~~Costume Super Center Review & Giveaway~~

We have been looking for Halloween costumes that are not the same old Princess and Witch that the girls have been for the past 3 years. We wanted something that was super cute and something that they could use for playing dress up after Halloween because they love to play dress up like no other and with me being one of the cheapest human beings on the planet, there is nothing better than being able to use the costumes throughout the year instead of just one time.

Charles from Costume Discounters offered to let us pick one from their great online store.

The girls searched and searched and went through every page at least a dozen times because they were all so cute they just could not decide. I finally had to give them a time limit or we were never going to get done because they wanted them all!

Libby decided she wanted to be a cowgirl and I thought "How easy" figuring there would be one choice and the searching would be over, but they carry 9 different cowgirl costumes. How cool is it to have a variety like that? She finally chose the Child Western Diva and then waited with baited breath until it arrived.

The day it came she couldn't wait to get it on. And look how cute it is on her. (I swear that is not dirt on my carpet, the kids were just playing on their seesaw and made dark spot designs on the brand new carpet)



The costume came with the dress and attached vest. We got a size Medium because a lot of the costumes we have gotten in the past have run small, but this one runs real close to the stated size and if I was to get another one I would go with the size it says would fit.

The dress came with only the dress/vest combination and although the Costume Super Center does offer the extras to go with the dress I wasn't sure about the time to get it here for an extra early party the girls are going to so we went over to the local Dollar Store and grabbed the cute little pink hat, a Princess crown and the badge/gun combination. Those simple things dressed the costume up nicely for next to nothing.

Costume Super Center doesn't only carry kids costumes. They have great stuff for Men, Women, Infant & Toddler and Plus Sizes. Being plus size myself I have found it quite difficult the past few years to find anything really cute for Halloween and usually end up in something that looks like a mumu. But I found at least 3 on the site that I would love to have.

They also carry wigs, masks, make-up, accessories and decorations. Another awesome bonus for people who love their pets like I do and go a little crazy dressing them up at times, is that they carry a good variety of pet costumes.

They also guarantee that if you find the identical costume somewhere else on the internet that they will match the price AND take off 20%. They offer free exchanges, same day shipping and free expedited shipping on orders of $70 or more. They also have some absolutely awesome prices on clearance merchandise.

Costume Super Center has generously offered one of my readers their choice of any costume up to $50 retail value.

To enter go visit Costume Super Center and then come back here and tell me what you might choose. This is mandatory and must be done before other entries are valid.

Extra entries:

2 entries for following me on Facebook.

2 entries for following me on Twitter.

1 entry each time you tweet about this giveaway (once per day)

1 entry for grabbing the "Our Crazy Life" button and putting it on your blog list/roll (tell me where to find it).

1 entry for each entry into another one of my giveaways (tell me which one).

3 entries for blogging about this giveaway and linking back to it (tell me where to find it).

1 entry for following me on Google feed.

4 entries for buying something from Costume Super Center before the end of this giveaway (I do check).

Please leave separate comments for each thing you do.

Contest ends October 15, 2010 @ 11:59pm

~~A Big Thanks to Smiths~~~

This past weekend we went to Las Vegas to the Smith's 350 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series courtesy of Smith's Grocery Store. They gave us 4 tickets and it was SUPER. My husband has been down to NASCAR races before and I never went because I thought tickets were outrageously priced and I didn't think I would have any fun. But with Smith's footing the bill I opted to go check it out.

Now when I was a kid and even up to when I was a teenager, my dad drag raced and raced stock cars at a local track here. It was cool and I even enjoyed it when I was forced to go with my family~~ just don't tell anyone that because they all think to this day I was being picked on by being made to hang out with the family. I didn't really think it would be much different than that, but boy was I surprised. Not the same at all!!!!!

Not only will I be going back down with him for the March 2011 race, I think I will be going to all of them, to every destination he goes to, for the rest of the time he goes, which will be when we are old and gray~ or older and more gray.

There is not another feeling like those trucks racing by at almost 200 miles per hour, inches apart~ they have some awesome driving skills. I swear it feels like they are driving right through you. Unfortunately, since they are going that fast it is all but impossible to get a good picture with my outdated camera, but here is a sample of what I got. The better ones are before the trucks actually started moving, but you get the idea.

I wish I could put a video on here so you could get an idea of how it sounds and feels, but I am afraid it would be breaking some kind of copy write laws.

If you ever get the chance to go, I say DO IT!!!!! There is nothing I can say that will give you the same feeling as the actual experience and it is well worth the time.

Thanks to Smith's for giving us the free tickets and thanks to Jeff for taking me and having the patience to deal with me asking a million questions through the whole thing.

~~HearthSong Review & Giveaway~~

Are you looking for a great place to shop online? A place that you can find something for everyone you are shopping for? Without ever leaving your cooled house to go out in this heatwave? Me too!! The best place I have found is actually like 4 places in one.

Let me introduce you to Plow & Hearth, Wind & Weather, HearthSong and Magic Cabin, the four online stores that have a super sweet Director of Brand Marketing, Lynn, who I have had the pleasure of working with.

Lynn offered to let me choose anything from their online stores and I chose the Rocking Seesaw and I could not have chosen better according to my girls and my grandson.

This Seesaw is perfect!! It has all rounded edges, comfortable seats, foot support bars and the bottom rocker bar is padded so you can use it in the house without harming your flooring.

It came in pieces so I enlisted the help of my husband to put it together. It took about an hour and while that seems like forever for these few pieces, we followed the directions and put it all together loosely at first and then went back through like the directions said and I am glad we did, even given the extra time because it was all a pretty tight fit and because of this my husband says it will stay put together a lot longer and things won't get loose. (I don't know why, but I am guessing he is right because he is good at getting things to stay put when he puts them there). The only bad thing about putting it together, (besides not having tiny hands that fit better in the tight spots), was the directions called for a regular screwdriver and what we really needed was a wrench that fit the nuts for tightening. So after a quick change of tools we were on the way. By the way, even though there was a bazillion nuts and bolts, they were all there which NEVER happens in our house and they even included a hex or alan wrench so I didn't have to hunt one down since that is a tool not everyone has on hand.

We worked on it with the kids hovering around, wanting us to hurry faster, which irritates dad and makes him get frustrated. For that reason I suggest you do it when they are asleep and surprise them because it is all but impossible to keep them out of the way. So after a slight irritation in dad, a broken fingernail and bloody finger from me being stupid and not following directions (there again, another reason to do what the directions say instead of trying to do it your way ;-o~~ they are so much smarter than I gave them credit for)

Then came this, the cheesiest smile I have ever seen on the boy when he finally got to get on.

They all played on this Seesaw for HOURS. I actually had to take it away to get them to stop and go to bed. I have also found I can use it to my advantage as couple times in the last week, to get them to give me a moment of peace, I suggested they get it out and, miracle of miracles, instant time alone for me. Whooo Hooo!!

I think my very favorite thing about this Seesaw over others I have seen is that if my girls are at school or a friends house, the baby can sit in the middle seat of this a play alone. It also doesn't matter that they weigh a bit more than him, it seems to rock just fine and they can all have fun on it at the same time.

I am really serious when I say that these four web stores have got awesome products and I would gladly send anyone I know there to shop. If this Seesaw is a sample of their regular products (and I am sure it is being that I got to choose anything~ not something they had chosen for me) I am confident that they have quality, well made products that you will be proud to own.

Another awesome thing about HearthSong is that they also give away a $200 gift certificate every month and you can go here to enter that contest.

Want to buy this Seesaw? Go here and for $79.99 plus shipping it will be on your doorstep within days. Want to win it? Lynn has generously offered to let one of my readers win this same Seesaw, just follow the directions below and Good Luck!!

Mandatory Entry~~ Go visit HearthSong, come back here and tell me something you would love to have from them. This must be done for other entries to count.

2 entries- Like HearthSong on Facebook.

2 entries- Sign up for the HearthSong newsletter.

1 entry- Grab the Our Crazy Life button.

2 entries- Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this free giveaway up to once a day! Please leave a comment for each day that you do.

2 entries- Become a friend on Facebook

1 entry- subscribe to my feeds either Google or email.

3 entries - Blog about this free giveaway and post the link here.

1 entry- Enter my other giveaways and post 1 comment for each one you entered. Make sure to leave separate comments.

2 entries-Submit this giveaway to a giveaway site and let me know which one.

Contest ends October 15, 2010 @ 11:59 pm

~~Cold Stone + Make A Wish= Free Ice Cream~~

Mark your calendar to stop by Coldstone Creamery this Thursday for some free ice cream.

Cold Stone's annual World's Largest Ice Cream Social benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. With any donation amount you'll get a 3 oz cup of Kate's Creation. The free ice cream is a concoction called "Katie's Creation," named after the little girl who dreamed up this flavor. It includes caramel apple ice cream with chocolate shavings, graham cracker pie crust, and apple pie filling. The freebie is part of a fundraiser for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which helps make wishes come true for sick kids. Roughly 85% of all the donations Coldstone receives in September go to the foundation.

Valid only during published date and time. While supplies last. No substitutions. Limit one per customer.

~~Girl Gotch Review~~

You know what I see all the time that drives me bat shit crazy??? Girls pulling their underwear out of their butts. I know that may be a little on the graphic side of putting it, but seriously, it makes me want to tell them how horrible it looks and to go put on something that fits. But since that isn't always the problem I guess that wouldn't be the answer. My girls are not exempt from doing this no matter how often I gripe at them for it. So when I heard about the Girl Gotch underwear for girls I went right over to the Girl Gotch web site and read all about them.

Information from Rebecca at Girl Gotch:

"It all started in the summer of 2008. I was potty-training my daughter and was having a really hard time finding underwear that fit her. She seemed to always be

pulling and adjusting and no matter what, they would “ride-up”. I tried everything, even buying size 5/6 panties for her (even though she was 2).

One afternoon, we were at my sister‘s house. My daughter

and nephew were playing and were so wrapped up in their fun that my daughter had an accident. I didn‘t have a change of clothes, so I borrowed a pair of my nephew‘s gotch. I didn‘t think much of it at the time, but as the day went on I noticed that she wasn‘t complaining about her underwear hurting. I also watched her jump and play around and they stayed in place. The gotch covered her whole bum, which was something her panties never managed to do.

That got me to thinking...why don‘t they make gotch for

girls? And so, Girl Gotch was born and that brings me to today. I have been working with designer

s and manufacturers to get what I believe are the best girl‘s underwear on the market!"

They come in super cute bight colors or white/light for use with white pants. I was going to take pictures of my girls in them because they really do fit cute, but I am afraid of the internet pervs finding them on here so I will post some pictures from their site.

Brief – inspired by the original ”tighty whitey“, we have taken the style and made it to be all girl. They feature a one inch covered elastic waistband and material binding around the legs.

Boxer – These are great to wear under skirts or for sports.

Now while these are a little more pricey than what I usually buy~~ $15.99 for a box of 3 pair~~ they are totally worth it. My 5 year old has even asked to wear these because they are comfortable and that makes all the difference. Check them out, buy a box and you will be hooked too!

~~Crazy Dog T-shirt Winner~~

I used Random.org to choose the winner and wouldn't you know it, the first number it picked was the comment I left in response to someone else.

So random pick # 2 was # 31 Yono.

I know these pictures are a little blurry. I am in desperate need of a new camera and I cannot figure out how to copy and paste from the internet page. (If anyone from Nikon or Canon is reading I would be more than happy to review one for you!!)

An email has been sent and if there is no response in 72 hours I will choose another person.

~~Charm Factory Bracelet Review & Giveaway~~

Unique, High Quality, Sterling Silver Charms, Charm Bracelets & More!

I love jewelry. Plain. And. Simple. Everyone who knows me knows that if you want to get me a gift, just hit the local jewelry store and I will be a happy camper. I have a jewelry box almost as big as my husbands gun safe and it is pretty much full. So when Angie from the Charm Factory offered me one of their finished charm bracelets for a review I was giddy (do people use that word anymore?) with excitement.

I chose the awareness bracelet because being a cancer survivor I always choose the awareness items when I have the chance.

It came in just a couple days and I must say, I was not disappointed at all!! It is BEAUTIFUL.

The little charms on it are just the right size and yet the detail on them is great and you can easily read what they say.

I know my bracelet is considered finished and it is wonderful the way it is, but it has plenty of room to add things and Charm Factory also carries a ton of single charms that you can buy to add to this bracelet if you happen to want more on it. I know everyone has different taste and some might think it is too much to add more, but I am absolutely buying these to add:

I am also thinking about this one to be like a "free floater" around the bracelet:

Now another thing I have problems with in most bracelets I have is that my arm is just too chubby to get them to fit well and I have to buy extenders, but this one fits perfectly, yet it also fits my daughter's arm and she is quite thin because it also has places to fasten it for smaller rms.

Charm Factory carries all kinds of sterling silver chains or bracelets, and then you can add as many .925 sterling silver beads, charms, wood charms, pewter charms, etc to add. They feature almost 5000 high quality, unique kinds Each one comes with a free jump ring to attach it to your chain or bracelet. They are super easy to personalize

Check out the lockets,

the beads

the pendants,

birthstone charms, photo charms, chains by the foot, alphabet beads, baby charms and much much more. It is also all lead, nickel and cadium free. Charm Factory products are made in the United States.

Charm Factory carries the most beautiful jewelry and I promise that you will not be disappointed at all getting something from them. I will always be proud to wear my bracelet~ it doesn't look cheap, it doesn't look gaudy~ in fact it looks just perfect for dress up or every day!!

Angie has generously offered one of my readers their choice of a finished Charm bracelet like one of these:


All you have to do is follow the entry rules below and you could own one of these beautiful pieces of jewelry.

First off, and mandatory, go visit Charm Factory then come back here and tell me one thing that you would love to own.

You can do any of these things for an extra entry. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

1 entry~ Follow me via Google Friend, Reader.

1 entry~ Grab my button and tell me where you have it.

1 entry~ Subscribe via Google email.

2 entries~ Follow Charm Factory on Facebook.

2 entries~ Follow me on Twitter

2 entries~ Follow Charm Factory on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You can do this once a day, leave a separate comment for each day you do.

1 entry~ Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post and let me know which one

2 entries~ Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post.

Contest ends October 15, 2010 at 11:59 pm. I will draw a winner using Random.org. Please leave your email address if it is not easily visible on your profile. I will notify the winner and they will have 72 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.

~~Wee Squeak Winner~~

Congratulations Mama3. I have sent an email and you have 72 hours to reply or I will choose another winner.