Saturday, February 25, 2012

Corner Stork Baby Gifts Review


"When we say Preferred by Moms, we're not kidding! You'll be happy to know that 
ultra-choosy moms handpick our affordably priced, utterly adorable baby gifts. In fact, that's how Corner Stork was born. We carefully choose the best of newborn toys
and room decor, personalized gifts and clothing, sibling gifts and first-birthday gifts,
searching out the best vendors from around the world. We also make sure that the 
price you pay here is absolutely the most competitive.Our goal is to offer you an unlimited and ever-growing selection of gifts, easy site navigation, affordable prices and the best customer care in the industry. We hope you enjoy shopping with us as much as we enjoy shopping for you and, of course, that new little bundle of joy in your life!"


When I first looked through the array of products and gifts at Corner Stork Baby Gifts, I was overwhelmed, to say the least. But, it was a GOOD overwhelming feeling. ;-)

I especially love the variety of personalized products they have, especially this adorable monkey snuggle sack and cap:


These photo frames make beautiful and special mementos:


Another one of my favorites are these cute little step stools:






I may have mentioned before that we have had a monkey theme for Mason since shortly after he was born. He has SO much monkey stuff...monkey clothes, monkey bedding set, monkey stuff animals, monkey comfort straps to go on his car seat straps, monkey mirror for the van, monkey car seat toy, monkey blankets, everything monkey! So, this would fit right in perfectly, and I knew he just had to have it. And it was too cute to resist! I knew I made the right choice the second I received it and opened the package.


It came packaged so cute! The blanket was packaged in this adorable banana box.



The monkey plush animal is so soft and cuddly, and the blanket is just as cute and soft and so very comfy for Mason when he sleeps or just wants something to cuddle. :-)


The best part about the monkey plush is that his hands and feet velcro together, so it hangs on Mason's crib. It's his own personal little friend that hangs out on his crib and he loves looking at him every time he is in his crib. 


Almost every time I go in to get Mason from his nap or in the morning, he is sitting and playing with his monkey. He pulls it off of his crib and just loves to snuggle or play with him.

The day we got this set, it was right before Mason's nap time, so I was able to cover him up with his new blankie! He looked so cute and cozy in his bed with his new monkey blanket! I just wanted to jump in and snuggle with him!


I was so very happy with this product, so happy that words cannot explain it. The customer service was amazing as well. Kathryn worked so well with me to help me find the perfect product for my review, and I received the product very very quickly after submitting the order. It's so annoying to order something and then wait WEEKS to get it, in highly anticipated excitement. But that was not the case here!  I had it within a few days!

All in all, this company and it's products come highly recommended from this happy mama, and of course, from Mason too! ;-)




**DISCLAIMER** I received the above product(s) from Corner Stork Baby Gifts free of charge in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received. However, all opinions are strictly my own.

Another Potty Post!

I haven't updated on the potty training adventure in a while. I have been so busy with classes, reviews and giveaways, and just life in general!






I think it's safe to say Merasia is fully day trained. She is usually in undies when we are home, and occasionally when we are out and about, and I don't remember the last time she had an accident in undies. She has been POOPING on the potty almost every day! I say almost because there have been a couple of days that she didn't poop at all, so it wasn't in the potty and it wasn't in her undies! :-) Sometimes she gets in these terrible temper tantrum moods (usually when she wakes from her nap), and I can't do ANYTHING with her. She slams her bedroom door in my face, then screams and cries for me. When try to go in, she won't let me or slams the door again and then screams and cries. It's a never ending cycle so I have to just let her be until she calms down. Sometimes when she does this, she has a pee accident because she is in a wretched mood. But that's rare! I am so excited that she is finally pooping on the potty! I know she when she is about to, because she says she has to, so she sits on the potty for a few minutes, then gets up ad goes back to playing, but will say she has to poop a little while late and sit back on the potty. She may do this once or twice, or she will do it 5 or 6 times, like yesterday. But, I know when she stars this, that a poop is on it's way, and when it is finally time, she does it on the potty. :-) I firmly believe that the addition of these Potty Tots potty kits we recently received for a blog review (look for that SOON!!) helped her start pooping on the potty as well. We read the book, learned about her potty chart, and watched the potty DVD that came with the kit, and right after that is when she started pooping on the potty.

Connor is doing well too. He doesn't poop on the potty every time like Merasia, but he pees most of the time on the potty and has pooped a few times as well. He is easily distracted though and needs lots of reminders to use the potty, more so then his sister. So sometimes he has a little more accidents then his sister, but he still goes and is well on his way to being fully trained too.



I truly believe the thing that has worked the best is not pushing them. We let THEM decide. And we didn't rule out diapers completely. So many parents start the potty training journey and go right to undies, and swear off diapers completely, before they even know how their child will react to potty training. This only backfires, in my opinion. If a child is not ready, why put yourself or them through the constant accidents and not wanting to be in undies or use the potty? You can't be against going back to diapers if the need arises, and you can't be against using diapers on certain occasions, such as on public outings. We have used diapers on outings to the grocery stores or long car rides or other errands, during our potty training journey. There is a time and a place for hard core potty training and accidents, and it's not out in public. At this age, children know more then we parents think they know or give them credit for, and they do get embarrassed just like we would if we had a potty accident in public. Not to mention, running 3 kids (in my case!) from one end of a huge grocery store to the other in a mad dash to make it to the potty in time is just not my cup of tea, and not easy. Public pottying is for fully trained children, who don't use the potty as a way of getting out of doing things they don't like (such as napping, or boring grocery shopping or errands.) We did try the undies in public thing a few times. Sometimes they were great, and had no accidents, and other times....not so much. Most times, Connor and Merasia said they had to sue the potty, I dashed them all the way there, and....nothing. This, and the fact that the twins are in daycare two days a week meant that I had to stay open to diapers. But that wasn't a problem for me. They wear diapers to daycare, and still use the potty. If they are in diapers and we are in public, they still ask to go potty, and usually always actually go when we take them. When they are better at it, as Merasia is now, she will wear undies no matter where we go.

We also couldn't be against diapers for night time. I have enough work to do every day as it is, that washing sheets and clothes every single morning from bed wetting accidents (especially when we have to pay for our laundry), is not okay with me.  Even if the twins refused to wear diapers, we would still make them on the occasions I mentioned above. WE are the bosses, NOT the children. If we let the children be in control, where would that get us? That would be a HUGE mistake to let them be in control of these parental decisions. 

And besides....some children go backwards in potty training progress when they are used to being in undies and then are back in diapers, but that's not the case for Connor and Merasia. They still ask to go potty when in a diaper, and as I mentioned above, usually always do use it when we take them. It's simply a precautionary measure for public outings.



With that said, the bottom line for us has been not pushing them if they weren't ready for pottying, and not being against diapers. GO with the flow and with your child's signs of readiness, and you will be done buying diapers in no time!


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Pak Nak Giveaway!

You may remember my Pak Nak review a few weeks ago. Well the amazing people over at the Pak Nak company have agreed to offer up 3 Pak Nak's of a reader's choice for a giveaway!! To enter, simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Birthday Preparations -- Again??

Wasn't I just writing about birthday preparations a month ago? And here we are again.....this time, for a BIG birthday....


The big ONE!


I can't believe my baby boy is turning a year old in 2 weeks. It doesn't seem possible. 


Birthday preparations are quickly coming together! The place is booked, most of the decorations are either here or have been ordered and are on their way, invites have been sent, cake has been decided on and ordered, and a few presents have been bought. There are still more gifts to buy, and a first birthday photo shoot scheduled for Thursday.


Mason has no idea what is going on, or that this fuss is all in honor of him, but he will get it one day. Right now, he's just too busy being cute!





Vintage Couture Review & Giveaway

It's no secret I love getting clothes for my children! 

I came across Vintage Couture and found myself, hours later, still pouring through their website  looking through all of their products. There is just so many to look through and so many options to choose from!

Something even cooler about this company, is that Trista Sutter (from "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette") has her own line of children's clothing that is super, duper cute!! Personally, I love Trista, so of course I love her line as well.




It's not very often I am able to get product to review for Connor. It's usually items for both Connor and Merasia, or as far as clothing goes, it's usually baby clothes for Mason, or girly stuff for Merasia, so I was extra excited for this review!

Connor wore the pants the day after we received them, and he could not have been more cute!!

(I just realized, while writing this post, that I don't yet have any photos of Connor in these pants!! Please forgive me...I will snap some in a few days and add to this post!)

These pants look phenomenal on Connor! They are unlike any pants or any other item of clothing he has ever owned before, and are SO "hip" and cool!

Frank has a pair of pants similar to these, so Connor loves to wear them when daddy wears his pants, so they kind of match. :)

These pants are high quality. They definitely do not feel cheap at all, which is great, as they will last for a long time, and that's important in the world of children's clothing! ;) I love the cool cross design on the back pockets too, and the washed out look of the color, and the "wrinkled" look on the front and backs of these pants. They are just awesome!

Did I mention how hip and cool they are???

While I could not be more happy with these pants, I have to be honest....it was so very difficult to choose an item for review! But I was finally able to narrow it down to an item for Connor, and something of necessity to him, and that made it an easy and obvious choice.

I have absolutely no complaints about this company of their products. Well, maybe one....it's too hard to limit yourself to just one item or just a few, because you will want to buy EVERYTHING they have!

;-)

Purchase it: You can purchase the jeans featured here, and a slew of other clothing items and products HERE.

WIN IT: ONE lucky reader of Mama 2 Multiples is going to WIN their CHOICE of an outfit from Vintage Couture!! To enter, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below!

Happy Green Bee Review & Giveaway!




You just can't go wrong with organic items, and you definitely cannot go wrong with organic CLOTHING items, especially for little ones!


Happy Green Bee is an online organic clothing store for children. 


From their website:


"Cotton clothing retains harmful toxic residues, often causing rashes and eczema on sensitive skin. Clothing made with organically grown cotton does not retain toxic residues; it is a pure, natural, and breathable fiber. Cotton occupies only 3% of the world's farmland, but uses 25% of the world's chemical pesticides. Worldwide, 25 to 75 million agricultural workers suffer from acute pesticide poisoning. Organically grown cotton is not treated with pesticides. Petroleum based hydrocarbons (chemical fertilizers) are intensively applied to cotton crops to artificially speed up and otherwise "enhance" the plant's growth cycle and productivity. The runoff of these compounds pollutes our watersheds and food chains. Organically grown cotton does not use petroleum-based fertilizers."


For my review, I received Calypso pants in black.





These pants could not be more cute! I just knew they would be adorable on Merasia before I even received them, and I was right!

I love the frilly design on the bottom, and the polka dots too.


These pants are stretchy so they are form fitting at the top, and hug Merasia's cute littke 3 year old butt! ;-)


They are also so very soft, and I love the feeling of putting my daughter in all natural, organic clothing that will not irritate her very sensitive skin. 





Merasia loves them too, which is also very important. ;-)


Thought the majority of the clothing items are for girls, there is a large variety of items to choose from. 


This is the first company I have worked with offering all organic clothing, and I have to say, I am completely satisfied and very impressed. I am so glad I found Happy Green Bee!


Purchase it: You can purchase these pants and other clothing items HERE.


WIN IT: ONE lucky reader of Mama 2 Multiples is going to WIN their choice of one clothing item from the clearance section of Happy Green Bee! To enter, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below!



Monday, February 20, 2012

Lula Clips Review & Giveaway



"Truly innovative products that make parenting easier,
safer and more fun, letting you spend less time with the product
and more time with your kids."






It's just one of many frustrations among us mamas....the ever annoying car seat straps getting in the way when we go to put our little ones in their seats to go somewhere. You put the baby in their seat, and then struggle and fight to get the straps out from underneath your little one's little bum to get them around their arms and clipped. I can't count how man boxing matches I have had with car seat straps through our 3 children!


And then I discovered Lula Clips, and wondered why in the world I had not heard of them sooner, or why in the world hadn't I thought of the idea years ago?? ;-)



From their website:


"As any parent with small kids knows you are constantly splitting your time between the jobs of being responsible parents and the joys of spending time with your kids. As a dad to 3 small kids this challenge really hit home. So I decided to focus my engineering training and passion for a functional & fashionable design towards solving this problem. What has emerged is a line of products that are focused on improving the day- to-day tasks of parenting by solving those problems you didn’t realize existed with products that are easy to use and safe. This philosophy is embedded in every product in its design as well as its name. All of our products start with the prefix “Lula-” which means ‘easy’ in Zulu, a testament to the products and my country of birth."


I know what you're thinking. What in the world could these two little orange hands have to do with car seat straps, and how could they ever be helpful?


Trust me, they have been a God sen for me!!


Lula Clips hold the car seat straps open while you get your baby in their car seat. They eliminate digging for the straps or fighting to get them out from under your baby, and no more waking sleeping babies because you are fighting with car seat straps! Yes, it really is as easy as it sounds!


Lula Clips are easy to install, and just as easy to adjust or remove. They also work with all infant car seats!


How do these clips work, exactly?


Lula Clips clip on to each side of your infant's car seat with a tiny pin that is child proofed and unable to be removed by a child, no matter how hard they try!




This child proofed mechanism is patent pending, and I can tell you from first hand experience, that it is impossible for children to remove these clips. I even had a difficult time taking them off to re-adjust them!





Though it's hard to see in the above photo, there is a little tab that needs to be pushed down very hard at the same time that the pin itself is being pushed down, in order to release the clip.


The "hands" of Lula Clips magnetically hold the car seat buckles out of the way while you get your baby in their car seat.



When done, simply take the car seat buckles/straps off of the Lula Clip hands, and buckle your baby in as usual.



(Ignore the "Baby Alive" in the car seat...Mason was in bed!) With Lula Clips, there are no annoying adhesive tapes or Velcro, so there is no mess to get gunked up inside of them or underneath them after prolonged use.


I could not be happier with this product! I was skeptical at how good they could possibly work when I first got them, but was completely satisfied and happy with the result. We just switched Mason into a convertible car seat, and I have yet to switch the Lula Clips over, but will be doing so tomorrow! I just LOVE them!


Purchase it: You can purchase Lula Clips HERE


WIN IT: ONE lucky reader of Mama 2 Multiples is going to WIN their very own set of Lula Clips! Simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below to enter!


See Baby Grow Giveaway WINNER!


PICK THE WINNERSANNOUNCED! (UNDO)

  • X

    • Name:
       Whitney McGrew Facebook
    • Option: Subscribe via Emai
      l
Congratulations to Whitney! Whitney has 48 hours to reply to my email and claim her prize, or I will be forced to choose another winner.

Thanks to all for following and participating in the giveaway! :-)

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Hangin' In There!

I know I have been pretty absent from my blog lately! I apologize! As I mentioned in a previous post, things have been so crazy with classes starting again and just life in general, that blogging has been so hard to find the time for!


I was finally able to post a new giveaway tonight, and a review, and am hoping to get a couple more posted tomorrow.


Just when I thought I would have all the time in the world to get caught up on reviews and giveaways today, I got kind of sick last night. Merasia was sent home from daycare yesterday, with a fever, right after we got home from dropping her off. She seemed fine the rest of the day though, so we thought at most, it was just a cold or something. But she did throw up a little bit at dinner time last night, and I started feeling rather yucky yesterday afternoon. I didn't throw up though, but felt like I definitely could! 


Needless to say, we were all in bed really early. I got up this morning and felt okay, bot not 100%. I ate some dry toast to see if I still felt yucky or not, and kept it won. I felt off and on the rest of today. I would try and get some stuff done around the house, and then start to feel crummy again so I'd need to rest again. I put the kiddos down for a nap around 10 or 11, when normally they go down around 1 or 2. But I could not wait any longer.....all 3 went down without a problem, and I passed out hard on the couch. It felt amazing to sleep!


I woke up and felt better, and got more stuff done, and have felt fine the rest of the evening. I was able to get some blogging done this evening (obviously), and am about to head off to bed right after this post....but thank you all for hanging in there with me during this off time, and I promise, there are lots and lots of new reviews and giveaways coming your way!


In the meantime......indulge in these adorable photos of the kiddos. :-)













Costume Super Center Review!




I know it's a little early to be thinking about Halloween already, but I am a big planner and love to plan ahead! I am thinking of the twins' next Halloween costumes the day after Halloween!


I decided on THE cutest costumes this year..... Thing 1 and Thing 2!


Costume Supercenter has the cutest  Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes! 








This is a perfect costume for twins! Connor and Merasia are most definitely my very own "Thing 1" and "Thing 2"!


I got one of these costumes for review so far, and LOVE it even more in person! The suits are of high quality and I know they will be nice and warm, which is important because in Vermont, we never know what the weather will be from one day to the next. Sometimes, it even snows on Halloween! So for the twins to be dressed warm is a very important and these costumes will be PERFECT for a chilly night out trick or treating.


The wigs are awesome too. So cool and fluffy! I cannot wait to see them in their costumes! I have yet to try the costume on one of them, because I know they will fight over it (we only have 1 so far!) and I will never get it off of them, and I want to make sure they don't get lost or ruined before Halloween.


After I decided on the twins' costume, I decided Mason would be the Cat in the Hat! Though the twins have not yet seen the movie, they have read the book and LOVE it! And Mason would be an ADORABLE Cat in the Hat! I am so excited for Halloween this year!!


Costume Supercenter has so many options for costumes, it's overwhelming at times! But, that's a good thing! Choices are awesome, and there are so many unique and fun costumes to choose from! Costumer Supercenter is your answer for all of your costume and costume accessory needs!










**DISCLAIMER** I received the above product(s) from Costume Super Center free of charge in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received. However, all opinions are strictly my own.

Vortex Color Changing Toothpaste Review & Giveaway


As any parent of toddlers knows, getting them to do anything we ask is almost impossible....and that goes even more for brushing teeth!


I used to fight with Connor and Merasia to brush their teeth, but I know it will be well worth the fight later on. When I was a child, I didn't have positive examples for teeth brushing, and had lots of issues with cavities and other things that carried over into my adult life. Though I have better diligence to take care of my own teeth now, as an adult, for some issues, it's too late. I don't want the same fate for my children, so I will fight to the ends to make sure they cooperate.


I discovered Vortex color changing toothpaste on a friend's blog, and was excited to get the chance to try it out. I thought it would definitely get the twins more excited to brush their teeth, and I was definitely right!


From their website:


"Most children brush their teeth for an average of 7 seconds. Only 7 seconds to clean off bacteria, remove plaque and whiten their smiles. Vortex toothpaste makes brushing more effective by slowly changing color over time encouraging kids to brush longer. The kaleidoscope of color draws out the brushing experience so that the child will brush two times longer."


I love this toothpaste! (Maybe even more then the kids!) 


When you first squeeze it onto the tooth brush, it comes out in streaks of blue and purple.




Connor and Merasia LOVE to see these bright colors on their toothbrush, and imagine their delight that as they brush, the colors mix to form a pretty purple!



You can't really see the good color change in these pics, but trust me...it happens!


This definitely makes the kids want to brush, and want to keep brushing for the perfect amount of time to properly brush and do a great job!


Not only does this toothpaste change color and for that very reason, is so appealing to children, but Vortex color changing toothpaste doesn't have those dangerous foaming agents in them like traditional toothpaste's have. therefore, Vortex has a delightful and delicious flavor that appeals to children, and not a heavy mint or harsh flavor. I was skeptical about this, so I had to taste for myself, and was surprised by how gentle the flavor really is! It's not too strong of a delicious flavor to make kids want to eat it or consume unsafe amounts, but it's not harsh or minty and doesn't sting your mouth like other toothpaste's on the market these days. This is wonderful, since a lot of toothpastes out there with harsh foaming agents can irritate your gums, rather than help them stay healthy. In fact, as the Vortex website states, "Researchers are finding that this unnecessary foaming agent, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, can burn your gums, cause apthus ulcers,(commonly called canker sores) and does little or nothing to actually clean your teeth. It is this Sodium Lauryl Sulfate that, according some researchers, that causes up to 90% of all canker sores in both children's and adult mouths."


All in all, I was very very happy with this product, and most of all, Connor and Merasia love it, and there are no more fights to brush their teeth! I would definitely recommend this product to my friends and family!

Purchase it: You can purchase Vortex color changing toothpaste here.

WIN IT: TWO lucky readers of Mama 2 Multiples is going to WIN their own tube of Vortex color changing toothpaste! Follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below to enter!

Ecover Giveaway Winner!


  • Name: Amy Bolich Facebook
  • Option: Vote for Me
  • Extra Info: 
  • Time: Sat Feb 04 2012 00:00:00 GMT-0500 (Eastern Standard Time)
Congratulations Amy!!

Amy has 48 hours to reply to my email and claim her prize before I will need to choose a different winner.

Thanks to all for entering and participating!