Monthly Archives: April 2008

Portrait Bow Keeper

Baby & Kids Clothing, Jewelry
UniquelyuhairbowholderMadelyn has an ever growing collection of beautiful hair clips and up until recently we did not have an official place to store them.  Uniquely U Boutique recently sent us this precious Portrait Bow Keeper and I love it!  Not only does it keep Madelyn’s hair clips in one central location but it looks really cool on her wall. 

All together Madelyn has probably has had over 30 hair clips.  I’m sure that is the case with most little girls.  To-date I am able to locate 21 of them.  What happened to the others?  I don’t know because I didn’t have a place to keep them and didn’t know about these cool bow keepers until Uniquely U Boutique sent us one!

Doubling as a cork board, this bow keeper can also be used as a ‘note keeper’ or a ‘photo keeper’.
We love multi-tasking!

Large
Portrait Bow Keepers are 11” x 27” and small Portrait Bow Keepers are
9” x 12” and both are covered with fabric and embellished with ribbon
and other accessories.

Unique U Boutique currently offers three Bow Keeper styles; a letter bow keeper, D-ring bow keepers and portrait bow keepers like the one shown above.

This would make a great gift for the toddler in your life or even as a baby shower gift for the girly girl mommies that you know will have their baby girl all dolled up and in bows before she’s a few months old.. and has hair!

You will also find adorable infant & toddler hair clips at Uniquely U Boutique. I wanted to post a picture of one of my favorite hair bows found in the boutique, but decided that you need to go there yourself to see it!  I’ll give you a hint.. it is a ‘nature hair bow’. Here it is.

The clips are just $3.00 each!! How great is that?

Coupon code: Get 15% off when you enter coupon code BGT2008 when checking out.

Website: Uniquely U Boutique hair bow keepers

Can you forget you’re a mom?

Personal

BostonkidsmuseumI realized tonight after the kids were asleep in bed, that I didn’t look the kids in the eye’s more than a handful of times today.  I was so busy with housework, work work, fixing meals, and doing laundry that I didn’t slow down to take a moment and give the kids much one on one attention.  I played ‘roll around until you get dizzy’ on the floor with Madelyn for about 10 minutes while we were visiting my mother’s house, but that was about it.  I kept Sebastian busy by giving him craft ideas all day.  I debated with myself whether or not to write this post for fear of sounding like an awful mom but the point of this post is what is important and is for myself to accept and share the fact that I am not a perfect mom and probably never will be.  I think moms are too hard on themselves and shouldn’t strive to be perfect or assume that the moms on the street are perfect.  I love my kids to death and I thank God for them all of the time, but sometimes I have so much on my mind that I am on auto-pilot and forget that I am the mother of two beautiful children that need my attention more than the dirty dishes or laundry do.  The latter will get along just fine without me!

I have two wonderful kids who need me and just want me to be their mom.  No matter how much work, cleaning, or laundry I have to do I can’t let those things take priority over being a mom to my kids.  When the kids are older, they will appreciate the attention I give them more than the attention I give the dishes or the laundry.. I guarantee it!

Today was a little out of the ordinary for us as we are doing some major spring cleaning at the house and I was very focused on getting things done which resulted in me not spending much time with the kids.  I feel like I don’t spend enough time playing with the kids, but I have read a lot of articles lately that say that parents play with their kids too much which is unfortunately what got Sebastian thinking of us more as playmates than parents in the first place.  Because of the 6 years Sebastian had us to himself and we played with him all of the time, I feel guilty if I don’t play with him every day.   I am going to get to bed now and will hopefully wake up refreshed and ready to play, work, and clean.  And be a mom.
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SINGER Futura™ sewing & embroidery machine

Crafts

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The history of SINGER dates back to 1811.   Their newer electronic sewing machines with computerized embroidery units however are nothing like what was introduced in the early 1900’s.  We found that with almost endless design possibilities and good features both the beginner and novice sewer, the SINGER Futura CE-250 sewing & embroidery machine is a great product for the money and is perfect for those just starting to explore the world of sewing, embroidery and quilting. 

Our tester, Elouise, is an experienced sewer but had not used an embroidery machine before and is not very computer savvy.  Much to my surprise, she handled the transition from her very old sewing machine (at least 35 years old… a SINGER ) to the Futura hooked up to a computer, very well. 

Free designs are available for download online.  Just go to Google and type in what you are looking for.  You can purchase design cards and CD’s for anywhere from <$20 to >$150 with each design card having about 10-20 designs on it.  One great website where you can download individual embroidery (most less than $50) designs or packs of designs is Dakota Collectibles.

"The Futura was easy to get used to", Elouise said. "For the price, the SINGER Futura CE-250 has a lot of versatility.  Everything from set up to choosing one of the 100 stitches to advanced embroidery is easy to accomplish quickly and with less effort than expected."

 Elouise recommends taking a class at a local sewing machine store so owners can learn to use the machine to its fullest potential.

A good example of embroidery is on this toddler tee from SewCUTE, reviewed on our site here. The SINGER Futura CE-250 machine includes designs which are transmitted to the machine via a USB cable hooked up to your computer.  If you aren’t up to embroidering fancy teddy bears, or creating your own design to be digitized, you can embroidered your child’s name using one of the many fonts included on the machine’s software, on a pillow case, t-shirt, or cloth purse for example.  The possibilities really are endless. Besides the embroidery functions, the SINGER Futura CE-250 can be used as an everyday sewing machine and a quilter.

In summary, "the SINGER Futura CE-250 is a great quality machine with a lot of versatility and features good for beginners and advanced users," says Elouise.  "The only issue I had with the machine is its awkward size.  I haven’t been able to find a standard size tote or rolling bag to put the SINGER Futura CE-250 in, but instead had to buy a an XL rolling tote.   A tote is only needed if you plan on taking your machine with you to classes or on trips, so buyers shouldn’t let that hold them back from buying this affordable, multi-tasking machine. Embroidery is a great hobby to take up as there are so many items you can embroider on such as place mats, clothing, towels, and pillow cases.  Embroidery as a hobby can be as affordable as you make it, with designs available for free or for up to or over $50 a piece.  On the other hand, embroidery can make for a wonderful and profitible home business with personalized baby and children’s clothing being in such high demand these days."

There are several models available to choose from so be sure to research the different models carefully before buying so you get the machine that best suits your needs.

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SINGER Futura products

I’ve got great news!  We have a SINGER Futura CE-250 to give away to a lucky reader! Stay tuned for giveaway dates and how to enter by signing up for our weekly or daily newsletter using the ’email updates’ or ‘subscribe’ link above.


 

Kellogg’s Wild Animal Crunch cereal review

Age 5-7, Food and Drink

Kellogg's® Wild Animal Crunch CerealIf your family is anything like mine, cereal isn’t just a breakfast food.  It’s munched on during car rides, long walks, and plenty of other times throughout the average day.  I know, that doesn’t sound so good but given that our new favorite cereal, Wild Animal Crunch, has less sugar than the average cereal and is a whole grain cereal, I don’t feel so bad when eaten in moderation.

Wild Animal Crunch quickly became a favorite at our house.  Unlike any other cereal I’ve tried, Wild Animal Crunch is enjoyed by all members of our household.. even one of our cats.  Our oldest, human food eating cat, greedily snatches the pieces that fall on the kitchen floor.

Rather than donning the usual cartoon characters, the Wild Animal Crunch cereal box looks like a cute piece of artwork you might pin on your child’s wall or refrigerator.  This is such a refreshing change.   Madelyn loves the real animal photograph(s) on the front of the box while Sebastian thinks the collector’s trading cards on the back of the box are "awesome".  The back of the box offers kids a fun way to learn simple facts about their favorite animals such as "Dolphins have no sense of smell".  Reading the facts is a great way to spark an educational breakfast conversation.

Besides being packaged very well, Wild Animal Crunch tastes really good. Your kids will appreciate the sweet vanilla-chocolate flavor while you appreciate the less than average amount of sugar found in this cereal.   We are big Kellogg’s cereal fans here so I have been able to compare the nutrition information of a Wild Animal Crunch to Raisin Bran, and Special K with red berries.  I was surprised to find that Wild Animal Crunch has much less sugar at just 8g than Raisin Bran which has 19g per serving and Special K with red berries which has 10g per serving.  Wild Animal Crunch provides more calcium, less carbohydrates, just about equal amounts of fat (around 1g), and far less sodium than Raisin Bran and Special K with red berries.

Wild Animal Crunch is a vanilla-chocolate Flavored Whole Grain Cereal made of natural and artificial flavors.. the one thing we could do without. 

I will definitely be buying Wild Animal Crunch regularly as it is the only cereal I have found that both kids, myself, and my husband all enjoy.

Icon_website2    You can learn more about Wild Animal Crunch, here, on the Kellogg’s website.

Buy at Amazon for about $3/box

20Q the little round gadget that knows what you’re thinking

Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Electronics, Fun stuff for parents, Gadgets, Games, Toys, Travel

20Q has been around for years and is now available in a smaller, smarter, pastel version.   20Q is an "artificial intelligence" game that tries to guess what you are thinking about by asking questions such as "is it alive", "does it make you feel good", and "is it hard". 
Much to my amazement, 20Q figured out what we were thinking 8 times out of 10.    How does it work, you ask?   By process of elimination.

I thought of an elephant, a balloon, and a piece of grass.  20Q guessed the elephant and balloon between the 15-20th guess but the closest 20Q got to guessing a piece of grass was guessing that I was thinking of a leaf.  That is still pretty good.  I was impressed. 

If 20Q doesn’t guess what you are thinking about (read your mind) by the 20th question, you win!
When 20Q asks the player a question, the player responds by pressing one of four buttons.  Yes, no, sometimes, or don’t know.  Based on your response 20Q asks the player another question.

20Q is a great game to take on vacation as it doesn’t blast annoying beeps and boings, nor does it take up much room being about the size of a child’s palm.  Recommended for ages 8 and up, 20Q is now available in spring colors.

Icon_website2   Learn more about 20Q or buy here