitor when my son was born, you know because of SIDS! We loved it!  When I got a chance to upgrade to the Ovia 2 Camera Video Monitor, I was totally on board since we knew we already loved 

We recently moved the 2 year old in with the 7 year old and got them bunk beds.  They were so excited... however the 2 year old had been sleeping in his crib and now we had to train him on how to sleep in a big boy bed.

  The Levana monitor lets us keep an eye on all the shenanigans that the boys do at night. It also has a microphone feature that let me talk to them through the camera... so when a baby who should be sleeping, gets out of bed I can tell him to go back to bed.  It is so fun to see his eye get all wide and wonder where Mommy is! 

I love this monitor!  I love that it has 2 cameras... I do daycare a few days a week for a 1 year old girl and she sleeps in a different room then my son- this way I can keep track of both of them at the same time! Here is a video to show you! 

Levana is a brand you can trust.  They are dedicated to the safety of children - they know what is important because they ask real moms (like me!) to help them develop their product!  They are also pioneers in high-tech monitors!  They know what mom's want and put in all the important features! 

Now I can relax after the kids go to bed... I could do some work on the blog or watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix or have a meaningful conversation with my husband... Let face it I am mostly watching Gilmore Girls! 

Wanna have peace of mind?  Check out these deals from Levana  or Visit their Facebook page! 

OR Join in on the GIVEAWAY!!  Yep - you could win one for yourself!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Levana. The opinions and text are all mine.

Dust off Your Shelfies {#StreamTeam}

Thank you to Netflix for sponsoring this post. As part of the Stream Team I get to talk about a theme each month.  This month Theme: Dust off Your Shelfies!

Now that school is back in session and life is back on a schedule I find myself thinking of thing I can do for me... you know, a little me-time!

I love watching shows on Netflix... I love that it saves your spot... I love that there are no commercials... I love that I can watch a whole season of a show all in one weekend.  I can barely remember what it was like to watch TV on TV.  When I have to watch one of my shows that I had DVRed (Because let's face- who watches TV in real time now?!) I am so annoyed that I have to fast forward through commercials... I am all "Let's wait until this gets on Netflix!  Who is with me?!?

So what is a Shelfie?  They are the shows that you have in your list of shows to watch but haven't taken the time to watch... they are on your virtual Shelf

Here are some shows that I HIGHLY recommend you take off your shelfie list and finally watch them! 

Warehouse 13

Once Upon A Time

Lost

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Alias

Gilmore Girls

Parenthood

What show recommendations you have for me?  What should I watch? 

*Disclosure: I am part of the Netflix Stream team.  However all opinions are 100% honest! 

5 easy tips to keep the bathroom organized with kids!

If you have little kids at home, you know that the bathroom is a spot that gets trashed everyday.  I am here to share a few tips on how we try to keep our bathroom ship-shape with out 3 kiddos.

Tip 1 and 2 Rob Hooks

Tip 1: Hang robe hooks low enough for the kids to be able to hang up their towels themselves.  We hung ours over our heater so that in the winter it also acts as a towel warmer. 

Tip 2: Hang a robe hook low enough for the kids to reach to hang the hand towel. I know from experience that the towel never makes it back on to the towel rod because it was too high and the towel was always on the floor... now, it is on the hook! 

***I got my robe hooks from Unhinge.  They are super reasonable for prices, ship fast and come with quality hardware to install. They have many quality bathroom hardware for you to choose from.  We love how these hooks are helping us keep out bathroom clean in style!   Check out Unhinged Hardware here!***

Hooks in Satin Nickel

Tip 3: How to hide the toys.

I have a bin that we keep the bath toys in (I believe it was supposed to be a magazine holder).  When I have company coming over we take the whole bin and put it in the shower and close the curtain... toys gone!  

Tip 4: Where to put the extra Toilet Paper.

I don't like to keep my extra toilet paper under the sink because it is messy under there and I don't want my guests to have to search for it.  So I got a Paper Towel holder and placed it on the back of the toilet and it is a great way to stack the TP.  This way I can also see if we need to restock since it is out in the open.  I sometimes turn it into a snowman in the winter too.

Tip 5: Brush/comb Organizer

Another kitchen tool turned bathroom hack. I got this hanging basket at Ikea.  It is supposed to be used in the kitchen but it also works great in the bathroom to keep all those brushes, combs, make-up brushes up off the sink or toilet.  Easy to put in and take out of and the kids can do it too. We hang it on our towel bar.  It could also work for bath toys hanging off an extra shower rod - like this. 

What are some easy ways you keep organized in the bathroom with kids?  We would love to hear your ideas! 

***Thank you to Unhinge for providing the Robe Hooks in Satin Nickel.  All opinions are 100% honest.***

Back to School {#StreamTeam, # Netflix}

Thank you to Netflix for sponsoring this post. As part of the Stream Team I get to talk about a theme each month.  This month Theme: Back To School!

We have one week until school starts.  That means we are gearing up for school and at the same time sucking the last fun out of summer!  

This year my daughter is starting Kindergarten.  This is a much easier thing for me since her older brother is already at the school.  I am excited for her to start!  

We have a great school with wonderful teachers. 

We made a paper chain count down,  to count down the days until kindergarten.

She is so excited to go to school with  her big brother.

And he is so excited to show his sister around his school.  "Mom - the big kids get to pick up their little sisters and bring them to the bus - I am so excited!"  What a good big brother. 

And each year the school supply list gets bigger and bigger - this isn't even half of it!  New on the list this year was a pair of headphones... I got mine cheap off of Amazon!  Love Amazon! 

And- while I am going through their rooms getting their closets ready for school (by getting rid of clothes that don't fit) I have them watch some fun shows on Netflix to gear them all up for school! 

some of our favorites are

Odd Squad

Magic School Bus

Cat in the Hat

Ever After High

What do you do to get ready for back to school? 

*Disclosure: I am part of the Netflix Stream team.  However all opinions are 100% honest! 

Dragon Training Picnic (#StreamTeam # Netflix)

Thank you to Netflix for sponsoring this post. As part of the Stream Team I get to talk about a theme each month.  This month Theme: Dragons!

Netflix has a new series Based off the the hit movies: How to Train Your Dragon 1 & 2 called Dragons: Race to the Edge, and my kids are loving it! It is easily their favorite show to watch now.  I mean what is not to love about Hiccup and Toothless?! 

As part of the the Netflix Stream Team, I got a box full of goodies to help celebrate the new Dragons series!  It came with all sort of fun stuff, but the map is my kids favorite.  It is so cool to see them play with the map creating their own adventures. 

To join in on their fun I decided to have a dragon picnic. 

After consulting my mom and sister (my creative team!), I came up with a fun menu.  All super simple- because I do not have time to sculpt Toothless out of brownies!  I made ship sails out of paper and toothpicks. 

The kids (needless to say) LOVED it.  The thought it was so fun to eat picnic style on the floor.  We ate on our Dragon blanket (part of our box of goodies) 

And because no picnic is complete with out a game, we made up a Dragon Racing game. 

In the 2nd movie they have Dragon races where they collect sheep for points and the black sheep is worth 10 points.  In our game we hide square legos (Use what you have) as our sheep.  The Golden lego is the golden sheep and it is worth 10 points.  I hide the legos around the yard (think Easter Egg hiding).   I hide the golden "sheep" harder since it is worth more.   The kids decorated their stuffed animals to be their Dragons and they race around the yard finding the "sheep" and bringing them back to their buckets.  We play several rounds.

My daughter named her dragon: Fireball and my son named his dragon: Tornado Fire. 

Have your kids checked out Dragons: Race to the Edge yet?  Have you had any Dragon adventures? 

3 Easy and Cute ways for Box Top Storage (#BTSLikeABoss)

  Who is ready for back to school?  It is easy with Back-To-School at Walmart!

Part of me is ready to have the kids back in school and part of me wants to suck up the last bits of summer! Either way- it is time to start to get ready!  If we are going Back-To-School... we should do it like a boss!  We do that by saving time on buying school supplies AND collecting Box Tops to give to the school! 

Shopping for Back-To-School is sometimes such a hassle!  But if you go to a one-stop-shop like Walmart you can get all your school supplies PLUS your household needs too!  We like to buy packs of Kleenex for the kids classroom each year because I know the teachers need it!  

And RIGHT NOW- Walmart has special 3 packs of Kleenex with BONUS BOX TOPS!  They also have special packs of Viva Paper Towels with extra Box Tops as well.  It is a win-win!  You get paper supplies for either you house or kids classroom PLUS Extra Box Top to help support your school! That is how we do it LIKE A BOSS!  They has special Bonus Box Tops on several items all around the store!

Since you will be collecting so many bonus Box Tops you will need a cute way to store them.  I have 3  easy and cute ways to store your Box Tops!

1. Reuse a food container. 

I cleaned out my container.  Then I used an Exato-knife to cut a slit in the top.  I used Duck Tape and Washi Tape to decorate.  

2. Re-use a Crystal Light container:

Just cover with cute paper and add an embellishment with the a Box Tops Label.

3. Use a Canning Jar

Just replace the inside part of the lid with cute card stock and cut a slit into the top for the Box Tops.

Now it is your turn to go Back-To-School Like a Boss (#BTSLikeABoss)  Go and Share your stories here on how you ROCK Back-To-School!

UrthBox -Healthy Snacks delivered to your door! With a COUPON!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of UrthBox for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
As a mom I am always trying to find healthy snacks for my kids to eat.  It seems to get health snacks I need to go to 3-4 stores.  I just cannot do that with 3 kids in tow.  That is why I am so excited for UrthBox.  UrthBox is a subscription box that delivers healthy FULL size snacks and beverages to your door.  No running around!  So easy!
Here is how it works:

This is going to be the future of snacking and a great way to swap out the junk snacks with tasty Non-GMO, Healthy and Organic alternatives! 

It is a great way to find new health foods, snacks and beverages for your family.  I love it when things are super easy!  And since the snack a covered I can focus on more healthy foods for our meals when I grocery shop!



AND you can get a $5 off coupon by using the code: CRUNCHWEEK.

 

Easy DIY No-Sew Pennant Banner

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Faultless/Bon Ami Company    for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

 Faultless Premium Spray Starch is a great way to keep your clothes looking their best.  It is the starch that performs so that you can look your best!  And when you look your best, you can feel your best and preform your best too!  The Faultless Premium Spray Starch bottle will not clog, flake or stick, unlike other brands.  You can find Faultless Premium Spray Starch in the laundry aisle of most major retailers.

Faultless Premium Spray Starch not only makes your clothes look like new, it is also useful in sewing and crafting... in this case a none-sewing craft!  

 

Here is how to make your own:

1. Gather your supplies:

Fabric 1/4 yard (You could also get a fat quarter if you don't want to get it cut)

Binding (found at fabric store by the zippers)

Faultless Premium Spray Starch 

Paper for template

Scissors

 Hot Glue

 

2-3 Create your pennant template.  Fold a piece of paper in half and use a straight edge to make a triangle shape like the one below.  Then open it up and you have your template.  Put aside.

4-5 Iron your fabric and binding with Faultless Premium Spray Starch.  Just spray and iron. This is so helpful.  It really gives the fabric a great look and it also gives it the stability that it needs to hold it's shape.  And it makes the cutting so much easier!  

 

Use your template to cut out your pennants.

 

Option 1:

Using your Faultless Premium Spray Starch, iron the rough edges over to make a fake hem.   Again the starch gives it the stability and strength to help hold it's shape.  You only need to do the 2 sides going down... the top will be covered up.

 

Option 2:

You could use pinking shears to cut your your pennants to make sure no fraying happens. 

 

Finishing:

Open up your binding and place your pennant inside.  Use Hot glue to secure it to the inside and fold the binding back over.  I start at the middle and work my way out on either side evenly spacing the pennants.  You could also sew it instead of glueing it... but I was going for no-sew!  

And done! 

These are great for kids rooms, parties, home decor, gifts, showers!

 

 

  
Ready to try out  Faultless Premium Spray Starch?
Here is how you can find a store
Here is a coupon: Faultless Premium Coupon  
 

Faultless Premium Starch is giving away $1,000 along with a year’s supply of Faultless Premium! You can enter to win ! All you have to do is:

o Visit the Faultless Starch Giveaway page

o Watch the video of Ironing Board Sam singing the “Wrinkle Blues”

o Enter your information

o Share this link with your friends: http://bit.ly/1FP5Up4
Go here to enter:

Faultless Starch Giveaway 

Follow them on Faultless on Facebook  for tips and tricks!

How do you look and feel your best?  Share you tips and trick below!