Purex

Purex has two super cool promotions going on right now! Check them out:

The first is 25 days of 25 Crystals Promotion. Everyday for 25 days Purex will be giving away 25 bottles of Crystals to 25 lucky readers until May 29th. You can enter here for that.

The second is Hawaiian Tropical Splash Giveaway. The grand prize is a 3 night stay on the beautiful beachfront hotel, The Outrigger on the beach in Waikiki, Hawaii. There is also 500 2nd place winners that will win a free coupon for a bottle of Crystals. You can enter here for that.

Neutrogena Cosmetics Giveaway

Softer lips and brighter eyes, thanks to makeup that instantly beautifies and works to improve your skin.

Recommended by dermatologists – and your mirror.
When we think Neutrogena, our first thought is radiant, healthy-looking skin. So it's no surprise that Neutrogena^® Cosmetics has makeup that enhances your natural beauty while helping to improve your skin's healthy look. Makeup that multi-tasks? Talk about Bzz-worthy.

The secret to a refreshed, brighter look.
Puffiness, dark circles...the delicate eye area is the first place to show fatigue That's why Neutrogena created eye products that not only instantly beautify, but also care for skin.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin^® Brightening Eye Perfector – this multi-tasking concealer immediately evens skin tone, conceals dark circles & boosts radiance, while a patented blend of antioxidants work over time to actually improve the look of skin.

Neutrogena^® Nourishing Eyeliner – instantly defines and brightens eyes with luminous, conditioning color that wears beautifully all day. Olive oil and rainforest shea butter nourish the delicate skin around your lashes, while subtle light diffusers make the whites of your eyes appear whiter.

Softer, rosier lips in just one week.
Love your lips, and your lips will love you. Soothe your lips' dryness with the innovative:

Neutrogena^® Revitalizing Lip Balm – sheer, moisturizing color that transforms the look of lips by making them softer, rosier and more defined. In just one week, it actually improve lips' texture, so lips look naturally beautiful – even after you take it off!

Look for Neutrogena^® Cosmetics at your favorite stores or at www.neutrogena.com.

Like Neutrogena^® Cosmetics:
www.facebook.com/NeutrogenaCosmetics.

So, what is the giveaway? Two lucky readers will win the new revitalizing lip balm and 2-$2.00 coupons off of any Neutrogena cosmetic item. All you have to do is tell me your one makeup item you can't live without. Winner will be chosen by random.org! Good luck! Giveaway ends Wednesday, May 16th, at 9 am! 

Giveaway sponsored by Neturogena and BzzAgent! 

Kara's Here!

A little over a month late, but hey better late then never! Let's not forget I have an almost 21 month old that keeps me on my toes and a newborn to take care of, so my time to sit down to blog is very limited!

Anyways, Kara Lyn is here. She was born on April 2, 2012. At 10:32 am. She was 7lbs 10oz and 19.5 inches long, with a full head of hair!

I thought her birth story would be pretty easy to write and only a paragraph, well I was wrong! Well actually the birth story is probably just that long, it's all the fun things(not really) that happened to me after birth!
Kara was a planned c-section, so we got up on Monday morning, got showered, got Kiley up to say good-bye to her and let her know we'd see her later in the day with her little sister! Driving to the hospital I wasn't really nervous at all, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it being the 2nd baby. I was nervous only about getting the spinal, which wasn't that bad this time! Anyways, we got to the hospital, checked in and we were taken back in the labor and delivery area. I got into my fancy hospital gown and got my IV's in and they checked my blood pressure, which was high. I had sort of high blood pressure during my pregnancy but they took all the test they do and they all came back fine, so they didn't do anything about it. So they didn't worry about it before I delivered her.
Around 8:30 they told us the c-section before us was running behind and we might go in the next five minutes instead of 10, but the next thing I know that c-section went so we had to wait, which was fine, the time flew by. Around 10, I walked back to the OR and got all set up with my spinal.  My OB came in and started, about 20 minutes later Kara was born, screaming her little lungs off. She had a full head of hair! After all the heartburn I had with this pregnancy, I said the entire time she better have hair! Kara and Chris went off to the labor and delivery room while they finished me up. This time around I got staples instead of stitches and they healed so much better, no infection this time! If you are getting a c-section, seriously request the staples! My OB also made didn't use my last c-section incision, he made another one. After I was all closed up I was able to start breastfeeding right away which I didn't last time, it was almost 2 hours before I even saw Kiley after she was born. I'm so glad they made this change at the hospital.
Anyways about an hour in recovery we were off into our room. Kiley came to visit us and everything was going great, until night time. My BP started to rise, like super high, so they just watched it for the next 24 hours. On Wednesday morning, I was ready to go home, and at 5 am I asked my OB if she could get everything ready and she said I could. The nurse tried to talk me out of it and after listening to everyone, even the cleaning lady I decided I better stay, considering my BP was 170/100. They kept monitoring my BP and by Thursday morning they put me on a medication to help control it. Unfortunately this pill didn't work, but we would find that out till about 5 days later. Finally, on Friday they allowed me to go home. My BP never went back down to a normal range the whole weekend. Monday I had to go to my OB office to get my staples removed and they checked my BP and it was 210/140, so I was immediately sent to the OB triage.
They gave me a medication and it bottomed me out, so I had to stay another 3 days there. I had some blood-work come back during that stay that wasn't great, showed a high level of liver enzymes so they made me stay.  They re took all my blood work Wednesday morning and everything was fine, so they finally discharged me. Thankfully! Apparently, my OB told me they were calling me the hostage.  There was nothing worse then being told I was going to go home almost everyday and then the doctors coming in  and telling me I couldn't. I don't think I ever cried so much! Seriously! I'd cry the moment anyone said Kiley's name or talked about her, I missed her that much. I was a mess! BP issues are a scary thing, please, please get yours checked regularly. Even when my BP was super high I had NO symptoms after my pregnancy. I had some during, but again they tested and nothing came back.
So what was the cause of the high BP? Apparently all the extra fluid after having a baby. Thankfully now I'm BP med free and my BP is back to normal!

Spring Time Means Sneezes and Sniffles

It's spring time and that means only one thing. Tons of tissues, sneezing, coughing and runny noses. Most of us, more importantly children can't enjoy spring because they will get itchy eyes, watery eyes, sneezing and runny noses. Did you know that non-drowsy Children's Claritin Syrup can provide 24 hours of non-drowsy relief from allergies.

It's also available over the counter, no prescription needed. It's also grape flavored, a flavor kids love!

Here are some other tips for manging your children's allergies:

1. Keep windows closed, pollen is carried by the wind.
2. Keep your house smoke free.
3. Change your air filter frequently.
4. Help protect against mold. Clean your shower and tubs regularly.
5. Change your child's clothes after playing outdoors.

Check out Claritin on Facebook and Twitter.

Guess, what! I have a giveaway with this post! One lucky reader will win a $3.00 coupon off any Non-Drowsy Children's Claritin, 4 ounce syrup or 10 count or larger pack!

All you need to do is leave me a comment, about your favorite part of spring. Win additional entries by mentioning it on twitter, using my name @JessicaLea81 or by becoming a follower of my blog!

Good luck! Giveaway ends Friday, April 6, 2012.

Post and coupon sponsored by BuzzAgent.

Fruit Allergies

People are ALWAYS perplexed about my food allergies. I'm pretty much allergic to every single fruit, vegetable and nut there is. I can eat watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew and grapes. For vegetables I can only eat lettuce fresh. Sometimes cucumbers, depends on the time of year. Everything else has to be baked, cooked or boiled or processed for me to eat.

Whenever I tell people this, they give me a side eye. Because it's not very explainable. In this month's Family Circle Magazine they had a great explanation that I wanted to share with my readers!

First, I'm allergic to pollen, very allergic. So eating raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts cause a reaction in in me, that causes me to get swollen lips, itchy mouth, and a scratchy throat that can close. It's called oral allergy syndrome. Many people don't realize that pollen and produce contain similar proteins and what happens is the immune system can't tell the difference.

I happen to be allergic to all three these;

1. Ragweed, which also makes me allergic to bananas, cucumbers, melon(which I'm not thankfully), kiwi fruit and zucchini.
2. Birch, which also makes me allergic to apples, almonds, carrots, celery, cherries, hazelnuts, kiwi fruit, peaches, pears and plums.
3. Grass, which also makes me allergic to celery, melons, oranges, peaches and tomatoes.

Hopefully this helps clear up some air about food and fruit allergies and how they are related!

Walmart Bake Off

*Winner is Kristi! Congrats!*

Are you looking for new recipes for your weekly dinners or an extra special dessert to share with your family? Well look no further, Bake-Off.com now has 100 new recipes from Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist from across the USA! There are a ton of recipes, from breakfast, appetizers, dinner and desserts!

• Head to your local Walmart where you can find great savings on refrigerated Pillsbury products including: Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls, Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, Pillsbury Pie Crust, and Pillsbury Cookies among other items
• Don’t forget to check everydaysaver.com/Walmart before you head to your nearest Walmart to find additional coupons and offers

Having trouble deciding which of these mouthwatering recipes to make first? Here are just a few of the delicious ones available on BakeOff.com:

• Chocolate and Caramel-Cinnamon Roll Skewers - Do cinnamon rolls one better. Skewer them and drizzle with caramel, chocolate and icing for a most indulgent treat
• Marmalade-Glazed Asian Meatball Cups - Meet a saucy new meatball that's baked on top of flaky crescent dough. With just 6 ingredients, they're super easy
• Mango Salsa Appetizer Bites - Party time! Two-bite pie crust appetizers are loaded with a fiesta of flavors
• Hazelnut-French Silk Turtle Pie - Oh my, turtle pie! A rich flaky pie crust holds a creamy filling with chocolate and caramel
• Caramelized Peach Upside-Down Coffee Cake - Bake up a new sweet peachy coffee cake delight using Pillsbury® sugar cookie dough

Before you head out to Walmart check out everydaysaver.com/walmart.

You can also check out Walmart on Facebook. And also Twitter!

And guess what, there's a prize in it for you! One lucky reader will win a $25 gift card to Walmart, all you need to do is leave me a comment with the recipe you would make from Bake-off.com! Earn extra entries by posting this to twitter,using hash tag #myblogspark and JessicaLea81. Also stay tuned to see what recipe I created from Bake-off.com!

You have till next Friday, March 23 to leave a comment! Good luck!

"Disclosure: The gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Walmart and General Mills, through MyBlogSpark."

'Inside the Crayon Box"

Just in case you missed last weeks "Inside the Crayon Box" with Lisa Loeb, you can watch the full video here!