December 3, 2016
Make the Season Magical with Scents From Lampe Berger {Giveaway}
What is the first thing that you notice when you walk into a home? Is it that the home is warm and inviting? Maybe the tidiness of the home? I know for our family one of the first things we notice is the smell. Scents have a way of making a home feel warm, kind and embracing – especially during the holidays. There is no better feeling then walking into a decorated home with light scents of vanilla or subtle almond – you almost instantly feel welcome into that home!
The problem is finding that long lasting, inviting and yet not overwhelming scent. Some products are strong for only the first twenty to thirty minutes and then disappear, others you never really smell. Our personal solution? Lampe Berger lamp collection and their accompanying perfumes. Lampe Berger has an amazing collection of scents and lamps. Their products work to not only leave a pleasant scent in your home but they also purify the air (they have been around for over 100 years so you know they work). This is needed that much more during the fall and winter months when the weather is cold outside and we are leaving our windows closed. The air can become stale and dry quickly, and if you have pets you can definitely smell them that much stronger during the winter months. We have one lamp in the living room and another in our kitchen, we also have one in the hallway where our dog likes to sleep. It helps with any and all of the smells that can be so strong especially in those areas.
The Lampe Berger collection has been expanded this season and now includes five new lamps: Curve Lamp, Diamant Lamp, Pampille Lamp, Satin Pack and Comete Pack. Each lamp is designed with a certain feeling and emotion in mind and suit a wide variety of personalities. The Curve Lamp embodies softness and a cocoon like feel and would fit perfectly in a relaxed, country style designed home. The Diamant Lamp is stylish and trendy for those who like to keep up with the latest styles. The Pampille Lamp is full of refinement and would fit an elegantly designed home. The Satin Pack is perfect for those who love the traditional holiday theme, with bright reds and whites. The Comete Pack is a refined and elegant holiday design for those who like to take a new spin on the holiday season. You really can’t go wrong with any of the lamps but it can be so much fun to match the style and shape of the lamp to their new owner.
The new lamps also come with three fresh new scents : wild berries, radiant bergamot and subtle almond. Radiant bergamot and subtle almond are by far my personal favourites. Our lamp fits in perfectly with our holiday decor and the smells of bergamot, almond and wild berries has filled our home this fall.
The Giveaway!
Lampe Berger wants to give one of my Canadian residents the opportunity to win their own Starter Kit and Wild Berries Scent via the Rafflecopter form below so they can start their own Lampe Berger tradition. Good luck!
Don’t forget to follow Lampe Berger on Facebook and Instagram!
Disclosure: I am a Lampe Berger Paris Brand Ambassador and receive perks associated with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.
December 1, 2016
Tekno Newborn Technology Brings Pets to Life!
My children love animals – the only downside? Mom is allergic to both dogs and cats (I know I am the kill joy in the family!). We have one hypoallergenic dog but my kids see their friend’s cats and just fall in love. I so wish we could bring home a kitten for them to play with but this is definitely not in the cards for us.
Tekno Newborn brings the fun of having a kitten and puppy into your home with their technology. Your child can play with their very own Tekno kitten or pup that comes in various colours (the pet itself is white with pink/blue/purple/teal/Dalmatian as the secondary colours and an exclusive all black puppy at Toys R Us). The pet fits into the palm of your hand and is light weight. The neatest part about the little pet is they are touch and voice sensitive. You can teach your little friend to beg, jump and even sing!
Our youngest fell in love with his teal kitten. He was petting her head, talking to her and was so excited to see her jump into his hand. I was a bit worried that she (we felt our new little kitten was a female and named her Captain) would not be able to take too much roughness from him. He dropped her on one of his first tries in getting her to jump. We were all a bit nervous, as I am sure many of you parents can understand, as her ear fell off. To our great relief it fit back on perfectly. It is almost like the makers knew that this was a possibility and designed the toy to handle what a small child may put it through. She has taken several jumps and falls and still comes right back ready to jump again (much to our great relief!).
The Tekno Newborns can be purchase at Toys R Us, Walmart, Canadian Tire, Loblaws and London Drugs. The toy will cost you about $24.99 and is recommended for children three years of age and older.
The Giveaway!
My Canadian readers can now enter to win their own Tekno Newborn friend via the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!
Disclosure: I received a Tekno Newborn in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 28, 2016
Celebrate the Holidays with a Book Giveaway from Raincoast Books
The holidays are a wonderful time for families to come together, spend quality time with each other and share the happiness of this season. But it’s not all about keeping busy or shopping that is for sure! It is important to pause during this hectic time and take time out to nurture our minds and relationships. I love spending our nights reading with our boys (especially a great Christmas tale) as it gives us time to unwind from the day and to just enjoy each other’s company.
Raincoast Books has a great assortment of holiday treasures for you and your family to enjoy this upcoming season. From Little Blue Truck’s Christmas to Pigloo to The Wish Tree to How to Catch an Elf, they have a wide variety of children’s books to delight, inspire and encourage. Here are my top two choices for you:
Little Blue Truck’s Christmas
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Little Blue Truck is spreading cheer by delivering Christmas trees to his animal friends. Can you help count each green tree from one to five and back again? Don’t forget to save one for Blue! Beep! Beep!
My youngest and I fell in love with Little Blue Truck’s Christmas. The book comes with a hard cover (perfect for little hands) and beautiful, bright and bold illustrations. The wording of the story is perfect to read aloud and easy for young children to read along with. I loved the almost rhyming nature of the story. Little Blue Truck is a special story about a little truck with a big job at Christmas time – delivering all of the Christmas trees to his animal friends! It is so easy to become lost in this warm tale while reading with your child. The last page is even more special as the page literally lights up with coloured lights! Talk about a magical book for children and adults alike.
The Wish Tree
Charles wants to find a wish tree. His brother and sister don’t believe there is such a thing, but his trusty companion Boggan is ready to join Charles on a journey to find out. And along the way, they discover that wishes can come true in the most unexpected ways. The poetic text and heartwarming illustrations evoke the true essence of the holiday season and will inspire wishers everywhere. This gem of a book deserves center stage year round.
The Wish Tree is one of those beautiful stories that become a family favourite for years to come. It is well written and full of gorgeous illustrations about a young boy with a kind heart. He wants nothing more than to find a wish tree, his siblings don’t believe in his dream and don’t support his search. He heads out with his trusty companion and meets many new friends on his special journey. The story was kind and warm, all of us just truly loved the turn of each page in Charles’ adventure to find his wish tree. You just keep hoping and praying that he finds his wish! The end was the perfect finish to this fantastic book.
Now my Canadian readers can enter to win their own holiday book giveaway from Raincoast Books! Enter via the Rafflecopter form below – GOOD LUCK!
Disclosure: I received the above two books in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 25, 2016
Laugh, Explore and Learn With the All New Teletubbies!
Growing up as a child, I am sure many of you were able to watch the Teletubbies on television. It was on almost non stop in our home when I was growing up as all three of us children were huge fans (I loved Po!). The characters were silly and full of adventure, every show was unique and designed to encourage, motivate and get your child moving and having fun.
An all new modern Teletubbies has returned to Family Junior ( you can even watch the show online or on their app) and has been updated to include new graphics, state of the art technology and 3-D printing. The Teletubbies even have their own touch screen tummies and a cell phone! Talk about embracing the new technology – these characters are completely up to date with the current times (amazing that these characters made their debut in 1997 – it definitely does not feel like it was that long ago for me). The show airs weekdays on Family Junior at 9:00am and at 8:45am on weekdays.
The best part of the Teletubbies the developmental and learning skills that the show has to offer your child. It is so important that your child is not only watching a favourite show of theirs but that they are also learning and growing at the same time too. This show helps to build your child’s confidence, improve their emotional and physical skills while learning to embrace their true self. There is never no need to conform to societal norm when it comes to the Teletubbies. They welcome and accept you for who you are and this is a message that kids just don’t hear enough. It is so important for them to feel comfortable being who they are and who they want to be.
Just in time for the holidays, parents can not only welcome the Teletubbies on their television (or online if you are tech savvy) but they can also purchase plush products of their favourite friends to accompany their child at home. We welcomed a talking Po into our home and I have to admit that I couldn’t get enough of making him talk. It brought back so many great memories from my childhood. The dolls are soft with a firmer face but still make the perfect cuddle buddy for your child. I found my children love having large plush friends of their favourite characters, they bring them with them whenever they go out, when they go to bed and even to school show and tell.
Did you watch Teletubbies as a child? Who is your favourite character from the show?
Disclosure: I received a Po product to help facilitate this post. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 25, 2016
Make Bedtime Easier with 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!
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!).
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).
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!).
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.