Baby Animals Live With Me - Book Review

I chose the book “Baby Animals Live With Me” by Pearl C. Rodgers-Hatch because I can remember as a child how much I loved baby animals. I think just about every child loves baby animals and I was excited to get to read it to my grand daughter on her next visit to Mimi’s house.

This book not only teaches the fun that each baby animal has, but it also teaches a valuable lesson in life- compassion. As the book goes through, it tells of the bunny wiggling its nose and the kittens pouncing and purring. You just can’t help but smile.

This book was fun and I think most children will love to either read it or have it read to them. Some of the reading may be a little long for the younger children (it has a poem on each page), but most kids ages 6 and older will enjoy it. I think if the pictures had a little color it would hold the child’s attention a little more, but overall, I think this was a great book for kids.

Anita received a complimentary copy of "Baby Animals Live With Me" as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team.  Visit Dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the book review team.
Posted by Anita

MD Designs Review & Giveaway

If you are a mother of a little girl, you know how many adorable things are out there. Well I found a store that has equally adorable baby girl AND boy items! When I came across this Etsy store I was blown away! I'm still not sure how MD Designs hasn't been sold out constantly!  If you know me, you know I love BabyLegs. If you don't know what those are go HERE. There are leggings for babies. They can be used to keep your baby's legs warm or to protect from the sun. When Sydney was younger I kept her in onesies and BabyLegs the majority of the time because it was easier than putting pants on and taking them off for every diaper change, especially in the middle of the night.

Anyways, so I'm obsessed with these leggings because they are SO practical, but I don't like paying over $10 per pair. I was always watching babysteals.com for deals (which still didn't make them cheap). Anyways, enough of my ramblings...I found MD Designs. She created her own matching sets! Boys get leggings and a matching hat (she even adds onesies in there occasionally), and girls get leggings, matching headband, and a matching bracelet (sometimes a onesie or a dress). Like most Etsy owners, she is willing to work with you on colors, etc.

She sent Sydney a beautiful dress, headband, bracelet, and of course leggings. Anytime Sydney wears this outfit people stop us to tell us how beautiful her outfit is and find out where we got it. The blue colors in the dress definitely bring out the blue in Sydney's eyes! Sydney loves to wear the bracelet, but I have to watch her because she wants to chew on it. After all of her tugging on it, it is still in perfect shape with no signs of damage! The headband has a pretty fabric flower attached to it by an alligator clip. Here are a few pictures for you all to enjoy:

GIVEAWAY
MD Designs is offering one winner their choice of a set! This would make a very unique baby shower gift, or a good outfit for pictures of your little one!

How to Enter:
Leave one comment per entry. Make sure to leave an email address that you use regularly because I will contact the winner by that address.

(1 entry) Tell me which set you would choose
(1 entry) Heart MD designs on Etsy HERE
(1 entry) “Like” So Mommy on Facebook HERE
(1 entry) Share this giveaway on your Facebook status
(1 entry) Blog about this giveaway (leave a link to your post)

Contest will end July 18th at 5 p.m. CST. Winner will be drawn by a random number generator and contacted via email. If winner doesn't respond within 48 hours, another winner will be drawn. MD Designs will be responsible for shipping prize to winner.

I received leggings set from MD Designs in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was received. See full disclaimer for more details.

The Beaver Kid's Adventures - Book Review

I received “The Beaver Kid's Adventures” by Elena Dobrina from the Dorrance Publishing Co. to review. I was very intrigued by the thought of a children's chapter book that cost $88. This book was intended for children that love animals and are able to read chapter books (probably ages 7-9). Each short chapter includes lovely color pictures of the beavers and their homes and dangers. The book even includes a glossary, which I thought would be helpful for beginning readers.

The book tells the story of a young beaver, the Beaver Kid, and all of his adventures (including a flood, poachers, bears, and a circus). The story line is a good one for kids who love animals, but after reading the book, I think that children would have a very hard time with this one. The writer uses several large words (some incorrectly), and there were many sentences in the book that were long and confusing. I tried to look up some of the large words in the glossary, but the ones I needed were not there. The glossary was also not in correct alphabetical order, which made it harder to look up any words. Many of the included definitions were confusing as well. “Deer” was one of the included words, and here is the definition given, “a big artiodactyl animal with some branchy horns.”

The pictures in the book are good, but I feel that this book would be very confusing to young readers.

Free Books for Kids under 5!

Free books for kids under 5!

If your kids love to read and love to get mail, then you need to check out Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. It is a program that sends a free book to your child every month until age 5. This program is not available in every area, so check the website for details. Sydney loves getting new books, so we definitely love this program!

The most recent book we received was “Good Night, Gorilla” by Peggy Rathmann. I think this book is one of my favorites so far! It is a very short worded book, allowing you and your kids to add more to the story. The pictures show a zoo keeper locking up the zoo for the night, but some of the animals keep sneaking back to sleep in the zoo keepers bed! I think younger kids and preschoolers will all love this book!

Check out Dolly Parton's Imagination Library HERE

Find Good Night, Gorilla on Amazon (Click link)

Cannons Cottage Review and Giveaway

Is it just me, or does it seem that you never have a place to put your camera that keeps it out of the way yet easily accessible for those outings at the park or playdates? Cannons Cottage has thought of the perfect solution for this dilemma! They have created little “gadget bags” just for this purpose. They have a long strap so that you can carry it over your shoulder and push it out of the way. It has a large pocket for your camera (or your phone) and a smaller pocket perfect for your ID and money. They come in a ton of different designs to suit different personalities.  Be sure to check out the other items she offers in her store! She has vintage items such as paper dolls and cute jar pin cushions as well!

I received a beautiful black and white flowered camera bag to review, and since receiving it I have used it everywhere.  I'd show you a picture of it, but I never remember to take one since I use it so much.  I keep the camera bag in my purse, and then when we are out playing or sight-seeing, I can leave my heavy purse behind and carry the camera bag. I love this little bag! It looks girly, but is so convenient my husband will even carry it around! It has a button closure to keep things from falling out. The strap on mine is a little long for me, but that is an easy fix – just tie a knot in it! I tried it with my mom's ipod and it fit in it as well. These small bags are great – they keep your camera safe from scratches and close at hand.

Confession from the Playground
It also prevents your purse from falling and hitting your child when you lean over to catch them on the slide. Yes, this has happened to me – well Sydney – before. She wasn't happy when she fell over because of my heavy purse. Now that I have this little camera bag, she doesn't have to worry about that.

GIVEAWAY
Cannons Cottage is offering the pretty camera bag pictured below to one lucky reader.

Opened with cellphone in it:

 

Opened with a cellphone and ipod in it:

Closed:

How to Enter:
Leave one comment per entry. Be sure to leave an email address you check regularly since that is how I will contact the winner.

(1 entry) Make me feel better – how has your child been hurt at the park or how have you (or will you) try to prevent bruises and uh-oh's?
(1 entry) Heart Cannons Cottage on Etsy HERE
(1 entry) Share this giveaway with 3 friends (by email, facebook, twitter, etc.)
(1 entry) “Like” So Mommy on Facebook HERE

Giveaway will end July 15th at 5 p.m. CST. Winner will be drawn by a random number generator. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be drawn.

I received the camera bag in exchange for my honest review. For more information, please see full disclosure policy.

Pampers Cruisers with DryMax

How many of you have tried the new Pampers Cruisers with DryMax technology? I received a sample from Vocalpoint recently, so I have tried them and wanted to share my thoughts on them with all of you.

Cost
They are more expensive than other diapers which is a huge drawback for me. When Sydney was a newborn, I splurged for Pampers because they held in messes better than other diapers, but now that she's older I can use almost any type of diaper. I use cloth diapers during the day when we are home because they are easy and save us a lot of money. Here lately Huggies has been giving out a lot of $3 off coupons, which makes for really cheap diapers when paired with the CVS deals over the last month or so. So, what I'm saying is that I'd rather save the money than splurge on diapers. Not everyone agrees with this, and I understand that, but I wanted to put it out there.

Size
Yes, they are thin enough to fit in your purse, but how many of you carry diapers in your purse? I pretty much always carry my diaper bag. Sometimes, I throw my keys and wallet in the diaper bag and leave my purse...but I rarely leave the diaper bag. You never know when you're going to need a snack, cup, wipe, etc. If you do leave your diaper bag a lot, then you will probably love these diapers! They are extremely thin.

Durability and Use
They are very soft diapers-probably not as soft as swaddlers, but pretty close. They fit pretty snug, but still seem to sag just like other diapers. The sagging doesn't bother me, but I know it does bother some parents. They held a lot without getting very bulky, which was nice. I do worry that this may cause some parents may forget to change their child as often (it didn't look or feel wet until it was VERY wet) which may result in diaper rashes in some kids.

Overall, I did really like these diapers. I think they are setting a new standard. I just don't like the price, but I'm a very frugal mom, so what can I say? If you've tried these, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

All Tied Up - WINNER

The All Tied Up Gifts winner is...

...IansMomm, who said "I love the dinosaur shirt for my son Ian - Followed all tied up on Fb :)"

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who entered! Look for more giveaways VERY soon...like maybe tomorrow :)


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