Bright Starts Convertible Cart Cover Review

I have tried my hardest not to be a germ a phobe. My husband tells me all the time now to not freak out so much. Before my son was born I was way worse than I am now. I try to go with the flow a bit more. I did not buy a cart cover when my son was first born since I thought there is no way I would ever put him in one of those carts. My plan was to keep him in his stroller while I shop. Well motherhood has taught me that what I thought before I was a Mom is nothing of what the reality of being a mom is!! My son hates being in the stroller in a store. Outside or at the park he loves it but in the store he wanted to sit in the cart. The first time I let him was when it was pouring down rain and there was no way I would be able to get him in his stroller without him getting soaked.

I was a bit worried since the first thing he did was bite the cart handle that I am sure hundreds of people had touched. Well I did not let it bug me I figured and my husband pointed out, my mom raised 5 kids without a cart cover and we were fine! But after about two months of cart riding he did lick the handle and within an hour of returning home he was sick! I blamed the cart, I am sure it could have been something else and a cold here and there is good for his immune system. I still wanted a cart cover for the times when I think he needs one and for if he is sick he wont spread his germs all over the cart. I did not want a regular cart cover. Some of them seem very big and not as cute as I wanted. I found the Bright Starts Convertible Cart Cover and it is perfect for what I wanted. It is colorful and functions as a mini play mat too.

The Bright Starts cart cover also works for most restaurant high chairs. I like this function since my little boy has the tendency to wipe his hands all over any high chair I put him in. The cover made it easier to just pick up the cover toss it into a bag and wash it when we got home. It held up great in the wash and its easy to roll up and toss into the backseat of the car. When I rolled it out as a mat he jumped on it and started doing sit ups. He cracks me up with his workouts! You can buy this cute cart cover at Target, Toys R Us and Walmart for $19.99.

You can be a fan of Bright Starts on facebook. They are having a facebook contest to win the InGenuity Collection.



** I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free the item in this post for review purposes.

Tumbleweed Tantrum

The first time I saw my son do what I now call the "Tumbleweed Tantrum" I laughed. I was really shocked he could get so upset over anything to just flop onto the floor and lay all the way out and roll over from his tummy to back over and over. He has been doing this for about a week and I am worried he may get hurt if he does this in public. I know its normal kids throw fits but oh my he rolls around like a wild tumbleweed! I have done the just ignore it, the talk to him to see what he is upset about and the pick him up and comfort him. Well he is just as mad and at times even more mad if I address him and what has made him mad. It seems it just he is either tired or hungry and something minor has made him ticked! So for now I will offer him his giraffe ( his best friend!) or his juice and he seems to mellow out. It just shocking to now see my sweet little Bubba get so mad he tumbles around about it. My husband wants to capture it on film so we can remember one day the CUTE way he used to get mad, as I am sure it won't be as cute when hes big lol. All these emotions in someone so small is amazing to see.
What funny things has your little one done when they get mad?

Scrubbing Bubbles and Lemon Pledge Review

 Since my clean freak days are out the window now being a mom.  I realize when I do take the time to clean it needs to be with products that work without much effort. I have tried to avoid harsh chemicals when I can but sometimes it seems things such as the bathtub will not get clean. I tried the Scrubbing Bubbles Mega Shower Foamer and was not impressed at all! It smelled really bad and I still hard to scrub the tub just as much as with organic cleaners. For me not worth the chemicals to use. But I really liked the Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel. It was fun to use, odd but for me it was lol. I put two of them in the toilet just so I could use the mini wand dispenser twice! It actually works too! They are a little gel pack that with each flush it cleans the bowl. I do have to say for houses with little ones you will need a toilet lid lock since I am sure they can be pulled off the inside of the toilet.

I also test some Lemon Pledge. I have not used Lemon Pledge in over 10 years! Its something I really forgot about as a brand. The lemon smell brought back fond memories of my mom cleaning her beautiful hutch with all the picture frames on it. My sister and I would help sometimes but mainly watch. Lemon Pledge seems classic, however I did not like that it came in an aerosol can. Maybe they can make a spray bottle version.
I loved the smell of lemon! Its funny how a smell can be associated with the thought of clean.




We were also sent some new scents from Glade. I put the Crisp Waters plugin in the bathroom and it was pleasant. I have to have subtle scents or it gives me a migraine. The candle I placed in my office was Sparkle Spring. I did not light it though since I can smell it without using it. I am sure other people who do not get migraines would enjoy using it as a candle. It is a nice scent.

** I am a BzzAgent and was provided the products to use for this review for free.
I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions.

Dream Big Little Pig Book Review

Dream Big Little Pig was a very cute and enjoyable book. Very family friendly with the message. I read it to my son and he almost said "pig". I love trying to teach him new words as I read to him. I loved the message in this book about, of course, dreaming big. It reminded me of my childhood in the way that Poppy wanted to find something she was good at and her family could be proud of her. I tried tap dancing, ballet, gymnastics, girl scouts, softball, and even wanted to play a musical instrument. I enjoyed them all but none of them were my dream to do but I never gave up! Poppy tries various activities until she finds what she feels she is meant to do! Her family supports her in every activity she tried and continued to tell her to not give up. I thought the name of the city Poppy lives in is very cute, New Pork City!

This book is really cute with the colorful illustrations and the message. Most of us as adults also need to remember to Dream Big Little Pig! The author of this book is Kristi Yamaguchi, the super famous ice skater. I have watched her skate more times than I can count and have always admired her determination. A portion of the proceeds for sales for this cute book will got to the Always Dream Foundation and its early childhood literacy initiative.

You can buy this cute book from the authors website and the publisher, Source Books website.


** I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free the item in this post for review purposes.

Why I Changed The Blog

When I first started to blog it was a little outlet for me to share coupons and shopping deals with family and friends. It was a place I could talk to myself in a sense. But when I realized the vastness of the blogger world, the influence bloggers have on me and the world around them it made me rethink what I wanted to do with this little spot on the net I created. After finding other great blogs and the women behind them I was inspired to share my voice with other moms. I have also found it to be very mentally stimulating. As a mom sometimes being at home can be isolating when your spouse is at work or with the cost of gas you can't get out as much as you would like to. I have found so many woman who I now consider my friends. We talk about our kids, great deals, laugh about things that we do as parents and share in the fun of raising kids in this wild world. As I started to do reviews and giveaways I realized that they are essential to consumers since none of us have money to waste on things we are unsure of. I know for me I read other mom bloggers reviews before I buy something. I find them to be unbiased compared to most consumer reports or big companies reviews.

Once my blog had started to grow I wanted to share the experience with my family. I have a big very loving and supportive family. I consider myself a very lucky woman to have them support anything I do and are always my cheering team. I swear if I wanted to go to clown school and join the circus they would all be the first in line at my shows and finding me great deals on extra big shoes! But my whole family lives in a separate state than my husband and I do. This can be so not cool!! With this blog it has given us all a way to connect and work together on a project we all enjoy. At first I was not sure if they wanted to do blogging with me and if they could fit it into their schedules. As time has passed they all love it just as much as I do and can see how stimulating it can be to participate in the blog-o-sphere!

My older sister and my Mom are the other two mom bloggers that have been helping me over the last few months. My sister has two little boys and we love being able to see each others kids in the posts we make. My Mom is the main book reviewer for the blog but has also done some product reviews for us. I love that they have joined me and we can all blog together. We are planning to share more of our personal journey with everyone as we raise our kids, live our daily lives and find our paths in life. I feel like all of us in the world have our story to share to help one another connect and grow.

Our new name has many meanings. First of course since we are family its the Family Tree. The frugal part has always been a fun thing. To me frugal is not another word for cheap but a way to support our shopping fun. Frugal is to use coupons, find a great sale, to pass items down to each other (this is always a reason to buy good quality products) and to be selective on what you decide to spend your hard earned money on. Something I loved as a kid and have great memories from is yard sale hopping! Its a great way to be frugal and get really great stuff. I know I have a box marked yard sale that is full of unused and hardly used stuff that I do not need but refuse to throw out. I laughed the other day when an episode of Handy Mandy told his tools "Wake up its Sunday time to go yard sailing!" What ideas do you have to be more frugal?

I know my sister and mom are going to love meeting everyone in the blog world, sharing their stories and learning from all the other great bloggers out there. So please help me welcome them and show them the same awesomeness all of you have shown me! My sister is Sam and my mom is Nana and me,  Liz!

Our new facebook fan page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frugal-Family-Tree/148427871890842
We would love it if you would be our fan. You can add us as a friend too if you want to chit chat!

On twitter we still have the same account we now go by @FrugalFamTree

The blog will redirect you to the new site which is www.FrugalFamilyTree.com