And the winner is…

Anne blogs at The Watson Highlands and is the wonderful Mommy to super cute girls, Claire and Madeline.

She commented with this story:

Every since we started reading the Angelina Ballerina books, Claire has decided that she too will become a famous ballerina. She stands in the middle of the living room, in the aisle at Walmart, at church, well really everywhere and practices her “ballet” which basically means sticking one leg in the air, putting her arms above her head and “twirling” until she falls over.

Congrats! I know your girls will love this DVD Please send me an email with your mailing address so I can get it to you.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

As a young wife, mom, and student, you can image that funds get tight for the O house. Therefore, things such as diapers, textbooks, and food become more important purchases than say, house ware. We survive on the basics and we’re okay with that. So needless to say, I was absolutely floored when BlogHer invited me to spend $500 in gifted money (yes, you read that right) and write a review on JCPenney’s new house ware line, called Linden Street.

From the moment I saw what Linden Street offered, I was even more excited. Everything was exactly our style and what I’ve envisioned for our one day dream home: simple sleek lines, beautiful rich colors, and soft fabrics. After surveying what the line carried, I decided we would redo our bathroom since 1) It needed our own touch to it. 2) It’s something we could take down easily when we move. 3) You can never have enough towels!

We did most of our shopping in store at JCPenney. I quickly fell in love with the unbelievably soft fabrics and how easy they make it to find coordinating colors and accessories. We decide to use Mark’s favorite color: Orange! I chose the Waffle Strip Fabric Shower Curtain in “Foxtial Orange” and Toffee Shower Curtain Rings to compliment it. We bought bath towels both in “Foxtail Orange” and “Soft Cream,” along with matching cream Reversible rugs. To bring the orange over to the other side of the room, we purchased the Toffee hand towel that has a beautiful cream embroidery on it.

We also bought five lamps. Yes, five. You can’t have enough lights, right? We bought two Wood Column Adjustable Table Lamps in stores that we placed in our bedroom, along with the matching floor lamp that we put in our living room. The Birdcage Table Lamps are still being shipped, but eventually they will go in our living room as well.

I only have a few draw backs that I’ve found. Firstly, my shopping experience was a bit frustrating as some things were not in my local store (the furniture for example, or different shower curtain options), or what was in store wasn’t always online to purchase (which is why I cannot link you to every purchase I made).

Secondly, the bath towels, though I love how large and soft they are, do not absorb well. We’ve noticed that we have to keep going over our skin after a shower to feel dry, and yet it never really gets the job done. I’m hoping that once they get washed a few times and the ultra softness goes down, it will be better in the absorbency factor.

Lastly, the bath room rugs that I love tend to slide around. I’m constantly having to readjust them to their places throughout the day. While I understand the cool thing of being reversible, I think having one side a sticky backing would be much more practical (and safer).

But despite those small issues, I cannot tell you what a joy it is to walk into our bathroom now and it look “put together.” My husband even made the comment that it “feels like a hotel,” and that’s really what I love about this line is the sophisticated luxury feel you would find in a nice hotel. But what’s even better? The price. We got everything 40-50% in stores, and I believe many of the items are still discounted online and perhaps in the stores as well. Over all, I’m very satisfied with Linden Street and I’ve learned that even little things like a splash of color from a towel or an extra lamp can make a big difference (and can be so quick and easy!)

To view all the pictures, including the items that could not be linked to JC Penny’s website, head on over to the my Linden Street album.

Once upon a time, I was a dancer. Starting way back at age 7, I did tap and jazz with my best friend until I moved away at the age of 11. By the time I was 13, I was itching to start dancing again and was excited when I got to know another friend who also danced and I joined her dance studio doing ballet. Soon after getting “warmed up” to dancing again, I tried out to be in their competing dance group and made it! Quickly my life became a whirl wind of practices, costumes, make up, memorizing dances, trying to become limber and remembering to point my toes for the next 3 years. I made lots of new friends, got to travel to cool new places, be in parades, and we did generally well in our small competitions. What dance was for me, is like what playing football or playing an instrument is to others. I lived it and breathed it. But sadly, one day that desire stopped. And so did I.

And that brings me to today, where I’m a Mom of a spunky 1 year old. I still dance, but with a little one by my side and giggling the whole time. Which, is why I was thrilled to receive the opportunity to review the DVD, “Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake.” It’s a 40 minute movie created by two New Jersey Moms who wanted to provide girls with a fun movie that features their favorite things: princesses, tiaras, and ballerinas. Need I say more?

Savannah was attracted to it the moment I opened the package from Prima Princessa Productions and quickly asked to watch it. She instantly became fascinated with the little girls dancing around the screen in pink tutus and when they introduced a new dance move between Acts of Swan Lake, she would try, too! Soon she was twirling, kicking, and jumping just like them.

There are four Acts of Swan Lake performed by the famous Paris Opera Ballet in which Prima Princessa narrates throughout, which I love. For the dance lover I used to be, I still was not very familiar with the story of Swan Lake so it helped for me to know what was going on, and I know that is helpful for younger girls as well. Savannah was not as interested in the professional story scenes, but that could be accounted for by her (and any 1 year old’s) short attention span. I’ve read other reviews with older children (pre-school age) watching and they seem to love the entire thing.

So, even though Savannah is still a bit young to fully enjoy the fun and beauty of ballet, this DVD is certainly one she will grow into and we will continue watching together. And really? It’s nice to sit back and think about my dancing days again, and I look forward to sharing the world I used to love with Savannah as she grows.

And…you can enjoy this DVD with your little girl as well! For free! I have a brand new, still wrapped copy of Prima Princessa ready and waiting for your own little dancing princess. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me a cute story about your daughter (or who ever you think might enjoy this) by midnight, July 24th. Winners will be picked randomly and announced on July 25th, right here at O Momma Reviews. You don’t have to have a blog to enter, just a valid email address. Good luck!

Visit their website for a video clip of the DVD, download coloring pages of Prima Princessa, and read what others have to say about the movie.

BlogHer Ads is introducing a new feature to their awesome blogger ad program: Paid Reviews!  On my other blog, O Momma Writes, you’ll see their ads on the left that display family friendly ads with featured posts from bloggers underneath each day.  And, some times you’ll see some great coupons, contests, and give aways!  I can’t say enough good things about BlogHer, they offer some great opportunities for us Mom bloggers.

So now, in order to take advantage of this new review program I needed a separate blog. And here it is! I’m proud to introduce O Momma Reviews. Below you’ll see a few of the reviews, all unpaid, I’ve done on O Momma Writes that I’ve moved over here.  Hopefully some good opportunities come along.

I’m still getting the blog fixed up how I’d like it, so bare with me as I adjust things around.

Need a pick-me-up? Head over to In The Motherhood, where 3 moms take true life stories/scenarios and turn them into “webisodes”. They star Leah Remini, Chelsea Handler and now Jenny McCarthy, which equates to a very funny portrayal of a mom’s life.

I’ve only watched a few but I love these little shows, they’re guaranteed to make you laugh. I think there is something for every mom in these clips. My favorite one so far is probably “Mother’s Day Gone Wrong.” Let’s just say I will be careful with chapstick from now on and I won’t let my daughter around display toilets. What’s great is that a lot of these stories are taken from real life mom experiences, they hold contests to see who has the greatest and then it gets turned into a show! Plus, they have online games, recipes and you can read funny mom stories or share your own.

And as a bonus for me, I love that Leah Remini is taking part in this because King of Queens was my favorite show and it’s nice to have her humor back to lift my spirits.

It’s nice to know my life isn’t so bad, people obviously go through worse!

The very first O Momma give away to here! Remember that natural skin lotion I raved about? Well, I was sent more samples and I loved it so much I’d like to pass it along to you. As I said in the review post, it’s a natural shielding lotion that keeps the moisture in and the bad environment gunk out. Who doesn’t want soft hands (or face, feet, legs, elbows)? And, to get soft hands with 93% natural ingredients? Bonus. It’s also great for sensitive skin and heals those extreme dry spots.

It’s priced at $25 dollars for a 4 ounce bottle so don’t let this opportunity pass you by! A little goes a long way, it’ll last for months. All you have to do is comment on this post by next Friday, February 22nd (in honor of Savannah’s Birthday!). Winner will be announced by Monday the 25th.

Now, Go!

I think I’ve found a new favorite lotion! It’s a natural skin care product that acts as a shielding lotion, locks in moisture and leaves skin feeling soft. And, it’s ingredients are over 93% natural, how often can you say that in today’s trend of injecting ingredients that causes who knows what?

I’ve tried other shielding lotions and loved the results I got on these dry winter-dish-washing-diaper-changing hands, but it wasn’t up to par to use for a facial lotion for my skin type. It left my face feeling stiff and still in need of more lotion. See, my skin type is that weird combo skin during the winter: very oily but prone to getting extreme dry spots. How do you fix one problem without making the other worse? If I use a heavier lotion to cure the dryness, I get clogged pores and a shiny face the rest of the day. If I use a lighter lotion aimed toward soaking up the shine, it makes the flakes worse and pretty much is useless all around. Winter does nothing good for my skin.

I discovered Skin MD and I’m in love. It’s made for hands, feet, face and body. So, pretty much all over. Who really wants 4 different lotions for different parts, anyways? I tried it on my hands first, and loved how it was very light with no scent and soaked in immediately leaving my skin soft and hydrated. Then the next morning, in my desperate need of a face lotion I braved putting it on my face. And, it worked!

It’s light enough not to get in the way of make-up, feel heavy or greasy, but still works well to soak in the dry areas that need it. It’s the perfect balance and preface to my make up routine. It works great to apply under the eyes where they get dried out from my eye make up remover, without irritating my eyes. It’s been known to help with anti-aging, not that I’m quite there in my 20 year old body but perhaps it will help prevent aging in the future!


It’s perfect for sensitive skin (remember those natural ingredients?) and other skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. Eczema seems to run in our family, thankfully Savannah only very slight issues with it, but I’ll be trusting this product to use on her as well.

I have to admit, too, that my feet are a disgusting cracked desert in the winter. I hate, hate, hate it. So, that’s where I’ll be applying the true test of moisture and healing.

At $25 per 4 oz. bottle, it is priced more than your typical lotion, but that’s the thing, it’s not a typical lotion. It surpasses by far and well worth the price. And, a little goes a long way so you shouldn’t need to buy it often!

Try it for your self! You can get your own free sample by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to:

21st Century Formulations
Free Sample Offer
9663 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 860
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

I love half.com. It’s my new best friend, seriously.

Mark and I had 11 text books to sell from last semester and I decided to go with this little brother of ebay to go about business. I don’t know if you guys have any experience with the original ebay.com, but trying to get something online for people to buy can appear tricky. What shipping to offer customers? How much should I charge? How can I catch the customer’s eye and accurately describe the product? (okay, that doesn’t sound bad, but trust me, it can be a confusing task with many options to chose from for a newbie). And, they get you with the little fees. And, you can only have an item up for about a week and either it sells in that time, or it doesn’t.

Well, what I like about half.com is that it takes all that guess work out. It’s made for just media type things (books, CD’s, movies, video games, etc.) to sell/buy at reduced prices. It’s really great for buying textbooks (that’s all we’ve bought/sold so far, haven’t tried the other categories of products) at lower prices, because university stores are ridiculous. With 11 books, it took me hardly any time to get our items listed. I was able to tell them the exact product (what edition/cover/author/everything!) with just entering the ISBN number (therefore, saving time), entered the quality of the book, described the book (like, if it had markings), and listed the price. Click. Done.

What I really liked? Instead of the guessing of what I should list it for, it gave me a recommended price based on what other people had/are listing it for so that I could list it competitively, but fairly. It was usually spot on, too. And, what I really like? No bidding. I like that I can buy a book at ebay prices without sitting at the computer for an hour fighting over an item. And what I really, really like? It doesn’t have a time limit. It stays up until it sells, or until I take it down. And, no listing fees. It just takes a very small percentage out after a sale is made (like, two dollars).

Within just a few hours? I’ve already sold 2 books. Score.

Of course, the extra cash will go right back into buying new text books. School starts for Mark on Wednesday, and myself on Thursday. Ugh. I’m not ready for vacation to be over.

Thanks to Crazy Hip Blog Mamas, I had the opportunity to try the Gloves in a Bottle lotion. The package arrived on my door step 3 weeks ago (so, I’m a little late writing this!) but I was immediately impressed without even trying the product. How so? Not only did they send me samples packets to share with others, but they sent an entire 8 fl oz bottle to keep. Most “samples” I’ve gotten have been tiny packets that last just enough for 1 or 2 tries. A company that believes in their product enough to ship off an entire bottle to get the good word out, that’s awesome in my book!

Soon after opening the well put together package, I tried the lotion. Again, I was impressed. It made my hands extremely soft, but not greasy. Greasy lotion is a common issue in my dry-handed world. I can’t open bottles and door knobs with greasy lotion hands. It filled in the dry, cracked parts. It claims to be like “gloves” in a bottle, protecting your skin from bad stuff getting in and keeping the moisture and good stuff in. It also even goes as far to say as it won’t wash off for at least 4 hours. So, I tested it out. Soon after putting this moisturizer on, I went to give Savannah her nightly bath. Guess what? It was still working strong long after we were finished.

Another great thing? It’s scent free! I have an issue with strong scents and getting headaches from them. As much as I love Bath and Body Works, I can’t use their lotions. Some other customers have wrote saying they have even used it for a facial moisturizer, I think I’ll try that!

This lotion fits the bill exactly what I needed this winter: Protects and moisturizes better and longer than any other product I’ve used, and does it’s job without getting in the way with greasiness and headaches. A product well done!

After a date night out with a rare good night sleep, I’m ready to take on our sleep issue with a fight. A no-cry fight, even. Not saying tears are bad, because even crying can be refreshing, but crying isn’t so lovely when you hear it all. night. long. I came home and did some research online trying to find a book focusing on sleep issues. Hopefully, I’ve found the one the will work for us, The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. Thank you Amazon.com for the used book section, allowing me to pay $6 total including shipping, half the price of if I had drove to the book store. Granted, I have to wait a few more days to find some answers to our problems (hopefully), but still, can’t pass up a good deal.

In the mean time, we’re back to establishing a bed time routine (bath time, lots of books, snuggles and a feeding–which I want to learn how to cut out of her sleep necessity). Duh, Leah. Why did you get flax about it in the first place? Remember that back tracking I was talking about? I bet that is why. We’ll see what else Ms. Pantely has to offer soon. I chose this book because it seems to be more than just reading and then trying to apply. She has ’sleep logs’ and questions to ask yourself and keep record of about daily/nightly routines to help show where the problem is and then gives you a majority of solutions, not just one (so I’ve heard) to apply. She’s got a chapter for tiny infant sleeping AND older infant sleeping (Hello! That’s us!). She has one for co-sleepers and the one I’m most looking forward to–a chapter about babies who are depending on breast/bottle/pacifier to sleep.

And, quite frankly, I’m a person that some times needs some one to just tell me what to do next. Especially, when I am head deep in frustration, anger and tears. When a person is at the end of her rope, she needs some one to tell her what to do next to save herself. I’ve heard this book offers gentle step-by-step solutions. Just what I need.

We’ll see if it lives up to the reviews and to my expectations soon enough. In the mean time, off to dream land where there are no dreams because I’m always awake. Meaning, bed time for the O’s.

P.S. (It did help us!  Routine in crucial as she stresses in this book.)