If you are a serious blogger, then you may very well suffer from blog smog. What is "blog smog"? It is the breath you develop after sitting in front of your computer for hours on end without opening your mouth.

Luckily, my children save me from having blog smog. I am constantly opening my mouth to get out a "hey, if you can't share, then I'm going to take it" or a "could you stop yelling please . . . I can't hear myself type". Just another way my beautiful children make my life better.

Help minimize blog smog by joining the campaign to make face time!

Today, I ran my first live contest for 5 prize packs featuring the Geico Gecko. Here are the five lucky winners:

This is a live contest! Watch this short video and then follow the easy instructions on how to enter below.

What you can win:
5 lucky winners will each win all three items shown below . . .


The prize pack includes:

- a Geiko Gecko bobblehead doll
- a plush gecko
- a gecko neck pillow


Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. 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:
Watch the short video at the top of this post. You must do this to be eligible to win this contest.

After you've watched the video, you can leave an unlimited number of comments as long as your comments have to do with geckos, cats, or auto insurance. Yes, you can post consecutively, but you can only win one prize pack per household. The FIVE winners will be comments #5, #22, #38, #73, #105. The contest will end when there are 105 valid comments.

Any inappropriate comments or comments not relating to geckos, cats, or auto insurance will not be counted. Good luck and have fun!

Last week, we attended the Special Care Nursery reunion where the twins spent week 3 though week 5 of their lives as preemies. I hope to have a chance to post more about the reunion at another time. Today I wanted to talk about this cookie.


I helped Kenzie decorate this sugar cookie at the reunion. After all 3 kiddos had a decorated cookie, we took them over to a table to enjoy them. Jake ate all the candy off his in a matter of seconds. We had to break Luke's up for him because it was so huge. His had blue frosting and he managed to only get a little bit on his clothes. Kenzie, on the other hand, would not eat any part of the cookie that had frosting on it. I tried to pop a piece in her mouth and she acted like I was trying to make her eat a piece of asparagus rolled in raw liver.



I ended up having to eat all the frosted parts of the cookie and she ate the edges. Ahhh . . . the things a parent has to do for the sake of their child. ;P

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!

By some stroke of luck, our Exergen TemporalScanner thermometer arrived the day after our 5yr old came down with his first serious cold virus of the year. Then our 2yr old twins caught the cold soon after that. I've never completely trusted our oral thermometer because I've heard that they usually read a little lower than the actual body temperature. I definitely don't feel comfortable taking a 5yr old's temperature rectally. We have owned an ear thermometer, but it was difficult to judge how far to insert the tip and I was always afraid to hurt my son.

This temporal artery thermometer, which was created in Boston and is currently utilized in major hospitals all over the U.S., is so easy to use. All you need to do is remove the cap, hold down the button, place the scanner flush against the center of the subject's exposed forehead, slowly move the scanner across the forehead all the way to the hairline at the temple, and release the button.

What impressed me about the Exergen TemporalScanner:

1) It is beyond easy to use.

2) The readings appear to be accurate provided you follow the tips listed below.

3) This thermometer is non-invasive. My children do not mind this method of taking their temperature at all. The other methods all caused them unneeded stress and discomfort in some way.

4) There is not mercury in this product as there is in traditional thermometers.

5) This product is safe to use on people of all ages, including infants.


Some things to keep in mind when using this temporal artery thermometer are . . .

- Keep the forehead area uncovered by bangs, hats, blankets, pillows, etc . . .
- Always leave the cap on when not in use so you keep the sensor clean and free of debris.
- Do not take multiple readings consecutively. After a couple of scans, try to wait a short period of time in between readings.

The Exergen TemporalScanner is available for purchase at many major retailers such as Walmart, Babies R Us, and Walgreens and online at those companies' websites as well as on Drugstore.com and BabyCenter.com .


Thank you to Exergen and the Family Review Network for this opportunity.

What you can win:
The prize for this contest is one Exergen TemporalScanner thermometer of your very own.


Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. 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:
Tell me how many cases of fever there were in your household this past winter season (including both adults and children). You must do this to be eligible to win this contest.


Extra Entries:


1) Take a look at the list of retailers who carry the Exergen TemporalScanner. Then leave a comment telling me which retail store or website is where you would most likely purchase one of these thermometers.

2) 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

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

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

5) 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.

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

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

Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Monday, April 6th, 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!

Do you want to know what I did last Saturday night? I spent hours looking online for the right organizer for myself. Can you stand the excitement?

My husband agreed that I need "office hours" to be able to keep up with all the reviews, giveaways, blog designs, and my poor neglected Sillymonkeez.com . This doesn't even include the time I spend making personal blog posts, chatting it up on the MomDot and SuperMoms World forums.

I've tried using a PDA and I am currently using a calendar on my laptop. Neither one of those were working well for me because I need to multiple lists . . . one for high priority items and one for things I need to fit in when I can. There is something about checking something off or crossing it out on paper that helps to motivate me. With the calendar on my laptop, I sometimes snooze an item 20 times and, before you know it, it's been put off for 2 weeks.

I actually found these refills called Day Runner PRO and they actually start in April 2009. I thought that it must be fate. Well . . . I'm not sure I believe in fate, but these planning pages look like they might be the right fit for me. I use to schedule everything I did, even doing the dishes. I need to start doing that again, including scheduling activities with my children. The days just fly by and on some days I feel so guilty that we didn't do anything fun before it ended.

I hope this little book will help me. Do any of you WAHM have any tips or tricks to share about managing your time?

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.

Here are some fun ideas to liven up your child's Easter basket this year. These will definitely be nice additions to all the oldies but goodies, like chocolate bunnies and bottles of bubbles.

There are two movies that were released on DVD this week . . . Happily N'Ever After 2 and Care Bears Cheer, There & Everywhere. All three of my children love the Care Bears because there is just something magical about them. If you are like me and you have not seen the original Happily N'Ever After, then you should know that this movie and the newly released sequel are available in a 2-pack for just $29.98 (while they sell separately for $19.98 each). Care Bears Cheer, There & Everywhere retails at a better price of only $14.98.

Some upcoming releases for late spring/early summer are . . .

April 21st - Wolverine And The X-Men: Heroes Return Trilogy

May 12th - 25th Anniversary Edition of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7

May 12th - Speed Racer The Next Generation: Comet Run The Movie

May 12th - LeapFrog Letter Factory and LeapFrog Talking Words Factory

I think we already own all the LeapFrog learning DVDs, but my 5yr old son will surely look forward to the new Speed Racer movie. That's what he chose as the theme for his 5th birthday celebration. ;P

It's time to draw the winner of the awesome Shidonni Online Drawing Game for Kids! Out of 19 entries, the winner is . . .

Congratulations! I will send an official notification via email right away. Please respond within 48 hours to claim your prize.

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If you have a child in daycare or preschool, then you probably have been bombarded with the phrase "Label everything!" My son is in his last year of preschool and up until now, I have just labeled everything with a Sharpie, whether it's a coat, a pair of snow boots, or a backpack.

There are a lot of label companies out there, but Oliver's Labels has convinced me to put down my Sharpie and try something new. They sent me a variety of labels to test out. I asked my 5yr old son to help me choose onto what we should put the Original name labels and the mini labels. The first things we thought of were his Disney Mix Max (MP3 player) case and his Leapster 2 carrying case. The reason why these were the logical choices is because Oliver's Labels comes with "Found-it codes" that are the key to their Found-it Tracking System. Each code corresponds with your email address. If the item is found, the person who finds it can alert Oliver's Labels who will then in turn contact you. Your personal information is never given out.


Since my son is required to wear snow boots to school on snowy days, we thought it would be a great idea to use the shoe labels on his sneakers, which have to accompany him to school in his backpack.