Homemade Birthday Party Ideas

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I almost feel sorry for the fools at Express Scripts who decided to make the Walgreens and Express Script contract negotiations trouble. If I’m reading this correctly, Express Scripts wanted to completely change up their terms and make it impossible for Walgreens to do business the way they were before. I mean, Walgreens is our family pharmacy and I know my Uncle Henry uses Express Scripts, so he’s annoyed because he has to change all of his prescriptions over and it’s a hassle and it’s going to end up costing him more in the long run. Taking advantage of the sick and elderly is not a cool way to do business and I think they should be ashamed of themselves. Walgreens works hard to protect their customers, I’m super duper impressed with the  Walgreens Prescription Savings Club because it’s only $10 a year for the entire family and you can save money in the pharmacy and get bonuses through the rest of the store, too. 

Anyway, if you are sick of insurance companies trying to change the way YOU access your medical care, you should show your support by following Walgreens on Twitter and liking the Walgreens on Facebook page. 

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

For our teenager’s birthdays this year we are giving them both a year’s worth of cell phone service with unlimited talk, text and web. We are sold, Hook, line and sinker on these phone plans. My husband and I have already switched over to montly, no contract plans and if you haven’t then you really need to switch. 

Maybe you don’t mind spending twice as much ever month for a contract plan but we are a working family. I love my iPhone, but when we discovered that you can get an Android on Straight Talk that was all we needed to know. I mean, there’s just NO REASON to go with any other company because if you’re using a contract, you are getting ripped off. 

How much clearer can it be? before, we were paying like $199 a month for two phones, so that’s like $100 a month per phone and we got these huge phone bills every month, they would like… list every text message with the time it was made and the fact that there was a zero charge for each one (columns and columns full of zeros, what a waste!) but now we just pick up a pepaid card and that’s the end of it. Everything you need is right there on the card. Honestly, those itemized lists would be cool if they quoted each message, but that wasn’t happening, it was just nonsense wasting of paper and machinery and staff and everything. I just don’t understand why anyone puts up with that anymore when there are smarter alternatives. So Call a friend and ask them “Is it smarter to pay $100  month or $50?  See what they say. It’s really a no-brainer in my book.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of AutoAssure for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

OK, I know we’re not the only family to buy a late model vehicle for our teenager, right?  One thing we fear sometimes is that she’d end up having engine trouble. I mean what if she needs like her whole engine replaced, right? Or just a transmission or something? AutoAssure is the company that offers Auto Coverage As Seen On TV. They have personalized plans so that everyone gets what they need, whether it’s trip interruption coverage, your choice of ASE certified mechanics, rental car coverage and you can even get a plan with no out of pocket cost for repairs.  It’s really awesome to have Customized Vehicle Protection Plans available like this, know what I mean?

Anyhow, I strongly urge you to go check out their website and see what they have to offer. You can get a free quote and learn more about how the program works, it’s really a great deal, especially if you have teenagers in the house.  We’re thinking my aunt shouls have a plan, too. She’s about 70 years old and she’s on a fixed income. I know that if she had an auto repair issue, she would probably not be able to cover it without help, but she could afford AutoAssure. Can’t you?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CryoCell International. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you’re pregnant, stop whatever it is that you’re doing right now and head over to www.Cryo-Cell.com to order your free belly bag. Learn more about the miracle of cord blood banking and get a cute little tote bag in the process.  As a mom, you’ll use more tote bags than anyone else on the planet AND- this one has the added bonus of providing you with tools to help you learn about more than 70 different diseases and disorders that science is CURING with stem cells. With leukemia, for example, stem cells can be used in place of a bone marrow transplant. No stress of finding a donor when you’ve preserved the amazing cord blood that holds the key to life, instead of allowing it to be discarded like so much medical waste.

So you owe it to your unborn baby to check out the www.Cryo-Cell.net website and order the belly bag. 

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you’re planning to go to a baby shower, make sure the gift you get will be useful. Some of the products they have on the market for babies are just plain ridiculous. Baby baths, for instance. I mean, come on… bathing with a newborn is one of the sweetest, most special times together. And what about car seat covers? For infant car seats, there’s really not much of  chance that anything will get on them, unless the baby is a vomiter (most breastfed babies are not) And then there’s the bottle warmer that plugs into the car’s lighter.  Seriously? Don’t even get me started.  Whenever I find out a friend is pregnant, the first thing I do is subscribe them to Mothering Magazine. Then, at their baby shower, I give another year’s renewal, a homemade blanket and a tub of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. I know it sounds lame to give the same gifts, but each has a reason. the homemade blanket is filled with love. I always use 100% cotton and a small stitch, so little fingers and toes don’t get caught in the holes. Sometimes, I’ll make baby a matching hat or booties, too.  The magazine is special because it’s the only one that stresses natural parenting, with a respect for intuition, a worldview that extends beyond corporate USA and a respect for the rights of women & children everywhere.  But the Butt paste, that’s a different story.

At first, I included it because the name was funny.  I bought a tub for myself and a tub for a friend whose baby shower was later in the day. I didn’t even have a chance to use mine before I got to the shower. When she opened it up, the other moms were raving about it. It wasn’t until I got home that I had a chance to try it on my own daughter.

The first thing I noticed was that it goes on and wipes off easily. I was using a different product before and it was so hard to wipe off of my own hands after each diaper change I always hated having to scrub it off of my hands with harsh soaps, so my baby never quite made it clean because the last thing I wanted to do was expose her skin to those soaps and scrubbing. The Butt Paste just wiped away and it smelled clean and fresh. There’s one product out there (I’m not naming names) but it smells kinda fishy. Who wants a fishy-smelling baby bum?

It’s also pediatrician recommended, i saw it on Oprah and in People Magazine. if you visit their website, they give you a free sample, but if I were you, I’d just head over to target and pick up your own. They come in several sizes. The 3 ounce tube lasted me through two children. Seriously. But for gift-giving, I always get the big tub.