Lil' Critters Vitamin Gummies Review

Northwest Natural Products, Inc was nice enough to let me review their Lil' Critters Vitamin C Gummy Vitamins. I've tried other gummy vitamins that were very yummy and well liked by my kids, but I wanted to try these and see what I thought of them.

And uh, I'm just gonna come right out and say it... these Vitamin C gummies are probably the best gummies I have ever had, vitamin or otherwise. And I have eaten a LOT of gummies. They are a favorite in this house. So it's pretty cool that a favorite snack is also something that does great things for the body.

Here is what the Lil' Critters website says about vitamin C:You can read about all your essential vitamins on their site. They also have a kids club. If your child is enrolled in the kids club, they get surprises and freebies in the mail all year long. On the site is also puzzles, lots of games and fun facts for the kids.

Lil' Critters also has a Facebook page and a Twitter page where you can get daily tips and updates on all things Lil' Critters.

So if your kids won't eat their vitamins, I definitely suggest you give these a try, they are excellent!

Do you take a vitamin?

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

Fun At The Zoo Part 1

For my nephew's birthday, my brother thought it would be neat to go to the local zoo. I say local, it was about an hour away, but the closest we have. It cost $10 per person, and anyone aged two and under were free. Anyone over 100 was free too, but I don't think there were any there *giggles*
You should know beforehand that I had taken two of my nephews for my sister, who was at the hospital with an ailing father-in-law. So My husband and I were in charge of six children all under the age of seven.
Now that that is clear... we paid our way in and the very first animal was hiding from the cold in his igloo dog house. I can't lie, we were a bit worried. But it turns out, he just wasn't ready to start the day, because all the other animals were out an about.
First were the foxes and the zebras. The foxes stayed curled up and sleeping almost the whole time we were there. But the zebras were up and munching quietly. As we walked from animal to animal, chickens ran about our feet. It was very reminiscent of my childhood years, except they were not chasing me for food and I was not running from them in fear. And uh... these chickens were funky looking. They were the kind with the feathers sticking out of their faces.

After the zebras and foxes were some goats and sheep, a few black bears, which I did not get any good pictures of, and some little pigs. I don't know what kind of pigs they were, but they were absolutely adorable.

The Streaker must have thought so too because she went right up to those piggies and told them "You guys are so cute!" and then gave the big beige one eskimo kisses right on his wet (and dirty) snout.
Along with the pigs, we saw some animals that we didn't know what they were. It looked like a deer/kangaroo/rabbit. I saw the sign, and I read the name, but I didn't recognize it, nor do I remember it. Next time, maybe I will bring a notebook. If anyone knows what it is, feel free to leave a comment and enlighten me :)

After the piggies and the unknown animal, were the goats, ponies and camels. Now, I had never seen a camel before in real life. And when I saw it, I was amazed at it's size. And I admit, I was very intimidated when it growled.

And then my mother, trying to give friendly advice, advised me to be careful that it doesn't spit on me. I was grateful for that warning, but after that, I was very nervous to take his portrait, afraid of getting slimed.

There were also alpacas in the area. Or were they llamas? To be honest. I am not an animal expert, I have no idea what the difference is. Perhaps I should look it up.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the zoo, coming up in a little bit. For now, I am off to get The Big One off the bus. But in the mean time, tell me... do you go to the zoo? What's your favorite thing to see there?

Free Spirit Publishing Review

The Big One is in a nasty cycle. She is often bullied at school and in turn bullies back. I was at my wits end. Right about the same time that I started my new discipline program, I also happened upon Free Spirit Publishing. They have lots of cool stuff. And when I saw that there were books and games geared toward bullying from both sides, I was very intrigued.

I am so grateful to Free Spirit Publishing for allowing me to review the Good-Bye Bully Machine Card Game and the How to be Bully Free Workbook. They are geared for older children, but when I, pardon the expression, "dumbed down" the questions a bit, it was really very fun for the younger kids. It really helped The Big One to realize that there are ways to resolve conflicts without violence or being mean.

And the game was fun and easy to set up. And some of the cards were so amusing to see played out. The kids had a blast. I will be taking these things out often. They are great tools for any house with children and I am glad that I have them.

What are your best tips for dealing with a bully?

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

I went to a baby shower today for my cousin. This is her first baby and I am so excited for her. She was unable to get a second ultrasound to determine the gender, so we will not know the baby's gender until he or she arrives. Personally, I think it is fun that way. My first two children were surprise babies. And the second, she really WAS a surprise!

My cousin has decided to have Dr. Seuss be the theme for her baby. And I think that is awesome. Dr. Seuss is an all-time favorite with kids and he's just so fun.

There were Dr. Seuss fishes all over the tables, which were covered in polka-dotted table cloths and there was a great big Seuss inspired cake. But my favorite part of the decor were these real living fishes in red, blue and yellow.

I have always wanted a beta fish, but The Man always says "Babe... I want a tank. He can't go in the tank." So I have never ever had one. But I love looking at them. And while we were there, I snapped some pics for fun.

My girls, I expected to act up horrendously the whole time. But I was very pleasantly surprised to find that they were actually going to be okay. I say okay, because they did get a little restless, but I was able to enjoy myself without running after them or taking any out to the van to "think about things". I had a good time. We are trying some new behavior fixing strategies around here and so far, they are working great! If they keep working, I will share the secret. But for now, I'll keep it to myself because I hate saying something is great just to find out it's only great on a trial basis.

I let the girls use my camera while I was there. They are actually pretty good at taking photos. I'm impressed. Even my two year old likes to take pics. My six year old took the one below. I was a bit peeved with her at the moment because she would not sit still with my camera. But I wasn't going to let the camera know that. I refuse to knowingly take an ugly pic.

But anyway, the shower went great. I ended up taking the red fish home. No, I didn't ask for it... it was offered. And of course, I was not going to refuse it! When I got home, I realized that with two cats and four children, I really had nowhere for the poor thing. So for now, it sits in my china cabinet, but I will find Prudie (yes, Prudie and I don't know why) a new home soon.

What's the best prize you've ever received?

The Basket Lady Review

I was PSYCHED when The awesome Basket Lady agreed to do a review with me. In fact, I was beyond psyched. I have grown a love for baskets over the last few years, especially the ones with liners. Actually, I plan to have PLENTY of them by the time my home is done. And why not? They are cute, they are handy, they are timeless... what's not to love?

The Basket Lady sent me a casserole basket and a set of round wicker serving baskets. My very first thought when opening them was, "Oh my gosh... these baskets are sturdy!" Let's look beyond the fact that they are in fact gorgeous, both in color and in style and look deeper than that.

They have this incredible lacquer coating on them that makes them super rugged. There was NO sagging in the casserole basket at all when I put the casserole dish in it or in the serving baskets when I put the fruit inside. Those baskets stayed very rigid.

And lets talk about size. The casserole basket fit my 9x13 Pyrex casserole dish perfectly! I was so impressed and just thrilled.  I guess I somehow had a sinking feeling that it would be just my luck that the basket wouldn't fit MY Pyrex dish. I'm tickled pink that it does though, because honestly, after the bad press about Pyrex dishes exploding, I am terrified to handle my casserole dish.  A basket with handles makes me feel so much better about doing it.

T set of serving baskets were much bigger than I imagined. I can actually fit stuff in them! That's 14 apples and 3 oranges in that big one. And in that small one, there are 17 drink mix pouches and there is room for more. The pumpkin one up there... 7 mini pumpkins, but I'm sure if I had had an eighth, it would have fit in the front there with no problem.

Now, I know you have noticed, but look at that finish!!! How beautiful is that? So deep and rich, I love it.  It is very classy and will go well with a LOT of kitchens and dining rooms.

What about clean-up you ask? Well, that's what's so great about the coating... all you do is rinse it off under the water or with your spray hose and dry it with a towel.

So there really is only one question left. Where you do get them? You can get them right from The Basket Lady herself. There are baskets for just about everything, from laundry, to storage, to even fireplace logs! So please check her out, cause she's amazing and super sweet to work with.

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.

The Window

I wish I lived close to my grandmother when I was a kid. I lived half an hour away and did not get to visit as often as I would have liked. but my mother did try very hard to get us there as often as possible. One thing I remember about visiting my grandmother is the cookie jar. It was our first stop, maybe even before seeing Gram.

This is the window:

Their great grandmother lives inside that window. The girls go there almost every time we go outside or come back from an errand. They go to get cookies. It is their cookie jar. It's funny how the apples didn't fall far from the tree.

The Streaker, who is actually clothed in the shot, is particularly fond of the window. And who wouldn't be? In the summer time, it is an ice cream truck, sans music and wheels. In the fall, it is crackers and cookies. She never forgets to go when she exits the truck. Even if we are in a big hurry, she has to go knock at the wall.

I know that when my kids grow up and have kids of their own, I will be keeping LOTS of goodies on hand. Things like wafers and caramels, oreos and candy canes.

What do you remember most about your grandparents' house?

Salon Graffix Invisible Dry Shampoo Review

I had heard of leave in conditioners, but I had never heard of dry shampoo until I stumbled upon Salon Grafix. I was very lucky to be able to review their dry shampoo. For those who have never tried it, let me enlighten you...

It comes in a spray can, like hair spray, in fact, it smells faintly like hair spray, but not too badly and it does not really linger. You spray it at your roots by section or layer in short bursts about half a foot from your head. You wait for it to dry, (about one minute), then you thoroughly brush it out.

I tried it during a very busy week. I had had practically no "me" time and we were about to go shopping. I looked awful. My hair was starting to look greasy and I really didn't want to go out in public like that, but we needed to go shopping and I had no time to shower. It was pretty convenient that a few days earlier, my dry shampoo had arrived in the mail.

I've got to say, it's no match to actually shampooing, but it did make a huge difference in my hair. I have pictures to prove it. I will also say that it made my hair feel a touch straw like, but with a really good combing, it's not too bad and it's better than looking oily!

You can buy the shampoo at retail stores all across the country. It will cost you about 8 bucks. Not bad, considering how many uses you get out of it.

It has a new invisible formula that leaves behind no white residue. I've never tried the old kinds, but I was happy to see that there really was none. It effectively cleans and neutralizes odor. Honestly, I've never noticed an odor to my hair, but I bet it really would get rid of any. It's also 100% safe for all hair types and after washing my own hair, I can in fact report no damages that I can see.

It is certainly convenient, no one will argue that point. And apparently, it extends the color of your hair if you dye. I haven't dyed my hair in a long time, but when I did, I always lost that color in just a few weeks. I would have loved it to last longer.

Over-all, I'd say I am happy that I have this. I feel like I am always being rushed out the door. I can just spray this on, do my make-up, then brush it out real quickly. Heck, I could even let it dry while I make that last minute bathroom break before we hit the road. I'm glad i gave it a shot and I think I will pick some more up to keep on hand when this one runs out.

What's your favorite product?

Disclaimer: I received these products to review and was not paid for this review. My review is 100% my honest opinion.