2011 June — MomStart

Are We There Yet? Tips for Traveling with Toddlers

June 5, 2011 By Momstart 3 Comments

I’ve been features over on the evenflo savvy parents blog again. You all know how savvy I am or you wouldn’t come back and keep reading me every day. Ok, I know, I’m not that savvy, I just fly by the seat of my pants. I do however know something about traveling with children, I’ve had the trip from hell traveling with kids. From getting stuck in an airport with no hotel to go to, being threated by the airlines that I would have to stay there for almost a week, to running with two children screaming behind me so we would make a flight. I’ve seen worst case scenarios, and wrote this article as my advice on how to be prepared when traveling with children…..

My last trip I was actually over prepared for and I recommend you do the same. You never know when you’re going to get stuck somewhere unexpected overnight and that’s just what happened to us. Luckily, I had plenty of activities and snacks on us. Here are a few suggestions on how to be prepared.

Let the kids pick out a backpack with wheels. Having wheels on it allows them to be able to pull it or wear it, depending on what they feel like. Pick out coloring books, lacing toys, crayons, markers, travel puzzles and put them in the back packs. Have lots of different short activities they can do in their laps. Let them pick out some toys as well and have them add them to the bags. Giving your children choices and letting them help in the packing process makes them feel important and valuable. I’ve found that giving them the choice also makes them a lot more persuadable.
Choose healthy snacks that make little to no mess, dried fruit, freeze dried fruit, drinkable applesauce, crisps and crackers to name a few. Keep an extra bag in your purse so you can collect the garbage. Grab some reusable drink containers and put them in their bags as well. We drink a lot of water and the kids like to be able to get it out of their own bags.

For the rest of my traveling tips check out the Savvy Parenting Blog at evenflo.

Filed Under: parenting Tagged With: evenflo, Evenflo Brand Ambassador, Savvy Parents

Tea Party For Two Piggy Paint Giveaway

June 5, 2011 By Momstart 201 Comments

The days of painted nails stopped when I became pregnant with my daughter – I used to be one of those different-color-for-every-day-of-the-week ladies. But when you are expecting, you question everything you put on and into your body. Oh, and this constant worry will just grow and grow as your little baby turns into a young lady. As a mother of three, I try my best to live a chemical free life and find ways to clean and take care of my children and my home with natural products (baking soda and vinegar are my best friends). If that is not enough, having a husband with asthma and super sensitivity to scents always forced us to color toenails with conventional nail polishes outside … and yes, I questioned my judgment about those products that I occasionally put on my daughters toe nails but never really researched safe alternatives.

Well, I am happy to announce that guilt free indoor nail coloring has returned to our family, thanks to Piggy Paint. Having such a girlie girl on hand, I learned that you cannot just walk around in your princess heals without painted toenails – that would be totally unfashionable. And while I am still a bit conservative about putting darker colors on fingernails (something that my mother disapproved especially during the school year and I seem to be carrying on this tradition), I am more than happy to give my girl a little sparkle on her toes.

We received our Piggy Paint sample in the shade of Tea Party for Two. Needless to say, I had to hide it for a few days until we had the ‘right timing’ and we could truly have fun trying it out. We followed the instructions and blow-dried each of the two coats we applied. It went really fast – I mean REALLY fast – and the procedure was very fascinating to my daughter. Usually she needs to sit on our front porch and wait for a long time but with Piggy Paint, she was in and out of our indoor spa in less than 8 minutes with two fully dried coats. My darling is picky – I know better to purchase anything without her consent – but she loved most of the colors Piggy Paint came up with which was rather surprising to me. Request for some of them already made it to ‘wish list’.

Here are some quick snips of data about Piggy Paint:

Non-toxic, odorless, eco-friendly, and kid-friendly
Made in USA ( that in itself is a huge brownie point for me)
Safe during pregnancy
Easily removable with Piggy Paint Nail Polish Remover that is gentle on both noses and Planet Earth
Main line of Piggy Paint targets young ladies
Project Earth is for hip tweens
And the adult line is Piggy Paint Refined

Save on your own purchase of Piggy Paint with “momstart10” at checkout

Enter to Win:

25.00 Gift Card to Piggy Paint

To Enter:

Visit Piggy Paint and let me know what colors you like most

Extra Entries:

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

Win a $25 Gift Card for Piggy Paint @MomStart http://bit.ly/jD60zG

Subscribe to MomStart
Comment on any non-giveaway post
List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig, stumble, like or share on Facebook (or use any of the share options listed below)
Blog About this Giveaway (10 extra entries, linking to the giveaway)
Follow me on twitter tell me your twitter ID
Follow/Like Mom Start on Facebook
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This giveaway ends June 20th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation

About Orshi:

Orshi is a teacher at UCIC where she works daily with children. She shows a great love for children as she has three of her own. She also loves Facebook, gardening and baking. She was born and grew up in Hungary and now lives across the street.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: nail polish, Non-Toxic, piggy paint

BabyBjorn High Chair Giveaway

June 4, 2011 By Momstart 320 Comments

New York is the happening place for new products, and since I don’t live in New York, and I don’t have a writer that lives in New York, I sometimes miss out on really cool product launches. A few weeks ago, I missed out on the BabyBjorn High Chair launch. I know, I’m not in the babydom anymore, but many of you guys may be and if not, all of us KNOW someone that is or soon will be.

BABYBJORN just introduced their new high chair:

The BABYBJÖRN High Chair is the ideal first high chair for children who can sit up on their own, from around five months up until three years. The detachable tray is made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). It has been certified safe for foods and complies with the safety standards for plastics both in Europe (EEC) and the USA (FDA). This product is PVC-free and contains no bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, cadmium, lead, bromine or chlorine. Moreover, the plastic is recyclable.

The entire process from concept to finished product took about eight years. The BABYBJORN high chair project was put on hold after about two years so that they could trouble-shoot and find the safest solution to hold the child securely in the chair. Still, they forged on and made new prototypes to test with families. The result is the BABYBJÖRN High Chair, a high chair designed to make mealtime more enjoyable and safe.

Order your BABYBJORN high chair today

Enter to Win:

BABYBJORN Cup (MSRP $14.95)
BABYBJORN Plate & Spoon (MSRP $24.95)
BABYBJORN Soft Bib (MSRP $11.95)
BABYBJORN Eat & Play Smock (MSRP $29.95)
Total MSRP value = $81.80

To Enter:

Tell me what you like most about the BabyBjorn High Chair

Extra Entries:

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

Check Out this really cool @BabyBJornUS #Giveaway @MomStart http://bit.ly/ivhxgh PL RT

This giveaway ends June 20th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: baby products, babybjorn, babybjorn high chair

CardCash to the Gift Card Rescue Giveaway

June 4, 2011 By Momstart 539 Comments

Do you ever end up with a gift card that you don’t want or can’t seem to use all of it. CardCash.com, the leading secondary online marketplace offering the largest selection of discounted gift cards, gives consumers the opportunity to sell or trade their unwanted gift cards. CardCash will pay up to 92% of the face value of the card which is really cool. I have way more gift cards than I could possible imagine using. Sometimes, getting paid in only gift cards is a pain in the butt. Customers selling their unused gift cards can get paid via PayPal, or have a check mailed to them. CardCash.com then turns around and sells these gift cards on its site at a discount.

Since its inception in 2006, CardCash.com has evolved to a whole new level, transferring millions of dollars a year in gift cards from people who have no use for them, to people who are anxious to save money on all of their shopping expenses.

“Our goal is to not only help the average customer who has unused gift cards, but also provide a service to consumers who are trying to save money on their shopping expenses,” said Elliot Klier, Chief Marketing Officer, CardCash.com.

There are over $60 billion dollars of unused gift cards in the United States, according to a recent report in Forbes Magazine. I was surprised to read this, but my husband said if they are anything like me then how could I be surprised. Even when I get gift cards as gifts it usually takes me forever to spend all of them, and I end up donating them to a charity. This figure does not include store-issued merchandise credit, which is equally as large. People often receive gift cards for stores they don’t shop in or they may have small residual balances leftover on their gift cards. Oh, I always have just a few dollars left on cards too. It drives me crazy!!!!

So, I thought it would be fun to drive you crazy with a GIFT CARD giveaway. LOL, no seriously, you can…..

Enter to Win:

25.00 Gift Card to iTunes

To Enter:

Visit CardCash.com and tell me what the card of your choice would be.

Extra Entries:

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

Enter to Win a $25 Gift Card to iTunes @MomStart http://bit.ly/jYhQur #Giveaway

This giveaway ends June 20th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: CardCash, Gift Card, giveaway

Event of the Year on DVD: The Royal Wedding

June 4, 2011 By Momstart 1 Comment

I’m wondering if in 20-30 years people will wonder, what was I doing during The Royal Wedding? Did you stay up and watch it, or get up early depending on your time zone? My neighbor recorded it and played it for me and our kids the following day. Zoe and her friend just LOVED it. I was in shock, I didn’t think my four year old would like it at all, I figured she would think it was boring and bolt. Nope, she watched it and said, I’m going to marry a prince. When asked how many princes she thought lived in the world, she said, two. One for me and one for Emily (that’s her friend’s name)

The royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton was the event of a lifetime. BBC Video is making available this beautiful, commemorative DVD of the event on sale on May 24^th! This wonderful keepsake will capture all of the pomp and pageantry of the historic occasion like no other memento. The DVD will include the complete ceremony plus highlights from the official BBC pre- and post-wedding coverage. Also included is the special bonus program, “William and Kate: A Royal Engagement,” presenting the story of William and Kate’s relationship via interviews with colleagues, friends and family. Lovers of the crown will want to own this special, commemorative DVD of this most delightful of events, the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

Her dress did give me the green eyed monster, but most wedding dresses do. I love dresses and somehow I’ve passed that gene onto my daughter. She’s in a dress everyday, and I did mean to say gene and not character trait because I never wear dresses, so how does she know that I love to wear dresses. As a mom I just don’t get the chance to wear many dresses.

Own the Royal Wedding on DVD today.

Filed Under: review Tagged With: BBC, BBC America, Kate Middleton, Prince William, royal wedding

Do You Edit Your Pictures

June 4, 2011 By Momstart 3 Comments

As a blogger I have to use photos all the time. I take photos of the products I review, my kids for wordless Wednesday, and of the food we eat. Now that I’m posting more recipes meaning more food pictures, I’m really critical of how the pictures look on the blog. Food needs to look appetizing and your attention needs to snap to the food. I also like to create the layout and design of my website. So I edit pictures all the time.

I use Adobe photoshop Elements and Microsoft Elements to edit my photos. For those of you that might be anti-Microsoft, you might want to check out CS 5.5 from what I can tell it does a few of the same things that Elements does, but those that are more proficient with full fledged photoshop can do everything they need with that. Photoshop is pretty darn expensive, which is why we only have photoshop elements, and I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what my little version of photoshop can do. I can change the lighting, make things look brighter and snappy. I’ve gotten really good at taking and editing pictures of food.

My husband on the other hand can take the kids completely out of the photo with photoshop. I don’t know how he does it. Maybe it’s because I refuse to spend more than an hour editing a photo. I have no idea how long it took him to this one?

So, do you edit your photos at all?

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: edit pictures, elements, photography, photoshop

Blogger Approved Grilling Tips & Grilling Days of Summer Sweeps

June 3, 2011 By Momstart 83 Comments

You all must know by now that I have a very soft spot for Sara Lee and the products they make. Even before I started blogging, one of the brands we purchase from most often for food products has been Sara Lee. They make bakery products, frozen desserts, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farms, not to mention Ball Park, my husband’s all time favorite hot dog brand. Actually, the whole family enjoys Ball Park all beef franks. YUM!

I’ve heard that you haven’t had a hot dog until you’ve had one in New York, well, I went to New York and somehow I missed out. Ball Park Franks is helping make it easier for hot dog lovers to indulge in the authentic New York deli taste right from their own backyard with the launch of their NEW Deli Style Beef Franks!

The Ball Park Deli Style Beef Franks contain great tasting, high quality beef with no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no by-products and no MSG added. Available in two varieties, Ball Park Deli Style Beef Franks and Ball Park Bun Size Deli Style Beef Franks, they make for a quick and easy meal option for the entire family – whether they’re grilled, boiled, microwaved or steamed.

Ball Park also asked for grilling tips from bloggers like me. So if you’re planning on grilling this summer, and most red blooded Americans do at least once here are some really great grilling tips:

Here are your blogger approved grilling tips:

• When grilling fruit make sure to use the cooler parts of the grill – fruit does best with a lower temperature.
- Louise Bishop from Mom Start

• Use an onion cut in half to clean your grill. Heat up the grill, hold the onion by the “stem” and then rub the onion all over the grates.
- Courtney Solstad from My Crazy Savings

• No topping is too unique for a hot dog. After grilling the franks, place them in a bun and top them with some of my favorite items (not necessarily together!): Crumbled Potato Chips, French Fries, Bacon Crumbles and Chili.
- Tésa Nicolanti from 2 Wired 2 Tired

• Make sure you turn your hot dogs over on all sides equally and once you see a bit of blistering on the outside that means the hot dogs are grilled enough to eat.
- Melissa Chapman from The Staten Island Family

• I love this grilled vegetable recipe! Thinly slice peeled potatoes and onions and place on the center of a piece of foil. Add a few tabs of butter, kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and anything else you like, such as chunks of bell peppers or crushed garlic. Wrap into a package and toss on the grill for smoky, delicious potatoes!
- Angela Williamson from Fab Find Foodie

Ball Park Franks is hosting a “Grilling Days of Summer” Sweepstakes for Ball Park Facebook fans to have the chance to win the ultimate 4^th of July Bash by sharing a photo of their family and friends grilling out and enjoying the warm weather along with a caption about how they celebrate the summer.

It wouldn’t be MomStart without a little giveaway so one winner will receive:

3 Ball Park Frank Free Product Coupons

To Enter:

Tell me your grilling tip in the comment section

This giveaway ends June 20th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Ball Park Beef Franks, frank, hot dog, sara lee

I Need a New Laptop, What should I get?

June 3, 2011 By Momstart 2 Comments

You know whenever your computer starts to get really slow? I mean, super duper slow? Usually that makes me think that I need to reformat my machine, but this time it’s more than that. It’s slow, and it’s making noises. Lots of icky noises. The screen is humming and the power just seems to be waning. It’s also making wheezing sounds, my blogging is quite dependent on my laptop. Luckily my husband is loaning me his machine for my upcoming trip to Chicago with Craftsman, Cincinnati with Pampers P&G, and my trip to LA/Hollywood with Disney and Dreamworks. He doesn’t think my laptop will last much longer let alone three trips in 11 days, so it’s time to start thinking about alternatives!

I’ve considered a netbook and decided that’s not the way to go for me. netbooks are just too small. They are light and easy to travel with, but they just don’t have the processing speed and video capabilities that I need. I need a machine that can hold up to 20 – 50 windows being opened at one time. yes really, I do. It’s not excessive it’s how I work. I have ADD when I’m on my computer. I also want a big screen too. My current Sony Vaio is 16 inches so I need to decide if I want to keep the size, or go up an inch or down an inch. Oh too many decisions. I’m really not happy with my Sony Vaio, we never were, my husbands screen broke way too easily and the screen was the only part of the computer not covered by the warranty. Before my Sony I had an HP. HP does have a few good options for computers, and laser printers while I’m thinking about it.

What I really want is a tablet pc or a slate. I used to have a tablet pc once upon a time when they first came out. Or rather it belonged to my husband but I loved to play with it. It had a swivel screen and you could use a stylus on the screen. I want another tablet in some form or another, having a new Windows 7 Phone, a NookColor, and an iPad for a brief period of time really makes me want a tablet pc of some kind. But what should I go with, Andrew says the technology isn’t what I expect it to be.

What would you suggest to someone that uses their laptop all the time, it would be my main computer?

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: Disney, iPad, laptop, Nookcolor, tablet pc, Windows 7 Phone

Jenerations Baby Collection: Organic Shampoo, Lotion, Gel, and Conditioner

June 3, 2011 By Momstart 3 Comments

Founded by hairstylist and salon owner, Jennifer Reilly, jenerations baby enables mothers to feel comfortable in developing healthy hair and body care regimens for their children at a young age while bringing sensitive and organic products to the children’s market. The jenerations baby collection includes shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, body lotion, body wash and soap with prices ranging from $7.00 – $15.00.

I received four samples from jenerations baby and I loved the smell of each of the products.

Jenerations baby Shampoo Bodywash

The shampoo and bodywash is lightly scented completley natural and organic made with extra sensitive mild ingredients. Including extracts of comfrey, chamomile and rosemary giving it that wonderful scent. Plus, NO lavender or tea tree oils, which may cause unhealthy increases in hormone levels. Hypoallergenic and physician tested. It’s the ultimate in luxury for your little one!

Jenerations baby Head to Toe Lotion

The baby lotion keeps your child’s skin smooth and silky with a light creamy fresh smell. The lotion has the moisturizing shea butter and sweet almond oil in it giving you a non greasy easy absorbing feel. There is NO lavender or tea tree oils, which may cause unhealthy increases in hormone levels. 100% sulfate and paraben free, completely natural and organic, hypoallergenic, and physician tested.

Jenerations baby Hair Gel

The baby hair gel is a great consistency to work with. And yes, I use gel on my kids and even used it on Miles at a very young age. I loved his curls and would do anything to keep them in. This safe children’s hair gel is completely natural and organic, and 100% sulfate and paraben free. Define curls, tame flyaways, or simply create a fun style of your own! Contains NO lavender or tea tree oils, which may cause unhealthy increases in hormone levels. Hypoallergenic and physician tested.

Jenerations baby Conditioner No Tangles

Zoe loves to have her hair braided but the tangles kill us both. Or at least they kill our mood. I have to use either a detangler or conditioner. With sunflower oil, wheat germ oil, and panthenol, this conditioner adds moisture and shine like none other. 100% sulfate and paraben free, completely natural and organic, hypoallergenic, physican tested, and with NO lavender or tea tree oils, which may cause unhealthy increases in hormone levels.

Filed Under: green, organic, review Tagged With: Conditioner, green, Hair Gel, Jenerations baby, lotion, natural, organic, Shampoo

Giveaway Jingle Link Up Your Giveaways Here

June 3, 2011 By Momstart 5 Comments

You’ve got a giveaway, I want to know about it! Oh, and if you list your giveaway on Mom Start facebook page then I will tweet it out to all of my twitter followers. At 9100 followers and growing all the time! Cool? I hope so!

boy with ballons

I’ve got a few giveaways you might want to check out too!

Filed Under: linky Tagged With: giveaway jingle, giveaway link up, Giveaway Listing

Are We There Yet? Tips for Traveling with Toddlers

Tea Party For Two Piggy Paint Giveaway

Enter to Win:

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

BabyBjorn High Chair Giveaway

Enter to Win:

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

CardCash to the Gift Card Rescue Giveaway

Enter to Win:

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

Event of the Year on DVD: The Royal Wedding

Do You Edit Your Pictures

Blogger Approved Grilling Tips & Grilling Days of Summer Sweeps

To Enter:

I Need a New Laptop, What should I get?

Jenerations Baby Collection: Organic Shampoo, Lotion, Gel, and Conditioner

Giveaway Jingle Link Up Your Giveaways Here

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