SOCIAL MEDIA

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Giving the Gift of Sleep to a Very Special Friend.....

Hi My Loves!!!

2013 was a great year for me. I had so much fun with my you tube and blog and was given a really great opportunity to go to the Pampers Headquarters and P&E headquarters in Ohio and take a tour of everything to do with the brand. I saw how diapers were made, got to see all of the tests they do to see how they work and compare to other brands and met a bunch of really great other Mommy vloggers & bloggers, as well as the amazing people that work for Pampers. I was so honored to have the opportunity. 

Pampers current campaign is The Gift of Sleep. Their new Baby Dry diapers keep your baby dryer longer so that you and your baby can get more sleep without being disturbed by a bothersome wet diaper. Hence the name.... Gift of Sleep. I was fortunate enough to receive a gift card from Pampers to buy whatever I wanted, to a family that was expecting or with a newborn, to give them the Gift of Sleep. I was so excited when I found out about this because it's always nice to bring a bit of Joy to someone by doing something unexpected :)

I decided to use the gift card for my sweet friend Marie (BitsandClips) and her family. If you haven't watched her already, then you should because she is fabulous and fun and so sweet. Her and her husband Ryan (such a nice guy) have a beautiful daughter named Scarlet and have just welcomed a gorgeous little boy, Luca, into their loving family. We have been friends through You Tube for a few years now. She started watching us when I did my pregnancy vlogs with Phoenix. We became friends quickly after she sent me a video response to our What's In My Fridge Tag. I remember 30 seconds into it, I thought to myself.... "I want to be her friend!" And now we are :) We actually had the chance to meet up at Vlogger fair in Seattle and had so much fun going to lunch and the beach with the kids. They are such a down to Earth, hard working, loving family and I couldn't think of anyone who deserved it more, than them. 

2013 was a little bumpy for them, Marie's Mom got sick and she had to move her into their home. Ryan and Marie moved their bed into the living room to make room for her Mom. It was a cramped space to say the least. They have had so much going on and being pregnant throughout the whole thing, while taking care of her sick Mom as well as a toddler was draining and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to at least take some of the stress off of having to buy the things she needed. Ryan works his booty off and barely sleeps... I don't know how than Man does it, other than the pure LOVE for his family.

Here's Marie, Ryan & Scarlet :)


The beautiful Baby Luca... what an adorable picture!


I asked Marie if their were any specific things that she hadn't gotten from her registry, that she still really needed. I wanted to make sure that the money was well spent (Pampers was very generous with the amount they gave me) and I didn't want to get things that she wouldn't use. She sent me over her registry and I chose off of the list :) Here's everything I chose for her. She just recently emailed me and told me than she's been getting so much use out of everything, which really makes me happy!

I chose this cuddly alphabet blanket for Luca. Phoenix had one similar when he was a baby and he loved it and we still have it and the kids like to point to all the animals and letters on it.


Here's a big picture showcasing everything I sent with Luca right in the middle on the bouncer I got for them too.


Of course every Mom appreciates a bunch of Diapers. When my babies were newborns, we always used the Pampers swaddlers because the Umbilical cord cut out was so convenient and they were the only ones we could use, that they wouldn't start crying with as soon as a tiny tinkle came out haha! I remember the first time we got Huggies and Phoenix would have the tiniest pee and start crying and fussing immediately. As soon as I switched him to Pampers, he was fine... I also got a big box of baby wipes too. Can't have diapers and no wipes!


Here's the crib mattress I chose and the blanket.


Marie said he loves his bouncer :)


I wanted to get her a really nice monitor and sound machine. That was my biggest thing when transitioning the kids to their own rooms. I was so worried because I wouldn't be able to watch them. We kept both Phoenix and Lily in with our bedroom until they were 9 months. We actually had Phoenix's crib in our room right next to our bed and Lily's pack and play. I just liked knowing that I could see them. So I got a video one for them :) I think if I would have had a baby monitor with video, I would have been able to relax a bit better. We have a sound machine for Lily's room and that has really helped us. The heartbeat noise keeps her sleeping so much better than when it's just silent in there, so I thought that was a necessity as well. SwaddleMe's were such a blessing in the middle of the night for us when the baby's were newborns. I used them every night and when your tired, stumbling around in the night, they are your best friend. I couldn't send all of this stuff without sending a little something for Scarlet, so I chose the sibling book for her. I always told everyone coming over when Lily was born to be sure to say hi to Phoenix first, so that he wouldn't feel left out and grow to be jealous of her. I'm so glad I did because he is so good with her and has been since day one.


I also ordered this super cute activity mat for Luca. Perfect for tummy time.


Thank you to Marie for these fabulous pictures she took and sent over to me ;)


So that's everything I got for Marie and Luca. I had so much fun shopping for her. Thank you to Pampers for giving me such a great opportunity to give to my friend. I also asked if it was possible to include something for my subscribers. After all, if it weren't for all of you reading and watching me, I would never have been given this opportunity. They were so kind to give this basket of goodies to me for one of my lucky subscribers to win. 

Included inside this moses basket is:
Pampers blanket
Sleep sheep
2 packs of Pampers Baby Dry
2 packs of Cruisers
Good Night America book
Sophie La Girafe teether
3 Packs of Pampers wipes


I have a video telling you all about this giveaway and how you can win it, so head on over there and find out the details of how you can win this for either yourself or an expecting friend or family member ;)

Life is all about helping the people you care about and spreading a bit of love, joy and in this case... sleep! :)

Hope you enjoyed this blog and thanks again to Pampers for this opportunity. I was not compensated to make this blog or video... or to go to Pampers HQ. I was just given the gift card and couldn't wait to share the goodies I chose and of course the basket of goodies for one of you!

Good luck!!