moms

Saying Thank You…

November 22, 2013 by Sandra 1 Comment

This is a compensated campaign on behalf of Latina Bloggers Connect and Hallmark.

Wow. Ever since David, our four-year-old son, was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, I’ve been overwhelmed by the love, support, and prayers we’ve received from so many family members, friends, and even people we don’t yet know personally but with whom we share a common heart’s desire to see David get well.

I have searched for words and ways to say, “Thank You.” But I’ve found that there really are no words to express how incredibly grateful we are for YOU – all of you – who have unceasingly cared for us these past few months.

Saying Thank You the Hallmark Way
Even though there’s no way I can truly tell you how much I appreciate you, I’ve decided that during the long days that are coming up in the hospital, I can show you in a very small way how thankful I am for you.

I’ll be sending out Hallmark Thank You cards.

Why Hallmark?
I decided on Hallmark cards because I can pretty much find them anywhere, and for a long time now, I’ve been a member of the Hallmark Crown Rewards program.

Hallmark Card Rewards
Now I recently found out that there’s another program called Hallmark Card Rewards, where you can earn rewards for buying Hallmark cards wherever they’re sold, whether it’s at the grocery store or the local drugstore.

Here are Benefits of the Hallmark Card Rewards Program:

Get rewarded everywhere you buy Hallmark cards. This includes more than 30,000 grocery stores and drugstores as well as supercenters across the country.

Earn 1 reward for every 5 Hallmark cards purchased (individual cards – not boxed greeting cards). Rewards include gift cards, discounts, dollars off, and more. *Hallmark Card Reward partners include Starbucks, Land’s End, and many others!

Use the Hallmark Card Rewards mobile app (Android and iPhone) to easily scan the barcode on the back of your purchased Hallmark cards and register your rewards for your account. You can sign up for the program online here.

Elisabeth’s Birthday Card
Besides the thank you cards I recently picked up, I also found a perfectly pink birthday card for Elisabeth. We’ll be celebrating her 2nd birthday while David is in the hospital for his bone marrow transplant. It’s not ideal, obviously, but we’ll make it work.

I think Elisabeth is going to love her card.

Last thing…
I obviously can’t send everyone a card who has prayed for David and showed us kindness in so many ways. I don’t have all of your addresses. 😉

But I still want to say…THANK YOU.

With endless gratitude.

Thank you.

Sleep Tips for Babies, a Pampers Overnight Diaper, a Twitter Party, AND a Giveaway!

November 6, 2013 by Sandra 50 Comments

This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Pampers. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.

I love the one day of the year when I truly get an extra hour in my day.

It makes such a difference when I’ve stayed awake until 3:00am the night before desperately trying to finish a blog post before the deadline.

IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. 😉

But while I benefit from the end of daylight savings time, my baby girl can get thrown off when it comes to her sleep schedule. Maybe you have the same problem with your little ones.

If so, you’re not alone. Over half of moms (52%) feel that their baby’s sleep patterns are thrown off when the clocks fall back and daylight savings time ends.

Pampers, a popular diaper brand, wants to help.

An Infographic Inspired by Moms
Pampers actually interviewed over 9,000 moms about what was important for their baby and found that over and over moms mentioned that they needed a diaper that allowed their baby to sleep through the night by providing exceptional overnight protection.

This infographic explains how a dry diaper helps baby sleep through the night, which, in turn, means mom can sleep through the night.

That’s always good.

Pampers realized that when daylight savings time ends and sleep schedules go out the window, moms need one less problem to deal with, so they designed a diaper that offers up to 12 hours of overnight protection.

This means that pretty much no matter what time baby falls asleep, her pj’s should be dry in the morning.

A Few Sleep Tips

Here are 3 tips to help make the transition even easier:

Make sure that your children know when it’s time to sleep; rely on your normal bedtime routine.

If you have a child who starts getting up before 6:00am, make sure that you respond to the early risings quickly and consistently.

Make sure that you watch your baby for sleepy cues carefully, and be sure to change your baby’s diaper right before a nap or bedtime.

And now for the Giveaway!
ONE very excited reader will win a Pack of Pampers Baby Dry Diapers and a pair of Children’s Place PJ’s. The winner will be able to select their preferred diaper size (2-5) and the gender and size of the Children’s Place PJ’s. 🙂

How to Enter the Giveaway

Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from now until – November 14th at 12:00am. The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winner will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winner an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winner must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner.

Enter Below
a Rafflecopter giveaway

A #PampersSleepChat Twitter Party!
I love Twitter parties, and Pampers is going to be throwing a fun party tomorrow, November 7th, at 9:00pm EST.

We’ll be chatting about how the end of Daylight Savings Time can affect sleep patterns and The Sleep Lady, Kim West, will be sharing tips on easing the transition.

You can join in the fun and RSVP here.

Twitter Party Prizes include:

$50 AMEX Gift Card, $25 Children’s Place Gift Card, Pampers product and book by Kim West.

$100 AMEX Gift Card, Pampers Product, series of books by Kim West

Grand Prize: $500 AMEX Card to purchase sleep items such as a new crib, video monitor, etc.

To participate, follow your hosts @DoubleDutyDivas, @BridgetteLA, @CeceliaMecca @AngieKcom @WhatMommiesNeed @RamblingChick, sleep expert @TheSleepLady and our sponsor @Pampers.

Do your kids transition well when the time changes? As a mom, do you look forward to the time change or dread it?

The Chicago Bears, Breast Cancer Awareness, and Early Detection

October 25, 2013 by Sandra 2 Comments

This is part of a compensated campaign with Latina Mom Bloggers and P&G. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Cancer is ugly.

It’s a horrible disease that wreaks havoc on families every single day. Unfortunately, cancer is a disease I’m getting up close and personal with because whenever my four-year-old son, David, is admitted to the hospital or has an appointment with his doctor, he goes to the same floors where, tragically, kids who have been diagnosed with cancer go. The same follows for David’s treatment, it’s very similar to the way certain cancers are treated.

Breast Cancer Awareness
While I won’t be talking about childhood cancer in detail today, I will be talking about breast cancer, which affects us, ladies.

I had the opportunity to visit The Chicago Bears’ Halas Hall this past week and find out things I never knew about breast cancer — in addition to ways that women can detect it early. I had the chance to sit in on a roundtable that included Corey Wootton, a Chicago Bears football player who has personally been affected by breast cancer, and Janelle Hail, a breast cancer survivor and founder of the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Here are a few key pieces of information I learned about breast cancer and early detection during the roundtable:

1 in 8 women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.

Breast cancer death rates are higher among latina women.

When breast cancer is detected during the early (localized) stage, the five year survival rate is 98%.

We can help save lives by spreading the message about early detection to those around us.

Creating your own early detection plan for breast cancer is easy. There’s even an app for it! Just search “NBCF” in the app store. 🙂

I also learned that there are free screening locations available across the country for women to get mammograms and other diagnostic services. If there isn’t a hospital on the list in your area, you can check with your local hospital.

The Bottom Line
We need to be informed about how early detection saves lives and helps beat breast cancer. I’ve already installed the app on my phone, and my reminder plan is in place. I’ll get an email 3 days before I should log a self-exam.

I love how technology makes life easier and even helps save lives.

Do you have an early detection plan in place? Do you know someone who has been affected by breast cancer?

Staying Connected No Matter Where I am with a Sprint Mobile Hotspot

September 20, 2013 by Sandra 5 Comments

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Sprint.

I received product samples to facilitate my review.

Blogging and staying up-to-date isn’t easy these days.

Now that school has started again for the kids (at home) and with David’s frequent hospital visits for blood and platelet transfusions, I have to be creative and find new ways and pockets of time to blog, return emails, and connect with others online.

I don’t have a choice really.

Blogging is my job, and I love it. I want to continue to blog even through the craziness of homeschooling three kids and the gut-wrenching pain we’re experiencing as we walk through the reality that my son has a rare disease and unless the Lord miraculously heals him (and I believe He can) will require a bone marrow transplant.

Catching up & Staying Connected with a Hotspot
Life is hectic and unpredictable, but one thing that’s helping me stay afloat with when it comes to working online and connecting with others via email and social media is a little device I’ve long wanted — a mobile hotspot.

Actually, it’s a Sprint NETGEAR Zing Mobile Hotspot with a color touchscreen.

How I Use a Mobile Hotspot
My absolute favorite way to use this hotspot is in the car. In the past, I’ve taken my computer with me on long car rides, and I’ve been able to power up Photoshop and edit blog post images as we drove to wherever we were headed.

If I wanted to actually write a blog post, I had to write it in a text editor and later transfer the content to my actual WordPress editor area. For several reasons, I tried to avoid this completely and only wrote blog posts in the car when I was up against a deadline.

Now…with my NETGEAR Zing mobile hotspot, I can:

Write blog posts in the car

Connect with others on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets

Return emails

Do any other online tasks I was previously unable to do before I had a mobile hotspot

I’m excited to finally have a mobile hotspot of my own. I know I had a huge smile on my face when it was out of the package, and I first laid eyes on it. 🙂

It’s helping me to be more productive (my word for 2013), and it’s proving to be very useful for the hour long car rides to the Children’s hospital in Chicago.

Yes, I’ll be using this hotspot for a long time to come.

Do you have a mobile hotspot? Have you ever considered getting one for work, school, or just because?

moms

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