Slendertone GIVEAWAY!

I recently went to a fantastic event hosted by Colleen of Classy Mommy and sponsored by Role Mommy and Slendertone called Moms Night In! It was an amazing night that was full of pampering and fun for all of the Philadelphia mommy entrepreneurs and bloggers that had gathered there. As always, there was great food, great wine, and great conversation as we all caught up with our bloggy buddies that evening and we even got to partake in FREE manicures and makeup consultations courtesy of Calista Grand Salon and Day Spa! **(As an aside, have you seen the specials that Calista is offering to Chester County Moms Blog readers? Go check it out!)

The highlight of the evening was hearing a brief, but highly informative presentation from the folks at Slendertone about their AMAZING product line! The Slendertone range of products includes a variety of solutions that includes everything you need to stay trim and in shape. Whether it’s a firm, toned midsection, shapely arms or a tighter bottom and thighs you’re after, there’s a Slendertone garment for you. And the best part? You can use it while doing cardio, taking a walk, doing chores, or even just sitting in front of the TV.

We all got to try a variety of Slendertone products at Moms Night In. The toning garments were all super easy to wear and to operate. And, they also let us try out their ReVive Professional Muscle Conditioning product. I have to say..... that was one of the best massages I've ever had. With backaches becoming more and more frequent in my household as I haul my 29 pound toddler around, I look forward to using that product over and over again.

OK, back to the awesomeness of toning while multi-tasking in your life!!! So, who doesn't want stronger, firmer abs in just 8 weeks??? I know I do. Well, here's your chance to win a FREE Slendertone Ab toner! That is a $99 value folks!!! All you need to do is leave me a comment here (PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL) to tell me why you'd like to win the ab toner system!

Also, bonus entries can be obtained if you blog about this giveaway or link to it on Twitter. Just come back and write me a new comment linking to either your blog post or your Tweet!

The contest will end on Wednesday, March 18th. Good luck!

In the meantime, check out this funny and adorable You Tube Video on the Slendertone Ab product!

Not what I expected, but more than pleasantly surprised!

On Tuesday I'm headed to NYC to hang out with Martha Stewart. OK, so maybe I am going to see a taping of her show, but that's considered hanging out, right? A girl can dream.

I am going with 9 other Chester County Moms bloggers and friends. I am so thankful to Sarah for scoring these tickets for us. It's going to be a fantastic day full of laughter. I am sure we'll have alot to blog about upon our return.

There weren't alot of details given about the topic for next Tuesday's show. And, truthfully, does it really matter what the show is about? I mean, we're going to have a day in NYC, see Martha Stewart, and spend adult time with girlfriends... the show's topic is somewhat inconsequential because all of her show topics are good ones.

Then, I checked her website yesterday to see if they had posted any info about next week's lineup and saw the news...."Halloween Crafts with LL Cool J". Oooohhhhh... how the Ladies Love Cool James! This is awesome on many levels.

First, did you ever think you'd see a day when LL Cool J was sitting in Martha Stewart's craft room and helping her with a Jack-O-Lantern? Good stuff. Second, my inner college self has already played and replayed in my head the lyrics to Around the Way Girl and Mamma Said Knock You Out! So many of his songs were fixtures on the party playlists back in the day! I am really looking forward to hearing about his new album... think we might get a copy of the CD? And, third, well, you've SEEN LL Cool J, right? He's the ultimate in eye candy!

Can't wait to "meet" you, LL. I'll be the inappropriately overzealous mid-aged mommy blogger in the audience whose 9 friends are holding her down because she's so star struck!

Check your local listings and look for us in the audience!

Back in Business....

After nearly two weeks of being without my power cord for my laptop, my husband saved me today and bought me a new one! I have never been so happy to see that little blue power light come on in all my life. Our desktop is so slow that it is almost unbearable to use, so it's been a long 2 weeks. So, thanks for the save, sweetie. You made my day.

Now I can get back to blogging more regularly!

Support a Fellow Mommy!

I am posting this message that my friend Sarah had on her blog. I've had the pleasure of meeting K.C. twice and she is wonderful woman and mother. It's a win-win.... you get one (or more!) of her amazing products and she donates some of her earnings to a wonderful cause. Her story will touch your heart.

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My friend, K.C was recently diagnosed with Stage 2A Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer. She had a double mastectomy and will under go chemotherapy for 4 months, Herceptin IV infusion treatment for 12 months and hormone therapy for 5 years. All while chasing around her young daughter and running her Mommy business, The Diaper Bag Wrangler. To read more about her diagnosis and treatment plan, click here to vist her blog. In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 10% of The Diaper Bag Wrangler sales from 10/1- 10/31 are going to be donated to The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition.

Click here to start shopping!

Be Still My Beating Heart...

I'm not sure where I've been the last 2 months, but I just found out today that L.L. Bean has signed on to put a store in the new Uptown Worthington site that is being developed at Rt. 202 and Rt. 29. I swear, I almost drove my car off the side of the road when I drove by and saw the sign today! I love me some L.L. Bean, peeps! I wasn't sure if I could trust the sign, so I came home to do some research. And, sure enough, I found a press release on O Neill Property's site that announced this fantastic news from July.

Now all I need is a Trader Joe's closer to my house and I will be all set!

I *Heart* Maine: Our Adventures

I've wanted to write the vacation recap story all week, but just havent been able to. Part of the reason is that I've been too busy.... this was a huge week of "firsts" around here... more on that later. Another part of the delay, however, is that I am having a really hard time writing this post. There is just SO MUCH I want to say and SO MANY awesome memories to share that it is HARD to pick just a few highlights to share with everyone. However, I am quite sure that no one wants to read an hour-by-hour account of our trip, so let me just jump in and do my best at picking out the "best of" this best trip ever!

Neither of our kids are really car sleepers, so we knew that for all of our sanity, it was best to break it into 2 days (with several stops along the way... including the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport, ME.... OMG... ya gotta get there, people!). So we arrived in Southwest Harbor, ME around 4pm on Sunday. The kids were ROCK STARS during the 2 day drive and we arrived with all of our wits about us. Our friends Lisa and Gordon, who own Acadia Cottages, were there to greet us and, boy, were we happy to see them! We got settled in our cottage and walked down the hill to L & G's house for dinner. What a nice night!

The next day we went met up with our friends Amy and Chris and their 3 year old son, Finn. We decided to go into Acadia National Park and do some biking around Jordan Pond, and then stop for lunch at the Jordan Pond House, which I had been looking forward to since we booked this trip. They serve up their famed popovers, and while they are seriously overpriced, they are so deliciously worth it, and I couldn't wait. The only problem was the route we chose for the bike ride. Ummmm, yeah... it was up hill.... the entire way.... until I could take it no more.... and we decided we really deserved some pop-overs.

See, before I had these two children, I could hold my own on my bike. Bike riding was something that Matt and I did regularly and enjoyed many weekends. So, I was a little taken aback at just how miserable I was on these hills and how out of shape I was. However, it then dawned on me that I had McKenna on my bike with me. And, my mom is gonna be mad that I wrote this... but McKenna is a Big Momma! At almost 11 months she is already over 25 pounds. So, you see, it was hard enough getting my own butt up those hills without an adorable Big Momma strapped to the back!

My beautiful Big Momma!

The next day we had booked ourselves on a beautiful schooner called the Margaret Todd for a sail around Frenchman's Bay. It was a fantastic way to spend a morning together! Once we got underway, Daddy, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Chris all got to help raise the sails, also. What a job that is!

The Margaret Todd

This is my family... aren't I lucky? Love you guys!

Another highlight of the trip was going on a Sunset Carriage Ride through Acadia. The horses pulled us to the summit of Day Mountain and it was such a scenic journey. The kids loved the horses and loved the ride. We packed a picnic dinner and ate on the carriage and at the summit. A big thanks to Amy and Chris for suggesting this outing. We will definitely do another carriage ride on a future Maine trip.

This is Jim and Bob. I love how they are looking all camera shy!

At the summit of Day Mountain!

Snuggling with my baby girl on the carriage ride.

A real highlight of the trip was a hike that the four of us did one morning at Ship Harbor. This hike was great because it was partly wooded and partly snaked along the rocky shoreline. It was so beautiful at every single turn. We kept saying, oh look over there... no, look over there. It was spectacular. This is a relatively flat hike and was easy enough for Maddie to do on her own. I remember this one point in the hike Matt saying "This is my favorite moment of the trip." And, I remember thinking the exact same thing at almost the exact same moment. There was just something really magical about the four of us enjoying the hike and the pure beauty and really feeling like nothing else in the world mattered except the four of us!

My hikers along the Ship Harbor trail

Matt was teaching Maddie how to skip rocks at one point in the hike. I love this action shot as she is practicing her rock skipping technique!

On Friday, my friend Lisa was able to get away from her work at the cottages to show us some of her favorite hotspots that she knew that the kids (and the adults!) would enjoy. She took us to this great spot to find starfish. Lisa found a huge grouping of starfish almost as soon as we got there. She pulled out two starfish for the kids to look at and hold. Maddie touched it, but didnt want to hold it. But, she and Finn loved getting to see the starfish up close and personal!

Lisa and Maddie with the starfish they found!

After we hung out with the starfish, Lisa took Maddie and I over to a private beach to look for sand dollars and sea glass. We couldn't find any sand dollars that day, but we had a great time looking for sea glass. Between the 3 of us (or really just Lisa and I :-)), Maddie has a nice collection of gorgeous sea glass. She is so excited because Lisa promised to make her a sea glass necklace for her 4th birthday and send it to her. She can't wait!

Madison with a pretty piece of green sea glass.

So, Maine, I really do *heart* you. For these few memories and the whole host of others that I have etched in my mind and my heart, I thank you. The trip was full of family, friends, food and fun. We relaxed and unwinded and it was worth the long drive 10 times over! We cant wait to book our next trip!

I'm Lovin' This Giveaway

A big, huge, heartfelt thanks to Michelle over at Mommy Confessions for naming me as the winner of her giveaway today! The prize is a one-year subscription to Kiwi Magazine, whose mission is all about "Growing families the natural and organic way"! I really love this magazine, and even have a link to it here on my blog, but only buy it for myself as a special treat once in a while. So, this was the perfect contest for me!

Giveaways are great, and "green" giveaways are even better!

Thanks again, Michelle.

Wordless Wednesday: Warning

I just got this t-shirt from Shannon's store over at Muzbee Crazy. I LOVE IT!!! She has some ridiculously adorable pieces in her store. The t-shirt fits great and is super soft! This is in a fantastic shade of pink, although my pic is distorting the color because of the crappy lighting in my bedroom :-( Go and check it out!

Dory has a point, you know

Just keep swiming
Just keep swimming
Swimming Swimming Swimming....

Many of you know that I have been working the Weight Watchers program pretty hard for the last few months. It has been relatively "easy" (haha) to incorporate into my busy life and I've been extremely happy with the process and, especially, the results. I have actually hit my Weight Watchers goal weight and stayed at or below that number for 6 weeks of maintenence. So, this week I became a "Lifetime Member" of Weight Watchers. Reaching this distinction has many benefits, not the least of which is not having to pay for meetings anymore (as long as I am within 2 pounds of my goal weight and I go to get weighed in at least one time per month). But, I have to say, I am already feeling tempted to take a little "break". I've noticed I'm not counting my points as vigorously, not drinking enough water, and eating some foods that I know I shouldnt be eating. I still want to lose 10 additional pounds to reach my own personal goal weight and that just isnt gonna happen with ice cream and cheese steaks. But, I think I've gotten it out of my system and I must hunker down and focus.

At the same time, I went over to Mel's blog this morning and she also blogged about her Weight Watchers journey. I have to say that I am really inspired by Mel's post. I know that I can continue to stay on track and continue to be inspired by her success and mine!

As Dory says, I'm gonna just keep swimming........

Chester County Moms Launch Party!

On Thursday night, a bunch of us went to celebrate with the girls over at Chester County Moms at their FABULOUS launch party! Sarah, Jenn, and Margie really know how to throw a par-tay! The gave away fantastic swag bags (which were Wegman's reusable grocery bags... great swag in and of itself!) that were full of amazing goodies from all over the local area! And, the giveaways... oh my goodness... the giveaways they had. My head was spinning from all of the AMAZING choices of prizes there were to put my raffle tickets in for. So many choices, so little time :-) I was even the winner of a Maggie Moos gift card... Yummy!

Thanks so much for a great night, girls. I am so excited that you guys have launched your site and am so happy to have your site as a one-stop resource for all of the local happenings. I'm a devoted reader/member of Chester County Moms already, for sure!

Olympic Pride

I can't wait for Friday night and the official start of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. I love watching the opening ceremonies, and I love the whole 2+ weeks of Olympic programming that I'll get to watch on TV. I always have such a feeling of hopefulness and renewed energy as I watch athletes from all over the world come together in the spirit of healthy competition.

For some reason, the Olympics always cause me to reflect on how I am proud to be an American, and more importantly, a part of this human race and how, at times, our collective humanity and sense of community really shines!

On my List of Things to Do Before I Die..... Go to the Olympic Games (as a spectator, of course!)!

Watch and be inspired!

BIG BROTHER 10!

ok, my BB withraw is officially over! Thank goodness that I popped over to Kelly's blog and she reminded me that the new season started tonight. I had completely forgotten!!!! I get to sit here and watch my favorite guilty pleasure tv show and write a few blog posts. Yay!

All you other BB fans, let's hear from you!

Inspiration sold at Target :-)

I had the luxury of getting out for a few hours yesterday to run some errands without the girls! This doesnt happen very regularly, so I always get a little "drunk" on my freedom when I can just get in and out of the car easily, not have to heave 2 kids into carts, not have to negotiate buying new toys, snacks, or games with Madison, and certainly not have to simultaneously dangle McKenna's favorite toy in front of her with one hand while steering the cart accurately with the other.

I really capitalized on my freedom yesterday as I leisurely wandered through Target. I got to explore whole sections of the store that I dont normally visit because I was by myself. As I was walking by their Art and Frames aisles, I decided to duck in and check out what they had.

Now, I've been in my house for 4 years. It is furnished, and most rooms are painted. But, that's been the extent of my "decorating". It has always been next on my things "to do" list, but we've just never really prioritized time or money to decorating. Something else always just seems more important or necessary. And, I often just dont have the time to actually look at home decor items when I am out with the kids. So, my walls look a little blank and I've committed to trying to pick up some things here and there to try to start making a change in that.

Enter Target. They had some stuff on Clearance that I really liked, so I picked up a couple of different metal signs and one framed piece. I love the framed piece. It is so simple... just a pink frame with a scrapbook style inspirational message inscribed inside. When I saw it, it really invoked alot of emotion in me..... I know, getting emotional in the middle of Target from a sign????..... I can be a little over the top sometimes :-)

It says " If you are confident, You are Beautiful". I love this as a message in general, but especially as a Mom of 2 girls. From my own experience growing up, I know that instilling confidence is one of the main things on my "You Must Accomplish As A Parent" List for my girls. As kid, I was generally more of a follower than I was a leader, and my confidence definitely wasn't where it could have been. I had some issues with my appearance (the braces and the teenage acne certainly didn't help, either) and I also put alot of value in what other people thought of me. I didn't really get a sense of myself until my mid to late 20's. That's really too late to develop that. I want to make sure that my girls always know how great they are and how much they have to offer. I know that I can only do so much. I can only encourage those thoughts for them but some of that will come from inside themselves. But, I am happy to do whatever I can to help foster those feelings....... even if it means hanging a sign from Target in their bathroom as a reminder :-)

Thursday Thirteen!

Sarah from These are the Days has inspired me to do my first Thursday Thirteen post! I couldn't agree with Sarah more.... this will be a great way for us to get to know each other better each Thursday. And, if you are a fellow "Thirteener" go ahead and link to your blog in my comments and we'll come get to know you better too!

So, here are my 13 Favorite Things About Summer:

1. Not having to take 15 minutes to bundle my kids in coats, hats, gloves, and boots just to run out to the store
2. Pedicures.... I'll be honest and say that I really only do them in the summer when i can admire my pretty toes in my flip-flops :-)
3. Being able to only put McKenna in shorts or a onesie so I can see those ADORABLE little chubby legs ALL DAY LONG!
4. Seeing Maddie in a cute little summer dress with flip flops and her hair in pigtails. She is such a little girl now
5. Going to the beach
6. Grilling
7. All fresh fruits, but oooohhh the Cherries! (Had to borrow that one from Sarah - the cherries are addictive!)
8. Sitting out on the back deck
9. Cute shoes
10. Daylight Savings Time
11. Being invited to BBQ's, picnics, and parties. Everyone seems to be just a little more social in the summer.
12. Summer holiday weekends - love Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day
13. Matt and I have summer B-Days!

Ok, let's hear your Thursday Thirteen!

A Change for the Better

So, several months ago, I started on a plan to very slowly introduce more natural and organic foods and other household products into our lives. Eating more organically has even lead us to buy a share in a local CSA this summer. Our CSA share at Maysie's Farm has already been a great influence in our lives on alot of levels, and we are just loving it! The CSA share provides us with all of our vegetable produce needs from late May - November. We get to go weekly to the farm to pick up our food and also do some picking in their "Pick Your Own" gardens. We've picked some great peas so far and enjoyed lots of other great veggies from our weekly pickups.

More recently, I also decided it was time to stop playing around with the extra weight I've been dealing with the last few years. So, 10 weeks ago, I signed up at Weight Watchers and found an amazing meeting leader. I just want to thank my friend Jess for recommending this particular meeting/leader because she is so wonderful, completely inspiring, and she makes me WANT to go to my weekly meetings. Well, last night I went for my weigh-in and I hit my goal!!! Now, keep in mind that I still have at least 11, if not 16, more pounds to lose to meet my own personal goal. But, I'll tell you, it feels SO GOOD to have met my Weight Watchers goal weight! More importantly it feels so good to be more energetic, feel healthier, and to feel confident in myself again! So, here's to losing 23.4 pounds and here's to losing another 16 hopefully!

It's amazing what a positive influence the weight loss and the healthier/more natural eating has had on all of us. I love this new lifestyle we're creating.

Love

This is my family. They are the three most fun, loving, challenging, endearing, make-my-life-worth-living people in my life. I know there are a million different cliches about how much having a family changes your life, changes your capacity to love, changes your opinions on the world, and most importantly changes you as a person. And, the truth is that every single one of them is true. I've never known love like this, and I've never been happier in all of my life.

Matt and I met by chance at a DANCE CLUB of all places. Not exactly where you think you are going to meet a mate, ya know! And, I never in my life have been happier to have gone out with my friends that night to celebrate my birthday, because that was the night my life changed forever. I met this impossibly handsome, dedicated, fun-loving, understanding, compassionate, intelligent, hard-working man and I've never looked back. We were meant to be together. We make such a great team.

Now, five years into our marriage we are so blessed to have these two daughters I like to think of as my own personal miracles. I know all parents think this, but I feel so lucky that these two little girls chose us to be their parents. They are both just the coolest people we know!

I want all three of you to know that you make me so happy and I cant wait to spend our lives together having fun and loving each other!