With just a couple of weeks left till Christmas, it's time to get all of those last minute gifts! Are you stressing? I know I am! We have the vast majority of our gifts already, but still need to wrap them. This is hard to do when it seems there are always little eyes watching your every move!

One great find I discovered while shopping this year is the Bright Light Pillow. You may have seen it on TV, actually. It's a super soft, plush pillow that has 24 LED lights that provide soft, colorful lights for 15 minutes. (They then turn off on their own, conserving battery life.) 

The Bright Light Pillow comes in fun shapes like the Starlight Square and Pink Heart. They also offer a Star shaped pillow, too! 

New Year, New You Event

Organized by: Mom Powered Media
Grand Prize: ProForm ProForm Performance 400 S Treadmill
Additional Prizes: $250 Visa Gift Card, $100 GAP Gift Card and Body Gospel Deluxe
Event dates: 1/1 - 1/31
Open to US and Canada
Referral prize: $50 Amazon E-Code or Paypal Cash
Bloggers: Sign Up HERE

My little ones are often very amused by products they see on TV. You wouldn't believe how many times a commercial comes on and they immediately start saying "Mommy, I need THAT one!" 

So of course, when I got the opportunity to review the adorable hats from Flipeez, I hopped right on board. After all, Sophie and Xander had already been begging for these fun hats! 

Flipeez come in a variety of fun styles sure to please any boy or girl. I love the kitty cat and the monkey the best! 

Yesterday we braved the snow and ice to take the kids to Disney Live! at the Canton Civic Center. When we told the kids it was time to get ready to go see their favorite Disney princesses, they could hardly contain their excitement. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen coats, hats and boots put on so quickly! Here are Sophie and Xander, impatiently waiting for their Daddy to get ready. 

The drive was full of excitement. The entire time, we listened to our Disney CD's to get the kids even more ready for some classic fairy tales. They happily giggled and tried their best to sing along to "Bippity Boppity Boo". 

In light of the tragedy that happened to Christine at Adventures of a Thrifty Mama, a blogger I did not know personally, I feel like I have to open up and share the fact that I, too, was the victim of domestic violence. Why? Well, because if more women opened up and talked about this all too common subject, maybe more women will seek help when they feel the most helpless. If they know they're not alone, perhaps the lives of more women and children can be saved. When I heard about Christine and her son's murder, I immediately started crying and had a sinking feeling....And I knew this could have been me if I didn't get out, once and for all. It could have been ANY woman. And it needs to stop. Domestic Violence needs to end now, and women need to find the courage to speak up. 

This is not something I talk about often....It's a chapter of my life that has long been closed. Almost like a hazy, distant nightmare that happened to someone else...A weak woman....A woman who was terrified every single day of her life...A woman with no voice. I like to refer to this period as "the life I never lived". The scared girl who was married to an abusive tyrant couldn't have been ME, after all. At least not the woman I am today. But while it is still taboo to talk about domestic violence, I have to admit, it DID happen to me. I DID live it.  My life, for years, was spent in absolute terror. 

Many years ago, when I was a mere child, I was in an abusive relationship. I married a man who was a bit older, and I thought I was "grown" enough to make good decisions for myself. I had a pretty rough childhood, and I would have done anything to escape living surrounded by the addiction in my home. So getting married, even though I had absolutely no business doing so, just made sense to my teenage mind. 

Well, it didn't take long for my Happily Ever After to be shattered. The man who seemed like this "nice, charming guy" began showing his true colors. The abuse began as verbal and emotional abuse. (Which is just as damaging if not more so than the physical kind.) He told me daily how worthless I was...That I was ugly....That I couldn't do anything right...That I would never, ever amount to anything. 

I wasn't allowed to have friends, male or female, because that HAD to mean I MUST be cheating. To talk to anyone at all, I had to sneak behind his back, which I hated. He made me constantly feel guilty for things I wasn't doing, and I would get "punished" for nothing more than being female.  At least I think that's what it was...I cannot even begin to try and analyze his behavior, because looking back, none of it made any sense. It was almost like he wanted to invent reasons to treat me badly. I don't think I could have avoided it, no matter how "perfect" I was. I also had no control over the money I earned, as I had to surrender all paychecks to my ex. As a woman, I couldn't POSSIBLY be able to manage money, after all. (Note sarcasm there.) I had absolutely zero control over anything in my life. 

It wasn't long before the abuse turned physical. I am not going to relive all of the horrifying details, but I have been beaten, choked almost to the point of unconsciousness and saved by the family dog biting him, held hostage at gunpoint, and even forced to do things sexually that I did not want to. Sadly, my oldest child still has memories of his mom being assaulted. He remembers so much, and he was only a toddler when he witnessed these things. And he remembers details that are shocking to me. This absolutely kills me, since no child should have to witness anything like this, ever. 

Leaving was a process that, due to my defeated mindset, isolation and always being scared, was a process that took years. I was not strong enough to leave when the abuse first started. Soon after, I was pregnant with my oldest child. I felt trapped in a living Hell, and it took ultimately fearing for my son to finally rise above my own fear and end it for good. This took years. YEARS. And it was the scariest thing I had ever done. When you're basically brain-washed to believe an abuser's lies, you don't have a lot of confidence in the world or in yourself. They make you believe that without them, you are nothing. 

Like I said, I am not going into much detail here. I am not here to bash my ex. He made his bed, and he has to live with that every day. I have moved on. I have been re-married to an amazing man who treats me like gold for almost 6 years.  He treats my son like his own, and NEVER calls Kyle his step-son. Only his son. We have added 2 more beautiful children to our family. We're very happy, and life is good. 

We're new homeowners, so we're always looking for ways to make our nearly 100 year old Century Home our own. Sure, it's going to be a long and very expensive process. We have carpet to replace, walls to paint, flooring to upgrade, and an entire bathroom needs to be gutted and redone. Some of these things will no doubt take years for us to get around to doing (or affording!). 

In the meantime, we're making a big difference through decorating options like accents, throws, candles, and wall decor. These things allow us to customize our living space to suit our own personal style without breaking the bank or applying for building permits. 

Some of my favorite home decorating options come from Northwest Fine Art Printing. They offer beautifully made custom framed art that can be created by YOU! That's right....Whether it's family photos or that favorite work of art, the folks at Northwest Fine Art Prints can deliver them to your door, ready to display. You can even choose framing and mat options for a totally custom look that will match any decor. 

Feeding a family of 5 on 1 income without breaking the bank can be tricky. One of the things we do is buy a lot of our foods in bulk. Snacks, juice, you name it....If you can get a super-sized package, we do. However, heading out to the warehouse clubs can be a major pain at times, and you really need to compare prices to make sure you're actually getting a good deal. Not all warehouse club buys are as good as they seem, so it can be a full time job comparing circulars and making several trips to different stores to take advantage of savings. I don't know about you, but I don't always have time for that! 

Recently, I had the pleasure of trying the delicious, boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Zaycon Foods. This is an entirely different shopping experience. Zaycon Foods can be ordered online, and all products are picked up at Zaycon Foods events. These are held in several different states, and usually take place in parking lots. The delivery drivers set up shop right there, with all orders ready to go. You simply drive up with your order receipt in hand, and BOOM! Your food is loaded into the trunk. Easy, peasy, right? 

The best part? Zaycon Foods only deliver farm-fresh meats that have never been frozen. That's right....Farm. Fresh. That's not something you will find at the grocery store, and the difference in quality is amazing. These chicken breasts are big, juicy, and flavorful without any icky additives or preservatives. Here is how Zaycon Foods can help save your family some serious money: 

My preschoolers, Sophie and Xander, are a bit obsessed with 2 things right now: Dolls and Disney. They really love watching their favorite princess movies like The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Snow White. They dance and sing along to the songs, and they cheer when there's a happy ending. 

So when I learned about Fairy Tale High dolls, I just knew my kids would flip over them. You see, these unique and chic dolls depict our favorite Disney princesses during their High School years. 

These favorite characters have trendy, modern looks with plenty of sass and attitude. I just love their youthful, updated appearances. These dolls take classic fairy tales to an exciting new relatable level for modern day girls. 

Oops, and boys. My son loves his dollies just as much as his sister does, and I think there's no harm in boys playing with dolls, too. Especially when it means the kids play nicely together without any yelling or hitting. That's always a huge plus!

In addition to fun dolls, the Fairy Tale High website is full of cool webisodes and e-books that feature each doll and her unique personality. What a great way to bring Fairy Tale High dolls to life in a High School setting! 

Recently, I attended the Activision Family Game Summit. Sadly, I was not local, so I didn't attend in person. I did check it out online, though, and learned about some great new games that are sure to be huge hits this Holiday season. To thank me for attending, I received a big box packed full of video games and other gaming swag. Some I am keeping.....Some, I am passing along to you. That's right! Over the next month, look for more great gaming prizes!

The first gaming giveaway is for this Transformers prize package. These are HUGE right now! This includes Transformers Ultimate Autobots Edition for the Nintendo DS. This includes 2 different games!! Also, the winner will receive this Transformers Beast Hunters Bumblebee Action Figure!