Day 1:

Day 6: he says he doesn’t like school (which he’s been saying everyday since day 2) and he’s not going. He’s been crying on and off from the moment he wakes up. It just breaks my heart!

Any tips on making this transition and/or drop off a little bit easier?

I see these huge InfoGraphics floating all around Pinterest these days. I wish this one was available back when I was considering my financing options for college! This one was created by Southern New Hampshire University and it’s absolute genius!

I LOVE how it breaks it down into simple terms that any soon-to-be college student can understand. It’s so smart to have something like this available for parents and their kids to discuss when weighing the options.

Student loans seem to be the way most go these days but then accumulate a mountain of debt during the college years. Not to mention the debt incurred if you borrow money to live on too! YIKES! When you lay it all out there it’s clear to see how a little forethought in your financing decisions can save you thousands of dollars down the road. Well worth the few minutes to read this!

So please pass this on! Share it on Facebook and on Twitter with your friends and family. I’m sure they know a new graduate that would appreciate this information. I would have.

Remember last month when I told you about our new dog R.K.? Here’s the update:

Sorry this pic isn’t the best, it’s from a cell phone. The boys aren’t wanting to part with him since we are currently keeping him in the kitchen (it’s the only room without carpet) so they are cuddling up with him in the kitchen floor!

Here he is in my car at school pickup waiting for his best buds to get out of school and play with him!

We decided to take him to the part to play in the huge rain puddles. He LOVED it!

We laughed so hard! I was grateful for the towel I had in the car because he was soaked!

And we finally picked a name! Cody R.K. We feel that we have to keep R.K. because it’s part of his history, but we all agreed on Cody.

Currently we are crate training him and teaching him not to bite things that aren’t his toys. This is gonna be quite a challenge!

So my wireless card went out in my laptop. I don’t even know how to get online old school, so I’ve been armed with only my cell phone. And blogging from my cell phone sucks. Then a few days ago I downloaded Picasa on my cell to compare online photo storage sites. I saw all my blog pics. I wondered if they really needed to be there so I deleted one folder. I checked back to the blog posts and it was still there. Sweet I thought, and went ahead deleting what I thought would be safe back on my blog.

Today when I check out my site all my pics are gone!!! AAARRRGGGGG!!!!! I should have known better! After doing some googling I discovered that the Picasa albums are used for all blogger accounts. Meaning, if you have a Google + account and delete pics from albums there, they will disappear from your Picasa album AND your blog! YIKES!

There are many food bloggers and photography blogs that have recently deleted albums from Google + because they didn’t want all those pics there. They wanted to be able to share personal pics of their kids, family, themselves, etc. When they deleted the images from Google + they disappeared from their blogs! Pissed we are! There is no trash bin to restore, there is no un-delete. We are all screwed.

I wanted to make some changes in 2012 like moving to WordPress, so since my hand has been forced, I’m making the move now. So chances are I’ll be absent for a bit online while I figure out a new blogging platform. If you have any tips/tricks please share them with me on my Facebook Page. It would be much appreciated!

Also, what widgets/plugins in WordPress can you not live without? I need help!!!

Right now you can print off a $0.35 coupon for Carmex! It’s straight from their Facebook page. Click here.

Have you ever thought how to download video and audio from flash players on internet sites like YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo, but didn’t know how to do it? Most programs you’re probably running don’t allow you to save video files from websites like that.

Why would you want to? Maybe you have permission to use a video on your site but you don’t have the embed code. Maybe your kids want the latest Selena Gomez video to watch on their iPod/iTouch (like my Cohen does). JCopia does it all. It will Capture flash video and audio from any website to your computer as files. That way I can put all my kids favorite videos on my computer, then burn it to a DVD or put it on their iPod’s.

Screen Shot of multiple files being downloaded

JCopia detects and begins to download any clip, video, music, radio stream, video stream, Flash game or presentation that is played in your browser. Increase your video and audio collection with ease with JCopia. It’s available for just $17.99!

Want to see it in action? I did! I always look stuff up on YouTube because I need to see it work. Don’t you?

Right now it’s only available for PC, sorry Mac. I’m so excited to use this! My only concern now is the size of my hard drive!

I had the opportunity to try out a new Certified Organic Skin Care line by Miessence. (pronounced my-essence) I had a really great video made that I just needed to edit, but my computer crashed and I somehow lost my videos. Since I used up my sample I cannot re-film it. It makes me sad. I really wanted to show you all the texture of the products. So now you’ll have to settle for my description. I’ll try and make it good!

Miessence is USDA and ACO certified. That is a tough standard to live up to! Here is some quick info from thier site that puts it in perspective:

■Look at the ingredients on all those skin products out there, from moisturizers to sunscreens to shampoos, you’ll find health-threatening chemicals–propylene glycol, parabens, PABA, PEG, and mineral oil everywhere. These chemicals pose real dangers to your health, including cancer. And, sadly they are FDA approved and labeled as healthy.



■Did you know there are no regulations or standards governing the use of “natural” or “organic” on personal care products? The average adult uses 9 personal care products daily exposing them to 126 chemicals every day. Nearly 90 percent of the 10,500 ingredients FDA has determined are used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the CIR, the FDA, or any other publicly accountable institution.**
 
■The ONLY way to verify that a skin and body care product is organic is to see a third party independent certification logo on the product like USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) or ACO (Australian Certified Organic).



■ElyOrganics.com features over 100 effective, truly organic, miessence skin-care, cosmetics, aromatherapy and health care products. No need to wonder if your skin & body care are filled with harmful chemicals. Each product page includes complete ingredients list so you know what you are buying.

Ok, now on to the fun stuff. There are 4 skin care profiles for Miessence skin care lines

•Balancing – normal/combination

•Rejuvenating – dry/mature

•Purifying – oily/problem

•Soothing – sensitive

I picked the Soothing line because my face is always breaking out in red blotches. You are to do it twice daily to receive maximum benefits. It’s a 3 step program:

Cleanse: Gently press the face with a warm, soft cloth to soften and prepare the skin for cleansing. Massage one or two pumps of cleanser into your face and neck. Remove with a damp cloth and plenty of water. If wearing make-up, a second cleanse is necessary. Conditioning: On clean moist skin, massage 2 to 3 pumps of conditioner gently onto face, throat and decolletage. Moisturize: Apply one to two pumps of your moisturizer to the palm of your hand then pat and press gently onto your face, throat and decolletage.

Pros: Works like a dream. My skin didn’t react whatsoever. Which was kinda shocking for me. Something always causes a reaction, but this didn’t. It also make my sking feel really clean and taught, and ladies…taught is good!
 
Cons: The scent. It wasn’t bad really, I just couldn’t see myself using it day after day. I didn’t like the smell of it at all. The Cleanser wasn’t so bad, it was the Conditioner. It didn’t stink by any means, it just smelled strongly of herbs/spices type of stuff.

Bottom Line: Would I buy it? If I was dedicated to only using organic products and especially on things that go into my body then YES! This is CERTIFIED organic! That’s impressive! However, the cost is up there. For the 3 pack of Soothing products pictured above the price $106.50. That is way out of my budget. So no for me, but yes if I could afford it. Hope that clears it up!

They have much more than just skin care, they have cosmetics, hair care, stuff for baby & mom, body/oral care, essential oils, perfumes, health care and household products!

I like to use essential oils in my homemade cleaning products and in my cloth diaper wash.

Like Ely Organics on Facebook to be notified of when they have a sale going on!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

I came across this video somehow and it really tore at my heartstrings. My oldest 2 boys are now 5 and almost 8, but my baby is 21 months. I’ve been thinking about turning his seat back around because it’s now forward facing.