School is finally back in session this week after two long long long weeks at home with my brood.  Generally between xmas and New Year’s is pretty slow here at Let’s Go Strolling so it seemed an ideal time to take off a couple of weeks to spend with my family since my kids are out of school.

This idea turned out to be better in theory than practice.  First my middle son got sick (right on his birthday too!) and ended up coughing endlessly and spending nights awake on the bathroom floor.  As he recovered my toddler daughter got sick, as did my Dad who was visiting for the holidays.

This meant planned outings seemed distinctly less appealing and both my husband and I were grouchy and sleepy during the daytimes.  Then the whining began – “I’m bored.” “There’s nothing to do.” “Can I go to the toy store and buy a gift?”  Nothing like spending time with whiny kids spoiled from too many gifts and sweets to really make you feel like you’re doing a successful job of parenting.

Then New Year’s came and since my parents were visiting – we had babysitters!  We made movie/dinner plans with a couple of friends and got ready to have one night out alone on the town to ring in 2010.  Until around 3pm when our friends called to tell us their babysitter had the flu!  We brought dinner to their house and rang in New Year’s on their couch.  Maybe next year. . .

Needless to say – I had a big smile sending my kids to school on Monday and heading back to work.  I really love time with my kids, but I’m thinking spending times with them during a non flu/cold season might be a better way to go. . .

P.S. Thanks to all our fabulous Teutonia Stroller Giveaway entries. It was won by Matt who entered for his wife Jessica!  What a devoted husband.  We’re so happy for them and they are thrilled.  Meanwhile did you check out these photos of Heidi Klum with her new Teutonia?

Teutonia strollers are known all over Europe as the creme de la creme.  These high-end strollers have captured the European market with their German engineering and manufacturing. Yes!  Teutonia is still made in Germany, not Asia!  But it’s not just the quality, the push and suspension on these strollers is fabulous.  Starting in 2009, US customers have finally been able to grab up these beauties locally.

Customers to our store are always impressed with the smooth push and sturdy construction of the Teutonia line.  Teutonia prides itself on it’s customized approach to building your stroller.  Customers can choose their chassis type (there are three), their seat combination (including carseat with adaptor, bassinet, and stroller seat) and their goodies.  The most popular Teutonia goodies include their stunning cushy seat inserts (guaranteed to dress up your ride), their popular handmuff (for strolls in colder climates), and their cozy warm footmuffs.

The Teutonia t-Tario carseats and strollers have been such a popular US addition that Teutonia is expanding their line for 2010.  Teutonia is introducing the TS-4000 which packages their top-of-the-line uber-popular Car Seat and base with a matching Teutonia reversible stroller for only $699!

The TS-4000 stroller has both a reversible seat and handle as well as all the thoughtful Teutonia details that customers worldwide have come to expect and love. Check out our video below for a sneak preview into the TS-4000 travel system and the 2010 line which is expected out Spring 2010!

But remember now it’s your chance to push the stroller of the stars!  Teutonia is offering one lucky Strolling Along blog winner a Teutonia t-300 stroller of their very own (see chassis and seat pics below).

How can you will this fancy ride?

To win the your very own Teutonia stroller just read our contest details below and start wishing on the first stars in the night sky. . .

To enter you must:

1) Watch the TS-4000 preview video above and comment below to tell us what you think? Comments can include what a great video editing team we have (me) or what you thought about the stroller!

For extra entries you can:

2) Sign up for the Let’s Go Strolling newsletter at www.letsgostrolling.com then leave a comment below letting us know you did.

3) Tweet about this giveaway and make sure to @reply @strollingalong.  Then leave us a comment letting us know you did.

4) Become a fan of letsgostrolling on Facebook (Click here to find our fan page) and leave us a comment letting us know you did.

5) Sign up to receive our blog daily via email or RSS reader and leave a comment letting us know you did.

That’s it! Enjoy!  We’ll choose the winner on December 15th so you could be getting a brand new stroller just in time for Xmas or Kwanzaa (or late for Hannukah. . . sorry about that!)

Win to tickets to (RED)NIGHTS Concert – A Fine Frenzy in San Francisco, CA

Let’s Go Strolling is partnering with Bugaboo to bring 2 lucky Let’s Go Strolling fans the opportunity to win a set of 2 tickets to this awesome (RED)NIGHTS concert on November 12th in San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. 


What is (RED)?

(RED) is a simple and powerful idea to harness the power of shoppers to create a sustainable flow of funds directly to Africa to help those affected by AIDS.

(RED) partners with the world’s most iconic brands to create (PRODUCT)RED products, a portion of which goes to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Current (RED) partners are Apple, Converse, Dell, Emporio Armani, Gap, Hallmark and Starbucks.

What is (RED)NIGHTS?

(RED)NIGHTS is a concert series designed to help eliminate AIDS in Africa; as a part of the series, A Fine Frenzy will be appearing November 12th in San Francisco, CA.  A Fine Frenzy’s first album was released in 2007 and reached Number One on Billboard’s “Heatseeker” charts.  A Fine Frenzy was also chosen as a VH1 “You Oughta Know” artist.  Joining A Fine Frenzy in concert is Landon Pigg and Among the Oak & Ash.

Bugaboo is now a Proud Partner of (PRODUCT)RED

Bugaboo is a proud partner of (PRODUCT)RED and is contributing 1% of all revenue to the Global Fund to help fund AIDS programs in Africa with an emphasis on the health of women and children.

Bugaboo is the only (RED)™ partner to contribute a percentage of all revenue across its entire product range to help in the fight against AIDS in Africa.  In celebration of the BUGABOO (PRODUCT)RED partnership, Bugaboo has created a special collection which includes a (BUGABOO)RED Cameleon denim stroller, (BUGABOO)RED Cameleon ADO(RED) accessory bundle, (BUGABOO)RED Bee TREASU(RED) and (BUGABOO)RED Bag in white leather.  Wow! Go Bugaboo!

How Can I Win Tickets?

Just comment on your thoughts about the Bugaboo(RED) partnership to get entered.

You can score additional entries with each purchase on the Let’s Go Strolling website between November 1st and November 9th.  Just give your order number and you’ll get one additional entry.  Orders containing Bugaboo products get 2 additional entries – just put “I buy Bugaboo” in your blog comment and you will score 2 entries.

Still want more entries?

You can Tweet about the fabulous Bugaboo (RED)NIGHTS ticket giveaway and leave a comment that you tweeted to get extra contest entries.

Need a tweet to use?

“Win tickets to the SF #rednights concert from @Letsgostrolling & Bugaboo http://tinyurl.com/yhzmsak”

]]> http://www.letsgostrolling.com/strolling-along/2009/11/06/giveaway-2-pairs-of-tickets-to-sf-rednights-concert/feed/ 7 http://www.letsgostrolling.com/strolling-along/2009/11/02/congrats-giveaway-winners/ http://www.letsgostrolling.com/strolling-along/2009/11/02/congrats-giveaway-winners/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:29:14 +0000 admin http://www.letsgostrolling.com/strolling-along/?p=675 Comment winner #43, Sarah Campbell of ? won herself a new Hotslings AP baby carrier which is the awesome new adjustable pouch baby sling from Hotslings!  Enjoy that!

Comment winner #9, Corey will be receiving the brand new Universal Console with MP3 music player speakers as soon as it is released from Baby Jogger so she can rock on while she walks on!

Aren’t you jealous of these two?  I am!  I almost never win anything.  Well except a Stokke contest last year. . . that was awesome.  Melissa won a Garmin Navigation system this year from Boppy since she walked the most steps at the recent ABC show.  Of course I was beside her the whole time but mine reset itself. . . no bitterness here though!

Want to be a winner?  Stay tuned this week for two awesome new giveaway posts!

First off our favorite and giveaway!

We have carried the Peanut Shell pouch sling carrier from almost it’s beginnings.  We loved the streamlined look, the complete ease-of-use, and the patterns.  I mean what is easier than putting a sling over your head and putting your baby right in – no adjustments needed.  With a similar sling-pouch but it’s own gorgeous design is the Serena and Lily Market slings which we have lusted after and adored as well.  Of course sizing is always an issue so often couples needed two slings for one baby depending on if Mom or Dad was holding Jr.

This is why we were blown away by the new Hotslings AP line of adjustable pouch slings.  Hotslings has always had amazing patterns but a seemingly infinite number of sizes (okay 9, but still!) – the AP line does away with this.  With 2 nicely hidden straps, you can now adjust the awesome Hotsling AP carrier from size 2 through size 5, fitting the overwhelming majority of sling wearers, even within the same family!

Besides fitting multiple wearers with the same sling, the Hotslings AP has other nice features.  The two adjustment straps are nicely hidden by what they call the “strap garage” so they are covered and don’t detract from the streamlined look – yet are easy to adjust in a moment.  There is padding on both interior and exterior rails for parent & baby comfort in all 3 positions (cradle, front carry and hip carry). Lastly there is a wide shoulder design because your sling should fit comfortably on your shoulder and not be bunched up around your neck straining you.

We loved the Hotslings AP so much we asked them if they would giveaway one to our readers as one of our favorite ABC products giveaway and they said “yes!”.  Not only that, you get to pick your pattern, thank you to the Hotslings folks for that awesome opportunity.  They even pointed us to a video to show you guys if my write-up didn’t convey the awesomeness enough.  See video below and details on how to win at the end of this post!

Beco Baby

Beco Baby had an early prototype of a new carrier for 2010 that will be sold side-by-side with their Butterfly Carrier called the Gemini.  The Gemini is more similar to an Ergo Baby Carrier in that the baby is right next to your body instead of in a pouch next to your body like the current Butterfly Carrier.  The Gemini includes a snap-able leg space that can be narrowed to allow you to carry your baby forward-facing as well as parent-facing.

We’re really thrilled about this newest offering and hope it lives up to it’s potential.  We see a lot of parents who want the back support and infant hip support of the Ergo and Beco Baby Carriers but want the forward-facing ability of a Baby Bjorn.  Let’s hope this new Gemini Carrier is just that perfect offering!

(Editor’s note: the new Cybex Carrier that is soon-to-be-released also promises to have the proper positioning of the Ergo with the forward facing capability.  It seemed a bit more intricate than the new Gemini model but I can say we honestly haven’t played with it enough to offer a full review – it’s one to watch though!)

Ergo Baby

Besides a slew of new carrier patterns (our favorite was the Galaxy Grey), Ergo released a whole new infant insert that is a huge improvement on their current Infant Insert option.  Instead of having to wrap your baby up sling-style and place in your Ergo Carrier, this infant insert provides cushioning and support to place your baby directly against your body (head up) in your Ergo.

The addition of this Heart2Heart Infant Insert into the Ergo line, really makes the Ergo into a fabulous newborn option.  We will still put in a vote for a pouch sling like the Hotslings AP or Serena and Lily since they just make it so easy to pop your baby in for the overtired parent who doesn’t want to figure out a more complicated carrier.  Of course in a perfect world you’d have both since there are definitely times when either solution would be just the perfect one!

Baby K’tan

We love the folks at Baby K’tan.  They are just so nice and enthusiastic.  At the ABC show, they showed their versatile new burp cloth turns into Nursing cover.  It works with all common carriers so no matter what you are carrying – you can grab one of these and you’ll always have the coverage you need, whether over your shoulder or over your boob!  How can one less thing to back into your diaper bag not be a great idea?

Now onto our fabulous giveaway (Thank you Hotslings!)

To win the our FABULOUS BABY CARRIER GIVEAWAY in your favorite color/pattern just follow the directions below and in 2 weeks, this beauty could be yours!

To enter you must:

1) Sign up for the Let’s Go Strolling newsletter at www.letsgostrolling.com then leave a comment below letting us know you did and what color you would like!

For extra entries you can:

2) Let us know what your favorite Baby Carriers are or favorite new updates are.

3) Sign up to receive our blog daily via email or RSS reader and leave a comment letting us know you did.

4) Tweet about this giveaway and make sure to @reply @strollingalong.  Then leave us a comment letting us know you did.

5) Become a fan of letsgostrolling on Facebook (Click here to find our fan page) and leave us a comment letting us know you did.

That’s it! Enjoy!  We’ll choose the winner on Halloween (Oct 31st) so stay tuned!

Baby Jogger Stroller 2010 Changes:

1) They moved the City Elite footbrake to be a hand-level brake (this is great because it allows #2)

2) All Baby Jogger models will now fit a toddler wheeled board – FINALLY! This includes the City Mini and the Summit XC and the City Select!

3) City Elite models will have air chamber tires – this means no pumping or maintenance

4) Baby Jogger will have a special 20th anniversary performance Series Stroller

5) Baby Jogger will introduce a light fixed wheel running stroller with 16″ wheels called the FIT priced at a low $299

6) The Red/Black City Elite color will become Crimson/Grey (stunning) and the Royal/Black City Elite color will now be a Sky Blue Sport (Very attractive and a lot less bold).

7) The City Micro will get a bright flame Red color.

Lastly but probably most popularly, Baby Jogger will roll out City Minis with larger baskets in 2010.  It will be a rolling change which means if you ask us whether it has the bigger basket we won’t be able to tell since SKUs won’t change but it should be on all models in Jan/Feb 2010. YAY!

A few things we didn’t love:

1) The City Elite single got 2 lbs heavier. Due to the air-chamber tires and the handbrake.  We assume the double got heavier too but we have not weighed it.

We had to separate out all the Summit changes since they rocked!

Why the Summit XC can finally compete with the BOB:

- Baby Jogger gave the Summit XC a handbrake! So there is now an awesome swivel wheel stroller on the market for all of you hill dwellers who have been begging for one.

- Baby Jogger moved the same nice arched canopy from the City Elite models onto the Summit XC models.  We did notice it had 1″ less height than the City Elite models though.

- Baby Jogger lowered the fixed handlebar height to make it more comparable to the BOB Revolution height, thus fitting shorter parents better.

- Baby Jogger’s addition of the handlebar brake allows it to fit taller parents better since they can’t kick the brake by accident.

-Baby Jogger increased the recline on the Summit to be almost full.

- Baby Jogger changed the wheel to be 3 branched spokes which they assured us was the best tire construction and would eliminate the wiggling tire rotation that some Summit users experienced in the past.

- Baby Jogger is NOT raising the price at all of the single or the double or triple!

Congrats on some nice upgrades!

Finally our we adored this product GIVEAWAY.

Not only did Baby Jogger turn their city mini parent console into a universal parent console to fit all strollers (coming 2010) but they also added an AUDIO version that can hook up to an ipod/iphone/MP3 player to a speaker for music to push by anywhere you go! WOW!  You can even face the speaker towards you for your enjoyment or towards your baby/toddler if you want to keep them happy (Raffi) or make them smarter (Baby Einstein).

We adored this so much that we immediately asked Baby Jogger to offer up one to our dedicated blog readers and they agreed!  Although this product is not out until Jan, 2010, through Oct 3rd 2009, you can enter to win the Baby Jogger Universal Parent Console with MP3 Output as soon as it is available for purchase!

Here’s how you can enter our giveaway:

1) All commenters from our first ABC blog are automatically entered to win this item

2) You may comment on this post for a second entry (if you already commented) or a first if you didn’t and let us know your favorite Baby Jogger 2010 update.

For extra entries:

1) Join our Let’s Go Strolling newsletter and comment that you did

2)Subscribe to our blog via RSS feed, email subscription or another reader and comment letting us know you did.

3)Tweet about this contest and @reply @strollingalong on twitter and comment letting us know you did.

4) Become a fan of Let’s Go Strolling on Facebook.

I will provide you this teaser of the new Skip Hop Studio pattern and the new Skip Hop Studio color though.  They were both gorgeous and have qualified for one of our favorites!  Melissa liked the gunmetal grey but I adored the platinum circles.

To win one of these bags though: You have to fan us on facebook (click here).  We will be running one of our fabulous Facebook contests to win a beautiful diaper bag.  We will send out details next week and pick a winner at the end of October!  We assume they will be in stock by then.  Remember to fan us so you don’t miss your chance to upgrade your look with this awesome bag

So which is your favorite of the two new Skip Hop bags?

Aura  - when the sippy cup comes out it is yours for your twins.

Michelle- Ok the bloody ordeal tale got me.  I feel your pain.  As soon as the nial file is out it is yours for the taking!

Just send an email to info@letsgostrolling.com with your shipping address and details and we will get these fabulous new products out to you as soon as they arrive in stock!

It’s an electric nail file for babies. I thought it sounded weird and possibly hazardous.  It’s not!  When we saw it at the Baby show we went “Oh (lightbulb flasing) that’s what you meant!”  Clearly it is hard to describe, but it is a colorful miniature electric nail file that is super easy and is a genius answer for parents who are too scared to clip their babies nails!

There are different roughness pads from the most gentle to well. . . pretty gentle.  It does have a slight whirring sound but not too loud for babies.  It is actually perfect for keeping them still and attentive so you can file their miniscule baby nails.  I can’t wait to get one for my daughter’s claws!

Their second product I loved just as much if not a little more.  It is a sippy cup with a straw that moves.  What does this mean? It means when you first give your toddler a cup with a straw, they use typical cup/sippy cup behavior and tip it upside down to get more liquid.  Not too effective with the straw at the bottom however.  This straw has a weighted ball at the end though so it moves to where the liquid is when you toddler tips it to their mouth. BRILLIANT! Why has no one thought of this before.

So first of all hats off to Zo-Li for their innovation!  We thought we couldn’t love anything more than the on-the-go snack containers but these are definitely competitors.  These two products are our first “innovations we loved for our ABC giveaway.”

How can you win these products?

We realized though that we don’t know who has babies/toddlers young enough to use them so we’re doing quick re-ask.  If you’re following our ABC blog write-ups and have a newborn/young toddler who can use the nail file or straw cup post within the next 48 hours (through Tuesday midnight) and tell us which product you would want to win.  On Weds morning we’ll pick the giveaway winners but you’ll have to wait until these products arrive out in the next few months!

We asked the manufacturers and showed you the answers too.

Then we gave away some of our favorite products randomly to people who had written in to ask. . . that was fun!

Let’s do it again!  Let us know what you are curious to find out about, what strollers upgrades you want to see, what new baby products you are curious about, what brand upgrades you’re dying to find out again.  We’ll try to report on all the answers in the next week or two, plus you’ll automatically be entered to win some of our favorite products from this 2009 ABC show!

So join us in spirit in Vegas and let the good times (& hopefully good products) roll!