All posts by Alicia

Fill in the Blankie – a completely customizable baby blanket

Bedding - baby & kids, , , ,

FillintheblankieTaking customization one step further, Fill in the Blankie is the 'pimp my blankie' version of the hit MTV show Pimp my Ride.  You will never buy another 'baby store' blanket again after having a Fill in the Blankie blanket.  

Dallas-based
company president, Todd Lilly, offers customers the most personalization you can
find on a blanket. He's not kidding around when he says personalized baby blanket. 

Customers can choose:

  • The font style and thread color
  • Up to 200 characters to be embroidered around the edges of the blanket
  • 3 blanket sizes
  • Select from many fabric and satin trim color combination's.
  • There are what seems like an endless amount of customization choices.

A Fill in the Blankie blanket will make a great new baby or holiday gift!

Available at: Fill in the Blankie

3 steps toward Green(er) parenting
Step 1: Green school supplies

Green, , ,

Fleurville-rerun-messengerTeaching kids how to lessen their footprint on the environment is vital and can be done easily, affordably and with style!  Here are a few online stores, and a sampling of their products, that will
get your kids started on their Green school supply collection.

  • Forest Choice – Graphite #2 pencils and colored pencils
  • Green Apple – Earth Friendly School Pack 2", Recycled Content Markers, Recycled Ballpoint Pen, and Maped Natural Rubber Eraser are a few products offered here.
  • Fluerville – Re-Run™ Beta Binder and Re-Run™ Messenger.

A few tips that I particularly like from The Green Parent website article, Green Your School Supplies are:

  1. Aim For A Waste-Free Lunch
  2. Borrow or Rent Sports Equipment and Instruments.
  3. Update and reuse last year’s backpack by adding or removing fabric patches or designs.

Gloria Campos with Daily Green Tips reminds us that if we can't afford to buy all green school supplies, that's okay. Buy what
you can green on the supply list. You will still make a difference.

Are your kids using Green school supplies?  If so, what are they and where do you buy them?

Danika’s Totally Terrible Toss: The Legend of the Purple Flurp

Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Books, , ,

Purple-flurpThis book is part of the Secret Keeper Girl book series.  If you have a tween girl or know one, this is the perfect book to add to her collection.  The Legend of the Purple Flurp is a book about a 12 year old girl, Danika who gets in trouble for accidentally tossing ‘purple flurp’ at the lunch lady.  Consequently Danika gets into trouble which puts a major kink in her plans of winning the title of Miss Teeny Pop at Marion, Ohio’s Annual Popcorn Festival. 
Although the incident is an unfortunate accident Danika is given detention and meets three girls who help her gain new insight into what life is about.  Before accidentally throwing purple flurp (you have to read the book to learn what it is!) at a lunch lady Danika had the mindset that life was about what she had rather than who she is.  You know… fancy clothes, a big house, nice cars, all that stuff.

Danika’s Totally Terrible Toss: The Legend of the Purple Flurp is full of humor, real life situations, and activities for moms and daughters to do together. 
The book is addictive.  I read it with my nine year old the first day I got it for review and he actually read it in bed that night!  Don’t tell!!  We made sure to read the book in such a way that it didn’t seem so girly and he wouldn’t feel like he was reading a girly book.  I told him not to mind the pink cover. 

The Secret Keeper Girl series of books opens a door for moms and daughters to communicate about situations that tween girls go through.  There are currently three books in the Secret Keeper Girl series and are available individually or in bundles.

You will find Danika’s Totally Terrible Toss (Secret Keeper Girl) at Amazon.com for about $10.

Precious Girls Club: Review and Giveaway

Books, , , ,
Looking for the giveaway?
Enter to win a Precious Girls’ Club goodie bag here!

Created by Precious Moments, the Precious Girls’ A Little Bit of Faith (Precious Girls’ Club) book and and club is for girls from about ages 9-12 and are fun stories and learning tools for young girls.

Precious-girls-screenA Little Bit of Faith is a book about a girl who tries to start a club after she moves to a new town and a new school.  She has a hard time because she is the new girl in school and the kids don’t know her yet.  Katie discovers that a little bit of faith can help her overcome big challenges.

A few things I really enjoyed about the book are:

  • The short chapters make it easy to break into realistic segments whether daily, or before and then again after dinner.
  • The many pictures which keep young reader’s interest.
  • The questions asked in the story are those that reader’s want to answer.
  • The fact that young girls that relate to the story.

About the Precious Girls’ Club:

  • The website is a safe, wholesome environment created for young girls.
  • Precious Girls Club members create their own characters, decorate their rooms, explore the town, socialize, play games and even shop “virtually” using the points they earn on the site.
  • The games reinforce virtues such as helpfulness, kindness, responsibility, loving and caring. In addition to points, many activities award “virtual” virtue charms.

We have two Precious Girls Club goodie bag sacks to give away! Each goodie bag sack includes bracelets, books, stickers and some other stuff, great for girls 6-12 years old.

Leave a comment below having something to do with the book, club website or a girls’ club you or your daughter were/are a part of.

The Celebrity Solstice cruise:
Part 1: Relaxing

Celebrity Solstice, , , , , , , ,

Celebrity Solstice deck lounge chairs

In Part 1 of my Celebrity Solstice preview cruise series I am going to tell you how I relaxed on the ship and how you can too.

Boy, the cruise went by so fast.  Among going to executive forums, ship designer forums, PR meetings, and eating I was on the go from dawn till dusk.  I did not sit down at a pool once but I passed them at least three dozen times.
I did however, sit on the lawn. THe Patio on the Lawn is on the highest deck of the ship without roof to obstruct my view of the sky, no hard floor under my bare feet, just soft, plush grass.  After passing through The Lawn I headed for the AuquSpa where I was fortunate enough to get a Swedish Massage.  While waiting for my massage, I was sent to the relaxation room where I gazed out of the ceiling to floor windows and I just happened to be there when the sun was setting so the view was astonishing.  The relaxation room is full of chase lounges each having a plush blanket, pillows and side tables on which you can put your cup of tea or book.  The relaxation room trumped eating a box of chocolate hands down!

Part 2 coming soon

You can read about why I went on the Celebrity Solstice preview cruise here.