Ch Ch Ch Changes / Upcoming Reviews & Giveaways

this is the same post (pretty much that I posted at my review/giveaway site on 2/26)

OK, so those of you who do not KNOW ME personally and/or have not visited my website in a few days - I HAVE a lot of changes going on. Both Blog-related & personal life. Let me explain why I have been MIA, where we are headed, and what is going on in general!!

REAL WORLD:

Both my husband & I are from the Ohio/Indiana area, and that is where ALL our family is for the most part. However we have been living in Georgia for the past year. We moved down here for a job offer that my husband received, and we could not turn down. Well, once we have arrived & got settled here, we have realized that this is NOT HOME. We have also realized that this is too far away from family to raise our almost 1 yr old baby girl, and well the cost of living is higher here.

While we were in Florida on our much needed mini-cation, we got a call to change our direction in life, once again. James' old job back in Ohio called and offered his job back to him - AND on day shift for now!!! We have done a TON of thinking about this, and have decided to RE-LOCATE again, but this time back to be with our family, friends & loved ones again. OH how sweet those words are. We are leaving GA on March 10th. Also we are trying to find a place to call home via phone & Internet. We are moving blindly, BUT we do NOT want to unload a u-haul into storage & stay with people while we look for a place! Wish us Luck!!!!!

BLOG WORLD: *regarding my giveaway & review blog site*

So apparently (as I have learned the hard way) there is a company names 'Smilebox' and they have a trademark on the word 'smilebox' ! UGH for me! Well they want me to stop using my website htttp://SmileBoxReviews.blogspot.com & stop using my email smileboxreviews@gmail.com ASAP. I wanted to break down and cry. It came at the worst possible time.... in the middle of the whole moving thing - and PLUS I was just beginning to think I was getting the hang of this site / review & giveaway process. SUPER UGH!!!!
So that left me with few options...I found out that I could buy my domain through Blogger & rename it as a .com page. YAH and at a really reasonable cost too. So that is just what I did. My new site is http://babygirlapproved.com/. Once this was done I was soooo excited, HOWEVER it wasn't that easy. I still haven't gotten my email from Google giving me my initial password to go into my account, set up my email, and learn yet another site to navigate through! Luckily I can still create new posts through Blogger. So overall this has been an easy experience with the transition with just a few MAJOR speed bumps. But hey that is what life hands me all the time. I am trying to deal with it as much as I can right now. The new site is up & running, I just can't get into it!

Several Upcoming Reviews & Giveaways:

You should go check out & follow my NEW giveaway/review site: BABY~GIRL~APPROVED
I have several exciting Reviews & Giveaways. I am super happy to announce that the following companies have agreed to work with BABY~GIRL~APPROVED:

Smart Mom Jewelry (Teething Bling) - Review & Giveaway - CURRENT click HERE to enter!
Undercover Mama - Review
Seventh Generation -Review & Giveaway
ECO Store USA - Review & Giveaway
Paci Plushies - Review
EBeanstalk.com - Review
Kushies Baby - Review
Happy Green Bee - Review & Giveaway

Plus many more in the works!!!!

So I am asking of my current readers/followers/ subscribers to please please please help me spread the word about my new .com site (http://babygirlapproved.com/) So that we can get more companies on board for some awesome reviews & giveaways!!!

I am very excited to grow this blog - It is my new baby (not including my husband & actual baby girl LOL) Please stick with me over the next month or so while we re-locate, re-set up HOME and get situated in our new town.

Thanks to all my loyal readers. I appreciate you all!

Sorry for Hiding ....

Since starting my review & giveaway blog, I have totally been neglecting my personal blog.
I have been getting so wrapped up in contacting companies and getting reviews posted, that my evenings get away form me way too fast! I am sooo exhausted at night that sometimes I just stare at my laptop and get NOTHING accomplished at all!!! This post may be a little - OK a lot - random, just because, well that is the way my mind works!!!!

My life as a stay at home mommy is sometimes very boring, and I PRAY to get a break from the same 4 walls ... And well some days it is so hectic that I cant seem to catch my breath! But you know I love it every single day!

So James has been here in GA for almost a whole year now. He had 2 weeks paid at a hotel (by the employer) to find a house to rent in town. His requirements were simple 1) It MUST have central heat / air AND 2) It MUST be in a good neighborhood. Well we did get those, but just an awful house. I didn't get to move here until 3 months later (due to being major prego when he had to move), so I didn't get any kind of say-so in the house hunting process. I trust my husband 100% so it didn't matter really to me, but it has come to the year point and we both HATE this house. We love our neighbors so much, the neighborhood is awesome, they are even building a Brand New park about 3 blocks away.

So why do I hate this house you ask? It was built in 1929 and is a mill style house. I love the 'character' of this place, but I don't think it has been updated since 1975 (or earlier) . The bathroom is the UGLIEST bathroom ever with cream-ish & gold tile like wall (you know the kind you by in an 8'x8' sheet at Home Depot?), the floor is the same colors, just a different pattern, and the sink is gold-ish with black swirls in it! seriously the UGLIEST bathroom ever. Plus there have been leaks in the pipes apparently at some time because you can see the paneling bubbled/bowing out in spots.
OK now onto the kitchen - The plus side is that it is HUGE, and has a million cabinets (on all 4 walls, but the layout is horrible - the triangle between the sink, stove & fridge is way too large to be functional. The cabinets have never been replaced. The linoleum is soo grungy & tore up in places. And well once again there have been water leaks and you can tell it under the sink & on the floor.
The rooms are HUGE all around, which is nice for all our crap that we have lol. There are hardwood floors, which are easier to clean spit up off of but i HATE them too. They haven't been taken care of in years, so mopping means on hands & knees with a rad & 2 buckets. My daughter knees are dirty by the end of the day (even if I mopped the night before!
The windows are NOT the original ones, but they have been replaced Whit 'storm windows' that LEAK so bad. We may live in Georgia but it does still get cold here, and because of the drafts we have to keep the heat set on 73, or 74, or 75 some days. That has lead to a $314 gas bill last month. OUCH!!!
Oh yes and the land lord doesn't put any money into this place to make it nice, rent is higher than I expected it to be - but we are paying for the neighborhood!

OK so what is all this venting about? well our lease is up at the end of March (thank goodness) and we do NOT have to re-sign a full year - the lease just goes month to month after that. We really hate moving again but neither one of us is happy in this house and we both agree that this is NOT the House we want Savanah to remember! When i take pictures in the house I try to only get baby girl / and nothing else! Sad I know.

We went House hunting this past week. We found nothing!!! Well, we found some but they were all in really bad neighborhoods, and well we want to feel safe in our home, so those places were not options. We looked in the 'good' neighborhoods, but there were only FOR SALE signs, none for rent. We were out driving around for 2-3 hours and just made me really sad and home sick. That put me in a funk for 2 days or so.

So now we have decided to take at least 1/2 our tax check to pay up on rent somewhere. But now the hunt is back on for finding a decent place in a nice neighborhood. The houses with LOW rents are in bad bad neighborhoods OR the houses are pretty much falling apart (seriously). Then on the other hand the good neighborhoods have really high rents.

So here we are, stuck in the middle again! I know I will be going back to work in the next few months, which means we COULD afford a higher rent house, but we just cant bring ourselves to pay that much UGH.... what is a family to do? I need some advise ....

OK and now onto a complete side note. Please go visit my review / giveaway site @ Smile~Box~Reviews. I need to get all of the followers I can so that I can get the big giveaways for you all!!!

Sorry for the vent, but hey I at least posted :~)
Annie aka MommaWad

New review site!!!!

If you had not heard the news. I have started a new blog for reviews.
I will be keeping this current one and updating personal posts (and giveaway entry posts) here!
I look forward to all your feedback & support as I am jsut starting up!
I would appriciate any new followers, Thanks.
http://smilebox-reviews.blogspot.com/

Thanks
Annie

About me ...

Since I have this blog I guess I should use it for more than blogging to get extra entries in giveaways. So, I will start by telling a little about myself.

I am 29 yrs old. Will be 30 in May of this year - both scary & exciting to me
I was born & raised in small town Ohio, close to the Indiana state line (like 5 minutes away). I have lived in Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina & now Georgia
My parents are still married and have living in the same home for 33 years now! That is just amazing to me!!!

I am married to my BEST FRIEND, James!
We met & started dating in 1996 (yes i was 16) He was my 1st and only TRUE love. We dated for a couple years, hang out a little later in our lives. Lost contact and had our separate lives for several years! Then, we re-connected in 2007!!! We both knew from that point forward we were MEANT to be together. We were inseparable, and determined that this is what life had to offer both of us!
July 2008, we found out we were expecting a baby - Due March 2009, and once again our lives changed forever!
2009 brought MANY changes for us. We lost James mother to Cancer in January. Also in January, James was offered a job in Georgia, and we could not turn down the opportunity / pay. So he accepted the job, and moved from Indiana to Georgia in February 2009. At that point I was 8 month pregnant, and he was living in a hotel for 3 weeks, until he found a place.
At my 38 wk appointment, I was 4 cm dialated & 60% effaced, no wonder I was exhausted all the time :~) I talked to the Dr and decided to schedule and induction for the following week - The Dr did not think I would make it that long, so James decided to come home and spend the week with me. While he was home we decided to get married - the day before my induction.

There was a local chapel in town that could get us in w/ an hours notice. So over lunch we decided to get married, went to the courthouse to get the marriage license, went to the store and bought rings, called our parents, and by dinner was married. Turned out beautiful, nothing fancy at all, but worked out for us!
The following day we had our baby girl. I won't go into labor & delivery in this post, but will in a later post for sure. It took us 2 days to name her. We Decided on Savanah Marie. When we went to the hospital we had about 5 names picked out, but nothing seemed to fit her, so we had to start from scratch again!
While I was in the hospital recovering, James headed to our house, packed the entire place (with help from his friends & family) and loaded up the uhaul. He had to head back to GA the day I left the hospital. I went to stay at my parents house, so that I could heal, and have support before we moved south
April My father in law & his wife offered to drive us to GA for a long weekend to see my husband. That was some much needed R & R w/ the family.
May was a whirlwind month. I decided, instead of quitting my job while on maternity leave, that I would go back to work for 2 weeks - mornings only. I gave them my formal notice, trained another employee to do my job, and left on good terms. Later that month Savanah & mommy headed south to start our new life.
It was definitely very rough to say the least. My husband works a rotating night schedule - on 12 hour shifts. That being said I was home all alone with my new baby all day, and alone thru the night with her also.
Everyday that passes now, gets easier & easier. With this move, and my husbands job, I have gotten the opportunity to become a STAY AT HOME MOMMY, which is the toughest job I have every had. I am very thankful that We have some GREAT neighbors.
Another local mommy contacted me. She informed me that she was starting a MOMS Club in the area. I have been so eager to help her. We will be starting our meeting up here in the next couple months. Very exciting for this momma!
In November, I found thru Face book that I LOVE entering giveaways. It fills my time once Savanah is is bed, and James is off to work. It makes me feel not so alone at night. To date I have won 16 giveaways. GO ME, and my hubbs loves that.

A little more about ME:

I have learned that i love being a mommy over the past 10 months!!!!
I have been blogging since 2001 via LiveJournal, but just recently converted to BlogSpot in November 2009. I love anything to spark my creativity, writing, scrap booking, organizing, and also love just hanging out being easy going!! I HATE drama & stupid people, but love my life that we have created. I love cooking & baking also. I am the football fanatic in the household. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS ALL THE WAY!!!
I LOVE, and have become VERY ADDICTED to, entering giveaways on blogs.
I have an associated degree in Office Admin, and have worked in every aspect of an office over the past 12 years. If I continue to get the opportunity to stay at home, I am planning on starting up my own review blog, maybe getting involved in sponsored giveaways. I just need to do my research on getting started. Also I plan on being active in our MOMS Club, and enjoy the south a little bit more

Hopefully I gave you a good peek into my life. If you should have questions, feel free to leave me a comment to learn more!!

Sealy Giveaway

I am a new follower to this site and came across an amazing giveaway:
http://mommymandy.com/sealy-posturepedic-signature-series-giveaway/

You can also chekc out the full time from Sealy here:
http://sealy.com/Posturepedic/posturepedic.aspx

What an amazing & unexpected giveaway to come across!!
Seriously who couldn't use a new matress for FREE.
It will only take a few minutes. Go enter NOW!!!!
This giveaway runs thru 1/20/2010

Scrappy Gifts Giveaway

WOW i lovew LOVE LOVE to scarpbook - but with a very active 9 1/2 month old I HAVENT EVEB STARTED her scrapbook, sad i know ... this would be an awesome thing for me to win. Scrappy gifts will customize a 12x12 scrapbook to my liking - all I have to do is add the pictures and journaling WOW
You can go here to get more details & enter this giveaway http://mommylovesgiveaways.blogspot.com/2010/01/scrappy-gifts-review-and-giveaway.html hurry this giveaway ends 1/13/2010
also while you are out looking around, go here to check our ALL of Scrappy Gifts amazing items. I have an 8x8 canvas on the way to me now - cant wait to get it!!!
http://myscrappygifts.blogspot.com

Bumbleride Indie Twin Double Stroller Giveaway!!

This is an amazing giveaway. You should check it out here:
http://www.thebraggingmommy.com/2010/01/bumbleride-indie-twin-stroller-review.html
This double stroller is A-MAZING!!! Value of $659.99 WOW what a giveaway!!!
You can hop of to: http://www.bumbleride.com/collection2009/collection.php and look at the rest of their products
Enjoy, Drool & Good Luck to All

ERGO baby Carrier giveaway

this is an AWESOME giveaway for any current or expecting momma ....
go here to get all the details
http://happilydomestic.blogspot.com/2009/12/blessed-event-18-ergo-baby-carrier.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email
the link to ERGObaby is: http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/
you can enter this giveaway until February 1st. go, enter, enjoy & win!!!!

Hair bows giveaway!

hey guys what a cute giveaway for my cutesie daughter!!!!
http://katescraftcorner.blogspot.com/2009/12/giveaway-time.html
giveaway ends tonight!!!!

Jeep 2-1 booster seat

I REEAAALLLYYYY RREEAALLYY want to win this giveaway. SInce we travel a lot back & forth, this would be an AWESOME booster seat for travel. you also can enter this giveaway here. Goodluck
http://justformeandyou2.blogspot.com/2009/12/kolcraft-jeep-2-in-1-booster-seat.html