Mom Blog, Product Reviews, Giveaways | Angelica's Awesome Adventures: April 2011

April 29, 2011

Basic beach gets an upgrade with bold hues and body loving shapes at Express

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Swimsuit season is right around the corner, and I have my fingers crossed that I will be in swimsuit shape by the time it gets here! I've been eyeing this year's line of women's swimwear by Express , and I have to say, there are some really cute styles this year!

In Florida, swimsuit season is already here and believe me, I've already been thinking about which kind I would want. Being the modest, non-bikini wearing type, I think this one is my favorite! The way it's cut looks like it would help hide the "mommy tummy" that we moms have to deal with, too.

Express Swimsuit

If you don't like that one, though, they've got other styles! If you feel comfortable in a bikini, they have some that will show off your curves without being inappropriate to wear in front of your child. They'll make you look shapely while still being tasteful.

In other words, this line of swimwear is totally versatile. You could wear it to the beach. You could wear it in your backyard swimming pool. You could dress it up with a cover up and lounge around your backyard. You could wear it to take your kids to swim lessons or the local splash park. You could wear it pretty much anywhere that swimwear is appropriate. It's totally up to you!

This year's line of swimwear at Express features:

Available in the always-popular monokini, as well as string bikini and strapless and halter bikini styles.
Bright solid colors, on-trend graphic prints, the essential reversible style, nautical-inspired striped and sleek metallic styles.
Designer details include flirty ruffles, self-tie sides, glam beaded embellishments and polished metal hardware.
Removable padding in tops
Bottoms fit smaller to size for moderate back coverage
Swim shorts available for men
Accessorize with Express spring essentials including sandals, tote bags, sunglasses and hats -- for him and for her.

You can also sign up for Express e-mail for a chance to win one of ten $200 Express GiftCards. See sweepstakes rules for more details. Who couldn't use a $200 shopping spree to get your summer wardrobe started? Make sure you don't miss out!

April 27, 2011

We've Got Winners!

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who entered the Money Savvy Pig and Of the Earth Jewelry giveways which ended this week. The winners have been selected and have confirmed their prizes. Congrats to:

Of the Earth Jewelry by Randee Hofmann:

Money Savvy Pig:

If you didn't win this time, there are still more chances to win something at Angelica's Awesome Adventures! Check out the left sidebar for my current giveaways. Best of luck!

April 26, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: 365 Days of Angelica April 20 - April 26 {Linky}

April 20, 2011

April 21, 2011

April 22, 2011

April 23, 2011

April 24, 2011 - Easter -- She was yelling "CHEESE"

April 25, 2011

April 26, 2011 - as you can tell she now loves the swings!

(Days you may have missed: 365 Days of Angelica project.)

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, check out The Life of Rylie...and Bryce Too!, The Florida Hogans, and Shibley Smiles!

Tell Us Something Good - April 26, 2011

It's Tuesday! Come tell us something GOOD that's going on in your life this week! The rules are easy...just make a post on your blog about something that made you smile this week, then come back and link up! If you want to share the button, you can grab it from the box at the top of this post too.

And because I want to leave you with a smile, here's what's good in my life!

Angelica has always been terrified of swings. She didn't like her infant swing, she didn't like the baby swings at the playground as an infant, and when we got our swingset, she would only allow me to put her on the swing and let her sit. If I pushed her even just a tiny bit she would freak out. So on Easter, we had a little playdate with my friend's daughter and Angelica actually asked me to push her on the swing!

Now, at first she was a little timid about it, but then she asked me to push her SO high, and she said, "Hey! I'm not scared or even sad!" and then she kept saying "ROCKETSHIP! Mommy, I am going so high and fast!" She LOVED IT.

Now, I don't know if this new joy will last, but I am crossing my fingers. She finally broke through that shell and totally loved it and it made me smile.

Link up below with me and LeeAnn from The Life of Rylie...and Bryce Too! Let's spread the joy!

McFatty Monday: A Tuesday Update

Today I am 255 again. So I think I was retaining some water from all the JUNK I had eaten over the Easter weekend. I only have myself to blame for that!

But, yesterday, I caved in and joined a gym. Now I have no excuse not to work out. It's open until 11:00 PM, it's about 10 minutes from daycare, five minutes from my office, and so there are many combinations of ways I can squeeze in a run or a couple of weightlifting sessions during the week.

I have a feeling I may start seeing the number on the scale drop. And I LOVE that.

Giveaway ending TONIGHT! And still low entries!

Just a quick reminder -- I have a fabulous giveaway ending tonight!

Of the Earth Jewelry ends TONIGHT at 9 PM EST and has only 105 entries! The verdigris bird necklace being given away would be an wonderful Mother's Day or graduation gift (my sister loved hers!), so make sure you get your entries in before it closes!

Thanks to all who entered the Money Savvy Pig giveaway which ended last night! I'll be drawing the winner tonight and will announce who won once the winner responds!

My other giveaways are listed in the left sidebar as well.
Good luck to all who enter!

April 25, 2011

McFatty Monday - 4/25/11

It's 8 AM and I've just weighed myself.
257.

I'm right back where I started in January (I think) and I'm rather disappointed in myself.

So here we go again. I had dropped from doing McFatty Monday, but I think I'm going to start linking up for it again. I could use a royal kick in the pants to get going again. Easter weekend did me in diet-wise, and I've been super lazy lately. I was going to lose 8 pounds in March, then 8 pounds in April, and I've actually GAINED about that much.

I'm recommitting today. Here's to a new beginning!

Tell Us Something Good

Though I consider myself a realist, I like to exercise optimism wherever I can. Life is just too short to dwell on the darker side of things. Life in general, especially life with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers can wear you down considerably, and sometimes you feel like you're just stuck in a rut, with a long stream of bad luck. I don't want to get stuck in that state of mind, so I am teaming up with my friend LeeAnn from The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! for Tell Us Something Good!

I can't take credit for naming this meme...for that, you can check out LeeAnn's Tell Us Something Good post. Every Tuesday we'll post a linky, and we would love for you to write up a brief post about something good in your life and link up with us! It doesn't matter if it's big or small, as long as it made you smile, we'd love to hear it!

This is, of course, not a one-way street. Come back tomorrow to share with us, and we'll make sure to share our good times with you too!

Low Entries Giveaways -- Ending today and tomorrow!

Just a quick reminder -- I have two GREAT giveaways ending this week and both of them have low entries.

Money Savvy Pig ends tonight at 9 PM EST and as of right now, there are only 27 entries, so you still have a great chance to win! This piggy bank is a great way to introduce financial concepts to your child. My daughter is two (three next month) and LOVES her piggy!

Of the Earth Jewelry ends tomorrow at 9 PM EST and has only 67 entries! The necklace being given away would be an excellent Mother's Day gift, so make sure you get your entries in before it closes!

My other giveaways are listed in the left sidebar as well.
Good luck to all who enter!

April 21, 2011

CLOSED - Five Silly Monkeys Children's Book {Review & Giveaway}

This giveaway is now closed! Thanks to all who entered! The winner has been contacted and has 48 hours to respond. Keep checking back for more awesome giveaways!

If your child is like mine, he or she probably LOVES reading. Since my parents read to me on a regular basis, I learned to read early in life and grew to love it as a child, teenager, and adult. The American Academy of Pediatrics says it's never too early to start reading to your child, so from birth, I read simple picture books to Angelica and she loved it. (This article on BabyCenter about the importance of reading to your child pretty much covers all you need to know.)

When Angelica was about ten months old, we added a bedtime story to our evening routine. Now, at almost three years old, she knows our bedtime routine by heart. She gets her bath, puts on her PJs, brushes her teeth and then picks two books to have read to her before "lights out". Of all the parts of this routine, she most looks forward to reading books.

One of her first favorites was Five Little Monkeys (jumping on the bed), which she had committed to memory. When I was given the opportunity to review Five Silly Monkeys, which is a cute spin-off of the classic Five Little Monkeys story, I was so excited. I just KNEW Angelica would get a kick out of this humorous twist on one of her favorite books.

Along with Five Silly Monkeys, we received a copy of Five Little Ladybugs. Both of these books are now bedtime favorites!

These books are great for any age, even the littlest baby. The colors are bright and interesting, and the little raised monkeys and ladybugs provide a way to encourage touch. As you turn the pages, one by one the monkeys or ladybugs disappear, so for the older child, this can prove to be a useful counting tool.

As you can see below, Angelica is thoroughly enjoying reading these books to herself in bed...except, she can't read yet. She really loves that the books are small enough for her to hold and look through by herself, and then really enjoys having mommy or daddy read them to her.

Buy it! Piggy Toes Press sells Five Little Ladybugs for $5.95 and an awesome Five Silly Monkeys gift set with finger puppets for $12.95.

WIN IT! Piggy Toes Press has generously offered to give a copy of Five Silly Monkeys (book only) to one lucky reader of Angelica's Awesome Adventures!

Mandatory Entry: Comment and tell me what your child's favorite bedtime story is! (If you don't have children, tell me what YOUR favorite story was!)

Extra Entries (Optional): (Please leave an extra comment for each entry)

Follow Piggy Toes Press on Facebook.
Follow Piggy Toes Press on Twitter.
Follow me (publicly) on Google Friend Connect (left sidebar) and leave me a comment letting me know you did so. (If you're already following, that counts too - just comment and let me know!)
Subscribe to Angelica's Awesome Adventures by Email (Subscription must be confirmed to count)
Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Facebook (this blog, NOT my personal page -- I love you guys but my personal page is for real-life friends and family only)
Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Twitter
Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Networked Blogs (left sidebar)
Tweet about this giveaway - can use the following tweet: (Good for one entry DAILY)

Promote an early love of reading! #WIN a copy of Five Silly Monkeys for your child @angelicasmommy (Ends 5/4) http://bit.ly/evIr8E #giveaway

TWO Bonus Entries: Add my button to your blog and leave a link where I can find it! (Comment twice)
THREE Bonus Entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post. (Comment three times)
FIVE BONUS ENTRIES: Post this giveaway to a giveaway linky (Comment five times with a link back to the linky) - unlimited entries!

Please leave your email address in your comment or make sure it is visible in your profile!

Contest ends on May 4, 2011 at 9 PM EST. Open to US Residents only and the prize cannot be mailed to a P.O. Box. Winner will be chosen by random.org and contacted via email. Winner must respond within 48 hours of the email being sent or another winner will be selected. (Please make sure you check your spam and junk folders frequently to make sure you don't miss out!)

Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this review in any way. Piggy Toes Press provided me with a review package and will also handle prize fulfillment. Thanks to Piggy Toes Press for providing the review package and giveaway prize! All content in this review is my opinion.

Got Toys? Thursday Toy Giveaway Link-Up, 4/21 {Linky}

Welcome to the Got Toys? Thursday Giveaway Link-Up!

This link-up is designed to promote your giveaways for children's toys and products! When I'm searching around the blogosphere for giveaways, I love having the chance to win something for my daughter to play with -- and she loves getting new toys! If you're running a family-friendly giveaway, especially for anything related to children's products -- toys, clothes, feeding products, gift certificates for places that sell children's products -- link them up!!

Chances are, if you add your giveaway here, you'll get at least one entry -- from me! (If I haven't already entered!)

I'd also love it if you followed me on Google Friend Connect, Twitter, or Facebook to be reminded when this goes live each week. (This is not mandatory, just a suggestion!)

Aside from that, feel free to link up as many as you have! Oh, and enter some too!

PLEASE NOTE: Because this is a giveaway linky for children's products, any non-family friendly giveaways will be removed from the linky (this includes Eden's Fantasy and Pure Romance). This linky isn't for THAT kind of toys, my friends!

Thanks for playing! Good luck with your giveaways!

CLOSED - Of the Earth Jewelry: Unique Custom Jewelry for Mother's Day {Review & Giveaway}

This giveaway has ended! Thanks to all who entered! The winner has been contacted and will be announced as soon as she has confirmed. More giveaways are posted on the left sidebar, so be sure to check them out!

Mother's Day is right around the corner and I've been gathering ideas for things to get the special moms in my life. I absolutely love personalized, meaningful pieces of jewelry. Like most moms, my family is my world, and I love to wear jewelry that represents my love for them.

I was recently given the opportunity to review an item from Of the Earth Jewelry by Randee Hofmann, and as I am so glad I did! Since I recently received an item for myself from another company, the review item I chose was also a gift for my sister, who is the mother of my amazing four year old nephew and two year old niece. Since this post would obviously ruin the surprise, I gave her the necklace last week and she loved it! I was also really, really impressed by the beauty and quality of the necklace I picked out for her and wish I had kept it for myself. (I may actually order one or ask for one for Mother's Day!)

Here is Randee's philosophy on her jewelry:
Handmade Copper, Wire Wrapped, and Beaded Jewelry Inspired by Nature

Jewelry making is a passion come to life. With inspiration from 10 years of experience as a floral designer and a love of nature, I created Of the Earth Jewelry.

Her shop includes items such as the Robin's Egg Nest Necklace, Robin's Egg Nest Ring, Verdigris Bird with Copper Initial necklace, and many other customizable necklaces, bracelets, rings, and other accessories.

For my review, I chose the Robin's Egg Nest Necklace. Since you can customize the wire, the pearl colors, and the metal used for the bird, I chose the copper wire and copper colored bird with blue zircon and lavender colored pearls for the eggs.

First, the necklace came packaged really nicely, in a box with a customized "thank you" label.

Inside was the necklace I picked out. I chose the nest necklace with copper wire, and a blue zircon and lavender pearl "eggs" to represent my nephew and niece. I was really happy with the quality of the necklace, too. It seemed durable and really well put together.

I fell in love with it, and even though I didn't get to keep it, I had to try it on...

With Mother's Day right around the corner (May 8th!) now is the perfect time to start looking at gift options. Any item from Of the Earth Jewelry is sure to impress the special mom in your life.

Buy it: Of the Earth Jewelry has items ranging in price from $14 - $78 (the necklace I reviewed sells for around $19, depending on the number of pearls you add).

WIN IT! Randee Hofmann and Of the Earth Jewelry is offering a Verdigris Initial Necklace to one LUCKY reader of Angelica's Awesome Adventures!

MANDATORY ENTRY: (This must be done before any other entries)
Who would you give this to if you win? (It's okay if you'd keep it for yourself too!

Extra Entries (Optional): (Please leave an extra comment for each entry)

Like Of the Earth Jewelry by Randee Hofmann on Facebook
Visit Of the Earth Jewelry on Etsy and let me know which other item you like.
Visit Of the Earth Jewelry's blog and follow them on Google Friend Connect.
Follow me (publicly) on Google Friend Connect (left sidebar) and leave me a comment letting me know you did so. (If you're already following, that counts too - just comment and let me know!)
Subscribe to Angelica's Awesome Adventures by Email (Subscription must be confirmed to count)
Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Facebook (this blog, NOT my personal page -- I love you guys but my personal page is for real-life friends and family only)
Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Twitter
Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Networked Blogs (left sidebar)
Tweet about this giveaway - can use the following tweet: (Good for one entry DAILY)

Win a beautiful verdigris bird necklace - Great Mother's Day gift @angelicasmommy (Ends 4/25) http://ow.ly/4Ainb #giveaway

TWO Bonus Entries: Add my button to your blog and leave a link where I can find it! (Comment twice)
THREE Bonus Entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post. (Comment three times)
FIVE BONUS ENTRIES: Post this giveaway to a giveaway linky (Comment five times with a link back to the linky) - unlimited entries!

Please leave your email address in your comment or make sure it is visible in your profile!

Contest ends on April 26, 2011 at 9 PM EST. Open to US Residents only and the prize cannot be mailed to a P.O. Box. Winner will be chosen by random.org and contacted via email. Winner must respond within 48 hours of the email being sent or another winner will be selected. (Please make sure you check your spam and junk folders frequently to make sure you don't miss out!)

Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this review in any way. Of the Earth Jewelry by Randee Hofmann provided me with a review package and will also handle prize fulfillment. Thanks to Randee Hofmann for providing the review package and giveaway prize! All content in this review is my opinion.

April 20, 2011

Downloading some thoughts

It feels like forever since I've done a real blog post!

In all honesty, the past couple of weeks have just been packed full of stuff to do. I mean...I haven't done an honest-to-goodness grocery shopping trip in over TWO WEEKS. You can imagine how my cabinets are starting to look. But that, folks, is a good thing. I'm trying to wean us (and particularly Angelica) off of the processed and unhealthy foods and onto more unprocessed and organic foods.

Going backwards...last weekend I accomplished one of my New Years Resolutions. We officially became members of First Unitarian (our "church"...though don't let the phrase mislead you, it's not a Christian church) last Friday and celebrated with a beautiful new member ceremony on Sunday morning. I feel so happy that our family now holds membership with such a welcoming and accepting community. It truly feels like a second home. I'm also thrilled that we've gotten more involved in the church, both through our Young Adults group and through volunteering in one way or another. I'm currently participating in a water conservation project with the church and it's GREAT.

That Monday I also started my new job and I am just loving it. I was worried that with how much I loved my last job that I would wind up missing it, and while I do miss the people (a LOT), it's amazing to finally be starting a career. As always there's a transition period and a bit of a learning curve, but I feel like I'm picking it up, and I work on another team of amazing people.

Somewhere in all of this mix of excitement we found time to take Angelica on her first theme park visit (Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios), which I think we probably enjoyed more than she did. She's scared to death of rides, but she did enjoy the splash park at Seuss Landing. I took tons of pictures so I'll blog about that in a separate post.

We also spent time with Grandma T and Grandpa J one weekend, and spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa G (my parents) tonight.

This may be a random thought, but, I can't believe we're preparing for Easter already. Wasn't it just January 1st? In fact, wasn't it just Easter last year?

Angelica's been good. We've got her THIRD birthday party booked and I can't believe in just over a month she's going to be three. Much like the thing about Easter I just mentioned...didn't I JUST bring the scrunchy newborn Angelica home from the hospital yesterday?

We can also scratch what I said a few weeks ago about three being better than two, because she can now throw an epic tantrum that puts the terrible two tantrums to shame. When she's not having a tantrum though, I am totally loving her personality these days. She's imaginative, inquisitive, thoughtful, too smart for her own good, and she's even starting to show signs of being affectionate. Now if only she'd show that affection to me and not by giving the poor cat gigantic bear hugs...

She's really at a crossroads right now between being totally needy and totally independent. My favorite part of this is when she interrupts me if I'm talking to someone else and if I don't respond immediately, she says, "Hey, Mommy! I'm TALKING to you!"

I think I'm going to wrap up this post here. I hate when a blog post comes out kind of random and rambling like this, but I wanted to get a few thoughts out of my head before I forget them.