The kids and I love adopting Angels from The Salvation Army Angel Tree each year.  It was such a blessing last year to be able to provide two children with not only their items they needed such as coats but also some amazing presents we know they would enjoy.  It was a blessing for us to have the extra means to offer last year and we hope to pick another Angel this year as well.  I love this time of the year and being able to give back to our community.

JCPenney has partnered up with The Salvation Army to offer the Angel Tree right from their website.  This makes adopting an Angel from the Angel Tree even easier.  They are also offering groups.  If you work in an office where everyone wants to participate together you can select the group option to participate in giving back this holiday season as a team.  UPS has also stepped in to offer free shipping on all items you purchase for your Angel from JCPenney online.  It’s amazing what people can accomplish when they all come together!

On Thanksgiving Day, JCPenney will donate $50 to The Salvation Army (up to $400,000) for every Angel adopted online, giving customers another reason to take advantage of Black Friday sales a day early at JCPenney online.  For every customer who uses Foursquare to check-in at JCPenney on Black Friday between the hours of 4 AM and 1 PM, JCPenney will donate $25 to The Salvation Army (up to $100,000).

To encourage nationwide support and participation, jcpenney will award the community with the most Foursquare check-ins on Black Friday with a celebratory shopping party to be held on Dec. 17. The winning store will host a food truck on-site complete with complimentary snacks and beverages to help energize time-strapped customers shopping jcpenney on the last weekend before Christmas.

On Monday, November 14th JCPenney is hosting a Twitter Party where I get to be a panelist.  Not only will we be discussing the holidays and the importance of giving back but JCPenney will also be giving away twelve $25 gift cards to lucky winners tweeting with us using the hashtag #JCPAngel  I’m sure an extra $25 would help anyone with their holiday shopping!

I’m so excited about tweeting with everyone on topics I love – holidays and giving back.  I hope you all will join me Monday from 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST.  I will be joined by two other panelists so don’t forget to follow them on Twitter as well.

• @MommaDJane
• @SavorTheThyme
• @TheMorrisBunch

Full Disclosure: JCPenney is sending me a gift card for my time hosting the Twitter Party.  All opinions are 100% mine.  My family truly picks Angels from the Angel Tree because we love to give back during the Christmas season.

I’m an avid Black Friday shopper.  I love the rush of the sale.  Every year it blows my mind at how much money I save while finishing my Christmas shopping on that day.  I have three children, five nieces, three nephews and one great-niece that I buy for.  That’s a lot of kids.  The cost of gifts can add up quickly even when I buy simple and small items.

Digital Folio is a free comparison shopping app that finds and tracks price savings for you!  Currently it’s compatible with Firefox and Internet Explorer on both PCs and Macs.  Digital Folio provides real-time pricing updates and comparisons on a wide variety of products which makes saving money even easier.

Current product categories include:

• Computer/Printers
• Personal Audio Players
• Camcorders
• Children’s Car Seats
• Point ‘n Shoot Cameras
• Televisions
• Computers
• Blu-Ray Players
• Refrigerators
• Microwaves
• Washers/Dryers
• Dishwashers

Your intelligent shopping list is always with you while you shop across the web, whether you are shopping from your computer, from your phone, at home or in the store.  You can add products to your list from five of the top online retailer websites with a simple click, drag ‘n drop from Amazon, Best Buy, Sears, Target and Walmart.  The real-time price comparison happens instantly, giving you price updates across each of these major retailers as you shop the web, updates on your saved items happen even when you’re offline.

On Black Friday my mom and sister both join me in shopping.  We will sometimes split up and visit different stores trying to make sure we get the best deals.  Digital Folio makes group shopping with shared lists even easier.  You can share your list or registry with friends and family so everyone can co-shop and compare in real-time.  It also makes price matching a synch with retailers such as Walmart.

Download the Digital Folio app and let me know what you think about it.  Then join Digital Folio and Resourceful Mommy on Tuesday, November 8th at 8:00 PM EST for a Twitter Party.  Follow @ResourcefulMom and @DigitalFolio and tweet with the hashtag #DigitalFolio to join in the conversation all while being given the chance to win one of six $25 Target gift cards to help with your holiday gift shopping.  Or shoot for the $100 Target gift card for the grand prize.

On Tuesday, November 15th Digital Folio will select a winner to award a $200 Target gift card out of all registered users of their price comparison shopping app.  That’s exactly one week after the Twitter Party so make sure you download the shopping app today to make sure you are eligible.

Full Disclosure: I was compensated for my time sharing this announcement with you.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Tuesday, October 4th I’ll be co-hosting a live chat on The Motherhood around the topic of Tweens and Communication with best-selling author, Rosalind Wiseman at 11:00 PM CST.  The live chat is open to the public for you to join free.  You can come chat with us or submit questions beforehand.

It’s very simple to register at The Motherhood and join the Tweens and Communication chat.  Simply visit TheMotherhood.com and click to register if you aren’t already a member of the network.  Then visit the class page, Tweens and Communication and click register and join live on Tuesday.  Remember, if you can’t make it you can submit a question today that will be answered by Rosalind Wiseman during the class.

As a mother of a teenager and currently one tween I know communication isn’t always easy.  During the text-based chat we’ll discuss ways to open up communication with your children and help make it a two-way talk.  As a teen mom I know how important communication with your children is and being able to learn how to listen and respond in a way they will feel comfortable opening up to you again.  By joining the live chat you can ask questions and even share your own experience and advice.

There are 5 other blogger co-hosts joining me.

• Carmen, Mom to the Screaming Masses
• Jen, Jael Custom Designs
• Michele, Scraps of My Geek Life
• Kailani, An Island Life
• Kristin, Only Parent Chronicles

Thanks to Unilever sponsoring this series on The Motherhood they are giving away one tote bag filled with goodies to one lucky participant during the live chat on Tuesday.  It’s part of the Don’t Fret The Sweat campaign and initiative that you can learn more about on their Facebook page.

The Vera Bradley tote bag will be filled with these items: momAgenda Desktop Planner, momAgenda Chores Pad, momAgenda Love Post-It Notes, one sample each of Dove, Degree Girl, and Degree Men deodorant, Rosalind Wiseman’s Queen Bees and Wannabes and Rosalind Wiseman’s Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials.

Full Disclosure: I was compensated for sharing this information with you.  All opinions are 100% mine and I decided to accepted the invitation to be a co-host of this live chat because I strongly believe in the message.

I’m excited to announce the YesVideo Twitter Party this Tuesday, October 4th at 1:00 PM CST.  The Twitter Party conversation will feature fun facts, trivia questions and tons of prizes of course!  YesVideo offers the service of transferring your old home movies into DVD or Blu-Rays so you can cherish those memories and share them with your family.

I have multiple VHS tapes filled with my childhood memories yet I’ve never been able to share them with my kiddos due to the fact I only have DVD players in my house now.  I haven’t had a VCR in a couple of years.  I can’t wait to try out YesVideo’s service before the holidays.

Come chat with us on Tuesday about your old home movies, preserving your memories and see if you know some of the fun facts we’ll learn.  YesVideo is giving away 8 prizes during their one hour Twitter Party!

Prizes include:

• $50 Visa Gift Card
• 2 – $25 Walmart Gift Card
• 2 – $75 Value Video Transfer Coupon to be redeemed at YesVideo.com with 60 day MemorySafe membership
• 1 – $100 Value Video Transfer Coupon to be redeemed at YesVideo.com with 60 day MemorySafe membership
• 2 – $100 Value Video Transfer Coupon to be redeemed at YesVideo.com with ONE YEAR MemorySafe membership

Don’t forget to follow @YesVideo on Twitter and monitor the conversation by using hashtag #YesVideo.  Also follow the Twitter Party panelists so you can easily join the conversation and keep up.

Twitter Party Panelists:

• @MommaDJane
• @RachelFerrucci
• @ColoradoMom
• @OneMomsWorld
• @ConnieFoggles

You can RSVP on YesVideo’s Facebook Page custom tab created just for this Twitter Party and leave your Twitter handle for everyone to follow.  Prizes will be given out randomly to people tweeting using the hashtag #YesVideo during the party time.

I hope to see you tweeting on Tuesday and good luck at winning a prize!  If you do win, let me know.  I’d love to hear what you think of the service and which home movie you will get transferred to DVD first.

Full Disclosure: I was compensated for my time to share the Twitter Party information with you.  All opinions are 100% mine.

In mid-April I attended the Mom 2.0 Summit in New Orleans.  In the middle of the conference I was given the opportunity to volunteer to take part in the Mom 2 Summit Service Project, the highlight of my trip.  On Saturday afternoon two bus loads of us went over to volunteer our time to help build a playground with Let’s Play and KaBOOM.  It was amazing!

There were so many people gathered together to help make this community stronger by providing the children a place to have safe play.  Men, Women, Children and even some leaders within the community such as the Mayor and a Congress Member.  I truly enjoyed taking part and it didn’t seem like work at all, it was like play for us.  Laughing, chatting and playing while we worked to build a playground.  I especially enjoyed capturing some moments in photos during the build.  So cute seeing even the little kiddos trying to help out.

We helped paint sheets of plywood that eventually went on top of the picnic tables after they were put together.  I thought this was a brilliant idea because it gave the picnic tables a nice personalized touch.  Several of the kids helped us also which made it very fun.  They all turned out so great!

The kids got paint in their hair, on their hands, arms and even face but who cares… we had a blast!  I think they did an amazing job with the flowers and lady bugs.  We painted the vines and helped them with the rest but they took over without a sweat.  Very creative!

Once the playground was complete they had a ribbon cutting ceremony and even the founder of KaBOOM spoke.  It was very touching.  The children from the community felt so blessed by what Let’s Play and KaBOOM were providing them that they put on a show for us all as a way to say thank you.

Once I got home from New Orleans I registered on the KaBOOM website so I will be notified when playground builds happen in my local areas.  I can’t wait to volunteer again.  If you are interested you can also follow @LetsPlay and @KaBOOM on Twitter.

Play is so important for our children.  Do you have a swing set at home?  How often do you visit your local park or playground?

On December 1st I’ll be boarding a flight to head to New Orleans for the Social Fresh Cruise with my good friend Erica Mueller.  This is Erica’s first cruise and my first kid-free cruise.  I’m looking forward to some much needed relaxation along with some amazing networking and learning.

Taken from the website:

Similar to the best Social Media Conferences, the content will be driven by attendees.   In 2010, we are going to focus on collaborative learning.  We are going to utilize the collect expertise to create a social media campaign/strategy for a Charity.   We will also have facilitated roundtable discussions and a keynote speech.

If you have been following my blog for any amount of time you know how I feel about various charities and non-profits.  Brainstorming with other social media gurus to create a campaign / strategy for a Charity cause excites me.  Just reading that paragraph sold me on going to this conference.  Realizing all the people I get to network with has me giddy.  The Social Fresh Cruise is limited to 100 people which is a great size for round table discussions and truly learning from one another.  The fact that the range of expertise is so broad at this conference is awesome.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it when I return home on December 6th.

I am also thrilled that I was given the chance recently to review some clothes from Fresh Produce Clothing line and thought this cruise will make the perfect place to wear them.  I received a new skirt that I’ll be sporting on the cruise one day and a black shirt that will be perfect for the cool breeze at night.

Both articles of clothing that I received fit perfectly.  I was worried with ordering clothing online that I wouldn’t get the size just right but surprisingly their sizing chart is exact.  I have also never felt material so soft.  The clothes look great on and are super comfortable.  I already have my eye on some other items on their website to purchase.

Are you attending the Social Fresh Cruise?  Are you excited?  Did you attend last year?  What was your favorite part?  Do you own any Fresh Produce Clothing?  What’s your favorite article?

Full Disclosure:  I received two articles of clothing from Fresh Produce Clothes in exchange for my honest opinion.  All opinions in this post are 100% mine.

I’m leaving tomorrow to head to Asheville, North Carolina for Type A Mom Conference.  I’ve been getting the house ready for my ex-husband to come and stay.  It all seems so strange but I thought it would be good for him and the kids to have the four nights together.  Actually when I think about him staying with the kids all alone for four nights in my house doing everything from getting Gabby ready for school on Friday to cooking dinner at night and handling bedtime routine to even occupying both girls this weekend, I laugh an evil little giggle.  I’m not sure who I feel more sorry for, the girls or my former spouse.  He has no idea what he is getting himself into and the girls will have to be patient with him.  Thank goodness T is a big helper and knows where everything is and even how to cook if need be.  Heck T even knows what medicines Gab takes and her way around our neighborhood.

I got a phone call last night from my ex around 9 PM.  It went something like this:

Him: *insert quiet worried voice* what are you doing?

Me: trying to unwind, watching a show.  what’s up?

Him: what should I pack?

Me: *insert slight giggle* what should you pack? uh, you aren’t going on vacation. whatever you think. I went grocery shopping and got enough food for all meals to be cooked at home, all laundry is done and I figured you guys would spend most of your time here just hanging out.

Him: okay, that sounds good.  I’ll figure something out to do with them.

Me: oh and by the way, you have to give T a ride to her school on Saturday, she has JCC practice for 3 hours but she can show you where to go

Him: okay I can do that.  *insert pause with awkward silence*  I’m getting nervous

Me: *insert laughing*  you are nervous?  *more laughing*  {sorry, couldn’t help myself}

Him: uh yeah I’m nervous, I’m going to be alone with the girls for a whole weekend, like by. my. self.

The girls are always with me.  They occasionally visit my parents but this isn’t very often either and not for long periods of time.  However my parents have been pretty good about watching them if I need to attend a conference or other work related events.  Majority of the time my mom stays at my house with them because that’s better for Gabby.

My former spouse on the other hand hasn’t spent all night with them in years.  They do not go visit him every other weekend like most fathers.  They used to years back, long before Gabby’s brain surgery but since then he hit a rough road and struggled in life.  This struggle left me making a decision on what was best for my girls and that was staying put in my home.  Their father doesn’t argue, he knows it’s best.  Since then he is doing much better and he does visit them often.  He usually comes over for dinner about once a week or once every two weeks.  Sometimes he even cooks for us so I can work or run an errand.  Sometimes he takes us out to dinner or takes T to the book store to buy the latest novel she has her eye on.  He’s trying…

In preparing the house for his stay I started thinking about things I normally don’t.  For instance when I was taking a shower I realized I don’t even have shampoo he could use.  I use shampoo for color treated hair.  My body wash is from Bath & Body Works and smells like Citrus and Green Tea, so very girlie.  I don’t live with a man and you can tell.  As I was grocery shopping I kept thinking about what would be easy to cook or what would Gab eat for sure so he wouldn’t have to struggle with her.  I also realized even laying out her clothes for school or knowing her routine is something that has to be written down.  She wears school uniforms, not sure he knows that.

Being a mom doesn’t mean you have super powers but sometimes we can fool people into believing that, can’t we?  After doing something for so long, it comes natural.  The more I think about it, he does have reason to be worried and scared.  And frankly, that makes me grin.  It’ll be a nice little reminder to both him and the girls to appreciate me.  They will survive and I know they’ll all handle it well.  I think I might just screen my calls for emergencies only.  T and I have a bet going on who will out last who.  Gabby can be a real hand full and a challenge.  Her and her father hit heads when they are together most the time.  It sure would be fun to have a Nanny Cam installed.

Are you going to Type A Mom? If so find me and introduce yourself.  I’m excited that I’ll have a couple of guest blog posts coming soon while I’m gone.

Image via Wikipedia

My family loves Sea World.  Actually we visit about two times a year and Noah would go weekly if he was given the chance.  We were invited to a blogger event by Visit San Antonio a couple of weekends ago and I thought it would make a good post to share some tips with you when visiting Sea World that I have learned.

Let’s call this the Dos and Don’ts of Sea World.

DO plan to stay all day, especially during the summer.  There are quite a few shows to see as well as rides for both little kids and big kids.  You also might want to visit the water park at no additional cost that is inside Sea World so taking a couple of hours for a break during the hot day to cool down is a great idea.  Bring swimsuits!

DO NOT sit in the Splash Zone unless you want to get wet and smell like fish.  I know the row of benches marked Splash Zone goes up fairly high, I believe 16 rows if I remember correctly.  Trust me, this isn’t for show effect to make you think the splash is larger than what it is, it truly can splash that high.  Remember the shows include sea mammals which of course smell like sea mammals.

DO sit in the Splash Zone during the last show of the day if you would like to get splashed for fun, especially during the Shamu show.  My oldest loves to get wet and when we are leaving the park she doesn’t mind smelling like fish for the short drive to the hotel.  Don’t feel bad allowing your children to sit up front while you sit a little higher, as long as they are old enough to stay put, you can keep an eye on them from your seat and they usually get a lot more excited about Shamu soaking them than you do.

DO wear water proof mascara, sunscreen and drink lots of water.  You will sweat during the summer heat in Texas.

When your child no longer wants his/her piece of cotton candy in the middle of a show, DO NOT place it in your lap thinking it can gently rest there until end of show to dispose of, it WILL melt on your capris and cause a very sticky mess.

DO purchase the Quick Queue passes for older kids and adults that want to ride all the rides in the park.  During the summer months Sea World is very busy and these passes work wonders to skip lines.

DO NOT purchase Quick Queue passes for younger children.  They do not work on kiddie rides, except for the Shamu Express kid coaster.

DO purchase the all day meal passes for adults at $29.95 and children at $13.95 if you plan to stay all day and eat/drink all meals for the day at park.  The wrist bands allow you to get meals, sides, desserts and drinks all day.  I highly recommend even going through the line to get a free bottle of water outside of your regular meals times.  Take full advantage of the all access pass and you’ll save money in the long run.

DO NOT purchase a separate dessert if you have the all day meal pass arm band.  The arm band includes one meal and one side or dessert with drink, each time through line.  However you can purchase your meal, side and drink.  Then eat, enjoy and go through line again for dessert.  It’s honestly no hassle and if you pay for all access pass it’s silly to pay for additional food.  My kids loved getting the fruit during the day for snacks in between meals and this is also included in the restaurants, you do not have to always get a meal.

DO purchase a tray of fish to feed the dolphins.  It’s worth the extra cost for the experience.  Feeding the dolphins is a lot of fun and it’s my son’s favorite activity.  If you do it like the trainer shows then you are even given a chance to pet them.  We were able to capture some great photos during the feedings as well and the dolphins are eager for the attention and food.  It’s wonderful!  Check the feeding times as soon as you arrive at the park, usually they are every hour starting at 1:00 PM but this does vary.  The line can get long so I advise you arrive early to scheduled feeding time.

DO HAVE FUN!

Full Disclosure: My family and I were invited to visit San Antonio and Sea World for a social media event.  We were provided with complimentary tickets to Sea World as well as Quick Queue passes and all access meal passes in order to appreciate the full experience of the park.  All opinions in this blog post are 100% mine and this is not a sponsored post.

I was so proud when I saw this video. I already told everyone about my great Mother’s Day thanks to Chevy. This video was just released and I’m so proud to share. The kids at the Texas Rangers Event were given a chance to do an interview on video for their Mothers. Watch below to what T had to say about me. Yes, I did get teary eyed when watching. I think my cousin, Brooke, said it well when she commented on Facebook “it’s selfless, nothing mentioned about what you did for her, it’s about her sister and what you do for them as a mom“!

{Dwan, Liz, Erica and Donna}

Photo taken at Mom 2 Summit which was an amazing conference.  We laughed and considered ourselves the Chevy Bliss ladies because as you know Liz, Erica and myself drove the Chevy Equinox to Blissdom in February that was provided by GM of Texas thanks to Donna.  Donna wasn’t able to attend the Blissdom conference but we did all meet up together at Mom 2 Summit.  I just love these ladies!

So much for a wordless post, huh?  Oh well, I occasionally break the rules.