Lovable Labels Giveaway

So, I just got a really awesome package in the mail with customized labels for my son for clothing , shoes, books and whatever from Lovable Labels. I get to do a review and giveaway but not until March. Seriously, you should enter this one More words on it in March.

Nicole

Indoor Playhouse Pass Giveaway 11/20/12-11/23/12

So, with toddlers there seems like there is never enough places to go and things to do with them. Also, in AZ it’s so hot for outside parks and activities in the summer. So frustrating! Well, have you heard of Koko Bee’s Playhouse? It is owned by mompreneur, Kelly Pierce , and is a new gem tucked away in Phoenix ( 4041 E. Thomas Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85018).

Koko Bee’s Playhouse  is an indoor, parent supervised, and drop-in babysitting play land!  The weather is always perfect in Koko Bee’s Playhouse, so be sure to check it out! The kids will have a blast and burn off all that energy they have with play houses, a bounce house, tool set, doll center, train table, slides, castle, space ship, a baby only area and MORE…

Koko Bee’s Playhouse has offered up a sweet FREE package to one lucky winner!

1 month unlimited pass for 1 child : Sweet!

Here are ways to enter (yes, you can enter up to 4 times) -

1.“Like” Strawberry Monday On Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did.
2.“Like”  Koko Bee’s Playhouse on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did.
3. Become a Strawberry Monday blog follower and leave a comment here saying you did.
4. Leave a comment here regarding which theme day sounds fun for your kids at Koko Bee’s.

Custom Rubber Stamp Giveaway 12/27-1/3

Do you need custom printed products? typeStyles has it all! Anything from rubber stamps, graphics, printing, signs , banners and more.

typeStyles is owned and run by busy mompreneur, Christine Grey.  She has nineteen years experience in the printing business and has been doing amazing with her Online store , currently located on Etsy.

Christine sent me two custom stamps (of my choice) to review and I love them! They are good quality and she was very quick to get them designed and delivered.

You want one , right?! She is giving one away to someone lucky! The winner will be able to customize the stamp .

Here are 4 ways you can enter (yes, you can enter 4 times) :

1.“Like” Strawberry Monday On Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did.
2.“Like”  typeStyles  on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did.
3. Become a Strawberry Monday blog follower and leave a comment here saying you did.
4. Leave a comment here regarding what kind of  stamp you would like to get from Typestyles.

Good luck and thanks for being here!

Nicole

How To Be Interviewed On The Radio Or A Blog Well

Thank you so much to my friend Shara, owner of Mommy Perks, for having me as a guest today on her awesome radio blog , Small Business Matters. We chatted a bit about Strawberry Monday and partnerships and stuff.  It was a really good experience for me but, I was SO NERVOUS!

I don’t even remember half of what I said or if it made any sense as I feel like I have so much information in my head that it is jumbled unless I can write it down. Also, when I get nervous there is a little laughing issue of mine that appears… Jeez!

Anyway, I thought this would be a good time for me to study and share about how to be a good radio/blog/TV guest so that if I get another opportunity I will not be so nervous and be clear headed . Here is what I found :

1. http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/08/10/10-tips-on-how-to-be-interviewed/

2. http://thecorporateagent.com/blog/air-9-tips-interviewed-radio-show-podcast-audio-seminar

3. http://www.dpkpr.com/articles/top-10-tips-for-preparing-for-a-tv-interview/

Hopefully, this will help you if you need some pointers! In the meantime, be sure to listen in to , Small Business Matters, on Wednesdays and if you miss the shows you can find them here : http://www.mommyperks.com/articles/97-small-biz-matters. There is a TON of valuable small business information here from talented small business owners.

Nicole

Postcardly Post Cards (Review & Giveaway) 11/17-11/24

Postcardly is a cool new picture service that I got to try over the last few weeks.

You create a free trial account  on their website and you are able to send picture postcards in the mail. I think the service is great for mailing pictures to your family and friends who do not get Online , especially for Grandma & Grandma.

Here’s how it works :

You create an account and Postcardly email addresses for each person that you want to mail a postcard to. You then create and send an email with a picture and text from your personal email account , like Yahoo or Hotmail ,  to the specific Postcardly email address. Then Postcardly sends the postcard via snail mail to the address you have selected.

I sent myself a bunch of cards to see how long it took and how they look. They took about three days to a week and were decent picture quality. Also, there was a lot of room for text.

You should try it—it’s fun! Enter here to win a pack of 10 FREE Postcardly mailings!

Here are 4 ways you can enter (yes, you can enter 4 times) :

1.“Like” Strawberry Monday On Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did.
2.“Like”  Postcardly on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did.
3. Become a Strawberry Monday blog follower and leave a comment here saying you did.
4. Leave a comment regarding your thoughts about Postcardly.

Stop Reacting and Start Responding (Review & Giveaway) 11/17-11/24

As parents, we all need a little advice from time to time and here is a very helpful book,  by Sharon Silver , called Stop Reacting and Start Responding. In the book, Silver touches on many situations that parents encounter on a daily basis, such as tantrums, outings with grandparents , begging at the store ,  resolving anger and etc…

She teaches how to parent  positively by thinking about what you are going to do rather than just quickly reacting.

“Disciplining consciously has a child stop what he’s doing, think about what he’s done, realize what he should have done instead, and resolve the situation. The acronym S.T.R.R. represents Stop. Think. Realize. Resolve. It will help you remember the concept.” I really like this concept and am  trying to utilize it at my house.

I also like how she says, “Spend a week focusing on what’s being done right, rather than on what’s being done wrong.” This is really important as sometimes parents feel like all our kids do are misbehave and challenge us in a negative way.

I also, like her idea to, “Create a chill out chair.”  I think this is better than sending kids to their rooms ads you want their room to be a positive place.

Thanks, Sharon, for letting me read your book and I hope it come in pocket size too!

Want to win this book?

Here are 5 ways you can enter (yes, you can enter 5 times) :

1.“Like” Strawberry Monday On Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did.
2.“Like”  Sharon Silver-Proactive Parenting-Parent Educator on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did.
3. Become a Strawberry Monday blog follower and leave a comment here saying you did.
4. Leave a comment regarding your thoughts.

5. Read this article and leave a comment here regarding it.

The Great Parenting Show Review

Today I was given the opportunity to listen to an interview on the www.GreatParentingShow.com , hosted by, Jacqueline Green, BA
Parenting Educator. The show is full of parenting advice from leading parenting experts on many different topics.

I listened in to an interview with Shelly Lefkoe, from the Lefkoe Institute , on the topic : How to Get Your Children to Cooperate Without Destroying their Self-Esteem. I fully enjoyed the interview and really like her teaching. Many things she said, I already try to do with my kiddos but I sure did learn a lot too!

Here are some highlights that I found important :

1. I like how Lefkoe said, “You are your child’s expert.”

2. Lefkoe was asked by Jacqueline, “What is the number one problem facing parents today?”
She said, “Technology.” They focused in on how it is an issue for the family as a whole. She talked about how parents need to model social behaviors for their children. Meaning, if your kids are talking to you and require your attention, stop texting , talking and get of the computer! I do agree with this and check myself once in a while that I do not behave this way—I am not perfect. Parents do need to stop being so distracted and pay attention.

3. Focus on how to help your children do things in a way the will empower them.

4. Don’t push your kids to do things that have nothing to do to with the value of their lives. For example, don’t just show up at soccer games and yell at your child if he/she doesn’t score a goal. This just shows a parents lack of confidence and is a bad reflection on yourself.

5. Celebrate failures in the way you celebrate success as if you do not fail a lot you will be mediocre. Leftkoe’s example was that her family celebrated a swim meet loss. Her daughter practiced and tried very hard but lost and that’s okay because she tried.

She said her husband said to her daughter, “you are valuable , important, good enough competent , and capable person who had a lost swim. Your worth in value is not how fast you go across the pool.” Wow…. That is AWESOME. I used this with my daughter and her failing Math grade and it made her perk up. The cool thing, is that it’s true.

6. Ask yourself , “what are my expectations of this child? As a parent or individual do I excel at everything I do?” Ummmm… No…

7. Don’t assume and ask good questions. For example, on a failing class : what is it about the class that is difficult? Are you bored? Are you challenged? Is something bothering you about the teacher or classmates?

I am very thankful to have had this opportunity as I got some great tips that I can use to make my family life better.

Mommy Perks Holiday Gift Guide

  Mommy Perks is a great site to discover lots of cool small businesses. Check them out today!

Don’t Miss The Shabby Vintage Market!

Over twenty vendors with tons of refinished furniture, shabby chic decorating items, antiques, crafts, gifts, vintage clothing , accessories and more put on by Junk Restore. So fun! Here is just an idea of types of things that will be there–we have TONS of new goodies like your favorites from our Marketplace at Power Square.

 

Hope to see you there!!

How To Cash In On Your Unwanted Clothing

Happy Fall!! It does not seem like fall in Arizona and I am so jealous of the cooling weather a lot of you are getting. Time to start switching wardrobes and getting rid of the things you don’t wear anymore. We no longer do trade ins but there are several outlets that you can utilize to try to recoup some of your costs.

1. Resale Shops : Make sure your items are neatly placed in a bag or bin and clean. It will save time and make you more cash. Also, PLEASE do not turn in items coated with animal hair. Most stores will not even look at the items because most stores do not clean their items–that is what the funky smell is. At Strawberry Monday, we wash everything before it hits the shelves or the mail.

2. Consignment Sales : These sales take some time on your part but can be really profitable. Make sure to mark your items to sell. If they are marked too high you will be bringing them home and will not be happy .

3. Yard Sale : You can have a sale but from my experience people do not want to pay more than $2 for a clothing item. If you have things that you need more from then do the Consignment sales. Make sure to hang your items nice or have them on tables. Many people can not get down on the ground to dig –myself included–and will not even stop at your sale. If you invest some time to make it look nice you will make much more money.

4. Sell Online : Ebay is a great outlet but is very time consuming–I know! Also, the more you list the more business you will have. If you sell Online, make sure your pictures are nice and abundant. Invest in a half torso mannequin if you can–they are about $20. Also, outside is the best place for true light and make yourself a scene. It looks more professional if items are not laid on a floor or bed.

Also, Craigslist.com is a good outlet but be safe about it. Don’t let people come to your home if you can help it. Generally, most people are honest and true but there are some that do not have good intentions. Just keep safe.

5. Switch With Your Pals :
Save your items and get together with your friends and switch. That can be really fun!

6. Donate : If you don’t have time for any of this just donate. Many people will benefit from your kindness.

When I go through my closets I have 3 bins :
Donate – Yard Sale – Resale.
I resale, then yard sale, then donate. It works for me.

Regarding Strawberry Monday, we are fully Online now. It takes a lot of time so please be patient. I am almost done listing children’s items and will be listing ladies’ soon and as well as . You will be able to purchase from our website, Ebay and Etsy stores. Or just call or email me directly.

Coupons and deals will be offered to our Facebook fans so please like us!