Holiday Gifts To Adore | Adore Me

Today is November 17th, World Preemie Day! A whole day to bring awareness to preemies and how strong they all are. My last baby Damien was born unexpectedly 4 weeks early…I’d never had any issues with my other pregnancies and this one was full of scares. We had been under strict weekly observations for months due to a fluid buildup around his tiny little heart. So needless to say he was rushed off after he was born to be seen by a cardiologist. A few lonely scary hours ticked by then we got news that all was well! The only other problem we had been jaundice and had trouble nursing. I’d say all in all we were extremely lucky! Now I would like to share with you the story of little Carlee. Lacey (Carlee’s beautiful mama & blogger at Mama Needs A Bottle) was in my pregnancy group so we shared all our ups and downs together. I hope you enjoy her inspiring story…
My preemie experience started 21 months, 3 weeks, 5 days ago. On January 22, 2013, my sweet daughter, the last of my babies, decided she could no longer wait for her due date. She arrived at 8:11am, 15 inches long, 2lbs 15oz. Apgar scores of 8 & 9! A teeny tiny head FULL of black hair. Hearing her scream was a HUGE sigh of relief. I had only been pregnant with her 27 weeks, 6 days. I was terrified.
Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted 3 kids. I had my mind set on 2 boys and 1 girl just like my mom had. My first came as a surprise when I had a positive pregnancy test 2 days before my 18th birthday! Ian has been a huge blessing in our lives from that moment on. Josh and I were so young, that we waited to have another. We started trying for our second the summer of 2010, but after 11 months of trying, I deleted my ovulation tracker and felt like another baby would never happen. I found out I was pregnant a week or two after deleting that ovulation tracker. Mason has been our little firecracker ever since! After having Mason at 27, I decided I would wait a few years to have my last. My mom and Grandma would tell me to just have them close in age and get it over with. Ha! No way, ladies! That’s just crazy! Well, I missed my appointment or my IUD and BAM! I was pregnant again by the time Mason was 6 months old! I couldn’t believe it! I remember feeling a little sad that Mason wouldn’t have the same alone time that Ian got for so many years.
My pregnancy started off fine. Some all day sickness for a few weeks (Not anywhere near how sick I was with Mason!). Early on I had a LOT of pelvic pain. I figured it was because I had JUST been pregnant and I was now 28 years old! Everyone figured it was normal or maybe that I was exaggerating a little. (Don’t we all figure the pregnant lady is exaggerating a little bit?) I was really in pain a lot of the time. I told the midwife, she didn’t think too much of it at the time. We paid to find out the Gender early like we did with Mason’s pregnancy thank to The Images of Life in Melbourne. Everyone was ready for a girl! I didn’t get my hopes up too high for a girl. “IT’S A GIRL!” I cried like a little baby! Wow! “Are you sure?” I had to make sure I could start baby girl shopping right away! After being outnumbered by boys, I was so excited to be able to add a sweet little girl to our family. I even already had a name picked out, Chanel Lynn (of course changed to Carlee Mae).
After we bought tons of pink and let everyone know a sweet baby girl would arrive sometime in April, we resumed our life as normal. A SAHM of a 9-year-old and a 9 month old while 5 months pregnant! Still in pain most of the time. It hurt to walk. I felt like something was ripping apart! Once I reached 27 weeks, Mason had just turned ONE and my mom was just coming home from visiting my Aunt in CT. I was home and discovered blood streaked, mucous discharge and immediately visited Dr. Google!! He told me that it sounds like part of my mucous plug! I never noticed losing it with my 1st two full term pregnancies. I didn’t even have another appointment for another whole week and a half! My mom was due home the next day, If it was still a little bloody, I would just have her take me to the hospital while Josh worked
The next day, I told my dad to have my Mom call me on their way home from the airport. I explained to her what was going on and said, ” I can always see if I can get into the dr tomorrow if you’re tired!” She said, “Yes, please!” At my appointment, I explained what was going on and was asked if I wanted to have my cervix checked. Well, sure! “You’re 2 centimeters dilated! What’s up with that?” HA! you tell me! You’re the Doctor! He told me I need to now go home and be on bed rest. Didn’t really give any explanation as to why I was already dilating. I went home and packed my stuff up to go stay at my moms. Josh was working 6 days a week in the afternoon/evening and that wouldn’t work with a 1-year-old at home!
At my moms, she was the best. Asking if I needed anything or filling my cup with water. I was really hard for me to let someone wait on me so much! I have always been the one taking care of everyone! So I still took showers with Mason who decided to start walking the DAY I was put on bed rest! Go figure! Anytime I would move around, I was having what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions. They never hurt, just a little uncomfortable or annoying. I was put on bed rest on Thursday, January 17th, 2013.
On Sunday, the 20th, I just had a weird feeling. Can’t really describe it, just felt weird. I figured if I still felt that way the next day, I would go to the ER as instructed by my OB. Monday, I still felt weird and a little constipated. Off to the ER we went. They brought me into the “High Risk ” Pregnancy room and did a UA and the usual blood pressure and temperature readings. Normal. They called my Dr and then did a Fetal Fibronecton test that was positive. (Definition of Fetal Fibronectin from Mayo Clinic:
Fetal fibronectin is a protein that acts as a “glue” during pregnancy, attaching the amniotic sac — the fluid-filled membrane that cushions your baby in the uterus — to the lining of the uterus.
Fetal fibronectin is often present in vaginal discharge before week 22 of pregnancy. Fetal fibronectin also begins to break down and can be detected in vaginal discharge toward the end of pregnancy.
If your health care provider is concerned about preterm labor, he or she might test a swab of secretions near your cervix for the presence of fetal fibronectin between week 22 and week 34 of pregnancy. A positive fetal fibronectin test is a clue that the “glue” has been disturbed and you’re at increased risk of preterm labor.
I was also now 3 cm dilated. I was being admitted for very strict bed rest. I cried more because it was my first nght away from Mason than being admitted on bedrest. Delivering her the next day didn’t even seem possible. I was 27 weeks 5 days pregnant.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. I was hooked up to monitors, IV fluids and Magnesium Sulfate (to stop any contractions), a catheter, and had many pillows and blankets! I stayed up and googled 28 week preemie all night. The more I read, the better I felt. I knew that we could handle any obstacle thrown in our way. My best friends younger twin sisters were born at 26 weeks and are now beautiful 24 year olds. I knew that even with the many challenges they faced, they have grown to be such beautiful ladies! The ultrasound I had that night showed she was close to 3lbs give or take a few ounces. What a relief! I maybe dozed off a little here and there, but by 4:30 AM, I had the most painful “bladder spasms” I swore were being caused by the catheter! I also noticed I was bleeding, which scared me! I rang the nurse who chalked it up to me having my cervix checked previously that night. By 6 am they seemed pretty regular and I could kid of predict when it would happen. (Let me just say that with my 2 previous pregnancies, I NEVER had regular contractions. NEVER!) at 6:50 am I rang the nurse again, the CNA picked up and informed me that it was almost shift change and that she would let the next nurse know. Uhhhh what? I was ready to rip that catheter OUT! I was on a contraction monitor, I saw no contractions registering. I called the nurses station again at 7:05. PLEASE come in here! The new nurse came in and immediately asked what was going on. After explaining, she felt my belly and said, “Ohhh you are having contractions!”, “Feel that?” The CNA from last shift put the monitor on wrong. hmmmm not surprised! My new nurse, Megan, called my Dr who had he check my cervix. “Um, you’re 8 almost 9 cm! We are going to the delivery room!” WHAT?! Delivery room? These were the questions in my mind, but out loud a calm, “OK.” came out. I smiled at all of the staff who watched me get wheeled away! Apparently I was the talk of the maternity ward and NICU.
By the time my Dr came in, I was 10 cm! My mom had taken Ian to school and he had an awards assembly that morning. I couldn’t get ahold of her. Josh had worked 13 hours the day before, he was still sleeping at 7:45 am, so I texted my Mother in Law, “Carlee is on the way!” She texted back, “I’m praying for you and Carlee!” so I called her and said….Can you please come up here! She said YES! ON MY WAY!
The nurse started to break my water while they waited for the neonatal staff to arrive. I still can’t believe how calm I was. I started pushing and right before she was born, My Mother in Law came in! 8:11 am Carlee Mae Cozza was born screaming! I was so happy to hear that tiny scream! They started examining her and I remember just having a huge smile on my face! She is alive and is crying! I was nervous since I was only able to get 1 of 2 steroid shots for her lungs! Before she was taken to the NICU, I was able to kiss her sweet little face. She looked like a tiny little mouse! I was full of adrenaline!
It was a few hours before they were able to let me see her in the NICU. My heart broke when I saw her. Her head wrapped up and face covered with the cpap machine. I couldn’t pick her up and just hold her. I could only rub on her little leg and foot. I was scared. I knew she was in good hands, but I was nervous. When I was back in my room, I often sat there and just thought, “Why MY daughter?” “Why, period?” There were still no answers as to WHY this even happened.
Carlee stayed in the NICU for a total of 6 weeks 5 days. She came home March 10th 2013. The time she spent in the NICU was hard. Juggling the toddler at home, the almost 10 year old at home, and going up to the hospital twice a day! It was rough (looking back now I realize that I was probably a little depressed by the situation during and after) I didn’t sleep much and worried constantly. The nurses there were all so amazing! I will be forever grateful for all of their love and care during that time! Without them, I don’t think I would have made it! I feel teary eyed just thinking about it all. I didn’t get to hold my baby until she was 4 days old. I didn’t get to really nurse her until she was 5 1/2 weeks old. She was able to finally eat from a bottle at 5 weeks old. All accomplished before she was supposed to even be born. She hade a grade 1 brain bleed that thankfully stopped by her follow up ultrasound! The girl is AMAZING!
To this day, she amazes me. Even right now just twirling around with a baby doll singing. Playing with her brothers. Climbing over the back of the couch. You would never know by just looking at here that she fought harder to live than a lot of people and she isn’t even 2 yet!
For World Preemie Day I will leave you with a few Preemie facts!
Incidence of premature birth in the United States of America
General Incidence
499,008 infants — were born prematurely (less than 37 weeks gestation) in 2003
Source: National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Rates of preterm birth
In 1995: 11.0% of live births was born preterm
In 2004: 12.5% of live births was born preterm
In 2006: 12.8% of live births was born preterm
Source: March of Dimes – Peristats
Rates of preterm birth in 2004 by race
African American: 17.6%
Native Americans: 13.2%
Hispanics: 12%
Non-Hispanic white: 11.5%
Asians: 10.4%
(Reedy, 2007)
Rates of preterm birth in 2006 by race
African American: 18.3%
Native Americans: 14.1%
Hispanics: 12.1%
THIS POST WAS WRITTEN & SHARED BY LACEY AT MAMA NEEDS A BOTTLE

Okay, so you remember how excited I was last month when we first received our Playmation Repulser Gear after I learned about at D23 Expo? Well, the excitement hasn’t died down any…and now Disney was awesome enough to send me a complimentary Playmation Gamma Gear starter set & Prowler Bot so I can share my experience with you all!! The Gamma Gear was just released into stores yesterday, but I’ve already got a few days of play under my belt so I’m excited to tell you all about it!
If you haven’t read my Repulser Gear review…you can catch up HERE…go ahead, I’ll wait.
Now that you are all caught up…let’s get on to the awesome new Playmation Gamma Gear & Prowler Bot!
Playmation Gamma Gear
The Gamma Gear starter pack comes with two Hulk fists, a power activator and Loki Smart Figure…when you switch on your Gamma Gear, you are taught a few basic moves to get you started: Punch & Ground Slam and will learn other moves, like the Thunder Clap, as you level up your gear. You will also need to power up by pounding your chest and yelling…get ANGRY! Once you start your mission you are transported to Mount Everest to battle Loki. I must say, Loki was difficult for me to defeat the first time. I had a hard time getting the gear to recognize my tsunami move. Each time you level up your powers increase and you get to learn new moves like picking up a tank and throwing it! The boys were getting irritated with me because I was “taking too long” and they wanted their turn at it…lol..but hey I was in the middle of an epic battle, darting and running through the house to avoid getting damage. It’s all in a day’s work here at Avengers Headquarters! They eventually got their turn:
We tried syncing the Gamma Gear and Repulser gear together and it did fine at first, we could battle each other which was pretty cool, but when we tried to go to a mission it froze up and started making some funky sounds so we had to turn both the Gamma Gear and Repulser Gear off, then turn them back on to continue playing. Whether you’re working as a team or battling each other, there is always going to be fun and adventure!
We’ve also had a few minor issues with the gear not picking up the power activator at times…I think they might just be getting low on batteries. Be sure to keep a load of batteries around or try out these recharge packs from PowerA, they really are a life saver when your in full battle mode!
Prowler Bot
The Prowler Bot is a robotic villain from Ultron’s army. It can find and hunt your Avenger Gear with 360-degree movement while taking on dozens of enemy personas and powers with lights and sounds. The Prowler Bot makes gameplay more challenging and unlocks exclusive missions and locations via the AvengersNet app.
The boys like to battle the Prowler Bot. Him moving around makes it more challenging and fun! Just like the power activators you can battle him in “free play” mode (when your in NY City).
Don’t forget to download the AvengersNet App to keep track of your progress, update your gear and download new missions! AvengersNet App for Android does not currently support Gamma Gear, Ultron Smart Figure, or Super Adaptoid Smart Figure. Please check playmation.com/devices for updates.
Playmation is recommended for ages 6 and up. Playmation requires 12 AA batteries that are NOT included.
BUY: Playmation Gamma Gear & Prowler Bot
Connect with Playmation: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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The new school year is upon us and as we start heading out in droves to purchase the mile long list of back to school products it’s easy to be consumed by all choices out there today. It’s easy to forget we are buying for someone who still likes to have the trendy and “cool” products and could care less about functionality like we do. Thankfully companies like Five Star by Mead are catching on and combining the two so you can both have what you want, a functional trendy product.
The 5 Back to School Must-Haves that I’m going to share with you today are just that, both trendy & functional so they keep their “cool” status as well as their grades. My kids have uniforms so it’s hard to express their individuality and stay trendy with clothing, so they love to do it with school supplies. Five Star by Mead has so really fun, unique designs so it’s easy to pick something they like.
1. The Backpack…a backpack is a total back to school must have, and while this has been a way to express your individuality for generations Mead has made a backpack that is so cool the whole family wants one! The Five Star insulated storage backpack has an expandable compartment for 4″ of extra storage space, opens wide to quickly and easily find supplies, has multiple pockets to organize and store even the smallest supplies…and the coolest thing…the built-in insulated compartment for safely storing snacks and beverages!
2. The Binder…Five Star has also re-invented the binder into a flexible, functional & trendy product your kids will love. Five Star’s Hybrid Notebinder acts like a notebook and works like a binder. Just like a binder you can add and remove paper and dividers, but it is flexible enough to fold over and lay flat like a notebook. It comes with 5 pocket dividers, 60 college rule sheets & 20 graph sheets of paper. Be sure to grab some of their reinforced notebook paper so you have plenty on hand for classwork.
3. Spirals…when I was a kid, spirals were mostly solid color and I’d choose a different color for each class…today there are many trendy patterns to please even the pickiest trend-setter.
4. The trustworthy Folder…folders have always been a trustworthy essential for organizing papers from each class…pairing them with trendy patterns makes it a win-win.
5. Colored Pens…okay, so your everyday papers can’t be turned in in pink writing, but having colored pens is a fun way to take notes and makes it easier to go back and find just what they need to study. Mead has some great pencil bags to store all the fun colors your child will want.
I love the Flexi-Notebook so much, I kept one for myself to use for the blog! Would you like to check out Five Star’s latest products?
Enter To Win!
One (1) lucky My Sparkling Life reader is going to win a Five Star by Mead Prize Pack! This giveaway is open to residents of the US who are 18+ until 12:00 PM EST Aug 13, 2016.
THE FINE PRINT: ENTERING THIS GIVEAWAY MEANS THAT YOU ACCEPT BOTH MY RULES & DISCLOSURE. I WILL NOTIFY WINNER VIA E-MAIL AND THEY WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO REPLY BEFORE I AM FORCED TO REDRAW WINNERS. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. EACH HOUSEHOLD IS ONLY ELIGIBLE TO WIN THIS PRIZE VIA BLOG REVIEWS AND GIVEAWAYS ONCE. ONLY ONE ENTRANT PER MAILING ADDRESS PER GIVEAWAY. IF YOU HAVE WON THE SAME PRIZE ON ANOTHER BLOG, YOU WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN IT AGAIN. WINNER IS SUBJECT TO ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION. MANY WILL ENTER, FEW WILL WIN! PLEASE ALLOW 8-12 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY OF PRIZING. MY SPARKLING LIFE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOST OR MISDIRECTED PACKAGES. Prizing and samples provided & shipped by Disney. IN THE RARE OCCASION THAT A PRIZE DOES NOT ARRIVE (WHICH HAS HAPPENED), PLEASE NOTIFY ME.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

LeapFrog has been a part of our house for years, toys, tablets and video games all help my kiddos get school readiness skills for preschool and beyond. LeapFrog’s new Number Lovin’ Oven and Scout’s Build & Discover Tool Set teach math and measurement through interactive pretend play, while Word Whammer develops spelling and phonics skills in a fun and active way.
These exciting new toys add to their growing collection of early childhood toy experiences that encourage skill-building, exploration and pretend play. By encouraging children to learn through exploration and imagination, Number Lovin’ Oven and Scout’s Build & Discover Tool Set offer pretend play experiences that teach math and measurement. To round out the new introductions, Word Whammer, an action-packed new phonics game, helps prepare children for kindergarten in a fun and active way.
“We developed Number Lovin’ Oven and Scout’s Build & Discover Tool Set to encourage toddlers to learn while having fun with characters and environments they can relate to. Word Whammer lets pre-kindergarteners develop important spelling skills with an exciting game that will keep them entertained as they are learning phonics skills and building words,” said Dr. Jody Sherman LeVos, director of LeapFrog’s Learning Team.
The Perfect Recipe for Number Learning Fun
Number Lovin’ Oven is the first preschool toy to bake early math into fun and engaging play focused on cooking and sharing—giving toddlers a first glimpse into how numbers and early math skills are a part of everyday life.
This one was definitely a hit in our house…even with my 5 & 9-year-olds. First and foremost it is a small oven with plenty of fun accessories, but it also does other really cool stuff depending on what setting it’s on. There are 30+ songs & phrases…it sings about washing your hands, you can never start too early on hygiene, and songs about pizza, bread, and cupcakes. The songs teach counting (how many slices of pizza, how many pieces of bread, etc.) which is great, because my 2-year-old loves to count things with me. The number settings tell them the higher the number, the higher the temperature and tells them what bakes best at that temperature. When you put something in the oven it tells you what setting to put it on (numbers 1-5) and counts until it’s done. I love the early learning skills, and he loves cooking mommy some food. He’s learning without knowing it, or it being a “chore” or battle.
Discovery and Skill-Building with LeapFrog’s Playful Pup Scout
Scout’s Build & Discover Tool Set lets toddlers interact with one of children’s favorite LeapFrog characters, playful pup Scout, as he introduces them to their first step-by-step building project through counting, measuring, and color matching.
I usually absolutely LOVE LeapFrog products, but I just like this one. Let me just say, it is developmentally appropriate for a 2-year-old, even a 1-year-old. But my son is the youngest of 4 and has played with other tool products and was a little frustrated that the screws, nails and bolts didn’t come out like “they normally do”. The product description says you can build a doghouse, but it’s really just a few walls that come up and down, and just snap into place..not “tools” needed to “build” it. I also don’t see the speaking feature to be necessary. It’s not connected to any of the bolts, screws etc. So I’m not seeing the point. Aside from my pickiness, this a fine toy tool set and completely age appropriate. I like that it’s got nails, screws, and bolts with which to practice motor skills with, and because they are all permanently attached to the toolbox so they don’t end up all over the house. I also like that the tools and corresponding fasteners are color-coordinated so that it’s easy for kids to make that cognitive connection between the hammer and the nail, etc.
Twist for Letter Sounds and Blast to Build Words
Word Whammer gets kids jamming on phonics skills as they spin, push and twist the handles to identify letters and build words in three action-packed games and five learning levels that adapt as children play.
I gave this to my 5 year old who just started Kindergarten, and he was excited to play it at first. It has three games to choose from which you can scroll through to see games by tilting the right handle up or down and then push in to select that game. the same motions are needed for game play. While I see the value in the games, he seemed to get a little bored after a while and moved on to another toy, but tends to always come back and ask to play with it again. With only three games, I don’t see it being a toy that will last long, although game adapts as children play, keeping them challenged, motivated and engaged as they progress, so maybe it will last longer than I think. I do love that there are letter matching and spelling games which is something he really needs to work on. The design is a nice change from the tablets and traditional mobile gaming toys.
Overall the boys were very excited about the new LeapFrog School Readiness Toys!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Did you miss the Houston Comicpalooza this year? There was plenty of things to do and people to see, including THE Stan Lee!! While I was unable to make it this year, several of my fellow blogger & podcast friends had the best time! Below you will find a list of their stories, have fun reading (and listening) to all Comicpalooza 2015 had to offer!
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Fitness is a subjective thing. What one person may believe define as fitness, another person may disagree with. It is crucial to think about what fitness means to you so that you know what you want to achieve. For some people, looking fit means building muscle using products such as muscle rage to increase their muscle mass, for others, their idea of fitness is achieving a toned, flexible body through activities such as yoga.
Clarifying in your mind precisely what you want to achieve and what being fit means for you will help you to determine how your goals can be reached.
Setting Your Fitness Goals
To achieve a goal, you firstly need to decide exactly what those goals are. Many people begin their fitness journey with a vague idea in mind of what they want to achieve, but no clear way of knowing when they have achieved this goal. It is tough to keep working towards a goal if it is not clearly defined in the first place. To overcome this uncertainty and to enable you to stay focused, it is useful to put together some SMART goals.
You are probably used to hearing the term SMART goals spoken about in business terms, but SMART goals are essential for achieving your fitness goals too. Applying the SMART principle to setting fitness goals will enable you to clarify exactly what you want to achieve and how you are going to make that happen. Set your fitness goals on the basis that they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relative, and Timely. This means that you know exactly what you want to achieve (Specific). Will be able to monitor what you have achieved (Measurable). Ensure achieving your goals is possible (Attainable). Choose activities that will help you reach your goals (Relative). Have a time-scale for your achievements (Timely).
Making your goals realistic, but still challenging enough to help you reach the result that you want is essential.