POLL: Help Us Decide on a Baby Name

Todays blog is going to be a poll. My husband and I are going next week for hopefully our last sonogram and we are going to find out the gender of the baby (if we can tell, we couldnt see anything on the last sonogram). 

So here is our dilemma we have already decided on a boys name, if it is a boy. We had a really hard time with this but finally found ONE that we agree on. Now for a girls name we are stuck between two that we absolutely LOVE! 

So we want your help. Tell us which of our girls name you love more. I will post both and the reasons we love them as well. We ask that you post on the facebook page which one you like. 


Charlii Julle (pronounced Charlie Jewel) We love Charlii because Charles is my husbands and my dads middle name, and it was my husbands grandfathers name as well. The initials C J are also the initials of my best friend who is going to be the god mother of all of our children. 

Lorelai Catori (pronounce Laural-lie Ka-tori) this is just a name that we LOVE, Lorelai was the main character on the show Gilmore Girls and it is unique so we love it. Catori is a native american indian name and my husband is 1/16 Cherokee so we love indian names. 


Please help us out. We want to be ready when we have our sonogram so we know what we will be naming our newest bundle of joy! 

Don't forget post your vote on the facebook page under the blog post for today :)

Until Next Time:
Mom of Many 

 

Holiday Spirit and Family Traditions

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I am finally getting into the holiday spirit! Our family tradition every year, is that Black Friday, we do not go shopping; we stay home and decorate our home with the kids while listening to Christmas music all day. It is one of the days that my husband is always off work, so it works out nicely that he is here and we can do it as a family. 

So the tree is up and if I do say so myself it looks beautiful! I am one of those who has to have as many lights on it as I can get on there! I love the lights! This year only 4 strands made it on the tree, as two of my other strands had lighting issues :(  But this mama built the tree, and put the lights on that worked. After that the kids came in and they did all the bulbs and ornaments themselves! I love seeing their faces light up when they are putting them on the tree. Daddy then puts the skirt under the tree and the last thing, our santa clause on top. That is daddy's job every year! 


Now being a couple days after Thanksgiving today I began the good ole wrapping tradition. Most my gifts are bought and here, of course I am waiting for the last few things I ordered to arrive. I also have 3 more people to buy for as well, but of course these are the hardest 3 people to buy for so they may not get presents to Christmas Eve LOL. But today, I was able to wrap about 1/3 of the gifts that I have here and started sorting them into bags based on whose home they go to for our Christmas activities. 

My husbands family has Christmas as a whole family on Christmas eve, we all gather for dinner, then after we all take turns opening our presents from each others families. My husband has a semi-large family, so we have lot of kids and adults all gathered together and we all have a blast, each of us takes turns opening the presents from everyone else! The kids love it, and we all get to see who got what. Then after we all kick back and relax, settle in for some pie and cookies and sometimes even pull out the family games and play a few for a little while. 

Then a family tradition at home Christmas Eve, after the long Christmas Eve events at my husbands families home, we nestle into our pjs, light a fire, and all gather in the livingroom cuddled up on the couch and settle in for a family movie, Polar Express! After that the kids put out their cookies and milk for Santa and its off to bed they go. Dad and Mom then await for the time that Santa arrives! 

Christmas Day we are up before dawn, the kids open their presents and daddy cooks us a family breakfast. I don't have much family so most years we just stay home and enjoy the day as a family. We open all the presents and take as many as we can out of their boxes and get rid of majority of the garbage out. All the wrapping paper gets set aside and used to start fires in the fire place! And that completes our holiday. 

Thinking of all the family traditions puts me more in the holiday spirit, this week I will be starting my Christmas cards and sending them out in a week or two. It usually takes me that long to get them all made out. So thinking of our family traditions, what are yours? Do you do anything special as a family for the holidays? I would love to hear them, please post them over on the facebook page :)

Happy Holidays to you all! Hope you will join me in the Holiday spirit!

Until Next Time:
Mom of Many     

 

New Idea for Saving Money...Opinionated Mamas Swap? Opinions Please

Sitting here thinking about how much stuff I have packed away sitting here waiting for us to have a yard sale in the spring when the weather gets nice. Then it hit me, well I could always post it online for sale...humm...but then it dawned on me, right now with the holidays everyone's cash flow is a little tight. So I thought of possibly making an album for swapping. Here's how it would work:

Anyone who wants to be a part of the swap could as long as they are an opinionated mamas fan on facebook. We can all list the items we have and swap for the items we need. The only thing we pay for is shipping the items to each other. So say we both fill a flat rate large priority box and of course put delivery confirmation on the package as well, you are looking at $15.50 at most for shipping, cheaper is you ship parcel post. But you get a whole box of items you want or need. You can save lots of money by trading items with others. 

I have been a part of these swaps before and have had great experiences. But here we can swap anything from clothing, purses, shoes, kids toys ect. 

Would anyone be interested in me starting something like this? Please post your opinions on the facebook page. 

Any One Venture Out This Black Friday? Get Any Deals?

With Thanksgiving day over and now moving on to the thoughts of Christmas ahead. How many of you ventured out this Black Friday? 

Black Friday shopping is one thing we do not do in this house. My husband hates shopping to begin with, and his new thing now is that people are killed on Black Friday, they fight over items, and there are just way too many people out. Proof that things do not go well, we did have to leave the house today (not for shopping, and later in the morning) when pulling into the parking lot where we were going we saw a car that clearly had a rough black Friday morning. The whole front passenger fender was bent back, there is no way they left the house like that this morning.  But not only was it bent back, it was dented, scratched and had red paint on it. The car was silver. 

Is Black Friday really worth the hassle? Did you get any good deals when you were out? Did you see any thing outrageous? Please share your Black Friday experience on the Opinionated Mamas facebook under the post for this blog.

Until Next Time:
Mom of Many

Review: CCbaby's baby legs

So I have had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful mom recently who I won some products off of in a contest. I loved so much what she had to sell, before even testing them, that I bought more right off the bat for Christmas presents for my children! 

Today I am going to review a set of baby legs from CCbaby! 


Baby Legs are leg warmers made from knee high socks. What's nice about baby legs they are one size. They can fit a 2 year old up to her thigh. They are great because as your little one grows they continue to have uses as leg warmers or even arm warmers! 


Here is a picture of the pair I am reviewing:

Review: CCbaby Baby Legs   A+++

I have been testing these for over a week already, my daughter LOVES them, she never wants to take them off! She wears them with anything. They have held up nicely, very durable, well sewn. No issues. They have already made it into the wash 2x and come out good as new! 


They are good on cold days to the bus stop when your little girl just has to wear that dress when it is 40 degrees outside, she can put them on, and when she gets to school if she gets warm she can always easily take them off. 


Then on really cold days you can always use them under sweat pants or jeans for that extra layer to keep your little girls legs warm! 


These are just great. My daughter is personally too small right now to try them as arm warmers but I am sure as she gets older they will end up on her arms. 


What I Liked Most: I think the thing I liked most about trying these were that not only was my little girl interested but my other children were as well. My oldest daughter now wants a pair made for her, and my son seems to like them as well. They come in a variety of designs, here are the others I bought for Christmas!

Any dislikes: I really can't think of anything I don't like in these baby legs. 

Shipping & Ordering Notes: the whole ordering process was simple, I told her exactly what I wanted, now only one of my items was custom made that I ordered in this transaction. I sent her my payment and within a few days I had my order. She kept me posted throughout the entire process!


More about CCbaby:

CCbaby owner and creator is a mom named Janna from Michigan. Janna is a WAHM who not only works a full time job, she is home with her daughter as well and started sewing as a hobby. After making things for herself, then for friends, then for friends friends, CCbaby grew into what it is today!

Items that CCbaby makes: Baby legs, wool diaper covers, scrappy skirties, reusable snack bags, wool longings, cashmere nose wipes, reusable sandwich bags, cashmere scarves, and so much more!

Contact CCbaby:

email: ccbabycrafts@yahoo.com 

facebook fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/#!/ccbabycrafts 

To view her products: http://hyenacart.com/ccbaby/

She is having a Thanksgiving sale right now and watch for deals on Black Friday too!

Happy Thanksgiving to All

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! 

With the holiday being this week I don't have much to blog about, I am working on getting some reviews together for next week!

Just in time for kick off the holidays next Friday Dec. 3rd will be the HUGE Holiday Bash Giveaway! I hope that everyone will join in a day full of fun and free prizes!

Still looking for new sponsors! Free advertising and daily tags on facebook sending you a new fans! Sponsors are also allowed to join in and play the game as well! email opinionatedmamas@gmail.com We have 14 sponsors already will you be my next?

Hope everyone has a great holiday...be prepared for reviews next week of some great products!

Until Next Time:
The Opinionated Mama: "Mom of Many"

Family Cloth

A great way to save money is switching from paper products to reusable products! One way our family saves is by using what is know as family cloth. Family cloth is reusable toilet paper. Now before you leave the post all grossed out LOL, let me explain.

Each member of your family has their own cloth. You do not share it amongst the family. Ours is made of double panel flannel squares that are serged together.  You can see ours here, I had ours made for us and we each have our own design/designs that we use.

 

The designs were my choice, I bought my own materials, sent it to a lady to have her put them together for me and received over 130 squares for our family. Now it cost me roughly $50 for the material and I traded the lady $50 worth of clothes and things for her to make them so it was about $100 start up cost, now keep in mind we are a LARGE family and I am pregnant, so I had a LOT made. Smaller families start up cost would be cheaper due to size of family, and if you can get a great coupon for the materials or whatnot you can save a lot more!

Now we spent roughly $15 a month on toilet paper before I was pregnant, but now being pregnant we could estimate roughly $20 a month in toilet paper alone. Now before I was pregnant we would have spent $180 a year, and being pregnant we would have spent roughly $225 a year. So in one year we saved anywhere from $80 to $125 a year just on toilet paper! We also do not buy the cheapest toilet paper, but we did not buy the most expensive either, so depending on the brand you buy you could save a lot more!

Not to mention you are not only saving money by switching to family cloth. Family cloth has no chemicals therefore it is not going to cause irritations to your skin. It is very durable and holds up when wiping. Leaves behind no residue. It also cleans much better. For women it is softer than toilet paper, and during sensitive times of the month it can make a huge difference! For "messes" that are a bit harder to clean, you can wet the family cloth and it helps clean much better! What usually takes 10 squares of toilet paper you can save and do with one square of family cloth!

Cleaning family cloth is simple. You throw them right into your wash, preferably by themselves or maybe with your cloth diapers if you cloth diaper. We use natural or organic cleaning methods, no harsh chemical detergents. You can use something like Oxyclean to remove the stains along with your regular detergent right in the wash.

Now some of you are probably asking what we do with the family cloth when it is used and in the bathroom, well of course we do not flush it like traditional toilet paper, which goes into the sewage system. We have a hanging wet bag in the bathroom, and we all stick the family cloth into the bag, when the bag is full it heads to the laundry. What is a wet bag you ask...a wet bag is a bag made that has PUL lining inside which is water resistant. They also can come in a variety of designs and can easily be made to match your bathroom. Or you can splurge and buy a foot petal garbage can a small one will do, make sure it has a removable bucket therefore you can just take the bucket out and dump it in the wash. Spray the bucket with a natural disinfectant and your done! A wet bag if you choose that route like we did, can be throw right in the laundry with your family cloth to be cleaned.

I hope in some way this has helped you in making your decision on family cloth. Or at least given you an open mind enough to try it. We did and love it. We are no longer spending tons of money on toilet paper, no longer sending toilet paper down into the sewage system, and no longer having to worry about running out of tp either!

Until Next Time:
Mom of Many 

NJ Reverend: Thou Shall Not Facebook (found this to be interesting)

Facebook in marriages...do you think facebook causes problems in marriages? 

A New Jersey reverend is "ordering" 50 married couples who are church officials to delete their facebook accounts or resign their positions in the church, saying that it leads to infidelity, because 6 couples in his church have had marital problems because of reuniting with past flames on facebook in a 6 month period. 

Here is the article for you to read:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20101117/US.Pastor.Facebook.Edict/

As a married person myself, who also uses facebook, and is married to a man of the cloth; I have a strong opinion about this. Facebook or other networking sites are not to blame for infidelity! It may make it a little easier for people to "sneak around" behind their spouses backs, but com'mon really, blame it for spouses cheating?!?
There is more to this, why are these people adding their ex's to their accounts, there is something missing from their relationships if they are allowing themselves to get caught up in the possibilities of talking to and reuniting with an ex lover. There are things going on much deeper into these marriages if they are allowing the temptations and acting upon them. What is missing at home? Love? Affection? Honesty? It started somewhere other than facebook or other networking sites. Who's to say that a person in any of the 6 marriages affected in this church wouldn't have struck up an interest in someone new using facebook, it just happened to be an ex. It could have been anyone, because that's what THEY wanted it to be, that's what they were looking for. They were looking for something that they were not getting at home, or they FELT they were not getting at home. 

I just cannot see this justified. I cannot bring myself to blame anyone but the person themselves for their actions. Communication, trust, and honesty are key things in making a relationship work, without these no relationship is going to last a long period of time, unless both people just really do not care. Without these things in a relationship, that's when one or both spouses start looking elsewhere to get the things that they need; whether it be looking for a fling, starting to hit the bottle, or picking up some other bad habit, it all starts at home within the person themselves. Blaming it on the internet, facebook, bars, or anything else is just ridiculous. If a person wants to find someone else, they are going to, temptation is everywhere but whether or not you, yourself, act on it; that's the key question here. 

I know many of you might now agree with me, and that is fine. Like I said before these are just my own opinions on the matter. If you have a comment please post it on our facebook page under the blogs link for today. Most of you who read do not have google so you are unable to post here. 


Until Next Time.
Mom of Many

Teenagers Disrepect....What Would You Have Done?

Many of us as parents or people who want to have children often worry about the mood changes that come with children's ages. As a pregnant mom with a few children, this is something that is always on my mind, and with one of mine who just entered into the pre-teen years I have become a little more concerned about her actions and attitude as a teenager. 

As a family we do what we can to make sure that our kids live life to the fullest, we teach them to care for and look out for each other, teach them to care about others and their feelings, but also teach them to stand up for what they believe in. We want them to know that if they want something bad enough to go for it, not to let anyone talk them down and say that "it can't be done."

The other day I had witnessed an experience with a teenage girl about 15 or 16. I had went for a regular check up at my OB/GYN, I walk in and the place was packed. Over in the far corner of the room is a woman, a teenager girl about 15 or 16 years old, and beside her a teenage boy about the same age as the girl. They were talking pretty loudly for the small office waiting room so everyone could hear. So I signed in and sat down a little ways from them. Now I do not judge people, as I know you can't judge a book by its cover; but these people were very noticeable. On top of being very loud, the boys hair was spray painted a fire engine red color and he was wear chains on his pants, the girl was slouched down in the chair as the boy continued to pick on her, joke with her, ect. The mom was trying to get her to talk about her situation. Apparently the girl was there for a pregnancy test. The mom said "You know we will get through this as a family if you are pregnant." I personally was proud of her for that, she was supporting her child. She proceeded to say "we all make mistakes, but we learn from them and we work on not making them again." Again, I was okay with that, she was trying to be there for her daughter in what had to be a very tough situation. Then came the girls comments, without looking at her mother and continuing to text on her phone, she says "I won't be pregnant." The mother said "well that's what we are here for, to see if you are" The girl still texting and not showing a bit of interest in anything but her cell phone says "I will have an abortion. I WILL NOT BE PREGNANT!" The mother and the boy had left her alone a little while. Then the boy asked "her what are you going to name the baby (then began joking about baby names)". This boy at first I thought he may have been the girls brother or maybe her boyfriend. But to clear that up, he is the mothers boyfriend from what I had heard. He began to tell her that interracial babies are adorable, and they have great names. The more he talked, the more mad she got but she remained quiet. Then all of sudden, she looks at her mom and says "I will have an abortion, I will not be pregnant and not have a child..." as she kept going on I was getting madder and madder, I just wanted to smack her. The mother kept telling her to stop, and finally after about 5 minutes of ranting she did. It took everything I had in me not to say something.

I honestly just found it so disrespectful to be talking about abortion in a room full of pregnant women and other women who may have been trying to have children and couldn't. It angered me, as a good friend of mine has been trying for years to have a baby, she has been through 7 rounds of fertility treatments already, has changed many things in her life, spent lots money, to make her dream of becoming a mother a reality. And this teenager comes in, she did turn out to be pregnant, and wants to have an abortion, publicly announces it to the entire room of most who are pregnant. I found it utterly disrespectful, and I am glad I held my tongue as I know I was not the only one in the room angered by the girls actions, you could see it on the faces and body expressions of quite a few women. 

If this was my daughter, I would have had the respect enough to the other women in the room to keep my daughters mouth shut. I would have never let her rant on like that. I would have said something like "this is a topic we can discuss with the doctor, or one we can discuss at home, but this is not the place for that." If she continued I would have taken her outside and removed her from the area to let her rant and cool off.

What would you have done? Would you have help your tongue? Would you have ripped her a new one and explained that there are many women out there who would love to have babies that can't? 

And on another note...what would you have done if this was your teenager?

Until Next Time:
Mom of Many

Follow-Up to Cloth Diapering vs Disposable Diapers & Cost

One of our fellow readers, Samantha, cloth diapers. She was wonderful enough to write a blog of her own on the cost of disposable diapers vs the costs of cloth diapering. It is an amazing article on this subject, and has an extensive breakdown of the costs. So if you are considering cloth diapering, or if you know someone who is considering cloth diapering, you should read this article it may help with the decision.


http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5794006/the_cost_of_disposable_diapers.html

Until Next Time.
Mom of Many

Untraditional Ways to Save Money

One thing I hear more than anything is people asking us, "How do you live the way you do on one income?"

The answer to this question is simple, we are a non-traditional family. We are considered to be a large family. My husband and I are always looking for new things to do and try, in order to save on our spending. Many of the things we do most people wouldn't even think of doing, but you know what, it saves up $1000s of dollars a year. Now for today's blog I am only going to do a general idea of the things we do, but I will post pictures and go into detail on more future blogs about these non-traditional ways we have switched to.

1.) Un-Paper Towels: how much money do you spend on paper towels in a month, well with kids and pets we were spending a ton of money just on paper towels to clean up messes. We switched to Un-paper towels, made of double layered flannel, they are washable and reuseable, you can even have snaps put on them so you can roll them up and put them on a paper towel roll!

2.) Cloth Diapering: When you have just one child, diapers may not seem like they are that hard to afford, but when you got as many kids as we do, you can run into spending $200-400 a month on diapers and pull-ups. Cloth diapering has a start up cost yes, but you can wash and reuse the diapers, it ends up saving $100s - $1000s a year depending on how many children you have in diapers.

3.) Mama Cloth: Menstrual pads is another cost that woman rack up for YEARS out of there lives, roughly 35 years we as women spend having to buy pads or tampons, depending on your preference. At $6 a box for regular pads and if you use liners on top of it you are looking at maybe $10 a month, well that adds up to $120 a year for roughly 35 years. So a few thousand dollars done the drain just because we are women. Try switching to Mama Cloth these are awesome, they are cloth pads, most come with wings that snap, they are completely washable and reusable. They come in cute designs, different styles, different materials and they are so much more comfortable. Most of you are probably saying "eww gross" but let me tell you, since I switched I have had no cramps, no irritations, and shorter cycles because there are no chemicals in mama cloth they are safer for your body. Start up cost depends on where you get them from, or if you are crafty you can make your own. But it could save you a few thousand dollars in your lifetime.

4.) Family Cloth: this is another "gross" thing that people just don't think they can do. How much a month does your family spend on toilet paper? A large family like ours can spend $11-20 a month on toilet paper. Switching to family cloth has eliminated that. Family cloth is cloth toilet paper. Now let me explain before you get too grossed out. Family cloth comes in different materials, ours is double layered surged flannel. Each family member has their own design/designs so we do NOT share cloth, they are soft, leave no residue, and clean so much better. You use them and stick them in a wet bag, when the bag gets full wash and reuse! Start up cost for our family was about $100 but again we are a large family and I bought my own material to have them made. Now I only spend $1 a month on a 4pk of toilet paper for our guests to use. Great savings!

5.) Rebel: TLCs: if you look to cook you probably spend a lot of money on containers with lids, saran wrap, foil, and other products like these. Well now you can get Rebel: TLCs, these are GREAT! I have already done a review on these you can read in my Sept. blogs. When you have bowls that don't have lids, pot & pans, or plates to cover you can pick up one of the Rebel: TLCs and cover it with that, they are completely food safe nylon, come in cute designs, and are completely washable and reusable. So no more buying foil, saran wrap, ect to cover your bowls. You can get an entire set for about $42 or you can pick and chose the sizes you know you will use for less. Or if you are like me and my husband you will fall in love with them and want more, we use ours on a daily basis, therefore cut out a HUGE cost on buying other products. 

I know most of you probably won't make the switch to any of these, but it is something I wanted to share. There are ways out there to save money, you may not think of doing them, but hey give them a try you might just change your mind. I know I did. 

Until Next Time:
Mom of Many 

Holiday Bash 2010 Giveaway Info & Sponsors List

Hello everyone...I am very excited to write this today. I am working on my first HUGE giveaway for Opinionated Mamas! I am excited that we are now up to 79 fans on the facebook page, and we have 34 followers here as well! Please keep referring your friends because this giveaway is going to be ONE day only, and so far we have 9 sponsors signed up and it looks like 11 prizes that are all being GIVEN away, just in time for the holidays!

Here are the details:

Event: Holiday Bash Giveaway 2010

When: Friday December 3rd 2010

Time: this depends on the amount of sponsors I get, I may have giveaways all day, or I may have voting all day then choose winners that night, so undecided right now.

Rules: This giveaway is open to ALL of my fans on facebook! You can enter on as many items as you like, but you can ONLY enter one time per item. You MUST like our sponsors facebook page, and post on their walls that Opinionated Mamas sent you. I will be checking to make sure the winners have done this, if a winner was chosen and has not done this, another winner will be chosen. Once you post on their wall you will come back to the Opinionated Mamas photo album where we will be playing games and you will answer the questions on the photos you wish to enter for...these will all be easy holiday related questions to get us in gear for the holiday! 

We are going to have lots of fun so we hope you will join us! 

Here is a list of the sponsors already on board (some already have their pictures posted for preview on the facebook page)!!!

1.) Rebel: TLCs
2.) Partylite by Missy
3.) AVON by Missy
4.) ShOut
5.) Bows4'rmBrie
6.) Lil Mamas and Papas
7.) Tutu Teriffic
8.) Our Crazy Days Called Life
9.) wittiechic paper products and more


If you are a WAHM business and you would like to join in the fun by offering a free giveaway item or gift certificate to your site please email me at opinionatedmamas@gmail.com please put Holiday Bash Donation in the subject line.

Until Next Time.
Mom of Many
 

Tutu Terrific Project Santa Raffle Looking for Gift Card Sponsors from Boutiques & Shops Can You Help Out?

Message from Tutu Terrific about her Project Santa Raffle:

I am asking any boutiques that would like to help with Project Santa to please consider donating an online gift card or % off code to be raffles off. All proceeds from this event will be used to cover shipping costs to send off the Project Santa packages. There will be 1 winner for each gift card or % off that is donated. Customers buying a ticket must specify where they want their tickets to go to (which card). I will begin selling tickets on Monday, November 15th and the raffle will close Sunday, December 5 midnight cst. Winners will be drawn (my 3 yr old will be drawing the tickets so it is completely fair) on Monday, December 6 and announced at noon cst.

*Payments for tickets*
Paypal, money orders, and cash will be accepted for ticket purchases.
You will receive a ticket # for each ticket once payment is received. These will be actual tickets, so if you would like to have your tickets please let me know and I will mail them to you.
When purchasing a ticket please specify which gift card or % off you are wanting. Your tickets will be entered into those.
**PLEASE** only buy these tickets if you are going to actually use the gift card or % off that you win. These boutiques have been so generous in donating these. Please do not waste your prize!

*If you would like to donate please comment on this note and let me know your boutique/shop name and what you would like to donate. Please specify an amount. ANY donations are greatly appreciated.

These generous boutiques/shops/blogs have already donated. Thank you all. :)

Our Crazy Days Called Life blog - 10 extra entries into any giveaway on her blog. *Good for 3 months starting from time of win.
http://ourcrazydayscalledlife.blogspot.com/

C & M Crafters - $5 gift card to her boutique
http://www.facebook.com/CM.Crafters

Kiss and Tell Custom Creations - $10 gift card to her boutique
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kiss-Tell-Custom-Creations/119446878095612

Sweet Peas & Bumpkins - 50% off of one item from her boutique
http://www.facebook.com/SweetPeasandBumpkins

Little Princess Boutique - $20 gift card to her boutique
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000163183335

LemonDrop Bowtique - $5 gift card to her boutique
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Comstock-Park-MI/LemonDrop-Bowtique/126680904044457

Tutu Terrific Project Santa mission Can You Help?

Tutu Terrific is a WAHM business that I have recently became acquainted with. The mama is Jessica and she is on a mission called Project Santa. Many times during the holidays there are families from all around the country that would have nothing if it wasnt for the help of strangers. This is where Jessica comes to play, she is collecting donations for 2 families. I am going to list the information below about the 2 families, please if you would like to help in some way please let either myself or Jessica of Tutu Terrific know.

"Thank you all so much for helping me with this project. Without your generous donations this would not be possible. The following is information I have collected on the 2 families chosen for project santa. When I find out more, it will be added. If you would like to donate please post below and I will contact you with my address. If anyone would like to send a monetary donation it would be greatly appreciated. Shipping these packages will be expensive.

*If you are donating clothing please make sure they are either new or gently worn..no stains, holes, etc.
*Any toiletry items will be accepted also..toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, soap, etc.

Family #1

Single 33 year old mother of 3. The mother has cancer. She enjoys cross stitch, computer games, and her favorite color is purple. Clothing sizes are size 20 women's pants and xl or xxl women's shirts.

age 10 boy: His interests are movies, video games, and sports.
Clothing sizes : size 16 pants in boys, size small or medium shirts in adult.

age 12 girl: Her interests are crafts, baby dolls, movies, video games, and pink is her favorite color.
Clothing sizes: stretchy pants medium to large in juniors. Shirts medium to large in adults.

age 14 girl: Her interests are books and crafts and her favorite color is purple.
Clothing sizes: shirts - medium in adults or large in juniors

Family # 2

Mom: Single mother of 3.

Age 3 month old girl: She is in need of clothing..she is a little chubby so anything that is sizes 6 months -18 months. She also just lost her favorite blanket so if anyone can make a baby blanket for her that would be wonderful. Also any age appropriate clothing. The mother is cloth diapering now trying to save money. If anyone could donate any cloth diapers that would be great!

Age 5 girl: Loves art, dolls, and to play dress up. Clothing sizes: 5/6..even 7/8 would be appreciated as she ca grow into them.

Age 12 girl: She loves art, music and painting her nails. She is into anything girly right now. She could also use some school items. Clothing sizes: size 6 adults shoes, pants size junior 11 or size large. 

 Also I need all donations by December 1st please. I want to send packages out between Dec. 10-15."

 Visit Tutu Terrific on facebook, please tell her that Opinionated Mamas sent you. Here is the link to her page.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hope-AR/Tutu-Terrific/140139442664651 

Until Next Time: 

Mom of Many

 

 

Radio Stations Banned This Song; What's Your Opinion?

Ok with so much controversy out there over religion, it is not a subject I will talk about much especially on this blog. But this one,I just cannot help touching on. The country group Diamond Rio has a concert in Las Vegas where they sang the song, the received a standing ovation...but radio stations are banning the song saying that it is politically incorrect. My view point is, that this is America. We have freedom of speech, after EVERYTHING that this country has been through the last 10 years, and as many other songs that have been written and played about those events that took place, I feel people would accept this song with open arms, at least I believe most would. We were all touched in some way by the events that this country has been subjected to. I believe this song would touch the hearts of many people. 

Please go here to view the video and really listen to the words of this song. It stands for EVERYTHING that America stands for.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=1346852362322&comments

I want your opinions...tell me what you think. Either here on the blog or on our facebook page. 

Review: ShOut

So I entered a few giveaways on diapeze.com and won this very cute set of felt chocolate chip cookies.

 REVIEW: ShOut A++


These are the greatest things you can buy your little girl for going greener. Forget buying plastic food sets, go felt foods! These little cookies are perfect size for toddlers hands. Great for pretend play! And best of all they are not toxic or harmful to the environment! 
I am giving the set to my daughter for Christmas, but I have pulled on them and tested them and they are very durable. I love them and I am sure my daughter will too. 

More information on ShOut:


ShOut is owned by Leslie, a WAHM mom of 2 girls. Leslie is originally from California but is currently living in Arizona. 

Items you can buy at ShOut include: felt like play food, appliqués and barrettes and keep experimenting with new things!

What Leslie wants you to know about her WAHM business:

"I would like people to know that a lot of love and time goes in to the items I make. Everything is inspired by my daughters. I love crafting and this is just one avenue for me to share my creations with you!"

If you want to stop by and visit ShOut and take a look at some of Leslie's creations here are her websites:

hyenacart.com/shout

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ShOut/169395303075334

Please LIKE her facebook page, and tell her that Opinionated Mamas sent you :) 

 



 

Review: Rebel TLCs from Winner of Giveaway

Yesterday was a good day, I talked to the lady who won our very first giveaway who was sponsored by Rebel TLCs she has sent in her review of these great bowl covers!

Review from winner: knittingfor7

"omg yes i LOVE THEM!!!!!! Seriouly they're great! easy to wash, fit well, keep food fresh, awesome sewing by the way. I want to order Alot more!!!! I cant wait to order the 13X9 cover and small cereal/soup covers! LOVE THEM!!!!!"

I am so glad that you loved them as much as I do, I have a whole drawer full and cannot wait to order more :) Thanks for the great review!

Mom of Many

Review: Cadie Clips

I was fortunate enough to win a free giveaway from Cadie Clips, on diapeze.com. My little girl was so excited to receive this new wonderful gift. I also bought an extra bow from Cadie Clips as well. Here is a picture of the rainbow bow that I won and the skull bow I purchased extra.

Review: Cadie Clips     A+++

These bows are great! My little girl has worn the rainbow bow almost every day for about a week now, this bow has held up through hats going on and off, playing on the playground, school, and little brothers. It still looks good as new. Not only do these bows hold up through anything, their designs are very stylish. I was so excited to find something that my oldest daughter would love, the skulls made her day, she can still be girly yet gothic at the same time. There are many in stock to choose from and the pricing is very reasonable for the quality that you are receiving! Shipping was very fast, I could not have asked for a better transaction. She accepted paypal for my purchase of extra bow. Everything went very smoothly, I have no complaints so far about this wonderful WAHM business.

Here is more on Cadie Clips:

Cadie Clips is owned by Amber, a mom of 2 girls from Ohio. Her inspiration on naming Cadie Cips came from her 2 girls: Chloe & Sadie; she combined them to get Cadie!

To contact Cadie Clips you can visit either of her websites listed here:

website:  www.CadieClips.etsy.com

facebook: www.facebook.com/CadieClips

I hope you will try Cadie Clips, you will not be disappointed. If you place an order please tell her the Opinionated Mama sent you!

 

 

Opinionated Mamas NOW have actual Facebook Page

After starting the facebook group I realized that we can do so much more with a facebook page, come LIKE our facebook page...if we get enough fans I am going to work on getting a lot of sponsors to do a HUGE giveaway before Christmas.

So if you want to hear some great reviews coming up of products I am currently getting in, or want to be a part of some huge giveaways, and read a great blog and get them faster with facebook...come LIKE our page at


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Opinionated-Mamas/137207136330227

The more fans we get that LIKE us...the more they will want to sponsor a giveaway on our site. Then we ask that you review them on the blog as well!

Until Next Time,
Mom of Many

Cloth Diapering vs Disposable Diapers

Many people now adays aren't into cloth diapering. I really wish more would start doing it. We made the switch in Oct 2009 and it is so much more beneficial to our family in cost, beneficial to the environment, and the biggest thing is it is beneficial to our children, who no longer get diaper rash or irritated skin from the chemicals in disposable diapers.

For those of you who are thinking "I don't have time for folding and pinning those old fashion diapers" you really need to check out the various diapers available now, there's a WHOLE NEW WORLD of clothing diapering.

Differences:

COST:

If you have children you know that buying disposable diapers can cost $50-80 a month, meaning you spend $600-960 a year in diapers. So if you have more than one child, you are spending a LOT of money each year on disposable diapers.

If you buy cloth, yes there is a start up cost, but this depends on where you are buying your cloth diapers. I joined a website, it is a great website for buying and selling cloth diapers, has a forum for chat, and many other things on the site as well. Diaperswappers www.diaperswappers.com  this site is great when you are starting out cloth diapering. You can buy gently used diapers, of many different brands test them out see what you like and then go from there and buy the ones you like most.

Some of you may want to use a cloth diapering service so that you do not have to wash your own diapers, however you can save a TON of money if you wash them yourself. Not only that you can monitor what they are being washed in.

CHEMICALS:

Disposable diapers all have chemicals in them. Unless you spend the money and get the non-bleached non-chlorine diapers, which cost almost double what regular disposables cost. So not only are these chemicals touching your childs skin and can easily cause diaper rash and redness on them. These chemicals are also placed into the ground when the diapers are transported to the dump.

With cloth diapering, you can buy non-bleached prefolds (the old pinnable style diaper), or you can buy a cloth that is natural such as bamboo velour, cotton, or fleece. These are less likely to irritate your childs skin, they are softer, and do not cause diaper rash from rubbing.

STYLE:

Disposable diapers can have cute designs and different shapes. But the new world of cloth diapering brings you to an all new sense of style! You can have diapers with princesses for your little girl, bugs and frogs for your little boys...get real fancy and get them made with your childs name on the butt...turn tshirts into cool prefolds!!! There is so much style in these...and thats just the diaper! There is also a whole world of style in covers. From wool longings, fleece soakers, nylon covers with Dr. Suess on them, you can put yours or your childs personality all into their diapers. They are just too cute.

CONVENIENCE:

Disposable diapers have always seemed to most to be more convenient, just take them off and toss them into the garbage. Putting them on is a sinch.

But now with the new cloth diapers available, you have those that snap or velcro just like a disposable does. Some now have multi-layers with PUL (a water proofing layer) so they do not need covers so you put them on and go...some prefer fitted diapers with the covers. It all depends on your preference. 

END OPINION:

In my opinion these in nothing better than cloth diapering. The options are plenty, of style, design, materials, ect. You are saving the environment so much since you are not contributing to landfills your ample dirty diapers used in a year. You can monitor the chemicals you are using to wash these diapers and therefore save your childs skin that horrible reactions caused from these chemicals such as diaper rash. We personally use a wide variety of cloth diapers, a little bit of everything; prefolds, tshirt prefolds, indian prefolds, fitteds, AIO's (All in Ones), pockets, vinyl covers, fleece covers, fleece longings, knitted longings...there are sooo many options! Do the research yourself, save the environment, your babies skin, and MONEY...

If you want more information on cloth diapering check our Diaperswappers...everything you could possibly want to know is there :)

Until Next Time.
Mom of Many