Confessions Of A Camera-phobe.

     After my mom passed away we made big memory boards full of pictures of her life to hang up at her wake.  People seemed to like seeing all the different parts of her life, childhood pictures, photos with her class, with each of her daughters and grandchildren...it was great.  We had hundreds and hundreds of photos of her all over.

My mom at 6 years old.

My moms graduation picture.

   
     That made me think about how few pictures I had of myself with my Lily.   I had always avoided cameras...I wasn't thin enough, my hair looked bad, I wasn't wearing makeup...I always had a million excuses as to why I didn't want my picture taken, and so I had very very few.   However when I realized how comforting it was to be able to look back at pictures of my mom's life, I knew that it was something that I wanted to be able to do for my kids when I was no longer with them.  I did well for a while, taking lots of photos.... but then I just sort of forgot to.  It occurred to me tonight that the last picture I took with either of my kids was in November.  Freakin NOVEMBER??  That's awful!

Lily, me, my sister Mary, my niece Kaitlyn, and Mom in Disney World

     Someday my kids aren't going to have me here, all they'll have are the photos and if I don't make a point of taking them, they'll have nothing.  Memories fade, I can't always remember exactly what my moms laugh sounded like so I'm so thankful to have video of her laughing.  I need to make sure that no matter what my kids have pictures to look back and remember that they both have my smile.

Best Friend Box GIVEAWAY

     OK, I'm going to level with you.... I come from a long line of weird pet people.  We treat our pets as though they're just our furry children.  Heck, sometimes when my kids are being particularly crabby, my dog is my favorite of my children!  So I treat her the way I treat my kids, trying to only get her natural and organic food and toys.  It's hard though, I don't always have the time to go to specialty pet stores, so that's why Best Friend Box comes in handy!

     Best Friend Box is a company who's mission is to help pet owners give their furry friends the best of everything without breaking the bank or causing you to have to seek out a specialty organic pet store.  Sign up on their easy to navigate website, (that's also just so pretty!), and for only $30 a month (and FREE shipping!!) you'll have an awesome variety of all natural, safe, and veterinarian approved treats, toys, and grooming supplies delivered to your door every month!

Isn't their website just so pretty?

     Rory, my insane Goldendoodle, was given a box to try out and she loved it all!!  We'll just go through the products that we received one by one, because they each deserve their own props for being so awesome.

 Sojos Peanut Butter & Honey Dog Treats:  I'd love to tell you how I was able to use these for training the dog and how helpful they were...but Rory broke into the cabinet that they were kept in and ate the entire box of them.  Box included, lol.  Clearly they were a hit with her, and I liked that they're made with human-quality ingredients and no preservatives!  Final Verdict:  Apparently delicious!

Simply Fido Natural Canvas Dog Toy:  Rory can destroy a toy in no time but this one has held up really well!  She has dragged it around the house and yard since getting it and it still looks really nice!  It's got a squeaker in it that the dog loves but isn't so loud that it drives me crazy.  The toy is also the perfect size, not an overwhelming giant toy that we're all tripping over, but big enough for tug-of-war with the rope part without fear of losing a digit.  Final verdict:  A hit!  

Preppy Puppy Uniced Bone: Absolutely adorable 6 inch gourmet dog biscuit was gone in roughly 2 minutes since Rory was so in love with it!  The Preppy Puppy products are all wheat, corn, and soy free so I know that my dog isn't getting unnecessary fillers in her treat.  It came in a super cute dog bone shape and looked adorable...until the dog got to it, then it just looked GONE!  Final Verdict:  Eaten in no time!  Only complaint is that I wish there had been more than one.

Organic Oscar's Organic Aloe Vera Shampoo: This shampoo could not have come at a better time!  Rory had a terrible experience with a new groomer, (whiner blog to come),  and her skin was left raw and itchy.  This shampoo was amazing, it soothed her skin so that she was able to get some relief.  It smells amazing, like a delicious mix of lavender, juniper, and something else that I can't quite put my finger on.  The dog actually made the house smell GOOD, and how often do you get to say that about a pet?  Final Verdict:  Fantastic!  Gave my poor puppy relief and smelled a-MAZING!

So now once again, my Hyphenation Diaries Family, you guys know what I love doing for you all:  

A GIVEAWAY!    

Best Friend Box is giving one lucky reader a FREE months box!  Enter below!!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclaimer: I have been compensated for trying this product to review, however the opinions are honest and my own. Compensation had no bearing on my opinion.

FabKids: Gorgeous Little Girls Clothing & a GIVEAWAY!

      When I first found out, almost 7 years ago, that the baby I felt kicking away in my tummy was a girl, I immediately started planning for all of the adorable clothes that she would wear.  Darling dresses, sassy little skirts, and adorably sporty shorts...she would wear them all and they would be epic.  Luckily, to aid in that, I've found FabKids, a company founded by a team of parents, including actress Christina Applegate, who explain their goal as "empowering girls to express their individuality through personalized fashions".   Seriously, have you ever heard of a more awesome reason to start a company?  Empowering little girls?  That one sentence alone made me already love them!

     So basically, here's what you do:  You sign up for an account, (duh), fill out a short quiz about your daughters fashion taste, and WAPOW!!!  They give you monthly suggestions on adorable clothes that would fit her taste!  ALL of the outfits (complete with accessories like headbands) are only $39.95 and they carry size 2 up to size 12!  You're not obligated to purchase something every month, but I can't imagine anyone being able to resist, everything is just too adorable!

Lily's outfit suggestions for this month!

     One of the things that I really loved about my experience with this company is that every single outfit was appropriate for my daughter.  Lily's only 6, and I want her dressing in clothes that are age appropriate, not shrunken down adult clothes.  I was able to let Lily choose her outfit because there was no concern about anything being revealing or simply too mature for her.  So after MUCH deliberation, Lily finally decided on her outfit that she'd be receiving this month, she chose the "Denim and Dots" outfit and I must say.... it was achingly adorable!  We received 3 pieces, (shown below),  a super soft polka dot denim romper, a cute ribbed hot pink and white striped tank, and an orange ribbon wrapped headband.

     According to Lily, (and this is a direct quote), "This is the softest thing I've ever worn. It's so pretty! I can run and my pants don't fall down!!"  Ok, perhaps losing one's pants isn't a concern for everyone, haha, but she could not stop telling me about how much she loved wearing it, that everything was so comfortable.   Lily also marveled at the small strip of velcro on the inside of the headband that kept it from sliding off while she was playing.   

     However Lily's absolute favorite part of our experience with FabKids was during a short walk around the neighborhood, when we had 2 different people stop to comment on how cute her outfit was.  My favorite part is that my kid got to feel completely confident in how awesome she looked.  Clearly they did a great job empowering my little girl.   

     I do not have a single negative thing to say about this company, everyone was so nice, shipping was really speedy, the clothing is beautiful, comfortable, and well made.  Want to know what makes them even MORE awesome?  The fact that they're going to GIVE AWAY A FREE OUTFIT!!!

That's right.... Enter to win a free outfit from FabKids!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclaimer: I have been compensated for trying this product to review, however the opinions are honest and my own. Compensation had no bearing on my opinion.

Everyday Miracles Because of Newtown and Boston.

   
     No one can deny that some crazy stuff has been happening in the world lately... shootings, bombings, random violence.  It's a scary time to be in the world, and as a mother it's downright terrifying at times.  The day of the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, CT was probably one of the most upsetting days of my life.  I kept thinking about the 26 sets of parents who wouldn't get to tuck their babies in to bed that night.   I found myself getting really down thinking about all of the negative in the world when I heard about Ann Curry's proposed idea of people doing 26 random acts of kindness...one in honor of each life lost at Sandy Hook.

     My kids and I immediately started doing our 26 Acts... we paid for the food for the family behind us in the drive through at McDonald's in honor of Dylan Hockley, we picked up trash in the park in honor of Jack Pinto, left children's books in the waiting room at John Hopkin's pediatric emergency room in honor of Emilie Parker, and taped grocery money to a shopping cart in honor of Charlotte Bacon.  We slowly but surely got through each 26 acts.  It was a way to pay tribute to each precious life lost and have something good come from something tragic.

Flowers that we left on a random car

Lily taking cookies to the fire department

     In light of the Boston Marathon bombing we've decided to start our 26 Acts all over again.  We need to embrace the good and remember that it's out there.  The bad guys don't win and they certainly don't get to shake our faith in the everyday miracles that exist.  People doing good things are part of these everyday miracles.  My kid excitedly taking cookies to the fire department is one of those things.  The stories of people rushing to help those injured in the Boston Marathon bombing are everyday miracles.

    The good exists.  We just have to keep reminding ourselves of that every single day. We have to remember to look for the beauty that exists every day.

Customizing Your iPhone! Easy, Free, Adorable!

Like everybody else, yourself included, I'm sure...I love my iPhone.  No need to go into the awesomeness of it.  However it's not exactly pretty, and as you can probably tell by this here blog, I like things that look girlie.  So clearly I had to fix that immediately!

There's several tutorials floating around with different ways to do this, however this is step-by-step how I made my phone look like this.

 Clearly the vast majority of my phone is social networking, haha!  I have all of my utilities and things I don't use very often in a folder on the second screen of my phone.  I like turning it on and seeing my pretty screen.

So let's get down to business, shall we?

Step 1:  The first thing you'll need to do is go to the App Store and download the FREE app named CocoPPa.  This is not a typo.  That's really the name, I swear it.  

Step 2:  Open up CocoPPa and it'll ask you to log in.  You can do this via Facebook (what I did because it's easiest) or by entering your email.

Step 3:  Once you're logged in you'll come to a screen like this, make sure that the "Icons" button is shaded on top.  

Step 4:  Search for the icon that you want.  I chose the Blogger icon for this demonstration.  

Step 5: Then choose which icon you want to use.  There's, roughly, a gazillion designs for each one, but once you've chosen click on that icon.

Step 6:  Click the button that says "Set up link".

Step 7: Now for this step you'll need to choose the Link Type.  Click "App Search" if the other choices, (phone, email, text, or safari), don't apply.

BE AWARE:  If you've chosen to replace the icon for the Phone, Email, Text, or Safari please be aware that it will go to ONE specific address, phone number, or url...it will NOT open your whole phone, text, etc.  

Step 8:  You can scroll down for the more popular app choices like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, OR you can enter the app name and do a search.  

Step 9: Once you've chosen the appropriate app, you can enter the name of how you'd like it to show up on your phone.

Step 10:  It will ask you to confirm going to Safari.  Click YES.

Step 11:  When Safari opens the screen shown below, click the "share" button.

Step 12:  Click "Add to Home Screen"

Step 13:  Once again you'll enter how you'd like the icon to be labeled on your screen.  Yes, again.  I don't know.... sometimes I don't argue with things, I just go along.  You should do the same thing this time.  Enter it and then click "Add".

Step 14:  At this point, your new NOT UGLY icon will show up on your screen.  YAY!!!  

Step 15: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP:

Do not....DO NOT... delete the original apps icons!  

Whaaaaat?  But you replaced them, right?  WRONG!!!  You created a link to them.  You're now going to put all of the original, UGLY, icons into a folder way back on another screen.  Label it so that you don't accidentally delete anything.  Don't touch it.  Let it be.  HANDS OFF!  

Now you have your NOT ugly new screen!  Also, remember that you can use anything as a wallpaper, I got this from the "Wallpaper" section of CocoPPa, but anything that you have saved in your photo album, even just patterns or colors, can be a neato wallpaper.  

I hope this makes your day just a little nicer so that every time you have to open your phone for something boring you're shown a pretty party on your screen!

A Mailbox Full Of Yum! It's Healthy Surprise!

     Ok look, I'm going to level with you guys.... I'm not the healthiest eater around.  Basically, if it's chocolate or has 10,000 calories in it than it won't last more than a few days in this house.  However I've been trying to do better, mostly to set a good example for the kids.   I've also been trying to get healthy and fit lately, but that's left me with a real predicament...  I don't actually know what snacks to buy.  Yes, I know how that sounds.  But when you've had a lifetime of eating junk, finding things that are actually healthy and don't taste like cardboard is a struggle!

     So here's where the company, Healthy Surprise, comes into play.  It's a monthly subscription box that sends a box full of healthy snacks to your house every month!   All of their snacks are vegan, natural, gluten free, and soy free, and here's the real kicker...they actually taste good!  This isn't the grocery store version of healthy, it's ACTUALLY healthy.  Like the kind you'd get in the intimidatingly crunchy health food store without the need to actually go into one!  That's right... no dragging your kids around yet another store, no need to spend the time and gas driving to the nearest health foods store (they're not exactly on every corner, ya know), and no worrying that you're not getting something that has dairy or soy or gluten.

    We got the Starter Box and it came packed full of something for everyone!  Did we all love everything?  Nope.  Did we ALL have LOTS that we DID LOVE?  Absolutely!  Everything was fresh and new and something that we'd never tried before.  Some of it was stuff that I'd never have gotten on my own, but the kids and I ended up LOVING!   It helped us try something new and different.  Honestly, I'd never have gotten Kale Krunch on my own, but after trying it I've gotten two more bags of it because it's Micah's favorite snack!   Lily couldn't get enough of the Plentils Lentil Chips from Enjoy Life Foods.  

     Any time I can get my kids to beg me to let them eat lentils and kale, it's an amazing thing!  

So basically, their food is super yummy, the price is amazing, and it's so easy to set up and not have to worry about not getting enough snacks at the grocery store, or only having unhealthy crap in the house.  We're now a family of absolute lovers of Healthy Surprise and can't wait for next months order!

And now, introducing my goofball girl giving her thoughts on Healthy Surprise.  She desperately wanted to take part in this review, mostly because she scarfed down most of the snacks!

Disclaimer: I have been compensated for trying this product to review, however the opinions are honest and my own. Compensation had no bearing on my opinion.

The Story Of A Dog.

   

     Once upon a time there was a girl who lived far away from her family.  She had good friends, but was a little lonely, so she decided to get a kitten.  The girl went to the SPCA in search of the perfect cute, fluffy kitty.  When she got there she had to walk past the dogs to get to the cat room, and on her way down the aisle she saw the saddest pair of eyes.  A small, emaciated, very young Rottweiler sat whimpering in the corner of his cage.  The SPCA worker told the girl that he and his puppy siblings had been stuffed in a bag and thrown over a fence, where they'd sat for several days dying in the hot Florida summer sun until someone saw and rescued them.  Needless to say, after hearing his story, the girl took him home the next day.

     The dog, Mickey, was a bit of a mess.  Starving, scared of noises, terrified of men, and didn't even know how to play due to the horrible first few months of his life, Mickey clearly needed extra love.  He slept in the girls bed, ate constantly, and was loved more than anyone could imagine.  The girl, being a little nuts, called him her Hungarian son.  Mickey truly was the girl's soul mate animal.

     Mickey loved and comforted the girl through pregnancy loss, the loss of her mother, and the end of her marriage, always sweet, gentle, and loving.  He remained a mess, still scared of men and nervous around new people, but he loved the girl as much as she loved him.  When she had babies, he treated them as his puppies, always gentle, patient, and protective.

     After 9 years of being loved unconditionally, Mickey passed away in his sleep one autumn night.  The girl and her babies were, and still are, so sad and miss him daily but always remember how lucky they were to get to have him in their lives.  They were truly blessed to have had their lives touched by Icky Mickey.