Dawniemom

It's Back to School time!!!

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Jul 272011

My oldest son Anthoony will be entering school next month for the first time ever. Anthony is 14 – nearly 15 – and he’s been homeschooled for his entire life. So his back-to-school wardrobe has always been nonexistant. Sure, at the beginning of summer, I buy him shorts and t-shirts. On his birthday and other holidays, I’ll buy him some new jeans and his favorite band t-shirts, or game t-shirts – heck, he will even wear t-shirts that I get from conferences. He’s not picky. He’s also got NO sense of style. The idea of colors clashing is just insane to him. What does it matter, as long as his body’s covered? Well, that’s his opinion, anyway. Me – his mom – the one who other moms will look at and think to themselves "how did she let him out of the house looking like THAT?" – yeah, I’m sometimes embarassed when he wears black with blue – or two different socks ("they’re all white, what difference does it make?", he replies). I just shake my head and remind myself to pick my battles. I’ve been reminding myself of that since he was a toddler!

Now that he is going to be the owner of his very own back to school clothing essentials, I’m silently hoping that his sense of style starts to develop. I know his standbys of jeans and the nearest available t-shirt will serve him well for portraying the musician image that he hopes to cultivate. But I also hope to see him in polos and khakis, perhaps some other kind of footwear without laces, if I’m REALLY lucky. I don’t want him to fall victim to whatever the latest "trends" are just because of peer pressure, but I also remember feeling left out when everyone was getting designer jeans (cut me some slack, here – it was the early 80′s!), and I will always remember that feeling of like I was the ONLY one who didn’t have the newest fashions.

I’m sincerely hoping that things are different for boys than they are for girls, but on the off chance that they’re not, I’ll be able to head to JC Penney and grab whatever it is that "EVERYONE" else is wearing that he simply must have. JC Penney is where my husband gets all his clothes to help him look professional and comfy, so I know I can trust them for my son’s "look" too.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and jcpenney blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

jcpenney back-to-school shop jcpenney

Moving

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May 252011

When we were getting ready to move from New Hampshire, I wish I could have hired some small movers to help us. With the hassle of packing up 3 kids worth of toys, clothes and furniture – plus two adults worth of toys, clothes and furniture, it took us forever! The biggest problem, though, was getting it all moved 800+ miles with those same 3 kids and 2 adults (and 2 cats!). It was exhausting, frustrating and expensive. The next time we have any reason to move, I’m definitely going to hire someone ELSE to handle the hassle.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Not a word that I would associate with frozen pizza – but that’s exactly the word that sprang to my lips after I tasted Freschetta’s new “By the Slice” pizza for the first time. Of frozen pizzas, Freschetta had always been my favorite, but since I don’t LIKE frozen pizza, that wasn’t saying much. But I can safely say after sinking my teeth into their BBQ Chicken pizza, courtesy of Social Spark. If you’d handed it to me, I would have really thought it came from a pizza place – as cliche as that may be! It was delicious, it was fresh, it was crisp, tasty, and best of all – EASY!

Ok, maybe even better than that is, I have a coupon for YOU to try out Freschetta’s new By the Slice pizza for yourself – along with a awesomesauce 6 piece storage bowl set that I simply LOVE. Just leave a comment, and I’ll draw a winner May 15th. Isn’t that easy?

FRESCHETTA® By the Slice

Perhaps the single-most difficult thing with the approaching Valentine’s “holiday” is my constant quest to find something for my husband that won’t be too girly, or just be tossed on a shelf. So when I was asked to take a look at Proflowers, I didn’t expect that I’d do the review with him in mind. But here I am!

Because I wanted to make use of my credit in the most effective way, I thought – well, at least look for something for him. If nothing else, I’d find something for ME! But instead, I was genuinely surprised with the bevy of choices for men for Valentine’s Day!

He’s not a flowers kind of guy, so that portion of their site was out in terms of my needs. He does, however, LOVE to eat – and Proflowers has a wonderful selection of edible, yummy looking gifts – and from names such as Harry & David and Mrs. Fields to name a few.

After much agonizing, I finally made my choice (but wished I had a few hundred dollars to spend on the site, because it all looked and sounded so good!). The check-out process was simple and painless. The only painful part, in my opinion, was their shipping fees – which totaled way more than I’d have paid if I’d had to pay for it in the first place. Of course, with Valentine’s Day being a busy time for any floral place, I guess it’s to be expected.

In any case, I’m excited to get that email on Monday telling me he got something yummy from me and ProFlowers, and that he does, indeed, want to be My Valentine.

Here’s my favorite part of a review – the giveaway! I have a $50 code to Proflowers for one lucky reader! I’ll make it simple, too. Just tell me who you would use the code for and what you’d choose. You – treat yourself to something special, something that will brighten your day. Or someone else? Want to send a beautiful bouquet to your mom, best friend or sister? Just tell me who in your comment. Be sure to leave a valid email so I can contact you!

This giveaway will end on February 20th – my baby boy’s birthday!

As always, there are numerous ways to earn extra entries, so do as many or as few as you’d like.

Comments that do not meet set requirements or state that something has been done but hasn’t – will be deleted. I DO verify that you’ve joined, followed, fanned, etc. So please be a grown-up and be honest.

For extra entries, please leave a comment letting me know which of the following you’ve done.

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Thanks for visiting and entering!

Twittermoms has asked us to write about our aspirations and hopes for the new year. After the year I’ve had, I can only HOPE that 2011 is better. I don’t think I can stand anything worse.

I HOPE that I get answers for my stomach problems. I HOPE I can handle the repairs, whatever they may be, and I HOPE that my family can too.

I HOPE that my hubby keeps his job – he likes his job, he likes the company (despite their ridiculous policy on health insurance) – two things that haven’t happened many times in our life together.

I HOPE my mother’s health improves and that we can find answers for the problems that are happening to her as well.

I HOPE that my children continue to grow and explore, learn and live a happy childhood.

My aspirations aren’t many, but I do have a few.

I’d really like to improve my photography – the technical side of things, of understanding the camera and making it work to MY knowledge, not the other way around.
I’d really like to take some classes that would eventually allow me to earn money to help hubby support our family, and not just leave it all on his shoulders.
I’d REALLY like to become a better wife and mother, the wife and mother that my family deserves.
I’d like to learn to knit.
I’d really like to learn to french braid my daughter’s hair! My own, as well.
I’d like to attend BlogHer ‘11, but doubt that’ll happen.
I’d like to be a better friend, as well, and not focus so much on my own problems all the time.
I’d like to become a better writer, and not rely on bullet points to make my point(s).

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network blogging program, for a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.