Have a Very Merry Christmas With EdenFantasys

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Wordless Wednesday - The Adventures of Nipper Twinkletoes & Snowflake

Nipper Twinkletoes and Snowflake have come to visit, we never know where they'll show up!

One Stop Christmas 11/29-12/6 - Morphology

 

Welcome to the One Stop Christmas Hop! We've teamed up with Mama to 3 Blessings and a lot of wonderful other bloggers to bring you great giveaways worth $25 or more just in time for Christmas! We want to make this holiday season as easy as possible for you and what better way to kick things off then by winning some gifts? To make it even easier, all of the blogs will be running their giveaways through Rafflecopter to make entering simple! The more you enter, the more chances you have to win!

We're offering one Lucky winner a copy of Morphology from Morphology Games, a $29.99 value. You can find or review of Morphology here

What's Under Our Tree - Morphology Bringing Family Game Night Back

Morphology is a fun, creative and challenging party board game combining simple shapes, your imagination and creativity. Using wooden sticks, glass beads and colored cubes how would you create a butterfly or airplane. Morphology takes unique twists and turns, and has everyone laughing out loud. Morphology is a  new twist on a classic party game that's perfect for the whole family! Draw a word from the deck of cards and "build" the word using the items provided--string, colored blocks, marbles and more! The real challenge comes when you are forced to build with your eyes closed, with only one hand or limited to string only. Can your family and friends guess what you built?

Morphology is a great new twist on Pictionary and it's fun for the entire family! We received a copy of Morphology from Morphology Games to review and we've had a great time seeing everyone's creative interpretations of the cards they draw. Butterflies are hard to make with only sticks and string! Morphology is so fun, that you may be able to actually pull your kids away from the TV or video games for a bit to join you in a game.You could even break out Morphology for a more "grown up" gathering, I have a feeling things may get a little more creative after an adult beverage or two!

Morphology has won numerous awards including : 

• Top Ten Game to Help Get a Party Started - ChicagoTribune
• #2 Toy of the Year - TIMES Top Ten Toys
• 2011 Game of the Year - Timberdoodle Co

How to Purchase

Morphology would make a great gift for anyone on your holiday list this year and is available at Barnes and Nobel and Amazon.com for just $29.99.

How to Win

I'm really excited to announce that Morphology is our sponsor for The One Stop Christmas Hop! They'll be offering one Lucky Life Unexpected: Adventures of a SAHM a chance to win their own copy of Morphology to help get the party started at their home! Just check back November 29 - December 6th for your chance to win!

I received one or more of the above mentioned products in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation for this post and my opinion was not influenced in any way. Please see our Disclosure policy for more information.

Merry Little Christmas Cyber Monday Giveaway Event

Hi, and Welcome to the Merry Little Christmas Cyber Monday Giveaway Event! I'm so excited to be hosting my first ever giveaway hop, and I'd like to thank the great ladies who have joined up with me (especially those last minute additions)! Take some time to visit all of the wonderful blogs that have joined us and enter to great giveaways valued at $25 or more that they have to offer you!

Here on Life Unexpected, we have two prize packages to give away. That's right, we'll have 2 winners! Special thanks goes to our Amazing sponsors, Kristina Johnson, Scentsy Independent Director and Howard B. Wigglebottom Books for offering these great giveaways! Make Sure to check out our Sponsor Spotlights to find out about the great products or sponsors have to offer!

Prize #1 - Something for the Adults

Your choice of full size Scentsy Warmer and 3 wax bars a $49 value!

 

Prize Pack #2 - Something for the Kids

Scentsy Buddy with Scent Pak & Autographed Howard B. WiggleBottom Book

How to Enter

This giveaway is open to US residents ages 18 and over. Please enter using the Rafflecoper below, only entries in the Rafflecopter will be counted. All entries will be verified. Good Luck!

Howard B. Wigglebottom - The Power Of Giving Chrismas Story

Howard B. Wigglebottom animated books, songs, posters and non-violent games, are assisting 4-8 year old children to feel good about themselves. They help children to learn important lessons about listening, bullying, anger management, moderation, truth, divorce, peer pressure, belonging, generosity, sportsmanship and attention.In the Howard B. Wigglebottom books, Howard, an adorable bunny is faced with difficult situations, but always ends up learning an important lesson along the way. 

In Howard B. Wigglebottom and The Power of Giving, a Christmas Story, even though Howard is surrounded by toys and material things, he's busy making a Christmas list for Santa that's a mile long. Howard is obsessed with material things, but can't stay happy for long. Of course the only way to fill the void that Howard feels is more toys! 

Howard and his mother are going on a trip to visit family, and she makes sure to tell him to pack lots of warm clothes so he won't be cold while they're away. Instead of listening to his mother, Howard fills his sack with toys and as they board the train his sack gets stuck and his toys fly everywhere! When Howard tries to gather his belongings the train leaves the station and Howard finds himself cold and alone with no place to stay. 


On his search for home Howard, a group of birds come along that think Howard is Santa, and try to help him with his things, but Howard is so focused on himself that he thinks the birds want to steal his toys! When he realizes that the birds want to help him because they have no place of their own Howard feels sad  ashamed of his actions. Howard ends up inviting the birds to stay with him at his home, and even wraps up some of his toys to give them as Christmas presents! 


In this wonderful Christmas story Howard learns many important life lessons, including that material possessions can not fill the voids in your life,and that caring for others and sharing with those less fortunate is what the holidays are all about. 


Howard B. Wigglebottom is a series of books that teach children valuable life lessons about sharing, sportsmanship, listening, bullying, divorce, peer pressure and more. Howard Books are part of the We Do Listen project. For more information on We Do Listen and their mission to enable children to enjoy inner peace and feel good about themselves, or to purchase Howard B. Wigglebottom books please visit wedolisten.org. Wedolisten.org also features animated versions of all the Howard B. Wigglebottom books.

We Do Listen is one of our amazing sponsors for the Merry Little Christmas Cyber Monday Giveaway event. Please hop on over to enter for your chance to win an Autographed Howard B. Wigglebottom book of your choice to give to your child this Christmas!

I received one or more of the above mentioned products in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation for this post and my opinion was not influenced in any way. Please see our Disclosure policy for more information. 

Deck the Halls with Scentsy

Welcome to the Deck the Halls Hop hosted by Yes I Have a Coupon, & A Giveaway Too! The Deck the Halls Hop will take place November 27- December 3rd and will include great giveaways for holiday items. Here on Life Unexpected: Adventures of a SAHM, our Sponsor Kristina Johnson, Scentsy Independent Director wants to help you Deck your Halls with some great Scentsy products! Kristina is offering one very Lucky Life Unexpected reader their own choice of a full size Holiday warmer and 3 wax bars, a $49 value!( Make Sure to check out our Sponsor Spotlight on Kristina and her products here). All you have to do is enter using the Rafflecopter widget below! Once you've entered hop along to the other great blogs on the linky for more chances to win. 

Happy Holidays and Good Luck! 

Deck the Halls and Merry Little Christmas Sponsor - Scentsy with Kris

Scentsy is the safe new way to make your home smell great without harmful chemicals or dangerous open flames. Scentsy uses a system of various size warmers and scented wax cubes to fill your home with delightful smells that are safe for you and your little ones. With over 80  Scentsy Scents available in bars, bricks, car fresheners, room sprays, hand sanitizer  and  over 45 Candle Warmer designs to choose from, you're bound to find something for everyone on your holiday list this year!

Scentsy has a wide range of items for everyone on your Christmas list, and Kristina Johnson, Scentsy Independent Director is here to help you with all your Scentsy needs.

The plug in warmers are great for smaller spaces like a child's room, hallway or bathroom. Plug in warmers are $20 each and hold one cube from the wax bar.

 

There are two different collections of Mid Size warmers to choose from. A Mid Size Warmer would be perfect for a smaller sized bedroom, or family room. Mid Size warmers are $25, and a Premium Mid Size warmer is $30, these warmers take up to 2 cubes from the wax bar.

There are 2 different collections of full size warmers to choose from . Full size warmers are great for a master bedroom or a larger open area where you need your scent to carry more. A regular Full Size warmer is $30, and a Premium Full size warmer is $35, full size warmers can hold up to 3 cubes from the wax bar. We put our Jolly Warmer out last week, and we've received so many compliments on it already! The Cozy Fireside scent smells just like Christmas and has everyone getting in the holiday spirit.

 

Scentsy Buddies are adorable stuffed animals that have a hidden zipper in their back. Unzip their zipper and insert the scent pack into their back, zip it up and you have a great smelling stuffed friend for your little one. These guys are super soft and the scent lasts for weeks! There are 10 different buddies to choose from, and scent packs are offered in every scent that Scentsy makes for their regular warmers. Willow chose to have a Mollie the monkey and they're now best friends, Mollie sleeps with her every night, and keeps her bed smelling nice. We've had Mollie for about 6 weeks now and we haven't had to replace her scent pack yet, it's still going strong!

 

Scentsy also offers an assortment of smaller items, including room sprays, car fresheners,  and hand sanitizers, that would make great stocking stuffers. These are a great way to take your favorite scent with you wherever you go. These smaller items would be great for college students, baby sitters and teachers! Prices on these items vary from $3 to $7. 

Interested in Joining Kris' Scentsy Team?

Kris is a Scentsy Director with over 3 years experience and Scentsy is her full time job. She is always looking for new consultants to join her. For just $99 you  can start your own Scentsy business with Kris to help you along the way. Want to join Kris' team but live in a different area? No problem! Kris offers Skype as well as training phone calls to help you along the way. She currently has over 30 team members in 7 different states who are thriving with Scentsy! You can find out more about joining Kris' team on her website under the "Join my team" section.

Kris has generously offered to sponsor not one, but two giveaway events here on Life Unexpected! For the Deck the Halls giveaway event, Kris will be giving one Lucky reader their choice of Holiday Warmer and 3 scents (a $49 value) to help decorate their home for the holidays. For our Merry Little Christmas Cyber Monday Hop she'll be offering 2 prizes! Prize Pack #1 will include a Full Size warmer and 3 scents and Prize Pack #2 will be something for the kids - a Scentsy Buddy and Scent Pack (a $25 value).

I received one or more of the above mentioned products in exchange for this post. I received no other compensation and my opinion was not influenced in any way. Your experience with Kristina Johnson, Scentsy, and their products may be different then my own please see our disclosure policy for more information.

Cyber Monday with Melissa and Doug

It's Time

I don't usually share my personal opinion on "Hot Topics", but I just can not deny how powerful this video is. A fried of mine shared it with me and I couldn't stop crying, it's beautiful, it's moving, it's true, and ....

IT'S TIME.

A Little Pinsperation - Elf on a Shelf

Since Nipper Twinkle Toes and Snowflake decided to pay us a visit last night, I thought it might be fun to share all of the fun things that I've found for your elves to do! If you have an Elf on a shelf do you have any fun ideas to share with everyone about the "naughty" or "nice" things that your elf might do this year? Go ahead and share them with everyone! I also thought that it might be fun to make "A Little Pinsperation" a hop since everyone seems to enjoy it so much. Just link up with us and share in the fun of Pinterest!

 Rules:

• Please follow me with GFC, while it isn't required, it's the nice thing to do.
• Please have your link go directly to your Pinsperation post
• Share the hop, the more people who join the more fun we'll have!
• If you find someone you like let them know by commenting, following etc, Following on Pinterest would be great too!

 

Holiday Turkey Hunt is now on! Xbox360 with Kinect Up for Grabs! New Mommy package $200+!

SaveAndMakeMoola.com (SAMM) is your online resource for finding the best savings to your favorite online stores. Choose from over 30,000 coupon codes and deals from our 3,000+ retail partners. Save on everything from clothing and accessories to gifts and office supplies. Don't forget to visit the Make Moola page for some great ways to earn a little extra cash.

Make sure you visit each of the participating blogs to get the secret clue. Combine all 30 clues to discover the secret pass phrase that is the required entry for the grand prize giveaway! The letters are assigned in order of bloggers, for example, the 15th letter  can be found on the 15th blog in the list.

To enter to win the Holiday Turkey Hunt Grand Prize - an XBox 360/Kinect Bundle - please visit The WiC Project and Mommy PR. Enter on both sites to double your chances of winning!

Here on Life Unexpected: Adventures of a SAHM we have an awesome New Mommy Prize pack valued at over $200. One Lucky Winner will receive one (1) of each of the following. Please click on the link to see our review of each product: 
 Peace, Love, Swaddle Swaddle Duo in their choice of pink or blue from Swaddle Designs,

Hand Stamped Dome Mother's Necklace from Whimsees.com 

San Deigo Bebe Nursing Pillow in their choice of Singleton or Twin version and color of their choice.

Our New Mommy prize pack is worth over $200, to enter just use the Rafflecoper below! The only mandatory entry is to follow with GFC, but everything else is optional. Remember the more methods you enter the greater your chance of winning.

The Holiday Turkey has left a special clue,

A clue that I should share with you!

The letter that you need to know has been hiding here all along!

"L" is the letter you need to know,

Now Hurry hurry don't be slow!

Holiday Turkey Hunt - San Diego Bebe Nursing Pillow

When I found out that I was having twins (6 days before they were born, but that's another story for another day) I didn't really know anything about specialty products that are available for moms of multiples. I knew we'd eventually need a double stroller but besides that I didn't even realize they made other products for twins. I had two Boppy's left over from Willow that I used for breastfeeding, for the first few weeks when they were really tiny I was able to feed them at the same time, but as they started to grow I had to switch to feeding one at a time. I had a rocky breastfeeding relationship with all three of my girls, but I think a big part of my problem with Ella and Madeline was an inability to tandem breastfeed. I was feeding each girl for 30-45 minutes at a time, so by the time I finished with one it was time to start over. I spent my nights thinking that there had to be an easier way, and there was I just didn't know it yet!

DoubleBlessings.com is one of the leading retailers for twins products. They offer a wide variety of products for moms of multiples, including the San Diego BeBe Twins Nursing Pillow. After looking around at all of the great items they have to offer to make a MOM's life easier, I knew that I just had to try a San Diego Bebe Twins Pillow out for myself, and Sandy from Double Blessings was kind enough to send one to us to try out! Here's a bit of information about the pillows from Double Blessings:                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

"Made of baby-safe, patented eco-fiber that is hypo-allergenic, non-toxic, non-flammable (no fire-retardant chemical additives), and is recyclable, odor-free, glue-free, foam-free, lead-free and Phthalate-free.

Available in super-soft plush fabrics in a variety of chic colors.

• Designed GREEN for your twins’ healthy futures!
• Signature Privacy Cover is detachable and provides complete discretion - anytime, anywhere
• Patented angled surface designed to position babies towards mothers' breasts
• Detachable back pillow positionable anywhere along spine where mom needs it most
• Adjustable strap comfortably fits up to a 52" waist
• Convenient dual pockets: one side for bottles, the other side for phone or remote
• San Diego Bebe - also available for nursing one baby"

Our Opinion

*We chose the purple one, the minky cover is great quality and super soft which is really comfortable for both mommy and babies. Our girls love to rub their hands against it while they're eating like a lovey.

*The bottle holders are a great addition! You can hold your own water bottles or if your babies have transitioned to bottle feeding you can use them to hold spare baby bottles. The holders are very stretchy, we use Tommee Tippee bottles which are much wider then your average bottle and they fit nicely.

*The opposite side  has an addition pocket to hold your cell phone, remote, snack etc so you don't have to search for everything. You can sit down and do your most important job - feed your babies!

* For a mother who is still breastfeeding but would like a bit of privacy when company is over there is a built in cover made of a breathable mesh that allows you to be discrete, but still see your babies. The material is light and airy so you don't have to worry about baby overheating.

*The opening to place the pillow around your waste is much larger then that of a boppy or traditional nursing pillow. There is a belt attached to the back that allows for a tighter fit. My boyfriend and I have both used it to feed the girls and we can both use it comfortably. It's really great for plus size women or that post twins belly.

*This pillow has lots of room for baby! Our girls are almost 6 months old and 16lbs each and the fit comfortable on their own side of the pillow without rolling off.

We'd recommend the San Deigo Bebe Twins Nursing Pillow to a  mother expecting twins, and the Singleton Pillow to any mother. I prefer the San Diego Bebe Nursing Pillow over all of the other nursing pillows I've tried over the past 3 years.

How to Purchase

The San Diego Bebe Nursing Pillow is available on DoubleBlessings.com for$69.99 for the Twins version and $59.99 for the Singleton version. Additional covers are also available.

How to Win

Double Blessings is one of our amazing sponsors for our New Mommy Package for the Holiday Turkey Hunt. They've offered one lucky Life Unexpected: Adventures of a SAHM reader the chance to have their own San Diego Bebe Nursing  Singleton Pillow in their choice of color (depending on availability). SInce Double Blessings wants to help out MOMs  get their breastfeeding relationship off to a healthy start, if you happen to be expecting twins you can choose a Twins pillow! Check back Friday for your chance to win!

I received one or more of the above mentioned products in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation for this post and my opinion was not influenced in any way. Please see our Disclosure policy for more information. 

Wordless Wednesday - Sisterly Love & Matching Days

It's really nice when they like each other!

Holiday Turkey Hunt - Whimsees.com

Sharing a love of all things personalized, Whimsees' mother and daughter team of  Emily and Ginny strive to find gifts that are new and fresh, trendy and fun, sophisticated and classy.  Whimsees is a collaboration between the two generations.  Emily, being a SAHM  with a toddler, looks for unique items that appeal to young Mommies and their kids.  Ginny loves to entertain, tailgate, decorate her home and buy gifts for family and friends, especially her precious granddaughter.  Finding custom stylish home decor and accessories for Whimsees is her passion and favorite pastime.

Whimsees offers and amazing selection of personalized items for any and every occasion imaginable. If you're looking for a gift for a baby shower, graduation, house warming, Christmas, Birthday or an occasion in between I can guarantee that Whimsees will have exactly what you're looking for. 

How cute are these Ipad/E-reader cases? They come in a variety of colors and can be monogrammed with your initials. A personalized case would be a great for the Kindle Fire that's on the top of everyone's Christmas list! (...Hint Hint Zach...)

How about thanking the big man in red for visiting your home by leaving cookies on his own personalized plate? 

Any lady on your list would love to to receive a necklace from Whimsees.com. They offer a great selection of colors and styles for girls, teens, and the mom's in your life.

 

It's no secret that I love personalized things, my girls have monogrammed bows, we label all our bags, I buy initial shirts the whole 9 yards. At one time I had a Mommy necklace that I ordered off of etsy that had Willow's name and birth date, but when we had the twins I felt weird just wearing my "Willow" necklace, after all I had two other babies, so when Whimsees offered the chance to review a mommy necklace, I just had to  try it out.

 

I received a Hand Stamped Mother's Dome Necklace with Willow, Ella and Madeline's names in it along with their birthstones as charms.The pendant measures 1" in diameter and comes with three 6mm crystal charms of your choice. The quality and workmanship is amazing, any mother would love to receive one of these as a Christmas or baby shower gift, I really can't think of a sweeter way to show your mom you care or to welcome a new baby to the world.

How to Purchase

You can purchase a Hand Stamped Mother's Dome Necklace from Whimsees.com for $55 for the charm and an optional add on of a silver chain for $20. Whimsees also offers a wide variety of products in varying price ranges. Now through December 1st you'll also receive free shipping on any order of $100 or more. Please note that each item has a deadline for the last day to order to ensure delivery by Christmas, so check out Whimsees.com now to make sure your gifts will arrive in time for the big day!

How to Win

Whimsees.com is one of our amazing sponsors for The Holiday Turkey Hunt! They'll be offering one lucky Life Unexpected reader a Hand Stamped Mother's Dome Necklace just like the one I received (only with your children's names of course!) So check back on Friday for your chance to win! In the mean time you can get a head start on showing our amazing sponsor some love and extra entries by:

Liking Whimsees on Facebook

Following Whimsees on Twitter

Joining Whimsees mailing list

I received one or more of the above mentioned products at no cost in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way. Please see our disclosure policy for more information.

Enter Your Little Artist - Bright Starts Pink Play Place Design Contest

 

To Find out more information or to enter your child's artwork please visit Bright Starts Here.