James Morrison's "The Awakening"

Is anyone else completely sick of singing Nick Jr. and Disney songs all day long?!? Even when you're alone?! I swear if I have to sing "Bubble, bubble guppies!" one more time I might cry!  Honestly - even when the kids aren't around, it seems that all I can think of are songs from the movies and television shows that my kids watch.  (I've even caught my husband singing them!)

I am soooo excited that I just found out about James Morrison's new album The Awakening! His voice is so soothing and it is such a blessing to have some relaxing music to listen to when I am feeling tired and worn out.  It's the perfect music to chill out to when you have five minutes to yourself!  Check out his album on Amazon or iTunes - I'm sure you will love it too!! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005NN4PPU/?tag=unimotrecunir-20

His first 2 albums “Undiscovered (2006) and “Songs for You, Truths for Me” have sold a combined total of 4.5M copies and yielded an astonishing 10 singles. “The Awakening” is a warm, live-sounding collection of classic but contemporary folk-soul songs. There are nods to Motown, gospel, country and a hint of Latin. Morrison also drew on his own experience of fatherhood. His daughter, Elsie, is now 3. His newest singles “I Won’t Let You Go” and “One Life” are just brilliant. He has even worked with some other really great artists like Nelly Furtado and Jason Mraz, both of whom I also love.

He also has a Facebook page if you are interested in following him. I am so thankful that Miles of Marketing, who I work for, gave me the heads up on this fabulous artist! I hope you get to relax with his work too! :)

Who do you listen to when you actually have control of the remote?  What do you think of James Morrison?  Does the English accent make you feel uber calm too? ;)

Easter - The Pinterest Way

If you are not one of the many people addicted to Pinterest, like myself, you need to become one.  This pretty much sums up my love/hate relationship with the site.

But aside from all of the decadent treats and awe inspiring abs on Pinterst, there are a multitude of fantastic ideas on how to make the holidays even more special.  As Easter approaches, I find myself adding more and more pins to my list of things I HAVE TO DO by Sunday.  Here are just a few...



Just sugar cookies, but seriously, could they be any prettier???

(Do you see what I mean, about Pinterest causing weight gain??  But how stinkin' cute are these?!)

And who doesn't love them some Angry Birds?

And last, but not least...

Because, face it, color blocking is all the rage right now.  ;)

Happy Easter week! :)

Yogibo {Review & Giveaway}

You can see this review at A Frog in My Soup, where I am the Product Review Coordinator.  Yogibo has kindly offered to run a review and giveaway on both AFIMS and Stuff Mom Loves.  Enjoy! :)
I don't even know where to begin with this review.  The Yogibo Max has literally become the most sought after, fought over, adored piece of furniture in our home.  By everyone.  Even the dog and cat.  I was given the Yogibo about a month ago to review, and I honestly haven't sat on my couch since.  It's seriously that good.

I have been thinking about what I wanted to write about this amazing company for days now.  I even told my husband last night that I had no idea how I was going to express just how much I LOVE the Yogibo, so I thought I would just share a few stories about how our family has used the Yogibo and give you a little background information on the company.

If you live in New England you may have already heard of Yogibo.  The company began in 2009 in New Hampshire, with their first concept store opening in Massachusetts shortly after.  Now, there are stores in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut and more are popping up all the time! These lounge bags ("don't call it a bean bag - you'll hurt it's feelings")are so incredibly versatile, it's near impossible to tell you about all the uses.

It is essentially a couch.  But more comfortable.  My favorite use for it is to cuddle my kids and relax in the living room.  We read books on it, play games on it, watch TV on it, and yes, my kids jump on to it from the couches.  In fact, that's the only time they use the couches too.  I can be extremely comfortable on the Yogi Max with my 4 year old, 2 year old (almost!), my dog and my cat.  I also love that the outer cover is removable.  You can wash it and replace it, or keep a spare in one of the 14 colors that it comes in. The beads that fill the bags are non-porous, so if you spill  something, just wash the cover, let the bag air dry, put it back on, and forget about it.  The beads will not absorb it and start smelling your basement circa 1980.  I have used this as a bed during nap time, a recliner while reading, and a chair while watching television.

An Amazing New Toy for the Whole Family {Review & Giveaway}

My kids are (almost) 2 and 4 years old.  Even though that isn't a huge age difference, it can sometimes feel like it is.  When we have "family time" on the weekend, it can quickly become a game of divide and conquer - my husband and I taking turns playing with the kids separately.  My son often wants to play games on the computer or video games that are too advanced for my daughter, so we end up running errands together or playing dress up.

I am absolutely for one-on-one time with my kids, but I frequently find myself wishing that there was something that the 4 of us could do together on a Sunday afternoon, besides watching a movie, when it's cold outside and we want to stay in.

When I received an email from ThinkFun, asking if I would like to review their new toddler toy, Roll and Play, I was excited, but certainly did not think that it would be a whole family kind of game.  I was WRONG!  Roll and Play is a ton of fun for both my kids, and my husband and I really enjoyed it too!  By the end we were all laughing, goofing around, and genuinely enjoying our time together.  The game, which is designed with toddlers in mind, includes a large, plush, color die, and color coded game cards.  Each player takes turns rolling the die and choosing a corresponding card.  The cards have small actions that the player then needs to complete, such as "moo like a cow", "jump 3 times" or "make a happy face".  Your child will learn about colors, numbers, emotions, and more while playing this game!  (The six categories of cards are emotions, body parts, colors, counting, animal sounds, & actions.)

My four year old is a huge fan of Roll and Play and has asked to play at least once a day since we received it.  I have even caught him pulling the cards himself and trying to get his sister to play with him.  It makes me so happy that we now have a fun, interactive, learning game for the whole family to play together.  The cards can be neatly stored in a velcro pouch on the color cube, or can be taken out for fun on the go.  Most of these cards have actions that can be completed in the car, at a restaurant, on a plane, or while waiting at the doctor's office.  You can keep your kids occupied at home and out and about while teaching them some really important skills - what a great alternative to sticking them in front of your smart phone!!

Check out this video on how to play.

We have had a blast playing this game, and I'm sure we will continue to!  If you want to have some fun, educational bonding time with your toddler, check out the ThinkFun's Roll and Play.  Even better - enter to win one, right here!

You can enter below!  This contest will end Monday, March 2nd, at 11:59 pm EST.  Good luck and happy entering!!  (Please note, you MUST be a public follower, or become a public follower, of Stuff Mom Loves to be eligible to win.  This contest is open to US residents ages 18 and over.)

Serious Withdrawal...

I am going through some serious withdrawal.  I want to be here again.

Can you blame me??

Mind in the Making

Today I was lucky enough to get to learn about Ellen Galinsky's theories on raising our children in a way that prepares them for success in their life.  Ellen Galinsky is the author of the book"Mind in the Making:  The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs". 

I am so excited because I actually won a copy of the book at the workshop and I cannot wait to start reading it, but I thought I'd share some of the really amazing things that I learned from the Learning Community session I attended.

The research that is in Glanisky's book stresses the importance of life skills over cognitive skills.  They go on to share that not only is it more important for your children to learn these skills, such as focus, impulse control, low level empathy, and so on, but these skills are actually a better predictor of success in life than a child's IQ. 

I don't want to go too deeply into the research until I have a chance to read the book, but I will tell you that the videos that we watched stressed the importance of interaction with your child, and how these interactions are the absolute best way for your kids to learn.  I walked away feeling like I needed to step away from my phone, my computer, my ipad, and all of the other multimedia devices in my house.  I need to have my kids put away their electronics, turn off the tv, and pick up their books.  Honestly, I have no intention of taking these things away completely, because in my opinion, giving them a little downtime with their LeapPad or favorite movie is not a terrible thing, however, the constant need for technology in our house needs to stop.  We need to pick up their books more than just at bedtime.  We need to sit and play creatively more often.  I need to make myself more physically and emotionally available more often so that my little ones can learn from me. 

I encourage you to take a minute to visit the Mind in the Making website and see what you can learn.  I am going to take this book on vacation with me, and hopefully attempt to implement some of the teaching tips that Ms. Galinsky suggests.  After all, it is our job to set our children up to thrive, and there is no greater gift that you can give them.

Packing!

So this weekend began my countdown until we are on the beach!  6 more sleeps 'til I get to rest my head in a big, cozy, king sized hotel bed and listen to the ocean outside my window because, yes, I will be able to sleep with the windows open! Wahoo!


My weekend consisted of stocking up on toiletries, snacks, little presents for the kids for the airplane ride, and of course, LAUNDRY.

This morning I have already put 2 loads of laundry away, and I have a load in the dryer and a load in the washer, but honestly, we have traveled so much now, that I have  a pretty great system down.  As a matter of fact, this trip, we are all using carry on bags so that we don't have to pay the astronomical checked bag fees.  (We are flying internationally, so they are much higher than usual.)

I thought I'd give you just a little idea of how I make my packing a little more organized, and hopefully you will find it helpful. Since my project last night was getting things ready for my diaper bag, I thought I'd start there. I use quart sized ziploc bags for almost everything in my diaper bag. This makes it super easy to find everything, and to take out all of my liquids when we go through security. Here are the categories that I break our supplies into...

• First Aid:  bandaids, neosporin, infant/children's tylenol, advil, disinfecting wipes, sunscreen, aloe, etc.
• Electronics:  extra batteries for the kids toys, phone chargers, ipad charger, camera charger, outlet adapter, etc.
• Snacks (Dry): fruit snacks, granola bars, ritz crackers, cookies, gum ,mints
• Snacks (Liquid):  ella's pouches, a juice box each, and a water bottle each (this is usually not a problem if you go through the "family" security line
• Wipes:  bottom wipes, hand wipes, table wipes, boogie wipes, shout wipes, and so on.  I carry a lot of wipes!

I know I am forgetting something, but I just heard the laundry go off, and my kids are asking for lunch.  Stay tuned, if I am motivated enough, I'll get back to this ;)

Happy Monday, y'all!!