January 31, 2011

Christmas Recap...

Since we were in the middle of a move during the holidays I didn't 
get to post a big blog post full of Christmas pictures.
I was going through them this morning 
and thought that I would post some of my favorites from the
Christmas holidays.

We were fortunate enough to spend the holidays with our families 
before heading to Massachusetts.
Here are just a few of my favorites from this Christmas.








Sorry for the picture OVERload...
But I figure this is a blog about my family...
SO whatever. :)

January 30, 2011

LOW entry giveaways

Don't forget to enter all the giveaways.
They are all ending this week
and have LOW entries.



Flowerz in Her Hair- closed

I love having little girls. 
I mean don't get me wrong my boys are fun too
but there is something about making my little girls girly that I just love.
I only wish that my oldest daughter was still a little younger and still
into being girly. 
Instead of Ms anti-pink, purple anything girly.

Luckily for me my 6 year old is still very much into being girly and 
LOVES anything that dressed her up even in the smallest way.

That is why I love Flowerz in Her Hair.
They have the cutest hair bows, flower clips and headbands around.
I mean seriously how cute are these?


This is what I received in the mail today.
Not only are the bows and the flower clip adorable but they come
packaged so sweetly.

When my little Rosie came home from school today and saw these 
she was so excited. 
She immediately took off the zebra print flower and stuck it right on her head.

It took a lot of convincing to get her to let me play with the other hair bows.
She kept telling me they were for later. 
She is correct though since one is for 

and one is for St Patrick's Day

Whenever they are for she is totally loving her new hair accessories this afternoon.
And so could your little girly girl.

Win It:
Flowerz In Her Hair has graciously offered one of my readers a $15 gift code for anything on her site.

Mandatory Entry:
Go to Flowerz in Her Hair and let me know what you love?

Extra Entries:
Follow Flowerz in Her Hair on Facebook (+1)
Follow Flowerz in Her Hair on Twitter (+1)
Follow Flowerz in Her Hair's blog (+1)
Follow Our Crazy Bunch through GFC (+1)
Tweet about this giveaway (+3)
Blog about this giveaway (+4)
Grab my button (+ 5)

This giveaway will end on February 6 at 1159 EST. The winner will chosen via random.org. The winner will then be sent an email and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. 

* I was sent hair bows to review for this review and giveaway. I was not paid any cash compensation. All opinions are mine and 100% honest.


January 29, 2011

Country Bob's Sauce Giveaway- closed

Being from the south we love to barbecue.
I mean like literally if I could find our grill right now under all the snow piled 
on top, beside and all around it I'd have the hubby out there grilling us something.
You see how I said I'd have the hubby out there right?

What I have been dying to have lately is a good grilled steak.
Nothing compares to a steak cooked just the way you like it with a baked potato or sweet potato in my case with a great dipping sauce.
Now, I know some of you might be thinking that if the steak is worth anything 
then it doesn't need a dipping sauce.
Well, you are probably right.
Only thing is that I am a tad bit obsessed with having something to dip my steak in.

In comes Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce.
Good for anything from steaks, hamburgers, fries, chicken.

It even look yummy in the picture doesn't it?
Now, you know when I got this in the mail the first thing I had to do was try it out.
Of course that was at like 3 in the afternoon and with dinner being a non-dipping food 
I thought, 
"I'll just make me a couple french fries to test out the product".
Umm, yeah so now that I ate all that and LOVED the sauce I might not eat dinner later. 
Oops.

Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce comes in 4 great tastes:
Original
Honey Habanero
Apple Chipolte
Spicy
Along with a Barbecue Sauce and Seasoning Salt
Country Bob's website has great recipe's to try out with your sauces as well. 
I know I am always looking for a new and great recipe. 

How to Win it:
Country Bob's is giving 2 lucky readers 2 bottles of their All Purpose Sauce

Mandatory:
Tell me how you would use your sauce if you won? As a dip or in a great recipe?

Extra Entries:
 Follow Country Bob's on Twitter (+1)
Like Country Bob's on Facebook (+1)
Follow Our Crazy Bunch on GFC (+1)
Follow Our Crazy Bunch on Twitter (+3)
Tweet or blog about this giveaway (+4) each is worth 4 entries so a total of 8 possible entries here.
Enter ANY of my other giveaways (+1)

This giveaway will end on February 5th at 1159pm EST.
2 winners will be chosen via random.org and notified through email.
The winners will each have 48 hours to claim their prize.

*I was sent some sauce to try for this review. I was not paid any cash compensation. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 28, 2011

Blizzard Bloghop


Welcome to my blog.
I started this blog almost a year ago so that family members could keep up with us
wherever we were stationed. 

I am the wife of a US Marine and the mother of 4 children. 
Lets just start out with me shall we...


I grew up a military brat myself and love the moving around and meeting new people.
It is very exciting to me to do all these things on the governments dime. :)
My hubby and I have been married for 8 years in March.

 (I tend to make a lot of that face in pics)

We have 4 kiddos...
Carter who is 10 (fake names btw)

Rosie who is 6

Ninja who is almost 4

Hulk who is 1

Our life is busy crazy but we love it.
Most days we love it.

We just moved to Massachusetts from Florida. 
Which is fun.
I love all the snow and cold. 

Anyway, welcome to my blog. 
Look around and make sure to come back by every so often.

Playroom Inspiration

I have a problem.
I have this pretty decent sized space that I am going to be using for my kids playroom
only I need help finding the right inspiration. 
Since the area is for boys and girls although mainly 
boys now since my girls are getting bigger
I want something neutral. 
I am thinking more along the lines of 
greens, reds, blues, and yellows. 
You know the primaries. 

Here are some of my inspirations for the hopefully soon to be completed playroom.




And here is the mess we have right now.
Normally it would not be this messy but we did just move. 
So you know how that goes...



Luckily for me there is an IKEA not far from here. 
So getting the right storage and decor items is the easy part. 
It's making up my mind as to how I want it all to look that is the hard part.

Any ideas?
Have any of you recently transformed a playroom?

Amy Adele-closed

Here's the thing
I know it is now the time of the internet and cell phones for communication 
and that most people dread going to the mailbox since their either 

1. Still getting their bills that way (come on people go paperless, it saves you money on your bill)
or 
2. Don't want to get the junk mail.

I am however a little old school in the way that I still like to receive and send out letters. 
Now, by letters I don't literally have time to write a long this is how our month has been letter.
But I do randomly send out a quick 'I was thinking about you' card.

So in order for my to be able to receive said cards from my friends and family they need my new address.
Now, I know I could just as easily send out a mass email letting everyone know my new address.
But where is the fun it that?

I love picking out and personalizing moving announcements.
The wonderful people over at Amy Adele have a couple really cute ones that they 
graciously let me choose from to review. 
 
Not only do they have adorable moving announcements but they carry a wide 
variety of birthday invites for kids and adults, wedding shower invites, baby shower invites, personalized children's clothing, adorable note cards, address labels and labels for kids stuff.

The wonderful people over at Amy Adele have offered one of my readers a $25 gift card for anything on their site!

How to enter:

Mandatory entry:
   
Go over to Amy Adele and let me know something you might buy if you won.

Extra Entries:

Follow Our Crazy Bunch on GFC (+1)
Follow Our Crazy Bunch on Twitter (+1)
Tweet about this giveaway (+3)
Blog about this giveaway (+4)
Grab my button and put it on your blog with a link showing where you put it (+5)
Enter any of the other giveaways (+1)

Winner will be selected on February 4th at 1159pm EST and chosen via random.org.
Winner will be notified via email and given 48 hours to respond.

*I was sent a product to review for this post. No cash compensation was given. All opinions are 100% mine and truthful.

January 27, 2011

Tap In Thursday's



Over at Army Strong they have a great little hop for us military wives.
Each week the questions will be your own experiences so that you might help another military wife.
LOVE that!

Here are this week's questions about quarters (for you non-military that is our house situation)

1. Name an instillation you have been stationed.
Since we JUST moved I am going to go with our new duty station Hanscom AFB.
Even though we are a Marine family 


2. Did/do you live on or off post?
On base


3. What would you recommend for newcomers to do about housing?
Since this is such a high cost of living area I would suggest living on base if you have kids. 
If you do not have children yet depending on your BAH you could possibly make some money living in an apartment out in town.

4. Where is an inexpensive place you can stay off post while waiting for on post living?
We did not stay off base when we first got here.  
Only becasue the Air Force Lodge is super cheap. 
Like $42 for a bedroom with 2 queen beds, a fell kitchen to include a full size fridge, oven, 
microwave and dishwasher. 
Plus a sitting room with a pull out couch.
 
5. How is the housing office? Do you have any recommendations or specific people to speak with?
The housing here is privatized through Pinnacle Family Housing.  
They are all very nice there and super friendly. 
A lot of the houses are going through renovations currently but will be completed by this summer.
I would recommend talking with Amanda but like I said they are all friendly.

6. How is the wait list?
With us moving here at the beginning of the year we had no wait. 
I did hear that last summer there was a wait time of over 8 weeks however they had just began the renovations so I've been told that is why. 
In fact we had accepted our house while visiting our family before we got here.

SKOY cloths Giveaway and Review- closed

I am constantly trying to be more environmentally friendly. 
I hate using paper towels and napkins for anything.
When I came across SKOY I was super excited to try them out. 
I was sent a pack of 4 SKOY to test out and I love them.
Not only will I be saving money by using them and not paper towels but I will be reducing used paper products in our landfills. 

When I used these cloths I seriously thought where have they been all my life. I love them!
They are great for in my kitchen while cooking and cleaning.
Great for my kids to use to clean up there spills since the cloths are just right for their little hands. 
They wash and dry nicely too.

  Skoy clothes are.. 
 100% biodegradable
Absorbent
Clean 
and 
     Fun to Use   

One Skoy cloth is the equivalent to using 15 rolls of paper towels. 
You can buy Skoy clothes in a variety of patterns and they are very reasonably priced.

The makers of SKOY cloths have graciously offered 2 Skoy 4 packs for my readers.
How to enter:
Go to Skoy cloths and tell me something you learned about Skoy cloths.

Extra entries: 
Follow Our  Crazy Bunch publicy on GFC (+1) 
Like Skoy on Facebook (+1)
Follow Skoy on Twitter (+1)
Follow Our Crazy Bunch on Twitter (+1)
Tweet about this giveaway (+3) include link
Blog about this giveaway (+4) include link where you blogged.
Put my button on your blog (+5)
Enter any other giveaway (+1) One entry PER giveaway entered


This giveaway will end on February 3rd at 1159 EST. The winner will be chosen through random.org and be notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen.

*There was no cash compensation for this post. I was sent a pack of Skoy cloths to review for my time. All opinions are 100% mine.

January 26, 2011

Record Keeping

With us moving often I tend to keep pretty accurate records 
 and tend to know where things are when I
need to find them. 

Today however I realized that not only should be I be keeping a 
better hold on everything from when my kids lost their first tooth to their school report cards 
but I should also be keeping up with and double checking every time I
visit the doctor with one of them. 


When I went to enroll my son in pre-school I knew that I would need his shot records listed 
out all pretty on a school form. 
I thought not a problem.
I'll just go to the clinic and have them transcribe the shots onto the form the school needs.
When I went to the clinic and asked them to do this for me 
they were oh yeah no problem.
Well, after sitting there for what seemed like way to long, 
the guy tells me my son is missing a shot.
His HepB to be exact. 
Now, I'm not a shot junky that knows when each shot is given to my kids at what age.
So I ask him when it was supposed to be given?
Oh, he is missing the one that was given to him at birth.
Um excuse me?!? 
So you mean to tell me that of the series of 3 shots you have the later 2 recorded and the one you gave to my newborn baby boy is nowhere in his record?

Umm, yeah I wasn't happy. 
Since you know those are one of the shots you have to have to start school.
Not that, that is my only reasoning for being irritated about it. 
You see my son was born overseas and IF I had to get in contact with 
that hospital it would have been a pain in the butt. 
Not to mention that since we are military and I am only a dependent, my hubby would probably have to be the one to make all the phone calls. 

So I go home and do what the man suggests...
dig through my sons medical record and see if I can find it somewhere 
else in there other than where it should be.
Ok, no problem except that when I start digging there is 
NOTHING 
in there from the time he was born until when he was 12 months old and got sick? 
Huh? 
Where did all the well baby visit stuff go?
I feel like my son has a whole other medical record somewhere out in limbo. 
I guess we will be on the phone with the hospital in Okinawa trying to locate it. 

I did happen to find a yellow card that we had to have while living in Okinawa with shot records on it for my son.
Guess what was the very first one listed?
His HepB dated on his birthday! 
Now at least his shot record is correct or it will be first thing in the 
morning when I go back to the clinic.

From now on when my children get a shot or go see the doctor I think I may be asking to personally watch them put the information into their record.
And I know I will be making sure that I keep EVERY shot recorded from now on.

Sorry this is just a bunch of rambling but I needed to get my frustration off my chest.
Deep breath in and let out.
Now I can get on with my day.

Nachomamatees and Crazydog T-Shirt review and giveaway- Closed


 I love t-shirts. 
I mean like really I could live in t-shirts everyday if the weather permitted it. 
What I love even more than regular t-shirts are soft comfortable t-shirts.
Which is just what you get when you buy a shirt from Nacho Mama Tees and CrazyDog.

About Crazy Dog T-shirts

Crazy Dog T-shirts is the number one source online for funny t shirts and vintage shirts that help you stand out and get noticed. Founded in 2004 the t-shirt empire offers custom shirts in Rochester, NY. They provide customers with a variety of cool t-shirts and crazy shirts.  Featuring both creative original concepts and popular licensed designs.  Looking for a funny t shirt?  They have hundreds of funny shirts which you won't want to miss!

About Nachomamatees.com
Nacho Mama Tees has some of the best offensive t shirts around. Founded in 2004 the t-shirt giant offers funny shirts which include Chuck Norris shirts, Hangover t shirts and zombie t-shirts. They provide a variety of funny t shirts and crazy shirts.  With new mens vintage tees and great movie t shirts you are sure to find one you will fall in love with!


I was sent a shirt from Crazy Dog to try out.
Let me tell you when I was looking through to pick my shirt
when I saw this one I knew I had to have it.
I am a big True Blood fan and just knew this was going to be MY shirt...
I love how soft the shirt is. 
Also, that it fits me perfectly.

Now for the giveaway...

1 lucky winner will get a gift card for a shirt valued up to $16.99

How to Win

Mandatory Entry:
Go to CrazyDog.com and tell me what shirt you would get if you win
Extra Entries:
Follow Our Crazy Bunch publicly on GFC (+1)
Like CrazyDog T-Shirts on Facebook (+1)
Follow CrazyDog T-shirts on Twitter  (+1)
Follow Our Crazy Bunch on Twitter (+1)
Tweet about this giveaway (+3)
Please remember to include your email  in each of your entries so that I can contact you if you win.
Leave a separate comment for each entry. 
You have up to a total of 8 entry options.

This giveaway will end on February 2nd at 1159 EST.
The winner will be chosen through random.org.
The winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen.
Good luck!

*I was not given any cash compensation for this post. I was sent a shirt to review for the purpose of the review and giveaway. All opinions about the product are my own and are 100% honest.

January 25, 2011

Silverlicious coming 2-1-2011



In our house these books are a must.
Remember this birthday party?

Well, Victoria Kann has done it again.
Silverlicious hits stores on February 1st.

Just in time for a little girls Valentine's present.
I know Rosie will be SO excited to get this new book.

A little bit about the book:

When Pinkalicious loses a tooth, it's not just any tooth—it's her sweet tooth! Suddenly candy no longer tastes sweet! With her pinkatastic pen, Pinkalicious writes a note to the Tooth Fairy and tucks it under her pillow... only to hear from Cupid, the Easter Bunny, and a Christmas elf instead. It is not until the Tooth Fairy finally responds—and works some magic—that Pinkalicious discovers where sweetness really comes from. 
 
This book is coming out just as my little Rosie is starting to loose her first teeth. 
You can pre-order the book over at Amazon.com for the low price of $10.79

and if you have a little girl in your life that has not been introduced to Pinkalicious check out all the other wonderfully pink books...



They are an adorable collection for every little girl.

SmileBooks Review with FREE 8x8 photo book


I was recently given the opportunity to do a review on a photo book from SmileBooks
Now I LOVE to take pictures of my kids. 
I mean really I just updated the pictures from Christmas, the trip here and the snow fun the other day.
How many pictures you ask?
Oh, only 350!

So given the fact that I have over 10,000 pictures from the last 6 years on my computer it is sometimes hard for me to pinpoint the exact memories I want printed out.
That is why I love photo books. I can make an entire book on one occasion or in this case the past year. 

What I love about SmileBooks is that all the hard work of picking the perfect pictures for each page and sorting through the pictures is done for you. They have a wonderful design team that will take all the pictures you upload to them and make your book for you. Now, I know some of you are extra creative and want to do that yourself and you can. I just like the fact that since sometimes I don't have the time to sit down and organize a photo book (which in the past has taken me a couple of hours) that it can be done for me by the design staff at SmileBooks.

Not only do they have a huge variety of photo books sizes and pages they also can make gorgeous photo cards and calendars. I love photo calendars for grandparents. We live far away from family so for them to be able to see the kids everyday is great!

Here are is picture of one of my favorite pages in my book they sent me to review and the cover.



I wish I had taken a picture of the back cover now since it has a picture of my kiddos and the hubby walking away from the fort we visited back in October.

Here is the amazing offer that the great people over at SmileBooks has offered to my readers

A FREE mini 8x8 photo book

Now we all know there is nothing better than preserving our memories but when it is FREE that is even better!

So it's simple EVERYONE wins!
Just go over to SmileBooks.com  to begin your FREE 8x8 book.
Use coupon code: OCBBLOGSC

January 24, 2011

Girls vs Boys

Seeing how I have an equal amount of these at home I think it is fair of me to compare.
Basically, I am not going to compare a lot.
Just the bathroom habits of girls and boys.
As a woman who grew up with brothers I know how nasty boys can be.


As a mother with 2 boys one who is finally standing to pee
UGH... much to my dislike
He pee's everywhere!
and I mean everywhere.

I just cleaned up pee off the back of the toilet and by back I really mean
the lid that can be lifted off if you need to get to the water. 
YUCK!

I swear I am going to make a Boys Only bathroom once I have 2 of them 
standing up to pee.
Just like this one...

I think I am going to need to invest in a Haz-Mat suit so that I can clean the bathrooms around here.
For now Clorox wipes are my best friend in the bathroom.

Guess I didn't really compare boys and girls very much did I? 
Give me time.
Once my girls are into the make-up and doing hair
I'm sure I will have plenty to complain about.
But at least I have the 4 wonderful and healthy children to complain about.

CSN Stores Giveaway- closed


If you are like me you already know that CSN stores 
have just about anything you are looking for and more.

Anything that you could need for decorating that new house in my case or updating your current one. 
You can find all kinds of ideas from TV stands for flat screens
to picture frames and rugs.
There really is everything you could need in one of their 
200 plus stores.

I am giving away a $35 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner.

Entering couldn't be easier either.
Just be a follower of Our Crazy Bunch on Google Friend Connect.

Giveaway will end on February 1st at 1159 EST
The winner will be chosen via random.org
Please include your email in your entry comment so that I may contact you if you win.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is picked.

The We Moved Blog Event Giveaways begin...

I am so excited to begin the giveaways this morning.
The giveaways will run for 1 week. 
Please remember to include your email in your entry comments
so that I can contact you if you win!

Good luck to you all!