Wordless Wednesday

* The newest addition in my home decor is making me oh so happy *

~ Sam

Tiny Love Review & Giveaway - Holiday Gift Guide

If you have a little one in your life and you are looking for a great gift for the holidays, Tiny Love is the place to get it. They have a wide range of products both you and your baby will love. Tiny Love is an award-winning international baby products company that creates stimulating developmental toys and products which encourage babies’ growth and development. We love what Tiny Love represents and it's philosophy to turn their products into engaging, interactive toys that nurture skills and delight the senses of our little ones.

Here is a look at two of the toys my little girl got for the Holiday Gift Guide:

The Super Mat is a great big mat to play and lounge on, perfect for these cold and rainy days. My daughter is getting older so it is hard to keep her entertained, she wants to move around and walk around a lot.
    
We have hardwood floors so what I like about the Super Mat is that she can take her toys and play on it, having a soft spot to sit on. We also can take it outside and use it as a picnic blanket when the weather warms up or a spot in the grass to lounge on. The Super Mat is bright and colorful, perfect to attract your little one if you need them to sit entertained for a bit. This product is recommended for children 0-12 months and helps with Cognition, Fine Motor Skills and Senses.



 Another great gift item is the Musical Stack & Ball Game. Little ones seem to just love putting balls or any other object they can find in a toy like this one!

 

What I love is there are 2 game levels, a wide opening or narrow opening depending on your child's age or skill. There are also lights and music to get your little one exited! Not to mention he is a super cute elephant!!! The Musical Stack & Ball Game helps with Imagination & Creativity, Cognition, Fine Motor Skills and Senses and is recommended for 6-18+ months.

 

In celebration of their brand new online store, Tiny Love is offering free shipping on all purchases! Perfect for the Holiday Gift Giving Season!

Enter to win a Tiny Love Super Mat for your little one:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts Nov. 14 2012 and ends on Dec 5, 2012 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 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. I was sent products from Tiny Love for my review.

PEOPLE Magazine’s Annual Sexiest Man Alive Issue & $20 Gift Card Giveaway

I admit it, I can be a star watcher. Not the kind in the sky but the ones on the red carpet. I like to read the gossip, see whos dating who and I LOVE to see what celebs are naming their babies. The baby news is something I always peek at. I like to see what types of nurseries they are designing, the strollers, the clothing and to see how much the kids look like the celeb parents. Most of all I like to see the fashion of the stars. Its fun to see what colors are in, what accessories are the women wearing and the style of shoes. I LOVE shoes!!

PEOPLE Magazine has all the great fashion and celerity gossip all in one. I do not have much time to read up on things since I am a mom and work full time so I love to grab PEOPLE Magazine on my lunch break. Working in a environment where fashion that is up to date is a must I like to see what the stars are wearing and add to my wardrobe accordingly. Plus I am a sucker for the royal family and PEOPLE Magazine always has pics and info on them.

One of my favorite issues of PEOPLE Magazine is the Annual Sexiest Man Alive Issue. I love to see the up and coming new actors get honored as well as stars I grew up watching like the year Johnny Depp was on the cover. I am at the age of thinking of him as Edward Scissorhands as the first movie I saw Johnny Depp in and I have loved all his movies since. Bradley Cooper was great in the movie Limitless and it was wonderful to see him selected. When Matt Damon got the honor in 2007 I was thrilled! I have always thought Matt Damon was the sexiest man alive, so glad the world realized that too LOL. I have seen all the Bourne movies he has been in a bunch of times.

I wonder who it will this year?!? The 2012 PEOPLE Magazine's Annual Sexiest Man Alive issue will be in stores November 15th. I wonder if Robert Pattinson will be in the top runners, he is a sexy vampire, has a British accent, we all feel for sad for him that he was cheated on, he might need the boost and his movie is coming to theaters cant wait to see it! It could also be Mark Walhburg or Mario Lopez, oh so many to list as the potential honoree.

Who do you think it will be?? Who would you vote for to win??

Enter to win a $20 KROGER Gift Card in the Rafflecopter form below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway






*This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™, but all my opinions are my own http://cmp.ly/3/KqtZiE

Off she goes

 This girl...

is officially on the go...

~ Sam

Healthy On The Go Meals with Kidfresh

Since I have started working full time and my schedule is never the same it seems we are always having meals at odd times and not always together as a family. As all moms do I worry that my son is not eating right. Not being home to prepare him meals I wonder through out the day if he is eating the right foods to keep him healthy.

I wanted to find ways to be able to eat as a family during a work shift. We started looking for healthy on the go meals as an option. I recently read about Kidfresh meals that are in the frozen section at my local Safeway. I have tried frozen meals before with my son but they were full of sugar or sodium and I did not like that.

Kidfresh Meals are healthy and easy to prepare meals that can be enjoyed on the go.They are all natural with hidden veggies. I felt like this was the product for my son. He can be a picky eater like I was when I was a kid. Not being home as much I also worry that he will find ways not to eat his veggies without me making sure he does. The hidden veggie idea is brilliant! I purchased 3 of the 4 varieties. I bought the Mac + Cheese, Rainbow Rice + Chicken and the Spaghetti Loops Bolognese. They have the Cheesy Quesadillas but I make those all the time at home for my son. The other three I knew my son would enjoy and it would save time not having to prepare a meal. He loves the Spaghetti Loops Bolognese. I like that it contains carrots, celery and sweet potatoes! How awesome is that, all that vitamin A I know he needs. Plus Kidfresh contains no artificial flavors, colors and no preservatives.

Since we do not all have the chance to eat meals together we do our best to meet up for lunch or dinner at a near by park where I work. We sometimes grab fast food but that can be unhealthy and costly for just junk food. We have been looking for a way to have our son eat right when we are on the go. He enjoyed the Spaghetti Loops Bolognese at the park one afternoon and when I told him there was sweet potatoes in it (thankfully he loves those) he wanted to look at the box. He cant read just yet but he sure did check out that box. I like to think that me starting to be a label reader will rub off on him.

Another time we met for lunch my son had the Rainbow Rice + Chicken. It smelled wonderful, it looked just like when I get fried rice dishes on my lunches but this was a healthy version just for him. When I tried to take a bite to see how it tasted he told me that it was his not for Mom. He does not care for peas but he ate them all in this dish. I love that we can meet up for lunch and I can know that my son is having a healthy meal that we get to enjoy eating together on the go.I can ease my mind more at work that he has had at least one good meal for the day! My husband warmed up the food, put it back in the box, placed it in a bag and brought it with him to meet me. Easy peasy and good for our little guy.


You can read about my shopping trip to Safeway for Kidfresh Meals in my Google+ story.

Learn more about Kidfresh Frozen Meals by being a fan on Facebook and following on Twitter. Dont forget your $1.00 off coupon available on Facebook for Kidfresh meals. (I did forget mine on the table! I will be saving it for next weeks shopping trip to Safeway)

*I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Kidfresh #CBias #SocialFabric #KFHealthyKids

Veterans Day 2012

 

 Happy Veterans Day to all the Vets out there!! My husband is former military so Veterans Day holds a special meaning in our house. Thank you to my wonderful husband as well as all of the military and former military folks out there. We appreciate all that you do for our country!!

Looking for a deal for Veterans Day 2012? Here is a list of companies participating. Enjoy, you deserve it!!!

~ Sam

Saving money today

                                                                                  

I am always looking for ways to save money and there are really no limits when it comes to seeking out ways to do so. Whether it be coupons, a coupon code, a rebate incentive or even just waiting for something to go on sale the ability to save money is out there. With the holidays right around the corner I know that any extra money I might save will come in handy. My children are already looking through the toy catalogs circling all of the things they hope Santa will bring them!

Another way to save money is to shop around for things like car Insurance. There are great ways to compare rates and companies, bestautoinsurance.net is a resource dedicated to that. One of the best ways to get the best deal on something or get the best for you money is to compare all of your options. How many of us go out and buy a big ticket item without comparing it with the price and and options others? Not very many because of all of the ways to research things with the internet today. Next time you are looking to purchase something in your life, compare and do the research so you can forgo buyers remorse!

*This is a sponsored post, the opinions are 100% mine and may differ from yours.

Graco Snugride Connect 40 Review #GracoSafety

                                                                    

I am a Mother of three small children so I feel like now I finally know my way around a car seat and what to look for in one. When I had my first child, almost six years ago, I didn't really know what to look for. Car seat safety has always been important and on the fore front of of my mind, there is a lot of research about how long to keep a baby in the rear facing position. Until recently we turned our babies around when they turned a year old, it was what our pediatricians were telling us to do.

But now The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that toddlers stay rear facing up to the age of 2. My first thought was NO WAY. No way would my one and a half year old let alone almost two year old would stay in the rear facing position. Already (at the time) he was unhappy and wanted to turn around to be with his brother, hanging out or watching a movie on the DVD player. He was also getting to big for his car seat, he looked like he was going to burst out of it. I kept him in it until he was one and a half. I couldn't do it anymore.

Since The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out with these new guidelines companies have been "customizing" their infant car seats to make it possible to keep them in the rear facing position for up to two years. Graco carries the Snugride Click Connect 40, the only infant car seat that provides rear-facing protection for babies from birth to 2 years old. The infant car seat grows with babies from four pounds up to forty pounds!  You can keep your children rear facing longer, while making sure they stay comfortable as they grow. It is a win win for us parents!

The SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 has an 8-position adjustable base that grows with your child, providing the most leg room and comfort possible for up to 2 years. As well as the simple one-hand harness and headrest adjustment, it is so easy to love this product. One of my favorite things is the Extended Footrest that retracts up to help protect your car interior, I don't know about you but how many times have you asked your little ones to stop kicking the sear in front of them! We live in the state of Washington, and with all of our rain this is a great feature for sure. There are so many great features to his car seat, the Click Connect technology provides a one-step secure attachment to all Graco Click Connect strollers to create a travel system!

 

                         

The Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 – the first and only newborn to two-year infant car seat that actually grows with your baby from four pounds all the way up to 40 pounds. The car seat is designed for a parent on the go. The infant car seat can be easily removed from the base and used as a carrier when the infant is small, providing portability and convenience so you can easily move your infant in and out of the car without disturbing them.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. Graco set out to make this product so parents can keep infants rear facing longer while still keeping them comfortable.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. The opinions and text are all mine.

Kidorable Review and Giveaway - Holiday Gift Guide

~by Samantha

I live in Washington State. It rains here, a lot. We are always in need of things like umbrellas, rain boots and raincoats. I don't want just any rain gear, I like something with a little extra, something that stands out from the rest. I love Kidorable and all of the super cute styles they carry. Each style has matching umbrella, rain boots, rain coat, backpack, hanger sets, towel and more!



        




For Ashley we got a rain coat from the Lucky Cat Collection in the My First Collection Line. They are sized with your little one in mind and their first things. We are into all things pink (well I am and I'm the one picking her clothes these days) and I love the Cat print as well as the ears on the hood!

Ashley acting super shy in her "Kittty Cat" rain coat

Kidorable always has great items that we fall in love with every time we browse their site. The quality is great and are kids are always happy wearing them. There is not fighting about wearing a coat or rain boots. Not to mention every time one of my children wears something from Kidorable I get asked where we got it!

Enter to Win a Kidorable Umbrella for your little one:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

  *Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts Nov.10,  2012 and ends on Dec.1, 2012 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 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. I was sent an item to review for this post.

Today Starts the Gift Giving! Holiday Gift Guide 2012

Hello Everyone! Today Nov. 10th starts the 2012 Holiday Gift Guide. We will be joining Frugal Family Tree and Popcorn & Pearls this year to create a great Holiday Gift Guide for everyone on your Holiday List.

Having both blogs participate means twice the fun and twice the giveaways!! :)

We are blessed to have you all as our readers and we enjoy sharing with you our opinions on what we feel are great Holiday Gifts. In our family we also have 4 birthdays from now until Christmas day so there will be many gifts given and lots of memories made.

We hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather and all the holiday cheer around us as we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas time celebrations.

Enjoy the giveaways and we always welcome your suggestions on great gifts too!