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The Brain Behind the Brand: BooginHead

Check out Sari, the owner of BooginHead!

Are you a fan of BooginHead products? They’re the brand that brings you great stuff like the SippiGrip, PaciGrip, and the PaciBed– which are all such great solutions to the challenges moms face each day. Check them out- you’ll love ’em!

Sari Crevin is one of the amazing mom’s whose products are included in our HUGE Mompact event that’s going on this week.

Watch the video to learn more about Sari, and how she balances being a mompreneur while raising a family-

Did you know…

Moms are not only responsible for over 80% of consumer spending, but they are also starting new businesses at a faster rate than any other group.

It’s time for moms to support other moms in business the way we do in motherhood. The compassion we feel when we meet a mom in need of encouraging words at the check out line, or struggling to quiet a fussy toddler at a restaurant, is the same kind of compassion and connection moms have in business. We know what the other mom is going through: how she has to juggle work and family, sacrifice financially, and learn along the way.

Mompact – Moms helping Moms!

Mompact is all about moms supporting moms in business. If you want to support other moms by being a customer of a local mom business, buying products invented by moms, or contributing to mom charities, we can connect you.

Enter to WIN some great prizes!

Now that you know more about Sari, head of BooginHead, enter to win one of her products in my Mompact SplatMat Review and Giveaway. After you enter, you can hop on over to the next blog, to enter for a chance to win another great prize.

Or, head over to the main Mompact page to find over 100 more giveaways, all great mom-invented products. This is a great way to support other moms- by checking out some great mom blogs, learning about some amazing mom-made products, and maybe winning some fun stuff too!

You can also stay updated on the event by following Mompact on Facebook, or looking for us on Twitter with the #mompact tag!

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Posted by on September 13, 2011 Filed Under: Reviews, Contests | No Comments

Style Genius – The new tool that finds YOUR perfect fit!

Who else has a tough time shopping for clothes online?

I don’t mean I have a hard time finding stuff I want. Or that I don’t buy stuff all the time {lol}. I mean, it’s tough to know if something is going to FIT when you shop online, right? Especially if you haven’t worn the brand before. And DOUBLE especially when you have any type of “fit” issues– which since the baby, I definitely do!

Fashion Genius to the Rescue!

This fall, Lane Bryant and sister brands Sonsi, Catherines and Fashion Bug, are launching a breakthrough technology that will make shopping for clothes online a cakewalk for plus size women, because it solves their biggest dilemma: the dreaded FIT issue. The new online technology is truly revolutionary. In just 3 minutes, with no measurements required, plus size women will have access to a world of plus size fashions that cater to their unique body shapes and style preferences. This has never been done before.

It’s taken the biggest names in the plus size fashion industry, a team of mathematicians and computer scientists to finally solve the fit issue for millions of plus size women.

The new “Math meets Fashion, Fit meets Style” technology goes live September 12— Today!! So check it out- You will love it.

Here’s how it works:

Head over to Sonsi to get started. Right away you’ll see the Fashion Genius box in the middle of the page- Click the “Take our Fit & Style Survey Now” button, then choose which survey to start with.

What’s super cool about this, is that the questions really do narrow down what pieces are going to be the best for you. For the Tops Survey, it asked me things like, “When you try on button-up shirts, how do they usually fit your bust?” and give you options to answer like, “Too tight – pulls across my bust, Ok, or Too Big-Loose.” And instead of making you take your measurements {which I never seem to get right anyway!} they have you pick which body shape is closest to yours. They get more detailed with questions about the size of your arms, how do tops fit across your hips, and more.

Then they give you a list of different styles of tops- and have you choose any that you would NEVER wear, so they can just weed those out of the selection completely- saving you time when browsing! Love it.

Three Surveys- Take just one, or all three!

There are three surveys- Tops, Bottoms, and Bras – and after you complete them all, the tool has a really good understanding of what you like. And let me tell you, it’s really accurate!

Once you start shopping after doing the surveys, the tool marks each item with two plus-marks if they think it’s PERFECT for you, and one plus-mark symbol if it’s something they suggest. This really helps narrow down the TONS of choices. And the outfit that I put together above, using the Fashion Genius Tool, is SOOOO me, and it all came from pieces that the tool suggested to me. Love it, right?

More cool stuff:

  • You can save your outfit to “My Wardrobe”, to shop for pieces later.
  • You can email it to a friend, if you want to get an opinion on it. Or even put together a fun outfit for a friend and send it to her. I know I’d LOVE getting that from one of my girlfriends!
  • You can read your “Style Profile”, including tips customized for you, your style, and your body shape.
  • You can browse other outfits too! This is my favorite way to shop online, and I love when sites show items in outfits. It gives me more creative ways to wear something, that I may not have thought of on my own! Very cool.

Check out Style Genius yourself, and I’d LOVE to hear what you think!

If you’re super excited about the outfit that YOU make, use the tool to send it to me too! sunshineandsippycups@gmail.com – and I’ll let you know what I think :)

 

{Disclosure: This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I was compensated for my time investment and work on this campaign. But ya’all know my opinions are always 100% my own!}

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Posted by on September 12, 2011 Filed Under: Shopping, Reviews, Deals and Coupon Codes | 1 Comment

#mompact – SplatMat Review and Giveaway!

Mompact Review and Giveaway Event!!

Are you as excited for this as I am? If you’re not familiar with the Mompact event yet, read on to learn what all the excitement is about…

Mompact is about moms supporting moms in business – From starting great companies, to spending money on great products for their families- mom’s make a BIG impact on the economy!

Lets show what an impact we can make when we support other moms– Mompact!! Over 120 great women bloggers working together to introduce you to some of the BEST mom-invented and mom-created products- and then giving you a chance to WIN each of them!! Awesome, right?

Make sure to check out all of the other blogs participating in the event- and enter to win on each one! You can find links to everyone, plus enter to win a Grand Prize, on the main Mompact site.

More about Mompact:

Let’s face it, moms are rocking the economy. From supplementing the family’s income to inventing new products and building large corporations, moms are having an impact in business. Mompact is a site devoted to providing free business resources to moms and connecting moms to other moms. It’s a place to support other mom businesses, discover products made by moms, and connect with mom bloggers.

Stay Updated-

You can follow the Mompact event on Facebook too, to keep up with all of the events. And watch for the #mompact Twitter parties coming up on the 15th and 17th. Tons of fun stuff going on!

Introducing… The SplatMat by BooginHead!

When I found out I’d be reviewing a product from BooginHead, I didn’t think that I’d ever heard of them before. But when I went to their site, I was so excited to see that this is the company that makes the SplatMat that I’d been looking for!!

I saw one of these at a friends house a few months ago, and had been SO wanting to get one too– It’s the greatest idea!

If you saw my post the other day about Abby learning to feed herself, you know that I have a MESSY eater on my hands! We have carpet in the dining room, and it was getting to be a total disaster in there. I had tried using a cheap-o plastic tablecloth from Walmart- and it kept things clean, but it was ugly, and wouldn’t stay put. The SplatMat is the PERFECT solution! {You can totally tell that this was invented by a mom with the same problem, right?}

A few reasons why the SplatMat rocks:

  • The designs are super cute, and the quality is amazing.
  • The round shape covers more area, keeping your floors cleaner. And it’s super easy to wash up after meal-time too.
  • It’s versatile- You can use it for craft projects, as a play-mat, or at the park for a picnics.

I love it when another mom out there figures out a great solution to one of my mommy challenges- because this is such a life-saver for me. We’ve been using the SplatMat for over a week now, and it’s making mommy’s life MUCH easier.

Enter to Win!

Use the Rafflecopter form here to enter to win a SplatMat of your own!

Then make sure to head over to The Caffeine Coquette to learn more about another great product – the Baby Dipper – and enter to win that too.

And don’t forget- Visit the main Mompact site to hop around to all of the other blogs that are participating, and enter to win the Grand Prize!

[Read more…]

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Posted by on September 11, 2011 Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews, Contests | 5 Comments

Your Recipes, Grocery List, and Coupons- Simplified!

Recipe storage and grocery shopping made easy-

Keeping track of recipes can be kind of a pain— they’re all over the place, yet never in the right place when it’s time to make dinner. And then, there’s the grocery list… which doesn’t do you much good when you head to the grocery store without it. Sure you could sift through all your cookbooks, or write “milk, eggs, bread” on your hand, but why, when there’s Ziplist?

Ziplist Rocks.

Ziplist is a website and free app that is going to change the way you store recipes and shop for groceries. A total game-changer when it comes to simplifying mealtime. In a chicken rut? Well just pop onto Ziplist and peruse the hundreds of chicken recipes from some of the biggest names in food (Martha Stewart anyone?).

With the click of one button the recipe is stored in a virtual recipe box, and with another click a grocery list of ingredients is instantly created for you. Ziplist is even kind enough to help you save money with coupons you can print before you go to the store. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg lettuce when it comes to Ziplist’s features— watch how Carley uses it to enhance her breasts. (That’s chicken, of course!)

What do you think?

So, as most of you know, I’m still old, lame, and totally outdated, and do NOT yet have a Smartphone. {What does that make my phone? Stupid? Hmmm…. There are plenty of times that I’ve yelled at it and said, “You stupid phone!!” so I suppose that’s about right…} I keep piles of info in my phone, but can’t get these super awesome app’s. If I COULD- I’d definitely use this one.

But… I WILL be using the website!

Here is what I’m particularly in love with:

  • The recipe clipping tool- so I can put the cool recipes I find randomly around the web in one place! So cool.
  • I like that I can go in and pick my meals for the next week, and it’ll automatically make me a shopping list- what a time saver!
  • I loooove that it has a coupon feature too! You know I love me some coupons, right?

Share your thoughts!

Are you going to check out Ziplist too? How do you keep your recipes, meal planning, and grocery shopping organized now? Share your thoughts- and your tips! – in the comments.

Digitwirl is the weekly web show that offers simple solutions to modern day problems. In 3 minutes, Digitwirl brings busy women the very best time, money, and sanity-saving technology, and then teaches them how to use it, step-by-step.

Digitwirl was created by technology lifestyle expert Carley Knobloch, who uses lots of technology to manage her busy life as mom of two and entrepreneur. Become a subscriber to get weekly show alerts and exclusive deals at Digitwirl.com, or follow Digitwirl on Twitter at @digitwirl.

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Posted by on September 10, 2011 Filed Under: Reviews | 1 Comment

{Rafflecopter} elevencupcakes Sesame Street Party Planning Kit Giveaway!

Sesame Street Party Planning Kit

Sunny Days…sweepin’ the clouds away…on my way to where the air is sweet… Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

How can you not smile when you hear that song, right? And who doesn’t LOVE Sesame Street? Even the Grouch loves Sesame Street- and he’s the grouch! So what better theme for a kids party?

The lovely ladies at elevencupcakes have created the most adorable Party Planning Kit ever- and it includes everything you need to put together an unforgettable kids party!

What you get:

Party Guide: 24 pages of step by step instructions and beautiful pictures that walk you through everything you need to do to prepare for your party! The guide gives you directions on how to create all of the super fun stuff you see in the picture, like-

  • Happy birthday party banner
  • Party centerpiece
  • Decorative ribbon wall
  • Kid friendly finger food ideas
  • Colorful cupcakes and toppers
  • And more!

Trust me, even if you’re not a crafty type, these are all totally do-able. The instructions are simple, the ideas are super fun, and with the printables included- it will be so easy to put together! You even get ideas for games and kids activities, as well as some cute trivia for the grown-ups.

They include helpful things like a party timeline to help you plan, cool party tips, ideas for do-it-yourself favors and a resource guide- everything you need to stay organized! And think of how much money you can save by putting this together yourself, vs buying a bunch of overpriced supplies at your local party store? Plus- this is much cuter than anything you’ll find in a big store, for sure!

Create and Celebrate!

Look at the TON of great printables you get with this kit-

  • Customized invitations
  • Customized welcome sign
  • Happy Birthday Banner
  • Customized food labels (14)
  • Customized cupcake toppers
  • Birthday party hats (elmo, cookie monster, big bird, oscar & zoe)
  • Thank you notes
  • Customized water bottle labels
  • Kids games
  • Adult trivia
  • Customized thank you tags

Sounds like a good time, right?

The ladies at elevencupcakes put a ton of time into making these party printables- they hand-cut each character individually from textured papers, and then scanned in those images. What that means is that you can really see all of the fun textures and details, making these a really unique printable. So cute!

When you order your kit, you get to customize it too- You give them the following info, and they’ll create a personalized party set just for you kiddo:

  • Child’s first name
  • Child’s age (that they will be turning)
  • Party date, time, and location
  • RSVP date and contact (phone or email)
  • 14 food labels (character name for the top and food for the bottom).

The party guide is just packed full of fun ideas– This would be a great Birthday Party, obviously. But it would also make a super fun playdate, mommy group meeting, or for any other event you want to celebrate. And since you get the PDF files for all of the printables- you could most of them again- since you can print as many as you want. Awesomesauce.

Win a Sesame Street Party Planning Kit!

To win the Customized Sesame Street Party Planning Kit, use the Rafflecopter form below to get your entries in! And you can come back each day too, for the daily entry options– Good Luck!

[Read more…]

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Posted by on September 10, 2011 Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews | 10 Comments

Simple Dinner Time Solutions

Simple Cooking for my family…

If you know me, you know that I like to cook, but I like to keep it simple. The whole Semi-Homemade trend is so my style. I’ve got a big bunch of family living with me right now- {4 adults, 3 kids, and 5 dogs- it’s a full house!}– and we all have crazy schedules, with tons of coming and going- so I think it’s so important to gather everyone up at least once a day, and eat dinner together. Good thing I have a HUGE dining room table, right?

Cooking for such a big bunch, on a budget, is a challenge. Finding something that they ALL like is sometimes an even bigger challenge! But one thing that everyone does always agree on is pasta. ANY pasta is a hit. So when the awesome ladies from The Motherhood asked me to try out the new Marie Callender’s Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna, you bet your buttons I said yes!

The problem with lasagna…

Remember when I said I like simple meals? Well, putting together a homemade lasagna is NOT a simple meal. It’s super time-consuming, and {for me at least!} it’s super-messy! But we looove lasagna. So of course, I’ve tried a bunch of different frozen lasagnas- and there are some that are good, but….

How do you ever get them to cook right?? You know what I’m talking about- If we cook them in the oven, it takes for-ev-er. We check it after the stated cooking time- but there are always still frozen spots. So we cook it longer. And then they end up with burnt edges. The boys will NOT eat any piece that is burned or hard- they won’t even allow it on their plate. *Sigh*

What makes Marie Callender’s NEW Bakes different…

The new Bakes from Marie Callender’s -there are a bunch of other great varieties too- check ’em out- are different than other frozen lasagnas- And what makes them so cool is that they have a brand new type of baking tray that guarantees you won’t get burnt edges or frozen spots! They’re so good that Marie Callender’s even puts a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE on every package.

Making Family Dinners Simple and Delicious…

A picture is worth a thousand words…

But since the Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna got eaten too fast for me to get pic’s, I’ll have to tell you about it. But I’ll try to keep it under a thousand words :) The three meats are pepperoni, sausage, and beef- love the addition of the pepperoni! Then they add 3 great Italian cheeses- ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano. The meats and cheeses, combined with perfectly cooked noodles and a great zesty sauce, are just perfection. This is, honestly, the best frozen lasagna that we’ve ever had- for reals. {Or whatever term kids use these days to mean that they’re super serious. I’m over 30 now, so I’m getting outdated…} We paired the lasagna with a great salad, and this AMAZING Gorgonzola Garlic Bread from one of my favorite food bloggers- Plain Chicken! So yummy.

A few more quick facts:

  • You can buy these in 2 sizes- either the single serve (19oz) or a family size multi-serve (31oz).
  • These cook right in the microwave, in only 19 minutes- which is waaaay faster than anyone else!
  • NPD says more people are eating frozen lasagna than homemade these days- and Marie Callender’s Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna is preferred over Stouffer’s 19 oz. Lasagna with Meat & Sauce by consumers two to one in taste tests!

So, what are you waiting for?

Check out the great coupons on MarieCallendersMeals.com, print ’em out, and head to your favorite grocery store to put together a great-tasting, easy to make, dinner for YOUR family tonight!

{Marie Callender’s and The Motherhood provided me with a sample to review and I will be compensated for my time. Even so, my opinions about the awesomeness of this lasagna are honestly shared.}

Do you want to try products and give YOUR feedback? Check out Nielsen- and earn some pretty darn sweet rewards for your opinions!

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Posted by on September 8, 2011 Filed Under: Reviews | No Comments

How to Simplify Spending with a Prepaid Card

American Express Pre-Paid Card Simplifies Your Life…

American Express now has a super easy to use, prepaid card, that can help you in so many ways. You can use it to budget, pay bills, pay allowance, and more.

Here are the basics of the new American Express Pre-Paid Card works:

  • You can load it any way you want- online, by phone, with cash, or link it to your checking account.
  • You can use it any way you want- online, at tons of ATM’s, and millions of stores around the world.
  • You can access it any way you want- you, and anyone you approve, can check the balance and purchase history online.

Sounds great, right?

When Mom Central contacted me about trying out this card, I was pretty excited to learn more about it. When I was young, and moved out on my own for the first time, I struggled a lot with budgeting. Partly because it was something I hadn’t done before, and partly because I just plain ol’ didn’t have enough money! The less you have to spend, the more important sticking to a budget gets, you know? Plus, I was only paid once a month, and it was hard to make the money last.

My solution was to buy gift cards to budget with. I figured out how much I had for my monthly spending, and divided it up. Then I bought a Safeway gift card to cover my grocery budget, a Starbucks card with enough for my coffee fix- which meant if I wanted a morning muffin, I’d have to skip a day of coffee. Loading my check onto the cards at the beginning of the month meant I had juuuust enough money set aside in each category– and taught me how to manage my spending!

American Express can help YOU organize your spending too

There are a ton of ways that the new American Express Prepaid Card can help you too- even as a grown up :)

Here are a few ideas:

  • Leave your debit card at home, and load your weekly spending money onto a prepaid card- and stick to that amount! Cuts down on all of that “sneaky” spending that creeps in a dollar or two at a time during the week.
  • Use it for allowance. Load your teen’s weekly allowance onto the card, and let them use it themselves. This gets them used to using a card, and helps them learn responsibility.
  • Use it for payment. Do you have a teenage babysitter, lawn mower, or dog walker, that you pay frequently? I bet they’d love the idea of their own American Express Prepaid Card that you load their payments onto! And you don’t have to worry about always having cash on hand for payments.
  • Shop online? Use a Prepaid card to keep your info safe when shopping at unknown sites.

Prepaid Card = Safety

The American Express Prepaid Card has a ton of great safety features! Unlike a debit card, you can ONLY spend what’s on the card, which means no overdraft fees. That makes it a great option for college students learning how to use a card- they can’t overspend, leaving bad marks on their credit history.

Plus, there’s loads of protection in case the card is lost or stolen- which is great for anyone. They’ve got a great team of customer service folks 24 hours a day- so you can get help asap. And best of all, they offer purchase protection- any eligible purchase made on the card, if it’s accidently damaged or stolen, can be reimbursed within 90 days! {See site for details on how this works.}

What do you think?

I’d love to hear what you guys think… Have you ever used a prepaid or gift card to help you budget? Do you think this would be helpful for you- using a card to pay your sitter, or give the kids their allowance? How about when your college kid calls home, asking you to send money- this would be a quick way to help them out, right? How would YOU use it?

{Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of American Express and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.}

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Posted by on September 7, 2011 Filed Under: Shopping, Reviews | No Comments
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