Thanks to everyone who participated!

Well, I promised a giveaway and here it is! CSN Stores is sponsoring this one. I especially love their toys and games site. They also have a furniture web store with some more great stuff for little ones like kid bedding and kid furniture. I was approached to do a review/giveaway and given the chance to browse the store for an item I’d like to review. The hardest part was choosing just one item. The pretend play items on their toy site are awesome {the play kitchen items, like the toy stand mixers, are adorable}! But, in the end, I chose this:

I even showed you how to make some cute pretend mail. I like this toy because

1. It’s just small and adorable and
2. It encourages pretend play.

At first Lucy was frustrated with it because she had trouble opening the little door. But we filled it with cat litter to weigh it down and now she can open and shut it no problem. My only complaint is that the box is a little small. If you make your pretend mail just a little smaller then mine that won’t be a big deal. Though, it would have been nice to be able to fit Lucy’s actual mail in it {sometimes she gets greeting cards and each month she gets a mini magazine called Wild Animal Baby – thanks Grandma!}. Other than that it’s great! It’s plastic, so it’s easy to clean and would be suitable for outdoor play {wouldn’t it look great outside a play house?}.
And now for your chance to win one!
Here are the rules {I’m keeping it simple this time}:
You must live in Canada or the US. And you must leave a comment on this post.
That’s pretty much it. Your comment can be about anything, how badly you want to win, what the weather is like where you are, whatever. I’m not picky. You can get one extra entry by blogging about the giveaway {leave a link to the POST, not to your blog homepage, in a separate comment to get the extra entry}.
I’ll use random.org to select a winner next week. I’ll close entries Friday morning and post the winner Friday afternoon {good way to kick off the weekend, no?}.
Good luck!

This contest is now closed. Congrats to Lisa and Andrea!

ETA: "Open to Canadians only" means open to Canadian residents only. Also, all comments need to be left HERE on this post.

I live in the sunniest city in Canada. So during the summer I chose to use sunshine as our family’s source of Vitamin D. But now the seasons are changing. We seem to have skipped autumn altogether and jumped straight to winter {and we were forced to eat Robin’s minstrels*}. So I felt uncomfortable leaving Lucy without a supplement.

I purchased some Vit D drops at the store. But she hated them. She fought us the whole time we tried to deposit the dropper contents in her mouth. And I hated that they had a bunch of extra junk in them {like artificial flavoring}.

Then I saw Baby Ddrops on Twitter. I knew right away I wanted to do a review. Why?

Baby Ddrops are a daily, single drop dose with no flavors, preservatives, or colors.

They sent me a bottle (one tiny bottle contains 90 doses) to try. I’ve been using it for a while now and I’m very pleased. No more fighting Lucy to get her to swallow as much of her dose as possible. I just put a drop on my boob right before a feed. She has no clue she’s even getting anything.

Did I say “very pleased?” I meant very, very, very pleased. Really. I don’t know what else to say. These drops are super easy to give Lucy. And they don’t have questionable crap in them. You really can’t improve on that…well, unless they were free. And guess what, for two of my Canadian readers they will be!

That’s right folks! Baby Ddrops is going to give two lucky readers their own bottle of Baby Ddrops!

How can you win?

1st entry (mandatory for any others to count}: Visit the Baby Ddrops Facebook page and leave a comment HERE with something you learned about Baby Ddrops or Vitamin D. You must leave a way to contact you on all entries {either leave your e-mail or make sure you can be e-mailed through your blog}. If you leave no way to notify you, or if you do not respond to notification within 72 hours a new winner will be chosen.

2nd entry: Become a fan of Baby Ddrops on Facebook and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

3rd entry: Follow @BabyDdrops on Twitter and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

4th entry: Follow @DomesticDork on Twitter and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

5th entry: Blog about the giveaway and leave a link to the post in a comment on this post.

6th entry: Follow me here on Domestic Dork and leave a comment saying that you did.

7th entry: Tweet about the giveaway and link to the tweet in a comment {you must leave a link to the specific tweet not your Twitter account!}. You may tweet once daily.

How will the winner be chosen?

Winner will be chosen via Random.org then notified and announced here on the blog.

When will the winner be chosen?

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Contest open to Canadian residents only.

Good luck!

*And there was much rejoicing! Yaaaaay!

The winner of the WeeEssentials giveaway is…

Congrats Serene! You’ve been contacted and have 72 hours to respond! :D

Being the kind of mama who uses cloth diapers and cloth menstrual pads I naturally planned on using cloth nursing pads. But my leakage levels + cloth nursing pads = FAIL, epic fail even. I’m talking I could enter a wet t-shirt contest kind of fail.

But then I found WeeEssentials on Etsy.

Her nursing pads are more than just freakin’ cute {and trust me, they ARE that}…they’re made with a feature that makes you go “that’s genius!” They’re made with a layer of PUL {the same waterproof stuff diapers like Bum Genius are made with}. So I placed an order. And folks, I couldn’t be happier.

As you can see, they’re super pretty. The cores are made with bamboo and organic cotton. And the PUL lining is really fantastic. At night I’ve leaked past, but only because {being reusable} these pads don’t have stick-um on the back to keep them in place and I leaked around, not through, the pad. But, to tell the truth, I’ve had the same problem at night, even with disposables.

And Lucy sure likes ‘em.

Along with my order were some soap bits samples and one of the yummiest smelling lip balms I’ve ever encountered.

The lip balm is the “Citrus Blast” flavor, made with orange, lemon, lime and grapefruity goodness. It goes on really, really smooth. And I like that I can recognize and pronounce all of the nine ingredients. There’s no chemical crap in this lip balm.

The soap bits are surprisingly cute, considering they’re just little blocks of soap. I guess it’s the size factor that makes them seem so sweet. They can be used {melted and mixed with water} for cloth diaper wipes, or just as regular soap. I tried washing my hands with 1 bit. At first I didn’t like the way my hands felt after washing, kind of sticky. It’s the same feeling I get whenever I use any non-liquid soap. But it passed quickly and my hands didn’t feel dry or anything. And the soap had a nice, light scent {strawberries and champagne}.

Here’s another great thing. The service was great and the products well made. I heart shopping on Etsy because I love supporting small businesses. And when the businesses make such nice things and treat me so nicely it keeps me coming back. In fact, I’ve already planned my next purchase from WeeEssentials. I’m sooooo ordering some of the “Soothing Sinus Relief Balm” because my nose always gets so sore and red when I’m sick.

And though I haven’t had an opportunity to try WeeEssentials’s cloth menstrual pads {yet} I couldn’t resist telling you about them because they have two features mine don’t {but I wish they did}. Just like the nursing pads, they’re lined with PUL! Aaaand each pad is embroidered with stars on the wing so you can tell which pads are the most absorbent. Genius!

Basically I’m in love with WeeEssentials now. And you should be too. Know why? Well, besides the reasons I’ve already listed, WeeEssentials is sponsoring a giveaway!

What can you win?

a $20 gift certificate to spend on anything in the WeeEssentials shop {which ships everywhere}

How can you win?

1st entry (mandatory for any others to count}: Visit WeeEssentials and leave a comment on this post about what your favorite item is . You must leave a way to contact you on all entries {either leave your e-mail or make sure you can be e-mailed through your blog}. If you leave no way to notify you, or if you do not respond to notification within 72 hours a new winner will be chosen.

2nd entry: Blog about the giveaway and leave a link to the post in a comment on this post.

3rd entry: Follow @WeeEssentials on Twitter and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

4th entry: Follow @DomesticDork on Twitter and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

5th entry: Become a fan of WeeEssentials on Facebook and leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

6th entry: Follow me here on Domestic Dork and leave a comment saying that you did.

7th entry: Tweet about the giveaway and link to the tweet in a comment {you must leave a link to the specific tweet not your Twitter account!}. You may tweet once daily.

How will the winner be chosen?

Winner will be chosen via Random.org then notified and announced here on the blog.

When will the winner be chosen?

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Good luck!

{This review contains my honest opinion. I was not compensated in any way for providing it.}

It’s time to pick the winners of the Coffee Graphic Design giveaway!

The 5 lucky readers who will be getting a free button?

The 3 lucky readers who will be getting a free header?

And the 1 very lucky reader who will be getting the ultimate prize pack which includes a header, button, and signature with 2 additional seasonal versions?

Well, well, well! Aren’t you lucky Sarah? Winning twice! You must have some magic mojo goin’ on or something!

Congrats to ALL my winners. I’ll be contacting you shortly. And if you didn’t win but still want some graphic design work done I’m very affordable.

I am pleased to announce the opening of Coffee Graphic Design!

I’ve been making art and doing graphic design for years. My first graphic design project was a playbill for a production of Children of Eden. From there I did more playbills, as well as t-shirt designs. I started doing graphic design for the web when I was tired of my boring, pre-made Blogger template. After much encouragement from friends and family I’ve decided to make my services available to the public. And I can’t do that without offering a fabulous giveaway, now can I?

Here’s WHAT you can win:

• 1 of 5 “Iced Coffees” (buttons)
• 1 of 3 “Cappuccinos” (headers)
• 1 Ultimate Prize Pack (header, button, and signature, with 2 extra seasonal versions)

Here’s HOW you can win {sorry, family members are not eligible}:

1. Leave a comment on THIS post. Tell me how awesome I am, tell me how much you love or hate coffee (the drink, not my new website), whatever! Just leave any comment. You must do this for other entries to count.
2. Go to Coffee and grab a button to put on your blog. Then leave a comment with the link to your site.
3. Blog about this giveaway (leave comment with link to the post).
4. Follow this blog or Coffee (current followers count) and leave a comment telling me you’re a follower.
5. Follow me on Twitter (again, current followers count) and leave a comment telling me you’re a follower.
6. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link to the tweet (not your profile). You can tweet daily, just be sure to leave me a comment for each tweet.

MAKE SURE YOU PROVIDE A WAY FOR ME TO CONTACT YOU! If your e-mail is not available through your Blogger profile you MUST leave it in each comment.

Winners will be announced {and contacted} on August 20. That gives you plenty of time to get lots of entries and to daydream about what you’ll do if you win! Winners have 72 hours to claim their prize before it’s given away to someone else. That’s it, and GOOD LUCK!

Winners are announced here!

Yeah, I know, there was no post yesterday.

If you’re following me on Twitter you probably can guess why. If you’re not following me on Twitter {why not?} then let me fill you in…

Something’s coming! I have a big announcement coming up. It will probably happen by the end of the weekend, though I’m aiming for tomorrow.

Feel free to guess as to what the big news might be {no I’m not moving, pregnant, or going to prison}. I will tell you this, freebies and giveaways will be involved!

Ahhhh…I’m feeling much better after yesterday. Bear switched his Saturday shift to today so he could take over Lucy duty. Then he sent me out into the world for a few hours. I stopped at the arts and crafts store where I purchased a sketchbook (because I left mine at home) and some new oil pastels (haven’t used those in years). Then I parked myself in a chair at Starbuck’s with an iced coffee and drew and drew and drew and drew! Can you say “cheap therapy?” It was awesome! And I can’t wait to do it again. I’ve always been an art geek but it had been a while since I enjoyed drawing. I disliked my BFA program so much that I not only quit the program I quit making art all together. It’s so nice to be getting back into my creative groove (even if my skills are a bit incredibly rusty). In fact you may be seeing more of my work very soon. Stay tuned!

Speaking of getting back into a creative groove. Fellow blogger The Masked Mommy is painting again. And she’s giving away an incredible purple van Gogh reproduction. I looooooove Vincent van Gogh! And purple is my favorite color! So if I win the painting I may very well pee my pants in excitement!

The Masked Mommy’s giveaway is actually one of the things that finally pushed me over the edge and got me making art again. Bear has been bugging me to start painting again too. And I want to, really, I do. But every time the mood strikes I know Lu just isn’t going to let me get very far. So, for a little while at least, I’ll stick with drawing and digital design; less mess, and less time spent setting up and cleaning up.

Do you have a skill you haven’t utilized in a while?

It's been about 3.5 months since I gave birth. The only swimsuit I own is a second hand maternity suit that didn't fit all that well to begin with. I would really like a swimsuit that I'm comfortable being seen in because I would like to take Baby Lu to the pool this summer. So when I saw this giveaway on The Meanest Mom I was very excited. I get an extra entry by blogging about it. But please, for my sake, don't enter! ;)

CANCELED due to lack of interest.

Ta-da! The raffle begins today! It will run through the end of March and is open to US and Canadian residents. First, the nitty gritty details on how to enter:

1. Visit the donation site here.
2. Click the "pledge me online" button.
3. Make a donation of at least $5. For every $5 you pledge you will get one entry into the raffle.
4. Wait for me to e-mail you to confirm your entry.
5. See if you win stuff!!!

For an extra entry blog about (and link to) the raffle (leave a comment on this post with your blog address).

Now for the exciting part! The prizes:

This colorful wristlet is perfect for sunglasses, cellphones, coupons, and quick errands that don't require a big bag. It's from the Etsy shop Baffin Bags.

But guess what. This is just the beginning! I plan to have several more prizes posted by the end of the week! So be sure to check in again. And good luck! Remember that this is for a really great cause! And hey...why not win some neat stuff while you're at it?

My most recent giveaway has not been as popular as the first. Not sure why that is. But I really think the prize is awesome and I want more people to get a chance to enter. Annarianna really makes a very cute hair clip and I want her to get the publicity she deserves. So...if you'd like some extra entries into the giveaway here's how to get them (other than the ways already outlined).

E-mail, call, Facebook message, or [insert form of communication here] your friends/family. Tell them about the giveaway. If they enter the giveaway and mention your name (first name with middle and last initial) in the entry comment you'll get an additional entry (for each person who mentions you). You have until the 5th. The winner will be announced on the 6th. Good luck!

Ready, set, GO!

I'm surprised dear readers. Why haven't more of you entered the excellent giveaway? I imagine those of you without daughters might think you have no reason to, but surely you have sisters, nieces, cousins, neighbors, etc. who will need a birthday or Christmas gift this year? You can't get a cuter gift! If you haven't yet entered, what are you waiting for?

I recently discovered Sweet Pea Creations (by annarianna) on Etsy. She makes some really stinkin' cute hair clips for little girls (though I might be tempted to wear some of the seasonal ones myself - just for fun). Don't believe me? Check out this turkey, and these elephants. And here is the really cool news (for those in the US and Canada)...you can win one! That's right, as made obvious my the post title, there is a new giveway!

This time to enter all you need to do is visit her shop and leave a comment about which item you'd like to win. If you'd like an additional entry then mention the giveaway on your blog and link here; then leave a second comment telling me you mentioned the giveaway and link to your blog.

The giveaway will close at the end of the month and the winner will be announced Febraury 1st.

Good luck!

Congratulations to The Giveaway Diva. She won her choice of a Motivated Moms planner in the giveaway!

If you're disappointed you didn't win, never fear. I have a new giveaway lined up. Keep checking back to see what you can win this time!

Well, my two week trial of the Motivated Moms planner is just about up. So tonight I'm giving you my final review.

Definitely worth 8 bucks.

I'm positive I've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again: I'm ADD. Like many adults with ADD I have tried a million different things to organize the different aspects of my life, homemaking being no exception. I flunked FlyLady. I've read books on housekeeping and seen no improvement. I've tried making my own chore charts. Most things I tried were just too complex to mantain without getting overwhelmed.

Herein lies the beauty of Motivated Moms: it's simply a checklist. If, like me, you love lists and checking things off motivates you to do more then it can't get much better than Motivated Moms. Well, a full time maid and cook might be better but that's gonna cost a whole heck of a lot more than 8 bucks.

Actually, I like to think of it as a "mom" in paper version. "She" knows all there is about keeping the house under control. "She" knows what needs done and when. And "she" tells you without nagging or guilt tripping.

I have noticed that not everything applies to me (so I just ignore those items). And (as some have commented on other posts) the frequency with which certain tasks are listed might seem strange. Here's what Deann at Motivated Moms had to say:

"Then the kitchen cloth/towel - it just gets soppy a lot and the dishcloth will smell 'sour' if I don't change it every other day. I grew up having to SMELL the dishcloth before using it because my Mom didn't change it often enough. Ewwwwwww. LOL But trust me, we don't live in a germ free environment that looks like a museum. We live here, it's not a show place, so there are things that get laid down "just for now" and right now there's dishes in the sink because I made homemade pizza for lunch and haven't gotten in there to clean up yet (hey, at least I put everything in the sink and wiped all the sauce and cheese splatters off the counter and stove, that counts, right?). I think most people would be surprised at how normal (sometimes messy, sometimes clean) my house is but with the planner and keeping up with bits and pieces as I go through each day helps it to be at a reasonable level of tidiness at all times. There's still messes but they are reasonably contained and I know I'll get to them eventually as things come up on the planner."

Laurie at Tip Junkie (a blog I'm fond of) is challenging her readers to pick a word of the year: one word defining what one wants for herself in 2009. She's even hosting a giveaway in relation to the challenge. I think it's a great idea. One can make all the resolutions one desires but it's a whole lot easier to remember a single word and allow it to mold your everyday actions (and it is, after all, the little things we do each day that lead us to achieve our larger goals). So, what's my word?

Stretch.

2008 was a year of big changes for our family. Adam graduated. We moved to Canada. We set out on a new life path (med school here we come)! And our precious Lucy was born. It is in 2009 that we must rise to meet the challenge these new developments will include. My body stretched in 2008 (and my stomach has the marks to prove it). But in 2009 it is my inner self that needs to stretch.

I want to grow in 2009. I want to be harder working, more organized, more centered, and serve my family. I want to stretch myself to the limits of my abilities to make our house a home and then I want to stretch a little further.

So here's to 2009, and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g!

(And here's another reminder about the giveaway!)

This giveaway has ended.

Deann over at Motivated Moms has most generously agreed to provide a free copy of the Motivated Moms Planner to one lucky reader (see my ongoing reviews: part 1, part 2, part 3)!!!

Here's all you have to do to:

1. Leave a comment on one of the following:

• Why you feel you need a little extra help taking care of your home
• Why you feel it's important to keep one's home orderly and clean (or as orderly and clean as possible)
• A chore you HATE and how you've motivated yourself to do it
• Your favorite chore (I like cleaning mirrors, and sometimes vacuuming*)
  

2. Wait a week.

On Monday, January 12 I will announce the winner (who will be chosen at random from all the entries). The winner will have her (or his) pick of the 8 different planner formats (my personal favorite is the half sized with Bible readings).

Good luck!

And a big THANK YOU to Deann!

*I loathed vacuuming as a kid. But it's hard not to enjoy vacuuming at least a little bit when you've got one of these.