Two Monkeys & A Washtub: March 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Guardian of the toys!

Guardian of the fire truck line...."Do not cross me"....I said, "Do not cross me"! "You will be punished for breaking the line of trucks....it's mine, it's all mine! I don't care if you think they were yours to begin with....they're all mine!"

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Winners! & giveaway reminders!

Winners - always behind on posting winners, but I've learned that the winners are always happy to receive their items...so here's the winners!

Green Giant Veggie Prize Pack - Cheryl F (#19)

$25 Kroger Gift Card - Cheryl (#160)

Enjoy Lighting - Cathy (#64)

Mr. Bo Finds a New Home - G_Mimi (#9)

Please stop by to enter the Safety Tat giveaway and the Power Capes giveaway today!

Power Capes: Custom SuperHero Capes for Kids Review & Giveaway

Back in October, my boys had the opportunity to review Power Capes. This is definitely one item they still play with their almost daily! SuperR and SuperK definitely love their capes, so when Power Capes asked if I would like to tell my readers about their capes again and host another giveaway, it was a definite "YES"!

Power Capes carries kids capes and adult superhero capes so you can become a super hero whenever the desire hits! As I mentioned back in October, these are definitely a hit with my kids! They love that their capes are in their favorite colors and so easy to put on that they are ready to "fly like the wind" at a moments notice!

You can build your own custom or personalized superhero cape and even add a matching mask for the ultimate superhero! Your kids will love this superhero cape! These are perfect for everyday dress-up!

Buy It!

You can purchase your personalized PowerCape with initial on-sale now starting at $24.99 for size 2-7 online! Sizes are available up to Adult, so feel free to get you super-hero on too (you know you want too)! They also offer large quantity discounts (think birthday parties) and even party rentals! You can purchase super-hero masks, plain capes, and capes with emblems!

Giveaway Details!

Power Capes would like to send one lucky winner a custom SideKick Cape (Ages 2-7) with matching mask (or non-matching if you'd like a different color)! This giveaway will end on April 13th at 10:00PM Central. I'll email the winner who will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen!

Mandatory Entry!

Visit Power Capes and let me know how you'd design your SideKick Cape! Please include cape color, emblem style, emblem color, and letter! (Leave your email address so I know how to contact you!)

Extra Entries!

(If it states 2 extra entries, please leave 2 comments)

Follow me on Google Friend Connect (see right hand side bar) (+1 extra entry)

Like Two Monkeys & a Washtub on Facebook (+3 extra entries)
Like PowerCapes on Facebook and let them know you love their capes! (+3 extra entries)

Subscribe to Two Monkeys & a Washtub by e-mail/RSS feed (+2 extra entries, you can do both)
Follow monkeyswashtub on Twitter (+1 extra entry)
Follow PowerCapes on Twitter! (+1 extra entry)
Sign up for the PowerCapes Newsletter and be the first to hear about all the specials! (+2 extra entries)
Enter this giveaway in a giveaway linky (+3 extra entries/linky entered)
(come back and leave me a link with the ~#)
Tweet up to 3x daily, must be 1hr apart, leave one comment with the link to your tweet (up to 3 extra entries daily):

Win a Personalized SuperHero Cape @monkeyswashtub from @powercapes! http://goo.gl/fb/0zGeu US- Ends 4/13!

Vote for me on the Fence (+2 extra entries daily)

Disclosure: I received no products or compensation for this post. This is simply a giveaway post from a sponsor for a product previously reviewed that we really loved!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Surfin' Saturdays! Join us for Twitter!

Welcome to Surfin' Saturdays hosted by Chubby Cheeks Thinks, Two Monkeys & a Washtub, And Then There Were Four and The Coupon Challenge and Dandy Giveaway!

Each week we will be surfin' a different social network. You will have to check back every Saturday to see where we will be! One week it may be a facebook hop and then the next an email hop! It will be lots of fun and you will get to meet new people and see old friends as well!

We kindly ask that you follow these simple requests

Follow the hostesses in the first five spots (We will follow you back! Just please leave a comment letting us know that you are following us!)
Please only link up the network that is being hopped that specific week.
No spam please. These will be removed.
It would be wonderful if you are linking up this week if you could add our button to your sidebar or in a post to help spread the word! :) The more people that join, the more fun it will be!
If someone follows you please feel free to follow them back! If you follow me and leave a comment you are guaranteed a follow back!

This is a new list every Saturday, so please remember to come back and link up!

This week is Twitter!

Please link up only your Twitter Account!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Counter surfing...or at least contemplating it!

Hmmm...wonder what they're serving, guess I'll just have to look! It's great being a big dog sometimes...I can just peer over the counter to find out what's going on! Don't mind me, I only steal fresh baked goods and meat...you can have all that fresh stuff!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Disney Social Media Moms – A celebration with so many memories!

It’s not very often that you can combine social media, great women from all over the country (and a few men), and their families (crazy kids included) to make amazing memories, but Disney pulled it off with the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration! We started the event with a celebration hosted by Disney’s Weddings (including a candy buffet, and to those I met, yes, my kids did really love the huge lollipops and we’ll be taking pictures with them later this year, so no, they didn’t eat them)! Lollipops bigger than a child’s head can definitely make you an “awesome” mom in the eyes of a 2- and 4-year old! From Alfred Angelo’s new line of Disney Princess gowns to David Tutera discussing his upcoming season of My Fair Wedding and Carley Roney Co-founder of TheKnot and TheBump, we knew that this would be the start of a great event!

We headed over to the Seven Seas Lagoon for a beach party with our families, and I knew at that point that my boys were hooked on Disney! From meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto to playing carnival games while eating cotton candy, it was definitely the start of memories that we hope they will remember forever (at least through pictures)!

As our families headed into the parks on Day 2, the Social Media Moms were lucky enough to hear from speakers like Facebook's Matt Jacobsen, Chris Brogan and Rene Syler following opening remarks from Meg Crofton, the president of Walt Disney World! And Fran Capo has given me a new slogan too, “Live every day as if it’s your last because someday it will be!” Now, I know I will never be as much of an adventurer as Fran, but her enthusiasm and approach to life is something that everyone should take to heart!

Chris Brogan is also amazingly witty and willing to take a chance with his words! Although soft-spoken at times, his opinions on the world of social media and how each individual can intertwine themselves is definitely something to consider when moving ahead! You can read about his tips at ChrisBrogan.com!

Rene Syler is truly just one of us, a mom, a blogger, and definitely into social media, but she should have her own show! I know I would tune into it! You may recognize her name from TV news or from her book, Good Enough Mother, but her honesty and sincerity is heartfelt when she talks! It’s great to hear someone say what you really feel…because I totally agree that dinner out of a can is good enough somedays! (box too, because I work and don’t always have time and I’d rather play)!

We wrapped up Day 2 of the conference with a performance by Georgia Stitt and Susan Egan! It was phenomenal to see a Beauty and the Beast Medley performed in person since Belle is definitely one of my Disney favorites! The day was followed by dinner at Lights, Motor, Action at Hollywood Studios hosted by Disney Junior (formerly Playhouse Disney). There is nothing that can surpass an evening when kids and adults can dance to Sharkley and Bones and meet Captain Hook, Sully, and Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates plus Agent Oso, Handy Manny, and see some of their favorite Disney characters again!This event definitely was on the top of the list for memories for my boys!

Following a Meet & Greet with a Disney Chef and Sommelier over breakfast, I headed to the parks with my family for a day of fun. Day 3 in the parks was followed by a celebration dinner for the Disney Magic of Healthy Living weekend event at Epcot. My kids will always remember the fireworks at Illuminations! following dessert! The awe and amazement on a young child’s face is just something you can’t explain, but it is definitely a memory I will carry with me forever!

There were so many memories made during the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration! A big thanks goes out to my husband who tirelessly trekked through the parks with two boys over the weekend while I was at conference events making sure they made it to every ride on the “to-do” list before leaving! I think we will be in Disney withdrawal for awhile now and my boys continue to ask when we’ll be going back! Luckily for them, we had already planned a family vacation for later this year…it just won’t have as many amazing parties in the evenings! Thank you Disney and the Disney Social Media Moms Planners for including us in this year’s Social Media Moms Celebration!

Disclosure: The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration was a conference. We were provided with special access to activities, some meals and gifts, and discounted resort accommodations as part of our conference fees. Transportation to and from the resort was paid for by our family, including the stay at hotels before and after the conference in Orlando, Florida. No additional compensation was received.

Traveling Adventures with Two Monkeys

We travel a lot for work and as a family, not only extended vacations but day trips and short weekend adventures too! After answering what seemed like a million questions this weekend about the easiest way to fly with young kids while waiting in the stroller line at the Orlando airport, we thought we would start sharing our adventures, traveling tips, and how we survive with two young boys running on limited sleep! Some tips you’ve probably heard before, maybe you’ve even ventured to the same places. Regardless, hopefully, we’ll all be able to share how much fun you can have traveling with your kids and the amazing places you can visit if you just open your eyes and look!

I’ll never assume that we do it right! We over-pack, take too much luggage, and always bring too much home because sometimes cotton candy is just as much a souvenir as a toy (but it takes up a lot of space)! Oh and on day trips, we’ll forget the diaper bag or the stroller, but forgetting can make the adventure so much more fun because then it gives us a chance to seek out local establishments and shopping too!

I hope you’ll stop by and include your tips from time to time in the links or leave me a comment! I’m planning to write about our adventures, tips, tricks, or things we love every Wednesday and supplement with posts on Saturdays, so jump in your car or hop on a plane and go somewhere! Your kids will remember it forever whether it’s camping, going to the zoo or museum, visiting Disney World or someplace more exotic…memories are made at every opportunity so pack your bags and go!

You don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve seen it with your own eyes, so get out there and see everything because you’ve only got this life to experience it all! I'd love it if you share your favorite places to visit too or great tips for traveling with kids!

Southern California Youth Relief Run for Japan with Josh Duhamel (#reliefrun)

In an effort to raise money for Japan, actor Josh Duhamel (“When in Rome,” “Transformers”) is hosting a 2-mile Relief Run in Santa Monica, CA this coming Sunday, March 27. You can find all the details about the Relief Run, where to meet, entrance cost (only $10) with all fees going to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Assistance Fund!

Even if you're not in Southern California, but may have readers that are, pass the word along and help raise money for Japan! Josh Duhamel will be running alongside all the runners who come out to run this weekend!

Send out information on Twitter using #reliefrun and find out more information on Facebook! Pass the word for this great cause!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Costume Discounters - Not just for Halloween, great designs for anytime! Review

In our house there is always time for dress-up and when you drive past the Cowboys stadium on a daily basis on your way to work, you just have to include a Cowboys uniform to be a true Texan! Costume Discounters is not just for Halloween, they have a huge selection of boys costumes and sports costumes that can be used throughout the year and the quality is amazing!

My son loved his Boys NFL Cowboys Helmet and Uniform Set (ball not included). He's only 2, and we purchased a Medium so we could pull it on over clothes for dress-up! This has been one costume that has been fought over in our house...because when you live in North Texas, it doesn't matter what team your mom and dad may like, you just dream of growing up to be a Cowboy!

We had a hard time choosing which costume to review because there are just so many amazing options at really great prices. Our Cowboys uniform is priced at only $39.97, and although the helmet is not made for contact sports, it's definitely not flimsy plastic either. The uniform and helmet set is made by Franklin and even comes with iron-on numbers so you can customize your jersey for your little football player! Don't worry, if the Cowboys aren't your team, you'll likely find your teams' uniform too!

Oh, and if you're looking for the perfect dress-up items, don't pass up on costumes like Buzz Lightyear (Deluxe for only $35.97) or Cinderella (Prestige for $49.97, Standard for $17.97). My sons loved the Buzz Lightyear Costume, so I think we'll be ordering this one for dress-up or Halloween soon! The costumes are great quality and shipping is free when you spend $70 right now too! There are also beautiful costumes for adults too!

Disclosure: We received the complimentary product mentioned above for review in exchange for our honest opinions. No additional compensation was received.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

One last memory of winter...

This snow puppy loves winter....and yes, he loves his jacket....we do live in Texas after all! He may have been born in Pennsylvania so he knows how to run in the snow...but he has since forgotten how to grow that undercoat! Time for spring storms in lieu of snow storms...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hope you have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! We'll be celebrating by wearing green, searching out an Irish pub to listen to great music, and telling our kids all about the little leprechauns! Oh...and hoping to find a little pot of gold hiding somewhere (but we hope that every year)!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Deep Thoughts with a Preschooler...

Some days life revolves around fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars and other days...there are the real big life questions....or at least in the mind of a 4-year old...

This week's conversation went something like this...
4-year old: "Mommy, this is going to be a life question, promise I won't ask anything else about Lego pieces, promise!"
me: "Ok, what did you want to talk about" (thinking he must have been saving this one up since we've been talking about Legos all week)
4-year old: "Mommy...(long pause)...why do they make light poles so high in the sky and how come electricity is only on some light poles....you know those ones that look like trees...but without lights? and how do they get the wires so long?"
me: (wondering how this is a life question...attempts an answer before being interrupted) "Well, light poles are tall so that the light can shine on bigger areas so they need less of them, the ones with the wires carry electricity to our house.."
Interrupted by 4-year old: "But Mommy, I thought Mother Nature made electricity when she made lightning and all those loud thunder bangs"
me: "that's a different kind of electricity than the electricity going to our house..."
Interrupted by 4-year old: "Ok, so how does the electricity from Mother Nature get into the wires?"
me: (feeling defeated) "It's different, the electricity at our houses is different from nature's electricity...let's just say that nature's electricity is helped out by God..."
Interrupted by 4-year old: "Oh, so that's why it looks cool when you peak out the window and can make so many loud noises!"
me: "Yep, that's right!" (seemed like a good opportunity to let the 4-year old win)

Every night, we have question time with our kids....we started it about a month ago with our 4-year old as a way to open the lines of communication now while he's young. Our 2-year old asked that he be able to start question time this week too! It's been pretty fun so far and hoping it continues as they grow older!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Finding Me Mondays....starting anew...well trying to!

So I took a break from Finding Me Mondays, to really try to figure out how to "find me"...I wasn't really going anywhere...but up on the scale and that isn't what I was hoping for so something just wasn't working....I think this will become more of a monthly update, but we'll see!

We joined a new gym that has a lot of energy and have been pretty good at getting there most days...albeit, not necessarily to work out ourselves, but we can play soccer on the indoor field with the boys or throw a football with them, swim indoors and in the summer outdoors...so really it is changing our overall lifestyle. I am hoping it's a step in the right direction...I need something! I won't be making my goal of fitting into the red dress this summer, but I've decided I'm okay with that as long as I am on the path to a healthy lifestyle not just for me, but for the entire family....

It means the house will be messier, we might eat at the gym's cafe more (but at least it's fairly inexpensive and healthy)...and our schedule at work will change to make more time for the boys at night and less days off....but hopefully it will all pay off in the long run! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can make a transition to a healthy lifestyle that pays off for our kids....and at least right now our boys ask to go to the gym every day! Once our youngest gets past some of the separation anxiety, we'll drop them off in child care some evenings for more gym time...but for now, it's memory-making time!

Oh, and I also downloaded the Couch to 5K app, so we'll see how that works...my plan is to start that next week once the body has adjusted to the time change...hoping that my heart can take the jogging! I am still tired of being the one behind the camera every time and am ready to be the one in front of the camera (smiling) more often! I don't want my kids to wonder what I looked like when they were young! I want them to be proud of me and know that I am healthy and will be there to take care of them!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Giveaways with extremely low entries...and I think you'd really love them!

Don't forget to enter Mr. Bo Finds a New Home...the winner will receive an autographed copy of the book and it is truly a heartwarming story! (Ends 3/18) and there aren't many entries for SafetyTats either and there really should be....every kid should be wearing one of these on family outings (just in case)...so don't forget to enter! (Ends 3/24)

Friday, March 11, 2011

Surfin' Saturdays - Google Friends Week! Yea! So fun to meet new people and find new blogs!

Welcome to Surfin' Saturdays hosted by Chubby Cheeks Thinks, Two Monkeys & a Washtub, And Then There Were Four and The Coupon Challenge and Dandy Giveaway!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

SafetyTat Review & Giveaway - Easing Parent's Minds in Crowded Places! - Extended

EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR ENTRY!

I am blessed with one very cautious boy who likes to always hold hands and stay nearby and one very adventurous boy determined to make his own way in the world....that leaves for a tired mommy and daddy at the end of an outing making sure that everyone is safe! Whether it's going to the zoo, the grocery store, or zipping through an airport, kids can slip out of your hand and around a corner before you can blink (or at least that is how it feels)! I am so happy that I have the opportunity to tell you about SafetyTat, one product that we truly can't live without!

SafetyTat makes two styles of temporary tattoos for kids: original and quick stick write-on! We had the opportunity to try both styles of temporary tattoos and feel that both have advantages depending on where you are heading! The Original SafetyTat Child ID Tattoos are much like traditional temporary tattoos and are applied with water and last from 1 to 5 days (although the manufacturer recommends reapplying daily, if needed). The Original SafetyTat temporary safety ID tattoo comes pre-printed with one line of customization. You choose your design (we picked Stanley Train), select a quantity, and add your phone number.

We've used these in the swimming pool (indoor this time of year) and at many outdoor activities and have shown our kids that if they can't find us to show someone the phone number for help. Hopefully we never have to experience it, but I'd rather they be prepared! Through showers, sandboxes, and rough and tumble boys (at times), these have held up well past the 1 to 5 days with a still easily visible phone number.

In addition to the "if LOST, please call:" SafetyTats, you can also order the original SafetyTat with two lines of text and there are also SafetyTats that include medical conditions, allergies, and more which is great for summer camps, school, or children with special needs.

We also had the opportunity to try the Quick Stick Write-On which is so great for outings with grandma and grandpa or when cell phones just decide they no longer want to work anymore so you need to change numbers! My boys loved having zoo animals on their tattoos, so that made these even more fun (many designs are available)!

The Quick Stick Write-on! is packaged blank, so you can fill in your information with the provided SafetyTat pen. Quick Stick Write-Ons will last an extra long time — up to two weeks when applied following the directions!

One additional great feature of SafetyTat is the TatBuilder that allows you to customize your SafetyTat to include medical alerts, field trip, in case of emergency, and a few more options too!

Buy It!

You can purchase SafetyTats beginning at $9.99 for the Quick Stick Write-On Packs, but through March 23rd, you can save 10% on your order of $15 or more with the code TwoMonkeysandaWashtub

Win It!

One winner will receive a pack of the Quick Stick Write-On Safety Tats! This giveaway will end on March 31st (Extended) at 10:00PM Central. I'll email the winner who will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen!

Mandatory Entry!

Visit SafetyTat and let me know which product (include the item name) your family needs and what adventure you can't wait to use it on! (Be sure to include your email so I know how to get a hold of you)

Extra Entries!

(If it states 2 extra entries, please leave 2 comments)

Follow me on Google Friend Connect (see right hand side bar) (+1 extra entry)

Like Two Monkeys & a Washtub on Facebook (+3 extra entries)
Like SafetyTat on Facebook (+3 extra entries)

Subscribe to Two Monkeys & a Washtub by e-mail/RSS feed (+2 extra entries, you can do both)
Follow monkeyswashtub on Twitter (+1 extra entry)
Follow SafetyTat on Twitter (+1 extra entry)
Enter this giveaway in a giveaway linky (+3 extra entries/linky entered)
(come back and leave me a link with the ~#)
Tweet up to 3x daily, must be 1hr apart, leave one comment with the link to your tweet (up to 3 extra entries daily):

Win SafetyTats for your kids to ease your mind in crowded places @monkeyswashtub from @SafetyTat! http://goo.gl/fb/Xgec7 US- Ends 3/31 NOW!

Vote for me on the Fence (+2 extra entries daily)

Disclosure: I received complimentary product from SafetyTat through Mom Spark Media for review in exchange for my honest opinions. No additional compensation was received.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Surfin' Saturdays...it's all about facebook!

Welcome to the 30th Surfin' Saturdays hosted by Chubby Cheeks Thinks, Two Monkeys & a Washtub, And Then There Were Four and The Coupon Challenge and Dandy Giveaway!

We kindly ask that you follow these simple requests

Follow the hostesses in the first four spots (We will follow you back! Just please leave a comment letting us know that you are following us!)
Please only link up the network that is being hopped that specific week.
No spam please. These will be removed.
It would be wonderful if you are linking up this week if you could add our button to your sidebar or in a post to help spread the word! :) The more people that join, the more fun it will be!
If someone follows you please feel free to follow them back! If you follow me and leave a comment you are guaranteed a follow back!

This is a new list every Saturday, so please remember to come back and link up!

This week is Facebook!

Please link up only your Facebook Page!

I think I've finally figured out the issue with my facebook page, so if you've liked me recently...please let me know so I can return the favor...I was having some major issues even accessing it the past couple of weeks! Thanks so much!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Back in my younger days...

I still laid on the couch all day....loved having my picture taken...and couldn't live without my bandannas! Just wish I could always stay young...it's never fair how quickly us big dogs age!