As Brayden has gotten older, I have become more and more frustrated with having to label EVERY single piece of everything he owns when we go to any type of childcare. As the laws for childcare facilities get stricter, it seems there are more and more requirements for everything that your kids bring with them. I guess in a way it's good, since I don't really want B to be sucking on someone else's sippy cup or paci, but it's also annoying because permanent markers are, surprise, not permanent when the markings are washed in the dishwasher. And I know this sounds petty, but I hate it when I forget to rewrite his name on his cups/paci, and then someone at church will do it and their handwriting is nasty looking. I know, like I said, petty. Due to all of my frustration I had been looking at getting some waterproof labels for some of Brayden's things to take the labeling burden off of my pregnant mind. Enter Label Your Stuff.

When Label Your Stuff contacted me about doing a review, I was beyond excited. They offered EXACTLY what I wanted, plus MORE. All I really needed was a few little stickers for B's sippy cups, and I had to control myself from trying to get everything they offered. Who knew you could get waterproof labels for your kids shoes? What a genius idea! I ended up picking out some blue labels with Brayden's name and a car icon. They turned out SO cute... check it out:

Label Your Stuff has a great selection of icons to add to your labels to add that cute touch that your kids will love. I chose a car icon since Brayden is all about cars, trucks and construction vehicles right now. The minute they went on his cups, he pointed them out, and still points them out whenever I hand him his cup. I think it makes him proud, because he'll say "dis" and then smile really big and walk off. Silly boy!

I received both the standard labels and the mini labels. I will say that the standard labels are the same size as the standard address labels you can get at an office store, so they are a bit big for a sippy. If you're looking for something for sippy cups or the like, I'd recommend the mini labels, that way you can put them on the lids as well. The quality of the labels seems really durable; they have a linen/plastic type feel, and stick really well. The instructions told me not to wash anything for 24 hours after application, so we are waiting to run the dishwasher. We did just that. The label stuck like a charm to the cup; however, I have the lids that have the rubber on top (it's the soft spouted gerber kind), and the label came off of the lid since I applied it to the rubber top. That probably has more to do with the surface I tried to attach it to and not the label itself, since the label is securely attached to the cup and doesn't budge even a millimeter. The next cup I do, I'll put the mini label on the side of the lid where it's hard plastic.

And since we can't leave out the baby on the way, Label Your Stuff sent a bag tag for Connor for his diaper bag. It's made out of a sturdy plastic, with our address on the back, and a cute design on the front. A perfect addition to the hand me down bag I'd say, don't you think?

Overall, I was very impressed with the service and products of Label Your Stuff and would definitely do business with them again. In fact, the shoe labels might be on my list of things to get for B if he ever starts going to Mothers Day Out or Preschool regularly. If you're looking for a place to get items to personalize your kid stuff, I'd definitely encourage you to head on over to Label Your Stuff. And let me know if you get anything-- I'd love to see what you pick out!

Disclosure: I received the label sets and bag tag free of charge from Label Your Stuff in order to do this review. I was not compensated in any other way, and all opinions in this review are my own. For my full disclosure policy, please click HERE.

CSN Stores Review: Get Ready!

When CSN Stores contacted me about doing a review of one of the MANY products they sell, I jumped on the opportunity. I mean, who wouldn't right? With over 200+ online stores, it's basically a shoppers paradise. I literally could spend HOURS browsing the many products they sell.  

For instance, I was thinking of my sister getting married in October, and how we haven't purchased a wedding gift yet, so I browsed through their dinnerware selection. While browsing, I came across some super cute kids dinnerware, which we'll be in need of soon since B is becoming a big boy and will need to learn to eat with a spoon, fork and bowl instead of scooping with his hands. I saw this set and thought it was so cute:

After spending way too much time looking at dishes, I thought about browsing some of their super cute kids toys. Brayden's really into tractors right now, and thought this would make a cute Christmas gift:

Then I went back to my nature... my practical side. I realized that I needed to get something to review that would work for BOTH boys... something that we all needed, and something that I desperately wanted. I can't wait to reveal to you what I've been given the opportunity to review (feel free to leave a guess in the comments about what I will be reviewing!). Until then though, you should definitely go and browse through CSN Stores yourself... trust me, if you wanted (or were able), you could spend a week perusing their sites. It's that awesome!

Sassy Storage Giveaway Winner!

Well, you guys were obviously impressed with my very talented friend Christy over at Sassy Storage-- the participation in this giveaway was awesome! We had 47 comments/entries for the giveaway, so I plugged that into random.org and here's our results:

And the 44th commenter was: Crystal @ Clearly Crystal. Congratulations Crystal! Please email me at lifesdollop at gmail dot com within 48 hours! Thanks to all who entered, and a special thanks to Christy for allowing me to review her awesome cases at Sassy Storage!

Sassy Storage: Review & Giveaway!

As a busy mom on the go, I'm always needing a handy dandy wipes container for Brayden. Thankfully I have a cutesie one that someone gifted me back when I was pregnant with Brayden, so that's what we use. I love it because it's small, compact and fits in his mini back pack, but it's also cute and stylish. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant with Connor, a dear friend of mine, Christy, started making storage containers, and appropriately named her business Sassy Storage. And they're not just for wipes...she uses them for so much more! Think first aid kit, crayon container... I mean, really, the uses are endless! When we found out that we were having a boy, I knew that I wanted another wipes case for Connor, and one just as cute as I have for Brayden. Can I just tell you, Christy KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF. You guys, this container is so much better than the one I have for B, I am tempted to order one for him too! A lot of the cute wipes containers I see that are customized with cuteness only have the fabric and edging on one side. Not at Sassy Storage. They wrap BOTH sides of the case with your choice of fabric and edging, and can even add a cute monogram, name or emblem on the case. I mean, how freakin' cute are these?!?!

This is Connor's case. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! It has black edging and a black mongram.

This is one of my favorite girly ones that she's done. Isn't it precious???

This would make a perfect case for your first aid kit gear for your car!

Needing to ship you case to someone special? Sassy Storage offers cute gift wrapping and shipping for a small additional fee. Such a cute way to send someone a baby gift!

Now that you're totally in love and chomping at the bit to get one of these adorable cases, I guess I should fill you in on how you can get one right? Right. So, you can always head on over to the Sassy Storage site. Christy accepts paypal and is SUPER fast at getting your case completed and shipped out right away. But I also have super, duper good news for YOU my blog readers. Christy has offered to giveaway a custom case (includes your choice of fabric, trim and name or monogram) to one of my readers!!! You read that right: you have a chance to win your very own case! Don't have kids? Then you should still enter to win so you can give it to someone you know who does.... trust me, every mom I have ever met LOVES custom wipes cases. So, here's the low down on how you can win a case:

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment letting me know who you would use the case for, or if you are getting it to give as a gift.

ADDITIONAL ENTRY: Be/become a public follower of my blog. Leave a comment letting me know.

ADDITIONAL ENTRY: Be/become a public follower of Sassy Storage. Leave a comment letting me know.

ADDITIONAL ENTRY:  Follow Sassy Storage on Facebook. Leave a comment letting me know.

ADDITIONAL ENTRY: Blog about this giveaway, and leave the permalink to the post in a comment.

Some of the little details:

Due to shipping, you must be a US resident to win
Comments will be open until  Wednesday, July 28, 2010.

The winner will be chosen using random.org and will be announced on this blog. Upon announcement he or she will have 48 hours to get in touch with me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Disclosure: In exchange for this review, Sassy Storage compensated me with a free wipes case to review. I was not compensated in any other way.  All opinions are my own and are my honest review of the product, site and/or business To view my full disclosure policy, please click HERE.

Summer Giveaway Winner

I plugged into to random.org the number 18, and got the following results:

And the 12th comment was from Rachel from This Hearts Desire:

Congratulations Rachel! Contact me with your information within the next 48 hours (I'll need your full name, address and phone #) and I'll get your prize pack out to you soon! Thanks to everyone else who entered. I've got more great giveaways planned for this summer, so be on the lookout!

A Summer Giveaway

I don't know about you, but when you're a mom on the go, you're always looking for a good alternative to fast food snacks. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love me some fried food and soda, but if I ate it every day, I'd secure my spot in Biggest Loser. That's why I was excited when I was given the chance to review the Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Bars. Let me just tell you, they did not disappoint.

I received my package yesterday and was so excited because it was just before snack time. B and I had another date out by the kiddie pool in the backyard, so I grabbed a trail mix bar to munch on while I sat outside with him. Normally I have to find a slew of things to munch on to fill me up, but honestly, the trail mix bar hit the spot and left me feeling delightfully content until dinner. These will definitely be making trips with us in my purse for those pregnancy moments where I need that little something to get me by until the next meal. What's great about these bars is that they come in a HUGE pack from Sam's, so if you have a large family (or consume a large amount of food like our family of 3 does), you don't have to run to the store every other day, or fill your pantry with 6 boxes of bars. 

Think this is something that your family could use as summer approaches as trips to the pool are eminent? Well good, because I have a special treat for you. I'm giving one lucky reader a chance to win their very own  box of Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Bars, along with a $25 giftcard to Sam's Club so they can purchase more if they so desire! Sounds awesome right?! Here's how to enter:

• LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST, TELLING ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT SUMMER IS (Make sure I have a way to contact you, either through your blog or email address). Only one comment per participant will be accepted; duplicate comments or more than one comment by the same participant will be deleted.
• Must be a US resident to be eligible for the prize pack.
• The winner will be selected using random.org next Friday, June 4th. The winner will be announced on my blog, and will have 48 hours to respond, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. 
• GOOD LUCK!

 The prizepack, information and giftcard were provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated in any other way for this review or giveaway.

Camera Strap Giveaway Winner

OK, I picked a winner for my camera strap giveaway with random.org and got this:

And the 3rd commenter was Christa who said:

Congratulations Christa! Email me with your contact info and I will get your strap in the mail to you! Thanks so much to all who entered, and a special thanks to Pam for giving me the opportunity to give away such a cute strap! If you didn't win, you can still head over to Pam's craft site to check out all of her cute straps!