Wrapped Up Teething Blanket Giveaway! #wrappedupatl

Do you like to shop for babies?   Your own, or friends & relatives with wee ones? Or you have a baby shower coming up that you need the perfect gift for? My little baby days may be over, but I have friends with little ones and I absolutely love shopping for baby gifts! Wrapped Up is Atlanta’s first babywearing and natural parenting retreat.  They just launched their online store, and the brick and mortar store will open later this Fall.   Wrapped Up is gonna be a wonderful addition to our local shopping choices!

WrappedUpAtl.com offers high quality products that appeal to the growing eco-conscious parenting niche. The online boutique has carefully chosen stock from wooden toys and teethers made by hand, stainless, silicone and glass food storage and various types of carriers for babywearing. The women behind Wrapped Up arrived at the brands and products through personal trial and error, discovering a need for such a boutique along their own journey into “Mamahood” as the site’s blog would describe it. The owners have made a point to procure several local brands, also developed and run by parents, in the Atlanta area.

Sharon Letsinger and Jessica Wall had a chance encounter at a babywearing meeting in Atlanta, quickly discovering that their sons, born two days apart, share the name Paxton. Soon after, they also realized they shared many of the same philosophies and struggles with natural parenting. The main issue was finding readily available, “ideal” parenting products. Their friendship and mutual desire to spread the babywearing and natural parenting love, brought them to start Wrapped Up - Atlanta’s first babywearing and natural parenting retreat.

Check out a few of their gorgeous offerings:  (all pics are from the Wrapped Up website)

Building Blocks from Clover & Birch

Bowl and Scoop Busy Bag

Bambu Bibs 

The Soothe Shirt is a carrier, nursing bra and tank top in one - so cool!

Why didn't they make these when my kids were babies?! 

Babywearing is not just for mamas! This is the Bijou Wear Windmills

 Field of Dreams Tencel® Ring Sling

Allspice and Baltic Amber EXTREME Ultimate Teething Necklace



ezpz Happy Mat - BPA free, dishwasher safe!

Wooden Stacking Ring 

Such beautiful baby products!  I  enjoyed browsing through their online store and can hardly wait to visit their retail location later this Fall!


How would you like to win a Dear Stella Teething Blanket from Clover & Birch?  The ladies at Wrapped Up would like to give one of my readers this adorable teething blanket, pictured below.

All you have to do is enter the giveaway through the rafflecopter widget below!  

Review: Great book series for reluctant young readers!

I am fortunate to have a child who loves nothing better than a good book. He comes by it honestly, from his mama!  I've literally got books started all over the place - one is always in the van, in case I have to wait somewhere. Then there's a bathtub basket of books, and one on my nightstand too! You might even spy one on my kitchen table, and one on the coffee table!  So you can understand why I'm thrilled that he loves reading so much, too.  Some days after his school work is done, you'll find us both cozied up in my bed with our books, or reclining on each end of the sofa reading.  It's definitely a passion for us both!

D's breezed through several series of books this year - including the Maximum Ride books and the Gone series, plus the Maze Runner and The Giver.  When I had the opportunity to check out the first book in a series by author Jeff Gunhus, I knew my son would be excited too! I read the description and knew he would be hooked.

The series is called The Templar Chronicles and so far, there are four books in it.  Book one is Jack Templar, Monster Hunter.  You can read more about it here!  My son gave me his mini-review to share: "GREAT characters, a plot that was fast-paced with lots of action, and I really liked reading about all of the monsters in the book!"  He was really bummed when he finished the last page of Jack Templar, Monster Hunter. Well....he doesn't know it, but he will be getting the next book for New Year's, so he can continue the series!  (there will eventually be seven books in it). If your kiddos enjoyed Harry Potter, or Percy Jackson, they are going to love this series too.  Even a child who doesn't love reading will enjoy all of the action and adventure in Jack Templar!

If you are still looking for a last minute Christmas gift for a special kiddo in your life,  this book (or all four!) would be great for young readers (maybe 5th/6th grade and up)   You can get it for kindle too - no leaving the house required!

Jeff Gunhus also has a highly rated book for parents with kids who don't love reading. It's about reaching the reluctant readers in your life, and you can find out more and purchase it here.
Over on Amazon, learn how he turned his son, a reluctant reader, into an avid reader!

You can see all of the books from Mr. Gunhus at his website.  I'm thrilled that my son loves his books so much - we are now big fans of his work and look forward to finishing this series!

I received a free copy of the book for my son to read for this review.  No other compensation was received.  

Old Factory Candle Set Review

I was recently offered the opportunity to review a set of candles from Old Factory Candles and since I'm kind of obsessed with wonderfully-scented candles, I was thrilled! After looking at all of the choices they offered, I finally decided on the Happy Holidays set, which contained one of each scent: Christmas Tree, Candy Cane and Gingerbread.

When the package arrived, it was a little smaller than I expected.  But when I opened the Gingerbread candle, it smelled divine!  I had to smell the other two and they were just as wonderful!  The three glass jars are packaged in a cute little box - it was just perfect for gift giving.

These candles burn for a long while.  The description stated 20 hours, and I know I was able to enjoy them for several long afternoons over the course of a week.  They made the main floor of my house smell amazing.  The Gingerbread was my favorite, as it smelled like I'd been baking!  The scent was strong all the way to the bottom of the candle.  I love soy candles, and I love that these are handmade in the USA.

These would make a great gift for a teacher or co-worker, or a friend who loves candles.  I will have to try the Vacation gift set next time!

Here is more information from the manufacturer:

These candle gift sets each contain 3 different scented candles. Each candle burns clean and even for 20 hours. Hand-poured in the USA with natural soy wax, self-trimming wicks, and premium fragrance oils. Each gift set is themed around a group of related fragrances. So everyone is sure to find something perfect for every occasion, every room in the house, and all the special someones in your life.

Below are the list of Themes and their related fragrances. 
Fall Harvest
Pumpkin Spice
Cranberry
Autumn Leaves

Happy Holidays
Christmas Tree
Candy Cane
Gingerbread

Winter Wonderland
Hot Cocoa
Roasted Chestnut
First Snow

Romance
Rose Petals
Champagne
Dark Chocolate

Fresh & Clean
Lemongrass
Olive Blossom
Fresh Linen

Spa Day
Cucumber
Lemongrass
Green Tea

Vacation
Sea Breeze
Hawaiian Lei
Awapuhi

Coffee Shop
Coffee Bean
Hazelnut
Chai Tea

Man Cave
Straight Razor
Leather
Mahogany

High as a Kite
Cannabis
Incense
Bag O' Cookies

New Born Baby
Baby Powder
Baby Shampoo
First Blanket

50 Shades
Leather
Vanilla ***
Jasmine Bubbles


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Play Nintendo at the Mall of Georgia this weekend!

Atlanta friends, this one is just for you!! David and I spent the morning at the Mall Of Georgia where we checked out the FREE Play Nintendo Tour 2014! It was a blast! (I first heard about this event over at www.productreviewmom.com - check her blog out for great Atlanta area events and fun, too!)

If your kids enjoy video games, they will be thrilled with the chance to play some of their favorite games at the Play Nintendo Tour stop in Atlanta. Mario, Zelda, Yoshi and Pokemon are just a few of the fun characters they will be able to enjoy!  Radio Disney is there providing fun, upbeat music while you play, too.

We got there right when they opened (10 am), so only a few other participants were there.  We got a passport from Jessica, one of the super-friendly staff members.  She explained  that we would have the opportunity to  visit all six game worlds, play the game there, then answer a trivia question and get a sticker on the passport for that world.

When David filled up his card, he would take it to the Nintendo Claw machine for a chance to win! Jessica also gave us a brochure with info about the Nintendo 2DS, plus five games that are priced at $29.99,  and some coupons for 10% off at Target.  The coupons are good through 10/31 so they are perfect for early holiday shopping!

This is DEFINITELY on D's Christmas list! I love the new durable design - no clamshell hinge to break!  David really enjoyed playing on it today. 

We started out with Donkey Kong, one of D's favorites.  They had the cutest banana-shaped bean bags there!

Jessica and David playing Donkey Kong

After playing for a while, and getting his sticker, we moved to The Legend of Zelda, A Link Between Worlds.  It was a castle-themed land, and he enjoyed playing the game! He got another sticker here.

David had a great time in the other game worlds too, and picked up a sticker in each for his correct trivia answers.

Another great staff member, named David, here with my David!
Everyone was so helpful and friendly!

Pokemon X & Pokemon Y

Kirby:Triple Deluxe 

He filled his passport with all six stickers, plus a bonus one.  That got him three tries on the Claw Machine, but no luck.  Oh well!

Two of David's favorite things today ~  He got to try out Tomodachi Life:

and he was one of the first people to try out Super Smash Bros, which doesn't come out til early October! He can't wait - he said it was his favorite game of the day! And because we got there so early in the day, he got lots of one-on-one instruction from staff members. (Meaning he got some great hints and tricks from them - he was able to learn a lot!)

The Play Nintendo Tour 2014 will be at the Mall of Georgia, lower level near Nordstrom, through Sunday, August 17th.  (Regular mall hours) The Mall is located at:3333 Buford Dr., Buford, GA 30519-4913.   Costumed Nintendo characters will be available for photos at 2 pm each day.  It's SO much fun.  If you can get there and spend a couple hours with your kid, y'all will have a great time! (If you have smaller kids, there is a Simon play place adjacent to the Play Nintendo space so all ages can have a good time.)

There are two more stops in the Play Nintendo Tour - Houston, TX and Irvine, CA.  Click the link to find out those dates!

Please let me know what you think if you go to the #PlayNintendoTour

Super Stocking Stuffer!

Just found these on Amazon and ordered a few for stocking stuffers!  Love that they don't require batteries, and are small enough to keep in the car, purse or gym bag! They were only $1.90 each and they shipped for FREE! Click the link to go directly to Amazon... (they come in several colors besides blue, but this was the cheapest one when I ordered!)

Blue 3 LED Hand Press No Battery Wind up Crank Camping Outdoor Flashlight Light Torch

Super $4 Deal on Parents Magazine!

Happy Monday!! Our internet has been out since last Thursday - I was beginning to feel some withdrawal pains!! Now that it’s back, I wanted to share a wonderful deal with my readers who are parents or grandparents. Have you ever checked out Parents Magazine? It is one of the best magazines for parents of wee ones. I depended on Parents magazine many times when both of my kids were little - for advice, information, product recommendations, kid-friendly recipes and so much more! They even offer advice for parents of "big kids" - everything from Attitudes to Peer Pressure! I have plenty of articles from Parents that I cut out & saved for future reference! I’ve given this magazine as a Baby Shower gift & new parents’ gift too - it’s a fantastic resource for parents!

I’m so excited to share a fabulous deal from Purex & Parents Magazine! Using the enclosed link and entering my promo code will get you a one year subscription for only $4! That is 33 cents an issue! I’m able to share this with you because I am participating in a contest from Purex, so I will get one point for each of you who enters my code when you sign up for your $4 subscription!

So here’s the information you need to get your own $4 subscription: The website is https://www.purex.com/parents-promo and here is the promo code: PX1155 . The 100 Purex Insiders with the most points at the end of the contest will win anywhere from $25 to $250, so I really appreciate your help in spreading the word - feel free to tweet this using the button above! This offer runs through July 22, so get yours soon!
 

Get $25 worth of David's Cookies for only $2 ~ Little Birdie rocks!

I love finding new daily deal sites - and I love even more when they give you a credit just for joining!! I signed up with Little Birdie - a new FREE site, and got an instant $10 credit for doing so!! Here's the link for you to get your $10 for free too! (disclaimer - this is a referral link, so I'll also get a $10 credit - thank you for joining through my link!)

Today's national deal is a $25 voucher for David's Cookies, for $12.  YUM.   But remember that $10 credit? You can get this deal for $2!! Seriously!

They have cookies, brownies, cookie dough and more.  A 1 lb tin of cookies is $24.95 - shipping is $4.95.   I bought the voucher from Little Birdie and paid $2 after my $10 credit.  I'm registered with Shop At Home, which gives you a cash rebate for shopping online (7.5% with David's Cookies!) so I'll spend about $7 total out of pocket, but if they use my total amount ($24.95 & $4.95) spent, I think I'll get about $2.00 back, so it will be a total of $5 for a dozen freshly made cookies delivered to our door.  Sweet!  (Click the box below to sign up for Shop at Home - they partner with thousands of stores & websites to give you cash back for online shopping!)  Wouldn't fresh cookies make a great Father's Day gift? Or a sweet surprise for someone you love?



LOVE LOVE LOVE finding great deals like this! : )

Fun & Easy End-of-the-Year Teacher Gifts!!!

It's that time of year again ~ we are entering our last week of school! So I've been busy putting together teacher gifts!

This is what we gave David's Speech Teacher.  She always gives the kids treats from a bowl, and we thought a treat bucket would be a lot of fun for her room!

You can't really see how bright the ribbons were because of the sunshine coming in the window behind - but they were actually deep, bright colors!!  I used pink, white and green sheer ribbons. The plastic bucket came from Michaels.  I used a scrapbooking tag that had lots of pink & green to coordinate. Finally, I had a fun dotty gift bag that I filled with some tulle and then added the bucket for easy transportation to the school!

The two cards/presents in the picture above are for David's FOCUS (our school's gifted program) teachers.  He loves them - they have really challenged him the last few months and he loves spending his Thursdays with them!!

He drew them the SWEETEST cards and wrote them a note inside each, and we got them each a Starbucks gift card, which I wrapped in ivory tulle and tied with a sheer pink ribbon.  I used my heart-shaped punch to put a hole in the card, then tied a ribbon around the card package, so they wouldn't get separated.

My most-favorite gift this year has to be the one we put together for his amazing 1st grade teacher. David has gone from reading at his grade level to reading at a fourth/fifth grade level just since September.  He is the biggest bookworm you've ever seen!! He's doing great in all of his subjects, has been on the principal's list every quarter. She inspires him on a daily basis, and I can't thank her enough!! LOVE her!!

I found the inspiration for this album here.  Natalie used the cutest flower-shaped chipboard album from Michaels for hers! However, I was so bummed to find that (at least at my store) they no longer carry them at all - not in any size, shape, or price!  Darn it!  Luckily, I had a couple of small albums at home to choose from, though it's no where near as cute as the original idea I had in mind!  I used a brightly-patterned album that had clear sleeves inside.

I bought four gift cards to places we think she will enjoy. First, I played around with the the pages to figure out the layout I liked for all of them, then cut matching "tags" for the facing pages.  David wrote out the messages on each one in red marker. Then I gathered the die cuts and embellishments together, glued everything on, then slipped the completed pages into the page sleeves and it was done! Super easy, and it REALLY looks adorable! (well, maybe a little busy - I went crazy with the ribbon!!)




We have a scrapbook clearance store that ROCKS, and I got 4 rolls of adorable ribbon for 49 cents each.  This one was my favorite - "enjoy" in all different colors!!  You can see the scrapbook's cover pattern on the binding here, too ~ it's very fun & tropical!



It was hard to find any appropriate embellishments for a fiesta, so I went with a lemonade and a lime slice!

Yeah, maybe a little too busy on this page? I still love it! Isn't the polka dot ribbon fun?

Loved this pizza box die-cut!!

There wasn't much I could do to disguise this card cover! Oh well!!

Another favorite - just love these printed ribbons!

Love this one too - the stickers and ribbon looked really cute together!

This just might be my most favorite page - D wrote - Thanks for a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious year! That is his favorite word! lol

 

I really, really hope she loves this as much as we do!  It's filled with a whole lot of love from my little boy, that's for sure!!