I must say it’s quite a privilege to be posting here at PTPA.

Oh dear, I have yet to introduce myself it seems. Please forgive me, as I write this I’m listening to Downton Abbey and I can’t help but fall into the very proper dialect. Just be thankful you can not hear my very poor attempt at an accent.

There I go again.

Anyway, my name is Tina and I write at MadHatterMom.com which is a parenting site dedicated to my musings, reviews and giveaways.

I’m looking forward to providing you, as readers, with content that you find enjoyable to read. My hope is that you feel as if you are speaking to a good friend, one that you get together with while your kids play and talk about life and great products that make parenting much more fun and entertaining.

So stick around and see what myself and the rest of the new PTPA Blogaholics have to offer!

I’d love to connect with you. You can find me here:
Twitter: @MadHatterMom | FB: /TheMadHatterMom | Instagram: Tina_Kelley | Pinterest: TinaMKelley

It is hard to believe that this is a first novel.  I have found it to be a fast-paced, heart stopping and thought-provoking look at life on a tobacco plantation in the 1700′s.  I have it on my Kobo Arc and the first time I picked it up I read 40% of the book; it is that good!

Book Synopsis ~

In 1790, Lavinia, a seven-year-old Irish orphan with no memory of her past, arrives on a tobacco plantation where she is put to work as an indentured servant with the kitchen house slaves. Though she becomes deeply bonded to her new family, Lavinia is also slowly accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. As time passes she finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds and when loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare and lives are at risk. The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail. (From http://www.kathleengrissom.com)

Book Excerpt ~

Prologue

There was a strong smell of smoke, and new fear fueled me. Now on the familiar path, I raced ahead, unmindful of my daughter behind me, who was trying to keep up. My legs were numb, unused to this speed, and my lungs felt as though they were scorched. I forbade myself to think I was too late and I focused all my strength on moving toward home.
Foolishly, I misjudged, and meaning to take a short cut to the stream, I swerved from the path to dash through the trees. To my horror, I found myself trapped.
I pulled to free my long blue skirts from the thorns of the blackberry brambles that ensnared me. As I ripped my way out, Elly caught up to me. She attached herself to my arm, sobbing and trying to hold me back. Though a seven-year-old is no match for a grown woman, she fought fiercely with strength fostered by her own terror. In my frenzy, I pushed her to the ground. She stared at me with disbelieving eyes.
“Stay here,” I begged, and raced again down the path until I reached the stream. I meant to cross over by stepping on the rocks of the shallow water, but I didn’t remove my shoes, which was a mistake. Halfway over, I slipped on the river stones and with a splash, I fell. The cold water shocked me and for a moment I sat stunned, water bubbling by, until I looked up and recognized our smokehouse on the other side of the stream. The grey building reminded me that I was close to home. I rose, my skirts soaked and heavy, and scrambled my way across the water by clinging to the jutting rocks.
At the base of the hill, I leaned forward to breathe, gasping for air. Somehow Elly had reached my side again, and this time she clung like a kitten to my wet skirts. I was terrified of what she might see, but it was too late now, so I grasped her hand, and together we crested the bluff. There, I froze. Elly saw it too, and whimpered; her hand slipped from mine as she sat on the ground. I moved forward, slowly, as though in a dream.
Our massive oak tree stood at the top of the hill, its lush green leaves shading the thick branch that bore the weight of the hanging body. I refused to look up again after I caught sight of the green headscarf and the handmade shoes that pointed down. (Excerpt is from The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom)

I can barely wait to finish this book, so far I have found it to be a fast paced, heart stopping and  thought-provoking look at life on a tobacco plantation in the 1700′s.

When DS7 was born, the selection for baby monitors was quite limited. They were all auditory based and had very few features to choose from. Your decision relied on how far the monitor could travel from the base and the number of channels available to achieve the best reception. My complaints included picking up our neighbors’ monitors and conversations, interference with wireless networks and cordless phones in the home and low battery life. When DS5 came along two years later, I was determined to find a better monitor and I was pleased to find that baby monitors had improved slightly. They included lullaby options, less wireless interference, and larger battery life.

Finally with DD1, I found my gem! Let me introduce you to the

Motorola MBP36 Video Monitor

Using the latest monitoring technology, the Motorola MBP36 allows you to be up to 200 meters away from your child while providing a clear, quality sound. From the tiniest shuffle to the loud scream, you will be able to hear every noise your child makes. Along with amazing sound quality, the Motorola MBP36 is equipped with a large 3.5-inch color display screen which allows you to view every movement made by your child. The enhanced infrared night vision with adjustable brightness provides you with clear Baby Monitor night picture allowing you to see details like the waking state of your child or the location of their ‘lost’ pacifier. With the added convenience of a room temperature reading, 6 lullaby choices, zoom and tilt, two-way radio and no frequency interference with Wi-Fi or other electronics, this Motorola definitely one of my favorites.
Why I’m in LOVE

After all the struggles I have faced with my previous monitors, I have finally found one that I’m in love with. This is NOT my first video monitor. I have tried other video monitors only to find grainy night vision, blackened shadows and poor sound quality. What good is a video camera if you can’t tell if your baby is awake or asleep? What I love about the Motorola MBP36 is no matter day or night there is no difficulty in telling what my DD1 is doing. She could be pretending to sleep and the monitor is so accurate that I can see the fluttering movement of her eyes in the middle of the night! My kids have always gone to bed listening to music since they were a month old, so I love that I can set, adjust and change the music from my handheld parental unit. The two way communication feature saves a lot of tears in my house. Now I can tell my daughter that I’m coming, the moment she wakes up, instead of her bursting into tears to let me know she’s up.

A baby monitor is a tool for watching a baby sleep, but the Motorola MBP36 Digital Video monitor allows you to do much more! Not only is this monitor suitable for babies but for older children too. This monitor has come in handy and provides me with reassurance when it comes to my older children too. For example, I can zoom and track DS7 while he is having temper tantrums in his room to ensure that he and his room remains safe. I also use it as a way to monitor my sleeping DS5’s asthma during allergy season. It allows me to hear his breathing rates without Baby monitor appearing overbearing and gives him a sense of independence. In the future, I will use the Motorola MBP36 to safely transition my DD1 from a crib to big girl bed. With control features like panning, tilting and zooming, this monitor allows me to track the kids over a larger area in my house making it perfect for any age range.

I have used several different monitors throughout my motherhood journey, but I have never found one that meets all of my needs, until I found the Motorola MBP36. To keep an eye on my family and make sure they are safe and secure, the Motorola MBP36 is my monitor of choice and PTPA approved!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for review purposes. Regardless, I only recommend products or services, I use personally and believe would be good for my readers. All opinions expressed are my own.

To celebrate my new blog I thought I’d share one of our most favorite summer time desserts!

This delicious custard is sweet with a hint of sour to compliment the raspberries!

Below is the recipe, and instructions. Give it a shot and let us know how it goes!

Ingredients:

2 pints fresh raspberries, 2 eggs, 7 tbsp sugar, 3 cups milk, 7 tbsp sour cream, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 fresh vanilla been split and cored (vanilla extract also OK 1 tbsp ), 2 tbsp Icing sugar, star fruit.

Directions:

Mix Eggs (beat them first), vanilla, sugar, milk and cornstarch in a saucepan, and bring to boil over medium heat. Make sure to stir. Once it hits a boil, take it off the stove, and let stand for a while to cool down a  bit (4-5 minutes should be fine). mix in the sour cream. In a mini blender puree 1 pint of the raspberries, and icing sugar. Use a spoon to evenly distribute the puree into the bottom of 8-10 small dishes. Distribute the other pint of raspberries into the dishes (piling them up). Pour the finished custard over the berries, until you fill each dish 3/4 the way. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour so custard can gain some firmness.  Before serving slice up some star fruit, and cut them in half and garnish the side of your dishes. ENJOY!

So that’s my first post! Give it a try and let us know how it goes with pictures of your creation!

Keep checking back for more posts, and be sure to share with your friends!

Just this past Wednesday, PTPA and some of our fabulous #TrustSailun Brand Ambassadors had the opportunity to attend and take part in the Sailun Tires Track Event in Brampton.

Here’s a little info about Sailun Tires:

PERFORMANCE AND VALUE YOU CAN TRUST

Since establishment in 2002, Sailun Tires has combined its technical expertise with the innovations of its research and development to design and manufacture value tires you can trust for all types of vehicles. Building on real world testing and continuing to develop proven products, Sailun will continue to build cost-efficient tires. At Sailun we understand quality and safety are equally important as Value, that’s why we build tires that incorporate our core values.

Quality is a paramount in every function at every level. It is born in our products, but lives in the people who work here. The services we provide to our customers is equally important to the products we sell Trust is earned over time through a commitment to our long term goals and understanding our customer’s needs.

Support is a promise we at Sailun make to be there before, during and after the sale. For our customers this means we are an organization that stands behind its products with policies and programs built to exceed expectations.

Sailun is more than a tread pattern; it is the engineering that goes into each tire.

Our #TrustSailun Ambassadors got to experience this first hand at the Track Event! We followed their tweets throughout the day.  From informative and useful key notes to tweets of amazement at how well the tires handled their test driving, it sounded like everyone had a wonderful and enlightening experience.

Here’s what some of our ambassadors had to say:

“I think that 1 thing that people should know about @SailunTires is they are quality, well tested, economical tires”

“Love that @SailunTires knows where they fit in the market, are not trying to be something their not”

“That you don’t have to sacrifice quality when seeking a less expensive tire”

“@SailunTires the amount of tires actually made in china. Production location doesn’t matter!”

“Tires make such a difference in driving, I was totally convinced today at #trustsailun event, especially with Sailun.”

“Discussing winter tire test drive @SailunTires beat out top competitors fr Japan, UK & Korea.”

“The smaller the sidewall the higher the performance tire”

“We are programmed to look 6 degrees below the horizon. When driving you need to look far ahead to be a better driver.”

“Safety is #1 with @SailunTires they test every tire for uniformity and stand behind their products”

“50% of today’s tire purchases are made by women. This is a huge change from the past. @SailunTires understands this”

Sailun Tires are definitely a PTPA Award Winner for a reason (and from our ambassadors’ tweets, for many reasons)!

Want to know more about Sailun Tires? Want to discuss driving & safety? PTPA has a great Tweet Chat coming up next week!

Join us for an informative @SailunTires tweet chat on Thursday, June 20th from 12pm-1pm EST.

The prize: A set of All-Season Sailun Tires! (Valued at $400-$800 depending on winner’s vehicle)

No RSVP Required.  Simply follow @PTPA, @SailunTires & use the #TrustSailun hashtag. Hope to see you there!

Welcome to Fan Friday here at PTPA! Today we have an amazing prize we know you’ll love!

3 winners will receive a one year supply of Bounty DuraTowel (54 rolls) ($108 value)

Ditch the germy dishcloth and switch to Bounty DuraTowel. It’s the durable, cloth-like picker-upper that leaves surfaces 3X cleaner than a germy dishcloth. New paper towel from Bounty – Bounty DuraTowel – offers the things you love about dishcloths, without the millions of germs for a cleaner way to clean. It is designed with more fibres that hold together even when wet so it feels and cleans like a cloth allowing you to tackle your toughest projects.

Entering is easy simply take the steps in the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win!

Thank you for entering and good luck!

For more information about this amazing product visit: http://bountytowels.ca/

Winners are being announced next Friday at 9am EST on PTPA’s Facebook page. Contest is open to Canadian residents only. Fan Friday giveaways will close next Thursday at 11:59pm. Winner will be announced on this post, on Facebook as well as emailed. Rule and guidelines can be found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We conducted one survey asking dad what he hopes to receive for Fathers Day and  one survey  asking mom what she believed her husband wanted for fathers day and with over 600 responses, believe it or not…you actually agreed on something for a change!  Apparently wives really do know what their husbands want as a gift ( other than the obvious gift which is too x-rated for our family friendly site!)

Hope this helps with your fathers day shopping!

(click on the picture above for a larger view)

Something as simple as an oversized clear mug, like the one above we found on Amazon.com, is a great way to wrap a gift! Dads aren’t known for reusing wrapping paper anyway, so why not wrap up his hobby with something he can relax with (6 pack not included)

We’ve come up with 10 ways you can create this gift and free printable flags to present your gift with flair! There are so many ideas for this gift that we could not list them all, but hopefully these will inspire you to think outside the box this Father’s Day. All of the options above would also go great with a coordinating gift card (we’ve provided ideas if you need them!)

———————–

1. Dad, You’re My Life Saver: Life Saver candies (wrapped or unwrapped), Swedish Fish, Swimming Goggles, Blue Krazy Straw, Life Saver Flag Printable
optional gift card: amusement/water park ticket or visa gift card

2. Dad, You’re My Hole in One: Andes Mints, Golf Tees, Golf Balls, Green Krazy Straw, Hole in One Flag Printable
optional gift card: golf course or sporting goods store

3. Dad, You’re My Grill Master: Coghlan’s Multi-Spice Shaker, Weber Grill bbq sauce, Red Krazy Straw, Grill Master Flag Printable
optional gift card: Omaha Steaks or steak restaurant

4. My Favorite New Daddy To Be: Ear plugs, safety goggles, “No Comment” Pacifier, Sugar Daddy Candies, Red Krazy Straw, New Daddy Flag Printable
optional gift card: massage or shutterfly

5. Dad, You’re My Rock Star: Vintage T-shirt, ear phones, Green Krazy Straw, Rock Star Flag Printable
optional gift card: TicketMaster or Pandora One

6. Dad, I’m Nuts About You: stack of homemade pecan chocolate chip cookies, Red Krazy Straw,Nuts About You Flag Printable
optional gift card: cookie of the month club or gourmet spotting sample box

7. Dad, You’re My James Bond: movie butter popcorn, glazed nuts, Sugar Daddy Candies, Yellow Krazy Straw, James Bond Flag Printable
optional gift card: Fandango.com or Netflix

8. Dad, You’re My Fav Taxi Driver: polishing cloth, ArmorAll, car air freshener, Yellow Krazy Straw,Taxi Driver Flag Printable
optional gift card: car washes or gas card

9. Dad, You’re My Mister Fix-it: Wood putty, super glue, painters tape, screws, nuts, bolts, washers, zip ties, Red Krazy Straw, Mister Fix-it Flag Printable
optional gift card: Sears or Home Depot

10. Dad, Your Love Ties Us Together: Three men’s ties, Purple Krazy Straw, Ties Flag Printable
optional gift card: Nordstrom or SpaFinder.com

———————–

Have another idea we didn’t list? Share it by commenting below!

It turns out that my husband was right. A Tough Mudder is no walk in the park. Besides the fact that it’s as long as a half marathon, it includes many obstacles that not only challenge the core of your physical strength, but also your mental well-being, including electric shocks. Clearly, I was NOT up for the challenge. But nonetheless, I was intrigued. As it turns out, there’s another, more beginner-like race, called the warrior dash. And so, it was decided right there and then that I would compete in something that’s more aligned with my current pace (having just given birth 4 months ago) but something that’s not to be taken lightly either.

Here are just some of the crazy obstacles that I will have to endure and pass in order to finish the race: Warrior Roast (aka running through fire), trenches, giant cliff-hangers, petrifying plunge, road rage, storming Normandy and of course, tons of mud! The names alone have me scared and got me thinking twice about this decision. Not to mention, the course is not flat. The race I signed up for is taking place at Horseshow Valley, a ski resort. The hills are not your typical street hills found in most marathons. I’m talking about SKI HILLS – steeper and longer. As one person put it “the obstacles will be your ‘break’ in the race”. Really, have I gone mad?!?!

Training is also required for the warrior dash. My trainer (aka hubby) and I finalized a training schedule. With 6 weeks to go, the plan is to run 3 times a week (for approximately 3km – 5km each run) and strength train 2 times a week. To achieve this, I will be working out at Fitwall. An awesome new strength training workout that recently hit Canada. Instead of working out on the floor, all of your traditional workouts are now done vertically, on a wall, where “you are the machine”.

I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s the first competitive race that I’ll be participating in since I had my first son almost three years ago. It’s also a great way to get back in shape and get fit for “bikini season”.

Have you participated in the Warrior Dash or a similar obstacle race (i.e. Spartan or Tough Mudder)? I would love to hear from you, what your experience was like and what training you would recommend. Any tips or input would be greatly appreciated! At the very least, just let me know that I haven’t gone “mad” registering for this event.

I have been seeing little care packages appearing on the web, filled with make-up, razors, wine, coffee and now mommy and baby get a turn. Recently I was approached by LittleEcoFootprint a monthly subscription curated and delivered to your doorstep featuring 5 of their favorite, highest-quality products selected for baby and you. The idea of receiving a monthly surprise had me very excited. Every SAHM or the new mother on maternity leave would appreciate a special package with such a sweet surprise!

Box Of Love

I was extremely impressed with our LittleEcoFootprint shipment. It was filled with high quality products that I would have chosen myself. From the hand crafted blocks for baby or toddlers, the yummy snacks for a busy mama, complete with a chance for mama to get some pampering with the Argan Oil (which by the way, made my skin so soft!)

Some very generous coupon codes and the amazing laundry balls which are very unique and something I have never heard of before. Not to foget the amazing Smith Farms red berry tint I threw in my purse. LittleEcoFootprint puts a lot of thought into each hand picked item that accompanies each monthly box. Take a peek below at the featured brands I received, read more here.

Great Gift

As I was going though my LittleEcoFootprint all I could think of was how amazing this would be to receive or gift to a new mother. Got a baby shower coming up? Maybe your best-friend is expecting, hey maybe you are. LittleEcoFootprint next shipment is June 15th if you hurry you could be receiving a special deliver this month! The best part is you’re getting a lot of bang for your hard earn buck, check out for yourself to see how affordable it is ~ Price Here ~

LittleEcoFootprint recently won the PTPA seal of approval! Congratulations LittleEcoFootprint!

What is the last package you received in the mail, that was not a bill?

Follow In R Dream

on twitter

on Facebook

on Blog