Archives for May 2013

It’s the Little Things…and The Smiles!

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“Through the eyes of a child you will see the world just as it ought to be.” -author unknown
As adults, we often get busy and forget to appreciate the little things in life. Sometimes it’s wise to just step back and look at things through the eyes of a child.

My Bubby’s eyes hold the innocence and wonder of the world. When I’m too busy or stressed, I watch him play. This weekend, while we were at the pool, he found a bottle cap. Then he found rocks. 

Oh what fun he had with his treasures. The simple treasures of the world that surround us every day. Those things that we forget to cherish in our busy lives. Those are his playground. 

I love his inner and outward beauty. I love seeing the world through his wide-eyed wonderment when I take the time to look. I need to look more often. And I need to look through my own eyes. We all do. 

Sure there is much sadness in our world, but there is also beauty and excitement. It’s time to embrace what our children see again. How amazingly happy we would all be if we just saw the world through the eyes of a child. What a beautiful world we would live in if we would just embrace this. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I have some rocks to play with. There are castles to be built and I’m missing out on the wonderment of life! Are you?
Filed Under: Beauty, Bubby, Galveston, Galveston Club Paradise, Island Living, Life, My Happy Life, Parenting Tagged With:

When It Comes to Wireless, Are There Truly Unlimited Plans?

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I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. #FamilyMobileSaves #shop #cbias

There are some things we just don’t discuss in my household. One of those things is our HUGE wireless bill. B just gets so frustrated and swears there’s cheap wireless out there. But you see, I rely heavily on my cell phone for work. It has to be reliable. I don’t have the lowest price rate plan by any means. I’ve been with the same company since 1991 and I’ve changed rate plans, added new phones, and watched as my bill steadily increased over the years. But I’m not a fan of change and my actual service is very reliable.

Is that really money growing out of that box? Not technically, but I’ll explain in a bit. 

With each month, I find myself agreeing with B more and more. The cell service is great. The customer service is not. So am I doing myself any favors by sticking with this carrier? Surely I can find something better and I can even port my number. Everything else is on the rise but there are so many wireless providers out there, I was sure I could do better. I hope you’re sitting down, because I’m about to show you WHY this ticks B off so much and why it was time to look for a cheap wireless plan that offers unlimited service.
That’s my May bill from Verizon Wireless. Basically a car payment. You might think this is atypical and surely we went WAY over on everything right?

It’s actually pretty much the norm. And it’s always a surprise. I don’t like surprises. I have set rate plans. We have “almost” unlimited everything. Why does it fluctuate so much? Your guess is as good as mine and when I call about it, they always tell me the charges are justified and that I’m welcome to shop for a new provider when my contracts are up. You know, because they value me as a loyal customer and all. So as a gift to B for Father’s Day, I’m doing my research and I will save us some money. 

After a little online hunting, I came across Walmart Family Mobile. They claim to offer truly unlimited talk, text, and wireless at only $40 per month for the first line, and $35 per line thereafter. Things I love: No contracts, no credit checks, no deposits, and absolutely no overages or hidden costs…EVER! I immediately contacted the folks at Walmart Family Mobile, powered by T-Mobile, and they agreed to send me a Concord so that I could try out their service. If this works out, I would be saving about $140 a month on average for my 5 lines. 
The Concord is a little bigger than my Droid and not quite as powerful, but this phone is being put to the test for service reasons. I need to make sure the service is great, unlimited, and exactly what we want. It’s a great little phone but if I do go with this plan permanently, I’ll bring my phone with me. You can do that too! 
To sign up, all you have to do is head to Walmart, pick up a phone (or bring your own), purchase a Starter Kit for only $25, and have the phone activated. While in store, there is a lot to choose from, which you can see from my shopping trip, but don’t bother yourself with that. I’ve already done my homework. Walmart Family Mobile has the lowest priced rate plan with truly unlimited service. 

You might be asking one question right now. If your bill is already that high and you have 5 phones already, why would you want another one? Well, there are multiple reasons. First, we need to save money because this is a ridiculous monthly expense as it stands. Second, I don’t want to make the swap until I actually test the service level. Third, we don’t have a home phone or computer other than my work computer which no one else touches. So this will serve as our home phone, as internet service for online searches and purchases, and best of all…it will serve as a connection between long-distance siblings! Because I’m so afraid of surprise charges and overages, I limit Bug’s conversations with her sisters in Georgia. It makes her very sad, which makes me very sad. And I don’t let my little reader play online learning games often because I’m afraid we’ll go over those allowances. That makes me a “mean Mommy” and that has got to change!
My little Bug has worked hard this year. She’s made huge behavioral and learning strides. She’s about to graduate from Kindergarten and she deserves a prize. So when she got home from school the other day, I gave her the surprise of her life. Unlimited talk and text time with her big sisters. She was speechless (for once) but that didn’t last long!
She ate her dinner, took her bath, and immediately called sister #1. I love to hear them talk to each other. There may be a 17 year age gap but the love is there and I love to see the sparkle in my baby girl’s eyes when she talks to her.
And then, although her spelling isn’t perfect…yet…she started texting with sister #2. I loved listening to her giggle and helping her read some of the words. Who knew texting would be a motivator for a 6 year old to read better? This momma should have known with as much as the older girls love to text. 
She’s pretty excited that she has a phone to talk as often as she wants, I’m thrilled to be trying out a new wireless provider, and B’s hopeful that I’ll be switching soon and ending his misery as he takes a peek at our current wireless bill each month. 

We’re trying out the service this month, without a contract, and I’ll be back at the end of next month to let you know how it goes. So far so good! Stay tuned.

Who is your wireless carrier? Do you think you have a cheap wireless plan? Is your plan truly unlimited? Are you paying too much? I encourage you to check out Walmart Family Mobile because from what I’ve seen so far, this might truly be the best wireless plan on the market. 
Filed Under: Family, Parenting, Technology Tagged With:

The Baby Isn’t Potty Trained Yet…What’s a Momma to Do?

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Parent’s Choice Overnight Baby Diapers.
This is my baby. But let’s face it, he’s not much of a baby anymore. He’s 4. He’s growing up fast (stop that) and we’re both clinging to his “babyhood” more than I care to admit.
I kind of allow him to be a little boy. Sometimes. But I’m over protective and clingy. The youngest of 4 and my only boy. Yup, he’s my baby. But there are things that I’m kind of tired of. Failed potty training is one of them.
That’s right. Bubby is not fully potty trained yet. There are several reasons for this. 1) He has bladder control and kidney issues. 2) I’m lazy. 3) I’m the world’s worst potty trainer.
My parenting skills don’t stink in general. My kids are fed, our house is clean, they go to school, and always have clean clothes. But the potty training is another thing all together. It’s been the same with all of them. I just “expect” that they’ll know what to do. You have to pee, you use the potty right? Not so much and here’s where I fail. The oldest was potty trained by 12 months old, even at night. The second not until she was 4. It was basically “Look kid, you’re going to pre K next week and the kids will laugh at you.” Best mom of the year award right? The third was mostly potty trained by 2 but still has accidents in the night at the age of 6.
Then there’s Bubby. I can get him through most of the day without incident but the night time is another thing all together. Pull Ups are expensive and they don’t hold the massive spills he has when he has them. So what’s a mom to do?
Parent’s Choice Overnight Baby Diapers, available at Walmart, are an economical choice and very absorbent. I can put him in one of these at night and take comfort in knowing that he will sleep all night and he, and his bed, will remain dry.
The extra absorbent strip keeps my “baby” dry and comfortable. The soft inner liner is hypoallergenic and treated with vitamin E and aloe for skin protection. That’s important to me. My Bubby has extremely sensitive skin and a lot of things break him out. These do not which is an added bonus to their absorbency and value. Parent’s Choice offers the most affordable overnight product on the market. SCORE!
The quality construction is evident and when I initially bought these overnight diapers, I felt confident putting them to the test.
My little man knows that he still needs protection at night so he doesn’t put up a fight. He doesn’t want to wake up in the middle of the night in a wet bed so he’s content in knowing that I’m doing the right thing to assure that he has a comfortable night.
And knowing that my baby will get a good night’s sleep makes this momma sleep a little more comfortably too. Hopefully he’ll outgrow this soon, but until then, I’m happy to know that there is an affordable product on the market that keeps him dry and comfortable all night long.
Night time protection for babies is an important consideration for parents as their little one grows. Ordinary diapers may not have enough absorbent capacity to handle multiple voids over long periods of time with older babies. When wet mornings become the norm, parents start looking for more protection to guard against overnight leaks.
Parent’s Choice Overnight Baby Diapers are super absorbent for overnight and long-trip protection. This is an overnight diaper at prices that everyone can afford!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Parent’s Choice Overnight Baby Diapers. As always, all opinions, ideas, and photos are entirely my own. 
Filed Under: Bubby, Life, Moms, Parenting Tagged With: ,