The Shopping Mama

Best Kids Clothes & Shoes of 2010

by Kate on December 31st, 2010 | 5 Comments | Clothes, Reviews

An alternate title post is “We Received This Brand for Review and then Bought A Lot More.”

You might be wondering… Do clothes really need their very own Best of 2010 post? The answer is an obvious YES! Check out our favorite go to choices for kids clothes and shoes.

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Most Stylish Kids Clothes: Tea Collection. We started the year with about 3 pieces of Tea in my son’s drawer. We’re ending it with about 25 pieces between my kids. The clothes are beautifully made, great for day-to-day wear but also look amazing for “dress up” occasions.

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Cutest Tutu Shirts: Tutu Pour Mon Deux. Completely customizable and totally cute, these tutu shirts are great gifts and tons of fun.

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Coolest Boy Clothes: Baby Eggi. You won’t find any chubby dogs or cute duckies on these clothes and that’s why we like them. Rather, you’ll find cool graphics that are kid-friendly but pleasing to the grown-up eye.

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Best Personalized Kids Clothing: The Funky Bee. Unique designs, funky and modern fabrics and top-notch quality. And, really, the sky’s the limit – if you can imagine a design, Jenny can make it for you. You’re welcome for the introduction. (You’ll thank us later.)

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Super Styling Kids Shoes: Livie + Luca. The leather is divine, the colors are bright, the designs are genius… these shoes are awesome. We reviewed a pair of sandals in February that my son still tries to wear despite freezing temperatures and I have since bought two pairs pictured in the review.

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Best Baby Shoes: Jemos Shoes. Adorable and amazing quality. We’ve recently been testing the shoes by crawling on rough patio stones (like sand paper) and you can’t even tell. That’s good stuff. -Malia

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Best Discount Kids Clothes Shopping: Zulily. Not only is Zulily a great way to buy deeply discounted clothes, but it’s also a very fun way to learn about new brands. The shipping is quick and customer service is good. I pretty much *heart* Zulily.

Click to read all of our Best of 2010 posts. There’s one more coming up as well as the Not so Best of 2010.

Best Toys and Games of 2010

by Kate on December 30th, 2010 | 5 Comments | Reviews, Toys

best toys and games 2010 The Shopping Mama’s Best of 2010 continues. After countless hours assembling, playing with, photographing and giggling over countless toys and games this year we’ve narrowed down our very favorite. These toys will surely please your little ones, and perhaps more importantly, they’ll also keep you happy.

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Best Balance / First Bike: Hobby Bike. I love that this balance bike can turn into a real pedal bike with the pedal kit it comes with. Making you first bike investment last well beyond one year! With all that, you won’t believe the affordable price tag. -Monica

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Coolest Talking Toys: Dinosaur Train Interaction Toys. The toys talk to each other. Seriously. Enough said.

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Best Tricycle: Smart Trike 3-in-1. The design, ease of use and number of miles you’ll log on the Smart Trike before outgrowing its usefulness is amazing. It’s just so, well, smart. (And, we may be giving one away very soon.)

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Best Baby / Toddler Walker: Melissa & Doug’s Chomp and Clack. Considering one of those plastic walkers? Don’t. Go for the best. This is just as (if not more) interactive, the quality is impeccable and my son loves it. And, really, what’s NOT to love? -Malia

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Best Play Kitchen: KidKraft Vintage Play Kitchen. If you could blow this up and make it my size, I’d happily use it to cook dinner every night. This little Play Kitchen is so pretty and your kids will love it so much that you won’t even mind another piece of kid furniture taking over your house.

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Best Game Your Toddler Can Actually Play: Avalanche Fruit Stand. The rules are simple enough for your child to understand, but the act of playing will improve hand-eye coordination. The game goes quickly and is great way to take some time to sit and play as a family.

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Toy You Won’t Want to Share with Your Kids: Tegu Blocks. There’s a reason the Tegu website features streaming video of a Tegu master building things with these blocks… they are super addictive and very fun. Yes, your child will get the benefits of open-ended play and building skills, but you will also get to exercise your play muscle.

We hope you are enjoying The Shopping Mama’s Best of 2010 series. Check back tomorrow for our favorite clothes for kids.

Turn a Photo into Art with Hi There Press!

by Shannon on December 30th, 2010 | 5 Comments | For Mama, Reviews

It’s the holidays. How many of you 1) shopped for matching clothes, 2) tried to get all your children (and some pets) clean at once, 3) got all heads of hair “done”, 4) got everyone dressed and 5) managed to get in front of a camera either in your home or with a photographer? My guess is that MANY of you (and me!) did that very thing. That’s a lot of effort to get a good photograph of the family. It’s a testament to the value we place on photographs. It’s our attempt to document our family now and forever. Here’s another question: What did you do with that photo after it was included in the holiday cards?

These moments deserve a little more emphasis than a mass mailing. Enter Hi There Press!. Hi There Press! specializes in photo gifts of all kinds as well as those aforementioned holiday cards. The company’s signature product is a framed canvas wall art option for your favorite photographs.

Framed Canvas Wall Art

I received my Hi There Press! framed canvas the day before Christmas Eve and, I must say, I was very impressed from the moment I started to unwrap the box. I know I’m weird, but as I unwrapped the box, I noticed the incredible packing and care with which my print was packed.

Then I saw it. I must admit, I wasn’t emotionally prepared for the impact of our family photo so large and impressive before me. As many of you know, my husband is deployed for a year. Since he’s away, I asked him his preference for the photo to feature in canvas and he chose the family photo we humbly snapped in our back yard just before he left. I can still remember the day we took the photo. It was hot as blazes and incredibly humid… good for my daughter’s curls, bad for the inevitable sweat that would seep through our clothes in only minutes. We had to get that photo fast! I started to cry at the memory and the thought of my husband now so very far away. Photos have impact. The framed canvas is featured below with my husband on a video chat in the background.

I’m proud to display this framed canvas in my house. The quality of craftsmanship is exceptional. I love a perfectly mitered corner (pictured left) and there is not a flaw in the frame or canvas from Hi There Press!. In fact, I’m so impressed with the canvas, I’m planning to order one for my son’s room. I’m red-faced to admit that his room doesn’t get as much attention as my daughter’s. If things turn out, you’ll see more photos of that project later on The Shopping Mama.

Hi There Press! offers lots of design options for the framed canvas. I chose plain with a black frame to match my other decor. For my son’s room, I look forward to shopping the other, more whimsical, options.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… If you are looking to elevate the status of your photographs and display them with prominence in your home, this framed canvas will do that. The framed canvas is also a departure from the usual matted frame you can buy at your local big box store. The quality of the product is superb. As I mentioned above, there is not a flaw in the canvas I received.

Or Not to Buy… While very affordable for the market, the framed canvas is more expensive than framing a photograph.

Shop! Hi There Press 14 inch by 11 inch Framed Canvas Wall Art is $62.96, and available in a number of patterns for every room in your house. Hi There Press also offers holiday cards, stationary and great photo gifts.

Best Products for Moms 2010

by Kate on December 30th, 2010 | 5 Comments | For Mama, Reviews

The kids gear doesn’t get all the fun in TSM Best of 2010! This list is all about the best products for moms. These are things we love, use every day and, frankly, don’t want to live without.

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Best Tool for Crafts: Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter. So versatile, so easy to use. It will change your life. And you think so, too, since it is the most popular giveaway of the year on The Shopping Mama. - Amy

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Helps Us Keep House: Dyson. I don’t even like to vacuum and this remains one of my favorite reviews of the year. It’s just so cool. And, I guess it’s rather important to mention that one quick run of the floor with this and my house looks clean despite the fact that I live with a 4 and 2 year old.

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Best Wall Decor: Hi There Press Canvas. What mom doesn’t love to show off your little one? Why settle for a dingy print in a frame your kids will likely break when you can get a gorgeous personalized museum-worthy canvas? - Shannon

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Most Wearable Fashion: Smitten. I’m easily overwhelmed by the latest fashions, and Smitten manages to balance looking totally on trend without being intimidating.

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Best Nursing Bra: Basics by Bravado and Bravado Bliss. I raved about the Basics by Bravado line for Target in February and I meant it. I am still wearing my Emma Nursing Sleep Bra every single night. (And I stopped nursing in July.) Sadly, these are hard to find, but luckily the entire Bravado! line is awesome. My second favorite is the Bliss Nursing Bra (pictured below) – it’s like heaven for your boobs.

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Best Diaper Bag: Serena & Lily Prague Gypsy Tote. I have come to love this messenger style bag for a few reasons. The first being it fits anything you would ever need. The other reason is when I wear it messenger style, I can move it around to my back when I am wrestling the kids out of their car seats and it isn’t constantly falling off my shoulder. Oh, and it looks AMAZING. - Monica

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Our Other Favorite Diaper Bag: OiOi Shopper Tote. This has been my day to day bag since the moment it arrived last January. It’s easy to use, looks great and has help up amazingly well to sippy cups, spills, and every other hurdle my children provide.

Make sure you read the Best Baby & Kid Gear of 2010 and check back tomorrow for our Favorite Toys of 2010.

Thursday Giveaway Linky

by Kate on December 30th, 2010 | 5 Comments | Giveaway Linky, Weekly Features

Happy Thursday! And let me be among the first to wish you a very happy 2011. Thanks for stopping by to link up and browse some great giveaways. Before you take off, check out some of the fun giveaways here on The Shopping Mama.

Balboa Baby Nursing Pillow * Melissa & Doug Chomp and Clack Walker * Disney Princess Carriage Playcenter

Make sure you head over to Baby Loving Mama to link up your giveaways. And while you’re there you should totally enter the Despicable Me prize package giveaway.

Have a great day!

Sunshine Kids RadianXTSL Car Seat Giveaway

by Kate on December 29th, 2010 | 5 Comments | Giveaways

Without question, one of the biggest investments and most important purchases you make for a baby or toddler is the car seat. And, it seems like there are so many options that it can easily become overwhelming. When you consider safety, value, and reputation I think you’ll find Sunshine Kids is worth your consideration.

Sunshine Kids has been creating safe and innovative products for families on the go since 1999. The entire line includes more than 80 products available in 54 countries. First introduced in 2005, the Radian car seat was the first seat to feature a steel-frame with the ability to fold.

About the Sunshine Kids Radian Car Seat

The Radian car seat was designed to fit your lifestyle today, not the over-priced, over-sized excess of yesterday. The Sunshine Kids Radian car seat provides safety and reliability at an affordable price. Radian is a no-nonsense car seat with the best features ‘under the hood’. Through unparalleled safety testing and a steel alloy frame, Radian car seat is the only one you can trust to secure your child from birth to the highest weight limits. Radian stands for Safety.

Radian XTSL Key Features

Rear-facing: 5 – 45 lbs
Forward-facing: 20 – 80 lbs (and up to 53″) in a 5-point harness

You will be hard pressed to find another car seat that is suitable for rear-facing up to 45 pounds. Why is this important? Because the American of Pediatrics has reported that “research indicates that toddlers are more than five timessafer riding rear-facing in a car safety seat up to their second birthday.” Further, the AAP recommends: “If a car safety seat accommodateschildren rear facing to higher weights, for optimal protection,the child should remain rear facing until reaching the maximumweight for the car safety seat, as long as the top of the headis below the top of the seat back.” I love that the RadianXTSL is on the forefront of making rear-facing an option for bigger toddlers.

When your child turns forward facing, the seat accommodates up to 80 pounds and 53″. The small profile and nice fabrics make the RadianXTSL a realistic option for older children.

Safety Features

Steel alloy frame and aluminum reinforced sides
Adjustable head support, reinforced for complete side-impact safety
Energy-absorbing EPS foam panels on all sides
Safestop® energy-absorbing harness system
SuperLATCH™ installation up to 80 lbs – no seat belt required
Easy-Tite™ adjuster for quick and easy tightening, installs in 1 minute
Rubber bottom grips for no-slip installation
5 shoulder and 3 buckle positions for proper harness fit
Forward and rear facing tether system

While I won’t be writing a full review of the RadianXTSL until January, I did get a chance to check out the car seats at the ABC Kids Expo. The car seats are well made and I particularly appreciate the steel alloy frame and aluminum sides.

Ease of Use and Comfort Features

Fits 3-across in a mid-size vehicle and offers more shoulder space
3-in-1 infant/toddler full body support cushions
Memory foam padding for superior comfort
Folds flat for travel and storage, includes convenient carry strap
Sits low on vehicle seat for easy child boarding
2 recline positions in forward-facing mode
Dimensions Open: 28.5″ H x 17″ W x 16″ D
Dimensions Closed: 28.5″ H x 17″ W x 10″ D
Seat Weight: 24 pounds

Anyone who’s traveled with a toddler on an airplane knows one of the main questions and issues is what to do with the car seat. Sunshine Kids has thought this through on behalf of all parents! The RadianXTSL folds and can be carried on your back through the airport. Then, once you get on the plane, the seat is FAA certified for airplane use so your tot can sit comfortably in her own seat.

And, how amazing is it that you can fit THREE of these car seats across in a car? So great for large families!

Shop! The RadianXTSL Convertible Car Seat is available in 7 patterns for $299.99, and can purchased directly from Sunshine Kids and on Amazon(where several colors are on sale). Sunshine Kids also sells a number of awesome car seat, travel and stroller accessories worth checking out.

Win! A Sunshine Kids RadianXTSL Car Seat!

How to Enter: Visit Sunshine Kids and leave a comment with your favorite pattern of the Radian XTSL.

Bonus Entries – valid only after completing the first required entry. Please leave a separate comment for each you do.

Like Sunshine Kids on Facebook and leave a comment to let us know you did. Leave an extra comment if you write on Sunshine Kids’ wall.
Follow Sunshine Kids on Twitter
Follow The Shopping Mama on Twitter and tweet this giveaway. You may do this every day, just leave the link when you do.
Win a Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL Car Seat (ARV $300) @TheShoppingMama http://bit.ly/eUJz6e
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Subscribe to The Shopping Mama in email or RSS.
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Giveaway ends January 14. Open to US mailing addresses only.

Disclosure: Thanks to Sunshine Kids for providing the giveaway prize. As always, opinions are my own.

Best Baby & Kids Gear of 2010

by Kate on December 29th, 2010 | 5 Comments | Gear, Reviews

We are very honored to receive some of the newest baby and children’s gear to share with you. We take our time into really using and testing the products and following up with thorough and thoughtful written (and video) reviews. Our reviews are always honest and reflect our real-life experiences with a product. As the year wraps up, we are going through our reviews, thinking about the products we use day to day and compiling The Shopping Mama’s Best of 2010 Lists.

Here are the best baby and kids gear we reviewed in 2010.

Best Stroller of 2010: Britax B-READY. This has really become my family’s go-to stroller. The kids love it, I love to push it, and people love to look at it. With or without the Second Seat (as pictured), it’s a great stroller.

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Best High Chair of 2010: Joovy Nook. The more I use it, the more I love it. Now that we’re living near family, I fold and toss this in the trunk and take it to my parents for dinner at least once a week. And, the price tag is so reasonable you’ll think it’s a misprint.

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Best Toddler Boost at the Dinner Table: KABOOST. So genius, you know it was invented by a parent. It’s easy to use, flexible to fit almost any chair and gets your tot up to the table. Now if only it taught table manners, too…

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Best Baby Carrier: Petunia Pickle Bottom Sightseer. Besides the fact that this is the prettiest carrier out there, it truly is the easiest one to slip on and off. I never felt like I had to stop and “think” about it like other carriers. - Monica

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Best Bigger Baby / Toddler Carrier: ERGO. You really can’t go wrong with the original ERGO or the new ERGObaby Performance. Both are comfortable, user-friendly and a great investment.

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Make Travel Easier: KidCo PeaPod. Whether you’re headed to the beach, the park or grandma’s house, the PeaPod will be your baby’s friend. You can fold it up so small you won’t even know it’s there. Until you need it and then you’ll be so happy you have it.

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Check back tomorrow for the year’s best in products for moms.

Best Deals on BOB Jogging Strollers

by Kate on December 28th, 2010 | 5 Comments | Shopping

BOB Strollers are on sale almost everywhere to make room for a new model to be unveiled early next year, but we have found the very best deals on these highly-rated jogging strollers.

Get the BOB Revolution Stroller in Navy for a ridiculously low price with free shipping from Zoolu! The stroller is regularly $390, marked down to $330 and use code GO2011 in the coupon code box at check out for an additional 20% off your entire order bringing the total cost to under $250! **Update** This is now backordered. Hope you got the deal while it lasted.

Next best price is Amazon for $292.49 for Navy.

The BOB Revolution in Orange is also only on sale for $330 and use code GO2011 for additional 20% off that price!

The BOB Ironman Stroller is a great deal on Zoolu! Regularly $349, the Ironman is marked down to $295 and you get an additional 20% off with code GO2011!