Author: cvegnad

November 27, 2013

Holiday Travel Tips – Packing While Keeping Your Sanity!

It is that time of year again, when many of us travel long (or short!) distances to be with our loved ones. Although these moments are special the preparation for these trips can be very overwhelming – what to pack, how much to pack and how to pack it.

I recently came across a great post by Paul Fredrick focused on the top ten ways to keep your clothes looking fresh while travelling. You can check out their full list here (if you are not familiar with the Paul Fredrick brand check out their site – they have a great selection of men’s clothes!). The list is geared to men but I found that a lot of them relate to families perfectly. My favourite tips from Paul Fredrick have to be the ones related to toiletries, shoes and non iron fabrics.

I am nowhere near a pro yet to packing for trips but I have learned some countless lessons while travelling with my children.

My number one lesson has to be the toiletries and medications. Both of my children have asthma, eczema and allergies that require us to bring them everywhere we go. It is always important to have any bottled liquids in a Ziploc baggie by itself and then it can be safely stored with other toiletries in a large Ziploc bag (I know bubble gum Benadryl smells nice but it is a pain to clean up!). Remember all those fantastic samples you get in the mail? They are PERFECT for travelling. I keep mine in bins in the bathroom cupboard and use them up on our travels. Perfect size for any trip. Just make sure to keep them all in Ziploc baggies and separated from your clothes.

Remember those non iron fabrics that Paul Fredrick told us about in their post? I agree 100%! Keep your sanity and pack as many non iron fabrics as possible.

When it comes to packing clothes I start with a list (can you tell I am a list nut?!). I make a separate list for each member in the family and start writing down how many items we will need (t-shirts, socks, underwear), will you need a bathing suit, shorts, pants, a sweater. I do not like over packing so I make sure we will have what each one of us needs. I also like to let our kids help choose which items they are going to bring. They get excited to help out and then no one can complain that I did not pack them what they wanted (how many parents have heard that before?!).

My biggest pet peeve – finding one of my family members stuffing shoes or sandals in with our clothes. Always keep them separate from your clothes. I usually pack them in a completely separate bag all together.

Above all else, have fun and enjoy packing!

November 26, 2013

Kid Free Night! w/linky #WW

We had our first kid free Saturday night (well three hours!) for the first time in about seven months!!

Here are the highlights! Don’t forget to link up below as well.

November 26, 2013

Datevitation: Keeping Relationships Fun! #Review #Giveaway

Date nights? Some days I feel like what is that???

It is so hard with children to keep date ideas fun and exciting. Date nights become non existent at times and we both hate that. It is so important for us to keep our relationship strong, not only for ourselves but also for our children. Coming up with fun and new date ideas can be so hard! I like to be creative with my husband and surprise him with something new and different.

Have you ever made homemade date night coupons?

Several times I have made my own “coupons” for date ideas to give to my husband on special occasions. They can be fun, exciting, different or romantic but any way you look at it, the date coupons add that extra element of excitement to date night!

Datevitation is the first online platform to create your very own personalized love coupon book. No more pre-packaged, generic love coupon books. Datevitation allows you to fully customize the dates, text and design. You can choose from over 500 date ideas!! There are so many date night ideas ranging from a walk, picnic, restaurant to skydiving – I had so much fun choosing the date options for our special book.

One of the neatest parts of this site is that you can even insert your own faces into the coupon book. I had so much fun at this part – you add in the face of your recipient (in this case my husband) and choose their hair style and colour. There was definitely a great variety of hair styles to play around! This was the perfect way to personalize our love coupon book just for us and add a little more excitement to date night.

The date ideas are not just limited to couples though. As many parents have experienced (and we found out quickly with the birth of our second son) it is so important to schedule regular “date” nights with your children for quality one on one time. They don’t have to be expensive date ideas but as simple as baking together or going to play at the park together. These moments are so important in all the chaos that is life – a great way to catch up on all the things that are going on in your child’s life.

Datevitation was created by the husband-wife team of Alex and Olga Karpman. They have a great blog where you can get to know more about them, go through great date ideas and ideas to keep romancing blooming. I loved their post on how to create a gourmet meal for your significant other when you can not cook, check it out here.

What I loved about Datevitation:

the website itself was clear to read, everything visible
account set up was simple and quick
creating the love coupons was quick and painless – it was easy for me to use and no mistakes made!
with over 500+ date ideas you can’t go wrong!
adds that extra element of fun and excitement into a relationship
they make the perfect personalized gift, it gives your gift that special touch

Datevitation is not only offering a fabulous giveaway for you but they are also offering all my readers a great discount on their coupon books. Right now use the code: WORKINGMOMMY to receive $10 off your order and free shipping. These make perfect gifts for Christmas so make sure to get that order in before December 13th, 2013 to ensure delivery – I can not wait to see my husband’s face when he opens his!

Enter now to win your own love coupon book! This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada, 18 years of age and older.

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received the product mentioned above for the purpose to review. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 25, 2013

Diaper & Wipe Delivery #Giveaway #US

Looking for that perfect gift for an upcoming baby shower or even maybe a grand holiday gift for the new family addition? We have the ideal solution – diaper and wipe delivery from BabyShowersByMail.

BabyShowersByMail is the home of the “Year Supply of Diapers“. You had find a selection of the best baby gifts hand picked by the experts at BabyShowersByMail including Diaper and Wipe delivery which can be purchased in packages of 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and even an entire 12 month year.

So no matter what you choose, you can find and send the perfect baby shower gift at BabyShowersByMail. The ordering process is simple and ships quickly. BabyShowersByMail offers products babies need and parents appreciate. When it comes to their diaper delivery service, they provide great service to their mom’s by delivering the brands and sizes they need directly to their door.

Who do you know that could benefit from Diaper and Wipe delivery?

One lucky reader will receive a 6 Month Diaper and Wipe Delivery Package from BabyShowersByMail!

Giveaway organized by Mom Powered Media. Co-hosted by: Everything Mommyhood, Ever Clever Mom and Love Me Some Coupons.

Ends December 23rd at 11:59pm, open to US, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:Working Mommy Journal is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. Please contact teri@mompoweredmedia.com with questions or to see your business or blog featured on the next big event!

November 21, 2013

Nutrience: Grain Free for Our Fur Baby #review

Toopy has been a part of our family for almost seven years now. She is our best friend, our guard dog and a special part of our family. We would do anything for her.

Her health problems started roughly two years ago. Our healthy dog took a turn for the worse and was covered in red sores that she would scratch until they bled. She was also losing her fur in large clumps all over the house. We were terrified.

Our first visit to the vet, they diagnosed her with allergies and gave her steroid injections, pills and sent us on our way. One month later, we were back in their office. Again, the diagnosis was allergies with the same treatment plan. We went through this cycle for the past two years until the vet finally said she does not think it is an environmental allergy but a food allergy. We tried every food possible for her – including the vet recommended kangaroo meat one (in the hopes that something foreign to her will prevent her from reacting). No such luck!

When I got the word from BzzAgent that Toopy was chosen to try out the new Nutrience dog food, I thought this might just be it! Nutrience comes in three forms: Natural, Grain Free and Original.

We decided on the Grain Free version for Toopy only because of her skin sensitivities and possible allergies. Their Grain Free version contains fresh meat, fish, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and botanicals. The grains are replaced with lentils and sweet potatoes. Sounds delicious right?

Nutrience Natural is made up of fresh meats, fish, low calcimine carbohydrates, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and botanicals. Their original formula is the basis for the other two and was developed to give our pet family members as much uncomplicated food that contains wholesome ingredients.

These ingredients all work together to help keep your pet healthy, happy and active.

Toopy seemed to love her food – hard to ask her this question but those bowls emptied pretty quick! She had no problems transferring over to this brand at all. The food size was perfect for her and she had no trouble chewing them. We actually noticed an improvement with her skin as well. She was scratching less, releasing less oils onto her skin, less dry skin and generally she was happier. Her happier self was much more playful and she is back on the road to being an active and happy dog again!

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned products for free as part of the BzzAgent program. The opinions expressed are my own.