Posts Tagged ‘giveaways’

Back To School Lessons {Giveaway!}

Wednesday, August 7th, 2013

We’re down to mere weeks before Mineola elementary schools starts and it’s hard to believe. On the one hand, YAY SCHOOL! Our town offers public pre-k , so Evan will be going 5 mornings a week. On a bus. Apparently typical four year olds are better at public transportation than I am, since I barely managed to catch the bus in high school, let alone pre-K. On the other hand, 5 days a week is a lot of school. And it never really goes back – it gets worse. Next year he’ll have full day kindergarten, followed by 12 YEARS of school at least 180 days a year. It almost makes me want to keep Caroline home instead of sending her back to preschool.

Almost. But not really, since going to doctor’s appointments alone is an indulgence I can’t live without anymore. Although I haven’t officially registered her at all, so I hope there’s a spot at her current program. File that under Things I Always Forget To Take Care Of In A Timely Manner, although that file might be kind of full since Find Out When Evan’s Classroom Orientation Is, Buy School Uniforms, Get A Copy Of The School Supply List, and Update Both Kids’ Health Forms are already in there.

I learned a lot of lessons in the last year at preschool: Never underestimate a child’s talent for getting paint on the ONE outfit you like best. Putting a note in a backpack does not mean the teacher will get it, ever. And label everything. LABEL. EVERYTHING.

Last year I relied on my shoddy memory and the availability of a Sharpie to label all the kids’ stuff. We lost a lot of cups. I also got a lot of “Just a reminder! Smiley Face!” notes home when I forgot, and nothing makes me feel worse than Smiley Face! notes from the teachers. Might as well write “Failing As A Mother! Smiley Face!” on them.

This year, I’m getting a little help from Stuck on You. They have a huge selection of products you can personalize – not just labels, but pretty much anything you can imagine. They sent me a family starter pack (with 2 kids, everything gets shared) and it is faaaaantastic.

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Shoe labels that stick in the heels – this picture was taken right after I stuck them in. I wasn’t 100% convinced they were going to stay but after a week of hard wear (including leaving them out in the rain) they still look exactly like that.

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Mini/pencil labels on our sippies spotted out in the wild! This one has been through the dishwasher several times already.

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Perfect for summer school lunches!

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Iron in clothing labels. LOOOOOOOVE. Once I got the hang on it (stick a towel under the jacket/shirt so you can press down nice and hard) it took 5 minutes to knock out every fall coat and sweatshirt. BOOM.

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These have been in for a week. Notice how you can still read them?! Amazing. PLUSALSO, they use non-toxic eco-friendly inks.

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These are some well-labeled children right here: lunches, cups, folders, shoes, and sweatshirts.

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If I was really smart, I’d order another set with my phone number on it and stick them on all Caroline’s favorite toys and dolls, so when she leaves them at the beach/aquarium/mall/playground/library there’s a chance we could get them back.

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She likes that idea.

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Sigh. This is what happens when I say “Make a cute face!” It has nothing to do with labels, except that I’m labeling her a weirdo.

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The gingers say “What are you waiting for?! These labels are the coolest!”

To help you get ready for school, Stuck On You has two $20 gift certificates to give to my readers! Just leave a comment telling me what you’re doing to get ready for the school year to enter for a chance to win. And definitely go check out their site, they’ve got everything from place mats to puzzles. You’ll be stuck on them (ba-dum-ching!)

Disclaimer: Stuck On You gave me a family pack of labels so I could try them out. No other compensation was provided and I swear I really, really love these labels. One entry per family. Two winners will be chosen using Random.org on August 14th and contacted via email so please use a real one.

A Healthy Competitive Spirit {And a $100 Giveaway}

Wednesday, June 19th, 2013

My husband has three siblings and two parents, all of whom really enjoy card and board games. They all play bridge and cribbage and this thing called Hand and Foot which is not a disease but a complicated card game you play with, like, eight different decks and points and a teammate. I’m less of a game lover. I play cribbage, badly, because my husband forced me to learn. I like Monopoly for the first hour or so and then get so bored I stop bothering to do math and just throw all my money at whoever has the most hotels.

I like playing video games as a family; Wii is fun, it gets us on our feet, and I’m pretty good at it. And I’ve learned to play Hand and Foot, even if I have to keep the cheat sheet in my lap. I feel like my game-playing skills have improved admirably and I should get points for effort. But when it comes to WINNING, E has no mercy. We also regularly play League of Legends on our smurf accounts from unrankedsmurfs.com.

To pass the time while I was in labor with our first child, E talked me into a few rounds of cribbage. He beat me every time. He couldn’t even let his wife who was literally in the middle of birthing his heir and namesake win a round of cards. Now we don’t play together as much as side by side (Candy Crush, anyone?) and he STILL gloats ridiculously when he beats my scores.

A few years ago, game shows came back as the big thing on network television. It was a good compromise for E’s healthy competitive spirit and my dislike of being soundly trounced at every game. We could watch OTHER people fail compete and neither of us went to bed grumpy.

The first time E and I watched Minute to Win It on TV, the show wasn’t even over before we’d gotten a beer bottle and a deck of cards to try playing at home. The game was simple: set the stack of 52 cards on top of the empty bottle and blowing the cards off, a few at a time, leaving just ONE card on top. It looked so easy! How come these idiots on TV couldn’t do it?! Jeeze, if that’s all it takes to win a game show these days, sign me right up, Imma be rich!

We never won. Not even once. Go try it, it’s way, way harder than it looks. And that right there pretty much sums up Minute to Win It. It should be their motto: This is way harder than it looks. If you haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth checking out – and now you can, because Minute To Win It is back this summer on Game Show Network (GSN).

They got Apolo Anton Ohno to host, which makes sense since he’s one of the most decorated American athletes of all time. And not so hard on the eyes either, am I right? We got a special sneak peek of the show this week along with a list of challenges. The idea is they can almost all be practiced at home with stuff you have laying around…so of course we had to give it a try too.

There are various difficulty levels, and I figured we’d be pretty safe at Level 1. The challenge: stack 6 soda cans on a plate floating in a bowl of water. You’ve got one Minute to Win It. GO!

Here’s proof he eventually did do it, even if it miiiiight not have been for the 3 seconds required: minute to win it And it wouldn’t be fair to post that without sharing my attempt, as unsuccessful as it was. GO!

The gingers wanted to give it a try too. GO! (Please note, I know my child is actually 4, not 3, even though I said he is 3.)

1-Minute to Win It

Teamwork!

Caroline looks like that because she's Super Kitty Caroline. Obviously.

Caroline looks like that because she’s Super Kitty Caroline. Obviously.

Since that game was a big failure, I picked a level 2 game I thought might be a little more E’s speed. I mean, it involves wine glasses, and he’s definitely experienced with wine. The goal: spin a marble in an upside-down wine glass to carry it across the room and drop it into a bowl. E’s got one Minute to Win It. GO!

If we ever get called to be on the show, I’m just going to cross all my crossables that E gets that game. $250,000, here we come! Every. Second. Counts. A new season of Minute to Win It premieres Tuesday, June 25th at 8/7c on GSN. For more information, connect with Minute to Win It on Facebook and Twitter and visit the GSN website.

 

And to celebrate the return, Minute to Win It wants to give one lucky reader a $100 Gift Card. To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me about your competitive spirit. Are you cut-throat, like my husband? Or more its-all-in-good-fun?
Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 6/18/13 – 7/17/13.

KinderStuff – Rethinking Baby Fashion {Giveaway!}

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

I love when a company reaches out with a brand and an idea I’m happy to support – and it doesn’t hurt when my kids love their product too.

stella shirt kinderstuff baby fashion

KinderStuff is the kind of company you can stand up a cheer for. They make organic, eco-friendly and socially conscious kids’ clothes, made from marine recovered ocean plastic material yarn, in America and Germany. Then they cut out the middleman and sell them straight to you to keep the costs down – so you don’t have to take out a second mortgage to dress your kids in a way you can feel good about.

On top of selling super-cute, fashionable clothes, they’re working to solve one of the most frustrating kids’ clothes problems – they grow out of them so fast! From KinderStuff:

Kids grow, clothes don’t. Some say that children outgrow almost 1,500 articles of clothing in their first 18 years. That’s a problem!

With KinderStuff, every item you purchase gets you a discount in the future. When the clothes no longer fit, send them back and get a discount coupon for your next purchase. We even pay for the shipping back to us! Returned clothing is then donated to charity, recycled, or resold as hand-me-down on our website. All this doesn’t only benefit you, but society as a whole.

KinderStuff just launched at the beginning of the month and right now they’ve got designs for babies and toddlers up to size 24 months but they’ll be rolling out new designs and products up to size six years over the next few months. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for 4 year olds (and if you have a good idea, they’d love to hear from you!)

Caroline has worn her Stella shirt four times since we got it (which means it’s been washed 3 times) and it still looks great. The cotton is thick and obviously very high quality. There wasn’t any significant shrinking or fading. The colors are still bright and the “oonie-corn” is still the cutest. I’m very impressed.

stella shirt kinderstuff baby fashion

Now I’m going to post a bunch of pictures of Caroline in her shirt, but you can scroll to the bottom to enter my giveaway to win the item of your choice from KinderStuff!

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stella shirt kinderstuff baby fashion

KinderStuff is a new company in the US and they would really love your support on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I was sent the Stella shirt to review but no compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yo Ho Let’s Go! {Pirate’s Booty Giveaway!}

Monday, March 11th, 2013

Argh! Ahoy Mateys!

pirate's booty eye patch

Evan is kind of a big fan of pirates. “Kind of” might be an understatement – he is obsessed with pirates. It might be a universal boy stage, or it might be thanks to Jake, Cubby and Izzy on Disney Jr. So you can pretty much imagine how excited he was when he found this on the kitchen counter:

pirate booty treasure chest

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pirate booty

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That is our very favorite snack – Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar – combined with our very favorite show – Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

The Limited Edition Jake and the Never Land Pirates multipack features Pirate’s Booty’s best-selling product – Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar.  The pack also features Jake and the Never Land Pirates characters and games to keep the crew engaged during snack time.  The little treasures half-ounce size of Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar is just 65-calories and is the perfect portion for the lunchbox or when on-the-go.

Our treasure chest came with some pirate swag too – an eye patch, some temporary tattoos and a super cool foam sword, perfect for all your toddler swashbuckling needs. The kids loved all of it. But the biggest hit was definitely the booty.

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Caroline takes her puffed snacks very seriously.

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Well, the pirate’s booty AND the eyepatch:

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I was going to send the adorable little single-serving bags to Evan’s school for his special helper day (which means he brings snack) but they’re…mostly gone. The kids ate the first 12 within 24 hours. OK, maybe I helped a little. But it’s Pirate’s Booty! It’s so delicious!

Do you want to win your own treasure chest of new limited edition Jake and the Never Land Pirates Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar snacks? Plus the other fun swag? Of course you do!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

I was sent a prize pack to eat and enjoy but no other compensation was received in exchange for this post. We just really love Pirate’s Booty. All opinions and photos are my own. Winner will be chosen by random.org and Rafflecopter.

Winter Ain’t Over {One Step Ahead Giveaway!}

Friday, February 22nd, 2013

It looks like we’re getting another winter storm this week which, COME ON MOTHER NATURE. Even if it’s 75% ice (ugh) and sleet (UGH) it’s going to mean another weekend of inside activity with 2 kids desperate for a day at the park. Where’s my early spring, Punxsutawny Phil? Imma about to take off my earrings and make myself a nice groundhog fur hat. I need it for the storm, obviously.

I have fond memories of spending my early-April birthday at the beach in South Carolina back in college. And not “at the beach” in the sense that we were on a beach in winter coats, but at the beach meaning bikinis and trashy magazines and trying to get a nice even tan long before Memorial Day. In New England you’re lucky if you’ve pulled out your capri pants before Memorial Day, never mind a bathing suit. It’s going to be cold here for a while, is what I’m saying.

Luckily I have two hardy Yankee children who are happy to put on 6 layers of clothing and stomp around in the snow and ice for as long as their wimpy mother will let them.

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A few weeks ago the kind people from One Step Ahead asked if we’d be interested in some winter gear to help keep Caroline warm for these next few looooong months. They sent us the Cozy Cub Vest and a Stay-Put Reversible Fleece Hat with Earflaps. She loves them both and I know they’re keeping her warm and cozy while she plays – especially since she asks for the hat and keeps it on her head.

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I’m a huge fan of One Step Ahead (their catalog might be the only thing I ever read cover-to-cover these days) and the Cozy Cub products are the same great quality you would expect from their baby and kid’s gear (lifetime guarantee ?? I think so!). The vest is great now and is going to be perfect as we (hopefully) transition into spring. She can wear it over a sweater as an extra layer on the playground or under an unlined raincoat on cool, drizzly days. Plus it’s pink, which makes it an automatic favorite in her wardrobe. Pink is her jam. You can check out the whole Cozy Cub collection here!

To help you make it until spring too, One Step Ahead is offering a hat and vest to one of my readers! Leave me a comment on this post telling me what you’re most looking forward about spring. Honestly, I just want to see the grass again – although our first trip down to the beach is going to be a highlight too. I’ll pick a winner on Friday, March 1st using Random.org and notify them via email so be sure to use a valid one when you comment. Good luck!!

Fine print: Giveaway open to residents of the United States ages 18 and over. Winner can chose size and style of in-stock products. I receive a hat and vest to review but no other compensation. Links are not affiliate links. All opinions and photos are my own.