iPad App Love- English POP - VLOG

I'm a big fan of our iPAD. The girls got one from santa this past year...

and it has been a lifesaver! They love to play games together on it..or put on music and have a dance party. I sometimes let sophia play on it during her "quiet time" while sienna naps.

And it has made making dinner a possibility some nights

when I didn't think anything but pb&j's were a possibility.

I've posted about my girls' Favorite iPAD Apps Before...

And I'm excited to add English POPS to the list!

CJ EDUCATIONS, creator of English POPS, saw my girls playing another game they created (Play123) and got in touch with me to see if the girls would like to try out a new app that they just created! It's not available yet..but will be soon! I'll keep you posted on the details because my girls LOVED it.

Here's a video sharing more on the English POP App!

The graphics in the app are so cute! and the music is fun and playful.

There is a series of interactive stories available to download.

Their favorite was the Polar Bear learning to say thank you.. the Hippos saying excuse me.

The ones we tried out all seemed related to manners and learning important words/phrases.

There is a I loved how the words pop up that are being read...

and it's very interactive. It can auto read..or you can record yourself reading the parts!

She had fun making the monkey character tell the story with her voice. :)

What are some of your favorite apps??

This has been the go to one when I let them play on their iPAD.

And our 8 hour car ride monday to grandma and grandpa's is going to be a lot smoother with this new app. I might have packed oreos as bribery as well. ;)

Thanks CJ EDUCATIONS for letting us try out the app early!

Can't wait to hear when it hits itunes!

My Favorites from AllDiaperCakes.com + $50 CREDIT to SHOP

I had been hearing about this site across the twitterland ;)......

and was so excited when I checked my inbox

and saw an email from Laura the owner asking me if I wanted

to share her site with all of you and do a giveaway!

Laura is a work at home mom of a toddler, and another on the way, and

owner of the online baby gift store, All Diaper Cakes.com

I love a mamapreneur!

All Diaper Cakes.com is offering a $50 credit.

So be sure to enter below so you can grab up a free baby gift..

for your baby..or someone elses! 

I told her I would love to take a look and pick out my favorites.

And....I seriously got lost in her website going from one cute baby item to another! It was hard to just pick 10. (I had to limit myself. ;)

Here are my picks!

1.  2.  3. 4. 5. 6. 7.  8. 9. 10.

I plan on doing more features like this.. showing my favorites.

It was like shopping for all my friends! (you guys!)

I think these would be fun gift ideas..

but I seriously NEED that car seat/nursing cover for next baby. Love that print!

And the tricycle diaper cake?!?!? AMAZING.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

VLOG: What We Would Do with A Million Dollars + Win 1 Million & 5,000 every Week Mega Prize

Special thanks to Publishers Clearing House for sponsoring today’s discussion.

I think we've all seen the videos on tv of the Publishers Clearing House Van
pulling up and suprising a winner with balloons and a big check!
Did you know you can enter to win that check yourself online??! 

Ben and I sometimes talk about what we would do if we won money like that.

The kids and I created a video this morning to share...

Just because videos make blog posts more fun. :)

What we would do if we WON:

-Pay off debt...... student loans, we don't like you.
-SAVINGS! Would be such a blessing to have more security,
money saved for their college, emergencies and the future.

-Be able to help Ben's Brother's Non Profit: Dirty Vagabond Ministries.

-Be able to give more generously to those we meet in need.

-We are in a cozy 3 bedroom one level house...

would love something a bit bigger to fill up with babies and host family! ;)

-Maybe buy a bigger vehicle. We have a little hyundae that fits all three kids
in the back seat with a squeeze. lots of "she's touching meeeee" going on in that car.

- I have always wanted to publish a children's book.

I have one written, and having the funds to back it up....

would make that dream of mine come true!

-Travel to Greece with my husband!..maybe go back to his birthplace of New Zealand!

-Travel with our whole family.. go on some fun adventures!

I’m sure you’d love to be the next person to win $1 Million plus $5,000 Every Week for Life from Publishers Clearing House! June 30th is their Prize Event. Think about how amazing it would be to receive a check for $5,000 every single week for the rest of your life. In one year alone, you’d have $260,000! And on top of that, the winner would get ONE MILLION DOLLARS ON THE SPOT! Think about what you would do with $1 Million. Now think about what you would do with $5,000 a week for life. Then combine those two thoughts and THAT’S what you could do with the Mega Prize!

What would you do if you won the PCH Mega Prize?
Click to enter online.

BUMPED by BLANQI Bloggers- Video Reviews!

It was my job to help BLANQI Founders, Valerie and Sabina, round up

a great group of Bloggers to try out their new line BUMPED by BLANQI

which is now available! exclusively on Target.com!

There were some bloggers I knew we HAD to get...

and then some that I found, and fell in love with immediately! You will too.

Here's the first round of blog reviews!

 I'm so happy with the girls we got on board to try the

Maternity or Postpartum cami and do a video review for all of you!

Look below for links to their blog post where they share their thoughts on the new line.

It was so fun seeing the real people behind the blogs through the videos!

And I loved seeing BUMPED on each of them

after we had been chatting about it!

image via lemon and lavender

Some of these girls are rocking the

postpartum and some the maternity...

ALL of them are giving away a cami of your

choice from the BUMPED line!

AND a $25 gift card to TARGET!

I know 2 or 3 of the giveaways have ended...

but go enter the ones that are still going on! hurrry!!!! ;)

Vanessa of See Vanessa Craft- Maternity

Ruthie of Ruthie Hart - Maternity

Jennifer of Baby Making Machine - Postpartum

Nicole of The Style Hatch - Maternity

Kara-Kae of The Mom Diggity - Postpartum 

Sarah of The Stroller Ballet - Postpartum

Heather of Dandy Giveaway - Maternity

Kim of Oh Sweet Joy - Postpartum

Caroline of Chocolate and Carrots - Postpartum

Moriah of Moriah Makes - Maternity

Ashley of Lemon and Lavender - Maternity

ME! Natalie of The Busy Budgeting Mama - Postpartum

Stay tuned ten more AMAZING bloggers who are

set to share their video reviews this upcoming week!!

(and MORE chances to win one of your own and a Target gift card!)

VLOG: Smart Grocery Shopping Made Easier + $100 Visa Giveaway from SHOPPERK

I have to admit...I'm still perfecting the art of grocery shopping and meal planning.

And now with another baby in the mix, my time to spend on this task is limited.

I'm always getting bored with the meals I make and am wanting to find new recipes to try.

I usually end up looking through pinterest to see new recipes to try...

and then get distracted by DIY projects before I actually end up

adding those recipe's ingredients to my grocery list and checking for deals.

And don't even get me started on wanting to spend less at the grocery.

I know I'm not alone on that!

I couldn't resist this new company's proposal to be one of the first to have a look at their new App. SHOPPERK is all about making Smart Shopping Easier.

After using the Shopperk App I realized it makes finding recipes easier, with big yummy photos and search options... and offers big savings all in one place by showing you deals from stores in your area...on a bunch of items but also on the actual items on your grocery list from the recipes you chose! genius.

Here's a video I made to give you an idea of how it works!

ignore my dorkyness. Micah makes an appearance for about 3 seconds

before that teething wiggle worm wanted to go play.

I'm curious to see if you would use something like this!

If you are interested put your e-mail in and you'll be one of the first users.

$100 Visa Gift Card
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
The giveaway will end May 7th.
A winner will be chosen via random.org and e-mailed!
Put your e-mail below as an entry! Good luck!

Try ShopPerk for Yourself

                                                                           

Mother's Day Gift Ideas- Something I ordered for my mama + Free Stuff and Discount Codes! (Caroline G. Giveaway!!)

Mother's day is around the corner!

If you want to send me mail with chocolates(I could live off of take 5's)

you can e-mail me for my address.. ;)

I wanted to offer my readers some good deals to gift the special mothers in their life with!

A friend of mine Carrie, Owns an amazing shop called Caroline G.

Her jewelry designs have taken over the blog world.

(I'm wearing one of her pieces in my blog bio photo over there --->

I went to a blog conference this year and saw her stuff EVERYWHERE!

We had been talking about doing a giveaway for a while and

thought this was perfect timing!

She is offering TWO $50 Credits to shop all her jewelry!

She is ALSO offering a 50%OFF CODE
for ALL of her Jewelry!

CODE: busybudgetingmama50 (valid till 5/6/13)
----ENTER GIVEAWAY AT END OF POST-----

Amazing right?! 50 percent off........ Girls, she is hooking us up.

I think it's because she thought I was so sweet when we met at BLISSDOM.

I'm gonna go with that as the reason. ;)

I have a couple of her pieces and might be using the 50 percent off

myself to add to my jewelry collection.

They are classic pieces and well made. Love her statement necklaces.

I get compliments EVERY time I wear them. every single time.

people want to know where I got it. And that makes me fell nice since

I usually get ready quickly and with melt downs going on.........

I also wanted to share Cardstore.com is

offering free shipping right now.

I ordered cards from them for the

special mothers in my life.

Mother's day cards are $2.49 and

Use Code:CCF3425 for the free shipping!

(Their site says Offer is valid 4/25/13 - 5/6/13)

I designed this super easy and fast with kids running around at my feet.

LOVE how they turned out. You can have them ship directly from the site to your person...but I wanted to see them up close and in person so I clicked the option to have them stamped and addressed but sent to me first. The girls loved putting them in the mail box.

and I didn't have to search for stamps.

EASY process.. and I love their whole site's look... so cute!

Hope these give you ideas/motivation to bless your mamas!

And good luck to everyone entering the Caroline G. Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Sister's new line with Target: BUMPED by BLANQI- My Postpartum Miracle Worker!

This is it!!

The post I've been teasing you about for over a month!

Excited to finally share with you the new

BUMPED by BLANQI Line that my sister, Valerie,

and her best friend, Sabina, just launched exclusively at Target.com!

My sister and sabina are the founders of BLANQI and created a maternity support tank...

I loved my BLANQI..wore it all through my pregnancy with Micah.

Even documenting my growing bump in it each week.

But after I had him I always wished I had something similar to my BLANQI to help smooth me out and make me feel pretty! (I'm 5 months postpartum) I was not the only one!

Valerie and Sabina heard our plea and created not only a new maternity cami, but a Postpartum one..at a more affordable option to their original line. only $34.

It's for sale on Target.com. I'm wearing the Black Nursing Cami size S/M in these photos.
I also have the black M/L :) (Pants from Kohl's. Top from H&M. Shoes from Target)

Check out my video review below!

I decided to include the dorky outtakes. for your viewing pleasure. haha.

Visit Target.com to see their line!

So proud of my sister and Sabina.

BUMPED by BLANQI Postpartum Nursing Cami- Black or Ivory $34.99

BUMPED by BLANQI Maternity Support Cami - Black or Ivory $34.99

Couple key things about my BUMPED Cami:

1. It's a soft light material.. very breathable...tight enough to make you feel secure and slim..but not restricting. wicks away sweat.

2. The straps feel invisible! there are two thin soft straps on each side

and they don't dig into your shoulders at all... comfy.

that was one of the first things I noticed. so many times tanks that are made to smooth you out are too restricting especially in the straps and chest area. this one is under the bust for easy nursing so you don't even have to worry about being smooshed there.

3. It helps smooth me out as I work towards losing the baby weight. It is SO easy to give yourself a hard time about your body after you have a baby...having garments that help you feel good about yourself as you work towards your goal is important.

4. I found myself, even as I lost weight from nursing, still wearing baggy big clothes because of some bumps here or there.. but once I put my BUMPED cami

on I felt like I could wear those tighter fitting shirts again!

Like I said in the video, BLANQI asked me to find some great blogging mamas to try out the new line. I rounded up a great group of girls, both maternity and postpartum, and they will be sharing their video reviews every day for the next couple weeks! a couple a day! So you will be able to check out what they think about it..how they wear it.. AND enter their giveaways!

(A BUMPED by BLANQI Cami and Target Gift Card!)

 Lots of baby bumps and postpartum mamas out there...so go check them out.

I'll be linking them up all week on The Busy Budgeting Mama Facebook Page.

Follow me on Instagram if you don't already to see a pop up giveaway...

win one for you and a friend!

Thank you val and sabina for

looking out for us postpartum mamas.

Spice up your Snacking Ladies!

I'm a nursing mama. I like to snack.

But sometimes our pantry is a little boring.

I can only eat goldfish and animal crackers for so long before I start turning into a toddler.

Sometimes I'll feel brave and see some interesting organic snacks and after pondering in the aisle while wrangling the kids for way too long a period of time.. I buy it..only to realize it tastes like crunchy cardboard. Which only leaves me wishing I could have tested it before I spent money on it. I remember when I was in high school, going to costco with my mom.. and "grocery shopping" but mainly having fun eating the samples and getting rasberry smoothies. Samples are the best!

So when I discovered Goodies Co...It was just what I was wanting!

Subscribers to the Goodies Co. Taster’s Box receive a
monthly box of 5-8 snacks for $7/month. (I can do $7!) 

At Goodies, your opinion matters, and you get rewarded for it!

After you try your snacks, go back to the Goodies website and give a review of your box.

I'm excited for that step..It'll be like doing a fun little survey and getting points for it.

You can redeem the points for rewards and free Taster's Boxes!

*Goodies Co. currently only ships to the continental US.*

Typically, there is a waitlist to get an invitation, however Goodies Co. is

offering a code so you can skip the line and get right in.

Use Code BLOGVIP when requesting your invitation and you'll get your  invite

and Taster's Box right away!

Once you enter the code into the promo page, you will receive 2 emails from Goodies. The first will state you are in line for your invitation, the next will instantly tell you your invitation has arrived. This shows you how you skipped the line!

My kids love getting mail.

Every time the mail comes they ask if something is in there for them..

and I admit that sometimes, we'll get those random coupon packets and instead of going right into the trash we tell them it's for them. haha. genius parenting. I know.

They are going to FLIP when a box full of SNACKS arrives..

seriously.. toddler world officially rocked.

Jump the waiting list and subscribe to a service that

makes it easy and affordable to try new snacks,

or even different flavors of old favorites.

I'm excited to spice up my snacking.

or sweetennnn it up?? yes please. ;)

Are you a snacker? Sweet or Salty?

I was a snacker and had cravings when I was pregnant..

but I think I'm MORE hungry for a snack throughout the day now that I'm nursing.

Any other nursing mamas relate?

I think chasing my kiddos around is part of that too ;)

Thanks to Goodies Co. for sponsoring today's discussion

My Team.

I am a pretty lucky mama.
I have a whole team of helpers with me at all times of the day.
They are my taste testers.. making sure whatever is on MY plate tastes good...
They're my trainers helping me get in shape...
(especially that 22+ pound chunk of cute baby.)
They are my beauty gurus that help me choose a lipstick by secretly sampling it on their face.

I get to go grocery shopping with a team up product samplers.

Sienna is known to use her teeth to rip into grocery items before I can stop her.

Sometimes she is like a puppy. no I take that back...

a lot of the times she is like a puppy.

They are my personal assistants..helping me choose home decor...

picking up things for me when I have a baby strapped to me and can't bend over...
(never mind they are the reasons WHY the things are on the aisle floor to begin with.)

Needless to say..EVEN with my fantastic team, I have my hands full!
Happily full.

But it makes me happy to see things like Visa's Prepaid Cards....
and their great videos showing you how to easily set them up.
 Visa Prepaid cards can help control your budget, so you have one less thing to worry about while you’re out with your little ones! And with features like direct deposit and safe online shopping, you spend less time organizing your finances
and more time with the people who matter.
I'll take making life easier and convenient anytime. 

I am blogging on behalf of Visa Prepaid and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Discover more at http://www.VisaPrepaid.com or view more Visa Prepaid videos at http://www.youtube.com/visaprepaid.