Archives for September 2012

Say “thank you” with 10 free personalized cards

September 13, 2012

As somebody who has an easier time expressing herself in writing, I prefer to say “thank you” the old fashioned way — in a handwritten note.

That being said, I tend to dilly-dally when it comes to actually getting a thank you card in the mail. Finding the time to buy an appropriate card (there are too many choices out there!) and sit down to write it can be a challenge with a toddler in tow.

Tiny Prints wants to make saying “thank you” a little bit easier for me and for you. For one week only, you can get 10 FREE thank you cards from Tiny Prints. All you pay is shipping (as low as $3.50).

These cards can be completely customized and personalized to your tastes. Choose from thousands of designs, add pictures, change the text, the fonts, the colors. Just use the promo code FREETHANKS when you check out (and pay the shipping!), and Tiny Prints will send the 10 cards right away.

Unfortunately, Tiny Prints won’t babysit your kid while you write your thank you cards.

Visit Tiny Prints now to get started!

Mom needs coffee

September 12, 2012

An integral part of my morning routine is a piping hot cup of coffee, preferably sweetened with Vanilla flavored coffee creamer. Our beloved Keurig machine allows JB and I to each brew ourselves a fresh cup of jo at different times; he takes his to work, and I drink mine while Levi’s eating breakfast.

But I’m going to need a full pot of coffee to get through today. I heard Levi moaning in his crib at 3:50 this morning and noticed on the baby monitor that he was reaching for a phantom pacifier, so I tip-toed into his room to retrieve one for him. Back in bed, I toss and turned for 40 minutes, unable to fall to sleep.

I used my iPhone to check for Facebook and Twitter updates, but there isn’t much social media activity happening in the middle of the night. I didn’t want to turn on a lamp to read a magazine (you’re welcome, JB), so I got out of bed–again–and made my way to the computer to start catching up on two weeks worth of unread blog posts in my Reader. At 5:40 am, I finally felt tired enough to go back to sleep.

Do you ever suffer from insomnia? If so, what keeps you up at night? I’m sure mine was anxiety-related, but I can’t pinpoint a specific reason.

Excuse me while I start brewing myself a big ol’ pot of coffee.

PS: And now I’m wary about using sleeping pills to help me sleep through the night because there may be a link between taking sleeping pills and early death and cancer.

image sources here and here

The legend of the vomit mobile

September 11, 2012

When I was two years old, I puked in the backseat of my dad’s 1979 Dodge Omni 024 sport coupe. According to family legend, my parents were unable to remove the smell of my barf from its red vinyl interior and were forced to sell the car and buy a new one.

What goes around comes around.

En route to a picnic lunch at Zorinsky Lake on Sunday, I heard the distinct sound of upchucking coming from the back of our sedan. “Oh my god, did Levi just throw up?” I worriedly asked JB. In response to my idiotic question, Levi promptly puked again.

JB quickly directed the car into a church parking lot, and I jumped out of the passenger side to investigate. What I saw will forever be burned into my memory. I’ll spare you the details…but you know the slang term “to blow chunks?” Well, that’s exactly what it looked like.

Thankfully, Levi did not render the car unusable like I did to my parents’ sport coupe, but he did manage to get vomit into every crevice and crack of his Chicco Keyfit 30 infant car seat. Lunch was postponed indefinitely, and we returned home for baby and car seat clean up. I dropped Levi in the bathtub as poor JB started taking apart the seat (while trying not to puke, himself).

I’m not exactly sure why but cleaning Levi’s barf from his infant carrier was the motivation we needed to finally make a decision on a convertible car seat. While the freshly-washed seat cushion and buckles dried in our laundry room, JB and I logged onto Consumer Reports and reread your comments from this post. And what convertible car seat did we decide on?

The Britax Boulevard 70-G3 convertible car seat in zebra print!

Back to basics, back in business

September 10, 2012

I lied. I told you I was taking a week-long break from blogging, but I decided to take a two week blogcation instead. I’ve had a lot on my mind and needed the extra time to sort through all of the activity in my head.

Feeling disconnected

Bunny & Dolly began as a sort of online diary, a place where I could chronicle the highs and lows of pregnancy. When Levi was born, the topic naturally evolved to motherhood and blog posts ranged from anecdotes about parenting to Levi’s favorite things. Since I was already writing about clothing, books and toys for babies, I began to seek out ways to monetize, including sidebar ads and affiliate links, in an attempt to earn some pocket cash. As a VPTWAHM, I’m not the breadwinner in the family, so any little bit I can contribute to our checking account makes me feel good about myself.

I realized that Bunny & Dolly was losing its authenticity. Cluttering my sidebar with ads and posting solely about products felt phoney. You don’t come to Bunny & Dolly for fashion, beauty or decor advice (at least, I don’t think that’s your primary reason). You come for stories, snippets of my everyday life as a mom to a toddler son and wife to a military husband. Maybe you enjoy reading about my daily parenting adventures because they remind you of your life and, like me, you find it comforting that somebody else is experiencing the same challenges. Or maybe your life is nothing like mine and you find our differences interesting. Perhaps you just think Levi is the cutest kid in the entire world and keeping coming back to see more photos of him. (I wouldn’t blame you!)

Moving forward

I’m going to take Bunny & Dolly to the next level by going back to basics. More posts about me and my family. More conversations. More questions. I may still include affiliate links and take on sponsored posts, but only if they’re a natural fit. You’ll notice, however, that I’ve removed my sidebar ads. They were clutter, that’s all.

On my to-do list are plans to clean up my categories and update my About page. I’m also going to be adding a Blogroll page with links to other fantastic blogs. I may bring back Friday favorites; I’m still undecided. Did you like those? Oh, and I promised you a super cool giveaway in September that’ll happen later this week. Probably.

Psst…

And one other thing: I just learned that Bunny & Dolly was included in Weatherables 2012 Top 20 Family Blogs list alongside such A-list blogs like A Cup of Jo, Marvelous Kiddo and Design Mom. To be grouped together with these big-name bloggers sort of blows my mind.

So that’s it. Bunny & Dolly is back in business. And now I’ve gotta find some time to catch up on two weeks worth of blog updates in my Google Reader!

Happy Monday, friends!

;