Mom's Tree House

Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

So, the season is here for dry skin! Winter is right around the corner and my skin is already acting up, the dryness, itching and cracking. I hate it! I literally try every brand but always get that same greasy, oily feeling that makes me even more uncomfortable. So, as a Carmex Squad member, I was given the  chance to try this new cream and lotion and once again, Carmex come through. I don’t know why I would expect any less? Not only is this lotion non-greasy, it actually works! I mean it really works!!

The Carmex Healing Lotion and Cream healed not only my skin but my two -year old son’s as well. We both have Eczema and the cold weather makes it flare up but, after applying the lotion and cream our skin was soft and silky. I love Carmex! I used the lotion on my legs and arms and the cream for my hands, leaving my skin feeling and smelling soft. My favorite thing about this lotion and cream is that it was non-greasy. After I realized that it did not leave your skin feeling oily or greasy, I was sold! No turning back, I found my lotion!

Now, here is your chance to try it yourself!

The Giveaway

One (1) lucky Mom’s Tree House winner will win 1 Carmex Healing Lotion, 1 Carmex Healing Cream, 1 Travel size Carmex Healing Lotion and 1 Travel size Carmex Healing Cream all in a clear drawstring bag.

1. Follow me on Google Friend Connect. (1 entry)
2. Subscribe to Mom’s Tree House, here. (2 entries)
3. Follow me on Twitter, @johannaloporto (1 entry)
4. Like my Facebook @ Mom’s Tree House. (1 entry)

 Contest is open to US residents only. Contest closes on December 10, 2011 at 12 midnight (EST)

 Disclosure:I received the Carmex Healing Lotion and Cream for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are 100% my own and may differ from others. Any factual information was obtained from the company website.

I am a lip balm person and always look for the best lip balms out there to keep my lips smooth and protected.  I hate lip balms that crack at the corners of your lips or feel waxy so when I tell you that  Carmex Lip Balms are truly the best, I mean it! Carmex lip balms have become my favorite lip balms and now, I will not use any other brand out there.

Carmex lip balms goes on smooth, protects, and moisturizes all day. Unlike other lip balms, your lips will not feel thick, sticky or waxy and you will never see those little specks of residue other lip balms leave on your lips. Now, Carmex has two new flavors which upon applying, felt and smelled so good on my lips.   

About Carmex Lime Twist & Vanilla Click Sticks

These little lip balms do some serious moisturizing.  The new Carmex Lime Twist and Vanilla clicks sticks goes on so smooth and you automatically feel the balms working on your lips. My lips felt refreshed and tingly, which I loved. The Carmex Lime Twist has a noticeable lime scent that is fresh and citrusy while the Vanilla has a more soft, subtle scent.

These lip balms are simply the best! The moisturizers really work and ideal for the winter in keeping your lips chapped-free. Carmex  lip balms never felt thick, oily or waxy and this is what I exactly look for. This is what high-quality lip balm product is supposed to do and that is why I stick with Carmex.

Check out the new Carmex Lime Twist and Vanilla click sticks at your local Walgreens, Walmart, and CVS. You can also go to the Carmex Facebook page to download a coupon for $0.50 off the new sticks! In addition to our giveaway below, you have another chance to win by entering the Carmex Lip Balm Twitter giveaway!

The Giveaway

One Mom’s Tree House reader will win a Carmex kit which includes the new Carmex Lime Twist and Carmex Vanilla click sticks, Carmex Moisture Plus lip balm, as well as a very cool picnic blanket.

• Slow flow which gives the baby the right amount of milk at all times
• BPA free and Phthalate free
• Liners are pre-sterilized, which allows mom to pump straight into the liner reducing bacterial contamination
• Liners are durable which allows for easy, secure milk storage
• Patented soft, wide nipple works mostly like the breast which minimizes nipple confusion as so baby can easily latch on.

For more information on the Playtex® Drop-Ins®, visit their website at www.Playtexbaby.com.

The Giveaway

One (1) Mom’s Tree House reader will win two (2) Playtex® Drop-Ins® bottles. The winner will be selected via Random.org.  and will have 48 hours to respond to my email as to claim their prize.  After 48 hours and the winner has not responded back, another winner will be selected. 

1. Follow Playtex onFacebook. (1 entry)
2. Follow me on Twitter, @johannaloporto. (1 entry)
3. Follow me Facebook. (1 entry)
4. Like Mom’s Tree House.

That’s it!

 Contest is open to US residents only. Contest closes on May 5,  2011 at 12 midnight (EST)

 Disclosure: I received Playtex® Drop-Ins® bottles for the purpose of this review.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions are 100% my own and not influenced in any other way. My reviews may not always be positive but, they are my own personal, honest opinion and therefore,  may differ from others.  Any factual information was obtained from the company website.

Good Luck!

I am always looking for toys, games and DVDs that will promote some learning for Franco. So, when I was given the opportunity to review a Baby Prodigy DVD from Little One Books, I was curious to see if this  DVD would actually  keep my so ever, busy baby boy interested and captivated. To my surprise, it did! 

Franco is just beginning to mouth his first words, so Baby’s First Words, Volume 1 was perfect and ideal for him. We placed the DVD in the player, pressed play and as soon as he heard the music he stopped playing with his sock and stood still in front of the TV. His face was expressionless at first, but then he saw Dookie Duck and Dottie Duck and laughed while clapping his hands. He then  calmed down as the first words played out in the screen along with bright  colored pictures. The DVD caught his attention and kept it there, and that is exactly what I was looking for. I knew that he liked the program and was enjoying it.

We both loved this DVD. The words displayed were easy by scrolling each letter at a time to form a word, such as “plane” and then by repeating the word along with it’s picture, thus a picture of a plane. The DVD  also included some animation and some soft, calming music. This DVD is great for any baby beginning to build on their vocabulary or for an older child learning to spell. I recommend it to any parent or school program.

You can purchase your own Baby Prodigy DVDs  at Local stores such as Toys-R-Us, Best Buy and even online at Amazon but right now, the wonderful people at Little One Books are offering a free Mozart for Babies CD (a value of $15.00) with the purchase of two products at Little One books.

Little One Books is also offering a $15.00 gift certificate to one (1) Mom’s Tree House reader. Enter to win!

The Giveaway 

I love products that works to not only entertain my busy little boy but, also that works to teach. So, when I was given the opportunity to review two DVDs from Baby Genius, I couldn’t pass it up. I reviewed Mozart and Friends as well as Favorite Sing-a-Longs  and found that Baby Genius won the heart of my little one, Franco. I knew right there, that these DVDs are and will continue to be a big hit among pre-schoolers.

Franco loves music, so watching Favorite Sing-a-Longs was a treat for him. Since he also goes to daycare, he recognize some of his favorite songs like The Alphabet Song, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Old McDonald’s Farm and clapped along with the DVD happily. The characters of Vinko, DJ the Dinosaur, Tempo, Oboe, Frankie, Lola and Rosie are very new to him but now grew accustomed to love them with DJ the Dinosaur being his favorite. The colors of each character jump off the TV screen as they are bright and vibrant. As for Mozart and Friends, Franco really did not a pay attention to it until it was time to relax. This DVD is much more calmer and the images appear to be softer, which worked in calming him down and putting him to sleep for nap time.

In all, both DVDs are pretty good and we enjoyed them. Baby Genius works in educating and entertaining your little one. Each DVD comes with a Bonus CD and language choice of either English or Spanish which I really liked since we speak both languages at home.

The Giveaway

Baby Genius has offered one (1) lucky Mom’s Tree House reader both DVDs, Mozart and Friends and Favorite Sing-a-Long as an  online giveaway. DVDs will be shipped out from Baby Genius directly to the winner. The winner will be selected via Random.org.  and will have 48 hours to respond to my email as to claim their DVds.  After 48 hours and the winner has not responded back, another winner will be selected. 

My son right now is at a messy playful phase in where he picks his toys up and throws them everywhere, especially his cars and trucks. I have little plastic bins for his cars/trucks but the bins themselves are everywhere and the lids from the bins continue to get destroyed as he steps all over them.      

So, I ordered The Small Town Toy Box and Play Mat ZipBin at CSN Stores and couldn’t wait to see if this toy box would work.  I wanted to see if this cute-looking little storage bin would actually work in keeping his cars and trucks together in one place.

Well, it did!  Since we’ve received this cute ZipBinstorage toy box, my son keeps his cars/trucks in his little town and my husband and I are no longer tripping over them. The fact that his storage bin is crafted as a small town with pictures of roads and landscapes helps my son imagination as he takes his cars pushing them through the roads. I believe this is why he now easily keeps them inside the box. He knows they belong there, in that box and also looks at the storage bin as a toy itself. It’s perfect and here’s why…

This zipbin lid has these see-through pouches in where he can place some of his small cars

Unzip the corners, and the box transforms into a mat

The mat resembles a small town with roads and streets

After playing, zip the toybox back up with cars/trucks inside

I love this little ZipBin! I believe everything should have it’s place, and now my son’s cars and trucks have found their own place, in thisSmall Town Tox Box and Mat. The straps are also handy in carrying which makes it easy to pick up and go. I like the plastic material is made in which makes it easy to clean and wipe down. It is sturdy and durable, which will also save me money in purchasing other storage toy bins for a while. So, if you have a messy boy at home, and in need of playful storage space, this ZipBin Toy Box might just work for you as well.

I was just given the opportunity to try out and review some T-Shirts from BABYSMARTEES. A T-shirt company that is supposed to stimulate and enhance infant vision. Well, I have to admit, I did not know what to expect from these T-shirts and really did not expect much at all. Now, I am just a little perturbed that I did not know about these T-Shirts sooner. You guys already know, my son Franco is a preemie and these T-shirts would have been ideal since he did have vision problems and later had to undergo eye surgery. Now, at 19 months, these T-Shirts immediately caught his attention, so I knew right there and then, that there was something unique and special about these T-shirts.

We all know that the first year of life is crucial to our baby’s brain growth and development. Visual stimulation is  one of the major forms of input with black and white contrast images showing to catch the attention of infants. It appears that infants are apparently drawn to differences between light and dark areas. This would explain why black and white images (representing the extremes of light and dark) have them so captivated. With that being said, BABYSMARTEES truly stimulate infant vision by placing black images on white T-shirts and it truly works.

BABYSMARTEES however, takes their concept of vision stimulation with a T-shirt a step further. Since, the baby is being visually stimulated with the black geometrical shapes on the white T-shirt, they are also connecting with the parent. These T-shirts do not only enhance brain development, they also enhance  the development of  trust and love  between baby and parent.

BABYSAMRTEES simply work to enhance child development, period! They also have an array of stimulation activities on their blog for every age very much worth checking out. For instance, they have this wonderful idea of putting dried beans in a plastic container to make a rattle. (why couldn’t I think up something like that)  My son quickly gets bored of his toys and when I gave him this container he was cool, calm and collected for hours.  My husband now vows never to buy rattles or noise-maker toys again.

If you have a newborn or infant, you have to checkout BABYSMARTEES. Their ideas and T-shirts concept for child development and emotional growth is just outstanding and simply blew me away. You can purchase your own T-shirts at their shop, or enter to win your own set.

The Giveaway

Every time I come across blogs in the Internet, I come accross CSN Stores. It appears that CSN stores are happy to work with bloggers and regularly offer products for review. CSN Stores have over 200 online stores and with their easy to navigate website, you can find everything you need, from great cookware to beautiful Herman Miller chairs.   The choices and variety are endless. 

I noticed that bloggers as well as customers are happy with their products, therefore, I can’t wait to try one of their products out. Stay tuned for a full CSN Store product review to be posted soon. 

I am a big believer in trying new things and when the opportunity showed itself to learn about children’s yoga, I couldn’t pass it up. Thanks to Karren Duggan, founder of Playful Planet, I was introduced to Children’s Yoga. She sent me a copy of Storyland Yoga, and while babysitting my neice  and nephew , I popped the DVD and the rest is history. They absolutely loved it and I did too.  I was grateful and happy to see that this DVD was able to entertain them for about an hour.

The DVD is designed for ages 3-8, and it contains two stories, one called Condor Trek and the other Save the Whale. Both stories are narrated by certified children’s yoga instructor, Ahmed Fahmy.  Fahmy gathers some children and begins to tell a story while playing out the story in yoga exercises. For instance in Condor Trek,  the children curl into balls, pretending to be babies inside of eggs. They use imaginary bikes and kayaks while singing “Row Row Row Your Boat” while they pretend to travel. They pretend to be snakes, swaying trees, jumping frogs, howling wolves and even growling mountain lions all while moving their tiny bodies to the story and the characters. My 4-year-old nephew loved this pretend play.  The children on the DVD as well as my niece and nephew interacted with story as Fahmy asked questions and they answered.  Fahmy also uses  a soft, easy tone of voice to narrate the story,  changing it only to fit characters. He is clearly comfortable with the children and it is apparent that he truly enjoys what he does. My niece and nephew laughed and giggled as they listened to the story and acted out all the yoga poses. They just all simply appear to behaving fun with this DVD.

The DVD also inludes special features, which includes videos about various yoga poses and the benefits of doing yoga. It also shows you ways of incorporating yoga into your own storytelling that you in turn can do with your kids.  You can purchase Storyland Yoga here for $14.99. A portion of proceeds from this DVD are donated to support children, the environment and world community. 

This DVD is great, and even though you may not like yoga, you must check out Playful Planet. This company is educating children and parents on ways of helping the environment and earth. Playful planet is currently working on their release of their new DVD,  Storyland Cooking coming out later this year and I can’t wait to see it.

Enter to Win your Copy of Storyland Yoga

One (1) lucky Mom’s Tree House reader will win their own copy of Storyland Yoga to enjoy with their children.   The winner will be selcted via Random.org.  and will have 48 hours to respond to my email as to claim their DVD.  After 48 hours and the winner has not responded back, another winner will be selected.

Mandatory Entry

1. Visit  Playful Planet  and tell me in a coment what you liked about the website.  

Additinal Entries(Post in a separate comment for each additional entry)

1. Follow Playful Planet on Facebook and on Twitter. ( 2 entries)
2. Follow me on Google Friend Connect. (1 entry)
3. Subscribe to Mom’s Tree House via email (1 entry)
4. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs and on the Picket Fence. (2 entries) 
5. Follow me on Twitter. @johannaloporto (1 entry)
6. Like my Facebook @ Mom’s Tree House, Follow me on Facebook. (2 entries)
7. Tweet about this giveaway at least once by tweeting “Enter to win Storyland Yoga DVD at http://www.momstreehouse.com/“. (2 entries)

 Contest is open to US residents only. Contest closes on Dcember 4, 2010 at 12 midnight (EST)

 Disclosure: I received a copy of Playful Planet’s, Storyland Yoga to review and keep.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions are 100% my own and may differ from others.  Any factual information was obtained from the company website.

Good Luck!