toddler Archives - Starfocal

Sebamed Baby Review

October 8, 2013 By Amberlee 24 Comments

I am very fortunate to have two little girls that LOVE to take baths. The downside to this is that it is hard to find products that they can use in the bath that won’t irritate their delicate skin. We tried using the cheap drugstore brands, but after rashes, dry skin, and other problems we needed to find something that kept them clean and not irritated. When I was told I was getting items to share a Sebamed Baby review with you, I knew that not only would I be happy but that my girls would too.

Sebamed Baby Review

About Sebamed

Ideal for little ones’ delicate skin, Sebamed is the leader dermatologist-developed skin care with more than 30 years of research and reputation in creating effective, scientific and pH balanced products that parents love and kids actually like to use! Made especially for sensitive and problematic skin (including those who suffer from baby acne, eczema and Rosacea) all Sebamed formulas are hypoallergenic and tear, soap and alkali free. The below products are gluten free as well.

What we thought

My oldest daughter was very excited when she found out we were getting these products. She loves anything to do with the bath and she is always stealing my lotion. Sure she has her own, but she likes the containers that mine are in. We got their Baby Gift Package which came with everything we needed to have a great bath!

This set comes with Sebamed’s Extra Soft Baby Wash, Shampoo, Baby Lotion, Extra Soft Baby Cream, and of course Bubble Bath.

The Children’s shampoo worked great! It made their hair super soft and much easier to brush. Our youngest hates her hair being touched, so it is already a task to brush her hair. After using this shampoo it takes less time and is less painful which makes it easier on both of us! It doesn’t smell at all like regular kid’s shampoo, but the girls don’t seem to mind.

We don’t always use lotion on the girls. Mainly because they normally are too greasy and our youngest is very sensitive about being touched or rubbed unless she is in a lovely mood. Our oldest loves that she gets to put it on after her bath. Neither one of our girls got my dry skin so we got lucky, but I’m glad that we have this for the upcoming winter months!

One of my daughters favorite parts of this kit is the Baby Cream. As I said earlier she loves using mommies lotion and this is in a container very similar. She feels extra special using it and we have even convinced Little A to start using it! It’s definitely something that we use to keep them calm throughout the day.

Another thing that keeps their skin soft is the Baby Wash. I love that it is separate from the shampoo. A lot of companies try to mix the two and they never work the same. This wash not only keeps them clean, but it helps keep their skin healthy too!

Last but most certainly not least, the girls favorite part of this set is the Bubble Bath. I was pretty surprised at how many bubbles it created and how long they lasted in the bath. The girls were very excited about the bubbles and it made bath time that much better!

I love that these products are not only great for their skin, but that they work great too! I love this set and I think that anyone with babies or kids should have it! You can find Sebamed on their website here.

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: kids, toddler

Anytime Costumes Review for Infant/Toddler

October 8, 2013 By Amberlee 13 Comments

One of my favorite times of the year happens to be Halloween, but I hate spending so much money on costumes that either you only want to wear once, or are destroyed after the first use. This is why I was so excited to get a costume for an Anytime Costumes Review.

I let my daughter choose from the list of costumes and she decided that she wanted to be Izzy from on of her favorite shows, “Jake and the Neverland Pirates” She has been obsessed with the show for the last couple of months and I thought that this was perfect for her. Immediately she pointed out the Pixie Dust necklace that is just like what Izzy has in the show. Neither one of us could wait for the costume!

When the costume finally arrived, she could not wait to put it on. I was very surprised with the quality of this costume. I was expecting it to be like all the other costumes we have tried for the girls. Here is little H modeling the costume around the house for you!

I was very surprised about the boot covers. Other covers I have personally tried never work, or just plain don’t fit. The boot covers that came with this set are really think and stand up to all of Little H’s toddler activities. They even came off with the boots she had on underneath when she went to take them off. For her, she has a new pair of boots and she doesn’t care that they are really her old boots revamped! They have an elastic band around the bottom to help them stay put and they don’t make it hard for her to walk, which was my main concern.

I was also very impressed with the top! It is very pretty and shiny and matched her perfectly! She is in absolute LOVE with this costume and has already worn it over 3 times. The second time this is what happened:

We have gotten her costumes before but she has never wanted to wear them more than once. In fact, most of the time she doesn’t even want to wear them the one time. We were very excited that she wanted to wear it and we were even more excited about how darn cute she looked in it!

You can find this and other great Anytime Costumes here. I’m sure you can find lots of costumes that your little one will love!

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: cute, Disney, Halloween, kids, toddler

Pampers Kandoo Wipes Review and Giveaway

September 18, 2013 By Amberlee 10 Comments

Potty training can be hard! Too much change in a little amount of time can sometimes make your child not want to do something that you want them to. For my daughter, one thing she loves and does not want to get rid of for the potty is wipes. Which is why I am very excited to review Pampers Kandoo Wipes for you!

So why are Kandoo wipes better than toilet paper? Kandoo wipes are easy to use, are the size of about 2 pieces of toilet paper making it perfect for little hands, are moistened with lotion, and are flushable which is great! Another thing that I find great about this product is that my daughter knows that they are just for her when she goes potty, it makes her feel special that she gets her own wipes for the bathroom that no one else gets to use. Also, every so often she will unravel a whole roll of toilet paper, with Kandoo wipes she only pulls out one at a time so there is not as much waste which makes mommy happy!

Kandoo wipes come in two different styles: Sensitive (unscented) and Melon.They are both available in Soft Packs, Tubs and Refill packs. We received the Soft Pack but I have used the tub before and it is basically a mini version of diaper wipe containers, which is great!

We also received a bottle of Kandoo Shampoo! The shampoo comes in the cutest little frog bottle! My daughter knew immediately that it was for her and wanted to take a bath ASAP! I opened the bottle so see if it smelled good (I am obsessed with scents) and to my surprise it smelled amazing. The scent is in between what I would expect from a child’s shampoo and what I would expect from my own shampoo. So it makes us both happy!

I was very surprised at how well it cleaned my girls hair! They both tend to get a lot of sticky stuff and who knows what else in their hair and Kandoo got it all out! It was a nice change considering I have to wash their hair several times with other brands to get the gunk out.

Kandoo offers a lot of different products like Bubble Bath, Hand Sanitizer and so much more! They carry just about everything you need for your little ones and they have great prices too! Be sure to check them out here, or find a retailer near you!

Giveaway!

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**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: Current Giveaway, Giveaway, kids, toddler, Uncategorized

Boogie Wipes Review and Giveaway!

September 18, 2013 By Amberlee 2 Comments

When allergy or cold season come around I always feel so bad for my little ones! Not only are their poor little noses already irritated by the cold but their constant runny nose makes it worse! After wiping and wiping their noses get worse and will start to crack and bleed from all the wiping. It is absolutely horrible! This last allergy season it got so bad that we decided to try other options, one of which was Boogie Wipes.

Boogie Wipes are saline wipes with added vitamin E and Aloe to help break away boogers and sooth your child’s nose. They also come in scents like: Fresh, Grape, Menthol, Uncented, and Boogieberry. I received Grape and Fresh Scent to review. I think my favorite of the two is the Fresh Scent and my girls love Grape! The Grape is a little too overwhelming for me, but they love it and that’s all that matters.

Before trying out Boogie Wipes I thought that they would be horrible. I didn’t understand why you would need an extra thing of wipes just for your kids noses. What I didn’t know was how bad my girls noses could actually get! I always thought that the redness came from the boogers themselves and not the tissues or wipes that they were using. After reviewing this product I noticed my girls noses were no longer cracking but were actually staying clean and non irritated! As a mom of two toddlers this was a huge relief for me and their little noses! The package isn’t huge either so it’s easy to carry with you and doesn’t take up much room in the diaper bag.

My daughter LOVES these wipes and they are the main reason she wipes her nose herself. She knows that they are wipes just for her boogers and asks for them by name. We make sure that there is always a package around no matter what time of year it is! They are inexpensive and work better than any other product I have tried!

Boogie Wipes also come in different sizes like a 90 count canister, 45 count packs (the pictures above), a 30 pack, 10 pack, and they even have a teachers kit! Right now if you buy Boogie Wipes and go to their website here you can get a $3 rebate for the movie Epic. Be sure to give them a try to save your kiddos noses!

Giveaway!

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**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: Current Giveaway, Giveaway, kids, toddler

Crayon Rocks Review and Giveaway Closed

July 24, 2013 By Amberlee 7 Comments

My daughters 3rd Birthday was this last Sunday and instead of giving her more crayons to break in half we decided to go a different route. I hate finding pieces of crayons everywhere and hate how they break so easily. We were sent a package of Crayon Rocks to review for you.

About Crayon Rocks:

Hi, my name is Barbara Lee and I taught children with special needs for 23 years. I invented Crayon Rocks after being inspired by Jan Olsen, OTR, and the Handwriting Without Tears program. I learned from her how important it was to develop early a good tripod grip. Handwriting skills depends upon this.

Since a child’s first writing tool is usually a crayon, that crayon should be one that encourages him or her to use thumb, first and second fingers in a tripod grip. This is what makes Crayon Rocks a wonderful tool for fine motor development.

A Little Goes a Long Way

A really good crayon should take very little effort in applying great swaths of color to the paper. In fact, that crayon should be as much like paint as possible. Rich color that goes on smoothly and easily helps little fingers to grow strong as they spill their creative ideas onto paper.

I wanted a coloring tool that students with grip strength problems and disorders effecting fine motor control could use AND enjoy. It has been lots of fun to see what my students do with their Crayon Rocks.

What we think:

I love that Crayon Rocks are easy for children to hold and are non-toxic, vegan, and have zero phthalates! They are made in America from natural soy wax and colored with mineral pigments! With the exception of a few crayons, they are all very pigmented and very soft. When coloring with these crayons they do feel like you are painting instead of coloring with crayons.

My daughter was very excited about these crayons and has been obsessed with them since I gave them to her!

She loves them so much that she has been carrying them around the house and putting them in different containers along the way.

I love that they fit perfectly in her hand and do not break in half while she is coloring. The funny part is that my husband forgot about them and saw them in a cup and thought she had found colored rocks from outside. He even went to throw them away! Once he realized what they were he stopped of course, but I do like that they are pretty realistic looking (other than the bright colors of course).

I would recommend Crayon Rocks to anyone who has toddlers, or for presents for kids in your family. They are great to color with and perfect for kids hands! You can find Crayon Rocks on their website here.

Giveaway!

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**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: Giveaway, kids, toddler, toys

Get Ready, Get Set, Get Blast Zone!

June 8, 2013 By Amberlee 3 Comments

Having two toddlers can sometimes be very tiring. Anyone with a toddler would know how hard it is to keep them occupied for longer than five minutes without the typical “Mommy, Mommy!” and a tug on your shirt or pants. Luckily for us, it is summer and with summer comes all of the fun outdoor activities our children love. Of course we can rent some of these activities for parties or special occasions, or thanks to companies like Blast Zone we can now buy these great toys for great prices and use them all summer!

We received the Sidekick Castle Bounce House to review for you guys and could not be happier with this product! At first I was worried that it would be a major hassle to put up and take down. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it only took about 10 minutes (if not less) to unfold, stake down, and hook everything up. I was even more surprised to find that it blew up within a matter of a minute!

Somewhat patiently waiting for the new toy!

It was so easy, that I could put it up by myself! Taking it down was a little more tedious just because you have to push all of the air out before you can fold it up and put it in the bag. Even so, it still took less than 15 minutes to put it away and it still fits in the bag! While the bag may not be tiny, I still was amazed that the whole thing fit!

I was a little worried about my girls playing in this with bigger kids, but because of the design I feel more comfortable than ever! Normally my girls are afraid of being in small spaces with lots of kids, but because of the open design they were not afraid of being inside with others. I also noticed that since the material is a little different than a commercial bouncer that while it is bouncy, it does not transmit the bounce as much. Which I LOVE because you can have a big kid jump next to a toddler without knocking them over!

Both of my girls, as well as all of their friends love this bounce house! They will play with it until it’s dark outside and then will beg to play longer. All of the kids run back and forth between the ball pit, the slide, and of course jumping around. It has given them hours of entertainment and we are so happy to have it.

Having a blast in the ball pit!

We have a big family and always have tons of kids to play with. So I love that this is so simple to take out for whenever we need it. My youngest daughter (pictured above) just had her birthday, and it was so nice to be able to just set the bouncer up and let them play instead of dealing with a rental company and random people at my house. We have already saved so much money having this bounce house, and I’m sure it will continue to save us money!

We have only had one problem with this bouncer, when we go to take it down there is this really loud noise we can’t seen to get rid of. But it’s okay, the noise just comes from the kids being so upset that they can no longer play in the bounce house. Which eventually goes away until the next time we set it up.

I highly recommend this bouncer to anyone that has kids, or even anyone that has family with kids that stay at their house. It is so simple, and affordable that it’s perfect for everyone! You can find this and other great bounce houses on the Blast Zone website here.

Let us know which bounce house you would love from Blast Zone in the comments below!

Here are some more pictures of this wonderful toy!

Ball pit

Almost set up

About to go in for the first time!

Night-time play

Slide!

View from the porch

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: cute, favorite, home, kids, princess, toddler, toys

Abbie’s Birthday Bash Bounce House Giveaway! Closed

May 29, 2013 By Amberlee 119 Comments

It’s finally here! Your chance at winning an AMAZING bounce house from Blast Zone and Star Focal!

This Sidekick Castle Bounce house can hold up to 6 kids at a time! It comes with the bounce house, the blower, instructions, tote bag and even a repair kit! Your kids will have a blast playing in this thing for hours! Stay tuned for a review of this bounce house on Star Focal

Giveaway: One person will win a Sidekick castle by Blast Zone. Open to US only.

Giveaway Dates: May 29th- June 29th, 2013

Make sure to come back daily for the daily entries! Good luck guys!

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**Bloggers sharing this giveaway are in no way responsible for shipment, or for any problems you may have with the entry form. For any problems contact Amberlee at love@www.dreampilot.net **

Filed Under: cute, favorite, fun, Giveaway, home, princess, toddler, toys

A Pokémon Lovers Dream!

May 22, 2013 By Amberlee 1 Comment

Tomy is giving away 76 Pokémon prizes on their Facebook page here.

Heres how:

Enter your information here

and “like” the TOMY Facebook Fan Page, and you will be automatically entered into the contest.

One grand-prize winner will receive 14 products from the Spring 2013 TOMY Pokémon product line worth approximately $200!

The first-place prize is a Pokémon Center Play ‘n’ Store Case and twenty (20) 2-inch Pokémon figures to fill the case worth approximately $90.

The second-place prize is a Pokédex Trainer Kit with a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Be sure to let us know if you win!

*Star Focal did not receive any compensation for sharing this giveaway with you.

Filed Under: toddler, toys

Nickelodeon Holiday Gift Guide Review!

December 24, 2012 By Amberlee 1 Comment

Looking for the coolest gifts for your kids this year? Make sure to check out all the great things Nickelodeon has to offer! From toddler beds to coloring books they have you covered! With great quality, and great designs both you and your young one will be happy!

With our youngest finally ready to make the switch we could not be more excited about the Dora Toddler Bed!

Normally I am not a HUGE fan of Dora products mainly because of the colors, but I was really impressed with the toddler bed I received. Another thing that I was impressed with was how simple it was to put together. In about 30 minutes the bed was ready for my toddler to jump in and go to sleep. I know a lot of us want our toddlers to have the nice wooden beds, but with the price and how plain they are I’m not sure its worth it. With these beds not only do they last a long time, but they are inexpensive and have your childs favorite characters on them. Our oldest daughter has had this same bed with a different character on it for over a year and it is still standing strong, so you really get your monies worth with these beds.

Another thing my girls were excited about was the Spongebob Squarepants Giant Coloring Pages coloring book.

My girls love to color! One breaks the crayons while the other one eats them, which is pretty awesome but a big mess. I love the Giant Coloring Pages because they can both color the same page without getting upset about having to share. There is plenty of room for them both to color! It also has a code on the package that lets you create coloring pages from your favorite photos. I think it would be awesome to let the girls color our favorite family photo.

Lately my 2 year old has been absolutely obsessed with my makeup so I have been searching for a good makeup kit for her. Nickelodeon offers a great makeup set called the Winx Club Glam Makeup Case.

I love how solid the case is! It was definitely not something I expected! I also love that it comes with makeup applicators. My little one is always trying to take my makeup brushes to use with her pretend makeup. Another thing that is great about this case is that you can place all your little ones other makeup products underneath the slide out palettes. This will be keeping my daughter entertained for hours! This is something that you won’t regret buying that’s for sure!

One of my daughters obsessions other than just makeup is lip balm. I was very happy when I saw this next set.

Not only does this set come with 4 different lip balms with Dora on them, but it also comes with a little tin to hold them in. My daughter is obsessed with purses and things so she is super excited about the tin. I’m glad that this set comes with actual lip balm too! We got a makeup set not too long ago that came with lip jelly. I’m still not quite sure what lip jelly is, or how to get it out of my carpet so this set makes me really happy! It also comes with different flavors so your little one can choose their favorite!

Mommy is obsessed with having her nails painted, so of course the girls want to paint theirs too. Since they can’t use mommies nail polish this next set is perfect!

This is the Kiss It Paint It set. It comes with two bottles of nail polish and two tubes of lip gloss and something to carry them with. I love that the colors are not too bright so my girls can paint their own nails, and if they mess up its not a big deal. It is also really thick so that if the bottle tips it wont spill everywhere. Another great thing about these last two makeup sets is that they are very inexpensive. You don’t have to spend a fortune to make you princess happy.

You can find these and other great Nickelodeon toys at a store near you! Or you can find Nickelodeon on their Facebook, Twitter, or on their website here.

Happy Holidays!

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: cute, fun, gift guide, kids, toddler, toys

Radio Flyer "How Do You Roll?" Groove Glider Scooter Review and Giveaway Closed

October 14, 2012 By Amberlee 13 Comments

I remember when I was younger and everyone had a scooter, and if you didn’t have one you were not cool. I begged and begged until finally I got a scooter for Christmas. Other than the fact that it was blue and not pink I could not have been happier. Now that I have two little girls I live for those moments that make my girls happy. I was able to get Radio Flyer’s new Groove Glider to review, and not only was I excited but my little one was super excited to help me review her new toy.

When we first got the box we could not wait to open it, and as soon as my little girl saw it she pointed to the picture and said “cute!” She is two years old so any compliments from her mean a lot. I was a little surprised that we had to put it together, but it was very simple and took a matter of minutes to do. I could not believe how cute the scooter is. Its white and pink which is perfect for my little princess!

Now on to the fun part, learning to ride a scooter! Like I said earlier my daughter is only 2, so it will be a while before she will fully grasp the concept of riding a scooter. Even so she has learned to ride it for about a foot before falling over. It is very simple to ride, and is sturdy enough for me to show her how to ride it although I would not recommend it for adults. Another great feature is that the handle bar is adjustable so you can trust that it wont be too tall or too short for your princess to ride. My daughter will ask all day to ride her “Wee” and I love watching her learn to ride it. I know that this scooter will be around for a while and I know that her and her little sister will love it until they are too old for it.

So why is this scooter called the Groove Glider? Each Groove Glider Scooter comes with a removable mp3 speaker! You can connect virtually any mp3 player, such as your iPod, to the speaker and your little girl can listen to their favorite songs while they ride their favorite scooter. Since it is white and pink it will match just about anything so it can be placed on other toys she has or even her backpack. It also has a little mesh sleeve on the inside so that you know your mp3 player will be safe.

I definitely think that any little girl would be very lucky to get this scooter! My little girl loves her scooter and I’m sure yours will too! You can find this and other great Radio Flyer toys on their website here.

Want to win one for your little princess? Enter Star Focal’s Giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: fun, Giveaway, kids, toddler, toys