I recently went with a friend to a baby store to help her with her baby registry.  We had a lot of fun picking out things for her baby girl that will be born in December.  We looked at everything from bottles to blankets.  When we got to the car seat aisle, she seemed a little overwhelmed.  I told her that she couldn’t go wrong with a Britax.  Britax has symbolized the ultimate in both safety and style for me when it comes to car seats.  Safety is the number 1 concern of all parents and we all want the best for our kids.  Britax is a brand that you can trust with your babies.

We have been the proud owners of the Britax Marathon 70 car seat for a little over a month now.  It has exceeded all of my expectations!  It looks very classic and the black fabric is soft and durable (it is also unisex and would be perfect for a boy or a girl). It is simple to remove the cover off of the car seat to wash, you don’t have to take the car seat out, you simply pull the cover off over the car seat.

Installation was unbelievably easy.  My husband wasn’t around so I had to do this on my own, and it was a very quick process that took less than 5 minutes.  All you have to do is unhook the lower connectors and attach them to your car’s Latch system.  It was extremely simple. The base of the car seat is wide and includes anti-slip material so that it doesn’t try and slip off of the seat.

I love the No-Rethread Harness system that allows you to reposition the harness without having to unthread the straps (one of my pet peeves from a previous car seat).  If you have ever had to adjust the shoulder height in a car seat it normally consists of you having to take off the car seat cover, taking the straps out of the back of the car seat, adjusting the straps to a new height and then reinstall them.  Most of the time you have to take out the seat and then reinstall it to accomplish this. With the Marathon 70 all you have to do is pull up on the lever and the harness will reposition.  It is amazingly simple.

Features of the Marathon 70

Just like I told my friend, Britax should be on everyone’s baby registry.  The convertible car seat can grow with your baby  as it fits children from 5 pounds to 70 pounds.  It is durable and stylish enough to last the entire time that your child will be sitting in it.  And above all, you can rest assured that your little one is as safe as he can be riding in the car.

Be sure to check out all of the car seats that Britax offers.

Buy It

The Britax Marathon 70 Car Seat is available in baby stores nationwide for the MSRP of $289.99.

Win It

One (1) lucky reader will win a Britax Marathon 70 Car Seat of their very own!

How to Enter:

Leave a comment and tell me your favorite feature of the Britax Marathon 70!

(You must complete this entry before completing any of the bonus entries)

Bonus Entries:

• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet: Win a Britax Marathon 70 Convertible Car Seat @AMomsImpression http://wyn.cc/dv9vt
  (You may enter daily, just leave a comment with each Tweet’s link)
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• Submit this giveaway to any contest/sweepstakes site and or share on Facebook.

Please leave a comment about each entry, include a valid email address or you may contact me directly with your contact information.
Open to US and residents only. This giveaway will end at midnight on October 1. Winners will be picked from Random.org. 
Good Luck!

This product review was made possible by Britax.  I was not compensated for this review other than a product sample provided by the company or PR firm. All opinions are 100% mine

TJ has been more and more interested in learning through cartoons and games.  He loves watching Disney Jr. on television and he is picking up things from the shows that he watches.  In fact the other day he had this dialog with his uncle:

TJ and Cousin L:  “Crackers” (to uncle)

Uncle: “Okay, you both want some crackers.  What is the magic word?”

Cousin L: “Please”

TJ (simultaneously): “Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse!”

I tell you this story, not only because it cracked me up, but because our children do learn from the cartoons and videos that they watch.  That being said, finding good quality cartoons and games is a must during this technological day and age.  Recently we were asked to review the new K-Magic Interactive Movie and Game Console that will be released in September.

Here is a little bit more about the console:

This is basically a game system/cartoon watcher/music player all in one!  The Combo Set includes 12 Educational Game Cards, 3 Baby’s First Word Cards, 1 Baby’s First Music Card, and 20 built in cartoons.

Here is a short video explaining all the features and benefits of the K-Magic Interactive Movie and Game Console:

Our Thoughts:

TJ was so very excited to get this toy out of the box.  As soon as he saw it he wanted it.  I pulled it out and got the batteries in the console and tried to turn it on.  Here is where reading the directions would have been helpful.  To turn on the machine, you have to press and HOLD the on/off switch for several seconds.  We tried pushing the button several times and thought we had a defective unit until I contacted someone and they told me that I needed to hold down the button for a few seconds.  After we did that we haven’t had any problems with the console.

TJ immediately loved playing with the console.  There was a learning curve, and because TJ is only 25 months old, there is a lot that he still doesn’t understand about the gaming system.  He is quickly learning, and I am happy to report that I believe he has learned a lot of his colors because of the system.

I absolutely love that this system is portable.  Having this on a road trip or in the car when mommy is running errands is a lifesaver.  The cartoons alone make the system worth it.  We are planing a trip to Idaho in the summer and having this available on the airplane is going to make the trip a little less painful.

The cartoons feature Patrick (a little red dog) and his friends.  They are about 3 minutes long and teach children about shapes, colors, manners, feelings, numbers and much more!  I have been working hard with TJ on saying “Please” and “Thank you”.  I love that these little cartoons reinforce what we are teaching him at home. We are currently working on colors and numbers, so having these little games and cartoons are a wonderful addition in our home.

The K-Magic Interactive Movie and Game Console is created for babies all the way to age 6!  I know as a mother and a consumer I love products that will work with my kid for a long period of time. I am constantly buying something that I think TJ will love and then he will play with it for a few weeks and then he doesn’t touch it again.  Having a gaming system that will work as a music player when he is a baby, a cartoon viewer when he is 2-6, a gaming system when he is 2-5 is an amazing product to have. I don’t mind spending more money on a product like this than for a Leapster that kids will only use for a couple of years.

Buy It

You can purchase a K-Magic Interactive Moive and Game Console in September from K’s Kids!

This product review was made possible by K-Kids.  I was not compensated for this review other than a product sample. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been watching a lot of HGTV and one of my favorite shows is House Hunters.  The show has expanded and is now showcasing international homes as well as homes here in the United States.  I have been so fascinated with these people who can afford a vacation home and where they choose to vacation to.  It made me start thinking… if I could, where would I buy a vacation home?

There are so many places that I would love to live for part of the year.  There are lovely vacation homes in Park City, Utah that would be perfect in the winter.  I am, however, not a snow girl.  I love the warm weather and the beach.  I think that if I had a choice I would go back to St. John and buy a vacation home on the island.  St. John is very important to my husband and I.  We traveled to St. John in November of 2004 for a friends wedding.  Little did I know that my life would change drastically because my husband decided he was going to propose while we were there.  He envisioned a lovely walk on the beach at sunset with the beautiful scenery, but instead I found the ring and he proposed at 1:00am in the morning in his boxers!  7 months later we were married.

Where would you buy your dream home?

As you all know, I was invited to the Red Carpet Premiere of Gnomeo and Juliet (now in theatres).  During our trip we were invited to attend several interviews with the cast and crew of the movie.  I was very excited to be a part of these interviews and wanted to share them with you.

The first person we interviewed was the Director Kelly Asbury.  Here are some of the questions that we asked.

How do you feel with this Gnomeo and Juliet, taking the story from Shakespeare into animation?

When I first took the job, here’s how it all started.
My producer, Baker Bloodworth (who I had worked with on Beauty and the Beast years before)…I had just finished Shrek 2, it was 2005, and I was sort of looking for my next project and he called me and said, “Kelly, I think I have a project that you might enjoy, and it’s using the music of Elton John.” {laughter} And I was like “well, we know that works!” You know, thats good. And he said, “AND it’s about garden gnomes”. And I was like “Well, garden gnomes have never been done before, that’s a brilliant idea, we’ll do something new”…”AND its the story of Romeo and Juliet” and then there was this long pause…and, I thought to myself “Ok, well that’s a good story, but boy, that ending, it’s gonna be tough in a family film”. So we knew early on that, ok, well it can’t have daggers and suicide and poison. So I thought you know, that’s kind of a challenge as a director to be able to say, “ok, you know, I’m just gonna see what this little soup turns out tasting like”. And I hope we succeeded at it, I’m very happy with the movie, but that was the challenges as to how do we find a way for these characters to take control of their own destiny in that third act.

…And as far as Shakespeare is concerned, you know, Westside Story, Bonnie & Clyde, The Titanic, Avator, even Brokeback mountain are all really Romeo & Juliet – they’re just retold. Twilight is Romeo & Juliet. Grease is Romeo & Juliet. So when you have those elements, its kind of tried and true.

…It wasn’t really that hard to out together. Don’t judge a Gnome by the color of his hat, you know?  That’s what I say.

Is it six years in the making?

Actually from the day I got the phone call asking if I was interested to it being in theaters February 11. I think it’s almost five years to the day that I got that phone call. That’s how long animation takes, you know, there’s so much development involved in it. And the movie had been developed for some years in development a little longer. Animated films and almost all movies, really do go through a lot of trial and error before they finally find their traction.

This one came together, the planets aligned and it started working.  Usually when that starts working, is when they say, you know what? Okay, we’re gonna make it, you have this much money and here’s your release date. Then you have to make it. So that’s kind of what happened with this movie we just had all these dictates that we had to follow and we did it.

How different is it to make a “real” movie with real people versus an animated movie?

Well, I’ve never directed a live action movie. I’ve worked on one live action movie years ago and I’ve been on a lot of sets, and really it’s all storytelling, and it’s really all cinema. So it’s all really a lot of the same considerations you have to have to make the movie and the story structure and the characters and the acting and the reality of the world so that people buy into it, and the sincerity of the character so that people care. You don’t yell “Cut!” and you don’t yell “Action!” and that sort of thing. It’s actually probably not that different except for the practicalities of how you technically make it. The actual movie and the editing process and the structuring of it is no different. Among animation directors, a lot of us sort of feel that “I wish more people understood that you know, we’re making “real” movies”. You would not believe the number of people that will say, “So have you ever thought about making a real movie?” And I go, “You know what, Shrek 2 was a real movie!”  “Go look at the box office numbers!” I would love to make a live action movie at some point, and maybe one that encompasses animation.

How did it come to the point to choose which songs from Elton John that you needed?

We tried a lot of things. From the very beginning we wanted the songs to be used by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. And we wanted mainly their love songs, because this was a love story and over time and we just found out what songs gave the best energy and the best emotion for that particular scene. I wanted to use the music in this movie the way they use it in The Graduate, with Simon and Garfunkel’s music, where what they’re singing about is not necessarily what you’re watching, but the emotion of the song supports what you’re watching. And that’s what we tried to do with the music. We tried a lot of things. We couldn’t use The Bitch is Back, at least not the lyrics, case in point, but we did use a little bit of the melody there so people knew what it was. I just don’t think we can have Juliet’s, you know, mowing and you hear bitch is back. I don’t want kids singing that.

As far as the voice talent goes, was there anyone that you really wanted to get?

Fortunately, everyone that’s in the movie, I really wanted. I was able to cast this. The way I cast animated features, in the best case scenario, is we design the character, say Gnomeo, I put the picture of Gnomeo up in front of myself and the casting director gives me a lot of samples of voices and they don’t tell me who they are. Sometimes you recognize them, sometimes you don’t. But in this case, I listened to maybe a hundred different male voices from different movies and said, “Ok, who is that one? That one looks right and feels right”. And it turned out to be James McAvoy. And so that’s how the entire movie was cast. Fortunately, I got Sir Michael Caine, Sir Elton John, Sir Patrick Stewart, Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Julie Walters. So I have Royalty in my movie!

Were the voices always going to be the English accent, is that what you wanted?

We decided that it’s gonna be set in Stratford on Avon, which is, which is Shakespeare’s birthplace. We wanted it to feel like the reason this story is taking place is because the characters are literally living in the soil that Shakespeare sprang from. So the cast was British.  We do have a pretty multicultural cast as it turned out.

Kelly Asbury is the Director and co-writer of the 3D computer-animated feature film Gnomeo & Juliet. Asbury’s past directorial efforts include the Oscar-nominated films “Shrek 2″ (2004) and “Spirit – Stallion of the Cimarron” (2002).

A huge thank you goes out to Disney who provided all accommodations and airfare for the weekend.  While this was sponsored by Disney, all opinions are 100% mine!

Disney really does make dreams come true… dreams I didn’t know I was even allowed to dream.  I have tried to start this post over and over again for the past few days since I have gotten back home from LA.  I keep having to stop to really think through my amazing weekend and pinch myself to be sure it was real.  It was real, and a huge thanks goes out to Marshall and Dustin and the entire staff at Disney.

The journey began on Friday with a long flight out to LA from Indianapolis.  The temperature when I woke up in Indy was 1 degree, when I got off the plane it was 75 degrees.  Needless to say, I enjoyed the weather the entire weekend.  I was picked up by a driver and we drove to the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood.  I just had enough time to unpack and get ready to leave for the screening of Gnomeo and Juliet. I met the other 19 bloggers in the lobby and we were off to Beverly Hills to watch the movie.  While I can’t go into details (embargo) about the film, I can tell you that I thought it was adorable and it kept me entertained the entire time.  It is going to be a hit with every member of the family.  After the screening our driver took us down Rodeo Drive to see all the amazing shops.  Everywhere you looked was one couture shop after another.

The next morning I woke up early thanks to the three hour time difference and had some room service. The view from my hotel window was breathtaking.  I threw the curtains open to see the Hollywood sign and downtown LA.  It was a very pretty site.

We met early afternoon for a ride to the Four Seasons Hotel for our interviews with the Director, Cast, and Elton John.  I will go into more details about the interviews in a later post, but I will tell you that I was extremely impressed with all of the interviews.  They even took time out of their busy schedules to take a picture with us Mommy Bloggers.

Here we are with the director Kelly Asbury

With Emily Blunt and James McAvoy

The one and only Elton John, I even got a kiss on my cheek!

After the interviews we lunched at the Four Seasons and then headed off to the Disney studios.  I wasn’t sure what to expect with our tour, but I was completely blown away.

We were taken to the Animation Studios where Walt began it all.  There were cells from all of the animated movies lining the walls.  We walked through the secret tunnel and we found our way to the sound stages.  We got to see what a sound stage looked like without anything in it (the one we saw was about the size of a football field).  After that, they brought us to the sound stage that houses the No Ordinary Family set and we were able to walk around and see all of the different sets they use.  They are actually so much smaller than they look on television.  Here is a picture of the kitchen:

After our tour of the sets, we went behind the scenes with the directors and producer of Winnie The Pooh.  A all new adventure will be hitting theatres around Thanksgiving time.  I can’t go into to any details about our visit and what we saw (more secrets) but I can tell you that I was the most excited about this particular movie than any of the others I learned about this past weekend.  I grew up with Winnie the Pooh.  I read the books with my family, we sang the songs.  I watched the cartoons on television.  I am a huge Winnie the Pooh fan.  Every night I sing Return to Pooh Corner (from my favorite artist of all time Kenny Loggins, don’t judge me) to my son before he goes to bed.  I rocked him to sleep dozens of times to that song and every time I sing it I think about my mom and dad.  Some of the Pooh movies haven’t been so great in the past, but this time Disney gets it right!  That is all I can say about it right now but I will throw in this trailer:

I can’t wait to bring my son to this film. I think this might be the first one he sees in the theatre, I actually had a tear in my eye when we left.  After we left the studios we went back to the hotel and headed out to dinner.  At dinner I was excited to meet some of the people that I work with through Click Communications.  They are in charge of Disney home entertainment and a lot of the reviews I do with any Disney DVD’s are with them.  I have one coming shortly,

On Sunday we woke up and met early for a special surprise.  Once again I am not allowed to go into details, but we got to visit the set of a Movie and watch them film a scene.  I will be able to tell you more about this experience in June.  After our special surprise we went back to the hotel and got ready for the red carpet.

The whole premiere was a little surreal.  I was photographed by the paparazzi behind Elton John and David Furnish.

I walked the red/blue carpet.

I was able to sit in the first  few rows of the theatre and it turned out to be a fabulous spot when after the movie the curtins went up and Elton John played Crocodile Rock for the crowd!  It was amazing. We attended the after party where the likes of Gavin Rossdale, Perez Hilton, James McAvoy and Sharon Osborne (among others) hung out and participated in a lot of fun activities with the kids.  I made TJ a gnome hat and won him an inflatable flamingo!

Needless to say at the end of the day I was exhausted, and my voice was nearly gone.  We ate dinner and headed off to the airport to catch my plane back home to reality.  I can not express my gratitude to Disney for allowing me to have this experience.  I met an amazing group of bloggers who I can now account as friends.  I was able to be a pampered mom for a weekend, and that in itself is priceless.

Stay tuned to A Mom’s Impression for more posts about my weekend.  I can’t wait to share the amazing interview that we had with Elton John.  I think you might be a little surprised.

A huge thank you goes out to Disney who provided all accommodations and airfare for the weekend.  While this was sponsored by Disney, all opinions are 100% mine!

One of my husbands and my favorite thing to do in February is watching the Superbowl.  While our Colts didn’t make it this year, we will still have a lot of fun watching it together.  Its a little bittersweet, it being the last football game of the season, but I can’t imagine not watching it with him. If I could, I would buy us tickets to go… maybe next year when it is here in Indy!

Guest post by Beth Feldman

Ask any football loving fan what their dream date would be and nine times out of 10 he’ll say tickets to the Super Bowl. As my father-in-law always says, “you can’t put a price on a good time,” so if you’re considering biting the bullet and treating your significant other to the ultimate “Man Date,” follow this game plan and you’ll come up a winner:

Super Bowl Tickets – You can reserve seats for the big game on StubHub – Ticket prices start at $2200 all the way up to nearly $400,000 for a coveted spot in the Hall of Fame Suite. If you’ve just won Powerball, then the Super Bowl Hall of Fame option is definitely for you. The best thing about Stub Hub is that fans are constantly buying and selling tickets on the site so you should keep checking back to see what’s available or hedge your bets, and lock in right now!

Flights – While you can always hit the websites for your favorite airlines, my suggestion is to head over to Trip Advisor where you can select whether you’d like to take a non-stop or connecting flight and they arrange everything by price. Plus, there are ratings by customers on which flights they prefer.

Hotel Reservations – Head on over to the Arlington, Texas website which has detailed information on hotels in the area. You can aim for the Ritz Carlton, Hilton or a motel (if you’ve blown all your cash on the Super Bowl tix.)

Rental Car – If you’re flying into Dallas/Ft. Worth airport, then head on over to RentalCars.com for a breakdown of all the rental car facilities near the airport. That way, you can choose from a diverse array of options and price points.

Parking Finding parking at a football game is never easy, and the Super Bowl is no different. Luckily, ParkWhiz.com has the scoop on Cowboys Stadium parking with over 40 Super Bowl parking locations for you to choose from. The site is super easy to use, and you can print you parking pass instantly – no worrying if the Postal Service will deliver your ticket on time.

You can even win free parking for the Super Bowl by entering ParkWhiz’s Twitter contest. Follow @ParkWhiz on Twitter, re-tweet this link http://bit.ly/gBPrxv and be entered to win. One winner randomly selected.

Things to Do While in Arlington – If you’re in town for the weekend, visit the NFL Super Bowl website for details about some great charity events taking place throughout the weekend that feature appearances by NFL players. Plus, the City of Arlington’s official website also offers suggestions for attractions and dining options in the area.

So there you have it – treat your significant other to the ultimate “Man Date” and by the time Valentine’s Day hits, you should be on the receiving end of something big and sparkly.

Disclosure: The post was sponsored by the Role Mommy Writer’s Network.

I am here in Idaho celebrating with my family.  TJ and I arrived on Friday evening after a very adventurous flight.  I learned a lot about flying by myself with a 20 month old on this trip and thought I would pass along my wisdom. 

What Not to Do When Flying With Toddlers:

1. Do not fly on Southwest Airlines.  While I love the laid back attitude and low fares, this is really not a family-friendly airline.  The first mistake that I made was that I didn’t bring TJ’s birth certificate with me.  Because he is under 24 months he is allowed to sit on my lap and therefore we don’t have to buy a ticket for him.  We have taken advantage of this about 4 times in the past without any problems, on Southwest they wouldn’t let TJ on the plane without his birth certificate.  My husband dropped us off at the airport so that he didn’t have to park and took off back to our house (he wasn’t able to fly out with us this time).  After some frantic phone calls, I finally thought to call our preschool and have them fax Southwest airlines a copy of his birth certificate.  First Crisis resolved.  Lesson learned, always carry a copy of your child’s birth certificate when flying.  (I later learned that they don’t care if you have it once your child is over 24 months and you are purchasing his/her own seat).

Secondly, if you haven’t flown with Southwest in the past you wouldn’t know that the seats are not assigned.  They follow a first to check-in the first to get on the plane plan. I was in the C group for the first leg of our trip.  But wait… what about pre boarding families with small children?  Well, Southwest waits until the A group boards (1-60) before they let small children and their families board.  What happens?  The front of the aircraft fills up first so when we were allowed to board we needed to go to the back of the plane in order not to have to sit in a middle seat.  So what?  The problem is that the changing table in the airplanes are only in the restroom in the front of the plane (to see why this was a big issue see tip #3). Because several families were in the C group they had to split up and were unable to sit next to each other.  If you have kids who are really shy, this could be a problem.

2.  Don’t fly through the airport in Kansas City.  This airport must have been constructed a long time ago.  In order to get to the restaurants and shops you had to go through a gate and go back through security to get back to the gate.  When I say there wasn’t anyplace to eat, I guess I should mention that I had a salad that I got from a cart.  TJ wouldn’t eat anything from these places so he had milk and a granola bar I had already packed.  I needed to buy TJ a shirt (see tip #3) and there was no where to purchase anything like that on this side of the gate. 

3. Don’t leave home without twice the amount of wipes you think you might need and always double check that you pack a spare set of clothes even if you think you will not need them.   Lesson learned the hard way!  TJ had a major (and I am talking major) diaper blowout on the plane.  The explosion went all the way up his back and a little bit down his pants.  Here I am all by myself with a diaper bag in tow headed towards the tiny bathroom on the plane only to be redirected to the front of the plane where I now had to walk with a poopy son and a diaper bag down a tiny aisle hoping not to bump into anyone.  I sat TJ down on the changing table and realized that I was going to have to throw his onesie away, it was not going to be salvaged.  Once I did that, I realized that I didn’t have a shirt for him to wear.  I put his jacket on him and his pants back on and thought that I would be able to buy something during our long layover in the airport, wrong again (see tip #2).  I also ran out of wipes.

4. Don’t lose your cool.  I wanted to cry in that small little bathroom in the plane, but I didn’t.  I picked up my mommy bootstraps and figured it out.  I wanted to cry when there wasn’t the food that I was expecting at the airport, but I didn’t.  I wanted to scream when I found out that my second plane had an additional layover in Denver before moving onto Boise, but I didn’t.  Somewhere in the middle of everything going wrong I realzied that it didn’t matter.  Sure I had a few inconviences, but it would all be worth it when my parents saw TJ come off the plane.  We did this for family, and I would do it all again in heartbeat (with a change of clothes and some extra wipes).

The cold and flu season is upon us.  I am so busy this holiday season that I can not afford to not get a good 7-8 hours of sleep at night.  If I don’t, I am a less effective teacher and mom.  Luckily Breathe Right has a non-medication solution to help make sure I get the sleep I need. Breathe Right has just released a new Advanced strip that is even better at opening the nasal passages, which can help you breathe better and sleep better, a must for those who suffer from nasal allergies (like my husband).

The past few weeks my husband has woken me up saying that I am making noises with my nose.  Needless to say, he was very excited to see the box of Breathe Right strips come in the mail.  I have to admit, it does help me sleep better (even if it just prohibits my husband from waking me up to stop the nose noises).  This busy mom needs all the help she can, and I really don’t like to take medication unless I have to so the Breathe Right strips have really been a welcome surprise this holiday season.

Breathe Right wants to know how busy moms keep their families healthy this holiday season while on the go and traveling.  Here are a couple of my tips:

1. Wash your hands often.  This is the number one way we can help not spread germs.  I tell my kiddos at school all the time that we need to wash our hands several times a day, including after we cough and sneeze.

2. Eat healthy foods.  Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables that feed your body the nutrients it needs to fight off germs.

3. Invest in a humidifier for your room.  We have one in each bedroom including ours.  I can’t even tell you how much better I feel with one running at night in our room.  It is well worth it, we even have a portable one for when we travel.

How about you?  How do you keep your family healthy? Tell me and you could be the lucky winner of a gift card from Breathe Right!

Win It

One (1) lucky reader will win a $50 gift card to their choice of REI or Travelocity.

How to Enter:

Leave a comment and tell me how you keep your family healthy this holiday season while on the go and traveling

Bonus Entries:

• Follow Breathe Right on Twitter and Tweet your healthy tip (please use the hashtag #HappyFamily)
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet: Win a $50 Gift Card to REI or Travelocity @AMomsImpression http://wyn.cc/lpfrl  (You may enter daily, just leave a comment with each Tweet’s link)
• Like A Mom’s Impression on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway (Please leave a link to your post)
• Grab my Button and post it on your blog.
• Vote for me on Picket Fence (Can vote daily, just leave a comment)
• Subscribe to A Mom’s Impression by Email (2 Entries, please leave 2 comments: Please remember to confirm your subscription)
• Comment on any non-giveaway post on A Mom’s Impression. (just tell me what post you commented on)

Please leave a comment about each entry, include a valid email address or you may contact me directly with your contact information.
Open to US  and Canada residents only. This giveaway will end at midnight on December 20. Winner will be picked from Random.org. 
Good Luck!

This giveaway was made possible by Breathe Right and M80.  I was not compensated for this giveaway other than a product sample and REI gift card. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have learned a lot about traveling with kids when TJ, my husband and I traveled to Idaho, Michigan and Northern Indiana this summer.  Here are a few tricks and tips that have helped make traveling a peaceful bearable experience:

Treats

Kinda silly coming from a parent with a kid who doesn’t like to eat, but he loves to snack.  Having snacks at the ready for TJ in the car and on the plane has been a lifesaver.  We try to diversify the snacks so that he isn’t eating just one thing.

Entertainment

On our trip to Michigan we loved having the DVD player in our Buick.  It was a lifesaver towards the end of the trip when TJ really wanted to be out of his car seat.  ELMO saved the day (and our ears).  We also had books at the ready.  TJ loves his board books and many, many times on the trip those books helped preoccupy TJ.

Travel Times

For parents who have very young children deciding when to travel is a very key component to a happy travel experience.  When we booked our flights to Idaho we left early in the morning during TJ’s normal nap time.  It worked out perfectly as he slept most of the trip.  When we drove to Michigan we left early in the morning and TJ slept for the first 3 hours making the trip seem a lot shorter than it actually was.

Pack Smart

Flying with children can be very expensive.  Nowadays the airlines charge you for every bag you check.  When traveling with small children this can be very tricky.  We try and cut corners as much as we can.  For instance, when traveling to Idaho we don’t take any personal hygenie items or diapers and purchase travel sizes when we get there.  This saves a lot of space.  We also have been using our Portable Powermat charging system which allows us to charge most of our electronic devices so that we don’t have to bring several chargers with us.  It also folds up into a small case making it extremely easy to transport.  Our Powermat charges our Ipods, cell phones, and will even charge my laptop, imagine all those chargers that are now sitting at home not taking up space in our suitcases.

Would you like a chance to win your own Portable Powermat?

Deal Alert

Powermat is offering A Mom’s Impression readers  a discount of 20% off a total purchase at their website. Enter coupon code BTS2010 at checkout. This code cannot be combined with other coupons and discounts and expires September 15, 2010.

Win It

1 (one) lucky reader will win a Portable Powermat System that includes: 1 portable mat, Universal, international power supply with built-in cord management, Travel case with magnetic closure and Powercube Universal Receiver with 8 tips (ARV $99.99).

How to Enter:

Tell me one of your travel tips for traveling with small children.

(You must complete this entry before completing any of the bonus entries)

Bonus Entries:

• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet: Win a Powermat Charging System (ARV $99.99) @AMomsImpression http://wyn.cc/9lvnl(You may enter daily, just leave a comment with each Tweet’s link)
• Follow Powermat on Twitter
• Like A Mom’s Impression on Facebook
• Like Powermat on Facebook and write on their wall that A Mom’s Impression sent you.
• Blog about this giveaway (Please leave a link to your post)
• Grab my Button and post it on your blog.
• Subscribe to A Mom’s Impression by Email (2 Entries, please leave 2 comments: Please remember to confirm your subscription)
• Comment on any non-giveaway post on A Mom’s Impression. (just tell me what post you commented on)

Please leave a comment about each entry, include a valid email address or you may contact me directly with your contact information.
Open to US residents only. This giveaway will end at midnight on September 5. Winners will be picked from Random.org. 
Good Luck!

This product review was made possible by Powermat. I was not compensated for this review other than a product sample. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am so excited to tell you about one of our favorite products we have reviewed on A Mom’s Impression.  The Sport-Brella, by SKLZ, was a huge hit when we went on our vacation to Michigan.  The Sport-Brella is an umbrella that can be used as a sun tent or all-weather protection at the beach, park, sidelines or even as shelter on your  camping trip. The Sport-Brella is unique because unlike regular beach umbrellas it protects you from the sides as well as the sun above.

As a parent I loved using the Sport-Brella at the beach.  My family has very fair sensitive skin and we don’t last long out in the sun without some kind of protection.  The Sport-Brella protected us from all sides with SPF 50 protection.  TJ and I were able to stay under the umbrella but not feel like we were away from all the beach action.  There was plenty of room under the umbrella to play in the sand with all of TJ’s sand toys while mommy laid on a blanket and relaxed and daddy sat in a beach chair and read a book.  The Sport-Brella is extremely easy to pack which is very important when you have to walk down a dune with 2 beach chairs, lots of sand toys, beach bags and a 15 month old.

Michigan can get a little windy but the Sport-Brella comes with a telescoping pole that can go deep into the sand securing the umbrella against strong winds.  I also comes with several different stakes that help secure the umbrella and the side flaps to the ground.

We love how versatile the Sport-Brella is.  You can use it just like a normal beach umbrella, or you can secure it with the side flaps to make a very large shelter.  As you can see from the picture above, there is room for a chair, blanket, and three people to enjoy the outdoors.  We absolutely loved this product and will insist that you take a look at it if you are planing a beach vacation with little ones any time soon.  Here is a little video highlighting the features of the Sport-Brella:

Buy It:

You can purchse the Sport-Brella on their website for $59.99 in a varriety of color options.

Win It:

One (1) lucky winner will receive a Sport-Brella in their choice of color.

How to Enter:

Visit Sport-Brella tell me your favorite feature of the Sport-Brella and what color you will pick if you are the lucky winner.

(You must complete this entry before completing any of the bonus entries)

Bonus Entries:

• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet: Win a Sport-Brella @AMomsImpression http://wyn.cc/hiuoq (You may enter daily, just leave a comment with each Tweet’s link)
• Like A Mom’s Impression on Facebook
• Like Sport-Brella on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway (Please leave a link to your post)
• Grab my Button and post it on your blog.
• Subscribe to A Mom’s Impression by Email (2 Entries, please leave 2 comments: Please remember to confirm your subscription)
• Comment on any non-giveaway post on A Mom’s Impression. (just tell me what post you commented on)

Please leave a comment about each entry, include a valid email address or you may contact me directly with your contact information.
Open to US residents only. This giveaway will end at midnight on August 20. Winners will be picked from Random.org. 
Good Luck!

This product review was made possible by Sport-Brella. I was not compensated for this review other than a product sample. All opinions are 100% mine.