Winner

Congrats!!!  April Price is the the winner of the Crow Mountain Crafts giveaway!!!  April let me know what soap you would like to try!

Bumbledoo WAHM Giveaway

Bumbledoo will be drawing winners for her WAHM Giveaway tonight!  I love the way that she has set up this giveaway!  Go check out her WAHM Giveaway Photo Album!!!


Enter as many or as few as you want.  All you have to do is "like" the WAHM that is sponsoring the giveaway, leave some comment love for that WAHM, and then report back to Bumbledoo under the picture that you did!  How easy is that!!!


Malia will start drawing winners at 10 pm EST!  She will also have a couple of gift cards to her store up for grabs!

Rewind - Wordless Wendesday - The Usual Line Up

A Blogtastic Extravaganca Sponsor Announcement

 Paci Catchers

 I am pleased to announce that Paci Catchers is going to be a sponsor for the upcoming Blogtastic 

Extravaganca!  Make sure to go and check them out!

 Don't forget to check out our other sponsors as well.

www.maxwelldeandesigns.com

 www.GoGreenPocketDiapers.com

Holiday Cards made FUN and EASY!!!

It's that time of year again!  Time to start thinking and preparing for the upcoming holidays!  I have always loved receiving Christmas cards from my family and friends.  I love being able to catch up on what they have been up to during the year and getting to see pictures of them!  In the past I can say that I have not always looked forward to preparing my own though!  Thankfully, http://www.shutterfly.com has been able to change that dread into enjoyment and fun for me!

 

One of the things I really like about Shutterfly is that after you have created your card, you have the option of having your cards shipped to you or having them stamped and mailed out for you!  I have to admit that this is the part of Holiday letters/cards that I dread... writing out the envelope, stamping them, and getting in the mail!

 

If you have not figured out yet, I like the ability to personalize things!  I love the fact that I am not buying some generic Christmas card and then feeling the overwhelming need to put my personality into it!  I love that I do not have to print off a family picture because my family pictures are already included on my card! 

Most Wonderful Story Christmas

 The card above is my favorite!  This is the card that I plan on sending out this year.  I really like the simple beauty of the card!  I also REALLY like that this card is a Holiday Story Card.  The inside of the card allows for me to have an additional 6 pictures WITH text!  How great is that!

Don't celebrate Christmas?  No worries, Shutterfly has beautiful Hanukkah cards!  Don't celebrate Hanukkah or Christmas?  No worries, Shutterfly has adorable Thanksgiving cards and New Years nonspecific - Holiday cards (Season's Greetings)!!!

 Now that you know that Shutterfly meets everyone's needs you will be very pleased to know that Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards!!! http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

 

 

 

 It is important to note that Shutterfly is sending me 50 photo cards in exchange for this write-up of their holiday cards.  The thoughts stated above are my own and your opinion may be different.

Crow Mountain Crafts Review and Giveaway

Crow Mountain Crafts has completely changed the way I view my soap!

As I have mentioned in a previous post, here, I have severe allergies to perfumes. When I say severe I mean severe, as in if a lady with too much perfume walks past me, I can end up with a migraine for days! This means that I have to be picky about many of the products that I use (and that my family uses). For example, when hubs and I got married he used a shampoo that I was allergic to and he had to stop using it because I could not get within 10 feet of him without getting sick (nice for newly weds)! Anyway...

I got the chance to try out Crow Mountain Crafts' Pumpkin Pie Soap, some Pumpkin Pie Bootie Bits and some Monkey Fart Bootie Bits! When I got my package I was incredibly worried that the Pumpkin Pie Soap was going to cause problems for me because the scent was so strong (of course, it had been in a box for 3 days). I put the soap in my bathroom and the scent was still just as strong, but it never bothered my head. I am completely amazed that I have been able to use a scented soap without any migraines.


The thing that I love about this soap is that while the scent is strong, it is not offensive! When I lather up (I know you are glad I did not include pictures in this post) with my Crow Mountain Soap the scent is amazing. The scent stays with me all day, which I love. Hubs has commented on more than one occasion how nice I smell :) I enjoy being able to smell feminine without the obnoxious death headache of doom. I also greatly enjoy the fact that the soap is made with goat's milk and therefore makes my skin so incredibly soft! I cannot rave enough about how great Crow Mountain Crafts' soaps are! I can honestly say that I will never buy body soap from a retail store ever again!


As I mentioned, I also got to try out some Pumpkin Pie Bootie Bits and some Monkey Fart Bootie Bits. Again, I LOVE THE SCENTS! For you non cloth diapering folks out there, bootie bits are also known in the cloth diapering world as wipe solution.

We made the switch to cloth wipes not long ago and I have been searching for the perfect wipe solution for our family. I love that these bits are scented, but not offensive to my picky head or my kid's picky skin. The Crow Mountain Crafts' Bootie Bits really bring "soft as a baby's bottom" to a whole new level in our home :)

So, if you are not a cloth diapering mama/daddy, you may be thinking, bootie bits aren't for me.

WRONG!

You can put bootie bits in a reusable zip lock bag in your purse and have your own soap for work. You can use bootie bits to make a solution to refill your foaming soap bottles. The bootie bits are the perfect size to give your little ones their own personal piece of soap in the bath tub, that way they are not wasting soap every time they drop the entire bar of soap in the water! You can dissolve a bootie bit in some warm water and then dunk a reusable swiffer pad in it and mop your kitchen floor (did that, LOVED that)! Trust me, you will love these little booties :)


Not only does Crow Mountain Crafts offer wonderful soaps, but they also sell lip balm (WANT SOME), Lanolin wool wash bits, soy candles and soy melts.


One of the things that I love about working with Lisa is that she is willing and able to actually work with your wants and needs. If you are looking for a particular scent, she will work with you. If you want your bootie wipes to be made out of glycerin instead of goat's milk, you've got it. I LOVE working with businesses that actually work WITH you!

Now you are ready to transform the way you think about soap too, aren't you!

You can buy some of Crow Mountain Crafts wonderful soaps on Etsy

You can visit Crow Mountain Crafts on Facebook

and you can

ENTER to WIN a bar of your choose here :) All you have to do is fill out the form below. You must be a follower of this blog, and "like" Crow Mountain Crafts on Facebook. EASY PEASY!!! Giveaway will close on 10/29 at 11:59 pm EST

Wordless Wednesday - My heart, my soul, my everything!

A Blogtastic Extravaganca

I am getting so excited for January!  We are going to be participating in A Blogtastic Extravaganza with www.mysillymonkeys.com and 148 other great blogs!

We already have some great sponsors lined up for our 2 prize packages!  Our theme is going to be "Welcome Green Baby"!  Keep your eyes peeled for frequent updates on who is sponsoring!

Here are the WONDERFUL sponsors that we have lined up so far!!!

Maxwell Dean Designs

GoGreen Pocket Diapers

Wordless Wednesday - Determination

Cow Patties Diaper Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

Cow Patties offers 4 different types of diapers

Pocket Diapers - Diaper has an opening to put insert inside diaper. These have an inner fabric of your choose, a layer of PUL, and if you want (why wouldn't you) you can get a cute outer fabric. Bamboo fleece insert folds for 6 layers of absorbency. Requires Velcro/snaps to close.

AI2 (all-in-two) - These have an inner fabric, a PUL layer, and you have the option of a cute outer fabric. Bamboo fleece insert snaps in for 6 layers of absorbency (this stuff is AMAZING). Your choose of snaps or Velcro to close.

Fitteds - Absorbent fabric (flannel or bamboo fleece) with a cute outer fabric (cotton knit, cotton woven, flannel). Bamboo fleece insert snaps in for 6 layers of absorbency. Fitted do require a cover.

You can use pins/snappi, Velcro or snaps to close.

Famous Pocket Fitteds (FPF) - Made out of 2 body layers of bamboo fleece with a cute outer fabric (flannel, cotton knit, cotton woven).  Insert folds up for 10-12 layers of absorbency.  The FPF do require a cover along with pins/snappi, snaps or Velcro to close. These are a great option for night time and/or heavy wetters.

We had the opportunity to review an AI2 Side snapping diaper and a pair of training pants from Cow Patties Cloth Diaper.  Our cute  monkey diaper is minky on the outside as well as on the inside.  The first thing that I noticed when I got the diaper was how incredibly soft it was.  If I was wearing a diaper (disturbing), I would want to be wearing this!  The fit is really nice too!  Because of the snap in insert, the diaper is incredibly slim and trim!

 

 

Here is Chunky Monkey in the Cow Patties Diaper :)

The bamboo snap in insert and the sewn in bamboo soaker in the pull up both take a fair amount of prepping.  This is the one downside.  It took about 10 washes in order for our diaper and trainer to be ready for use.  I tried using the trainer before it had been properly prepped and that was a waste of energy.  As soon as Little Boy Blue peed in the pull up, pee was coming out everywhere.  So do yourself a favor and make sure to follow the prepping directions :)

 I did not get any good pictures of Little Boy Blue in his trainer, but he loves his "big boy pants".  The minky on the inside is so amazingly soft (I think I have said that already)!

I can say this much.  Now that our diaper and trainer are properly prepped... THEY ARE MY FAVORITE of our AIO, AI2s, and pockets.  I love how amazingly absorbent the bamboo is.   I also love how fast the AI2 drys.  I also LOVE the price!  A typical diaper will cost you between $12 - $18!!!  You really cannot beat that price!
 

Here are some pictures of the inside of the diaper!

 For Little Boy Blue we fold the insert in half and then fold the remainder of the insert in the front. 

For Chunky Monkey, we fold the insert up toward the back of the diaper, so that the extra length is towards the back and then fold it back down.


I really appreciate that I can customize the absorbency of this diaper to each of my children!

 Cow Patties also offers wetbags, babylegs, and diaper covers!

Check out Cow Patties Cloth Diapers on Facebook!  Check out their blog!

So, now you are ready to BUY ONE?  You can either buy an already stocked item here or order a custom item by contacting Megs.

Want to WIN ONE?  Megs has been kind enough to offer to make a custom diaper for one lucky winner here :)  So, how to enter you ask?  

You MUST be a blog follower, you must be a fan of Cow Patties Cloth Diapers on Facebook, leave me your name and email.

As always, if you make a purchase from CP during this giveaway you will receive 5 extra entries into the giveaway.

*** Cow Patties Cloth Diapers will be doing something special this week by holding an auction on Friday (10/15 - National Pregnancy & Infant Loss Rememberance Day) with all proceeds going to Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope and Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.

I would like to show my support for both of these wonderful organizations by offering an extra entry into this giveaway for every dollar you donate towards either organization ***

Donate to Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Donate to Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope

If you have lost a baby and want to leave your baby's name or any information about your lose on the entry form I will post your baby's name in a special memorial here on our blog next week.  Will not include your name unless you ask to have it listed with your baby's name.

This giveaway will be open until October 20.  I will pick a winner via random.org

CONGRATS TO ALLISON K. FOR WINNING!!!

PreschoolDoll Designs Review and Giveaway - CLOSED

PreschoolDoll Designs

Let me introduce you to Crystal, owner/creator of PreschoolDoll Designs!

"My degree is in Early Childhood Education, and I taught preschool, before deciding to stay home with my son (Preston 6 months old). While teaching, to save money, I made a lot of my own supplies. My husband, Ryan, sometimes helped too. He'd get right on the floor and help cut out construction paper shapes, or run things through the laminator. Other teachers always commented on my supplies and asked where I got them. That's when I first realized there might be a business behind it-or at least a way to make extra money, since preschool/childcare is historically a low paying field. A few years later, I found Etsy and fell in love. While I daydreamed about an Etsy shop, it never occurred to me to start selling my preschool products. Then, Preston was born, and I needed something else to focus on. Something for myself and a way to utilize the degree I was still paying off. With my husband's support, I gained the confidence to jump in, and I'm so glad I did! My goal, at PreschoolDoll Designs, is to equip educators with affordable, and time saving, classroom supplies. I also hope to reach the homeschooling community and stay-at-home moms, who are looking for constructive and educational, ways to entertain their toddlers and preschoolers."

Crystal put together an awesome package for me to try out.  The package included...

(1)EcoFriendly Skin Tone Felt Blank Puppet

http://www.etsy.com/listing/51666535/skintonetan-felt-hand-puppet-ready-to
(4)Individually Wrapped Crayons, from my Little Artist Collection
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54880482/set-of-10-little-artist-crayons
(1)D'Nealian Alphabet Dry Erase Board (with dry erase marker)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54145317/dnealian-alphabet-dry-erase-board

 

 Didn't get a good picture of all 3 items together... so this will have to do :)

 

As I mentioned, I received a hand puppet made from Eco-Friendly felt.  As soon as I took it out of the shipping package my son ran off with it on his hand.  I was some what surprised that he knew what it was for, since I cannot recall playing puppets with him before.  As you can see, the puppet is blank.  This puppet makes a great rainy day (or snow day) activity!  My son is only 2 so he does not have the dexterity that is needed to decorate the puppet, but he enjoyed watching me decorate it and then playing with it.  I think that by the time he is 3, he will be able to decorate it by himself. 

  This is the DNealian Alphabet Dry Erase Board that I mentioned.  Again, having a 2 year old, it is not like my son was going to start using it by himself.  Instead of using the Dry Erase Board to teach him to write, I have been pointing to each letter and saying what it is.  Little Boy Blue is really into letters right now (he says everything is a B or Y), so this is wonderful to him!  I also found that he enjoys it if I write his name on the back of the dry erase board (if you didn't know... my 2 year old's name is "me" lol)!  One night I even used the erase board during a Mami & Papa's giveaway to write SENIOR and take a picture :)

 We also got a set of 4 recycled crayons!  I love the shape of these crayons as the are well suited for a toddlers hands.  I know this is going to sound funny, but I also loved that my son did not feel the need to EAT these crayons.  I have no idea why he eats normal shaped crayons, markers, and chews on colored pencils, but not these... but whatever works works I suppose.  As you can see if the picture to the right, we even had fun stacking them up :)

Can I just mention that I adore the name tags on the crayons.  Since each crayon is a multiple colors, each crayon is not name a color but a name related to the crayons colors.  Mine where named, "grass" (the green... if you didn't figure that out), "sunshine" (oranges and yellows), "sky" (blues and purples), and "dirt" (brown, grey, black).  PreschoolDolls Design has 26 different color combos :) Each crayon disk is equivalent to 4 regular crayons.  Due to the fact that the crayons are melted down, the bottoms of the crayons have some colorless wax.  I went ahead a scrapped this wax off of the crayons so that we could get right to playing with them.  By no means do you have to do this, but now you know.

I found that Little Boy Blue was more satisfied with this set of 4 crayons than he was with a set of 12+ crayons because he could just routate the crayon to get new color.  He also learned that he could get multiple colors by dragging his crayon just right.  I was more satisfied with 4 crayons as well. When Thing 1 decides to throw them across the room because he is done, I only have to track down 4 crayons instead of 16 crayons (and let's face it, I have better things to do)!

I am thinking about getting some of these crayons to hand out to the toddler's that come trick or treating this year.  I do not know about you, but when we took Little Boy Blue trick-or-treating last year, I was thankful when people had options for the little ones (other than candy).  Two houses that we went to last year offered a healthy treat (healthier) like fruit juice gummies or apple chips.  Anyway... just a thought.  PreschoolDoll Designs also is currently has Halloween shaped crayons for sale!

So, are you ready to get your hands on some of these crayons?  You can...

BUY a set of 10 crayons for $7.95 at PreschoolDoll Designs Etsy shop!

or...

WIN a set of 10 crayons here :)  Thank you Crystal!

To enter, you must be our facebook fan, a fan of PreschoolDoll Designs on Facebook, and what you give little ones as a healthy option or alternative to candy for Halloween (or what you normally hand out if you dont).

As always, if you make a purchase from PreschoolDoll Designs during this giveaway, you get 5 extra entries :)  I will draw a winner on Wednesday 10/13

CONGRATS TO JACKIE L. FOR WINNING!