Nana's Snowmen

I have these little snow men that were my Nana's, and since I have all of her things I found them when I went through the garage. I've had them on my entertainment center but decided to stick them in their Home...yep their home, the lovely North Idaho snow of course! :D



One thing that prompted me to take this picture is that my friend Trish is having a photo contest on her blog. I know this photo isn't too fun or exciting, but having my Nana's snowmen and having a picture of them makes me feel a little better as we get ready to celebrate Christmas. This is the 2nd Christmas without Nana and its getting harder as it gets closer, I'm glad I have these snowmen.
The contest on Tutus & Sneakers is for a $20 GC to My Four Hens Photography. I love taking pictures but sometimes get frustrated getting good and neat edits. I love the look of the My Four Hens actions, they would be awesome to have when we do my brothers Senior pictures this spring/summer.

Brushing Technique

Today at OT we talked about listening therapy again, something that we've planned to start for the last 2 months but one thing or another prevented it. Seamus has tried the headphones and cd player a few times at OT but he doesn't like them and always takes them off complaining they hurt his head, or its too loud, or he doesn't like the music (part of his sensory issues.). We think the listening therapy will help Seamus progress and relax, but his OT brought up a different therapy/technique to try first.

Our OT brought up the Brushing Technique, and asked if I had herd of it, which I hadn't. She explained it to me, basically it should help calm him down and give him the sensory input that he needs. She wants us to try this before we go on to the listening therapy, right now she doesn't think he would do the LT because of how he acts with the music and headphones.

She gave me a run down of what to do. I thought Seamus would freak out when she was first explaining it to me. You use a surgical brush to brush down their extremities, and back, and I thought it would be a poky and hard brush. The brush is actually fairly soft and doesn't hurt (she showed me on me then Seamus how to do it). I have to brush down his arms first, applying pressure to give him the deep sensory input he needs, then his back and last his legs. After I'm done brushing I have to do his joint compression, which is pushing all his joints in his extremities together 10x's each joint (shoulder, elbow, wrist, hips, knees and feet).

I was amazed when she showed Seamus and I. When she was doing it on me to show me how to do it, Seamus ignored us, playing with 'his' Little People. When she told him she was going to do it on him to show me some more, he wasn't too sure about it, he kind of froze up at first, he had one hand raised prepared to push her away. After a couple seconds of her brushing his arm you could see him relax more, he still held pretty stiff but he wasn't ready to push her off. To my amazement it did help calm him down for around an hour. The thing with this therapy/technique is that it doesn't last all day, it has to be done every 2-4hrs, the closer to every 2hrs the better. (but he's in school from 8am-11:45am, 4 days a week so it won't happen at those times)

I'm excited to see how this goes and hope it helps him so we can move on to the listening therapy too.

My little Ham's

So I decided to try to get some Christmas-y pictures of the kids tonight...tried is the key word here. Kieran doesn't much care for smiling at the camera, never really has even our professional pictures she's more smug looking then smiley. I thought I'd give it ago, but only a couple are ok. Luckily I don't do picture cards or I'd be in trouble. These are really just pictures for me to see the kids over the years, I do it every year for the holidays (Except w/ Seamus in 08 cause I was sickly pregnant and we didn't get a tree till days before xmas).

Anyway here are our fun shots. I miss our Canon T1i right now (sadly its pawned till we can get it out in January) cause the pictures would've turned out better, but these work...lol

Winners!

Sorry for the delay in posting the winners! We were pretty sick the last 2 weeks of November and felt like crud, but on the mend now.

Here we go!

The winner of the Charlie Banana OS diaper is ... Kristen!!




Daffodil Dolls Winner is...Laura!!!



And the 2 Del Monte GC winners are ... Julie!!



and... MommyTrenches!!!






All winners have been emailed and have 48hrs to respond or new winners will be chosen. As a reminder please do not enter the giveaway after the date it closes unless I've extended it :)

Wordy Wednesday

The last few days have been bitterly cold. We got hit with an "Arctic Blast" from the north and..ya...FREEZING! Its been in the negative teen's with the windchill's. Sunday night through Tuesday morning we had snow and blizzards, we got around 8-10" out there of snow (and they are expecting another 6-10" for us by Sunday). Right now as I'm posting this at 9:30pm Tuesday night according to the Weather Channel its -5°F (-20C). They are warning people not to go out of their houses unless extremely needed. The schools have already canceled for Wednesday (and its still Tuesday as I write this, and we've known since around 2pm this afternoon) because the buses wont be able to run right, its so cold that diesel engines can turn to goo right now. Thank goodness Seamus was already off school for the week (preschools and Elem. was out for the whole week for Thanksgiving break), I would not want to drag them out at 7:30 in the morning to take him to school.

Wordless Wednesday: 1992, 5yrs old

(love the outfit >.<)

Sickies

We've all had colds for the last week. Seamus has an ear infection(first in years), and the rest of us have the fun, nose clogging snot and icky painful coughs. We're getting better though. Last night we decided to go to IHOP since kids eat free there. Kieran had been fine all day, then when we are sitting waiting for food she starts grunting, so I take her potty and find she's constipated. She refused to eat anything, but would drink. The waiter brought her some apple juice (which I really didn't want, but she had her first juice last night >.<) to help her go poo. When hubby and Seamus were done, and I was mostly done, she starts heaving and throws up all over her plate and hubby (he was holding her). Poor goose. :( We were able to drive the 15minutes home with no issues but as soon as we got home she threw up again all over the floor. We put her to bed with some water and she chugged it down, and threw up again a half hour later. Changed all the bedding and her, gave her a tiny bit of water (figured getting some down, even if its coming up, is better then none at all), and she slept for 2hrs. Between 11pm and 1am she was up throwing up 3 more times. I finally was able to nurse her and she kept that down, just dry heaving though the night. She's very very mopy today, and I'm pretty sure if I gave her any food she'd throw it up again, but she's nursing ok so we'll just keep doing that.

Here's my sicky last night at 1am (daddy had to take a picture on his phone lol)

Del Monte Fresh Produce Teacher Monday ~ Giveaway~

I had planned on doing a Fruit of the Day thing on the blog but then, thanks to having a preschooler, we all got sick (Seamus has his first ear infection in years).

Here's a recap about the Teacher Monday from Del Monte.

Del Monte contacted me about doing a giveaway for their Teacher Monday promotion they have going on right now and I loved the sound of it (especially with Seamus starting school earlier this fall).

Here is some about Teacher Monday;

DEL MONTE FRESH SUPPORTS TEACHERS WITH CASH & FRESH FRUIT IN
"TEACHER MONDAY: CASH FOR CLASSROOMS"

Del Monte Fresh Produce, North America, Inc. announced today that it is launching a program to help support kindergarten thru 12th grade public school teachers across North and Central America with cash to purchase school supplies and fresh fruit in the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” campaign. One hundred prizes totaling $1,000 each will be awarded to teachers who get the most votes in the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” online contest at www.fruits.com.

“Monday’s can be difficult for all of us, but public school teachers face even bigger challenges these days with the largest budget cuts in 30 years expected this academic year,” said Dennis Christou, Vice President, Marketing, North America for Del Monte Fresh Produce. “Larger classrooms and far less supplies are putting enormous pressure on our teachers. The “Teacher Monday” program was designed to take some of the burden off teachers, many who pay for school supplies out of their own pockets. It will also provide teachers with tools and incentives to incorporate healthy eating messages into their curriculums, giving us an opportunity to help school children eat and live healthier,” Christou added.

To be eligible to win, teachers must register for the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” online contest at www.fruits.com. After teachers register their name and school, they can get all their fans -- from parents to students, to friends and family -- to vote for them. Ten winners will be selected each Monday for five consecutive weeks in October/November, 2010, for a total of 50 winning teachers North American teachers. Winners are based solely on the number of votes they receive. Winning teachers will receive $750 in cash to purchase school supplies and $250 in Del Monte fresh fruit coupons for classroom snacks and to use in fruit educational activities.

In an effort to support schools in less developed countries where many Del Monte products are grown, and where classrooms are also experiencing economic disadvantages, the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” program will link winning U.S. classrooms with a school in Guatemala or Costa Rica. The 50 selected Central American schools will also receive $1,000 each for school supplies.
“By linking U.S. and Central American schools, we want to help further the education of students by introducing them to another culture. Our hope is that sister schools will communicate with each other about fun physical activities and their favorite fruit dishes,” said Christou.

Beginning early Fall, consumers can expect to see “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” stickers on Del Monte Fresh Produce such as pineapples, bananas, melons, grapes, tomatoes and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, as well as colorful posters and other materials in produce departments.

Finally, each week of promotion, Del Monte will distribute $25 gift certificate booklets for Del Monte Fresh Produce to consumers in major markets across the U.S. and Canada. Consumers will be notified about the giveaways via Twitter, Facebook, and radio promotions.

Check it out on their web page Fruits.com.


Entering is easy, the Teacher goes to fruits.com and sign up, fill out the information and write a little something about yourself and what you would use the prize for ($1000, $750 cash and $250 in fresh fruit gift certificates, awarded every Monday to ten teachers), as well as how you promote or plan to promote healthy eating to your classroom. After you submit your 'essay' tell your students, their parents, friends and families to vote for you (they can vote once a day). The top 10 teachers receiving the most votes will receive the prizes, every Monday (started October 18th). Also votes from non-winning teachers will carry over so keep voting!

I also wanted to point out some yummy fruit recipes that are listed on fruits.com, they look super yummy.

Giveaway:
Del Monte has sent me two (2) $25 Gift Certificates, for two (2) of my readers to win, to use on their Fresh Produce!

Mandatory Entry:
Go to Del Monte's Fruit Facts page, on their Teacher Monday page, and tell me a fun fruit fact that you learned.
(mandatory entry must be completed before any other entries will count. Please leave me your email address in the johndoe at emailprovider dot com format.)

Extra Entries:
-Follow Del Monte Fresh Produce on Facebook
-Follow Del Monte Fresh Produce on Twitter
-Follow me on Facebook (heart above)
-Follow me on Twitter (heart above)
-Follow my blog with google friend
-Spread the word about Teacher Monday and write a blog post about it (leave me the link)
-Tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to include @SliverStorm, @DelMonteFresh AND Teacher Monday along with a link back to this post. Can be done 3x's a day at least 2hrs apart, be sure to leave a link as soon as you tweet.
-Enter the Daffodil Dolls Giveaway
-Tell me what your favorite Teacher taught you in school


Be sure to tell your Children's Teachers about Teacher Monday, it ends on the 15th of November. Also feel free to share pictures on Del Monte's facebook.


This will end on Sunday November 21st 11:59pm PST. At the close of this I will use Random.org to draw the winner and post on the blog. The winner has 48hrs to respond to my email before a new one will be drawn. US only.


**Disclosure**
I was sent two (2) gift certificates to giveaway on my blog, did not receive any other compensation.

Charlie Banana ~ Review & Giveaway ~

I found out about Charlie Banana early in the summer, it looked super neat. I emailed asking if they were doing any reviews yet and found out, at the time, they still hadn't been released in the US yet, but they agreed to sponsor a review once they were. I was super excited.

Charlie Banana is from Hong Kong China, and very well made. Here is a little about their company:

"Winc Design Limited is a Hong Kong base Company. The team is an eclectic mix of Canadian, American, French, British, Hong Kong, which gives wonderful results. We are a distributor and a manufacturer. We only distribute items we manufacture directly so we can control everything from start to finish. Being based in Hong Kong is ideal for shipping all over the world. It reduces shipping cost for our customers and it allows us to reduce carbon footprint by having our manufacturing at our door.

Gaelle & CharlieWinc Design Ltd. was nominated last year as “Earth Champion” for waste reduction. Earth champion is a wonderful organization operating worldwide. www.earthchampions.com. At Winc Design Ltd it is Earth Day every day! We are actively promoting waste reduction and have gained tremendous support from major retailers all over the world.

With many years of experience in the Toy and Juvenile Industry as well as being a mother of two young children, Winc Design’s president, Gaëlle Wizenberg, decided to create a custom line – Charlie Banana™ . Born from the Winc Design family, Charlie Banana™ is a product collection that combines eco friendliness, quality and design in one brand. Charlie Banana™ is a result of inspiration and joy from the owner’s children – her son Zachary and daughter Charlie, or “Charlie Banana” as Zachary calls her. It’s with great joy that Charlie Banana™ comes to life."

Review:
When I got this diaper I was super excited about the packaging, all the Hong Kong stamps and custom labels were so cool! I opened the package in the car after getting to Seamus' speech appt (which he was annoyed with lol). When I got the package open I was amazed by the diaper, it was so so so soft, and the pattern they sent me was beautiful! I was sent 1 OS diaper with little butterflies on it, 2 microfiber inserts, 2 disposable inserts and a carrying bag. Such an awesome package.



I was super excited to get home and prep the diaper. Once preped I put it on Kieran for a nap, our first test. I was surprised by the fit, I have the button settings between the 5 and 4 and I was still able to cross the tabs! The fit was perfect, I love the fit on this diaper, unlike some of our other OS diapers this one was easier to find a good setting on and get a good tight (without red marks!) fit. I also loved that the pocket opening is up front so you don't have to get messy poo everywhere when taking out the insert. The diaper did perfect at nap time, no leaks and dry wake up. I also tried it at night a few nights later with both inserts in and again, perfect, no leaking and dry wake up.



The next thing I tried was the disposable insert. I was a little afraid of this because we've tried another disposable insert from another company back in February and didn't care for them. This insert was great, I think it could be a little more narrow cause it seemed a tad too wide but it fit on Kieran well. I had planned on taking her out and about to Seamus' speech with it on but she had other plans and pooed in it with in an hour. It was nice being able to just pull it out and toss, and only a tiny bit of poo missed the insert. The nice thing about this insert is that it gets tucked under the front flap to help it stay in place, not sticky tabs that have to be stuck (and never come off) on the diaper!



Over all I loved this diaper! Its now in my top 2 favorite pocket diapers (the other one being a different style then this). I also love the cute prints and they also have both gentle soft solid colors and awesome bright colors!



Charlie Banana is a nice company to work with, they respond super quick with replies and the staff is super friendly. Charlie Banana also offered to sponsor a giveaway!

Giveaway:
One of my readers will win a Charlie Banana OS diaper and Single Wipes!

Mandatory Entry: Go to Charlie Banana's web site and take a look around. Tell me your favorite color/print, of diaper they offer AND something neat you learned about the company. Please answer both in 1 {one} comment.
(both parts of the mandatory entry must be done before doing any other "extra" entries. Also please leave me your email address in the joedoe at emailprovider dot com so I can contact you if you win.)


Extra Entries:
-Fan Charlie Banana on Facebook
-Follow Charlie Banana on Twitter
-Fan me on Facebook (heart on top)
-Follow me on Twitter (heart again)
-Enter the Daffodil Dolls giveaway
-Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect
-Add my button to your blog and tell me where to find it
-Tell me what made you want to start cloth diapering
-Tell me other ways you are more "green"
-Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and Charlie Banana
-Add this giveaway to any giveaway Linky's (that are within the last week) and leave me the link to where you put it
-Tweet about this giveaway, be sure to include #clothdiapers, @SliverStorm and @CharlieBanana as well as a link back to this post. 2 tweets per day at least 4hrs apart, and make sure to post your tweet link as soon as you tweet, not hours later.


This will end on Wednesday November 24th 11:59pm PST. At the close of this I will use Random.org to draw the winner and post on the blog. The winner has 48hrs to respond to my email before a new one will be drawn. US only.


**Disclosure**
I was sent this product review, I did not receive any other compensation. The review is my own and my honest opinion of the product.

Day 3 of 30

Day 03- A picture of you and your friends .... hmmm this one is hard, only one I can think of is from when I was 17...gotta look through the mom's facebook to see if she has any. Ok nope she didn't have the picture I thought she did...so heres one from my 17th birthday (March 2004) me and my friends playing Trivial Pursuit.


Wait .... you say I'm not in it ... yes I am, see my head in the corner :p

Okay, Okay here's one of me from that night, goofing off...



I'm 99% of the time the one behind the camera so its rare to have a picture of me with people. But there you go the closest picture I have of me and my friends (sadly I haven't seen the people in the first one since 2005, and Shanena (the one in the 2nd picture corner) I still see every few weeks)

Daffodil Dolls Review and Giveaway

One of my friends from JustMommies approached me about doing a review and giveaway of her doll clothes, with Kieran getting into the age of dolls I was super excited to be given this opportunity!



I've known Ruth online now for about 2yrs, and she is a wonderful lady. She is a SAHM to two boys and expecting her first little girl later this month. I kind of look up to her with how she makes all this cute stuff! Here is a little bit about her Hyena Cart store Daffodil Dolls:

"Daffodil Dolls provides quality, affordable, handmade doll clothes and accessories. I began making doll clothes shortly after I received my first American Girl doll as a birthday gift. We didn’t have a lot of extra money to buy a bunch of clothes for my dolls so my mom taught me to sew. After my mom passed away from breast cancer sewing became a very special hobby for me and my store is named after one of my mom's favorite flowers. Now almost 20 years after making my first doll dress I still love sewing doll clothes. When I became a stay-at-home mom I turned my hobby into a small business. It is my desire to provide handmade doll clothes at reasonable prices so that anyone can enjoy having a fun wardrobe for their dolls.

I have try to provide outfits that will fit a wide variety of dolls. I personally own 18" American Girl dolls, and 15" Bitty Baby dolls so I know the clothes will fit those specific dolls. While I cannot guarantee how they will fit every type of doll many of my outfits will also fit Waldorf dolls and a variety of stuffed animals. I am always happy to provide the measurements of my outfits so you can check to see if they will work for your doll.

I also enjoy doing custom orders which include making outfits for boy dolls. I can also making matching child/doll outfits.

When necessary I recommend hand washing doll clothes in cool water with a mild detergent and laying them out to air dry."

Review:

Ruth was super sweet and even asked if she could send something for Seamus too to use on his stuffed animals. Seamus helped pick out the shirt for one of his animals and he loved being able to do that. It didn't take long at all to get the clothes, and when I did I was shocked to see that a couple of the items had only been made days before! Ruth has these super cute tags that she sews into the clothes and dates them so you know when they were made. The shirts and dresses close with aplix. I love the aplix on them because its easier for the kids to get them on and off with out having to mess with hooks or snaps. The bottoms are elastic waisted and super easy to pull on and off.





Seamus was super excited to get something for his animals, but ended up taking Kieran's bear (standard Build a Bear bear) to play with. He got the shirt on super easy and thought it was funny he could dress the bear. The pants he had a little hard time with (partly due to his SPD though) but the bear is stuffed more then usual cause we made him with more stuffin's. Seamus spent over an hour taking the clothes off and on he loves it.

Kieran still isn't too sure how to put the clothes on but she sure figured out how to get them off and brings it right back up to get them on, hehe. We recently bought Kieran her first real baby doll and it was perfect for the dress and bloomers. The dress fit really well and I think it could even fit a doll that was a little larger and still be a good fit. I love the more "classic" look of the dress, so much nicer then the clothes a lot of these dolls come with now days.



Overall I really really loved these, they are super well made. I think Ruth pays good attention to her products and does a wonderful job making them. I'm actually making a list of some to buy Kieran for Christmas!

Daffodil Dolls doesn't just make doll clothes though, they also offer a nice range of accessories from gloves, to scarfs, doll leg warmers, hats and even doll necklaces! I think these would be perfect for that little girl in your life (or even little boy for their animals!) for Christmas, birthday's, Easter or a just because gift!

One super cool thing I wanted to point out that Daffodil Dolls offer is trading. Ruth loves to trade things! Here's a little about that:

"If you are interested in trading send me an e-mail with pictures of what you have and tell me what you are wanting from my store. Once we agree upon a fair trade you will ship the items to me and then like with any other purchase once I receive the "payment" I'll ship your items out right away. If you have 50 or more positive feedback transactions here or on another buying/selling site (ie eBay, Etsy, Diaperswappers etc) I am fine with us both shipping our packages at the same time. For trades I require that all packages must be shipped with delivery confirmation to protect both parties. Please understand that while I do like to trade there may be times that I will not be able to trade so please be understanding if I do have to say no."

Ruth has been super awesome in letting me do a review of her awesome doll clothes and is even more awesome because she's offering a chance for one of my readers to win!

Giveaway:
Ruth of Daffodil Dolls is offering one of my readers a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to Daffodil Dolls Hyena Cart store!


Mandatory Entry:
Take a look through Daffodil Dolls store and tell me what you would get if you won and who you would get it for.
(Mandatory entry must be completed before you can do any of the "extra" entries. Also please leave me your email address in the johndoe at emailprovider dot com format so I can contact you and bots dont pick it up)

Extra Entries:
-Become a fan of Daffodil Dolls facebook
-Become a fan of my facebook (heart at top)
-Follow me on Twitter (also a heart)
-Follow me on Google Friend Connect
-Blog about this giveaway
-Email 3 friends about this and cc a copy to me (knjmcd at gmail dot com)
-Tweet this giveaway, can be done twice a day at least 4hrs apart, also make sure to leave me the link of each tweet at the time of the tweet not hours later. Make sure to include a link back to this post and @SliverStorm in the tweet.
-Tell me your favorite memory of dressing things up


This will end on Sunday November 21st 11:59pm PST. At the close of this I will use Random.org to draw the winner and post on the blog. The winner has 48hrs to respond to my email before a new one will be drawn. US only.


**Disclosure**
I was sent this product review, I did not receive any other compensation. The review is my own and my honest opinion of the product.

Del Monte Fresh Produce Teacher Monday

Del Monte contacted me about doing a giveaway for their Teacher Monday promotion they have going on right now and I loved the sound of it (especially with Seamus starting school earlier this fall).

Here is some about Teacher Monday;

DEL MONTE FRESH SUPPORTS TEACHERS WITH CASH & FRESH FRUIT IN
"TEACHER MONDAY: CASH FOR CLASSROOMS"

Del Monte Fresh Produce, North America, Inc. announced today that it is launching a program to help support kindergarten thru 12th grade public school teachers across North and Central America with cash to purchase school supplies and fresh fruit in the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” campaign. One hundred prizes totaling $1,000 each will be awarded to teachers who get the most votes in the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” online contest at www.fruits.com.

“Monday’s can be difficult for all of us, but public school teachers face even bigger challenges these days with the largest budget cuts in 30 years expected this academic year,” said Dennis Christou, Vice President, Marketing, North America for Del Monte Fresh Produce. “Larger classrooms and far less supplies are putting enormous pressure on our teachers. The “Teacher Monday” program was designed to take some of the burden off teachers, many who pay for school supplies out of their own pockets. It will also provide teachers with tools and incentives to incorporate healthy eating messages into their curriculums, giving us an opportunity to help school children eat and live healthier,” Christou added.

To be eligible to win, teachers must register for the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” online contest at www.fruits.com. After teachers register their name and school, they can get all their fans -- from parents to students, to friends and family -- to vote for them. Ten winners will be selected each Monday for five consecutive weeks in October/November, 2010, for a total of 50 winning teachers North American teachers. Winners are based solely on the number of votes they receive. Winning teachers will receive $750 in cash to purchase school supplies and $250 in Del Monte fresh fruit coupons for classroom snacks and to use in fruit educational activities.

In an effort to support schools in less developed countries where many Del Monte products are grown, and where classrooms are also experiencing economic disadvantages, the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” program will link winning U.S. classrooms with a school in Guatemala or Costa Rica. The 50 selected Central American schools will also receive $1,000 each for school supplies.
“By linking U.S. and Central American schools, we want to help further the education of students by introducing them to another culture. Our hope is that sister schools will communicate with each other about fun physical activities and their favorite fruit dishes,” said Christou.

Beginning early Fall, consumers can expect to see “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” stickers on Del Monte Fresh Produce such as pineapples, bananas, melons, grapes, tomatoes and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, as well as colorful posters and other materials in produce departments.

Finally, each week of promotion, Del Monte will distribute $25 gift certificate booklets for Del Monte Fresh Produce to consumers in major markets across the U.S. and Canada. Consumers will be notified about the giveaways via Twitter, Facebook, and radio promotions.

Check it out on their web page Fruits.com, while you're looking also add them on Twitter and Facebook.


Entering is easy, the Teacher goes to fruits.com and sign up, fill out the information and write a little something about yourself and what you would use the prize for ($1000, $750 cash and $250 in fresh fruit gift certificates, awarded every Monday to ten teachers), as well as how you promote or plan to promote healthy eating to your classroom. After you submit your 'essay' tell your students, their parents, friends and families to vote for you (they can vote once a day). The top 10 teachers receiving the most votes will receive the prizes, every Monday (started October 18th). Also votes from non-winning teachers will carry over so keep voting!

I also wanted to point out some yummy fruit recipes that are listed on fruits.com, they look super yummy and I may try to get Seamus to eat some of them.

I will have a giveaway posted in a few days with two $25 Del Monte gc's so be on the lookout, but in the mean time tell your childrens teachers to sign up for this! Fruits.com also has some fun fruit facts on their site so I'm going to try to post one fact a day about a fruit to help promote this :D

Day 2 of 30

I know, I know its been a couple weeks since I posted Day 1 but life got the best of me.

Anyway, Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name ... That's easy. It started as a name that I just liked the sound of, but as Seamus got older I realized that he (now both kids) was my little Silent Storm, it would take him 30 seconds to have every toy pulled out and in the living room, or quietly sneaking off into a corner with a new pack of toilet paper and shredding every roll. My kids are my Silent Storms :D

Baby Dipper Bowl ~WINNER!!!~

So so sorry for the delay in getting this up. I'm finally more on track now, the last week has been hard.

But without further ado, the winner is....



(And a full screen shot)


The winner is #30 Lindsey G. who said:



Winner has been emailed and has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Thank you all for entering!

I will also have a Daffodil Dolls review and giveaway up tomorrow(Friday) or Saturday.

Behind

I'm behind in announcing the winner of the Baby Dipper Bowel, and in putting up 2 reviews/giveaways (Charlie Banana and Daffodil Dolls). Halfway through Wednesday I started to get a really bad pain and though I was having an odd bladder infection (but it didn't hurt to pee) and by early evening it got really bad and my mom ended up taking me to the ER. I have/had a kidney stone. Its the worst pain I have ever been in, even the post c-section pain with Kieran wasn't as bad and that was bad pain (I can't really compare it to labor since I've never really felt labor, since they gave me my epi an hour after breaking my water with Seamus and Kieran was straight into a c-section for being breech), but they say kidney stones hurt worse then labor does. I was pretty embarrassed after the fact because I was laying across 3 chairs in the ER lobby bawling it hurt so bad and no matter how I was laying or sitting I was still in horrid pain. I think its finally passed because going to the bathroom is easier but my side and kidney area are still pretty sore especially if I do too much or don't move slow enough.
I hope to get everything up and finished early this coming week. Sorry for the delay.

Special Needs Blog Hop

I found this blog hop trough another JM mommy (Dotcomkari) and decided to link up too.
Its pretty neat, hosted by Autism Learning Felt and Super Mommy To The Rescue.

They have a Question on the blog so I will go a head and answer it.

Question for this Week: Introduce yourself and your Blog to us so we can get to know you:

I'm Justine, 23 and I live in North Idaho. I married Kenneth in 2006 after a year long engagement. Together we have 2 great kids.

My oldest, Seamus, is 4, born July 18th, 2006. Seamus just started preschool at Head Start and is loving it (and I'm liking the breaks too hehe). His life has been far from easy. When Seamus was a newborn he was constantly spitting up and throwing up, we went to a few doctors and NP's at our office and they all said it was normal. We finally found a doc in our clinic that told it it wasn't normal and that Seamus had GERD Reflux (he would vomit a foot or more a way a few times a day and was always spitting up after each meal), we tried a few medications before Previcad finally worked. When Seamus was 2mo old the Torticollis was caught and he started OT through Early Intervention, and a few weeks later we found the Plagiocephally (caught by the Tort.). While in OT we started realizing his delays and how far behind he was, he was anywhere from 3-6mo delayed on average, some things more. His doctor wasn't sure why he was delayed, she said that Tort doesn't usually cause kids to be delayed like he was. Seamus went through a couple tests, like a CT scan and a Cystic Fibrosis test, but they all came back normal. The CT Scan did reveal Macrocephally, which we sort of knew since his head had always been in the 95+%. When he was 6 or 7 months old he started PT as well as continuing his OT. At 15months they wanted him to start Speech Therapy too but we were moving out of state. The state we moved to said that Seamus was fine and they wouldn't offer any services to him. We moved back home 8months later and got right back into the swing of things. Seamus was now having behavior issues as well as his speech problems. His doctor is great and on the ball and listens to what we have to say. We started him on Melatonin in June of '09 because he was only sleeping for 3-4hrs a night and his behavior issues got worse with the lack of sleep. But the melatonin didn't help fully and in January he was started on Tenex to help calm him down (he's constantly moving and in motion), and she also referred him to a Counselor and hopped he would also be seen to get evaluated for Aspergers (what we thought for years he had), and she also put a referral in for Speech because his speech had gotten behind. Consoling was going great, but no one would see him for an Autism spectrum evaluation telling us to go to Infant-Toddler/Early Intervention (He was too old for EI and the others wouldn't see him till age 6). I was super upset with the run around we were still getting about things as was his doctor. Finally in July (almost 7 months after the referral) we got a call from the Speech Pathologist saying they had an opening and they wanted to evaluate Seamus. The day we went in was like a huge light bulb going off for us. Seamus was diagnosed with Articulation Disorder and a Minor Speech delay (its more how he says the words we can't understand), but during the evaluation the Speech Therapist asked me if he'd been evaluated for Sensory issues. The feeling when she said that was almost peaceful and wonderful, finally someone else was noticing things besides me and my family and it wasn't all in my head. She helped us get a referral from out doctor so Seamus could see the Sensory OT at the same place we have ST at. It took a month to get into the OT eval but that day was also a great day for me, finally figuring things out and a way that we can help Seamus. Seamus was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder and a Fine Motor delay(his average score in FM was a 25%). Seamus has both Hyper and Hypo Sensitivities, but now that we know more about them and why he does some of the things he does its become very helpful.

Kieran is my second child, she is 18½ months old, born April 8th, 2009. Kieran is a lot different then her brother. She's always been more social then he was at similar ages and she loves to interact with people (with Seamus that's only started in the last 1-1.5yrs). She loves to dance and is starting to like to dress up. Kieran has hit the age of Separation Anxiety and stands by me when ever we go somewhere new (something Seamus has never done). Kieran is behind in speech but for right now they are just watching her, and I was told recently because of Seamus' issues Kieran may be behind since she models after him. Its been a whole different experience with Kieran and its "odd" seeing how children from the same 2 parents can be so different developmentally and physically.

Day 1 of 30

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

Gotta come back with the picture, its on hubby's phone


1. I am both the oldest child and the only child so I got the view from both sides (oldest with my mom and only for my dad)
2. I am very scatter brained, I remember odd things and forget simple things and do things randomly
3. I love to cook and bake but hate the clean up so I don't do it often
4. I'm addicted to Pepsi, badly, to the point that I have to have at least 1 a day or I get a massive headache
5. I am a night owl, generally up till 1-2am
6. I made my mom a grandma at 36yrs old (almost 37. I was 19)
7. Make up sucks. I hate it and very very rarely will use it, I prefer natural beauty for everyone
8. History is my most favorite thing in the world. Its my dream to be a Historian but I don't think it will happen since its not a very highly wanted position or paid well in most cases
9. All my grandparents are still alive and in their 60's, except for my grandma who passed last May in her 70's
10. I've always wanted to live on the East Coast, where the History is (1600-1800 history)
11. I have a very short temper and get irritated fast
12. I also have really bad self esteem and super high anxiety (I think everyone is out to get me)
13. I am very Liberal and a Democrat (if you couldn't figure that out :p)
14. I have 1 tattoo and have had quite a few piercings. My lip, nose, tongue and alot in my ears. I'm planning another tattoo for Feb if money works out.
15. I never thought I would have more then 1 kid. Then after Seamus was born I couldn't live with the thought of him being siblingless (I think I just made up a word :P)

Snatch and Steal

I've seen this on a couple mommy blogs I follow(Trish and Rachel's) and I kept thinking I'd try it but never got around to it. I finally decided it was time to take part in the fun :). I'll try to get one up every day but I'm also looking for a Seasonal job right now, so we can move, so I won't have as much time on the computer as before.

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name
Day 03- A picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about blogs and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awarness

Baby Dipper Bowl Review and Giveaway! ~*Extended!*~

I've seen this unique bowl around on other blogs and I was always interested in how different it was. I decided to ask Baby Dipper if they'd be willing to do a review, and to my excitement they said yes!! Kieran is at the age now that she's learning to feed herself with utensils so I thought this would be a perfect time to do a review.

When I first opened the bowl the first thing I noticed was the rubber bottom, to help keep it from moving around. The next thing I noticed was the shape of the spoon and fork, they are slightly curved to fit in the hand of toddlers and fit the way they hold things at this age. I also love how the spoon and fork fit perfectly in the bottom of the bowl so it can get everything out.

The very first thing I tried with the bowl was just a simple snack of Kix Cereal and it worked nice, Kieran could even hold on to the bowl a lot better then any of our other ones. Kieran hid it so it took me a couple days to find it >.<. When I found it the next thing I had her try was some spaghetti in it. She did awesome, it was super easy for her to hold the spoon and fork (tried both) and it was easy for her to eat out of it. I love that this bowl will help her learn to eat on her own. One thing that I think would be awesome is if they had some larger ones for older toddlers/preschoolers, but over all this was an awesome bowl, great design and very user friendly.

About the Baby Dipper Bowl:
-BPA-free, lead-free, and phthalate-free
-Transparent sides allow easy viewing of food
-Contoured interior guides food to spoon
-Spoon fits in lower corner of bowl
-Non-slip base helps prevent sliding
-Holds 4 fluid ounces
-Microwave safe
-Hand washing is recommended but it can be washed on the top rack of dishwashers

I think that this bowl is reasonably priced at $9.95. I've seen different bowl sets go for much higher and those sets were not worth it.


Baby Dipper has generously offed to giveaway one of their bowls to one of my readers!!

Mandatory Entry (make sure this is completed or the others will not count): Tell me why you would what this bowl and who it would be for.

Be sure to leave your email so I can contact you if you win, leave it in the johndoe at emailprovider dot com format so bots can't pick it up.


Extra Entries:
-Become a Baby Dipper Facebook "liker"
-"Like" my page on Facebook, heart at the top of the page
-Follow Baby Dipper on Twitter
-Follow me on Twitter, heart at the top of the page
-Sign up for Baby Dipper's newsletter
-Follow my RSS feed, heart at top
-Follow Baby Dipper's Blog
-Follow my blog with Google Friend
-Add my button to your blog and tell me where to find it
-Blog about this giveaway
-Add this giveaway to a giveaway linky and tell me where it is
-Tweet about this giveaway (once a day) including @BabyDipper and @SliverStorm or you can use:
"I want to win a @BabyDipper Bowl from @SliverStorm ends 10/15 http://tinyurl.com/SilentStormbdp"



This will end on Friday October 15th 11:59pm PST Extended till 10/27 At the close of this I will use Random.org to draw the winner and post on the blog. The winner has 48hrs to respond to my email before a new one will be drawn. US only.


**Disclosure**
I was sent this product review, I did not receive any other compensation. The review is my own and my honest opinion of the product.

~Also note that previous winners of Baby Dipper bowls (in giveaways sponsored by Baby Dipper, LLC) are not eligible to win again~

Babee Covee Review

I found out about Babee Covee on JustMommies, and asked to do a review for them. I got this awesome 6-in-1 Babee Covee in the mail and loved it! The Babee Covee can be used 6 different ways and is a great versatile blanket/cover. Babee Covee can be used as; an Infant Car Seat cover, a Stroller blanket, a General Purpose blanket, High Chair Cover, Shopping Cart cover and nursing Cover.


The first thing I used it on was a High Chair. We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse for our 4th wedding anniversary and I hate putting Kieran in high chairs cause I don't think they get very cleaned. I loved this cover for the high chair, she didn't have to touch any of the the chair (other then her bum), and people kept saying how cute and cool it looked! Kieran kept rubbing her hands on it she loved the way it felt and would point to the birds and make noises at them. (sadly we forgot to get pictures)

Next I used it in the stroller while taking Seamus to speech one morning. It was only 40-50 out, so pretty chilly and I forgot a jacket for her since she doesn't ride in the car seat with one. I put this on the stroller, again pretty easy to do, and she was nice and covered. After a while she pulled part of it down becuase she got toasty in the Speech room, hehe. I loved that I could tie it on and she couldn't get it off so it kept it safe, unlike a normal blanket that she could take off and throw on the floor.


(Cell phone photo, little blurry sorry)

The last thing I tried was the shopping cart cover. I think I may have tied it on wrong because it kept sliding off in the back but other then that it was great. I liked that neither of us had to touch the yucky, germy handles. And again people kept saying how cute and cool it was.


It was very easy to put on and take off of the things I tried, and I would recommend this cover it was awesome. I also loved the pattern of it, it wasn't the plain boring cover like most out there, it was cute and perfect for a baby or even nursing. Since Kieran's a little older I didn't try it on her infant seat since we leave it in the car now and just take her in and out (too heavy to carry a 19½lb 17.5mo old in an infant seat lol) but I can see how this would be an awesome Infant seat cover. I think it would also be an awesome nursing cover in the winter or cooler months, I didn't try it since we don't nurse more then 5-6x's a day and they are almost all done at home now, but if I had a younger baby I would be using this as a cover. I say that using it as a nursing cover in the cooler or winter months would be better cause I think its a little thick to use in the summer months but perfect for nursing in the cooler months, it would keep your exposed areas warm and baby's head warm at the same time.

Over all I really liked this 6-in-1 Babee Covee. It was really well made, I can tell they pay great attention to detail and put out a great product. I would recommend this for new parents or even for a nice baby shower gift!

Check out Babee Covee on their website

Babee Covee Stats:
-Measures approximately 30"x40"
-Made in the USA
-Reinforced with double stitching throughout
-Each one is hand inspected for perfection
-Cost is $79.50



**Disclosure**
I was sent this product review, I did not receive any other compensation. The review is my own and my honest opinion of the product.

A Merry Fluffy Christmas Giveaway Event

I've decided to tank the plunge into a Blog Giveaway Event and its fun but scary at the same time! This event, started by And Then There Were 4, is going to be A Merry Fluffy Christmas!! A Fluffy event, super exciting!!




Here is a little about the event:

This December 1-5, be prepared to visit many different blogs doing a giveaway package a day, valued at least $25 per day, of ONLY CLOTH PRIZES!!!

(So that's at least $125 in cloth prizes for each blog!!)

This is the first year that I've been doing reviews and giveaways so I'm a little scared of this but I've got to start somewhere right?! I'm trying to find sponsors right now which is proven to be the most difficult part since my blog is small, but I'm working on it :)

Right now I have 4 lovely sponsors!! Give them a visit and watch the blog for the reviews coming in a few weeks!
Precious Bunz
TKCuddlers
Nivy Naps
Prairie Tails

If you are interested in sponsoring a small blog like mine send me a message, I'd love to work with you :D
knjmcd at gmail dot com

Green Blog Hop!!

If you are a "Green" blog, love to read about being "green" or starting to become "green" then this blog hop is for you!!

About the hop

The purpose of creating this blog hop was not to create yet another general hop, but to help network bloggers who have taken the initiative to go green for the purpose of education and continuing efforts of saving our planet - one home at a time.

To join the hop

* PLEASE make sure to put the button on your site and make a quick blog entry (which can be found on the host blogs :D)

* Follow the blogs of the ladies in the top three spots :
Going Green with Noah, And Then There Were 4 and Tales of the Wife

*Link your green blog to the MckLinky below


* Follow as many other blogs as you want. The more you follow, the more that will follow you back! If someone follows you, it is common courtesy to follow back.

Gentle Cycle Pads Review

Cloth Pads or "Mama Cloth" something new for me to venture into. I was always a little weirded out about cloth pads, till it hit me that it was no different then cloth diapers, actually a little less icky then diapers. At the same time that I realzied they weren't "icky" I thought I should probably make the switch since we have spent between $20-40 a month in disposable pads since Kieran was 8 weeks old. Something happened, all we know is I had a uterine infection whether it was caused by the c-section and never caught or the IUD put in at 6weeks PP but I've had female issues since then (got better after 2 rounds of antibiotics but after 2mo of being better it got worse then it was before). Because of the issues I've been having its scared me to take a full plunge into Mama cloth because I didn't think they would work for someone like me. But I was approached by Cindy from Gentle Cycle Pads and asked if I could do a review of one of her cloth pads.

Gentle Cycle Pads are made by Cindy a mom of 3. I was super excited when she asked me to review her pads. I'd never tried any before due to my fears of them not working for me, but I wanted to try them. Cindy sent me a Punk pad, it has cute skulls on the pretty print side and purple flannel on the other. The pad she sent me was for light to light-medium flow so its taken me a little to be able to post this.



I have to say I'm now addicted to cloth pads. The first day I wore it I was in Heaven. I've been having an issue with the rubbing feeling from the disposable ones and to wear a cloth pad and feel like I was just wearing underwear was so awesome! I was able to wear it on a fairly light day for around 3hrs and didn't have any leaks or issues at all, it went perfectly (and the few times after that I've used it too!). These are a great, ecofriendly, convenient, and natural feeling pad and for a great price too.

To see Cindy's pads check out her etsy shop Gentle Cycle Pads
Her blog
And Gentle Cycle Pads facebook

Crazy Schedule

I should have prepared the kids and practiced our new schedule this week, but...well...I wanted to sleep in this week. :P
Seamus starts school on Monday. He goes from 8am-11:45am which means we will need to get up between 7-7:30, thats early for this mama! On top of that our weeks are packed, and this is why I can't figure out how to work out of the home!

Monday (our easy day)
Seamus school 8-11:45

Tuesday
School 8-11:45
Speech 2:30-3:00
Seamus PSR 4pm-6pm

Wednesday
School 8-11:45
Kieran playgroup 10am-12pm
Speech 2:30-3
EHS home visit 3:30-4:30

Thursday
School 8-11:45
OT 1:30-2:30
Counseling every other week 5-6pm

Friday
Free day! Which means bill paying day

Saturday
S PSR 12:30-2:30

Sunday
Free Day/Relax

My eyes keep going >.<, especially since Speech, OT, Playgroup and Counseling are all in the town next to us. So on Tuesdays & Thursday's its pick Seamus up, go home for a little then head to town, also on every other Thursday I don't want to drive back home only to turn around a half hour later to go back for counseling, so we'll have to stay in town and find something to do. Wednesday's are kind of a pain, my mom will pick Seamus up for me since I don't want to leave playgroup at 11 to get him on time, but after play group I'll have to come get Seamus (15-20min drive) then go back to town for speech right after.


Oh ya and be on the look out this weekend and next week I have 2 reviews and giveaways being posted :D

Its official

Seamus does have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). To what extent and what sub category I don't know yet, Kieran was being a booger at the appt and I missed half the testing the OT did and we couldn't talk much after cause Seamus kept taking off and grabbing everything. We will go to OT once a week till the end of the year (after that his insurance will only provide 24 visits a year), along with his 2 speech visits each week.

Seamus also got into Headstart which I'm very thankful for. They are also going to help us with further testing, he still shows quite a few signs of Aspergers, which can go hand in hand with SPD. He starts school on September 20th, and is in the morning class from 8am-11:45am. I'm excited but sad at the same time, sad he wont be home but glad to get a little break from him 4 days a week.

Its taken over 3yrs to finally get to a point that things are making since with him, but I'm glad we are finally on the right track. I'm glad we will be learning better ways to help him learn and get him caught up(like learning ABC's, counting past 10, more then 3 shapes, how to draw more then lines, etc), and how to deal with his behaviors. I guess part of his behavioral issues are from SPD cause he doesn't know how to handle the emotions and will outburst instead.

My cute blinkie that Niamh on JustMommies made for me

Top to Bottom Baby ~*~WINNER~*~

Thank you so much for all the entries in the giveaway. This was my first big review and giveaway and without all your help it wouldn't have been a success.

One thing before I announce the winner, I want to ask that if you're visiting my blog make sure you don't post on a giveaway post (from a GFC follow day) cause I had to delete a few posts. Thanks :D

And the WINNER is.....

Entry #156


LISA!!

Lisa's winning comment was:



The winner has been emailed and has 48hrs to respond or a new winner will be drawn. I hope to see you all entering more giveaways here, I have a couple that will be going up in 2-3 weeks :D

Wordless Wednesday: 4 years ago today

September 1st, 2006

Always fear the noises you hear...coming from a 4yr old...

((Warning pictures at end of post, not all will want to see))

Mr. Seamus is hyper, hardly ever stopping and non listening(teenager already?!). Tonight was full of telling him to stop running in our small living room (apx. 12'x12'). I went to the kitchen to do some dishes and get dinner made and the hubby was on his computer(which is in the kitchen looking into the living room. The kids were playing in the living room, running even after being told to stop. Next thing I know we hear a super thud, then the, "Owie, Owie, OWIE!!" screams. Hubby gets to Seamus first since he was less then 3ft away. As hubby went to give Seamus a hug, thinking it was just another bonk on the head, I notice the blood pouring down the side of his face. I know head injury's bleed a lot, but holy cow I didn't expect that much. I figured with how much blood and we needed to take him to the doctor. Our pediatrician's have 3 offices in 3 towns in our county, and I called to tell them we were coming into the one in our town...but they had just closed an hour before. Our only option was the main office in the big town in our county which was 15minutes away taking the interstate. The whole drive Seamus was fine, quiet for him, but fine. The bleeding had stopped on the way too. We had a 15minute wait after we got to the office, but Seamus did well sitting there and wanted to play (covered in caked on blood >.<).
When we get called back, the nurse wants to clean it up so the NP could get a better look at it. Just the sight of the water bottles set Seamus off and the blood started coming again. After the nurse got it all cleaned she said the NP would be in to see if she would close it with the glue or stitches. When the NP came in we were expecting her to say that she would glue it and we'd be on our way...not how it happened. The gash was too wide to use glue(its a little over an inch long and around 1/4-1/2" wide), and she said he needed 6-8 stitches. Poor Seamus, it was horrible holding him down while she trimmed his hair, he was screaming(they herd him out front in the lobby too) which was making him bleed worse. She couldn't do the 6-8 stitches because of how he was being so instead she did 3 or 4 and then a mattress stitch (which she said was a larger one to make up for the ones she couldn't do). He has to keep them in for 7 days then get removed. Hope the next 7 days go smoothly and he doesn't mess with them.

Warning Pictures are a little gory.




This was from hubby's cell phone at the doc's before the nurse cleaned him(after we'd wiped him down and held pressure on it before we got to the doc) so the picture quality isn't very good.




And after once we got home