Thursday Giveaway Linky

by Kate on November 25th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Giveaway Linky, Weekly Features

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday with friends and family – and lots of good food! I have so much to be thankful for this year, including all of you for reading and visiting. So, thank you.

Make sure you enter the Shoes for Little Feet giveaway which ends Friday and The Baby Bunch Winter Bunch giveaway that ends next week.


Don’t forget to head over to Baby Loving Mama and link up your giveaways there, too. You must enter the Kathy Lo Rocks necklace giveaway. It is too cute!

Have a great weekend and happy linking!

30 Days of Toys: Bus Crayon Holder

by Kate on November 25th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  30 Days of Toys

Toy: Bus Crayon Holder

Get It For: A little artist… on the move

Why We Like It: This handcrafted wooden bus is the cutest way to get your crayons from point A to the coloring book. This is a fun , unique (and super affordable) way to make that box of crayons present seem a little more exciting.

Shop! You can find the Bus Crayon Holder at Santa Barbara Crafts on Etsy for $12. There is also a cute whale crayon holder, too.

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You can see all the best toys for the holidays by clicking here.

Small Business Saturday

by Kate on November 24th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Shopping

Small Business Saturday is “A Big Day for Small Business.” In between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, support your LOCAL stores and shop small business on Saturday, November 27.

November 27, 2010 is the first-ever Small Business SaturdaySM. A day to come together in support of the small businesses we love. The shops and restaurants that employ our neighbors and reinvest our money close to home. The businesses that are the heartbeat of our communities and local economies.

The idea is simple: support the local businesses who have a large impact on our communities.  According to the US Small Business Association, small businesses:

  • Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
  • Employ half of all private sector employees.
  • Pay 45 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
  • Have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade.
  • Create more than 50 percent of nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).
  • For every $100 spent in locally-owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through local taxes, payroll and other expenditures (according to 3/50 Project)

For a business owner’s perspective on this movement, check out 10 Reasons to Shop Locally this Holiday by Sheri, the owner of Magic Beans, an amazing Boston area toy store.

Shop Tea Collection Locally!

Buy 3 get Tea Collection pieces, get the 4th free– mix and match your favorite Tea styles at any participating retailer that carries Tea. Promotion ends Sunday November 28. Find a participating store near you.

Shop! Support your favorite local businesses and do a little holiday shopping in your neighborhood this weekend. Also, join the movement of over 970,000 people and like Small Business Saturday on Facebook.

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Schleich Fantasy Toys: World of Arelan Review + Giveaway

by Kate on November 24th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Giveaways, Reviews

Leading up to the holidays, we’ve shared a variety of Schleich toys and figurines: the Wild Animals Collection and 75th Anniversary Airplane, Giganotosaurus, and now the world of fantasy Arelan Tribe. I’ll be upfront with you and tell you the Areland figurines were the least popular in our home, most likely due to the age of my son. If you have an older child into fantasy and magical characters, these figures are a great option. And, if you don’t, I have some more great gift ideas so read on.

About Schleich’s Arelan Tribe

A new tribe joins the growing world of the Schleich Bayala line for 2010 – The Arelan Tribe.  Each figurine  comes with its own animal companion. These magical figures are partly mutated with their animal. For example, Apricum has the antlers of his deer, while Noctis has the fur of his black panther. There is also Gregis and his wolf and Arelan with  his falcon. The  heroic stance of the Arelan tribe, as with all of Schleich’s figures, have the most intricate and amazing attention to detail. These figurines will have particular appeal for  boys.

Fantasy Figurines

We received Aprecum and Gregis for review. Both are sold in a set of two figures – a person and an animal. Like I mentioned, these are a bit over my son’s head – not because of a fault in the product, and rather because he is just too young. He actually called these his “fweaky guys” and put them in charge of things like guarding his train table. So, he didn’t so much play with them as he did set them up to scare unwanted visitors. If your child is older, these Schleich figurines are perfect for cultivating a fantasy world of play. There is a whole story behind the characters and the world in which they live; the background for play has been established, the figurines just need someone to make their world come to life.

Holiday Gift Ideas from Schleich

Smurfs! Is it bad that *I* want these? They just so remind me of my youth. And with the new Smurf movie in the works, the popularity of the goofy little blue creatures is only going to grow.

Schleich even has cottages. I would like to live in the Smurfette Cottage, please.

Farm Life Animals. A more mature and lifelike addition to a preschool playroom. The animals are so realistic that you can create what looks like a real farm. Without all the work.

And the Chicks are pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Dinosaurs! Oh, how my son – and any little dino fan – would flip for a collection of these on Christmas morning.

Since his favorite is the T-Rex, I’m sure my son would love the Tyrannosaurus.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… The Arelan fantasy figurines have an amazing amount of detail and story packed into little figurines. I like that the figurines come with a built in story and fantasy world for your child to explore.

Or Not to Buy…. These aren’t for preschoolers and are much better for older kids like tweens. If you’re shopping Schleich for younger kids (and you should), there are better options.

Shop! The Arelan Figurines retail for $16.49 each. You can find Schleich in specialty stores around the country, Target and online at Schleich on Amazon.

Win! Two Arelan Figurines from Schleich!

How to Enter: Visit Schleich and then comment here with a toy or figurine you’d love to gift this holiday season.

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

Giveaway ends December 8. Open to US & Canadian residents.

Disclosure: Thanks to Schleich for providing sample products for the purpose of this review and the giveaway prize. Others may have a different experience. Opinions are my own.

30 Days of Toys: Bilibo

by Kate on November 24th, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  30 Days of Toys

Toy: Bilibo

Get It For: Children of all ages who love to pretend and imagine. The possibilities are endless with this open-ended toy.

Why We Like It: We love to see our children come up with new uses for things we would never think of. Watching a child imagine and create is so exciting.  The Bilibo is an open-ended toy that really doesn’t “do” anything. What it does do is provide your child with endless possibilities of fun and creativity. My son has one and over the last year I have seen his Bilibo become a seat, a garage for his cars, a hole for his putter and golf ball, a turtle shell, a balancing toy, a ramp, and a mountain.  And these are the things I have observed, I am sure he has come up with even more.

Shop! The Bilibo is on sale right now at Rightstart.com for $25.49 and Amazon from $24.70. It’s available in pink, blue, red, yellow, green, and orange.  A fun, different toy to add to the playroom, and great gift for the child who has everything!

Want to know more? Read Kate’s Bilibo review.

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You can see all the best toys for the holidays by clicking here.

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Children’s Benadryl and Motrin Recalled

by Kate on November 23rd, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Life, Parenting

Is anyone else getting tired of all the medication recalls this year?

Today Johnson and Johnson and McNeil posted recall information on Children’s Benadryl Allergy Fastmelt Tablets (cherry and grape) and Junior Strength Motrin Caplets on their webpage. This recall is a wholesale and retail level recall, unlike the Tylenol recall earlier this year. This means that drug stores will be sending back their medications, but you can keep using any product you have at home.

From McNeil’s Webpage:

This is a wholesale and retail level recall. No action is required by consumers or healthcare providers and consumers can continue to use the product. The recall was initiated after a review, conducted as part of McNeil’s Comprehensive Action Plan, revealed insufficiencies in the development of the manufacturing process. There is no indication that the recalled products do not meet quality standards, and this recall is not being undertaken on the basis of adverse events.

I have to say, I feel a little uncomfortable with the idea that medication needs to be recalled at the wholesale and retail level, but I’m supposed to keep using it? It would be one thing if they were recalling it for something like the picture was printed upside down on the box or some of the packaging was too easy to open, but they are recalling the drug for “insufficiencies in the development of the manufacturing process.” What does that even mean? To me, it means I wouldn’t be using any of these products if I had them at home. I’m not saying that the product isn’t safe…McNeil says that no one has reported being harm…but I want to feel 100% confident in anything I give my baby.

If you have questions you can call the McNeil Consumer Care Center at 1-888-222-6036 (available Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET and Saturday – Sunday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern Time.) Go to McNeil’s recall web page for more information and lot numbers of recalled products.

This recall involves only the brand name products. Use store brand diphenhydramine or ibuprofen if you are concerned about avoiding these recalled products (and to save money).

What do you think? Will you be using your Benadryl or Motrin?

{images: McNeil}

Wordless Wednesday: My Daughter’s New Room!

by Kate on November 23rd, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Weekly Features, Wordless Wednesday

My daughter’s new bedroom is finished! I love how sweet and girly it is.

If you like this sneak peek, go check out more photos of her Pink Butterfly and Flower Bedroom here!

I look forward to seeing your photos.

A Peek Inside My Home: Butterfly & Cherry Blossom Girls Bedroom

by Kate on November 23rd, 2010  |  5 Comments  |  Life

While we’ve been in our home for nearly a month, there are still lots of several unopened boxes. But, my first priority in this move was to get my kids’ bedrooms set up. My son’s room isn’t all put together yet, but my daughter’s bedroom is finished. And I love it. It’s so girly and sweet. Now if only she would always act as sweet as her nursery looks.

Probably my favorite thing in her room is this beautiful glass armoire thing I bought at a flea market in Germany for, like, 40 Euro. It wasn’t in her room in Florida, but I love it there now. I hope to fill it with more girly pieces, important books and family pictures.

This vinyl piece was the biggest vinyl wall thing I’ve ever put up and it was intimidating, but I love how it turned out. I placed butterflies around the room so the design is throughout.

I found this Butterfly and Flower mobile in the Clearance aisle at Babies R US and fell in love. It was kind of the inspiration to get her room in shape and flowery and butterfly-y. I originally planned to put it over her crib, but it hung too low so I hung it near the window instead.

Shopping Details

Do you love a nursery or kids bedroom in your house? We love sharing and checking out other rooms and that’s why we’ll be talking all about nursery and kids room decor in February.

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