Monday, August 23, 2010

And The winner is

# 7

ModernMom said...

I liked you on facebook and wrote on your wall!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Tax Free Weekend

Texas tax free weekend starts today. I am absolutely DREADING my trip to the store today. I need one thing...DIAPERS. Why on Earth didn't I buy them yesterday? Because I forgot it was Tax Free Weekend. I suppose at least diapers are tax free as well so I can save my little 8.25% on two packages of diapers. I feel like I should buy a new outfit to make it worth the hassle. I wonder if Bob will go for that? I can hear that conversation now. I suppose I could buy the boys new shoes or an outfit or two.

Speaking of the boys...

Did you vote for Mason today? Just click on the widget in the top right corner of the blog and sign up on the site. You can choose to not get notifications from the site. It is our local newspaper hosting the contest. After you sign up the easiest way to vote is stay logged in but leave the site and click on the widget from here again because it will take you right to his photo instead of making you search through all the photos to find his.

Also remember the auction to benefit Mason's Page on Facebook starts on Sunday. Mason, or Skeeber for those that don't know my boys needs to wear a DOC band for plagiocephaly. Insurance has denied our claim due to a specific exclusion. Our amazing friends started Mason's page to help us raise the funds to pay for Mason's treatments.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Mommy's night out

Last night I had a spouses event for Bob's company so I left Patrick and Mason home with daddy and I enjoyed my night off.

We went to La Hacienda Ranch and ate yummy Mexican food and drank amazing margaritas. We got free gifts (always at "K" events). I got to catch up with other spouses I hadn't seen since District Meeting in December and meet for the first time the spouses I talk to on Facebook.

I took over roll as Chapter Secretary, and can't wait to get started with that. I am super organized so this is right up my alley. Bob's always saying I need a list of the lists I need to make. Yeah he thinks he's funny. ;)

When I got home the dishes were done, the kids (and husband) were fed, and both boys were in bed. Patrick wasn't sleeping of course, he wanted to say good night to mommy. I have an amazing husband whom I love very much. Next time I am making the hubby drop me off and pick me up so I don't have to drive.


It appears you can vote once a day so even if you voted yesterday please vote again. Mason appreciates it and so does his mommy. Thank you!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

PLEASE VOTE!!!!

Mason is entered in a local photo contest. Voting begins today and we need your votes. Please take a moment to click on the vote for me widget on the top right corner of the blog. First place gets a photo session and the mommy gets to choose between a tummy tuck and liposuction in three places both valued at $600. I am asking all of my readers for your help because I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if we could win. Mason has never had professional photos taken and we know all mothers deserve a tummy tuck. So please take a moment of your time and vote for my little Skeeber.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Because I have the most incredible amazing wonderful friends in the world

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Masons-Page/148628051830317

They have started a page for people to follow Mason's progress and a way to donate to the cost of the DOC band as well as a way to donate goods to be auctioned off to help raise money for Mason's treatments.

Please take a moment to like the page and pass it on, even if you can't donate because you never know what will happen if it gets all around facebook.

I love my friends more than they will ever know.

XOXO

Skeeber Skeebs

Well it's been quite a whirlwind of a week. Mason had his (late) 6 month check up on Tuesday. The Nurse Practitioner noticed his head right away. I've always been concerned with the shape of Mason's head, but the doctors where we previously lived didn't seem to show any signs of concern so I just let it go. Missy (the NP) noticed it right away and referred us to Cranial-Tech so we could get an evaluation done to see how severe his head is.

He has moderate-severe Plagiocephaly and Brachycephaly with associated facial and ear asymmetries. Basically that means his head is flat in the back and bulges on the sides and his ears aren't symmetrical. He also has issues with the muscles in his neck and they are so tight on one side you can actually see them pulling through the skin when they tilted his head around.

Cranial-Tech recommends the DOC band treatment for Mason. He would wear the band for 23 hours a day for about 4 months (maybe longer). It's super important we get this taken care of ASAP because the longer we wait the harder it will be to treat.

So what are we waiting for? Well insurance has denied our claim because of a specific exclusion. They won't cover any of the costs for treatment. Which means we have to figure out a way to come up with the $4,000 it costs for one round of treatment (meaning if he needs to wear the band for more than 4 months we'd need another $4,000 at that point).

There's nothing like looking at your happy smiling baby who has no idea what's going on and knowing in your heart that there is nothing you can do for him. It's pretty much the worst feeling in the world. I've heard "don't beat yourself up", "don't worry about it", "it is what it is", "you're not a bad mom", and "everything will be okay".

Nobody will truly understand until they are a mother in the same situation. You can't not worry about it and you do beat yourself up. It's your sole purpose in motherhood to make sure your children are happy, healthy, and well cared for. When you fail at one of those things it makes you feel like crap. Plain and simple I feel like crap and I DO feel like a horrible mother.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Ciaran's Angels

There is a very special little boy who happens to share a birthday with Skeeber. His mother and I met in an online forum. We talked a bit before the boys were born, but have since grown closer. We can talk about our boys for hours and since they are the same age we can come to each other with concerns. One day we hope to get together so our little birthday buddies can finally meet.

There is one major difference between Mason and Ciaran though and that's the fact that Ciaran was diagnosed with CDH or Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

Taken from the CDH website:

What is CDH?

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) occurs in approximately 1 in every 2,500 births (1,600 cases in the U.S. each year). The cause of CDH is not yet known. The diaphragm is formed in the first trimester of pregnancy and controls the lungs' ability to inhale and exhale. CDH occurs when the diaphragm fails to form or to close totally and an opening allows abdominal organs into the chest cavity. This inhibits lung growth.

Every patient diagnosed with CDH is different. Survival rates depend on the types and number of organs involved in the herniation and the amount of lung tissue available. There are many surgical procedures and complications that may or may not occur with each individual, including in utero surgery.

Roughly 50% of babies born with CDH do not survive. Of the 50% that do survive, most will endure long hospital stays, feeding issues, asthma and other problems. A few of the survivors suffer from severe long-term medical issues.

CDH occurs as frequently as Spina Bifida and Cystic Fibrosis, yet there is very little research being done and virtually no media coverage.

Every baby with CDH is different - like a snowflake, no two are alike. What works for one baby, may not work for another. There is no reliable indicator to predict if a baby will do well or not. Babies with no diaphragm and little lung sometimes do well, while babies with 2 full lungs can sometimes do poorly. Head to lung ratio is used to determine whether to intervene prenatally through in utero treatments but it does not indicate a true survival rate. "Lung function" is also not an indicator as there are many other factors at work with these children such as kidney function, brain function, other birth defects, possible complications or infections while in the hospital, etc



In honor of Ciaran I have started the fundraising process to help with CDH research. Please take a moment to visit our site and educate yourself on CDH. There is also a place to make a donation if you wish. Every little bit helps. Please help us spread the word on CDH by sharing our facebook page with your friends.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Why oh why am I awake?

I awoke to giggles and coos coming from a little Skeeber this morning promptly at 5:30 am. He was in the living room giggling with daddy before he left for work. I love the sound of my little man's giggles, but 5:30 is a bit early. Then daddy was talking to mommy and Boo heard us so now both the boys are awake. It's been about an hour and a half and I've gotten them both to lay back down and rest some more, but can I get back to sleep?

NO WAY!!!

Why would I need sleep? I've lived off of 4 hours of sleep every day for the last 7 months 1 week and 5 days. Thank you www.alterna-tickers.com for making that timeline easy to figure out.

Today is full of doctor appointments (overdue 6 month check up for Skeeber with a new doctor), taking more paperwork to the car lot, and hopefully getting my windows tinted. Maybe I'll fit a little bit of shopping in there.

In other news, if you have a little girl stick close by in the coming weeks to see my new venture. Boy stuff will follow shortly, but I have to take care of all of Mason's girlfriends first.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Back To School Lunch Box Review/Giveaway

I was given the opportunity to review a kid's lunch box, but since Patrick and Mason are not school age I chose to let Bob review the lunch box.

How many times have you been in this predicament? You wake up in the morning to make your child's (or husband's) lunch, we're out of baggies, that's okay we'll use a plastic container, but where are the lids??? When you finally find the lids and get the lunch packed you realize the container is too big for the lunch box. And now you're late getting out the door. Fantastic isn't it?

Well with the Easy Lunch Box you don't have to worry about that anymore. You can get a set of containers with a compartment for a sandwich and two smaller compartments for snacks. They come with colored lids (easy to find in a cabinet), and they fit perfectly in the lunch box which you can also buy on their site. PERFECT for your back to school lunch box.

They didn't work for Bob though, ONLY because he eats many times a day to keep up with his macronutrients. He would have needed to take three containers plus a can of green beans and a container of rice. It just wouldn't all fit in the lunch box. The strap is a little tight for a grown man, but I think would work great for a child. Bob also suggests that the containers would be better suited for an adult or older child if they were open instead of having compartments.

I haven't gotten the luxury of trying the lunch system out, but I did get the "luxury" of washing it. The containers come clean very easily and so far I haven't noticed that lingering smell I get from my other plastic containers.

Taken from Kelly of Easy Lunch Boxes:
Supporting the waste-free lunch movement, EasyLunchboxes.com offers a reusable, superior solution at a much lower price than other companies.
Great for large families and those on a limited budget.
FDA approved. No BPA, phthalates, lead, vinyl, or PVC. Safe for dishwasher, freezer, and microwave.

The simple chic design and bright colors of our Cooler Bags can even be personalized!
We have included a sturdy grommet in the carrying handle so you can easily attach a pretty key ring, dietary restrictions warning tag, or your choice of any type of handcrafted or store bought “flair.” Examples HERE
Our Cooler Bags are made of the highest quality 300D Polyester for premium durability and toughness. Vinyl free (PVC free) & lead free, with an FDA compliant PEVA lining.

Need lunch ideas? You can get some great ideas on the Easy Lunch Box website.

If I had school age kids I would buy this lunch system for them. As a mom that *tries* to eat healthy I expect my kids to follow suit and lunches from home will be a given. I recommend this system to anyone with school age children and even those of you who don't need to take 4 meals to work with you. I would like to apologize for the lack of photos for your viewing pleasure, but it seems my camera cord has grown legs with the help of a blue eyed toddler.

So now on to the fun stuff!!!

~~~BUY IT~~~
You can visit Easy Lunch Boxes and purchase your lunch system OR you can use my referral link and help me out while helping yourself out with this great system.

~~~WIN IT~~~
One lucky Skeeberboo reader will win a lunch system in their choice of color. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment for each of the following entries. You can choose to do as many or as few as you'd like. Please remember to leave your email address in each comment and leave a separate comment for each entry. You MUST do the mandatory entry in order to be considered for the extra entries. This giveaway will run until 10:00 pm (CST) August 21, 2010.
This giveaway is offered to US & Canadian residents only. Please do not enter this giveaway if have won or received free product from
EasyLunchboxes within the past 3 months.
Mandatory Entry:
Visit Easy Lunch Boxes and leave a comment here telling me something you learned about the product and what color you'd pick if you win.-2 entries
Extra Entries:
~Follow Skeeberboo via Google Friend connect- 2 entries
~Like Skeeberboo on Facebook-1 entry
~Like Easy Lunch Boxes on Facebook-1 entry
~Follow Skeeberboo on Twitter-2 entries
~Follow Easy Lunch Boxes on Twitter-2 entries
~Grab my button and leave a link where I can find it-3 entries
~Blog about this giveaway, tell me where I can find it (make sure you link back here)-5 entries
~Tweet about this giveaway and leave a link so I can find it, make sure you include @easylunchboxes and @mama_tank in your tweet. You can do this once a day-1 entry per tweet

While I was provided with the product(s) listed above I was not compensated for my thoughts and the opinions above are my own (and Bob's).

Friday, August 6, 2010

And the winner is

Comment number 61

Ashley said...

I follow Ecomom on twitter! (@reynoldsmom)
reynoldsmommy at gmail dot com



Ashley has 48 hours to reply to my email or another winner will be chosen. Please note the winner HAS responded to my email already. Thank you all for entering my first giveaway and look for the next one coming this weekend.

What's New in the Tankersley Family?

Let's start with Bob (he is the oldest after all). Not to mention it's the easiest update to give. He works, plain and simple. 12+hour days 5 days a week plus whatever time he puts in on Saturday.

Me? I'm still above my lowest weight. I was 202 when I moved to Lewisville, as of this morning I am 207. One day I will see a number that doesn't start with 2, but until then I just keep trying. Which brings me to my next bit of news. We cancelled the gym membership...for now. Why? Because we welcomed a new "member" into the Tankersley family...









Isn't she pretty?
You thought I was going to say I'm pregnant didn't you? Haha I fooled you.
Once we get used to the cost of owning a new vehicle we'll join a gym again. It won't be Lifetime Fitness because that won't fit into the budget anymore, but we'll pick a nice gym with a good daycare. For those wondering it's a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. We got it a week ago tomorrow and some moron already dinged it with their door. I was LIVID!!!! I think I may have even cried a little. haha

Now Patrick, he'll be three in a month and 5 days. I have ZERO plans set for the party because we don't have enough room for party guests and all the local party locations want way too much money for the amount of people we're inviting. I finally found a place I REALLY want to have it and I am willing to sell my left kidney (okay not really) to make sure we can get this place. They book solid through out the year and it just so happens they have an opening on the date we want, but I have to get the go ahead from the hubby. No hints though, you'll have to wait for pictures.

Mason is growing up way too fast. He's already 7 months old. He has a doctors appointment on Tuesday so I'll share stats after that. He's behind on his shots because of the move. Finally found a pediatrician and finally got in to see her. I hope we like her. He's still not sleeping through the night and he eats like crazy. I'm worried he will have weight issues later in life, but I refuse to deny him food if he is truly hungry. I plan on talking to the doctor about all of this.

Well that's what's new with us. Thanks for reading and I hope to have some new pictures to share with you all soon.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

WAT-AAH Review

I was given the opportunity to review WAT-AAH. I was sent 4 bottles of different "flavors" to try.

Brain:
Ultra Purified Water
Kid Friendly Electrolytes
ABSOLUTELY NO SUGAR!!!!
Tastes Like Pure Clean Water
Power:
Ultra Purified Water
Bone Building Magnesium
ABSOLUTELY NO SUGAR!!!!
Tastes Like Pure Clean Water
Body:
Pure Spring Water
No Sodium
ABSOLUTELY NO SUGAR!!!!
Tastes Like Pure Clean Water
Energy:
Ultra Purified Water
Energizing Oxygen
ABSOLUTELY NO SUGAR!!!!
Tastes Like Pure Clean Water

We are a water drinking family already, we even have our own water cooler in the kitchen. We go through 10 gallons of water a week between the four of us. When Patrick wants a drink he takes his cup to the water cooler and fills it up. I was THRILLED to try a different type of water. Patrick was excited because of the fun brightly colored labels on the bottles (and they sent stickers which is always a big thing in our home). Upon cooling the water I asked Patrick if he wanted a drink and the first thing he did was run to the refrigerator and grab the "energy" bottle. He liked it, he demolished it, he asked for more. Granted, he's used to drinking water so it's not as exciting as it would have been if he refused to drink water then bam he started drinking WAT-AAH.

I like their fun interactive website. I enjoy the brightly colored bottles. I smile when I see their trademark boy with his mouth open mid scream. I would buy WAT-AHH just for the fun bottles because it makes something we enjoy already a bit more fun.

I personally tried the "body" version, which is the spring water. It tasted very clean. If not working out I tend to sip my water and it takes me a while to finish a bottle, not with WAT-AAH, I guzzled it down because it was clean and cold. I would say even more so than the water in our water cooler. Now if we could get WAT-AAH in a 5 gallon jug that would be fantastic so we wouldn't have to waste all the plastic bottles.

Sad to say, we were unable to get any photos of us enjoying our WAT-AAH because our review fell on the same day we bought my first NEW car. So we enjoyed them on the way to the car dealership.

Does your child have talent???
Show Me Wat-You-Got
WAT-AAH has a talent contest going on until September 30, 2010. Your child can win fantastic prizes (cash, a trip to Italy to see an Inter Milan game, the chance to record a song at a NYC recording studio, among others). Visit Wat-You-Got to upload your video.


Wat-ahh can be bought on Amazon

~~~While I was provided with the item(s) above I was not compensated in any way for my review and the opinions expressed above are my own.~~~

Sunday, August 1, 2010

CSN Stores Review

CSN is your one stop shop for online shopping. With over 200 stores to choose from you can find anything you need, from your kitchen to your fitness needs. Need a diaper bag and a new faucet for your sink? You can get both from CSN

I was given the opportunity to review products from one of CSN's 200+ stores. I chose to pick my products from the Baby & Kids section, since my blog centers around the boys. Let me tell you, it was a hard choice narrowing down the section I wanted to shop in let alone find an actual product. There is so much to choose from I took three days before I finally made my decision.

I chose two toys made by Melissa and Doug, the alphabet magnets and the stackable rings.
Let's start with my overall thoughts on CSN stores.
Amount of products to choose from: A+
With over 200 stores to shop they have pretty much anything you could need.
Site navigation: A+
Tabs are easy to navigate to find the item(s) you are looking for.
Speed/Quality of shipping: A+
After I finally made up my mind on what I wanted to order, I got my ship confirmation within 24 hours and had my package in hand only a few days later. It was sent via UPS and although the box came in damaged (that would be UPS's fault not CSN's) the contents were in good shape.

Now for the actual product review. Let's start with the alphabet magnets. The set has the full alphabet in both upper and lower case letters. The are made of wood and come in bright colors as you can see from the picture above. Patrick was excited to get a package in the mail and even more excited to play with the contents. The magnets have been thrown, dropped, played with, and even "tasted" as Mason is in the "everything must go in my mouth" stage. They've held up pretty good so far. I give this product an A+

As for the stackable rings, I am less than impressed. The rod the rings go on has already come out of the base and could potentially cause harm if a child sticks it in his/her mouth. The top rings are also pretty small. Patrick actually got the orange one stuck in his mouth and I had to work pretty hard to get it out. Luckily it didn't cause any damage, but what if I hadn't been right there? I hate to say it, but I have to give this product an F because of the potential danger it possesses. I wouldn't recommend this particular product to you, especially if you have kids that like to stick things in their mouths like mine.

***While I was provided with the products listed above for review, I was not compensated for my opinion and anything written above is my own thoughts and opinion.***