I might be in the minority, but I actually really like the pouch that our OmniPod PDM resides in. Maybe it’s because it’s what I’m used to or maybe it’s because it holds all the supplies that we need easy access to (the PDM, test strips, MultiClix, lancets, insulin, extra batteries). But what I don’t like is how incredibly b-o-r-i-n-g it is. Plain old black. What, is my daughter a 40-year-old business man?

After viewing the video of Q talking about her OmniPod, a bunch of people asked me what kind of case we keep her PDM in. It’s a case that Sugar Medical Supply sent us for review consideration.

(E-mail and feed subscribers click over for embedded video.)

I can’t say it’s 100% perfect for us, but it comes really close. I don’t know that any bag will ever be 100% perfect.

Positives:

• I like that it fits inside the purse that Q carries with her everywhere we go (or that my husband or I carry for her).
• You can see the PDM screen when it is placed into the velcro strap. That’s my biggest complaint about most bags–I want to see the PDM screen and be able to insert a test strip and check her blood sugar without taking out the PDM.
• It’s well padded. And I’ve even been able to wipe away dirt from the outside with a damp cloth.

Negatives:

• The zippered section needs another half inch for me. I would like to be able to throw in an extra vial of insulin and test strips when I see that the current one is getting low.
• The PDM doesn’t lay perfectly flat on top of the velcro, but it’s not a huge issue.

And it doesn’t just hold the OmniPod PDM, it has a universal strap to hold most meters (see their website for specifics).

(From the Sugar Medical Supply website) The Sugar Bag:

• our unique “Universal Strap System” which secures 99% of glucose meters in the bag
• clear viewing of test results
• fashionable yet practical
• holds insulin pens and supplies
• tyle not compromised for Diabetics!
• perfect for Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

And if you are ordering the Sugar Bag, why not throw a Supply Pouch in your bag too. It’s a zippered pouch, kind of like a makeup bag, that can hold extras. And they are only $3.99!

Discount

Use coupon code DMOM15 for 15% off your purchase through February 28, 2012.

Giveaway

One lucky reader of D-Mom Blog will win their choice of Sugar Medical Supply  Sugar Bag.

Required Entry

To enter tell me which of the styles they offer you love and who you’d like to give it to if you win. (You can change your mind if you are in fact the winner.)

Extra Optional Entries

Leave an additional comment for each extra entry to be counted.

• Blog about this giveaway including a link to this post (http://www.d-mom.com/?p=16066).
• Tweet about this giveaway including a link to this post (http://www.d-mom.com/?p=16066) and mention @dmomblog.
• Post about the giveaway on Facebook including a link to this post (http://www.d-mom.com/?p=16066).

Read the official giveaway rules. Entry deadline February 20, 2012. US and Canadian mailing addresses only.

Further Reading

More D-Mom Tested product reviews

Disclosure: Sugar Medical Supply provided me with a supply bag for review consideration. Monetary compensation was not received for this post and opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure statement.

All images are copyright D-Mom Blog and D-Mom Media and may not be copied or reproduced without express written permission.

{D-Mom Tested} Sugar Medical Supply D-Bag GIVEAWAY is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

I’m all about saving a little cash. Here are a few discounts from companies who make diabetes accessories.

Lauren’s Hope: Medical ID bracelets

• Review: Q wears a Lauren’s Hope bracelet every day.
• Discount: Use coupon code DMOM for 10% off your purchase.

Sugar Medical: And alternative to the boring black supply bag

• Review: (Coming Soon!)
• Discount: Use coupon code DMOM15 for 15% off your purchase through February 28, 2012.

Myabetic: Sports and Heart/Butterfly themed diabetes supply bags

• Discount: Use coupon code DMOM for 10% off your purchase.

Bands 4 Life: Arm and thigh bands to wear over CGM sensors and OmniPods

• Review: Q wears these arm bands, especially for gymnastics.
  
• Discount: 15% off any purchase of $25 or more from Bands 4 Life with Discount Coupon Code BANDS through Jan 1, 2012.

Pump Wear: Diabetes cases and accessories for kids and adults, insulin pump cases

• Review: We ordered custom walk shirts for the kids on our team.
• Discount: D-Mom Blog readers will receive a 5% discount from Pump Wear when they enter the coupon code DMOM.

{Quick Bite} A Few Discounts is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

We were given some glucose tablets in the hospital at diagnosis, but they were square chalky things and I have to say that I don’t remember ever giving them to Q to treat low blood sugars. Rather we always reached for a juice box.

As we became more knowledgeable and more comfortable making decisions, we began using glucose tablets to treat lows because we could give them in multiples of 4 carbs instead of the 15 carbs in a juice box. Sometimes she’d be just a little low and a couple of tabs would do the trick instead of overtreating and spiking later.

I did what any other D-Mom would do and I bought Dex4 glucose tablets (if they were on sale) or the less expensive store brands like Walgreens or Target. I didn’t even think to read the label (other than to see that the first ingredient is dextrose which is also the first ingredient in Smarties).

I make a conscious effort to reduce and/or avoid artificial ingredients in the foods I serve my kids and I am trying to eliminate artificial dyes. And all of those glucose tabs I had been buying were colored with artificial dyes!

So I was excited to see the new all natural GlucoLift glucose tablets.

(From the website:) “All too often, it seems like products were not designed by the same people who have to use them. Every diabetic can run down a list of changes they’d like to see in the products and devices they require to manage their health. GlucoLift All-Natural Glucose Tablets were created by a diabetic who knows first hand what it’s like to have low blood sugar, and is painfully aware of the short-comings of existing glucose tablets: artificial ingredients, face-puckering sourness, especially when eating more than one, and dextrose from genetically modified (GMO) corn. GlucoLift was created so that diabetics (and everyone who uses glucose products) could have a safe, natural, delicious, and effective way to raise their blood sugar.”

The company sent us each of the flavors to give a try. We’ve gone through a bottle of the Orange Cream, which Q loved. My non-D son asked for them several times too, lest he be left out! We also popped open the Wildberry to taste test, but haven’t opened the Cherry yet. I gave the Orange Cream a try and thought that it was pleasant. It dissolved in my mouth pretty quickly and didn’t leave an aftertaste.

We’ve also been refilling a travel size container that stays in her d-supply bag.

I remember once I had a difficult time opening a bottle of another brand of glucose tablets. I thought to myself, what if I was the one that was diabetic and had shaky hands?! The GlucoLift jars pop open easily once the seal is broken.

You can purchase them from their own online store, Amazon, and Abe’s Market. Yes, they are a little more expensive than the store brand glucose tablets, but if artificial ingredients and dyes are something you are concerned about, then they might be worth the added cost.

Disclosure: GlucoLift provided me with a few jars of glucose tablets for review consideration. Monetary compensation was not received for this post and opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure statement.

{D-Mom Tested} GlucoLift Glucose Tablets is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

(Disclosure: Product reviews are included in this post.)

I’m not sure what sparked it, but Q has become a Francophile in the last few months and is intrigued by all things Paris. She wants to move there one day! I’ve been on the hunt for French-inspired gifts for her for Christmas and I’m coming up short. I even e-mailed Design Mom who gave me some book recommendations including This is Paris which I’ll be ordering. She likes the Madeline books, but the associated toys are a bit young for her I think.

Do you have any suggestions for me for French, Paris, or Eiffel Tower themed presents for her?

I’m still formulating her gift list, trying not to be too excessive and also avoiding low-quality toys that she sees on TV and “Oh my gosh, I need that!” Like the stupid Squinkies that I had to get her last year because it was the only thing she asked Santa for and it’s what she told every person she wanted. Ugh!

(As I was typing this a commercial came on and she asked excitedly for the toy. Rolls eyes. She’s a sucker for a good commercial.)

We had a cardboard rocket ship in our playroom for a good two years, but it finally began falling apart and ended up in the recycling. I knew I wanted to replace it with something, but I wasn’t sure what. I was intrigued when Little Play Spaces asked if we would like to try out the French Cafe. Both of my kids love playing with our pretend food so a cafe is a great theme. And the best part of the French Cafe is that it folds up! I can’t wait for her to see it as I’m sure she’s going to go crazy.

(I’ll update with thoughts once we get a chance to really play with it.)

My husband and daughter have been going to a Daddy Daughter Dance each year since she was one-and-a-half. It’s the highlight of their yearly social calendar, lol! Q enjoys getting dressed up in a fancy dress. While at the dance they enjoy food, dancing, and entering raffles at this charity event. She always throws a lot of tickets in for the American Girl themed prize. This year American Girl is outfitting her and her favorite doll in the Merry and Bright dress. When Q tried it on she did a few spins and it passed her twirl test. That’s important, you know. She likes lots of layers on the bottom to give it the full effect. What I like about this dress is that even though it’s fancy, you can take off the pendant, which is attached with a snap, and wash the dress in the washing machine. No dry cleaning, yes! It’s quite the adorable dress.

Q and I read chapter books together at bedtime. We just finished the first book in the series about the two new historical characters Marie-Grace and Cecile and have begun the second. The books switch back and forth between the two girls’ perspectives. The girls live in 1853 New Orleans. Marie-Grace has lost her mother. She and her father return to New Orleans to start over. Cecile is the daughter of wealthy merchants who are “free people of color.” What I am enjoying about the books is that I get to practice my French and Q likes that she’s learning some new words and phrases.

Disclosure: We received the French Cafe, Merry and Bright Dress, and Marie-Grace and Cecile for review consideration. No monetary compensation was received and opinions are always my own.

Gifts for my Francophile is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

If diabetes has one positive aspect, it’s that it allows my little fashionista to accessorize!

I keep telling you that I think Lauren’s Hope has the best engraved medical ID bracelets we have found. Such great designs and they’ve held up to my active seven-year-old.

Q was recently looking over my shoulder as I read e-mail and she saw the announcement for the new princess necklaces and she gasped. That was followed by a “Mom! Can I please have that necklace. It’s so cute!”

She was in luck because Lauren’s Hope was already making one up for us. She was incredibly excited the day the package came in the mail. She even asked if it was okay to wear both a bracelet and the necklace at the same time. (Of course.)

Lauren’s Hope has added some very cute necklaces to their collection including the Brunette Princess (shown above), the Blonde Princess, Pink Heart, and Pink Daisy. They also have boyish designs like the Robot, Dinosaur, Basketball, and Soccer Ball.

When Q first received this necklace she was so proud of it. She wanted to show everyone and even did a little diabetes awareness raising at school. She asked to do show-and-tell, told classmates why it was important, and answered questions about diabetes. Always the little advocate!

Discount

Save 10% on your order from Lauren’s Hope by using the coupon code DMOM (some exclusions apply).

Giveaway

One lucky reader of D-Mom Blog will win their choice of a necklace for girls (Brunette Princess VF26, Blonde Princess VF27, Pink Heart VF24, or Pink Daisy VF25) or necklace for boys (Dinosaur VF5, Robot VF4, Basketball VSP1, or Soccer Ball VSP2) complete with engraving and shipping.

Required Entry

To enter tell me which of the listed necklaces you love and who you’d like to give it to if you win. (You can change your mind if you are in fact the winner.)

Extra Optional Entries

Leave an additional comment for each extra entry to be counted.

• Blog about this giveaway including a link to this post (http://www.d-mom.com/?p=15471).
• Tweet about this giveaway including a link to this post (http://www.d-mom.com/?p=15471) and mention @dmomblog and @laurenshope.
• Post about the giveaway on Facebook including a link to this post (http://www.d-mom.com/?p=15471).

Read the official giveaway rules. Entry deadline November 22, 2011. US mailing addresses only.

Disclosure: Lauren’s Hope provided me with a necklace for review consideration though we have spent our own money purchasing jewelry from their company in the past. Monetary compensation was not received for this post and opinions are my own, however the company does advertise on this site. Please read my disclosure statement. Lauren’s Hope is a current advertiser.

{D-Mom Tested} Lauren’s Hope Princess Necklace GIVEAWAY is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

Yes, I’m already thinking about the holidays. I’m making a list and checking it twice. In the coming months I have a few great products to tell you about and some awesome giveaways!

Disclosure: LeapFrog gave our family the LeapFrog Tag Reader and Solar System to test out. We are longtime customers of the company.

Our family’s love affair with LeapFrog began when my daughter was one and she received the Fridge Phonics as a gift. Both of my kids quickly learned their letters and the sounds that each makes. This was reinforced by the LeapFrog videos, which keep getting better and better.

We actually have the original Tag Reader and the Tag Junior. Often at bedtime if my four-year-old isn’t quite ready to fall asleep and I’ve already read a couple of stories to him, I’ll let him have the Tag Junior and it’s books and he can “read” in bed for a while. The Tag Junior books are sturdy board books and I’m not worried about them getting messed up if he falls asleep on top of them.

The newest version of the Tag Reader is great because it holds way more book at a time than the original one. The old one held about 5 books and the new one holds 10.We have purchased way more than 10 books for the Tag Reader so it’s nice not to have to switch them up as often (you log onto the LeapFrog site and choose which books you want to load onto it at a given time and you can swap them out whenever you want). I also like that it has a little stand to hold it.

What I like about the Tag Reader is that is is age appropriate for both kids even though they are 3 years apart in age. Each kid is able to use it at their own level. They like that it’s interactive and includes games and sounds. I also appreciate that as a pre-reader (first my daughter, now my son) they can feel the accomplishment that they are using books independently which helps develop a love of reading.

My kids have been using the Solar System Adventure Pack with the Tag Reader.

“Take off on an out-of-this-world adventure with the interactive, two-sided Tag™ solar system map! Play more than 40 activities and family-friendly games with this 2-in-1 map that unfolds to over 3 feet! Learn solar system terms and planetary facts, and log your journey with bonus interactive stickers! In space science children are taught about the different planets in our solar system and their moons as well as about our moon, the sun and the universe. The science of astronomy and space travel gets progressively more detailed and eventually incorporates physics and math.”

If you are like me, you will ALWAYS insist that Pluto is a planet. That’s just something you can’t unlearn!

Read more about the LeapFrog Tag on the LeapFrog site.

Giveaway

(Entries are closed, thanks for entering.)

Disclosure: LeapFrog provided me with product samples for review consideration. Monetary compensation was not received and opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure statement.

{Mom Tested} LeapFrog Tag Reader & Solar System is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

What perfect timing!

Q put on her Lands’ End parka that she’s worn the past two years and darned if she hasn’t grown two inches! She’s already been circling which coats she likes in the catalog that came in the mail the other day.

It’s all about the fur trim, she says! She also wants a hat that covers her face for when she plays in the snow. I have had such a hard time locating them locally, but they are in the LE catalog this year.

I’m totally using the discount this weekend:

The Lands’ End Family + Friends sale runs Thursday, November 10 through Tuesday, November 15 and offers 25% off site-wide plus free shipping with no minimum. This year, it includes Lands’ End Canvas as well.

To apply savings, use promo code: FAMILYSAVE25 and pin: 1142.

Disclosure: I have a relationship with Lands’ End and received advance notification of this sale. They might thank me with a gift card for passing on the discount code to you. We are long time customers!

Lands’ End Friends and Family Sale is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

Yes, I’m already thinking about the holidays. I’m making a list and checking it twice. In the coming months I have a few great products to tell you about and some awesome giveaways!

I’m one of those people who tries to get my Christmas Cards addressed, stamped, and in the mailbox by Thanksgiving weekend. Otherwise my holiday cards become New Year’s cards. I’m not joking!

Since having kids I’ve done a photo card I think every year. Last year I ordered Christmas photo cards from Shutterfly and I think I packed 15 photos that we had taken into that card! I’m not joking about that either! I chose a layout that had seven or eight photos on the front and a bunch on the inside too. It was a great way to show family and friends what we had been up to all year including sports, travel, birthdays, and first day of school pictures.

After Christmas I used a photo of the kids in their jammies in front of our fireplace next to the Christmas tree and created thank you cards to send to relatives who were kind enough to give our children presents.

I’ve already been on Shutterfly’s website looking at the Holiday Cards they are offering this year. I find it so hard to choose!

Do I want something contemporary like this 5×5 flat card?

Or maybe something like this 5×7 card?

Or maybe a 5×7 folded card like this?

Told you! Too many choices! Luckily I still have a month to upload my photos and play around with the different layouts and styles to get it just right.

Are you a blogger?

If you are a blogger and want a chance at 25 free cards from Shutterfly this holiday season, register here.

Giveaway

Three, yes three, lucky readers of D-Mom Blog will win 25 free Shutterfly cards! (I’ll give you a promo code that you can use on the website.)

(Entries Closed)

Disclosure: Shutterfly provided me with a promotional code for review consideration though we have spent our own money purchasing cards from their company in the past. Monetary compensation was not received for this post and opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure statement.

{Mom Tested} Shutterfly Holiday Cards is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

Yes, I’m already thinking about the holidays. I’m making a list and checking it twice. In the coming months I have a few great products to tell you about and some awesome giveaways!

Disclosure: LeapFrog gave our family the LeapPad to test out before it was available to the public. We are longtime customers of the company.

Our family’s love affair with LeapFrog began when my daughter was one and she received the Fridge Phonics as a gift. Both of my kids quickly learned their letters and the sounds that each makes. This was reinforced by the LeapFrog videos, which keep getting better and better.

In fact when I was asked this past week for a recommendation for a preschooler who was a little behind on learning the letters and their sounds, I recommended LeapFrog.

My kids both have a LeapFrog Explorer, which comes in handy on long trips. (You know, those 200 mile trips to the endocrinologist!) They love the touch screen because it is similar to what they are used to on my iPhone. When the Explorer came out, I was in awe of the improvement in the graphics.

And LeapFrog has outdone themselves again with their newest gaming device for the preschool and elementary school set: LeapPad.

While my kids love playing on my iPhone, they love the large screen of our iPad even more. The LeapPad is to the Leapster Explorer what the iPad is to the iPhone: It’s BIG!

It takes all the good qualities of the Explorer and pumps it up a notch in this new tablet for kids.

I love that the Leapter Explorer games are fully compatible with the LeapPad and that any apps I’ve already purchased can be added to both devices.

The negative is that some of the cartridge games are a little pricey. But my kids actually love the relatively inexpensive apps as much as the more expensive cartridge games.

My son’s favorite game on the Explorer is Jewel Train and he was very excited that his LeapPad has Jewel Train 2.

One of my daughter’s favorite activities is using the built in video camera to make videos of the family.

I like that the LeapFrog videos featuring Tad and his siblings are available. I also like the Ultra eBooks which are “interactive cinematic reading experiences designed to guide children through the story and develop essential skills and a whole new love of reading.”

And of course parents can track each child’s progress online at the Learning Path.

Mommy can finally have her iPad back. Plus I’m not constantly worried that they are going to drop it and break it!

Positives

• Large color screen with great resolution
• Built-in camera for pictures and video
• Compatible with Leapster Explorer apps and cartridges
• Stylus is connected with a tether and there is an extra stylus in the box
• Multiple profiles which can be customized with backgrounds and the child’s photo
• Motion-based apps (accelerometer like the iPad has)
• Can use rechargeable batteries!
• Lots of genres of games/apps including mathematics, reading & spelling, science & geography, creativity & life skills, eBooks, and more

Negatives

• Cartridges can get pricey, but apps are much less expensive
• Video quality is not fantastic, but it doesn’t stop my children from having a lot of fun making videos
• Batteries can wear out within a few days depending on how heavily it’s being used, but that’s why we use rechargeable batteries

Read more about the LeapPad on the LeapFrog site.

Giveaway

(Thank you for entering, entries are now closed.)

Disclosure: LeapFrog provided me with product samples for review consideration. Monetary compensation was not received and opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure statement.

{Mom Tested} LeapFrog LeapPad is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.

Halloween is our family’s favorite holiday. Join me this week as I share some spooktacular posts to get you ready to go haunting. Blood-thirsty for more? You can read all of my writing on Halloween.

I wanted to share this with you to give you ideas as you plan your parties, goody bags, and trick-or-treat hand outs.

We have given out non-candy items for Halloween for years. We stock goody bags for the party we co-host each year with all kinds of non-edible items and we hand out various toys, trinkets, and pencils to the neighborhood kids.

Wikki Stix contacted me with a non-candy treat that they thought we might like. Q already has a set of colorful wax-coated yarn sticks that she begged for for her birthday one year. (She loves getting craft and art supplies for gifts.)

Wikki Stix offers a Trick-or-Treat Pak of 50 sets for $21.50. And if you order by October 21st, they are throwing in a Halloween Fun Kit ($7.50 value) for free. For us, 50 sets is enough to give to each kid at the school party plus put in each of the goody bags for our annual party.

The kids had quite a bit of fun playing with the Halloween Fun Kit. They used the Wikki Stix to form the bat and cat and those are on our picture window for the entire neighborhood to see. Q also used some of the sticks to created some pumpkins on orange paper which are also stuck to our window. (The instructions say that when you remove them from the window you can remove any residue with a paper towel.) My son took a colored piece of paper and has been making designs, pulling up the stix and making new designs. And Q made a colorful mask.

Pros

• No carb counting necessary
• Lasts longer than a piece of candy which is gobbled up in two seconds
• 50 individually wrapped sets are enough for 2 class parties, depending on the number of students

Cons

• A little pricey, but maybe worth it if you are looking for a non-candy item to hand out at parties or to neighborhood kids.

I’m so appreciative when Q gets non-candy items in goody bags and when she trick-or-treats. It’s so hard to guess carbs counts on Halloween candy. (But I do have a listing of carb counts of some common types of candy including the serving size.) And most parents don’t want their children hopped up on sugar.

Disclosure: Wikki Stix provided me with product samples for review consideration. Monetary compensation was not received and opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure statement.

Further Reading

Candy Alternatives

Halloween

{D-Mom Tested} Halloween Wikki Stix is a post from: D-Mom Blog

The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please read the disclaimer, disclosure, and privacy policy statements.