Dr. Robin's Sunscreen "House" Party

I was super excited when I was offered the chance to host a Dr. Robin's House Party. Dr. Robin's Sunscreen a SPF 30+ sunscreen is specially formulated to protect babies and children from UVA and UVB rays. In honor of protecting the kid's from the summer rays I found it appropriate to have our "house" party at the beach.




I invited some of my son's friends and my niece and nephew to hang out at the beach. There were no worries about sunburn because we were all protected by Dr. Robin's sunscreen samples. Dr. Robin’s sunscreen is water resistant, gluten-free, and cruelty free. It is also free of irritating chemicals like phthalates, parabens and fragrance, which is great for kid's like my niece and nephew who have super sensitive skin. My son usually complains about sunscreen stinging his eyes but he had no complaints about Dr. Robin's sunscreen.



It is refreshing to use a product that is safe for kid's because the last thing you want to worry about when protecting children from the sun, is damage from the very product you use for protection.



Dr. Robin's sunscreen definitely protected the kids at our party. We all had a lot of fun. I think the hit of the party (aside from the surfboard) were the fun silly shaped bands provided in the party kit. The kids loved figuring out what each band was and seeing them go back to their original shape when they took them off. I must admit those bands are pretty fun!



After the beach we all headed over to my sister's house for some fun music. Our party kit included "A Family Album" by The Verve Pipe, and "The Disney Reggae Club" both of which the kids really enjoyed. To top off the night my brother in law treated everyone to a mini fireworks display!

Thanks so much to Dr. Robin's for allowing me to host a house party. The kids obviously had a blast and the adults got a chance to check out Kiwi Magazine which has a lot of great back to school ideas. I was also able to share coupons for both Beautyhabit and Glamour Junkie two fabulous companies that carry Dr. Robin's products.

Thanks to Dr. Robin's sunscreen we were all protected from the sun and able to enjoy one of the best days of the entire summer!

Back to School with Yoplait Go-Gurt (Review and Giveaway)

We love Yoplait Go-Gurt around here! They make such a convenient snack because they are individually packaged...so they are great for a treat on the go. Earlier this summer my son saw a commercial for Go-Gurt that encouraged trying them frozen. Since then frozen Go-Gurts have been my son's favorite snack!

I plan to throw Go-Gurts in my son's school lunches frozen and they will be ready to eat at lunch time. I especially appreciate that my 6 year old can open them himself and they are mess free because they are self contained.

I was lucky to receive a fun Back to School gift package from Yoplait Go-Gurt and My Blog Spark. Little man was super excited by the calculator and fan pen. You know he is going to be a big first grader this year so he was super thrilled for fun school supplies. One reader will be the lucky winner of the same package I received. The package is pictured below (a coupon for Go-Gurt will be included rather than the product itself).



Mandatory Entry
Share your back to school lunch tip.
Extra Entries
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Leave a separate comment for each entry. Giveaway will end on 9/13/10 at 11:59pm CST. Open to US mailing addresses only. *This coupon offer for free Go-Gurt is not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota and Tennessee.

Yoplait and My Blog Spark furnished this gift pack to facilitate this review and they are fulfilling the prize for the giveaway. I was not under any obligation to give a positive review and no financial compensation was provided. All opinions listed are mine and mine alone.

Sunday Sweeps 8/29

It is Sunday Sweeps time again. List your bloggy giveaways and enter some too. Good luck everyone!

Sunday Sweeps 8/15

Promote your blog giveaways below! Remember to leave the ending date so people can enter them in time. Good Luck everyone!

No Go BlogHer Blog Hop

One of my favorite blogs to read is called To Be Thode ~ Musings from a Mom of 5 and is authored by the wonderful Stefany. Stefany is not going to BlogHer this year and thought it would be fun for those of us staying home to blog hop a bit. I am excited to join in and meet some new bloggers at the same time!

1. When did you start blogging?
I started blogging about six months ago. I am still getting the hang of things and learning as I go along. I wish I had more time to write but I have a crazy high stress fulltime job.

2. Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging because it looked like a lot of fun. I was hanging out on twitter a lot and started entering blog giveaways. When I went to the blogs to enter giveaways I started reading the other posts and it seemed like a great way to connect with people so I thought I would give it a try.

3. What is one thing you are going to do this week that is WAY cooler than going to BlogHer?
Tomorrow we are heading up to my parent's cabin for vacation and everyone knows that Door County, WI is WAY cooler than New York City!

4. Share a post that you think says a lot about you or is your favorite. (share the link in YOUR post so we all can see)
I would love to share my recent post on Tips for Getting Reading to Go Back to School

If you are not going to BlogHer this year feel free to join the No Go BlogHer Blog Hop!

Tips for Getting Ready to Go Back to School

I love the end of summer and back to school season. It is such a great time of year. Weather wise it is my favorite time of year as well. In the Midwest it cools down a bit so it is fun to play outside but snow is still far in the distance. I also enjoy this time of year because of the anticipation of a new school year. It is so fun to go shopping with my son and pick out new school supplies. It is hard to believe that my little guy is going to be a first grader this year! Here are some tips for getting reading to go back to school.

Have fun with the last part of summer break! Ask your kids what they still want to do while school is still on break. I know Cutie wants to go miniature golfing and would be bummed if we don't fit it in before school starts.

Make sure you get all the kid's school supplies together. We got the school supply list with report cards at the end of last year but some schools don't sent theirs out until now. Watch the back to school sales because you can definitely find bargains on most of the required supplies. I like to buy extras this time of year to keep around the house. I also send extras with my son's supplies to help out kids at my son's school that may need it.

Get on the school schedule a few weeks before school starts. If you are like us we let our son stay up a lot later in the summer than during the school year. The transition back to the school schedule will be much easier if you start it a bit before school begins. You don't want a sleepy kid for the first few weeks of school.

Have a plan for school day meals. We always shop for the week ahead and plan out our meals. It is so important for kids (and adults for that matter) to have a healthy breakfast for a good start to the day. Our son's hot lunches at school are not always the healthiest options so we usually allow him to pick one day per week to have hot lunch. The remaining days we pack his lunch so we know exactly what he is eating. Whatever you choose best to have a plan and that way kids will know what to expect and you won't be scrambling at the last minute.

Talk to your kids about what to expect. We have spent a lot of time talking to Cutie about how first grade is going to be a lot different than what he is used to in kindergarten. Kids do better when they know what to expect and hopefully that will ease some anxiety they may be feeling. There are some great books out there that may help kids feel more comfortable going back to school. The one I listed at the top of this post is called Rules For School by Alec Greven and is published by HarperCollins.

Hopefully you and your kids will have a smooth transition back to school this year. In the meantime enjoy the end of summer...it is the best time of the year!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get a HarperCollins book set. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

A Guy's Guide To Life (Review)

I recently read A Guy's Guide To Life by author Jason Boyett. The premise of the book is how to become a man in 224 pages or less. Although the premise is supposed to be funny (Boyett acknowledges that a book cannot teach how to be a man), I found that the book does offer some very important lessons to guide young men. Even though I am a woman I was intrigued by this book because I am always looking for tips and insights into raising my son.

I will definitely be holding on to this book to share with my son when he is old enough to need it. Boyett shares big and small tips throughout the book that I found to be interesting. The writing style is light and includes 'Big Tips' throughout along with 'Pop Quizzes' to keep things fun.

If you are in the mood to read about fun things like boxers vs. brief or bigger lessons like how to be a gentleman and rules for dating, this is a perfect read for you. I also recommend it for parents raising sons because it can definitely be used as a conversation starter for some very important topics for young men.

I received a copy of this book to review from the Booksneeze.com program. The opinions stated are mine and mine alone. I was not under any obligation to provide a positive review.

Sunday Sweeps 8/1

I love entering giveaways. It is my favorite hobby!!! Feel free to link up your giveaways below and enter away!