Tie Buddies Review and Giveaway

Mahayla will be 3 years old next month! My little girl is growing up and getting ready for school. Mahayla will be starting private school in August. That means school uniforms and shoes with laces. One of our summer goals has become teaching Mahayla how to tie her shoes. Only if there was a product out there to help. Wait! There is....Tie Buddies!Tie Buddies help your child learn how to tie their shoes faster. Tie Buddies are available in two design combination's, a fairy and her wand and race cars. You simply thread the Tie Buddies onto the shoe laces, follow the instructions, and make up a story for your Tie Buddies characters. The pull tabs are easy to use for small clumsy hands. The more times they practice, the better they get, and eventually you can remove the Tie Buddies.

My Thoughts: My advise is to follow the instructions to the tee. The instructions say to have 3.5" of lace between the Tie Buddy and the last shoe eyelet. This was the hardest part to me. Mahayla only wears a size 6 toddler shoe. They generally don't have 3.5" or more of lace left over after they are completely laced up. I had to find her a pair of tennis shoes that had longer laces for these to work. Some shoe laces are also difficult to thread through the holes of the Tie Buddies. The thinner the lace the better. We made up our "Tinkerbell" story to go along with her Tie Buddy characters (Fairy and Wand). She still hasn't quite got it down but it is much better than before when she would just wad up the laces and call them tied. Overall, they are a quality product and do help with learning to tie shoes once you get all the right measurements and laces needed.


Buy It: Tie Buddies are available for sale online for $8.99 (plus S&H)

Win It:  Tie Buddies is offering one of my followers a Tie Buddies set of their choice. Leave me comment about how you taught your child how to tie their shoes.

Additional Entries: 

• blog about this giveaway with a link back here
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• email three (3) friends about this blog and cc to randsmountney@yahoo.com
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• Make a purchase from Tie Buddies for 5 additional entries

Please leave a separate comment for all that you do to ensure you get all possible entries! Remember to include your email address on your comment! Contest ends 7/3/2010 at 10pm EST

Sorry, Open to residents of the US Only

Contest Closed. Congratulations to Jengd (Comment # 8) for winning the Tie Buddies Giveaway!

Disclaimer: This was not a paid post. Honest opinions were used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. Thank you to Tie Buddies who supplied the products for the review and giveaway.

Jeep Liberty Renegade Baby Walker Review and Giveaway

It's hard to believe that Tre' is quickly approaching 6 months old! Boy how time is flying. When Mahayla was 6 months old she spent a majority of her time either in her Jumperoo or her walker. She always had to be on the move. Tre' is following in her footsteps. He likes to be constantly moving or standing up. He loves playing in his Jeep Liberty Renegade walker! He likes honking the horn and trying to run over his big sister!

The Jeep Liberty Renegade walker is durable and sturdy. I don't have to worry about this walker collapsing or tipping over when Tre' is playing in it. The seating area is made from plush, foam-filled, easy-to-clean material for comfort and support. The seat is easily removed for washing and trust me you will need to wash it! Tre' is teething and the seat is always covered with baby drool when he is done playing. All the toys are within his reach. The side mirrors spin and the electronic steering wheel honks, roars an engine, and plays music to keep Tre's attention (and drive us nuts). The wheels swivel for easy mobility. I also like that the wheels have a rubber coating on them so they don't scratch up my wood floors like Mahayla's walker did. Best of all, this walker has 3 height adjustments so he won't grow out of it too quickly. The Jeep Liberty Renegade is available in two color combination's: Everest (beige and light green) and Storm (red and black).It also has a cup holder/snack holder for when he gets older. Right now we use it to hold his pacifer. My only two critiques for this product are that they need to have a volume control for the electronic steering wheel and perhaps they could add some flashing lights. This is my little man below....isn't he so handsome!

Founded in 1946, Kolcraft has become one of most recognized and trusted names in babies and childrens products. Kolcraft has partnered with Sealy, Jeep, Sesame Street, and Contours to bring top of the line, affordable, and safe products to our homes. There are definitely "must haves" when you are having a baby.  Whether its a bassinet, crib mattress, high chair, pack-n-play, strollers, walkers, or activity centers ;Kolcraft has those "must have" baby products!

Buy It: You can find Kolcraft's products at all of your favorite retail stores and online like Target, Walmart, Babies R' Us, Amazon, and Burlington's Baby Depot. The Jeep Liberty Renegade walkers suggested retail price is $ 64.99.

Win It:  Kolcraft is offering one of my followers a Jeep Liberty Renegade walker for themselves ($65 value)! Leave me a comment telling which other Kolcraft product you think is a "must have" for new moms.

Additional Entries: 

• blog about this giveaway with a link back here
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• Follow Kolcraft's Blog
  
• Follow Kolcraft on Facebook  or Twitter
• Make a purchase from Kolcraft for 5 additional entries

Please leave a separate comment for all that you do to ensure you get all possible entries! Remember to include your email address on your comment! Contest ends 7/3/2010 at 10pm EST

Sorry, Open to residents of the US Only

Contest Closed. Congratulations to Carol (Comment #23) for winning the Kolcraft Giveaway!
 

Disclaimer: This was not a paid post. Honest opinions were used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. Thank you to Kolcraft who supplied the products for the review and giveaway.

Daisy Rock Review and $75 GC Giveaway

In an already strained economy, communities are being forced to cut funding for school music and art programs. Many value athletic programs over music robbing our children of a much needed part of their education. Those music programs that are still operating often require its participates to purchase their own instruments which can be extremely expensive. This requisite would eliminate lower income students from participating in music programs and private lessons too are expensive. We began teaching Mahayla the importance of music education before she was a year old when she got her first drum set.

Daisy Rock Guitars mission is to empower girls by helping them develop confidence and enjoy music. 
The Daisy Rock Guitars are a line of high-quality instruments that are attractive, affordable, and are a perfect fit for girls. Daisy Rock girl guitars are available in acoustic, electric, acoustic-electric, short scale and basses. These specialty girl guitars are also available in 11 colors and available in different sizes based on need. Daisy Rock also sells related accessories such as guitar straps, cables, guitar bags, gig bags, and apparel.

Buy It: Daisy Rock guitars can be purchased online and at select music stores across the country. Daisy Rock girl guitars start at $79.95.

Win It:  Daisy Rock is offering one my readers a $75 Daisy Rock Gift Card!  Leave me a comment telling me what you would purchase with your gift card.

Additional Entries: 

• blog about this giveaway with a link back here
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• Make a purchase from Daisy Rock for 5 additional entries

Please leave a separate comment for all that you do to ensure you get all possible entries! Remember to include your email address on your comment! Contest ends 6/12/2010 at 10pm EST

Sorry, Open to residents of the US Only

Contest Closed. Congratulations to lilshuga2001 (Comment #129) for winning the Daisy Rock Giveaway!

Disclaimer: This was not a paid post. Honest opinions were used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. Thank you to Daisy Rock who supplied the products for the review and giveaway.

Creativity for Kids Craft Kit Review and Giveaway

One of my fondest memories as a child involved doing arts and crafts with my mother. Today I still enjoy creating things and making handmade presents for people. Growing up without a lot of money, this was often the way we exchanged gifts. I still feel that it is better to get a handmade gift from someone versus a store bought gift. I know that when that handmade gift is given, it was well thought out, it holds a piece of the person who made it, and it was made just for me! Now that Mahayla is almost 3, I've started to do more arts and crafts projects with her. I love seeing her light up when she see's the finished product of what she has created. It's also wonderful that she wants to share her projects with others and often she gives them away.

Creativity for Kids craft kits by Faber-Castell are wonderful kits that have something to offer people of all ages, gender, or interest. Faber-Castell is committed to providing our children with quality, innovative, and thought provoking products to inspire healthy creativity and imagination. Creativity for Kids has a wide variety of safe and fun products to inspire children's curiosity and encourage self expression through art.Whether your child likes princesses and fairies or rockets and robots, there is a Creativity for Kids craft kit for them. I got the Butterfly Bedroom kit for Mahayla. The kit came with 3 pre-made tulle butterflies, 4 glitter paint pens, and rhinestones and a tulle swag. With supervision, Mahayla painted designs on the wings and placed rhinestones on them. The butterflies come pre-strung to hang from the ceiling or you can use the enclosed hanging tabs to put them on the wall. Either way they make fun, easy to make, affordable, and stylish decorations for your child's room.

Buy It: Creativity for Kids kits can be purchased online and at arts and crafts retailers across the country. Kit prices start around $4.99.

Win It:  Creativity for Kids is offering one my readers a Butterfly Bedroom Kit ($13.99 value) for themselves! Leave me a comment telling me which other kit you would like to have.

Additional Entries: 

• blog about this giveaway with a link back here
• subscribe to my blog
• follow this blog
• fave this blog on Technorati
• Stumble this blog
• Follow Mahayla's Mommy on Facebook
  
• email three (3) friends about this blog and cc to randsmountney@yahoo.com
• add my button to your sidebar 
• Make a purchase from Creativity for Kids for 5 additional entries

Please leave a separate comment for all that you do to ensure you get all possible entries! Remember to include your email address on your comment! Contest ends 6/12/2010 at 10pm EST

Sorry, Open to residents of the US Only

Contest Closed. Congratulations to Butterfly_024 (comment # 41) for winning the Butterfly Bedroom kit from Faber-Castell. 

Disclaimer: This was not a paid post. Honest opinions were used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. Thank you to Faber-Castell who supplied the products for the review and giveaway.