Hot Straw

Have you ever burned the heck out of your mouth or spilled hot coffee all over your self while trying to take a drink of hot coffee while your driving. Yup been there done that several times. And how hard is it to take a drink of something hot while walking and push a stroller.  Lets face it its tricky but moms do it every day.  What mom is going to go with out coffee right.  Well Moms and coffee drinkers let me introduce you to my little friend the Hot Straw. I received a package of blue Hot Straws to try out. Hot Straw is a special straw designed for drinking hot stuff. Get this it doesn't melt or get soft in hot liquids. It Helps to prevent spills, Keeps Teeth Whiter, Its BPA Free, Dentist recommended reusable and Eco-Friendly. Wait there is more Its made in the Good Old USA. An get this its got a flat design so it fits in those funny lids that come on to-go cups.  You can find Hot Straw at www.hotstraw.com . Hot Straw comes in red blue pink and green. They come in two different lengths so you can order a straw to fit your favorite cup they come in 9in and 7in lengths. They are sold  for $ 8.49 and come with 4 in a pack. Or you can order combo packs for $15.29 and $25.99. Hot Straw even sells a cleaning tool for getting your straw super clean it sells for $3.50.

Pros:

• Well I love Hot Straw I can take my coffee with me in the car not worry about spilling it all over my self while trying to drive. 
• It is shaped to fit in the hole on those funny lids that come on to-go coffee cups.
• Its BPA Free  
• IT'S MADE IN THE USA
• Hot Straw is Dentist Recommended
• Its REUSABLE
• The Kids love drinking hot coco out of it and less of it ends up on there shirt.
• I also feel the price is affordable and budget friendly since they are reusable and should last a while if you take care of them.

Cons:

• Your are still drinking something hot and you still need to be careful.  OK so that is not really a Hot Straw con but I couldn't come up with any real Cons  

Disclosure: I received this product at no cost for review. All opinions are my own or what my kids thought of the product the photos are my own of the product I received but the logo at the top is from HotStraw.

Back-to-School Allergy Tips

As a mom with two little girls who both suffer from allergies I am always looking for a way to reduce allergens in our home. Iv been working with The Claritin  Moms Crew to help other moms with munchkins that suffer from seasonal Allergy's.  Today I want to share some very useful back-to-school allergy tips that Children's Claritin sent to me. I use many of these tips in my home and find that they really do help the girls.

1. Be sure to have Children’s Claritin, the #1 pediatrician-recommended non-drowsy allergy brand, on hand!

2. Multi-vitamins are building blocks to having a strong immune system. Make taking a multi-vitamin part of your

child’s daily routine.

3. Let there be light! Mold doesn't like sunlight, so try to keep your curtains open during the day. Should be easy

during the summer months!

4. Did you know that most pillows trap allergens, dust mites, and bacteria? Monitor the cleanliness of the pillow

your child with allergies sleeps on and replace if necessary.

5. Back to school season means lots of laundry for many moms. Be sure to remove laundry from the washing

machine promptly. Allowing wet clothes to sit in the washer means mold can quickly grow there.

6. Monitor pollen counts and adjust outdoor before and after school activities accordingly. Dry, windy days

can be particularly high in pollen.

7. Showering or bathing at the end of the day as opposed to the morning can be helpful in removing allergens

from body surfaces and hair.

8. Stay hydrated! Always send your child to school with a bottle of water. Drinking lots of clear fluids through the

day can help get rid of toxins and flush out body.

9. Peak pollen production typically occurs in early morning, so try to plan outside activities at other times of the

day.

Disclaimer: "As a member of the Children’s Claritin Mom Crew, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit. No monetary compensation has taken place and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience." 

The LeapReader™ "Ready, Set, Read & Write" Party

I was given the opportunity to work with LeapFrog and MomSelect on a fantastic new Leapfrog Product.

Everyone Knows how much I love Leapfrog's learning products. So this was a great thrill for me to be able to host this party. Our Party was for the New LeapReader Ready, Set, Read and Write. We received a party pack to help us host the party. It contained two Leapreaders pre-loaded with Leapreader books and learning apps special for our party. LeapReader Books including Learn to Write Letters with Mr.Pencil writing Workbook, Talking words factory writing workbook and LeapFrog Disney-Pixar Monsters university 3d book and monsters university 3d glasses, Get Ready for kindergarten book, talking words factory flash cards, two Leapreader sampler books and lots of great information for parents and teachers regarding the new product.

I want to give you the basic information on the new LeapReader and how much it sells for on the LeapFrog site and of course my opinion of the product. First off The LeapReader starter system sells for $49.99 or LeapFrog offers several different bundle packages starting at about $79.99 to around $94.99. They offer the LeapReader pen in three colors blue, purple and green. you can find all this great stuff by clicking HEAR.

The new LeapReader is the complete learn-to-read-and-write solution. It combines all  three literacy skills, reading,writing, and listening. Practicing them together helps children learn the skills they need to help become confident independent readers.
First Up is the Learn to Read portion of the product a little like the original tag system you can touch the LeapReader to any page to sound out words letter by letter. Read the sentences in character voice and play fun games that help to build reading comprehension.  I love that the LeapReader can sound out the words when they get stuck. This is a great feature for new readers like the HotrodPrincess. She knows how to read but still gets stuck on words some times.

The Learn to Write Feature is new and is something the tag system does not do. You can use the LeapReader to trace letters and numbers and write words with interactive guidance as magic ink appears on special mess-free paper.  Thats right this baby teaching writing too and on mess free paper. That means it only writes on the special paper. No scribbles on the kitchen table score one for mom right. The Learn to write feature is Snoopy Girls favorite part. She is beginning to learn to write her letters and numbers and the guidance really helps her to make the letters correctly. The Interactive guidance helps to ensure she is getting the help she needs when I working with the HotRod Princess on something else.

Learn To Listen feature helps kids develop important listening skills, reading comprehension, trivia challenges and learning songs. The smaller kids loved listening to the stories and the bigger kids like the HotRod princess loved the Triva challenges and Snoopy and kids in her age range picked up the songs easily and were quickly singing along.

I also want to say that the LeapReader works with the tag books so all those tag books you already own can still be used a definite bonus way to go LeapFrog for making that possible. I love the big selection of books Leapfrog offers. My girls are book worms and we need lots and lots of books. With a library of 80+ books, audio books, games and more. there is enough to keep my girls reading for a while. The Girls love there tag system but they love the new LeapReader even more. I liked the Tag system but I am truly impressed with the improvements and upgrades that come with the LeapReader and I am so glad we were given the opportunity try it out and share it with friends and family. The party was big hit and the LeapReader is on the must have list for Christmas this year.

Pictures are from the leapfrog site because well I forgot my camera at home I will update with some photos and videos as soon as I get back.


Disclosure: I received these product at no cost to host this party for our friends at LeapFrog and MomSelect.  All opinions are my own or what my kids and guest thought of the product.