Motherhood is probably one of my biggest accomplishments but it’s undoubtedly my most exhausting job.  I’m constantly being questioned from others about the choices I make as a mother.  Whether or not I swaddled, what formula I used, whether I washed my girl’s clothes before she wore them {I choose to but my family doesn’t understand the need}, and most recently because I don’t let my daughter play on the steps by herself {She’s not physically capable of coming down them in any way without falling so I let her go up them when I’m behind her but that’s it.  We practice going down them but I’m not going to let her play on them alone.  I let her fall and make mistakes but not when it could involve her breaking her neck.  I don’t apologize for that!  Sorry for the rant, can you tell it bothers me when people insert their unwanted comments?}  With all the critical comments from others it’s probably hard to believe that I’m my biggest critic but it’s true.  I worry about her fine motor skills, gross motor skills, social development, potty training!, the variety of food she eats, that I’m training her properly, and the list goes on and on.  My mind is constantly a jumble of things to do and check up on.

Occasionally another mom will look at me and give me an encouraging look.  It’s as if, without words she’s saying, “I’ve been there.  It’s okay, you’ll make it through this.”  I’ve had a few moms I know give me incredible words of encouragement that have lifted my spirits far above what words could describe.

While I’m only a few years into this motherhood journey I want to be like those mother’s who have encouraged me.  I want to make a conscious effort to go out of my way to encourage new mothers. To tell them that they are wonderful and are fabulous mommies.  To tell them they look beautiful on days when they look a little disheveled.

I was excited to recently discover that Johnson’s has a great new promotion, it’s called Johnson’s Baby “Care Cards.”  It’s an easy way to share encouraging messages to moms no matter where they live.  Every mom has questioned whether they’re doing a good job or not {at least, I hope I’m not the only one!} and it’s important to tell them that they’re doing a good job.

You can join Johnson’s Baby “Care Cards” by creating and sending a digital Care Card to send to a special mom in your life on Facebook.  You can send a card to your mom, grandmother, fellow moms, new moms, and well, any mom!  Here’s the icing on the cake, for every card sent, liked, or shared Johnson’s Baby will donate $1 to Save the Chiildren, up to $150,000, to benefit early childhood education.  Isn’t that great?  They’re close to $100,000 now so there is still $50,000 left to raise.  Get sharing!  This is a great way to encourage someone you care about while also supporting those in need.  Through Johnson’s support of Save the Children’s Early Steps to School Success program, they are helping to provide moms with the skills and knowledge to successfully support their child’s growth from pregnancy until school age.

To every single mom who is reading this, please know that you are enough.  You are a great mom!  As Mr. Fred Rogers said, “You are special just the way you are!”  Don’t let other people’s comments ever get you down.  They haven’t been where you are.  Some days are longer than others but on those days try to keep the big picture in mind and remember that one day you’ll look back and wish you could relive these days.

Happy Belated Mother’s Day!!!

Welcome to our Pre-Mother’s Day Giveaway! This giveaway is sponsored and hosted by Embracing Beauty and Bay Area Mommy. Special thanks to Buy Blue Steel, Thermapen and 31 Gifts for providing some of our prizes, and to our co-hosts I’m a full-time mummy, Finger Click Saver, and Rocky Mountain Savings!

Silver Rope Blue Steel Ring ($170)

1 Thermapen ($90) – You can read my Thermapen review here.

1 Thirty-One Tote ($70)

$50 MacCosmetics.com GC

$50 Amazon.com GC

1 Coupon Clutch ($30+)

One lucky winner will win ALL these prizes! This giveaway runs from April 16 at 12am EST through May 9 at 11:59pm EST. Open to US residents only. Void where prohibited. Must be at least 18 years old to be eligible. No purchase necessary. To enter, simply use the GiveawayTools widget below. Good luck!

Disclaimer: No compensation was received for this post. This blog is not responsible for prize fulfillment. For questions regarding this giveaway, please contact Bay Area Mommy at isis@bayareamommy.net.

Here are my 10 favorite quotes about mothers.  I hope they bring a smile to your face! : )

1. “My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.”
— Mark Twain

2. “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”
— Abraham Lincoln

3. “If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?”

— Milton Berle

4. “A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.”

— Cardinal Mermillod

5. “Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.”
— Lin Yutang

6. “When I was a child, my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general. If you become a monk you’ll end up as the pope.’ Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.”
— Pablo Picasso

7. “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”
— Theodore Hesburgh

8. “The phrase “working mother” is redundant.”
— Jane Sellman

9. “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.”
— Albert Einstein

10. “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”

— Tenneva Jordan

Order your Free 5×7 Folded, 5×5 or 5×7 Flat Sationery Photo Card (up to $3.09 value) from Shutterfly with the coupon code CARD4U.  Shipping is only and shipping is only $0.99 to have the card sent back to you. This coupon code must be used by Tuesday, May 8.  Here’s how to load that coupon code into your account:

Walmart has some great deals for Mother’s day but this one blows me away!  I’ve never seen a Kindle priced so low!  It’s on sale for $79 and if you buy it you’ll get a $30 Walmart gift card.  If you’ve been wanting one or maybe your mom has been wanting one this is a deal you won’t want to pass up!  I can’t find it online at Walmart.com so I think you’ll have to head in to your local store to snag this deal.  This deal is good through May 5, 2012.  Check out your local Walmart ad for more information.

Features of Kindle 6″ w/E-Ink Display:

• 30% lighter, less than 6 ounces
• 18% smaller body, same 6″ screen size – fits in your pocket
• Most advanced E-Ink display, reads like paper
• Built in Wi-Fi – get books in 60 seconds!
• Borrow Kindle books from your public library

This same Kindle sells for $79 on Amazon.com and has very high reviews!  This is an incredible deal since you get the bonus $30 Walmart gift card with this deal!

Thanks, I Heart the Mart!

In honor of Mother’s Day we’ve decided to give YOU something that you can give to your MOM that she is sure to LOVE…or you can keep it as our gift to you!

I’m excited to announce our $100 Pandora Gift Card Giveaway!

Here’s a list of amazing bloggers that we’ve teamed up with to bring you this great giveaway:

Shore Savings with Patti

Coupons and Freebies in TX

Coupon Queen that Saves the Green

Africa’s Blog

Adventures of My Family of 8

Suburban Coupon Mom

Front Page Freebies

Sister’s Saving Cents

Savior Cents

Single Mom Inspirations

Fuggs and Foach

Chesco on the Cheap

I Save A to Z

Couponista Queen

Enter to win by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  The giveaway ends on May 10, 2012.  Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Paper Coterie is giving away $15 to all new customers!

All you need to do to get the $15 credit is to make sure you sign up through this special link and use the coupon code GIFTFAVES at checkout.  If you are not new to Paper Coterie you can still find a great deal during the 40% off Mother’s Day Sale now through the end of the day today {April 27th}.  

This is a great way to pick up an inexpensive and personalized gift for Mother’s Day!

Thanks, Saving Dollars and Sense!

This is a smoking hot deal!  If you’re looking to spoil your Mom for Mother’s Day this is one *HOT* deal you definitely won’t want to miss!   Currently, Amazon has this silver KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer priced at just $259.99 (reg. $499.99) + FREE shipping.  Luckily, this is a beautiful color that will match any kitchen decor!

To make this deal even sweeter, you can also submit for the $40 mail-in rebate + FREE subscription to either Travel + Leisure or Food & Win Magazine found here when purchased by March 24th, 2012! However, if you would rather not receive the magazine subscription, you can choose to request a $24 refund! Refund requests must be postmarked by 4/24/12.

That means your final cost for this amazing KitchenAid mixer will be as low as ONLY $195.99 shipped to your door after all discounts and possible rebate options.  That’s one crazy *HOT* bargain, especially considering these big 6 quart mixers retail for $499.99!

**Please note that the fine print on the rebate states that purchases must be made at an authorized Kitchenaid retailer. I have called the 1-888-474-2457 Customer Service number and did receive confirmation that Amazon is considered an authorized Kitchenaid retailer as long as you are not bidding on a specific item.

Alternatively, go here if you’re looking for a hot deal on a KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixer!

Follow me on Facebook to stay up to date on the hottest deals around.

I’m happy to announce another very exciting giveaway –  $100 cash will be going to one lucky Embracing Beauty reader in celebration of Ebates double cash back for Mother’s Day.  *This is completely separate from our other $100 cash giveaway* Only Ebates members can enter but it takes less than 15 seconds to sign-up for Ebates if you’re new (plus new members get a bonus $5 added to their account).  I’m dedicated to helping you save money and Ebates has personally saved me a good deal of money over the past 2+ years.   If you do any online shopping, I recommend shopping through Ebates for those online purchases.  Over 1,200 stores qualify for cash back!

If you would love to win $100 cash (and really who wouldn’t?) then click the link below and fill out the short form to enter the giveaway. Comments are welcome and always encouraged but you must fill out the form to be eligible to win.  The cash winner will receive their $100 through Paypal about a week after confirming their Ebates membership status.

Get Double Cash Back for Mother’s Day from 18 Stores

Check out the 18  stores that have increased cash back for Spring through Sunday, May 8 by clicking on “Double Cash Back” in the top right-hand corner after logging into Ebates.

Here are my favorites from those 18:

Restaurant.com was 15.0% cash back, now get 25.0% cash back

Sephora was 4.0% cash back, now 8.0% cash back

Kohl’s was 2.0% cash back, now 4.0% cash back

Enter to Win:

You must be an existing or new Ebates member to enter this giveaway but there is no purchase required to enter.  You must complete this form to enter and only one entry is allowed per person.  If you can’t view the form, please email me with the subject line “Ebates Giveaway” and be sure to include your full name and your answer the following question.  Which Double Cash Back store is your favorite to shop at? You may choose from Sephora, Lancome, Restaurant.com, JCPenney, Avon, Kohl’s, Blue Nile, Teleflora.com, The Body Shop, Sears, Godiva, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Elizabeth Arden, Kodak Gallery, Ice.com, FTD, or Barnes & Noble.

Giveaway Guidelines:
I am providing this giveaway and it is not administered or sponsored in any way by Ebates or its affiliates, but solely by Embracing Beauty. Any questions or comments regarding this promotion must be sent to Embracing Beauty and not to Ebates .  The email addresses collected for this giveaway will only be used for the purpose of contacting the winners and will never, ever, ever be sold or given to anyone. This giveaway is only open to residents of the United States or Canada who are 18 years of age or older. This giveaway will close Sunday, May 8 at 11:59 pm (EST).  I’ll announce the first name of the winner in a new post the next day which will be posted on Facebook and Twitter, and I will also contact the winner by email. I will choose the winner by using the random number generator at Random.org from the eligible entries received.  If a winner does not contact me within 48 hours by email or contact form, I will randomly choose a new winner.

Thanks for entering and come back Monday, May 8 to find out who won.  Don’t forget to enter my other $100 cash giveaway that ends May 9!
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