My addiction is rewarding

It's not what you think - it's a healthy addiction :) But definitely an addiction! I came across this wonderful site through another blog and fell in love after seeing my first win pop up..which was 6 minutes into being a member.
It's called swagbucks

It is the web's digital dollar, powered by Ask and Google. They reward you for simply using their search engine. There is no spam, you never enter credit card info, nothing of the sort. I'm just earning free stuff for doing what I do anyway - searching the web! I typically win for 3 searches a day.

You can search for anything you want..and always remember to search for basic things too: facebook, twitter, your bank etc. I win every single day searching for facebook before I log in. After you sign up they will send you a conformation email, verify that email. Then from swagbucks.com you click on the toolbars link and get their toolbar. You also get bucks every day just for using the toolbar! So it's definitely a must in my opinion. You always know when you win because a win notification pops up (I still get excited when I see them pop up and I've been a member for months)



Now what you do is win bucks everyday and them redeem them when you have enough. For instance a $5.00 Amazon.com gift card costs 450 swagbucks. I was able to redeem one in almost 2 weeks. It seems to me that once you get into the swing of things your swagbucks start racking up super fast. You're allowed to get 5 amazon gift cards per month, and that site has everything! However, you can spend your bucks on whatever you like. They have Barnes and Noble gift cards, Restaurant gift cards, PayPal..I could go on and on. After you're a member check out the SwagStore from their homepage and see what you'd like to start saving for. In my opinion the Amazon gift card is the very best choice. You can also win by submitting poll ideas (if they like your poll idea) playing Twitter trivia, trading in old cell phones etc. Something exciting is everyday The Swag Guy (TSG) gives out a code worth so many points and once you find it, you just copy and paste the code and enter it into the "gimme" box on the homepage. If this sounds confusing, I promise it's really not and if you have any questions at all, please leave me a comment. The codes can be anywhere from facebook, twitter, swagbucks toolbar, the swagbucks blog, or on the shop & earn page (which is also a great way to earn)

For instance, today's code was in the blog, it was a baseball question..I swag-searched the question and entered the answer in the "gimme" box and got 15 bucks in under 2 minutes. I also searched "Dora the Explorer" and won 18 swagbucks. Went outside to play with Juliana, came back in and searched "what's for dinner" and won 12 swagbucks. That's why this site is my addiction..it's easy, it's for something I do everyday anyway and it's free. Now here's something else that's cool: you can get people to sign up under you using your referral link and for every swagbuck your referral wins, you win the matching amount (up to 1000 bucks) and you can get as many referrals as you wish. I want to be as helpful as possible for whoever reads this and is interested but I'll stop rambling and let you get to it! Oh and remember you have to be logged into swagbucks to win! I just stay logged in to be safe, lol




** Go to the Swagbucks sign up page. <<< (you can right click this link and open in a new tab/window so you can still stay on my blog and read the rest of the info) ** Fill in the boxes using your name, address, e-mail, and create a password. ** Once you've made your account, confirm your e-mail account. To do this open your e-mail and click on the Swagbucks email. Then click on Verify. (check spam mail to be safe if you don't see it) ** Sign into Swagbucks, if you aren't already signed in. You'll notice that you will already have 30 Swagbucks just for signing up. ** Now have some fun and search! In the middle will be a search box, type in your search query there and hit enter. Sometimes you will get Swagbucks, sometimes you won't. It's random..most people seem to win morning, afternoon and evening, space out your searches. If you search too quickly you can get banned for up to 24 hours and it doesn't help you win. When you win you will get a large picture of a Swagbuck at the top of your search results saying "Congratulations! You've won *** swagbucks!" The amount of Swagbucks you have are in the gray box under your browser and also the top right of the search results page, so you always know how many you have. ** You can browse the prizes at the SwagStore. It has everything from iTunes to iPhone, giftcards etc. Once you have enough Swagbucks, you can purchase your items of choice by clicking Snag.Or you can let them keep adding up. Alot of people are funding their entire Christmas with swagbucks. That reminds me! The amazon gift cards never expire! And they are stack-able, meaning you can keep adding gift cards to your amazon amount until you are ready to cash out (shipping is free as well!)
** Follow swagbucks on twitter. www.twitter.com/swagbucks (they post codes there) and you can play twitter trivia to win bucks every Tuesday as well.
Become a fan on their facebook page, TSG (the swag guy) posts codes there and there are a TON of helpful people on the page to help you if you have a question. Also a great way to know if there's a code out is everyone on the way will be posting "Thanks TSG!!!" It's www.facebook.com/swagbucks
** You can also shop & earn. For instance, Walmart. You get 2 swagbucks for every dollar you spend if you shop online, through swagbucks. Target, Kmart, Kohl's, anything you can think of..trust me, seriously, this site is amazing!

Have fun and start swaggin!

P.S. If you look at the very bottom of my blog, you will see my swagbucks widget. In 4 months I've already ordered 5 amazon.com gift cards and right now my widget tells you I have 1,866 swagbucks. I normally can't hold off and I "snag" my gift cards as soon as I hit 450 swag bucks but lately I've been in the mood to hold onto them and see my high amount :)
Hope my info interests and helps anyone who reads!

Ahh, Walmart

Today was a great day. We went to the park for awhile before heading to Walmart. 
Juliana was playing with a little girl at the park and they were toddler-talking back and forth, which was really cute. She was climbing ladders and steps and going down the big slides all my herself (with help and supervision, of course..we were in the age 5-12 area) and she just seemed so grown. Some big kids came along and showed her right away that going UP the slide is waaay more fun than going down - which I didn't like too much..but hey, she's gonna learn at some point I suppose. It was so heartwarming to watch her play and interact and make a little friend though! 

At Walmart while daddy was picking out some paint for the bathroom we went off to look at some other things that more appealing to me. Ya know...shoes, makeup, purses and pretty much anything that wasn't paint. While I was looking at the purses I was asking her which ones she liked and telling her the ones that were too expensive etc (basically just occupying her so I could browse in peace!) but it actually turned into a conversation. She said she liked a green sequined, hideous excuse of a purse and I said "do you think mommy likes that one?" and she said "nooo way" and I said "you're right! why do you think mommy doesn't like it?" and she replies "mmm, it's bright and shiny!" So we keep searching and I tell her that I can't find one and what am I gonna do now and she says, oh so happily, "just keep on lookin mom!" Well alright then, sounds good to me! I ended up finding one, which I don't really love...but it was 5 bucks and I was desperate. I asked if she approved and she told me yes, because it was "special" I really, really enjoyed that time with her because we have a thousand little moments throughout every day that I cherish..but this was an actual exchange of words that didn't have a single thing to do with juice, food, diapers or Dora. 

We moved on to the clothing area and passed the bra and panties section.  As loud as her 2 year old voice could be (which all moms know is HIGH) she starts shouting "mommy's bras, mommy's bras! and as other shoppers looked on laughing, she grabs my chest and says "mommy's boobieeeees" At the time I was mortified..but you know what? while I love that place..Walmart is Walmart - pretty much anything goes!

She grabbed a bright orange silky scarf and covered it over her entire face and head the rest of the time there. Yes, people looked..some smiled, some looked at me like I was Michael Jackson and she was Blanket and some really didn't care. As for me, I didn't care one bit. If she is not crying or misbehaving and we buy what we need and get out in one piece...that's a good day, I'll take it!

Mommy Quotes

I love quotes, LOVE em! So here's some of my favorite mommy quotes :) I found these on many different sites. Enjoy!

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.” ~ Anonymous

“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” ~Sophia Loren

“Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you were here an hour I would die for you. This is the miracle of love.” ~Maureen Hawkins

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.  ~Angela Schwindt

"You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back."  ~William D. Tammelus

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  ~Elizabeth Stone

 and here's some funny ones -----

"You don't scare me, I have a toddler!"

"Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard" ~ Author Unknown

"A child is a curly dimpled lunatic."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sweater, n.:  garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.  ~Ambrose Bierce

“When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice safe playpen. When they’re finished, I climb out.” ~ Erma Bombeck

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.” ~Leo J. Burke

“The quickest way for a parent to get a child’s attention is to sit down and look comfortable.” ~ Lane Olinhouse

A first time for everything :)

Alright...it took me quite a while to figure all this out and I'm a little embarrassed to admit that..but it's OK. The darling Juliana is asleep and the only other person that demands what little free time I get, is playing a video game...which means: let's do this! I think my very first blog will be about being a mommy. I mean it only seems natural because ever since she was born (no make that ever since I found out I was pregnant) that little girl is what consumes most of my thoughts, actions, goals and overall existence. Children have a wonderful way of making you strive to be a better person. Not that I was ever a bad person, just that it reinforces where you want your life to go and who you are as a person. I don't ever want my daughter to grow up and be disappointed in me...I realize she will discover one day that no-one is perfect, including her mama..but in her eyes I want to be pretty darn close! I will stop at nothing to give her the best childhood that I possibly can. We don't get to go many places but this child gets quality time like nobody's business! For anyone reading, I'd like to share a picture of the little monkey.
This was taken this past summer at Funland on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. (great, great, exhausting day)

Ahhh, good ole Juliana, gotta love her. Such a crazy mixture of happiness, laughter, tantrums and pranks (yes, pranks!) She recently hid her diaper cream from me and laughed while I looked everywhere for it. All the while, she knew exactly where it was (in her diaper genie, she even flipped the lid so it landed inside the bag with all the dirty diapers..incredibly gross, I know) Don't even ask how I managed to find it in there...she certainly wasn't any help! As my irritation grew by the second, I continued to ask "Juliana, where is your cream?!" and she, being the wonderful 2 and a half year old that she is, kept repeating my same question back to me. This was a half hour ordeal. I'd say "Where IS it?!" She'd echo back "Where IS it?!" on and on until the game of cat and mouse finally ended when tired mommy found the beloved diaper cream. Scary thing is..I saw it, I saw the twinkle in her eye. She had stumbled upon the holy grail of one of the many many ways to make a mother go crazy. Which brings me to this: after sitting on the potty for 10 minutes, what possesses a child to poop in the tub? And then to take it to the next level, throw 5 disgusting pieces of poop in all their glory on my bathroom floor? As I type those 2 tiny little stories, I have to laugh now. She is an amazing kid, and I wouldn't want to live a day on this earth without her. That being said, I should probably get some sleep..as I will be no match for her tomorrow!