Playskool Elefun

Did you know Canada..  baby Lucas LOVES toys!  He, just like his big bros, especially loves toys that include balls.  I find those toys so versatile as he loves to rub the ball in his mouth, chase after it while crawling, and play with the big toy too.  We have been loving the Playskool Poppin' Park Elefun Busy Ball Popper!

The balls pop out of the trunk and roll around, we love that it comes with 5 balls in case a sneaky one hides under the table, plus Lucas always likes to hold at least one while he plays.  We also love that it plays 10 fun tunes, which Mom and Dad especially love as sooooometimes hearing the same song over and over can get a little irritating, but this breaks it up nice and it lots of fun.  The base is stable which is perfect for little ones that pull up on everything.  Store the balls in the elephant's tummy, which makes it perfect to bring to Gramma's house or on a play date.  We've had a lot of fun with this and it would be a great present for a little one's first Christmas, even if they are not crawling yet it's a great gift idea they will grow into and enjoy playing with the balls for now.

Another great Elefun toy Lucas has been having fun with is the Playskool Learnimals ABC Adventure Elefun Toy.  This toy packs an educational punch with 100 words introduced and 75 sound effects, and the screen is amazing!  This is not a screen toy of old, it's like watching a tv!  When you pull down the elephant's trunk the toy will say the word that goes with the light up image shown. Then when you rolls the drum, it will say another word! Pulling down the mouse shows shapes and colors, it's really impressive!   Playskool Learnimals ABC Adventure Elefun Toy is a Parent Tested, Parent Approved award winning toy and you can see why!  It's also Lucas approved, he's been very interested in the screen and he even tries out some of the letter sounds which is a so fun to hear.  Another great gift idea from Hasbro Canada!

Skights

Did you know Canada..  Mommy owned and Canadian Made Skights are Lil' tights made for our lil' dudes!  These cute and comfortable tights have a stay-put design to help keep them in place and trust me, if they stay up on this busy bee they will stay up on any little man.

We have been loving these for the cold days and nights we've been having (which are only going to get worse before they get better!).  I love having these tights on Lucas when holding him at school pick up for his big bros and holding him at the bros hockey games.  I bet if you have a little man you also spend more time trying to pull down their pant legs that keep riding up than anything else.  With Lil' tights by Skights you don't have to worry about pant legs riding up because you little ones feet, ankles and legs are still cozy warm and protected!

They also have padded knees for our busy crawlers, we often put them and a body suit on Lucas after a bath for him to play around his room in before jammie time.

Great idea for little ones stocking this Holiday Season, at only $14.99 a pair (and save 10% when ordering 3 or more) these are a perfect little surprise for the holidays!  Coming in 6 sweet colours you can match to any outfit or add a pop of colour.

Visit Skights to get your Holiday order in now and stay up to date with them on Twitter and Facebook!

Apricot Collection

Did you know Canada..  Ontario based Apricot Collection is a unique online women's clothing store that specialized in fashionable and stylish clothes for moms.  I've really enjoyed chatting with founder Michelle Herscu, who, just after having her second child is 2012 realized that no matter what, she won’t be able to get her pre-pregnancies body back, and she actually liked her additional curves. Problem was – finding styles that actually looked good on her (and not just on the model from the ad), complimented, and were stylish and fashionable.  Michelle decided to create an online women’s clothing store (targeted towards moms in particular).

Apricot Collection features the brand Allistyle in their Plus Size section, Allistyle was the created by Alli Shapiro and her mother Pam Shainhouse. Alli unfortunately passed away in July 2006 from Hodgkin's Lymphoma which she had been suffering from since 1999 which had left her experiencing bouts of weight gain and loss which often left her in tears when she shopped for clothing.

Pam continued their vision to create a collection, Allistyle is completely made in Canada, even the fabric.  The fabric is sustainable, with the use of viscose from bamboo and organic cotton. The characteristics of the line are simplicity, comfort, sophistication, travel friendly and classic. Allistyle does not advocate large shapeless dressing, but clothing that hugs your curves providing the woman with a gorgeous silhouette.

Allistyle is a social enterprise where a percentage of net proceeds will support Alli’s Journey, a registered charity which supports young adults with cancer. Two of the initiatives orchestrated by Alli’s Journey are the Comfort Rooms in hospitals and the Comfort Bags. The bags are distributed free of charge to all young adults with cancer, ages 18 to 35. The comfort room, a first of its kind in Canada opened at Wellspring, on the Sunnybrook campus in 2011. These are a sanctuary for young adults where they can find some respite during their struggle. Special programs run in this room that help them get through this challenging battle.

I received Allistyle's Sweater Dress - a long, straight cardigan with great pockets and ruffles, it looks cute buttoned and unbuttoned.  I've really been enjoying this as it can help dress me up no matter what I am wearing or what the kids have done to me that day.  As I work from home but often run into the office for meetings this is a perfect accessory to have!  You'll never find a wrinkle is this cardigan either, it keeps its shape well, is very comfortable and I love the deep pockets - Mom's can never have enough pockets can we!

This soft, comfortable and best of all, usable piece, would make a beautiful Christmas present for any special Mom in your life!

Visit Apricot Collection to view this and even more beautiful pieces - enjoy free shipping across Canada and secure payment by PayPal!  We have a fun treat for our readers as well, to help a special someone with their holiday shopping, we have a $25 Apricot Collection gift card to giveaway, enter below for your chance to win!

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Start thinking Holidays!

Did you know Canada..  our 2013 Holiday Gift Guide is now live!

It's time to get out there and shop, stay tuned as we add even more items to our guide and post product reviews - there are some amazing ideas for this Holiday Season!

Have you started your shopping yet??