#SharetheLuv–diapers are a necessity! #spon #ad

A lot of our friends are living the diaper-free life, but we are not quite in that boat yet. I spend a lot of time (& I always have) trying to figure out which diapers are a) the best fit and b) the best deal so I feel as though we’ve tried them all many times!

I’ve been given the opportunity to try Luvs again (thanks, iConnect!) – they have made so many improvements since I last tried them.

Luvs are now softer and more absorbent than ever before and they feature large, refastenable stretch tabs – this is one of my favorite parts because anyone who’s ever diapered a wiggling, squirming kiddo knows that you don’t always get it right the first time! More than that, ensuring that right fit remains through toddler running and baby crawling is important too – the contoured Luvs shape really keeps a great fit adn the softness is gentle on baby’s skin.

The ultra-leakage protection (with Nightlock Plust^TM) is a great quality – sometimes we get busy and don’t get to that diaper change soon enough or sometimes (for those lucky parents….) they sleep a loooong time at night, so that extra protection is key to a dry wakeup!

In the spirit of keeping life as affordable as possible, Luvs is offering a $2 off any diaper pack coupon*. Print this coupon at home and use it any mass, discount or grocery stores where Luvs Diapers are sold –they come in size newborn to 6 with fun designs.  (you might even find some other useful coupons on coupons.com, too!)

 

Don’t just take my word for it, though – Luvs has the Luvs Money Back Guarantee – if you aren’t satisfied with the leakage protection of Luvs, they’ll refund your money – visit www.luvsdiapers.com fo rmore inforamtion. I had no idea they did that!

 

Find out more about Luvs Diapers at their website (www.luvsdiapers.com) or the brand social media channels

• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/luvsdiapers)
• Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/luvs)
• YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/luvsdiapers)

 

Check out Luvs (again, if you have in the past), use the coupon and report back to me if you find them to be a great fit for you little one – #SharetheLuv!

 

 

*excludes trial/travel sized diaper packs and coupon expires 30 days from the date printed.

This review was made possible by iConnect and Luvs. I was provided compensation to facilitate this post, but all opinions stated are 100% mine.

Disney World 2016: Hollywood Studios

Our first park day this trip was to Hollywood Studios. There is a lot of dreamworking going on in this park right now so we planned a character dinner and waited until after lunch to head to the park. It was a really nice, low-key morning at the pool which helped us to enjoy our park time!

The Disney Jr. characters are outside of the Disney Jr. theater instead of inside like they have been in years past (inside now is Star Wars themed, Mike and G met Chewbaca!) so the kids were hot and sweaty, but I think my littles enjoyed meeting some of their favorite animated characters even if they seem a little skeptical!

 

We had a snack break after riding Toy Storia Mania (which remains one of the most fun rides!) near where the new Toy Story land will be – that is going to be a super fun part of the park.

Then we found Mickey and Minnie. The line was slow moving so I was glad we had some entertainment with us!

We followed this up with dinner at Hollywood and Vine – Minnie’s Springtime Dine ate here last trip and the food was terrible. This time? That was thankfully not the case! The food was great and the character interaction was superb! I tried so hard to capture Aleesia’s amazing surprise/happy face that she made each time she saw a character – it was the best!

Our next stop was to see Olaf! This was for sure the kids’ favorite.

We did Frozen Forever which is the best sing-a-long ever. The kids had the best time. Then we rode Star Tours – it was my first time riding it and it was fun even if I have never seen Star Wars.

We stayed for Fantasmic (we got VIP seats with our dinner) for the first time since we’ve gone with kids. I am so glad we stayed, even if Aleesia got scared at the end. Gianna LOVED it!

 

Right now, in my opinion, this is a half day park – especially if you take advantage of late extra magic hours and/or don’t have thrill seekers who want to ride ToT or Rockin’ Rollercoaster. There are huge improvements coming and we can’t wait to go back to Hollywood Studios once all of the new areas are finished, it is going to be so great! And hopefully next time I can convince at least one of the kids to ride Tower of Terror with me!

Disney World 2016: Polynesian Review

We went to Disney World at the end of May and stayed at Disney’s Polynesian Resort for the first time. I previously really didn’t get the draw to the deluxe resorts but when we scored an awesome deal we couldn’t pass it up. Needless to say, I now FULLY understand the draw to the Monorail resorts, especially with kiddos who are still in strollers.

Let’s talk reviews because I have a lot to say!

Kingdom Strollers – we rented the CitiMiniGT and it came with a cooler and rain cover. I want to buy this stroller now, I loved it so much! And the rain cover came in handy at least once. The stroller was simple to order and pick up/return is right at the front desk.  We didn’t miss the stroller at all on our travel days – I wore Vivian in the airport and Aleesia and Gianna did great at holding our hands/navigating the airports. I could easily push any combination of girls with no issue, which was a double bonus.

Garden Grocer – We got a delivery credit from renting our stroller and it was great. We got almond milk, a case of water, gateroade and some snacks. In all honesty, I over-ordered on snacks and if we could have had 1/2 a case of water that would have been ideal. But again, ordering was so easy as was picking up the stuff that I would do it again in a heartbeat. My only “negative” was that I found their website kind of hard to navigate as far as figuring out some specifics on products before ordering, but it wasn’t a huge deal. I had also packed snacks, which I probably won’t do next time.

Polynesian Review

We did the Magical Express and were the first stop, which was really nice. We stepped off the bus and the kids were amazed, as were Mike and I. The theming and decor is beautiful, I really felt like we were stepping into Hawaii!

We had kind of a haphazard checkin process – but we did online checkin so our room was ready as soon as we got there and our bags arrived relatively quickly. We didn’t get a balcony room, which I was a little disappointed about but our room in the Aotearoa longhouse was wonderful. We had a lagoon view and the doors opened to the outside and the view was perfect – we could see the magic kingdowm fireworks from our bed and we were so close to the Grand Ceremonial House and pool. We didn’t notice much extra noise from Luau Cove except when the last show ended as the guests walked right by our room, but it wasn’t a huge deal.  The walk to the TTC wasn’t bad either.

The kids LOVED the pool! Gianna couldn’t get enough of the Volcano slide and everyone loved the splash pad. We specifically planned pool time into our days and I am SO glad we had the opportunity to enjoy the hotel and the pool. We never visited the quiet pool or the sand area, but that’s okay – everyone was happyily cooling off in the main pool area. It never felt overcroweded either, even on Memorial Day.

 

We did the dining plan this time (as we have in the past). Probably my only ‘complaint’ about the resort is that the Captain Cooks (quick service) had more limited options than at the moderate resorts. We ate lunch there a few times and felt like we were always getting the same things. We also have picky eaters, so that was part of it. The flatbread though? WAS AMAZING. Honestly, all the food was so good there – the service is a little slow so don’t be starving when you walk in.

I had a polynesian pearl drink from Trader Sam’s which was super good and the awesome pineapple drink (pictured above). The iced coffee from Kona is something I’ve been craving since we left.

Other restaurant reviews:

Kona Cafe – this is my favorite breakfast in all of Disney World, so no surprise that I loved it once again. Tonga Toast is where it’s at!

Ohana – we had breakfast at Ohana our last morning and it was SO yummy. The juice was wonderful, the fresh fruite platter was a hit and I loved all the warm food. They were so accomodating to our crabby kids! Vivian called Stitch (who is all over the hotel in the gift shops and stuff) a bunny the whole time and was so excited to see the bunny in person! She, at the end of the week, had finally warmed up to the costumed characters and loved Pluto!

 

My biggest regret is forgetting to buy our MemoryMaker/Photopass pictures in time (the day I went to purchase all of them, the first 2 days had disappeared and I didn’t realize it!)– there were just a few that I really wish we had, although I am lucky enough to have captured a version of every picture taken on my own camera. I have always discouraged against paying for MemoryMaker, but I have to say it really is worth it especially if your family splits up and there are some great ride pictures that get captured (I’m bummed not to have the pictures of Aleesia and I on the Mine Train).

 

More resort/dining reviews coming soon!

 

We’re already ready to plan a(nother) return trip….

Baby Got Moves–video and twitter party

Remember last month when I posted about Pampers Baby Got Moves campaign?
The video is ready to be released with lots of cute dancing babies AND on Thursday and I can’t wait to share it with you.
BUT!! There is something else happening on Thursday – a If you have never participated in a twitter party, they are really fun and the prizes are awesome!!
Twitter Party Information:
The Twitter Party will take place on Thursday October 2nd at 9pm EST. RSVP here: http://twtvite.com/BabyGotMoves
To participate, follow your hosts @DoubleDutyDivas, @BridgetteLA, @CeceliaMecca @AngieKcom @WhatMommiesNeed @RamblingChick, and our sponsor @Pampers.
Twitter Party Prizes Include:
· 1 Pack of Baby Dry Diapers, a $15 iTunes GC and a VTech Learn and Dance Interactive Zoo
· 1 Pack of Baby Dry Diapers and a Zoo Tunes Mobile Blue Tooth Speaker (owl)
· 1 Pack of Baby Dry Diapers and a $100 Gift Card to Little Gym/Gymboree/My Gym
· 1 Pack of Baby Dry Diapers a $25 iTunes GC and an iPad Mini ($350 value)
· RSVP: 1 Pack of Baby Dry Diapers
You can always find Pampers on Facebook too.
I’ll be tweeting and participating in to the party – can’t wait to see you there!

*updated with the video! If you were at the Twitter Party let me know - it was a fun one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5-o67rIccg&list=PLEO5ZutnaN0OoisKlld9b3OqyIY1o0vbG&index=1

This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Pampers. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.

Friends, french toast & clean dishes #cascadeshiningreviews {giveaway}

We were lucky to have another opportunity to get together with friends to show off the cleaning power of Cascade Platinum. This time with French Toast, yogurt, and brownies!

The French Toast came out AWESOME! And of course made some awesomely sticky dishes to test the limits of Cascade (and my dishwasher).

We (well, everyone else) had mimosas so we could see how great Cascade worked on glasses and stem wear but I TOTALLY forgot to take pictures of the glasses.

Our royal party-goers were very busy chatting and eating! (I am terrible at remember to take pictures of the adults I hang out with!)

Once everyone was done eating, just like last time, we skipped the pre-wash (I am now a firm believer that this works!) and threw all the dishes in to clean. And look at this – spotless (and not a water spot to be seen on that mixing bowl!).

There is a great article on the power of Cascade – there are some great tips and stats. I had to laugh at the key survey finding related to re-loading the dishwasher because I am totally guilty of doing this! I may or may not also be guilty of spending my newly found free time shopping online. All of our guests took home some Cascade Platinum and Rinse Aid to try out at their own homes too, who doesn’t love functional party goodies?

Since I couldn’t invite you all over for dinner to see the power of Cascade first hand, we have a fun giveaway which includes the following:

· 1 pack of Cascade Platinum

· 1 Bottle of Cascade Rinse Aid

· Whisk

· Spatula

· Wine Topper

· Sugar Sifter

Entering is EASY!

Simply leave a comment and tell me your favorite stick-to-your-ribs (and your dishes) comfort food!

Bonus entries – don’t forget to leave a separate comment for each

• Follow Cascade on twitter and/or Facebook
• Retweet this giveaway
• Post this giveaway on Facebook
• Tell me about the review you posted on Cascade.com

*Make sure you leave an email address in your comment if it’s not linked to your Google account. Giveaway is open until Friday October 10 at 11:59pm EST*

After you enter to win here stop over at Cascade.com to leave a review and be entered to win a Kitchen Aid dishwasher, it’s really REALLY easy!

1. Click here!

2. Click "Submit a Review"

3. Click on the "Platinum Pacs" and then "Leave a Review"

4. Fill in the fields and make sure you are placing #CascadeShiningReviews in the TITLE and BODY of the review.

5. Hit Submit!

I love when new products turn into favorite products and I hope you do too – Cascade Platinum is a winner in my book!

This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Cascade. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.

Birthdays and clean dishes #cascadeshiningreviews {giveaway}

We had a great long weekend celebrating Mike and Jimmy’s, our brother in law, birthdays over the weekend. It was the perfect setting to hold the first of two cooking parties to showcase the cleaning power of Cascade Platinum!
This weekend we had a cookout with all kinds of yummy food, including this deliciously rib-sticking mac & cheese goodness (a la Pioneer Women).

It was seriously SO YUM! I think next time I will use two different cheeses for added flavor though.
I digress.
But really, everyone o like it!

Once we stored the leftovers it was time to put Cascade Platinum to the test on this cheesy dish.

We are pretty brand loyal to Cascade, actually, but hadn’t tried the Cascade Platinum product or the Cascade Platinum Rinse Aid until now.  Cascade Platinum is Cascade’s premium product and it works on that tough, stuck on food. But here’s the key – DO NOT PREWASH! Just get rid of any big food chunks and stick the dish in the dishwasher so that it doesn’t block the sprayer or detergent chamber. This was probably the hardest part for me since my mom ingrained the “importance” of the prewash in my head and I rarely put anything in the dishwasher that has food on it. But that’s the difference with Cascade Platinum – it’s designed to break down the stuck-on food with enzymes that are built into the detergent.
I actually had no idea that most dishwashers were made with a built in garbage disposal in the bottom so that any leftover food isn’t just stuck in the machine or pipes, it is literally disposed of!
I did know there was a right way to load a dishwasher though, I am notorious for re-loading things if they aren’t in there right! Any large dishes should usually go in the back of the bottom rack face down so they aren’t blocking the detergent chamber. Long utensils can go through coffee mug handles so they don’t move around and potentially block the sprayer.
While the dishwasher was running we enjoyed the weather with our family and swam for probably the last time this summer. And cake! (excuse the WAY overexposed pool picture!)

I was honestly impressed when I opened the dishwasher, I figured there would still be SOMETHING left on the pan. But I was wrong!

My sisters were surprised too – we come from the same pre-wash mentality after all.

Everyone that came to celebrate the birthdays and clean dishes with us left with Cascade Platinum and Cascade Platinum Rinse Aid to use at home.

I am seriously so surprised and impressed with this product – you NEED to pick this up and try it for yourself. If you do (or have) tried Cascade Platinum. Have an opinion to share? Head over to the Cascade website to leave a short review of Cascade Platinum www.cascadeclean.com/cascade/review and use #cascadeshiningreviews - one reviewer will win a Kitchen Aid Dishwasher!!
If you aren’t convinced by my review to go pick up some Cascade Platinum on your own – we are going to give some away, too!
Giveaway entry: Leave a comment telling me if you are historically a pre-washer or not to enter to win:

· Cascade Platinum
· Cascade Platinum Rinse Aid
· Whisk
· Spatula
· Cheese grater
· Oven mitts

Bonus giveaway entries:
1) Share this post on Facebook and Twitter and leave a comment letting me know you did.
2) Follow Cascade on Twitter and Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you did.
I’m looking forward to continuing to use Cascade Platinum and not pre-washing my dishes!

[[Giveaway is open until 11:59pm September 12th]]

*This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Cascade. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.*