Olive Kids Personalized Plate & Placemat Review and Giveaway {ends 10/1}

If you are on Twitter and follow Olive Kids (@olivekids) no doubt you’ve seen this tweet…

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And if you’ve ever wondered, like me, “hmmmm, I wonder if these personalized plates and placemats could really keep my kids at the table?”  I am here to tell you they do!  We received personalized plates and placemats for Cameron and Leah to review, and they LOVE them! 

Cameron got the Heroes placemat and plate and Leah got the Mermaids (both of which are on sale right NOW!).  Right away Cameron loved his and was so extremely excited that it had his name on it – he’s big into his name right now and I think seeing it all the time helps him learn how to spell and write it better.  Leah ooh’d and aahh’d over the Mermaids. And I think the plates and placemats really do make them eat better and definitely help keep them at the table.  Anything that can make dinner time fun so that the kids eat their meal, is a hit by me!

These would be perfect for gifts for the holidays or a birthday present.  The personalization makes it extra special.  And something not everyone talks about but the packaging that they came in was top notch.  Everything at Olive Kids is high quality and super fun for the kids!  The personalized plates are all lead and BPA free and CPSIA compliant so it’s no worries, just pure fun for all!

My kids using their plates and STAYING at the table! woohoo!

Want to WIN a personalized placemat and plate of your own?

How to enter:

Head on over to Olive Kids and choose the design you’d like if you won, come back and leave a comment with your choice.

Extra Entries: Leave a comment for each that you do

  • Subscribe to The Ohana Mama
  • Become a fan on Facebook
  • Tweet this giveaway – leave one comment per tweet 
  • Grab my button (see the bottom of my site for the code) or add a text link to The Ohana Mama on your site

Picture 23Vote for me here and get an extra entry to all giveaways. You can vote once daily so you can potentially get one extra vote every single day on every single giveaway on The Ohana Mama, now until December 31st. Be sure to vote every.single.day! Just say “I voted!” in a new comment in the giveaways. Any questions? Let me know! Thank you thank you!

US Only

Deadline: October 1st

THE WINNER IS….

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Win a years supply of Bounce Bars & Tide Stain Release Booster! {ends 10/15}

Tide Stain Release Booster and the Bounce Bar are cleaing up my laundry act! And guess what?!  You can win a YEAR’S Supply of BOTH!  Woohoo!  

1st up, Tide Stain Release.

While at Blogher I had the chance to attend the Tide Luncheon.  It was an wonderful, intimate group of bloggers and folks from Tide and while eating, they introduced us to  the new Tide Stain Release wash booster . Right before our eyes they put fresh grass stains on white cloth and then had us mix the Tide Stain Release packet in some water and place the grass stain into the water for a short while.  About 10-15 minutes later we removed the cloth and the grass stain had literally disappeared before our eyes.  Without any swirling of the cloth, stirring of the water or shaking…it was pretty incredible.

If you are like me and have kids or a husband or are just a stain magnet….you’ll love this! When I saw the demonstration I was pretty sold but wanted to try it on the real deal, my family.  We’ve been using the samples I received at Blogher and I not only loved that it made my clothes brighter and got out stains that had been sitting for far too long, but all of my clothes smelled fantastic! I went out and bought another bag and then contacted Tide to see if they’d be interested in offering a giveaway for my readers.  Thankfully they said YES! 

NOTE! This is a BOOSTER, so you use it in addition to your laundry detergent to give your wash an extra boost to get tough stains out and increase the life of your clothes.  I used the Duo -Packs, which are similar to those used in the dishwasher.  You just throw them in and you’re done!  No measuring, no dripping of liquid or sprinkling of powder…I LOVE easy laundry solutions! (although they do offer it in powder and liquid).  You can grab a coupon for $1.50 off here.

B-B-B-B-Bounce Bar…

I also received a Bounce Bar while at Blogher.  This is a cool concept! It’s a fabric softer bar that you stick to the drum of your dyer and forget about it!  No more dryer sheet to throw away (or find in your daughter’s mouth, like mine always did) and it just makes doing laundry that much easier.  I absolutely love the smell of the Bounce Bar, that’s what truly sold me on it, that plus the ease of using it, and I was a convert.  The bar should last about 4 months…think of that… FOUR months without having to even think about a dryer sheet! Love it!

Some tips to make sure the Bounce Bar is your friend…

  • Some people have had a problem with the Bounce Bar shattering when they dried heavy or hard objects, like shoes, in the dryer.  For items like these I’d remove the bar.  Not the housing unit, but just the bar.  It can be taken out for cycles such as shoes or cloth diapers and then slipped back in for normal loads.
  • My entire housing unit fell off after about a month, even with proper installation. I was bummed! My beloved Bounce Bar was bouncing around my dryer making a thud-thud-thud. I tried to re-stick it but it fell off again. Don’t do this.  Once it’s off, it’s off and you should contact Tide if it comes off too early.  I was able to write directly to one of the lead designers with my problem and here’s what she had to say…

“Choose a flat spot on your dryer drum in between two of the fins. Be sure the area is clean and dry. Remove the paper backing and place the bar on the drum facing front to back (not side to side). Press firmly. Do not attempt to remove the bar and put it in a new spot, once it has been stuck you can never re stick it. Also once it comes unstuck once don’t attempt to re stick. We’ll replace the bar for free. All the clanging around in your dryer could cause the bar to break apart.”

I’ve since stuck a new bar up and so far, so good.

Win! Win! Win!

I’m giving away a YEAR’S SUPPLY of Tide’s Stain Release Wash Booster AND a YEAR’S SUPPLY of the Bounce Bar to TWO READERS!!

How to enter:

Leave a comment sharing with me the most challenging stain you’ve had to get out of your laundry.

Extra Entries: Leave a comment for each that you do

  • Become an Ohana Mama subscriber
  • Share this post on Twitter – one per day, per person
  • Become a Facebook Fan of The Ohana Mama
  • Grab my button or add my link to your site (button is at the bottom of my site, fyi)

Picture 23Vote for me here and get an extra entry to all giveaways. You can vote once daily so you can potentially get one extra vote every single day on every single giveaway on The Ohana Mama, now until December 31st. Be sure to vote every.single.day! Just say “I voted!” in a new comment in the giveaways. Any questions? Let me know! Thank you thank you!
Deadline: October 15th

US ONLY

THE WINNER IS…

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AND

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Have some fun with Jacquard’s Funky Tie Dye Kit! {review & giveaway!}

The day I was leaving for Blogher, I had packed and was hanging with the kids.  I wanted to do something really fun before I headed out of town for 4 days (in other words “Mommy Guilt” was in full effect).  I thought, ooh, let’s do that tie dye kit I got to review from Jacquard!  Yeah, that’ll be fun!

And it was!  Although, I really hadn’t thought it through and forgot to put the gloves on that they give you and well, I was caught red handed…literally!  The dye is awesome and really stays vibrant…even on hands…so beware and follow all directions and put on those gloves!

This was a fun project to do with the kids.  Cam is 4.5 and Leah is 2 so it was a tad bit advanced for them.  But Cameron helped me put the rubber-bands around their shirts and he was my mixing master, with the duty of stirring the concoction that you have to do to pre-treat the shirts.  All in all it took us about 20 minutes to get the dye on the shirts.  And although they had little to no patience for waiting to see their shirts (you have to let them sit over night),  when they did they were in awe that we had made a plain ol white t-shirt into this magical, funky, cool new colorful shirt!

The kit comes with everything you need, which is my kind of kit! You just need a shirt and you are good to go! We recycled some white tees we had but weren’t wearing, so I got to teach about recycling too!

Here’s what’s included in Jacquard’s Funky Groovy Tie Dye Kit that we received to review:

Picture 3Perfect for ages 5 & up (with adult supervision) this kit is a delightful introduction to the art of tie dye! The kit includes everything a parent needs to supervise the creation of up to 5 adult t-shirts. Get professional results in just 3 easy steps. The kit includes pre-measured dye in red, blue and yellow plus 1/3 lb Dye Fixer, 3 Squirt (mixing) bottles, a pair of rubber gloves, a bunch of rubber bands and easy-to-follow instructions with suggested tying patterns.

Want to win one of your own?!  Lucky you! We’re giving one away!

How to enter:

Head on over to the Jacquard site and come back leaving me a comment with what other products caught your eye.

Extra entries: (leave a comment for each that you do)

  • Blog about it –  with a link to The Ohana Mama & Jacquard
  • Tweet it on Twitter – share on twitter as many times as you’d like – leave a comment for each tweet that you do
  • Got my button on your site? Leave a comment telling me for an extra entry (you can get the code at the bottom of my site)
  • Become a fan of The Ohana Mama on facebook
  • Subscribe to The Ohana Mama

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deadline September 6th

This giveaway is now closed.  The winner is:

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Simply Breastfeeding DVD Review & Giveaway

It’s official, I am in love with Shari Criso, a mom of two, Certified Nurse Midwife, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, nationally recognized parenting educator and the teacher and baby expert on The Simply Breastfeeding DVD.

You’ve read my breastfeeding story with my first son.  It was challenging, full of misinformation (on my part and the doctors) it was a confusing time.  I will admit that I still have a bit of post-breastfeeding stress disorder from my first ordeal with my son.  I still have that feeling of being a failure – even after being successful with my daughter (maybe even more, now that I know I CAN do it).

This is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone else.  And so I bring to you, Simply Breastfeeding.  A DVD to help aid you in being informed, being relaxed and being successful with breastfeeding.

A little bit about Simply Breastfeeding from their site www.MyBabyExperts.com

“Some of what you’ll learn watching Simply Breastfeeding include:

  • Amazing Benefits For Both You & Your Baby – that You Might Not Have Heard Before
  • Exactly How to Hold Your Baby – with real Mom & Baby demonstrations
  • How to Prevent the Unneccessary Nipple Pain You Hear About in Other Mom’s Horror Stories
  • Exactly How Much Milk Your Baby Needs Each Day During the First Few Weeks, As Well As Signs and Clues for You to Follow to Make Sure Your Baby is Getting Enough Milk
  • How and When to Give Your Baby a Bottle
  • How to Avoid the Biggest Mistake that Most Parents Make in the Hospital…”

Ohana Mama’s Take

  • During this video you are watching a real class with real parents who are expecting, but all in the comfort of your own home.  Now you have no excuse (bad weather, time, etc etc etc) to go to a breastfeeding class before your little one arrives!  You can bring an expert to YOU!
  • Non threatening and calm – Shari is so so calm and REAL and not threatening at all, which is what I feel new moms need.  She isn’t talking down to the people in her class, but sharing secrets with them on breastfeeding myths and offering real common sense information for new parents.
  • Real moms & real positioning help – Shari shows a mom using a model baby but she also puts video of real moms positioning their real live babies.  I can see this being a HUGE help when at 2:00 a.m. you are frustrated cause your little one won’t latch correctly.  Pop in this DVD and watch real techniques right there (I did this with my daughter- I googled for latching technique videos and I believe they saved me in times of breastfeeding need.  I wish I had this DVD then!)
  • Handbook – Shari offers a free handbook online to take notes during the class for moms to take to the hospital and refer back to after the baby comes. (or you could, and I would! bring the DVD with you to the hospital so you can listen to her calming demeanor, and get help.
  • One word sums it up: AMAZING!  Yes, I actually said this aloud as I was watching this DVD…numerous times!  And this is from a mom that has been there and done that – I still learned a ton and nodded my head up and down in agreement with what Shari was teaching.  I did say “ahh ha!” a few times as well.  She’s AMAZING!

Shari also offers a DVD called Breastpumps & Briefcases for those moms that return to work after having their little one

Giveaway!

One lucky Ohana Mama reader will win a copy of Simply Breastfeeding!

How to enter

Leave a comment on what your biggest fear with breastfeeding is or was. That’s it!  Super easy!

Extra Entries

  • Tweet about this giveaway (use the button below- easy peasy!) – unlimited entries, leave a new comment for each tweet that you do.
  • Blog about it – give yourself 5 extra entries for this one -leave 5 comments
  • Subscribe to The Ohana Mama
  • Add Ohana Mama to your blog roll
  • Fave on Technorati
  • Stumble (see button below)

Contest ends 5/1 11:59 Hawaii time

US residents only

WINNER!

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Post baby blues…What’s up with all the hair loss?!

Back in 2006 before baby #2I am 18 months postpartum and I think the shedding of my hair is finally stopping or at least it’s slowing down. I swear, after having my children, my chocolate lab (they shed a TON!) and I were in competition for who could lose the most hair…and sadly, I won!  My poor kids and husband were finding my hair everywhere – yeah I once found MY hair in my daughter’s diaper..the poor bean! I even chopped about 10 inches off of my hair thinking that would help stop the problem…it didn’t.

Yes, hair loss is yet another a side effect to having kids, you grow a ton of gorgeous hair during pregnancy and then you seem to lose it all after you birth your little one.  I only wish the baby weight came off as quickly, right?

When I found out about this product I was intrigued…it was perfect for postpartum moms.  Dr. Miracle’s Temple & Nape Gro Balm and Anti-Breakage Strengthening Cream sounded, well, like the miracle all new moms need!

A little about Dr. Miracle and their products…

“This hard-hitting duo treats hair loss at the scalp, targeting new growth to promote strong healthy strands. The signature Dr. Miracle’s “Feel it” formula even let’s you know its working; leaving you to tend to the coo’s of your newborn.

Dr. Miracle’s Temple & Nape Gro Balm targets the temple and nape areas where hair is easily broken off or damaged. Infused with vitamins, the balm soothes and invigorates the growth of the hair by ending breakage and split ends by penetrating the scalp. ($7.99)

Dr. Miracle’s Anti-Breakage Strengthening Cream stimulates the follicle, promoting strong, shiny, healthy growing hair. This featherlight cream moisturizes and conditions, healing damage accrued by stress, traction, heat or chemical styling ($7.99)”

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I have been using this for the past couple of months and I do think it’s helping.  I can feel it tingling while on my scalp and my hair seems to be softer, less brittle and fuller.  I’m loving it!  I have dreams of getting my long gorgeous hair back (see pic…and that was a beach head day (that’s my first born throwing his first shaka))…it will happen, and I think Dr. Miracle will be helping me get there!

I used small amounts on my wet hair after the shower.  I was afraid it would leave my hair greasy but it didn’t.  Instead my hair seems to soak it up  – see I really needed this! And I was then able to style my hair as usual (sadly that means, put it back in a pony tail, most days) .

New moms need all the help we can get to help makes us feel and look beautiful.  Hair loss is natural after having a baby but it’s great to find something made for us to help combat it!

Get your groove on with Cornielle: The Birth Of Cornelius

I am a sucker for Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder anything that gets this mama groovin in her seat or better yet anything that gets me out of my seat is good in my book. Let me tell you, the new album from Cornielle “The Birth of Cornelius” is some great ear candy to get you groovin and swaying.  Take a mid day break with some Cornielle (I say you can count it as exercise ;) )

Take a listen….


All of My Love – Corneille

I dug a bit deeper once I listed to Cornielle’s latest album and what did I find?! He has some songs on other albums in French too…my hubby speaks French, and ladies nothing is sexier than a man speaking French to you…well maybe singing French to me, yeah, that could be even better! (hear that hubs?!)  Check out more Cornielle and get yourself some new ear candy.

What music gets you groovin..and no we’re not talking about The Wiggles here, folks.  Share, I’m always looking for some good  music.