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A great gift – Kendra Phillip jewelry

Let me tell you something about myself…I am a SUCKER for a monogram! I loooove personalized things. So when the team at Kendra Phillip jewelry asked me to review their initial pendant, I was all “you had me at initial!!” They sent me the classic mini reversible initial pendant pictured above. Yes, I said reversible! One side is gold and one is silver. Genius, right? Here’s me wearing it on the other side:

Isn’t it elegant? I love this necklace! The pendant is very weighty. It has a lot of heft to it and I love that I can really feel it all day when I’m wearing it. It really stays put, too! It doesn’t flip-flop or travel around your neck to where it’s not supposed to be (which drives me bonkers).

If you’re looking for a quality jewelry gift this holiday, check out Kendra Phillip’s website! Their jewelers make beautiful earrings, cuffs, and necklaces that will be beloved by the recipient. I’m loving their heart stud earrings, those are going on my wish list!

You can check out all the pretty things at Kendra Phillip here. Happy shopping!

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Kendra Phillip provided me with a pendant to facilitate my review. All opinions about it are my own.

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Weanxiety

So…the weaning is going well. Much better than I thought it would, actually. Jonah has thrown pretty big fits lasting 30 minutes or more the last two mornings when I wouldn’t nurse him when he woke up at 7 a.m., and smaller mini-fits throughout the day, but after we get past the morning tantrum, our days have been pretty much “normal”. He is clingier than usual, but I’m just enjoying the extra snuggles! Those morning fits have been a bit heartbreaking for me, because after he gets mad, he gets sad. And when he’s sad because I won’t nurse him, it makes me feel like he feels that I don’t love him. But I know that I do and he knows that I do – I keep telling myself that.

I’m a little sad that I didn’t commemorate the last time I ever nursed him – to be honest, he woke up from his nap Friday in a terrible mood and I nursed him to calm him down. I was so preoccupied with getting the family ready to go out of town that I didn’t relish that last time as much as I wish I would have.

But then again, I nursed the child for 23-and-a-half months. Which means I nursed him literally over a thousand times. And there were many of those thousand that I cherished the time spent nursing him. I know I did.

 I’ve started to get a little nervous, though about what will happen when this process is truly complete. When my milk dries up (that seems to be going fine, I’m not really even uncomfortable), will my hormones go crazy? After I weaned Sophie I started taking the birth control pill immediately and I got crazy depressed, as you may recall. But since then I’ve wondered if the hormone shift from weaning could’ve had something to do with that, too. I’ve found myself biting my nails about this possibility more than once the past couple of days. Crazytown is not a locale I want to visit again anytime soon. I won’t be taking the pill this time around since I’ve had my tubes tied, so I guess if I go nutso I’ll know that hormones did have a big part in that, and if I don’t that it was purely the devilish pill.
How old were your babies when you weaned them? Did you have any trouble with anxiety or depression afterward? I’d be interested to hear your experiences.

 

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Giveaway: Overnight Stay at Kalahari Resorts!

This weekend, our families spent an amazing weekend at a blogger event at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. I thought it was going to be fun. Everything our families do together is fun – add in a water park? Good times.

I was not prepared to be blown away by the resort itself.

Here’s a little secret about me – I am a hotel snob. I’ve spent years perfecting my skills on Priceline, making sure my family stays in top-notch hotels for affordable prices. And I compare everything to Disney.

Let me reiterate – I was blown away by this place.

Jenny’s going to delve deeper into the accommodations later in the week (which will include another overnight giveaway!), but I’m here to tell you about the heart of Kalahari – the water park! Check this out:

Kalahari Resort is America’s LARGEST indoor waterpark. It’s huge! Here’s a pic Jenny took while we were there:

Kate and I particularly loved the Zip Coaster – 500 feet of freefalls, dips and turns. All of our kids loved the 12,000 square foot wave pool – I think we all spent more time in there than on anything else! Jenny left Jonah with her parents for the weekend, but we did check out the Kids Safari, which would have been the perfect place for him to hang out all weekend.

Kate and Bobby were the only daredevils in our group who had the nerve to try out the FlowRider – a five-foot ocean-like wave that shoots out 50,000 gallons of water each minute. It looked so fun!

After such a daring feat, Kate needed to rejuvenate, so she took a minute to hang out in the cabana.

To me, the cabana was one of the best parts of the water park – it gave us our own little “home base” where we could all meet, eat, and relax. Comfortable chairs and a television made it the perfect place for downtime or a nap – for the kids or grown ups! Jenny and I chilled in there while we hosted a Kalahari Twitter party that afternoon. Did I mention there’s free wifi throughout the entire resort??

Needless to say, the kids all had a blast.

But this? Might have been my favorite moment.

The best Santa I’ve ever seen was there to greet the kids in the evening. Sam is positive that he was the real one.

Want to experience this for yourself?? We’re giving away a one-night stay!

Here’s the small print:
The voucher will include:
– A one-night stay in a Hut or Desert Style room
– Complimentary Safari Outdoor Adventure Park Passes
– NOT VALID: Friday and Saturdays. Blackout dates include November 21-22, 2012, December 21-January 5, 2013, January 20, 2013, February 17, 2013, March 17-31, 2013, April 1-4, 2013, May 26, 2013, June 23 – August 18, 2013, September 1, 2013, and October 13, 2013. Please call (877) 525-2427 for availability. No cash value, expires 2 years from date of issue.

Here’s how to enter:
1) Leave a comment on this post.
2) Like Kalahari Resorts on Facebook and leave a separate comment here saying you did so.
3) Like Mommin’ It Up on Facebook and leave a separate comment here saying you did so.

One winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, December 11th at 6pm EST.

Even if you don’t win – we’ve got a special deal just for our readers. Click here to learn more!

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