August 20th, 2010

Dakota’s Personalized Gifts Review

I was contacted by a website called Dakota’s Personalized Gifts not to long ago, and was asked if I would be interested in doing a review on one of their products, and was able to pick a product out of their online store.

I wanted something that we could use as a household, instead of something that I could only use for one person, or as a gift, so I picked a cute welcome sign we had personalized to our last name, as well as our names, with the kids names, a family gift.

Obviously our sign said Elwood. LOL!  I am a sucker for Canvas. I have canvas paintings, and art work in our house, one of my favorite being my Marilyn Monroe hand painted framed canvas print. When I got our welcome sign in the mail, I was impressed. It is hand crafted, and made of great, and strong materials. I know for sure because my toddler got a hold of it!

The Bio of Dakota’s Personalized Gifts says :

We started in a spare bedroom about 5 years ago more as a part time hobby than a business with The Anniversary Rose making roses for the traditional anniversary gifts (i.e. 1st year paper, 2nd year cotton, 5th year wood etc) cutting rose petals by hand with scissors.  It quickly grew from a part time hobby to a full time business, adding help and equipment to keep up. Then, we started expanding into personalized anniversary gifts.  We started getting many requests from our customers for personalized wedding, Mother’s & Father’s Day and Christmas gifts etc.  That’s when we started Dakota’s Personalized Gifts. Soon the business took over a second bedroom and the garage, the following year it occupying two bedrooms, the garage & a full basement. With no room left to expand we were forced to move into a commercial location in 2009.  We continue to expand with new products and updated equipment all the time which allows us to produce most of the personalized items in house.

It is certainly a company I plan to use for myself in the future!

For a discount to their online store use the following :

code  10-AUG31  offers $10 off $50 purchase
code  15-AUG31  offers $15 off $75 purchase

These coupon codes are scheduled to end on August 31st but if you e-mail them, and let them know you are a reader of Momotics, they will extend the coupon codes within a reasonable amount of time, meaning weeks, not around Christmas time! LOL

August 16th, 2010

Thanks to Ford … Lincoln MKT Review

I had the rare opportunity last week while leaving BlogHer to drive out of the city in a Lincoln MKT provided by the Ford Motor Company to drive for a week, and write a review. After driving it out of the city… alive (man those people are INSANE?!?!) the adventure began!

It is a sleek looking car, and let me tell you, anything is an upgrade from the 1995 Chevy Blazer I am currently driving around town. (Long story) I absolutely loved basically everything about this car. The technology is unbelievable.  Of course there were a ton of options I did not indulge in for fear I would break them, or break the car.

It was amazingly roomy. With two kids, and all there “accessories” in tow, it certainly made life easy. Most of the time we opted to have the third row of seats down for more trunk room, but on the last full day with the car we made a trip half way across the state with family for outlet shopping. 4 adults, two kids in carseats, a stroller, and a trunk full of bags, and we still had more room.

It also fit ALL the stuff I took back from BlogHer, my kids, and their stuff too… See picture below.

Besides the room, the GPS was a god sent for all the little mini trips we made, even in areas I was familiar with, but may not know the back roads so much. I swear every time we got into the car for more than 10 minutes, I would turn around, and the kids would be out cold.

How cute is that?

Now a couple of my comic experiences with the MKT. Every other Friday, my husband insists on getting his hair cut. I think it is something he is still holding onto from being in the Marines, as well as just having having his hair longer. Since I met him (in 1999) I have never seen him with hair longer than he has now. After his bi-weekly clip, we headed up the Boston Post Road a couple miles, and stopped at another store we needed to pick up some odds and ends from. While he was running into the store (and I stayed with the kids in the car) a young kid driving a brand new Infinity sports car stopped him at the door and asked him what we were driving. He told him it was a Lincoln MKT and the guy started asking him a ton of questions. Of course being the male he is, my husband knew everything about the car, and the kid in the Infinity drove off insisting he must have a new Lincoln now.

I guess I sold one for Ford, your welcome guys!  LOL

We also took a trip to the brand new Sonic Drive In they put in Connecticut. The first in the state! We enjoyed tater tots, and burgers while I FLIPPED out and picked every little crumb up along the way.
Seeing as I am talking about food, we also took our “pimp car” which it was dubbed for the week to one of the new Crumb Cupcakes locations.

Overall, we did a lot, and really enjoyed the car. My toddler has been asking since yesterday afternoon when we came back from dropping it off where the new car went.

Well kiddo, it was awesome to have, and spoil ourselves with for a week, but now it is back to reality!

Thank you again to the Ford Motor Company for the opportunity to borrow the car, check out, and review. It was a great experience for our family, and we loved every minute of the MKT!  If it was in the cards right now, I would be on my way to my local Ford/Lincoln dealership to pick up my very own!

May 3rd, 2010

Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk Review

I recently had the opportunity to review Horizon’s new product, which myself, and my toddler greatly enjoyed.  Horizon on their website describe the product as :

“Mmm chocolate! Horizon Organic® Lowfat Chocolate Milk Plus DHA Omega-3 provides a great-tasting and easy way to add calcium and DHA to your family’s diet. DHA Omega-3 is an important nutrient that helps support heart, brain and eye health. “

When they say Mmm they mean it!  My toddler took a drink of it, only after I tried it first, and the first word or sound out of him was “Mmmmmm Mommy”!

But even more than just the product, I like that Horizon not only is 100% organic, and environmentally conscious, but they work with only local organic farmers from over 500 small family farms all over the country, instead of the large, non animal friendly type dairy farming we are seeing nation wide.

The nutritional value of added DHA as well as Omega 3 is another benefit, which to me makes the sugar content more acceptable. While some may not feel the same, limiting the sugar in moderation is not harmful.

So between my taste buds, and the two year old who runs the house, the Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk gets two big thumbs up from us!

Keep your eyes pealed for a giveaway here on Momotics from Horizon in the upcoming months!

April 15th, 2010

Ergo Baby Carrier

My husband and I recently purchased an Ergo Baby Carrier after nearly two years using a Mei Tai carrier full time through two children. My oldest is a little over 2 years old, and about 26 pounds, he is a little guy and totally takes after me. Our youngest is about a month away from from his first birthday, and nearly the size of our toddler. HAHA!

Anyways, from the moment we got the Ergo home, first my husband tried it on with the toddler in it and he LOVED it as well as DH! Then it was time to get the baby in, and he loved it just as much. It has now become our main carrier that we keep in the car for when we go to the store, mall, on a walk, to the cupcake truck, Easter egg hunting, where ever!

I can certainly say, I have not been the biggest fan of baby wearing. I never got into the slings, or wraps, or anything like that. But with the purchase of the Ergo, I want to wear the kids everywhere!

It is by far the most comfortable carrier I have ever worn, not only for me, but for the kids also.

I highly suggest spending the money, and getting yourself an Ergo!
It is my new carrier on my top 10 baby products!

April 13th, 2010

Happy Mama Body Wash

I love Earth Mama Angel Baby products more than the average person, but this week I finally had a chance to try out their new Happy Mama Body Wash, and I an certainly in love with yet another one of their products!

Most of the natural, organic, or chemical free products I have tried in the past have a certain strong and herbal smell to them which tends not to appeal to me. I enjoy fruity smelling products, not ones that smell like I just bathed in the smell of the local health herb store. LOL!

The Happy Mama Body Wash is made with ingredients like USDA Certified Organic, Lime, Pink Grapefruit, Aloe, and Vanilla. Leaving you with a beautiful, natural, fruity smell, not the typical smell you think of when you think about organic or herbal body washes.

I highly recommend this for shower time, as most of us mothers can really need a great pickup and this product certainly provides one!

For more information on the Earth Mama Angel Baby Happy Mama Body Wash, check out their website.

March 8th, 2010

Gerber Bunch a Bowls

One of my favorite must have’s for mothers, and babies once your baby starts eating solids.
Gerber Bunch a Bowls, are awesome, have great lids that STAY ON!
I used them for things like puffs, cheerios, and other finger foods.

I can say, we never had a spill!

February 22nd, 2010

Hylands Teething Tablets

These just so happen to be my must have of the week!  In the past 2 months, my child has sprouted two new teeth, well, new and his only teeth, but they are the biggest life savers ever!  It is almost like they make teething, and new teeth completely painless. I am sure if Ben could talk he would certainly tell me that isn’t the case, but they have worked wonders with both children.

The best part?  They are homeopathic, and 100% natural. A parents dream, especially when you are worrying about things that your children eats, and ingests.

These get the Momotics Two Thumbs Up!

February 8th, 2010

Baby Must Have : Bumbo!

Camden at 4 months old in the famous pink Bumbo

I know there are a lot of debate over the bumbo itself, and in reality I am sure there are people who are going to disagree with my pick of the bumbo as a total must have, but in our household, I couldn’t live without this thing!

Our story starts with my husband in Target one night, I asked him to pick up a bumbo for our oldest. He looked at the little sticker that said “actual color” thinking that the bumbo on the box was the actual color, not the actual sticker.  Normally he is far more bright then that, but this was one of those… shining moments that we joke about.  Well he got it home, and I opened the box, and there was a PINK bumbo for our SON.

Now, pink can be a color a boy can use, but my husband being Mr. Macho wasn’t going to let it fly. He was going to return it the next morning. Unfortunately that night, our oldest cat Emily passed away. We looked all over for something to put her in. The only box we had was the one from the bumbo, leaving us with the pink seat, and clearly no option to exchange it for the next color.

We look back on it now and get a chuckle 2 years after the fact, but it certainly wasn’t funny at the moment, especially with my hysterics, and demanding my husband take the next day off from work so that we could give Emily a proper burial at my parents home.

Fast forward 2 years, and we have used this seat for so many things. An easy take along seat, feeding chair, the optional tray is super awesome, it makes life so much easier when going to visit family, not that my family lets the kids spend more than 5 minutes in it before someone just NEEDS to hold one of the boys.

When they first came out, there were idiots who were putting their kids in these, on counters, tables, and all kinds of super fun elevated surfaces,

Ben Using the bumbo at 8 months old

in which these should NOT be used, then turning around and trying to sue the company when their own negligence caused some type of injury in their child. Use common sense with a product like this.  Just like any other product on the market, use your common sense.

You can find these nearly anywhere, online, amazon.com, Walmart, Target, Babies R Us, and all other kinds of fun retail baby stores. Depending on where you pick it up, the price ranges from about $30 to $45 and it also has a neat optional tray that connects to the front making it almost like a little mini high chair.

Anywho, this is one of my number 1 baby picks!

I hope some take my advice and invest!

February 4th, 2010

Mint Herbal Lip Balm

A couple weeks ago I got in contact with Earth Momma Angel Baby, which is an awesome company that makes a great cesarean recovery kit which I was inquiring about giving away on my blog since I have a lot of focus on c-sections, and cesarean awareness.

Well for being so interested in the company, I got a couple other neat gifts from Earth Mama Angel Baby, and one has turned into an over night must have in my book!

The Mint Herbal Lip Balm is the BEST chap stick I have ever used in my life, and the best part is, it is all natural, no crappy chemicals, or any of that junk. It is made from Shea butter which goes on much smoother than most chap sticks and last much longer!

With the winter months here, I am the kind of person who puts chap stick on a million times a day, and I don’t think I will EVER go back to any of the other brands I have used in the past, including Burts Bees Wax!