ZzzQuil Helps Me Sleep

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of ZzzQuil for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve been a Mom for seven years, but even before I had a new baby to keep me up at night, I had sleep problems.  I’ve talked about it before and I think it’s quite common in Type A people like myself to wake up during the night and have our brains turn on and start going through the list of things we need to do. 

There is also often times when I lay my head down at night and I can’t fall asleep.  I can be so very tired but still be wide awake.  I’ve tired many things....counting sheep, relaxing different parts of my body and asking iKeith to tell me about his work.

Sometimes, I rely on over-the-counter medicine to help me get and stay asleep.  The problem is that sometimes these things make me groggy in the morning and I can’t afford to not be at the top of my game.  I’ve got things to do! 

I was thrilled when the makers of Vicks NyQuil, ZzzQuil offered to let me try a sample of their new sleep aid.  I use NyQuil frequently when I’m sick and it always works well for me.  The active ingredient in ZzzQuil is diphenhydramine HCI and it helps reduce the time it takes for you to fall asleep and helps you wake up refreshed.  This is been my experience and I’m so relieved to have a solution to my sleep problem!

ZzzQuil is the only over-the-counter sleep-aid available in both Liquid and pill form.  I really like the taste of the liquid and the handy cup just like the Nyquil, which I’m already familiar with.  Mostly I like waking up rested and ready to tackle my day!

Do you struggle to fall and stay asleep?  If so, I think ZzzQuil could be a great solution for you.  

Follow ZzzQuil on facebook and share your experience with them.  If you try it, share your experience with ZzzQuil and tweet them using the hashtag #ZzzQuilNight.

Riding The W Line

Our family has had a love of trains ever since little Alex discovered that adorable little train called Thomas!  There was even a potty training incident involving trains that I didn't see coming.

For a very long time, Denver has had a light rail line that runs from very south Denver suburbs to downtown.  Keith and I used to ride it to the big city when we were dating and I lived down south.  It's a super handy way to get around!

A few years ago, the light rails started being built from Golden (in the foothills of west Denver Metro area) to Downtown.  We've been watching this happen and anticipating the day we could ride The W Line!

Several stations with parking are within a couple miles of our apartment so it's an easy alternative to driving into the city.  No need to find an illusive parking spot!

There are discounted fares for children, students and elderly.  And if you're only going downtown for a few hours you can buy the 6 hour round trip pass.  This little trip cost our family of four $13.

Once you arrive at the Union Station station (which is NOT at Union Station) you can immediately get onto a 16th street shuttle bus and ride to wherever you need to go.  The good news is that it really isn't a very long walk if you want to avoid your kids learning new cuss words.  When we rode the bus, I learned that Jose was being sweated by Armondo and he wasn't going to let that happen!  Be advised that giving Jose a stern look does nothing to control the amount of naughty words that are coming out of his mouth and you might have to provide ear muffs in the form of your hands on your children to protect their childhood.

Ahem.

IF you do walk the 16th Street Mall, you will stumble upon a rare find.  The Tattered Cover Book Store!  It is so very cool and you should definitely stop in.

Wanna know something else cool?  If you live somewhere else in Denver and you want to come to Lakewood and say....maybe Belmar Shopping District, you can!  Belmar has a shuttle bus that you can catch at the Wadsworth Station that will take you back and forth to lots of shopping and food.

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated or asked to write about The W Line, The Tattered Cover Book Store or Belmar.  I did not change Jose's name to protect him because I don't believe he is innocent and he kept talking about himself in the third person like he wanted me to know his name and use it in a blog post.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

I've told the story a few times about how when Keith and I were first dating, he bought season tickets for us to the Denver Center Attractions musicals.  For three years, we saw 8 shows a year and it was our favorite thing to do together!  I fully credit the theatre for turning me into the civilized lady that I am today.  Bombay Dreams is also fully responsible for the creation of Mallory.

At our last show before Alex was born, I remember holding Keith's hand while waiting for it to start and creating a dream for the future.  As Alex rolled around in my belly, I wished that someday we'd bring him to the theatre and he'd love it as much as we did.

That dream came true for me in December when Alex loved White Christmas, but it hadn't yet come true for Mallory.

Mary Poppins made that dream a reality!

But first....we stopped at Crave for dessert (click here to see what I had) and the kids had their first French Macaroons.  I thought it was so funny that the one that Alex chose matched his shirt, he scarfed it down and then announced that he hated it and it was terrible!  Mallory loved hers very much and asked for another.

I love the apprehension before a show.  Watching everyone in their finest outfits arriving and taking their seats.  Mallory and I like to people watch.  

This would be a good time to tell you that my kids don't like the Mary Poppins movie and we've never been able to watch the whole thing. You must think I'm crazy for spending $100 on tickets to a show that my kids don't like.  I was hoping that the magic of live theatre would transform this show into something they would love.  I was banking on it. 

Mr Banks could put his trust (and money) in me because it worked!  We were mesmerized for almost three hours.  Oh man was I worried when I saw how long the show was but we played it right by getting dessert first because a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down!

The sets for this show are beautiful and detailed.  The singing....quite amazing, especially from the two children who are in almost every scene.  We loved the parts when the park statues came to life and the chimney sweep number was so fun that we were clapping along. 

There are a few shows that I like seeing over and over.  I believe this show will be that one for our family!   Unfortunately, this was the last night for Denver, but it may be coming to a town near you!

Disclaimer:  This is not a sponsored post.  I was not paid to write this and I bought my own tickets.  Although, if someone (Denver Center) wanted to give me free tickets to write about theatre (Denver Center) it would be a dream come true! 

Strawberry Clamshell Greenhouse

We've been eating tons of Strawberries.  It's really the only fruit that Alex likes and I put them in his lunch every single day.  He's such a creature of habit....just like his Momma!  We also made some kick ass Strawberry Consomme last week that I'll be sharing on my food blog this week.

The other day, I was getting ready to throw away one of the plastic clamshells that the strawberries come in and I thought....this would make a great greenhouse!  My friend Bridget also gave me a cool tip for all of these toilet paper tubes that we have around the house because my kids won't let me throw them away.

We cut them in half and stuck them in the potting soil, then planted our seeds in the center!

I'll update you in a few weeks with the progress of our seeds!  

See the yellow containers in my pictures?  I bought those at the Dollar Store for...well, a dollar!  Actually, the two small ones were 2 for a dollar.  I planted Basil plants in them and will plant more herbs in the big one once the fear of frost has past.  Which, could be in July.  Oh Colorado and your crazy weather!

Have you started planting yet? 

May Goals

April was so busy! It flew by and I know that May will go by just as fast. We have 19 days of school left and my kids can't wait to be 1st graders! I'm excited to plan for summer and make our annual Summer Fun Poster.

Linking up with My So-Called Chaos, A Peek at Karen's World and Jennee Thompson.

 

 Let's go over last months goals. Not too bad, but my fitness took a back seat. Part of this is due to the bipolar weather in Colorado. It's May 1st as I write this and it's snowing. NINE inches coming today.

April Goals

[X] Have a Tea Party for my very pregnant friend  YES!

[ ] Hold my friend's brand new baby boy He's late!! 

[X] Run a successful campaign for PTA President HECK YES!

[X] Bring Vlogging back  YES! 

[ ] Finally start training for a 5K  Nope

[X] Celebrate my son's 7th birthday  We went to Chuck E Cheese's

[ ] Run Walk a 5K Did not do this.
[X] Read 3 books I read FOUR!

May Goals

[ ] Get over my fear of public speaking.
[ ] Will it to stop snowing

[ ] Take my kids to see Mary Poppins Musical

[ ] Have a girls night out
[ ] Win the Lotto

[ ] Plan trip to San Francisco

[ ] Start walking while the kids are at school
[ ] Make a Summer Fun Poster

[ ] Read three books

Teachers Appreciate Coffee

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at our school!  To see what I did last year, click here.

I love putting together little baskets of things for our teachers, principal and office staff.  This year, I found lots of cute things at the Dollar Spot at Target.....in September.

It was all coffee themed and I think most teachers love and depend on coffee to get through their day.

Alex has a special education teacher and she likes tea!  I found this cute little tin at the Target Dollar Spot and I filled it with tea bags that we stole were given at The Buick Discovery Tour.

For the Kindergarten Teachers, they received a coffee pail with candy, a coffee pen, a small notebook, a Starbucks gift card and a book mark that I printed from Tatertots and Jello. 

The office staff and our principal got little coffee pails with candy, coffee and a Starbucks gift card.

My kids have student helpers in the class that do all of the behind the scenes stuff and they monitor recess and lunch.  They are such great ladies and we'd be lost without them!  I found this cute printable to add to some donut holes, from The Happy Home Fairy.

What are you doing for Teacher Appreciation Week?

More Birthdays from The American Cancer Society *sponsored*

This is a sponsored post and video written by me on behalf of The American Cancer Society, all opinions and feelings are my own.

My best friend’s Mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was a senior in high school.  As you can imagine, this changed many of her plans.  Plans that she had to go off to school in another state and begin a new life, far from her family.  

She opted to stay close and care for her Mom because she didn’t know if it would be possible to beat this.  No one really knows, life brings so many obstacles that you have to do what your gut tells you to do.  Adrienne’s instincts told her to stay and make the most of the what time they had together.  

Seven years later, her mother passed away on Christmas Eve.  I know that Adrienne cherished the time she spent with her Mom and shared so many memories with me. I became enamored with tea parties and collecting tea cups because of these memories. 

Thanks to The American Cancer Society, there has been a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates since the early 1990s, resulting in 1.2 million lives saved. Children in the world are getting more time with their parents!  They are leaders in saving lives and creating more birthdays!   

The goal of The American Cancer Society is to continue lifesaving cancer research and seek funding for projects like the Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3) that will enroll at least 300,000 adults from all walks of life by the end of this year.  

It’s so important for people that are facing cancer to have the support they need from getting rides and having a free place to stay during treatment to having a person to advocate for them to have quality health care.

This year The American Cancer Society is turning 100 years old on May 22 and they ll be celebrating that birthday for an entire year!  Fifteen determined physicians and business leaders brought the awareness of cancer to the American people in 1913 so that The American Cancer Society could be the world’s leader in fighting the disease.

Join me and Josh Groban in finishing the fight! 

This post and video is sponsored by the American Cancer Society.