And the winner is....

981 South Bolmar Street, Suite E.
West Chester, PA 19382

(484) 880-4465

Congratulations...Shannon at You Ott 2 Know, on winning the The Jumping Monkey weekday 5-pack of passes! We cannot wait to hear about how much you enjoyed your prize. Have fun!

Stay tuned for next weeks giveaway!.....

S u P E r C r A z y sale!

The Diaper Bag Wrangler has a S u P E r C r A z y SALE going on this week. Huge savings on select Wipes Cases, Organizers, Burp Cloths, Changing Pads and nothing on the clearance rack is over $5.00 - That means you can save up to 75%!!! Tell your friends...who doesn't love a bargain?! Click here to go directly to the sale items

I am a HUGE Diaper Bag Wrangler fan. Check out the Toddler Apron & Potholder Set...It is my favorite toddler gift to give. Throw in a box of brownie, cake & pancake mix and you have the PERFECT Mommy-Daughter memory baking gift! The kids love getting to help mommy in the kitchen all dressed up in their totally cool apron.



Unfortunatly the Toddler Apron & Potholder Set isn't on sale this week but I was able to dig up a PROMO CODE: Use CCMAMA for 10% off Toddler Apron & Potholder Purchases at www.diaperbagwrangler.com

Personalized Photo Book from Shutterfly

I was just online at Shutterfly downloading pictures (the current price is only 15 cents per print and I can pick them up at Target.. Bonus!) and saw the ad for a new personalized photo book. It is a DORA book...cue the applause! My daughter is a HUGE Dora fan so I had to check this out. The book is called Explore new places with Dora! Your child will love starring in a book with Dora the Explorer as they travel together on an exciting adventure to rescue Boots! A great gift for your little explorer!





Creating this book online is so simple and takes only a few minutes. Select your favorite picture to be featured on the cover and throughout the book’s 35 full-color pages. Upload the photo, enter basic information that will be automatically woven into the story, including your child’s name, birthday, and hometown. You can also add an optional dedication for the book’s opening page.
Enter Promo Code: AF62-JL08 to receive a FREE 8x10 print with this order.

My 3 year old daughter received The Amazing Alphabet Adventure book for her birthday and LOVES it! We read it almost every night. She likes to look for her picture on every page. Since she is such a Dora fan I just ordered the Dora book. I know she is going to absolutly LOVE it!

To order your very own Dora, Sesame Street or Alphabet Adventure book click on the link below. Did you know that Shutterfly has Diego, Thomas the Train, Angelina Ballerina, Sponge Bob and Clifford Memory Books? They are a perfect way to remember a theme birthday party. Shutterfly also has a great assortment of select Nick Jr. character invitations, thank you cards and photo posters.



Leave a comment if you have any additional Shutterfly promo codes to share.

This week's give away!

We are pleased to announce the 1st of many, Chester County Moms give aways for local moms!

The Jumping Monkey in West Chester, has generously donated a weekday 5-pack of passes (valued at $36) to be given to one lucky mom! How cool is that?!?

The Jumping Monkey is a premium indoor moon bounce facility offering open bouncing daily, birthday party packages, and family fun nights. My son personally loves the huge fire engine moon bounce and I love that I can bring outside food & drinks (since my little guy is always snacking).

To enter this fabulous giveaway, post a comment below by Wednesday, July 23rd at 10 PM. Tell us what you love about the new CCM blog and if there are any business reviews or products that you would like to see featured.

Not a blogger? Great News! You can still enter this fun contest! Simply post a comment as anonymous and email us at: chestercountymoms@gmail(dot)com. We will post the winner on Thursday.

Good luck and Thanks for reading Chester County Moms! Don't forget to sign up for e-mail subscriptions for this site (top of the page) so you will know about all of the give aways going on weekly.

Visit The Jumping Monkey at 981 South Bolmar Street, Suite E, West Chester, PA 19382. For more information please call (484) 880-4465 or click on the highlighted links above.

Katie Couric shout out to Mommy Bloggers!

Concerts on the Square at Eagleview

These concerts are a great way to spend time with family & friends while enjoying the summer weather on Tuesday evenings throughout the summer. Bring a lawn chair, blanket, food, drinks, and listen to awesome music! Concerts are free to the public and are held outdoors every Tuesday night from 7-9 pm in the Town Square. While no admission is charged, attendees are encouraged to support featured weekly charities.

Here's the line up for the rest of the summer:

July 15th
Jeffrey Gaines – Acoustic RockSpecial Guest – Courtney Fairchild – Folk Rock

July 22nd
DOUBLE BILL —Transistor Radio – Alt-CountryTim Butler – Power Pop

July 29th
BuddaDadda – Funk/Jam BandSpecial Guest – Smyth – Acoustic Rock

August 5th
The Coal Men – Alt-Country BandSpecial Guest – Marc Silver – Country/Folk

August 12th
Seth Walker – Blues/RootsSpecial Guest – Jim Bianco – Singer/Songwriter

August 19th
Angie Aparo – RockSpecial Guest – Craig Bickhardt – Folk

August 26th
Entrain – Percussion Driven FunkSpecial Guest – Zach Deputy – Roots RockRAINDATE – THURSDAY, AUGUST 28th – (Artist to be decided)

FREE Summer Movies at Regal Cinemas

When school's out, kids around the country visit selected Regal theatres for the Free Family Film Festival. It's a fun-filled nine weeks of movies for kids and parents. Since 1991, Regal has provided this service to the community, and best of all it's FREE! Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer.


Downingtown Stadium 16
100 Quarry Road
Downingtown ,PA 19335-3062
610-518-3404

07/15/2008-07/16/2008: Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (G)
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

07/22/2008-07/23/2008: Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G)
Bee Movie (PG)

07/29/2008-07/30/2008: Charlotte's Web (G)
Racing Stripes (PG)

08/05/2008-08/06/2008: Babe: Pig In The City (G)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PG)

08/12/2008-08/13/2008: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
The Last Mimzy (PG)


East Whiteland Stadium 9
593 W. Lancaster Avenue
Frazer ,PA 19355
610-251-5207

07/15/2008-07/16/2008: Running Free (G)
Hairspray (PG)

07/22/2008-07/23/2008: Clifford's Really Big Movie (G)
RV (PG)

07/29/2008-07/30/2008: Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (G)
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

08/05/2008-08/06/2008: Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G) Bee Movie (PG)

08/12/2008-08/13/2008: Charlotte's Web (G)
Racing Stripes (PG)

Finishing Touches...

My Uppercase Living order arrived today. Yay! Uppercase Living is lettering, designs, phrases, and quotes made from vinyl that appear hand-painted. They go directly on walls, glass, mirrors, tile,canvas, car windows, mail boxes, front doors, boats etc.... the options are endless and they are EASY to apply. No paint, no stencils and no mess! They are also easily removed.

Above my front door....



I put the one in Jude's room up ALL BY MYSELF.. I was supposed to wait for my friend to help me but, it was so cool I wanted to get it up right away.



Don't carry the world upon your shoulders???....lyrics to "Hey Jude".

Chester County Moms...if you are interested in hosting an Uppercase Living party please contact K.C at kc@diaperbagwrangler.com

Bounce into Summer...

Bounce U in Exton....Summer Open Bounce Times and Special Events. Schedule Effective June 18th

Preschool Playdates: Tues, Friday Mornings 9:30-11am & 10:45-12:15
Preschool Playdates includes 1 hour of bounce and a ½ hour of snack which we supply. Every Friday during the 10:45 snack portion you have the option to order pizza & unlimited drinks for you and the kiddies! $3.60 pp.(2 slices of pizza and unlimited drinks)

All Ages Open Bounce: Monday-Thursday 1-3
Enjoy 2 hours of "Open Bounce" time. Space is limited, reservations recommended. Please don't forget your socks.

Saturday Morning Open Bounce: 8:45am-10
New Weekend Open bounce! Come and enjoy 1:15mins of open play. Space is limited, Reservations are recommended. Please don't forget your socks.

Family Bounce Night: Wednesday Eve. 6-8pm
Enjoy 2 hours of "Open Bounce"time. Eat DINNER HERE! Pizza and drinks served at 7:20pm, for an additional $3.60. Order pizza when you sign in for the "Open Bounce"

Special Summer Events
Celebrate Christmas in July- July 15-31st. HO! HO! HO!
Bring an unwrapped gift appropriate for a boy or girl ages 3-12. Gifts will be donated to local charities. Receive $2 off admission for being a generous bouncer. (Good for any open bounce )

**Admission for Preschool Playdates - $8.50+tax
**Admission for Open Bounce - $8.95+tax
**Admission for Saturday Open Bounce -$8+tax
Advance Reservations are Recommended!!

Bounce U
882 Springdale Dr.
Whiteland Business Park
Exton, PA 19341
Phone:(610) 363-6610
Email: exton.pa@bounceu.com

Is Cheap Gas an Urban Legend?

Type in your zip, and this website lists the cheapest gas in your area. The site claims to be updated every day. http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

Please take 2 seconds to do this....

If you know anyone who has had a Mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days afte surgery.
There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through' Mastectomy where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.
Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show support. Last year over, half the House signed on. PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your, name, state, and zip code. http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php.

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women, THANK YOU!

Chester County Moms Disclosure

Chester County Moms is a website and personal blog written and edited by Chester County Moms (details available upon request)

As the owner of this blog, we do accept forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. Some advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Others are direct advertisements. We will and do accept and keep free products, services, travel, event tickets, and other forms of compensation from companies and organizations. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made on this website and blog.

Chester County Moms is sometimes compensated to provide opinions on products, services, websites and various other topics. Inour efforts to be transparent, if any specific content is sponsored we will identify it as "sponsored" in that individual post. Even though we may receive compensation for advertisements or sponsored posts, our content is editorial and based on my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. We will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog belong purely to Chester County Moms. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party in question.

For questions about this blog, please contact Sarah at sarah (at) Chester County Moms dot com.

Contact Information

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If you would like to have your product or Chester County business reviewed and possibly featured on this blog, please email reviews@chestercountymoms.com .

Uunfortunately we are unable to return samples.

Sales, Advertising & General Information sarah@chestercountymoms.com
Book Reviews kelly@chestercountymoms.com
Going Green shannon@chestercountymoms.com

If you know of a family friendly event happening in the Chester County area please email events@chestercountymoms.com

Chester County Mom Bloggers

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It worked for me!

After seeing an episode of Jon & Kate plus 8 where the sextuplets stated to do simple household chores. I figured it was a good time to have my daughter start to help out around the house too. I DVR'd the episode and we watched it over and over until she got the hang out of chores. Thanx Gosselin's!

I searched E-bay for a chore chart and this single little creation has changed my life and made everyday arguments with her disappear.

Everyday when my little one completes her chores she gets a flower magnet for whatever task she completed. This past week she had a great week and got all flowers! Yay!

To go along with her chore chart we made 3 special boxes with reward/activity cards.

After she brushes her hair in the morning she gets to pick from the first box. There are 10 cards in this box full of our favorite things to eat for dinner. My daughter loves this because she gets to pick what we are having for dinner every night.

She gets to pick from the 2nd box after dinner only if she sits in her chair during dinner without wandering off to the bathroom 10 times, to check on the dogs, or to do some other ridiculous non-sense that keeps her from sitting at the table. The second box has special fun stuff for her & I to do after dinner together. Like blow bubbles, ride bikes, go for a walk in the woods, paint our nails, play board games...etc.

The 3rd box is full of fun family activities to do on Sunday. She only gets to pick a card from this box if she has been good all week(or so she thinks...we would do some kind of family activity regardless she just thinks she is in control of if we do something. It is working so.. shhh!). Activities include...visit the ponies, go to the zoo, ride bikes, go swimming...etc.

Before the chore chart I would chase her around the house trying to brush and style her hair. It was really frustrating. The whole routine that should have taken 5 minutes would take 15 minutes. Now with the chore chart we are down to a happy 5 minute style and go.... I sound like an infomercial but, it really has made life so much easier.
To purchase you very own Chore Chart or personalized calendar click here Please mention that you were referred by Chester County Moms!
FYI...My little ones chores are: brush hair every morning, put toys away, sit in chair when eating, no whining, and be a nice friend.

Marley & Me Filming in West Chester

Jennifer Anniston & Owen Wilson were in town last week shooting sceens from the upcoming film Marley & Me based on the memoir of ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' columnist John Grogan's life with his yellow Lab.

I was totally prepared to pack up the kids and stalk the streets for a glimpse of the celebs but, the rain kept me away. Albeit, a sighting of an "A-lister" was tempting, having to deal with screaming, soggy children beat out my day of playing paparazzi.

The snow in the pictures was fake...gotta love Hollywood magic.

One of Viv's pre-school friends mom sent me these pics.. Enjoy!

Lesson of the day...

How To: Post Blog Comments
I keep hearing people say "hey I was just on your blog the other day..." but I had never gotten a comment from that person. I think most bloggers (I know I do) enjoy getting feedback. Especially in the form of comments. There seem to be alot of people who do not realize that you do NOT have to be a blogger or have a blog account or anything like that in order to leave a comment on my blog - ANYONE can do it! It is EASY!
So... today's lesson is: "How to Leave Blog Comments".
At the end of each post there is a line that reads the date & time of the post and comments....Example
Posted by Sarah at 9:50 AM 6 comments
If you were leaving a comment on the example above you would click on 6 comments. You would then be directed to a page that looks like....


As you can see in the above picture there is an area in which you type your message. Then below that is a spot where you are able to choose your identity. This is actually an outdated picture so it probably won't say "other". Instead it should have a choice marked Name/URL. If you are not signed in as a blogger then you simply choose Name/URL and then you type in your name or nickname and/or your website (if you have one). Another option is to choose the Anonymous option. I ask that if you do that you sign your name on the comment itself so that I know who is leaving the message (Gino!) Then just click on the button that says Publish Comment... and Wa-lah you're done! See, wasn't that easy!?!
The reason I am posting about this is because I have a deep love of the comment and I love that I've been getting regular visitors but I would like it if the people stopping by would let me know they were here. So, please take a moment to say "Hi" and let me know what you think.

Community Calendar

Moxie Moms Chester County Chapter

Join Moxie Moms now for only $29! With your Moxie membership you receive a member's card that gives you a minimum of 15% off discounts at local partners (such as My Gym in Lionville, Stroller Strides, Kindermusik & Baby Signs Classes, online boutiques, and much more)! Moxie also offers a great online calendar, filled with all types of fun and fitness events going on in the Chester County & tri-state area!

You can attend as many (or as little) of the events that you would like ... You can join simply for the partner discounts ... Whatever fits your lifestyle!
Visit http://www.moxie-moms.com/pachesterco/ to learn more about Moxie Moms, see our calendar, and view the partners we have scheduled so far.
If you are interested in joining please email margie@moxie-moms.com for the $29 special code.

Canine Creature Comforts - Frazer

Canine Creature Comforts is a one-stop grooming,training & doggy- daycare located at the intersection of Rt. 30 & Rt.401 in Frazer. There is also a doggy boutique that has leashes & collars, bedding, toys, dog food, gourmet treats and unique gifts for dog lovers. The trainers and groomers are great! My dogs attend the day care program and love it! I have 3 Boston Terriers that don't like to go outside when it is cold or raining. Now when it is raining or cold they go to Canine Creature Comforts and get to play all day instead of being cooped up in the house. And.. best of all they are exhausted when they come home!
For more information please visit www.caninecreaturecomforts.com or call Amy at 610-269-8407... Tell her.. Duke, Lulu & Penny sent you.

Local Zoos

Philadelphia Zoo

Family Fun Days

3400 West Girard AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19104

Phone: 215-243-1100

See some of the animals receive special harvest treats like pumpkins and gourds at Philadelphia zoo or enjoy a balloon ride in the Zoo Balloon. Rise high above the treetops of the Zoo and overlook giraffes and zebras. Elevate to heights of 400 feet and enjoy spectacular views of Fairmount Park and the Philadelphia skyline. Guests may enjoy both daytime and evening flights on the region's lone passenger carrying helium balloon. Voyages last approximately 15 minutes.

www.philadelphiazoo.org

Brandywine Zoo

1001 North Park Drive

Wilmington, DE 19802

302-571-7747

The Brandywine Zoo offers programs specially designed for children 18 months to 3 years old. These fun-filled frolics into the animal world may include stories, live animal visits, crafts and snack. All children must be accompanied by an adult. One adult is admitted free for each participating child. Programs are held in the Education Building (located next to the Monkey House). Space is limited to 10 children, so pre-registration is strongly suggested.
General Hours: 10:00am to 4:00pm

OutDoorAdmission: $7 per child; $5 per child

Elmwood Park Zoo

1661 Harding Blvd.Norristown, PA 19401

610-277-3825

Each month, Elmwood Park Zoo presents FREE interactive programs for all ages! Enjoy stories, crafts, and other activities! Visitors to Wild Adventures programs must pay Zoo admission. Programs last two hours and begin at 12:00 Noon unless otherwise noted. Program themes are listed on website.

For more information visit http://www.elmwoodparkzoo.org/