DISCLOSURE:  As a member of the Children's Claritin Mom Crew, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit.  No monetary compensation has taken place and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience.  Post may contain affiliate links.

I have horrible seasonal allergies and unfortunately, I have passed that on to my kids.  My oldest two have it the worst.  Or at least, it seems that way since they're outside every chance they get!  Some days they'll come in from playing outside with puffy, teary eyes or they'll be coughing and wheezing.  Their symptoms tend to be worse in the spring and fall.  Luckily, with the use of Children's Claritin prior to their going outside, they've been able to enjoy the outdoors without suffering from allergy symptoms.

Children's Claritin is the #1 Pediatrician Recommended Non-Drowsy Allergy Brand. 
Only Children's Claritin® provides Non-Drowsy 24hr Allergy Relief.  It's available in a syrup, chewables, and RediTabs.  My kids prefer the chewables.  They like the taste and it's easy for them to take.

Children's Claritin Syrup and Chewables. Also availble in RediTabs.

DISCLOSURE:  I received a JCPenney gift card for the purpose of this review.  This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media.  As an optometrist, I am not employed by JCPenney Optical or US Vision.  Any recommendations expressed here does not establish a doctor-patient relationship.  All thoughts are my own.

As hard as it is to believe, in exactly one month, my kids will be starting another school year.  Soon, it will be time to start checking things off their school supply lists and buying clothes for them to wear for the fall.  Another thing I like to get done before my kids start the new school year is to get their eyes checked and order new glasses, if needed.

My oldest daughter, 9, has been wearing glasses since she was 4.  She inherited my nearsightedness and astigmatism.  For awhile, her prescription seemed to be changing every 6 months or so.  Buying glasses for her got to be quite expensive.

Welcome to the Game of Life & Touring Giveaway

Hosted by: SaraLee's Deals Steals & Giveaways

Sponsored by: Winning Moves

The Game Of LIFE:
Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Game of Life with this wonderful classic edition. Everything you adored about the original 1960 game will be found inside. Good fortune is always around the corner. That's LIFE!

DISCLOSURE:  I received free products from Crowdtap to host a #GentlePower Party.  No further compensation was provided.  All opinions are my own.

I first learned about Cetaphil products through one of my sisters.  She had been dealing with acne for years and her dermatologist had recommended she use Cetaphil cleanser to wash her face.  It would clean her oily face without making it too dry.  I didn't use it, but I remember the huge bottle of Cetaphil in the bathroom we shared.

Years later, I was reacquainted with Cetaphil when my kids developed eczema.  Their skin would get so itchy and they would get these patches of dry skin on their legs and arms.  Our pediatrician had prescribed a cream that was part Cetaphil and part steroid (triamcinolone).  It worked great!  I even started using it myself.  I would get dry areas on my legs that would get super irritated after shaving.  The cream worked wonders!

(Miss Part 1 of my recap? Go here to read it!)

After leaving the conference room to feed the baby, I came back to find everyone else on a snack/bathroom break.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures and to take a look at the display of homemade crafts from the #DisneySide @Home Celebration Parties held around the country earlier this year.  They had asked hosts to mail in any crafts we had made for our parties for a chance to be featured on a MomTV show and to win a gift card.  I had mailed in a couple crafts, but wasn't featured on the show.

#DisneySide @Home crafts

Sadly, my one picture of all the crafts is blurry!  I started taking closer pictures of the crafts when I spotted the goody bag I had made for my #DisneySide @Home party!  One of the girls didn't come, so I had submitted the craft.  You can see other pictures of it in my #DisneySide @Home party post.  I haven't put up a tutorial, but if anyone is interested, leave me a comment!

My #DisneySide @Home Party Craft

It's been more than a month now since I attended the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration (SMMC) On-The-Road conference in Philadelphia.    It was a wonderful event full of fun, learning and surprises.  They packed so much information in those 5 hours that I've had a hard time trying to organize it all and get it down in one post!  I figured I'd break it up into a couple posts.

This was my first time attending a conference of this kind.  I've attended conferences for work but the main goal there was just to get in and earn your continuing education hours.  There isn't that much networking that takes place.  Some attendees don't even listen to the lectures and aren't very enthusiastic at all about the subjects being discussed.  The Disney SMMC event was entirely the opposite.  Attendees were encouraged to network and told to bring plenty of business cards.  The speakers had our undivided attention and instead of being on our phones and laptops to tune out the speakers, we were taking pictures and posting what they had to say.

DISCLOSURE:  I received free products from Crowdtap to facilitate this post.  All opinions are my own.

Early last year, I was introduced to the Cottonelle Care Routine, which involved combining the use of Cottonelle Clean Care toilet paper with Cottonelle Fresh Care Flushable Wipes.  It stressed the fact that people use water and cloth to clean other things, why not your behind??

Later that year, Cottonelle teamed up with British television presenter, Cherry Healey, to launch their #LetsTalkBums campaign. Healey traveled around the country, talking to Americans about how they cleaned their bums.  It's pretty funny to see how people react to her questions!

DISCLOSURE:  I received a free box of Kleenex Brand Tissues from Crowdtap to facilitate this post.  My opinions are my own.

Kleenex Brand Tissues are one of my favorite brands of tissues to use.  They're soft, but strong.  I keep a box in almost every room of the house.  You never know when you'll need one.  They can be used for so many things, from cleaning a runny nose to cleaning up a spill to acting as a backup if you run out of toilet paper!  You can even make it into a makeshift band-aid with some duct tape (another versatile tool)!

Something I haven't tried, though, is to craft with Kleenex tissues.  I like crafting, but usually use paper.  I did a quick Pinterest search for some craft ideas, but didn't see that many.  Most had to do with crafting with an empty tissue box -- which I didn't have.  One idea that I saw over and over was to make flowers with Kleenex tissue.  This sounded like it would be fun and easy to do.

DISCLOSURE:  I received free product from House Party in exchange for hosting a party.  All opinions are my own.

My kids love the Fourth of July!  The day is usually packed with yummy food and fun activities.  This year was no exception.  We were lucky enough to be picked to host a Hasbro Game Night Simon Swipe Challenge House Party!  We were sent an awesome party kit that included:

• 1 Simon Swipe game
• 1 Electronic Catch Phrase Decades game
• 1 Bop It! Beats game
• 1 pack of Duracell Quantum AAA batteries
• 1 pack of Quaker Chewy Granola Bars Chocolate Chip
• 10 coupons for $8 off the purchase of select Hasbro games and Duracell Quantum batteries

DISCLOSURE:  I received free products from Crowdtap to facilitate this post.  All opinions are my own. #CapriSunMomFactor

It's summer and my kids are outside every chance they can get.  This past weekend was a particularly hot one.  We had planned on going to our neighborhood pool, but my three-year-old refused to go.  Rather than force him to come along, we decided we'd cool off at home and let the kids play with the sprinkler.

We set up the sprinkler out front and my husband and I set out our Adirondack chairs so we could watch the kids play.  We also filled a cooler with ice and drinks for when they got hot and thirsty.

My husband relaxing in the shade.