COOLIT Bowl for Kids

April 25, 2015 by 4 Comments

You know when that piping hot meal, right off the stove is just too hot? Too hot for that little guy or gal who is starving, and can’t wait to munch it down. You have a table of hungry, hungry hippos and a steaming pot of delicious that is simply too hot to eat right now. Well, you could add ice to it. Water down the food and give it a soaked consistency. This would help with the temperature but ruin the taste.

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A possible solution is the Coolit. The Coolit is a new bowl which is kept in the freezer until meal time. The way it works is it is filled with non – toxic gel formulated for rapid cooling. The inner material resembles that used in ice packs for sports injuries. This bowl works perfectly. It brings food to safe temperatures in moments instead of minutes, all while keeping the flavors consistent. Kids love it and parents love it too. The bowl itself is BPA and PTHALATE free, so you won’t feel guilty using it with hot items. It is also top rack dishwasher safe, so cleaning is a breeze.
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SoCozy Kids Hair Products Now at Target

April 4, 2015 by 6 Comments

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Influence Central for SoCozy. I received Target gift cards to facilitate my review and thank me for my participation.

20150311_151633Trips to the salon for kids can be a bit unnerving. With boredom a constant nag, and hair dressers who are better with adults then kids, it is easy to see why this could be stressful for little ones. With this in mind, Cozy Friedman started salons catered toward the younger clientele, children. More recently, Cozy has branched out into a salon quality hair product line geared toward kids. The line is now available at Target stores. These hair products use the finest ingredients that are also gentle for kids and strong enough to address their hair care needs.

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We really like the fact that SoCozy is versatile and can grow along with your kids, “Red hair, short hair, pink, curly hair. Being you is SoCozy’s idea of cool. Be you!” SoCozy is So Smart, So Safe, So Easy, So Cool.
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Refresh Your Child’s Wardrobe this Spring with RUUM

March 30, 2015 by 7 Comments

I don’t know about your kids, by mine grew like a weed over the winter months. He is going to be taller then me by the time he is ten, I swear.  That being said, with Spring right around the corner (and here for much of the USA), we have the perfect excuse to refresh and brighten up our kid’s wardrobes.

03 02 2015 cannon 021My son loves his new duds- he says they are soft (the thing that he cares most about) and comfortable.  He has worn the pants the most, as it is still winter weather here, and the sweater as well.  We are looking forward to T-Shirt and shorts weather- when will that be, again?  April is in a second….

03 02 2015 cannon 016With just a few clicks of your mouse, you can pick up some basic upgrades for your children this season. Head to http://www.ruum.com/ , they have some fun sales going on right now. The clothes are also fashion forward for the kid who worries about keeping up with trends and styles, and they are easy to mix and match.
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Filed Under: clothes and shoes, fashion, review Tagged With: ,

New Tech for You and Yours

March 11, 2015 by 3 Comments

Not that we are all about the plugging in (in fact, quite the opposite) but there is a time and a place for everything.  When you are looking to upgrade, here are some ideas that can make your next trip that much easier.

pic9Tiggly develops interactive apps for toddlers and preschoolers, as it has been shown through research that manipulating physical objects helps develop key skills in early childhood development. Tiggly Counts is an award-winning math learning toy aimed at ages 18 months- 6 years old.  The goals of Tiggly is to help children develop spatial reasoning, motor skills, language, and creativity.  They have another product in this line available as well, Tiggly Shapes.   When you buy the Tiggly Counts package, you receive the counting objects, that children use to interact with the 3 included apps Tiggly Cardtoons, Tiggly Addventure, and Tiggly Chef . Kids can use the apps with mom and dad to help, or on their own.  They are pretty proud when they accomplish a task “all by themselves”, and the app and counting objects help them learn counting as well.  Available for $30 on http://get.tiggly.com/counts, works with iPhone/iPad and androids.

coloring appPainting Lulu is part coloring book, part app.  Kids can color in the activity book, then scan the page into their tablet using the included free Painting Lulu app.  The art shows up an the screen, where they can keep coloring, retouching, and changing it up as they would like.  They can also start with blank pages and go from there.  The pages can easily be printed, saved, and shared with parents as well.  It comes with the coloring book, app, and digital crayon (stylus) for $9.99 on www.paintinglulu.com. Works with apple and android devices.
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Review and Giveaway- Little Gestalten Books

February 5, 2015 by 34 Comments

There are seemingly no end to the good reasons that parents should read to their children, not the least of which is the simple act of bonding time. I read with my son all the time, but he knows that as part of his bed time ritual, he gets his song, his story, his “made up” story, and then we have to put good dreams into his head.  It’s kind of a long story how that came about, and bedtime starts about 40 minutes before actual bedtime, but it’s a nice way to end the night.

We are always looking for great new books.  We find them everywhere- the bookstore, the library, book sales at his school book swaps- you name it.  His newest books are really beautiful, and something a little different.  If you are a big reader, and have little ones who love to read (or to be read to), you will want to check out the new Berlin-based children’s book publisher Little Gestalten and their debut line of beautiful, high concept, totally unique picture books. Critically acclaimed, The New York Times Style Section says “Little Gestalten….marries thoughtful storytelling with supercool visuals.”

pic7Issun Boshi: The One Inch Boy – This classic Japanese fairy tale tells the story of Issun Boshi, the tiny son of an old, long childless couple. His mother had longed to have a child for so many years that she finally added “even if it is a very small one” to her wish. When the elderly couple did in fact bear a son, he turned out to be only one inch high. He was thus called Issun Boshi, Japanese for one-inch boy. Tiny and brave — these are the two most striking characteristics of Issun Boshi. Although his parents raised him very lovingly, Issun Boshi realized one day that he would not grow any taller. He then left his home to set off on a journey to find his place in the world.
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How To: Quick Birthday Robot Snack for Kids

January 9, 2015 by 1 Comment

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Being a teacher, blogger, mom, and grad school student I feel like I am always running from on thing to the other. I love to take time to do fun, and cute crafts, but sometimes I feel like I go way too long without doing them. I was so excited to be able to put together these cute little robot snacks for my daughter and her friends at school.

What You Need:

  • Individually packaged applesauce (I used the strawberry applesauce)
  • Square Juice Box
  • Laffy Taffy (2 for each)
  • Small Boxes of Raisins (2 for each)
  • Plastic Spoon
  • Googly Eyes (2 for each)

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How To:

  1. Tape the raisin boxes to the bottom of the juice box
  2. Tape the Laffy Taffy candy onto the top of the juice box for the arms.

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French Toast For All Your School Uniform Needs

December 17, 2014 by 9 Comments

Disclosure- I received the below in order to facilitate my post. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” tab for more information.

My son is growing like a weed, which is both awesome and sickening.  His shoe size is almost the same as mine, and he is only 7.  Gross….but at the same time, it’s amazing.  Mommies….can’t stand for their babies to grow up, ha.  He attends a school that requires uniforms, which honestly makes getting dressed in the morning all that much easier.

french toast uniformsHe looks like such a big boy! Everything  he is wearing is from French Toast, the clothing and school uniform company. We did shop around, and I can say without a doubt that this is the fastest, easiest, and least expensive way to get his uniforms. I think it is also the best, and though this year his school is not registered with French Toast, I hope to encourage them to to so by next year. I was not thrilled having to go to a store 25 minutes away, stand in line, make my order, then wait 30 minutes more to have it filled just for a few things that needed to be embroidered. VERY annoying. French Toast does it all- plus faster, less costly, and delivers to my door with the same school uniform quality you would get in the pricey store. BLAH.  I told them about French Toast and gave them a catalog- so lets hope they come around.
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Cricket Magazine for kids

December 14, 2014 by 7 Comments

Disclosure- I am a Cricket Media Ambassador, and received the below in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own and honest.  For more information, see “I Disclose”.

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Over the next few months, we will be featuring a line of Cricket Media magazines. For our third feature, we will be featuring Cricket’s fiction, literature and nonfiction stories in the award winning magazine, Cricket. This month’s feature, Cricket, and is geared toward 9-14 year olds.

For the past 40 years Cricket has entertained children and teens around the world with the cream of the crop of children’s literature. The overall idea behind Cricket is that young readers love well written and well illustrated stories. All this and no advertisements makes a great magazine for more experienced readers. Cricket Editor In Chief and founder Marianne Carus put it best, “ The way to create in children a love of reading and an appreciation of good writing is to offer them beautifully illustrated, lively, well-written, interesting stories that sustain a witty tone and a sense of humor. I am convinced that children will respond to quality if it’s not forced upon them but presented in an engaging manner.”
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