Camera Critters 12/6

I've already posted some pictures of one child playing in the snow, it's only fitting that I post my other, slightly more hairy "child" playing in the snow too. This was from our first major snowfall of the year.

Camera Critters 11/30

It's been a while since I have posted a critter, even though I have had these pics for about a month now. I took pics of these deer in my back yard. Keep in mind, I live in the second largest city in Iowa (I know...huge right?) My dog had a blast barking at them!

First Snow

Well, today we are getting our first real snow of the season. We are supposed to get 2-4 inches by tonight. I'm I excited? Not so much. I could really do without the snow. But, one little guy in our house was thrilled to see snow and was dying to go out and play in it!

All bundled up and ready to go out and play in the snow!

Now where did Daddy go?


My little snow angel :)

So he had a great time running around and making snow balls. He thought he wanted to make a snowman, but when Daddy starting rolling up the first ball, Caiden didn't like that Daddy was taking all of the snow, so no snowman at our house!

Last day for 20%

Last day to receive 20% off of your order from Jewerely by Lynn Krestel. Don't miss out on this great deal!!

My Little Dragon

So, I didn't get any pictures of Caiden dressed up on Halloween, but I did get a little video of him the night before when I finally got around to trying his costume on.

My scarey little guy!!

20% Discount on all Jewerly

Even though my first giveaway is over, don't forget that you can receive a 20% discount on everything you order from Lynn Krestel from now until November 14th. Just send Lynn Krestel a comment when you order using the discount code "busymom". Lynn Krestel's jewelry is a wonderful place to get all of your gifts for birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas. And there are new items in the store!! So go to Lynn Krestel's site and tell her that Busy Mom in Iowa sent you!

~M

Winner - Earring Giveaway

Using Random.org, I have randomly selected a winner for my first giveaway ever!! The winner is:

robin_titan said...
oooh the dream believe necklace is beautiful!
definitely my favorite i especially like the star and the dream part haha all of it actually
October 25, 2008 6:57 PM

Congrats! You will be receiving an email shortly :)

Thank you everyone for participating! Keep your eyes peeled for more reviews!

~M

Such a good time

You may or may not have noticed I was MIA last weekend. Why you ask? Well, if you scroll down a little bit in my blog, you will see I had a countdown to the New Kids on the Block Concert.

The day finally arrived on Friday. The whole way there, my friend Lisa and I kept saying....it doesn't feel like we are going to a concert. It just feels like we are going for a (long) drive.

But we finally got there! We waiting patiently through two opening acts getting more and more excited every minute. -- Give me a break...we have waited over 15 years for this moment!!

And it was worth the wait. What a wonderful concert. They had the perfect mix of their new songs and the old classics of my childhood. And of course they are all just as good looking as they were before. All five of them get better looking the older they get (especially Donnie *squeal*!!) --->

So, Donnie, Jon, Jordan, Danny and Joe.....THANK YOU for an awesome show!! Hope you sell a concert DVD so I can watch it again and again!!

Handmade Jewelery by Lynn Krestel Review & Giveaway

Are you looking for an original gift for someone on your holiday gift list this year? Or are you looking for some original jewerly that you can't find in the stores? If so, you need to check out the handmade jewerly by Lynn Krestel. I was lucky enough to stumble upon her site on etsy.com and Lynn has been wonderful enough to send me a beautiful necklace for my first review!

I received Lynn Krestel's marquis charm necklace in the mail this week and I couldn't wait to show it off at work the next day. I work with a lot of jewerly addicts, and I knew they would be jealous. The necklace is a handmade fine silver marquis pendant,with an 8mm vintage crystal bead charm topped with a vintage bead cap and a 4mm crystal. The peral is a 6mm creamy white freshwater pearl charm and the necklace is an 18" aged sterling silver ball chain. These pictures just do no do this necklace justice.

Lynn Krestel has tons of other wondeful jewerly on her site. All of the Lynn Krestel's jewerly is handmade, so each one is original. And the quality is phenonominal! The memento pendant necklace is a one of a kind necklace that Lynn Krestel will make a pendant with any photo you send her. What a great gift for any mother or grandmother on your list!

Now for the best part. You can win a pair of Lynn Krestel's one of a kind marquis earrings. They are made of the same type of handmade silver marquis pendants as the necklace I received.

But wait, that's not all!! From now until November 14th, my readers can get a 20% discount off of their order from Jewerly by Lynn Krestel. Just send Lynn Krestel a comment when you order using the discount code "busymom".

So, to enter to win a free pair of earrings from Lynn Krestel, all you need to do to enter is to go to Lynn Krestel's site, come back here and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite piece of jewerly by Lynn is. It's that simple!! For additional entries you can:

1-Add my button to your side bar and leave me a link in your comment;

2-follow me;

3-subscribe to my blog;

4-send an email to all of your friends (at least 4) and copy me; and

5-blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link to your post.

*Please leave me a seperate comment for each item you do on this list*

This giveaway is open to bloggers and non-bloggers. If your blog profile is private, or you’re a non-blogger, please leave an email address in your comment or your entry will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen randomly on October 31st at 10:00 pm CST. This contest is open everyone around the world! Good luck!

CONTEST CLOSED - WINNER ANNOUNCED!

Manic Monday

It's still technically Monday for another hour and a half!!

How long does it take you to get out of bed in the morning? From the time my alarm goes off until I actually get out of bed...about 30 minutes.

Do you usually sleep on one side of the bed or another? Yep, I sleep on the left 1/4 of the bed. Hubby and the dog get the other 3/4.

Something you wish to accomplish before the end of the year: Hmm....I would like to get some family pictures taken.

Saturday is Giveaway Day

Well, it's Saturday, which means I have time to post about all of the wonderful giveaways going around the blog world. Here's what I have found today!

I'll start with Paige at Nurse Mommy. She currently has tons reviews going. If you love to paint your nails, you'll love this. Nurse Mommy is giving away nail polish from Giella. And get this, you can customize your nail polish colors! How awesome is that?!?!

Paige is also giving away some shoes! Pediped shores are made to be the next best thing to bare feet for your little ones!! Also, Nurse Mommy has a giveaway going for See Kai Run shoes, which are also made for your little ones. Both of these companies have very original and fun styles of shoes for the little feet in your house!

Nurse Mommy is giving away a couple of skin care products as well. She is giving away a bottle of light day cream from Mount of Olives Soap. She is also giving away a bar of Frankincense & Myrrh soap from Susan's Soap & More.

Finally, Nurse Mommy is having a giveaway for some very orignal baby clothing. Crazy baby clothing company is giving one lucky reader their choice of a onesie.

Now, on to Gina over at A Wresting Addicted Mommy. Gina currently has a giveaway for a Keurig single cup coffee brewer! I have one of these at work, and they are wonderful! So head on over to A Wresting Addicted Mommy and enter for your chance to win!

Leslie over at State of Confusion is giving away a pair of Eleven shoes, which are the "See Kai Run" shoes for older children. Click here to see this giveaway. She also has a giveaway for a wonderful mommy invented product called Pop pals, which will help you little ones with those messy popicals! Make sure you head over to State of Confusion and check it out!!

Camera Critters 10/18

These were taken last winter....what a great way to snuggle and keep warm!

Sleeping Angel

Awww...nothing more cute and innocent than a sleeping child. And over at five minutes for mom, they are giving away a complete bedroom set, just for posting a picture of your sleeping child! So, fingers crossed that this is the winning entry you are reading. I'm hoping to win the summer breeze set myself!

If you are interested in winning a bedroom set for your sleeping angel, head over to five minutes for mom and enter. Hurry, the contest ends on 10/13!

Camera Critters 10/11

A day in the life....

It was a beautiful weekend last weekend, so we played a little fetch.

A drink after all of the playing

(he fell in after I put the camera away)

Relaxing in the sun


Time for a nap!

Mineral Basics Giveaway!

Paige at Nurse Mommy has an awesome giveaway going on right now for Mineral Basics makeup. I've always wanted to try mineral makeup, but I don't wear makeup very often, so I didn't want to spend big bucks on it. So, here's my chance! Make sure to visit Nurse Mommy's site, so you can enter for your chance to win too!

Tupperware Anyone?

Tupperware is still around?

That is the question I always heard when I would ask someone if they would like to have a Tupperware party! Yes it is still around...and wonderful as ever! I was a Tupperware consultant for a year and a half and I loved everything I ever bought :) Tupperware has some of the old classics around, but they are coming up with neat things all of the time. So, to help all of the busy mommies on here, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite products.

First of all is the Vent 'N Serve . This product is made to go from the freezer, to the microwave, onto the table and leftovers go back into the fridge or freezer. It's also great to take leftovers to work for lunch the next day! You can even make baked potatoes in the microwave...and they don't come all dried out! I also make some yummy quick cakes with only a box cake mix and a can of pop...soda you know what I mean!


My second favorite item is called the FridgeSmart set. These are for all of your friuts and veggies. Using these will keep them good longer. How many times have we bought a bag of lettice only to find it has gone bad in the bottom of your crisper drawer? Or maybe strawberries? If you are nodding right now, you have to check these out! They have ridges on the bottom so your fruits and veggies don't sit in the moisture that has collected in the bottom of the container. And they have vents on the side so you can let just the right amount of air into them. There is even a guide right on the container that shows you if you should open one, both or none of the vents, depending on what you put in your FridgeSmart.

I could go on and on with all of the wonderful products, but I'll stop with my top two. So make sure you visit their website for yourself and all of your holiday needs! Book a party and save yourself some money on your holiday shopping.

If you have any questions or comments, drop me a comment!

Photos curtesy of http://order.tupperware.com/coe/app/home

So Excited....

You read it right...I'm going to see New Kids on the Block with my best friend!! We became friends because of the New Kids about 20 years ago, but we never got to go to a concert the first time around. So this is our chance!!!

Kaboost Giveaway

Paige at Nurse Mommy is giving away a wonderful item for any parent of a toddler. It is called Kaboost and it is a "booster chair" for your chair (not your child). Really!! If you have a child like mine who is too small to sit at the table without a booster chair, but refuses to sit in one...this is the product for you. And by going to Nurse Mommy's site, you can enter for a chance to win one for free!! So click here to check out Paige's awesome giveaway!

The Takeout Cookbook Giveaway

Gina over at a Wresting Addicted Mommy has an awesome book giveway going on right now. It is called the Takeout Cookbook. And it's not what you might think it is...be sure to check it out by clicking here! It ends on the 9th.

Camera Critters 10/4

It's been a while, but here is my camera critters for the week.

These were taken at a park in my town that has a little section called "Old McDonald's Farm". It's really a mini farm in the middle of the city so all the "city folk" can see all the farm animals. They have an aquatic section, which I could spend hours at, just watching the ducks swim around.




And here is the little baby duck...it was so cute, but I couldn't get a good picture of it.



Sadly, shortly after we were there this summer, someone broke into the aquatic center one night and killed many of the ducks there. I haven't been back since.

Cancer Can't

107th Post Giveaway Gala

Kristle over at A Stir Crazy Life has decided to celebrate her 107th post by having her own...

Giveaway Gala!

Why is she celebrating her 107th post you ask? I don't know for sure, but check out her blog and see if you can find the answer! Be sure to check it out...it ends October 9th! There will be a new Giveaway posted everyday, so check back often!

Good luck everyone :)

Holy Cow - Where does the time go?

Would someone like to explain to me how in the world we are in October already? 7:00 at night and it's dark out!! I can't believe how fast the time has gone this year! Especially the last few months.

I'm ready for some cooler weather, I just wish we could get there a little more gradually. Last week, we had 80 degree weather, and today...

this is what I saw when I drove to work this morning. Frost!

That's life in Iowa!

Congrats Garett & Jenn

Congrats to my baby brother and my new sister-in-law, who got married last Saturday!


It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding! I'm so excited for them and we all had a great time :)

My little man was the ring bearer and Jenn's niece was the flower girl.... aren't they adorable?