Mommin' It Up!

June 6, 2014June 6, 2014

Let’s Give it Up for Dads! #WorldsToughestJob

Father’s Day is fast approaching, and like the slacker I am, I never seem to prepare quite soon enough. But this year, my husband was kind enough to tell me what he wants as a gift well in advance!!! I cannot even tell you how excited that makes me. ORDERED!! And, as part of a sponsored campaign with Cardstore and the Motherhood, I was commissioned to create his card in plenty of time as well. So basically, I am winning Father’s Day 2014, at least where my husband in concerned! (Don’t worry Dad, I’ve got you taken care of, too!)

SONY DSC — These kids hit the Dad jackpot!

As I mentioned, I recently tried out Cardstore, the online arm of American Greetings, where you can make and send greeting cards online. Let me just say, I was honestly floored at how awesome it was and I am muy muy sad that I’ve never used it before. I wish I could go back in time two weeks ago and make cards for the kids’ teachers. No lie, friends (since all opinons are obvs. my own) IT WAS SO EASY AND AFFORDABLE! The kids and I made a totally cute, personalized, one-of-a-kind card in a matter of minutes and it cost the same or less to buy it and mail it as it would if I bought it at the store. Plus, I saved time and gas not having to drive to the store, too. SO MUCH WIN. But I am getting a little ahead of myself! To start, I corralled the big kids in front of the computer:

I know, they're precious. You don't have to say it. — I know, they’re precious. You don’t have to say it.

Then, we hopped onto Cardstore.com to check out our options. We picked the “Cards From Kids” category from the Father’s Day section, and there were over 2 dozen options!

We narrowed down our choices to cards you can put a personal photo into, because obvs, my husband wants a pic of his adorable children in his Father’s Day card.

Then we went to work adding our photos and changing the text:

cardstore3 — I thought the original captions were hilarious. But I swallowed my pride and let the kids come up with their own (except Jonah, natch.)

cardstore4 — I mean, LOOK AT WHAT SOPHIE SAID! Uggghh. I mean, how cute.

It was super, super easy to edit the inside text and then proof our selection. I fixed the way the word “You’re” was a little cut off in the last text bubble on the front.

We finished our card AND ordered it in less than 10 minutes – and that’s because we were taking our time for this post, to do a thorough review. I could’ve done it in half the time, easily. And, Cardstore is mailing it directly to the recipient – in this case to our house, but we could’ve easily sent it anywhere!

And finally, the price was awesome! Less than $5 to make and mail the card, and with this discount code, you can get your Father’s Day card for only $2.49! (you know I used a coupon code!!) Just enter CCG4527 at checkout.

In addition to offering up attractive, high-quality cards, Cardstore also made this cute promo video for Father’s Day to emphasize all the contributions dads make to their kids’ lives! Remember the viral “World’s Toughest Job” video that came out before Mother’s Day? It now has a companion in this “Dad Casting” video, showing there is absolutely NO script to the highs, lows, and hilarious moments of Fatherhood. Check it out!

Cute, right? Oh my gosh, I know my husband is not looking forward to some of those teenage moments! {Oh but I SO am. Not either.}

I highly recommend that you all hop on over to Cardstore to make a Father’s Day card for your hubby and Dad! I know will be making another one for my Daddy and having it sent straight to him as well.

Can’t get enough Cardstore? Join us TODAY at 1 pm over on Twitter for a Twitter party where we will be chatting all things Father’s Day and using the hashtag #WorldsToughestJob. Hope to see you there!

Happy card creating! Don’t forget your coupon code!

June 5, 2014

Blame it on the Rain

We have had kind of a rough start to the summer. Jonah has been sick with a bad cold this week (mostly just a cough that wears him out) and has been quite the grumpus, and the weather has been pretty rainy so we haven’t had too many chances for outdoor fun. Yesterday, it was raining and storming quite a bit during the day, and we were all tired. I told the kids they needed to take a 30 minute reading break in their rooms. Jonah had been awake for awhile in the middle of the night because of his cough (therefore so had I) and I knew he was really worn out, so even though he doesn’t usually take naps, I decided to lay down with him to see if he’d drift off to sleep.

He was snoozing away in less than 15 minutes. I excitedly tiptoed downstairs hoping to actually GET SOME WORK DONE since he’d been pretty high-maintenance all week. But as soon as my feet hit the living room floor, I realized the pitter-patter of the heavy rain outside was a little TOO loud. I rain to the front door where I instantly saw and felt that water was pouring in my entryway ceiling.

Most of it was falling on our coat hooks which were still covered in winter coats (yay for me for never putting that stuff away!) but there was plenty of water on my hardwood floors, too. I ran upstairs and grabbed all the towels I could find, piled them on the floor, and then ran to the basement in search of a bucket. Then I removed all our poor coats and mopped up what water was on the floor. A little of the water was kind of missing the bucket and still hitting the coat rack, because it was coming in in kind of a wide area (yippee!) so I hung a towel ON the coat rack, too.

Then I collapsed on the couch. Not much else to do. Happily, the rain only lasted about 30 more minutes. And here’s what I am left with:

cracked ceiling — My entry way ceiling. It is plaster, and 97 years old, and we lost some plaster yesterday. But don’t you love my old light fixture?

bucket — Dirty water anyone? I think heaviest rain fell while I was upstairs with Jonah.

So anyway…that was awesome. Fortunately it’s not supposed to rain today, and my handy part-time roofer (full-time teacher) brother is coming over to check it out today to see what we need to do. Besides just wear ponchos all summer.

How’s YOUR summer break going!?!?

June 3, 2014June 2, 2014

Seize the Day? I’m Seizing the Summer!

If you’ve been reading this ol’ blog for awhile, you know I am NOT the biggest fan of summer. I get a little…frazzled, let’s say, when I have all three kids at home with me ALL DAY LONG. What can I say, I am unabashedly one of those moms who is happier when we’re all on the school-year schedule! But what I DO love about summer? The clothes! I love being free and easy in capris, easy skirts, shorts, and dresses. And as part of a sponsored campaign with Jockey® and the Motherhood, I’ve found a new way to be even more comfortable in my fun summer skirts and dresses: Jockey® Skimmies® slipshorts!

Since receiving my Jockey® Skimmies® slipshorts, I’ve tried them on with a few skirts and dresses to see how they feel…and they are really comfy, PLUS they provide the function of a slip so my skirts are sticking to me, with the coverage of shorts, so I can have fun in the sun without flashing anyone when saving my three-year-old from the “Oops-I-Climbed-Up-Too-High” area of the playset at the park. I love the way Jockey® Skimmies® slipshorts zap panty-lines while redefining comfort and helping me utilize my wardrobe more. Comfort no longer has to be restricted to yoga pants, ladies! It’s time to branch out!

To help you get excited about all the possibilities Jockey® Skimmies® slipshorts can open up in your wardrobe, Jockey® is challenging you to “Seize the Day in Skimmies®” by taking a daily challenge on their Facebook page through June 20th. This series of challenges is designed to help you push past your comfort zone and experience freedom and spontaneity thanks to Jockey® Skimmies® slipshorts. Everyone who participates will have a chance to win a free pair of Jockey® Skimmies® slipshorts and other great prizes.

Of course, I was not going to be left out of this challenge: Jockey® gave me a challenge to complete and share with you all. Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult for me: Be a big softy and share a photo or video of you surprising someone you love with a hug.

I had the perfect opportunity to complete my challenge this past Wednesday when Sophie and I went to see Beauty and the Beast at our local fancy theater (thanks to tickets given to us by Emily!). We got all dressed up and of course I wore my Jockey® Skimmies® slipshorts under my dress so I could be comfortable, covered, and have everything smooooothed out, you know what I mean? Before we left, I told Sophie I wanted to get some pictures of us all dressed up, so I had my husband get the camera ready. We got our traditional pose:

And then I seized the day and grabbed my girl for a fun hug! It went over pretty well, Sophie’s ALWAYS up for a twirl and a giggle. She was VERY surprised, though!

I love this pic. I know it's totally blurry but it's just the FUN moment I surprised her! — I love this pic. I know it’s totally blurry but it’s just the FUN moment I surprised her!

Honestly, I really love these! Jockey® Skimmies® slipshorts are a GREAT addition to my wardrobe and I’m glad to have found them just in time for skirt season (I pretty much stick to jeans and cords all winter long!) Are you wondering how to style your Skimmies®? Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe has some great tips at the Zoe Report that are super-helpful so check ’em out. AND don’t forget to check out the “Seize the Day in Skimmies® daily challenge on Jockey®’s Facebook page for your chance to WIN! You can also check out Skimmies (R) in the “Workflow” section of the upcoming August/September issue of Working Mother Magazine.

How are you going to seize the day this summer with your wardrobe? What are your favorite things to wear in the summer? I’ve already been busting out my dresses like it’s my job and I’m loving it!