A Birth Announcement that sticks!

Ever get a magnetic photo card in the mail? Thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network and Magnet Street we got these ADORABLE magnetic birth announcements so that all our family and friends can be greeted by Jillian when they get a snack from the fridge! Of course they’d be great to stick up at work too so I’m sending John with one this morning for the cabinet above his desk. This is one coolest ideas I’ve seen to announce a new baby and I’m hoping it catches on. I wish I knew about these when our other kids were born! With Ethan and Ben I went nuts making scrapbook type of announcements and it took a lot of time to do. By the time I had Jamie I just sent a photo that I added text to but even that took me awhile on the computer and it was pretty simple looking. This time I had a ton of fun designing the announcement and I was able to personalize my colors and text. It was really easy to do, I mean really easy! I actually made two different designs online and then had a tough time choosing which to get. There are so many options and lots of ways to customize them. Here is the one I picked, I kept the text the same but I changed the border color and the main color. I was very happy with how I could match the colors to my photos, it really made a big difference when I was playing around with the options and I am very proud of my creation! Magnet Street is not just for birth announcements, what a fun idea for a wedding or party invitation or a holiday card! Honestly I am so excited about these and I am almost done writing out all of the addresses so I can’t wait to mail them and hear what everyone thinks!

*Just a note, John edited out our last name for the blog image so our names are not off center.

Bilt Stainless Water Bottles for kids review and CONTEST!

I love that we’ve made the switch to stainless bottles for our family! After my recent review of the Earthlust bottles I am excited to have found another great option that I hadn’t heard of before. BILT makes bottles for both adults and kids and they might be just what you’ve been looking for! BILT’s Vite kids water bottle comes in colors or stainless (with a colored top) and retails for $11.50-$14 CAD. I was very happy to test these bottles out and Bilt generously offered one for each of the kids AND a 4th to give away to one of our readers! The kids were pleasantly surprised when the bottles we were sent had graphics on them! Ethan’s has what he calls a “transformer” robot on it, Ben’s has some cute little guys fishing (one caught a boot and the other a fish) and Jamie’s is PINK with a cute little bear-like creature on it. We have an extra the same as Ben’s (the one on the left) to give away!

Here is our family’s take on them:

• VERY cute bottles, the kids definitely prefer the look of these bottles compared to their Klean Kanteen. The designs we have would suit kids of all ages (not just toddlers like some Sigg I’ve seen).
• HUGE opening on top which will accommodate even the big chunky ice cubes that you get from standard trays. I am sure this would be a big plus for people without ice makers because in my opinion all drinks need ice!!!
• The big open top makes for easy cleaning.
• Sports tops are easy for kids to open on their own and they haven’t leaked for us.
• There is a loop on top that you can put your finger through to carry the bottle or add a clip to if you wanted.
• Lids are made of #5 food grade polypropylene (pp). Bilt says that “#5 PP is a plastic with good durability and no known leaching characteristics”.
• These 16 oz bottles are the PERFECT size for my kids (their Klean Kanteen are 12 oz but since the top screws inside the bottle I can’t fill them all the way).
• The kids (2 yr old Jamie included) have no trouble holding these bottles even though they hold more liquid. There are little indents on the sides for fingers to grip.
• This isn’t something that we need but for serious camping families Bilt says that the “thread pattern fits bottle adaptors of most backcountry water filters including msr and Katadyn; great for travel”.
• The bottles are dishwasher safe and have done fine so far in mine (although they recommend hand washing for longer life).
• When I asked 6 yr old Ethan which of his metal bottles (Klean Kanteen and Bilt) he liked to drink from the best he told me that he liked both the same and that both were good to drink from. I thought he might prefer one sports top over the other but he didn’t. He clearly likes the look of his Bilt bottle better though!

Here is Bilt’s Why Use Stainless Steel Bottles link!

You can’t buy directly from their site but there is a store locator and I found them sold online at REI and EMS (although EMS didn’t carry the kids Vite they do have 5 Bilt bottles available).

We have an extra Vite Kids bottle just like Ben’s to GIVE AWAY!

• To enter please click over to the Bilt website and come back to comment on what you think of their adult bottles (or another product of theirs that you like). Warning… if you don’t do this luck won’t be on your side !
• Contest is open to US and Canadian addresses only, one entry per person.
• CONTEST ENDS SUNDAY November 30th!
• I have quite a few current contests running right now on the blog (like a Siliskins baby bottle, Pillsbury gift bag, Huggies Free diapers, Personalized Name Stamp, Potty Training Book, and more to come next week) so go take a look!

Wild Planet toys are FUN but John is so SLOW!!! (oh and Happy Birthday Honey!!!)

READ ON TO GET 10% OFF SOME GREAT TOYS!
I LOVE that we get things for our family to review on this blog! I am the one who does the majority of reviews and I’m generally pretty speedy with them. John has done a few though and I have to say he is being super slow with one in particular, so slow that I keep thinking of writing it for him BUT that would set a bad president (so I’m just bugging him about it instead and of course just because today is his birthday I’m posting about it).

So here is what you’re missing out on reading about: WILD PLANET makes some very cool toys and they were especially nice to send one for each of our kids this summer! We already own and love Hyper Dash so they sent the boys Hyper Jump and Animal Scramble. Jamie was lucky enough to get a Water Baby to help her prepare for being a big sister. I better stop before this turns into the review BUT I wanted to let people in on the fact that WILD PLANET is a great choice when you’re looking for presents for the kids in your life and since its always nice to do holiday shopping early I’m putting up the DISCOUNT CODE that we were given to share with our readers.

*Go check out Wild Planet toys and during checkout type FAMILY in the coupon code section and you will receive 10% off any order (excluding Gift Certificates, Toy Bundles and Party Packs as they are already discounted).  This offer will expire on 12/31/08.

Joovy Ultralight Caboose Stroller

I am VERY picky when it comes to strollers and I have yet to find the absolute perfect one that meets all of our families needs. I’m not sure such a stroller exists so we have a growing collection of strollers that we use for different types of outings. Our latest addition is the Joovy Ultralight Caboose Stroller, I was very interested in trying this stroller because its a stroller designed for a baby and a bigger sibling. The baby has a traditional seat (and there is an easy to use car seat adapter for newborn use) and the older sibling can either stand on the back or sit on a bench type seat. We have a standard Graco double stroller that we bought when our second child Ben was born but I have never been thrilled with it. The Graco is so long and heavy and hard to maneuver in stores. I used it a lot when we just had 2 kids but when we had Jamie I found I used it much less for some reason. We also have an InStep double jogging stroller and its great for going to playgrounds and anything else outdoors but its too big and wide for indoor use. Our other stroller is a single jogger that we can use both indoors and out fairly easily but then we can only put one child in it and we’ve had so many times where one of the boys gets tired and wants a ride too but can’t.

Back to the Joovy Caboose, this is a great idea for a stroller for so many reasons! Its not as big or heavy as the Graco double and so its nice for having a baby who needs to ride in it while having just enough room for an older sibling to hop on when they get tired. I feel confident that this is our new indoor stroller with the new baby in the front and Jamie mainly as the backseat driver (I’m sure there will be times the boys ride in back when Jamie isn’t in it)!

Here is what I love about it:

• I love the ease of the older child being able to be more independent getting on and off the stroller as they choose.
• I can still buckle in the older child if I want to discourage hopping off.
• The size is great for indoor shopping with a double stroller.
• The parent organizer is very different from most strollers and I think its great! You have a nice zippered area to put things like a wallet and cell phone. Its made out of neoprene so the TWO parent drink holders actually keep your drink cold and prevents them from falling out if hit a bump in the road!
• The hood is designed very well and is adjustable to block sun or cover a sleeping baby.
• The front baby seat has a great comfy pad that is reversible for different seasons and easily comes off for cleaning.
• The basket underneath is great.
• 2 year old Jamie can ride easily in the front or the back and she is excited about standing so that keeps her happy!
• There is an easy to install attachment for use with a infant car seat (just snaps in place instead of the front snack tray).
• It was VERY easy to put together, it took pregnant me 25 minutes with the 3 kids “helping”.
• Unlike other strollers we have the child snack tray doesn’t just pop off or unbuckle easily (our daughter has a thing for flinging our single jogging stroller tray off). The child tray also has 2 cup holders.
• A HUGE plus is that is folds up really nicely and compactly for a double, so much smaller folded than the Graco double or even our single jogger! When I first folded it I was amazed!

Here are the things I’d like to see improved with the stroller (yes I did say I was very picky about strollers so some of these are minor details but strollers are a big purchase and I don’t want to leave anything out!):

• The only big thing is that I would love more all-terrain type of wheels, I just don’t think this stroller is ideal for going to the playground and navigating easily over grass or wood chips.
• I’d like the rear seat to hold more weight. My kids are all pretty tall and at 4 Ben weighs exactly what his big brother Ethan weighs: 50lbs. Both front and back seats of the stroller are designed to hold up to 45lbs each. This means both boys are heavier than what the back seat is designed for. I’m letting the boys sit on it anyway though because at 4 and almost 6 they still get tired and need a seat sometimes!
• It doesn’t stand on its own when folded. If you lock the wheels before you fold you can lean it against something though.
• There is a latch that you need to push down after opening the stroller and then you need to lift it up before you fold it. Obviously this is a safety thing but I’ve never had a stroller with this feature and its something to get used to.
• You need two hands to open or close this stroller, so there is no way to hold a baby at the same time.  With other strollers I am able to open/close them with one hand and I’ve done so holding one of the kids on several occasions. This isn’t a big thing for me though because when I get to the car I normally put the kids in before putting away the stroller.

So the bottom line: Everyone’s stroller needs are different but for me right now this is an ideal stroller for going anywhere indoors with all the kids and it will be great once I have the baby (it definitely replaces the Graco double for us). I love that when I have the new baby Jamie can still sit to ride or feel like a big girl and stand if she wants to. I will still use one of my joggers for going to the park and “off road” activities like apple picking but I have a minivan so I can fit two strollers in the trunk if I don’t know where the day will take us!