May 17, 2012

15% off at Marine Layer, plus free shipping

My husband’s reaction when he checked out his latest shirt from Marine Layer

“I want to be that guy in the hammock.”  Marine Layer’s logo of a guy hanging out in a hammock epitomizes what most guys (at least my guy, and most that I know) want to be doing at any given moment – relaxing.  And their clothing reflects the feel of the logo – chill and comfortable.  From classy polos to stylish tees, there’s something for every guy at Marine Layer.

Use coupon code stylish daddy to receive 15% off plus free shipping on your order.

Great games for Wordies

fast4wordsIn just 4 minutes, players of Fast4Words add letters to a grid, making words to gain points. A combination of Boggle, Scrabble, Crossword Puzzles and a little Connect Four, this its a great skill-builder that keeps you on your toes as you try to gain points creating your words.

Another “wordie” game, Keesdrow is “Word Seek” backwards. Players are truly seeking words, and you’ll find them backwards, forwards, left, right, up, down and diagonally. The board changes with each game, so players can play again and again and always be challenged to find more words.

keesdrowBoth games are definitely for families with older kids, who can already read and have a good understanding of words as they can be backwards, forwards, diagonal, vertical and horizontal. We’ve also played without the kids, creating a great challenge for friendly-game-night. Educationally, they incorporate spelling and reading but, moreso, they’re great thinking and focusing games, with a bit of stragety. Wordies, be sure to put these two in your carts to add them to your collection.

 Both games were provided as samples from their parent companies for this review.

Thank You notes to write? Check out PicPads; 10% off

Have a couple of Thank You Cards you need to write post Christmas?  Check out PicPads for something different and fun.  You can customize a thank you card, note card and more with a picture of your choice. 

PicPads was recently featured in both InStyle Magazine and O Magazine.  They were selected as one of O’s favorite shopping ideas.

Use coupon code LETSGOSTROLLING for 10% off your order through January 31, 2010.

Tasty, Convenient, Organic Food from Ella’s Kitchen

picture-54I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that it just keeps getting easier to feed your child healthy organic baby food. What was once a laborious task, with my oldest child (shopping, preparing, freezing, etc) has just become a no brainer with Ella’s Kitchen baby food products. A friend brought over a starter pack recently, suggesting I review them for Mommies With Style and I just want to send her a big public thanks! Even though we are not really in the baby food stage any more I will definitely buy this product to have on hand “in the mix”. If you are just starting out with baby foods or in the thick of infant feeding, seriously, you need this! Want to try it for yourself? One lucky reader will have the chance to try out a sample pack and I’m you’ll agree!

All the Ella’s Kitchen Stage 1 baby foods contain JUST organic fruits and vegetables, no fillers, no added salt or sugar, and unlike most baby foods, not even added water which would dilute its food value (if you look closely you’ll see that often up to 40% of many baby foods’ ingredients are actually water). The fruits and vegetables are pureed until smooth, gently pasteurized and popped into handy, light, re-sealable pouches.

Did I mention how much I like this packaging? It could not make eating on the run easier. The pouches have a sort of spout and a lid. You unscrew the lid to serve the food – just squeeze out what you need and recap, placing the remainder in fridge or freezer. If you’re in a pinch to serve a snack in the car, older toddlers can actually slurp the smoothie fruits and any of the Stage 1 blends, juice pouch style.

I never liked carrying glass containers of food in my bag, and frozen baby food is just not easy to deal with on the road, or on the spur of the moment. The fact that this food never needs to be refrigerated prior to use and has a 12 month shelf life without preservatives is just mind boggling and a little rock my world-ish. I had to read more about how they managed to do this. The secret is in the packaging, a method similar to canning but they’ve managed to preserve the nutritional integrity. Clearly the concept appealed to me from the start. There was only one last test to pass… The taste test!

For the taste test we brought in my 21 month old son. He’s past the baby food stage, clearly, but that did not dampen his enthusiasm for Ella’s kitchen foods. He happily slurped up the Smoothie Fruits and wanted to try all the Stage 1 foods. We let him try one a day (note: he would have happily tried them all at once, but moderation kiddo!) He actually would select the pouches himself, thinking carefully then announcing “I want yellow!” or “I want green!”. We packed pouches in his bag for the daycare at the gym and took some with us when we went out on errands or to dinner.

So far every pouch has been pronounced “yummy” and not “gucky” which is toddler for yucky, and in liberal use at our house. This overwhelming endorsement of non guckiness is like an awesome Michelin rating as far as we are concerned. I’m recommending this stuff to all my friends and buying more to have on hand for those days when all my son wants to eat is pasta and I want to get something else into him.

And now the giveaway… Leave a comment below telling us what flavor of Ella’s Kitchen Baby Food you think your child would enjoy the most. One winner will be chosen at random to receive a sample pack containing all 6 Stage 1 baby foods and the Smoothie fruits.

Tiny Tongs: Perfect for toddlers who aren’t ready to stick a fork in it

tinytongsDo you have a toddler who is always running with utensils? Stabbing themselves and their siblings with their fork? Do sporks seem strangely cruel and wrong to you. Side note: you can inflict a startling amount of damage with a spork. Don’t ask how I know.

If you answered yes to any of the above questions you might want to check out Tiny Tongs. We gave this revolutionary utensil to our active 21 month old son and heaved a sign of relief. It took him a few minutes to get the hang of using these but once he did he had a blast and we were able to eat without fearing injury.

Tiny Tongs remind us a little of chopsticks for beginners. They are perfect for those toddlers who are somewhere between finger foods and forks and a kinder gentler utensil to bite down on or have flung at you. Definitely worth adding to the arsenal and useful to have in the diaper bag when traveling. Tiny Tongs are BPA, lead and pthalate free and are dishwasher safe.

The Children’s Place Animal Hats: Adorable and Affordable

Image and video hosting by TinyPicMy 4 year old son suddenly got very fashion conscious this year — about his winter hat! I had picked up a cute hot pink Kitty Cat Hat from Target for my daughter and my son wanted it for himself. We were lucky enough to test out the funky tide blue fish hat ($7.50) and mittens ($7.50) from The Children’s Place. The quality was good and the whimsical hat made us both laugh!Features include polyester fleece, appliques and embroidery, long side flaps which totally cover little ears.
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
The Children’s Place offers a bunch of other animal hats and mittens, for sizes 6 months up to 4T: a lion hat and mittens, a pink kitten hat (out of stock), and a Monkey hat (out of stock) and mittens. We also liked the monkey hat and mittens so much that we braved the mall, after Thanksgiving, to buy the monkey hat and mittens (which are now sold out online – call your local store to see if it’s in stock).

For the babies, choose the Furry Friends Hat line ($7.50) for ages newborn to- 12 months.

The Children’s Place provided a sample blue fish hat and mittens for review purposes.

SuperWHY & Billy Fun Wheels Winners

Congratulations to the winners!

Lise scored a Learning Curve SuperWHY Touch & Learn Super Duper Computer

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and Adina won Chicco’s Billy FunWheels!

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Enjoy!

Last Minute Stocking Stuffers for Mommies

Looking for a few little gifts to fill her stocking?  Need something small for a friend?  Here are a few last minute ideas:

grippiesKeep mom on her feet with GRiPPiES products.  These adhesive grips are perfect for pregnant moms to prevent slipping.  I’m not always wearing shoes or slippers when I’m home.  With a house full of hardwood floors and the instability of a 7-month pregnant belly, adding GRiPPiES to a few pairs of my socks has really helped to keep me upright!  They offer two lines of products: iron on adhesives and peel + stick adhesives.  GRiPPiES can also be used for kids’ socks and tights.  Once applied, they are machine washable and dryer safe.  GRiPPiES retail for $5.99 and can be found at Target stores, Buy Buy Baby, or grippiesonline.com.

With all the stuff that travels with mom and baby, it’s difficult to stay organized and quickly find what you need.  The binkerlast thing you want to do is crawl around the backseat looking for a missing binky.  Bella Tunno’s best-selling Bella Binker keeps binkies close and clean and is simply designed to take up minimal space – no more life-size giraffe and teddy bear clips!  Bella Binkers are made from grosgrain ribbon with a simple silver clasp and velcro loop.  There are almost 100 stylish designs to choose from to make a child’s outfit funkier and a mom’s life easier.  They retail for $8 and can be found in more than 4,000 boutiques nationwide as well as online at bellatunno.com.

balmHelp mom pamper herself for a good cause with Perfect As Is Lip Balm.  This ultra-moisturizing tinted lip balm is 75% organic, and all profits, after taxes, go to support women’s health advocacy and human rights issues.  The .25 oz tube has a fatter than normal packaging making it easy to find in a messy purse/diaper bag and simple to apply.  It smells and tastes delicious thanks to the rosebud oil and stevia it’s infused with.  It feels smooth and silky for hours after application and has a sheer pink tint to add a bit of color.  Perfect As Is Lip Balm retails for $7 and can be purchased at iamapeacekeeper.com or at select Parfumerie Douglas.

Give a naturally sweet mom some naturally sweet snacks.  Peeled Snacks are individually wrapped servings of driedpeeled-snacks fruit.  The snacks have no added sugar, oils, preservatives or other fillers and provide a full serving of fruit.  These organic snacks are a natural source of vitamins, minerals and fiber.  The small packages are quick and easy to throw into a diaper bag for a quick, healthy snack.  They’re not too sweet like many of the other dried fruits available today. You can buy them individually or in gift packs with cute gift boxes or, my favorite, the Cute-2-the-Core Gift Box which includes one of each flavor as well as an adorable onesie. Available flavors include apple, pineapple, apriocot, mango, banana, and cherry. Peeled Snacks can be purchased at Whole Foods, Amazon.com, Nordstrom, or at peeledsnacks.com.

skidMom doesn’t have to change her shirt after a deodorant mishap. With just one wipe of a Skid Out sponge, deodorant, drips and drool simply disappear. This specially-textured sponge has no need for moisture and is not treated with any chemicals. It’s safe to use on almost all fabrics. Use it to remove toothpaste stains, baby drool, pet hair, deodorant skids, and makeup smudges. Best of all – it really works! This small round sponge is perfect to throw in your purse and keep in the bathroom where most of these mistakes happen. The sponges come in packages of two and retail for $4.95. They can be bought at Nordstrom stores or online at drugstore.com and garmentguard.com.

Samples of these products were provided for review on Mommies with Style.

Pregnant? Celebrate this holiday season with a little bubbly!

That’s right.  Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun, bubbly drink over the holidays.  Pre-pregnancy, my husband and I spent many an evening with a good dinner and a great bottle of wine.  For the past six months we’ve certainly continued to eat well, but the only one enjoying our collection of great wines is my husband.  More often than not, I spend dinner sipping water from my 24oz Camelbak.  So, you can imagine my excitement when I received samples of a non-alcoholic drink made with real wine grapes!

Vignette Wine Country Soda is a light-bodied soda sweetened with varvignette-wine-country-soda1ietal wine grape juice from California vineyards.  It’s only slightly carbonated and isn’t super sweet like most fruit juices.  It’s beautifully packaged in small glass bottles and looks great in a wine glass! 

The soda is available in Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Rosé varieties.  They are all-natural, non-alcoholic, and caffeine free.  They have no added sugar, color, preservatives, or high frutose corn syrup; all of which adds up to a great drink for us pregnant ladies!

Vignette Wine Country Soda can be purchased from their online store or at a variety of specialty stores, restaurants, and wine-tasting rooms across the country.  A 12-pack retails for $28.50 and would certainly boost your spirits (no pun intended) this holiday season!

Samples of Vignette Wine Country Soda were provided for review on MWS.

Avon 2009 Fairytales Collection, plus Giveaway

avon-madame-alexander-150x1501There are items appearing under the tree this year for my 3 year old daughter from a company I didn’t expect. Avon. When I hear Avon, I usually think make-up. But they offer so much more. One item that I know will be a huge hit is Natalie, a Madame Alexander doll. Made by the world-famous doll maker, the three dolls offered are Avon exclusives. Each doll is 18″ tall and is poseable. For the collector, the dolls come with certificates of authenticity. Madame Alexander dolls are known for their quality and these dolls are no exception. Avon is offering them for $49 each, which is less than other dolls in this category. You can even purchase an outfit for your daughter to match your doll’s. So cute and so much fun.

Avonalso recently introduced their first-ever kid’s collection, featuring both cozy knits andavon-hoodie-150x1501 dressy ensembles. Avon’s 2009 Fairytales Collection has items for both boys and girls and best of all nothing is over $49. Avon is giving away one clothing item or set from this collection to one lucky Mommies With Style reader. Enter to win by subscribing to our newsletter. If you are already subscribed, you are already entered! This giveaway runs through December 28nd. One winner will be announced on or after December 29rd.

Avon provided samples for review.

Brik-a-Blok vlog


We opened our Brik-a-Blok buliding toys today. Its definitely a gift for the whole family. See an explanation of the toys and how they work in my vlog. Here’s my original review.

Cuisinart 6.5-Qt Programmable Slow Cooker-’Tis the Season for Slow Cooker Stews and Meals

Image and video hosting by TinyPic‘Tis the season to make delicious slow cooker stews and meals –and Cuisinart’s 6.5-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker ($99) can make some delicious ones! It features a touchpad with an LCD timer display, with warm, simmer, low and high settings. If you’re not home when your food is done cooking, this smart Slow Cooker automatically shifts to warm mode.

I had never used a slow cooker before, but after seeing some tweets from Nicole Feliciano of Momtrends about slow cooker recipes, I started thinking it might be a good solution for my family – since I’m at grad school two nights a week and can’t cook nightly. I am still following Weight Watchers, so using healthy Weight Watchers Recipes were a no-brainer for me. The first one was the Tagine from the Weight Watchers Momentum Cookbook (available at Weight Watchers Centers). It was simple to make, but I didn’t use the right cut of chicken that the recipe called for. I used chicken breasts, rather than chicken on the bone (so it wasn’t as moist as it should have been). For my second recipe, I used Laaloosh’s Beef Stew Recipe Weight Watchers Recipe (5 points per serving). It was delicious and the whole family (even my picky 4 year old) enjoyed it.  This recipe is going into my files and will be made again soon!

You can leave the slow cooker on for hours while you are at work, but I wasn’t comfortable with that — even though I know the heat is so low that other slow cooker users do it with confidence. So I picked Sunday afternoons to make my slow cooker dishes.  During the holiday season, I plan to make many more slow cooker meals for my family!

Features include

Touchpad control panel with LCD timer display
• 24-hour cooking timer
• Off/On, Warm, Simmer, Low, and High settings
• Removable 6.5-quart, oval ceramic cooking pot
• Automatically shifts to “Warm” when cook time ends
• Dishwasher-safe lid and ceramic pot
• Includes cooking rack for use with ramekins or other bakeware

Cuisinart graciously provided a sample 6.5 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker for testing purposes.

Dressing up the diaper bag

I know that when February rolls around I’m going to have to tuck away my clutches and purses, handbags and wristlets.  They’ll be stored in long, plastic containers under my bed and exchanged for the required accessory of all new moms - the diaper bag.  Now I’ve been told by several kid-carting ladies that a large purse would suffice, but as someone with a passion for organization I can’t wait to separate all of baby’s necessities into the countless pockets found inside diaper bags.  For its organizational convenience and carrying capacity, I was willing to sacrifice a little bit of style, but now I know better!

Over the years, bands of new moms must have united to make their voices heard and demand a more stylish way to lug around everything baby needs.  The diaper bag industry has responded with some fabulous new designs and I’m excited to carry them.  Here are three favorites that I’ll be sporting next year:

pinningtonPinnington Bags – These unique bags are designed with unexpected combinations of texture, pattern and color.  They are handmade with luxurious home decor fabric making them very durable and stylish at the same time.  When I first saw them I was immediately impressed with the pattern and color pairings – fabrics that really stood out and were so unlike most other diaper bags I had previously seen.  You can tell that a lot of attention has been paid to detail, even on the inside.  The coordinating (but of course different) fabric inside is a wipeable material that is easy to clean.  It also has several inner pockets for organization.  Pinnington Bags come in three distinct styles each with a variety of color and pattern options.  My favorite is the August Diaper Bag.  I just love the ruffles stitched in to dress up the zip closure.  Order your favorite bag by Valentine’s Day (2/14/10) and you’ll receive 30% off when you use coupon code: mommies.

timandleslie101janetimi & leslie – This collection of diaper bags is not only convertible to serve for several other functions, but it also comes with an assortment of matching accessories that all busy moms need.  The roomy bags include a removable shoulder strap, a bottle tote, stroller straps, changing pad, wristlet, and an easy access key fob.  The inside is made of a waterproof lining - a huge plus – and has several elasticized pockets so you can quickly find everything you’ve packed.  The timi & leslie diaper bag collection is designed for “the woman in every mom”.  I could easily use my Jane Bag for the office or even as a carry-on when I travel.  It has a real vintage look with the double-handle tote design and patent leather exterior; not at all what I would envision as a typical diaper bag.  timi & leslie bags can be found at retail locations nationwide.

sweet-pea-black1Amy Michelle – The “Go Tote” or all in one tote serves as a purse, work bag and diaper bag in one.  Amy Michelle’s diaper bags definitely reflect today’s styles and really look more like a purse than a diaper bag.  Unless you were pushing a stroller, I really don’t think anyone would ever guess that you had a diaper bag slung over your shoulder.  In fact, I’ve even considered switcihng to my Sweet Pea as my winter puse!  For baby – the bag includes a washable changing pad, internal and external bottle pockets, pacifier holder and attaches to a stroller.  For mom – there are credit card slots, a zippered pocket and an easy to find key ring.  Use coupon code: Poppy to receive 15% off of your purchase.  As an added bonus, up to 5% of Amy Michelle’s profit goes to The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Denver.

Samples of these products were sent for review by MWS.

I Can Do that Games for active kids & active imaginations

A couple of games worth checking out as you do the last of your Christmas and holiday shopping by I Can Do That Games include:

Cat in the Hat – I Can Do That! – Someone gave this to my youngest in November when he turned 3.  It’s been hugely popular in our house with my boys – so much so that I’m a little tired of playing it (cut Mommy a break here, kids!)  It’s $19.99 on Amazon.  Players pick up cards and have to do different tasks based on what the cards tell them.  They use cool Dr. Seuss item-props to play the game.  Check out the fun little 39 second video on Amazon to find out more about it.  It’s currently selling for $19.99 on Amazon, with free shipping.

Dr. Seuss’ Super Stretchy ABC will be a breeze for all you Yoga Mamas, for the rest of you, be warned: prepare to get flexible!  This one is definitely a game made for little bodies as this Mommy’s only too-aware of her age when she plays this game.  Think of it as a younger kid’s version of Twister, with an ABC twist.  Players earn chips the more they stretch.  It’s currently $21.20 on Amazon.

Lastly, I received a sample of Richard Scarry’s Busytown game.  Richard Scarry’s books have been entertaining kids for decades, and now there’s a game to go along with the books – Busytown.  It’s I-spy-ish in that you race around the town looking for hidden objects.  The game board’s over six feet long so clear some floor space!

Check out the I Can Do That Games site to read more about their products and to see what other games they carry.

Project of the Month Club: a series months of crafty fun

project-boxIts SO not too late to gift this one: a membership to the Project of the Month Club. Its not too late, that is, if you join by today. A winning gift for any crafty kid, Project of the Month Club offers a subscription to creative activities, delivered to the doorstep, and its made just for your recipient.

You select the number of children who will be crafting as well as the frequency and the style of project (available are Mix-N-Match for boys and girls ages 4-8, Master Builders for boy and girls ages 4-11, Future Designers for girls ages 7+, Aspiring Artists for boys and girls ages 7+ and Seismic Scientists for boys and girls ages 7+.  Then, throughout the duration of your program, kits will arrive by FedEx or UPS.

We received 2 sample projects and the supplies aren’t skimpy. You’re getting quality pieces to create quality projects. What’s more, a subscription to ProjectoftheMonthClub.com doesn’t just give you projects. It gives you the ability to create memories, because these are projects you’ll want to work on with your kids. They’re fun. And just as fun are the fantastic outcomes of creating together.

Membership packages start at $132 for 4 projects (for one child) and go to $695 (for 3 children, totally 36 projects). There are plenty of projects in between and their membership pricing page lays it all out for you. Plus, you can use Promo Code 80304 – save 10%.

Thanks to Project of the Month Club for the samples for this review.

Child Safety Kit: A very practical baby gift

child-safety-kit-smYou know, not all baby gifts are sunshine, roses, butterflies and balloons. Or even teddy bears. In fact, cableorganizer.com sent me a sample of their Child Safety kit and, upon really looking at it, I’m thinking it may be one of the greatest holiday or baby gifts one can receive. Because, really, with the holidays rolling around I can tell you we don’t need another teddy bear, baby blanket or burp cloth or bottle. But what we do need is to make our home safe for our oh-so-curious (and very rapidly growing) 4 month old.

The kit, which retails for less than $60, includes over 100 safety items. Items that keep your child safe from electrical and common household danger. In just the one kit you’ll receive outlet covers, cable tubes (which keep the wires inside and hidden away), drawer locks, corner cushions (for tables and, in the the case of my home, hearths), and much more. There are so many safety things to think about, this set makes the thinking a little easier, because so much is provided for you.

So, while the parents still have to do the work of making the house safe, what a big help a safety gift really is. (Come to think of it, it’s probably a pretty good idea to send this set to the grandparent’s houses, too. Just a sly little reminder that everyone needs to safety proof!)