A BIG congratulations goes to Sarita N. who is the winner of this quarter’s V.I.P. SWAG – a gorgeous Bratt Decor Crib!!!  Please do stay tuned for the next V.I.P. SWAG posting coming up soon and also our new SWAG ALERT rules update!  Great things are happening here at Bellaziza’s Favorite Things!!!  Thanks to everyone who entered too! Our wonderful friends at Bratt Decor thank you so much for all of your invaluable feedback and will be redesigning their website shortly based on all of YOUR comments!!!  Way to go!!!

Summer is here and the kids are doing that beautiful thing they do…play OUTside!  When I found the Nature Bag, I knew that my boys NEEDED it!  They are boys, so naturally outdoor adventures are their thing!  This little organic nature activity bag helps connect children with their natural environment and teaches them more about how to take care of our planet!  These pictures are of my boys trying out their Nature Bag during a trip to the zoo!

The Nature Bag is a simple and fun way to get your kids involved with the beauty and wonder of nature.  My littlest walks around the yard with the magnifying glass saying phrases like, “Well, that’s a mystery!” and “Isn’t this interesting!”  (Yes, he is a genius, by the way.)

I love the idea of giving something to my kids that is earth friendly, safe (no contaminated plastic here!), and contributing to the greater good.  Through the manufacturing of the organic cotton bag and bandanna, your Nature Bag purchase is contributing to the source of income of families in KV Kuppam, a district in Southern India.  How’s that for being a good example to your kids!

The kind folks at Nature Bag have given our readers $5 off your purchase with code: Bellaziza, so get a Nature Bag, get outside and have some fun with your kids this summer!!!

Tasha

Okay, so as you know, this quarter’s V.I.P. SWAG will be ending soon and someone will be going home with a gorgeous Bratt Decor crib!!!  You have less than 48 hours to enter, so for fun we thought we’d kick it up a notch!

From now until the giveaway closes, leave UNLIMITED CONSTRUCTIVE and VALUABLE comments (2 days left!!)  We want to give our fabulous sponsor Bratt Decor as many great ideas for their website and product line as possible!  We want them to KNOW what they’re roung right, and even wrong if anything.  We want to help them build their business to it’s full potential, and YOU can help.

Go for it!  We’re not holding anything back and we will be pretty picky about the comments, so no “I like this” comments or “would love to win” comments will be approved unless it’s at the end of something constructive and valuable.  Thanks for understanding, and go enter to win this Tuesday:)!!

Good luck to all!!!

Crista

Allergy season is in full swing and the snot is a flowin’! Is it ok to say snot on here? I have three boys. Snot is an every day word. Anyway, with all the achooing and God Bless yous roaming around our house, my three favorite snot noses are breathing clearly at night. How? Well, I’m glad you asked!

Our Crane Humidifer is saving the day, er, night! With the cool mist lightly filling the bedroom as they sleep, my boys are breathing clear, waking up with NO sore throats or dry coughs! I love, love how easy it is to use, fill and clean.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s adorable?! Forget questionable cough syrups to help your little one sleep, the Crane Adorable Humidifiers provide 11 hours of sweet relief! And I don’t mind leaving our cute little frog (which our boys have named Yoda, of course) out on the dresser, cause he’s adorable! I have even left this baby out on my dresser when the allergy fairy visited me! Its a must have if you have any snot nosed brats darlings running around your house! You can find Crane’s Adorable Humidifiers at many local stores, like Target, or online! And at only around $35, it’s worth every easy breathing cent!

How many of you have kids that have had an ear infection? Most of us, right? Well, how much better would it be if we had a little extra something in our mommy or daddy tool belt to help in early diagnosis, the ability to accurately monitor progress / recovery, or just add a little extra peace of mind? Yup, we thought so! Now, with the touch of a button, EarCheck® Middle Ear Monitor accurately and painlessly detects the presence of middle ear fluid, a key sign of an ear infection. Used by pediatricians for years, EarCheck® helps you determine when your child might have an ear infection and allows for more meaningful conversations with your child’s doctor. Visit www.EarCheck.com for more information.

When even the littlest noses are running, Graco Baby is there to help! With the NasalClear Aspirator on hand, you can gently and easily clear even those teeny tiny nasal passages! It’s quick and easy to use…and even plays music! Kids and even babies really are entranced by the melody which distracts them from what’s actually going on! And with soft silicone tips (they even come in different shapes for different noses!) and the fact that it’s battery operated which lets you control the suction, the NasalClear Aspirator is a must have for those little tiny runny noses!

Note from Crista: I personally swear by this little device and used it with Camilla when was hospitalized with RSV this past winter at 4 weeks old. Tarek and I were SO grateful to have found it as that typical bulb syringe that the doctors gave was just plain ineffective with Camilla’s tiny little nose. When a product truly helps your child through a life-threatening experience, you’re not only thankful but want to shout it from the rooftops! This is my little rooftop . Every parent with a baby should have one. It was our tiny miracle… and yes, I cried…:).

We hope you stock up on these Favorite Things for your sweet sick kiddos…because if you aren’t using them now, you will wish you had them come the next cold season! So channel that Boy Scout in you and Be Prepared!

To enter to win all three of these sick kid must haves, simply visit www.crane-usa.com, www.earcheck.com and www.gracobaby.com and leave your comment on this post letting these great companies know what you think about their adorable and practical products! You know how it works and what to do . This SWAG ALERT will be open for daily entry until we say so:)!!!

Congratulations to Pamela S., who is the winner of our Boon Toys SWAG!!  Have fun in the tub!!!

Congratulations to our FIVE Clene Changing Mat Winners!!  Leah, Emily B., Lauren, Wendy and Shel…enjoy your Clene Mats, ladies!!

Many thanks to Boon Toys, Clene Changing Mats and and our loyal readers!!

It’s like nails on a chalk board.  No, it’s worse.  It’s the most annoying sound ever.  EVER!  It’s the incessant whining that is inevitable if you have a child.  I’m hearing it even now as I type this.  I can barely keep my fingers from jumping off the keypad, across the room and over the Whiner’s mouth.  Is that harsh?  If you said yes, you have never had a true whiner and I don’t want to talk to you anymore, so there.

“Mooooommmmm!!  He toooooouched me!”

“But I’m starrrrrrrrving!”

“Do I haaaaaave tooooo?”

These are the ones I hear most often.  But I have found a way to combat it.  Oh yes, I have.  (Applause is completely appropriate at this point.)  It’s not the end-all/cure-all to whining, but it helps.  And so I will tell you what I do when the whining is just too much to handle and how to keep that little whiner at bay.

First off…I love to ignore my kids.  No, I’m not that mean.  Don’t read out of context!  When the whining starts, my listening ears are turned OFF!  And I tell my boys that straight away.  “Sorry, I can’t hear you through all the whining so I’m not going to listen until you change your tone.”  And then I happily go about my business.  This will usually bring about some sort of “Listen to me!” screaming tantrum, but again, I reiterate, “I caaaaan’t hearrrr youuuuu!”  They will get the point.  And when they do decide to change their tone, I immediately drop everything, look them straight in the eye and listen very closely.  I also thank them for changing their tone.  Ignore the bad behavior, reward the good…they’ll get it.  Kids are smart that way.

Tactic #2…Big Boy Voices = Big Boy Privileges…I am a believer in privileges for children.  My kids have to earn their keep around here!  Do my kids play video and computer games?  Yup.  Do I make it easy for them?  Nope.  My boys have to do chores to earn video game time.  One chore = 15 minutes of play.  I get a lot of house work done this way.  (Did you know that five-year-olds are great at washing down baseboards?  They totally are!)  This is considered Big Boy status.  Doing chores, playing video games, getting on the computer, playing with legos…all things only big boys are allowed to do.  If the whining starts, the Big Boy privileges go OUT the window!  So in the instance above where I try to ignore the whining and wait for them to decide to change their tone and then it totally back fires and they go completely tamper tantrum on me…I pull the Big Boy card.  “You have one more chance to change your tone or your Big Boy Privileges will be taken away for the day…and I’ll start with computer time.”  It usually stops there…usually.  If it doesn’t, “OK, no more computer time for you since you are still whining.  Now you have one more chance to change your tone or I’ll take away video game time for the day.”  If they haven’t stopped by now, it’s probably full fledged tantrum time…and I have to deal with that another way.  (Post on tantrums coming soon to a over-stressed Mommy blog near you.)  I’ll give them three chances to change their whiney tone.  I have stubborn children, so I give them time.  I know I don’t instantly come out of my whining fits so I don’t readily expect them to either.

I hope this has helped you….may the only thing you have with your cheese be the WINE that pours smoothly into a glass.

Check THIS out!!!  Friends and Family Sale at www.mysaurette.net through June 30.  50% off all styles using code SAURSP50.  Now quick like a bunny before everything is gone!!!

As parents there is nothing better that we can do for our kids than take care of the planet that we will leave them!  So we think it’s fitting that we tell you about Blue Avocado just in time for Father’s Day!  After all, Dads like to be Eco-Friendly too!

Blue Avocado’s reusable grocery bag system is just about the coolest thing I have found for Eco-Chic Moms and Dads!  When I received mine I just had to make a run to the grocery store to try them out!  (Thanks Blue Avocado for giving me a reason to get out of the house without the kids!!)  It was actually fun to see how much the bagger could fit into each bag!  And I was totally the Chatty Kathy in the produce aisle, showing everyone my produce bags and telling them all about my new Favorite Thing!  I’ve always hated using those plastic bags for produce so I think the idea is ingenious!  Oh, and did I mention how cute the bags are?  I just love the colors available!  I got BLUE, of course, but there are a few colors to choose from (yes, Crista, there is pink!) and some solid colors for those Eco-Cool Dads out there!

At the end of my (peaceful for once) shopping trip, I had saved the Earth from 16 bags!!  Wow, right?!  Once home, it was easy to fold the bags up into their pretty little case.  You can buy individual bags of all kinds…big bags, small bags, insulated bags…or buy them all together in a kit!!  Easy to store…easy to use…CUTE…and Earth friendly!  Yay for Blue Avocado!!!

SO, let’s make some Dads happy for Father’s Day, shall we?  We are giving away a FULL SET (valued at $69.99!!) from Blue Avacodo to TWO lucky winners which includes the following in your choice of color / print:

Simply visit Blue Avacodo and leave your comment on this post letting them know which of their products you love, what you think about their company, or their website!!  You know how it works and what to do .  This SWAG ALERT will be open for daily entry until we say so.  Oh the mystery of it all!  Good luck!!!

Alright, so how many of you LOVE absolutely the cutest things ever for your kiddos:)?!?!  Yes, we knew there were a few of you out there!!  Boy are you gonna flip over Pinky Scout!!!

NEWS: Pinky Scout just added over 200 fabulous new must-see items to their website!!!

BONUS: Get 25% off using code “25Sale” at checkout from now until July 31, 2009!!!

Get the bubbles ready!  We’re giving you the chance to win the Boon Bug Pod, Scrubble, Splat and Water Bugs!

Simply visit Boon and leave your comment on this post letting them know which of their products you think are simply swimming, what you think about their company, or their website!!  You know how it works and what to do .  This SWAG ALERT will be open for daily entry until  Monday, June 23, 2009 at 12 midnight PST.  Good luck!!!

Need a great way to serve up Dad a special Father’s Day breakfast?  How about his face in a pancake!  Or maybe his favorite team’s logo!  Or…wait…YOUR face!!

The pros over at The Food Network have put together a step-by-step slideshow of how to turn your flapjacks into fine art!  It’s a super fun way for the whole family to have fun in the kitchen, Father’s Day or not!  So check it out, and have fun with your flapjacks!

Sure, “Rubber Ducky makes bath time so much fun”, but today’s bathing beauty has so many more choices at his or her soapy little fingertips.  Take Boon’s spunky line of bath toys, for example.  Rub-a-dub-dub, indeed!  Their bath shapes, games and Bug Pod are enough to make the three men in a tub want to stay there all day long!

Naturally, my four young children bathe for pleasure as much as they do to get clean, and they love Boon’s bath creations.  With the funky shaped Splat and Water Bugs games to keep them busy, their fingers turn to raisins long before they are actually ready to get out.  Even the actual cleaning is fun now with the Scrubbles!  As an artist, I appreciate the modern colors and organic shapes, of the Bath Goods too.

Don’t even get me started on how adorable and functional the Bug Pod is!  Not only is it dotted with holes which keep water out and toys in as it sits securely fastened, either with the included double-sided tape or screws on the side of the tub, the ladybug also doubles as a scoop. When bath time is finally over and brightly colored toys bob and float in the water, a simple scoop of the ladybug over the surface of the water, a fun task which even a child can do, collects all the toys for easy storage.

Until the next bath time rolls around.  Which, in our house, is bound to be before too long with fun bath toys like these that just beg to be played with!

Fun, cute and practical…our Favorite!!

Congrats to P.J. F. of IL, who is the winner of the $100 Vincent Shoes Makeover!!  Have fun shopping!  Thanks to our very generous sponsor and our lovely readers!

Time is running out!  Have you found something for the Dads in your life yet?  If you think this Testoster-O’Grill is too much or didn’t like my ideas here, then maybe this will help you!

I found this cute little What Should You Give Your Dad For Father’s Day? Quiz at Kaboose which actually came up with some really great gift ideas!  So give it a try!  Your Dad will thank you!

Tasha

Image courtesy of www.GPSMagazine.com.

Does the Dad in your life have enough ties already?  How about giving him the latest and greatest in video cameras!  The Flip MinoHD is summed up in about one word:  EASY!  I didn’t even need to read the manual to figure out how to use it or download the videos onto my laptop.  So it’s perfect for men becuase they never read the directions anyway!  I love how lightweight it is too, you can very easily slip it into your pocket or purse…or man bag…or whatever you’re carrying at the moment.

The quality of the videos is something to mention too…crisp, clear and easy on the eyes to say the least!  Who knew a camera this small could take such great shots?!  Now I know men are all about the specs so check this out…all the specs in one spot to satisfy the techy dads out there.

The perfect gift for Father’s Day…a uniquely designed Flip MinoHD!!  You can use your own image as the background or choose from a gallery.  Such a fun way to make Father’s Day special!!  Now get on over to www.theflip.com and get one for your Dad, or your husband, or yourself!

CLICK HERE to purchase it on sale now for under $200, plus FREE SHIPPING  and get it delivered just in time for Father’s Day:)!!