Winner of Discovery Girls Prize Package!

And the winner is Give Peas a Chance!  She has been notified and has 48 hours to respond to my e-mail!

Congrats to her and Thanks to all the entries!

Is Your Girl a Discovery Girl? A Review and #GIVEAWAY! CLOSED!

Have you heard of Discovery Girls Magazine?  It is a magazine geared towards young girls from ages 8 to (about) 14.  Although my oldest daughter is only 6 1/2 and haven't hit this core audience yet, I was curious to take a look since I realize that before I know it, she will be considered a tween.  Gasp!

Discovery Girls was started ten years ago by a mom that wanted a magazine for her daughter that wasn't readily available.  One that would address the common struggles her young daughter was facing in an age appropriate way.  One that would feature real girls in real life situations with real life answers.  One that wouldn't be "boy crazy" but instead understand the delicate balance between little girl and growing up girl that this age is at.  Hence, Discovery Girls was born.

As part of my review I received two magazines.  The standard edition for ages 8 and up and the middle school edition for ages 11 and up.  First off, I LOVE that they have two magazines.  Although these ages aren't very far apart, they can be light and day in the sense of what these two age groups are interested or focused on.  Still, the two magazines are very similar.  The only main difference is that in the middle school edition they talk about celebrities, your body changing and the road ahead ... after Discovery Girls.

My daughter enjoyed looking at the regular edition.  She enjoyed reading (and laughing with) the embarrassing moments section and I appreciated how the voices throughout the magazine are not condescending.  There is a real good mix of reader submitted content and adult written articles and all are well written.

A couple things really stood out to me: 1. There are no blaring ads on every page!  The ads are there but they are very subtle and are very well placed.  2.  The girls on the cover are every day girls.  No fashion models here!  They pick girls from a particular state and have a photo shoot with them in their home state.  Very cool.

The second item I was given to review was one of their Fab Girls Guide books.  I received Fab Girls Guide to Getting Through Tough Times.  This series of books are each a compilation of reader submitted essays pertaining to the topic at hand.  I really enjoyed reading this book and I feel every mom should have it on hand for those "just in case" moments.  In this book, the "tough times" are as "routine" as your friend doesn't like you anymore to being robbed at gunpoint and everything in between.  What is most important about this book (and the magazine itself) is that it truly helps the girl reading it to see that they are not alone.  To give a young girl the gift of security and peace of mind is truly a gift from the heart and Discovery Girls strives to do just that.

So now that you have read my GLOWING review of Discovery Girls, you are probably wondering how you can get your own.  Well, you have a couple of ways to do just that!

BUY IT! You can become a subscriber of Discovery Girls Magazine for 1 year (6 issues) for $19.95 or 2 years (12 issues) for $29.95.

WIN IT! A Discovery Girls Prize Package (worth $70!) which includes:

• complimentary one year subscription ($20 value!)
• one complete set of the Fab Girls series books ($40 value!)
• special collector's edition of the past 10 years of Discovery Girls ($10 value!) avail. June 28th!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit Discovery Girls' website and have a look around.  What do you like about this magazine and/or its online features?  Please Leave Your E-mail Address with this comment!

EXTRA ENTRIES: To be done only after answering the above question!

1. Like Discovery Girls on Facebook (leave your Facebook name).
2. Follow Discovery Girls on twitter (leave twitter name).
3. Follow Queen of the Snot Princesses on Google Friend Connect (side bar -- click Follow) (leave GFC name in comments).
4. Follow me on twitter and tweet: "Do you have a tween in your life? Enter to #win @DGMagazine Prize Package #Giveaway (worth $70!) http://bit.ly/lpOpQ5."  Be sure to leave your link in the comments.  You may tweet only ONCE.

This giveaway is offered to US and CANADA 18 + and will end on June 28th 11:59pm CST.  Winner will be chosen through random.org.   Winner will be notified via e-mail.  If they fail to respond within 48 hours, then a new winner will be picked.  Please leave your e-mail address with your comments so that I may contact you if you win.  I will not share your e-mail address with anyone, it is strictly for me to notify you of your winnings.  GOOD LUCK!

Full Disclosure:  I received the above items free of charge from Discovery Girls, but was in no way instructed to give a positive review.  My reaction is mine and mine alone.  You may find you like the magazine differently and that is okay by me.

Check This Out! Tons of Handcrafted Items #Giveaways

Yesterday, May 23rd, marked the beginning of Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day.  It is an awesome event where you can win some really neat handcrafted items from around the world.  You can also win sewing and knitting supplies/materials if you are of the crafty persuasion.

Go to Sew Mama Sew and click on any of the three categories: Handcrafted Item(s) + Supplies/Materials, Sewing + Knitting Supplies/Materials, Handcrafted Item.  Under each of these is an enormous list of blogs/websites that are participating in giveaway day.  Most of the giveaways are not open for very long so I would suggest you not wait to check this out!  With so many giveaways to choose from, there is a good chance that some of them might have low entries as well!

Good Luck!

Winner of BabyBond Nursing Cover!

Congrats to Jen on winning her choice of BabyBond Cover!  An email has been sent and she has 48 hours to claim her prize.

A big thank you to all who entered!  Happy Friday!

BabyBond: A Nursing Mom's Dream (Review & GIVEAWAY!!) NOW CLOSED!

With both of my girls, I was able to breastfeed them for the first full year of their lives.  I was happy to do this and was thankful I was able to (and didn't have the added expense of formula, etc).  With Miss M, I never breastfed her in public.  She was an October baby so we spent the greater part of that winter indoors anyway.  If we were out, I would feed her in the car or just wait until we reached our destination.  I would always go into another room if we were not at home.  As a new mom, I was most comfortable nursing her this way and it worked fine.


When C arrived, I did not have the same luxury of staying indoors as I did with M.  Now I had a 4 1/2 year old and it was summertime.  My sister-in-law had bought me a nursing cover and I used that anytime we were at the park, etc. and C was hungry.  I don't remember there even being nursing covers when M was a baby.  The cover was okay.  C would get hot under it and sometimes bat at it instead of concentrating on eating.  I was glad I had it but wasn't completely satisfied using it.


When I was given the opportunity to review BabyBond, I jumped at the chance.  It is a nursing cover, but one that doesn't cover the baby!  What a great idea!  Even though my nursing days are very much behind me, I still wanted to see how the BabyBond would work.  I even had a worthwhile accomplice to help me in my review, my niece Caley.  She just became a new mom to a ten pound baby girl, "J",  a little over a month ago!


Here is her review of the Flex cover:

I think it is a really great concept. The thing that I like best about it is that the baby is not covered and you can have eye contact with the baby but you still are covered. The fabric is nice and soft compared to some of the other nursing covers I have seen, and it is smaller then most nursing covers so it would be easy to take with you all the time without having to worry about space. The detachable burp cloth is also really nice because it attaches and when you are out you won't have to worry about dropping the burp cloth or anything like that. The only things I find negative would be that when you are getting baby to latch on it is less modest. Also you need to be sure you are wearing a nursing shirt for it to work or else your stomach will be exposed. I would definitely try it out, probably more in the house when I don't want to be around people then in public because of the fact that I wouldn't want the extra expense of buying a whole nursing wardrobe to be able to use this. 

One thing that I would add to Caley's review is that if you have shirts that will button open or a low v-neck, then you do not have to use a nursing shirt with it.  Overall, I really wish I had known about BabyBond a couple of years ago, but I am glad that it is a real option for those moms that have to be on the go and those babies that hate being covered up.

Buy it! Go to BabyBond and get your own cover for $35!  Enter coupon code QSP and get 25% off your order!!

Note: the sash should actually be on the left shoulder

and not the right as shown in order

for the cover to be used properly.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!  THANKS!

Win it!  Baby Bond has graciously offered one of my readers their choice of either the Original, Flex or Couture models.

Mandatory Entry: Visit BabyBond's website and come back and leave a comment on which of three models (Original, Flex or Couture) you would choose AND in what color.  You MUST do this first or no entries will count!  Please leave your email address with this comment.

Extra Entries:

1. Like BabyBond on Facebook (leave your Facebook name).
2. Follow Queen of the Snot Princesses on Google Friend Connect (side bar --- click Follow) (leave GFC name)
3. Follow me on twitter and tweet this:  #Win a @babybond nursing cover from @yeahhappy! #breastfeeding #bfcafe LOW ENTRIES #giveaway.  Include link in your comment.  This can be done only ONCE.

This giveaway is offered worldwide 18+ and will end on April 14th 11:59pmCST.  Winner will be chosen through random.org.  Winner will be notified via e-mail.  If they fail to respond within 48 hours then a new winner will be picked.  Please leave your e-mail address in all your comments so that I can contact you.  I will not share your e-mail with anyone, it is strictly for me to notify you if you win.  GOOD LUCK!
Full Disclosure:  I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Winner of EcoSprout Detergent!

Out of a record (for me!) of 171 entries, random.org choose lucky number 82!  Congrats Me and Mine in a Small Town!

Winner has been emailed and has 48 hours to respond.  Thank you everyone for entering!  I wish I could give you all some EcoSprout!  Stay tuned for (hopefully) some more giveaways in the future!

Eco Sprout Laundry Soap - Review & GIVEAWAY!! CLOSED!

What (or who) is Eco Sprout? It was started by a WAHD (that's right, a work at home dad!) who wanted to find a detergent that would not just clean cloth diapers, but also his family's laundry.  Jared wanted a soap that was "free from enzymes, phosphates and is 100% biodegradable" and set out to make that happen himself.  He takes great care in his product and even manufactures it himself. 

Eco Sprout detergent is available in the following scents: Lavender Chamomile, Warm Vanilla Sugar, Fresh Linen, Vanilla Sandalwood, In the Buff (unscented) and a seasonal scent, which is currently Cinnamon Sticks.  Eco Sprout promises that the scent is purely for your enjoyment and will not transfer into the smell of your clothes.  I was sent a large sample bag of the Lavender Chamomile laundry detergent.

What did I think? First thing I noticed was the scent!  So pleasant.  Just having the bag sit on the shelf gave my laundry room a great aroma.  It definitely made dumping those dirty diapers into the washer a slightly more tolerable experience!  After I washed and dried my diapers and cloth wipes, I did notice a slight scent linger on the wipes.  No scent was detected on the diapers and the scent on the wipes was not strong and did not last into the next day.  I also used the detergent on my regular clothes using both a warm and cold wash.  The clothes came out clean and had no underlying scent or odor.  One thing I especially noticed was that with my regular laundry soap, the undershirts would sometimes hold their odor even after a wash.  This was NOT the case with Eco Sprout.  It worked GREAT!

After my daughter peed on her diaper, I did notice that it had a slight ammonia smell.  I quickly went on Eco Sprout's Facebook page and noticed that I had not followed their instructions fully.  They advise that whenever you start a new detergent you should first soak them in hot water with 3 tablespoons of their detergent  and soak for at least 3 hours or overnight if possible.  Then after draining the tub, wash again with 2 full hot washes/cold water rinses but do not use any more detergent.  Upon reading this, I washed all of my diapers as they instructed and did not encounter any more ammonia scent nor was the scent of the detergent found on my wipes any more.

I give this detergent a THUMBS UP!  It worked as it said it would and made my laundry room smell great, too!  I was especially impressed to find a detergent that would work for ALL my laundry needs!

BUY IT: You can buy your own bag of Eco Sprout detergent in your choice of scent for only $13.98 and right now shipping is just $3.00! 

WIN IT: You can win your very own large sample bag (cleans about 6 loads) in the Sandalwood Vanilla scent shown here!  (Cute toddler not included). 

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit EcoSprout's website and come back and leave me a comment on what your favorite scent is.  You must do this first or no entries will count!  Please leave your email address with this entry.

Extra Entries:

1. Like Eco Sprout on Facebook (leave your Facebook name).
2. Follow Queen of the Snot Princesses on Google Friend Connect (side bar -- click Follow)  (leave GFC name).
3. Follow me on twitter (leave your Twitter name)

This giveaway is offered to US residents 18+ and will end on January 13th 11:59pmCST.  Winner will be chosen through random.org.  Winner will be notified via e-mail.  If they fail to respond within 48 hours then a new winner will be picked.  Please leave your e-mail address in all your comments so that I can contact you.  I will not share your e-mail with anyone, it is strictly for me to notify you if you win.  GOOD LUCK!
Full Disclosure:  I was given this product by the supplier at no cost to me but the opinion here within is entirely my own.  You may experience a different result upon using this product.

Win an Apple TV from Blog Neighbors!

See this little black box?  That's what you need to get the awesome Apple TV!  Do you want to try your luck to win one?  Then head on over to Blog Neighbors to try your luck.  When Blog Neighbors reaches 250 followers, the giveaway will close.  So go on over there and check it out!  

(Thanks to Megan for the heads up on this awesome giveaway!)

Search for Overnight Cloth Diaper Solutions on Diary of a Devil Dog Wife

Starting Monday, October 18th, Diary of a Devil Dog Wife will begin a cloth diaper event called "Operation Overnight."  She says she has found a solution and will be having reviews, giveaways and tips.  So if you are curious, please check out her blog next week.

Fluff Baby Home at Biehl Adventures Blog

I've come across a neat blog that is holding great giveaways as well as trying to raise money for a great cause. Crystal over at Biehl Adventures is currently raising money to help her brother and sister-in-law's international adoption from Africa.  If you just donate a dollar you get 25 extra entries into all of her giveaways and if you donate five dollars or more you get a total of 50 extra entries into all the giveaways!  Wow!  Your donation is tax-deductible too!  

For more info., check out this post.

Thanks!

Weeklong Cloth Diaper Event at My Life as a Married Girl (& Mommy!)

Starting this Tuesday, July 13th,  Katrina over at My Life as a Married Girl (and Mommy!) will be hosting a week-long cloth diaper event.  So check it out!  If you go now, before the event, you can see how to get some extra entries.

Also, while you are there, let Katrina know (via e-mail) that I (AEK) sent you there and both you and I will get an extra entry into her giveaways!  Remember, winning stuff is fun!

"Three Magical Years Celebration!" at Mama Dweeb

Over at Mama Dweeb's blog, there is always some great giveaway going on and some great writing too!  Annie's last big event featured her filming her husband reviewing cloth diapers.  This time she is featuring some great items that any little girl would love to have!

So if you have a little girl in your life, like I do, then head on over to Mama Dweeb's during the month of June!

"Let's Have Fun Summer Event" at Luv My Two Girls

What, two postings in one day?!  Yes, but I have a good reason for it!  Another giveaway event and this one also doesn't involve cloth diapers!  At Luv My Two Girls' blog, she is having a "Let's Have Fun Summer Event!"  Some of her sponsors include Hearthsongs, Powermat, Wilton and Evolve Showerheads.  Some great sponsors and I am sure some great giveaways, too!

So head on over to Luv My Two Girls and check out her event!

A Healthy Living Event at "Take Time to Smell the Roses!"

Another fun giveaway event for you all to check out and this one doesn't involve cloth diapers!  Fancy that!  Over at Take Time to Smell the Roses, Chari will have over 20 different companies that she will be reviewing and even holding some giveaways on too!  Right now she has giveaway for a Naturepedic Baby/Toddler Mattress that I seriously have my eye on.  Baby C has been sleeping on the same mattress as not just her older sister did, but also her now 20 year old cousin did!  I think it is time for an upgrade, don't you?
So please check out her giveways during this month.  You never know, you might even win something!

Another Cloth Diaper Event!

Starting tomorrow, June 1st, and lasting through the entire month, Home Grown Families Blog will be hosting a Cover the Booty Cloth Diaper Event!  With such a cool event name, how could you pass it up?  There will not only be tons of giveaways, I am sure, but also reviews and answers to your most burning cloth diapering questions.

So if you are at all cloth curious, head on over to Home Grown Families during the month of June!

Do you like crafts? Do you like giveaways?

I know I sure do!  The lovely people from Sew Mama Sew! are motivating a bevy of crafty blogs to host giveaways on their individual blogs.  Go to the Giveaway Day website here: http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=7408 for a list of the handcrafted items blogs that are having giveaways.  There are also lists for blogs that are giving away supplies/materials and also sewing & knitting supplies and materials.

Most of the giveaways just require you to leave one comment so your odds are pretty good.  There are some really cute stuff being given away so I urge you to check out the list and start entering.  But you better to do it soon...most end by the end of this week!

Good Luck!

Marvelous Mommy: Month of May Giveaway Extravaganza!!

Starting May 10th (tomorrow!), Marvelous Mommy is having a month long worth of giveaways!  I will definitely be trying my luck at one or two or all of them and hope you will too!  The more the merrier!  Check out her site here or by clicking on the button above.

GOOD LUCK!

Check out this upcoming Cloth Diaper Giveaway!

Do you love to win stuff?  I sure do!  Go to The Eco-Cheap Mom all during the month of April (which starts next week!) and you could win some cloth diapers and essentials!  Sounds like a good time to me!

Body Butter GIVEAWAY! You Could Be A Winner! CLOSED

Sprout Baby: Love Your Baby Love Your Planet is an online store that offers a variety of healthy, eco-friendly products for your family.  As they state on their website: "We spend a great deal of our time making sure the products we present to you are the best, the healthiest and the safest alternatives around."  They began their store with offering Sprout Foods baby food but now also offer toys, diapers, feeding tools, home care, mom care, and finally baby care.  Which brings me to my giveaway!

Sprout Baby : Love Your Baby Love Your Planet has given me the wonderful opportunity to try out a product from the baby care section of their online store.  Episencial Body Butter is a luxurious body lotion for the whole family.  It truly is an all-natural product with such ingredients as: organic lavender, organic olive oil, shea butter, and sunflower seed oil.  What really makes their bottles stand out is the Eric Carle artwork.  This helps to make the bottles instantly recognizable to children who have read his books.

So What Did I and Miss M Think?  Well, the moment I opened the box, Miss M had me put some on her hands.  She then could not stop smelling them.  She kept saying, "My hands smell so good!"  I definitely agree with her on this.  The smell is not overpowering and I am a person that does not like a lot of smell to my lotion.  It is non-greasy and is quickly absorbed into the skin.  The bottles themselves are just the right size for smaller size hands since Miss M was able to use the bottle herself after bath-time with no problems.  I find myself using it on myself as well as on the girls.  It has been great during these dry months.  Definitely a winner in our house!

BUY IT!  I know you are dying to try this right now!  Well, you are in luck because Sprout Baby is offering a 15% discount off of your first order when you use code SBBL147 at checkout.  (Coupon code good until the end of March).  Also, if you order $75 or more you get free shipping with those items that qualify!


WIN IT! Sprout Baby is offering one of my lucky readers their very own bottle of Episcencial Body Butter!  Here's what you have to do to enter:


MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit Sprout Baby's online store and tell me in my comments section something (besides the body butter) that you would like to purchase.  Make sure you put your e-mail address in the comments!


EXTRA ENTRIES: (Please Note: Must do the mandatory entry FIRST!)

• Follow Sprout Baby on twitter (leave username so I can verify)
• Follow Queen of the Snot Princesses on Google Friend Connect or tell me if you already follow.
• Subscribe via e-mail (see box on right side) to my blog (be sure to validate or it won't count) or tell me if you already subscribe.
• Follow Queen of the Snot... on twitter  (leave username)
• Tweet about this giveaway.  Must have @sproutbabyclub @yeahhappy #giveaway and this web address in tweet. Place your status link in the comments.  You may tweet once a day.

This giveaway is offered to US residents 18+ and will end on March 8th at 11:59pmCST.  Winner will be chosen through random.org.  Winner will be notified via e-mail.  If they fail to respond within 48 hours then a new winner will be picked.  Please leave your e-mail address in all your comments so that I can contact you.  I will not share your e-mail with anyone, it is strictly for me to notify you if you win.  GOOD LUCK!
Full Disclosure:  I was given this product by the supplier at no cost to me but the opinion here within is entirely my own.  You may experience a different result upon using this product.