Cruising for Giveaways 8/26

If you're in the Orlando Area, enter to win a Family 4 pack of tickets to see Sesame Street Live "Elmo Makes Music" at the Bob Carr October 9th and 10th. Then hop along and see what other great giveaways you can enter!

WIN TICKETS TO SESAME STREET LIVE "ELMO MAKES MUSIC" IN ORLANDO 

Welcome to Cruising for Giveaways Hop! This hop is brought to you by Charisma Media!

DIY Ikea Latt Table Makeover

Ella and Madeline have reached the ever so fun "I want to be independent but I'm too tiny" phase that starts shortly after the first birthday. Their newest obsession is climbing the kitchen table, but of course they're too tiny to sit properly in an adult chair. After a few tumbles and way to many spilled plates to count, we knew that we were going to have to cross over to a "kiddie table".  We came across the Latt table and chair set from Ikea, and decided that we couldn't pass it up for $19.99.

 

It's sturdy, easy to put together and wood so it's really durable, but it's defiantly lacking in the cute department.We had it together for about a week before I decided that it needed a bit of a makeover. I grabbed some patterned contact paper and spray paint and set out to make the most girly table possible.

First I disassembled the table and laid out all of the visible wood pieces (table legs, top base, chair legs, seat base, and seat back) on trash bags outside. 

Next, I applied two coats of spray paint to wood, allowing time to dry between each coat.

While the spray paint was drying I cut the patterned contact paper to fit the table top and chair tops, allowing about a half inch to fold over the sides to avoid peeling. If you are unable to find a contact paper that you like you can wrap your table tops with gift wrapping paper and then cover with clear contact paper

When your paint is dry reassemble your table.The results? A hot pink and damask table with a completely washable surface!

Of course the table matches nothing in our house, but how could I resist? We've moved it upstairs to the playroom where we spend more of our day. The girls now use it for lunch and snack time and it doubles as a play table.They've been having a great time coloring and using Moon Dough and I love that everything just wipes right off thanks to the contact paper! Extra bonus: total project cost was under $30!

Ella and Madeline "coloring" at their new table

Sesame Street Live "Elmo Makes Music" in Orlando - Family 4 pack Giveaway

Our girls are HUGE Elmo fans, so we're really excited that "Elmo Makes Music" is coming to the Bob Carr here in Orlando! We can't wait to see Elmo, and all our favorite friends move it, shake it and make some music. 

In " Elmo Makes Music" the monsters become musicians! Elmo, The Count, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Burt & Ernie and all their furry friends are taking the stage to show kids just how much fun music can be. When a new music teacher named Jenny arrives on Sesame Street all of her musical instruments get lost. Her new pals come to the rescue and  show her that you can make music with everything from trash can lids, to rubber duckies and even your own laps. Your favorite Sesame Street friends discover that everyone has the ability to make beautiful music if they just use their imagination! Don't miss the opportunity to count along with The Count, visit Elmo's World, and do the Crumb-A-Rumba with Rosita and Cookie Monster at Sesame Street Live! 

This touring stage musical features Big Bird, Elmo's, Cookie Monster and all the of your children's favorite Sesame Street pals. Each 90 minutes performance is packed full of singing, dancing and of course audience participation! A 15 minute intermission is included making it the perfect event for little ones. 

There are three performances : Tuesday October 9th at 7pm and Wednesday October 10th at 10:30am and 7pm. Tickets prices are $15, $25 $30 (Gold Circle) and $65 for Sunny Seats. Sunny Seats include VIP seats and a pre-show meet and great photo opportunity with two Sesame Street pals. You can get your tickets now at the Amway Center box office and all Tickmaster Locations.

$3 OFF EACH TICKET!  

Sesame Street Live “Elmo Makes Music” is playing at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre,October 9 & 10! Use the passcode ERNIE at Ticketmaster.com to receive the special offer.  (Offer excludes Gold Circle & Sunny Seats. Not valid on previously purchased tickets. Cannot be combined with any other offer.)

Thanks to the folks at Vee Corporation we have a family 4 pack of tickets to give to one lucky Orlando family! Just enter in the Rafflecopter below. This contest is open only to entrants in the Orlando area, no transportation is provided. 

I received  complimentary tickets to Sesame Street Live "Big Elmo Fun" in exchange for this post.  All reviews and opinions are my own, please see our disclosure policy for more information. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nuby Mommy Blogger - Nuby iMonster Snack Keeper Review

 

Being a Nuby Mommy Blogger has some pretty awesome perks, including getting the chance to try out some really fun products. A few weeks ago we received our first box full of Nuby goodies, and in it we found the iMonster Snack Keeper!

We've tried other snack cups in the past and we haven't had much luck. We'd give the supposedly "spill proof" snack keeper to our girls only to find cheerios scattered all over the back seat of the car. The girls were either able to shake the snacks out of the cup or pop the top off and pour them out. I was pretty skeptical when our little monster friend showed up at our house, but he was too cute not to try.

We've been using the iMonster for the past week with no spills! His teeth really hold the snack in, and the girls love putting their hands in his mouth to get their snack out. We've even put the monster right into the diaper bag and I haven't found a single piece of cereal or fruit snack floating around. All three of the girls love him, and I think that we'll be buying another one very soon to avoid baby fights!

Where to Buy
You can find the iMonster Snack Keeper at Buy Buy Baby, Burlington Baby Depot, and Amazon.com  .

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post, although as part of the Nuby Mommy Blogger program I may receive items to sample & review.

Dealing with Autism - EEG Adventures

I've shared here before that Willow's pediatrician and neurologist believe that she may have PDD-NOS, which is a high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder. She often zones out and it will take calling her name upwards of 10 times to get any sort of reaction out of her. The neurologist wanted to be sure that her lack of response wasn't miniature seizures so 2 weeks ago we went in for a 24 hour EEG to monitor her brain.

 

We got there at 8 am and the nurse got her set up with her monitors. They put little chunks of a conducting gel all over her head, attached a wire, and then placed medical tape over it to hold it in place. She was such a little trooper, she was so excited that the wires gave her "Rapunzel hair".

Then they wrapped her entire head in gauze, and put her wire pack into a little back pack for her. Then we spent the rest of the day in a room the size of a doctors office with only a bed, fold out futon, TV and the monitors. The poor kid spent most of her day being told to stay still, and taking naps because she was bored. 6:30 am could not come fast enough for her, she was so excited to go home to see her Daddy and sisters!

We got the results from the EEG back at the end of last week and everything came back normal. We're so happy it isn't seizures! We'll be doing a follow up next month to discuss other possibilities but at least we have something that we can rule out!

Fun and Trendy Custom Clothing from Alex and Ria Baby

I'm pretty sure that I've shared my love of children's clothing with you guys before. I'll admit that the "love" has slipped from normal territory to "maybe needs an intervention", but who can resist seeing their babies looking super cute?! Right now I'm really into cute matching and coordinating custom sets for all three girls. I recently came across Alex and Ria Baby on Etsy and was so excited to receive our custom ruffle bloomers for the twins and coordinating skirt for Willow!

The very first thing I noticed was the love and care put into our package. Who doesn't love getting their items wrapped? It's like getting a present in the mail and it's not even your birthdays! For those of you who are looking for gifts, you could pop your items straight into a gift box and they're ready to go. 

Front of the skirt and back of bloomers

We received these adorable ruffle bloomers in yellow, blue and white. They're so full and fluffy, they have some real sweet feminine touches like the white eyelet  lace mixed with the sassy yellow and blue prints. These would be great with a fun graphic tee or to add a funky touch under a dress. 

Back of the skirt and front of the bloomers

The big sister skirt is just too fun! Kat defiantly has been paying attention to the current fashion trends, because that yellow chevron print is so popular right now!  It's a great way for Willow to coordinate with the twins without being too "babyish" for an almost 4 year old. It'll be great paired with a cute top (there are actually matching tops on the Etsy shop) or layered over a pair of leggings.

I love Alex and Ria Baby's fun and funky clothing, and I know you will too! If you're looking for unique, high quality children's clothing this is the shop for you! Kat is amazing to work with and I know she'd be happy to help you in creating the perfect piece for your little one if you can't find something in her ready to ship items. 

You can find Alex and Ria online at http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlexAndRiaBaby

I received one or more of the above mentioned products in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not influenced in any way, please see our disclosure policy for more information.