A few weeks ago I hosted a review and giveaway of a purse from Blue Calla.  It was a hit and received a ton of entries.  Since then, I have enjoyed seeing the cool new items Celine (owner of the Blue Calla Etsy shop) has posted on Facebook and in her shop.  We have also become good online friends - I mean, she's in Canada, I'm in Atlanta, online is about all we can do right now :)  Too bad we don't live closer!  Recently she has sewed some adorable toddler back packs and I commented on how cute they were.  Celine surprised me by shipping one of her adorable handmade creations to me (OK, to Lily!) as a thank you for hosting her giveaway.  It is the cutest little backpack and Lily had to try it on immediately.  These pictures really do not do it justice but I thought it was so cute how Lily was posing and parading around in the backpack.  How cute is that kid...and backpack?!  The last weekend Lily stuffed her dollhouse characters in it to take along when we went out to eat.  The backpack was so adorable that I ordered one for my niece's birthday.  Good thing her mommy doesn't read my blog so she will still be surprised :)

We made it to Perdido Key, Florida (for those of you that don’t know, it is on the border of Florida and Alabama)! It is simply gorgeous down here, and we are so glad the area is thus far unaffected by the oil spill. I wish I hadn't spent hours worrying about our vacation plans since everything seemed to turn out perfectly. My parents are here from Chicago and Lily's having a wonderful time with her grandma and grandpa. We take long strolls in the mornings and hunt for shells, then spend some time in the ocean and pool. Much to our dismay, the little hole in the wall restaurant has closed and we haven't been able to find a lunch place that compares. The last meal we had consisted of overcooked fish and my veggies were......green beans FROM A CAN. Oh well, we'll keep looking.

Who is the one responsible for balancing the budget and paying the bills in your household? For us, that person would be me. I make sure that all bills are paid on a timely basis to avoid any late fees. We use a credit card for almost everything we purchase so that we can take advantage of the cash back rewards. I know some people are weary of using credit, but if you use it responsibly and pay off your balance each month, it can be quite rewarding. We only purchase the items we need and can afford, so we do not have to worry about paying the extremely high finance charges. We typically get about $600 a year back on our credit card purchases. What is even better is that this reward is tax-free - this is not like interest income on your savings account that you have to report on your taxes. I love the cash back on my credit card!

Have I mentioned how excited I am about heading to the beach in only 3 days! I AM SO EXCITED! I have a long to do list of things we need to take care of before we pack up the car to drive to Perdido Key, Florida, but I am sure we will get it all done (especially since I am delegating a bunch of the tasks to the hubby, tee hee!). This weekend we sorted through Lily’s old water toys, cleaned and dried her sandbox toys to pack up and stocked up on sunscreen. It will be a little tricky driving the six hours down since Lily is potty trained now, but I think we will figure it out somehow. I also have a long packing list which I keep in a Microsoft Excel file and organize by person. Yes, I am an accountant by day :) Love Excel!

After our beach trip next week, we are also planning a trip to Orlando later this summer or early this fall and looking at some Disney World packages. I am so excited to see Lily's reaction to Disney World and the Disney Princess characters! She will be closer to three at that point and I hope she enjoys it. I think the timing of our trip will be great since we are hoping to go once school is back in session with the hopes that the parks are not quite as crowded as they are during the summer months. My parents and sister will probably be joining us from Chicago – hello babysitters! Since we will be going closer to Lily’s birthday, we may try to plan a little birthday celebration while we’re in Disney. Any suggestions for attractions or events while we’re there? This will actually be my first time to Disney World as well.
FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and you can refer to my Disclosure. What...busy working mama doesn't work for free!

How is it that my little baby is going to be turning three in October? Where has the time gone? Yesterday she truly showed just how big she was getting around nap time. Lily is an awesome napper and is out 12-2 like clockwork. For some strange reason, this weekend she has been fighting her nap and not falling asleep till past 1! All was quiet and I was busy folding laundry but for some reason I was tempted to go check on her. A good hour after I left her in her bed, I find her wide awake! Lily sits up and I notice she is not wearing the same pants she was wearing when I put her to sleep! After a few seconds of confusion, I asked her, um, what happened to your pants, honey? To which she responds, "Mommy, I had a poop and a pee and my pants got turned inside out so I had to get new ones." Sure enough, the inside-out pants were laying neatly on the edge of her bathtub in the adjoining bathroom. The most entertaining thing of all was that she had put on her panties, THEN her pull-up, then her new pants over the pull-up (we still keep a "just in case" pull-up on for nap and overnight). Stinker! Both the closet doors and the bathroom door had been nicely shut and had she been able to put her original pants back on, I would have been none the wiser! My big girl!

I am finally moving to my new domain!  Most of the giveaways have expired and I have saved the current entries into a file in case the comments do not reappear within 1-2 days of the move from blogspot.  Thanks for your patience!

A few weeks ago I discovered the awesome Farmers Market Baskets near me and blogged about what a great deal they are.  We've gotten one every week and try to go through the fruit and veggies before the next basket.  In an effort to use up some of the veggies, I made a big pot of this yummy chowder.  This recipe served MANY so if you prefer a smaller version, cut the ingredients down by a third.  We like to take leftovers to work for lunch.

Do you use coupon codes when you shop online?  In this economy, more and more people are trying to get a good deal when they make a purchase.  I personally prefer shopping online most of the time since I can compare prices quickly, find a great deal, and get items shipped directly to me.  For me, the focus is on saving not only money, but also on saving time.  I am a busy working mama, after all, and time is precious!

Recently I discovered http://www.couponchief.com/, a website that has an incredibly large library of coupon codes for an incredibly large variety of stores.  Their codes are organized well with clear expiration dates and terms.  You can search by specific store or by item.  Typically, my "go to" places online are eBay, Amazon, and Target.  I was surprised to be able to find eBay codes available on Coupon Chief.  To be honest, I didn't know eBay even took coupons, but I am going to have to check this one out!  Since we are also hoping to head to the beach the first week of June (please oil, please stay away from Perdido Key!), I am in search of swimsuits for the whole family, especially for Lily since she is growing like a weed.  I have an unused gift card to Bloomingdale's and was able to find some great Bloomingdale's coupons on Coupon Chief...new swimsuits for one and all! 
FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Coupon Chief.  What...busy working mama doesn't work for free!

Here is the breakdown of what you get in each individually-wrapped serving:

• 100 calories
• No artificial ingredients
• No preservatives
• Whole grains
• 5g - 6g of fiber
• 0g - 1.5g of fat
• 3g - 4g protein
• 15 vitamins and minerals

So exciting!  I am going to be moving my blog to a custom domain (all right....you got me, my wonderful husband will be doing it for me.).  However, there are some issues with moving to a custom domain since comments are "lost" for a while...some bloggers have waited 2-3 weeks for comments to come back.  I contemplated halting the giveaways, but I really do not want to since I have a bunch of great ones in the queue.  I think I may take a screenshot of all the comments "before" the move and then continue the giveaway "after" the move. Who knows...maybe it will go well but the first attempt resulted in lost comments so he switched me back to the ".blogspot" address. For those of you that enter the giveaways - would that concern/irritate you?  For you other bloggers that have made the move, any advice?  Thanks in advance!

~ Pediatrician Tested
~ Nut, Wheat & Soy Free
~ Paraben Free
~ No Synthetic Fragrances
~ pH balanced
~ Not Tested on Animals

BUY IT
You can purchase these awesome shoes and other accessories from the TinySoles website.  I love their Daily Deals section where TinySoles offers a new deal daily Monday through Friday at an amazing price until it’s gone. You can shop by age, style and brand so searching is very easy.  All of the products at TinySoles are child tested and Mom approved, offering shoes from newborn to kids size 13.  TinySoles offers super fast shipping and FREE SHIPPING on orders over $20 (and that includes Hawaii, Alaska, APO/FPO and Canada). I love free shipping!  TinySoles stands behind everything you purchase 100% and has a hassle free return/exchange policy and great customer service.

WIN IT
TinySoles has generously agreed to sponsor a giveaway of a $30 gift certificate to their website to one US or Canadian reader.  Lucky you!  Their selection is absolutely amazing!

Mandatory Entry
1) Tell me what TinySoles shoes you would pick or something else you learned from their website.

Optional Extra Entries
2) Follow me with Google Friend Connect
3) "Like" my fan site on Facebook
4) Subscribe to my blog via email (2 entries)
5) Grab my button and let me know where I can find it
6) Follow @BusyWorkingMama on twitter
7) Tweet this giveaway (RT 1 extra entry per day): #Win $30 to TinySoles Adorable, Quality Kids Shoes! @BusyWorkingMama http://tinyurl.com/2ekzkw6 (US/CND ends 5/25)
8) "Like" TinySoles on Facebook
9) Follow TinySoles blog
10) Make a purchase from TinySoles (5 entries)
11) Email three friends about this giveaway and copy me

Please ensure your profile is public or leave me your email address in your comment. Please be honest in your entries as I do check and will delete any non-qualified comments! This giveaway will end on May 25th at 11:00pm ET. I will use Random.org to choose the winner, email the winner and post the win here. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian addresses. Winner has 48 hours to respond.  Good luck to all!
This review was made possible by TinySoles. Thank you to TinySoles for providing the product for review and giveaway! I only recommend products or services I can stand behind and believe will be good for my readers. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I paid for this review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. If you have any questions please refer to my Disclosure.