Febreze Home Collections Review

As a mother of a soon-to-be two year old, I can't leave fresh smelling potpourri out - either the baby or the cats will eat it. Candle wax on the carpet, candle wax on the couch. It's a real pain to get out! The Febreze Home Collection wants to introduce you to their no mess, no spill line-up that’s perfect for creating a refreshing atmosphere.    The newest addition to the Febreze Home Collection, the No-Spill Wood Diffuser, combines everything you love about WoodWick diffuser technology and Febreze scents, offering a unique fragrance experience. The scented oil is drawn up through the dowel into the wood top, creating a hassle-free way to freshen your home. I keep this one in my bedroom because it adds a nice touch of classy decor and smells relaxing! If you’re looking to add character to your décor, then the Febreze Flameless Luminary is for you! The Febreze Flameless Luminary has interchangeable shade styles and the refreshing atmosphere of a burning candle without the danger of a flame. For a limited time, you can fill your home with the newest scent, Honeysuckle Orchid. I was so impressed when I turned it on. It really gave a relaxing candle-like glow. I actually fooled some of my friends who thought it was a candle! The scents last for about a week. You know how you get used to a scent though. My friends said "it smells good in here" after a couple weeks. **Disclosure: The product, gift pack, information and gift card to give away were all sponsored by Febreze and MyBlogSpark

The One Where I Just Let it All Out

I've been dealing with a lot lately and have pretty much alienated everyone in my life because of my self-dubbed "bag of shit." I feel I owe my awesome followers some explanation, too, as to why my posts have been so sparse the past few months. And well if you can't tell your blog, who can you tell? So, here goes...

This has all been going on for a while now. Pretty much since my son was born (about 20 months ago). I had been acting like a completely different person with a new "this is who I am and if you don't like it then eff off" attitude. Which is totally not me. I am, and always have been, a people-pleaser. Pressures of motherhood and being an adult mounted so high that I literally collapsed. The first signs that this was about to get ugly were the several weekends in a row that I went out with my friends, left hubby and baby at home, and stayed out till five in the morning. What 26 year old married mother needs to do that more than once in a blue moon?

My husband works hard. He leaves before six in the morning and doesn't get home until 8 at night. Meanwhile, I'm home taking care of the baby, finances, etc. It just got to be so much that I would literally go out and explode on the weekends. I'd escape for those hours before I had to get back to reality.

Then my epiphany came. I woke up one morning and figured it out. I knew I wasn't happy, but just couldn't figure out why. So I did what any woman does, blame the man. Yeah, there were some issues there that needed working out but I soon learned that placing the blame on other people wasn't going to stop my own tragic downfall.

Initially, I thought I was sick of doing what everyone else expected me to do. I have always been the girl that does things the right way and does everything other people think I should do. So, I stopped. I did what I wanted. I made bad choices. I was lying. Lying to everyone I love because I couldn't face the harsh realities and consequences of what I'd done. I knew I was being deceitful. I knew I was acting foolish. I just couldn't accept it enough to tell the people that I love. The people I don't want to disappoint. Well that just got me in deeper. I think I was subconsciously looking for an easy way out of all the responsibility I've created. Now I have this black hole of oblivion and I don't know how I'm going to get out.

First, I started with my family. I have a wonderful husband who has actually stuck through this whole "finding myself" thing. I can't throw that away. He's loving and understanding, and I don't think I could find someone better for me. During this whole ordeal I've been so worried about our families and friends hating me because of the nasty things I said to my husband that came out of anger and ugly emotions.

I feel like I lied to my friends because I just couldn't handle that yet. I couldn't handle everyone in my life despising me. Those lies made it worse. Instead of them being upset with my actions alone, my friends are upset with my lies, my deceit.

Who is this person? How did I become this? I'm a strong, independent, intelligent, motivated woman. How did I start making such terrible decisions? People kept asking me about postpartum depression. I honestly couldn't tell. I have had so much going on that I didn't think it could possibly be just chalked up to postpartum. My husband lost his job right after Josh was born, I finished college, changed jobs, typical financial woes, etc. Reflecting on the grand scheme of things, I really do think it's postpartum depression. There's just no other logical explanation. I've felt like I have this renewed self confidence since I had the baby and devoting many of those feelings to what I've accomplished in the past several years. My unhappiness was blamed on my stressors. The people you love the most are always going to be the ones who stress you the most. It's because you invest so many emotions in them and their happiness.

So, I've taken the first step. I'm seeking help. I have burned some very important bridges and just hope that one day, we can all move past this.I'm making the right decisions now. I'm sorry for my mistakes and I realize the consequences.

Shabby Apple Review and Discount

I recently had the opportunity to try an online retailer of fabulous ladies clothing, ShabbyApple.com. I'm always looking for fashion I can multipurpose from a day at the office to a night on the town. That's hard to do. My personal style is definitely more flirty at night than in the office (although that's probably a good thing).

Visiting Shabby Apple was just the answer I needed. What I love most about their collection of dresses, is the vintage twist on modern silhouettes. After browsing the site, I believe nearly all of these pieces can make a strong impression in the office, then spiced up with accessories and higher heels for an evening event. 

Customer reviews on the site implied the sized run big so I decided to go with a size smaller than I usually wear. Once I received my garment, it was still a little too roomy. Returning and exchanging was easy! Which is such a plus since that's why I'm usually hesitant to buy clothes online. And as an added bonus- they have maternity clothes!!

The Shabby Apple has been gracious enough to offer all my lovely readers 10% off! Just use the coupon code madmom2141 at checkout. How cool is that!?

I'd LOVE to hear back to see if you checked out the site or made a purchase! I think this is one of my new favorites!

NEW Rockin' Green Winner

Our first winner for the Rockin' Green giveaway never claimed their prize! This makes me feel kinda bad. I know that if I won a fabulous prize, I'd be so disappointed if I forgot to claim it :(

But we really had a ton of entries, so there's always room for another lucky winner!

And the new lucky winner of Rockin' Green Soap is...

Adam's Blankie! Please, please, please contact me via email (I'll email you too) by Thursday, July 8th to claim your fabulous prize!

Congrats! And please remember, when you enter a giveaway, leave your contact info so I can try to hunt you down if you win :)

Good Earth Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Shanna7313 - You're the lucky winner of the fabulous Good Earth prize pack! Thanks again to My BlogSpark who has been sending absolutely fabulous prizes, and of course Good Earth for their tasty dinners!

Shanna7313 - please contact me via email by Thursday, July 8th at 7:00 pm EST to claim your prize.

Thanks to all who entered! 

The Anti-Diaper

Like I said a few posts back... this is a very fun age. The little man is over 19 months now and is like a little sponge soaking up every word and motion he sees. There are a couple things, however, that I have no idea why why he does them.

The most interesting is his pinching and pulling his own nipples. It's so bizarre. He just stands there, notices these little bumps on his chest, and pulls away. It almost looks like he grabs onto them for security. Well, after this started becoming an all-the-time-thing, we tried to put the kabash on it. It was just weird. He'd walk around when we're in public, pinching away. I can just hear it now, "where did that child learn THAT?!"

Luckily, the fascination with this interesting new body part only lasted a few weeks. He hasn't quite found his other "interesting" part, but I'm sure when he does, he'll be pulling and pinching even more. The kabash will be put on that way sooner. He has many, many years to learn what that thing does!

My new dreaded favorite activity, is coming up to get him up from a nap or in the morning. Nine times out of ten, his diaper is on the floor and there are little pee spots all over his bed and the floor. I told our sitter to be on the look out during the day because he now has the skill of diaper removal. She said he even takes them off when he has a little one-piece outfit on. How did he figure that out!? Well, apparently it's very easy. He sticks his arm up the leg, undoes one side, then lets the other side slide down his leg. Very crafty for a one year old. Thankfully, this hasn't happened with any poopie diapers, I think he's smart enough to know that poop is yucky and he shouldn't get it all over his bed. For example:

One beautiful morning, I went into his room to wake him up. He was awake, bright-eyed and bushy tailed.  His arms were held out and he enthusiastically greets me with "eew!" Great... The diaper had sprung a "leak" and he clearly didn't like having poop on his hands. This is okay with me, though. Please, anytime you get poop on your hands, just stick them out, don't touch anything, and wait for mommy to clean you off!

I'm just waiting for the day when there actually is poop in the diaper that's been thrown out of the crib... That will be a great day...

Rockin Green Giveaway Winner

Thank you so much for everyone who entered! Cali and I are so excited about the overwhelming success of this giveaway!

I won't keep you waiting in anticipation any longer...

Congratulations, Paige! She's the lucky winner of Rockin' Green detergent! Please contact me via email by Tuesday, July 6, 2010 to claim your Rockin' prize!

Again, thanks to all who entered and keep your eyes peeled for another cloth diapering giveaway coming soon!

~Cali & Amanda (aka The Mad Moms)