Category: gifts

Make Bedtime Easier with Charley the Chameleon

Make Bedtime Easier wtih Charley the Chameleon

Both of my boys are awful sleepers. They hate bedtime (you mean we have to stop playing??!) and definitely don’t like falling asleep alone. We have worked hard over the last couple of years to get them transitioning to sleep on their own but we still struggle, especially with our free-spirited youngest.

Our youngest loves the comfort of having someone beside him while he falls asleep. It gives him security and comfort knowing we are there beside him. We also know we have to encourage him to fall asleep on his own. We have tried pillows and a giant teddy bear (literally bigger than three feet tall) to trick him into sleeping on his own. It has not worked!

Make Bed Time Easier with Charley the Chameleon

Charley the Chameleon is a sweet, plush chameleon that helps children transition to bedtime while feeling secure and safe. Unlike the pillows and teddy bear that we had tried, Charley lights up and plays music for your child to help soothe and secure them. This really helps to battle those feelings of being alone and being scared of the dark. Charley the Chameleon, who is blue, has scales that light up in amber, blue and green. He also plays a rain forest tune (we thought it sounded kind of like Hawaiian music) and tropical tunes. He is about the size of a regular stuffed animal that a child would take to bed, about a foot long and half a foot wide. He is soft and cuddly, with no hard parts on his body (nothing worse than getting hit in the head in the middle of the night with a battery pack!).

Make Bed Time Easier with Charley the Chameleon

Our youngest was playing with Charley long before he laid down for bed and when it was time for bed he didn’t fight us as he hopped into bed. We asked him to try out Charley for a bit to see if it would help him and if he got too scared we would come lay down with him. Charley the Chameleon really helped calm his fears of the dark and of being alone. The first couple of nights we still came back in to help him fall asleep but each night he was able to stay alone just a bit longer with Charley. This in itself was an amazing bonus for us! We usually spend either the whole night in bed with him or back and forth through out the night (and both of us are left feeling like zombies come the morning).

Make Bedtime Easier wtih Charley the Chameleon

Charley from Cloud b is more than just a sleeping aid but a fun, cool companion that your child wont be afraid of carrying around during the day. His fun music and soothing lights help to draw your child away from thinking about being alone or the darkness in the room and instead focus on Charley (hey you may even find them talking to him!).

Make Bedtime Easier with Charley the Chameleon

You can find Charley the Chameleon at many retailers across Canada just in time for the holidays and he will cost you roughly $39.99, which is an excellent price to pay for some sleep. Make sure to follow Cloud b on Twitter and Facebook for more awesome products and news.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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DIY Hand Print Keepsake

My children are growing so fast – every time I look at them it feels like they have grown another inch! We wanted to capture them in this moment and decided to make hand print keepsakes to display in our home. It was the perfect holiday craft for our family – quick and simple! The boys loved it because they were able to get their hands nice and dirty although trying to get them to not paint each other was fun!

You Will Need:

  • paint
  • paintbrush
  • canvas print (8×10)
  • 8×10 frame

Using the paint colour your child has chosen (our boys wanted blue so blue it was) I painted their right hands applying a good amount of pain so that their hand was quite saturated with the paint.

One at a time, I took their hand and gently placed it on the canvas print. I gently put pressure on their hands to ensure the hand print would take to the canvas. You may have to help your little one to lift their hand back off of the canvas without smudging the print.

Allow the painting to dry, ours took roughly three hours to dry. I then placed it inside the 8×10 frame and hung it by our front door. Visitors love looking at their hands and this would be a fantastic gift for Grandparents!

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Gifts From the Heart with Posterjack #Giveaway

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching (doesn’t if feel like we just finished all the holiday celebrations??!!). Finding the perfect gift for any celebration is so important – I love my gifts to be from the heart, personal and mean something for both the person receiving it and me giving it to them.
This year for Valentine’s Day I would love for my husband to develop a canvas print photograph of us from our wedding day. When we were married we never purchased a photo package instead we opted to purchase the rights to our photographs and were given them on a disc after our wedding. The plan was that after the wedding we would develop them and have one developed into a large print so that we could put it up in our living room. Four years later we still have not done this (insert embarassed faces right here!).
If you are not yet familiar with Posterjack they are an online photo printing company that produces some of the most spectacular photo art in Canada. They use several mediums to really turn your photographs in to works of art. You can choose to have your photographs printed on posters, canvas, metal, acrylics as well as having it mounted, framed or in a gallery box. With such a wide variety of choices you can not go wrong! My favourite products from them has always been their framed artwork.
Unique gifts from Posterjack
Unique gifts from Posterjack
Now my hardest task was to choose just what photograph from our wedding I wanted to use! We debated and finally chose this one:
If you are not familiar with their website uploading a photo was very simple. Actually the whole process was simple from start to finish. Just upload an image, choose your product and size (the prices are marked on the side of the options making it easy to identify roughly how much your item will cost you) and upload! This is what your screen will look like:
Posterjack's unique gifts
Posterjack is now giving you the chance to create your own special Valentine’s Day gift for a loved one! Canadian residents can enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

GOOD LUCK!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. All opinions expressed are my own. My compensation was bringing this great giveaway to you!

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Childhood Memories with #DisneyClassicsBox

The Disney movies played a huge role in my childhood! We would watch the classics like the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and many more over and over again. Weekends, P.A. days and sick days were filled with hours of Disney magic. I can still sing off all the lyrics to the Little Mermaid’s Under the Sea! My children think it is hilarious but they always join in – I have taught them so well that they can belt out all the lyrics too! Their songs are upbeat, kid friendly (so perfect for long car trips) and motivational!
Walt Disney Records has compiled their incredible, heart warming and kid friendly songs into a box set that features ninety four recordings from Disney and Disney-Pixar films, television shows and their theme parks. Yup – you heard that right – ninety four recordings! The box set is divided up into four volumes; Disney Modern Classics, Disney Timeless Classics, Disney Theme Park Classics and Disney Television Classics.
The Disney Classics Box is now available for pre-order through Amazon. The official release date of the box set will be November 12, 2013. The Disney Classics Box set complete with ninety four songs will be around the $49.93 mark (prices will vary by retailers). They are even offering a special bonus! For each box set purchased you will receive a new medley of Disney Hits by Peter Hollens and Alex G.
The Disney Classics Box will make the perfect family gift and to that special Disney fan in your life! Make sure to get in on this special offer in time for Christmas.
You can also find the Disney Music site on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: I am participating in a blog post campaign for One 2 One Network and Walt Disney Records. All opinions expressed are my own.
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