Downeast Swimming Suit Review & GIVEAWAY!!-Closed

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!
Thanks so much to everyone who entered the Downeast Giveaway!  We love Downeast and the fun and modest clothing they have to offer.  The winner of the giveaway is Jessica L.  She will be contacted via e-mail.  Thanks!
Thanks to everyone that participated in last weeks giveaway.  We had 60 entries. Lucky number 47 was our winner...which means Kristy T. will have a fun new addition to her wardrobe! Congrats!!

To those of you who didn't win this giveaway we are SUPER excited to announce that you have another chance.  We will be doing the same giveaway again this week. The requirements are the same.  Remember...to leave a separate comment for each entry. Good Luck!! 
If you entered last week feel free to leave comments and enter again! ; )

One of our favorite modest clothing sites is DownEast Basics clothing and so when they contacted us about doing a review and giveaway we were super excited! They have a fresh and fun June fashion line! With it being summer, I knew that I wanted a new swimming suit right off the bat.  I picked to review the  Sausalito Halter--Blue Dots as my swimming top and the Malibu Swim Skirt-- Blue Dots as my bottom.  

I am so happy with my choice.  The day I got the suit I took the kids out for a day of swimming.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new suit! : )  I love the pattern and the fun color.  The quality is really good and since I'm a nursing mother I really appreciated the support and padding in the halter top.  I felt very comfortable with the longer skirt as well.  If I could change one thing about this suit I would sell the skirt with a built in bottom.  It wasn't a big deal for me since I had an extra on hand but if it was included then it would save you from having to buy another piece. ; )

    

Now on to the Giveaway!!!
DownEast is offering one lucky reader one item of their choice. (Any item...it doesn't have to be a swimsuit)

(However, if you win and would like one of their two piece swimsuits, you can pick both a top and bottom since you can't really wear one without the other.)
-You must have a U.S. shipping address to enter.


How to Enter: 

-Check Out DownEast's June Line and pin your favorite item.  Then come back to our blog and leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite item is.
(If you don't have pintrest just leave a comment telling us your favorite item)
**Be sure to leave some way for us to contact you, if you comment anonymously.

Extra Entries:
You can earn up to 3 extra entries by doing the following (Note: in order to obtain extra entries you must first enter as stated above)
-Like DownEast Basics on Facebook
-Like We Love Being Moms on Facebook
-Follow We Love Being Moms Via Google Friend Connect (it' right there to the left of ya, just click "join this site" and login with your google account)

**You can enter up to 4 times!!! Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry, as we will be using a random number generator to choose the winner.


This Giveaway will close at MIDNIGHT (Mountain Standard Time) on Saturday June 30th, you have until then to enter.

The winner will be announced on Monday July 2nd, Good Luck!

#23- S'mores

 

#22- BBQ

I love summer BBQ's...we have been trying some yummy new recipes.  I will share them sometime this upcoming month.

#21- Car Wash

I think this has been one of my little guys favorite summer activities so far...he helped the whole time and I got the car clean!  I let him spray the car down and gave him his own bucket and sponge and he went to town. We even got as far as vacuuming the van out and putting our new registration sticker on the license plate. 

 

#20- Go to the Pool

Go to the Pool or set one up in your own yard! 

So this isn't the best photo but I always forget to get pictures when the kids are actually in the water.

#19- Eating Contest

Most people would probably prefer a watermelon eating contest but we enjoyed strawberries.

 

Downeast Basics Review & Givaway---CLOSED

This giveaway in now closed but their is one just like it here.

Congrats to lucky number 47...Kristy T. Thanks to all who participated!

A couple months ago we posted some of our favorite places to purchase cute and modest swimsuits, if you missed out you can view here.

One of our favorite modest clothing sites is DownEast Basics clothing and so when they contacted us about doing a review and giveaway we were super excited! They have a new June Fashion line that is so fun! I had a difficult time trying to decide what item I wanted to review but eventually decided to review their Mermaid Top & Banded Bikini Swimsuit Set.  

I love the suit top! One of my favorite things about the top is it provides great coverage. I love that I am not constantly having to pull it up as I chase my kiddos around the pool. I also liked that it is long in length so it covers my back and belly well (got to hide those lovely stretch marks.) The suits are 80% nylon 20% spandex and fit snug...which I like.  They also are lined and have removable cups so they fit comfortably.  
I liked the bottoms too but they ride on the hip so I was grateful the top was long length...especially since I have a long torso.  Another thing I liked about this suit is it can be washed in the washing machine...overall it's a great suit. I think a cute frilly skirt bottom would make this suit! For more details on this particular suit you can click on the link above. 

Now on to the Giveaway!!!
DownEast is offering one lucky reader one item of their choice. (Any item...it doesn't have to be a swimsuit)

(However, if you win and would like one of their two piece swimsuits, you can pick both a top and bottom since you can't really wear one without the other.)

-You must have a U.S. shipping address to enter.

How to Enter: 
-Check Out DownEast's June Line and pin your favorite item.  Then come back to our blog and leave a  comment on this post telling us what your favorite item is.
(If you don't have pintrest just leave a comment telling us what item you would choose)
**Be sure to leave some way for us to contact you, if you comment anonymously.

Extra Entries:
You can earn up to 3 extra entries by doing the following (Note: in order to obtain extra entries you must first enter as stated above)
-Like DownEast Basics on Facebook
-Like We Love Being Moms on Facebook
-Follow We Love Being Moms Via Google Friend Connect (it' right there to the left of ya, just click "join this site" and login with your google account)

**You can enter up to 4 times!!! Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry, as we will be using a random number generator to choose the winner.

This Giveaway will close at MIDNIGHT (Mountain Standard Time) on Saturday June 23rd, you have until then to enter.


The winner will be announced on Monday June 25th, Good Luck!

#18- Water Balloons

#17-Homemade Ice Cream

I love homemade ice cream and thought this was a fun way to get the kids involved in making it.  We used to make this as kids but I don't ever remember the ice cream setting up well. I don't know if I just wasn't patient enough to wait for it to get hard or if the recipe was off.  This recipe works really well and became hard in about 5-7 min. It also tastes wonderful...it's Vanilla so you can add whatever you want to it.  We like to add raspberries or crushed butterfingers, it's good all alone too.

Homemade Ice Cream Recipe

2 Cups of Whipping Cream
2 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

You will also need:
6 Tbs. Rock/Kosher Salt (The Big Stuff)
1 Pint Size Ziploc Bag
1 Gallon Size Ziploc Bag
Ice Cubes

1- Fill the large bag half way full of ice and add salt, seal bag.
2-Add cream, milk, sugar and extract into a big bowl and mix well
2- Dish out desired amount of mixture into pint size bag.  (I usually do about 1 cup per bag, makes 4), seal bag.
3- Put small bag in larger bag making sure both bags are sealed well.
4- Shake bag (s) until mix becomes hard...takes about 5 min.
5- Carefully open the bags and enjoy!

#16- Zoo

My little boy is obsessed with animals.  We have just about every zoo toy available and not a week goes bye that he doesn't ask me to take him to the zoo. Luckily, we live close to a zoo (It's a little one, but he loves it.) This upcoming fall I plan to start an A-Z animal preschool unit with my little one so be sure to keep checking in if your kiddos love animals too!

Here is a few pictures of us at the zoo earlier this summer:

#15-Marshmallow Guns

There are tons of versions of marshmallow guns but this one is perfect for kids of all ages.  

These were super easy to make and have provided hours of fun.  They cost about $1.15 a gun.  If you would like to make one you will need:

13 inches of 1/2 inch PVC pipe ($1.62 for 10 feet)

1- 1/2 inch T Joint

1- 1/2 inch end cap

2- Elbows

Here is a close-up so you can see where each piece goes:

I used PVC pipe cutters to cut these (If you don't have them they cost about $10 OR you could use a saw)

FYI: The cutter look like this:

My little boy and I really had fun with these, we had a bunch of friends and family over too! 

If you don't like the idea of guns or don't want to mess with cutting PVC pipe Come Together Kids has an even more simple way to have fun with marshmallows.

#14- Lemonade

Have you ever had ice cold fresh squeezed Lemonade? How about Strawberry Lemonade?  It is so good!!!
Have you ever made it? If not you ought to give it a try this summer. I let my little guy help squeeze the lemons and he thought he was pretty sweet.  This can be a fun activity and a refreshing treat/drink!

Lemonade Recipe

1 Cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons)

1 Cup sugar

2 Cups of ice cold water

Directions: Juice the lemons to make 1 cup juice. Mix juice, water and sugar in a large pitcher. Adjust water to taste.  Serve cold or over ice.  

Strawberry Lemonade Recipe

**To make a specialty lemonade you simply blend about a pint of fresh fruit of your choice and mix with the above recipe.

#13- Hike

 It is so nice to get out and enjoy being outside.  We love hiking...really just exploring the great outdoors.  You could also put together an outdoor scavenger hunt or go on a nature walk.

#12- Bubbles

We love bubbles! With two little ones we end up pulling out the bubbles at least every 3 days in the summer.  The kids love popping them and blowing them on their own.  My little boy is always telling me how he wants to make a "Giant bubble" and it gave me the idea to make some of our own bubbles and bubble wands so that we could make giant bubbles!

We made these Giant bubble wands following a tutorial we saw over at Design Dazzle.  Their is a great bubble recipe too that we altered a bit.

Giant Bubble Recipe
12 Cups of water
1 Cup dish soap (I used dawn)
1 Cup of corn syrup

Mix all ingredients in a large clean bowl, stir mixture, let sit for at least 1 hour.

Adding 2-3 oz of KY gel to the solution mixed with 1/2 cup of water helps make the bubbles last longer.
We bought some liquid KY gel from the dollar store and mixed it with our solution and it really does help.

**I prefer to use corn syrup over cornstarch because it doesn't settle to the bottom.

Have fun making your own bubbles!

#11- Plant Something

Plant something with your kids whether it be in the garden or in a pot.  Let your kiddos help take care of whatever you decide to plant and have fun watching it grow together!

We planted a garden this summer and I specifically gave my son the responsibility to take care of the strawberries. It has been fun to watch him get excited when he see's a strawberry start to turn red, he is always reminding me that he needs to water them...it's been fun!  

#10- Backyard Campout

Have you ever gone camping with the kids...young kids?  It is a lot of work!  We enjoy camping away from home but it's a lot less work to do it in the backyard. 

Some Ideas to Help Make Camping Special for Kids:

-Have the kids help pack for camp

-Let the kids help set up camp

-Go on a nature hunt (look for bugs, birds, flowers), explore

-Cook something (have dinner or just roast S'mores)

-Tell Stories

-Let the kids carry the flashlight or have their very own

-Look at the stars

#9- Summer Reading Program

Sign up and participate in your libraries summer reading program! Our library gives out fun little prizes to the kids if they read at least 20 min a day...my kids love the time they get to spend reading plus they get extra excited about the prizes.  Young kids can participate too, you just read to them.  

If you don't live close to a library you could start your own reading program.  We also love making up stories, my little guy loves to have me tell him a story and then he finishes it or sometimes I tell him one and then give him a turn. It's fun to hear his stories!!

#8-Feed the Ducks