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It’s Monday, and I’m posting a DIY, so I’m hereby declaring this Make It Monday!  What I am about to share with you will not only save your laundry from toxins and save you money on dryer sheets and dryer run time, it’s also a simple DIY that makes an excellent stocking stuffer or small gift!
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I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf Influence Central for Sprint. I received sample devices to facilitate this review, but all opinions are my own.

Ok, so you guys should know that I’m not a huge gadget fanatic–that’s more Mr. TFT’s forte.  That being said:  HOLY CRAP, the HTC One M8 is absolutely AMAZEBALLS.  It’s like the cool, suave mom-mobile of smartphones.  Beware: once you read this review, you’ll want one too!

The three major selling points of this phone for me were Design, Camera, and Sound. 
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I’ll be doing a post about the Extra-Life campaign soon, but I wanted to go ahead and share this video too.  I was challenged to do the ALS Ice Bucket challenge.  Instead, I opted to dump Iced Bawls (a popular caffeine beverage in the gaming world) to promote our Extra-Life campaign in October.

A brief overview:  Extra Life is a 24 hour gaming marathon.  Gamers get sponsors (donations) and live stream themselves doing what they do best in order to raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.  My husband will be playing, and I’ll be doing a few fun things on the blog to include you all in the journey!  Until then….watch Thing 1 dump sticky iced beverage on my head.  If you want to donate, you can go to www.extra-life.org/participant/jeroddunn

Four years ago today, we welcomed the force of nature that is Thing 1.  He has given us joy and laughter…and driven us to drink.  My little whirlwind never stops moving, never stops questioning and, despite all the frustrations and trials, never stops making me smile.  In honor of his 4th birthday, I give you: The ABC’s of Life (well…our lives, anyway).
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Last night, I had a dream.  I dreamt that I gave birth to a beautiful baby.  And I felt radiant, powerful, and content.  Then, I woke up to reality:  a belly sans uterus, riddled with stretch marks and surgery scars and, if I’m being completely honest, gone a bit squishy.  That squishy bit was likely why said belly, still sore from last week’s hysterectomy, was partly covered by splayed limbs and a tuft of blonde hair belonging to a very precocious and energetic four year old.  My belly, the comfy pillow.  Oh yes, I had a dream.
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Hello, my name is Amber, and I love books.  I mean it.  I. Really. Love. Books. I love to read them, buy them, read ABOUT them, talk about them, organize them, lovingly caress them (only occasionally, I swear…).  But really, I’m constantly on the lookout for new books, both for myself and for the kids.  Despite his generally spastic nature, Thing 1 can sit still and focus on a book like nobody’s business.  He’s always been a lover of books, just like his mama.  Not sure where the spastic thing comes from.  So, for the past 4 years, I’ve encouraged him (and Thing 2, when she came along), to use books to explore, discover, and re-imagine the world around him.  That’s why, after attending an Usborne book party, I was so excited.  Come on with me, and we’ll take a look…inside a book…(High five to all of you who got that reference.)

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Doctor On Demand, however, all opinions are my own.

We’ve all been there. And if you haven’t, well…I don’t believe you. It’s the worst possible time (weekend, holiday, late night…you get the idea) and your child suddenly starts acting strange(r). Or develops a rash. Or gets a nasty cough and/or fever. You are faced with the decision to wait it out and hope for the best, or head to the local ER/Urgent Care…and hope for the best. Sometimes, waiting it out really doesn’t seem like a great option and, especially if you have more than one child, going to the ER or Urgent Care center isn’t a great option either. Maybe it’s just the germophobe in me (ok…LIKELY it’s the germophobe in me), but when I think of the ER or “doc in the box”, as we call the Urgent Care centers, I envision foul cesspools of mean, sharp-toothed germs. I have to sterilize my hand after using the pens, and I apparently always wear a sign that says, “Puking/plague ridden person, please sit as close to me as possible!”. Which means I have to burn my clothes and scrub my skin down Gattaca style when I get home. Ok, I’m not really THAT bad. But still. So, if that’s not your cup of tea, or if the thought of the exorbitant cost of such services makes you cringe, what’s a person to do? I FINALLY have a good answer to that question!
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