Sensa update week 28

This week I started month 1 sprinkles again and it must have kick started something as I've lost 2.1 pounds this week.

Three days ago I gave up diet soda, I'm going to try and go without it for 2 weeks and see if this will make a huge difference. The diet coke was my sweet for the day, but so far I'm not craving it. I bought green tea and green tea with orange to have something else to drink than water. Am loving the taste of it!

I googled foods that increase your metabolism and I bought grapefruits and almonds. I already have oranges but I'll make sure I eat 1 a day. Let's see if that makes a difference too.

I'm feeling great! One of my rings actually needs to be made smaller as it might come off!

I worked out on the Wii yesterday (Jillian Michaels) for 15 minutes only (I know, not a lot but you need to start somewhere right?) and I can tell you I'm feeling it today, my legs are stiff! No workout today but will do another one tomorrow!

Talk to you soon,

Here's our progress for the week:

9/23: -2.5
9/30: -3.8
10/7: -1.7
10/14: - 3
10/21: -1
10/28: -0.6

11/4: +0.1

11/11: -2.2

11/18: -0.6

11/25: -2

12/2: -1.3

12/9: -1

12/16: +0.6

12/23: -1.5

12/30: -1

1/6: -1

1/13: -0.8

1/20: -2

1/27: -1.7

2/3: -1.5

2/10: -1

2/17: +1

2/24:-2

3/3: -0.5

3/10: -2.4

3/17: -0.9

3/24: +0.3

3/31: -2.1
total Sensa weight loss: 36.1
total weight loss: 48.1

9/23: -4.2
9/30: -1
10/7: -1.2
10/14: -2
10/21: - 1.4
10/18: -1.8

11/4: -0.4

11/11: -0.6

11/18: -1.4

11/25: +0.4

12/2: -0.2

12/9: -0.4

12/16: +0.4

12/23: -1.4

12/30: -0.2

1/6: +0.8

1/13: didn't weigh

1/20: -0.4

1/27: -2.2

2/3: -0.4

2/10: +0.2

2/17: -1.2

2/24: -0.8

3/3: -1.2

3/10: +0.4

3/17: -0.2

3/24: +0.4

3/31: +0.2
total Sensa weight loss: 18.6
total weight loss: 25.6

Wordless Wednesday

I'm longing for sunshine or the Summer (or a trip to Hawaii would be good too!)

Spunky Sprout review and giveaway

The winner for this amazing poof is...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

30 

Timestamp: 2010-04-20 15:21:15 UTC

And this is Andrea V.. I've sent you an email to confirm.

Thanks all for entering this giveaway and reading my blog.

================================================================

Oh readers, I'm so excited to share the following company with you!!! If you've been reading some of the other mom blogs out there, then I'm sure you've heard of Spunky Sprout!

About Spunky Sprout:

SpunkySprout.com really is a one-stop shopping for modern, unique and colorful products for kids with fabulous style and their parents. For babies from birth to 6 years old, there are plenty of treats for Mom and Dad too. This store is also the best place to find exceptional, must-have lifestyle gifts from Europe and America.

Filled with fresh, new and up-to-the-minute home furnishings, toys, clothes and accessories for your sprout, SpunkySprout.com features decor and an aesthetic that will appeal to parents everywhere.

Spunky Sprout has been featured in the following media: InStyle, Cookie, Dwell, Celebrity Babies, Bust, Baby Couture,...

Spunky Sprout is also devoted to using their company's success to help children in need. They are supporters of REACH THE CHILDREN, providing underprivileged children in Africa opportunities for self-reliance by strengthening families and communities.

There's something for everybody in this store.

Just have a look around and check out the shoes, very cool beds, maternity clothes, bedding.

I am in love with some of the girl's dresses they have, see below for a couple of my favorites:

I love this A butterfly swing dress (left) and the Kleine Meisje dress (yep, that means little girl dress). Being from Europe (I was born in Belgium, lived in Holland for 6 years before moving here 5 years ago) I can't wait to look around in this store some more.

I've been looking for a long time for some wall stickers for Abby's room and ordered them before I knew about Spunky Sprout.

How cool are these wall stickers?

When I was younger (way younger) I used to have a poof, I'm not sure what happened to it but I forgot about it until I saw this poof on the Spunky Sprout site. Well, mine wasn't this cool, but I remember having lots of fun with it. How cool are the colors and the design???

This is the Square Vinyl Mini Poof by ZidZid. They're made from embroidered high quality vinyl (very easy to clean, just wipe off the mess) and they are filled with recycled cotton (not millions of little white balls).

The dimension is 12"x12"x12" and sell for the price of $78.

Are you drooling yet??

Well, you should be! Are you ready for this???

Spunky Sprout has very generously offered to give away one of these poofs to 1 lucky reader (winner's choice of color)! I am super jealous, if I could enter my own giveaway I certainly would!

As a mandatory entry, please sign up for their newsletter and let me know the email used so we can check.

Additional entries: (make sure to do the mandatory entry or other entries won't count)

* follow Spunky Sprout on Facebook (leave user name in comment)

* follow Spunky Sprout on Twitter (leave username in comment)

* subscribe to my blog (leave email used)

* follow my blog

* add my button to your blog (leave URL)

* blog about this giveaway, linking back to this giveaway AND Spunky Sprout (10 separate entries, leave URL)

* follow me on twitter (leave username in comment)

* tweet about this giveaway (leave tweet link, can be done once per day)

The deadline for this giveaway is 4/16/10 11:59 PM PST. The winner will then be picked by Random Integer, emailed and announced at the top of this post.

The giveaway is open to US and Canada.

"Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for this review, I just couldn't wait to share this store with my readers! Again, this review is based on my opinions and they might differ from others"

CPSC recalls

For more info on the recall, click on the link.

Sport Obermeyer Ltd. Voluntarily Recalls Girls' Jackets with Drawstrings at the Waist Due to Entrapment Hazard

Wrapt Around

Later this week I will be writing a review (and there might be a surprise in it for my one of my readers) on an Etsy Store called Wrapt Around.

Yep, you need to wait a little while longer!

Orient Automatic watch giveaway

Head on over to The Fashionable Housewife for a chance to win the gorgeous Orient Automatic watch from Orient Watch USA.

Deadline for the giveaway is April 4.

cardboard playhouse giveaway

I'm trying to win a shuttle playhouse for the kids. What a great idea!

For a chance to win, head on over to Mommy Mandy and enter. The deadline for this giveaway is April 9th.

And another chance over at Flying Giggles and Lollipops!

Deadline April 11th.

Le Creuset giveaway!

I love Creuset, have a couple of pots and a wok and am crossing my fingers to win a baking dish.

We have the dark blue in our house but I'm in love with this color in the picture!

Head on over to My Brain Is Inside Out for a chance to win a choice of Creuset!

This giveaway will end tomorrow the 29th at 8 PM.

Caress Evenly Gorgeous review

As a busy mom of 3, I love to have mommy time once in a while. One of my favorite things to do is to unwind in the bath with a good book and some candles. A couple of weeks ago I was sent a bottle of the new Caress Evenly Gorgeous exfoliating body wash and a evenly gorgeous exfoliating beauty bar to try out.

Caress makes skin the ultimate fashion statement with the introduction of the Caress Skinwear Collection. Caress gives you gorgeous skin, right out of the shower, that you will flaunt just like the season's hottest styles.

Now they have the "NEW" Evenly Gorgeous Exfoliating body wash & beauty bar that will leave your skin smooth and even toned.

The body wash is made with burnt brown sugar and Karite butter and absolutely smells heavenly! It gently exfoliates and moisturizes at the same time. I have one of those poof things where I put a dab onto so it lather more. I'm all into bubbles and lots of foam.

I love the feeling of my skin after I've used this product, it feels way smoother and fresh.

Now for the bar. This bar is also made with the burnt brown sugar and Karite butter and smells delicious BUT I'm not a fan of bars, they just are slippy and leave a mess everywhere. I wanted to try it and let you know what I think. If I have to compare the 2 I think the body wash does a better job. The little sugar bits that are in the soap bar don't really exfoliate as good as the body wash does but then again, it might also be cause I'm not really a soap bar fan.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to flaunt my skin after using this product (maybe in the Summer I will be ready) but with the body wash I do feel my skin feels fresher.

"Disclaimer: I was sent a complimentary sample of the body wash and beauty bar to use for my honest opinion in this review. As usual, these are my opinions and they might differ from others"

CPSC recalls

Girls’ Hooded Jackets with Drawstrings Recalled by Bubblegum USA Due to Strangulation Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Burlington Coat Factory

Girls’ Hooded Sweatshirts with Drawstrings Recalled by Liberty Apparel Due to Strangulation Hazard

Girls’ Hooded Sweaters with Drawstrings Recalled by Children’s Apparel Network Due Strangulation Hazard

Infantino Recalls to Replace SlingRider Baby Slings; Three Infant Deaths Reported

Sensa update week 27

We went to the zoo yesterday and walked for 4 hours. Oh man, we were tired when we got home.

It was great fun, the sun was out, not too cold and most of the animals were out, although a lot of them were sleeping.

We went out for dinner last Friday with another couple and had a great time, drank too many mango margaritas I guess, cause this week I gained 0.3. I know, it's not a lot but if you want the scale to keep going down than any weight gain is too much.

One thing I regret is that I never took my measurements in September as I've lost so many inches everywhere. It's not really about the scale alone, the inches is what counts too.

I feel great, the sun is out and I can't wait to lose more weight.

For some of my readers that were asking about the sprinkling in public. It took me a while to get used to it but now I don't mind at all anymore. I always have my shaker in my handbag (well, I forgot it twice).

Sensa listened to their customers and have come up with a solution for this. Also if you're at work and don't have access to your bag all the time, Sensa has come up with Sensa Slims on-the-go packets.

These packets are the perfect way to stick with Sensa when you're away from home. You can keep these in your desk, pocket, purse or car.

Easy to take with you to a restaurant, movies,...

These packets are pre-portioned for one meal. I know when I started my journey in September I wasn't sure how much to sprinkle but these packets make sure you sprinkle enough.

Each box contains 20 salty packets and 10 sweet packets.

Here's our progress for the week:

9/23: -2.5
9/30: -3.8
10/7: -1.7
10/14: - 3
10/21: -1
10/28: -0.6

11/4: +0.1

11/11: -2.2

11/18: -0.6

11/25: -2

12/2: -1.3

12/9: -1

12/16: +0.6

12/23: -1.5

12/30: -1

1/6: -1

1/13: -0.8

1/20: -2

1/27: -1.7

2/3: -1.5

2/10: -1

2/17: +1

2/24:-2

3/3: -0.5

3/10: -2.4

3/17: -0.9

3/24: +0.3
total Sensa weight loss: 34
total weight loss: 46

9/23: -4.2
9/30: -1
10/7: -1.2
10/14: -2
10/21: - 1.4
10/18: -1.8

11/4: -0.4

11/11: -0.6

11/18: -1.4

11/25: +0.4

12/2: -0.2

12/9: -0.4

12/16: +0.4

12/23: -1.4

12/30: -0.2

1/6: +0.8

1/13: didn't weigh

1/20: -0.4

1/27: -2.2

2/3: -0.4

2/10: +0.2

2/17: -1.2

2/24: -0.8

3/3: -1.2

3/10: +0.4

3/17: -0.2

3/24: +0.4
total Sensa weight loss: 18.8
total weight loss: 25.8

See Kai Run giveaway

I'm trying to win a pair of Marian sandals from See Kai Run for Abby for the Summer. For a chance to win a pair of shoes from See Kai Run or the Smaller collection, head on over to Two Of A Kind, Working On A Full House.

PicPocket Books for the iTouch

With both of my older kids on the Cascadia Swimming team, Abby and myself sometimes have to sit on the bleachers for a while during practice.

Normally we walk but when it rains I try to keep her busy.

I was happily surprised when I was contacted by PicPocket Books to try out some of their picture books for the iPhone, iTouch. Children ages 2-8 can now enjoy their favorite stories on the go.

About PicPocket Books:

PicPocket Books brings quality children’s picture book literature to digital media. Now, children can enjoy their favorites stories on-the-go, even when they do not have a physical book to read.

PicPocket Books offer a unique and new experience, combining the beauty of quality picture books with audio recordings and interactive visual text. This combination enables independent enjoyment for children regardless of reading level, subtle support for early readers, and nostalgic fun for adults.

Whether standing in a grocery line, taking a car trip, or waiting in a doctor’s office, PicPocket Books provide personal, interactive story experiences. The books can be downloaded with one click or tap, and provide educational and entertainment value to children and adults alike.

Your PicPocket Book is a perfect complement to regular story time with parents or grandparents, and a gentle alternative to flashy, fast-paced digital media time.

I was send the following Apps to try out with Abby:

• Oh, Crumps
• Cucumber Soup
• I Can Do It Too
• Peterkin Meets a Star
• Tractors

"I Can Do It Too" by Karen Baicker, illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max

Age: 4-8

This is the story of a little girl who wants to do things too!

Like her dad pouring juice and never spilling a drop or grandma who bakes a chocolate cake. Or her sister who puts on her clothes by herself. Plenty of situations that kids want to do too!

This reminds me a little of Abby who started trying to do everything by herself!

"Oh, Crumps" by Lee Bock, illustrated by Morgan Midgett.

Age: 6-10

This is the story of farmer Felandro who has to get some sleep as he has plenty of chores to do the next morning.

As the farmer tries to fall asleep he keeps getting up to tend to the goats, the dogs, the cows...

Abby's a little young for this one as it reads the text to you and she's more into the interactive stories. Jamie loves this one more.

This book has hidden sounds in it!

"Peterkin Meets a Star" by Emilie Boon, Age:2-5

This book is a sweet story of a little boy who takes a winter walk in the snow, and plucks a star out of the sky to take home. This story is told with colorful images and simple sentences and is perfect for small children.

What's also great about this story is that you can touch the sparkling star and it snows in the story.

Abby loves this one a lot as it has a cute little bunny!!

"Cucumber Soup" by Vickie Leigh Krudwig, illustrated by Craig McFarland Brown. Age: 4-8

This is the enchanting tale about a community and teamwork from the perspective of ants.

Children will learn about working together and how to count. The story involves other insects (ladybugs, spiders, bees...) and a giant cucumber. The story goes on and explains also about the importance of insects and what influence they have.

And the fun thing? There's a recipe at the end for cucumber soup!

"Big Stuff: Tractors" by Robert Gould. Age: 2-6

In this book, kids can check out tractors on the farm and at construction sites. Young children will love the huge wheels, heavy hitches.

I initially thought this App would be more for boys, but Abby actually likes this one as she can touch the tractors and they will make sound.

These books are not only great for on the bleachers but Abby has played with them in the car on the way to swim meets or a friends house!

For more books to download, check out the PickPocket Books website!

Download at the Apple App Store

Only $0.99 - $3.99 per Book.

To keep updated on new releases, check out their blog.

You can fan them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

Thanks PicPocket Books for the chance to review these books with Abby!

"Disclaimer: I was sent 5 PicPocket Books to use for this review. I receibved no other compensation and the opinions are solely mine and might differ from others!"