Little Passports Announces Early Explorers Subscription for Preschoolers

Little Passports Announces Early Explorers Subscription for Preschoolers
**The links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.

Little Passports has a wonderful new program for preschoolers, called Early Explorers. Children ages 3 to 5 can experience the joy of learning about new cultures.

Each month, your child will be introduced to a new theme like animals, music, and landmarks. Early Explorers is designed with preschoolers in mind and provides fun and educational activities, souvenirs and stickers. During the first month, a Traveler's Kit arrives in a fun orange suitcase. It holds everything a child needs to start learning about the world:

• An activity book introducing new characters Max, Mia, and their dog Toby.
• A wall-sized world map
• Stickers and a wall decal
• A luggage tag

After the first month, a monthly World Theme Kit arrives, which contains:

• An activity booklet
• Souvenirs
• Flashlight Adventures
• Stickers and wall decals

Early Explorers makes a unique holiday gift for children ages 3 to 5. Learn more about Early Explorers from Little Passports.

{Travel Review} Hampton Inn Asheboro

This past weekend we took the kids to visit the NC Zoo on our way to our sons clinic visit in Durham. We were also doing an activity the day before in Charlotte and decided to stay the night in Asheboro. I checked prices on Expedia.com and booked a room with 2 Queen Beds at the Hampton Inn Asheboro for 83.30 plus tax. The hotel was comparable in price to others in the area, had excellent reviews, and was located only 13 minutes from the Zoo. The reservation also included access to an onsite indoor pool and a Breakfast Buffet, which is a big money saver for a family of 5.

We were greeted upon arrival by a very happy and helpful clerk who informed me that they also served cookies and popcorn in the lobby between 5-8pm each evening. My kids love popcorn and cookies and we had not eaten dinner prior to arrival so those amenities were nice surprises. They also offer laundry facilities, a 24 hour Coffee bar, which included hot water to make hot tea or hot chocolate, and a 24 hour snack bar. I took a quick peek at the “snack bar” since it’s located directly next to the guest services desk. It was stocked with an assortment of candies, gum, drinks (they also have drink machines on each floor), and a few quick microwavable meal options.

After checking in, we were happy with the size of our room and the fact that it included 2 Queen beds, a sitting chair, a small closet, a microwave, a mini-fridge (a necessity for our family since our son's medication must be refrigerated), and a large desk.

We decided to order a pizza and have it delivered so we could get the kids ready to swim. When the Pizza delivery arrived, guest services called to see if we wanted to come down to the lobby or if they could send him up to deliver the pizza to our door. This made my husband and I both feel very safe knowing that they were screening who was coming through the front door. After a picnic in the room, we took the kids for a swim.

My husband was delighted to find the spa area of the hotel not only included an indoor heated pool but a nice sized hot tub. He was dealing from back spasms due to an injury prior to our trip and the heat of the hot tub allowed those muscles to relax and ease off. I took the kids into the pool one at a time and let them swim while the other two stayed in or sitting on the edge of the hot tub with my husband. The pool was heated, yet not super warm, but it was the coldest weekend of the fall so for those conditions I think the temperature was perfect. Within the spa area there was also a door to a small 24 hours gym that looked to include a bicycle, treadmill, and a few other small piece of equipment. After a swim we retreated back to our room to bath the kids and get them to bed. The bathroom, which was very clean, was spacious enough to bath two kids while my oldest brushed her teeth and got ready to shower.

We realized as we were putting the kids to bed that we had forgotten to pick up milk for the kids to drink before bedtime. I made a call to guest services to see if they offered it in their snack bar and they said we could fill up their Sippy cups in the breakfast area, which saved us from making a late night trip to the store with all 3 kids in tow (That earned them big brownie points with this Mama).
The next morning we awoke, got ready for our day, and had breakfast at the included buffet downstairs.

I was very surprised at the large selection. They had freshly cooked eggs, sausage links, biscuits, oatmeal with a variety of toppings, toast, waffle irons, a variety of muffins and pastries, fresh fruit, and bagels with toppings such as cream cheese, honey, butter, jellies, etc. They also offered several beverage selections, including orange pineapple juice, which my oldest enjoyed, and milk for my younger two. The attendant was constantly cleaning up areas, providing fresh refills on the hot items, conversing with guests, and as we checked out I heard him give a courteous 10 minute warning to let the guest know that he would be closing the breakfast area so people could get a refill on anything if needed. It makes you more confident in eating a buffet style breakfast when there are several good options and the attendants are paying attention to the needs of the guests.

Overall, we couldn’t have been happier with our stay at the Hamptom Inn Asheboro. Our room, the pool area, buffet area, and hallways within the hotel were very clean and well decorated. I would highly recommend it for business professionals and families. We will be staying again prior to our next visit to the NC Zoo.

Where do you stay when visiting Asheboro? Does your family love visiting the Zoo as much as mine does?


*We purchased this room and I was not provided anything in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Rockin' Green Laundry Detergent GIVEAWAY & Review (CLOSED)

  

Rocking Green Laundry Detergent is a Eco-friendly cloth diaper safe detergent that is made in the US. It is Dye free, has No fillers, No enzymes or optical brighteners, 100% Phosphate free, Vegan, and they use natural fragrance oils if you choose a scented option.

They offer 3 formulas depending on the condition of your water (Hard Rock, Classic Rock, and Soft Rock) along with Funk Rock which is an ammonia bouncer to great rid of the stinkies and keep them at bay, as well other products. They come in a variety of scents with Smashing Watermelon being our family favorite.

The kids and I have Eczema and so far we have had no issues with this soap so its great for our sensitive skin. I love that the detergent smells so yummy when I put it into the wash with the dirty items yet my clothes come out just smelling clean and not scented.
We have been using the detergent for a year now and once I got the amount we needed for our HE figured out we have had no stink, build up or ammonia issues. We recently tried the funk rock thanks to a sample sent to us from Rockin Green and haven't had any issues with that product either.

Rockin Green is sponsoring a great giveaway of a full size product in the winners choice of scent/formula. You can find the information to enter below in the rafflecopter widget.

Make sure you become a fan of theirs on Facebook where they announce coupons and their Holiday Specials.

Thank you so much to Rockin' Green Detergent for providing samples of the detergent & funk rock as well as sponsoring this wonderful giveaway!

This is a sponsored post and giveaway. All opinions are 100% mine and honest.

*GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Influenster VoxBox: Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Polish

I received the Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Polish in the color Polar Purple in my most recent Summer Voxbox from Influenster.
Before having kids I got pedicures on a very regular basis and gave myself one along with changing my polish color every Thursday while watching TV. Since having children I only get a pedicure a few times a year and hardly every paint them in between because I cant seem to find a thick good quality polish that doesn't leave my toe nails looking like a 3 year old painted them.
I was so happy that this polish is a nice thick polish that coats your entire nail in two coats. I also didn't have a single run or mark that I needed to clean up afterwards with polish remover.
The magnetic effect worked really well on my big toes but was not as noticeable on the others but overall gave them a neat 3D effect. My tip with the magnet is to make sure the first coat is dry on all your nails then do a good thick 2nd coat on the first nail. As soon as you are finished polishing the 2nd coat on the first nail, lay the magnet over it, and hold for longer than the 10 seconds it recommends before moving on to your 2nd toe.
I would love to eventually try the Silver, Pink, and Green colors but I am not positive I would purchase this item only because of the $9.99 price sticker when I could get a full pedicure for $20.00.

*This product in this box was sent to me complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster

Influenster Voxbox: Always Tampx Radiant

One of the sample products that I received in the Summer Influenster VoxBox was a adorable fuchsia & purple carrying case filled with Tampax & always products.

The following products were included for trial and review:
3 Always Radiant Incredibly Thin Liners (unscented)

Always radiant infinity Pad (scented)
2 Tampx Radiant Tampons (unscented)
Coupons for Always Infinity Pads & Tampax Radiant Product

I think this would be a prefect item to pass on to a teenager to carry in their backpack or to carry discretely in your purse.
I personally do not use any scented items in that area and it doesn't look like they come in an unscented version.


*This product in this box was sent to me complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster

529 Baby Wetbag Review

This week I reviewed the Medium and Large wet bags that we own from 529 Baby on The Cloth Diaper Channel. Its a great work at home business that we have supported for a year now.
You can check out the video review below.

2012 Summer VoxBox from Influenster

I was recently selected to receive the 2012 Summer VoxBox from Influenster. Normally their boxes contain 5-7 products to sample and review.
Once you sign up they ask that you take an initial survey about the products that you purchase and use more often which leads to qualification for different campaigns. I was really excited to get another shot at trying several new products.
This summers box included the following 5 items:
1. Quaker Banana Nut Bread (mine was opened so I emailed about another sample)
2. Sally Hansen Nails & Cuticles Hand Creme (sample)
3. Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion Sunscreen SPF 30 (2ox container)
4.Sally Hansen Magnetic nail polish (full size)
5. Always Tampax Radiant Collection- 1 purse pouch, 1 pad, 3 liners, and 2 tampons.

I will be reviewing these products individually at a later date so stay tuned :)
*Each product in this box were sent to me complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster.

Review: Mead Early Learning stage 1- Snip it

Today I am reviewing a book by the Mead company. It is called Snip It and is part of their Early Learning stages books. This book is considered a step 1 hands on learning book.

There are three different "levels" to this book and the book is divided into two sections. The first section has the project pages and the instructions and the back section contains the pieces for these projects. The first is cut and stick. In the back you will find several different colors of construction style paper with thick black lines down it. The lines are to help children cut the paper by following the line. Then they snip these larger pieces into smaller pieces which they tack down to the picture from the first section. The first projects do not require glue. You just peel part of the paper off to reveal a tacky substance underneath for the paper clippings to stick too (sorry no picture). The second section teaches you to cut out larger pieces and gets you used to the glue. The white paper will show where each piece goes and you will cut the construction style out and place the piece in the coordinating spot to create a picture.
The third section allows you to continue practicing your cutting skills but the white pages do not have the diagrams of the pictures. They have a small image in the corner showing what the project should look like and you have to assemble it free handed on the white page.

There are also areas of the papers that are supposed to be used as coloring areas. 

Pros:

I think this book is a neat learning tool that teaches you how to use different techniques of building images. It progresses to help with each new skill they are learning.

The pages have very thick dark lines to cut upon. They are wide so the child has room to wiggle and still make the correct shape.

Some of the patterns are offered in different color options in the back so your child can choose which color they want to use for certain images.

Cons:

The tacky glue on the first projects isnt that sticky and can get dirty while the children are decorating their pictures or after because most kids do not cover the entire area with paper.

The pieces to each project are not on pages alone. You may have two or three different projects on one piece of the paper. This makes it harder for the kids to determine which pieces to cut and keep for their current project.

We went through it quickly once my daughter was interested. She REFUSES to use sissors so I cut the pieces out for her and she glued them down. We went through 3 an afternoon before moving onto something else. 

Overall I think its a fun activity book for children PreK ages. We finished our last project in the book this morning. I plan on buying another when she has better control with the scissors so she can work on the project independently.

*Raising Bushs was not paid/nor received product from the Mead company for this review. All information and opinions are my own.