It's almost Back-To-School time and as a Momma to two Elementary aged children, I'm constantly trying to "spruce" up their lunch time routine with healthy food choices. I don't know about you, but sandwiches and goldfish getting REALLY old, REALLY fast at our house.

In comes GoPicnic!



Starting in the airline industry, GoPicnic is the company behind the ready-to-eat meals that can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere with no refrigeration needed. Each food item is individually packaged and labeled, ensuring that customers know exactly what they are eating and enabling each individual product to maintain the highest level of freshness and quality. A few name brand manufacturers are included in the ready-to-eat line such as: Jack Link's, Old Wisconsin, Late July, Enjoy Life Natural Brands, Barry's Bakery, Wild Garden, and St. Dalfour.

The full lineup of 20+ Ready-to-Eat meals from Go Picnic include:

-Break Meals
-MightyMunch Meals
-GoMeals

These are great solutions for flights, car trips, workplace, sports games, and school lunches.

Go Picnic was nice enough to send us a few to try out and boy did the kids love it after a long day in the pool:



Immediately I was impressed on opening the first box, The Natural Break. In this tiny little box came TONS of food: Multi-grain Tortilla Chips, Hummus Dip, Cheese crackers, Oven Roasted Almonds, Apricots, & Chocolate Chunk Cookies! The food was plenty, but what gave me a little smile was the red & white checkered napkin, moistened wipe for clean-up, and mint for afterwards. They thought of EVERYTHING that I would need and want for lunch!

What strikes me as exciting, is the combination of Health & Convenience. My kids tried out the Safari Munch, Aqua Munch, & Explore Munch. I can't say how much I enjoyed seeing the kids have fun opening each box, tasting foods they usually wouldn't eat, and being healthy all at the same time.

My toddler has a peanut allergy and I was impressed that these meals included Sunbutter, sun flower seed butter. With more and more children fighting food allergies at school and in my own home, this was a MAJOR plus! To add to the fun there are fun games and jokes on the lid once opened and a temporary tattoo is awaiting them after they finish eating.

Momma Improvements

-In all honesty, I always try to balance my reviews and this one was really hard to find any negatives. There is one improvement I would make to the MightyMunch Meals and that is the absence of napkins. It's easy to throw one in for kids lunch, but noticing the Break Meals have them, I was stumped on why they were excluded from the kids meals??

-Also, you can only buy them online. Wouldn't it be so much easier to be able to pick them up at your local store?

-One more thing I noticed is that there is no drink. All in all these boxed meals have EVERYTHING and if a drink was included it would be overall perfect.

-As a Stay-at-home Mom of three little ones, we're always watching our budget. I found these meals are a little pricey for our particular budget for the kids, pricing at$ 5.99 plus shipping, however, the break meals and go meals were actually really reasonable at $2.50-2.99.

Overall, if my budget allows it, I'd definitely purchase these meals for the kids school lunches! They are healthy, convenient, and tasty! My kids ate every last bite!

Buy It

You can purchase Go Picnic meals at: www.gopicnic.com. Prices vary depending on your meal of choice. Make sure to sign up for email updates and receive 10% off your order.

Win It!!

How to Enter:

Required Entry
Please head over to GoPicnic.com and take a look around. Come back here and which meals you would choose should you be the winner.

POWER ENTRY

Blog about my GoPicnic Giveaway by linking back to this post for FIVE extra entries!! (Please leave each entry in separate comments with your URL link in order for it to count)

(1) Extra Entry Options

- Sign up to be an email subscriber right there on the right side

- Follow Momma Findings and My Sippy Cup Runneth Over (my personal blog) on Google/Blogger

- Add the Momma Findings button to your blog sidebar

- Follow me on Twitter (Sarann) and send out a Tweet linking to this contest

- Add me to your Technorati Favs list

Contest starts today July 30th - August 8th Midnight Central Time and open to US AND Canada residents only. You don't have to be a blogger to enter, but please leave a valid email address for contact purposes.

***CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED***

Winners have all been contacted and have 3 days to claim prize or will forfeit their winnings. The lucky winners are: Grand Prize Amanda (Hurdler4Eva) Three Runners Up Misusedinnocence, Katie (showbizkp), and Pamelashockley.

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When my daughter was born, five years ago, my Mother-In-Law bought her a stuffed pig from Kohl's. It lived in her empty crib until she out grew her bassinet and there it stayed until she she took Piggy by his hand and fell in love.

His name was "Piggy" and he ate with us, slept with us, traveled with us, and often scared us when we couldn't find him at the end of the day. Abby couldn't sleep without this sweet Pig. I knew why too, because he was sweet, cuddly, and cared for her right back.

She took him to church


She held him when she was sad or upset


Unfortunately, he was loved to death and we had to replace him with another piggy (that we went around looking for like crazy). She didn't seem to notice, but I did.

I missed him.

I had to say that to say this, "I have a tender spot in my heart for Kohl's Cares for Kids Programs."



Right now, Kohl’s is featuring books by Award-Winning children’s author Steve Jenkins: Actual Size, Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, and Caldecott-award-winning What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

Along with coordinating plush toys for only $5 each at Kohl’s stores and online at Kohls.com, you can use these in a variety of ways such as:

Great Gift for Teachers – Instead of the typical “apple for the teacher,” why not give a gift they can share with their students again and again? Steve Jenkins books make great classroom gifts for teachers. Parents can feel good about giving these books because 100 percent of the net profits go to children’s health and education initiatives nationwide.

Read it! See it! Learn it! – Get your budding scientists ready for a day of learning! Start the day by reading one of the Steve Jenkins books currently featured in the Kohl’s Cares for Kids® program. Then make the lessons come alive with a trip to you local zoo or aquarium. Learning together is a great way to beat the dog days of summer and get ready for school.

Affordable Gifts that Give Back – Kohl’s Cares for Kids® books and plush offer an incredible value to families looking to stretch their budgets. At just $5 each, the books “Actual Size,” “Biggest, Strongest, Fastest” and “What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?” by award-winning author Steven Jenkins and their coordinating plush toys are affordable and educational toys you can feel good about buying, since 100 percent of the net profits go to children’s health and education initiatives.

Teachable Moments at Home – Parents who home school their kids can use Steve Jenkins books, now featured in the Kohl’s Cares for Kids® program, to help spark an interest in science. After reading these books, parents can engage their children in activities such as going to the zoo or aquarium or even going on a bug hunt in the backyard to reinforce the fun facts they just read.

Babysitters Club/Adventures in Babysitting – Baby sitters can build a “babysitter’s survival kit” with Steve Jenkins books and plush toys and buy themselves hours of quality entertainment for as little as $5! Plus they’ll feel good knowing that they don’t need spend a fortune to keep kids entertained.

Through the Kohl’s Cares for Kids program, 100 percent of the net profit from sales of the Steve Jenkins books and plush toys benefits children’s health and education initiatives nationwide. Since the Kohl’s Cares for Kids program’s inception in 2000, Kohl’s has turned $5 merchandise into more than $126 million that has made a positive impact on the lives of children across the country.

My friends at Kohl's sent me two books and a plush lizard and it brought tears to my eyes to see, out of all three of my children, my daughter fell BACK in love with another Kohl's plush toy. There is just something about them that make kids fall head over heels!

Buy It

As part of the Kohl’s Cares for Kids program, the books and plush toys are available now through September 26 in Kohl’s stores and at Kohls.com for only $5.00.

Win It!

I told you I had friends at Kohl's right? Well, those friends have given me FIVE Kohl's Cares for Kids Prize Packs to give away to all of you awesome readers! Each pack will contain the following:



How to Enter:

Required Entry

Head over to Kohls.com and look at all the Kohl's Cares for Kids Merchandise. Come back HERE and let me know which ones you like and why. Easy!

POWER ENTRY

Blog about my Kohl's Cares for Kids Giveaway by linking back to this post for FIVE extra entries!! (Please leave each entry in separate comments with your URL link in order for it to count)

(1) Extra Entry Options

- Sign up to be an email subscriber right there on the right side

- Follow Momma Findings and My Sippy Cup Runneth Over (my personal blog) on Google/Blogger

- Add the Momma Findings button to your blog sidebar

- Follow me on Twitter (Sarann) and send out a Tweet linking to this contest

- Add me to your Technorati Favs list

Contest starts today July 30th - August 7th Midnight Central Time and open to US AND Canada residents only. You don't have to be a blogger to enter, but please leave a valid email address for contact purposes.

**CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED**

Winners are: Abby (ajcmeyer), Mary (mamie316), Keitha, Staci (mommastaci33), Kngmckellar. All will be emailed and have 3 days to respond with shipping information or prize is forfeited.

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Can you guess which Laptop Bag is Mine?



For more Wordless Wednesday's head over to A Daily Dose of Toni, 5 Mins for Mom, Ordinary and Awesome, and 7 Clown Circus.



Link Up Bloggin' Peeps:

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BlogHer '09 In Real Life.



This year it was all about bringing the Blogging Community together In Real Life. But in reality do you want to be brought into Greed, Lust, Jealousy, Anger, Hurt, Stress, and Exhaustion? Are you ready to subject your passion of writing and blogging by presenting it to "Real" Women who just tear it up, throw it down, and step over it as they rush frantically to the next bag of free crap?!

I hate to start my BlogHer Re-Cap in such a negative tone, but I have never been so disappointed in fellow bloggers, than I was this past weekend. From women hoarding Swag Bags to bloggers who didn't hold up their end of the bargain, I experienced a WHOLE lot of negativity. This brought me to the point of hanging the phone up and yelling at the blogger who had the NERVE to call my room and make demands regarding a sponsorship partnership they did half ass at anyway. Seriously, if you greedily take the sponsorship and refuse to even talk to those who granted it to you or do work involved, then you have jump started the process of a blogging-gone-bad career, fine until you open the cap and realize how curdled and horribly potent you really are.

These "ladies", whom present themselves so poorly, brought only one thought to my head:

Do Bloggers Have Expiration Dates?

It was overheard that a very influential woman in the social media/blogging realm, had enough and made plans to tell "Half Ass Blogger" how much she's messing up her life by her actions online and in Real Life.

She has passed her Blog Expiration Date.

Some bloggers who reach that particular "Must Use Before" date because they lose their sense of pride and forget their worth as a writer and a parent. There was one particular phrase I read on twitter while I waited at the airport that read: It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

Manners women. Were you taught simple etiquette and manners? Did you have a role model in your life that showed you how to treat people and how to hold yourself with integrity in public? It's a simple concept that most women, so I thought, knew.

If you're not a blogger who falls under the the above category, then you might be a blogger like me. I'll call myself a "Mid-Mommy Crisis Blogger".

That's right.

Four men at BlogHer: Avitable, Childsplayx2, BusyDad and Backpacking Dad (whom I had the chance to interview and chat with) actually influenced me to come out of my shell as a blogger. I'm positive they don't know it, but the confidence they showed gleamed throughout the room as they never veered from the reason why they blog: Humor, Children, Parenting, Relaxation and, most importantly, the Passion of writing!

Men visit their online home-away-from-home to relax, to laugh, to meet new blogs, laugh at their friends, and write that kick ass post that's been circling their heads all day. They consist of such a small niche (men bloggers) but they know their audience, blogging the subjects that happen to inspire them that particular day and not caring about stats.

Take me for instance, my blog WREAKS of that "Pre-School, Christian, Mom Blog". Don't get me wrong! I AM a Christian. I AM a Mom and I DO have young children, however, I'm not going to be that forever. My kids will grow up, I'll have forgotten the "Sippy Cup" stage and I'll be left with a preschool blog whom I can't even relate to anymore. I'll hide on my MacBook and hope she doesn't find me being that all our memories together were created on Windows XP.

All in flash of an hour, I saw my blog expiration date virtually stamped on my forehead reading: "PLEASE CHANGE OR FREEZE YOUR WRITING BY 08-01-09"

I want to write about the guy and girl flirting in the row in front of me on my flight home, although ,I overheard they were married to other people. I want to write about how ANGRY it made me and how it brought painful memories back of the affairs throughout my marriage.

I want to write about how some bloggers have hurt me and made me so angry I cursed as I hung the phone up on them, then cried on the shoulder of sweet girls who know all too well.

I want to write about the jealousy I felt when seeing beautiful tiny bloggers then cringing as I looked in the mirror at myself, overweight and feeling like this:



I want to write about Controversies, News, Social Media, Christianity, Parenting, and REAL LIFE. The REAL LIFE I experience every day as a Blogger, Writer, Mother, and Wife.

My blogging expiration date HAS arrived for My Sippy Cup Runneth Over and Momma Findings, but instead of pouring it down the sink and throwing it out, I'm making big changes, starting over, and really letting you into the epitome of a "Blogger in Real Life"



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Nothing like Reddi Wip sprayed straight into your mouth on a hot summer day!




For more Wordless Wednesday's head over to A Daily Dose of Toni, 5 Mins for Mom, Ordinary and Awesome, and 7 Clown Circus. Read the full story

Yesterday, I posted a picture of my Sweet BIG, STRONG boy, Rudy and got a few comments that made me think Hmm.. Really? Does he look like a girl in this picture?

I mean, he IS wearing his water suit to help him float in the pool, but dainty? Girlish? He is not. Check it out:

-Stacie said...
Look at her face! Too cute!

July 15, 2009 9:20 AM


-Sue said...
Cute pic. She really has a great expression!

Happy WW!

July 15, 2009 12:43 PM


-Emily said...
haha! What a cute little face she's making

July 15, 2009 12:57 PM


So, it has driven me to compile my Top Ten 10 Reasons My Son is Not a Girl:

10.) He loves Sports



9.) He works hard at washing the car



8.) He wears a baseball cap like a Pro



7.) He can't eat without getting it all over himself



6.) He knows how to work underneath the hood of a car



5.) He's not afraid of Heights



4.) He loves to watch TV



3.) He likes to be waited on when he's sick



2.) He loves a good Gun fight



1.) And the top reason he is, definitely, not a girl? He loves his Momma too much!





Still convinced he may be a girl?

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Whew!

My family has gone through SO many changes in the last few months. One of them being a move from TN to TX. I'll go ahead and admit that when I'm stressed, I tend to eat.... a lot.

I've gained, at LEAST, 10lbs. since the news of moving hit me. Once I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I'd have to show THIS body in front of 1,200 other bloggers in Chicago, I ran for the hills!

Literally.

I started running again and watching what I eat. Knowing me is knowing my favorite food, French Fries.... uh..yeah. Something needs to give and I'm willing to try just about any healthy product to help me lost a few inches.

In comes Kellogg's Special K:



About the product:

Shake it up and satisfy your hunger*!

A flavored meal replacement shake. With 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, it’s the creamy delicious way to help you lose weight*.

When you need a delicious and convenient way to help manage your weight, reach for creamy Special K™ Protein Shakes. With every tasty shake, you’ll get the nutritional benefits of protein and fiber that can help satisfy your hunger* so you can lose weight. Find them in the diet and nutrition aisle.

Try Milk Chocolate, French Vanilla, and Strawberry!

*Diets high in protein and fiber may aid weight loss. Special K™ Protein Products are designed to promote a reduced feeling of hunger by increasing daily intake of protein and fiber.

My friends at Kellogg's, sent me a chocolate sample to try and I was pretty interested to taste it! I made sure to cool it for awhile in the fridge and after a few hours of chilling, it was pretty satisfying! I guess the upside of it all is I didn't feel guilty drinking it!

Momma Improvement

There is a tad bit of an after taste, but what protein drink doesn't have one?

Buy It

Head over to your local grocery store and make sure you use this $1.00 off coupon for Special K Protein Shakes.

They come in Milk Chocolate, Strawberry and French Vanilla flavors, and they have a convenient, reclosable bottle. At 180 calories, 5 grams of fat, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 18 grams of sugar and 10 grams of protein, they are around 3 Weight Watchers POINTS.

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I have to get out of the pool? Momma Say What?!



For more Wordless Wednesday's head over to A Daily Dose of Toni, 5 Mins for Mom, Ordinary and Awesome, and 7 Clown Circus.

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There is something sweet and magical about the imagination of a little girl. From Unicorns and Princesses, girls embrace their creativity and imagination in such a way, that it makes Moms like me cherish every inch of Tea Parties, Doll Houses, and Dress Up.

As I raise this precious girl, I become more and more concerned about the images portrayed by TV shows, Movies, and Celebrities. I want her to have a self confidence that blossoms from within knowing she is true to her self. I want her to know that beauty comes from within and friendships play an important role in a girls life.

Imagine my excitement, when I discovered the Only Hearts Doll Club!



From the Only Hearts Website:

The Only Hearts Club™, is a content-based brand of real dolls for real girls that is drawing raves for combining beautiful, real-looking dolls, with content that delivers a much-needed, positive message to girls. Only Hearts Club™ dolls look and dress like real girls, and they deal with the same experiences and issues as well. Most importantly, through a series of books, the Only Hearts Club™ delivers a very positive message and image - namely, that it is good to “listen to your heart and try to do the right thing.”

When I gave this doll to my 5 year old, her eyes widened and she fell in love. Nowadays, that's not hard for her since any and every doll becomes her new best friend, but the really cool part about the exchange was when she said this:

Mom! I have an outfit just like that!


We received Taylor Angelique and could not find ONE thing we DIDN'T like about this sweet girl! She came holding a cute white puppy and wearing an adorable outfit! An outfit, I'd definitely let my daughter wear, by the way! It's fashionable, yet age appropriate.

Our favorite feature is definitely the fact that's she's soft, bendable, and you can create different poses and she STAYS that way! My daughter especially loved that her hair is so easy to brush! She played "Hairstylist" all afternoon!

Buy It

Only Hearts Club Dolls retail for 16.00 and you can purchase them at the Only Hearts Club Website and at Target in their new "Time To Play!" specialty toy aisle and at www.target.com.

Win It!

Are you just in love with these dolls as I am? Well, I've got an opportunity for you to win one! One lucky Momma Findings reader will win (1)Only Hearts Club Doll of your choice! All you have to do is head over to the official Only Hearts Club Website and let me know which is your favorite! That's it!

*Power Entry*

Gain 5 extra entries if you blog about this cool contest! Yup, link up to this post and you'll increase your chances.

(1) Extra Entry Options

- Sign up to be an email subscriber right there on the right side

- Follow me on Google/Blogger

- Add the Momma Findings button to your blog sidebar

- Follow me on Twitter (Sarann) and send out a Tweet linking to this contest

- Add me to your Technorati Favs list

Contest starts today July 13th-21st Midnight Central Time and open to US residents only. You don't have to be a blogger to enter, but please leave a valid email address for contact purposes. Please leave EACH extra entry in separate comments in order for each to count.

****Contest is now closed****

Congrats to Terra H. for winning! You will receive an email from me shortly

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This Summer we've been trying to beat the heat by staying indoors. We've actually been Mall Hopping around the Houston area and it seems to be hitting our wallet pretty hard when we see this:



The Euro Bungee has been all the rage lately! I see it in Malls, Festivals, and even Morning television. The Early Show correspondents spoke to Christina Goyanes from Women's Health Magazine about the summer festival "Are You Game?" and Dave Price demonstrated the Euro Bungee. Check it out:

Too bad, I won't be in Chicago 'till the 23rd of July and will have JUST missed this cool festival where women will be able to try tons of fun activities: euro bungee, rock climbing, beauty and spa treatments, and workout classes including Million Dollar Knockout and Hula Hoop Pilates.

Not to worry, because the Euro Bungee has, as I said before, bleeding us dry on the money front. We can't pass by this thing without the kids BEGGING, PLEADING, and CRYING to try it! I mean, what's the big deal, anyway?

We had to find out:





Was it worth it?

Seeing Zach's sweet smile for a full 3 minutes tells me Yes.

Looking for more ways to stay cool this Summer? Check out Kick the Can Ice Cream Recipe at Label Daddy!

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There's a small little device that's, literally, music to my ears. It comes in multiple colors, entertains my kids for hours, and leaves this Momma full of smiles:

The Nintendo DS.

Yup.

We have it in Red and Pink and it's been a life saver on long trips, rainy days, and restaurant outings. Recently, I had the chance to shower my children with the new Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits & Decades thanks to Mom Central.


"This game is TOTALLY wicked!"

This coming from my 7 year old, who fell in love with Guitar Hero for the Wii just 6 months ago.



About the Game

Handheld guitar gods can now choose how they raise-up their band from the underground music scene to worldwide rock stardom in Guitar Hero® On Tour: Modern Hits. Featuring a set list comprised of 28 master tracks from influential artists including Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Tenacious D, The Strokes and Weezer, Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits expands on the innovative Guitar Hero® gameplay on the Nintendo DS by introducing an all-new Fan Request system that challenges players to jam like never before.

Fret board fanatics can once again unleash their inner rock stars anytime, anywhere as they hone their shredding skills and jam to face-melting modern rock tracks from the last five years in Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits. Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades lets you rock out to 70's, 80's, and 90's hits! Way cool for an 80's girl like me!

-Rock out to today’s hottest tracks – Shred along to 28 master tracks, all modern rock hits from some of the hottest bands including Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Tenacious D, Weezer, The Strokes and more. Players will tour through five all-new venues that are as extreme as the tunes played in them.

-Choose your path to stardom – For the first time ever, players can choose how they take their band from the underground music scene to worldwide rock stardom with the exciting non-linear gameplay progression in Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits.

-Do it for the fans – Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits delivers an all-new gameplay experience with Fan Requests. By completing Fan Requests players build their fan base and open up new challenges to rock-out like never before including jamming to an entire song in Hyperspeed, battling it out in a Guitar Duel with active Bomb Notes or whammying every single hold note in a song.

-Rock out anytime, anywhere – Fans can take the Guitar Hero experience wherever they go with Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits. The Guitar Hero™ Guitar Grip™ mimics a guitar fret board and fits seamlessly in people’s hands to deliver the same core gameplay that defines Guitar Hero.

-The party never stops – Song streaming features allow players of Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits and its predecessors, Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, to share songs via local wireless connectivity. Players can rock out together in multiplayer modes, jamming to tracks from all three versions of the game.

I must admit, I am horrible at ANY Guitar Hero game. It's as if I just don't have the coordination to do it. Go figure! My son, brother, and husband, however, rock it and thoroughly enjoyed the fact that you can play against eachother via Wi-Fi! It's really cool, when you don't have room to unpack all three guitars for the Wii.

Another really cool feature with these two games is, simply put, the cool songs! These are up to date songs that I grew up with (on Decades) and modern songs even my children know!

Momma Improvements

I asked the guys in my life what they thought needed improvement and my 7 year old did NOT hesitate to say, "Mom, there's no beginner mode like on the Wii." It's true, we have the On Tour version for the Wii and he learned to play the drums using the Beginner mode. He feels as if the DS needs a beginner mode for young musicians such as himself and his 5 year old sister.

Another mention was the arm strap. My husband has really big hands and he just couldn't get to fit his hand for it to be comfortable. Hubby proudly says, "It's not like the Big Guitar, but it'll do if my hands were smaller."

Buy It

Ready to grab it up? You can find this cool game at Stores nationwide, like Gamestop, Target, etc. for an average price of 49.99

Thanks again to Mom Central for allowing us to review this "Totally Wicked" game!

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Just Relaxin' with my Sister in the Pool



For more Wordless Wednesday's head over to A Daily Dose of Toni, 5 Mins for Mom, Ordinary and Awesome, and 7 Clown Circus.

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