Do you have problems taking pictures of yourself with others? Do you find your arm ending up in the shot? Do you find that you aren’t in any shot, because you are always taking the picture? Do you find that you and your subject have to pose awkwardly just to get you both in the picture?  (Thanks to Christine for use of her arm picture).

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you need to get an xShot.  What is an Xshot?

XShot is a telescopic stainless-steel rod that adds three feet of reach to any point-and-shoot or hand-held video camera. It is super easy to use. All you need to do is screw your camera into the Xshot to get to work. No screwdriver is required! You can make the xShot 9 inches all the way up to 37 inches. Want to see how easy it works? (Thank you Julie for the pictures!)

The first picture shows you how the xShot works. The second picture shows the actual picture that was taken. Its pretty awesome, isn’t it?  Wouldn’t it be nice to be on vacation and not have to ask a stranger to take your picture?  I personally found it super easy to easy.  I had no problem putting my Cybershot camera on there and taking lots of awesome pictures (unfortuntaly, my camera is broke, and I can’t get any of my pictures off.  I am waiting for a cable to fix this problem from Sony).  My fear was that I wasn’t going to be able to take steady pictures.  It was actually super easy.  I had absolutely no problems with it.  I found the xShot super lightweight (it’s only 5 oz).

When can you use this?  Some perfect times would be when you are traveling, hiking, camping, vacation, the beach, parties, concerts, sports events, etc.  I know that the xShot will be an item that will come with us no matter where we go!

Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics announced today that children should get double the usually recommended amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it may help prevent serious diseases?  What does this mean?  Millions children will need to take vitamin D supplements to reach the new recommendation of 400 units daily (up from 200).

I know there are parents all around who are wondering how to get this additional amount of Vitamin D now into their children.  The best source of vitamin D is sunlight because the body makes vitamin D when sunshine hits the skin.  However, if you like in a state like me (Illinois), we don’t often go out in the winter, because it is way too cold.  The only way most children are going to be able to get this much vitamin D is too supplement it.

I luck out that my daughter takes vitamins without a problem.  However, my cousin’s daughter will not take anything.  An easy way to get the vitamins into your kids is to use Emergen-C Kidz Complete Multi Vitamin and Multi Mineral Supplements.  For kids 4 and older, all you do is add a packet of Emergen-C Kidz to 4 - 6 ounces of water and stir.  For kids 2-3, use a half a packet with 2-4 oz of water.  Emergen-C Kidz has 24 essential nutrients including choline, 500 mg of vitamin C, and 400 IU of vitamin D.  It also has beta carotene, vitamin E, zinc, iron, and phosphorus (there are several more vitamins too!).  If you notice, Emergen-C Kidz offers more health boosting vitamin C than the leading brand to help support their immune systems.  It is available in major grocery stores and drug chains and in health food stores.

This passed the kid test in my house.  We tried the orange pineapple explosion, and Madison drank it in one sitting.  She like the flavor and wanted more after she was finished.  If that flavor doesn’t sound like something you’d be interested in, this also comes in Strawnana Berry and Cherry Yumberry (ok, I can’t even type that without giggling a little.  Your kids will love those name as much as I do.

Your kids will like their fizzy drink and think they are getting a treat, and you, as a mom, will know that they are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need.  I promise, I’ll keep it our little secret.

I personally have a lot on my plate.  I am a mom, a freelancer, and a blogger with 5 blogs.  My free time is limited, and now that I am getting older, I am finding that my mind is not as good as it use to be.  When I saw ListPlanIt, I knew this was something I could definitely use!  I swear that this site has every kind of list you could ever need (my mother would be in heaven here — she loves making lists!).  I have to admit that my most favorite list had to be the grocery shopping one.  It allowed me to organize my shopping list, so I wouldn’t be running all over the store finding what I need.  It made me categorize each item I needed, so when I was in that department, I was able to get everything in one shot.  It is amazing how something so simple can save you a lot of time.  The second set of lists that I love is the time management ones.  Who can’t use a little help with time management?  You can do everything from a year in advance to daily routine planning.  I like being to write down what reviews I want to do, so I don’t miss anything.  There is even a weekly planner with meals!  I am in love with the meal planning lists.  There are just so many lists here, and I can find a use for almost all of them!  I literally could go on and on and on.

Now, can you use website that will help you organize your life?  (Seriously, who can’t?)  If so, I have the best giveaway for you.  ListPlanIt will give the winner a Quarterly Membership to their site to check it out.  Once you start using these lists, you will find it addicting.  What do you need to do to win?

Each one of these things will give you one entry:

1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know which lists you think you would use the most.
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
3. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
4. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc.

For 5 additional entries,

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

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Good luck! This contest will end Oct. 6, 2008 at 8:00 PM CST.

Teddy Bear’s Fun to Learn First 1000 Words is book that is great for all little ones. My 4 year old enjoys it just as much as my 1 year old. Granted, you won’t find las vegas hotels in here. However, there is pretty much everything else. Each page in the book has a theme (like the beach). It lists the theme and a ton of items to go with it (for example, the beach pages show things like sunscreen, water wings, sailboat, beachball, etc). There is also a picture in the center of the page with all the miscellaneous items.  There is also a short poem asking you questions about the theme.  Will (my one year old) just likes to look at everything and go “ohhhh”.  Madison (my 4 year old) enjoys looking at the pictures and telling us what each thing is.  She likes to answer the questions for us too.  My only complaint is that the pages are paper which are a little to easy for Will to rip.

This book is great because your little ones can use it as they grow older.  I would definitely purchase it a birthday, baby shower, and/or Christmas gift.  The little ones who you are getting for will get a lot of use out of it!

This book by Cecil Alexander takes the popular saying we all know:  “All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful . . .” and illustrates it.  Besides the first couple of lines, I did not realize there was more to the poem (or whatever you want to call it).  However, the illustrations in All Things Bright and Beautiful are really nice.  When I read this book to my kids, it reminds me to enjoy life and quit worrying if my business should change hosting companies or use authorize.net. The pictures in here allow your children to really make up their own stories beyond the words on the page, and what more could you want from a book?

I swear my husband has the most disgusting vehicle ever.  I have often talked about what crappy gas mileage we get with the Jeep, but I have never talked about how gross and filthy it gets.  It is nasty.  Bill works a lot of time on job sites.  Now, this can mean everything from buildings already done to those that are just breaking ground.  He also carries a lot of tools and supplies for the guys in there.  Needless to say, his Jeep has a layer of dirt in there that I didn’t think was possible to clean off.

Turtle Wax ICE™ Total Interior Care came to the rescue.  I know when I think of Turtle Wax, I always think of the great job they do on the outside of our vehicles.  However, they do as great of a job on the inside too.  You know that layer of muck I was just talking about — gone.  It didn’t take much elbow grease either!  Our 5 year old Jeep looks almost brand new on the inside with its cleanliness.  I am impressed and I don’t mind sitting in the Jeep now.

It doesn’t get easier than this to use either:

· It is best to apply wax on surfaces between 55 and 85 degrees

· Apply the wax to soft, cotton, damp cloth and apply to the surface to be protected. Use a separate cloth to remove the wax

· Wax should be reapplied when water beading diminishes

The other cool thing with the Turtle Wax ICE™ Total Interior Care is that it has so many uses besides your car.  First, try this on your patio furniture.  It’ll keep the dust, dirt, and grime off it, and keep it looking like you just bought it.  My favorite — use it in the bathroom.  You can say goodbye to soap scum.  In the kitchen, you can use it to remove stains from appliances and other kitchen surfaces (like my old crappy countertops).   It will also clean stains on carpets and leather furniture!

There are so many uses for Turtle Wax ICE™ Total Interior Care that it is definitely worth every cent you pay for it.  You’ll be finding yourself running out to get more quite quickly when you see how good it works.