Up until recently, I had never heard of the Only Hearts Club. The Only Hearts Club are real dolls for real girls. There are eight culturally diverse dolls. They dress like real kids, are poseable, and are nine inches tall. Their names are: Taylor Angelique, Karina Grace, Olivia Hope, Briana Joy, Lily Rose, Anna Sophia, Kayla Rae and Hannah Faith. These girls form a club together called the Only Hearts Club and their motto is to “listen to your heart and do the right thing.” For our house, these fit perfectly into Madison’s dollhouse. There is another kind of doll out there that I cannot stand (I won’t name it), but these are a welcome alternative! I love the positive message they are sending out to little girls. They also have soft bodies which is great in my house (not that the kids are going to whack one another with them, but you never know).
They also have a line a books for your daughters to enjoy. We have the hardcover It’s Hard To Say Good-bye book. The book about one of the girls losing her dog. One of the other girls goes to find another puppy for her and falls in love with the puppy herself. I won’t tell you about the rest of the story, but it is about how the Only Hearts Club came about. It is a cute short story and just the right length to hold young girls attention spans. It also taught some morals without being obvious about it.
They even have Only Hearts Pets. They are 2 1/2 inches tall and really cute. They are really soft and each pet has its own name. It also comes with a backpack clip. The paws of each animal also have Velcro on them, so you are able to have them hold small objects like a pen or you can create a bracelet with secerql of them. There are all sorts of pets also: dogs, cats, monkeys, cows, pigs, frogs, and elephants.
All of these Only Hearts Club products are perfect for the little girls you have in your life. They can be found at Target or online at The Only Hearts Club. The Only Hearts Books retail at $3.99 each. The Only Hearts Club dolls retail at $15.99 each, and the Only Hearts Pets retail at $3.49 each. These prices make this a very affordable present this holiday season.
Have you heard of Bake Me A Wish! before? Bake Me A Wish! provides freshly baked occasional cakes for all seasons and celebrations. They deliver the cakes overnight in an elegant box with a personalized gift card. Now, you cannot leave their site without being hungry. I know that I wouldn’t mind a few of those cakes being sent to my house! They all look so good. Granted, I may need to walk on a treadmill after that, but it’s all in the name of research, right?
The reason I am including them in my gift guide this year is because of what else they do. When you order a cake from them, they send an identical cake to a soldier in Iraq for their birthday. 5% of all their orders is used to assist their efforts in sending gourmet occasion cakes to soldiers overseas. Now, if you know someone over in Iraq who wouldn’t mind a gourmet birthday cake, make sure you forward their name to them. I found myself tearing up just reading all the thank yous from soldiers receiving their cakes.
If you need a birthday cake, make sure you check out Bake Me A Wish! and see if you can help send a soldier a cake!
I never buy myself anything, and I know that most moms are like me. We buy everything for our families, and we take care of ourselves last. The last winter coat that I got was when I was in high school (and I graduated in 1995). I was definitely needing a new coat this year, and my Lands End Women’s Weatherly Jacket fit the bill. The first thing I loved about the jacket was that it was not bulky. I am a heavier person, and trust me when I say this, I don’t need any more bulk than I already have. Now, even though the jacket is not bulky, it is still super warm (and this jacket was put to the test today when it was snowing out this afternoon). The second thing I love is the fabric it is made from. It is very comfortable; I could easily go to bed wearing this jacket. I also have short arms, and I am able to adjust the jacket at the wrists. For those who don’t have that issue, you have no idea what a pain it is to own clothing and coats that constantly covers your hands. The pockets are fleece lined, and you also have side entry handwarmer pockets (and since I don’t like to carry a purse, these pockets come in super handy). There also is an inside mp3 player pocket and some security pockets. Lastly, there are a ton of colors to pick from. I personally like blue, so that is what I got.
If you or a loved one needs a new coat this year, definitely make sure you check out Lands End. You cannot go wrong with this brand!
Even though we are heading into winter in the United States, you really need to think about sunscreen. My husband would not listen to me yesterday when I told him to put on sunscreen before the Chicago Bears football game, and guess what? He came home with a sunburn. Once there is snow on the ground, it is even easier to get a sunburn even in the middle of winter. You always need to wear sunscreen no matter what the season is.
Now, my husband has a lotion issue. He cannot stand touch lotion, having it on his skin, or applying it to our children. No, he is not trying to get out of sunlotioning our children — it just really grosses him out. That is why when I came across Kinesys I knew we had to try it. What I found is that this is a winner in our house. The microspray formula is super easy to apply. You just spray it on your arm (or whatever body part you are applying it to), and that’s it! You don’t have to rub it in at all. However, it was easier for us to apply to our kids faces (since my kids are little) by spraying it on our hands first and then applying it. It is super awesome for applying to their scalps, because it didn’t make their hair greasy (and I personally think that is the worst sunburn ever, because until that sunburn goes away, it hurt to even comb your hair). It is free of four important things – oil, alcohol, preservatives, and PABA. This won’t irritate your skin — even if you have sensitive skin. It also is water and sweat resistant which is great for kids too! It is also non-comedogenic (meaning it won’t clog your pores, so you don’t have to worry about acne breakouts). It also gives you broad spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB rays.
I found that my kids could handle the few seconds it took to apply this. There was no fighting, because it was so easy to apply. It was on before they ever even knew it, and it recently won the Parent Tested, Parent Approved Award. It was also chosen as the #1 spray sunscreen for high efficacy and low hazard ingredients by the watchdog group Environmental Working Group. The bottles also come in awesome bright colors that make it much easier to find in your house and the kids love. Make sure you check out Kinesys for your sunscreen needs!
Well, the first question you need to ask yourself is how fast do you type? Personally, I type pretty darn fast (over 70 wpm). However, what Dragon Naturally Speaking does for you is allows you to talk, and it types what you say. You do need to “say” the paragraph breaks and punctuation. However, you end up with typing 150 words per minute! Most people I know cannot type that fast! It makes it much easier to generate more content in less time too. I know when I am composing a post like this I am actually saying the words in my head anyway. However, my head works faster than my fingers. That is why I love this product. Do you do podcasts? You can use Dragon to convert your podcasts into a transcript that you can also post on your site! There are just so many uses that I can come up with for this. I know people who use this and absolutely loved it including the New York times (click here for the NY Times Review of DNS10). Some other uses include people with disabilities such as dyslexia and even people with carpal tunnel who can’t type anymore. Heck, I’ve heard that John McCain doesn’t use the computer due to his injuries suffered when he was a POW. This is would even be helpful for him!
If you would like to see this in action, watch the videos below:
Don’t you want one of these to make your blogging easier?
Up until recently, I had never heard of the Only Hearts Club. The Only Hearts Club are real dolls for real girls. There are eight culturally diverse dolls. They dress like real kids, are poseable, and are nine inches tall. Their names are: Taylor Angelique, Karina Grace, Olivia Hope, Briana Joy, Lily Rose, Anna Sophia, Kayla Rae and Hannah Faith. These girls form a club together called the Only Hearts Club and their motto is to “listen to your heart and do the right thing.” For our house, these fit perfectly into Madison’s dollhouse. There is another kind of doll out there that I cannot stand (I won’t name it), but these are a welcome alternative! I love the positive message they are sending out to little girls. They also have soft bodies which is great in my house (not that the kids are going to whack one another with them, but you never know).
They also have a line a books for your daughters to enjoy. We have the hardcover It’s Hard To Say Good-bye book. The book about one of the girls losing her dog. One of the other girls goes to find another puppy for her and falls in love with the puppy herself. I won’t tell you about the rest of the story, but it is about how the Only Hearts Club came about. It is a cute short story and just the right length to hold young girls attention spans. It also taught some morals without being obvious about it.
They even have Only Hearts Pets. They are 2 1/2 inches tall and really cute. They are really soft and each pet has its own name. It also comes with a backpack clip. The paws of each animal also have Velcro on them, so you are able to have them hold small objects like a pen or you can create a bracelet with secerql of them. There are all sorts of pets also: dogs, cats, monkeys, cows, pigs, frogs, and elephants.
Have you heard of Bake Me A Wish! before? 
Even though we are heading into winter in the United States, you really need to think about sunscreen. My husband would not listen to me yesterday when I told him to put on sunscreen before the Chicago Bears football game, and guess what? He came home with a sunburn. Once there is snow on the ground, it is even easier to get a sunburn even in the middle of winter. You always need to wear sunscreen no matter what the season is.
