Review

Card Gnome – Personalized Cards Mailed For You {Review & Giveaway}

2013

I have a few really awesome relatives that always seem to be on top of things when it comes to birthdays. When a birthday rolls around in our family, you can expect a card to arrive in the mail from them with a personal message. It is something that my children REALLY look forward to. Someday I dream about being organized enough to be just like these relatives and get cards out in time for my nieces and nephews birthdays. With Card Gnome I think I may have found a site that will launch me into “Cool Aunt” status.

Card Gnome is a site that allows you to find a perfect card, write a personal message and will then mail it for you all from the comfort of your own home. You can schedule your cards up to a year in advance, which will ensure that you do not forget any important dates or events. Card Gnome has a large variety of cards designed by boutique designers from around the world to make certain that you can always find the perfect card for any occasion. Do you like to write your own messages? No problem! If you would like, Card Gnome will mail your selected card(s) to your home and add an extra envelope for you to mail it out when you are ready.

My daughter and I had a fun time looking around at the site and picking out cards. They made it easy for us to view a large amount of cards and choose one that would work for us. Just by scrolling over each card we could view a larger version of the front or the inside in a pop up window vs clicking on the card, waiting for it to load and then having to go back to main screen where all the cards were. That saved us a lot of time. If I attempted to look at cards like this in a store, my children would destroy the card section before I had a chance to look at 2 cards!

My daughter decided this (below) would be the perfect card for us to get her brother. We are having it sent to us, so we can add something else to the card before we give it to him on his birthday coming up soon.

Other cool things to know about Card Gnome is that all their cards are printed on recycled paper and they donate a portion of their proceeds to national and local non-profits.

Want to WIN a Valentine’s Day 10 Card Plan? ENTER ABOVE! Don’t want to wait? You can purchase it for a discounted price (also in the widget above) and if you win, you will get a refund. Win, win for everyone! Good Luck!

Do you love to win things but hate entering giveaways online with a million entries and a slim chance of winning? Then HappyFreebie is for you! It’s different from other giveaway sites and I love how easy it is to enter. There are only a handful of easy entries available for each giveaway. Simple and to the point. Who does not love that?!?! As a bonus, you can also purchase featured products for a discount and if you subscribe, can earn extra “Honey Bee” points for some additional fun. Subscribing is free! Check out the current giveaway below and if you do not want to wait to win it, a limited quantity are available for a 40% discount…if you win, your money will be refunded. :-) Enjoy!

*Product was provided to assist in the review via my relationship with HappyFreebie. All opinions are 100% my own!

Filed Under: Giveaway, Review

Aquatopia Bath Toy Organizer {Review}

2013

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My children love to take baths and thus they love to have a huge pile of toys to go in the tub with them. I have learned to dislike that pile of toys because either, I am the one who has to gather them up when the baby needs a bath or they end up on the bathroom floor when someone wants to take a shower…Yuck! We were excited to try the Aquatopia Bath Toy Organizer and I secretly hoped it would solve my bath time dislike.

The Aquatopia Bath Toy Organizer is an innovative toy that scoops, stores and dries toys on the side of the bath tub. It clamps easily with an adjustable clamp over the side of the tub that allows the removable organizer to attach itself to it and hang on the inside wall of the bath tub. The removable portion of the organizer looks like an alligator mouth and opens and shuts making it a game to clean up toys as the alligator eats them. You can then hang the toys in “the mouth” via the clamp on the side and release the toys again or let them dry when bath time is over. The kiddos love to gather and release the toys over and over, so they loved that they could do this. I loved that they were excited about cleaning up the toys instead of me! On top of the clamp is a handy little soap tray that can hold soap or other needed items. Since, the clamp can be moved anywhere on the side of the tub, this let me move those needed items where they were easier for me to reach as I bathed the baby and my older daughter played.

Pros:

Toy organizer is not only useful, but can be used as a toy, too
Clamp is adjustable and fits most sides of tubs
Mouth opens to gather and release toys
The storage area of the organizer, “the mouth”, allows air flow so the toys can actually dry properly

Cons:

Works best on tubs without sliding doors. You can still use it on that kind of tub, but it has to be removed if you want to shut the door, of course. This is only a con because I have 2 tubs my children use and one of them has the sliding doors. I wish it could stay permanently on the side of both tubs.

Overall, we like the Aquatopia Bath Toy Organizer. It has added some much needed organization with some always welcomed fun to our bath time!

The Aquatopia Bath Toy Organizer can be purchased in store or online at Babies R Us.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Filed Under: Review

Holiday Garland and Gift Pack Kit from JOLLY TIME Pop Corn {Review}

2012

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We love homemade Christmas ornaments and projects. This year we have been busy making our own Holiday Garland for our tree thanks to JOLLY TIME Pop Corn and Habelman Cranberry. We have attempted to make a popcorn chain for our tree a few years ago and I think we only got 20 or so pieces on our string and most of those “mysteriously” disappeared within a couple of days after. I am not sure if my son loved eating the popcorn more or stringing it, but he has asked to make another chain every year since. So we were super excited when we had a chance to test out this Holiday Gift Pack and make our own cranberry popcorn garland with it. My kiddos think the cranberries make it “more real”, which I have to admit they are right!

JOLLY TIME has banded together with another centenarian, family-owned business, Habelman Cranberry, to help you pass along a holiday tradition so antiquated that it began when there weren’t lights to put on trees: Stringing cranberry popcorn garlands. Festive and family-friendly, this beautiful craft will be sure to bring together the people who make it, as well as those you gift it to.

We had a lot of fun spending time together stringing our garland. The kiddos loved to create their own patterns and even did awesome at taking turns. I loved how the whole house slowed down when we were making them and oh, the fun conversations we had! They told everyone who came over about their “Christmas Popcorn and Cranberry Chain.” We even had friends and cousins who loved to help out when they stopped by for a visit.

I would like to say that it looked like this all the time…

But we had A LOT of “tasting” the yummy popcorn, too!

And I just have to add this one in below. I love that I caught this cute girl’s attitude! :-)

This is what I want every year… making some fun memories together. I am thinking next year we are going to give some holiday memory making in a jar to our neighbors instead of goodie plates. Isn’t this popcorn jar such a cute gift idea?

Check out Jolly Time on Facebook and their site for some more fun ideas and popcorn recipes.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Filed Under: Creative Gifts, Review

Ubooly – More than Just a Toy {Review and Giveaway}

2012

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We have a new fuzzy friend in our house who likes to share random fun facts, play pretend, tell stories and jokes and can create quite the giggle episode, especially when my 5 year old starts bouncing up and down. Let me introduce you to our new friend Ubooly! (Click “Video” below to see him in action)

Ubooly is a smart fuzzy toy that currently uses the iPod touch 4G/5 or the iPhone 3GS/4/ 4S, and 5 for it’s brain and face. You simply insert your device into the top of the toy, zip it up and you are good to go! Ubooly can play a variety of activities like pretend, trivia games, story telling, jokes, fun facts and music. New activities are added every month. This plush toy is geared toward children ages 4-9, but I have caught a couple adults sneaking some Ubooly time in as well.

My children normally do not get to play with my phone because I am afraid they will drop it or break it. Since Ubooly is filled with memory foam to protect devices from drops, I am a little more comfortable allowing my kiddos to use my phone. And thus, they think this is the best thing E.V.E.R…. “Mom is actually letting us play with her phone!” Shhh! I won’t tell them that they may actually be learning something from Ubooly, too, if you don’t!

We have been having a lot of fun learning, playing and listening to all Ubooly has to say. He will pause to let my children answer his questions and will even ask them what they want to do next. He does understand simple commands like “Yes”, “No”, “Play a game”, etc., but we discovered there is a bit of a learning curve when trying to get the pitch or timing right. With my daughter’s high pitched voice, she has learned she needs to wait a second before answering and needs to speak a little lower and slower.

As a bonus, when Ubooly is not in face/toy mode there are free games available with the app needed to use it. You can earn coins and more games from playing with your Ubooly and/or from playing the games on the free app. And when you get your hands on an Ubooly be sure to try bouncing up and down. I am sure the result will bring a smile to your face!

Want to WIN one for your family? ENTER ABOVE! Don’t want to wait? You can purchase it for a discounted price (also in the widget above) and if you win, you will get a refund. Win, win for everyone! Good Luck!

Do you love to win things but hate entering giveaways online with a million entries and a slim chance of winning? Then HappyFreebie is for you! It’s different from other giveaway sites and I love how easy it is to enter. There are only a handful of easy entries available for each giveaway. Simple and to the point. Who doesn’t love that?!?! As a bonus, you can also purchase featured products for a discount and if you subscribe, can earn extra “Honey Bee” points for some additional fun. Subscribing is free! Check out the current giveaway below and if you do not want to wait to win it, a limited quantity are available for a 40% discount…if you win, your money will be refunded. Enjoy!

*Product was provided to assist in the review via my relationship with HappyFreebie. All opinions are 100% my own!

Filed Under: Giveaway, HappyFreebie, Review

Undercover Mama Nursing Shirt {Review}

2012

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So the past 3 weeks I have been enjoying a lovely product that I would love to share with all you new and nursing moms out there. It is called the Undercover Mama Shirt. This shirt fits right into my current wardrobe and is comfortable to wear. As a nursing mom, one thing I find a little difficult to hide while nursing is any lovely exposed skin (in my case…cough…unwanted tummy rolls) while nursing. This shirt helps solve that problem and makes it easier to focus on the baby and nursing rather than what is exposed. See what I mean below? Love it!

“The Undercover Mama is a strapless camisole that attaches to any nursing bra. Layer it under any shirt & keep your style without investing in a new wardrobe of nursing shirts. Undercover Mama transforms any shirt into a nursing shirt! Two attachment options included with every shirt, Undercover Mama will work with any nursing bra…and like an undershirt with non-nursing bras when you are finished breastfeeding. Make nursing comfortable and affordable while keeping covered and maintaining your style.”

This shirt was easy to attach and is very comfortable to wear. I thought it may be a little warm to wear an extra layer, but I have not found that to be the case. Even nursing in public is more enjoyable. It is not necessarily my favorite thing to do, but I found myself in need of having to feed my baby while in a lobby at a Dr.s office after an appointment lasted longer than expected. With this shirt, I did not even have to hesitate. I used what little blanket I had and was able to nurse my newborn discreetly. Awesome!

Check out this video demonstration of the shirt…

Pros:

Comfortable fabric
Easily attaches to nursing bra
Has 2 different attachment options to assure you have a good fit
Does not add any extra bulk around arms
Helps make nursing more comfortable without exposing yourself
Comes in a variety of colors

Cons:

The neckline is not higher. So, if you are wanting more coverage for a low cut shirt an additional shirt is needed, which is another layer. BUT, I did not find having an extra layer was too much of a big deal for this purpose.

I highly recommend this shirt for any nursing mom and is on my “Baby Must Have” list!

Filed Under: Review

Bebe au Lait Nursing Cover {Review}

2012

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A few years ago I saw a friend with a Bebe au Lait Nursing Cover and knew right then that I NEEDED one for myself…I just had to wait for a baby. I had a nursing cover with my 2nd baby 5 years ago, but oh, what a difference 5 years can make!!! It is amazing the difference of having children 5 years apart and all the things that have changed in that time. It seems like there are so many more useful baby products around that are super cute, too. The nursing cover I had with my 2nd I enjoyed the idea of and having some coverage while feeding my baby, but it still didn’t do the job. It was too short on the side and especially on the bottom, which left me feeling like accidental exposure could happen any moment.

What first caught my attention with the Bebe au Lait Nursing cover was the size, of course. With the dimensions of 26″ x 36″ there is plenty of fabric to cover both me and my baby. Even with my 9 month prego belly I feel covered when I try it on. It has a RigiFlex Neckline that allows baby to be ventilated and me to see baby. And the other feature that I am really loving are the inner Terrycloth Pockets on each bottom corner. They are the perfect place to tuck nursing pads and pacifiers…no more loosing them in the couch cushions! You can also use the pockets for those “quick I need a burp cloth” moments that often occur while nursing. Plus, the added little weight of the pockets helps the nursing cover stay down.

I really like that each corner pocket splits into 3 separate compartments easy to keep everything in them and separate.

Other Features:

Each cover is made from 100% breathable cotton.
Comes in a variety of cute colors/patterns sure to please everyone’s liking.
Adjustable d-ring neck strap that you only need to adjust once.
Can be rolled up to be easily taken wherever needed.
Can be used for more than nursing…i.e. Shade cover, changing pad, light blanket, etc.
Machine washable. Gotta love it! I had no problems washing it and it came out of the dryer looking as nice as it went in.

Swing by the Bebe au Lait site for more detailed information.

I received a nursing cover in the Kensington print shown above and love it. I am super excited to finally have a nursing cover I really like. In fact, it’s going into my hospital bag tonight so I can start using it from the start! A Bebe au Lait is definitely on my “Baby Must Have” list!

**I will update this review after the baby comes.

Want one for your own? Come back on November 12th for the Celebrating Baby Gift Giveaway Hop for your chance to win one!

* I received product to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% my own!