May 21, 2012

24 Weeks Pregnant: The Ultimate Organic Crib Sheet by Summer Infant

Image and video hosting by TinyPicOne of my favorite products/go-to baby gifts is the Ultimate Crib Sheet by Summer Infant - and I’m so excited that now there’s a 100% Organic cotton version of the Ultimate Crib Sheet (price range $20 -$22). Now with baby #3 on the way, I”m so excited to use the organic version. The Ultimate Crib Sheet is 4 products in one: A quick change sheet (it attaches via 10 elastic straps to your child’s crib rails), a mattress pad, super absorbent pad and waterproof pad. Nothing soaks through this sheet — we own a few of these Ultimate Crib Sheets and rotate them constantly in my 2 year old’s daughter’s crib.

When your baby wets his/her crib or vomits, the Ultimate Crib Sheet is so easy to change. Especially at 3 AM, when you are exhausted! To take off,  just unsnap the 10 elastic straps — which are snugly attached to the crib slats.  If you use bumpers, the Ultimate Crib Sheet is attached right below them. Dimensions of the Ultimate Crib Sheet are 28″ x 52″.

Reviewer received product sample for review purposes.

One Less Laundry Step & Giveaway!

Everyone has their least favorite chore and I have to say that laundry is one of mine.  I think it’s that “doing the laundry” involves collecting dirty clothes, sorting them, perhaps pretreating stains, washing them, drying them, folding them and sometimes ironing them.  And this is just for ONE LOAD. Depending on the size of your family, this process needs to be repeated multiple times a week…or a day. So anything that makes laundry easier, I want to know about.

I recently had the chance to try out the Robby Wash Ball by Oransi.  The palm-sized ball is filled with high-efficiency, hypoallergenic, eco-friendly mini balls of detergent. You throw the whole ball in your washer one day and take it out a YEAR LATER with no more detergent ever to add since each ball lasts up to 12 months and replaces about 75 pounds of traditional laundry detergent. I’ve been using the Robby Wash Ball for the last month and have been thrilled with it. Why?

Saves time. True, adding detergent to the washing machine takes only seconds. But multiply those seconds times the number of loads per week and heck, you almost save enough time to sit and enjoy a cup of tea in peace and quiet [Disclaimer: The Robby Wash Ball does not guarantee peace and quiet to drink your tea....but hey, it might happen!]

Saves money. One Robby Wash Ball costs $32.95 and last for 12 months. Whatever kind of detergent you use now, you likely spend 2-4 times this in a year on detergent.

Saves space. Springtime inspires us to declutter and there’s nothing attractive about a big ole bottle of laundry detergent sitting around. The Robby Wash Ball is small and discrete and most of the time will just stay in your washer.

Saves trash. No boxes or bottles of detergent. For a whole year.  Plus you can buy refills for the Robby so that you could  go years without buying another jug of laundry soap.

Saves your skin. The Robby Wash Ball contains safe, hypoallergenic laundry detergent that has been tested safe for use with infant laundry. Plus it doesn’t contain phosphates or chlorine, meeting the strict environmental compliance requirements of Europe (more stringent than U.S.).

The Robby Wash Ball is available in two formulas – the Blue Robby Wash Ball can be used in either cold or hot water with colors or whites while the Fuchsia Robby Ball is formulated specifically for cool water temperatures and colored laundry items.  Each balls also comes with stain stick and refills are available so that you can keep using your Robby for years to come.

Popular in Europe for years, the Robby Wash has just become available in the U.S. at Oransi’s website or on Amazon. But just for one lucky Mommies With Style reader––your very own Robby Wash Ball! To enter, leave a comment with your least favorite part of laundry duty. Stain removal? Folding? Ironing? Finding that ever-missing sock match??  Tell us and you could win a Blue Robby Wash Ball to at least make one part of each laundry load a little bit easier.

Contest ends Monday, April 26th at midnight PST.

[Note: Oransi provided a Robby Wash Ball for this review.]

For Earth Day, Go Green with Sippy Cups from CuteSip (Free shipping, too!)

For Earth Day, check out CuteSip baby bottles and sippy cups. They make stainless steel, reusable cups for kids.

More about CuteSip products:

-BPA free
-No interior liners, all stainless steel
-Both 100% recyclable and reusable
-cute designs for kids
-Free shipping on orders over $35, no code needed!

They have baby bottles and great sippies for toddlers.  I was also excited to see CuteSip sells a sports top too – great for older kids.

Buy Avatar on DVD today & adopt a tree for Earth Day #earthday

I’ve been dying to see the movie Avatar.  I wanted to see it when it was out in the theater but movie nights are few and far between around here.  No doubt you have heard the rave reviews of the movie, if you haven’t yet seen it for yourself.

The premise of the movie is a story set on another planet sometime in the future.  Pandora is a lush planet with a very eco-conscious group of habitants living a peaceful existance until greedy colonizers try and take and capitalize on the planet’s natural resources. 

The animation and storyline are supposedly unbelievable and made this one of the biggest movie sell-outs in the history of Hollywood.  I can’t wait to see it.

So the tie into Earth Day:  Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has teamed up with the Earth Day Network to plant 1,000,000 trees worldwide in celebration of the release of the film.  People who purchase the film will be given a unique access code that allows them to go online and actually adopt one of the million trees being planted, charting its location and progress.  This is just so awesome – I can’t wait to go and adopt my tree.

Get it on DVD on Amazon for $15.99 for the single-DVD pack, or get the two-disc Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack for $19.99.

Disney Store spreads the Earth Day love

As a part of their Friends for a Change – Save Planet Earth campaign, Disney has come out with a line of Save Planet Earth products that are being sold at the Disney Store.

I came home last week to a neat little package full of a couple of the products – including a plush Toy Story Alien, who is the official mascot for this campaign.  With many of the items, Disney will donate $1 to the Nature Conservacy.  Just look for the little green button, like on this product pictured.

They have a bunch of stylish and sustainable products for sale including a Tree Making Kit, a reusable water bottle and shopping bags made out of recycled plastic water bottles.  Love the Mickey Cosmetic Bag!

Giveaway for Earth Day: Mommies with Style Twitter users, enter to win Origins gift pack

Here’s a cool thing for Earth Day.  Origins has launched a Trade-In Program. 

About this program: On Earth Day, April 22nd, Origins is offering customers the chance to bring an empty cosmetic container (regardless of brand) to any Origins retail store or counter (which Origins then recycles for them through their Return to Origins Recycling Program) to trade it in for a free full-sized Checks and Balances Frothy face wash ($18.50 retail value) or A Perfect World Antioxidant cleanser with White Tea ($20 retail value.)

To promote this inititive, Origins is giving running a giveaway on Mommies with Style via Twitter.

The Giveaway winner will receive a Spring Skincare Wardrobe Makeover from Origins to keep them beautiful and green from head to toe. The giveaway package consists of Origins’ latest products: Starting Over, A Perfect World Moisturizer SPF15, Brighter by Nature Peel Pads and GinZing. 

In order to be entered to win the prize, entrants must tweet with the hashtag #OriginsTradeIn.  Be sure to @mommieswstyle and follow us so I know you have entered and tweeted.
 
Suggested Tweets:
Go green and get chic! On 4/22, head to Origins to trade in any empty beauty product for a free Cleanser! #OriginsTradeIn @mommieswstyle
So excited to trade-in my empty beauty products at Origins for a free cleanser!  Are you going in on 4/22? #OriginsTradeIn @mommieswstyle

One winner will be selected at random after April 22rd.

An Earth Day Giveaway: Win one of three Word Girl book & DVD prize packs on Mommies with Style

As many of you know, Thursday, April 22nd is Earth Day.  On that day, PBS will be airing the WordGirl episode “Earth Day Girl.”  The language loving superhero saves the planet in this episode. 

We have three prize packs to giveaway to 3 Mommies with Style readers as we spread the word about the episode – the prize includes the “Earth Day Girl” DVD from Paramount (which includes the episode plus 7 others) and a new WordGirl reader book of the same name from Scholastic Press.  Check out http://pbskids.org/wordgirl/ to play cool WordGirl games with your kids.

To enter, leave a comment about what your family does to help the environment or keep green. 

For extra entries, tweet about this giveaway (one extra entry per day – only one please).  Follow and @mommieswstyle so we know you have tweeted it out.

This contest ends on Thursday, April 22nd.  3 winners will be selected and notified after that time.  Please be sure to include your email address in your entry!

10% off Earth Day tees from Revenge Is: Change the world

REVENGE IS embraces that collectively we can change the world. We don’t have to completely alter our lifestyles, but simply focus on everyday actions to reduce the use and abuse of Earth’s natural resources.”

My husband is an avid recycler.  Not to mention that he randomly picks up bits of trash wherever we are as he says it’s our earth and every little bit helps.

If we could all just make a tiny change in our daily lives – pick up that one piece of trash and recycle it, it would make a huge difference.  Revenge Is is a company that is already making a big difference.  They manufacter and sell t-shirts made out of recycled plastic water bottles.

The tees have a great snug fit and are incredibly comfortable.  Which I don’t quite get – how do you make super soft clothing out of plastic bottles?  Amazing.  And awesome.  Go get yourself one of their funky and cool design tees in support of Earth Day. 

Be sure to use coupon code moms for 10% off your entire order.  Expires May 31, 2010.

Baby Laundry Detergent from Earth’s Best: Great for Sensitive Skin & Eco-Friendly

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Even though my daughter is now 2 years old, we still use baby detergent for her, because her skin is so sensitive. We’ve loving the sample Earth’s Best sent of their new Baby Laundry Detergent. Formulated for delicate baby skin and 70% organic, it’s hypoallergenic,  contains 99% bio-based ingredients, and is made with plants and mineral sources (it does not contain animal by-products).

Free of petrochemicals and chlorine free, it’s not tested on animals. There are no artificial colors and it’s HE  (High Efficiency Washing Machines) compliant. The detergent comes in 2 sizes; The 50 oz size ($11.99) is a 2x concentrate and will do 32 loads and the 100 oz size ($19.99) is also a 2x concentrate and does 64 loads. And it’s from Earth’s Best, which is a name I have trusted since my son (who’s now 4) was an infant.

I was pleased with that this detergent worked well with my young child’s sensitive skin and that it’s an eco-friendly choice for a laundry detergent.

You can find the detergent at Babies R Us /Toys R Us.

Sample provided for review purposes.

Candella Flameless Candles: Don’t Blow on them!

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!

Shopping for an Expectant Dad?

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-bagKalencom 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 ecodisplay 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. 

expectedWhat 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 rebel-ink-babylist, 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.

Stocking stuffer ideas: Crayon Rocks. Plus, 15% off coupon code.

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.

Kidzsack: An awesome, reusable, eco-friendly craft activity

kidzsackMy 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!

yubo Lunch Box: A Creative Spin on the Lunch Box

Image and video hosting by TinyPicFor 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).
[Read more...]

Lose For Good & Weight Watchers Giveaway

Image and video hosting by TinyPicWeight 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.

Mixed Bag Designs: Great for Swag, but also Perfect for Groceries

mixedbagsSure 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