Written By Mama

Have you ever wondered how bloggers got started? Want your voice heard amongst hundreds of Written By Mama readers?

Well I am currently looking for a guest to post once a week. If things work out, I would be willing to offer a spot once a week every week – maybe more.

What I want/expect:

- Family friendly posts only
- No foul language please (:
- I have the right to accept or deny any post prior to posting
- You can be a blogger already or you can be someone that has never written anything a day in your life
- Good grammar, spelling etc… I don’t have time to proof read – so double check before sending me your post (:
- I would like a short bio & pic to add at the end of your post – so my readers can get to know you better – this is not mandatory

What I will “allow”:

- A link back to your site if you’re a blogger
- 1 affiliate link – providing it fits with the post

Types of articles:

- Parenting tips
- Crafts ideas
- Product reviews that I haven’t already done or don’t have lined up
- Family stories
- Recipes
- Rants about family – because we all do it (:

What I will do:

- Promote on Facebook
- Tweet it on Twitter – with your choice of hashtag and your Twitter handle
- Your post will remain for as long as my blog is running
- I will not charge you to post – it’s free!
- I will not pay you to post

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, feel free to email me (angela@writtenbymama.com) with the subject as “Guest Posts” – so I don’t mark you as spam. Any ideas not mentioned are welcome!

Woohoo! It’s FINALLY Friday! For some lucky readers, it’s payday. Maybe just the end of the work week, and for some…a day to go out and party.

Trinkies thought it would be a great day to have a Feeling Frisky Friday $20 Paypal Cash Giveaway! Just enter on the rafflecopter below.

You must be 18 years old to enter to win. This giveaway is, in no way, affiliated with Facebook. You must have a PayPal account to enter this giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was recently given the opportunity to review the Bright Starts Having A Ball Pop And Roll Roadster.

I was super excited when I was given the opportunity to review the Having a Ball Pop and Roll Roadster. Landon is at that age where he loves to push around and ride on push along type cars. Cody however, was not so excited at first. Landon already has 3 push along cars. I didn’t tell Cody that I was reviewing one, I just let it arrive.

Landon loves this one more than his others!

When I opened the box I saw there were only 3 parts to attach. Score for a simple assembly – or so I thought. :-/

The assembly:

The parts are really hard to snap into place. I had to put all of my weight into it, and then some. The gearshift was also difficult to get on. You have to snap the gearshift onto a plastic “pole” and then screw them together. I couldn’t get my screwdriver to fit very well between the ball housing and the shifter itself.

Also, the tail light stickers seemed a little warped, like maybe they got wet. The one peeled off the same day we got it ):

For assembly, I give the roadster 3.5 out of 5 stars. I really had a difficult time putting it together, but maybe I’m just a weakling (:

The toy:

Other than the assembly, I found absolutely nothing wrong with the Having A Ball Pop And Roll Roadster. The wheels move very well, the battery compartment is easily accessible, the noises are cute and fun.
The volume isn’t too loud so the toy is annoying, but it’s loud enough to hear and know what noises are being made.

The buttons are located on the dashboard of the car. They’re really big and easy to push.

When you put one of the 3 balls into the steering wheel, it also makes fun noises.
I love how the sides of the car are curved in – it makes it easier for Landon’s legs to fit comfortably without leaving red marks.
The seat is big enough to fit Landon’s big booty.

It took a while for Landon to learn that the gearshift is what makes the ball pop out of the front. Once he figured it out though, he became a pro (:

Each ball comes in a different color – red, blue & yellow. Each ball is textured and has the shape of an animal on it.
It’s hard to tell in the picture, but it’s a pig. The back also has a curly little tail.

No matter where Landon goes, he has to bring his Having A Ball Pop And Roll Roadster with him. Really. Whenever I go pee and he has to sit in the bathroom with me – you know how kids are – then the Roadster is there. Bath time, it’s sitting outside the bathtub waiting for him to get out. Bedtime…well you get the idea.

I don’t want you to be scared off by the assembly, because they toy is great.

For fun and learning I give the Roadster 5 stars.

Overall, I give the Having A Ball Pop And Roll Roadster 4 out of 5 stars.

Bright Starts is letting me giveaway, to one luck Written By Mama reader, a Having A Ball Pop & Roll Roadster!
You can enter my Bright Starts giveaway (:

If you haven’t already, please read my Bright Starts Having A Ball Pop And Roll Roadster review.

Before entering please read all the rules. By entering the giveaway, you are agreeing to each and every rule, no exceptions!

This giveaway is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Twitter, Facebook or any other social media site.
You must be 18+ at the time of entry. You must enter via the Rafflecopter form to be eligible to win. This giveaway is open to the US only. You must complete the first entry in order to be eligible. All entries are verified before a winner is emailed. If you put in a false entry, all of your entries will be removed. If you ACCIDENTALLY submit a false entry, please let me know. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or a new winner will be drawn. This giveaway will end on June 7th at 12pm CST. The prize will be shipped from Bright Starts.

Here is the Rafflecopter form….GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was recently given the opportunity to review the Race Cars set from Green Toys.

A few facts:

- Made in the USA
- Made from 100% recycled plastic milk containers that save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- No BPA, PVC, phthalates, or external coatings.
- The bottom, unlike most toy cars, have no metal axles.

My opinion:

Green Toys was kind enough to send me a racecar in red, blue and pink! It’s not often I find “boy toys” in “girls colors” so was super excited when I got a pink racecar.

The race cars are made of 100% plastic. They aren’t made with any metal so they’re really really light.

I love how big they are. Each racecar is the size of my hand! It’s good for children, because they can’t fit it in their mouth.

I think because there aren’t any choking hazards they’re good for kids 1+ (like the website recommends), but because of their size I don’t think their hands are big enough for their small hands.
Landon plays with them okay, but he has big hands – being big for his age – I do see though that sometimes he has a little trouble holding them when they’re “flying.”

I absolutely love how they’re packaged. Between diapers and product reviews I have a lot of trash. Well, Green Toys packs their Race Cars in almost no wrapping – almost no recycled cardboard!

Each of the Green Toys Race Cars have awesome detail. There is a steering wheel, radio, hand break and gear shifter – you can’t see the gear shifter and the hand break in the pic though.

I love all the detail Green Toys puts into their toys.

Green Toys is letting me host a giveaway for a Green Toys Race Car. The giveaway will be with the Green Toys Salad Set giveaway.
Please read my Green Toys Salad Set review before entering my Green Toys giveaway. Thank you (:

I was recently given the opportunity to review a Salad Set from Green Toys.

I love food toys. There’s something about them that are a lot of fun to me. It leaves room for a lot of imagination.
So when I was given the A-Okay to review the salad set, I was stoked.

This time, I am going to start with my opinion about the Salad Set, then I will go into a few facts.

What I thought:

Okay first of all, I love all the detail each veggie has. My favorite is the ‘mushrooms’.

Each Salad Set includes these cute cardboard cutouts of olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper. Mom or dad folds them into 3D bottles/shakers.

 
I decided though to put these away until Landon’s a little older. He doesn’t play nice with stuff that can break easily.

I didn’t like that it was so difficult to put the cardboard condiments together. It took me about 20 minutes, many not nice words and a mini tantrum before I got all 4 set up – to decide that Landon would ruin them if I let him have them now.

The bowl and plate is really big, they are about the size of real bowls and plates. Landon actually refused to eat any meal unless I used his Green Toys Salad Set bowl or plate.
I didn’t really mind though because it is dishwasher safe. I just tossed everything in the dishwasher and had it ready to play with by morning. The veggies fit perfectly in the silverware rack.

A few facts:

- All Green Toys are made in the USA!
- All Green Toys are made from food-safe, 100% recycled plastic milk containers that save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- There are No BPA, phthalates, PVC or external coatings.
- Meets FDA food contact standards.
- Dishwasher safe!
- Green Toys Salad Set is sized for Green Toys kitchen sets and interchangeable with other Green Toys play food products.

Overall, I give Green Toys Salad Set 4 out of 5 stars.

Green Toys is letting me giveaway a Salad Set to one lucky Written By Mama reader.
Along with my Salad Set giveaway I will be giving away a set of Green Toys Race Cars. Please read my Green Toys Race Cars review before entering my Green Toys giveaway.

If you haven’t already, please read my Green Toys Salad Set review and my Green Toys Race Cars review.

Before entering please read all the rules. By entering the giveaway, you are agreeing to each and every rule, no exceptions!

This giveaway is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Twitter, Facebook or any other social media site.
You must be 18+ at the time of entry. You must enter via the Rafflecopter form to be eligible to win. This giveaway is open to the US only. You must complete the first entry in order to be eligible. All entries are verified before a winner is emailed. If you put in a false entry, all of your entries will be removed. If you ACCIDENTALLY submit a false entry, please let me know. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or a new winner will be drawn. This giveaway will end on June 2nd at 12pm CST. The prizes will be shipped from Green Toys. There will be 2 winners – one winner will receive a Green Toys Salad Set and the other winner will receive a set of Green Toys Race Cars.

Here is the Rafflecopter form….GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was recently given the opportunity to review the Roku HD Streaming Player.

Have you ever run across a product so awesome that you were almost speechless? Well I have experienced that with my new Roku HD player.

As always, I’m going to start with a few facts, then move into what I think of the Roku HD.

A few facts:

-Roku charges no monthly fee
-You don’t need a computer to use your Roku Player (just for set-up)
-Roku offers a 90-day warranty
-Currently, you can get FREE shipping! – I love free shipping.

My opinion:

There are many reasons I love my new Roku HD player. It’s much cheaper than paying for cable every month.
All of our gaming systems were purchased to use with NetFlix and Hulu, well the Roku players are all cheaper than buying a game system.

I decided to use my Roku Player in my kitchen. Its small enough to fit on the island – taking up virtually no space, since it’s about the size of a business card.

The controller is small enough to fit comfortably in my hand and even Landon can hold it with 1 hand.

Depending on what you already pay for, there are plenty of movie & TV show options. Since we dropped Hulu, we only pay for Netflix.
So, I can watch Netflix along with the other channels that are pre-set on the Roku Player.
(I apologize for the glare, these were honestly the best pics I could get with the lighting in my kitchen)

When you go to their pre-set channels, you have the option to buy some or use the free ones that are already available.
When you select a channel you want to watch, it will install it to your available channels.
(again, I apologize for the glare)

When setting up your free Roku account, you have the option to connect your Roku to a credit card (cc) or a PayPal account. When/if you decide to purchase a channel, you just hit ‘buy’ and enter your password (if you selected to have one) and that’s it. Just like the free channels, it’s now available to watch. You do not get charged for using Roku. There is not fee to set up your free account and there is no fee to use the free channels or any of the other apps they have (unless you have to pay for it outside of Roku – like Netflix & Hulu Plus)

Not only can I watch TV shows and movies, but my Roku HD player also offers Pandora & video games. When I’m entertaining I can have Pandora playing in the kitchen so it’s not too loud being in the living room where everyone is trying to talk.

With Roku HD only being $59.99 (plus free shipping!) I think it’s a steal of a deal. Like I said, we bought game consoles to use as our TV entertainment, and those are easily $100 or more for a used one!

After using the Roku HD Player for about a month I think an apology is in order – from me to Cody. He did beg me for about a month to buy one – but I’m a bad, mean wife. So I said no. I think in the future, I’ll listen to him.

I was recently given the opportunity to review a Pink Pine Butt Bench.

I’m sure you’re laughing by now. Why not? Between the words “Butt Bench” and the booty logo, it is something to giggle about. I did.

As with all my reviews, I will start with a few facts the move onto my opinion.

A few facts:

-The first Butt Bench was created in 2006.
-Butt Bench comes in 2 different sizes – 12in & 15in
-Butt Bench can hold up to 300lbs!
-They sell other bath products.

My thoughts:

Okay, after giggling at the name and the logo I decided to contact them. I’m really glad I did.
I received the 12in Pink Pine Bench to review.

First of all, the color is really pretty. It’s a soft pink – my favorite kind of pink.
The Butt Bench is large enough for me to sit on it, have all those ^^ bottles of shampoo & body wash and I still have room!

The suction cups are adjustable. So you can make it fit to the width of your wall’s tiles. Just like they say on their website, the suction cups won’t stick if you put them on the grout line – I tried just in case LOL.

I was worried at first about the Butt Bench holding my weight. No problem!
I use it almost daily now. If Landon would give me more shower time, I would use it every day.

My mom sat on it and said she loves it. She said it holds her weight and it’s nice to have a seat in the bathtub.

She said when she gets settled into her new house she will probably get the brown one to match her bathrooms.

So other than just sitting on the Butt Bench and using it to hold your shampoos, you can make a nice bubble bath and place some nice candles on it.
You could use it to lean on and shave your legs, like I do.

The only thing I can think of that I don’t like about the Butt Bench, is my shower curtain doesn’t cover that part of the shower very well. So I have to angle the shower head so it doesn’t bounce off the bench and land on the floor.

Overall though I think the Butt Bench is pretty neat.

You can find them on Facebook & Twitter, if you’re interested in keeping up on all the ways to “Pamper Your Butt.”

As you know, I am a daughter, sister, wife and mom. Most of all though, I am a woman.
Just like my family, I have needs too. Believe it or not, that’s completely true. (:

After sharing with a friend how not-so feminine I feel and how it’s been a while since I’ve bought something for myself, she recommended EdenFantasys. I decided to check it out. I was a little doubtful at first. It sounded like another one of those websites that have sex toys (gasp!) and stuff that would make me feel slightly uncomfortable being sent to my house.
My mailman is a nice guy, but looks too much at what I purchase and where it comes from.

Well, the first thing I noticed-other than the obvious-was their shipping and billing is discrete. Score for EdenFantasys!

The next thing I noticed is the Beauty and Body products tab. Do you know what they have there? Make up, skin care, fragrance products and more ‘G-rated’ items.

After browsing, for what ended up being an hour, I realized that EdenFantasys isn’t that bad.

They have adorable clothes. My favorite is the Splashy Sexy Top. It covers everything I would like covered (my belly mainly) and covers everything Cody would like covered when we’re out of the house (my boobies).
If you’re not worried about covering, they definitely have clothes for that also!

Here are some things I think you would like:

-Free shipping on orders of $59 or more – Yay! I love free shipping.
-Shipping is a flat rate of $5.95
-EdenFantasys offers free returns and exchanges *I’m sure some exclusions apply.
-If you subscribe to Eden’s Newsletter you can get a free bullet-who doesn’t love free stuff?
-Save 20% on any 3 Not Soap Radio Body Care products.
-You can get a free gift with any order.
-right now you can save up to 50% on lingerie and clubwear.
-Clothes for women of all sizes (small to 4x).

With such a wide variety of products, I’m sure I can find something to make me feel like I haven’t lost my mojo yet. Regardless of the food that Landon throws in my hair.