Summer with Baby

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Jul62012

Living in the South, summertime walks a very fine line. We want to make the most of the great weather, but the “great weather” really only lasts a few hours early in the morning and a few hours just before and right after the sun goes down. Hudson and Hayes were both born in the summer. With a six-week recovery time after giving birth, we spent a whole lot of time inside just trying to stay out of the heat. We saved our outdoor activities for early in the morning or much later in the evening. If we needed to run an errand during the day, we made sure they were all indoor errands.

But there is a time when everyone needs a little bit of fresh air. To make the most of being outside in the summer in the South, we’d load up in the stroller at around 8:30 a.m. and go for a walk for about an hour. I tried to time the stroll to start right after a feeding, and then the baby would always fall asleep early into the walk. It was great for me to just be outside to get some fresh air, and great for the baby to get some fresh air too. When we’d go outside, we’d put Hudson or Hayes in a plain short-sleeved or sleeveless onesie. No footies, long sleeves, or long pants were needed. We needed to make sure that their soft baby skin could breathe, so we didn’t put on clothes that would make them any warmer than necessary.

Hudson, 2 months old

When Hayes was about 3 months old, we went to the beach. I was worried about how to keep Hayes cool while Hudson played. We got Hayes a little tent for babies that has extra sun protection coverage. The tent also had a great floor to keep the sand off of him. When it was time for Hayes to nap, we just laid him down on the floor of the tent and he went right to sleep. We also had a tiny little battery-operated clip-on fan that we put in the tent with him so he’d have some breeze.

Hayes, 3 months old

What are your solutions for making the most of summer with your baby? How do you help your baby beat the heat?

Check out the Huggies Mommy Answers Facebook app!

Find more posts from bloggers sharing their experiences of motherhood on the Huggies page on BlogHer.com.

Win an Android Tablet from Norton

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Jul22012

As a blogger, so much of my life is on my computer. I write blog posts, I send and receive money on Pay Pal, I correspond with readers and guest bloggers, and I just have a good time on my computer. Between Twitter, WordPress, and my email accounts, I’m always typing in password after password to get to the site I want to visit.

I can think of so many different times where I’ve been “locked out” of a site because I couldn’t remember my password. I have so many different passwords and they’re all different, but similar.

I often get confused about which password goes with which login. It’s frustrating and it’s a waste of time. And then all the times that I’m shopping online. Yes, it’s probably too often, but that’s not the point. I shop online more often than I shop in actual stores. And entering my credit card information over and over again just gets old. And I can have accounts at all of my favorite online retailers, but that requires having a password. And I have to remember that password.

Before I was introduced to the Norton Identity Safe program, I had some of my passwords randomly written down on sticky notes in my planner. I had some of my older passwords saved into an Excel file. And how easy is it to actually access that Excel file? Not easy at all. Especially when I’m not at my home computer.

The Norton Identity Safe app allows me to store my passwords, credit card information and form information, and notes all in one very secure location. It helps me determine which websites are secure and which ones aren’t.

The software also tells me when my passwords are “weak” or when they’re “strong” enough. It allows me to fill out annoying forms in just one click. I can finally feel okay about making up new passwords for each account because I’m not afraid of forgetting the password.

Not only am I able to see all of my saved passwords in the Norton Identity Safe program on my computer, but I also have the Norton Identity Safe app on my iPhone and my iPad. I have passwords saved into my Identity Safe Vault and all I have to do is enter my “vault” password to access all of my saved passwords.

When I’m on the go and needed to access so many different secure websites and programs, this makes life so much easier. To login to the Norton Identity Safe mobile add, I have to enter my Norton account information. And then enter the vault password to access my logins.

This app is so secure and so helpful! I love that I can access this information from all of my devices and that it cuts down on so much time for me to locate the information I need.

I have two very exciting pieces of information for you!

1. Norton is offering Norton Identity Safe for free! Download by October 1, 2012 and enjoy it FREE of charge forever. No strings attached.

I encourage all of you to go there right now and download it so you can see how helpful it is! (It is Mac, PC, iOS and Andriod compatible)

2. You can be entered to win an Android Tablet! All you have to do to enter is comment and share a story about a time that you forgot or lost your password for a chance to win one of five Android Tablets (Samsung Galaxy Tab 2- 10.1-Inch, Wi-Fi) with Norton Mobile Security and Identity Safe installed! I hope you’ll all give this software a try and see how it helps make your life easier!

Visit BlogHer.com to find other reviews of Norton Identity Safe.

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw from all participating blogs, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 6/21 – 7/31.

Summer is a Blast!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Jun282012

One of my favorite things about summer with little children is the simplicity. It’s lazy, it’s relaxed, and it’s simple. I love having two little boys who are rowdy and very easy to entertain. They don’t necessarily like “quiet” fun, but they don’t need toys to have fun either. They just need an open area to run and they’re good to go!

One of our favorite ways to have a blast together in the warm weather is to set up the sprinkler in the yard, put the boys in their swimsuits (or even just a diaper), and let them run around the yard. We inflate our big kiddie pool (that is also big enough for adults and a large Golden Retriever) and get just a little bit of relief from the heat. We could spend the whole day outside playing in the water. It’s a safe activity, we can all enjoy it together, and it’s free!

Hudson in the summer of 2010 playing in the sprinkler

We’re big into doing low-key things together that allow everyone to just be happy and relaxed. There’s no pressure to be quiet and we can laugh as loud as we want to.

After we run through the sprinklers and splash in the pool, everyone needs a little summer treat. I was so excited to find out about Breyers Blasts!® Chocolate REESE’S®. This new variety features chunks of REESE’S Peanut Butter Cup pieces and REESE’S Peanut Butter swirled in chocolate frozen dairy dessert.

REESE’S are my absolute favorite candy, so to have actual REESE’S cups mixed in with my favorite chocolate is just the perfect summer dessert. And my boys love it, too! There is so much flavor packed into each bite. The chocolate is rich and smooth and the bites of REESE’S cups are just perfect for this peanut butter-loving mama. Hudson and Hayes absolutely couldn’t get enough of this. Dessert is a special treat in our house, but it’s summertime, so everyone gets to indulge!

For Hudson’s third birthday, I was super excited to see Breyers Blasts!® OREO® Birthday Blast! This new variety features OREO cookie pieces and rainbow sprinkles in artificially flavored cake-flavored frozen dairy dessert. Oh my goodness. I love cake-flavored treats! And this flavor is really perfect. It tastes like your ultimate birthday cake.

The rainbow sprinkles were definitely Hudson’s favorite part. Little kids just love sprinkles on anything. And the huge OREO flavor combined with the birthday cake and sprinkles was really just perfect. Who needs a birthday cake when this stuff is available? We celebrated Hudson’s birthday as a family at the beach. I was a blast!

I’m excited about having a summer full of simple fun: ice cream on the back porch and kids in swimsuits. It’s our favorite way to have a blast together as a family.

For a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card, answer this question for me: “How would you and your family enjoy Breyers Blasts!?”

Rules: No purchase necessary. No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post, b) Tweet about this promotion using hashtag #sweeps and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post, c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post, d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate free form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 6/28 to 7/26. Be sure to visit the Breyers Blasts! brand page on BlogHer.com, where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

my fantasy dinner party

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Jun272012

Sometimes I like to play fun little games like, “What’s your personal theme song?”  or “What’s your strut song?” Or “Who would play you in the movie about your life?”

Today’s fun game is “What 10 people would you invite to your fantasy dinner party?”

Here’s my list. And no judgment for any of my choices…  these are just the people that I think would be fun to have at a dinner table. Also… it’s just a given that Todd and my parents would be there, too.

1. Kristen Wiig- Goodness, she’s funny.
2. Matt Lauer- Matt is so quick and so dry. But just so funny. He is the reason I still watch the Today show.
3. George W. Bush- He will always be one of my favorites. Just so down to earth and he so obviously loves to have fun and laugh.
4. Carrie Underwood- duh.
5. Jimmy Fallon- One of my favorite things about Jimmy Fallon is that he’s funny and he laughs at himself.
6. Steve Martin- Just a classic.
7. Hoda Kotb- I think Hoda is so much fun. She knows every word to every song and loves to laugh.
8. Simon Cowell- I’ve always had a thing for Simon. Despite the tight t-shirts and odd haircut, I think he knows what he’s talking about and if you can get him to laugh then you must be pretty funny.
9. Billy Joel- Because someone has to sing to us, and I can’t think of a better entertainer. He is the entertainer.
10. Kate Middleton- Because she’s Kate Middleton

I tried to find room for Prince Harry in here, but at my fantasy dinner party, Prince William would be unable to attend and the Duchess of Cambridge would bring Prince Harry as her stand-in date, so I’d really have eleven guests at my fantasy dinner party.

So, play along. Who would attend your fantasy dinner party?

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