Restaurant.com

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Coldstone Winner!

I had Abi be my little helper to pick the name out of a bowl... so the winner is

Angela!

I will be emailing you to get your info!

Thanks for playing everyone.

Playtex Baby Review

We were given the bottle with drop ins and the baby spoons at the Bloggers Brunch.

Playtex Drop-Ins bottle:

They say that these bottles are clinically shown to mimic breastfeeding as the liner collapses like the breast for an air-free feeding. Also the nipple promotes latch-on like the breast.

They are also clinically proven to reduce gas, colic, and spit up.

Playtex is the #1 pediatrician recommended brand.

The bottle is great. I like the look and the feel of it and Maddy seems to like it too but I , honestly, prefer a normal bottle. I think that this is because of Maddy's age. If she were a newborn or if I had just barely stopped breastfeeding her, this would have been perfect.

Infant spoons:

I LOVE these spoons. They are fantastic.

They are BPA-free and Phthalate free. The soft tip is gentle on baby's gums and teeth. The handles are ergonomically-designed to make feeding baby easy and comfortable and the long handle makes scooping food out of deep jars and bowls easy.

I have never had a baby spoon quite like these before. There really is a noticeable difference when you are using these compared to other ones I have. I am going to be buying more of these so I can get rid of my old ones!

You can find out more about these products at playtexbaby.com. Check out their bowl and plate sets when you are there. I didn't get one but I saw one there and they are so adorable!

Disclosure: Thank you to Playtex for providing us with these products free of charge. My review is personal and unbiased.

Road Rippers Review

I was given two Road Rippers products to review and won the other two at the Holiday Bloggers Brunch. Here they are...

Once again, I wasn't sure if these were things that our girls would appreciate or enjoy but those thoughts vanished as both girls played with the cars (still in their packaging) all the way home.

The next morning we got them out of the boxes to try them out.

First up:

CAT e-z machine RC bulldozer

At first I was a little disappointed by this as I thought the remote control meant they could drive it all over the place like other remote control vehicles I have seen. The buttons on it are actually just stickers and it only has the one button that works that makes it drive forward. Only forward. The way it works is that there is a button on the cab of the bulldozer and when you push that it starts bouncing around and spinning and then you use the remote control to get it to stop spinning and bouncing and drive forward. I went back and looked at the box and realized that those were the only things it said it did ... so I should have read that first.

The girls and Doug thought it was really cool though. The bouncing scares Maddy a little... but it's not meant for 1 year old girls so I think that's fine. I think most little boys would get a huge kick out of this toy.

Next:

The Road Rippers 1971 Dodge Super Bee Motor Muscle car

This one we have not tried out as we want to give it to someone that we know will love it but we have tried the buttons that you can get to through the packaging. It plays the song "Shout" which I can imagine gets a little tedious. Other than that the car is really cool. It's pretty big and looks more like a model than a remote control toy. Along with the song it also has lights that work. Unlike the bulldozer, this remote control has the knobs and works the way you expect it to.

This car races forward and reverse and turns in all directions.

It also comes with a collectible card you cut out of the back of the box that tells your child a little about that particular car.

The collection includes a 1967 Corvette Stingray, 1969 Dodge Daytona, the Super Bee that we got, and the 1970 GTO Judge. Each car plays a different song particular to its era.

Although we haven't tried out everything about this car, I feel safe in saying it is a good pick for that person in your life that loves cars and remote control toys!

Next:

Road Rippers Road Rockin' Rides

To be perfectly honest I find this toy kind of annoying. This is because the song, "Pump up the Jam" has been played so many times at our house this week because of it.

When your child pushes the button on top of the car the lights go on and the song plays. It has a little circle on top of it that you can use to 'scratch' like a DJ. That's kind of fun to play with.

The girls love this car as you can see from the video of Maddy playing with it below. She loves the song.

Again, I would recommend it as something that your child will like but keep in mind how often that song plays!

The Last Product is:

The Road Rippers Flash Ride motorcycle. This one is pretty cool but has been played with the least.

It plays motorcycle sounds rather than songs which is a plus for me. It also lights up. If you have a child (or grown up) that loves motorcycles this is a great pick! It is nice looking and well made.

You can check out these toys and more at mymotorisland.com The web site is pretty amazing. It not only has products but also games for your child to play and even "Rippisodes"- an animated web series for kids starring Ripp, a teenager that likes to create and build one-of-a-kind vehicles in his garage.

Disclosure: Thank you to Road Rippers for providing these products free of charge. My review is personal and unbiased.

Thanksgiving Day

We took the morning pretty easy... playing in boxes....

then got some fun Thanksgiving pictures...

I ran out to get a newspaper and then we all watched the parade while I perused the ads and cooked our dinner.

Here are the girls all ready for the feast...

I made a small turkey, mashed potatoes, a sweet potato casserole, a broccoli and cheese casserole, and made the bread in the shape of a cornucopia with pumpkins and things inside....

After dinner, we cleared up the table.. you can see Maddy was still working on her food! Then we wrote our letters to Santa..

Then we enjoyed some apple pie and eggnog! (Well, Maddy had milk...)

Maddy telling us how much she likes apple pie..

That night Abi and I went by ourselves to watch the house in our neighborhood that sets their house lights to music. It was so much fun to get out and do that together. The second song they played after we pulled up was "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas". That made us so happy. She just belted it out!

In Zone's Life-Staged Brands juices review

In Zone's family of brands focus solely on children ages 1-10 years delivering their distinct life-stage needs.

Tummy Tickler Tots: For Toddlers ages 1-3, 40% Reduced Sugar Apple Juice

Tummy Tickler: For Preschoolers ages 3-5, 100% Juice- Apple

Belly Washers: For Grade Schoolers ages 5-10, 100% Juice- Fruit Punch

A little about this product:

No added sugar

No artificial flavors/colors

No high fructose corn syrup

No mess Tummy Tickler sippy spouts

No mess Belly Washers sport caps

Washable and Reusable

Recyclable

We were able to review all three of these juice products.

Maddy had never had packaged juice and she had never drank from this type of cap. She did quite well although she is still learning exactly how it works. I gave her the first one in the car and when she dropped it on the floor I was a little worried that there was going to be juice everywhere. BUT the product lived up to its promise and not a single drop came out of that sippy spout. It was so great.

Abi drank the other two and some of Maddy's refills and loved them all although the apple flavored were her favorite.

When we went grocery shopping the other day she begged me to get more. So, I'd say it is a winner!

I love the convenience and cuteness of the product as well as the fact that the Tummy Ticklers Tots is already the right consistency for toddlers and I didn't have to add water to it the way I do with other juice.

There are many different characters to choose from for your topper including the Strawberry Shortcake, Disney Princess, and Minnie Mouse that we picked. Other toppers include Winnie the Pooh characters, Toy Story, Little Einsteins, Fairies, Bob the Builder, Clifford, Hello Kitty, Superman, Spiderman.

Check them out for yourselves online at Tummytickler.com

Disclosure: Thank you to In Zone's Life-Stage Brands for providing us with these products free of charge. My review is personal and unbiased.

Thomas and Friends Adventures on Misty Island

We were very excited to be able to try out the Thomas and Friends Adventures on Misty Island set.

A little about this set:

Have your little engineer join Thomas and James on a fun-filled trek to Misty Island with the Adventures on Misty Island buildable playset! Based off the hit movie Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue, Thomas and James must travel through mysterious Misty Island mountains to transport needed construction supplies to the Sodor Search and Rescue site. Build and rebuild your travel route to new heights as Thomas and James race on unfamiliar tracks from sea level to high up into the mountains and through eerie tunnels to get to their destination. With a number of fun accessories to add exciting challenges to your Misty Island route like a lake, break-through barricades and rock slides, Adventures on Misty Island is a supersized playset that will delight any little Thomas fan for a long time!

Ideal for children ages 3 and up!

Features:

• Build and rebuild Misty Island the way you see it!
• Literally take your builds and rebuilds high up into Misty Island mountains for a truly dynamic adventure!
• Includes Thomas and James buildable train characters with pull-along carts that you can push up or roll down the tracks
• Includes many different accessories like tunnels, break-through barricades and race through the canyon while watching for falling rocks! Have a different Misty IslandAdventure every time!
• Fun on its own or combine with other Thomas characters and playsets
• to further build your Thomas & Friends universe by Mega Bloks!

We LOVED playing with this. We kept it out all day and all of us took a turn playing with it. It has been played with many more times since and now is in a bucket in the play area so it can be pulled out daily.

I wasn't sure how much Abi would enjoy this because sometimes we think of things like this as 'boy' toys. But she loved it.

Her favorite thing about this was that the Thomas and James trains can be taken apart and built again.

This is a great set that I highly recommend for your little ones!

Check out the Mega Brands website for this and many other really fun toys!

MegaBrands

Disclosure: Thank you to MegaBrands for providing this complimentary product and product information for this review. My review is personal and unbiased.

Funny albeit somewhat inappropriate Abi-isms

Today as we are gathered around the dining table with a wonderful spread of Thanksgiving food and our two beautiful daughters dressed in their finest dresses.... Abi decided she wanted to invite her imaginary friends to dinner. I say okay. I'm dishing out some food and I ask her a question. She tells me that she is not Abi, she is blue girl. Then I say, Can I please talk to Abi. Abi tells me that Blue girl is back from pooping in the potty. OH BOY!

Doug says, "Can we please not talk about pooping at the Thanksgiving dinner table."

Abi gets a disgusted look on her face and says, "Daddy! She didn't do it at the table!"

Onto another crazy one. The other day we were driving around and I had a Diet Pepsi. Abi wanted a drink. I told her no. I said, "It has caffeine in it and you can't have that at your age." I know- hypocritical. Whatever. So, she says, "Mom, why can't I have caffeine?"

I say, "Well, you know how I like to drink Diet Pepsi because I think it is good. Some people have to drink it to function. That means they are addicted to it. If you are addicted to something you feel like you have to have it instead of just wanting to have it."

Abi has tasted Diet Pepsi before- just a sip here and there occasionally.

She then says, "Mom. I think I'm already addicted to it because I think it is SO good!"

Cold Stone Giveaway

Have you tried Cold Stone Creamery?

We love them!

Want a chance to win a $20 gift card to Cold Stone?

I have one gift card to giveaway.

You have until Sunday November 28th to enter.

To enter:

Go to Cold Stone and have a look at their signature creations. Come back here and tell me which one you would love to try. (For me it would be the Peanut Butter Cup Perfection!)

That's it. Make sure to leave an email to contact you at if you are the winner!

Mary Kay 25% off!

At the holiday bloggers brunch I was able to get a fun Mary Kay makeover. I loved the Raspberry Ice lip gloss!

I was able to try the eye primer, some eyeshadow, blush, lip gloss, eye liner, and mascara. It was all so light and fresh feeling.

She also used a timewise microdermabrasion on my hand. It was great!

I also love their Satin hands peach lotion. It smells so good!

The Independent Beauty Consultant that I worked with , Metan Augustyniak, gave me an offer to pass along to all my readers.

Simply go to her Mary Kay page here.

Upon making an order, type "mommyblog" in the comment box and you will receive 25% off your order!

Saturday is a busy day

Saturday we had such an amazing day!

I recently won tickets to the advanced screening of Tangled in Chicago from Family fun magazine.

Here is Abi in the parking garage beforehand in her Rapunzel twirl shirt.

Doug and the girls so excited!

Abi made a friend while we waited in line and they were inseparable the rest of the time. They even had to sit together.

The movie was fantastic! We saw it in 3D which I wasn't sure if I would like because I'm kind of annoyed with the whole 3D on every movie thing... but it was awesome. It was easy to forget we were watching it in 3D.

The story was great, the songs were great. It was so much fun! Doug even went so far as to say it was probably his favorite Disney movie ever.

You should definitely see it!

Afterward we booked it over to Navy Pier. I had been invited to the Childs Play Communications/ Team Mom Chicago area Bloggers brunch. Because of this I had also received family passes to the Toy and Game Fair just down the hallway. So, Doug and the girls went into that while I went to the brunch where I was fortunate to receive some really great things to review and something to giveaway.

Then I met back up with Doug at the Toy Fair.

We found some people that made Doug really excited....

Here's Maddy taking it all in... you can see my goodies piled up on the back of the stroller!

Before leaving, Doug and Abi had to ride the worlds biggest rocking horse...

and play on a huge etch a sketch...

Great day! Stay tuned for reviews and a giveaway!

Reviews and a Giveaway

Just a heads up- I was given the opportunity this weekend to review a bunch of cool toys and products. I will be posting reviews all week here on the blog... and I will be hosting a giveaway.. So stay tuned!

Mama's Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I'm sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?

Magic. Pure magic. To me, this is the most magical time of the year and I just love watching all of it unfold.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition?

We all go down together and Abi (and this year Maddy) open the gifts from Santa first. Then we all do our stockings. We have a little breakfast.. usually something that is easily cooked while Abi is opening her presents from Santa. Then we tackle the rest of the gifts. We take turns, each person opening one gift until they are all gone.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?

Hmm..... a trip to Disney World. I think he may just deliver on that one :) I might have to ask for a lottery win!

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?

Traditions! We have so many and most of them are free. In the next few weeks watch for my days of Christmas traditions posts!

5. What games did you play with your family growing up?

We played a lot of games. I loved Trivial Pursuit especially the Disney one. We also played Pictionary and Life.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?

Almost all of them! My mom made our holidays so special with all of our traditions that I have kept them and love doing them still. In fact, last night we decorated the tree while listening to The Carpenters Christmas and then slept around it. That was one of my favorites as a child.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas away from home trip?

I have always wanted to spend Christmas in a cabin in the mountains while snow was falling all around with my entire family. I don't think it is ever going to happen but I think it would be amazing.

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop wish List this year?

Epic Mickey, X Box 360, and Rock Band or Guitar Hero

To enter this yourselves check out todaysMama!

Some more sewing...

I won tickets to see the advanced screening of Tangled in Chicago this weekend and I just couldn't go to it without dressing Abi up like Rapunzel!

I remembered that Doug's mom had sent me some purple fabric a long time ago so I pulled that out along with some pink ribbon, some lace, and some leftover white lacey fabric from my wedding dress and used my twirl shirt pattern to whip this up....

It's not exactly like her dress but it should be more comfy than a dress would have been. She will wear it over a pink tee shirt since Rapunzels dress has long pink sleeves.

A while back I also saw a hair clip holder in Chasing Fireflies for $100. I thought I could make it so I bought some yellow yarn for a couple of bucks and then used felt, ribbon, and buttons I already had to make this...

Speaking of twirl shirts, the Christmas one I made was patterned after a dress I saw and loved. That dress was worn over a beautiful white shirt with white fake fur cuffs.

I loved it but knew it would be expensive.

So the other day I was in Target and saw some womens knee high socks back by the shoes. They are red with white polka dots and the top was a fake fur cuff. I bought them and proceeded to cut them up. I cut off the cuff and sewed it onto a long sleeve white shirt Abi already had, then I cut the foot off so that the leg part can be used as leg warmers for Maddy and the bottom part for ankle socks for me!

What a week!

This has been quite the week around here.

Tuesday Maddy had her one year dr appt and both the girls were getting their flu vaccines. I let Abi decide what she wanted this year so she got the inhaled one.

Maddy had to get the shot of course... but also got three other shots as well as a finger prick. It was so sad.

Maddy's finger took forever to stop bleeding.

Then that night she had a fever of 101.5. She was so hot. I gave her meds and kept an eye on her. Her fever and pain and sadness and crying lasted for the next two days.

Tuesday night there was also a commotion in Abi's room. I ran out to see if she was okay and she was freaking out in the bathroom. Turned out she had got a major bloody nose and when she tried to get out of her room it took her a minute because her hand was slippery which is why she really freaked out. So, I calmed her down and cleaned her off .. as well as the floor, the doorknobs, etc..

Then her nose would not stop bleeding. It was crazy. So, finally I had her lay down propped up and I went in every few minutes to check on her. She was fine and fell asleep pretty fast since she was forced to lay still.

I got this picture of Maddy Wednesday morning when her hair was all crazy from baby oil...

So, back to Maddy. Wednesday afternoon she was starting to finally feel a little better and was walking around. She was pulling newspaper onto the floor and I think she slipped on it- but she fell and hit her face on the coffee table. It's rounded so I thought it just hurt her head and picked her up to snuggle her. Then I noticed blood and lots of it.

Her mouth was bleeding like crazy. I tried to get a look in and she bit me.

So, I washed her face off and was trying to get a washcloth in there but she just was screaming and pushing away. I tried to use ice cubes. Nope.

I didn't handle it too well and was beginning to freak out not knowing how bad it was. It looked like her top gums were all ripped apart. So, finally she calmed down a little and I forced her to let me look. Basically the gums were split a little with that area that connects them to the lip having come away. I didn't know if I should take her into the dr but when I googled it I kept reading that it would heal itself.

So, since I couldn't get her to suck on a washcloth or ice, I got her an ice cold bottle of milk and she loved that.

There you have it... our week in a nutshell.

There were great moments too like when we put up some Christmas decorations... and when I found Abi next to Maddy's tree in the front room having a "Christmas feast".

Disney Family movie night: Cinderella

This weekend we watched Cinderella for movie night. We made dinner Cinderella's royal banquet. We had roast with carrots and potatoes, rolls with butter, and pink lemonade. For dessert we had leftover birthday cake.

A little random after party

Sunday morning Doug got up with the girls and taught Maddy to push around Abi's doll pram. I was in our room getting ready when the door opened and in walked Maddy pushing it. It was hilarious.

She loved it and kept doing it over and over. It really helped with her walking confidence. She went from one little teeny step on Saturday to walking a few feet today.

Madeline's first birthday!

I set up the table with her presents and cakes first thing in the morning so it would look festive all day...

Grandma is making her a cross stitch of her name (like Abi's) and isn't quite done yet so she sent us some money to go to McDonalds. Maddy had her first hamburger (well about 1/5 of one) and a few french fries. She loved it. Abi had the great idea of her wearing her birthday hat.

Can you believe that not one person said happy birthday to her! I thought that was funny.

After McDonalds we came home to do presents and cake.

Maddy kept trying to take her hat off!

Abi wanted to give her gift first. I love these pictures of them together. Abi gets really excited about giving gifts and I love that about her. Maddy is looking at her so sweetly here..

Abi got her a noisy rattle thing that Maddy played with at the educational toy store. She was so happy!

Next she opened a CD of Baby Einstein traveling music from mom and dad...

We also got her some church flashcards...

When she opened the tag blanket I made for her she immediately started rubbing it on her head. I thought that was so cute!

She then opened this bead toy. Doug and Abi put it together while we watched. Here you can see that Doug is participating in the work 'No shave November'. I LOVE it! I seriously wish he would keep it like this forever. He won't but I keep trying to convince him.

Next up, a gift from Grammy and Grandfather. Of course, the wrapping is a lot of the fun of birthdays!

Oops.. this one is out of order. Here she got to play with the beads for a minute after it was put together...

Back to the gift from Doug's parents... they got her a drum that lights up and plays music when you drum on it. As you can tell, she was thrilled!

The birthday girl...

Time for cake!

We all sang to her and lit the main cake candle..

Then we gave her the little cake and she took a taste...

"MMM!!" She said.

Then took another.

This continued for about ten minutes.

Taking a break for some milk...

She ate a decent amount of it- not a lot. This was as messy as she got.

I was so surprised. I thought she would be shoving that cake all over her face the way she does with other food... but she was taking her time. So cute.