Patch Buddies Backpack Review - Road Trip

When you are away from home on a trip of any kind it is important for your child to feel safe and secure. For most children it is a stuffed animal/buddy or a special item that means something to them. It is also important for a child to have a bag or a backpack to put those important things in. Patch Buddies is a backpack that has a "special buddy" attached right to the pack.

There are ten playful animals and four unique characters to choose from and each has it's own personality. You chose one of the five different backpack color combinations to go with the Patch Buddie of your choice. It is like your child can build his or her own little friend.

Here are my boys with their Patch Buddies on our Road Trip. They loved them. I gave them their Buddie Backpacks a few days before we left and told them they had these new friends that they had to take care of on our trip. They loved the idea of a new Buddy coming with us on our trip. They were also excited that the Buddy came off of the bag to be cuddled and played with. I loved that they had this new stuff toy to snuggle and nap with but also had a backpack to store other items in that they cherish for the trip. Patch Buddies are a great idea for at home or on the go!

You can learn more about Patch Buddies by connecting with them on Facebook and Twitter



* I was not paid or compensated for this post. I was provided for free the products pictured in this post for my review by the Company/PR company. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Me4Kidz Smile Buddy Review and Giveaway - Road Trip

When planning for our road trip hygiene was at the top of my list! I feel like your day hasn't started off right if you have not brushed your teeth and flossed in the morning. I was looking for a handy little case to store toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss for the boys. Lucky for us me4kidz has just that!

They carry a line called Smile Buddy. The Smile Buddy is a "to go" case of oral care. It contains a Kid-Friendly Suction Cup Toothbrush, Crest Toothpaste with Fluoride, 12 Dentek Fun Flossers, a 2-3 Minute Brushing Timer, 8 Kid Friendly Stickers and the Recycled Carrying Case it all comes in. My boys love that they each have their own little toothbrush case that I labeled with their names. There is no question what to do when I hand them their Smile Buddy. A very cute and clever way to encourage kids to brush and floss while on vacation!

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


What other product from Me4Kidz would you like to have?

 

*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.

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#Win a Smile Buddy from @me4kidz at @FrugalFamTree #Giveaway ends 7/30

 

 

 *Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 13, 2012 and ends on July 30, 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.

Keeping Art In Your Heart

As the mother of five grown children, you can imagine all of the artwork and art projects that have come through our lives. Knowing now how precious it all is, I wish I had kept every piece. I didn't realize at the time I would end up treasuring with all my heart the art that I did keep.

 Every Mom know how overwhelming all of the papers and craft projects and things their children create can be. It can take over not just the front of your refrigerator, but your whole house. It is easy to toss things out when you look at the sheer volume of what is brought home from school, camp, or classes. But the odd or funny looking thing that your child created, after many years, becomes beautiful.

We moved quite a few times in 35 years, so some of the artwork naturally just got discarded. But I remember once finding out that our garage had a leak in the roof that we didn't know about until I opened
many ruined and mildewed boxes. In those boxes were many saved treasures that had to sadly be thrown in the trash. But really the point here is to celebrate the art your children and grandchildren create. Keep it, display it, love it, because one day it will be more valuable than you can imagine.                                          

The photo above is of a piece of art made by one of my daughters when she was six. ( I think she would like to remain anonymous)  It's a crown made out of manilla envelopes.
I think it's gorgeous.

By Patricia

Update your Children's Wardrobe with CookiesKids.com

Each season that passes my son needs new clothing. Its still the one thing I am baffled by that each season he no longer fits into what he wore last year. Its also so fun to have a great excuse to go shopping! I have noticed summer clothing has been bright and even neon for this year. It reminds me of my childhood, the early 90s fashions. The fun and funky colors make for some stylish clothing. On the opposite side of that fashion is the always in summer style basics like leather sandals, jean shorts and polo shirts.

With my husband and I deciding what to buy our son can be a clash of styles. For me I like cute kid stuff, my husband the cool name brand stuff. So we meet in the middle with cool kid themed items. Since kids always need new clothing I like to shop price for stylish clothing.

I find online shopping for my son to be the easiest place to get him clothing. I can shop when he is napping or busy with an activity. Plus I can find the best sales and promo codes online. Who does not like to shop in their comfy chair at home with an iced coffee in hand right?!

I went through my sons closets to see he no longer fits in any of his last year shorts. Here in CA shorts are a must have. I love plaid shorts for kids. They are so cute and perfect to mix match with a variety of plain polos or tshirts. I was looking for something he could wear to the park but also cute enough to get his pictures taken in if matched with the right shirt.

I have shopped online before at CookiesKids.com for the winter and purchased some really great sweatsuits and jeans for him, I knew I would find great summer clothing there too. I found the cutest Spiderman red plaid set. My son thinks super heroes are cool and funny enough calls them all Batman, even if it is Spiderman. I knew he would love the Spiderman polo shirt and plaid short set as much as I did. It met my kid like fashion and my husbands cool kid style. I was surprised at all the cute and low priced Spiderman, Batman, Superman and even a few Transformer items I found. Every time I shop at Cookie's Kids I find clothing that I like for my son but also my niece and nephews. I enjoy shopping there since I can find items for ages from newborn to kids 16. I know we will be shopping there for many years to come.

He loves his Spiderman outfit, his shoes are just a bit too big

My son loves sports and this summer he has been so active with wanting to throw the football, kick the soccer ball and swing his baseball bat. With 100+ degree weather I knew he would need light weight shorts and tank tops. I found really cute and only $3.99 or $4.99 tops and Short Sets at Cookie's Kids. When we got it in the mail I knew as soon as he put it on and starting running around that it was just what he needed. He was not as sweaty and was able to move quickly. Not that I needed that fast boy to go any faster lol. Hes quick and this Mom needs to be quicker!

So cute in his Short set from #CookiesKids

With our new pool we needed some cool swim shorts too. I liked these ones since they have orange in them. Orange is my son's favorite color and for the price I had to have them.

Cookie's Kids is always having some sort of sale with discounts or freebies that making shopping there even more fun. Their email newsletter will send the deals to you a few times a month. I have found great items that way. This shopping trip I got a freebie that made me think of my little brother (who is all grown up and a young man now) a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stationary set.

I had a blast using Polyvore to put together outfits to see which one would look best. I found a few really cute items that I pair up into an outfit. My favorite was this one, its an orange, brown and blue plaid set. I love the Tigger hat and the shoes. You can see the other #CookiesKids outfits I made on my Pinterest Kid Fashion Board.

About Cookie's Kids:

If you have not yet heard about Cookie's Kids here is a little info about them. This year they are celebrating 40 years in business! In 1972, a young man named Cookie and his brother Marvin went into business together. They rented a 1600 square foot store in Jamaica, Queens, fixed it up, bought inventory and Summer and Fall, and opened a day after Thanksgiving with a full stock of holiday toys. The toys were a success and they put the extra money toward buying children's clothing for the next season. When that did well, they bought more clothing. The business was on it's way.

As the brothers Cookie, Marvin and Sonny, who had come in as a third partner in the business, began to open new stores in new locations, inventory expanded. Besides the latest fashions, our customers wanted shoes, toys, backpacks and accessories and we were prepared to deliver.

By the late 1990's there were six superstores throughout the NYC area, and though they previously had different names, by that time they were all named Cookie's Kids. Also in the late '90s came an important addition to Cookie's Kids' inventory: school uniforms. It was the steady success in uniform sales that paved the way for founding CookiesKids.com in 2007, which originally sold uniforms and soon after the entire Cookie's Kids Inventory.

What summer clothing items do your kids need? Sandals? Shorts? Tees? 

Cookie's Kids has all of that plus even school uniforms for the fall.

Want to see more of the great items from CookiesKids.com you can read my Google+ story about my shopping trip. #CookiesKids

*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 CookiesKids.com #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine.

T-fal Healthy Summer Challenge Tip #2

 

 

~by Patricia

My second tip for the T-fal Healthy Summer Challenge is to shop for your fruits and veggies at your local Farmer's Market. The summer is the absolute best time to shop there for great variety of selection and lowest prices.

 

Seeing all those lovely lettuces and mouthwatering berries will inspire you to make healthier meals, and keep cooking simple. 

 

Make dinner a big, delicious chicken Caesar salad, or yummy veggie kabobs on the grill. Enjoy!

 

 

What fruit or veggie have you always wanted to try?

 

 

 *I wrote this blog post while participating in the T-FFal Healthy Summer Challenge blogging program for a chance to win a T-fal ActiFry or additional cookware.