Winner Winner!

Winner of the Cute As A Button $25 gift certificate is....Keep in mind I only counted 22 entries because the last 3 were performed after the giveaway's closing. I was just a little slow in drawing the winner. 

Megs, who said....

Now that I can officially follow you :)... I think I would get Ry a Tutu, cuz she would freaking love it!!!!

Congrats Megan!! I'm headin off to email you, you have 48 hrs to respond.          

  If you are a sponsor & would like for me to review your product or do a giveaway, please click the 'Contact Me' tab at the top to get with me! :)  

Gorgeousness

Isn't my blog just beautiful? I heart it. Thank you SO much Zany Blog Dezigns! Amber was very patient, sweet & EVEN installed my blog before my paypal would allow me to send payment to her! That is just awesome. Thanks for being so sweet! <3

I'm sure I will return to her for any other blog work I need done, she is so quick! I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a new look. Go check her out!!

Oh & leave me some comments about the gorgeous look! I'll comment ya right back :) hehe

GTKY Sunday! (And last few days to enter my giveaway!)

As usual, I'm hookin it up with Keely from Mannlands for the GTKY Sunday edition! Head on over to Keely's if you want to do it too! (all the cool kids are...)

Oh yes & only 3 more days for the Cute As A Button $25 gift card giveaway! Go enter now!

Very low entries make me sad :(

1. If you could host a Reality TV show, which one would it be?

Hmm, that's tough. Probably The Biggest Loser. It'd be cool to watch everyone shrink down & even cooler to kick out the soap opera chick.

2. Do you put your seatbelt on before or after you start the car?

After, I think. I seem to always forget SOMEthing in the house before I leave otherwise.

3. Shave or hair removal cream?

Shaving is so much easier. Who has time for that cream??

4. What's your favorite feature in a house?

Big open, airy kitchens & a nice yard away from streets.

5. What is your favorite "Fall" scent?

Leaves, I think. I'm not sure how to pinpoint the scent but just the outdoor FALL smell.

6. What tv show are you looking forward to seeing the most this Fall??

I don't even watch TV series...if I do watch TV, it's usually re-runs of Everybody Loves Raymond or a movie on HBO.

7. Personal Shopper or Personal Chef?

CHEF! Oh man, it would be a dream come true. I hate cooking.

8. What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of "Fall"?

Pumpkins. :) 

Back to the daily grind tomorrow, I've had 4 days off which included a minor surgery & a happy birthday, oh & getting caught up on a bunch of housework (still not ever done though). Buuuut I guess I gotta go make some more moolah now *sigh* I'm off this coming weekend again though, yahoo!!

It's My Birthday!!

I'm old...er  today. A whoppin 23 years! I'm proud of it. I don't think I will be too disappointed until I hit 40, that will be rough.

Today has been fabulous & it's not even over yet. My husband remembered my birthday, which is always a good thing (for him more-so than me).

He told me, "Happy birthday, ya old fart" when he woke up. Thanks honey.

Then he watched the kiddos while my mama took me shoppin for the morning & we went out for breakfast & coffee as well. It was nice & I found some great deals at some discount shops! (Mostly for the boys, but still exciting!)

I received my freebie of 3 Atkin's bars in the mail. 

 

We then went to Papa's house for ice cream cake, my favorite! Forgetting all about that diet I'm on today (What diet??)

 

 

Hubby also got a card for me with gummy bears & twizzlers from the kids.

My mama & papa got me a really sweet card with a couple even sweeter giftcards! Yahoo! Me loves giftcards.

Noah got me a little stuffed puppy that barks...but then he took it back after I opened it. Ha!

Now me & the hubs are home just hanging out until dinner time rolls around, then we're hittin the big city of B-man for some dinner out, I'm thinkin Chili's. Yuuuum!

<3 my family & my friends. I got about a million happy birthday's on Facebook, makes me feel famous! 

Thanks everyone!!

Tooth Soap Review!

Tooth Soap!!

I won a tooth soap prize pack a few weeks back at the Blog Bash Twitter Party (hosted by Supah & Brittany Ciara.)

I got it in the mail yesterday & had to give it a try as soon as I ripped it out of the package! I'm all for natural & organic products so I was super excited. 

I was a little apprehensive because I've heard mixed reviews on this, some saying it's fantastic...others, not so much.

However, I received the Peppermint Tooth Soap, Tooth Rinse & Tooth Whitener. I love the packaging, very cute & simple. Love the glass bottles!

The soap was awesome. Just a few drops in my mouth, start to brush & it foams up like soap! This bottle is gonna last me forever with just a few drops!

The rinse & whitener are powders, but just like the soap, only a little dap will do ya.

I'm very satisfied with the way it made my teeth feel- smooth, clean, & "from the dentist" feel! I will recommend this product to anyone.

So many positives...

• No animal testing!
• No added fluorides, dyes or stabilizers
• No added sweeteners, glycerin, or silicates
• All natural! 

Buy It!-  $29.95 a bottle- Remember, you're only using a few drops! (although they recommend you get a new one after 3 months for freshness)

 Go to toothsoap.com now & try it out!

 

GTKY: Bball player bods, procrastinating, & ANTI-diet soda!

Hookin up with Keely again for GTKY Sunday! Go show her some love, would ya??

1. What kind of athlete has the hottest body?

I'd have to say basketball players, I heart basketball!!

2. Are you a planner or a procrastinator?

There's not a planning bone in my body. It's only because every time I plan, it falls apart. So I decided long ago it wasn't worth it. Last minute is the way to go!

3. Diet or regular (soda)?

Regular. Diet tastes like crap, I don't care what you say! And I'm sorry, but there's something wrong with something that has zero calories, even LETTUCE has calories people!

4. What's your one "must have" for Fall?

Well, this year, I'd just like a few pairs of pants that fit. So that's why I'm tryin to lose weight!

5. What's your favorite fast food restaurant?

Wendys!!! Jr bacon cheeseburgers are da bomb.

6. What do you think is the sexiest profession for a guy?

I think that mechanics are sexy, all dirty & muscular (okay, maybe just the vision of one in my head)

My hubby was a mechanic for a few years & I loved it, even though I hated doing his laundry!!

7. Did you wear braces?

Nope. My teeth have always been straight all by themselves. Smart teeth.

8. Would you rather have a guy that's super sexy or kind?

I agree with Keely, being kind IS sexy. 

Yep, & I'm gonna say it again.

Go enter my giveaway for a $25 gift card to use at Cute As A Button Etsy store!!

Outback, work, & yard sales!

Last night was a good night, different from most Fridays because we usually sit around on our butts (lack of money, of course.)

But Leonel has been selling quite a few Xboxes (& the lil guys were with Nana) so we decided to splurge & head on out to Outback Steakhouse. Oh, yeah, I love me some steak! Yep, violated my diet big time! But it was so worth it.

I got the Outback special- 6 oz steak, fresh veggies & aussie fries (& yes, I got the cheese & bacon on top & a side of ranch! Ack!!)

See that, I got veggies, are you impressed?

Then today, I headed to work as per usual, boring boring Saturday. Anywho...

Before I went, I realized that I was out of coffee & that is just NOT cool for a long day at Walmart hell. So I had to run to Circle K for a quick cup. On my way back, saw a yard sale & stopped. I scored a new lunchbox for .25, a brand new tackle box for $2 (for all of Leonel's tiny itty bitty screws & tools for electronic repairing), one of these....

for only .50! I was pretty stoked.

I'm such a sucker for a good deal.

To top the day off, I came home after a long boring day at work to a spic & span house! Leonel picked up tons of toys, clothes, did the dishes, washed the shower curtain (ew), started laundry, & even vacuumed!

I <3 you darlin.

And in case you don't know....

Enter for a chance to win a $25 gift card to an awesome customizable outfit for your little one! Go here!

A couple more giveaways you should check out!

Flip Flops & Combat Boots is giving away a Scentsy product! Go check out the products!

Only The Curious is giving away a $50 giftcard to Alice.com! Haven't heard of it? Free shipping on everything! Sounds awesome, right?

Have a great Sunday everyone!!

Cute as a Button product review & GIVEaway!

Have a daughter who loves dancing & tutus?

Bows in her hair, too?

Cute As A Button is who you wanna get with. Casey @ Cute As A Button Cute as a Button" specializes in tutus, birthday outfits and hats, bows, headbands, halloween costumes, and special orders.

I met Casey through a mom's group a few years back & when I heard she was opening an Etsy store (still under construction), I wanted to help her out & spread the word about her cute products.

She made my son, Chris, a personalized birthday shirt & party hat for his 4th birthday to review!

Here's a few pics of it in action...

The back of it with his name. Love it!

The front with his brand new age!

And the party hat to match his shirt pattern!

All in all, I have to say I was satisfied with the cute items I received. The only thing the hat needed was some longer string, it was too tight on my 4 yr old & also my 19 month old. Other than that, A+!!

Casey has been generous enough to give a $25 gift voucher for one of my Everyday Mama readers to use on any of her products! Wow!

A couple of my favs....

The Etsy Store can be found here!

I'd also like to mention:

Cute as a Button believes in giving back. A portion of each sale will be donated to The Touched by Nathan Foundation. TBNF is dedicated to helping families with fragile babies.

BUY it:

Head over to Cute As A Button's Facebook page to get in touch with her!

WIN it:

You must be following me publicly to qualify for the giveaway.

Mandatory entry: Head over to Cute As A Button & tell me in a comment what product you would buy if you win!

Extra entries: (you don't HAVE to do these, but you should for more chances to win!)

Each of these is one entry unless specified. Leave a separate comment for each one.

• Join Cute As A Button  group on Facebook
• 'Like' Everyday Mama on Facebook (leave name)
• Follow me on Twitter
• Blog about this giveaway (leave me a link in comment) (+2 entries)
• Send a friend over to 'follow' me via GFC & you will get one extra entry (make sure they mention that you sent them! Friend must be a new follower.) 
• Tweet about this giveaway (can be done once daily!)

RT- #Win a $25 gift cert. to Cute As A Button custom designs @Everyday Mama! Ends Aug 25th.http://tiny.cc/l0aph

Anyone can enter ages 18+, US only!

Please make sure I can find your email.

Giveaway begins 8/12 and ends 8/25 at 10pm.

Winner will be drawn via random.org & emailed.

If I get no response within 48 hrs, a new winner will be drawn.

Thank you & good luck!!

Nice guy in line

Dear Nice Guy In Check-out Lane Behind Me,

Thank you so much for trying to cover my embarassment by handing me a dollar bill when I couldn't dig out .58 in change & went digging instead for my debit card.

Thanks for taking it back after I insisted several times. I didn't wanna feel like a helpless pathetic girl, ya know! But you did brighten my day a little by offering. I thanked you & I hope you know I meant it.

Thanks for waiting patiently as I went through 3 different types of orders, boy am I irritating.

I apologized for making you wait before I scurried off.

Sincerely,

The Silly Blonde Girl Who Wears a Walmart Tshirt

Seriously, though, how sweet was that? When people do simple things like this, it brightens my day & gives me hope for society. After the few angry people I dealt with, having a nice person on my way out the door really flips things upside down.

I'm a simple girl & things like that can make me fall in love with you pretty quick...okay maybe not. But my hubby just has to bring me home a card & I melt in his arms like butter. Who needs Louis Vuitton? (Okay...don't take that seriously, hubby!)

Diet? Yes please!

So I've finally decided I should get off my butt so-to-speak & get ON a diet. I'm not overweight exactly but not where I wanna be. Quick timeline if you care:

Before I got pregnant with Chris: 132 lbs

During pregnancy (highest weight): 173 lbs

After pregnancy (lowest I got) :145 lbs

Before I got pregnant with Noah: 152 lbs

During pregnancy (highest weight): 164 lbs

After pregnancy (lowest) : 116 lbs

Now I lost all that weight after Noah within a few months because I was breastfeeding, I think. It's not falling off that easily this time now! I don't want to weigh 116 again, that was too skinny for me. Just left me with no butt & boobs. So I'm aiming for 120-125, we'll see. I'm thinkin 125 will be fine. I'm 139 right now, at least that's what I was at the Dr a couple weeks ago. I don't own a scale....something I definitely need to grab soon. 

So I joined Myfitnesspal.com. A friend introduced me to it & it is the BEST diet website I've ever come across! It's so simple & it's set up like Facebook (& you know I love facebook!). You can even link it to facebook so that it shows your updates there too!

When you sign up to the site, you put in your age, weight, height & goals & it calculates how many calories you're allowed each day. If you workout that day, it adds more calories to your food intake, how cool is that? So the more you workout, the more you can eat! loveee it.

You can search every food you eat & I've found every single thing I've eaten on the list & they are VERY accurate. Most websites discouraged me because all the ones that were logged were way off so I felt no need to try, I just wrote it down myself. This is addicting. I love to go on after I eat or at the end of the day if I've been at work, I log all my food for the day & see how good I've done. 

I highly recommend this site! If you wanna invite, just shoot me your email & I'll invite you so we can cheer each other on! Oh yes, & I forgot to mention, when you "complete your food entry" for the day, it tells you something like this, "If every day were like today, you'd weigh "....." in 5 weeks." Very encouraging, right??

I hope to be fit by the time winter slaps me in the face. Gotta prepare for those holiday dinners!

Pity party time.

I don't even know what to write tonight. I feel like writing something but can't find the right topic to hold my interest for longer than a few seconds. I need to go running tonight...it's already 9:46 pm....but I can't seem to find the motivation to do it. I feel wiped out today. So freakin sick of my job, it is insanely exhausting & I'm so sick of stress. Sick of alot of things lately.

I just want a job where I don't have to go to work 8 days in a row and make horrible pay. At LEAST if I was making enough to have a more comfortable life, it would kinda be worth it.

I feel so bad every night when I get off work at 6:30, pick up the kids & come home by 7---that is Noah's bedtime. He stays up for maybe 20-30 mins, if he stays up anymore he might just explode with tired insanity. Chris goes to bed at 8 so he isn't much later than that. That 10-6:30 shift breaks up my day so that I have no day. I mean, when I get up at 6am, the kids are up by 7 & I spend the whole morning making coffee, feeding the kids, dressing them, showering, makeup, hair, dressing myself, cleaning up.......ya know???? When does my quality time with my kids come into the mix???

No, instead they have to go 8 full days of hardly seeing mommy. It really breaks my heart. I'm losing quality time with my boys that I'll never get back. These months just keep flying by faster and honestly, I think it's because I'm constantly wishing for my 8 days to be up so I can see them & then after those few days off fly by....I'm back to wishing again.

This is hard for me to talk about because I feel like I whine about it alot....but it's so tough. If there were any other job, I would take it....but there's nothing and I don't even have time to look for another! We barely make enough to get by & it kills me that I waste so much time on problems that can't be erased. Maybe...just maybe if Leonel gets a good job after graduation, I can slow down a little...but that's at least a year from now, if not more. And that's if he finds a job.

We need so many things...but food barely makes its way into our budget so there's no way we can buy other things. This is so troubling for me & I'm glad I can type it out, helps a little. I just don't wanna miss my boys growing up. I don't want them to look back & remember mommy working all the time. I don't wanna miss all their school events, sports, etc.

I want to be able to ENJOY life. This is not what life is about. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm going to blog about because I do the same mundane crap all day every day.

I guess I've had enough of my pity-party. I'm gonna go force myself to take a run.

Wordless Wednesday....

Noah @ 6 months. I miss that baby :(

Working in a pharmacy.....

Okay so I don't know if everyone knows this who hasn't worked in a pharmacy but it isn't as simple as just 'throwing pills in a bottle'. (Quote from a customer today)

Actually, it is much more complex & if we are busy, it is most certain your prescription WILL be delayed. So sorry, nothing we can do about it!!! Our pharmacy takes at least 400 scripts a day & up to 600, depending on the day. Sundays are horridly boring.

Lemme fly through a little scenario....

You come to the window of the pharmacy & drop off a prescription, she takes your info & such & tells you it will be about 20 minutes. This is the minimum, might I add, sometimes it might actually take longer.

After you drop it off, it is scanned into our system & then inputted (directions, dosing, etc) by a technician.

It is then moved to the "Four point" queue. This is only able to be done by a Pharmacist, NO techs. The pharmacist basically checks over the inputting to make sure it is correct.

Next, it is sent to Fill. Depending on how many people are in front of you....it could take awhile before you are up for a fill & also depends on how many techs are filling.

After it is all filled, it is then sent to "Visual Verify" queue. This again, is the final step & is only able to be done by a pharmacist. The pharmacist then bags it up & hands it over to ME, the cashier.

Now...while all this is going on, people are glaring at me, wondering why it is taking so darn long to "throw pills in a bottle." Seriously??

If only one pharmacist is on duty (which is pretty often) & he/she is busy consulting with another patient, on the phone, or doing 100 other things....the last step may take awhile to be finished. This is completely understandable in my own little opinion.

Today was a bad day. People are angry for one reason after another & I thought my head might explode on several of them while I held back terrible words from escaping my lips.

One very common customer who is always really nice to me, I know him by name & know that he pays up front & not at my register. I never see his wife, he picks up all their medicine. He's quiet, 85 years old, and polite.

Not today.

His prescription dosage changed & we had to call the insurance company to get an override or they wouldn't pay for it yet. Well, he just simply did not understand why he had to wait. I tried to explain.

He said, 'Well, are the pharmacists working on it right now?"

Me- "Yes, but it takes some time."

Him- "Can't you check with them to be sure?"

Me- "I can see on my computer."

Him- "Well why are you saying I have to wait?"

Me- "I can't hurry it up any more than I have (I set the priority to "Critical" on my screen), so it will still take a few minutes."

Him,- "It takes that long to throw some pills in a bottle???"

Me- "Sir, it's not that simple, there are many steps that have to be taken to ensure that everything runs smoothly."

*oh sigh* This was the first of many rude interesting customers I had today. Not that it isn't an everyday thing. People just don't GET IT.

So if you're one of those rude people at the pharmacy, please keep this in mind next time you wonder why it isn't done in 10 minutes! :)

A typical "conversation" with my 4 year old.

Starting at approximately 9:30 am today....

Chris blurts out of nowhere, "I wanna take my cars to Robin's (his babysitter) because Zack does. (a 7 yr old at the sitter that Chris calls his best friend)."

Me- "You can take a couple, but you can't take ALL of your cars."
Chris- "Okay. I wanna take all of my race cars."

This is the point in our chats that I just shut up and watch what happens. Because right at this exact point is where no matter what I say, he will argue until...well, I've never seen the end so I can't really say.

So I continue blow-drying & flat-ironing my hair...


Chris- "Where are the bags? Oh wait, here's a bag!" (finds plastic bags stuffed between refrigerator & wall)

This is where I realize this isn't going to be an easy fight to win.

About 5 minutes later....

Chris- (Hauling a very heavy & full plastic bag). "Here are the cars I'm taking to Robin's."
Me- "You can take 3. Not all those, that is way too many."
Chris- "Nooo...THIS is too many (gestures with his arms spread wide open)."
Me- "Nooo, what you have in that bag is too many cars. You can pick 3. That is all."

Grumbles from the 4 year old & dragging the bag behind him, he trots away.

10 minutes later....

"Mom!!! Come look! This is how many I'm taking to Robin's!"

I walk into the dining room where he has many cars all over the floor with probably 4 less in the bag than before.

Me- "No, that's still way too many, Chris. You know how to count to three. Pick 3 and that is all. End of story."

Okay so he continues this off & on for at least another hour. While I'm preparing a casserole to bake, while I'm getting dressed, while Noah naps...etc etc etc. Oh, somewhere in there, he gets a gift in the mail from a far away friend so that distracts him....UNTIL we are getting ready to leave.

It's 12:20 pm.

Needless to say, he still hasn't narrowed down his search.

Me- "We are leaving. Pick 3 out or none at all, let's go." He picks out three, then asks Noah if he wants to take one. Umm, no, nice try, buddy.

He then goes to put them in his bag & I say- "Let me see them." There's four, I tell him to drop one. He drops them all & runs in the corner yelling, 'YOU pick them out, YOU do it!!"

So I pick up 3, toss them in the bag & say, "LETS GO!"

He stomps & cries, "I wanna take MOOOOOREEEE!!!"

Me- "See ya, we're leaving." He follows me reluctantly out the door.

Fast forward to us arriving at Robin's. One of his friends meets us at the door & Chris dives into his bag to find the 3 cars. I watch him unzip the front pocket of his bag, pull out a car THAT I DID NOT PUT THERE & say, "Oh, look, there was one in there!" UHHH NO, he totally planned that out!

I grab it without a pause & say, "Nope, I said three." & toss it into my purse.

Now some of you may think that I should have just let him win this one at the beginning. But I'm not sure you understand how my Christopher works. His life revolves around trying to out-smart me. I'm not sure if he's an average 4 year old or not....but I'm not joking at all when I say that his mission is to outsmart, undermine & sometimes flat out disrespect me. It is exhausting...very very very exhausting.

Just thought I'd share just one of my daily conversations arguments with you. What do you think?? Normal?

Gettin to know ya on a Sunday! Pink escalades rock!

1. If you were to win an award today, what would it be for?

Procrastinator Of The Year Award goes toooooo.......Megan!!!
Hey, it works for me.

2. What is your shoe style?

Hahahahaha, now that is a funny question. Considering I own only 2 pairs of sneakers that fit me (one is a size too small after pregnancy foot growth!!)
and 2 pairs of flip-flops....uh, I would say my shoe style is nonexistent. I'm not really a shoe person at all though.

3 Does your car reflect your personality?
Definitely not.
I think this would fit my personality just fine...

Okay, so it wouldn't have to be pink. I'm not that picky.

4. If you could take over someones body for a day..whose would you choose?

I believe I would choose a man. Wow it sure would be nice to sit around all day, play video games, and not clean up.

5. Love or be loved?

Loving. It has so many rewards that come with it!!

6. If you were on death row, what last meal would you choose?

Pizzaaaaa, lots of pizza.

7. Have you been on vacation this Summer, if so where?

Nope, no vaca for us this year....again. We've never taken a vacation so it's nothin new.
BUT we did go to the zoo yesterday! It was a good time.

8. What is your favorite food related guilty pleasure?

It's a tie between pizza & chocolate. Or both....pizza, THEN chocolate for dessert. Yep.