I was eager to try out a new line of shaping jeans from Women’s dENiZEN™ from Levi’s® brand Totally Shaping At Waist Boot Cut Jeans in the very beautiful and body forgiving shade of Meadowlark.

Instantly, I knew that these were no mom jeans. They wrapped around and minimized my tummy, the area that other mom jeans only emphasize the bulge that two large babies bring.

This was more like a fabric hug, as if it were saying, “Hey sister friend, here’s some help–not that you need it!”

Even at a short length, the boot cut was still a little too long, but that’s more on my poor genetics and less on the style. It’s the burden of having two parents who were less than 5’5″ tall. But matched with a pair of high platform heels and I was set.

The front pockets were not deep at all which threw me off whenever I wanted to make that cool, look at me hands in pockets pose and only half of my apparently gigantic hands were able to fit. This was not a dealbreaker at all since I’ve had pants before with no front pockets or back pockets or pockets at all and I’m left wondering, what to do with the hands!

Still, I appreciated the lift and shaping, two points that I need in any part of my clothing, especially jeans. If you’re looking for a pair of affordable and body friendly jeans, dENiZEN™ from Levi’s® is an excellent choice and my happy butt approves.

For more information, check out Denizen’s facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Denizen

Disclaimer: I received a free pair of Denizen jeans, valued at $27.99. The opinions and pictures (of my happy butt) are all my own.

In my busy house with two boys, two full-time working parents and a cat who pretty much takes care of herself, there is no room for a dog. But luckily, there’s a new free app that fills in the empty void where a fluffy dog would be. Cubedog is the newest virtual pet but unlike its predecessors, this app takes the pet play to the next level.

I knew immediately that this would be great for kids–it’s bright, colorful, extremely easy to set up–but I’ll be honest, I was selfish and played with it myself. My boys don’t have the same longing for a dog that I do, so I wanted this experience for myself.

The app comes with some basic features that allow for some fun combinations of eyes, color and frame. You can pay for additional art packs, which I wish had one or two samples included in the basic offering. As much as I liked what I created, it did leave me wanting to spend the extra money. I’m sure my son would have made that happen because he likes to press buttons on my phone, especially after I’ve logged into iTunes and he can buy whatever he wants.

But the best part of it was being able to pay with the little guy I named Fido. I’ve never had to name a dog so I went with the name my son has been throwing around which I’m sure he picked up from a book or tv show because, again, we do not have dogs in this house. *tear* There were different settings that allowed you to tickle him which I saw his little cube dog body delight from my swiping across the screen. Unlike other virtual pets, my Cube Dog Fido seemed to have only one setting: HAPPY!

There could be some other improvements that would elevate how wonderful and fun this app already is. If I could mute the cruise-ship-in-the-Bahamas-music and listen to my iTunes library, I would have loved that. I think it’s a great start for the free version and definitely worth paying for the extras. It brightened my adult heart and I know my kids will have the same experience.

Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes.

Don’t forget to check their facebook page for a fun contest running June 13-17th!

Disclosure: While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

My 13-month-old son TJ sprouted teeth when he was six months old. Though it was an early development for me since his older brother didn’t start teething until eight months, I knew what to expect. It’s not my first time at the mom rodeo! Teeth appeared and so did the huge amounts of bib-soaking baby drool. I would see my red-cheeked babe with his jaw open and pools of baby drool on his chin, gumming away on my hand whenever it was near his mouth. I would rub my fingers along the bumpy topography of his little gumline, feeling the sharp ridges as they cut through my sweet boy. As I held him, he would wipe his drooly, icky face on my chest and I would think, “Great, exactly what I wanted: to win a wet t-shirt contest without the use of water.” There were a lot of tears when the teething began, much more than the requisite baby aches and whines.

My son is such a happy, giggly creature. I hated seeing him suffer from something he didn’t understand. How could I explain to him that teething was just a natural part of growing up? He didn’t have any words. He still depended on me for food. He still needed me to wipe his precious butt when his diaper was full. He still flung around the organic pears I sliced up for his snack even though I begged him not to be so wasteful with food because do you know how much organic pears cost, baby!?

The other night he seemed irritated and drooly, the top signs that another tooth is busting through his mouth. I had felt the new bump whenever I brushed his teeth, so I knew the two were linked. So I tested out new Baby Orajel® Naturals, applying the gel and rubbing it into his gums, giving his gums a massage as he clamped down.

It took a while before he was calm again, before the gel took effect and my baby and I both were finally relieved. And what a relief it is to have a happy baby than one who is screaming because his teeth feel like they are not so much sprouting as they are knifing their way into the world.

This time around, I’ve been more keen on keeping my son’s products as natural and chemical-free as I can afford. Baby Orajel® Naturals is completely dye-free, paraben-free, alcohol-free and benzocaine-free, making me feel more comfortable to use it as a solution to the awful baby aches of new teeth.

Teeth are such a magical sign of growth and development and my little baby growing more and more into a little human. My baby! Growing up! I only wish that it wasn’t so painful for him. Thankfully, Baby Orajel® Naturals is another tool in my Mommy belt that will make it a little less painful for my guy and we can work on getting him to smile instead.

TIME’S UP! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

When it comes to teething, how do you naturally soothe your baby? Share your soothing tips by leaving a comment below for a chance to win a $100 Babies “r” Us Card. Contest runs from May 16th – June 16th.

Check out other reviewers for more chances to win!

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

Tinyprints.com has a new offering of Mother’s Day cards which I was excited to check out. I’m not very good at sending photos to my mom, a woman who is constantly asking me for more pictures. I could just imagine how excited she would be that I finally made good on my promise to send pictures of the babies, especially since one of the babies just turned one and the other baby will be five.

The website offered different photo layouts so after selecting one, I went through the steps of completing the set-up. There were different options of colors and photos and I tinkered around until I was happy with my selection.

I did encounter some trouble with the preview which I now account to user-error. I couldn’t fully see my card in the preview mode, so I didn’t know if what I had set up was really what was going to be printed. However, one aspect of Tiny Prints that I love is how customer-serivce oriented they were with my goof. I clicked the live-chat button and was connected to a woman named Mary-Frances who not only helped me address what was the issue, but also sent up a follow-up email to assure that my order was correct. I don’t know of anytime I’ve ever had to contact customer service that there was more follow-up. Many times, my interaction ends at the moment I hang up, but Tiny Prints went beyond that and I hadn’t even placed the order yet!

Two cards are folded to show how the boys appear on the outside of the card. The message to Grandma is inside.

When the card arrived, I was delighted at stunning it had turned out. It was not the drugstore print with flimsy fiber and dull glow. The paper was thick with a high-quality ink that made the card itself worthy of being framed. And who wouldn’t want to frame a photo of these sweet boys?

I emailed a photo of the card to my sister who also lives on Saipan and would be hearing first from my mom how I *finally* sent a card. She squealed, “That’s it!”

“What do you mean ‘That’s it’?”

“That’s it. Mom is going to erase everyone else from the will and just put in TJ and Nathan!” I don’t think that my mom would go that far (though it would be nice!), but I definitely can expect a huge impact from a Tiny Prints card.

Disclaimer: I received 10 free cards from Tiny Prints in exchange for my review.

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and So Delicious®.

It really is So Delicious

Before moving to Seattle, I grew up on a tiny tropical island in the Western Pacific called Saipan. Coconut was a typical ingredient in cooking and a flavor I knew well. However coconut milk has always been used in savory dishes, a way to richen up a pedestrian soup and thicken a noodle dish. When offered the opportunity to review So Delicious’s Coconut Milk, I jumped at the opportunity to welcome a familiar taste back into my life.

The new coconut milk from So Delicious presents coconut milk as a wonderful and sweet alternative to dairy, which as a Pacific Islander who grew up with coconuts outside my own house, I had forgotten was even possible. It has been incredibly easy to switch it out wherever I used milk. I think some people might hesitate to use coconut milk because coconut milk is not as common as other dairy alternatives but once I incorporated into my regular routine, I had wondered what had taken this island bumpkin so long. In cereal and oatmeal breakfasts, I didn’t need to add any sugar or agave syrup. The coconut milk was sweet enough. I also kept it in my office freezer and drank it alone for an ice-cold treat and it was delicious and kept me from running out to the nearest coffee shop and answering the tempting siren call of a glazed donut.

At home, I stirred the coconut milk into my son’s hot chocolate and he didn’t notice the difference, which means I didn’t have to create a legal defense of coconut milk to a four-year-old who would not understand the benefits and would easily dismiss it because I wanted him to try something new. He didnʼt mention anything about the mini-muffins I made with the coconut milk and in my house, if my four-year-old doesnʼt scrunch up his nose and interrogate me about what Iʼve done to his food, itʼs a success. I didnʼt have to argue with him that he would like it because itʼs delicious and I would like it very much if he didnʼt have another glass of sugary juice or meat products shaped like dinosaurs.

coffee!

I was first eager to try coconut milk in brewed coffee. Itʼs such a Seattle stereotype to be a coffee lover, but itʼs true. I canʼt live without coffee, but I have to be mindful of what I put in it. I need to add sugar and cream to my coffee every morning, but creamer is a huge source of my calories and sugar. So Delicious Coconut Milk’s 60 calories per 192 ml box and only 6 grams of sugar.

In coffee, the taste of coconut was present but not cloying. I’ve had artificially flavored coconut syrups added to coffee before and it tasted like I was chugging down cheap perfume. The coconut milk added a light and subtle note, giving me exactly the sweetness I love but without the calories, fat and guilt that my normal glugs of creamer. I just want to enjoy coffee, not worry about whether I’ll be able to zip up my pants the next day just because I wanted something sweet.

Another dairy-free use of coconut milk was in a blueberry and banana smoothie. I prefer to call this a mocktail instead of a smoothie because I poured in my awesome concoction into a margarita glass. It’s nice to escape to the tropics in my mind when it’s so cold and blustery right outside my window. The presence of coconut was there, but like I had enjoyed in my other beverages and meals, it was a terrific addition, one I would cheer to any time of day.

cheers!

I’m giving away a $100 Visa Gift Card!. The sweepstakes dates are 2/23-3/20.

Now it’s your turn – have you ever tried coconut milk? Leave a comment for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card! . Contest runs from 2/23-3/20. Read the official rules below.

And super bonus: Other people are joining in this awesome giveaway, check out the Exclusive Offers section for 10 other chances to win a $100 Visa Gift Card.

And if you’re amped because of this contest goodness, check out the So Delicious Facebook page and 100 days of change sweepstakes.

Rules:

1. No duplicate comments.

2. To enter, leave a comment.

3. For a second entry, you can do one of the following:

· Tweet about this post with a link to it (and put your tweet URL in a separate comment below)

· Blog about this post with a link to it (and put your blog post URL in a separate comment below)

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4. This giveaway is open to US Residents, aged 18 and older.

5. Winners will be selected via Random Number Generator and will be notified by e-mail.

6. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

7. Visit the Official Rules here

Visit the Official site.

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and The Laughing Cow.

x marks the spot...for bacon!

It has taken me 27 years to not only realize that I am weak against food temptations but how weak I am against its forces. Food is a seductive siren, luring me with its tantalizing array of flavors and textures and instant mouth comfort. There isn’t a time more derailing to my health, waistline and dream of a single digit size on my clothing tags than the holiday season. What makes it even more difficult is that this time last year, I was pregnant and wholly immersed myself in the generosity of food-unloading family and friends and casserole dishes so big you could use it to bathe a baby in.

This year I’m determined to reprogram my thinking. I don’t have the luxury of eating for another person, unless I want to look like I actually ate another person. I know my preferences (anything with bacon), my Achilles heel (again, bacon), and breaking point (it’s bacon-wrapped!). This year I am without a baby in my belly but an awareness of what will transform my postpartum body into a being of health and hotness. (Please Santa, let it be mostly hotness!)

This year I am going to eat before I eat. Oftentimes, I skip meals when there’s a holiday party because I don’t want to ruin my appetite and it is that appetite monster that ruins me. With the amount of bacon-laden holiday parties, sweet cocktail-swilling work functions, and cookie-filled playdates that we will certainly attend, I know what will keep me from unhinging my jaw and gorging will be something as simple as a fiber-filled bowl of cereal or an apple or anything healthy and filling that will occupy the real estate of my stomach. If I’m already satiated, I won’t have that much of an urge to pile up my plate so high that people will ask if I’m trying to build a likeness of Mt. Rainier using green bean casserole and onion rings.

Also, there will be no alcohol in my cup. Along with bacon-wrapped bacon treats, wine and other adult beverages are also responsible for my dietary undoing. After a few glasses of wine, not only do I feel smart and witty, but I also lose sense of calories. What’s another tooth-picked treat when I’m feeling good! Another piece of pie, topped with whipped cream? Why yes! Not only do I shove junk in, I also expel it out. I remember one holiday party that I had one too many glasses of wine and then eagerly shook someone and slurred, “Your fruitcake is a vision!” It takes one to know one, I guess.

Now it’s your turn – Share tip on how do you try to eat healthy and manage portions when there is so much delicious food to be had and you could win a $150 Visa card!

Please keep your comments G-rated as any profanity or offensive content will automatically disqualify you from sweepstakes entry.

You should also visit The Daily Dose of Well-Being hub to read helpful content each day and for weekly chances to win $100 at the “Play For Laughs” game. If you share a really great tip, we may even use it in The Daily Dose!

Contest runs from 12/8-12/28.

Rules:

1. No duplicate comments.

2. To enter, leave a comment about how do you try to eat healthy during the holiday season.

For a second entry, you can do one of the following:

· Tweet about this post with a link to it (and put your tweet URL in a separate comment below)

· Blog about this post with a link to it (and put your blog post URL in a separate comment below)

· Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

4. This giveaway is open to US Residents, aged 18 and older.

5. Winners will be selected via Random Number Generator and will be notified by e-mail.

6. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Check out the official rules for more information.

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and The Laughing Cow.

The rain is freezing.  The wind is biting.  The kids are bundled with seventeen layers of clothing.  Summer is over and Fall is officially here.  The transition from summer to fall in Seattle is one of the hardest to deal with because summers are beautiful but fleeting in the Pacific Northwest.  Any outside activity is quickly shelved in our house.  It’s hard to shuttle a four-year-old and a baby to the park when it’s pouring and everything down to your hippie ankle bracelet made out of hemp will soon be soaked.  Nothing is more comforting than the yellow electric bulb glow that welcomes me when I open the fridge, my dry, indoor friend.  

It’s hard to stay active and healthy when so many unhealthy voices are whispering their siren calls into my ear.  It’s the season of the holiday platter.  The grocery store sales for chocolate chip cookies that have different types of fudge inside, types of cookies that didn’t exist this time last year and now are two for four dollars!  Fall is the beginning of a long series of parties with cookies and pies and cakes and third helpings and this wave of heavy meals will carry me to my birthday in January, which I always mark as the end of the holiday season. 

Last year I was pregnant with our second child, so I don’t have that crutch to use this time–the ever so useful albeit nutritionally delusional excuse of I’m eating for two (though some days it was like I was eating for two tables).  This year I’m determined to stave off the holiday pounds, to work towards a non-third trimester looking belly.

When I have a challenge as large and ambiguous as “staying healthy during holiday season,” it’s easy to become exhausted.  It’s too big of a goal to keep alive especially when there are so many forces–delicious bacon-filled forces–working against me.  So to keep my waistline from spilling over my pants and from any well-meaning but loud-mouthed relative from exclaiming, “You’re pregnant again,” here are some methods I plan to use to keep fit this chocolate-bacon-cookie-fried-turkey holiday season:

1.  Eat on small plates: I always eat with my eyes and I am never conscious of what I scoop on my plate as I make my way down a table full of decadent treats.  Even if I get small lumps of each bowl, by the time I waddle back to my chair, I’ll have enough calories to keep me going until the spring.  If I have a small plate, then I won’t have as much food.  Is that math or common sense?  In any case, it’s the first time that I’ll have a handle on either!

2.  Refuse more helpings.  I come from a culture where it is the norm to pack meals after a party.  Once the festivities wind down, the aluminum foil comes out and it’s expected to return home with your arms full of the next several.  If it’s not in my car, it’s not going to be in my fridge and if it’s not in my fridge, it’s not going to be shoved down my mouth when I’m up at 3 AM.  This might be tricky when I’m assaulted with very sweet prods by relatives and friends to get food. If I do pack up leftovers, the plates will be light, filled with the bare minimum of what I enjoy but so much that I’ll be bound to the gym indefinitely to work off the calories.   

3.  Enjoy every meal.  I’m going to eat this holiday season but I’m not going to eat like it’s a competition.  If I have a slice of pie, you had better believe I’m going to enjoy it.  I’m not going to eat it thinking about all the calories I’m gorging on.  That’s depressing.  I’m going to eat it, and because I’ve already made smart decisions about portions and embarrassing other people, each bite will be a wonderful exercise in holiday cheer. 

How do you keep fit during the holiday season?  Are you eating differently or exercising more?   

Now it’s your turn – Share tip on staying healthy during the holidays and you could win a $150 Visa card!

Please keep your comments G-rated as any profanity or offensive content will automatically disqualify you from sweepstakes entry.  

You should also visit The Daily Dose of Well-Being hub to read helpful content each day and for weekly chances to win $100 at the “Play For Laughs” game. If you share a really great tip, we may even use it in The Daily Dose!

Contest runs from 11/15 – 12/5.
 
Rules:

1. No duplicate comments.

2.  To enter, leave a comment about what motivates you to exercise.
 
For a second entry, you can do one of the following:

·         Tweet about this post with a link to it (and put your tweet URL in a separate comment below)

·         Blog about this post with a link to it (and put your blog post URL in a separate comment below)

·         Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

4. This giveaway is open to US Residents, aged 18 and older.

5. Winners will be selected via Random Number Generator and will be notified by e-mail.

6. You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Check out the official rules for more information.

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and The Laughing Cow.

 
In 2004, my husband (then-boyfriend) proposed to me in front of 8,000 strangers at a Seattle Storm WNBA game.  I wore a fancy dress that cost almost a hundred dollars, which is far too small for my post-partum body to wear yet far too expensive for me to donate to charity.  (Sorry, charity.  I have a few cow-themed pajama shirts I’m tossing your way, though.)  I had no idea that my husband was going to ask me to marry him.  I thought we were going to dinner because clearly I was not wearing court-appropriate attire.  (Unless it was the court of Why You So Fine, Girl?)

I was 21 and had the body of a young woman who worked out every day, stayed away from buffets and drank water constantly.  How hot was I?  Here are some screenshots from that wonderful night which I will send to the Library of Congress for preservation.  

Now, seven years and two kids later, my body has morphed into an older, softer version.  It’s a version of myself that knows buffets very well and can tell you which ones within a square mile radius do not skimp on crab legs.   I’m still looking for ones whose employees don’t know who I am yet.  Word travels fast in the all-you-can-eat circles!

I still have the dress from that night, which now serves as a vestige of my youth.  Now this ancient artifact from my booty of yore is what I use to motivate myself to exercise.  I can’t wrap my head around obtuse concepts that inspire others to work out, big multi-syllabic phrases like, “lower body mass index,” and “osteoporosis intervention.”  However, because my poor economy of words (I blame this on the dictionary I used to study for the SATs which turned out just to be the car manual for my mom’s Toyota Previa) I am instead strengthened by the mythical power of this dress.  

This dress is my Hot Body Time Machine.  Every red-face inducing session on the elliptical brings me closer to what I was back then.  Even if I don’t achieve the exact same figure now, I feel much better physically.  I might not have the metabolism of a twenty-one-year-old, but I’m more energetic.  I can walk up a flight of stairs without sweating so much, a stranger will think I was flipping a two-hundred pound tire on each step.

Soon, this outfit will fit my body again.  This kind of motivation works out for me, no matter how I dress it up.  

Hey!  I’m giving away $150 this month and all you have to do is leave a comment!  Tell me what motivates you to exercise!

TO WIN: Share any funny story, video clip, picture etc in the comment section and you will be entered to win $150.  Please keep your comments G-rated as any profanity or offensive content will automatically disqualify you from sweepstakes entry.  You should also Visit The Daily Laugh hub to read funny content each day and for weekly chances to win $100 at the “Play For Laughs” game. 

If you share something really funny, we may even use it in The Daily Laugh!
 
Rules:

1. No duplicate comments.

2.  To enter, leave a comment about what motivates you to exercise.
 
For a second entry, you can do one of the following:

·         Tweet about this post with a link to it (and put your tweet URL in a separate comment below)

·         Blog about this post with a link to it (and put your blog post URL in a separate comment below)

·         Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

4. This giveaway is open to US Residents, aged 18 and older.

5. Winners will be selected via Random Number Generator and will be notified by e-mail.

6. You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Check out the official rules for more information.

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Similasan.

sick daze

I’ve been fortunate that not many sick days have plagued our house. My five-month-old baby has yet to have a cold (Knock on wood! With a wooden ring! On a wooden mannequin hand!) and my four-year-old son has had only a handful of days under the weather. Still, I count myself a seasoned veteran of dealing with these unpleasant times, when I have had to cash in my own sick leave to play Nurse Mom because the school doesn’t like it when you bring in a vomiting child. Oh these rules! And state of Washington restrictions!

Even though I don’t like to see my son suffering, I take advantage of these days because there isn’t the boom and bustle of the rest of the week. Our lives slow down the pace of the sick sweet child who is taking refuge on the couch and not using this expensive piece of furniture as a launch pad to jump into the couch-cushion pit assembled on the living room floor.
We suspend many of the house rules during sick days. It’s much like the days that I am sick. I just want to create my makeshift living quarters in the living room, where I am armed with a few books, some food, a remote control and Internet access.

My son gets the same kind of treatment. Because this was such a striking change from his normal temperament and regularly scheduled singing with all his lung capacity and my heart always breaks whenever my baby isn’t feeling well, I gave him carte blanche of the day’s schedule.

I played a variety of characters in this play called, “Sick Day: A Musical of Hope.” I played Waitress, reading a menu of items that I knew he would like: a sandwich or soup, crackers or cookies and just because it was a special sick day, as many sugar-free popsicles that he wanted.

When he wasn’t napping, I played Librarian, the woman who reads the same story about monsters instead of monkeys jumping on the bed, using the same exact inflection and tone during each reading. I read and read and read until I had memorized all the words and didn’t need to flip through the thin pages with brightly illustrated animals to tell the story.

Then I played Therapist, rubbing his head and asking him what was wrong, how he felt, where it hurt. I told him that he was my big boy and that he would feel better soon. I did as much as I could on my own to bring some healing his way, as if my being there right next to him held some shamanic proprieties.

After all this, my son then looked up at me, his face solemn, his small voice whispering, “Mommy, sleep with me.” I crawled in next to him, cradled his head into the crook of my arm and the two of us hid under his bright blue blanket until we were both ready to join the rest of the world.

How do you handle sick days in your home? Leave a comment below and enter to win a $100 Visa Gift Card!

Also! Visit my fellow bloggers for more chances to win a $100 Visa Gift Card!

Rules:

1. No duplicate comments.

2. To enter, leave a comment about how you handle sick days in your home.

For a second entry, you can:

· Tweet about this post with a link to it (and put your tweet URL in a separate comment below)

· Blog about this post with a link to it (and put your blog post URL in a separate comment below)

· Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

4. This giveaway is open to US Residents, aged 18 and older.

5. Winners will be selected via Random Number Generator and will be notified by e-mail.

6. You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

7. Contest runs from Friday 10/8/10 – 11/18/10.

Please visit BlogHer for the official rules.

Product info: Similasan Earache Relief ear drops and Pink Eye Relief eye drops are safe and effective remedies to help relieve the symptoms of earaches and pink eye naturally. Similasan uses 100% natural active ingredients in their products. Pink Eye Relief eye drops relieve the redness, watery discharge and burning associated with viral and environmental conjunctivitis (pink eye). Earache Relief ear drops relieve the pain of earaches and are safe for all ages.

Life As We Know It

I was very skeptical of the new romantic comedy, “Life As We Know It,” the new Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel movie premiering this weekend. Perhaps I’ve been jaded by all the cliché romantic trappings this genre has offered lately. I didn’t want to spend two hours yelling advice at the screen because the female lead is obsessing over an unavailable guy or the male lead is making classic stalkerish moves instead of wooing his beloved.

As I watched the “Life As We Know It,” there was no “DON’T DATE HIM GIRL!” shouting on my part. There was no cringing or checking my phone for the time. Plus, I finally learned the majesty that is Josh Duhmael’s shirtless body. Why had no one told me about this? I wish my eyes were bigger so I could download that image into the crevices of my brain and pull it out when the weather turns cold and I need a hot memory. Seriously hot memory.

Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel play Holly and Messer. In the opening, they’re set up on a blind date by their mutual friends. They don’t even leave the confines of Holly’s Smart Car before they realize that they are terrible for each other. Messer takes a booty call on his phone in front of her; Holly berates him for not making dinner reservations. One is a player, one is too uptight. An argument ensues, car doors slam and the seed for their furious feud is planted.

Their squabbles continue even as the friends who initially set them up name them as the godparents of their daughter Sophia. When their friends suddenly die in a car crash, leaving Sophia in their custody, Holly and Messer are thrust into a warp-speed world of new parenthood at the same time trying to build lives of their own.

As dark as the premise might be, the movie takes many lovely and delightful turns. Did I mention Josh Duhamel appears shirtless? DELIGHTFUL! There are some requisite parenting foils like changing a diaper so toxic you need a gasmask or walking into a room full of people with poop on your face. But that’s what parenting is, as we learn in this movie. It’s poop and pitfalls, people! The writers do take a fair about of creative license (Everyone is attractive! Successful! And live in big houses in Atlanta!). However, there’s plenty of hysterical one-liners, over the top scenes and because this is a romantic comedy, there’s a budding romance between two people who butt heads, making this a very cute and quirky movie about a life you’d definitely want to know.

Disclaimer: I attended a complimentary screening of this movie to facilitate my review and received a gift card from Mom Central as a thank you for my time.