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Looking For a Great Holiday Travel Spot

October 27, 2010 by Jennifer 2 Comments

We have you covered for the upcoming Holidays thanks to Women on their Way by Wyndham Worldwide. They have just released their annual Top 10 Trips for True Holiday Spirit.

I have always wanted to start a yearly tradition around the Holidays that we could carry on through to when my girls have kids as well. The United States has so many different climates around the Holidays so the choices are really wide open!

From fun in the sun to frosty winter wonderlands, here are some of America’s favorite destinations that are featured on this year’s Top 10 list:

Branson, Missouri
Book a vacation rental unit in Branson for just $342 for seven nights at the Escapes! to Stonebridge Village this season. Known as the “Live music show capital of the world,” Branson, Missouri, is the place to rock out this holiday season. Experience the magic in Branson’s historic downtown, shopping district, and many, many Ozark Mountain Christmas shows.

San Antonio, Texas
No one does the holidays bigger than Texas—and with San Antonio as the state’s most frequently visited city, it’s definitely a holiday hotspot. Take in a Broadway show at the enchanting Majestic Theater, visit the historic Spanish missions, or immerse yourself in dining and entertainment along the vibrant banks of the Riverwalk for only $46 a night at the Microtel Inns and Suites San Antonio Downtown for certain weeks this December!

Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada
Split down the middle by California and Nevada’s borders, scenic Lake Tahoe is the perfect perennial vacation spot. Starting at only $50 a night, the Super 8 Lake Tahoe South will provide all the comforts of home and more. Recognized for its naturally sunny days and inches of snow during the winter months, Lake Tahoe is a skier’s paradise (or any winter sport lover, for that matter).

Denver, Colorado
The Mile High City, famed for sunny days, city parks and sporting events, sparkles with excitement—even in winter. Book your stay today for the low price of about $73 a night at the Denver Days Inn this holiday season and you’ll be able to enjoy Denver from a perfect location.

Atlanta, Georgia
Make your reservations on-line now to find winter deals at the Hawthorn Suites Atlanta for just under $90 a night. The city is a blur with activities, parades, holiday festivities and attractions throughout the season. With moderate temperatures and plenty of excitement, you’re bound to find something unique for the whole family to enjoy.

Alexandria, Virginia / Washington, D.C.
Washington and Alexandria are bustling throughout the holidays with magnificent classic scenery and tons of things to do. Let the staff at the Howard Johnson Inn exceed your expectations during your holiday stay for just $79 a night! Plus, with all the history in these timeless cities, you’ll really score a traditional trip this season!

And it doesn’t stop there! To see the full list of Top 10 Trips for True Holiday Spirit and bonus overseas hot spots, check out the Women on Their Way by Wyndham Worldwide website.

To celebrate this great program Wyndham will be launching a promotion through the Women on Their Way by Wyndham Worldwide Facebook page today. For every 50 new fans the page receives, one fan, selected at random, will win 25,000 Wyndham Rewards points. (If you are already a fan, you can enter too – all you need to do is submit your email!) Good Luck!

How Do You Make Mom Friends

October 26, 2010 by Jennifer 3 Comments

Being in a new city with your family can be exciting and nerve wracking altogether. You are excited for the new journey but sad to leave your friends back home. Does this mean you must hole up inside your house with all curtains pulled and all blinds shut? No way! Girlfriend, you have the new city to explore.

Leave that shy trait in the closet and put on that precious smile. It is time to greet the outside world and meet some new friends… or maybe not? I know, it can be scary. My advice though is, you will never know till you try.

Where do I go though is the million dollar question? Well, since being in Raleigh for almost 3 months now, I have a few tips up my sleeve.

1. Volunteer – This is a biggie. I volunteer at my girls’ school and at church. I have met already some incredible moms that I just went up and started mingling with and striked up a conversation. I promise they will not bite. You will find right away if you will mesh or not, but 9 times out of 10, it will be a positive experience.

2. Social Media – Twitter and Blogging can be a mom’s best friend when moving to a new town. Some awesome moms have become really close friends and I know I can call on them anytime day or night and they would be there for me. We first reached out to each other through twitter, facebook and our blogs. Like it or not, Social Media is here to stay for a while so why not take full advantage of it!

3. Host a Party – Moms love to get out of the house and let their hair down so to speak. Host a fun party and invite moms. Create a bunco night, a book club, a bible study, or a girls night out. For instance, tonight I am helping with a Blogger Party to where I suggested I bring a couple pans of my Chicken Pot Pie. There will be several moms there that I have not met one time in person there. It’s going to be ok though because I have my chicken pot pie to hold my hand right? HA! For real though, be creative and think outside of the box on how you could host a fun mom party.

4. Join a Gym – Do you enjoy working out? Guess what, there are hundreds of other moms that love to work out too! Strike up a conversation about how much you love this exercise equipment (no sarcasm allowed) and you will have a friend for life. The key is not to be shy, and get yourself out there and open up your imagination. The gym is a great place to do that because there will be no judging allowed since you will both be sweaty and in gym clothes 🙂

5. Look for a Mom’s Group online. A simple google search for your area will bring up several choices I am sure. Even if you have to go to a retail store such as Gymboree and partake in a freebie class, then you can mingle with other moms and ask if there are any Mom’s Groups in the area.

It’s all about putting on a brave face and being personable. I have found this out so much since I have been here in Raleigh. I have no problem talking someone’s head off at any given moment now. I have put away my shy traits for good and it has helped me find some of the greatest friends. It has also helped my girls too since I am getting them out in the community more. They are making friends and are enjoying it so much more instead of looking at the walls in the house with all the curtains pulled. Shhh… I did do that once upon a time.

Let’s get to mingling moms 🙂

It Has Been a Beautiful 70 Years

October 25, 2010 by Jennifer 2 Comments

These past 70 years have been graced with a fine young gentleman who just happens to be my DAD!

Happy Birthday to the Best Dad Ever… you might say oh everyone says that. Well I happen to have a dad that is very deserving of the “Best Dad” title.

My dad at the age of 70 as of today 10/26/2010 is still giving his all by working full-time at a very wonderful company Samaritans Purse. He keeps saying he will retire, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. He can put a smile on anyone’s face at the blink of an eye. He will joke with you, he will tell you a story to make you smile, he will show you a goofy face, he will give you the shirt off his back! He is always putting others before himself. He tries to see the “good” in everybody and always wants to give them the benefit of doubt. That is my Daddy Bill!

I love him so much. When he hurts, I hurt. When he smiles, I smile. When he cries, I cry. I am Daddy’s little girl after all. He is a very Godly man and has raised me up in Church all my life. He is always telling me to put it in the Lord’s hands. He will take care of us no matter what. Guess what? After almost 30 years, I know he is so right now.

Daddy

I love you…
I will always be your little girl…

Daddy

You are my hero just like Grandma is…
You lift me up and believe in me so much…

Daddy

You spoil me…
You are one of my biggest fans…

Daddy

I miss your gravy and biscuits on Sunday mornings before church…
I miss your hugs before I would go off to school…

Daddy

I am proud of you..
You light up the room you are in…

Daddy

Keep on Keep on…
You have this life figured all out and living it so good…

Daddy

Here is to 70 more years…
I love you!

We had Dad a surprise birthday party this past weekend. He didn’t realize that I was coming into town so we rode up on Friday evening before he was to get off work. We were all sitting on the couch when I heard Dad pull into the driveway. We all sat there with the biggest smiles and awaiting to yell out SURPRISE! Dad opened up the front door and there we were. He had a deer in headlights look and got the biggest smile. I finally surprised my daddy. It was a priceless memory. We had such a fun Birthday Weekend!

My Dad with his siblings at the Party:

My Dad and I:

My Dad being so goofy with his nephew:

Here’s to a beautiful and inspiring day Daddy!

Love,
Your Baby Girl

Pillow Pets Must Have Holiday Gift

October 21, 2010 by Jennifer 224 Comments

Did you hear the news? My Pillow Pets® is Named One of the “Fabulous Fifteen” on Toys “R” Us “Hot Holiday Toy” List. I have to say that here at One Moms World, we jumped with glee. We are huge Pillow Pet lovers here and only the real My Pillow Pets® passes the test in our household.

As you go through the Holiday season, you will see “fakes” but once you have laid your head on the real My Pillow Pet®, then you will be able to tell it from all the “fakes”. The girls have 4 pillow pets. We purchased the girls matching Panda Pillow pets and then we were sent a Comfy Bunny and a Magical Unicorn. Each night when they go to bed, they have to have all their Pillow Pets with them. You can see in a picture below the girls are enjoying their pillows for movie night!

The Pillow Pets travel with us on the road, so they are never left alone. I know what you are probably saying, it is just a stuffed animal. Made of ultra-soft chenille, My Pillow Pets® plush folding stuffed animals are much more than a stuffed animal. With a strap that closes underneath to transform the pillow into a friendly pet, they are an ideal travel pal, nap time buddy and all-around cuddly friend.

I have to say as well, that it is not just a fad as a lot of toys we know. The girls received their first pillow pets over a year ago, and they are still so attached to them. We are actually giving some for Christmas this year.

You can order your authentic, machine washable My Pillow Pets® or Pillow Pets™ now for the holidays. Pillow Pets™ are affordable with a “Special TV Offer” of just $19.95 at www.GetPillowPets.com with any additional Pillow Pet™ priced at $15.95 (up to five), and are also available at Toys “R” Us stores nationwide. I have also seen them at Walgreens and Target as well. Just make sure they have the Pillow Pets trademark on them to ensure you are getting the genuine comfy pets 🙂

How about a early Christmas present? We are giving away one Pillow Pet of choice to one lucky reader. To enter:

1. Visit GetPillowPets.com and comment below on which is your favorite Pillow Pet.

For Extra Entries:

Join Pillow Pets on Facebook

Tweet About This Contest

Subscribe to our Feed

Follow One Moms World on Twitter

Make sure to leave an additional comment for each extra entry. Contest will end October 28 at 11:59pm ET.

Congrats to comment 214 – Pamela S. You are the winner!

Disclosure: We were sent a Pillow Pet for this review. All opinions and comments are of my own.

Zhu Zhu Pets Birthday Party

October 18, 2010 by Jennifer 6 Comments

It is birthday time around here at One Moms World. Precious L is 6. I don’t know where the time has gone!

Her request this year for her birthday (and believe me she has been counting down the days since June) was to have a Zhu Zhu Pet Birthday Party. Of course with her being the princess, her request had to be honored.

We sent out the invites and mommy put on her thinking cap to have a birthday party zhu zhu style.

First, I created stations.

First station was the Zhu Zhu Pet Station.

I filled the table with Zhu Zhu Pets and Activity Centers that included the Zhu Zhu Starter Set, Zhu Zhu Beauty Salon, Zhu Zhu Hotel, Zhu Zhu Hamster Car and Garage and then dress-up clothes for the Zhu Zhu Pets.

All the kids enjoyed this so much. For the first hour the kids were so wrapped up in playing with all the different sets and enjoying every minute.

The second station was the craft table. I went to google to find a Zhu Zhu pet craft and found this one. It is creating your own hamster in a ball craft. Oh my goodness, it was a big hit and so easy to do with very minimal clean-up.

Each child got to select a color Pom-Pom (I bought the pom-poms at AC Moore) and then select three baby pom-poms for the nose and eyes.

I cut out ears for each child out of brown foam that is also found at AC Moore for really cheap.

Each child was given five glue dots to put together their hamster.

After the hamster was completed then the child opened up the acrylic fillable balls and put in their hamster. So easy but yet so entertaining. The kids really enjoyed rolling around the balls and playing with them at the Zhu Zhu Pet Station.

The next station was the Cake, Ice Cream and Chips Station. I kept it real simple on the food and I really think it went over well.

We then did present time and let all the kids participate in handing their gifts they brought to the birthday girl. It kept the kids entertained and just as excited as the birthday girl. After all the presents were opened, we ended the party back at the Zhu Zhu Party station.

Overall, the party was a huge hit. I questioned the parents at the party and they all had positive thoughts and thought it was a super cute and fun theme. At the end of the party, L jumped up in my arms and said mommy this is the best birthday party ever. My heart!

Here is a short photo montage of the party!

Thank you so much to Mom Select for sponsoring our Zhu Zhu Pet Birthday Party!

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