Typical Suburban Family

Were you one of the lucky winners?

Advanced Aesthetics Plastic Surgery Center is giving away a prize pack to one lucky reader valued at over $100!  How awesome is that?!

Advanced Aesthetics, PC is the premiere plastic surgery practice of Atlanta’s south side and they are giving one lucky Typical Suburban Family reader the following items:

Nectifirm Cream ($60):  The scientifically advanced technology in Nectifirm® provides three primary benefits:

• Significantly firms and tightens skin on neck
• Reduces the appearance of fatty tissue under chin and neck
• Dramatically lessens the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

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Intellishade Moisturizing SPF 45 ($48):  The scientifically advanced technology in Intellishade® provides five primary benefits:

• Moisturizes and blends naturally with the color of your skin
• Original Radiant or Matte formulas give skin a touch of sheer, healthy color
• Provides maximum broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection
• Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Matte formula contains pore-minimizing technology

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Entering is easy and there are multiple chances to win.

• Follow Typical Suburban Family via email or RSS feed (both in right sidebar)
• Become a fan of Advanced Aesthetics P.C. on facebook
• Follow Typical Suburban Family on twitter (via My Hello Designs)
• Become a fan of Typical Suburban Family on facebook (via My Hello Designs)
• Share this giveaway on your facebook wall daily
• Tweet this giveaway up to 4x per day! Suggested tweet: Win a prize pack from Advanced Aesthetics via @myhellodesigns http://tinyurl.com/7x7jk6p #giveaway
  

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Leave a comment for each of the above that you do. Remember that some of them can be done multiple times for additional ways to win!

This giveaway ends February 5, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Random.org will be used to determine a winner who will have 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen. Open to US residents only. Good luck!

Disclosure: Cake Websites and their client, Advanced Aesthetics Plastic Surgery Center will provide the above prizes directly to the winners. I was not compensated for this post.

Red carpet event followed by live performance by Laughing Pizza to be held in the Aquarium’s Oceans Ballroom

ATLANTA (January 18, 2012)— Georgia Aquarium and family-favorite musical group, Atlanta’s own Laughing Pizza, invite families to the grand Oceans Ballroom for a one-time, VIP family film premiere Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11:00 a.m. The award-winning band and world’s largest aquarium are teaming up for the world premiere of “Laughing Pizza: The Concert Movie” as well as a live performance by Laughing Pizza after the screening.

Beginning at 11:00 a.m., guests will get the “red carpet treatment” with photographs, a VIP screening of Laughing Pizza: The Concert Movie, spectacular views into the world’s largest aquatic habitat, Ocean Voyager, as well as views into the charismatic beluga whale habitat from within the grand Oceans Ballroom. After the VIP screening, Laughing Pizza will perform a few of their hits and give guests the opportunity to meet Billy, Lisa and Emily, up close and in person!

Laughing Pizza is a real family band that writes and performs all original pop-music for families. Their music videos can be seen every day in more than 18 million homes on PBS stations and TV On-Demand channels around the country. This mom, dad and daughter trio travel across the nation performing at theatres, museums, music  festivals, nightclubs, schools, and other venues – including the White House (with Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers).

Lisa and Billy are both classically trained musicians and former music teachers with a history of success in the grown-up music business – including a #1 Billboard Dance Hit and a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell. Emily, their 15-year-old daughter, plays multiple instruments including flute, drums, guitar, piano, and bass – and co-writes all of the Laughing Pizza songs with her parents. Together they create fun, inspiring (and educational) music for the whole family! Their live performances are energetic, interactive, dance-filled shows that get kids and parents up and moving, and they have a loyal following all across the country.

There are two ticket options for families to purchase. VIP Red Carpet Premiere tickets include admission to the film, live performance by Laughing Pizza, meet and greet with the band, and red carpet festivities. VIP Red Carpet Premiere tickets are $15 (Children under 1 years old are free). For an even more spectacular experience, guests can upgrade their tickets to the VIP Red Carpet Premiere Plus ticket, which includes admission to the premiere and its events, as well as admission to the Aquarium and the 3:30 p.m. showing of AT&T Dolphin Tales. VIP Red Carpet Premiere Plus tickets are $34.95 for adults and $28.95 for children. Children under 3 years old only need a film pass, as they are admitted to the Aquarium for free.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.laughingpizza.com. For more information on Georgia Aquarium’s conservation efforts, visit www.georgiaaquarium.org or call 404-581-4000.

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ABOUT GEORGIA AQUARIUM

Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, is the world’s largest with more than 10 million gallons of water and the largest collection of aquatic animals. The mission of Georgia Aquarium is to be an entertaining, educational and scientific institution featuring exhibits and programs of the highest standards; offering engaging and exciting guest experiences promoting the conservation of aquatic biodiversity throughout the world. Georgia Aquarium is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. For additional information, visit www.georgiaaquarium.org

If you have a little one who is into Thomas the Train (like we do!), then you need to plan a themed birthday party!

And why not start with these adorable invitations?  How cute are these train ticket sized birthday invitations?

You can purchase the design only from my Etsy shop or add on the printing and let me do the work (printing price is based on the quantity needed; they come 2 invitations per 5×7 card)!  I’ll print and mail them out to you so you don’t have to worry about it.

Won’t your little one be thrilled when he sees the theme of his next party?

I thought for sure if I was ever to be pregnant again that I would blog about it all the time.  I didn’t have a blog when I was pregnant with either Ryan or Owen and I always wished that I had more of a record of how I felt and what my baby bump(s) looked like throughout the weeks.

Here I am preggo with baby number three and I think I’ve blogged about it less than 4 times.

The good news is that there isn’t anything to really report on.  Nothing out of the ordinary and my baby bump is finally just starting to show.  I’m about 21.5 weeks and depending on the clothes I’m wearing you sometimes can’t even tell.  And quite honestly, I sometimes even forget I’m pregnant.  Well, until I feel the little peanut move that is.

She’s pretty active, but still pretty little so it’s not harsh movements; just gentle little movements.

And speaking of little peanut, she still doesn’t have a name.  We have tossed around some ideas, but don’t always agree and haven’t decided on anything final.  So if you have a suggestion for a sweet girly name, I would love to hear it.

Shortly before Christmas, one of Jim’s co-workers received some devastating news about his 6 year old daughter, Beatrice.   She was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor known as “Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma”.  This news came as quite a shock, since Beatrice was an active and healthy 6-year old only days before the diagnosis.  Immediately following the diagnosis, she was hospitalized and began a series of rigorous treatments at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Scottish Rite.  After a difficult month of treatments and rehabilitation, Beatrice is finally back home with her family, but this strong little girl still has a long, tough battle ahead of her.

Taken directly from her blog…..

Beatrice was diagnosed with DIPG, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a rare, aggressive and almost always terminal form of brain cancer. The diagnosis was made on December 17, 2011. We took her to the local ER because we thought she was dehydrated with the flu. That’s how fast and sneaky the symptoms are. We had no idea she had a tumor. The situation was so bad that I was air lifted in a helicopter to a local children’s hospital within 90 minutes of our initial ER visit and she had to have an emergency tube put into her brain to prevent stroke. If I’d put her to bed instead of calling the doctor, like I seriously considered, I don’t know what would have happened that night.

Four weeks of hospital care and physical rehabilitation and she’s still not 100%. As of today Bea can walk but not run. She can’t walk up stairs by herself. Her balance is off. Her short term memory isn’t 100% either, which frustrates her because she’s very smart and usually loves to talk about her day. She can recall with prompting but without is difficult.

She is undergoing radiation and our hope is that all of these life skills will come back with healing and therapy.

However, this terrible disease that she has always comes back, sometimes very, very quickly. It could be weeks, months or a couple of years with just the radiation.

So, we’re looking into clinical trials and have found a few that are promising. The purpose of this blog is two-fold. One to tell her story from my point of view, the mom. Some stories are going to be full of heartache and aren’t going to be easy to read. Others will be uplifting. That’s the ups and downs of having a child with a terminal illness. I’m hoping, praying, thinking, whatever it takes… to erradicate this disease from her body. It may sound insane but I would love for someone to tell me that it’s chronic, not terminal. That would be music to my ears.

They currently have some fundraising efforts going on:

1. An Art Shop on Etsy: www.helenzigafineart.etsy.com – Buy original artworks by Beatrice and her mom. Bea is also selling custom drawings. Buy one of those and you can ask her to draw something for you!

2. Donations: www.sweetbeafund.blogspot.com – This is a new blog that they’ve started that is a fundraising site and a journal. The donations can be paid via Paypal. The account is a not-for-profit so the percentage taken from donations is very low.

3. Fundraisers: There are 2 fundraisers that are being worked on by friends of ours in Marietta. The dates and details are not yet available. One is a Zumbathon and the other will be a night of dining at Red Sky. There could be others and we will keep you posted on those as they come up.

If there are any other ways you can help this family, please consider doing so.  Does your business donate a percentage of proceeds to a non-profit?  Consider this one.

I don’t personally know this little girl, but Jim knows his father.  I can’t imagine what they are going through and how their lives have been turned upside down without warning.  Please head over to their blog and follow the updates on Sweet Bea and help spread the word about their fundraising efforts.

Penguin Publishing Group’s Puppy Bowl Sticker and Activity Book and Puppy Bowl Yearbook will entertain the little tikes so that everyone can enjoy themselves at the Annual Super Bowl party. I’m sure that any of you mommies and daddies planning Super Bowl party activities would love  a chance to win the (2) Puppy Bowl books!  Two winners will be selected.

Puppy Bowl Sticker and Activity Book: Puppy Bowl is the only place you can see a football matchup between two teams of adorable puppies, sideline entertainment from baby bunny cheerleaders and a halftime show put on by a band of kittens! Now you can join in on the fun with this interactive sticker activity book, featuring a maze to the doggy bowl, canine word search and four pages of puppy stickers. SRP: $6.99

Puppy Bowl Yearbook: What’s cuter than a puppy playing with is favorite chew toy? A team of puppies playing with their toys on a canine-sized football field! Puppy Bowl is Animal Planet’s annual matchup between two teams of adorable (and adoptable!) puppies battling it out for gridiron-glory. You’ll ooh and ahh over the cast of all-star puppies and all their tumbles and fumbles-not to mention the furry bunny cheerleaders and sweet kitten halftime show. This Puppy Bowl Yearbook features profiles of all the furry players, activities, a pull-out poster, and more! SRP: $7.99

Entering is easy and there are multiple chances to win.

In addition, I will be selecting TWO winners (not just one!!).

• Follow Typical Suburban Family via GFC, email or RSS feed (all in right sidebar)
• Become a fan of Animal Planet on Facebook
• Follow Typical Suburban Family on twitter (My Hello Designs)
• Become a fan of Typical Suburban Family (My Hello Designs) on facebook
• Leave a comment telling me what you love about the Superbowl!
• Share this giveaway on your facebook wall daily
• Tweet this giveaway up to 4x per day! Suggested tweet: Win two Puppy Bowl Books @myhellodesigns #puppybowl2012 #kids #giveaway
  

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Leave a comment for each of the above that you do. Remember that some of them can be done multiple times for additional ways to win!

This giveaway ends January 27, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST. Random.org will be used to determine a winner who will have 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen. Open to US residents only. Good luck!

Disclosure: DKC Public Relations, Marketing & Government Affairs provided me with the above prizes for hosting this giveaway. They will also provide the giveaway prizes directly to the winners. I was not compensated for this post.

Children born in January sometimes get the short end of the stick when it comes to their birthday parties. Relatives will often send them joint birthday and Christmas presents, and parents have to scramble to throw them a decent party when funds are low after being depleted over the holidays. Many a child has asked for Super Mario party supplies and a Super Mario themed party but had to settle for Sponge Bob party supplies that happened to be on sale. Children with birthdays in January often feel a little neglected on their birthdays, so it’s very important for parents to put forth some extra effort to make sure they feel still special when they turn another year older. If your child was born in January, there are a few things you can do to ensure that he or she has a birthday party to remember this year. Here are three of them

1. Spend a little extra money on the party favors and food, and plan to budget more in February.

You may already be budgeting because of all your December expenditures, but you should think about putting off adhering to a strict budget until February. Children’s birthday parties don’t have to cost a whole lot of money, so you shouldn’t have to suffer too much in February.

2. Plan a simple but fun party at home.

This will save you some money, and the kids can have as much fun at your house as they could at an ice skating rink. Just make sure you have plenty of games available for them to play and party supplies that you know will delight your birthday boy or girl.

3. Have the kids make their own party favors.

This will keep them occupied and save you some cash to use on buying your child’s birthday present. For instance, the kids at the party could make their own Play-Doh with flour, water, salt, and vegetable oil. Or, if you’re throwing a party for older girls (ages 8 to 12), they could make their own jewelry.

Remember that the party doesn’t need to be extravagant to be a hit. Just take some time to plan the party out, and your child won’t feel overshadowed by the holidays!

Guest Author’s Bio: Lisa is a guest blogger on the topics of parenting on a budget, early childhood education, and marriage.

Again, I’m catching up.  Ridiculous that I haven’t already posted about Christmas, but time has just slipped by the last few months.

Christmas morning was mass chaos like I assume it was in most homes that have toddlers.  They were sooooo excited for Santa to come they couldn’t control themselves.  Ryan actually started crying when he realized that it was way past bedtime and we were still in Big Canoe, GA at dad-dad’s.

Ryan:  “Momma!!!  We need to speed home because if we’re not in our beds sleeping Santa won’t leave our presents for us!  And I’ve worked so hard to be on the nice list!”

We left immediately after he made this point.  Couldn’t cause stress for the 5 year old.  The 3 year old didn’t quite make it to the nice list and he was ok with that.  Seriously, he would tell us very matter of factly, “Momma.  I’m on the naughty list.  Santa won’t give me presents.”

Santa did leave presents, but also left a note stating that he knows Owen can do better and will try harder.  Santa also said that mommy and daddy can take the new toys away if his behavior doesn’t change immediately.

Please excuse Delta being in the middle of the picture. She couldn’t control herself; she LOVES Christmas too!

The boys were so excited when they woke up and realized Santa did stop at our house! The train table was a huge hit (thanks Grandma at the cabin with the curly hair – aka Grandma Marge!).

I love the look on Owen’s face here despite the blurriness. He was so excited with each gift that he opened! Luckily Santa was nice enough to leave some gifts despite the temper tantrums.

Ryan was also very into the presents and Christmas this year.

He loved to hand out the gifts and read the tags to figure out who they were each for. Delta was always right there as well to double check and make sure she didn’t have more gifts.

Don’t worry! Delta made out pretty well and enjoyed opening her gifts and stocking.

When all gifts had been opened and the boys were busy playing, we were left with this.

Later in the evening we enjoyed some of our new movies and mommy’s Christmas present – a popcorn maker!

Ryan picked this out and was so proud of this gift. We have all benefited from it and love to have movie night / popcorn nights most weekends!

No, we are not still celebrating Christmas.  It’s just that I realized I never uploaded our photos from our camera!  And they date back as far as Christmas Eve.

We started the day making sugar cookies and decorating them.  They boys had a blast and made a mess.

Then we headed to Big Canoe, GA as we do most Christmas Eve days.  We attend the children’s service where the kids get to select what they want to be in the live nativity story.

Ryan chose a donkey this year; Owen chose a sheep.

The boys love to go to church at dad-dad’s on Christmas Eve. Ryan marched right up to the alter when they called all donkeys. Owen was hesitant at first, but did decide to join the fun up front.

Their favorite part this year though was when we let them hold their own candles during the singing of Silent Night.

After church we headed back to dad-dad’s and grandmom’s house for dinner, cookie decorating, and gifts.

What a great night with our cousins (as Ryan always tells us!).