PhotoHunt: Thankful

This photo was taken on Thursday evening. It shows a moment when I was thankful that the three of them were coexisting peacefully. Nobody was whining, nobody was complaining, and nobody was bickering. It lasted a whole five minutes.

To play along or to see more "thankful" photos, visit tnchick.com. Thanks for stopping in this week to view mine!

Psoriasis, Raptiva, and Brain Infection?

If you read my blog regularly, then you know I don't usually make FYI posts. In this case, I think that psoriasis is such a common condition and unfortunately too many people just take whatever medications are prescribed to them without even a question. So if you take the drug Raptiva or know someone who does, it can only help you to be aware of possible risks.

According to this article about Raptiva PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy), it is a viral infection of the brain that is rare but deadly. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty scary to me. This infection is most common with people who suffer from certain medical problems who also take this drug. For more information, visit http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=32883&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.raptivapml.com.

More possible Raptiva side effects are increased risk of other serious infections such as meningitis and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. Anyhow the point of this post is to remind you to stay informed and ask questions. You may read many different studies favoring both sides, but remember to consider the source. You can also ask your doctor or pharmacist about recommending alternative medications. Some doctors today may even have homeopathic treatments to suggest. You never know until you ask.

3 Giveaway Winners: Honey Kix Prize Packs

It is time to draw the 3 winners of the Honey Kix Prize Packs! I will do this with the help of my handy Random.org widget. And the winners are . . .

Out of 350 entries:

1st Winner . . .

True Random Number Generator Result: 48

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Carolyn G said...
I tweeted:http://twitter.com/carogonza/status/1227655643
February 19, 2009 1:49 PM

***********************************************

2nd Winner . . .

True Random Number Generator Result: 67

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Creative Mom said...
Programming my coffee maker makes my morning routine better. When I have my caffeine fix, than 4 kids don't seem so hard at 6am. teraustin@mindspring.com
February 19, 2009 8:14 PM

***********************************************

3rd Winner . . .
True Random Number Generator Result: 162

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Ally in WA said...
I simplify the routine by getting up 2 hours early and doing yoga and a little meditation. Things seem to go smoother if i am in balance. espressogurl(at)hotmail(dot)com
February 21, 2009 4:26 AM

Thank you to all who entered this giveaway! I will send each winner an official email notification. Please respond within 48 hours to claim your prizes.

Hello, Hello Kitty!

I decided that

The Easter Bunny should leave

Kenzie's first necklace.

Who she really loves

Is her stuffed Hello Kitty.

So the search begins.

Don't want one from Zales

Nor some bling from Baby Phat.

Just a silver one.

I seriously never thought it would be so hard to find a sterling silver Hello Kitty pendant for my daughter. Everything that I've come across online or even on Ebay has not been for children. The one simple silver one I found was sold by someone who had horrible feedback. I've learned from past experience that I shouldn't risk it. Anyone else have any ideas that would be cute if my Hello Kitty search ends in failure?

To find out how to play along or to read more haikus, visit Christina at A Mommy Story!

Giveaway Winner: Stride Rite Shoes

First of all, I would like to apologize for my blog having been misbehaving the past few days. Every comment left was received even though you may have gotten a message saying "Blog not found." Now it's time to draw the number for the lucky winner of one pair of Stride Rite shoes of their choice.

Out of 437 entries, the winner is . . .

True Random Number Generator Result: 83

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Heather M said...
I Love these shoes! http://www.striderite.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=1930&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=326&iSubCat=328&iProductID=1930&sColor=718 in a 6!My daughter needs some good sandals for Summer and these look great! Very cute!! Thanks e-mail: hmahan_0529@yahoo.com
February 20, 2009 11:59 AM

Congratulations Heather! I will send you an official email notification. Please respond within 48 hours to claim your prize. Thank you to all who entered this contest!

Review: Children's Triaminic Thin Strips

Recently, I read the Triaminic Sick Day Guidelines for the very first time and realized that it is exactly the same policy to which my son's preschool adheres. I have always been thankful for these guidelines because we are often uncertain about whether we should keep our son home from school or not. I've always had it drilled into me that it was frowned upon to miss school when I was growing up, so having these guidelines makes the decision much easier for me.

According to the Triaminic Sick Day Guidelines, you should consider keeping your child home if he or she . . .

1) Has a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher
2) Has been vomiting
3) Has symptoms that prevent him or her from participating in school, such as excessive tiredness or lack of appetite
4) Productive coughing, sneezing
5) Headache, body aches, earache, sore throat*

*A minor sore throat is usually not a problem, but a severe sore throat could be strep throat even if there is no fever. Other symptoms of strep throat in children are headache and stomach upset. Contact your pediatrician as your child needs a special test to determine if it is strep throat.

I have to admit that I have been shying away from giving my son cold medicines after all the press about proper dosage, etc . . . Well, Triaminic has found a way to resolve this without forcing children to take tablets, which are choking hazards. The Children's Triaminic Thin Strips for children 4 and up ensure that my child is given the exact recommended dosage every time. I was worried about having medicine that would sit on my son's tongue because he may have a hard time with it if he did not care for the taste. I was pleasantly surprised when I gave one to my 5 year old. He did not mind the taste at all and the strips actually dissolve completely within seconds.

If I have to give my son cold medicine, Children's Triaminic Thin Strips would be my top choice. It seemed to work well on my son's congestion and it saves us the trouble of staining his clothes with red cough syrup. ;P

Visit the Triaminic website for tips on how to prevent and treat colds, coughs, flu symptoms, and allergies. If you would like to try either the Children's Triaminic Thin Strips or SoftChews, click on the banner below to snag a coupon for a savings of $1.50 .

Silly Monkey Stories: Big Brother Says

While looking at the following photos, you might wonder, "What's with all the corn stuck on these two monkeys' faces?"

Well, the answer is simple really! Their big brother told them to eat like dogs and I guess it sounded like a good idea.

Click here to learn how to participate in Silly Monkey Stories.

Click here to read all my Silly Monkey Stories!

If you have a Silly Monkey Story to share, sign Mr. Linky below with the link to your blog post (not the link to your main blog page). Please do not forget to visit the other participates and leave them comments to let them know you stopped by!

A Toy for the Sole

My 5yr old thinks these are the coolest shoes around. They have SuperBalls built into the soles to give them more bounce. Anyways, I thought they would make an interesting photo for Ruby Tuesday.

If you'd like to see more red photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!

Giveaway & Review: Dreambox Learning Math Game [CLOSED]

Recently, Jake and I were invited to try out a new online math game for children grades K-2 called Dreambox Learning. This game has been featured in the New York Times and USA Today, so I was eager to have my 5yr old try his hand at it. After you read my thoughts on this game, you are cordially invited to sign up for a 14-day free trial for Dreambox Learning.

Here is what I like about Dreambox Learning:

1) It starts off with an activity that actually measures what level the game will start your child on.

2) The child can choose from many different characters to play.

3) While registering, the password is not a series of letters or numbers, the child only needs to pick a graphic. The next time they sign in, they only need to select the correct graphic to login successfully.

4) The instructions for the game are easy to understand and are given verbally, so there are no road blocks if your child has not mastered the art of reading yet.

5) The games are engaging and challenging. Each level targets a particular skill.

6) Dreambox Learning tracks your child's progress and emails progress reports to the parents. Here is a sample of one of the emails I have received . . .

"Congratulations! Jake successfully completed a group of DreamBox Learning lessons. In this group of lessons Jake learned to build amounts up to 10 making use of parts in relation to the whole amount. The counters available for his use were arranged in chunks of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10. As the lessons progressed Jake was encouraged to make use of the larger chunks, in particular the group of five. "

8) Once your child has reached a milestone, there is a certificate of achievement you can print out and present to him or her.

9) Each account can hold 4 different characters, so this would work out great for any household with more than one child.

One thing I absolutely encourage is not to allow your child to play on his or her own for too long. Since this game becomes increasingly difficult, it is easy for a child to become discouraged. I found that if I help Jake with the first few trials of a new level, that he can catch on and become more confident as the level progresses. Then he is ready to continue unassisted for awhile. Dreambox has a guide for when you should and should not offer help to your child because you want the child to attempt using their skills of logic to figure things out for themselves first. The game is also tracking your child's progress, so if he or she is getting too much help, then the activities will become more difficult too quickly.

If you would like to learn more about Dreambox Learning, there are 5 Dreambox Learning videos available for viewing.

DreamBox Learning K-2 Math Product Tour from DreamBox Learning on Vimeo.

What you can win:
The prize for this contest is 1 Free Month Subscription to Dreambox Learning (worth $12.95). If you sign up for the 2-week free trial, this would be one month in addition to those two weeks.


Limitations:
This giveaway is open to Worldwide entries. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.



How to Gain Entries:
Leave a comment telling me which math skill your child is working on mastering or needs to learn next (i.e. number recognition, addition, etc . . . ). You must do this to be eligible to win this contest.


Extra Entries:

1) Add this blog to your Technorati Favorites. Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so and under what username. Add to Technorati Favorites

2) Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post AND to Dreambox.com . Then come back here and leave a separate comment with the link to your blog post.

3) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave your link in a separate comment.

4) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

5) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

6) Help me promote an upcoming event for my other blog by adding this button to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

<br /> <a href="http://www.ablogofgoodies.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/qq213/ABOGDesigns/Buttons%20N%20Tags/FunWFlowers1.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)

Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Mamalicious Monday: Sharing Blogging With My Son

Since I spend so much time blogging, I thought it would be nice to create a blog for my son. Yes, he is only 5, but he will be closely supervised. All the comments come to my email. Since he only knows how to spell a handful of words, he mainly just dictates to me and I type. He also thinks of things he would like to show in photos, like his artwork for example, and I help him post those as well. I think this would do a great deal to develop his storytelling skills, his spelling, and his reading abilities.

He decided on his own to name his blog Hi 'n' Welcome. He is so enthusiastic about posting, he made five posts on the first day. I am so happy that he can share this part of my life because I don't really know any other bloggers in real life.

If any of you have younger children who have blogs and would like Jake to visit, just let me know and I will add the link to his blog list.

**************************************************************

Join in on Mamalicious Monday, hosted by Heather of The Gift Closet, and you will be entered in a drawing to win a great prize each week you play along. All you have to do is post about something related to being a mama . . . which can just about be anything.

Transitioning to a New Domain Name

I am in the middle of making a transition to the domain name www.3Garnets2Sapphires.com. I apologize in advance if any part of my blog is behaving oddly. My other blog transitioned in less than a day, so hopefully this one will too. Thanks in advance for your patience.

My Photos (W/E 2-21-09)

"Tale of a Princess & Her Spatula"

"13 Going On 2"

"Cooper Mini or Mini Cooper?"

"Cheeky Princess"

"Self-Love"

Thanks for stopping by to view my photos this week! If you'd like to see more or to play along, visit Lotus over at Sarcastic Mom.

Sunday Smile: ATM Humor

I almost had nothing to post for Sunday Smile this week again, but then I received this email from a friend of mine. Thanks for the save Christine!

A new sign in the Bank Lobby reads:

'Please note that this Bank is installing new Drive-through ATM machines enabling customers to withdraw cash without leaving their vehicles. Customers using this new facility are requested to use the procedures outlined below when accessing their accounts. After months of careful research, MALE & FEMALE Procedures have been developed Please follow the Appropriate steps for your gender.'

*******************************

MALE PROCEDURE:

1. Drive up to the cash machine.

2. Put down your car window.

3. Insert card into machine and enter PIN.

4. Enter amount of cash required and Withdraw.

5. Retrieve card, cash and receipt.

6. Put window up.

7. Drive off.

*******************************

FEMALE PROCEDURE:

1. Drive up to cash machine.

2. Reverse and back up the required amount to align car window with the machine.

3. Set parking brake, put the window down.

4 Find handbag, remove all contents on to passenger seat to locate card.

5. Tell person on cell phone you will call them back and hang up.

6. Attempt to insert card into machine.

7. Open car door to allow easier access to machine due to its excessive distance from the car.

8.. Insert card.

9 Re-insert card the right way.

10. Dig through handbag to find diary with your PIN written on the inside back page.

11. Enter PIN.

12. Press cancel and re-enter correct PIN.

13. Enter amount of cash required.

14. Check makeup in rear view mirror.

15. Retrieve cash and receipt.

16. Empty handbag again to locate wallet and place cash inside.

17. Write debit amount in check register and place receipt in back of checkbook.

18. Re-check makeup.

19. Drive forward 2 feet.

20. Reverse back to cash machine.

21. Retrieve card.

22. Re-empty hand bag, locate card holder, and place card into the slot provided!

23. Give dirty look to irate male driver waiting behind you.

24. Restart stalled engine and pull off.

25. Redial person on cell phone.

26. Drive for 2 to 3 miles.

27. Release Parking Brake.

If you'd like to play along, stop by Kimberly's blog. Thanks for stopping in to view mine!

PhotoHunt: Warm

I love this photo of our cat Tigger. He looks so relaxed and peaceful, but who wouldn't be with the sun shining down on their backside? I wonder if he's dreaming about vacationing in Hawaii?

If you'd like to play along or see what other PhotoHunters came up with for this week's theme, visit tnchick.com!

Giveaway Winner: Pledge Fabric Sweeper

Sorry I'm pulling the winner for the Pledge Fabric Sweeper giveaway so late in the day. Everyone else seemed to have other ideas for what I should be doing with my time, especially my children. So here we go . . .

Out of 206 entries, the winner is . . .

True Random Number Generator: Result: 179

Ginny said...
The rug in our living room is the worst, it gets so bad! Next would be the living room couch :)
February 19, 2009 11:37 AM

Congratulations Ginny! I will be sending you a notification via email. Please respond within 48 hours to claim your prize. Thank you very much to all who took the time to enter this giveaway!

Giveaway & Review: Stride Rite Shoes [CLOSED]

About a week ago, the nice UPS man dropped off a box at my door. Inside this box were three pairs of Stride Rite shoes . . . one for each of my monkeys. I have never seen such an uproar. Even my husband was excited. Can you tell that we were already fans of Stride Rite?

I know you are all dying to get to the giveaway and since you already know that Stride Rite offers only top quality shoes, let me just tell you quickly what I thought about each of the three pairs of shoes . . .

First up is the Baby Rio Sneaker in blue from Stride Rite's Playground Collection for baby boys. These were for my 2yr old son. Here is what impressed me about these shoes:

1) The soles are extremely flexible.

2) There is Velcro on the tongue of the shoe, so it is held in place securely.

3) The technology used in this shoe's construction promises to keep the feet cool and dry.

4) I can machine wash and air dry these sneakers.

5) The curvature of the sole really supports the walking motion of a little one's foot.

As far as the appearance of these shoes goes, they just look like your classic boys sneakers. There are no fun characters or wild colors and will match just about any casual outfit.

Next up is this adorable pair of NMS Gabby mary jane walkers in the Azalea/Begonia color combination. These were for my 2yr old daughter. Here is what I liked about these shoes:

1) The leather is very soft.

2) The Velcro goes all the way across the top of the foot. It is much more secure than shoes that just have the small piece of Velcro on the side.

3) The sole is constructed so there is extra bounce at the ball of the foot.

4) These shoes can be worn with a dress, but they give the security and support of sneakers.

I could do without the bright green accents showing on the side of the sole. I just think it makes the shoe more casual and reduces the range of outfits we could pair these with. I also prefer not to have big bold patterns on shoes, but then I'm not a 2yr old girl. My daughter absolutely fell in love with these before she even tried them on.

Our third and last pair of Stride Rites are these SuperBall 13 II A/C sneakers in black, silver, and red. These were for my 5yr old son who loves super balls, so I don't need to tell you how excited he was to try these on for size. Here is what I found to be impressive about these shoes:

1) The sole is really thick. You get the extra bounce of the SuperBalls without feeling them through the footbed.

2) The strap across the top is woven and is not bulky like other Velcro straps.

3) The tongue is held in place with the fixed elasticized laces.

4) These sneakers are extremely lightweight.

5) These shoes are just plain cool looking!

My 5yr old thinks these are the coolest shoes he's ever seen. He asked me if they were Spiderman's shoes when we first opened the box.

I highly recommend that you use the online e-fit sizing calculator or have your child's foot measured in-store prior to purchasing. I took a stab at what size I thought my children would need, but the shoes I received are about a half size too large for them. That is why you do not see photos of my little ones monkeying around in their new shoes.


What you can win:

The prize for this contest is the winner's choice of one pair of Stride Rite shoes. The winner may choose the style and size of shoe from Stride Rite's in-stock selection. If the shoe chosen is unavailable, the winner will be asked to make another selection.


Limitations:
This giveaway is for anyone with a mailing address within the U.S. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.



How to Gain Entries:
Browse the selection of Stride Rite shoes. Leave a comment with the link to a style of shoe you would love to own AND tell me who would be wearing them. You must do this at least once to be eligible to win this contest. You may do this as many times as you would like for the duration of this contest for unlimited entries.


Extra Entries:

1) Add this blog to your Technorati Favorites. Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so and under what username. Add to Technorati Favorites

2) Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave a separate comment with the link to your blog post.

3) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave your link in a separate comment.

4) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

5) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

6) Help me promote an upcoming event for my other blog by adding this button to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

<br /> <a href="http://www.ablogofgoodies.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/qq213/ABOGDesigns/Buttons%20N%20Tags/FunWFlowers1.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)

Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!