Category Archives: Giveaway

Green Toys Rescue Boat & Helicopter Review and Giveaway

What comes to mind when you hear a name like Green Toys? When I first heard of the company, I figured the typical eco-friendly manufacturer that only uses a percentage of recycled material to create products. Well, I was wrong…..

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About Us
At its core, Green Toys Inc. has always been an eco-friendly toy company. In fact, we say that to us, “every day is Earth Day.” Our commitment to sustainability and playfulness is part of our DNA and we hope to inspire others to share in this passion.

From our 100% recycled materials to our US-based manufacturing, we’re raising awareness about sustainability while delivering unquestionably safe products. We believe that the best way to encourage environmental change is through goods people buy and use every day—and in our case that’s children’s products.

We care about your kids – how they play, what they play with, and what the future holds. We are constantly exploring and innovating to deliver the best products possible for a playful planet for all.

I love the philosophy that every day is Earth Day, just as it should be. Since I’ve realized just how passionate Green Toys is about their products and who uses them (our kids), we slowly started collecting a few for Avery. With her current love of all things construction, their construction trucks were an obvious choice. Her first pick was the Cement Mixer (his name is Dizzy), who she only got after being on her best behavior.

green toys, cement mixer, recycled toys, eco-friendly

Cement Mixer was a hit, and it wasn’t long before we added Dumper to her Green fleet. Then I reached out to Green Toys about working together in exchange for another one of their products. Not only did they happily agree to send Avery their Scooper (the last one needed complete her Green Toys construction truck set), but also their new Rescue Boat and Helicopter.

green toys, giveaway, rescue boat, helicopter, eco-friendly

Perfect for play on land or in the water, this set offers plenty of imaginative play time. It’s offers a two-in-one combo with a big yellow helicopter that fits perfectly on the back of a red a light gray rescue boat that floats on water. To operate the machines, Captain Duck and Pilot Bear are included.

Many toys claiming they are great for the water always end up with water stuck inside that never comes out, but not this Rescue Boat & Helicopter. Green Toys designed the boat to open for easy draining and it’s even dishwasher safe. No wonder it won Dr. Toy’s Best Green Toys Award for 2016.

green toys, eco-friendly, made in usa, kids, playing

Made in the USA from 100% recycled plastic with no BPA, phthalates, or PVC, I feel confident in giving my daughter a toy that’s safe and Earth friendly. Even the packaging is made with recycled materials using soy ink for printing.

Avery loved seeing the new boat and helicopter in the box and she started playing with the set right away. She enjoys the helicopter more than the boat right now. But both the Rescue Boat and Helicopter use her trampoline as a giant landing pad shared by her other Green Toys friends. They all get along well together, probably because Avery formally introduced everyone to each other.

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But the helicopter enjoys flying solo every now and then.

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Avery plays with her Green Toys more than anything else right now, and I must admit, I enjoy playing with them too. They are simple without too many moving parts that can break or get lost, and best of all, super fun, safe, and open to using imagination. That said, I don’t enjoy them to the point of hugging…

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How would you like to get your kids’ arms around a Green Toys Rescue Boat & Helicopter of their own? Thanks to Green Toys, they have allowed me to giveaway one set to one of my readers. All you have to do is follow the instructions below to enter. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And maybe, if Avery doesn’t behave, I’ll add in one of her construction trucks to sweeten the deal.

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What?!

Okay, okay, just kidding, I’d never get rid of these toys.

Phew, you're silly, Daddy.
Phew, you’re silly, Daddy.

Green Toys provided their Scooper and Rescue Boat & Helicopter free of charge in exchange for this post. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions are 100% my own.

biPro Natural Strawberry Whey Protein Review + Giveaway

I don’t know what you’re making, but is sounds good.” My wife said this just minutes after I opened a container of biPro’s newest whey protein powder, Strawberry.

biPro Natural Whey Protein Powder review and giveaway

biPro asked me if I’d like to review their new strawberry flavor to which I happily accepted. Their natural chocolate, vanilla, and unflavored whey proteins already received my seal of approval, and I expected the new addition would so be added to the highly touted seal.

natural whey protein powder, review, giveaway, healthy

As I’ve already alluded to, before even tasting the strawberry whey protein, it’s scent of fresh strawberries easily filled half of our house. The aroma was almost instantaneous, and had me eager to give it a try.

biPro usa strawberry whey protein, giveaway, natural, food, healthy

With only six ingredients, naturally sweetened with stevia (zero sugar), 90 calories and 20 g of protein per 25 gram serving, this is not the typical, low quality protein powder. Simply looking inside at the powder will reveal tiny pieces of real strawberries.

BiPro Strawberry Protein Powder

Probably where the wonderful smell of fresh strawberries comes from; actual strawberries! The only thing I’d like to see is that their whey protein source come from grass-fed cows, and organic would always be preferred. But that is a known factor, not something I would count against them. So, how did I like it?

Solubility – This powder mixes easily in any shaker cup with or without a blenderball. I mixed a scoop in water by just shaking my cup with zero clumping.

Taste – Unlike the wonderfully intense smell, the taste was not as powerful. To some, including me, this is a good thing. I used water to mix, mind you, so any milk will change the flavor a little. It’s not overly sweet that might give it an artificial, chemically flavor. For me, the flavor is subtle, not overpowering, which makes for the perfect foundation of blending with frozen strawberries for a healthy and delicious treat.

Texture – After shaking in water, the mixture turns a creamy pinkish brown. It was smooth, but the color might be off putting. But it’s a welcome color for me since biPro did not use any artificial or natural dyes just to change colors. If it really bothers you, just blend with berries in a blender and you’ll get a more pleasing red/pink color. Problem solved!

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I make green smoothies for our family every night before dinner and decided to treat my two lovely girls with the Strawberry BiPro Protein Powder. With lots of greens, spirulina, hemp seeds, frozen strawberries, and the Strawberry protein, I blended with water and a little unsweetened almond milk. The resulting nutrient-packed smoothies were a hit! Smooth, creamy, full of nutrients, and delicious enough to earn a hug and kiss, will have me making many more in the future.

Whether you’re just looking to keep in shape or an elite athlete, biPro is a great choice for a healthy protein supplement free from the artificial stuff found in most. It’s also NOT from China or other country where heavy metals are found. Instead, it’s proudly made right here in America!

american-made

And, if you are an elite athlete, you can rest assured you won’t unknowingly take in any banned substances that would get you kicked out of an event for doping on accident. Why? Because biPro is NSF Certified for Sport®, which means it’s third-party tested for banned substances.

Are you craving to try your own naturally flavored, protein packed, strawberry drink? Lucky for you, the good folks at biPro USA are offering one lucky reader the chance to win a one pound jar of their Strawberry Whey Protein Powder and a Strawberry Cookbook full of healthy ways to use your new powder.

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Follow the directions below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

If it just so happens that luck seems to never work in your favor (don’t worry, you’re not alone), you can bi-pass this by taking advantage of the awesome Neapolitan Bundle deal they have going on until the end of this month 7/31/16. Order jars of chocolate and French vanilla BiPro to receive a free jar of BiPro’s new strawberry flavor.

BiPro Whey Protein Neapolitan Bundle Deal

No matter what option you choose, you’ll be a winner either way.

Disclaimer: biPro provided this product free of charge in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

I See Me! Personalized Children’s Books Review & Giveaway

“What book do you want to read tonight?”, Going Mom and I ask our daughter each night before she goes to sleep plays around singing out loud for 30+ minutes before finally giving in. “Goodnight Little Avery” has been her answer for several weeks now, even for naptime.

I See Me! Personalized Children's Books, reading, kids, gift, gifts

We have many books to choose from, but this one from I See Me! is different from the rest. I See Me! makes personalized children’s books to bring your kid into their very own story of magic, wonder, adventure, and, in our case, sweet dreams.

Goodnight Little Avery is from I See Me!’s Goodnight Little Me Storybook, just one of 100+ personalized books just waiting to star your kid as the main character. We all love reading this book to Avery as every high quality page is filled with beautiful illustrations and words to amaze and delight those curious little eyes.

I See Me! Personalized Children's Books, reading, kids, gift, gifts, custom, customized

We even catch her reading it by herself sometimes. I think her infatuation with the moon is what really draws her into this book as it’s on every page, just like her very own name. I’m sure the fact that the illustrations are created by Mary GrandPré, the illustrator of the Harry Potter series, helps a little too.

I See Me! Personalized Children's Books, reading, kids, gift, gifts, custom, customized

Personalized storybooks created by I See Me! help to encourage your little ones to read as they recognize letters and learn to spell their own names at same time. When children see their own name and picture (if you choose the option) this helps build self-esteem by making them feel special for having a book with them as the main character.

I See Me! Personalized Children's Books, reading, kids, gift, gifts, custom, customized

Want more options than a nighttime book? No problem. I See Me! has books with themes like animals, adventure, ballet, dinosaurs, fairies, farm, garden, love, outer space, pirates, princess, sports and things that go. You’re sure to find several books your kid will absolutely love, and you will too.

These books make the perfect option for gits to celebrate birthdays, going to school, new baby sister/brother, Christmas, or just because they’re books and your kid will be reading. When ordering, you simply fill out info needed for I See Me! to put your child into their very own story like name, date of birth, gender, and you can even leave a dedication. Going Mom and I chose to dedicate it from Mommy and Daddy.

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Pretty cool if you ask me. Just don’t ask me what year our daughter was born, because apparently I don’t know! She was born in 2013, not 2014 like I entered for her book. In the words of Homer Simpson.. Doh!

But no worries, I See Me! has a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and will replace a book at no charge if lost or stolen during shipping, or only charge 50% of original product price plus shipping if you need to change the personalization options. Which, as you can tell, I needed to do, and I See Me! delivered a new book with the right date!

Avery, my wife, and I are extremely impressed with the overall looks and quality of this wonderful book and we want to get more for Avery to read soon. Maybe this time I’ll add the optional photo for Avery to see…um, Avery in her very own adventure book!

I See Me! Personalized Children's Books, reading, kids, gift, gifts, custom, customized

You can even find personalized growth charts, lunch boxes, coloring books (how cool is that?!), stickers, and more on I See Me!’s site. I strongly urge you to check out all they have to offer, and afterward, come back here to enter a giveaway to win a personalized storybook for that precious kid in your life.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit I See Me! on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to keep up to date with the latest news and products. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received the Goodnight Little Me storybook for free in exchange for my honest review. All words are my own and I was not compensated in any other way.