I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Elmer’s. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

My cousin Cheryl has been homeschooling my niece Isabel (pre-K) since they moved here in April. She uses an online curriculum and also makes up her own fun learning activities, like this matching game where Isabel had to try to match the pictures to the letters each item started with.

The great thing about this matching game is that the kids can help out with all of the different steps of the project.

Pre-K Photo Matching Game

1. Gather old magazines and cut out different items like animals and plants.
2. Cut out individual letters from different headlines in the magazines or from old newspapers.
3. Use glue (we used Elmer’s Natural glue stick) to glue each photo and corresponding letter to a piece of construction paper.
4. Repeat as often as your child would like, then proudly display their work on the fridge!

One of the things I like about a project like this is that it’s really easy for a child of any skill level to get involved. Even Jackson, who’s only a year old, was able to join in and make his own.

Ok, we just happened to catch a really cute photo opp. Most of the time Isabel was helping her baby brother glue his pictures onto his construction paper.

Still, it was really fun for both of them. Playing match the letters to the pictures with glue was a good way to add variety instead of doing flashcards or worksheets.

Since Jackson was involved in the project, it was a no brainer to use the Elmer’s Natural glue instead of the standard kind. Mostly because he’s only one and everything still goes in his mouth at some point. Including the glue bottle.

The Elmer’s School Glue Naturals is the first and only school glue made with naturally occurring ingredients and recycled packaging. The main components are corn and soybeans – yay for renewal resources! The pourable Naturals is made from 99% natural ingredients, while the Naturals stick is made from 88% natural ingredients. Both the Naturals line and the traditional Elmer’s School Glue are safe, strong, non-toxic, and washable.

If you’d like to try the Elmer’s School Glue Naturals for yourself, they have a cool Pin To Win contest going on right now for a Naturals prize pack AND a $100 gift card.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Elmer’s. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Delta chose me as one of their brand ambassadors for their line of seriously awesome In2ition Shower Heads. Y’all know what this means, right?

That’s right – a legitimate excuse to talk about Mike in the shower. He helped me install it last night. My next post will include a video testimonial. We started shooting some footage for it already, and I think you guys are really going to like it.

Aside from all the stories I’ll get to make up share with you about about my hot roommate Mike, I think you’ll also appreciate some of the In2ition shower head features. It’s a 2-in-1 system, which means it has both a hand shower AND a regular shower head. I already love the way the head cradles the handle, so I don’t have to have a separate holder on my shower wall to hold the hand shower.

Ready for the REALLY cool part? You can choose to have the water flow from just the shower head, just the hand shower, OR you can have it flow from both at the same time. You know what that means, right? It means I can totally keep my body warm while rinsing off your legs after you shave – woohoo! The In2ition shower system also has a “pause” mode, which brings the flow down to a trickle so you don’t have to waste water while you’re doing something like lathering up or waiting for your 2 year old to climb back in after he’s escaped the tub.

The model I have not only looks cool with it’s angular rectangle design, it’s also eco-friendly. It has H2Okinetic® Technology that controls the water as it passes through the head, allowing you to experience the feeling of more water without actually using more water. Mike and I both took showers after he installed the new head, and we were both really impressed with how the flow felt compared to my old shower head (a mid-line one I had picked up at the hardware store a couple years ago to improve the flow force).

The settings are super easy to adjust, and I’m excited to try it out more with Levi. He’s still scared of the shower, and I think using the hand shower will help him warm up to the idea of the bigger shower head. I know Mike’s looking forward to using it to bathe his pug Monster (she really needs a bath, too.), and I’m still holding out that I might be able to get him to jump in there with me under the guise of taking care of a really big spider

I promised I’d be “tasteful” in all of my posts for this campaign, but don’t worry – I won’t let that stop me from testing a few of the boundaries. Y’all know I like to tell it how it is, and I already have some good ideas on what I can do to make sure you get the full monty review of the Delta In2ition product line.

Disclosure: I am participating in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Delta Faucets. I received a product sample and promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Sometimes I worry that I’m screwing up this whole mom thing. I mean, aside from the regular “crappy mom” stuff that I do, I feel like maybe I really am screwing up.

I’m not too worried about letting Levi fall asleep in my bed with his sunglasses on. They’re not going to hurt him, and hey, if it gets him to sleep, I’ve kind of won the larger battle. Plus he just looks so darn cute.

But other things give me pause and make me think that maybe I am screwing up and doing it wrong. Take this past Mother’s Day for example. I was in Destin, FL for my annual Brandcation trip. Jason and I have only been separated since October, so this was my first Mother’s Day since he moved out. Earlier this week I was complaining at work that I didn’t even get to talk to Levi for Mother’s Day, since Jason had him and didn’t have him call me. I tried calling, but got no answer, and that was that.

A colleague said something that really hit home: “Well maybe you should quit being out of town for important days.”

Crap. Did I screw up by going on the trip instead of staying in town so I could spend the day with Levi? Part of me says I’m cool, this trip was important for me as a professional blogger and even if it wasn’t, it’s still ok to get away. But the other part of me thinks may she was right. Maybe it’s more important to stay home so I CAN spend those moments with my son. After all, he’s only little once, right?

Luckily for me, I had some very supportive friends along on the trip that helped remind me I’m doing ok in the mom department. They reassured me that I would have plenty of time with Levi when I got home, and that Mother’s Day doesn’t have to only be celebrated on one day of the year.

I realize, though, that not everyone has that luxury. A lot of moms out there are doing this parenting thing all on their own, and that’s a seriously tough place to be. JOHNSON’S Baby just came out with a really cool idea that I plan to start taking advantage of. They started a “Care Cards” program that allows people to share messages of encouragement with moms across the country through their Facebook page. Even cooler is that for every digital Care Card sent, liked, or shared, JOHNSON’S Baby will donate $1.00 to Save The Children (up to $150,000), which benefits early childhood education.

Sometimes it can be tough to ask for encouragement or support. If you could use a few kind words or just a thumbs up that you’re doing a good job, please leave me a comment below. If you include your email (which is only visible to me as this blog’s administrator, btw, unless you leave it in the actual comment text), I will personally send you one of the JOHNSON’S Baby Care Cards OR a short email to tell you that you’re not screwing up.

Because really, we’re all screwing up in one way or another, and that’s ok. We beat ourselves up enough over that – this weekend I plan to refocus thinking about my own parenting failures into something positive by giving you guys a shoutout that you’re a good mom instead.

Who Else Needs To Hear They’re Doing OK Right Now?

This post is part of a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for JOHNSON’s Baby. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Last night I had a really fun date with Levi watching the Berenstain Bears DVD that Phase 4 Films sent me for review. 

Seriously, could my date be any cuter? Yeah, I’m single, but there’s no one else I’d rather spend an evening with in my jammies than my baby boy. Especially after I just spent 5 days out of town in Destin, FL for Brandcation. This was exactly what I needed to come home to.

After picking out the Berenstain Bears movie, Levi helped me make popcorn for our snack. I love using the air popper so I can control how much butter or salt to use, and Levi likes to watch the kernels pop.

I’m a longtime fan of the Berenstain Bears. In fact, I’m pretty sure if you check with my old elementary school, there’s a good chance they still show a hardcover book checked out under my name. I didn’t steal it intentionally, of course. We moved when I was in 1st grade and I didn’t really think through the consequences of packing the book to come with me out of state. If I ever come across it in one of the boxes in my basement, I promise I will go to the post office (one of my most hated errands to run) and mail it back to the school. Pinky swear.

Back to my date night with the kiddo. Like I said, he picked the Berenstain Bears out of our movie stack for the night. I think he just really wanted the stuffed Brother Bear from the package he’d been eyeing since Phase 4 Films first sent me the box set.

These cool Brother Bear and Sister Bear limited edition gift sets with the plush characters are available exclusively at Walmart and Sam’s Club for $19.99 right now. Each DVD contains 5 episodes, which is great if you’re like me and not big on watching a whole movie with your 2 year old in one sitting. After bath time, Levi and I watched two episodes for our date night, which brought us right up to bed time.

I love that we were able to bond over a show that reminds me of tons of happy memories from my own childhood. Not to mention, I was reminded of a few lessons I can still benefit from as an adult, like Brother & Sister Bear demonstrating that money isn’t everything when they save up to buy their special jackets. As a working mom, that totally hit home for me.

After not seeing or talking to Levi on Mother’s Day this past Sunday, having quiet quality time and extra snuggles on the couch was exactly what I needed. Maybe next year I’ll be sure to buy the Berenstain Bears Mother’s Day DVD so we can repeat our date together. Who knows – it might just become our newest tradition.

Did You Grow Up With The Berenstain Bears?

Phase 4 Films sent me complimentary copies of the DVDs shown above. All opinions and snuggles with Levi are my own.

I’m still sitting at the airport, but I couldn’t wait to share a little bit of the amazing-ness I just experienced over the past 4 days in Destin, FL.

Welcome to the Emerald Grande Resort, y’all. Complete with their own private beach with amazing silky white sand.

The resort is in a prime location on the Emerald Coast. It gets its name because as the tides come in and out, the water changes from a pure, clear blue to a gorgeous deep green.

Located right on the Harbor Walk, everything is in walking distance – restaurants, shopping, and excursions like scuba diving, snorkeling, and paddle boarding are all a short jaunt outside of your condo door.

I’ll be sharing more about my trip and some of the incredible experiences I had while visiting Destin over the next week. I can’t wait to tell you all about my trip to paradise!

Disclosure: Media rates, group discounts, and complimentary activities were part of the overall trip. Dolphin Photo credit to Trisha Haas from MomDot.