Reviews

Peppa Pig

May 25, 2012 By Colleen Padilla Leave a Comment

Have you met Peppa the Pig yet? She’s a cutie.

Peppa Pig is a longtime favorite with British children who adore watching Peppa’s lively adventures with her family and friends. The award-winning series is the number one program for preschool-aged children in the U.K and now Peppa Pig airs on Nick Jr. daily Monday – Friday at 2:30 PM.

Kenzie and Kyle had never seen Peppa Pig before as don’t typically watch TV in the afternoon – I’m also very selective about what I let my kids watch.

So, when we received this screener and it sounded like a “fit”, I let the kids have a go at the show. They INSTANTLY fell in love with Peppa – who speaks in a British accent. Her adventures were really cute and the kids were captivated by her demanding to watch the show again and again and yet again!

And I admit Mom fell for Peppa Pig too. I found the show to be educational and engaging and the content was totally safe and appropriate for my preschool and Kindergarten aged children which was just wonderful. Really Peppa Pig was a breath of fresh air compared to so many shows on TV that my kids accidentally stumble on that I find force kids to grow up to fast instead of just relishing the preschool years.

Peppa Pig reinforced the skills I want my young kids to grab from a TV show – counting, playing outdoors, and appreciating family time.

Peppa and her Piggy family snort all the time too – as only pigs can do – which the kids will find hysterical – at least mine did!

Disclosure: Thanks to Childs Play PR for sending us screener episodes of Peppa the Pig to facilitate our post

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: peppa pig

Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Eye Cream Line and Dark Circle Minimizing Brush

May 24, 2012 By Colleen Padilla Leave a Comment

Beauty alert! Ever since I hit 30, I’ve been obsessed with anything that will hide or reduce the wrinkles I find sneaking up around my eyes.

Olay has been continually innovating anti-wrinkle products and introducing all new kinds of creams and moisturizers on the market under both their Olay Regnerist label and the Olay total effects label. The new Olay Anti-Aging Eye Cream Line & Dark Circle Minimizing Brush is fabulous and sold at a very affordable price compared to the department store anti-wrinkle products on the market. I recently started using this and it is awesome. It works great and is portable for my purse too. Hooray!

Truly, this eye cream is basically like a concealer that comes complete with a brush that literally pumps out your eye cream and you can massage around your eyes for anti-aging action and to cover up those dark circles I’m so self-conscious about. Take a peek at my video demo here:

Priced about about $16- $20 or less depending on where you purchase and the sales currently going on.

Disclosure: Thanks to P&G for providing me this sample in a gift bag during my recent trip to the Thank You Mom event in New York City.

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Filed Under: Beauty, Reviews Tagged With: anti-aging eye cream, olay, olay total effects

The Berentain Bears Good Deed Scouts Book Review & Giveaway

May 23, 2012 By Colleen Padilla 13 Comments

Win it! We’re giving away 2 new books from The Berenstain Bears Beginning Readers Good Deed Scouts collection by Jan & Mike Berenstain. These books are fabulous my 6 year old daughter, who is reading at about a 2nd grade level, was able to truly read these books by herself. Like any Berenstain Bears books the pictures are fun, the adventures are just right, and the kids will love the stories. More important, these books present a situation where your kids will appreciate how the Good Deed Scouts lend a helping hand to make a difference in the lives of others.

Lessons I always want to reinforce with my kids!

I especially loved the book where The Berenstain Bears Help the Homeless by building and working hard to create a homeless shelter. Good stuff! And great to read aloud to younger kids, like my 4 year old son to begin discussions about why it is so important to help others. Priced at about $3.99 on Amazon.com.

Enter to win a set of 2 Berenstain Bears Good Deed Scout Books.
1. Please leave a comment below by June 4th, 2012.
2. Like ClassyMommy on Facebook here and leave a comment telling me you liked our page
3. Daily comments allowed.

Disclosure: Thanks to Zonderkidz for sending us these samples to facilitate our feature. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Filed Under: Books, Books, Giveaways, Reviews Tagged With: berenstain bears

The Star Wars Light Saber Toothbrush helps kids Brush Like a Jedi!

May 23, 2012 By Colleen Padilla Leave a Comment

We’re all kinds of crazy about brushing our teeth after 4 year old Kyle’s pediatric dental problems earlier this year. We are doing it all – flossing, mouth wash, and trying to teach him how to better brush his teeth.

So I was super excited to check out these Star Wars style toothbrushes from Sunstar GUM. These Star Wars toothbrushes are hip and functional for better tooth brushing. We tested out a few styles and both the kids and Mom were impressed. Here’s our video with the kids doing a demo of the Star Wars Toothbrushes from GUM.

GUM sells a Star Wars Power toothbrush that is oscillating priced at between $5-$10 online – this is so good for super cleaning your teeth and an easy way to motivate the kids for additional toothbrushing sessions after snacks since brushing is juts plain fun with a toothbrush as cool as this.

They also sell a light saber version – they really glows!

The GUM Star Wars Light Saber Toothbrush is available in three designs: Anakin Skywalker, Yoda and Darth Vader. They are super cool for kids as the special LED “light saber” lights flash for 60 seconds to encourage kids to brush longer. Kyle and Kenzie love this toothbrush! Priced at about $3-$4 online.

It looks like the best prices I found online to purchase the GUM Star Wars collection of toothbrushes was definitely online at the GUM website here.

Disclosure: Thanks to Sunstar GUM for sending us samples to facilitate our review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Filed Under: Health, Reviews Tagged With: cavities, pediatric dentist, star wars light saber toothbrush, star wars toothbrush

Norwegian Cruise Line & Children’s Place “A Place in the Sun Sweepstakes” and #Giveaway

May 22, 2012 By Colleen Padilla 2 Comments

We are wild about cruising in our family so we’re excited to share the news that Norwegian Cruise Line & Children’s Place have teamed up for a big vacation giveaway called The Children’s Place “A Place in the Sun” Sweepstakes. Check it out and enter to win a 7 day cruise for four, to your choice of the Caribbean or Bermuda, with Norwegian Cruise Line. This huge prize includes roundtrip air, cruise ship accommodations for seven days and six nights in a Balcony stateroom and an all-inclusive meal plan for four. Yes we entered already!!! Tip – after you enter they give you a 15% off coupon too!

Here are kids styling in some cute Children’s Place outfits with their Norwegian Cruise Line beach ball in the backyard over the weekend.

Can you tell that we are ready for summer?

The kids were psyched to show off their new threads that they picked out at Children’s Place with me last week.

Aren’t Kyle’s shorts so adorable? They are navy blue with little embroidered sharks on them. And Kenzie’s skirt is beyond fabulous – with sequins, embroidery and even built in shorts underneath so she has no fear about doing cartwheels or monkey bars while looking styling in her fashionista outfit.

Norwegian Cruise Line also has a newly redesigned, complimentary kids program, Splash Academy. I am sure Kenzie and Kyle would LOVE to sail away for a summer vacation on a cruise and I’ve got to be honest I’m dreaming of a cruise too. Summer can’t come soon enough for me either!

Disclosure: Thanks to Mom Select & Children’s Place for sharing this news with us for providing us with a $25 gift card to Children’s Place to facilitate our post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews Tagged With: children's place, norwegian cruise line

Lands’ End Swimmates Reveiw: Posing in my Bathing Suit for National Swimsuit Confidence Week

May 21, 2012 By Colleen Padilla 4 Comments

I could not be more in love with Lands’ End. They make everything about the bathing suit shopping & wearing process BEYOND easy – especially for Moms.

And this week, Lands’ End rallied over 100+ ladies to reveal their swimsuit confidence today as we’ll all be posting a photo on our blog of ourselves styling in a Lands’ End swimsuit in honor of National Swimsuit Confidence week.

How fabulous right? I love the girl power!

As a Mom of a little girl, I want my daughter to be confident in her body and the best way we can do that as Parents is to be confident in ourselves so we can lead by example. Don’t focus on the flaws. The kids pick up on that stuff instantly. The last place I want my daughter to get body image issues from is from me – it’s already tough enough with the media in our society.

And great fashion makes it easy to focus on the adorable bathing suit instead of our bodies.

I bought this swimsuit from Lands’ End – a fun Black & White Polka Dot 4 Piece Bikini - that is also complete with tank & mini skirt.

I pretty much LIVE in my bathing suit in the summer – so I need to feel confident in what I’m wearing. And I love the comfort of a bikini but as a Mom that is not always totally practical as I have to find an easy way to also totally cover up. Enter this bikini above as it is truly part of what I like to think of as a “swimsuit” outfit – that’s fashionable too!

This 4 piece bikini is from my favorite Lands’ End collection this year -the Swimmates collection. With Swimmates, you can buy all types of pieces and mix and match colors and tops and bottoms to create just the look you want – plus add in a swim “mini skirt” and swim “cami” or tanktop. Hooray for coverage as every day is NOT a bikini day!

More coverage while walking to the beach or hanging out deckside at the pool with the option of a bikini too! Here’s my photo of myself with the scoop neck tank and mini skirt – these are also all waterproof bathing suit material – so no worries if I need to quickly hop into the pool with the kids when I’m still more covered up.

Lands’ End bathing suits rock because they are so versatile and you are able to shop for individual pieces to match your body type. Most people don’t fit into the same size on the top and the bottom and all women (especially after having babies!) definitely appreciate being able to mix & match pieces & sizes while shopping to best showcase our bodies highlights and to find pieces that provide the right coverage where we really need it – think little mini skirt swim bottoms or tankini tops.

Lands’ End lets you shop according to bra size too and for us small chested gals many of the suits also include some padding. Lands’ End also sent me this swimsuit to test out -The Scoopneck Tankini Top is a top seller as it provides such fabulous coverage.

It’s also available in nearly dozen shades and colors – besides this great Riviera Rose dot print, it’s also available in shades & patterns of purple, navy, aqua, white, and more. Super comfortable too and the bikini bottom is actual mid-rise too but you can buy a high rise bottom, mini simmini, shirred swimmini or even a longer swimmini skirt if you want even more coverage.

Every day on Twitter we’ll be chatting Swim Suit Confidence from 1-2 PM EST too with the hashtag #Confidence. Join us today for a chance to win a prizes and talk about bringing your confidence to the beach!

Each day Lands’ End will give away 6 – $50 Lands’ End gift cards each day too.

Disclosure: Thanks to Lands’ End for asking me to participate in National Swimsuit Confidence Week and sending me this pink Tankini to review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Filed Under: Fashion, Reviews Tagged With: lands' end swimsuit confidence week, national swimsuit confidence week

Fashion Friday: Liz Lange’s New Diaper Bags for Target

May 18, 2012 By Colleen Padilla Leave a Comment

Styling, classy, functional, and affordable. Target really does the best job at getting awesome designers to do fashion and trendy just right.

Take a peek at the 1st ever diaper bag from famous Maternity wear designer, Liz Lange. After partnering with Target for 10 years, she decided to design her first-ever diaper bag line. We received a sample so we could get an up close look and were thrilled with the diaper bag. I especially love how the interior of the bags and changing pad are Liz Lange’s signature vibrant pink. It’s gorgeous. Everything is waterproof and the prints are trendy with expensive looking gold hardware.Priced at $49 this bag is a steal. She has 2 other versions priced at $59 too.

Here’s our video review of the Liz Lange for Target Zebra Diaper Bag:

Here’s the interior of our bag – it’s spacious and roomy. And of course as you saw in the video I love the adustable straps as that is one of my biggest requirements for a diaper bag that will last through the years and for many different events – hanging on the stroller, at the mall, at the park or just slung over my shoulder.

Disclosure: Thanks to Target for sending us a sample to facilitate our feature. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Look for a Fashion Friday: Liz Lange’s New Diaper Bags for Target on eBay - maybe you'll get lucky and find a great bargain!

Filed Under: Diaper Bags, diaperbag, Fashion, Reviews Tagged With: liz lange, Liz Lange Diaper bag

New Beauty Items from COVERGIRL, Olay, and Pantene

May 17, 2012 By Colleen Padilla 1 Comment

We received a Mother’s Day bundle of brand new beauty items from COVERGIRL, Olay, and Pantene to review. So much fun! The kit was fabulous with all kinds of great new products.What women doesn’t love to play around with new makeup to test out new looks?

All these products are new, work beautifully, and are sold at Walmart at very affordable prices compared to Department Store Branded moisturizers, salon shampoos, and high end make up from the beauty counter. This means it’s easy to test out multiple items and shades too – which I find helps me create the best look for any outfit versus sticking with just one set shade of lip gloss or eye color.

Here’s a fun photo of me behind a fun “Celebrate Mom” backdrop Procter & Gamble sent us to pretty up our photos and video. And I’m styling my new COVERGIRL lipstick.

I was especially excited about the Olay and COVERGIRL goodies as I love my makeup and now that I’m 35, I am seriously interested in ANYTHING that might help me prevent and slow down wrinkles. I am feeling my age lately!

Here’s a video of the beautiful box of Beauty Goodies we sampled.

The kit included a new branded combination of COVERGIRL and Olay – their Simply Ageless Tone Rehab product which is both a foundation and toning serum. It’s fabulous and goes on so smooth. Foundation really is essential and smooths everything out for a great base before applying my bronzer, lipliner, lipstick, and eye makeup. Plus I love giving myself a bit more color with my foundation! I wish it had included an SPF 15 too but otherwise this is an ideal foundation – just remember to put on your sunscreen if you are going to be outside.

Here’s what the Simply Ageless Tone Rehab packaging looks like

Olay Regenerist – this entire line is perfect for Moms and any woman in their 30′s wanting to stave off those wrinkled and really moisturize and care for their skin to prevent those fine lines and wrinkles. This is a Microscultping Cream that I use as a moisturizer morning and night 2x per day before applying my foundation and before going to bed.

Olay also launched these convenient sweet make-up wipes. I love these to wash my face at night and after a quick run or workout in the middle of the day to remove sweaty makeup quickly on the go before I re-apply and rush off to my next activity with the kids.

The LashBlast 24 HR Mascara works beautifully and honestly I’m shocked how full it makes my eyelashes look in just a few quick strokes. I also loved that I have ZERO eye irritation from this mascara as I tend to be sensitive to various eye make ups but I had no problems with this mascara.

The combo CoverGirl Blast Flipstick rocks with 2 shades in 1 applicator. Great for 3 looks – 1 of each color and a combo color option all from 1 lipstick. Sweet!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. As a member of the Walmart Moms, Walmart has provided me with compensation for my time to test out these new beauty products from Procter & Gamble. All products were shipped to us for free in this kit to help us facilitate our review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Look for a New Beauty Items from COVERGIRL, Olay, and Pantene on eBay - maybe you'll get lucky and find a great bargain!

Filed Under: Beauty, Reviews Tagged With: covergirl, olay, pantene

Skip Hop’s New Rolling Luggage for Kids

May 15, 2012 By Colleen Padilla 1 Comment

We love to travel with our kids and they love it too. They especially love the anticipation of trip, packing a bag, and then carrying their very own bag on the airplane with them. Finding a rolling bag for kids has always been a challenge for us so I was thrilled to see that Skip Hop, one of my favorite brands for children, just launched rolling luggage for their Zoo line.

The bags are priced at $38 and are trendy, functional, spacious, and most importantly super easy for the kids to carry and maneuver.

Take a peek at our video of the bags here – you’ll notice there is also a great strap that you can tuck into the back of the bag or leave out if you prefer to sling the bag over your shoulder. This is ideal for parents in case the kids somehow fall asleep, can’t carry their own bag for whatever reason or for whatever other unexpected event always seems to happen when you are traveling with kids.

Available in several designs – monkey, owl, bumble bee, or doggy.

My favorite is probably this owl – cute for boys or girls!

Disclosure: Thanks to Skip Hop for sending us these bags to facilitate our reviews. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own – or Kenzie and Kyle’s

Look for a Skip Hop’s New Rolling Luggage for Kids on eBay - maybe you'll get lucky and find a great bargain!

Filed Under: Equipment, Reviews, Travel Tagged With: kids rolling luggage, kids travel, skip hop

American Girl McKenna Shoots for the Stars Movie Trailer

May 14, 2012 By Colleen Padilla Leave a Comment

We are so excited for the American Girl McKenna movie to arrive on BluRay & DVD on July 3rd, 2012. The DVD will be available exclusively at Wal-Mart, American Girl Stores and americangirl.com. It will also air on TV too! How cool is that? American Girl McKenna Shoots for the Stars is scheduled to air on TV on Saturday July 14, 2012 at 8/7c on NBC.

Here is a sneak peek at the movie with this fabulous trailer for the American Girl McKenna movie. My 6 year old and I just watched it and we can not wait to watch this story brought to life on film after reading the books this past winter.

Here’s more official scoop on the movie and cast from Universal Studios:

A talented young gymnast turns trials into triumphs in the inspiring new feature-length movie, An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars^™, coming to Blu-ray^™ Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital Download on July 3, 2012, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Inspired by the beloved American Girl^® line of dolls and featuring the celebrated 2012 Girl of the Year^®, the film stars Oscar^®nominee

Nia Vardalos (My Life In Ruins, My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Jade Pettyjohn (“The United States of Tara”) as McKenna^™, Ian Ziering (“Beverly Hills 90210”), Kerris Dorsey (Moneyball, “Brothers & Sisters”) and former Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby (Broadway’s “Peter Pan”).

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Filed Under: Movies, Reviews, Videos Tagged With: american girl, american girl mckenna