Re-Launch of KINDER® in Canada!

When it comes to getting emails, there's not many of them that can compare with an email like I received last week! The announcement that I had been chosen as a #KinderMom...one of only 60 moms across Canada! Now that's what I call a great email. ;)

Kinder Surprise Eggs are definitely one of the most loved treats around. As a kid, my favorite part was that not only do you get a treat (aka...candy :) ), but you also get a TOY! I think you'll agree that there's not a whole lot that beats candy and toys put together. With the official re-launch of Kinder® Surprise® in Canada, I am joining this great team of women as we celebrate the news of Kinder's all-new, Kinder® Surprise® 2012 Toy Collection. The delicious chocolate egg (which is made with high quality ingredients) will be enjoyed as always, but NEW toys...now that's extra special. There are some really fun ones too. In fact, you can take a sneak peek at the new collection on the Kinder Canada Facebook page.

Each day is filled with all sorts of adventures, small victories & fun. There's all sorts of ways to have fun with your kids - even a quick trip to the park down the street, or an indoor picnic, or popcorn & a movie in the middle of the day. We just love to create memories like this with our family. And we love to throw in little surprises like a Kinder® Surprise® once in a while...just to make some of those small moments even more special. There's something about a Kinder® Surprise® that makes moments stand the test of time...memories are created when you put together families and Kinder®!

**“Disclosure: I’m part of the Kinder® Mom program and I receive compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Keeping track of baby! GIVEAWAY!!

Once parenthood hits, it seems there's so much to keep track of. Sometimes it's hard to keep everything organized so life runs smoothly. So much is happening each day, and how are you supposed to remember it all?

I guess some people are born with natural tendency to be organized. Great! For those of who aren't so lucky, it's great that companies like Glow Baby exist!

Glow Baby is the brainchild of a mom who wants to help parents save time and reduce the stress of the day to day. "Glow Baby Journals, Calendars and Lists help parents keep track of daily activities such as; feeding, sleeping, diapering, bathing, first foods by type, meal planning, family activities, general to do lists for daily tasks, groceries etc."

Scholastic Monday - Monday Is One Day

This week for Scholastic Monday we've got a great little book called Monday is One Day by Arthur A. Levine. We've definitely enjoyed this one. The book focuses on how special it is to be at home together as a family to do thing together - so, to make time fly by a little faster, the book counts the days of the week with fun little rhymes until we finally reach the weekend when the days will be all theirs.

Daddy & the kids especially love reading this book together as I'm a stay at home mom, so I get to enjoy special moments with my children all day, every day. But it's a great way for our kids to get excited about the days when Daddy gets to stay home and join in all the family fun! I love that this book encourages time together as families, and that it portrays quality time together as something that truly is important. As a bonus your children will also get to learn and practice the days of the week. ;)

Monday is One Day is a great read, and we'd recommend it for any family bookshelf!


**Disclosure: The product/s mentioned above have been given free of charge from the company or PR firm in exchange for being featured on Glimpse. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Glimpse and have not been influenced in any other way. Please see the full Terms of use.

Hair Accessories that'll Last Through Recess! ~ GIVEAWAY!

We all know how much most girls love some special hair accessories! :) Especially during the back to school season...it is fun to get something new to wear in your hair. Even though our girls aren't in school yet, they sure do love their clips - and our most recent additions from Twinklebelle are one of their top picks these days! We received two adorable felt flower hair clips. I absolutely LOVE how you can't see the 'clip'...just the flower. They are incredibly sweet in a little girl's hair, and I am a huge fan.

Look What I Made! ~ GIVEAWAY (2 WINNERS!)

Sometimes it's the little things that make kids feel extra special. :) Like when you tell them that you just LOVE the drawing they made and find a special spot for it on the fridge...it really is simple compliments like this that can make a world of difference to a child. Taking the time to notice what they've made and putting it up for the whole family to see is a big deal. This is one thing that I've always tried to do with my kids...and to see the beaming smiles on their faces when we exclaim over their artwork is priceless. But...sometimes the fridge just gets a little too crowded with all those special drawings. Gisele Crafts has come up with an ADORABLE idea to help remedy this, yet to still have an extra special spot for your children to hang their creations. The Look What I Made wooden artwork hangers are so original and fun. Our kids were thrilled to pull them out of the box and discover that now they each had their own special spot to hang their pictures. In fact, they each promptly created a picture to hang up in it!

Preparing for "Back to School"

Many of us are busy preparing for "Back to School" right now, and it seems like it has a lot to do with things to buy, label and have ready for the first day. Then there's the schedule, lessons and after-school activities to sort out. But we don't really seem to take a lot of time emotionally preparing ourselves for "Back to School."

Recently, I was asked to be part of the Chicken Soup for Soul Blog Network, and the first 2 books they sent are very appropriate for this time of year. Chicken Soup for The Soul "Just for Teenagers" and Chicken Soup for the Soul "Just for Preteens" would make a great gift for someone heading into middle school or high school. Both contain 101 stories and poems of inspiration and support. Each story or section is only a few pages long, perfect for a short read, and there's great material for discussion. Both books would also be great for class discussion, especially if you noticed some issues. Just like chicken soup is good food, there's some good food for thought in these books. Because they're anthologies, it would be easy to skip around among the themes, if there's a need for discussion or thought on a particular subject, but you can also read the articles in order if you choose.

"Just for Teenagers" deals with subjects such as: friendship, relationships, being kind, setting and reaching goals. I've read a few stories from the book and found the level of reading as well as the subject matter to be appropriate. The stories are written by recent high school graduates as well as current high school students from all over the world. This makes the writing authentic, and something to which teens should be able to relate.

"Just for Preteens" is written keeping the changing life of "tweens" in mind. There are sections about: feeling good about yourself, new faces and new places, finding your passion, being embarrassed and bullies/bullying. Stories are again only a few pages each (some only 1-2 pages), and written in language that's easy to understand, but typical of this stage. Some would even be suitable as "read-alouds" for younger kids who are able to understand the concepts. The anecdotes are written by people of different ages remembering their preteen years, and they sound real.

Next time you're at the book store, check out these 2 (and many others) in the Chicken Soup collection. They'd be a perfect "Back to School" present for your child, grandchild, niece/nephew... :)

**Disclosure: The products mentioned above have been given free of charge by Shelton Interaction in exchange for being featured on Glimpse. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Glimpse and have not been influenced in any other way. Please see the full Terms of use.

Learning Made Fun! ~ LeapFrog GIVEAWAY!

LeapFrog products have been a favorite in our home ever since we discovered them a year or two ago! Not only do our kids enjoy them (a LOT!), but I also feel great knowing that the books, games and toys that my kids are using and playing with are full of educational fun. I love that there is a purpose to their products. LeapFrog truly knows how to mix learning and fun in a way that we've never seen before!

One of the products that we received just in time for the Back to School season was the Leapster Explorer. It is a fabulous hand-held gaming system that encourages learning. There are all sorts of games, e-books, videos, etc. that are available for the Leapster Explorer. By simply hooking up your Explorer to the internet you can download many learning apps and other great activities. Most of these activities, apps, e-books, etc. you do need to purchase before you can download them...but there are is one free code that you'll receive for a download for your Explorer. We haven't spent much time trying out the online world of the Leapster yet, but I'm sure we will enjoy exploring it more and more as time goes on.

Back to School with Skechers! GIVEAWAY!!

New shoes for school? It reminds me of a poem my mother often quotes:

Choosing Shoes

by Frida Wolfe

New shoes, new shoes,

Red and pink and blue shoes.

Tell me, what would you choose,

If they'd let us buy?

Hatley's on Sale! Today only!

Stay tuned to Glimpse for a review of Hatley, a great Canadian clothing company -in the next month or so we'll be featuring their kids pajamas!! While they are best known for cozy cotton pajamas and loungewear for the whole family, they also carry a range of other items, many which are perfect for the back-to-school season!

Today only, everything at Hatley is 50% off!! No coupon needed, prices are as marked! Hurry over to Hatley to make the most of this great event!

Be eco - "on the go"!

Back to school...for some of you, it's already happened, for some it's coming soon! Lunches, packing backpacks with homework, keeping the school supplies together - lots of challenges coming up! :)

Envirostyles is a company that wants to help you make it all just a little bit easier, and eco-friendly at the same time! This online family business wants to help us each to make small changes - to make a big difference.  The have a great selection of reusable items for lunches, school papers and writing utensils and other items you'd use on the go.

"The criteria for selecting our products are that they must be reusable, functional, good quality, stylish, fun, safe to use and ethically made."

We've been trying out a selection of products Envirostyles sent us - and loving them all! You're sure to find what you need for reusable containers, such as food wraps and pockets, as well as lunch bags and school totes, at Envirostyles!

Lunch Bag:

The lunch bag has sturdy handles, and is a very fashionable design. Looking more like a purse than a lunch bag, your child - or you! - is sure to be glad to bring a lunch! There are several fabric choices available. Inside the lunch bag is a pocket with hook-and-loop tape, for keeping smaller things intact - like a small ice pack. The whole bag closes with a zipper - easy to open, and it certainly does the job of keeping everything in!  We've been using the lunch bag as a toy bag for Annalies - she loves to hold the handles, it keeps all of her "quiet event" toys in one place, and it's easy to bring along. The bag itself is very lightweight - great when you're packing along other stuff as well. The lining pulls out completely for easy cleaning. This is a great bag that you could use in many different ways.

Food Wraps:

Envirostyles carries food wraps in 2 different sizes: sandwich and snack. We've discovered that the snack wrap holds a small sandwich, perfect for Daniel's appetite on most days, while the sandwich wrap holds just enough sandwich for Jonathan! We're all set! :) And, they both like the designs - bonus! Made by the company 4MyEarth, the wraps have done a great job at keeping the sandwich soft and edible (for my very picky sandwich eaters), and they'll definitely get good use this year at school! Just lay the sandwich flat in the middle of the wrap, fold in the sides, fold up the bottom, and then fold down the top and attach the hook-and-loop tape. TaDa! And it's just as easy for the kids to open up, plus it gives them a clean surface to lay the sandwich down, sort of like a placemat. It also works as a good crumb catcher in the car, for meals on the go! A feature I really like is that you can write your name on the tag - hopefully this helps us to keep track of our stuff if it should get lost. There are also food pockets, which is like a little bag that closes with hook-and-loop tape.

Pencil Case:

The Green School totes really caught my attention. Black with a green "save the planet"message, they're simple, cool and very functional. The pencil case is a great size - large enough to hold what you need, small enough to carry easily. I really like the name bar on the front of the case - no worries about where to label the case, and if you find it, you don't have to dump it out trying to find out whose it is! It seems to be well- constructed, and being made from organic cotton canvas, it should last through the regular wear-and-tear of school! Other school totes are available: the book tote, which would be great for bringing home all the paperwork from school, and the Mini tote, which would be perfect for smaller notes, slips and money. These would be a great way of keeping someone (no names mentioned!) organized in what needs to come home and what needs to be given to the teacher.

BUY IT!

Envirostyles is offering Glimpse readers a 20% back to school discount! Use the code 'School' at checkout. Hurry over to Envirostyles - the code is valid until the end of August 26, 2011.

**Disclosure: The products mentioned above have been given free of charge from Envirostyles in exchange for being featured on Glimpse. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Glimpse and have not been influenced in any other way. Please see the full Terms of use.

Featured Again! :)

We were featured today over at One Stop Giveaway Shop

!! This site is THE place to find blog giveaways...it's great! :) Anyways, a big thanks goes out to Tara for featuring us and if you want to head over and check out the post feel free...or even just take a look at all the great giveaways/giveaway resources at One Stop Giveaway Shop!!

Artwork Without the Mess! ~ GIVEAWAY!

Arts and crafts are probably one of the best parts of going back to school! I know that our kids LOVE arts and crafts and ask to do them all year round...and we do them quite often - however, as a mom, I know that the clean-up after a round of painting or a project can be a lot of work sometimes! Twinklebelle recently sent us a fabulous product to keep the mess to a minimum. We received one of their cotton art smocks with water proof backing. They are amazing. I love how they are more durable than the 'plastic' ones and the fact that they are breathable and comfortable is a HUGE bonus as well. The cotton art smock is very simple for our preschooler to put on and take off without assistance and since it is made of a softer cotton fabric, it fits well and is even machine washable!

Mommy Kat and Kids

Do you ever wonder what sort of other great Canadian blogs there may be out there? I know I love finding new Canadian blogs...especially ones that run giveaways & do reviews! :) Plus, it's just a great way to connect with other moms.

Today I want to share with you a blog that I've grown to love in the past while (especially because she is a Prairie Province blogger and these sometimes seem to be far and few in between!) Mommy Kat and Kids is a fabulous blog that is loaded full of great review, information and giveaways...you gotta love her fun jelly bean design too! ;) Want to check out a few of their giveaways? There's some great ones going on right now...to start, here's one specifically for the prairie province of SASKATCHEWAN! And there's not many entries, so if you live nearby be sure to take advantage of your chance to win:

Win a Backyardigans: Quest for the Extra Ordinary Aliens Family Pack of Tickets (for Regina, SK)

Win a $75 Seasons UV Swimwear Prize Pack

Win a PearlParadise.com white pearl necklace ($126)

Hope you head over and say hi to Mommy Kat and Kids, and enjoy finding another great Canadian blog!

Winner!

The winner of a Monkey Doodlez swim diaper from Little Tree Hugger is:

comment #21: Lydia

Congratulations! Please contact me within 72 hours to claim your prize.

Just Picture It ~ GIVEAWAY (3 WINNERS!)

There is no doubt that picture books are very popular for children. I know they are read every day at our home...and it's really the pictures that make the story so fun and exciting for a young child, isn't it?! But what about a picture book with NO pictures??? It just doesn't sound right, does it?! But Picture It Picture Books has come up with the BEST picture books (with No pictures! ;) ) that we've ever seen. Picture It Picture Books is the one and only book series where children illustrate the books themselves. We LOVE their books. Each book is well-made with high quality paper & binding and allows your children to illustrate a variety of different things.

We received both My Alphabet and Imagine Me which I think are perfect for children ages 4 or 5 and up...not to mention that they will make amazing keepsakes! These books were perfect for our son (5 years) who will be beginning Kindergarten this fall. What an absolutely fun way to review the alphabet with pictures for each letter that THEY associate with the letters. No more "A is for Apple, B is for Ball!" The creativity of your child can shine through with this book and now we can have "A for Astronaut and B for Broccoli!"

Learning is fun with Leapfrog! GIVEAWAY!!

Leapfrog is a great toy company whose toys mainly have an educational component. We own a few things from them, have seen a few more at friends houses, and now, recently, we've received 3 new additions to our toy collection for review! Basically, on anything we've seen, the entertainment value has been high, and it's really great to have an educational twist as well. Our kids have picked up a lot through playing, without even realizing that they're learning!

Here's a little bit about each toy we received - read on for a great giveaway, and stay tuned for another Leapfrog review next week, with another great giveaway as well!

Litterless Lunch at it's Best! ~ GIVEAWAY!

When it comes to school lunches, picnics or even just camping or traveling one thing that I LOVE to have are litterless lunches for our whole family. Not only is it great for our earth, but there are many other benefits as well - such as the $$$ you save on being able to reuse instead of constantly buying more bags, ziplocks, etc. for snacks & lunches! Plus, I have to say that there is just something extra special about using fun, colorful, durable and long-lasting products. Our go-to place for Back to School/Litterless Lunch options has been Raspberry Kids. Their online shop is packed full of products that would be perfect to add to your cupboards & backpacks this fall...the selection really is amazing!

Raspberry Kids sent us a few litterless lunch options to use with our family and they have each been wonderful additions! One of my personal favorites is the Onyx Stainless Steel Straws. We have replaced many of our disposable lunch items, but straws are one thing that we hadn't found a good replacement for yet. However, after trying these Stainless Steel straws we will certainly not be going back to the plastic ones! They are shaped just right for easy drinking, and were a hit with both the kids and adults in our home! Each straw is made from polished stainless steel and is reusable and dishwasher safe. (P.S. Did you know that there are even stainless steel SLURPEE straws, and a brush you can buy for easy cleaning?!)

Winner!

The winner of some fabulous Canadian Bush Spray and Baby Bottom Balm from Porcupine Creek Farm is:

Comment #25: littlelamb

Congrats! You'll have 72 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen!

Contests with Rafflecopter

Dear Glimpse Readers,

As per our earlier posts this week, we are trying out something new for our giveaways. The Rafflecopter widget has a lot of features that would make it easier for us to collect comments, count comments, and choose winners. We've received at least one comment so far that it doesn't work for some people...and we've noticed that some readers are still posting comments the usual way.

If you've tried Rafflecopter and it doesn't work for you, PLEASE be so kind as to send us an email to let us know. If you could copy and paste the error message you get (if you get one) that would be extra helpful! Possibly the developers of Rafflecopter can help us sort things out, and the more details we have the better.

Thanks so much!
Andrea and Julie

A bit of GREEN in your lunch!

It's always nice to involve the kids in any family changes, and "going green" is no exception. And, there are many ways in which kids can be greener, and help out with the family's attempt to use less waste.

One big way is to green up the school lunch box, by using reusable containers as much as possible. Of course, we also want those containers to be safe to use, which means unbreakable, and probably as little plastic as possible!

Go Green in Stages is a great source for eco-friendly items! Founded with the purpose of helping people gradually become more environmentally friendly, they carry a variety of interesting products, including reusable containers, compostable tableware, lunch bags, drink bottles, shopping bags and kitchen items. One of the many product lines they carry is Steeltainer, also a Canadian company!

Lunch container

Steeltainer containers come in 2 sizes: snack (320mL - 11oz), and lunch (560mL - 20oz). The snack container includes a slide-in divider that can be positioned in the middle or slightly closer to the end, making 2 equal compartments, or 1 larger and 1 smaller compartment (ie veggies & dip or 2 different kinds of fruit). The exterior of the container is plastic, while the interior tray is stainless steel, which minimizes the contact your food has with plastic. The lids seal nicely with 4 clips (1 on each side). The containers are perfect for school or work lunches, picnics, hiking and travelling with kids! The containers are freezer-safe and can be washed in the dishwasher on the top rack.

Something interesting about Steeltainer: their products have been independently tested by a certified US lab for BPA, lead, phthalates and other undesirables, and have passed with flying colours!

Snack container

Steeltainer containers are leak-proof - and we've tested this out! :) They are lightweight, and their shape makes them easy to pack, as they're quite flat but hold a surprising amount of food! One day trip we took last week, we packed the large (lunch-size) container full of pitted cherries for a snack, and there was enough for all 4 of us! AND no cherry juice leaked out!

Something I like about the Steeltainer containers: the lid is see-through. We had some issues with part of the lunch coming home uneaten, and I think it was because it was "hiding" in a container and couldn't be seen. I like that right away you can see which container holds what - especially handy if you are using the containers for leftovers in the fridge! :)

Go Green in Stages sells complete waste-free lunch kits, as well as components, for those of us greening our habits step by step.

BUY IT!

Go Green in Stages is offering Glimpse readers a 10% discount. Just phone them and mention that you saw the review on Glimpse! Offer valid for Canadian and US residents and expires September 30, 2011.

**Disclosure: The products mentioned above have been given free of charge from the company or PR firm in exchange for being featured on Glimpse. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Glimpse and have not been influenced in any other way. Please see the full Terms of use.

Rocking and Learning! GIVEAWAY!

Maybe over the summer, you've tried to get your children interested in doing a little bit of "school-like" work, just to keep them fresh, and to help them to not forget what they learned last school year. If you were as successful as I've been, it hasn't happened very often! :) Your kids complained, whined, found millions of excuses, and really, you had to agree, that workbook just wasn't much fun!

This summer, as well as a couple of school-ish books, we also had a couple of new DVDs to watch from Rock 'n Learn.  The idea behind Rock 'n Learn's materials is to help children learn through a multi-sensory approach, using styles of music that appeal to kids. From their first program dealing with multiplication facts, they've progressed to offering programs for many subject areas and age groups, available in CD, DVD and iPad apps. Something I really like about Rock 'n Learn is that their team is composed of an educational psychologist, an electrical engineer and accomplished musician and a teacher, as well as many others of course!

We received 2 DVDs from Rock 'n Learn: Sight Words and Letter Sounds. As you look through the many CDs and DVDs available, the preview videos are helpful for making the right choice!

Winners!

The 2 winners of a complete set of Live Clean Enviro-kidz products are:

Comment #40: PaulineMilner

Comment #14: CaroleM

Congratulations! Please contact me within 72 hours to claim your prize package!

Rafflecopter ~ How Does it Work???

You may have noticed with our most recent giveaway and the kick off to our Back to School Event that we are using a new entry form from Rafflecopter! We've heard great things about Rafflecopter and are all about making things simple and quick for readers who enjoy entering our contests here at Glimpse!

If you've never come across Rafflecopter before and are a little confused on how it all works, here's a quick video that we thought might help...

How to Enter Rafflecopter Giveaways from Rafflecopter on Vimeo.

Good luck and let us know what you think of the new entry format!! :)

Scholastic ~ Back to School ~ GIVEAWAY!! (2 WINNERS!)

Welcome to our fabulous Back-To-School Event here at Glimpse!! We are so excited to share a pile of great products to not only make going back to school easy and affordable, but also FUN! We're kicking off the two week event with one of our favorite Canadian companies...Scholastic Canada. They're got a great bunch of educational books and great stories that are just perfect for learning and for encouraging the love of reading.

Scholastic sent over a copy of some of their upcoming & new additions that you will find on their website this year. One of our favorites was Eddie Gets Ready for School." It is a sweet little story about Eddie and how he completes his 'checklist' for getting ready for school - all by himself! Sometimes things might get a little out of hand (like the outfit he chooses to wear for school! ;) ) but he gets it all just right in the end and accomplishes his goal of getting ready for school all by himself. It's such a fun story with a comic-like feel to it.

Here's a book that's filled with learning possibilities! My French & English Word book is perfect for children who are learning, or starting to learn the language of French. We are not quite to that point with our kids yet, but I'm certain this book will be VERY handy when we do reach the point of learning a new language! The book is beautifully illustrated and is detailed, colorful and extremely eye-catching. Each page covers a variety of French words that focus on a particular topic/theme. As well, on each page there is a little game/question that the kids can do. Our children really enjoyed this part of the book and still ask to read it often!

Secondly, we got to have a sneak peek at the new title "Bailey." What a FUN book! The book is about Bailey, a dog, who goes to school with all the students...and it's an adorable tale of Bailey's day at school. There's humor in it for sure, and we got quite a few giggles out of reading the story of Bailey's day at school. Like when the teacher asks Bailey the dog about her homework, and the excuse "a dog ate my homework!" really is true. ;) Bailey provides a lighthearted approach to going to school, and this book would be a fun read for anyone!

Finally, a pirate themed book to top it all off! Pirates Go To School is a book filled with the "joys" of having pirates in your classroom. The book is vibrant and full of "cute" pirates. :) There were a few pirate-y type actions in the book that were a little too much in my opinion (such as how pirates swear...), but overall it was a fun little back to school story.

Scholastic Canada is a GREAT place to find out about and have a peek at many of the best and most popular titles for kids of all ages!

Please Bear With Us!

This week, we will be rolling out our new "look and feel!" Glimpse will still be your go-to blog (we hope) for reviews, giveaways and discounts for Canadian products and businesses, but we've designed a whole new look for our blog! We're really excited about it - it's been a lot of hard work! We expect that there will be a few glitches as we upload the new template, but hopefully not too many!  Please do let us know what you think - we're anxious to hear your opinions as well.

Swimming in style - GIVEAWAY EXTENDED!!

We've been doing a fair bit of swimming lately, especially this last week when there were 2 parents to accompany 3 kids! :)  Each time, Annalies has worn her purple penguin swim diaper given to us by Little Tree Hugger and Monkey Doodlez.

I'm going to squeeze this post in just before our "Back to School" theme gets underway - you'll have time to take advantage of the great deal Little Tree Hugger is offering our wonderful readers, and enter the extended giveaway they're offering in cooperation with Monkey Doodlez, the diaper's manufacturer.

Little Tree Hugger is a familiar friend on Glimpse! We've done a couple of reviews for them in the past: Imse Vimse Training pants, and a Bonding rabbit from Peppa. Both have been very successful around our house - so much so in fact, that we've purchased another rabbit for our daughter, and it's her FAVOURITE sleeping toy! Started by 2 sisters living in different parts of Canada, Little Tree Hugger has grown to now have Cloth Diaper Consultants in various cities across Canada offering free info sessions for people wanting to learn more about cloth diapers and to see the products first hand.  To find a Cloth Diaper Consultant across Canada, please see the website for contact info. Little Tree Hugger ships their products all across Canada and the US, and they carry a variety of cloth diapers and accessories as well as other eco-friendly products.

Monkey Doodlez is a Canadian cloth diaper company with an amazing range of products: from AIO diapers to the super Tuck-and-Go diaper (that we own and love) to the swim diaper that we've been trying out recently!

Monkey Doodlez products have always been made in Canada, sourcing as many materials as possible from Canadian suppliers. We opted out of a factory environment, choosing instead to employ home sewers, to provide them with flexible hours, competitive wages and the opportunity to spend more time with their families. The end result is excellent workmanship.

There are 2 styles of swim diaper available - a pull-up style and a snap-on style. The latter is a new design for this year, and I must say, it's quite easy to put on Annalies. These are sized diapers, so you get a great fit; Monkey Doodlez has a very helpful sizing chart which takes weight, waist and thigh measurements as well as rise into account. The diaper is available in 5 colours, each with a different appliqued design on the bum. They're cute and "finished" enough to wear on their own - no swim shorts needed! :)

Can you believe we forgot the camera
when we went to the beach?!

Swim diapers aren't absorbent, they're mainly used for keeping solid waste in the diaper and not in the pool! YUCK! This one has certainly worked well for us. It's easy to put on and take off, easy to wash, and fits our baby comfortably. We loved the choice of designs - some are more masculine, some are feminine and some are easily gender neutral!

Little Tree Hugger was great to help us figure out which size to put on Annalies - so that the diaper would fit perfectly around her round tummy and chubby thighs! The diaper has some adjustability so you can make it fit longer!

Little Tree Hugger will be launching a new website in late-August and for the big launch they'll be doing a prize giveaway.  The website address will remain the same (www.littletreehugger.ca ) but the new site will have a totally new look - I'm anxious to see what it looks like!  Readers interested in participating in the prize giveaway should join Little Tree Hugger's Facebook group as full details will be posted there.

WIN IT!

The swim diaper giveaway we have running right now has been extended to August 19, 2011! Head over and enter right away!

BUY IT!

Glimpse readers receive FREE shipping + a free sample product with orders ($30 min.) from August 15-31, 2011 by entering coupon code "glimpse4".  *Note--coupon cannot be combined with other promos/discounts. One coupon code per order.

**Disclosure: The product mentioned above has been given free of charge from Little Tree Hugger in exchange for being featured on Glimpse. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Glimpse and have not been influenced in any other way. Please see the full Terms of use.

HUGE Back To School Event Starting SOON!!

We've been busy "renovating" around here. :) And things are coming along well...we can't wait to reveal our new look! We thought we'd just give you a quick heads-up on a fabulous event that will be starting this Monday! We're starting 2 weeks that will be packed full of great Back-To-School products along with some amazing giveaways as well!

Just to give you a taste, a few of the great companies we'll be featuring and/or offering GIVEAWAYS from are: LeapFrog, Raspberry Kids, Scholastic, Steeltainer and MORE!!

So be sure to join us for the next two weeks. If you want to get a head start, feel free to add our Back To School button already:

<br /> <a href="http://glimpse-reviews.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w264/andraya3/backtoschool.jpg "/></a><br /> <br />

Winners!

The winner of a Travel Change pad from Maxwell Designs (sold by Toots n' Tots) is:

Comment #35: Leslie

The winner of a Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair is:

Comment #208: GabbyLowe

Congratulations! Please contact me within 72 hours to claim your prize.

Winner!

The winner of a $50 gift certificate to Balance Bikes Canada is:

Comment #19: stephy905

Congratulations! Please contact me within 72 hours to claim your prize.

Winner!

The lucky winner of a Burt's Bee's Prize Pack Valued at $150 is:

Comment #257 - missbobloblaw

Congrats! You'll have 72 hours to contact me before a new winner is chosen.

Winner!

The winner of a Miik Dress valued at $125-$170 is:

Comment #303 - MJ

Congrats! You'll have 72 hours to reply to my email before a new winner is chosen.

Taking a Break & Renovations!

For the next two weeks here at Glimpse, we will be taking a little holiday from reviews. All of the current giveaways will still be open for entries though! :) During our little break, we will also be working at giving Glimpse a brand NEW look! So, if something isn't working quite right, please forgive us as renovations are underway here at Glimpse. :)

We look forward to being back with all our fabulous readers in two weeks time!

Porcupine Creek Farm ~ GIVEAWAY!

Living in the prairie province is fabulous...but it also means you have a lot of mosquito's to deal with! And, they really love both myself and my 4 year old son...it's always us two that get the majority (if not all!) of the bites. So, that said, it maybe rather be obvious that I've been on the lookout for a good bug spray that is natural and safe to use on both children and adults. And I must share with you...that I have discovered it! Porcupine Creek Farm creates an all natural bug spray called Canadian Bush Spray (great name, huh? :) ). The ingredients include witch hazel infused with catnip (which is SO effective for warding away those bugs & mosquito's). It also contains a variety of essential oils including citronella, tea tree, catnip, and more. We found that the Canadian Bush Spray worked very well. We had a bug balm before that contained catnip and it was VERY effective...the only thing was you had to rub it on, like lotion. Personally, we like the spray much better as you can put it on your clothes and on your skin for ultimate protection!

Another great product from Porcupine Creek Farm is the Herbal Healing Balm. This is great for heat rashes, scrapes and more. My oldest daughter always suffers from heat rash on her neck during the summer months...so we tried the balm on her neck and it has helped heal it up quite well! I'm looking forward to using the Herbal Healing Balm more in the future as well. It smells so yummy with the lavender essential oil, and is easy to spread & use.
Finally, a product for the littlest babes. Porcupine Creek Farm has not left out the tiny members of our families and has come up with a wonderful Baby Bottom Balm. Our cloth diapers are smelling quite a lot like ammonia these days (I've GOT to do something about that!!), so if you leave an ammonia filled diaper on the baby too long, you've automatically got a red, sore little bottom. The Baby Bottom Balm is great both as a barrier cream (to keep that wet diaper from causing a rash too quickly!), and also has a healing cream if baby has already developed a rash. One thing that I love about this balm is that it is petroleum free, which makes me feel a LOT better about putting it on my children's skin. Oh, and we haven't tried it for any of these yet, but the Baby Bottom Balm can also be used as a protective cream to help prevent frostbite, or even a face cream!

Porcupine Creek Farms is all about providing natural, herbal products, and I'd have to say that from what we've tried, they do a great job of it!

WIN IT!
Porcupine Creek Farm is offering a 15ml Baby Bottom Balm and a Canadian Bush Spray to one winner. In order to get one entry, head over to Porcupine Creek Farm and let us know which of their products you'd love to try.

EXTRA ENTRIES - Please leave an additional comment for each extra entry.
~ Like Porcupine Creek Farm on Facebook
~ NEW ENTRY: 'LIKE' Glimpse on Facebook (this is NOT the same as being a friend of Glimpse on facebook)
~ Grab our button
~ Subscribe to our blog/feed
~ Follow our blog via Google Friend Connect (publicly)
~ Follow us on Twitter
Follow @GlimpseReviews
~ Tweet about the giveaway (tweet ONCE PER DAY for extra entries and leave the link in your comment(s) please).
Tweet
~ Blog about this giveaway and leave the link in your comment (5 entries)

CONTEST OPEN TO CANADA ONLY! Contest ends on August 15, 2011. Please view our giveaway rules for more info.

**Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above have been given free of charge from the company or PR firm in exchange for being featured on Glimpse. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Glimpse and have not been influenced in any other way. Please see the full Terms of use.