Lets celebrate Mothers Day by celebrating all mothers

Imagine walking to the hospital while in labor. How about not being able to afford proper care for yourself during pregnancy and postpartum care? Local staff not being properly trained on how to take care of you if an emergency cesarean is required, or the lack of medicine if needed? These are frightening things for a woman to hear about but sadly they are fact. Even in this current day there is a lack of maternal care around the world.

 

It's a scary reality for those who are affected by these situations but it's one that can be easily prevented. Moms4Moms was started by Holly Pavlika from Mom-entum along with 12 other amazing bloggers to bring awareness and help to Every Mother Counts. 

Last year approximately $14.6 billion was spent on Mothers Day presents. This Mothers Day instead of buying material items why not instead make a donation to this wonderful cause. If donations aren't possible there are other ways to help. 

• Have an old cell phone collecting dust in a drawer? You can donate it through Hope Phones.They will supply a postage page shipping label, all you have to do is put it in the mail.
• You can join the movement and spread the word.  The best way to get things started is by word of mouth. The power of people uniting for a cause is a magical thing. In fact as of April 26, 2011 Babycenter is now teamed up with with Every Mother Counts in spreading awareness for this wonderful campaign.
• You can host a Watch Party. Simply RSVP to watch the "No Woman, No Cry" premier on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). Simply RSVP on the facebook page & a party kit will be sent to you.
• Become an advocate for family planning and help eliminate barriers to basic reproductive health care services.
• Become a skilled birth attendant an advanced practice nurse who is trained in child delivery, prenatal and postpartum care.
• Buy a Lifewrap a first aid device used to stabilize women who are suffering from obstetric hemorrhage and shock
• Support obstetric care to end fistula and restore health, hope and a sense of dignity to women living with this condition.
• Support The Birth Place Jennie Joseph's practice in central Florida featured in No Woman, No Cry.

 

Let me introduce you to Mr. Teddy

My youngest has a lovey and his name is Teddy.  I originally bought it for my oldest over seven years ago but he had absolutely no interest so when my daughter was born I gave it to her. And just like her brother she had no interest. I loved that teddy just for the simple fact that it was the first toy I bought for my son so when my youngest was born I gave it to him and surprisingly he latched on and has never let go. His lovey goes with him everywhere.  He has even tried to take it into the shower & bath. I left the house without it once & will NEVER do that again. When I wash Teddy he will stand in front of the washing machine and cry. So I usually try to sneak it in there while he is busy doing something.

Today was wash day & his Teddy was in desperate need of a bath (seriously, it was getting nasty) so I turned a movie on for the kids & gave him an Iron Man toy & sneaked away with it. 

Introducing Mr. Teddy

It might be a little hard to see just how dirty he is so I attempted at a close up shot. 

I received a box of Tide Ultra in clean breeze scent and thought cleaning Mr. Teddy would be the perfect test subject.

So here we go, testing is in progress.

Little man didn't notice Teddy was gone until about half way through the wash cycle. There was a lot of cuddling and hugs while he took his "bath". And I know you are all waiting for it, the final result!

Here he is folks, a fresh smelling, no more stained Mr. Teddy!

There is a definite color difference on him, he looks almost brand new!

Can you see those little fingers, that would be little man wanting his Teddy & I was mean enough to tell him to wait & let me take a picture really quick. Horrible I tell you.

I honestly couldn't be more pleased with Tide Ultras new laundry detergent. As if the clean scent it comes in wasn't enough it also got rid of stains on Mr. Teddy that I have been trying to get out for over a year now. It's also very easy to use with the spoon inside the box with easy instructions on the side of the box telling you what measurements you need based on laundry load size. I used to use dry detergent before having kids but switched to liquid. I'm not sure why I did that but I will definitely be switching back. It's easier to use & less messy then liquid. With three kids in the house stains are a standard but with Tide Ultra stain removal quality it's really a no brainer.
P&G is doing a wonderful job in the Future Friendly campaign to raise awareness on saving water and reducing waste. You can check out their facebook page which has a lot of useful tips on how to help achieve these things.

Copy Embed Code

* I was provided a sample of Tide Ultra from P&G as part of a SheSpeaks campaign. All opinions stated above are purely my own. *

Wordless Wednesday

I just realized a little bit ago that today is Wednesday. Pretty sad considering it's eight o'clock at night now. It has been a long day though, many many hours spent at the Orthodontist for my son, my youngest is sick and I've had a migraine all day. But I just can't miss doing a Wordless Wednesday post.

Monday we celebrated Passover at my Aunt and Uncles house. This is the first holiday we have been together at since my Grandfather passed. It was definitely different with out him there but I am very thankful we got to spend that time with my family since it will be more difficult after the move.


My beautiful Grandma <3


He thinks he's being sneaky, little bugger LOL


And I am not sure why but every time I look at this picture I think of my Grandpa

There you have it, a very late but still within the time limits Wordless Wednesday post.

iHeart Faces photo challenge-Wind

iHeart Faces

Living in the high desert of California I know a little something about living with wind. No wait, I take that back. I know a lot about it. We experience about 350 days out of the year of some speed of wind out here. It's not gale force winds but sometimes it's down right scary listening to the howling while inside my house.

My point being, I have many pictures that I was hoping would be amazing only to end up being disappointed by the wind coming up and either not being able to go outside or to not be able to see my children's faces at all because they were covered by their hair.

But today, the weather was awesome. So I decided last minute to take a trip to see the Poppy's. The wind was for the most part calm and the temperature outside was a beautiful 82 degrees add into that a bubble machine and you have the makings of a perfect day.

So without further a due, here is my picture of "Wind".

Wordless Wednesday

My daughter has been interested in dance for quite some time now. We took her for a class last year just to see how she would do. She spent the entire time crying or just standing there with a pouty face. Of course after the class was over she was all smiles and couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had. Makes me laugh every time I think about it. Fast forward to last month. My sister asked if she wanted to try dance again and since her daughter also goes to dance she offered to take her with them. I figured since it's been a year it couldn't hurt to try. And guess what, she did great! She loved every second of it. So we signed her up.



I made the girls stop for a picture before we went in because they looked so cute together.



And I just had to include my son in here. He is my little mini photographer in training.

Yo ho yo ho, a pirates life for me

Oh yes, pirates. Pirates of the Caribbean 4-On Stranger Tides to be exact.  I like many other women out there is a Johnny Depp fan, and I love the Pirates of the Caribbean. Even as a pirate Johnny Depp is hot, dirty, tan skin, long dread-locked hair. H.O.T. Enough swooning and onto the good stuff.

Disney will be releasing the fourth installment to the Pirates of the Caribbean on May 20th this year. Along with some of our favorite characters like Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush)  and Gibbs (Kevin R. McNally) there are also some new characters that have been added to the cast. Penelope Cruz who will be playing Angelica is an old acquaintance of Jack Sparrows that forces him into helping her in finding the Fountain of Youth. This movie is sure to be full of action and adventure and of course a little bit of comedy thrown in.


  Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides is scheduled to be released on May 20, 2011 at local theaters. If you want to see little sneak peaks including pictures and videos check out the movies facebook page. They have even started a countdown for the movie to be released. Facebook.com/PiratesoftheCaribbean

One last peek just because. If that wasn't enough go check out the movies facebook page!

This and that

Life right now is hectic. It may not seem that way for those that see me on a regular basis but inside I am going just a little bit crazy. We are moving soon. Really soon and it just hit me today that this is really happening. Don't get me wrong I've known for a few months that this was real but the full extent of it has hit me and I may or may not be slightly emotional over it all. Right about now I am entering "freak out" mode. You remember the scene in The Exorcist when her head spins around?

Yeah that one. That's kind of how I am seeing myself right now, except on the inside. LOL Okay all kidding aside (sorry I had to, that movie just cracks me up) I think it's more the stress of what we are about to embark on and my worries of how every thing will affect the kids.
We have moved quite a bit in the passed few years. Eleven times in nine years to be exact. And no we are not military. For a while there it seemed to be our thing. But thankfully we have been where we are now for three years. In those three years my children have become very close to my family and taking them away from that worries me. We wont be able to just hop in the car and drive over there. Sure there will be phone conversations which trust me, I know how much those help but I still worry. I try not to stress over it to much because it's not something that should consume me and I know we will deal with it, if it ever comes up.
So enough of the down side. On the up side.

I went and visited OU for my first time. Let me just start by saying the campus is absolutely GORGEOUS. So many of the buildings are built in the old time Gothic architecture which I find stunning. While we were there we went to the student store, I mean really, who goes to visit a college campus without buying some kind of memorabilia right! As soon as I saw this I couldn't help but burst into laughter and of course I had to take a picture.

Boooo on Texas, yay Oklahoma. Okay maybe my football pride needs some work but it's a start and since I have been informed that once we move we HAVE to become Sooner fans I will work on my football trash talking.
My husband says the library is beyond amazing. I cannot wait to go check that out on our next visit. The town is definitely different then any of the other places we have lived. It reminds me of DFW area but on a much smaller small town feel kind of scale.

I mean come on, isn't that just beautiful! And that was inside town.
I am excited to be starting this new adventure in life with my husband and children. There will be an adjustment period but as we all know with moves that is normal. So bring on the boxes (I haven't even started packing yet, ahhh) and come forth moving truck. I will tackle you and conquer this move and bring nothing but joy on our new adventure.