Ok normally I love neutrogena cosmetics.  I used to wear exclusively Neutrogena.  I was super excited to try, for free, their new Crease Proof Eyeshadow, Healthy Lengths Mascara and the new Color stick for lips that I got from being a BzzAgent.

The Good:

Loved the new Healthy Lengths mascara.  When I first opened it, I could smell the difference.  Not only did it make my lashes look a mile longer, but it smelled....good.  It smelled as though it contained vitamins, really nourishing.  It didn't clump like other mascaras on the market and came off easily.  I feel this mascara is a great product and comparable in price with others out there.

Moisturesmooth Color Stick:
I actually was pleasantly surprised with this product.  I feel the price is excellent when considering the lesser quality products on the market today. 
I really liked how it didn't give me that "lip cheese" or clump up after a while of wearing it.  I normally have really sensitive lips and break out easily when wearing most lip products, but this was really great.  It didn't cause a breakout and looked awesome.  It was smooth and lasted throughout dinner.  Great product in my opinion.

The Not-so-good:
I love makeup and love eyeshadow and when I read that Neutrogena had come out with a crease proof eyeshadow, I was super excited to try.  When I put a light shade on, I was impressed with how smooth it went on, but when I tried to layer it with another color, it wasn't good.  It started to flake even though it didn't crease.  It wasn't able to layer or create a smokey eye on top of another Neutrogena Crease Proof eyeshadow. 
I think used alone, this is a good product, but who only uses one color eyeshadow anymore?

My opinion of this product is it's really not worth the price when there are cheaper and better products available.

Overall I still love Neutrogena Products and found a couple of new ones that I will keep using, and I'm glad that I got to try the new eyeshadow, but unfortunately I probably won't buy it.

                                   




I simply love Morning Star products.  I have been counting calories for what seems like a century.  So when I got the opportunity to try this healthy option line of food, I was like, um....yeah!

My absolute favorite is the Spicy Black Bean burger.  It seriously does not taste like health food, who know like cardboard.  These burgers cook super fast, so if you're a mom like me and have to cook EVERYONE else's food first, these are great.  Cook it up before the rest of the family has gotten through creating their own hamburger bun masterpiece, add some cheese to it and viola! You're eating with the rest of the family.

I've also tried some of their other burgers, like the chicken patty and the veggie burger.  The chicken patty is really delish!  If you add some cheese and shredded lettuce and close your eyes, you might even think you were getting a chicken sandwich at a fast food joint.

Overall, my review of Morning Star is a HUGE two thumbs up!!

This is a guilt free, healthy option that will definitely be on my shopping lists for a long time.

      





       


So I got to try a dog food that I always wished that I could afford to buy for my dog...Eukanuba.

I was excited because this dog food was advertised to help with tartar build up and help the dog have a healthier shinier coat.

I chose a dog food that was a weight control as well.  I thought what a plus.  Help my slightly (cough) overweight dog with her tartar buildup, get a shiny coat and lose a few pounds.

What else was cool was in the Bzz Kit came a flashlight, well it wasn't just any flashlight, it was a black light you are supposed to check to see how bad the buildup of tartar is in your dogs mouth.  I had my husband help me and low and behold....it wasn't that bad.  There was only a couple of spots on her canine teeth.

So she has been on this new dog food for about a month and I checked her teeth again.  The spots were still there.  Now granted she is 8 and didn't have much to begin with because she chews on sticks all the time.  But I thought that since she didn't have much to begin with that the dog food would take care of it.  I didn't really notice anything with her coat, the only thing it did help her with was her smelly gas.

This dog food normally is pretty expensive and I think people justify spending that much because Eukanuba really has a great reputation for being the top of the market where dog food is concerned.  For us, since the advertised benefits weren't really benefits to us, I won't be buying this dog food for our precious Daisy.  There are other great dog foods on the market that offer similar benefits for less money.

Thanks Bzz Agent and Eukanuba for the chance to review this dog food.

                   



I got to try a really great cereal, Post Alpha Bits Super Why.  Super Why is a show that is on television that helps children learn.  My youngest LOVES this show  and was super excited that I got to try some Super Why cereal.

The box was literally gone in 2 days.  My kids loved it.  With my youngest being in kindergarten and learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet this cereal was really awesome to get him started in the morning (well at least for 2 days anyway until the cool new box of cereal was gone).  He was so excited to see letters in his bowl of cereal that he had seen at school and even tried to spell words on his spoon.  One time even bringing me his spoon while I was in the shower getting ready, how fun for me!  (that sentence ended with a sarcastic note if you didn't catch it the first time).

Overall I think this cereal is a great start to any child's day and made me, as a super busy mom, feel a little better about what I'm feeding my kids before school.

Thanks Post for allowing me to try such a great product!

Have you ever had a day where you wish you could rewind the morning? Well that was us this morning.

Every morning it's a mad house at our place. Wake up, make coffee, wake the kids up, start laundry, take a shower, get dressed, pick the kids' clothes out, feed the horses, feed the chickens, feed the goats...don't forget to feed the kids.
Don't forget my assignments don't let the kids leave without jackets, don't miss the bus and try not to be late for school myself.

This morning was one of those!
My oldest son woke sick and went back to bed. We woke up late so our other two kids woke up late and very cranky. They fought the entire time over breakfast while I tried to pick out their clothes and check their packets that needed to go back to school. My youngest threw a whiney fit about EVERYTHING this morning. Everything caused him to whine "I can't find my backpack" "I can't find my shoes" "I'm going to be late" "I'm going to miss the bus"
Which by the way he almost did and ran down the driveway just as our middle son was stepping on the bus.

All of this was going on, by husband is yelling at the kids to stop fighting and whining. Clean baskets of clothes are being gone through ( and when I say gone through, just imagine clothes being flung everywhere because they can't find theirs and they are freaking out because the bus is close).

Our house is chaotic in the morning. And when all 3 boys finally make it to the bus with smiles on their faces,
We shut the door.....
Turn around......
And sigh.....for tomorrow it starts all over again.

This is was my house looks like (don't judge me....I will clean it when I get home).

Thinking back at the possibilities that could have been, sometimes is almost too much to bear.

The most painful what if of my life is my brother, Travis. He died, in Iraq, just 9 days before he was coming home on leave. He was 23 years old with such a great future ahead of him. He was a good man. He seemed to be a magnet for children, they loved him. He was fun to be around and always had something good to say. When he wanted to be serious, you had better listen. He just seemed to command a presence and respect that I miss so much.

Growing up it was tough. We were shuffled around alot. Living with our grandma off and on, living with our dad a few times, always a different house a different stepdad. The one thing that was always there was Travis. We did almost everything together. Went through the same heartaches, the same feelings of always being the "new" kid in the countless schools we went to. We never grew up with childhood friends. We never had long term friends, because we went to a different school every year. Travis was my long term friend.

It was always just us. No matter what else was going on in our lives, it was just us. We kind of created this bubble around the both of us, and we never got close to relatives. Never really connected to people around us.

Why? What's the point?
We'd be moving on soon anyway.

We finally had some stability into our lives when I turned 16 and Travis 13, when we moved to Montana to live with our dad permanently. We were able to make friends, which was hard but something we needed so badly.
For me it was hard to break into those friendships that had been formed by kids who didn't move around, those that were formed by kids who grew up together. But it was easier for Travis, his magnetic fun personality drew the good kind of people to him. Those types of people that would be friends for life.

During the 2 years that I lived with my dad, Travis and I seemed to have our own lives for once. There weren't times were we only had each other, weren't times were I felt I needed to protect him.

I went off to college and he to high school. After high school he tried to go to college but money ran out and family couldn't help. Time once again of uncertainty for him. All of his belongings piled into his prized possession, his jeep.

So he came to live with me and my son for a short time. It was nice having him with me, to play with his nephew and to make memories, because that's all we have now...memories.

He joined the Montana Guard while living with me. And before he went to boot camp, he decided to go be with the most important person in his life, his girlfriend, one that he had since high school.

Well after boot camp he was deployed to Iraq and didn't make it home.

It's been 7 years since his death and I just can't seem to get over it. Every few months something happens where it just brings back all the memories and feelings. Travis' girlfriend at the time just got married this past September and it was horrible for me. I just kept thinking about what could have been of he had never died.

What kind of wedding would they have had, would they have kids, what kind of job would he have, where would they be living. It's all just too much to bear sometimes.

Thinking about the person you have shared so much with, gone through so much with. The only person in the world who knows what you have been through and can sympathize. Thinking about what could have been is torturous, but I can't help it.

Travis' girlfriend recently shared a few letters that he had written her from Iraq. I read them yesterday and pretty much couldn't function afterward. I was shaking and crying reading his most personal and final thoughts to her. It puts me into a funk or depression it's tough to get over.

I don't know how to move on without him. Sure my life has moved on but in side I've felt guilty. Guilty for being normal when he isn't here. I miss him so much and I can't get over it. Not sure how to.

Well that's my rant for the day, I will try and be grateful for the time I did have with him and look to the positive in the relationships I have built since.

I love Christmas, like seriously love it. I think my favorite part is buying things for people. I love thinking about the person and what they would like, picking out a perfect gift I know would really bless them. I love being a blessing.

I started shopping this in September. So the day after thanksgiving we went and got our tree and I was able to wrap all the presents I had already bought.

I love everything about Christmas, the food, the drinks, the wrapping and the snow. I know I probably sound like a crazy person, but I can't help it. It's my season.

There is one thing I have come to realize is that I cannot put lights on a tree. It's too stressful for me, it's never perfect so I get stressed out. So, I leave that part to my husband and kids, after all it's not just about me. Haha

Here's a picture of our tree this year with the gifts I have bought so far.