Mommy Kat and Kids

Kids Love Playing with Timeless Wooden Games from Blue Orange Games-Giveaway

May 23, 2013 by Kathryn 8 Comments

As much as my boys love fancy, electronic toys and games, it’s invariably the more simple and classic activities that become their favourites. I love seeing how much Zackary and Benjamin enjoy sitting down to play a board game or act out a story with their favourite toys and I always love finding new games that seem like a good fit for my boys.

Recently Blue Orange Games sent me two of its beautiful wooden games to review and even as children’ games go, they were something special. We received Froggy Boogie and Zimbbos! to review and the boys were absolutely giddy about playing with the brightly coloured wooden pieces.

froggy boogie [Read more...]

Add a Spring to your Step this Summer with New Styles from Crocs

May 23, 2013 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Pin It

It’s time for summer fashion and Crocs Canada has tons of hot styles perfect for the whole family this season! From cute sandals to classic slip-ons, the collection is as comfortable as it is stylish!

crocs linene wedge oat I was lucky enough to receive the new Crocs A-leigh Linen Wedges to review and having tried Crocs footwear before, I knew that they would likely be my go-to sandals when I wanted something comfortable. What I didn’t expect was just how stylish they would be as well!

I received the Oat sandals and I loved the way the shoes combined a wrapped jute heel with the natural off-white colour. These wedges will be perfect for pairing with a sundress on a warm summer day and the neutral colours will go with almost any outfit.

Of course, the sandals wouldn’t be Crocs unless they featured the patented Croslite footbed for signature Crocs comfort. And sure enough, when I slipped the sandals onto my feet, I could feel the difference right away. Despite sporting a 2¾-inch heel, these cute wedges are so comfortable that they’ll be perfect for all-day wear. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reviews, Reviews and Giveaways Tagged With: a-leigh, crocs, crocs a-leigh, crocs shoes, fashion, footwear, linen wedges, sandal, sandals, shoes, summer, summer shoes, wedge, wedges

Teach My All-in-One Kits for Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers Build Valuable Early Learning Skills-Giveaway

May 22, 2013 by Kathryn 64 Comments

Pin It

I am a big believer in the importance of reading and math. Zackary and I used to spend lots of time playing with letters and numbers, talking about the ways they go together and building some of the early learning skills that would lead to reading, writing and mathematics proficiency in the future. Now, at three-years-old, Benjamin is reaching that same age when building some basic early learning skills will help him in the future.

Teach My is a Canadian-based company started by momtrepreneur Christy Cook that specializes in helping children build those important early-learning skills. I first learned about the original Teach My Toddler kits during a feature on my favourite show, Dragon’s Den, back in 2008. Since then, the company has expanded its line of early learning kits to include a Teach My Baby kit and a Teach My Preschooler kit as well as offering individual learning kits for reading, writing, numbers, letters and more.

teachy my preschooler kit [Read more...]

Filed Under: Giveaway, Reviews, Reviews and Giveaways Tagged With: baby, early learning, education, learning, literacy, math, numbers, preschooler, read, reading, teach, teach my, teach my baby, teach my preschooler, teach my toddler, toddler, write

Wordless Wednesday with Linky-First Day at Disneyland #DisneyFF

May 21, 2013 by Kathryn 18 Comments

Pin It

We may have only had a few hours to enjoy Disneyland today, but we made the most of every minute! Our adventures started off magical when a little boy gave Zackary and Benjamin each one of these fun Mickey Mouse balloons!

Benjamin found Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride a little scary, but both boys loved sitting and pretending to drive Toady’s car!

And when I put the boys to bed, instead of their usual chatter and questions, they were both asleep within minutes. It’s a good thing too, because we have an even bigger day ahead of us tomorrow!

If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, please link it up below; I’d love to check it out! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Features, Wordless Wednesday Tagged With: balloon, boys, disney, disney fantasy faire, disneyff, disneyland, family, fantasy faire, fun, mickey mouse, ride, sleep

Make Bottle-Feeding Simple with the Playtex SmartSteam 3-in-1 Microwave Sterilizer-Giveaway

May 21, 2013 by Brenna 37 Comments

Pin It

Bottle-feeding my baby is not my first choice, but for a lot of women it may be their only option or a necessary compliment to breastfeeding at times. In any case, every mother wants to know that her bottles and sterilization methods are going to be safe for her baby. As a working mother I know that my newborn baby will need to be fed by bottle when I am not there and I want to have the peace of mind that my absence is not going to compromise her health. For these reasons I was pleased with the opportunity to try out a set of bottles and the new SmartSteam Microwave Sterilizer courtesy of Playtex.

I didn’t give much thought to the world of baby bottles with my past two children and generally just chose the cutest looking ones on the shelf. Then along came worries about BPA which suddenly meant I had to critically evaluate my choices from a totally different perspective. Thankfully, Playtex makes choosing a safe bottle simple by ensuring all it bottles are BPA-free. The company sent me two different types of bottles, the Nurser with drop in liners and the Ventaire, to test.

playtex smartsteam sterilizer [Read more...]

Filed Under: Giveaway, Reviews, Reviews and Giveaways Tagged With: baby bottle, bottle, bottle-feeding, microwave, microwave sterilizer, playtex, playtex bottles, playtex drop-in, playtex mommyville, playtex nurser, playtex sterilizer, smartsteam, smartsteam sterilizer, sterilizer, ventair

Pure Via Stevia Adds Natural Sweetness to Food Without Adding Calories-Giveaway

May 20, 2013 by Kathryn 96 Comments

Pin It

My love of natural products is something I’ve mentioned often in the past. Because I prefer wholesome and natural food, I’ve never even considered using artificial sweetener. I’ve always thought that it tasted awful and the more I learned about it, the more I started to believe that it was more damaging to the body than the sugar it was replacing.

pure via stevia So when I was asked if I would like to review the brand new line of Pure Via sweeteners, I was very hesitant. Before I even responded, I investigated the product to find out exactly how Pure Via was adding sweetness to foods without adding calories. The answer was an extract from the Stevia plant, a plant that has been used in South America for centuries, and after reading up on it a bit, I found myself actually eager to give the new Pure Via line a try.

Pure Via is currently available in three different forms. Pure Via packets add the same sweetness as two teaspoons of sugar and are fabulous for sweetening coffee, fruit or cereal. Pure Via Turbinado and Stevia Blend combines the Stevia sweetener with raw cane sugar for a sweetener that tastes great and has only five calories per packet. And Pure Via Granulated is especially designed to replace white sugar cup-for-cup in baked goods and recipes. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Giveaway, Reviews, Reviews and Giveaways Tagged With: artificial sweetener, calories, low calorie, pure, pure via, pure via blends, pure via stevia, pure via sweetener, stevia, stevia sweetener, sweetener, via

Giveaways Ending May 21

May 19, 2013 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Mommy Kat and Kids has four great giveaways ending May 21!

If you haven’t already, make sure you get your entries in! Good luck everyone!

Filed Under: Giveaways Ending Soon, Reviews and Giveaways

Customized Whiteboards from Tailor Made Whiteboards Make Family Organizing Easy-Giveaway

May 17, 2013 by Kathryn 80 Comments

Pin It

It’s a little hard for me to believe sometimes, but my boys aren’t babies anymore! My oldest is reading, playing sports and going to the library all by himself and my youngest is dressing himself, playing independently and only too eager to remind me that he’s “a big boy.” Going from caring for all my boys’ needs to realizing that they can handle more responsibility themselves has taken me a bit of time, but I’m getting there!

Finding ways to give my boys the responsibility that they craved has been one of my biggest challenges and so I decided to start simply by giving the boys some daily chores. And just as I was planning out that idea, Tailor Made Whiteboards contacted me and offered me the chance to review one of its gorgeous customized activity planners, chore boards or menu planners. Of course, I chose the Chore Board and I was especially excited that I was able to customize it with a picture of my two boys to make it extra special!