Why I Love My Husband as a Father #SearsBabysRoom

Every Father's Day, I try to do something special for my hubby from the kids. Now that Lil J is older, we tend to get a little crafty and down 'n dirty {if finger painting is considered dirty!}.

It's interesting to see the dynamics between Mother's Day and Father's Day. Sometimes I feel like fathers aren't getting the recognition they deserve. In today's modern society, it's not uncommon for dads to take on the a role reversal of the so-called "traditional" role of a stay-at-home mom or parent.  However in our household, both of us work full-time, are constantly sleep deprived and are demanded that we pay 100% attention to our kids 24/7.  Does that sound familiar?

My husband is an amazing father.  I know we probably all say that about our husbands/partners, but he really is. When we first started dating, he was awarded full custody of his then five year old daughter. This, in itself, showed me how dedicated he was to his child and made me realize early on that this is the type of man I would want my future kids' father to be.

Photo credit:  Bopomo Pictures

Coupons.com Review + The Children's Place E-Gift Card Giveaway!

Have I ever told you how much I love shopping?  And how much I love deals?  You know those additional __% off signs that you see in storefronts or those emails landing in your inbox that scream "DEALS!  SALES!  LIMITED TIME ONLY!".  Yep, I pretty much live for those.  Which is weird because how did I not discover Coupons.com until now?  Where have you been all my life?!

What is Coupons.com you ask?  It's basically a digital coupon book for the online world.  In addition to a variety of free printable coupons, Coupons.com also has online coupon codes for well-known companies such as The Children's Place, Old Navy and Amazon.com.

We recently had the opportunity to test out The Children's Place coupon codes on Coupons.com and went on a mini shopping spree!  We used a 15% off coupon plus The Children's Place was offering free one-day shipping so it was kind of hard not to!  Here's what we bought for $50:

Honey Nut Cheerios Hearty Oat Crunch - Try It Free via SwankMama! #HNCHeartyOatCrunch

If I were asked to write this post a few months ago, I may have been completely lost. But within the last couple months, with the help of Baby Z's birthday party and lots of encouragement from a couple of my fellow mommy bloggers, I've brought back my creative side!

Exhibit A:  For Baby Z's birthday party favours for the adults {the party theme was pink lemonade}, I up-cycled mason jars and added pink lemonade mix with a little note containing instructions on how to make it! I thought this was a cute idea and I loved that I was able to incorporate it with the party theme. 

I have to say that I'm proud of myself that I've been able to rediscover my creative side again.  It may be more time consuming than store-bought items but when it comes from the heart, it makes all the difference in the world.  Plus, it's the thought that counts right?

{Honey Nut Cheerios Hearty Oat Crunch - Try It Free!}

Summer Fun Giveaway Hosted by Mom to Bed by 8 {Blogger Event}

Summer Fun Giveaway Event

Organized by: Mom to Bed by 8

Come and join us for the Summer Fun Giveaway Event!

Prize Package Includes:

Skywalker Bounce-N-Learn Trampoline

Your little ones will love to get their bounce on in the Skywalker Trampolines 5-ft. Seaside Adventure Bouncer, which features a fun ocean theme and excellent bouncing capability. This fun bouncer offers a steel frame construction, woven jump mat with numbers, dual zipper enclosure. It's recommended for children 6-8 years of age and has a weight capacity of up to 100-pounds. Kids will love to jump and play as the secure elastic stretch bands provide bouncing fun.

Melanie Dawn MUA Review + a $150 Belly Art Giveaway!

Birthday parties happen once a year {or twice or three times depending on how many kids are involved} and us moms parents love to put on a big production for the 2-3 hours that our kids are allowed to jump off walls, eat mounds of sweets and scream at the top of their lungs.  There are usually bouncy castles involved and various entertainers:  clowns, balloon twisters, stilt walkers and, of course, face painters!

Allow me to introduce the extremely talented and professional face & body artist, Melanie Dawn!  Melanie has been in the industry for 25 years and her experience is apparent through her many visual body art designs.  We first hired Melanie two years ago for Lil J's second birthday party after we saw her work at a friend's kid's party.  In fact, her work is so impressive, she was able to paint an Angry Bird free-hand {back when Angry Birds first launched} by just looking at a picture online:

Lil J's first face paint!