Thermos Funtainers Review

My daughter started Kindergarten this year, and though she ate lunch at preschool 2x a week Jan-June, they served water there, so I didn't have to send a drink.  I was looking for something re-usable and BPA free to send her to school with this year.
 

I did pretty much all of my back to school shopping at Target (love that store, but very, very dangerous for my wallet!) and found these Thermos Beverage Containers.  They have a stainless steel interior, double wall vacuum construction, silicone straw,  and non-slip base.  They hold 12 ounces of liquid, are dishwasher safe, easy to open (but also easy to open accidentally!) and will keep drinks cold for 12 hours.
 
When I bought this, I didn't know any of that.  I knew it was BPA free and my daughter liked it!!  On the first day of school I sent her with a thermos of water and a little bit of ice.  After 8 hours, this is what I found:
 

Wow, it still had ice in it!  It really did keep it cold!!  This worked swimmingly for about two months.  Then one day I  went to unpack her stuff after school, and her lunch box, bookbag, and everything in it (including a library book) were soaking wet.  She claimed that she closed the top, but I wasn't so sure.  I sent her with it again the next day and this time everything was soaked again, including the special class Tooth Fairy Bag, complete with 2 more library books!!  Thankfully, it was just water, but still.  We tried keeping it in an outside pocket of her bookbag, but then she was forgetting to take it to the lunchroom.  So, we're still working on a new solution, and I have a different bottle to review as well.
 


I also bought her a Funtainers Food Jar so I could send her with leftover soup, mac & cheese and so forth.  before I sent her with anything, I wanted to test to make sure the TherMax® double wall vacuum insulation really worked.
 

I put hot water in the thermos, closed it up, and took the temperature of the water to see how it retained the heat.  I checked it after 4.5 hours:

 
and again after 6.5 hours:
 

 
It has worked really well.  When I send her with something hot, I make it just a bit hotter than I would if we were eating it right away, then close it up!
 
The regular price of both of these at my Target was $13.99 each, but I got them on sale for $12 each.  Just a few packs of juice boxes would add up to that quickly!! We're still using the thermos at home sometimes; if I could get her to stop chewing on the straw it would be perfect!

Munchkin BPA Free Dinnerware Products Review

Since my kids are pretty far apart in age, all of the dishes and such we used when my daughter was little are nearly 5 years old now.  Not only did we not know about BPA then, but some of the stuff was looking a little worse for the wear.

I went hunting at the best place ever, Target, and these Munchkin products caught my eye.  I didn't buy everything at once, but each time I looked for something new, my eyes seemed to go to Munchkin again.

The first thing I bought was the 2-pack of snack catchers, which were $4.49 at Target.

They have a soft lid, which is secure and easy for little hands to reach through.  The handles make it easy to hold.  The only spills we've had were because my son shoved his fist in, then turned it upside down!

It''s hard to see here, but there is a place on the bottom to write your child's name!

It holds 9 ounces of snacks.  The first time I used it, I grossly underestimated the amount of snacks he would eat, LOL!

Next, I bought the plates, cups and bowls.

The cups and bowls were $2.99 for a pack of 5, and the plates were $3.79 for a pack of 5 (also at Target.)  They are again, BPA free and dishwasher safe.  While I'm not totally loving the pink & purple for my son, they have a gender neutral fishy pattern on them.

The curve of the bowls make it easy for little hands to hold it in place while scooping.  My son gets excited when he sees the bowls because he thinks it's yogurt time!

The cups are also perfectly shaped for little hands to hold. 

They do leave a little red mark on his forehead though.  Tee-hee!

So lastly, I was looking for a hard spout, BPA free sippy cup (preferably insulated) since until now, we've just been using Born Free soft spout cups.

I thought this Munchkin Sippy was a little spendy at $9.99 for a single 9 oz. cup, but it's insulated, and it's actually stainless!

I was a little disappointed to learn that it isn't dishwasher safe, but the design is simple, and a quick wash in soapy water gets it clean & ready to use again.  Really, that's good since I don't need to have multiples to use while others are in the dishwasher.

It doesn't leak, if you remember to put the valve in (not naming names, ahem!)

Munchkin makes tons of products, and I'd definitely look to them next time I'm searching for something!

FTC Compliance: All items featured in this review were self purchased at normal retail prices.  All opinions are my own.