For the Kids

Say Goodbye to Spills with Silikids Sippy Tops

April 18, 2016 by Laura Tucker 21 Comments

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

My daughter is quickly approaching the 12 month mark, and with each passing day it seems that she becomes more and more independent. She just recently started venturing into the “I want to do it myself” phase – especially when it comes to eating and drinking. I’m all for allowing her to try and learn new things, but as we ALL know, babies aren’t exactly tidy when it comes to, well, anything. I want her to try things by herself, but I really don’t want to have to clean up a mess if I can help it!

As it turns out, this “sticky” situation is something that CAN be helped thanks to the amazingly innovative company, Silikids! With my daughter’s growing independence, I recently noticed her always trying to reach for my cup as I take a sip. She’s trying to let me know that she wants a sip, too. However, I stray away from allowing her to learn to drink from my cup because I don’t want her to get a face full of ice and water down her shirt. Thankfully, Silikids had situations just like this in mind when they created these fabulous Universal Sippy Tops.

These sippy tops turn any regular cup into a spill proof sippy cup. Basically, they’re as valuable as gold to me because my daughter can drink from any cup in the house and not spill a drop! NO MORE MESSES! *insert happy dance here*

To make these sippy tops even more amazing, they’re made from silicone, which is naturally non-toxic, hypo-allergenic, BPA free and extremely durable. In fact, ALL products from Silikids are made from silicone, hence the “sili” part of their name. 😉

The sippy tops come in a package of two and are available to purchase here for just $8.95. Silikids priducts are also sold in select stores nation wide, so definitely check to see if they’re available at a store near you!

I was so impressed with how well these tops worked. My daughter rolled around in the floor with ~~her~~ my cup for quite some time without any leaks at all. When I first stretch the top over my cup, I was a little shaky and nervous that I would spill the cup myself in the process of getting it on, so I would recommend making sure the cup isn’t filled to the rim to avoid it sloshing out – just in case you’re a little shaky like me.

Here’s a great little clip demonstrating how to put these universal tops on:

I think these tops are absolutely genius, and I can definitely see them coming in handy when we’re in a restaurant or a public place and our daughter wants to drink out of a regular glass or cup. I’ll be keeping an extra one of these at Grandma’s house for her to use as needed. They’re also dishwasher safe, so no worries about hand scrubbing them! My only sort-of complaint is that because they are made of silicone, they pick up dirt and lint off of everything. When my daughter wants to take her cup to play outside or if she wants to roll around on the floor, the tops have a tendency to pick up every tiny little piece of dirt, and it can wind up getting in her mouth. It would be great to see Silikids release some sort of carrying case so I’m not worrying about lint and crumbs from my diaper bag getting all over the spout!

The design of the spout is very intuitive for older babies and toddlers to use, and my daughter had it figured out in a matter of seconds! She’s SO excited that she gets to drink from Mommy’s cup, and I’m so excited to no longer worry about her spilling it! Fantastic job, Silikids!

Get Sili!:

In addition to the sippy tops mentioned above, Silikids also offers several other fantastic reusable silicone products made with kids in mind. I’ve linked a few of my favorites below, but you’re definitely going to want to check out their entire collection available on their website now!

WIN IT!:

One very lucky Southern Made Simple reader is going to snag a set of Silikids Sippy Tops for themselves! All you have to do is enter using the giveaway form below. Open to US residents 18 years and older. See terms and conditions below. Good luck!

Entry -Form

Open to residents of the United States 18 and older. Limit one entrant per household. Giveaway will end at 11:59pm CST on 5/2/2016. Winner will be drawn using Giveaway Tools. Entries will be verified. Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Southern Made Simple is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

B.box puts the Fun in Functional at Meal Time!

March 31, 2016 by Laura Tucker 18 Comments

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

Since becoming a parent just 10 months ago, this one common thread has remained steadfast and true in my new world full of surprises and change: Babies don’t keep.

No matter how much I want to savor my baby’s littleness, she seems to grow bigger every time she wakes up from a nap. She learns something new every single day! And while I do celebrate her small accomplishments and newly reached milestones, there’s still a quiet part of me that just wants her to slow down. With every bit of independence she gains, that’s one less thing she needs her Mama for. I’ve never experienced anything so bittersweet.

But, alas, the child must grow! I recently noticed my daughter taking an interest in feeding herself. She doesn’t want to wait around for Mom to feed her anymore, but would rather go at her own pace. As much as I want to keep that job myself (I make SO much less of a mess than she does), I decided to give in and let my baby learn even though I was a little bit skeptical. That’s where the folks at b.box came in to save the day!

I was sent a few of B. box’s fabulous products from their feeding and drinking line to try. The first item little miss got to test out is the Toddler Cutlery Set, which comes in four different colors and is designed for babies 9 months and older. The unique design of the fork is made to fit the shape and size of tiny mouths, while the innovative design of the spoon was made to resemble a shovel to help children push food onto their fork. So clever!

Taralynn wasted no time in digging right in. Once I placed her food in front of her, she immediately grabbed the handle of the spoon and took matters into her own hands! Things got a little messy, but I was so impressed to see how quickly she caught on to feeding herself. She did not want me to take away the spoon when she was finished, either!

We were also sent a bowl and straw set to review. This is probably my favorite piece because it can be used 3 different ways. Hooray for functionality! The bowl comes with two attachments. The first is a straw that clips on to the side of the bowl to allow for older kids to easily eat/drink foods such as cereal or soup. This is a feature that we probably won’t be using for a long time, or at least until Taralynn understands not to lift the bowl and dump out the contents into her lap. 🙂

The second attachment makes this bowl the star of the show for us! The snack insert turns this bowl into a no-spill snack cup, which is perfect for tossing into your diaper bag or eating snacks on the go.

The final product we were sent from b.box is the award winning limited edition sippy cup. It comes in nine beautiful colors and has a weighted straw that allows for juice to pass through no matter which direction the bottle is pointing. This is perfect for babies who are transitioning from bottle to sippy cup who still like to lay down when drinking like my daughter does.

This was the first exposure my daughter had to drinking out of a straw. I was a little concerned that she would be confused by how to drink out of it, but within just a few tries she was drinking out of it like a pro! It didn’t take her long to realize that she doesn’t have to tilt the cup back to get juice out of it thanks to the weighted straw.

I really appreciate that all b.box products are BPA, Phthalates and PVC free. All three items I reviewed are dishwasher safe, which makes for an easy and stress free cleanup for parents. I love these products because they’re very intuitive for my daughter to use as she’s learning how to gain independence. They’re fun, functional, and responsibly made. and they’ve made meal time so much more enjoyable for both my daughter and I!

Buy it!:

B.box products are available to purchase here. They have numerous products ranging from feeding and cutlery products, to diaper changing and bottle drying stations. B.box has won numerous awards for their fabulous products, which you can learn more about here.

Win it!:

One very lucky Southern Made Simple reader is going to take home a toddler cutlery set + a bowl and straw set like the one I reviewed. Woot woot! Just enter using the form below. Open to US residents 18+. Giveaway ends 4/14.

Entry -Form

Open to residents of the United States 18 and older. Limit one entrant per household. Giveaway will end at 11:59pm CST on 4/14/2016. Winner will be drawn using Giveaway Tools. Entries will be verified. Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Southern Made Simple is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Tired of Cleaning Bottles? I Found a Solution!

March 24, 2016 by Laura Tucker 4 Comments

Tired of Cleaning Bottles? I Found a Solution!

Cleaning baby bottles has got to be one of the most monotonous and dreadful cleaning tasks as a new parent in my opinion. I don’t know about you, but by the end of the day I’m usually staring at a sink full of dirty bottles begging to be cleaned, and I feel like just don’t have the time or the want-to to get it all done.

Making sure your bottles are clean is incredibly important. Your little one spends a lot of time with their bottles, so you want to make sure they’re thoroughly washed and sanitized. Going through the washing process always leave my hands wrinkly and dried out, and I feel a little wasteful with the amount of water I wind up using when it’s all said and done.

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Luckily for me, I stumbled across a video tutorial of this AWESOME product called the Boon Suds Bottle Washer, and let me tell you, it has been a game changer!

Just fill the sink with a small amount of soapy water (enough to get your bottles wet) and place the Boon Suds Bottle Washer into the sink with a little soap and water in the basin. Next, just insert the bottle onto the tall piece of plastic with bristles and press down. A stream of water shoots up into the bottle and the bristles rotate to give an all-around clean to each bottle. Voila!

(Be sure to watch the short little video linked below. It shows you how quick and easy this product is to use!)

And just like that, I don’t dread washing bottles anymore! I can get them washed in no time, and I don’t worry about running an excessive amount of water or having my hands turn wrinkly. Woohoo!

The Boon Suds Bottle Washer is available to purchase on Amazon for just $12.99, and let me tell you, this little gadget is worth it’s weight in gold!

Do you dread washing bottles as much as I do? In what ways do you think the Boon Suds Bottle Washer would help you get this chore done faster?

I have not been compensated for this post in any way. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own. Affiliate links are included throughout this post, meaning I may make a small commission off of any purchases made at no cost to you.

Celebrating the Sweetest Spring Fashions for Kids from The Lucky Lily

March 21, 2016 by Laura Tucker 17 Comments

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

Spring has definitely sprung in my neck of the woods! The weather here in south Alabama has been gorgeous the past 2 or so weeks, and I’ve finally broken out all of my warmer-weather attire. Hello, flip-flops!

I’ve been itching SO badly to start dressing my baby in floral prints and rompers. My sweet little love hates wearing pants (she gets that honestly), so I have been downright giddy packing those away and pulling out her spring and summer wardrobe.

I only have room in her closet for the cutest of the cute (naturally), so I made sure I saved a very special spot in her wardrobe for two brand new releases from the fabulous children’s boutique – The Lucky Lily!

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Sharing #PreggoLessons with MAM!

March 18, 2016 by Laura Tucker 18 Comments

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

I don’t know what it is about a pregnant woman, but it seems like once people see her beautiful baby bump, they flock to her with a sack full of unsolicited advice like they’re moths to a flame. Seriously, people will come out of the woodwork trying to share their two-cents on something baby-related. It’s nuts! My two-cents it that it’s so important to try and remember that every pregnancy and every baby are different, so comparing them isn’t particularly fair or helpful. 🙂

Even though it may or may not be wanted, sometimes the advice is actually pretty helpful. From my experience, though, a lot of the random acts of parenting advice are either off-putting, irrelevant, comical (in a bad way) or sometimes just plain weird.

Honestly, I’ve forgotten a lot of the terrible advice that I received during my pregnancy. This mom-brain doesn’t have room for that kind of unnecessary baggage, ya know! But I do recall always wanting to majorly roll my eyes when people would tell me to “sleep while the baby sleeps”. Instead of working up the energy to tell those people how impractical and unrealistic that is, I would just nod my head and smile. But seriously, y’all. Let’s just stop offering that “advice” to new parents. It’s pretty tired (no pun intended), and unless you’re offering to come clean my house and do all of the other chores while baby and I both nap, I’m not listening.

On a more positive note, one piece of advice that was actually really helpful to me was to consider adding multiple brands of pacifiers to my baby registry instead of sticking to just one brand. I was a MAM baby myself, and I assumed that my child would probably be no different, but I had no idea what she’d prefer, and it’s best to not assume! But sure enough, she rejected every brand of pacifier except MAM’s. She’s one smart little cookie! I’m glad I listened to that advice and gave her the option of other pacifiers, though. The child can’t help that she has impeccable taste! 😉

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Pediped Review

March 14, 2016 by Laura Tucker 28 Comments

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

At 10 months old, my daughter is starting to stand and balance herself for short stretches of time. I know it won’t be long before she’s ready to take that very first step! I’m emotionally not ready for her to be walking yet, but I knew I needed to make sure she has proper shoes ready for when that day comes. I decided to do a little research on proper shoes for early walkers that aided in healthy foot development. When babies start walking, it’s so important that their feet are lined up properly to ultimately help promote proper stride.

That’s where Pediped shoes come in to play. In my opinion, Pediped is at the front of the pack when it comes to creating quality, foot healthy and on-trend shoes for children. In fact, Pediped has been awarded the American Podiatric Medical Association Seal of Acceptance for promoting healthy foot development, not to mention numerous other awards such as a Cribsie award for “cutest little kicks,” and features in several magazines such as Parents and Babytalk.

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Our Hair Bow Game is Strong Thanks To Lulu and Mila!

March 10, 2016 by Laura Tucker 19 Comments

I received these products at no cost to facilitate this Lulu and Mila review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

Lulu and Mila review

If you know me at all, you know this one thing: I like BIG bows (and I cannot lie). My daughter had her first hair bow on her head within the first hour after being born. It wasn’t a rinky-dinky little hair bow either, y’all. It was large and in charge, no doubt about it.

I see hair bows as crowns for little princesses. The bigger the better! And if it fits..why not wear it? I’ve seen this image floating around Facebook for a while now, and every time I see it I crack up. #truth

All hair bows are not created equally. We all know that they come in all sorts of sizes and colors, and with different styles of clips, embellishments, etc. Within the past year or so, I noticed a new trend in hair bows for little girls. Instead of having a traditional bow made from ribbon with a clip, more and more little girls are sporting these fabulous fabric head wraps and top knots that are so stinkin’ cute it hurts.

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20 Easter Basket Fillers for Babies

February 22, 2016 by Laura Tucker 7 Comments

Southern Made Simple is a part of several affiliate advertising programs. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links on this site, I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase. Although I participate in these programs and have sponsored posts, all opinions are my own.

When my siblings and I were younger, my mother would always have Easter baskets filled with candy and goodies for us to open on Easter morning. It was mostly candy of some sort (Cadbury Eggs are my favorite), but we’d also find money, toys and trinkets as well.

I definitely want to keep this tradition alive for my children. However, my little one will only be 10 months old during her 1st Easter, so candy is absolutely out of the question! So I started brainstorming about what I could put in her basket this year. I came up with 20 different things that I think would just be perfect!

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Shop Olive Loves Apple for the Sweetest Spring Fashions for Babies!

February 16, 2016 by Laura Tucker 14 Comments

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

Seriously, y’all. I cannot believe we’re halfway though February. Time is flying! Valentine’s Day has already come and gone. Cupid has certainly left his mark, too! His aim was definitely on target this year, because he shot straight through my heart and made me fall head over heels in love!

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m madly in love with my rock star of a husband, and I only have eyes for him. BUT my eyes have seen some adorable things, and now i’m in l-o-v-e! I have fallen for an Etsy shop so beautiful, so magnificent, and SO wonderful that it seems like a dream come true!

Goodbye, winter blues! We’re welcoming spring with open arms with this insanely adorable Easter bunny outfit from Olive loves Apple. Isn’t it the sweetest?!

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Twistshake – The Next Generation Baby Bottle Review

February 15, 2016 by Laura Tucker 25 Comments

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

If there is one thing that I learned very quickly after becoming a parent, it’s that not all baby bottles are created equally. During my pregnancy, I did not put much research into bottle selection. I assumed that I would be very successful with breastfeeding and that she would only need to use a bottle on rare occasions. Thus, I did not register for any. I wound up with a hodgepodge of random bottles from my baby shower anyway, and I was just fine with that. After all, I wasn’t expecting to use them all that much.

Unfortunately, things don’t always go as planned. I was very thankful that I had a few different bottles on hand, and I was glad that they were all different brands. It didn’t take long at all to determine the favorites and the least favorites. Some had more parts than others. Some didn’t have great suction around the nipple. Some were harder to clean, and some didn’t hold heat very well. I got fed up with a few of them, and they eventually got pushed to the side because they just weren’t meeting our needs.

Then came the Twistshake.

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For the Kids

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

Get Sili!:

WIN IT!:

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

Buy it!:

Win it!:

Tired of Cleaning Bottles? I Found a Solution!

I have not been compensated for this post in any way. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own. Affiliate links are included throughout this post, meaning I may make a small commission off of any purchases made at no cost to you.

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

I received these products at no cost to facilitate this Lulu and Mila review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

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