iPlay Baby Green Sprouts Review and Giveaway

I would have never thought I would need so many sippy cups and bottles when I was pregnant. As a first time mom I did know that I needed to be aware of chemicals like BPA being in plastic cups and bottles. I made sure to read labels of items I purchased and received as gifts. Companies like Green Sprouts make shopping for baby safe items easier for busy Moms. iPlay is the company that made Green Sprouts, they are a line of natural products including feeding, toys, and baby care items.

I have been looking for new cups for my son. He is big enough now to have cups with a straw in it. He seems to love straws and a straw cup is a great way to get him to drink a fruit and veggie smoothie. He thinks its fun! I wanted to find a good straw cup that would close tightly. I have had another brand of straw sippy leak into my diaper bag before. Thankfully when we tried the Aqua Bottle the lid closes tightly. My son loved his new cup. I love it since it is BPA free, can hold 10oz and is interchangeable with other Aqua Cups. He is used to tilting up his cup to drink it so he did take a bit to get use to holding it downward to get the straw to work. One note for using it is to make sure the straw part on the inside is firmly in place before you tighten the lid on or it can leak a bit when tilted. There is a cute Elephant on the cup that my son likes. He just learned about the sounds Elephants make and he does his best Elephant trunk noise each time I hand him his cup, its so cute!

I must admit I still let my son drink his milk out of a bottle. I know some Moms dont after a certain age but he is 2 and its the one way I can get him to drink his milk. As a toddler myself I drank my bottle until well after 3 and I turned out fine lol. I was previously using a glass bottle for my son to avoid all contact with plastics when he drinks his milk since I warm it up before bed. Lately though he does not want warm milk but only cold milk so I have been looking for a plastic bottle, plus he has been in a "lets throw everything" mode and a glass bottle must not be thrown! I needed a bottle that is free of BPA and PVC and easy for my son to hold. We tried the Green Sprouts Feeding Bottle. The Feeding Bottle was everything I needed plus with a wide opening it was so much easier to clean than my glass bottle. My son did launch it across the room too and it was fine! He picked it back up and continued to drink out of it. I just tell myself he is a future athlete and that he is practicing.

For the month of January iPlay and Green Sprouts is having a sale. The promo code IPJA12 can be used for 20% off Green Sprouts Bottles and 20% off of  iPlay layette.

GIVEAWAY

Win one Green Sprouts Feeding Bottle and Aqua Bottle

 

To Enter This Giveaway: (mandatory entry before extra entries)

What is your favorite color for the Aqua Bottle?

*Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if its not public in your Google account*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on.

-Like iPlay Inc. on Facebook +1
-Follow iPlay Inc. on Twitter +1

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC ( right hand side) +1
-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1
-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +1
-Share this giveaway on Facebook ONLY, using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +1 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Copy and Paste This Tweet on Twitter and leave me the link (to find the link click on the time stamp under your tweet. Can be done once a day for the duration of the giveaway)

#Win a Feeding Bottle and Aqua Bottle from @iplayinc at @FrugalFamTree #Giveaway ends 01/31 http://www.frugalfamilytree.com/2012/01/iplay-baby-green-sprouts-review-and.html


*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts January 16, 2012 and ends on January 31st , 2012 at midnight PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

Snow Day!!

Living in Washington State the snow is hit or miss every year. We live in the Seattle Area so it is not a guarantee that we will get hit with a snow storm, but if we do it gets pretty exciting!! We have had our 1st official snow of the season and it seems there is more in store for us over the week. We are hunkering down for the next few days, I hate to drive in the snow. Our days will include, snowball fights, snowmen, wet clothes, hot chocolate, fires in the wood stove and lots of laughs. I love having at least one snowfall every year, the kids love it and it always looks so beautiful.

A Princess, 2 Little Monkeys, And A dream Come True

I am the grandmother of three charming, handsome, and all around great little grandsons. My daughter Sam has two boys and my daughter Laura who lives in California, has one. These boys have my heart. As a good grandmother, I have have played sword-fighting, trucks, trains, crashing cars, superheros, football and more. I love it all. Regular readers here know that my daughter Sam recently had a baby girl. Her name is Ashley and she is the sweetest and loveliest baby ever.

Having a girl is completely different than having boys. I can see that daily life with two boys is loud, fun, and very rough and tumble. I think most moms would agree that life with little boys is a never ending adventure. Having to say things like "Do not jump off that table!" and "Don't pull the cat's tail, she'll scratch you!" is simply the way life is with little guys. Of course drying the tears that come because he did pull the cat's tail and the cat scratched him, is also the way life is. So after having two boys, Sam wanted a little girl with all her heart. I'm so happy her dream came true. From her sweet pink nursery to her pretty hats and clothes, Ashley is getting the girly-girl experience that Sam has always wanted to share with a daughter of her own. "Think Pink" is practically our motto around here lately. I wanted to share this photo of Ashley I took the other day with my new camera. I'm loving her headband!

Now I say I'm the grandmother of three charming, handsome grandsons and one extra special granddaughter. And I couldn't feel luckier.

Huggable Teddy Bears Review

What kid does not love teddy bears right!?! My son certainly does. He can clearly ask for Bear when its time to go to sleep. Each time he gets a new stuffed animal his collection grows. He has 4 stuffed animals, 3 pillow pets, 2 Blankets and 1 Binkie that he insists he needs to be able to sleep. Its so very cute. His latest addition to his collection of stuffed friends is his new Bear from Huggable Teddy Bears.

My son loves to cuddle bears and give them kisses. Its beyond sweet. But then again he does throw them across the room yelling Weeeee and jumps on them so he has his fun with them as well. While I was looking around online at the huggableteddybears.com website I found a few low priced cute bears. One of my favorite bears is the GUND God Bless America bear. He looked really soft and cuddly wearing a hoodie sweatshirt.

When the bear arrived my son was beyond excited to have a new bear to add to his collection of stuffed animals. He immediately hugged it and patted him on the head. After a while of playing with him my son wanted to take off the bears sweatshirt. He took the shirt off the other bear we gave him for Valentine's day last year. He tried with all his might to get the bear to take off his sweatshirt. I guess in his world bears dont wear clothing. The sweatshirt is sewn to the bear which had made my son fairly mad at the bear lol. I am thinking I might cut off the sweatshirt and sew up the small holes it might make to cheer my son up.

The bear is cute but a bit expensive for how little he is. But he is a GUND bear and those tend to cost more for the quality. Bears always make a great gift for a kid on Valentines Day. Huggable Teddy Bears has lots of Valentines gift products and you can even have a custom shirt made for your bear.

You can follow Huggable Teddy Bears on facebook to get all the latest news in the world of teddy bears.




*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine. I was provided the product pictured to review for this post by the Company / PR Company.

My Reality TV Obsession American Pickers, Storage Wars & Pawn Stars

I never thought I would be a reality TV junkie. I dont watch the Snookies, Singing Shows, Dating or Match Making ones but I LOVE the shows about antiques, collectibles and making money off them! I have 3 shows that are a must watch.

The first is American Pickers. This show is so fun. Its about two friends who own an antique store that travel America looking for what they call "Rusty Gold". They find people who have collectibles and junk for sale and buy it to sell in their store. Its like a nation wide yard sale hunt without any signs lol. I would love to have this be my job. I often see them pass up stuff I know is valuable but they pick stuff based on their clientele. They find a lot of "manly" items but still cool stuff.

Another show I like to watch is Storage Wars. Storage unit purchasing has become a huge industry and long before it made its way to TV I have been trying to get my husband to try it with me. Well we never did and now people are doing it everywhere! I must admit as a somewhat of a germ-a-phobe I would have a hard time going through the stuff but the wonderment of what treasure might be inside might convince me to put on a rubber outfit and dive in!

Pawn Stars is also a cool show since it has like a mini history lesson for each item they look at. Its like the cool kids Antiques Road Show (that show ARS is what started my antique show watching obsession many many many years ago!) They have funny personalities and its a family run Pawn Shop. It takes place in Las Vegas where the store is and they get to see all sorts of items that people want to sell. The call in experts to help them appraise stuff and its exciting watching people sell their stuff. I have a few things in my closet I would like looked at but I am so NOT a Vegas kind of person. I have been trying to find a good appraiser locally for some old books I have.

There have been a few other shows appearing that are similar to these shows that I have been checking out but none are as fun as these three.

Have you seen any of these shows? Do you have a favorite?

1-800 CONTACTS Website Review

My husband has worn contacts since he first started high school. He like most kids that wore glasses wanted contacts as they became a teenager. For sports, looks or convenience contacts are a great solution for not wanting to wear glasses when you need them. We shop in stores for contacts and with a 2 year old and a husband who hates to shop it can be a no fun task. He has a brand he likes to always use but does from time to time try what is new and improved. We have considered shopping online for contacts to save time and money.

I have heard the name 1-800 CONTACTS many times on the internet and on tv. That is a good thing since I would be a bit worrisome to try a company I have not heard of for such a important item. The great thing about 1-800 Contacts is that guarantee to beat any price by 2%. Free Shipping on orders over $50 is great! My husband buys a few months worth at a time when we buy them, no one wants to run out of contact lenses.

They carry all the great brands that everyone buys like Acuvue, Air Optics, Focus, FreshLook, Air Optix Night and Day lenses and many more popular brands. Ever thought of changing your eye color for fun, if you have a prescription for contacts that can easily be obtained at a store like Walmart you can order colored lenses online at 1-800 Contacts. I wonder what I would look like with brown eyes?!? All with the convenience of being at home at your computer to order them. Then just waiting on the mail to deliver them. I love the simplicity of online shopping!

They have a lot of info to get you started if you are new to contact lenses and also have live chat. So much easier to ask right then while on the site then to have to send an email. I have been using Live Chat with many companies lately and I love it.

Next time my husband needs to stock up on Contact Lenses I will have him look at the 1-800 Contacts website. You can learn more about contacts as well as find out about great sales by following 1-800 Contacts on Facebook and Twitter.

*This is a sponsored post. A sponsored post does not effect my opinion. I gave an honest story and opinion.

Bosch Auto Parts & Reed Timmer of Discovery Channel’s Stormchasers Contest and Prize Pack Giveaway

 

Have you seen the show on Discovery Channel Storm Chasers? I have watched it several times and find it fascinating. Its exciting to see all the extreme storms out there. Living in Cali we dont get very much extreme weather.  Extreme weather when you are out in your car calls for  a serious car to be able to handle it. The Storm Chasers have the Dominator for their car. Reed Timmer from Storm Chasers tested out Bosch new ICON wiper blades in the The Dominator. Sounds like the perfect test car to me! 

 Bosch has introduced the new ICON wiper blades. These bracketless wipers are designed without metal or plastic brackets, joints or hinges, which means they’re an improvement over conventional wiper blades.

To celebrate the release of the ICON wiper blades, Bosch is holding a contest where one lucky Facebook fans will win an experience of a lifetime: an all-expenses-paid, five-night VIP Storm Chasing trip for you and a guest, with Reed Timmer of Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers.


You can enter the Bosch & Storm Chasers Facebook Contest here

You can learn more about the ICON wiper blades over at http://www.boschcleartheway.com.

Reed is documenting his experience with the Bosch ICON wiper blades in a series of webisodes:

"The Dominator"

"Why Reed Chases Storms"

BLOG GIVEAWAY
To help celebrate the New ICON Bosch Wiper Blades being tested by the Storm Chasers I am hosting a Giveaway for a Bosch prize-pack. 

The prize pack includes:

• A set of Bosch ICON wiper blades ($50 value)

• “Storm Chasers - Season 4” DVD ($55 value)

• A signed copy of Reed Timmer’s book “Into The Storm” ($20 value)

• A Bosch C3 6V/12V Fully Automatic 4-Mode Battery Charger ($70 value) 

To Enter This Giveaway: (mandatory entry before extra entries)

What Auto Parts Store is near you that sells Bosch ICON Wiper Blades? ( Look to the right of the site for the list of stores. We go to O'Reilly)


 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if its not public in your Google account*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on.


-Enter the Bosch & Storm Chasers Facebook Contest +2
-Like Bosch Auto Parts on Facebook +1
-Follow Bosch Auto Parts on Twitter +1

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1
-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +1
-Share this giveaway on Facebook ONLY, using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +1 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Copy and Paste This Tweet on Twitter and leave me the link (to find the link click on the time stamp under your tweet. Can be done once a day for the duration of the giveaway)


#Win Bosch Prize Pack w/ @BoschAutoParts ICON Wiper Blades Storm Chaser DVD + more @FrugalFamTree #Giveaway end 01/31 http://tinyurl.com/74efkog


*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts January 12, 2012 and ends on January 31st , 2012 at midnight PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

The Bathroom is now the Library

I love to read magazines. They are colorful and a short read. I have my favorite subscriptions that I need to have two of them include Martha Stewart Living and Bloomberg Businessweek. Baby Talk and Parents are two others I love to read. Lately it seems I cannot find the time to read them other than in the bathroom lol. If my son sees a magazine he wants to look at it then tear all the pages out making sure he shows me any pictures of babies or animals. As sweet as it is when I have not read it yet its money wasted not being able to read it.

So I have been hiding them in the bathroom! I have a really cute basket in there that I put hair brushes and pony tail holders in that I now use for my magazines. Its the one room my son has not taken over in the house, a least until he learns to use the potty!

What are your favorite magazines to read and do you have to hide out to enjoy them? :)

Spontaneous Happiness Book Review By Andrew Weil

For many years now I have been a fan of Andrew Weil and the many books that he has written. His latest book is called Spontaneous Happiness and I am very pleased to add it to my bookshelf. There are so many how-to-be-happy books available today that it's difficult to choose one that can really make a difference in your life. Dr. Weil is a trusted source of information, he is both a Harvard educated MD and a recognized expert of alternative medicine. We all want to be our happier, to feel better about ourselves and our lives and release ourselves from any type of depression that we may be suffering from. Dr. Weil offers us insight into the causes and cures of depression and shares his own history of depression with us. He is also surprisingly frank about the way that drugs are over prescribed by doctors and drug manufacturers.

This book is most certainly not a light read, but it is extremely interesting and informative to anyone seeking help to find a happier life. The mind-body connection plays a very significant role in our health and happiness and it is thoroughly explored. As usual, Dr. Weil 's advice is compassionate, insightful, and able to be incorporated into our lives on a daily basis. Spontaneous happiness itself isn't something we can easily achieve or maintain. Emotional health and well being depend on so many factors, including our relationships, physical health, finances, spirituality and more. If we can even recognize the fact that we can consciously choose to make ourselves happier, it is a much more achievable goal. There is an 8 week program included to help us put all the information and recommendations to work for us. I encourage everyone to read this book because we can all use help to achieve the maximum happiness in life.

You can connect with Andrew Weil, M.D. on his facebook and twitter pages.



* I was not paid or compensated for this post. I was sent a free copy of this book for my review by the publisher/PR company. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Shlickers aka Stickers

My son has a love for "Shlickers" (stickers) that is crazy. He loves to have as many as he can. We get them at the stores in bulk. He sticks them on himself, me, his stuffed animals, the furniture, the walls, the TV, and anywhere he can reach. I find myself having them on my face and clothing when I dont realize it. I have had many people point on one on my face or butt that I forgot was there. lol

It all started with the sticker that he would get at our local Raley's grocery store. Every time we go, and we go a lot, they give him a sticker, sometimes two so his Giraffe can have one too. Now he wants a sticker from every place we go. He wants them off fruit he sees in the stores too. I find it so very sweet since when I was little I had a sticker collection too. I would take them off of apples and bananas in the store too. My mom would buy me great stickers from places we went. I remember once in Santa Barbara and Solvang we went into toy stores and we would get me a few unique stickers for my collection. One of my favorites was a big one that had a few different dog breeds on the sheet. I had many many stickers that I did not use but collect. My son loves to use them and not collect them but as a girl I liked to keep my pretty stickers intact. I had a very collectible personality as a kid. My rock and shell collection was impressive!

When I moved out of my parents home I left my sticker collection behind. The big kid I am I did want to take it but thought I would be a dork if I did. Thankfully it was passed down to my little sister Meg who got to have sticker fun with them. Stickers oddly used to be a bit pricey when I loved them but now for my son I can go to Walmart or the Dollar Store and he gets a bunch of them. So if you see me in public or in a picture and I am covered in stickers you will know why.