Not Just Baby Brain » Reviews

UPPAbaby G-LUXE (giveaway)

Stacey — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:00:52 +0000

The piece of baby gear that I most ~~obssessed about~~ researched before our first baby was born was definitely the stroller. There are so many different options out there now and it can be hard to narrow things down! We decided on a full-sized stroller that we could put the carseat in and it has served us well….but that was just the first of many strollers that we would own. It turns out that these days, many families have different strollers for different needs and what we need now that Rowan is almost walking and getting ready to take on the world is a lightweight stroller that folds compactly and is still comfortable for all of our adventures out and about. Enter the UPPAbaby G-LUXE!

I was sent the G-LUXE in Sebby, which is a gorgeous blue; I’ve received many compliements on it! When it arrived, I was able to assemble it in a few minutes - just pop on the front wheels, click the sunshade onto the sides and attach the cupholder and you’re done. One of my favourite features is that when you have the G-LUXE collapsed, it stands up. That is so much nicer than a bulky stroller that falls to the ground when it’s folded.

The G-LUXE takes up very little room in our trunk – you can see that after a trip to a warehouse store I had more than enough room for our stroller and all of our groceries. I can take the G-LUXE out of the trunk and set it up while holding a squirming one year old and I’ve never seen a lightweight stroller with such a large and easily accessible basket! As you can see in the top right picture, it has room for the purse that I’m using as a diaper bag and there is still additional space underneath the seat.

At a mere 11 lbs, the UPPAbaby G-LUXE is by far the lightest stroller I’ve ever had the pleasure of pushing around. By coinsedence, we took a trip to the Agriculture museum on Easter weekend with our old stroller, and then went back with some friends and our new UPPAbaby G-LUXE a few days later. I was quite impressed with how well the G-LUXE fared: I can easily steer it with one hand while holding my preschooler’s hand, the sun canopy is huge and has SPF 50, the drink holder is secure and holds everything from my coffee to a sippy cup, and the ride was just as smooth as our full-sized stroller. In fact, I preferred having the G-LUXE because of its smaller footprint; when you’re in crowded spaces it’s much nicer for everyone if the stroller is compact! As you can see above, Rowan was perfectly happy to spend the morning chilling in her G-LUXE.

The UPPAbaby G-LUXE is suitable from 3 months to 50 lbs, but to be honest, Rowan is the primary occupant. I did take Ashlyn for a quick spin to see how it handled with a bigger child (she’s about 30lbs). It still handled like a dream and she was quite comfortable in it so I know we have years of use ahead of us! You can see that Rowan has loads of room to grow and Ashlyn still has a long way to go before she’d be too big. Every time we take the G-LUXE out she asks if it’s her turn to ride in it!

Having a lightweight stroller with a 120° recline is really handy for the odd time we’re out and Rowan decides to nap in her stroller. The only thing that I don’t love is the mechanism to change the incline of the seat; I find it a bit tricky to get the plastic tab up high enough on the drawstring to get the seat fully upright. I fully realize that is just because I’m not used to this method (it’s very common on strollers with an umbrella fold) and it’s certainly not a deal-breaker!

The suggested retail price for the UPPAbaby G-LUXE is $199.99. Please visit UPPAbaby to find a Canadian retailer close to you.

One lucky CANADIAN reader will win an UPPAbaby G-LUXE in Ani (pictured at the top of the post)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Mother’s Day from Dorset Cereals (giveaway)

Stacey — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:19:19 +0000

If Ashlyn had her way, she’d have cereal for at least 2, if not 3, meals a day. I’m always checking the cereal aisle to find a cereal that is good for her but still tastes as yummy as the sugary stuff that she reaches for. I was happy to receive a package from Dorset Cereals featuring a variety of their delicious and nutritious cereals and my family has been more than happy to help me taste-test them!

Our current favourite is Super Cranberry, Cherry & Almond Muesli. Full of cranberries, cherries and almonds with raisins and sultanas, sunflower seeds, flame raisins and toasted cereals; we have enjoyed it dry as a snack, with milk, and my personal favourite – on top of a bowl of plain yogurt. I’m trying to keep my computer off until after we’ve eaten so that we can spend breakfast talking and getting ready for another hectic and fun day! You can find Dorset Cereals at various retailers across Canada and around the world.

Families will be spending quality time with mom this Mother’s Day. But they can also show mom they’re thinking about her EVERY day by winning a simply delicious gift bag for her that’s filled with Dorset Cereals.

TWO lucky readers will each win a gift bag from Dorset Cereals (ARV $75). Includes is an attractive gourmet getaway lunch tote made from protective material that insulates for up to four hours and folds flat for easy storage and four boxes of Dorset Cereals!

To enter, tell me what you’re planning to have for Mother’s Day breakfast (required).

For additional entries (leave a separate comment here for each):

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Contest closes MAY 7 @ 10pm EST; open to CANADIAN RESIDENTS only.

Please make sure that your profile is public or leave me your email address in each entry so I have a way to contact you. I will use And The Winner Is… to chose the winner and email them. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Peter Pan Returns

Stacey — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:05:33 +0000

I’m not sure who the bigger fan of Jake and the Never Land Pirates is in our house – Ashlyn or her parents! Full of fun and adventure, it’s been popular in our house for months now, so we jumped at the chance to review a copy of Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Peter Pan Returns.

“Yay hey! The most famous Never Land hero of all time is back! Before you can say, “I can fly!” – Peter Pan returns to lead Jake And The Never Land Pirates on their first-ever full-length adventure. During a game of “catch-me-if-you-can,” Peter Pan’s mischievous shadow slips away.and winds up in the clutches of that sneaky snook, Captain Hook! Now it’s up to Jake, Izzy, Cubby – and YOU – to help Peter rescue his shadow. Then, enjoy more excitement with five Jake And The Never Land Pirates adventures, including a DVD premiere. Awash with happy thoughts, swashbuckling action, new songs, and never-ending fun, Jake And The Never Land Pirates: Peter Pan Returns! proves good friends can do great things when they work together!”

Included inside the dvd is a blow-up pirate sword, which Ashlyn needed to watch her movie. It’s been in pretty heavy rotation ever since – in fact, it was on while I wrote this review – and it’s definitely a movie that we all enjoy. I asked Ashlyn what her favourite part was and she said “I love everything, Mommy”. The songs are catchy and with the Pirate Party feature I can finally sing along to them. Look for Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Peter Pan Returns at a retailer near you!

Norio Kids playhouse (giveaway)

Stacey — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:20:48 +0000

Ashlyn loves to play in her playhouse in the backyard, but like many families we just don’t have room to put one inside. Norio Kids has a creative solution – a cardboard playhouse system!

We received our Cocoro playhouse system just before Easter but I held off on opening it until after the holiday weekend. With a total of 26 pieces, you can create any structure you like! It comes with instructions for a basic playhouse, which is what we built. The playhouse dimensions are 44” x 39” x 39” so there is lots of room for my almost-3-year old and a friend to play inside. Made with sturdy double-wall SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) certified cardboard that is 100% recyclable, it is much sturdier than I had expected it to be!

First things first: we opened the package. When I explained to Ashlyn that not only was it a playhouse that we could build, but she was allowed to decorate it with crayons and stickers, she literally could not wait long enough for me to take everything out! We spent a half hour just decorating the roof together, as it was the piece on the top when I opened the box.

The next step was separating the pieces and assembling the playhouse. I took this picture at 1:59pm:

And these were taken at 2:07pm:

Ashlyn is having a blast with her new playhouse. She loves to play in it and it was a big hit with one of her little friends when they came for a play date – how often can children colour on the walls? I love that this playhouse offers a variety of creative outlets and Ashlyn will have loads of fun decorating it for weeks to come. We’ll keep it up most of the time because it’s so much fun, but I love that if we’re having a particularly full house due to company or a packed play date, I can disassemble the playhouse in moments and store it easily, then have it back up before the last mini-van pulls away from our home!

A bonus that she doesn’t even know about yet (I’m holding on to them for a rainy afternoon): all of the Cocoro cardboard playhouse structures come with 2 miniature versions made of cardstock!

Norio Kids is offering Not Just Baby Brain readers a 20% discount code until May 6th! Just enter MRK320BB when you order your Cocoro playhouse system; 2 free miniature versions are included with the sale of the cardboard Cocoro playhouses.

One lucky reader will win a Cocoro playhouse system from Norio Kids!

To enter, leave a comment telling me why you’d love to win a Cocoro playhouse system (required).

For additional entries (leave a separate comment here for each):

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Follow @NotJstBabyBrain on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (RT 1x per day and leave me the link to your tweet in your comment) #Win a #green #playhouse from Norio #Kids via @NotJstBabyBrain http://notjustbabybrain.com/?p=4248 #giveaway #toys #family
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Contest closes APRIL 27 @ 10pm EST; open to US and CANADIAN RESIDENTS only.

April is kids’ movie month at BLOCKBUSTER Express

Stacey — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:27:05 +0000

BLOCKBUSTER Express has made April kids’ movie month! One of my favourite ways to spend an afternoon is snuggled up on the couch with Ashlyn watching a movie and snacking on popcorn. Those handy blue movie rental kiosks you see at grocery and convenience stores will be full of titles that your kids will love and at only $2 for the first night and $1 each additional night (and they come with the BLOCKBUSTER Express In-Stock Guarantee) it’s a great way to spend some quality time with your favourite little ones.

Some of our favourite NCircle movies are being stocked by BLOCKBUSTER Express this month. Hardly a week goes by in this house without a screening of “Meet the Fairies” or a Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That movie!

As a feel-good bonus for the month of April, BLOCKBUSTER Express will donate 10% of all first-night Family, Kids and Animated movie rentals to Make-A-Wish^®. Make-A-Wish is a wonderful foundation that grants very sick children their special wishes, and BLOCKBUSTER Express has set a with a minimum donation of $30,000, up to a maximum of $60,000.

Check out BLOCKBUSTER Express on Facebook and follow @blockbusterexp on Twitter to get all of the special promotions that BLOCKBUSTER Express offers!

The Looneyspoons Collection (giveaway)

Stacey — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 01:22:49 +0000

I’m a longtime fan of Janet and Greta Podleski. Some of my most frequently requested recipes come from their cookbook “Eat, Shrink and Be Merry” (try the Girl-Guy cookies and add about 1/4 cup of whole flax seeds for crunch - you can thank me later). I was excited to see that their latest creation, “The Looneyspoons Collection” features many of the recipes that I have made and enjoyed in the past, but they have been updated and ‘healthified’. Lots of nutritional information has changed since “Looneyspoons” was first published the 90′s – more fibre, whole grains, good fats, less sodium etc. – and if you want to eat healthy, you need to keep on top of the current recommendations!

I asked Greta (excuse me while I pick up that name I just dropped) what recipes she recommends for moms and she suggested trying ‘You’re Pudding Me On’, which is a warm banana bread pudding. Coincidentally enough, on the day my copy of TLC arrived I had taken a ’No Weigh, José! Mexican Lasagna’ from the freezer for our dinner so I figured since I wasn’t cooking I’d give the dessert a try!

Made with 12 grain bread, vanilla yogurt, bananas, chocolate chips and a few other ingredients, it was a snap to put together and it baked while we ate dinner and cleaned up. My house smelled amazing and we couldn’t wait to dig in – waiting the 10 minutes for it to set when you take it out was torture.

Ashlyn dug right in and loved it; so did the moms and kids we shared it with the next day at a play date.

I’ve made a note to try ’Sticky Chicky’ (baked chicken thighs in a sticky-sweet BBQ sauce) which I have been told is very popular with kids and parents alike. ”The Looneyspoons Collection” is popular across the board these days - it’s the #1 non-fiction book in Canada!

One lucky reader will win their own copy of “The Looneyspoons Collection” from Janet and Greta Podleski!

To enter, tell me what healthy recipe you cook the most often (required).

For additional entries (leave a separate comment here for each):

Follow me with Google Friend Connect (there’s a link on the left side bar)
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“Like” Not Just Baby Brain on Facebook (leave your first name and last initial in your comment so I can find you, please)
“Like” Janet and Greta on Facebook (leave your first name and last initial in your comment so I can find you, please)
Follow @NotJstBabyBrain on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (RT 1x per day and leave me the link to your tweet in your comment) #Win The Looneyspoons Collection cookbook via @NotJstBabyBrain http://notjustbabybrain.com/?p=4132 #giveaway #family #recipes #healthy
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Contest closes MARCH 28 @ 10pm EST; open to CANADIAN RESIDENTS only.

Dressing up is fun all year long

Stacey — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:19:29 +0000

I’ve officially hit the ‘I’m sick of winter’ phase and there are still a good 2 months left. It can be so hard to find new ways to entertain a little one when it’s too cold to play outside - or snowy, or rainy and icy as it has been for so much of our winter so far. One thing that Ashlyn always enjoys doing when we’re cooped up inside is playing dress-up! She has a fairly recent obsession with Disney Fairies and her favourite thing to do these days is to grab a blanket to use as ‘wings’ and dance around the family room.

While it might seem like a strange time to be looking at a costume website, Costume Discounters isn’t just for Halloween! In fact, there can be some great deals that wouldn’t be available during the peak season. I choose a fairy costume that came with lots of accessories for Ashlyn; the Plum Pixie costume comes with a dress, wings, headpiece and wand which will be great used together or shared amongst her little friends. I haven’t shown it to her yet because I know she won’t take it off and I’m saving it for a particularly boring day when we need a little something different to cheer us up.

I love watching her imagination grow as she plays dress-up and I know it’s just a matter of time before Rowan gets dragged into it. Ashlyn is already convinced that Rowan needs her very own set of fairy wings.

So far we’ve managed to avoid the dreaded “Mommy, can I wear my beautiful princess dress to the store?” but I know it’s just a matter of time! Do you let your little girl (or boy) wear their dress-up costumes outside of the house?

Valentine’s Day Cards

Stacey — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:45:31 +0000

It seems like as soon as one holiday is over, there is another to look forward to! With Valentine’s Day just a few weeks away I’m starting to think of fun activities to do with Ashlyn and her little friends.

There will be baking for sure – perhaps some sort of heart-shaped rice crispie treat since Ashlyn likes making those so much? – and crafts. We ordered some classroom Valentine’s Day cards from Minted.com for Ashlyn and Rowan to hand out to their friends and send to our family members who live too far away to visit. At just 2.5″x3.5″ they’re perfect for classroom parties or play dates; if you plan to mail them you’ll need a larger envelope!

picture taken by Elizabeth Fulton Photography

I was drawn to the paper heart classroom Valentine’s Day cards because any time I can incorporate a picture of my girls in something we’re sending out I do! I’m still getting compliments on our Christmas cards by Minted so I know these will be a hit too. There are also non-photo cards available that can still be personalized with your child’s name on them.

I had no problem uploading my pictures and getting the card just the way I wanted it. I changed the font from white to pink and made sure that both girls’ names were on it. The proof was sent on Friday (the day after I placed my order), I was notified that it had been shipped out on Monday and I had it at my door on Wednesday! I’m very impressed with how quickly Minted can get their product to me in Canada since I’ve had many instances with other companies of products being held up at the border for weeks.

Order your classroom Valentine’s Day cards by February 7^th to receive them in time for your little ones to hand out on February 14^th!

My Memories (scrapbooking software giveaway)

Stacey — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:34:39 +0000

I love traditional scrapbooking but I don’t have nearly enough time for it these days. With a little girl who wants to ‘help’ and is very interested in crafts I can’t leave my products and pages out or who knows what I’ll find! I’d heard about digital scrapbooking software before but hadn’t made the leap until I was introduced to My Memories Suite.

I’ve been playing around with My Memories Suite for a few weeks now and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to try scrapbooking on the computer! While I don’t think I’ll ever give up traditional scrapbooking, there is something to be said for being able to make more than one copy of a project instantly and not having to worry that a breeze might ruin a layout you’ve spent hours on. I made a few Christmas gifts using My Memories Suite, which is why I wanted to wait until after Christmas to run this post – I didn’t want to ruin the surprise (hi Mom!).

I found the My Memories Suite scrapbook software to be very easy to use and I had a lot of fun creating some traditional layouts, as well as playing with the various embellishments that are available. You can do everything that you need to in this software – cropping pictures, rotating them, changing colours and creating your own layout or using a template that is provided.

My favourite project was a small calendar. I used various quick pages (ie pages that are already made up; you just put in your pictures and it’s done) that I could download for free from My Memories Suite, then added the months using the ‘calendars’ tab in the Control Panel and played around with the colours until I liked them. I printed them out as 4×6 pictures and put them into a frame and voila – a personalized calendar that’s perfect for the office or computer room.

This is the perfect time of year to start a scrapbook; the weather is cold and a whole new year is starting. Use the code STMMMS73949 and you’ll receive a $10 discount on the purchase of the MyMemories Suite V3 scrapbook software AND a $10 coupon for downloads – a total value of $20!

One lucky reader will win their own My Memories Suite scrapbook software!

To enter, look around My Memories Suite and leave me a comment with your favourite digital scrapbooking kit (required).

For additional entries (leave a separate comment here for each):

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Follow @NotJstBabyBrain on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (RT 1x per day and leave me the link to your tweet in your comment) #Win @mymemoriessuite #scrapbook software via @NotJstBabyBrain http://notjustbabybrain.com/?p=3356 #giveaway #craft
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Contest closes JANUARY 13 @ 10pm EST; open to US and CANADIAN RESIDENTS only.

HEXBUG Nano for the holidays

Stacey — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:43:55 +0000

Have you heard about HEXBUG® Nano? All of a sudden they seem to be everywhere! They’re tiny (1.75 inches each) little micro robotic bugs that uses the physics of vibration to skitter along and explore its environment on smooth surfaces. They can even flip from their back to their front and vice versa! It’s fun to watch since you can’t be sure where exactly your HEXBUG will go next.

While you can set them loose on any flat, smooth surface and watch them go, they’re even more fun if you use one of their habitats! The HEXBUG® Nano Spiral Starter Set is a great way to see how much the HEXBUGS can do. Featuring 2 levels, you can watch your HEXBUG make his way up and down the spiral ramp. All of the habitat sets are expandable and interchangable so you can combine as many habitats as you’d like as you grow your collection. It’s important to remember that the HEXBUG Nanos don’t always stay inside of their habitats so make sure to keep an eye on them in case you get an escapee.

My favourite Nanos are the ones that glow in the dark! They have their own special habitats that also glow in the dark, but of course they work on any of the Nano habitats. I can see this being a big hit at sleepovers!

Each habitat comes with a unique mutation of Nano. HEXBUG Nanos run on ‘bug food’ (akaAG13/LR44 batteries, which are included and are available for purchase where you buy HEXBUG products). HEXBUG Nanos are recommended for ages 3 + and are available online and in many stores nationwide.