GIVEAWAY: Evenflo ProComfort Symphony DLX Car Seat
Two weeks ago, when I talked about how I spend all my time at the house shuttling my kids around in the car, someone said I was doing too much. I should just open the door and toss them outside.
Point taken. The ability to "toss the kids outside" was one of the main reasons we bought the house.
But, try as I might, I keep winding up at Target or the supermarket and nothing can get me out of driving Mazzy to camp. I gave her a map and a good pair of sneakers but she just looked at me blankly and I was like, "Oh, alright, get in the car."
And then, poor Harlow. The girl has taken a backseat to Mazzy since she was born. Her whole life is basically spent napping or taking Mazzy wherever she needs to go. That's why, instead of just plopping Harlow in the car while I do errands, I decided to take her somewhere for real. I was even going to take Harlow while Mazzy was in camp, so I wouldn't spend the whole time chasing and chastising my four-year-old.
Is it just me or can four-year-olds really ruin a family outing?
Yesterday, I drove Harlow out to Harbes Farms in the North Fork which has a farmer's market, a picnic area and a petting zoo. They've got pony rides and pig races on the weekends, but this was a Monday and Harlow had never seen a live animal besides a dog (poor deprived child), so she wouldn't have any idea what she was missing.
Harlow rode there in style in her new Symphony DLX car seat, part of Evenflo's new ProComfort Series, sold online and at Target. That's the one area Harlow seems to have it better than her sister— car seat comfort.
The ProComfort Series was created because Evenflo realized carseat safety is not just about minimizing the impact of an accident, it's about minimizing distractions from the road due to parents attending to children who are uncomfortable. The ProComfort Series uses innovative gel matrix technology which reduces pressure point build-up alleviating discomfort (short term and long term) for a safer, more peaceful ride.
Harlow fell asleep in the car on the way, even though it wasn't her naptime, because— DUH— COMFORT, which made me wonder if perhaps Evenflo should start making adult car seats and then I was like, no, falling asleep at the wheel would be a bad thing, so let's forget I mentioned it.
Stick with the children, Evenflo, thanks.
Harlow is hit or miss when we take her new places. She can get excited and want to run around, or she can get scared and want me to hold her the entire time. Luckily, the farm sparked something in her immediately.
First, we had a picnic lunch. I bought us both watermelon and fresh corn on the cob from the farm stand.
FYI- Harlow calls corn on the cob "Harlow's corn" and don't you try to call it anything different.
Then I let her run around the farm, but we didn't get far. Three steps in and Harlow saw the chicken coop.
"Chickens!" she screamed and bolted over like they were each standing there holding out a present for her. (Check out Harlow shrieking "chickens" on instagram).
Then she moved onto the billy goats. I pointed out a baby goat and she went nuts.
"Baby baby baby baby baby!!!!"
Then she saw some bearded goats which she insisted on giving each an air kiss. SMART CHOICE.
And lastly, and best of all, she saw the sheep. Harlow stuck her little hand through the gate and touched the tip of one sheep's nose.
"I touched it!!!!" she screamed before she went back for more. Then she spent the next half hour poking her fingers through the fence, waiting for one of the sheep to press his nose up against her little hand. Each time her hand got nuzzled, she started squealing with delight and ran in circles.
Oh goodie, I've got video.
I could have watched her do that ALL DAY.
But alas, it was time to pick Mazzy up from camp. (Isn't it always?)
Ten baby wipes and a bottle of hand sanitizer later, we were back in the car, on the road once again.
Good thing Harlow fell asleep in her car seat on the way back too.
Dreaming of bearded goat kisses, I imagine.
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NEW GIVEAWAY (winner announced on 9/02/14):
Today, I'm excited to give away another Evenflo ProComfort Symphony DLX All-In-One Car Seat ($249.99)!
All you have to do is…
1) Follow both Evenflo and Mommy Shorts on facebook and then leave a comment below answering the following question:
What was your child's favorite day trip experience? Petting zoos, amusement parks, trips to Target (who could blame him), please give me future day trip ideas in the comment section below.
2) Please like and/or share this post if you enter. It's not required, but it would be nice!
That's it! You can find the official rules here.
Winner will be selected randomly and announced on September 2nd.
If you don't win, don't worry! I am giving away one more Evenflo car seats in the upcoming weeks.
LAST WEEK'S WINNER (from giveaway on 8/08/14):
Congratulations to Sabrina, who won last week's Evenflo Symphony Car Seat giveaway! She was selected randomly and left the following comment about her worst road trip:
"We took a 16 hour road trip with my 10 month-old daughter and 13 year-old. My baby hates the car seat so when she wasn't sleeping she was crying. The only thing that would distract her was the theme song to Roly Poly Olie over and over. She had at least two diaper blowouts and I had to pull over on the side of the road to breastfeed her several times. It was worth it though to see my family who I only get to see once a year."
Let's hope that road trip is easier next year with your new Symphony DLX!
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This post was sponsored by Evenflo but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
My kids love the zoo and Dollywood!
My kids love visiting new parks! Fortunately we live KC metro area and there are tons of communities with parks to explore.
We go to the aquarium about every 3 weeks! We love it 🙂
We love going to the splash pad. Not sure if they have those in New York, but in Phoenix they’re everywhere!
My 10-month-old son loves going to the Buffalo Zoo to see the meerkats, and while it’s not a day trip per se, he loves anytime I carry him out to our car and he sees our neighbor’s dog in the driveway. “DAAAAA!!!” He’s easy to please.
Both my kids love the playground, any playground over any place that charges admission. They run around like crazies and meet new friends every time.
So far our best day trip has been to the coast on an uncommonly warm day. We had a blast with the dog and playing in the sand, running up to the water and screaming when the waves got too close.
We love to go to the zoo or the aquarium on our day trips! 🙂
How about the Central Park Zoo? Kids ever been there?
Although we go to the zoo, museum, parks, etc., my son’s favorite place to go in the car by a long shot is grandma’s house! Good thing they’re only 7 minutes away 🙂
My toddler and preschooler love the ocean! They love it so much that they often think it’s a great idea to try to use their bath water to turn their bathroom into an ocean. Daddy and Mommy don’t think that’s a great idea.
We love going to the arboretum and seeing all the peacocks.
Favorite daytrips include the local pumpkin patch, the zoo, the aquarium, or the local children’s museum.
My kids love going to the zoo and the aquarium.
My kids favorite day trip would be to the Lego store! haha. They love going to the aquarium or amusement park too though!
Best day trip experience has been to the beach at Lake Michigan. Vada loved to play in the wet sand where the tide comes in. She even ate a handful before I could stop her. As for future day trips, her grandpa is a farmer and will buy her any animal she asks for so the petting zoo isn’t really going to wow her. We are on a lake so water in general doesn’t usually impress her, apparently sand does though. I think to really impress her we are going to have to make a trip to the city. Chicago is the closest but still about 3 hours away. We used to live in the Chicago-land area so we can’t wait to go back for a visit and see her reaction. Hopefully it will be as awesome as Harlow at the zoo!
My daughter loves simple trips to different playgrounds or nature walks at local parks. However, we are taking her to the zoo for the first time in two weeks, and I think our little animal lover will have a new favorite place!
We’ve made a family tradition of visiting zoos wherever we travel to. Our boys love seeing the animals! Other favorite day trips have been to pick-your-own farms and children’s museums. We also do family bike rides to local playgrounds on the weekends sometimes and stop for slushees on the way home.
Oh, and now that we’re in Alabama, we’ve been going to the beach every month or two and they LOVE that!
The beach, definitely. We live in California (in land, Central Valley, which sucks…), but we are fortunate to live near a beach. 2-3 hours away counts as near, right?
She loves the water, she loves the sand (what is this, her father & I both hate sand…), she loves the sun. She will act like a perfect angel the entire way there, play & make us feel like, “Hey, she is actually a really, really happy child!”…then we have to leave…
I’ve been trying to do more things with her, as well, aside from Target, Walgreens, & TJ Maxx (she loves all three and asks to go often). I need to investigate further things I can do with her outside that she will enjoy.
My daughter loved going to the fair by my in laws. Rides, games, prizes…so much fun
I feel the same for our 1-yr old, dragging her away from her naps and then having to be in the carrier or stroller where we go because she can’t yet run around with her big bro. I think this’ll change soon as she’s trying to take her first steps. Then we’ll really have fun when we go out. Fun or mayhem. I love going to the library with both kids, and the playroom is great for even the little one. Other favorites are children’s museums where kids are encouraged to touch everything.
I took my 19 month old and 4 year old to the beach just last week for the first time! They were both in their glee! Good thing I also took my 16 year old niece though for back up as they both headed in different directions!
she is so adorable!!!!
The zoo definitely tops the list. My son loves watching the “mutneys,” especially the tiny ones with the big mustaches.
My daughter’s favorite day trip, so far, is to Grandpa’s house on a lake in the mountains. She loves the beach, the pool and the paddle boats!
Every year this week in August is the Dutchess County Fair in Rhinebeck NY. It’s one of the oldest fairs in the state and my kids love it… There are farm animals, rides, food, crafts, and the ultimate milkshake by the 4H club… People wait online for an hour for these shakes… My kids love the fair.
Best day trip yet has been Atlantic Beach. Also the central park zoo is always a hit.
For a kid who spoke late, I’m pretty impressed with Harlow’s full sentences!
What a sweet little girl!!
I’m looking forward to taking my little guy (4 months currently) to the zoo & local children’s museum when he’s a little bigger.
My daughters favorite day trip spot was our local arena! It has an outdoor water park which she loved and also a playground and inside has a swimming pool. Lots of room for her to run around inside the facility as well which she would be happy just doing that all day lol
My little man loves to go out for icecream!
following both pages on facebook 🙂
We took our little boy to the Mall of America last weekend! He loved all the people watching! 🙂
Children’s museum or playground! Anywhere my son can run around!
My older two absolutely loved the day trip to White Water! They could live in the water!! My baby also loves water so the day trips to the pool were a huge hit for her!!
My son is kind of like Harlow, he will either be really into something or really not. It happens that he is a cheap date, because his favorite place to go is the park. There is a fountain that splashes (dirty, i’m sure.) water on his face and he thinks that is just the most fantastic, hilarious thing ever.
Sydney 13 months loves just going for a ride with the windows down. She loves to feel the wind blowing through her hair and the cute little gap in her two front teeth! We also love Target! It’s like a second home!
My baby loves going on road trips to see her Bumpy! She will fall asleep, then wake up as soon as we pull in the driveway. It’s like she knows we are there!
My son is only 5 months old, so he’s easily amused by small trips like an outing to Target where we play with toys and don’t buy (all of) them. We’d love a new Evenflo seat!
My son loves going to the zoo. He loves to ride the train and the carousel at the zoo. I think he could ride the train and carousel all day long!
I am expecting September 27th so no road trips yet but I have a bucket list for sure! We’ve been doing tons of research on car seats, so many different ones to look into. I do want to take her to buffalo as the first trip since it’s short and I like to shop! But I would want to do the LA, San Fran, San Diego trip when she’s 8 months…let’s see how that goes 🙂
her favorite day trip experience was for her 2nd bday. we had originally made plans for Bronx zoo but they got cancelled b/c of her older sister’s dance recital (much like Harlow, our little often gets shuffled around to her 7 y/o sister’s activities). so instead of the zoo we just did an unstructured day in NYC…Central park, merry go round, lots of walking (w/o her stroller which is always a bonus for her!), local dining and cake of course. we had some family/friends join us and we made the day all about her (one of the very few so far, lol). please oh please…we would love that car seat!
Out favorite day trip in the summer is the beach! In the winter- the museum!
my daughter lover to go to her grandparents rach and play out side on the tractors 4-wheelers and horses! the dirty she can get the better!
My kids love going to the zoo!
My child’s favorite day trip would be going to the park! My poor friend deprived 5 year old will do just about anything to go to the park. Every now and then she will ask to listen to Disney songs and we will crank it up and sing as loud as we can to Frozen (if baby brother isn’t sleeping, being a newborn is tough)
When my husband and I were living with his family in California for the summer, we visited Morro Bay. We had the exciting opportunity to take a kayaking tour! My husband and I got in the kayak together and my son (9months old at the time) sat in my lap. He was wonderful! He loved being out of the water and seeing all of the nature and wildlife. He passed out for a good 45mins in the arms, after nursing out on the water!! The movement out on the water just rocked him right to sleep. We got out at some sand dunes and he played in the sand like crazy! Once back on the water we went back to the docks and only managed to loose two straws in the ocean on the way (sorry fishies!!). Overall we had a blast and so did my son. A new carseat would have made the drive back just a bit nicer though… frozen on repeat? Anyone else use that? Its a miracle and a curse all in one.
My little girl isn’t here yet but I can’t wait to see what she’ll enjoy!!
My son loves the spray park! It’s like a mini water park for toddlers and is free!
We enjoy a local Science Museum. They have an outdoor water exhibit that everyone loves!
So far my 3 year olds favorite day trip was Lego land. She loved the roller coasters. I couldn’t believe how brave she was. Even my 1 year old liked just playing in the water spray park area.
My son absolutely loves going to the zoo and the park.
We love going to visit our GranMama who lives about an hour away! It’s always a fun day!
My LO who is 16 months loves going on trips to Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh. I just lost my job and my last day is next week so I will be staying at home with her until I find another job. I have lots of fun trips planned with her and plan to try and take full advantage of this opportunity. The zoo in October is a must along with a pumpkin patch that looks very similar to the farm that you took Harlow. And a second seat would be a dream as we just moved her into her big girl seat and we only have one which is a hand me down. I have a petite little nugget too.
My 9 month old loves the Grocery Store, especially the dairy section, giggles everytime we are there 🙂
We love our local zoo…not too big, but still very entertaining!
Our last day trip was to the state fair. My kids loved it. My 6yr old and 3yr old did great. My 5mo old did ok but he is getting too long for his infant seat and about to oit grow it soon. I dont have money to buy a new seat till tax time so this wpuld be AMAZING to win. I love evenflo seats. I have my ooldet in a high back booster by Harmony. My 3yr old in a Graco Argo 70 cause it was the only Pink and purple one I could find that had the weight/height for her. My youngest is in a Graco infant seat. Our next day trip that is planed is going to the 3 or 4 local musiems with the kids.
Cant wait to take our little guy to the zoo next summer!!! Adorable photos!!
My kids love going to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo. The aquarium, carousel, petting zoo are all favorites…but on our last trip we also got to pet and feed stingrays. Very cool!
My daughter’s favorite day trip was to Storybook Land in Egg Harbor, NJ. It’s the cutest little theme park for toddlers. She rode the carousel, the trains, bAlloons, elephants,etc. when the day was over she screamed “this was the best day ever!!!” And I think she meant it,she talks about it all the time! 🙂
Sophie’s favorite day trip…. It depends on the age. When she was little it was just the small playground down the street. As she got older she would get so excited to see the horses in Central Park. Now I would say her most favorite trips are to anywhere with water. The beach, the lake, a pool… anywhere where she can practice swimming.
My sweet daughter loves trips to the grocery store. She is still little so looking at the bright lights is so fun for her. She also loves to be outside. A breeze sweeping across her face is so calming for her. In the car if she starts to get a little upset, I roll the windows down and generally that is all it takes to put her to sleep!
My little one absolutely loves the aquarium! Every time it’s like she discovers something new and is amazed!
My little guy loves going to the Aquarium.
Our favorite Day Trip is to the local splash park, they have plenty of cool water spraying out in a fenced area with soft mats and a water slide. Bryleigh (my 2 yr old) enjoys filling up her buckets and dumping them on mama. After spending all that time in the sun playing she is sure to sleep on the way home. She LOVES her Evenflo Symphony DLX and it’s almost time to get baby brother one 🙂
I have 2 Daughters and one on the way due October 5th a little boy finally! Im so excited! But my girls favorite day trip adventure was this summer when we went to the beach and camping for a week far from where we live about 2 1/2 hours away and the girls loved riding in the car they just kept telling me how they wished they could give their new baby brother their car seat because he didn’t have one yet. But I had to explain to them that he would be to little for their car seats lol.
The most fun we had was at Penguin Palooza at our local zoo! My son was mesmerized watching the penguins get fed!
My kids’ favorite day trip this summer was to the county fair. A lot like the farm, there was tons of 4H animal exhibits to visit. There was also a butterfly house, a “make it and take it” station and of course all the fair rides on the midway! We have 2 evenflo seats now and would love to win this car seat for baby #3 due Oct 4th!
My daughter loved going to the Madison Zoo (in Wisconsin). We spent the day looking at all the animals, had a picnic lunch at the park and even watched her cousins ride the train. We did all of this without a single cry or fuss! She is only 4 months old, but when she was 3 months old we took her on a 5 day road trip that took us through 7 states, a day full of wedding festivities and a stroll through the Biltmore Estate. So perhaps the trip to the zoo was really “a walk through the park” for her!
Best day trips for our family is the beach. We are lucky it’s just about an hour away which makes the ride tolerable for our 14 month old. We spend most of our time asking her to take shells, seaweed, and rocks out of her mouth but it’s priceless to hear her squeal when the waves crash on her feet.
My son loves the zoo!
My girl loves going to the beach!!
My kids love going to visit Daddy working at the fire station. Semi-contained running around time, climbing on the trucks, watching trains and buses drive by. Plus sometimes I get to sit down and finish my coffee in somewhat peace.
My husband and I both teach at a University. Our daughter LOVES to go to campus with us. She loves to run around in all the green space and play in the fountain. She also gets to see dogs, lots of people, hear music playing, etc. Talk about cheap entertainment. Also, I’ve found that college students seeing toddlers on campus is akin to toddlers seeing a unicorn anywhere. They fawn over our daughter and she eats the attention right up.
This past weekend we took our daughter to a local state park and went “hiking”. There are trails there and she got to climb rocks, and explore in nature (plus run ahead and for the most part we didn’t have to worry as long as we could see her) and she has been asking when we can go back.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is a favorite around here .:)
We flew to TN for her to meet her granddad and grandma for the first time. Favorite day trip was going to Dollywood and the Knoxville Zoo while we were there. She had her first carousel ride.
We love the Bronx zoo. Entertaining for all of us (a 5yo girl, a 2yo boy and mommy, of course). Also exhausting for all of us. A day trip means some cheap exercise for Mommy and early bedtime for the kiddos! Win!
A trip to the aquarium! Both of my kiddos loved it!
Proud momma of two one of my children are special needs and we love to go to aquariums my children love learning about animals in the ocean!:)
My son is pretty much excited any time we leave the house. But I think he’s had the most fun when we went to Hershey park (after he got used to the rides).
We love taking our five year old and three month old to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. We are from a suburb outside of Milwaukee so the 2.5 hr drive can either be fun and scenic or horrendous depending on the moods of the kiddos that day. We just found out that I am expecting #3 so another carseat (that is very comfy) would be extremely beneficial to my sanity during our day trips. 🙂 Despite their moods during the car-ride, it is always worth it when we see their smiles and watch their faces light up as they experience the dolphin show.
We live about 40 minutes away from my mother’s house “me ma” to my 3 year and 6 month old. This is an at least once a week destination. She has a pool for in the summer and land for building snow forts in the winter. Whenever we leave the house I pray the baby will sleep for the ride. If he doesn’t my 3 year old tells me the baby is crying every 30 seconds followed by my husband singing made up songs, which is actually the only thing that quiets the baby down. Now I love my husband but I could definitely do without the singing! Living in a small town outside of the city, we spend an extra ordinary amount of time in the car. We have become accustomed to long car rides and lots of singing 🙂
My daughter hates the car, unfortunately. We live eight hours from her grandparents and in her six months of life, we’ve made the trip three times. For about a week after each long drive, Nora sobs whenever I get her even close to the car seat. Poor traumatized baby 🙁 she never seems comfortable in her seat. Her favorite day trip, though, would have to be grandpa’s house. I was going to a baby shower and my dad wanted to babysit so they played all day long. She even sat in her walker and played while he weeded the garden! At the end of the day he filled the kiddy pool and they splashed for a long time 🙂 best baby day ever!
My two-year-old is up for any outing or day trip that includes Panera “mac-n-a-cheese” as she adoringly calls it. Definitely can’t blame her there!
We are so lucky to live in the SF Bay Area so our 18 month old is able to get to so may things within an hours driving distance – we’ve got a myriad of beaches (Santa Cruz for actually playing, Half Moon bay for surfer watching and seafood eating), SAn Francisco for the cool fog on hot South Bay days, not to mention so many toddler friendly hiking trails, goat dairies, chicken farms, berry picking, apple picking, kid friendly micro-breweries and wineries (yes, they exist!) and we can’t wait for fall for coastal pumpkin patches, hayrides, and doing pretty much everything we’ve been doing but in cooler weather. We live in the greatest day trip region. She pretty much sleeps exclusively in the car on the weekends 🙂 but hands down, her favorite outing is to the car wash. Sigh.
I am taking my son to the zoo for the first time next weekend and I am very excited to see how he enjoys it! I hope he handles the three hour car ride okay..!
Just this past weekend my daughter, niece, sister, and I went on a princess tea party train ride. There was a train ride in a classic (40s) train car with the princesses serving mini foods, tea, and punch. It was absolutely adorable!
Wow! I’m so excited I won! Thank you so much! Hopefully next summers
road trip will be so much better!
Disneyland! I can’t wait until the pumpkin patches open up and he can go to the petting zoo!
My 10 month old LOVES the aquarium.
Definitely the zoo!
My 2 year old daughter absolutely loves animals, so we go to the zoo or a local farm often. She recently went on a pony ride for the first time, which was definitely a highlight of her summer!
My 2 little ones loved going to “Day out with Thomas”. They absolutely love Thomas. My 2yo hates the car so we have bought several seats to accommodate her but she still cries the whole trip which is only 2 hours but oh my crying for 2 hours ugh!
My baby loves to see her grandmas!
I took my two youngest to the dollar store to find some art supplies and whatever other treasures we came across. This isn’t something we do on a regular basis so it was my not quite two year old, Hattie’s, first time. As I pulled her out of the car she scrunched up her little nose and proclaimed, “this is not Target momma!! I wanna go to Target NOW! Not this place!!” Ha! My husband and I met working at Target in college so apparently red and khaki is in her blood…what have we done?! She always spots that bullseye…so Target is officially Hattie’s favorite day trip!!
My son’s favorite day trip activity is going to the park, and it isn’t for the playground. They have a nature trail in the park where we live, and it has bridges that go over the small river that flows through it. Alex loves to walk the trail and pick up sticks, pinecones, special rocks–whatever he sees that is interesting. It’s not a very long trail, but it can keep him occupied for quite a long time. Alex is fascinated by all the different trees, plants, flowers, and especially the water from the river and the small tributary streams that flow from it. He gets most excited when we come across the small wildlife, like the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. 🙂
My baby hasn’t arrived yet but I have already taken little trips to get us excited for all the fun things we’ll get to do with her, such as the zoo! It’s our first and we couldn’t be more excited. 🙂
We took my older son to the aquarium when he was two, and he waddled like the penguins and became obsessed with sea lions. It was all he asked for weeks after we went. We had to show him pictures on the computer to satisfy him. He still loves the aquarium!