Bonggamom Finds: Back to School

Showing posts with label Back to School. Show all posts

Get ready for school with Mabel's Labels Limited Edition Back To School Combos

Thursday, August 06, 2015

It’s that time again, summer is flying by! I'm going through my Back to School checklist, making sure all my kids have what they need for the new school year. One thing I always make sure I have on hand at this time of the year is Mabel's Labels. Labeling my kids' belonging is an absolute must, and Mabel's Labels is my favorite brand of labels because they're so durable, stylish, and affordable.

Over the years, I've found that the most cost-effective Mabel's products are the combo packs, especially their seasonal packs. This fall, Mabel's Labels is bringing back their most popular combo packs. They all contain basically the same variety of labels, just in different designs: the Ultimate Back To School Combo (108 labels for $42) has designs best suited to elementary school-aged kids, the Little Kid School Combo (104 labels for $42) has designs best suited to preschoolers and kinders, and the Stylish Scholars Combo (108 labels for $42) has designs that are great for middle schoolers all the way up to college students and adults.

I was thrilled when Mabels Labels sent me the Stylish Scholars Combo pack to review! I happen to buy a combo pack every year, but trust me, we never run out of things to label, so having a sample pack to review was awesome. The Stylish Scholars Combo comes with:

40 Skinny-Minis
Skinny Minis are your basic labels that go on anything and everything. They're small enough to fit on most surfaces, yet large enough to catch people's eyes. I slap these on almost everything my kids take to school: binders, pencil cases, lunch containers, organizers, water bottles, instrument cases, music stands, bike locks, umbrella handles.. the list goes on and on. If it's something you don't want to lose, put a Skinny Mini on it!

50 Tag Mates
Tag Mates are laundry-safe clothing labels. They are amazing! I love that you don't have to iron or sew them -- just peel and stick them on clothing labels (yes, they really do stay on, even after multiple trips to the washing machine). I don't always use them for clothes -- they make great container labels too!

16 Round Labels
These round labels were originally meant to be shoe labels, but they can be used for anything and everything, because they're made of the same material as the Skinny-Minnie labels.

2 Teeny Tags
These attach to any zipper or chain, so they're great for pencil cases, duffel bags, lunch boxes, laptop cases, backpacks, and more.

My kids are in middle and high school now, so I appreciate that Mabels Labels has design options that don't involve butterflies and race cars. You can choose from a variety of subtle, modern prints and muted colors.

Finally, it goes without saying that all the labels in the Stylish Scholars pack are dishwasher safe, microwave safe laundry safe, and waterproof. I don't think I've ever had to replace a label, other than the occasional Tag Mate label on clothing (you need to choose the clothing surface carefully -- the Tag Mates stick better to polyester surfaces and clothing labels, they don't do very well on cotton based fabrics). Mabels Labels are simply the toughest, most durable labels I've ever tried!

Mabel's Labels Back to School label combos are only available till September 30, 2015, so order your labels ASAP!

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate this review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions -- in fact, I am a satisfied Mabels Labels customer who frequently purchases labels from them at my own expense. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

School lunches are easy and fun with Glad's Designer Series TMNT Mini Rounds

Thursday, September 25, 2014

I pack lunch for my kids and husband every single weekday (okay, I do let them buy lunch on Pizza Fridays now and then, but the overwhelming majority of their school lunches come from home). I try to minimize the amount of disposable packaging we use, so we have a ton of reusable food containers on hand, My favorite ones are the plastic Glad containers -- they are microwave safe, freezer safe, and dishwasher safe, and you can put just about any kind of food in them. Best of all, they are so inexpensive, I don't go all crazy when my kids lose their lunch containers or accidentally throw one in the trash!

I'm perfectly happy with the Glad's basic clear-and-blue containers, but I have to say, I'm loving the new colors and patterns on some of their newer product lines! Their latest one is a sure hit with kids, because it features the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the stars of this summer's blockbuster hit. Just in time for back-to-school, Glad's Designer Series Mini Rounds has Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Rafael, and Donatello printed on the containers.

These mini rounds can hold just the right portion size for a healthy snack. They're perfect for packing cereal, tomatoes, carrots, pepper strips, crackers, hummus, grapes, rasins, cranberries, blueberries, hummus, yogurt, salsa, salad dressing, and so many other things into your child's lunch box!

I love that these containers are exactly the same size and shape as Glad's basic Mini-Rounds. You can stack the TMNT rounds along with the basic kind, and interchange lids, so you don't need a separate pile for each kind.

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Take your music from Solo to Social with Flips Audio headphones

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

My kids love listening to music when they do their homework, but when you have 3 kids, each with their own playlists, that doesn't always work. Good headphones are always a nice thing to have -- and it's even better when those headphones double as HP speakers when they want to share their tunes with their friends! Flips Audio are the first heaphones that transform from regular heaphones to HD speakers. I recently received a pair to review, and I give them an A+!

At first glance, they seem like your run-of-the-mill premium headphones: sleek design, comfy cushioned ear cups, great sound quality.

But wait! You can flip the ear cups to face outwards, and all of a sudden, you have a pair of HD speakers that deliver great amp'd-up sound, NOT the tinny sound you'd get if you were to take your headphones off and crank up the volume to maximum. It's the first of its kind -- you can listen to your tunes by yourself, then take your headphones off and share your tunes with everyone around you. Whether you listen alone or out loud, you'll enjoy the highest audio quality!

When you're done, the headphones fold up nicely into a zippered case. The case is a super lightweight fabric shell that keeps the headphones from getting scratched or beat up or broken, so you don't have to suffer the pain and frustration of spending for a replacement after it's accidentally knocked off the coffee table!

Best of all, at $120 MSRP (and I've seen them on sale for less than $100 at Wal-Mart!), Flips Headphones don't cost an arm and a leg like many high quality audio heaphones.

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Put the Cool in School with Mabel's Labels

Monday, September 01, 2014

We've only been back to school for two weeks, and already our school's lost-and-found closet is overflowing! Despite all our threats and warnings, kids will inevitably leave stuff behind, or leave them in the wrong bins, or pick up someone else's stuff, so labeling everything is essential. I've been a big fan of Mabel's Labels for years because they're so durable and colorful, with fun designs that my kids love.

This school year, Mabel's Labels has come up with some new designs, not just for kids, but for kids at heart. Their new Stylish Scholar Combo swaps the kiddie graphics for subtle, stylish background patterns (think stripes, chevron, plaid, and floral) and muted colors, so even sophisticated middle schoolers and high schoolers can label their stuff without worrying about looking too juvenile. I received a Stylish Scholar Combo set to review, and it has already been put to good use for my 5th graders and my 8th grader!

The Stylish Scholar Combo includes:

• 40 Skinny-Minis™ -- great for attaching to anything and everything, including lunch boxes, pencil cases, water bottles, books, binders, boxes, bins, rulers, scissors, tape dispensers, calculators, phones, cameras, chargers, sports equipment, instrument cases... basically anything and everything that can get lost, left behind, or confused with someone else's property! These sturdy labels are dishwasher and microwave safe.

• 50 Tag Mates™ -- great for attaching to clothing care labels or any items made with fabric (they are washer and dryer safe), including clothes (these stick best on clothing labels!) hats, visors, cloth sandwich bags, pencil pouches, and more.

• 16 Round Labels -- great for labeling shoes and other items made with fabric, including hats, visors, cloth sandwich bags, pencil pouches, and more. These labels are waterproof and UV resistant.

• 2 Teeny Tags™ -- Great for labeling anything where regular labels might not stick, as long as they have a hook or hole or somewhere to attach to, such as backpacks, lunch boxes, instrument cases, duffel bags, sports bags, and more. These tags are waterproof and UV resistant.

At $42, they're a great way to send your kids (and their stuff) Back to Cool.

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Banish Back-to-School tangles with The Wet Brush

Monday, August 18, 2014

I received a sample for review

Our school year begins tomorrow, and in just about 12 hours we are going to wake up to the sound of an alarm for the first time in 10 weeks. Goodbye, lazy summer, and hello, rush-rush-rush school morning routine! The Pea and I will soon be racing against the clock to eat breakfast, pack a lunch, and look decent, all before 6:30am.

One of the most difficult things about our morning routine is taming our wild, wavy, frizzy hair. When The Pea was a toddler and preschooler, she used to scream whenever I would try to brush her tangles away! Now that she's older, she grits her teeth and does it herself, but it's no less of a pain (literally and figuratively). Starting out with wet hair does help tame the frizzies somewhat, but brushing wet, tangled hair isn't good for hair -- it weakens the shaft. Fortunately we've discovered The Wet Brush. This detangling brush has Intelli-flex bristles that glide through knots and tangles. I honestly don't know how they do it, but it's true! It's like they've doused the bristles in conditioner. It's noticeably easier and less painful to comb through wet, tangled hair.

This is what I look like coming out of the shower. Note the wet, tangled mane of hair.

Here I am, beginning to brush out the tangles with The Wet Brush. I don't feel my hair pulling or stretching at all, and the bristles don't dig into my scalp.

Even 3Po told me, "Mom, this brush really does glide through your hair much easier than your other brush!".

My hair is all smooth and straight and shiny -- and undamaged, thanks to The Wet Brush!

If you have anything other than ultra-straight, silky hair, you definitely need to get The Wet Brush!

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Back to School with ApparelnBags.com

Monday, August 18, 2014

Back to school shopping can be tiresome and expensive, but there's a great online site that makes it easy for busy parents to outfit their whole family in timeless basics for the whole year. ApparelnBags.com carries over 100 brands and hundreds of thousands of items -- tops, bottoms, outerwear, bags in all kinds of styles and colors, for men, women and children. They sell clothing from many of my favorite brands, like Adidas, Hanes, Bella, Fruit of the Loom, and more. They have the cheapest American Apparel shirts I've seen anywhere, and the rest of their products are just as reasonably priced!

ApparelnBags.com offers basic clothing as well as some not-so-basic customization services such as custom embroidery, screen printing, applique, laser etching, decals, and stickers -- which makes them great for team wear, school uniforms, school logo wear, band uniforms, and other school and afterschool activities. .

ApparelnBags offered to send me an item of my choice so I could see their quality and service, so I went online to begin my search. Because fall is coming soon, I chose a Sport Tek hooded fleece vest to keep me warm while watching the boys' soccer games on chilly autumn mornings. All of the vests I see in retails stores cost $40 or more -- this one only cost $19! My order arrived before I even had time to remember to check, and I couldn't be happier with the style and the fit:

The material (combined cotton/poly) is super soft and comfy. I love the soft heather grey color, and I love the stylish hood. I feel so swag when I wear it! :)

Definitely check out ApparelnBags -- it's one-stop outfit shopping for Back to School!

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Make a Better Sandwich with Oroweat® Bread (and a giveaway for you!)

Friday, August 01, 2014

Back to School is almost here, and if you're anything like me, you're already planning your first month's packed lunch menu in your head! If you're out of ideas for what to pack for your kid's school lunch, check out my What's For Lunch series of posts and photos on Finding Bonggamom! Most of my lunches take 10 minutes or less to prepare. I tend to stick with sandwiches, wraps, salads, and finger food because my kids want something yummy and quick to eat.

Of course, I want their lunches to be as healthy as possible and include a variety of food groups -- veggies, proteins, fruits, and grain. I try to use the best ingredients possible -- and that includes the bread! That's why Oroweat® is one of my favorite brands of sandwich bread. It tastes so good, and it's sturdy enough to add all kinds of fillings. It's even sturdy enough to grill on our panini press! What's more, all of Oroweat® Whole Grain Sliced Breads and Oroweat® Sandwich Thins® Rolls contain/are:

3 to 4 grams of fiber per slice or thin
Zero grams of Trans Fat
No High Fructose Corn Syrup
Cholesterol free

We usually buy Oroweat® 100% Whole Wheat, and sometimes I'll buy Oroweat® Sandwich Thins® Rolls when I want to make a veggie burger. Sometimes I'll treat the family to my favorite variety of all, Oroweat® Country Buttermilk!

Here are three of the sandwiches I prepare most often:

Ham, Avocado, and Tomato on Oroweat® Country Buttermilk

Peanut butter and grape jelly on Oroweat® Country Buttermilk

Grilled cheese and tomato sandwich on Oroweat® 100% Whole Wheat

Here are a few more sandwich fillings I like to use (all of these work great on Oroweat® 100% Whole Wheat!):

Cream cheese and cucumber
Brie, pear, and prosciutto
Egg salad and romaine lettuce
Hummus and spinach
Grilled peppers, goat cheese and turkey
Peanut butter and banana
Chocolate hazelnut spread and strawberries

The possibilities are endless!

Enter Oroweat's America's Better Sandwich Contest

Oroweat® Bread wants to hear what healthful ingredients you pair with its delicious, whole grain bread in a product review on your blog. Along with your product review, we’d love for you share information on the Oroweat® Bread “America’s Better Sandwich” Contest with your readers. Readers can submit their recipes at www.americasbettersandwich.com for the opportunity to win a grand prize of $25,000 – that’s a whole lot of dough! Additionally, the sandwich in each of the four categories with the highest overall score will receive a $5,000 Category Prize. To submit a recipe, receive tips on creating a better sandwich or learn more about the Official Rules visit: www.americasbettersandwich.com.

Win an Oroweat Prize Pack

One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will receive an Oroweat Prize Pack that contains:

$25 Visa gift card
three $5.00 coupons for Oroweat® Sliced Breads
three $4.00 coupons for Oroweat® Sandwich Thins® Rolls

Required Entry

Leave a comment on this post and tell me which healthy filling(s) you like to put into your sandwiches.

Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1) Follow bonggamom on Blogger (1 entry)

2) Follow bonggamom on Instagram (1 entry)

3) Follow bonggamom on Pinterest (1 entry)

4) Pin this giveaway on any of your Pinterest boards (1 entry -- you can use the "Pin It" button at the bottom of this page!).

5) "Like Bonggamom Finds" on Facebook and write this on my wall (1 entry):

I entered the Oroweat giveaway! Giveaway ends 8/16 at http://ow.ly/zQWtq

6) Tweet this once per day (1 entry per day)

Enter to win a $25 gift card from Oroweat bread! Giveaway on @bonggafinds ends 8/16 http://ow.ly/zQWtq

7) Join any open giveaway on Bonggamom Finds (1 entry for every giveaway you join)

8) Enter the Oroweat "America's Better Sandwich" contest (1 entry)

The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on August 16, 2014; I will draw a winner at random, on August 17 and post their name after they confirm acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here.

Disclosure: The coupons for product redemption, information, and gift card have been provided by Oroweat® Bread so that I could try the product and share my thoughts and information about Oroweat®. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Oroweat® Bread.

Giveaway: Back to School with BIC

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

The start of a new school year is almost here! The kids are already groaning about how much work they're going to have to do, but fortunately all 3 of them do well at school and enjoy learning. They've always loved math, but last year Po and Jammy actually began to love reading and writing. They've immersed themselves in chapter books, and 3Po has even continued the stories he began writing in 4th grade! I couldn't be more delighted, because writing not only develops critical thinking skills and vocabulary, it's also a form of artistic expression that fosters kids' emotional development.

Writing is critical to a child's academic achievement, and that's why BIC has launched the "Fight for Your Write" campaign. The campaign, which can be found at www.bicfightforyourwrite.com, offers information about writing and tips from literacy expert Pam Allyn to help parents, caregivers and students make a commitment to write more often. Check it out, and see how much fun and how empowering writing can be!

One easy thing you can do to make writing more fun is to provide the right tools. BIC has a great line of back-to-school products that will make kids want to put pen to paper and express their thoughts (Okay, and maybe draw a few doodles here and there. Hey, that's artistic expression too!). Here's an overview of BIC's

BIC Kids
BIC Kids is a new line, ergonomically designed specifically to help young children learn to write. The line includes a mechanical pencil, ball point pen, and stylus. Each product features a no slip grip and and a raised finger line that helps kids with the correct finger placement so they can grip their pencils correctly.

BIC 4-Color
What kid doesn't love the BIC 4-Color pen? Just click to choose which color of ink -- black, blue, red, or green -- you want to use! Aside from the classic look, BIC also sells the 4-Color pen in 5 metallic colors (just the pen, not the ink): silver, turquoise, pink, lime green, and purple, along with a smaller sized version (the Mini),

And more...
Other BIC Back-to-School offerings include their Atlantis comfort line (with smoother flowing ink), Atlantis exact line (with a fine, precise point), Extra Shine Mechanical Pencil (a collection of fun metallic colors!), Magic Marker brand Dry Erase Marker, and Wite-Out brand Zap! BIC has your child totally covered for all his or her Back-to-School writing needs, so make sure you stock up on these cool supplies to inspire them to keep on writing!

Win a BIC Back-to-School Prize Pack

One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will receive a BIC Back-to-School prize pack with all the products in the BIC 2014 Back-to-School line!

Required Entry

Leave a comment on this post and tell me which BIC Back-to-School product that you or your child would most like to try.

Enter to win a Back-to-School prize pack featuring BIC's latest products! Giveaway on @bonggafinds ends 8/14 http://ow.ly/zMmXb

8) Join any open giveaway on Bonggamom Finds (1 entry for every giveaway you join)

The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on August 14, 2014; I will draw a winner at random, on August 15 and post their name after they confirm acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here.

Disclosure: BIC provided product samples to facilitate my review, as well as the giveaway prize on this post. Product information (in italics) is provided by the featured company/product. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Giveaway: Back-to-School with Ross Dress for Less

Tuesday, September 03, 2013

I was compensated with a Ross gift card for this post

Labor Day has come and gone, and all around the country kids are going back to school. Our back to school routine is never complete without a trip to Ross Dress for Less, and this school year was no exception. To make things more exciting, Ross sent us a $25 gift card to see what back to school outfit we could come up with. The lucky recipient of the gift card? My daughter. She has grown so much over the summer that none of her shorts are long enough to pass her school's dress code! I got her a pair of casual shorts for just $4.99, and I would have gotten her more, but this denim jacket caught her eye:

This kind of jacket could easily cost $30, but we got it at Ross for just $12.99!

She also could not resist this brand name zip-up sweatshirt. How could I say no, when it was on clearance for just $7.99? Together, all 3 outfits were just $1 over my $25 budget!

There were so many more things I could have bought -- backpacks, jeans, shoes -- but I contented myself with stocking up on on birthday presents (a toy that I saw for $20 at another store was just $10!), because 3Po and Jammy are extra-popular this year and have already been invited to three birthday parties in September. Well, for now, anyway. Once the kids' backpacks burst or they start wearing holes in their jeans and shoes, you can bet I'll be back at Ross to see what's in stock. Shopping at Ross Dress for Less is like going on a treasure hunt -- you never quite know what you're going to find, but it's sure to be great!

Win a $125 Ross gift card
Join the Ross Dress for Less Back-to-School Fashion Face Off promotion on Facebook for the chance to win one of three $125 Ross gift cards! It ends on September 6, so hurry and vote for your favorite back-to-school outfit.

Win a $25 Ross gift card
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a $25 Ross Dress for Less gift card!

Required Entry
Leave a comment on this post and tell me what you would buy with your $25 Ross Dress for Less gift card.

Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1) Follow bonggamom on Blogger (1 entry)

2) Follow bonggamom on Instagram (1 entry)

3) Follow bonggamom on Pinterest (1 entry)

4) Pin this giveaway on any of your Pinterest boards (1 entry -- you can use the "Pin It" button at the bottom of this page!).

5) "Like Bonggamom Finds" on Facebook and write this on my wall (1 entry):
I entered the Ross Dress for Less $25 giveaway! http://ow.ly/owEgc

6) Tweet this once per day (1 entry per day)
You could win a $25 Ross Dress for Less giftcard! Enter by 9/17 on @bonggafinds http://ow.ly/owEgc

7) Join any open giveaway on Bonggamom Finds (1 entry for every giveaway you join)

The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on September 17, 2013; I will draw a winner at random on September 18 and post their name after they confirm acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here.

Disclosure: Thanks to Ross for providing a $25 gift card to give away and a second gift card for me. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Get Ready for School with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Friday, August 09, 2013

This is a sponsored post

Where has the summer gone? My kids have less than a week before they start school! We are all freaking out, but it is what it is, so we try to ease the "pain" of transitioning from summer to school by planning ahead. Here are five things we always do before school starts:

1) Start transitioning from our summer bedtime schedule (sleep and wake up late) to our school time bedtime schedule (sleep and wake up early). I've gotten pretty lax about enforcing bedtimes, so much as I hate to do it, we're going to stop weekday movie nights, after-dinner ice cream runs and other late-night activities.

2) Find out which teacher and classroom my kids are getting. They don't release this information until two or three days before the first day of school, but my kids find it incredibly comforting to know in advance who will be teaching them and which of their friends will be in the same classroom.

3) Check the kids' shoes and clothes to see whether they fit and take them shopping to replace anything they've outgrown. It's amazing how much kids can grow over the course of just a few months! I never buy a whole new school wardrobe every year, but I might buy a special shirt to commemorate the start of the school year.

4) Check the kids' lunchboxes and backpacks to see whether any are worn and need replacing. I prefer to invest in high-quality school gear that lasts instead of buying trendy-but-cheap things that break down by the end of the school year.

5) Check the kids' school websites to see whether they are required to purchase any school supplies for the upcoming school year. We are very lucky in that our school PTA has the funds to pay for most school supplies our kids need in the classroom, so most of what I have to buy are binders and locker trinkets for my middle-schooler!

The Disney Company wants to make sure all kids start the new school year right, not just the ones whose parents can afford to pay for school supplies. That's why they've teamed up once again with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) to launch an online school supply drive. By simply playing a pop-quize style game, you can help donate school supplies to local BGCA Clubs. For every five correct answers, a donation of supplies will be made!

I took the quiz several times, and it's super easy. You'll be asked questions about the BGCA and education statistics like the number of high school students who fail to graduate high school in the US every year (hint: the number starts with 1 and it has 6 zeros). If you get the answer wrong, you get a second chance to guess the correct answer!

You can take Disney's and BGCA's Supply Drive Game at www.greatfutures.org/backtoschool. This website also has useful tips for kids and parents to prepare for the school year. The more times you take the quiz, more more supplies will be donated -- Disney will be giving up to 40,000 supply kits!

Disclosure: Thank you to the Boys & Girls Club of America and Mom Central Consulting for selecting me to be a BGCA Back-to-School Ambassador! As a Back-to-School Ambassador, I am participating in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and I will be receiving a promotional item as a thank you for participating. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.