Category Archives: Funstastic Summer Event

24Jun 2012

Funtastic Summer Event: Stainless Steel Popsicle Molds {review & giveaway}

⋅ 196 Comments

Welcome to the Kate n’ Kaboodle Funtastic Summer Event!

Summer isn’t complete without a popsicle or two to help keep cool in the heat!  Better yet, how about a green popsicle?  No, I don’t mean the flavor.  I mean using eco-friendly, stainless steel popsicle molds to help keep the earth you enjoy greener!

NoPlastic has a variety of unique products that are plastic free and designed to be more eco-friendly.  The stainless steel popsicle molds are plastic free, BPA free and are free from toxins and contaminants, which might be released from plastic popsicle molds.

Each set contains six stainless steel molds and lids, a tray to store them, 12 popsicle sticks and 12 removable silicone rings.

The silicon rings are pretty cool.  They help keep the stick straight when you are making the Popsicle and both the rings and lids serve as a drip catcher to avoid sticky hands.

The stainless steel, eco-friendly popsicle molds are easy to use and clean.  Simply load the tray with the molds and fill.  Make sure the ring is in the lid, add the stick and top it off.  Then you wait. I think that is the hardest part!  When your popsicles are done, run it under water a couple seconds and your cool popsicle is ready to eat!

So what did we think?  The kids and I love these molds.  They are easy enough for them to use and because each pop is separate, it is a breeze to remove/refill and put back in the tray without bothering the other pops!  The molds are larger in size so the big kids can be happy after one and I love the drip catcher for Kinsley.  And I am always happy to have one less plastic item in our home!  We give them two cool thumbs up!

Visit NoPlastic.ca for other great plastic free products for the home such as kitchen & food storage items and products for healthy and natural living!

Connect

NoPlastic Online
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Buy It

You can purchase the Stainless Steel Popsicle Molds for $34.99 at the NoPlastic website!

Win It

One Lucky Kate n’ Kaboodle Reader is going to win Stainless Steel Popsicle Molds from NoPlastic!

Open to U.S. & Canada.

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

24Jun 2012

Funtastic Summer Event: Leave Boredom Behind on Roadtrips with Packed4Fun {review & giveaway}

⋅ 115 Comments

Welcome to the Kate n’ Kaboodle Funtastic Summer Event!

My family and I love taking road trips in the summer.  Most times we don’t even plan anything, we just hop in the car and see where the road takes us!  Although these trips are fun, there were times when the kids would get bored waiting to get from point A to Point B.  How do you leave the boredom behind?  Packed4Fun and their special themed activity backpacks!

Each themed backpack contains several activities that will keep kids busy for hours! There are over a dozen themed backpacks to choose from, as well as a variety of extra’s to include in a pack.  Themes include everything from princesses to dinosaurs and are great for kids of all ages, toddler to tweens!  Packed4Fun made a special road trip backpack for us so we could see how it works with the three girls, a three year old and twelve year old twins.

When our road trip backpack came, Kinsley wanted to immediately open it.  Waiting to use the pack in the car was agonizing for her and then she wasn’t too keen on sharing with the older kids.  I loaded them into the car and set off to give these road trip activities a whirl!

Once in the car, they each selected something to start with and the backpack sat between them all.

The activities include small items, like the heart shaped maze, to larger activities like Bendaroos. There was even a foam tic tac toe game!  I think one of the favorites was a “mood” fish.  You set him in your hand and he curls and twists.  His movements indicated your mood.  Reagan was not happy that he kept saying she was in love, but Kinsley was in love…with the fish.  She toted him everywhere for days!

They were also HUGE fans of the Bendaroos, wax colored string that you can bend to make art. The girls were creating art masterpieces long after our trip was over.

The backpack includes a groovy CD, Road Trip, to listen to as well.  It’s fun kid-folk music and includes songs about cars, trucks, sirens, car-seat-dancing, and bugs on the windshield. It is enjoyable for everyone in the family.  I could easily sing along to it and it was a nice alternative to some of the other kid music out there.

They kids loved the backpack and it kept them occupied in the car so I could drive without distractions!

You don’t need a road trip to enjoy these backpacks!  They are great gift ideas for kids, parties and a wide variety of other occasions.  What else makes Packed4Fun so awesome?  You can purchase packs to be sent to Foster Children!  How wonderful for kids who may arrive without anything, to have something to call their own.

Connect

Packed4Fun Online

Packed4Fun Facebook

Packed4Fun Twitter

Buy It

You can purchase Packed4Fun backpacks on their site for $24.

Win It

One Lucky Kate n’ Kaboodle Reader is going to win a Packed4Fun backpack of choice!

U.S. Only.

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

24Jun 2012

Funtastic Summer Event: J*Flops, Custom Flip Flops! {review & giveaway}

⋅ 91 Comments

Welcome to the Kate n’ Kaboodle Funtastic Summer Event!

As a native Californian, I would wear flip flops every day of the year.  Unfortunately, the snow here doesn’t allow me to do so! So when summer is here, the flip flops come out!

J*Flops are custom made flips flops for weddings, special occasions or just for everyday fun!  They are handmade to order and come in a variety of styles, colors and sizes and use only the finest quality embellishments.

It is wedding season and J*Flops would be a fun addition to the wedding party!  Send J*Flops a picture or swatch and your custom made wedding flip flops can be matched in color and style.  I remember wearing flip flops during my first college graduation!  I would have loved to had them custom made to match my gown! They come in nine colors and you can even get them in a wedged flip flop if you needed.

Reagan fell in love with the Lily flip flops at J*Flops!  These custom made flip flops featured a simple black bow so they go with all her outfits.

 

I think they look particularly adorable with her hot pink toe nail polish!

Even though Reagan has adult sized feet, J*Flops does make toddler and kids custom flip flops and would be fun for that perfect boutique outfit, flower girls or even the 4th of July!

So what do we think?  Reagan and I both really like the J*Flops!  Her friends are asking where she bought them and she keeps them under lock and key from her sisters and I!  The Lily J*Flops are sturdy enough for her to wear everyday, and if you know Reagan you know that isn’t an easy task.  She is my frilly tomboy.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see her climbing trees in her J*Flops if I let her!

Follow J*Flops on Facebook to stay up to date on promotions, new styles and to enter their monthly giveaways!

Connect

J*Flops Online

J*Flops Facebook

Buy It

You can purchase the Lily J*Flops for $20 on the J*Flops site.

Win It

One Lucky Kate n’ Kaboodle Reader is going to win a $25 gift certificate to JFlops!

U.S. Only.

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

22Jun 2012

Funtastic Summer Event: Zing Toys! {review & giveaway}

⋅ 72 Comments

Welcome to the Kate n’ Kaboodle Funtastic Summer Event!

Last summer, we had the opportunity to try Zing Toys and they were a fast favorite!  This year, we are going to share with you again, just how utterly awesome these high-action toys can be!

About Zing Toys: (from their website)

Zing makes high-quality toys for high-action play. Our mission is to promote a healthy, active lifestyle by compelling kids to turn off their video games or smartphones, get off the couch, and get up to play. Our inventors are kids at heart with safety in mind, bringing you fun in a zillion packages: mini-monsters, boomerangs, and big bows! Soaring rockets, dart blasters, and sticky creatures!

Zing Toys sent over their Pop Rocketz and a Zip-Bak Bow for the girls to try out and again, it is one of their favorite things to play with!

Pop Rocketz

“Prepare for take-off with this pocket-sized, take-anywhere, air powered rocket launcher that blasts foam rockets an amazing 50 feet! Real rocket launch action that’s safe for indoors and out.  Includes 1 Launcher, 3 Colorful Foam Rockets.”

Riyan scooped the Pop Rocketz up first thing.  They are so much fun, I need some for myself.  You simply put the rocket on the launcher and squeeze. Because it can go up to 50 feet, no one was safe from Riyan who hid behind corners and preyed on us like a stealth tiger. We would be sitting in the yard and BAM, we would get popped in the head.  The rocket is foam so even with as fast and far as it goes, it doesn’t hurt in the least bit.  It was very easy to use, even Kinsley could do it without effort.

Zip-Bak Bow

“Fling arrows the length of a basketball court—more than 95 feet—with the Zip-Bak Bow! This high-performance bow is easy to learn and use. Just position the arrow, watch the bow’s arms pop open, swing back, and release! Soft foam Z-Arrows fly right on target and feature bounce-back action.  Includes one Zip-Bak Bow, one Zartz Arrow, and two Z-Arrows.”

This Zip-Bak Bow was all Reagan’s.  She is sort of the toy bow and arrow queen around here.  She likes that the arrows attached right to the side of the bow for easy access.  The arrows have notches on them so it is easy for the kids to use.  Just catch each notch on the bow, pull back and let go.

Don’t let the small size of this bad boy fool you.  It is powerful and she was able to shoot it have it go three, four houses down the street.  Again, I was impressed with the safety of Zing Toys.  She shot the Zip-Bak Bow at the front window and it just bounced off and across the yard.  It didn’t break the window but it did get her a lecture on not giving her mother, who was sitting by the window, a heart attack.

Both toys were a huge hit, as always.  It keeps them busy outside and they have even set up boxes with “targets” on top.  The only thing I have to worry about is Reagan climbing the ladder and getting on the house to get her arrows.  Yes, another lecture.  If I didn’t know better I would say she was a red headed boy.  I grew up with two and she reminds me of my brother’s so much.

Check out all the fun toys at Zing but make sure you arm yourself if you get Pop Rocketz for the kids!  There will be wars and you will need your own set!

Connect

 Zing Toys Online

Zing Toys Facebook

Zing Toys Twitter

Buy It

You can purchase Zing Toys at major retailers near you.  Amazon has the Pop Rocketz for $7.95 and the Zip-Bak Bow for $19.99.

Win It

One Lucky Kate n’ Kaboodle Reader is going to win Zing Toys Pop Rocketz and Zip-Bak Bow!

U.S. Only.

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

21Jun 2012

Funtastic Summer Event: Hearthsong Buddy Bumper Balls {review & giveaway}

⋅ 163 Comments

Welcome to the Kate n’ Kaboodle Funtastic Summer Event!

Now that school is out, we are on the hunt for activities and outdoor toys to keep the kids busy.  I firmly believe that if the weather is good, the kids should be outside getting exercise and using their imaginations!

I never have a problem finding ways to keep Kinsley busy in the summer but I find it difficult to find toys for older kids.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that HearthSong not only has a huge selection of toys for all ages but many my twins would love to play with this summer.

Imagine how excited they were when I told them they would get to review a set of Buddy Bumper Balls from Hearthsong?  I think the squeals could be heard in the next state!

Talk about fun!  Is this not the perfect activity to keep a set of twins busy, or any set of siblings or friends?  You have to check out the video of them and their Buddy Bumper Ball war.  Riyan has an especially funny strategy that we have dubbed “the turtle”.

The Buddy Bumper Balls are easy to set up.  You simply blow up the ball and slip them over the head and you are ready to start bumping!  The girls were playing with them in the yard and suddenly we had every kid in neighborhood come to visit. For hours, they all had bumper wars!  It was great exercise for them and kept them busy for a long time; two great qualities in a toy!

Connect

Hearthsong Online

Hearthsong Facebook

Hearthsong Twitter

Hearthsong Pinterest

Buy It

You can purchase the Buddy Bumper Balls for $39.98 each or $34.98 when you buy two or more on the HeathSong website.

Win It

One Lucky Kate n’ Kaboodle Reader is going to win a $50 Gift Certificate to HearthSong!

U.S. Only.

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

20Jun 2012

Funtastic Summer Event: Nature’s Hand Granola! {review & giveaway}

⋅ 83 Comments

Welcome to the Kate n’ Kaboodle Funtastic Summer Event!

I love granola! Thankfully, my family feels the same way and it is a staple in our house.  We eat if for breakfast in milk or yogurt and we love to have it for snacks at home or while camping or hiking.

Nature’s Hand makes 100% all natural granola.  There is no artificial flavors or colors and no preservatives, sodium or trans fat. It comes in eight delicious flavors, wild blueberry, vanilla almond, cranberry, french vanilla almond, raisin hazelnut, cinnamon apple, maple pecan and coconut almond.

We tried the Nature’s Hand Wild Blueberry and French Vanilla Almond flavors.  My plan was to take these with us hiking but something happened that changed our plans for the granola, and for the better!  While browsing the Nature’s Hand website, I discovered a granola recipe page.  I was curious to try some and see what other ways we could be using granola.

Nature’s Hand French Vanilla Almond Granola

We gathered the ingredients to make the granola peanut butter bars and got to work!  It is such an easy recipe and didn’t call for many ingredients. Brown sugar, honey, peanut butter, vanilla and granola.  Just the way I like it!

The results were amazing and the bars were delicious and filling. These are perfect for on the trail or a mid-afternoon pick me up!  I love that by making our own granola bars,  I know exactly what is them, too!

Nature’s Hand Wild Blueberry Granola

The Wild Blueberry is my favorite!  I couldn’t wait to try it so I just plunked it in some milk and dived in!  I wasn’t disappointed!  The blueberry was just as delicious as the vanilla, even more so because I am crazy about blueberries and love granola clusters.

Both flavors were a big hit in our house and we are excited to try some of the other flavors!  Would you like to try some all natural granola? You are in luck because Nature’s Hand is giving away a bag for one reader!

Connect

Nature’s Hand Online

Nature’s Hand Facebook

Nature’s Hand Twitter

Buy It

 Nature’s Hand All Natural Granola can be purchased for $4.99 on their website or at a retailer near you.

Win It

One Lucky Kate n’ Kaboodle Reader is going to win a bag of Nature’s Hand Granola!

U.S. Only.

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

19Jun 2012

Funtastic Summer Event: Little Patootique Hair Accessories {review & giveaway}

⋅ 58 Comments

Welcome to the Kate n’ Kaboodle Funtastic Summer Event!

 If you have a daughter (or five like me), you know that you can never have enough hair accessories!  Especially in the summer months because a pretty new summer dress MUST have a pretty hair accessory to go with it!

Meet Little Patootique!

If they name of the shop didn’t steal your heart, their products will! Hair Pins, Headbands and Ponytails Holder! Oh My!

Little Patootique sent over a few styles for me to try with Kinsley.  There is nothing cuter than pigtails on my little girls and the Kay Floral Wing ponytail holders fit the bill!

These pony tails holder come in six beautiful signature fabric patterns available.  I love that the buttons on the bottom are a different fabric!

Another of my favorites, is the Charming Pink Freesia Headband. Each petal is carefully hand cut and hand sewn from 100% cotton designer fabric and then eco-friendly felt is attached to back of flower for comfort.

Kinsley is just now getting to the age where she will tolerate a headband and I am super excited that her first one is this one.  Look how adorable it is!

Aside from the Little Patootique hair accessories being a 10 on the adorable scale, they are durable.  There is isn’t many things I can label Kinsley proof, but these hair pretty’s are one of them.  When she is not wearing them, she totes them around in what ever purse, backpack, basket, etc., that she can find.  They get wrapped around the neck’s of teddy bears (who I might add, have to be pretty too, ya know) and these products look the same as the day I got them.  You can tell that Little Patootique has taken pride in putting together a quality product!  It is now my go-to place for girl’s hair accessories!

Connect

Little Patootique Online

Little Patootique Facebook

Buy It

 The hair accessories at Little Patootique vary in price from $4-12.

Win It

One Lucky Kate n’ Kaboodle Reader is going to win a $25.00 Gift Certificate to Little Patootique!

U.S. Only.

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

18Jun 2012

Funtastic Summer Event: IceHuggy {review & giveaway}

⋅ 41 Comments

Welcome to the Kate n’ Kaboodle Funtastic Summer Event!

This, quite honestly, may be one of the greatest kid inventions ever.  Seriously.

Do your little peeps eat Otter Pops?  You know, those tubes of frozen sugar that always seem to find themselves left on the grass or floor after consumption but never the recycling bin?  But yet, you keep giving them to the kids because it gives you an extra minute to finish your tweet/shower/coffee?  Yes, those are the ones!

Well this isn’t an automated clean up system, sorry.  But it is fabulous!

A mother of six, like myself…except I am not as clever, designed this super cool IceHuggy.  It is an insulated sleeve designed for frozen ice treats, yogurt pops, electrolyte pops and sore throat coolers.

I know, huh!

What is so cool about this?  The IceHuggy keeps those itty bitty fingers from being frozen!  Just slide the frozen treat into the sleeve, fasten and bam!  No cold mini digits.  I kid you not, before the IceHuggy, I used my socks to wrap up a GoGurt.


It gets better.

The IceHuggy is designed with a “Flip-Fold-Fasten” feature to accommodate different sized treats.  So as they eat, you simply fold down the IceHuggy, rather than pushing up the ice pop.  The fabric allows IceHuggy to stretch and fit the different widths of freeze pops and yogurt sticks. Go-gurt’s are a bit wider than Otter pops but we had no problems getting either to fit in the IceHuggy.  The material is very stretchy.

The fabric also acts like a sponge, so you will never walk in and find a yogurt puddle on the table because it will  it soaks it right up for easy cleaning!  Ok, so maybe it has a tad bit of a clean up system in that way.
I told you this insulated sleeve for frozen treats was fabulous! Kinsley loves them and I love knowing her fingers are warm!

IceHuggy’s are also affordable!  You will not be paying four easy payments of $19.99, my friends.  A two pack is only $6.99!

Want to win a 2-pack?  You bet your frozen fingers, you do!

Connect

IceHuggy Online

IceHuggy Facebook

IceHuggy Twitter

Buy It

You can purchase a two pack of IceHuggy for $6.99 on their website.

They may also be available at retailers near you!

Win It

One Lucky Kate n’ Kaboodle Reader is going to win a package of two IceHuggy!

U.S. Only.

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

17Jun 2012

Funtastic Summer Event: Thomas The Tank Patio Set {review & giveaway}

⋅ 144 Comments

Welcome to the Kate n’ Kaboodle Funtastic Summer Event!

BBQ’s are one of my favorite things to do in the summer.  I love gathering everyone together on the patio for some good food and great laughs!  Now, even the little ones can get in on the action with this pint size Thomas the Tank Patio Set from Jakks Pacific!

How stinkin’ cute is that?  The Thomas the Tank Children’s Patio Set features a plastic tabletop with cool in-laid graphics that won’t scratch, fade or peel!  It comes with the table, umbrella and two folding chairs.

Assembly was a breeze.  The tubular steel legs just snap into the table top and you slide the umbrella in the center hole.  The umbrella dismantles for easy storage as well.

We have not had a single problem with this the Thomas the Tank Patio Set!  Kinsley has used it both inside and outside and the entire thing is easy enough for her to move around herself.  She loves the set and prefers to eat all her meals on it!

*I do advise, with ANY folding chair, that you make sure the chair is fully opened and snapped into place for safety.  My 19 year was in a folding chair when she was a toddler.  It collapsed closed and her face hit the concrete sending her teeth through her lower lip.  She has five or so scars on and below her lip because of this.

Let the cookouts begin!

So where you can score your own Thomas the Tank Patio Set?  It is currently available at Toys R Us and Walmart.com.  If you aren’t familiar with Jakks Pacific and their toys, make sure you check out their toy store.  You are bound to find some of your favorites, like Hello Kitty, Disney Princesses, Marvel, Slug Zombies and more!

Connect

Jakks Pacific Online

Jakks Pacific Facebook

Jakks Pacific Twitter

Buy It

You can find the Thomas the Tank Patio Set at Toys R Us and Walmart.com for $39.99.

Win It

One Lucky Kate n’ Kaboodle Reader is going to win a Thomas the Tank Patio Set!

U.S. Only.

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I received the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate my review, however all opinions are my own.

16Jun 2012

I made Blueberry & Banana Muffins in my Blendtec Blender! {mini review}

⋅ 88 Comments

If you have entered any of my giveaways this week, you know there is a big giveaway coming up soon!  On June 25th, we will be giving away a Designer Series WildSide Blendtec Blender!  A $500 value!

Blender Schmender, you say? Oh no, my lovelies! You want this Blender, trust me.

It’s a whole juicer, a meat grinder, a latte machine, a bread mixer, an ice cream maker, a grain mill, coffee grinder, milkshake mixer, and a blender.

It does everything but change the baby.

I decided to check out the mixer part of this bad boy by making muffins for my little people.  Check it out!

The Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender comes with a handy recipe book.  Recipes include smoothies, juices, breakfast items, dips & dressings, soups, grains, desserts…and my new favorite, raw food.  There is even recipes for dog treats!

First I assembled all my ingredients for my blueberry & banana muffins.

I added the wet ingredients first.

There is no need to cut up the bananas or other ingredients.

I simply toss them in!

I hit the pre-programmed “batter” button on the very cool and sleek touch screen.

The blender has a count down so you don’t even have to check and see if it looks mixed or not.

I know, huh?

After that, I added my dry ingredients and pushed “pulse” five times to mix them together.

When the batter was all done, I took a spatula and just folded in the blueberries.

I added them to the muffin tins and baked!

Fresh out of the oven!

It honestly took longer to get out all my ingredients than it did to make the muffins!

The muffins were pretty delicious.  Everyone loved them and especially how the blueberries seemed to make little pockets of blueberry sauce inside the muffin!

Muffins are small potatoes for this mighty blender!  Stay tuned because I am going to post about our first raw green soup.  It is there that the 1500 watt commercial grade motor on this blender really kicks it up a notch!  It can shift gears…like a car!

 

If you would like to see more things you can make with this super awesome blender, check out all my mini reviews here!

Stay tuned for the Grand Finale, a Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender!

Make sure you check out all the giveaways in our Funtastic Summer Event!

 

Connect

Blendtec Online
Blendtec Facebook
Blendtec Twitter
Blendtec Pinterest

Buy It

The Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender can be purchased on the Blendtec site for $499.95.