All posts by Anne Younger

Anne is a 30-something full-time SAHM mom of 5 ranging from 3 to 17 and grandma of 1 who resides in Ashwaubenon (Green Bay) Wisconsin. She started blogging in 2008 as a way to regain her sanity. She enjoys coffee, chocolate, cheeseburgers and vodka along with spending time with her husband and kids.

Pregnancy: What I Least Expected

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With each of my pregnancies, I had the same expectations.

I thought for sure I would be exhausted, pukey, running to the bathroom…..etc.

With my first 2 pregnancies, I was rarely tired and found myself up and out and about until the wee hours of the morning.

With number one I was very, very pukey but only if I ate before 8 am.

With numbers 3 & 4 I was a bit more tired and in A LOT more pain.

With my first pregnancy, I had nightmares of a horrible, painful, yelly/screamy I want to kill someone delivery.

That did not happen.

It also did not happen during any of the proceeding deliveries of children 2, 3, and 4.

I remember my first lamaze class while pregnant with baby number 1.

When the instructor had us all stand next to the number relating to the amount of pain medication we wanted with 0 being none and 10 being everything you can give me.

I quickly waddled my way over to the 10.

Little did I know that I would successfully deliver four beautiful children WITHOUT any pain medication.

Yes, au natural baby.

All. Four. Times.

Crazy.

Definitely not what I expected while I was expecting.

(P.S. Why doesn’t anyone ever tell you that after you have your first child to cross your legs every time you sneeze?)

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Playtex Baby. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating

It's All About Me

Ten Minutes.

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On Tuesday evening, at seven p.m., in a moment of complete frustration and exhaustion

I walked into my bedroom, shut the door behind me, laid down on my bed and curled up with my Nook to read.

The purpose?

To take ten minutes to myself because I deserved ten minutes of solitude to do whatever I wanted.

At 7:03pm, Zack came in to ask me where to put away a pillow.

I started my 10 minutes over.

At 7:05pm Zack came in to put something else in my room.

At 7:09pm Alexander came barreling in asking me why I was in bed and if I needed a ‘nuggle’. He then proceeded to jump on the bed, play with stuff on my dresser and then exited the room at 7:14pm.

At 7:19pm Alexander returned to tell me he loved me, and then he left.

He returned again at 7:25, 7:33, and at 7:39pm.

He finally left my room at 7:40pm.

I went back to reading my book.

I glanced at the clock and could not believe my eyes, here it was 7:49pm.

I was finally one minute away from actually having spent 10 minutes in solitude.

And then.

Alex walked in the bedroom with the baby and Alexander was right behind him.

I explained to him what I was doing in our room and why I had not come back out.

All I wanted was 10 uninterrupted minutes to myself.

After explaining this to him, he scooped up Ellie and escorted Alexander out the door, barked a few things at the older kids and then…

I spent the next 26 minutes alone.

Reading and then daydreaming.

It was the BEST 26 minutes I have had in a very, very, VERY long time.

10 minutes of solitude shouldn’t be so hard to find!

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HOP Family Viewing Party

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Today, our family celebrated Easter with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. Upon our arrival, there was a crazy silly string/sword fight between all of the kids.

A good time was definitely had by all (we are still finding silly string in places it shouldn’t be!). After that, the kids went on an Easter egg hunt throughout the backyard collecting eggs filled with candy and coins hoping to find the one lucky egg with the winner paper inside.
After each kiddo found their 7 eggs, it was determined that my nephew was the big winner of the $10 WalMart gift card. The other children were also awarded with prizes as well.
Once the egg hunt was complete and every one had downed some candy, it was time to watch HOP!

We first took the kids to see HOP in the theater last year and LOVED it. I thought it was a cute movie and funny at the same time.
The kids had a great time watching the movie. it was the first time my niece and nephew had seen the flick. In addition to watching the movie, each of the kids received their own E.B. plush, drumstick pencils, HOP activity sheets and stickers.

HOP was recently released on Blu-Ray and DVD and it includes an all-new mini-movie, The World of HOP, all access with Cody Simpson, games and so much more.

COMBO PACK EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURES:
-Phil’s Dance Party —An all-new mini-movie starring fan-favorite chicks Phil and Carlos. Phil eats so much candy that he crashes, leaving Carlos to perform a solo of the big dance finale…the Merengue!
-The World of HOP—Explore an interactive map of Easter Island to experience the making of HOP.
-All Access with Cody Simpson—The best-selling teenage heartthrob performs the film’s catchy theme song, “I Want Candy” and attends the HOP world premiere, his first Hollywood movie red carpet event.
-Russell Brand: Being the Bunny—A wacky look at what happens in Russell’s brain as he prepares to become THE Easter Bunny.
-Russell Brand’s Kid Crack Ups—Russell Brand interviews kids with comedic results.
-Carlos on Carlos: The Premiere According to Carlos—Experience the world premiere of HOP from the POV of Carlos. Viewers are given a guided tour of the party, where they can meet celebs and see all the fun!
-Emotion in Motion: The Dance of Ken Daurio—Writer Ken Daurio sits down to discuss his inspiration for everyone’s favorite dancing chick and reveals just how hard it was to teach Phil those awesome moves.
-Post Coup Commentary: Carlos & Phil Tell All—Actor Hank Azaria reveals the truth about Carlos’ and Phil’s relationship, and how they imagined Easter Island would be if their coup had been successful.

Games:
-E.B.’s Candy Challenge—The first one to the finish line in this virtual board game wins! There are some challenges along the way, including mini-games like Picture Challenge, 3 Egg Monte, and Candy Fix.
-Drum Along—E.B. can hit some tasty beats. Viewers compete to keep up with him as he plays a sequence of rhythms on four drums.
-Pink Beret Skill Tester—Fans can find out if they have what it takes to become a Pink Beret with the skill tester! Challenges will test memory, observations skills and logic as players earn the rank of Pink Beret, Carlos’ right hand chick, or Phil’s intern.

AND MORE!

Disclaimer: We received a free copy of the movie and all extra materials were provided to us in exchange for our complete and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

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Gift’s For Mom This Mother’s Day – Handcrafted By Kids

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Looking to give mom a great Mother’s Day keepsake handcrafted by a little one?
As much as I appreciate my children buying me a gift for a holiday, the gifts I cherish most are the ones that they have made me over the years. I have saved each and every one of my handcrafted gifts and will never part with them.

Here are some of my favorite handcrafted by kids gifts to give the mom in your life that I found around the Internet and pinned on Pinterest in one location.
(For those not familiar with Pinterest, if you click on the picture it will take you to the Pinterest link and that will then lead you to the original post explaning how to create each item. If you are not a member of Pinterest, left me know by emailing me at annegyounger(at)gmail(dot)com and I will gladly send you an invite! If you want to skip Pinterest all together and go straight to the original source, simply click the link next to source under each photo.)

Source: parents.com via Annie on Pinterest

Source: chickiemommacrafts.blogspot.com via Annie on Pinterest

Source: meetthedubiens.com via Annie on Pinterest

Source: crafts.slides.kaboose.com via Annie on Pinterest

These are some of my favorite handcrafted by kids Mother’s Day Gifts.
Be sure to visit my Mother’s Day Handcrafted By Kids Gifts Board on Pinterest for more ideas.

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Start Your Day with some OJ!

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In our house, the supply of orange juice is the one thing that never keeps up with the demand. I swear, my kids would swim in it if they could.
OJ is huge part of their every day diet.
It is the one thing that they all ask for every morning before heading off to school.
The Alex and I also enjoy our orange juice as well, (I however like to have mine later in the evening as part of an adult beverage).
Of all of the brands of OJ available today, our family is definitely brand dedicated and enjoys Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice over any other.
Our family has a few daily rituals that bring us together and meal time is one of them. Whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner as a family we like to share tidbits of our day with each other in addition to upcoming things we are excited about.

Compared to all of the other things my kids could be drinking, I would prefer that they drink orange juice over anything because it is packed with essential vitamins and nutrients that their busy hardworking bodies need!

Did you know:
*Tropicana Pure Premium is 100% Pure Florida Orange Juice?
*Tropicana is the single largest buyer of Florida fruit, purchasing approximately 11.6 billion oranges from Florida each year.
*Tropicana uses groves in 22 different Florida counties, primarily in central and southern Florida.
*The different microclimates and soil types mean that fruit reaches peak maturity at different times, allowing Tropicana to harvest ripe fruit throughout the entire growing season.
*The two major orange types in Tropicana Pure Premium are Valencia and Hamlin. Valencias typically have more intense color and flavor, while *Hamlins can be sweeter. They each add unique characteristics to the TPP blend.
*Many Florida growers sample oranges by cutting them into a cup shape, allowing for drinking juice directly from the fruit.
*Tropicana’s roots in Florida go back a long way. Some of its current grower relationships date to the 1960s.
*Oranges have been grown in Florida since the 1560s, approximately 147 years before any other U.S. state.

Right now Tropicana is running a sweepstakes with the amazing opportunity for one winner to receive a trip to a Florida orange grove along with three guests of their choice and round-trip airfare for 4 to Florida, and a 3 night stay at a Florida hotel along with an exclusive experience at a Florida orange grove.

In addition to the grand prize trip to Florida, Tropicana is awarding 99 other winners a one-year supply of orange juice (payable in the form of 12 coupons for 12 – 59oz. Tropicana Pure Premium Containers.

Be sure to head over to the Tropicana Facebook Page and ENTER NOW!!!

Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tropicana blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms Rewards Points. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.”