The Wise Mommy

Custard ‘n Jelly Guardian Angels

mamawise — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:48:38 +0000

The Custard ‘n Jelly Guardian Angels are a set of amazingly adorable dolls created and originally drawn by a young girl at the age of 8. There are seven Guardian Angel Dolls: Ally, Ruby, Roxy, Lexi, Katie, Laney, and Cami. Each one has a unique and interesting story (angel skills and wing status) which highlights their special angel skills and how they will watch over their new owner. They are all 8″ soft fabric dolls with cute embroidered faces and interchangeable outfits. Each Guardian Angel also has a set of iridescent wings and halo.

My first reaction to these lovely dolls were how very cute they are. My nieces really loved these dolls when they saw them. They are a good size for pretend doll play and are soft enough to cuddle and even sleep with. I think they are well suited for girls for ages 5 and up, because they make for great play dolls at that age and have a wonderful story that parents can share with their children. Also, when your little girl receives her angel, she gets a code to register her angel, allowing her to donate a part of the proceeds to one of three children’s charities.

You can get your own Guardian Angel doll on their website: Custard ‘n Jelly and make sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter. They also have a really nice CafePress Page which has cute accessories for a little girl (and her mom too!)

*Disclaimer* I was graciously sent two of these lovely dolls from Custard ‘n Jelly and am not, in anyway, being compensated otherwise for this review.

Huggies Baby Wipes

mamawise — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:56:28 +0000

Huggies Baby Wipes are something that I still use today even with my boys being older. My personal favorites are the Fragrance-Free Natural Care ones. I have been using these wipes for over 6 years and absolutely love them. When my kids were babies, they were the softest, most gentle baby wipes on their little bums. These wipes also were durable and did not rip with some heavier cleaning needs. My kids still use these wipes to wipe their mouths, wipe their hands, wipe up spills, etc. I always keep a box in my car for anything my kids or I would need them for that would need a bit of cleaning.

I, myself, use Huggies Baby Wipes daily to remove makeup! They work better than any makeup remover wipe that I have tried in the past and they are so much less expensive then paying for those brand-name makeup remover wipes. Plus, they are very gentle on your face and are able to pretty much remove any makeup you throw at them! I always travel with them to keep my face feeling fresh and clean.

I found that the best place to get these wipes at unbelievably low prices is at Walmart stores and Walmart.com

Nintendo 3DS

mamawise — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 05:30:04 +0000

I just had to post about the Nintendo DS, and specifically the new Nintendo 3DS. This is one of those “they won’t put them down unless told by mom and dad that they’ve reached their limit” toys. My boys absolutely love their DS‘s, taking them in the car for long trips, for sleepovers at grandma’s house, and anywhere they are allowed by mom and dad. They originally had the Nintendo DS XL‘s for the past 2 years and just got the Nintendo 3DS‘s for Christmas this year. And they definitely were a big hit, as we got the Flame Red and Aqua Blue colors. The Flame Red even came with a Super Mario Brothers game in 3D.

The Nintendo DS XL has a bit of a larger screen than the 3DS, which is a bit of a bummer. But knowing Nintendo I am sure that the 3DS will eventually come out in a XL version as well. The perks of the 3DS are the really rad 3D imaging that shows in the top screen. Also the buttons are much easier to control on the 3DS. It really is pretty cool to watch the 3D games especially Mario Kart 7, a definite favorite of my boys.

The Nintendo 3DS is compatible both 3DS games and regular DS games, while the same is not true for the regular Nintendo DS. It does not support the 3DS games and it’s easy to tell because the 3DS cartridges are slightly different sized so they are unable to go into the regular Nintendo DS.

All in all, Nintendo definitely has a winner on their hands with all their DS consoles. They keep coming out with more games, and there are quite a few now that are games geared more toward learning like reading, spelling and math games. Which is always a plus to add some learning into the gaming experience.

If you do decide to purchase any of the Nintendo DS‘s, just remember to always limit your kids game time, because if not monitored carefully they could easily sit there all day long playing the day away.

Sephora Sales this Week!

mamawise — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:08:00 +0000

Ladies! Sephora is running a week’s worth of promotion codes, shipping offers and excellent coupons through MrRebates and also offering a cash back rebate bonus of 6%! You get the rebate by joining MrRebates and ordering through their Sephora link.

Just check out these OFFERS!

Offers end March 11th, so hurry and take a look to see if you can get some of your favorite Sephora products and favorite brands like Bare Escentuals, Dior, Clinique, Philosophy, Smashbox and more for less.

If you are a Sephora shopper, let me know what your faves are and why you like Sephora so much! My fave just happens to be the Philosophy Amazing Grace Bath, Shampoo and Shower Gel – truly divine!

Capri Sun 100% Fruit Juice

mamawise — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 03:14:21 +0000

How excited am I that Capri Sun has finally made a 100% fruit juice available? Very! I have always been disappointed that most fruit juices for children have 15% fruit juice and a whole bunch of other additives. Slowly, things seems to be changing around and it is getting a lot easier to finally find 100% juices both bottled and boxed.

Capri Sun is now in my awesome book because my kids love to drink out of those silver pouches, they are easy to pack, easy to store, and now have a 100% juice variety. These varieties currently come in Citrus, Grape, Berry, Apple, and Fruit Punch. My boys love the berry and fruit punch varieties most of all. I wish we could get other juice companies to follow suit, but I just have to say Kudos to Capri Sun. You’ve made this mama and her kids very happy!

Crayola Washable Super Tip Markers

mamawise — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:29:38 +0000

Both my boys are absolutely loving these awesome Crayola Markers! We bought two sets of 50 about two months ago and all the markers are still going strong. These markers feature a “Super Tip” which allows children to draw very fine, thin lines as well as being able to use the sides for coloring thick lines. There are actually 50 distinct colors in the packs and 12 of them are referred to as “Silly Scent” markers. These 12 markers really do have great scents and are listed as follows: Cherry, Spice, Orange, Lemon, Honeysuckle, Green Apple, Forest Pine, Fresh Air, Bay Breeze, Burnt Marshmallow and Vanilla.

I’ve been able to wash these markers off of wood tables, walls, hands and even a white shirt. They truly are very washable! They will bleed through very thin paper, such as that of regular coloring book paper, so I recommend buying a thicker type paper or even craft paper if you want your little one’s artwork to remain on one side of the paper.

Magformers

mamawise — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:56:05 +0000

Magformers are truly fantastic and innovative building sets. My two boys have hours of fun creating and building structures and toys out of these magnetic forms. They received their very first simple Magformers set a couple of Christmas’s ago and have since gotten some of the more advanced sets. They continue to play with them to this day at ages 4 and 6, and I am sure they will continue to do so as their imaginations grow. They create buildings, cars, bridges, spheres, rockets – basically anything that you can imagine. The magnetic nature of the pieces are what make Magformers so unique. Nothing is needed to hold the pieces together, because they are magnetically attracted to each other. And the best part is the cleanup! Because they are magnetic, you can basically pick up a pile of these with just one sweep of your two hands.

Vidalia Chop Wizard

mamawise — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:43:08 +0000

I bought the Vidalia Chop Wizard hoping that it would make some of my work in the kitchen more efficient, and after having used it for the for past two years, I have no idea how I got by without it! I have been thoroughly impressed with the ease and speed of chopping and dicing ingredients. I have pretty much tested it with every ingredient I have needed to chop or dice, and it worked brilliantly. Not only does it cut my time virtually in half, but there is basically no mess because everything you chop goes in the catch container, which is a breeze to clean (it’s dishwasher safe) – this means no more messy counter tops or cutting boards to clean!

The Vidalia Chop Wizard is a better way to chop vegetables, fruit, cheese, and more. It consists of a 2 cup catch container which doubles as a measuring cup, large blade for chopping, small blade for dicing, and a lid cleaning tool. The blades allow you to chop food swiftly and safely, since your finger don’t come in contact with the blades when chopping.

I used the Vidalia Chop Wizard to make a tuna salad the other day and it took me all of 5 minutes to have every ingredient (onion, celery, hard-boiled egg, etc.) finely diced and ready to go. No onion crying either! I use it to chop my son’s apples everyday – all it takes is three swift motions and the apple is chopped in less than a 30 seconds! And my husband even tried it a few times to dice tomatoes, celery, green pepper, and cucumbers for salads that he prepares for work. He has been very impressed and said that he’ll continue using it to chop and dice fruits and vegetables.

Oh yeah, and I make a mean salsa with it too!

Snoedel – The Original Sleeping and Bonding Aid

mamawise — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:49:36 +0000

My youngest son’s favorite lovey is his Snoedel, even with his fourth birthday coming. Originally, when my oldest son was born, he had to stay in the NICU for 5 days. This was where we received our first Snoedel to help with the bonding process between myself and him since I was not able to hold him and cuddle with him the way I wanted to. I was told to hold the Snoedel close to me so that it could capture my “scent” and that he could become closer to me while he lay in his NICU bed. Three years later that original Snoedel is still with us, having been adopted by my youngest son as his absolute favorite lovey, that he has affectionately named “Buddy”. We even went so far as to order a second “Buddy” since he is now attending daycare/preschool and needed a second one to snuggle with during naptime at daycare. His Snoedel now go with us wherever we travel and he always sleeps with them at night and naptimes. We would truly be lost without these wonderful loveys – they have been the one and only thing to keep him happy and comforted when he sleeps and when he’s at daycare.

From the website : “Snoedel is the original sleeping and bonding aid for babies completely handcrafted in the United States by moms, grandmothers, and female college students under “newborn-safe” conditions (environments free of tobacco and perfumes.) It is comprised of 100% natural fibers and has been safe for use with all babies including newborns, premature infants, and other babies in Neonatal Intensive Care units.”

Snoedels are a soft cotton flannel doll, which is designed to absorb a parent’s scent. The premise of the Snoedel is that a babies sense of smell is the first thing that bonds the child to the parent. Not only is the Snoedel wonderful for initial bonding, it can serve as a security blanket or lovey later in life, as it has with my 2 year old. The Snoedel is completely safe for machine washing and drying and is able to be sterilized in a hospital environment.

For purchasing a Snoedel, check it out on Amazon.com!

Britax Car Seats

mamawise — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:29:42 +0000

My children have been in Britax car seats all their lives, and I couldn’t be happier knowing that we are safe anytime we have to drive anywhere. Britax is the leader in the car seat industry. They have several patented innovations which help make your child safe in your vehicle and work to minimize movement of the seat and your child in the event of a collision.

The first is their patented True Side Impact Protection™ system which helps transfer energy away from your child in the event of a side impact collision. As explained on the BritaxUSA.com website, the design features of their True Side Impact Protection™ system include: 1) an energy-absorbing foam liner over a stiff structure to distribute crash forces; 2) side walls that shield the child from vehicle intrusion; 3) deep head wings and side wings for head and body containment; and 4) an adjustable head support to minimize lateral head movement during a crash. These features are extremely important since data shows that 25% of all vehicle crashes are the result of a side impact collision.

Second, Britax‘s patented Versa-Tether® system reduces movement of the seat in both the forward and rear-facing positions by having two attachment points on the child seat and anchoring the top of the car seat to the vehicle. The two attachment points feature the LATCH system, but the seat can also be installed using your vehicles seat belts if it is not LATCH capable. I have found that my Britax car seats were very easy to install with the LATCH system and are incredibly stable having nearly no movement side-to-side or forward and backward, no matter how hard I try to push on them.

Third, Britax offers five-point harnessed seats with their patented HUGS™ (Harness Ultra Guard System) which reduces a child’s forward head movement in the event of a crash. These car seats also allow for higher weight capacities up to 65 pounds in convertibles and 80 pounds in youth seats. Their seats also have the feature of being able to remain rear-facing up to 35 pounds. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ride rear facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer, so this is a wonderful feature that allows your child to remain rear-facing longer than other car seats.

Britax car seats come in several styles, from compact convertible to combination booster, in order to best fit your child for their specific age and weight. For more information regarding Britax car seats and their safety features please visit their website at BritaxUSA.com.