Gotta get me some Lovin




Lovin' Scoopful, that is! I had the chance to taste some ice cream at the Maria Shriver book signing event I attended. I know it doesn't look like Maria Shriver ever eats ice cream, but she and her brother Tim actually founded the company that makes it. They donate 25% of the profits to the Special Olympics (which was founded by their mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver).


The ice cream itself is delicious. They had all 5 flavors available but I decided not to be piggy and only tried 3: Cozy Vanilla, Caramel Chocolate Heaven, and What the Fudge. WTF!!! was my favorite; their vanilla was, well, vanilla, and I found the caramel overly sweet (which, for a sweet-tooth caramel-lover like me, is saying something). But the texture was great: it was pleasantly creamy, not watery.


Low fat, low cal, low guilt. High in taste, high in social awareness. Suffice it to say, it's now on my favorite "healthy" ice cream list (which also includes Skinny Cow and Dreyers Churned Light).
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Lands End Deals and Steals


Summer is coming... time to buy swimwear! Honestly, the kids' swimsuits are so old, they have hardly any elasticity left. They're running around with plumber's-crack bottoms and swim shirts (or tankini tops) that stretch to their knees when they get wet.

So it's off to Lands' End for a one-stop swimsuit stock-up. I love their UPF 50 swimsuits for kids -- I don't have to worry about stripping them naked and reapplying sunscreen to their torsos after 2 hours in the pool.

I have to hurry, though -- Today is the last day for Lands' End's $25 off $100 offer! Just enter Voucher Number 6046319334612576 and PIN 98890011 in the "Gift Card & Voucher" payment area when you check out online.

And for even more purchasing power, how about a free Land's End $100 Giftcard? My fellow US Mom Blogs contributor Kim is hosting a super giveaway on her blog, Hormone-Colored Days. Head on over to her site and leave a comment to enter!
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MOMocrats Mother's Day Giveaway



So who are you supporting this election season? Say it out loud and say it proud! Head on over to the MOMocrats and join their Mother's Day Giveaway for a chance to nab yourself some cool Obama or Hillary swag....
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The best product ever


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How's this for a product review: Mosquito nets. Simple, plastic or cloth woven things that people sleep under at night. Some of them look really cool and classy, like something from Out of Africa. Some of them look horribly tacky. But they keep mosquitoes from biting you. And in many areas of the world, they save lives. And that makes them one of the best products I'm ever going to review. Period.
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Knut is keeeyoot!



What better way to celebrate Earth Day than talking about one of our family's newest books: Knut: How one little Polar Bear Captivated the World. This book tells the story of how Knut (that's Kuh-NOOT) the baby polar bear found himself without a mother, how he was raised by his dedicated zookeeper, Thomas, and how he ended up capturing the hearts of millions of people around the world. Reading this story is a great way to raise kids' awareness of the plight of endangered animals and the relation between our actions, global warming and endangered species.

Despite Alfie's initial reservations ("It's too long", "Too much text", "Too complicated"), the book has quickly become a bedtime favorite. Part of the reason is the gorgeous photographs of baby Knut looking soft, cuddly and oh-so-adorable. I'm not especially fond of huge, smelly animals, but even I found myself looking at the gorgeous photos and cooing, "Awwww, Knut is sooooo cute!!".
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And More American Girl coloring pages


If you loved the American Girl coloring pages in my previous post, you'll love these even more!





Here are links to all my American Girl coloring pages. Enjoy!
Coconut and Licorice
American Girl Fashions
Rebecca Paper Dolls
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American Girl coloring pages


For her American Girl themed birthday party this Sunday, The Pea told me she wanted some of crafts and activities that her guests could do while waiting for everyone to arrive. We're planning on making some dolls' felt purses, but The Pea told me that she and her friends would love some pages to color and cut out to make frames, greeting cards, etc..

Unfortunately there don't seem to be any American Girl coloring pages on the web anywhere, even on the American Girl website. So I took matters into my own hands and bought a copy of Coconut's Poster Pages. I photocopied the pages so that the girls will be able to color and craft to their heart's content:











Here are links to more of my American Girl coloring pages. Enjoy!
Coconut and Licorice
American Girl Fashions
Rebecca Paper Dolls
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Book Giveaway: Parenting, Inc.



I love my kids. And I love to shop. Put the two together and you have a potential bank balance disaster. I manage to curb my spending by being very strict about separating the things my kids actually need versus the things I want them to have. But what if you can't tell the difference?


When The Pea was a baby, I remember agonizing over whether to buy a $250 Combi UltraSavvy stroller (we did). When 3Po and CleanBoy were babies, I remember agonizing over whether to buy a $550 Mountain Buggy Urban double stroller (we bought a $250 Target knockoff). Did we need it? Would we have been happy with a $60 Graco stroller? Thank goodness I don't have a baby anymore, because now I would be agonizing over whether to buy a $900 Bugaboo Chameleon.


The number of products and services related to babies and parenting has exploded in the past several years. It's out of control. Consider this: the New Parents Checklist on the Babies-R-Us website 173 items, not including organic baby products. The stroller section alone has 9 items. So what's a new parent to do?


For guidance during both my pregnancies, I turned to Denise and Alan Fields' book, Baby Bargains, a great buyer's guide with honest reviews. Here's another book that I wish I could have turned to for advice: Pamela Paul's Parenting, Inc: How We are Sold on $800 Strollers, Fetal Education, Baby Sign Language, Sleeping Coaches, Toddler Couture, and Diaper Wipe Warmers -- and What It Means for Our Children.


Everyone wants what is best for our children. This book tells us that you don't have to break the bank to do so. As such, it's a must-read for every parent who worries that forgoing Baby Einstein tapes will impede his baby's intellectual development. By tracing the development and motivation behind today's rampant parent consumerism, this book helps separate marketing from merit, benefits from b***s**t -- and ultimately, helps parents make informed decisions about the purchases they make.


I was particularly struck by one of the book's central themes, that catering to our children's every real and imagined need is not only unnecessary, it's detrimental. Just as antibacterial soaps may be robbing our bodies of the natural ability to fight germs, over-pampering children with all sorts of products impedes their ability to adapt to less-than-perfect situations. Take baby wipe warmers: if your baby can't even deal with a cold butt now, how in the world is he going to learn to cope with any sort of discomfort when he's older?


Whether you're agonizing about buying a Bugaboo Chameleon or just want a good read, you'll enjoy this book. And now here's a chance to get it for free: Just leave your comment here and tell us about the silliest baby item you have given or received, and you'll be entered to win a copy of Pamela Paul's book, Parenting Inc. I'll select a winner randomly on Wednesday, April 16 (sorry, open to US residents only). Good luck!
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Drink Up!




If someone had told my parents, thirty years ago, that they could put water in a bottle and charge people for it, they would have scoffed, and so would the rest of the world. But here we are in a world where bottled water is as common as Coke.


And if someone had told me, fifteen years ago, that they could put flavorings and vitamins and minerals in bottled water and charge people three times as much as regular bottled water, I would have scoffed, and so would the rest of the world. But here we are in a world where flavored water is as common as plain water.


And I say, hurrah! People have enough trouble staying hydrated as it is. In a perfect world we'd all chug down our 64 oz. every day, but to Gen-X'ers brought up on juice and softdrinks and flavored drinks, flavored water certainly makes things easier. It certainly helps us. Alfie and I discovered flavored water several years ago, and it's one of our little luxuries. We drink regular filtered tap water and we're not latte junkies, but danged if we each don't take our water bottles up to bed with us every night. Our latest find is Snapple's Antioxidant Water , which has all the trendy antioxidant berries like acai and (my favorite flavor) pomegranate.

Long live progress!
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Pizza coupon


I hate ordering from chain pizza place without a coupon. If you're like me, click here for a Round Table Pizza coupon.
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Book Review: The Cake Thief




Like most children, mine love cakes. They love drawing cakes, coloring them, playing with plastic versions of them, serving them, baking them... and (surprise, surprise) eating them. So it's not surprising that a book about a cake thief caught their attention right away.

The Cake Thief, written and illustrated by Sally Lee, tells the story of Clarence, a little boy who lives with his cat and steals cakes for a living. His life changes one day when he is invited to a party and all he needs to do is bring a cake. It's a charming little tale about sharing, self-reliance and community spirit.

Both I and my children loved this book. The story is as sweet as the delectable cake drawings throughout the beautifully illustrated book. It's simple and easy to understand, with just enough "naughtiness" to attract my kids.
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Pink Lemonade... Yum!




With a header like this, how can the bags not be cute? Pink Lemonade Boutique Bags sell hip, bongga diaper bags that transition into tote bags as your baby gets older. Their Retro Black Pink Stripes design is as cute as can be. Island Life is giving away one of their fabulous bags, so hop on over and sign up!
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Bonggamom's Blog Buttons


Grab my blog buttons and post them on your own blog for extra entries in my giveaways!


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Bonggamom's Friday Finds giveaway links button
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12 Days of Christmas Giveaways button, 2008
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Giveaway rules


Here are some rules that apply to all my giveaways (unless stated otherwise in the specific giveaway). By entering a giveaway, entrants agree to comply by the terms of the giveaway as stated here and on the giveaway post.

* Unless otherwise stated in a specific giveaway post, giveaways are open only to continental US residents.

* The basic method for entering a giveaway is to leave a comment on the giveaway post. Note that the giveaway may specify additional criteria for a valid entry (ex: visiting the sponsor's site, commenting about sponsor's other products, joining a mailing list, etc...), and occasionally a giveaway may require other methods of entry (ex: becoming a fan of the sponsor on Facebook, creating an account on the sponsor's site, etc..). The entry method will be clearly described on the giveaway post.

* Please make sure I have some way of contacting you (email address, blog URL, etc..).

* No extra entries - unless the giveaway specifies ways you can earn an extra entry (ex: blogging about the giveaway, subscribing to my RSS feed, etc...). No duplicate entries; each extra entry method can only be done once.

* Entries will be accepted until the giveaway end date. Entries submitted after the giveaway end date are not valid.

* I will draw the winning entry at 12:01AM on the giveaway end date, using random.org to get a random number n. The winner will be the nth comment.

* I will make every effort to contact giveaway winners via email and/or twitter. I am not responsible for incorrect email addresses you leave on my blog. I am not responsible if my email to you is routed to your spam folder. To prevent this from happening, you may wish to add bonggamom@yahoo.com to your email address book.

* Winners have 48 hours from the time I email to confirm acceptance of their prize and send their mailing information at bonggamom@yahoo.com. If I do not receive this information from the winner within 2 days, I reserve the right to draw another winner from the pool of comments.

* I will post the winner's name on the comments section of the giveaway post after the winner confirms acceptance.

* Occasionally, giveaway prizes may be subject to availability. In the rare case that the original prize is no longer available, Bonggamom Finds and the sponsoring company reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal value.

* Please be aware that prize fulfillment may take as long as 6-8 weeks, and in certain cases, longer.

* I am not liable or responsible for any loss or damage of giveaway prizes sent through the mail, whether the item is sent directly by me, or sent by the giveaway sponsor.

* Neither I nor the giveaway sponsor are liable or responsible for any loss or damage resulting from winner's use of the giveaway prize.

* Although giveaway prizes are usually provided by a sponsoring company, Bonggamom Finds is responsible for administering all giveaways on this blog. Please direct all giveaway-related questions, comments and complaints to bonggamom@yahoo.com, not to the sponsoring company.


Good luck!
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Contact Bonggamom


I welcome comments, questions, suggestions, compliments, and friendly hellos! If you want to get in touch with me, just leave a comment on any of my posts, and I'll get back to you. Here are some other ways to contact me:





Email me! My email address is bonggamom@yahoo.com

Tweet Me! My twitter id is @bonggafinds

Send me a note on Facebook



If you wish to contact me regarding a review, giveaway or sponsored post, please read my PR policies first. Thank you!

I look forward to hearing from you!
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PR / Media


Bonggamom is PR and Advertiser friendly!

Advertising
I accept advertising sponsorship on Finding Bonggamom and Bonggamom Finds. To receive a media kit, including rates and information, please email me at bonggamom@yahoo.com.

Reviews and Giveaways
* I love to blog about products and services that enable, educate, entertain and enrich me and my family! I apologize in advance if I feel your product or service is not a good fit for me or my blog.

* I do not blog about a product or service unless I have tried it out for myself and can honestly recommend it to my readers. As such, in order to review your product, I'll need a non-returnable product sample.

* I will not blog about a product or service if I have nothing nice at all to say about it! Therefore, I cannot guarantee that every product sent to me will be reviewed.

* I will do my best to accommodate any specific timeframes or deadlines; however, due to the volume of requests I receive, there is a backlog of up to 4 weeks from the time I receive the product until the time I post a review.

* If you are interested in featuring your product or service on my review blog, please email me at bonggamom@yahoo.com. I look forward to working with you!


Disclaimer
The opinions expressed on Finding Bonggamom and Bonggamom Finds are my personal views only; any reviews or recommendations are not intended to constitute medical advice or treatment in any form. In addition, neither the Finding Bonggamom nor Bonggamom Finds blogs nor I are liable, and cannot be held liable, for any dissatisfaction you may have with any product mentioned on these sites or any sponsors of these sites, or any injuries that may be caused by use of a product mentioned on these sites.

I am not responsible for any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation made by a manufacturer about a product or service; these should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. Posts on my blogs routinely link out to other sites; I am not responsible and cannot be held liable for anything on those sites.

I accept and keep free products, services, travel, and event tickets and other forms of compensation from companies and organizations. If and when I receive either product samples or compensation for writing a review post, this will be stated in the body of the review post.

Products received do not influence content or posts made on this website and are solely used to help me generate an opinion. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.


To see if your product or service would be a good fit, please spend some time on my site. You can find out more about me on this page.
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About Bonggamom



Bonggamom lives,breathes and blogs in Silicon Valley, CA.
MORE ABOUT ME


Hi, all. I'm Bonggamom, and this is my review blog. love to shop, and I love a good bargain. I'm an opinionated old bid and I love to share all my great finds, which is why I started this blog in the first place. This is where you'll find my honest opinion on products for women, children, parents and families. From time to time I also run some pretty awesome giveaways, and in most cases all you have to do to enter is leave a comment!


Here's my "official" bio:
Despite attaining an MS from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard, Bonggamom is barely getting passing grades in her pursuit of an MFA (Masters in Family Administration) from the Universe-ity of Motherhood. Formerly in software product management, she is a stay-at-home parent to a daughter and twin boys, constantly looking for new ways to entertain them while doing as little housework as possible.

So why "bonggamom"? The word "bongga" (rhymes with "congga") is a Filipino term meaning glamorous in an ostentatious, outrageous, fabulous, over-the-top way. Bonggamom believes all moms can and should aspire to be bongga moms, but acknowledges that her own efforts to achieve such a state are hampered by her constantly stained jeans.


Here's how to contact me


Bonggamom in the (social) media
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Want to know more about me?
Here are 100 random facts about me.
Here are six weird things about me.
View my Blogger profile
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I also blog over at these sites:
Finding Bonggamom
Silicon Valley Moms Blog
Filipina Moms Blog
Being Savvy Silicon Valley


I've been interviewed here and there:
Interview on the San Francisco Chronicle, November 27, 2010
Interview on Girlfriendology.com , July 23, 2009
Interview by Shannon Dinglee on BlogTalkRadio.com, July 24, 2009
Interview by Maria Bailey on MomTV.com, July 25, 2009
Interview for Liberty Mutual's Responsibility Project, July 25, 2009
Featured on A Byte out of Life: Is Separating Twins Really the Answer, July 30, 2009
Panelist, Office Max Back-to-School Blogcast with Peter Walsh, August 6, 2009
Featured guest poster on TimeToPlay.com, August 24, 2009
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Where the Bongga Things Are


Hi, I'm Bonggamom and this is my new blog, Bonggamom Findings.

I've been toying with the idea of starting this site for quite a while now. From time to time, I've blogged about products I like, books I've read, blogs I've visited and coupons I've used on my personal blog, Finding Bonggamom. I've decided to voice those sorts of opinions on a separate site -- Bonggamom Findings -- so I can devote Finding Bonggamom to stories and reflections on my life. I'm sure there will always be some overlap between the two blogs, but this is where you'll find my take on stuff I've deemed to be Bongga -- or not so Bongga.

So without further ado: Welcome, good to see you, hope you come back, all that stuff -- and let the opinions begin!
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