Back To School | Product Reviews by The Experimental Mommy

Nestle Family Back to School {Giveaway}

September 1, 2011 By admin

Well, we are almost done with another week of school. We are finally settling into a routine here and both girls are thriving in their new classrooms. My oldest had her very first test and scored a 100 (proud mama moment)!

Earlier this week, Nestle Family challenged me to pledge a New School Year Resolution. I decided to pledge a new, healthier school year for my girls by preparing nutritious dinners and packing healthy options for lunch and snacks. My main obstacle is finding time to prepare, so my husband and I decided that we would take one hour every Sunday morning to plan a menu for the entire week followed by a shopping trip at the grocery store to stock up on essentials.

I found a very useful app for my iPhone to aid in planning and shopping trips, Dinner Spinner from Allrecipes.com. Almost like a slot machine, you can “spin” the categories to find something fun to cook. Looking for something specific? You can select main dishes made with chicken in 45 minutes or less and instantly view many recipes that fit the bill! I am hoping this app helps me to find new recipes so I can stick to my resolution.

Have you made a New School Year Resolution?

GIVEAWAY

One winner will receive a $25 Nestle Family Mastercard Rewards Card, $20 in school supplies, free coupons from TOLL HOUSE Refrigerated Cookie Dough and OVALTINE, an OVALTINE straw dispenser and recipe booklet, as well as a Nestlé Family coupon booklet!

How to Enter:

1. Tell me your New School Year Resolution!

Additional entries:

1. Blog about this giveaway and link to The Not-So-Blog and Nestle Family (10 extra entries).

2. Follow me (@BridgetteLA) on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway. Every time you tweet you get an additional entry! Limited to 10 a day, please. (You must have over 50 Twitter followers to qualify for unlimited entries!)

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Become a Fan of The Not-So-Blog and Nestle Family on Facebook.

5. Place my blog button on your sidebar.

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on September 19th. Prizes not claimed in 72 hours will be forfeited. Open to U.S. Residents only.

This post is the opinion of The Experimental Mommy. Others may have a differing opinion of the product. While this is a compensated post, all opinions remain 100% mine.

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: Back to School, gift card, giveaway, Nestle Family

Back to School with Lovable Labels {Review and Giveaway}

August 27, 2011 By admin

With two daughters entering school this year, we were hit with quite the supply list! My husband and I shopped till we dropped and purchased a whole basket worth of notebooks, folders, pencils, markers, glue, wipes and ziploc bags. Once we visited the school for the first time, we learned that everything…..and they do mean everything….has to be labeled. Looking at the packs of crayons and markers where each individual item had to labeled, I figured that there had to be a better way.

Lovable Labels rescued me! With the money we spend on shoes, uniforms and supplies, I wanted to make sure that we labeled everything with a sturdy sticker that would increase our chances of finding lost items. From the website:

“Our labels are made with a special “perma-grip” backing that will stick to almost any surface. Our labels are UV resistant, dishwasher and microwave safe. The iron-on labels are made with a special industrial material and are washer and dryer safe. The bag tags are made of special flexible plastic and the metal tags are made out of metal of course.”

Perfect! Lovable Labels offers Regular Sticker Labels which are great for most school supplies and water bottles, along with Shoe Labels, Iron-On Labels, and Press n’ Stick Clothing DOTS. But, my absolute favorite are the Slimline labels which have been a lifesaver for crayons, markers and scissors.

We were fortunate enough to receive a Back to School pack from Lovable Labels to start off our new school year.

The pack includes the following:

15 Regular Sticker Labels
80 Slimline Labels
48 Press N’ Stick Clothing DOTS
12 Shoe Labels
12 Multi-Purpose Square Labels
2 Tags

We chose the Diva Back to School Pack which consists of 6 fun and girly styles personalized with my older daughter’s name. We used them for labeling crayons, scissors, shoes, sweaters, and books. I was most skeptical about the shoe labels, but to my surprise, they have stayed put and made it through the first 2 weeks of school so far. We have already recommended the product to several classmates!

Lovable Labels also offers products to organize your home, medical labels (for alerting of an allergy issue) and adorable stationary, too! If you are looking to make your school routine or home routine easier, check out everything Lovable Labels has to offer!

GIVEAWAY

One winner will receive a Lovable Labels Back to School Pack in their choice of designs!

How to Enter:

1. Tell me which Back to School design you would choose if you won!

Additional entries:

1. Blog about this giveaway and link to The Not-So-Blog and Lovable Labels (10 extra entries).

2. Follow me (@BridgetteLA) and @mylovablelabels on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway. Every time you tweet you get an additional entry! Limited to 10 a day, please. (You must have over 50 Twitter followers to qualify for unlimited entries!)

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Become a Fan of The Not-So-Blog and Lovable Labels on Facebook.

5. Place my blog button on your sidebar.

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on September 11th. Prizes not claimed in 72 hours will be forfeited. Open to U.S. Residents only.

This post is the opinion of The Experimental Mommy. Others may have a differing opinion of the product. While a sample product was received to facilitate the review, all opinions remain 100% mine.

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: Back to School, giveaway, labels, lovable labels

Constructive Playthings Interactive USA Map: Review and Giveaway

July 20, 2010 By admin

The Interactive USA Map from Constructive Playthings will be a fun way to introduce my Kindergarten student to the geography of the United States.

One Interactive USA Map from Constructive Playthings (for ages 5 and over), my soon-to-be Kindergarten girl and a Dad who teaches Geography and History at a local high school. About Constructive Playthings:

“US Toy/Constructive Playthings is a family owned business serving loyal customers since 1953! We strive to inspire learning, creativity, and fun by offering a unique mix of high quality products with unparalleled play value for children. Our success can be attributed to strict adherence of the values and principles set forth by our company founders, like the commitment to forgo selling violent toys. We hope to continue providing both unique product offerings and top flight customer service for many years to come!“

For our July review from Constructive Playthings, we were asked to find an age appropriate learning toy for a child in our family. Being that my husband is a teacher, he was ALL OVER this task! He quickly looked through the site and decided on the Interactive USA Map (is it obvious that he teaches Geography?).

When it arrived, I wasn’t sure who was having more fun! My two daughters and my husband gathered on the sofa and started exploring. Nearly an hour later, they were playing a game together. One player selects a State and answers a trivia question, if answered correctly, they win the “vote” in that State. If incorrect, the opponent wins the State. The game continues until one player receives a majority and becomes President of the United States!

Some of the questions were easy and my five year old was able to win a few States! I was impressed with how much she knew about our State (Louisiana) and the general geography of the States! The questions did appear to become progressively harder and my husband even missed a few!

My daughter loved the Interactive USA Map. She still sits down and plays with my husband on a regular basis. I don’t even think she realizes she is learning! My husband also plans on taking this toy back to school with him in the Fall. He thinks is would make a great learning tool and ice breaker in his classroom for the first lessons!

My only complaint is that this toy really could use a volume control or a headphone jack. The narrator is a bit loud which makes this not the ideal toy for quiet settings.

The Interactive USA Map can be purchased directly from Constructive Playthings for $38.95. Don’t forget to click on the Constructive Moms button on my right sidebar to receive 15% off your total purchase.

GIVEAWAY

Would your child love to brush up on their knowledge of the USA? Constructive Playthings has generously donated one Interactive USA Map to one lucky reader!

How to enter:

1. Visit Constructive Playthings and tell us about another toy you noticed would be a great learning tool for back to school!

Additional entries:

1. Blog about this giveaway and link to The Not-So-Blog and Constructive Playthings (10 extra entries).

2. Follow me (@BridgetteLA) and (@ConstructiveMom) on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway. Every time you tweet you get an additional entry! Unlimited! (You must have over 50 Twitter followers to qualify for unlimited entries!)

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Become a Fan of The Not-So-Blog and Constructive Playthings on Facebook.

5. Place my blog banner on your sidebar.

6. Subscribe to my Feed.

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on August 10th. Prizes not claimed in 72 hours will be forfeited. Open to U.S. Residents only.

This product review is the opinion of the Experimental Mommy. Others may have a different experience. A product was provided to facilitate this review, but all opinions remain 100% mine.

Filed Under: Giveaways Tagged With: Back to School, Constructive Playthings, giveaway, Interactive USA Map, toys

Vincent Shoes: Review

August 21, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

I will find the perfect Back to School Shoes for Lily from Vincent Shoes! With the selection of great boys and girls shoes, I am sure to find exactly what I need for school, play and Fall activities!

One pair of Hampus Shoes in Pink (of course), one excited 4 year old and a cheerleading lesson. About Vincent Shoes:

“In August 1999, Vincent Shoe Store opened, exclusively selling the full range of their children’s shoe designs – all of them fashionably styled and done in high quality materials and construction. There have been a Spring/Summer and a Fall/Winter collection every year since the debut. Patrick and Thomas derive their inspiration from global trends and the runway fashions of Paris, Milan, London and New York, though the shoes are 100 percent focused on kids.

Fall/winter and spring/summer collections both range from soft pre-walkers and comfortable indoor shoes to day and dress shoes as well as boots for girls and boys up to about age 8.”

This Summer, Lily’s feet hit a major growth spurt! When trying on shoes that fit her a few short months ago didn’t even slide onto her feet, I knew she was in need of an entire shoe makeover. So, when I was contacted by Vincent Shoes, I was more than excited to try out their products on Lily!

We looked through the website and found the perfect shoes for her cheerleading class, the Hampus. Described on the website as a, “sporty style with lightweight man-made material and breathable mesh accents make it easy for your child to zip around the field.“ My first impression was that the shoes just looked like a cheerleader would wear them, athletic but fun. Lily tried them on and it was a perfect fit as the shoe did run true to size. The material and construction of the shoe appear to be first rate and I love that the sole was flexible. Another great feature of this shoe is that the Velcro strap allowed us to adjust the width to ensure a perfect fit. We would definitely purchase another pair of shoes from Vincent Shoes!

Vincent shoes is debuting their new Back to School line as well as their Fall/Winter ’09 shoes. We found the quality, style and price of the Hampus shoe to be wonderful and our experience with Vincent Shoes would keep us coming back! Take a look at the great selection of shoes for boys, girls, toddlers and infants! Not sure what size to get? Check out the online Shoe Fitter! If you haven’t gotten your child’s Back to School shoes, make sure you shop at Vincent Shoes!