EZLeaps Shoe Tying Tool Review

Today our own Mama Lisa reviews a product that she received for free to review to help her girls learn to tie their shoes. The views and experiences here are her own.

Pixy has been after me to teach her to tie her shoes. Honestly, I hated when I had to learn because it was tough! I attended private Catholic school and they needed those laces done a certain way. Le sigh!! Enter EZLeaps Shoe Tying Tool!!!

EZ Leaps Shoe Tying Tool

Aren't they cute?! I loved the colorful prints, which will make it easy to identify for a child. The prints do come in sports themes, horses, animals...in short, every theme that children like. The tools have a spot on the back for your child's name and date, so you can remember when they first tied their shoes. They also come equipped with a hole on the upper left corner to stick a carabiner clip in, so they can take it to school with them! Recipe for success, huh? Now, at first glance they look delicate but they are made for hearty use and can bend with the movements of the laces, in order to make a perfect tying job each time. In addition, EZ Leaps has a video tutorial that you can watch with your child in order to get the steps right! Easy peasy.

Seems we have success on sunny days here when trying new things so, here is what we did:


Pixy is using my kicks because she needs to strengthen up her hands (we play copious amounts of Operation to get those fine motor skills going). The grin is indicative of how proud this tool is making her feel. It really does drive home the fact that they are doing it by themselves!

What a grin!

Pixy got the bunny ears going on her own. She needed a reminder to keep them pinched tight for her next step. No frustration noted in her, she really was trying hard to concentrate and do it.

Bunny ears

This was probably the hardest part! Pixy has been practicing and has been getting better and better, but making the knot was a little difficult. No frustration noted though. She started squealing that she got it!

The knot

Here's the final step! Pull up the tool and the laces with a perfect tie go right through. She did it!! Pixy did twenty some laps around the backyard squealing because she did it with minimal help. She was so proud she could bust!

Finished!

Tah-dah!!!

 As a mama, I have been having fun with these lessons. Not frustrating, a couple minutes practice each time. What's not to love? I also think that this tool will be helpful for Banshee when she requests to tie her own shoes. We're all for that!  Pretty soon, Pixy won't ask me for help with tying her shoes and will feel independent. We love strong independent chicks here...although, we're a little sad that growing up is happening faster and faster every day. Notice her tooth gap there? Sigh!


Good luck and if you visit the EZ Leaps website for more shoe-tying goodness (they make a  'stop thumb sucking' tool too called Thumbkin), tell them the MATHs sent you!!

Do you have questions about how it works? Learn more about the product and how it was developed here from founder Eileen Sloan and on their blog.

Happy shoe tying everyone!

Sticky Shoes Review

Robyn had the opportunity to review Sticky Shoes, a solution to the worry of falling out of your shoes and hurting yourself in the process! Robyn received a package of Sticky Shoes complimentary for testing purposes and she is happy to share her review and experiences with our readers. 

Oh man, oh man, do I love shoes? Flats, heels, platforms, sneakers, boots and flip flops totally make me a happy girl! I have run into a problem though. You see, I have these super cute Lucky Brand sandals that I absolutely adore. I am not missing a leg, FYI. My daughter must share the same shoe obsession. In the 10 seconds or less it took to take this picture, she had crawled away with my left shoe. 

The test shoes

They pretty much go with anything. My heel, though, will slide so much that it takes a balancing act to keep stable. I've feared that on a rainy day, that my foot will slip out with the wrong turn, and then BAM! A twisted ankle. Lucky for me, Lindsay Steele has come to my rescue with the help of Sticky Shoes. 

Sticky Shoes

As I was getting ready to head out of the house, I opened the Sticky Shoe back and found a semi perforated edge. While unsure if this was supposed to be two pieces or one, I decided to rip the strip in half. 

Just supposed to be one!

Whoops! Guess it's suppose to be only one! 

I applied the sticky strip to the heel portion if the shoe, and strapped those puppies to my feet. Good fit! 

Let's get ready to rumble.

Whoa, stick factor of 10! My heel absolutely DID NOT move. I even had to readjust once for the proper fit while standing. I was a bit taken back because I wondered if this sticky tape would have the same effect that other "tapes" would have. If tape has been left on for a long period of time on anything, it can remove the outer coat, and sometimes inner layers too! I decided to test my theory. 

Working outside, still sticking

While watering the trees in the backyard, my foot was still one with my sandal. 

Busy Mommy loves Sticky Shoes

Even while holding my daughter and cooking dinner at the end of the day, my feet and sandals were still intact! To think, I've been wearing these shoes all day, and not once have I had to readjust my foot because it was out of my shoe. 

I highly recommend sticky shoes as a shoe solution to heel slipping needs! I can't wait to use them in my heels and platforms, come summertime! Thanks Lindsay!!! 

Interested in trying these? You can find Sticky Shoes at their website, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Purchase Sticky Shoes for yourself here!

Review: Dr. Scholl's For Her Comfort Insoles

Like many of you, I have a few of those pairs of shoes that just aren't comfortable for whatever reason. Maybe they don't offer enough arch support. Maybe there's not enough heel support. For whatever reason, they're cute as can be, but the thought of wearing them all day makes you want to shudder.

Much of my time is spent in sneakers, but I do have a few pairs of "dressy" shoes (that I usually pair with jeans and a cute shirt, but we won't talk about that). And I can tell you, most of my dressy shoes are "not so much" in the comfortable department. Enter Dr. Scholl's for Her Comfort Insoles.

The purple parts are extra padded

I received a complementary pair of Comfort Insoles from Influenster and was skeptical because I'd never been one for insoles. "If a shoe's not comfortable, it's not comfortable, and that's that," I thought. But I busted out some of my fall shoes one cooler morning and slid them in. The insoles are clear with purple and are squishy. The bottoms have some stick to them but not "I'm never coming out of your shoes again!" sticky. Usually when I wear these shoes my feet feel OK for a few hours, but by lunch time they're off and under my desk. The day that I tried the insoles I forgot I was wearing them. It was pretty cool. A few days later I put the insoles into another pair of shoes and wore them all day with no pain or uncomfortableness. Wearing these in my "dressy" shoes has made the idea of wearing dressy shoes way less cringe-worthy, especially for a college professor who stands up while teaching for half of the day.

Even if you're not an insole gal, try them. You may just like them. I know that I'll definitely keep moving mine back and forth between my fall dressy shoes because they are continuing to make my feet happy while working, and we know how important that is.

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I received a complementary pair of Comfort Insoles from Influenster but the opinions and experiences expressed in this post are my own.