Month: May 2013

Friday Giveaway + Randoms

D7K_1400I have a super fabulous giveaway in store today.  If you haven’t checked it out yet, be sure to read our outdoor adventure involving Cutter products.  Cutter is a great company and is allowing me to giveaway one reader a prize pack work over $55! 

Prize Includes:

  • Cutter Skinsations Insect Repellent Pump Spray, 6 oz.
  • Cutter Dry Insect Repellent Aerosol, 4 oz.
  • Cutter Backwoods Insect Repellent Aerosol, 4 oz.
  • Cutter Backyard Bug Control Spray Concentrate, 32 fl. oz.
  • Cutter Backyard Bug Control Outdoor Fogger, 16 oz.
  • Cutter CitroGuard™ Triple Wick Candle, 20 oz.
  • Cutter CitroGuard™ Bucket Candle, 17 oz.
  • Cutter CitroGuard™ Candle, 11 oz. red
  • Cutter Scented Citronella Outdoor Candle, 11 oz. Vanilla & Lavender
  • Cutter Natural Insect Repellent Pump Spray, 6 fl. oz.

 Please enter using the Rafflecopter form below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

And now for your Friday randoms:

Linking up with Megan at In This Wonderful Life:

I want this cake.  That is all.cake

Friday Funnyeet

Join the Texas Women Bloggers for the month of June Photo-a-day challenge!247630_126019754268935_331273088_n Connor’s hilarious “self-portrait” at school 🙂IMG950586

I’ve had a great birthday week and thank you all for the birthday wishes!!!! xoxo226617_10152867210845125_1738429884_nMy new Maybook arrived yesterday and I love it.  I’m still the kind of person that has to write everything down.  I just cannot do it on my phone…I love WRITING it down.  I couldn’t live without my Maybook.  They’ve done lots of new things to update them and lots of new designs so check them out!600559_10152867434465125_117352933_n My co-workers took me to lunch yesterday for my birthday….they are so precious! So blessed.603065_10152867715675125_1995943261_n Had such a good time in AR visiting with my BFF’s since 6th grade….LOVE THEM.  I miss you girls so much!988307_10152853531725125_1146751391_n

Hope you all have a fab weekend!!!! Becky

Question:  I don’t understand SEO or Meta tags?  Can you put commas between them? What do they do?

Are you “Buggin” This Summer?

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A couple of weeks ago we met our friends Adam & Christa for a canoe ride down the Trinity river in Fort Worth.  A local outdoors store does this on the weekends and you can rent a canoe or a kayak and it’s SO much fun!  My boys love to be outdoors:  camping, hiking, boating, you name it they want to do it.  My girly girl self has had to get used to being in the outdoors.  It’s not that I don’t like being outside….it’s just I HATE bugs!  Ick!

If you live in Texas then you remember the West Nile plague that hit us last summer.  I was afraid to walk out my front door without spray.  I couldn’t even watch the news because it was so scary!  I definitely didn’t want my little boy being exposed to West Nile and getting sick.  At his age all he wants to do is play outside.  Protecting your skin from bug bites and getting eaten alive is super important.Read More

Memorial Day Weekend & Trip to Arkansas

If you had me on your blog list or Bloglovin feed can you re-add my blog?  

https://www.thejavamama.com

For some reason since I moved to WordPress, even though I have the same web address the feed is different 🙂  

Thank you friends!D7K_1637

 

Some may not know, but my Nannie has had a pretty rough year this year.  She was diagnosed with cancer and just finished her treatments not too long ago.  She seems to be doing much better and the Doctor’s can’t find any sign of cancer right now….praise the Lord!  Let’s hope this continues and Nannie lives a LONG and healthy life.  I can’t imagine not having her in mine.  If there was one person on this Earth I could wish to be like….it would be her.  There is none like her and there never will be.  She is the best.  That is all.  THE BEST.

I don’t get home as much as I’d like that’s for sure.  Terence and I are working a lot and only get so much vacation.  This makes the times we do get to spend together so special.  On Thursday after work Terence and I drove my new car (yes-I got a new car!).  We had to put the Avalon down after 11 years, she was sooooo good to us!  We ended up buying a Hyundai Sonata & so far I’m really liking it.  We drove the whole trip and didn’t have to fill up until we got to Arkansas.  Amazing gas mileage!

So we got in late Thursday, oh, and about 5 hours into our trip we realized we forgot basically all of our clothing.  We had fold up clothes and undies….but yup…..no clothes!  So the next day we drove to Little Rock to meet my sister.  We visited with Bonnie, Jarrett, and Vinny for  awhile and then went back to Conway.

Later that evening Mom & Dad took us out or a birthday dinner at Marketplace Grill.  YUM.

Saturday we woke up early and drove to Nannie’s house.  I love the farm.  It’s the one place I consider constant in my life and so many wonderful memories have been made on the farm.  There’s no place like it.  It’s nice to get away from the city and soak up the fresh air and see stars in the sky.  Nannie fed us chicken and dumplings, fried squash, fried taters, roast, and so many other fixens I can’t even remember!

We decorated Papa’s grave for Memorial Day:

D7K_1635Mom, Nannie, Me, Aunt Karli, and the boys

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Blowing out  our birthday candles

We have a lot of May birthdays

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Lindsey- 17, Me- 32, Terence- 32

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Some pictures of the farm:

D7K_1589 D7K_1591 D7K_1588We rode to the spring on the 4-wheelers

The boys loved it!

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The boys picking out rocks at the creekD7K_1576 D7K_1584

Best view everD7K_1587

Playing in the spring water

It comes out of the mountain behind there…..D7K_1556 D7K_1557 D7K_1550 D7K_1540 D7K_1483 D7K_1496 D7K_1497 D7K_1498 D7K_1494 D7K_1489 D7K_1487 D7K_1499

On Sunday night we stayed with our good friends Kristin & Nate.  We miss them so much!  Had a great time with them and their kiddos and we found a turtle in the front yard!D7K_1653 D7K_1654 D7K_1656

Birthday dinner night 🙂SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESI love this picture of Connor and my Dad

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32 years old!SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Bonnie and VinnySAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESSAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Then it was off to Texas again….sigh….SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

We had a great visit and a few days off.  Hope you all had a blessed Memorial Day!

xo Becky

White Cloud Sleep Pants: A Great Night Sleep for a Great Value

Thursday morning I woke up to get Connor ready for school and myself ready for work.  When I went to wake him his entire bed sheet was soaked.  Somehow during the night he had leaked out of his diaper and onto his bed.  Frustrating to say the least, especially when you’re in a hurry to go somewhere. 

I got him ready and stripped his sheets.  Then we were off for the day!  Connor is pretty much potty trained now, except for the occasional accident.  He still wears a diaper or pull-up to bed though.  He has some trouble at night, and that’s okay…..he’s doing a great job so far!  D7K_1445

We recently tried White Cloud Sleep Pants.  They worked really well for Connor and the best part is they are an affordable $7.75!  Buying diapers & pull-ups can add up over time and become a major expense. White Cloud Sleep Pants’ great value and extraordinary performance give you an excellent choice when caring for your children that have bedwetting issues.  White Cloud Sleep Pants can help provide exceptional comfort and leakage protection to your children while also enabling them to have confidence while dealing with bedwetting issues by looking like underwear.  White Cloud Sleep Pants offer thin, discrete absorbent protection for your child. They have soft, stretchy sides that fit like real underwear, plus leak guards to help protect against leaks. The soft inner liner is hypoallergenic and treated with vitamin E and aloe for skin protection.D7K_1446

White Cloud Sleep Pants offer a great value as well at just $7.75 a package for either S/M (15 count) or L/XL (12 count) and are available exclusively at Walmart.

Sometimes Connor can get so upset with himself when he has an accident, and it hurts my heart as a Mom to see him upset because he feels like he failed something.  The less he has accidents and the more he wakes up dry….the more confidence he builds.  That warms my heart and White Cloud Sleep Pants don’t empty my wallet either.  That’s a win win in my book!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of White Cloud Sleep Pants.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.D7K_1453Did you know that over 5 million kids a year experience bedwetting and it is one of the most common experiences during childhood development?  White Cloud Sleep Pants have been developed to provide exceptional comfort and leakage protection while looking like underwear. White Cloud Sleep Pants offer thin, discrete absorbent protection for your child. They have soft, stretchy sides that fit like real underwear, plus leak guards to help protect against leaks. The soft inner liner is hypoallergenic and treated with vitamin E and aloe for skin protection.  Each bag contains two unisex graphic designs and at $7.75, White Cloud offers exceptional value.

Get Your Groove Thing On: Start the Morning Off Right

Folgers “Favorite Part of the Morning” Campaign Did you know I LOVE coffee? Shocker I know! It’s true, I cannot tell a lie. I can’t go one morning without my coffee fix. I used to hate coffee, but once I started drinking it little did I know it would become one of my favorite things….like ever. Gulp. Sometimes Terence will wake up and make us coffee before I get out of bed. That is an extra special gesture, he is speaking my love language when he makes coffee for us. Most mornings we are frantically running around trying to get out of the house. Terence usually wakes up first, then me, then we wake Connor and get him dressed. After we’ve all showered and look presentable for the day we are out the door, coffee in hand of course! There is something about the aroma of coffee brewing in the morning that is nostalgic for me. Even when I didn’t like the taste of coffee I loved the smell of a fresh brewed pot. Coffee is a way for me to escape and enjoy some “me” time and helps get me going at the crack of dawn. I’m sipping my coffee before I even hit the road. There’s something about having my morning coffee that takes the edge off of DFW rush hour traffic. Or maybe it just allows me to be more aware of what’s going on. Either way, I have to say my morning isn’t complete without my coffee fix. We pump up the music in the car to “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and we are on our way to start the day. Hey that rhymed!

 

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On Saturday mornings one of our favorite things to do is sleep in, make our cups of coffee, then turn the speakers up really loud and let Connor have a dance party. He is quite the dancer I must say! My husband is obsessed with music and pretty much any chance he gets he’ll rock the house out. True story: One week before Connor was born he was in the attic installing surround sound in our living room. Saturday morning dance parties are one of the highlights of my week. Sitting on the sofa, listening to music, watching Connor dance his little 3 year old tootsie off. I love it. We have many videos of him dancing and someday we’ll show his girlfriend what great moves he had. *wink* *wink* Regardless of how you drink it, coffee brings something to everyone’s mind. It’s been around for years. My first memories of coffee were at my Grandparents house early in the morning, before Papa would leave to go work the farm. He loved to listen to Johnny Cash. A song does the same thing, it brings back memories….who you were with, where you were, what you were doing when you heard that song. Perfect combination if you ask me? Coffee and the perfect song = good times and great memories.

 

I was asked to write this post by Folgers to tell you all about what role coffee and music play in our lives.  Right now, Folgers is supporting aspiring musicians with their annual Folgers Jingle Contest and you can get involved too. You can check out the contest,  meet the Top 10 finalists, listen to the tracks that earned them a spot in The Top 10 and vote for the best finalist in the contest! Cast your vote once every day through June 19th. You could win exciting prizes, like free Folgers Coffee, iTunes® gift cards, signed CDs from Gavin DeGraw, and even a $10,000 Grand Prize just for voting! Before you vote, follow the Road to the Jingle on Facebook to see how they traveled the U.S. to track down the Top 10 contestants! Remember, you can vote once a day through June 19th!
 
Click here for official rules.

Netflix For Kids

This is a sponsored post on behalf of NETFLIX
Connor is really into cartoons right now, and watching a movie is extra special to him.  He really really gets into it.  We’ve had NETFLIX for probably about 3 years now, and it’s been one of the best investments we’ve made.  We stream NETFLIX live through our TV and it’s incredibly easy to use.  I’m technologically challenged and I can do it!  If you have a young child then you know variety is a GREAT thing.D7K_1455Read More