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Yo Babba Babba!
We recently had the privilege of receiving a box of fun from BabbaCo.com. BabbaCo is a subscription company that sends children ages three to six a box filled with fun, educational activities that they can do every month on their own or with help from parents. Like the KiwiCrate box I reviewed a few months ago it is absolutely wonderful resource for homeschooling or just the busy family who wants to incorporate more enriching activities into their lives without having to hunt all over the place for supplies and ideas. It’s all right there in a box ready for action!
Everything you need comes in a beautifully designed box along with helpful instructions, prompts for discussions and further activities, coupon codes for unlocking games on the internet and even a special gift for mom. My gift was a coupon to SitterCity which I’ve heard a lot about and now I have a free subscription for a month. Hot Diggety!
This box was off the hook! It incorporated a rainbow theme and Bug was enthralled.
First she made enormous bubbles with rainbows in them.
Some of them blown at me as you can see. It was kind of fun sending a floaty little storm of giant bubbles off into our new apartment complex. We didn’t see anyone watching us but I like to think a few of them blew by people’s windows and made their day a little more interesting.
Next was a little rainbow tissue-dying project with this jaunty little hat.
Bug has always loved rainbows so this project needed very little prodding. It didn’t say in the instructions to create a rainbow stripe on the hat but Bug took the rainbow theme and ran with it.
Some very serious squirt bottle action went down here, as you can see.
Next up was a little lesson about prisms and finding and making your own rainbows.
I think we have a new favorite toy.
Then she made more bubble wands with colorful chenille stems. I was quite surprised by this activity. I didn’t realize it was that easy to make a bubble wand and they worked just as well as the store-bought plastic ones. Maybe even better because they were bendable! Just bend, twist and saturate with bubble solution and you’re ready to blow yourself silly with bubbles!
Sadly, heart-shapped bubble wands do not create heart-shaped bubbles. Dang it!
What I really liked about this box was the story book. What a nice touch. And it wasn’t some cheap silly book either. It was a really cool one by Don Freeman that we actually had never read before. Super cute story. I have a feeling this will be a regular in the nighttime storybook line-up from now on.
Seriously, how cute is this? Heart-warming cute, I say.
And as if that wasn’t enough, there was a sunny yellow umbrella included. We haven’t had much rain around here but it sure did look fashionable. Everybody needs a sunny yellow umbrella.
Then we finished the very colorful, fun-filled day with some quiet time coloring rainbows and bubbles. Or I should say Bug finished with some quiet coloring time while I got dinner on which was really nice for me. This mama says, “A-Okay!” These activities were perfect for us and there’s still more in the box to discover! I noticed some coupons for links to online games and then there’s that coupon for me for SitterCity. I was very pleasantly surprised with the thoughtful attention to detail included in this box. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
And guess what?! One of you can win a free box! All you have to do is sign up for the BabbaCo newsletter and leave a comment below telling me that you have and I will randomly select one reader to win their very own BabbaCo box in the mail. You’ll love it.
I also have a fifty percent off coupon to give away. So if you sign up for a monthly subscription using the code: SAJ50OFF before June 28th, your first charge will be for $15, then 29.99 per month after that. If you sign up for an annual subscription, you will receive $15 off the total price, so you’re getting your first box for 50% off. Not too shabby!
This contest is open until June 28th so hop on it!
This post is sponsored by BabbaCo but my opinions are my own! Promise. :)
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Wash Away Your Scales: A review.
You know how it is. You’re a busy mom, you barely take time for yourself outside of a shower every other day and the daily toothbrushing and then one day you decide to put on a dress or a skirt instead of your usual mom uniform of jeans and a T-shirt. Everything is fine and dandy, you feel good about yourself and then you’re at the soccer field or sitting at a fancy restaurant and you glance down at your legs. Gah! That’s when you notice that you have three inch green scales growing off your legs.
Okay, I exaggerate, but have you ever looked down at your legs — that you thought were smooth and beautiful — and been horrified by what you saw? This happens to me ALL THE TIME! In fact, I now keep a tube of super-thick lotion in my car for just such horrifying situations. How did this happen?!! I don’t know! I think it’s a busy working mom thing. I guess I just don’t have time to make sure I moisturize regularly or maybe I drink too much coffee or something. It just happens to me. It sneaks up on me when I least expect it.
I rarely pay any attention to my legs. I’ve got bigger problems to deal with — like getting my kid out the door with her backpack, lunch and matching shoes, and like paying the bills. You know, important things. I’m thankful for my legs because they hold me up and help me get places. Other than that, they’re just appendages that ocasionally scare the crap out of me by getting all dry and scaly.
Enter Olay’s new body wash called OlayÆ Ultra Moisture Body Wash. You know me: I’m a low-maintenance, no-fuss girl. I’m already a faithful fan of Olay’s face moisturizer so it was an easy yes for me to review this product. I just threw it in the shower and tried it for a week instead of my usual body wash. The first thing I noticed about this product was the smell.
I opened the bottle and it was like a breeze of fresh orange blossoms wafted in from a nearby orchard. It smells so good! I’m not usually a fan of super perfumey scents. Don’t even get me started on those ghastly vanilla-scented candles. But this scent hit me right away with pleasant memories. I don’t know if it’s the perfume my aunt used to wear when she was getting dressed up for church on Sunday morning or the smell of the orange groves I grew up in. I just know it’s familiar and I like it. I think it’s orange blossoms or maybe tuberose, I’m not sure. I looked all over online to see what it was but outside of so I could be totally off.
Secondly, it’s thick and lathers really well. I know we’re all trying to get away from sulphates these days and trying to lather with astringent but I have to admit I love a good lather. Shoot me. It’s just so luxurious and you can tell where you’ve been. There’s no wondering if you already rinsed there. You can see the bubbles!
Thirdly, there is over a jar of Olay moisturizers inside each bottle. That’s a ton! This product will seriously help with the scale factor. In fact, they brag on the outside of the bottle that after four showers you’ll be able to go without moisturizing for 24 hours! The jury is still out on that last bullet-point, but I’ve used it in three showers and I’ve been feeling a little bit softer and prettier. I might even sport a dress tomorrow and go find some soccer field to sit in if it’s not raining.
Fourthly, it’s just really nice to take a bath once in awhile. Thanks, Olay, for giving me a good excuse! Since this is a review and we always like to get readers to chime in, what are some of the ways you simplify your beauty routine? Do you moisturize every day? Do you have any tricks to keep the scales away? Let us know in the comments and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $50 Visa gift card.
Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entryThis giveaway is open to U.S. Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 3/20 – 4/17
Be sure to visit the Olay Body Wash page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggersí reviews and find more chances to win! While weíre on the subject of looking good, you might want to check out the “Looking Your Best” posts in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com. There are some great tips and expert posts!
