What's up with Charlie??

I received an amazing product to review in the mail a few weeks ago. Charlie’s Soap. I open with AMAZING because it truly is a great product. I set out to use it right away, since who doesn’t have an overabundant load of laundry to do with three kiddos. First, I followed their directions to clean out my washer from the detergent I usually use. This gets rid of any buildup from the other detergent. Then I decided to follow their directions to feel like I had been using it for a while by washing more than once. I did this with towels.  I was pleasantly surprised at how they came out. Not with the smelly goodness of store brands, but fresh none the less also fluffy and clean looking. I used it on other laundry after this test and my clothes did come out nice and clean. It even got rid of most of those pesky stains left on my 16 month olds clothes. I am sure with the pre laundry spray they would have all been knocked out

Along with the detergent I got to try out their all purpose cleaner. I did like how it worked. The smell was a little strong, and that would probably be a little better if it was watered down more.  The one big thing I like about other cleaners is that it has a nice smell to it when you are done cleaning, that was not the case with the Charlie’s.  It did leave it nice and clean though, and honestly when cleaning…isn’t that what matters!

If you want to try out this great product you should chck out their facebook page here

If you REALLLLY want to try it out befor eyou buy it you should enter to win! What can you win? How can you win?

The prize will be an 80 load of laundry powder and a bottle of laundry prespray.
One winner in the USA only for shipping.

So how can you win.....

1)Friend Charlies Soap on Facebook Here

2) Fan My facebook Page Here

3) After doing those two things leave a comment with your FB name and email address.

For 3 extra entries send your friends and let me know who they are by commenting here! You can send up to three friends for three extra entries. I will be using random to choose a winner in two weeks on September 23!

Teething Bling!

One of the worst things about a child teething is the fact that they chew on anything and everything! It is hard to be style savvy when your necklaces have been in the mouth of a baby and are now covered in drool or even a little bit of spit up. Not to mention, it is also scary that those little teeth could easily break that necklace and end with a choking baby.

Teething Bling has come up with a great way to solve that. They have a great product that looks stylish, and is super safe for your little one to chomp on.

I was able to try out their new Vanilla Bean scented donut shaped pendant. It comes on a black silky cord that has a breakaway clasp. My first impression upon receiving it was that the smell was pleasant and not too overpowering. The donut shaped pendant was a good size, and definitely material my 10 month old (now 11 month old) would love to chew on, especially with a new tooth working its way in. I figured I would put it on and see how Molly reacted to it. I wasn’t surprised at all that as soon as I picked her up she grabbed hold, and in the mouth it went! When I tried to set her down she screamed and pulled the necklace. Sure enough the breakaway clasp broke, without any injury to me. Molly sat on the floor at my feet and chewed on that pendant for a good ten minutes before I could convince her to give it back.

Since the first use I have worn this anytime we have gone out. While holding Molly it keeps her entertained and she loves to just chew and chew! I love that it still has that pleasant vanilla smell. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants baby safe jewelry that can help baby with their teething needs!



SHE LOVES IT!!!

 If you want your own teething bling you can purchase it here
Also check them out on FB here

Cloth by Tel (Super cute diapers) and giveaway! CLOSED

So due to the fact some people put their entry and extra entry on one comment there will be more than 1-20 for random even though there are twenty comments!  The winner is Kassi Hill!!! Congrats. I will get your info sent to them, and will email you their info so you can cotact them too!!

 

Right now One Size Fits All Pocket Cloth diapers are only $8.00 at Cloth By Tel! They include one Micro Terry Insert each

I won one of these diapers during Cloth by Tel’s diaper giveaway and was so excited for it to come in the mail. The day I got it I prepped it and couldn’t wait to use it.

First impression was how soft the diaper was. It is made very well and I loved the color. The insert was so easy to put inside the diaper. Sometimes that can be tricky as they bunch up and fold over on themselves. There was enough room for me to slide it in comfortably and not fight with it. After putting it on Molly, I couldn’t get over what a trim fit it was! I could pull up Molly’s pants and it didn’t look like she had a huge bubble butt! For those who use cloth diapers you know exactly what I am talking about.

Molly had the diaper on for a little over two hours and it contained the wetness very well. There were no leaks. I figured changing her would be the best time to see how the fit held up to her chunky thighs. It was so nice not to see red marks left behind from the diaper. I have had this happen with a few diapers I have tried.

After the second, third, and even fourth wash the diaper is still soft and fluffy, still easy to stuff, and fits beautifully! It has contained some nasty runny poop, along with when she has gotten wet. I definitely recommend this diaper to anyone that wants to try cloth, or to anyone already using cloth looking to expand their stash!

You can find Cloth by Tell on Facebook

You can check out their website

Quite often they have great sales and who wouldn’t want some of these great diapers?? Look at how cute they are!

 

 

Here is Molly in hers!





From the Front



From the back



 If you made it this far you will be happy to know that Cloth by Tel has been so kind as to offer one of their diapers for a giveaway (open to US and Canada)!!! Super exciting. You get to choose the print. So what do you have to do to enter?

1. Fan Cloth by Tel on Facebook (leave your FB name)
2. Check out their website and tell me which print you would choose if you won
3. Follow this blog via GFC (leave your username)
Leave all this info in one comment along with your email address

For an extra entry go fan Family Used, Mom Reviewed on Facebook then  leave a comment with your facebook name

Contest will end on March 30th. That gives you two whole weeks to enter!





 

Laurie Berkner Band (closed)

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 8

The winner of the Laurie Berkner CD Giveaway is Stefanie!! Congrats, I will email you to get your information

After having Molly, I decided it was time to dig out some of my older children’s music CD’s so I could introduce them to Molly early. The main CD I was looking for was the CD we call BUZZ BUZZ!! This is a CD my children fell fast in love with. It is one of the Laurie Berkner Band CD’s and it really gets children up and moving.

We first discovered the Laurie Berkner Band on Nickelodeon. The very first song we heard was Bumblebee(buzz buzz). We had to buy the CD right away. Brooke-Lynn and Aiden loved to sing along to all the songs on the CD whenever we went anywhere in the car. Music time in our house was often “BUZZ BUZZ please”. I would sing, “I’m the biggest monster” (Monster Boogie) while chasing my children around the house, until we got to the “monster boogie” part and then we would stop and dance and LAUGH!

After my children were a little older I used the Buzz Buzz CD at the daycare I worked at. The children loved when I chased them around the playground singing the Monster Boogie song. They asked for it pretty much anytime we were outside. The “Clean it up” song became our theme for clean up time at the daycare.

I am so glad that I get to use this CD with another child. Molly’s face lights up whenever she hears the first song “I Really Love to Dance.” Funny thing is, Molly does really love to dance already. My older children remember the words to all the songs and sing along. Quite often I find them just singing the songs to Molly.

I definitely recommend that anyone with young children buy at least one of the Laurie Berkner Band CD’s

I am so excited to be able to give a lucky reader one of the Laurie Berkner band CD’s. (“The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band”)

To be entered for a chance to win:

1.       Go fan the Laurie Berkner Band here on FACEBOOK

2.       Let me know who you would listen to this CD with

3.       Follow me publicly via GFC (Google friend connect)

Do all of these and post a comment adding your Facebook name and GFC name. Also your email so I can contact you if you win.

EXTRA ENTRY:

Follow me here on FACEBOOK 

Share this Giveaway Facebook tagging Family Used Mom Reviewed

Leave a seperate comment for each!

I will leave this giveaway open until Wednesday, March 9^th giving you two weeks to enter!

Sophie

Sophie

So one of the biggest things we go through as moms of babies is teething. I often hear…My baby is teething and it is keeping him/her up all night. What do you do for a teething baby? Well we learned about a great teether called Sophie the giraffe.

Sophie was born on May 25^th 1961, in France. You can read her story here SOPHIE

Although I did not get Sophie till very recently I can say with confidence that Sophie is definitely a teething mom’s best friend! Well I guess that would be the teething baby. We got Sophie in the mail and after pulling her out and getting her all clean Molly took to Sophie right away. Sophie not only works as a great teether, but she is fun because anywhere Molly plays with her she Squeaks, a sound that Molly definitely loves to make over and over. Also she is a toy that baby can easily hold in his/her hand. Check out these cuties playing with their Sophie Giraffes!!

If you would like to purchase Sophie the Giraffe you can do that here SOPHIE

Ady's Edibles

So for this review I am going to introduce you to a YUMMY product!!! I ordered some amazing fudge from a great gal I met while pregnant with my daughter Molly. She has gone from making her own family fudge to making it so others can enjoy. All I have to say is ENJOY I DID! I ordered half a pound of chocolate peanut butter swirl and half a pound of white chocolate cookies and cream.

The owner of this store, Amanda, has expanded this business to include, not only being able to order from her menu of fudge, but doing a make your own order. Along with that she has also made a fudge of the month club. You can sign up and however long you sign up determines the discount you get! How neat is that!

A list of flavor cans be found Facebook Notes

You can look at all the notes on this page and find out all the exciting things she has to offer! Like the page while you are there!

You can also go to Ady's Edibles

White chocolate cookies and cream

Chocolate peanut butter swirl

BABY LEGS

So when I had my youngest daughter I saw all kinds of references to baby legs. I had never heard of them when I had my first two children. I had no idea what everyone was talking about. So I went searching and found out what they were. How cool to have a product that you can just slip on your baby’s legs when it is too cool for bare legs? Also, how cool to have a product to use when it is so warm you don’t want thick pants on your child, but you want to protect their little knees from the floor once they learn to crawl!

Now most people assume that baby legs are just for little girls, but they have some really cute boy patterns out there too!

We got Molly her first Baby Leg’s as a Christmas present. We got three pairs and they are super cute. The first thing I checked was the inside for loose strings. You know you don’t want their little toes getting caught on anything as you are trying to slide their little feet in. There were no loose strings and the seams were all done really well.

We put them on hoping they would not leave marks on her chunky little thighs, and they didn’t. Molly is a fast little crawler and her knees have little rough spots from it. These were the perfect thing to keep the knees protected from the floor. A bonus, because we cloth diaper, putting pants on Molly is sometimes hard with her fluff butt, this way we don’t have to cover the diaper!!

We did have to pull them up quite a bit, till we figured out how to put them on so they stayed up. Molly does like to pull on them, but they don’t come down which is nice. Oh and they help keep socks on. I would recommend these for any mom or dad!

Loving those baby legs!

To buy your own Baby Legs visit Baby Legs

Clover's Garden

So today while sitting at lunch I decided to go get the mail while my 9 month old and her siblings were at the lunch table. Figured while she was contained I could get out and back in the house without being missed. Well, I got the most ADORABLE hat in the mail from Clover’s Garden. I ordered it not too long ago and am surprised at how fast it was sent. It is an owl hat that I had been looking at for a little while and finally decided to get! It helped that I won 50% off, and YAY it is here.

I am so impressed by the detail and the beautiful color of the yarn used. It really is an amazing piece of art! So I had to share some pictures, and also the site I got it from. I will do an update review when we have had it for a little while! Until then check out this adorable hat!!

How cute that today she is wearing her Hoot Hoot I am Cute shirt!

Love this hat!!

To get your own hat you can check out Clover's Garden on Facebook

Or just go right to her Etsy

Nicki's Diapers

Since my last couple of posts told you to go check out Nicki's diapers..here is another shout out to them. They do amazing giveaways on their blog, and right now they have one going on for a Planet Wise snack pack!! Go check it out!! http://nickisdiapers.blogspot.com/2011/01/nickis-weekly-giveaway-9-planet-wise.html

The I Like Book....

How about a giveaway instead of a review?
CLOSED
Winner: ERIKA DARCY!!!!

Since having my daughter I have found many great sites that stem from parents coming up with great ideas. One of those great ideas is the “i like book”. This book is a way for parents to build up their child’s self esteem. Getting each of your children their own book, then writing what you like about them either once a day or even once a week would be a great way for you to give them that boost of self esteem!

The “i like book” team has offered a giveaway pack which consists of a bookmark, stick note pad, wristband, sticker & balloons. Maybe while checking out their site you will fall in love with the book and order one for your family!

Besides the giveaway, when you go visit http://www.theilikebook.com/ they are offering 40% off if you would like to purchase a book. You have to register for an account to take advantage of this offer. The code is ilikeyou

To be eligible for the giveaway just follow these steps

1.    Go like the i like book on Facebook

2.    Go like familyusedmomreviewed on Facebook

3.    Follow this blog via GFC

Then leave a comment with your Facebook name, what you like about the “i like book” and a way to contact you.

For an extra entry follow the i like book on twitter and leave your info on a separate comment!

I will close this in one week on February 2nd!!

What is a Wet Bag??

That was one of my first questions when I started out using cloth diapers. I saw the words Wet Bag on many cloth diapering boards. So instead of asking I went searching. A Wet bag is a bag that has a waterproof inner liner, and in the case of Planet Wise, a beautiful cloth outside.

 Whenever we went out with Molly I just put the insert for her cloth diaper in a plastic Wal-Mart bag. YIKES!! You can imagine how many of those we had to use, and it is not very earth friendly I might add. So, after looking up what wet bags were I invested in one for our diaper bag (small size 8x10) from Nicki’s diapers. It was a Planet Wise one and it was beautiful. There were so many patterns to choose from. I got one called Pink Swirl, which I loved.



Pink Swirl



The first time I used the bag I was pleased to find it was a good size for the inserts of my diapers. I put them in by rolling them. I used two diapers while out that first time. When using the grocery bags you could smell urine in the diaper bag. I was so pleased that this was not the case with the Planet Wise bag. It kept the smell in and kept my diaper bag dry. No one would have been the wiser that there were wet cloth diaper inserts in there! I got home, took out the inserts and threw them in my diaper pail along with the wet bag. It went through the wash cycle with my diapers and then back into my diaper bag. There was no leaking, no smells and I am one HAPPY customer! The bag has gone through a few washer and dryer cycles and the fabric is still as nice as it was the day I got it.

To get your own bag you can go to nickisdiapers.com  (I am not part of Nicki's Diapers. I know I recommended them in my last post, it is just where I happen to get my stuff!!)

Cute, Easy, and Affordable!!

My husband and I were not going to have any more children. Our oldest, Brooke-Lynn, is eleven and our son, Aiden, is nine. Back when they were little we slapped a disposable diaper on their bottom and out the door we went, on with our day. Now we have Molly. Molly is now almost 9 months old and a ball of energy. We started out using the disposable diapers, and then in September I decided I wanted to use cloth. My husband wasn’t on board at all to begin with. He went so far as to call me a hippie momma. Then he told me if I changed to cloth diapers I would be doing the diaper changes. I said “fine.”

I started to talk to other moms who used cloth. I asked for advice on where to start, what I would need, and about how much it would cost. It was pretty overwhelming! Then I discovered Nicki’s Best Bottom Diapers. I showed them to my husband and decided that is where I wanted to start. They were cute, they looked pretty easy, and they were so affordable!

My husband, still not sure of the whole thing, convinced me to order two covers and six inserts. So I ordered two of the snap shell (Strawberry Shortcake and Moo-licious), along with six of the stay dry inserts. I was so excited for them to arrive. I went out and bought some laundry detergent just for the diapers.

The first day they got here I made sure to get them washed right away so I could try them out. My husband was pretty impressed and asked me to show him how they worked. I snapped the insert in and we were off. That first diaper was on her for two hours. When it was time to change her everything was dry outside, and all I had to do was clean her, snap out the insert and toss it in a bag for laundry later. Then I wiped the shell and put in the new insert. On with the next diaper and we were ready to go. My husband thought the diaper fit well and was impressed with how easy it was. So much so that he started to help with changes. The only thing I noticed during changes was the snaps left little marks on Molly, but that changed as we played with the adjustment, which is just one of the great things about these diapers being able to fit from newborn to potty training.

Her first poop brought us a surprise. Molly always blows out the back, and side of her diaper. It was one of our biggest problems. However the extra gusset around the leg area kept her poop in. For some people that not may be a big selling factor, but for us it was. Not only did it keep the poop in, the insert came perfectly clean after going through a wash cycle. I was sold. Best Bottom Diapers became our go to diaper. It only took one day for me to be in love.

Another thing that made me fall for these diapers was the fact Molly’s onesies and pants still fit her well and didn’t leave her looking like she had a large bottom. That was one of the biggest things I read about (pants not fitting right) while doing my search for the cloth diapers.

The Best Bottom Diapers come in beautiful colors, when I bought mine there were no patterns, however know they have a cute giraffe print. We ended up stocking our Best Bottoms. We get by with 5 shells (2 snaps: moo-licious and Strawberry shortcake. Three hook and loop: cookies & cream, mint chocolate chip and blue moon.) Then we have 18 inserts! Like I said, "CUTE, EASY, AND AFFORDABLE!!."



This is Molly's most recent picture in her BBD. It is a hook and loop
Mint Chocolate Chip!



Molly's first picture in her BBD. The is a snap strawberry shortcake

If you want to buy your own Best Bottom Diapers you can check out  nickisdiapers.com

Why Reviews??

So why did I decide to start a review blog? I am home all day. I realized that I use tons of products and thought it would be nice if I knew more about the products before I used them. I mean, not from what the product says, but what other families have to say about them. So I thought hmmm, what would I say about these products if someone asked. So here it is, what I think about the products I use. Most products will probably be ones I have used with my youngest daughter. Enjoy.

So speaking of my younger daughter I guess I can do a brief intro of my family....
My name is Staceyann I have been married to my husband Jason for 12 years. This is our 11 year anniversary picture!


This is from Dec 2009 (I was 20 weeks pregnant with Molly)

 We have an 11 year old daughter, Brooke-Lynn. She loves music and plays the saxophone!

After Brookie came Aiden. He is now 9. We usually find him playing his DS...um I should say DSi. The DS took a little fall

Nine years after Aiden, we had Molly. A bit of a surprise. She is almost 9 months old now and into EVERYTHING!!