Playtex Wins The Sippy Cup Fight

I am a sippy cup snob. How many times do you buy a new sippy cup and you get the let down of the plug coming out and the liquid inside pouring all over your favorite sofa, or kid for that matter. Yeah that has happened to me about 12,456 times, and then I learned not to buy the other brands.

My full disclosure is YES Playtex has sent me a FREE sippy cup, but they truth is they already earned my loyalty long before. Luckily all of there cups have a plug that is so secure and snug, it rarely comes out of place.

Playtex offered me The First Lil' Gripper Straw Trainer Cup to check out:

I thought this cup would be to young for Addison, but when I received it I realized it was perfect. She has been wanting a straw after ogling her brother using one. This gave me the option to give her a straw with a completely covered top that was leak proof. It also has the handles on the side which she loves and prefers. I also loved that it had a flip top that easily avoided getting dirty when inside a baby bag. I also adore on most of their cups, that they have the twist n' click tops to ensure the top is on completely.

I am sure this cup would have been great to transition off of a bottle to a cup. It also seems to be a great way to teach a child how to use a straw as it has a place for an adult to squeeze so that the the liquid will travel up the straw.

Besides giving this cup a big thumbs up, I also want to say these two are also on my favorites list:

This insulator cup keeps drinks so cold that ice is still present hours later:

And this cup is a HUGE MEGA PUFFY HEART LOVE. This is the Coolster cup that not only insulates like the one above but also looks like a coffee mug. I love this because my son who is almost five, can use it and not look like a two year old with a sippy cup.

I would like to thank Playtex for the generous gift, but really, I have to tell you, you had me a leak-proof.

Thanks Smuckers For The Date Night

Sometimes the bonus of blogging comes with a great price! This time it happened to be a FREE date night! I always wanted to see professional ice skating in person, and thankfully the people at Smuckers gave that to me! (not to mention a lucky reader).

We spent a date night consuming a Five Guys Burger, (which was outstanding), and going to see Smuckers Stars On Ice!

We also got to pay it forward! We gave a couple at the box office two free tickets since our friends couldn't make it. They walked away feeling confident that my husband wasn't a scary person, and that it wasn't a scam.

The show itself was good. I sort of wished I was watching more of the old timers, but over all it was entertaining. The couples skating was amazing. The other thing I got sick of were the corny group routines. There is a part of us that felt like we were watching a James Taylor concert. Pete I think actually fell asleep at one point. However, it didn't mean we didn't enjoy ourselves, or think it was amazing to see live. We also loved our Swedish Fish Italian Ice from Rita's!

We left with goodie bags from Smuckers. I tried there low sugar jam today on toast! I loved it, and when my samples run out, I will be purchasing a large jar!

We LOVE Smuckers & Ice Skating! Win Your Chance To See Them LIVE!

AND THE WINNER IS:

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:1Powered by RANDOM.ORG

YEY for comment #1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just when you think you are about to pull your hair out with whines of "I don't like this. I am not eating it. Make me a new meal", a purple box in the freezer always is an answer to your prayers. (Well at least mine anyway) Who ever made up the idea of the Uncrustables is a damn genius! I used to think it was ridiculous--I mean who doesn't have the time to make a peanutbutter & jelly sand which and cut of the crusts? Busy Moms that's who. Busy Moms that already tried three meals with a picky eater and is exhausted. So when you see me happily plate one of these bad boys to my kid my forehead should read:Smuckers saved a Mom.

I already had crazy love for Smuckers. I didn't need convincing on how great the brand is. So when I got an e-mail today offering up an amazing giveaway to local readers, and a fantastic opportunity for people that adore ice skating to get a little VIP treatment, I jumped at the chance.

The Smucker's Stars On Ice 25th Anniversary Tour is on the road again! Headlining this awesome event is the 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Evan Lysacek! Smuckers is offering an exciting opportunity to "Be Evan's Guest". This includes a chance to be his VIP guest at the East Rutherford, NJ performance on April 2! Travel, accommodations, and VIP tickets to the performance is all included! AND IT GETS BETTER! You and a guest will also have dinner with Olympic star and receive a backstage tour! All you have to do is go to the Smuckers website and ENTER!

As for you local Connecticut or neighboring state, ice skating lovers, here is your chance to WIN a FAMILY 4-PK of tickets to the tours April 9, 7:30 event in Bridgeport, CT! All you have to do is leave a comment with either your favorite Smuckers product or your favorite ice skating star!!! The winner will be chosen at random on Thursday March 18th. Tweet or facebook this giveaway and get another entry! Entries close by noon on March 18th!

Good luck! And don't stress yourself out with your picky eaters tonight--grab a box of Uncrustables!

A review of the program will be featured on this blog as well in the near future!

Family Favorites

Happy New Year to all of you! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and tried/received some new products that have excited you! (feel free to tell me what new things are making you psyched!) Here are a few things that were hits in our home!

Kids Hits:

*Santa recently got the Crayola® Erasable Activity Table and Chair Set for the kids this Christmas and it was clearly the bell of the ball! They use it for everything (from playing to eating)! We bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond who currently have it on CLEARANCE! If any of you fellows Moms out there don't have a sturdy set of kid tables and chairs this is a steal for $20! We also purchased two added chairs that are now also on clearance!

*Addison has been all about art! She recently discovered a Doodle Pro at her cousins house, and it became apparent she needed one! My sister decided to give her an added belated Christmas gift and sent her one! We have had to pry it out of her hands at times to move onto something new! It certainly was a perfect gift for a wee one her age!

*Grammy and Grampy also purchased a "hit gift" for BOTH his and her items!

Her:

The Red Retro Pottery Barn Kitchen has been given MAD love by both kids! It is very pricey! However it is made so well, and has so many cute features! We hope to add onto the collection for her birthday!

His:

Rylan has been asking for trucks like his friend Matthew owns. They are huge, detailed, and made well! The main one he wanted was a "round and round" truck (aka cement truck), but thanks to giving grandparents he got three Bruder trucks!

The kids were so blessed this Christmas that they have yet to open all that they have received. I will post more items they received that are hits in the future, as we move through the mountain of blessings.

Mom Hits:

* Zumba Wear! After a year and a half of falling in love with Zumba I decided to put Zumba gear on my Christmas list! It was pricey, but WOW is it made for dancing! I love love love it! If you are a Zumba lova like myself-treat yourself to these:

* Shakira's new album! While on the Zumba kick, I heard some of Shakira's new album Sale El Sol and was hooked! If you like to shake it-you must buy it!

*Clothes from Francesca's Collections! I was down in West Palm Beach last October when I ran into a boutique that I thought was unique and one of a kind. To my surprise, it was actually a chain, and we actually had one tucked in a corner at our local mall that I hadn't noticed before. I find their clothes to be trendy but not skanky, young but not to youthful. It is a perfect fit for the days I want to be out of my Mom sweat pants, but not in Ann Taylor. They also have the most FAB jewelry! While down in Florida, they hosted a "buy a necklace and get a pair of earrings for a penny"! Can't beat a deal like that!

*Eddie Bauer's Cotton/Cashmere sweaters ROCK! I was given one as a gift, and everytime I wear one I am constantly patted and told "OOOOOhhh you feel so nice". I recently went to the outlet and found then on CLEARANCE for $11.99!!! (previous $34.00). I bought another one, and a few for the family! If you get a chance to head to the outlets make sure to see if they have this beauty on the rack!

I was also incredibly blessed this holiday, and have yet to read all the books I was given and listen to all the cds. I am sure some of them will make it onto future review lists! I have a feeling Jay-Z's book Decoded will be a great one!

Dad's Hits:

*IPAD Need I say more?

*Zac Brown Band Pete is loving them! Especially "Chicken Fried"!

And his other musical love...

Sugarland You should hear him sing "Stuck Like Glue"

He is totally digging country this year! Not sure what got into him since he also recieved Taylor Swifts new one!

What awesome things did you get these holidays that you think others would love?

Thanks for your input, and for your loyalty as readers since I don't often get to update this lil' ol' review blog! You all help me to pay the bills around here, and for that I am forever grateful!

Happy 2011! May it be great, and full of new things to rave about!

Holiday Help!

* Christmas Cards

I have a lot of "Christmas Card" people. Some I actually speak with, some I haven't talked to in years, and a few I have never even met thanks to my husbands very large side of the family. I looked everywhere for a decent card to send at a decent price. I considered doing a Group A and a Group B --A being the "better" card, and B being just a plain ol' card. When discussing this with a friend she mentioned checking out Costco. I don't know why, but I expected cheaply made, and limited amounts of choice. I was so WRONG! Not only did I get a stylish, large photo card that I got to edit and design online, I also got lined envelopes, and the ability to pick up at the warehouse so there was no shipping charge. I bought 130 of them... and I paid...drum roll PLEASE..... $31 AND got 7 free photo calendars along with it! I am never ever checking out any other site again!

*Need A Gift--A Little Something--But Have NO Ideas?

Don't worry! HomeGoods has got it! With a large inventory of so many different things for so many different ages, there is so much to choose from! BlogHer & HomeGoods gave me a $25 gift card toward my holiday shopping this year! It became a contest within my own head of how many things I could get for $25 for how many people! This is what I purchased:
A Rachel Ray knife, a bath toy, a note cube with pen (perfect for an added teacher gift!), beginners chop sticks, organic lollipops, and some chocolates! It took me hours to choose these things, as I kept adding and subtracting to my basket because of all of the amazing choices they had. I even contemplated being a giver this holiday season and donating some of it to the customer after me--but.... I got greedy...and I ended up going over my said $25 and spent .91 cents!

*Don't Be Fooled!

I was so excited by the prices I found in the Lakeside catalog. I put in a MIGHTY order, and had felt such relief that not only did I make a huge dent in my shopping before Thanksgiving, I also got it at a great price! Then I noticed that the website ordered one of my items the wrong character (I was buying Rylan Scooby Doo pants and they came up as a Sponge Bob). I emailed the company right away and got nothing but an automated, confusing response. I figured I would just return them and get the right ones when I received the order. When I got them I went to the UPS office to find out the shipping would be ON ME! $8.95 for $8.95 pants (literally). I called Lakeside to ask for reimbursement since a. it was THEIR mistake, b. I tried to contact them prior and got a crap e-mail more then once, and c. why would ANYONE return an item that they have to pay the same about in shipping. They said they don't do that and they can't help me. I have YET to get my money back, or new pants. As of today I am out $18! Needless to say I am still fighting this fight!

*Gifts in a Jar

Who doesn't love cookies? Or cocoa? Or a soup that all you have to do is add water? This is why I love to make gifts in a jar! It is so simple to assemble, and the receiver only has to dump the contents and add minimal things to it inorder to have newly baked cookies, or a hot cup of cocoa! If you are looking to make small gifts for people and need to do it on a budget--get your measuring cups out and your mason jars! I haven't done mine yet but here is what I am talking about:

I am sure you have seen them at the stores on sale for like $20!!!! Don't bother spending that

much when you can

easily make 4 for that price!

Need some help with ideas? NO WORRIES--there are awesome books out there like this one:

That literally take the guessing game out of it for you!!!!! Happy hand-craft gifting!

*Other ideas to keep in mind while out shopping:

1. My local Scholastic Book Warehouse is having a massive book sale this week. I am planning on purchasing all those extra little gifts that I need to supplement. I buy for what feels like a million kids, and lets face it, books is ALWAYS a perfect gift (says teacher). They also do awesome sales like fill a box for a certain amount of money, and offer $10 and $25 off coupons!
2. Target, Wal-mart, Starbucks, Dunken' are ALWAYS good choices for small giftcards for people you don't quite know well enough to buy a specialty store card for. For men there is always Best Buy and Home Depot! As for teachers--my sister (who has long been a 1st grade teacher since forever ago) says bookstores are the way to go! My two years of full time teaching gave me little to judgement since being in the inner city, and just grateful for chocolate! However I can see why chocolate gets a little uncreative on the teacher end. How much could one have from 30 students?
3. You might have seen this on my other blog--but ... While organizing gifts to wrap and to "hide", I have been putting them in designated trash bags with labels on them. Then the wrapping mountain doesn't seem so large, and I feel like I have control of it!
4. Music. Isn't the holidays all about music! My all time two favorites are:

AWESOME! One month isn't enough to this to this!

And...

Ok...I just bought this one..but seriously.....AMAZING!

Happy shopping, happy cooking/baking, happy wrapping, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

McDonald's Halloween Pails Giveaway!

Contest is now closed! Guess WHAT McDonald's rocks so much that you are ALLLLLLLLL WINNERS! That's right! Send me your address to aimeelovesnyc@yahoo.com in the next 24 hours and you won yourself (or for your kid) a pail and a coupon for the dippers!

You may recall my September post I had mentioned my love for McDonald's. I have mad crazy love for Mickey D's! Like wide open arms in the air hug, big red pumping heart love. I mean what Mom doesn't? It is the answer to our everyday, rush by the seat of our pants, "whats for lunch" question. And if your kid is anything like my four year old, it is one of the four things on this earth he will willingly consume. My love for McDonald's isn't only about their yummy, fast food. It is also for the charity work they continue to do. Right now they are asking us to donate our minutes with our families for charity! All you have to do is go to their website and donate family minutes in honor of the Ronald McDonald House, and whalah.... you did yourself a good deed without it costing a penny, just costing family time! Who doesn't need more family time in this crazy fast world we live in!

Since I voiced my Mc'love on my blogs many times, and even posted some silly pictures of myself wearing a bejeweled type McDonald's bad on my head, they asked if I would be interesting in receiving their Happy Meal Halloween Pails for both of my kids! They were last seen in 2001 and now back in full effect! They come with cute stickers to dress up the Mr. Potato Heads, and best of all they are in conjunction with another one of my fav brands: HASBRO! So they sent them to my kids and they clearly loved them:


Rylan also loved the personal Halloween card from "THE McDonald's". To him it was like recieving a love note from Miley Cyrus. Addison is a wee to little to put the stickers on her bucket, but she sure loved carrying it around and putting things in an out of it. The best part is you can take off the handle and use it as a face mask!

Of course I wouldn't be telling you how much my kids LOVEEEEEEEEEE these pails to just rub in your face! McDonald's has offered to give you one too! Six readers will win not only a pail but coupons for FREE McDonalds Apple Dippers! All you have to do is one or all (increase your chances)of the following:

*tell me about your favorite family Halloween memory

*tell me your favorite McDonalds product

*go to this Facebook website "like" them

*go to this Facebook website and follow promps to donate family time for charity

Six Winners will be randomly choosen by Thursday October 21 2010 8 pm est. US residents only! Winner must provide information to blogger ASAP after drawing to ensure a pail delivery by Halloween! Good luck and get commenting!

Nobody lay a finer on my Butterfinger...snackerz (that's why they are in my purse)

Contest is closed!!!! Thanks to Random.org the winner is: #5 Congrats Rebecca. Send me your address ASAP!!!!! So that you can have some extra candy on hand for Halloween, or you can stash it underneath your sofa where your kids can't find it!

I was excited to get an e-mail offering a free trial and a Halloween giveaway for Butterfinger Snackerz. Just as I had mentioned before, they are the perfect little snack for a chocolate/peanutbutter lift up, one may need while trying to conquer the world (or the BlogHer'10 expo floor). I was already sold on the product, so when they came in the mail I gave it to the TRUE test taster. You know the four year old who eats next to nothing unless it is dunked in Ketchup! He liked it! He really really liked it! So much so I had to hide the bag and promise them as treats for good behavior. Meanwhile, I also hide them in my purse for when I need a little pick me up, and luckily since I am an adult, I can even snack on them when I am being BAD! And what does my bad behavior, and my love for Butterfinger get you: Just leave me a comment stating what Nestle treat is your MUST have. One that you would consider hiding from your kids (or your pet, or your greedy friends/roommates). You can win your very own bags of treats just in time for Halloween! Winner will be drawn randomly this Thursday night at 8pm est. Winner must provide address within 24 hours in order for Nestle to send out your gift in time for HALLOWEEN! Open to U.S. residents only! (sorry!)

I saved a bag to give out to my neighborhood on Halloween, as I know they will be a hit! I have given some to friends, and family, and not one person has frowned upon such a delightful item. If you sadly are not the winner of this drawing have no fear! This yummy product is in store now and is the MUST HAVE item in your Halloween bowl!

Now go and comment and WIN!