Matthew's Puzzle and a mom putting it all together

The Children’s Place $500 Gift Card Giveaway

July 15, 2013 By Maryann

Disclosure: This giveaway has been sponsored by The Children’s Place and hosted by Kidsumers. I have not been compensated and all opinions are my own.

What boy wouldn’t look amazing in this cute and sophisticated school uniform from The Children’s Place? I love the simple classic styling and even though my boys don’t have to wear a uniform I still find this to be a great option. I have several friends that have children that always look put together and polished. I know for a fact that these children dress in a “uniform” the mom has picked out for them.

When I was growing up, I went to a school that required a uniform and mine was never this cute. I would have loved to wear a flattering outfit that fit the schools requirements yet still allowed me to look perfectly polished.

This outfit would have been perfect. Today The Children’s Place wants to make your children’s back-to-school uniform shopping a snap with really adorable and affordable school-wear. They are also offering a chance to win a $500 The Children’s Place Gift Certificate so one lucky winner can go on a back-to-school-uniform-shopping-spree! I know I will be shopping at The Children’s Place to pick up classic outfits for the boys so that they can look pulled together and always appropriate.

If you have a child that does wear a uniform, what better place than The Children’s Place, to pick up all the essentials that make uniform dressing so easy. All you need now is an entry into the contest and maybe a cute pair of saddle shoes!

Giveaway

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Disclosure: This giveaway has been sponsored by The Children’s Place and hosted by Kidsumers. I have not been compensated and all opinions are my own.

Ouidad PlayCurl Shampoo Conditioner and Mousse Review

July 10, 2013 By Maryann

Disclosure: I was provided with free bottles of the Ouidad PlayCurl Shampoo, Condition and Mousse to have facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

I have wavy hair. I wish I had Kerri Russel curls, but I wasn’t born with them. I’ve always had waves, lots and lots of waves. When I was younger I hated those waves. I wanted the straight hair my friends had. They could have Farrah Faucet wings, and I couldn’t.

But as I got older and I started to realize that my hair was actually really beautiful, and I began to play up those waves. I started to realize that I had really gorgeous hair that had a lovely curl patter that many, many women wanted. I was told more than once that women pay good money to have my curls put in their hair. That is where Ouidad PlayCurl comes in. Ouidad is one of the foremost curl enhancing product lines on the market. I started getting acquainted with Ouidad a few years ago when I decided I wanted to show off my natural hair and I decided to try the curly girl method. Ouidad PlayCurl is perfect for the curly girl method.

PlayCurl is perfect for wavy hair like mine. Since I don’t have the great curl structure that true curly hair has, my hair can lose it definition easily if I use products that are heavy or weigh my hair down. I started using PlayCurl Shampoo and Conditioner a few days ago. They are perfect for keeping my waves moisturized while providing a refreshing cleanse without being to heavy. I added the PlayCurl Mousse for a soft definition and curl hold.

I have really fallen in love with Ouidad PlayCurl products and can’t wait to try the Ouidad Sea Spray and Texture Taffy. I was on the Ouidad website and loved playing around with the different links. Under the Shop Products link you can search my Curl Type and Concern among other options. This was great for me since I can easily find the perfect match without searching through tons of product description.

Which Ouidad PlayCurl product are you ready to try?

Ice Cream and Summertime

July 3, 2013 By Maryann

Disclosure: I was provided with coupons to try each of these products free of charge. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.

Well, it has arrive. Summer, that is. I love the lazier days and letting the boys play in the sprinkler. For Nico’s birthday we got a bunch of great Nerf SuperSoaker water guns and then kids have been having a blast drenching each other. But something that really screams summertime is ice cream and Popsicle. You all know I’m not huge on snack foods, but there is something about summer that makes ice cream a necessity. Like a right of passage.

I have to admit I have a hard time passing up a frozen treat on a stick. Unilever sent me some really great treats to try, and even if they aren’t non-GMO there is a time and a place for them. Summer happens to be the time, and the backyard happens to be the place. There really isn’t much better than being able to give your kids (and you too) a fun treat (remembering what treats really are, treats, not daily foods) after a hot day in the sun.

Larry and I enjoyed the Rocky Road Klondike bar. Larry has had a soft spot in his heart for Klondike bars for as long as I’ve known him. What wouldn’t he do for a Klondike?

The boys have been sharing their Popsicles with our neighbor’s niece. They all get outside in the kiddie pool or running through the sprinklers and all of a sudden then are all back inside, hot and drenched, asking for a banana, lime or root-beer Popsicle. I remember being a kid and doing the same thing with my cousins. We loved having Popsicles on hot summer days.

Probably my favorite summer treats so far have been the Magnum Gold? The ice cream bars truly have a golden hue, filled with vanilla ice cream and sea salt caramel. I was nice enough to share one with my neighbor (but just one!). These are a more adult ice cream treat, something that is fun to savor and dripping with more complex flavors like sea salt caramel, dark and white chocolate. They are for ice cream lovers with a sophisticated taste.

I plan to have Good Humor York ice cream bars available to my guests for the 4th of July. I love the flavor of peppermint and chocolate. And I found out a great little tip the other day, simply by accident. I figured I needed to try these bars out before I could review them, right? Because how can you review something if you haven’t tried them, right? But before I could get more than one bite in, my youngest was calling me upstairs to put him back in bed. I spent a good 5 minutes with him and when I got back downstairs the Good Humor York ice cream bar has started to melt and was an amazingly satisfying texture. It was actually perfect.

My father has always been a big fan of Breyer’s Ice Cream so I plan to have a bit of that on hand too. He enjoys a good brownie covered in Breyer’s vanilla ice cream (and really, who doesn’t?). This is an easy treat to make and I can fashion a yummy gluten free brownie for the Breyer’s Ice Cream to rest on. OR, maybe I will really offer a huge throw back to my younger days and get some toaster waffles (gluten free of course) and make Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches. My mother was FAMOUS for these.

The last treat we got to pick up was Fruttare Fruit bars. I, of course, had to get the lime bars. Summer is better with lime. Limeade is a favorite in this house. The Coconut sounded amazing too.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy this summer with some of your favorite treats. What flavors make summertime really summer for you?

Global Resort Homes Giveaway 7 nights in a 4 bedroom pool home

July 1, 2013 By Maryann

A little over a week ago I was in the beautiful Orlando/Kissimmee area. I was there with several of my friends and blogging buddies. We stayed at a convenient Global Resort Homes condo. The whole area was wonderful and perfectly exciting while offering a relaxed atmosphere that I really enjoyed. Our condo included 3 bedrooms with sleeping accommodations for up to 6 people. There were 2 full baths and 1 half bath along with a fully appointed kitchen. My condo even had a video gaming unit for those days when it was raining.

I spent most of my time at the pool, which was just perfect. The water was a delightful temperature and featured plenty of seating for all 10 of us girls. It has a deep swimming area along with a shallow end, and most importantly there were good, clean restrooms right next to the pool area.

Giveaway

Global Resort Homes is giving away a 7 night stay in a 4 bedroom pool home (or larger) and Kissimmee Guest Services is including 4 tickets to Sea World and Boggy Creek will include airboat rides for 4 guests! Blackout dates will apply. To enter the contest simply use the form below.

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