Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Fixed Shoe Laces (review)


  I haven't had a problem with my laces or at least enough to annoy myself.  However the kids have these shoes that seem to have a mind of their own.  Either the laces have a vendetta with me or the child is secretly slowing trying to drive me crazy.  Either way I have found a solution to the loose lace problem.


  This product comes with 2 pair of laces, buttons and clamps.  They offer a variety of colors even though I choose the basic black and white set.  The laces also offer a reflective aspect for the aide in being noticed.

  The laces are really easy to assemble with your shoes.  The button slides on to secure the fit and the clamp is located at the ends to maintain the loose ends.  That's it and your ready to go.  Your laces stay put and the shoe is secure and comfortable on your foot.

I was provided this product for free for my honest review and all opinions are my own.

Find more information about this product
here.

Ice Krispies


  I want to share with you the best ice cream treat that will not melt.  It's still summer and there are a few hot days sprinkled throughout the week so take advantage of this tasty treat to cool off.


I'll take a chocolate cone please!

A few ingredients


and some creative construction and I have now learned will earn me points with my kids as well as a pretty cute end result.

  Melt your marshmallows down


and prepare the krispie treats as usual.


  I scooped out the tops with an ice cream cone scooper and added the side on by hand to give it an all around "perfect" scoop.

  I added some chocolate topping to the cone.  Melt chocolate chips and dip the cone (carefully) or drizzle/spoon chocolate evenly on the krispies top.


  Top your cone off however you please we went with sprinkles and a cherry on top!

  This is one of the cutest snacks I have made and I will make it again in the future.  I can't wait to change up the flavors maybe strawberry or mint chocolate chip next time.

  This was one of my Pinterest wins.  You can find that and other wins under that board title on Pinterest.

#pinterest
#pinterestwin

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Bouncing Happiness



This toy here makes for a fun day outside!  Believe me when I say all ages will smile at this entertaining ball of catch.  I received this product a couple days ago and waited ever so patiently for the tension to reach a certain level in the house before I decided to pull out the box and introduce its arrival to our family.


This kit arrived to us from Toys R Us.  I was able to select my color from 4 options.  The kit comes with 1 Super Wubble Bubble Ball, a air pump that's takes 4 AA batteries, petroleum jelly, and patches.

You fill the ball and that was the easy part.  The instructions say fill to under 3 feet.  I still wonder about that.  Was I suppose to have the ruler out there?  I filled it, chickened out and filled it a little more.  Who really likes to have a balloon pop in their face?  Truth be told that is one of my phobias!



  Blowing it up was easy once you have the nozzle in the ball the right way.  It blew up immediately.  When you pull out the nozzle the ball seals itself basically to keep the air in.


We played catch with it although most of the time we were chasing the ball.  It's a little hard to catch.  It had some slight weight to it and it bounced and drifted on the wind like crazy.

The ball is strong.  You are able to pinch it!


  This was a fun item for all of us to review.  This was definitely kid approved and mom thought it was neat too!

  I was provided this product for free for review purposes and all opinions are my own.

Extraordinary Ordinary Moments (book review)


  Its not a book. Its not a journal.  Its a memory keepsake.  This is not your ordinary book; it's beyond the boundaries of a journal of memories.  Page after page challenges you to recognize special moments of your day/life.

 This journal is not about documenting your day to day activities.  It's about recognizing moments that are once and a lifetime or extra special at that particular time and place.

  The book is filled with prompts to help you savor the memories for later remembrance.  One page telling you to document something embarrassing, another instructing you to showcase what makes you stronger.

This is a book you will keep for a long time or maybe even pass down and share with your kids.  Hey, you could even purchase multiple books and gift them to your kids to journal their own experiences.

  I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.


Find out more here.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Women's Stylish Leather Watch (review)

  A watch is a necessity.  It helps you get to where your going on time or let's you know how late you really are.  Watches come in all styles, colors and shapes.

   I recently picked up a watch with a nice brown leather band in varying shades with a gold rose clasp and clock face.  The color is so nice it goes with everything whether it's casual or elegant.


I was provided this product for free for my honest review and all opinions are my own.

You can find this watch here.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Bike Gloves (review)


  Since my stress fracture of 6+months has healed I have been very active this year.  Partly to make up for lost time and the other part is because I like exercise.  I have enjoyed running and cycling around my neighborhood.  Choosing a different path or beating speeds or distance on various days is a fun challenge.

  I just finished testing out some new gloves on my latest bike ride.  The gloves made it fun first off because of the available colors and the beautiful image on the top.


  The gloves are made of a breathable material and visible pores to help with sweating.  Padding on the underside to help with grip and loops to aid in glove removal.  I selected medium size and the fit is as expected.

  Stitching was quality and I was pleased with the overall gloves.  I received these gloves for review purposes and all opinions stated are my own.

The gloves are available on Amazon
here.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Puff or Pete (kids craft)



   Inspired to create a dragon after our recent viewing of Pete's Dragon.  I scoured the land of Pinterest.  This project took a few basic supplies that I had all on hand and it was very easy for the kids (3 and 5) to assemble for the most part by themselves.


Nothing better than recycling a toliet paper roll fo a project. Some green construction paper, pop poms of 2 different sizes, googly eyes and some glue.  I had both types to see what would work best and found the liquid stuff worked better.

,

  Tissue paper of different colors for some flare!  I cut them in different styles and think it looked a little neater.



  I love being able to show them or give them directions and step back and let them do their own projects.  The glue wasn't cooperative but they were able to make the projects with my instructions and identify it as it progressed along.



  The kids knew it was a dragon although he was originally called an alligator.  I then probed to find out what green dragon it could be.  The kids immediately declared him Pete's dragon: Elliot!

  They were pleased with their project and thought it was extra special when they blew in one side the fire moved!

  You'll be able to find this project on my pinterest challenge board.


Monday, August 22, 2016

This Too Shall Pass (book review)




  A easy to follow book with one main character.  Follow Blanca as she copes with tragedy in her life.  We all have our own ways of dealing with issues.  I don't think there is a right or wrong way.  Some of us can pick up and move on quicker while I have seen others wallow in misery.  To each his own.

  In the book I felt like I was walking alongside Blanca as she had good days and made a variety of decisions.  She had close friends and family to lean on but as to be expected you don't always make the best decisions.

  It's nice to read a book about how a person handles life in a nonconventional way.  We as a society try to sugar coat everything.  We try to do everything they way we are expected to but that's not always how we want to do it.  The author helps Blanca keep it real by telling us her chosen lifestyle and her thoughts.

  This is an entertaining book to read while your looking to pass the time.  It can be read quickly as it only has over 150 pages.  Read this book to make yourself feel better.  Read this book to gain another perspective.  Read this book to understand no matter how we deal with life "this too shall pass".

  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

ZzzQuil VoxBox (review)



  A few weeks ago I was the recipient of a new voxbox from Influenster.  Influenster is a company that sends boxes out randomly to individuals based on presurveys.  In these boxes are anywhere from one product to several.  Your job if you receive one is to discover, share and review it.

  I received the ZzzQuil VoxBox.


Each box always comes with an information card for the products in the box.  The card provides a brief description of the products if there are a variety of products.  

In this box my information card informs me of some key points to keep in mind about ZzzQuil.


ZzzQuil will aid in helping to keep asleep soundly and feel refreshed when you wake up.  It is non-habit forming, and helps you fall asleep in less than 20 minutes.  ZzzQuil is not for pain; just for sleep.

My voxbox of course included the product.  I will say this is the smallest voxbox I have received but it's still an experience nonetheless.  


The sample box contained 2 liquid capsules and a coupon for $2.00 off a future purchase.  After all when you find a good product isn't it nice and convenient to save money on the next purchase?

Overall the liquid capsules are easy to swallow.  Two pills are one dose for 24 hours.  A quiet, calm environment helps in the winding down process to get to sleep.  Going to bed early and allowing the winding down and plenty of time to sleep made for an easier wake up as well.  

I received this product for free for my honest review and all opinions are my own. 

#ZzzQuil 
#sleeplovers

Family Game Night (review)


  One of my favorite reviews this week were part of a game.  I had to run out and get the rest of the set so we could take advantage of the review product.  This product even thrilled my kids.  We have been playing for days now.

We got a box of 6 birdies.  With the simple push of a button inside the tip they are illuminated into a rainbow of colors.  They are made with Goose feather, plastic and and the tips are a soft foam type material. 


I had never played badminton in the dark before but now will be playing more often.


Badminton is such an easy game for anyone to play. Young or old it's easy to catch on to the concept of the game and bat the Birdie back and forth.  Of course you will have that one competitive person your playing with but it's still presents a fun time spent outside. 


I received this product for a discount for my honest review and all opinions are my own. 


LED Badminton, URPOWER Shuttlecock Dark Night Colorful Goose Feather LED Badminton Glow Birdies Lighting For Outdoor & Indoor Sports Activities, 6 pack(Include 1pcs Color Changing Shuttlecock) (6) 

Friday, August 5, 2016

Kiwi Art (pinterest challenge)




  The kiwi otherwise known as the hairy fruit in my house was the star of the show today.  Still on my pinterest kick even if I'm not posting daily.  Searching for ideas is just as fun as creating.

  Today we are playing with food. I am always so fascinated with food art.  I haven't created much I usually prefer to just eat it my food but today I had some fun and played with my food.

First up was a mouse.


 He was really easy to make and although I didn't slice him in half nor add a tail he's kind of cute.  

All you need is a kiwi, a knife and some eyes (I used mini chocolate chips).  Slice out some ears and round them slightly, turn them around and stick them into some sits on the top of its head.  Add eyes be it seeds, chocolate chips or sprinkles.  That's it.

Next up was a snake or two!  This food idea was partly why I choose not to slice my mouse in half. 

 For this you just need to peel the skin off your kiwi and slice it so you have circles.  Cut your circles in half and alternate the half moon shapes.  Make a head (I used the end of the kiwi as it was rounded and one color) add a mouth and eye.  These eyes were seeds from a watermelon but again you can use anything on hand.

There you go folks.  Two kiwi options for your next fabulous food display.  You can find the full instructions on my pinterest challenge board.

I declare this a pinterest win!

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Chalk One Up (review)



  A few weeks ago we visited a sidewalk art festival.  My kids enjoyed seeing what people had drawn on the sidewalk as much as I did.  They even saw a few artist still in action which helped to solidify that they were drawn by people and it was possible for them to do the same thing.



I am  not sure what the theme was but they were able to pick out familiar things to them.  It was definitely a family event as there was something for everyone to see. Musicians depicted as well as cartoon characters.



I don't know about you but when I was a child growing up sidewalk chalk was cut and dry. You had a package of a few colors and that was it.  Now the kids have so many options available to them that our neighborhoods should never be boring again!

We picked up this bucket full of sidewalk fun for hours.


  The bucket has 4 stencils.  They are made of a nice durable plastic and easy enough for little ones to shade in for a picture.

  A variety of egg shaped chalk pieces.
Look, creating that rainbow just got easier with this 3 in 1 chalk holder.

 Multiple colors and styles of straight chalk pieces. All thick and easy to grab for all fingers. Of course they have yet to make chalk indestructible; see the red one.

4 colorful chalk grips.  One for a few different shades or one for each child.


The grips I thought were neat because if your child hates to get chalk on their hands, needs a little extra help holding them or for that genius artist in your house to fine tune their artwork with precision.

Talk about a bucket of endless possibilities.  The age is 4+ and I would say that any age would enjoy the different tools and colors available to them.  The bucket is nice in itself that everything does fit back nicely and readily available for next time.

I picked this bucket up at Walmart.  I was not paid nor was this a free item.  I am merely sharing my opinion of a great outside activity item for your child.  All opinions mentioned are solely mine. 

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Diet Trend (review)



  Trying out the trend of meal replacement.  I work out somewhat regularly but never add the additional supplements, proteins or vitamins to my daily routine.  However due to a clearance at our local box store I am trying them out.

  I picked up 3 flavors: strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.  Each box is for a 14 day supply.  The strawberry and vanilla drinks provide 16 grams of protein and are 130 calories, chocolate drink is 17 grams of protein and 130 calories.  All of them do have 3 grams of sugar and a fiber content of 3- 4 grams.  All drinks do contain milk.


  Your option is to either blend the mix with milk or water and ice.  For my first drink I choose water to blend with the chocolate.  Might as well try with the basics and fluff it up with milk next!


  Day 1 done.  I choose to drink it in place of dinner.  The directions state to add 8-12 oz of liquid.  After its blended it makes about 4 cups.  The mixture is a thick consistency like a milkshake.  The first cup was pretty hard to chug down.  I didn't like the smell and it doesn't exactly taste good.  It does have a hint of chocolate flavor and of course is the right color but it is not a glass of chocolate milk.

  The second glass seemed to be easier to drink and even tasted good mid way through surprisingly.  I did feel full.  I have had some small releases of gas via burps which I know is from the drink but nothing to uncomfortable or annoying.

  Well day 1 is done I am interested to see what the results will be after a few weeks.  I will continue to work out, eat healthy and just replace one meal.  The had part will be which meal.  I keep thinking ahead of what meal I could lose out on.  Breakfast could mean anything from a bowl of cereal, waffles or muffins.  Lunch and dinner could be anything and then a dessert could be involved in one of those as well as interrupted snacks.  This will be an interesting journey.