Get Sexy Valentine!

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Mead Early Learning!! *giveaway*

With these winter days leaving us inside a bit more than usual, staying out of the cold is a good thing, but keeping occupied is the hard thing. I keep the kids from becoming video game or tv zombies and fill their time with activities that they like,  yet will expand their skills intellectually as well.

Some of the best products that I've found for intellectual fun are the Mead Early Learning products! They range in skill set from Pre-Kindergarten up through Third grade. This range is EXCELLENT for my two monsters!! Buddy starts Kindergarten in the fall and Boug is in Third grade currently!!

These products are backed up by professional educators, and tested by REAL parents, and have a huge range of products for all different types of interests. They have a variety of dry-erase boards, game and activity workbooks, flash-cards, and age-appropriate workbooks. So far, Buddy's favorite is the dry-erase board, he will sit for HOURS and write, erase, and re-write his ABC's...

I've picked up other brands of workbooks in the stores, and I'm always disappointed in the selections. I mean, the content is good, but the amount of pages leave much to be desired. I mean, come on... Who wants to spend their money on a workbook with twenty or less pages?? The Mead Early Learning workbooks are THICK! The Preschool one that Buddy's been working has literally HUNDREDS of pages of activities! Thank goodness for VALUE!!

The Mead Early Learning Flashcards are great too, but for some reason Buddy will not do them with me. The good thing though? He will do them with his sister. Go figure, they get along during flashcard time. Big sister sits and goes through them with him, and they not only learn, they bond too. I can't complain one bit!

Mead has been gracious and offered up a prize pack of Early Learning products to a reader of A Couch With A View!! All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment to let me know what Early Learning product you think your kiddo would love the most!! You can view all the selections here.

This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on 2/16/2013. Winner will be notified and has 48 hours to respond to email, or else prize will be forfeited and a new winner will be drawn. Prize package is approximately a $75.00 value.


Big thank you to Mead for providing me with a variety of Early Learning products to facilitate my review. Receipt of items in no way change the way that I feel about said products.

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A Wonderful Home Element *guest post*

A guest post brought to you by Sierra!

A Wonderful Home Element - Maintaining Optimal Conditions in your Aquarium

The aquarium in your interior acts as a second home for your fish and other water organisms. If you want to create a safe and clean mini bio-reserve for them, then it is important to keep the conditions in the aquarium outstanding in order for your fish to survive and also live freely. Learn about the many factors that are important to remember when taking care of an aquarium and the life within it.

Being a vigilant mother, you should know if any of your kids are mischievous and which ones could potentially cause harm to any of your aquatic life in the aquarium. It is important that you keep your aquarium out of reach from younger children who can easily drop food or other things in the aquarium and harm the fish. However, you can allow a responsible child to take care of the aquarium and ask them to keep the water clean. It’s also important for keep the aquarium clean because this will prevent the aquarium from developing any algae or other harmful materials.

You can find all of the information you need from websites such as swallowaquatics.co.uk that offer complete aquatic solutions for your aquarium. They provide a wide range of products that can be used to clean the aquarium water and improve its condition. These types of products include algae cleaners, gravel cleaners and hose, and even thermometers that are used to check the temperature of the water from time to time. It is important that the development of algae, other bacteria, and sedimentation of solid waste is checked every now and then.

It’s also important to find quality fish food to ensure that the fish and other creatures in the aquarium are getting the proper nourishment. Be sure to find the correct type of food depending on the different types of fish you own and feed them accordingly. You should also make sure that you are following the instructions so that you know how much food to add to the water. Keep in mind that it can become dangerous for fish to survive in certain types of conditions if you were to over feed them or not follow the instructions carefully. You can also add filters in the aquarium to check the water quality and keep the organisms healthy.
Last but not the least, to ensure that you feel at home add extra charm to your living room with an aquarium and fun elements within the aquatic element that your fish will enjoy. Add different elements to the aquarium and make it become a focal point in your favorite space. Consider wonderful elements such as lighting, aquarium plants, rocks, and more. Nice elements that are designed to be placed in an aquarium will help develop a favorable mini eco-system for fish to survive in.

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A Fountain on the Wall Is the Calmest Of Them All *guest post*

*Guest post from Sierra*

If you desire to add value to your home and bring peace and prosperity to your life, wall water features like fountains look gorgeous no matter where they are placed. Matter of fact, they always add to the décor of a room. They also make soft gurgling sounds which are like music to your ears. Begin your mornings with the soothing sounds of a waterfall installed in your house because this type of feature will help you feel calm and at peace with yourself throughout the day. Therefore, enhance your everyday quality of work and bring prosperity to your life with calming elements.

Wall fountains come in all shapes, sizes and types. Therefore they are generally categorized into indoor and outdoor types which can either be mounted or placed on the floor as per your requirements. If you desire an effective and popular cure to everyday stressors, the soothing sounds that wall water features produces will help you feel more at peace, and not to mention it will also help you feel more positive about your life. In fact, it is said that the placement of a fountain near the entrance of your house will help attract the chi or cosmic energy that’s responsible for bringing prosperity to your life.

The mesmerizing flow of the water that comes from relaxing wall fountains not only gives a feeling of peace and quiet but also helps relieve a person of any type of stress that he might be feeling. This cascading water also adds humidity to a dry room, thereby restoring the balance of the room. The visual as well as the acoustic impact of the serenading water flowing down the surface of a rocky or metallic wall fountain is so striking that nobody is spared from its positive influence.

With the desire to have a stunning interior as a main area of concern, the demand for wall water fountains is rapidly increasing. These wall water fountains can be placed anywhere in the house including the bedroom, library, or a living room, since they do not occupy that much space yet have the same impact. Wall fountains are also universal and timeless in their appeal. The effect of a waterfall with its never-ending flow and sound of soft gurgling water that falls down the walls never loses its charm.

Improving the aesthetics of the room while at the same time adding value to your lives, wall fountains can either be traditional or modern in their designs. While the traditional wall fountains bring about a classic vintage touch to the room, modern wall fountains create a Visio-audio impact which is unique and long-lasting.

Photo courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Interiors_g380-Bed_Room_p106792.html

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Enjoy laughs this holiday with Pitch Perfect *gift guide post*

One of the best comedies on the scene for the holidays this year is Pitch Perfect... I've seen a lot of really funny movies throughout the years, but this one ranks in my top five of funny.

Rated PG-13, it may not be for everyone, although younger teens might find it humorous, it does contain sexual material, poor language and drug references. Pitch Perfect follows the Barden Bellas, an a capella singing group, with their perfect hair, and perfect bodies. The all-girl group failed at finals the year before and has begun to regroup... with the help from Beca, the indie, aspiring DJ. My favorite character? Fat Amy. Hysterical, says whatever she has to say, snarky, and sassy.


Pitch Perfect is seriously funny, and is the perfect gift for everyone from 16 to 90... Especially fans of shows like Glee or any of the singing competition shows. You can pick this up wherever dvds are sold, or order it from my favorite site, amazon.com.

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Send holiday wishes with Treat! *Gift Guide Post*

I love finding great new places that have awesome greeting cards for all reasons, this year, I'm happy I found Treat! Treat has some of the greatest cards that I've seen!!


This year, I'm unfortunately running a little bit late on my Christmas greeting cards ordering. I just can't seem to get my butt in gear and get my cards ordered. I really love the wreath frame card, except my kids would never sit so nicely together as the models in the picture!!

I got a bit ahead of myself and started browsing their funny birthday card category... I was cracking up reading some of these!! I know that they'll be perfect cards for some of my best friends birthdays!!

Would you like 10 Treat cards to send this holiday season?? Please leave a comment here with your favorite Treat design to be entered to win! Please keep in mind, cards must be ordered by 12/18 to guarantee holiday delivery.

For an extra entry, give Treat a Like on Facebook.

This giveaway will accept entries until 11:59 pm on Friday, December 14th. Giveaway open to U.S. entries only. Winner must reply to winning email by noon, Monday, December 16th. If no response, prize will be forfeited.

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Get sexy this holiday season! *Gift Guide Post*

I'm going to kick off the holiday wish list this year with lots of goodies from one of my favorite online stores- EdenFantasys!!

I love EF because they're the one place that I shop for JUST ME! Finding "me" time is way too important when you're spending so much time shopping for the kiddos this holiday season. The selection at EF is the perfect way to treat yourself (or your loved one) to a bit of grown up time.

The easiest way that you can make your holiday selections is to shop their Gift Center. They've broken it down into awesome easy to use categories in order to make your shopping time more efficient. You can shop by categories like "for him" or "for her," but they even have categories like "holiday themed," "bath and body" or "build your own gift set." These options make it easy to shop, but no matter what I always get lost in the site and sucked into all the great goodies that are available. I'm eyeballing the Velvet Santa costume, its almost too dang cute to pass up!!

A couple things that I hope my SexySanta brings me? My favorite Booty Parlor lotion, the Four Way Flutter Set and the Luna Beads Noir.

Another great way to save is to browse their holiday blow out sale section, where you can save anywhere between 20% to 70% on awesome items while supplies last! Even if you procrastinate, you don't have to worry about your order arriving late! EF has shipping promos going on from December 17th through 21st, all orders will get FREE shipping, FREE 2nd day shipping on $90+ orders, and FREE next day on orders $120+. And another FREE? Don't forget to add your FREE GIFT to your cart when you checkout!! I can't tell you how much I love the wipes!!

USE CODE X4T TO SAVE 15% ON YOUR ORDER!!

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Creative Holiday Office Party Ideas!! *guest post*

I'll be bringing you some guest posts from the lovely Sierra. This is the first! Hope you enjoy!

Sometimes when work is a little slow and the atmosphere is getting dull at the office during the holidays, it’s time to get some games and activities going to make things a bit more exciting. Not only will approved activities make the time go by more quickly, but it will also provide you with the opportunity to catch up with co-workers and find out what they have planned for the holidays. You may find yourself connecting with someone that you’ve never chatted with before and finding common interests. Making a new friend at the office will be great because you’ll be able to visit with them later when you’re having a slower day at work.

Costume Party
Even though Halloween is over, who says you can’t have a costume party during Christmas too? In fact, utilize supplies that you already have in your office and have a fun create-your-own costume party. Stock up on supplies for the costume party ahead of time from www.stockpkg.com and use raw materials to create your costume, such as garbage bags, aluminum foil and plastic bottles. If you are allowed to come dressed as a superhero or another great character, instead of coming as Santa or Mrs. Clause, be creative and arrive as a super-villain. Your costume doesn’t have to be expensive — use your imagination and have fun showing up in a creative costume that everyone will have fun checking out.

White Elephant Gift Exchange
If you’d really like an entertaining event to take place in your office, plan a white elephant gift exchange. If you’re a manager or have the opportunity to talk to your boss, let them know that you’ll need to tell everyone to bring a gender neutral gift to the party. It’s also important to set a budget so that all of the gifts are around the same price. This will be a great event that not only will create a lot of laughter, but it will also be entertaining to see how everyone responds to the gift “stealing.” At the end of the game it will also be fun to see what everyone ultimately decides to keep — that is if they are given the chance to keep what they actually like.

Movie Party
You never can go wrong with a movie party. They’re cheap and always a lot of fun. Gather everyone that’s at the office in a large conference room and pick out a holiday classic that everyone will enjoy. Don’t forget to purchase a bunch of extra snacks for everyone to munch on and press play. If you have time after the movie, you could also have a mini-trivia game about the actors in the film.


Sierra loves to write and she’s made her hobby a reality by becoming a freelance writer. When she used to work in an office she loved participating and attending fun office parties.

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