November 2012 – Jared's Little Corner

bonding over pets

27.11.2012 2 Comments

i know i’ve just mentioned pets on my recent kids in doodles post, but did i tell you that it wasn’t only me who enjoyed petting + holding the colorful parrot? mum also had a wonderful time doing exactly that. she won’t be beaten + held the bird, too. + i bet you can tell from the photos, right? 😉

the parrot’s claws might hurt a bit, but it was all tingly and ticklish for the most part so we really enjoyed holding it. it was a good thing it shares the same feeling, otherwise it might’ve bitten us or something! 😀

it was the first time we experienced parrots first-hand + i must say it was one of the best things we ever did. birds and animals in general are simply fun + enjoyable to be around. i would love to see + bond with more of them in the future, i cannot wait for our trip to the zoo. mum has been planning that for a while now, but we do not have any concrete plans yet. i just hope we’d be able to visit one before the year ends!

Zoomanity Group was kind enough to email mum the photos they took of us during the Junior Prenuer event, so shout outs to you guys + thanks! 🙂

am linking the colorful parrot with:

my favorite things, out + about, toddler

kids in doodles: all about pets

25.11.2012 6 Comments

hello there, time again for another round of kids in doodles stories. sorry that mum was not able to post one in the last 2 weeks, we’ve been busy + been out-of-town for a 3-day vacation, too! 😉

kids in doodles, pets, out + about, my favorite things, toddlers

anyway, today our topic is all about pets. i do not own a pet yet but i really love animals so give me probably a couple of years + i shall be having one, too! am just not sure if mum will allow me to have a dog, a cat, a pair of bird perhaps or a hamster. anyhoo, anyone of those will be equally appreciated.

kids in doodles, out + about, toddler, my favorite things

i guess you might wonder where the inspiration for today’s doodle topic came from. oh well, we went to Junior Preneur bazaar in Tiendesitas a few saturdays back. it is a bazaar with little children selling stuffs + i totally enjoyed visiting there with mum. lots of fun + colorful items are on sale + there are simply loads of kids around! 😀

kids in doodles, pets, out + about, my favorite things, toddlers

kids in doodles, pets, toddler, out + about, my favorite things

one of the things i enjoyed the most are the animals. one booth had a dog, a pair of birds + an owl, too! they even put on a very entertaining show for every kid to enjoy! it was also a good thing the people manning the Zoomanity group booth were kind enough to allow me to pet the bird + hold it in my teensy weensy hands! + i really had a wonderful time doing it! can you tell by the look on my face? 😛

i can only imagine how it will be like if i get to pet a bird or any animal every single day. i bet we’ll have loads of fun! ooh, i cannot wait to have my own! do you think mum would agree if i ask her to buy me a pet now? 🙂

time for you to share your animal doodles {or any doodles you might have will do, too} with us. do not forget to include any of our doodle badges + visit all the other participants. i shall wait for your doodles then! happy Sunday! ^_^

second image is from the Zoomanity Facebook Page

baby

4 Habits that Are Killing Your Budget

12.11.2012 1 Comment

Habits, good or bad, can be incredibly hard to break, but there are a few that may be doing some major damage to your budget. It’s worth spending some time (and maybe even money) to break these habits to free up some cash in your monthly budget.

Smoking

Not only is smoking terrible for your health and the health of those around you, it’s incredibly expensive. In major cities, packs can go for upwards of $10 and at a pack a day, that is around $300 each month or $3,600 each year. Essentially, if you give up smoking, you’ll be giving yourself a $5,000 annual raise (before taxes). That’s not even including all of the additional savings you’ll gain from better health, fewer doctor’s visits, and fewer missed days from work.

Biting your nails

If you bite your nails, not only will your fingers hurt and you’ll find yourself with more hangnails, but you may be accustomed to going to the nail salon to get them fixed from time to time. While a manicure and pedicure can be a nice treat once in a while, it’s expensive to make it a regular occurrence. A manicure/pedicure costs anywhere from $20 – $40, a huge budget buster if you’re going on a regular basis!

Skipping the gym

Working out is great for your health, both physical and mental. However, be realistic if you have a gym membership that isn’t getting any use and just cancel it. The gym appreciates the fact that it’s making a lot of money off of your monthly membership fee but your wallet won’t!

Eating out

Whether it’s your daily lunch, cup of coffee or takeout dinner after a long day of work, having someone else make you something that you could otherwise make yourself at home is always going to cost you more money.

Take a look at all of these expenses and see if you can’t make a few small changes that will add up and help you save big!

Anne Perkins is a freelance writer focused on how to live large on a little living. She writes financial savings tips for QuickQuid – the cash advance lender, and enjoys taking any idea and making it easier or cheaper to complete.

kids, Kids In Doodles

kids in doodles: trick or treating with my cousins

06.11.2012 2 Comments

kids in doodles, Halloween, trick or treat, kids

yup kids in doodles is up a bit late this week, but i do hope you’re all ready with your posts this lazy friday morning. before anything else, you might want to check out how our k.i.d participants last week celebrated their halloweens:

♥ sam + simon went to a school halloween party at maithankfulheart

♥ kuya kendrick dressed as batman for a halloween costume party down at smart boys

now onto this week’s topic. to join all you have to do is tell us all abou your trick or treating experiences this year!

it was the first time i’ve donned a costume so mum was really so thrilled. it was also the first time i’ve gone trick or treating with my cousins + we really had a blast! i totally enjoyed being batman even when the costume tends to be a bit hot + i was perspiring like crazy in an air-conditioned room. the only set back, though, was that i got really scared of my cousins. kuya sean dressed as dracula + ate shane came as a scary white lady. i did not want to get near them in the beginning! 😀

the place was my tita’s office + some of her officemates’ kiddos joined in the halloween festivities! we played games {even mum played one + won}, took photos + ate. i only got a few bites of my friend chicken since i was busy being batman + playing with other kids, too!

kids in doodles, kids, Halloween, trick or treat

+ look who joined in all the fun! Jollibee prepared a fun dance number for us + went trick or treating with us, too! we rounded up all the tables in the office downstairs + even paid a visit to their warehouse next door.

kids in doodles, Halloween, kids, trick or treat

the highlight of the event will have to be the awarding of the winners for best costume. all three of us won. my cousins won second best costume + i won third place for best costume for male. not bad for a green horn, won’t you agree?

it was really an experience i totally enjoyed. i think i won’t mind wearing a costume for every halloween from now on! i came home with a pumpkin full of candies, but i will leave those goodies for the grown-ups. the best part of my loot this year will have to be the bubbles which came in with my 3rd best costume prize! ^_^

now time for you to share your trick or treat adventure. don’t forget to grab one of these badges + add it to your posts + visit the other participants, too! i will wait for your entries then! happy friday boys + girls!

announcement

fall 2012 cloth diaper drive giveaway + auction event {us/can}

05.11.2012 No Comments

little ones like us can never have too many diapers, especially if you’re using cloth ones, as we are always in need of them. + unless we are all potty-trained, our mums need an ample stash of these dappies in our drawers ready to be used at a moment’s notice. on that note, i am all psyched to share our new giveaway. read on for more details:

Welcome to the Fall 2012 Cloth Diaper Drive Giveaway & Fundraising Event hosted by Leettle Baby!

Last spring, with your help, we were able to send 30 diaper covers and 30 cotton prefolds to the DFW Cloth Diaper Project.

This time around we would love to make an even greater impact. For this event, we would love help the Tomahawk Sustainment Mission in their efforts to expand their cause to begin a cloth diapering program that will benefit the people living in the poverty-stricken Appalachia region of Kentucky. The founder, Terri, has estimated that there were 500 children that could benefit from this program.

DID YOU KNOW? The Appalachia region covers 13 different U.S. states, encompasses 420 counties and includes 25 million people? Sadly, some of the most distressed areas have 150% poverty rate over the average U.S. rate.

Why Cloth Diapers?

As many of us parents know, diapering our children can cost us a fortune. According to the Real Diaper Association, using disposables costs a family about $66 dollars per month, and about $1,600 for the first two years. Now imagine if you had to decide if your family was going to eat or spend money on buying more diapers. Some families even have to re-use their babies DISPOSABLE diapers because they cannot afford to buy more. The wonderful thing about cloth diapers is that you do not have to worry about purchasing more diapers and you can always have clean ones readily available! With this diaper program, these families will not have to spend a penny on diapers for their children.

In addition, disposable diapers are not compostable and are estimated to take 250 – 500 years to break down! Now imagine if you did not have a trash service to remove those diapers (like some of those living in the Appalachia area)…where would they go? Cloth diapers provide a more sanitary option to the environment and reduce landfill waste.

How You Can Help

A donation in any amount is greatly appreciated and is tax deductable.

There are quite a few other ways that you can help us get as many of these precious children cloth diapered as possible, just click HERE.

As a thank you for spreading the word about this cloth diapering program, Leettle Baby and a team of amazing bloggers are going to reward you with an awesome giveaway…with the opportunity to win one of the two cloth diaper prize packages!

Grand Prize

Thirsties
3 Thirsties Duo Wraps (valued at $38.25)
10 Thirsties Duo Hemp Pre-folds (valued at $80.00)

SoftBums
Choice of Echo/Omni Diaper One-size Shell & One-Size Pod (valued at $29.90)

Little Bee Creations
Ma Ma Cloth Starter Pack – Sizes 7, 10 &12 inch mix (valued at $27.50)

Little Bee Diaper Co.
One-size Bee Changed Cloth Diaper in Choice of Color (valued at $19.95)

** Jona from The Little Bee Co. has graciously offered to send one Bee Changed Diaper for EACH one purchased during the diaper drive event, make sure that you put “LoveAppalachia” in the comment section when you order! Shop HERE! **

Lamb Babies
Choice of Fitted or One-Size Cloth Diaper (valued at $19.00)

Green Bees
2 One-size Diapers (valued at $16.00)

Rock In Green
45/90 Load Bag of Detergent in Choice of Scent (valued at $14.95 – $15.95)

Second Prize

Funky Fluff
1 One-Size Cloth Diaper (valued at $18.40)

Glow Bug
1 One-Size Cloth Diaper (valued at $12.50)

Smart Snugs
NatureSnug™ Bamboo Diaper (valued at $18.00)

Thank you to all of the wonderful sponsors above and to the following blogs who have already helped build a stash of cloth diapers to send to the Tomahawk Sustainment Mission!

Thinking About Cloth Diapers

Why We Love Green

giveaway is open to us residents (us & canada residents for second prize) ages 18 and older only, + shall run from 05 november 5th until 21 november, 2012. winners will be notified by e-mail provided by the rafflecopter form and has 48 hours to claim prize before another is selected. join now + kindly wait for the rafflecopter widget to load so you can submit your entries!

good luck! 😉

a Rafflecopter giveaway