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I hate cleaning.

No really. I HATE it. Like abhor with a passion. It’s the worst part of my life.

I was meant to have a maid.

But I don’t have one.

You see the problem there?

So, since I have to clean my own home, I’m all about making it quick and easy to clean. Shortcuts are OK in my book. Anything that’s going to let me get back to my regularly scheduled life is fair game.

A few years ago I got dragged (not willingly) to one of those home parties… for cleaning products.

I couldn’t have been more out of my element.  I sat there like a dear caught in the headlights.  Can you say AWKWARD.

Little did I know that chance encounter would start my love affair with a cleaning product line called Norwex.

Oh, I still hate cleaning.  But at least I get it done quickly now.

I use Norwex for everything. Mops, dusting, wash cloths.  They’re easy.  They’re quick.  And?  They actually do a good job.

My very favorite product, though, is their window cloth. I can clean smudgy toddler finger prints and dog grime off my sliding glass door with one swipe and just water. And no streaks. Love love love.

The biggest test was when I let my mom borrow a few of my cleaning cloths to try out.

You see, my mom is one of those OCD cleaning junkies. You can, quite literally, eat off her floors. She was the type to get down on her hands and knees and scrub her kitchen floor because a mop didn’t do a good enough job.  *FREAK*

Well I know the products are amazing because my mom has done away with manual floor washing and says her Norwex gets them just as clean in a quarter of the time (again – just using water. No chemical cleaning products needed).  Oh yeah.  She went out and bought her own set of cleaning cloths and everything, she was so sold on it.

As much as I like how the line cleans, I really like that all you need to do is wet down a cloth with water to clean. Having a child with special needs (as well as multiple furry creatures that live with us) has made me more aware of what chemicals I’m using in the home. And this is definitely a case where less is more.

I also have super sensitive skin.  Cleaning with chemicals (even if I wear gloves) leaves my hands sore and chapped.  Just one more reason I hate to clean but love my Norwex stuff.

I know, you’re dying to know where you can get your own now.

Well you didn’t think I would tell you about this stuff and then leave you high and dry did you? Never!

My good friend Jackie has put together a great Norwex package for one lucky reader!

It contains:

• An antibacterial dusting mitt in blue
• A pink antibacterial microfiber Enviro cloth
• A scrubbing dish cloth
• And, my favorite, the antibacterial window cloth

That’s over $50 worth of cleaning products that you could win.  And, believe me, they are worth every penny!

HOW TO ENTER:

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment letting us know your MOST HATED cleaning chore.

Bonus entry:

• Visit Jackie’s site and let us know the one item you would most like to have

If you just can’t wait and want some products of your own now, you can order them right from Jackie’s shop !

**the fine print**

Contest available to US & Canadian residents.

Yes, you can still enter if you’re going to the BlogHer conference.

Please leave one comment per entry please.  Duplicate entries will be deleted.

Contest closes July 30th ,2010 @ 5pm EST

Winner will be drawn from all eligible entries by a random number generator

*****

Thank you to everyone who took part in our very first BlogHer@Home, both attendees and sponsors.  We were lucky to have an amazing group of people who participated and we had such a great time putting it on.  Hopefully we’ll be able to make next year even better.

A special thank you to the Room 704 ladies for organizing (and packaging, and shipping) the swag bags.  We love you guys.

I know you guys have been chomping at the bit to get the ‘official’ winners list, so without further ado, here it is:

• Apron Frenzy – One-of-a-kind floral half-apron  -  Kristen
• Common Cents – $20 Amazon Gift Card  - redhead.kate
• Fertility Stories – 10 sets of 5 pairs of pearl earrings – TheMaggers, Ladybugsgrama, Layla, thepsychobabble, Sarah, Jaime, HeartMyChloe, Christi, uthostage, Ali
• Temptation Designs – Custom Blog Header – Sara
• Little Alouette – Handmade Wooden Teething Toy – Averygoodyear and AmyElk
• Johnson Originals – Glass Pendant Necklace - Leslie
  
• Sara’s Drink Pendant Necklace – TheMaggers
• Ali’s $50 Starbuck’s Gift Card – Messponential
• Deb Rox – 5 Ways to {Blank} Your Blog book AND authentic BlogHer Swag – PickleSugarPlum
• Danny Evans signed, pre-release copy of his book RAGE Against the Meshugenah – steenface
• Dine Without Whine Lifetime Membership – Shannon
• Southern Monkey Designs – Custom Fabric Blocks – Masmom
• Friends of Maddie Dell Netbook – Yvonne

A huge thank you (and lots of love) to everyone who took part.

UPDATE: Due to trolls (bad trolls! bad!) we’re going to try putting a pass code in place to see if that helps.
So when you’re prompted for a password enter:  doitathome
(get your minds out of the gutter)

Alright my beautiful (and handsome) BlogHer@Home peeps.

Here’s how this is gonna work.

As you heard from Nic, we’re kicking off this party TONIGHT! Woot! Woot!  (uh…tonight being Thursday, July 23, 2009…just in case you’re reading this on any other day than that)
We’ll be hosting a live chat on Tiny Chat. You can find us starting at 9pm EST at: http://www.tinychat.com/bhah09

Our official hashtag on twitter for this party will be #BHAH09  (that stands for BlogHer At Home, in case you were wondering, and not my version of an evil laugh, which you will probably get to hear tonight).

We figured, since the BlogHer conference is a social party event, this should be too.  And since we’re stuck at home, we’re going to do some virtual tripping (not the acid kind).  I’ll be live tweeting as I visit YOUR blogs and leave my wonderful Princess comments (you know you want ‘em), and I invite all of you to join me on my little journey.  But in order to make our BlogHer@Home Blog Trip work… I kinda need to know who the heck you are!  So leave your blog link in the nifty little Mr. Linky below. K? Thx.

You can follow us on tweetgrid here (which will automatically  add the hashtag if you twitter through them)  http://is.gd/1Ik81

We’ve also set up a Flickr group call BHAH09, for you to put all your awesome party photos.  Head shots, drink shots, bewb shots…they’re all good.  You can find the Flickr group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1207827@N22/

{Note from Nic: I have already posted a couple of pics of which include me consuming alcoholic beverages…  just to start things off right.  No, I wasn’t home…  well, only for one of them.  But feel free to add to the flikr insanity in any way, shape, or form you’d like.  If it’s a current pic, great…  If it’s a pic of you gettin’ crazy in the 80′s, great…}

Here is the ‘official’ schedule of events (this is a pdf file.  You’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it)

BHAH09Scheduleofevents

If you have questions, throw them at us tonight during the chat, or tweet us.

And don’t forget to leave a link to your blog (and maybe write a nice little BlogHer@Home welcome post for us) in the Mr.Linky below!  Get Blogher@Home Blog Trippin, folks!!!

Let’s get this party started!!

{Note from Nic: I have seen some tweets re: nerves and “holy shit these people are going to see me.”  No worries!  You will only be seeing Jenn and I (and Sara, right?) tonight.  Your hosts for the weekend are the only ones who will be live video streaming in…  we’ll be receiving your comments as you type them in.  So if you have bed-head tomorrow morning, drool on your face, and toothpaste on a zit, but still wanna check in with us, don’t worry.  We won’t see you…  and even if we did, WE WOULDN’T CARE!!!!  that’s the beauty (pun intended) behind Blogher@Home.}

It’s your friendly neighborhood Princess here.  Just to switch it up a bit (because Nic’s getting ready for another vacation (bitch), and I can only listen to myself talk for so long), we conned tricked begged asked Amy,from  Makes Mom Happy to do a post for us.  Thankfully, she agreed to take a break from all the fab giveaways on her site to help us out!  So without further ado…. welcome Amy!

---

I’m not going to BlogHer, but I’m travelling for business over the next four days.  This will be the first time I’ve left the babychild for more than a couple hours.  She’s ten and a half months old, still breastfeeding, and we’re pretty much attached at the hip.  So, as you can imagine, this is stressful for me.   I need to pump to maintain my supply, make sure she has adequate foodage for while I’m gone, oh, and also deal with the horrible “this is the first time I’ve been away from my baby” anxiety.

Which got me thinking:  It’s damn convenient that those of us attending BlogHer@Home don’t have to leave the kidlets.  I know, I know, some of you are probably all “Getting away from the kids is the best part!”  But especially for those of us with tiny bebes, BlogHer@Home is all the fun and none of the stress.  No pumping; no wondering if the baby is happy or missing us as much as we’d miss them; no hassling with childcare arrangements.

Yep, I’d say that’s another big fat check in the ‘pros’ column for why BlogHer@Home rocks!

Truth be told, the kids would be just fine while we were away, but for a lot of us, this really makes for the best of both worlds.  We get to enjoy the community and have some fun, get a little swag…and if we feel so inclined, we only need to go to the next room for a quick cuddle.

Oh, and in that “none of the stress” category:  No worrying about what we’re wearing.  Unless there’s some freaky “my pj’s are way hotter than your pj’s” contest ;-).  And no worrying about the awkward problem of not knowing anyone and standing alone in a corner at a party, wondering who looks friendly enough to approach (ok, maybe that would just be me!).  No expensive travel (hey, not everyone has the extra cash to spend or beacoup sponsors hooking up the money train!).

Yeppers, we at home, in our comfy clothes, online, with our supportive virtual pals, will be carefree and having a blast come BlogHer@Home.  Methinks there will be a mom or two at the real deal wishing she could dish with us from her living room, baby in tow, while she’s there.  I’ve already heard murmurings of it in Twitterland; now that the big shiny conference is here, there are some cold feet.  Ours?  Yeah, our feet are cozy in their slippers, relaxing while we’re not packing our crap.  Sounds like a pretty freaking good deal to me!  It’s going to be a blast… =)

Twitter: HappyMomAmy

I’m not a great cook. There.  I said it.  Oh, it’s not that what I do make tastes awful or anything.  I can just never figure out what to make.  I spend half an hour before dinner each day staring in  the fridge (hoping something will jump out at me?)…then wandering to the pantry and staring intently at the shelves before wandering back to the fridge.

I’ve tried those meal planning calendars where you write down what you’re having each day, but I still struggle with that.  I lack the inspiration.  Even flipping through my numerous recipe books often results in a hastily prepared casserole because I lack the ingredients for anything better.

Enter Dine Without Whine. Founder Christine Steendahl has created a meal planning service especially for parents with kids.  No fancy, impossible ingredients that you’ve never heard of, let alone know how to prepare.  You get good, wholesome meals, and your family isn’t forced to eat Kraft Dinner for the third night in a row because you’re too exhausted to come up with anything better (not that that has EVER happened at my house… nope…never)

Every week, Dine Without Whine, emails you, not only a menu and recipes, but a full shopping list.  Doesn’t get any easier.

If you’re like me, you’ve checked out other menu planning services. But when I get to their sample menus my inner monologue sounds a bit like “Wouldn’t eat it, wouldn’t eat it, DEFINTELY wouldn’t eat it, don’t know what the hell that is, ummm, yeah, I guess that one might be OK”

So when I checked out the sample menus for Dine Without Whine, I was pleasantly surprised.  There was not one meal on there I wouldn’t make.  Seriously.

Here’s the best part.  Christine is offering one lucky BlogHer@Home attendee a LIFETIME membership to Dine Without Whine.

Yeah.  Lifetime.  As in, FREE FOREVER.  As in, you’re going to be the Mom that all the other kids want as their mom because you make the best meals.

Here’s how it can be yours:

• Leave a comment (any comment will do!) = 1 entry
• Visit Dine Without Whine and tell us what your favorite meal, from their sample meals, is= 1 entry
• What are your family dinner time challenges?  Tell us about it = 1 entry
• Follow BlogHerAtHome and Dine Without Whine on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (leave us a comment with the link to the tweet)= 1 entry

UPDATE:  Comments are now closed.  We will be drawing for the Netbook tonight (Sunday July 26, 2009) at 7pm MST / 9pm EST on live chat

To help celebrate the launch of Friends of Maddie, our wonderful friends at Intel have provided  TWO Dell Mini 10 Netbooks to give to give away!

(What’s the difference between a netbook and a laptop? Here’s a handy guide)

There will be running two separate opportunities to win each Dell Netbook.

*DUE TO SOME ISSUES WITH PAYMENT PROCESSING WE HAVE RESTRUCTURED OUR GIVEAWAYS*

BlogHer@Home Giveaway

To win , all you need to do is leave a comment, on this page, with your name and Twitter id (if you have one). Use a valid email address. One comment per person will be accepted. Additional comments will be deleted.  Comments will be closed at Saturday, July 25th at midnight Pacific Time.

*If you previously donated prior to the Netbook sweepstakes rule change, you are still eligible to leave a comment. As a bonus, we will also double the number of entries you previously had. So if you donated $10, you will now receive four entries into the giveaway for the Netbook, rather than two.*

Because this is really all about launching our Friends of Maddie Non-Profit Organization, we are still gratefully accepting donations. Each donation you make allows us to achieve our mission – to support families supporting their critically ill babies. It takes $25 to fund each Family Support Pack. Our goal is to, one day, have them in each NICU in the country. For any donation you make, please leave an additional comment! Donations can be made at the Friends of Maddie site here.

Contest Rules:

The winner of the BlogHer @ Home giveaway will receive a Dell Mini 10 in the color of their choice. The giveaway is open to individuals worldwide who are NOT in attendance at BlogHer ‘09 in Chicago. The winner will be selected on Sunday, July 26th and the winner will be contacted via email. They will have until Tuesday, July 28th to respond to the email announcing that they are the winner. If we do not hear from the winner by July 28th, we will pick a new winner on July 29th. Winner will be chosen using Random.org. The winner will be contacted by a representative from Friends of Maddie and Intel, and the Dell Mini will be shipped directly to the address provided by the winner. No purchase is necessary to win. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

If you’re attending BlogHer, please visit March for Maddie for your opportunity to win a Netbook.

I am a tinkerer. I’m always looking for new and wonderful ways to improve my blog.  I’ll add here, remove there, change this, alter that.  So one of my top books on my summer reading list is Deb Rox‘s (she blogs at Deb on the Rocks and celebrates blogger’s birthdays at Hot Blog Stars) new book “5 Ways to {Blank} Your Blog“.  It has been getting RAVE reviews from everyone who’s seen it.

So when I opened my email and saw an email from Deb saying “Hey, I have a copy of my book for you guys to give away to your BlogHer@Home attendees”, I was literally bouncing up and down.

But of course, Deb doesn’t do anything by halves.

Not only is she going to send one lucky winner this fantastic book, but she’s throwing in real, honest to goodness, BlogHer swag.  That’s right people.  All of you peeps who have been writing and asking how you can get your hands on some of the goodness that the conference attendees get… This is how.

Deb’s bringing one of these boxes that can ship all you can cram in it for $13.95, and she’s going to cram it full of swag for one very lucky winner. There will be swag from parties, the expo floor, the registration bag.  And if you’re really lucky you might even get things like a Backpacking Dad’s cocktail napkin and a lock of hair from The Bloggess‘ confidence wig.  It will be like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Blog Swag, delivered to your door.  Oh, and if the winner get us your address right away, Deb will ship the whole thing from Chicago, while she’s there.  That’s how authentic this swag is going to be.

So here’s how to get your hot copy of 5 Ways to {Blank} Your Blog and some REAL BlogHer swag:

• Leave a comment (any comment will do!) = 1 entry
• Visit Deb’s blog, Deb on the Rocks, and tell us what your favorite post is= 1 entry
• If you could change anything on your blog, what would it be?  Tell us about it = 1 entry
• Follow BlogHerAtHome and Deb on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (leave us a comment with the link to the tweet)= 1 entry

Can’t wait and want Deb’s book now?  You can find it on Amazon.com!

UPDATED:  Congrats to our winner Colleen

One of the coolest things I love about blogging, twittering, and the like, is getting to know some amazing new people.  I really have this huge supportive group of friends around me on the interweb and I appreciate each and every one of them.

People like Ali.  We started chatting a few months back and immediately clicked.  I couldn’t tell you exactly why.  Maybe it was her horror when I told her my favorite Starbucks drink was a Java Chip Frap (after she looked up the calorie and fat content – which I refuse to look at.  I like my dessert in a cup, thank you very much), or her subsequent addiction to them.  Perhaps it was the mutual desire to bang our head repeatedly against a wall after one of *those* days with the kids.  Or maybe it was just because I find her really funny and sweet.

Whatever it was, I’m really glad that I’ve made a new friend like her.  It doesn’t matter that we’ve never met in person (or if we ever meet for that matter).  Sometimes these type of friendships transcend the physical realms and exist happily in the lands of Twitter and Facebook.  That doesn’t make her any less of a friend.  I love being able to catch up with her with a simple email, or tweet, or heading over to her blog, My Life With Them and hearing about the latest exploits of her two boys.

That’s why I think BlogHer@Home is so much fun.  It doesn’t matter that we can’t be there in person.  What matters is that we’ll still all be able to get together, in our way, and get to know each other a little better (so that when we DO make it to BlogHer next year, we’ve already got lasting friends waiting to meet us).

So in honor of BlogHer, friends, and bonding over Starbucks drinks, my good friend Ali has an awesome giveaway for BlogHer@Home.

A $50 Starbucks gift card.

Yeah.  I know.  Life doesn’t get much better than $50 of FREE Starbucks.  *swoon*

Any questions about why I think Ali is the mostest awesomest now??  Yeah, I didn’t think so.

And the fact that she’s skinny, exceedingly rich, and her kids are perfect, doesn’t hurt either.  Oh, who are we kidding… well one out of three ain’t bad, right?  (I’ll let you figure out which one)

So, on to the good stuff… here’s how $50 worth of Starbucks can be yours:

• Leave a comment (any comment will do!) = 1 entry
• Visit Ali’s Blog and tell us what your favorite post is= 1 entry
• Have you made an amazing connection or friendship over Twitter?  Tell us about it = 1 entry
• Follow BlogHerAtHome and Ali on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (leave us a comment with the link to the tweet)= 1 entry

I’ll be waiting for my Java Chip Frap to arrive by mail from the winner.

UPDATE: Congrats to our winner – TheMaggers

Give it up for our Master Bartender and Mixologist, Sara!

Not only is she creating the best drinks around (seriously, my husband and I are addicted to her cappucino martini.  I’ve had so much esspresso from drinking them I don’t think I’ve slept in 2 weeks), but she also writes a mean blog entry.  You can find her over at ‘Tom the girl‘ telling it like it is.  And we get the bonus of sweet pics of her babay girl!

But, never content to just rest on her laurels, now she’s found the perfect giveaway for her BlogHer@Home peeps!

Check this out.  Pretty, isn’t it.  (yet another giveaway I want, but can’t have.  You guys are sooooo lucky).

And of course, what else would our favorite drink master give away but a beautiful martini pendant necklace.  Loves it!!  What a find!

Here’s how you can get it:

• Leave a comment (any comment will do!) = 1 entry
• Visit Sara’s blog and tell us what your favorite post is= 1 entry
• Tell us what your favorite Sara drink is, or let us know if there’s one you think she should create = 1 entry
• Follow BlogHerAtHome and Sara on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (leave us a comment with the link to the tweet)= 1 entry

UPDATED: Congrates to Leslie (Lgibson79), winner of the Johnson’s Originals glass pendant!

I will be the first one to admit that I’m not a big jewlery wearer.  I’m the type that goes for quality over quantity.  I don’t even wear a watch.

So when, after years of nagging, I was told to ‘get a medic alert bracelet, or else’ (I have several serious drug allergies), I tried not to gag at the thought of one of those ugly, clunky silver bracelets or necklaces.  (I’m seriously dry heaving at the thought).  I broke down and got the stupid alert tag that announces to the world several creative ways to kill me, but I would often ‘forget’ to wear them.  Kinda defeats the purpose, don’t you think?

I was whining about this burden I had to bear to my IRL friend, Crystal.  She gave me one of those ‘you’re an idiot looks’ (but luckily refrained from slapping me upside the head) and said something to the effect of “Duh… I make jewelery“.   Riiiiight.  She does.  Make beautiful jewlery.  In fact I already owned earings and a bracelet from her (yeah, stuff I actually wear).

Well, Crystal, true to her creative form, designed, not one, but three interchangeable bracelets for my medic alert.  I LOVE THEM.  Seriously.  And I really love the fact I can switch the tag and change up the look.  I’m not stuck with the same boring thing all the time. Cause see… Crystal’s creative AND smart like that.

Crystal and her husband own Johnson Originals.  It’s all hand crafted, unique jewelry.  I love checking in at their store because they’re always adding new pieces they’ve created.

Their newest project (so new, that, as of this posting it’s not even on their site, so you guys are getting and exclusive sneak peak right now) are gorgeous, one-of-a-kind glass tile pendants. *swoon*

The best part of these is they can put any picture, name or whatever you desire in the pendant.  (Looking for a birthday gift for mom?  A Christmas present for Grandma??)

The pendants can be strung on a cord or ball chain, or Johnson Originals will make a custom beaded strand to complement the pendant.

But you lucky, lucky, lucky readers!  One of you is going to take home this beautiful pendant strung on black cording.  (I WANT… what do you mean I can’t enter?  Dammit!!)

Well fine then.  Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment (any comment will do!) = 1 entry
• Visit Johnson Originals and tell us what your favorite piece is = 1 entry
• Tell us what custom piece you would love to have created for you = 1 entry
• Follow BlogHerAtHome and Crystal on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (leave us a comment with the link to the tweet)= 1 entry

That’s it.

Oh, and here are some of the other pendants Crystal has up for grabs.  If you want one,I suggest you tweet her because they’re going to go fast.