special delivery

Last week when I "smashed" that spider in my kitchen, and I happened to have a camera in my hand. Well I was actually taking photos of a lovely package I had just pulled out of the mailbox.

I love getting mail, and it's especially exciting when I go out to our box and there's a little key sitting in it...for those without keyed boxes this means that I have a package awaiting me that was too large for the regular box.

The package I received was from a giveaway I won through one of my favorite blogs, Today's Letters. Emily has been doing special giveaways each month in celebration of her blogs "birthday". The items she gives away are very unique and personalized. 

My favorite things about Emily's blog are her funny sayings, nicknames for people + things and the adorable terms of endearment she has for her husband. She's also the only other person I know besides my mom that uses the term "doll-hairs" for dollars...makes me smile every time. 

 I was so excited to find out that I won 2 pounds of coffee from her twin sister Sarah, aka "twinner" who took the personal touches even further with the card included in my box of fresh roasted goodness. It felt more like I was receiving a care package from a dear friend, than a giveaway item from someone I've never met. 

{Each morning I've been enjoying the freshest coffee I've ever tasted}

 If you don't follow Today's Letters, scoot on over to Emily's blog to see what you're missing. 

3 fist pumps + a leg shimmy for a great blog and free coffee!

EcoMom Safe Sippy review + giveaway!

Recently EcoMom sent us the Kid Basix Safe Sippy to try. The first thing that attracted me to this cup was the stainless steel. The body is made of durable, food-grade stainless steel. The lid, spout piece,  handles, and insulator piece are all plastic, but BPA free of course!

Shandell's Review

When we first started to use this cup, Malakai hadn't quite mastered the angle to tip his cup to get milk or water out. He often needed a little help. The Safe Sippy actually made this process more difficult for him because of how heavy the stainless steel is.

He had however just learned to use a straw and I purchased a cheap plastic {also BPA free} spill-proof straw cup before we received the Safe Sippy. He loved using a straw and did a great job. Although, I think this also attributed to him not quite getting the tipping aspect of drinking from a regular cup. The funny thing is that I hadn't read all the specs on the Safe Sippy before receiving it and assumed by the shape of the spout that it was a straw sippy too. Malakai was also confused and at first would try sucking it like a straw when drinking.

Now that Malakai has mastered lifting his cup to drink, he does just fine with this cup even though it's heavier than others. I {still} love that it's stainless steel, I like that the handles are removable and quite durable. It landed on the handle on our tile kitchen floor and I was sure it would snap off, but it just has a white mark where it hit and doesn't feel any weaker.

My husband Ben, however, really doesn't like the weight of this cup because if Malakai tosses it {as he often does with everything} you really have to watch your feet! We've also had a few leaking issues and the spout insert often falls out when the cup is dropped. Currently, Ben prefers our Playtex sippy cups for Malakai.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Safe Sippy's insulated sleeve. It does a great job at keeping Kai's milk or water cold longer than any other cup. It's rubber, which helps it stay put on a table, highchair tray, or in a cup holder. However, it's not easy to get on + off for cleaning and it makes sliding the cup into the cloth holder in our diaper bag next to impossible. I think the spout could be improved, but no cup is completely spill or leak proof. We've used many different kinds over the past 10 months or so and none of them are perfect.

Overall I do think that Malakai is doing better with this cup and we'd probably like it better had we waited to use it until he'd mastered cups in general. I wouldn't recommend using it with younger babies that are learning. I think our main use for this cup will be for travel rather than day to day use. But if we were to use it daily I think it would continue to last us a long time as it's quite durable.

Giveaway!

EcoMom is giving a $15 gift certificate towards anything in their shop to a reader of Breaking New Ground. You could use this towards the Kid Basix Safe Sippy or any other item of your choosing. 

Mandatory Entry: 

Check out Eco-Friendly Baby Products at EcoMom, then come back and leave a comment on what you'd use the gift certificate for if you win. 

Additional Entries: 
{leave 1 comment for each}

~ Follow EcoMom on Facebook

~Follow me + Ecomom CEO on Twitter {leave your twitter username}

~ Tweet the following: "Love #Eco-Friendly products? Win a gift certificate from @EcoMomCEO + @ShanLeAnn at Breaking New Ground! http://bit.ly/a0B830 {ends 9.19.10}"   {leave your twitter username}

~ Sign up for the EcoMom Newsletter

Giveaway is open to US + Canadian residents only and ends on Sunday September 19th at 9pm PDT. 

All comments will be verified. Any comments that do not complete the requirements listed will be removed without notification, so please be sure to read the instructions carefully!

Questions? As always click on the "email me" button to chat with me. Please do not leave a comment here that isn't intended to be an entry into the giveaway. However, feel free to leave any related opinions as part of your entry comment. 

Disclosure: While I did receive a Kid Basix Safe Sippy for the purpose of review I received no compensation. All opinions are my own. Click for additional disclosures and PR policies.

DISCOUNT!

EcoMom is also offering a discount to readers of Breaking New Ground. Just enter discount code SBBL326 to receive 15% off your first purchase from EcoMom. This code is valid through October 31st, 2010. 

Don't forget to check out the EcoPass program for 15% off of every order and FREE SHIPPING!

packed

As I mentioned before, September is busy for us and we aren't even directly effected by all that is "back-to-school"!  Despite our already busy schedule, we're making things a bit busier. In addition to all the birthday madness going on, one or both of us serves at church every Sunday this month, plus Ben has worship practice on Tuesdays, I'm meeting up with a college friend I haven't seen in THREE YEARS tomorrow, we're packing up and going to the lake next weekend, and we're also trying to plan dinner or a playdate with three separate families. Pluuuus,  need to finish babyproofing and unpacking/cleaning for some house guests by October 1st because...

Exhibit A:

{yes, that is blue painter's tape keeping Malakai out of our pantry}

Exhibit B:

haha, see the roll of tape? It became a toy.






{this is what the living room + dining room looked like while I attempted to make muffins}

And where's Malakai you may ask?


Certainly not napping....

{where else, but underneath the table/chairs}

It's been a bit crazy as we try to pack as much as we can into the last weeks of moderate weather.

What do you have planned before the sunny days are gone?

Happy Weekend!

Thankful on a Thursday: Fall again

The weather is cooling off and it's been sprinkling almost daily. I usually love fall, but I'm not ready to spend more time indoors. I love going out on our evening walks whenever we feel like it or heading out to my parents' place on the weekends for a swim. Soon we're supposed to go out to the lake for a weekend with Ben's family and it won't be as much fun if we're all cooped up indoors. Usually I'm beyond ready by the time fall weather gets here, but it feels early this year.

Despite the cold, there are many things that bring me joy. This week I'm thankful for...

281. all my new readers, welcome. {leave a comment or hit the follow button if you haven't already and let me know you're out there!}

282. special things in the mailbox.

283. tv marathons with my love. Currently we're watching Arrested Development {for the first time} on netflix and Alias {his first time, my second}.

284. having a full 24 hours with no outside plans or obligations, something I often take for granted until it becomes rare.

285. watching Malakai + Titus play together yesterday. Malakai hasn't really been able to interact on the same level until now. It was so fun to watch them be boys out in the yard.

286. the look of satisfaction + appreciation on Ben's face when I bake a new treat. He especially enjoyed this week's peanut butter creme frosting.

287. my close girl friends.

288. my first pumpkin spice latte of the fall...although it's not technically fall yet, and I'm reluctant to let go of  warm weather.

289. Bravery.

{don't you think this knife is the most appropriate tool for such a nasty creature?}

290. God's strength.

What are you thankful for this week?

{for those of you who are new around here, Thankful on a Thursday started over at The Outdoor Wife. Check her out, she's the real deal.}

September Birthday Blitz

I may have mentioned this around here before, but in our family September is busier than Christmas time. There are 8 family birthdays and 5 of them are within our immediate families! My brother, sister, mom + dad and Ben's mom all have their birthdays this month.

For my mom-in-law's birthday on the 4th we went to their place for breakfast. All of her kids were there, which was very special for her. Malakai was in a great mood {except for when I tried to feed him scrambled eggs} and he especially loved meeting his Aunt's BIG dog, Blaze.

Family tradition on my side is to celebrate them all as a big family on Labor Day with a pool party + BBQ. Then we get together as an immediate family the day of each actual birthday to celebrate as well.

My mom made a variation of her famous brownie ice cream cake. Instead of a sheet cake she made mini-cupcake versions. This kept her from having to cut the cake or go through a second round of plates + forks. They were super cute and very yummy.

My brother + sister turn 18 and 20 this month. Here they are at the party with their cupcakes and posing before presents.

Malakai skipped his nap for the first time EVER that day and by 4pm he was still toddling around with a huge grin on his face.

Although, by dinner time he started to fall every time he tried to walk anywhere. He was so sleepy! I do my best to protect his precious nap time(s) but it just wasn't working out for our social boy that day.

Yesterday was my brother's 18th birthday so we got together at my parent's place again, just the immediate family plus his girlfriend. We ate dinner, gave him gifts and had more ice cream cupcakes. I can't believe my "baby" brother is 18, but he's far from acting like an adult yet...

{Someone got a little too greedy with the whipped topping, and somehow the two of us ended up a sticky mess}

Although I can't say that I don't feel the same thing about my little sister turning 20 later this month. After all she was having more fun with the waffle blocks than Malakai...

Three September celebrations down, three more to go!