Notice: spl_autoload_register(): Argument #2 ($do_throw) has been ignored, spl_autoload_register() will always throw in /var/www/wp-content/plugins/google-publisher/ClassAutoloader.php on line 27

Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the wp-gdpr-compliance domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /var/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114
sponsored post – Page 25 – Luv Saving Money

Headed to the Beach

Collage_rhdmvc6diteaszpv7pf8pw20140620-2-hagd29jpg?1403305788

My family and I are headed to the beach this summer and we can’t wait.  Being a blogger, I’ve had the opportunity to try some great products.  Here are some of my faves that will definitely be going to the beach with us this year

Protect + Hydrate Lotion Sunscreen with Broad Spectrum SPF 30 – 81ml / 3 Oz

Protect + Hydrate Lotion Sunscreen with Broad Spectrum SPF 30 - 81ml / 3 Oz

As an AVEENO ambassador I’ve had the chance to try a few AVEENO sunscreens.  They’re all great but this one is good for sensitive skin to.

Saltwater Canvas whale bag perfect beach bag

Mesh Family Beach Tote - Blue Whale Bag w Kelly Green Straps by Saltwater Canvas

These bags are PERFECT for the beach.  They made of a very strong mesh and you can easily shake the sand out of it.  There are tons of pockets to take to store everything for a day at the beach: sunglasses, sunscreen, camera, phone, etc.  I have one of these whale bags and I was able to fit 5 beach towels in it no problem!  They come in lots of colors too. They also have small versions and shower caddies perfect to take to the gym or when you don’t need to take as much with you.

All-purpose Outdoor Blanket  perfect beach blanket

All-purpose Outdoor Blanket Easily Folds Into a Pillow with Handles - Perfect for Travel, Picnics, Beach, Camping, Stadium, Tailgate - Lawn Baby Blanket - Water Repellent Backing Keeps You Clean and Dry (Stripes)

I never knew these types of blankets existed until I received one as a promotional item one time.  These blankets are awesome because…they’re not just a regular blanket.  They’re thick, durable, and have a waterproof backing.  They also fold up and have a handle so you can transport them easily.  These are awesome for the beach, outdoor picnic, or firework watching.

Pack-It Universal Sun & Sleep Shade – Grey

Pack-It Universal Sun & Sleep Shade - Grey

Perfect stroller cover to keep baby safe from the sun. If you have a baby you’ll love this.  I got something similar to this from a giveaway win.  It hooks easily onto strollers and car seats.  They protect baby from the sun. Mine has a little velcro window that can open up if you wish.  I used it on my daughter’s carseat during football season.  I can’t tell you how many moms said “Isn’t that neat, I’d have like to have something like that for my kids”

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links

Enter to Win a 6 Month Subscription to Citrus Lane

**Sponsored post, Luv Saving Money is not responsible for prize fulfillment or drawing**

I had the opportunity to try a Citrus Lane box myself.  They are the cutest little boxes with the best toys and treats for little ones.  Organic, ecofriendly, fun items for your little one.  My daughter loved the items that came in ours and I was impressed with how many quality things they stuffed into that box for us.

TipJunkie has an awesome giveaway for a 6 months subscription to Citrus Lane.  Can you imagine your little ones getting an super cool Citrus Lane box each month delivered right to your home?  These boxes can be ordered specific to your little ones age and are appropriate for ages 0-5 years.  I got it for my daughter when she was only a few months old. We had wooden baby toys, a teether, foam bath toys, a fruit pouch, um I can’t even remember everything in it.  There was so much stuff.

I know I know I’m rattling on here, you just want to enter the giveaway.  Well here you go:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This is a sponsored post**

THE Watch Your Dad Will Actually Be Excited About: COGITO Watch

**This post is sponsored by COGITO Watch.  I will also receive COGITO Watch for this post.  Regardless I only post about products from legitimate brands. Any opinions expressed are my own**

fathers day 2014

A watch can be a nice gift for Father’s day.  Nothing wrong with a watch right? It’s useful, it looks nice, maybe it has a handy alarm on it or a timer.  Unless it’s a watch he’s been eyeing up for a while it might not be a fun present though.  Unless…it’s a COGITO Watch.

COGITO Watch is the watch of the social media dad’s dream.  Yea it looks nice but that’s only the beginning.  The analog movement mixed with digital display is stylish and high tech. This watch can be connected wirelessly with your smartphone or tablet app.  You decide which notifications are important to you.  Prioritize your calls and your social media notifications with the custom settings.  You choose what you want to see. Right on the watch face you can see who is calling or messaging then you can decide if you want to answer or mute it.  No need to be checking your phone all the time.  They’re water resistant up to 10 ATM so when you’re washing your hands, taking a shower, or jump in the pool on a hot day, you can still get enjoy the features.  You can find all this in the COGITO Classic available in 6 different colors. Pictured below is the COGITO Classic in Black Onyx color.

COGITO Classic black onyx

COGITO Pop line has stylish colors while still keeping you connected.  The COGITO Pop LED icons lets you know when you have an incoming call or social media notification from twitter, instagram, Facebook, and more.  It also let you trigger your camera, control music, and even locate your phone (boy could I use that!). Here is just one of the 6 colors available in the COGITO Pop this one is Blue Electric.

COGITO Pop blue

I can imagine how handy this could be in a business setting.  You’re at work and the school calls to tell you your kid is sick.  You get a notification on your watch letting you know the school is calling.  That would be a big priority for me.  But maybe if Aunt Mildred is calling just to talk your ear off while you’re at the movies (and it’s a poor manners to talk on your phone in the theater)  then you might want to call her back later and let your voice mail get it.  For the socially connected dad…any dad bloggers out there?  This could be great for business.  Keep tabs on pitches coming in through social media or comments on your facebook page even while at little Tommy’s baseball practice without fear of looking down at your phone when little Tommy hits a home run or finally catches a line drive. Oh it’s also water resistant up to 10 ATM in case you get splashed while sitting at Katy’s swim meet.


Because this is Luv Saving Money, the nice people at COGITOwatch.com gave me a coupon code to save you some money on this super cool Father’s day present.  So buy now to save 15% off a COGITO watch with code: 15OFF

Chat with COTIGO Watch on the following Social Media sites:

Twitter: @cogitowatch

Facebook: facebook.com/cogitowatch

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCF6J9rvhX1fghntjC8Uxgrw

Instagram: instagram.com/thecogitowatch

Tell them you heard about them from Luv Saving Money please!

**sponsored post**

Items to Keep Baby Comfortable on Car Trips

Keep Baby Comfortable on Car Trips

With the summer travel season fast approaching, there are a number of items I’ve personally used to help keep my babies and toddles happy, comfortable, and entertained in the car. Most of them don’t cost much but can be a big help on road trips.

DLX ROLLER SHADE

725818386_260

Car window shades are simple and come in many different forms. I’ve had some that worked liked static stickers and stuck right onto the windows.  Some are rollers like the one pictured.  This will help keep sun out of the babies eyes and reduced the temperature of the car for your baby or toddler.

DLX ROLLER SHADE – $10.99, See Site shipping – Available at Babies R Us

 

Snack Tray – Ataches to Most Car Seats and Strollers

1463223367_260

There’s lots of useful snack trays that can attach to car seats.  Some car seats have them built in.  For the ones that don’t a snack tray like this can keep snacks close to your toddler and cut down on some mess.

Snack Tray – Ataches to Most Car Seats and Strollers – $22.00, 5.49 shipping – Available at Amazon.com Marketplace

 

Deluxe Baby View Mirror

717196944_260

Car Seat mirrors always served two purposes for me.  One reason was to be able to keep an eye on baby.  The 2nd was that when my babies were more alert they were interested in the shiny mirror and would sometimes entertain themselves by talking and making faces in the mirror.

Deluxe Baby View Mirror – $14.99, See Site shipping – Available at Fullfillment By Amazon

 

Babies R Us Car Seat Spiral Toy

1134910781_260

There are lots of car seat toys out there now.  There are toys that attach to the handle, toys that play music, toys with mirrors, toys that light up, lots of stuff. They also work on strollers.

Babies R Us Car Seat Spiral Toy – $12.99, See Site shipping – Available at Babies R Us

 

Backseat Organizer for Children – Fits Most Cars, Minivans and SUVs – Travel Car Storage for Kids or Babies in Back Seat – Many Compartments for Toys, Drinks, Files, Electronics – Seatback Protector – Money Back Guarantee

1346784671_260

A car seat organizer can help you keep all things you need for baby within reach.  Snacks, wipes, books, toys, whatever you might need.

Backseat Organizer for Children – Fits Most Cars, Minivans and SUVs – Travel Car Storage for Kids or Babies in Back Seat – Many Compartments for Toys, Drinks, Files, Electronics – Seatback Protector – Money Back Guarantee – $14.50, 5.74 shipping – Available at Amazon.com Marketplace

 

Animal Cushioned Strap Covers – Tan Dog

857513488_260

These are so easy to use and work great. I have this exact pair as well as a few others.  If you’re a first time mom and think you don’t need them, just wait until the first time you go on a car trip and go to take baby out of the car and notice a red strap mark on the side of baby’s neck.  It happened to me.  I bought these immediately after.  Now I don’t put baby in a car seat without them.  Some of them also work in strollers, highchairs, swings, and other baby items with straps.

Animal Cushioned Strap Covers – Tan Dog – $16.59, See Site shipping – Available at Fullfillment By Amazon

 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Postpresso.

Keeping the Kids Entertained on a Road Trip

We often drive when we go on vacation.  I’ve been known to take all four of the kids to Pittsburgh myself for the day.  In order to keep my sanity, I plan for entertainment along the way.  Driving time can be a great time to connect and catch up on things.  But when your copilot is 4 yr old you might not have a whole lot to say after you’re done talking about preschool, Team Umi Zoomi, and rocket power flying cars that shoot fireworks.  What? You don’t talk about that?

Inevitably you will hear “I’m bored” or “How much longer?”  After a while it starts to wear on your sanity.  So be prepared.  If the kids have hand held gaming systems, Kindles, cell phones, let them bring them along.  Plan on bringing headphones if you don’t want to listen to the candy crush music the whole time or YouTube videos that are only interesting to 10 yr olds.  Charge them ahead of time.  If they have car chargers or back up batteries bring them along too.

Non-electronic items like books, coloring books, travel felt boards, travel size board games, or personal chalk boards can be a great way to keep kids busy without the noise.

One of our fave games to play is the Alphabet game.  You start with the letter “A” each person playing tries to find the letter “A” during the drive.  It could be on a street sign, billboard, a license plate, restaurant sign, or whatever you like.  The way we play, each person has to find it in a different word. If it’s on the same sign it’s ok but they can’t use the same word.  Don’t discount letters like Q or X either because they’re more plentiful than you think.

exit sign 1
If you’re looking for the letter “V” for example, the “V” in Savannah would count

If maybe you could use a little entertainment yourself or want to engage the kiddos a little more there are lots of fun road trip games you can find by searching online or you can check out a little post I wrote here http://www.annvilleautocenter.com/road-trip-games-for-the-family.htm with some ideas.

So tell me, how do you keep your kids entertained on a road trip?  Please visit my guest post on Annville Auto Center’s site for even more ideas.