One of the biggest tips we’ve gleaned from other parents with young school-aged children is to label EVERYTHING in hopes items will make their way back home (we plan to cover Lucy from head to toe in labels next week when she starts school).

So how exciting is it that the fine folks from Stuck on You Labels contacted us with an oh-so-handy back to school prize pack for one of you lucky people?

• It’s back to school with style at Stuck on You with the launch of their fabulous new Designer Collection. Gorgeous backpacks, pencil cases, library bags and more…plus of course their famous labels.
  

• ENTER TO WIN a personalized lunch bag and a set of personalized shaped labels from this new line. This delicious lunch bag is perfect for school with 12 different designs and colors to choose from, including singing birds, friendly monsters and purring kittens.
• CLICK HERE and click on designer collection to pick your favourite design, then leave a comment below with your favourite. We’ll pick a winner next week!
  

UPDATE: Congratulations to #14: Jen for winning the Monkeywrap!

Today we welcome Dawn Whitney — an Oshawa stay-at-home mom to SEVEN kids! — for a guest review.

The first day I got my Monkeywrap, I didn’t take it off all day!

My daughter Gaia ALWAYS wants to be held which makes it hard to do pretty much anything. I’ve learned to do lots with one hand (also challenging with 6 other children, LOL!).

Since receiving the wrap, I have been cleaning the house, doing dishes, hanging laundry even changing my second youngest child’s diapers all without having to worry about putting Gaia down and having to hear her cry until I am able pick her up again, or trying to do it with one hand! She loves to be in it! She gets to be up with mom, and I still have hands free.

Yesterday afternoon I had to be somewhere, so just wore the Monkeywrap all ready to go until we got there then I was able to quickly put Gaia into the wrap and be on my way to my appointment without trying to carry her in her infant carseat or worry about a stroller. It was SO easy!

Thursday evening I went to a spring concert at the kids school, and just brought Gaia in my Monkeywrap and it was so much easier to move around without trying to push a stroller (which she probably wouldn’t want to be in anyways and I’d end up carrying her around while attempting to push a stroller).

Today I asked my husband to watch the baby while I did something. About 5 minutes later he came up with the Monkey Wrap on and Gaia in it! She was having a blast!

If you haven’t guessed, I am in LOVE with this wrap. I don’t know how I did anything around the house with the other kids when they were younger without one!

Designed by 2 moms with style in mind, Monkeywear offers Canadian families the Monkeywrap – a uniquely designed tight stretch wrap baby carrier. The Monkeywrap offers a tailored, non-bulky alternative that looks like a shirt and was designed for closeness, comfort & convenience. It is just the right size to provide a custom fit for you and baby every time.

Monkeywear owners Jen and Lesley have a wrap for a lucky Durham Region Kids winner! Take a spin through their site, and return with one (or more!) things you love about Monkeywear in a comment.

We’ll pick and announce a winner Monday. Good luck!

UPDATE May 25/10: And the winner is…#19 Candace! We’ll be in touch with details. Thanks to everyone for entering!

In the four years I’ve been a parent, I’ve been through at least five diaper bags.

Like my purses, I like them big and roomy ’cause I carry a ton of crap around: change of clothes, mini first aid kit, snacks, diaper and wipes, reusable grocery bag, kleenex, emergency distraction toys, plus room for snack cups and more when we go out.

Total high maintenance bag girl here.

Our other bags have been great, but something is always missing or wrong: A flap that made opening cumbersome. Too small. Too pretty. Not enough pockets.

Then my friend Kristen, who is also the co-owner with her sister of T Bag & Co. and the wife to a guy I went to school with and who lives down the street (wow, this is incestuous…) gave me one of her wine bags for Christmas. You may have seen Kristen and Laura at any number of the parent shows the past few seasons (most recently Mamas & Chicks in April).

Now, I love wine. Capital L Love it. But my first thought when I opened this black and white beauty was what a fabulous diaper bag it would make.

So that’s exactly what we use it for.

It’s four roomy compartments help keep all our kid junk separated. The open top means easy access. It’s oh-so-stylish. It’s sturdy, with tough (but not utilitarian-looking) handles.

Last week a cup of milk spilled, and saturated the fabric. a) I liked that the fabric absorbed the liquid and didn’t pool at the bottom, and b) we tossed the whole thing in the wash, and it came out great — no fading, shrinking or ironing required.

To illustrate how it works with wine, I snapped this pic this morning:

Realizing I only had one bottle of wine in the house (aieeee!), I supplemented with a few bottles of Eric’s scotch.

The bag works great either way. Here are a few of my regular totes (two from the pretty in pink collection) that we use for shoes, groceries, lugging stuff to daycare and more:

BAG LOVE!

Kristen has offered up a wine bag to one of my lucky readers. It’s super easy to win: Go visit the T Bag & Co. website, and pick your favourite collection. Or if you’re already a bag owner, share what you love most about them.

We’ll pick a winner after the long weekend.

Good luck!

On a side note, this post took me around two hours because of the terribly distracting working environment. I’m thinking of filing a complaint with HR:

UPDATE: Congratulations to Tara-Lynn Jackson for winning our giveaway!

When Carly asked me to do a review for Norwex cleaning products I was thrilled! I consider myself to be a certified germaphobe, so I never reject somebody basically asking me to clean my house.

One night while puting Ayven to bed I was filling up his humidifier and noticed it needed a cleaning. Because of the cold steam it has the tendency to create a build up of mildew and other sorts of water remnants.

Before

After

I pulled out the Enviro Cloth and gave the humidifier a once-over wipe and the machine looked brand new. I couldn’t believe how simple it was and loved how I removed everything safely without any toxins or soaps. This cloth also worked wonders on a pair of Ayven’s impossible-to-clean shoes.

I tackled dusting our bedroom blinds with the Antibac Dust Mitt and not only noticed the large amount of dust the mitt picked up but thoroughly enjoyed how short-people friendly it was because the dust stuck firmly to the mitt instead of clumping up and falling down on me as I reached up high.

Usually I smirk and avoid our bedroom mirror, as it is prone to having bits of paper towel get stuck in between the small glass tiles, but with the window cloth I was able to wipe away any finger prints or smudges, chemical and paper towel free!

Norwex offers a variety of toxin and chemical free products, including their Ultra Power Plus Laundry Detergent which I used as a stain remover on a couple of Ayven’s daycare shirts and to wash a load of his laundry

It’s always a pleasure to provide a clean home, but even more satisfying is knowing you are doing so without harmful toxins and chemicals interfering with our environment, and most definitely our children.

Carly note: Oshawa mom Angela Quick provided the products, and sells Norwex via  www.healthiergreeneryou.com. She has given us a fabulous package to give away today: A Norwex Clean Pack which includes  one of each of the following: Antibac Enviro Cloth, Antibac Window Cloth, and Antibac Dust Mitt.

Visit Angela’s site, and leave a comment with why chemical-free cleaning is important to your family. We’ll pick a winner in the next few days. Good luck, and thanks to our germaphobe Krystle for the review!

__________
Krystle Pereira is a 23-year-old Mom to my 3-year-old Ayven and common-law wife to Adrian, a tradesman.  They live in North Oshawa and are anxiously awaiting our departure back to their native Whitby. Krystle interrupted her journalism studies to become a full-time mom but recently went back to school.  Lover of organization, hater of clutter, seeker of balance for family and lifestyle as a young mom. Read her at Starting Young.

Congrats to #16, Elizabeth and Aiden! Christine picked you as our winner of 10 free passes!

These cold months are no excuse to stay at home when there are so many cool indoor play centres in Durham.

One of our favourites is Creative Play Indoor Playground and Party Centre in Ajax. We took the girls here with Jen O. last February for the Valentine’s Day party and had a blast! I love that there is still to do for all age groups — a play area with smaller toys, ride-em cars, jumpers and padded seating for babies and toddlers, and several climbers for older kids.

We enjoyed decorating cupcakes (extra charge) in the huge eating area, colouring (free — and Lucy drew her first face!) and tons of free play. With two kids more than two years apart, I’d definitely recommend two people, if possible. Creative Play is quite large — more than 3,500 sq. ft., with some equipment around corners — so it can be difficult to keep track of them. That being said, there’s a TON of room to play!

One of Creative Play’s claim to fame are their character days: Tea with Ariel, March Break Art Day, visits with Elmo and Upsy Daisy. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter and keep track of their calendar to see what’s coming up.

My only complaint was this day was also a PA Day — so there were a ton of older kids around. Children to the age of 10 are allowed, and I found Lucy intimidated by the school kids. None of the were in the baby area, so Alice and Avery were fine.

Owner Christine has given me 10 FREE PASSES to a lucky Durham Region Baby reader!
Head on over to Creative Play’s website and pick your favourite feature of the place (or share, if you’ve been there before) and leave a comment below. We’ll pick a winner Monday.

Happy playing and good luck!