June Giveaways!

Win a Sing-A-Long Keyboard from Baby Genius at Second Time Around!


Win a Paula Deen Porcelain Cookware Set from CSN Stores at Grammy Janet's Place!


Win a $100 gift certificate from ATG Stores at Ladybug Mama of 2!


Win a Kidcraft Step N' Store Stool from CSN Stores at Family Ties and Growing Pains!


Win a $100 gift certificate from ATG Stores at J. Leigh Designz!


Win a $100 gift certificate from ATG Stores at Coupon Clippin' Mommy!


Win a $100 gift certificate from ATG Stores at Just Contest Stuff!


Win your choice of Crocs at A Mom's Balancing Act!


Win a $30.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Cristin Is Coupon Crazy!


Win a $96.00 gift card from Hapari at Piece of Me!


Win an $85.00 gift card from Hapari at Ladybug Mama of 2!


Win a Superstar PlayHouse Bouncer from PlayHouse Bouncers at My Organized Chaos!


Win a $100 gift certificate from ATG Stores at Boobies, Babies & A Blog!


Win a $100 gift certificate from ATG Stores at Minnesota Mama's Must Haves!


Win a bathing suit from Lime Ricki at Aubut Life!


Win an $80.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Running Away? I'll Help You Pack!


Win an $60.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Let's Win!


Win your choice of item from UV Skinz at Family Ties and Growing Pains!


Win an $60.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Boobies, Babies & A Blog!


Win your choice of Crocs at Guessing All The Way!


Win an $50.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Adventures In All Things Food!


Win a Mobigo from vtech at Crazy House!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Seeryus Mama!


Win your choice of dress from Izzie n Friends at Shop Annies!


Win a $60.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Proud Booby Mama!


Win a $70.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Peace Love & Reviews by Pat!


Win a $60.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Making Ends Meet: Living On One Income!


Win a $70.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Mom of Boys With Toys!


Win a $60.00 gift card to CSN Stores at 2 Monsters and A Princess!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Livin & Lovin!


Win a pair of shoes from ShooShoos at Annies Home!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at My Loonyverse!


Win a copy of The Host by Stephenie Meyer at Second Time Around!


Win an Easy Lunchbox System from EasyLunchboxes.com at Boobies, Babies & A Blog!


Win 5 personalized coloring books or a personalized lunch box from Frecklebox at A Mom's Balancing Act!


Win your choice of bag from Handbag Heaven at A Mom's Balancing Act!


Win an Easy Lunchbox System from EasyLunchboxes.com at A Mom's Balancing Act!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at At The Fence!


Win a $96.00 gift card from Hapari at Networking Witches!


Win a pair of rechargeable Salt & Pepper mills from Cuisinart at Trying To Stay Calm!


Win a copy of Care Bears Share-a-Lot In Care-a-Lot on DVD from 1stopmom!


Win an ARRX18G Xsight touch universal remote from Acoustic Research at Trying To Stay Calm!


Win a See and Store Dress Up Center from Guidecraft at One Savvy Mom!


Win a yoga mat and accessories from Aurorae at One Savvy Mom!


Win your choice of animal fromt the Zoorrific Collection by Build-A-Bear at One Savvy Mom!


Win a 16GB Apple iPad at One Savvy Mom!


Win your choice of Crocs at One Savvy Mom!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Let's Just Give It Away!


Win a Harmony Universal Remote from Logitech at A Bittersweet Existence!


Win a Triangle Bouncer from Little Tikes at One Savvy Mom!


Win a Wireless Charging System from Powermat at Health, Beauty, Children & Family!


Win a $50.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Meandering Matt!


Win a $50.00 gift card to Athletica at Aubut Life!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Wee Shenanigans!


Win a $100.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Passages to the Past!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Saving Moms Sanity!


Win a Golf Gift Basket from GourmetGiftBaskets.com at Second Time Around!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at A Gal Needs...At Least 2 Blogs!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Life as a CEO!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Psychic Mama*Indigo Child!


Win a $40.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Love To Read For Fun!


Win a $60.00 gift card to CSN Stores at Lucid Conspiracy!

Royale Reno-Cation Winner!

How exciting was this! For the first giveaway I have ever held we had 264 comments and the very lucky winner of the $50 Home Hardware gift card and $50 Cara Restaurants gift card was just selected using Random Integer Generator and is comment #36 (screen shot below). And the winner is - drumroll please - Amber! Amber commented with:

Amber said...

I follow you on twitter @aly3360

a.....0@hotmail.com

March 25, 2010 4:12 PM

Thanks so much for all of your comments and Congratulations to Amber! I will be emailing you shortly and you have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

36

Timestamp: 2010-04-28 15:59:38 UTC

Iams Review and Giveaway!

I love animals! That's just how I thought I needed to start all of this off. Really, all animals, there's not a single one I can think of that I don't absolutely adore. That is why, most likely, that my home has ended up with three (yes, three!!!) very happy-go-lucky dogs. Before I thought I could ever have children and that was just a dream that seemed would never come to fruition, my dogs were (and still are) my kids. We have Bonnie & Clyde, brother and sister 16 year old shih-tzus. They were my mother-in-laws and we inherited them when she passed almost 11 years ago. Then there's Jake. He makes me laugh. And cry. He's a two and a half year old yellow lab and when I brought him home, he was swaddled like a newborn. He's a riot and thinks my house is made of gingerbread as he has eaten every part of it, including our coffee table, outside vents, walls, a brand new cell phone and the topper was the staircase. Yes, that was eaten to the point where it needed to be ripped apart and entirely redone. He is afraid of my baby's feet and puddles. But he watches out for us and is on high alert like no one's business. He's my great protector and I adore him. I adore all of them and couldn't imagine my life without them.

That is why their food is so important to me. Shih-tzus especially don't have this type of lifespan. I would like to think that it is the good food choices I have made for them that has helped to get them this far and there's no sign of any ill health so they may very well outlive us all.

There's a great new prebiotic dog food that has recently been introduced by Iams and it is called ProActive Health. Iams thought process behind creating this new food is to make your dog both healthy on the inside and the outside. It is specially formulated to help maintain your pet’s gastrointestinal health. The great news is that it is available for cats too so they've taken the two most popular four-legged housepets into consideration! Incorporating Iams ProActive Health into your pets diet helps promote the growth of good bacteria to encourage healthy digestion, nutrient absorption and the maintenance of a strong immune system.

Now I understand that some of you, although really interested in changing your pets food, are put off by thinking that it can be a very daunting task. There are some easy ways to do this and, trust me, as a pet owner who has done this before, it really isn't that hard at all. You just need to take your time and watch your best friend to make sure that he's taking it well. Some helpful hints are:

(1) Introduce the new food gradually. This is the most successful way to ease your pet into the change in diet. Start by mixing 25% new food with 75% old food. Slowly change the proportions over the next three days or so by gradually increasing the new food and lessening the amount of the old food. At the end of this weaning process, you should be feeding 100% of the new food. Your pet may want to eat only the old food, or not eat at all. Not to worry, a healthy pet can miss meals for a day or two with no ill effects.

(2) Watch your body language. Bringing a new food into your home, pouring it in your pet’s bowl and declaring that he had better eat it might cause your pet to go on a hunger strike. This is not the time to show who’s boss. It’s better to introduce the new food by using a pleasant tone of voice and gently encourage him/her to try the new food.

(3) Don’t give in to demands. Don’t give up too soon! For the first two days, don’t give your pet treats or table scraps. Pets train us as much as we train them. Giving in to their demands only reinforces refusal behavior and makes it more difficult to make a nutritious dietary change.

(4) The biggest challenge. Switching diets may be more challenging when changing from a moist food to a dry food. If your pet continues to resist eating dry food, mix in a little warm water. You may even want to put the moistened food in the microwave for a few seconds. If you mix the food with water, be sure to throw away the uneaten portion after 20 minutes. This prevents spoilage. The same rule applies for canned and pouch food. After your pet has become accustomed to the moistened food, you can wean him/her onto the dry food. To do this, follow the same mixing instructions as outlined above.

Now for the giveaway!!! 1 lucky winner will receive a coupon for a free 17.5Lb bag of Iams ProActive Health (approx. $20 retail value).

To Enter:

Leave a comment and let me know one of your most memorable moments with your four-legged friend. Please remember to include your e-mail address in your post so that I can contact you if you are the lucky winner!

Extra Entries:

- Follow Gumdrops & Lollipops via Google Friend Connect (right sidebar)
- Subscribe to Gumdrops & Lollipops via email
- Subscribe to Gumdrops & Lollipops via reader
- Blog about this giveaway, with a link back to me
- Follow me on twitter @kenziesmum2009
- Tweet this contest! You can do this once a day for extra entries. Feel free to use this tweet: Win a free bag of Iams ProActive food for your dog or cat! @kenziesmum2009 http://tinyurl.com/y25ynal @MC_Canada CAN only

This contest will end at 11:59pm on May 14th, 2010 and the winner will be chosen at random and notified via e-mail on May 15th, 2010. Open to Canadian residents only!

I wrote this review while participating in the Iams Blog Tour by Mom Central on behalf of Iams. I received a voucher for a bag of Iams ProActive Health to facilitate this review and a $20 gift card as a thank you for my participation.

CSN Baby - Review coming soon

CSN is an awesome site that is made up of more than 200 online stores. If you're anything like me, shopping from the comfort of your own home is one of the best things technology can offer these days. Being a new Mom, who also works from home, I don't always have the time to get out and look at all the newest things or search for the best bargains. With CSN you can be assured that you're getting incredible products for you and your family with fantastic prices!

Baby Cribs Plus is just one of the hundreds of CSN Stores and it offers one of the best selections of baby furniture anywhere on the web. There are seriously over 40,000 products to choose from and you can literally spend days at this site and never get bored! No matter what you're looking for - diaper bags to cribs and gliders, you are sure to find it here!



I am lucky enough to have recently been made a CSN Preferred Blogger (huge woo-hoo coming from my home!!!) and am going to be reviewing one of their products very shortly. So please check back soon for my product review and more great information about CSN Stores and all they have to offer you!