Karen

aaaOh, so cute, this coordinated baby bedding from Beyond Bedding will make your baby’s nursery look like it was professionally decorated! Just look:

 The 9pc Kaylee baby bedding collection by JoJO Designs creates a stunning boutique setting for your little fashionista. This designer girl crib bedding set uses a sensational collection of JoJO Designs exclusive 100% Cotton fabrics paired with plush Minky fabrics. It boasts a black and white scroll print, a bold designer stripe, black and white mini dot print, and purple minky swirl. The gorgeous color palette of purple, black and white will set your nursery up in high style. This JoJO Designs set will fit all standard cribs and toddler beds and is machine washable for easy care and repeated use.

The 9 pcs. included in this set are:

• Crib Blanket: 45in. x 36in.
• 2 Window Valances: 84in. x 15in. ea.
• Crib Skirt: 52in. x 28in. x 12in.
• drop Fitted crib sheet: 52in. x 28in. x 8in.
• pocket Bumper: 158in. x 10in.
• Diaper stacker: 15in. x 6in.
• Toy bag
• Pillow

This giveaway starts today, and ends on September 24, 2012 at midnight. The prize is the Purple and Black Kaylee Girls Boutique Baby Bedding 9 pc Crib Set by JoJo Designs, available at Beyond Bedding (ARV $265.00)(Winner may choose a more neutral set if they desire.) To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to Henrietta from A Hen’s Nest for organizing this fun giveaway!

You all know me as Fabgrandma, but in real life my name is Karen. My husband, whom I always refer to as Fabgrandpa, is Jim. We have been married for twenty years (in July of this year), and in that twenty years, we have had many different mattresses.

Back in August of 2000, Jim and I sold all our “stuff”, then put our house up for sale. It took only ten days from the time the sign went in the yard until I was sitting at the closing table. For the last 8 years before we sold the house, we slept on a waterbed. It was ok to sleep on, but made it hard to get into and out of bed. And if the electricity went off in the winter, it was c-c-c-cold.

A few days after selling the house, we moved into our first RV trailer. I loved the construction and look of it, but let’s face facts–we paid just over $18,000 to buy a brand new 32′ travel trailer. The mattress in it was, for the sake of keeping it clean here, a piece of junk. We slept on it for about six months before we literally threw it out in the yard and bought an air mattress. A couple of months after that, we woke up in the middle of the night with a flat.

That flat mattress started a chain reaction of buying a new air mattress every few months. I liked that the air mattress was convenient , very inexpensive at only $40, and it was a standard queen size. It was like camping. Wait! We WERE camping, but it wasn’t supposed to be like that! We decided after a year or so of sleeping on air that we really needed to buy a new mattress. We did, and it was somewhat comfortable so  we decided in 2006 when we bought a new trailer that we would move that old mattress in and get rid of the standard piece of junk RV mattress as soon as we moved in the new one.

Uh, OH! We forgot to measure the platform in the new trailer, and guess what? It wouldn’t fit! The mattress in the new RV was somewhere between a queen size and a king size. That old mattress wouldn’t fit on the platform, because it was also about 4 inches too short to accommodate any standard size of mattress. We were stuck! We left our old mattress in the old trailer, and slept on the new piece of junk for about four years.

Two years ago, when we could tolerate that RV mattress no longer, we went to a mattress store and ordered a special made mattress that would fit our wonky size space. We had it made to the same size as the original equipment.  Queen size sheets are too small, and king size sheets are too large. I can never make the bed and have the sheets fit.

That special order mattress is already sagging in the middle. I wonder every night how in the heck it can sag when it is perched on a platform. I have enough trouble trying to sleep since my surgery in May, and can only sleep on my back or on my right side. When I turn on my side, I roll down the slope of the bed, and only hope that my husband doesn’t get up in the night and let me roll on out of bed into the floor on the opposite side of the bed!

Last winter, we finally bought another house. We will be moving into that house in November when we leave our seasonal job at the Grand Canyon and go home to Georgia. The very first thing we will need to buy for the new house is a mattress and bed.

I have been reading reviews of the iComfort Serta Mattresses from Sears. I would love to have one of these in queen size.

I love how you can get one that adjusts to different positions, so that you can sit up easily in bed to read, watch TV, or use a laptop.

I would love to have a mattress that would allow me to use queen size sheets and have them actually fit! I love that the iComfort mattress offers more targeted support than other memory foam mattresses, something that my husband and I both really need. I need support in my lower back–he needs it in his hips, upper back and neck. I love that it has Cool Action Gel to help keep the mattress cool all night long, something that will come in quite handy during summers in west Georgia. I also love that it is antimicrobial and dust mite resistant, something that is very important for Jim because he has COPD, and every thing that we can do to prevent respiratory problems is a plus. I can not wait to get out of this remote area and be able to lay down on one in the store! I wonder if I can make myself leave the store if I do?

I have been shopping at Sears since I was a little girl. My mother used to take all five of us kids shopping at Sears for school clothes every year. I still remember the time my little brother got his hand caught in the elevator door, and had to have a security guard help him get it unstuck. (We, of course, where a bunch of misbehaving brats. I don’t think my mother ever found out about that.) And, every year when that Sears Christmas catalog arrived in the mail, my brothers and I fought over who was going to get to look at it every day! By the time Santa arrived, that book was dog eared! Now, as an adult, I know I can get everything I need, from sheets to lamps to bedroom furniture, at Sears. As we get closer to the time when we will be getting back home and starting to furnish our little house, the more I am thinking about being able to shop at Sears for the things I need.

Sears iComfort Labor Day Promotion Offer, Valid 8/20-9/8 Only:

• Free Box Spring or up to $400 off Adjustable Base with purchase of iComfort or iSeries mattress.
• Free Delivery with a $499 or more purchase.
• Free Haul Away of your old mattress.
• 36 month Financing with a $1,300 or more purchase.
• 2 Free iComfort scrunch memory foam pillows with mail-in rebate.
• Blogger Exclusive Coupon Code: BLOGMATTRESS (2x ShopYourWay Rewards Points), online only. (Valid 8/31-9/7 Only)
• You can shop online for the Serta iComfort Mattresses from Sears.

When my babies were infants,I don’t remember having anything like a play center or activity chair for baby. I know I put them in their high chair sometimes to play with toys on the tray, but nothing like this GoPod Portable Activity Center from One Step Ahead.

This  One Step Ahead Exclusive play center lets baby stretch those little legs. The  lightweight confiner lets baby stand, but—unlike bulky play saucers—folds for easy travel! There are a  cupholder, a snackholder, and five toy loops to keep little ones busy (toys not included).

 

Use it at home when you need a hands-free moment, and take it with you when you go somewhere. It is very portable–it only  weighs 7 lbs. It has adjustable height, and a protective foot mat and carry bag. For use indoors and out. For ages 4 months and up; up to 26 lbs. or until baby starts walking.

The giveaway for this cute One Step Ahead GoPod Activity Center starts today, and ends September 24, 2102 at midnight. To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to Henrietta from  A Hen’s Nest  for organizing this fun giveaway!