Hickies - The best thing to happen to kid shoes

Every once in a while you take a gamble on a new product - and every once in a while, your gamble pays off!  My 9 year old (though she has known how to tie her shoelaces for years) always seemed to be walking around dragging untied laces through the mud and the muck.  Besides being a tripping hazard at school, the laces were getting wet and grimy and who in their right might wants to touch soggy cold shoe laces all the time?  Yuck. Enter in Hickies.  I had seen an ad for them on Facebook and they had really good reviews.  Since I had nothing to lose I thought I would give them a whirl.   *By the way, I am not being paid or reimbursed for this product.  We bought them and are giving an honest review.

Hickies.  Changing the world one foot at a time

So here is a typical look for my nine-year-old. Totally put together and color coordinated everywhere, with her shoelaces a draggin' in the wind.

Sigh.  Seriously, like all.  The.  Time.

The Hickies are an elastic, stretchy, easy to clip on alternative to shoe laces.  They come in many colors and styles.  

We choose some hot pink ones, because she loved the color combo of teal and hot pink.  We also bought some pastel ones as a back up which my other daughter is claiming shortly.

Hickies come in many shades and styles!

First thing we did was to remove the old laces... Good bye and good riddance!

I will not miss thee, you dirty soggy things

Next we laid out all of the Hickies. They came with 14 Hickies plus two bonus black and white ones, in case you want to add in some contrast.

Super cute and we liked we could color coordinate with the existing shoe colors.

There are many ways to lace up to give you different comfort levels.  I will put a link here, they have many videos on different methods to make them snug or easy to slip on.  We ended up doing a little looser style, so she could easily get them on and off in the morning for school, and yet they would stay snug on her feet all day.  The first one we ran straight across the bottom of the tongue.  It is the only one we did straight across.

It's good to start with a simple one

Next we worked on one side alone.  Place the "tail" of the Hickie through the top hole on the shoe, and then skip one hole.  Have the Hickie come out of hole after the skipped one like this:  The head should be at the top, tail out the same side after skipping one hole.

You want to repeat this action starting with the second hold down.  Skip the one with the first Hickie in it and push it out the remaining hole.  So now you have two Hickies on the same side, two heads at the top two holes, tow tails at the bottom two holes.

Now repeat this on the other side of the shoe, only do the opposite and start at the bottom of the shoe.  The head will go in the bottom hole, the tail will skip one hole and come out the third hole.

This will make it so the Hickies line up across the way when we hook them up

The the second Hickie will go in head first at the second to the bottom, with the tail coming out the top hole.

The final product should look like this before you attach them all.

Now that you have that worked out, all the Hickies will line up as you connect them across the tongue of the shoe.  This looser method allows you to slip on the shoe easily, but stays on all day. 

There is a little point at the tail.  You hook it over the blue nub in the middle and push through a hole

 
Do the same thing to the other shoe and you will be in business.  She slipped these right on and started running around the house.  She also believes that Hickies make you run faster!

Good bye sad soggy shoe laces... we are embracing the very easy shoe future!

No more trip hazard and new fashionable Hickies to boot.

By the way, they don't just make Hickies for kids.  There are tons of adult uses, running shoes, sports shoes, work shoes.  It's a great way to make any pair of shoes easy to get into, fit snugly, and look pretty fabulous while doing it.

Diamond Candles - Review

Well this year for Mother's Day, I received a bit of a surprise.  Mr. D gave me something I had never heard of before called "Diamond Candles".  What girl doesn't love candles... moreover, what girl doesn't love diamonds?

My "diamond candles" candle in the scent of carnival candy

Sure, on the surface it looks like a regular scented candle.  However, the "diamond" part of the title really comes into play when you realize what else this candle can do.   Because hidden inside every candle is a ring!  The ring can be anything from a piece of costume jewelry worth $10, up to a real piece of jewelry worth $100, $1000, or even $5000!  Say WHAT?!  I'm telling you this marketing strategy is GENIUS.  You are telling me there is jewelery hidden in the middle of this candle? Even costume jewelry can be cute. What woman is not going to want to burn that thing down as fast as possible to see what they have won.  It's like a CRACKER JACK BOX for women!  Well without further adieu, let's light this puppy up!  I decided to document my candle/ring unveiling for you.

the lighting of the wick

Now the waiting begins....

burn baby burn...

It's like waiting for water to boil I tell you.  Better yet, it's like waiting outside Mervyns in the dark begging it to "open open open". I was going to do a funny pictorial of me waiting for this candle to burn down.  Me in curlers... waiting.  Me making dinner... gazing at the candle.  Me washing dishes, staring at the candle.  By the way, this candle DOES have a very nice smell.  It is made of all-natural soy and burns pretty cleanly.  Okay, NOW we are getting somewhere.  After one evening, followed by a full day of burning the candle, we are getting much closer to the hidden jewelry!

hooray!  Finally.  Do I spot something gold and sparkly bobbing in the wax??

See that little gold disc 1/3 of the way down on the side of the jar?  Your ring is behind that.  I was mildly relieved that they were not sadists by burying it all the way at the bottom, because that would just be cruel.  I have heard many people (with less patience than I) will take a butter knife and dig that thing out of there the second they get the candle lit.

Ooo shiny thing alert!

I was pretty proud of myself for waiting until the ring started almost floating in the hot wax.  My girls had wanted to see this part so bad, but alas, it was very late by the time the ring actually appeared, and they were already in bed.  Be sure to blow out your candle, as we almost went digging with the flame still lit in our excitement.  Okay so Mr. D helped me fish this thing out with a letter opener.  It was pretty hot, so we had to let it cool down a bit... but LOOK, it's wrapped in gold foil like a piece of CANDY!

It is ring-shaped.  This is a good sign...

Now for the dramatic unfolding...  It's like that Christmas morning feeling.

Can you feel the excitement?

One more turn to go...

Wow, there really IS a ring in there.

Finally you get to the ring.  It's safely stored inside a little plastic bag.  The bag is a little slickery from the wax, but with a little trial and error you can get it out of there.  As you can see, (drum roll please....)



I got an Irish Claddagh ring with a light pink stone.

My, that was thrilling!

So my ring, you could tell right away was a $10 ring.  It was very pretty, a size 6, and actually had some heft to it.  I guess the rings can range from sizes 6-8 typically.  The anticipation and excitement of finding out what the ring would look like, or even what it might be worth, was pretty fun.  I guess if you have a ring with a 14k on the inside of it, it will be worth $100+ and they suggest you get it appraised at that point.

So there you have it.  This ring ended up being too small for one of my fingers and too big for the other one, so my eldest child, upon waking the next morning, immediately wanted to claim this ring as "hers".  I can see where someone would want to immediately order another candle (they have many scents to choose from) and try their luck again on a new ring. They have a facebook page and a pinterest page where you can look and see pictures of other people's finds.  All in all it was a fun experience.  A little disappointing the ring was not my style or size, but the waiting and wondering would make it a fun gift for any woman in your life. If you go in just expecting the costume jewelry it can be great fun.  These are priced about the same as a Yankee candle, and after the ring excitement dies off, you of course, still have a nice big candle to burn and enjoy.

By the way, I was not reimbursed or asked to do this review for compensation.  I simply received this as a gift for Mother's Day and wanted to blog an honest review about it.  :)  Have any of you tried this candle?  What did you get?  Anyone going to try this candle?  Let me know how it turns out.  :)

Pop Up Shade Tent

Well it's another super warm summer day here, and can you believe it got up past 90º?  Almost too warm for me as, I am most happy being a shade girl.  Matter of fact a few years ago when I was pregnant with my third child.  I started getting hives if I would go out in the sun.  I went to a dermatologist to find out I am actually allergic to the sun (a milder form of solar urticaria).  I am ok out in the sun for a little bit, but if I get a sunburn it will turn into painful and itching hives. I blogged about it once here.  We love to spend time with our girls outside and I don't want to miss out on anything, so I need a way to bring some portable shade with me.  I did a bunch of online research last summer and found the coolest little pop up shade tent that works like a charm.

We absolutely love our little shade shack  (ironically shot in full sun, but I wanted you to see the front of it)

The greatest thing about this three-sided tent is it folds down into a small, easy to carry, lightweight circle (about an inch thick) with a strap you can throw over your shoulder.  Once you get to the area you want to be in, you unravel it and it pops open in one easy movement.  You can literally be set up in in seconds.  It comes with a set of tent stakes that you can pin the corners down with or you can fill the side pockets with sand to weigh the thing down.  I got a GENIUS idea from a lady reviewer at amazon who suggested bringing four 1-gallon zip lock bags and filling THEM up with sand then using the sand bags to weigh down the tent. That worked perfectly and it was easier  and less messy when it was time to go.  We just empty out the sand and then tuck the empty plastic bags in the pocket of the carrying case and use them each time we need them.

The shade shack, from the back

This is the back of the tent.  You can see the "lumps" on the side in the lime green area where we put our sandbags in to weigh it down.  The girls had a great time filling them up, it was like a game to them.  If you have the shade shack arranged this way with the back zipper closed up, you will have three sides of protection from the sun and wind.  There are also two mesh windows that you can keep closed or roll up (the have a Velcro attachment) as needed.  You also have the option of rolling up the back flaps to let a nice breeze in.

Open one flap or both

When you are at the beach there is normally no shade.  It is so nice to come in from playing in the sun and cool off (or warm up if it's cold and windy) under the shade shack.

As you can see there is no bottom to the shade shack.  This is actually a good thing.  This means if you have little ones, they can build their sandcastle under the tent.  You can put a blanket under there and let a baby take a nap.  We also keep our cooler and bags in there, to protect them from the hot sun.  Another great thing about there being no bottom to the tent is you can put it in grass!  You can put it over a kiddie pool.  The options are endless.  We've even put it in the girl's bedroom and had an indoor "camp out".

This April we had ourselves a little picnic with our cousins in a grassy field with no trees.  It turns out my little redheaded niece is also allergic to the sun.  So we sat in our little shade tent now and again to get some shade time in and not melt in the hot sun.  Oh by the way, did I mention it has a sun protection rating of UPF 30?  (That's ultraviolet protection factor).  Some people reviewing this said it did not stand up against strong winds.  We have taken it to the Washington coast beaches 5 times now, and they are known for their super strong windy beaches.  Of course you have to be smart and angle it in a way that it's not going to take off or lay down flat in the wind. We've had to adjust the back flaps or the windows to make it work just right.  Each time we've gone and it's been windy, we've still been able to use it no problem, and we are talking that winds strong enough to fly a kite without even trying.

Why yes... this is me in my tent, windy day, flying a kite without looking and texting simultaneously, thanks for asking

As you can see we just love this thing.  There's a strong breeze blowing in the above picture but the tent is still standing.  We have our bags in the shade and I'm doing a bit of multitasking by texting and flying a kite without looking.  LOL.  But seriously, if you have some little ones or you yourself need some easy to pop I shade now and then, I highly recommend this shade shack. It's the best $50 bucks I've spent in a long time

Wii-Shaboigen

So I've barely blogged this month. Of course I could throw blame towards the wee ones (don't get me wrong, a good enough excuse in itself), in all actuality it's because we purchased a Wii. A magnificent specimen of video game greatness.
 

It all started back at Christmas time when my father (now apparent Wii-trendsetter of the family) brought it over to add to the Christmas festivities. He left it at our house for what was going to be a few weeks. When he finally wanted it back, wii were hooked. Wii had to stalk a few Gamestops to actually procure the unit. It was way back in March when they were rarer than a clean toilet seat at a seedy trucker rest stop. Since then wii have really embraced all that is Wii. Wii got into the sports, bowling especially, and who knew I could be a pro golfer let alone a tennis star? Then I found a rather amusing side light of the game, the art of Miis.

The Mii is a tiny avatar or cartoon representative of yourself. We started out they way most people do, which is to make a little you (mii) and then play the games with them. Well I started to make everyone in the family, then extended family, then friends, then extended friends, then random celebrities (Michael Jackson, Sally Jesse Rafael, GWB, and Jesus to name a few), then obscure celebrities (food network stars, late night talk show hosts, a blind Mary Ingalls) I just couldn't stop. Wii have a whole practical army of little Mii's now. They are cute, they are many. My favorite aspect of this side hobby is a game of Wii baseball, where a random group of Mii's is assigned to play on your team. In what other situation would you be playing a game with the following: An alien, Minnie Mouse, Conan O'brien, Weird AL, Lionel Richie, Mr. Potato Head, Alton Brown, and Mr. T? It sure makes for strange yet hilarious bedfellows.

So in short, wii will try not to let the Wii interfere too much with my blogging extraordinaire... at least wii hope so...

The best $2.79 I ever spent

 In an age of battery operated EVERYTHING I am a big fan of classic toys. Things that spark imagination and spurn creative play. Before my first child was born I had a gift certificate to babysrus and one of the things I bought was this terrific stack 'um buckets. Who knew then they would be the greatest toy ever to grace the face of the earth? Out of all the toys we have, this one is the most toted around, most knocked down, most played with. Matter of fact the more I think about it they're almost like the "baking soda" of all childhood playthings see here:

So what's up with baking soda?

It's uses have become somewhat endless. Let me name a few:

You can stack them

You can nest them together
You can knock them down
You can hide things underneath them
You can use them in the bath (they have holes in the bottom)
You can put snacks in them
You can use them to count (they are numbered too)
You can make a pyramid
You can use them in a sand box
You can make them hats for small toys and animals
You can put a toy between two of them and make a maraca
You can beat them with a mallet and they become drums

It seems age has no limit to these buckets either. At 6-8 months we would stack them up and they would crawl towards them and knock them down. They would laugh hilariously if we perched them on our or their heads. Some of the more creative uses we've found are, well my children for one particularly like the fabulously LOUD sound they make when you throw them against a hardwood floor. Also they like to "bounce" them down the steps of the stairs in a mad slinky-type experiment gone awry. All this people AND they are dishwasher safe! Could there BE a more perfect toy?! So next time you're shopping for a new baby, or toddler, don't be tempted with that tacky tickle me Elmo, or a modern battery operated rattle... Go get yourself the amazing Stack 'um buckets. You'll be GLAD you did.