Mommies With Style

It’s funny. Flameless candles were the last thing I expected to be blown away by at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) last week in Las Vegas. It just goes to show you, that sometimes technology surprises you. Candella did it to me.

These candles are something you might have already seen if you have been to the Haunted Mansion at Disney and have observed the floating candles. They look totally real, right? No tacky flickering LED in a wax case for Disney Imagineers! The technology behind this illusion involves a chaos engine, which is pretty sophisticated stuff for a fake candle! The effect is simply amazing though and I am so glad it has been licensed by Candella for use in my home.

Candella candles look so real you might be tempted to blow on them. Even knowing they are fake, I was careful not to lift it up from the top as my instincts told me I might get burned. My instincts got punked! These candles are eco friendly, rechargable, and last up to five years of continuous use. They come in a screw in lightbulb version too, if you have ever wondered what your dining room chandelier would look like lit by candles.

I had to go back and videotape Candella Candles in their booth at the CES show, just to capture how cool it was. I was a little tired at the end of this day, but wanted to make sure I got them. Candella candles are safe around kids and pets and will bring a little romance back to my home!

I don’t know about you, but I always have a tough time shopping for the men in my life.  If you’re struggling to find a gift for an expectant dad this holiday season, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Kalencom Daddy Diaper Bags – The “man bag” has been given a bad rap.  But when it comes down to it, a new dad planning any type of excursion with his newborn baby needs some way of transporting all the necessities.  Kalencom has some great daddy diaper bags that look like something he’d carry his laptop in.  In fact, unless you opened the bag and saw the contents, no one would ever know it was a diaper bag.  My daddy-to-be will be sporting Kalencom’s Urban Sling when our little one arrives next year…and he’s kind of excited about it!  Kalencom is offering a special 15% off discount for the next week.  Just enter coupon code STYLE4MOM at checkout.

+ECO Clima Control – For the gadget guy in your life, Oregon Scientific’s +ECO Clima Control would make a great gift.  This environment-friendly, weather-monitoring clock converts solar energy into its source of power.  The sleek design of this “weather station” is made up mostly of a large LCD display showing time and date, outside temperature and humidity, inside temperature and humidity for up to three separate rooms, and (my favorite) the weather forecast for the next 12-24 hours.  This device is extremely convenient for a variety of reasons.  1) It doesn’t need to be plugged in.  2) I know the outside temperature without stepping outside.  3) I can plan how to dress myself (and the baby) for the day based on the forecast.  4) I’ll be able to always know the exact temperature in the nursery without opening the door.  That’s a definite plus!  The +ECO Clima Control retails for $119.99 and comes with the base unit which is a sensor, an outside sensor as well as one additional sensor for another room. 

What to Expect When You’re Expected: A Fetus’s Guide to the First Three Trimesters - Most guys appreciate a good laugh.  And I’m pretty certain that all guys would prefer some good comedy over reading an informational guide to pregnancy.  What to Expect When You’re Expected: A Fetus’s Guide to the First Three Trimesters isn’t going to give dads-to-be much medical information or the science behind what’s going on inside your body.  It does however provide a very entertaining and often times jaw-dropping guide to pregnancy… for the baby.  Written by The Daily Show’s producer David Javerbaum, this book opens with a foreward by the Stork and answers such pressing questions as, “My mother just took a sip of white wine.  Am I going to end up looking like some Chernobyl baby now?” and “I know I live in mommy, but am I in one of her nicer neighborhoods?”  Sprinkled with totally irrelevant charts, statistics and photos of Antonio Banderas (strange, I know), this book is a hilarious and quick read – though only for those with a great sense of humor.

Rebel Ink Baby - New dads love trying to make their kids look cool.  And for those of you who have seen “The Hangover”, Carlos is all I can picture as I’m writing this.  This year, if there’s an expectant dad on your gift-giving list, help him out with a newborn onesie from Rebel Ink Baby.  Their collection of classic black and white onesies and tees sport sassy expressions like, “Beastie Babies – Fight for Your Right to Potty”, “For Those About to Walk, We Salute You”, and “Party Tonight My Crib 3am”.  Rebel Ink Baby’s stylish tees are 100% super soft cotton and available in a short-sleeved snapsuit or a long-sleeved tee and come in sizes 0-24 months and toddler tee sizes 2T-5T.  There are also pants, hats and pacifiers to match!  Unleash your baby’s (or daddy’s) inner rocker today!  Enter code MOM15 at checkout to receive 15% off.  Offer is good through 2/28/10.

These companies provided samples of their products for review on MWS.

You can’t beat the awesomeness of this product as a stocking stuffer, and for only $4.25 with the coupon code.  Eight Crayon Rocks come in a cool velveteen bag with this purchase.  My kids love to draw and get especially excited with something different.  These are the types of products I love – something as traditional as a crayon, but melted into a rock shape to add to twist to the norm.

Making this product an even cooler purchase: it’s completely earth-friendly.  The crayons are made out of all natural soy wax candles and colored with natural mineral powders.

Use coupon code MWS15 for 15% off your order of Crayola Rocks or anything else on the Nubius Organics website.

My kids love having fun, creative activities to do. So when we were sent a Kidzsack, they were thrilled and so was I! Kidzsack is an eco-friendly backpack that comes with 8 washable, non-toxic markers which makes it a perfect reusable arts and crafts activity.

Here’s how you create with Kidzsack: your child colors the backpack with the included markers, then uses the bag for whatever they want (great for carrying around all sorts of stuff) and then when they want to color it again, just pop it in the wash and start again! How neat is that?!! It’s also made from 100% recycled fabric, made by combining recovered 100% cotton scraps and recycled polyester made from plastic soda bottles. Even the straps are made from natural fibers! Keeping my kids occupied and happy while waiting anywhere is always a chore, but I’ve been whipping out the Kidzsack and they have been so excited to color on their backpack! I’ve even brought it out at home when they are trying to interrupt me when I am on the phone. It keeps them busy for a while and they love coloring on it! The Kidzsack is offered in several different fun screen prints for coloring.

A 2009 Dr. Toy Winner, this cinch sack is made in the USA and is a high quality, multifunctional, and durable bag that kids will love to grab on the go! Perfect for keeping a sibling occupied and happy at their older sister or brothers sporting game, purchase a Kidzsack and bring it along!

For a new, super creative  spin on the lunch box, check out the yubo Lunch Box System! Choose from the Standard ($21.95) or Deluxe ($29.95).

The Standard comes in either pink, orange or blue, with the choice of one free set of designable faceplates — either School Rules in either green or yellow, Sharks or Peace (the containers or ice pack are not included). The Deluxe yubo includes a blank name tag, a standard faceplate set, a large container, 2 small round snack containers and the large, flat ice pack. Parents have the option of adding another faceplate set with either personalization (ranges between $6.95 to $9.95) or a photo ($12.95).

yubo is BPA-free, Eco-friendly, and anti-microbial.  It’s also top rack dishwasher safe and totally recyclable (when your child is finished with it).
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Weight Watchers Second Annual Lose for Good Campaign starts August 30 and goes to October 17. For every pound members lose, Weight Watchers will donate up to $1 million dollars to Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger. I was honored to be asked by Weight Watchers to help promote awareness about this worthwhile campaign, which empowers Weight Watchers members to become healthier while also doing good for others.

Last year, Weight Watchers donated $1 million dollars to Share our Strength (which fights childhood hunger nationally) and Action to Hunger (which provides solutions to hunger globally), 2000 local food drives were established and 1.5 million pounds of food was donated by local food banks by Weight Watchers members – not to mention that Weight Watchers members lost a total of 4 million pounds!

To help kick off the the Second Annual Lose for Good Campaign, Mommies With Style will be giving away two 3-month memberships –good for in-person meetings or online membership. Current members who want to extend their membership by 3 months are eligible. 

If you want to donate to a food bank and aren’t a Weight Watchers member, google “Food Banks” to find one near you.

The Giveaway is now closed. To enter our Weight Watchers Giveaway:

The giveaway question is What do you  have to “gain” by losing weight? This is courtesy of my Weight Watchers Leader Rosalie, who posed it to us this morning. Please leave a comment under this post with your answer to be eligible to answer.

For extra entries:

1) Follow @mommieswstyle and @mwsnancy on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway to the hashtags: #loseforgood and #mommieswithstyle. Then leave a comment under this post letting us know you did.

For example, tweet something like this:
RT @mommieswstyle Enter the #loseforgood Weight Watchers Giveaway http://bit.ly/154nrp #loseforgood #mommieswithstyle

and/or

2) Become a fan of Mommies With Style on Facebook (Click here to find our fan page) and leave us a comment letting us know you did.

You can enter once a day on this site, Twitter and Facebook. We’ll choose the winner randomly on September 7th, 2009. You must be living in the US. to enter.

Sure my Mixed Bag Designs bag may only have a gallon of milk, some eggs and loaf of bread in it, these days, but every time I use it, I feel like I have just left a posh event with a big bag full of swag. It’s full of many memories along with the groceries! These bags were recently used at an event that coincided with BlogHer and were the talk of Chicago. For two days they were making appearances all over downtown Chicago and the oohs and ah’s in their pretty wake were audible. These distinctively gorgeous bags went home with people, in many cases as a carry on. I could hardly blame people for not wanting to let them out of their site.

Most of us are making an effort these days to reuse bags and bring our own to the grocery store. And while it’s not hard to build up a stock of free ugly totes, where’s the style in that? Where is the fun? Where is the glamour? I’m more likely to remember to bring bags I like, that are aesthetically pleasing because I want to use them. Just seeing them makes me happy.

One more reason to like Mixed Bag Designs? School fundraisers. How can you not love a company that helps the environment, your school and your personal style factor, all in one fell swoop.

Check out the gorgeous selection of bags at www.mixedbagdesigns.com

Art Smock

I recently got to try out some great new products for my kids from Bumkins as they conduct their back-to-school blog tour.  The Waterproof Art Smock and Waterproof Apron that my sons got to try will be perfect for their upcoming school year!

My older son Jacob was so excited to try out his Dr. Seuss Bumkins Art Smock. He was immediately drawn to it’s colorful, fun and playful print. He literally put it on and then started running around the house looking for any and all art projects that he could do. (We settled on painting and chalk on our driveway!) The long-sleeved Smock did a great job protecting his clothes and arms from the paint, and he looked adorable at the same time! I love the fact that the Smock is machine washable, durable, stain resistant, and is colorful and fun for my son. I also love that it is PVC Phthalates free and has an adjustable tie closure to keep it in place. The Art Smock is best for children ages 2 through 5. (My son is almost 5 and is pretty big for his age… it fit him just fine.)

Apron

My younger son got to try out an adorable Dr. Suess apron when we were making pizza the other night. (Though with an adjustable fit with a tie and drawstring toggle, my older son also got to wear it!) The apron is also stain and odor resistant, perfect for the kitchen. The fabric is durable yet comfortable, and the large pockets are perfect for sticking utensils or other little kitchen items. Also machine washable, aprons are available in toddler size (3-6 yrs), child (6-12) or Adult (12+).

Like all Bumkins products, there are tons of fabric choices available, from Dr. Seuss to mod-prints to classic styles for boys and girls.

Want a chance to win a $35 Bumkins gift certificate? Bumkins will be giving away five $35.00 gift certificates as a part of the Bumkins Back 2 School Blog Tour! Bumkins will choose the five winners beginning Monday August 10th, giving away one gift certificate each day that week. To enter, simply comment below on your favorite Bumkins product and you will be entered to win!

Also, use code b2school09 for FREE UPS shipping on orders of $35 or more, good until Sept. 1st.

For $27.99, you can customize your own Sigg water bottle on Cafe Press.  What a great gift this is – choose from several different designs, put in your own text and voila, instant personalized Sigg water bottle.

Each bottle is one liter – which is a nice size.  It’s great for stashing in the car or taking it with you to the gym.  And best of all, you’re of course cutting back on your use of plastic and waste in the environment.

The tagline for this product, “Make your mark on a Sigg bottle, not on the environment.”  Love it.

As a bonus, we have 3 Sigg water bottles to give away – with the Mommies with Style logo!  Thanks to Cafe Press for making up these great bottles for us to use.  Three Mommies with Style winners will each win one bottle (retail value $27.99 each) – to enter to win, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.  Three winners will be selected at random from our newsletter subscriber base after June 22st.

I’m always looking for ways to help the environment and what better way to help than to stop using those horrible plastic bags to hold your food every time you go to the supermarket?

Did you know that Americans use hundreds of billions of plastic and paper bags each year? I was astonished to find out the price our environment pays for this common practice:
• We use 12 million barrels of oil for plastic bag production every year. 96% of plastic bags end up in landfills, where they do not biodegrade.
• Annually, over 100,000 birds and marine life are literally choked to death by plastic bags when they mistake the bags for food. Plastic bags photo degrade, breaking down into small, toxic bits that contaminate soil and waterways and are easily ingested by animals.
• It’s not just plastic bags that are harmful to our environment. Paper bags are as well! Over 14 million trees each year are cut down, wasting untold energy in production. Paper bags are more difficult and more costly to recycle and also do not biodegrade in landfills.
• According to the EPA, the United States consumes 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps each year.

You can help, by making small changes that collectively, can add up to a big difference for the environment. Neela Bags lends a hand with their nonwoven, polypropelene bags and are one of the most “green” solutions available today, based on their design, lifecycle, environmental impact and manufacturing output. Neela is continually researching new materials and sources to enable them to offer the most environmentally-friendly, durable and functional products to their customers!

I’ve had many different green bags to shop with at the market, but none as amazing as Neela. I tested out the Market Pack and fell in love! The Market Pack contains five Fold-Up Market Totes in a stylish carrying case with Velcro closure that is easy to tote on your shoulder when you are in the supermarket. Each tote has a pocket on the front which is great to store small items. I’ve been storing my Market Pack in the car so I always have it with me when I go to the market. If I have a large market run, I simply slip the Market Pack on my shoulder or put it in the cart, and, for a smaller market trip, I grab two of the totes out of the Market Pack and pop them into my purse! I love how small they fold up yet open up to a perfect size for groceries (slightly larger than a paper bag)! They are so beautiful and functional and I love using them! They really have been turning heads. People have stopped me in the market to find out where they can get the Market Pack.

Neela carries a variety of other fabulous bags as well. Help the environment by helping yourself to Neela Bags. They are a must have for your next shopping trip!  Use code NEELAFF to save 15% off of your purchase.