Giveaway! Mini Glider Glide Bike Set!

This is a review and giveaway of the children's Mini Glider, Helmet, and Bell set from Glide Bikes {ARV $132}. Their Mini Glider is designed for children ages 2-5 years and teaches them to balance without pedals or training wheels right from the start. The Mini Glider is a bike that is sized just right and features a truly innovative design which prepares children as young as two for biking adventures.

This is a joint giveaway with Downside Up and Outside In and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only. Please find the section marked "Win it!" for the mandatory entry and optional bonus entries. Glide Bikes is offering our readers a giveaway of a Mini Glider Bike, a small helmet, and a matching bell set to our readers, a value of $131.99

About the Mini Glider Glide Bike

The Mini Glider is a real bike designed for children as young as 2 years all the way up to 5 years old. The Mini Glider does not have pedals, and so it makes riding fun and easy. Instead of pedals, the child uses her legs to kick-push herself along. This design both improves motor control and balance and teaches children how to glide and how to sit on a bicycle without falling over. It features airless tires that allow children to glide long distances in between pushes, clever foot rests that are easily removable without tools, a quality hand break for safety and control, and an adjustable seat that allows you to get the perfect height for your young cyclist, as well as an included kickstand, which we chose not to install. It requires some basic assembly, which I managed in under 20 minutes with a 4.5 yo "helper."

Our Experience with the Mini Glider

The Mini Glider is a fun, lightweight, children's bicycle that makes biking an exciting, accessible activity for younger children who are not ready for the balance required by regular bicycles. We tried out the Mini Glider with our nearly five year old, who is very tall for her age, with great success. I must admit that both my partner and I were very skeptical about whether our daughter would get the hang of using the Mini Glider, or whether she was too big to use it reasonably. We are both absolutely blown away with how much fun she has on it, as well as how quickly she mastered using the bike for balancing and gliding. In addition, it fits her just fine. All of her experience with the Mini Glider and balancing happened intuitively - with no direction from either of us. I wanted her to explore at her own pace, so I refrained from giving directions (other than the standard "Wear Your Helmet!"), and she just went for it with all the enthusiasm of a child, which makes me all the more excited about this product.

The Mini Glider's Quality

There are quite a few features about the Mini Glider that I love. First of all, although you cannot tell it from looking at them or watching your child glide, the Mini Glider features airless tires. These are not the plastic-y tires that rattle when your child rolls, but they are foam tires that you will not have to refill and that give your child's ride a good deal of cushion. That's a huge plus here, because all too often once something we own has a flat, it usually takes us months to get around to repairing or replacing it (for example that jogging stroller on my porch!), and I like knowing that's not in my future, especially since she would be quite distressed if it was out of commission for any length of time. In addition, the Mini Glider's seat lowers to 11" - small enough for a tiny 2yo or younger to ride comfortably - meaning we can pass it along to a younger sibling or friend when our daughter outgrows it or is ready for a bike with pedals. I also love the hand brake on the Mini Glider - I didn't even realize it came with one until I was assembling it, but as I watch her use it I am realizing how nice it is for her to be learning now, while she also feels safe enough and in control while riding to put her feet down if she wants to stop. The Mini Glider we received (and the one being given away!) has a helmet and bell; the bell is another one of those details I am glad she is learning from the start, because it is surprisingly tricky for her to manage in terms of motor-skills. The helmet also is the first one I have found that actually fits our little one; most helmets we have purchased in the past have been clunky on her small head or way too tiny for her at this age. This helmet is comfortable, lightweight, and fits her perfectly. It is easily adjustable and has great details, like a chin pad to protect her small chin from the clasp buckle so she feels confident doing it herself.

The Mini Glider is FUN!

While in the past I had been skeptical of balance bikes, the Mini Glider has truly changed my opinion completely. I think it's amazing that my 4.5 year old can hop on a bike and glide without falling over and without any training wheels at all. My only regret with this product is that I didn't purchase one when our daughter was two; I think she would have had a blast on it even at that young age, and it would definitely have been worth every penny spent. Traditional bicycles take children years to learn to ride; the Mini Glider can teach your child the skills needed to balance without training wheels within just weeks, because they are focusing on balance and steering rather than learning to pedal. Additionally, the Mini Glider allows them to balance at speeds as low as 1.5mph, making this the safest balance bike on the market. What makes Glide Bikes even more unique is their patented foot rest that is in the same place pedals would be for your young bicyclist. As they develop the skills needed for regular bicycles, they will also develop the balance and coordination to rest their feet on the pegs. Even better, this foot rest can be easily removed in seconds with no tools required. We love seeing our little one take off, and the mobility it has afforded her is changing all of our habits to be healthier: before we were driving places that are within a mile or two because it takes too long to walk there with a 4.5yo; now we can now pull out her Mini Glider and walk or bike beside her and be there within 20 minutes. I also absolutely love that she can ride along with me as I take my regular bike out; she keeps up with me just fine! We also added a basket to ours after we received it in the mail. I wish we'd ordered one from Glide Bikes with the bike because she LOVES her pint-sized basket, but it doesn't fit perfectly, was a pain to install, and I know their basket would both fit and fit easier.
Glide Bikes also makes the Go Glider, a Glide Bike designed specifically for children ages 5-10. I think this is brilliant, so much better than giving a 5yo a bicycle they will be frustrated with for several years to come, or are not yet ready for at all. Many families don't realize Glide Bikes exist until their little ones are already too big for the Mini Glider, and this is the perfect solution. If our daughter isn't able to manage a regular bike without training wheels by the time she outgrows her Mini Glider, I will without a doubt be purchasing a Go Glider for her to use and enjoy.

BUY IT!

You can purchase your own Mini Glider at Glide Bikes or at Amazon. The Mini Glider retails for $99.99 and is currently available in the United States.

WIN IT!

For your own chance to win a Mini Glider, Helmet, and bell set from Glide Bikes, enter by leaving a comment and using our Rafflecopter system below. The winner will receive a Mini Glider, helmet and bell set valued at $132 in the company's choice of color. Contest is open to residents of the US only- (including Alaska and Hawaii).

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit Glide Bikes and tell us one thing you have learned about the company! You must enter your name and email address in the Rafflecopter entry system for your entry to count, after leaving a comment on this blog post.

Leave a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. Email addresses in Rafflecopter are not made publicly visible. Please leave the same valid email address in your mandatory comment so we can verify entries. This is a joint giveaway with Downside Up and Outside In and Natural Parents Network. You may enter at one site only, and we'll be recording IP addresses to ensure that there are no duplicate entries. That said, please do visit and enjoy both sites! BONUS ENTRIES: See the Rafflecopter entry system for bonus entries to increase your chance of winning after completing the mandatory entry. All bonus entries are entered directly into Rafflecopter. Give it a try, and email or leave a comment if you have any questions! for the badge is in the right sidebar on NPN posts. Leave your site URL in the Extra Info box. You don't have to do any of the bonus entries, but you do have to complete the first mandatory one. a Rafflecopter giveaway Rafflecopter will pick the winner through Random.org after the contest closes, and a representative from NPN will send an email notification. **Leave a valid email address** as you enter so we can contact you if you win. If we can't reach a winner, we'll draw a new name at random. The winner will have 48 hours to respond by email; otherwise, NPN will select another winner. Any questions, let our giveaway coordinators know: Sponsorship {at} NaturalParentsNetwork {dot} com.

Contest closes April 27, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Disclosure: Our reviewer received a sample product for review purposes. Amazon links are affiliate links. We try to seek out only products we think you would find relevant and useful to your life as a natural parent. If we don't like a product, we won't be recommending it to you. See our full disclosure policy here.

Information About Our Reviewer Mammapie is a blogger, a mama, and a sewing fiend who enjoys staying at home unschooling with her Little Berry and exploring the great outdoors of Colorado with her partner, daughter, and their goofy dog.

Kid Craft: Plant Markers

This is a super easy craft for the younger gardener that involves making simple (not weather resistant) garden or potted plant markers. You will need: small wooden dowels, toothpicks, or even twigs, a hot glue gun for gluing, and sturdy card stock or index card type paper, as well as markers, paint, pencils, etc, and scissors.

Let the little ones draw whatever plants you are growing in your garden. Look at pictures together of those plants in different stages, sprouts, full grown, and the fruit or vegetable that grows on them (if any). Encourage them to draw whichever bit they want or write the words/ name of the plant on their card. This is great science activity for pre-schoolers as well as a writing and art lesson, and offers practice of fine motor skills (with the scissors and hot glue gun if you let them use it).

After the plants have all been drawn, written, etc, encourage your small one to cut those cards out while the hot glue gun heats up. I do allow my 4yo to use the hot glue gun with supervision- here's a good post from Teacher Tom that inspired me to start letting her try it and she does great :)

I used toothpicks for our plant markers. As you can see, our plants are still sprouting indoors and anything bigger would be overwhelming the space! In any event, hand over the hot glue gun, or glue the small markers yourself- to the sticks. Help your small person identify the sprout that goes with each sign, or let them go willy nilly (ours are all poked into one pot with the Lavender sprouts).

That's it! You've got a great lesson in handwriting, science, and fine motor skills that will keep your little one busy for at least an hour. Now go plant something!

Handmade Doll Sling Giveaway!

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED! I will have Little Berry draw a winner in a bit& contact you then! Thanks everyone for playing :D

So, I have something sweet and new in my etsy shop-handmade doll slings for kids!I'm pretty excited about these. They are super sweet. I designed these because as I was clearing up little berry's playroom while she napped, her favorite bunny, Mr. Curiosity, approached me and requested I *please* create an item so that he could go on more outings with us and be guaranteed to stay nearby his favorite small person. He was just a wee fellow then, with a single whisker on his tiny bunny chin, and was feeling a great deal of anxiety whenever my Little berry left him behind at home, but felt sheer panic whenever we took him along on outings as he had seen her lose her first lovey, a small doll, some months prior. He was very concerned that the same thing might happen to him, and so together we designed this doll sling that they might stay together and alleviate his worries and he might be there to comfort her whenever she felt the need for snuggles, too.

And I'm giving one away! One of you will win a doll sling in either raspberry, mint, or plum color. It would make a darling gift for your favorite small person this winter holiday season. So please enter and help me share this giveaway with your friends!To enter: just follow my blog. Leave a comment saying you did and under what name! And that's all you have to do to be in the running. If you want extra entries, you can follow my Facebook page , heart something from my etsy shop and tell me what it is, or comment on any of my other posts. Each comment equals one entry so leave me another comment here telling me how many you did (up to 5). Giveaway is open to US residents only&ends October 17th 2012. I will have little berry draw a winner's name& contact you then :)
Thanks for visiting!

First Snow

Did I mention that it snowed??
Here in Colorado, winters are much different than in good ol' Charlotte NC.
It turns out that here, winter starts in early October. Just when fall is really going strong where I'm from!
So last week, I woke up at 3AM to walk the puppy.
I stumbled out of bed to her persistent whimpering that translates roughly into *i need to go outside right now, or imma set fire to the rain all over your floor, fool!*

I had on pajamas.
I grabbed my keys.
I was barefoot.
So I grabbed her leash.
Then stepped outside,
and boy was I ever surprised!
It was white everywhere. Snow was blowing in my face, my ears immediately tried to freeze off my face. My toes tried to jump into my pockets. My fingers felt like ice cubes.
I was COLD y'all. I need to invest in some wool pajamas or something because this place doesn't play around!
I think in all it snowed maybe half an inch- enough to shut down Charlotte for 5days. Not so here-people didn't even flinch. I've been told this is a *skiff.*
This is what was left when I finally got Little Berry up hours later, dressed& breakfasted. Then&only then did I point her to a window to look out! Hah.

So that's it. Our first real Colorado Snow.

Kid Friendly Glue Batik

Since T loves to be hands on and always DOING something I was letting her fool around with fabric recently when screenprinting a bag and some shirts when I remembered reading about glue Batik. I didnt have any glitter glue on hand so I grabbed what we did have- plain white glue.

To make this awesome glue batik springtime skirt you will need a plain white cotton pillowcase, several colors of acrylic paint, elastic to fit your child's waist, water, scissors, paintbrushes and access to a sewing machine and a stack of old newspaper for keeping underneath your project. Also make sure your child has on clothes that are okay to ruin because acrylic paint stays on pretty much forever.

Depending upon how freestyled you want the design and how good your kid is with a glue bottle you can either pencil on designs and then paint over that with glue, or simply freestyle whatever shapes you want onto the pillowcase in glue (as I did- flowers, eggs& butterflies) and then allow your toddler to go at it. For older kids this can be done completely independently.

  After your glue is painted on in designs of your choice, allow the glue to completely dry- then flip the pillowcase over and paint the other side with continuing designs. Allow to dry again. While the second side is drying, prepare your acrylic paints. I wanted pastel colors but only had bold so I blended colors together to make not so bright selections. Be sure to water your paints down. I added equal amounts of paint and water for ours. You want to achieve a sort of watercolor effect with the acrylics.

When your child has painted the first side of the pillowcase, let it dry again and then flip it to paint the second side (be sure to get the edges for them if they're really young) and for a final time, let it hang to dry.  After it's dry it will be sort of stiff and probably look like someone let a toddler at a pillowcase with acrylic paints.  If it doesn't, maybe your child is a more accomplished artist than mine.
Either way, you now want to pop it in the washing machine on a small load and warm water. This will remove a lot of the paint and all of the glue. Then you're going to dry normally and stop to admire your work so far. Yes, even my art contribution looks like a toddler went at a pillowcase with acrylic paints, but it was fun.

 T added lots of dots. and more dots. She's very good at squeezing glue into dots- color me proud.
Next step? Measure your toddler from waist-knee and add an inch to that. Cut your pillowcase to that length, make a very simple seam along the top, thread with elastic and voila!

 If your toddler doesn't look this pleased with themself in their new creation, you probably did something wrong:

 For gender neutral clothing, this would be simple to turn into shorts, too. If you want to know how to make shorts/ capris and don't know how, let me know and I will very happily talk you through it.

Beaufulah Giveaway

If you like my ridiculously cute reversible kids clothes, then you'll love this super easy-to-enter giveaway that Kitchenwitch is hosting this week: $20 worth of credit to my Etsy shop for one winner. That's a skirt or pair of shorts of your chosing! This giveaway is just in time for spring.
Hop over and enter!

Missing Shoe

My city garden

We live in the city. In a cramped two-bedroom apartment with no yard. I wish it were bigger, but it's not, and that's not stopping me. I have- garlic, two tomatoes, a yellow squash, a spearmint, four strawberry plants and a cantelope, rhubarb, a pot of wildflowers, ten basil plants started from seed) and a few soapnut sprouts. I don't have fancy pots and I may have *pilfered* my soil- but I've got what I can.
I also have a clothesline for my clothdiapers and a kiddie pool for little berry all in the same space. Because some things, I cannot compromise for. As a side note- if I'd planned better, I would have completely planted all of these in a deeper kiddie pool. They're $15 (the biggest ones, which is twice as deep as ours) and perfect for the plants I have.

Things I'd like to have but don't, and can make do without- cucumber, bell peppers, and watermelon.
What do you just have to have no matter what? What are you willing to be cramped to hold on to, or to give up other things for?

vintage ((spring)) giveaway

Today I have a giveaway of the finest sort.
I'm offering one reader an item of their choice from my etsy shop, shipping included. You can pick whatever suits your fancy, you can keep it for your own cherubs or give it away to be loved by another dearie.
There are dresses (lots of dresses!) perfect for Easter or summertime, a couple boy items and two sweet dolls handmade by me.

To enter, hop over to my etsy shop and peek around, come back here and tell me what you would pick if you win. I happen to love all the sweet items I have over there so I hope you do too.
If you are the winner and the item you've selected is sold by the time I close my giveaway I will ask you to select another item or give you store credit equivalent to the item's price.

This contest will be open until March 30th and is open to residents of the US and Canada.
For additional entries, tweet about this giveaway (up to twice a day) and link to that tweet (in your RSS twitter feed) in your comments. Also for 3extra entries (each) you can follow my blog publicly and/or favorite my etsy shop.
Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

And...comments are open!

Hump day

I am very unmotivated today. Well, unmotivated towards the mundane. I got up early, got a good start on the morning, and then Pappa Starbucks found out he didn't have to go volunteer at the Kipp School. So he was home and I spent more time chasing after Little Berry than starting the laundry or dishes, because when Pappa is home, she wants his attention. Naturally.
I DID make two dolls today already and then hauled myself away from the sewing table to do "chores."
At which point I didn't get anything else done except tell myself if I did get the laundry done and the bread into the oven and the floor vacuumed...that I could justify returning to the sewing.
This is one of those days I don't want to clean at all I suppose.
Here are some pictures of sweet things to look at...
Here are the two cuties I made today. This is Juniper. She has her head in the clouds just like I do today...

which she said was a bit chilly so we put together this little sweater for her

much better I'm told.
This is Gretta, who's feeling a bit lonesome and wants someone to snuggle and enjoy cocoa with. Per her suggestions I drew up a fellow and she's picking out his buttons, but a bit overwhelmed by the choices...

her choice is clear and her stitches certain.


and hump day is nearly over.

Sunny day

Today it is a quiet day, Little Berry wanting much more attention from me than I have energy to give. We walked a while earlier and are both so tired that soon she will crawl up on my lap and pat me, wanting milk. I love the smell of her hair and her the way she grins at me while nursing like she knows how great she is. And she is, all the time. I know these tiny sweet moments will be sparce as she gets bigger, but seeing her become independent already has its rewards. She knows that when we are going to the car she needs to get into her seat, or that when I get my shoes she needs to get hers. When she needs a diaper change she will often bring me a diaper and when she's hungry she sees me cooking. She is already pretty able to content herself while other things are being done.
We had a lot of fun with my nieces and made a lot of noise, it was exciting, energetic. They took off this morning loaded down with new things and stories to tell at home about their stay in the city. We took them up and down the city hitting all their favorite types of places. I don't know or sure if they loved it but they kept forgetting they had parents, so I think that means yes.
I can see now how having multiple kids could make things both harder to manage and sweeter to enjoy. We've pretty much decided around here that we will be the house of three for a long time though, just because we enjoy one quite a bit and don't exactly want to have to juggle our attention around. This doesn't mean never though, and I have so many boxes of girl clothes stored away that she's already outgrown that I don't know what I will do if I don't end up with another girl someday.
The holidays are encroaching again and it seems like they are always sneaking up, perhaps not even sneaking but running in eagerly and announcing themselves "HI!! HELLO! IT'S ME! CHRISTMAS!" so I've decided that this year I'm not going to let them get the best of me. I will not get the holiday blues, greens, or reds this year. I will take it easy and be direct about my very minimum interest, and they will come...and they will go.
Today, however, I am going to continue kissing this sweet baby's head,
washing, drying and folding the mundane that is laundry,
baking bread,
and enjoying my new sewing space.

Three Girls

Yesterday my two nieces arrived, bringing with them suitcases of clothes and bags and books, smiles and giggles and silly jokes abound and there hasn't been a five minute stretch yet that wasn't punctuated by some sort of chuckle. We started out this morning with a breakfast of choices, wherein my older niece turned down everything yummy in the favor of toaster waffles. This in my house is the breakfast of "there's nothing else left in the house to eat" and yet it was her first choice. We're knee-high in schoolwork this morning as I spend two days being a homeschooling aunt, and I must say it is pretty great.
To my benefit, they are wonderful children and aim to please. Last night, we sat down and made some sweet felt trees for their mother, a project we didn't get very far on for the dropping of needles and the tangling of thread. I've promised them I would help them make things for all their littlest friends, and I also thought I would share them here.
Here are the trees in minutiae

Here is Mollie Mouse, made my myself. She is seen here in her natural habitat with a wagon of acorns:
And who we call bitty baby and bitty mamma going for a stroll:


and I will leave you with this poem the sweet oldest wrote this morning about Little Berry and Myself:
family
by CBP

[Little Berry]
little, funny
yelling,squealing,laughing
baby,cousin, woman, aunt
sewing,creating,playing
fun, smart
[MammaPie]

I changed our names here in her poem for my own anonymity.

Why I hate hamsters

When I was in high school, I would make money by nannying, and working on a horse ranch. Coincidentally, the family who owned the horses lived right next to the family I nannied for, so at times I was doing both at once. The kids I nannied for were old enough to take care of themselves but not to be left alone for days. They needed help getting to school, picking up after themselves, fixing dinner, that sort of thing. The horse farm had 23 horses (7 in stalls, the rest were in pasture) and a herd of longhorn steer. Don't ask how many of those fella's there were because I kept away.

The family I nannied for usually hired me for extended periods while the parents were away on trips, so I would spend say four days with the kids getting them to school, fixing their lunches, taking them to sports games, that sort of thing. In the mornings I would get up super early and go over to the horse farm and feed, water all the animals, and then clean stalls and make sure everything was OK for the day. This was mostly while the lady who owned the animals was out of town as she liked to go to rodeo events in Texas every few weeks. Then I would go back to the kids' house, shower, fix breakfast and get them to school, after which I took myself to the community nursing home where I was doing clinical rotations for my CNA certification as part of a dual enrollment. After that, I went to school myself.

FYI, on the mornings that I didn't nanny beforehand, I went to school smelling like I'd cleaned up a barn. This was of course, very pleasant.

During one particularly long stay with the children and caring for the animals at the horse ranch, I took the girls out to eat for dinner one night. At this time, I drove an OLD one of these The previous owner was my youngest brother, who is notorious for being bad on cars. Anyway, the girls and I piled into my car and went to a local pizza place It's known for its buffet style (which in photos will always be shown filled to the brim) and for its breadsticks.

Unbeknownst to me, the middle girl had been given hamsters for her birthday present a few weeks before, and she snuck the little critter into her pocket before we left for dinner. This is the part of the story I will never understand. Her motivation could not have been anything but the 'cutsey' factor, but she clearly knew we were going to dinner. And yet.

I'm sure at this point in the story you think you know what happens, right?

Wrong.

About halfway to the restaurant, I felt something under my foot. As in the foot that was pressing the gas pedal and controlling the brake, because at this time I hadn't had a baby
and therefore could get my leg up there thought it was cool to drive with one foot propped up on the driver's seat. And one on the pedals. Imagine my surprise, then, when something MOVED under my foot. (This was akin to the time I felt a spider on me in the shower which is a really scary story I will save for some other time).

When I screamed, hit my breaks and pulled the car over the girls all began panicking. I thought at this point there was a wild (and therefore potentially rabid) squirrel, mouse, rat, or something else living in my car. I knew this was possible because months earlier, one had built a nest under my never opened hood and chewed almost all the way through my power steering belts, so they broke while I was going down the road.

During the chaos, I hear the middle girl start squealing. "Honey! Where is Honey! I can't find Honey!!! Where is she!!!" And immediately put two and two together. "You brought your Hamster? What on earth were you thinking?? We're going to DINNER. Not to the PET STORE. A HAMSTER has no business in a RESTAURANT!!!!"

Dinner was ruined. She cried the whole time, even though I called her parents and we talked about what had happened. Of course she was distraught. She had lost her new, beloved hamster and her parents would not buy her another one. She was miserable, thinking about how the critter had probably crawled out of the car and would never be seen again, to be eaten by some feral cat or die of starvation. I tried to reassure her by saying that Honey would probably be living near the restaurant, and eating all the leftovers that got tossed. She could even 'sort-of' visit Honey by coming to eat here.

I thought it was over, and I felt really terrible about the poor creature. I wanted to buy her another one, but as the weeks went by her parents continued to refuse to let me, on the grounds that her actions were irresponsible.

About a month later, I went out one morning and my car wouldn't start. I tried everything, and finally gave up, chalking it up to a dead battery or just an old, worn out car. We had it towed, and I dreaded the bills. I only had the car because my parents refused to drive me to school and insisted I have a car- the bills on it were ridiculous and I was wore out from working just to have it. They ran some scans and determined that it was an issue with the car's security system, that it had been triggered and therefore would not start as a safety mechanism.

They took the dashboard apart and lo and behold, in a tangle of chewed through wires found the cute little Honey. My bill from them read as follows:

Removed Dashboard. Found Hamster living there. Security trigger mechanism found. Replaced wires.

Total bill to completely replace my security system? Over $3000. And that is why I nominate Honey as the America's most expensive hamster.