Thursday Blog Hopping and a Couple of Twitter Hops Too!

Good afternoon!  Hope you are all having a great day so far!  If you haven't already, please enter or re-enter my giveaways.  Remember due to the changing of my blog, I lost all of the comments and am running them for another two weeks!  Onto some Thursday Blog Hops!

Cards Direct Review and Giveaway

It's almost that important time of the year again that everyone always looks forward to: Christmas and what does Christmas usually bring besides presents and lots of family get-togethers?  Making out Christmas cards!  For the past few years, I have not had the pleasure of writing and sending Christmas cards.  With the business of shopping, wrapping presents, preparing food, etc, I have never had the time to sit down and get Christmas cards ready to mail out.  I also have never found any that I like as far as design, sayings, and style.  It seems that nowadays, when you go into the store to purchase cards of any sort especially the boxed ones, the designs are not that great and it's also hard to get an assortment, most of the boxed cards that I have bought all seem to have the same design.  I love looking online for boxed cards because there are a lot more wonderful shops and the selection always seems to be second to none.  Plus you are able to personalize them with exactly what you want.  One such place is Cards Direct.  You can find cards here for any occasion whether it be Christmas cards for yourself or your business, birth announcements, birthday cards, sympathy cards and even recycled cards just to name a few.  I love the selection of cards that Cards Direct has to offer for sure

I was sent a variety of cards from Cards Direct for review so I could take a look for myself at the quality and a little bit of the selection that they have.  I received a couple of birth announcements and a few Christmas cards and I have to say that I am really impressed with the quality of the products that Cards Direct has.  The cards are nice and thick, not flimsy like other cards that I have either bought or received.  The pictures and designs on the cards are really nice and colorful as well.  The Christmas cards are beautiful with the etched wording and snowflakes and pine cone designs.  I absolutely WANT to order some more of these cards because they are far better in comparison to the ones that I have had in the past for sure.  Impressive to say the least!  I definitely wish I had found Cards Direct sooner when both of my girls were born, their birthing announcements are spectacular.  You can add a picture of your adorable bundles of joy and create a colorful keepsake that will be there to treasure for so many years to come.  I love all of the styles and occasions of cards that Cards Direct has and I just love to customize and personalize my own cards, makes it feel a little more special and personal.  I would definitely recommend Cards Direct to anyone who is looking for cards to send to those special someones and to celebrate that special occasion anytime of year!

Cards Direct is very passionate about greeting cards.  In our electronic world where we seem to really rely on texting, emails, IM and cell phones, a traditional, hand-signed greeting card can really grab someone's attention unlike any other form of communication.  Cards Direct knows that a quality card, professionally printed with your personal message or brand and at the best value is the most effective way to promote yourself or company with others.  

Cards Direct was founded in 1998 and has grown into one of the most trusted resources for custom printed cards and stationery products in the USA by putting their customers first.  Cards Direct also doesn't believe in playing games with their pricing and sells QUALITY business greeting cards and Christmas cards that are professionally printed by the absolute best printers in the industry at a great value.  Cards Direct has been recognized for 10 years running as a distinguished dealer and has won numerous awards from industry leaders and manufacturers.  At Cards Direct, you will always get a positive experience.  

For more information and to see all of the cards cards and designs that Cards Direct has to offer, please head over HERE.

GIVEAWAY-

The great folks over at Cards Direct would love to give one lucky Mommy2TwoGirls reader a $50 Gift Certificate to spend on some great cards!

MAIN ENTRY-Mandatory and must be done before any extra entries.  Please make sure that your email address is either visible in your comments or Blogger profile so that I have a way to contact you if you win.

Tell me which card or cards you would love to get if you win or maybe a style and design that you are really impressed with.

EXTRA ENTRIES-Please list a separate comment for each.

*Follow my blog

*Follow me on Twitter(@furygirl3132)

*Tweet-You may do this once daily.

*Follow Cards Direct on Twitter HERE 

*Like Cards Direct on Facebook HERE 

*Friend me on Facebook

*Follow me on Networked Blogs

*Subscribe to me via email (2 entries)

*Grab my NEW button and place it on your sidebar or blogroll (3 entries)

*Blog about this giveaway with a link back to Cards Direct and me (5 entries)

*Purchase anything from Cards Direct (10 entries)

Giveaway will end on Monday 10/11 at 7pm EST.  Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified by email as well as posted here on my blog.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.  Open to US residents ONLY!  Special thanks to everyone at Cards Direct for sponsoring this giveaway.  GOOD LUCK!

Disclosure- I received no monetary compensation for this review and comply by ALL FTC rules and regulations.  The words expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way.  I was only provided samples of products by Cards Direct for the sole purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  Additional information provided by the Cards Direct website.  No purchase necessary to enter and void where prohibited by law.

 

Saturday Spectacular-Link Up Your Giveaways-9/25-10/2

Good evening!  It's that all important time again-Saturday Spectacular Giveaway Linky hosted by me-Mommy2TwoGirls.  Do you have some great giveaways going on over at your blog right now?  Run into some giveaways that you would love to share with everyone?  Link them up here today and all week!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Quick Note

Good Friday morning all!  If you will take notice of the Current Giveaways on the left sidebar, you will soon notice that some of the giveaways that were closed a few days ago are starting to open back up again.  I was going through the closing giveaways this morning and saw that all of my comments were wiped out when I changed blog designs.  That's because I HAD Disqus and I am not sure how to retrieve them.  So I spent a little time contacting my sponsors and asking them if I could run the giveaways for two more weeks so that I could get winners.  So, as I get return emails from them, I will be opening them back up again, please notice the new end dates.  Sorry to all of you that have already entered, please enter again!

Also, I have gotten a few emails from those of you that haven't yet received your prizes from past giveaways.  Be assured, even if you don't receive an email back from me, I have received them and am re-contacting sponsors to make sure that you get your prizes.  I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know, it frustrates me when my winners don't get their prizes, believe me, I have been on your end a few times myself.  I won an Avon gift basket and a set of Softlips lip balms that I NEVER received.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Good Thursday!  Sorry I have been MIA for almost a week or so.  My schedule at work has increased, we have been celebrating the girls' 2nd and 8th birthdays this week and trying to get ready for their birthday party on Saturday so it has definitely been crazy indeed!  Here is a list of some great Thursday blog hops.  Stay tuned for lots of new giveaways coming up as I have been trying hard to work on some, believe me, it hasn't been easy.  Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Hellman's Virtual Sandwich Swap n' Share

I love sandwiches!  They are such a quick and easy lunch, dinner or even breakfast meal and quick for on the go.  Some of my favorites are ham and Swiss, turkey and sharp cheddar and chicken and provolone on any kind of bread.  The kicker for me is the mayonnaise and what better mayonnaise than Hellmann's.  I use Hellmann's not only on ALL of my sandwiches but in my famous tuna macaroni salad and a new family favorite corn salad recipe.  I just love the flavor that Hellmann's gives all of our favorite foods, to me there is nothing better.  The flavor of Hellmann's mayonnaise for me is a different flavor than any other mayo out there on the market nowadays, you can taste the freshness.  Hubby won't let me buy anything else for sure!

With back to school already here, this means car pooling, homework monitoring, and of course packing lunches.  This can be a tedious process, I know it is especially for me because I recently went back to work, so three days a week we have a babysitter here.  I pack my oldest daughter's lunches the night before so it makes it a little easier on not only the babysitter but the oldest as well.  All she has to do is get into the fridge and grab her lunch in the morning and go.  I always love to pack nutritious lunches and that includes sandwiches and wraps.  What makes those better?  You guessed it, Hellmann's Mayonnaise!  Sometimes though it can be real hard to come up with something different, she will only eat so many sandwiches and wraps before she gets bored with them.  We all know as parents that it is hard to come up with lunches that are made with simple ingredients that kids will actually eat and enjoy.  Luckily, Hellmann's and Best Foods Mayonnaise are putting the fun back in lunch this September with their virtual Sandwich Swap n' Share program. 

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay (he's one of my favorites on Food Network!) and actress/mom Lori Loughlin (Full House fame) are teaming up with Hellmann's to help relaunch Hellmann's virtual Sandwich Swap n' Share on the Facebook application.  This virtual version of the beloved school lunch ritual of swapping will benefit Share Our Strength, the leading non-profit organization ending childhood hunger in America.  

When you visit the Hellmann's page on Facebook, you will have the opportunity to create a sandwich on the application and for every sandwich that is built, Hellmann's will make a donation to Share Our Strength.  Even more, when you share a sandwich with a friend, an additional donation will be made as a part of Hellmann's $75,000 commitment to support Share Our Strength.

I tried this Facebook application out for myself and built what I called "Eloise's Masterpiece".  My sandwich sounds and looks so good I may actually have to try it for real.  It included:

*Sourdough Bread

*Pastrami

*Turkey

*Pepper Jack Cheese

*Swiss Cheese

*Roasted Peppers

*Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise

*Hellmann's Honey Mustard

This was really fun to do and the possibilities are endless.  You can even put a message on your sandwich and create your own name.  You can then send a request to your friends to make their own sandwich and you can even make more than one for yourself.  Remember, you are helping a great cause in Share Our Strength.  So head on over to the Hellmann's Sandwich Swap n' Share Facebook page and check it out for yourself!  (Facebook.com/Hellmann's)

Disclosure-This information was provided to me by Mom Select and Hellmann's.  In exchange for this post, I have been entered for a chance to win a gift as part of the Hellmann's program.

 

Saturday Spectacular-Link Up Your Giveaways-9/18-9/25

Good Friday/Saturday!  So excited to see how this linky is getting bigger every week, for the past couple of weeks I have been over 100 wonderful giveaway entries and growing!  Thanks so much to all who have listed your awesome giveaways to the Saturday Spectacular giveaway linky, keep posting and spreading the word!
Do you have some great giveaways going on over at your blog right now?  Come across some fun and interesting giveaways that you would like to share with us?  Link them up here now and all week here at the Saturday Spectacular Link Up and Mommy2TwoGirls!

New Blog Design!

Good evening!  It is a new start here at Mommy2TwoGirls!  As you can see, we are in the middle of the new blog design which should be finished this weekend.  I hope you are all enjoying it as much as I am!  I love the color and design and Emma from Indie Chick Designs has been working very hard on it all day today.  She was frustrated by all of the things that I had on it including sponsors, blogs that I love that I wanted to share, etc, and I feel really bad that she has had to undergo all of this work.  Let me tell you, if you are considering changing up your blog and want to redo it, I am definitely recommending you give Indie Chick Designs a try.  Emma has all different kinds of packages and services for all of your blog needs.  I hope you love the new Mommy2TwoGirls as much as I do and look for new giveaways and fun to go with the new look.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Eloise :)

Friday Blog Hopping!

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog, too! Just click "Get the code here..." at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier, Christi at Frugal Novice and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect - this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they're a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it's a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post - the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers!

We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we'll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week's Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

If you're like most people, you fall into a rut of cooking the same meals over and over again. Well, Inspired 2 Cook can help pull you right out - this a blog all about recipes, and it's filled with a variety of meals that are sure to add some excitement back into your meal planning. She takes her own photos, which is really nice so you know what you'll be ending up with! All recipes posted on the site have been tested by the blogger, so you also get a review before you go to all the trouble of making the meal.

Debra at Since That Moment writes about life since her son Matty was born in 2009. She says at the top of her blog, "3.26.2009. A boy named Matty was born. I would never be the same," a sentiment I think all moms would agree with. Debra loves photography and poetry too, and shares some of her work on her blog. You'll also find recipes and posts about day-to-day life with her husband and adorable son!

Roz at La Bella Vita says that her blog is a written and visual journey about all the things that she considers beautiful in her life. She likes to use her blog as a place to reflect on the beauty God has placed in her life. On La Bella Vita, you'll find beautiful photos of her gardens, great recipes and links about Italian life. Roz hopes that after visiting her blog you feel inspired to welcome more beauty and deliciousness into your life.

Now that you know about these 3 wonderful blogs, it's time for you to join in! Add your family-friendly link below and we'll see you back here every Friday! And don't forget, you can grab the code to share the link list on your blog, too.

All three hostesses appreciate followers through Google Friend Connect AND Twitter and we'll follow you back - just leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thursday Blog Hopping and a Twitter Hop Too!

Welcome Wednesday

Welcome Wednesday 9/15

Welcome to the "Welcome Wednesday" blog hop, hosted by Take It From Me! Welcome Wednesday is a great way to meet new people and learn new things as well as increase your blog followers! So let's have some fun!!

If you want to be a part of Welcome Wednesday, just follow these 5 simple steps:

1. Follow the Welcome Wednesday Host (Take It From Me) as well as the 2 Spotlighted Blogs of the Week. (*We are only spotlighting one this week)

2. Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky. (You only need to add your info once for it to be seen on all the blog hops)

3. Grab our Welcome Wednesday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog.

4. Go to as many blogs on the MckLinky as you want and Follow them. Be sure to tell them you are from Welcome Wednesday!

5. Be sure to Follow back any followers you have gained from our Welcome Wednesday event!

------Blog Spotlight of The Week-----

1.) Frenchy from Le Chateau des Fleurs writes:

"To tell you about me.....My nickname is Frenchy. I am from Paris France and i am French. I met my husband in the States 13 years ago and stayed here. I am in Utah. We have 3 adorable kids. Lots of pets and some fun parties going on. I always try to enjoy everything that life has to offer ...call it "la joie de vivre" We just have fun. I love blogging ! I started 8 months ago to record all the things i do and my kids life. We are very family oriented, my husband is the founder and inventor of Amber Alert GPS. A child tracking device. We both thought about it after we lost or 3 year old son. Who is now 7 for 40 long minutes. We are a partner with Amber Alert. So, on my blog, you will find a lot of Mommy stuffs and i have a lot of fun with crafts, Home decor, parties....everything. Gros bisous, Frenchy."

1.) Kaley from a tale of THREE Poags writes:

"I am a 25 year old wife and mother of one amazing little boy who keeps me on my toes. I started my blog so that family and friends could stay updated with our lives but quickly fell in love with the blog world. come visit my blog and join me on my adventures of expanding our family, cooking, crafting, picture taking and much, much more!"

What's neat about our Blog Hop:

-Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list!

- Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on Everyones lists!

- By adding your blog YOU MAY BE RANDOMLY CHOSEN FOR OUR BLOG SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!!