Thanks so much to everyone for the wonderful blogoversary wishes…and for all of those who linked up for my Mom Sexy celebration last week!  I loved reading your posts…and I’m even more inspired to continue my Mom Sexy Revolution.

I finally got my ass in gear today…and I’m pleased to announce the winner of my blogoversary goodie bag giveaway! But first…you probably want to know what’s in the goodie bag…right?

Here are all the awesome contributors…and the details!

Sophie and Lili - You may have noticed the Sophie and Lili Button on my sidebar. Sophie and Lili are the most adorable handmade dolls you’ve ever seen! My friend Jen makes them and I’m convinced that she’s going to be a household name someday. I have given so many of her dolls as gifts, I can’t even count them. In fact, each time that one of my friends gets pregnant with a girl…I can’t wait till she has the baby and names her so that I can give her a personalized Sophie and Lili doll. That’s right…the dolls are personalized, and the winner of my giveaway will get to choose whatever name she wants for the back of her doll. Early Christmas gift, maybe?

Isn’t this the cutest doll ever??

Swisspers - Swisspers contacted me after viewing my Mom Sexy Minute series video, and they introduced me to their line of organic cotton makeup removal products. Putting on a little make up to look Mom Sexy is great…but leaving it on your skin before you go to bed at night is a big no-no!! This product is great because it doesn’t contain any chemicals or bleach, just natural, organic cotton.

Discovery Toys – Discovery Toys makes great, educational games and toys for kids of all ages. In this goodie bag, they sent me one of their “Flip Flop Faces” games. This is such a cute game and teaches kids to recognize different facial expressions and what they mean, and also helps them with their motor skills, colors, and math skills. Discovery Toys sent my son a Flip Flop Faces game to try as well and he absolutely loves it. We play it every day!

My Baby Clothes Boutique - Need something fun and unique to give as a baby gift? Or maybe you just want to find something cute for your own little munchkin. Mybabyclothesboutique.com has the perfect item for everyone on your list! And as the winner of my giveaway bag, you will receive a $25 coupon towards anything in their online store!

BeautiControl - Believe it or not, I used to do the whole home party biz thing for about a year. I was a BeautiControl consultant, and did in-home spa parties. They were a lot of fun and the products are AMAZING…but I realized that I am a writer, not a sales person! I still have tons of great products sitting on my shelf, and I will be throwing a bunch of them into this goodie bag. BeautiControl products are botanically based, made in the USA, and never tested on animals. From skin care to make up, they are still the only beauty products I use. I am 100% behind this line and always will be.

Ok, on to the part that everyone really cares about…the winner of these great products!!  This was an easy giveaway, and all you had to do to enter was link up a post for my Mom Sexy Blogoversary. There were 20 entries, and without further ado, the winner, selected from random.org is……..

Number 7…Cara from C. Mom!! (I was number 1 on the link up list, so I didn’t count myself…if you go back and count, Cara is number seven)!

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this same thing or not, but it seems like there is a general picture that comes to mind any time I think about pregnancy or trying to get pregnant. It’s one of those common threads that binds us together as women, and there is a good chance that the majority of us will experience this at one point or another over the course of our lives. Have you figured out what I’m talking about yet? That’s right girls, I’m referring to peeing on a stick.

I’ve said before that you check your glamour at the door the minute you have kids (I even have that nifty little Glam Check button over on my left hand sidebar), but the truth is that some of the glamour also goes out the window just in the process of trying to get pregnant!  Between peeing on sticks to try and predict when we’re most fertile, and then peeing on totally different sticks to find out if the first sticks even worked in the first place, we’re left with a process that can be pretty annoying, not to mention a total mess!

I can’t do much about the whole pregnancy test thing as far as peeing on a stick goes, but I’m more than happy today to introduce you to a wonderful little product called the Ovatel Ovulation Predictor to make your “trying to get pregnant” phase a little more pleasant…and I promise it doesn’t involve your bathroom!

I was first introduced to Ovatel when I was selected as one of their Top Ten Mommy Bloggers on their “My Cycle Diary” blog portion of their website.  I was so honored to have been chosen to represent them, and I’m even more honored to spread the word about this revolutionary product.

Unlike other fertility prediction methods, Ovatel uses saliva to identify your fertile period.  Instead of predicting the exact day that you ovulate, Ovatel identifies a 5 day period of fertility during your cycle, which actually increases your chances of becoming pregnant by 80% over the traditional urine sample methods.  It is 98% accurate in predicting your fertile period, and is scientifically proven and recommended by doctors.

I was sent the Ovatel product for my own personal use so that I could chart my cycle over the course of a month.  When the box arrived, I was shocked at how small and indiscreet it was!  I expected it to be this big, bulky product that would take up half my bathroom counter, but it was actually about the size of an egg!  Its compact size makes it perfect to carry in your purse for use at work or anywhere you may be traveling away from home. It’s extremely versatile for today’s busy woman!

Using the Ovatel Predictor is very simple and only takes a few minutes each day.  All you do to use it is to open the base of the product, then swab the inside of your cheek with a clean finger to obtain a sample of saliva. You then remove the white applicator stick and rub your finger all over it, then you place it back into the applicator base. You let it air dry for 10 minutes, and then you hold the microscope part of the product up the light to get a clear view of the “ferning pattern” of your sample.

During your 5-day fertile period, your levels of estrogen surge and salt crystals appear in your saliva.  When you look at these crystals under a microscope, they resemble the pattern of a fern plant, hence the term “ferning pattern.”  Once you see the ferning pattern begin, your 5-day window starts, and doctors recommend that you have sex every single day during the window for the highest probability of conception.  (I know, I know…your husbands will be grinning like kids in a candy store when they hear that one)!

Even if you aren’t quite ready to conceive just yet, the Ovatel Predictor is a great tool to use to chart your cycle each month so that you will have a better understanding of your menstrual cycle patterns in the future, which could make it easier to conceive when you are ready.

I would highly recommend this product to any woman who is tired of the hassle of traditional ovulation prediction methods, and also to any woman who plans on having a child in the future.  For more information about Ovatel, you can visit their wonderful website for the whole scoop and also some great testimonials from real couples who have successfully conceived after using the product.

Ovatel is highly affordable, and you can purchase one here for only $29.99. You can also have the chance to win one for FREE, since I am hosting a giveaway as well!

The wonderful people at Ovatel sent me a great little goodie bag to giveaway to one of my lucky readers.  It contains the Ovatel Ovulation Predictor, a $10 Starbucks gift card, a vanilla scented candle, and a few pregnancy test strips.

HOW TO ENTER: (I’m making this one extra easy to go along with how simple the Ovatel product is to use)!!

REQUIRED ENTRY: Leave me a comment and tell me why you or someone in your life needs Ovatel.

EXTRA ENTRIES: (You must complete the required entry for any extra ones to count.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry).

1 entry: Vote for Me to be Nominated as a Parent’s Pick for Best Parenting Blog at Parent’s Connect by clicking the badge on my right sidebar.

(You can vote once a day…hint, hint, wink, wink).

1 entry: Tweet this Giveaway by copying and pasting the following:  Win an Ovatel Ovulation Predictor from @themommyologist http://bit.ly/dj5Me7 Please RT #giveaway

GIVEAWAY RULES: This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents over the age of 18 only.  It will begin on Thursday, May 20th and end on Thursday, June 3rd 2010 at 12 noon EDT.  A winner will be selected using random.org and will be notified via email.  The winner will have 48 hours to claim her prize.  If she has not responded within the 48 hour window, a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure:  Ovatel sent me their Ovulation Predictor kit for my own personal use so that I could provide an accurate review of the product.  I was not paid by Ovatel for this review.  All opinions expressed about the product in this post are purely my own and were not influenced by Ovatel in any way.  I am not a doctor, nor I am quailified to give advice on fertility, so if you have any questions about getting pregnant, please consult your physician.  If you would like more information about Ovatel, please contact the company directly.  If you have any questions about this review, you can contact me via email at: themommyologist(at)gmail(dot)com.

Ok everyone, so I’ve been on a pretty good exercise kick for a little over a month now, and I’ve gotta tell ya, I’m feelin’ GOOD. I am doing Zumba on a consistent three day per week basis, and I haven’t been shy about letting everyone know how it’s bringing out my inner Mom Sexy!  And not only do I feel much sexier these days, but I also feel stronger, healthier, and more confident.

Zumba is not only tons of fun, but it is also an incredible workout.  I leave each session drenched in sweat and ready for a huge glass of water to quench my thirst.  The only problem with guzzling all that water down is that it is pretty boring, and it isn’t always super-satisfying.  Lately I find myself craving a beverage that will not only satisfy my thirst, but will also replenish my energy.

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted to do a review and giveaway for Ultima Replenisher, which is an all natural balanced electrolyte drink.  It is basically the natural alternative to Gatorade.  And when I say that Ultima Replenisher is all natural, I MEAN IT.  It is naturally sweet with no sugar and no artificial ingredients.  It is completely vegan, and is also gluten-free and is even safe for pregnant women!  It is full of electrolytes and contains vitamins and antioxidants to replenish and protect your body from free radicals.

I jumped at the chance to review the Ultima Replenisher product and thought it would be the perfect compliment to my Zumba workouts!  I was sent a box of sample packets to try in various flavors including grape, wild raspberry, orange, and lemonade. I tried the lemonade version first and absolutely loved it.  It was refreshing and tasty, without being too sweet. Within the course of a week or so, I sampled all of the other flavors in the box and found each one to be just as good as the last!

It is so nice to know that I am doing something healthy for my body by enjoying a nice cold glass of Ultima Replenisher after my workouts.  It has actually gotten to the point where I can’t wait to walk through the door of my house after an energetic Zumba session and grab one of the packets to mix up a tasty post-workout treat!  It is just so much more satisfying than water, and I feel rejuvenated after drinking it.  And the fact that it only has 10 calories per serving doesn’t hurt either!

Ultima Replenisher is the perfect all natural sports drink to compliment any workout, and it is even recommended by doctors. In fact, they recently teamed up with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the doctors there recommend the product to their patients to keep them hydrated during treatment.

Ultima Replenisher is available in boxes of packets, just like I received, and it is also available for purchase in 30 serving and 90 serving canisters.  They even make a product designed specifically for children, which acts as a wonderful alternative to Pedialyte and other sports drinks.

In addition to the packets I tried, they also sent me a sample canister of the raspberry flavored Kids Replenisher and my son just loves it!  I plan on using it a lot this summer on hot days to keep him hydrated while we are playing outside in the sun.

Ultima Replenisher products can be purchased from their website, and from other fine retailers such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats Market.  I know that I will be heading over to Whole Foods this week to pick up some more since my supply is almost out!  I really just can’t get enough of this stuff.

You can run out and buy it for yourself right now, or you can enter my giveaway to win a box of sample packets just like I received! And I’m not giving away just one box…I’m giving away FIVE! That’s right…FIVE of my lucky readers will get to try all of the yummy flavors that Ultima Replenisher offers for FREE!

HOW TO ENTER:

Required Entry:  Visit the Ultima Replenisher website and tell me which flavor you would most like to try and how it would compliment your busy lifestyle.

Follow my blog publicly and tell me that you are.

Additional Entries:  (You must complete the required entry in order for any additional entries to count.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry).

Follow my 2nd blog, The Spy Mom, publicly – 1 entry

Subscribe to my RSS feed – 1 entry

Follow me on Twitter and leave me your Twitter name – 1 entry

Tweet this giveaway by copying and pasting the following – Win a box of Ultima Replenisher all-natural electrolyte drink packets from @themommyologist http://bit.ly/cMLefF- 2 entries

Grab one of my buttons and add it to your site – 2 entries

Add The Mommyologist to your blogroll – 2 entries

GIVEAWAY RULES: This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents over the age of 18 only.  This giveaway will commence on Wednesday, April 21st and will end on Thursday, May 6th at 12pm, EDT.  Each of the five winners will be chosen using random.org, and will be notified via email of their win.  Each winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize, and if they do not respond to my email within 48 hours, then a new winner(s) will be chosen.  I will report the winners to the company, and the boxes of Ultima Replenisher samples will be mailed directly from them.

Disclosure:  I was not compensated by Ultima Replenisher for conducting this review of their products.  I was provided with samples for my own personal use.  All of the opinions expressed in this post are purely my own and were not influenced in any way by Ultima Replenisher.  If you have any questions about their products, please contact them directly.  If you have any questions about this review, please contact me via email at themommyologist(at)gmail(dot)com.

All images in this post were found on www.ultimareplenisher.com.