MommyCon Mini Phoenix Ticket Giveaway!

I'm so excited to share this latest giveaway with you! MommyCon is coming to Phoenix! There is a MommyCon Mini conference coming to the Mesa Convention Center on April 14, 2013. They've partnered with Krazy for Kloth to offer a FREE ticket to one lucky reader! 

Photo courtesy of MommyCon

Here's what you can expect at the conference:

"MommyCon brings the best in parenting tips, tricks and resources directly to the parent. A full day of mingling, learning and shopping is planned within the convention center. Attendees will not only have the chance to meet other forward thinking parents, but attend seminars and workshops from industry leaders, test out top notch baby and childhood gear and enjoy time with other moms, mothers-to-be and yes, even fathers.

Photo courtesy of MommyCon

MommyCon will feature over a dozen seminars and presentations including; birthing options with midwives and doctors, learn proper baby wearing with instructor Alyssa Ruben, cloth diapering for the modern family, certified lactation consultants will be on hand, as well as panel discussions with birthing professionals, pediatricians and other health care experts. A hands on workshop area will allow babies and moms to engage in infant massage alongside Amber Puzzi, LMT.

The schedule includes:

Yoga – Mom and Baby

Infant Massage Workshop

Introduction to Babywearing & Wrapping

Birth Panel Discussion

Car Seat Safety & The Best Seat for Your Family

Mothering Through Breastfeeding

Cloth Diapering 2.0

And much much more!

Kids of all ages are welcome to attend, and topics will predominately focus on the first three years."

So now that the giveaway is over, if you still need to purchase your tickets, you can purchase your ticket here, and use the code "krazy4mc". This will give you $5 off your ticket price! :) Just make sure to enter the above code in the promo code area.

I look forwards to seeing you at the show! And don't worry, after the show I will do a full write-up of my experience so all you non-local readers can know what to expect when MommyCon comes to your city! :)

Photo courtesy of MommyCon

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Personal Creations Review

I had such a fun time reviewing a purchase from Shari's Berries last December, that I was thrilled to find out I'd been asked to review my experience with Personal Creations. Personal Creations is another company under the Red Envelope brand of companies and while I'd heard of them before, I never purchased anything, so I was anxious to see what it was all about!

I was provided a giftcard to purchase whatever I'd like from the site. I had only heard of Personal Creations around the holidays so I was expecting to find more "seasonal" products, but was surprised to find the vast array of options! I had no idea so many things could be personalized! I spent a good amount of time browsing through the site and because the prices were so awesome, I decided on a few different items. **I'm going to apologize in advance for the censoring of the names. Please know my personalizations were PERFECT, I just like a little anonymity once in a while :) **

The first item I purchased was for B. With Valentine's Day approaching, I decided to get a card holder for B. Obviously, it's not something he'll use this year due to my timing and the fact that we were out of state for Valentine's Day, but I thought it was too cute to pass up and definitely something that he could use going forward. I decided on the Valentine Card Holder-Monster.  It's super cute and fits on a standard kitchen chair. The opening is wide enough to fit most cards, but small enough so they don't come tumbling out. I liked how the heart one had a closure over the opening, but overall, the monster one seems to work just fine! 

The next item I purchased was for a family member's house. They have a great backyard with a pool and we tend to spend a lot of time there in the summer. I thought this Beverage Tub was really fun and great for the Jimmy Buffet fans that they are! It's a great size for tabletop, or you could purchase the additional iron stand. I wish I had paid more attention and ordered the stand! What was I thinking? :)

The last item I purchased is probably my favorite. It's a Decorative Wine Box. One of my good friends is getting married this fall and she has a wine theme for her wedding. When I saw this box, I thought it would be perfect to store one of the bottles of wine from her wedding as a keepsake. The wood is great quality and the lid isn't glass, but it's not a thin plastic either. You can tell the box will last for a long time and the lid will protect the contents with ease.

One of the great features of Personal Creations is the fact that you can personalize practically everything. Something that is huge for new babies, new married couples, or just for your own home. The items are affordable and the personalization varies per item so you could easily purchase multiple gifts for your home and have it not look cookie-cutter. 

When you're ready to place your order, be sure to go to:  http://www.personalcreations.com/coupon-codes.aspx to find a coupon code. When I looked today there were offers for 15-25% off, free shipping etc. With Easter, spring weddings, and new babies coming up, you will definitely want to take advantage of these deals! 

**Disclaimer: I was provided a gift card to purchase items for review. This is my personal opinion and it may differ from yours** 

Making it Official

When I found out I was pregnant with B, Polish Prince and I had been going through fertility treatments so we knew in the back of our minds it was always a possibility. We were surprised with how quickly it happened, but overall, not super surprised that we were going to have a baby. With this one however, there was all sorts of surprises. With surprises, come fun announcements. So here are a couple ideas for announcing a second pregnancy.

1) Telling Polish Prince:
After my initial freakout started to subside, I started to think of fun ways to tell my hubby. I went to my good friends at Zoolikins for help. In addition to cloth diapers and other natural parenting products, they also sell a variety of Dr. Seuss items. I thought it may be fun to do a Thing 1 and Thing 2 theme. So I picked up a Thing 1 t-shirt for B and a Thing 2 onesie for the baby. When hubby got home from work that day, B was wearing his Thing 1 shirt. He immediately noticed and said "Whoa, cool shirt buddy! Where'd you get that?" So I told him I took a trip to Zoolikins and saw it and thought it was cute. Little did I know Thing 1 and Thing 2 were Polish Prince's favorite characters. So anyway, I told him that I picked him up something as well, but it was in his stocking (since it was close to Christmas time). So he went to open it and pulled out the onesie. He looked confused for a second, and then looked at me and it clicked.

2)Telling my family:
We were planning to visit the midwest for the holidays to tell the majority of our family the good news, but my father lives in AZ nearby, so we wanted to tell him before we went home. We put a recent picture of the 3 of us in a Christmas card and brought it to his house. We were giong to watch a football game, so we grabbed some beer on the way over. On the inside of the card we wrote:
Gas $3.22
6-pack of beer $8.00 (or whatever it was, I don't remember now :))
Christmas Card $1.00
Watching your face when you realize there are 4 of us in this picture: Priceless

It took him all of 30 seconds to figure it out. My step-mom was next to him and read the card over his shoulder and figured it out just as quick.

3) Telling the in-laws
This was supposed to be a fun Christmas present, we were going to try and figure out a way to have B help tell them our news. Well, since I was so sick right away, there was now way to hide it. My in-laws weren't buying the "flu" theory, so we ended up telling them at dinner the night we got into town.

4) Telling extended family:
My extended family has a Christmas Eve tradition of getting together at my Grandma's house for Santa and snacks. Each person receives a gift from Santa that they are allowed to open that night. For B's gift we wrapped a toy and a copy of the book "I'm going to be a Big Brother". When it was his turn to open, he opened the present and my cousin's daughter was sitting near him. Everyone was asking what the book was, and she read the title outloud. Everyone's face was pretty shocked as they started to "get it" and it was quite fun to get to see it in person.

We had some fun with the announcements this time around. Have any of you done anything fun/creative? I'd love to hear it! 

Getting ready for two

As I adjust to this pregnancy, I can't help but feel some sadness mixed with my excitement. Sad because it happened so soon, sad because I'm worried about the adjustment, sad because it will no longer just be my little man and me and the undivided attention I am able to devote to him now, will have to be shared. I know parents say they love their children the same, but I wonder how/when that happens.

Someone shared this poem with me, and thought I'd share for those of you with more than one child, planning more than one child, or expecting more than one child. 

Loving Two

As I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: How could I ever love another child as I love you?

Then she is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you've never shared me before. I hear you telling me in your own way, "Please love only me" And I hear myself telling you in mine,"I can't," knowing, in fact, that I never can again.

You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I'm afraid to let you see me enjoying her -- as though I am betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast. But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two.

There are new times -- only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other. I watch how she adores you -- as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments.

And I begin to realize that I haven't taken something from you, I've given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you. I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong.

And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you -- only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you'll never share my love. There's enough of that for both of you -- you each have your own supply.

I love you -- both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.

-Author Unknown-