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Qwik Shower Wipes Review

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I received news of the QwikShower Wipes near the end of Sammi’s soccer season. I was immediately drawn to their possibilities from the first line of the press release: “With today’s active kids more time-pressed than ever, showering after gym class, sports or other physical activity has gone by the wayside.” Since Sammi’s soccer practices ended at her bedtime, it seemed like there was rarely time for her to bathe before bed if there was any hope of getting enough sleep to be pleasant the next day.

I anticipated using the wipes to clean up after practice, to wash Elli’s feet after wearing her sandals all day, to wipe down faces and hands after sticky snacks and meals on-the-go and for Brent after his intermural football/basketball/soccer/volleyball games. The possibilities are endless.

Upon using the wipes, we decided right away that they aren’t good for faces. Since the purpose of the wipe is to clean and remove odor-causing sweat and dirt, they leave an alcohol-flavor that I could taste after kissing Elli’s cheek. Other than that, the wipes were soft and cleaned well.

You can purchase QwikShower Wipes online at www.QwikShower.com – 1 for $1, 10 for $7, 50 for $29 and 100 for $49. They also offer free shipping and fundraising opportunities for organizations.

Choose Your Own Prize Pack!-CLOSED

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I am celebrating today! “Celebrating what?” you ask. “My birthday,” I answer. And what better way to celebrate than to offer you a choice in this giveaway? So if you’re looking for anything from baby cribs to bedding to nursery decorations, this giveaway has something for you.

I worked with CSNStores last fall and we love the Melissa and Doug Beginner Pattern Blocks we reviewed. I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with CSNStores again as they sponsor this wonderful giveaway, which I am using as a ploy to get more birthday wishes 🙂

The prize packs all come from CSNStores site, Baby Cribs Plus. They offer a huge selection of baby furniture including cribs, changing tables and dressers. Additionally, they offer everything else you may need to decorate a nursery or young child’s room.

The Prize Packs

#1 Sugar Plum Decor Gift Pack
Window Treatment, Removable Wall decorations, Night Light

#2 Delilah Musical Mobile

#3 Hollie Changing Table
You can choose the finish: espresso, cognac or oak

#4 Around Town Patchwork Wall Art

Guidelines To Enter

This giveaway is open to all US residents 18+ years. It will close on May 10th at 11:59 pm EDT and the winner will be announced and contacted on Tuesday May 11th. 

Required: Please visit the products you are interested in then leave a comment on this post saying which prize pack you will choose if you win. (A happy birthday wish would be nice, too!)

Additional Entries: You can do any of the following to receive additional entries in the giveaway. Please leave a comment for each one you do to receive the entry for your work.

  • Subscribe to Because Babies Grow Up (if you’re already subscribed, leave a comment saying that)
  • Become a fan of Because Babies Grow Up on Facebook (if you’re already a fan, leave a comment saying that)
  • Tweet “@ajpassey has a #giveaway where you choose your prize for your little one’s room:http://bit.ly/dtyg6g ” (Leave a comment with a link to your status)
  • Post on Facebook “Because Babies Grow Up is giving away one of four great prize packs to decorate your little one’s room: http://bit.ly/dtyg6g” (Leave a comment saying you posted on Facebook)
Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me by entering the giveaway! Good luck.

Amanda Sews Leg Warmer Giveaway Winner

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The winner of Amanda Sews Baby Leg Warmers giveaway is commenter #8, Maryanne @ Mama Smiles. Congratulations! I’ll be sending you an email today to arrange delivery of your “multicolored stripe ones with pink on the ends.”

Amanda’s leg warmers are only $5! That’s such a great deal. And she’s got an amazing collection. Plus her other items are totally cute. Gets me baby hungry just looking at that cute baby sleep sack.

Bring On Spring Giveaway-CLOSED

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I’m so ready for spring! I love the warmer weather and the chance to get back outside. The girls have been missing the park so much, but it’s just been so cold/muddy/snowy over the last little while that I haven’t felt good about taking them out to play. This week we’ve spent recovering from ear infections {blah} so I’m definitely ready for some warmer weather.

The girls are itching for warmer weather, too, as they’ve taken to wearing summer dresses around the house. Most of Sammi’s dresses are pretty long, but poor Elli’s toddler dresses barely come to her knees. I keep searching through her clothes to find leggings for her. That’s when it {finally} hit me how ingenious baby leg warmers really are. I never really saw the need with Sammi, but I totally get it now with Elli and am dying to get my hands on some!

In the meantime, I have some to give away to one lucky reader! I recently reconnected with a long-ago friend on Facebook {gotta love it!} and she happens to have an etsy shop where she sells leg warmers, among other beautiful creations. Amanda has offered a pair of leg warmers to one of BBGU’s readers. First, a little about Amanda and second, the guidelines for the giveaway.

Amanda Sews

“My business mostly started by accident. My mom liked sewing things for me when I was a child, and I learned to sew from her and some of her friends and family members. As an adult, I’ve often sewn things for myself and even made a few things for friends. After I had my daughter, I started making things for her. I had people approach me asking about some of the things I’d made for her, so I decided to open an etsy shop selling some of my creations. Through local boutiques, I’ve had the opportunity to make some custom adult things too. I’m learning to design my own patterns, when I can’t find patterns for what I want to make. Coming up with my own sleepsack pattern was a process that took me a couple months and lots of trial and error.

“I have always collected fabric and have a huge stash (some of it inherited from family members), so having a place to keep it all is important. When we moved into our house, I had my very own room for sewing. But, when Jess was born, that room became her room. Luckily, we have a very large master bedroom, so I use part of it as my sewing area. I love having enough space to keep my machines set up, so when I only have a few minutes and feel like some quick sewing, I can do so. I periodically go through my fabric to see what interests me or fits with ideas I have floating around in my head. For example, lately I’ve been thinking about spring/summer dresses, so when I rediscovered some vintage Hawaiian shirts and muumuus my grandmother gave me several years ago I knew they would be perfect for refashioning into little girl’s dresses.

“Family always comes first, so most of my sewing is done when Jess takes her daily nap (along with everything else we Moms have to do during naps). When things get more busy, I also end up sewing at night after she’s gone to bed or on Saturdays when John is home. There are always more projects than there is time for and I always seem to have at least half a dozen projects in various stages of completion (not counting the list of ideas I haven’t even started yet). Sometimes I get a little burnt out, but it usually doesn’t last too long. :)”

Leg Warmers Giveaway

The deadline for the giveaway is Wednesday, March 10 at midnight EST. There are multiple ways to enter. You can tweet and post on Facebook as many days as you’d like with one entry for each day. Here are all the ways you can enter:

REQUIRED:

  • Visit Amanda’s etsy shop and pick the set of leg warmers you would choose if you win. Come back and leave a comment saying which ones you’d like to win.
  • Please leave a separate comment for each entry to make sure all your work is rewarded.

Optional:

  • Subscribe to Because Babies Grow Up (if you’re already subscribed, leave a comment saying that)
  • Become a fan of Because Babies Grow Up on Facebook
  • Tweet “@ajpassey has a #giveaway for a pair of leg warmers for little ones. Come join the fun: http://bit.ly/bLVN7w”
  • Post on Facebook “Because Babies Grow Up is giving away a pair of leg warmers for little ones. Come join the fun: http://bit.ly/bLVN7w”

Good luck with the giveaway! Please leave all your comment entries by midnight EST Wednesday March 10. The winner will be announced Thursday March 11.

Blue Bunny Bowls and Babies

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While at Blissdom last week I picked up a few of ice cream bowls from Blue Bunny, one of the sponsors. The bowls change colors when they get cold. They turn blue, of course! Well, I had some ice cream last night and left my bowl on the table. When I woke up this morning, it was still blue! I get I keep the heat pretty low (it’s set at 55 pretty much constantly!)

On a side note, they were handing out samples of Double Strawberry Aspen® Frozen Yogurt Granola Bars. They were so yummy and the girls gobbled their up in a flash. I think I’ll get more of these with the coupon they gave us!

40 Amazing Facts About Babies

I wanted to share an article with you that I found to be rather interesting. 40 Truly Amazing Facts About Babies contains all kinds of nuggets about babies’ amazing bodies. Here are a few of the facts included in the list:

No Kneecaps : On birth, babies do not have kneecaps. Rather they have a structure of cartilage that resembles kneecaps. They usually don’t develop them fully until after six months. Most seen on babies who “army crawl” instead of doing it on all fours.

What A Load : The heaviest baby ever born was a boy who weighed 22 pounds, eight ounces. He was born in Italy in 1955. To summarize, it isn’t highly unusual for a one year old baby to weigh 22 pounds.

Triple Take : At the end of the first year, your baby’s weight will have tripled. That means if they were born at ten pounds, at their first year they will weight around 30, give or take.

Motherhood Makes You Smarter : Pregnancy can take a toll on a woman’s body, but it can also help. A Pulitzer Prize winning reporter discusses her findings on how women improve perception, efficiency, resiliency, motivation, and emotional intelligence. The detailed article has more.

What amazes you most about your little one?

Blast Off! Destination: A New Me

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Blast Off! by Allison MaslanOkay, we’re a month in to 2010. How are you doing with your resolutions, goals, or plans for the new year? Frankly, I planned and planned and then I’ve just been trying to survive day to day. I’m not sure I had even thought again about the goals I set until yesterday. Since I really want to make progress with the goals I set for parenting, healthy living and blogging, I’ve been looking for resources to help me awaken the potential I know I have to achieve my goals. And, shortly after deciding I needed help, I discovered Blast Off! by Allison Maslan. I love how quickly answers come when I invite them into my life.

Blast Off! is a life coaching book designed to offer step-by-step guidance along the path to discovering your goals and working to attain them. Not only does Allison talk about the pro-active steps to move toward your goals, but she also helps you to identify and eliminate roadblocks that may be keeping you from moving forward. I have a lot of ambition, but I seem to sell myself short a lot of the time on what I’m capable of doing. I definitely need help in overcoming a few roadblocks!

Allison suggests you start your day with a free-writing activity. Pick a theme word, the first idea that comes to mind and then write every thought you have about that theme word. This is the time to get out all the negative energy about the theme or to snowball the energy and passion you have for the theme that came to mind. It fits what you need to do to get ready for the day. I like the example she gives using this activity. The theme word is “overwhelmed.” It’s like she read my mind every morning that Sammi wakes me up way before I want to get out of bed and asks for ‘breafkast.’ Then, using the thoughts and ideas that come from this activity, you create a mantra for the day to help you either deal with the theme or encourage the theme, depending on the theme’s vibe 🙂

Since I usually sit down at the computer first thing and sort of wake up while I check my email (pathetic, I know!) I figured this would be a great activity for me to start my day. Especially since there’s not usually much happening in my inbox. Though, to really take advantage of all Blast Off! has to offer, I’m going to need to get my hands on the book. I’m  glad it’s available on Amazon because we have Amazon Prime and I am totally addicted to two-day shipping now.

What helps you reach your goals?

Gummi Labels by Sippy Stuff

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We received the Gummi Label DIY in Shocking Pink from Sippy Stuff for review. I thought shocking pink was the most appropriate color since I am often shocked by how much Sammi and now Elli love pink! When the Gummi Labels arrived in the mail, we immediately opened them and put them on the girls’ sippy cups. Then I wrote each of their names on their cup and handed them out.

Sammi thought the whole thing was pretty cool. She loved having it on her cup and loved that it had her name on it. After lunch I filled their cups with water, as usual, and left them on the table for them to have whenever they wanted a drink. At dinner time, I ran around looking for their cups. I went into the play room and saw a few sippy cups but was able to identify the clean ones because of the Gummi Label. I liked that. It was an unexpected benefit of having the labels on the cups.

It has been a struggle for me to keep clean sippy cups on hand because they seem to go through so many in a day. But now that we’ve been using the Gummi Label, I always know which cup is from today and that helps us use fewer cups in one day. It’s also helped me be better at gathering up the day’s cups and get them in the dishwasher. I don’t know exactly how it triggered that cleaning button in me, but I’m happy it did!

The girls like having them on their cups so they ask for them. If I forget they run into the kitchen and show me where they are so I remember. They are easy to clean and to use.

As part of the Winter Wonderland, Sippy Stuff is offering a set of Personalized Gummi Labels to one winner! This giveaway is open until January 31 at 11:59 pm EST. To enter, make sure you leave a comment on Join the Winter Wonderland.  Then for additional entries you can do any of the following:

·         Tweet about the labels or the giveaway @sippystuff

·         Follow Sippy Stuff on Twitter at  http://twitter.com/sippystuff

·         Choose a favorite color and leave a comment on that color’s page.

·         Become a fan of Sippy Stuff on Facebook & leave a comment.

How do you organize and manage your little ones’ sippy cups?

Market Mommies Biz Listings

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I recently discovered this great site that brings together mom-owned businesses in a business directory. Market Mommies not only lists businesses by mommy owners, but also has reviews of some of the products, lists of places to find giveaways from businesses listed in the directory and a way to make your shopping go to support funding for mom-owned businesses.

I love how focused Market Mommies is in helping women who want to support mom-owned businesses actually find those businesses! You can even search businesses by category: home & garden, for your children, all about mom and services. You can also support moms online by finding mommy blogs on the Blog Roll. Did you find me on the list?

I’ve started a new place on the right sidebar where I’m showcasing ways to support moms online. I hope you’ll check out these great resources for connecting with moms and mom-owned businesses.