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.

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!

Doodle-Dolls

This summer, the mister worked at a day camp with a small group of awesome kids before our move.
One of the things we did with them
were doodle-dolls; where they drew a person, creature, etc, and I transferred that idea into a physical toy.
I love doing this because it allows me to push my limits sewing and discover or invent new techniques to meet their design, and kids love it because, hey, it's pretty awesome. You can see just a few of them at the bottom of the post- there were 13 total designs.

What exercises do you do to push yourself as a crafts(wo)man?

101

My last post was my 100th post. I didn't even notice it. I guess that goes to show how fast things are moving these days. It's been feeling almost balmy here and this is such a wonderful thing because I was feeling so blue to be cooped up indoors all day every day. I'm sure it will not last, though when we were further East it certainly felt Springlike much sooner in the winter and I can't tell you how much I loved the way the city would fill our apartment in the winter. It made being inside seem like being just behind the curtain on stage to hear the rattling of the trucks on the freeway echoiing into our little space, filling the walls with the humming noises of someone else's adventure.
Little Berry loves being out of doors with me, brings me her shoes and my own, her jacket, the keys, just to get my attention that she wants to go walk. When it's bitter cold though she doesn't want anything to do with it, and squalls to be picked up so she can tuck her face into my neck and poke the freckles on the side of my face. She calls them each a "ball" though, or somedays, "murse?" which is Little Berry for nurse and I have no idea why she thinks my freckles are going to yield milk.
I'm in desperate want of a bicycle, I want a lovely vintage style one that's on display at Target and a sweet baby carrier that goes behind the seat. I've been spying on them at the Thrift stores and have found a few contenders but they all need work and they're not that much less than a new one here. So I'm saving my dollars and waiting, and when Spring comes and I have a summer to look forward to on flat roads of rural Mississippi (or Arkansas, who knows?) I will buy my bike and buckle in my Little Berry who by then will be quite a BIG Little Berry, and we will ride.
We're having that language explosion age, I've been warned about it before but it just slipped away from me that this is what's happening, until this morning I was putting laundry on the clothesline and she was standing a few feet away pointing at the sky and saying skyyyyeeeee? followed by burrrrd? 'reeeee? (tree)and turtle? In the past week or so, she's learned mouse, and keys, and socks (shocksh?) and cow as well as that cow's go Mooooo?! and points to their udders and says "Murse?". She can say Pig (pigsh!), which sounds a lot like her enthusiastic "fish!" and snort when she sees their picture. She spots airplanes in the sky that look like mere pinpricks in the clouds and shrieks about them until they've again faded into the mystery that is a cloud. This morning I was telling her something and I said the word "one"- I think I said "oops! That's only one shoe." And she said: "Two?" but she usually gets pretty lost after four.
I have two pieces to her little kitchen set painted a pretty white, and am waiting to paint the last, the stove. It is somewhat tedious because my minutes to do it are spare but the reward is great. She loves it immensely and has been pilfering from my silverware drawer every few minutes to play whatever games it is that gets her so wrapped up and immersed in taking things out and putting things back in again. I've decided to try my hand at making toy food for her. I have plenty of felt wool but I don't like the feel of wool toys enough to do that, so I've decided to use pre-knitted fabrics, like organic cotton sweaters I picked up at the thrift stores in heavy weight yarns and cut them apart to make them from. I will post photos of this when I'm done as well as a tutorial if I succeed.
Here's something to think about until I post again:
Which is cutest?
Little Berry, last January


OR: Little Berry this week

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.

A genuine breastfeeding baby doll:

A friend of mine just came back from NYC and stayed with us for a few days before starting back to college. She and I were talking about my renewed desire to nurse until Little Berry weans herself- whenever that may be, something Pappa Starbucks is horribly against but don't get me started.
Anyway, she mentioned this doll she had seen in the city. I give you the new hip doll

that I am buying at least one of my nieces for Christmas, if only because they aren't allowed to sit in the room (seriously) while I nurse.
That teensy part on the box is a flower that ties on and the baby latches onto (magnetically I suppose):

What strikes me as funny is that Cuppycake already does this with her babies, brings them to me and tucks them in my shirt, that is. The flower part seems like it could cause some confusion. And God help those girls who will grow up thinking those first days of nursing will be "that" easy.

Photos snatched from Google images