Mommies With Style

Remember Linus and his blankie? We love him. We love that he needed a security blanket the way Middle needs his thumb. While none of the kids has attached to a blankie, they do love to pull them up and cuddle.

One such great cuddling blanket is the Classic Dream Blanket by Aden & Anais. Its so-soft fabric is made of a natural, gentle muslin, making it breathable, flexible and very comfortable.

A great baby gift, the dream blanket is available in colorful bright prints. It uses 4 layers of the light muslin fabric, making it plush enough for a true cuddle.

Thanks to Aden & Anais for providing a sample for this review.

My son is accustomed to falling asleep while listening to ocean waves. He had a hard time going to sleep as an infant and the waves just seem to sooth him and put him to sleep.  When we travel, we always have to lug his wave machine along, which is a hassle. So when we received the Dozy Dolphin On The Go by Cloud b for our recent trip, we were thrilled!

The Dozy Dolphin On The Go helped recreate his sleep time routine by bringing his familiar sounds of ocean waves with us on our trip. It plays four water-based sounds with individual push buttons: Dolphins Playing, Whale Songs, Tranquil Melody, and Ocean Waves.  There is a volume control button and two sleep timer options: 23 and 45 minutes.  My son absolutely adores his Dozy Dolphin! He plays and cuddles with it when he falls asleep.  It is super soft thanks to the soft hypoallergenic bamboo fabric so it won’t irritate sensitive skin.  Bamboo fabric grows without the need for fertilizers or pesticides, is the most renewable resource on the planet and is 100% biodegradable.  It’s also antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-static and softer than cotton.  Attached to the Dozy Dolphin is a Velcro strap that allows for easy attachment to cribs, strollers and car seats!  Included with the Dozy Dolphin is a booklet that teaches children about endangered dolphins, a Dozy Dolphin Storybook and adoption certificate. Besides the Dozy Dolphin On The Go, Cloud B also has 2 other travel animals – Sleep Sheep On The Go and Gentle Giraffe On The Go!  

Cloud b’s mission is to thoughtfully design and develop useful products that help children sleep better, and simplify parents’ lives. I agree that their products have helped my children sleep better as we also have the Twilight Turtle and Ladybug to add to our collection.  My kids use them every night when their room is dark and it lights their rooms right up! They can’t be without them at night!

Check out their products and save 15% off most regular priced items on Cloud b’s site by entering code MWS-310 until March 23rd.

The newest Palm Web OS update, 1.4,  is here — and now the Palm Pre Plus has video, among some other great functions. Disclosure: I am taking part in the  Verizon Palm® Pre™ Plus Mommy Blogger Program and will be testing out the phone for the next month on Mommies With Style.

Now, I can easily shoot video from my new Palm Pre Plus. but I can also make edits and upload my footage to YouTube or Facebook (or send them via email or MMS). It was really easy to shoot the video — here’s one of my first attempts.

Another feature of the update I liked were enhanced notifications: LED in the Gesture Area now lights up (and pulses) if I have a notification (even when the screen is off). I can also customize my notification sounds in messaging, email, and calendar. And there are new notification sounds in the ringtones library.

See more details of the Palm webOS 1.4 update in action here.  The Update will automatically happen once Palm webOS 1.4 is available on your carrier, but you can also trigger the update using the Updates app (which is what I did).  It will take a little while to upload and install.

Verizon supplied me with the new Palm Pre Plus and are paying for 1 month of service, including internet access. No other compensation was received. All opinions expressed are my own.

Another product we brought along on our trip was the GoPillow! My son and daughter loved the Go Pillow! so much that they actually fought over whose turn it was to have it! The GoPillow! is a portable pillow that has a built-in blanket tucked away inside. My kids loved snuggling with it on the airplane (of course taking turns), since it is super soft and cozy. The portable pillow consists of an inner core of soft, pliable cushion/foam and a soft outer fabric covering.

The Go Pillow! reminds me of a cylinder type pillow that you can place your hand on up to your elbow inside to securely cradle your child while feeding them. The built-in blanket tucks neatly inside, providing easy access to pull out while on the go to allow for mother and baby privacy while out in public breast feeding.

Besides being great for snuggling and breast feeding, it also makes a fabulous nap blanket since your child can rest their head on the pillow while lying on the blanket. Additionally, it makes for a nice place to change your child’s diaper. The GoPillow! is washable (we were thrilled since we took it on the plane) and is available in pink and blue. Check out the GoPillow! where you can see pictures of the fabulous ways it can be of use!  Receive a free breastfeeding guide with every purchase-no code required.

At February’s Toy Fair, Disney Online previewed their fabulous World of Cars Online website — free-to-play browser-based, virtual world based on Disney/Pixar’s “Cars”. Since that is my four year old’s favorite movie, he is going to love the features — which are designing your own car, making new friends and playing mini-games. The premise is that Lightning McQueen and his friends are helping new race cars train in Radiator Springs, which is growing due to new businesses opening.

Kids Can:
• Create Their Own Race Car – Pick the body style, color, name and more to make it totally their own. This was cool and kids are going to really enjoy being creative.
• Explore the Road – Drive beyond Radiator Springs to explore Carburetor County. Enjoy backroads racing and adventures with Mater and others!
• Community –  Kids can see when their friends are online and interact with them to create a Cars Community.
• Race and Play –Cars can warm up the road on a variety of tracks to win badges and trophies. They can also play mini-games like Lightning Storm and Ramone’s Paint Blast to earn coins and more!

If you want to upgrade from Free-to-Play to Subscription, you’ll get access to:

o Paint jobs, gear and accessory purchases to customize your Car and home
o A Pro Racing Career and access to exclusive Piston Cup race tracks
o Special Events and Adventures

Bottom Line: Kids are going to really like the World of Cars Online. It offers children a chance to be creative with making their own cars and have adventures driving around Radiator Springs. Best of all, it’s mostly free (if you want to change your car more than once, you’ll have to get a subscription). Parents create an account, and then create sub-accounts for their children. They can monitor their child’s progress on the site.

The site will officially launch later this year – but it’s in Beta now, so take a look!

Who needs to spend hundreds, if not, thousands of dollars on kids beds when you can have an Aerobed for Kids?  All my kids ever want to do is sleep in theirs.  Sometimes I don’t even know why we bother with real furniture.

So we treated them to a two-night sleepover in my 3-year-old’s bedroom this weekend.  They pulled their two aerobeds up side-by-side and had all sort of fun. 

This weekend’s theme?  The beds were the “safety rafts” as they drifted around the ocean with hungry sharks biting at them, of course.

Love it.  Hours of entertainment, not to mention super-portable and convenient when we’re on the go.  It inflates in minutes, and the raised edging still helps to keep both of my boys inside of the bed and off the floor on lieu of bedrails.

You can almost always find a deal on Amazon – the price goes up and down so watch for it.  While I’m writing this review, it’s currently $68 with free shipping (32% off the original $100 price) for one.

There were two reasons that our Disney trip was unswimmable: 1. the un-Florida-y weather that week and 2. the Luna pool at the Boardwalk Villas was closed. But that doesn’t stop me from telling you just how great the Azula is for your vacation/summertime adventures at the pool.

The Azula is a little butt-matt protects your swimsuits from snagging when you sit at the edge of the pool. ’nuff said, right? I mean, any mom of a toddler can attest to how necessary this is. It extends the life (and look) of your sexy little swim suit from first wear. So newborn moms are certainly wondering why?, right? Because as soon as your little one is toddling she is going to l-o-v-e the pool. And hours at the baby pool will mean two things: Good sunscreen (reviews to come) and snagging suits. Unless, of course, you get an Azula.

The Azula is lightweight and rolls up really thin so that its simple to keep in your pool bag. I know you’re ordering one for summer*, but you may want to order a few extras. They’re also great against burn on a leather seat in your car, sporting events (keep that butt dry during soccer, Mom!), beaching, boating and more.

Thanks to Its Pretty Smart for providing a sample Azula.

*I know, seems crazy to talk summer with over 30 inches of snow this winter, right? But its helping me to think summer while I shovel!

I recently went on vacation with my husband and two kids and we decided to test out a bunch of fabulous products that I will be reviewing over the next several weeks! I will be sharing my children’s and husband’s opinions as well.

The first product is one that we used over and over again and were thrilled that we had it with us. My husband was a bit skeptical about why we really needed it, but boy was he ever so thankful that we had it with us on the very first day of our 9-day vacation!

Minimus.biz is the leader in all things travel-sized and individual-sized. They stock more than 2,000 products including over 100 pre-packaged kits and gift sets. Products you couldn’t possibly imagine come traveled sized and Minimus.biz carries them all. All of their liquids and gels are TSA compliant (3.4 oz or less), which makes packing that carry-on all the easier.

The Traveling with Toddlers kit holds all of the essentials you could possibly want as a parent. It contains 21 travel-size products in a zippered 10″x8″x2.5″ clear vinyl bag which makes it a breeze to find what you need at any time! The kit came in handy when the following happened on our trip:

- My son fell on pavement and scraped his elbow pretty badly. Never fear – the handy first aid kit came to our rescue. The kit contained not only bandages, but towelettes to wash the area, alcohol prep pads to cleanse the wounds, anti-biotic ointment (bacitracin) to promote healing plus more!

- My son had developed a diaper rash and needed cream. I never carry cream anymore and was thrilled to have Boudreaux’s Butt Paste in the kit which instantly gave him relief and eliminated me from having to take a trip to the store.

- My kids’ hands needed disinfecting and washing a lot as we were very active with activities everyday. Hand sanitizer and the Candy wipes came in handy often.

- My kids’ noses were always running so the pocket tissues were a huge help!

- We forgot shampoo for my kids’ baths and were thrilled to find California Baby Shampoo/Bodywash and Bubble Bath!

- The stall in the airport was out of toilet paper so the Charmin To Go was perfect!

- We had a few spills in the car and the Bounty to go Mini Roll of Paper Towels was the best!

There is so much more inside the kit as well. It even came with a small flashlight with batteries included. We were so impressed with this kit and couldn’t get over how many times it came in handy and made travel easier! We were so thankful to have it with us on our trip. It has found its new home in my car and has been great to have on the go!

We also received some travel games such as Candy Land Travel Fun On the Run and Tangoes which my kids loved playing on the plane and when we had down time. They were both the perfect size to travel with. Also, with airplane food a thing of the past, we were well-prepared on the plane with great travel friendly treats. My kids enjoyed the Squeezers Peanut Butter & Jelly combo and individually wrapped Ritz Cracker packages while my husband and I had the Wild Garden Hummus To Go and Cracked Wheat Wafers which were delicious. We all liked the Kool-Aid 2 Go packets which we just dropped in our water bottles!

With over 2,000 items and 15 categories to choose travel products from, you’ll be sure to find what you are looking for. The next time you travel or just want some simplicity for the travel sized products you tote around town the most, check out Minimus.biz – you’ll be thrilled you did!!!

Save 5% off the Traveling with Toddlers Kit or the Toddler Travel Kit (smaller version of the Traveling with Toddlers Kit) by entering code mommieswithstyle at checkout until March 31, 2010. Free shipping is offered on orders over $20.

My little one just became potty-trained in the past 2 weeks! During our little potty boot camp (during the crazy blizzard on the East Coast) we used a variety of potty training products. One of them was the On-the-go Inflatable Potty Seat, a soft, comfortable sturdy seat for my son.

You may be wondering why I used a travel potty seat while I was potty training in my house. Well, first of all, this potty seat fit nicely on a toilet that is a bit odd-shaped and was hard to use with other potty seats. Secondly, it was very easy to use and comfortable for my son. The inflatable seat with backrest support and handles made the large toilet seat nice and snug for my son. He felt safe and secure and it definitely helped him gain confidence as he learned to use the toilet. The seat was also very easy to clean. I just rinsed it under some warm water and it was clean in seconds.

This is a great product to take with you in your car, with you on a trip, or wherever you may venture to outside of your home. Since it is inflatable, it folds down to almost nothing, so it’s easy to pack and take along. The stabilization ring fits in the toilet seat opening and prevents the seat from slipping, which is a problem that I find with many of these types of seats.

Best of all, it is very inexpensive, at $7.99. Available in both blue and pink, this is a great product to have on hand for your potty-training or potty-trained child. Learn more about the inflatable potty seat with an interactive video or purchase online!

With all the flight restrictions its a bit nerve-wrecking to pack for a plane trip. And I hate to welcome food into my car if its likely to be messy, so before trips I work hard to find foods that are acceptable for security, acceptable for my car and, of course, acceptable for my kids’ health.

Our last road and plane trips we tested out a few snacks worth sharing:

FruitaBu’s Smoooshed Fruits are the favorite amongst the clean and healthy snacks. There’s a real depth to the flavor and, a bonus for moms, there is never a mess in these flat fruits and rolls. Easy and fun to eat, they’re healthy and made naturally.

We’re big fans of Kashi. Their Heart to Heart cereal in Honey Toasted Oat offers flavor to the healthy bites (and cute little heart shapes, too.) Its great for breakfast or a dry snack on-the-go. My kids would prefer to eat a TLC Bars  over cereal though. Their favorites include Dark Mocha Almond Chewy Granola Bar, Pumpkin Pie Fruit and Grain Bar, and every option of the GOLEAN Crunchy! Bars. But overall, my 4 year old loves the Blackberry Graham TLC Cereal Bar best. And, while I love cooking with their Pilafs, I’m just happy they like Kashi because I’m confident they’re eating healthy, well produced foods.

Finally, I was sent a sample of Popchips. Now, I’m not a potato chip person. I’m one of the people that gives you her free bags that come with sandwiches and leave the chips on the plates. Chips, in general, are too salty. But what I really don’t like about them is that they stick to my teeth. Hate that. That said, I still tried out Popchips. And, honestly, I liked them. Its like that old Mikey commercial. No one could believe I was eating Popchips. But they were harder than the normal chips, didn’t stick to my teeth as much. And the salt was more balanced in the flavor. We tried all of the flavors and, while my favorite was Barbeque, I also really liked Parmesean. The kids loved orignal and cheddar potato. So, I never send chips to school in their lunches, but I did send popchips! They’re all natural and they’re made by popping, not baking or frying. So less grease, less fats. Just less. But lots of flavor.

Thanks to the parent companies and their agency for sending samples for testing.