Sweet Rexie’s Review & Giveaway

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Harvey, who knew a week ago how that name would change our lives & the lives of the people in our community forever. Just a week and a half ago we were hearing that name, the name of a depression that was coming across the Yucatan and into the gulf. We were planning on riding out the wind and rain, so we hit the store and stocked up on some water, bread, peanut butter and some burgers and hot dogs to grill if the electricity happens to go out. It wasn’t until Thursday that everything started to change for us.
photo credit: NOAA
My husband decided that it would be best if I took the kids up to my moms in Austin, but I still didn’t see the point and didn’t want to go. So I slowly started packing thinking I would either leave that night when it cooled down or the next morning. Then they announced it was going to be a CAT 3, and I was for sure taking the kids. Not long after that, we got the mandatory evac order from the city. I ran outside where my husband was cleaning out his truck to tell him, we are ordered to leave. The look on his face was panic & confusion. We all rushed to pack some clothes to get us through the weekend & moved electronics and such upstairs. Threw a few things onto our bed and some stuff into totes & bathtubs just to ride out in case of flood. It took about an hour and a half to two hours for us to grab what we could and leave. Before we left I stood there looking at our home with everything we’ve worked so hard to have, and asked my husband how are we supposed to pack up our life? Do you think Binx (our outside kitty) will be okay? Before you jump down my throat…while he is a loving kitty he does not like being indoors, trapped or picked up, I had no way of securing him. I gave him some food and a kiss before we left praying he would keep safe.
We started our drive up to Austin trying not to take the main highway out to avoid the miles of traffic. But we still ended up in lines of RV’s fleeing the storm. It took us about 4-5 hours to get to my moms. You would think I would be relieved, but it wasn’t like a normal visit where you know you’re on vacation, the feeling was majorly different. We sat there on our phones cruising Facebook to keep up to date on our little town. It was hard to settle down for the night…but we knew that we had to get some rest. The boys all had pallets out in the living room with their cousin & myself and my husband slept in my nephews’ room.
We got up Friday morning already exhausted both physically and mentally with no clue as to what was about to happen. We watched the news and Facebook feeds throughout the day anticipating landfall and wondering what would be of our town and our home. Then it came…the announcement that it would be a CAT 4 at landfall. Our hearts sank. You never want to hear those word especially when your home is in the direct path and you have friends that didn’t evacuate.
I just couldn’t
I still can’t
We sat here safe, watching our home get hit by a CAT 4 hurricane on TV. I can still see the radar with the eye hitting Rockport and our town just to the left getting hit by the eye and the most severe colors on the radar.
It was so surreal
Then the images and videos start rolling onto social media and the news. The winds whirling roofs getting ripped off. Then the first responders losing connection with the outside world…
All is quiet
How am I supposed to sleep wondering, worrying, praying everyone is safe?
We woke up fairly early & pretty groggy running to our phones and the news. Was there anything left? Is everyone who stayed okay? Word from our friends, they were lucky…they were all in Corpus Christi which didn’t get the brunt of the storm. Then came a response of the news announcing the first responders made it through the night.
Then came the photos…
First there were photos from Corpus Christi of downed fences & trees. Then Rockport of the complete devastation. With my kids close, I had to hold back the tears and try to stay strong. What about our town? Was it okay? Then we hear that it was hit pretty hard and responders from around the area couldn’t reach it due to flooding & downed major power lines in the roads. We marked ourselves safe on Facebook and started to scroll all the comments in the feed. People looking for people who stayed. Needing search & rescue, asking if someone can go check on their property. So many people, scared, uncertain of their future.
Slowly throughout the weekend photos and answers were starting to trickle in. So many businesses and homes were gone…just gone. So many lives changed. Most lost everything. Our schools announce there will be a two-week delay in starting school & AEP estimates 2-4 weeks before they can restore power to our area. No power, No water, No sewage, No cell towers. Our expectations of a weekend evacuation weren’t even close to reality.
As the week has gone on, we still haven’t been able to return to check out our home. Images from our schools come in pretty damaged by water and the wind, but not completely gone…neither is our districts hope and love for our community. Our district had initially canceled football season due to the damage to the field and locker rooms, but they came back and decided it would be better for morale if the boy got to play…the season will be on once school starts. My sons’ phone was lighting up with the excitement in their messenger chat. It brought some hope and excitement to those boys.
There were some commenting on the announcement on Facebook “yeah, that’s what our priorities should be” …
for you sir…yes, yes it is!
Our boys, our community need to have some normalcy in their lives. They live for their teammates, their brothers & the game. I’ve very happy they will have that after all they have been through.
There are so many rushing in to help our little communities. Giving hot food, water & hope. To them, there aren’t enough words to say how thankful we are for you.
I heard yesterday that Aransas County schools (Rockport-Folton) will not be opening this year and that the students are to enroll where they evacuated to. This made me very sad for those students. I hope some of them join APISD so they can stay close to their community and let us show them how we care.
My heart breaks for every community affected by Hurricane Harvey. So many communities devastated, so many lives changed forever. Even if they weren’t hit directly by the storm, they were flooded out like Houston or changed just by taking in evacuees. I’ve seen so much love and heart comes out this past week. So many people want to help their fellow man.
I will be returning to my own home town tomorrow to assess the damages to our own home to get an idea of when we can return. I’m not sure if my strength will hold up as we drive through our town. We continue to ask for your prayers and assistance. If you can donate your time our towns desperately need volunteers to help clean up debris.

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In Spring is when the trees blossom and the flowers bloom. It’s when the grass grows and the rains come. Nothing says spring like a beautiful Spring colored handbag. How about a pretty baby blue robins egg Coach purse? It’s almost Easter and what fun it would be to find out you’re the winner of this beautiful Coach bag. My blogging friends and I came together to offer an eggcellent purse in this Coach giveaway. Please be sure you follow the rafflecopter to thank all the bloggers who put their time and effort into this beautiful bag so we can have a fun giveaway.
Whatever the time of year it’s always a good time to win a Coach handbag. Have you ever carried a Coach purse? Do you love them?
Want to win this Coach bag for yourself?
Then be sure to enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
US giveaway 18 and older. Winner to respond within 48 hours or new winner will be drawn. All winners will be verified. It is up to the admin to decide if the winner met the rules.Voidwhere prohibited by law. The blogs were not compensated for hosting this giveaway. The blogs aren’t responsible for prize delivery.MyUnEntitled Life will mail the purse with insurance to the winner. Once prize is in Post Office’s hands my blog is no longer responsible.

There are many reasons why some parents cannot stay at home with their children. In these cases you need to know what to look for when choosing a daycare provider..this can be a daunting task! Let me share with you a few things that I learned over the course of 7 years at accredited centers as well as being a mom to children at the center. You need to know the right questions to ask and what to look for when searching for that perfect provider!
Every state is different, find out your state ratios (Texas for infants is 1/4 or 2/8, but the kicker is 2 can also have 10) I used to work in the infant room and found myself with 10 babies more often that they would have you believe…It can be a bit overwhelming for the teachers and the infants…but if they are good teachers they will get through it with poise and minimal crying from all…So the point is to know the max number and find out from the other parents (if you have the chance to) or the regular teachers what the typical ratio in the room is.
When touring look into the rooms and look for hand washing signs…did the teacher wash her/his hands before serving food, after a diaper, when entering the room? Did they wash the baby’s hands after a diaper, before or after eating or when entering the room from playing outside (yes they go outside..but that’s a whole other topic)
Do they know how to properly store, heat and handle Breastmilk? In my daycare, we were required to wear gloves when handling a breastmilk bottle. Bottles must be labeled and put in a labeled separate container in the fridge. Warmed in a crockpot or bottle warmer.
These are standards created by national groups. Accreditation standards are most often higher than licensing regulations. Child care programs can voluntarily become accredited; it is not mandated by state law. Therefore, accredited child care programs have gone beyond the minimum licensing standards to assist them in providing quality care.
Family child care homes
Group child care homes
Child care centers
Kindergarten classrooms
School Age
Type of childcare – Family child care homes
What are the main standards addressed?
Relationships
Environment
Activities
Developmental Learning Goals
Safety and Health
Professional Business Practice
Where can I get more information? Visit their website: www.nafcc.org or call 1-800-359-3817
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Type of child care – Child care centers, Kindergartens, public school preschools
What are the main standards addressed?
Relationships
Curriculum
Teaching
Assessment of Child Progress
Health
Teachers
Families
Community Relationships
Physical Environment
Leadership & Management
Where can I get more information? Visit their website: www.naeyc.org or call 1-800-424-2460
Just because it may show to be accredited doesn’t mean that the teachers will follow through…they are told when they are getting “visitors” and always act appropriately when they are there…when your are touring, this gives you the chance to pop in and see how the teachers really interact…are they on the floor with the little ones? or are the kids left to wonder the room on their own? Now if it is a room where there are diapers know that the teacher will be changing diapers and can’t always “drop” that kid to interact with the others..use your common sense in these cases…Now when I worked in the infant room, I would sit on the floor to feed a bottle so I could interact with my mobile babies at the same time…no it wasn’t the most comfortable, the kids were happy and engaged…
Most daycares have a late pickup fee, or if you’re late too many time you may get kicked out of the program! Nobody wants this!
Do they lock down the center? Call parents right away or wait till they are at the evacuation location? How do they transport to the evacuation location?
You’re probably confused…an evacuation location is typically a local church, country club, elementary..that your daycare will evacuate to in case of a fire, bomb threat, gas leak etc.
Pretty self-explanatory, most of your high dollar daycares or “learning centers” will require that their lead teachers have a degree in child development.
While having a degree or initial training is great, laws change, new developmental techniques are found…do they offer continuing education to their teachers? In my daycares I was required to have 20+ continuing education hours a year…most of which were provided by the company on “staffing days”.
Now it may not be one of the most important questions for under 3, but remember 50% of what kids learn they learn before they are 5! So those first 3 years are very important…Interaction is tops, but right behind is curriculum, what will they work on…the curriculum needs to mold with your child, not leave them behind or confused.
Make sure that the daycare is on board with how you choose to introduce solids, whether it be BLW or puree, they need to be able to follow YOUR routine bcuz they only have your child for a few hours, you have them the rest of the time.
Do they allow your child to decide when it is nap time or do they make them nap on a schedule? Do they allow the children to CIO?
Some daycares have a waiting list…you want to get in the best ones, you need to start looking early…don’t wait till your ready to go back to work, you will be stuck in a daycare your not happy with.
pretty self-explanatory…do the teachers know what to do if heaven forbid your baby starts choking…or fell and hit their head? It’s hard to think about something happening when your not their, that’s why its important for the teachers to be up to date on how to handle these situations

This post may contain affiliate links which fund the My Sparkling Life blog.
Pirates of the Caribbean is one of Disney’s most popular series of films. Originally based off the popular ride at the Disney parks, they quickly became a hit. Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth film in the series, will be hitting theaters everywhere soon, and to celebrate The Hopping Bloggers have put together an awesome prize pack for one lucky reader! This package is worth nearly $200 and includes:
Synopsis Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) feels the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost sailors led by his old nemesis, the evil Capt. Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle. Jack’s only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it, he must forge an uneasy alliance with a brilliant and beautiful astronomer and a headstrong young man in the British navy.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES opens in theaters everywhere May 26th!
Connect with Pirates of the Caribbean
Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | #PiratesLife
Enter to win this Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Prize Pack using the form below. GOOD LUCK!
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Pirates, Red Carpets & A Deer | Dead Men Tell No Tales

WhooHoo! The Croods are Coming to Netflix on 12/24 in an all new show Dawn of the Croods.
History’s favorite first family is back in the all-new original family sitcom Dawn of the Croods from DreamWorks Animation premiering on Netflix 12/24 world wide just in time for the holidays! This fun new show deals with modern-day problems for the first time ever in life’s history like discovering: school, a sugar rush, an eye roll, and more! Here’s a sneak peek of the show below.
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As you can probably guess, my little guys have a love for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and it started with the original movies & cartoons…so when it comes to the new movies they were so excited to see new movies that have more action and adventures to offer. When they aren’t watching the movies they enjoy acting them out and playing with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie toys. The new TMNT2 toys are awesomely detailed and provide hours of imaginative play for my little guys.
Playmates Toys has introduced a new collection of products inspired by the upcoming film from Paramount Pictures & Nickelodeon Movies, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. The Collection of movie toys is available now at retailers nationwide! It includes a broad assortment of products for Turtles’ fans of all ages, including action figures, vehicles, playsets, role play gear and more!
They still love playing with their t-sprints they received for Easter, and were excited when they received a few action figures from Playmates Toys the other day! We received Basic Movie Michelangelo & Basic Movie Shredder…they both have fun detail and come with unique accessories. Michelangelo comes with his nunchucks and a hoverboard & Shredder comes dressed in his movie inspired outfit & some removable arm blades.
When my boys are playing there is plenty of action packed fun! Shredder & Michelangelo do NOT like eachother…lol…they can not even “rest” in the same toy bin. Of course growing up with TMNT, my husband and I feel the need to complete the collection for this movie…come on, they have Casey Jones, April O’Neil & Bebop & Rocksteady! I’m really not sure who’s more excited about the line…but I do know who will play with them more…
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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