Effortless curls with the T3 Twirl 360 styling iron

Sponsored postEvery time someone is styling my hair at an event or for a special occasion, they all want to do the same thing – bold, beautiful curls in ringlets. I always love when they do, because this is one style I have never been able to master on my own.

I can do okay in the front, curling little sections at a time until it’s full of ringlets. But, the problem comes when I try to curl the backside of my hair. I’m famous for clamping the hair and then forgetting which way to curl and I end up crimping my hair on accident. As anyone who has ever done this before knows, those crimps will never, ever come out until you shower… so basically the hairstyle is ruined before you even finish. T3 Twirl 360 out of box
But, now I’ve got a way to curl my hair naturally with just a flick of the wrist. Yes, really. The T3 Twirl 360 is a groundbreaking curling iron that senses the movement of your hand and rotates the barrel in the desired direction. That means no accidental crimping, no wrist fatigue, and no asking your husband to help you curl your hair {True story: He curls my hair more often than I curl my own hair}.

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6 tips to getting a good night’s sleep with Restonic {ComfortCare Select mattress}

Sponsored postRecently, I’ve been thinking a lot about beds. Namely, that I don’t spend nearly enough time in mine. But, with full days and late nights trying to work after the kiddos go to sleep, paired with middle of the night feedings and early mornings doing school drop-offs, sleep has been somewhat elusive these past few months. Such is the life of a mom of three.

Of course, all the tiredness is more than worth it when you wake up to this smiling face. Baby in bedBut, that doesn’t mean I have to just have to accept that I’m just not going to get good sleep. It turns out there are plenty of ways I can at least enhance the little bit of shut eye that I do get and wake feeling less like a zombie every morning.

Here are just a few suggestions you can use to make every night as restful as possible.

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Make any day magical with Pacific Play Tents

Sponsored postIf I were designing the perfect childhood toy, it would have two major components. First, it would inspire imaginations to encourage make believe and storytelling. Second, it would be open-ended so it could be played with in numerous ways, which means it would be played with often and be a beloved toy for years.

Take the Painting Teepee from Pacific Play Tents for example. This clearly isn’t just a high quality teepee, it’s a childhood haven. As you can see, it's the kiddos fort. Decorated teepee

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Celebrate the power of play with the Gymboree Hop ‘N’ Roll collection

Sponsored postI know play time for children is vital as it helps them learn about the world around them in ways I can’t teach them in a book, so I always make play time a priority. From unstructured playtime to working together to create a talent show, a fairy garden, or a circus, we fill our days with as much play as we possibly can. PLaying in Gymboree clothingSo, I was a little taken aback the other day when I told my kids I wanted them to wear play clothes if they were going to be out digging in our backyard and they both looked at me like I was crazy. “Do you mean dress up clothes?” my daughter asked. Clearly, they aren’t of my generation where we had two categories of clothing: play clothes and fancy. Gymboree playdateTo my kids, everything is play clothes, even if they really shouldn’t be. We’re talking fancy holiday dresses year-round at the beach and white button-up shirts and dresses while gardening. After looking through their closets it became really clear that they could both use some new “play clothes” for summer that would allow them to swing on monkey bars, skip rope, and do all the other things kids should be doing all day without worrying about restrictive clothing getting in the way.

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Expand your play with The Queen’s Treasures accessories and furniture for your 18″ dolls

Sponsored postAround here we take our doll play very seriously. My kids learn with their dolls, we host special doll play dates, and we look for any opportunity to include them in our mother/daughter bonding time. This also means I’m picky about what doll treasures end up in our collection and would gladly pay more for high-quality, detailed accessories and miniatures that will really expand our doll play. Doll playAll of this and more is why I adore The Queen's Treasures. Sick of all the pink plastic junk I was finding in retail stores, I ended up doing an exhaustive search online to see if I could find 18" doll items that would last through all the kids and make playtime even more fun. I found The Queen’s Treasures in one of those searches and ever since we received our first piece of their doll furniture, I’ve been a huge fan. Dolls in the kitchenIf you haven’t already fell in love with The Queen's Treasurers, I would highly recommend taking some time to check out their site to see their amazing collection of furniture, clothing, gear, and accessories all miniaturized for 18in dolls. While I love their doll clothing and miniature accessories, it’s their high quality doll furniture that I first fell for. With tiny cupboards, table and chair sets, kitchen, tea sets, bedroom furniture and a huge selection of 18in doll storage trunks, wardrobes and armoires and more that can take doll play to the next level.

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101 Dalmatians Diamond Edition arrives on DVD and Blu-ray combo pack today

Sponsored post101 Dalmatians, one of the most beloved movies of my childhood is arriving for the first time on Digital HD, Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, Disney Movies Anywhere and On-Demand and I couldn't be happier. I've been waiting to share the film with my family for years and have been counting down the days until we could enjoy a family movie night with Pongo, Perdita, and their adorable puppies.

When my firefighter-obsessed son first spied the 101 Dalmatians DVD and Blu-ray combo pack that arrived last week, he immediately declared that he wanted to watch the "fire dog movie". While I made sure to tell him there was no fire theme to the movie, I knew he wouldn't be upset once he saw the film and got to see the adorable puppies on the screen.  101 Dalmatians

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Resolve to take better care of yourself

What's your New Year's resolution? Whether it's eating less, exercising more, sleeping better, or simply taking better care of yourself, AT&T and Fitbit have you covered. By now you hopefully know that AT&T stores offer a huge variety of wearable technologies for consumers interested in health and fitness, but I bet you're wondering how an activity tracker can handle your entire resolution list and more. 

The answer is that activity trackers have come a long way, baby. With an entire system dedicated to helping you figure out how much you are consuming, how much energy you're burning, and a way to track weight, sleep, and more, the Fitbit system works with the AT&T technology you're already carrying with you to help you stay within your fitness goals and make 2015 the year you take better care of you. Accessories-4079d-964x750

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Make blueberries part of your little changes to start the New Year off right

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council. I received a stipend to facilitate my purchase for my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”Blueberries in bowlMy family loves blueberries. Blueberries in baked goods, blueberries in smoothies, blueberries on dessert, or blueberries by the handful… as long as its blueberries, they are happy. In fact, my son {who is a notoriously picky eater} decided a few months ago that he would like his nickname to be “blueberry Bubs” in honor of his favorite berry.

It all started this past summer when we spent a few hours blueberry picking and eating our fill in the field {yes, eating the berries was allowed as long as you were buying some as well}, and we came home with a huge flat of the most amazing blueberries I have ever tried. However, we made the mistake of leaving that flat of blueberries out on the counter and my son basically ended up eating half of our haul by sneaking a handful every time he walked past until we realized it and then we put them away. Blueberry picking

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Dine at home with Foster Farms

Sponsored post basic disclosure
Diner quallity crispy chicken at homeIt wasn’t that long ago that I thought all frozen chicken you could buy at a store was more or less the same. Dip those suckers in ranch and the kids will eat them up, so why bother shopping around? Just grab whatever is on sale and call it good.
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But then I decided to give Foster Farms Crispy Strips a try, and I realized that there actually was something to the “amazing chicken” as they claim in their recent ad campaigns. You know the ones that feature chickens clucking along to the catchiest songs known to man? Not surprisingly, my kiddos are seriously obsessed with these commercials, so I’ve been forced to watch these more times than I care to admit, sometimes on repeat. 

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Holiday shopping made easy at Northgate Mall in Seattle

Sponsored postEvery year I swear that the holidays sneak up on me, but this year it definitely is true. With vacations, a crazy amount of doctors appointments, and all the hooplah that having children in two different schools can bring, it seems like fall just flew by. I know I'm not the only one because my Facebook feed is filled with friends lamenting the fact that they have but one or two presents purchased and no idea what to get everyone else on their list.

Hey friend, why don't you head to Northgate Mall and cross off everyone all at once? With three major department stores, a food court, a play area, and over 130 stores to choose from, it's easy to find something for everyone on your list. I envy those people who can seemingly shop for everyone they know in one afternoon, but I can totally see doing just that if I was left kidless and husbandless at Northgate Mall for a few hours so I could sneak presents for them while shopping for extended family and friends. Northgate Mall Christmas Shopping

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