The First Giveaway!

Ok guys, I'm super excited to announce my first giveaway on The Mommy Homemaker! This first giveaway comes to us from Ginger Louise Clothing. Based out of NYC, Laura the creator of Ginger Louise Clothing is going to be giving the winner a beautiful 3 piece outfit that includes a skirt, a shirt, and a headband! The winner will also get to choose the beautiful fabric that they would like! To see more of her pieces check out one of her sites at either http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5690972 or at her blog which you can find at http://www.gingerlouiseclothing.blogspot.com/. So, here's what you need to do to win. Check out the link to the giveaway item and leave me a comment telling me your name, your email address, and what fabric you would choose (this is the mandatory entry)! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28357033. Good luck everyone! I can't wait to see who wins!!

For additional entries you can:
1 entry: Follow my blog
1 entry: Add my button to your blog
2 entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link
3 entries: Purchase something during the giveaway time from Laura at Ginger Louise and let me know what item/s you purchased

This giveaway will end on August 8, 2009 at 11:59 pm. At that time I will choose a winner using random.org and let them know through email. The lucky winner will have 48 hours to respond to me before another winner will be picked.

This is an iDon't!

So tonight after Izzy went to sleep I decided I would take a relaxing bubble bath and listen to music on my iPod with my iPod stereo. I had candles lit, a nice warm bath, and then I go to get into the tub, and what happens...my iPod falls into the bath! It had become disconnected from the stereo and flipped into the tub! I quickly caught it and much to my dismay, the screen was dark. At first I tried to stay positive because the music would still play, but not the video. Now, nothing. It's frozen at the menu. I've heard that putting a wet electronic gadget into a bag of rice after using a hair dryer on low can work. So, I am currently sadly looking at my beautiful silver iPod laying in a bag of rice. I hope this works! If anyone has any advice on this, please leave me a comment! I will give an update tomorrow to see if this works. I really hope it does! :-(
In the mean time, taking your iPod into the bathroom during a bubble bath is a definite iDon't!

Christmas in July!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to take a second to tell you about my friend Cassidy's blog, which is called "The First Time Around". She is having a crazy exciting Christmas in July giveaway celebration! She has awesome things like Dropps laundry detergent, Piggy Paint, Yo-Baby Yogurt, and lots more to give away to some very lucky readers! To find her blog, click on the Christmas in July button featured here on my blog and get yourself in the running for an awesome prizes!

Wow, a whirlwind weekend!

Wow, did we have a fun weekend! On Saturday my husband Adam and I took Izzy to Jefferson Pointe, the outdoor mall here in town for family day. I just found out they do family day every Saturday during the summer and best of all... it's free! They had bounce-houses, basketball and baseball games, balloon animals, face painting, crafts, music, and clown comedians. Izzy had a blast watching the clown make her monkey balloon! She also got to make a glittery mess while she made a paper "whywhy" (butterfly). I must say the comedian took the cake, and rightfully so because her name was Sweetcakes! Izzy and I laughed so hard when Sweetcakes called Adam up on stage and nicknamed him "Adamcakes"! He had to dress like a chicken while she did a magic trick with him. All the kids had a blast there as one by one lots of dads were called up there to be silly! If you live in the Fort Wayne area this is definitely a fun thing to take your kids to!

I also have to give an update on one of the vegan recipes we tried tonight. We did breakfast for dinner and one of the things we made were the drop biscuits out of the cookbook "The Joy of Vegan Baking" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. They were really good and Izzy had fun getting to help make them! One of the things I love about the recipes in this book is the fact that I can let Izzy help me prepare things without having to worry she will accidentally try a bite before it's cooked. Since the recipes are made without eggs, she can try a bite or two (as she loves to do while cooking!) without the risk of getting sick. I first bought this cookbook when Izzy was diagnosed with milk and egg allergies, because since vegans don't eat milk or eggs, all the recipes are safe for Izzy. We especially like the apple cake that we made last year for her birthday! I would definitely recommend this cookbook for moms who must cook without milk or eggs out of necessity or just because they want to try it. Out of all the recipes we've tried, you really wouldn't know it was vegan because it tastes so much like the real thing! It's also nice because the sweets aren't quite as fattening, which makes me very happy!

Have a great Monday tomorrow mommies!
~Marina

Exciting News!

I am so excited to announce that I already have 2 giveaways lined up to start soon! I will post more details in the next day or two, so check back for them!

So here's a question for anyone out there who might be able to help. I am on the lookout for some yummy vegetarian recipes to try out. Is anyone a vegetarian that has some good do's and don't's? I am also looking online, so as I find some I will try them out and post the results on here! I think cooking vegetarian for some meals during the week is not only healthy, but also economical. It is cheaper to cook without meat, and I have found that you don't necesarily have to cut the flavors and fun by cooking vegetarian. I have a 3 bean chili recipe I'm going to try out next week and see if my husband likes it. He is a meat and potatos kind of guy so if he okays it then I think it will be a hit with other men!

Have a great and fun-filled day everyone! Don't forget to savor the little moments with your kids today, they grow up way too soon!

Love, Marina

All About Your First Born!

Hey I thought I would post this survey thing so you guys could get to know me more! Leave me a comment to say hi and introduce yourself, or even fill out the survey about your own experience so I can get to know you! I'm so excited to meet some other mommies out there!
1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? No, but we love her so much!

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? No, but we were engaged. We got married when she about 6 months old.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? I was really nervous because I was so young and I had just started college, but in the end everything worked out.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? No way.
5. a)HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU GOT PREGNANT? 18
b) WHEN YOU GAVE BIRTH? 19
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I had a weird feeling, so I took a test and it was positive.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? A friend of mine who was there with me while I took the test.

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? I did, but my husband didn't.

9. DUE DATE? January 31st, 2007.

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? YES! Morning noon and night sickness is more like it!

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? ICE CHIPS and chicken nuggets

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? The constant nausea

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Girl

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No way

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 20

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes, 2

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew about it

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Yes, I was on bedrest because they thought she was going to be born by 28 weeks, then they induced me right before her due date!

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Dupont Hospital
20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? Well, probably about 6 hours of labor and about 1 1/2 hours of pushing

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Adam

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Adam and my mom

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Yes, epidural all the way! But the nurse said they didn't give me enough, because I could still feel ALOT!

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 7 lbs 2 oz

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? January 30, 2007

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Isabella Rose

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 2 1/2 years old!

What to expect from me

Hi everybody, my name is Marina and my husband's name is Adam. Together we have a 2 year old daughter named Isabella. I'm currently about to start my last semester of college where I am majoring in communications and theology. I love to write, especially about things that I'm passionate about. Some topics you can look forward to hearing about will probably be in the areas of crafts (I love to scrapbook, make jewelry, knit, and just about do anything else artsy), cooking (especially in terms of recipe modifications due to food allergies, my daughter is allergic to milk and eggs), family life, and other random things. I'm also planning on doing product reviews and giveaways down the road. I hope you enjoy my new blog and that you learn something new while reading it!