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.