Earth's Best Seasonal Veggies Giveaway!

Enter to win some delicious seasonal veggies for your little one(s) from Earth's Best!

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Disclosure: I receive sample(s) for the purpose of testing and review. These opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Thoughts Of Fluff is not responsible for shipment of the prize(s). 

Earth's Best Seasonal Veggies

Earth's Best is bringing some fantastic seasonal vegetables to help expand your baby's palate. Autumn is in the air, and nothing is better in the autumn than the delicious fruits and veggies that come into season!




Babies become pickier and more selective in their foods as they grow older, so it's always a good idea to introduce them to a variety of foods early in their solid-foods diet. (For more information, visit Earth’s Best website and check-out the article “Infants’Unpredictable Palates which discusses the natural progression of the tastes and interests of babies.)

Don't use jarred food with your little ones? That's okay, we did baby-led weaning with Bobble, so we understand! There are still great uses for these delicious little jars of food.... like adding the sweet potato jar in with some delicious macaroni and cheese, or using the bananas & strawberries jar to add to some muffins for flavour and moistness! There are many options for the yummy foods that Earth's Best offers!

So what are these awesome seasonal flavours that you can find? Earth's Best has created a variety of all-natural and organic products for your little one to enjoy, including:
1st Foods - Squash
1st Foods - Sweet Potato
2nd Vegetables-Carrots
2nd Vegetables- Green Beans and Rice

Check out the other Seasonal Harvest items (Earth's Best 2nd foods) for even more delicious foods for baby, and the other 2nd Vegetables that are available (like the winter squash)! Like the other Earth's Best organic products, these delicious seasonal veggies are made without the use of pesticides. Nothing like healthy foods grown organically!

Look for the seasonal flavours wherever Earth's Best  products are sold. You can find them at a grocer near you using the Earth’s Best Store Locator ! You can also enter my giveaway for a chance to win an assortment!

 Disclosure: I receive sample(s) for the purpose of testing and review. These opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Thoughts Of Fluff is not responsible for shipment of the prize(s).

Coming soon!!!

Coming in October.... a Bunzi Balance Bike giveaway! :)

Attention bloggers! Sign up's are now open for the Kate n' Kaboodle Bunzi Giveaway. This is a free event to join! Prize: Bunzi Balance Trainer Dates: October 8-22 Sign up here.

Happy Snax Giveaway

Looking for a great snack idea for your little ones? Head on over and read my Happy Snax review!
Enter to win some below!!!




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Earth's Best Happy Snax

Are you looking for some new toddler snack ideas? Earth's Best now has their new Happy Snax Whole Grain Cereal Snacks for you to consider! The fun (smiley) shape and delicious taste will keep your children smiling, and you'll be smiling knowing they are getting 12 grams of whole grains, 2 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber per serving and 25% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C.




Nothing is better than a wholesome snack the kids like, right? Well.... Earth's Best can make the snack even better! The Happy Snax are made with organic ingredients, meaning they are grown without any potentially harmful pesticides or herbicides. They are also specially formulated with an excellent source of iron, zinc, and six B Vitamins. Earth's Best Happy Snax, like all the other Earth's Best products, do not contain any artificial flavours, colours, preservatives, nor do they have any genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

With two delicious flavours, Graham and Apple Cinnamon, you can have a yummy snack for all palates. The Graham flavour is a simple, delicious, snack that tastes just like a graham cracker. The Apple Cinnamon actually surprised me with how strong of an apple taste it had in such a little nibble of a snack! If the cooler weather didn't tip me off, the Apple Cinnamon Happy Snax definitely made me feel like autumn was here!

These snacks make great snacks for car rides or just to grab on your way out the door to one of the many sporting events at your child's school. They come in resealable canisters that hold 2.6 oz, so they are a great travel size!

Look for new Earth's Best Happy Snax at a grocer near you that carries Earth’s Best products, or you can use the Earth’s Best Store Locator to find a location near you! You can also order them online at the Earth’s Best Store, from Amazon.com, any other online retailers where you can buy Earth’s Best products!

Disclosure: I receive sample(s) for the purpose of testing and review. These opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Thoughts Of Fluff is not responsible for shipment of the prize(s).

Loving Maternity Clothes

With maternity clothes, it seems to be people either love them or hate them. The main reason that I’ve found for people hating them? Because they get worn for such a small amount of time compared to the cost. You know, I find this to be the complete opposite for me, so I’ll give you a little insight into my clothing world. Granted, I’m no fashionista, but I do have to look presentable for work and I like to be comfortable.

Me at 26 weeks

The first thing I feel I should mention is that I started shopping maternity clothes before I was ever pregnant. It happened by accident, honestly. One day I was doing a bit of thrift shopping when I saw a very adorable shirt with a unique pattern on it. I tried it on since it was my size, and it fit. I loved it, it looked brand new, I bought it for a couple dollars. Later, doing laundry, I saw the label that said it was Maternity. I stopped and thought for a minute, then realized that was something I never considered. 

The next time I went out shopping for shirts, I looked in the maternity section. Granted, there are some very unflattering maternity shirts, the majority of what I found was very comfortable, looked nice enough to where I could dress it up to casual dress for work, or wear it with jeans and look good, and it wasn’t an unflattering fit on me. In fact, it didn’t look bad at all. Some maternity clothes just make you look pregnant (which is good if your old clothes are just making you look pudgy when you’re really pregnant), but certain clothes really didn’t look bad. Dare I say even flattering?

(Taken on 9-23-12)

This was proven to be my saviour one summer when I was at my wit’s end trying to find a pair of shorts. I am not 15, I don’t want half of my butt hanging out the shorts. I’m also not 50, I don’t want them coming up to my ribs. I was darn near ready to give up and accept I will never find a pair of comfortable shorts that had longer than a 1” inseam and a low rise…. And then I happened past a maternity store that had cotton shorts on the table at the front of the store. I looked at them, realized they were super comfy (I wanted them for working out/working around the house), noticed that they had a draw string at the waist in case I did gain or lose a little… they’d still fit, and then realized they were less than $10. Win-win-win!

My first (intentional) maternity shirt purchase pre-pregnancy (Pictures on top taken 9-23-12, Maternity photo taken at 30w)

I was hooked ever since then. I just shopped for what would be multi-purpose. It wasn’t too long after starting my journey with actually shopping 80% of the time in the maternity section that I ended up pregnant with Bobble. I’ll start off by saying this: Maternity pants are a completely DIFFERENT story. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are necessary after a certain point. No, you don’t want to wear them when you don’t have to. Shirts, dresses, sweaters, skirts, shorts…. Well, those are a different story.

(Top pictures taken 9-23-12, maternity photo taken with a horribly crappy web cam at 20w)

I spent time picking out clothes that I would be able to use 3 ways. My criteria was they had to be usable at least two of the 3 ways, but mostly I wanted all or nothing. (It better be a darn good sale or adorable article of clothing to have me buy it otherwise!) It had to be comfortable no matter what, so I didn’t even include that in the criteria mentioned above. If it’s not comfy, I’d never buy it. Plain and simple. So, other than being comfy, the clothes must:

1. Be able to be dressed up
2. Look flattering on me regardless of whether I am pregnant or not
3. Be able to nurse in

I dislike lifting my shirt up for nursing, and I never was able to afford those awesome, cute tops like the Toni Top that make nursing super easy. I cringe at the thought of paying $20 for a shirt, so the nice nursing shirts were definitely out! Of course, something simple like an Undercover Mama nursing tank helps a lot. I love these shirts, and I know I will use them well after I stop nursing Bobble. They are great for layering any outfit, but I still only have the straps of my bra to deal with. I hate the double straps under a shirt, so this was really nice. The older version of the shirts have a hook that you just slide over the top of your bra (doesn’t even need to be a nursing bra!), while the newer shirts have both the hook AND a stretchy little ‘O’ that you can put over the plastic hook of your nursing bra and the snap your bra back together. The newer shirts are brilliant since they work with regular bras too, making this shirt fantastic for any layering. Of course, it makes breastfeeding easier too, as sometimes the necklines of a shirt I want (or a sweater) are not very stretchy and I simply can’t get enough (or anything) out for Bobble to latch on to. The Undercover Mama tank keeps my belly covered up for those times I have to lift my shirt.

There are also a handful of styles of maternity shirts that fit all the criteria above, such as the Oh Baby! Motherhood Maternity line at Kohl’s (or at Motherhood Maternity). I’ve discovered that the V-neck shirts not only help make the shirt a bit dressier (just add a necklace and you’re ready for work!), but are stretchy enough to pull down to nurse instead of lifting up. They make ¾ length sleeves, t-shirts, and sweaters in that style (side-ruched v-neck), though the sweaters don’t have enough give to nurse by pulling down. I most recently bought myself a nice ¾ sleeve shirt from Kohl’s and I had a few co-workers saying how great it looked and asking where I bought the shirt. One of them is now going to start shopping in the Maternity section at Kohl’s. Keep in mind that Bobble is now 20 months old, so I’m 20 months post-partum. They were shocked because they didn’t think it looked like a maternity shirt (and it doesn’t!), but I know it will work in the future for me too.

There are also some super cute empire-waist clothes that are in the maternity section that can be flattering for anyone who happens to like that shirt! I got an adorable cross-front, empire waist tank top at Kohl’s (they are clearance now, since it’s no longer summer!) that looks great with jeans or work pants. I usually wear an Undercover Mama shirt with it if I wear it to work simply to cover a wee bit more since it is a cross-front shirt, but I don’t need to. I also found similar dresses at Kohl’s (Cross-front/v-neck, empire waist) this past summer that I’ve gotten many compliments on at work and from my hubby. Best of all, if I end up heavily pregnant during summer months, I know I have clothes I can wear and be comfortable without having to go buy a bunch of stuff!

So, frugal shoppers, take heart! Whether you are expecting, planning for the future, nursing, or just looking for some more comfortable clothes to wear that are able to be dressed up or down, you can find something you will like (that will work!) in the Maternity section of your favorite store (that carries maternity, of course). You’ll feel good that you bought multi-purpose clothes, better if you shop and hit the sales (like I do), and you’ll look great and be comfortable! (Also, they do *NOT* look like moo-moos!) 

(Top photos taken 9-23-12, maternity photos taken at 36w... 1 day before I went into labour!)


(This lone picture from 32 weeks is the exact same shirt as the green above, just in gray)

Also, don’t forget that’s a great place to go look for cotton shorts that don’t have your butt hanging out! (They didn’t have an elastic band that went up over your belly or anything, just a wide, stretchy cotton band with a draw string.)

Disclosure: The products mentioned above were purchased by me. None of the aforementioned stores or brands sponsored this post in any way. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.

Halloween

It is hard to believe that we are already nearing the holiday season. Halloween, being the first one of the bunch, is one I'm getting excited for. Bobble has a big head (heck, that's why I call him "Bobble"!!!), so I decided to go with something appropriate for that. I decided that him going as Charlie Brown would be rather appropriate. Last year we had a cute little onesie that had a hood and was a fuzzy material. He was a little frog. This year would take a bit more effort, but it will be fun none-the-less.

I found a great yellowish-orange polo for the outfit at The Children's Place, and I plan on putting black electrical tape on the shirt to make the zig. This way the shirt will be useable later on and not have a huge black mark across it. I will have to apply the "zig" while Bobble isn't around, however, as I don't want him to know that it can come off if he pulls on it!

We already have brown shoes for him, so the shoes are covered! I don't know if I will get yellow socks or not since he will likely be wearing pants instead of shorts. Speaking of pants, I did a few searches on Google to see what sort of bottoms I should get him. I was looking for black shorts initially, but then I noticed that Charlie Brown wears long black pants when it's colder out. Considering we live near the Great Lakes, it's not exactly going to be shorts weather when Halloween rolls around. Luckily for me, plain black pants are easy to find. I'm not certain we will be able to find a hat for him, but I'm okay with that. He's likely going to be inside the entire evening anyway. I also won't probably find a jacket for him (nor would I really look), but he'll have the shirt.

So, there you have it! Already planning our costume for our little Bobble! I think he'll fit the part just fine. Speaking of that, you have nothing to go off of with how big his head is.... so I figured I'd include a picture of him for you here. Granted this picture is from May and not the most recent, it's still a picture of Bobble. I would like to state that he is growing into his head slowly, so little by little it doesn't appear AS big, but still.

Without further ado..... Bobble! (don't mind the extra arms behind him.... that's a playmate! No, he doesn't have 4 arms!)

Now I know that he may seem a bit young for trick-or-treating, but I assure you he's not trick-or-treating. He was invited to a little Halloween party, and so we will attend that and let him enjoy playing with other little kids. I don't want him having those sweets. In fact, I don't know if I like the idea of trick-or-treating at all (in the future). I'm not opposed to people dressing up and having fun, but I dislike all the garbage (read: junk food) thought. I have been thinking that I'd rather start some little family traditions each year for various holidays instead of conforming to the "societal norm".

For example, for Halloween I could hold a little party for him and some friends when he's older.... but while he's younger (at least until he asks for something more), I thought it would be fun to watch a Halloween-themed movie, bake pumpkin cookies/pie/bread/whatever he wants, and build some sort of themed decoration that could be used for autumn in general. Maybe we can make leaves via finger paints and hand prints and hang them up, or any other number of craft ideas. When it's all said and done, I'll be happy if he's content sipping apple cider (or hot chocolate if he prefers), baking something with mom (maybe making caramel apples!), and watching a movie. The memories will be worth it so much more than having him out collecting candy I don't want him eating (and, actually, don't like even buying for handing out!).