Stroller Shade

trying out the stroller shade extender

In the spring of 2014 I had a 6 month-old baby and was starting to get into running. I had a decent stroller, but the canopy to shade my fair skinned baby just wasn't cutting it. I was getting ready to run my first 5k, a "push 5k" in July (push as in strollers, moms/parents were supposed to push their babies while they ran). There was no way I could run the race without my baby getting completely burnt!

stroller shade extender in action

So I found THIS awesome stroller shade extender and it was perfect! It gave me an extra foot of shade and was my alabaster babies saving grace during my hot, sunny, loooong first 5k. :)
It also fits on carseats (disclaimer, I've never tried) and comes in fun colors like blue, green, red, pink, etc. and best of all it folds up nicely so you can easily take it with you or put it away when you don't need it! Bonus, it blocks UV rays as well!

I'd give it 4.5 stars, its made out of a lightweight nylon stretch material so it fits just about any stroller which is super convenient, and it has a buckle and two hooks so you can secure it. My only negative comment about the stroller shade extender is that in strong winds its a bit flimsy and just folds back on itself, and that I can't very easily leave it on my stroller when I need to fold my stroller up to put in the car and go somewhere. Other than that, LOVE it!

Favorite Thing Friday

I'm super excited to tell you about one of my newest favorite things for kids. A few weeks ago a friend posted about it on Facebook so I thought I'd check it out, and I'm so impressed, one of the coolest kid toys ever!
It's called Water Wow and its by Melissa & Doug, so you know it's good!
Also, they have a 5 star rating on Amazon with like 500 reviews.

Here's how it works:
It's a spiral notebook of heavy-duty cardboard pages and a chunky "pen".
It has a paintbrush like tip so it isn't really a pen, but that's what they call it.
You open the pen and fill it with water.
Then, each page is a plain white picture that when you color on it with the pen, color comes through!
At the end, you end up with a really vibrant, colorful picture and with no mess and no chance of kids coloring on things they shouldn't!
The best part it when it dries, which takes maybe 2 minutes, it turns white again so you can color again immediately!

I bought a pack of 3 for $15 but I just saw they're on sale for like $12 HERE

We only let Spencer use these at church on Sunday's, so it's a special treat for him.
But we have a road trip coming up that I think they will be an excellent distraction for as well.
I've also heard they're great on airplanes.

Here's a little video to see it in action (from my phone so its a little blurry, sorry).