Pretty much the most amazing gift list EVER

Over at Style Lush, they've put up an AMAZING list of 125 gifts for $25 or less. And I want them all :)

Seriously, go check it out.

Post is here.

CyberMonday deals at SproutBaby

Another discount code for you all!

Sproutbaby.com is offering 33% off everything in its store, including biodegradable diapers, organic baby foods, reusable feeding utensils, toys and much more.  For all orders over $75, free shipping is included for anywhere in the continental U.S.  To obtain the discount, simply enter "333" at the checkout prompt.  This code will expire Wednesday evening at 12:00 p.m. midnight PST. 

Great Cyber Monday shopping codes

I've gotten some codes and sale announcements for discounts for Cyber Monday (Today!) online shopping and wanted to share them with you.

My beloved Mabel's Labels is offering:

30% off Holiday Gift Tags and Return Address Labels

Regular Price: $18.50, sale price $12.95

40% off Selected Write-On! Stationery, in choice of Bzzz or Cowpoke designs

Regular Price $34, sale price $20.40 

Studio JK Vinyl is offering 30% off a purchase of $30 or more. No codes necessary, the 30% is automatically deducted at checkout! 

Tote and Tee is offering 25% off your total order with the code "cybermonday". 

Edible Arrangements is offering 10% off your order with the code "ebsp2009". 

Restaurant.com (which we love!) is selling $25 gift certificates for $2 with the code "SAVE".

Happy shopping, everyone!

Giveaway: Dove spa package (and more!)- giveaway closed

Congrats to my winners: Belinda M, abby, zachsgran

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Dove is a great supporter of girls and helping them develop great self-esteem. So important for our daughters! Please go here to read my post and all the details of how you can help support this program.

Dove has offered me some great prizes for my readers. One person will win a spa package with a plush terrycloth spa robe and two Dove products. Just what you'll need to start the new year off right!
Two other readers will win  "True You" workbooks, a resource designed for mothers and daughters to do together. These workbooks are designed to start conversations between mothers and daughters and help us help them  honestly face the challenges of being women and to learn to appreciate the beauty that we all have within.

To enter (open to US/Canadian mailing addresses). Please be sure to either leave your email address in your comment or make sure it's visible in your blogger profile:
Please leave me a comment letting me know what you have done to improve either your self-esteem or that of another woman in your life.

Extra entries:
1. Follow my blog
2. Put my button on your blog
3. (Three extra entries, please leave three separate comments) Write a blog post linking back to my post about the Dove Self-Esteem Fund.

Giveaway will close at 9 PM PST on December 16. I'll choose winners with random.org and will email the winners who will have 48 hours to respond to my email message.

Do you know about the Dove Self Esteem Fund

I've struggled with my weight and my body image for most of my life. It's just a part of who I am. And I just sort of dealt with it and whined about my weight and exercise and things like that.  I've successfully lost weight in the past, and know I can do so again. But the problem goes deeper than that, it's about how I see myself and my level of self-esteem and the comments I make about myself- not just about my physical appearance, but about who I am.

And I am not alone in this, and the problem is not limited to adult women. In fact, a recent report released by Dove found that the majority of girls in the 7-10 age group feel they do not measure up in some way including in looks, performance in school and relationships. That just makes me sad to read that.  7-10 year olds are still babies- they should be out playing with their friends and enjoying life, not worrying about their appearance and whether they measure up to other people's expectations. 

Then came the moment last January when the ultrasound technician said "it's a girl", and this whole issue got so much bigger.  My husband immediately started worrying about how to handle having a teenage girl and her dating and things like that.  And I immediately started thinking about frilly dresses and hairbows. I have a 2-year-old son, so I've been dying to dress someone in frilly dresses and hairbows. But after that initial excitement settled down, I realized that being the mom of a daughter is a big responsibility. So much of her view of how to be a woman, and the things she thinks about herself and says about herself are going to be hugely influenced by the things I do and say.

That's why I love things that encourage women to see their intrinsic beauty, no matter their size or body shape. I love the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and always smile when I see the ads. So I was happy to have the chance to write about the Dove Self Esteem Fund. This is a great new part of the Campaign for Real Beauty. The Self Esteem Fund works in both the US and in other countries. In the US, the Self Esteem Fund supports the Boys and Girls Club of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA to help build confidence in girls 8-17, through after-school programs, self-esteem building events and educational resources. In the UK and other countries, the Self Esteem Fund supports an educational program called Body Talk. Since 2006, Dove has conducted nearly 2,700 educational workshops worldwide.

Every time you buy Dove products, part of your money goes to help support the Self Esteem Fund. And, between now and December 15, 2009, you can also help out even more by going to this link and entering your Dove UPC codes and selecting the charity to which you would like to donate. For every UPC entered, $1 will be donated to self esteem programs at either the Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Girls Inc. What an easy way to make a difference in someone's life!

There's also a link on their website to a nice online program for use with your daughters. Go check it out. And go here to see some videos of girls whose lives have been touched by these self-esteem programs.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post, but Dove is going to be giving away some items to you, my readers. Check back soon for that!

Winners!

For the personalized picturebook from yourpicturebook.com, random.org picked #13. Comment #13 was:

jakiesmom said... 13

I think my son would like the adventures of an amazing kid video of himself!

November 11, 2009 5:57 PM

For the 1-year membership to Relish, random.org picked #2. Comment #2 was:

thesehappydays said... 2

I follow your blog.

October 26, 2009 8:42 PM  

 

 

Link up your giveaways here!

Here's the link for this week. Take a minute and link up your giveaways and enter the ones from other blogs as well!

Review: My First Passport

When I attended the Red Plum Frugalicious Holiday party earlier this month, I was lucky enough to receive some great items in my goody bag. One of those items was an absolutely adorable passport cover, with the words "My First Passport" on the cover. I was so excited to see this in my bag- one of the things that my family loves most is traveling. It's actually one of the reasons why we decided to have our two kids so close together in age, we want to be able to get to the stage where our kids are old enough to travel more and appreciate what they're seeing!

I really love this passport cover, it's nice and sturdy, made of nylon, so it'll hold up well to traveling stresses, and the bright blue color will make it really easy to find my son's passport in the depths of my diaper bag. Can you imagine how cute your child would look, carrying his little passport in its cover? For about 12 seconds, because, let's be honest, we all know how little kids are with keeping track of things :)

The price on this passport cover is a little steeper than I would be willing to pay, to be honest, given the fact that we have a whole drawer full of standard black passport covers. It sells for $20 over at Jack Webster. But if you're looking for a fun gift for the kid in your life who has a trip coming up, or if you're in search of an unusual baby shower gift for a family who loves to travel, I think this would be a great gift to keep in mind.

If there are any good blog background designers out there...

The code for the background on my blog is horribly messed up and I don't know what to do with it. If anyone would like some free advertising, please contact me, I'd love to work with you on reviewing your blog backgrounds! I'd be happy to put up an advertising button too!

Giveaway: Sweet Bitty Bows!- (giveaway closed)

Congrats to my winner, JenniferB!


A few months ago I posted a review of a great Etsy shop that I found- Sweet Bitty Bows. Vivian's been decorating her crazy hair with an assortment of bows from Sweet Bitty Bows, and we still love them all! They're super cute, high quality and easy to put in your daughter's hair. I can't say enough good things about them. Right now the shop is full of cute hairbows, including some adorable holiday ones.

Candy Striped bow

Love this holiday flower

A gingerbread man

Denise from Sweet Bitty Bows is letting me give away another prize pack of bows, this time it'll be a prize pack of holiday-inspired items- worth $20! US/Canadian mailing addresses only, please.

To enter (mandatory entry, must be done first for extra entries to count. Please leave your email address in the comment or make sure it's visible in your blogger profile):
Visit Sweet Bitty Bows and let me know what you like best from her shop!

Extra entries (please leave a separate comment for each):
1. Follow my blog
2. Put my button up on your blog (let me know where I can find it!)
3. Make Sweet Bitty Bows one of your favorite shops on Etsy.
4. 5 extra entries- buy something from Sweet Bitty Bows before December 12. Let me know what email address you used for the purchase, and please leave 5 separate comments!

The giveaway will end at 9 PM on December 12, 2009. I'll choose a winner with random.org and will email the winner who will have 48 hours to get back to me with mailing info. Good luck!

Review: World Baby Foods

One of the things that I like best about my blog is the opportunity to feature great products from moms and great products from local (Seattle-area) companies. So when I was out at the grocery store and saw World Baby Foods products, I knew I wanted to feature this baby food on my blog. Not only did my kids (and I!) get to try out the baby food, but I got to have a great phone conversation with Dr. Susanna, one of the creators of World Baby Foods.

After traveling around the world and seeing how babies in other countries eat, Dr. Susanna realized that American children are missing out on a whole spectrum of flavors and tastes. Our babies go from "eating" a wide variety of foods through the flavors they experience secondhand in their breastmilk, to a diet of bland, carbohydrate-heavy baby foods. According to Dr. Susanna, the diet of the average American baby is more based on tradition and marketing than actual science. And our babies are missing out on a lot of great tastes!

I really like this idea for a couple of reasons. One- my family is a mixed culture family, and I want my kids to grow up thinking that there is a world of food beyond peanut butter sandwiches and chicken nuggets. Second, we live in Seattle, a city that is rich in ethnic foods and great little restaurants, and my husband and I love to try these out, and want our children to enjoy exploring them with us.

Dr. Susanna sent me a sample pack of the World Baby Foods line. There are 6 types of baby food currently available: Baby Borscht, Baby Dal, Lullaby Thai, Que Pasa Calabasa, Sweetie Tahiti, and Tokyo Tum Tum. They all come in great glass jars with nice labels- so they win points on the attractiveness scale!

My daughter just started solid foods at the end of October, so she's still a bit limited on options of what she can eat, but several of the foods were just right for her, containing ingredients that she was used to eating. I personally sampled all of the World Baby Foods, and was very impressed. I'm glad the Sweetie Tahiti baby food does not come in an adult version- it was one of the yummiest things I've tasted in a long time. Usually baby food is just bland and kind of disgusting, but the baby foods from World Baby Foods are all nicely seasoned and spiced- not too heavy, but enough to make the food really good. My daughter devoured all the baby foods I gave her- she couldn't get enough of them!

I have to say that the Baby Borscht in particular seemed really authentic to me. I lived in Ukraine for a year and learned to make borscht at the hands of some great Russian women, and when I opened the jar of baby food, it smelled just like my kitchen did during those fun cooking sessions. (The taste is different from the traditional borscht that I eat, but it's still really yummy!) This particular jar of food was beyond what my daughter can eat at this early stage in her baby food eating, so I fed it to my ridiculously picky eater son, and he (after a tiny bit of convincing, but that's totally normal for him with ANY food) ended up eating the whole jar. I really liked that he was getting something different from his normal (very limited) food choices to eat.

The baby foods from World Baby Foods are higher calorie count than your average baby food, but they are also a nicely balanced mix of fruits, veggies and protein. And we have to remember that calories are good for babies. And the foods are made from Washington and Oregon local farmers. Hurray for using local resources!

You can purchase World Baby Foods at a variety of stores in California, Washington and Oregon, as well as on Amazon Fresh and Amazon. Seriously, check it out. Your baby will thank you.

Friday Giveaway Blog Hop!

Here's this week's list of giveaways from around the internet. And be sure to check back here on Sunday and list your giveaways on my linky as well!

Pikme Papers- the cutest paper products you will ever see!

I recently found out about a great website for paper products- Pikme Papers. I don't know about you guys, but no matter how easy it is to send an email and keep in contact with family on the phone and on internet videoconferencing, there's something still so special about getting a handwritten note from someone in the mail.  To me it says "I care enough about you to take extra time for you." 

Pikme Papers has a great assortment of things for you to drool over- notecards and tags, little notecards, stickers, notepads, photo cards, and much more.  The thing that I like best about Pikme Papers is that the items are all decorated with your choice of image. And the images are just the sweetest little drawings you will ever see. There's a big variety of options, so whatever type of image you're interested in having on your stationery, you'll probably find something that works well for you.

 

 Aren't those just the cutest notecards?

These are some of the stickers. I especially like the book stickers-perfect for the reader in your family!

Another of the image options- wouldn't those be so sweet on notecards for a little girl?

You can get Pikme Papers products at some stores- go to the website for the full list. Or just use the contact button on the website to talk to the Pikme people about placing an order.  Christmas is just around the corner, anything from this site would make a wonderful gift!

Review: Mabel's Labels Holiday Gift Tags

I have a dream for my life. In this dream, everything in my house is neat and put away.  My kids' belongings are labeled with their names. My kitchen is full of organized cupboards with things stacked where they belong. My messy closet is full of bins with labels identifying the contents, so that I don't have to constantly search to find what I am looking for....

Yeah, not really living that dream right now, thanks to the two small people in my life.  But I'm getting there slowly, and that's all because of Mabel's Labels and their kind support of my search for organizational nirvana in my life.  Go here to read my first review of their products! We're still using and loving the labels that I reviewed back in September- they really are fantastic.

This time I was lucky enough to receive a pack of Mabel's Labels Holiday Gift Tags.  The gift tags come in a set of 24 tags, for $18.50.  The really cool thing about these is that you can customize them to say whatever you want.  If you want 24 tags that say "Merry Christmas from the Smiths", you can do that. And if you want 24 tags, each with a different name on them, you have that option too!  We did a combination of things- some tags said Merry Christmas and our names, others we customized for our kids gifts, and we even made some that said "Happy Birthday" or just "Congratulations", for future use.  There are four different sets of tags, Winter Wonderland, Festive Forest, Holly Jolly and Twinkle Twinkle, each set with three different types of stickers on the same theme.  We picked the Twinkle Twinkle set, which has nice purple colors and candles and stars.

It's really easy to customize the labels- you just type in your message and you can see a preview on your screen of exactly what the labels will look like. The labels are a nice size, over 2 inches big, so they'll be easy to see on your gifts. I am one of the world's worst present wrappers, but I think that the holiday gift tag made even my badly wrapped present look good!

 

Mabel's Labels also has a nice set of Holiday Return Address Labels, $18.50 for a set of 200.  I think these would make your Christmas Cards look great!

 

In addition to the great holiday products, Mabel's Labels still has all their other wonderful labels for whatever you want to label. Seriously, the options are endless. They also have a great new label, their Label Out Loud Sticky Labels in full color. And, from now through December 6th, a portion of the proceeds of the sales of the Label Out Loud Sticky Labels will go to Anissa Mayhew's family. Anissa is a beloved blogger who, at the age of only 35, suffered a stroke last week.  So you can get some great labels for your kids and help Anissa's family out at the same time. 

So, if you are looking for some great labels or gift tags or address stickers or whatever else, stop by Mabel's Labels and check their options out!

Disclaimer: I was sent a set of holiday gift tags to test out for myself. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions here are mine and mine alone!

Winners!: Mrs. Smith's Diaper Bags

Congrats to my winners of the Mrs. Smith's Diaper Bags. I've emailed you both and you have 48 hours to get back to me!

ABCFrugality.com said... 121

I like the copper bag! These are super cute!

November 6, 2009 9:51 PM 

 

Ivy said... 179

http://theivytwines.blogspot.com/2009/11/win-mrs-smith-diaper-bag.html blogged!

November 23, 2009 10:02 PM

 

My suggestion for a great holiday outing in downtown Seattle

I recently wrote up a list on Trekaroo of the things that I would suggest for a great holiday outing in downtown Seattle. If you're a Seattleite, go check it out! And if you're in another city, take a minute and browse around Trekaroo and see what's on the site for your city. Think about writing some reviews too- they're really easy and you can earn a gift card for doing it!

Just ignore this message

This is just for purposes of Technorati validation. Nothing to see here, move on!  :)


PW2A2FE2Y9FE

Check out the Global Influence Holiday Gift Guide

If you're still looking for gift ideas for your loved ones, check this gift guide out!

Holiday shopping season is here again and the Global Influence network has some great gift ideas for you, tried and tested by real moms. Click on the links to check out what our team of reviewers had to say about each of these gift ideas, and then take a moment to enter our fun giveaway and take a chance at winning some of these fabulous products.

Featured Reviews

Pouchees -
Busy moms need all the help they can get to stay organized and keep life as simple as possible. The Pouchee is the perfect solution to keeping all those little things together, putting everything you need, right at your fingertips.
Duck Hunter -
Duck Hunter turns the excitement of the hunt into an activity the whole family can enjoy. Launch the duck in the air and try to hunt it down with the toy shooter as it flies freely in the air. A fun choice for those who love outdoor sporting.
CardStore cards
-Personalized holiday cards are an important item on everyone's to-do list and often a hassle to create and print. Cardstore.com has everything from family photo cards to invitations for your big holiday party, simplifying your holiday season.
Great Holiday Gift Ideas Things Remembered Custom Couture Jewelry Just Elfin' Around Card Cubby Harumika By Bandai Harumika Runway Showstopper Harumika Style Starter Baby Alive Whoopsie Doo Strawberry Shortcake Playset Kota Monty Rex Wall to Wall Basketball Nerf Pocket Vortex Busy Ball Popper Talking Chuck Truck Leapfrog My Pal Scout Leapfrog Tag Jr Leapfrog Scribble and Write Animal Planet Polar Land Playset Animal Planet Dinosaur Playmat Onionhead Adult/Teen Feelings Pack OnionHead Children's Feelings Pack Onionhead A-Z Feelings Magnet Set FotoboxPlus MeTime Tees

Fun Holiday Giveaway! For this holiday guide, we want to share the love with the blogosphere! Some of our generous sponsors have donated prizes to be given away to lucky readers! To enter to win one of the following fabulous prizes, simply fill out the form here: http://tinyurl.com/y8t92rw Prizes include: Things Remembered Custom Couture Jewelry Pouchee Elfing Around Harumika Onionhead Feelings Pack Nerf Wall to Wall Basketball Baby Alive Whoopsie Doo MeTime T-shirt Entries will close on December 6, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST. Winners will be contacted by email after the close of the contest.

Global Influence Member Guides Need more ideas for this holiday season? Check out the guides that some of our Global Influence members have put together on their own sites! Thrifty Jinxy, Happy Healthy Hip , And Twins Make Five , Because Two People Fell In Love, Mommy Musings , Lipstick to Crayons , Bargain Briana , Mommy PR , Shop With Me Mama, Santa Picks, Rave and Review, Connected 2 Christ , 3 Boys and a Dog, The Classy Closet , Contest Corner, Lisa Reviews , A Giveaway Every Day, HulaHoopinMom, Spalibrations, High Impact Mom, From Cribs to Car Keys

All reviews listed in the Global Influence gift guide were product provided. Featured positions were purchased by sponsors. Member gift guides are not affiliated with Global Influence.

Review: Busy Body Book

Thanks to the nice RedPlum people whose party I attended last week, I received the Grape BusyBody Book for August 2009-August 2010.  I have been drooling over this planner for months- I keep seeing reviews on other blogs and my ultra-type-A personality just screams "pick me! I need a planner!".

I really like this planner. It's organized by week, with 5 columns for you to personalize. So, if the big scheduling challenge in your family is keeping track of everyone's daily schedules, then just make each column represent a person in your family. If you're like me, and 1/2 of your family are small, schedule-less people, then this planner can easily be adapted to a more individual purpose. For example, do you want to keep track of how many 100 calorie snack pack you've eaten that day? Make a column represent diet. Need to get yourself on track for exercise? Make one of the weekly columns represent your exercise regime. Whatever you need, this book can track it.

In addition to the pages with the weekly scheduling grid, this planner has another page entitled "to doodles". Some weeks this is blank, to leave you space to list whatever you need to do that week, on other weeks the planner has helpful tips like "vote this Tuesday" or "change the batteries in your smoke detector", depending on what date falls that week. I have always prided myself on keeping track of things, but now that I'm a mom of two small people, I'm lucky to know what year it is, much less what month it is and what I should be doing, so I love these reminders!

The only minor thing that I wish this book had was tear off corners for the week. I ended up just cutting off the corners for the pages up to the week where I started, and I will continue to do so from now on, so I can easily find the week that we're on.

The Busy Body Book is a sturdy one, with nice, thick plastic covers and pockets at the front and back of the book for whatever you need to store. Seriously, if you're trying to keep your family organized and have any hope of keeping track of everyone's schedules, then this book is what you need. It comes in an academic year version or a calendar year version, so whatever type of tracking you need, it's ready to go.

Right now you can get the August 2009-August 2010 planners for 25% off, or for $13.46. The 12-month planners for January 2010-December 2010 are currently selling for $17.95. A small price to pay for organization!

Review: Aveeno Baby products

Thanks to the fact that I'm a BzzAgent, I was recently sent some samples of Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Diaper Rash Cream and a bottle of Aveeno Baby Essential Moisture Shampoo to use with Vivian. I've heard a lot about Aveeno products, but have never used them myself, so was excited to get the chance. 

Diaper rash hasn't been a big problem with either of my kids, so I don't honestly have a lot of experience with a great number of diaper rash creams. But based on the few times that I have had to use a diaper rash treatment, this one stacked up nicely. The Aveeno Baby diaper rash cream is fragrance-free, which is nice when it's a product that I'm using on my baby. The other cream that I've used in the past has a really strong smell, and I never really liked it much.  I also liked how this cream went on- it spread nicely and wasn't sticky or greasy and the residue washed off my fingers easily.  The Aveeno Baby diaper rash cream is 13% zinc oxide, with soothing oat essence and natural willowherb. I was very impressed by this product- good smell, easy to use, an all around nice product.

The Aveeno Baby Essential Moisture Shampoo also got our vote of approval. Shampoo is something we're a little more familiar with. Vivian had a full head of hair from the time I was 6 months pregnant with her (so much that it was visible on ultrasound!), so we've been using lots of shampoo since she was born, in addition to the ones that we used once her brother finally grew hair at the age of 18 months :) 

This shampoo had a nice light fragrance- it smelled good when we were using it and left Vivian's hair with a very small amount of scent. Just the right amount, in my opinion.  Right now it's been 24 hours since I washed her hair, and it still smells nice and clean. The shampoo lathered well and rinsed off easily too. And when I got some in her eyes, she didn't complain, so it really is tear free.  This shampoo is made with natural wheat and oat and vitamin E.

So, if you're looking for some nice products to use on your little one, check the Aveeno Baby line of products out.  I think you'll be pleased with what you find! Aveeno Baby products range in price (on drugstore.com) from $3.99-$10.49, and can be found at most food, drug, mass, club and specialty stores all over the United States, as well as on many online sites.

Disclaimer: I was sent these products to review, but all opinions here are mine and mine alone and I was not compensated in any way for this post.

A contest that my Canadian readers should know about!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dr. Oetker. All opinions are 100% mine.


Hello Canadians! When I got an email about this contest, I knew I wanted to blog about it. So many of the things that I feature here are US-only, but this contest is just for Canadians!

Right now if you enter the Dr. Oetker Kitchen Makeover Contest, you will have the chance to win a $20,000 kitchen makeover. I know that money is tight for so many people these days, and things like home improvements have gotten bumped to the bottom of the priority list. Wouldn't it be great to win this contest and get a fancy new kitchen? Can you imagine what you could do with $20,000? I know I dream of a new fridge and fancy new cabinets- what would be your first change?

To enter, all you have to do is pick up a specially marked package of Casa di Mama pizza and go here to enter the PIN code found on the package. You can enter as many times as you would like before the contest ends on January 4, 2010. See, it's a great excuse to eat pizza- you're just doing it to help improve your home value! In addition to the grand prize of the $20,000 kitchen makeover, there will be eight secondary winners who will each receive one of the following Whirlpool kitchen appliances: a fridge/freezer, microwave, dishwasher or freestanding electric range. And 2,000 more winners will win either a Casa di Mama pizza or a pizza cutter.

While you're entering your PIN codes for the contest, take a moment and register to be a Savoury Moments member. You'll get great savings, tips and a bonus PIN code for the kitchen makeover contest!

Review: Gelatine Lux

I am really enjoying review blogging- it's been a fun thing for me to do while on maternity leave, something that keeps me busy and I get to try out great products. Beyond just the packages that show up in my mailbox (and getting to see the cute mailman who delivers them), I really love it when I get emails asking me to attend an event of some sort.  I already wrote about the great RedPlum party that I got to attend on Thursday night, then today my family got to go to a preview event at the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum.

We loaded up the kids this morning into the double stroller and walked the short walk over to Seattle Center, where the museum is located.  Hurray for walking over there and going to something other than the Children's Museum! When we checked in, they gave us wristbands and told us that there was breakfast in the other room. We headed in there and saw coffee and juices and a HUGE pile of donuts. Now that's my kind of event :)  The donuts were from Frost Donuts, not a donut store I'm familiar with, but one that might be responsible for adding another 5 pounds to my midsection. Seriously, Seattle people, these donuts are divine. And not just your usual donut flavors. I will be making a trek to their store soon.

After eating one of the best donuts that I've eaten in ages, we started off on the trip to the Gelatine Lux display. It was actually located close to the room where we started, but we had a stroller, which meant we had to search for the elevator, and that's always an experience. But we got to walk through a bunch of the Science Fiction Museum on our way to and from the exhibit, and it was fun to watch the kids while they looked at all the exhibits and lights and spaceships and everything else that there was to see.

  Vivian wondering where HER donut is

Daniel enjoys his donut

  A glassblower making some cool creations

The Gelatine Lux exhibit is an amazing art installation by Maria Grazia Rosin.  It's a large room full of the weirdest glass creations that you've ever seen, in a dark room with some ultracool music.  While you're walking around, you feel like you're floating underwater and looking at all the weird creatures that float by.  It's very cool. And I dare you to make it out of the room without saying "Can you believe that is made out of glass?" The artist is extremely talented.

 

 

 

 

This art installation is amazing and wonderful, but pretty small, so I wouldn't think that you would want to make a special trip to the EMP/SFM just to see it. But if you're looking for something to do, and your family has been thinking about taking a trip to the EMP/SFM, this would be a great time to do it. Admission to the museums is $15 for adults and $12 for kids 5-17. Those under 5 are free. There are also a bunch of Christmas events going on at the Seattle Center in the next month, so come on down!

Giveaway Sundays- Link up your giveaways here!

Please link up your giveaways here- and take a minute and enter the ones already linked up as well! Please list your giveaways in this format "blog name- item giving away-end date", so people can easily see what they're entering. Good luck!

Winner- Glass baby bottles from Sprout Baby!

Random.org picked 29 for my glass baby bottle giveaway.

Comment 29 is:

Mrs. Sanchez said... 29

I posted about the giveaway on my blog: http://jumpingontrampolines.blogspot.com/2009/10/sproutbaby-bottle-giveaway.html luv2laugh@cox.net

RedPlum.com- a great place for savings and more!

If you're familiar with RedPlum, you're probably familiar with the name mainly because of the coupons that you get in your newspaper or that arrive in your mailbox.  RedPlum is so much more than that though- they have a great website with coupons that you can print for lots of grocery items, as well as coupons for restaurants in your area and lots of coupon codes for your online shopping needs. If you're doing any shopping in the near future (I suspect most of us will be), definitely drop by the RedPlum site first. In addition to all the great deals, they also have helpful articles on things like hosting an open house, or healthy substitutes

for the most unhealthy ingredients in holiday foods.

RedPlum also is currently helping us all out with our holiday shopping with their Frugalicious Holiday: 30 gifts under $30.  A bunch of Seattle bloggers were invited to a nice downtown bar this week to celebrate this fun gift guide and to take a look at some of the products in person.  I haven't been out of the house without the kids in weeks, so I loved having the chance to catch up with a bunch of my favorite Seattle ladies while eating great food and drinking some (overly) fantastic drinks.

One of my favorite products, the Snappy Headband.

 

Another favorite (which I got to take home with me!) the "Mute Button" pacifier.

 

Hanging out with some fun bloggers: Liz, me, Shannon, Louise

So, if you're trying to find some great and affordable products, check the RedPlum list out!

*Disclaimer- I was not compensated for this post, but I was given the excuse by RedPlum to leave my two small children at home and go hang out with other adults in a swanky bar in downtown Seattle and drink fancy cocktails. :)

Review: Great products for your mouth!

Thanks to my involvement at the Product Review Place, I was recently sent three great items- all for making your mouth happy!

The first of these products is the Canker Cover-Oral Canker Sore Patch. This is a simple looking little tablet that you just press onto the sore area in your mouth, where it dissolves to form a clear gel patch which keeps the area in your mouth protected from food and drink and further irritation for 8-12 hours.  I really liked this product, as I have a terrible tendency to bit the inside of my mouth. And we all know what happens after you bite your mouth- you immediately eat the most acidic foods possible, and then continue to accidentally bite the hurt area.  This patch really helped protect the sore place in my mouth by covering it and releasing pain-numbing menthol. They were easy to use and tasted nice. The patches are made with natural, edible ingredients and include xylitol, so you have great-smelling breath after you use them! According to the manufacturer, two clinical studies have shown that Canker Cover heals most canker sores within 24 hours and that it is more effective than benzocaine at eliminating pain.

The next product that we were sent were the Oramoist Dry Mouth Patches. These are small patches that you just place on the roof or side of your mouth, where they will adhere and release ingredients over time that help increase saliva production and relieve your dry mouth symptoms.  They are made with natural ingredients, are sugar-free and alcohol-free, and also contain xylitol for helping you to have a nice, fresh-smelling mouth.  I don't personally have a problem with dry mouth, but I thought these were easy to use and made my mouth taste nice. If you have a dry mouth problem, I'd definitely recommend trying these patches out.

The final product that we were sent was the Lip Clear Lysine+ Cold Sore Treatment. This is a new, all-natural cold sore treatment that uses active zinc oxide and lysine, as well as other natural ingredients to help heal cold sores. A recent study showed that this product reduced the duration of cold sores by 50% or more, as compared to untreated cold sores, and that within 3 days cold sore treatments were either completely eliminated or dramatically reduced.

The smell and taste of this product is very subtle, which is always nice for products that you're putting on your mouth.  I tried a bit of it on a chapped part of my lip and it didn't burn at all, and actually felt like a nice lip balm! Cold sores are a problem that I only deal with on rare occasion, but that my husband seems to deal with fairly often (probably stress-induced, from dealing with me all the time!).  His cold sores always seem to stick around for ages, so we're really glad to have this product on hand for the next time one shows up.  


You can buy Canker Cover patches at drugstores, supermarkets and healthfood stores nationwide or online; suggested retail price is $9.99 for a box of six patches.  The OraMoist Dry Mouth Patches have a suggested retail price of $9.99 for a box of 16 patches and can be purchased online or at Rite Aid, Albertson's and Raley's.  Lip Clear Lysine+ Cold Sore Treatment have a suggested retail price of $6.99 for a 7-gram tube, available nationwide at drug stores, supermarkets and health food stores, as well as online. You can find printable coupons for these products on their websites as well as lots more information. Go check them out!

Review: Days Ago digital timers

Sigh. I really wanted to love this product. The Days Ago timer is a brilliant idea- a little timer that sticks on your food with a suction cup. You press a button to set the timer when you put it on your food, stick it on the jar/can/container with the handy suction lid, and then you will be able to quickly and easily tell exactly how long your food has been sitting in the fridge. I really was excited to see these, since I often have multiple jars of baby food in the fridge, and it's hard to keep track of when I opened them. The website also suggests that these would be good for keeping track of how old expressed milk is, which really is something I need to keep track of, so I was looking forward to using the timers for that as well!

So I opened my packet of timers, took out the battery protection plastic and uncovered the display, and pressed the button to set the first timer. I put it on my baby food jar, where it stuck with the suction cup, and I put it in the fridge. And when I opened the fridge a little later, the timer slid off the top of the jar. So I restuck it and put the whole thing in the fridge again... and when I opened the fridge a while later, the timer slid off the top again. I tried one more time, but this last time, I picked the jar up out of the fridge and the timer fell off the top and the suction cup broke off. I tried with the second timer, and this one not only didn't stick onto any surface that I tried it on,  but as soon as I pressed the button to set it, the timer display disappeared to never be seen again.

I'm really sad about this- it really is a great idea and would be a handy kitchen gadget if it stuck well. So, right now I have to say, these are a pass. But maybe if they improve the suction cups and make them stickier?  I hope they'll try!

Review and giveaway: Lucky Family Discounts and Pedoodles Shoes!

Congrats to my winner, raveandreview !
 
A few months ago I found out about a great new shopping site that was just getting started- Lucky Family Discounts.  The site is up and running full force now and has some fantastic deals for you all- right in time for your holiday shopping!

Lucky Family Discounts has great deals on clothing, hats and shoes. Right now in the clothing department you can find a bunch of really cute Christmas onesies for the baby in your life- including these Baby's First Christmas and Good Things Come In Small Packages, to name a few. These are Carter's brand, wiggle-in onesies, which I can tell you from experience are great.

 

And the best thing about these onesies? $5 each.

In the hat department, they have a bunch of great hats for kids. I love this kitty cat hat. Isn't it adorable?

Also $5. And they have other cute choices as well, including flower hats, ladybugs and fish.

And last, but definitely not least, is the shoe department. Lucky Family Discounts currently has a big stock of Pedoodles shoes. We've not tried these shoes ourselves, but I've heard nothing but great things about them from other bloggers. And at Lucky Family Discounts you can get the shoes for 50% off or less, with shoes selling here for $12.50-17! Here are a couple of the shoes that I like best-

The Sweet Lady Janes

The Tuxedo

So, if you're shopping for your kids or need a fun and really cute present for another kid in your life, definitely stop by Lucky Family Discounts to see what they have to offer!

One of you is getting the chance to win a pair of Pedoodles shoes! You will win your choice of any of the Pedoodles shoes available on the Lucky Family Discounts site! (US/Canadian mailing addresses only, please).

Mandatory entry (must be done first for extra entries to count. Please either leave your email address in your comment or make sure it's visible in your blogger profile)

Visit Lucky Family Discounts and let me know what you like best from their site, other than what is pictured in this review.

Extra entries (please leave a separate comment for each):

1. Follow my blog

2. Sign up for the Lucky Family Discount newsletter. Place to sign up is on the left side of their homepage.

3. Become a Facebook fan of Lucky Family Discount (please leave me your Facebook name- first name, last initial).

4. Put my button on your blog (please let me know where to find it)

5. Blog about this giveaway (three extra entries, please leave three separate comments)

6. Buy something from the Lucky Family Discount site (10 extra entries! Please leave ten separate comments, let me know the email address that you used for your purchase).

Giveaway will end at 9 PM on December 11. I'll choose a winner with random.org and will email that person. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email! Good luck!