My Little Cupcake Winner Announcement

The My Little Cupcake Cake Pop Mold Giveaway Winner

(selected by Random.org) is..... 

 

#19  

KLEECH!

kleech said...

I love www.MYLITTLECUPCAKE.com and use it regularly. 

August 9, 2011 5:55 PM 

Congrats KLEECH!!!!

 

 

You have 48 hours to claim your prizes

(e-mail modernmommymusthaves@hotmail.com)

and provide your shipping info.

Thank you to everyone who entered!

A special thanks to My Little Cupcake for sponsoring this giveaway.

Keep it here for more great reviews & giveaways coming your way very soon!

 

Meeno Babies "Cool Mee" Carseat/Stroller Liner Review & Giveaway

I certainly do not feel that I deserve a

"Mother Of The Year" award

for the photo that I am about to share with you.....

but I am also pretty sure that I am not the first mother to discover

that her child was actually sweating in their carseat

while she felt perfectly comfortable in the very same car.

Yes, that is sweat that can be seen pooling all around my poor baby's head!

{This photo was taken at the beginning of the summer on our way to the beach in Florida}

Since the temperature inside the car seemed pretty comfortable to me, I guess I just assumed that my little guy was comfortable too.  

I didn't consider the fact that the air-conditioner vents were not aimed at him (since he was rear-facing), that his carseat restricted the airflow around him or that his little rashguard (swim suit top) was not made of breathable fabric. 

I was also not really aware of the fact (and maybe you weren't either) that children's thermoregulatory systems are not as efficient as an adult's and their body temperatures warm at a rate 3 to 5 times faster than an adult’s.

Poor little guy was not old enough to say, "Mommy, I'm Hot!"

I felt just awful when I realized how much he was sweating & immediately took of his little swim shirt.  But even without his shirt on (though a little cooler) he still continued to sweat.

It was then that it dawned on me...

The summer had only just begun, the temperatures were still rising....things were only going to get worse! I was going to have to find something to keep my little guy cool in his carseat if we were going to survive the Hot Hot Summer ahead.

That is when I discovered

"Cool Mee" Seat Liners!

www.MeenoBabies.com

Available in 3 Varieties To Fit

Infant Carriers, Carseats & Strollers

We received a Carseat Liner (sent free of charge for this review) in the "Quick Silver" color to fit Bresden's carseat.

I was anxious to install the liner & see if it made a difference.

I took a temperature reading inside the car just for fun when I went out to install it.

I should mention that it was actually on the cool-side in the morning & it was already reading 113 inside the car. Yikes!

I am pleased to tell you that it was super quick & easy to install & it really seems to work.  The 3 Layer design of the liner allows warm air to escape, preventing overheating and perspiring keeping little ones cool and comfortable.

No more peeling sticky wet clothes away from my little guy's back & no more wet stains in his carseat from his sweaty little head.

Plus, it protects your carseat from stains. It is machine washable & so much easier to remove for laundering than the entire carseat cover.

Meeno Babies product are CPSIA compliant – and have passed a (voluntary) independent 3rd party crash test!

Gotta Love That!

You Are Going To LOVE This Too...

Meeno Babies is generously offering One Lucky Modern Mommy Must-Haves Reader
Their Choice of a Meeno Babies "Cool Mee" Seat Liner!
How "COOL" Is That?

To Enter This Giveaway

(you must do the first and then you can choose to do any of the following for extra entries):

1st- Visit www.MeenoBabies.com & tell me which Seat Liner you will choose if you win.

2nd- Follow this blogspot publicly and comment that you do

(Click Join This Site & Sign-up with Google Friends Connect).

 

3rd - LIKE Meeno Babies on Facebook & post a comment here telling us that you do.

4th- Post a comment on Meeno Babies Facebook wall letting them know that you heard about Meeno Babies on The Modern Mommy Must-Haves Blogspot & Thanking Them For Offering This Giveaway!

 

5th - Blog about this giveaway & comment that you did, with a link, so we can read about it

6th - Enter another giveaway on this blogspot and comment that you did.

This giveaway will end on September 12th, 2011 and is opened to US Residents only!

Be sure to leave your e-mail address with each entry and leave separate comments for each entry!

I was not paid to feature this post! I was compensated only by the product sent to me free of charge for this review/feature!

Our Dr. Seuss 1st Birthday Party...

Wow, I can't believe it has already been a month since we had Bresden's 1st Birthday Party!

{Although, it seemed like it took at least a month to just sort through all the photos
 & upload them for this post}
Brace Yourself for Lots of Photos & Details!!!
(If you want to enlarge the photos to view the details I am pretty sure you can just click on them)

I apologize to those of you who have been anxiously waiting to see photos.....
I really didn't mean for it to take me this long!
Hopefully it will be well worth the wait! 

I had so much fun planning my little guy's party
 & I am excited about sharing all of the details with you.
I hope that you may get some ideas or inspiration for throwing your little one's next party.

Is it too soon to start planning his 2nd Birthday???

Well Without Any Further Ado...

THE INVITATION

I created this invitation myself with inspiration & ideas from other invitations that I saw online. I wanted a "Very Seuss" invitation but I also wanted it to be personalized with a photo.  I took this photo of  Bresden in our backyard.  Bresden is wearing a t-shirt that I created using iron on transfer sheets that I purchased from Michael's, his shorts are from Kohl's & I found his Dr. Seuss Converse at Sears months ago .  I had the invitations printed at Costco.

SIGNS TO WELCOME OUR GUESTS

"Turning 1" instead of "Thing 1" was my own personal idea...I used it on the shirt he wore for the invitations & then again on this sign.

 

I actually purchased all of these metal signs in the markdown section at Hobby Lobby

(LOVE LOVE LOVE That Store)

A Can of Spray Paint, A Little Time On The Computer Designing The Stickers & Voila....Three Personalized Signs to Welcome our Guests!

I just might repaint them & use them to coordinate with whatever the theme is for his next party!

GUEST BOOK

I saw a few different people online use the "Happy Birthday To You" book as a guestbook & I loved the idea. I framed the rhyme that invited guests to write a message anywhere in the book & our family and friends wrote special messages to their "favorite one year old guy" that he will be able to look back on for years to come.  It made a really special keepsake from a special day.  I also framed an 8x10 of his invitation & put it out on the table too.  The welcome sign on the wall came from Michael's.  I highly recommend mylar balloons.  By the end of the day/the next morning all of the polka dot latex balloons were on the floor.  The mylar balloons were still floating over a week later & when I was tired of looking at them I just inserted a straw, deflated them and folded them up for future use. BTW, the balloons were tied to Dr. Seuss totes that I found in the dollar section at Target (another one of my favorite stores).

JUST SOME EXTRA DETAILS

Since our little guy gets around better barefoot I decided to set his cute little Converse out at the party (they were too cute to keep boxed up).

I sewed the party hat for him myself & I actually made him another shirt (that he wore at the party) with the #1 (above) on it but I realize now looking back at the pictures that I didn't really get any good shots of him in it.

OUR BEVERAGE SELECTION

Blue Raspberry Kool-Aid coordinated perfectly with our party's decor & I dressed up the bottled water with some ribbon.

We were also able to offer our guests a wide variety of drink choices

Thanks To

You can read my review of SodaStream by clicking HERE.

The buzz sound that the machine makes when carbonating the water created a lot of buzz....Everyone stopped what they were doing to find out what it was & they were very interested in learning more about SodaStream.  I was more than happy to share.

THE TREAT BUFFET & CAKE TABLE

Okay, so there is way too much going on with these tables to discuss every little detail.  This blog post is going to be way too long as it is.  So if you have any specific questions feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me & I will try to get back to you with an answer. 

One Detail that is Definitely Worth Mentioning is the Festive Cupcake Pops that I made using

To read my review of My Little Cupcake click HERE.

Also, You Can Enter To Win Your Very Own My Little Cupcake Cake Pop Mold right here on The Modern Mommy Must-Haves Blogspot.

Our Guests Loved The Cupcake Pops!  They were so fun to eat & they really added to the treat buffet.

My mom caught one of our little guests checking them out in the photo above.

Lanterns Are My New Favorite Party Decoration!

You've gotta love lanterns...they are inexpensive, add so much to the look of your party & when your party is over they flatten down to be used again (I love things that can be reused, in case you haven't caught on to that yet). 

I Loved the Idea of a Candy Buffet....But I had no idea just how quickly the price of candy can add up! I had to keep my budget in check if I didn't want to find myself on an episode of TLC's Outrageous Kid Parties (although, I really do love to watch that show)....so I found some inexpensive alternatives to buying bulk candy. I shopped clearance & holday mark-down candy, dipped & decorated Jumbo Jet-Puffed Marshmallows with Wilton Candy Melts & I even made my own flavored & fun-colored popcorn using the recipe found HERE.

I made up & framed a little rhyme to let our guests know that they could help themselves to the goodies & even make their own goodie-bag to go.... providing them with silicone baking cups & cute little bags to put their favorite treats in.

 

I even included Baby Mum-Mums, one of Bresden's favorite snacks in the treat buffet. So that he & his little guests would have something to munch on.  The adults enjoyed trying Mum-Mums too.

You can read my review of Baby Mum-Mums HERE.

We bought an easy-set pool for the party

 & I just wanted to make sure that all of our guests were safe.

THE CAKE

I made Bresden a little smash cake to resemble the one in the

Dr. Seuss "Happy Birthday To You" Book.

He had fun digging in, getting messy & eating cake for the first time.

I just wish we could have done the cake earlier on

as he was starting to get sleepy & had used up most of his smiles!
Something to keep in mind if you are planning a party for your little one.

OUR GUESTS

 

A photo booth is such a great way to make sure that you get photos of all your guests & providing them with props to match the theme makes for some memorable snapshots.

THE AFTER-PARTY

Since, the party was on the 4th of July, we included an invitation for a BBQ immediately following the birthday party.  I would say that it was a pretty fun 4th despite the fact that there were NO FIREWORKS!  Texas is in the midst of a serious drought so all fireworks (even professional displays) were banned!

MORE SIGNS

{actually just the back side of the ones you saw earlier}

Unfortunately, I forgot to photograph the backside of the signs until the day after the party so the stickers kind of rippled a bit.

Believe it or not, there were actually a few more details that I didn't include photos of & things that I had planned for his party but I ran out of time....I will mention a few so that you might be able to do them if you are hosting a Dr. Seuss Party.

We had the movie "The Cat In The Hat" playing on the television in our living room during the party.  It made for good background noise & we sat on the floor below the TV for Bresden to open his presents so our guests could watch the movie if they weren't that interested in the gift-opening.

I was going to make a platter with green eggs & ham....I had the book, the ham & 3 dozen hard boiled eggs in my fridge but I didn't get to devil the eggs & color the yolk filling green or roll up the ham and insert toothpicks with pom-poms on top.

I had also planned to either buy rainbow swirled lollipops or make lollipop cookies with a personalized label that looked like the cover of "Oh The Places You'll Go" but said something like, "Of All The Places You'll Go We Are Glad You Came To Bresden's 1st Birthday Party."

Well, you have just about made it to the end of this post.  Thanks for hanging in there!

I hope that you have enjoyed having a "peek" at all the details from our son's party & I invite you to use any of the ideas that I have shared as inspiration for your next party.

I was not paid for posting this or for featuring any of the products or companies mentioned in this post.  I was only compensated by the products that I received free of charge for the reviews that I  provided links to in this post. Please feel free to share our blog with your friends but please do not use any of the photos on Modern Mommy Must-Haves without permission. Thanks!
 

My Little Cupcake Cake Pop Mold Review & Giveaway...

"SO STINKIN' CUTE!!!"
That was my very first thought when I came across

www.MyLittleCupcakePop.com

That "first thought" was quickly followed by,
"I MUST-HAVE ONE!!!"

  I sort of stumbled upon the website while planning

Bresden's 1st Birthday Party &

Fell In Love With

My Little Cupcake....

What Is This Thing That I am So Excited About?

My Little Cupcake is a mold to make
uniformly sized & shaped

"no bake" mini cupcake pops.
How Fun!
I Know, Right?
Since I worked at a cupcake shop before my little guy was born
I am a Total "Sucker" (pun intended) For All Things Cupcake.

I had not really thought of doing cupcake pops for my son's party

(okay, maybe for like a brief moment before deciding that they would be too much of a hassle).

But that was before I came across the

My Little Cupcake

Cake POP Mold

&

After watching the
Adorable Instructional Video
featuring
The Owner's Kiddos
(below)  

I just knew that I had to make some!
And as they say,
" Making Pops is a Piece Of Cake."

It Really Was So Easy
&
So Much Fun!

 Grinding Up The Oreos, Mixing Up The Dough, Dipping & Decorating Them....
Eating Them Too!
Every bit of it was fun &  easy. 
My Little Cupcake offers Tips, Tricks & Troubleshooting just in case though.

In the video (above) they recommend using an item that you probably have in your home already ( I am not going to say what that item is because if you watch the video & comment what it is you will get an additional giveaway entry) but
I just thought that I would share a tip of my own....

I used a mini cupcake pan to let the bottoms of my pops dry & it worked great.
They also offer cute little Pop Holders on their site that you may be interested in.

The Pop Holders would be especially nice if you are planning to let your guests make their own pops at your party.

I know that once you have one of these molds you are going to be looking for any excuse that you can to use it...
I know I am!
I can think of plenty! In fact here is one that I'll share
(it doesn't actually apply to me yet, since my little guy isn't quite school-age yet)....

Apples Are So Last Year!
If You Want Your Kids To Make A Good Impression On Their Teacher
Send Them To School With Cupcake Pops Instead!!!

I'm sure that you are anxious to get one of these cute little molds, right?

 I will totally understand if you cut me off right here to go order one!

I will even make it easy for you...

Here is a link to Amazon

or if you would prefer you can order directly from
www.MyLittleCupcakePop.com

But Be Sure To Come Right Back
Because You Won't Want To Miss Out
On The Chance To Win One!
That's Right,
My Little Cupcake is offering
One Lucky Modern Mommy Must-Haves Reader
The Chance To Win
A My Little Cupcake POP Mold.

To Enter This Giveaway

(you must do the first and then you can choose to do any of the following for extra entries):

1st - Tell me what occasion you would use your My Little Cupcake Mold for first?

2nd- Follow this blogspot publicly and comment that you do

(Click Join This Site & Sign-up with Google Friends Connect).

3rd - Like Baby MY LITTLE CUPCAKE on Facebook & post a comment here telling us that you do.

{Feel free to also post a comment on their wall letting them know that you heard about  My Little Cupcake on The Modern Mommy Must-Haves Blogspot}

4th- Watch The Video & tell me what they recommend putting the pops in for the bottom to dry while you are making them.

5th - Blog about this giveaway & comment that you did, with a link, so we can read about it

6th - Enter another giveaway on this blogspot and comment that you did.

This giveaway will end on August 23, 2011 and is opened to US Residents only!

Be sure to leave your e-mail address with each entry and leave separate comments for each entry!

I was not paid to feature this post! I was compensated only by the product sent to me free of charge for this review/feature! Modern Mommy Must-Haves participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Say Tuned....

Bresden's 1st Birthday Party Details Coming Up Next!
{Including a photo of our
 My Little Cupcake POPS}

Baby Mum-Mums Giveaway Winner Announcement...

The Baby Mum-Mums Giveaway Winners

(selected by Random.org) are.....

 

#10,

Kellie Dugan said...

I'm a follower!

July 21, 2011 9:32 AM 

 

#11,

Kellie Dugan said... 

Mum-mum was the first "cookie" that Jeremy had, and he now

 LOVES the Strawberry toddler cookies"!!

July 21, 2011 9:34 AM

&

#4

Maureen said...

I have never heard of Mum-Mums.
July 20, 2011 6:29 AM

  

Congrats Maureen & Kellie!!!!

 

You have 48 hours to claim your prizes

(e-mail modernmommymusthaves@hotmail.com)

and provide your shipping info.

Thank you to everyone who entered!

A special thanks to Baby Mum-Mums for sponsoring this giveaway.

Keep it here for more great reviews & giveaways coming your way very soon!