Love and Blessed

Have you heard of loved+blessed?  Unlike many subscription boxes, loved+blessed is about hope and encouragement rather than products - a cause box.  The value of these boxes is measured differently than many other companies.  Each month, they send a box of encouragement to the loved+blessed ladies with a different theme that they hope will brighten their month, help them get through the challenges of life and help them to pass encouragement along to someone else.  I know that I personally love receiving packages in the mail.  I think this is a fabulous way to really brighten someones day!

Each month the box of encouragement includes:

• a MINI POSTER for your home or office
• a repositionable REMINDER STICKER perfect for your mirror, laptop or tablet
• a SCRIPTURE CARD sized to fit in your pocket or purse
• a removable KEEPSAKE THEME CARD
• a special GIFT OF ENCOURAGEMENT (could be jewelry, stationary, journal, home decor, and more!)

I was so blessed to receive my own loved+blessed box.  The theme of my box is BEAUTY!

The sticker inside explains the Beauty theme.

Box Goodies

My box contained a mini poster (Beauty does not require perfection), a reminder sticker (You are all together beautiful my darling; there is no flaw in you), a scripture card (1 Peter 3:3-4), a pink bracelet saying loved+blessed, an encouraging compact mirror, and a prayer journal to record answered prayers.

 mini poster

 compact mirror

reminder sticker

Scripture card

prayer journal

 prayer journal pages

I have to admit that I feel pretty far from beautiful these days.  I am about halfway through my pregnancy and I already feel humongous.  It was such a sweet thing to receive this box and be reminded that I am beautiful.  I love that it contained scripture and reminded me of my inner beauty as well.  I think my favorite thing in the box is my new encouraging compact mirror.  It is something I would probably never buy myself; yet, it is useful and fun!

Would you like the chance to win a year of encouragement?  Yep, that's 12 free boxes.  Enter the Year of Encouragement giveaway and good luck!  Winner will be emailed April 1st.

Join Now and/or check out loved+blessed monthly subscription options.  Also, check out their shop to see examples of previous boxes - so fun!

And you can check out more about and the latest news from loved+blessed on their social channels: instagram, pinterest, twitter, and facebook.

Disclosure: Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing me with my own loved+blessed box to facilitate my review.  All opinions are 100% my own.

Save 60% Off ROBOTS-4-U Summer Camps

Hey I wanted to let you know about a great deal with ROBOTS-4-U Summer Camps - Where Fun, Thinking & Learning comes to Life!  ROBOTS-4-U Summer Camps Now Enrolling and my readers save 60% Off with Code: TEX1660M15 Expires 3/31

Campers having a BLAST, while learning and playing in a dynamic environment. Learning about Robotics and Science, in an independent and exciting way!
Visit their websites www.ROBOTS-4-U.com and www.dynamic-art-design.com to see dates and locations for these day camps.

- Robot / Science / Engineering / Day Camp / Challenges
- Camps Girls and Boys - Aged 7 to 14
- Robot Camps and Dynamic Art Camps offered during June, July and August
- Hands on Learning, Self-Paced. Beginners to Expert!

KEY INFORMATION
- 1 week (5 days) long
- Days: Monday to Friday Times: 9:00-11:30a.m. and 12:30-3:00 p.m.
- CAMPERS RATIO: 1 Instructor to 16 participants
- Register early as camps do fill up quickly!
- Each Camper Individually uses a ROBOTICS or DYNAMIC ART Kit. Robot kits do not go home with campers but are available for purchase!

For The Current Robots-4-U Camp Special Offer Click Here.  Check them out on twitter and facebook as well.



Disclosure: Thanks so much to USFamilyGuide for allowing me to participate in this campaign. I am eligible to receive a prize as part of this campaign.

Happy Birthday David - May the Force be with you

The kids made homemade signs and decorations - I love them!

Last week we celebrated David's birthday!  The kids and I decided on a Star Wars themed birthday party and it was a lot of fun.  They made homemade decorations and we jointly made a cake of R2D2.

 Princess Leia

 Another sign - these are all over our living room and dining room area.

The table set up.  C did a great job applying Star Wars stickers along the border of our tablecloth.

 Our R2D2 cake

With candles...

 And on fire....

Happy Birthday David, we love you!

Happy Pi Day

Our delicious chocolate pie!

Happy Pi Day Everyone!  Hope at some point today you were able to enjoy a slice of pie.  We went for chocolate pie this year and it was a hit.

Our family of 8 can really do some pie damage :).

New Renuzit Sensitive Scents Review & Giveaway

You guys have seen some of my Renuzit reviews in the past: Renuzit Adjustable Cones and Renuzit Pearl Scents Air Freshener.  I wanted to share with you today the new Renuzit Sensitive Scents.  These products are designed to bring long-lasting freshness without overpowering your senses - hence the sensitive scents.  Renuzit Sensitive Scents can be experienced in multiple ways: adjustable cones (perfect for small spaces and last up to 4 weeks), universal scented oils (Renuzit's Plug-in refills universally fit in any Glade or Air Wick oil warming unit), and trigger sprays (neutralize tough odors, musky fabrics and other unpleasant smells with instant spray action).

Renuzit Sensitive Scents are available in stores now and are available in three distinct scents: pure water blossom and cucumber, pure ocean breeze, and pure white pear and lavender.

I was recently sent three different Renuzit Sensitive Scents to try out in my home.  I received The trigger spray in pure white pear and lavender, the universal scented oil in pure ocean breeze and an adjustable cone in pure water blossom and cucumber.

Adjustable Cone

Renuzit Sensitive Scents adjustable cone:  I still really enjoy the Renuzit adjustable cones, and the new Sensitive Scents cone is no exception.  I have always thought that they are a great and easy way to freshen up a room.  I really appreciate that they are adjustable allowing you to choose the strength that you desire - the higher the height the greater the strength.  And I appreciate that this cone performs without overpowering.

 Trigger Spray

Renuzit Sensitive Scents trigger spray:  The trigger spray works well for whole room freshness.  It can be used to help eliminate odors in the air, fabric and even carpet (when used as directed).  Simply spray 2-3 times in the air in an average sized room, a smaller bathroom probably only needs 1-2 sprays.  It can help with pet odors, garbage odors, tobacco smoke (thank goodness we don't have this) and more.  I like having a spray option so that you can use this when needed most and in multiple spaces.  I like that the spray is nice and light and not overpowering similar to the cone.

Scented Oil

Renuzit Sensitive Scents universal scented oil:  The oil reminds me of the cone only it has to be used in an outlet.  This is probably my least favorite of the three simply for that very reason.  However, it is easy to use and if you are an oil fan you will not be disappointed.  Again, it has a nice balance to the fragrance - a balance for sensitive noses.  For safety reasons, make sure your warmer is always plugged in upright.

Now that you have heard all about this new Renuzit line, ready for a giveaway?  Three readers will win a free product coupon for any one Renuzit Sensitive Scents (expiration 12/31/16).  Just enter the giveaway below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclosure:  Thanks so much to the Purex Insiders program and Renuzit for allowing me to be a part of this campaign and providing me with samples of all three of the New Renuzit Sensitive Scents!  As part of this campaign I am eligible to win prizes!  All opinions expressed are my own.

Two Pounds of Hair, Another Donation

Right before donating my hair

I have been donating my hairs for years.  I did it in the Fall of 2008, January of 2011, April 2013 and my most recent was last month - February of 2016.  After I get it cut it always feels so much lighter so this time I decided to weigh it.  After cutting off 17 inches of hair, I was officially 2 lbs lighter. 

 

 At the salon holding all four of my pony tails together.

I really do prefer my hair long but I love the low maintenance aspect of my short hair right now.  I needed something easier and I always feel like it is a great cause so a total win-win.  I broke the 100 mark this time bringing my grand total to 104 inches!  The hairdresser had to put my hair in 4 ponytails before she could cut it because I have the thickest hair in the world (or so I am told). 

And the after!

A's 12th Birthday Bird Party

 A painting her bird house.

I can't believe it but A is now 12 and has been for over a month!  Life has been pretty crazy with my latest pregnancy.  I have been feeling unwell most of the time and then I developed a posterior vitreous detachment in my left eye (it took awhile to diagnose) but the long and short is that I am okay.  I now have a retina specialist, who by the way is awesome!  I am slowly getting more energy but I always feel like I am ten things behind if that makes sense. 

A had a lovely themed bird birthday party at our house.  When she picked a bird theme I thought it might be difficult but it was fairly easy to put together and all the guests had a great time painting a miniature bird house.  Hope you enjoy the photos and ideas below.

We served cheese, crackers, fruit, goldfish, various chips, gummy worms, sunflower seeds, cookies, brownies and of course cake and ice cream!

 A's Bird Cake, A actually made the chocolate bird for the nest!

 Side view of the cake

Close up of bird and nest

singing and blowing out candles

 

A wanted to have a painting craft at her party.  We found super cute miniature bird houses at Michael's for only $1/ea.  They had lots of cute designs to choose from.  We also picked up some small wooden birds for the littler kids to paint.

 Our painting table set-up for the party.

Here you can see the paint and brushes as well.

 D loved making a bird house.

Painting Fun

I loved watching all the kids paint.  It is so fun for me to see creativity in action and this was a fabulous activity for watching that happen.  I was able to take photos of several of the bird houses.  I love the variety and diversity.

 blue and yellow house

 sparkle house

 green and yellow house (complete with birdseed)

 multi-color house

 several houses

A had a bigger house to decorate.

If you have a birthday party coming up and you need a theme, consider birds!  There is a lot you can do with it and the kids will have a great time.  I also like that this theme will work for a variety of ages including tween!