Thursday, July 31, 2014

Back to School in Style Sweepstakes!

Good afternoon everyone! I am happy to be part of another amazing group giveaway and offering you chances to enter here from my blog. I know that school shopping is right around the corner, with summer quickly coming to an end. (Insert sad face here) But wouldn't a $100 gift card help out a whole bunch with clothes shopping and what-not? Heck yes! So keep on reading and enter for your chance to win one of these ten great gift cards. Thanks for stopping by!



Welcome to the Back to School in Style Sweepstakes!

Mom Powered Media wants to show you how much education means to us and the future of our wee ones and are personally sponsoring a Target and American Eagle Gift Card!



Aloetree is a brand new organic children’s clothing line with a mission to give back to kids and raise funds to prevent child trafficking. This clothing line is not only gorgeous and perfect for any little one in your life but it has special characters that tell a special story of a different eco-system and unique and positive quality.



Rachel Florio-Urso is the Founder of Celebrity Baby Trends, a Television Producer, On-Air Personality, CEO of Rachel Florio PR and a Mother of six as well as a humanitarian that loves to give back. Rachel is an expert in the Parenting industry and knows what's hot for tots and their family. We {HEART} Celebrity Baby Trends and you will too!



Ibiley Uniforms & More celebrates the sense of community, education and progress through the development of refined dress codes for your organization! At Ibiley, you can find high quality, comfortable and easy to care uniforms, corporate wear, scrubs and more! Serving customers nationally make sure and check out their fantastic selection!



The Ultimate Green Store provides a collection of many of the finest environmentally friendly products for you, your home, office, kids and even your pets! The Ultimate Green Store carries products from many of the world’s leading manufacturers and designers of sustainable, natural, organic, recycled, eco-friendly goods- products that are made with your health and the health of our planet in mind.



Yala is about making simple, elegant clothes from the heart, for the planet. Living well is always in style. Proudly welcoming the dreamers, the believers and the seekers. Come stand with us. Facing the warm sunshine. True clothes you can live in. Elegant. Sustainable. Comfortable. It's that simple.



Forever21 is the authority on fashion & the go-to retailer for the latest trends, must-have styles & the hottest deals. Shop dresses, tops, tees, leggings & more. Now also carrying plus sizes!



Tea Collection carries the best modern, designer children's clothing for babies, girls and boys in sizes newborn to age 12. Kids and baby clothes for little citizens of the world. Shop their worldly collections today.




Gymboree has been dressing children since 1986. The brand's fashionable clothing and accessories are designed and crafted to withstand rugged play while letting kids be kids in outfits they love to wear. Gymboree currently operates more than 600 stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as an online store at www.gymboree.com.


This BTS event was organized by Mom Powered Media and special guest Conservamom. Stop by and say hello to our co-hosting bloggers: Monica's Rants, Raves & ReviewsMy Mommy BrainFinger Click SaverBarbara's BeatMemoirs of a Clueless WomanA Medic's World and Iowa Mom.


* TEN winners will receive ONE of the following $100 Gift Cards: Aloe Tree, AMEX, Ibiley, The Ultimate Green Store, Yala Designs, Forever 21, Gymboree, Target or American Eagle.



Giveaway ends August 19 at 11:59pm, open to US and Canadian residents, ages 18+. Excludes Quebec. Only one entrant per household, per address. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Enter using the giveaway form below. Good luck!


Entry-Form



Disclaimer: The participating bloggers were not compensated for this post. No purchase is necessary to enter. One entrant per household, per address. Void where prohibited by law. Winner(s) will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. The sponsor(s) will be responsible for product shipment to winner(s) of this sweepstakes. This event is in no way administered, sponsored, or endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook and/or Twitter, Google, Pinterest. Contactteri@mompoweredmedia.com if you have any additional questions or comments. 

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Kiddo Klips!

I took the twins out for haircuts this morning. Partly because they needed them badly and partly because I just had to get them all out of the house for a bit. I decided to try out a place I had not taken them before. I had driven by this place a million times over the years but after meeting the super sweet owner at my garage sale a couple months back, well, today was the day. As soon as my three little ones and I walked through the front door I knew this was the place for us. This is where they will get their haircuts from now on. Why didn't I ever stop in before? Ha!

** This is an unsolicited review. No one put me up to it. I know many moms around the Twin Cities area and just thought this place was too gosh darn cute not to share. So here we are.

Kiddo Klips is located in Champlin, MN, in a little strip mall on 169, right on that tight curve between Anoka and Champlin. You can check out their website here: Kiddo Klips. I have taken all of my kids to a couple different kid specific hair salons over the years but Kiddo Klips is now, by far, my favorite. The other places I had been each had their pros and cons; some were too cramped, some lacked in entertainment to keep the children occupied for long enough, some had stylists that didn't seem to really get kids in general and so on. Kiddo Klips was above and beyond what I expected. Here are some pictures I took this morning.


Awesome car chairs with buckles for the little ones to chill in while they get a new do.


Bigger chairs for the older kids, complete with video games and movies.


Super bright and colorful walls. Couches to lounge in. Plenty of room for all to have fun while the kids wait.

Playing nicely together while we wait our turns.

Giant chalkboard, basketball hoop, doll house, great big coloring table and so much more. We just walked in without an appointment today. There were two other kids ahead of us but I had absolutely no problem with my three littles because they were just having a blast the whole time. How refreshing! Honestly, I may just show up early every time since they all enjoyed it here so much.

Zayne gets his haircut.

Taya, our stylist, did an amazing job. She was cool, calm, informative and so sweet. The kids were all at ease with her. I will ask for her again, definitely. <3

Eddie watches the kids play while he gets his haircut.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience. Please check their website for details but I did learn a few things while I was there. Kiddo Klips is open Tuesday through Saturday. Haircuts are $17.50 but they offer a happy hour special on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM when haircuts are $13.50. They offer many other services, too. One that caught my eye in particular is the "Princess Package." I am going to have to do this with Daphne for one of our one-on-one dates soon. This package includes a hairstyle, fingernail polish and glittery make-up. She would be tickled to get to do this and it is currently only $22.00. Love it!

Thank you June Trnka, for randomly stopping by my garage sale and sharing about your wonderful shop with me.

So there's my 2 cents. If you get a chance to visit them, please let me know how it goes. I would love to hear from you. And if you would do me a huge favor and let them know that Virginia Louden referred you. You get a little towards your next visit if you refer people!

LIKE them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiddoklipschamplin


Monday, July 21, 2014

PetGroomer DeShedding & Grooming Tool Review

<a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=TOPf7107498887ce37b4bde35cd770ed234" rel="nofollow"><img style="display: none" src="http://www.tomoson.com/images/front/pixel.png" /></a>


Time for my latest product review. I found this opportunity through Tomoson.com and was selected to receive and review this PetGroomer Deshedding & Grooming Tool on my beautiful blue merle Border Collie, Lucy! I did receive this product for free but I assure you my opinions will be honest ones. Here is a picture of Miss Lucy before we began. Isn't she adorable?


A little nappy but still cute. We recently moved to a bigger (and more expensive) house and I have been looking for ways we can cut costs around here. Lucy has been going to the groomers twice a year for a very long time now and I think by doing more of her beautification myself, we could cut a little of this expense from our budget. Also, she is 11 years old now and the older she gets, the less patient she is becoming at the groomers. Maybe she will be more comfortable with me.

You can find this wonderful brush by clicking on Amazon.com and it is currently available with free shipping for Amazon prime members. This tool also comes with an Un-Breakable Guarantee (see Amazon link for details).


The brush comes with a protective plastic slip cover for the comb between uses. This is the only part of the product I had a hard time with. It was tight fitting and took me a little while to get back onto the brush. Other than that, it was all good.


There is a handy button for your thumb on the brush. When pressed, it pushes the fur right off the end of the comb.



So why did I think that I needed to try out a brush like this? Ever since Lucy's second Fall season, she has experienced the worst allergies and shedding every single August/September. She sheds so much fur and itches so badly the we have to give her Benadryl regularly around that time. Sometimes I swear that I could build a whole other dog out of the fur she sheds each year. When I saw this tool I thought I would try it out and get a jump start on her coat before her allergies start acting up this year.

Here is a picture of the blanket on the back of my living room couch. Lucy is not allowed on our furniture but at our new house she keeps jumping up on it in order to watch the kids run around outside and this happened in just one afternoon. Ugh.


If you are a dog owner, you probably have little gifts like this left around your house, too. This hairball is what happened within about 36 hours after a thorough sweeping and it isn't even August yet. (And this is just one corner of the room!)


So I gave it a go :-)


This product is super easy to hold and grip.


It combs through her fur with ease.


 For a dog who isn't super crazy about grooming time, she took it amazingly well.


Love my Lucy. She is so sweet and pretty!


Every once in a while you get a good amount of fur built up on the brush.


Just press the handy thumb button and the fur pops right off.


This is the pile of fur I collected in just 5 minutes! I truly feel like this season is going to be so much more comfortable for Lucy Goosey if I keep up with her coat using this great tool.


Look! She's smiling ;-) Her coat looks much softer, too.

Thank you JLP Beauty for giving me a shot at this product review. Lucy enjoyed it most of all!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using <a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=BOTTOMf7107498887ce37b4bde35cd770ed234" rel="nofollow">Tomoson.com</a>. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Squeasy Snacker Review & Giveaway!


Time for another review and giveaway! I found an opportunity through TopMommyBlogs.com and was chosen to receive and review three of these new Squeasy Snackers to try out on my four year old daughter and not quite two year old twin sons. As a mother, I love to find new things that will make my life easier and a little bit cleaner. Honestly, it is exhausting constantly cleaning up after all the kiddos day after day after mess-making day.

I did receive my Squeasy Snackers for free in order to do my review, but I assure you that my opinions will be honest, as always. I will admit, I was not 100% sure how this product was going to stand up to my twins, who I sometimes call "Masters of Destruction." They can usually dismantle and destroy anything their chubby little hands can reach but these snackers passed my test. Ha! They truly did work great.


I received three of the 6 oz. Squeasy Snackers shown above, one each in blue, turquoise and pink. One of my lucky readers will be the winner of this same package (an almost $45 value)! Keep on reading ;-)


Yes, yes. The child covered in pudding is adorable. I am sure we all have pictures of our own children very similar to this one. If you are like me, after the first couple of times doing this and then having to carry a pudding (or something like it) covered slippery child immediately into the bathtub, clean them all up, get their clothes to the laundry room, somehow find time to get back to the kitchen in order to clean the highchair and the floor and...I am sure you get my point. It gets old quick. There are many foods I actually avoid feeding my toddlers because it just isn't worth all of the clean up. Now I don't have to worry about that anymore! Woot woot!


So what exactly do we have here? A reusable, no spill OR free flowing reusable food pouch that is top rack dishwasher safe and freezer friendly. What?! This is so great. I have actually looked at the store bought, pre-packaged pouch foods for my kids at the local stores. They really are not in my budget for how little you get for the price. I also recently read in the news that some of these store bought pouch products, I think it was an applesauce, was found to have mold in it. No thank you, I say. I want to know what is going into my childrens' tummies and with these snackers I can do just that.


My first test...Applesauce. The snacker bottles have a pretty wide mouth and I was able to just pour it right from the jar into their bottles. No mess, no extra dishes. Nice!


The bottles are simple to use and are easy to take apart for filling and cleaning.


For the applesauce I tried it with the spill proof insert and without. Either way worked just fine for the kids.


Eddie can open and close the lid by himself.


Zayne was able to slurp his applesauce to his little heart's content.


Even Daphne enjoyed her new Squeasy Snacker! And guess what? No one spilled anything!


Next test...Milk. The bottle stands nice and upright and can also be stood on it's cap.


Ooh!


Ahh!


Oh! As you can see, there is cereal and crumbs on the table but absolutely NO applesauce or milk. I am one happy Momma!


The snacker bottles turn inside out for super easy cleaning.


I washed them in the top rack of my dishwasher using my old bottle/nipple basket for the smaller pieces and they came out perfectly. I will definitely be using these on the kiddos often. Easy peasy!

Please take a moment to visit the website at www.squeasygear.com and also LIKE their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/squeasygear.

And now for the giveaway! Good luck :-)




a Rafflecopter giveaway