Save the Date! #FunForest Twitter Party on August 17th! RSVP Here!

Come celebrate the Fun Forest giveaway event hosted by My Wonderful Walls at the #FunForest Twitter Party this Friday, August 17th and learn about some amazing ideas and companies you can use to create the perfect room makeover. From bookshelves, to rugs, to wall decals, we're talking all things kids rooms and playrooms. We would love to chat with you!

#FunForest Twitter Party

Save the date and join the Simmworks Family Blog and FormulaMom for the My Wonderful Walls #FunForest Twitter Party! On August 17th from 7-8pm EST you can come and chat with us about designing the perfect room for your kids! You can follow along using the hashtag #FunForest and the Tweetgrid for the party. RSVP below for your chance to win one of 3 amazing prizes up for grabs during the party!

Twitter Party Details

WHEN: Friday, August 17th from 7-8pm EST
HASHTAG: #FunForest
HOSTS:  Follow @simmworksfamily and @formulamom
SPONSOR: Follow @MyWndrfulWalls, @MWW_Team
CUSTOM TWEETGRID: bit.ly/R28CCt

PRIZES: (2) Name Signs/Banners ($25 value) and (1) $150 My Wonderful Walls Gift Cards

Let your friends know about the party too! The more people, the bigger (and better!) the party! We cannot wait to hear all of your room makeover creations and ideas! Use the tweet below to share with your friends!

Save the Date! @mywndrfulwalls #FunForest Twitter Party on August 17th 7-8pm with @simmworksfamily and @formulamom bit.ly/Of5VuX
— Danielle Simmons (@simmworksfamily) August 13, 2012

And don't forget to enter to WIN an amazing package with over $745 in prizes in the August My Wonderful Walls Fun Forest Giveaway that goes live on August 14th at 12:01am on the My Wonderful Walls Blog!

Enter Giveaway Here! 

Save the Date and RSVP

To be eligible to win a prize, please RSVP using the linky below (enter the URL to your Twitter profile). Winners will be chosen randomly from the RSVP list. Winners must be present and participating during the party to be eligible to win a prize. Please read the terms and conditions below.


No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to US and Canadian residents. Prizes will be given away every 20 minutes during the 1 hour party on 8/17/12. Prizes include (2) name signs/banners $25 value. The grand prize, a $150 My Wonderful Walls Gift Card, will be given away at the end of the party to 1 grand prize winner. All winners will be chosen using random.org from the RSVP list. Winners must be participating in the party using the hashtag #FunForest at the time that they are drawn as a winner. Winners will have 5 minutes to reply to claim their prize or a new winner will be drawn.

Boon Animal Bag - Making Toy Organization Fun!

When I first started thinking of what I wanted in the kids bedroom, the one thing that kept coming to mind was toy storage. I mean, we have a playroom that can contain many of the toys we have, but we had nothing to contain all of the stuffed animals my son and daughter have collected.

The only thing I could think of getting was the stuffed animal hammock I had when I was growing up. And when looking at the layout of my kids room I just couldn't do it. Not only would the hammoc either block a window, closet door, or doorway, it just wouldn't be easy for the kids to access their animals without getting myself or their father to get what they wanted.

We prefer a more self sufficient child.

So when I was perusing Amazon for a solution I was pleasantly surprised to find an amazing product that not only stored my kids stuffed animals, it also served as a chair or cushion for the kids after it was stuffed.

Multipurpose storage? Yes please!

The Boon Animal Bag not only stores stuffed animals, it stores a LOT of stuffed animals.

Here's a look at about 1/2 of the stuffed animals in our home:

And here's a look at 1/2 of those in the boon. See how there's still room in there? Yeah, all of those stuffed animals fit in that little Animal Bag. SO awesome!

The Boon Animal Bag easily zips open and shut to allow your child easy access to any of their favorite stuffed creatures. And the cover is a breathable mesh! So the stuffed animals wont suffocate! No having to explain anything to little Billy or Suzy.

And as I said before, after the Animal Bag is stuffed, your child can use it to sit on and enjoy a book or two. Or you can use it to prop other larger stuffed animals.

We love to use our Animal Bag for story time before naps and bedtime. Our kids curl up on it and get all comfy before we dive into the book we're reading. And they love leaping from their beds onto the bag. All that cushion makes mama a little less anxious (but still keeping a watchful eye!).

The Boon Animal Bag is a soft, easy-to-use storage solution for those toys that get scattered all across your house. And with the simple zippered pouch, the kids can get involved in clean up to help pick their own toys up and store them away.

Interested in purchasing a Boon Animal Bag for your home?

You can head on over to the Boon website or check out Amazon.com.

And don't forget to head on over to visit Boon on Facebook or follow them on Twitter! There's always something new in the works and you wouldn't want to miss out on hearing about an awesome product. I know we have quite a few Boon items in our home and we absolutely love them!

Want to WIN a Boon Animal Bag? 

The Noise Girls have yet again put together an amazing giveaway event just for your family! And Boon has joined in on the fun to offer one lucky reader a Boon Animal Bag of your very own in this giveaway.

The For the Family giveaway event starts on September 1st so please remember to hurry back and enter for your chance to win. You won't want to miss what we have to offer!



Disclaimer: I received a Boon Animal Bag for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.

Waking up to WONDERFUL News: Fairy Hobmother Visit

Squee!

That's the sound I let out when I opened my email this morning. Seriously. The dog looked at me like I was crazy. Then I started to giggle. That's when the husband got worried. I just kept pointing to the computer screen. And saying, "The Fairy Hobmother! The Fairy Hobmother!" Of course this made no sense whatsoever to my husband so I read him the email.

The Fairy Hobmother visited the Simmworks Family Blog and has kindly gifted me with a $50 Amazon Gift Card!

You see, I have heard about the Fairy Hobmother off and on since the end of last year and what he does is just amazing. He flitters along from blog to blog in his fairy hobmother way and pays a special visit to other bloggers who have previously commented on a blog post that mentions him.

I absolutely love the giving nature of the Fairy Hobmother. I know from personal experience that many of my blogging friends have been able to purchase much needed appliances, electronics, and fun gifts for the kids just because the Fairy Hobmother helped give that little bit more that was needed.

The pay it forward approach he takes to giving a little love to bloggers is warmly welcomed. I absolutely love that there's no guessing where he'll appear next and enjoy seeing him pop up on the blogs I love to read.

And since he's come to visit me I finally get to purchase the final items needed to complete the kids bedroom makeover! I need to get some toy storage and something that will fit nicely in between the two beds. I was thinking something like this would work:

What do you think?

But then I saw this bench storage. How great would this be for shoes and toys? Then the kids could use the bench to help get dressed, sit and read, or do just about anything else they want.

But then I might not have anywhere else in the room to put a bookshelf. So then should I just go with a small bookshelf and some bean bag chairs? My husband is all about the bean bags! We definitely need to hone in on exactly what we need.

Take a look at the pictures of the room on my Facebook page in the Toddler Room Makeover album and let me know what you think we should get!

Are you in need of a visit from the Fairy Hobmother? Simply comment on this post below and he just may visit you!

Disclaimer: I received a $50 Amazon Gift Card from the Fairy Godmother in exchange for mentioning him in this post. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.  

Help Kids Stay in Bed with the Sleep Buddy {#NoiseGirls Review}

The one thing I still struggle with my son at night is the fact that he wakens and comes into our room at random hours. Some nights he is in our bed by 11pm and other nights he sleeps soundly in his own bed. You never know who you're going to wake up next to in our bed!

I've been searching for a solution and I think I found it! 

Sleep Buddy not only helps children know when to stay in bed simply by the soft blue light it emits, it also lets them know when they can get out of bed when it turns off. And Sleep Buddy doesn't just stop there. Each buddy is wrapped and packaged special for the recipient. 

My son flipped out (in a good way) when he received his present and quickly wanted to open it to see what was inside. I read the note from Sleep Buddy to him welcoming him into the family and let him go at it.

What he found was his new Sleep Buddy system complete with a light and book explaining exactly what the Sleep Buddy was and how it was used. As soon as he saw the book he sat down and asked me to read it to him. As I did he asked questions along the way.

His first concern was being able to get out of bed when he was thirsty. Then if he could get out of bed to go to the restroom. Then he wanted to make sure that if Molly was crying he could come in our room to see if she was ok. All testing to see when he could ignore the light to come into our room.

We went through everything again and then I showed him this:

He was quite excited about the prospect of getting a reward once he got down to the end of each week AND that he was going to be able to put the stickers on all by himself in the morning. We were good to go!

We tested out the Sleep Buddy first for naptime. My son has no problem taking a 3 hour nap without waking but my daughter is still working on it. So we decided to explain everything to her and let her try it out for us during her nap.

Since she has only been napping in her toddler bed for a few days we thought it'd be a good test to introduce both at the same time (the new bed and the new Sleep Buddy). While she didn't sleep for as long as she needed she did stay in her bed and called out for me instead of getting out of bed early from her nap! I call that a success.

My son still has nights where he crawls into bed with us but he's quite adamant that the Sleep Buddy was off when he comes in. He hasn't been coming in until early morning and that's a success as well. Now if only his sister would take his lead and start sleeping in her bed the whole night.

I guess we have time to work on that!

If you're looking for a great way to help keep your child in bed longer I highly suggest that you check out the Sleep Buddy. It truly is a complete sleep system. I'm so glad we have it in our home now!

You can purchase your Sleep Buddy on their website. Sleep Buddy can also be found on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Interested in winning a Sleep Buddy of your own?

Sleep Buddy has been kind enough to offer one lucky winner a complete sleep care system of their own in the Noise Girls' Around The House giveaway event.

The giveaway event will be held from June 25th to July 16th and will include multiple packages valued at over $3,500! Make sure to head back and enter to WIN one of these amazing prize packages.



Disclaimer: I received a Sleep Buddy for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.  

Create a Masterpiece in No Time with My Wonderful Walls {#NoiseGirls Review}

When I first started planning my kids bedroom I had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew we needed to repaint because the striped walls from my son's nursery just had to go. I wanted something bright, cheery, and gender neutral so that both my daughter and son would get enjoyment out of it.


Even before I had my son I always wanted some sort of wall art or mural in my children's rooms. I would go to home shows or design/decor events and would oohh and aahh at the gorgeous murals done in fabulously decorated bedrooms. But, of course, we could never afford the hefty price tag that came along with the interior designer that designed the room and the artist that painted the murals.


So we searched for a great alternative.

I first became inspired to use decals in my kids room after seeing some adorable decals at my son's gymnastics class. Simple monkeys hanging in a tree and clouds around the room. But when I got a closer look at the decals they used I was not impressed. The decals were bumpy, you could see where they met with each other, and the colors were simple and boring.

So when I saw My Wonderful Walls on my friend Jessica's blog I knew I had to check them out to see what they offered. And boy was I happy that I did! Their selection of wall stickers cover everything from under water adventures to life on the farm.

I quickly was able to settle on the cute and animated Forest Friends wall stickers for my kids room. It was the perfect blend and definitely gender neutral (although the description states boy).

Not only are My Wonderful Walls decals super easy to use, they're so versatile!

We started by painting the whole room in a few fresh coats of paint. If not starting with freshly painted walls please make sure to clean the walls very well to remove any debris and dirt from the walls.

Then we got to designing! 

The decals proved to be very easy to remove from the backing and even easier to apply to the walls. Once I tested them out by applying the sun and clouds to the sky I let my son and daughter get in on the action as well.

I was pleasantly surprised to find how easy it was for them to help!

And I didn't have to worry about where they placed the decals or if the decals folded over on themselves because I could easily remedy these situations. The decals were so easy to remove and reposition as needed until we got the right placement and fit for the room's layout.

Once we were done and had applied all of the decals to the walls we sat back and looked at what we had created. My daughter was very excited to now share a room with so many friendly animals and started to wave and greet each new animal who appeared with a very happy hello.

She continues to greet the animals each day in the same fashion. Always pointing out her favorites. She even will overhear her brother talking about randomly wanting to hold frogs (because of a commercial or ad he saw) and she quickly runs to her little pond and points to the frog leaping out of the water. See, Brother, you can hold a frog!

My son made a few suggestions and changes to move a few items around and I happily obliged. I mean it is, after all, his room. Once he was happy with the layout we took a few pictures.

To see all of the photos of our toddler bedroom makeover including before and after photos please check out our photo album on G+ here.  Or if you prefer Facebook, head on over to my Facebook album here.

My Wonderful Walls not only offers amazing wall decals, they also offer wall stencils, wall murals, and canvas art as well. There are so many themes and designs to choose from that I'm sure you will find the perfect one for your home!

We are already planning on purchasing a few daffodils and blue birds for the playroom when we redesign it to give a little life to the walls. The price is affordable, the quality is excellent, and the customer service is stellar. And when/if we ever decide to build onto our home and have separate rooms for our children we'll be coming back again to let them choose the wall art they want from My Wonderful Walls.

Ready to pick out your set of My Wonderful Walls decals or stencils? 

Head on over to their website and use the code sw625 at check out for 20% off your order! 

But hurry! This offer expires on 7/18

If you are interested in keeping up with new and exciting information from My Wonderful Walls please feel free to join them on Facebook by liking their page. Or following them on twitter. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you!

Enter to Win a $100 Gift Card

My Wonderful Walls has been kind enough to offer one lucky winner a $100 Gift Card of their choice in the Noise Girls' Around The House giveaway event in the Kids Package.

The giveaway event will be held from June 25th to July 16th and will include multiple packages valued at over $3,500! Make sure to head back and enter to WIN one of these amazing prize packages.


Disclaimer: I received a My Wonderful Walls decal set for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.  

Dreaming in Style with @Wayfair

Isn't this a sign that all is right with the world?

My adorable toddler spending her first nap in her new toddler bed from Wayfair. When we first started talking about putting my son and daughter in the same room together there was much discussion about if we should purchase another twin bed or go with a toddler bed.

We purchased a twin with my son but there was also only one bed in the room. And when we weighed all of our options we decided that a toddler bed would be best for our daughter and the space we had. Adding another twin bed into the room would be too crowding. Plus my husband has had his heart set on a bunk bed for when they are old enough.

When shopping for beds we came across a great home goods site called Wayfair. They seriously have just about anything you'd need for your home and more. They even have a whole home improvement session that we will be taking full advantage of soon!

As I perused the site I looked for beds that were similar in style to my son's twin bed. I found the perfect one, a Dream on Me Contemporary Design bed.Within two days of ordering our bed it arrived and we were ready to get started!

Silly me thought I would be able to build the bed myself but once I got all of the pieces out I realized that some of the holes were not pre-drilled so I laid everything out and waited for my dear husband to get home. I didn't want to be responsible for breaking the bed before my daughter even got to use it.

Father and daughter put the bed together side by side. I'm always in awe when I watch my husband interact with my kids. He is so kind and patient when teaching them. Just as he did when my son's bed came home, he let her screw in a few screws, hold his tools, and play with the various parts.

She's now quite handy with an allen wrench. I'm so glad my children are picking up on all of these great skills! Maybe she'll be able to change a tire and the oil the next time my husband's out of town.

The bed was very easy for him to put together. And while I would have loved for it to come pre-drilled for the screws, we were able to assemble it in less than 1/2 an hour. 

After some complaining from my husband about the fact that the long part of the bed was two pieces that had to be screwed together and that the bed didn't seem as sturdy as he thought it should, we were done. And he realized that the bed was perfect. It not only upholds well to my daughter and son playing on it but I can even fit on it too (but not very comfortably!).

I absolutely love how it looks in the room and cannot wait to show off the final toddler bedroom makeover pictures when we're done putting the finishing touches on the room. We still have to buy some replacement blinds for the ones our kids painted, and find some good window treatments, but I can happily say that we are almost done with this project!

Wayfair has been great to work with. Their selection is expansive, shipping was quick, and their prices are very competitive.  I'm already making a list of everything I want to order from them for Christmas! How easy will it be if I can just purchase everything from one site and have it shipped to the recipients?

Definitely check out their Facebook page to keep up with new products, specials, discounts and more! 

And that's not all!

Wayfair has been kind enough to offer one lucky winner a Dream on Me toddler bed of their own (the very same one we have!) in the Noise Girls' Around The House giveaway event.

The giveaway event will be held from June 25th to July 16th and will include multiple packages valued at over $3,500! Make sure to head back and enter to WIN one of these amazing prize packages.


Disclaimer: I received a toddler bed for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.  

Mini Breakdowns A Plenty #NaBloPoMo

The past week or so I've been going through a change. I've started re-decorating my kids room and am changing things up a bit. That includes a few fresh coats of paint on the walls. Covering up the nursery stripes we added shortly before we had our first child.

I recently received forest friends wall decals from My Wonderful Walls and wanted to make sure I made the most of them in creating a great landscape for the decals to go on. I started painting a blue sky and rolling green hills so that the forest creatures would feel right at home.

As I finished up the last coat of green paint on the hills I put the lid on the paint can, closed the bedroom door, and went to check the decals website for any tips and tricks to putting them up.

The kids were happily playing in the playroom together so I didn't think anything of the silence that interrupted my time perusing the site. Until it became deafening. Then I started to worry...

I knew the kids were no longer in the playroom and had no idea where they had gone.

So I went off to find them. I walked down the hall, past the empty playroom to my son's bedroom door. And what I saw inside made my heart leap.

Paint. Green paint. Everywhere!

Click on photo to enlarge and REALLY see the damage

Oh.my.word. If ever there was a time for me to lose it, this was it. I quickly rushed into action commanding the kids to stop what they were doing and put down the brushes (my daughter found hte sponge brush I had on my son's bed for touch ups later). After the brushes were down I had to make sure they knew they were NOT to put their hands back in the gallon of paint.

From there I whisked both kids in my arms as carefully as I could and raced to the bathroom. I started the water, stripped off their clothes, and plopped them in. I didn't waste time and hurried to grab baby wipes, towels, and warm soapy water. From there I grabbed the phone, called the husband to tell him to drop everything and come home, and got to work.

For the most part the only real damage is the paint on the carpets and blinds and my mini breakdown.  And we needed to replace the carpet and blinds soon anyway.

The kids were cleaned up, although my daughter still has a little paint on her scalp, and it could have been a LOT worse than it was. I even added another set of hills in a different shade of green we had in the garage without the kids help this time. And the walls are just about ready for those decals!

I'm sure that more of these fun adventures are in our future. With kids as crazy fun as mine, it's bound to happen. I can laugh about it now and appreciate their creative genius and excitement to help me paint.  They really were, and still are, proud of their artwork.

What makes your heart leap?

Starting Fresh #NaBloPoMo

How do you feel about starting new projects?

For me I see new projects as a challenge. Something I need to take the time to prepare for and than tackle head on. Right now I have a few projects going on. I'm working on converting my son's room into a room both he and my daughter can share. I'm finally finishing up the master bedroom and have since added nightstands that actually match the rest of my furniture (this somehow makes me feel all grown up!). And we gutted our master bathroom.

Lots of projects, not a lot of time or money.

But each new project brings on a little bit of change. And a little bit of change can be good. By making room in my son's room for my daughter I might be close to having my side of the bed to myself. Ok, well, at least for half of the night.

And when we redo our master bathroom I get to decide what tile to use and what color scheme to go with. All choices that I helped my husband with when he purchased and re-did the house but it's different this time. We're married now and I get a bit more say than, "Oh, your choices look nice!"

The start of these new projects also means that I need to put my focus on actually finishing. That seems to be a problem in this household and I'm trying to work on it. I have plenty of ideas in my head so new projects are never ending. I just need to choose projects I'm willing to see to the end before I start.

So stay tuned for a few updates to these projects and more! I can't wait to show off what I've been doing in the kids room. It's sure to be awesome when it's done. 

What new projects have you started recently?

Zipit Bedding {Toddler Bedroom Makeover}

We're in the process of giving my son's room a makeover. We're moving things around, adding a few pieces of furniture, and making it a room for both my son and my daughter. In an effort to update the room we're making a change with the theme. Instead of his beloved dinos of last year he's upgrading to some pretty cool bedding!

Stay tuned for future posts about the fun renovation we have in store for the kids' bedroom.

Zipit Bedding is a new and revolutionary bedding set that is full of fun and surprises. The set comes with a fitted sheet and comforter that attach to one another by two zippers, and a pillow case that also zips up. The pieces can zip apart for washing and are easily put back together when you put them on the bed.

SPECIAL DISCOUNT: For a limited time, my readers can get Zipit Bedding at a special DISCOUNT PRICE of only $39.99! That's $20 off the already discounted web price. For only $39.99, you can experience this great new product. Don't miss this opportunity! Click HERE to order (www.zipitbedding.com) and use this code at checkout to receive your discount: SIMM10.

I tried putting the bedding on with the comforter already attached to the bedding and with it unzipped and both ways were equally as easy. The zippers slide on and off quickly and are simple enough for my children to use effortlessly.

This bedding set makes changing beds easy and simple! I was able to change my son's bed within 3 minutes and had no tucking or fussing to deal with. And when I can save time anywhere in my day I'm a happy camper.

The fitted sheet also has two pockets attached to each side. These pockets are the perfect place to store flashlights, toys, and small books. My son loved that he was able to store his favorite monster and flashlight right next to him. He now finds other small toys to put in the pockets to hide from his sister.

I love how the Zipit bedding zips up just like a sleeping bag. It makes tucking my son in very easy and he enjoys the cozyness of the covers around him. The comforter is also very easy to unzip as well. Almost as easy as throwing the comforter off when it's unzipped. This makes night time visits to our bed effortless for my son.

One of my son's favorite features, besides the side pockets, is the pillow case. Zipit creators didn't leave the pillowcase out of the zipper fun! The case can be zipped and unzipped together and is just as fun as the bedding.

Another great thing about this bedding is the fact that it doesn't just fit one theme. From aliens to robots to cars to dinos, the print on the underside of the comforter and on the fitted sheet match my son's personality perfectly.

The only thing I don't like? That it doesn't come in more colors! Currently the Zipit Bedding comes in navy (like my son's) and pink. I would love to get this set for my daughter but the pink just won't fit the feel of our room. Once they come out with a purple set I'll be the first in line to buy it!

The makers of Zipit Bedding are kind enough to offer my readers a special discount! 

Feeling LUCKY??? It's a WIN WIN for EVERYONE!

Win 2 Tickets to Disney Resort in California! AND get $20 off each Zipit Bedding set you order.
There are 2 TICKETS TO DISNEYLAND CALIFORNIA hidden in the pocket of 1 Zipit Bedding set! Will you be the lucky winner?

If you use SIMM10 at checkout you can purchase this bedding for only $39.99! That's $20 off the already discount web price of $59.99. AND get the chance to win 2 tickets to Disney Resort in California!!

Tell your friends, quantities are limited! And make sure to follow Zipit Bedding on Facebook for more awesome offers and deals. 

Disclaimer: I received a set of Zipit Bedding for review purposes only. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.