Soothie Suckers Review + GIVEAWAY

     Soothie Suckers are an all natural herbal ice pop meant to help boost your immunity!  I had never heard of such a thing so I was super excited to get these.  I received the nasal support variety and just in time as Amelia was getting a bit of a runny nose. They are 100% plant based and safe for kids.  I love finding natural ways of keeping my family healthy!

     Soothie Suckers come in two varieties, Immunity Support and Nasal Support.  The Nasal Support are purple in color while Immunity Support is orange.  We have been using them unfrozen since it is so cold here in Minnesota but they would also be a fun treat frozen like an ice pop.  They taste great and Amelia definitely gets excited to see them so it is very easy to get her to take one.  I love how portable they are, they are all pre portioned so there is no measuring involved.  They are great to throw in your diaper bag and go.  I am bringing some with us on the plane for our trip in January.  I feel like after spending the day on a plane and in the airport we will both need some immunity support!

       Soothie Suckers are free of artificial colors, high fructose corn syrup, and alcohol.  You can see above the quality herbal ingredients in each of these pops.  We have been very impressed with their effectiveness and taste.  These are a great alternative to conventional cold medicine and I love that they are safe for little kids too.

     Now for the best part, Soothie Suckers is giving away two boxes of Soothie Suckers!  To enter the giveaway just use the Rafflecopter widget below, good luck!  Must be 18+ and in the U.S.  Soothie Suckers also provided a discount of $2 off a box with code HEALTHYFUN on their website.  Now everyone can try them out and at a great price. Plus there is no limit to how many boxes you may use this discount on!  Stay healthy everyone and thanks for reading :). 

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

The Crispery CrispyCakes GIVEAWAY

    It is no secret that I have a major sweet tooth so I am extremely excited to share my love of CrispyCakes from The Crispery with you!  The Crispery makes these ah-maz-ing treats in small handmade batches and have a large variety of flavors to pick from.  Some of my favorites include pretzel surprise, smores, and sprinkles. They even recently came out with some gluten free options!  I was sent a Thanksgiving sampler box and it arrived very fast, only a couple days.  They had it wrapped up beautifully (great for gifts!) and tucked safely inside a larger box.  It is obvious they take great care to ensure it arrives intact.

     My Thanksgiving sampler gift box was very festive and oh so cute!  They were almost too cute to eat.  Almost.  I love the little turkey and my favorite... sprinkles!!  These would make excellent hostess gifts for Thanksgiving, or they also have Christmas sampler boxes as well.  If buying as a gift I suggest also buying some for yourself, otherwise the temptation to eat your gifts will be great ;).  

     Now you can see up close the ooey gooey, marshmallowy goodness that is a CrispyCake!  Seriously I don't know how The Crispery does it but they are so soft and delicious, most definitely a gourmet treat.  I have made many rice crispy bars but after trying these they never compare.  Plus they are huge!  There are four servings per treat and if you have will power you could save some for later (easier said than done though).  

     CrispyCakes are Amelia approved as well, see I did share one ;).  She saw me sampling one (for reviewing purposes of course) and she snuck up and ran away with it.  Side note, she is dressed in a cowgirl outfit for Halloween in the pictures.  We needed a pre trick or treating snack but we saved some for later.

    Now to the best part, The Crispery is giving away a CrispyCake sampler box to one of my readers!  Thats not all, The Crispery also provided coupon code CC15 to use on their site for 15% for everyone! For a chance to win simply use the rafflecopter widget below.  Good luck!

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Disclosure - I was sent product in exchange for my honest review and giveaway purposes.  All opinions and reccomendations are 100% my own.

Dr. Yum's Baby Teeth Cleaners Review

     My daughter started getting teeth at about 11 months old and ever since I have been trying my best to maintain good dental hygiene with her.  It can be difficult since babies and toddlers do not always want to cooperate.  When she first started getting teeth we used tooth wipes.  These were fine until she started getting teeth on the bottom as well and my poor fingers were often getting bitten.  Baby teeth are a lot sharper than you might think because that hurts!  When I was contacted by Dr. Yums with these baby teeth cleaners I thought they sounded like a great idea so why not give them a try!

     Dr. Yum's Baby Teeth Cleaners are little q-tips filled with a baby safe cleaning solution that coats the teeth to protect from plaque.  You click it and the solution dispenses on the tip of the q-tip and you simply wipe it along your baby's teeth.  They are not messy,  disposable, Amelia likes the taste, and are safe for babies.  I will admit these are probably best used when they are younger or for in between brushings.  Amelia is now one and a half and in a "I will do it myself" stage so this is probably not any easier than her toothbrush at the moment.  That said, when she was younger I really wish I had found these, they definitely would have saved my fingers!  I am going to keep some in the diaper bag though since they are awesome for traveling.  We are going on a trip in a couple months and these will be perfect to have on hand in the airport since they are a one time use product I won't have a wet toothbrush in my bag.  

     Overall I think this is a great product for younger babies.  Once they get into that toddler stage it will depend on the child, mine won't let me "help" her to really get all her teeth with the q-tip, but they are great for in between brushing.  Amelia really likes the taste and the ingredients are all safe for little ones.  I can't wait to travel with these as they are super convenient to throw in the bag and go! They would also make great stocking stuffers ;).

                        

Disclosure - Items above were received free of charge for testing and reviewing purposes.  I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review and I only reccomend products I think would good for my readers.  As always opinions are 100% my own!

Influenster Moda VoxBox Review

 

     I have been super lucky lately and got another VoxBox from Influenster!  This is the Moda VoxBox and is packed with goodies to test out.  For those who aren't familiar, Influenster is an online communtiy that brings people and brands together.  You can share opinions and experiences about brands/products as well as ask questions.  They often send out what they call a VoxBox which are complimentary products for testing purposes.  If you love trying new products you should definitely check them out, I have some invites left if you need one ;).  Anyways back to the box at hand...

Resource Spring Water - This water is 100% natural spring water with naturally occurring electrolytes.  I thought it had a great crisp clean taste and I love the bottle was made of 50% recycled plastic.  I love the bottle and that is was a little bigger than most water bottles but still fit nicely in my cup holder in the car.  Resource also started a service where they deliver water to your house!  It is not available in my area but you should check and see if you can, it would be great for it to just be delivered!

Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lip Liner - I thought this was really neat, it is a clear lip liner so you can use it with any shade!  I have never seen a clear lip liner, though to be fair I don't use lip liner so maybe this is not a new thing.  I am excited to give it a try though as I have a few lipsticks I love!

Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick - This lipstick is supposed to leave your lips moisturized with a "brilliant burst of color".  It really is bright, I do not wear such bold lip colors, but Rimmel does have some other shades I would love to try.

Puffs SoftPack - These are great, love the softpack to throw in a diaper bag or in the car.  It is the season for colds so these are definitely in high demand around here!  

Rimmel London Scandaleyes Rockin Curves Mascara -  I love trying new mascaras so I was really excited to see this in the box!  This mascara has an awesome applicator brush that really coats the lashes.  I like the formula and found my eyelashes really were bold with this mascara.  

Hair Food Moisture Hair Mask - This is a new product that you will be able to find at Target.  It has ingredients like honey and apricot oil to protect and really moisturize your hair.  I blow dry and straighten my hair a lot and I use hair masks to replenish moisture, so this is a welcome treat!  

Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa - Perfect timing for this, nothing says fall like a nice cup of cocoa.  Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa has only five ingredients and is so yummy!  Love the milk chocolate flavor and sometimes I add marshmallows or peppermint essential oil ;).

Jergens Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer -  With fall and winter comes dry skin and this little travel sized bottle will be easy to throw in a diaper bag.  I do wish Jergens would quit using mineral oil and petroleum products in their lotion though.

     There you have it, a break down of all the products included in the Moda VoxBox from Influenster.  I was super impressed with the amount of products in this box.  I thought they really hit it on the nose with products for the fall season.  Did you receive the Moda VoxBox? What did you think? 

                        

Disclosure - Products above were received free of charge for reviewing purposes.  No monetary compensation was received for my review and all opinions are 100% my own.

Old Factory Candles Review + Giveaway

        The folks at Old Factory candles were kind enough to send me a set of candles to review for you today.  I love candles so I am super excited about these!  Old Factory candles are exclusively sold on Amazon and are available in a variety of sets.  Each set of three has scents that correspond with the theme. They are hand poured in the USA and come in cute glass jars.   I will definitely be saving these jars when they run out.  The soy candles are only 2oz but they will burn cleanly for up to 20 hours and since there are three that is almost 60 hours of burn time!  Amazon also offers gift wrapping.  Above is the picture of them all gift wrapped from Amazon, perfect for Christmas coming up ;).

     It was hard to pick just one theme to try, there are so many that sound great!  I ended up choosing the Fresh & Clean set.  There is something about burning a crisp fresh scent that makes my house instantly feel cleaner (even if its not).  The three scents are Lemongrass, Olive Blossom, and Fresh Linen.  I wasn't sure what Olive Blossom would smell like so that was the wild card but I am happy to report it is actually my favorite of the three!  The scent of each candle really fills up the room when lit.  Much more than I would have expected from such a little candle, I was impressed.  I think next I may have to try Fall Harvest or Winter Wonderland.

     Old Factory has several different scent themes which makes finding a gift easy for many occasions.  Right now I am thinking Christmas gifts but they have set that would be great for birthdays, anniversaries, or Valentine's day too.  Old Factory has so kindly offered a giveaway for my readers so you have an opportunity to win a set for yourself!  If you win you will be able to choose the scents that most appeal to you.  Which set would you pick?

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Our Potty Training Arsenal

     Ahhh potty training, it comes with so much advice and so many options.  My daughter is almost a year and a half so I thought it was time we started introducing the idea.  I know a lot of people would probably say it is too early but she can't learn if we don't try, right?  The first thing I needed was to buy the necessary supplies to start our potty training adventure.  There are a lot of options but here is what I went with.

     Everyone I talked to recommended the Baby Bjorn potty but I ended up going with a potty from Summer Infant.  I thought they looked awfully similar and the Baby Bjorn was $25 where Summer Infant was only $9.95.  I also found the cushioned Dreambaby Potty Seat for $9.99 for I was able to get both for less than the Baby Bjorn.  Since I can think of so many other things I would rather spend money on than potty seats I thought this was the better way to go ;).  That said there are some things I do not care for with the Summer Infant seat already.  First, it has no lid which has not been a problem yet but we do have dogs so hopefully they just leave it alone.  My other problem is that the splash guard isn't removable and it is high enough that my little girl has trouble sitting down on it herself.  If I get a second seat for the main level I will be looking for something a little smaller so it would be easier for her to use.

     My daughter loves books so I thought it would be a great idea to get a few potty books to introduce the idea.  These two books are completely different from each other and Amelia strongly prefers Leslie Patricelli's book.  This one is simple and to the point with one sentence per page and bright pictures.  I could see an older child preferring the Once Upon a Potty book since it has a lot more detail.  The books are doing their job and Amelia loves reading the Potty book and even takes it to the potty with her.   

     Finally I got some Green Sprouts training pants.  I think they are so cute and we will use them once she starts getting the hang of using the potty.  Since they are cotton she will be able to feel when she is wet (diapers are absorbent and wick the wetness away) and hopefully she wont like the feeling and it will help her keep dry.  They also have a little absorbent core themselves to help in the case of an accident.  We are not to the stage of actually using these yet but I am hoping we can go from diapers to these and just skip the pull ups.

     Now that we are armed with all the necessary potty training supplies I need to come up with a strategy!  Right now I am having her sit on the potty before baths and she has peed in the potty several times.  We get excited and say "hooray!", which she really likes so I think she is getting the idea.  I am going to hold off on buying rewards for using the potty since the praise seems to be enough for her at the moment.  I guess I need to decide when we are going to start the real training and then just be consistent.  I am a little hesitant just because I know it is going to be a lot of work!

What age did you start potty training your kids?  Do you have any advice for parents trying to potty train? Is there a strategy that worked well for your kids?  Please leave advice, experiences or tips you may have in the comments, I would love to hear them!


                   

Disclosure - All of these products were purchased by me and there are no affiliate links on this page.  This is just my opinion :)

Hyperbiotics Pro-Kid Probiotics Review

     Hyperbiotics kindly gave me a chance to try their Pro-Kids probiotic.  I have been looking for a good probiotic for my daughter and these sounded like a great product!  Hyperbiotics has a patented control release technology that delivers the probiotic to the intestinal tract.  According to their information that makes their probiotic 15 times more effective than others.  I am a big believer in probiotics being a staple in our daily routine.  They help keep your digestive system healthy which keep you healthy since your gut directly impacts your immune system.

     Pro-Kids probiotics are very small pills.  This allows children as young as 4 to easily swallow them.  Since Amelia is only one year old I have been crushing them and mixing them into her applesauce.  They are very easy to crush with the back of a spoon.  It is working great for us, she doesn't even notice it's in there.  I am guessing for maximum effectiveness they are best swallowed whole since they are coated with a protective layer designed to get through the stomach and to the intestinal tract, but they are working crushed up for us.  Overall I have been very pleased with Pro-Kids probiotics and will be getting these again.

                     

Disclosure - I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Family Time Planner Review

     Dot Mine has so kindly sent me a Family Time Planner to review.  I am a big fan of paper planners for planning out our weeks.  I do set alarms for important appointments in my phone.  However, especially as kids get older, a family planner really becomes neccesary.  My mom always had a master calendar growing up with everyone's activities so we could easily reference it.  Dot Mine has named this the 17 month family time planner although it would also work well for students, bloggers, and teachers.  The 17 month planner starts in August 2014 and goes through December 2015.  The Family Time Planner comes in three pretty designs, mine is Free Bird.

     In the front, the Family Time Planner has a place to put some of your personal information and a quick reference list for all the holidays.  It also has a nice pull out fall and winter schedule with the spring and summer pages towards the back.  I like these pages since we have several weekly activities.  It is probably especially helpful if you are balancing a few kids with sports practices and games (we have a little while before we get there).

     Each month has a two page layout showing the entire month, followed by the weekly pages.  I had started filling in our weekly schedule but I think I am also going to start adding in a meal plan.  This planner will work well for that because I can then make my grocery list for the week on the gray side area which is perforated.  This will make it super easy to take my list to the store! Towards the back of the planner are places for notes, family business numbers, friend contact information, work and kid information, numbers for babysitters, and a folder.  They really have tons of space for all the numbers you might need on hand.  I love my Family Time Planner and it will definitely be seeing a lot of use around here!

                      

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Children 'n Us Stroller Organizer Review

     Children 'n Us kindly sent me one of their stroller organizers to use and review!  While my stroller has a big basket underneath, there are many times when digging for our things was inconvenient.  My diaper bag has stroller straps but because it is so large it can tip the whole stroller back if Amelia isn't inside so that wasn't a good solution.  This made me really excited to give this organizer a try.  It is large but not big enough to tip my stroller so the size is perfect!  

    Inside there are two mesh pockets to hold your little one's drink and one for you.  There are also two snap pockets on the front and a zippered pocket on the inside.  The pockets really help to keep things organized so you can quickly find what you need.

     I was able to easily fit a couple diapers, wipes, water bottle, zippy cup, sunscreen, bugspray, and my wallet in the organizer!  This will make it very easy to grab our things for outings.  I still had a little extra room so if there is anything else I might need it should fit.  The organizer is great for our purposes and I am glad we have it.  This is one of those items that would be great for a baby registry or gift, since it is something useful that you wouldn't think of right away.

                      

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Pizza Rolls with Bake It Fun

     Lately I have been a bit obsessed with silicone baking mats, seriously, how have I not been using them until this month?  Anyways, I had the chance to try out Bake It Fun's silicone baking mat and I was pretty excited to see how it stacks up.  Right off the bat I could see this will be my go to mat for cookies with the handy circles to help with proper spacing.  Since I am quite certain this mat will be a breeze with cookies, I decided to try it out with messy pizza rolls!  This is a quick and easy idea we use for lunches so don't expect a killer dough recipe in this post ;).

     I started out with some crescent rolls which I laid out on the mat.  No greasing required!

     Next I spread some sauce and added some pepperoni.  Then I put half a stick of string cheese on each.  I did one the same direction as a crescent and then did the others backwards thinking it would be less messy.  

     To the oven at 350 for about ten minutes.

     Simple but tasty and a big hit at our house.  I think rolling them the crescent way ended up being less messy after all.  I was surprised at how easily the cheese came right off the mat.  I was impressed and really happy that I didn't loose any cheese to the pan! If you have never tried baking on a silicone mat you most definitely should check out Bake It Fun's silicone mat, you won't regret it!

                         

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.