Smartipants Reusable Diapers Giveaway

Posted on by Mandy

If you are expecting a baby or still have a little one in diapers, did you know that:

3.4 million tons of disposable diaper waste fills up our landfills each year?

Most parents go through 7,000 disposable diapers per child?

I’ll admit when I was pregnant and even after my son was born that I never gave facts like these a second thought. Ignorance is bliss, right?

Smartipants are one size fits all reusable environmentally friendly diapers. With Smartipants you only need a total of 24 – saving parents up to $3000 a year. Since these are reusable, they can be passed down to younger siblings, thereby passing on even MORE savings for your family! Available in six trendy colors (plus traditional white), Smartipants are also a big hit with Hollywood moms like Sarah Jessica Parker, Halle Berry, Katherine Heigl, Gwen Stefani, Kourtney Kardashian, Kendra Wilkinson, Jennifer Garner and Jessica Alba who are all going green with Smartipants reusable diapers.

Smartipants would like to offer one of my readers one Smartipants reusable diaper. To enter, visit the Smartipants site and then come back here and tell me what color Smartipants you would choose if you won. Deadline to enter is Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 11:00 PM Central. Please make sure you have contact information available in your profile or entry. U.S. only.

Girl Goes Geek

Posted on by Mandy

I’ve written in the past about how slow I am to adapt to technology, but today I outdid myself and here is why I deserved the two slices of cheesecake I had today.

I was already super annoyed by the fact that my laptop was missing a couple of keys (the darn things just pop off and hide, apparently) but to top it off, the space bar on the keyboard popped off and the spring holding it in broke. Fortunately, I had seen this coming a couple of weeks ago and already had a replacement keyboard here in my hands, only…I had NO clue about replacing laptop keyboards. Luckily, I found a website that offered a step-by-step tutorial and in 5 minuted flat I had the job done. If I had known it would be that simple, I would have attempted it sooner.

But apparently, that challenge wasn’t enough because, “HELLO MALWARE!!”. My laptop had been hijacked during the night and I was about to wave my little white flag when I found the website Bleeping Computer. This is in no way a paid advertisement, but seriously….if you ever have virus/spyware issues with your computer, this website will save you many tears of frustration. After following some super easy instructions, I had the laptop rid of the malware and ready to go.

I love channeling my inner geek. She makes me feel smart.

Heart Surgery Update

Posted on by Mandy

If I have learned only two things this week, it is the following:

1. Good health is one of the most valuable things in life.
2. So are amazing family and friends.

I am happy to report my mother successfully got through her heart valve replacement and bypass surgery last Monday. Although she is still hospitalized, she is doing fantastic. She has hit every milestone post-surgery so far and continues to improve. I am so thankful and so proud of her.

To say waiting for her surgery to be finished was nerve-wracking would be a terrible understatement. It was the longest 5 hours of my life, although the surgical team was absolutely top notch and fantastic about calling to the ICU waiting area every hour with an update while she was under. This wait was made easier to handle due to the fact that our church pastor and his wife, several family members, and family friends were there to wait with my dad, my husband, and I. I had no idea she would have so many people there willing to wait this out with us. These same people have also made trips to visit her since the surgery, relieved my dad so he could get away from the hospital, and done so much more to make this difficult situation a little easier on us all.

It was terribly sad seeing my mother in the recovery room with a breathing tube down her throat and looking so sickly, but it has been amazing to watch her comeback, and for that, I give all the praise and Glory to my God. She has been through so much, and has a long road to recovery ahead of her, but her strength amazes me. This experience has really driven home the fact that good health is something to be treasured and that family and friends are the icing on the cake of life. We are so blessed.