Tag Archives: Family

Here’s another giveaway for you guys!

Since we often have the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network on, we’ve seen the commercials for ABCmouse.com plenty of times. If you haven’t seen them (or have and want to know more), here is some info about this great learning resource:

ABCmouse.com is a global education initiative of Age of Learning, Inc. Our goal is to help children build a strong foundation for future academic success by providing a comprehensive and engaging online curriculum to greatly assist early learners to succeed in pre-k, kindergarten, and early elementary school programs.

ABCmouse.com is subscription-based, with no advertising, pop-up ads, or links to other sites. Children can learn and explore with their parents, or on their own (depending on age and ability), in a safe and secure online educational environment.

We named our site ABCmouse.com because here children can learn important educational basics (often referred to as “the ABC’s”) through the use of a computer mouse. At ABCmouse.com, the computer mouse comes to life as ABC Mouse, who serves as our site ambassador and guide to early learners everywhere.

ABCmouse.com’s comprehensive curriculum includes these preschool, pre-k and kindergarten subjects:

• Reading(the alphabet, phonics, sight words, children’s books)
• Math (numbers, shapes, patterns, measurement)
• The World Around Us (basic science and social studies)
• Art and Music (drawing and coloring, tracing, paint-by-numbers, children’s songs, and more)

They have 6 academic levels for Preschool (3+), Pre-K (4+) and Kindergarten (5+). They also have a program for kids 2+ called Toddler Time, to learn colors, shapes, numbers 1-5 and how to control the mouse and become familiar with how the activities on ABCmouse.com work.

ABCmouse.com offers a variety of activities, including art, reading, games and songs to make learning fun and interesting. They offer the additional features below, as well as mobile apps to download from iTunes!

We’re excited to try ABCmouse.com with Trent soon and we’re even more excited to pass along the fun to one of you lovely readers!

Up for grabs: A one year subscription to ABCmouse.com (a $79 value!). A redemption code will be sent via email and is good for a one year subscription from the date of redemption.

How to enter: We’ll be using Rafflecopter for this one, so there are multiple ways to enter…pick one or pick them all!

This giveaway ends on Sunday, June 9, 2026 at 11:59 pm EST. No restrictions on location of entrants. I will contact the winner the next day by email and will announce the winner as an update to this blog post. Good luck!

In the meantime, ABCmouse.com is currently offering everyone a 1 month free trial…which you can sign up for HERE!

{If you are viewing this post in an email or RSS feed, please click over to the blog to enter the contest using the Rafflecopter form }

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

xoxo

Lynn

Subscribe by email | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Pinterest | Subscribe on YouTube

 

Trent’s new favorite food…bread. He is forever trying to steal my sandwiches now.

One of his go-to breakfasts…blueberry waffle with applesauce. I’ll sprinkle some cinnamon on the applesauce for some extra flavor.

Apparently, we have some more babyproofing to do around here.

My drink of choice the past few days. All of us fought a little bit of sickness and I seem to have been the worst at it.

We went to a local teppanyaki/hibachi restaurant, Osaka, for a friend’s birthday. It was Trent’s first time and he was definitely a fan of both the show and the food. (Look at that big honking mound of butter in the chef’s cart on the right!)

He even had his own little plate of fried rice (which he devoured), veggies and chicken.

After dinner, we went to both Home Depot stores and both Lowe’s stores in town looking for specific items. One item on the list was a new outdoor light for our porch. We didn’t purchase one, but at least got an idea for what was available in town.

By the third store, Trent had had enough and passed out in the car. Which also allowed me to relax in the car, as well…our tummies were full!

Today, we had some friends over for lunch and pool time and now we’re just relaxing for the rest of the night. Back to work in the AM for a (hopefully) nice short week.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

 

xoxo

Lynn

Subscribe by email | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Pinterest | Subscribe on YouTube

 

Update: Congrats to the winner, Saralynn! Thank you all for entering!

I’m excited to see the new Monsters Inc. movie, Monsters University and wish I could attend the Monstrous Summer 24-hour event at Walt Disney World on May 24th.

{photo source}

I wanted to get in on the monster fun somehow, so here’s a little giveaway for you guys!

Monsters hiding under the bed can be scary for children, and so can going to the dentist! America’s ToothFairy, Crest & Oral-B Pro-Health Stages would like to help children overcome their fear of both!

Monsters Can Be Fun and So Can Trips to the Dentist With These Tips from America’s ToothFairy!

Fear of the unknown can have a negative impact on a child’s feelings toward their dental visits. Ensuring that your child is familiar with the dental practice and the people that are going to help them keep their smile healthy will ease their fears and make the dental visit go smoothly.

• Visit the dentist with your child prior to their first appointment. Help your child understand what to expect on their visit by taking a tour of the practice and asking the dental assistant or dental hygienist to explain what will be done and demonstrate how each instrument will be used. Not only will this help ease your child’s fears, but it also creates a wonderful learning opportunity!
• For slightly order children, bring them along to observe your routine dental cleaning and exam. This will allow them to ask questions, see how each instrument will be used, eliminate potential fears by observing your experience and help them understand the importance of practicing good oral health behaviors. (Contact your dental office prior to your appointment to advise them that your child will be with you.)
• Regular dental visits will enable your child to develop a sense of familiarity and comfort with the dental team and practice as well provide vital preventive care necessary for a healthy smile.
• Reinforcing concepts such as daily brushing and flossing, by posting a calendar and rewarding your child a gold star or sticker for every day of excellent oral care. Help get your child excited about their next dental visit by bringing the calendar with you to show the dentist.
• Allow your child to bring their favorite toy or blanket with them on their dental visit to give them an added sense of security and comfort.
• Reading can have a soothing and calming effect on your child. Bring their favorite book to read to them during their dental appointment.
• Let your child wear a costume on their dental visit. This special treat can help them view going to the dentist as a fun activity.

Be positive about going to the dentist. Avoid grumbling about your own dental appointments and help your child understand that going to the dentist helps them keep their smiles healthy! This is important because after all, the ToothFairy likes to collect healthy teeth!

 

Giveaway!

Open the door to brushing fun with Crest Pro-Health Stages Monsters Toothpaste and Oral-B Stages 3 Monsters Toothbrush! Children can start and end their days with Sulley and Mike while keeping their smiles bright and healthy!

These products featuring the fun-loving monsters from the upcoming movie, Monsters University will be available in your local Walmart this week, but you can enter to win them here!

One winner will be chosen to win a prize pack that includes:

• 2 Crest Pro-Health Stages Monsters, Inc. Toothpastes (4.2 oz. ea.) and
• 2 Oral-B Stages Monsters, Inc. Toothbrushes

How to enter: We’ll be using Rafflecopter for this one, so there are multiple ways to enter…pick one or pick them all!

This giveaway ends on Monday, May 27, 2026 at 11:59 pm. I will contact the winner the next day by email to get your mailing address and will announce the winner as an update to this blog post. Prize will be mailed directly to winner by the sponsor. US residents only please. Good luck!

{If you are viewing this post in an email or RSS feed, please click over to the blog to enter the contest using the Rafflecopter form }

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo

Lynn

Subscribe by email | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Pinterest | Subscribe on YouTube

 

Brett and Trent definitely spoiled me this Mother’s Day…my very first. I had gotten a lovely photo gift a few days early (see it here) and we also planned on going to Panama City Beach to grab some grub and hit the beach for a few hours. I was also surprised when I woke up and Brett handed me a new necklace. My clasp broke a few weeks ago and I’ve been going sans necklace ever since and I’ve felt naked. He was going to just fix the clasp, but they told him he would need a new one and with the price of gold as high as it is, the clasp would have cost twice as much as the necklace cost him in the first place…so he just got me a new one!

{Entertainment from Daddy}

We got to PCB sometime around noon and went straight to Red Robin…we were hungry! We don’t have a Red Robin in Tallahassee, so we only get to enjoy it every once in a while, but it is so so good. Our waiter was awesome! He made great recommendations and introduced us to a new way to have our drinks. They have bottomless drinks, but we thought we could only go with the first type of drink we ordered for the rest of the meal, but no, he suggested we start with a Limeade and then a freckled lemonade and then finish up with a root beer float for dessert (too bad he didn’t throw in a bottomless margarita in there somewhere).

Well, don’t mind if we do!

Brett got a regular chicken sandwich (he’s so boring!) and I got a Bruschetta chicken sandwich, with sweet potato fries so Trent could eat some too.

The freckled lemonade has pieces of strawberries in it, so we were giving them to Trent. The manager noticed this and brought us over a small cup of strawberries!

Which he gobbled up. I even gave him a couple of bites of the vanilla soft serve from the root beer float. I’m such a bad mommy.

After all three of our tummies were full, we went into a few shops nearby and then headed over to the beach. We’re not really the biggest beach fans. I think it’s because we have a pool at home, which is much cleaner and easier to enjoy. To us, the beach is best enjoyed with a group of friends and family all spending the day together. But that may change when Trent is a bit older. When we first got there, he was a bit very cranky, so he wanted nothing to do with sand or water or anything.

Since he slept in the car, we didn’t think he was tired, but apparently he was very tired and ended up sleeping on me for about an hour. He woke up happy as can be, but we only stayed about another 30 minutes so we could have dinner before the drive back home. I’m happy we got a little sand and water fun before leaving.

Below is a video of Trent’s first trip to the beach. I hope you enjoy! (if you are reading this post in your email or RSS feed, please click over to the blog to watch it!)

We packed up and changed back into our clothes in the car in the parking lot (we’re classy ’round these parts!), then headed over to Margaritaville, a first time for both of us. We had a lovely view from our table out on the deck. Unfortunately, no margaritas were consumed and I was kind of disappointed in their menu selection (I wanted more seafood options) but overall, we enjoyed our meal.

Brett had seafood macaroni and cheese.

I had chicken/steak fajitas.

On the way home, we stopped by a gas station store to grab some drinks for the road. They had this nifty milkshake machine that I had never seen before, so I made Brett get a milkshake so I could see how it worked - and he gladly obliged.

You pick a flavor container on the right and then place it in the machine on the left and use the touchscreen to select your level of consistency. It then mixes up your milkshake in about 30 seconds for you to enjoy. Yum. I must be easily entertained.

It was a fun day…not only because I spent Mother’s Day with my two favorite boys, but it’s always nice to get away, even if it’s just for a day or dinner.

 

xoxo

Lynn

Subscribe by email | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Pinterest | Subscribe on YouTube

 

I know I’m a day early, but I also got my Mother’s Day gift from Trent and Brett a little early and just had to share.

I came home from work the other day to these 3 canvas photos up on our bedroom wall. I love how each photo perfectly illustrates different aspects of his personality.

Brett took them while I was at work before we went on our trip. Those sneaky boys.

We’re happy the weather forecast improved for tomorrow. I swear, I don’t even know why I look at the weather forecast any more. I should just look the day before and that’s it. We will probably be going to the beach for a little while, then eat at Red Robin and do some shopping. I’m excited for Trent’s first trip to the beach!

These past 2 weeks since coming home from Disney World have been crazy busy…me at work and Brett with photography. We’re sloooowly working on the trip report and photos/videos, so hopefully we’ll be sharing those soon. We have another trip in June, as well his first birthday party, so fingers crossed we’ll have it all done by then!

I hope you enjoy your Mother’s Day!

 

xoxo

Lynn

Subscribe by email | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Pinterest | Subscribe on YouTube