My family and I have never attended an Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam show, and to be honest, until I had boys, it wasn’t really something that I would be excited about. Things have changed, though. I now have two toddler boys who love anything that has wheels! More particularly, they love anything that has BIG wheels! Until I showed my boys a YouTube clip of one of the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam shows they had no idea what it was, now it is all I hear about.

My boys are really excited to attend their first (and hopefully not last) Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam show. They are so excited, that it makes me excited!

Another thing that makes me excited is that I am able to give away 16 tickets to my readers. 4 of my readers will each get 4 tickets to the March 15 show in Huntsville, Alabama. The show is at the Von Braun center, and the winners will pick up their tickets at will call. 

A little more about the show:

Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam is Racing Back to Huntsville!

March 15th-16th, 2013
Huntsville, AL at the Von Braun Center

The Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam is back and ready to tear up the track with six all new trucks! Watch as Huntsville-newcomer Zombie^SM battles Grave Digger^®, Superman^TM, Advance Auto Parts Grinder^SM, War Wizard, and Full Boar for dominance at the Von Braun Center! Don’t be fooled by the imitators! These twelve-feet-tall, ten-thousand-pound machines will bring you to your feet, racing and ripping up a custom-designed track full of obstacles to soar over or smash through.

Pick up your FREE Pit Passes at Lynn Layton Chevy in Decatur and your $5 kid’s ticket coupon at all participating area Hardee’s!

Keep an eye out for an upcoming giveaway! I will be giving away 4 packs of 4 tickets. That is a total of 16 tickets!

Most of us have heard of it, but not too many of us have experienced it first hand. RSV Disease, also known as Respiratory Syncytial Virus, is a really serious disease in which babies and toddlers are at increased risk of contracting.

RSV is an extremely contagious viral disease that spreads among children and infects their lungs and breathing passages. Most children will have it by the age of 2, and recovery usually takes approximately one to two weeks. Even after the symptoms of RSV have disappeared, your child can still be contagious for up to three weeks.

If your child happens to contract RSV, please do the rest of us moms a gigantic favor: keep your child away from places that other child often frequent (i.e. playgrounds, libraries, friends’ houses). I know you can’t keep your children out of school for an entire three weeks without them falling behind, but I hope that if you warn your child’s teacher they will take the necessary precautions to ensure that RSV isn’t spread.

Along with all of the child sicknesses going around,  RSV is in my (imaginary) line behind the Flu in sicknesses that I hope my children don’t contract this year. My youngest son had a mild case of RSV when he was an infant. Luckily he didn’t require a long hospital stay, but it was definitely scary. I remember him coughing and gasping so bad that I thought he couldn’t breathe. He had a fever that was extremely hard to break, and he was really weak from all of the coughing.

Symptoms include (from RSVProtection):

• Coughing or wheezing that does not stop
  
• Fast or troubled breathing
• A fever (especially if it is greater than 100.4°F in infants under 3 months of age)
• A bluish color around the mouth or fingernails
• Spread-out nostrils and/or a caved-in chest when trying to breathe
• Gasping for breath

Like other viruses, there is no cure for RSV; that is why it is so important to take preventative measures like the ones I’ve listed below.

1. Wash your hands before handling your baby, and if your child is old enough, teach him or her proper hand washing techniques.
2. Never smoke around you child, especially in enclosed places.
3. Wash and sanitize your children’s toys, bedding, and clothes regularly.
4. If possible, keep your child away from large groups of children during RSV Season. (See when your Region’s RSV Season is, and other useful RSV information on RSVProtection.com)

Most importantly, if your child has RSV try to keep him or her away from other children. Like the Flu, RSV spreads rapidly.  

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of MedImmune and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

I am going to admit something that I am really ashamed of; I am a high school drop out! I moved in with my boyfriend (now ex-husband) when I was 16 years old. I didn’t think I could even finish High School with a baby. Keep reading to find out how I really surprised myself…

I didn’t decide to get my GED until I was pregnant with my third child. I signed up for the  free test preparation classes at my local community college, and passed all the of placement exams with flying colors. At the time I had been out of High School for around 6 years. I thought that I would need to brush up on everything. I was so surprised that I didn’t have to  take any of the classes, and that I was ready to take my General Equivalency Diploma test.

I signed up on the first available day to take my test, and passed. I was 8 months pregnant.

One of the incentives of taking the GED was a free college course through the Community College where I took my GED test.

Fast forward a year…. I had just had my fourth child. I felt helpless and knew that I had to do something with my life. That is when I enrolled in college. It was one of the scariest and most stressful times of my life. I went in not knowing what to expect.

I originally wanted to major in Nursing, but soon changed my mind. I am pursuing a Marketing Degree (when I get my butt back in school, that is).

One of my main problems with going back to school was childcare. I don’t trust my children with anyone, and I wanted to be around them all the time. I was taking my classes online, but I still had to go to the campus to take exams regularly. I will admit, that taking classes (even online) is not a walk in the park. It takes dedication. There were many sleepless nights, and I felt like I was taking on more than I could handle. I did it though. I managed to maintain a 3.5 GPA!

Now the hard part, and something I have been wanting to do since my children are a little older is get back in school and finish my degree! This time, instead of going back to my local Community College, I am going to enroll in Ivy Bridge College because they make it easy for moms, and that is what I need! The things that I think I will utilize the most is the FREE tutoring and weekly tutoring. It is easy to fall behind, especially with four children running around, and Ivy Bridge College understands that.

 $1,000 discount on my tuition, and giving away a $1,000 tuition discount to one of my readers. All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this blog post telling me why you want to go to (or back to) school! 

To be eligible for the $1,000 discount off tuition at Ivy Bridge College (IBC), the qualifying individuals will need to be degree seeking, enrolled in IBC a minimum of part-time, and new to IBC (specifically, not someone who has already applied to, enrolled in, or requested information from IBC). Classes at Ivy Bridge College Extension are not eligible for the discount. Limit one per person.The tuition discount is valid through September 1, 2013.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Ivy Bridge College. I received a promotional item as a thank-you for participating and a discount on classes at Ivy Bridge College.

Spongebob is one my MY favorite cartoons. I have never seen a child that didn’t like Spongebob. Matter of fact, I have never met anyone that didn’t like him. Spongebob is young, fun, and random!

We got to review two Spnogebob items from the Nickelodeon Holiday Gift Guide. This is what we got:

I was definitely excite about the calendar. We are coming up on the end of 2012, and we didn’t have a 2013 Calendar yet. Spongebob is a lot better than the free calendars we always get from our bank. Since we aren’t going to be looking at a hideous calendar in 2013, I definitely think I will be a lot more inclined to actually check the calendar to see what we have going on daily!

The calendar retails for around $15, and is sure to be more fun than your typical boring calendar.

The Crayola Giant Coloring Pages is another favorite of mine. We gave it to my friend’s two year-old daughter that loves coloring. I am sure she will get plenty of use out of. The coloring book is a lot bigger than I was expecting, and is almost as big as my youngest child. I definitely think this would make an excellent gift for the little artist in your family.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. Your experience with the product may differ from mine. The sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment and will be shipping the winner(s) their prize(s). For more information read my rules/disclosure policy.

Dora has always been one of my children’s favorite Nick Jr. characters. They absolutely love the show, and I feel safe with them watching it. Mostly because Dora taught my three year-old how to count to ten in Spanish!

The Dora Cuddle Pillow is crazy adorable. Not to mention, on of my favorite cuddle pillows that we have! The cuddle pillow can be purchased for around $20. It is definitely worth every penny. I am not sure how long my girls will continue to like Dora, but I am sure that she will be sticking around for a while!

The cuddle pillow is approximately 2 foot tall, and has an adorable outfit and a microphone attached to her hand. This would make and excellent gift for that little Dora loving Rock Star in your life!

Ready for Potty Baby Dora.

I have never seen a baby Dora before, but I guess that I haven’t really been paying much attention on the toy aisles lately. This toy is definitely going to be used when I start potty training my little boy. I am sure that she will be a lot of help!

Ready for Potty Dora retails for around $25. She drinks from her cup, then you place her on the potty to go. Dora doesn’t really “potty” but she does sit on the potty and sings. I think this toy would make an excellent addition to the potty training routine.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. Your experience with the product may differ from mine. The sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment and will be shipping the winner(s) their prize(s). For more information read my rules/disclosure policy.

Do you need some last minute help for your child’s wish list this year? If your children love Scooby-Doo, try going straight to the source and have your children visit the new Warner Bros. “Scooby Mystery Workshop” site where they can customize their own holiday gift list! The site offers Scooby-Doo games, toys, costumes, and fun bedding kids can check off into their wish list to help Mom and Dad solve the holiday shopping mystery. Once their favorite Scooby-Doo items are selected, kids can print or email the list to a parent. The site also provides additional fun for your child, such as helping The Gang pick out gifts for each other through an interactive poll, competing to win fun prizes, or playing games with Scooby-Doo and Shaggy. Check out the site here: http://bit.ly/WmFUk2

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Scooby-Doo. I received a product sample to thank me for participating

We all know how bad cold sores look, and we definitely do not want one around the Holidays. Honestly, cold sores are about the only thing that can stop me from enjoying myself this time of the year. I had one on Thanksgiving, and it was definitely the worst experience I have ever had with a cold sore. I didn’t enjoy myself  because I could barely open my mouth without having excruciating pain, so, eating all of the delicious food I prepared wasn’t an option for me.

Cold sores can be triggered by almost anything. A weakened immune system, stress, and chapped lips are the main triggers for me. Since the Holidays are so stressful for me, I am like a ticking time bomb just waiting for a cold sore to erupt.

You can help protect yourself from cold sore outbreaks by eating a healthy diet and reducing your stress. Eating healthy usually isn’t too hard for me, but around the Holidays my diet usually consists of 80% junk food.

With that being said, I am an avid Abreva user. Every time that I feel a cold sore coming on I use Abreva. I use it because it is the only over-the-counter FDA Approved medicine that blocks the virus from getting to healthy cells, and shortens healing time. I have tried some store brands that have the same packaging as Abreva, but they just don’t seem to work for me at all. After using them, I also found out that they aren’t FDA Approved like Abreva is.

If you are like me and suffer from cold sores, try Abreva next time. You can try it risk free! If you aren’t satisfied (and I’m pretty sure you will be satisfied), save your receipt and remaining product, then call 1-877-709-3539 for a refund.

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“Disclaimer: I am participating in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Abreva, and received free product and compensation in return for my participation.”

Ho Ho Ho, it’s the holiday season and that can only mean one thing… Shopping!  But finding presents for your loved ones can be no easy task!  That’s why Warner Bros. has come up with their awesome Happy Holidays Blog App featuring some classic and new movies out on Blu-ray sure to please everyone from your teeny nephew to grandma wrinkles!

View the Warner Bros. Happy Holidays Blog App here:

https://archive.partnershub.com/show/4/wb-holiday-release/widget/wb-holiday-release-family/

WHY You will love the Warner Bros. Happy Holidays Blog App:

•           Holiday Movie Challenge! Are you a true cinephile? Then take the WB Holiday Movie Challenge! Keep your movie skills sharp with this awesome quiz! Ready. Set. Go!

•           Decode-A-Scene Game! Time is running out! Can you figure out what movie scene is slowly being decoded in front of your eyes? The sooner you figure it out the more points you earn!

•           Holiday Survival Guide! Throw an epic holiday party this season! We have some awesome tips to make you look like a total holiday master!

 
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Warner Brothers is providing one of my readers with a DVD collection in exchange for me writing this post. I received no compensation.