Ok people, now that spring is here it is time to walk through your house and take note of things you may want to update or may need to fix due to the winter weather.

I know when spring hits the first thing I check in our house are all of the pipes, pvc fittings under all of the sinks.  Now I know that may seem weird but there is nothing worse than a broken pipe or fitting which could cause major damage and cost a fortune.  I am not saying that a visual inspection will find all problems but it doesn’t cost any money to walk around your house and check so why not do it?

Once that is done if I find anything that seems questionable when it comes to the plumbing I fix it immediately because the cost now is far less expensive before it breaks rather than after.  Who wants to call a plumber in the middle of the night at rate of $50 – $100 hour when it could have been replaced at a much more reasonable cost and on your time.  I typically go to Home Depot if I have time otherwise you could go to a site like CIS and have the stuff shipped right to your front door.  

I know not everyone has the ability to do their own home repair but if you do have the ability you should make every effort to do it yourself.  It does sometimes take me a few days to a week to get to a project because of either work or something else going on that prohibits me from getting the job done right away but once I do have a free opening I am sure to get the job done before disaster strikes.

Do you make a list once spring time rolls around of things that you need to get done around the house? Or am I the only one?

Something happened last year that got Shaun and Rob really into Monster Trucks. They went to 2 shows last year, one already this year and have another 2 on the schedule. It’s a different kind of sport that they are used to. Instead of 2 teams battling each other the drivers are trying their best to just finish in one piece.

Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA, June 9, 2012

USHRA Monster Trucks including Grave Digger® driven by Dennis Anderson, Maximum Destruction® driven by Tom Meents, Advance Auto Parts Grinder℠, Lucas Oil Crusader℠, Monster Energy, Captain America, El Toro Loco®, Team Hot Wheels®, Iron Man, Grave Digger The Legend®, Madusa®, Monster Mutt®, Mohawk Warrior℠, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Metal Mulisha!

Win a 4-pack of tickets to the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam Path of Destruction, June 9th performance at Lincoln Financial Field. Just leave a comment with the truck you’re looking forward to seeing.

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They saying buying a new home is one of if not the largest purchase you will ever make in your life time and I agree.

Finding just the right home in the right area is extremely important and even more so if you have kids because you need to think about school districts and what school will be best for you child.

I thought when we were in Maryland about two years ago that we would be there for a while and that was where we were going to call home. it’s too bad we moved because Southern Maryland new homes were on the rise at the time and a place we could have called home for sure.

I am not saying that I’m not glad we moved back to Delaware because I am since we are a lot closer to family but I am not sure Newark is the place where we will live forever. We have committed to living in our current home until Sabreena graduates from high school in two years because we really don’t want to uproot her in her junior year. That isn’t fair to her plus it’s super hard to make quality friends at that point in your high school career and Melinda can attest to that because that is something she went through.

When Melinda and I discuss where we would really like to live we both agree North Wilmington is for us. North Wilmington is where we lived before we moved to Maryland and in a way I wish I was able to turn the clock back because I know if we could do it all over Melinda and I would have decided to stay in North Wilmington.

Like I said we are in our house for a least two more years but I can totally see us hitting the road for North Wilmington once Sabreena leaves for college. For those of you wondering, yes I will tell Sabreena that we moved to North Wilmington. LOL.

Melinda and I have always tried to live a somewhat healthy lifestyle.  Do we fall off the wagon sometimes?  Heck yeah but this time we are both really making an effort to get healthy and stay healthy.

Melinda and I started running and are currently training for a 5k so that shows how serious we are about this because Melinda and I are not big runners.  I must admit though I am starting to enjoy running just as much as I do cycling.  Not sure Melinda is at the enjoyment stage yet but she is hanging in and trying to get to that point.   

I have started taking a daily vitamin and protein powder to try and keep my body in the best shape I can while trying to lose weight.  Also, why is it so easy to put weight on but SOOOOO hard to take it off?  Wish there was an answer to this question and now I understand why more people don’t work out because it is hard work and sometimes it just down right hurts. 

Recently someone told me about LiveTru and how they have a great selection of essential oils as well as health and wellness products.  Finding a place that has good quality products is hard to find because when it comes to exercise and healthy living everyone is trying to make a quick buck off of the consumer.  So when someone I know makes a recommendation I am sure to check them out.

I was searching LiveTru last night for some kind of oil or cream that I could apply on my calf which I seemed to tweak this past Saturday while running.  Hopefully I am able to get it back into shape before this weekend because on Saturday I am planning on running my first 5k and then I am riding 65 miles on Sunday with two friends.

Working out and getting into shape is super hard but I know when Melinda and I are at our ideal weight we are going to be glad we did all of this hard painful work.

It’s already been almost 2 years since we moved into this house. While we are constantly making changes, purchases and improvements we’ve finally gotten the TV off my dresser and onto the wall. In previous homes we’ve had the tv on tv stands but for some reason lately my dresser has become it’s home. I’ve always hated it.

My dresser should be home to my jewelry box, clean laundry waiting to be put away or the rogue hair bands Shae leaves around the house.

Having the tv on the dresser always meant propping up pillows on a rock hard headboard to watch a show through my toes. Laying on my side worked but after a few minutes my arm would fall sleep or my hip would ache. Then there’s the issue of the pillow putting a bit of a damper on my hearing. Now that the tv is floating high above my head I can lay comfortably in bed with a remote in hand and click click click to my heart’s content.

Unfortunately this also means that my dresser has become the catchall. I say WHATEVER; it is MY dresser right. Rob uses the dog crate as his iPad and magazine holder so it only seems fair.

Thanks Dad for upgrading your tv so we could inherit your stand!

I’ve been picked as a Skype Ambassador. This means I get to show you all the cool features Skype has to offer that you may not have known about already.

This weekend was Mother’s Day, you still have the chance to send a “Mom You Rock” message through Facebook for any mom you know. Sending a message through this app will not only show the world your love for that mom but will also donate $1 to the Save the Children’s Global Action Fund in support of the new MomsTheWord.org campaign.

I’m lucky that my mom only lives 5 minutes down the road. We visit each other often, have lunch, go shopping and get together for easy family dinners. There are so many families at are separated by distance though. Think of how you can close that gap with video chatting instead of phone calls and letters. Grandparents don’t have to miss those important milestones like walking, birthdays or 1st time at bat. Skype keeps families connected better than ever.

There are talks of my grandmother getting a computer. I can’t wait to hear the details of it because I want to be able to talk more frequently with her. She lives far, Puerto Rico. We only get to see her every 2 years. I try to send cards and pictures and gifts but it isn’t the same as talking face to face even through a computer screen. Showing her how to use Skype is going to be one of the 1st things we do.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Skype. I received Skype credits to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

To keep up with Shae’s obsession with all things mermaid we were recently sent a Moxie Girlz™ Magic Swim Mermaid™ to review.

Moxie Girlz™ Magic Swim Mermaid™: The Moxie Girlz™ are imagining themselves as sparkling, magical mermaids! Product Features: First Moxie Girlz mermaid doll; Only doll that magically swims like a mermaid when placed in water. No on/off switch needed – she automatically swims on her own when she’s in water; Since she swims with her tail, she gracefully swims on her stomach, her back and even sitting down; Sparkling tail; Beautiful hair and fashion; Two characters: Avery and Kellan; Age Grade: 3+ Price: $24.99

We received Kellan and while she’s lovely like a mermaid should be the attraction is her swimming action. There are 2 sensors on the back of the doll that are activated when they get wet to simulate the swimming movement. I’ll be honest and tell you that it took me a long time to get the doll working. First, it didn’t come with batteries. Then I installed the batteries backwards. Finally after running the doll under running water I knew I had it figured out and Shae instantly asked to take a bath. She’s been playing with it anyway but now that it’s working she’s more eager to get in the tub.

Kellan is a pretty doll with precious freckles covering her nose and cheeks and fiery red hair; even when it’s caked with soap.

I’m especially happy to work with MGA Entertainment and Moxie Girlz as they introduce a new line of girls that help Step up to Cancer.

“True Hope” Bratz® and Moxie Girlz™ Dolls
Launching in June 2012 at Toys “R” Us
Company to Support Cancer Research at City of Hope

MGA Entertainment announced its commitment and support to the fight against cancer by launching new hairless versions of their hit doll brands, Bratz® and Moxie Girlz™. Under the banner “”True Hope,” MGA will release three Bratz® dolls -Cloe™, Yasmin™ and Cameron™, and three Moxie Girlz™ dolls, Avery™, Sophina™ and Jaxson™. Available at Toys“R”Us® stores and toysrus.com beginning in June, MGA will donate $1 for every “True Hope” Bratz® and Moxie Girlz™ doll, sold to distributors, to City of Hope for cancer research.

Enter for a chance to win your own Moxie Girlz™ Magic Swim Mermaid™ doll for a little girl in your life.

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The 1940 Census was conducted based on a census date of April 1, 1940 and was given a seventy-two year privacy restriction. After a 72 year embargo the 1940 census was finally released on 4/2/12.

How cool is it that you can now search for people from the 1940′s?  I am always interested in my family tree and where my family was and came from so I am going to be using the website to see what kind of information I can find.  What I find cool about the 1940 census is the questions that were asked and how the census was conducted. 

The Bureau of the Census (Department of Commerce) provided standardized forms in 1940 for all Enumerators as in previous years. The standard Population Schedule had 34 questions and more than a dozen Supplemental Questions asked only for those persons who were enumerated on specified lines. This was the means used to ensure a random nature in obtaining supplemental information.

One of the questions was “PERSONS 14 YEARS OLD AND OVER — EMPLOYMENT STATUS”.  There are 12 total questions related to 14 year olds and working.  In today’s society kids aren’t even allowed to work at the age of 14 due to child labor laws but I do find it interesting looking back into a whole different time in American history.  I am not sure how many questions are on a modern day census but back in 1940 there were 34 questions plus 16 supplemental questions for a total of 50 questions.  To me that seems like a lot of questions for someone to answer back in 1940.

So if you have been waiting for the 1940 census release it is now here after a long 72 years.  A lot of people have been waiting for this because within the first three hours of the 1940 census being released 22.5 million people logged on causing the website to overload.

Be patient if you have a hard time logging on.  We had to wait 72 years for this data so what is another hour or two?

Will you be searching the 1940 census for family?

Have you met our newest additions?  Rocky and Coco (otherwise know as Coco-nuts) are 2 doggies we rescued from different situations last month. Rocky was severely abused and Coco was taken to a shelter because his owner didn’t want him anymore.  They are still young dogs, 3-4 years old with lots of personality and attitude.  They are my shadows, especially Rocky.  He’s the chicken of the group, hiding from every noise and person that comes into the room.

Rocky and Coco lounging in the sun

I try to pamper these guys to show them that they’ve found their forever homes and this means letting them indulge in several treats a day.  They are little dogs with little bellies so I have to be careful how much I’m feeding them.  I stick with treats for small dogs that are nutritious and tasty.  Cesar sent over a couple bags of snacks that the doggies instantly loved.  They both were standing up at the table as I opened the bag of Cookie Crunchies Rotisserie Chicken flavor.

Each cookie style treat is only 10 calories; small enough to use as a reward for good behavior or after an active run in the yard. Our dogs like a variety of treats with different flavors and textures so the new Cesar Crunchies are a great addition to the cookie jars full of doggie goodies.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Cesar and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”