ideeli ~ Beetlejuice Sale Going on NOW!

I know I already told you that ideeli is have a huge Kids SALE this Friday (8/14) and Saturday (8/15) and brands include Mavi, Umi Shoes, Hunter Boots and Heys Backpacks.

But what I didn't know was how adorable all the Beetlejuice items were. If only I had a girl! I just had to share some of them with you because I'm in love...

Prices start at $9 for leggings and top out at $29 for some of the dresses. This is invitation only but you can use this ideeli invitation link to be referred by me!

ideeli~ Kids Sale Friday & Saturday! {Check it out!}

I know what you may be thinking. I thought this week was all about content only and not about another business or review or giveaway? And here it is, only Tuesday, and I'm already breaking that promise. But I will rationalize explain it this way. ideeli is have a huge Kids SALE this Friday (8/14) and Saturday (8/15) so next week will be too late. And since this sale looks like it is going to be a good one, I just can't NOT tell you about it!

What is ideeli? ideeli is the first invitation-only shopping community. We create daily online events that provide our members with the ideal shopping experience: privileged access to the top brands and experiences, often at prices up to 80% off. Recent sales have featured brands like Oscar de La Renta, Christian Lacroix, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, D&G and have recently expanded into Children’s.

The kids sale this week will include brands as Beetlejuice, Mavi, Umi Shoes, Hunter Boots and Heys Backpacks. You can get items starting as little as $9 and up to 70% on items like the adorable Beetlejuice dress shown above and these fun Hunter boots.

Since this is invitation only you can use this ideeli invitation link to be referred by me! I hope you find some great deals and I'll be sure to post what I pick up as I'm almost guaranteed to be unable to resist this special sale!

SewnBySarah {Check it Out!}

It isn't often that I get to actually blog about a business where I personally know the owner. That is why I am so excited to tell you about my good friend Sarah who has just opened an Etsy shop aptly named, SewnbySarah.

I encouraged her to finally take the plunge and sell her creations, which really are her passion. Staying home with two small children isn't easy and she needs something that allows her to be creative and an excuse to pursue her love of all things crafty! Her shop is fairly new but I can vouch that her customer service and quality products are second to none.

If you are in the market for a Reversible Car Seat Cover check out the one below. These are definitely her specialty. She can also make a custom one and provide you with other design options!

SewnbySarah also has some adorable embroidered bibs for only $3.50! I personally like the Grandma Wouldn't Make Me Eat This! the best!
She also has practical items like these Pig Embroidered Dish Towels.

Who wouldn't love to cuddle with this super soft rag quilt? (I know, I've felt it!)

I hope you take a look at her shop and consider contacting her if you are looking for something special. She is more than willing to create a customized listing just for you. Her prices are extremely reasonable I'm certain you won't be disappointed.

As an added bonus, anyone who visits her shop and makes a purchase between now and 8/6/09 can get 5 extra entries into your choice of ANY ONE of my giveaways for EACH item purchased. (Simply make a comment for each entry, telling me what you bought in the giveaway post.)

Hair Dryers That Will Keep Your Hair Healthy! ~ Misikko Hair Dryers

Your hair speaks volumes about your personality and image. Any fashion queen will tell you, your hair can make or break your look. It is what frames your face – it is your crowning glory. And any girl who cares about her hair will keep herself up-to-date on all the latest in hair technology. Whether it is hair dryers, serums or hair irons, what you use on your hair is the key to keeping it smooth, shiny and healthy looking.

Old-fashioned hair dryers whose method of operation was to simply blast your locks with an overdose of hot air are out. These clunky démodé dryers that burned off external wetness – and the internal moisture of your hair – have been replaced with much more lightweight, effective, healthier alternatives for your hair called ionic hair dryers. The best ionic hair dryers include the FHI hair dryer, T3 hair dryer and CHI hair dryer – all built for hair health, comfort and portability making them perfect for conventional use and as a travel hair dryer too.

What Are Ionic Hair Dryers?

An ionic hair dryer is a wonderful alternative to the traditional dryer if only because they can cut the time it takes to dry a full mane in half. More importantly though, ionic hair dryers use a special generator to create ions (negatively charged molecules) that react with water droplets (which are positively charged) to break down the droplets and allow them to get absorbed into your hair shaft. The result: lustrous, sleek and healthy-looking locks.

The FHI Hair Dryer

FHI hair dryers are considered by some to be the crème-de-la-crème of hair dryers. The FHI hair dryer is much more gentle on the hair shaft than traditional blowers because it uses very high-quality ceramic heating elements to create a crisp, sharp heat (allowing you to dry your hair in less than half the normal time) and its Nano Fuzeion technology actually helps to keep your hair’s internal moisture intact. When you use an FHI hair dryer, your hair will feel soft, supple and have a boosted ability to naturally absorb and maintain moisture.

The T3 Hair Dryer

While the T3 hair dryer is on the higher end of the price spectrum, if you want healthy, luscious locks it is totally worth the extra dough. This brand of ionic hair dryers uses tourmaline technology (Tourmaline is a semi-precious gem that, when used to negative ionization in your dryer, gives your hair excellent moisture absorption properties.), is ultra lightweight, is really quiet and has a powerful 1800-watt motor. It’s lightly constructed build makes it a perfect travel hair dryer. Plus, its bejeweled handle makes it so very pretty.

CHI Hair Dryer

Anyone who knows hair knows that CHI products are top-of-the-line. The CHI hair dryer is another ionic hair dryer that uses pure ceramic coils to create a moist heat. Its Anion ionic technology breaks the water molecules instead of evaporating them, which helps to reduce static electricity, frizz and improves your hair’s moisture balance. Because it is light, durable, ergonomically designed and has a life expectancy of about 1200 hours (versus the measly 500 hour life expectancy of conventional dryers) this baby can be used as an everyday device or travel hair dryer – it is great for the girl-on-the-go.

This post was brought to you by the hair care experts at Misikko!

Dapper Snappers ~ Reece's Rainbow Charity {Great Deal!}

You already know I'm a big fan of Dapper Snappers and the mom behind this creation, Michelle. Each month Michelle takes one week's worth of sales and donates 20% of the profits to a charity.I love that she does this! This month she chose, Reece's Rainbow which tries to match special needs children from other countries with loving homes.

Reece's Rainbow is a registered 501(c)3 charity which promotes and facilitates the international adoption and rescue of children with Down syndrome in particular. Reece's Rainbow serves as a VOICE OF HOPE for these children who are suffering in orphanages and mental institutions around the world, when there are literally hundreds of families here in the US, Canada, and the UK who would rescue them if only the funds were available to do so! Grant funds from individual donations make the cost of adopting these beautiful children affordable for interested families

Also in honor of Dapper Snappers one year business anniversary, Michelle is also offering a B2G1 FREE promotion good through July 4th with the discount code: Happy1year.

Please help Michelle raise funds to this month's charity and get a free Dapper Snapper while you do it! It is a win for everybody. (I know I'm buying some!)

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library {Check it Out!}

My boys have both been fortunate enough to be able to benefit from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library when it became available in our area a little less than a year ago. Our local United Way sponsors this wonderful program which gives children from birth a new book every MONTH until their 5th birthday for free. That adds up to a lot of books. You can start at any time as long as your child or grandchild resides in the sponsored area and is under the age of five. It is open to every single child, regardless of need. There are no income requirements!
Background (from website): In 1996, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort to benefit the children of her home county in east Tennessee. Dolly wanted to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. She wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could insure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.

So she decided to mail a brand new, age appropriate book each month to every child under 5 in Sevier County. With the arrival of every child’s first book, the classic The Little Engine That Could ™, every child could now experience the joy of finding their very own book in their mail box. These moments continue each month until the child turns 5—and in their very last month in the program they receive Look Out Kindergarten Here I Come.

This morning I was looking at all the wonderful books that my boys have had a chance to read because of this program. Except for the starter book that every child receives (The Little Engine that Could) I hadn't heard of any of them. Many have become favorites in our house like the two shown below. There are different age groups with appropriate reading for each and new books are selected each year. Even if you have more the one child who participates in the program you won't get duplicates unless you have twins. The arrive at different times of the month so it is so much fun to find a brand new book in our mailbox.

Gobble-Gobble Crash, A Barnyard Counting Bash

Kitty Up!

Because I hadn't heard of the program until someone at work told me about it, I thought you might not have either. Please take a look at the affliate search page and see if this program is available in your area. Keep checking back periodically if you don't find your zip code. I just discovered my sister is now eligible in her area and she wasn't when I signed up! You can register online and trust me, you won't be disappointed by the book selection!

Please let me know if you join based on this post or participate currently. I'd love to know your opinion of this program!

Vlasic "Capture the Cutest Crunch" Contest {Giveaway}

Nothing screams summer cookout like Vlasic pickles! I love a good crunchy pickle in my cheeseburger or a nice dill spear on the side. How would you like to win big by capturing an adorable photo of your family enjoying Vlasic pickles? Vlasic is offering a trip to New York City $1,000 and a year supply of pickles for the what they deem to be have "The Cutest Crunch" in this photo contest.

Here is a press release to tell you a little more about it:

CAN YOU CAPTURE “THE CUTEST CRUNCH”?

Enter the Vlasic® Pickles “Capture the Cutest Crunch” Contest and Win BIG

Deadline October 31, 2009!

MOUNTAIN LAKES, NJ (May 2009) – One of America’s timeless icons, the Vlasic® Stork, is delivering a new opportunity right to your doorstep. Vlasic® Pickles is in search of a photo displaying the cutest crunch. The person who submits the winning photo will receive an all expenses paid trip to New York City, $1,000 and a one-year supply of Vlasic Pickles.

“There’s nothing like a crunchy Vlasic pickle, which is why in 2008 we launched the first ever Vlasic Crunch-Off’ tour,” said Senior Brand Manager of Vlasic Pickles Stefan Aps. “People of all ages from across the country came out to these events to show off their loudest pickle crunch. We captured so many great pictures at those events and we loved the enthusiasm we saw…we want more!”

Entering is easy! Go to http://www.vlasic.com/ and click on the “Contests” section to submit a photo of your “cutest crunch” into a Vlasic Pickle, or send your entry to: “Capture the Cutest Crunch” Contest, c/o BHG PR, 546 Valley Rd., Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043. All entries must be received by October 31, 2009. No purchase is required to win. See attached rules for details.

Vlasic would like to give THREE of my readers TWO coupons good on any Vlasic pickle product (up to $3.50 value) to get you started capturing those "Cutest Crunch" photos!

Win it: Tell me what you love about pickles or your favorite food to eat with them!

Want more entries? (Who wouldn't want more chances to win free pickles?) After answering my question do any of the following and leave a comment telling me what you did. Each is worth one entry unless otherwise noted. Your comment is your entry so please leave the appropriate number of comments for each extra entry.

-Enter the "Capture the Cutest Crunch" photo contest! (5 entries)
-Follow my blog publicly
-Subscribe to my feed in a reader or by email
-Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway
-Fave me on Technorati
-Add my current button to your blog
-Add my Let's Hear It for the Boys event button to your blog
-Blog about this contest and link back here (3 entries)

This contest will end on 7/14/09 at 11:59 pm CST. U.S residents only. The winner will be drawn via random.org and contacted the next day. Please be sure to leave me a way to contact you if it is not available in your profile. The winner will have 72 hours to respond before I draw another winner.

The Baby Shower ~ Benefit for the March of Dimes & Ronald McDonald House Charities

Want the chance to win some serious swag AND help out some great causes in the process? The Baby Planner is hosting a baby shower for Shari from Baby Banz this week, benefiting the March of Dimes and Ronald McDonald House Charities! (See the bright green & white button on my sidebar!)

There are daily door prizes and raffles for a $3,000 Grand Prize Package (shown above) and numerous smaller prize packages. It is only a $5 donation for the Grand Prize and $1 for each of the smaller prize packages. Please consider donating to these great causes. They are currently quite far from reaching their goal of $7,000 and would really appreciate your support!

If you purchase any raffle ticket you can get an extra entry into EACH of my current giveaways. Just leave a comment in the giveaway post letting me know you did by June 28th!

Vote for Michael Jurick ~ Win $2,000! {Check it Out!}

Michael Jurick has been nominated for GoCityKids Top NYC Photographer. He has been featured in Cookie Magazine and NBC and is a highly respected and sought after photographer for family photograhy.

You can vote for him each day until July 15th by clicking on the image above and enter to win $2,000! Also be sure to check out his blog for some serious eye candy photography!

Got Free Cards ~ Free ECards & Printable Cards! {Check it out!}

I know you've heard me talk about a great site called Got-Free-Ecards which has some fun free birthday ecards and cards for just about any holiday. But I think it bears mentioning again.
Got Free Cards also has free printable cards like the examples below. With tougher economic times it is nice to have free options to let our loved ones know we are thinking of them without cost. I typically keep the cards I receive around for a few months because I feel bad for throwing them away but eventually I do throw them away unless they are extra special. Why spend $5 on a card ? Instead you could print out a card for them and add $5 to their gift or throw in a $5 Starbucks gift card when you wouldn't normally! I don't know about you, but I'd take a good cup of coffee over a fancy card any day!


Don't forget to surprise someone special with one of their free July 4th ecards!

You can also customize your ecard with a voice message, photo and choose the background music! You can even set up email reminders which is important for someone like me who is always forgetting until the last minute when it is someone's birthday. This would eliminate any hurt feelings! It is very simple to navigate the site and there is no registering or downloads. You can even send it by twitter! It is fast, it is easy and even better it is free!

This post is part of the "Jump Start Your Blog Contest" sponsored by got-free-ecards and momdot.

Bebe au Lait Nursing Cover {Great Deal}

Don't you just love surprises? Bebe au Lait is having a fabulous nursing cover promotion! Purchase any Bebe au Lait, Hooter Hiders or Simple Organic nursing cover or gift set and receive a free "mystery" nursing cover! Simply use coupon code "MYSTERY09" at checkout.

Fasta Pasta {Review}

Any kind of pasta dish is a favorite in my household. With my 2 1/2 year old being in his picky stage, pasta is on his short list of favorites along with pancakes and mac 'n cheese. I love serving it to him because it is loaded with great nutrients and I can sneak in some meat and veggies which is sometimes lacking in his diet.

With both my husband and I working we have very little time when we get home in which to prepare meals. Usually our kids are both scavenging in our kitchen as soon as we are in the door. That is why I'm always on the lookout for ways to cut down on our dinner preparation time and I jumped at the chance to try the Fasta Pasta microwave cooker.

The Fasta Pasta allows you to cook any pasta to al dente perfection in the microwave. You can even use it to cook soups, ramen, rice, vegetables and chocolate cake! It is BPA free, dishwasher safe and made in the USA.

I tried out the Fasta Pasta with traditional spaghetti. The top lid has a measurement guide to help you determine how much water and spaghetti you can use. Simply add the pasta and correct amount of water and place it in the microwave without the lid for the recommended amount of time. (For us it was 15 minutes). Afterwards strain it with the lid! It is so easy. The pasta came out tasting wonderful and just how we like it.

The only downside that I can see is that you can only cook 4 servings of pasta at a time which isn't quite a full 1lb box. This could be a problem with a larger family or if you have guests. But you can use more than one cooker at a single time. I liked that I could prepare the meat and sauce and not have to deal with water boiling on my stove and taking an extra burner. I also appreciated not having to wash a huge pot or colander afterwards!
I look forward to trying out other types of pasta and cooking rice and vegetables! There was a nice cookbook included with all different kinds of recipes that I look forward to trying out.

This would really be a great option for college students, to take for travel in an RV or for a busy family.

Thanks to Mom Fuse for the opportunity to review this product!

How to Properly Select Toys for Baby! ~Ebeanstalk

I just discovered Ebeanstalk and have been asked to share some wonderful information with you regarding their company and how to properly pick toys. Keep an eye out for more on my blog about this company!

Ebeanstalk is dedicated to a baby’s development. And we select the best baby toys matched to a baby's development. To see great information on how a baby grows up, check out the info on our baby toys page.

Picking toys for a baby is not as simple as it sounds. Here are some quick baby facts:

• Toys for a newborn baby: A newborn baby is briefly looking at objects and attempting to imitate facial expressions. They can follow objects with their eyes and usually quiet down, when they are picked up.


• Toys for a three month old: They will enjoy ‘frolic play’, reaching for objects and will repeat enjoyable activities. Believe it or not, they will respond to ‘no’ (about half the time) and will start babbling.


• Toys for a six month old: They’ll search for hidden objects (object permanence). They’ll reach for themselves in the mirror, play peekaboo, crumple paper, roll from their stomach to their back and even respond to their name.


• Toys for a nine month old: They are pushing toy cars, playing pat-a-cake and looking for hidden sounds. The baby toys they are playing with are also getting more fun.

Polliwalks Sale at 6PM.com {TODAY (6/16) ONLY}

Have you been wanting to try out Polliwalks? I have and just came across this great sale by accident at 6pm.com. They currently have select styles of Polliwalks on sale for 63%-69% off! You can get a pair for only $8.95 which is a steal! But hurry, this sale is for TODAY ONLY!!!

So Cute! CurlyQ Cuties {Review}

Have you heard of CurlyQ Cuties? If not, I'm excited to be the first to tell you about their wonderful custom made monsters! CurlyQ Cuties Monster-Maker allows you to choose exactly what features you would like your fleece plush monster have.

The company was started by Stephanie, a mom who wanted her own children to have safe toys that encouraged imaginative play and created the monsters from her own children's descriptions and drawings. Before long she was selling them on Etsy premade and after many requests for custom orders, she decided to focus on those and created CurlyQ Cuties as a made-to-order plush business. Aren't they adorable, colorful and just plain fun?

With 427,904,400 unique possibilities in the CurlyQ Cuties Monster-Maker it is easy to see why when I created a monster with my two year old son Lucian it wasn't the easiest task. At any given time he would change his mind from the different features like body type, belly shape and mouth. The few things he knew he wanted for sure were an orange monster with a dark blue cyclops eye with an oval on the belly. The other options changed constantly and it did take three different sit down sessions with him to finally decide exactly what to get. He loved playing with the monster maker and checking out all the different options.
When his monster arrived in the mail Lucian was very excited. He took to it immediately which was a bit of a surprise for me since he hasn't been attached to any stuffed animals like his younger brother Warren. It is fun for me as a mom to have him ask to take it places and to cuddle with at night. It has a firm, sturdy feel and works great as a little pillow. The quality is really fantastic. Even his little brother has taken to it and when he gets a little older I'll let him design his own monster too!
The next day Lucian was sharing his box of raisins with his monster! I've never seen him interact with stuffed animals before so it is exciting to see his imagination at work!
A custom made monster is $25 while the smaller fairy-tooth plush is only $15. You can even get a premade Maddie Monster that was created by her parents in memory of Maddie Spohr to help benefit March of Dimes.
I also highly recommend following CurlyQ Cuties on twitter. They have the most original and fun tweets! I have also seen discounts on these adorable monsters so follow them so you don't miss out!

If you have bought a monster in the past or do so from my post, please come back to tell me what you picked out and what you thought of their service! I'd love to hear your experience!